June 2, 2012 by Al Watan Daily

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 , 2012

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Issue No. 1453

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150 Fils with IHT

UN Human Rights Council orders Houla probe

GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council ordered Friday an independent probe into the massacre in the Syrian town of Houla in order to bring those responsible for the slaughter to justice. Forty-one of the 47-member council backed a resolution urging an investigation by the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, set up by the council last year to gather evidence on alleged rights abuses there. Russia, China and Cuba voted against the resolution which they said was “unbalanced.” Ecuador and Uganda abstained while the Philippines was absent. The resolution “requests the Commission of Inquiry to urgently conduct a comprehensive, independent and unfettered special inquiry, consistent with international standards, into the events in Houla, and if possible to publicly identify those who appear responsible for these atrocities.” It also asks that the probe “preserve the evidence of crimes for possible future criminal prosecutions or a future justice process.” The resolution was voted through at a special session of the council, the fourth to be held on Syria. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement to the meeting that the Houla massacre could be a “crime against humanity” and repeated a call for events in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday blamed the Houla massacre, in which 108 people were killed, on foreign assistance to Syrian rebels, including arms deliveries and mercenary training. “The tragedy in Houla showed what can be the outcome of financial aid and smuggling of modern weapons to rebels, recruitment of foreign mercenaries and flirting with various sorts of extremists,” the ministry said in a statement. The Russian statement referred to an investigation done by Syrian authorities into the killings, completed Thursday, which made it “evident that the crime was an act well planned by the rebels” in order to undermine efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis. -AFP See also 2

British Navy sailor missing in Dubai

Suu Kyi gets ovation at first international speech BANGKOK: Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi basked in a longoverdue standing ovation at her first speech before an international audience Friday, but quickly shifted the focus from herself to Myanmar’s many needs - and how the world can help. Despite recently emerging from 24 years of isolation, the former political prisoner appeared completely at ease speaking to the World Economic Forum in Bangkok where she urged the international community to exercise “healthy skepticism” toward Myanmar’s muchtouted reform process. It is not the first time that Suu Kyi has called for caution in the world’s approach to Myanmar - but it is the first time she has uttered the sentiment on foreign soil since becoming her country’s democracy crusader in 1988. The speech was broadcast live across several time zones. The Oxford graduate and longtime political prisoner also delighted the audience with an anecdote about her arrival in Bangkok - on her More on 4 first international flight in decades.

Blasphemy law may be retracted Government could potentially revoke Jaber University, small projects

Staff Writers

Demonstrators protest against Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad after Friday Prayer in Marat AlNuman near the northern province of Idlib June 1, 2012. Banner reads, “Your silence was killing us, now your talk is burying us”. (Reuters)

Tunisia bans weekend demo against extremism TUNIS: Tunisian interior ministry officials said Friday they had banned a demonstration against Salafist extremism planned for this weekend, raising the prospect of fresh clashes on the streets. Activists using the Internet had called the protest for Saturday on the city’s main thoroughfare, avenue Habib Bourguiba. But in a statement on its Facebook page, the interior ministry said the protest would be illegal because no one had asked for authorization. The ministry “reserved the right to react,” the statement added. On April 9, a demonstration on the same avenue went ahead despite having been banned but was violently broken up by the security forces, provoking widespread anger. At least 15 civilians and eight policemen were hurt in the unrest. Interior Minister Ali Larayedh was summoned before parliament, and President Moncef Marzouki denounced the “unacceptable violence”. One group of activists insisted that they had

filed a request for Saturday’s “day of anger” on time. The demonstration would be in response to violence last weekend in the northeast of the country, when radical Salafist groups attacked several police stations. The ultra-conservative Salafists, some armed with clubs and swords, also burned down the shops of alcohol vendors who refused to close. They have been intensifying their attacks over the last 11 days. On Thursday, responding to the attacks on the police stations, Larayedh warned that the police were authorized to use live rounds. “Those who think that sovereign institutions such as police barracks can be attacked with impunity should know that in such cases the law authorizes the use of live rounds,” the interior minister told reporters. “The state of emergency is still in force and we will take all necessary steps to restore security in the country,” he added. -AFP

Unemployment in EU increases to 10.3%

Kosovo Serbs and NATO troops clash in tense north

Our galaxy on a collision course with another: NASA

Faithful wait in front of Milan’s cathedral, the Duomo, prior the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2012. The Pontif sets off for the World Meeting of Families in Milan, leaving behind a scandal-hit Vatican in a bid to promote traditional family values as the key to the Church’s future. (AFP)

Compiled by Al Watan Daily

Bunting and flags mark four days of Queen’s jubilee celebrations

Activists of the Defence Council of Pakistan, an alliance of right-wing, shout anti-US slogans during a protest rally in Karachi on June 1, 2012 against the Pakistani governments plan to reopen NATO supplies route to Afghanistan. (AFP)

KUWAIT: MPs expressed their utter disapproval against the government as reports came in suggesting that the government is planning to revoke any decisions related to maximizing penalties against those who disparage the divine name as well as the decision related to Jaber University. MP Mohammad Al-Kandari warned the government against such a thing calling for its resignation if indeed they are planning to retract their decision. “I believe if the government retracted from their former decision, it would show how weak and vulnerable the government is, and in my opinion all ministers should submit their resignation as a result,” he remarked. Meanwhile, speaking to the Al Watan, MP Al-Saifi said that he had received reliable information which points out that Minister Ahmad Al-Rujaib is planning to evade the parliamentary confrontation by submitting his resignation prior to any formal discussion into the matter. “You need to take a stand and stop being evasive. After all, you are a military man and had returned with the rank of lieutenant-general. So, to say the least, you need to respect your military rank and your military career and stand at the podium before the eyes of the MPs, so they may question you over your destructive ideas which can only be described as seriously damaging to the country’s national unity, at a time when the country is in desperate need for it,” he said addressing the minister. Al-Saifi was asked about the accusations made by Minister Al-Rujaib, wherein the minister alleges the reason behind Al-Saifi’s submission of a motion for questioning comes as a result of the minister’s refusal to appoint one of the MP’s acquaintances as assistant undersecretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs and that in return the MP would halt his attack and interpellation. Al-Saifi replied by saying “this is all gibberish.” Meanwhile, sources have confirmed to Al Watan that His Highness the Prime Minister was indeed approached by the Majority MPs hoping to convince Minister Al-Rujaib to declare reforms and addressing of the issues raised in the interpellation sheet submitted by MP Al-Saifi, and that in return they would interfere to postpone the interpellation against the minister. Sources further confirmed that there has been division in the camp of the Majority MPs over Al-Saifi’s interpellation. Some have gone a step further stressing that they would never support the removal of the minister from his position. Consequently, some MPs have decided to meet today in the diwaniya of MP Jamaan Al-Harbash to discuss the implications of the interpellation submitted by MP Khalid Shakheer against the Minister of Defense. A draft of Shukheer’s interpellation is expected to be submitted during the meeting to discuss the pros and cons.

da to tiny Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, for her years of public service. For others, the chance of some extra days off work and to enjoy the sort of extravaganza and public ceremony for which Britain is renowned has made it a welcome break from austere times, pay freezes and deep public spending cuts. Republicans hope the occasion marks the last hurrah of a dying anachronism, while some 2 million people are leaving Britain altogether to go on holiday. “Original jubilees were invented in the 19th century by the popular press as modes of national celebration for which the monarchy and monarch was almost incidental,” said royal biographer Robert More on 10 Lacey.

Madonna kicks off MDNA world tour

Tuareg rebels reject deal with Islamists over Sharia

BAMAKO: Tuareg rebels said Friday they had rejected a deal with Islamist rebels to form a breakaway state in northern Mali because of their insistence on implementing Sharia law. The Islamist Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) have refused to back off from their demand for the implementation of radical Islamic law, which the rebel National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MNLA) has already rejected. “The MNLA’s political leadership, faced with Ansar Dine’s intransigence on applying Sharia law in Azawad, and to remain faithful to its resolutely secular position, rejects the deal dated May 26, 2012 made with this group and declares everything pertaining to it null and void,” said a statement. The document, dated Thursday and signed by senior MNLA member Hamma Ag Mahmoud in Azawad’s capital Gao, was the first official confirmation of the rebels’ rejection of the accord.

The rival groups, who seized main cities in northern Mali after a March 22 coup in the southern capital Bamako, hold separate ideologies and objectives and the relationship has been an uneasy one. A brief bid to merge the two groups quickly dissolved over Ansar Dine’s desire to impose radical Islamic rules on the state. Mossa Ag Attaher, a Paris-based MNLA spokesman, told AFP Friday they had “accepted the idea of an Islamic State but it should have been written that we will practice a moderate and tolerant Islam, with no mention of Sharia. “We are not ready to find ourselves closed-in by Sharia from one day to the next,” he added. But while the MNLA was ready to fight Islamic terrorism, he said, the Tuaregs would not give up on their aim of an autonomous state of Azawad, their name for their homeland in northern Mali, an area larger than France. -AFP

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Syria on brink of sectarian civil war, West says UN rights chief warns Syria in ‘grave danger’

BEIRUT: Syria is nearing full-blown sectarian civil war that would be catastrophic for the entire Middle East, Western nations said on Thursday, urging Russia to end its support for President Bashar Al-Assad and put pressure on him to stop the bloodshed. With anti-Assad rebels urging international envoy Kofi Annan to declare his peace plan dead, freeing them from any commitment to the tattered truce, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the prospect of spiraling violence presented “terrible” danger. “A civil war in a country that would be driven by sectarian divides ... could then morph into a proxy war in the region because, remember, you have Iran deeply embedded in Syria,” Clinton said during a trip to Copenhagen where she urged Moscow to increase pressure on Assad. Russia, like China, has vetoed two Security Council resolutions calling for tougher action against Damascus, while stressing hopes that Annan’s plan can spur a political solution. Washington called a reported shipment of Russian arms to Syria “reprehensible” although not illegal. “The Russians keep telling us they want to do everything they can to avoid a civil war because they believe that the violence would be catastrophic,” Clinton said. “I think they are in effect propping up the regime at a time when we should be working on a political transition.” State of collapse

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Syria was moving towards “all-out civil war or a state of collapse”. The European Union was drafting new sanctions against Syria, he added, calling on other nations to pressure Assad. A bloody crackdown on what began 14 months ago as a peaceful mass uprising has increasingly turned it into an armed conflict between heavily armed forces representing an establishment dominated by Assad’s Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and rebel forces drawn largely from the Sunni majority. Damascus says the rebels are backed by Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states fearful of the

This image made from amateur video released by Shaam News Network and accessed, June 1, purports to show the funeral for a Syrian worker killed near Qusair, in Homs province, Syria. (AP)

growing influence of Syria’s main ally in the region, Shiite Iran. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that another massacre like Friday’s killing of 108 men, women and children in the western Houla region could pitch Syria into a devastating civil war “from which the country would never recover”. The United Nations has said the army and pro-Assad gunmen were probably responsible for the Houla killings, but Syria said on Thursday that a preliminary investigation had shown that anti-government armed groups carried out the killings with the aim of encouraging foreign military intervention. ‘Another blatant lie’

Washington’s UN ambassador, Susan Rice, said Syria’s version of what had happened in Houla was “another blatant lie”. The massacre

Israel returns remains of Palestinians

led a range of Western countries to expel senior Syrian diplomats and to press Russia and China to allow tougher action by the UN Security Council. Syria’s main rebel commander, Colonel Riad Al-Asaad, urged Annan to declare that his peace plan had failed. “There is no deadline, but we want Kofi Annan to issue a declaration announcing the failure of this plan so that we would be free to carry out any military operation against the regime,” Turkey-based Asaad told Al Jazeera television, contradicting rebels inside Syria who issued a 48-hour ultimatum on Wednesday for Assad to abide by Annan’s plan. Annan’s spokesman said it was not for the peace envoy to declare defeat. “The Annan plan does not belong to Kofi Annan. It belongs to the parties that have accepted it and the international community that

has endorsed it,” Ahmad Fawzi told Reuters. “So a failure of the Annan plan would be the failure of the international community to solve this peacefully ... If anyone has a better plan, they should come up with it.” The United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed more than 9,000 people since the start of the uprising. Syria blames Islamist militants for the violence and says 2,600 soldiers and police have been killed. Rebel leader Asaad said his fighters had so far honored Annan’s plan. But activists have reported frequent attacks by militants and army defectors on government forces since the April 12 ceasefire agreement. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based network that collates reports of violence in Syria, said 11 bodies had been

found outside the town of Al-Qusair - killings that a Syrian television station blamed on “terrorist groups”. At least one person was killed and dozens were wounded in artillery and rocket bombardment in the Houla region on Thursday following rebel attacks on soldiers and pro-Assad ‘shabbiha’ militiamen, opposition activists said. Russian President Vladimir Putin flies to Berlin and Paris on Friday for talks that European leaders may hope to use to lean on him to loosen Moscow’s strategic links to Assad. Russia has sought to justify its weapons deliveries to Syria, saying government forces need to defend themselves against rebels receiving arms from abroad. Damascus says Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Libya are among the countries helping the rebels. The United States and the EU have suggested a UN arms embargo, but that would need the consent of Russia and China, which have so far resisted tougher action at the Security Council. China said it still had faith in the Annan plan, despite the “pain and sadness over what happened in Houla”. “Annan’s efforts are facing difficulties but no one can deny that they are making progress in some respects,” Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said. “We knew from the beginning that his path would not be strewn with flowers.” Jordan’s King Abdullah

Annan met Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman to discuss the regional impact of the Syrian crisis, before flying to Lebanon where he met President Michel Suleiman, telling his interlocutors he had urged Assad to “take bold steps now to end the violence” and implement the peace plan, his spokesman said. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited Turkey for talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on the fate of a dozen Shi’ite pilgrims taken hostage last week in northern Syria, shortly after crossing the border from Turkey. Syrian rebels in Aleppo province said in a statement that the hostages were in good health and suggested that some had participated in fighting the rebellion. They demanded an apology from Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, an ally of Assad, for remarks on Syria he made in a speech last week. -Reuters

British Navy sailor missing in Dubai DUBAI: A British sailor has gone missing in Dubai, forcing his ship to leave the emirate without him, the Royal Navy said Friday as his family issued a plea for information on his whereabouts. British diplomats and local authorities in Dubai have launched a hunt for leading seaman Timothy Andrew MacColl, 27, after his disappearance earlier this week, a spokesman for the Navy said. “We can confirm that a member of HMS Westminster’s crew is currently missing in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. “This has been reported to the local authorities, who are currently treating the incident as a missing person event. Everything is being done

to ensure that he is located safely.” The missing man’s family said he was last seen by a shipmate getting into a taxi alone in the early hours of Sunday after leaving a bar at a hotel in the Deira area, a 15-minute drive from where his ship was docked. His wife Rachael, who is expecting their third child in October, said checks with hospitals, prisons, police and mortuaries had failed to turn up any trace of her husband, who had been due to speak to his family on Skype on Sunday. “We are appealing to the people of Dubai and reaching out to the large expat community to help us find Timmy and raise awareness in that area,” she said. “It is completely out of character

for him not to contact us, and we are completely at a loss and going crazy with worry. “Wherever Timmy is, I know that he wants to be found... Please, please help us find him.” Media reports said MacColl was originally from Scotland but is now based in Hampshire in southeast England. HMS Westminster arrived in Dubai on Saturday and left on Thursday. The frigate was involved last month in Exercise Arabian Shark, war games conducted with American, Saudi and Pakistani forces in the Gulf of Oman, which is close to Iran, the Ministry of Defense said. It has also been involved in antipiracy and drugs enforcement operations. -AFP

Turkey tells UN, aid donors to move to Somalia Palestinians carry coffins of Palestinian bodies handed over by Israel to the Palestinian Authority as the bodies arrive in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, May 31. (EPA)

JERUSALEM: Israel has handed over the remains of scores of Palestinian fighters killed in attacks on Israel. Seventy-nine bodies were handed over to Palestinian officials in Ramallah on Thursday and another 12 were transferred to the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority described them as “martyrs” killed since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967. The fighters, including several suicide bombers, had been buried, some of them for decades, in a desolate Israeli military cemetery for “enemy combatants” in the West Bank. “I am happy they are sending back his body so I can go and pray on his grave before I die.” Al Jazeera’s Sue Turton, reporting from Ramallah, said the 91 bodies were only a third of the ones still interred in unnamed graves in Israeli cemeteries. “The majority are from Nablus and Hebron,” she said. “The families are getting simple coffins back, with the numbers they were interred in in Israel. And inside the coffins are not only the bodies but also the belongings that they were found with.” Among the bodies were eight members of a seaborne squad which took over a Tel Aviv hotel in 1975 before being killed by Israeli commandos, in a raid in which seven hostages were also killed. The Palestinian Authority held a short ceremony with full military honors for the fighters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Hamas held its own memorial ceremony in the Gaza Strip. Speaking to Al Jazeera from Ramallah, Fatima Abdulkarim of the Jerusalem Aid and Human Rights Centre, criticised the dealings of the Israeli government but said it was “a historic moment for the Palestinians”. “We lack trust in the unilateral Israeli process. We are not in touch with the Israeli side on whose bodies have been released, how the DNA was tested or how the identification has been established,” Abdulkarim said. “We are basing our appeals on the fact

that people need to know and have closure to their stories that have been open for years.” Near the crossing from Israel to Gaza, families held framed pictures of their dead sons as they awaited the bodies. Ahmad Kahlout’s 21-year-old son Yehiya was killed 17 years ago after he raided an Israeli settlement. “I am happy they are sending back his body so I can go and pray on his grave before I die,” said Kahlout, 78. “Until my dying day I will be proud of him, but also sad for the years I wasn’t able to visit his grave.” Among the remains returning to Gaza is Reem Al-Reashi, a Hamas suicide bomber who blew herself up at an Israeli army checkpoint in 2004, killing four soldiers. Her husband said parts of her body had already been buried. The rest was now on its way. The return of the bodies was announced on May 14 by the office of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in what it called “a gesture to President [Mahmoud] Abbas”. “It is our hope that this humanitarian gesture will serve both as a confidencebuilding measure and help get the peace process back on track,” Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, said. “Israel is ready for the immediate resumption of peace talks without any preconditions whatsoever,” he said. Abbas has demanded a halt to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a condition for returning to peace talks that collapsed over the settlement issue in 2010. The official Palestinian WAFA news agency said the remains would be transferred to families but 17 would be buried in a mass grave in Ramallah because their families could not be identified. In July, Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, blocked the transfer of the remains of 84 Palestinians buried in numbered graves in the Jordan Valley “cemetery of enemy combatants”, citing the need to review their identities. -Reuters

ISTANBUL: The United Nations should beef up its operation in Somalia, and other countries who want to help the war-torn state should actually move in and set up bases there, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. Erdogan’s direct remarks at a international conference on Somalia in Istanbul, the second hosted in Turkey in two years, were a sign of his administration’s growing clout and ambitions in Africa. “Without living there you cannot devise the correct policies and you cannot help. I invite the international community to open representative offices,” Erdogan told the conference attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Somali interim president and delegations from more than 50 countries. “We have really struggled to make Somalia’s voice heard, to make those who do not see or feel what’s going on in Somalia, see and feel,” he said. Most aid agencies funding projects in Somalis are actually based in neighboring Kenya or further afield. Many moved their headquarters out of the country years ago to avoid kidnappings, looting and fighting between al-Qaeda allied militants and Somali troops backed by African forces. Somalia has been mired in turmoil since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Erdogan made a high-profile and whirlwind visit to the Somali capital in August last year, bringing his family and a plane full of ministers and consultants. For all its brevity, the trip was still the first time a non-African leader had visited the country in almost 20 years. While the visit was aimed at drawing attention to the famine that swept across the Horn of Africa nation, it was also part of Ankara’s wider strategy of positioning itself as a growing regional power and influential voice within the Muslim world. Turkey has since opened an embassy in Mogadishu, built hospitals and schools and started direct flights between the two countries. It has also sent hundreds of Somali students to study in Turkey. While Turkey has been largely applauded for its assistance in Somalia, critics say Ankara’s headfirst policy and relative inexperience in the region leaves it vulnerable to manipulation by different political factions. Erdogan, who has previously lashed out at the international community over Somalia, accusing the “Western world” of ignoring the poor, on Friday urged nations to act together. “There is a problem in Somalia, but arguing over ‘you’ or ‘I’ instead of

Turkey has urged international agencies to head back into Somalia (Reuters)

solving the problem will only prolong the problem,” Erdogan said. The Turkish leader also called on the United Nations to review its mission in Somalia and strengthen its presence there. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has visited Somalia since Erdogan’s trip, said the world body was relocating more staff to the country and also called on international donors to work together. “Here in this room we are partners who can join forces, who can make a major difference for Somalia’s future,” he said. “Today I ask all of you to make this happen, in memory of those Somalis that have died and in service to those who deserve to live in peace and prosperity for generations to come.” Delegates at the conference discussed ways to support Somalia during a transition period that will see the creation of a new constitution, parliament and president. -Reuters

Arab Spring increases migration to EU

BRUSSELS: A new report says applications for asylum in the European Union increased 16.2 in 2011 over the previous year, in part because of turmoil surrounding the Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. The report, issued Friday by the European

Commission, the EU’s executive branch, says just over 302,000 people applied for asylum in 2011. That is still far fewer than the peak of 425,000 applications received in 2001. The commission also says that 80 percent of EU citizens surveyed agree that EU countries should offer protection and asylum to

those in need. The same proportion believes asylum rules should be the same among all EU countries. Cecelia Malmstrom, EU commissioner for Home Affairs, says the findings show the EU “needs a strong and coherent migration policy.” -Reuters

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Merkel welcomes Putin with military honors BERLIN:German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin with military honors Friday ahead of talks expected to be dominated by the deadly strife in Syria. Merkel met Putin on a red carpet stretched out before her offices in Berlin as a small group of shouting and whistling protesters rallied outside. One young man held a banner in the shape of a Russian flag with the Russian words “Putin is a thief” emblazoned across it. Others waved Syrian flags. Putin arrived from Belarus on his first foreign tour since returning to the Kremlin for a third term amid unprecedented demonstrations against his rule. During his stops in Berlin and then

Paris later Friday Putin is due to face pressure to accept tougher UN action against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. Germany, France, Britain, the United States and other Western nations expelled Syrian diplomats in protest at the slaughter last week of 108 people in the town of Houla, many of whom were summarily executed according to the UN. Syria allies China and Russia, which have both blocked previous attempts at the UN Security Council to condemn Damascus, joined other council members on Sunday in backing a statement condemning the Houla killings. But Moscow has insisted that Sunday’s rebuke went far enough. -AFP

NEWS IN BRIEF Pirates attack Greek oil tanker off Nigeria KUALA LUMPUR: Pirates attacked a Greek-owned oil tanker off Nigeria Friday but failed to hijack the ship after the crew hid in a safe room, the International Maritime Bureau said. The tanker was anchored off Lagos when armed pirates boarded early on Friday, said Noel Choong, head of the IMB’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. The 23 crew onboard managed to lock themselves into a safe room and sent out a distress call that was received by the IMB, which in turn alerted the Nigerian navy and other warships patrolling the area, Choong said. -AFP

More dead bodies at Kazakh border post, death toll 15 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, on June 1, as they review a guard of honour upon his arrival at the Chancellery, before their meeting. (AFP)

Kosovo Serbs and NATO troops clash in tense north

A Kosovo Serb talks to Germany’s KFOR soldiers blocking the bridge during clashes in the town of Zvecan June 1. (Reuters)

ZVECAN, Kosovo: At least three Kosovo Serbs and a NATO soldier were wounded in a gunfight on Friday, as peacekeepers tried to dismantle Serb barricades blocking traffic, a Reuters witness said. NATO troops in the Kosovo Force (KFOR) fired tear gas and small arms and some protesters fired back with handguns. The troops, in armored personnel carriers, were confronted by hundreds of Serbs who pelted them with stones near roadblocks in the villages of Rudare and Dudin Krs outside the town of Zvecan in a Serbdominated northern area of Kosovo. The roadblocks are among the last on major roads yet to be dismantled by KFOR. They were erected as part of a long-running Serb campaign to prevent the government of Albanian-majority independent Kosovo from imposing its rule in the area. “One KFOR soldier has been wounded, has been evacuated and he is stable,” said NATO spokesperson in Kosovo Uwe Nowitzki. “KFOR will not allow the situation to escalate and will use a proportional level of force necessary to maintain a safe and secure environment,” Nowitzki said. The operation to remove the roadblocks was continuing, he said. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, is 90 percent ethnic Albanian. But Serbs opposed to independence dominate in a small swathe of the north bordering Serbia which continues to function as part of the Serbian state, resisting efforts by the Kosovo government to extend its authority. A Reuters witness said extra KFOR troops arrived to reinforce the troops from Germany and the United States after the initial clashes and were deployed on hills overlooking Rudare. Several NATO helicopters were also flying over the area. Dragisa Milovic, the mayor of Zvecan which is about 60 km (40 miles) from the capital Pristina, told Reuters that KFOR had refused to allow Serb medical personnel to help wounded Serbs, and said: “A commander told me they have the authority to use deadly force on anyone who throws a stone or uses a weapon.” Milovic said he had asked Serbs to withdraw to restore calm. Kosovo Serbs set up barricades at boundary crossings with Serbia last year after authorities in

Pristina, the EU’s police and judiciary mission EULEX tried to establish their presence. A Kosovo policeman was killed in an ambush and several civilians and NATO troops were injured in clashes that have erupted over the last few months. Health authorities in the Serb-controlled north of the city of Mitrovica said three Serbs were hospitalized while others were released after treatment for slight injuries. Krstimir Pantic, mayor of the Serb-controlled part of the northern city of Mitrovica, said the municipal council and “the people” had decided to warn KFOR and EULEX not to enter the area under Serb control after the latest clashes. “We have decided to tell them that the (Serb part of) Mitrovica is not open for them ... that we cannot guarantee them safety,” Pantic said. Earlier this year, Belgrade sought to mend ties with Kosovo and agreed to open border crossings and establish cooperation with Pristina on issues like driving licenses, land registration and school diplomas to secure European Union candidacy. The outgoing pro-Western authorities in Belgrade have accused nationalists from the four Serb municipalities in Kosovo’s north of stirring up trouble ahead of Serbia’s May parliamentary and presidential elections, which ended in a victory for rightist challenger Tomislav Nikolic. Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia’s state secretary for Kosovo in the outgoing government, said KFOR had made “a risky move” by trying to remove the roadblocks and warned the situation in northern Kosovo was “volatile and may escalate by the end of the day”. “I cannot understand what motivated KFOR to make such a move ... except that it had an intention to reinforce Pristina’s position ahead of the resumption of talks (with Serbia) this year,” he said. “We are the outgoing government and we can make only limited moves.” Nikolic, a former ultranationalist, took an oath of office on Thursday. He pledged he would maintain Serbia’s EU bid, but would never renounce Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia. Independent Kosovo has been recognized by 90 countries, including the United States and 22 of the EU’s 27 member states. -Reuters

Brussels police attacked after arresting veiled woman

BRUSSELS: Protesters hurled bins and metal barriers at a Brussels police station on Thursday night after a Muslim woman was arrested for refusing to remove a face veil, Belgian media reported. “They tried to enter by force, but they were not able to,” a spokesman for Brussels police told broadcaster RTL. “So instead they threw metal barriers and bins.” Six protesters were arrested, according to state broadcaster VRT. The woman was released and expected to be questioned later. Belgium and France both banned people from wearing full face veils in public last year.

Belgian state broadcaster VRT and newspapers said the woman had scuffled with officers trying to arrest her at a bus stop and that a policewoman was injured. “Finally, the woman’s veil was removed and she was taken to hospital with mild concussion,” the police spokesman told Le Soir newspaper. The woman’s husband went to the police station later that day to complain, accompanied by about 20 others. A spokesman for Brussels police was not immediately available to confirm the details of the protest or the arrest. -Reuters

Canadian dismemberment suspect may be in France

PARIS: The Canadian suspected of dismembering a man in Montreal and mailing his body parts to political parties may be in France, where police are conducting a search, a police source told Reuters on Friday. French authorities were informed on Thursday that Luka Rocco Magnotta had bought a plane ticket for Paris, the source said. A French police spokesman said they had been alerted to an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol on Thursday, but would not comment further. Magnotta, 29, a native of the Toronto area who was living in Montreal, has a bizarre Internet trail as an alleged kitten-killer and bisexual porn star. Montreal police say they believe he is out of the country, but have not confirmed a report in Montreal newspaper Journal de Montreal that he flew to Europe on Saturday under a fake name. The police source said he had spent time in France in 2010. Canadian authorities are trying to determine whether he was responsible for a video of a beheading posted on an Internet site that specializes in gore. A search of Magnotta’s Montreal apartment on Wednesday revealed a bloody mattress and pools of blood on the floor and in the refrigerator. Montreal police said a janitor found a torso with no head or limbs in a suitcase in an alley behind Magnotta’s building. Authorities believe that a decomposing foot mailed to the headquarters of the governing Conservative Party in Ottawa on Tuesday and a hand found inside a package at a postal depot are parts of the same person. -Reuters

ASTANA: Two more bodies of Kazakh border guards have been discovered at a burnt-out border post near the frontier with China, the border guard service said on Friday, bringing the death toll in an unexplained incident to 15. “The total number of the dead are 14 servicemen and one civilian - a gamekeeper from a local game reserve,” the service said in a statement. “The forces of border guards, national security bodies and police continue their investigative and search actions,” it said, adding that the dead would be sent to the capital Astana for examination by forensic experts. –Reuters

Man admits killing Indian student on Boxing Day MANCHESTER: A man on Friday admitted shooting dead an Indian student in Britain but denied murder and will stand trial later this year. Kiaran Stapleton, 21, walked up to complete stranger Anuj Bidve, 23, and shot him once in the head at point-blank range in Salford near Manchester, in the early hours of December 26 last year. Appearing at Manchester Crown Court, Stapleton pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. He will go on trial for murder on June 25 with the trial expected to last 12 days.-AFP

Poland welcomes Obama letter on ‘death camp’ error WARSAW: Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski welcomed a letter from Barack Obama on Friday in which the US leader expressed regret for upsetting Poles earlier this week by referring to a “Polish death camp”. Poles have called on Obama to apologize for a phrase they have long sought to eliminate from historical and newspaper accounts which suggests Poland, which was occupied by the Nazi Germany during World War Two, was partially responsible for Holocaust atrocities perpetrated on its soil. Numerous German camps in occupied Poland during the war included the

infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau, KrakowPlaszow and Treblinka complexes. “The correspondence received today is an important and a very necessary gesture by the US President,” Komorowski told a news conference. “In my view, it’s a letter from our important ally and a good friend.” In the letter, Obama said he regretted the error and also saw this as “an opportunity to ensure that this and future generations know the truth”. “I inadvertently used a phrase that caused many Poles anguish over the years and that Poland has rightly campaigned to eliminate from public discourse around

the world,” Obama said in the letter, released by Komorowski’s office. The gaffe caused a storm in the Polish media and sparked angry reactions from senior politicians in the country, which has traditionally been one of staunchest US allies in Europe. The White House said the matter should not overshadow the intention of posthumously awarding the top US civilian honor to Jan Karski, a Pole who infiltrated the Warsaw Ghetto and a Nazi death camp for first-hand evidence of the Holocaust, in which some six million Jews were killed. -Reuters

A delegation from the German national football team, including captain Philipp Lahm (3rd right) and coach Joachim Loew, arrives for a visit at the former German Nazi Death Camp, Auschwitz Birkenau on June 1. (AFP)

Students in Nigeria clash with police

LAGOS: Police in Nigeria’s largest city used tear gas Friday to try to disperse a crowd of several hundred university students angry at the president’s decision to change the name of their school. The protest began peacefully at the University of Lagos. But students then surrounded an armored police truck and beat on it. Police fired tear gas and students responded with a barrage of thrown stones. They were protesting a decision Tuesday by President Goodluck Jonathan to change the name of the city’s flagship university. Jonathan said the University of Lagos - known as UNILAG - would be renamed Moshood Abiola University in

honor of a political prisoner who died in jail over a decade ago. Abiola was a businessman widely believed to be the winner of a 1993 presidential poll annulled by military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Babangida’s successor, Gen. Sani Abacha, then jailed Abiola. The businessman died in custody. Jonathan said Tuesday that the name change would honor Abiola’s “martyrdom.” He also announced that the government would establish an institute to study democracy and governance in the renamed university. For many students, however, this is an unfair trade-off. They argue that the government has perennially neglected the university which has over-

crowded classrooms and ill-equipped laboratories. The anger over the name comes amid terrorist attacks by a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram that have killed more than 530 people this year alone. The nation’s electrical grid is in a shambles and power cuts remain common even at the university, considered one of the nation’s top schools. Meanwhile, billions of dollars in oil money get funneled to politicians and the country’s business elite. The university declared a sudden two-week holiday Wednesday but many students remain in the university’s dormitories, from where they continue to organize protests. -AP

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF Suicide attack kills 7 Afghans at NATO base KABUL: A suicide attacker rammed a truck packed with explosives into a checkpoint at a NATO base on Friday, killing up to seven Afghan civilians in the east of the country, a security official said. “The attacker drove his truck full of explosives into the first security checkpost of the NATO base. Initial information shows that seven Afghans have been killed and 13 others injured,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost province, near the Pakistani border, after which insurgents attacked the base. “No Afghan or member of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in the attack,” an ISAF spokesman said, adding that 14 rebels were killed in the clashes, which are now over. -AFP

China arrests security official on suspicion of spying for US HONG KONG: A Chinese state security official has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the United States, sources said, a case both countries have kept quiet for several months as they strive to prevent a fresh crisis in relations. The official, an aide to a vice minister in China’s security ministry, was arrested and detained early this year on allegations that he had passed information to the United States for several years on China’s overseas espionage activities, said three sources, who all have direct knowledge of the matter. The aide had been recruited by the US Central Intelligence Agency and provided “political, economic and strategic intelligence”, one source said, though it was unclear what level of information he had access to, or whether overseas Chinese spies were compromised by the intelligence he handed over. -Reuters

Alleged Tibetan immolation photos show man ablaze BEIJING: A Tibetan writer posted photos online Friday allegedly showing scenes from two self-immolations in Lhasa, the latest in a series of anti-government suicide protests but the first in the tightly guarded regional capital. There have been more than three dozen Tibetan self-immolations in China since March last year, but the two Sunday were the first reported in Lhasa. Protests have become rare in remote Tibet and Lhasa in particular because of tight police security that has blanketed the capital since anti-government riots erupted there in 2008. Beijingbased Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser posted the images to her blog and Twitter feed and told The Associated Press that she did not know who took the photos but that they were forwarded to her by someone she trusts. -AP

Pakistan ‘CIA doctor’ appeals conviction ISLAMABAD: Lawyers representing the Pakistani doctor jailed after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden appealed against his conviction on Friday. Shakeel Afridi was on May 23 sentenced to 33 years in jail under Pakistan’s archaic system of tribal justice, worsening Pakistan’s already precarious relationship with the United States. He was arrested after US troops killed bin Laden in May 2011 in the town of Abbottabad where he set up a fake vaccination program in the hope of obtaining DNA samples to identify the Al-Qaeda leader. -AP

Three Indians feared dead in Australian house fire MELBOURNE: Three members of an Indian family are believed to have died after a fire tore through a Melbourne house Friday, with police saying murdersuicide was one avenue of investigation. Detectives said a family of four from southern India lived at the property and remains had been found, but the damage was so great it would take time to confirm how many people died. Reports said a mother and her two young boys perished while the father was overseas on business. -AFP

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Thai ‘yellow shirts’ bring parliament to a halt BANGKOK: Anti-government protesters brought Thailand’s parliament to a halt on Friday, surrounding the complex and forcing the speaker to postpone debate on a reconciliation bill that critics say is aimed at allowing a deposed prime minister to return home. The People’s Alliance for Democracy, known as the yellow shirts, oppose the bill because they say the government will use a blanket amnesty to bring back self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra without him having to serve jail time for a graft conviction. “I have ordered the meeting to be postponed indefinitely to preserve the atmosphere and peace in the country. We’ll have to analyze the situation before determining when the meeting will be held again,” speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont told reporters. Thai politics has been riven by rivalry between supporters and opponents of former telecoms tycoon Thaksin since he was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Financial market investors are becoming concerned about the possibility of unrest and Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said on Wednesday that it could hurt the economy, which has barely recovered from devastating floods last year. More than 1,000 demonstrators clad in yellow shirts and holding banners with antigovernment slogans had gathered around parliament. Rally leaders set up a truck as a makeshift stage and took turns denouncing the government’s national unity proposals as hundreds of riot police secured the parliament building. “We need to deal with this government. If they don’t listen to us, the PAD are experts at getting rid of prime ministers,” Chamlong Srimuang, a yellow shirt leader, told the cheering crowd. The current government, elected last July, is led by Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, and he is widely seen as pulling the strings from his base in Dubai. Thaksin fled into exile in August 2008, shortly before he was sentenced to a two-year

Thai members of the royalist Yellow Shirts protesting against a proposed reconciliation debate confront policemen outside the parliament buidling in Bangkok on June 1. (Reuters)

jail term for a conflict of interest case leveled by graft-busters appointed by the military junta that toppled him. He denies wrongdoing. The yellow shirts, drawn broadly from the ranks of the urban middle class and supporters of the traditional royalist-military elite, staged

mass rallies against Thaksin before he was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006. They also helped undermine a pro-Thaksin government in 2008, holding protracted rallies and forcing the closure of Bangkok’s two airports for a week just before the courts disbanded the government that December.

Suu Kyi gets ovation at first international speech BANGKOK: Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi basked in a long-overdue standing ovation at her first speech before an international audience Friday, but quickly shifted the focus from herself to Myanmar’s many needs - and how the world can help. Despite recently emerging from 24 years of isolation, the former political prisoner appeared completely at ease speaking to the World Economic Forum in Bangkok where she urged the international community to exercise “healthy skepticism” toward Myanmar’s muchtouted reform process. It is not the first time that Suu Kyi has called for caution in the world’s approach to Myanmar - but it is the first time she has uttered the sentiment on foreign soil since becoming her country’s democracy crusader in 1988. The speech was broadcast live across several time zones. The Oxford graduate and longtime political prisoner also delighted the audience with an anecdote about her arrival in Bangkok - on her first international flight in decades. “The captain was so very kind as to invite me to sit in the cockpit,” she said with a smile. At first she marveled at the high-tech control panel but then was “completely fascinated by the lights” of modern Bangkok sprawled out below her. Next month, the 66-year-old Suu Kyi will see how much Europe has changed, too, with visits to five countries including England and Norway, where she will formally accept her Nobel Peace Prize, 21 years after winning it. Klaus Schwab, the forum’s founder, introduced her as “one of the most extraordinary personalities of this century.” Suu Kyi spent 15 out of 22 years locked under house arrest by the former military regime, during which time she occasionally spoke to the outside world through audio and video messages. She was granted freedom after Myanmar held

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during the 21st World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok on June 1. (Reuters)

elections in 2010 and was elected to Parliament in April. She kicked off her international tour this week. The mission of her travels is to discuss how the world can help “that little piece of the world that some of us call Burma and some of us call Myanmar,” she said. Dressed in pale blue silk with a strand of white flowers in her hair, Suu Kyi listed the country’s most essential needs as basic education and vocational training to foster political reforms and jobs to end high unemployment among the young, who have little to do in life and not much hope. “I’m extremely worried about youth unemployment,” which she called “a time bomb.” Anticipating huge aid and investment to develop Myanmar’s stunted infrastructure, Suu Kyi said she hoped foreign firms would invest cautiously and transparently, so the influx of money can benefit the

impoverished masses. “We do not want more investment to mean more possibilities for corruption,” she said. “Our country must benefit.” Myanmar’s sputtering economy, in ruins after half a century of military rule and years of harsh Western sanctions, has led to huge unemployment and has forced millions of people to seek jobs abroad. Since elections last year, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein has surprised much of the world by engineering sweeping reforms. But Suu Kyi noted that the country is only in the very early phases of building a democracy and still lacks rule of law and an independent judiciary. “These days I am coming across what I call reckless optimism,” she told the room packed with several hundred people and a wall of TV cameras. She drew applause, saying, “A little bit of healthy skepticism I think is in order.” -Reuters

Japanese protest over planned Malaysia PM’s popularity slips ahead of election restart of nuclear reactors TOKYO: Hundreds of Japanese anti-nuclear protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s office on Friday, beating drums and chanting slogans against the planned restart of reactors a year after the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. “We oppose restarts,” the crowd of about 1,000, which stretched for around 200 meters down the block, shouted in the peaceful demonstration. Public mistrust of nuclear power has grown since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11 last year triggered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. All of Japan’s nuclear power plants, which once supplied about 30 percent of the country’s energy needs, have been taken off line, leaving Japan vulnerable to power outages during the summer. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Wednesday said that it is necessary to restart idled reactors whose safety has been confirmed and that the central government is winning the understanding of local authorities. A group of regional governors, long concerned about safety at the Kansai Electric Power Co’s two reactors in Ohi, western Japan, signaled their agreement to the restarts as a “limited” step. -Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s popularity has slipped in recent months, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as he lost support among ethnic Chinese and middle-class voters ahead of a general elections that he could call within months. Najib is facing a dilemma over the timing of the election as his National Front coalition seeks to reverse a dismal showing four years ago that deprived it of its twothirds majority in parliament for the first time. The 58-year-old leader has enjoyed high personal approval ratings, but analysts say it is unclear whether that will translate into increased support for his less popular UMNO party and its allies. Support for Najib slid to 65 percent in the May poll from 69 percent in March, according to the Merdeka Center, the country’s most respected polling firm. The dip may add to speculation that Najib may choose to delay elections until after presenting the budget on September 28. “The small gain in Malay voter satisfaction towards the PM appears to have been outweighed by the large negative swing among Chinese voters,” Merdeka Center said in a statement. The poll found that approval for Najib was weakest among ethnic Chinese, tumbling 19 percentage points to 37 percent and among those in the middle income bracket, falling 18 percentage points to 50 percent. His

popularity among ethnic Malays, who form the majority of Malaysia’s population, rose 5 percentage points to 79 percent. Voters’ views on the government remained lukewarm, with approval staying unchanged at 48 percent. The survey was carried out between May 10 and May 18 among 1,019 registered voters to gauge sentiment after an anti-government protest in April. Najib’s popularity has been lifted by giveaways to lower-income households and reforms to repressive security laws. He announced Malaysia’s first national minimum wage at the end of April in another boost for poorer voters. He has faced a tougher struggle winning over middle class voters, however. At least 25,000 demonstrators rallied in Kuala Lumpur in April to demand reforms to an electoral system they say favors the ruling coalition. The protest ended in chaos after police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse crowds. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was charged in May for defying a court order related to the protest and could be disqualified from parliament if convicted. A separate Merdeka Centre poll after the protest showed that 92 percent of Malaysians want shortcomings in the country’s electoral rolls to be fixed before the election. That survey also found that only 44 percent of respondents were confident of a free and fair election process. -Reuters

That led to the rise of the pro-Thaksin “red shirt” movement, drawn mainly from the poorer sections of society, which closed down parts of central Bangkok for seven weeks in 2010. The national reconciliation bill proposes an amnesty for those guilty of crimes related to Thailand’s six-year political crisis. -Reuters

Hong Kong leader apologizes as pressure builds over scandals HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s outgoing leader Donald Tsang tearfully apologized on Friday for his part in one of a series of corruption scandals that have embarrassed China, a day after an independent report called for him to be held more accountable. Tsang, 67, has found himself in hot water at the twilight of his career over a series of cases that have undermined his credibility and led to a probe by the city’s anti-corruption watchdog, the ICAC. “Because of my personal mishandling of matters, in shaking public confidence in Hong Kong’s (civil service) to be incorrupt and honest in performing one’s duties, and in causing disappointment towards civil servants, I once again wholeheartedly apologies to everyone,” Tsang told reporters. He then bowed his head for a few seconds, pursed his quivering lips and fought back tears, before leaving. A series of scandals ensnaring powerful officials have tarnished the city’s reputation as a relatively corruption-free society, while posing a thorny challenge for China’s leaders who have strived to maintain stability in Hong Kong since it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Among the high profile cases is the ICAC’s arrest of close Tsang ally and former chief secretary Rafael Hui, and the three billionaire tycoon Kwok brothers at the helm Asia’s largest property company, Sun Hung Kai, as part of an ongoing investigation into bribery charges and misconduct. Public resentment toward Tsang has centered on reports of lavish spending on overseas duty visits, along with taking trips with tycoons by private jet and luxury yacht, accepting a sweetheart rental deal for a 6500-square-foot penthouse in southern China, and staying in a high-roller suite at the Venetian casino resort in Macau. Under current laws in Hong Kong, the chief executive is the only public official exempted from accepting advantages in office, meaning that in effect the leader is not subject to any checks and balances. An independent committee, however, led by a respected former chief justice in Hong Kong, released a report on Thursday calling for tighter laws to redress the “fundamental defect” in legislation. Tsang, who retires next month, pledged to accept the recommendation and stressed “a clean government is a core value”. With China striving to ease tensions after the ouster of ambitious party elder Bo Xilai ahead of a leadership transition in the fall, Hong Kong’s problems have been an unwelcome headache, particularly for China’s next anointed leader Xi Jinping, who largely oversees the financial hub’s affairs. The perennially bow tie wearing Tsang who was knighted by the Queen for his distinguished public service under the British colonial administration, will be succeeded by the Beijing-backed Leung Chun-ying on July 1. -Reuters

Hong Kong’s outgoing leader Donald Tsang tearfully apologized on June 1, for his part in one of a series of corruption scandals that have embarrassed China. (AP)

Amman bourse benchmark falls

BUSINESS

saturdAY, june 2, 2012

AMMAN: Main index of Amman Stock Exchange dropped 21.4 points during the past week operations and its daily trade also fell, by 2.2 percent, according to weekly figures of the bourse. Benchmark for the week closing stood at 1,874.5 points, compared to 1,895.9 points of the previous week, falling by 1.13 percent. As to sectors, the main index of the financial sector decreased 1.21 percent, that of the industries, 1.48 percent and the services, 0.57 percent. Volume of daily trading amounted to approximately eight million US dollars, compared to $8.3 million the week before, with a decline proportion of 2.2 percent. Volume of trade of the week stood at some $40.5 million, compared to $41.5 million the week before. -KUNA

Kuwaiti crude slips $1.74, settles at $100.38 per barrel Oil falls 3% on US jobs, China data

CAPITALS: The price of Kuwaiti crude oil went down 1.74 US dollars to trade for $100.38 per barrel (pb) Thursday compared to last Wednesday’s $102.12 pb, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Friday. The monthly US job report contributed significant to the decline of global oil prices, as it indicated that employers in the US added fewer jobs than expected in April and the jobless rate unexpectedly declined as people are leaving the labor force, fuelling concerns that the world’s largest economy may be losing steam. Oil prices fell more than three percent o n Friday, with Brent crude dropping below $100 a barrel to a near 16-month low as weak US jobs data, poor Chinese manufacturing figures and the euro zone’s debt crisis prompted a cross-market selloff. Brent crude oil futures tumbled to their lowest since February 2011, down $4.17 to an intra-day low of $97.70, before edging up above $99 by 1400 GMT. The contract lost 14.7 percent in May, its biggest monthly decline since 2008. US oil slipped to a low of $82.56, down $3.97, after losing more than 17 percent last month, also its biggest slide since 2008. It traded at below $84 at 1400 GMT. “We’ve had constant worries about Greece, Spain, the euro, poor data from the US, and overnight the Chinese data was not positive,” said Tony Machacek, an oil futures broker

at Jefferies Bache. A survey of US employers showed 69,000 jobs were created last month, the weakest in a year, the Labor Department said on Friday. The reading was lower than any forecast in a Reuters poll. China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index eased to 50.4 in May, the weakest reading this year. Germany’s manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace for almost three years, and the euro fell to a 23-month low against the dollar on worries about the Spanish banking sector. “From China to Europe to the US, all the data have shown real slowing,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. Brent surged in March to $128 a barrel, the highest since 2008, as increased concern over the loss of Iranian oil due to tighter sanctions combined with supply hitches elsewhere. The price rise worried both oil consuming and producing countries. Saudi Arabia, the top oil exporter, has been raising output and said repeatedly it liked oil at $100. “We want a price around $100, that’s what we want,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said on May 13. “A $100 price is great.” The kingdom, the biggest producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPCE), raised output to 10.1 million barrels per day in May, according to a Reuters survey this week, its highest in decades. Overall OPEC oil supply is at the highest since 2008. Brent’s premium to US crude was at $15.13. High US inventories have been weighing on the US benchmark. US crude inventories rose more than expected last week to hit their highest level since July 1990, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. -Agencies

Japan, China start yen-yuan direct trading

Egypt falters on fuel payments, suppliers say

A portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong on a yuan banknote is reflected in water droplets in this file picture illustration taken in Taipei Oct. 8, 2010. Japan and China on Friday, June 1, 2012, began direct trading of their currencies in the Tokyo and Shanghai markets, a move that would boost bilateral trade and financial transactions between Asia’s two biggest economies. (Reuters)

TOKYO: Japan and China on Friday began direct trading of their currencies in the Tokyo and Shanghai markets, a move that would boost bilateral trade and financial transactions between Asia’s two biggest economies. Investors can now buy and sell the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan without using the US dollar as an intermediate currency. In Tokyo, three megabanks participated in direct yen-yuan trading, with the first direct exchange rate marking JPY 12.33 against the yuan, according to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. A total of 10 banks, such as Bank of China and British banking giant Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), took part in the Shanghai market,

A vegetable seller reaches to collect money from a customer in her stall at a market in central Beijing June 1, 2012. China’s inflation rate in May is likely to fall to around 3.2 percent from a year earlier due to a decline in vegetable prices state media reported this week, with China’s annual economic growth expected by analysts to fall to 7.9 percent in the second quarter, the first dip below eight percent since 2009. (Reuters)

where 100 yen stood at 8.1160 yuan in the first transaction. Previously, the exchange rates between their currencies were set with the interim step of using dollars. The new step is expected to cut transaction costs, reduce settlement risks at financial institutions, revitalize the Tokyo market and spur yuandenominated trade. Last December, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to reinforce bilateral financial cooperation, including direct yenyuan trading. The yen-yuan exchange system marks the first time for China to allow a major currency other than the dollar to trade directly with the yuan. -KUNA

CAPITALS: Egypt has struggled to obtain bank payments for its fuel purchases, trade sources said, delaying diesel supplies for transport, industry and agriculture ahead of the second round of an election vote. The payment problems have caused shipping delays and prompted some suppliers to think again before offering oil into a forthcoming one billion US dollars import tender, half a dozen trade sources, including current suppliers, told Reuters. They said delays of up to two weeks in deliveries were a regular occurrence ahead of peak summer demand for diesel, blaming Egypt’s difficulties in obtaining letters of credit from banks. An official at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) denied this. A trader involved in the transactions said banks were increasingly nervous with loans and required additional assurances as Egypt’s stretched finances made it harder to pay for its heavy fuel subsidies bill. “There has been a queue of (oil) product vessels in Egypt that are waiting for letters of credit,” said a second trader working for a Swissbased trading house. Fuel shortages have already caused anger this year and have delayed the harvest. Long lines at fuel stations in central Cairo were forming on Thursday, causing large traffic jams in some main thoroughfares. Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister and a leading figure in Egyptian politics since last year’s overthrow of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, criticized the army-backed govern-

ment’s handling of the fuel shortages. “People trust governments who do not leave them in the dark,” Moussa said on Twitter. “This is not how matters should be managed.” An official for EGPC who declined to be named denied that there were delays to shipping and access to financing. “This is not true at all. All the vessels have been arriving on time...There are no payment problems,” he said. EGPC is seeking to buy more than one million tons of gasoil, or diesel, from July to September worth around one billion dollars via a tender that closed this week - almost as much as it sought in the preceding six months. Reuters AIS Live shipping data this week showed that there are typically somewhere between 6-10 oil product tankers anchored off Egyptian oil ports, although it was not possible to verify which ones were affected by payment problems. Some of these tankers are deliveries from EGPC’s last gasoil tender, which closed in March. One supplier affected by the disruptions said its tankers were finally starting to unload on Thursday after being held up. Suppliers walk away

Shipping delays can cut or eliminate oil traders’ profit margins through additional waiting fees - “demurrage” costs. Traders said these amounted to between $15,000-$25,000 a day depending on the size of the vessel. The recent delays could further shrink

Egypt’s pool of suppliers participating in tenders, which has already fallen since the revolution, the traders said. “Taking into consideration extra demurrage for sure there are some companies not offering anymore,” said a trade source. Another source said that those able to continue supplying Egypt are likely to ask for premiums on fuel sales. Trade sources said that last year EGPC issued a tender to import products on an open credit basis but payments were held up beyond the agreed period and up to a year. AOT Trading was a major supplier of gasoil into Egypt until last year but the company has since drastically reduced its deliveries due to the credit issues, a source familiar with the matter said. AOT did not respond to a Reuters email requesting comment. The payment issues also prompted supplier Naftomar to halt deliveries of liquefied petroleum gas, used for cooking and heating, although the firm’s vessels have since returned to Egypt. Trading firms Glencore and BB Energy are also among the recent suppliers of fuel to Egypt. EGPC has also issued a tender to import three cargoes of Middle East crude oil between July and September. The deadline for submission is 29 May, with offers valid until 8 June. Crude oil shipments typically are more costly than refined product deliveries since the cargoes tend to be larger. Egypt sought crude oil tankers of 500,000 barrels or one million barrels which would cost at least $50-$100 million to finance based on current Brent oil prices. -Reuters

Unemployment in EU increases to 10.3%

BRUSSELS: The unemployment rate in the 27-member European Union was 10.3 percent in April compared with 10.2 percent in March. It was 9.5 percent in April 2011. The unemployment rate in the 17-member euro area was 11.0 percent in April, stable compared with March. It was 9.9 percent in April 2011. These figures were released Friday by Eurostat, the EU statistical office. Eurostat estimates that

24.667 million men and women in the EU, of whom 17.405 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in April. Compared with March, the number of persons unemployed increased by 102,000 in the EU and by 110, 000 in the euro area. In contrast with April 2011, unemployment rose by 1.93 million in the EU and by 1.79 million in the euro area. Among the EU Member States, the low-

est unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (3.9 percent), Luxembourg and the Netherlands (both 5.2 percent) and Germany (5.4 percent), and the highest in Spain (24.3 percent), Greece (21.7 percent), Latvia (15.2 percent ) and Portugal (15.2 percent). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate fell in eleven EU Member States, increased in fifteen, and remained stable in one, Ireland. -KUNA

Dubai’s JAFZA eyes new Sukuk to help repay old one

DUBAI: Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) has picked seven banks to arrange a new Islamic bond, lead managers said on Friday, with at least 500 million US dollars likely to be raised to part-repay the firm’s 2012 Sukuk obligation. Along with a $1.25 billion Sukuk issued by another state-owned entity, Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) Investments, due in June, the JAFZA redemption was considered crucial to assess the ability of Dubai Inc firms to meet their debt maturities. Dubai is trying to rebuild credibility with investors who fled the region after state-owned conglomerate Dubai World shook markets in 2009 with plans for a $25 billion debt restructuring. JAFZA, fully-owned by the Dubai government, mandated Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (NBAD) , Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates National Bank of Dubai (NBD), National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered to arrange a series of roadshows, a document from the lead banks said. The investor meetings will begin on June 5 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and then take in Singapore and Hong Kong on June 7 and 8 respectively. Two days of roadshows will also be held in London on June 11 and 12. A benchmark-sized Sukuk will be issued subject to market conditions, the document added, with any issue

to come from the JAFZ Sukuk (2019) special purpose vehicle - indicating a seven-year Sukuk is being proposed. Benchmark-sized is understood as at least $500 million. The proceeds from the issue will be used to help refinance the 7.5 billion UAE dirhams ($2.04 billion) Sukuk which had been due to be repaid in November, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Bondholders voted last week to allow JAFZA to repay the deal early. Repayment of the Sukuk will come through a mixture of a loan, a Sukuk and internal cash. Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings has assigned the Jebel Ali Free Zone FZE (JAFZ) a Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B’.The IDR is initiated on Rating Watch Positive (RWP), pending conclusion of the current refinancing. A successful conclusion of the refinancing as discussed below would result in an upgrade to ‘B+’ with a Stable Outlook. Fitch has also assigned an expected rating of ‘B(exp)’RWP to the proposed Sukuk which is to be issued by JAFZ Sukuk (2019) Ltd. Final instrument ratings would be contingent upon the receipt of final documentation conforming materially to information already received. This rating is also initiated on RWP, reflecting the fact that the successful issuance of these certificates would see a final rating of ‘B+’ assigned, should the amount, terms and

conditions of the certificates conform in all material respects to the information previously provided to Fitch. The refinancing is designed to address the maturity of a Sukuk due in November 2012. JAFZ has a facility mandate that has been signed with a consortium of banks in order to refinance a significant portion of the maturing Sukuk, which will be complemented with a new Sukuk. Post-refinancing, assuming it will result in a capital structure as detailed in the offering memorandum and bank refinancing, Fitch is likely to upgrade JAFZ’s IDR by up to one notch (to ‘B+’/Stable). At that time, the Sukuk proposed to be issued by JAFZ SUKUK (2019) Limited would exist, and it is likely that Fitch would then assign it a rating at the same level as the upgraded IDR. “The rating reflects the fact that JAFZ-based company activities are one of the significant contributors to Dubai’s economy (currently approximately 20 percent of Dubai’s gross domestic product) and the fact that they represent a key driver for the development of the trade and transport industries in Dubai.” says Bashar Al Natoor , Director in Fitch’s EMEA Corporates team in Dubai. JAFZ maintains a diverse portfolio of tenants in terms of industry sector and geographic base segments. Top 10 customers represented around 10.4 percent of revenue and the top customer represents less than 3.0 percent. However all of JAFZ’s operations are based in Dubai

which entails a high concentration risk. Fitch takes comfort from the fact JAFZ’s rentals and revenues from administration of real estate have held up relatively well in the past three years despite Dubai’s challenging real estate market conditions. JAFZ also maintained satisfactory occupancy rates - almost 79 percent of leasable land, 90 percent of warehouses, 78 percent of offices and 88 percent of onsite residential accommodation (OSR) were occupied as of Dec. 31 2011. JAFZ’s rentals are driven by land rent that constitutes almost 40 percent of its total rental income and have a lease term of about seven and a half years on average and a high renewal rate, with 80 percent of companies established in the free zone before 2006 still operating there. The other 60 percent of rents are, however, contracted for a one-year term. As a result, rental contracts representing almost two-thirds of rental income expire every year. Although Fitch acknowledges that JAFZ’s business tends to be less volatile and sensitive to asset bubbles than the broader Dubai office market, JAFZ’s performance is correlated to the general level of activity in Dubai, itself dependent on the health of the regional and global economies as well as the sustained regional political stability. Moreover, Fitch is concerned by the large and increasing supply of rental properties in the free zone sector. -Agencies

saturday, JUNE 2, 2012

SPORTS

Basketball

Sports Editors Highlight

PARIS: Talk about leaving it all out on the court. After quite a point at the French Open - 38 strokes over nearly a minute - France’s Richard Gasquet vomited right there on Court Suzanne Lenglen. His opponent, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, collapsed with a leg cramp and crawled on his hands and knees to a line judge’s chair. It came 1 hour, 50 minutes into their second-round match Thursday, with Dimitrov serving at 7-5, 5-4, 30-40. Gaquet hit an overhead winner to break serve en route to a 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Gasquet blamed his intestinal distress on some fruit, then joked: “The banana is still on Suzanne Lenglen. I was really feeling bad. -AP

Tennis

Stephens of US, Thunder rolls over Spurs to reignite series Sharapova win at French Open

Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant brings the ball up court against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference basketball finals in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 31, 2012. (Reuters)

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma: The Oklahoma City Thunder reignited the Western Conference finals with a 102-82 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, reducing their deficit in the bestof-seven series to 2-1 and ending the visitors’ 20-game winning streak. San Antonio, who won the first two games on home court, were unable to contain a fired-up Oklahoma City side as they suffered their first loss in 50 days. The defeat leaves the Spurs one short of the Lakers’ record of 11 straight post-season wins but more importantly it raises the prospect of a series that could go down to the wire. For the first two games it looked as if San Antonio, built around experience and three championship wins in the 2000’s, were in firm control. Thursday’s response from the Thunder was a reminder that the talented young team, who lost out to Dallas at this stage last year, are a formidable force on home court. “I think they played smarter than we did and harder than we did,” said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Kevin Durant top scored for the Thunder with 22 points but it was a team effort, particularly on defense, that paved the way to victory as the Spurs’ offensive threat of Tony Parker (16 points) and Tim Duncan (11 points) were neutralized. Durant was one of five Thunders players to make double figures, including Russell Westbrook whose ten points were accompanied by some intelligent controlling play throughout.

The Thunder’s Swiss forward Thabo Sefolosha had an outstanding game guarding Parker and finished with 19 points to go with his six steals, including a tonesetting four steals in the opening three minutes. “He’s been a great defender for us all season and he was a huge help tonight,” said Westbrook. Oklahoma City forced 21 turnovers while giving up just eight and they imposed themselves on the game from the outset taking an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes, roared on by a noisy and passionate home crowd. The Thunder had established a 54-41 lead by halftime with Durant making 16 points while the Spurs offense was restricted to 40 percent shooting in the opening two quarters. The Thunder took an 18 point lead into the fourth quarter and Popovich opted to keep Parker and Duncan on the sidelines for the final 15 minutes, his thoughts already moving to Game Four.Parker had shot just 6-12 as Sefolosha smothered him and the Thunder took advantage of their turnovers with 18 fast break points. “I thought that we played great defense from the start, defensively that was as well as you can play against the best team in basketball,” said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. Parker said the Spurs would now have to study video of the game to try and work out how to overcome the Thunder in Saturday’s Game Four. “They played with a lot of energy, more passion than us tonight and deserved the win - they played better, we will have to do a lot better if we are going to win here”. -Reuters

Cricket

Perera leads Sri Lanka to Twenty20 win over Pakistan

PARIS: American teen Sloane Stephens and Maria Sharapova advanced on Friday, while Ana Ivanovic lost in the third round of the French Open. Stephens reached the fourth round by beating Mathilde Johansson of France 6-3, 6-2. Of the eight teenagers in this year’s draw, the 19-year-old Stephens was the only one to even reach the third round. “I’m excited because now I’m going to have more Twitter followers,” Stephens said. The second-seeded Sharapova defeated Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1, 6-1 in a match postponed a day by the marathon contest between American John Isner and Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. Sharapova has won three major titles in her career, but she still needs to win at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. Ivanovic fell to Sara Errani of Italy 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. The 13th-seeded Ivanovic, a former top-ranked player who won the French Open title in 2008, committed 37 of her 40 unforced errors in the final two sets. Errani had only 18. “In the third set I was creating a lot of opportunities and missing a lot of easy, easy finishing balls,” Ivanovic said. “That’s something that I’m not really happy about.” Two days after eliminating Venus Williams from the French Open, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska was routed by 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2. She didn’t look anything like the player who overwhelmed seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams in straight sets on Wednesday. Radwanska has been having a stellar year on tour, winning three titles and moving up to a career-high No. 3 ranking last month. But she is the only player in the top 10 that has never reached a Grand Slam semifinal. Radwanska dropped to 3-10 against the Russian, including her only two losses in tournament finals. “It’s always disappointing when losing in the first week of a Grand Slam, that’s for sure,” Radwanska said. “Today

US Sloane Stephens hits a return to France’s Mathilde Johansson during their Women’s Singles 3rd Round tennis match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, on June 1, 2012. (AFP)

I didn’t play bad, she was just playing unbelievable.” Before Friday’s match, Radwanska had been 38-7 in 2012, with six of those losses coming against top-ranked Victoria Azarenka. Kuznetsova, who also won the U.S. Open in 2004, has struggled since winning the title at Roland Garros three years ago, only reaching one Grand Slam quarterfinal. Later Friday, top-ranked Novak Djokovic and 2009 champion Roger Federer will play their third-round matches, while second-seeded Maria Sharapova will play in the second round. Rafael Nadal has made a habit of celebrating at Roland Garros, and it’s not just because his June 3 birthday falls during the French Open. This year, he is so focused on winning a record seventh French Open that he couldn’t even remember exactly when he will turn 26. “When is my birthday?” Nadal said Thursday after being asked if he had anything special planned. “I don’t know the

day.” When you play like Nadal on clay, the only date to remember is the day of the French Open final. This year, that’s exactly a week after his birthday. “Difficult to celebrate when you are in the middle of the tournament, but sure, I’m going to go for dinner with the team,” Nadal said. “I don’t know if some family going to come. I don’t know yet.” The second-seeded Nadal improved his French Open record to 47-1 on Thursday after beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. If he wins five more matches, he will break the record of six French Open titles he shares with Bjorn Borg. Nadal wasn’t the only record-breaker on court Thursday. Isner, who won the longest match in tennis history two years ago at Wimbledon, lost 18-16 in the fifth set of another marathon match. Also, Andy Murray overcame back spasms to reach the third round, while fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova advanced in straight sets. -AP

Composed Tsonga reaches last 16 in Paris

PARIS: Local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga marched into the fourth round of the French Open with a solid 7-5 6-4 6-4 win over flamboyant Fabio Fognini of Italy on Friday. Fognini did his best to unsettle Tsonga with his histrionics and whipping shots, but the fifth-seeded Frenchman managed to stay focused even though he dropped his serve five times. Despite the humid conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier, Tsonga, the last Frenchman to reach a grand slam final, at the 2008 Australian Open, had too much power for the world number 45. Fognini berated the umpire and the partisan crowd following a few close calls, but Tsonga kept his composure to end his opponent’s resilience with an ace and set up a last-16 meeting with either compatriot Gilles Simon or Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka. -Reuters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France returns the ball to Fabio Fognini of Italy during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 1, 2012. (Reuters)

Olympics

Farah offer Olympic preview in Oregon

Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Kulasekara (right) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan’s Shakeel Ansar during their first Twenty-20 match, in Hambantota about 240km (149 miles) south of Colombo June 1, 2012. (Reuters)

HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka produced an exceptional bowling and fielding display to beat Pakistan by 37 runs on Friday in the first of two Twenty20 internationals. The home team elected to bat after winning the toss but struggled to a total of 132 for seven. Left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir was the chief destroyer as he removed captain Mahela Jayawardene (two), Tillakaratne Dilshan (five) and Kumar Sangakkara (19) to pick up three for 12. However, the man of the match award went to Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera for hitting two sixes and two

fours in an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls. Perera was also outstanding in the field, claiming a remarkable full-length catch at third man to dismiss Shoaib Malik for nine and finishing off the Pakistan innings by having Saeed Ajmal caught behind for five. The visitors had made a dreadful start to their reply, losing Mohammad Hafeez and Shakeel Ansar to the first two balls of the innings from Nuwan Kulasekara. Opener Ahmed Shehzad led a partial recovery with 36 in 42 balls but Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 95 in 17.4 overs. The second match is at the same venue on Sunday. -Reuters

EUGENE, Oregon: One has built a track on the outskirts of his country’s capital to aid his recovery from injury, the other trained in the US to fine-tune his Olympic hopes but one of them will be hoping to strike a psychological blow when they meet on Saturday. Just how well Ethiopian Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele and Oregontrained British world gold medalist Mo Farah have progressed in their preparations will be gauged over 5,000 meters at this weekend’s Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting. “Kenenisa is getting better by the week, so the race should be very competitive,” Bekele’s manager Jos Hermens told Reuters. “He needs races to get in shape, so if it will be a good fast race, it will be a good effort for him.” The Ethiopian world record holder stormed to Olympic titles in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2008 Beijing Games before a 2010 calf injury

kept him off the track for more than a year. The Somalian-born Farah, meanwhile, has become the world’s top ranked 5,000 meters runner and number two in the longer race. His double medal haul at the 2011 world championships included a silver in the 10,000, making him a major British hope for the London Games. Both he and Bekele will pursue distance doubles at London, adding to the budding rivalry. Bekele has spent thousands of dollars to build a softer-surfaced track near Addis Ababa Ethiopia to train on. “He is the only athlete in the world that I know of who has paid to put down his own synthetic track,” Hermens said. “The track was meant to be ready two months ago, but it became ready only two weeks ago. So he has just started his real training.” Farah, 29, trains with former New York and Boston marathon winner Al-

berto Salazar when in Oregon. He also has spent time in Kenya in preparation for the Olympics. “I’ve had another year of running and I am feeling stronger now, compared to previous seasons,” Farah told reporters. “I just need to stay injury-free and focused.” Other key races include 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China facing US record holder David Oliver in the 110 meters hurdles and double Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix racing 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin in the 100 and Wallace Spearmon in the 200. Another intriguing encounter takes place between Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt and world champion Kirani James in the 400. Women’s races feature world 100 meters champion Carmelita Jeter facing former world gold medalist Allyson Felix in the 200 and world 400 meters champion Amantle Montsho racing former world winner Sanya Richards-Ross. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

saturDAY, june 2, 2012

foot ball

Chicharito bails out Mexico in 2-1 win over Bosnia CHICAGO: Given a second chance in front of the goal, Javier Hernandez didn’t disappoint. ‘’Chicharito’’ jumped on a defensive gaffe by BosniaHerzegovina in the 92nd minute Thursday night, scoring on a right-footed shot from close range to lift Mexico to a 2-1 win in the exhibition. It was one of the lone highlights for El Tri, which seemed caught off-guard most of the night by a smooth, efficient Bosnian team. ‘’Of course it was important,’’ Hernandez said. ‘’We want to win every game, it doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly or not.’’ Hernandez, who came in as a substitute in the 61st minute, had blown two chances to score in the 80th minute, including a shot from close range that Bosnia’s Senad Lulic barely managed to clear off the line. But Bosnia wasn’t nearly as sharp just before the whistle. Trying to get the ball out of a scrum in front of the goal, Stojan Vranjes misplayed it with an ill-advised bicycle kick and the ball rolled right to Chicharito. The Manchester United striker stepped in front of Bosnia’s Boris Pandza and poked the ball into the net with his right foot, leaving Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic no chance to block it. Mexico fans, who seemed almost subdued by the cold and rain that fell throughout most of the game, erupted in cheers as Chicharito was mobbed by his teammates. ‘’I think it’s rare that this way someone wins the game,’’ Bosnia coach Safet Susic said. ‘’God was on Mexico’s side.’’ ‘’It was a lucky goal,’’ Hernandez acknowledged. Edin Dzeko scored for Bosnia in the 29th minute. Giovani Dos Santos had Mexico’s other goal, in the sixth minute. This was the second of three games Mexico is playing in the United States as it gets ready to begin World Cup qualifying next week. Bosnia, meanwhile, arrived in Chicago after a 1-0 loss to Ireland over the weekend and with seemingly little to play for. Bosnia didn’t make next month’s European championships, and it doesn’t have a World Cup qualifier until September. But the Bosnians played with ruthless efficiency, and gave Mexico a very good warm-up for the game against

Brazil on Sunday in Arlington, Texas - to say nothing of El Tri’s World Cup qualifying campaign that begins June 8 against Guyana. Dos Santos gave Mexico an early lead, pouncing on a deflected shot in the sixth minute and driving the ball into the net with a swift, left-footed shot. But Bosnia quickly found its rhythm, leaving Mexico flustered. ‘’The first half was hard, back and forth,’’ Mexico coach Jose Manuel de la Torre said. Mexico was playing without Rafa Marquez, who strained his right quadriceps in Sunday’s exhibition against Wales, and El Tri’s defense was clearly out of sync without him. Dzeko, whose 14 goals for Manchester City included one in stoppage time that helped secure City’s first Premier League title in 44 years, left Mexican defenders flat-footed time and again, and he could have had two or three goals if not for some poor finishing. Dzeko missed a header off a corner kick in the 14th minute, and Guillermo Ochoa had to punch away another shot from him less than a minute later. Finally, in the 29th minute, he got an equalizer on a sequence that showcased Bosnia’s deft passing and cohesion. Haris Medunjanin threaded a pass to Zvjezdan Mismovic, who made a beautiful backheel flick through the Mexican defense. Dzeko caught up to the ball with only Ochoa in front of him, and he faked out the goalkeeper with a stutter-step. As Ochoa fell to the ground, Dzeko dribbled past him and slotted the ball into the empty goal. But Mexico was far more lively in the second half, particularly after Hernandez and Andres Guardado came on. Hernandez had his chances in the 80th, and Guardado earned Mexico a free kick from 35 yards after he was brought down by Mensur Mujdza. Angel Reyna wasn’t even close, sending the free kick sailing over the crossbar. ‘’It was frustrating because we were looking for that second goal to give us the advantage,’’ Hernandez said. Finally, with seconds to spare, he found it. ‘’At the end, we’re leaving with the result we’re looking for,’’ de la Torre said. - AP

Coach says Italy could stay home from Euro 2012

Italy’s coach Cesare Prandelli (left) talks with Daniele De Rossi during a training session at the Coverciano sports center, near Florence, Italy, Saturday, May 26, 2012. (AP)

ROME: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said it wouldn’t bother him if his team withdraws from the European Championship while Italian soccer is engulfed in a huge match-fixing scandal. The investigation into corruption led to 19 arrests this week, with Zenit St. Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito dropped from Prandelli’s squad after being questioned at the national team’s training headquarters. Financial police also examined the banking records of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon on suspicion he made large bets, but news reports say he has been cleared of wrongdoing. Prandelli spoke to RaiSport in Zurich, where Italy will play Russia in an exhibition match, its last warm-up before leaving for Poland. ‘’If you told us that for the good of football we should not participate, it wouldn’t be a problem for me,’’ he said. Apart from those arrested on Monday, three people have been placed under house

arrest and two others have to present themselves to authorities. Five of the arrests were made in Hungary. Numerous others have had their houses searched, including Chievo Verona striker Sergio Pellissier, Conte and Criscito. The investigation was started by judicial authorities in Cremona last year. It has resulted in former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni being banned from soccer for 3 1/2 years, and the arrest of former Lazio captain Giuseppe Signori. Prosecutors in Cremona have detailed an extensive match-fixing ring stretching as far as Singapore and South America that was allegedly in operation for more than 10 years. Italy has only recently recovered from the 2006 match-fixing scandal - known as Calciopoli - that resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B for a season, plus points penalties for several other Serie A teams and long bans for club and refereeing officials. Italy went on to win the World Cup that year. -AP

Wolfsburg snap up Dutch strike sensation Dost

BERLIN: Former Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg on Friday announced the signing of Dutch strike sensation Bas Dost, who finished as the Dutch league’s top scorer with Heerenveen last season. No financial details of the deal were revealed, but Wolfsburg, who won their only German top-flight title in 2009, were delighted to get their man. “Bas has come on enormously in the past few years. He is very dangerous in the area and I’m sure he is destined to play a big role in our team,” said coach Felix Magath. Dost, who has played for the Dutch under-21 side, has been considered a major talent since beginning his professional career in 2007 with Emmen. He quickly moved to Heracles Almelo, in the summer of 2008, and scored 17 goals in 61 appearances for the club. Dost signed for Heerenveen in February 2010 and went on to showcase his talents in the 2011-12 season. He scored 32 goals in 34 matches, including five goals in a match against Excelsior Rotterdam, as Heerenveen finished fifth in the Eredivisie. Dost is Wolfsburg’s second signing after Croatian Ivica Olic arrived from Bayern Munich. Wolfsburg finished eighth in the German top flight last season, thus missing out on qualifying for Europe. -AFP

Mexico forward Javier Hernandez (14) controls the ball against Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Sanel Jahic (7) during the second half of an international friendly soccer match, Thursday, May 31, 2012. (AP)

Hodgson plays down Parker fitness concerns

LONDON: England manager Roy Hodgson brushed off fears over Scott Parker’s fitness on Friday, insisting the Tottenham midfielder would be ready in time for his team’s opening Euro 2012 clash with France. An escalating injury crisis claimed midfielders Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard this week, further depleting Hodgson’s options in an area where Jack Wilshere, Jack Rodwell and Tom Huddlestone are already sidelined. After digesting the news of Lampard’s withdrawal 24 hours earlier, Hodgson awoke on Friday to be greeted by headlines outlining concerns that Parker, nursing an Achilles problem, was now a doubt. However the manager insisted that while Parker had still to build up match sharpness after missing the tail end of the domestic campaign, the 31-year-old would be fine to face France in Donetsk on June 11. Asked if he was concerned by the defensive midfielder’s fitness, Hodgson replied: “No, not particularly, no more so than the obvious one that we were going to have, that when he came to join us having not played for Tottenham in the last two or three matches in the league. “So that was obviously going to be a factor, but we also knew we had lots of training time and now in the two weeks we’ve been training he’s taken part in every training session and he’s also played 60 minutes already and he’s available to play tomorrow. “So he’ll be getting fitter by the day, as will Wayne Rooney, and we’re quite happy that by the time we play France people will be in good physical shape.” England face Belgium at Wembley on Saturday in their final warm-up before heading to their Euro 2012 training base in Krakow, southern Poland. Hodgson, who drafted in Jordan Henderson to replace Lampard, is confident the squad possesses enough talent to be competitive at the Euros despite the prevailing mood of pessimism. “I’m satisfied with the group we’ve put together, I believe in the group,” Hodgson said. “I’m disappointed to have lost two senior players, but on the other hand it’s a great opportunity for someone else. “The door that closes on you is a door that opens for someone else.” Hodgson said he had not considered contacting Manchester United’s Michael Carrick, who had declared himself unavailable for England earlier this year. -AFP

“The contacts with Michael were actually conducted before I took the job,” Hodgson said. “It was made clear to me that he wasn’t a player who wanted to be considered, so quite frankly he wasn’t a player I did consider.” The England manager meanwhile downplayed suggestions that England’s opener against France, who are unbeaten in 20 games, could decide Group D.

“The French seem to think it will be the key match in the group, but you never know that until the group gets going,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it and we know it won’t be easy. “The French are on a fantastic unbeaten run, but all runs have got to end sometime and we hope we’re the ones that will bring that run to an end.” - AFP

England’s Scott Parker kicks the ball during a team training session at Wembley Stadium in London June 1, 2012. (Reuters)

Poland goes cyber-smart for Euro 2012 fans

CAPITALS: Cyber-minded fans heading to Euro 2012 in Poland are set to find life easier at the championship after organizers launched smart-phone applications to help them navigate their way around. The free Polish Guide and Check-in Poland apps, rolled out on Friday, were billed as a landmark by Marcin Herra, boss of PL.2012, the body supervising Poland’s preparations for the tournament, which kicks off next Friday. “The Swiss told us they planned something like this when they hosted Euro 2008, but didn’t manage it,” Herra told reporters. The smart-phone Polish Guide comes in the wake of December’s launch of a sevenlanguage portal, polishguide2012.pl. Both versions are meant to act as a onestop-shop accommodation, travel and tourist information service for the hundreds of thou-

sands of fans expected at the showcase football tournament. They also provide practical tips such as where a team’s training ground is, how to get to stadiums on match days, where the fan-zones with big screen are for supporters without tickets, and up-to-the-minute alerts on transport delays. Within the web portal and smart-phone version, fans have the option of buying a “Polish Pass” with pick and mix options. For example, they can pay in advance for public transport between and within Poland’s four host cities: the capital Warsaw, Gdansk on the Baltic Sea, Poznan in the west, and Wroclaw in the southwest. The Check-in Poland app, meanwhile, offers a Euro 2012-themed social networking service to enable fans to locate and meet their compatriots, or chat with them online. The app, commissioned by the Polish for-

eign ministry, also contains details of security, consular services for fans from abroad, and emergency phone numbers. Co-hosted by Poland and neighboring Ukraine, Euro 2012 marks the first ever edition of the quadrennial tournament behind the former Iron Curtain. Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, is keenly aware that with most fans not having visited before, the championship means not just short-term revenues but also a chance to boost future tourism if supporters are happy. “Our goal is for all fans, all our visitors, to feel at home,” Sports Minister Joanna Mucha said at the app launch. The apps are also part of a drive to use Euro 2012 to present an image at odds with communist-era cliches. “This shows Poland to be the modern country that it actually is,” Mucha explained. - AFP

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RESTAURANT • Café Library Lounge Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Tel: 23931000 Hang.Out Lounge Galleria 2000 Tel: 25755588 Song Bird Café Hilton Kuwait Resort Tel: 23725500 Chit Chat Café Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555 Lounge Café Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555 The English Tea Room Sheraton Hotel Tel: 1835555 Waterlemon Al-Raya Tel: 22244797 Marina Mall Tel: 22997666 Le Pain Quotidien Palms Beach Hotel Tel: 25633684 Marina Crescent Tel: 22244942 Avenues Tel: 24954632 • Casual Dining Applebee’s Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22407536 Fintas Tel: 23714559 Burgerhub Gulf road Tel: 22464818 Chili’s Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22452200 Chili’s Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253120/1 Hard Rock Café Salmiya Tel: 25710004 Ruby Tuesdays Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22444454 T.G.I. Fridays Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22544300

• Chinese China Hut Tel: 25656226 China Express Jabriya Tel: 25342399 Salwa Tel: 25653230 China House Salmiya Tel: 25713339 / 60 China Lake Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25713072 / 3 China Town Salmiya Tel: 25652541 Greens Al-Wafra Complex Tel: 22516031

Tel: 1815050 • French Le Notre Gulf Road Tel: 25758888 • Indian Dawat Restaurant Bneid Al Gar Tel: 22411728 Abu Halifa Tel: 23724251 Al Alamia Mall, Jahra Tel: 24554642 Taal Restaurant Salmiya Beda’ Tel: 22253142 Winner’s Salmiya Tel: 25739954 Abu Halifa Tel: 23711374 / 5 Riggae Tel: 24895501 / 2 Jahra Tel: 24560088/8800

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LIFE

Don’t overeat when dining out

Ordering large portions when dining out can easily foil your dieting plan. Fortunately, many restaurants are offering smaller portion sizes for diners with an eye on the waistline. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers these suggestions for weight-conscious diners: •Skip the entree and order an appetizer and a salad for your meal. •Stick to a smaller serving, such as a cup of soup or a child-size portion. •Eat half of your meal at the restaurant and take half home to enjoy later. •Share each course with someone else, or just split an entrée.

saturday, JUNE 2, 2012

Our galaxy on a collision course with another: NASA

The merger poses no real danger of destroying Earth or our solar system, researchers said. The stretches of empty space separating the stars in the two galaxies will remain vast, making any collisions or serious perturbations unlikely. However, our solar system will likely get booted out to a different position in the new galaxy, which some astronomers have dubbed the “Milkomeda galaxy.” Simulations show that we’ll probably occupy a spot much farther from the galactic core than we do today, researchers said.

Compiled by Al Watan Daily

PARIS: Our galaxy is on a collision course with its nearest neighbor, Andromeda, and the head-on crash is expected in four billion years, the US space agency NASA said this weekend. Astronomers have long theorized that a clash of these galaxy titans was on the way, though it was unknown how severe it might be, or when, with guesses ranging from three to six billion years. But years of “extraordinarily precise observations” from NASA’s Hubble Space telescope tracking the motion of the Andromeda galaxy “remove any doubt that it is destined to collide and merge with the Milky Way,” NASA said in a statement. “It will take four billion years before the strike.” After the initial impact it will take another two billion years for them “to completely merge under the tug of gravity and reshape into a single elliptical galaxy similar to the kind commonly seen in the local universe,” NASA added. The stars inside each galaxy are so far apart that they are not likely to collide with each other, but stars will likely be “thrown into different orbits around the new galactic center.” Scientists have long known that Andromeda, also known as M31, is moving toward the Milky Way at a speed of 250,000 miles (402,000 kilometers) per hour, or fast enough to travel from the Earth to the Moon in one hour. But the nature of the crash depended on the galaxy’s sideways motion in the sky, and that trajectory remained a mystery for more than 100 years until the latest analysis of Hubble’s findings were revealed. “This was accomplished by repeatedly observing select regions of the galaxy over a five- to seven-year period,” said Jay Anderson of Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Andromeda was first spotted as “a little cloud” by the Persian astronomer Abd-al-Rahman Al Sufi in 964. “In the worst-case-scenario simulation, M31 slams into

A new night sky

FILE - This illustration released by NASA depicts a view of the night sky just before the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy, left, and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. (Reuters)

the Milky Way head-on and the stars are all scattered into different orbits,” said Gurtina Besla of Columbia University in New York. “The stellar populations of both galaxies are jostled, and the Milky Way loses its flattened pancake shape with most of the stars on nearly circular orbits,” Besla added. “The galaxies’ cores merge, and the stars settle into randomized orbits to create an elliptical-shaped galaxy.”

A future cosmic crash

Such a dramatic event has never occurred in the long history of our Milky Way, which likely began taking shape about 13.5 billion years ago. “The Milky Way has had, probably, quite a lot of small, minor mergers,” said Rosemary Wyse of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who was not affiliated with the new study. “But this major merger will be unprecedented.”

And the collision will change our night sky dramatically. If any humans are still around 3.75 billion years from now, they’ll see Andromeda fill their field of view as it sidles up next to our own Milky Way. For the next few billion years after that, stargazers will be spellbound by the merger, which will trigger intense bouts of star formation. Finally, by about 7 billion years from now, the bright core of the elliptical Milkomeda galaxy will dominate the night sky, researchers said. (The odds of viewing this sight, at least from Earth, are pretty slim, since the sun is predicted to bloat into a huge red giant 5 or 6 billion years from now.) In its 22-year history, Hubble has revolutionized the way humanity views the cosmos. The new finding is another step in that process, researchers said. “What’s really exciting about the current measurements is, it’s not about historical astronomy; it’s not about looking back in time, understanding the expansion of the universe,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and a former astronaut who flew on three space shuttle missions that repaired Hubble. “It’s looking forward in time, which is another very human story,” Grunsfeld added. “We like to know about our past - where did we come from? We very much like to know where we’re going.”

Worldwide cancer incidence predicted to rise 75% by 2030 CONNECTICUT: The worldwide incidence of cancer is expected to increase 75 percent by 2030, with a projected increase of more than 90 percent in the poorest nations, a new study reveals according to HealthDay News. Rates of certain types of cancer (such as cervical and stomach cancer) appear to be declining in some developing countries, but these reductions are likely to be offset by substantial increases in the types of cancer associated with a “westernized” lifestyle, including breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, according to the

report published online May 31 in The Lancet Oncology. For the study, researchers analyzed International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) data from 184 countries in 2008 in order to examine how current and future cancer trends vary between countries based on their levels of development, as measured by their Human Development Index (HDI). Currently, countries with a low HDI (mainly nations in sub-Saharan Africa) have a high incidence of cancers associated with infection (particularly cervical cancer), as well as liver

New therapy motivates paralyzed rats to walk PARIS: European researchers said Thursday they have found a way to motivate paralyzed rats to learn to walk again through a combination of spinal cord stimulation and robotic-aided therapy. The key to the method’s success was how it engaged the rats to participate in their own rehabilitation, said Gregoire Courtine, lead author of the study published in the US journal Science. “In the beginning... the animal is struggling and it is really difficult,” said Courtine, chair of the International Paraplegic Foundation in Spinal Cord Repair at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. “Then the first time it happens, the animal is surprised. It looks at you like, ‘Wow. I walked!’” The rats also showed a massive threefold increase in the connections between the brain and spinal cord after training, according to the research. “The motor cortex developed new pathways to regain control of the area below the injury. This was really fascinating to see,” Courtine told AFP. “What we observed was this extensive reorganization of the central nervous system not only at the level of the injury but throughout the brain, brain stem and spinal cord.” The therapy combines an electricalchemical stimulation of the spinal cord, mimicking the signals the brain would normally send to initiate movement in the limbs, and a rehabilitation device that helps the rats stay upright. The rats were hoisted into a twolegged standing position with a robotic harness that did not propel them forward but stabilized them if they tottered sideways, so they could try to walk without falling. A chocolate reward was placed in front of the rats. Soon, the animals succeeded in making a few steps. Within five to six weeks, as their skills improved, the rats were voluntarily climbing stairs, dodging obstacle courses and even sprinting without any treat in view. “We had a very high percentage of success with these animals. We always observed, in all of the animals we treated, recovery of voluntary movement,” said Courtine, adding that more than 100 lab rats were tested. “In some animals it was weak. In some animals it was spectacular.” A similar therapy has been tried in an

American in his 20s named Rob Summers who was paralyzed from the chest down after being hit by a car. His case was described in The Lancet last year. That study provided the first proofof-concept that such therapies may help restore some voluntary movement in humans. “I have been aware of animal studies in this field since 2007, which was one of the biggest motivating factors for me behind my decision to become the first human trial,” Summers told AFP in an email. “Researchers have learned so much from these animal trials, which continues to excite me in the progress of my own procedure,” he added. Summers said he has continued to advance through rehab, and he is aware of two other people who have joined the same trial at the University of California Los Angeles. “I have moved from standing in a standing frame with safety devices to standing in a walker. I have not had any setbacks at all and have only been moving forward, progressing.” Courtine said he hopes to begin trials in people using his Swiss team’s technique in the next couple of years. One challenge that remains is how to keep the electrochemical stimulation going so that the rats can perform. “Our frustration, I would say, was that despite this major reorganization, without the electrical and chemical stimulation, the rat would not be able to walk independently,” he said. “So if you provide them with this electrochemical neuroprosthesis, they can climb on the stairs. But if you remove the electrochemical stimulation, they can push a little bit but they can’t really walk.” Researchers at EPFL are coordinating a nine-million-euro ($11.1 million) project, NeuWalk, with the goal of designing a fully operative spinal neuroprosthetic system for implanting into humans. “We are not thinking this will cure spinal cord injury. We need to be very clear on this. This is not a cure,” Courtine added. “What we observed in rats -- the plasticity and the extent of the recovery is very surprising -- so now we need to optimize all these systems for humans and do our best to at least improve functional recovery.” -AFP

cancer, stomach cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Countries with a higher HDI (such as Australia, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom) have higher rates of cancers associated with smoking (lung cancer), reproductive risk factors, obesity and diet (breast, prostate and colorectal cancer). Improved living standards in countries with a lower HDI may lead to a decrease in some infection-related cancers, but these countries may see a sharp increase in the types of cancer currently seen in higher-development countries,

the researchers pointed out in a journal news release. Cancer incidence rates could increase by 93 percent in low HDI countries by 2030, and by 78 percent in medium HDI countries (such as South Africa, China and India) over the same period, according to study leader Dr. Freddie Bray, of IARC, and colleagues. The investigators also found that rates of prostate cancer and female breast cancer appear to be rising in most countries with medium, high or very high levels of development, and that rates of stomach cancer and cervical

cancer are generally decreasing in countries with medium, high or very high levels of HDI. Lung cancer is currently not a leading type of cancer in low HDI countries, but that will change unless smoking is effectively controlled in these countries, the study authors noted in the news release. The researchers also found that 40 percent of worldwide cancer cases in 2008 occurred in countries with very high HDI levels, even though they had just 15 percent of the global population.

Laser reveals whether you’ve been eating fruits, vegetables NEW YORK: Lying about eating your fruits and vegetables won’t save you when facing the unflinching gaze of a blue laser beam. That’s because shining a blue laser light on human skin can detect biomarkers that tell whether fruits and vegetables figure into a person’s diet, researchers say according to LiveScience. The simple method works by revealing carotenoid pigments such as beta-carotene in carrots and lycopene in tomatoes. A modern version of a decades-old technology called resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) can detect the energy changes in molecules after being energized by the laser light - a painless process that returns results in about a minute. “It really derived from an observation that people have known about for decades,” said Susan Mayne, head of chronic disease epidemiology at Yale University, “and that is that when people have high-vegetable diets they develop a yellow skin coloration that is particularly noticeable in the palm of the hand because of the accumulation of carotenoids in the skin.” “And we thought, ‘Can we use that as a new approach to measure carotenoids in the body noninvasively?’” The flash of insight came out of a chance meeting between Mayne and Werner Gellermann, a laser physicist at the University of Utah, during a long airline flight. The physicist explained how he was using lasers to detect carotenoid levels in the human eye’s retina, because researchers believe high levels in the retina protect against macular degeneration. The possibility of detecting carotenoids in such a simple manner excited Mayne. She knew that nutritionists currently measure biomarkers by

FILE - A blue laser light shining on human skin can help detect the amount of fruits and vegetables in a person’s diet. (Agencies)

taking blood, urine or skin samples from unhappy patients - a costly and painful process. Mayne and her physicist seatmate worked out a grant proposal by the time their plane had landed. Testing of the first prototype device showed the laser method compared well with the current blood-and-skin testing that represents today’s gold standard (as well as a 2010 study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). The new Raman and laser technique still needs some tweaking. Researchers need to figure out how

long carotenoids last in the skin, so that they can tell whether a measurement reflects days or weeks worth of fruit and vegetable consumption. They also need to study how well the device can detect changes in carotenoid levels that reflect changes in a person’s diet of fruits and vegetables. But success could mean many happier nutritionists and physicians - not to mention parents and kids. The device has already helped scan 60 preschool kids without any fuss in the span of one afternoon’s naptime.

Scientists unlock gene secrets of opium poppy drug

LONDON: Scientists have unraveled exactly how opium poppies produce a non-addictive compound that can both suppress coughs and kill tumor cells, paving the way for improved production of the medicine. Opium poppies, the source of illicit heroin, are also important for producing medical painkillers such as morphine and codeine, along with noscapine, which has been used for decades as a cough suppressant. More recently, researchers have found noscapine is also a potent anti-cancer agent, prompting clinical tests into its role in fighting blood cancer. The discovery that a cluster of 10 genes is responsible for the synthesis of noscapine inside the poppies means plant breeders can now develop high-yielding varieties. It may also help scientists in future produce the drug in factories. British-based GSK is a leading producer of opium-based ingredients, supplying around 20

percent of the world’s medicinal opiate needs from poppies grown by farmers in Tasmania. The fact that all the genes associated with noscapine are clustered together makes life much easier for plant breeders who can use the information to develop high-yielding commercial noscapine poppies. In contrast to illegal opium production in countries like Afghanistan, where harvesting is done by hand by lancing poppy heads, commercial pharmaceutical production is highly mechanized, with farmers using modern combine harvesters. That makes commercial poppy cultivation a cost-effective process, even though most medicines today are produced by chemical synthesis or biotechnology. “The poppy plant is very efficient at producing these compounds,” said Ian Graham, director of the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products at York. Working back from a strain of poppies pro-

ducing high levels of noscapine, Graham and colleagues followed the trail of genes linked to the chemical to home in on the cluster of 10 specific genes central to production of the compound. The cluster of genes, all of which are inherited together, is the most complex ever found in plants. Noscapine was first discovered in the early 19th century and has been used to suppress coughs since the 1950s, but interest in the compound has grown since 1998 when scientists demonstrated that it acts as a potent antitumor agent. It functions in a similar way to Taxol, a cancer drug originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree and commercialized by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Cougar Biotechnology, now part of Johnson & Johnson, has been studying noscapine as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of cancer affecting the plasma cells in bone marrow. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

saturday, JUNE 2, 2012

Bunting and flags mark four days of Queen’s jubilee celebrations

Images of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Union flag bunting hangs across The Jubilee pub ahead of the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations in Sunbury-on-Thames in south west London May 30, 2012. (Reuters)

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (the then Princess Elizabeth) (R), her mother Queen Elizabeth (C) and father King George VI, in this still image taken from archive film footage, received in London on June 1, 2012. (Reuters)

LONDON: Britain embarks on four days of pomp, pageantry and patriotism on Saturday to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne, with the monarchy’s popularity surging and celebrations bringing cheer to a nation struggling in harsh economic times. “Union Jack” flags fluttered from buildings, shops and train stations across the country, thousands of street parties have been planned and huge crowds are expected to flock to Diamond Jubilee festivities in a country emblazoned red, white and blue. To royalists, the occasion is a chance to express their thanks and appreciation to the 86-year-old Elizabeth, head of state for 16 countries from Australia and Canada to tiny Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, for her years of public service. For others, the chance of some extra days off work and to enjoy the sort of extravaganza and public ceremony for which Britain is renowned has made it a welcome break from austere times, pay freezes and deep public spending cuts. Republicans hope the occasion marks the last hurrah of a dying anachronism, while some 2 million people are leaving Britain altogether to go on holiday. “Original jubilees were invented in the 19th century by the popular press as modes of national celebration for which the monarchy and monarch was almost incidental,” said royal biographer Robert Lacey. He said the jubilee was as much about society celebrating itself as it was about the head of state and the now largely symbolic institution of the monarchy. “They tend to work best in times of economic hardship. It provides a tonic for the country,” Lacey told Reuters. Having acceded to the throne in February 1952 on the death of her father George VI when Winston Churchill was prime minister, Elizabeth is now the longest-lived British monarch. Only her great-great-grandmother Victoria spent longer on the British throne and she looks on course to overhaul her as longest-serving monarch in 2015. During her reign there have been 12 British prime ministers, 12 U.S. presidents, six popes and she has visited 116 countries. Thames Flotilla

The four days of celebrations begin on a fairly low-key note on Saturday when the queen indulges her love of horse racing by attending the Epsom Derby. The following day will witness what organizers hope will be a spectacular flotilla travelling 25 miles along the River Thames featuring 1,000 boats assembled from around the globe with the queen and her 90-year-old husband Prince Philip on a royal barge, the largest such pageant for 350 years. Thousands of street parties are also planned across Britain on Sunday, including one on Downing Street outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s office, as part of a “Big Jubilee Lunch”. The queen’s London residence Buckingham Palace will play host to a pop concert featuring the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John, before a network of 4,200 beacons will also be lit across Britain with more set alight in the Commonwealth of mostly former British colonies of which Elizabeth is the head. The celebrations culminate on Tuesday with a memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral, a carriage procession through central London and fly past by present and former royal air force aircraft. Huge crowds are expected for the events with estimates that about a million people will travel to London on Sunday alone, and police have warned the capital’s public transport system and roads will be stretched. Thousands Of Street Parties

There are some 9,500 street parties planned in England Wales and ABTA, the British travel association, said almost 2.5 million Britons were expected to take part. London’s Heathrow airport said some 780,000 people were due to arrive

Carriage restorer David Evens cleans the 1902 State Landau carriage at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace, as the horses and carriages are prepared for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee May 28, 2012. (Reuters)

Politics

• The queen is the second-longest serving monarch. Only five other kings and queens in British history have reigned for 50 years or more. • The queen is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror won the crown of England. • Since 1952 The queen has given Royal Assent to more than 3,500 Acts of Parliament. • Over her reign, she has given regular audiences to 12 Prime Ministers. • Tony Blair was the first Prime Minister to have been born during The queen’s reign. He was born in early May, 1953 - a month before the Coronation. • The queen has attended every opening of Parliament except those in 1959 and 1963, when she was expecting Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively. Religion

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth arrives at a garden party at Buckingham Palace, in central London, May 29, 2012. (Reuters)

in the next few days although ABTA said an estimated 2 million Britons were planning to head overseas to take advantage of the two extra public holidays. Patriotic products featuring the Union Jack flag have been flying off the shelves, and Britons are expected to spend 823 million pounds ($1.28 billion), nearly double what they paid out on last year’s royal wedding of the queen’s grandson Prince William and Kate Middleton. Supermarket Tesco, the world’s number three retailer, expected to sell 2.86 million flags by the end of the weekend, while rival Sainsbury’s said it had sold 252 miles of bunting, enough to decorate the entire length of the Thames. But rather than a boon, the Bank of England and economists warn the extra public holidays will hit growth in the second quarter, bad news for an economy that has slipped back into recession and where growth remains elusive. “It is likely that there will be a significant hit to GDP in the second quarter, which will be partly recouped in the third quarter,” said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight. Last year’s royal wedding and the extra public holiday that attracted was cited as one of the special factors that knocked up to 0.5 percent off GDP growth in the second quarter of 2011. Police said the weekend would include the largest royal security operation ever conducted. Some 13,000 officials including about 6,000 police officers will be on duty for the Thames pageant, which poses challenges never before encountered. “We’re treating it as a unique event, to have that many dignitaries on that many boats moving along the Thames,” London police’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh told Reuters. After 18 months of planning, police do not believe there is any major threat, but attention-seekers posed the greatest problem with the celebrations attracting global media attention. In April, a protester disrupted the annual Cambridge versus Oxford university rowing race on the Thames by swimming into the path of the crews and police chiefs admit they cannot guarantee similar embarrassments would not occur. “There is no plan along that length of river, with that number of people on both sides of the Thames that can prevent anything happening,” Kavanagh said. -Reuters

• There have been six Archbishops of Canterbury during The queen’s reign (Archbishops Geoffrey Fisher, Michael Ramsey, Donald Coggan, Robert Runcie, George Carey and Rowan Williams). • There have been six Roman Catholic popes during the queen’s reign (Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI). • The queen has received two popes on visits to the UK (Pope John Paul II in 1982 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2010). Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1982 was the first Papal visit to the United Kingdom for over 450 years. • The queen has officially visited the Vatican twice in her reign - in 1961 visiting Pope John XXIII and in 1980 visiting Pope John Paul II. Head of state/visits/tours

• The Queen is Head of State of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the United Kingdom. She is also Head of the Commonwealth itself, a voluntary association of 54 independent countries. • In 60 years, the queen has undertaken 261 official overseas visits, including 78 state visits, to 116 different countries. • Between 1954 and 1997 when it was de-commissioned, the royal yacht Britannia travelled more than a million miles on royal and official duties. • The queen has visited Australia 18 times, Canada 22 times, Jamaica 6 times and New Zealand 10 times. • The queen’s official visits have ranged from the Cocos Islands, 5.4 square miles with a population of 596, to The Peoples’ Republic of China, 3.7 million square miles with a population of 1.34 billion. • Unusual live gifts given to the queen on foreign tours include: two tortoises given in the Seychelles in 1972; a seven-year-old bull elephant called “Jumbo” given to her by the president of Cameroon in 1972 to mark her silver wedding anniversary and two black beavers given to her after a visit to Canada. • The only time the queen has had to interrupt an overseas tour was in 1974 during a tour of Australia and Indonesia. She was called back to Britain from Australia when a general election in the UK was suddenly called. • The queen made a historic visit to the Republic of Ireland in May 2011, the first visit by a British monarch since Irish independence - King George V visited in 1911. • In a daring gesture, the queen laid a wreath to those who died fighting the British crown. She also visited the scene of a massacre of 14 people by British forces. In a speech to the nation, she expressed sympathy to those who suffered during hundreds of years of conflict between the two neighbors. Diamond Jubilee

• There have been only three Diamond Jubilees of Heads of State celebrated throughout the world during The Queen’s reign. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand celebrated 60 years on the throne in 2006; the former Sultan of Johor (now a part of Malaysia) celebrated his in 1955; and the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan celebrated his in 1986.

Fashion plaudits for Queen Elizabeth’s impeccable style PARIS: For a fashion designer it is a unique task: dressing a woman who must be immediately recognizable from Antigua to Zimbabwe, visible from a distance, bright, dignified and immune to wardrobe malfunctions. But the series of dressers who have worked with Queen Elizabeth II have helped her evolve a personal style that wins praise from unlikely quarters, including from a young French designer who worked for a decade with Jean Paul Gaultier. “She has her own style and it works extremely well for her,” Alexandre Vauthier told AFP. “It’s really her DNA. “She is the only person to dress this way, which makes her instantly recognizable.” The 86-year-old monarch’s diamond jubilee this weekend marks 60 years of travelling, handshaking, and meeting global leaders as Britain’s head of state. On the biggest ceremonial occasions she appears in state dresses, jewels and even a crown, but humbler public engagements are no less challenging on the wardrobe front. Her stylists, always British, must ensure that no garment is transparent, too tight or too short, and consider possible weather conditions -- including weighting her skirt hemlines to avoid em-

barrassment in a gust of wind. For most of the hundreds of public engagements she carries out every year, the queen appears in a brightly-colored outfit with a matching hat, neat handbag and sensible, yet elegant shoes. Before any state or Commonwealth visit, her designers study meanings attached to colours, sleeve lengths and symbols in the country, both to avoid accidental offence and to be gracious to her hosts. For her historic visit to Ireland in May 2011, the queen wore emerald green, the country’s emblematic color, and for a reception at Dublin Castle she sported a dress embroidered with no fewer than 2,000 tiny shamrocks. On the first visit by a British monarch since the republic gained independence, her dress was a signal as powerful as the few words of Irish with which she began her keynote speech. But those who have grown up seeing the queen as a distinguished older lady may be unaware of the glamour of her youth. “Elizabeth in her youth was fun, vibrant, exciting and spontaneous,” royal historian Kate Williams told AFP. “And now we see a very different queen: she

often is quite unsmiling; she’s very fond of duty; she is very dignified.” The queen’s wardrobe is now the responsibility of designer Angela Kelly, the daughter of a humble dock-worker from the northwestern city of Liverpool, who joined her team of dressers in 1993 and became her personal stylist in 2002. Kelly was behind the immaculate primroseyellow ensemble the queen wore to Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton last year. She also created the white silk, satin and lace state dress with silver sequins the sovereign wears in her official diamond jubilee photographs. Queenly fashion has inspired a raft of clothes and accessories issued for the jubilee, with corgis and tiaras in abundance as well as more subtle references to the queen’s favourite colours. Fashion iconoclast Vivienne Westwood has created a limited edition jubilee collection of dresses blending Britain’s Union Jack flag with elements from the queen’s own wardrobe. The queen’s grandson Prince Harry, along with many other commentators, called her outfits “impeccable”. Vauthier said: “She has her own look, and it wins her respect. “She shouldn’t change a thing.” -AFP

FILE - Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the Palace of Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament in London, on May, 9, 2012. (AFP)

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Spectrum Artist: Florence + The Machine Album: Ceremonials Genre: Alternative In short: The latest single off Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials’ is an astounding number that only Florence Welch could pull off thanks to her surreal vocal range; the ballet-inspired video of the song was directed by David LaChapelle. To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Jean Paul Gaultier designs new cone bra corset for Madonna Among the numerous costumes that Madonna will be wearing throughout her MDNA World Tour is a masculineinspired look by Jean Paul Gaultier featuring a corset-style top. For the pop star’s ninth world tour, the French designer drew upon a now-iconic costume he’d designed for her in the past. “We played with the ideas of a suit and a corset. But the corset is now like a cage,” Jean Paul Gaultier outlined. “What I have done this time is a nod to the conical bra corset of the Blond Ambition tour but reinterpreted in 3D, in patent leather on the outside with metallic leather on the inside. It’s all about masculine and feminine, Madonna and Jean Paul Gaultier classics reinterpreted for 2012. Madonna will also be wearing costumes by Dolce & Gabbana, Jeremy Scott and Alexander Wang. -AFP

Ohio bus driver drops lawsuit against Matthew Fox A private bus driver in Ohio who claimed she was punched by Matthew Fox has withdrawn her lawsuit against the actor. Heather Bormann sued the former star of TV’s “Lost” in November, seeking $75,000 in damages. Fox countersued, claiming the Cleveland woman assaulted and slandered him. Court records show both suits were dropped Thursday. Bormann had alleged Fox struck her in the breast, groin, arm and legs after she stopped him from boarding a chartered party bus on Aug. 28, 2011, in Cleveland. She says she hit him in self-defense. Fox was in town making a movie and wasn’t charged. Bormann’s former attorney says the woman could not afford to continue the case. -AP

Kate Walsh leaving Private Practice Kate Walsh, whose Dr. Addison Montgomery is the “Grey’s Anatomy” character who sparked the “Grey’s” spin-off “Private Practice,” will be leaving “PP” next season. “Private Practice” was picked up for 13 episodes for its sixth season in the fall, and Walsh is committed to only those 13 episodes, Deadline.com reports. An ABC rep did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment, while a rep for Walsh declined to comment. News of Walsh’s upcoming departure comes on the heels of co-star Tim Daly’s announcement earlier this week that his contract had not been renewed for the show’s sixth season. “Private Practice” was considered to be on the bubble at the end of season five, so with two major cast members out and only a 13-episode commitment from the network, the show’s sixth season could be its last. Walsh’s next project is playing the mom, with Dylan McDermott as the dad, in the movie adaptation of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Meanwhile,Walsh commented on Twitter this week about Daly’s departure, but of questions surrounding her own future with “Private Practice,” she tweeted this: “Tw’eeps, I’d like you to address all of your questions to this guy,” with a link to a photo of ... her cat. -Reuters

Cast of Jersey Shore back for 6th season They’re back. The cast of MTV’s reality series “Jersey Shore” moved into their summer rental in Seaside Heights to begin taping the 6th season Thursday. Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was first to arrive as he unloaded his Jeep with a GTL license plate that reflects the cast’s “gym, tan, laundry” lifestyle. He was followed by Deena Nicole Cortese, Vinny Guadagnino, Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Samantha Giancola and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro. By 5:30 p.m., Jenny “JWoww” Farley and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi were in the house. Polizzi, who is pregnant, has said she’ll live nearby during the season to avoid the alcohol and hot tub. -Reuters

Amy Winehouse London home put up for sale British singer Amy Winehouse’s family have put her north London home up for sale following her death last July, a spokesman for the family said on Thursday. “The Winehouses have decided to put the house on the market, with great regret,” the spokesman said in an email to Reuters. “Amy loved that house but none of the family felt it appropriate that they should live in it and it was not practical to keep it empty while paying the costs of its upkeep.” Winehouse’s fans have flocked to the property in Camden, north London and transformed a nearby square into a shrine following the “Back To Black” star’s death. Winehouse was 27 years old when her body was discovered at the house after a long battle with drink and drugs. Newspaper reports said the threebedroomed property had gone on the market for 2.7 million pounds ($4.2 million). -Reuters

saturDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Madonna kicks off MDNA world tour CAPITALS: Pop superstar Madonna kicked off a new world tour on Thursday wishing peace on the Middle East even as she showcased grim dance routines depicting violence and bloody gunmen among her more colorful numbers. The “Material Girl,” a devotee of a form of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah, danced, bumped, grinded and vogued in flashy costumes to a raucous crowd at Ramat Gan stadium near Tel Aviv. Madonna emerged on stage in a confessional, breaking through its glass window using a rifle, which she then aimed at the audience. She wore a skin-tight black outfit to sing her first song, “Girl Gone Wild,” accompanied by dancers dressed as monks. She went on to sing “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and a mash-up of the classic “Express Yourself” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” dressed as a marching band conductor. While some artists have opted to boycott Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians, the 53-year-old Madonna’s ties to the Jewish state have only strengthened in the last few years. She has made personal pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007 along with other Kabbalah devotees. She wrapped up her 2008-2009 “Sticky and Sweet” tour with two shows in the Holy Land, her first in 16 years. During that show, she wrapped herself in an Israeli flag and called Israel the “energy center of the world.” Madonna, who is not Jewish, has been dabbling in Kabbalah for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther. On previous trips to Israel she went to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and visited the grave of a revered Jewish sage. Her passion for Kabbalah has sparked criticism in Israel, where some rabbis chide her for venturing into religious study usually reserved for those with a strong background in Jewish law. She landed in Israel last week, arriving with her children, her boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat and a 70-person entourage. She spent the days leading up to the performance rehearsing for the glitzy show and visiting Kabbalah centers. Her spiritual serenity may have been challenged by Israel’s aggressive paparazzi, who have been camped outside her beachfront hotel and near the stadium where she is performing. Video of her rehearsals has leaked onto the Internet, and photos of Madonna and her children have appeared in Israel’s newspapers almost daily since she arrived.

US pop icon Madonna performs at the Ramat Gan stadium near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, May 31, 2012. (AP)

For years, violence kept musicians away from Israeli stages. Now, with the ebb of the Palestinian uprising over the last decade, performers planning concerts have faced pressure from activists to cancel their ap-

pearances in Israel as political punishment. A number of artists have heeded the call, while others like Madonna, Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen have performed to gracious fans in recent years.

Morgan Freeman takes TV viewers into a Wormhole LOS ANGELES: Oscar winner Morgan Freeman turns 75-years-old on June 1, but he’s not slowing down a bit. This summer he’ll be seen in the blockbuster Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” and he is currently shooting sci-fi epic “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise. But somewhere in his busy schedule, he finds time for his pet project, television show “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman,” which begins its third season on the SCIENCE channel June 6. Freeman is executive producer and host of the series. With episodes entitled “What is Nothing?” and “Can We Resurrect the Dead?” filmmakers interview physicists, biologists, astronomers and other academics who explore cutting edge theories on many of life’s big questions. Freeman spoke with Reuters recently about the show. You tackle some provocative questions. Where do your ideas come from?

Freeman: “They come through a whole bunch of us. Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night or are just lying there and something occurs to you, ‘what if?’ or ‘Why can’t we?’ And you just pose the question at sessions and toss them around - sessions with writers, producers directors. We go to the scientists to get their input - all these people who’ve been thinking about these questions. You can always find someone who’s thinking about some question you want to ask.”

US actor Morgan Freeman receives his trophy for Category “International Lifetime Achievement” during the 47th Golden Camera award ceremony in Berlin Feb. 4, 2012. (Reuters)

cally manipulating the human race for specific things, particularly the idea of space travel. If you do create a superior group, you won’t have a race, you’ll just have a group. We can genetically alter ourselves for specifics, but I don’t think that will make us superior.” The episode speaks specifically in terms of IQ.

One show explores the notion of the universe as a bio-organism of which we’re only a small part. What are your thoughts on that subject? Freeman: “You think of what exactly is the universe and how far does our imagination go in shaping the universe. When you think about what we’re made of - atoms and smaller particles that make up atoms, etc. - who’s to say that we’re not just part of a larger life force?”

There is another episode on gene therapy and whether or not there is a superior race.

Do you draw conclusions, or is it more important to keep asking questions?

Freeman: “It is a delicate dance but it’s not really if you realize that it’s almost an unanswerable question. We were talking about possibly geneti-

Freeman: “I think it’s valuable. But the main thing is I’m enjoying the daylights out of it. It’s one of those things that really sparks the imagination.” -Reuters

Judge Judy dishes out advice on her new website

LOS ANGELES: Judge Judy is doing more than holding court on TV. She’s now dishing out advice online. Judy Sheindlin said the goal of her new website is to share her ideas about life, create a forum to discuss a variety of issues and to “have a little fun.” She’ll have her say on topics including romance, pre-nuptial agreements and child-

Grammys set for 2013 in Los Angeles LOSANGELES: The GrammyAwards, the music industry’s top awards, will return to Los Angeles for tenth straight year in 2013, taking place on February 10, organizers said on Thursday. The annual nominations concert also will be held in Los Angeles and take place on December 5, 2012, the Recording Academy said in a statement. Both the nominations and the awards - in its 55th edition for 2013 - will take place in the city’s Staples Center and be broadcast live on U.S. television network CBS. Only a handful of the 70-plus categories for the awards are featured in the nominations and awards show, including the top honors of album, record and song of the year. A week of cultural events and activities take place in the run up to music’s biggest night, including producer Clive

Davis’ pre-Grammy gala the night before the awards which was struck by tragedy this past February after the sudden death of singer Whitney Houston a few hours before the party. Houston’s death cast a shadow on the 2012 awards show, and the late singer was commemorated by Jennifer Hudson singing “I Will Always Love You.” A record 39.9 million viewers tuned in to see British singer Adele sweep top categories, take home six Grammys, and sing a heartfelt rendition of her hit single “Rolling In The Deep.” It was her first performance since her throat surgery in late 2011. The awards show also brought back a host for the first time in seven years with actor-singer LL Cool J, and featured performances by Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and a electronic dance music tribute with Deadmau5 and Foo Fighters. -Reuters

George Lucas talks of retirement, making ‘hobby’ films

Freeman: “I think IQ tests don’t mean anything. If you put me down in the Serengeti (region of Africa) with the Maasai (people) and tested me on what they know, I’d fail miserably.”

What question do you want to deal with most on the show?

Freeman: “I keep asking one. Is there a difference - I maintain that there is - between space and the universe? In other words, scientists at the Hubble (space telescope) say that the universe is expanding. And if the universe is expanding, there has to be something for it to expand into. It’s going out into what?”

The “MDNA” tour will be in Abu Dhabi on June 3rd and 4th, also includes stops in Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Cleveland, Ohio. Her last tour grossed more than $400 million. -AP

rearing. On the matter of “roommates with benefits,” for instance, Sheindlin advises, “Joint nothing; separate everything!” She’s also inviting people to submit their own stories, some of which will be posted on the site. “Judge Judy,” her top-rated daytime syndicated show, is in its 16th year. -AP

FILE - Director George Lucas arrives at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, California Feb. 17, 2012. (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES: “Phantom Menace” haters won’t have George Lucas to kick around anymore. The man who captivated generations of youngsters with his “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” films - only to see many of those same fans revolt after he returned to those franchises in recent years with critically derided new installments - is hanging it up. Lucas tells Empire Magazine this month that he is retiring to make more personal “hobby” movies. “I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theaters,” Lucas said. He implies that he will also be less active in LucasFilm, the special effects and production company he founded. “I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m

going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies,” Lucas said. It is not the first time that Lucas has hinted publicly that he is ready to step away from the commercial filmmaking that forms the spine of his career. While promoting his World War II aviation drama “Red Tails” last winter, Lucas told The New York Times that he was finished with “Star Wars.” “Why would I make any more, when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?” Lucas said. He did hold out some hope for his admirers, saying he might be persuaded to make another “Indiana Jones” film. If that doesn’t come to pass and if Lucas ever gets bored with his garage, he can always join fellow filmmaking retiree Steven Soderbergh for bingo. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

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

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Splash launches ‘Being Human’ in Kuwait

Sudoku

Elementary KUWAIT: Working towards a charitable cause Splash, the region’s leading high street retailer Splash has inked a deal with ‘Being Human’ to launch the brand across its stores in the Middle East. Pioneered and promoted by Salman Khan, one of India’s leading actor’s the ‘Being Human’ collection is hip, cool and funky and where the message stands out loud and clear. Flaunting the symbolic message of Being Human, the tees which are part of the offering from the brand use colour and style to highlight its dedication to the cause of education and healthcare for the underprivileged and proceeds from sales go to the Being Human Foundation. The collection which has become a staple

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fashion statement is produced and provided by Mandhana Industries Ltd., the exclusive licensee for ‘Being Human’ merchandise. The line-up will offer 29 options in t-shirts for men while carrying the signature Being Human tagline which is the core and the underlying principle. Semi-formal trousers, denims, shorts and shirts in various styles are also part of the entire gamut of offering from the brand. ‘Being Human’ is available in Centrepoint stores located at Al Rai, Salmiya, Fintas, Awqaf, Hawally & Fahaheel and Splash store at The Avenues, so all you fashion-savvy people, get ready to rock the collection and support a cause while having fun with fashion!

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

a glance Gala dinner each eyar to raise money for students on financial aid at the university. This year, the event will take place on June 1st with the Comedy Night from Lebanon as the main attraction of the night. The event will commence at 8:00 p.m., at the Diamond Ballroom in the Sheraton Hotel. The event is available for public and is free of charge.

Spanish Cinema Week June 3 - 7/7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m./Abd Al-Razaq Al-Baser Theater: Kuwait Cine Club and the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters in sponsorship from the Embassy of Spain present the Spanish Cinema Week starting on Sunday June 3rd and continuing through to Thursday June 7th. The film week will take place in Abd Al-Razaq Al-Baser Theater (back entrance to main building of National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters on the corner between Mubarak Al Kabeer Street and Shuhada Street, Kuwait City) starting at 7:30 p.m. and ending at 9:30 p.m. all films will be in the Spanish original version with English subtitles and entrance is free of charge.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Lilly is a gentle and gorgeous two-year-old female Tiffany cat. She is confident and loves being the center of attention. Lilly will be a wonderful addition to a family with children aged 5 and above. To adopt contact K’S PATH at (+965) 67001622 or visit the website www. kspath.org

Arabic Course

Cissi is a pretty and friendly 6-month-old mix-breed female dog who loves to play and run. She is very affectionate and enjoys a cuddle. Cissi will do great in a family with children aged 8 and above.

June 3 - July 14/TIES Center: TIES Center is glad to announce the start of Arabic Courses. Starting June 03 and ending July 14, 2012.We offer classes for all levels, from beginners to advance level. TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expatriates who wish to learn Arabic for whatever purpose - business, basic communication, as a second language or simply as a hobby. Throughout the course the students will learn how to read, write ands peak Arabic in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6 or 97228860/97793440 or visit www.tiescenter.net.

Anmatt 2 - The Clash of the Icons June 3 - 21/10 :00a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m./Dar al Funoon: The dialogue continues between poetry, story, geometry, society, iconography and color in the work of Abdulla Al-Awadi. In various artworks there may be more than one icon competing for visual supremacy although in most cases the battle is clearly won by the stronger icon. This is the second collection of Abdulla Al-Awadi that shows at Dar al Funoon about the subject of patterns. The event will open on June 3rd at 7:00 p.m. and continue through to Thursday June 21st with exhibition hours going from Sunday to Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. located at Dar al Funoon in Al Watiah, Behbehani Compound, House No. 28. For further information call 2243 3138 or visit www.daralfunoon-kw.com and news.daralfunoon.kw.com.

AUB Annual Gala Dinner June 1/ 8:00 p.m./Sheraton Hotel: AUB Alumini in Kuwait hold a Charity

BAIA Carnevale June 8 - 9/ 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m./Salwa: The British Academy of International Arts presents Carnevale, an extravaganza of dance and celebrations from across the Globe. The event will take place starting June 8th until June 9th on the British School of Kuwait Campus at Salwa Block 1, Street 1, Villa 32. For more information please contact 60052087/25623604.

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.

Dilbert

Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK) Are you a Ugandan living and working in Kuwait? Would you like to get in touch with other Ugandans in Kuwait both socially and professionally? We would like to invite you to register with the Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK) association, an informal organization of Ugandans living and working in Kuwait. This association is voluntary. It is designed to create a forum for Ugandans in Kuwait to foster a sense of community, to communicate more effectively with each other and to encourage Ugandans out here to work together.We are also planning a celebration to mark 50 years of Ugandan’s Independence this year. If you have any questions regarding this then please send an email at ugandansinkuwait@gmail.com.

Embassy of Korea The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6. Contact: 25378621/2/3/4/5. The embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Morning: 8 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Lunch break: 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. Afternoon: 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

It’s important for you to be extra cautious today, Aries. Make sure you’re calm and collected before you get behind the wheel of a car. Strong emotions that come up at this time are apt to trigger a physical response that could be quite powerful and even a bit violent. Be careful of such tendencies. Taurus: April 20 - May 20

You may not want to openly admit something to someone today, Taurus, even though you know it’s true. You’re more than likely working to hide behind a barrier that has formed between you and a close loved one. You may want to consider why you even bother staying in the relationship in the first place Gemini: May 21- June 21

Like playing a game of chess, you may need to think through your next move carefully, Gemini. It could be that your opponent is taking a long time to make the next move and you’re impatient. As a result, you may make your decision too hastily. Your opponent may be thinking of moves ahead of you, so concentrate

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

Come out of your shell today, Cancer. You’ll notice that people are much more sensitive to your feelings because they seem to be more emotional themselves. Many words can be conveyed with a look, wink, or long hug. Let others know that you’re listening to them attentively. Leo: July 23 - August 22

You may feel a bit restless because you know something is brewing but can’t seem to get hold of it, Leo. This energy is like a river rushing beneath your feet while you stand on a bridge. Don’t feel like you have to be a part of everything. Perhaps your destiny lies on the other side of the bridge. Virgo: August 23 - September 22

If you wake up this morning and want nothing more than to stay under the sheets and cuddle a little longer, know that you aren’t alone, Virgo. Make sure to surround yourself with supportive people today. Harsh words are likely to cut more deeply than usual, making you wish you’d just stayed in bed all day.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

You may find yourself taking the high road today, Libra. It could be that you’re like a bird soaring above the landscape. As you fly, your partner is on the ground trying his or her best to keep up. If you keep flying straight, you’ll get lost and confused and may not find your way back. Keep your feet firmly on the ground. Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Today you’ll feel as though your energy has come home, Scorpio. Often times, if you aren’t feeling 100 percent yourself, you’ll refuse to leave the house. Today you should feel much better and ready to take on the world. Your emotions are in line with your actions and you know the route you want to take. Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Your wacky personality will be appreciated today, Sagittarius, but don’t take it too far. Leave room for seriousness to enter the picture. There’s a dreamy, cloudy sensation to the day that might make it difficult for you to concentrate on any one thing. The truth will eventually be revealed.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

You should try to feel at ease today, Capricorn. Remember that inner peace is a big part of your health. This can be achieved through reflection and a quiet review of where you are in life. Try not to focus too much on material things. Instead, concentrate more on your emotional state. Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

It may be hard to find answers today, Aquarius. It may also be hard for you to get your point across, especially since everyone’s head is way up in the clouds. Don’t be surprised if your own head takes a trip up there as well. Check things out from a different perspective and see where they lead. Pisces: February 19 - March 20

This is your day, Pisces. You may find that people gravitate to you for advice and support. They’re apt to lower their guard and more openly accept things you believe in. Suddenly, the things you’ve been thinking are reaching a huge audience that’s eager to hear your words.