May 26, 2012

SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1446

12 PAGES

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150 Fils with IHT

Dow case sparks ultimatum

MPs give oil minister ten days to solve crisis Staff Writers

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, held a meeting with the oil minister along with a number of oil sector officials to discuss the circumstances of the sentence that was issued by the International Chamber of Commerce against the Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait (PIC). The sentence stipulates the payment of $2.16 billion to the Dow Chemical Company (DOW) as a compensation for cancellation of a previous contract in 2008.

Meanwhile, a government source disclosed that the premier has listened to the opinion of oil officials about the contract during the meeting, in addition to the various stages of the contract undertaken, as well as the consultation offices which helped the company in this regard.

Following the meeting the case of the contract was referred to the Fatwa and Legislation Authority so that the different legal aspects of the contract may be considered, after which the authority will prepare a memorandum to submit to the cabinet next week.

The source added that the cabinet will form

a committee to follow up the legal aspects of the contract, in lieu of the fact of the government’s seriousness regarding bringing all potentially negligent officials to account over the incident.

Some MPs issued an ultimatum directed at the Minister of Oil, Hani Hussein, who was working as an advisor for Dow Company in 2008; the minister could either find a solution that would absolve the state from paying such a significant amount in compensation to Dow, or he could quit the current government. They asked the minister to endorse one of the two options within ten days.

On his part, MP Ali Al-Omair said, “We were surprised by the sentence and we fear losing considerable funds because of the government’s negligence, which doesn’t seem to show interest in cases that are filed against its institutions, as a result it loses cases and ends up paying compensation.”

He also asked for bringing all negligent officials to account and he wondered how Dow managed to win the case despite the fact that Kuwait had not officially applied a signature to the contract in question. The MP went on to say that as a result of current circumstances, the

government must appeal the sentence and look for distinguished lawyers to defend Kuwait’s position.

MP Abdulateef Al-Omairi questioned how the contract could include an item which stipulates forcing Kuwait to pay a significant compensation if it cancels the contract, and called on the government to do its best to deal with the case.

MP Obaid Al-Wasmi asked the prime minister to issue immediate decisions for suspending the duty of all officials who contributed in preparing the unfavorable deal, adding that some critical mistakes similar to the Dow deal would be enough to cause the country to announce bankruptcy.

The MP added that the only option forward would be for the premier to pay the compensation from his own funds, because the funds of the Kuwaiti people should not be wasted on such gross governmental mistakes.

MP Abdulhameed Dashti said he is considering filing cases against all officials who were responsible for negotiating the deal with the Public Prosecutor, because the matter represents a dire cost to the Kuwaiti people.

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Anti-regime demos in Syrian cities as death toll mounts

UN inspectors find higher-grade uranium traces in Iran VIENNA: United Nations inspectors have found uranium particles enriched to a higher-than-expected level at an Iranian underground site where Tehran has installed more than 50 percent more enrichment centrifuges, a UN watchdog report said on Friday. It said Iran had told the UN agency that the traces of highly refined uranium - at a level that could take Iran further down the road to potential weapons-grade threshold - “may happen for technical reasons beyond the operator’s control”. The IAEA report said environmental samples taken in February at Iran’s Fordow facility - buried deep beneath rock and soil to protect it from air strikes - showed the presence of particles with enrichment levels of up to 27 percent. That takes it across the line from low-enriched to high-enriched uranium. It is “significantly” above the threshold level, one diplomat familiar with the issue said, adding that a “number” of such particles had been discovered and that further samples were taken earlier this month to see whether the find was confirmed. Iran has increased its stockpile of 20 percent uranium to around 145 kg in May from nearly 110 kg some three months ago, the report said. Western experts say about 250 kg is needed for a nuclear bomb, if processed further.

The report also showed Iran had installed 368 enrichment centrifuges at Fordow facility in addition to the 696 already operating there. Although not yet being fed with uranium, the new machines could be used to further expand Iran’s output of uranium enriched to a fissile concentration of 20 percent, the part of the country’s nuclear program that most worries the West. -Reuters

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters wave national and party (yellow) flags during a rally in the southern town of Bint Jbeil on May 25, 2012 to mark the 12th anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon after a 22-year occupation. (AFP)

DAMASCUS: Syrian anti-regime activists on Friday took to the streets of Damascus and other major centers, monitors said, as armed rebels insisted that “protection of peaceful protests” is their top priority.

Protests took place at dawn on Friday in five residential neighborhoods of the capital in support of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), and to call for President Bashar Al-Assad’s downfall, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Demonstrations were also held in the northern city of Aleppo while activists began gathering in other protest hubs for rallies after the Muslim weekly Friday prayers, as has been customary since an anti-Assad revolt erupted in March 2011.

The Observatory said six civilians were killed on Friday, four of them, including three teenagers, by regime forces’ gunfire as they guarded their farm in the village of Chizar, in central Hama province. The Britain-based Observatory also said that at least 34 people, including 24 civilians, were killed on Thursday, in violence across the country, including the shelling by regime forces of the rebel stronghold of Rastan, in central Syria. The outgoing leader of Syria’s largest opposition group charged on Thursday that the deeply-divided opposition had failed its people.

More on 2

Egypt’s Brotherhood claims early lead

Hollande defends early French pullout from Afghanistan KABUL: French President Francois Hollande made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Friday to visit some of the French troops he wants to pull out later this year, defending his plan for their early exit after meeting his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

Hollande was strongly criticized at a NATO summit last weekend for accelerating France’s withdrawal of its roughly 3,400 troops in Afghanistan to the end of this year, two years ahead of the timetable agreed by the alliance. “The mission of fighting terrorism and chasing out the Taliban is close to being accomplished, and this is something we can be very proud of,” Hollande told journalists at an outdoor press conference in Karzai’s garden palace.

“We will stay in Afghanistan but with a different role, our cooperation will focus on civilian fronts,” he said.

The drawdown, a promise to voters during Hol-

Pope’s butler arrested in leaks investigation

People wave flags as they wait for the arrival of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej for a ceremony in Thung Makham Yong in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok on May 25, 2012. Thailand’s ailing king traveled outside of the capital Bangkok for the first time in more than two years to visit the ancient capital Ayutthaya. (AFP)

Climate pact process stumbles as countries bicker

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VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict’s butler was arrested on Friday in connection with an investigation into leaks of confidential documents, some alleging cronyism and corruption in Vatican contracts, a senior Vatican source said.

The scandal, which has come to be known as “Vatileaks”, involves the leaking of a string of documents to Italian media in January and February, including personal letters to the pope.

Some of the documents involved allegations of corruption, mismanagement and cronyism in the awarding of contracts for work in the Vatican and internal disagreement on the management of the Vatican bank. The president of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was ousted by its board on Thursday.

Vatican spokesmen said earlier on Friday that a person in possession of confidential documents had been arrested but that they could not disclose his position or identity until they were given permission from Vatican investigators.

The Vatican source confirmed reports

by Italian media that the person arrested was the butler.

Women, children targeted in renewed Congo clashes KINSHASA: Rival armed groups in Congo’s eastern provinces are targeting each other’s families, killing children, women and the elderly in some of the country’s worst violence in years, officials said on Friday.

The fighting, which UN agency UNICEF says has cost up to 80 lives since early May, comes amid a security vacuum in parts of the vast forested region after Congo’s army redeployed elsewhere to capture a renegade general, Bosco Ntaganda, and his men.

“All these areas which are without the army, without protection, have been seized again by the (Hutu rebel group) FDLR,” said Jean Luc Mutokambali, a parliamentarian from the region and member of the ruling coalition. “That’s leading to self-defense groups like Raia Mutomboki,” he said, referring to a local militia involved in the clashes whose name means “Angry Population”. The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday that it was treating scores of victims from the fighting.

“Most of the victims are civilians, some of whom

are very young children, elderly people or women,” Laetitia Courtois, a spokeswoman for the ICRC said in a press release. “Some injured people had to be carried for hours on foot ... to reach healthcare centers.”

Both sides in the fighting are targeting civilians, often suspected wives, families and friends of their enemies, said Marie Claire Bangwene Mwavita, the administrator of Masisi territory. She said several villages were recently pillaged near the border between North and South Kivu provinces, and at least four people burnt alive in their homes.

The United Nations local peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, has deployed attack helicopters in North Kivu in an attempt to dissuade armed groups from targeting civilians, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mactar Diop said. Ntaganda, a former rebel wanted by the ICC for war crimes and who was integrated into the army in a 2009 peace deal, mutinied with around 600 soldiers last month after the government said it would arrest him. -Reuters

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“It’s all very sad,” another senior Vatican source said, commenting on an episode that is the latest in a string of embarrassments for the Vatican.

The pope’s butler serves in the apartments of the Apostolic Palace, serving at the papal tables, handing rosaries to visiting dignitaries and riding in the first seat of the popemobile at papal audiences.

As an intimate member of the papal household, he is privy to the goings on in the most reserved and private rooms in the Vatican. Italian media said investigators had found documents in his apartment.

The pope, who has been shocked and saddened by the leaks, ordered several investigations, including one headed by Vatican police and another by a commission of cardinals.

The leaked documents included letters by an archbishop who was transferred to Washington after he blew the whistle on what he saw as a web of corruption and cronyism, a memo which put a number of cardinals in a bad light, and documents alleging internal conflicts about the Vatican Bank. -Reuters

lande’s election campaign following successive attacks by rogue Afghan soldiers on French mentors, breaks with the NATO timetable for a withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

It raised concern that other alliance nations may follow France’s example and accelerate their withdrawal plans, handing security prematurely to fledgling Afghan forces.

At last weekend’s meeting of NATO allies in Chicago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the early withdrawal, saying she wanted a unified pullout under the alliance’s existing strategy of “in together, out together”. Some 2,000 French troops are due to leave this year but some will remain to provide support and training, and to look after equipment. France has 14 helicopters, 900 vehicles and 1,400 containers that need to be taken out via road and plane.

More on 3

Guinea police seize 800 pieces of ivory in bust CONAKRY: Guinea police seized over 800 pieces of ivory, including sculptures and elephant tusks, in the capital Conakry during a raid that led to six arrests, police said Friday. The arrests were made on May 19 and 21, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

Security forces “seized over 800 objects made with elephant ivory” including large sculptures and raw elephant tusks. The operation was carried out by Guinean security forces along with the ministries of justice, environment, water and forests, and the Guinea Support for Law on Fauna project.

“These arrests are just the beginning. Guinean authorities intend to put an end to this trafficking which has reached uncontrolled levels,” Security Minister Maramany Cisse told journalists on Thursday. On March 28 seven suspected traffickers of protected species were arrested, a first in the country since independence in 1958, according to an environmental official. In that raid 80 kilos of sculpted ivory were seized as well as two panther skins valued at 38,000 euros (47,000 Us dollars). “Ivory trafficking is emptying the African continent of its elephants for a demand essentially destined for the foreign market,” poaching expert Lieutenant Amara Bangoura told AFP. Guinea is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and while ivory trafficking has been illegal in the country since 1997, it lacks the resources to police it. According to CITES figures, only about 470,000 African elephants remain today, down from about 1.3 million in 1979, a loss primarily due to the animals being killed for ivory. -AFP

Giant telescope to explore far reaches of cosmos LONDON/AMSTERDAM: The world’s biggest and most advanced radio telescope, capable of detecting signs of extraterrestrial life in the far reaches of the universe, will be located in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The decision to split the location of the $2 billion “Square Kilometer Array” followed intense lobbying by the two leading bidders, South Africa one side and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand on the other.

Scientists leading the project rejected the suggestion that the decision, which will mean higher costs, meant science had taken a back seat to political expediency.

“I can’t deny there is a political aspect to the process because when you are spending very large amounts of public money, politicians are going to be interested,” said John Womersley, Chair of the Board of Directors of the SKA organization.

More on 9

Dancers from the “Unost” troupe representing the Ukraine stretch in the foyer of the theatre ahead of their performance at the 10th World Dance Championships in Modern Dance Sport, in Eastbourne on May 25, 2012.

(AFP)

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saturdAY, may 26, 2012

Car bomb in central Turkey wounds 10, kills militants ISTANBUL: Two militants set off a bomb inside their car by a police headquarters in the central Turkish province of Kayseri on Friday, killing themselves and wounding at least 10 others, Turkey’s interior minister said.

Kurdish separatists, Islamist militants including AlQaeda, as well as groups on the far left and right have all carried out bomb attacks in Turkey, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s blast.

Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said security forces had followed the car from Goksun district in Kahramanmaras province to Pinarbasi about 100 km (60 miles) after it passed a checkpoint in the road without stopping.

Police opened fire as it passed the police headquarters in the town of Pinarbasi and the bomb went off, Sahin said. Pinarbasi lies east of the city of Kayseri, which is about 325 km (200 miles) southeast of the capital Ankara. It was not immediately clear why police did not stop the car sooner, and Sahin said investigators did not think, as yet, that the target was the police station.

“From what can be seen inside the vehicle, there are two suicide bomber militants inside. They are of course in pieces and the car is destroyed. This is a sad event,” Sahin told reporters from the Aegean city of Izmir. “We were not expecting the terror organization to stop. We have seen how they continue to carry

out crazy acts,” Sahin said, using a common term to describe the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who are waging a war against the state.

Sahin said that at least 10 people had been wounded, including children.

Turkish media earlier reported that the car had tried to drive into the police station moments before the blast and that 19 people had been wounded in the attack, six of them seriously.

State-run TRT Haber broadcaster said security forces were hunting for a third militant who had managed to escape.

A civil servant at the Pinarbasi district governor’s office, said, “We heard a huge blast even though our office is 2 km away from the police station. We saw a big cloud of smoke rising but we don’t know about the number of dead or injured.”

“We heard that it was a car which attempted to drive into the police station and then an explosion occurred,” Hasan Gumus told Reuters by telephone minutes after the explosion.

Television footage showed frantic scenes around the police station with fire engines and ambulances rushing to the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Bomb attacks in Kayseri are almost unheard of with most raids occurring further east in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Egypt’s Brotherhood claims early lead

Essam Al-Aryan (center), Vice president of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) addresses a press conference in presence of FJP executive bureau members about the preliminary results in the first round of the Egyptian presidential elections, at the media centre for the presidential campaign of the FJP candidate Mohamed Morsy in Cairo, Egypt early May 25. (EPA)

CAIRO: Ballot counting has begun in Egypt after two days of historic voting to choose the country’s first democratically elected president, with the Muslim Brotherhood claiming lead.

The Brotherhood, the country’s most powerful political force, said on Friday that their candidate, Mohamed Morsi, will face divisive former civil aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq in a presidential run-off.

Morsi, from the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, is one of thirteen men vying to become president.

But the results will not be clear for some time, as major governorates had yet to submit their counts and independent media results showed a former socialist parliamentarian and activist jostling Shafiq for second place.

The presidential election commission did not plan to release official results until Tuesday. The Brotherhood said its prediction of a Morsi-Shafiq runoff was released after 90 per cent of the votes were counted nationwide.

Campaigns were allowed to station observers in the polls throughout the voting and counting process, and the influential Islamist group had placed staff in nearly each one.

The presidential elections come months after parliamentary polls, which the Brotherhood won handsomely, earning around 47 per cent of parliament. The hard-line Salafi Nour Party won 25 per cent.

The new president’s powers were meant to be outlined by the election in a new constitution drafted by a special assembly, but opposition parties boycotted the assembly when the Brotherhood was perceived to be using its near parliamentary majority to stack the deck in its favor.

The rise of Shafiq - the former civil aviation minister who served as Mubarak’s prime minister in the final days of the disintegrating regime - boosted by a sympathetic and powerful state media machine, was not widely predicted.

And though he appears to have attracted many vot-

ers who yearn for a return to security and normalcy in Egypt, he is perhaps the race’s most divisive candidate, loathed by the revolution’s passionate supporters.

In what may be a sign of things to come should Shafiq reach the run-off, a mob chased him from his polling place and pelted him with shoes on Wednesday.

Other surprises on election night included what appeared to be a less-than-impressive showing from presumed front-runner Amr Moussa, who ranked highest in many opinion polls before the election, and a surge

by Hamdeen Sabahi, a left-wing activist from the rural Nile Delta who served two terms in parliament and had been imprisoned 17 times under previous presidents.

Omar Ashour from Exeter University told Al Jazeera that the “revolutionary vote was divided”.

“Amr Moussa is doing badly because of a few things - for example the debate with Aboul Fotouh, where they both under-minded each other to the detriment of them both,” Ashour said.

“Morsi was underestimated - the Muslim Brotherhood is very well organized and very good at mobilizing votes,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former high-ranking Muslim Brother who quit the organization after the revolution, remained in third place in most results, a disappointing showing in the view of some analysts.

Polling places in and around Cairo visited by Al Jazeera reported different numbers, with 36 per cent of registered voters participating in some polling centers in the Nazlat El-Semman neighborhood of Giza, while 66 per cent came out at a school in the Moqattam neighborhood of Cairo.

“This is the first time we will choose our president in 7,000 years,” said Mustafa Mahmoud Mustafa at the Moqattam Basic Education School.

Judges and prosecutors serving as election authorities oversaw what appeared to be an orderly and calm process, and reports of violations were few and relatively minor. -AFP

Russian bikers freed from Iraq prison

DIYALA: Four Russian bikers who were arrested in Iraq last weekend and complained of beatings by security forces have been freed and are in Russian custody, a top official said Friday.

“The bikers arrested in Iraq are already in the Russian embassy,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote on his Twitter blog. “Their bikes have not yet been returned.

Thank you everyone who helped out.”

The four Russians entered Iraq on their motorcycles through the autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday and were detained in the province of Diyala by military patrol.

They were soon released but arrested a second time the next day near Baghdad after failing to apply for travel documents, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Luka-

shevich said this week.

Russian media picked up the bikers’ case with some outlets quoting one of the bikers’ text messages sent from a mobile phone he allegedly concealed in his underwear, which said they are accused of espionage and may be executed.

The bikers reportedly denied they entered Iraq without a visa and their supporters in Moscow picketed the Iraqi embassy on Thursday while Russia was participating in key talks in Baghdad concerning Iran’s nuclear program.

A brother of one of the travelers, Yevgeny Vardanyants, told Interfax that he finally heard from the group, who “confirmed everything is okay” and thanked the media for their participation. -AFP

PKK guerillas vowed to step up their fight against the Turkish state last year and have launched a series of attacks against Turkish security forces, killing scores of people.

Speaking hours after the blast, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed to continue fighting the PKK. “The fight against the separatist terror organization will continue with determination, as it has until now.

I wish health to those who are wounded, and God’s mercy for our martyrs,” he told reporters in Ankara.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK insurgency since the group took up arms against the state in 1984. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Separately, 10 people, including one woman, were kidnapped by suspected PKK militants in southeastern Turkey this week, security sources said on Friday.

The sources did not know the whereabouts of the 10 villagers and said they had been unable to contact them since Thursday evening. Firat, a news agency with close links to the outlawed PKK, said the abductions had taken place on Tuesday. The PKK has not claimed responsibility for the kidnappings but the incident comes only two weeks after an official from the ruling AK Party was abducted in the region. Turkish security forces say they have launched a large-scale search operation for the missing official. -Reuters

Dow case sparks ultimatum

Continued from Page 1

In other developments, the resignation of the minister of finance puts the cooperation between the legislative and executive authority on the line, and a parliamentary source affirmed that the relationship between the two authorities is worsening. The source alleged that such a negative eventuality has occurred because the Majority Bloc is dominating the Parliament and seems to be targeting ministers one by one, in order to settle personal scores. The source also alleged that the bloc has plans to dismiss ministers it thinks ill of.

A close source to the finance minister emphasized that the minister insists on his resignation because the current government cannot deal with the Majority Bloc, which he said aims at dismissing ministers through issuing interpellations and motions towards noconfidence voting.

However, a government source said that the government still insists on keeping the minister by way of a slight reshuffling process, during which the minister would be reappointed at another ministry. The same source pointed out that there was a change the government might replace the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, with an MP to hold this position, because the minister is perceived as inadequate at his role in terms of enhancing cooperation between the parliament and the government. The minister has also failed to protect the finance minister.

The Majority Bloc will hold a meeting today at the Diwaniya of the MP Mohammad Al-Khalifa to discuss the circumstances of the resignation of the finance minister and the candidates who would potentially replace him. The bloc is also expected to discuss the interpellation motion that will be filed against the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ahmad Al-Rujaib soon.

Anti-regime demos in Syrian cities as death toll mounts DAMASCUS: Syrian anti-regime activists on Friday took to the streets of Damascus and other major centers, monitors said, as armed rebels insisted that “protection of peaceful protests” is their top priority.

Protests took place at dawn on Friday in five residential neighborhoods of the capital in support of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), and to call for President Bashar Al-Assad’s downfall, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Demonstrations were also held in the northern city of Aleppo while activists began gathering in other protest hubs for rallies after the Muslim weekly Friday prayers, as has been customary since an anti-Assad revolt erupted in March 2011.

The Observatory said six civilians were killed on Friday, four of them, including three teenagers, by regime forces’ gunfire as they guarded their farm in the village of Chizar, in central Hama province.

The Britain-based Observatory also said that at least 34 people, including 24 civilians, were killed on Thursday, in violence across the country, including the shelling by regime forces of the rebel stronghold of Rastan, in central Syria.

The outgoing leader of Syria’s largest opposition group charged on Thursday that the deeply-divided opposition had failed its people.

Burhan Ghalioun, speaking to AFP after the main opposition Syrian National Council accepted his resignation as leader, said the chasm in its ranks between Islamist and secularists had let down the Syrian people and played into Assad’s hands.

“We were not up to the sacrifices of the Syrian people. We did not answer the needs of the revolution enough and quickly enough,” Ghalioun said.

“I submitted my resignation precisely to say that this path of division between Islamist and secular doesn’t work and I think the Syrian regime has won in that respect because since the beginning it has tried to play on this division,” the Parisbased academic said.

The FSA, made up largely of dissidents from the regular army, insisted

that “helping the Syrian people obtain their freedom” was among its top priorities, in a statement outlining its goals and principles. It also said it would refer to international courts those responsible for “war crimes against the Syrian people,” and pledged total commitment to international standards of human rights.

The rebel group, made up largely of dissidents from the regular army, further promised it would not “intervene in the political process after the fall of the Assad regime.”

A UN panel said on Thursday government forces were to blame for most abuses in the violence that has raged on daily despite a UN-backed ceasefire supposed to take effect April 12.

The Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, also highlighted in a report released in Geneva the reported the killing, capture and torture of army and security force personnel, as well as suspected informers, by anti-government groups and their growing use of homemade bombs.

More than 12,600 people have been

killed in Syria since the revolt against Assad’s rule broke out in March last year, including nearly 1,500 since the UNbacked truce took effect, according to Observatory figures.

Assad, speaking during talks with a visiting minister from key Middle East ally Iran on Thursday, insisted his government could find a way to end the 14month uprising against his rule.

“Syria has been able to overcome the pressures and threats it has faced for years and is able to get out of this crisis thanks to the strength of its people and commitment to unity and independence,” state media quoted him as saying.

Assad’s comments came as parliament convened for the first time since a controversial May 7 election boycotted by the opposition and dismissed by the West as a farce.

Despite changes to the constitution ending the Baath’s five decade domination of power, more than 160 of the 250 members of parliament are Baathists and the legislature voted by 225 to eight to elect ruling party member Jihad Lahham as its speaker. -Reuters

Sheikh Omar Bakri (center), a Lebanese Sunni cleric and Islamist preacher, attends Friday prayers with relatives of Islamists held in Lebanese jails, as they block a street during a protest in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, May 25. (Reuters)

Fresh Iran nuclear talks set for Moscow TEHRAN: Iran and world powers will meet in Moscow next month for more talks to try solve a longstanding dispute about Iran’s nuclear energy program, Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign-policy chief, has said.

Speaking in Baghdad on Thursday, the last of two days of discussions between envoys from Iran and six leading powers to try to defuse Western fears of a covert Iranian effort to develop nuclear bombs, Ashton said it was clear both sides wanted progress and had some common ground, but they also had significant differences.

“We will maintain intensive contacts with our Iranian counterparts to prepare a further meeting in Moscow,” she announced in the Iraqi capital.

The Moscow meeting is set to take place on June 18 and 19. Ashton, who leads the negotiations for the P5+1 (the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany), said the bloc wanted practical steps from Iran to address concerns over its nuclear work.

Chief among such concerns is Iran’s ability to enrich uranium to a fissile purity of 20 per cent. That is the nuclear advance most worrying to the West since it hurdles technical obstacles to reaching 90 per

cent, or bomb-grade, enrichment.

Iran says it will not exceed 20 per cent and the material will be made into fuel for a research reactor.

“Iran declared its readiness to address the issue of 20 per cent enrichment and came with its own five point plan, including their assertion that we recognize their right to enrichment,” Ashton said.

The Baghdad talks failed to reach any deal, despite reports indicating that the P1+5 had made several offers if Iran would halt enrichment, including fuel plates for a reactor producing medical isotopes, relaxing restrictions on aircraft parts and nuclear safety assistance.

But this falls short of the lifting of the whole raft of UN Security Council and unilateral Western sanctions that have been directed at Iran for years.

Iran is threatened with an EU oil embargo, due to take full effect from July 1, which will ensure EU firms from heading crude tankers to countries such as India, South Korea and Japan, all major buyers of Iran’s oil. Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief negotiator, emphasized that Iran had the right to continue to enrich uranium.

“Of the main topics in using peaceful nuclear energy is the topic of having

the nuclear fuel cycle and enrichment. We emphasize this right,” he said in Baghdad on Thursday. “This is an undeniable right of the Iranian nation ... especially the right to enrich uranium.”

Earlier, an Iranian delegation official had complained that world powers were hindering the talks in Baghdad, creating a “difficult atmosphere”.

“We believe the reason P5+1 is not able to reach a result is America,” the official told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity. “[P5+1] came to Baghdad without a clear mandate so we think the atmosphere is difficult.”

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but Western powers suspect it is masking attempts to join the elite club of nations with nuclear weapons.

The powers’ overall goal is an Iranian agreement to curb uranium enrichment in a transparent, verifiable way to ensure it is for peaceful purposes only. Iran’s priority is to secure an end to sanctions isolating the country and damaging its economy.

The Baghdad talks were the second round in the latest series between the P5+1 and Iran over its controversial nuclear program, with earlier negotiations held in Istanbul, Turkey, last month. -AFP

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Fists fly in Ukraine over use of Russian language KIEV: Opposition lawmakers on Friday blocked the Ukrainian Parliament a day after a brawl in the chamber sent one legislator to the hospital.

The melee was sparked by a proposed bill to make Russian an official language in eastern regions of the country with large native Russian-speaking populations.

Lawmakers grappled and threw punches.

One was hospitalized with a head injury.

On Friday, deputies opposed to the bill blocked the Parliament speaker’s podium, preventing the session from starting, while some 200 demonstrators held a noisy protest against the bill outside the building.

Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn on Friday said the brawl had “completely

destroyed” the legislative process and called for new elections. But most parties do not support an emergency poll, because regular elections are set for October.

The bill would allow the use of the Russian language in courts, hospitals and other official institutions in the regions where Russian-speakers make up more than 10 percent of the population. Progovernment lawmakers, who draw their support from the Russian-speaking south and east of Ukraine, say it will allow people living there to use the language of their preferences.

Opponents of the bill say it will stem the development of the Ukrainian language, by creating no incentive for millions of Ukrainians to learn and use it. -AP

NEWS IN BRIEF Jail for 2 blamed for New Zealand cargo ship spill WELLINGTON: The captain and the navigator of a ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef last year in what authorities have called the country’s worst maritime environmental disaster were each sentenced Friday to seven months in jail. About 400 tons of fuel oil spilled on Astrolabe Reef near Tauranga and at least 2,000 sea birds died in the Oct. 5 grounding of the cargo ship Rena. Judge Robert Wolff from the Tauranga District Court sentenced the ship’s captain, Mauro Balomaga, and navigating officer, Leonil Relon, both of the Philippines. -AP

Asia’s richest man anoints son to head empire Lawmakers from pro-presidential and oppositional factions in the parliament session hall in Kiev, Ukraine, May 24. (AP)

UK’s Cameron again defends minister on News Corp.

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday he had no regrets about his decision to put Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt in charge of deciding whether Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. could proceed with a bid to take over British Sky Broadcasting.

Cameron’s endorsement of Hunt’s performance followed the disclosure that Hunt had written to the prime minister in glowing terms about the possible takeover about a month before he was put in charge of the process.

“I don’t regret giving the job to Jeremy Hunt, it was the right thing to do in the circumstances, which were not of my making,” Cameron said in an interview with ITV. The circumstances were that the authority for the bid was taken away from Business Secretary Vince Cable after he was caught telling undercover newspaper reporters that he had “declared war” on Murdoch, the powerful News Corp. chairman and CEO. “The crucial point, the really crucial point, is did Jeremy Hunt carry out his role properly with respect to BSkyB? And I believe that he did,” Cameron said.

The embattled Hunt will make his own case next Thursday when he testifies at the Leveson Inquiry which is investigating phone hacking at News Corp. newspapers and broader media issues. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will testify on Monday and Cable on Wednesday, officials said.

On Thursday, the inquiry published a memo dated Nov. 19, 2010, from Hunt to Cameron reporting that Murdoch’s son James was “pretty furious” about the obstacles to the company’s bid for the lucrative broadcaster.

James Murdoch, who was then chairman of BSkyB, hoped the takeover would shake up Britain’s media industry the same way his father had done in the 1980s by revolutionizing newspaper production, Hunt wrote.

“He wants to create the first multiplatform media operator,” Hunt wrote. “If we block it our media sector will suffer for years.”

The memo, written about a month before Hunt he was given responsibility for ruling on whether to refer Murdoch’s bid to competi-

Britain’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, leaves his London home, on May 25. (AFP)

tion regulators, showed the degree to which Hunt sympathized with the New York-based News Corp.

The company, which owns 39 percent of BSkyB, dropped its bid to take full control after the hacking scandal blew up last year.

Critics say News Corp.’s influence over UK politicians was one of the reasons the company was able to get away with wrongdoing in Britain for so long.

Cameron has faced questions about why he appointed Andy Coulson, former editor of News of the World, the Sunday tabloid at the heart of the hacking scandal, as his director of communications.

Questions have also been raised about Cameron’s friendly relations with Rebekah Brooks, former CEO of News Corp. subsidiary News International, who has been charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.

London’s Metropolitan Police announced Friday they had arrested a 37-year-old female journalist in their bribery investigation, based on information supplied by News Corp. It was the 30th arrest on suspicion of making or accepting bribes. -AP

US cuts Pakistan aid for jailing CIA helper

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WASHINGTON: Senators vote to reduce aid to Islamabad by 33 million US dollars in retaliation against jailing of doctor who helped find bin Laden.

US senators outraged by Pakistan’s jailing of a doctor for helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden have voted to cut aid to Islamabad by $33mn - one million for each year in the doctor’s sentence.

“It’s arbitrary, but the hope is that Pakistan will realize we are serious,” said Senator Richard Durbin after the unanimous 30-0 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

“It’s outrageous that they [the Pakistanis] would say a man who helped us find Osama bin Laden is a traitor,” said Durbin, the senate’s number two Democrat.

The Senate Armed Services Committee later passed a measure that could lead to even deeper cuts in aid.

The sentencing on Wednesday of Dr Shakil Afridi for 33 years on treason charges added to US frustrations with Pakistan over what Washington sees as its reluctance to help combat Islamist militants fighting the Afghan government and the closure of supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the jailing of the doctor “unjust and unwarranted” and pledged to continue to press the case with Islamabad. “The United States does not believe there is any basis for holding Dr. Afridi.”

Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden in a Pakistani town last year.

The Al-Qaeda leader was killed in the town of Abbottabad a year ago in a unilateral US special forces raid that heavily damaged ties between Islamabad and Washington.

Since then, there have been growing calls in the US congress to cut off some or all of US aid.

Senator John McCain, top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said legislators had agreed to withhold certain military aid for Pakistan until the defense secretary certifies that Pakistan is not detaining people such as Afridi.

“All of us are outraged at the imprisonment and sentencing of some 33 years - virtually a death sentence - to the doctor in Pakistan who was instrumental ... in the removal of Osama bin Laden,” McCain said, adding that Afridi was innocent of any wrongdoing.

“That has frankly outraged all of us.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s action cutting Pakistan’s aid came after a subcommittee earlier in the week slashed assistance to Islamabad - and said it would withhold even more cash if Pakistan does not reopen supply routes for NATO soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been one of the leading recipients of US foreign aid in recent years.

Even after the cuts voted this week it still would receive about $1bn in fiscal 2013, if the full Senate and House of Representatives approve. -AFP

Hollande defends early French pullout from Afghanistan

KABUL: French President Francois Hollande made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Friday to visit some of the French troops he wants to pull out later this year, defending his plan for their early exit after meeting his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

Hollande was strongly criticized at a NATO summit last weekend for accelerating France’s withdrawal of its roughly 3,400 troops in Afghanistan to the end of this year, two years ahead of the timetable agreed by the alliance.

“The mission of fighting terrorism and chasing out the Taliban is close to being accomplished, and this is something we can be very proud of,” Hollande told journalists at an outdoor press conference in Karzai’s garden palace.

“We will stay in Afghanistan but with a different role, our cooperation will focus on civilian fronts,” he said.

The drawdown, a promise to voters during Hollande’s election campaign following successive attacks by rogue Afghan soldiers on French mentors, breaks with the NATO timetable for a withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

It raised concern that other alliance nations may follow France’s example and accelerate their withdrawal plans, handing security prematurely to fledgling Afghan forces.

At last weekend’s meeting of NATO allies in Chicago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the early withdrawal, saying she wanted a unified pullout under the alli-

ance’s existing strategy of “in together, out together”.

Some 2,000 French troops are due to leave this year but some will remain to provide support and training, and to look after equipment. France has 14 helicopters, 900 vehicles and 1,400 containers that need to be taken out via road and plane.

Visiting French forces at their base in volatile Kapisa province, Hollande thanked them for what they had done for France and Afghanistan, and promised the pullout would be “orderly” and done in “close coordination with France’s allies”.

He also paid homage to the 83 French soldiers killed in the war, now dragging into its 11th year.

“The time has come for Afghan sovereignty. The terrorist threat that targeted our territory has not completely disappeared, but it has been partially suppressed,” Hollande said.

France has been asked to contribute just under $200 million a year for long-term funding for Afghanistan, part of an annual bill estimated at $4.1 billion to maintain Afghan forces after 2014. Hollande has signaled that he will commit to nothing until it is clear how the money will be managed.

As well as training Afghan forces, France could also set up a medical college and some kind of cultural or archaeological centre, Hollande said, as well as aid the Afghan government with housing, energy, oil research and crucial agriculture aid. -Reuters

HONG KONG: Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing on Friday confirmed that his eldest son will eventually control his business empire, but the 83-year-old tycoon dismissed suggestions that he is about to retire. Eldest son Victor Li has long been expected to take over Cheung Kong Group and Hutchison Whampoa after his father steps aside, so Li’s comments to reporters after a shareholders’ meeting came as no surprise. “If I wanted to go on holiday for two months tomorrow, which I’ve never done in my life, I believe that Victor and other colleagues would be able to manage the company well,” Li said. -AFP

China hits back at critical US human rights report BEIJING: China hit back on Friday at the US State Department’s annual survey of human rights, saying that only the Chinese people could pass judgment on what the Foreign Ministry said were the country’s obvious achievements in the area.

Asked about criticism of China in the report, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei condemned it for being prejudiced.

“The United States State Department’s annual report on human rights maligns other countries, and the content concerning China ignores the facts and is filled will prejudice, confusing black and white,” he told a daily news briefing. -Reuters

Suspend Zimbabwe sanctions, says UN rights chief HARARE: The UN human rights chief has called for the suspension of Western sanctions against Zimbabwe’s president and his loyalists. Western nations insist the sanctions, imposed to protest the poor human rights record of Mugabe and his ZANU PF party, only target political leaders. But UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said Friday they were discouraging foreign investment and having other unintended consequences, hurting the poorest and most vulnerable Zimbabweans. Pillay spoke to reporters at the end of a five-day visit to assess human rights in Zimbabwe. -AP

Thai king makes 1st trip outside Bangkok in years BANGKOK: Thousands upon thousands of Thais turned out Friday in Bangkok and the historic capital Ayutthaya to show their devotion to the country’s 84-year-old monarch on his first trip outside Bangkok in almost three years. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was feted with song, dance and a procession of elephants that celebrated the monarch and nation wracked in recent years by political turmoil.

Bhumibol, the world’s longest reigning monarch, actively worked for decades on behalf of the country’s poor but has almost disappeared from public life since he was hospitalized in September 2009 for what the palace called a lung inflammation.

Since then he has had a variety of ailments and has lived in a royal wing of Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital, leaving only on rare occasions and always in a wheelchair.

Friday’s highlight was to be a visit to a rice paddy that the king also toured in 1996 and was part of a royal project to mitigate flooding in Ayutthaya. The devastating floods last year submerged much of Ayutthaya, damaging ancient temples, crops and hundreds of factories.

The Ayutthaya area is fraught with historical significance as the country’s capital three centuries ago that was sacked by invaders from neighboring Burma. The king’s first stop was at a statue of Queen Suriyothai, a consort of an Ayutthaya-era king who sacrificed her life in battle with the Burmese to save her husband. Bhumibol handed over a garland from his van for an official to place before the statue.

The king left his van at the next stop, a specially constructed royal hall, where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra paid her respects with a short speech declaring her devotion.

Controversy involving Yingluck’s brother has put in jeopardy the once unchallenged reputation of the monarchy.

As unprecedented debate raged - muted publicly by a harsh law banning criticism of the monarchy - the king’s frail health caused him to distance himself from public affairs. Overzealous attempts to defend the monarchy’s reputation by suppressing criticism only inspired new questions over its place. However, politics was pushed aside Friday for pageantry and displays of devotion by the huge numbers of ordinary Thais who crowded roadsides to see the only monarch most of them have lived under. The king came to the throne in 1946.

A parade staged for the king recalled a much earlier era, with people

Thai residents pack on the ground near the site where King Bhumibol Adulyadej to pay a visit in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand, May 25. (AP)

in period costumes marching along with nine elephants decked in glittering regalia. The show at one point included two warriors on elephant-back staging a mock battle, as well as performances of traditional music and dance, performed in the dramatic dusk light.

Dressed in a military uniform, Bhumibol earlier was wheeled from the hospital and into a white van adapted to accommodate his wheelchair.

He, Queen Sirikit and one of their daughters, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, were driven past crowds of people waving Thai flags and the yellow royal flag as police outriders stopped traffic to let the king pass.

As far as could be seen Friday, he used a wheelchair. -AP

Equatorial Guinea President Obiang puts relatives in power MALABO: Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has named two sons and a brother in the country’s new government, after appointing Vincente Ehate Tomi as prime minister, national television reported. Of the 55 government nominations announced Thursday, 12 are close to Obiang Nguema personally.

These include his brother Antonio Mba Nguema who becomes defense minister and one of his sons, Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, in the energy and industry seat.

Agapito Mba Mokuy, formerly an advisor to the president, becomes foreign minister.

The new prime minister previously served as president Nguema’s chief of staff. Obiang, Africa’s longest-serving leader, announced on Monday night that another son, Teodorin, had been appointed second vice president with responsibility for defense and security. Teodorin is a former agriculture minister but has attracted headlines more recently over a corruption case being pursued by French authorities. Equatorial Guinea’s main opposition parties accused the veteran leader of seeking to line his vice president son up to be his successor.

French prosecutors have called for an inter-

national arrest warrant to be issued for the president’s son to face questioning in a probe into the sources of money spent in France by Obiang, Congo-Brazzaville’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Omar Bongo, the late president of Gabon. Obiang, 69, has ruled Equatorial Guinea with an iron grip since seizing power in a 1979 coup, making him the continent’s longest-serving head of state. A new constitution, which was approved in November, does not make clear whether Obiang could stay in power until 2030, or if he would have to resign when his current term ends in 2016. -AFP

news in pics

ALWATAN DAILY SaturDAY, MAY 26, 2012

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Turkish women run on Taksim Square in Istanbul as the rain falls on May 25, 2012. (AFP)

Sun casts through fog at sunrise near Reitwein, eastern Germany, on May 25, 2012. Meteorologists forecast sunny weather with temperatures around 25 degrees for the coming days. (AFP)

The Greek’s team compete in the synchronized teams technical routine during the 31st LEN European Swimming Championships, on May 25, 2012 in Eindhoven. (AFP)

A monkey and a bull beat the summer heat on the banks of the Bagamti river in Kathmandu on May 25, 2012. Temperatures in the Nepalese capital are rising with the onset of summer. (AFP)

A sadhu (Hindu holy man) rests at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu on May 25, 21012. Dozens of sadhus live around the temple devoting their life to Lord Shiva - the Hindu god of destruction. (AFP)

A soldier from the US Army’s 1st Platoon, 18th Engineer Company, Task Force Arrowhead wakes from his bed on the back of an armored truck at Forward Operating Base Mizan in Afghanistan’s Zabul Province May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

A woman talks on her phone as she looks through a hole at the entrance of the British Colony of Gibraltar in La Linea de la Concepcion, southern Spain May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

Performers wait on their boats before Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej arrives at Thung Makham in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

Taiwan cuts 2012 growth forecast to 3%

BUSINESS

saturdAY, May 26, 2012

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan’s government has lowered its economic growth forecast for 2012 to three percent from 3.4 percent as demand fades for the island’s mainstay electronic exports. Friday’s revision came only four weeks after the government lowered the forecast from 3.8 percent. Hit by weaker global demand, the government said Taiwan’s exports fell 4 percent to 70 billion US dollars in the January-March period. It said exports are expected to grow 2.7 percent for the entire year to $316 billion as global economy stabilizes in the second half, revising the 4.3 percent growth forecast earlier.

The government said Taiwan’s electronics industry faces keener competition from global brands such as Apple Inc. but brisk sales of smartphones could partially offset the slowdown. -AP

Brent crude gains, outlook still negative OPEC basket price fell more to $103.49 on Thursday

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Friday, supported by a lack of progress in nuclear negotiations with Iran, returning investor focus to fears over supply if tension over the issue intensifies, and by positive economic data in the United States.

Brent crude rose 47 US cents to 107.02 US dollars a barrel by 1422 GMT. US crude added 31 cents to $90.97.

US consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than four years in May as Americans stayed optimistic about the job market, while higher income households expected to see bigger wage increases, a survey released on Friday showed.

However, gains were muted, with worries about a battered European economy still at the forefront of investors’ minds.

Oil was still down almost 13 percent this quarter, its biggest such drop since late 2008, and analysts said there was scope for more weakness.

“There’s no real reason for the gain. There is no resolution to the euro zone issues, it just looks like a rebound after a long fall,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB in Oslo, Norway.

Highlighting the fragility of the region’s finances, Spain’s wealthiest autonomous region, Catalonia, needs support from the central government, Catalan President Artur Mas said on Friday.

The composite PMI on Thursday indicated

A man walks past a sports shop in Tokyo May 25, 2012. Japan’s core consumer prices edged up in April from a year earlier due to higher energy prices, but the meagre pace was a sign the fragile economy was still a long way from achieving the central bank’s target of 1 percent inflation. (Reuters)

core nations such as Germany and France were being caught up in the downturn, even as they made contingency plans to deal with financial and economic turmoil in the event Greece

quits the euro.

Talks on Iran’s nuclear program reached a stalemate, with Western countries insisting Iran must cease uranium enrichment before sanc-

Aramco, Sumitomo chemical plan $7 billion petrochemical expansion TOKYO: Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Co plan to go ahead with a seven billion US dollar expansion of a petrochemical project in the kingdom, the Japanese firm said on Friday, quelling doubts over the future of the delayed development.

Japan’s Sumitomo said it was pressing on with the Rabigh II project, due to start operations in early 2016, as it expects the market to pull out of a recent slump due to long-term economic growth in China and resilient demand in Europe.

The plastics industry is facing slowing demand as car sales ease in large emerging markets such as India, while higher raw material costs on the back of rising oil prices weigh on margins.

“The industry is now at a low point, but we are not worried about its long-term prospects,” Osamu Ishitobi, vice president of Sumitomo Chemical, told a news conference.

But one analyst said that competition from a possible revival in the US petrochemical industry driven by shale gas could have been a factor in the

decision.

“If they further delayed making a decision, that would offer the US industry a bigger chance of regaining its competitiveness in the global market,” said Osamu Fujisawa, an independent oil economist based in Japan.

In Saudi Arabia, the price of ethane, a raw material used for building plastics, is lower than international prices, providing cheap fuel for petrochemical plants.

For state-run Saudi Aramco, it is a steady revenue source, and part of its plan to expand its petrochemicals industry and diversify its energy portfolio and boost earnings from downstream activities.

Under Rabigh II, an existing ethane cracker will be expanded and a new aromatics complex will be built using around three million tons per year of naphtha to make higher-value petrochemical products.

Another analyst questioned whether the project would come online in 2016, however.

tions against it can be eased.

A senior State Department official will travel to Tel Aviv on Friday to reaffirm the US commitment to Israel’s security.

“The toughest question we face is when is the (market) recovery due? Will demand recover fast enough? Aramco said the project will now be in 2016, but I doubt that will happen,” said Mazlan Razak of Nexant Asia Inc. Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo each own 37.5 percent of Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical, better known as Petro Rabigh.

The phase I Rabigh project was completed in 2009 at a cost of $10 billion. Aramco and Sumitomo signed an agreement on the plant expansion in that year with contracts for the work due to be announced by 2011.

In July last year, Dow Chemical Co announced a $20 billion investment with Saudi Aramco to build one of the world’s largest petrochemical facilities near Saudi Arabia’s vast oil and natural gas reserves. The joint venture, to be called Sadara Chemical Co, will annually produce more than three million metric tons of the chemical products and plastics used in packaging, furniture, electronics and scores of other consumer goods. -Reuters

Oman Islamic Bank Bizwa IPO oversubscribed

MUSCAT: The initial public offering of Omani lender Bank Nizwa, the sultanate’s first Islamic bank, is oversubscribed by at least 100 percent, a source familiar with the share listing said on Friday.

“The count is still ongoing but so far at least 100 percent of the IPO has been oversubscribed. The final count will be announced next week,” the source told Reuters. Bank Nizwa’s one month long IPO ended on May 22. It plans to raise 156 million US dollars by selling 40 percent of its capital in an initial public offering on the Muscat Securities Market.

The bank offered 600 million shares, with a par value of 102 baisas each.The bank is not yet operational and has only a representative office. Three branch openings are planned after the IPO. Bank Nizwa, sponsored by Al Khalili Group and other local shareholders, has a capital base of 150 million rials ($390 million) and the IPO is being managed by local lender Oman Arab Bank.

The shares are due to list on June 6 and the bank is expected to be operational by July this year. While neighboring Gulf states have ramped up Islamic finance services in recent years, Oman has stood out by refusing to participate in the industry, with its central bank head saying in 2007 “banks should be universal”. The central bank reversed that stance last year. Another Islamic bank under formation, Al Izz International Bank is expected to issue an IPO of 40 percent of its 100 million rials capital by June this year, central bank of Oman said earlier this year. Conventional lenders are also allowed to establish Islamic banking windows in the non-OPEC oil producer. -Reuters

Europe slowdown adds more tension to Greek drama CAPITALS: Europe’s economic slowdown has hit the engine-room of the euro zone, including Germany, gloomy new indicators have revealed, adding urgency to the region’s struggle to keep Greece’s debt crisis from tearing the single currency apart. So far, the 17-nation euro zone’s downturn has been confined mainly to its periphery, but an index measuring broad economic activity across the monetary union in May showed its weakest outcome since mid-2009, during the global financial crisis.

The composite PMI on Thursday indicated core nations such as Germany and France were being caught up in the downturn, even as they made contingency plans to deal with financial and economic turmoil in the event Greece quits the euro. Italy, which could be on the front line of speculative attacks on euro markets if Greece went back to the drachma, put a brave face on the situation, saying the most probable outcome was still that Greece would remain in the euro zone. “Anything can happen, but I think the most probable outcome is the one which is most positive for Greece and for all of us,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti told Italian TV. He said Greece’s euro zone partners had been wrong to insist on overly rapid reforms and fiscal adjustment, and that he did not expect it would be long before European countries were ready to introduce common euro zone bonds. “Italy is very much in favor of the creation of euro bonds when the time is right, and we do not expect it to be too far off,” Monti told an earlier news conference.

At least half of euro zone governments, as well as banks and large companies, are making contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the euro. Despite Monti’s comments, his deputy economy minister said Rome was ready for such a possibility.

Greek elections

Greek voters will signal their intentions at a fresh general election on June 17, a ballot that has turned into a referendum on whether Athens should continue with an austerity drive that is the price of continued fiscal support from its euro partners. Greece’s anti-bailout leftist SYRIZA party is maintaining a lead ahead of the elections, according to an opinion poll on Thursday. Greece held elections on May 6 but that vote left parliament divided evenly between groups

The negative tone to the market remained intact, however as US manufacturing growth slowed and China’s once booming factories faltered.

Offering a bright spot was the latest data from China indicating that its annual export and import growth showed signs of acceleration in the first 10 days of May. Iran accused world powers of creating “a difficult atmosphere” that hindered negotiations on its atomic energy program, stalling diplomatic work to defuse fears of an Iranian attempt to develop nuclear bombs.

After seeming conciliatory before the Baghdad talks, Iran insisted on its right to nuclear fuel enrichment.

Rising tension over the past year has pushed global oil prices upwards as the West has broadened sanctions to bar Iran’s crude oil exports.

Volumes were very low, with many traders in continental Europe and the United States winding down ahead of a long weekend.

“Over the weekend there will not be a strike on Iran or a miracle solution to Greece; hence even if we have a bit of book squaring today we expect today to be a low volume day,” Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix in Zug said in a note to clients.

In more news, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) reference crude oil basket price dropped further to $103.49 a barrel on Thursday, from $104.16 the previous day, OPEC said on Friday.

The reference basket comprises 12 crudes: Algeria’s Saharan Blend, Angola’s Girassol, Iran Heavy, Iraq’s Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider from Libya, Nigeria’s Bonny Light, Qatar Marine, Saudi Arabia’s Arab Light, Murban from the UAE, Venezuela’s Merey and Oriente from Ecuador. -Reuters

Germany, France, Italy and Spain on whether they would vote to keep the euro if their countries held a referendum tomorrow.

“Regardless of the turmoil and the debate that’s going on in these crucial countries, it would seem that for the time being, people want to stick with the euro,” said John Wright, senior vice president of global public affairs at Ipsos.

Many Greeks, though, are not taking chances on banks being able to keep their money safe and have resorted to hiding cash at home - creating a new target, police say, for gangs that usually prey on “hard targets” such as the banks themselves. No one knows how much cash is stashed in Greek homes - in cupboards, at the back of the ice-box, beneath the floor or under the mattress - but it could well be in the billions, and burglars are after their share of loot.

Euro bonds

FILE: A woman holds a cardboard reading in Greek ‘I’ m hungry’ on March 17, 2011 in central Athens. Europe’s economic slowdown has hit the engine-room of the euro zone, including Germany, gloomy new indicators have revealed, adding urgency to the region’s struggle to keep Greece’s debt crisis from tearing the single currency apart. (AFP)

of parties that support and oppose austerity conditions attached to a 130 billion euro ($164 billion) rescue agreed with lenders in March.

The Public Issue/Skai TV poll showed SYRIZA leading with 30 percent of the vote, four points ahead of the conservative New Democracy party, which is backing the bailout. If repeated on June 17, this would fall short of enabling SYRIZA to govern alone but give it a decisive role in forming a new government.

Greece’s deficit means that without the EU/IMF money, which would stop flowing if Athens were to tear up the agreement on reforms, it would not be able to pay salaries and would have to leave the euro zone and start printing its own currency.

However, another opinion poll indicated support for SYRIZA did not mean Greeks wanted to ditch the euro.

Three-quarters of decided Greek voters back the euro, according to an Ipsos poll, which surveyed people in Greece,

Common euro bonds, which would allow weaker nations like Greece to borrow with the collective backing of the bloc, are back on the agenda as Greece’s possible exit looms larger.

France’s election on May 6 of a Socialist president, Francois Hollande, has changed the tone of the debate on euro bonds. He urged a reluctant German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders at talks on Wednesday to consider recourse to euro bonds among other measures.

Merkel, seen as an architect of the austerity prescription for Greece, now looks increasingly vulnerable on the euro zone crisis. Other European leaders have rallied around Hollande’s call for a new emphasis on growth alongside debt-cutting.

On euro bonds, Germany’s opposition Social Democrats (SDP) and Greens have taken a similar line to Hollande. But there were signs on Thursday they might instead accept a compromise plan to mutualize only a proportion of members’ sovereign debts.

This would involve metalizing the debts of euro zone countries beyond 60 percent of GDP. The euro crisis has also thrown a spotlight on the vulnerability of commercial banks to a full-blown crisis of confidence in the single currency, especially in the indebted countries of southern Europe, such as Spain. -Reuters

Sports Editors Highlight

SPORTS

saturday, may 26, 2012

SPAIN: Spain’s goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas admits that the defending European and world champions could be their own worst enemies as they seek more glory at Euro 2012. Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque will name his final 23-man squad on Sunday, once the Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is out of the way. With so many key players involved in the final match of the domestic season, Del Bosque will be the last of the 16 coaches preparing for Euro 2012 to have his whole squad at his disposal.

However, Casillas says that must not be used as an excuse in the event of failure. “It is true that this training camp is a little different to what we are used to but that does not mean it is worse for any reason,” Spain’s most-capped player added. -AFP

Football

Teams looking to shine in Euro 2012 No Neymar, Ganso

for Brazil-Denmark friendly

FILE - A logo of Euro 2012 is displayed at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev during the ticket presentation on April 23, 2012. (AFP)

WARSAW, Poland: Playing at home will give Poland a huge boost, but it could still be tough to make it out of the first round. With the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal as possible quarterfinal opponents from Group B, the host nation is unlikely to make it into the semifinals.

Greece were drawn in a relatively easy group and have an excellent record under coach Fernando Santos (7-3-0 in qualifying), but getting through the first round of a major tournament still isn’t easy. Since their victory over Portugal eight years ago, the Greeks failed to get out of the group stage at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. The Russians excelled at the last European Championship, but despite winning their qualifying group last year they are not expected to be among the contenders in Poland and Ukraine. But with Andrei Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak up front, they should be scoring plenty of goals.The Czechs needed to go through the playoffs to reach Euro 2012. Heading into the final tournament, the 1976 champions are the lowest ranked team of the 14 qualifiers at No. 29. Only co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, who qualified automatically, are ranked lower.

Netherlands were put into the toughest group, but they should still be able to make it into the quarterfinals with Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder all threats up front. The team’s

final match against Portugal is likely to be decisive.

The Danes are the lowest ranked team in the group, and the biggest outsiders.

The 1992 champions will likely need all the other teams to beat each other for them to sneak through. Germany reached the final at Euro 2008 and the semifinals at the World Cup two years later, and they should be getting better. Bastian Schweinsteiger has become the heart of the team, but Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez and Mesut Oezil are the ones most likely to provide the goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo will have another chance to shine on the big stage, and he will have to carry Portugal if the Euro 2004 finalists want to make it into the quarter-finals. Among the top players in the world, Ronaldo has so far failed to play his best when wearing a Portugal shirt.

The defending champions from Spain are many people’s favorite to win another major title. The Spanish finally ended their 44-year drought at major tournaments when they beat Germany in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna, and then followed that up by winning their first World Cup trophy two years ago in Johannesburg. With Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta controlling play, they are a good bet to make it three in a row.

The Italians have been on the decline since winning their fourth World Cup title

in 2006, and despite winning their qualifying group they are not expected to challenge for the Euro 2012 championship.

But if Mario Balotelli makes the team and can showcase his skill, Italy could mount a championship run.

Ukraine has never before played at the European Championship, missing out on all four tournaments since it split from the Soviet Union. But as usual, home advantage should give the co-hosts a boost in what is likely to be a tough group.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the field, the Swedes should not be counted out.

The AC Milan striker can score some amazing goals, but he’ll have to get through the French and English defenses if Sweden is to have a hope of making a run at the title.

After infighting derailed their chances at the 2010 World Cup, France coach Laurent Blanc seems to have the team back on track. A two-time European champion, the French will be tough to stop with hard-running Franck Ribery and Samir Nasri in the attack.

The English will again be looking to win their first European Championship, but they will arrive with an aging defense, a new coach and a suspended Wayne Rooney (for the first two matches). If the English don’t win the group but still advance, a possible quarterfinal match against Spain could be the end. -AP

HAMBURG: Brazil will be without Neymar and Ganso for their friendly match with Denmark in Hamburg on Saturday, as the 2014 World Cup hosts prepare for the tournament against a side hoping for success at Euro 2012.

Brazil and Denmark have won once each in their two previous encounters. The Danes won 4-0 in Copenhagen in June 1989 while Brazil were 3-2 victors in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals in France.

After a 2011 season marred by their shock exit from the Copa America to lowly Paraguay in the quarter-final, the Selecao are playing only their second match of the year after a less-than-convicing 2-1 victory over Bosnia some three months ago.

Neymar and Ganso were given permission by the Brazil football federation (CBF) to play in Santos’ quarter-final Copa Libertadores clash with Velez Sarsfield of Argentina.

Ganso, who has a knee injury, may also miss the next three friendly matches against the United States on May 30 in Washington, Mexico on June 3 in Dallas and Argentina six days later in New Jersey.

Coach Mano Menezes, however, will be able to count on the Real Madrid defender Marcelo, Porto

Alegre forward Leandro Damian, Porto’s Hulk and central defender David Luiz, who was part of Chelsea’s successful Champions League-winning side.

AC Milan forward Pato was named in the squad on Thursday and said that he was “ready and physically strong” after more than a month out with a leg injury.

Brazil will be looking to shake off the disappointment of their previous visits to Germany, when they went out in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup to France and lost to Germany 3-2 in a friendly last August.

Danish coach Morten Olsen is using the match to fine-tune his final 23 for Poland and Ukraine, although goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, defenders Simon Kjaer (Roma) and Daniel Agger (Liverpool) seem assured of places, as does Ajax’s Christian Eriksen.

Denmark have been drawn in the so-called “group of death” with the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal.

The tiny Scandinavian country pulled off a shock win in the 1992 European championships after being called up at the last minute when Yugoslavia was excluded from the competition. -AFP

FILE - Brazil’s Neymar leaves the pitch after the Germany vs Brazil international friendly football match at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on Aug. 10, 2011. (AFP)

Torres excited by future after Chelsea talks ‘We don’t like favorites tag,’ says Ramos

FILE - Chelsea’s Fernando Torres (left) challenges Birmingham’s Curtis Davies during their FA Cup soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, Feb. 18, 2012. (AFP)

MADRID: Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has put a difficult season behind him and is itching to be part of the European champions’ future plans, the player said on Thursday following talks with the club’s hierarchy.

Torres voiced his concerns after being left out of Chelsea’s starting lineup for last weekend’s Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, saying he had been close to throwing in the towel.

“My goal was to talk to them at the end of the season, I needed to know what plans they had for me,” Torres said in an interview.

“We’ve talked and now I have no doubt what they expect of Fernando Torres. I just want to start next season as soon as possible.”

The 28-year-old moved to Chelsea from Liverpool in January 2011 for 50 million pounds but has struggled to rediscover the scoring touch that made him one of the hottest properties in the market.

“It was a mental block, I felt really bad,” he said. “I felt great on the pitch this season because I have become a more complete

player, but the ball did not go in. I felt I was never in the correct position.”

The news that talismanic striker Didier Drogba was leaving Stamford Bridge may have opened the door for a more regular place in Chelsea’s starting line up, but Torres did not see it that way.

“I can only wish Drogba the best and I feel proud to have shared so much with him,” Torres said. “I want to play with the best and he is one of the best. I do not understand why it has to be one or the other, and not both.”

Torres was left out of the Spain squad for their last friendly against Venezuela in February, when the man called up in his place, Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, scored a hat-trick, and the pacy forward’s place at Euro 2012 looked to be in doubt.

However, coach Vicente del Bosque brought him back into the fold on Monday, and he is likely to make the final cut when the world and European champions announce their 23-man squad for Poland and Ukraine on Sunday. -Reuters

MADRID: Reigning European and world champions Spain go into Euro 2012 as one of the favourites but it’s a tag the players would rather do without, defender Sergio Ramos told AFP. “We don’t really like being given this role,” he said at the squad’s training camp in the alpine resort of Schruns, Austria. “We’re aware that everyone sees us as favorites, since we won the World Cup and the Euro but you can’t live in the past. We need to prove ourselves every day and start again from scratch.”

In their first Group C match on June 10, Spain will come up against 2006 world champions Italy, before also facing Ireland and Croatia.

“I don’t think you can underestimate anyone,” Ramos continued. “In this kind of competition, any team can create a surprise. That’s why you have to take everyone seriously because any team, maybe lesser known ones than Germany or the Netherlands, can sneak into the semifinal. So you have to take it step by step with a lot of calm.”

With Barcelona captain Carles Puyol and prolific striker David Villa injured, Spain will be missing two players whose performances were crucial to the squad’s 2010 World Cup and 2008 European championship wins.

“It’s always rather sad news when these players who make a difference and are important for their club and for the national team are not here,” noted Ramos. “We will miss them both. But it’s also true that nobody is indispensable.

“We are lucky to have a great number of

Spanish players who can make a difference and want a place in the squad.”

Coach Vicente del Bosque called up many new names to the team’s Austrian training camp, as stars from Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao were unable to attend due to Friday’s Copa del Rey final. He was expected to give his final list for the Euro on Sunday.

The European Championship in Poland and

Ukraine could be La Roja’s chance to make it into the record books, by becoming the first nation ever to win three major international competitions in a row. “We want to make history, to do something nobody has ever done before: to be European champions, world champions and European champions again,” said Ramos.

“We’re looking forward to this tournament with a lot of hope.” -AFP

FILE - Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (center) celebrates past team mates Sergio Ramos (left), Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo during their Spanish first division soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, April 29, 2012. (AFP)

Former Argentina coach flies in for Shenhua

CHINA: Former Argentina manager Sergio Daniel Batista arrived in China on Friday and is expected to take charge of Nicolas Anelka’s Shanghai Shenhua in the coming days. Batista, who led Argentina to Olympic gold in 2008, looks set to take the hot seat vacated by Frenchman Jean Tigana, who was sacked last month by the ambitious Chinese Super League club. “He arrived this morning,” a club official told AFP, but declined to say when Batista would take over and he is yet to formally sign a contract. The Argentine is

however expected to be in place after observing Sunday’s match between struggling Shenhua and fifth-placed Guizhou Renhe, the Oriental Sports Daily said. Batista touched down in Shanghai with several assistant coaches and Shenhua fans greeted him at the airport, the Xinmin Evening news said.

Star French striker Anelka has been acting as player-coach while Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibenge -- a former DR Congo national manager -- served as acting head coach following Tigana’s bitter departure. The appointment

of a new head coach has apparently upset Anelka, who in an interview with a Chinese newspaper threatened to quit, but on Thursday blamed a lack of communication and said he would stay. Anelka, the most high-profile foreign footballer to sign for the Chinese league, joined Shenhua in January on a twoyear contract for a reported salary of 234,000 euros ($307,000) a week. Shenhua are also seeking to snap up Anelka’s former Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba, fresh from his Champions League triumph. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

saturDAY, may 26, 2012

Basketball

Dynamic duo leads Miami back to Eastern finals INDIANAPOLIS: With another season on the brink, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James took their two-man game to new heights.

Just like that, the Miami Heat and a Big ThreeMinus-One are headed back to the Eastern Conference finals.Wade scored 41 points, James added 28 and the Heat finished off the once-frisky Indiana Pacers 105-93 in Game 6 Thursday night, advancing to face either Boston or Philadelphia in the next round.

One week earlier, Miami was down 2-1 after getting thumped 94-75 in Indianapolis. The firedup Pacers had another game on their home court and a chance to build a commanding lead.The Heat rallied from an early 11-point deficit, riding the hot hand of Wade in the opening half. He scored 26 points by the break, tying Tim Hardaway’s 16-yearold franchise record for most playoff points in the first two quarters. James hit consecutive baskets with just over a minute remaining to close it out.

David West led Indiana with 24 points and all five starters were in double figures. Balance, it turned out, The Pacers tied it at 66 on Darren Collison’s 3-pointer, but it was all Heat the rest of the period. They closed on a 13-3 run, capped by Mario Chalmers’ buzzer-beating 3 from the corner.

Wade, who was on the bench getting his customary breather at the end of the quarter, leaped from his seat as the ball left Chalmers’ hand at the far end, raced along the baseline and pumped his fist when it swished.

When Chalmers raced toward the Miami bench, Wade greeted him near the free throw line with a low-five.

Toughness wasn’t the problem this time. This was merely a Miami team on a mission, a mission that began in the summer of 2010 when the Heat signed James and Bosh to join Wade in a seemingly unbeatable trio. There was a glitzy introduction and predictions of multiple championships, which left the rest of the league seething and plenty of people cheering when Miami was knocked off in the NBA finals by the Dallas Mavericks last season.

Shaking off that disappointment, James had

7

Tennis

Djokovic finds Federer in way of history

PARIS: Novak Djokovic’s bid to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time hit its first hurdle on Friday when Roger Federer became a potential French Open semi-final opponent.

World number one Djokovic, three times a semifinalist in Paris, is the top seed at Roland Garros with Federer, the 2009 champion, seeded three and Friday’s draw pitted them in the same, imposing section.

Djokovic starts against Italy’s Potito Starace and could face Australia’s former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, playing in Paris on a wildcard, in the second round.

Adding spice to the top half of the draw is the presence of dangerous Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, who could face Federer in the fourth round.

Ninth seed Del Potro is the only player outside of the big three to have won a Grand Slam title in the last seven years.

Three years ago, the 23-year-old Del Potro took Federer to a five-set thriller in the semi-finals. Federer starts against Germany’s Tobias Kamke with big-hitting David Nalbandian a possible second round foe and Czech Tomas Berdych a potential quarter-final opponent.

In the women’s draw, top seed Victoria Azarenka begins against Italian Alberta Brianti while world number two Maria Sharapova starts against Alexandra Cadantu of Romania.

Azarenka, twice a quarter-finalist, has an injury concern having been forced to quit her fourth round match in Rome because of a shoulder problem.

Azarenka has US Open winner Samantha Stosur as a possible quarter-final match-up.

Sharapova and 2002 champion Serena Williams could meet in a mouthwatering quarterfinal.

Sharapova, a semi-finalist in 2007 and 2011, and Williams are the form players going into Roland Garros. The Russian won on clay in Stuttgart and Rome while Williams claimed the Charleston and Madrid titles before withdrawing from her Rome semifinal with back pain.

Defending champion Li Na of China starts against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea while Williams begins against France’s Virginie Razzano. -AFP

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (3) goes in for a dunk against Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) and David West (21) during Game 6 of their NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal, May 24, 2012. (AP)

perhaps his greatest season yet. But it was Wade who took control in the decisive game against the Pacers. He sliced into the lane, throwing up a one-handed shot that looked like it might go over the backboard, only to catch the top of the glass and drop through, barely touching the twine. He delivered one final blow when he split West and George Hill, banking in the shot despite taking a knee from Hill that sent the Heat guard tumbling to the court.

Chalmers finished with 15 points, while Mike Miller stepped up to provide some quality minutes, scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers to help fill the void without Haslem, Pittman and Bosh.

When Miller wasn’t in the game, he stretched out along the baseline to cope with his various aches and pains, more comfortable that way than sitting in a chair. When coach Erik Spoelstra called his number, Miller summoned several of his teammates to help lift him up. -AP

Formula one

F1 feels at home in Monaco MONACO: It is hard to improve on Nelson Piquet’s description of the Monaco Grand Prix as like trying to ride a bicycle around his living room.

Not only are the twisting, metal-fenced streets of the principality narrow and lined with numerous hazardous obstacles ready to trip the unwary, but they bring with them an unexpected homeliness. Silverstone, Suzuka and Monza all have their special characteristics, particularly the thrill of racing on such fast and demanding layouts, but nowhere are the Formula One drivers more at home than slow-speed Monaco.

Most of those on the starting grid live, have lived or will live in Monaco at some time in their careers. Some have even grown up there.

The billionaires have their floating palaces,

bobbing on the not-so sparkling waters of the crowded harbor, celebrities and fashionistas can shop all day while gamblers fritter away fortunes in the imposing casino.

The racing community can meanwhile get on with something approaching normal life. For Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 champion Keke and now a race winner in his own right, the track brings memories of the school run, either rumbling through the tunnel on the bus or in the passenger seat of his mother’s car.

“I’ve grown up here, all my friends are here and my family, I know everybody and it’s very special to race here,” said the German in a Mercedes preview for the 70th running of the sport’s glamour event.

McLaren’s 2008 world champion Lewis Ham-

Williams Formula One driver Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela drives during the first practice session of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, May 24, 2012.

(Reuters)

Lotus the team to beat, says Button MONACO: McLaren’s Jenson Button set the pace in a rain-hit practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday but kept a wary eye on rivals Lotus. Button, a winner around the treacherous metal-ringed street circuit in his 2009 title season with Brawn GP, skimmed the barriers and roared past the luxury yachts bobbing in the harbour with a fastest time of one minute 15.746 seconds on super-soft tyres.

“We have not done a lot of running for a Thursday at Monaco so hopefully Saturday will be a bit better,” he said looking forward to qualifying, with Friday a rest day in the principality. “The cars that looked very fast for me were the Lotuses. Their runs whenever they are out look very competitive, so I’d say the Lotus is the car to beat so far this weekend.” Button’s time was set in the dry as drivers got in quick laps in the first 15 minutes before the rainclouds darkened the skies and made conditions slippery.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean burnished his hopes of becoming his country’s first Formula One winner in Monaco since Olivier Panis in a wet 1996

with the second-fastest time for Lotus in both sessions. “I like Monaco, it’s good fun. The car is going well at the moment so let’s see what we can do later on. It’s important to have a car that you are confident with and work every single detail because it makes such a big difference,” he said.

A win by Grosjean or team mate Kimi Raikkonen would give Formula One a first of having six different winners from six different teams in the first six races. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso had showed his Monaco mastery in the morning with a pace-setting 1:16.265 in a sunny session cut short in a cloud of smoke when Heikki Kovalainen’s Caterham blew its engine in the tunnel.

The Spaniard, twice a winner in Monaco with Renault and McLaren, was fourth in the afternoon without fitting the super-soft tires. Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa, under intense pressure to deliver after scoring just two points in five races, was an encouraging third in the second session.

Mexican Sergio Perez, returning to the scene of his big accident in qualifying last year, had been third in the morning for Sauber with race favourite

ilton, a favorite for Sunday’s race, arrived only this year but has already fallen in love with a daily workout routine that involves jogging through the same tunnel.

“I love it here. To be able to wake up in your own bed and drive just down the road and be at work is a fantastic feeling,” said the 27-year-old, who found his previous residence in Switzerland too quiet for his liking.

“It’s incredible to run around your favorite circuit every day. I go through the tunnel and I just cannot believe that I’m here,” he added.

“You have to pinch yourself every day, thinking ‘Wow, I’m running through the tunnel that the greats like Michael (Schumacher) and Ayrton (Senna) used to race around and now I’m one of those drivers but also living here’.”

Racing drivers rarely get to spend much time at home in a packed season, with 20 races and an increasing number of long haul destinations, so every opportunity is to be treasured.

In a world of hectic PR appointments, sponsor photo-shoots and travelling, Monaco allows a rare escape even on a crowded grand prix weekend.

“For sure it’s really good to be here and to race at the same time.

I can sleep a little bit more as well, so it’s good,” said Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, winner of the Spanish Grand Prix for Williams last time out and a Monaco resident since last year.

For drivers, this is a race where the excitement can literally be seen building up as the scaffolding for grandstands is erected weeks in advance and barriers are bolted together.

There is also the camaraderie that comes with being part of any small, highly focused community. Drivers such as McLaren’s Jenson Button, Force India’s Paul Di Resta and ex-Red Bull racer David Coulthard cycle and run together in the Mediterranean sunshine. The locals also become part of the event. -Reuters

Lewis Hamilton fourth for McLaren.

The largely incident-free first session was redflagged with just over nine minutes to go when Kovalainen’s car blew its engine and filled the tunnel - the fastest point of the circuit - with smoke.

Kovalainen parked up at the tunnel exit as drivers threaded their way through the smoke. With oil also deposited on the track, organizers decided not to re-start the session.

That left 2007 champion Raikkonen at the bottom of the timing screens after the Finn completed an installation lap but failed to set a time. He sat out the rest of the session as mechanics worked on his car.

“The steering wasn’t to my liking so the team changed it for me,” said Raikkonen. “It’s something you change for Monaco and there’s no way of knowing what it will be like beforehand.”

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, surprise winner for Williams at the last race in Spain but now among the favorites at a track he loves, was again among the frontrunners with the fifth fastest time in both sessions. -Reuters

Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand against Roger Federer of Switzerland in their semifinal match during day eight of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012, May 19, 2012. (AFP)

Nadal gets kind draw at French Open PARIS: Six-times champion Rafa Nadal was given a smooth-looking path to the French Open final while world number one Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer looked set for a possible semi-final clash in the other half of the draw made on Friday.

The Spanish second seed, who appeared to be back to his awe-inspiring best on clay in Rome earlier this month after an unfortunate slip-up on the Madrid blue surface, could face Briton Andy Murray in the semifinals.

The defending champion will need, however, to keep up his guard in a firstround encounter with Italian Simone Bolelli before a likely match against claycourt specialist Juan Monaco of Argentina in the third round.

Sixth seed David Ferrer of Spain also lies in Nadal’s lower half of the draw, as does compatriot Nicolas Almagro, the 12th seed.

Djokovic, looking to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four grandslam titles concurrently, faces a possible tricky fourth round against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, while local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the fifth seed, would be around the corner in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic, who was defeated by Nadal in the Rome final in straight sets, will start his campaign against Italy’s Potito Starace.

Federer, the third seed, could take on David Nalbandian, twice a semifinalist at Roland Garros, in the second round as the injury-plagued Argentine has dropped to 40th in the ATP rankings.

Federer, who reached last year’s final after an epic semifinal clash with Djokovic, starts his quest for a 17th grand-slam title against German Tobias Kamke.

In the women’s draw, the Roland Garros crowd could be treated to a quarter-final tie between second seed Maria Sharapova and fifth-seeded Serena Williams.

Defending champion Li Na, seeded seventh, is in the same half of the draw and takes on Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the first round.

In the upper part of the draw, world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus faces a possible quarter-final meeting with 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur.

A second-round clash between the unseeded Venus Williams and third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska is on the cards in that half of the draw. The French Open starts on Sunday. -Reuters

8

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DOCTORS & DENTISTS

I N PR I VAT E PR AC T ICE

Andrology, Male Infertility and Impotence Specialist Abdullatif A. Al Salim 2533 4438

Dermatologist & Venereologists Fahad I. Al Othman 2266 5166 Taibah M. Almonayes 2573 7477 Dr. Mohamed Bo Hamra 2266 5166

Dentists & Oral Surgeons Ahmed Al Balool 2262 2211 Badri K. Al Rayes 2574 2557 Duha Al Shaqan 2264 4614 Ebraheem Behbehani 2573 0000 Farida Al Herz 2257 3883 Maria Blanaru 2573 0000 Najat Essa-Bahman 2262 4595 Najeeb Kassim 2573 9277 Salwa A. Abdulsalam 2573 0000 Kuwait Medical Center 2575 9044 / 5 Endocrinologists Latifa Al Dowaisan Kamal Abdulaziz Al Shome

Gastroenterologist Mohamed A. Al Shimali 2532 2030 - 2263 9955 Urologist Fawzi Taher Abul Ali Yousef Mehdi

2565 0064 2533 3501

General Practitioner Dina Al Rifai 2533 3501 - 2533 3502 Obstetricians & Gynecologists Samira Al Awadi 2573 8055 Ma’asouma Maksheed 2573 1275 Mohamed Gamal 2534 9077 Mai Al Snan 2532 1171

2572 8004 2532 9924

Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeons Hossam Eldin Abdulfattah 2574 5056 Abdulmohsen Mousa Jafar 2565 5535

Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Adel Quttainah

2562 5030 / 60

Ministries

Awqaf & Islamic Affairs Commerce & Industry Communications Defense Education Health Higher Education Electricity & Water Finance

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Foreign Affairs Housing Information Justice, Legal & Administrative Affairs Energy Planning Social Affairs & Labour Public Works

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

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

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

Gulf Royal Tel: 23925390-Fintas 22622556-Hawalli 25710448-Salmiya 22244795-Marina

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Mugal Mahal Farwaniya Tel: 24726126/7 Fintas Tel: 23915588 Salmiya Tel: 25722223/4 Sharq Tel: 22425132

• Continental Casper & Gambini’s Kuwait City Tel: 22430054 La Marina Sharq Mall Tel: 22426672 • Fast Food Burger King Tel: 22444466 Domino’s Pizza Tel: 1800800 Hardees Tel: 1888333 KFC Tel: 1888666 Little Caesar’s Tel: 1888855 Pizza Hut

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Tel: 22997000

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Beit 7 Kuwait City Tel: 22450871 Café Rio Al-Fanar Tel: 25732226 Dunes Ritz Hotel Tel: 22499911 Failaka Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Tel: 23931000 La Brasserie JW Marriott Tel: 22455550 Ritz Shamiya Tel: 24820184 Shuwaikh Tel: 24844350 Square International Tel: 22437681 Test n’ Taste Villa Moda Tel: 24827010 Teatro Hilton Kuwait Resort Tel: 23725500

Kuwait City Tel: 22400737

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

Sakura Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

AlRoshinah Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

Shogun The Palms Hotel Tel: 27070022

Il Forno Restaurant Courtyard Marriot Hotel Tel: 22997000 Johnny Carino’s Salmiya Tel: 22667050 La Piazza Kuwait City Tel: 24246639 Lorenzo

Manousha Salmiya Tel: 25722607 / 8

Al-Noukhaza Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

Fakhr Al-Din Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22423180

Villa Fairouz Shaab Tel: 22652030

Shrimpy Gulf Road Tel: 22563118 Totally Fish Marina Crescent Tel: 22244960/1

Garden New Park Hotel Tel: 25634200

Yeldes Palace Kuwait City Tel: 22455212

Kabab-Ji Tel: 1861616

Zahrat Tunis Hawalli Tel: 22662444/333

Mais Al-Ghanim Kuwait City Tel: 22402590

• Persian Kabab Al-Hijja Bnaid Al-Gar Tel: 22517512

Palm Palace Salmiya Tel: 25756331 Saj Express Kuwait City Tel: 22497822 Sarai Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253180/1 Shisha &

Sushi Club Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25712144 Wasabi Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253112 Kuwait City Tel: 22494000 • Lebanese Al-Berdawny Palace Tel: 25661117 Ayam Zaman Holiday Inn Tel: 18477777 Burg Al-Hamam Gulf Road Tel: 22529095

• Steak House Relais De L’Entrecote Al-Fanar Complex Tel: 25729600 Terrace Grill JW Marriott Hotel Tel: 22455550

Shabistan Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

The Gaucho Grill The Palms Hotel Tel: 25667370 -

• Seafood Al-Ahmadi Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

• Tex-Mex Chi Chi’s Salmiya Tel: 25625811

Al-Boom Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25756000

Tumbleweed Southern Grill Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253154/5

Maki Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25733561 Marina Waves Tel: 22244560

Flavors Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

• Italian Ciro’s Pomodoro Kuwait City Tel: 22424004

Saj Express Kuwait City Tel: 22497822

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Salmiya - Jabriya - Keifan www.healthstop.com.kw

HOTELS

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TWO STAR International Hotel Kuwait Residence Hotel

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LIFE

Keep Magnets Away From Children

Small magnets that dislodge from toys or products for adults pose choking and ingestion hazards. If swallowed by young children, they can lead to choking or serious injury to the stomach and digestive tract. The American Academy of Pediatrics mentions these guidelines for parents to help prevent magnet-related injuries: • Never allow very young children to play with or touch objects that contain magnets.

• Carefully watch older children who play with such toys.

• Don’t purchase large sets of magnets, in groups of more than 100, because it’s difficult to keep track of any that are missing.

• Make sure teens understand the serious dangers of using magnets as fake piercings.

saturDAY, May 26, 2012

Giant telescope to explore far reaches of cosmos LONDON/AMSTERDAM: The world’s biggest and most advanced radio telescope, capable of detecting signs of extraterrestrial life in the far reaches of the universe, will be located in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The decision to split the location of the $2 billion “Square Kilometer Array” followed intense lobbying by the two leading bidders, South Africa one side and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand on the other.

Scientists leading the project rejected the suggestion that the decision, which will mean higher costs, meant science had taken a back seat to political expediency.

“I can’t deny there is a political aspect to the process because when you are spending very large amounts of public money, politicians are going to be interested,” said John Womersley, Chair of the Board of Directors of the SKA organization.

“However the decision we took is scientifically motivated, which in no way compromises the scientific capabilities,” he said on Friday.

There is already infrastructure in South Africa and Australia, including radio telescope dishes that were built as precursors to the new array. They will now be incorporated into the SKA. The consortium estimates that the decision to split the project will add about 10 percent to the 350 million euro ($440 million) budget for the first phase of construction. When completed in 2024 the telescope will be made up of 3,000 dishes, each 15 meters (50 feet) wide, together with many more antennae, that together will give a receiver surface area of a square kilometer.

Scanning the sky 10,000 times faster and with 50 times the sensitivity of any other telescope, it will be able to see 10 times further into the universe and detect signals that are 10 times older.

It will be used to study the origins of the universe and will be able to detect very weak signals that could indicate the presence of extraterrestrial life. “This hugely important step for the project allows us to progress the design and prepare for the construction phase of the telescope,” said Michiel van Haarlem, Director General of the consortium.

“The SKA will transform our view of the universe; with it we will see back to the moments after the Big Bang and discover previously unexplored parts of the cosmos.”

Womersley said the telescope will help scientists understand what the universe is made of “because one of the most surprising discoveries of the past decade has been that 95 to 96 percent of the

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project is seen in his artists impression image made available by the Manchester based SKA Organization, May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

universe is not made of atoms, not made of stuff in the periodic table, but made of things we don’t understand at all, dark matter, and dark energy.”

Flood of Data

The SKA is more than just a scientific bauble.

Global tech companies are already earmarking development funds linked to the project, which will rely on computing technology that does not even exist yet to process the flood of data it will collect.

Scientists estimate that the SKA will need processing power equivalent to several million of today’s fastest computers.

International Business Machines Corp and Astron, the Netherlands institute for radio astronomy, announced in April a 33 million euro ($42 million), five-year deal to develop extremely fast computer systems with low power requirements for the SKA project.

“If you take the current global daily Internet traffic and multiply it by two, you are in the range

of the data set that the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope will be collecting every day,” said IBM Researcher Ton Engbersen at the announcement of the deal.

Other companies that have signed partnership agreements with the project include Nokia-Siemens, BAE Systems PLC, Cisco Systems Inc and Selex Galileo, a UK unit of Italian group Finmeccanica SpA. The engineering and computing challenges are significant, not least the provision of power to run the array and the supercomputers in remote locations away from the radio interference of towns and cities.

It is overcoming those challenges that the leaders of the project argue could lead to untold spinoffs for industry. They point to Wi-Fi technology as one of the best known commercial applications to come from radio astronomy, for instance.

The first phase of construction is set to start in 2016 completion is penciled in for 2023. -Reuters

Climate pact process stumbles as countries bicker PARIS: Less than six months after the world agreed to craft a new climate pact by 2015, negotiations stumbled in a crucial preparatory phase Friday as rich and poor countries butted heads.

As horns locked over who will lead negotiations towards a post-2020 deal to roll back Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions, the United States and Europe accused other participants of obstructing progress at an 11-day meet in Bonn.

“There is a kind of division in the room, a small group holding up what the rest of the room does,” European Commission chief climate negotiator Arthur Runge Metzger told journalists on the concluding day.

“We will have to do more convincing with that group of like-minded countries,” which included China, he said.

“We were disappointed and frustrated that discussions at this meeting focused largely on procedural issues,” added US negotiator Jonathan Pershing.

Some parties were attempting to “renegotiate agreements we have already reached,” he added, refusing to name names.

On Thursday, China rejected accusations by Western delegates that it was holding up progress, insisting it was the United States, Europe and other rich states seeking to “evade legally binding commitments”.

These countries, Chinese negotiator Su Wei told AFP, wanted to shift the focus away from already existing emission targets to as yet undefined commitments under the so-called Durban Platform agreed in South Africa in December.

Countries agreed in Durban to draft a new climate deal within four years to bind all nations to emission

cuts, not just developed states as is the case now.

But efforts to kickstart the Durban process floundered in Bonn, with a clear divide between developed and developing nations on apportioning responsibility for curbing global warming.

Fast-growing countries like China insist the West, which has been polluting more for longer, should shoulder more of the mitigation burden.

UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said progress on setting a workplan for the ADP, the body that will lead the negotiations for the new deal, had been complicated as “all parties needed reassurances from each other”.

Talks, meanwhile, to elect a chairman for the ADP broke down on Friday, as conference chairwoman Sandea de Wet warned delegates that “the window of opportunity is very slowly closing down on us.”

China and its allies want India to chair the ADP, on the grounds that it is the Asia-Pacific bloc’s turn to steer a subsidiary body under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The other candidates are Norway and the Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago.”This is a sad state of affairs,” South African climate ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko told delegates as she announced that for the first time since the UNFCCC was created 20 years ago, a lack of consensus may force an election to be held.

“All parties have confirmed to me they do not want to go this way, it is not in the culture of this structure, consensus is the norm,” she said.

Last-ditch negotiations to avoid a secret ballot were under way Friday afternoon.

Some heavy kids at risk of blindness, study says CONNECTICUT: Some overweight or obese children are at increased risk for a brain condition that can lead to blindness, a new study shows.

The risk of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) -- also called pseudotumor cerebri -- is especially high in older white girls, according to the Kaiser Permanente researchers.

People with the condition have increased pressure around the brain that is not caused by other diseases.

Symptoms include headache, blurred vision, nausea and eye movement abnormalities. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension can lead to blindness in up to 10 percent of patients, particularly if not diagnosed and treated promptly.

The researchers analyzed data from 900,000 children, aged 2 to 19, and identified 78 cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Eighty-five percent of the

patients with the condition were girls aged 11 to 19, nearly half were white and 73 percent were overweight or obese.

Compared to normal weight children, the risk was 16 times higher in extremely obese children, six times higher in moderately obese children and 3.5 times higher in overweight children.

“Childhood obesity has again been shown to be associated with a serious disease,” study author Dr. Sonu Brara, of the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Neurology Department, said in a Kaiser news release.

“This research is the strongest evidence to date that obesity is associated with IIH in children -- it also suggests that the childhood obesity epidemic is likely to lead to increased morbidity from IIH, including blindness,” Brara added.

SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with space station CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured Space Exploration Technologies’ Dragon cargo ship and guided it into a berth on Friday, docking the first privately owned vehicle to reach the orbital outpost.

Using the station’s 58-foot long (17.7-meter) robotic crane, NASA astronaut Don Pettit snared Dragon at 9:56 a.m. EDT (1356 GMT) as the two spacecraft zoomed 250 miles over northwest Australia at 17,500 miles per hour.

“It looks like we’ve got us a dragon by the tail,” Pettit radioed to NASA Mission Control in Houston.

The capsule, built and operated by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, is the first of two new commercial freighters NASA will use to fly cargo to the $100 billion outpost following the retirement of the space shuttles last year. The United States plans to buy commercial flight services for its astronauts as well, breaking Russia’s monopoly on flying crews to the station.

Dragon blasted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday. The space station crew anchored it into the station’s Harmony connecting node around noon on Friday.

After a successful pass by the station on Thursday to test its navigation and communications systems, Dragon proceeded at a snail’s pace on Friday, stopping, starting and occasionally retreating to make sure it could be controlled.

At one point, the SpaceX ground operations team in Hawthorne, California, halted Dragon to adjust the capsule’s laser imaging system, which it uses to see the station. Sensors were picking up stray reflections from the station’s Japanese module, said NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly.

Dragon ended up using just one of its two laser imaging systems for the final approach to the station, a bit dicey because a failure would have triggered an automatic abort. But one eye was all Dragon needed to position itself 30 feet beneath the station and within arm’s reach of the robotic crane that would haul it up for berthing. “”Congratulations on a wonderful capture,” astronaut Megan Behnken radioed to the station crew from Mission Control. “”You’ve made a lot of folks happy down here, over in Hawthorne and right here in Houston. Great job, guys.” SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk said he got a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama after Dragon reached orbit on its second and most likely final test flight. “”Caller ID was blocked, so at first I thought it was a telemarketer,” Musk wrote in a Twitter message.

Dragon Delivers

The Dragon capsule is carrying about 1,200 pounds (544 kg) of food, water, clothing and supplies for the station crew. It will be repacked with more than 1,300 pounds (590 kg) of equipment to come back to Earth and depart the station on May 31.

It would splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California later that day.

Dragon’s successful test flight will clear SpaceX to begin working off its 12flight, $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly cargo to and from the station.

A second freighter being developed by Orbital Sciences Corp is expected to debut later this year. Orbital holds a second NASA cargo delivery contract worth $1.9 billion.

The Obama administration is pushing Congress to embrace similar partnership arrangement for commercial space taxis to fly astronauts as well. Legislators last year halved Obama’s request for space taxi design work to $406 million. Proposed spending plans for the year beginning October 1 would cut the White House’s $830 million request to no more than $525 million. -Reuters

Dinosaur with tiny arms unearthed in Argentina PARIS: Argentine experts have discovered the near-complete remains of a new species of Jurassic-era dinosaur that stood on its rear legs and had tiny arms, according to a leading paleontologist.

The find belongs to the Abelisaurus family, “the most common carnivorous species in the southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous Period,” some 70 to 100 million years ago, paleontologist Diego Pol told AFP on Thursday.

“However the fossils that we found are some 170 million years old,” from the earlier Jurassic Period, Pol said.

The creature looks a bit like a scaleddown Tyrannosaurus rex, but with even smaller arms.

The new species, baptized Eoabelisaurus mefi, predates the oldest known

member of the Abelisauri lineage by more than 40 million years.

Unlike its descendants, this six-meter (20-foot) long creature creature “has completely reduced arms and tiny claws, which implies that it used only its very sharp teeth to feed itself,” Pol said.

Abelisauri remains have been found only in the southern hemisphere.

Experts believe a great desert in the Earth’s single land mass at the time, Pangea, could have acted as a geographic barrier, preventing the species from spreading north.

The fossils were discovered on Condor Hill, in the southern Patagonian province of Chubut, some 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) southwest of Buenos Aires.

A 25-member team from the Edi-

gio Feruglio Museum of Paleontology in Chubut discovered the creature’s cranium and vertebrae during a dig in 2009.

The team was forced to abandon the expedition when winter approached, and returned the next year during the summer, when “we found the animal’s whole articulated skeleton,” Pol said.

Argentina earned fame as a prime site for dinosaur fossil hunters with several discoveries in the 1980s, including the Argentinosaurus Huinculensis, a giant herbivore more than 40 meters (131 feet) long that lived 98 million years ago.

In 1993, scientists in Argentina found the remains of the Giganotosaurus Carolinii, a T-Rex type creature that is the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever found.

-AFP

Global warming winner: Once rare butterfly thrives

WASHINGTON: Global warming is rescuing the once-rare brown Argus butterfly, scientists say.

Man-made climate is threatening the existence of many species, such as the giant polar bear. But in the case of the small drab British butterfly, it took a species in trouble and made it thrive.

It’s all about food. Over about 25 years, the butterfly went from in trouble to pushing north in Britain where it found a veritable banquet. Now the butterfly lives in twice as large an area as it once did and is not near threatened, according to a study in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.

Decades ago, the brown Argus “was sort of a special butterfly that you would have to go to a special place to see and now it’s a butterfly you can see in regular farmland or all over the place,” said study co-author Richard Fox, an ecologist at Butterfly Conservation, a science and advocacy group in the United Kingdom.

Global warming helping the brown Argus is unusual compared to other species and that’s why scientists are studying it more, said study co-author Jane Hill, a professor of ecology at the University of York.

Biologists expect climate change to create winners and losers in species.

Stanford University biologist Terry Root, who wasn’t part of this study, estimated that for every winner like the brown Ar-

This undated photo provided by Butterfly Conservation shows a brown Argus butterfly. Global warming is rescuing the once-rare small British butterfly, according to a study in the journal Science published on Thursday, May 24, 2012. (AP)

gus there are three loser species, like the cuckoo bird in Europe. Hill agreed that it’s probably a three-to-one ratio of climate change losers to winners.

As the world warms, the key interactions between species break down because the predator and prey may not change habitats at the same time, meaning some species will move north to cooler climes and won’t find enough to eat, Root said.

“There are just so many species that are going to go extinct,” Root said.

What makes the brown Argus different is that it found something new to eat, something even better than its old food, the less common rockrose plant, Hill said.

The new food is a geranium and it is more widespread.

“It’s almost like the whole of the buffet is now open to it,” Hill said. -AP

10

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

saturDAY, May 26, 2012

Caveman flutists?

First instruments date back 40,000 years NEW YORK: Early modern humans could have spent their evenings sitting around the fire, playing bone flutes and singing songs 40,000 years ago, newly discovered ancient musical instruments indicate according to LiveScience. The bone flutes push back the date researchers think human creativity evolved.

Researchers were studying a modern human settlement called Gei’enkl�sterle, a part of the Swabian caves system in southern Germany, when they came across the bone flutes. One is made of mammoth ivory, while the other seems to be made of bones from a bird. They also found a collection of perforated teeth, ornaments and stone tools at the site. “These results are consistent with a hypothesis we made several years ago that the Danube River was a key corridor for the movement of humans and technological innovations into central Europe between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago,” study researcher Nick Conard, of T­bingen University, said in a statement. “Gei’enkl�sterle is one of several caves in the region that has produced important examples of personal ornaments, figurative art, mythical imagery and musical instruments. The new dates prove the great antiquity of the Aurignacian in Swabia.” The Aurignacian refers to an ancient culture and the associated tools.

Old bones

The flutes are the earliest record of technological and artistic innovations that are characteristic of the Aurignacian period. This culture also created the oldest known example of art meant to represent a person, found in the same cave system in 2008 (that statue seems to be about 35,000 years old).

The musical instruments indicate that these early humans were sharing songs and showing artistic creativity even earlier than previously thought.

The researchers radiocarbon-dated bones found in the same layer of the archaeological dig

FILE - 40,000 year old flute from the site of Gei’enkl sterle made from bird bones. (Agencies)

as the flutes. This carbon dating uses the level of radioactive carbon, which is naturally occurring in the world and decays predictably into nonradioactive carbon, to estimate the age of organic materials. They found the objects were between 42,000 and 43,000 years old, belonging to the Aurignacian culture dating from the upper Paleolithic period. So far, these dates are the earliest for the Aurignacian and predate equivalent sites from Italy, France, England and other regions.

The results indicate that modern humans entered the Upper Danube region before an extremely cold climatic phase around 39,000 to 40,000 years ago, the researchers said. “Modern

humans during the Aurignacian period were in central Europe at least 2,000 to 3,000 years before this climatic deterioration, when huge icebergs calved from ice sheets in the northern Atlantic and temperatures plummeted,” study researcher Tom Higham, of Oxford University, said in a statement.

“The question is what effect this downturn might have had on the people in Europe at the time.”

This site was inhabited by modern humans, the researchers said, but it’s possible that Neanderthals were also in the area at the same time, though they haven’t been able find evidence of any cultural contact or interbreeding between the two groups in this part of Europe.

9,000-year-old Neolithic mask to be auctioned in June NEW YORK: A 9,000-year-old limestone mask, the oldest art object ever offered at Christie’s, could sell for up to $600,000 when it goes under the hammer in June, the auction house said on Wednesday.

The rare Neolithic limestone mask, which evokes a human skull and resembles a modern-day hockey mask, is one of the earliest sculptural types to survive from antiquity, according to Christie’s.

“Only very few of these masks are known,” said Molly Morse Limmer, head of Christie’s Antiquities department in New York. “All were found in the Judean desert, all were carved of limestone, and all represent the human skull.”

The Judean desert’s extreme dry conditions helped preserve the mask. It’s function is a mys-

tery but Limmer said its origins dated to a time when complex societies were first evolving.

“No doubt they represent one of the earliest human attempts to connect with the spiritual world,” she said. “Given the skeletal representation, it would be logical that they relate to death rituals or ancestor worship.”

Small holes drilled along the perimeter suggest that hair might have been added, or they might have been used to secure the mask on the face of a dead person, or to a wall, pillar or statue, according to Christie’s.

The nine-inch mask, which is being sold by a New York collector, will be part of Christie’s antiquities sale in New York on June 8, when about 260 lots are expected to fetch about $8 million.

Antiquities have achieved some astounding prices in recent years. A Roman Imperial marble bust sold for $23.8 million in late 2010, nearly 10 times its pre-sale estimate, while a limestone lioness figure circa 3,000 B.C. fetched more than $57 million in 2007.

The art market itself has been on a roll, with records set this month for post-war art as well as the most expensive work ever sold at auction.

Other highlights of the sale include a Greek bronze mirror circa 300 to 350 B.C. which is estimated to sell for $600,000 to $900,000, and two Roman works of art each expected to sell for as much as $500,000. A marble torso of Venus dates to the 1st to 2nd century A.D., while a marble head of Apollo is from the 2nd century A.D. -Reuters

Berlin red light district turns into art hub BERLIN: A shabby area of Berlin best known for its curb-crawling prostitutes and drug dealers is recovering some of the Bohemian allure of its glory days in the 1920s as low rents and its central location lure art galleries.

Art lovers are surprised to discover such a wealth of galleries on and around Potsdamer Strasse, a long artery stretching southwest from the revamped and now-glitzy Potsdamer Platz to the traditional gay stronghold of Schoeneberg.

The galleries, numbering nearly two dozen, are often tucked away in quiet courtyards or hidden in grand 19th century buildings. “This creates the kind of intimacy art lovers appreciate. Visitors feel exclusive as if they were discovering secret places” said Sassa Truelzsch, whose eponymous gallery off Potsdamer Strasse focuses on contemporary art installations. “I was the first one to move here (in 2006) and I felt as though I was the only gallery

owner in Berlin. Visitors arrived by chance, surprised to find an art gallery in such a context while today we count almost 30 visitors daily,” she said.

Also helping to draw in both new galleries and visitors is the area’s proximity to such architectural jewels as Mies van der Rohe’s glass-and-steel New National Gallery and Hans Scharoun’s tentlike Philharmonic concert hall. The process is typical of Berlin’s dynamism and capacity for reinvention, said Juerg Judin, a partner of the Nolan Judin gallery on Potsdamer Strasse which also has a base in New York. “Berlin represents a unique case in the art world... The city constantly rediscovers its forgotten cheap areas, making them become in turn the main hub of the city’s art scene before disappearing again shortly after.”

Weimar Glamour

During the Weimar Republic, when Berlin was

Portraits of writer Joseph Roth’s contemporaries are seen in the Joseph Roth Diele restaurant in Potsdamer Street in Berlin, May 24, 2012.

(Reuters)

Fame does not always bring fortune, records show LONDON: Welsh poet Dylan Thomas left a pittance when he died, Winston Churchill bequeathed a small fortune to his wife Clementine and “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” author Beatrix Potter gave almost all her land to the nation. Britain’s wartime prime minister left nearly 4.8 million pounds ($7.5 million) in today’s money to his beloved “Cat”, while the dipsomaniacal Dylan had just 2,300 pounds to leave the long-suffering Caitlin when he died in New York, according to data compiled by family history website Ancestry.co.uk.

The records are just a few snippets from the online release of six million probate records from

1942 to 1966, which form part of the England and Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966.

“These new records give fascinating insight into the final estates of some of Britain’s most recognizable faces and reveal that money and fame did not always go hand in hand,” said Miriam Silverman, International Content Director at Ancestry.co.uk.

“They also provide a rich source of information for anybody interested in uncovering the finer details of their ancestor’s finances and exactly what, if anything, they decided to leave and to whom,” she added in a statement. “Lady of the Lamp” Florence Nightingale, famed for her mission to nurse British

a byword for Bohemian revelry and sophistication, the arts flourished in a neighborhood where screen idol Marlene Dietrich had grown up and which was also home at different times to filmmaker Billy Wilder and to British author Christopher Isherwood, whose novel “Goodbye to Berlin” inspired the musical “Cabaret”.

On a darker note, the area is also home to the Sportpalast (Sport Palace), often used for political rallies in the Nazi era. Joseph Goebbels made his notorious call here in 1943 for ‘total war’ as the tide of World War Two turned against Germany.

Badly damaged by allied bombs, Potsdamer Strasse suffered a further blow with the postwar partition of the city and the erection in 1961 of the Berlin Wall nearby.

David Bowie and Iggy Pop provided some light relief in the 1970s but the area mostly struggled to forge a positive new identity. After the fall of the Wall in 1991 much of the artistic talent headed to the cheap, newly trendy former communist east.

Now, with the old East Berlin a victim of its own success and no longer a cheap option, the pendulum is swinging back.

“The charm of Potsdamer Strasse is its authenticity and its being a real place,” said Dieter Funk, co-owner of the Ave Maria shop selling religious memorabilia and an adjacent restaurant dedicated to Joseph Roth, Austrian-born author of classics such as “The Radetzky March”, who also lived here in the 1920s. The restaurant is a popular meeting place for representatives from Berlin’s art world as is also the nearby ‘Freies Museum’ (Free Museum), housed in the former headquarters of the Tagesspiegel newspaper on Potsdamer Strasse.

Truelzsch is optimistic about the area’s prospects. “Potsdamer Strasse can really establish itself as the new Berlin pole for art having as its center the New National Gallery and the Philharmonic,” she said. “People live here, the area is fantastic and still has much to offer and much still to be discovered.” -Reuters

soldiers wounded in the Crimean war, left a fortune worth more than 3 million pounds in today’s money to her family, the records show. T.S. Eliot, winner of the Nobel Prize, poet and playwright died of emphysema in 1965 with a personal estate totaling about 1.6 million pounds in today’s money. “Alice in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll left 440,000 pounds in today’s money to his brother Wilfred when he died in 1898. Other famous people who died without much to their names include “1984” and “Animal Farm” author George Orwell, who is listed as only having just under 280,000 pounds in today’s money when he died in 1950. -Reuters

Church of England nears vote on women bishops

LONDON: The Church of England paved the way on Thursday for a final vote on women bishops to go ahead in July, but supporters angry at last-minute concessions to traditionalists who favor an all-male clergy immediately threatened to scupper it.

After more than a decade of bitter wrangling, traditionalists and liberals appeared no closer to finding a workable blueprint this week with the opposing sides predicting future chaos or departures from the Anglican mother church.

A rare decision by bishops on Monday to make two amendments to accommodate Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals, seems to have stoked tempers still further.

The consecration of women, along with homosexual bishops and same-sex marriages, is among the most divisive issues facing the 77 million members of the Anglican Communion around the world.

Other Anglican provinces already have women bishops, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The next Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, will inherit these problems when he takes over from the outgoing Rowan Williams next year.

Coincidentally, a group called the Crown Nominations Commission met on Thursday for the first time in a long process to choose the next archbishop.

Not If, But When That women in the Church of England will get to one day wear the mitre, 20 years after it voted in favor of women priests, is in little doubt - the only question is when.

A so-called “group of six”, which includes the Church’s two most senior clerics, could have delayed the vote by a year at their meeting on Thursday.

But by deciding the bishops’ amendments did not substantially change the draft legislation it avoided the need to go back to the dioceses for review.

If the Church’s parliament, or General Synod, gives final approval to the draft legislation in July, the first woman bishop could be consecrated after 2014.

But liberals, angry at the amendments which they say create what they called “pick and mix” bishops, are looking to stall the vote or even scupper it.

The amendments would give parishes which object to a woman bishop the power to choose one who shared their theological convictions, pro-women bishop supporters say.

Some priests and laity are threatening to take the extraordinary step of invoking a standing order before the vote. If passed, synod would send the amendments back to the House of Bishops for reconsideration.

If the standing order move fails, some liberals are even considering voting “no” to the draft legislation, which would set it back years.

“I can envisage some of the supporters of women bishops saying ‘sorry, I can’t have this: it’s better to wait, otherwise we’re building up trouble for ourselves in the future’,” said Sally Barnes of the pro-women bishops campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH).

Traditionalists argue that as Jesus Christ’s apostles were all men, there is nothing in the Bible or church history to support women bishops.

If the draft legislation is passed, some Anglo-Catholics could take up an offer from Pope Benedict to join an ordinariate within the Roman Catholic Church while keeping some of their Anglican traditions.

About 60 Anglo-Catholic priests and 1,000 parishioners have already moved over. The draft legislation will need a two-thirds majority in each house of synod - bishops, clergy and laity - before it can go before the British parliament. -Reuters

Story by Pultizer Prize winner serialized on Twitter

NEW YORK: A story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan for the New Yorker is being serialized in 10 installments on Twitter, according to the magazine.

The New Yorker said the first installment of the story, a spy thriller called “Black Box, went out on Thursday night.

“The story is written in terse dispatches of 140 characters or less, which will be tweeted, through The New Yorker Fiction Department’s Twitter handle, @NYerFiction, in ten nightly installments between 8 and 9 P.M. E.T,” it said in a statement.

After the tweets are complete they will also appear on the Page-Turner blog on the magazine’s website, and the entire story will be published in the next edition of the magazine which will be on newsstand on Monday.

Egan, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011 for her novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” said she had been thinking about how to write fiction that could be serialized on Twitter. “This is not a new idea, of course, but it’s a rich one --because of the intimacy of reaching people through their phones, and because of the odd poetry that can happen in 140 characters,” Egan said in a post on newyorker.com. -Reuters

Crisis-hit Europeans freeze summer holiday plans

MILAN: Europeans are putting holiday plans on the back burner this summer as the crisis hits “sun belt” economies in Greece, Spain and Italy, a study showed on Thursday.

Only six of 10 people polled by Ipsos for Europ Assistance said they were planning to go on holiday between June and September this year, the lowest level in eight years.

The estimate compares to 66 percent in 2011.

Italians were the most reluctant to travel despite their usual long holiday season, with 63 percent willing to leave compared to 78 percent last year.

Spaniards were second in the poll, with more than half saying they will remain at home.

France is the only exception to the gloomy picture, with 70 percent of respondents preparing for a summer break against 68 percent last year.

The survey polled 3,500 people, including Germany, Britain, Belgium and Austria. -Reuters

FILE - A general view shows the city of Zurich and the Limmat River during sunny spring weather May 14, 2012. At background left are the church towers of the Fraumuenster and St. Peter and on the right the Grossmuenster church. (Reuters)

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Beautiful Calm Driving Artist: Sia Album: Some People Have Real Problems Genre: Pop/Alternative In short: Sia’s fourth studio album was the perfect balance between upbeat and downbeat songs, mixing her somber side with her playful one. “Beautiful Calm Driving” is a melancholic number that has one of the best displays of Sia’s vocal abilities.

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

The Buzz Musician Doc Watson has surgery at NC hospital

saturDAY, may 26, 2012

Stars offer hugs, kisses and vampire bite at gala CAP D’ANTIBES, France: Stars promised hugs, kisses, a massage - and a vampire bite - in a glamor-filled auction to raise money to fight AIDS. Hoping to encourage bidders to open their wallets for items at Thursday’s amfAR gala in the south of France, celebrity presenters offered some extra enticements. Heidi Klum offered a massage, Diane Kruger donated the services of her boyfriend Joshua Jackson, “Vampire Diaries” starlet Nina Dobrev said she’d willingly bite a bidder and Chris Tucker did a mini Michael Jackson dance routine.

Janet Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kylie Minogue, Gerard Butler and Kim Kardashian also attended the black tie event at the exclusive Hotel Du Cap overlooking the sea.

When the final hammer slammed down at the end of the night, the celebrity sales people had reached a total of nearly $11 million dollars, a record for the charity dedicated to HIV and AIDS research.

Though many references were made to the troubled European financial climate Aloe Blacc took to the stage to sing “I Need a Dollar,” while Jessie J performed “Price Tag”

- austerity measures were not encouraged.

Diners were pressed to empty their bank accounts.

An Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe print sold for euro 600,000 ($753,000). A private match with tennis ace Novak Djokovic went for euro 90,000 ($113,000). And the chance to star in a short film by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, produced by Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein, was so popular it was offered twice over - adding another euro 850,000 ($1,000,000) to the total.

Models, including Karolina Kurkova, strutted on a catwalk between dining tables to show off 24 outfits, in the first fashion show at the French amfAR auction.

The designs, selected by former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld to create the “Perfect Black Wardrobe,” included pieces by Chanel, Dior, Armani, Kenneth Cole, Lanvin, Valentino, Tom Ford and Louis Vuitton. The winning bidder paid euro 300,000 ($377,000) to have them re-made in any size, and in any color as long as it’s black.

Stars partied around the pool in their finery until the early hours. A Donna Summer tribute DJ set got everyone dancing. -AP

Madonna touches down in Israel at start of world tour

Actress Keira Knightley to wed musician Righton

Gregg Allman engaged to 24-year-old girlfriend Gregg Allman is getting married for the seventh time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member has told several interviewers this week that he’s engaged to his 24-year-old girlfriend, ShannonWilliams, andAllman’s publicist and manager confirmed the news Friday morning. Allman talked about the unexpected love he felt for Williams in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this year for a story about his memoir, “My Cross to Bear,” but admitted he was leery about taking the relationship further because of his past difficulties in his love life. But Allman told Howard Stern, Piers Morgan and a SiriusXM town hall audience this week that he’s taken the relationship to the next stage. Little is known about Williams, who entered the 64-year-old rock pioneer’s life after a liver transplant and a run of health difficulties. Allman told the AP in a love-struck voice he met her while in Florida on Friday, Jan. 13, and “I am totally in love.” Allman’s failed marriages make up a significant part of “My Cross to Bear,” a best-seller after its release May 1. He offers a rare glimpse into his private life, detailing the rise and collapse of his relationship with Cher, among other topics. -AP

Broadway stars prepare to welcome President Obama President Barack Obama heads to Broadway next month as part of a double bill with former President Bill Clinton and the stars will be out to welcome them. James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Nina Arianda, Kerry Butler, Norbert Leo Butz, Bobby Cannavale, Stockard Channing, Megan Hilty and Cheyenne Jackson are some of the performers slated to attend the June 4 fundraiser. “Barack on Broadway” is one of two events that day that will join Obama and Clinton. The two presidents will also attend a dinner featuring a performance by Jon Bon Jovi. The fund-raiser will be at the New Amsterdam Theatre, the home of “Mary Poppins” and will be directed by George C. Wolfe. General admission is $250, with VIP tickets for $1,000. -AP

Lady Gaga won’t change show for protests: manager Lady Gaga’s manager says the pop diva has no plans to tone down her act, even if that prevents her from performing in some countries on her Asian tour. The Straits Times newspaper of Singapore reported Friday that Troy Carter said Lady Gaga “plays the show as it is,” and that she is not “provocative for the sake of being provocative.” Indonesian police denied a permit for her sold-out show in Jakarta after Islamic hard-liners threatened violence, saying her sexy clothes and dance moves could corrupt youth. They later hinted the planned June 3 show could go on if she tones down the show.

Lady Gaga delivered a cryptic message about the situation this week. She tweeted that if the show went on as scheduled she would perform alone. -AP

Janet Jackson at the auction for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit during the 65th Cannes film festival, in Cap d’Antibes, southern France, Thursday, May 24, 2012. (AP)

Bin Laden film got no Special Ops help: US admiral

Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson is in critical condition but improving at a North Carolina hospital after undergoing colon surgery. Folklore Productions represents Watson and says he is improving after the surgery Thursday night at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. A hospital spokeswoman said he remained in critical condition Friday morning. Watson’s daughter, Nancy, told The Associated Press that the 89year-old Watson fell Monday. The blind singer and guitarist has won several Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award. He also received the National Medal of the Arts. He’s known as a master of the flatpicking style of guitar playing, He also started Merlefest, an annual gathering of musicians in Wilkesboro named after his son, who died in a tractor accident in 1985. -AP

Keira Knightley, the glamorous star of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” is engaged to marry musician James Righton, her publicist said Friday. Publicist Sara Keene said the couple were not releasing any details of the proposal, and did not have any comment on wedding plans. Righton is a keyboard player for the rock group Klaxons. He and Knightley, 27, have been dating since early last year. Previously, Knightley dated actor Rupert Friend for several years. Knightley first won notice for her role as a soccer-playing teenager in “Bend It Like Beckham.” She went on to star in the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies and was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” -AP

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FILE - Singer Madonna Launches Her Signature Fragrance ‘Truth Or Dare’ By Madonna Macy’s Herald Square on April 12, 2012 in New York City. (AFP)

PARIS: International music icon Madonna arrived in Israel on Friday to kick off her hotly anticipated world tour with a soldout performance in Tel Aviv.

She arrived amid tight security on a chartered El Al flight from New York, accompanied by partner Brahim Zaibat, her four children and an entourage of 70, local media reported.

Thursday’s Tel Aviv show is the first of 84 dates across Europe and the Americas, according to her website.

They are to be followed by a visit to Australia, where Madonna has not appeared in 20 years, it said.

The tour -- Madonna’s first since her wildly successful “Sticky and Sweet” outing in 2008 and 2009 -- will support her new album “MDNA.” She last performed in Israel in 2009, on the Sticky and Sweet tour.

During that visit she met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.

Although not Jewish, Madonna is a keen follower of the Jewish mystic discipline of Kabbalah.

She visited Israel in 2004 and 2007 on private trips.

Saturday night marks the start of the week-long Jewish holiday of Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks.

Israeli public radio said that Madonna was expected to spend much of the holiday “resting and making short trips,” with rehearsals on the eve of her show.

Walla! news website said that among the star’s demands for the backstage area at the Ramat Gan football stadium are a treatment room with massage table and jacuzzi, a personal laundry room and spaces for Madonna, her children, her dressmaker and other staff. -AFP

WASHINGTON: The US admiral who oversaw the operation to kill Osama bin Laden denied on Thursday that he or his staff helped advise Hollywood film makers shooting a movie about last year’s secret raid to kill the Al-Qaeda leader.

A conservative legal group this week made public documents which it said showed how the Obama administration arranged special access to top officials for film makers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, the director and screenwriter of “The Hurt Locker,” a 2008 film about the Iraq war that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Judicial Watch said the documents indicated that the Pentagon granted Bigelow and Boal access to a “planner, Operator and Commander of SEAL Team Six,” the Navy commando unit that carried out the raid during which bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he apparently had lived for years.

But Admiral William McRaven, who commanded the mission and was later promoted to head the US military’s Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), denied anyone from USSOCOM dealt with the filmmakers in any way.

“I ... had no interaction, neither has anyone at USSOCOM had any interaction, with folks that are making this movie,” McRaven told reporters, speaking a press conference in Tampa, Florida. “We have not provided any planners.”

The most revealing document obtained by Judicial Watch is a 16-page transcript of a July 15, 2011 meeting between the two filmmakers and Michael Vickers, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and one of the key administration officials involved in the bin Laden operation.

In the transcript, Vickers says that the Pentagon was willing to “make a guy available” to them who “was involved from the beginning as a planner; a SEAL Team Six Operator and Commander.”

Upon hearing this, screenwriter Mark Boal ex-

American Idol finale gets record low TV audience

LOS ANGELES: The “American Idol” finale brought in the lowest TV audience of its 11-year history with just 21.5 million Americans tuning in to watch indie singer Phillip Phillips clinch the title, according to ratings data on Thursday.

The singing contest, once a TV industry juggernaut for Fox which attracted more than 30 million viewers for its finale in its 2006 and 2007 heyday, was the most-watched program on US television on Wednesday night.

But audiences dropped by about 32 percent compared to last year’s season finale, Nielsen data showed.

Fox executives said earlier this month that the audience drop-off this season had been greater than they anticipated and said that several tweaks were in the works to freshen the format for 2013. Fox is a unit of News Corp. -Reuters

Elton John cancels Vegas dates due to infection NEW YORK: Singer Elton John was treated in hospital in Los Angeles for a serious respiratory infection that forced him to cancel performances this weekend of his “The Million Dollar Piano” show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In a statement posted on his website on Thursday, the British entertainer, whose hits include “Rocket Man,” “Your Song” and “Bennie and The Jets,” apologized for the decision and told fans he hoped to be performing soon.

The singer said he developed a serious respiratory illness while performing on Sunday. After the condition worsened he was hospitalized and had tests at CedarsSinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he remained throughout the day on Wednesday. He was given antibiotics and told not to perform for a week.

“It feels strange not to be able to perform these ‘Million Dollar Piano’ concerts at The Colosseum. I love performing this show and will be thrilled when we return to The Colosseum in October to complete the eleven concerts soon to be scheduled,” he said.

Fans with tickets for the canceled shows can exchange them or get a refund.

John opened his Las Vegas act last September and began a second series of performances in February. A child piano prodigy, John, 65, rose from a part-time pub player

to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time. He completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with “The Red Piano”, which ran for 241 shows. -Reuters

FILE - Musician Elton John performs during the benefit “Songs From the Silver Screen” to raise funds for The Rainforest Trust at Carnegie Hall in New York April 3, 2012. (Reuters)

claimed: “That’s dynamite.” Director Kathryn Bigelow said: “That’s incredible,” according to the transcript.

A Defense Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged McRaven’s command offered to make available a “planner” who was not a current member of SEAL Team Six as a possible point of contact for additional information, if instructed by the Pentagon to do so.

But the official said the Defense Department did not grant the filmmakers access to that individual “nor to our knowledge was it pursued by the filmmakers.”

The film project, titled “Zero Dark Thirty” about the May 2011 raid on bin Laden’s compound, became a focus of controversy last year when New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd reported that its producers planned to release it weeks before the November 6 election in which President Barack Obama is seeking a second term in office.

The release has been pushed back to December.

Boal last year denied the film was tied to any political party, noting the killing of bin Laden was “an American triumph, both heroic and non-partisan.”

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor noted on Wednesday that it was common practice to help authors, reporters and film makers working on projects related to the president “to make sure the facts are correct.”

“We do not discuss classified information. The information that the White House provided about the bin Laden raid was focused on the President’s role in that decision-making process,” Vietor said. “The same information was given to the White House press corps.”

McRaven played down the sensitivity of the mechanics of the raid itself.

“There was nothing frankly overly sensitive about the raid. We did 11 other raids much like that in Afghanistan that night,” McRaven said.

“From a military standpoint, this was a standard raid and really not very sexy.” -Reuters

Breeze of Arab Spring felt on Cannes red carpet

CANNES, France: The ripples of the Arab Spring are being felt in summery Cannes, where films from Egypt and Syria, as well as a documentary about the overthrow of Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, are being screened alongside the latest features from the world’s heavyweight directors. On Friday, the festival lineup includes “The Oath of Tobruk” a personal account of the Libyan uprising by French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy.

The Cannes Film Festival competition includes the short “Waiting for P.O. Box” by Syrian director Bassam Chekhes.

And among the 22 full-length features competing for the Palme d’Or is “After the Battle” by Egypt’s Yousry Nasrallah. Nasrallah said that “Arab cinema is trying to liberate itself” amid the wave of change shaking the region. The film festival runs until Sunday. -AP

Universal Studios unleashes Transformers: The Ride LOS ANGELES: Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday unveiled its newest attraction, “Transformers: The Ride3D,” based on the blockbuster films and toys that the theme park’s operators called their best ride yet.

The ride, which opens to the public on May 25 as the United States kicks off its summer holiday season, takes people by car through a futuristic city under siege by evil and immersed in combat between heroic shape-shifting characters, the Autobots, and their nemeses, the Decepticons.

Rather than serve as witness to the conflict, guests are made to feel like characters in the battle, enlisted alongside the Autobots to save the world. “We think this is the best ride that we’ve ever created,” Steve Burke, President & CEO of NBCUniversal told Reuters. “It’s got a lot of different aspects to it that you literally couldn’t do as recently as ten years ago.” Built across 2,000 feet of track on a 60,000 sq. ft. stage in a 60-ft. high building, the ride was created to revolutionize the amusement park experience through motion-based flight simulation. Autobots and Decepticons battle all around the cars as sensory stimulators unleash the heat of explosions, spit of the robots and quake of gears and exploding bombs.

The attraction also features the original voice work of actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who voiced the robotic characters in three hit “Transformers” movies that took in over $2.6 billion, combined, at worldwide box offices. -Reuters

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012

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

Feature o f

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Mouawad launches the Classic Pearl collection

KUWAIT: Mouawad announces the introduction of their new Classic Pearl collection in its boutiques across the Gulf. Lustrous South Sea and Tahitian pearls are paired with the finest diamonds set with 18K white gold to offer a classic but contemporary jewelry collection.

Like diamonds, pearls are some of the rarest, naturally-forming wonderments of nature, and in the hands of the rare and talented jewelry masters at Mouawad, these satin pearls of luster take on new meaning - revealed in this classic but contemporary collection.

The Classic Pearl is the newest addition to the Mouawad boutique collections, designed for lovers of fine pearl and diamond jewelry. The collection comes in a variety of colors and arrangements that include combinations of South Sea golden, light yellow and white pearls, Tahitian black pearls, and white and black diamonds, all hand-crafted in 18K white gold. Every piece in the new Classic Pearl collection is ideal for elegant women wanting to compliment their contemporary lifestyle with classic pearl and diamond jewelry.

Month a t

Sudoku

Intermediate

“Mouawad’s Classic Pearl collection includes rings, earrings and necklaces all featuring South Sea or Tahitian pearls and diamonds in uniquely appealing settings, such as diamond-encrusted collets and swirled diamond mounts.

Advanced

Elementary

The Classic Pearl collection is now available in all Mouawad boutiques across the region, with prices starting from 3500 USD. For more information about Mouawad, its collections and boutique locations, please visit www.mouawad.com.

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

a glance see and even own some international antiques on display and taste the delicious foods on display. Also have your name inscribed in Arabic calligraphy at no cost and have a taste of our Arabic ice cream.

Various items will be available for sale, such as pashmina shawls, accessories, jewelry, Mexican food, Indian food, cosmetics, cookies, handbags, traditional Kuwaiti - style dresses and many more. For more information please contact 2523105/6 or 97228860.

New Toastmasters Club Second and fourth Tuesday/ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. / Jabriya: A new Toastmasters Club is being formed and encouraging new members to join. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. It is a non-profit international organization dedicated to improve member’s communication and leadership skills by attending and participating toastmasters meetings. For more information, please contact Khaled Al-Hashem at 65588824.

Golden era club

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

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

GF Handel’s Opera SEMELE

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.

International bazaar May 26/ 10 a.m.-3 p.m. / TIES Center: Stop by and have the opportunity to

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

Waist Watchers

May 11 and 25/ 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. / Rumaithiya: Golden Era Club presents ‘The Eight Fold Path to Yoga’. Yoga here! Yoga there! Yoga everywhere! Yet, few comprehend Yoga’s true nature! Join Yoga Guru - Aacharya Shashikala Pushkarna - on this unique journey to the true ‘union’ between the mind, body and spirit. All seniors (60+) are cordially invited. Venue- House #34, next to Abu-Tammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya. For registration call 97172788/ 66208183 or drop a line to goldenera60@yahoo.com

May 24-26/ Dar Al Athar Al Islammyah: International Opera singers Nicola Beckily and Matthew Long join Anna Karadimtrova and Haytham Abdulla to present the delightful story of SEMELE by GF Handel. Semele is the story of a young woman in ancient Greece, who falls in love with Jove, the King of the Gods on Mount Olympus. She begins to believe that she can become immortal, but will her ambition make her forget her true self? Music, humor, and strong feeling bring the story to life. For information, go to www.ahmadimusicgroup.com or email tickets@ahmadimusicgroup.com.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets

Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK)

Hip Hop at BAIA

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

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

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

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

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

After a couple of glorious days there is going to be a noticeable slump today. Awkward influences, headed by Venus and the moon, may well disrupt communications to the point that you might feel as though whatever you do will be criticized. Your good intentions will be recognized, eventually!

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Today may be one of those days where you’ll be better served by adopting a glass-half-empty approach. Your judgment won’t be at its best, and assuming that everything is fine-and-dandy will be a major part of the problem. The two key areas that require more analysis will be: finances and a recent or past matter!

Gemini: May 21- June 21

You will need to be receptive to the lunar information, today.As much as it goes against your basic nature to limit yourself to the ordinary and the mundane, this is definitely not the day to apply or test out new methods, approaches, or strategies. Stick with the tried and tested and do not venture into anything out of the ordinary!

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

Today’s numerous lunar influences are likely to be quite disruptive on several fronts.There is little to be gained from battling against the odds: resign yourself to one of those days where communications; romance; work/school; and plans are all likely to develop one or two hiccups. Eventually though, you will pull through hands down!

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Other signs are being advised to accept the inevitable gremlins today, but not you. This is a day where you should steer yourself past the various blips and keep going. Think of it as a sort of investment: A positive or determined attitude today will yield some welcome and deserved results for yet another day!

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Misinformation is rife today, thanks to numerous influences, which suggests a slight sense of wasted or misdirected effort. Students and workers may unintentionally embark on a wild goose chase. Trying to impress others is a strategy that’s likely to backfire. Flattery is unreliable too! So just try to be normal and wait.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Brooding influences may well feel quite judgmental.

You may be inclined to zone in quite critically on your faults and flaws, without taking into account all your strong points. A possible stalemate or an element of confusion in romance could undermine your confidence further.As with others, it’s a day to get through with almost everything!

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Today’s lunar influences are a little harsh. Be wary of overreacting to unfavorable news or information, because chances are there will be a wide margin of error. As with several other signs your best strategy is to delve and question. Don’t just accept things at face value - go a step further and explore!

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

There’s a saying that if you grasp stinging nettles hard they won’t sting you. Today, you’re going to need to face up to something that’s been bothering you; if you grasp your particular metaphorical nettles firmly, you’ll realize that there was really very little to be worried about!

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

The challenging aspect from the moon is likely to confuse you over romantic issues: choosing between intimacy and independence is likely to make you appear a little distance, especially with your friends. Try to accommodate them today because they could offer the guidance that you need!

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

The day may provide more than its fair share of taxing moments thanks to the planets, but you can rely on your sense of creativity. This, combined with your famed self discipline, means not only will you find a way around the various obstacles with ease, but that you’ll manage to find time to enjoy yourself too!

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Romance is highlighted for you today but with some give and take required. Minor stresses can be avoided if you are willing to compromise over a certain matter, even though you know you are in the right. Just be prepared to be forgiving and watch the mood lift gradually yet permanently in your favor!