SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012
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Issue No. 1383
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UN rights council adopts resolution on Syria
Sharply condemns violence, orders extension of Syrian probe GENEVA: The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution on Syria, condemning the Syrian government for violations of human rights in the country, but short of mentioning the opposition’s role in the ongoing violence. The 47-member UN Human Rights Council voted 41 to three in favor of an EUsponsored resolution that was backed by Arab nations and the United States. China, Russia and Cuba voted against. Two countries abstained and one didn’t vote. The UN’s top human rights body sharply condemned Syria’s bloody crackdown on opposition groups, and extended the mandate of a UN expert panel tasked with reporting on alleged abuses in the country. The resolution condemned “widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms perpetrated by the Syrian authorities” including summary executions, torture and sexual abuse of detainees and children, and other abuses. It also condemned “the deliberate destruc-
tion of hospitals and clinics, the obstruction and denial of medical assistance to the injured and sick, and the raids and killing of wounded protesters in both public and private hospitals.” Such actions are clear breaches of international law, but in times of conflict they can constitute war crimes. The Geneva-based council cited the UN expert panel’s previous report on Syria, which noted that “particular individuals, including commanding officers and officials at the highest levels of Government, bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations.” The panel, led by Brazilian professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said last month that it had compiled a confidential list of top-level Syrian officials who could face prosecution over the atrocities. It handed the document to the UN human rights office for safekeeping, so that it might be used by Syrian or international prosecutors in future cases against the regime. “This resolution focuses on accountability for human rights violations committed by the Syrian
authorities. Perpetrators must be held to account,” Denmark’s ambassador Steffen Smidt told the talks. US Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, whose country co-sponsored the resolution, said it “renews and significantly strengthens the work of the commission of inquiry.” The vote reflected growing international unity on Syria and the “increasing isolation of the three countries which stood alone to oppose the text”, she said in a statement. Russian diplomat Vladimir Zheglov said the resolution was “one-sided” and would not foster a peace settlement, despite a “positive trend” that included work by Kofi Annan, joint special envoy of the UN and Arab League. Syria’s ambassador Fayssal Al-Hamwi rejected Friday’s vote as “biased.” “It does not reflect the reality on the ground, on the contrary,” he told the meeting. The council’s decisions aren’t legally binding, but they are seen as an important indicator of the international community’s stance on human rights issues. -Agencies
MPs to meet labor unions, translate their request into suggested draft laws
Mohammad Al-Salman & Mohammed Al-Khaldi Staff Writer
KUWAIT: A number of MPs called for a meeting with labor union representatives to get acquainted with their request and translate them as draft laws by submitting them to parliament for approval if the government does not deal fairly with their salary increase demands a government source revealed. Some labor unions have told MPs that they have suspended strikes because lawmakers have asked them to give the government a chance to discuss their request. However, the results of the former cabinet session and the decision of forming a committee to study salary raise request and submitting a report about that within three months could make civil servants feel frustrated. MP Khalid Shakheer said if the government does not endorse a good raise in salary then lawmakers will endorse the raise by the parliament through draft laws, but MP Abdulateef Al-Omairi considered forming
a committee to study the raise in salary and establishing new job titles as a step in the right direction and it will contribute in putting an end to the problem. Meanwhile, the cabinet is expected to endorse a memorandum that includes the reply of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on items of the interpellation motion that was submitted against him by the MP Saleh Ashour where the motion will be discussed during next Wednesday`s session. Meanwhile, government sources disclosed that some ministers held a meeting with the MPs of the Majority Bloc then they held another meeting with the minority MPs to discuss the items of the motion. A parliamentary source wondered how the government announced that it was ready to discuss the motion before the last session and shortly before the very session it called for postponing the motion as the premier was not ready. The government also considered some items as unconstitutional because the former government was responsible for them. The
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and accompanying delegation arrived Friday March 23, 2012 on an official visit to the Philippines. (KUNA)
source questioned how the members of the majority bloc announced supporting the government against the motion since the bloc had criticized the government`s performance in the previous sessions, adding that the people will never forgive them if they support the government especially after cabinet rejected cadres and a salary raise. MP Ashour wondered how the government depends on security criteria for dealing with Bedoun even though they still suffer from being deprived from the simplest human rights, indicating that the government did not adopt any practical solutions to end their suffering till now. He addressed the government saying “wait for the motion, we will never accept partial solutions from now on and we need practical and persuasive answers to the items of the motion as well”. In other news, the Parliamentary Committee for Financial Affairs will hold an exceptional meeting today-Saturday- to complete its report on tenders` law. The meeting will be attended by the Minister of State for Cabinet’s Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid and other members.
Hijab-wearing policewomen cause stir in Lebanon
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities are weighing up what action to take after a group of newly recruited policewomen showed up for training wearing the hijab, a security official said on Friday. The policewomen, numbering nearly 40 and all reportedly Shiite Muslims, were among hundreds who sat for an exam to join the Internal Security Forces earlier this year. But when they turned up for their first training exercise this week, they wore the hijab, an Islamic headscarf, which goes against the military’s code of conduct, the security official told AFP. A government official said several of the policewomen had agreed to remove the garment, but about 20 refused and did not take part in the training session. “According to the military code of conduct, whether it be for the police, army or general security, all religious symbols are not allowed,” said the security official More on 2 who requested anonymity. A protester throws a teargas shell back towards security forces as they arrive for an operation in the Lyari area of Karachi March 23, 2012. Residents of Karachi’s Lyari area protested on Friday against the raid operations of the law enforcement agencies. Police fired teargas shells to disperse the crowd, upon which the agitated protestors attacked a police armored vehicle with a petrol bomb and set it on fire, local media reported. (Reuters)
India bans its airlines from paying EU carbon tax
NEW DELHI: India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU’s trade partners. The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from Jan. 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that “the imposition of carbon tax does not arise” because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data. “Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” he said. India’s resolution to boycott the scheme follows China’s decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive. The two Asian giants have attacked
the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change. According to a socalled Moscow declaration adopted last month by countries opposed to the tax, governments have decided on a list of retaliatory measures to be taken if necessary, including banning their airlines from participating. It also allows governments to take tough retaliatory measures against EU carriers and aviation companies and impose their own taxes on EU airlines. The 27-nation EU has said the carbon tax will help it achieve its goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and that it will not back down on the plan. It claims that the cost for the airlines is manageable, estimating that the scheme could prompt them to add between 4.0 euros ($5.50) and 24 euros to the price of a long-haul round-trip. Industry insiders have expressed concern that the scheme could spark a trade war between the EU and the countries opposed to the tax. -AFP
Kuwait, Philippines sign several cooperation pacts
At least 19 detainees flee north Iraq prison
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Sri Lanka press slams ‘neoimperial’ war crime vote
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MANILA: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and accompanying delegation arrived Friday on an official visit to the Philippines. The Amir was received by Philippines Minister of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Philippines Waleed Al-Kanderi, and staff members of the embassy.His Highness and Philippines President Benigno Aquino III took part in the signing ceremony of several agreements on cementing bilateral ties between Kuwait and the Asian nation on different fields. The pacts include an agreement on the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, special and official passports, a memorandum of understanding on agricultural and fisheries cooperation, an executive program for cultural agreement for the years 2012-2014, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of labor
cooperation. The signatories for the Kuwaiti side were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah; Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas AlSaleh and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khalid Suleiman Al-Jarrallah. The signatories for the Filippino side were Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, and National Commission on Culture and the Arts Chairman Felipe de Leon. Also, the Amir and the accompanying delegation, visited site of the unknown soldier in the capital. The Amir is currently in an official visit to the Philippines for talks with President Benigno Aquino III on means of cementing bilateral ties between Kuwait and the Asian nation. -KUNA
Newly discovered Mozart piece performed in Salzburg
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No faith in trial of US massacre suspect, say Afghan Taliban
KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban vowed on Friday to take revenge on NATO forces for the killing of 17 civilians, for which a US soldier is due to face charges, saying they had no faith in any court proceeding. The massacre in the southern province of Kandahar as well as the burning of Korans at a NATO base have angered many Afghans and damaged relations at a time when Western forces are drawing down combat troops and the Taliban have suspended peace talks. “This was a planed activity and we will certainly take revenge on all American forces in Afghanistan and don’t trust such trials,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing the Afghans in a shooting rampage in Kandahar last week, will be charged with 17 counts of murder, a US official said on Thursday. Bales, a four-tour combat veteran, will face other charges, including attempted murder, but the official
was unable to say how many additional counts there would be. Official charges have not yet been released. The lawyer representing Bales said US authorities lacked proof of what happened during the March 11 shooting spree in the Panjwai district. The Taliban’s Mujahid reiterated the belief held by many Afghans that there must have been more than one soldier involved in the massacre - which US authorities consistently deny. “Now America tries to deceive the people and tries to blame the act on one soldier. This is a crime by the American government. Using such cleverness and deception is a huge crime,” Mujahid said. Nearly 11 years after the Taliban government was toppled, the United States and its allies face a resilient insurgency, a weak Afghan government, and an uncertain future for Western support after the end of a 2014 pullout. In a blow to NATO hopes of a negotiated end to the war, the Taliban said last week they were suspending nascent talks with the United States. More on 3
UK proposal to re-name tower housing Big Ben
LONDON: British lawmakers are calling for the tower housing Big Ben - the beloved London bell that chimes the quarter hour - to be renamed in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. Twenty-three members of Parliament have signed a motion urging the House of Commons Commission to consider renaming the east tower at the Palace of Westminster - currently called the Clock Tower - as the Elizabeth Tower to recognize the queen’s 60 years of service. The motion was proposed by Conservative Tobias Ellwood and has the backing of lawmakers from Britain’s three main parties. It notes that when the Palace of Westminster was rebuilt in 1860 the west tower was renamed the Victoria Tower to commemorate Queen Victoria’s reign. -AP
An Egyptian man looks at a wall sprayed with graffiti depicting images of the martyrs of the Egypt revolution, at Mohamed Mahmoud street in Cairo March 23, 2012. (Reuters)
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ALWATAN DAILY
WORLD
saturdAY, march 24, 2012
Syria troops bomb towns as EU grounds First Lady Kofi Annan heading to Moscow, Beijing for Damascus talks
ALEPPO/GENEVA: Syrian forces bombed towns and clashed with rebels in several regions Friday as activists said thousands staged anti-regime protests and the European Union slapped sanctions on the country’s First Lady. In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council ordered an extension of a probe into violations in Syria, and asked investigators to map out abuses since a deadly crackdown on protests in the country erupted in March 2011. UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was to travel this weekend to Moscow and Beijing, which have blocked Security Council action against Syria over the crackdown, but he had no immediate plans to return to Damascus. Adding to pressure on the regime, the EU on Friday agreed to sanction President Bashar Al-Assad’s British-born wife Asma, along with his mother, sister and sister-in-law. Diplomats in Brussels said European Union foreign ministers had agreed an assets freeze and travel ban on “Assad’s wife, mother, sister and sister-in-law,” and eight other members of his entourage. In Syria, thousands of people took part in “Damascus, here we come” demonstrations, opposition activists and monitors said. In the capital itself, five people were wounded in Kfar Sousa district as security forces opened fire to disperse protesters, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory. In Maaret Al-Numan and other towns of Idlib province on the border with Turkey, demonstrators gathered after Muslim weekly prayers in mosques, it said. Security forces opened fire at demonstrators in Hama province of central Syria where army deserters killed a soldier, the monitoring group said, without giving an immediate toll for the protesters. In videos posted online by activists, protests were also seen in the southern province of Daraa, birthplace of the
Members of the rebel ‘Free Syrian Army’ have gathered in the restive northern Idlib province [AFP]
year-long revolt in Syria that monitors say has cost more than 9,100 lives. Fighting on Friday was concentrated mostly in the north, near the border with Turkey. “Troops are bombing and helicopters flying overhead. Fighting has been going on since midday (Thursday) between regime forces and (army) deserters in Aazaz,” opposition activist Mohammed Halabi in Aleppo province told AFP by telephone. The Observatory said at least three soldiers and a rebel
Saudi says three security men shot and injured in Shiite area LONDON: Unknown gunmen shot and wounded three Saudi Arabian security men patrolling a village populated by members of the kingdom’s Shiite Muslim minority late on Thursday, the state news agency SPA said citing local police. The shooting in Awamiya follows months of anti-government protests and violent clashes between police and Shiite residents in the area, which is part of the Qatif district of the mostly Sunni kingdom’s Eastern Province. “The Eastern Province police media spokesman said a security patrol came under heavy fire from an unknown source while carrying out their work in Awamiya after the sunset prayer on Thursday, and dealt with it, which required returning fire,” the agency said. Three members of the security forces were injured and taken to hospital and the authorities are now investigating the incident, the report said. At least four Saudi security officers have been hurt in shooting incidents this
year and several others were wounded by fire-bombs last year, SPA has previously reported. Four Shiites were shot dead in November during exchanges of gunfire with the security forces, while another two were killed earlier this year. Demonstrations and clashes began in February 2011, when Shiite activists protested against the detention of members of their community and what they say is persistent discrimination. They say it is harder to get public sector jobs and university places, that their neighborhoods have received less government investment and that face restrictions on worship. Protests have continued sporadically for the past year. The Saudi authorities deny accusations of discrimination and have previously said shootings and fire-bomb attacks on security checkpoints and patrols were instigated by an unnamed “foreign power”, widely understood to mean Iran. -Reuters
Hijab-wearing policewomen cause stir in Lebanon BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities are weighing up what action to take after a group of newly recruited policewomen showed up for training wearing the hijab, a security official said on Friday. The policewomen, numbering nearly 40 and all reportedly Shiite Muslims, were among hundreds who sat for an exam to join the Internal Security Forces earlier this year. But when they turned up for their first training exercise this week, they wore the hijab, an Islamic headscarf, which goes against the military’s code of conduct, the security official told AFP. A government official said several of the policewomen had agreed to remove the
garment, but about 20 refused and did not take part in the training session. “According to the military code of conduct, whether it be for the police, army or general security, all religious symbols are not allowed,” said the security official who requested anonymity. “Any symbols linked to a community or religion are banned, whether it be a cross, a veil or any other symbol,” he added. “We are simply applying the law.” The official said the matter would probably be resolved by cabinet ministers. Lebanon, a multi-confessional country of four million, is considered among the most liberal in the Arab world. -AFP
Two detained after attack on Iran’s Ankara embassy
Turkish riot police patrol in Ankara. Turkish police detained two people of Iranian descent after an attack on the Iranian embassy in the capital Ankara. (AP)
ANKARA: Turkish police detained two people of Iranian descent after an attack on the Iranian embassy in the capital Ankara Friday, Anatolia news agency said. The two are accused of throwing three Molotov cocktails into the garden of the embassy located in downtown Ankara, said Anatolia. The fire was put out by embassy officials and there were no reports of injuries. The suspects are said to have carried out the attack because of slow processing of their visa applications by the embassy, said Anatolia. -AP
were killed in the confrontation. In the city of Homs, also north of Damascus, at least 24 mortar rounds hit the districts of Bab Dreib, Safsafa et Warsheh, according to the Observatory. Opposition activists said hundreds of people took part in night-time protests in areas of the capital. “Bomb us instead of Daraa, Homs and Hama,” cities where hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed in the crackdown on dissent, the demonstrators chanted in Rukneddin neighborhood, according to activists.
The reports could not be confirmed because of restrictions on the movements of foreign media. In diplomatic efforts to halt the bloodshed, the Security Council on Wednesday adopted a statement urging Assad and his foes to implement “fully and immediately” Annan’s peace plan. The initiative calls for Assad to pull troops and heavy weapons out of protest hubs, a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire, access to all areas affected by the fighting and a UN-supervised halt to all clashes. Annan’s spokesman said a team of technical experts had returned to Geneva after “three days of intensive talks with Syrian authorities on urgent steps to implement” the plan. “ Annan and his team are currently studying the Syrian responses carefully, and negotiations with Damascus continue,” said the spokesman. After intense negotiations between major UN powers, Russia and China signed up to the Western-drafted Security Council statement which also calls on Assad to work toward a democratic transition. On Friday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned against any attempt to circumvent UN authority on the crisis. “There’s a need to eliminate any loopholes allowing (nations) to act in circumvention of the authority of the Security Council and use force without its approval,” Medvedev told a European security conference in Moscow. Russia, he said, had heard too many “ultimatum-like statements containing threats of armed outside interference.” The Security Council, meanwhile, still awaited a formal Syrian response on Wednesday’s statement. But government daily Tishrin welcomed the world body’s unified stand. Riyadh, Doha, Ankara “and other capitals which are enemies of Syria, and which wanted a military intervention... suffered a defeat on the international stage,” it said. The Syrian National Council, the main opposition coalition, dismissed the UN statement as offering “the regime the opportunity to push ahead with its repression in order to crush the revolt by the Syrian people.” European states and Washington want to press for a full, binding Security Council resolution. -AFP
US to resume military aid to Egypt WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will open the way on Friday to resuming 1.3 billion US dollars in annual military aid to Egypt despite fears it is slipping in its avowed transition to democracy. Clinton notified Congress of her plans in a further easing of the crisis in the 30-year-old US-Egyptian alliance caused by a three-month crackdown on pro-democracy groups by Egypt’s interim military rulers. “Tomorrow, Secretary Clinton will certify that Egypt is meeting its obligations under its peace treaty with Israel,” a senior State Department official said in an email on Thursday. The certification will clear the way for $250m in economic aid, which had not been in serious question. The top US diplomat will also waive legislative requirements on whether Cairo is making progress towards democracy to allow for “the continued flow of foreign military financing to Egypt,” the official said on condition of anonymity. The move will free up $1.3bn in military aid this year. The official stressed that “on the democracy side, Egypt had made more progress in 16 months than in the last 60 years,” highlighting free and fair parliamentary elections as well as the transfer of legislative authority to the new people’s assembly. “Yet Egypt’s transition to democracy is not yet complete, and more work remains to protect universal rights and freedoms, and the role of NGOs and civil society,” the official added. Annual military aid, which has underpinned US ties to Cairo for three decades and cemented Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel, was put on hold over a crackdown on non-government organizations (NGOs). But US officials said it was in the US interest to maintain military and economic aid. “These decisions reflect our overarching goal: to maintain our strategic partnership with an Egypt made stronger and more stable by a successful transition to democracy,” the State Department official added. In December, Cairo prosecutors stormed the offices of the US-funded International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House as part of a probe into al-
To restart the aid, which has been a cornerstone of American relations with Egypt for more than three decades, the administration plans on sidestepping a new Congressional requirement that for the first time directly links military assistance to the protection of basic freedoms. (AFP)
legations of illegal foreign funding. They were among 17 offices of Egyptian and international NGOs raided as part of what analysts saw as a wider drive by the military leaders to silence dissent after criticism of its human rights record. In January, Egypt then barred some US members of the NGOs from leaving the country and a number of them took refuge at the US embassy. Tensions between Cairo and Washington eased this month when Egypt allowed six US citizens and seven other foreign NGO members to leave the country after they posted bail. But the trial of 43 defendants in the case, 16 Egyptians and 27 foreign nationals, is set to resume on April 10. Patrick Leahy, the Democratic senator who sponsored the legislation that tied conditions to aid, said he was “disappointed” by
At least 19 detainees flee north Iraq prison BAGHDAD: Nineteen detainees, including two men sentenced to death and several alleged Al-Qaeda leaders, escaped from a prison in northern Iraq on Friday, in what one politician said was an inside job. “Nineteen people, including members of Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Sunna, fled from prison in Kirkuk at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT),” a security official said on condition of anonymity. Kirkuk province’s deputy governor and a provincial council member confirmed the prison break. The group apparently drugged guards and fellow inmates using narcotic-laced dates that put them to sleep before breaking out of Al-Tasfirat prison in central Kirkuk, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad. Of the 19, two were sentenced to death, while 17 faced various accusations including murder. The group was made up of alleged Al-Qaeda insurgents and fighters belonging to Ansar Al-Sunna, a Salafist group that has claimed several attacks against US and Iraqi security forces, the security official said. An AFP journalist said security forces in Kirkuk shut off entrances to the city, and launched a manhunt. “We consider today’s incident to be very clear negligence by the security forces,” said Abdullah Al-Asi, a Kirkuk provincial councilor, alleging the prison break was an inside job. -AFP
Clinton’s decision. “I know Secretary Clinton wants the democratic transition in Egypt to succeed, but by waiving the conditions we send a contradictory message,” Leahy said in a statement. “The Egyptian military should be defending fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, not harassing and arresting those who are working for democracy,” he said. Now that she has taken her decision, he said, Clinton should release funds in increments as Egypt demonstrates its commitment toward democracy following the revolution that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak in February last year. The military aid goes toward paying US military and security contractors who supply equipment and services, including training, to the Egyptian armed forces. -AFP
Yemen protesters demand ex-president face trial SANAA: Tens of thousands of protesters streamed into city centers across Yemen on Friday, demanding that their ex-president be stripped of immunity from prosecution and be put on trial for the deaths of demonstrators during the yearlong uprising. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down last month in a US-backed deal that gave him immunity to ease a transition from his rule. He was widely expected to leave the country after relinquishing power but has instead remained in Yemen. The power-transfer deal also gave Saleh’s party half of the seats in the new Cabinet. Critics say this has enabled him to interfere in the new government, working through loyalist Cabinet ministers as well as relatives and cronies still holding top military positions. Street protests have continued even after Saleh stepped down, with demonstrators denouncing the ex-president’s immunity and demanding he face trial. The government has said at least 2,000 people have been killed in a year of turmoil.
Some protesters on Friday carried posters showing Saleh with a noose around his neck and many chanted demanding retribution for those killed in Saleh’s crackdown on protesters. The continued street protests also reflect growing frustration among many Yemenis that their uprising, inspired by other Arab Spring revolts, has not achieved its goals even though a new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has been appointed in Saleh’s place. During the rally Friday in the capital Sanaa, activist Abdel-Hadi al-Azazi said Saleh was “still working on sabotaging the revolution.” The opposition also says the new government is unable to stop Al-Qaeda from gaining strength in the country’s south. The terror network’s branch in Yemen is seen by Washington as the most dangerous arm of Al-Qaeda, after its repeated attempts to carry out bombings on American soil. It only grew stronger during the past year’s turmoil, when militants seized control of several towns in the south, including Zinjibar, a provincial capital. -AP
ALWATAN DAILY
WORLD
saturdAY, march 24, 2012
France to resume election race after gunman’s death TOULOUSE: France’s presidential election race resumes on Friday, irrevocably altered by the killing of an Al Qaeda-inspired gunman whose murders have shifted the political debate in favor of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Mohamed Merah’s cold-blooded shootings of seven people, including three Jewish schoolchildren, forced politicians to suspend normal campaigning while a giant manhunt closed in on the 23-year-old unemployed panel-beater. That hunt ended in a cacophony of gunfire shortly before midday on Thursday, after a 30-hour siege in the southern city of Toulouse. Merah was shot in the head as he clambered out of a ground floor window with all guns blazing, fulfilling his macabre wish of dying with a weapon in his hand. Counter-terrorism operatives said they had wanted to capture him alive, but had been forced to kill him when he began to fire at police commandos searching his flat, wounding at least two of them. The young self-styled Islamist’s crimes spread fear, triggered an emotive debate about immigration and integration, and gave Sarkozy a small bounce in the polls as he sought to close
the gap behind Socialist rival Francois Hollande. With only one month left to go before the first round of the election, Merah’s influence is likely to endure. “Of course what has happened in the past week has changed the course of events,” a senior Sarkozy campaign adviser said on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There wasn’t much talk about security and terrorism before. But this is going to raise questions about our system of integration, our approach to fundamentalism and our tolerance of certain practices here. You’re going to hear a lot about that in the weeks to come,” he said. President Sarkozy will visit the northern French town of Valenciennes on Friday where he is expected to tour urban renovation projects, industrial facilities, and purpose-built housing for workers. The first opinion poll conducted since Merah committed his third and deadliest attack at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday showed Sarkozy surging past Hollande in the April 22 first round, even though it predicted Hollande would still win a May 6 runoff. -Reuters
Hundreds of people participate in a minute of silence to pay tribute to the victims of the Toulouse school and three French soldiers, at the Capitol square in Toulouse, France, March 23. (EPA)
Tuareg rebels in northern Mali pushed south to occupy positions vacated by government forces, sources said, as mutinous soldiers in the distant capital sought to complete a coup by arresting the president. (Reuters)
Japan prepares defenses against North Korean rocket TOKYO: Japan on Friday readied its missile defense systems to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens the country, as the UN chief warned that next month’s launch could jeopardize food aid. “I have ordered officials to prepare to deploy the PAC-3 and Aegis warships,” Japan’s Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka told reporters, referring to surface-to-air missiles and destroyers carrying missiles. The nuclear-armed North has announced it will launch a rocket in midApril to put a satellite into orbit, a move that the United States, South Korea and other nations see as a pretext for a longrange missile test banned by the UN. The move by North Korea’s new leadership has set off alarm bells across the region. The Philippines is calling for help from the United States to monitor the rocket, part of which is expected to land off the archipelago. Amid mounting tensions, North Korea’s main ally China urged that “all parties should keep calm and exercise restraint”, while a special adviser to US President Barack Obama warned any launch will generate a “strong response.” “If they go ahead anyway, we will want to work with our allies and partners for a strong response,” Gary Samore, arms control coordinator at the National Security Council, told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency in an interview. The preparations by Japan, regularly the target of North Korean barbs, come as world leaders including Obama prepare to meet in Seoul for a summit officially focused on nuclear terrorism. The North’s atomic program is expected to be the subject of discussion at the talks on Monday and Tuesday, which are also to be attended by the leaders of China, Japan and Russia. Leading North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Friday again blasted the upcoming summit as a “burlesque” and part of a South Korean smear campaign. It said Seoul’s rulers hope to use the event to escalate the “nuclear racket” against the North and moves for a war against it. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who plans to raise the rocket launch at the Seoul summit, said any launch could
discourage international aid donors and worsen North Korea’s already dire humanitarian situation. “Such an act would undermine recent positive diplomatic progress and, in its effect on international donors, would likely worsen the humanitarian situation inside the country,” he said in a speech in Singapore. Japan’s surface-to-air interceptors would reportedly be deployed on the southern island chain of Okinawa, over which Tokyo said the projectile may pass. In a notice to the UN’s International Maritime Organization, North Korea has said the first stage of the rocket will fall in international waters between China and South Korea. The second stage is expected to splash down just 190 kilometers (118 miles) east of the northern Philippines. North Korea insists it has the right to conduct what it calls a peaceful satellite launch. But Ban, a South Korean, said the rocket flight would be a “clear violation” of UN Security Council resolutions and warned that the North already has a “serious humanitarian crisis” on its hands. The United States voiced doubt last week over whether it could provide its own food aid to Pyongyang if it followed through on the launch, after an apparent breakthrough deal with North Korea last month. Washington had said it would deliver 240,000 tons of food aid to the North, which remains hampered by food shortages after a devastating famine in the 1990s. In return, Pyongyang agreed to a partial freeze on its nuclear program, to suspend missile and nuclear tests, and allow the return of UN atomic inspectors. The Japanese defense minister, who met with US ambassador John Roos late Thursday, said the two sides “reconfirmed to further strengthen Japan-US cooperation, especially on the North Korean issue”. South Korea and Japan’s nuclear envoys held talks in Seoul Friday over possible steps to take if the launch goes ahead, Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean foreign ministry official as saying. -AFP
Bomb hidden in radio kills Pakistani soldier, son
Race to rescue 17 trapped in China coal mine
EU suspends development operations in Bamako
out after soldiers mutinied Wednesday. A Malian officer in the northern town of Kidal said rebels had occupied the military camp in Anefis, 100 km (60 miles) to the southwest, after government forces withdrew. “The army has pulled back to Gao,” a source in Timbuktu, another main town in the north, told Reuters, asking not to be named. “There is no longer any military leadership. (The reb-
NEWS IN BRIEF
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Intelligence officials say a bomb hidden inside a radio exploded on a military base in northwest Pakistan, killing a paramilitary soldier and his 10-year-old son. The officials say the soldier and his son were listening to the Asia Cup cricket final between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Thursday night when the bomb went off. Three other children were wounded. Authorities are investigating how the bomb was planted in the radio. The attack occurred at a base in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area, a key Pakistani Taliban stronghold. -AP
Mali rebels advance in north, mutineers seek president BAMAKO: Tuareg rebels in northern Mali pushed south to occupy positions abandoned by government forces, sources said, as mutinous soldiers in the distant capital Bamako sought to complete a coup by hunting down the president. The MNLA rebels were approaching towns in the desert north, taking advantage of the confusion created by the attempted coup in Bamako by low-ranking soldiers, a military source told Reuters. Mutinous soldiers, angered by what they saw as the government’s poor handling of the northern rebellion, roamed the streets of the capital after over-running the presidential palace and taking control of state television. The head of a body set up by the mutineers, speaking to journalists, suggested soldiers were trying to arrest President Amadou Toumani Toure. The president’s whereabouts were unknown, though there were unconfirmed reports he was being protected by loyalist troops in the city. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the capital in the early hours of the morning on Friday, a Reuters reporter said. Mali, which was flooded with men and weapons after Libya’s civil war, was already facing the Tuareg-led rebellion, a growing Islamist threat and a food crisis when the coup broke
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els) will take the towns in the north,” he said. The MNLA said on its website that it had taken town on the Gao-Kidal highway after Malian troops abandoned their positions and withdrew to Gao. The MNLA rebels, whose numbers have been swollen by Malian Tuareg returning from the ranks of Libya’s army, have been fighting since mid-January for an independent north. They have pushed government soldiers out of
remote towns but had not yet threatened the regional capitals of Kidal, Timbuktu and Gao. Rebels pledged on Thursday to take advantage of the chaos as senior civilian and military officials in northern regions were arrested by mutinous soldiers. Diplomats and officials said they believed Toure was being protected by a pocket of loyalist soldiers. Mutinous soldiers said they would launch an attack on the parachute regiment they believe is protecting the president, who has overseen a decade of relative stability. Toure, 63, a former paratrooper who seized power in 1991, had gained the nickname “Soldier of Democracy” in his West African state and had been preparing to cede power in April after an election. Mali’s neighbors, the United Nations and world powers from Paris to Washington called for a return to constitutional rule. Regional body ECOWAS said it would not recognize the junta. The World Bank and African Development Bank on Thursday condemned the military coup and suspended funds to Mali. In Brussels, the European Commission said on Friday it had suspended its development operations in Mali while it waited for clarity on the situation in the country after Thursday’s coup. EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the decision did not affect humanitarian aid. “Mali has achieved steady development progress in recent years which can only be preserved in a stable and democratic environment,” Piebalgs said. -Reuters
BEIJING: Chinese rescue workers battled Friday to free 17 miners trapped for more than 48 hours in a northeast colliery following a gas blast that left five dead, a local government official said.The explosion on Thursday, in a coal mine in Liaoning province, killed five workers and injured a sixth, the official, surnamed Liang, told AFP. “Family members of the victims are on their way to the mine, but the name list of victims can’t be disclosed for now,” he said. -AFP
Taiwan protest over criticism of foreign wives TAIPEI: Foreign wives of Taiwanese men joined local women to protest outside the island’s parliament Friday against a lawmaker who had criticized overseas spouses for reducing the supply of available men. Several dozen demonstrators condemned lawmaker Chang Show-foong for using “hate language”, accusing her of discriminating against foreign spouses and demanding an apology. Chang came under fire after she suggested that foreigners were reducing Taiwanese women’s chances of getting married. -AFP
Indian minister denies coal ‘scam’ NEW DELHI: India’s coal minister on Friday denied charges that the government had lost 210 billion US dollars in revenues by giving away coal deposits instead of selling them through auction. “There has been no scam. It is all a figment of the media’s imagination,” Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi. Jaiswal’s comments came a day after The Times of India newspaper quoted a draft report by the national auditor as saying the government extended “undue benefits” to coal companies by awarding 155 coalfields without auction. -AFP
South Korea set to host nuclear summit SEOUL: Security and safety on agenda, but diplomatic fallout from North Korea’s rocket launch plan could dominate on sidelines. South Korea is preparing to host the heads of more than 50 nations and international organizations at a nuclear security summit in Seoul. The meeting, starting on Monday, comes a year after the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan and participants will discuss efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and how to restore faith in civil nuclear energy. Participants include US President Barack Obama, who is due to visit the border zone between the two Koreas on Sunday, and Chinese President Hu Jintao. The controversial nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran are not due to be formally discussed. But Obama is expected to hold talks on the sidelines with both Hu and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak over North Korea’s plans to launch a satellite into space aboard a long-range rocket next month. Dozens of protesters from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand gathered near the summit venue in downtown Seoul on Friday to denounce the gathering, saying nuclear energy was threatening the safety of their lives. “The nuclear energy industry told us the industry is safe, but actually, there have been many accidents that happened,” Lee Heonseok, a protester, said. “We think those accidents will be repeated in the future. Therefore, we insist the nuclear energy industry should disappear.” Richard Broinowski, a professor at the University of Sydney and former Australian ambassador to South Korea, told Al Jazeera that the summit was aimed at rebuilding confidence in the nuclear industry. “The point of the safety nuclear conference should be about terrorism and the breakdown of systems,
Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer (center) arrives at the Incheon International Airport ahead of next week’s Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul March 23. Leaders from over 50 nations will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26-27. (Reuters)
such as what happened in Fukushima, and what to do about them,” he said. But the summit could be overshadowed by diplomatic fallout from North Korea’s announcement of its planned rocket launch. North Korea said earlier this month that it had halted its nuclear program, weapons testing and longrange missile launches and was ready to return to in-
ternational talks in return for US food aid. The US says April’s rocket launch would violate that agreement, while Japan’s defense minister said on Friday he had ordered the military to prepare to shoot down the rocket if it entered Japanese airspace. China, North Korea’s closest regional, has also expressed concern that the launch could endanger regional stability. -AFP
No faith in trial of US massacre suspect, say Afghan Taliban KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban vowed on Friday to take revenge on NATO forces for the killing of 17 civilians, for which a US soldier is due to face charges, saying they had no faith in any court proceeding. The massacre in the southern province of Kandahar as well as the burning of Korans at a NATO base have angered many Afghans and damaged relations at a time when Western forces are drawing down combat troops and the Taliban have suspended peace talks. “This was a planed activity and we will certainly take revenge on all American forces in Afghanistan and don’t trust such trials,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing the Afghans in a shooting rampage in Kandahar last week, will be charged with 17 counts
of murder, a US official said on Thursday. Bales, a four-tour combat veteran, will face other charges, including attempted murder, but the official was unable to say how many additional counts there would be. Official charges have not yet been released. The lawyer representing Bales said US authorities lacked proof of what happened during the March 11 shooting spree in the Panjwai district. The Taliban’s Mujahid reiterated the belief held by many Afghans that there must have been more than one soldier involved in the massacre - which US authorities consistently deny. “Now America tries to deceive the people and tries to blame the act on one soldier. This is a crime by the American government. Using such cleverness and deception is a huge crime,” Mujahid said. Nearly 11 years after the Taliban government was
toppled, the United States and its allies face a resilient insurgency, a weak Afghan government, and an uncertain future for Western support after the end of a 2014 pullout. In a blow to NATO hopes of a negotiated end to the war, the Taliban said last week they were suspending nascent talks with the United States. US diplomats have been seeking to broaden exploratory talks with the Taliban that began clandestinely in Germany in late 2010 after the Taliban offered to open a representative office in Qatar. The Islamist movement has said it was compelled to suspend the talks as the United States had only responded to its demands, including the release of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with a list of conditions. -Reuters
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news in pics
Apolena Saya, a newly born baby Rothschild giraffe, is seen after its naming ceremony at Prague Zoo in Prague March 23, 2012. A total of 26 Japanese children from Fukushima prefecture near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were invited by the Czech-Japanese Association to spend a week in the country. (Reuters)
ALWATAN DAILY saturdAY, MARCH 24, 2012
A female laborer looks on as she takes a break at a coal yard on the outskirts of Jammu March 23, 2012. (Reuters)
An employee gives a medical-cosmetic massage to a client using an African snail at a beauty salon in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk March 23, 2012. The beauty salon is the only one in the region using the snails’ method, which is believed to help in speeding up regeneration of the skin, eliminating wrinkles, scars and traces of burn marks, according to the owner Alyona Zlotnikova. (Reuters)
A man plays a traditional flute as he performs during a festival on Pakistan Day (Resolution Day) celebrations in Quetta March 23, 2012. Pakistan’s Resolution was passed on March 23, 1940 as the official declaration of independence from British rule. (Reuters)
The salesman displays gold bangles to a customer at a jewelry showroom in the southern Indian city of Chennai March 23, 2012. Asia’s physical gold buying has been tepid this week while prices held to a narrow range, and a strike by India’s jewelers brought the market in the world’s biggest gold consumer to a virtual standstill. (Reuters)
A Hindu woman holds her baby boy seeking blessings for him inside the temple of Goddess Alopi Devi on the first day of the Navratri festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad March 23, 2012. The Hindu festival literally means nine nights. (Reuters)
Maharashtrians dressed in traditional costumes attend celebrations to mark the Gudi Padwa festival in Mumbai March 23, 2012. (Reuters)
An employee walks with Banksy’s “Girl and Balloon” 2009, at Bonhams auction house in London March 23, 2012. The work, which is estimated at 25,000 pounds (40,000 US dollars) will be auctioned as part of the Urban Art sale at Bonhams auction house on March 29, 2012. (Reuters)
saturdAY, march 24, 2012
BUSINESS
French economy to expand faster than previously predicted PARIS: French Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the broadest measure of growth, should expand in 2012 by 0.7 percent compared with earlier forecasts of 0.5 percent, the Finance Ministry said Friday. The revision comes largely because of new data on the country’s expected economic performance in the first six months. The French government had originally tabled growth at about 1.75 percent this year but revised this figure downward because of the international economic context and the crisis in Europe. It also revised 2013 growth forecasts Friday, bringing the figure down to 1.75 percent from 2.0 percent. -KUNA
Kuwaiti oil price Saudi to fill in drops $1.16 to settle at $121.41 for any Iran disruption: IEA Oil jumps on drop in Iranian crude exports
CAPITALS: Price of Kuwaiti crude dropped 1.16 US dollars to settle at $121.41 per barrel on Thursday, in comparison to $122.57 pb on the day before, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Friday. The oil prices fell back late last week due to the drop of US gasoline consumption as well as the decline in the industrial sector in China, as it is the second largest consumer of energy in the world in addition to economic data in the euro area which showed a decline in the European industrial sector. In more news, oil prices rallied sharply on Friday on news that Iranian oil exports have fallen significantly
this month as tightening Western sanctions cause some buyers to stop or scale back purchases. After Brent oil extended its rise to nearly four dollars and US crude also rose sharply, oil prices pared gains as equities fell on Wall Street following data that showed US new single-family home sales declined in February. Brent crude rose $2.08 to $125.22 a barrel as of 10:50 a.m. EDT (1450 GMT), having swung from $123.10 to $127.06. US crude rose $1.45 to $106.80 a barrel, having traded from $105.16 to $108.25. On Thursday, oil slid on disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and euro zone PMI figures. Ahead of the Iranian export news, oil prices had already been supported by a drop in the dollar. A weaker US currency can lift dollar-denominated crude oil by making it less expensive for consumers using other currencies. -Agencies
IEA sees no disruptions in oil markets
NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia will be able to pump enough oil to compensate for any loss of Iranian output caused by Western sanctions, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. “There is no fear of disruption of supplies and you know Saudi Arabia is going to bring more oil to the market,” Maria van der Hoeven, the executive director of the agency that advises developed nations, said while attending an Asia Gas Partnership conference in New Delhi. Brent crude prices have risen 15 percent since the beginning of the year to more than 123 US dollars a barrel amid concern that much of Iran’s 2.5 million barrels a day of exports will be lost to the market because of European and US
sanctions, which are aimed at punishing Iran for its nuclear program. Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it was ready to raise its output to 12.5 million barrels per day from current levels just below almost 10 million. The IEA sees no need to release oil from the strategic reserves as yet, Van den Hoeven said, adding that currently there is “no serious disruption of supplies”. Crude prices may rise between 20 and 30 percent if Iranian supplies are taken off the market, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said this week. In addition to the risk of the loss of Iranian exports, adverse weather, unplanned outages at fields and unrest in Syria, Yemen and Sudan have taken an estimated 1.1 million barrels per day of oil production offline, according to Reuters calculations. World oil demand is expected to be around 89.9 million barrels a day in 2012, according to the IEA.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday it did not believe there would be any disruptions to global oil supply as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers will bring more oil to the market. Brent crude prices have risen 15 percent since the beginning of the year to more than $123 a barrel amid concern that much of Iran’s 2.5 million barrels a day of exports will be lost to the market because of European and US sanctions, which are aimed at punishing Iran for its nuclear program. Crude prices may rise between 20 and 30 percent if Iranian supplies are taken off the market, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said this week. In addition to the risk of the loss of Iranian exports, adverse weather, unplanned outages at fields and unrest in Syria, Yemen and Sudan have taken an estimated 1.1 million barrels per day of oil production offline, according to Reuters calculations. World oil demand is expected to be around 89.9 million barrels a day in 2012, according to the IEA. -Reuters
Iran oil exports fall as sanctions take toll
A female laborer carries a piece of coal on her head as she loads it onto a truck at a coal yard on the outskirts of Jammu March 23, 2012. The Indian government has doused a row over up to $211 billion in lost revenue from underpriced coal sales but the opposition will pile on the pressure when a report on the matter reaches parliament. (Reuters)
Any inclusion of yuan in reserves long-term issue: UAE
DUBAI: Any decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to include the Chinese yuan into the UAE central bank’s official foreign currency reserves would be the result of a long-term process, the bank’s head said on Friday. In January, the UAE signed a three-year currency swap agreement with China worth 20 billion dirhams (5.45 billion US dollars) to boost two-way trade and investment. Asked if the central bank also considered making the Chinese yuan a part of its official reserves, Central Bank Governor Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said: “This is a long-term issue.” “It is a long-term agreement so it will take time to implement it. So we are patient,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a financial conference in the UAE trade hub Dubai. China, a relatively modest importer of UAE crude, has signed a series of currency swap agreements in recent years with key trading partners to boost the use of the yuan for the direct settlement of international trade. In February, China imported 777,476 tons of crude from the Emirates, a 45 percent jump from a year ago, according to the Chinese customs data. Al-Suweidi reiterated his long-standing view that the rate of bank lending growth in the UAE, one the world’s top five oil exporters, was appropriate given economic developments. “Bank lending is going at a reasonable rate. The rate has been close to 3.5 percent, which is reasonable under the circumstances,” he said. He described the central bank’s monetary policy as “good”, when asked about the possibility of shifts in monetary policy. He did not elaborate. The central bank of the UAE, which pegs its dirham to the US dollar, has kept its key repo rate at one percent since 2009. The 2008 global financial crisis exposed bank lending excesses in the oil-reliant UAE economy, bursting a property bubble and triggering a $25 billion debt restructuring of Dubai World in 2010. However, most UAE banks have large capital cushions by international standards and the central bank has said they had only minor exposure to Europe, hit by the euro zone debt crisis. Despite some recovery, bank lending remains sluggish in the UAE. Provisions against bad loans rose to a record 55.3 billion dirhams in December, up 25 percent from a year ago, central bank data show. -Reuters
LONDON: Iranian oil exports have fallen significantly in March, industry sources said on Friday, as some buyers stop or scale back purchases to abide by Western sanctions aimed at slowing Tehran’s nuclear program. Crude exports from Iran appear to have fallen this month by around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 14 percent, according to estimates from industry consultant Petrologistics and a large European oil company. It is the first sizeable drop in oil shipments from the OPEC producer since the European Union announced in January plans to embargo Iran’s crude from July and Washington and Brussels sanctioned Iran’s central bank. Oil prices rose on the news, with Brent jumping more 2.45 US dollars to $125.59 a barrel. “This is fundamentally very bullish,” said Mike Wittner, head of commodities research at Societe Generale in the United States. “I think Iranian exports are going to go down much more, as the sanctions bite. It’s a logical reaction for the market
to go up on this.” European buyers of Iranian crude including France’s Total have already stopped buying the oil, which is subject to European Union sanctions from July 1. Royal Dutch Shell is scaling back. “We are taking less and less - very few barrels,” said an official with a European oil company, until earlier this year one of the larger EU buyers of Iranian crude. According to Petrologistics, a Geneva-based oil industry consultant, Iranian exports may amount to 1.9 million bpd in March, down from about 2.2 million bpd in February. A source at an oil company, which still deals in Iranian crude, said the evidence pointed to an overall drop in shipments in March, seeing a decline of at least 300,000 bpd mainly because European customers are taking less. Petrologistics is one of a number of companies which estimates oil output by tracking tanker shipments, because Iran, like many big oil exporters, does not routinely disclose how much it is supplying
Gold bounces with euro, set to end week flat LONDON: Gold climbed on Friday, helped by an advancing euro, but still looked set to end the week on a flat footing as patchy consumer demand weighed and increasing optimism about the economic outlook dampened investor appetite for the metal. Global equities drifted lower on Friday, having touched eight-month peaks earlier in the week, and were pulled down by a decline in US home sales as concerns about global growth cooled enthusiasm. This month, the gold price has lost nearly two percent in value as a shift in the perception among investors of the health of the US economy in particular has made so-called safe-haven assets such as gold or US Treasuries less attractive compared with stocks or higher-yielding currencies. Spot gold was up around one percent at $1,662.21 an ounce by 1500 GMT, having recovered from a low of $1,627.68 on Thursday. “In the last month or two people are taking the view that the kind of tail risks around the outlook for the world economy have diminished,” Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith said. “In terms of the US macro story there’s no doubt it’s been outperforming people’s expectations ... and in terms of Europe, Greece got its second bailout and bond yields in Germany have come in pretty sharply so those kind of things are certainly weighing on gold and have helped to bring prices down,” he said. The decline in the gold price earlier this week took its toll on investment in exchange-traded funds backed by physical metal, resulting in the largest one-day fall in holdings on Friday in three months. “We don’t see a huge amount of downside for gold prices from current levels, and we would be looking for the market to form a base soon and then move higher as we progress through the year,” Smith said, adding that he saw it moving in a range of $1,600 to $1,800 an ounce. Gold’s inverse correlation to the dollar index, which broke a key level of support on Friday, has held at around -45 percent for the last week, indicating that the gold price is tending to moving in the opposite direction to the US currency. While this is normally the case, the
unfolding of the euro zone debt crisis last year turned the relationship between the two turn positive for much of 2011 as investors fled the euro and euro-denominated assets. Markets are attaching lower probability to the US Federal Reserve’s embarking on a fresh round of government-bond buying, or quantitative easing, to keep short-term interest rates low to stimulate growth, and this shift has been a key driver in this month’s fall in the gold price. “We think that quantitative easing and abnormally low US interest rates have been a huge support for gold prices. It’s no surprise that the falling gold price recently has been accompanied by quite a significant rise in US interest rates,” Nic Brown, head of commodity research at Natixis, said. Investors in gold via ETFs have cashed in on their positions fairly heavily this week, forcing an outflow of nearly a quarter of a million ounces of gold in just one day, the largest net oneday fall since Dec. 23 2011, and bringing holdings to a one-month low of 70.431 million ounces. ETP holdings hit a record
of nearly 70.9 million ounces on Tuesday, but the past couple of days of outflows have wiped out all of the build-up that had taken place so far in March. “Yesterday’s decline was the largest outflow since the beginning of the year, which pushed this month’s net position into negative territory: month-to-date, global ETFs are down by 155koz. Indeed, this now raises the question of whether this is the beginning of a much more substantial exit,” Edel Tully, a strategist at UBS, said in a note. “Right now, we’re paying attention to their behavior in the short-term, as being the less-fickle investor grouping, their actions emit important signals at a time when confidence in gold is shaky,” she said, referring to the normally longerterm horizon of a typical ETF investor. Silver took its lead from gold, rising by 1.62 percent to $32.10 an ounce, as did the platinum group metals. Platinum rose 0.51 percent to $1,622.24 an ounce, while palladium gained 1.05 percent on the day to reach $655.55 an ounce. -Reuters
FILE - An employee arranges gold jewelry at the counter of a gold shop in Hefei, Anhui province Aug. 23, 2011. Gold climbed on Friday, helped by an advancing euro, but still looked set to end the week on a flat footing as patchy consumer demand weighed and increasing optimism about the economic outlook dampened investor appetite for the metal. (Reuters)
on a timely basis. Iran’s oil exports are difficult to track and, like those of other countries, they can fluctuate week by week. With a week to go in March, it is possible the picture may change. “We are struggling to get the numbers nailed down,” said an industry official. Oil prices have climbed to just $20 short of their all-time high of 2008, as the tighter Western sanctions on Iran threaten to choke off its exports. Some oil industry officials say Saudi Arabia is increasing shipments to compensate for lower Iranian supplies and to lower prices, which may lead to Saudi output climbing above 10 million bpd in March. Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday its March output was around 9.9 million bpd, its highest in decades. An Iranian oil official, asked on Friday to comment on whether exports had fallen, referred to remarks earlier in March by Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi who said shipments were unchanged from last year. -Reuters
‘Systematic’ plan for Iranian oil imports: Indian oil minister
NEW DELHI: India will continue to import oil from Iran without violating any international law and has requested the United States and the European Union to take into account the country’s oil needs, India’s oil minister said on Friday. “We have a systematic plan for receiving oil from Iran,” Jaipal Reddy told reporters at the Asia Gas Partnership Summit, but did not elaborate. The United States gave exemptions on Tuesday from its crippling financial sanctions to Japan and 10 EU nations it said had cut purchases of Iranian crude, but left Asian economic giants India and China exposed to the risk of such steps. “We continue to receive representations from the US and other countries. With respect to their sentiments, we have requested to appreciate our needs,” Reddy said. India is Iran’s second-biggest oil client after China and Tehran used to supply about 12 percent of the south Asian country’s needs, worth about 11 billion US dollars a year. Reddy also said there would be no supply shortage. India, publicly disdainful of sanctions to pressure Iran, is privately pushing its refiners for substantial cuts in imports from the Middle Eastern country. Indian state refiners planning to cut the size of their term deals with Iran have sought additional supplies from the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, and fellow OPEC member Iraq. -Reuters
saturdAY, MARCH 24, 2012
Sports Editors Highlight
SPORTS
BERLIN: Bayern Munich will be without Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger for Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Hanover, according to the Bavarian club’s sporting director Christian Nerlinger. Schweinsteiger, 27, tore ankle ligaments in the quarter-final win over Stuttgart on February 8 and although he played 20 minutes in the 7-1 Bundesliga hammering of Hoffenheim earlier this month, he is still trying to achieve the peak of his fitness scale. “The problem will not stretch over the coming weeks,” Nerlinger said, without giving a new comeback date. -AFP
FOOTBALL
Enrique dismisses talk of Barca distraction
Wenger wants quality not quantity
LONDON: Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal fans not to expect a major overhaul of the club’s squad at the end of the season because he is only willing to sign top players. Sections of Arsenal’s support have been frustrated at Wenger’s failure to land the players needed to end the Gunners’ seven-year trophy drought and they continue to call on him to splash out on new signings. ButWenger, who on Friday denied reports that Germany striker Lukas Podolski has undergone a medical with a view to joining Arsenal prefers to sign what he believes to be the very best talent, which inevitably limits the amount of transfer targets he has. “Quantity-wise, we will not do a lot. Quality-wise, certainly, and we will take a gamble if we find top, top quality of course,” Wenger said on Friday. “The number of the squad is 25. We have many players out on loan and we have not had Jack Wilshere or Abou Diaby for the whole season due to injury. These players will be back and that means number- and quality-wise we are
strong, because we are now in the position we are in without these players.” Wenger shed little light on the timing of Podolski’s expected arrival from Cologne, adding: “Nothing is done. It could happen soon, it could happen later. I don’t know.” For now, Wenger will focus solely on ensuring Arsenal finish above Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in third place in the Premier League, a position that guarantees automatic qualification for the Champions League group stage. Wenger’s side leapfrogged Tottenham into third place with their 1-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday, but the Frenchman believes the battle for Champions League football is intensifying. “Third is better than fourth, but if you have no choice, you take fourth and the opportunity. Let’s see how it goes now,” he said. “I believe Newcastle are still in the fight, as are Tottenham and Chelsea. Liverpool are maybe too far off, but you never know.” -AFP
AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) shoots to score past Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano during their Champions League soccer match at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Nov. 23, 2011. (Reuters)
MILAN: Luis Enrique says he doesn’t expect AC Milan to be distracted when he takes his Roma side to the San Siro on Saturday. Milan host Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday with some suggesting coach Massimiliano Allegri may be tempted to rest a couple of key players ahead of the Catalans’ visit. But Enrique believes Milan’s title battle with Juventus will ensure they are fully focused on their league commitments. “I don’t think Milan will be distracted by their next Champions League commitment,” said the Spaniard, who used to be a youth team coach at Barca. “It’s a key moment in the league, Milan know that every match from now on is fundamental. And beating Barcelona, who
are the best team in the world, is difficult for everyone.” Roma have been creeping up on the Champions League places recently and now trail city rivals Lazio by just four points in the race for third place. But Enrique expects Saturday’s challenge to be as tough as their previous match with Milan earlier in the season at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. “Milan won here 3-2, there was a big difference between the two teams and the result was fair. There’s a big difference between Milan and us in terms of consistency.” Enrique says the key to the match will be controlling the ball and he also says it’s unlikely to be as open as their previous meeting.
Dalglish rejects claims of Liverpool failure
Queens Park Rangers’ Shaun Derry celebrates after scoring his goal during the English Premier League football match between Queens Park Rangers and Liverpool at Loftus Road in London, March 21, 2012. (AFP)
LONDON: Kenny Dalglish has slammed suggestions that Liverpool’s Premier League campaign has been a failure. Dalglish’s side have little chance of qualifying for the Champions League after a woeful collapse at QPR in mid-week left them 12 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham. With only nine matches remaining, Liverpool look destined to miss out on Europe’s elite club competition for another season, despite making qualification for the tournament their main aim at the start of the campaign. Liverpool’s defense was badly exposed as they conceded three goals in the last 13 minutes to lose 3-2 at struggling QPR. That was the Reds’ fourth defeat in five matches, yet Liverpool manager Dalglish refuses to panic and he insists the League Cup winners, who are also through to the FA Cup semi-finals, still have plenty to play for. “Whatever we set out to achieve at the start of the season has not changed,” he said. “What we said was we would try our
best to win every game and we will continue to do that. The QPR result is disappointing for us in many ways but we have to brush ourselves down, not feel sorry for ourselves and just get on with it. We will keep playing every game and try to get as much as we possibly can. We have to keep going and try to please as many people as we can who support Liverpool.” Dalglish sees no reason to make kneejerk reactions after the QPR defeat, but warned his players they must learn from their ninth defeat of the season. “Don’t cut out the last 13 minutes, just learn from it,” he said. “We won’t be easing the last 13 minutes from our memory but we will work hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again. There is no way we are going to dismiss a match. We will never dismiss anything or any games we have played in. For us so much of it was excellent the other night. Just putting the final part to the excellent work they have done is probably the most difficult part of anything.” -AFP
“Possession of the ball will be very important tomorrow. It’s a game between two teams that want to build their game and want to win. We hope it will be an entertaining game for the players and fans but I doubt there will be five goals like last time. If we don’t play at 100 percent it will be difficult to beat Milan whereas they can win even when they’re not at their best.” But Enrique was keen to play down the importance of the game for his side’s Champions League qualification chances. “Today;s match won’t change our season, we could beat Milan and lose the next nine, or vice-versa,” he said. “We can beat Milan but we need to be at 100 percent, we need to play the perfect match and we can do that.” -AFP
Arsenal’s Dutch striker Robin van Persie runs with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Everton and Arsenal, March 21, 2012. (AFP)
Di Matteo admits defeat would end top-four bid LONDON: Roberto Di Matteo admits Chelsea’s attempt to qualify for the Champions League will be over if they lose their crunch clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Chelsea have never failed to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition during owner Roman Abramovich’s reign, but Di Matteo’s side slipped five points behind fourth-placed Spurs after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. The Blues’ interim boss knows a loss to their London rivals at Stamford Bridge this weekend would leave them with virtually no chance of making the top four. “Obviously, a win would give us a big, big lift. But, also, if we manage just to get a draw, I think we’re still in it. If we lose, I think it will be very difficult afterwards,” he said on Friday. “Mathematically it is still possible so we will fight until the end but we are looking to have a good game on Saturday.” Di Matteo believes Chelsea’s hopes of finishing in the top four are already in danger because they have a much tougher fixture list than Tottenham and thirdplaced Arsenal. “Certainly, we have the most difficult schedule and fixture list until the end of the season compared to the other teams,” he said. “But we have a good team, we have a good squad, almost fully fit squad as well. We have all the resources that we need to be able to challenge for that.” At least Di Matteo can welcome back captain John Terry after the England defender missed his
A dejected Michael Essien (center) of Chelsea walks off the pitch following his team’s 2-1 defeat during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea, March 21, 2012. (AFP)
club’s last two matches with calf cramps. Di Matteo expects Terry’s experience and leadership qualities will be major assets in such
a vital match. “He’s very influential for us in the team and we are very pleased that he’s back,” he said. -AFP
Tevez return shows City’s desperation, says Ferguson
Manchester City’s manager Roberto Mancini (right) talks to Carlos Tevez before he comes on as a substitute against Chelsea during their English Premier League soccer, March 21, 2012. (AFP)
ENGLAND: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson cranked up the mind games with Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Friday by suggesting their recall of Carlos Tevez smacked of desperation. The Scot used a news conference to fire back at City’s former player Patrick Vieira for saying earlier in the week that United had shown their weakness in bringing Paul Scholes out of retirement. “If it’s desperation bringing the best midfielder in Britain for the last 20 years back then I think we can accept that,” said Ferguson. “Roberto had a wee dig a couple of weeks back. We’re all going to play our hand that way. There will be plenty of ammunition for that,” he added. “If you talk about desperation, they played a player the other night who refused to go on the pitch and the manager said he’d never play again and he takes a five-month holiday in Argentina. What is that? Could that come under the description of desperation? There will be plenty of ammunition don’t worry,” smiled Ferguson. Former United striker Tevez is back in favor at City after being absent since September when he refused to come off the bench in a Champions
League match in Munich. Mancini had said the Argentine would never play for City again but sent Tevez on for the final 20 minutes against Chelsea on Wednesday and was rewarded by the player setting up the winning goal in the 85th minute. City are now one point behind champions United with the two rivals meeting for a potentially decisive clash at the Etihad stadium on April 30. Tevez scored 24 goals last season but had hardly been missed while City were riding high in the league until patchy away form whittled away their lead and allowed United to steal back in front. Vieira, now City’s football development executive after a long career with Arsenal, had said Scholes’ return “shows a little bit of weakness in United, because they had to bring a player back who was 37. “With all the respect I have for Scholes, him coming back shows that they don’t have talent in there to replace him,” added the Frenchman. Vieira had also said that the departure of young United players such as Ravel Morrison and possibly Paul Pogba was worrying for the champions who would previously have had no problem retaining talent. -AFP
ALWATAN DAILY
SPORTS
saturDAY, march 24, 2012
7
Tennis
Serena, Clijsters, Sharapova advance at Miami FLORIDA: Serena Williams, saying she felt nervous and rusty, made a triumphant WTA return from a left ankle injury, defeating China’s Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at the WTA and ATP Miami hardcourt event. Fellow former World No. 1 players Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova also advanced to the third round at the tournament, which awarded byes in the first round to seeded players. In her first tournament match since losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open, Williams fired six aces and connected on 64 percent of her first serves while dropping only one service break to advance in 80 minutes. The 13-time Grand Slam singles champion advanced to a third-round match against Italy’s Roberta Vinci, who ousted Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5, 6-1. Tenth seed Williams, a five-time winner at Miami, missed the event the past two years because of illness and injury. “I’m always a little nervous in the first round. I kind of chill out after that,” Williams said. “Last time I played I played horrible and I was thinking as long as I don’t hit a ball into the stands I’ll be good. I didn’t do that today, so it worked out well for me.” Former World No. 1 Williams played for the US Fed Cup team last month, winning two singles matches in a 5-0 World Group II victory over Belarus. But she had not been in a tour match since losing to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in the round of 16 at Melbourne. Williams withdrew before her Brisbane quarter-final with a sore ankle in her only other WTA start this year. Williams won a day after her sister, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, beat Japan’s Kimiko Date-
Serena Williams of the US hits a return during her match against Zhang Shuai of China during their match at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida March 22, 2012. (Reuters)
Krumm 6-0, 6-3 in a first-round match. It was the first WTA event for Venus since she pulled
Basketball
out of last year’s US Open with the auto-immune disorder Sjogren Syndrome, which saps her energy and causes pain
in her joints. Williams, 46-0 in first-round matches at Grand Slams, improved to 12-0 in Miami openers but praised Chinese wildcard Zhang, saying, “I think she played really well. She’s pretty young. She’s doing really well.” Russian second seed Sharapova advanced by rallying to defeat Israel’s Shahar Peer 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, after two hours and 24 minutes. She denied Peer on 10-of-13 break-point chances while taking half the 10 she earned for herself. World No. 2 Sharapova lost to top seed and World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the Indian Wells final last Sunday in her most recent prior match. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Sharapova will next face American Sloane Stephens, who ousted Italy’s Sara Errani. Belgium’s Kim Clijsters ousted German 14th seed Julia Goerges 6-2, 7-5. The second set saw nine service breaks. “I don’t think there’s anybody who plays a whole tournament with perfect tennis, so you have to try and battle through, and find the solutions when you’re not playing your best,” Clijsters said. On the men’s side, US wildcard Ryan Harrison ousting Italy’s Potito Starace 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-4 to book a secondround date with Swiss star Roger Federer, who has won his past three tournaments in a row including last week’s title at Indian Wells. Marcus Baghdatis of Cyprus advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer, advancing to a second-round match on Saturday against Serian World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, winner of the past three Grand Slam crowns. -AFP
Cricket
Celtics end Bucks’ S.Africa off to solid start in 3rd test 6-game winning streak, 100-91
Milwaukee Bucks’ Beno Udrih (left) falls to the ground as Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo drives to the basket during their NBA basketball game in Milwaukee, Wisconsin March 22, 2012. (Reuters)
MILWAUKEE: Paul Pierce scored 25 points to help the Boston Celtics snap the Milwaukee Bucks’ six-game winning streak, 100-91 on Thursday night. Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Mickael Pietrus scored 13 points for the Celtics, who were playing their seventh game on an eight-game road trip. With Thursday’s win, the Celtics improved to 4-3 on the trip. Brandon Jennings had 19 points for Milwaukee. It was the Bucks home debut for Monta Ellis, who was acquired along with forward Ekpe Udoh in a trade with the Golden State Warriors last week. Ellis, who went first in pregame introductions and received a loud ovation, scored 13 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Milwaukee came into Thursday with four straight games with 30-plus assists as a team. They had 23 on Thursday, but struggled to move the ball in the second half. Before the game, Bucks coach Scott Skiles said he challenged Jennings to de-
fend Rajon Rondo, something the Bucks have struggled with in the past. The Bucks contained Rondo - he had 10 points and 14 assists - but didn’t have a defensive answer for Pierce. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before the game that he was concerned about his team keeping its energy up in the final two games of the trip. But it was the Bucks who struggled down the stretch. Boston led 74-71 going into the fourth quarter, then jumped out to an 82-73 lead with an 8-0 run. With Milwaukee later trailing 8877, Jennings missed a jumper and Keyon Dooling hit a long jumper on the other end, putting the Celtics up 90-77 with 5:54 left. Milwaukee showed some signs of life on a four-point play by Jennings - a layup, a foul and a technical on Rivers - but the Bucks still trailed 92-83 with 4:34 left. A pair of free throws by Jennings cut the lead to 92-85, but a jumper by Garnett and a layup by Rondo put Boston ahead 96-85 with 3:33 remaining. -AP
WELLINGTON: South Africa’s batsmen made a mockery of supposedly helpful bowling conditions to finish the weather-affected first day of the third and final test against New Zealand on 136 for two. Alviro Petersen was on 44 and JP Duminy on a quickly compiled 23 when umpires offered them the option of leaving the field in the murky gloom, with 21 overs remaining in the day’s play at the Basin Reserve. Hashim Amla was the only wicket to fall after tea when his mistimed pull shot from a Mark Gillespie bouncer fell for wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk. Amla, who did not add to his tea score of 63, was forced to wait for several minutes as umpires reviewed Gillespie’s foot placement, with television replays suggesting his back foot was touching the line on the return crease, which would have meant a no-ball and Amla being recalled. Third umpire Billy Doctrove upheld the decision, however, the second time he was forced to make a controversial ruling in South Africa’s innings. Prior to tea, he affirmed a decision to give South Africa captain Graeme Smith out for five when he was adjudged to have got an inside edge to a Doug Bracewell delivery and was caught by van Wyk. Smith initially stood his ground, walked down the pitch to talk with Petersen then asked for the decision to be reviewed. South Africa only need to draw the game to seal the three-match series after they won the second test at Seddon Park in Hamilton by nine wickets. Overnight rain had delayed the start of the
game, with umpires deeming the ground unsuitable for play until 1400. The match had been scheduled to start at 1030. New Zealand, however, failed to capitalize on the help that conditions offered after the pitch was covered for almost a week due to wet weather in Wellington. They did not put any pressure on the South African batsmen, bowling wide of off-stump or too short allowing them to leave too many deliveries. Such was captain Ross Taylor’s desperation to
South Africa’s Graeme Smith (center) makes an early run against New Zealand on the first day of their third international cricket test match at Basin Reserve in Wellington, New Zealand, March 23, 2012. (AP)
Formula one
Hamilton sets pace in Malaysia SEPANG, Malaysia: McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton needed less than an hour of the first free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday to show that he will be the man to beat in this weekend’s race. The 2008 world champion scorched to the fastest time of the 90-minute session on a glorious sunny morning south of the Malaysian capital, clocking one minute, 38.021 seconds to beat the
rest of the field by more than half a second. As the afternoon forecast for heavy rain failed to materialize, the Briton topped the timesheets again in a marginally slower time with McLaren and Mercedes primed to battle it out for pole as Red Bull and Ferrari struggled for pace. “The car’s been quite good. Made some setup changes which I’m much happier with and now just focusing on the long run pace,” Hamilton told
Paul returns, Hornets beat Clippers 97-90
NEW ORLEANS: Chris Kaman scored 20 points and the Hornets rallied for a 97-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night, spoiling Chris Paul’s return to New Orleans. The Clippers were held to 11 points in the fourth quarter as they shot 4 for 23 from the field. Los Angeles also missed its last 19 3-point attempts. After trailing throughout the first three quarters, the Hornets went ahead with an 11-2 run at the start of the fourth and led the rest of the way. Jarrett Jack and Jason Smith each scored 17 as New Orleans snapped a five-game home losing streak and won for only the 12th time in 47 games this season. Blake Griffin had 21 points for Los Angeles, which has lost three in a row for the first time this season. Paul, who forced a trade from New Orleans before the season after six years as the face of the franchise, added 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Jack, Paul’s replacement as the starting point guard in New Orleans, put the Hornets ahead for the first time, 80-79, with a jumper in the lane. After the Clippers tied the score at 81, Xavier Henry hit a fallaway buzzer-beater to put New Orleans ahead for good, Jason Smith dunked off a beautiful bounce pass from Greivis Vazquez and Smith sank an outside shot to give
the Hornets a six-point lead. The game took an ugly turn with 4:06 left when Smith body-slammed Griffin to the floor on a fastbreak. Paul followed Smith into the concourse behind the basket and had words with him as several players jawed at each other. Smith was assessed a flagrant 2 foul, which carries an automatic ejection, but left the court to a loud ovation. Griffin hit both free throws, but the Clippers failed to score on the ensuing possession and never caught up. Paul needed only 16 seconds for his first assist, a pass to Randy Foye for a 3-pointer. He had three assists on the Clippers’ first four baskets and also scored on a driving layup and a wide open 3-pointer from the top of the key in the first 8 minutes. That was part of the Clippers’ 35-point outburst - the most points the Hornets have allowed in the first quarter all season - and Los Angeles led by six. They had three dunks, including one by Young over Smith immediately after Smith blocked a dunk attempt by Jordan. But the Clippers slowed down dramatically from there, failing to score 100 points for the ninth consecutive game. Paul had five assists in the open quarter and only four more the rest of the way. He also did not have a rebound. -AP
upset South Africa’s rhythm before the tea break he introduced part-time medium pacer Dean Brownlie, who was belted for 20 runs from two overs. “It was just a matter of more consistency with the ball, in our line and lengths and just being harder on ourselves. The six to seven overs after tea were very good. The boys are still positive. We took a wicket early after the break and still have got lot of cricket left in this test so first session tomorrow is key for us. Hopefully we start off well and grab some wickets in clumps.” -Reuters
Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren drives during practice for the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit on March 23, 2012. (AFP)
reporters. “I didn’t get too many laps but its definitely working - it feels good at the moment.” World champion Sebastian Vettel was second fastest in the morning with a time of 1:38.535, just ahead of the Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, who were separated by just 13 hundreths of a second. However, Vettel complained over the team radio that his Red Bull “was all over the place” as he toiled in the afternoon heat and could only set the 10th fastest time, more than a second behind Hamilton. The drivers used both sessions to gauge tire degradation around the demanding Sepang circuit and with times slowing by around a second after 10 laps, pit stop strategy for Sunday’s race will be a key factor in determining the eventual winner. “Well this track obviously you’ve got two very long straights so overtaking is probably a little bit more possible than in the last race but still, starting from the front is a much better position to be in and so that’s what I’m going for,” Hamilton added. McLaren locked up the front row in the season-opening race in Melbourne last week, with Hamilton’s team mate Jenson Button going on to win comfortably, but the Briton had a far bumpier ride in the morning before picking up his pace later on. The 2009 world champion, who won at the circuit in the same year, struggled with an oil leak that limited his session to just 15 laps in which he could only post the ninth-fasted time, 1.302 seconds behind his team mate. With his McLaren patched up for the second 90-minute spell, Button was third quickest, splitting Schumacher and Rosberg, who were once again very well matched around the 5.543km circuit. Vettel’s Red Bull team mate Mark Webber also looked far from comfortable, finishing sixth and seventh respectively, while Felipe Massa fared even worse in the Ferrari despite being fitted with a new chassis for this week’s race. -Reuters
8
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Nino Gulf Road Tel: 22541900 Pizza Express Abdullah Al-Salem Tel: 22560273 Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253166 Airport Tel: 24342681 Tel: 23725500 Ricardo Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055 • Japanese Edo Shaab Tel: 22659590 Kei JW Marriott Hotel Tel: 22422650 Korea & Japan Restaurant New Park Hotel Tel: 25634200
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• Steak House Relais De L’Entrecote Al-Fanar Complex Tel: 25729600 Terrace Grill JW Marriott Hotel Tel: 22455550
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The Gaucho Grill The Palms Hotel Tel: 25667370 -
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• Italian Ciro’s Pomodoro Kuwait City Tel: 22424004
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LIFE
If you can’t sleep If you’re not getting enough sleep or your sleep is poor, it’s important to figure out what’s causing the problem. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests keeping a sleep diary, and to include: •When you go to bed and what time you actually fall asleep. •What time you wake up. •What time you get out of bed. •When you take naps, and how long they last. •When you exercise. •When you drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages.
saturDAY, march 24, 2012
Future sea level rise foreshadowed in 3 million year old rocks NEW YORK: About three million years ago - at a time when climate conditions paralleled those of modern times sea levels stood about 66 feet (20 meters) higher, indicates new research according to LiveScience. The height of ancient sea level indicates Greenland and the western part of Antarctica had no ice sheets, and the massive ice sheet covering East Antarctica, the “big elephant in the room”, had also contributed, according to lead study researcher Kenneth Miller, a professor at Rutgers University. For decades, there has been controversy around what it takes to melt the East Antarctic Ice Sheet - which contains about 7.2 million cubic miles(30 million cubic kilometers) of ice, according to the British Antarctic Survey. This new research indicates that, about 3 million years ago, some melting of this ice sheet had occurred. “Understanding how fast and how much the East Antarctic Ice Sheet can melt is really what we have learned most from our study,” Miller said, adding that the results indicate certain parts this ice sheet are more vulnerable than was thought. The estimate of 66 feet (20 meters) is important because melting the ice now on Greenland would raise sea levels 26.2 feet (8 meters), melting the West Antarctic Ice Sheet raise it another 5 meters (16.4 feet). Since together these don’t account for the difference, water that is now frozen on the East Antarctic must have been liquid 3 million years ago. In this case, the past has relevance for the future. During
FILE - This map shows Earth with a sea level rise of 6 meters (20 feet) in red. Imagine a possible future rise of nearly 21 meters (70 feet). (Agencies)
the Pliocene Epoch, the status of sea levels 2.7 million to 3.2 million years ago, average global sea-surface temperatures at the time have been estimated to be about 3.6 to 5.2 degrees
Fahrenheit (2 to 3 degrees Celsius) warmer than today. In addition, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide -the dominant greenhouse gas -at the time appear comparable to
Lung cancer blood test for smokers goes on trial Tests will be carried out on 10,000 patients identified as having a higher risk of developing disease
LONDON: A simple blood test capable of identifying lung cancer at an early stage is to be trialed by the NHS on thousands of smokers according to The Guardian. It his hoped the new test, developed in Britain and already piloted in the US, will drastically cut death rates, reduce medical bills and lead to an overhaul in the way cancer is diagnosed and treated. Sir Harry Burns, Scotland’s chief medical officer, said the trial would involve 10,000 patients, mainly smokers, identified as having a higher risk of developing the disease. If successful, the £200per-person procedure could be rolled out across the rest of the country. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed the greater
the chance it can be treated successfully, and currently 85% of patients with lung cancer remain undiagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage,” Burns said. He said the detection program aimed to increase early diagnosis by 25%. Known as EarlyCDT-Lung, the test tracks increases in blood antibody levels that could signal the onset of cancer. Patients with raised levels will be referred for a CT scan - the x-ray-style imaging currently used to detect the disease. Burns said the test would lead to greatly increased cancer survival rates. “By testing those at greatest risk of developing lung cancer and diagnosing it at its earliest possible stage, we stand a better chance of being able to treat it successfully,” he said. Lung cancer claims about 35,000 lives a year in Britain and diagnosis is rarely made early enough to ensure effective treatment. About 93% of patients die within five years of the onset of symptoms.
Test developer John Robertson, professor of surgery at the University of Nottingham, said early trials in the US had improved the prognosis for a substantial number of patients. He said new breakthroughs were expected that would eventually identify all forms of the disease. “We are working hard on bringing the next test for the early detection of breast cancer to the market within a year. We are also working on a number of similar tests for prostate, colon and ovarian cancer. A blood test to aid detection of all tumor cancers is still the overriding objective of our work.” It is hoped that increasing survival rates will create major savings for the health service. Once the Scottish trials are complete, it is understood the NHS will examine whether it is costeffective for use in mass screening. If the results are positive, the UK national screening committee, which advises the government and the NHS, will decide how checks can be rolled out to millions of smokers across the country.
Students’ experiments to play out in space
Appearing to burst from space in glowing red and blue, this stunning photo captures large planetary nebula Abell 31. Skywatcher Adam Block took this photo from the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter at the University of Arizona. According to the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter website, it took 21 hours of exposure to create this image during a observing sessions in December and January. Block used a 32-inch Schulman telescope equipped with an SBIG STX16803 CCD camera and an Astrodon Gen II filter to photograph the nebula. Multiple exposures are made to collect enough light for an image that would otherwise not be evident to the eye. Light from the central star in Abell 31 has spread out more than 10 light-years wide, causing it to be faint in the sky. Abell 31 is a planetary nebula caused by a dying star as it releases dust and gas. As the star dies, it starts to expel wind quickly; the process then slows and speeds up again. The faster wind runs into the slower winds and forms colorful shapes in the sky. In this image, red gas signifies hydrogen and blue means oxygen. (AFP)
PARIS: Science experiments devised by teenage students, one from Egypt and two from the United States, will be conducted in space as part of a move by YouTube and Lenovo to inspire young minds. Winners of a global YouTube Space Lab competition were announced Thursday, with 18-year-old Amr Mohamed of Egypt taking the honor for older students while Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma was deemed top submission in a younger group. “Humanity’s future relies on moving beyond Earth,” renowned scientist and professor Stephen Hawking said in a release revealing the winners of the competition coordinated by Chinese computer giant Lenovo and Google’s YouTube. “YouTube Space Lab is a wonderful initiative that helps inspire young minds around the world to take a greater interest in science and the future of space exploration.” Space Lab partners include NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Experiments proposed by the students will be conducted by astronauts aboard the International Space Station and streamed live on video-sharing website YouTube using Lenovo laptop computers. Mohamed suggested studying how microgravity effects the way zebra spiders catch prey and whether the arachnids would adapt to that environment. “The idea of sending an experiment into space is the most exciting thing I have ever heard in my life,” Mohamed said. Chen and Ma, both 16 years old, wondered whether “alien superbugs” bred in space could cure diseases on Earth. Bacteria would be given varying nutrients and compounds to see whether they could be turned into weapons against germs, according to YouTube. “The idea that something that is your experiment being sent up into space and actually becoming a reality is incredible,” Ma said. Prizes for the students included a “zero-G” flight that simulates being weightless. The students will also get to choose between trips to Japan to watch the launch of the rocket carrying the experiments or a “one-of-a-kind astronaut training experience” at a Russian cosmonaut facility. “Our goal with YouTube Space Lab has always been to encourage more kids to put their hands up in the classroom, to study and be inspired by space,” said Google marketing executive Zahaan Bharmal, who dreamed up the competition. “I think we have shown that through this, the world’s largest classroom, kids around the world are excited by science.” More information was available online at youtube.com/spacelab. Videos at the website had logged a combined total of more than 51 million views as of Thursday. -AFP
New device invisible to magnetic fields PARIS: European researchers said Thursday they have created a device invisible to a static magnetic field that could have practical military and medical applications. Fedor Gomory and colleagues in Slovakia and Spain designed a cloak for a direct current, or dc, magnetic field that is static and produced by a permanent magnet or coil carrying a direct current. DC magnetic fields are used in MRI imaging devices, in hospitals and in security systems, such as those in airports. The researchers’ device, described in a study in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, features
a cylinder with two concentric layers. While the inner layer consists of a superconducting material that repels magnetic fields, the outer layer is a ferromagnetic material that attracts them. Placed in a magnetic field, the device has no effect on the field lines, showing neither a shadow nor a reflection. So an object inside the device cannot be detected. “There are many applications -- for some cars, ships or a submarine,” said study co-author Alvaro Sanchez of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He told AFP the device could also be used for patients who have a pacemaker and need a MRI of
a knee or other body part, so the image would not be distorted. Because it is made from commercially available materials, as well as operating under relatively strong magnetic fields and relatively warm liquid nitrogen temperatures, the device could easily be put to practical use, according to the authors. “For the submarine, you have to make a shell around the submarine that will make the submarine magnetically undetectable,” said Sanchez. “This could also be used to protect some (military and medical) equipment against electromagnetic disturbances.” -AFP
those measured in 2011. During annual climate talks, international climate negotiators have set an unofficial goal of cutting global greenhouse gas emissions to a level that would limit global temperature increase this century to 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C), although scientists believe this cap looks increasingly unachievable. Of course, sea levels won’t reach Pliocene-levels overnight, or even by the end of the century, these results offer a hint at a distant future, according to Miller. “This is telling us a lot about what is going to happen eventually, eventually meaning really more than 500 years (from now),” he said, adding that by 2100 sea levels are expected to increase by 2.6 to 3.3 feet (0.8 to 1 meter). Miller and colleagues derived a more precise estimated of Pliocene sea levels than has been accomplished in the past by looking at sediment cores from Virginia, New Zealand and the Eniwetok Atoll in the northern Pacific Ocean. They examined the pressures on top of the sediments laid down at this time, as well as chemicals clues to environmental conditions, including ratios of oxygen isotopes (atoms of different weights). The ratio of oxygen isotopes laid down in sediment change with the volume of water locked in ice elsewhere on the planet. Sea levels don’t rise in immediately with air temperatures because water warms more slowly and ice takes time to melt. Melt water isn’t the only contributor to sea level rise; water expands as it warms.
Living alone linked to greater risk of depression
CONNECTICUT: People who live alone have a nearly 80 percent greater risk of depression than those who live with others, new research suggests according to LiveScience. Over the past three decades, the number of people living on their own in the United States has doubled, to one in three people. The study included 3,500 working-age men and women in Finland who were followed for seven years. The researchers looked at the participants’ antidepressant use; living arrangements; and psychosocial, sociodemographic and health risk factors, such as smoking, heavy drinking and lack of exercise. In women, one-third of the increased risk of depression was linked to sociodemographic factors such as low income and lack of education, according to the study, which was published online March 23 in the journal BMC Public Health. The main risk factors for men included heavy drinking and a lack of support in the workplace or in their private lives. “This kind of study usually underestimates risk because the people who are at the most risk tend to be the people who are least likely to complete the follow up,” study author Laura Pulkki-Raback, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, said in a journal news release. “We also were not able to judge how common untreated depression was.” More than half of the increased risk remains unexplained, the researchers noted. Possible factors may include feelings of alienation from society, lack of trust or difficulties caused by major life challenges. Although the study found an association between living alone and depression, it did not prove a case-and-effect relationship.
Voice, throat problems common after anesthesia
NEW YORK: A fresh look at past research suggests voice and throat problems are common in patients who’ve had a breathing tube placed during general anesthesia. Researchers pooled a dozen studies that looked at complications following the use of an endotracheal tube or laryngeal mask, two popular techniques that allow patients to breathe while being put under for surgery.While the complication rates varied, one study found as many as seven out of 10 patients suffered a vocal cord injury, such as swelling or internal bleeding. “In general, it’s a very safe thing to do -- having general anesthesia with a breathing tube in place,” said Dr. Norman Hogikyan, an ear, nose and throat physician at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But Hogikyan, who was not involved with the new research, added that the devices are put past soft and delicate tissue in a person’s throat, so it’s not surprising that temporary hoarseness would occur. For the new study, Dr. Elodie Mendels and colleagues from the Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands combed through over 5,000 scientific articles from various databases. They selected studies that described vocal cord injuries or hoarseness after a patient had been under general anesthesia for less than five hours, and those that had before-and-after measurements of vocal cord function. Results of the 13 studies they ended up with were hard to compare. For example, vocal cord injuries varied from none out of six patients to seven out of 10 in studies involving endotracheal tubes, which are passed through the mouth and into the windpipe. Hoarseness was found in four out of 10 patients immediately after the operation and three out of ten within the first week. There were also some complications after using laryngeal masks, which sit on top of the voice box instead of passing through it. In one study, one patient out of 21 had a vocal cord injury after their operation, and one in 28 patients was hoarse. According to the researchers, whose findings are published in the Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, some people with hoarseness and injuries recovered quickly. And one expert said it wasn’t anything to be alarmed over. “We’ve always seen this,” said Dr. John F. Dombrowski, a spokesman for the American Society of Anesthesiologists. “People have a scratchy throat or a hoarse voice for a while.” And the complications that occur are treatable, he told Reuters Health. Hogikyan said that the hoarseness should clear up by itself, but if it doesn’t people should see their physician, because it could be a sign of something more serious. “If you have persistent hoarseness following a procedure, then being examined by an ear, nose and throat physician would be important,” he told Reuters Health. The new study’s lead researcher serves on the advisory board of Ambu, a maker of laryngeal masks, and has received free samples of equipment from several companies. But she reported no financial ties to any company. -Reuters
10
ALWATAN DAILY
CULTURE
saturDAY, MARCH 24, 2012
Magna Carta to get modern makeover for 800th birthday LONDON: The Magna Carta, the English medieval document considered a cornerstone of modern democracy, is to get an overhaul and be brought back into the public spotlight in time for its 800th anniversary, academics said on Thursday. A three-year research project will also attempt to discover whether King John, the monarch who signed the document in 1215, really was the villainous monster made popular by portrayals in the Robin Hood legend. “We’re hoping to gather together all of the evidence for this iconic document that hasn’t previously been assembled,” Professor Nicholas Vincent, the historian leading the project, told Reuters. “Everyone’s assumed that all the work on this thing had been done because it’s so famous, it’s so well known, somebody must have done it. But in fact since 1804 there has been no proper attempt to do that.” The Magna Carta, which translates from the Latin as “Great Charter”, was signed by King John of England at Runnymede to the west of London following an uprising by his barons, establishing certain rights of the English people and curbing the powers of the monarch. Not only does it form the bedrock of Britain’s constitutional freedoms, it was the basis for both the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. World’s most important document
Auction house Sotheby’s described it as “the most important document in the world” when it sold an original copy from 1297 five years ago in New York for more than $21 million. Vincent’s team will sift through more than 300 archives
FILE - People look at a 1297 copy of the Magna Carta after it was sold at Sotheby’s auction house for $21,321,000 in New York Dec. 18, 2007. (Reuters)
in Britain, France and Ireland to try to track down who actually drafted the manuscript, what it meant, where the
ideas came from, and look at its continued modern day significance. “A large part of Magna Carta is just gathering
Titanic tragedy still fascinates 100 years later NEWYORK: Shipwrecks and maritime disasters have always captivated the public imagination and none more so than the luxury liner RMS Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage one hundred years ago this year. With the loss of 1,517 lives on April 15, 1912, three hours after the ship struck an ice berg, the real life tales of love and heroism spawned a legend and fascination which shows no sign of abating. “TITANIC: The Tragedy That Shook the World,” by the editors of LIFE at Time Home Entertainment Inc, includes photos and stories of the ship and many of those characters that have kept the public enthralled since the sinking. “Some of the richest people in the world board in France, some of the poorest people in the world board in Ireland, and a mix survive,” said Robert Sullivan, managing editor of LIFE Books in New York City. “It turns out to be an extraordinary variety of stories.” The book begins with the construction of the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic as one of three sister ships built by the White Star line to usher in a new era of opulent sea travel. It offered the finest accommodations to first-class passengers such as New York notables John Jacob Astor IV, his pregnant wife Madeleine, and Benjamin Guggenheim on its first sailing from Southampton, England to New York, via Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland. They were joined by lesser lights such as Margaret, now popularly referred to as “Molly”, Brown. Born in Missouri to Irish immigrants, Brown’s husband, from whom she had separated by the time of the voyage, had made a fortune in mining. Other people traveled in less luxurious quarters, including Clear Annie Cameron, a 35-year old personal maid in London seeking her opportunity in America. For many, the separation of class and wealth ended when the Titanic sank beneath the waves. There are no photographs
FILE - A lifeboat approaches the rescue ship Carpathia, which aided in the rescue of passengers after the luxury liner RMS Titanic sank on her maiden voyage, in this undated handout picture. (Reuters)
of the Titanic’s final moments. But included in the book are remarkable images taken by an Irish Cleric Father Frank Browne who boarded the boat in Southampton, traveled to Cherbourg and then disembarked in Queenstown, the ship’s final departure point before it headed across the Atlantic. They offer perhaps the only public glimpse into ship board life aboard the Titanic. The book also details the ill-fated and random rendezvous with the ice berg, the attempts to get help using then state-ofthe-art radio, and ultimately the horror as hundreds of passengers realized there were too few lifeboats and in allowing women and children first, many men would die. Among them Isidor Straus, co-owner of Macy’s department store. Alongside him his wife of 40-years, Ida, who decided they should die together. “What do you do in the moment of truth?,” said LIFE’S Sullivan. “These stories, you can’t make them up.”
Hundreds of passengers in the few available lifeboats were rescued by the Carpathia, captained by Arthur Henry Rostron, only hours after the sinking. But too many died in the icy Atlantic. The book concludes with photographs from various expeditions taken after the wreck was discovered after 73 years in 12,460 feet of water. “Its durability is to do with how true much of it is.” said Sullivan. “It will be remembered not for 100 years but for 200 years.” And of those souls who set sail on the Titanic’s only voyage. New York society lost Astor and Guggenheim, the latter according to lore accepting his fate in high style in wearing his finest dinner wear as he smoked a cigar and drank cognac. The rags-to-riches “Molly” Brown gained further fame for taking an oar of her life boat. And Clear Annie Cameron? The London maid arrived in New York where she did indeed find new opportunity, as a maid. -Reuters
Rouen celebrates 600th birthday of Joan of Arc ROUEN, France: The pilgrimage stream of tourists is never-ending. Everyone wants to see the place where history was written. On May 30, 1431, executioners dragged Joan from Orleans, barely 19 years old, before a crowd of gaping people, tied her to a stake and set her on fire. Then they threw her ashes into the Seine River. Every year, the event is marked by memorial ceremonies in Rouen, and in 2012 these will be on even a larger scale than usual because it is the 600th anniversary of the birth of Jeanne d’Arc, to use her French name. Everything began at the outset of the 15th century. During the 100 Years’ War, England had the north of France, extending to the Loire River, under its occupation. The peasant’s daughter Joan from the Lorraine region would later claim that as early as the age of 13 voices had assigned her the mission to fight the invaders. After a brief period of fame, Joan fell victim to intrigues. Since a 19th century revival of interest, she has been revered as a French national hero. But it is not only because of her that the medieval city of Rouen stands very near the top of the list of historic must sees in France. Both the Gothic cathedral as well as the astronomical clock from the 14th century, along with the palace of justice built in 1509, once the largest non-secular building in Europe, also attract the tourists. Then there is the old market square, lined by carefully restored half-timbered buildings. “A city of a hundred church steeples, whose tolling of the bells soars heavenwards” is how French novelist Victor Hugo described Rouen. Above all he had Notre Dame cathedral of Rouen in mind, with its seven steeples towering above the city. All the Gothic architectural styles are united in this one building.
FILE - Joan of Arc is revered with statues throughout France as a national hero. This sculpture of her is placed in her birthplace, Domremy-la-Pucelle. (dpa)
The main belltower rises 151 metres up towards the skies. “No other church steeple in France is taller,” tour guide Francois Legand points out. “Up till 1880 it was also the tallest steeple in the world, but then Cologne cathedral was completed. Its tallest point surpasses ours by 6 meters.” Also famous in Rouen is the butter tower. Actually, during the Lent fasting season the enjoyment of butter was prohibited. But in order to collect money to build the tower, the church temporarily suspended the ban on butter. Pierre Claudel, who studied medieval history at the local university, points out other things worth
seeing which one might initially overlook. These include the plague house and the ossuary of L’Aitre Saint-Maclou. “In the year 1348 the so-called ‘Black Death’ wiped out nearly three-quarters of the population. The victims were initially buried in a mass grave in the middle of the city,” Claudel says about the plague years. Skulls sculpted into the facades of the halftimbered buildings of the 14th century recall the period. Today, artists are at work in the rooms of such buildings. The historical old city centre is crisscrossed by pedestrian zones. During the day, the small alleyways appear somewhat deserted. “But in the evening there’s a lot of action, for the taverns are open,” points out German student Vivian Bartels, who is attending a four-week language course in Rouen. “Above all you’ll meet young people, students that you can quickly come into contact with.” Tour guide Pierre Claudel leads his group on further to see other landmark spots. These include the Gros Horloge, the tower with the astronomical clock, and further on, the palace of justice, which likewise is listed among France’s national monuments. During summer days, people are drawn to the banks of the Seine, which divides the city. “Rouen is a port city - both for seagoing ships and for river vessels,” Claudel says. “From here, it is just 125 kilometers to the English Channel.” Along the quays, merchant freighters from overseas are berthed. “Every few years - the next one will be in 2013 - the world’s biggest gathering of windjammers takes place here,” Claudel notes. Until then, it will be the river cruise vessels which will be bringing tourists hoping to experience the medieval flair of the city of Joan of Arc. -dpa
together ideas, political systems that were already up and running,” he said. “The intention here is to see what the roots of these individual clauses were.” The document was reissued regularly by or on behalf of succeeding English monarchs but only about 20 dating before 1297 are known to exist.Vincent said they hoped to track down any other lost originals. The 910,000 pound ($1.5 million) project also hopes to “revolutionize” understanding of King John, portrayed as a weak, selfish, and cruel figure in numerous films about Robin Hood - the legendary English outlaw who many historians believe dated from about 100 years later, if he existed at all. “I suspect we’re going to find he’s even nastier than he was made out to be by the chroniclers,” said Vincent, adding there was an enormous amount of evidence about John which had not been previously examined. “Who knows, we may even find Robin Hood, though I’ll give you a million quid (pounds) if we do.” The findings of Vincent’s team, based at the University of East Anglia in eastern England, will form an online database and a complete commentary on the Magna Carta, as well as materials for a major exhibition at the British Library in London to be held to mark the 800th anniversary of the charter in 2015. Ironically, Vincent said such longevity had never been the intention of the barons who foisted the document on John. “It was intended as a peace treaty for particular circumstances in the summer of 1215,” he said. “It’s really only historical accident that means things have developed as they have.” -Reuters
Newly discovered Mozart piece performed in Salzburg
PARIS: A newly discovered Mozart piano piece composed when the child prodigy was 11 years old was presented and performed for the first time here Friday in his former family home. Simply titled “Allegro Molto,” the piece was found recently in a notebook in the attic of a private home in Austria’s Tyrol province. Just a few minutes long, the piece is believed to have been composed in 1767 or 1768, but was later transcribed into this notebook, which is dated 1780, music expert Hildegard HerrmannSchneider told a news conference. “The name ‘Del Signore Giovane Wolfgango Mozart’ is incredibly clear,” added Ulrich Leisinger, director of research at Salzburg’s Mozarteum foundation. This convinced researchers that the piece was indeed by the young music genius, even though the writing did not belong either to Mozart or his father Leopold.
It is thought to have been transcribed into the notebook by a close relative or friend. Only Leopold Mozart used this name when writing down his son’s compositions, according to Herrmann-Schneider, who found this latest piece while doing research work. “It was a very lucky find,” she said. The 160-page notebook also contained several compositions by Leopold Mozart but only one by his son. Austrian musician Florian Birsak, who performed the piece Friday on Mozart’s own fortepiano, noted: “It’s not just anyone’s piece, there is already a touch of the great Mozart he later became.” This is not the first time a Mozart composition has been rediscovered in recent years. In 2006, one was found in the archives of the Salzburg archbishopry, and in 2009 in the Mozarteum’s own archives. -AFP
Austrian pianist Florian Birsak poses in front of the pianoforte of Mozart before playing a previously unknown musical score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Mozart House in Salzburg. (AFP)
Artist aims to paint a portrait of everyone in New York
NEW YORK: Artist Jason Polan is on a mission that could take the 29-year-old the rest of his life and he still wouldn’t be finished. Polan’s goal is to sketch every New Yorker whether they want to be drawn or not. As of the end of January he had finished about 17,000 sketches, only a fraction of the 8.2 million residents of the US metropolis. He works on the project daily, sometimes coming home with one or two images, other days coming home with hundreds. The name of his project is Every Person in New York and all the sketches he does are available for viewing at his blog (everypersoninnewyork.blogspot. com). The simple line drawings also have simple titles such as Man at Taco Bell on 14th Street, Woman Ice Skating at Rockefeller Centre and Tilda Swinton at the Guggenheim Museum. New Yorkers who want to set up an appointment to be drawn can do so by sending Polan an email that gives a place, a time and some recognizable feature, but nothing else - no phone number, no name. The meeting takes at most two minutes and Polan avoids making eye contact with his subjects. He simply observes New Yorkers from a distance and draws. As he wanders around he sometimes notices celebrities - next to him at a crosswalk for example. He’s not looking for a certain kind of person; he draws people he sees on the underground, people watching sports events, people getting a cup of coffee. Whenever something about a person strikes him as different, he automatically has to draw him or her. Polan notices unusual shoes and the colorful jackets worn by children or the way a man has fallen asleep sitting on a bench. “I don’t seek, I find,” he said. Often a portrait is made from a scene he observes for just a few seconds. If the situation allows, Polan likes to take more time. He spent about eight minutes, for example, drawing a portrait of a woman writing a postcard in a cafe. He sketched two men carrying a stack of wooden palettes on Broadway in less than 60 seconds.
“Usually people don’t notice while I’m doing it. The drawing comes out better if they don’t know and they are not posing,” he said in an interview with a local New York television station. “As soon as the person disappears, I stop drawing,” he said, adding that he makes no changes after that because he can only draw what he sees. He doesn’t have the ability to recall something from memory and put it on paper. Sometimes he wishes he could draw faster. The New York Times calculated that Polan will have to draw one portrait of a New Yorker every five minutes in order to finish the project in 79 years, not including tourists and the likelihood of drawing one person more than once. Polan was born near Detroit, Michigan in 1982. After studying anthropology and drawing and painting he moved to New York City where he works as a freelance illustrator. He started the project in March 2008. In a previous project he drew faces to go with the 117 telephone numbers listed in the telephone book of the town of Skykomish, Washington. “I like this kind of interactive art,” he said. “In one way I’m close, in another way I’m very far away,” Polan said. He speaks to no-one on the street because, he says, he’s too shy. Polan hasn’t earned any money from his project, but he has attracted the attention of large companies such as Levi’s, the label Jack Spade and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In a previous project he drew all the pieces at MoMA - all 1,503 of them. It is becoming more and more difficult for Polan to remain anonymous. Aside from his pencil and pad, his red cap with blue stripes has become an identifying feature. This is exactly the kind of detail that would attract his attention and prompt him to draw the person wearing it. “I’m enjoying it while I’m doing it and I hope people are enjoying it while I’m doing it too because I probably won’t finish,” he said in the television interview, adding that despite this, “I’m willing to work on it forever.” -dpa
ALWATAN DAILY
AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT
SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012
If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com
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Franklin & Marshall launch new collection at Avenues Mall
KUWAIT: Franklin & Marshall, part of Multitrend International, a member of the Al-Homaizi Group of Companies, today hosted an event for a large number of its customers at its recently opened store in The Avenues, to showcase its latest fashion lines and accessories. During the event, guests were introduced to Franklin & Marshall’s quality Italian lifestyle and its popular college-vintage style collections. All guests who attended received an exclusive gift from Franklin & Marshall, had the opportunity to browse through Franklin & Marshall’s complete latest Spring/Summer collection, and enjoyed the in-store musical enteratinment and free hospitality. Guiseppe Albarelli and Andrea Pensiero, the brand’s creative directors and founders, are well known for pioneering the college-vintage influenced design. For Franklin & Marshall, the word ‘vintage’ reflects the on-going search for clothing and personalization in order to express individual identity. Thus, the vintage t-shirt or the faded sweatshirt, becomes a memory of a moment in one’s life. Maen Merheby, Retail Direc-
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tor, Multi Trend International, said: “Offering a solution that combines fashion and comfort under the same brand has made Franklin & Marshall into one of the Middle East’s most attractive stores for all young adults. “We have already received very enthusistic feedback since the
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official opening of our store in The Avenues in November 2011, and we have continued this expansion into 2012 with the launch of our first store in Dubai, UAE which is located in Mirdif City Center. We will continue expanding throughout the region as part of the company’s strategic plan.”
General A n n o u n c e m e n t s
a glance
Flag hoisting ceremony March 23/ 8 a.m. / Jabriya: On the occasion of Pakistan National Day on Friday, a flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the Chancery premises in Jabriya (Block 11, Street-101, Building 46). All Pakistanis resident in Kuwait are cordially invited to attend the ceremony.
Golden Era Club March 23/ 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. / Rumaithiya: Join the Golden Era Club for a trip down memory lane. Come armed with memories and photos of the days gone by. Let your hair down and play those games you loved so dearly. All seniors (60 years +) are invited to join this unique meeting. Fun and frolic guaranteed. Venue- House #34, next to Abu-Tammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya. For details call 97172788/ 66208183 or drop a line to goldenera60@yahoo.com
K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Sepp is a Domestic Long Haired (DLH) male cat. He will be 2-years-old April 2012. This friendly, laid-back boy loves a good cuddle and likes a high vantage point in a cat tree or ledge to look out from. He would do best in a home with children over 12 years of age. To adopt, contact +965 67006122 or visit the website www.kspath.org
New Toastmasters Club
Kuwaiti cuisine
Mario is a gentle and affectionate 6-years-young Spitz male. This friendly boy does great with people and dogs of all ages.
March 15-April 5/6 p.m. - 8 p.m./TIES Center: TIES Ladies Club invites you to our Kuwaiti cuisine classes which will start soon. Join us for a one month cooking program where you will learn to cook real Kuwaiti food. All ladies are invited to join our classes and let your family enjoy the mouth watering Kuwaiti cuisine. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6.
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.
Arabic course
Hip Hop at BAIA
The Philippine Embassy
March 11-April 19/ TIES Center: TIES Center is glad to announce the start of Arabic courses. We offer classes for all levels, from beginners to advance and also introduced new classes called Kuwait dialect. TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expatriates who wish to learn Arabic for whatever purposebusiness, basic communication, as a second language or simply as a hobby. For more information/registration, contact 97228860/97793440.
Every week/ Salmiya: BAIA offers weekly Hip Hop classes for students aged five and up. These “just for fun” classes are a great work-out. For more information visit www.thebaia.com or contact: info@thebaia.com. Telephone: 2562 3604 ext.154, 2562 0706 ext.154. Mobile: 6005 2087.
The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait announces that the Department or Foreign Affairs is advising all passport applicants to claim their passports within six (6) months from the date of application. Otherwise, unclaimed passports shall be cancelled and sent back to the Department for disposal. The Embassy will continue to entertain last minute claimants for such unclaimed passports within the next two months before finally canceling the passport in accordance with the directive of the Department.
Sewing for kids March 18-29/ 4:30 p.m. -6 p.m. / Salmiya: Here is your opportunity to join ten classes of basics of sewing for kids. Transportation available. This course will cover basic sewing skills such as tacking, hemming, variety of buttons fixing, making button holes, variations of bead work, fixing of bridal pearls, sequins, mirror work, motifs and much more. For details contact 66630243
Brainbang session October 7-April/ 11:45 a.m. -1:45 p.m. /Salmiya: BRAINBANG, the creative arm of Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) invites all students aged 11 and above, to join us fortnightly on Fridays. The areas of development are: Creativity in learning, tools and techniques to empower your mind, profile based learning, activity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments, practical experiments, mind gymnastics and application of learning techniques to conventional study. E-mail: brainbang@focckwt.org or call 25660835/25618471/97677820.
Dilbert
Royal Thai Embassy The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait wishes to invite Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.
Nancy
Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19
Studying in solitude may appeal to you today, Aries. A new interest has captured your imagination, so you may decide to sequester yourself at home or in the library to learn about it. Your concentration is high, as is your perseverance, so anything you begin today is likely to succeed. The downside is that you might strain your eyes or give yourself headaches trying to accomplish too much at once. Taurus: April 20 - May 20
Memories welling up today could trigger a desire to get in touch with old friends, Taurus, or relatives you haven’t seen in a long time. Some of these recollections could be bittersweet, bringing pain experienced in the past to the surface once more. Don’t hang on to these ancient grievances. Work them out in your mind and then let them go. You might experience a deep-seated relief. Gemini: May 21- June 21
Business-oriented social events could take up a lot of your time today, Gemini. You could either be planning or attending them. If the latter, however, it could well be more than one. You’re feeling especially outgoing at this time, so you should make a good impression and possibly even make a few new friends.
Cancer: June 22 - July 22
Your innate charm and good manners have brought you good relationships with both co-workers and superiors, and today you might find that this has served you well, Cancer. Authority figures may seem a little intimidating, but hang on to your self-confidence. Hard work and dedication have also brought you some corporate kudos. Leo: July 23 - August 22
Work on your own projects may be very much on your mind today.They could involve studies of some kind or the arts. It’s possible that you may be considering innovative ways of earning extra money.All signs indicate that any enterprise begun or continued today is likely to succeed, so go to it. However, it’s important to give whatever you’re working on a lot of thought before presenting it to others. Virgo: August 23 - September 22
Long-term investments, especially those involving real estate, could pay off now, Virgo. If you’ve been thinking of buying or selling a home, this is the time to do it. All signs indicate that your patience is likely to bear fruit, so at least one of your longtime goals should bring success right now.
Libra: September 23 - October 22
Kicking ideas around with colleagues today could lead to planning social events and bringing important people together in order to ensure cooperation on ambitious projects. You might find yourself in a number of meetings, Libra, or spending considerable time on the phone. Your mind is especially business oriented today, so you’ll be operating very efficiently. Scorpio: October 23 - November 21
A lot of paperwork, perhaps involving contracts, could lead to financial gain on the job, Scorpio. You could make or save some money for your employer, which could prove important. Expect some sort of acknowledgement or recognition for your efforts from superiors, which could lead to advancement or a possible raise. However, there may be some delay with regard to the latter. Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21
Today you might want to put your innate business sense into making a success of a pet project of your own. This is a good idea, Sagittarius, because all signs indicate that whatever you begin today, whether it’s for your employer or yourself, could well lead to success.
Capricorn: December 22 - January 19
New discoveries that capture your imagination could find you spending most of your day sequestered in your home and learning as much as you can.All indications are that you aren’t going to want to do much else, Capricorn, but it’s important to remember to take breaks and get a little exercise throughout the day. Moving the body and shaking out the kinks in your muscles can get your mind going as well. Aquarius: January 20 - February 18
You may have plans to get together with friends, and you’re probably looking forward to it. However, Aquarius, delays could get in the way, although you aren’t likely to let them stop you.Your concentration and perseverance are both higher than usual, so it isn’t likely that you’ll give up on anything you start today. Therefore, this is a good day to either begin or continue projects that mean a lot to you. Pisces: February 19 - March 20
Your hard work on the job may appear to be finally paying off, Pisces, as all signs indicate that a raise, promotion, or other form of advancement is coming your way. Your ambition and concentration have led and will continue to lead to significant accomplishment, which isn’t likely to escape the notice of those above you in the hierarchy.
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ALWATAN DAILY
entertainment
Song Of The Day
Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer
Song: 4 AM Artist: Melanie Fiona Album: The MF Life Genre: Soul/R&B In short: Melanie Fiona’s impressive debut, The Bridge, put on her on the map and yielded six singles in total, a feat almost unheard of with new artists these days. The MF Life, her sophomore album, comes hot on the heels of her two Grammy wins for her collaboration with Cee-Lo on “Fool For You,” showing a different side of her than that of her debut. The hypnotic “4 AM” borrows a little from Drake’s “Marvin’s Room,” while remaining true to Fiona’s voice over a brazen production. To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com
The Buzz Adele beats Gaga to win big at German ECHO awards Katy Perry, Sean Paul and Lana Del Ray dominated the stage of Germany’s annual ECHO Music Awards in Berlin, where Adele picked up two awards to add to her string of BRIT and Grammy wins. The British star scooped Album of the Year for “21”, as well as Best Female International Artist at Thursday evening’s event, fending off competition from Lady Gaga and the late soul singer Amy Winehouse. German band Rammstein made wins on their home turf claiming Best Alternative Group and Best German Act Abroad. The band teamed up with shock rocker Marilyn Manson to deliver a highly charged performance on stage. British band Coldplay won Best International Group, while French star David Guetta picked up Best Club Performer. Bruno Mars beat veteran crooner Chris de Burgh and James Morrison to win Best International Male Artist. Clad in a silver catsuit, Katy Perry paraded on stage with her hair died blue and scraped into a ponytail to perform her new single “Part of Me”. Lana Del Ray sang “Video Games”, but went home empty-handed after Dutch jazz artist Caro Emerald won Best International Newcomer, and Gotye ft. Kimbra claimed Hit of the Year for their song “Somebody That I Used To Know”. -Reuters
Drowning, coke, heart disease killed Houston LOS ANGELES: Whitney Houston was a chronic cocaine user who had the drug in her system when she drowned in a hotel bathtub, coroner’s officials said Thursday after releasing autopsy findings that also noted heart disease contributed to her death. The disclosure ended weeks of speculation about what killed the Grammy-winning singer on Feb. 11 on the eve of the Grammy Awards. Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and her death was ruled accidental. Several bottles of prescription medications were found in her hotel room, but coroner’s officials said there weren’t excessive quantities. “We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure,” Patricia Houston, the singer’s sister-in-law and manager, wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. Beverly Hills police said in a statement there was no evidence of wrongdoing in connection with Houston’s death. Coroner’s Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said cocaine and its byproducts were found in Houston’s system, and the drug was listed as a contributing factor in her death. He said the results indicated Houston was a chronic cocaine user. Toxicology results also showed Houston had marijuana, Xanax, the muscle relaxant Flexeril, and the allergy medication Benadryl in her system. Houston died just hours before she was scheduled to appear at producer Clive Davis’ preGrammy Awards bash. The singer also had buildup of plaque in her arteries that can restrict blood flow. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said the condition is common in drug users, although he said it wasn’t clear whether Houston had a heart attack on the day she died. “It just beats up their heart and they will go to use and they will have a heart attack,” he said. The exact amount of cocaine in Houston’s system was not disclosed Thursday but will be contained in a full autopsy re-
Madonna vows to defy anti-gay law on Russian tour
Mel Gibson selling his sprawling Costa Rica retreat Actor-director Mel Gibson is putting his sprawling hilltop compound in Costa Rica up for sale, with a $29.75 million asking price. The Oscar-winning “Braveheart” director, who has suffered a series of public embarrassments in recent years after a decades-long reign as a top box office star, is selling the 500-acre compound to downsize his real estate portfolio following his divorce. Christie’s International Real Estate, the luxury real estate firm, was set to announce the offering on Friday. Gibson’s Pacific coast compound, on Playa Barrigona on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula just south of the Nicaragua border, boasts three hilltop homes, the largest of which has seven bedrooms, with soaring ocean and jungle views. Each villa on the former cattle ranch is outfitted with native Costa Rican woods and Italian and Spanish tiles and features multiple verandahs and a private pool. “The property is expansive, meticulously maintained, and ultimately private,” said Rick Moeser, Christie’s real estate senior vice president for the Southeast, Caribbean, Central and South America. “With its multiple homes and outbuildings, this is the ideal family retreat,” Moeser added of the pristine property that includes an expansive beach. Gibson, 56, has seven children from his long marriage which ended in divorce in 2009 after his drunk driving arrest in Malibu. He also has one child with Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he had an acrimonious breakup. -Reuters
It’s a boy for Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie Hilary Duff is a new mom.The 24-year-old actress announced the birth of her son on her website and Twitter feed Thursday. Duff writes that she and husband Mike Comrie welcomed son Luca Cruz Comrie on Tuesday night. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and is the first child for the couple, who married in 2010. Duff says she and Comrie “feel like the luckiest parents in the world.” Duff gained fame as the star of Disney’s “Lizzie McGuire” and more recently had a recurring role on “Gossip Girl.” Comrie retired as a professional hockey player earlier this year. The 31-year-old most recently played with the Pittsburgh Penguins. -AP
Another Idol finalist trimmed from the contest Erika Van Pelt didn’t cut it on “American Idol.” The 26-yearold disc jockey from South Kingstown, R.I., who dramatically chopped off her hair before Wednesday’s evening of Billy Joel tunes, was eliminated from the Fox singing contest. Van Pelt didn’t persuade the show’s judges to rescue her from dismissal Thursday with a last-chance rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Believe In You and Me.” “Ultimately, Ryan, no, sorry,” judge Randy Jackson told “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest when asked if she would be saved. Van Pelt, who pleased the panel Wednesday with her shorter, darker hairstyle and sultry interpretation of “New York State of Mind,” was revealed to be among the bottom three vote-getters alongside 17-year-old vocal acrobat Deandre Brackensick of San Jose, Calif., and goofy 22-year-old nonprofit organizer Heejun Han of New York. “Idol” mentor Jimmy Iovine lashed out at 21-year-old pawn shop worker Phillip Phillips of Leesburg, Ga., for not following the advice of the show’s advisers for his performance. The nine remaining finalists will return to the stage to perform for viewer votes next Wednesday. -AP
saturDAY, march 24, 2012
FILE - Madonna in this undated handout picture. (Agencies)
MOSCOW: Pop superstar Madonna has promised to defy a recent law against homosexual “propaganda” in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg on her upcoming tour through Russia this summer. Calling the legislation, which imposes fines for promoting homosexuality among minors, a “ridiculous atrocity” on her Facebook page, she said she would address the issue during her show. “I will come to St Petersburg to speak up for the gay community, to support the gay community,” she said. Her Russian tour begins in August, months after the Moscow opening of her private gym named after the artist’s 2008 album “Hard Candy”. Homosexuality, punished with jail terms in the Soviet Union, was only decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but much of the homosexual community remains largely underground as anti-gay prejudice runs deep. The legislation was signed into law in March by St. Petersburg mayor and Putin-ally Georgy Poltavchenko. It imposes a fine of up to 500,000 roubles ($17,100) for spreading what the bill calls homosexual “propaganda” that could “damage the health, moral and spiritual development of the underaged”, defined as those under the age of 18. The law has caused concerns among the gay community that it could be used to clamp down on Russia’s rare public displays of homosexuality, such as gay parades. Gay rights activists in Moscow and St. Petersburg, have scheduled two “Slavic gay parades” during Madonna’s tour according to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender website GayRussia.eu. Numerous attempts to hold gay protests in Moscow, ruled illegal by the authorities, have ended in multiple arrests and clashes with ultra-Orthodox believers who say homosexuals should be punished or treated in hospital for “illness”. In 2010 the European Court of Human Rights fined Russia for banning homosexual parades in Moscow, in what gay rights activists described as a historic victory. Madonna sparked protests by Russian Orthodox church activists on a visit to Moscow in 2006, when she sang “Live to Tell” on a crucifix while wearing a crown of thorns. -Reuters
FILE - FILE - This Jan. 17, 2009 file photo shows singer Whitney Houston at the BET Honors in the Warner Theatre in Washington. (AP)
port to be released in about two weeks, officials said. Cocaine use has been known to cause damage to the heart and could have cause Houston’s death, said Dr. Michael Fishbein, professor of pathology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He had no role in the investigation. He said a likely scenario was that Houston’s cocaine use interfered with the normal function of her heart. “There’s no reason to drown in a bathtub unless you’re incapacitated,” Fishbein said. Family and friends said after Houston’s death that they didn’t believe she was still abusing drugs. “I don’t think drugs was an issue for her before her death.
I don’t know what happened that day,” Patricia Houston said in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey. Houston, 48, was buried in a New Jersey cemetery next to her father after an emotional four-hour funeral service that was attended by friends, family and superstars such as Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and Roberta Flack Houston, a sensation from her first, eponymous album in 1985, was one of the world’s best-selling artists from the mid1980s to the late 1990s, turning out such hits as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” ‘’How Will I Know,” ‘’The Greatest Love of All” and “I Will Always Love You.” But as she struggled with drugs, her majestic voice became raspy, and she couldn’t hit the high notes. Interest in her music skyrocketed after her death, pushing her songs back on to charts and into heavy rotation on the radio. She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, but Houston’s drug use derailed her career and took a heavy toll on her once pristine voice. But by the end of her career, she was a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming. Her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills and was eventually unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime. “The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 television interview with then-husband Bobby Brown by her side. She had been attempting a comeback when she died. She had finished filming a remake of the movie “Sparkle” in which Houston sang the gospel hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” Producers of the film have said the singer was a complete professional on the set. -AP
Hunger Games mania could lead to box office record LOS ANGELES: This much is fact: “The Hunger Games” will open bigger than any movie so far this year. The question is, will it set a record? Some boxoffice watchers say it’s the $125 million question. John Fithian, president of The National Association of Theater Owners, said Thursday that he expects the picture to open to between $115 million and $120 million. That would make it the biggest March opening ever, surpassing “Alice in Wonderland,” which opened to more than $116 million in 2010. It would also put it in the company of just 19 movies that have opened to more than $100 million. “Alice” is the 10th-biggest opening ever, and “Shrek the Third,” which opened to $121.6 million in 2007, is No. 9 - a dis-
tinction both pictures could well lose this weekend. The industry water-cooler game of “how huge” being played this week is a stark contrast to the one played two weeks ago, when Hollywood was placing bets on how badly “John Carter” would flop. Lionsgate, which is releasing the PG-13 movie, is trying to manage expectations. An individual close to the studio told TheWrap that the studio is a little trapped: If the studio predicts $115 million and it “only” takes $110 million, it’s a disappointment. The studio spent about $100 million to make the movie, which became $80 million after tax incentives. This much is clear: Opening weekend is going to be huge. The audience survey firm NRG shows that overall awareness
of the movie is an astonishing 92 percent. Among females younger than 25, overall awareness is an almost-impossible 96 percent. Equally impressive: 66 percent of those surveyed report “definite” interest in seeing the movie and 43 percent say it’s their “first choice.” Among the target audience of females younger than 25, 76 percent say they have “definite” interest and 59 percent call it their “first choice” for the weekend. Critics like it, too. Metacritic gives it a 69, Movie Review Intelligence rates it a 72.1 and Rotten Tomatoes scored it an 88. To accommodate the predicted flood of moviegoers, Lionsgate is releasing the movie at 4,137 locations and, Fithian said, on more than 10,000 screens. -Reuters