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sabato 30 novembre 2013
US veteran held in North Korea 'confesses' to crimes
US veteran held in North Korea 'confesses' to crimes
A US citizen detained for more than a month in North Korea has confessed to committing "indelible crimes" against the state, say state media.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Merrill Newman had ordered the deaths of North Korean soldiers and civilians in the 1950-53 Korean War.
It published what it described as a "statement of apology" by Mr Newman.
Mr Newman, now 85, did serve during the Korean War but his family say he is the victim of mistaken identity.
Mr Newman was shown reading his alleged apology in video released by North Korean authorities
Pyongyang's state media has routinely publicised alleged apologies from previous American detainees, which cannot be independently verified, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul.
Authorities have previously been accused of coercing confessions from detainees.
Some observers say Mr Newman's alleged confession could allow North Korea to release him without formal legal proceedings.
Video
Mr Newman - a retiree from Palo Alto, California - has been held in North Korea since being taken off a plane as he prepared to leave the country on 26 October, following a 10-day tourist visit.
In video released by North Korean authorities, Mr Newman is shown reading his alleged apology, dated 9 November.
"Please forgive me," Mr Newman asks in his four-page statement, titled "Apology"
"During the Korean War, I have been guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government and Korean people," the four-page statement reads, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It claims he was an "adviser of the Kuwol Unit of the UN Korea 6th Partisan Regiment part of the Intelligence Bureau of the Far East Command" - an apparent reference to one of the special operations units acting against the North.
Mr Newman apparently confesses to trying to contact surviving soldiers during his trip as a tourist.
The statement adds: "Please forgive me."
But Mr Newman's family has said there must have been "some dreadful misunderstanding" and have appealed for his release, saying he may need medication.
Another veteran, also named Merrill Newman, was awarded a Silver Star medal for his efforts during the Korean War.
He has previously told Reuters news agency he thought it was possible there had been "a case of mistaken identity".
Another US citizen, Kenneth Bae, has been detained since November 2012.
US troops backed South Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War, which killed at least two million people.
US carriers urged to comply with China air zone rules
US carriers urged to comply with China air zone rules
US aircraft may follow several regional carriers complying with China's new rules
The US says it expects its civilian aircraft to observe China's rules in an air defence zone in the East China Sea.
A US statement said this did not mean the US accepted China's requirements in the zone covering territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
China wants all aircraft there to file flight plans and identify themselves.
The US, Japan and South Korea say they have flown military aircraft in the area unannounced. But China said it scrambled fighter jets on Friday.
The move was to monitor US and Japanese aircraft in the zone.
'Firm but calm'
The air defence identification zone (ADIZ) covers a vast area of the East China Sea, including a group of islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan.
South Korea claims a submerged rock, known as Ieodo, also within the zone.
The establishment of the ADIZ has caused widespread anger, with the US state department calling it "an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea" which will "raise regional tensions and increase the risk of miscalculation, confrontation and accidents".
But on Friday, the state department said the US government "generally expects that US carriers operating internationally will operate consistent with Notams [Notices to Airmen] issued by foreign countries".
It added: "Our expectation of operations by US carriers consistent with NOTAMs does not indicate U.S. government acceptance of China's requirements for operating in the newly declared ADIZ."
Japan has instructed its aircraft not to observe China's rules. But a number of regional commercial airlines - including Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Korean Air - have said they will comply.
China announced on Thursday it was deploying warplanes in the area for surveillance and defence.
Then on Friday, Air Force spokesman Col Shen Jinke said warplanes had been scrambled that morning to monitor two US surveillance aircraft and 10 Japanese planes - including early warning aircraft, surveillance aircraft and fighter jets - crossing through the ADIZ.
Col Shen said the jets had tracked the flights and identified the planes, state media reports.
Japanese officials gave no details of the flights, but said they were continuing to conduct routine operations in the region and had encountered no "abnormal instances so far".
Earlier, China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China had a right to patrol the region and that the ADIZ was not aimed at any specific country.
"If some worry has emerged about the situation, it's agitated by some individual countries," he told a regular briefing.
If disputes existed, China wanted to solve them through "peaceful means via friendly negotiation," he said.
China, Japan and Taiwan all claim islands lying within the air defence zone
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that Japan would respond "firmly but in a calm manner" to China's move, the Kyodo news agency reports.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kushida said the issue would be discussed with US Vice-President Joe Biden, who is due to begin a three-day visit to Japan on Monday.
The disputed group of uninhabited islands in the zone are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in Chinese.
They are controlled by Japan, but have been the subject of rising tensions in recent years because of their proximity to important shipping lanes, fishing grounds and potential fossil fuel reserves.
South Korea has complained to China that the ADIZ also overlaps its own similar defence zone, and encompasses the Ieodo rock.
UK Snooker Championship 2013: Ding Junhui's road to stardom
UK Snooker Championship 2013: Ding Junhui's road to stardom
It's Christmas Day. You're 16 years old and stuck on your own in a small bedroom in a small flat in a small provincial town halfway across the globe. No phone, just five channels on your telly spouting gibberish.
Now imagine your family gathered back home. Tearing into presents, pulling crackers, carving up the turkey while you're weeping into a Pot Noodle.
This, pretty much, is what Ding Junhui had to go through, albeit in reverse. The kid must have been tough as old boots.
This is what Ding had to go through to prove that maybe - only maybe - he was among the best on the planet at a game involving a felt-covered table, a bunch of different coloured balls and a stick called a cue. And there you were thinking your life was odd.
"I first came to England from China in 2003," says Ding, who recently became the first man since Stephen Hendry in 1993 to win three ranking events in a row and plays Middlesbrough's Antony Parsons in the first round of the UK Championship on Saturday.
"I lived with two Chinese snooker players for a week before they left. Then it was just me and some Thai players. I was scared. Nobody came with me. I was so far away from home and I didn't speak English. I couldn't even watch TV.
"But Chinese New Year was when I'd really miss home.
"The first few years, it was just me in a little room. No phone calls. Nothing. It felt like the world wasn't bothered about me so I played and played and played on my own."
Ding played and played and played not only because the snooker hall became his sanctuary but because he owed his family so much.
"My parents sold their house when I was 12 and we moved to the other end of China," says Ding, who first picked up a cue only three years earlier. "We moved to the south, where I could learn snooker properly. They didn't tell me at the time because parents worry, so I didn't feel the pressure."
Ding practised eight hours a day, day after day after day, and was soon making great strides on the Asian circuit. Then, in 2003, Ding packed up his cue and set out on his curious odyssey. Zai jian Shanghai, hello Wellingborough.
"I like that little place," says Ding of the small market town in Northamptonshire. "The people were very good to me. But what I remember most about Wellingborough was the fish and chips. They had the best fish and chips, especially with mushy peas.
"But I didn't talk a lot. I just played. That was all. My father had done so much for me I needed to earn money to keep everything going."
In 2004 Ding received an invitation to the prestigious Masters tournament, where the 16-year-old lost 6-5 to Stephen Lee in the second round. But Ding showed enough to have wise heads tipping him as a future world champion. And so the tap turned and the drip-drip of pressure became a steady trickle.
Ding remained dry and continued to thrive. In 2005 he celebrated his 18th birthday bybeating seven-time world champion Hendry in the final of the China Open. An estimated 110 million of his countrymen and women watched the game on television - more than twice the population of England.
That same year, Ding beat Steve Davis in the final of the UK Championship, becoming the first player from outside the UK and Ireland to win it.
And when Ding dispatched Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy, he became only the third player - after O'Sullivan and John Higgins - to win three ranking titles before his 20th birthday.
Next stop greatness? If only sport were that simple.
"At the start I felt fresh," says Ding, who boasts three million followers on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter. "But year after year the pressure got bigger. Especially in China. They don't just want you to win, they think you will win."
As his form waxed and waned, the media back home started asking the inevitable question: "What's gone wrong with wonder kid Ding?"When he reached the final of the Masters in 2007, O'Sullivan walloped him 10-3. Ding - scared, far away from home - was in tears before the end came.
Ding continued to rattle in big breaks and win major tournaments - the UK again in 2009, the Masters in 2011 - but the questions over his temperament remained.
Over four years from 2007 to 2010, Ding failed to make it past the second round of the World Championship in Sheffield. He reached the semi-finals in 2011 but lost the last three frames against Judd Trump to go out 17-15.
After losing 10-9 to Ryan Day in the first round in 2012, having led 9-6,Ding looked like he wanted to pack it all in. "I don't think the tables were right," he said. "I don't think the fans were right. It was all rubbish."
"The Crucible has caused me a lot of pressure, the biggest pressure ever," says Ding, now based at the Star Snooker Academy in Sheffield, with its large Chinese student community and its authentic Chinese food on West Street.
"This year I felt rushed against Barry Hawkins [who beat him in the quarter-finals] - my concentration wasn't right. I don't remember anything about that game.
"I'd love to have a coach for the World Championship and I'd like to talk to legendary players about their experiences. But I'm still young. I've got time to learn how to win the World Championship, like Stephen Hendry, seven times."
With O'Sullivan playing only sporadically around his Crucible heroics over the past two years, snooker could do with a commanding presence.
No man is likely to dominate snooker in its cluttered modern form but every sport is better off with a pre-eminent figure, someone the rest of the field can aim at and whom the public want to see dazzle or shot down.
Ding's recent triple suggests he can become that man. That two of his title victories - the Shanghai Masters and the International Championship - were achieved in China further suggests he has learned to remain dry even when that trickle of expectation becomes a torrent.
And should Ding win even one world title, snooker supporters in this country should celebrate his triumph as one of their own. For while his blood is 100% Chinese, Ding's heart beats English.
"I feel half and half," says Ding, an almost apologetic smile appearing on his face. "When I stay in England for a few months, I want to go back to China. But when I stay in China for a few months, I want to come back to England.
"English people are very gentle, very polite. In England, I obey the rules very carefully. In China, nobody seems to care. Everyone wants to go first - quick, quick, quick. I feel like I have to be like that as well and it makes me unhappy."
Let's hope all this time in England hasn't softened the old boot up too much, because Ding is dreaming on behalf of many millions. But, as with most of us, it's the folks he wants to please most.
"Before I turned pro, my father would tell everyone how good I was going to be," says Ding. "And my mum likes to tell everyone: 'This is my son.' They'd love to see me win a world title. That's their biggest dream."
Tehelka's Tarun Tejpal back in court over assault claims
Tehelka's Tarun Tejpal back in court over assault claims
Tarun Tejpal denies allegations that he sexually assaulted a female colleague
The editor of a prominent Indian news magazine has appeared in court seeking fresh bail amid accusations he sexually assaulted a former colleague.
Tarun Tejpal had been granted "pre-bail", temporarily relieving him from the threat of arrest, and the Goa court is deciding whether to extend this.
Mr Tejpal has not been formally charged but denies the accusations against him.
His unnamed accuser has said what he did "falls within the legal definition of rape".
She initially levelled claims against Mr Tejpal in the media following the alleged incident at an event organised by the Tehelka magazine in Goa earlier this month.
This prompted police to launch an investigation with which she is now co-operating.
Six journalists, including the managing editor of the publication, have resigned over the controversy.
No 'easy battle'
In the court in Panaji, Goa, on Saturday, the prosecution argued Mr Tejpal should be taken into custody so he could be properly interrogated and his version of events cross-checked, said Indian media reports.
But his lawyer is said to have argued that Mr Tejpal had agreed to abide by court-dictated conditions including the surrender of his passport if pre-bail was extended.
Geeta Luthra is said to have argued that Mr Tejpal was at risk of "humiliation and disgrace" if arrested.
The scandal has been dominating headlines in India, with critics accusing Tehelka magazine - one of India's top investigative titles, which has exposed gender inequality and officially sanctioned misogyny - of hypocrisy and double standards, say correspondents.
The case has resonated with particular force following the emotive case of a woman who was brutally gang raped and murdered in Delhi last year.
In a statement released to media, Mr Tejpal's accuser rejected claims her complaint was part of a "pre-election political conspiracy".
"By filing my complaint, I have lost not just a job that I loved, but much-needed financial security and the independence of my salary. I have also opened myself to personal and slanderous attack.
"This will not be an easy battle," she said.
Ashes 2013-14: Announcer dropped for Panesar race jibe
Ashes 2013-14: Announcer dropped for Panesar race jibe
The ground announcer for England's drawn tour match in Alice Springs was stood down by Cricket Australia for racially mocking Monty Panesar during day two of the game.
David Nixon introduced the England spinner in an Indian accent when he came on to bowl.
Left-armer Panesar was born in Luton and is of Indian descent.
"Cricket Australia deemed the conduct of the PA announcer as inappropriate," a CA spokesman said.
Nixon, a producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), had been using a sarcastic tone throughout the match against the CA Chairman's XI and was cautioned during Friday's play for teasing England batsman Joe Root.
"You can go and have another drink now, Joe," Nixon commented when Root was dismissed.
The England batsman, who was punched by Australia's David Warner in a Birmingham bar before the summer Ashes, repeatedly called for drinks during his first innings in temperatures of up to 39C.
In the post-match news conference, England's stand-in captain Ian Bell said he was unaware of the incident, while Panesar did not hear the remarks.
Panesar has taken 164 wickets in 48 Tests, the last of which came in Auckland in March.
The Essex spinner took 3-41 on Saturday to push his case for selection in the second Test in Adelaide, starting on 5 December.
England's 381-run defeat in the first Test in Brisbane featured several heated verbal exchanges between rival players.
Touring batsman Jonathan Trott flew home on Monday to undergo treatment for a stress-related illness.
Jean Kent: Suffolk Gainsborough melodramas actress dies
Jean Kent: Suffolk Gainsborough melodramas actress dies
Jean Kent starred in the Edwardian romance Carnival
Film and television actress Jean Kent, one of Britain's biggest stars in the 1940s and 1950s, has died.
She was injured in a fall at her home in Westhorpe, Suffolk, and died at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds at 03:40 GMT.
Her death was announced by a close family friend, author and former film critic Michael Thornton.
Her last public appearance was in 2011 when she was honoured by the British Film Institute on her 90th birthday.
Mr Thornton said: "I knew Jean for more than 50 years. She was a feisty, funny, outspoken character who never took herself too seriously.
"She knew what it meant to be a star and regarded it as her job to live up to that position and never to disappoint the public."
Jean Kent and Andrew Crawford (right) were half submerged in a pond during preparations for a hot air balloon crash scene in Trottie True
Kent's career included regular appearances in Gainsborough melodramas, which were popular with large numbers of newly-independent women following the outbreak of the Second World War.
She made 45 films and during her career starred alongside Marilyn Monroe, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier.
'Bodice-ripping melodramas'
Born in Brixton, south London on 29 June, 1921, she was the only child of variety performers Norman Field and Nina Norre. As a 13-year-old she performed at the Windmill Theatre in London's West End.
Kent also appeared in serious dramas like The Browning Version
Kent met her husband Josef Ramart on the set of Caravan and they married four months later in 1946, with Stuart Granger as best man.
They bought a farm near Sudbury, Suffolk in the 1950s and stayed there for 20 years until they moved to Westhorpe. Her husband died in 1989.
Kent also had a television career, which started in the mid-1930s in a musical called The Ship In The Bay which was broadcast live.
Her post-war television appearances included roles in Up Pompeii!, Crossroads and Lovejoy.
Mr Thornton added: "Because she became one of the most famous stars of the Gainsborough era, with its bodice-ripping melodramas, she was underrated as an actress. But she was a great actress."
Speaking on her 90th birthday she told the BBC she was still available for work.
"Oh yes, I'd work like a shot, as long as I didn't have to walk," she said.
"A nice sitting-down part would be fine."
Adam Scott leads Rory McIlroy by four shots at Australian Open
Adam Scott leads Rory McIlroy by four shots at Australian Open
Australian Adam Scott moved a step closer to claiming his country's triple crown as he extended his lead to four strokes with one round remaining at the Australian Open.
The world number two has already won the Australian PGA and Masters titles this month and began the day two shots ahead of Rory McIlroy at Royal Sydney.
Scott birdied three holes in succession and returned a 68 to reach 16 under.
McIlroy recovered from a double bogey to card a 70 and is four behind Scott.
In bright conditions the two leading players both birdied the opening hole on the 6,939-yard par-72 Championship course.
Both dropped shots at the fourth but, as the wind whipped up at the next, McIlroy dropped into the chasing pack after undercooking successive chips from the bottom of a greenside slope and then two-putting for a double bogey.
Scott moved five clear of fellow Australians Matthew Jones and Richard Green in second but drove into the trees and then found sand to bogey the 10th.
World number six McIlroy, yet to win in 2013, responded with three birdies in five holes, his tee shot at the par three 14th clipping the pin and finishing three feet from the hole but Scott also birdied the hole after pitching to a similar distance.
Scott, 33, ensured a four-shot cushion at the last after holing from inside six feet for a birdie, with McIlroy missing his birdie opportunity from closer range.
Scott's round on Saturday means he is now 51 under par for his three tournaments in Australia. He said: "To win my national championship and then also win the three events down here is an unbelievable spot to be in.
"Before this month started, I hadn't ever won two tournaments in a row, so to have this opportunity is a bit unreal."
McIlroy, 24, who has finished in the top six in his last two tournaments, admitted his missed putt on the 18th was costly. He said: "It would have been nice to birdie that to make the gap from four to three.
"I've got a tough job on my hands to try and catch Adam.
"On this golf course there can be a lot of two-shot swings and, if someone makes a couple of pars, and someone gets off to a fast start and makes a birdie and an eagle, you're right back in it."
World number 11 Jason Day, who carded a disappointing 74 on Friday, moved into a share of 10th with a 66, the joint best round of the day.
Syrian chemical arms 'to be destroyed on US Navy ship'
Syrian chemical arms 'to be destroyed on US Navy ship'
Keeping up with the internationally agreed timetable to destroy Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons is a tough challenge, say correspondents
The body charged with overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons has confirmed some will be "neutralised" aboard a US Navy ship.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said the US was contributing technology and financing.
The chemicals will be diluted to safer levels using a process called "hydrolysis".
The OPCW said 35 firms had submitted expressions of interest in destroying Syria's remaining chemical stockpiles.
Their suitability is being evaluated.
Difficult timetable
The OPCW statement confirms an earlier BBC report citing industry sources.
The US naval vessel on which neutralisation will take place has not been officially named but is believed to be the MV Cape Ray. It is undergoing modifications to support the operations.
These should be completed by 31 December, the OPCW said.
The announcement is another strong sign that the timetable given to destroy all Syria's chemical weapons arsenal and capabilities by the middle of next year could be achieved, despite its many apparent difficulties, says the BBC's Middle East editor Sebastian Usher.
Many countries have been reluctant to volunteer to dispose of the chemicals.
Hydrolysis will produce an estimated 7.7m litres of effluent, which the OPCW says will be packed in 4,000 containers.
This is a far less toxic cargo than many common industrial by-products, but nations still have to be found to volunteer to dispose of it.
Ukraine opposition urges fresh polls amid pro-EU rallies
Ukraine opposition urges fresh polls amid pro-EU rallies
David Stern in Kiev: A number of people were hurt overnight
Opposition parties in Ukraine have called for early elections amid ongoing protests at the government's refusal to sign an EU association agreement.
They said they were forming a "national resistance headquarters" and preparing a nationwide strike.
In the capital, Kiev, thousands converged on St Michael's cathedral after being forcefully evicted from Independence Square in the early hours.
Ukraine refused to sign the EU deal after apparent pressure from Russia.
At the end of a summit in the Lithuanian capital on Friday, EU leaders warned they would not tolerate Russian interference in the bloc's relations with former Soviet republics.
The summit reached provisional accords with Georgia and Moldova.
Several Western countries have condemned Saturday morning's intervention at about 04:30 (02:30 GMT) to disperse protesters gathered in Independence Square.
A number of people were hurt.
Police said they had decided to clear Independence Square after "a number of incidents", Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.
It was not clear what incidents they were referring to.
"It was horrible. We were holding a peaceful demonstration and they attacked us," said protester Lada Tromada.
"They threw us away like garbage."
One activist, opposition MP Andriy Shevchenko, said at least 33 taken into police custody.
Members of the political opposition met for emergency talks after the dispersal.
"We have made a joint decision to form a national resistance taskforce and have begun preparing for an all-Ukrainian national strike," former Economy Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters.
"Our demands are the resignation [of Interior Minister Vitali] Zakharchenko, an investigation of his actions and his trial, the resignation of the government and the president and early presidential and parliamentary polls.
Police intervened to disperse the protesters in the early hours of Saturday
A number of protesters were injured in the scuffles
"We... are calling on all civic activists, civil society and all those who care about Ukraine's future to fight the Viktor Yanukovych regime together."
A big rally has been announced for Sunday.
Jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has urged protesters not to give in "until the regime is overthrown by peaceful means".
In a message read by her daughter, Ms Tymoshenko urged Ukrainians: "Fly, drive, walk to Kiev from all parts of Ukraine, but gather everyone on 1 December."
'Foreign pressure'
Last week, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said he was suspending preparations for signing an EU association agreement that would have opened borders to goods and set the stage for an easing of travel restrictions.
Independence Square has now been cordoned off
But hundreds have regrouped vowing to continue the protest
He said pressure from Russia had led him to make his decision. Mr Yanukovych argued that Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with Russia, which opposed the deal.
EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the parties had been "really close" to signing the association agreement in Vilnius, but added: "We need to overcome pressure from abroad."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the door would always remain open for Ukraine.
Independence Square was the scene of the Orange Revolution in 2004, which saw Mr Yanukovych ousted and a Western-leaning government brought to power.
Mr Yanukovych was elected president five years later, narrowly defeating then-Prime Minister Tymoshenko, a leading figure of the Orange Revolution.
In 2011 she was sentenced to seven years in jail for abuse of office - a case widely criticised in the West as political revenge.
Ms Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike since Monday over the failure to sign the EU agreement.
Esa-Pekka Salonen: 10 tips to becoming a conductor
Esa-Pekka Salonen: 10 tips to becoming a conductor
Esa-Pekka Salonen is the principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.
His career took off when he stood in at the last minute for a sick conductor when he was just 25.
Almost 25 years later, he was recently named conductor of the year.
1. Love the music
I think the most important thing is passion, you really have to love the music. You have to love the music more than you love yourself in a way. I didn't have any great dreams of conducting as a kid but I loved music for sure.
I was highly suspicious of conductors, they seemed to be attention grabbing people who looked kind of disgusting with their combed hair and unreal clothes. But when I started, it was something that came quite naturally to me and I discovered that I rather enjoyed it.
So it wasn't a childhood dream that finally became a reality, it was more like going with the flow and lots of seemingly random events.
2. Go to rehearsals
You have to train as a conductor to be one. Get into one of the conducting classes at a college or a music academy. Even before you do that, the best education for someone who wants to become a conductor is to sit in rehearsals. That's where you learn.
A concert is just a concert, that is when we deliver what we achieved in rehearsals. To know how to get to that point you have to witness the process.
3. Learn to play an instrument well
Most people start quite early and they start by learning to play an instrument. It is unimaginable to be a conductor without being able to play something well.
It doesn't matter so much what you play, it can be the piano or the bagpipes, but you have to know what it means to play something well. Otherwise you will not be in a moral, mental or ethical position to demand the same thing from an orchestra. That's really important.
4. Accept that you are just a waiter
The composer is the chef and conductors are the waiters. Both are totally honourable professions but we have to accept that if I conduct a piece by Beethoven, I'm just a waiter. I might be head waiter, but waiter none the less and I am there to make sure the food comes to the table on time and intact.
5. Shed your thick skin and don't scare people
Ranting and raving and scaring everybody doesn't work in my opinion. The conductor as a lion tamer/policeman/ kindergarten teacher/priest is no longer necessary. It's about being able to focus the thoughts and ideas of a large group of people and enable them to achieve the desired artistic result.
I don't think thick skin is a good thing to have in this profession. On the contrary you need to be sensitive, you need to be able to feel the vibes of an orchestra on a human level to be able to pick up what's going wrong.
6. Stay in shape
Conducting can be quite hard work. If someone who wasn't used to it tried to stand up and hold their arms above their shoulders for two hours, I think most people would faint. We eat out all the time after concerts too and we eat late, so it's easy to over indulge.
I try and stay in shape so I run. Exercise for me is a mental experience, it's my own time. Sometimes after a week or two you can feel like you have totally exhausted your social capabilities, at which point to be totally alone is fine to recharge. It takes a lot of energy to keep a large group of people focused.
7. Get a good stick
I get all my conducting sticks in [Harry Potter's] Diagon Alley. No, not really, all by batons are made by a third generation stick maker in Tokyo. His grandfather started the business and he made batons for some great conductors.
There is nothing magical, it's just wood, but if you are going to hold this piece of wood in your hand for hours and hours every day for years you get very specific about how it must feel. It becomes a part of you.
I went to Tokyo just to meet Mr Moriotso. There were huge shelves with rows of little coffins containing sticks. Mine were so high up he needed a ladder, I ordered three cases of the same one.
8. Make little excursions outside your comfort zone daily
I think the biggest danger for young people is to do too much too soon. Make little excursions outside your comfort zone daily or at the very least weekly, otherwise you will stagnate and that would be a mistake.
Find the balance between safety and danger. You cannot exist in the danger zone but also shouldn't exist solely in safety and that is without any exceptions. It is OK to take your time. Being a Finnish person, things can be quite slow so it took me seven years to talk to my wife for the first time. We've been married for 22 years now, so it was worth the wait.
9. Tweet
I think it's so important to engage in these things. Why would we be any different to other art forms? Why wouldn't we have to engage with our audience? That's one of the problems that classical music has had, we think we are the mountain to which everyone else has to come.
I cannot assume that people automatically want to come to a concert, listen to something written 200 years ago, performed by people wearing clothes from the 1880s, conducted by a man or woman making ritual movements that seem to be vaguely connected with what is going on.
Our duty is to communicate to the world and let people know what we are doing. It is an arrogant and stupid thought that classical music should somehow exist in a bubble.
10. Be a boy or a girl
The gender of a conductor is of no importance anymore. The musical world is perfectly open and willing to embrace female conductors. There is no reason for girls not to go into conducting. The business is ready and I know from experience there are no reasons why female conductors can't be just as good if not better than male ones. We are ready.
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