“Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis” (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery) was shown in competition for the festival’s top Golden Bear prize in a screening that started at 9:30 a.m. and ended shortly before 7 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break.

The film is similar to the duration of some other past festival favourites like Hungarian director Bela Tarr, whose “Satantango” clocks in at about seven hours.

But at a post-screening news conference Diaz rejected being labelled as a creator of “slow cinema”.

“We’re labeled ’the slow cinema’ but it’s not slow cinema, it’s cinema,” he said.

“I don’t know why … every time we discourse on cinema we always focus on the length.

“It’s cinema, it’s just like poetry, just like music, just like painting where it’s free, whether it’s a small canvas orit’s a big canvas, it’s the same … So cinema shouldn’t be imposed on.”

Diaz’s movie is set in the late 19th century at the period of the Philippine revolution against Spanish rule and focuses onthe influence of Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, considered to be one of the main motivators of the uprising.

The film follows the lives of several groups of people, including Castro’s wife who is searching for his body on amountain that is inhabited by people from the spirit world.

It also follows the lives of several young men who get caught up in the revolution, including the poet Isagani (JohnLloyd Cruz), who is so overwhelmed by the bloodshed that he loses faith in his ability to write poems.

Producer Bianca Balbuena praised the Berlinale for allowing the film to be shown in competition for the main prize despite its length.

“The Berlinale gave us the freedom, they didn’t ask us to cut down the length of the film,” she said, adding: “Thank you, Berlin.”

The film is among 19 competing for the top Golden Bear prize to be awarded on Saturday.

– Reuters

“Internet service providers can’t block particular accounts so we have asked Tumblr to adjust its content in line with (Indonesian)regulations and values,” the Information Ministry said Thursday.

It said it would otherwise consider blocking access to the site in the Muslim-majority country, where downloading pornography is punishable by up to four years in prison under a 2008 law.

The ministry’s warning came as President Joko Widodo met chief executives of US tech giants in San Francisco as part of his push to make Indonesia a technology and e-commerce hub.

Tumblr does specifically tolerate explicit material, duly flagged, but it is also a leading mainstream image-sharing website, leading some to question the appropriateness of blocking it during the visit.

“Imagine you’re @jokowi in Silicon Valley and you have to explain to @jack and especially @marissamayer that Indonesia just blocked Tumblr,” tweeted user Gita Putri, referring to the president, Twitter’s chief executive Jack Dorsey and Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer. “Why busy banning tools like Vimeo and (almost) Tumblr and pushed all(social media) to adjust to us. Why not busy developing our people, Mr @Jokowi?” another Twitter user said.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo of him playing a zero gravity game with Joko after their meeting on Wednesday at the social network’s headquarters. Indonesia has blocked hundreds of websites for “negative content,” including popular video-sharing service Vimeo.com and social network platform Reddit.com.

– DPA

Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest markets for social media services such as Facebook and Twitter, with Jakarta being the most active Twitter city in the world in 2012.

Penang’s Mohamad Faiz Subri took the free kick against Pahang state late Tuesday, sending the ball spinning towards the top left of the goal before it curled sharply to the right and bounced in off the other post, leaving the keeper visibly bemused.

A shakey video of the dramatic goal earned nearly a quarter million views on YouTube after it was posted by Globo Esporte.

Prime Mininister Najib Razak posted “Great goal free kick Faiz Subri” on Facebook from California, where he is attending the US-Asean Summit. “It’s beautiful,” he wrote alongside a post of the clip.

Some online commentators said the goal was a contender for a Puskas Award, introduced in 2009 by FIFA for the most aesthetically significant goal of the year.

– DPA

But a joint statement agreed on after a two-day summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the Sunnylands retreat in California did not include the specific mentions Washington had been seeking regarding China and its assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea.

Obama told a news conference that leaders at the meeting reaffirmed “our strong commitment to a regional order where international rules and norms and the rights of all nations, large and small, are upheld.”

“We discussed the need for tangible steps in the South China Sea to lower tensions including a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarization of disputed areas,” Obama said. “WhenAsean speaks with a clear and unified voice, it can help advance security, opportunity and human dignity.”

After a first day discussing trade and economic issues with the 10 Asean states, US officials had been hoping to arrive at a common position on the South China Sea, where China and several Asean states have conflicting claims.

Not all Asean members agree, however, on how to handle the disputes, and some, such as current Aseanchair Laos and its neighbor Cambodia, have close economic ties to China.

Rather than turning a spotlight on China, the joint statement reiterated broad key principles of US-Asean cooperation, including “mutual respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality and political independence of all nations … and a shared commitment to peaceful resolution of disputes.”

It also reaffirmed “a shared commitment to maintain peace, security and stability in the region, ensuring maritime security and safety, including the rights of freedom of navigation and overflight.”

RIVAL CLAIMS

China claims most of the South China Sea, but Asean members Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam have rival claims.

Fox News, citing civilian satellite imagery, reported on Tuesday that the Chinese military had deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of its contested islands in the South China Sea.

The United States has criticized China’s building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to disputed territory to assert the right to freedom of navigation.

China accused Washington of seeking maritime hegemony through such patrols.

Obama said freedom of navigation “must be upheld, and lawful commerce should not be impeded,” and added the United States would “continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and … support the right of all countries to do the same.”

He also said that Washington would continue to help allies and partner countries strengthen their maritime capabilities.

Obama said the two sides made progress on trade and investment and had agreed to launch a new effort to help all Asean nations meet the criteria of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, of which four are so far members along with the United States.

At the news conference, Obama announced an initiative, dubbed US-Asean Connect, which he said would involve a network of hubs across the region to better coordinate economic engagement.

The proposals are likely to draw fire from human rights activists, who have warned against jeopardising hard-won freedoms over nearly two decades since the end of authoritarian president Suharto’s rule.

However, officials anticipate little opposition in parliament to the legislation, which would not be as strict as counter-terrorism laws passed in recent years by neighbours Australia and Malaysia.

President Joko Widodo’s government moved quickly to reform the country’s 2003 anti-terrorism law after Jan. 14, when four men attacked Jakarta’s business district with guns and explosives. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault, in which the militants and four others died.

Details of the overhaul have been kept confidential, but two government sources with direct knowledge of the draft law said it would broaden the definition of terrorism and make it easier to both arrest and detain suspects.

The sources declined to be named because the legislation, which could be passed within the next few months, is still under consideration by parliament, where Widodo enjoys strong cross-party support.

“The new definition of terrorism includes the possession, distribution and trade of any weapons … or potential material that can be used as weapons for terrorism acts,” said one.

EVIDENCE IN COURT

The maximum period allowed for detention without trial will be lifted to 90 days and for preventive detention to 120 days, both from a current limit of one week.

The law will also allow authorities to target anyone who recruits members for, or cooperates with a militant group, and to use electronic communications, intelligence reports and financial transactions as evidence in court against suspects.

Indonesians who have joined militant training or participated in terrorist acts in a foreign country will be stripped of their citizenship.

Security officials say about 500 Indonesians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the radical group Islamic State and they estimate that about one in five of these has returned, although most did not see frontline combat.

Over the past two months, Indonesian counter-terrorism forces have arrested dozens of men suspected of plotting attacks on government targets and major landmarks, and last week seven men were jailed for being sympathisers of Islamic State.

But police have long complained that even when they area ware of radical activities, they are unable to detain known militants unless they threaten or actually carry out an attack.

The new law will allow the arrest of people merely “if they assemble to discuss terrorist and radical acts”.

The International Commission of Jurists last month urged the government not to undermine the process of justice by making it easier for authorities to arrest people irrespective of whether there is sufficient evidence of criminal activity.

– REUTERS

Obama, who leaves office next year, has championed a foreign policy pivot to Asia during his presidency and is determined to present the United States as a Pacific power.

His meeting with leaders from the Asean was aimed at cementing that legacy.

“This reflects my personal commitment, and the national commitment of the United States, to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations,” he said at the start of the two-day summit at Sunnylands, a California resort.

The meeting, at the same location where Obama once hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping, was designed to demonstrate Washington’s role as a counterweight to Beijing and as an eager-trading partner with Aseanmembers.

White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told reporters U.S. companies had more than doubled investment in the region since 2008.

On Monday the leaders were slated to focus on economic issues, including discussion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which includes four ASEAN members: Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. Others are interested in joining, and the White House wants to make sure the pact takes effect.

On Tuesday, the leaders will discuss maritime issues, particularly the South China Sea, where China and several Southeast Asian states have conflicting and overlapping claims.

White House officials have said Obama would deliver a tough message to China that disputes over the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully and not by bullying.

“Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means,” Obama said.

The challenge may be to get all ASEAN countries to agree on a strong statement on the issue. Officials say China has putpressure on countries such as Cambodia and Laos not to sign on.

“I’m … confident that our shared commitment to upholding these norms will be reinforced,” Rice said.

China’s role in the region hung over the meeting. Rice said she expected China would support new international sanctions on North Korea for its recent rocket launches.

Advocacy group Human Rights Watch urged the Obama administration to object to human rights violations in countries such as Cambodia and Thailand during the summit. The president touched on the issue without specifics during his remarks.

“Here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies and upholding human rights,” he said.

Combating climate change and cooperating on counter-terrorism and the fight against Islamic State militants were also on the agenda.

Obama returns to Washington on Tuesday.

– Reuters