March 3, 2012 - Al Watan Daily

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012

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Issue No. 1362

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Obama: Al-Assad’s days are numbered

• Russia affirms it’s not obliged to offer military aid to Syria • Syria blocks Red Cross from entering Baba Amr • Activists allege execution-style killings in Homs CAPITALS: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s “days are numbered,” President Barack Obama said in an interview published Friday, adding Washington was working to accelerate the transition to democracy there.

In the interview with the Atlantic Monthly, Obama said “it is our estimation that (Al-Assad’s) days are numbered. It’s a matter not of if but when.” “Now, can we accelerate that? We’re working with the world community to try to do that,” he said. Obama acknowledged that Syria is bigger, more sophisticated and more complicated than Libya, and that countries like Russia are blocking UN action.

However, he pointed to US efforts through the “Friends of Syria” group to promote humanitarian relief to cities under attack from Syrian forces. “But they can also accelerate a transition to a peaceful and stable and representative Syrian government,” he said. “If that happens, that will be a profound loss for Iran.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a briefing on Friday that current treaties

do not oblige Russia to offer military assistance to Syria in case of intervention, This was his answer to the question whether Russia, as a legal successor of the Soviet Union, may provide military assistance to Damascus in line with the 1980 Soviet-Syrian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, which in particular says that the USSR will be involved should a third party invade Syria.

Lukashevich said Article 6 of the Treaty, which the question was referring to, did not stipulate the use of military force

by Russia. “Russia is not going to do anything like this,” he said, noting that the article was about “the launch of a classical mechanism of consultations.”

Article 6 reads: “In case of situations threatening peace or security of one of the sides or peace and security worldwide, the High Contracting Parties will immediately engage in contact with each other to coordinate their positions and cooperate to overcome the emerged threat and restore peace.” Syria has been the scene of continuous anti-government protests for nearly a year. According to the United

Kuwaiti crude rises to $120.07 per barrel CAPITALS: The price of Kuwait crude oil went up slightly on Thursday to 120.07 US dollars per barrel, adding seven US cents to the figures of the previous day, a report showed here on Friday. Thursday’s figures show a new record high since January, 2010; they resulted from positive economic data from the world’s major oil consumers namely the United States, Japan and China, the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) reported in its daily bulletin. In the US the initial claims for unemployment benefits went down while the index of consumer confidence remained high, thus contributing to the upbeat about the outlook of the economy.

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Nations, more than 7,500 people have died in the unrest. Syrian authorities say over 2,000 servicemen and law enforcers have been killed in clashes with armed opposition forces. Russia and China have twice vetoed UN Security Council resolutions on Syria that they believe could lead to a military operation against Syrian government forces, which would lead to a “Libyan scenario.” The latest Moroccoproposed draft resolution called on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to step down and withdraw forces from cities and towns. Russia proposed amendments to the draft, but they were not adopted, which prompted Moscow to use its veto right for the second time in February, provoking an angry reaction from the West.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists accused regime forces of carrying out executionstyle killings and burning homes Friday as part of a scorched-earth campaign in a restive neighborhood in the city of Homs, while the Red Cross headed to the area following a bloody, month long siege to dislodge rebel forces.

See also 2

Public Works supervises 27 projects worth $180 million in Kuwait KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works is supervising around 27 projects within Kuwait’s development plan with the total cost nearing around $180 million US dollars, Head of the engineering construction projects department at the Ministry of Public Works Yassen AlFarraj said on Friday.

Al-Farraj revealed in a press release the completion of two projects in Khaitan and Al-Egaila areas, including a police station and a school.

The official also said that two high schools in Farwaniya and Abu Hulaifa were also on the way. -KUNA

Serbia makes ‘historic’ leap towards EU membership

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Italy: Kuwait has great importance in retaining regional balance Italian Defense Minister confirms commitment to Kuwait’s security, stability

ROME: On the eve of his visit to Kuwait, Italian Defense Minister Giampaolo Di Paola has reiterated his country’s commitment to security and stability of the State of Kuwait particularly with the growing tension in the region due to the Iranian nuke program.

“We want to re-emphasize Italy’s commitment to the security and territorial integrity of Kuwait,” Di Paola said an interview with KUNA ahead of his three-leg Gulf tour which will begin with a visit to Kuwait. “Italy is working with the international community to keep the strategic Gulf region a zone of everlasting stability and peace.” Di Paola added that Italy is looking forward to developing military cooperation with Kuwait to enhance its capabilities and its strategic role in ensuring peace in the region. He also noted that Iran must realize the im-

portance of freedom of navigation in the Gulf. The Minister also hailed the strong and special friendship between the two nations, adding that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s visit to Italy in 2010 has given a great impetus to these ties.

Di Paola pointed out that his Gulf tour, which includes Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is meant to further deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of security and defense in which Italy enjoys high potential that could contribute to Gulf nations’ continued efforts to develop their defense capabilities.

The minister highlighted the strategic importance of Kuwait in the region.

“Though it is a small country, Kuwait has great importance in retaining regional balance, influencing the international arena thanks to the wise and moderate policy of the leadership over ages,” he said.

Kuwait and Italy has signed a defense convention after the latter’s participation in Kuwait’s liberation in 1991.

He praised Kuwait’s leading role

within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “The international community appreciates the great importance of Kuwaiti politics under His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.” The Italian official underscored his country’s interest in maintaining the security and stability of the Gulf region, the major source of world energy.

“The prosperity and economic growth of the Gulf region are also of strategic interest to world major countries, the major trade and economic partners to the region’s states,” he said. Di Paola said that Rome seeks to ease tension in the region over Iran’s nuke program.

“However, Iran must realize that Italy’s strategic interests are linked to the stability of the Gulf region and retaining free navigation in the Gulf waters.” On military cooperation between Italy and Kuwait, the Minister said he would discuss with Kuwaiti officials supplying them with their needs of military equipment, especially in the field of defense systems, missiles and naval and air forces. -KUNA

A picture released on March 2, 2012 by the opposition Local coordination Committees in Syria (LCC) shows Syrians waving anti-regime banners and the pro-Baath national flag, adopted by the opposition, during a demonstration against President Bashar Al-Assad in the town of Binnish in the northwestern province of Idlib after the weekly Friday prayers. (AFP)

Labor Unions hint on further escalation, strikes

Mohammad Al-Hajri & Fahad Al-Loban Staff Writers

KUWAIT: Civil Service Commission (CSC) is preparing to hold a meeting to discuss salary raises request of several labor unions this week. A government source revealed that unions may plan further escalation due to the delay of the approval of their requests.

Meanwhile, Labor Union at Kuwait Airways Company (KAC) disclosed that it will resort to escalation which might lead to strike if the requests of union are not approved very soon. Moreover, the general Assembly of Kuwait Trade Union Federation will hold a meeting tomorrow evening after some MPs asked for that in order to discuss the social and financial problems that civil servants suffer from.

For his part, the Deputy Director of Federation Abdurrahman Al-Sumait criticized the government’s delay for endorsing salary raises as the federation has already succeeded in postponing strikes and sit-ins due to the government pledges for solving the matter.

The Secretary of the Labor Union at KAC Husain AlHabibi disclosed that an agreement was already signed with the Minister of Communication eng. Salem Al-Uthayna for

approving the requests of employees therefore the expected strike at the end of the last year was postponed but union plans for further escalation within the next week if the requests of union are not approved.

On the other hand, a government source unveiled that the cabinet has formed a ministerial team which will be headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid to order the government priorities of the next stage. The members of the team are the Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah, the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs and the Minister of Housing Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, the Minister of Education Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf and the Minister of Electricity and Water and the Minister of State for Municipality Affairs eng. Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim.

The lawmakers will hold a meeting with Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun to discuss priorities to add in the parliament agenda. According to the lawmakers the government has remarks and reservations on some of the suggested list of priorities, MPs pointed that they should discuss them in Parliament to reach a resolution. The source added that the lawmakers will also discuss with the speaker the recent escalation that occurred in the last two sessions.

Over 50 killed in Pakistan mosque violence

PESHAWAR: At least 55 people were killed Friday in violence in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern tribal region of Kyhber, which borders Afghanistan, local officials said.

Twenty-two people were killed in a suicide attack targeting a mosque after Friday prayers in the Tirah valley, while at least 10 soldiers and 23 Islamist militants died in an earlier clash around 10 kilometers away (six miles).

Kyhber is a haven for militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban and the threat of renewed fighting there between the army and insurgents prompted some 18,000 people to flee their homes in October last year. Local administration official Jamilur Rehman told AFP that the suicide blast killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 20 others, adding the toll may rise.

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Liquid battery could charge green energy

A model showcases a creation by Indian designers Shivan and Narresh during the Next Generation fashion show on the first day of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) summer resort 2012 in Mumbai on March 2, 2012. (AFP)

FRANCE: Engineering professor Donald Sadoway on Thursday used an old-school chalk board at the prestigious TED gathering to write the formula for a liquid battery that could one day cut the need for new power plants.

“The way things stand, electricity demand must be in constant balance with supply,” Sadoway told the tech-savvy audience in southern California.

Inexpensive batteries made from liquid metal could store electricity from solar panels, wind farms, or existing generation facilities and save it for when it is most needed. That would be a major change from today’s consume-it-now-orlose-it systems.

“The battery is the enabling device here,” he said. “With it we could draw electricity from the sun even when the sun doesn’t shine.”

Sadoway and his team of students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology were so confident in their creation that they started Liquid Metal Battery Corporation and plan to have bistro-table size models out in two years.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is among the company’s backers.

The company plans to eventually bring to market a liquid battery the size of a 40-foot shipping container and capable of holding enough electricity to serve the daily needs of 200 typical US households.

“You could have these batteries in the basements of buildings drinking up power in the wee hours,” Sadoway said.

“It means we don’t have to build more plants, power lines just for peak use,” he continued.

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Indian women beat men with wooden sticks during the Lathmar Holi festival in Barsana, some 130kms from New Delhi on March 2, 2012. During the Lathmar Holi festival, the women of Barsana, the legendary hometown of Radha, consort of Hindu God Krishna, attack the men from Nandgaon, the hometown of Hindu God Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their efforts to put color on them. (AFP)

Rolling Stones to issue 50th anniversary photo book

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ALWATAN DAILY

world

saturdAY, MARCH 3, 2012

Syria blocks Red Cross from entering Baba Amr GENEVA/HOMS: Syrian authorities have blocked Red Cross aid workers from entering the Baba Amr district in the city of Homs, where civilians have endured days of fierce fighting, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.

The humanitarian group says it received permission from the government Thursday to enter Baba Amr, and a convoy with seven truckloads of aid was poised to do so on Friday. “It is unacceptable that people who have been in need of emergency assistance for weeks have still not received any help,” said ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger.

“We are staying in Homs tonight in the hope of entering Baba Amr in the very near future,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the group and its Syrian sister organization would help those families that have fled Baba Amr, Kellenberger said.

The Red Cross also is still waiting for the Syrian government to agree to its call for a daily two-hour cease-fire to allow it to bring humanitarian aid into areas where fighting is taking place, and to evacuate the wounded.

The group made its call for a cease-fire more than a week ago.

“The humanitarian situation was very serious then, and it is worse now,” said Kellenberger.

On Thursday evening, rebels and activists reported that Free Syrian Army fighters had withdrawn from Bab Amr in a “tactical retreat”. The fighters said they were running out of weapons and wanted to spare civilians from more violence.

They said the district was also suffering communication cuts.

As rebels withdrew from Homs, the conflict was likely to move elsewhere, Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin, reporting Beirut, noted.

“Rastan has turned into another safe haven for the rebels,” she said. “The fighters who have left Bab Amr, where are they going? Will they find a place to find shelter in? .. It was a safe haven for the defectors.”

Jacques Beres, a French doctor who smuggled himself into Homs to assist with makeshift medical clinics, described the situation in Bab Amr as similar to the devastation he witnessed in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, after the Russian invasion in the 1990s.

Medics with extremely limited supplies can assist with abdominal and limb injuries but do very little for head wounds, said Beres, who has returned to France. He said accounts of torture by doctors in hospitals that have been taken over by the military, including un-

Red Crescent volunteers enter Syria’s to evacuate the wounded

necessary amputations, are “probably, almost certainly true”. “I’m afraid that Homs will be kind of an example of other cities that want to rebel,” he said.

French journalists

In Beirut, airport officials in Beirut say two French journalists who had been smuggled out of Syria are now on their way to France.

Edith Bouvier and William Daniels flew out of Lebanon on Friday on a medically equipped plane. They were smuggled across the Lebanese-Syrian border on Thursday.

Bouvier was wounded in a rocket attack in Syria last week during a government onslaught on the rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr. The attack killed two Western journalists American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik - and wounded a British photographer, Paul Conroy.

Daniels was not hurt in the attack.

Lebanese airport officials confirmed the two left for France. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Smuggled

The official said Edith Bouvier was smuggled across the Lebanese-Syrian border into the northeastern part of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, and was then taken to the Hotel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut, where she arrived

shortly after midnight Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the convoy of ambulances and police vehicles drove through the mountains of Lebanon amid a heavy snow storm to bring Bouvier to Beirut.

Bouvier was wounded in a rocket attack during the Syrian troops’ onslaught on the rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr in the restive central city of Homs. The attack also killed two Western journalists - American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik - and wounded a British photographer, Paul Conroy.

French President Sarkozy announced the news, saying late Thursday that Bouvier and another wounded journalist William Daniels of France had been successfully smuggled into Lebanon.

“I had (Bouvier) on the phone. She is with her colleague, outside Syria,” Sarkozy said during an impromptu news briefing in Brussels. “She has suffered a lot, but she will give the details herself.”

Iran’s top leader urges high turnout in elections Iranian TV has broadcast images of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei casting his vote in the capital, Tehran, as Iran goes to the polls to choose the 290 members of the legislative chambers, the Majlis.

(AP)

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader urged Iranians to vote in large numbers as the country held parliamentary elections Friday, saying a high turnout would send a strong message to the enemies of the nation in the nuclear standoff with the West.

The balloting for the 290-member parliament is the first major voting since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 and the mass protests and crackdowns that followed.

It is unlikely to change Iran’s course over major policies - including its controversial nuclear program - regardless of who wins, but it may shape the political landscape for a successor to Ahmadinejad in 2013.

And with the opposition effectively crushed, the elections amount to a popularity contest between conservative supporters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and their rivals who back Ahmadinejad.

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters in Iran, said it was a “duty and a right” for every eligible Iranian to vote, especially now that the “Iranian nation is at a more sensitive period” amid the confrontation with the West.

“Because of the controversies over Iran and increased verbal threats ... the more people come to the polling stations, the better for the country,” Khamenei said after casting his ballot in Tehran early Friday.

“The higher the turnout, the better for the future, prestige and security of our country,” he added. “The vote always carries a message for our friends and our enemies.”

A high turnout will be seen as a major boost for Iran’s ruling Islamic system, showing popular support and allowing it to stand firm in its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The West suspects Iran’s program is geared toward making nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies, insisting it’s for peaceful purposes only, such as energy production.

Iranian state TV went live from several polling stations in Tehran and the provinces, showing long lines of people waiting to vote, followed by a commentary saying the lines were a “disappointment to the badwishers.”

It claimed the US and its allies were hoping for a low turnout that would show divisions and a weakened Islamic theocracy, making it easier for the West to pressure Iran over the nuclear issue. The TV headlines pro-

Immense joy

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe expressed his “immense joy” that the two were safe in Lebanon.

“They were taken in by the French Embassy in Beirut and everything is being done to ensure their medical care and their repa-

claimed the elections as a day of “national solidarity” and a “rebirth of the nation.”

More than 48 million Iranians are eligible to vote at the nearly 47,000 polling stations across the nation.

In the absence of major reformist parties, which were kicked off the political stage over the 2009 postelection turmoil, Friday’s vote is seen as a political battleground for competing conservative factions supporting Khamenei and those backing Ahmadinejad.

The two groups were once united but turned against each other after crushing reformists in the upheavals that followed Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election.

The split dates back to last year, when many conservatives turned into strong critics of Ahmadinejad after he dared challenge Khamenei over the choice of intelligence chief in April and other policies.

The vote is also a curtain raiser for next year’s presidential election. A defeat for Ahmadinejad’s supporters would virtually guarantee a Khamenei loyalist as the next president and present a seamless front against Western efforts to curb Iran’s enrichment program.

But a strong showing Friday for Ahmadinejad’s backers would throw him a political lifeline and the chance to exert some influence over the next presidential election. The president, usually eager to talk to the media, avoided journalists as he cast his ballot around noon Friday in Tehran.

Mohsen Rezaei, a conservative rival of Ahmadinejad’s in the 2009 presidential elections, predicted that “no one will have a majority” in the next parliament.

Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, also a bitter Ahmadinejad rival, said in an allusion to vote tampering of the past that a “good parliament” will emerge if the ballots are properly counted.

“God willing, the outcome of the elections will be what the people want,” he said.

Iran’s parliament carries more powers than most elected bodies in the Middle East, including setting budgets and having influential advisory committees such as national security and foreign affairs. The current parliament is led by a former nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani.

But the chamber still lacks any direct ability to force policy decisions on Khamenei or the powerful forces under his control, including the Revolutionary Guard military establishment. -AP

A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance follows Lebanese police vehicles carrying two injured French journalists who were trapped at Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs province after they were wounded by the Syrian government forces shelling, to enter the hospital of Hotel Dieu, in Beirut, Lebanon, on early March 2. (AP)

triation as soon as possible,” Juppe said.

The Lebanese official said a French plane is to take Bouvier home later Friday. He did not elaborate on Daniels’ plans.

On Thursday, videos released by activists in Syria said Colvin and Ochlik were buried in Baba Amr. The videos and Bouvier’s and Daniels’ escape were steps toward the end of the ordeal of the six journalists who had sneaked into Syria illegally to report on the uprising against President Bashar Assad and found themselves trapped inside the besieged Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr. Also stuck in the rebel-held neighborhood, which has been under a tight government siege and daily shelling for nearly four weeks, was Javier Espinosa of Spain.

United Nations Security Council

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council demanded that UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos be allowed “immediate and unhindered access” to Homs and other parts of Syria.

The council’s press statement was supported by Russia and China, which had previously blocked stronger resolutions on Syria.

Russia and China supported the council’s demand

Mark Lyall Grant, the United Kingdom’s

UN ambassador, read out the statement and cited concern over the “growing number of affected civilians, the lack of safe access to adequate medical services, and food shortages, particularly in areas affected by fighting and violence such as Homs, Hama, Deraa and Idlib”.

Amos’ request to visit Syria has been rejected by the government, which said the proposed date was not suitable.

Council diplomats said Russia, Syria’s closest ally, had urged Assad’s government to approve a visit by Amos. In a concession to Russia and China, the statement called on the government and opposition to co-operate with efforts to evacuate the wounded from Syrian cities.

Earlier, the two nations - joined by Cuba - voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution that condemned Syria for “widespread and systematic violations” against civilians.

The resolution also supported gathering evidence on possible crimes against humanity and other serious abuses, so that those who are responsible can be held to account at a later date.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 7,500 people have been killed since the anti-Assad struggle started in March 2011, when protesters took to the streets in Syria. -Agencies

New indictment issued over killing of Hariri, says Lebanese source BEIRUT: The prosecutor of the UNbacked tribunal investigating the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri has issued a new indictment adding a fifth name to a list of suspects in the 2005 attack, a Lebanese security source said on Friday.

The source said the fifth person was a military member of the militant group Hezbollah and that it is possible that a sixth person, also from Hezbollah, could be added to the list.

Last year the prosecutor issued an indictment against four fugitive members

of Hezbollah. The Shiite Muslim group denies any role in killing Hariri, a billionaire Sunni Muslim politician, and says the suspects will never be handed over to the court near the Hague which it says is politically motivated. The long-running investigation into the killing of Hariri raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon, contributing to the collapse of his son Saad Al-Hariri’s government a year ago.

Warrants for the arrest of the four men were issued in June but Lebanon later told the court it had been unable to track any of them down. The tribunal said

last month it would go ahead with a trial in absentia.

The suspects were named as Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, as well as Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said two weeks ago he expected a new indictment to be issued by the end of February, when prosecutor Daniel Bellemare was replaced by Canadian jurist Norman Farrell. -Reuters

Yemenis rally to demand army shake-up

SANAA: Huge crowds are gathering in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and other cities, demanding the dismissal of officers loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh from the country’s armed forces.

Demonstrators chanted “Restructure the army,” recalling commitments made

by incoming President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to make a shake-up of the military a top priority.

Hadi took over from Saleh last week as part of a US-backed power-transfer deal aimed at ending over a year of political turmoil. But Saleh’s opponents fear he

will continue to exert power from behind the scenes.

Yemen regularly sees massive demonstrations every Friday after midday prayers. Activists say hundreds of thousands participate, but the numbers cannot be independently verified. -AP

Yemeni protesters gather for a rally in Sanaa on March 2, to demand the restructuring of the army, in the first such rally since a new president took office less than a week ago. (AFP)

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

saturdAY, MARCH 3, 2012

Serbia makes ‘historic’ leap towards EU membership BELGRADE: Serbia took a “milestone” leap towards EU membership when Europe’s leaders granted Belgrade candidate status, opening a new chapter in the troubled history of the Western Balkans. “European Council grants Serbia EU candidate status,” EU president Herman Van Rompuy said on microblogging site Twitter as the bloc’s 27 leaders ushered in Belgrade in recognition of its efforts to defuse tension with breakaway Kosovo.

The decision to grant Belgrade official EU candidate status, a first but crucial step in an often long and rocky road to full membership, marks a historic leap for a country only 13 years ago the target of a NATO bombing campaign.

Serbian President Boris Tadic welcomed the EU’s decision, saying it paves the way for “economic advance and prosperity”.

However he warned that a “lot of work is ahead of us in order to launch the negotiations on the EU membership which is the next step after obtaining the status.”

Serbia’s 2009 application, launched in the throes of the financial crisis and amid worries that the EU had expanded too far and too fast in its 2004 “big bang” enlargement, has been fraught with problems.

Seen as a shoo-in for membership after last year’s arrest of Balkans war criminals Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic after almost two decades on the run, Belgrade had been suddenly held back and told to do more for regional

Serbia’s President Boris Tadic gestures during a news conference in Belgrade March 2. (Reuters)

peace by easing ties with Kosovo.

While staunchly refusing to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence, Serbia joined an EU-sponsored dialogue with its former province a year ago, aimed at smoothing tensions and overcoming daily headaches caused by the border row - problems such as disrupted roads,

railways and telecommunications.

But Belgrade’s hopes of a subsequent EU pat on the back at a December summit were dashed notably by Britain and Germany, among 22 EU nations to have recognized Kosovo.

More was demanded from the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue. Other EU nations fretted over the

friendship with Russia enjoyed by one of the last ex-communist states of eastern Europe still outside the bloc.

“Serbia deserves candidate status,” said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

A summit statement also said the EU would study the feasibility of a trade and political accord with Kosovo, known as a Stabilisation and Association agreement.

“We have reached an important milestone,” Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said Thursday.

A decision on Serbia’s bid had been expected earlier this week at EU ministerial talks but was blocked when Romania wielded its veto against opening the EU door to Belgrade - a decision requiring a unanimous vote.

Removing a last potential hitch, Serbia did a deal with Romania ahead of Thursday’s summit to mutually respect the rights of each other’s minority groups. “The status of candidate will not bring us much in direct and fast benefits,” said former premier Zoran Zivkovic this week.

But “it is a historic event, strategically linking the future of small and poor Serbia with the huge European family”.

For pro-European Serbian President Boris Tadic, largely credited with bringing the country closer to entry, Thursday’s decision is a key to stopping nationalist victories in May elections in case of a new EU rebuff. -AFP

Australian PM names new FM, axes rival’s supporter SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard named a retired politician her foreign minister Friday in place of Kevin Rudd, who tried to oust her during a chaotic, short-lived rebellion in the ruling Labor Party.

Rudd’s resignation as foreign minister last week required Gillard to reshuffle her Cabinet. In the process, she demoted Emergency Management Minister Robert McClelland, who publicly backed Rudd’s effort to remove her as prime minister.

The appointment of Bob Carr, former premier of New South Wales state, as Rudd’s replacement was a surprise. He retired from politics in 2005 and said he initially wrestled with whether to return to public service.

“But in the end, when the distinctive voice of the prime minister rouses you from your slumber and says, ‘Will you be foreign minister of Australia?’ I couldn’t have found it in me to have said no,” Carr said.

Many political observers had expected that Defense Minister Stephen Smith, who held the foreign ministry post before Rudd, would be given the coveted job. Smith said he was happy to continue in his defense role.

“There are no entitlements in public life,” he said. “I don’t have any entitlement to be disappointed.”

After quitting, Rudd attempted to oust Gil-

lard in vote of Labor Party lawmakers on Monday. Gillard, who deposed Rudd as prime minister two years ago in an internal party coup, easily defeated him and has been trying since to reunite her fractured party and Cabinet.

At a news conference Friday in the capital, Canberra, Gillard insisted the drama-riddled power challenge did not factor in the Cabinet reshuffling.

“The decisions I’ve made about my team are about merit, about the strongest possible team,” she said.

But McClelland later said Gillard told him she was ousting him in part because he had “gone further” with his advocacy for Rudd than others.

“I had every expectation that this could be the outcome. Indeed, as of Monday, I started packing my office,” McClelland told reporters in Sydney. “I went into my support for Kevin Rudd on a matter of principle, knowing full well that this could be the consequence.”

Gillard is lagging in opinion polls, and Rudd and his supporters believe their centerleft party will get trounced by the conservative opposition if she leads the party into elections scheduled for next year. Many other Labor lawmakers, however, were unhappy with Rudd’s performance as prime minister before his 2010 ouster and continue to support Gillard. -AFP

The bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the mosque when the worshippers were returning after the Friday prayers. (AFP)

NEWS IN BRIEF Afghan attack on NATO convoy wounds seven KABUL: A suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a NATO convoy in the insurgency-hit southern province of Kandahar Friday, wounding seven people including four soldiers, an official said. “A suicide attacker rammed his explosivesladen motorcycle into a convoy of NATO troops in Dand district injuring four foreign soldiers, one policeman, one translator and one civilian,” provincial governor Toryalai Weesa told AFP. A spokesman for NATO’S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the attack, but would not give details of any wounded soldiers, saying only that none had been killed. -AFP

MEND claims killing of four policemen in Nigeria NIGER DELTA: The Nigerian armed militant group MEND claimed Friday it was behind the killing of four marine policemen in President Goodluck Jonathan’s home state in the Niger Delta region. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in a statement that Thursday’s attack on a marine police checkpoint on a river in Bayelsa “was carried out by our fighters”. MEND, the main armed militant group in the southern oil-producing Nile Delta region, did not give further details. -AP

North Korea threatens South despite accord with US PYONGYANG: North Korea renewed threats to launch a “sacred war” against South Korea, indicating cross-border ties will remain icy despite Pyongyang’s surprise nuclear deal with Seoul’s close ally Washington. The North’s agreement to freeze some nuclear and missile activities in return for massive US food aid has raised cautious hopes of eased tensions under its new young leader Kim Jong-Un. In statements released late Wednesday announcing the deal, both Pyongyang and Washington pledged to work for better relations. But Friday’s comments from the North’s supreme military command struck a different tone with the South.

-AP

US-Russia ties strained during Putin political campaign

The then New South Wales (NSW) State Premier Bob Carr handing in his surprise resignation during a press conference in Sydney. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on March 2, stamped her authority on her cabinet by naming former journalist and ex-leader of NSW state Bob Carr as her foreign minister. (AFP)

‘Over fifty dead’ in Northwest Pakistan mosque violence PESHAWAR: At least 55 people were killed Friday in violence in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern tribal region of Kyhber, which borders Afghanistan, local officials said.

Twenty-two people were killed in a suicide attack targeting a mosque after Friday prayers in the Tirah valley, while at least 10 soldiers and 23 Islamist militants died in an earlier clash around 10 kilometers away (six miles).

Kyhber is a haven for militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban and the threat of renewed fighting there between the army and insurgents prompted some 18,000 people to flee their homes in October last year.

Local administration official Jamilur Rehman told AFP that the suicide blast killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 20 others, adding the toll may rise.

“The bomber detonated himself near the gate of a mosque in Tirah valley of Khyber tribal region when people were returning from the prayers,” he said.

The mosque is located in an area controlled by warlord Mangal Bagh, he said, adding that most of the dead were from his Lashkar-i-Islam - a group widely linked to militants and criminal gangs.

The attack and the toll was confirmed by Khyber administration chief Mutahir Zeb Khan.

“It was a suicide attack. The bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the mosque when the worshippers were returning after the Friday prayers,” he said.

Khan earlier said at least 10 Pakistani soldiers and 23 militants were killed in a gunfight in the Tirah valley.

“At least 10 soldiers embraced martyrdom and three

3

others were wounded,” a senior security official told AFP, adding that the fighting lasted for nearly six hours.

“All law enforcement agencies’ posts in the area were intact and the situation was stable,” the official said, blaming the Lashkar-i-Islam group for attacking the outpost.

Military officials in Peshawar confirmed the attack and casualties, but it was not possible to independently verify the official account of the incident as access to the area is restricted by the military.

Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with homegrown insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives.

Islamist militants have killed more than 4,900 people across Pakistan since government troops raided an extremist mosque in Islamabad in July 2007.

Separately, gunmen on motorbikes Friday shot dead an intelligence official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the capital of restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan, police said. Bashir Khan, a 38-yearold Intelligence Bureau inspector, was on his way to work on his motorcycle when gunmen also riding a motorbike shot him, senior police official Tahir Ayub told AFP. Ayub said it was not immediately clear who shot Khan, but Taliban militants have previously attacked and killed intelligence officials in the area.

Peshawar has a population of 2.5 million people and has long been on the frontline of violence blamed on a five-year insurgency led by Taliban militants opposed to Islamabad’s alliance with the United States. -AFP

Criticism grows over NYPD’s Muslim spying

TRENTON: New York City’s Police Department is facing mounting criticism of its secret surveillance of Muslims across the Northeast, with civil liberties groups demanding an investigation and New Jersey’s governor accusing the NYPD of arrogantly acting as if “their jurisdiction is the world.”

The intelligence-gathering was detailed recently in a series of stories by The Associated Press, which reported that police monitored mosques and Muslims around the metropolitan area and kept tabs on Muslim student groups at universities in upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The department also sent an undercover agent on a whitewater rafting trip with college students.

The tactics have stirred debate over whether the NYPD is trampling on the civil rights of Muslims and illegally engaging in religious and ethnic profiling. “They should be spending their time looking at the more specific behaviors that ought to draw their attention and make them investigate a person or a group. But simply gathering to pray or going on a whitewater rafting trip really shouldn’t be a source of suspicion,” Mary Catherine Roper, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said Thursday.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has argued that the NYPD’s actions are legal and necessary in a city under constant threat of another terrorist attack like the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and that police have the right to travel beyond the city limits to do their job.

His office had no comment on the latest criticism, and the NYPD didn’t respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused the department of ignoring a key lesson of Sept. 11 by not sharing information with New Jersey law enforcement agencies when it conducted surveillance in Newark, New Jersey. Christie was US attorney for New Jersey in 2007 when the intelligence-gathering occurred, and he said he doesn’t recall being briefed. The NYPD has said that it informed Newark officials about the intelligence operation and that Newark police were briefed before and after. New York officials said the NYPD officers were not making arrests or conducting searches in New Jersey, and were thus acting within their authority.

Christie did not take issue with the intelligence-gathering itself, instead faulting the NYPD for what he portrayed as a high-handed attitude and a lack of cooperation.

“I understand we need people doing covert surveillance to protect the people of our state and our region,” the governor said. “No problems with that. My concern is, why can’t you communicate with the people here in New Jersey, with law enforcement here in New Jersey? Are we somehow not trustworthy?”

Christie’s comments drew praise from Muslim leader Aref Assaf, head of the American Arab Forum, based in New Jersey.

“I’m so gratified. I’m honored to be a resident of the state of New Jersey under his leadership,” Assaf said. “He doesn’t mince words.

He was unambiguous about the incursion of the NYPD into our state without proper protocols.”

Booker said Muslims in Newark had expressed deep concerns about the spying to him. He said that revelations about the spying had caused “egregious harm to Muslins in Newark.”

“People are saying they are afraid to pray in Mosques,” Booker said. “They are afraid to eat in restaurants. A chill has been put on my community; the pain and the anguish is real.

“We are in a very difficult position in our city with the climate that has been created.” -AP

WASHINGTON: Verbal sparring between the United States and Russia has taken on an ugly tone lately, and Vladimir Putin’s determination to reclaim the Kremlin in a presidential election on Sunday does not augur well for a fresh start with Washington. In one recent US-Russian spat, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called “despicable” the Russian veto of a UN resolution backing an Arab League plan for transition of power in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have brutally attacked demonstrators. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded that the Western criticism of the veto verged on “hysteria.”

A website based in Russia, Pravda.ru, proclaimed this week, “Despicable is Hillary Clinton,” and referred to the secretary of state as “butch, a trucker-type.”

Serious strains in US-Russian ties date to the start of political turmoil in Russia last year, and Russia watchers say it is unclear whether Sunday’s presidential election, which Putin is expected to win, and its aftermath, will ease them.

The warming trend under President Barack Obama’s “reset” policy with Moscow cooled markedly in December after Clinton asserted that Russian parliamentary elections were neither fair nor free, drawing accusations from Putin that she had instigated street protests in Russia.

If a similar cloud develops over the results of Russia’s presidential election, with allegations of ballot-stuffing to get Putin back in the Kremlin, the former KGB spy could remain under pressure domestically, especially if street protests against him continue.

That could prompt a US reassessment of ties, said Leon Aron, the director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington.

“If you have a regime that is ... very actively detested by a sizeable chunk of the population, you build your relationship differently with that regime.

Of course, you continue to work on the things that are mutually beneficial. ... But how many eggs are you still putting in Putin’s basket?” Aron asked at a forum this week sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. Aron thinks US-Russia relations could become “pretty frosty and cold” if Putin, now the prime minister, returns to the presidency, a job he held from 2000 until 2008.

Putin has helped stoke anti-Americanism as part of his election campaign emphasizing a strong Russia. He has warned the West not to interfere in Syria or Iran, and accused the United States of “political engineering” around the world.

Putin might scale back the strong words if he wins, some analysts say. But he does not understand that his harsh rhetoric, coming as the United States is also going into a presidential election campaign, “just strengthens the hand of those people (in the United States) who are critical of cooperation with Russia,” said Stephen Hadley, national security adviser to former President George W. Bush. -Reuters

4

news in pics

ALWATAN DAILY saturdAY, MARCH 3, 2012

A woman poses for a photograph with a painting during an exhibition by the Trick Art Museum of Japan at the National Taiwan Science Education Centre in Taipei March 2, 2012.

The exhibition will be held in Taipei from March 3 to June 3, 2012.

(Reuters)

Afghan men wait with their dog during a traditional dog fighting competition in Kabul March 2, 2012. Thousands of people gather in a circle each Friday to watch large Afghan fighting dogs, known as Kuchis, attack each other in 30-second contests below the mountains on the edge of Kabul. (Reuters)

A Yemeni walks past a graffiti that reads “Freedom is made by people” on a street where protestors demanded the trial for the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 2, 2012. (AP)

Fully-veiled Iranian women wait in a queue to vote at a polling station at Massoumeh shrine in the holy city of Qom, 130 kilometers south of Tehran, during parliamentary elections in the Islamic republic on March 2, 2012. (AFP)

A Palestinian man puts a traditional keffiyeh scarf on a snowman in the West Bank city of Ramallah as wintry weather swept through the region on March 2, 2012. (AFP)

Traditional Russian hand-painted wooden ‘Matryoshka’ dolls depicting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, center, and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin are displayed at a souvenir shop in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 2, 2012. The presidential election will be held in Russia on Sunday. (AP)

A man shows tattoos on his body at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Bangkok March 2, 2012. Thousands of believers from across Thailand travel to the monastery to attend the annual tattoo festival to have their bodies adorned with tattoos and to pay their respects to the temple’s master tattooist. They believe the tattoos have mystical powers, warding off bad luck and protecting them from harm. (Reuters)

New recruits of Jammu and Kashmir Police participate in a passing-out parade ceremony in Manigham, 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of Srinagar, India, Friday, March 2, 2012. About 435 police officers have completed a twelve-month training for controlling street protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Friday. (AP)

Gold inches up as buyers trickle back after selloff

saturdAY, march 3, 2012

BUSINESS

SINGAPORE: Gold edged higher on Friday as buyers slowly returned to the market, lured

by Wednesday’s plunge of five percent, although bullion is still heading for its worst weekly performance since December. US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s lack of a reference to further quantitative easing at congressional testimony on Wednesday sparked a heavy sell-off in bullion, sending the metal to a one-month low short of 1,700 US dollars. Gold’s fall to the lower end of its previous range showed the lack of conviction required to push prices above $1,800 or higher, but analysts and traders saw Wednesday’s plunge as a healthy correction rather than the end of the bull run. Spot gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,720.39 an ounce by 0518 GMT, but was still on course for a weekly decline of 3.4 percent, its biggest one-week fall since midDecember. Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds gained 238,674 ounces to a record high of 70.76 million ounces, suggesting investors remained keen on gold. -Reuters

Kuwaiti crude price continues rise, settles at $120.07 per barrel Oil exports to Japan top 200,000 barrels per day

CAPITALS: The price of Kuwait crude oil went up slightly on Thursday to 120.07 US dollars per barrel, adding seven US cents to the figures of the previous day, a report showed here on Friday.

Thursday’s figures show a new record high since January, 2010; they resulted from positive economic data from the world’s major oil consumers namely the United States, Japan and China, the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) reported in its daily bulletin. In the US the initial claims for unemployment benefits went down while the index of consumer confidence remained high, thus contributing to the upbeat about the outlook of the economy. Similarly, the Japanese data showed an increase in the consumer confidence which heralds an end to the inflationary pressures on the economy and an improvement in the industrial and retail sale sectors. China has reported early this week that its industrial production increased, thus catalyzing demand for oil, KPC added. In more news, Kuwait’s crude oil exports to Japan in January stood at 6.33 million barrels, or 204,000 barrels per day (bpd), down

11.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest official data. As Japan’s fifth-biggest oil provider last month, Kuwait supplied 5.2 percent of the country’s total crude imports, compared with 5.8 percent in the same month of 2011, the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency said in a preliminary report. Kuwait’s exports to Japan in the full year 2011 totaled 87.05 million barrels, or 238,000 bpd. Japan’s overall imports of crude oil edged down 1.9 percent year-on-year to 3.94 million bpd for the third straight month of fall. Shipments from the Middle East shrank 6.9 percent to 3.25 million bpd, and accounted for 82.6 percent of the total, down 4.5 percentage points from the year before. Saudi Arabia seized the top spot, with exports from the kingdom jumping 19.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.32 million bpd, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 849,000 bpd, down eight percent. Iran ranked third with 339,000 bpd, down 22.5 percent, and Qatar became fourth with 316,000 bpd, down 32.6 percent.

In his speech at a reception in Tokyo to celebrate Kuwait’s national days earlier this week, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano expressed gratitude to Kuwait for maintaining a stable supply of crude oil to resources-poor Japan, the world’s third-largest energy consumer.

Brent drops

Meanwhile, crude oil futures slipped below $125 a barrel on Friday as fears eased of a supply disruption from Saudi Arabia, which had pushed prices above $128 in late post-settlement trade on Thursday, levels last seen in July 2008.

By 1500 GMT, front-month Brent crude futures were down by $1.99 to $124.21 a barrel. Oil prices soared on Thursday after an Iranian media report of a pipeline fire in top exporter Saudi Arabia, although prices later dipped back after CNBC cited a Saudi oil official saying the report was untrue.

Brent topped $128 a barrel in late post-settlement trade on Thursday, reaching levels last seen in July 2008, when oil hit a record of more than $147 a barrel. Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Friday there had been no attack in the kingdom, but traders are jittery about any potential disruptions to its production or infrastructure at a time of setbacks to global supplies. US crude oil futures were down 77 US cents to $108.07 a barrel, after settling $1.77 higher at $108.84.

Markets have been on edge this year due to threats of supply disruptions from the West’s standoff with Iran over its nuclear program and production losses from South Sudan, Yemen, Syria and the North Sea. -Agencies

S&P downgrades Nokia over falling smartphone share CAPITALS: Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded mobile phone giant Nokia’s rating by a notch, blaming especially the Finnish company’s difficulties in defending its smartphone market share. S&P cut Nokia’s long-term corporate credit rating to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BBB’, with a negative outlook “reflecting the possibility of a further downgrade in the next two years,� if the companies margins remain too weak and its cash holdings decrease

too much, the ratings agency said in a statement. “The rating action reflects limited earnings visibility in Nokia’s smartphone sub-division,� S&P said, adding that this in turn had led it to revise down its assessment of the company’s profitability and cashflow in 2012. Nokia meanwhile stressed that the ratings agency had highlighted its “conservative financial policy, strong balance sheet and very robust liquidity position,� and insisted: “S&P’s rat-

People visit the Nokia area at the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona.

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded mobile phone giant Nokia’s rating by a notch, blaming especially the Finnish company’s difficulties in defending its smartphone market share.

(Reuters)

India cancels Iran oil shipment due to sanctions

ing action will not have a material impact on our current financing costs.�

The news did not appear to scare off investors either: Nokia’s share price was trading up 0.36 percent in afternoon trading on a Helsinki stock exchange down 0.05 percent. In 2011, the world’s biggest mobile phone company posted a net loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion), with a full 1.07 billion of that booked in the final quarter, compared to a net profit of 1.8 billion euros for all of 2010 and a profit of 745 in the fourth quarter of that year.

The plunge came as the company was undergoing a major restructuring, phasing out its Symbian line of smartphones in favor of a partnership with Microsoft that has produced a first line of Lumia smartphones. Nokia is depending heavily on the new phones to help maintain its ranking as the world’s largest mobile phone maker as it operates in a rapidly changing landscape with Research in Motion’s (RiM) Blackberry, Apple’s iPhone and handsets running Google’s Android platform take growing bites out of its market share. S&P said on Friday it believed Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft could help it improve its competitive position, but added: “As a result, we believe Nokia’s market share could further decline from 12.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 following a decline from 28.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010,� the ratings agency cautioned. -AFP

Iranian tanker to discharge 1.5 million barrels at Shell Singapore CAPITALS: India’s largest shipping company was forced to cancel an Iranian crude oil shipment last month because its European insurers refused to provide coverage for the vessel on the grounds of tightening sanctions on the member of the Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC), industry sources said.

The European Union announced new sanctions in January prohibiting European insurers from indemnifying ships that carry Iranian crude and oil products anywhere in the world.

Iran is India’s second-biggest supplier of oil after Saudi Arabia, with some 11 billion US dollars a year in shipments meeting about 12 percent of India’s crude import needs.

The suezmax tanker, Maharaja Agrasen, owned by state-run Shipping Corp of India, was initially booked by refiner Indian Oil Corporation to load Iranian crude oil in mid-February, but could not get the necessary insurance coverage. “The European Mutual Protection and Indemnity Club is covering contracts concluded before January 23 on a case-by-case basis up to July 1. They have said they cannot cover contracts finalized after January 23,� said a shipping source with direct knowledge of the deal. “Shipping Corp concluded the fixtures and applied for a cover which was not extended by the European P&I Club,� he added, referring to a group of maritime insurers. Two shipbrokers also confirmed the tanker cancellation.

The two Indian companies made the deal in the spot market after the Jan. 23 deadline, sources said. The crude oil was intended to be in addition to the annual term deals between Indian Oil Company (IOC) and National Iran Oil Company (NIOC).

State-run Indian Oil has a deal to buy 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from NIOC in the fiscal year ending March 31.

The India government is now weighing up options including extending sovereign guarantees for its shipping lines and buying Iran oil on a delivered basis to ensure cargoes from July, former Shipping Secretary K Mohandas said last week.

Europe and the United States are enforcing tougher economic sanctions in the hope of isolating Iran and forcing it to halt its nuclear program, which the West fears will be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran, the biggest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and the world’s fifth largest oil exporter, says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.

In more news, n Iranian supertanker loaded with crude that traders had speculated Tehran was struggling to sell due to tightening sanctions is now moored at Shell’s Singapore refinery to discharge its cargo, according to Reuters data and sources.

The 270,000-tonne tanker Delvar arrived late on Thursday at Bukom island, where Shell’s 500,000 barrel-per-day refinery is located, Reuters Freight Fundamentals Database showed.

The vessel, part of the fleet of the National Iranian Tanker Company, is due to discharge 1.5 million barrels of crude, three source said on Friday.

Anglo-Dutch Shell, which industry sources say is one of the biggest consumers of Iranian crude worldwide, said: “We do not comment on our trading activities. Shell complies with all applicable sanctions.�

Tehran’s Japanese customers are seeking the inclusion of force majeure clauses in term supply contracts with Iran in case they are unable to pay or transport cargoes in the future, industry sources said.

Japan, China and India are Iran’s top crude buyers, taking about 45 percent of Iran’s 2.6 million barrels per day of exports. -Agencies

Promising future for Islamic finance in Africa, says KFH KUWAIT: There are various promising opportunities for the growth and development of Islamic banking in Africa; especially North African countries, in addition to Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, a specialized economic report said Friday.

The report, issued by Research Department at Kuwait Finance House (KFH), pointed out that Africa hosts 38 Islamic finance institutions, and most African countries have amended their legislations to allow Islamic institutions to operate.

However, the report shed light on several major obstacles that hamper the ability of Islamic finance to blossom in Africa, such as lack of competent employees, fragile infrastructure, and the low returns on some projects.

Despite the aforementioned, Islamic banks have great potential in the fields of retail services, financing of small and medium scale enterprises (SME), and real estate development projects.

Sudan is the only African country that has restructured its economy and financial system in accordance with the teachings of Islam. In recent years, however, the continent has witnessed encouraging growth of Islamic finance, underpinned by the following factors: Increasing awareness in Sub-Sahara Africa on the back of the growing trade interactions with the Middle Eastern countries; growing demand for Sharia-compliant products and services by Muslims who wish to comply with their religious beliefs; increasing demand for the ethical, risk-sharing approach offered by Islamic finance, in particular in the wake of the recent global financial crisis; measures undertaken by some of the governments to review and reform their respective banking laws to allow Islamic finance institutions to set up and prosper.

The report added that although Islamic banking commenced in Egypt since the 1960s, the industry is still in its infancy across the continent. “Currently, there are approximately 38 Islamic financial institutions operating in Africa.

Kenya is among the African countries that are taking up the lead in Sharia-compliant banking services. While the demand for Islamic banking services has continued to grow in

leaps, banks have been slow in offering such services, mainly due to a lack of expertise in Islamic finance and its products,� it noted.

North Africa represents a large and still untapped market of 190 million people or 91 percent Muslims, except in Sudan where Muslims represent 70 percent of the population. However, Islamic banking is still a niche market in North Africa, where consumers are used to conventional banking products and services. “Nevertheless, we expect things to slowly change moving forward, given new regulations created by the governments. For example, the Moroccan Central Bank decided in 2007 to authorize certain types of Islamic financial products, called alternative financial products, in response to consumers’ demand.

Full-fledged Islamic banks are already established in Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia; Islamic windows in Egypt, Morocco and Algeria.

In 2011, the Central Bank of Sudan has approved Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s request to open a branch,� the report said. “In West Africa, development of the Islamic banking industry can be witnessed in Nigeria. Provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) 1991, as amended, provided for the establishment of Islamic banking in Nigeria. Following this, Habib Bank was given approval in 1992 to operate an Islamic banking window which is still operational with Bank PHB. In June 2011, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued the latest new guideline for non-interest banking and approved a banking license for Jaiz International Bank to launch the country’s first Islamic bank.� Elsewhere in Senegal in October 2009, Bank Asya, Turkey’s leading participation bank, acquires a 40 percent stake in Senegal-based Tamweel Africa Holding SA, owned by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Bank Asya, the IDB and the ICD will operate in the interest-free banking sector together throughout Africa, especially in the western part of the continent.

In EastAfrica, Islamic banking commenced in Kenya in 2008 when the government allowed Kenya Commercial Bank to operate its Amana Islamic suite, the country’s first full-

fledged Islamic bank. With the establishment of Gulf African Bank, Kenya now has two full-fledged Islamic banks, which contribute around one percent of the banking sector’s net assets. Five other conventional banks have also introduced Islamic banking products in Kenya to provide Sharia-compliant products to an increasing customer base. In May 2010, the Central Bank of Kenya amended its Banking Act in May 2010 to allow Islamic finance institutions to set up and prosper. Elsewhere in Uganda, the central bank is amending its banking regulations to allow for the establishment of Islamic banks in the country.

In the south, Muslims represent 2.3 percent or 1.3 million of the population in South Africa. However, only 10 percent-15 percent of the Muslim population uses Islamic banking. There are currently three Islamic banking institutions - one full-fledged Islamic bank and two Islamic banking windows. Al Baraka Bank, registered in South Africa in 1989, is the first Islamic bank in the country. Total Islamic banking assets currently account for 1%-2% of total banking assets in South Africa.

The report underlined that the Islamic banks and products are likely to be most popular in the parts of Africa with the highest concentration of Muslims such as North Africa, large parts of West Africa and down the eastern seaboard. Islamic banks are also expected to become attractive in countries with significant populations of Muslim businesspersons such as South Africa. “Opportunities for Islamic banks in Africa include retail products as well as SME financing. Although Islamic finance has been around for 50 years in Africa, more than half of the continent’s Muslim population remains unbanked.� “The opportunities for Islamic SMEs and microfinance are also vast, underpinned by steady economic growth, government ambition to reduce poverty levels and enrich the standard of living, the growing preference for Shariah-compliant products, and a large Muslim population.� The report, however, said the risks are perceived to be higher, given agribusiness SMEs in Africa tend to be undercapitalized, lack collateral, and have poor expertise in management, commercial and financial skills. -KUNA

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saturdAY, MARCH 3, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editor’s Highlight

LONDON: The FA will put off naming a permanent England manager until close to the end of the season, general secretary Alex Horne told reporters Friday. He said the FA had drawn up a shortlist of candidates to fill the role which opened up when Fabio Capello resigned last month, but would not make an imminent appointment to avoid disrupting the clubs’ campaigns. Under the guidance of caretaker boss Stuart Pearce, England suffered a friendly defeat by Netherlands Wednesday which prompted calls in the media for a permanent replacement to be found quickly. With less than 100 days to go until Euro 2012 kicks off in Ukraine and Poland, the FA has yet to approach anyone about the job and has no qualms in parachuting someone in just before the tournament begins. -Reuters

FOOTBALL

Mancini sees City Tottenham bid to end winless streak against United forwards as key to title hopes

FILE - Tottenham Hotspur’s Rafael van der Vaart (left) challenges Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney during their English Premier League soccer match, Aug. 22, 2011.

(Reuters)

CHIGWELL, England: Tottenham Hotspur will aim to register their first win over Manchester United in more than 10 years when they host the Premier League champions at White Hart Lane on Sunday, knowing they must be at their best after last week’s setback at Arsenal.

Third-placed Spurs should have midfielder Gareth Bale, forward Rafael van der Vaart and fullback Kyle Walker available after injury for the clash with United, who are second, eight points ahead of the London side and two behind Manchester City.

Manager Harry Redknapp must rally his team after they were thrashed 5-2 by arch rivals Arsenal at The Emirates last Sunday but they will be without their new England captain Scott Parker who is suspended.

Asked if Tottenham had their best chance to beat United since their last win in 2001, Redknapp said: “It’s still difficult. Manchester United are still a great team. You know what you are in for. You have got to be at your best if you’re going to get a result. They have done fantastic again. But we’ve got a big chance, we have got a good team. They are a top team, so are we, so it should be a great game,” he told reporters at the club’s training ground on Friday.

Spurs are seven points ahead of London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in the race for third place and an automatic Champions League qualifying place and Redknapp said that was the priority with their chances of a first league title since 1961 having faded over the

last few weeks.

“We want Champions League football,” Redknapp said. “We’re in a great position still.We had a bad weekend but that was a one-off. Since the first two games of the season (a defeat at United and loss at home to Manchester City)... last week was the first bad day we’ve had but it happens. Arsenal went to Chelsea and scored five, Man United got smashed by Man City at home.

It can happen. You’ve just got to look at it and look at what went wrong and try to put it right,” he added.

Bale is likely to be fit after suffering a slight hamstring strain in the warm-up for Wales’s friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday.

Van der Vaart, who pulled out of the Netherlands squad for Wednesday’s game against England at Wembley with a calf injury, was likely to train on Friday.

Walker, who had to withdraw from the England squad for that match with an ankle injury, was also expected to be fit for Sunday’s match.

However, Parker will serve a one-match suspension following his sending off late in the game at Arsenal and is likely to be replaced by Brazilian Sandro or Jake Livermore in the holding midfield role.

Redknapp, who has been widely tipped as the next England manager, would not be drawn on whether Parker should retain the captaincy for the national team’s Euro 2012 campaign but said: “It was great for Scott to lead the (England) team out and be captain and I’m sure he’s very, very proud of that. -Reuters

Van Persie and Vermaelen doubtful for Arsenal

MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s strikers could be the trump card that ends the club’s 44-year wait for the English league title as their leading trio are in form at just the right time in the season, manager Roberto Mancini said Friday.

A goal each from Sergio Ageuro, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli secured a 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers last weekend, with the Premier League leaders finding themselves in the ideal situation of having all their main forwards scoring with ease. With those three having scored 39 of the club’s 67 league goals this season, City are either going to find it hard to bring back last term’s top scorer Carlos Tevez when he is match-fit or will be even more potent when the Argentine returns.

Mancini said Tevez, who has been training to regain fitness after an unauthorized three-month absence from the club following a fall-out both parties want to put behind them, was still at least a couple of weeks away from first-team action.

“We know that Carlos is a top striker but in this moment he needs to train,” the Italian manager told a news conference.

“It’s important that in this moment all our strikers score goals, are in good form, this is very important because it is two months to the end (of the season) and it’s important to have all the strikers ready.”

Apart from the fitness of Tevez and the reception the Argentine can except to receive from the fans who feel betrayed by their former captain, the only concern hanging over City’s prolific strike force is the volatile temperament of Balotelli.

The Italian was dropped by national coach Cesare Prandelli for the midweek friendly with United States after serving a

FILE - Bolton Wanderers’ Paul Robinson (center) challenges Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero during their English Premier League soccer match in Bolton, Aug. 21, 2011. (Reuters)

four-match domestic ban and told that unless he stopped getting into disciplinary trouble he could miss out on Euro 2012.

Mancini backed Prandelli’s stance over the striker, whose spells of brilliance have often been overshadowed by offfield antics or on-field rushes of blood to the head.

“It’s Prandelli’s decision. I think that could be correct because we know that Mario is a top player but he should improve his behavior,” Mancini said.

“For the national team it is important because when you go to play the Euro-

pean (championship) and you play only three or four or five games, you should have good behavior. But Mario is the best Italian striker, this is sure, 100 percent.”

City will fancy their chances of another free-scoring display Saturday when they host one of the league’s leakiest defenses in second-from-bottom Bolton Wanderers, who have let in just over two goals a game on average this season.

City, aiming for a first English league title since 1968, have 63 points from 26 games, while champions United are on 61 and Spurs have 53. -Reuters

Mourinho’s shadow hangs over Chelsea, says Villas-Boas LONDON: Jose Mourinho casts a long shadow at many clubs because he is the best coach in the world, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Friday as speculation about his own future continued.

Villas-Boas, who worked under the Portuguese earlier in his career - including a spell at Chelsea when Mourinho was coach there, has endured a tough first season at Stamford Bridge with the Premier League team currently fifth and facing elimination from the Champions League.

The future of Mourinho has also been in the spotlight, despite his success with Real Madrid, with speculation he is set to replace his young compatriot back at the Bridge. “The only place where Jose’s shadow isn’t lurking is in Barcelona,” Villas-Boas told reporters at the club’s train-

ing ground in Cobham, south of London, before Saturday’s match against West Bromwich Albion.

“His shadow is lurking everywhere else, in the rest of the world, over some of the best managers in the world. If you can trade a successful manager for the best manager in the world, well, everybody wants him. I think its normal, for the history he left in this football club. The most successful part of this club’s history is related to Jose, so its normal.”

Last week, Villas-Boas said in an interview with Portugal’s TSF radio that he was unsure if he still had the backing of Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich while senior player Frank Lampard has said his relationship with the manager was not ideal.

Villas-Boas has left Lampard out of

the starting lineup a number of times this season, but said on Friday there was no rift between them.

The 34-year-old maintained their relationship was “good, excellent” adding that they spoke and that “it’s just a manager-player relationship in the end”.

He added: “Frank’s words are genuine. They are genuine from a player that has a reflection of a relationship between us. For me, it’s fine, I have no problems with it. I have to choose the team and I try to choose the best team for every single game. It hasn’t involved Frank a couple of times but it doesn’t mean I have a personal problem with him. His own interpretation of the relationship is his own but I have no problem with it and I explained it to him.

They are decisions I have to take for the benefit of the team, always.” -Reuters

Bayern’s Schweinsteiger returns, Ribery doubtful

BERLIN: Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger returned to light training with Bayern Munich on Thursday, three weeks after injuring his right ankle, but wing Franck Ribery is doubtful for this weekend.

Bayern, who are second in the German league, are at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday and are waiting on the fitness of several stars including Ribery.

The Frenchman suffered a dead leg injury in France’s 2-1 win over Germany in Bremen on Wednesday when a few fellow Bayern stars also picked up knocks.

Defender Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng both have back problems while Thomas Mueller has returned from Germany duty with a hamstring problem.

“Now we have to wait and see how things look after the

FILE - Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal in action during a training session, Nov.22, 2011 in St Albans, England.

(AFP)

LONDON: Arsenal captain Robin van Persie and defender Thomas Vermaelen are both doubtful for Saturday’s Premier League match at Liverpool, manager Arsene Wenger said as he criticised international friendlies.

Van Persie played for Netherlands in their 3-2 win over England at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday while Vermaelen featured in Belgium’s 1-1 draw with Greece, but Wenger said they went into their games carrying injuries and have deteriorated since.

“We have a problem with Vermaelen that we have to assess today,” a clearly irritated Wenger told reporters on Friday at Arsenal’s training ground at London Colney, north of London.

“Van Persie has a little groin problem that we have to assess,” he added, saying he was unhappy they were called up for Wednesday’s friendlies. It’s difficult to understand that our players had to go injured - it’s disrespectful to the players.”

Van Persie, who has scored 29 times for Arsenal this season, only played for the first half against England although Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said after the game that no agreement had been reached with Arse-

nal to use him only for 45 minutes. Vermaelen played 90 minutes for Belgium against Greece.

Wenger continued: “We played Tottenham on Sunday then they played an international, then we are at Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime, then face AC Milan next Tuesday. Any football player knows it’s impossible to play four games at the top level like that. Personally I think international friendlies are becoming more difficult to accept.”

While Wenger has doubts about Van Persie and Vermaelen and confirmed that Aaron Ramsey is still injured, he said Abou Diaby - who has only made two substitute appearances this season and not played since November - is set to return.

Tomas Rosicky is likely to also be fit. Both Arsenal and Liverpool are approaching Sunday’s game in good spirits following Arsenal’s 5-2 comeback win over Spurs last Sunday and Liverpool’s penalty shootout win over Cardiff City in the League Cup final at Wembley on the same afternoon.

Arsenal go into the match in fourth place while Liverpool are seventh with both in the hunt for a Champions League place next season. -Reuters

recovery training,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

There was some good news for Heynckes as Schweinsteiger, 27, got the green light to start running again at Bayern’s training centre, although it remains unclear when he will be able to play again.

“When Bastian will be able to train or play again, we can not yet say,” said Bayern team doctor Hans-Wilhelm MüllerWohlfahrt.

Schweinsteiger tore ankle ligaments in the German Cup quarter-final win at Stuttgart on February 8 on just his fourth game back after breaking his collarbone in early November.

Bayern host FC Basel in the second-leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash on March 13 and need to overturn a 1-0 defeat from the first match in Switzerland. -AFP

Platini confident FIFA and clubs will settle differences

CAPITALS: UEFA President Michel Platini is confident European clubs and FIFA, at loggerheads over the international calendar and insurance for players, will iron out their differences. The European Clubs Association (ECA) has said it is boycotting talks on Monday with FIFA over the international calendar, saying progress with world soccer’s governing body has been “disappointing”.

Expressing surprise at the move, FIFA retorted that ECA members had missed previous meetings with FIFA committees “making it very difficult for progress to be made in discussions with the European clubs”.

Platini, the head of European soccer, is remaining upbeat. “I am confident that, despite the recent tensions between the ECA and FIFA, the FIFA president (Sepp Blatter) will find a solution that represents

a win-win situation for all concerned,” Platini said in a statement.

“His experience and determination to reach a compromise that satisfies everyone will enable the best interests of football to be safeguarded. It is through dialogue and unity that we will achieve this objective.”

On Tuesday, the ECA announced it had reached an agreement with UEFA for an insurance policy covering the injury risk of players while on international team duty, starting at Euro 2012.The ECA had previously demanded a similar policy from FIFA for the World Cup. UEFA also agreed to a 55 million euros ($73.33 million US dollars)payout for the clubs for the use of their players at Euro 2012.

“I am very satisfied with the outcome of these long months of negotiation,”

Platini said. “This new Memorandum of Understanding will be presented to the UEFA Congress on March 22 and I have no doubt that, with the consent of the 53 UEFA member associations, it will enable European football to develop in an atmosphere of calm, as it has over the past five years.” However, Platini stressed that a further agreement with the clubs over the international calendar had to be approved by FIFA. “Some parts of the agreement are, however, still pending as they fall under the exclusive, legitimate responsibility of FIFA, the governing body of world football. One such pending item is the international match calendar,” he said.

ECA said UEFA had agreed to reduce the number of international dates to nine double-headers over a two-year period and to abolish the August friendly. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

saturdAY, MARCH 3, 2012

TENNIS

Murray beats Djokovic to reach Dubai final

Andy Murray of Britain returns to world number one Novak Djokovic during their ATP Dubai Open semifinal tennis match, March 2, 2012. (AFP)

DUBAI: Andy Murray beat world number one Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday, the duo’s first meeting since the Serb triumphed in a five-set epic at January’s Australian Open.

Djokovic started strongly, holding his opening two service games to love but from 2-2 a pumped-up Murray then won seven games in a row to claim the first set and go 3-0 up in the second on a balmy evening in Dubai.

Murray served for the match at 5-3 and nerves got the better of the world number four, double-faulting as Djokovic, 24, earned two break points.

A netted backhand from the Briton then enabled Djokovic to pull it back to 5-4 and the set appeared to be heading for a tiebreak. However, Murray roused himself to break again and seal victory after the Serb clubbed a forehand into the net.

Only four points were dropped in the opening five service games, all by Murray, with the Serb seemingly assured as he sought to extend a 7-4 winning record against the Briton.

After appearing impregnable, Djokovic then made three errors in successive points while on serve, two from backhands that went wide and one forehand slugged into the net to give Murray a first break point.

Both players were cautious, scared of making an

error on the match’s first big point, with Murray in particular seeking to take the pace out of the rally with some sliced backhands. Djokovic eventually lost patience and a wild forehand gave Murray the first break and a 4-2 lead. Djokovic, seeking a fourth straight Dubai title, rallied and went 15-40 up in the next game but Murray saved both break points, the first at the net with a backhand drop shot and the second with a fierce drive to Djokovic’s feet.

He eventually held for 5-2 and it was to get better for the Briton, Djokovic making more errors to slump to 0-40 down for three set points to Murray.

The three-times grand slam finalist took the second, a short Djokovic shot inviting Murray forward to send a backhand winner into the left corner for the first set.

Murray broke for a third time to go 2-0 ahead in the second set as Djokovic’s errors racked up.

Facing two break points, Djokovic seemed in control of the first by working Murray from side to side as both players hugged the baseline, but the Serb snubbed the chance of a smash winner from deep court and eventually played a forehand long.

The set then went with serve to leave Murray with ball in hand for the match, but five-times grand slam winner Djokovic broke for the first time after forcing two successive errors from his opponent and squared for 5-5. -Reuters

Basketball

7

Cricket

Sri Lanka beat Australia to send India home MELBOURNE: Sri Lanka beat Australia by nine runs despite Dan Christian’s hat-trick in a dramatic one-day international on Friday to book their place in the final of the Tri-series against the hosts and send India home.

India needed their sub-continental rivals to lose the last round-robin clash to keep their tour alive but Sri Lanka made 238 all out from their 50 overs before dismissing Australia, who had already secured their place in the final, for 229.

Australia went into the final over of their innings needing 10 runs for victory but Nuwan Kulasekera had David Hussey caught for 74 with the first ball to spark emotional celebrations among the Sri Lankans.

All rounder Christian had earlier taken the 31st hat-trick in one-day internationals - just the fourth by an Australian - by removing Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake and Kulasekera in successive balls in Sri Lanka’s 44th over.

The 28-year-old, who made his international debut earlier this month, had Perera caught for five at deep midwicket

by Mike Hussey and then trapped Senanayake and Kulasekera, more contentiously, lbw to prompt wild scenes from his team mates.

Sri Lanka had recovered from a faltering start when Kumar Sangakkara (64) and Dinesh Chandimal (75) put on 123 for the third wicket.

Quick James Pattinson (4-51) removed them both and later dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne (51) to celebrate his return to international cricket as Sri Lanka

Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka celebrates taking the wicket of Peter Forrest of Australia during the One Day International match between Australia and Sri Lanka, March 2, 2012. (AFP)

stumbled in the last 10 overs.

Christian bowled Lasith Malinga with the final delivery of the innings for an even more impressive return of five for 31 from his nine overs - his first international five-wicket haul.

Australia also made a stuttering start to their innings and lost their first three batsmen for 26 runs before stand-in captain Shane Watson and Mike Hussey (29) combined for 87 to steady the ship.

However, Watson, who was looking well set on 65, then had his stumps shat-

tered by a brilliant yorker from Malinga (4-49).

Sri Lanka sensed their chance and, cheered on by the majority of fans in the 30,000 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, seized it.

While David Hussey - who hit his fifth half century of the series - was around the result was still in doubt but when he sent the first ball of the final over towards the safe hands of Tillakaratne Dilshan at long off, Sri Lanka were off to Adelaide for Sunday’s first match of the final. -Reuters

Gayle remains in exile for Aussies visit NEW ZEALAND: Former captain Chris Gayle was again overlooked by the West Indies when a 30-man training squad for the forthcoming one-day and Twenty20 series against Australia was announced on Thursday.

Gayle hasn’t played for the West Indies since last year’s World Cup and has been involved in a long-running dispute with the West Indies board.

The WICB said that 17 contracted

players, along with 13 others who are under consideration for selection, will participate in a two-week training camp in Barbados from March 1 to 12. The first one-dayer takes place at St Vincent on March 16.

The 17 contracted players are: Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Shannon Gabriel, Nelon

Pascal, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford and Devon Thomas.

The 13 additional players under consideration: Samuel Badree, Tino Best, Nkrumah Bonner, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Shane Dowrich, Danza Hyatt, Garey Mathurin, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Krishmar Santokie and Dwayne Smith. -AFP

Formula one

James scores 38 in 107-93 Heat win over Blazers F1 veteran Barrichello switching to IndyCar PORTLAND: Looking ahead to the prospect of facing the Trail Blazers without Chris Bosh, Heat coach Eric Spoelstra told LeBron James he was going to need a “Magic Johnson-type” night from him. James delivered. The Miami star scored 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and added six assists and five steals, to lead Heat to a 107-93 victory in Portland on Thursday night.

It was the ninth straight win for the Heat, who at 28-7 are off to their best 35-game start in franchise history.

Dwyane Wade added 33 points and 10 assists for the Heat in their first game since the All-Star break.

Miami hadn’t played since a 102-88 victory at home over the New York Knicks last Thursday.

The Heat were without Bosh because of a death in his family. The All-Star was also expected to miss Friday night’s game at Utah, but it is not yet known whether he will play Sunday when Miami visits the Los Angeles Lakers.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points for the Blazers, who were coming off a 104-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets onWednesday night. Portland (18-18) has lost eight of its last 12 games. It was never much of a contest, and the Blazers trailed by as many as 25. Aldridge, coming off his first All-Star appearance, was clearly frustrated.

The Blazers jumped out to an early 14-6 lead, but the Heat came back to tie it on Wade’s lob pass to James for the dunk. James and Wade combined for all of Miami’s points to that point.

The Heat extended the lead to 30-21 on Mario Chalmers’ jumper. They kept the Blazers at bay the rest of the half, going up 45-34 on Udonis Haslem’s 15-foot jumper before taking a 60-42 lead into the break. James and Wade accounted for 41 of the team’s points.

The second half was more of the same. James went to the bench in the fourth quarter with the Heat still holding a sizable lead. But the Blazers chipped away a bit, coming to within 91-78 on Wesley Matthews’ reverse layup. James’ break was brief and the Blazers got as close as 95-85 on Nicolas Batum’s 3-pointer with 4:35 left. James answered on the other end with a 3-pointer of his own.

James has scored 30 or more points in 15 games

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) drives to the basket between Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge, left, and Jamal Crawford (11) during an NBA basketball game, March 1, 2012. (AP)

this season. Wade has scored at least 20 points in 10 straight games. Last season, James scored 44 points against the Blazers, a record-high for an opponent at the Rose Garden, in a 107-100 overtime victory for the Heat. The road team has won the last five games in the series. -AP

Chamberlain’s 100-point game hits 50-year mark PHILADELPHIA: The Big Dipper was larger than life. His size, his statistics, even his voracious appetite for running up big numbers off the court. Wilt Chamberlain didn’t just tower over his peers, he left records that endured for decades. And for 50 years, one mighty number has stood as the Mount Everest of sport’s magic numbers. 100 points. At 25, Chamberlain had already crafted a career built on steady, sustained and spectacular excellence. Playing at 7-foot-1 and 260 pounds for the Philadelphia Warriors, Chamberlain held the single-game record of 78 points (in three overtimes) and the regulation mark of 73 in January 1962.

One hundred points was no flash of momentary greatness. It was a fireball of scoring that will likely never be topped - and put Chamberlain everywhere from the record book, to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” to an unmatched spot in the short list of sport’s all-time un-

believable performances. But on March 2, 1962 at the Hershey Sports Arena, hardly anyone noticed.

There were no TV cameras. Sports writers were scarce - and so were the fans. Only 4,124 (at $2.50 a ticket) attended the game, in fact, between the Warriors and the New York Knicks as the final stretch of the 1961-62 season dwindled down. The number of people who claimed they were there to witness history, however, could have stretched the East Coast. And why not?

The milestone, after all, changed the game forever.

No NBA star has really come close to scoring 100 points. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant had the luxury of the 3-point shot (he hit seven) when he scored 81 on Jan. 22, 2006. Michael Jordan never topped 69.

Allen Iverson hit 60. David Robinson scored 10 less field goals than Chamberlain made in the 100-point game when he scored 71 in 1994. -AP

SA PAULO, Brazil: Rubens Barrichello, the most experienced driver in Formula One, will become an IndyCar rookie after joining KV Racing Technology Thursday to race in the American open-wheel series. Barrichello, who spent 19 seasons in F1 and started 322 races - more than any other driver, will make his IndyCar debut on March 25 at the series opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida with the team’s other drivers, fellow Brazilian Tony Kanaan and Venezuelan EJ Viso.

“I’m over the moon,” said Barrichello on a conference call to announce his move to IndyCar. “I felt I wanted to do this straight away. “When you love what you do, you want to search for new things. You have an open mind.With all my experience I will start as a rookie, but I think I will get better as the year progresses.”

The 39-year-old Barrichello began racing in F1 in 1993, the year before his friend and mentor Ayrton Senna was killed in a crash at Imola, and has competed for Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and Williams recording 11 career wins and 68 podium finishes.

But for all his experience, Barrichello has never tested himself on the IndyCar’s infamous ovals, something he promised his wife he would never do.

Racing on ovals requires unique skills and a special bravery as cars stampede around the circuit wheel-to-wheel at speeds of more than 200 mph (320 kph). Fans and drivers were reminded of those extreme dangers last November, when Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed in crash at the series finale on Las Vegas Speedway’s high-speed oval.

Certainly, Barrichello has lost none of his competitive fire, saying he expects to challenge for wins and spots on the podium right away.

“I can do different things but I know I can drive well and to be able to become an IndyCar driver at almost age 40 and still be so competitive and physically well,” said Barrichello. “It is a chance that has been given to me after all the years of competitive racing, I still have a lot of speed in myself. I have not reached the peak of my performance yet.” -Reuters

Brazilian F1 driver Rubens Barrichello poses after a press conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 1, 2012. (AFP)

Frank Williams to leave board of F1 team

LONDON: Team principal Frank Williams signaled the end of an era on Friday with his decision to follow co-founder Patrick Head and step down from the board of the former Formula One world champions.

Williams and Head, who left the board at the end of December after selling more than half of his shares, founded the team in 1977 and went on to oversee 113 grand prix wins, nine constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ crowns.

“I turn 70 in April and I have decided to signal the next stage in the gradual but inevitable process of handing over the reins to the next generation by stepping down from the board at the end of this month,” Williams said in a statement.

“This is not as dramatic a move as it may appear,” he cautioned, however. “I shall continue to work full-time as team principal and I shall continue to attend all board meetings as observer.”

Williams, whose daughter Claire will join the board on April 1 as newly-appointed director of marketing and communications, will also remain as the majority shareholder in Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC.

“It is no secret that Claire is my daughter but I am proud to say that she has fought hard to earn this appointment and of all the battles she has had to fight, the prejudices of her father were not the least challenging,” said Williams. The British-based company has been listed since an initial public share offer in Frankfurt last March.

The team, who will be using Renault engines this season, last won a race in 2004. Their current drivers are Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado and Brazilian Bruno Senna, nephew of the late triple champion Ayrton who died in a Williams in 1994.

The team suffered their worst season last year, finishing ninth overall with just five points.Williams has already established a clear line of succession at the company, with chairman Adam Parr taking over much of the day-to-day running of the business.

“If for whatever reason I couldn’t come in to do my job, Adam would fill the gap,” Williams, who has been a tetraplegic since 1986 after fracturing his spine in a car accident, told this month’s edition of F1 Racing magazine. -Reuters

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LIFE

Living with restless legs syndrome

Restless legs syndrome causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs and the strong desire to move the legs during rest or inactivity.

The National Sleep Foundation mentions these lifestyle changes that may help control RLS symptoms: * Decrease consumption of caffeine and tobacco. * Take an iron supplement as directed. * Stick to a regular sleep schedule. * Maintain a regular exercise routine. * Soak in a hot bath. * Treat the legs to a gentle massage, an ice pack or a heating pad.

saturDAY, march 3, 2012

Liquid battery could charge green energy FRANCE: Engineering professor Donald Sadoway on Thursday used an old-school chalk board at the prestigious TED gathering to write the formula for a liquid battery that could one day cut the need for new power plants.

“The way things stand, electricity demand must be in constant balance with supply,” Sadoway told the tech-savvy audience in southern California.

Inexpensive batteries made from liquid metal could store electricity from solar panels, wind farms, or existing generation facilities and save it for when it is most needed. That would be a major change from today’s consume-it-now-or-lose-it systems.

“The battery is the enabling device here,” he said. “With it we could draw electricity from the sun even when the sun doesn’t shine.”

Sadoway and his team of students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology were so confident in their creation that they started Liquid Metal Battery Corporation and plan to have bistro-table size models out in two years.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is among the company’s backers.

The company plans to eventually bring to market a liquid battery the size of a 40-foot shipping container and capable of holding enough electricity to serve the daily needs of 200 typical US households. “You could have these batteries in the basements of buildings drinking up power in the wee hours,” Sadoway said.

“It means we don’t have to build more plants, power lines just for peak use,” he continued. “The limits are way out there, not only in terms of what

FRANCE: High levels of pollution may be turning the planet’s oceans acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the past 300 million years, with unknown consequences for future sea life, researchers said Thursday.

The acidification may be worse than during four major mass extinctions in history when natural pulses of carbon from asteroid impacts and volcanic eruptions caused global temperatures to soar, said the study in the journal Science.

An international team of researchers from the United States, Britain, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands examined hundreds of paleoceanographic studies, including fossils wedged in seafloor sediment from millions of years ago.

They found only one time in history that came close to what scientists are seeing today in terms of ocean life die-off -- a mysterious period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum about 56 million years ago.

Though the reason for the carbon upsurge back then remains a source of debate, scientists believe that the doubling of harmful emissions drove up global temperatures by about six degrees Celsius and caused big losses of ocean life.

Oceans are particularly vulnerable because they soak up excess carbon dioxide from the air which turns the waters more acidic, a state that can kill corals, mollusks and other forms of reef and shell organisms.

“We know that life during past ocean acidification events was not wiped out -- new species evolved to replace those that died off,” said lead author Barbel Honisch, a paleoceanographer at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

“But if industrial carbon emissions continue at the current pace, we may lose organisms we care about -- coral reefs, oysters, salmon.”

Honish and colleagues said the current rate of ocean acidification is at least 10 times faster than it was 56 million years ago.

“The geological record suggests that the current acidification is potentially unparalleled in at least the last 300 million years of Earth history, and raises the possibility that we are entering an unknown territory of marine ecosystem change,” said co-author Andy Ridgwell of Bristol University.

The UN Environment Program released a report in 2010 that warned carbon emissions from fossil fuels may bear a greater risk for the marine environment than previously thought.

Rising acidity levels have an impact on calcium-based lifeforms, ranging from tiny organisms called ptetropods that are the primary food source, to crabs, fish, lobsters and coral, it said.

The UN report called for cuts in human-made CO2 emissions to reduce acidification and support for further work to quantify the risk and identify species that could be most in peril. -AFP

FILE-The sun is reflected in a solar panel. Engineering professor Donald Sadoway on Thursday used an old-school chalk board at the prestigious TED gathering to write the formula for a liquid battery that could one day cut the need for new power plants. (AFP)

it can do for renewables.”

The key metals in the battery are common vanadium and magnesium, the professor explained as he chalked a basic chemical equation on the board.

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a series of conferences designed to present cuttingedge ideas. Speakers are given only 18 minutes to give deliver their pitch. -AFP

New equipment aims to find unseen damage of traumatic brain injury WASHINGTON: The soldier on the fringes of an explosion. The survivor of a car wreck. The football player who took yet another skull-rattling hit. Too often, only time can tell when a traumatic brain injury will leave lasting harm - there’s no good way to diagnose the damage.

Now scientists are testing a tool that lights up the breaks these injuries leave deep in the brain’s wiring, much like X-rays show broken bones.

Research is just beginning in civilian and military patients to learn if this new kind of MRI-based test really could pinpoint their injuries and one day guide rehabilitation. It’s an example of the hunt for better brain scans, maybe even a blood test, to finally tell when a blow to the head causes damage that today’s standard testing simply can’t see.

“We now have, for the first time, the ability to make visible these previously invisible wounds,” says Walter Schneider of the University of Pittsburgh, who is leading development of the experimental scan. “If you cannot see or quantify the damage, it is hard to treat it.”

Not being able to see underlying damage leads to frustration for patients and doctors alike, says Dr. Walter Koroshetz, deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and

Ocean acidification may be the worst in 300 million years: Study

Stroke.

Some people experience memory loss, mood changes or other problems after what was deemed a mild concussion, only to have CT scans indicate nothing’s wrong.

“You can have a patient with severe swelling who goes on to have a normal recovery, and patients with severe swelling who go on to die,” says Dr. David Okonkwo, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center neurosurgeon who is part of the research. Current testing “doesn’t tell you what the consequence of that head injury is going to be.”

Hence the increasing research into new options for diagnosing TBI. In a report published Friday in the Journal of Neurosurgery, Schneider’s team describes one potential candidate, called high-definition fiber tracking.

Brain cells communicate with each other through a system of axons, or nerve fibers, that acts like a telephone network. They make up what’s called the white matter of the brain, and run along fiber tracts, cable-like highways containing millions of connections.

The new scan processes high-powered MRIs through a special computer program to map major fiber tracts, painting them in vivid greens, yellows

This undated handout artist rendering provided by the Schneider Lab, University of Pittsburgh shows an experimental type of scan showing damage to the brain’s nerve fibers after a traumatic brain injury.

(AP)

and purples that designate their different functions.

Researchers look for breaks in the fibers that could slow, even stop, those nerve connections from doing their assigned job.

Daniel Stunkard of New Castle, Pa., is among the first 50 TBI patients in Pitt’s testing. The 32year-old spent three weeks in a coma after his all-terrain vehicle crashed in late 2010. CT and regular MRI scans showed only some bruising and swelling, unable to predict if he’d wake up and in what shape.

When Stunkard did awaken, he couldn’t move his left leg, arm or hand. Doctors started rehabilitation in hopes of stimulating healing, and Okonkwo says the high-def fiber tracking predicted what happened. The scan found partial breaks in nerve fibers that control the leg and arm, and extensive damage to those controlling the hand. In six months, Stunkard was walking. He now has some arm motion. But he still can’t use his hand, his fingers curled tightly into a ball. Okonkwo says those nerve fibers were too far gone for repair.

“They pretty much knew right off the bat that I was going to have problems,” Stunkard says. “I’m glad they did tell me. I just wish the number (of missing fibers) had been a little better.”

The new tool promises a much closer look at nerve fibers than is now possible through a technique called diffusion tensor imaging, says Dr. Rocco Armonda, a neurosurgeon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“It’s like comparing your fuzzy screen blackand-white TV with a high-definition TV,” he says.

Armonda soon will begin studying the highdef scan on soldiers being treated for TBI at Walter Reed, to see if its findings correlate with their injuries and recovery. It’s work that could take years to prove. Other attempts are in the pipeline. For example, the military is studying whether a soupedup kind of CT scan could help spot TBI by measuring changes in blood flow inside the brain. The National Institutes of Health is funding a search for substances that might leak into the bloodstream after a brain injury, allowing for a blood test that might at least tell “if a kid can go back to sports next week,” Koroshetz says. He cautions that just finding an abnormality doesn’t mean it’s to blame for someone’s symptoms.

And however the hunt for better tests pans out, Walter Reed’s Armonda says the bigger message is to take steps to protect your brain.

“What makes the biggest difference is everybody - little kids riding their bicycles, athletes playing sports, soldiers at war - is aware of TBI,” he says. -AP

Australia’s Barrier Reef to get Google treatment FRANCE: Australian scientists mapping the Great Barrier Reef will broadcast their findings in partnership with Google, emulating its “Street View” to spotlight the impact of climate change.

The University of Queensland’s Seaview Survey will use custom-designed cameras and diving robots to plumb never-before-seen depths of the reef off Australia’s northeast coast.

It is a scientific expedition with an everyman twist, according to chief scientist for the project, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg.

A special four-lensed camera, which can be held by a scuba diver swimming through and over the corals, will capture a “rapid visual census” of life forms at 20 sites along the entire 2,300-kilometre length of the reef.

An estimated 50,000 panoramas, shot in 360-degree high-definition, will then be uploaded to Google’s Panoramio site for use on Google Maps and Google Earth. The result will be a kind of undersea version of its “Street View” function, which allows web users to access street scenes around the world.

“By using some really nifty digital technology to create 360-degree imagery we’re essentially able to allow people to slip into the Great Barrier Reef and go for a dive as if they were coming with us,” Hoegh-Guldberg told AFP. The expedition, which will officially depart in September, will also have a dedicated YouTube channel documenting its progress in real-time.

Hoegh-Guldberg said its primary focus would be recording the reef for later comparisons to measure the effects of climate change, as well as mapping depths unreachable by scuba divers, about which very little is known.

In particular, he said the project team was interested in how deep reefs -- between 30 and 100 meters below sea level -- were triggered to spawn, or reproduce.

Shallow reef spawning was triggered

Babies born a few weeks early ‘suffer health risks’ LONDON: Babies born just a few weeks early have a higher risk of poor health, including asthma, than those born later, research suggests, reports The Guardian.

The earlier a baby is born, the worse the impact on their health, but risks are also evident for babies born at 37 to 38 weeks’ gestation - commonly seen as full term.

Data on more than 14,000 children born in the UK was analyzed for the study, published online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Researchers included data for moderate to late pre-term babies (born at 32 to 36 weeks) and for those regarded as early term (37 to 38 weeks).

The earlier a baby was born, the more likely it was to suffer long-standing illnesses, asthma or wheezing and to be admitted to hospital in the first nine months of life for health issues, the most common being respiratory and gas-

trointestinal disorders.

But even those babies born at 37 to 38 weeks had poorer health than those born later, the study found. For example, babies born at 37 to 38 weeks were 10% more likely to suffer a long-standing illness than those born at 39 to 41 weeks, and were around 10% more likely to suffer asthma or wheezing.

Aged five, children born at 37 to 38 weeks were 40% more likely to have been prescribed an asthma inhaler than those born at 39 to 41 weeks.

The researchers, including experts from the University of Leicester and the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, said: “Our results challenge widely held views that long-term health outcomes for moderate and late pre-term babies (32 to 36 weeks) are similar to those for babies born at full term.

“The results also challenge perceptions

about outcomes for babies born during part of the period of gestation that has traditionally been regarded as term (37 to 38 weeks).”

The experts found “increasing adverse effects with decreasing gestation” on a range of issues including growth, weight gain, longstanding illness, asthma or wheeze and hospital admissions.

Babies were assessed when they were aged nine months and again when they were aged three and five.

The experts said that research and resources were frequently directed towards very premature babies who have the highest risk of death and health problems.

“However, this small group of babies (approximately 8,000 births annually in England) is far outnumbered by more mature pre-term babies, born at 32 to 36 weeks,” the team said.

“This group has been under-studied until recently, and babies of this gestation, although immature, have been considered to be at minimally greater risk of adverse outcomes than babies born at 37 weeks or later.

“Even less well understood are the risks associated with birth at 37 to 38 weeks (125,000 births annually), as this has been thought to represent term gestation.

“Our study casts doubt on these perceptions and highlights differences between these babies, now more appropriately classed as early term, and those born just one or two weeks later.”

Leanne Metcalf, assistant director of research at Asthma UK, said: “This is not the first piece of research to indicate that every week spent in the womb is important for a baby in order to reduce its risk of developing asthma in childhood.

by the moon and it would be a “phenomenal discovery” if deep reefs were also found to follow the moonlight, which would likely be very dim at such depths, he added.

Another team, led by Emmy awardwinning cinematographer and shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick, will track the reef’s “charismatic megafauna” such as rays, turtles and tiger-sharks, and migratory changes due to ocean warming.

A six-day trial of some of the robots in a deep-reef environment at the end of last year had already revealed four new coral species for Australian records and a new breed of pygmy seahorse.

The reef is the biggest in the world, comprising more than 3,000 individual reef systems and hundreds of tropical islands. It is home to 1,500 fish species and 30 types of whale, dolphin and porpoise.

Hoegh-Guldberg said the project was an exciting combination of “real science” and popular culture, adding that he hoped it would increase public awareness of the oceans and their vulnerability to climate change. “Oceans are undergoing major change, be that our polar seas, our kelp forests, our coral reefs and so on,” he said. The Great Barrier Reef was just the first part in what was intended to be a global project, mapping coral reefs in the world’s massive oceans.

“After all its 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, it’s the major habitat on the planet, we really are terrestrial organisms on a watery planet,” said Hoegh-Guldberg.

Bringing people from all over the globe a first-hand experience of the reef via Google and YouTube would hopefully jog their conscience about the issue, Hoegh-Guldberg added.

“It’s really important that we develop a methodology where we can bring the Earth’s citizens down into the oceans so that they really do understand what’s at stake and understand both the challenges and the solutions,” he said. -AFP

“The advantage of this study, however, is its scale in terms of the number of children whose asthma development compared to their gestational age has been measured, and the fact that it has looked at babies who are born just a few weeks prematurely.”

She said it was reasonable to believe the gradual development of the lungs might influence the risk of asthma.

“There are a number of things that pregnant women can do to reduce the risk of prematurity in their baby, including maintaining a healthy weight, staying active and avoiding stress, smoking and infections.

“Obesity, stress and smoking have also all been separately linked to an increased risk of asthma in children, smoking especially, so taking steps to avoid them will enable pregnant women to give their baby the best possible chance of a healthy childhood.”

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ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

saturDAY, March 3, 2012

Where have all the tourists gone? Egypt longs to see them return CAIRO/LUXOR: A Pharaoh sits in front of the gutted house as if nothing had happened.

His hands are cast in stone and they lay resting on his thighs - for eternity it seems.

Protest has had little impact on this statue which graces the front garden of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, even though the flames of the blaze which wrecked the nearby party headquarters of toppled Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak came dangerously close to devouring the museum’s treasures.

Tahrir Square, the last year’s revolution began, is only a few meters away. The winds of change swept across the land and frightened off the tourists who have stayed away to this day. Since then the Egyptian Museum has been characterized by one thing - yawning emptiness. Where the guidebooks once warned of long queues to see the antiquities and recommended arriving at dawn, only a solitary couple can be seen waiting today.

Similar scenes can be observed at the Giza pyramids, usually one of the busiest sights in the world. There are hardly any tourists around and little in the way of business for the camel and coach drivers and the vendors of tawdry plastic pyramids. “Revolution price, cheap, cheap” they cry in unison to the scattered visitors who venture here. These are subject

to even more frenzied sale pitches than would usually be the case.

The Arab Spring left an indelible mark on tourism last year, with overnight stays down a third compared to the previous year. The business of attracting visitors is a pillar of prosperity in Egypt and even though the tour operators are convinced that the sector will recover, there is little sign of this at the moment. This state of affairs is a disaster for many Egyptians.

Visitors with money to spend are not only conspicuous by their absence in Cairo, where protests continue. Talat Mulah sits in his camp on the edge of the White Desert - north of the town of Farafra with around 400 kilometers between his wicker chair and Tahrir Square yet Talat feels as if the protestors were standing directly in Eden Camp. “The tourists just don’t come any more. They think the whole of Egypt is dangerous but actually nothing happens here, there is not a single demonstrator,” he says before inhaling the smoke of his water pipe. And what does he think of the Revolution? Talat points to a few half-finished bungalows which he had intended to complete last year. “No money left,” he says.

Every person killed at Tahrir Square or TV pictures of violence there are a threat to his existence. His brother Mohammed takes a

more optimistic view. “We are having a hard time but it is good for our children.” The high season is in full swing and in the normal course of events tourist buses packed with people would be disgorging passengers by the minute.

“You feel sorry for the people here but it’s not paradise for us either,” says Rosalia Saavedra from Spain. She has visited Egypt on many occasions and is particularly keen on Luxor where this time around she was able to wander through the Valley of the Kings more or less on her own.

At the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatsehput only a handful of Japanese tourists are braving the heat to mount the steps up to the colossal building. Mohammed is meanwhile sitting in his souvenir shop in Luxor’s souk market where the sign “revolution price!” is evident. His neighbor exhorts shoppers to buy at bargain “recession prices.”

Whether the tourists come back depends on the political path this country chooses to take. A parliamentary election won by Islamist and reports claiming Egypt will be setting up religious police modeled on Saudi Arabia and that it intends to even ban bikinis are more likely to deter would-be visitors. Even knockdown revolution prices are hardly likely to change that. -dpa

FILE-The pyramids at Gizeh are normally swamped with visitors at this time of the year.

These days they are more likely to be deserted. (dpa)

Chocolate Fashion

Archie gay marriage comic sells out in face of boycott call

LONDON: Despite attempts by a conservative American mothers’ group to have it pulled from sale, the new Archie comic, which features a gay marriage, has just sold out, reports The Guardian.

Tracing the adventures of the teenagers Archie, Betty and Veronica in the small town of Riverdale, the Archie storyline has been running for 70 years and is one of America’s most popular comic series. Its publisher described the marriage of Kevin Keller, the series’ first gay character, in the latest issue as “a historic moment”, announcing yesterday that the Life with Archie #16 had sold out.

The strong sales follow a call from the American Family Association’s website One Million Moms for Toys R Us to stop selling the new Archie issue. The conservative Christian group is concerned that “children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store”. “Please remove all the same-sex ‘Just Married - Archie’ comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it,” they have written to the retailer.

Homosexuality is a topic which is “too complicated” for children to understand, say the mothers, and “a trip to the toy store turns into a premature discussion on sexual orientation and is completely uncalled for”.

But Archie Comics co-chief executive John Goldwater has said that the company “stands by” the new issue. “Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday,” he said.

“We’re sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrowminded people.” Announcing that the Kevin Keller issue had sold out, Goldwater said that Archie’s fans “have come out full force to support” the gay character. “He is, without a doubt, the most important new character in Archie history.

He’s here to stay,” Goldwater added.

Models present outfits made from chocolate during the first Bordeaux’s Chocolate fair (Salon du Chocolat) on March 3, 2012, in Bordeaux, western France.

(AFP)

Detail from the Archie cover of now sold-out gay wedding issue. (Agencies)

Shattered Gaddafi town says forgotten in new Libya SIRTE, Libya: Among the crumbling remains of the city Muammar Gaddafi once favored as the “capital of Africa”, frustration is simmering. Four months after Libya’s leader met his end in his hometown Sirte, the fishing village he turned into a model city lies in ruins.

Having once enjoyed the patronage and cash of the Gaddafi clan, Sirte is now struggling to adapt to the realities of the new Libya. Its residents say they feel sidelined by the North African country’s postwar rulers.

“We feel that there is no one taking care of us, that we are not important to the government nor the National Transitional Council,” 52-year-old Mohammed Salem said as he walked around his home, its upper floor now reduced to rubble.

“We are living in a terrible state - the houses we live in are severely damaged. It’s dangerous. They didn’t come to visit us nor meet families to help end the suffering here. We feel that we need this from them.”

Tiptoeing over debris, broken furniture and scattered sandals, Salem, an employee at the local price control office, points to the bombed ceiling of what was his children’s nursery.

Large pieces of brick cover the mattress of a dusty cot, a chandelier lies broken on the floor. Painted cartoon characters and pictures of a smiling baby still cover the walls and a door.

Sirte, the city of 100,000 people has paid a heavy price for being the last bastion of Gaddafi’s 42 years of personal power.

After rebels captured swathes of Libya, Gaddafi sought sanctuary among his tribal kin and loyal supporters in the city he groomed as an international hub with its own grand conference centre. A frequent summit venue, he lobbied in vain - for Sirte to host the headquarters of the African Union.

An interim government, appointed in November, is trying to build a democratic state, leading the nation to its first free elections, but it is struggling to impose its authority on

the myriad armed groups which fought to oust Gaddafi.

“Gaddafi came to Sirte but families here had nothing to do with this. They dragged us into the war,” Salem’s wife Fadia said. “It was a mistake for him to come here. All these political problems this has caused need to be solved.”

Costly reconstruction

In a city that once served as a showcase to foreign dignitaries, nearly every building bears the scars of war.

Residents who fled the fighting have started to return to homes, but many of them are damaged or gutted by fires and explosions. Around them, bunting in the red, green and black colors of the NTC flag has replaced Gaddafi’s green flag.

Sitting in a large office in the bullet-marked complex where Gaddafi’s ministers would meet, Mohammed Ali Kabalan, head of Sirte’s local council, describes his city’s state as “tragic”.

“It’s a disaster,” he said. “People in Sirte are frustrated.

“Until now, we haven’t received any official help, just aid from humanitarian organizations. We are trying to fix things by ourselves. The government has promised to come but because they don’t have money now, there is not much they can do.”

Kabalan said the interim housing and interior ministers had visited Sirte for meetings but residents wanted more support from national leaders.

Sirte, sitting in the middle of Libya’s coast, at the edge of a deep desert hinterland, was long associated with Gaddafi and his tribe and did well out of that. But, locals insist, some residents also supported the uprising against his rule.

“There is a small group, a few people who are very poor, I don’t know why, but they still believe in Gaddafi,” Kabalan said. “But what did he do for them? Muammar Gaddafi is finished, he is in the past.

“People want security, safety; they want to rebuild our city. Some are frustrated; others understand the country is going through a difficult time and that we have to wait.”

-Reuters

A man looks at his destroyed family home in Sirte city Feb. 27, 2012. (Reuters)

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Cross My Mind Artist: Jill Scott Album: Beautifully Human - Words and Sounds, Vol.2 Genre: Soul/Hip-Hop In short: Starting out as a poet and a spoken-word artist, Jill Scott has never forgotten her roots and managed to create a sound that’s completely her own by mixing her writing, singing, and reciting talents into one; “Cross My Mind” exemplifies exactly why Scott is operating on a level of her own. A must-listen.

To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Mariah Carey returns to stage since giving birth

saturDAY, march 3, 2012

UK chooses crooner Humperdinck as Eurovision entrant

LONDON: British septuagenarian crooner Engelbert Humperdinck will represent the United Kingdom at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, according to the BBC, which chooses the country’s contestants.

The 75-year-old singer, best known for his 1967 hit “Release Me,” will be hoping to reverse a slump in fortunes for British acts at the annual sing-off.

“It’s an absolute honor to be representing my country for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest,” the singer told the BBC. “When the BBC approached me, it just felt right for me to be a part of an institution like Eurovision. I’m excited and raring to go and want the nation to get behind me!”

Humperdinck is the oldest Eurovision contestant and if he wins, will be the UK’s first triumph since Katrina and the Waves 15 years ago.

The competition takes place on May 26 in Baku,Azerbaijan, where it has generated considerable excitement but also seen the country’s human rights record come under closer international scrutiny.

In the latest example, Amnesty International said on Friday it hoped Humperdinck would draw attention to the issue of what it called “prisoners of conscience” being held in Azeri jails.

“There is a deep irony in the announcement,” said Tim Hancock, campaigns director of Amnesty International UK,

ahead of planned demonstrations in Azerbaijan over the weekend.

“Engelbert Humperdinck is famed for his song ‘Please Release Me’, yet, on the streets of Azerbaijan this Sunday protesters risk arrest by simply taking to the streets to display their discontent with the authorities.”

Western governments and rights groups accuse President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, of rigging elections and clamping down on dissent, notably last year during a series of protests in the capital inspired by the Arab Spring.

The government says Azerbaijan, located on the Caspian Sea, enjoys full freedom of speech and has a thriving opposition press.

Humperdinck’s song for the contest will be recorded in London, Los Angeles and Nashville and written by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek.

Humperdinck, whose real name is Arnold Dorsey, has sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide during a 45 year career.

His participation could boost interest in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, widely derided in Britain as a celebration of kitsch but taken more seriously in many other European countries and watched by a television audience of more than 100 million people. -Reuters

Rolling Stones to issue 50th anniversary photo book

Mariah Carey made her return to the stage since giving birth to twins in diva-like form: She changed her shoes after singing two songs and touched up her hair and makeup in a sleek, sleeveless black dress, all in front of an eager audience. Carey, who gave birth to fraternal twins via C-section in April, performed for a few hundred fans Thursday night at New York’s Gotham Hall. Of her return she said: “I didn’t realize this was a big deal.” The Grammy winner sang a number of her hits during the short performance, from “Hero” to “We Belong Together” to the Jackson 5 cover “I’ll Be There.”

The concert was one of four shows Thursday dubbed “Plot Your Escape: Four Concerts. Countless Celebrities. 1 Epic Night,” by Caesars Entertainment. Diddy was Carey’s opening act in New York, while Lil Wayne and Cee Lo performed in Los Angeles, Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles in Chicago, and Mary J. Blige and Gavin DeGraw in New Orleans. The concerts were part of Caesars Entertainment’s rewards program.

The shows happened simultaneously and were streamed online. “We can’t do anything without it being documented,” Carey told the audience. -AP

American Idol announces 13 finalists “American Idol” is down to the top 13 singers. Smooth 21year-old pawn shop worker Phillip Phillips of Leesburg, Ga., quirky 22-year-old nonprofit organizer Heejun Han of New York, and spunky 18-year-old country crooner Skylar Laine, from Brandon, Miss., were among the finalists revealed Thursday on the Fox singing contest. They and seven others received the most viewer votes after the 13 male semifinalists performed Tuesday and the 12 female semifinalists sang Wednesday. -AP

Funeral home denies role in Houston casket photo The owner of the New Jersey funeral home that handled services for Whitney Houston says the home had nothing to do with a photograph that surfaced showing the singer’s body in an open casket. But Carolyn Whigham of Whigham Funeral Home and two pastors say they do know who took the photo that ran in the National Enquirer. They just aren’t identifying the person and say that’s up to the Houston family. Defending Whigham, the Rev. Ronald Slaughter of nearby St. James AME Church said Thursday the funeral home “had no role in this shameful betrayal.” Whigham says she determined the photo was taken Feb. 17, a day before the funeral. -AP

Streep gives $10K to Viola Davis’ RI student fund Actress Meryl Streep has donated $10,000 to a Rhode Island scholarship fund in honor of fellow Oscar nominee Viola Davis. Davis established the fund with her sister in 1988.

Upward Bound Director Mariam Boyajian said Thursday that the check for the Upward Bound Scholarship Endowment Fund arrived Monday. Boyajian says Streep’s donation is the largest single award the fund has received. The Segue Institute for Learning in Central Falls also received $10,000 from Streep on Monday in Davis’ honor. -AP

Bristol Palin to star in Lifetime reality series Bristol Palin’s home life in Alaska is the subject of a reality series starring the daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Lifetime says it will air 10 episodes of “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp” later this year. The series will explore the pressures of raising her toddler son, Tripp, as she maintains her close relationship with the larger Palin clan, the network said. The former first daughter of Alaska, Palin became one of the nation’s most prominent single mothers after the 2008 birth of Tripp. Last summer, a reality series built around her was announced by the Bio Channel, but never aired. In 2010, Palin was a competitor on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” Last June she published a bestselling memoir. -AP

Winehouse charity sets up performing scholarship The Amy Winehouse Foundation, set up after the British singer’s death last year aged 27, will fund a scholarship at the theatre school where her voice was first nurtured. Winehouse was 13 when Sylvia Young of the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London auditioned her and was “blown away” by her version of “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Amy’s father Mitch said the scholarship would be awarded to a child who otherwise could not afford to attend, in keeping with the foundation’s aim of helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. -Reuters

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FILE-Rolling Stones band members (Left-Right) Charles Watts, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards pose as they arrive for the premiere of the documentary film “Stones In Exile” in New York May 11, 2010. (Reuters)

LONDON: Fifty years to the day after the Rolling Stones first took to the stage, the veteran rockers will publish a photographic record of their rise to fame and lasting success.

“The Rolling Stones: 50” will hit the shelves on July 12, the date in 1962 when the band debuted at the Marquee Club in London’s Oxford Street. The book, published by Thames & Hudson in Britain, is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for one of rock and roll’s biggest acts, but what fans are calling for most is another world tour.

While some members of the group have said a tour was likely, no announcement has been made and questions remain about the relationship between lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Ties were strained, according to accounts in the music press, after Richards portrayed Jagger in an unflattering light in his 2010 memoir “Life”.

The new book will feature 700 illustrations, 300 of them in color and many taken from the archive of the Daily Mirror tabloid, which contains the largest newspaper collection of Rolling Stones photography.

“This is our story of 50 fantastic years,” Jagger, Richards, bass player Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts said in a joint statement. “We started out as a blues band playing the clubs and more recently we’ve filled the largest stadiums in the world with the kind of show that none of us could have imagined all those years ago. “Curated by us, it features the very best photographs and ephemera from and beyond our archives.” The photographic autobiography, which will also feature words from the band, includes images taken by Philip Townsend, the photographer for the band’s first ever shoot.

-Reuters

FILE-Singer Engelbert Humperdinck appears at the Paris Las Vegas during his Las Vegas Walk of Stars dedication ceremony July 20, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)

Housewives actress says she was stunned when hit LOS ANGELES: Nicollette Sheridan told jurors on Thursday that she was shocked and humiliated after being struck in the head by the creator of “Desperate Housewives” on the set of the hit ABC show.

The actress was the first witness called during her trial alleging that she was fired after a dispute with creator and executive producer Marc Cherry. She is seeking more than $6 million in damages.

At the request of her attorney, Patrick Maloney, the actress demonstrated the blow by striking her lawyer in court. Sheridan contended it was a hard blow, although attorneys for Cherry and ABC claimed it was a light tap meant to give the actress some direction for a scene.

Sheridan told jurors that Cherry appeared stunned after the hit and later apologized to her.

Wearing a navy blue suit and white blouse, Sheridan split the day testifying about the show’s early years and the dispute with Cherry and its aftermath.

Her character Edie Britt was killed off in the show’s fifth season, when she was earning $175,000 an episode.

By then, she also had been granted a portion of the series’ profits by that point and was slated to earn $250,000 an episode if she remained on the series through the seventh season.

She testified that although Cherry had left her character’s fate in doubt at the end of seasons three and four, he never mentioned killing her off until after he hit her and was cleared by ABC executives of wrongdoing. ABC is a unit of The Walt Disney Co. A later script called for her to strike him with a magazine.

Maloney showed jurors various versions of the script, and played a montage of some of Sheridan’s highlights from the show, including her attempting to seduce men and washing a car with her blouse unbuttoned and bra exposed.

Some jurors laughed as the scenes were played. Many had seen the show in its early seasons.

Sheridan told the panel that she wasn’t similar to her character. “I think honesty is about the only thing we shared,” she said. -AP

Hindus protest bin Laden film shoot in north India

CHANDIGARH, India: Hindu radicals in India protested on Friday against the shooting of a film by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow on the hunt for Osama bin Laden on the grounds that the film-makers were portraying Pakistan on Indian soil.

Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in May last year. The film-makers, denied permission to film in Pakistan, converted parts of the Indian city of Chandigarh to look like the Pakistani city of Lahore.

But for right-wing Hindus, the use of India to portray sworn enemy Pakistan was too much.

“They have made Chandigarh like Pakistan, as if it is Pakistan,” said Vijay Bhardwaj, a leader of the radical Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Hindu group.

“We strongly oppose this and we will not let them put Pakistani flags here and we will not let them shoot for the

film.” Billboards with Urdu signs were put up on shops in a market in the north Indian city and auto-rickshaws were running with Lahore number plates. Burqa-clad women and men dressed in traditional Pakistani clothes roamed the streets.

The small group of protesters shouted slogans and some of them were seen arguing with cast and crew members as police tried to intervene. The protesters said the government should have denied permission to make the film on Indian soil. Bigelow, who won an Oscar for her Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker,” was developing a film on the hunt for bin Laden before the al Qaeda leader was killed in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.

The film, “Zero Dark Thirty,” is due for release in late 2012. Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan have fought three wars since winning their independence from Britain in 1947. Suspicion between the nuclear-armed rivals lingers. -Reuters

The Muppets show goes on with film sequel LONDON: The Muppets will be back to play more music and lights as Disney have announced that James Bobin’s successful revamp will be getting a sequel, reports The Guardian.

Bobin, previously known for his work on TV comedy Flight of the Conchords, will write the next Muppets movie with Nicholas Stoller, co-writer on Kermit and the gang’s recent outing. Jason Segel, who wrote and starred in the first movie and has been credited by many as the man who brought the Muppets back to the limelight, will not be writing on the new film, but hasn’t ruled out starring in it.

The Muppets have just spent their third week in the upper reaches of the UK box office after picking up an Oscar last Sunday (best song for Conchords man Bret McKenzie’s Man or Muppet). Bobin’s revamp has so far earned $158m worldwide.

Plot details of the new film are yet to be discussed, but the recent film hinged on the concept that the Muppets were no longer relevant or popular. Now that that idea has debunked

by critics, the public and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences alike, it will be interesting to see where Bobin and Stoller can take Jim Henson’s creations.

FILE-James Bobin’s Muppets revamp has so far earned $158m worldwide. (Agencies)

Nicollette Sheridan arrives in court where she will be taking the stand for opening arguments in her ‘Desperate Housewives’ lawsuit at County Courthouse on March 1, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (AFP)

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012

If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

GUST to host Gulf Women’s Football Tournament as part 10th anniversary celebrations

KUWAIT: With the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, it announced the start of the 2nd ever Gulf Women’s Football Tournament. Kicking off March 2, the tournament will be go on for four days and will include different teams from the Gulf region including Kuwait, KSA and Bahrain to square off on the GUST FIFA accredited field. The tournament will work to promote and encourage women sports in the Gulf.

GUST President’s Student Advisor, Afaf AlRukhayis spoke at the press conference and stated: “Team sports are a great way to exercise your interpersonal skills, especially on the field; sportsmanship is important in building character.” Al-Rukhayis, a leading woman in Kuwait sports as the initiator of the first women’s handball team in Kuwait, stressed on the vitality of encouraging women’s sports locally and re-

Month a t

gionally. She thanked all participating teams and the organizing committee of the tournament and hopes to host many grander tournaments for many sports in the future.

Anwar Al-Sabah, Head of the Student Life Office at GUST and head of the organizing committee for the event mentioned the importance of this occasion not only because of its uniqueness and inspirational factor, but because it is part of a bigger ideal for the university.

Othman Al-Othman, PR Officer at GUST then explained the rules and terms of the tournament draw and asked the captains of the teams to draw randomly in order to determine who will be playing the tournament’s first match on March 3.

An awards ceremony will take place on March 5 in the same location to honor the winning teams.

Sudoku

Intermediate

Advanced

Elementary

General A n n o u n c e m e n t s

a glance

Quiz night for ladies March 14/ 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. / TIES Center: Ties Center Ladies Club invites all ladies to the educative and entertaining session. You can come with your family and enjoy the quiz night together. Refreshments will be provided. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6 or 97228860/97793440.

New Toastmasters Club Second and fourth Tuesday/ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. / Jabriya: A new Toastmasters Club is being formed and encouraging new members to join. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development.

It is a non-profit international organization dedicated to improve member’s communication and leadership skills by attending and participating toastmasters meetings. For more information, please contact Khaled Al-Hashem at 65588824.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Lana is a very affectionate and sweet female puppy of mixed breed. She was born in October 2011. Lana is a happy girl who loves to play and go for long walks. She will be a great addition to a family with children over 10 years of age.

Waist Watchers

Diwaniya presentation March 6/ 7 p.m. / AWARE Center: You are invited to a diwaniya presentation entitled, “Business Survival Guide” by An Swinnen. In 2010, An decided to write “The Business Survival Guide (because it is a jungle out there)” which gives top tips on how to run your own business, business skills, management skills and social skills. The book was written in Kuwait and summarizes some of An’s experiences of doing business in Kuwait and the GCC countries. For more information, call 25335260 ext 0.

Turkish lessons for beginners March 4/ Turkish Embassy: The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that “Turkish”, a new class ofTurkish lessons for beginners will restart at the Embassy’s Tourism, culture and information office. For details contact 22277405.

Art exhibition March 5-15/ 7 p.m. / Dar Al Funoon: Mohammed Abou El Naga is a multidisciplinary visual artist, art professor, curator and developer. Throughout his colorful career, he created award winning art projects, fulfilled his responsibility towards his community and brought up new generation of young artists with his teaching, workshop and his multitude of practices.

Fiona is a beautiful female SemiLong Haired cat born in May 2008.

She loves being cuddled and a good belly rub! She enjoys being held and likes to play. Fiona would be a lovely new family member in a household with children over 5 years of age. To adopt, call (+965) 6700 1622.

Every Tuesday/ 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. / British Ladies Society: Meetings are based on the world’s most successful healthy eating plan. Weekly meetings include private weigh in, motivational talks, recipes to try, and cooking demonstrations.

Fee of KD 2.500 is required to cover for the cost of course material. For more info contact; Danielle desertdanny@hotmail.com.

Hip Hop at BAIA Every week/ Salmiya: BAIA offers weekly Hip Hop classes for students aged five and up. These “just for fun” classes are a great work-out. For more information visit www.thebaia.com or contact: info@thebaia.com. Telephone: 2562 3604 ext.154, 2562 0706 ext.154. Mobile: 6005 2087.

Brainbang session October 7-April/ 11:45 a.m. -1:45 p.m. /Salmiya: BRAINBANG, the creative arm of Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) invites all students aged 11 and above, to join us fortnightly on Fridays.

The areas of development are: Creativity in learning, tools and techniques to empower your mind, profile based learning, activity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments, practical experiments, mind gymnastics and application of learning techniques to conventional study. E-mail: brainbang@focckwt.org or call 25660835/25618471/97677820.

Dilbert

Royal Thai Embassy The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait wishes to invite Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.

EducationUSA Do you have questions regarding studying at a university in the US? AMIDEAST can help.

Please visit our EducationUSA Advising Center in Sharq, and attend one of our weekly free group advising sessions, held every Monday, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For further information, visit: www.amideast.org, telephone us at 2247-0091, ext. 6819, or E-mail us at: kuwait@ amideast.org.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Setbacks on the job might have you a little depressed and worried. Don’t worry, Aries; all will be well. Think of this as a challenge to overcome.

Your natural practicality and efficiency will see you through. Someone isn’t being totally honest with you. Encourage people around you to open up and communicate a little. What they say may not be all that aggreeable.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Sudden events that come to you via TV, newspapers, or the Internet, could shake up long-cherished belief systems today, Taurus. This could have you feeling momentarily disconcerted and a bit disillusioned.At the same time, this information could open up new doors for you.

Your natural curiosity will eventually win out, and you’re likely to want to read all you can about whatever is on your mind.

Gemini: May 21- June 21

A task that you’ve been working on for a long time could come to a standstill today due to circumstances beyond your control. You’re likely to feel quite frustrated, Gemini, as there seems to be nothing you can do to speed things up. Don’t agonize over this, however; it will get going again.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

Be prepared today, Cancer. A longtime dream regarding your career may finally become a reality.

At first you might not believe it, fighting the news in order to avoid possible disappointment. Don’t fall into this trap; it creates negative energy, which can get in your way. You’ve worked hard to be where you are, and you aren’t likely to stop advancing.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

You tend to be your own worst critic, Leo, and today you’re more likely to be that way. Recent setbacks on the job might find you harboring doubts about your own capabilities. Be objective about the situation. Whatever happened was probably above and beyond your control, so it isn’t fair to doubt yourself because of it. Work hard, continue to do the best you can.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Today could be a strange day where money is concerned, Virgo. You might not be sure exactly where you stand financially, so it might be a good idea to get all your records together and go over them carefully. This isn’t a good day for gambling or making investments of any kind.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Unsafe conditions could exist around the house, Libra, which may result in accidents if they aren’t rectified. Some may not be readily apparent, so warn family members to be careful. This isn’t a good day to do any heavy work around the home. If you’re planning major repairs, it might be a good idea to postpone them.

This is, however, a good day for planning such repairs.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Scorpio, one or more of your co-workers could appear to be rather upset or depressed on the job today, and this is likely to affect your own efficiency.

Your colleagues in question aren’t going to be very much into communicating, so it’s best just to turn a blind eye and keep on working in spite of the situation. It’s going to be tougher than usual, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Profligate spending in the past may come back to haunt you now with regard to money, Sagittarius.

There could be blocks in receiving funds you were expecting or an unexpected but necessary expense could come up. It’s going to take all your talent for careful planning to work your way around this situation, but take heart.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Boredom and restlessness may plague you today.

You could feel the need to break loose from the ties that bind you to mundane affairs, to run away and seek adventure, although you aren’t certain what kind of adventure! The walls may be closing around you at home and on the job. You might want to plan some kind of outing for an upcoming weekend in order to give yourself a needed break.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Your concentration should be high today, Aquarius. You’re likely to be more observant than usual.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself noticing people and sensing their thoughts and feelings even more than usual. This is a good day to read, study, attend a class, or otherwise acquire new information. You may discover something new about a subject that really interests you.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Worries about money could be uppermost in your mind today, Pisces. You may have suffered some financial setbacks and wonder how you can muster enough funds to get over the hump. However, help is on the way. An outside source could provide funds to tide you over.