01 Mar 2012

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

www.kuwaittimes.net

RABIA ALTHANI 8, 1433 AH

Kuwait National & Liberation Days

40 PAGES

NO: 15374

150 FILS

See Pages 4 & 11

Sparks fly as MPs vote to recognise Syrian council Assembly rejects Qatar money probe • Youth groups merge into one party

Max 24º Min 11º High Tide 05:39 & 16:39 Low Tide 10:08 & 23:51

By B Izzak and Agencies

Tribunal probes funds transfers

by Sheikh Nasser Govt delays probe panel KUWAIT: The public attorney has asked a special judicial tribunal to probe allegations the former premier transferred public funds into his overseas accounts, press reports said yesterday. The action

by Dherar Al-Asousi came after he received a complaint from a Kuwaiti lawyer who claimed he had evidence to substantiate the allegations, the AlWatan newspaper reported. The tribunal, which looks into allegations against serving and former ministers, will rule whether the complaint is serious enough to merit legal proceedings against ex-premier Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah.

Meanwhile, around 30 opposition MPs filed a request yesterday to form a parliamentary panel to investigate the allegations with powers to interrogate the finance minister, as well as the former premier and Central Bank governor. But the government used its constitutional right to demand delaying the formation of the panel for two weeks, saying it wanted to study the request. Opposition MP Mussallam Al-Barrak strongly criticized the government’s demand for a postponement, saying that it appears that the current government is only attempting to protect the former premier.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: MPs Ali Al-Rashed (top), Abdulhameed Dashti (center), Adnan Al-Mutawwa raise their hands during a session at the National Assembly yesterday where MPs overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on the government to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. (Inset) Opposition MP Musallam AlBarrak speaks during the session. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Syrian forces launch Homs ground assault DAMASCUS: Syrian forces yesterday launched a ground assault on a rebelheld district of Homs after shelling it for 26 straight days, as world pressure grew for humanitarian access to besieged protest cities. A security source told AFP in Damascus that Baba Amr “is under control”, after activists had earlier said that elite troops of the Fourth Armoured Division had taken up positions around the holdout neighbourhood of Syria’s third-largest city. “The army has started combing the area building by building and house by house. Now the troops are searching every basement and tunnel for arms and terrorists,” the security source said. “There remain only few pockets” of resistance.

A human rights watchdog and activists in the central city however denied that troops had moved into Baba Amr, insisting that clashes were taking place only on the outskirts of the flashpoint neighbourhood. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights insisted that rebel forces were “preventing an attempt to storm” Baba Amr. Homsbased activist Hadi Abdullah reported clashes and heavy shelling of Baba Amr but insisted that ground troops had not entered the neighbourhood.

“Regime forces did not enter Baba Amr until this moment. They are surrounding the district, while clashes are concentrated in the neighbourhoods of Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Sectarian clashes dominated parts of yesterday’s National Assembly’s tension-packed session in which MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a proposal to recognise the Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Forty-four MPs including all Cabinet ministers in the session backed the proposal, five voted against it, one abstained while three MPs refused to vote. Most of those who opposed the motion were Shiite MPs. Pro-Syrian Shiite MP Abdulhameed Dashti protested at the proposal, saying that it did not serve Kuwaiti interests while a majority of other MPs called for supporting the Syrian people against the massacres of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. That led to strong exchanges between opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak on the one hand and Dashti and another Shiite MP Hussein Al-Qallaf on the other after Barrak strongly blasted the Syrian regime as a “butcher regime that has been slaughtering its own people”. The clash forced deputy speaker Khaled Al-Sultan to adjourn the session for 15 minutes. The Assembly also decided to debate the Syrian issue today after the government called for the delay in order to allow the foreign minister to be present in the session.

The Assembly later rejected a proposal signed by nine MPs, mostly Shiites, calling to set up an investigation committee to probe allegations that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani paid millions of dinars to some MPs and writers. State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri strongly criticized involving GCC partner Qatar in such unfounded allegations, while liberal MP Mohammad AlSaqer said the baseless allegations were made by a “yellow newspaper” in Kuwait without naming it.

Continued on Page 13

Romney survives with double win DETROIT, Michigan: Mitt Romney pulled back in front in the topsy-turvy Republican White House race with victories in Arizona and Michigan, gaining momentum ahead of next week’s pivotal Super Tuesday contest.

But Romney’s narrow three-point win in his native Michigan yesterday reinforced doubts about his ability to rally the party’s conservative base for what is expected to be a dogfight with President Barack Obama in November. “Wow! What a night,” an obviously relieved Romney told cheering supporters in Novi, Michigan. “We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough, and that’s all that counts.”

Romney’s decisive and expected victory in Arizona - where the former Massachusetts governor won 47 percent of the vote and a 21 point lead over main rival Rick Santorum -

was overshadowed by the hotly contested Michigan race. Santorum - who placed a close second in Michigan with 38 percent of

Mitt Romney

the vote - sought to cast the result as a victory for a campaign that had been all but written off before sweeping Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri on Feb 7.

“A month ago they didn’t know who we are, but they do now,” Santorum told supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “We came into the backyard of one of my opponents in a race that everyone said: ‘Well, just ignore it, you have really no chance here,’” Santorum said. “And the people of Michigan looked into the hearts of the candidates, and all I have to say is I love you back.”

A devout Catholic who strongly opposes abortion and gay marriage, Santorum advanced in the polls by painting himself as the authentic conservative and his multimillionaire opponent Romney as out of touch Continued on Page 13

Japan finishes tallest communication tower

KUWAIT: South Korea’s Choi Hyo-Jin (right) fights for the ball with Kuwait’s Fahad Alenezi during their World Cup qualifying match yesterday. South Korea won the match 2-0. — AFP (See Page 20)

Egypt arrests man mistakenly thought to be Qaeda chief

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Iran opens space program site for first media tour

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TOKYO: Construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest communications tower and second-highest building, finished yesterday, two months late because of the quake and tsunami that struck Japan last March. Tourist bosses in the country hope the 634-m tower will be a big draw for foreign visitors, whose numbers have plummeted in the aftermath of the disaster and the nuclear crisis it sparked. “The construction was originally scheduled to finish in December 2011 but was delayed due to a shortage of supplies after the disaster,” said a spokeswoman for the operator, adding that the finished structure is sound. “The building was officially handed over” from contractors to the operating firm, linked with Tobu Railway Co, yesterday afternoon, another spokeswoman said.

Construction of the tower, near the popular Asakusa traditional district on

Tokyo’s eastern side, began in July 2008.

The Tokyo Sky Tree tops the 600-m Canton Tower in China’s Guangzhou and the 553-m CN Tower in downtown Toronto. It is the world’s second-tallest manmade structure, beaten only by the 828-m Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Some 580,000 workers were engaged in the construction, which cost 65 billion yen ($806 million) for the tower alone, the spokeswoman said.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is expected to overshadow landmarks in the capital’s upscale western parts, including the 333-m Tokyo Tower, which was built in 1958 and became a byword in Japan for the country’s rapid post-war growth. It hosts two observation decks - at 350 m and 450 m above ground - as well as restaurants and office space and sits at a former freight shunting yard along the Sumida river. — AFP

Apple market value hits $500bn, where few have gone

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TOKYO: The Tokyo Sky Tree company president Michiaki Suzuki (left) receives a certificate from Alistair Richards of the Guinness World Records before the Tokyo Sky Tree tower yesterday. — AFP

UN urges FIFA to allow women to wear hijabs

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other dignitaries at the ceremony.

Amir attends UNESCO ceremony KUWAIT: UNESCO/late Amir Sheikh Jaber AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize to Promote Quality Education for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities 2011, held yesterday an award ceremony, under the patronage and with the presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Kuwait University theater in Khaldiya.

HH the Amir was received by Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf and Kuwait’s Representative to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Ambassador Dr Ali Al-Tarrah.

The ceremony was attended by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, National Assembly Speaker Ahmad AlSaadoun, senior sheikhs, Deputy Chief of the Kuwait National Guards Sheikh Mishaal AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and senior state officials.

Minister Al-Hajraf, in a speech at the opening ceremony, said that “Kuwait appreciates the UNESCO achievements in educational, scientific and cultural spheres, as HH the Amir stresses the importance of projects of the organization,

which was sponsored by the Kuwaiti Government and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science.”

For his part, UNESCO Assistant-Director General for Social and Human Sciences. Dr Hamad Al-Hammami said this award, shows the

late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s interests in humanitarian area and development, adding that the Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokva announced Dr. Douglas Biklen, from the United States, as a winner.

Dr Biklen thanked HH the Amir and UNESCO

National Commission, Al-Hajraf, jury members of award.

Later, a cultural film about late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was shown before HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah received a commemorative gift. —- KUNA

Kuwait applauds Iraqi statements on port ‘In line with international regulations’

STC Group to take center stage at GSMA KUWAIT: As part of its unswerving commitment to active presence in the global telecom forums, STC Group announced yesterday its participation in the World Mobile Congress (GSMA), as the platinum networking’s sponsor.

GSMA meetings will take place in Barcelona, Spain, on 27th February until 1st March, are by far the most prestigious gathering of ministers, heads of regulatory bodies as well as global telecom operators’ executives where high-level meetings are held and vital key agendas of the industry, are similarly, discussed.

STC Group has long been active in these high-profile meetings to set the pace for path-finding ideas, new solutions, different industry perspectives and cutting-edge know-how.

As technology is ever rapidly changing, sponsoring the Mobile World Congress allows STC Group, as the leading telecom company in the Middle East, an opportunity to keep abreast with the state-of-the-art products, services and prospects in the

telecom evolving frontier and emerging markets, alike.

VIVA is the newest, most advanced mobile telecommunications ser vice provider in Kuwait. Launched in December 2008, VIVA makes things Possible for our customers by transforming communication, information and entertainment experiences. The company has rapidly established an unrivalled position in the market through our customer and employee centric approach. VIVA’s quest is to be the mobile brand of choice for Kuwait by being transparent, engaging, energetic and fulfilling. VIVA continues to take a considerable share of the market by offering an innovative range of best value products, services and content propositions; a state of the art, nationwide network and world-class service. VIVA offers Internet speed up to 42.2Mbps due to the implementation of the most advanced third generation (3G and HSDPA) network in Kuwait resulting in superior coverage, performance and reliability.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti diplomats acknowledged recent remarks by Iraq Parliament foreign relations committee member, Sami Al-Askari, in which he reasserted Kuwait’s right to construct Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port at its present location.

His statements are based on an Iraq parliament investigative report, which resolves that the Kuwaiti mega port will not leave any negative effect on naval mobility in Iraq’s territorial waters.

“The recent statements further prove that Kuwait always assured that Mubarak Al-Kabeer port is in line with international regulations,” said a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that the recent Iraqi statements “are indications of Baghdad’s seriousness about solving all pending issues between the two countries”. They are set to be

central to the anticipated visit to Kuwait of Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, on March 14.

Al-Askari, who is close to Al-Maliki, told Iraq’s Soumariya News Agency on Tuesday that “Iraq does not have the authority to determine the location for the (Mubarak Al-Kabeer port) project, since it is located within Kuwait’s sovereign territories and does not affect movement at Iraq’s port”. -Al-Qabas These developments come as an Iraqi lawmaker demanded that the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port and other persisting issues between Kuwait and Iraq “should be placed for discussion by the Iraqi government during the Arab Summit” set for late March in Baghdad.

“This step helps to obtain general Arab opinions en route to finding the best solutions as per international regulations”, said MP Aliya

Kuwait to host nuclear medicine conference KUWAIT: Nuclear Medicine Department at Ministry of Health will organize the second annual conference of Kuwait Society of Nuclear Medicine from March 5 to 7.

The conference’s main theme will be on the latest developments in nuclear imaging and its applications in cardiac field.

Head of the Nuclear Medicine Department at the ministry, Dr Masoud Mohammad, said in a

press conference yesterday that the gathering is under the patronage of Health Minister Dr. Ali Al-Obeidi, as an international group of Nuclear Medicine consultants from the US, Brazil, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will be taking part.

The conference will discuss two important issues, the latest developments in nuclear imaging and hybrid imaging, as well as micro imag-

Legal staff plan to stage strike on March 7 KUWAIT: Legal staff members employed in state departments plan to stage a mass strike on March 7 with the backing of the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF), announced Secretary General Abdurrahman Al-Ghanim on Tuesday.

Protesting employees demand that their job classification in state records be made equal to their peers employed at the Fatwa and Legislation Department as well as the Kuwait Municipality’s Legal Division. They enjoy additional financial privileges as per special job classifications.

Al-Ghanim added that desk-job employees at the Ministry of Interior will join legal staff on Wednesday’s labor strike, and demand pay

rises similar to those paid to the ministry’s security personnel last year. The legal staff suspended an earlier strike after being assured by the government that their promises would be fulfilled.

These developments took place simultaneously with statements made by leading unionists in Kuwait, expressing optimism that the Cabinet of Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak would find the best solution to the problem of inequality that most labor forces complain from. Notable names who spoke to Al-Rai on the subject include KTUF President Fayez Al-Mutairi, and Abdurrahman Al-Sumait, National Union of Kuwait Workers and Employees. — Al-Rai

KD 5 million spent on 12,653 bedoon students

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s Public Relations and Advertisement Department hosted the ‘Kuwait TV Cultural Group’ to reward them for featuring in a music video released by the bank, as part of an ongoing cultural campaign.

The video, produced by the CBK, received high viewership on YouTube, said Amani Al-Waraa, CBK’s assistant general manager for PR and Advertisement Department.

Nassif of the White Iraqiya Party. It holds less than ten seats in the 325-member Iraqi Parliament. She argued that discussing the port issue during the Arab Summit “helps Iraq garner Arab support in its conflict with Kuwait, especially when Arab leaders are only aware of misleading information about the port provided by Kuwaiti officials”.

Nassif argues that the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port which Kuwait is building east of Boubyan Island will hinder movements on Iraq’s side of the narrow strip of water that the two countries share. Al-Askari fended off the allegations in his recent statement. Iraqi navy specialists have previously speculated that the Kuwaiti port will “suffocate” Iraq’s narrow outlet on the Arabian Gulf, arguing that it will obstruct mobility to Iraq’s Um Qasr Port. — Al-Qabas, Al-Rai

KUWAIT: Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Special Education Fahad Al-Ghais said yesterday that the Charity Fund for Education takes care of 12,653 students from the category of illegal residents (bedoons) at a cost of about KD 5million.

Al-Ghais said that the total money spent on charitable fund for education during the past seven years has exceeded KD 30 million, adding that the fund guarantees free education to the children of this category.

He said the establishment of this fund was upon the Cabinet’s decision in 2003 under the supervision of the General Secretariat of Awqaf, Ministry of Education and the Executive Committee to address the situation of illegal residents. He pointed out that the Ministry of Education has commissioned the General Administration of Special Education to supervise the procedures for registration of students in private schools in coordination with the General Secretariat of Awqaf. — KUNA

ing and its applications in endocrine diseases, nervous system, and bone disease. The other issue will be related to the other applications of nuclear medicine in heart diseases.

Furthermore, the conference will discuss other applications in the diagnosis of coronary heart diseases, the narrow and shortcomings of the heart muscle, and the latest findings of the medical radioactive diagnostic tools.— KUNA

Price increase claims ‘invented’ KUWAIT: Price increases are still the issue of the day. Talking about it is everywhere and in every place. Many are pessimistic of finding a solution. The ball is still in its place and there is no room for real players who can achieve victories and bring a smile back to our faces.

People are tired of merchants increasing prices every day and many are closing their eyes and turning their backs on limited income persons.

This subject is of no importance to the rich class, but the lower class who share this State with them have the same rights and duties. The problem should be investigated to find the reasons and means of getting rid of it. Such a thing only concerned the specialists, who can explain it.

A number of cooperative society Chairmen said that the price increase is invented. They all stressed the importance of the antimonopoly law and buying collectively, as price increases are escalating. The effects are disastrous on everyone and require quick solutions to the problem. Otherwise the ball will get bigger and bigger and will move to strike who ever stands in its way.

Price increases are a disaster in the eyes of many people. — Al-Anbaa

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

local Inspection campaigns in Hawalli, Salmiya close stores

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Ahmed Al-Subaih

KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality director, engineer Ahmed Al-Subaih, said all store, food stuff outlet, restaurant and cafe owners must make sure they have licenses prior to operating their business.

He stressed that owners have to abide by the specifications in their license and with other municipality rules.

Al-Subaih warned that municipality inspection teams are constantly working to make sure all rules are put into practice.

He said Hawalli teams launched a special campaign targeting grocery shops, hairdressing salons for ladies, bakeries, poultry outlets and butchers in both Hawalli and Salmiya.

The inspections resulted in the filing of 39 citations and the closing of four stores.

(Left) Shafiqah Al-Awadhi during the presentation yesterday. (Right) Students and some staff of the AIS. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

‘Govt seeks to promote higher education among citizens’ Presentation held on academic prospects in US

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Kuwait Cultural Office (KCO), Washington DC held a presentation on the academic prospects in the United States at the American International School yesterday. It was addressed to high school students looking forward to pursuing higher studies in the United States. Shafiqah Al-Awadhi, Cultural Attache at the Embassy of Kuwait in Washington highlighted the role played by KCO. “The Cultural Office of the Kuwait Embassy seeks to promote higher education plans and strategies of the Kuwaiti government by placing scholars on quality programs by preparing them for the country’s market needs. In addition, the Office aims to establish and strengthen links with American educators and institutions of higher learning for the benefit of Kuwait,” she said.

“The United States attracts many students from all over the world. There are 723, 277 international students enrolled into US colleges and institutes for the academic year 2010/2011.

There are a wide range of options available in terms of types of institutions as well as a variety

of academic majors,” explained Al-Awadhi. She also spoke about the role and the services provided by KCO. “ There are more than 2,700 Kuwaiti students enrolled into US colleges.

About 300 students are private students that are not on scholarship. Only 19 percent of Kuwaiti students are female, and 41 percent of all students study commerce-related subjects.

The KCO provides support and advice to all students. It also arranges their affairs including allowances, insurance and other issues,” she noted.

Al-Awadhi then explained the procedure involved in preparing for studies. “Students should select from the university listing, paying special attention to the IELTS/TOEFL score and academic requirements. For International Admissions, they can submit an online application form. Once you are informed of your admission, make an appointment with the United States Embassy in Kuwait to obtain your visa,” she pointed out.

“Deadlines should be respected. It is very important. No excuses are accepted in the United States. Students have to start early as late

applications are mostly rejected. Students should also meet the counselor of the school and choose the field and university they aim to study in. TOFEL is an important criteria that guarantees admission. Students should also have letters of recommendation, community service experience, and have other documents ready. If you do not have the minimum IELTS or TOEFL scores required by universities for academic admission, you should enroll into intensive English programs by following the links on the Cultural Office’s website regarding placement in the English programs,” stressed AlAwadhi.

She also highlighted that Kuwaiti students can benefit from different kinds of scholarship provided by the Ministry of Higher Education, “There are conventional, merit, and pre-merit scholarships offered. Also a scholarship is provided to those that want to pursue a master’s degree. Also, medical and pharmacy majors have been added to the program in addition to an already existing dental major. Only (10 to 15) seats are available for these scholarship, and competition is high,” concluded Al-Awadhi.

Competition for call to prayer

KUWAIT: The Minister of Public Works, Fadhel Safar inaugurating a sewage water treatment plant in Kabd yesterday.

KUWAIT: Minister of Awqaf and Minister of Justice, Jamal Al-Shehab, said the mosques sector is the lungs through which the ministry breathes and therefore it must be given priority by the ministry.

In a meeting with officials of the mosques sector, Al-Shehab emphasized in the presence of Undersecretary Dr. Adel Al-Falah, that the state body is a lung to breathe through and must be its throbbing heart. Al-Shehab said it is important to support this sector, in order for the mosque to

KD 5,000 worth jewelry stolen

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The owner of a jewelry store in Sharq reported that his Pakistani employee stole jewelry worth over KD 5,000 that was entrusted with him to conduct repair work. A case was filed and a search for the suspect is on.

Minor sexually harassed A minor reported to police that he was lured into to a camp by two young men who then sexually harassed him. A case was filed and further investigations are in progress to identify the suspects.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait Embassy Chancellor Dr Omar Ahmad Al-Kandari handing over the checks to the President of the Thai Muslim Women Foundation, Saengdao Siamwalla.

Thailand receives donations KUALA LUMPUR: The Embassy of the State of Kuwait to the Kingdom of Thailand yesterday handed over a check for KD 5,550 for the Foundation of Muslim women for orphans care.

The Embassy also handed over a check for $40,640 donated by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs for convening courses to disseminate moderate thought in the five southern Muslim states of the country.

A press release issued by the Kuwait Embassy said that Chancellor Dr Omar Ahmad Al-Kandari handed over the checks to the President of the Thai Muslim Women Foundation, Saengdao Siamwalla. She visited the headquarters of the embassy accompanied by members of the board of directors of the foundation. Siamwalla thanked HH the Amir of Kuwait, the government and the people for such assistance, praising the charitable projects undertaken by Kuwait in the Kingdom of Thailand. —KUNA

Transvestite arrested A 19-year-old citizen was arrested in Salmiya in connection with cross-dressing.

Asian mugged An Asian reported that three men robbed KD 160 from his possession in Shuwaikh.

Bedoon caught A bedoon was arrested in Jahra in connection with driving a stolen vehicle. Further investigations are in progress to determine the manner in which he obtained the vehicle that was reported stolen earlier. A 33 year old Egyptian sustained a serious head injury when he was knocked off by a speeding vehicle in Salwa, said security sources noting that he was rushed to Mubarak hospital for treatment. A family of four Pakistanis ( 6,8, 30 and 46) was rushed to Farwaniya hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation when a fire broke out in their apartment, said security sources.

Verbal abuse A banker in Sharq accused a client , a citizen, of verbally abusing him while conducting a transaction.

Street fight A Sudanese national filed a complaint with police stating that he fought with an Egyptian who snatched his mobile phone and fled the scene. A case was filed and the Egyptian is being sought by police.

Mentally ill citizen A mentally ill citizen was arrested and referred to the Psychiatric Diseases Hospital after he threatened to kill his own family members in Jahra. Police succeeded in calming down the man.

MoH to train staff on tackling radiation leak KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MoH) will organize a training course next week to deal with radiation leak. It will be held in cooperation with the United States’ Department of Energy, said a senior MoH official.

“The course will be held as part of the ministry’s precautionary measures to counter potential radiation leak incidents which aims to improve the capability of paramedics and other medical staff members,” said Dr Khalid Al-Sahlawi Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs to Al-Qabas.

A specialized team will arrive in Kuwait to begin the threeday training program starting March 4. “The training course includes introduction to types of nuclear radiation leak and methods to deal with each case, as well as training to manage cases affected by radiation exposure,” Al-Sahlawi added.

deliver its mission completely and participate in educating people correctly. He said this is the role of Imams and speakers. Al-Shehab emphasized that mosques have an important role in building society in a civilized way, so it is important to direct them to what will benefit people.

“Therefore, we must provide mosques all they need and help perform their role and achieve their goals,” he said.

Al-Shehab stated the necessity to care for muezzins, as the call to prayers is one of the works

which draws a moslem closer to God. He emphasized the necessity to choose a man with a good voices for this job, especially in mosques near crowded places like markets. Good voices have their effect in the hearts of a moslem and attract whoever hears them, he said.

He suggested a competition to choose the best voice for muezzins performing the call to prayer. He said the competition will encourage muezzins to care for their voices and learn how to improve themselves. —Al-Anbaa

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

LOCAL

Three rapists release woman after 17-hour confinement Owners of vehicles identified KUWAIT: A search is currently ongoing for three male suspects who have been accused of kidnapping a woman in Salmiya and raping her at a remote location in Jahra. Police have identified the Kuwaiti owners of two vehicles that the Filipina victim spotted near the place where she was confined. According to a security source, the victim was reportedly waiting with her husband outside their building for a taxi, when they were approached by a car in which three strangers were seated, identifying themselves as police investigators. The suspects reportedly demanded that the couple produce their identity cards, and instructed the husband to go home alone and get his wife’s identification card.

“The suspects gave the victim’s husband the impression that they would follow him to his apartment using the building’s second elevator. Instead, they bundled the woman into their car and drove to an undisclosed location,” said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The victim’s husband reported the incident to police immediately and investigations went underway.

Seventeen hours after the case was filed, the victim reportedly entered the police station in a very bad shape and explained to police that abductors mercilessly assaulted her both physically and sexually before abandoning her along Jahra road.

According to her testimony to police, the victim was taken to a location in Jahra desert where the kidnappers repeatedly raped and physically assaulted her. She was

then locked up in a nearby warehouse where she spent hours in the cold, naked. The suspects eventually abandoned her at a public street. The woman was soon picked up by a taxi driver who offered her a jacket and helped her to the police station to report the case. She suffered a nervous breakdown at the time with beating marks covering her face, said the source who further indicated that the victim bled profusely as a result of brutal rape. The victim noted the license plate number of two cars located near the warehouse she was held. Police used the information to identify the car owners who are being summoned for investigations.

Fatal accident A 9-year-old child died of fatal injuries he sustained during an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident in the desert near Mina AlAbdullah. The victim was reportedly driving the vehicle alone when it lost balance and overturned. Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene before the body was taken to the forensic department. A case was filed at the Mina Abdullah police station.

Sudanese suicide A Sudanese man committed suicide inside his Jleeb AlShuyukh apartment, according to preliminary investigations carried out at the crime scene.

Investigators accompanied police officers to the apartment after the victim’s roommates reported finding his body hanging by a rope tied to the ceiling of his

room. The body was taken for an autopsy to confirm the suicide.

Ethiopian suicide An Ethiopian woman hanged herself to death inside a Qurain house where she worked as a housemaid. The Kuwaiti house owner called police as soon as he found the woman’s body inside her room. Criminal investigators carried the body to the forensic department. An investigation was opened to determine the woman’s motives.

Vengeance Security forces freed a young man from inside a Salmiya apartment where he was held recently and beaten by a group of seven people over previous disputes. A security team was sent to the scene following an emergency call. The caller said he was held by four men and three women for allegedly insulting one of the women on a previous occasion.

Following negotiations, the suspects agreed to free the victim, who was left in his underwear with bruises all over his body. The man explained that he was able to untie himself and lock himself inside the bathroom before calling police using his cell phone. The seven suspects are currently held pending further investigations.

Oil leak “I found oil inside my camp”, a jubilant citizen said in an emergency call received by officers at Mina Abdullah police station recently. A security team headed to the location and found the black liquid pouring from under-

ground. They secured the area.

The camp owner explained that he was packing up at the end of his camping trip when he noticed a leak on the ground where his tent used to stand. He eventually called police after friends told him that the liquid coming from underground is oil. Kuwait Oil Company technicians were called to investigate the source of the oil, which probably leaked from a ruptured oil pipe.

Suspects held Four suspects were arrested in Andalus in possession of 29 bulletproof vests. They could not explain their source. Patrol officers stopped three Asian and one Arab men they noticed dragging plastic bags into a warehouse in the area. The men were held for investigations after claiming they were not aware of the contents when police opened the bags and found the vests.

Drunk gunmen A man was arrested for driving under the influence on Gulf Road, while three others were held for assaulting police officers on duty and possessing of an unlicensed weapon. Patrol officers pursued an SUV whose driver ignored orders to pull over at a traffic light on Monday night. Police were eventually able to force the car to stop, and arrested four male suspects inside after strong resistance. All suspects, identified as GCC nationals, were reportedly inebriated at the time of arrest.

They were referred to the proper authorities to face legal actions.

—Al-Rai, Al-Qabas, Al-Watan

News

in brief

Abdulmohsen Al-Rushaid, NBK public relation manager, delivers the prize to winner Ahmad Al-Jasar.

Bushra Al-Muawed, NBK Ghazali branch manager, delivers the prize to winner Hassan Ali Zeghir.

NBK announces two winners of KD 2,000 KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), announced the winners of the ‘Use Your NBK Credit Card and Win’ campaign for the month of February. The grand winner of the KD 20,000 prize and the last group of winners of the KD 2,000 weekly draw, will all be announced during the annual Walkathon event held on March 24.

NBK’s Credit Cardholders Hassan Ali Zeghir and Ahmad Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Jasar each won KD 2,000 in the third week of February .Winners expressed their thanks for the ongoing offers and valuable prizes NBK provides throughout the year.

NBK doubles the chances for Credit Cardholders to win KD 2,000 weekly to celebrate Hala February festival. Two customers will win in the weekly drawing, instead of one.

The campaign offers NBK credit cardholders the opportunity to win KD 2,000 weekly. NBK customers, who use their credit card anywhere up to Feb 29, will

also get a chance to enter the draw for the KD 20,000 grand prize.

Every cumulative KD 20 spent by NBK credit cardholders in Kuwait will qualify them to enter the weekly draws to win KD 2,000 and the grand prize draw to win KD 20,000 at the end of the campaign. The entries are doubled when they use their NBK credit cards while travelling abroad or shopping on international websites.

NBK Credit Cards are accepted worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay. The benefits include free travel insurance, complimentary airport lounge access, concierge service, purchase protection extended warranty and more.

The award winning NBK Rewards loyalty program rewards NBK credit cardholders with a range of valuable discounts and a point redemption schemes redeemable at numerous shops and restaurants throughout Kuwait.

Egyptian manpower KUWAIT: Deputy Chairman of Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (SAL) ministry workers, Yahya AlDousary, said the Egyptian manpower authority expressed its wish to discuss the issue of increasing the number of Egyptians working in Kuwait. Egypt stressed that the issue is considered sovereign in the state, and the political leadership decides the percentage of labor in each country in order to maintain the population structure. He said the union will convey this wish to the SAL Minister. Al-Dousary said the union received an invitation from the manpower minister in Egypt and a date is set for discussions over mutual issues. He said the union asked to meet the minister to discuss agreements with the Egyptian side during the meetings.

Attempt to kill Kuwaiti youth KUWAIT: Lawyer Hawraa Al-Habeeb, representing Kuwait citizen Ahmad Assad, said her client is in Adan Hospitalís ICU. He was beaten by a group of Qatari youths and run over following a verbal dispute with one Qatari youth, who was harassing girls and spraying them with water. The Qatari had written insults to Kuwaiti girls on his car, which angered the victim. He approached the Qatari. The Qatari youth did not like that. He waited for almost one hour for the victim and drove at him with his car.

This sent the victim into a coma in critical condition.

The Qatari was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

MoH receives $10 million concession KUWAIT: The Health Ministry received a $10 million concession from American hospitals for cash payments of bills estimated at $30 million. The concession was offered following a visit made by Mohammad Al-Azmi, Health Ministry Assistant Undersecretar y for Financial Affairs and Dr Mohammad Al-Mashaan, Director of Overseas Treatment. Contracts have been signed with health insurance companies for patients receiving treatment in Washington.

Kuwait pioneer in educating citizens with special needs

KUWAIT: The Assistant Secretary General of the International Police Sport Union (USIP) Sandro Dirckx of the Netherlands and Chairman of the Canadian Police Sport Union, William Darin arrived in Kuwait to attend meetings. These will take place at the Regency Hotel from today till March 7. The officials were welcomed by Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, president of the USIP and the Kuwait Police Sports Union.

Praise for Al-Maliki’s visit BAGHDAD: The Iraqiya Coalition, led by Iyad Allawi, said yesterday that it was looking forward to a visit paid by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to Kuwait.

The Coalition said in a statement issued by the media advisor Hani Ashour that the Iraqiya Coalition hopes that such visits will contribute to Iraq being exclude from Chapter VII and resolve all out-

standing issues between the two countries. The Iraqiya Coalition expressed hope that bilateral relations between the two countries would be promoted to ensure a brighter future for the two peoples and forget the past. The statement also hoped that Iraq’s exit from Chapter VII would ensure that bilateral ties return to normal.

PARIS: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Assistant DirectorGeneral for Education, Dr Qian Tang, lauded Kuwait’s pioneering efforts in providing good care and education for people with disabilities.

Dr. Tang was speaking during an award-giving ceremony for the winners of the 2011 Amir Jaber Al-Ahmad Prize, which aims to provide a better education for those with intellectual disabilities.

Kuwait’s experience in providing the latest technology to aid the educational process for those with disabilities is a great “success” and it agrees with UNESCO’s goals, which seek to offer wholesome educational opportunities for all sectors of society.

The upcoming award ceremony, to be held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, will be a good opportunity for other countries to learn from Kuwait’s experience in this realm.

Prof. Douglas Biklen was announced the winner of the UNESCO/Amir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah Prize of 2012, UNESCO announced on Friday.

Prof. Douglas Biklen is an American educator best known for promoting the controversial theory of “facilitated communication”; an augmentative and alternative communication technique for people with communication impairments, particularly autism. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait Banks Association (KBA) Secretary General Hamad Al-Hasawi welcomed senior Kuwait Bank Club (KBC) officials including Chairman Hesham Al-Buaijan, Treasurer Mohammad Al-Sayegh, Jassem Al-Haidar Assistant Secretary General, Reem Al-Wuqaiyan Social and Information Committee Director. The formal meeting, during which the KBC team congratulated AlHasawi for assuming his new post, saw discussions to improve quality of services provided by KBC to employees in Kuwait’s banking sector.

Postponed patriotic march on Saturday KUWAIT: Dr Mohammad Al-Ajmi, Head of the organizing committee of the national celebrations, said that the postponed “Loyalty Remains to Country” march will take place on Saturday.

Al-Ajmi said yesterday that more that 32 government and non-governmental bodies were ready to celebrate the national holidays on the pre-set date of February 25.

However, the march was postponed

due to heavy rains that prevented the event from taking place, he said.

He expressed appreciation for the participants’ understanding of such a delay and lauded their enthusiasm and readiness to still be a part of this patriotic event.

Saturday will be another chance, and perfect weather for the public to enjoy such a festive event, Al-Ajmi reminded. —KUNA

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

local

Kuwait national celebrations continue around the world Greetings for leadership, citizens CAPITALS: The Kuwait Embassy in Riyadh held a reception to mark Kuwait’s National Day, Liberation Day and the sixth anniversary of the assumption of office by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The ceremony was attended by the Governor of Riyadh, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, Saudi Minister of Culture and Information, Abdulaziz Khoja and several other Saudi officials and public figures, as well as Kuwaiti students. Historical photographs highlighting Kuwaiti-Saudi relations were displayed during the event.

In Cambodia, the Kuwaiti Embassy celebrated Kuwait’s national festivals on Feb 25 and 26. Several senior Cambodian officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hor Namhong, were present at the celebration.

It is the first time the Kuwait Embassy in Cambodia marks the national festivals, as the embassy was only opened in December 2011. Ambassador of Kuwait to Cambodia, Dharar Al-Tuwaijri, thanked the guests for attending the celebration, wishing that cooperative relations between Kuwait and Cambodia be further reinforced and cemented.

In Guangzhou, China, the Kuwaiti Consulate organized a reception on the occasion of the 51st and 21st anniversaries

of the Kuwaiti National Day and Liberation Day respectively. Speaking at the event, Kuwaiti Consul General, Abdulwahab AlSager, congratulated the Kuwaiti leadership, government and people on the national festivals.

He highly commended Kuwait-Sino relations, stressing the significance of developing bilateral ties into strategic partnerships in all fields. He urged the effective involvement of Chinese businessmen and investors in Kuwait’s national development plans, including mega projects.

In Albania, the Kuwaiti Embassy celebrated the country’s national days in the presence of the Albanian Prime Minister, his wife, the Parliament speaker, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, several other ministers and Arab and foreign ambassadors.

Kuwaiti Ambassador to Albanian, Najeeb Al-Bader, addressed the event by lauding the deep, historical and distinguished bonds between Kuwait and Albania in political, economic and cultural fields. He said he considered Kuwait-Albanian cooperation as a model for small countries to follow, appreciating Albania’s principled position condemning the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

In Milan, the Kuwaiti Consulate held a major reception marking Kuwait’s national festivals and the sixth anniversary of HH the Amir’s assumption of power. A large number of Italian political and security offi-

cials and public figures were present at the party.

Kuwaiti Consul General, Sami Al-Hamad, conveyed his congratulations to HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince, HH the Prime Minister, the Government and the people on the national festivals.

In Madrid, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Spain Adel Al-Ayyar hailed distinguished relations between Kuwait and Spain in all cooperative domains.

He congratulated the Kuwaiti leadership, Government and people on the country’s national celebrations.

He wished Kuwait continued security and stability under the wise leadership of HH the Amir. Several Spanish ministers, officials, businessmen and Arab and foreign ambassadors and diplomats attended the ceremony. In Abuja, the Kuwaiti Embassy in Nigeria celebrated Kuwait’s National Day and Liberation Day. A display of historical paintings of Kuwait’s was organized at the event. Traditional Kuwaiti sweets were presented to the guests.

Kuwait’s Ambassador in South Africa Hassan Al-Oqab held a ceremony at the Sheraton Pretoria to mark Kuwait’s national festivals.

Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Dr. Ngoako Ramatlhod, represented the South African government at the ceremony, which was also attended by a constellation of Arab and foreign diplomats, businessmen and media figures. —KUNA

Emirates team completes first phase of ‘Kuwait Flag’ balloon LONDON; A United Arab Emirates team, under captain Abdul-Aziz Mansour, has completed the final touches in the first phase of manufacturing a “Kuwait Flag” hot air balloon, which was recently launched by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah.

Mansour said yesterday that the balloon is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology, adding that famous international companies are participating in manufacturing the balloon.

He added that the team is also well-prepared to fly the balloon with complicated technology. “ The team members have long years of experience in flying such kind of giant hot air balloons,” he said. Mansour revealed that the balloon will be launched during a big ceremony to be held in Kuwait in April, as a part of a broader international event to introduce Kuwait to

countries over which the balloon will fly.

“The ceremony will also see the launching of Kuwait’s first international festival for hot air

balloons in which teams of countries like France, the United States, Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, etc will take par t.”

Mansour lauded H.H. the Amir’s support to the team, festival and sports in Kuwait. He disclosed that HH the Amir praised during a recent reception the balloon team’s effor ts to promote Kuwaiti culture and heritage worldwide.

“HH the Amir’s support of the Emirates team stems from the wise Kuwaiti leadership’s interest in opening up to the world and strengthening bonds of friendship with all nations,” he said. He underlined that this support plays an important role in the team’s success at both local and international levels, particularly in the balloon festival held last year in the English city of Bristol.

Mansour pointed out that the Kuwait “Thank You” hot air balloon toured several European countries last year to express gratitude to European countries for their role in freeing Kuwait from occupation 21 years ago. —KUNA

KRCS gets financial donation for Syrians KUWAIT: The popular committee for fundraising yesterday handed the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society (KRCS) $one million for affected Syrians who face difficult human situations in their country.

The fund has been transferred to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to guarantee the money would go for the affected Syrians, Barjas AlBarjas, Chairman of KRCS, said, expressing his appreciation and gratitude to the popular committee for extending a helping hand to Syrian people.

Al-Barjas added that the popular committeeís effor ts are visible in many countries that had faced natural disasters in the past.

He called for the use of all possible methods to stop the ‘human disaster’ in Syria, affirming KRCS’ readiness in aiding Syrian people without any hesitation.

Also, Al-Barjas stressed that KRCS is constantly in contact with IFRC, International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC ), and Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization in order to aid those affected in Syria. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fire Services Directorate co-sponsored an exhibition held at the Mishref International Fairgrounds commemorating the country’s national and liberation days. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

Students still on ‘holiday mood’ KUWAIT: Attendance rates in Kuwait’s schools after the national holidays varied between 20 and 45 percent, and dropped to as much as 0 percent in some schools, according to sources familiar with Ministry of Education (MOE) statistics.

This was no surprise for many, as students have for years adopted a tradition of ‘extending’ holidays by collectively missing classes days before and after a break.

Seemingly helpless, the only solution the MOE can take is to rearrange the school schedule to

merge spring break with the national holidays, instead of both breaks being separated by a oneweek study period.

The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicate that ministry officials already plan to propose adjustments and make spring break start from Feb 10 to March 1 every year.

Meanwhile, the government had just 50 percent of its national manpower on Tuesday, as more than 16,000 employees were absent either traveling or malingering with other reasons.

The Civil Service Commission monitored absences in coordination with ministries and government bodies through the automated system, sources said. It said the lion’s share of absences were in the education, higher education, Social Affairs and Labor, information and health ministries.

More than 21,000 leaves were recorded since the start of the national holidays. Most of them were considered malingers, and there are administrative punishments for those who do not register sick leaves.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Can you spare fifty?!

Respect and obey our law

By Mufarrej Al-Barjas Al-Dossery

By Thaar Al-Rashidi hanks be to God, that the three daily meals of a Kuwaiti can easily suffice three people. What Kuwaitis spend on clothes and accessories can also provide those three people with garments. What Kuwaitis spend on travel can easily provide medicine for three people. In short, what Kuwaitis spend can help build three countries and provide for the needs of all of its people.

These extremely generous people of Kuwait spend without limits and, in fact, wastefully. Nevertheless, some of us still pretend to be underprivileged and demand more gifts and grants! This is so weird because if some of us are underprivileged, it is their own doing with the approval of the state. What poverty and needs are some Kuwaitis talking about, when millions dream of having what we have?!

Yes, very few of us might be in real need, but the majority of those suffering have created their own dilemmas by their mismanagement. Some of us are sick with showing off, and in the course of doing so made unbearable debts. With dreams of greater wealth, others risked the stability of their own families and sold their homes to invest in stocks, which led to bankruptcy. Other citizens borrowed or took loans to travel, or purchase luxurious expensive vehicles they could not afford. However, does this mean that we are suffering poverty and are in dire need? Of course not.

A decent life is available for all citizens, but some of us insist on demanding more and destroying our families.

They take great risks, instead of meeting their responsibilities and prioritizing their needs. They took loans for unnecessary reasons and insisted on being unjustifiably indebted.

However, citizens had accomplices in such crimes.

That is the state. It stood by watching finance companies devour loan seekers by facilitating the loan process, regardless of the interest citizens have to pay. This was unlike the standard procedure in the past when loans were limited, timed and interest was deducted beforehand.

So, will the state save the lives of some indebted citizens? Will it respond to some MPs’ calls to write off the interest of some citizens’ loans and prevent unconditional and unlimited future loans? We hope so!

In a related scene, we started to see very elegantly dressed people wearing famous luxurious watches, a well-known brand pen, fancy rosary beads, snow-white robes and elegant head-dresses. They arrive driving the most up-to-date luxurious vehicles and own a mobile phone with a very distinguished number. This indicates a millionaire.

The problem with such a man is that he follows anyone who leaves the diwaniya to ask for the following.

“Excuse me........I need a favor. Can you spare KD50? I promise to return it in a week”.

“Do not tell me you gave him the fifty he asked for”, another diwaniya visitor might mockingly ask the following day.

“What! I did. How did you know?”, you ask.

“He has done the same thing to half of the visitors to this diwaniya and he never returned the money,” they say sarcastically with a provocative smile! — Al-Watan

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kuwait digest

A question to Al-Saadoun

By Marzouq Al-Heeth wrote last week about MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun winning the speakership. I said his winning made the majority of Kuwaitis happy, including me, yet that does not mean we do not criticize him. We should not give him sacredness, as if he is a righteous king or a prophet.

This is what some people fell into during the past few days!! We followed the answers of MPs and writers to demands of MPs Ashour and Dashti, when they rejected the Gulf Union or sending Gulf troops to protect Bahrain from the internal-external revolution.

The answers were to the point and expressed what the majority of Kuwaitis are calling for, but when the request came from speaker Al-Saadoun, the statement disappeared except for some scattered ones.

What happened to you?! I know that you do not lack courage to speak and say what is right, but your silence this time makes us wonder!

Speaker Al-Saadoun saw with his own eyes the armed domestic Bahraini revolution that was supported from outside, and how it spread destruction in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He saw it as it headed towards the King’s premises to occupy it and overthrow the regime. Despite that, he uses a weak and trivial legal justification.

Abu Abdelaziz: our brothers in Syria are being killed, dragged and bombed by rockets, while thunderous guns and planes shell them night and day under the watchful eye of the world. This attack comes from inside, and when the world wanted to help them by law via the UN Security Council, Russia and China said no...so is this realistic?! We see tragedies and calamities and we do not move an eye lid, claiming that the law does allow for that and that security agreements contradict Kuwait’s Constitution, and the attack should be from outside!!

As for your rejection of the Gulf union, you justify that by saying Kuwait enjoys a certain degree of freedom and popular representation. Yet prisons of some Gulf states are full of opinionated prisoners, so what does that have anything to do with this?

We need a confederate union, not federal. This means that foreign, economic and financial policies are the same. Each country is free to run its internal affairs, especially as the world is now following the law of the jungle in which the strong devours the weak. The union of the Gulf countries in a confederation will give it strength...and how lucky you are Abu Abdelaziz with the support of Dashti and Ashour!! Yet there remains another question I hope you answer: Ahy did you not express your opinion about the Gulf union before the speakership elections? — Al-Watan

e talks and acts without any legal identity for his existence or the rank which he carries. As per the law and as per ministry structure and civil service laws he does not exist.

This person does not exist at all. He does not sign any paper and has no identity that qualifies him to be available in the place he works. But, for three months he has received MPs, ministers, officials and citizens and the one who had the right to enter and the one who has no right to enter.

Depending on his mood, he decides who can see the minister and who cannot. Legally he does no exist, and his luxurious office where he sits has not existence in the ministry structure. Yet he is everything, and everyone listens to him and obeys too.

Law is clear, and administrative structure for any minister was not put there for playing. The structure was created to put a suitable person

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kuwait digest

Spending oil income surplus wisely

By Amer Al-Tamimi s the price of Kuwaiti crude oil rose to nearly between debtors and banks. National income sur$120 per barrel, speculations are ongoing on plus does not necessarily mean that the state has to the manner by which the oil revenue surplus is spend it in an imbalanced way. Instead, the spendgoing to be dealt with politically. Recent reports ing criteria must remain in line with values of rationindicate that a majority in Parliament could forward al economic practice. Income surplus must be a a draft law to scrap interest on bank loans by obli- motivation for Kuwait to come up with true developgating the government to pay the interest to local ment plans that create a local economy which depends on diverse sources of income. Therefore, banks on behalf of Kuwaiti debtors.

Meanwhile, there are reports which hint that the Parliament needs to place a human development government is looking to increase salaries of public plan based on improving outcomes of the state’s sector employees, or even drop the fees of such educational system, which can be achieved through institutions that have services as electricity competent teaching and water. Obviously, There could be good reasons to staff capable of gradsuch plans would uating competent increase current increase salaries of staff members who nationals who can expenditure in the never enjoyed financial privileges, similar handle jobs at various future budget. But to those previously provided to some of locations. what about investFunds need to be ment expenditure and their colleagues. Such steps could be utilized in improving spending on human interpreted as being in line with plans to academic levels at the development? maintain social equality among the state’s universities There could be and higher teaching good reasons to national labor force. However, pay raises institutes, and to increase salaries of on a wide scale and scrapping interest on establish true vocastaff members who loans require careful studies to ensure tional training instinever enjoyed finantutes. Trained nationcial privileges, similar that the decision is based on solid ecoal labor forces are to those previously nomic standards and meets commitments essential requireprovided to some of between debtors and banks. ments for sustainable their colleagues. Such development; which steps could be interalso needs private preted as being in line with plans to maintain social equality among the sector potential in the form of the privatization of national labor force. However, pay raises on a wide multiple state departments. Kuwait needs, today, to scale and scrapping interest on loans require careful find alternatives to current fiscal policies which are studies to ensure that the decision is based on solid based on competency to achieve structural transforeconomic standards and meets commitments mation in economic life. — Al-Qabas

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It is the right of every minister to have some persons from inside or outside the ministry close to him. But this should be as per the law and normal formalities, so that we do not become a “banana” state. in a place they deserve, to serve the state.

Putting a person in a position or place simply because the minister likes him is breaking the law, which we are all supposed to respect. And the first one who should respect the law is the minister himself.

If the minister likes someone or trusts him, then he should translate this trust legally. He should create the position of Office Manager and not implant him, in a ministry which is supposed to be the first one which implements law among other ministries. Do not be outlaws because of liking or trust. Avoid such a thing. Having a person without identity? It is possible to restructure the ministry hierarchy to create a position for your friend. Restricting a ministry just for the sake of the eyes of one person is difficult to accept in the state of organizations and law, but at least it is better than breaking the law by the ministry of law.

Note: It is the right of every minister to have some persons from inside or outside the ministry close to him. But this should be as per the law and normal formalities, so that we do not become a “banana” state. Ministries are the guardians of the nation, the Constitution tells us. The law explains to us that it is not heritage nor won by lottery. —Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

Let us celebrate our history

I

kuwait digest

Let us control water wastage

By Dr Khaled Sultan Al-Sultan

By Dr Yaqoub Al-Sharrah referred to a book on Kuwait’s history while leading powers to sign agreements. However, writing this article. It aptly summarizes the his- Kuwait’s ruling parties chose back agreements tory of Kuwait and its relation with the British that best serve national interests, especially secugovernment and other Arab states. This book was rity.

Kuwait signed the Protection Convention with written by Rashed Abdullah Al-Farhan and presented to me by best friend Muntasr Rashed Al- B r i t a i n i n 1 8 9 9 , d u r i n g t h e re i gn o f S h e i k h Farhan years ago, when we were at high school. Mubarak Al-Sabah whereas Sheikh Abdullah AlS a l e m s i gn e d t h e We were returning to document of indeour homes in Faiha on Kuwait’s rulers protected the country pendence with the foot from Kaifan High UK in 1961, when School. On our way, from all dangers of enemies, with the Kuwait gained the we passed by the greatest weapon ever-loyalty of Kuwaiti abilit y to protec t home of our uncle people who fully supported their rulers in itself and adminisR ash ed Al-Far h an trate the country in where we had lunch. the measures taken to counter these danvarious sectors.

Af ter that we went gers. At that time, Kuwait developed even However, the downstairs to the while it faced turbulent times. As a result, ambitions of cerbookstore located in tain countries did the basement of his its actions sparked interest in some of the not stop with house. world’s leading powers to sign agreeKuwait’s independBefore we left the ments. However, Kuwait’s ruling parties e n ce. Th e for m e r bookstore my friend I raqi president presented me the chose back agreements that best serve Saddam Hussein, book on the condinational interests, especially security. decided to invade tion that I read it. I Ku wait, but the read it later on, discountry was liberatcovering that it is full ed within a short time due to the exceptional of great things we can benefit from.

The book has many chapters describing the efforts made by Kuwaiti rulers and the loyalty of history of Kuwait and the hard times that Kuwait the Kuwaiti people who formed a united front in encountered, in addition to the challenges that the face of invasion.

As a result, a large number of countries enemies of Kuwait have faced, either from former imperialist powers like the United Kingdom, formed an alliance to help Kuwait and liberate it Por tugal an d Russia or from in for mer s wh o from the Iraqi invasion. This marked the second attempted to incite the Ottoman state against great event of liberation, while the first occurred Kuwait. All that has passed smoothly. We thank after signing Kuwait’s independence.

However, Kuwait has the right to rejoice on such God for such a great blessing.

Kuwait’s rulers protected the country from all great occasions. At the same instance, we have to dangers of enemies, with the greatest weapon avoid wasting money, and also avoid committing ever-loyalty of Kuwaiti people who fully support- sins that incite God’s wrath. We hope various releed their rulers in the measures taken to counter vant ministries like the Ministry of Education, the these dangers. At that time, Kuwait developed Ministry of Awqaf and the Ministry of Information even while it faced turbulent times. As a result, its will conduct an awareness campaign to inform actions sparked interest in some of the world’s people about our great history. — Al-Watan

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any in Kuwait agree that the lack of laws to regulate water usage is the main reason behind the horrible wastage recorded in the state, regardless of funds paid by the country during desalination and distribution.

While some argue that lack of awareness is a reason behind water wastage, I do not agree that there are people who do not value the importance of water and how costly its wastage prove to be. People will not consume electricity and water at rates that exceed their actual need if there are regulations to penalize squandering.

Water shortage is a problem that is found almost in every country around the world.

Developed countries deal with this problem by imposing regulations to control consumption rates. There are numerous examples in history where water resource was at the heart of conflict between countries.

Some might find it illogical that water shortage is a global crisis when more than 70 percent of earth’s surface is composed of water. That’s true, but the problem is the fact that freshwater resources are very limited (2.5%). Statistics show that eight percent of global water usage is consumed for domestic purposes, including drinking water, cleaning and irrigation of gardens. If we take away irrigation water, the average water consumption per capita rate around the world would stand at 50 liters a day. The rate varies around the world. It touches around 333 liters per capita in the United States and around 130 liters in Germany. In Kuwait, a staggering 430 liters of water is consumed a day!

People in Kuwait arguably need only a quarter of the water they consume, while the rest is wasted. In turn, a consumer pays fees that equals to quarter of what the state pays to produce and distribute water. This obviously clarifies why Kuwait needs new regulations to control water consumption rates by introducing tough penalties. People may then think twice before using water every morning to wash their cars—Al-Rai

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

Putin warns opposition ahead of election

Twenty dead in attack in China’s restive west Page 12

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Mistaken identity claimed in Qaeda case Egyptian’s name on FBI most-wanted list CAIRO: An Egyptian with the same name as a long-sought senior Al-Qaeda leader was arrested yesterday in Cairo, but he denied any link to the terrorist network and said it was a case of mistaken identity. Two US officials agreed. Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi was arrested on his arrival at Cairo airport from Pakistan via Dubai and was taken for questioning, security and airport officials said.

The FBI has listed that name on its mostwanted list as an alias for the senior AlQaeda leader known as Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian who has been indicted by the United States for an alleged role in the Aug 7, 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people.

He also was linked to the 2002 killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Two US officials, however, also said the arrested man appears to have been mistaken for the wanted Al-Qaeda leader. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence information that has not been publicly released.

The FBI said it was still sorting out details of the case. “We are aware that an individual has been taken into custody and every effort is being made by the US government to verify the identity of the person in custody,” said William Carter, a spokesman at FBI headquarters. He declined to comment further. Saif al-Adel is

a veteran figure in Al-Qaeda, believed to have been the head of its military committee. After the US -led invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks, he fled to Iran, where he was reportedly held under house arrest, though it is believed he continued to be active and in recent years he was reportedly allowed to make trips to Pakistan.

CAIRO: This image provided by the FBI shows an undated image of Saif Al-Adel also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, Seif Al Adel, Ibrahim Al-Madani.

He was arrested yesterday at Cairo Airport but he has denied the link and says it was a case of mistaken identity. —AP

Former militants who know both men have previously said they are two different people and the US identification is incorrect. But Makkawi told reporters he was not Saif al-Adel and that he had nothing to do with the terror group since 1989. He said he traveled to Egypt using travel documents issued by the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad.

“What has been said about me is lies. I never took part in actions against people or installations,” he said. “I decided to come to Egypt to live in peace and because I am certain of my innocence,” he said. “I have cut no deals with Egyptian authorities,” said Makkawi, who is 57. Makkawi gave his birth date as Dec 17, 1954. The FBI says Saif alAdel was born in the 1960s.

Wearing a gray Arab robe and a jacket, Makkawi looked nothing like the man in the photograph distributed by the FBI as that of Saif al-Adel’s. Makkawi has receding silver hair and wears glasses. Makkawi said that Saif al-Adel’s real name was Mohammed Salah Zidan. Montasser elZayat, a lawyer who represented Makkawi in Egypt, also told the AP last year that alAdel’s real name was Mohammed Salah Zidan. Al-Adel’s FBI profile was posted in October 2001 when the FBI “Most Wanted Terrorist” list was created - just a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The name “Mohammed Salah Zidan” is not men-

tioned in the FBI profile.

“I challenge any security agency to prove that I am Said al-Adel, who is a different person whose name is Mohammed Salah Zidan,” said Makkawi. A senior Egyptian security official involved in the case supported Makkawi’s assertion of innocence. The official said Makkawi was a former army officer who left Egypt in the 1980s to join the fight against Russian forces in Afghanistan. The official said Makkawi was wanted for questioning in Egypt in a case dating back to 1994 that involves the activities of the militant Jihad group, whose members fought the government of ousted president Hosni Mubarak in an insurgency in the early 1990s.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Noman Benotman, a Libyan who was once a member of a jihadist group linked to al-Qaida, says the man arrested is actually Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi and is not Saif Al-Adel. Benotman, now an analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation, says he has met both Makkawi and al-Adel.

Benotman, who said he has spoken to security officials in Egypt, said Makkawi flew to Egypt “purposely to clear his name as many former jihadists have been released since all of the political changes in Egypt.” — AP

Saudi, Chinese foreign ministers hold phone talks RIYADH: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and China, sharply at odds over the crisis in Syria, discussed regional developments in phone talks yesterday, Saudi state media reported. Prince Saud al-Faisal spoke with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi about “regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the SPA news agency said, without specifically mentioning Syria.

China’s official Xinhua news agency earlier quoted Yang, who also held talks this week with his counterparts in Egypt and Algeria, as well as Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, as saying he supported sending humanitarian aid to Syria. “ The international community should create favourable conditions in this regard and provide humanitarian aid to Syria,” Yang said. His discussions came as diplomats in New York said the United States is drawing up a new draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria, which would be the third time Western

nations have tried to pass a resolution on the 11month old crisis.

China and Russia have blocked previous attempts by the Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria, where monitors estimate that more than 7,600 people have been killed since a crackdown on anti-government protesters began. France on Tuesday urged Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, not to veto the latest resolution. “A resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid in the most threatened areas is under discussion at the Security Council. We can hope that China and Russia will not veto this resolution,” Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told RTL radio.

Saudi Arabia also on Monday accused some countries of being complacent on Syria and blocking a solution to the deadly violence there. “The kingdom holds all parties that delay international action (on Syria) morally responsible for developments there,

especially if they continue being complacent and ignore the interests of the Syrian people,” a government statement said. — AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Iraqi lawmakers rethink pricey armored car perk BAGHDAD: Faced with bitter criticism from an impoverished public, Iraqi lawmakers said yesterday they were having second thoughts about buying themselves millions of dollars worth of armored cars on the government’s dime. In a late-night vote with little scrutiny, parliament last week approved spending $50 million on the armored cars out of the $100 billion Iraqi budget for 2012.

Since then, the cars controversy has consumed Baghdad, with everyone - from government officials to revered clerics to newspaper editors - condemning the pricey perk. Lawmaker Mohammed AlKhalidi, a member of the secular but Sunni-dominated political party, said yesterday he voted for the armored cars but is now reconsidering taking one, “given the reaction from the Iraqi people.” “We are the sons of this nation and what the people decide, we agree with,” said Al-Khalidi, who represents the northern city of Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.

He voted for the cars because, he said, he escaped two assassination attempts as a lawmaker.

“If I don’t feel safe, how can I reach my people?” he said. Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq

from just five years ago when the country teetered on the brink of civil war. But deadly attacks still happen nearly every day - including yesterday, when six people were killed in bombings that struck two cities - as militants try to undermine public confidence in Iraqi’s government and security officials.

The lawmakers voted in favor of the armored cars last Thursday, the same day 55 Iraqis were killed nationwide in bombings and shootings coordinated

by Al-Qaeda. Under the spending plan, the cars would be distributed to all 325 lawmakers, with an additional 25 earmarked for the office of parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni member of Iraqiya. The budget marks Iraq’s highest public spending plan ever. It is dependent on projected revenues curried from oil exports of 2.6 billion barrels daily at $85 per barrel.

It also calls for the government to distribute a quarter of any projected revenues in cash payments to all Iraqis. However, officials say that will not happen until after June at the very earliest, or at all until the country’s estimated $12.7 billion deficit is paid back. But many Iraqis have grown cynical about the government’s efforts to serve the public. Within

hours of the budget vote, the armored cars triggered a driving fury from Iraqis who believe they have little say or influence in the government.

“There are dozens of villages in the country that do not have access to drinking water while lawmakers set aside money to buy armored vehicles for each one of them,” cleric Ahmed al-Safi, a top aide to the revered Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said during prayers last Friday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

A quarter of Iraqis live in poverty, and an estimated 15 percent are unemployed, according to U.S. data compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency. A midlevel government employee makes around $600 a month.

By comparison, Iraqi lawmakers are paid $22,500 a month in salaries and allowances, and were given a $90,000 stipend for expenses when they took office in 2010. The new armored cars would give them a minimum $100,000 expense on top of the perks they’ve already accrued. “Because they are addicted to privileges, they think of themselves first and they voted to buy the cars immediately,” said 33year-old Baghdad resident, Ghazawn Abdul-Wahab.

University student Mohammed Tariq predicted lawmakers ultimately would not get the cars with the government money, which he said was “being stolen from the wealth of the nation and being stolen from our rights.” Sensing the brewing anger, Al-Nujaifi on Tuesday asked lawmakers to give up the armored cars - even though he called the criticism the result of an “unfair media campaign.” He said five lawmakers have been killed in recent years and “dozens” of others targeted in unsuccessful assassinations while “performing their daily duties to serve the nation and homeland.”

“Because of the sensitivity of the situation and to secure the people’s trust in you, please give up this constitutional right and shift the money to more important and vital items for the community,” AlNujaifi said in a statement to parliament Tuesday.

The plea was posted on his office website hours later. One group of lawmakers refused the cars from the get-go. Shiite followers of hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said they would not accept the perk after their leader announced that a person who does take the car is “a traitor for his nation and homeland, and moreover, disobedient to God.” —AP

Israeli troops raid West Bank TV stations Transmitters, other equipment seized

TEHRAN: An Iranian man looks at an electoral posters two days ahead of Iran’s parliamentary elections yesterday in north of Tehran, Iran. —AP

Iran’s political friction adds heat to elections TEHRAN: Iran’s hard-liners have been so effective at crushing the opposition, they now are left brawling among themselves.

That’s the messy political scramble in this week’s parliamentary elections - the first major voting since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009 and the mass protests, chaos and crackdowns that followed.

The balloting on Friday will amount to a popularity contest among various conservative factions, which were once united against reformists and are now sniping at each other and picking sides in the power struggle between Ahmadinejad and his opponents within the ruling Islamic theocracy. The outcome, too, could resonate well beyond the 290-seat parliament. In many ways, it may determine whether Ahmadinejad is politically spent or still able to exert influence over elections next year to pick his successor, who will become Iran’s new international face and inherit challenges that are now hard to predict. The West still favors economic sanctions as the best tool to rein in Iran’s disputed nuclear program, but Israel says a military strike could be necessary if Tehran refuses to ease its defiance.

“This election is a test of strength for the groups still standing after the crackdowns,” said Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “The reformists are out of the picture. Ahmadinejad has been under attack. The question then becomes: Can he

get a second wind out of this?” On a broad level, Iran’s political infighting has created a lot of noise without making any fundamental changes in how the country is ruled.

The grip of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the protectors of the ruling system remains as strong as ever. They control all key appointments and policies including nuclear and defense - while vetting every candidate for president and parliament.

Elected officials are allowed some leeway, yet always with the understanding that the clerics at the top can reverse any decision. “It’s a political show. Elections make sense when they bring change. No change will happen after Friday’s vote,” said Sadeq Zibakalam, a Tehran University professor and a liberal-leaning political analyst.

But the political discord points to internal tensions that could spill into critical issues, such as the direction of Iran’s nuclear program or possible attempts at diplomatic overtures with Washington. The U.S. and allies fear Iran’s uranium enrichment could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Tehran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.

Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, has been left politically wounded after daring to challenge Khamenei’s authority. The president first pushed back against Khamenei’s decision in April to reinstate the intelligence minister, Heidar Moslehi, who had been dismissed by Ahmadinejad. —AP

RAMALLAH: Israeli troops raided two private Palestinian TV stations before dawn yesterday, seizing transmitters and other equipment, the military said. The military said one of the outlets, Al-Watan TV, is a pirate station whose frequencies interfered with legal broadcasters and aircraft communications. It said several transmitters were confiscated in the operation initiated by Israel’s Communications Ministry. The military also confirmed a second raid at Jerusalem Educational TV, a Ramallah-based station owned by the Palestinians’ Al Quds University, but did not elaborate. Palestinian officials denounced the raids as an aggression and violation of media freedoms. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited al-Watan later yesterday and said the raid undermined his government. Fayyad heads the Palestinian Authority, which runs the Palestinian self-rule areas that cover 38 percent of West Bank territory. “This is a clear aggression against what remains of the Palestinian Authority,” Fayyad said, urging international Mideast mediators to get Israel to halt such raids.

Al-Watan station director Moammar Orabi said about 30 soldiers entered the station before dawn.

The TV frequently reports on Palestinian protests against Israeli policies in the West Bank. It is owned by three non-governmental associations, including the Palestinian Medical Relief Society headed by legislator Mustafa Barghouti. “This is an act of repression of the freedom of the media in Palestine, and of repression of the popular resistance that we believe in,” Barghouti said. Popular resistance is a term Palestinians use for anti-Israeli marches and demonstrations. Ramallah is part of the Palestinian self-rule areas, but Israeli forces still routinely conduct raids here. Also yesterday, Israeli authorities

RAMALLAH: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, left, visits the offices of al-Watan TV after an Israeli army pre-dawn raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday. —AP issued demolition orders against foreign-funded solar panels and wind turbines that have provided small Palestinian herding communities with electricity, according to one of the donors, the Germanbased group medico international.

Israeli volunteers, using funds from the German government and other foreign donors, have

installed the panels and turbines in 16 herders’ hamlets in recent years because Israel refuses to link them to the electricity grid, arguing that the herders have no legal claims to the land. The hamlets are in the southern West Bank and are part of the 62 percent of the West Bank territory that mains under sole Israeli control. —AP

Iran boosts oil storage capacity at Kharg Island DUBAI: Iran has completed a project to boost its crude oil storage capacity in its largest oil export terminal, Kharg Island in the northern Gulf, giving it more flexibility should sanctions cut crude oil exports. But to date, volumes of crude stored at Kharg have stayed at low levels, three Iran-based industry sources told Reuters, because the OPEC country has not had to cut exports.

Iran has been working to boost its oil storage capacity at Kharg Island since 2008 as part of a long term strategy to double its capacity there.

“Over the past three months Iran increased the storage on Kharg Island,” an Iran-based industry source said. “There’s a storage capacity of around 23 million barrels now which can be used if need-

ed.” The official would not comment on the scale of the expansion but as of mid-2008 capacity at Kharg Island was reported to be 16 million barrels.

The state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has plans to further increase capacity to over 30 million barrels but a timeline has not yet been announced, the industry source added. Iran faces sanctions on its oil exports imposed over its disputed nuclear work which the West fears might be aimed at making atomic bombs. Iran denies the allegation. Earlier this year the EU placed a ban on new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. EU countries with existing contracts are obliged to cease buying Iranian oil by the end of June. US

financial sanctions have made it difficult for other buyers of Iranian oil in Asia to process payments back to Tehran. Some analysts say Iran’s 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports may fall and that it will need to store more crude at sea as sanctions bite, but Iran-based sources disagree. “We don’t have any unsold barrels. We have storage, but we don’t need to increase volumes there yet,” said an Iranian oil official who declined to be named. China, India and Japan, the top three buyers of Iranian oil, together buy about 45 percent of Iran’s crude exports. China is set to reduce the amount of crude it will buy from Iran this year, but still will remain a significant buyer and one of Tehran’s biggest trading partners. — Reuters

Obama’s campaign director Fisk to address 20th PRWC in Dubai KUWAIT: The 20th Public Relations World Congress (PRWC), held for the first time in the Middle East in the UAE from March 13 - 15 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, will host Roger Fisk, who played a key ‘behind the scenes role’ in the election of US President Barack Obama; Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, General Manager of Al Arabiya TV; and Prema Sagar, the founder president of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), among an impressive line-up of 35 speakers.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with the National Media Council of the UAE, the three -day Congress (www.prwcdubai.com) is organised by the International Public Relations Association Gulf Chapter (IPRA-GC) and will present the newest insights and trends in communications.

Addressing the core theme of the Congress, ‘From the Arab Street to Wall Street, Communications in the Age of Dialogue,’ the speakers will share their views on the changing political landscape, challenges and opportunities in the Public Relations sector, the future of the media, social media trends, and Public Relations in the Middle East.

Roger Fisk, who started working on the Obama campaign in 2007 and managed a nationwide grassroots fundraising team that redefined modern political fundraising, later served as the Cabinet Liaison for the Presidential Inauguration and is now a presidential appointee in the Obama administration in the Commerce Department. He will deliver the keynote address at PRWC’s session on ‘Social Media & Public Relations: Innovative Strategies for a New Age,’ sharing a ringside view of the Obama experience, how the aggressive use of social media has been revolutionised and how the Obama organisation is looking at an even tougher fight - the re-election.

Al Arabiya TV’s Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, who was previously the editor-in-chief of the panArab daily Asharq Al-Awsat, will share his views at the session on ‘The Changing Political Landscape: What’s Next?’ One of the 2009 Time 100 finalists

Roger Fisk, Office of the Secretary US Department of Commerce

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, General Manager of Al Arabiya TV

of the ‘World’s Most Influential People,’ he is a Board Member of Foundation for the Future, an independent organisation committed to promoting Civil Society Organisations in their efforts to foster democracy and human rights in the region. Joining him in the session will be Dr. Tarik Yousef, CEO of Silatech, Qatar and Rami Khouri, Director, Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut.

Prema Sagar played a leadership role in the Public Relations industry of India as founding president of PRCAI, and has managed complex reputational issues in the fast-growing Indian business environment. The Principal & Founder of Genesis Burson-Marsteller, she will share her views on ‘Public Relations in the Age of Dialogue: Challenges & Opportunities,’ at a session to also be addressed by British public relations guru and Chairman of Chime Communications Lord Bell.

Faisal Al Zahrani, the President of IPRA-GC, said: “The sessions at the 20th Public Relations World Congress reflect the shifts in the society that affect not only the communications industry but also the way governments and businesses

function. The perspectives shared by our speakers will be of great value to communications industry professionals in further sharpening their own strategies.”

Sunil John, Chairman of the Organising Committee of PRWC Dubai and Chief Executive Officer of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “What sets apart the speakers at the PRWC is that they bring insights that have been shaped by their personal experience working on some of the most defining moments in contemporary history.

By sharing their views at the Congress, they will open up new channels of dialogue for the participants.”

Other confirmed speakers at the Congress include: • Richard Linning, Founder & Senior Partner, The Stable House Partnership, UK & IPRA President 2011 • Christophe Ginisty, Deputy Managing Director (EMEA), Edelman, France • Chris McLaughlin, Vice President of External Affairs, Inmarsat, UK • Sultan Al Bazie, Executive Vice President IPRA-GC, and Co-founder & CEO of Attariq

PremaSagar, the founder president of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) Communications, Saudi Arabia • Maha Abouelenein, Head of Communications - MENA, Google, UAE • Mohammed Al Ayed, Founder, President & CEO, Trans-Arabian Creative Comms Services, Saudi Arabia • Mazen Nahawi, President of News Group & Board Member, Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), UAE • Tariq Al-Ghamdi, Manager, Public Relations Department, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia • Eileen Wallis, Managing Partner, The Portsmouth Group, UAE • Rishi Saha, Regional Director (Australia, ME, Africa, South & Central Asia), Hill + Knowlton Strategies, UAE Abdullah Jum’ah, the former President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, will deliver the welcome keynote for the Congress. Dr. James Bellini, a communications expert, broadcaster and futurist, and founder of Media Counsellors, a UK-based communications and reputation management consultancy, will join a team of other high-profile

communication professionals to moderate the sessions.

Other speakers at the Congress include: • Wadah Khanfar, former head of Al Jazeera and co-founder of the Sharq Forum • Lord Chadlington, Chairman of the Huntsworth Group, UK • Mark Kimmitt, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Political/Military Affairs, USA • Dr Herbert Heitmann, Executive Vice President of External Communications at Royal Dutch Shell, Netherlands • Khaled Al-Maeena, Editor at Large, Arab News, Saudi Arabia • Richard C. Powell, Jr, Chief of Communications at Bloomberg, USA • Jamal Khashoggi, Head of the new Bahrainbased Al Arab news channel • Michael Peel, Middle East Correspondent, Financial Times, UAE • Jay Walsh, Head of Communications, Wikimedia Foundation, USA • Daniel Tisch, Chair, Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, Canada • Hoh Kim, Founder and Head Coach at THE LAB h, a Korean consultancy that provides leadership communications coaching and crisis management Over 500 PR professionals are expected to attend the PRWC, where they will have the opportunity to participate in Master Classes and Training Workshops, creating a compelling platform for information sharing and knowledge transfer. Registration is now open at www.prwcdubai.com.

A biennial event, the last Public Relations World Congress was held in 2010 in Lima, Peru, and attended by industry representatives from 39 countries, while the 2008 Public Relations World Congress was held in Beijing, China. In both instances, the event brought significant media and industry attention to the host country with the world’s foremost communications professionals and media experts attending the sessions. The first ever Congress was held in Brussels, Belgium in 1955.

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Rules to prevent car back-over deaths delayed WASHINGTON: Rules aimed at helping drivers avoid unintentionally backing over children, already overdue, are being delayed again following complaints from automakers that requiring rearview video cameras systems on new cars and trucks would be too expensive. In a letter to lawmakers, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said his department needs more time for “research and data analysis” before it can issue regulations.

“I believe it is important to allot additional time to ensure that the final rule is appropriate and the underlying analysis is robust,” LaHood wrote Tuesday. The letter didn’t mention the auto industry’s concerns. More than a year ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed requiring improved driver rear visibility in new vehicles, a standard that in most cases would necessitate rearmounted video cameras with in-vehicle display screens. The regulations

were to be phased in, applying to all cars and light trucks by the 2014 model year.

The new rear visibility standard was required by a law that Congress passed in 2008 in response to dozens of accidents in which children were backed over. At issue in particular were blind zones in large sport utility vehicles and pickups. Nearly 300 people are killed and 18,000 injured each year because of back-over accidents, according to NHTSA data. Many occur in driveways and parking lots. Nearly half the deaths involve children under age 5. The elderly also are frequent victims.

Lobbyists for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers met with White House officials in December about the proposed rules. Documents brought to the meeting by lobbyists, and posted online by the White House, urged the administration to permit manufacturers the option of meeting

the proposed visibility standard through expanded mirrors on vehicles rather than cameras. The documents pegged the cost to the industry of requiring cameras at $2.7 billion annually. But they said allowing automakers to meet the standard with mirrors instead would cost about $1 billion.

“We had urged the government to explore all the options, including mirrors with a wider field of vision,” Gloria Bergquist, vice president of the alliance, said in an interview. “There are a variety of tools that could be used.

Certainly the rearview cameras are available, and many people are buying them, so it would give consumers more options in how much extra they paid for these technologies.” Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer group, said providing that flexibility is a bad idea, especially since it is people outside the car who are being killed and injured, not the drivers.

“Safety should be for all, not some,” he said. “Sure, a mirror is going to be cheaper, but will a mirror get the job done? The answer is no.” Mirrors only work if drivers remember to use them, Ditlow said. But video camera systems that include sensors usually beep or make other audible warnings that alert drivers to the presence of a person behind the vehicle, he said. The government estimated the video systems would add $159 to $203 to the cost of each new vehicle. But if the vehicle already has a built-in GPS screen, the cost could be as low as $58, Bergquist said.

Automakers are also concerned that the cumulative effect of federal safety regulations is driving up the average price of a new car, which is now about $25,000, she said. About 45 percent of 2012 model cars have rearview cameras as standard equipment, according to KidsAndCars.org, a safety group that championed the passage of the 2008

law. The cameras are an option on an additional 23 percent of models.

The 2008 law required the government to issue final rules to address back-over accidents by Feb. 28, 2011.

LaHood extended that deadline twice previously. In a majority of back-over accidents in which children were killed, the driver was a family member, according to KidsAndCars. “The emotional tragedy is off the Richter scale,” said Janette Fennell, president and founder of the group. In a 2005 tragedy, Meredyth Bryant called to her 2-year-old daughter Annabelle to come out from behind a painting contractor’s pickup truck in the driveway of the family’s home near Richmond, Va., but it was too late. The contractor, who had no way to see the child, backed over Annabelle, killing her.

“These are very preventable accidents,” Bryant said. “No one should have to die that way, especially an innocent child right in front of her mother.” —AP

Storms kill four, damage Branson theater district Twister rolls through town just before 1 am

CARACAS: A huge photograph of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is displayed on the facade of state-owned oil company PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela) in Caracas yesterday. —AFP

Chavez surgery in Cuba said a success, questions remain HAVANA: Venezuelan authorities said President Hugo Chavez was in good condition Tuesday after surgeons in Cuba removed a lesion from his pelvic area, where they cut out a cancerous tumor last year. “The diagnosed pelvic lesion was totally extracted,” said Vice President Elias Jaua in a broadcast speech, adding that surrounding tissue was also removed and there were “no complications” with nearby organs.

“President Chavez is in good physical condition,” Jaua added. Venezuelan officials have never specified the kind of cancer the leftist president has, but they have denied the cancer has spread to other organs. Jaua said doctors will study the results of the latest operation to determine “the optimum way to treat the lesion.” Venezuelan Defense Minister Henry Rangel, speaking on official television, said the news was received “with extraordinary pleasure” by the armed forces.

Cuban state TV said Chavez was operated on successfully on Monday in the Center for Medical-Surgical Research (CIMEQ), Cuba’s most modern hospital.

Chavez declared himself cancer-free last October, before announcing on February 21 that a small lesion had been discovered. “Nobody can say right now that it is another malignant tumor,” he said at the

time, adding that “the likelihood that it is malignant is greater than that it is not.”

The possible return of Chavez’s cancer has cast doubt over his October 7 reelection bid, likely to be Venezuela’s most closely contested presidential election in years. Chavez, 57, who remains active as president while absent from Venezuela, has been in power since 1999. The leftist firebrand now faces a strong challenge from 39-year-old Henrique Capriles, who was chosen as the sole opposition candidate in a primary earlier this month.

Chavez has used Venezuela’s vast oil wealth on popular social programs and to help his communist ally Cuba, as he courted anti-US allies from Iran to Libya.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, a Chavez ally, said “we are all very worried about Hugo’s health, and God willing, everything will go well.” Correa said in Guayaquil that “for Venezuela, for Latin America, we need health for a leader like President Hugo Chavez.” In Washington, where the administration of President Barack Obama has long been at odds with Chavez, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs wished Chavez well. “Everyone hopes he recovers and life moves on,” Wendy Sherman said Tuesday. “We obviously have a difference of views on how the future of Venezuela ought to be,” she added. — AFP

Former US resident pleads guilty at Guantanamo to murder GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE: A former CIA “ghost prisoner” who grew up in the Baltimore area admitted to a US war crimes court yesterday that he was an Al-Qaeda money courier and martyr-in-training now prepared to help prosecute other terrorism suspects. After nearly nine years in US custody, Pakistani native Majid Khan appeared in public for the first time at a top-security courtroom on the Guantanamo Bay US naval base in Cuba. He pleaded guilty to all five charges against him, including murder and attempted murder, in a deal that spares him from a potential life sentence in exchange for helping prosecute other prisoners.

Khan, a square-faced 32-year-old with short black hair, goatee and glasses, wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie as he stood in court next to his military lawyer, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jon Jackson, who spoke on his behalf. “Mr. Khan pleads as follows to all charges and specifications, guilty,” Jackson told the court.

Asked by the judge if he concurred with that, Khan replied, “Yes sir.” In addition to murder and attempted murder, Khan was convicted of conspiring with Al-Qaeda, providing material support for terrorism and spying on US and Pakistani targets. He faces up to 25 years in prison but will likely serve far less if he makes good on a plea agreement that remains sealed to protect Khan’s family. Sentencing will be deferred to 2016. Khan moved to

Maryland with his family in 1996 and graduated from a suburban Baltimore high school. He met self-described September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed during a trip to Pakistan in 2002 and became his acolyte.

Under Mohammed’s instruction, Khan passed a test designed to prove his willingness to become an Al- Qaeda suicide bomber. He donned a fake bomb vest and waited to set it off in a mosque in Karachi where he was told then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would show up. Khan also delivered $50,000 of Al-Qaeda cash to the group that drove a truck bomb into the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, killing eight people and wounding dozens.

A California woman who survived the blast watched yestedat’s hearing from behind a glass wall in the courtroom spectators’ gallery. Khan’s parents and other relatives were scheduled to watch via closed-circuit television at a Maryland military base. He also has a wife in Pakistan and a daughter he has never seen. Pakistani police arrested Khan at his brother’s house in Pakistan in March 2003 and turned him over to the CIA. His family did not learn what had happened to him until three and a half years later, when then-President George W. Bush announced he had closed the secret prisons and sent Khan and more than a dozen other CIA “ghost prisoners” to Guantanamo. — AP

BRANSON: A powerful storm system that produced multiple reports of tornadoes lashed the Midwest early yesterday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas. At least four people were killed in Illinois and Missouri.

An apparent twister rolled through Branson just before 1 am and seemed to hopscotch up the city’s main roadway, ripping roofs off hotels and damaging some of the city’s famed music theaters dangerously close to the start of the heavy tourism season. More than 30 people were reported hurt, mostly with cuts and bruises. “If it was a week later, it’d be a different story,” said Bill Tirone, assistant general manager for the 530-room Hiltons of Branson and the Branson Convention Center, where windows were shattered and some rooms had furniture sucked away by high winds. Hotel workers were able to get all guests to safety as the storm raged.

John Moore, owner of the damaged Cakesn-Creams ‘50s Diner, said the tornado seemed to target the city’s main strip, moving down the entertainment district, right through the convention center, across a lake and into a housing division. He said the tornado appeared to “jump side to side.” “The theater next to me kind of exploded. It went everywhere. The hotels on the two sides of me lost their roofs. Power lines are down. Windows are blown out,” Moore said. “There’s major, major destruction. There has to be millions dollars of damage all down the strip.”

At least three people were killed in the southern Illinois city of Harrisburg after a storm swept through shortly before dawn. In Missouri, one person was killed in a trailer park in the town of Buffalo, and at least three people were critically injured in the small eastern Kansas town of Harveyville. The tornadoes were spawned by a powerful storm system that blew down from the Rockies on Tuesday and was headed across the Ohio and

Tennessee river valleys toward the MidAtlantic region.

Corey Mead, lead forecaster at the US Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said a broad cold front was slamming into warm, humid air over much of the eastern half

BRANSON: Debris lies around the Legends Theater yesterday, in Branson, Mo. A powerful storm system lashed the Midwest early yesterday, roughing up the country music resort city of Branson and laying waste to a small town in Kansas. —AP of the nation. From Tuesday night into yesterday morning, at least 16 tornado sightings were reported from Nebraska and Kansas across southern Missouri to Illinois and Kentucky, according to the storm center, an arm of the National Weather Service. Jennifer Verhaalen, a long-term resident at the Hillbilly Inn Motel in downtown Branson, said she saw a white funnel cloud followed by a wall of rain as the storm closed in on the town around 1 am. She said she retreated to a back bedroom with her husband as the storm slammed into two other hotel buildings tearing the roof off

Cocaine seizures drop in Mexico as traffic moves MEXICO CITY: Cocaine seizures have dropped precipitously in Mexico in recent years, and a top UN drug-control official said Tuesday the trade appeared to be moving to Central America because of law enforcement pressure and infighting among cartels. Mexican officials seized 53 tons of cocaine in 2007 and only 10 tons last year, according to a report Tuesday from the International Narcotics Control Board, which monitors global drug-control agreements.

Antonio Mazzitelli, representative in Mexico of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said traffickers are diverting their cocaine operations elsewhere, but he cautioned that seizures of drugs produced inside Mexico, like methamphetamine and marijuana, remain stable. The government of President Felipe Calderon has funneled tens of thousands of federal police and troops into a six-year fight against drug cartels. The pressure has driven a rise in deadly battles for turf between cartels.

The government pressure and fighting among cartels appear to be increasing the risks involved in moving cocaine the long distances from South America through Mexico and into the United States, Mazzitelli said. Seizures of cocaine in Central America continue to be very high, which might mean that trafficking is increasingly bypassing Mexico and moving along less difficult routes like those through the Caribbean, he said.

“More law enforcement presence on the territory, increased control on the US border, plus infights among criminal groups make moving large consignments of cocaine quite risky in economic terms,” Mazzitelli said. Earlier, Mexico’s army said soldiers had found 120 plastic helmets purportedly worn by members of the cult-like Knights Templar drug cartel during initiation ceremonies for new

one. Across the road, a strip mall lay in tatters, its roof missing and several walls collapsed. As the sun rose yesterday, business owners picked through the remains of their stores.

Keith and Glenna Bartley, tourists from Kingsport, Tenn., said staff at the Grand

members. The cartel adopted the name of monastic warriors who fought during the Crusades, but the helmets appear to be more styled on headgear in ancient Greece. Such helmets are often worn in rural Mexico by people portraying Roman centurions during Easter-week passion plays. The army said soldiers found the helmets late last week in a rural area in western Michoacan state.

The Knights Templar cartel appeared in 2010. It claims to protect Michoacan and defend ethical principles, but in fact engages in drug trafficking, killings and extortion. —AP

ACAPULCO: People look at a dead man after unknown gunmen killed three people in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico, Tuesday. Violence continues in the city of Acapulco as rival drug gangs battle for control of the region. —AP

Victorian Hotel where they were staying ushered them to the basement around 1:30 am Branson has long been a tourist destination for visitors attracted to the beauty of the surrounding Ozarks.

But the city rose to prominence in the 1990s because of its theater district, which drew country music stars and other music celebrities including the Osmond twins and Andy Williams.

It is about 110 miles southeast of Joplin, which was devastated by a monstrous twister last May that killed 161 people. — AP

Colombia’s chief prosecutor unseated by high court BOGOTA: A Colombian high court unseated the country’s chief prosecutor on Tuesday on the grounds that she was improperly elected. Her marriage to an ex-congressman tied to drug lords had cast a shadow over her tenure.

Prosector Viviane Morales, who held the second most powerful post in Colombia after the president, had been elected by the Supreme Court in December 2010 from among candidates proposed by President Juan Manuel Santos.

But a different court, the Council of State, ruled 15-9 on Tuesday that Morales didn’t get the required number of votes. There was no immediate comment from Santos or Morales on the decision. She will be replaced by her deputy while a new chief prosecutor is chosen. A former acting chief prosecutor, Guillermo Mendoza, told The Associated Press that it was entirely possible that Santos could re-nominate Morales.

Morales has been under intense scrutiny since her marriage late last year to a former congressman, Carlos Alonso Lucio. An M-19 rebel in his youth, Lucio has in recent years served as an adviser to far-right paramilitaries and had contacts with extradited drug lords. In 1996, he was stripped of his US visa over his relation with Cali cartel leaders. Morales has, however, also upset Colombia’s right.

She has led the prosecution of a number of former close associates of ex-right-wing President Alvaro Uribe on corruption and criminal conspiracy charges.

The Council of State ruled that Morales did not receive the required two-thirds vote in the Supreme Court in 2010. She won 14 votes in a court that normally has 23 judges but at the time numbered only 18. The Council of State decided that she fell two votes short. Morales has not commented publicly about her relationship with Lucio other than to confirm her marriage to him. They had originally married in 2000 but later separated.

Lucio is not known to currently be facing any criminal investigations, though he has acknowledged meeting with drug-trafficking paramilitary warlords to help them negotiate an eventual peace pact with Uribe’s 2002-10 government. Lucio had in the 1990s been at the center of another controversy as an ardent defender of thenPresident Ernesto Samper during an unsuccessful impeachment attempt over the acceptance by Samper’s campaign of $6 million in contributions from the Cali cocaine cartel. — AP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Putin warns opposition ahead of election MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused the Russian opposition of preparing dirty tricks to discredit this weekend’s presidential poll, saying they would have to respect the view of the majority in the vote.

Putin attacked Russia’s nascent protest movement with characteristic venom in a display of confidence ahead of Sunday’s poll which he is expected to win to claim a third term in the Kremlin after his stint as premier. He alleged that activists were planning to stuff ballots themselves in a deliberate ploy to delegitimise the vote. Allegations of vote-rigging sparked mass protests against his rule after December 4 parliamentary election.

“The main rule is to respect the view of the minority, but to submit to the opinion of the majority,” Putin said at a meeting with supporters in Moscow at the vast Manzeh exhibition centre just outside the Kremlin walls.

“People who talk about the need to strengthen democratic institutions must themselves obey these rules.

The minority must not impose its will on the majority,” he said, standing presidential-style at a podium.

Opinion polls have predicted that Putin should win in the first round with up to 60 percent of the vote but the opposition has complained that the election has been skewed in his favour from the start.

Putin expressed fury at the opposition for declaring the election “illegitimate in advance” and said the authorities had proof that dirty tricks were being prepared. “ They are getting ready to use some k ind of mechanisms which would confirm that the elections have been falsified. They will stuff ballots themselves, monitor this and then report on it,” he said.

“These instruments are unacceptable and harmful to democratic society. We have grounds to believe that our opponents are preparing such actions. We can present the proof.”

His comments also appeared to be an icy warning to independent vote monitors who alleged mass rigging in December’s legislative elections and who Putin accused at the time of

Crippled Italian ship makes slow progress to Seychelles VICTORIA: A crippled Italian cruise ship from the same fleet as the doomed Costa Concordia limped towards the Seychelles yesterday, as a fishing boat towed it through the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. The more than 1,000 people on board the Costa Allegra spent a second night on the ship’s decks in sweltering temperatures after a fire on Monday took out the air-conditioning system along with the entire power supply and the engines.

The boat “is coming slowly, but is coming,” said a Seychelles coast guard official who declined to be named, speaking at the command centre in Victoria port where the ship’s progress is tracked on a giant map.

The liner was expected to arrive into port in Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago, by 0500 GMT today depending on weather conditions, the ship’s operating company Costa Crociere said in a statement.

A French tuna fishing boat, the Trevignon, responded to the Costa Allegra’s mayday call and was towing the boat solo, crawling along at a speed of around six knots (11 kilometres or seven miles an hour) through calm seas.

The fire broke out near the ship’s generators in the engine room as the Costa Allegra was making its way from Madagascar, which it departed on Saturday, to the Seychelles, where it had been due to arrive on Tuesday. Emergency crews on board extinguished the fire after a few hours and no one was injured, but the liner was left powerless and adrift.

A Seychelles coast guard vessel took a

small emergency power generator to the Costa Allegra on Tuesday to help restore some basic services, while two tugboats were also on hand to provide support if needed. Two airplanes are already in Victoria ready to fly passengers home, said Lina Laurence, spokeswoman for the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, with a third expected to arrive today.

“Over 600 airline seats have already been optioned to organise returns (and) more than 400 hotel rooms have been optioned for possible accommodation needs,” Costa Crociere said. It said a team was also on the island arranging for the arrival of the passengers and for subsequent air charter transfers. Helicopters delivered food to the stricken vessel yesterday, and footage filmed during the delivery showed people crowded around one of the cruise ship’s swimming pools.

“The situation on board is normal, the weather is good,” Costa added. The former container ship was converted into a cruise liner in 1992, and includes two pools, a casino and several bars and restaurants.

The ship was initially being towed to the tiny remote island of Desroches, also part of the Seychelles, but the course was changed when officials deemed the facilities there inadequate for large numbers.

Mahe is a further 200 kilometres away.

The Costa Allegra is owned by the same company as the much larger Costa Concordia, which crashed off the Italian island of Giglio and keeled over last month with 4,229 people on board in an accident that claimed 32 lives. — AFP

UK warns Argentina over latest spat over Falklands LONDON: Argentina’s top diplomat in Britain was summoned to London’s foreign ministry yesterday to explain his country’s decision to ask 20 leading companies to stop importing British products and supplies. Argentina’s Industry Minister Debora Giorgi told the companies Tuesday they should replace British imports with products from other nations, in a latest attempt to pressure London to negotiate over the disputed Falkland Islands.

Tensions are rising ahead of the anniversar y of the brief 1982 war between Argentina and Britain over the islands, which began April 2, and saw more than 900 people die. A Foreign Office spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy, said Argentina’s charge d’affaires Osvaldo Marsico had been called to the ministry “this afternoon for an explanation.”

Marsico is Argentina’s chief diplomat in Britain, as the country has not had a full ambassador since 2008. “The UK is the sixth largest investor in Argentina, and we import from Argentina signifi-

cantly more than we export to them,” the spokesman said. “So it is firmly not in Argentina’s economic interest to put up these barriers to trade.” Officials also planned to discuss Argentina’s decision on Monday to turn away two Carnival Corp. cruise ships from its southernmost city of Ushuaia, invoking a new law that bars vessels linked to Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman Steve Field said it was “very sad that Argentina continues with their approach of confrontation, not cooperation.” Argentina has become increasingly assertive over its claims to the islands it calls the Malvinas, as well as the Britishheld South Georgia and South Sandwich islands. At stake are not only the islands, but rich fishing grounds and potential undersea gas and oil reserves in the surrounding seas.

Cameron insists London will not enter negotiations on the sovereignty of the islands. He has said the people of the Falklands must decide their own future and claims Argentina has taken a colonialist approach to the islands’ residents. —AP

PUNTA ARENAS: One out of two British cruises who were refused their entry to an Argentine port on Monday because they had berthed in the Falklands, arrives in port in Punta Arenas, Southern Chile, on Tuesday. —AFP

being agents in the pay of the West.

Top Russian officials and the state media have since Tuesday been waging an apparent concerted campaign

Several members of the opposition have already denounced the vote as illegitimate because it excluded all their leaders and have vowed to lead

ROCKFORD: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) looks on as his wife Ann Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Byrne Electrical Specialists yesterday in Rockford, Michigan. — AFP to cast early doubts on any future allegations of ballot fraud that may lead to post-election protests.

tens of thousands onto the streets on Monday evening.

Russia’s Channel One television

station led its Wednesday morning news with a report about the election fraud that was allegedly being plotted in Moscow by Putin’s young opponents.

It showed a teenage couple with the opposition’s white ribbon symbols pinned to their chests telling the camera they were detained while trying to distribute write-in ballots to supporters and plotting other voting offences.

The repor t came one day after Russia’s election commission chief Vladimir Churov drew attention to an Internet site featuring a video he said was prepared by the opposition.

The site showed a mobile phone camera capturing staged footage of violations being committed in Putin’s favour by Moscow election authorities on what was meant to look like election day.

Russia’s booming blogging community reacted to that video-posted on YouTube by user 4marchVideowith scepticism and called it an attempt to discredit any future evidence of fraud being committed at Sunday’s polls. — AFP

James Murdoch resigns as News Intl executive chair New focus on international television operations NEW YORK: James Murdoch stepped down yesterday as executive chairman of News International, News Corp’s scandal-plagued British newspaper unit. James Murdoch, 39, will remain News Corp’s deputy chief operating officer and focus on international television operations, the New York-based media and entertainment giant said in a statement.

News International has been embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal which has seen the arrests of several former top editors and the abrupt closure last year of the News of the World. A public inquiry into press standards heard from a top police officer Monday that journalists at another News International paper, The Sun, had made cash payments to a “network of corrupted officials.”

James Murdoch has long been seen as the heir apparent to his father Rupert Murdoch but the elder Murdoch was accompanied by another son, Lachlan, on a recent visit to The Sun, during which plans were announced to launch a Sunday edition of the tabloid. News Corp said James Murdoch was stepping down from News International following his relocation to company headquarters in New York as deputy chief operating officer, a move which took place last year.

“Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations,” Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp., said in a statement.

“We are all grateful for James’ leadership at News International and across Europe and Asia, where he has made lasting contributions

to the group’s strategy in paid digital content and its efforts to improve and enhance governance programs,” Rupert Murdoch said.

“He has demonstrated leadership and con-

LONDON: A picture taken on July 13, 2011, shows James Murdoch arriving for work in east London. James Murdoch stepped down yesterday as executive chairman of News International, News Corp.’s scandal-plagued British newspaper unit. —AFP

UK police thought phone hacking widespread in 2006 LONDON: Detectives pursuing British tabloid phone hacking in 2006 quickly concluded that the practice was not confined to a rogue News of the World reporter but decided not to expand their investigation, a police officer who led the inquiry said yesterday. Detective Chief Superintendent Phil Williams told Britain’s media ethics inquiry that the London force was contacted in December 2005 by royal family staff who suspected their voice mail messages were being intercepted.

Williams said police soon discovered that illegal eavesdropping was “probably quite widespread” at the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper and beyond because of a major flaw in cell phone security systems. “I accept that there were absolutely further leads that we could have followed in this investigation,” Williams said. “The decision was we were not going to do that.”

Williams said it seemed likely that many in the media, as well as criminals, would have been aware of the vulnerability of cell phones, whose messages could easily be accessed if the users had not changed the factory-set pass codes. He wrote in a note at the time that this shortcoming had “serious implications for security confidence in (phone company) Vodafone voice mail and perhaps the same for other service providers.”

The judge-led ethics inquiry, set up last year because of the hacking scandal, is investigating whether corrupt relations between the press and police stymied the initial inquiry, which failed to reveal the scope and systematic nature of the hacking.

News of the World royal reporter Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for the

paper, were briefly jailed for phone hacking in 2007. No one else has been charged, although Williams said police who examined Mulcaire’s notes found more than 400 potential victims and the possible first names of other journalists who commissioned phone hacking.

Most victims were not informed for several years that their phones might have been hacked. Williams acknowledged that in retrospect this had been a mistake, but said he had not wanted to compromise a covert inquiry and alert potential suspects.

He said police considered broadening their inquiry, but concluded that would require major new resources that could threaten other operations, including counterterrorism.

By October 2006, Peter Clarke, the Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief, decided not to expand the hacking probe. It was reopened last year after the scale of tabloid eavesdropping became clear. Williams denied pressure from Murdoch’s company had played any role in the police decision. “I don’t think it was a factor at all,” he said, adding that Clarke “is the most professional man that I have ever worked for and I have absolute confidence in his integrity.” Murdoch’s global media company insisted for years that hacking was confined to Goodman and Mulcaire, but now admits it went much wider.

Police now say there were hundreds of victims, and Murdoch’s company has paid damages to about 60 of them, including actor Jude Law and singer Charlotte Church.

Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old News of the World in July amid public anger at the scale of its wrongdoing. — AP

tinues to create great value at Star TV, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, and BSkyB.” James Murdoch said that with the “successful launch of The Sun on Sunday and new business practices in place across all titles, News International is now in a strong position to build on its successes in the future. “As deputy chief operating officer, I look forward to expanding my commitment to News Corporation’s international television businesses and other key initiatives across the company,” he said.

Tom Mockridge will remain as chief executive of News International and will report to News Corp. president and chief operating officer Chase Carey, News Corp. said. News Corp has settled dozens of claims brought by victims of phone-hacking by the News of the World, including a £600,000 ($952,000, 710,000-euro) deal with singer Charlotte Church agreed on Monday. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers told the inquiry that The Sun had a “culture” of paying police, the military, health workers, government and prison staff. Testifying before a British parliamentary media committee in November, James Murdoch denied misleading British lawmakers about the extent of his knowledge of phone-hacking at the News of the World. In heated exchanges with MPs who were grilling him about the now-defunct tabloid, James Murdoch instead accused two former executives of keeping him in the dark about the scandal. The 168-year-old News of the World was shut down in July after it emerged it had hacked into the voicemails of Milly Dowler, a missing British schoolgirl who was later found murdered. —AFP

Pirates attack Dutch ship in Nigeria waters, kidnap 2 PORT HARCOURT: Pirates opened fire on a Dutch cargo ship a few miles from the Nigeria’s Port Harcourt, kidnapping the ship’s master and an engineer and stealing cash, a security source and anti-piracy group AKE said yesterday. An AKE statement said the ship, a “Dutchowned, Curacao-flagged refrigerated cargo vessel”, was attacked on Tuesday around 4.10 pm, the latest in a string of pirate attacks in the oil-exporting Gulf of Guinea.

“Eight armed men boarded and opened fire towards the bridge, stole cash and crew’s possessions, and kidnapped the master and chief engineer before escaping.

A third crew member was left unaccounted for,” it said.

“It is likely the two crew members abducted will be held for ransom onshore.” Pirates off the coast of Nigeria tend to raid ships for cash and cargo rather than hijacking the crews for ransom like their counterparts off the coast of Somalia, but onshore kidnapping is a major business in Nigeria, especially in oil producing coastal areas like Port Harcourt. A security source working for an oil company in Port Harcourt gave the same details, adding that there were 14 crew on board. One crew member was injured, he added. “Vessels in the area are advised to maintain strict watch rotas and exercise vigilance at all times,” AKE said, adding that 13 attacks had been recorded off West Africa in 2012 so far, seven of which occurred off Nigeria. Pirates shot dead the captain and the chief engineer on a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria on Feb 13.— Reuters

S Africa’s Malema faces D-Day in ANC suspension JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will announce yesterday its punishment for firebrand youth leader Julius Malema who has a five-year suspension hanging over his head. The ANC’s disciplinary committee found Malema, whose racially charged calls to nationalize mines and redistribute land have made him a highly controversial figure, guilty last year of sowing divisions and tarnishing its image.

He appealed his five-year suspension, but was granted only a chance to argue for a lighter sentence.

“Having heard arguments from both parties involved on the matter, the national disciplinary committee has applied its collective mind,” the ANC said in a statement yesterday. — AFP

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

i n t e r n at i o n a l

Twenty dead in attack in China’s restive west Police shoot dead 7 attackers BEIJING: Attackers wielding knives killed 13 people in China’s Xinjiang region before police shot seven of them dead, the government said, in the latest violence to strike the ethnically divided northwestern area. The Xinjiang government said the killings on Tuesday night occurred on a busy pedestrian street in Yecheng County near Kashgar, a city in the south of Xinjiang that has been beset by tension between the mainly

resolution and shot dead seven violent terrorists, capturing two,” it added. The regional government did not identify any of the attackers or give their ethnicity. Nor did it identify the ethnicity of their victims.

Yecheng, also known by its Uighur name of Kargilik, is close to the disputed region of Kashmir, which is partly controlled by India and partly by Pakistan. China has blamed earlier incidents of vio-

“China’s demonstrated lack of transparency when it comes to unrest in East Turkestan necessitates deep speculation of official Chinese claims,” Uyghur American Association president Alim Seytoff said in an emailed statement. “In the absence of compelling evidence, international observers should be extremely careful when hearing Chinese claims about ‘rioters’ and ‘terrorists’.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry

BEIJING: Chinese paramilitary police undergo a drill to prepare for the upcoming National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Tuesday. China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, is set to open its annual session on March 5. —AFP Muslim Uighur people and Han Chinese.

“Nine violent terrorists suddenly surged into the crowd and stabbed to death innocent people with their knives, causing 13 innocent people to die and injuring many,” it said in a statement on official news portal www.tianshannet.com. “Police rushed to the scene, handled the situation with

lence on religious hardliners who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. Some Chinese officials have also blamed attacks on Muslim militants trained in Pakistan. But exiled Uighur groups and human rights activists say China overstates the threat posed by militants in Xinjiang, which sits astride south and central Asia.

spokesman Hong Lei said the Yecheng incident should not be overblown. “The overall situation in Xinjiang is good,” Hong told a daily news briefing. “We firmly oppose a small group of violent terrorists and separatists destroying this kind of peaceful development and the calm ... conditions.”

Security expert Li Wei was quoted as saying in a separate Xinjiang

government statement that such incidents did not mean China was in danger of losing control.

“There are still some unfavourable facts affecting Xinjiang’s stability which have not been eliminated, so occasional incidents are hard to avoid,” Li said.

“Xinjiang’s stability is firm.” Uighurs account for just over 40 percent of the region’s 21 million people. But they are the majority in Kashgar and other parts of the region’s south and many chafe at government controls on their culture and religion.

The Global Times, a tabloid published by Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, cited experts as saying that Yecheng was in the front line of China’s campaign against militancy because of its location. “Over recent years it has had rather a large number of bad incidents and is an important area for maintaining stability in Xinjiang,” Tuerwenjiang Tuerxun of the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences said in a report on the paper’s website.

“It is close to the border, has been quote shut-off and remote for a long time, and is also quite a sensitive place,” he added. In July 2009, Uighurs rioted against Han Chinese residents in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. At least 197 people were killed, most of them Han, according to official estimates. In January, authorities said that seven people killed by police in Xinjiang had been trying to leave the country to wage “holy war”. In September 2010, courts in Xinjiang sentenced four people to death for violence in two cities in which 32 people were killed. The government sees Xinjiang as a bulwark facing the predominantly Muslim countries of central Asia.

The region, with a sixth of the country’s land mass, is also rich in natural resources, including oil, coal and gas. —Reuters

Call for Australian apology for forced adoptions CANBERRA: A Senate inquiry yesterday called for the Australian government to apologize and offer compensation to thousands of unwed mothers who were forced to give up their babies for adoption in the late 20th century.

Unwed mothers were pressured, deceived and threatened into giving up their babies from World War II until the early 1970s so they could be adopted by married couples, which was perceived to be in the children’s best interests, the Senate committee report found.

“If it wasn’t illegal, it was unethical,” committee chairwoman Sen. Rachel Siewert said. “The evidence ... tells the accounts of mothers and fathers who were pressured into giving up their babies by their families, by institutions both state and territory and private institutions - by social workers, doctors, nurses and those who they rightly expected to have helped them,” she said. Around 100 mothers who gave up babies and adults who had been adopted sat in the Senate public gallery, applauding and weeping as the report was presented.

One of the mothers, Robin Turner, 61, only wanted public recognition of the injustice she suffered when her baby son was taken from her at a Melbourne hospital in 1967.

“Acknowledgment. I want the Australian public to know what happened to us,” she told The Associated Press. Turner said she was 17 years old when her newborn was taken without her consent while she was drugged. Weeks later, she was told he had died. They were reunited in 2008.

She has a copy of the adoption release form which she said is a fraud, with both her typed name and supposed signature misspelt “Robyn.” “No matter how many sleeping pills they gave me, I would never forget how to spell my own name,” she said. The seven-member Senate committee began investigating the federal government’s role in forced adoption in 2010 after the Western Australian state parliament apologized to mothers and children for the flawed practices in that state from the 1940s until the 1980s.

Roman Catholic hospitals in Australia apologized in July for forcing unmarried mothers to give up babies for adoption and urged state governments to accept financial responsibility. Catholic Health Australia, the largest nongovernment hospital operator in Australia and which provides 10 percent of the nation’s hospital beds, said the practice of adopting out illegitimate children to married couples was “regrettably common” from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Adoption in Australia is mostly controlled by state laws, but the report found that the federal government had contributed to forced adoption by failing to provide unwed mothers with full welfare benefits that a widow or deserted wife would have been entitled to until 1973.

Australian adoptions peaked at almost 10,000 a year in 1972, before rapidly declining. The report found that decline could reflect the availability of welfare, the growing popularity of oral contraceptives and the legalization of abortion. Among unwed mothers, adoption rates were as high as 60 percent in the late 1960s, the report said. The committee could not estimate how many adoptions were forced, but said they numbered in the thousands.

The committee recommended that the federal government make an apology that identifies the actions and policies that resulted in forced adoptions, and that state governments and nongovernment institutions that administered adoptions should issue formal statements of apology.

The report also recommended that the federal government initiate discussions with the states on compensating the separated mothers and children for the harm caused.

Siewert said the committee had no advice on how much compensation should be paid. The government had yet to respond by late yesterday. —AP

HERAT: An Afghan policeman walks as flames rise during a drug burning event in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. Over 4200 kilograms of narcotics, composed of heroin, opium and hashish, were burnt along with some bottles of alcoholic drink. Afghanistan is part of the countries, which provide the large amount of the drugs in the world. —AP

Afghanistan suspect’s village in shock over killing of US officers KORARAM: Family and friends are baffled how a policeman who grew up in one of Afghanistan’s most peaceful areas may have carried out the high-profile murder of two US officers that has rattled NATO and the Kabul government. Afghan security officials believe Abdul Saboor, 25, shot the officers at close range multiple times in their foreheads on Saturday deep inside the Interior Ministry, one of the country’s most secure buildings.

But residents of Koraram village are shocked one of their own could become a wanted man. The villagers, who boast of fighting the Taliban when they were in power from 1996 to 2001 before being toppled, can’t believe Saboor or anyone else from here would have links to militants who may have wanted the Americans dead. The only thing that is clear is that the two officers were killed in the midst of nationwide fury over the burning of copies of the Holy Quran at a NATO base.

The incident may have made Saboor anti-American overnight. His distraught mother Gul Bibi, speaking through sobs, said he never mentioned the desecration of the Korans the last time she saw him. “I don’t know why he did this or even if he did it,” she said, shivering from the severe cold in her poorly heated mud home. “He just had his breakfast and left.” Saboor spent the Friday holiday at home, then set off from the mountaintop village about 120 km (75 miles) north of Kabul and headed to work at the interior ministry, where Afghan officials say he gunned down Lt Colonel John Loftis, 44, from Kentucky and Major Robert Marchanti II, 48, of Maryland.

The two worked as advisors in the ministry. Policemen were stationed around the snow-carpeted village, ready to pounce on Saboor should he return. Black and white “wanted” posters with a stern-looking Abdul Saboor have started appearing in

the capital Kabul. The audacious attack raised questions about NATO’s strategy of replacing large combat units with advisors as the alliance tries to wind down the war.

NATO immediately moved to withdraw all its advisors from Afghan ministries, followed by Britain, Germany and Canada.

Despite an apology from US President Barack Obama for the burnings, which NATO called a tragic blunder, days of violent protests killed at least 30 and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai demanded the Americans who burned them be put on public trial. Afghan security officials said there could be a link between the double murder, allegedly carried out by Saboor, and the Holy Quran burnings.

The prospect of the Taliban, or antiWestern insurgents, garnering new support amongst parts of the country that are relatively peaceful is troubling eleven years into an increasingly unpopular war.

Saboor’s village is in Salang district, part of the northern Parwan province, which saw some of the fiercest resistance against the Pashtun-led Taliban during the 1990s.

Many from the Tajik-dominated village fought alongside anti-Soviet and antiTaliban guerrilla hero Ahmed Shah Masood. It has seen little of the violence that engulfs other parts of the Pashtunmajority areas in the country penetrated by insurgents.

Koraram village elder Malek Saifuddin shook his head in confusion when asked about the possibility that Saboor killed the Americans in cold blood. “People here are just not violent, this village sacrificed lives fighting the Taliban,” Saifuddin said, clad in a long black overcoat and sunglasses. “We were all so shocked to learn that Saboor could be a killer. But even more shocking was why,” he said to approving nods from other villagers, who had gathered around him. —Reuters

SEOUL: In this photo taken Feb 16, 2012, a US Air Force U-2 spy plane takes off during a training flight at the US airbase in Osan, south of Seoul, South Korea. —AP

Amid tensions, U-2 spy planes keep watch on North Korea OSAN AIR BASE: As a sleek black U-2 roared back from a mission, Pontiac muscle cars zoomed along the runway to help it touch down using a low-tech method dating back more than half a century to when this Cold War-era aircraft was cutting-edge. “It’s notorious for being hard to land,” the pilot said after climbing out of the cockpit. But the legendary U-2 “Dragon Lady” remains one of Washington’s most prized possessions on the Cold War’s last hot front. Pumped up by a $1 billion overhaul, a trio of these piloted aircraft are proving they can still compete with the most futuristic drones on a crucial mission: spying on North Korea.

For more than 35 years, the U-2 has been one of Washington’s most reliable windows into military movements inside the secretive nation. Unlike satellites, they can be redirected at short notice to loiter over target areas. Last month, the US Air Force postponed at least until 2020 any plans to replace them with costlier, unmanned Global Hawks. As the world watches for signs of instability during North Korea’s transition to a new leadership, the U-2 operations are as important or more so - than ever.

The Korean peninsula’s precarious peace was underscored this month, when North Korea, angry over South Korean artillery drills and joint maneuvers with the US, warned it was prepared for “total war” and “merciless retaliatory strikes” if necessary.

The rhetoric did not mention the U-2s, but North Korea has frequently slammed their spy missions as belligerent.

Other than complain, however, there is little it can do to stop the flights. Three of the long-winged, glider-like aircraft are deployed to Osan Air Base in South Korea, just 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the border. The Air Force refuses to comment on where they go, but, in a rare interview and tour of operations, the squadron commander told The Associated Press that U-2 missions are generally flown out of Osan every day.

“We are the tripwire, the eyes and ears of Korea,” he said on condition he be identified for security reasons only by his rank and first name, Lt Col Deric. “Our extreme high altitude and intelligence capabilities make us extremely sought after.” Formerly flown by the CIA, the U-2 became a Cold War icon during the international drama following the Soviet Union’s capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1960. The program has since shifted to the Air Force, but it’s still hush-hush. The pilots’ full names are secret. More than half of North Korea’s 1.2 million-man army is believed to be stationed south of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and the U-2 flights can provide a detailed picture of troop movements, fortifications and any other signs of potential trouble north of the DMZ. The United States, which signed a truce with North Korea in 1953 to end three years of fighting, keeps more than 28,000 troops in South Korea.

There was no immediate comment from North Korea but it cites the US military presence on Korean soil as a key reason behind its drive to build nuclear weapons.

It calls the planes proof that the US is plotting another war. Amid high tensions two years ago, it said the use of the U-2 showed how “hell-bent” the US is on spying on its military facilities. Osan squadron pilots fly once every four days on missions of up to 12 hours. The U-2 flies at altitudes of more than 70,000 feet (21,300 meters) - double the height of a typical commercial jetliner.

That makes it nearly impossible to intercept or track and gives it the ability to peer

down on a broader target area than a lower-flying aircraft.

But at that height, the pilots are vulnerable to altitude sickness and must wear spacesuits and astronaut-style fishbowl helmets. An hour before taking off, they are put on a regimen of pure oxygen to reduce the amount of nitrogen in their blood. In a worst case scenario, a pilot’s blood could actually boil at peak altitude. Pureed, mealin-a-tube versions of everything from sloppy Joes to apple pie are supplied to the pilots, but must be sucked out of straws.

“Our main concerns are hydration and decompression sickness,” said the pilot who made the landing during the tour and who asked to be identified only as Maj. Carl. “It’s extremely hard to fly.”

To make the plane lighter, and thus able to fly higher, two “pogos” - wheel gear fixed to either wing - automatically detach when it roars off the runway, meaning that when it comes back down the pilot must land on only two sets of wheels along the fuselage.

At Osan, U-2 pilots in white Pontiac G8 “chase cars” race down the runway at speeds of more than 120 miles per hour (200 kph) to meet each landing and guide the pilot down.

They estimate the plane’s distance from the ground in feet and radio that to the pilot - “Five ... five ... four ... three ... three” until the plane is brought to a stall with about two feet (less than a meter) to go and essentially drops down to the ground.

The Air Force has 31 U-2s in active duty.

NASA operates two more. Though detachments are also located in Cyprus and southwest Asia, the key role it plays in monitoring North Korea is keeping the legendary plane from the chopping block. The plane, which took crucial photos of the Soviet buildup that touched off the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, has proven to be surprisingly versatile. The Air Force has given it a $1.7 billion makeover since 1994, transforming it into an essentially new aircraft in all but name.

Its sensors can function day or night in any weather. The data it gleans can be relayed via satellite link in near real-time to troops on the ground. “Most of the aircraft are really quite young,” the U-2 commander said. “The ones we are flying here are from the 1980s. They have been re-engined, rewired, new cockpits, advanced avionics.

Of course, the sensors are continuously being updated. This airplane is cutting edge, absolutely.”

Still, the Air Force had hinted for years that the U-2’s days are numbered. It was scheduled to be phased out by 2015 in favor of the Global Hawk, which was used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U-2 gained a reprieve last month, when the Air Force decided that replacing it with the drone would be too expensive. Aviation analyst Loren Thompson, of the Arlington, Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said retaining the U-2 indicates the Air Force is more concerned with North Korea - and cost-saving - than monitoring areas farther away.

With no pilots to swap out, the Global Hawk can fly at altitudes of 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) for much longer-range missions than the U-2 - more than 32 hours at a time. That is important as China’s military growth is changing the balance of power across the region. “U-2 is very well suited to US needs on the Korean peninsula, and the consequences of losing Global Hawk there will be minimal,” he said. “The loss is more serious across the broad expanses of the Western Pacific, where the tyranny of distance makes long range and endurance especially valuable.” —AP

New Delhi attack plot foiled NEW DELHI: India’s home minister said yesterday that police had foiled a major attack by suspected militants from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group who were caught with explosives at a rail station. Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that two men were arrested at New Delhi’s main station after a tip-off from intelligence agencies and work by three state police agencies.

“They were planning to detonate a bomb or more than one bomb in a crowded locality,” he said, citing initial reports from the police investigation. The pair are to be produced before a local court and detained for 10 days. An unspecified number of other suspects had also been detained in connection with the alleged plot, Chidambaram said.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which means “The Army of the Pure” in Urdu, is one of the most powerful militant groups in Pakistan and is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead.

Chidambaram said it was “an important module” of the group that had been planning

a “terrorist incident in Delhi”. Neither he nor the police, who also reportedly said an attack had been imminent, would disclose when the men were detained. The arrests, if followed by convictions, would be an intelligence coup for the Indian security forces which have been criticized for failing to prevent, or catch those responsible for, a string of blasts over the last few years.

New Delhi has been a frequent target for terror attacks. In September, a bomb outside Delhi High Court killed 14 people, while in early last month a bomb blast badly wounded an Israeli diplomat in the heart of the city near the prime minister’s residence. A senior New Delhi police official, P.N. Agarwal, told reporters that security forces had recovered material for making bombs from the suspects. “We have recovered items required for making an IED (improvised explosive device), passports and memory cards that show how to make a bomb and training in weapons handling,” Agarwal said.”We are expecting one or two more arrests.” —AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

NEWS

CAIRO: An Egyptian woman walks past a mural yesterday with a picture depicting slain Azhar sheikh Emad Effat, who was killed during clashes between protesters and army soldiers in Dec 2011, with verses of Quran that read in Arabic “God, we obeyed our lords and they misled us, punish them God twice as much and curse them”. — AP

Study finds jump in American mosques NEW YORK: The number of American mosques has increased dramatically in the last decade despite post 9/11 protests aimed at Muslim houses of worship, according to a new study. The new Islamic centers serve Muslims who moved into the suburbs and newer immigrants from Africa, Iraq and elsewhere. Researchers conducting the national count found a total of 2,106 Islamic centers, compared to 1,209 in 2000 and 962 in 1994. About one-quarter of the centers were built between 2000-2011, as the community faced intense scrutiny by government officials and a suspicious public. In 2010, protest against an Islamic center near ground zero erupted into a national debate over Islam, extremism and religious freedom. Anti-mosque demonstrations spread to Tennessee, California and other states.

Ihsan Bagby, a professor at the University of Kentucky and lead author of the study, said the findings show Muslims are carving out a place for themselves despite the backlash. “This is a growing, healthy Muslim community that is well integrated into America,” Bagby said. “I think that is the best message we can send to the world and the Muslim world in particular.”

The report released yesterday, “The American Mosque 2011,” is a tally based on mailing lists, websites and interviews with community leaders, and a survey and interviews with 524 mosque leaders. The research is of special interest given the limited scholarship so far on Muslim houses of worship, which include a wide range of religious traditions, nationalities and languages.

Researchers defined a mosque as a Muslim organization that holds Friday congregational prayers, conducts other Islamic activities and has operational control of its building. Buildings such as hospitals and schools that have space for Friday prayer were not included. Chapters of the

Muslim Student Association at colleges and universities were included only if they had space off-campus or had oversight of the building where prayer was held.

The overwhelming majority of mosques are in cities, but the number located in suburbs rose from 16 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2011. The Northeast once had the largest number of mosques, but Islamic centers are now concentrated in the South and West, the study found. New York still has the greatest number of Islamic centers - 257 followed by 246 in California and 166 in Texas. Florida is fourth with 118. The shift follows the general pattern of population movement to the South and West.

The study found the ethnic makeup of mosque participants largely unchanged from 2000. South Asians comprise about one-third of participants, while Arabs and African-Americans are about one-quarter each. Bagby found a slight increase in the percentage of Muslims from West Africa and Somalia. An influx of Iraqi and Iranian refugees is behind a jump in the number of Shiite mosques since the 1990s. Shiites still represent a very small percentage of the US Muslim population.

The study’s authors did not ask specifics of how each community funded mosque construction. After Muslims started arriving in the United States in large numbers in the 1960s, due to a change in American immigration rules, it was common for Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Muslim nations to build US mosques. However, increasing federal restrictions on foreign funds slowed some mosque construction before and after 9/11. Before the attacks, some American Muslim communities began refusing overseas funding even from individual donors as a sign of independence from overseas influence. Now American Muslim communities, which include many wealthy professionals, largely fund construction on their own, scholars say. — AP

Iran opens space program site for first media tour MAHDASHT, Iran: Iran opened a key space facility to visiting journalists for the first time Wednesday in an apparent effort to show its willingness to allow glimpses at sensitive technology even as Tehran and UN inspectors trade accusations about access to nuclear sites and experts. The press tour of the Alborz Space Center, about 70 km west of Tehran, also sought to showcase Iran’s advances in aerospace sciences less than a month after it announced another satellite was launched into orbit.

Iran’s ambitious space program has raised concerns in the West because of possible military applications. The same rocket technology used to send satellites into orbit ‚Ä” including the Feb. 3 launch of the domestically made Navid, or Gospel - can also be retooled to create intercontinental warheads. Iran says Navid was designed to collect data on weather conditions and monitor natural disasters.

The space center visit - by nearly 50 journalists for international media in two separate groups - comes as Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog agency are locked in disputes over access to officials and key sites in the Islamic Republic’s atomic program. The West and allies fear Iran’s uranium enrichment labs could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran says it only seek nuclear power for energy and medical research. Allowing journalists into the space facility could be an attempt to discredit UN claims that Iran is keeping a tight lid on its technological capabilities. Officials said the space center has no military role, and is used to control and collect data from various satellites, including Navid.

The facility is on a sprawling tract at the base of hills.

Inside are huge satellite dishes, buildings housing the control rooms monitoring satellites, including display panels nearly three feet (a meter) across. “We are the control station for Navid satellite, which has been

designed to take pictures from the earth’s orbit,” director of project, Mojtaba Saradeghi, told the visiting journalists, who were shown a model of the Navid satellite.

Saradeghi said sanctions prevented Iran from buying some of the key equipment needed to build Navid, but Iranian space experts were able to design and produce the equipment. “We needed various equipment, including sun sensors, for Navid. We could not buy them because of sanctions. So we designed and produced sun sensors ourselves,” Saradeghi said.

Kamal Yazdani, another official at the site, said experts here monitor Terra, a multinational NASA scientific research satellite, and other satellites available to the international scientific community. “We receive data from these satellites and provide the pictures to research and scientific centers including student projects,” he said.

Iran is intent on highlighting technological successes as signs Iran can advance despite Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program. Iran sent its first domestically made satellite, called Omid, or Hope, into orbit in Feb 2009. Iran’s space plans are wide-ranging and even hold out the goal of putting a man in orbit within a decade, though it appears Iran is still far from that capability. In 2005, Iran launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which is a partner in transferring space technology to Iran along with North Korea and China. That same year, the government said it allocated $500 million for space projects in the next five years.

Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquakeprone nation and improve its telecommunications.

Iranian officials also point to America’s use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for security. — AP

Syrian forces launch Homs ground assault Romney survives with double win Continued from Page 1 Inshaat and Malaab,” he told AFP by telephone. Abdullah said activists were “evacuating families because shelling has been targeting places that were considered safe in the past”. The arrival of the Fourth Armoured Division, which is under the command of President Bashar AlAssad’s brother Maher, was a likely prelude to a final assault, he added. Drawn from the Alawite sect to which the Assads belong, it is hated by many in the Sunni majority who recall the role its predecessor units played in massacring many thousands of Sunni Islamists at Hama in 1982 on the orders of Assad’s father Hafez.

Another Homs-based activist, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Atta AlHomsi, dismissed in telephone call with AFP the claims of advances by regime forces into Baba Amr as mere “rumours aimed at spreading fear”. He insisted that the deserters would “defend to the last man”, Rebel commanders said access to Homs was now completely blocked after regular troops blew up an underground aqueduct that had been the last viable route for smuggling of desperately needed supplies.

Efforts to bring out Le Figaro journalist Edith Bouvier, who is trapped inside Baba

Amr with multiple fractures, intensified after her British colleague Paul Conroy was successfully smuggled out to Lebanon on Monday night. “We expect the government in Damascus to put all the conditions in place for a safe and rapid evacuation, in particular an immediate ceasefire in Baba Amr,” said French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

Thirteen Syrian activists were killed trying to help Bouvier and Conroy and to bring in aid to Baba Amr, international activist group Avaaz said.

Syria’s foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said yesterday that his government had tried “in vain” to help evacuate the journalists, insisting that Damascus was committed to its “humanitarian obligations” and accusing rebels and journalists of not cooperating.

Elsewhere, a 13-year-old boy was shot dead in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, the Britain-based Observatory reported, as the group’s head said that contacts with Syrian activists to get updates had become difficult.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said yesterday Syria did not respond to her request for a visa to assess the growing crisis. At the United Nations, diplomats said Washington had begun work on a new draft Security Council resolution

demanding humanitarian access to besieged protest cities, such as Homs.

“This resolution will concentrate on humanitarian access to the cities, but it will indicate that the government is the cause of the crisis,” one Security Council diplomat said.

Western nations hope that focusing on the humanitarian crisis will persuade Russia and China not to use their veto powers as permanent members of the 15member council as they did against previous Western-drafted resolutions last October and again in early February. The French foreign ministry spokesman said the new text calls for a halt to violence and “immediate, unhindered access for humanitarian aid to the most threatened sites and the most vulnerable populations.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has told Arab League chief Nabil Al-Arabi that international humanitarian aid should be allowed into Syria, Chinese state media said. On Tuesday, Russia had urged Syria to cooperate with the Red Cross to allow the relief agency to deliver aid. UN political chief B Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council “well over 7,500” people have been killed Syria since protests against Assad’s regime erupted in March last year. — Agencies

Continued from Page 1 with ordinary Americans. But Romney put in a strong debate performance when it mattered on Thursday and has used his financial muscle to portray Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, as a Washington insider. “Romney gained momentum with these two wins,” Paul Beck, a political expert at Ohio State University, told AFP. “But Super Tuesday will likely yield a mixed picture,” he said, referring to March 6, when simultaneous contests will be held in 10 states, offering a trove of delegates and possibly upending the volatile nomination battle once again. Romney sidestepped what would have been a “devastating blow” but remains vulnerable to Santorum’s challenge from the right, said Charles Franklin, co-founder of pollster.com and a professor at Marquette University Law School.

“Santorum meanwhile will have to campaign under the weight of two losses and increased scrutiny rather than the big boost an upset win in

Michigan would have given him,” Franklin told AFP. Romney currently leads in pledged delegates after having won the more important states so far. He also has the best-funded and most organized campaign, which will certainly help in what could be a long slog to the Republican National Convention in August.

All four remaining candidates including former House speaker Newt Gingrich and congressman Ron Paul of Texas - have vowed to stay in the race until the convention, where a result might have to be brokered behind the scenes if no one reaches the magic number of 1,144 delegates. The negative, gaffe-ridden slug-fest is providing ample fodder for Obama, who tore into his Republican opponents on Tuesday for their vehement opposition to his efforts to save the Michigan-based auto industry.

Romney has frequently accused Obama of engineering the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler to help his union supporters, but Obama said

charges of crony capitalism are a “a load of you-know-what”. “They’re still talking about you as if you’re some greedy special interest that needs to be beaten,” Obama said in a barnstorming speech to auto workers gathered in the US capital. “To borrow a line from our old friend Ted Kennedy: what is it about working men and women they find so offensive?”

The Republican opposition to the successful bailout and focus on divisive social issues “has probably cost them Michigan in the general election,” said Michael Traugott, a political expert at the University of Michigan. “We don’t have many auto workers left, but it’s symbolic for general attitudes about workers in the state,” he told AFP. The attack on unions could also undermine Republicans in rust belt states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, which are key battlegrounds in the Nov 6 general election, especially if Obama succeeds in framing Republicans as social extremists who sell out workers while pushing for huge tax cuts for the rich. — AFP

Sparks fly as MPs vote to recognise Syrian... Tribunal probes funds transfers...

Continued from Page 1 The report was published by Al-Shahed newspaper.

The Assembly also passed a proposal to debate six draft laws on supporting national labour, early retirement, establishing a medical city and amending the trials and public tenders laws on the sessions of March 13, 14 and 15. The government demanded that committees must work on the draft laws before debating them. The Assembly will today debate the issue of Syria and then elect the parliamentary caucus.

Meanwhile, several Kuwaiti youth groups, which led unprecedented pro-democracy protests, have merged into a single movement to intensify their campaign of reforms, an activist said yesterday. “All youth organisations have dissolved themselves ... and together formed a political group named the Democratic Civil Movement

(DCM) open for all youth,” one of the founders of the new group, Yahya Al-Dakheel, said. “The aim of DCM is to press for fundamental democratic reforms to achieve a full parliamentary system in Kuwait” where the prime minister will be elected from outside the Al-Sabah ruling family, he said.

Other objectives include reforming the election law to transform Kuwait into a single electoral constituency with legalising political parties, he added. DCM has the backing of at least five members of the new 50-seat parliament where the opposition controls a comfortable majority. Encouraged by the Arab Spring, Kuwaiti youth groups led street rallies throughout last year and played a key role in forcing the resignation of Sheikh Nasser in November. The new movement plans to hold elections within the next two weeks for the main office bearers, besides its 15-member political bureau, Dakheel said.

Continued from Page 1 He told the house that “the transferred funds could be between $400 million and $800 million and we need the committee to search for the truth”. “The belief that public funds are the private property of the ruling family is wrong... We are partners in governance and public funds,” Barrak said.

The government last week asked the Audit Bureau, the state’s accounting watchdog, to examine the alleged transfers and opposition MPs plan to form a parliamentary commission of inquiry. Barrak charged in October that Sheikh Nasser, a senior member of the ruling family, transferred around $200 million of public funds into his overseas accounts through the Central Bank and the foreign ministry.

Pressure by the opposition and protests forced the

former premier to resign in November and led HH the Amir to dissolve the previous parliament and call for snap polls. The previous government has denied any wrongdoing, saying that Sheikh Nasser had returned the money to the government agencies. The allegations prompted then foreign minister Sheikh Mohammad AlSabah, also a senior member of the ruling family, to resign in October when Barrak sent him a series of questions about the issue.

Three opposition MPs had filed to question the former prime minister over the alleged transfers and another corruption scandal in which 13 former MPs are accused of accepting illegal bank deposits worth an estimated $350 million. The opposition, which scored an impressive victory in the Feb 2 election, has vowed to form parliamentary panels to probe both scandals. — Agencies

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

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Issues

Romney wins by ‘enough’ in Michigan

By David Espo iven to awkward utterances, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney sized up his Michigan primary victory with memorable precision. “We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough,” he told cheering supporters Tuesday night after eking out a hard-won triumph in his native Michigan over a determined Rick Santorum. Certainly not nearly by enough to send Santorum, Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul to the sidelines in the most turbulent Republican presidential race in a generation.

But enough to restore some of the lost luster to his own candidacy as the race points toward next week’s Super Tuesday - 10 contests in all regions of the country.

And likely enough to quell some of the talk about a late entrant into the race, even as party officials continue to fret openly about a seemingly endless primary campaign and its impact on the party’s chances of defeating President Barack Obama in the fall. In truth, the improving economy has something to do with the nagging concern that plagues some Republicans, with unemployment trending down, consumer confidence up and the Dow Jones Industrial average closing above 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since before the recession.

Obama couldn’t wait to taunt Romney and his Republican rivals in remarks to members of the United Auto Workers union Tuesday. “You’ve got folks saying, ‘Well, the real problem is, what we really disagreed with was the workers, they all made out like bandits’; that saving the American auto industry was just about paying back unions,” Obama said. “Really? Even by the standards of this town, that’s a load of you-know-what.”

The exit polls in Michigan suggested he may be on to something. Even in a Republican primary, roughly 4 in 10 voters interviewed as they left their polling places said they supported the government rescue plan for the auto industry. Little wonder. In Detroit, carmakers and parts companies once fearing extinction added more than 38,000 jobs in 2011, and automakers already have announced plans to add 13,000 more to the payroll this year. The same survey suggested misgivings among Republicans in the first of the big industrial states to play a role in the nominating campaign. Romney won overwhelmingly, 61 percent to 24 percent for Santorum, among the 1 in 3 primary voters who said what mattered most was backing a candidate able to defeat Obama in the fall.

Yet only 45 percent of those interviewed said they strongly favor the candidate they voted for. Thirty-eight percent admitted to reservations, and 16 percent said they voted the way they did because they disliked the alternatives. Additionally, the closeness of the Michigan race underscored a deep split between primary voters who described themselves as somewhat conservative, at 31 percent of the electorate, and the 30 percent who said they are very conservative.

Romney won the first, Santorum the second, and by nearly identical margins, additional evidence that the divide that has characterized the nominating campaign since the beginning remains a hardy one. It will be tested next week in Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia, Gingrich’s political base, and, barring a breakthrough by any contender, later in the month in primaries in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. As it was, Romney’s path to his two-state sweep in Michigan and Arizona on Tuesday was hardly pretty.

Three weeks ago, his aides committed the inexplicable gaffe of permitting Santorum to win caucuses in Minnesota and - especially - Colorado without significant opposition. Romney’s narrow win over a winless Paul in the Maine caucuses a few days later only added to the impression of a campaign sputtering as the primary calendar picked up speed. Santorum quickly rolled to a sizeable lead in the polls in Michigan. As they did when Gingrich challenged earlier in the winter, Romney and the deep-pocketed super PAC Restore Our Future unleashed an assault on television that quickly narrowed the gap and allowed the former Massachusetts governor to exploit some of Santorum’s attention-grabbing statements.

Among them was his observation that Obama is a “snob” for favoring college for anyone who wants to attend. And that reading President John F Kennedy’s 1960 speech about separation of church and state made him want to throw up. Not that Romney was gaffe-free.

Campaigning in Michigan, where unemployment is 9.3 percent, he blurted out that his wife drives “a couple of Cadillacs”. —AP

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Few options for West in Syria crisis

By Paul Schemm

ussia and China’s opposition to swift action ending Syria’s bloody crackdown on its uprising leaves the West and its Arab allies with few options. The selfproclaimed “Friends of Syria” may have to rely on a slow grind of tightened sanctions, a trickle of humanitarian and military aid smuggled across borders - and calls for evermore-diluted UN Security Council resolutions. Moscow and Beijing twice vetoed Security Council resolutions that strongly condemned Syria. On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe announced that Paris was preparing yet another resolution, this time focusing on a cease-fire and humanitarian aid.

Yet each attempt to ratchet up international pressure has prompted Russia and China to fight back. Russia has accused the US of using the Arab uprisings to increase its influence in the Middle East. Resistance from Russia and China have effectively blocked the kind of international backing that NATO forces had when aiding rebels in Libya. In fact, the reason Russia is so adamant about preventing a UN resolution on Syria is that a UN-backed no-fly zone to protect civilians in Libya was transformed into a sustained NATO air campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Now, the West and its Arab allies are largely restricted to slow-acting steps such as tightening sanctions and getting humanitarian aid into the country. The Obama administration has also been in discussions with Arab and European partners on the possibility of bringing a

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new Security Council resolution - one that would press Assad’s government to allow in international teams to supply relief to beleaguered cities. This strategy faces similar obstacles as previous efforts. US officials say they want to avoid a third Russia-China double veto, but do not know if approaching the Syria problem through humanitarian aid instead of the Arab proposal for regime change would soften resistance from Moscow and Beijing.

The goal now, officials say, would be to pass something that advances hopes for peace, even if that means any resolution is significantly less far-reaching than the one blocked by the two powers earlier this month. But while the international community may talk about humanitarian corridors or safe havens within Syria to shelter refugees, a problem remains: They would require some sort of outside force to ensure security. It’s not even clear how stockpiles of medical and humanitarian supplies that Washington says are being prepared at Syria’s borders will get into the country without armed backing. “No matter how artfully these ideas are constructed, you are inevitably involved with military intervention - I don’t care what euphemism you use,” said A R Norton, a Middle East analyst at Boston University. As for sanctions, there are few indications they are having much of an effect, and Damascus has said little of its foreign currency is kept outside the country. With the UN saying “well over” 7,500 people have died in the violence, there are growing calls from Arab Gulf states for military aid for the Syrian opposi-

tion. Such a mission would invariably involve forces from Europe or the United States, which so far have shown little appetite to mount one without international cover. And so although the United States balks at the idea, some Middle Eastern nations are now focusing on one of their only other options: arming the Syrian opposition. “I think we should help (the opposition) by arming them so as to defend themselves. The Arab countries should do that through an Arab and international assembly,” Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim AlThani said Monday on a visit to Norway. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal called military aid to the opposition “an excellent idea.”

However, even a well-armed Syrian opposition would remain a poorly organized, loose collection of military defectors and civilians, and is unlikely to pose a credible threat to the Syrian army any time soon. And so for now, it seems the West’s best hope for a quick end to the conflict is some kind of military coup against President Bashar Al-Assad. Twice in the last few days, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has called on Syria’s military leaders to turn against the government, saying they would be “hailed as heroes” if they stopped the attacks on civilians. But unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, where the military turned against the president in the face of popular protests, the upper ranks of Syria’s military are considered loyal to Assad. “I think we are in for a long haul here,” Norton said. “I can’t see how Bashar Assad and company can survive but I don’t see an easy way to get to that denouement.” — AP

Homs, the ‘Misrata’ the regime aims to crush

By Rana Moussaoui yrian President Bashar Al-Assad is determined - to crush the rebellion in the city of Homs to avoid it becoming another Misrata - the rebel Libyan town whose fighters captured dictator Muammar Gaddafi, analysts said.

“The fall of Misrata heralded Gaddafi’s fall in Sirte”, the hometown of the former Libyan strongman, said analyst Karim Bitar. “If the Syrian regime fails to quell the revolt in Homs, Damascus and Aleppo could start to tremble,” said Bitar, director of research at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris. Gaddafi was captured by Misrata rebels and slain in hazy circumstances on Oct 20 as he was trying to flee Sirte.

Like Homs, Misrata was a merchant city and one of the worst battered by Gaddafi’s forces in the nine-month conflict that led to the demise of the strongman and the end of his 42-year autocratic rule. The success of the rebellion in Misrata proved to be a turning point in the Libya conflict but, unlike Homs, the Libyan fighters had NATO support and played a paramount role in liberating Tripoli as well. Anti-regime demonstrations have intensified in recent days in the Syrian capital and the second city Aleppo, which has mostly been spared the violence that gripped other parts of the country since protests erupted in March.

Regime forces have been shelling Homs for nearly four weeks, with rebel neighbourhoods like Baba Amr taking the brunt of the pounding. But they have yet to break the resistance of poorly equipped but staunch army deserters who are holed in Homs, dubbed the “capital of freedom”. “The regime believes that if it controls Homs, it would bring

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the revolution to an end,” the head of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riyadh Al-Asaad, told AFP. “But it has met a fierce resistance so far.”

For weeks, anti-regime activists have voiced fears of an imminent attack on Baba Amr. Reinforcements from the dreaded Fourth Armoured Division were deployed on Tuesday close to the rebel neighbourhood, according to activists.

And a security source in Damascus told AFP yesterday that ground forces had moved into the rebel neighborhood overnight and were combing the area in search of rebel fighters. “ The area is under control. The army has started

combing the area building by building and house by house. Now the troops are searching every basement and tunnel for arms and terrorists,” the source said, requesting anonymity. “There remain only few pockets” of resistance, the source added.

But activists and monitors said rebel troops were still fighting the regular army outside Baba Amr. And analysts say the army is reluctant to engage in urban warfare. “The Syrian army knows that entering the neighbourhood means it will be shot at from all sides and that it will have to take it house by house,” said Fabrice Balanche, director of Lyon-based

An image grab taken from a video shows the bodies of two Syrians, said to have been executed by the regime’s forces and covered by the national flag, stuck on a cart in the middle of the road because they could not be retrieved due to sniper fire in the Khalidiya district of the protest hub of Homs in central Syria on Feb 26, 2012. — AFP

Gremmo research centre. Thirty years ago, the “symbol” of the uprising against the autocratic Syrian regime was the nearby city of Hama, where regime forces killed thousands in 1982 to crush a Muslim Brotherhood rebellion, Balanche said. “Today, it is Baba Amr.” Forces loyal to the regime of President Hafez Al-Assad, the father of the current president, bombarded Hama over four weeks, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people, according to various estimates. “The regime will go all the way, but since it cannot afford to kill (thousands) as it did in Hama, it is pounding the neighbourhood to empty it and terrorise civilians,” Balanche said. “When only rebels are left, it will be able to raze Baba Amr,” he added. Balanche estimated that two thirds of Baba Amr’s 40,000 residents have already fled the battered neighbourhood.

Homs - Syria’s third-largest city and an economic hub - is strategically located and home to major oil refineries and gas pipelines. It is on a key trade route for merchandise transiting from Turkey to the Gulf states and links Damascus to the north of the country. The province of Homs shares borders with Lebanon. “The country would be cut in two if the opposition seizes control of Homs. That’s why the regime is relentlessly hounding Homs,” said Agnes Levallois, a Paris-based Middle East specialist. “By regaining control of Homs the regime would hinder the movement of the FSA,” she said, as the rebel army gets much of its weapons from across the border in Lebanon. Most of the inhabitants of Homs are Sunni Muslims who back the uprising against Assad’s Alawite-led regime. Alawites are an offshoot of Shiism who represent about 12 percent of the 22 million population of Syria. — AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

sp orts

Misbah: Don’t panic KARACHI: Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq has urged critics not to press the panic button amid calls for him to stand down as captain in the wake of one-day international and Twenty20 series defeats to England.

Pakistan whitewashed England 3-0 in their test series but lost 4-0 in the ODIs and 2-1 in the Twenty20 series in the UAE. “I am surprised that some people are now talking about changes in the team and questioning my captaincy after just one bad series,” Misbah told reporters after returning to his hometown Lahore.

“I don’t think we need to press any panic button and I have no issues continuing as captain for all three formats.” Some former players and sections of the media had been critical of the defeats and called for Misbah to only focus on test cricket.

Misbah said captaincy and selection issues were the cricket board’s concerns. “But my mind is clear, we had a bad series but this team can bounce back strongly and we just need to work on our weak areas like our batting,” he added.—Reuters

Ireland unchanged for France

Ex-wrestler sues over losing testicle in match JEFFERSONVILLE: A former professional wrestler is suing his opponent and the Indiana-based promoter who arranged their bout last year, claiming his foe was supposed to lose their match but had other ideas and kicked him so hard in the crotch that one of his testicles ruptured and had to be removed.

John Levi Miller, 23, contends in his lawsuit filed Monday that Clinton Woosley was the “heel,” a term used to describe the designated villain or loser, of their match last June, The CourierJournal of Louisville, Kentucky, reported.

He says Woosley, who wrestles under the name Guido Andretti, declined his

DUBLIN: Ireland coach Declan Kidney named an unchanged side yesterday for the re-arranged Six Nations international against France in Paris on Sunday.

Despite several minor injuries, Kidney stuck with the same side that thrashed Italy 42-10 at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road last weekend.

Backs Rob Kearney and Gordon D’Arcy, as well as forwards Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy have all been named in the starting XV having recovered from various knocks suffered against Italy. Veteran outside-half Ronan O’Gara, who last week became Ireland’s most capped player as well as the country’s highest points scorer, is again on the bench with Jonathan Sexton starting at No 10. Ireland captain Paul O’Connell will win his 85th cap this weekend.Victory over Italy gave Ireland a record of one win from two Six Nations matches this term after a last-gasp 23-21 opening loss at home to Wales. The France-Ireland match had originally been scheduled for February 11 but it was called off by the referee minutes before the night-time kick-off due to freezing conditions and the dangerous state of the Stade de France pitch.—AFP

invitation to map out the fight, as is customary, and instead said he understood the plan and that “it would be OK.” However, Miller says Woosley tried to win and kicked him hard in the crotch.

Miller, who was a contestant on season two of “Love Games,” an Oxygen Channel reality show, could not immediately be reached for comment. Neither he nor Woosley had listed phone numbers. In his bio on the show’s website, Miller is described as an aspiring WWE wrestler who has made a few appearances on the WWE circuit as a villain named “The Playboy J-Millz.”—AP

Ellison cut plans on Cup development SAN FRANCISCO: A company owned by billionaire Larry Ellison that is hosting the 2013 America’s Cup sailing race has cut back plans for developing the San Francisco waterfront, citing financial risks.

Catamarans 40 meters (131 feet) high will dash across San Francisco Bay next year in the 34th America’s Cup event, although city hall has not signed off on final terms of the deal with the group led by Ellison. The team run by the chief executive of Oracle Corp, the world’s No. 3 software maker, won the last race four years ago and now is defending the Cup, first awarded in 1851.

Ellison’s America’s Cup Event Authority decided over the weekend to drop plans worth about $90 million to renovate and develop a large pier on the bay within walking distance of the race launch.

Racing teams instead will set up shop at a pier four miles (6.4 km) from the starting line. The decision came after a February city analyst report estimated hosting the event would cost $111 million, double initial projections. The city would pay back costs to Ellison’s group over decades and give up property for development.

Although both sides expected San Francisco supervisors would approve the deal in a vote originally set for Tuesday, the details of the pier development had raised opposition, as well as risks for Ellison’s group, and construction was behind schedule.

“It became quite sobering, really. We were going to spend upwards of $80 million pre-event and $30 million after the event, and really we were starting with our backs to the wall regarding time, as well,” said Stephen Barclay, a director of the America’s Cup Event Authority, Ellison’s company. He and the city decided, “Let’s look for our Plan

B,” he said.

That plan will only cost $16 million to $18 million, he estimated. The city was taken by surprise by the decision. Mayor Ed Lee had planned a Monday event to show off the now-scrapped project.

Instead he announced the end of the development of the pier and said he hoped to “entice private investors to come in and make sure that we can repair some very valuable parts of our pier.”

A chief critic of the deal, former San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, hailed the decision, though.

“They ended up with something that is quite good for both parties - a boat race which is not a real estate deal.”

San Francisco has greeted the America’s Cup enthusiastically, anticipating hundreds of millions of tourist dollars splashing around the city, but there has been robust debate about whether the Ellison race will be the magnet for jobs and tourists planners had predicted.

Only four teams, building two boats each, including Ellison’s Team Oracle, have so far signed up to race next year. The deadline is June 1 and Barclay said that teams that built only one boat likely would take the strategy of waiting until the last minute to enter. He predicted two to four more teams, including one from Asia, would join the American defender and challengers from Sweden, New Zealand and Italy.

Ellison’s group aims to broaden America’s Cup’s profile with more races and more access to the boats. The main event will be held near shore in San Francisco in 2013 and television will bring viewers close in, capturing the drama of races which is lost from afar, they hope.—Reuters

BOSTON: Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson (11) of Sweden leaps to allow the puck to go through Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (30) on a goal by Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) of Sweden (not shown) during the first period of an NHL hockey game.—AP

Senators triumph over Bruins BOSTON: Robin Lehner stopped 32 shots for his first NHL shutout and defenseman Erik Karlsson scored the lone goal, lifting surging Ottawa to a 1-0 win over Boston on Tuesday. It was the Senators’ first victory in five games against the Bruins this season.

The Senators moved one point behind the Northeast Division-leading Bruins, who have played four fewer games. Ottawa won for the sixth time in seven games and sent the Bruins to their fourth loss in six.

The 20-year old Lehner was playing in just his 11th NHL game. He started because regular goalie Craig Anderson is sidelined indefinitely after cutting his hand last week in a kitchen accident.

Tim Thomas made 37 saves for the Bruins, but lost to a divisional opponent for just the second time in 14 games.

Lorena Ochoa in action in this file photo

Ochoa keen for part at 2016 Rio Games MEXICO CITY: Former world number one Lorena Ochoa, who retired from the LPGA tour two years ago, wants to play a part for Mexico when golf returns to the Olympic Games after a 112-year absence at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“I’d like to be involved in some way because I believe it will be a unique experience,” she told Reuters. “I can’t see myself playing but I would like to be involved, either with the (Mexican Golf ) Federation or as a coach, travel with the Mexican team,” she said in an interview.

Ochoa, who retired at the top having headed the LPGA rankings from April 2007 to May 2010, could also play a role in the Rio Games if she and Australian Greg Norman win the competition for the Olympic course design.

“Greg and I entered as a team. There are eight finalists fighting to win (the right) to design the golf course. In March we’ll be told who the winners are and we’re hoping for good news,” the 30year-old said. “I would love, being Latin and Mexican, to be able to be at those Games and I hope I can,” said Ochoa, who quit the LPGA Tour to spend more time with her family at her Guadalajara home in western Mexico but still plays exhibition tournaments.

“I retired from the LPGA tour, but I didn’t retire from golf. This year I have a heavy calendar of tournaments. People are a bit confused in this regard, but when I retired I said golf was my life and I’ll always play golf,” she said.

Ochoa won 27 titles on the LPGA Tour

- two of them majors including the 2007 British Open - and believes more Latin players will take leading roles on the golf circuit before too long.

“I’m sure that in a few years we’ll see extraordinary results because everything has a process,” she said. “The girls and boys who watched me play, who were motivated and started playing this sport will produce results in time, although it won’t be from one day to the next, we have to be patient.”

Paraguayan Julieta Granada at number 86 is the best-placed Latin American in the LPGA rankings, which are headed

by Taiwan’s Yani Tseng. “ There are many very motivated Latins who are improving, who are practicing and playing every day to (try to) go very far and we must focus on them,” Ochoa said.

Ochoa has two projects linked to golf, a television programme in which she will speak about her sport and the publication of her autobiography.

“This (TV) programme is the perfect example of being able to share the talent there is with everyone, (show) how golf has grown in Mexico and South America, the large number of Latins who have been playing on the different tours.

“I think that to have this programme will be something very positive for the sport,” she said. Ochoa said her autobiography had been completed and she hoped to publish it in November. “We hope it will help to bring lots of boys and girls to the sport so it keeps growing.”—Reuters

Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 2 At Columbus, Ohio, Henrik Zetterberg scored the go-ahead goal and added an assist, and Joey MacDonald had 28 saves to help Detroit end a three-game slide by beating Columbus. Johan Franzen had a goal and two assists, Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula both added a goal and assist, and Jan Mursak also scored for the Red Wings, who are 26-3-2 at home but only 16-16-1 on the road.

MacDonald, 7-1-1 this season playing behind No. 1 goalie Jimmy Howard, made a big stop on Ryan Russell’s short-handed breakaway to keep the game tied at 2 in the third period.

Capitals 3, Islanders 2 At Washington, Alex Ovechkin scored at 1:35 of overtime after Troy Brouwer tallied twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes of regulation, giving Washington an improbable win over the New York Islanders.

Blanked by Evgeni Nabokov for 56 minutes, the Capitals mounted a stunning rally to win their third straight - their longest streak since an identical run in mid-January. Brouwer cut the deficit to 2-1 with 3:29 left in regulation, and then, after Capitals coach Dale Hunter pulled goalie Michal Neuvirth, Brouwer deflected a shot by Brooks Laich past Nabokov to tie it with 25.5 seconds to play.

Josh Bailey and Matt Moulson scored for New York.

Sharks 1, Flyers 0 At San Jose, California, Ryane Clowe scored the lone goal early in the first period and Antti Niemi made it stand up with 26 saves for his fifth shutout as San Jose returned home from a grueling road trip and beat Philadelphia.

With little room for error in the final quarter of the season, the Sharks managed to hold on thanks to a strong bounceback performance

by Niemi to beat the Flyers for the ninth straight time.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves for the Flyers, who remained 11 points behind the first-place New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division.

Philadelphia was shut out for the second time in three games.

Hurricanes 4, Predators 3 At Raleigh, North Carolina, Bryan Allen scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box as Carolina held on to beat Nashville.

Nashville’s Gabriel Bourque scored less than a minute later - at 2:16 of the third period - to cut Carolina’s lead to 4-3, but the Predators couldn’t tie it.

Eric Staal and Tim Brent scored power-plays goals in the second period, and Jamie McBain had Carolina’s first goal earlier in the frame.

Craig Smith and Colin Wilson also scored for Nashville.

Lightning 2, Canadiens 1 At Tampa, Florida, Steven Stamkos scored his NHL-leading 44th goal as Tampa Bay beat slumping Montreal. Adam Hall also scored for the Lightning, who are 11th in the Eastern Conference and trail eighth-place Washington by five points. Mathieu Garon finished with 23 saves.

David Desharnais scored for the Canadiens, who have lost five in a row and been outscored 16-5 in that stretch. Tampa Bay went ahead 2-1 when Hall ended his 45-game goal drought, dating to the season opener against Carolina.

Panthers 5, Maple Leafs 3 At Toronto, Mike Santorelli scored twice for Florida in a road win over Toronto. Loud chants of “Fire Wilson!” directed at coach Ron Wilson were heard twice during the third period as the Leafs lost for the ninth time in 10 games, including all four on a homestand. Toronto is

four points out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Marcel Goc, Jason Garrison and Stephen Weiss also scored for Florida, which leads the Southeast Division with 72 points. Jose Theodore added 28 saves. Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and Joffrey Lupul had goals for the Maple Leafs.

Kings 4, Wild 0 At St. Paul, Minnesota, backup goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 25 shots for his fifth NHL shutout, and Anze Kopitar scored and added an assist in Los Angeles’ rout of Minnesota.

Justin Williams, Dwight King and Jordan Nolan added goals for Los Angeles, which entered the game having won only one of six.

The Kings moved into a tie with Dallas and Colorado for the eighth place in the Western Conference.

Coyotes 2, Canucks 1 At Glendale, Arizona, Mike Smith stopped 39 shots and Ray Whitney scored in the third period and during the shootout as Phoenix extended its point streak to 12 games by beating NHL-leading Vancouver.

Smith allowed a goal on a carom in the first period, but nothing else. He stopped Alexander Edler and Mason Raymond in the shootout to extend his career-best and franchise-record winning streak to 11 games.

Edler scored in the first period, and Schneider stopped 34 shots, but allowed goals on two of three shots in the shootout.—AP

NHL results/standings Ottawa 1, Boston 0; Florida 5, Toronto 3; Washington 3, NY Islanders 2 (OT); Carolina 4, Nashville 3; Detroit 5, Columbus 2; Tampa Bay 2, Montreal 1; Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 0; Phoenix 2, Vancouver 1 (SO); San Jose 1, Philadelphia 0. (OT denotes overtime win, SO is shootout victory) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W NY Rangers 40 Pittsburgh 36 Philadelphia 34 New Jersey 35 NY Islanders 26

L 15 21 21 23 28

OTL 6 5 7 4 9

GF 169 198 203 172 148

GA 124 163 188 170 187

PTS 86 77 75 74 61

Boston Ottawa Toronto Buffalo Montreal

Northeast Division 37 21 3 200 140 34 23 8 199 192 29 27 7 187 195 27 27 8 154 180 24 30 10 164 177

77 76 65 62 58

Florida Washington Winnipeg Tampa Bay Carolina

Southeast Division 30 20 12 158 172 32 26 5 172 178 30 27 8 166 186 29 28 6 176 213 24 26 13 166 190

72 69 68 64 61

Detroit St Louis Nashville Chicago Columbus

Western Conference Central Division 42 19 3 202 151 39 17 7 161 126 37 20 7 181 165 33 24 7 193 189 18 38 7 146 212

87 85 81 73 43

Vancouver Colorado Calgary Minnesota Edmonton

Northwest Division 40 16 8 204 156 33 27 4 168 173 28 24 11 151 173 28 26 9 139 167 25 31 6 167 184

88 70 67 65 56

Pacific Division Phoenix 33 21 9 166 156 75 San Jose 33 22 7 178 159 73 Dallas 33 26 4 165 171 70 Los Angeles 29 23 12 138 137 70 Anaheim 27 26 10 161 178 64 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

sp orts

Bolt could run 9.4 in London says Coe

MUNICH: Picture taken on February 18, 2012 shows British boxer Dereck Chisora (right) arguing with Haye’s manager Adam Booth after having a brawl with compatriot David Haye. —AP

Briton Chisora given indefinite ban by WBC LONDON: British heavyweight Dereck Chisora was banned indefinitely by the World Boxing Council (WBC) on Tuesday for what the organisation called “one of the worst behaviours ever by a professional”.

Chisora, beaten on points by WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in Munich earlier this month, was involved in an ugly brawl with fellow countryman David Haye at the post-match news conference.

“The WBC is imposing a serious fine to be finally determined after a hearing to be held under the supervision of our counsel representative attorney Stephen Beverly,” the organisation said in a statement. “The WBC ... declares an indefinite suspension against fighting again for a WBC title while demanding Chisora take an anger management medical treatment after which his suspension will be reconsidered.”

The boxer was questioned by German police before being released over his brawl with Haye, the former world heavyweight champion who lost to Klitschko’s brother Vladimir in July. Haye had been attending the bout and news conference as a television pundit.

He exchanged words with Klitschko’s manager Bernd Boente and Chisora and the row degenerated when Chisora got up to confront his fellow Briton and the pair traded blows.

Haye’s manager Adam Booth suffered a cut head during the brawl. During the post-bout fracas Chisora was heard to say he would “shoot and burn” Haye.

Chisora also slapped Klitschko on the cheek at the weigh-in and spat water

into the face of the Ukrainian’s younger brother Vladimir, who holds the WBO, IBF, WBA and IBO crowns, during the prefight ceremonies.

Haye is wanted for questioning by German police over his part in the altercation. The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) has ordered Chisora to appear at a hearing on March 14 to explain his actions.

“I have let my family, my team and worst of all the sport I love down,” Chisora said in a statement last week. “I acknowledge my actions were totally unprofessional with or without provocation. “Now, with a cool head and the benefit of hindsight, my actions were regrettable to say the least and I am deeply embarrassed.”

Haye said he fled Germany quickly due to death threats he received from Chisora before adding he would “happily assist the boxing authorities with any investigation they wish to launch”.

“I realise I am no angel - and don’t mind a bit of professional trash-talk to help raise boxing’s profile - but, during my 21 years in the sport, I have never been involved in, or even witnessed, such a serious fracas,” said Haye.

“It goes without saying I am bitterly disappointed to have been a part of what transpired.” The BBBC’s general secretary Robert Smith said Chisora and Haye, who retired in October, could face life bans.

“It’s a possibility,” Smith told the BBC in the aftermath of the scenes. “ The board have many powers. They can fine, they can suspend and they can withdraw a licence.” —Reuters

Mormeck out to smash Klitschko’s ‘glass jaw’ BERLIN: Challenger Jean-Marc Mormeck opened his war of words with Wladimir Klitschko yesterday by insisting he will smash the world heavyweight champion’s “glass jaw” on Saturday night.

“Klitschko has something that I want and I need to smash his face in order to get it,” the 39-year-old Frenchman told German television RTL. “I know that he is not happy getting hit. “I’ve already said it and mean it — he has a glass jaw.”

Klitschko is bidding for the 50th knock-out of his career in Dusseldorf when the pair meet with the champion’s IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA world titles on the line and was unimpressed by Mormeck’s words.

“I’m going to try to protect my glass chin,” he said wryly. “Best of all by looking at him knocked out.” Klitschko has not been beaten since 2004 and the pair held a public workout yesterday in front of around 400 spectators in Dusseldorf.

The pair were scheduled to meet last December, but kidney stones forced Klitschko, 35, to postpone the fight which will be the 60th of his career.

Mormeck is four years older and 17cms shorter than the Ukrainian, but

Klitschko says he will not underestimate his opponent who faces only his fourth heavyweight bout after stepping up from cruiserweight two years ago. “He’s in top form and will move around the ring a lot,” said Klitschko. “He’s not as laidback as he looks.”

Meanwhile, Klitschko’s management has won a small victory as a Hamburg court has ordered a preliminary injunction against German boxer Marco Huck repeating his comments that Dereck Chisora’s slap on Vitali Klitschko was staged.

Chisora slapped the WBC champion’s face before their fight in Munich on February 18 after which Chisora got in a brawl with ex-champion David Haye in the post-fight press conference.

In a press conference on March 18, Huck said Boente had staged the weighin slap by Chisora to boost ticket sales, but he now risks a fine of up to 250,000 euros or up to six months in jail if he repeats those comments.

“The court’s decision is the right one.

Huck should think twice in the future before he opens his mouth,” Wladimir Klitschko said of the verdict. —AFP

GERMANY: France’s boxer Jean-Marc Mormeck exercises during a training session in Duesseldorf. Mormeck will meet Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko for a WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight title bout on Saturday. —AP

TOKYO: Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, could possibly run 9.4 seconds over 100 metres at this year ’s London Olympics, Games organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe said yesterday.

Asked about media reports that Bolt was planning an assault on his world record of 9.58 in London, Coe told Reuters that Bolt had the ability to tear up the laws of physics.

“I do seem to remember scientists telling people if they tried to break the four-minute mile, they would probably die in the process,” the twice Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist said in an interview.

“I remember scientists telling me it was probably unlikely that anybody would run significantly under 1:43 for 800 metres,” added Coe, whose world record of 1:41.73 stood for 16 years.

“David Rudisha (the Kenyan 800 metres world record holder) is quite capable of running a chunk under 1:41. “I do think it’s possible (for Bolt to run 9.4) but also having watched the extraordinary performances of Yohan Blake, his countryman...

“And Tyson Gay in the States is not going to be a pushover either. I’m absolutely convinced that Usain can run faster, but this will be a Games that’s very competitive at 100 and 200.”

Despite his zero-tolerance stance towards doping, Coe said it was dangerous to treat every

superhuman performance as suspicious because of a disgraced minority of cheats.

“Nobody comes from nowhere,” he said. “Usain Bolt has been around a long time working very hard. “It’s far too easy to simply say ‘they’ve made rapid and dramatic progress and therefore they’re on some kind of illegal supplement’. That’s rarely the case.

“I broke 12 world records and won two Olympic titles and

CAS rule on an appeal by the British Olympic Association (BOA) against a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that its lifetime Olympic bans are illegal.

“We would have to live with it (if overturned),” said Coe, an advocate of life bans. “I have written in support of the BOA as has the Minister of Sport.

“It was a mistake to move (bans) from four to two years.

“Had we stayed at four years this

TOKYO: Sebastian Coe, the double Olympic champion and head of the London organizing committee, attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondent Club of Japan. —AP would no more have jumped off Beachy Head than taken any supplement.”

Coe said he would accept the ruling over banned British sprinter Dwain Chambers, expected in April, by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

would have been an academic discussion because a four-year ban would have meant the loss of an Olympic Games in that fouryear cycle.

The BOA currently bans from future Olympics any British athlete, such as Chambers and cyclist

David Millar, found guilty of a doping offence. WADA rules specify a maximum two-year ban for a first offence.

“I don’t think two years is enough,” said Coe. “It’s cheating.

People talk about rehabilitation, that kind of stuff, but I’m not convinced.

“The damage is done to the integrity of sport, the confidence for people going to sport, for competitors, it’s really vital that we control this.

“I do not think anybody at the highest level of sport that passes beyond that border of morality is doing so because they don’t understand the implications. “If you take something that enhances your performance you are basically forfeiting your place in the sport.”

With Britain looking set to undershoot its Olympic budget, Coe defended the London Organising Committee over ticket prices as it tries to balance its two billion pound ($3.17 billion) operating budget.

“We start off with a liability of two billion pounds. We have to raise that money ourselves,” he said, asked about top seats for the men’s 100 metres final which will cost 750 pounds. “Two thirds of the tickets are affordable at 50 pounds or less.

“Only eight percent of tickets are in the hands of the sponsors, which is low considering their contribution of one billion pounds.” —Reuters

New Zealand expecting results WELLINGTON: Alex Baumann is pulling no punches when it comes to administering funding for New Zealand’s high performance sports programme as they look beyond the London 2012 Olympic Games. He expects results.

“We have to make some hard decisions on resources in terms of who gets supported,” the new chief executive of High Performance Sports New Zealand (HPSNZ) told Reuters.

“We don’t have enough resources to support everyone to achieve those quality outcomes. I don’t think we will ever have those resources to be able to do that, but I do think sports need to know where they fit and what kind of criteria we need. “We are giving away significant funds and the sports have to be accountable for those funds.”

The 47-year-old Baumann, who won the 200 and 400 individual medley gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, added while he expected the sporting organisations to deliver, his personal approach was not to ‘put them on notice’.

HPSNZ funds nine sports organisations, six of which are Olympic sports. Of those Olympics disciplines, athletics, cycling, swimming, rowing, triathlon and yachting, their athletes are aiming for the podium or a top16 placing at the London Games and while some sports have under-performed in recent

years, Baumann was not prepared to micromanage them.

“I’ve always been interventionist as a last resort,” he said. “I’ve always followed a traffic light system where you have green light sports where we believe that the capacity is there, the performances are there and its just about monitoring them.

“The ones that are amber is where we see some gaps and try to help them fix those gaps and the red ones are those where there are interventions that we have to have but I’ve always thought that is a last resort.”

Baumann is the first chief executive of HPSNZ after it was formed by amalgamating the previous high performance programme run by Sports New Zealand and the New Zealand Academies of Sport last year following a review by the central government.

He only began the job on Jan. 31 after spending the last five years in a similar role for his native Canadian high performance programme. Prior to that he had spent 15 years in Australia, working at the Queensland Academy of Sport and as chief executive of Queensland Swimming.

HPSNZ centralised administrative functions and established a national high performance centre in Auckland, where he is based, and has had an increase in funding to about NZ$60 million a year.

Mayweather and Cotto get royal treatment for title clash NEW YORK: Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto have plenty of common. They both wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao but have ended up with a dynamic “Ring Kings” showdown against each other.

Undefeated American world welterweight champion Mayweather and super welterweight champion Cotto will clash for the Puerto Rican’s World Boxing Association crown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 5.

With hundreds of noisy fans crowded into the steep balconies at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Tuesday, a coronet player dressed in Elizabethan garb heralded the boxers’ arrival as Mayweather and Cotto made their way to high-backed golden thrones on the famed stage.

Although a long-awaited Mayweather-Pacquiao match pitting this generation’s greatest pound-forpound fighters has dominated the buzz in boxing, even “Pacman” last week admitted Mayweather could have his hands full against Cotto.

“That will be a tough fight,” said Pacquiao, adding that he hoped Mayweather would survive against the hard-hitting Cotto to keep alive their potentially huge payday bout. Mayweather, 42-0, said that after failing to arrange a date with Pacquiao, Cotto was a worthy opponent. “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Mayweather told the audience. “I can solidify myself as one of the best fighters to ever live. We will give a toeto-toe battle.” Cotto, 37-2, stopped Antonio Margarito in the 10th round of his last fight, avenging a previous loss to the Mexican, whose reputation was tarnished after he was found to have used illegal hand wraps in a bout with Shane Mosley.

“My (previous) fight with Margarito, he took some things from me, my confidence in myself, a lot of things,” Cotto told reporters. “When I beat him in December, they come back to me. I feel better now.”

As for Pacquiao, who defeated Cotto in a catchweight contest in which Cotto had to drop pounds, the Puerto Rican said he might look to avenge that 10thround loss some other time.

“I can face Pacquiao in the future,” Cotto said. “Going down to 147 pounds, is not healthy for me right now.

That was one of the reasons for my decision (to fight Mayweather).” Mayweather said he was moving up in weight for the May title bout because he wanted to fight “the best” Cotto. — Reuters

“The additional resources the government has put in has created a lot of opportunity,” Baumann added. “If it is managed effectively and targeted properly then its a very good resource.” While New Zealand’s small population could be a hindrance in terms of being able to generate massive amounts of centralised funding, that ensured creativity in terms of finding solutions to problems, he said. “Are we as well resourced as the UK? Or Australia? Probably not, but I do think it’s a good start if we manage it effectively.

“There is a willingness to think outside the box in terms of what has to be done. “It’s a small country and that’s actually a competitive advantage because it’s quite easy to get all the people together.

“The system is pretty nimble and in high performance you do need to make decisions pretty quickly.” While HPSNZ’s funding criteria focused on athletes who could achieve a podium or top 16 results at the London Games, something Baumann said melded with his own philosophy.

“For me high performance isn’t about egalitarianism. It’s about performance. It’s about trying to be the best you can be,” he said “I believe that we can compete with the best in the world and in a number of sports New Zealand have done that. “But they need to aim high.” — Reuters

Preview

Newcastle look to Bennett as their shining Knight SYDNEY: Newcastle Knights are hoping Wayne Bennett’s premiership success will rub off on the former champions in the new Australian National Rugby League season, kicking off today. The two-time champions, bankrolled by coal mining magnate Nathan Tinkler, have ambitiously recruited Bennett to bring back the glory days to one of the heartlands of Australian rugby league.

Bennett, 62, is bidding to become the first coach to win premierships with three different NRL clubs, having won six with the Brisbane Broncos and one with the St George Illawarra Dragons in a 23-year-career.

“He (Tinkler) wants our game to capture the imagination of the Hunter (Newcastle region) like never before for the Knights to be the benchmark of rugby league in this country,” Bennett said. “That is the type of challenge that appeals to me. The Knights have already won two premierships and have been a great club despite struggling with their finances. And that’s where Nathan Tinkler comes in.”

Adding spice to this week’s opening round of matches, Bennett’s Knights will launch the season today against his old Dragons’ team, whom he steered to the 2010 NRL title. Bennett’s coaching reputation has lured international back Darius Boyd from the Dragons, former Test centre Timana Tahu, Test prop Kade Snowden and former Test hooker Danny Buderus to Newcastle, who are quoted third premiership favourites by bookmakers ahead of the kick-off.

Wests Tigers, coached by Test incumbent Tim Sheens, are favorites for

the title on the strength of their strong player roster, headed by New Zealand superstar Benji Marshall, dual international winger Lote Tuqiri, English forward Gareth Ellis, hooker Robbie Farah and new signing Adam Blair from Melbourne.

The Tigers, formed in 2000 in an amalgamation of former clubs Wests and Balmain, kick off against the Cronulla Sharks at home on Sunday.

Craig Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm are second favorites and a force again after being stripped of two premierships in 2010 for salary cap breaches.

The Storm, who topped the points table last season but missed out on playing in the grand final, are built around internationals Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, and are well coached by Bellamy now in his 10th year in charge.

Storm, who have added Jason Ryles and Ryan Hoffman to their squad this season, are away to the Canberra Raiders in their opening match.

Champions Manly Sea Eagles are listed fourth in the betting after losing their premiership coach Des Hasler to the Canterbury Bulldogs and will be prepared this season by former scrumhalf Geoff Toovey.

Manly lost to Leeds 26-12 in the World Club Challenge at Headingley this month, but retain their NRL-winning squad from last season. The New Zealand Warriors, who will be coached

by Brian McClennan after six-year coach Ivan Cleary returned to Australia to lead Penrith, are looking to impress as are the Brisbane Broncos, who have veteran Test prop Petero Civoniceva back in their pack. — AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

S P ORT S

’Kids will see worse on TV than what I do’ NEW YORK: Fred Flintstone bowled. So did Ralph Kramden and The Dude from “The Big Lebowski.” Over the 5,200 years-and-counting the game’s been around, almost everyone has. None of them is a match for Pete Weber.

“When I was younger, I always wished I could be more like Fred Couples the golfer, you know, more cool, calm and collected,” Weber said over the telephone Tuesday. “I wouldn’t get bashed as much. But somebody has got to be the villain.”

Weber also happens to be one of the five greatest bowlers ever, something he’s determined not to let the rest of us forget. He’s a WWE-sized personality wedged into a lounge sport, a firecracker whose fuse is half-lit by the time he’s done warming up.

Anytime Weber wins - which is still often - you do not want to be between him and a camera. Double that when Weber wins something important, like last weekend, when he rolled to what might be the triumphal win of what was already a Hall of Fame career.

At age 49, Weber came in as the No. 4 seed and threw a strike on his final ball of the title match to beat Mike Fagan 215-214 and become the oldest and only five-time winner of bowling’s U.S. Open. That gave him one more than his much-beloved father, the late Dick Weber, and his father’s equally legendary friend and friendly rival, the late Don Carter.

Weber long ago tired of all the talk that bowling had become a younger man’s game, and at several junctures in Sunday’s match, he got into stare-downs

with fans, or stopped and scolded them for making noise during his approach. When the last pin toppled, he turned on his heels, flung his trademark shades to the floor and with all those emotions roiling inside him, just about went nuts.

“Yes! ... That is right! I did it! Number five! Are you kidding me! That’s right!” Weber howled at the crowd.

“Who do you think you are?” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead pointing both thumbs back in the direction of his chest. “I am!”

View the highlights for yourself on YouTube, as well as Weber’s choked-up, post-match tribute to his dad.

By midday Tuesday, more than a half-million people already had, including NBA star and bowling aficionado Chris Paul.

“That’s him. I wasn’t expecting anything less,” said Paul, who hosts an annual celebrity pro-am tournament to benefit his CP3 Foundation and has known Weber for years. He saw how competitive Weber can be up close when his team dethroned Paul’s two-time defending champs this year. “He reacts that way because he’s excited,” Paul added, “and because he loves what he does.”

Back at his suburban St. Louis home two days later, Weber was a lot calmer but still unrepentant. He’d just returned after walking a brisk 18 holes of golf, a game Weber plays almost as well as he bowls. He said he hadn’t watched the highlights from the US Open “only what I heard about it from other people” - or any of the half-dozen other videos of his pre- and post-

match antics over the years that are generating renewed buzz on the Web. He didn’t see the need.

“I had a couple incidents with the crowd (Sunday), so I wanted to let them know that I’m the man, and when it comes down to it, they’re not getting to me,” he said. “That’s why I did what I did.”

What he’s also done is win just about everything in sight. He ranks second in major titles with nine, and third in Professional Bowlers Association Tour titles with 36. He started bowling at 2, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to set the pins at a local alley and work on his game and was named rookie of the year at 18. By 26, Weber completed the “Triple Crown,” winning at least one of each of bowling’s three majors.

By his mid-30s, he was less popular with his peers than ever, twice divorced, fighting battles with alcohol and having disciplinary problems on tour. A few years after that, new owners took over the tour and decided that Weber’s over-the-top and occasionally vulgar behavior wasn’t a problem, it was exactly what bowling needed. The gentlemanly pro game his father pioneered hasn’t been the same since.

Ted Williams once told a friend, “All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, ‘There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.’” Weber liked that. “I’d like to hear, ‘There’s one of best bowlers in world,’ or maybe ‘the only five-time US Open champ,’” Weber said. “But I’d never say I’m better than Don Carter or Dick Weber or some of the other guys. They

paved the way for us, and what they had to do was a lot harder. When they won the US Open, they had to play 100 games in a week. I’m only bowling 50. What they had to bowl on - I’m talking about the quality of the lanes - was a lot harder, too. Some of the players out here would struggle to break 200 in the conditions they had to shoot on.”

But he knows that plenty of the people who would recognize him on the street, even those who recognize the pedigree, won’t stop there.

“They’ll remember the other stuff, too. They’ll say, ‘There’s the guy that brought the ‘crotch chop’ to bowling.” And they won’t be shy about saying whether they liked me or not. I just hope,” he sighed, “they say ‘He was the most exciting guy to watch on TV.’ I’ve always been straightforward on the lanes. You always know how I felt after shots.”

Weber wasn’t being contemplative. He expects there will be plenty of time for that. He plans on competing “as long as I can walk.” What he won’t do is change a thing.

A decade ago, Williams was asked whether he was worried about the influence he might have on kids taking up the game. He replied, “Your kid will see worse in life and on TV than what I do when I’m bowling.” That answer still stands.

“Actually, it has rubbed off on kids. I probably got a couple of ‘em kicked out of tournaments for doing the ‘crotch chop.’ In fact, I know that for sure,” he chuckled softly, “and I’m sorry about it.” Or not. — AP

South Africa cruise to series-clinching victory

DHAKA: The Dhaka Gladiators team pose for a photo with the winner’s trophy following the BPL Twenty20 cricket final match against the Barisal Burners at the Sher-e-Bangla cricket stadium. — AFP

India rest Sehwag, Zaheer for Asia Cup MUMBAI: India selectors have rested opening batsman Virender Sehwag and pace duo Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav from the country’s squad for next month’s Asia Cup one-day international competition in Bangladesh.

Defending champions India, who also won the 50-over World Cup on home soil last year, will play Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh in the biennial four-nation tournament from March 1122.

Speculation was rife in the Indian media that vice-captain Sehwag, who amassed just 65 runs from his five innings in the ongoing Tri-series in Australia, would suffer for his poor form and be dropped from the squad.

However, chief selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth confirmed Sehwag’s omission from the 15-player squad named on Wednesday was purely down to fitness concerns.

“We had productive discussions with the team management. We wanted to have a clear understanding by talking to people in Australia and we have everything sorted out,” Srikkanth told reporters after the selection committee meeting.

“Unfortunately, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have been asked to take rest by the physiotherapist. It is an honest truth... there is a medical report from the physiotherapist and we went by the report. “They have injuries and it is purely on

injury grounds that both have been rested.”

Big-hitting all rounder Yusuf Pathan and paceman Ashok Dinda were recalled to the squad captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dinda, who last played for India during the 2010 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, appears to have been rewarded for his impressive form in domestic cricket.

Free-scoring batsman Virat Kohli, who carried India to a spectacular victory over Sri Lanka in Hobart on Tuesday to keep the team alive in the Tri-Nations tournament, was named vice-captain in Sehwag’s absence.

“I think we also have to start thinking forward, from a futuristic point of view,” Srikkanth said. “I think the selection committee and the board feel that Virat Kohli could be a good future captaincy material. Time has also come to groom youngsters.”

Kohli, who led India to victory in the under-19 World Cup in 2008, has been the most successful batsman for India during their dismal tour of Australia, where they were whitewashed 4-0 in the test series.

Squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, R. Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Sharma. — Reuters

NAPIER: Morne Morkel took five wickets and Hashim Amla hit 92 runs as South Africa coasted to a six-wicket, series-clinching win over New Zealand in the second one-day cricket international yesterday.

Morkel (5-38) and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (3-43), provoked a collapse which saw New Zealand slump from 163-2 in the 33rd over to be all out for an inadequate 230 in 47.3 overs. With the win, South Africa takes a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Brendon McCullum marked his 200th one-day international by topscoring with 85 for New Zealand, but when he was out New Zealand lost its last six wickets for 55 runs, including 535 between the 30th and 40th overs.

Amla then directed a composed run chase which saw South Africa reach its winning target with almost 12 overs to spare. South Africa was 192-4 when Amla was dismissed in the 32nd over, needing only 39 runs to clinch a match and series victory.

Captain A.B. de Villiers steered the rest of the run chase, making 31 not out and sealing the win with a casual single from the second ball of the 39th over. “I thought we played consistently well today,” de Villiers said. “Right from the start the boys had the right attitude.

“We had a good presence in the field and Morne bowled exceptionally well and set the trend for us and the boys just followed.” Morkel’s was a remarkable bowling performance. He had 0-33 late in his spell but then sliced through New Zealand’s middle and lower order to take five wickets for five runs.

Amla then made light of the run chase on a pitch on which 300 was easily achievable. He lost his opening partner, Jacques Kallis, in the third over when South Africa was only 11, but remained confident and kept up a high run-rate from the outset. Amla found the short boundaries at McLean Park with ease, taking 24 of his first 26 runs from fours and reaching his 50 from 51 balls.

“It’s always nice when someone starts well for you up the order,” de Villiers said. “It takes a lot of pressure off the middle order and we had that today, and it made it very easy for the middle order. McCullum put on 107 for the second wicket with Martin Guptill (58) to set a solid foundation for the New Zealand innings. But he was one of three batsmen dismissed during New Zealand’s batting powerplay as the innings quickly unraveled.

Kane Williamson was out for 13 in the first over of the powerplay,

NAPIER: New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum (left) watches as South Africa’s JP Duminy plays a shot during the second one-day international cricket match. — AFP McCullum followed in the third over after scoring his 85 runs from 96 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.

Jesse Ryder fell for a duck one over later as New Zealand slumped from 163-2 to 179-5 in the overs which were supposed to be the most productive of its innings.

Tsotsobe dismissed McCullum and Williamson after removing opener Rob Nicol (11) in the sixth over of the innings. The tall left-armer made up for dropping an easy caught-and-bowled chance when McCullum was on 18 and New Zealand 51-1.

Morkel then hastened the collapse, removing James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee (28), Tarun Nethula and finally Andrew Ellis (19) to end the New Zealand innings.

He was twice on a hat trick, dismissing Franklin and Mills with successive balls, before doing the same with Southee and Nethula.

Legspinner Nethula had an eventful one-day international debut. He was bowled with the first ball of his first one-day innings, was hit for four from the first ball of his first one-day over and had two catches dropped from his bowling. But he battled back to dismiss Amla and Duminy, South Africa’s topscorers, and to finish with 2-60 from his 10 overs.

“I guess 8-60 odd is not really acceptable so we have to have to take a good, hard look at ourselves there,” McCullum said. “We got ourselves into a position from which we should have kicked on and got some impetus later on and got around that 300 mark. But we obviously weren’t able to do so.”

The third match is in Auckland on Saturday. — AP

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard after South Africa beat New Zealand by six wickets in their second one-day international at McLean Park in Napier yesterday: South Africa won the toss and chose to field.

New Zealand R. Nicol lbw Tsotsobe 11 58 M. Guptill c de Villiers b Kallis B. McCullum c Ontong b Tsotsobe 85 K. Williamson c Kallis b Tsotsobe 13 J. Ryder c de Villiers b Steyn 0 J. Franklin b M. Morkel 6 A. Ellis c Steyn b M. Morkel 19 K. Mills c Peterson b M. Morkel 0 T. Southee c Steyn b M. Morkel 28 T. Nathula c de Villiers b M.Morkel 0 A. McKay not out 0 Extras: (w-5, lb-5) 10 Total: (all out, 47.3 overs) 230 Fall of wickets: 1-24 2-131 3-163 4-175 5-179 6-184 7184 8-221 9-221 Bowling: Tsotsobe 10-0-43-3 (w-1); Steyn 10-1-37-1 (w2); M. Morkel 9.3-1-38-5; A. Morkel 3-0-30-0, Peterson 80-43-0 (w-2); Kallis 6-0-32-1; Duminy 1-0-2-0.

South Africa H. Amla c B. McCullum b Nethula 92 4 J. Kallis c B. McCullum b Mills F. du Plessis c Guptill b Ellis 34 JP Duminy c&b Nethula 43 AB de Villiers not out 31 J. Ontong not out 17 Extras: (b-2, lb-2, w-6) 10 Total: (for four wickets, 38.2 overs) 231 Fall of wickets: 1-11 2-80 3-167 4-192 Did not bat: Albie Morkel, Robin Peterson, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe Bowling: Mills 6.2-1-41-1 (w-1); Southee 8-0-61-0, McKay 10-1-45-0, Ellis 3-0-16-1; Nethula 10-0-60-2 (w-1); Nicol 1-0-4-0.

Harris out of Aussie ODI squad MELBOURNE: Australia have left out paceman Ryan Harris from the ODI squad for next month’s tour of West Indies to allow young quick James Pattinson to continue his development after recovering from a foot injury.

Harris was replaced by 21-year-old Pattinson for the remainder of Australia’s home one-day series against India and Sri Lanka after being outshone by the likes of fellow test bowler Ben Hilfenhaus and ageing paceman Brett Lee. “James Pattison is back in for two reasons, because he’s such a fine bowler, an outstanding bowler, and he’s also a young man and we’re looking to develop him,” chief of selectors John Inverarity told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. “We’ve preferred James Pattinson in place of Ryan, so Ryan’s been dropped from the squad.

“And we’re going to the West Indies basically with the same four fast bowlers in the last ODI and the final, so there’s consistency there.”

The 32-year-old Harris, who missed two of Australia’s four tests in the series whitewash

against India, is likely to be retained in the test squad.

Pattinson joins Lee and Clint McKay, who has taken 10 wickets in five ODIs in the Tri-series, in the pace attack for both the one-day and T20 squads, with Hilfenhaus named only for the onedayers.

Mitchell Starc took just five wickets in five one-dayers in the Tri-series and was omitted but the 22-year-old will train with the squad in the Caribbean, Inverarity said.

Brad Haddin returns to the squad after being dropped for the Tri-series but has already been informed that Matt Wade will be first choice wicketkeeper in limited overs internationals.

“I think they’re both looking forward to it and we’re looking forward to it,” Inverarity said.

“Rivals, (with) friendly rivalry, push each other to greater heights.”

Haddin remains the incumbent test wicketkeeper, however, and Wade would need to pull off an “extraordinary” performance to dislodge the 34-year-old, Inverarity added.

Twenty20 skipper George Bailey, who has not played one-day or test cricket for his country, has also been included in the one-day squad having enjoyed a rich vein of form in the Ryobi Cup, the domestic one-day competition.

“He’s probably in the form of his life. So, post him being in the T20 side, whatever’s happened there seems to have been a real boost to his confidence but he’s playing exceptionally well at the moment and very much deserves his opportunity in that side,” said Inverarity.

Australia will play five one day internationals in the Caribbean between March 16 and 25 as well as Twenty20 internationals on March 27 and 30. Test matches in Bridgetown, Port of Spain and Guyana follow in April.

Squad - Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Wa t s o n , G e o r g e B a i l e y, D a n C h r i s t i a n , Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Brad Haddin, B e n H i l fe n h a u s, D a v i d H u s s e y, M i c h a e l H u s s e y, B r e t t L e e , N a t h a n Ly o n , C l i n t McKay, James Pattinson, Matthew Wade, David Warner. — Reuters

DOUR: French Arnaud Demare (center) celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win, before Belgian Kris Boeckmans (right) the 43rd edition of the Grand Prix Samyn, 192 km from Frameries to Dour yesterday. — AFP

18

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

S P ORT S

Wade says he apologized to Bryant for bloodied face MIAMI: Insisting he meant no harm, Dwyane Wade revealed Tuesday that he has apologized to Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant multiple times for a blood-drawing, nose-breaking foul during the All-Star game.

The first of those apologies, Wade said, came during the game when he saw Bryant’s face had been bloodied.

Wade also said he sent the Lakers’ star a message after the game in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday night. Wade said critics who questioned why he never offered an apology for the play - the likes of which seemed to be something not typical in an All-Star game setting - simply made incorrect assumptions.

“I don’t care what I’m portrayed as,” Wade said after Miami’s first practice following the league’s All-Star break.

“It’s unfortunate, obviously. I don’t want to ever hurt anybody in this game, especially on a freak play like that. It’s unfortunate. I send my apologies. But it’s not intentional. If it’s something I did intentionally, it’d be a different story.”

A week ago, the Heat could make jokes about how they were out of the NBA spotlight, bumped by the meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin in New York. Now it’s a different story.

Two plays seem to be generating the most attention from the All-Star game Wade’s hard foul against Bryant and LeBron James’ ill-advised pass at the end of what became a three-point loss for the Eastern Conference.

“It’s an All-Star game. I mean, come on,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who couldn’t answer a question about what he thought of James’ play in the final seconds because he said he didn’t watch the game or see any replays of it since. “It’s a continuation of the theater of the absurd. I don’t even know if it’s going to motivate me to actually even look at it. I haven’t seen it.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, about the extreme exaggeration about everything that happens with our team,” Spoelstra continued. “All we can focus on is us. And at the end of the

season, hopefully it ends the right way, and that’ll ultimately be the only way we can shut people up.”

The Heat enter the second half of the season tied with Oklahoma City for the league’s best record at 27-7. Miami starts a three-game road trip today night in Portland, followed by a game at Utah - and then, in a nationally televised game that probably got a whole lot more interesting, at the Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

Bryant stayed in after the Wade hit, and the Lakers said Tuesday that he also got a concussion in the All-Star Game. Bryant is listed as day-to-day by the Lakers, who play host to Minnesota on Wednesday night.

“D-Wade didn’t, at all, go for a hard foul,” James said. “He went to wrap his arms up and accidentally hit him in the nose. ... He meant to foul him but he didn’t mean to hard-foul him like that.”

Wade acknowledged that he did try to foul Bryant, and said he did so to stop the clock so he could approach a

nearby referee to complain about fouls that he felt were committed against him and went uncalled.

So not long after a Pro Bowl that was deemed by NFL fans and even Commissioner Roger Goodell as lacking any real sense of competition, the NBA’s version of a star-studded exhibition got too fiery down the stretch by some standards.

“Hey, what do you want?” Heat forward Chris Bosh said. “It was all about the game. It came down to the last possession. It was all for the fans. That’s what they want. You get competitors out there, it may go a certain particular way for a limited amount a time, but after a while guys, they’re really going to get after it. And those make the best games. “That’s what people want to see.” At the end, James found himself in the spotlight.

The East trailed by two points when James got the ball with about five seconds left near midcourt. Guarded by Bryant, James dribbled right, then tried

slinging a one-handed diagonal pass back to his left. The pass was stolen by Blake Griffin, who made one free throw to close the scoring in the West’s 152149 win. It was reported Sunday that Bryant told James to shoot the ball in that situation, and James said afterwards he let his team down. But it didn’t end there. That play has been questioned since. “Is that something new?”

James asked, rhetorically on Tuesday.

Wade apparently was ready to put the All-Star game behind him and said he was done discussing the issue after Tuesday. However, it’s almost certain to come up again when the Heat head out to face Bryant and the Lakers over the weekend.

“When I saw the blood in his nose, I was like, ‘Obviously, I wasn’t trying to do that, man,’” Wade said. “I don’t know if anybody wants me to get down on my knees in front of the world and do it. I don’t have to do that. ... I send my apologies to Kobe and I move on from it.” —AP

Celtics snap losing streak CLEVELAND: Ray Allen scored 22 points and Kevin Garnett added 18 as the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 86-83 on Tuesday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Boston, which couldn’t hold a 16-point lead in the first quarter, avoided its first six-game skid since dropping seven in a row from April 4-15, 2007.

Kyrie Irving returned from a bruised elbow that sidelined him late in the second quarter and led Cleveland with 24 points, 19 in the second half.

Irving hit two free throws with 1:21 remaining to give Cleveland an 81-80 lead. After Allen missed a 3-pointer, Garnett tipped Irving’s pass, leading to Allen’s dunk with 48.6 seconds left.

scored 25 points to help Indiana win its fifth straight game. Tyler Hansbrough scored 15 points and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who remained in third place in the Eastern Conference. Monta Ellis and Brandon Rush each scored 14 points for the Warriors, who finished with season lows in points and field-goal percentage (.341).

Sixers coach Doug Collins left the bench between the third and fourth quarters, walking to the team’s locker room, and didn’t return to the court because of flulike symptoms.

Philadelphia’s Elton Brand scored 10 points, returning from a two-game absence because of a sprained right thumb. Greg Monroe scored 20 points and

Kings 103, Jazz 96 At Sacramento, California, DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and 18 rebounds as Sacramento celebrated a possible new arena deal with a victory over struggling Utah.

The city, the Kings and the NBA announced a tentative deal Monday to finance a new arena that would be built by 2015 and keep the team in Sacramento for many years. The City Council will vote on the plan March 6.

Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and made five of six free throws in the final 16 seconds to help the Kings secure the win.

Rookie guard Isaiah Thomas had 18 points and eight assists for the Kings. Thomas, the last player chosen in the 2011 draft, started his fifth consecutive game at point guard. He has scored 96 points in those five games to tie a franchise mark set

by Otis Birdsong in 1977. Devin Harris had 18 points and seven assists for the Jazz.

Nets 93, Mavericks 92 At Dallas, Brook Lopez scored 38 points in only his third game back from a broken right foot, and made the goahead free throws with 42 seconds left for New Jersey.

The two free throws by Lopez came right after the Mavericks had taken the lead with a 13-2 run after missing 14 consecutive field goals. Jason Kidd’s 3-pointer from the right wing only 6 seconds earlier had put Dallas ahead 92-91.

Jason Terry forced a turnover with 18 seconds left, and Dallas called timeout. Kidd then had the ball in the left corner, but it was knocked loose by DeShawn Stevenson. Kidd got it back but his desperate heave at the buzzer was short.

Bulls 99, Hornets 95 At Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 32 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 19.4 seconds left, and Chicago closed with an 8-0 run.

Joakim Noah had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls and Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng added 14 points apiece.

Rose scored six points in Chicago’s final run. Chris Kaman had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets and Trevor Ariza scored 16 points.

Pacers 102, Golden State 78 At Indianapolis, Danny Granger

CLEVELAND: Boston Celtics’ Ray Allen (right) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers’ Omri Casspi, in the first quarter in an NBA basketball game. —AP 76ers 97, Pistons 68 At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 20 points in a pivotal second quarter and All-Star Andre Iguodala had 12 points, six assists and four steals to help Philadelphia snap a five-game losing streak.

Rodney Stuckey had 17 for the Pistons.

T’wolves 109, Clippers 97 At Los Angeles, Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley each scored 27 points, teaming up to lead a fourth-quarter shooting barrage as Minnesota

NBA results/standings Boston 86, Cleveland 83; Indiana 102, Golden State 78; Philadelphia 97, Detroit 68; Houston 88, Toronto 85; Milwaukee 119, Washington 118; Chicago 99, New Orleans 95; New Jersey 93, Dallas 92; Sacramento 103, Utah 96; Minnesota 109, LA Clippers 97.

Philadelphia NY Knicks Boston New Jersey Toronto

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 21 14 17 18 16 17 11 25 10 24

beat the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers in the teams’ first game since the AllStar break. Williams and Beasley each had 13 points in the fourth.

Williams finished 9 of 10 from the field while making all four of his 3-point attempts and all five of his free throws. Beasley hit 11 of 15 from the floor, including all three of his 3-pointers.

Blake Griffin scored 30 points, Chris Paul added 27 and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers.

PCT .600 .486 .485 .306 .294

GB 4 4 10.5 10.5

Chicago Indiana Milwaukee Cleveland Detroit

Central Division 28 8 22 12 14 20 13 19 11 25

.778 .647 .412 .406 .306

5 13 13 17

Miami Orlando Atlanta Washington Charlotte

Southeast Division 27 7 22 13 20 14 7 27 4 28

.794 .629 .588 .206 .125

5.5 7 20 22

Western Conference Northwest Division 27 7 18 16 18 17 18 17 15 18

.794 .529 .514 .514 .455

9 9.5 9.5 11.5

LA Clippers LA Lakers Golden State Phoenix Sacramento

Pacific Division 20 12 20 14 13 18 14 20 12 22

.625 .588 .419 .412 .353

1 6.5 7 9

San Antonio Houston Dallas Memphis New Orleans

Southwest Division 24 10 21 14 21 14 19 15 8 26

.706 .600 .600 .559 .235

3.5 3.5 5 16

Oklahoma City Portland Denver Minnesota Utah

Rockets 88, Raptors 85 At Houston, Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, and Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds as Houston beat Toronto.

Kevin Martin scored 14 points, though he missed a key free throw with 11.7 seconds left that gave the Raptors a chance to tie it. But Linas Kleiza missed a long 3-point try, Martin corralled the rebound and the Rockets won for the 18th time in the last 25 games. DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, James Johnson had 16 and Ed Davis tied a career-high with 15 rebounds for the Raptors.

Toronto outrebounded Houston 47-37, but went 2 for 17 from 3point range and committed 17 turnovers.

Bucks 119, Wizards 118 At Milwaukee, Ersan Ilyasova scored on a tip-in with 2.2 seconds left as Milwaukee handed Washington its fifth consecutive defeat. Mike Dunleavy scored a season-high 28 points for the Bucks, who snapped a six-game losing streak at home.

Brandon Jennings took an inbounds pass with 6.8 seconds left and drove left of the lane, attempting a short jumper. It bounced off the rim, but Ilyasova had position and tipped in the miss for the winning points.

Roger Mason Jr. then received an inbounds pass on the baseline for Washington but was called for traveling with 1 second to go without getting off a shot. —AP

DUBAI: Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves the ball to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine during the Emirates Dubai ATP Tennis Championships. —AP

Djokovic moves closer to rematch with Murray DUBAI: Triple Grand Slam titleholder Novak Djokovic had to fight hard before reaching the quarter-finals of the Dubai Open yesterday and moving to within one win of a possible rematch with Andy Murray.

Djokovic beat Sergei Stakhovsky, the dangerously hard-hitting world number 74 from Ukraine, by 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, but was break point down in the eighth game of the first set and a break of serve down early in the second set.

Another win could give Djokovic another semi-final with Murray, whom he overcame in a five-hour classic at the same stage of last month’s Australian Open inn Melbourne. The hot, fast conditions suited Stakhovsky perfectly and Djokovic was sometimes forced to cover large areas of court and to show great resilience in containment and defence.

He also served well, serving his way out of trouble in the first set, and closing out the second set without hint of inhibition, finishing with an ace.

“There are not many serve-volley players in the game now and Stakhovsky can attack from the baseline and the net. It was very close,” Djokovic said. “I was fortunate I got breaks when I needed them. As I get more matches I will get more rhythm.”

He next plays his friend Janko Tipsarevic, a fellow Serbian Davis Cup player, who overcame Flavio Cipolla of Italy, 6-7 (7/2), 61, 6-1. “It’s great to have us both in the quarter-finals,” Djokovic said.

Earlier the third-seeded Murray’s bid to push on from his tremendous Australian performance carried him into the quarterfinals with a solid win over Marco Chiudinelli, the third best Swiss player, by 6-3, 6-4.

The performance suggested that, like

Djokovic, he may already be re-building momentum again in his first tournament since the Australian Open.

“I played well throughout today,” Murray said. “I played a little bit better, so that’s progress. Now I just need to keep that going.”

Murray established an early break of serve against Chiudinelli to reach 3-1 and consolidated the lead well, serving well and moving better than he had the day before against Michael Berrer.

Then the three-time Grand Slam finalist had complained of feeling unwell, and had gone 3-4 down in the second set. But this time Murray kept out of trouble.

He almost broke serve again in the first game of the second set, and earned another break point in the seventh game, only for Chiudinelli to play those points well.

But in the ninth game Murray produced some of his most cogent and controlled rallying, outmanoeuvring his opponent to reach love-40 and then converting the second break point by luring Chiudinelli into over-hitting.

Murray then closed the match out by winning his service game to 15 and told the crowd how training in Florida had helped him cope with the rising Dubai temperatures, in the nineties on court.

“Conditions in Miami are hotter than this,” he said. “I find the conditions here almost perfect. I’d been practising my serve quite a lot there and I think that went well today.” However Murray may have a tough task if he is to earn the chance of a rematch with Djokovic.

He next plays Tomas Berdych, the former Wimbledon finalist from the Czech republic, who showed how much he likes fast surfaces in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lukas Lacko, a qualifier from Slovakia. —AFP

Ferrer advances in Mexico ACAPULCO: Two-time defending champion David Ferrer of Spain defeated local favorite Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Mexican Open on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Ferrer, attempting to win his third title of the season, needed just over an hour to eliminate the Mexican player at The Fairmont Acapulco Princess. The sixth-ranked Spaniard saved all five break points he allowed to Gonzalez, and converted on four of his seven opportunities.

Ferrer won the Copa Claro last week in Argentina, and had already won the title in Auckland, New Zealand in January.

Also Tuesday, No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro beat fellow-Spaniard Pere Riba 62, 3-6, 6-2 and third-seeded Gilles Simon of France lost 6-7 (5), 3-6 to Carlos Berlocq of Argentina. It was the second consecutive tournament that Berlocq eliminated Simon

after the Frenchman had lost in the second round of the Copa Claro last week in Argentina.

“I played a great match and I’m happy with my performance today,” Berlocq said.

“Last week I had played a perfect match against him. Today it was tougher because of the heat, which was incredible.”

Sixth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina retired with heat exhaustion while losing 67 (2), 3-5 to Albert Ramos of Spain. Albert Montanes of Spain also had to retire in his match against No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who was winning 6-2, 4-1.

Eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain needed 56 minutes to rout Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-0, 6-2. Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka had 10 aces in his 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. Six of Wawrinka’s aces came in the decisive set.—AP

19

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

S P ORT S

Saudi women demand right to play sports JEDDAH: The image of 24-year-old Nour Fitiany resting courtside as the pounding of basketballs and thumping of feet reverberated around her wouldn’t merit a second glance in most countries. But in Saudi Arabia, where girls are banned from sports in state schools, powerful clerics castigate women for exercising and female gyms must adhere to strict regulations, Fitiany’s ambition to play basketball - let alone represent her country in international tournaments - is a bold political statement. “I hope that when they see that there are girls who really want to play, and who do play regardless of the obstacles that lie in their path, they realise that they have to do something,” she said, dressed in a baby blue t-shirt and grey jogging pants, spinning a basketball on her index finger.

Female participation in sports has long been a controversial issue in the conservative Islamic kingdom, which on Feb. 15 was lambasted by Human Rights Watch for never having sent a woman athlete to the Olympics. The stance of the official Supreme Council of Religious Scholars is represented by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Maneea, who said in 2009 that the excessive “movement and jumping” needed in football and basketball might cause girls to tear their hymens and lose their virginity. After King Abdullah moved last year to bring women into the country’s political process, however, there have been some signs authorities may allow sportswomen to compete internationally and make it easier for girls to exercise. The HRW report said the National Olympic committee had “indicated” it would not stop women athletes taking part in the Games if they were invited, and speculation has been rife that the government will send equestrian Dalma Malhas to compete in this year’s Olympics in London.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority

told Reuters earlier this year there are plans to introduce after-hours physical education classes for both girls and boys. The kingdom’s official sporting body, the Saudi General Presidency of Youth Welfare, did not respond to Reuters questions on the issue. Sports in the patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia has long been reserved as an activity for men. Even stadiums for watching sports prohibit females to be present.

Women are able to play in the privacy of their homes or in private schools but as soon as they step beyond that to play professionally or in organized teams in public competitions they are publicly slammed for going against their natural role.

Newspaper articles that refer to such women as “shameless” when they play sports are a cause of great embarrassment for the women and their families. Some have even received text messages advising them to stay at home and tend to their household duties as mothers and wives.

“If there is no support from the family we cannot get into these types of activities ... some people are extremist or extra conservative,” said Hadeer Sadagah, 17, who plays with Fitiany on their basketball team, Jeddah United. Jeddah United was set up in 2003 to promote women’s fitness; Malhas, who specialises in show jumping, trained privately and has competed in international tournaments since she was young. A group of Saudi women is also planning a hiking expedition to Everest base camp this summer as part of a charity fundraising exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle for breast cancer patients. Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the king who is known to be a supporter of women’s rights, has included women in his Kingdom Equestrian Team, part of his company Kingdom Holding, which has allowed Saudi women to compete in international com-

petitions since 2007. Liberal Saudis consider women who participate in sports to be pioneers and encourage the women to play regardless of the obstacles. “We have a very famous Arabic saying that goes, ‘a healthy brain needs a healthy body’ so from that I believe that people who are against women’s sports are actually against women,” Jeddah resident Hashim Larry, 27, told Reuters. “They come from the same group of ‘don’t allow women to work and drive’.”

The pressure against women in sports is intense and comes from senior figures in a clerical establishment that is closely allied to the ruling Al-Saud family. In 2010 Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khudair, who also sits on the Supreme Council for Religious Scholars, renewed a religious edict banning sports for women, which he said “will lead to following in the footsteps of the devil”. He said it is not permitted to request that the government introduce sports in schools for girls because such activity is forbidden in Islam. Such comments from a high ranking cleric have immense influence in the monarchy, which rules in alliance with the conservative clerics.

When Jeddah United returned from a tournament in which they played the Jordanian national team, in 2009, a local newspaper published their photograph under the headline: “Shameless girls”. The religious pressure is so great that even female gyms have to wear a nonsporting fig leaf, masquerading as “health centres” that are regulated not by a national sports body but by the Health Ministry. Fees are so high, at a minimum of 1,000 riyals ($266) a month, that only the affluent can afford membership.

In 2009 a clampdown on unlicensed female gyms gave rise to a women’s rights campaign in newspapers and blogs, with the sarcastic slogan “Let her get fat!” “As a nation we need to focus on preventative measures

that include healthy lifestyle, specifically nutrition and fitness and early detection (of women’s illnesses),” said Princess Reema Al-Saud, who is leading the climb to Everest base camp. “The inspiration to climb Everest base camp came from the basic idea that a healthy lifestyle and healthy body can fight illness better,” she added. The lack of facilities for women is a significant barrier in a country where gender segregation is strictly enforced. While girls’ state schools are barred from teaching physical education and consequently have no sports facilities, some private schools and private universities are very well equipped. Jeddah United practices in one of the few courts available for women, surrounded by 5-m concrete walls, which it rents for 7,000 to 10,000 riyals a month. Members get training and the opportunity to play three times a week for a monthly fee of 600 riyals.

“We believe that (Jeddah United) is a pressure group to promote a healthy lifestyle on a local level and on an international level,” said the team’s founder, Lina AlMaeena. “We play a role of sport diplomacy by building bridges and breaking stereotypes of Saudi women - I hope that we are paving the way.” Malhas, the equestrian who might yet be selected to represent the kingdom in London, trained in exclusively private facilities in Saudi Arabia. She has already competed in international tournaments, which she travelled to by herself, financed not by the state but by her own family. In the Singapore Youth Olympics in 2010 she stood on the podium to receive a bronze medal, although she was not officially delegated to represent the kingdom. “I think women playing sports should ignore the criticisms they get from society,” Fitiany said. “That is a kind of struggle, standing strong and not caring what people say.” — Reuters

Scrutiny on Woods shifts from swing to putting

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II to open 2012 Olympics LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II’s busy summer calendar just got a bit more crowded.

The monarch will open both the 2012 Olympics and the Paralympics this summer, signaling that both events will be celebrated as great state occasions - something the British are famous for. It is the first time the queen has opened the Paralympic Games.

The monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, will perform the ceremonial role at the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium when the Olympic games begin on July 27, and for the Paralympic Games that start Aug. 29.

The queen follows in the footsteps of her father, the late King George VI, who opened the 1948 London Olympics, and her greatgrandfather, King Edward VII, who opened the 1908 London Olympics. The queen also opened the 1976 Olympics Games in Montreal, Canada, where she is the head of state, while Philip did so on her behalf at Melbourne, Australia, in 1956.

The decision to open both ceremonies caps a very busy year for the queen, whose Diamond Jubilee this year marks her 60 years on the throne.

The queen, 85, and Philip, 90, are planning an extensive tour of the United

Kingdom during the celebrations, including visits to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Philip is still planning to stick to the schedule despite his December heart scare, which required a stent to keep his coronary arteries open. At home, the Jubilee celebrations will include a flotilla on the River Thames, a gala concert in front of Buckingham Palace (with headliners including Paul McCartney and Elton John) and a carriage procession through the streets of London following a service of thanksgiving.

Unlike earlier Jubilee celebrations, the queen will send her children and grandchildren on official visits to many Commonwealth countries rather than undertake the strenuous voyages herself.

She will be busy at the palace, though.

The monarch will open Buckingham Palace to visitors from June 30-July 8 for the Jubilee. The palace will then close for a few weeks - until July 31 - before opening to the public as is the monarch’s usual summer practice.

“It’s kind of an irony that we have such a big worldwide event right after the Diamond Jubilee,” said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine. — AP

Battling Nigeria draw in Rwanda JOHANNESBURG: Nigeria survived a late Rwanda onslaught to force a 0-0 draw at Stade de Kigali yesterday in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations first round qualifier.

The Super Eagles were playing their first competitive match under new coach Stephen Keshi and will be favoured to reach the final elimination round after the mid-June return match.

Keshi had warned his mix of local and overseas-based stars to expect a battle at the compact 22,000-capacity ground in the Rwandan capital, and so it proved with the home team much improved under new Serb coach Milutin Sredojevic.

There was no joy for Indian Ocean island teams with Madagascar crashing 4-0 to the Cape Verde Islands and the Seychelles slumping by the same score against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ryan da Graca and Eduardo Gomes scored in the first half and Toni Varela twice in the closing stages as the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde devoured their opponents in Antananarivo.

Dioko Kaluyituka was the hat-trick star in Victoria for the Congolese, winners of the Cup of Nations in 1968 and 1974 but not among the top 30 African teams in the FIFA rankings this month.

Mabi Mputu was also on target for the visitors, who are banking on expe-

rienced French coach Claude le Roy to lift them out of the doldrums after missing the last three Cup of Nations tournaments.

Kenya edged Togo 2-1 in Nairobi with James Situma putting the home team ahead, Razak Boukari levelling before half-time and Allan Wanga snatched a winner for the Harambee Stars.

There was also a late winner in Bujumbura as Burundi defeated newlook Zimbabwe 2-1 with the decisive goal scored by South Africa-based defender Valery Nahayo against rivals lacking several regulars involved in a match-fixing probe.

Tanzania had to fight back for a 1-1 draw against Mozambiqie in Dar es Salaam with Cleusio Bauque scoring a superb solo goal for the Mambas (Snakes) and Mwinyi Kazimoto equalising.

A second-half brace from Leger Djime earned Chad a thrilling 3-2 victory over Malawi in N’Djamena where Mahamat Labbo was also on target for the home team and Atusaye Nyondo and Atletico Madrid starlet Robin Ngalanda hit the Malawi goals.

Ethiopia were held 0-0 in Addis Ababa by Benin-a satisfactory result for former France star Manuel Amoros in his competitve debut as coach of the west African Squirrels. — AFP

PALM BEACH GARDENS: Tiger Woods might long for the day when all anyone questioned was his swing. Because until now, no one ever doubted his putting.

But as Woods begins his road to the Masters this week at the Honda Classic, scrutiny has shifted from his new swing to what used to be the most reliable part of his game.

Poised to make a run at Pebble Beach, Woods badly missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the second hole and missed from 3 feet for par on the seventh hole just as Phil Mickelson was pulling away. Woods three-putted the last hole for a 75.

“I could not get comfortable where I could see my lines,” he said. “I couldn’t get the putter to swing.”

Last week at the Match Play Championship, despite missing two birdie putts inside 10 feet on the back nine as he tried to rally, Woods had a birdie putt from just outside 5 feet on the 18th hole to extend his second-round match against Nick Watney. The putt never even touched the hole. “I should be able to fix it in a day,” Woods said.

Players help each other all the time, so it should not be unusual that twice in the last three months, Woods has sought advice from Steve Stricker. The tip at the Presidents Cup was to release the blade. They played nine holes of a practice round Tuesday at Dove Mountain, and Stricker noticed the club was too shut going back, which Woods attributed to his missed putt against Watney.

But ask yourself this: When does Woods take advice from anybody - even Stricker - when it comes to his putting?

This is the guy on everyone’s list of the game’s best putters. No one from his generation made more clutch putts. There was that 6-foot birdie putt to force a playoff at the PGA Championship in 2000 during his sweep of the majors. The 15foot putt in the dark at the Presidents Cup in South Africa. And perhaps the biggest one of all, the 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines that got Woods and his shattered leg into a playoff at the U.S. Open.

To watch a replay in slow motion of the ball bouncing toward the cup and diving into the right corner, it had no business going in except that it was Woods. The shortest club in his bag wasn’t a putter, it was a magic wand. Maybe it’s as simple as karma.

For those suggesting he go back to the Scotty Cameron putter that brought him 13 majors, that’s not the solution. He was missing just as many putts with his old putter since coming back from the crisis in his personal life.

It would be foolish to jump to conclusions about Woods. He is capable of far more than anyone else, proof of that coming from his 71 wins on the PGA Tour. Winning at Honda or

PALM BEACH GARDENS: Tiger Woods tees off on the third hole during the pro-am at the Honda Classic golf tournament. — AP Doral might be enough to empty his head of doubts. A win at the Masters, which is more about creativity than technique, changes everything. Woods can do just about anything with his swing - this is the fourth change he has made in 15 years. He can’t get by as easily without good putting.

Woods spent most of 1998 overhauling his swing under Butch Harmon. He still managed two wins, four runner-up finishes and he was out of the top 10 only eight times in 24 tournaments around the world. He revamped his swing again in 2004 under Hank Haney and still contended.

Woods won twice that year, was runner-up three times and finished out of the top 10 only five times in 21 tournaments.

The difference? He was still making putts. He’s no longer making as many. “Stevie (Williams) used to keep all his stats,” Haney said. “If he didn’t three-putt, he would win 85 percent of the time. If he made his normal amount of putts, he would usually win. And if he made a bunch of them, he would win by six or eight. Now it looks to me like he has to make a bunch to win by a couple, which is what everybody else does.”

That has been the biggest difference about Woods the last two years - he looks like everybody else. It’s difficult to compare his results with the latest swing change because of the circumstances. He had a four-month layoff in 2010 after being exposed for cheating on his wife.

And as it relates to golf, injuries kept him from making quicker progress.

Since returning fully healthy at Firestone last August, Woods won the Chevron World Challenge (with birdies on the last two holes).

He lost the 36-hole lead and finished third at the Australian Open, and he lost a share of the 54hole lead with Robert Rock and tied for third in Abu Dhabi. He finished out of the top 10 in his other five events.

Woods never made every big putt, even if he made it look that way. Perhaps the biggest putt he ever missed was a 15-footer on the final hole of the second round in the 2005 Byron Nelson Classic, which caused him to miss the cut for the first time in seven years and ended one of the greatest streaks in golf. He missed key putts while contending for US Opens at Pinehurst and Oakmont. That stuff even happened to Jack Nicklaus.

But when he’s not winning as much - or at all - people tend to remember the misses. The question is how much Woods is thinking about them. His head used to be loaded with memories of clutch putts. He has those two birdies at Sherwood three months ago when he won, and that’s about it. In a tour-approved event, when was the last big putt Woods made? Certainly not at Augusta last year, when he was tied for the lead at the turn and shot 36 on the back nine. Is it an easy fix? Woods said it would only take one day. Or is the problem between the ears?

All that can be certain is that his putting is getting a lot of attention. Not because of the putts he makes, but the putts he misses. — AP

Round three in F1 testing continues BARCELONA: The countdown to the start of the 2012 Formula One season continues this week as teams enter the third and final pre-season testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya here on Thursday.

The four-day event, staged just north of Barcelona,

runs until Sunday and will offer drivers one last opportunity to acclimate themselves to their new cars ahead of the season curtain raiser in Melbourne on March 18.

The opening test in Jerez at the beginning of

KUALA LUMPUR: Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo of Spain wipes his face on the second day of a MotoGP pre-season testing session at the Sepang circuit. MotoGP is switching this year to 1,000cc engines, from last year’s 800cc bikes. — AFP

February and the subsequent session in Barcelona last week saw the title challenging duo of Red Bull and, in particular, Ferrari spend considerable time adjusting to their new vehicles and rule changes.

Rivals McLaren, meanwhile, completed hundreds of laps unscathed as they came to grips with the MP427. Mercedes, led by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, showed they could mount a challenge for the podium, while Sauber sprung a surprise last week as Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi topped the timesheets at the conclusion of the second testing session.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonando finished with the second fastest time, an achievement not lost on the Williams team after they endured a dismal 2011 campaign, registering just five points in total. Nico Hulkenberg of Force India was third quickest during the second test, while the inexperienced pair of JeanEric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo have proved competitive in the Toro Rosso STR7 car and will aim to continue in similar fashion.

Lotus withdrew from last week’s testing following a chassis problem, but are set to return for the third session, while Caterham will want to improve upon two disappointing performances to date.

HRT will hope to make its first test appearance this week, having missed the opening two, but the news is less promising for Marussia, formerly known as Virgin.

They won’t take any part at the final test after the new MR01 car failed a mandatory crash test, leaving rookie French driver Charles Pic with only two days of testing in last year’s car under his belt going into the Australian Grand Prix. —AFP

Djokovic moves closer to rematch with Murray

South Africa cruise to series-clinching victory

18

17

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

Bolt could run 9.4 in London says Coe

Page 16

SEOUL: South Korea’ Lee Keun-ho, (11), fights for the ball with Kuwait’s Fahad Shaheen, (3), and Mesaed Al-Enzi, (13), during their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying soccer match. —AP

World Cup joy for S Korea Saudi crash out, Bahrain hammer Indonesia 10-0 MELBOURNE: Saudi Arabia crashed out of World Cup qualifying with a 4-2 loss away to Australia yesterday, as Oman progressed to the final round of Asian qualifiers at its neighbor’s expense.

Another Asian powerhouse, South Korea, escaped the same fate as the Saudis by beating Kuwait 2-0. South Korea entered the game knowing a loss could result in early elimination, and had a nervous game before scoring twice midway through the second half.

Qatar scored a late equalizer to draw 2-2 with Iran and advance despite Bahrain beating Indonesia 10-0. Bahrain needed to make up a nine-goal deficit and for Qatar to lose to go through.

Bahrain midfielder Sayed Dhiya scored four goals and striker Mohamed Tayeb added a hat trick for the Gulf nation, which also just missed out on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup after losing to New Zealand in an intercontinental playoff. Going into the final day of round three qualifiers, Saudi Arabia was a point ahead of Oman and two points ahead of Thailand, with the latter two playing in a simultaneous game, and the Saudis looked like progressing when they led 2-1 entering the final 20 minutes of the

match in Melbourne. However Australia scored three times in four minutes to turn the match on its head, and drop Saudi Arabia down to third in the group behind Oman, which beat Thailand 2-0.

In Seoul, Lee Dong-gook, who has been restored as South Korea’s key striker under new coach Choi Kang-hee, put the hosts ahead in the 66th minute and Lee Keun-ho made it 2-0 in the 72nd. As it turned out, South Korea need not have worried about the result, as secondplaced Lebanon lost 4-2 at the United Arab Emirates. Lebanon progressed to the final round anyway, finishing with 10 points against Kuwait’s eight. Saudi Arabia had been considered a pre-eminent power in Middle East football, but it didn’t qualify for South Africa 2010 and now has been eliminated at an even earlier stage of qualifying for Brazil 2014.

The premature elimination would also leave the career of its coach Frank Rijkaard “ former manager of the Netherlands and Barcelona” at the crossroads. Australia was already assured of a place in the next stage and top spot in the group, entering the Melbourne match with a six-point lead. Salem Al Dawsari opened the scoring for Saudi Arabia in the 19th minute

UN urges FIFA to allow women to wear hijab PARIS: World football’s governing body, FIFA, has been urged by the United Nations to permit Islamic women to wear a speciallydesigned hijab headscarf while playing the sport.

Wilfried Lemke, a special adviser on sport to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, wrote to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, expressing his support for the initiative put forth by the Asian Football Confederation for players to have “the right to wear a safe, Velcro-opening headscarf in FIFA-regulated matches and competitions.”

AFC chief Zhang Jilong had called for the ban on headscarves to be lifted at the end of January, claiming new designs could prevent neck injuries.

Lemke said that a change in legislation “...would remove a barrier that can deter women and girls from participating in football and would set a positive example.”

He continued: “It would send the message that each female player, from the top elite lev-

el down to the grassroots, has the freedom to decide whether or not to wear this particular piece of attire while on the field.”

“It would give the opportunity for remarkable female athletes to demonstrate that wearing the headscarf is not an obstacle to excelling in life and sports, and would hence contribute to challenging gender stereotypes and bringing about a change in mentalities,” added Lemke.

The hijab was banned by FIFA in 2007 on the grounds of safety, but both Zhang and Lemke argue that new designs eliminate the potential risk of a serious injury.

“I have personally seen the new designs with a velcro joined at the neck which releases if the headscarf is pulled, ensuring the player’s safety,” said Zhang.

The International Football Association Board, football’s top law-making body, is scheduled to meet on Saturday in England to discuss the proposal as part of its 126th Annual Meeting. —AFP

before Alex Brosque equalized for the hosts in the 43rd.

Nasser Al Shamrani put the visitors back ahead in first-half stoppage time. However he spurned a good chance in the 72nd minute, and that was the cue for Australia’s onslaught.

Japan-based Brosque provided the last pass for Harry Kewell’s left-footed equalizer in the 73rd, making it 2-2. Brosque scored again in the 75th and Brett Emerton made it 4-2 with a sliding goal a minute later.

Meanwhile in Muscat, both Oman coached by former Cameroon and Lyon manager Paul Le Guen and Thailand were chasing a victory they needed to reach the next round, knowing a draw would not have been enough for either team. Midfielder Hussain al-Hadhri opened the scoring in the 10th minute for Oman and then midfielder Adbul al-Muqbali made sure of the victory in the 90th minute.

In Tehran, Iran midfielder Ashkan Dejagah scored in the fourth minute from a header before Khalfan Ibrahim equalized from the penalty spot five minutes later. Dejagah put Iran ahead in the 50th minute from a free kick, but Qatar leveled in the 83rd through defender Mohammed Kasola. Iran had already advanced

World Cup 2014 Asian qualifying tables HONG KONG: Asian third-round qualifying tables for the 2014 World Cup after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Group A Iraq Jordan China Singapore

6 6 6 6

5 4 3 0

0 0 0 0

1 2 3 6

14 11 10 2

4 7 6 20

15 - qualified 12 - qualified 9 0

Group B S Korea Lebanon Kuwait UAE

6 6 6 6

4 3 2 1

1 1 2 0

1 2 2 5

14 10 8 9

4 14 9 14

13 - qualified 10 - qualified 8 3

Group C Uzbekistan 6 5 1

0

8

1

16 - qualified

to the next stage. In other games with no impact on fourth-round places: already-eliminated China had a 3-1 home win over a Jordan team that had booked its place in the next stage, Uzbekistan won 1-0 at Japan in a clash of

Japan N Korea Tajikistan

6 3 1 6 2 1 6 0 1

2 3 5

14 3 10 - qualified 3 4 7 1 18 1

Group D Australia Oman S Arabia Thailand

6 6 6 6

5 2 1 1

0 2 3 1

1 2 2 4

13 3 6 4

5 6 7 8

15 - qualified 8 - qualified 6 4

Group E Iran Qatar Bahrain Indonesia

6 6 6 6

3 2 2 0

3 4 3 0

0 0 1 6

17 10 13 3

5 5 7 26

12 - qualified 10 - qualified 9 0

the top teams in Group C, and Tajikistan secured its only point of third-round qualifying by drawing 1-1 at home against another also-ran in North Korea. Iraq, which had already qualfied, routed Singapore 7-1. — AP

Brazil defeat Bosnia 2-1, thanks to late own goal ST GALLEN: Brazil’s experimental team came through a torrid friendly against Bosnia on Tuesday, winning 2-1 thanks to a stoppagetime own goal by Sasa Papac after several near misses from the East Europeans.

Coach Mano Menezes is still struggling to find the ideal lineup for the 2014 World Cup hosts but Marcelo gave them a fourth-minute lead. Vedad Ibisevic levelled for Bosnia nine minutes later following blunders by defender David Luiz and goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Both teams missed chances until Papac turned the ball into his own goal in the 91st minute as he tried to clear Hulk’s powerful low cross.

Ronaldinho, who made his international comeback against Ghana last year, was given another start but the 31-year-old was a shadow of his former self and was substituted in the second half.

The game appeared anything but a friendly with the Bosnia side playing as if the match was one of the most important of their SWITZERLAND: Leandro Damiao (left) of Brazil fights against careers. Although it was staged in a Swiss secSasa Papac of Bosnia during the friendly soccer match. —AP ond division stadium, the 17,500-capacity are-

na was packed with fanatical Bosnian fans who drowned out the Brazilian national anthem, jeered incessantly when the opposition had possession and threw flares on the pitch.

“The role of the supporters is to make conditions difficult for the opposition but it should never be done in excess,” said Menezes who was also unhappy with some crunching tackles.

“Neymar suffered a criminal foul the first time he got the ball. That wasn’t football.” Fivetimes world champions Brazil had plenty of the ball but rarely threatened while Bosnia were always menacing on the break.

In 18 months in charge Menezes has drastically changed Brazil’s playing style, moving them away from the physical, counter-attacking game favoured by predecessor Dunga to a more patient, passing approach.

However, it is still not clear whether his players are up to the task especially with the added pressure of knowing the next World Cup will be on home soil. —Reuters

Business

Greek unions stage walkouts after cuts Page 22

StanChart annual net profit increases 12% Page 23

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

French unions march in anti-austerity protests

France’s Peugeot on brink of GM alliance Page 23

Page 22

TOKYO: The 634-metre-tall Tokyo Sky Tree tower stands in eastern Tokyo on November 17, 2011. The construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest self-supporting communications tower was completed yesterday after a twomonth delay due to last year’s quake and tsunami. — AFP

Dubai bank cuts links with Iran US targets Dubai bank over Iran sanctions: WSJ DUBAI: The US government has forced Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank to stop channelling billions of dollars from Iranian oil sales through its accounts, part of Western measures to curb Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme. The measure cuts off another of Iran’s links to the international banking system, forcing it to seek other channels to handle vital foreign currency earnings on oil sales. The move, which took place in December, is embarrassing for traditional US ally the United Arab Emirates because the bank is partly state-owned and its chairman is the son of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

A spokesman for Noor Islamic said it complied with all international regulations on Iran. “When we became aware, in December 2011, that unilateral US sanctions were to be applied against a number of Iranian banks we took pre-emptive action to end our business relationships with Iranian banks licensed in the UAE,” he said. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Noor Islamic agreed in midDecember to close what people briefed on

the operation characterised as Iran’s single largest channel for repatriating foreign currency oil receipts.

The paper said the bank had facilitated as much as 60 percent of Iran’s foreign oil sales estimated at $80 billion - by late last year. A banking source familiar with the matter said the bank had been winding down its positions since December and suggested other local banks had also been dealing with Iran, although Noor Islamic appeared to have carried the most volume. “The bank (Noor) made so much money out of this that they just milked it,” the source said, suggesting it had handled tens of billions of dollars. “It was just too good to be true.”

Economic sanctions It was not clear if other banks were under investigation, but government officials confirmed that Noor was the first to be targeted in the country. Turkey’s Halkbank is also known to handle payments for Iran’s oil sales, but Noor Islamic appears to be the first in the world to have yielded to US pressure. The

HSBC scaling down private bank in ME DUBAI: HSBC, Europe’s biggest lender, is significantly scaling down its private banking operations in the Middle East, two sources told Reuters, and HSBC said its top private banker in the region had been reassigned to London. The private bank has shrunk the number of relationship managers to around 10 from 50-60 at its peak 18 months ago, one banking source familiar with the matter said.

As many as 200 private bankers were employed by the bank in 2008 in the region, a second banking source added.

HSBC confirmed, as one of the sources had said, that Mark Stadler, HSBC’s global market head for the Middle East and Africa private bank since January 2011, had relocated to London. He will be replaced by Sobhi Tabbara, who was previously Business Area Head for MENA and Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for HSBC in Dubai said in an emailed statement. “We are not closing our private banking business in the Middle East, and it is not for sale. We have made a number of management changes across the private banking that mean that Mark Stadler has returned to the UK,” the statement said.

The move to downsize private banking operations in the Middle East is part of a push by the UK-headquartered lender to focus more on corporate and retail banking in the region and follows reviews of its Middle East business, the sources said. “They have made a cautious decision to scale back private banking in the region and focus on the corporate and retail side. The cost base in the private banking is considerably higher

and competition really intense,” the first banking source said.

“The Middle East is a key area for the bank, and there is more pressure to derive more profits from the region.” HSBC, however, is not planning to fully close its private banking business in the region and may retain a small unit in Dubai, the source added. Some other global banks have been beefing up their wealth management and private banking arms to cater to the region’s rich. Last year, Swiss bank UBS poached Credit Agricole’s top Middle East and Africa investment banker Albert Momdjian for a senior job at its emerging markets wealth management division. Coutts, the private banking arm of Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have all beefed up their wealth management divisions recently.

The Gulf Arab region, which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, together pump a significant share of the world’s crude oil production, and global private banks have flocked to the region lured by the region’s growing ranks of millionaires. The Middle East and Africa wealth management sector grew 8.6 percent in 2010 and overall assets under management could grow to $6.7 trillion by 2015 helped by high oil prices, a study by the Boston Consulting Group in June last year showed. The region’s private banking sector has several pure-play private banks like Julius Baer and Sarasin Alpen, competing with diversified banks such as, J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS. — Reuters

world’s biggest electronic bank clearing system, SWIFT, is also preparing to block the Iranian central bank from using its network to transfer funds. The Iranian rial has depreciated by nearly a half against the dollar since December, forcing the country to use gold and barter to trade. The United Nations and Western countries have imposed a series of economic sanctions on Iran during the past five years over what they say are efforts by Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges. Since mid-2010, the United States has been ramping up pressure on Iran through a range of sanctions and last year tightened controls on financial institutions connected to the Islamic Republic, most recently on Nov. 21. “Financial institutions around the world should think hard about the risks of doing business with Iran,” US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said then. An official at the UAE Ministr y for Economic Affairs said only Noor Islamic had been targeted so far.

“Of course, as the UAE government, we will comply with the UN resolutions,” Khalid

Al-Ghaith, assistant foreign minister for economic affairs, told Reuters at a conference in Abu Dhabi. He said officials were in contact with the US to try to reduce any possible harm to the UAE banking system or its companies. A US Treasury official declined to comment on Noor Islamic, but said that the United States has worked “closely and well with the UAE government.” “ We remain engaged with our international partners, including the UAE, to ensure the effectiveness of international sanctions against Iran,” the official said.

Trading partner The move was seen as a positive step in relations between the United States and the UAE, which announced a $3.48 billion deal at the end of 2011 for a US-built missile defence system. Dubai, long a major trading partner with Iran, has benefited from tougher sanctions pushing more business its way. It has a sizeable Iranian expatriate population and hosts a fleet of traditional wooden dhows (boats) which transport goods across Gulf

waters to Iranian ports every day. Iran is the UAE’s top destination for re-exports, or goods imported into the UAE and sold on to Iran.

Figures released yesterday showed these reexports rose by 51 percent in the first 10 months of 2011 to 36.3 billion dirhams ($10 billion).

The US move against Noor is based on a comprehensive sanctions act signed into law

by President Barack Obama in mid-2010 which has since been tightened. Banking sources familiar with government discussions told Reuters earlier this month the UAE central bank had stepped up monitoring of banks’ dealings with Iran in the past three months. Launched in 2008 with the backing of Dubai’s government, Noor aimed to be a global player but it so far serves a mostly local market catering to individuals and businesses.

The bank swung to profitability in the first half of 2011 and the bank ’s Chief Executive Hussain Al-Qemzi told Reuters in an interview in August the bank expected to break even in 2012. It was not clear if severing ties with Iran would impact this goal. — Reuters

ECB hands out $712bn in loans to banks FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank handed out euro529.5 billion ($712.4 billion) in low-interest loans to banks in the second round of a massive credit infusion that has been credited with easing the eurozone debt crisis. The volume of loans was slightly higher than the euro489 billion ($657.9 billion) handed out to 523 banks at the first offering on Dec. 21. This time 800 banks took the money after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi assured that there was “no stigma” associated with tapping the offering. The ECB loans, given against collateral such as bonds or other securities, cost banks the average of the ECB’s benchmark rate over the life of the loan. Right now that’s 1 percent.

Analysts had expected slightly less uptake than for the first offering.

Market response was muted, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index up 0.42 percent and the euro off 0.2 percent at $1.3442 in afternoon trading in Europe. The first round of loans back in December had helped ease the pressure on hard-pressed governments such as Spain and Italy, which had been struggling to maintain large amounts of debt. Banks used the ECB loans to buy up government debt they previously wouldn’t have touched because of the debt’s high yield - the level of interest a government would have to pay on its debt

and an indicator of risk. The added demand for the debt helped lower the yields and thereby calmed fears of a looming market meltdown.

The burst of cash also removed fears that a European bank might collapse because it couldn’t pay off bonds or other debt coming due.

Following the first credit infusion, bank funding markets that had been frozen began to thaw, as some banks were able to borrow by issuing bonds. More crucially for eurozone governments, some banks in financially pressed countries also appear to have used the cheap money to buy government bonds.

Bank demand drove up bond prices and brought down bond yields, since yields and prices move in opposite directions. That cut borrowing costs, especially on shorter-term bonds, for governments such as Spain, Italy and Portugal. Several analysts said the ECB’s second credit offer was unlikely to provide much more relief to governments. “Given that there are no further tenders scheduled and the recent ECB rhetoric has been skewed toward this being the last, we believe the market will return to fundamentals and move away from this liquidity euphoria,” analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland wrote in a research note.

High borrowing costs have been a key driver in the eurozone debt crisis.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal all had to turn to other eurozone governments and the International Monetary fund for bailout loans when they could no longer borrow at affordable rates.

The ECB’s credit action combined with other factors to improve the situation. Eurozone leaders agreed Dec. 9 on a new treaty to restrict future government debt buildups, and agreed on a new bailout loans for Greece after a 2010 bailout failed to put the country back on its feet.

Greece also won agreement from its creditors for a reduction in the face value of their bond holdings of 53.5 percent, substantially cutting the country’s debt load.

The easing of borrowing costs gives the new governments of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano

Rajoy and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti time to push for reforms to their labor markets aimed at making their economies more productive and business friendly. That should increase growth and tax revenues, but the measure will take years to take effect. While they have steadied markets, the ECB loans have had less effect in stimulating bank lending to the wider economy. Loans to businesses only stabilized in January after a steep fall in December. Central bank officials are watching closely to see if their efforts result in more bank lending. Sony Kapoor, managing director of the Re-Define think tank in London, said that “whether they use it to fund a carry trade or to lend more to the real economy will strongly shape what direction the crisis take next.” —AP

Hyundai Mipo receives $250m Kuwait orders SEOUL: Hyundai Mipo Dockyard said yesterday it had received an order worth $250 million to build four chemical tankers for Kuwait even as the world’s shipbuilding industry suffers from a downturn.

Under the contract signed Tuesday in Kuwait, Hyundai Mipo-a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries-will deliver the four tankers to the state-run Kuwait Oil Tanker Company by August 2014. Hyundai Mipo said it had now received orders for a total of eight vessels worth more than $400 million in total this year. It aims to secure orders worth $3.2 billion this year, up 80 percent from 2011. — AFP

22

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

business

Greek unions stage walkouts after cuts Greece approves tough salary

MARSEILLE: Workers demonstrate yesterday. — AP

French unions march in anti-austerity protests PARIS: France’s main unions gathered forces yesterday for a day of protest action against austerity measures being imposed across the European Union, but the disruption from rallies and work-stoppages was expected to be limited. The protests, agreed by five major unions, are part of a wider European movement to pressure leaders of the 27-member union into adopting pro-growth measures when they gather in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a summit.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government has imposed three rounds of belt-tightening in the past year, freezing wages in some public administrations but steering clear of harsher measures seen elsewhere in Europe. Unions said this week that some 160 protest marches were planned across the country, with the powerful CGT warning of walk-outs in some public services and transport, as well as the construction and energy sectors.

But the impact of the protests, coming just two months before the French head to the polls in a presidential election, was

expected to be slight due to a dispute between two of the biggest trade unions.

Protest marches in Paris were due to start at 1300 GMT. Two out of three commuter trains in the greater Paris region were running, while some cancellations were expected on regional train lines running south and north from Paris. The international Thalys and Eurostar trains were running normally, rail operator SNCF said.

With the presidential election looming in April and May, the CGT had argued for robust strikes against Sarkozy’s proposal to hike sales taxes in order to cut payroll charges - a measure he says will make labour costs more competitive with Germany. “To think that unions should have to stand back during the (electoral) campaign is to open a window of opportunity for management,” CGT boss Bernard Thibault told the Communist daily L’Humanite. The larger CFDT, however, said it would not support attempts to give the protests an overtly political tone so close to the election, whose first round is to be held on April 22. — Reuters

ATHENS: Greek unions yesterday staged walkouts as part of Europe-wide anti-austerity demonstrations, hours after parliament approved fresh budget cuts linked to a new eurozone bailout. The main labour groups, private-sector GSEE and public-sector ADEDY, began a nationwide three-hour work stoppage from midday (1000 GMT) ahead of a demonstration in central Athens in the evening. The mobilisation is part of a day of action by European labour organisations against austerity measures enacted in Greece and other struggling eurozone economies to address a debt crisis plaguing the single currency area.

“Unions in Greece will once more unite their voice with those in Europe against neo-liberal policies, demanding an equitable and fairer Europe,” GSEE and ADEDY said. Municipal workers were also occupying town halls around the country for the duration of the walkout, their union said. Separately, doctors are holding a one-day strike against health spending cuts included in a new austerity bill before parliament yesterday.

Greece’s official creditors, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, have demanded additional budget cuts to address deficit slippage before releasing a new bailout of 130 billion euros ($175 billion). The latest rescue, after a 110-billion-euro EU-IMF loan in 2010, is tied to a massive debt writedown with private creditors designed to reduce Greece’s 350-billion-euro debt by 107 billion.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is scheduled to see European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels later yesterday and will attend a Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers today to discuss the Greek measures.

Papademos’ coalition government late on Tuesday secured passage of a bill containing 3.2 billion euros in spending cuts, including new pension reductions. Tuesday’s bill includes 12percent cuts in civil servant pensions of more than 1,300 euros and reductions of between 10 and 20 percent in complementary pensions of more than 200 euros. The latest legislation also

foresees a 10-percent cut in the salaries of senior municipal officials and a merger of state research organisations.

Civil service pensioners have already sustained a 10-percent cut in payments under measures adopted from 2010 in return for a previous EU-IMF bailout worth 110 billion euros.

The vote on Tuesday came after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) declared Greece in “selective default” owing to a proposed debt

ATHENS: An employee of Byzantine and Christian museum holds a cut-out of a galley depicting Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany with blood on her mouth, during a protest outside the European Union’s office yesterday. — AP swap with private banks, a move that forced the European Central Bank to suspend Greek bonds as acceptable collateral for ECB loans.

The rating was lowered from S&P’s already junk-level “CC” grade for Greece, which has been seeking to avoid an outright default on its massive debt by negotiating a “voluntary” debt exchange with creditors. The bond swap was

Al-Hassad draw winners announced KUWAIT: The first prizes draw program based on Islamic Shri’ah principles in Kuwait from AUB have been announced. Al-Hassad Islamic is the only scheme to offer high value weekly and monthly prizes that are significantly higher than the total outlay of other prize schemes. AUB has announced the results of the weekly draws of its AlHassad Islamic savings scheme. The lucky customers winning the Grand Weekly Prize worth KD 25,000 each at the draws held on the February 22, 2012 are: Yaser Mohammed Ali Isa Al Khabbaz, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ahmed Farag, Pathan Shafaat Ahmad Khan Shahadat Ali Khan.

The following Al-Hassad Islamic customers won cash prizes of KD 1,000 each Fahed Mutlaq Ahmed Hmoud, Zamzam Issa Ahmed Al-Haddad, Ebrahim Salman Abdulla Hammad, Basem A. Amir Abdulla, Ebrahim Mohd Haider Hasan, Mohammad Muqeem Khan Hakim, Ahmed Abdulfattah Ahmed Ismail, Sanaa Adnan Rashid Sweidan, Emile Jaffar Mohammed Ali Al-Mahdi, Rajab Ramdhan Rajabhussain, Nawaf Fares Ghanim Al Dabous, Abdullatif Abdulla Mohd, Jaafar Salman A.Hasan Selail, Akoub Beikzad Mousessian, Ahmad Goulom Mulla Husain Ashour, Hazar AL Marzouq, Mohd Abdulla Alsafi, Hameeda Banu

Abdulgaffar Sottar, Syeda Umhabiba Muhammad Ashfaq, Noor Rashid, Farida Ahmad Abdulla Sheer, Najah Hameed Yusuf, Fahed Abdalla Khedier Ouada, Vineet Krishna Thakar, Ibrahim Youness Poles.

With the new Al-Hassad Islamic 2011 scheme, customers have a lot more to look forward to. With 28 weekly prizes totalling KD 100,000 each week and “Salary for Life” prizes every month, the chances to win bigger prizes more often couldn’t get any better.

The most attractive feature of the new scheme is the chance to win bigger prizes, more frequently with three grand prizes of KD 25,000 each, week on week plus 25 other weekly prizes of KD 1,000. Chances to win big prizes on a weekly basis, offer instant rewards to both existing as well as new Investors in Investment Saving Account (Al-Hassad Islamic).

With the introduction of a “Salary for Life” Prize of KD 250,000 every month, the grand prize is also now more frequent and customers do not need to wait for a quarter or more to qualify for the grand prize. The “Salary for Life” has been a core feature for the Al-Hassad Islamic scheme with prizes paid out to date exceeding KD 10 million. The

launched Friday and is scheduled to be completed on March 12, according to Greece’s finance ministry. At issue is whether the debt swap can be deemed ‘voluntary’ if just two-thirds of creditors sign up.

If it cannot, then creditors could invoke credit default swaps (CDS), which are insurance claims against losses on the bonds and which could possibly cause the entire Greek debt deal to unravel. Equally importantly, Athens must

monthly “Salary for Life” prize has enabled winners to afford better homes, ensure better education for their children and enjoy an improved quality of life, with the assurance that the rewards will continue to come month after month for 250 months.

Al-Hassad Islamic is the only scheme to offer high value weekly and monthly prizes that are significantly higher than the total outlay of other prize schemes in Kuwait. In addition to the attractive prize pool, customers with high balances can opt for other unique features such as Investment savings plan, cheque facility linked to their investment savings account and state of the art e-banking and 24 x 7 Contact Centre support.

The new Al-Hassad Islamic 2011 is geared to meeting the needs of salaried individuals. Customers can benefit from not only the biggest and most attractive prize pool but can also enjoy state of the art banking benefits and access to AUB’s unique products’ range for Islamic Finances ,credit cards and investment products. All AlHassad draws are conducted under the scrutiny of officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and independent auditing firm, Ernst& Young.

redeem a three-year bond worth nearly 15 billion euros on March 20, which it cannot do if the exchange fails. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, an organisation representing over 815 market institutions, was expected to say whether the Greek debt cut constitutes a credit event that would trigger the CDS. — AFP

Iran offers Pakistan 80,000 barrels of oil ISLAMABAD: Iran has offered 80,000 barrels of oil to Pakistan on a three-month deferred payment plan, an official in Islamabad said yesterday, in an attempt to soften the impact of Western sanctions and ease some of Pakistan’s energy needs. Tehran’s offer comes a week after Pakistani officials revealed that Iran had asked to import a million tonnes of wheat in a barter deal, with the latest Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear programme disrupting critical food imports.

“It is only an initial offer of 80,000 barrels on deferred payment at the moment,” Irfan Qazi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, told Reuters. “We don’t know about the modalities or how it can be worked out yet. A delegation from the ministry will visit Iran in the middle of March to follow up on this offer.” Pakistan would import Iranian fertiliser and iron ore under that wheat proposal. Energy-starved Pakistan is looking to increase its fuel imports to reduce power shortages that have crippled industry, prompted riots and shaved percentage points off its GDP growth. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2730000 .4360000 .3690000 .3060000 .2750000 .2960000 .0040000 .0020000 .0750650 .7313380 .3830000 .0710000 .7169450 .0040000 .0430000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2765000 GB Pound/KD .4380310 Euro .3714500 Swiss francs .3081120 Canadian dollars .2775410 Danish Kroner .0499530 Swedish Kroner .0420170 Australian dlr .2979430 Hong Kong dlr .0356540 Singapore dlr .2206880 Japanese yen .0034420 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0753100 Bahraini dinars .7337140 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0737530 Omani riyals .7184620 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.598 5.667 3.154 2.436 3.341 213.250 35.672 3.580 6.336 8.873 0.271 0.273

.2800000 .4460000 .3780000 .3150000 .2840000 .3050000 .0070000 .0035000 .0758200 .7386880 .4000000 .0760000 .7241500 .0072000 .0500000 .2786000 .4413580 .3742710 .3104520 .2796490 .0503320 .0423370 .3002050 .0359250 .2223640 .0034690 .0056990 .0023290 .0030750 .0034230 .0758820 .7392860 .3940590 .0743130 .7239180 .0065560

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 74.150 76.402 722.230 738.540 75.715

Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 47.500 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 46.282 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.272 Tunisian Dinar 189.860 Jordanian Dinar 392.670 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.865 Syrian Lier 6.003 Morocco Dirham 33.814 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 277.950 Euro 370.650 Sterling Pound 431.930 Canadian dollar 268.420 Turkish lire 153.940 Swiss Franc 300.620 Australian dollar 277.000 US Dollar Buying 277.750 GOLD 315.500 159.000 81.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

COUNTRY

SELL CASH

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal

303.500 738.150 3.570 283.000 545.200 45.300 51.400 167.800 47.290 378.200 36.480 5.820 0.032 0.161 0.241 3.550 393.620 0.188 94.640 45.800 4.270 237.300 1.798 51.100 720.940

SELL DRAFT

302.000 738.150 3.370 281.500

222.900 46.976 376.700 36.330 5.665 0.031

10 Tola

720.760

312.500 4.100 9.370 75.580 277.500

Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

Sterling Pound US Dollar

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 444.100 277.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

445.18 3.52 3.388 5.647 2.293 3.547 3.058 75.51 738.14 46.01 394.79 721.20 76.52 74.10

447.00 3.70 3.550 5.800 2.625 4.250 3.200 76.00 738.15 47.70 393.00 728.00 77.25 74.40

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency

393.300 0.187 94.640 3.560 235.800

3.070 6.490 76.350 74.110 222.920 39.680 2.280 444.100

GOLD 1,858.870

Rate for Transfer

Bahrain Exchange Company

3.120 6.770 76.780 74.110 222.920 39.680 2.645 446.100 43.200 314.000 4.100 9.480 198.263 75.680 277.900 1.360

Selling Rate

277.450 281.250 442.960 374.745 310.790 734.715 75.515 76.155 73.945 390.545 45.968 2.271 5.672 3.057 3.370 6.492 680.570 3.550 9.225 5.840 3.635 91.805

Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Yemeni Riyal Euro Canadian Dollars Nepali rupee

277.500 3.051 5.680 2.277 3.380 6.530 75.655 74.155 737.700 45.980 447.600 3.190 1.550 379.900 285.100 3.690

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

UAE Exchange Center WLL Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro

304.32 281.00 312.36 376.94

304.00 284.00 315.00 378.50

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

277.350 375.400 442.200 280.600 3.475 5.655 45.965 2.291 3.380 6.471 3.052 738.550 75.550 74.050

23

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

BUSINESS

StanChart annual net profit increases 12% 2011 pretax profit at $6.8bn

CALAIS: A file picture shows PSA Peugeot Citroen cars in a parking lot, prior to being transported to Great Britain. —AFP

France’s Peugeot on brink of GM alliance PARIS: Struggling French auto maker PSA Peugeot Citroen was on the verge of a deal yesterday to join forces with US giant General Motors, itself recovering after being rescued from bankruptcy.

Several sources said that the company would issue new shares to existing investors to the tune of one billion euros ($1.35 billion), a significant increase for the automaker that is currently valued at 3.6 billion euros.The rights issue would reduce the involvement of the Peugeot family, which controls 30.3 percent of the capital and 45.75 percent of voting rights in the firm, France’s largest carmaker and second only to Volkswagen in Europe.

PSA’s sales fell 1.5 percent last year and its net profit was cut in half to 588 million euros ($777 million).

France’s Financial Markets Authority called late on Tuesday for the company to make an announcement “as soon as possible”, while several sources said a deal would be announced at the latest by the end of the week. The tie -up would see GM acquire up to seven percent of Peugeot shares, according to several reports, while both Peugeot and GM have so far refused to comment on a possible deal.

The Financial Times has reported that an alliance would see Peugeot and GM’s European subsidiary Opel Vauxhall jointly developing parts and engines for vehicles sold under their respective brands which together account for 20 percent European sales. An alliance would allow GM “to help Opel recover by pooling a number of costs and PSA to penetrate emerging markets much more quickly,” said Yann Lacroix, analyst with Euler Hermes.

But the Wall Street Journal said there were no plans to cut production capacity even though industrialists believe Europe has substantial excess production capability.Last year, the French firm, which employs 205,000 people worldwide, sold 3.5 million cars, two-thirds of them in Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing a tough re-election battle in a two-round April-May vote and the announcement of lay-offs could be disastrous for his campaign.

The expected venture also highlights anguished debate in France about a perceived decline of capabilities throughout manufacturing and an industrial per-

formance which lags behind that of Germany. GM, which two years ago went into bankruptcy and recovered only with massive US government help, tried to sell the Opel business in 2009 but then decided to keep it on concerns a sale would compromise its technology. The potential alliance would mark an ideological U-turn for the French company, which has traditionally preferred technological cooperation to actual partnerships, with the Citroen family keen to conserve the brand’s identity. “They were afraid that adding new blood would dilute the identity,” said Bernard Jullien, head of the Gerpisa auto industry research network. However, Robert Peugeot on Tuesday told the Express news magazine that the family would not be opposed to lessening its involvement.

“Independence means remaining the shareholder of reference, whatever the percentage” of ownership, Robert Peugeot said. The group already has cooperation agreements with Germany’s BMW to build petrol engines, with Fiat and Turkey’s Tofas to build light trucks, and with US giant Ford for diesel engines. PSA also works with Japan’s Mitsubishi to build SUVs and electric cars, with Toyota for small cars and with its historic French rival Renault to build motors and mechanical parts.

But the group has struggled to compete globally with industry mammoths euch as GM, Toyota and Volkswagen and auto alliances such as Renault-Nissan and Fiat-Chrysler. Fiat said on Tuesday that it kept an eye open for possible alliances. Nevertheless, analysts noted that auto alliances were more often doomed to failure than success, often because of the difficulties of merging company cultures. “Most big alliances, big acquisitions, have failed. Overall, it’s not a sector that has the the highest success rate in terms of acquisitions,” said Fitch ratings agency analyst Emmanuel Bulle. The Renault-Nissan alliance is a rare success story in the sector, while Volkswagen continues to be highly successful after making a series of acquisitions over the last 20 years, including in eastern Europe. “The alliance formula where you don’t try to do everything together is perhaps a more prudent formula,” said Jullien. —AFP

Connected cars ready to untangle snarled traffic BARCELONA: A car that dials emergency services itself in case of a crash and warns its driver of traffic snarls ahead: Ford Motor Co.’s chief believes connected autos will pave the road to the future. As car ownership numbers boom in the great emerging economies, the mobile communications technology on show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week may help unclog jammed infrastructure. “If we do nothing, we face the prospect of ‘global gridlock’, a never-ending traffic jam that wastes time, energy and resources and even compromises the flow of commerce and healthcare,” warned Bill Ford in a speech to the congress on Monday.

China took the dubious honour of hosting the world’s worst traffic snarl in 2010, with an 11-day gridlock. And auto numbers are rising, expected to go from one billion today to four billion by 2050, Ford said. Unusually, cars have invaded the aisles of the world’s annual mobile phone show: Ford is launching its subcompact people mover, the B-Max, AT&T showed off Nissan and BMW models and Blackberry hosted a Porsche on its stand. All four cars have one thing in common: they are connected.

“There is an internal SIM card inside,” said a BMW spokesman, allowing the car to know the traffic status thanks to data transmitted on the mobile network or to call emergency services in case of accident. Ford offers the same prowess and more: a car that promises to call emergency services and to speak the right language depending on the country. “In the event of an accident, that feature will actually place an automated call to the emergency services, but it will do it in the local language,” said Ford technology chief Paul Mascarenas.

“So for example if you’re a French driver, you’re driving in Spain and you unfortunately get in an accident, the system will place a call to the emergency services in the Spanish language and give the location of the vehicle and call help for you.” Mobile communications will help keep cars on the move, said Bill Ford. “The telecommunications industry is critical in the creation of an interconnected transportation system where cars are intelligent and can talk to one another as well as the infrastructure around them,” Ford said. —AFP

HONG KONG/LONDON: Standard Chartered notched up a ninth consecutive year of record earnings in 2011 on the back of buoyant growth in Hong Kong and Singapore, though rising competition for staff pushed up its wages bill.

London-based Standard Chartered, which makes more than three quarters of its profit in Asia, said yesterday strong growth in both investment and retail banking arms absorbed a 15 percent rise in staff costs and a fall in profit in two of its biggest markets, India and Korea. Underlying wage inflation was about 5 percent as the bank competed to hire and retain staff, notably in China and India, chief executive Peter Sands said.

“Yes, we are facing acute competition for talent, but we are still managing to invest and keep a tight grip on costs,” Sands told reporters on a conference call. He said the bank paid about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) in bonuses to staff for last year, similar to 2010. Total staff costs were $6.6 billion, up from $5.8 billion in 2010, but that was swelled by costs for a voluntary retirement plan in Korea, foreign exchange effects and the addition of 1,400 staff during the year.

Rival HSBC this week warned wages were rising in Asia. Sands said the bank was likely to add 2-3 percent to its 87,000 staff this year. “Growth momentum will likely accelerate in 2012,” said Dominic Chan, an analyst at BNP Paribas in Hong Kong. “Key markets such as India are showing signs of improving, and the bank is well placed to gain market share in areas such as trade finance and wholesale banking.” Its London-listed shares were up 2 percent at 16.55 pounds at 1000 GMT, in line with a firmer bank sector index.

The stock is up 17 percent this year, valuing it at more than $62 billion. Its Hong Kong-listed shares rose 0.4 percent.

Record year StanChart reported a 2011 pretax profit of $6.8 billion, up 11 percent from $6.1 billion a year earlier and in line with the average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. Sands and analysts said the results beat forecasts after stripping out a far bigger than expected charge of $206 million for the Korean staff retirement plan. Southeast Asian city-state Singapore was the star per former and became the third of its markets to deliver

more than $1 billion in profit. Revenues there rose 26 percent, while operating profit jumped 40 percent.

Revenues and profit from Singapore have more than doubled since 2007, and the bank said there were “considerable opportunities” to keep up the pace. Hong Kong remains its biggest market, with profits up 41 percent at $1.5 billion, and seen as the focus of plans to benefit from the internationalisation of China’s yuan currency.

Sands, a former McKinsey consultant who has also worked in the UK Foreign Office and grew up in Asia, has headed Standard Chartered for 5-1/2 years. He said the bank had started 2012 strongly

burden of regulation and the negative impact of a low interest rate environment.

Return of equity was 12.2 percent last year, better than most rivals in the West but short of its target of near 15 percent, and Sands confirmed previous guidance that it was probably out of reach again this year. There was a danger of an “avalanche” of regulation on a number of fronts, he said.

Britain’s tax on bank balance sheets cost $165 million, and Sands said the bank continued to monitor the extra regulatory cost of being based in London, which investors have questioned in the past. Profits in India slumped by a third, hit

HONG KONG: A group of people walk out of the Standard Chartered building yesterday. —AFP and was in “great shape” to win market share in areas like trade finance from retreating rivals, including European banks pulling back from Asia.

He expects to deliver revenue and earnings growth of at least 10 percent this year and keep cost growth in line with income growth, although it is likely to miss its profitability target due to the extra

by the impact on the economy and business confidence of 13 interest rate increases over two years, and uncertain political and governance issues. Korea profits more than halved, hit by industrial action last year and the retirement costs, though the bank said that plan would deliver savings of $95 million a year. —Reuters

WTO epic goes on with Boeing subsidy appeal PARIS: Airbus and Boeing Co were urged yesterday to negotiate an end to the world’s largest trade dispute as the World Trade Organization (WTO) prepared to issue its latest findings in a longrunning subsidy row. The Geneva-based trade watchdog was due later yesterday to deliver its verdict on an appeal by the United States against a WTO ruling that Boeing benefited from at least $5.3 billion in subsidies from U.S. authorities.

The ruling last March came months after a separate panel of WTO experts found that Airbus drew on billions of dollars of subsidies through subsidized loans

by European governments. Both sides have claimed victory every step of the way in the epic contest between dominant planemakers which has dragged on for over seven years, consuming thousands of pages of reports and costing an estimated $100 million or more in legal bills. “ The only way this can be resolved is a permanent agreement between all the parties concerned and there is no sign of this happening yet,” said UK-based aerospace and defence consultant Howard Wheeldon. “There is no alternative to an agreement between the governments and the two warring parties,” Wheeldon added. Sources familiar with the matter said last week the WTO would issue its confidential appeal findings to the two parties, the United States and the European Union, at 1100 GMT yesterday.

The report is not expected to be made public for several weeks but extracts of such findings tend to leak out beforehand. The United States says the WTO has already put its finger on $18 billion in illegal subsidies paid to Airbus in the earlier case and

wants to start the clock ticking on annual sanctions of between $7 billion and $10 billion without being distracted by the new appeal. The European Union wants to narrow a nine-month gap between the two cases and open the door to negotiations,

Bergsma. At Boeing, spokesman Charlie Miller said: “It is not a question of negotiation, it is a question of compliance.”

Trade war Most trade analysts say the twin cases are likely to drag on for

MANILA/SINGAPORE: Combination picture shows an Airbus A380 (top) at the Manila international airport, 11 October 2007 and a Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner at the military airbase on February 11, 2012. —AFP but only if the U.S. drops a condition that Airbus should axe subsidies first. While disputing the $18 billion figure, it says it has complied with the earlier ruling, but Washington denies this. The two sides continued to spar on the eve of the ruling. “We Europeans have had a clear position since 2003: talks anytime, anywhere, about anything without preconditions,” said Airbus spokeswoman Maggie

years before sanctions actually take effect, or the two sides try to negotiate a deal to avert an allout trade war. Financial analysts have mostly grown weary of the row but unions on both sides of the Atlantic have raised the potential impact on jobs. Star exhibit in yesterday ’s case is Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, the world’s first mostly plastic-composite passenger plane.

Airbus argues Boeing got a jump-start on composite design by taking part in government research and found out how to build the revolutionary 787 earlier than it could have done alone.

It also says the 787’s aerodynamic design owes a debt to arms projects like the F-22 combat jet and that doing jobs for NASA taught Boeing how to cut noise and maintenance costs. Europeans say the lift from R&D projects translated into savings that allowed Boeing to slash prices across its products, painting vivid details of a price war between 2004 and 2006.

Boeing in turn argues it was its decision to broaden its supply chain to global industry that brought it access to more technology and that the results of government-funded research merely went into the pool of publicly available science. It says the 787 was deliberately designed as “ITAR-free- meaning it is not subject to U.S. restrictions on export of sensitive technology-so it could not have benefited from the list of U.S.-funded military airplane projects cited by the EU. Boeing admits dropping prices in 2005 and 2006 but says it was forced to do so to respond to aggressive pricing from Airbus, which it blames in turn on unfair European subsidies. In yesterday’s appeal verdict, the United States will hope to eliminate a finding that NASA paid $2.6 billion in illegal aid, while the EU hopes to strengthen a finding that Boeing got $476 million of aid from Kansas without directly harming Airbus. The Kansas payments have come under the spotlight after Boeing decided last month to shut down a Wichita plant employing 2,160 workers, sparking protests from local politicians. —Reuters

Gold edges up ahead of ECB loan offer SINGAPORE: Gold edged higher yesterday, after rallying 1 percent in the previous session, supported by expectations for more cheap loans to be offered by the European Central Bank later in the day. Cash gold was on course for a monthly gain of 2.6 percent in February ahead of the expected injection of nearly half a trillion euros by the ECB, seen as designed to buy more time for European politicians to resolve the region’s debt woes. “There is so much cheap money around,” said Ronald Leung, a dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

“The momentum is still there and may push gold to $1,815-$1,820, with expectations that central banks will further relax their policies.” Easy mon-

etary policy raises the inflation outlook and benefits gold, traditionally seen as a good inflation hedge. The access to sufficient cheap credit also keeps down the opportunity cost of carrying nonyielding bullion. Spot gold inched up 0.1 percent to $1,786.06 an ounce by 0315 GMT, after hitting $1,789.40 on Tuesday, its highest level since midNovember.

US gold was little changed at $1,787.80. The euro held its ground and the greenback edged lower against a basket of currencies, giving support to dollar-priced commodities as they become more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.

Technical analysis suggested that spot gold still

aims at $1,797 during the day, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said.

Spot silver barely moved at $36.90 an ounce, after surging 4 percent and reaching a five-month high of $37.21 in the previous session. The gold-silver ratio dropped to its lowest level in five months, after silver rose more than 11 percent so far this month and a whopping 33 percent this year, outperforming the other precious metals. “Silver looks more positive than gold for the time being, but it’s not related to rising physical demand,” said a Hong Kong-based dealer, adding that there was a slight pickup in scrap selling and investor buying as prices rose. —Reuters

24

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

business

Bourse closes with gains GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed on a mixed note yesterday, closing the month in a positive territory. Despite the overall positive performance shadowing the KSE in February, blue chip stocks performed poorly. The blue chips’ barometer, Global Large Cap Index shed 1.43 percent in February.

Market indices Global General Index (GGI) ended the day down by 0.03 percent, at 180.96 point. Market capitalization was down for the day, reaching KD 29.45 billion. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 6,151 point, adding 10.30 points (0.17 percent) from its previous close.

Sectors wise During yesterday’s session, four out of eight indices witnessed daily losses. Global Industrial index which decreased 0.79 percent backed by Kuwait Cement Co., which declined by 3.49 percent closing at KD 0.415. Also, Kuwait Foundry Co., and Contracting & Marine Services Co., shed 5.62 percent and 5.49 percent respectively.

Global Investment index followed, shedding 0.10 percent. Al-Qurain Holding Co. was the top loser in the sector, shedding 8 percent. Investment sector is the second biggest gainer YTD, adding 7.86 percent.

On the other hand, Food stocks headed advancers, clocking 3.42 percent in sector gains.

Kuwait Foodstuff Company (Americana) and Livestock Transport & Trading Co. were up by 4.17 percent and 1.04 percent respectively.

Oil news Brent crude oil gained more than $1pb yesterday, snapping two days of sharp falls, on expectations that more than $500 billion of cheap loans from the European Central Bank will spur buying of riskier assets.

Daily trading activity Investors exchanged 540.15 million shares (-22.76 percent) at a total value of KD 45.07 million (-12.75 percent). Services sector accounted for 34.13 percent of total volume traded during yesterday’s session, followed by investment sector which accounted for 29.66 percent of total shares traded on the exchange.

Al-Safwa Holding Group was the volume leader yesterday, with 59.04 million shares changing hands. The scrip ended yesterday’s session shedding 4.26 percent to close at KD 0.0225.

Top gainers and biggest decliners In terms of top gainers, Gulf Franchising Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 10.64 percent.

On the other side, Ithmaar Bank was the biggest loser, as its share price fell by 10.20 percent to close at KD 0.022. Global Non-Kuwaiti index was the prominent loser yesterday shedding 1.37 percent.

Apple market value hits $500 billion NEW YORK: Apple’s market capitalization topped $500 billion in opening trading yesterday, climbing to a mountain peak where few companies have ventured and none have stayed for long. Apple was already the world’s most valuable company. The gap between it and No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. has widened rapidly in the past month, as investors have digested Apple’s report of blow out holiday-season sales of iPhone and iPads, and raised their hopes that the company might institute a dividend.

On Tuesday, the Cupertino, Calif., company sent out invites to reporters for an event in San Francisco next Wednesday, apparently to reveal its next iPad model. The launch of the new model was expected around this time, a year after the launch of the iPad 2.

Exxon, now worth $411 billion, was worth just over $500 billion for two short stretches at the end of 2007.

Apple’s arch-nemesis Microsoft Corp. was worth just more than $500 billion briefly at the end of 1999, then again in early 2000. It even shot up above $600 billion for one day. The company is now worth $267 billion.

Cisco Systems Inc., Intel Corp. and General Electric Co. also peaked just above $500 billion in early 2000.

Cisco and Intel are now worth a bit more than $100 billion each, while GE is worth $200 billion. Despite its sky-high market capitalization, Apple’s valuation isn’t high compared to its earnings. It’s worth 15 times its earnings for the last year. That compares to 21 times earnings for Google Inc. and 14 times for the S&P 500 overall. Yet few companies in the index grow their earnings as fast as Apple does: In its latest quarter, its earnings rose 118 percent from a year ago, to $13.06 billion.

Apple’s stock accounts for 3.8 percent of the value

of the S&P 500 index, according to Standard & Poor’s, and it accounted for 6 percent of the operating income of the 500 companies in the fourth quarter.

Analysts say Apple’s sheer size works against its stock price. Apple stock already makes up a large share of the holdings of technology and growth-focused funds, and they have little appetite for more.

Meanwhile, value-focused funds are often prevented from buying the shares because the company doesn’t pay a dividend. However, the company has been signalling that a dividend is under consideration, and several analysts now consider it a given that one will be announced this year. Last week, CEO Tim Cook told shareholders at the annual meeting that the company has more money than it needs, and the board and management are thinking “very deeply” about ways to use the cash. —AP

Egypt interim govt eyes selling IMF reforms CAIRO: Egypt’s interim government will have to muster all its skills of persuasion to sell austerity measures to a country weary after a year of political and economic strife, if details emerging on Cairo’s planned deal with the IMF are anything to go by. Egypt wants the $3.2 billion IMF accord to help it head off a looming crisis. But in return the IMF wants Egypt to cut its budget deficit.

“The IMF agreement has conditions that Egypt is expected to fulfill for the money to come,” said an Egyptian official who has been closely following the talks. “One of them is reducing the country’s budget deficit.”

The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, added that “those conditions have political consequences” and this is why officials have said in the past that IMF conditions affect Egypt’s sovereignty. The IMF has asked Egypt to draw up an economic reform plan with benchmarks and targets, sell the plan to the country’s political forces, and line up aid pledges from other donors. The unelected administration will be proposing the related measures as it steers the country through the contentious process of drafting a new constitution and holding a presidential election by the end of June.

The government announced this month it had approved a plan that would run for the length of the 18-month IMF programme and would sign an accord in March. But so far it has not released the plan for public debate as promised, and the IMF has said tersely that talks are still underway. Few details have been released on the plan’s austerity measures, but on Feb. 10 Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Saeed was quoted as saying it includes changing Egypt’s 10 percent sales tax to a value-added tax (VAT) and directing energy subsidies to those who most need it.

New taxes and fewer subsidies are never popular, and the government has long tried unsuccessfully to enact similar measures.

The sales tax was introduced as part of an earlier IMF programme in 1991 as the first step toward a VAT, and Youssef BoutrosGhali, finance minister under Mubarak, had argued for a switchover to VAT throughout his seven years in office. The now-reviled Boutros-Ghali also tried to tackle energy subsidies, which are eating up an everincreasing share of the state budget as con-

sumption grows. As recently as late 2010 he sought a rationing system for subsidised liquid petroleum gas (LPG) sold in canisters for household cooking. Energy subsidies, especially for diesel, LPG and fuel for industry, make up almost 20 percent of the budget.

Time bomb?

The Egyptian uprising was driven in part by economic grievances, and a year later strikes by workers demanding higher pay and better contracts continue to break out daily. “How will you reduce subsidies when people are complaining about inflation, unemployment and inequality? It will be a hot potato in terms of the politics,” said Raza Agha, an economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland. The IMF has demanded that any accord have broad political support within Egypt, especially from the Muslim Brotherhood, which won nearly half the seats in the new parliament. The Brotherhood so far has rejected an accord except as a last resort, but analysts say it may have no choice but to go along.

A big question is whether Egypt has the resources to get through the presidential vote before a financial crisis hits. The country has been spending $2 billion a month of its foreign reserves since October to prop up its currency. Reserves, less than half of what they were before the uprising, now stand at a worryingly low $16 billion, including $4 billion in gold bullion the government would be loath to draw down.

“If they carry on at the current rate, their reserves would nearly all be exhausted by then,” said Said Hirsh of Capital Economics.

“Then they would be at tipping point, which means you could get a totally disorderly devaluation.” This would boost inflation, prompt the government to raise interest rates to support the currency, reduce asset values and push borrowing costs up in an already weak economy, he added.

Even if it gets internal backing for the plan, the IMF has said Egypt must line up funds from foreign lenders to plug a funding gap the government estimates at $11 billion over the 18-month programme, meaning it would still have find about $8 billion from donors other than the IMF. Egypt has asked the World Bank for $1 billion, the European Union for $660 million and $500 million each from the African Development Bank and the Arab Monetary Fund. — Reuters

25

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

BUSINESS

India on privatisation path with $2.5bn ONGC share sale ONGC shares surge on news

NEW DELHI: This file photo shows an Indian shirt vendor waiting for customers. —AFP

India quarterly growth slides to 6.1 percent NEW DELHI: India’s economy expanded by 6.1 percent in the last three months of 2011, the weakest pace in three years, data showed yesterday, dismaying business leaders who demanded swift steps to revive growth. The figure for the financial third quarter undershot market expectations and came on the back of 13 rate hikes that have sapped demand and pulled down manufacturing output.

The business community called on the leftist Congress-led government to act decisively in the budget due to be presented on March 16 to stimulate the economy and for interest rates to come down from close to four-year highs. “All policy levers should be used to drive a revival,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, head of the Confederation of Indian Industry, branding “near stagnation” in manufacturing and shrinking investment deeply worrying.

The 6.1 percent year-on-year growth in the three months to December was sharply lower than the 6.9-percent expansion Asia’s third-largest economy booked in the previous quarter. It also marked the weakest pace of growth since the same quarter of 2008. “India’s economy was battered from all angles through the second half of 2011 — from rising interest rates, falling stock prices, a plunging rupee and weaker global demand,” Moody’s Analytics economist Glenn Levine said.

With growth slowing sharply and inflation at two-year lows, analysts said the central bank may cut rates at a meeting scheduled just before the budget, joining emerging market peers that are pushing expansion rather than fighting inflation. But others said the bank may wait to see the budget’s content.

Manufacturing output in the three months to December grew just 0.4 percent, down from 7.8 percent in the same period a year ago. Agriculture increased by 2.7 percent, down from 11.08 percent a year ago, while mining growth con-

tracted by 3.1 percent in contrast to its 6.1-percent expansion a year earlier. “This is a weak set of numbers,” said Moody’s Levine.

The data knocked the stock market from its day ’s highs with Bombay ’s benchmark stock index closing flat at 17,743.4 points after topping the key level of 18,000. The figures were more bad news for the government, which has been buffeted by a string of corruption scandals and charges of economic policy paralysis. The government, hamstrung by debt, also lacks the fiscal firepower to stimulate the economy, unlike during the financial crisis of 2008-09 when it was able to step up spending.

India’s slowdown comes as growth in China has also decelerated as global turbulence and efforts to tame inflation put the brakes on the world’s second-largest economy. China’s economy expanded by 8.9 percent in the last three months of 2011, its slowest rate in 10 quarters.

Moderating activity in the two emerging market giants has weakened hopes they could help buoy the stumbling global economy. Even though 6.1-percent growth would be the envy of much of the world, it is a disappointing result for India, which is aiming for double-digit expansion.

Experts have traditionally pinpointed at least nine to 10 percent growth as the minimum to substantially reduce the crushing poverty afflicting hundreds of millions of Indians. For the full financial year to this month, India will probably grow by 6.9 percent-far below an initial budget projection of nine percent-and down from last year’s 8.4 percent expansion, the government said earlier last month. To achieve 6.9 percent growth, the economy must expand by about seven percent in the final March quarter, said Credit Suisse’s Prior-Wandesforde.

“This is not impossible-but clearly the risks are that a downward adjustment will need to be made,” he said. —Reuters

TOKYO: A man walks in front of the electronic stock board of a securities firm yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3 percent to 9,846.46. —AP

Malaysia Airlines’ losses deepen in Q4 KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines said yesterday its losses deepened in the fourth quarter as fuel costs soared but hopes to rebound this year under a business recovery plan. The airline posed a bigger-than-expected net loss of 1.28 billion ringgit ($427 million) for the December quarter, reversing from a profit of 226 million ringgit ($75 million) a year earlier. Full year losses totalled 2.52 billion ringgit ($841 million) compared with a profit of 234 million ringgit ($78 million) in 2010. Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline’s full-year performance was severely dented by a 21 percent rise in expenditure over the previous year, swamping a 2 percent rise in revenue and a 1.3 million increase in passenger numbers.

Fuel costs alone rose 33 percent to nearly $5.9 billion ringgit ($2 billion) last year, he said. “Losses for 2011 underscore the imperative need for Malaysia Airlines to immediately adopt strong measures to stop the bleeding. This includes staff redeployment, increasing productivity and efficiency, relentless cost control and making further route reviews,” he told a news

conference. Ahmad Jauhari said the outlook is challenging because passenger and cargo demand are likely to stay weak while fuel costs will stay high.

Malaysia Airlines is finalizing a plan to strengthen its balance sheet to increase its cash reserves and funding capacity, he said but declined to give details. Under the company ’s recover y plan, Ahmad Jauhari said a premium regional carrier is expected to be launched by the middle of the year. Malaysia Airlines has cut seat capacity by 9 percent this year by axing loss-making routes, underwent a management revamp and is actively seeking outside investors for its affiliated businesses, he said.

The airline will take delivery of 23 new fuel-efficient planes this year, including five superjumbo A380 aircraft, that will help cut fuel bills and boost business, he said. The A380s will be deployed on Sydney and London routes, with the first to start flying in July, he said. “We see a pretty weak market for long haul business but we are still optimistic on the short-haul in Asia,” he said. “Our business plan is for a recovery this year, to stem all our losses.” —AP

MUMBAI: The Indian government is set to raise at least $2.5 billion by selling a 5 percent stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today, aiming to patch up its widening fiscal deficit and revive its stalled privatisation agenda. The long-delayed ONGC sale, set to be the biggest equity offering in India this year, will be done via an auction on the stock exchange, the first to use this newly approved sales method which avoids expensive roadshows and saves time. Shares in ONGC, the country’s largest oil and gas producer and secondlargest listed firm in India by market value, rose as much as 4.8 percent yesterday, outpacing the wider market, amid expectations that the offer would meet strong demand.

“There is no doubt that the issue will be fully subscribed considering there are state -run financial institutions and others who will bid,” said R.K. Gupta, managing director at Taurus Mutual Fund. “And a strong

response to this issue opens the door for more government divestment programmes,” he added. The floor price for the company ’s share auction has been set at 290 rupees, the company said in a notice to stock exchanges, slightly higher than its Tuesday closing price of 283.40 rupees.

Yesterday, the stock traded at 297.50 rupees at 0558 GMT. The offer is likely to see strong demand from both overseas and Indian investors, sources with knowledge of the situation said.

India’s stalled divestment programme also calls for reduced holdings in other state-run firms such as Bharat Heavy Electricals and Steel Authority of India. New Delhi is widely expected to miss its deficit target of 4.6 percent of GDP for the current fiscal year ending March, partly due to its inability to meet the budget target for more than $8.1 billion in state-company share sales.

So far this fiscal year, the government has only raised about

$250 million. The government had earlier planned to sell ONGC shares through a public offer but that plan was scrapped last October after a tepid response from investors amid weak equity markets. India’s stock market posted its first annual fall in three years this year, losing nearly 25 percent. Shares in ONGC fell 20 percent in the same period.

But the stock market has rebounded this year and the main stock index has climbed nearly 15 percent, with foreign funds scooping up beaten shares worth more than $7 billion. The Securities & Exchange Board of India said last month that it would allow shareholders of the country’s top 100 companies by market value to raise funds by auctioning their stakes through stock exchanges.

Saving time, cost The ONGC share sale comes amid news the company and state-run GAIL India may join a bidding war for Cove Energy,

becoming the second Asian state-run group seeking to trump Shell’s $1.6 billion offer. Little if any of the proceeds are expected to flow back to ONGC and help with any bid for Cove, given the government’s clear objective is to pay down its own deficit. The government will sell about 428 million of its ONGC shares, cutting its stake in the firm, which the market values at more than $49 billion, to 69.1 percent from about 74 percent.

The share auction will be launched today at 9:15 a.m.

(0345 GMT) and will close at 3:30 p.m., the ONGC statement said.

Bankers said investors would be able to participate in the auction in the same way as a traditional secondary share offer, but the government would save time and money. Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and India’s JM Financial are the banks on the deal, who will mainly provide broking services to the auction. —Reuters

Weir sees shale oil, gas boom spreading LONDON: British engineer Weir Group said a boom in the shale oil and gas industry in the United States was spreading to other countries as it posted a 34 percent rise in 2011 profit that was at the top end of expectations. The pumps and valves maker, which last year twice upgraded its profit guidance due to rapid growth in drilling for rocktrapped hydrocarbon reserves in the United States, said yesterday the industry was picking up pace in countries like Poland, Argentina and China. “We are seeing the internationalisation of shale really starting to move forward. It is probably moving forward a bit quicker than we thought,” chief executive Keith Cochrane said.

However, Weir disappointed some analysts by sticking with existing profit expectations for 2012, which would suggest more modest progress after an exceptionally strong 2011. “There is more caution on their oil and gas division ... where there’s no particular disaster, it’s just them saying that the growth rates are going to tail off from the very heady rates they’ve seen in previous years,” Investec analyst Chris Dyett said. Profits in Weir’s oil and gas division soared 61 percent last year compared to 2010.

At 1015 GMT, Weir shares were down 1.6 percent at 2,169 pence, making it one of the biggest fallers on a flat London blue-chip index. Weir said oil and gas customers would order less new equipment in 2012 but that lower orders would be partially offset by strength in its repairing and servicing business, the so-called aftermarket.

“Our upstream business grew ahead of our expectations in 2011. We’re guiding that in 2012, we expect it to be somewhat ahead of our previous expectations, and if anything, the market is growing faster than we previously expected, driven by oil,” Cochrane told reporters, shrugging off concerns that weak US gas prices were impacting the business. US gas prices have been under pressure for the past couple of years because a production glut, caused in large part by shale development, and reached a 10-year low in January, causing some shale firms to cut back production.

Profits soar The Glasgow, Scotland-based firm, whose heavy-duty pumps are used by shale producers to force water and chemicals into the ground to fracture rocks and pump out oil and gas, posted a 34 percent rise in 2011 pretax profit to 396 million pounds ($627 million), compared with a forecast for 381 million in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll. Weir, whose pumps are also used by miners extracting copper and iron ore, said it was confident that demand from mining customers would remain robust in 2012.

The company added it was asking for a review of an Australian regulator’s decision after being dealt a blow in a takeover battle on Tuesday, when the country’s Takeover Panel ruled in favour of a bid by rival suitor, Danish group FLSmidth, for mining equipment firm Ludowici. “We will review the position once that process is complete,” said Cochrane, declining to comment on whether Weir would try to trump the Danish company’s offer. Weir said it would pay a full-year dividend of 33 pence, up 22 percent. —Reuters

SHANGHAI: A man begs on a street yesterday. —AFP

China’s ‘affordable housing’ numbers don’t quite add up SHIJIAZHUANG: What do a luxury Chinese apartment tower, a workers’ dormitory, a low-income housing block and an empty field have in common? They all qualify as affordable housing projects under a government scheme that policymakers hope will cool popular anger over high housing prices, and that analysts are counting on to keep China’s property sector afloat.

The programme, which targets 36 million units of new housing by 2015 at a cost of nearly $800 billion, has underpinned demand for steel, cement and metals from the world’s second-largest economy as the larger real estate sector cools. But the huge numbers don’t add up to enough to ease concerns that the Chinese economy is paying the price for the government’s crackdown on “speculative” real estate projects. “It’s an illusion to try to hang on to the notion that social housing will have a massive pull on raw materials in China. It does have a pull but not significant enough” to make up for freezing commercial real estate spending, said Nicholas Zhu, of ANZ Bank in Shanghai.

To gauge the status of the scheme, Reuters visited a dozen building sites in the dusty city of Shijiazhuang south of Beijing. A middle-income city of 10 million, including satellite towns, Shijiazhuang is one of the few to have published a public list of its affordable housing projects. Tall towers rising from flat fields and former industrial sites laid to rest the assumption of some that local governments are simply faking affordable housing starts to meet central government targets. In Shijiazhuang at least, the projects are real.

But a good portion of what’s being built is alreadyplanned construction re-labelled as affordable housing. Those projects aren’t delivering the additional demand for concrete, steel, glass or aluminum window frames that typically ensure that construction gives an outsized boost to economic growth. If the affordable housing programme cannot deliver additional demand, the restrictions on commercial housing may deliver a greater blow to the broader economy than Beijing intended. For two years, China has restricted bank lending to the real estate sector and limited citizens’ ability to buy multiple homes, or homes in other cities, to curb speculation in high-end housing. The campaign has finally started to impact prices.

Off-market housing Reuters visited projects ranging from tall towers of flats measuring 60 square metres or less-what most Chinese would call affordable housing-to factory and school dormitories. At least two projects were part of luxury housing developments. This seems to reflect what is happening across China. Recent government announcements indicate that new off-market, affordable housing units will increasingly be made up of reclassified, non-commercial projects like dormitories attached to schools, hospitals, government departments and state-owned enterprises.

“There’s a big difference between government definitions and what a normal person would consider an ‘affordable house’,” said GK Dragonomics research manager Rosealea Yao. Reclassification jibes with a shift in official targets from housing starts-which critics charge are easily faked-to completions. Beijing targets 5 million completions this year, up from the official count of 4.32 million completed last year. Nationwide, affordable housing numbers are confusing. Premier Wen Jiabao said last year that China would build 36 million units by 2015, with 10 million to start building in 2011 alone, as citizens seethed over red-hot property prices.

Beijing then retreated in the face of limited local

budgets and allegations that corrupt insiders get dibs on homes. It shelved plans for subsidised apartments to sell to low-income buyers in favour of modest apartments to rent to the poor. The target for 2012 starts is now 7 million units. Many analysts felt that the original target was so far from reality that actual starts this year may exceed last year. Official, yet widely disbelieved, statistics put affordable home starts at 10.43 million in 2011. Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates that the number of units actually under construction will rise to 7.3 million this year from 3.7 million in 2011. “Social housing starts have been overstated, but still the increase in construction of off-market housing will more than offset the fall in the market segment,” said a recent report by Beijingbased consultancy GK Dragonomics. Not so, says ANZ’s Zhu. His back-of-the-envelope calculations show that government targets for affordable housing would absorb only about 50 million tonnes of steel.

That’s only one-sixth of China’s construction steel output, meaning that the real estate freeze can still create a dangerous glut.

Excuse to relax Even if reclassified projects don’t represent new demand per se, they could allow the government to declare victory and relax the controls strangling the commercial property sector. Three sites visited by Reuters in Shijiazhuang turned out to be newly completed dormitories. Two were at factories and the third was a teachers’ dorm for a rural high school. Beijing is “taking a two-pronged approach of temporarily repressing demand for commercial units and also building lower-priced housing for the population that’s been priced out of the commercial market”, said CLSA strategist Andy Rothman.

“Once they make progress on both fronts they can ease the current restrictions on commercial home sales.” Some property developers are committing to build affordable housing to get approval for more lucrative developments. That lets local governments balance their budgets with land sales. Some cities use “slum clearing” to move poorer residents out of the valuable city centre and auction off the land to yet another glitzy developer. As of 2010, about 90 percent of Shanghai’s “affordable housing” units qualified as “slum clearing”, versus 40 percent nationally, land use data showed.

At the luxury “European Landscape” compound in Jinzhou, near Shijiazhuang, an affordable housing block was tucked into a commercial development with decidedly upscale ambitions. “The top sterling villa-community of Jinzhou! The ecological slope-courtyard, the coastal holiday-villa!” a brochure boasted.

“European Landscape” and its sisters target demand for investment properties at the high end of the market. But urbanizing China needs new homes for young couples and replacement for the cramped quarters endured by many, especially migrant workers. GK Dragonomics estimates that 40 percent of people in Chinese cities don’t own their own home. China needs to build 10 million units a year until 2030 to meet a 70 million unit shortfall and upgrade shoddy housing. “All we are waiting for is for the real estate developers to recognize they have got to switch away from the speculative real estate market to affordable housing - not just the ones the government is requiring them to build, but affordable housing in a wider sense for first-time buyers,” said Rafael Halpin of MEPS, a British steel consultancy. “Once you see that transition, you have a second property boom driven by real demand.” —Reuters

26

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

business

Air Arabia Q4 profit jumps up by 7 percent BoD proposes 4.5 percent cash dividend

Muneera Al-Mukhaizeem

Burgan Bank introduces VISA Platinum Debit card KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the launch of its new VISA Platinum Debit card that aims at providing more convenience to the bank’s Premier customers. The VISA Platinum Debit card is introduced as part of the relaunch of the Premier Banking to provide its customers with an extensive array of exclusive benefits that cater to their lifestyle needs.

With Burgan’s VISA Platinum Debit card, Premier Customers can now enjoy special privileges and other superior advantages. These benefits include purchase protection and extended warranty that give Premier customers extra security and confidence when shopping with coverage against loss or damage exceeding $50 that occurs within 90 days of the date of purchase and ability to extend the original manufactures warranty for up to 24 months from the date the item is purchased. The new VISA Platinum Debit card also makes medical and legal consultations abroad simple by providing the carrier of the card with comprehensive medical and legal referral advice for a trip of up to 90 consecutive days.

Moreover, the new VISA Platinum Debit for Premier customers extends complimentary access to the Pearl Lounge in Kuwait International Airport, free valet parking at selected venues and shopping malls, and extensive range of value added discounts from selected outlets in Kuwait. Muneera Al-Mukhaizeem, Burgan Bank’s Chief Retail Banking

Officer- General Manager said, “We strive continuously to provide new products that add more value to the life that our Premier customers enjoy being a part of, whether travelling, shopping, dining, sports or activities. We are confident that your VISA Platinum Debit card experience will be highly rewarding with the features chosen for you.”

Commenting on the launch, Majeed Hujair, Country Manager for Visa Kuwait said: “Visa is delighted to partner with Burgan Bank to offer premium rewards and exclusive services to consumers in Kuwait, both at home and when travelling overseas, where they can enjoy a secure, convenient, and reliable form of payment in over 200 countries. The launch of the new Burgan Visa Platinum Debit card is a significant step for Visa in growing and rewarding Kuwait’s premier customers with an excellent range of lifestyle benefits for incorporating Visa into their everyday lives.”

Burgan Bank’s new Premier Banking launch has established a strong footprint in accommodating its customers’ lifestyle needs. . The new identity brings together affluence with priority and recognition, which our Premier Banking Customers aspire to. Along with the number of personalized services and products that are on offer, the new VISA Platinum Debit card for Premier Banking Customers is designed to provide unmatched convenience and benefits with highly rewarding features.

GE Gas Turbine Modular Project cuts downtime DUBAI: Implementing a new maintenance strategy designed to slash downtime, GE Oil & Gas recently completed the first cycle of gas turbines modular replacement project at the Qatargas liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City. Qatar increased LNG production time by approximately one week per outage.

Citing the success of this project, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) recently granted to GE the 2011 IPMA Project Excellence Award for Big-Sized Projects.

The scope of the project included the major inspection of 15 GE Frame gas turbines operating on Qatargas LNG trains 1, 2 and 3. A GE Frame 5 gas turbine has to under take a major inspection at every 48,000 hours and usually takes 28 days for its completion. During a major inspection, the machine is completely dismounted on site where the people can count on limited resources for disassembly, inspection and reassembly activities.

Learning from previous experience in the GE Aviation business, GE Oil & Gas adapted the “Modular Replacement” method for Frame 5 machines. This new maintenance strategy is carried out by replacing the entire engine instead of dismounting the machine on site. The new module is started up immediately after installation while the

used one will be repaired in a new workshop developed by GE close to the site as a scope of this project.

A day of shutdown of an LNG plant means loss of production during that day, so the main goal for the customer is to reduce this downtime, shortening the maintenance window. The implementation of this new maintenance philosophy allowed Qatargas to save more than one week of production while GE has been able to remove the constraint of the time for performing maintenance on the equipment.

By applying GE’s modular replacement strategy in a cascade process, it was possible to keep downtime to a minimum. The success of this project suppor ts the goal of Qatargas to become the largest LNG producer in the world. A long-term service agreement already in place between GE and Qatargas has been amended to include the gas turbine modular replacement program. The service agreement is supported by a GE Oil & Gas Service Center &Repair Workshop that GE established close to the Qatargas site in Ras Laffan Industrial City. The facility was one of the achievements of the project and is currently expanding GE’s local services capabilities, strengthening local technical suppor t and reducing turnaround times for projects throughout the region.

DUBAI: Qatargas Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

KUWAIT: Air Arabia (PJSC), the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, reported yesterday a net profit of AED 78.7 million for the three months ending December 31, 2011, an increase of seven percent compared to AED 73.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The company’s turnover for the fourth quarter 2011 reached AED 638 million, an increase of 17 percent compared to AED 544.8 million in 2010. Air Arabia carried 1,180,402 passengers in the final three months of last year, up two percent compared to the same period in 2010.

These results were announced following a meeting today of the Board of Directors of Air Arabia, who have proposed a dividend distribution of 4.5 percent of capital which is equivalent to 4.5 fils per share. This proposal is subject to ratification by the shareholders of Air Arabia at the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al-Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, described these solid financial results as a result of the carrier’s excellent cost controls and extremely appealing product offering. “The year 2011 saw ongoing political unrest in the region, as global fuel prices also surged. While these challenging market conditions continue to impact the performance of the aviation sector here in the Middle East and worldwide, we have focused more keenly than ever on ensuring the highest level of operational efficiency,” he said.

“Air Arabia’s ability to continue to report sustained profitability and achieve solid growth margins across our network reflects the strength of our business model and robust management team.” Air Arabia, which now operates flights to some 70 destinations from three regional hubs, also delivered

strong financial and operational performance for the full year ending December 31, 2011.

The airline’s net profit for the full year was in line with analyst forecasts, reaching a solid AED 274 million. Air Arabia’s turnover for 2011 stood at AED 2.4 billion, an increase of 16 per-

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al-Thani cent compared to 2010. Air Arabia served 4.7 million passengers in the 12 months ending December 31, 2011, representing an increase of six percent compared to 4.4 million passengers in 2010. The carrier’s seat load factor - or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats - stood at impressive 82 percent for

the full year 2011.

Sheikh Al-Thani concluded: “Beyond today’s immediate challenges, we see great opportunities for the regional aviation sector, especially in the increasingly popular low-cost segment, which was pioneered in the Middle East by Air Arabia. Moving ahead, we look forward to providing our customers with even more value-for-money options in 2012, as well as an even wider range of services and destinations.”

In 2011, Air Arabia introduced six new routes to its award-winning network, including Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Russia; Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine; and Gassim and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. In addition, the airline also launched non-stop service from its Alexandria, Egypt, hub to Milan, Italy, and Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia.

In the final quarter of last year, the carrier also inaugurated its state-of-the-art aircraft hangar facility and multimillion-dollar flight simulator at Sharjah International Airport, as well as its Centro Sharjah Hotel, conveniently located adjacent to the airport.

Air Arabia took delivery of six new A320 aircraft from Airbus in 2011 as part of an order for 44 aircraft placed in 2007. Air Arabia is expected to take delivery of another six aircraft in 2012.

Over the past 12 months, Air Arabia continued to be recognised for the excellence of its operations, winning the Airbus Operational Excellence award for the fifth consecutive year, as well as the “Innovation in Operations” award at the Express TravelWorld Awards, which were held in New Delhi, India. Finally, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, Adel Ali, was last year named “Business Leader of the Year” at the inaugural Middle East Accountancy and Finance Excellence Awards.

American Express ME, Royal Jordanian Airlines offer customers new scheme AMMAN: American Express Middle East and Royal Jordanian Airlines announced yesterday a new enhanced programme that will give Cardmembers even more opportunities to earn rewards on Royal Jordanian Airlines. American Express Middle East’s Cardmembers can now exchange every 2 Membership Rewards points for 1 Royal Jordanian Royal Plus Mile.

Membership Rewards is an award-winning rewards programme from American Express where one point is earned for nearly every $1, or equivalent, spent on the Card. Membership Rewards points do not expire and

can be redeemed across a wide selection of reward categories including flights, hotels, dining and entertainment, a variety of merchandise, and charity donations.

Now with the enhanced Royal Plus Mile programme with Royal Jordanian Airlines, American Express Middle East Cardmembers have even more options and flexibility when redeeming their rewards. To celebrate the new programme, a prize draw will be held to reward five lucky Cardmembers with 40,000 bonus Royal Plus Miles each - enough for a return flight from Amman to London on Royal

Jordanian Airlines. American Express Middle East’s Cardmembers will earn one entry into the prize draw for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points transferred to the Royal Plus programme.

“Our association with Royal Jordanian Airlines dates back to 2004 and is one of the many ways in which we strive to provide meaningful and rewarding benefits which meet the needs of our Cardmembers in the Levant and across the region,” said Lina Madi Country Manager Jordan, American Express Middle East. “ With 11 airline partners, American Express Middle East

offers by the far the strongest airline rewards programme in the MENA region. The enhanced rewards programme with Royal Jordanian Airlines provides American Express Cardmembers with even greater convenience, flexibility and value.”

“We are delighted to work with American Express Middle East to continue to enrich our Royal Plus offerings and provide added value and extra flexibility to our members through our expanding partnership network.” said Yola Isaac, Director Customer Experience, Market Research & Business Development, Royal Jordanian.

EQUATE states $1.5bn net profit in 2011

Bahrain Air enhances connectivity BAHRAIN: Bahrain Air has announced plans to add additional four weekly morning flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to Kuwait starting from March 5, 2012.

Flights will depart from Bahrain in the morning at 8:35 a.m. and reach Kuwait at 9:40 a.m. and return from Kuwait at 10:25 a.m. reaching Bahrain at 11:30 noon, giving convenient connectivity to all intra-gulf Bahrain Air operated destinations, BEY, AMM, RUH, DXB and DOH. This is apart from the evening flight, leaving Bahrain at 18:15 p.m. and reaches Kuwait at 19:20 p.m. and return from Kuwait at 20:05 p.m. giving good connectivity to all Indian subcontinent from Bahrain. “By launching our morning service to Kuwait, we are not only enabling the people and business of Kuwait and Bahrain, but we are also developing a huge business opportunity between these two countries and beyond” said V.R. Santosh, the Sales & Operation Manager of Bahrain Air for Kuwait. “We have scheduled the morning flight timings to provide a convenient two way connectivity to all the major GCC cities and the evening flight to major cities in the Indian Subcontinent via Bahrain” he added.

Bahrain Air recently started its new service to Trivandrum, 4 weekly connections from Kuwait on the evening flight which is Bahrain Air’s 4th destination in India. Bahrain Air has highlighted the importance of this new destination to Trivandrum as a commitment to India, facilitating the growing demand

of more capacity to and from India.

Recently restructured as a hybrid airline offering both Business and Economy class service, Bahrain Air has introduced a new dimension and brought back ‘style’ into short haul travel. The Kingdom’s second national carrier operates to 15 destinations across the GCC, Levant, Africa and the Indian Sub-continent.

Bahrain Air has gone from being a low cost carrier to a premium service carrier offering passengers a Business and Economy class, baggage privileges, different fare options and meal on board. The airline has also developed a new distribution model, from being purely through the web to working with the travel trade and according to them, the major part of the bookings are originated from the travel trade. Recently, Bahrain Air has suspended their direct operations from Kuwait to Beirut for a temporary phase due to the recent political unrests in Syria which did hamper the airline schedules to Beirut with a poor load factor but the recently introduced morning flight will connect all intragulf destinations including Beirut with a convenient connectivity and with affordable fares too. Bahrain Air has announced the decision of resuming the direct operations to Beirut soon once the political situation in Syria will be back to normal. Bahrain Air appointed Caesars International Travel Company as its General Sales Agent in Kuwait.

KUWAIT: EQUATE Petrochemical Company announced a net profit of $1.05 billion for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, which is a 20 percent increase over what was achieved in 2010.

Following its Board and General Assembly meetings held in Kuwait, EQUATE President & CEO Hamad AlTerkait said, “These profits were realized due to operational excellence at all production units, as well as the increase in prices of petrochemical products globally as a result of stability in demand.”

Al-Terkait noted, “For the first time in EQUATE’s history, sales value in 2011 has exceeded $2.5 billion which was a result of overall organizational efficiency at EQUATE as a world-class petrochemical Company, starting from production to sales and supply chain with a perfect fit partnership with its local and global customers.”

EQUATE Board of Directors held its General Assembly on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, and lauded the Company’s overall environmental achievements along with earning the award for the best plant in the Middle East. In addition, EQUATE Board extended utmost appreciation to Al-Terkait for his pioneering leadership of EQUATE with outstanding global success at all levels since 2001, expressing congratulations and best wishes to Mohammad Husain who will succeed Al-Terkait as EQUATE CEO during April 2012.

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).

Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Hamad Al-Terkait

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Cybercriminals target phones, Android most exposed: analysts BARCELONA: Cybercriminals are sneaking a soaring number of malware into smartphones to steal data or even money, with those running on Google’s Android most exposed to security threats, analysts said. While the Android open concept has gained the hearts of those who find the iPhone too closely managed by Apple, it is also turning out to be the Google operating system’s Achilles heel. “Something really worrying about the Google model, which is also the beauty of that model, is the openness of the environment,” Cesare Garlati, consumer specialist at security firm Trend Micro, told AFP. Anyone can create or install an application on an Android phone, Garlati pointed out, as opposed to the Apple controlled Appstore which imposes a layer of screening. “Android’s security model basically says, it is the responsibility of the end user to judge if an application is secure. “I think that is asking too

much from the user. Who is able to understand if a vendor is legitimate?” he asked. Trend Micro surveyed independent analysts about security features on the four main mobile operating systems-Apple’s iOS, RIM’s Blackberry, Microsoft’s Windows and Google’s Android-and found that Blackberry was ranked most secure and Android the least.

Blackberry benefitted from the fact that it was originally designed more as a platform than a device, while iOS, ranked second most secure, was tightly controlled by Apple. Nevertheless, Garlati stressed that “no platform is immune from problems.” With over a billion people expected to own a smartphone by 2013, cybercheats are increasingly setting their sights on the market. Several sessions at this year’s Mobile World Congress therefore addressed security, with companies including McAfee, SAP, Kaspersky Lab all trotting out new

security products for tablets or smartphones.

Technology company Juniper Networks compiled a “record number of mobile malware attacks” in 2011, particularly on Android phones.

In 2010, just 11,138 mobile malware samples were recorded, but they soared 155 percent to 28,472 in 2011, the company said. Just under half — 46.7 percent-occurred on Android phones, said Juniper, whose study did not look into Apple breaches. “The combination of Google Android’s dominant market share and the lack of control over the applications appearing in the various Android application stores created a perfect storm, giving malware developers the means and incentives to focus on the platform,” the group said. Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive of the eponymous computer security firm, said: “We are pretty sure that this will follow the computer’s evolution,” pointing out

that threats had surged from 90,000 in 2004 to some 16 million in 2011, with internet transactions largely fueling the rise.

Some criminals are hiding “malicious code in legitimate applications” that consumers are downloading unwittingly. Once they have gained access to data on the phone, they are stealing information that could be used in identity theft or in illegal transactions. A further incentive for cybercriminals to breach smartphone security is that unlike computers, each phone “has a direct link to money” through the SIM card, Denis Maslennikov, Kaspersky Lab’s senior malware analyst said.

Criminals are able, for instance, to implant so-called trojan horses that prompt phones to send SMSes to premium numbers. “In 2012, the whole malware industry will become a fact we will have to deal with,” he warned. — AFP

Chinese court hears Apple appeal on iPad trademark Proview Electronics seeks worldwide rights to iPad name

ANAHEIM: In this file photo, Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live, gives the keynote address and a preview of Windows 8 at the Microsoft Build Windows conference at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. A test, or ìbetaî, version of the revamped operating system was unveiled yesterday in Barcelona, nudging it a step closer to its anticipated release next fall. - AP

Microsoft sees future in Windows 8 amid iPad rise SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft is scrambling to preserve what’s left of its kingdom. Since the company released its Windows operating system in 1985, most of the sequels have been variations on the same theme. Not that it mattered much. Regardless of the software’s quality, Microsoft managed to remain at the center of the personal computing universe. The stakes are much different as Microsoft Corp. puts the finishing touches on Windows 8 - perhaps the most important piece of software the Redmond, Wash., company has designed since co-founder Bill Gates won the contract to build the first operating system for IBM Corp.’s personal computer in the early 1980s.

A test, or “beta,” version of the revamped operating system will be unveiled yesterday in Barcelona, nudging Windows 8 a step closer to its anticipated mass market release in September or October. The company will offer the most extensive look at Windows 8’s progress since it released an early version of the system to developers five months ago.

Microsoft designed Windows 8 to help it perform a difficult balancing act. The company hopes to keep milking revenue from a PC market that appears to be past its prime, while trying to gain a stronger foothold in the more fertile field of mobile devices. It’s a booming market that, so far, has been defined and dominated by Apple Inc.’s trend-setting iPhone and iPad and Google Inc.’s ubiquitous Android software.

“Microsoft’s future path is riding on Windows 8 and its success,” said Gartner Inc. analyst David Cearley. “This is a chance for Microsoft to re-establish itself in a market where it’s becoming increasingly irrelevant.”

If Windows 8 is a hit, it could also help lift the fortunes of struggling PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Besides giving businesses and consumers a reason

to consider new PC purchases, Windows 8 is expected to spawn a new breed of hybrid machines that will be part tablet computer, part laptop.

If Windows 8 is a flop, however, it will increase the pressure on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. His 12-year reign has been marred by the company’s troubles adapting to an Internet-driven upheaval. As Microsoft has stumbled, faster-innovating companies such as Apple and Google have elbowed their way into a position to steer the direction of computing for the next decade or two. Ballmer, known for his zealous faith in Microsoft, hails Windows 8 as the catalyst for an exciting - and lucrative - new era at the 37-year-old software maker.

Investors seem to be believers, too.

Microsoft’s stock gained 52 cents Tuesday to close at $31.87, the highest closing price since April 2008. The shares have climbed by 23 percent so far this year. By comparison, Apple’s stock has surged 32 percent during the same period, while Google’s shares have dropped 4 percent.

Microsoft’s financial performance traditionally improves when it releases a new version of Windows. The last upgrade came in October 2009 when Windows 7 hit the market.

The company has sold more than 525 million copies of Windows 7 since then. Part of Window 7’s success stemmed from pentup demand; the previous version, Vista, was so clunky and buggy that many PC users stuck with the system they already had on their machines or switched to Apple’s technology on Mac computers. Windows 8 is radically different from its predecessors. The system won’t even have Microsoft’s familiar “Start” menu. All applications are spread across a mosaic of tiles, as part of a design Microsoft calls “Metro.” —AP

Spam in January 2012: Love, Politics and Sport he main topics exploited in spam mailings in January were Valentine’s Day, elections in Russia and the USA as well as the upcoming London Olympics. The lion’s share of Valentine’s spam was distributed by partner programs offering flowers for sale, with program participants getting a cut from every customer they attracted. One of the traditional types of spam at this time of year is malicious messages imitating Valentine’s Day e-cards. Users should be particularly vigilant with all e-cards received from people they don’t know, especially those with an .exe link.

The first month of 2012 saw spammers making active use of upcoming elections in both Russia and the USA. The mailings contained messages canvassing for potential candidates and included unflattering videos of their opponents.

Interestingly, French spam lacked any political overtone despite forthcoming presidential elections there. The spam analysts at Kaspersky Lab expect no letup in the amount of political spam in the coming year compared with 2011.

Sporting themes have also become “newsworthy” for the fraudsters. The 2012 Olympic Games is the bait exploited by “Nigerian” spammers to distribute emails containing fake notifications of Olympic lottery wins. Advanced Internet users have no difficulty in recognizing them as fraudulent messages, but less experi-

T

enced users can easily fall victim to such scams.

Sources of spam India and Indonesia remain the two biggest sources of spam. South Korea rounded off the top three in January after rising two places. The first six places in the rating of the most popular spam sources were occupied by Asian and Latin American countries.

Phishing According to data gathered from the cloud-based threat monitoring system Kaspersky Security Networki, phishing links are clicked from mail clients in about 65% of cases. In about 26% of cases phishing links are clicked directly from Internet browsers, including links clicked on webmail interfaces and social networking sites. Financial and e-pay organizations as well as banks are traditionally the prime targets for phishing attacks. In January, almost a quarter of the antiphishing detections registered by Kaspersky Lab came from phishing sites designed to steal users’ bank and e-pay accounts. Online stores and e-auctions were the second most popular target for the phishers followed by social networks and search engines in third and fourth places respectively. The full version of the spam activity report for January 2012 is available at: www.securelist.com.

GUANGZHOU: A Chinese court yesterday began hearing Apple’s appeal of a ruling against its right to use the iPad trademark in China. Apple Inc is in several legal battles with Proview Electronics Co, which the US company says sold it the rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries, including China, in 2009. Apple contends that Proview has refused to honor the agreement and has not indicated any willingness to settle with Proview, a maker of computer monitors and LED lights.

Walking into the Guangdong High Court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou yesterday, lawyers for Proview expressed confidence, but also indicated the company remained open to settling with Apple. “I don’t rule out the possibility,” Xie Xianghui, a lawyer representing Shenzhen Proview Technology, the company’s main Chinese subsidiary, told reporters. On Tuesday, Proview announced it was seeking to regain worldwide rights to the iPad name and is suing Apple Inc. in the US for alleged fraud and unfair competition, hoping to have a 2009 sale of the trademark ruled void. Proview was previously only claiming rights to the iPad name in China.

Apart from having the trademark sale voided, it also is seeking unspecified compensation, a share of Apple’s profits from alleged “unfair competition” and an order for Apple to stop using the trademarks. So far, two lower courts in Guangdong have sided with Proview on the issue, while a Hong Kong court ruled in Apple’s favor. Last week, Shanghai’s High Court rejected Proview’s effort to get Apple to stop selling the popular tablet computer under the iPad name. Proview, once a major

CHONGQING: A customer tries out Apple’s iPad 2 at a retail shop in China. — AP computer monitor manufacturer, launched a device it called iPAD, or Internet Personal Access Device, in 2000 but it was not a market hit. Apple launched its popular iPad tablet in 2010.

Proview contends Apple intentionally misled it when it bought iPad trademarks through a special

Tech giants get lecture on perils of gadget worship LONG BEACH: Silicon Valley giants at the prestigious TED innovation conference here on Tuesday were warned that the worship of technology will ruin the world before it saves it. Activist and author Paul Gilding made a case for the peril of obsession with modern technology and how lust for the latest gadgets is distracting people from acting to stop global disasters such as climate change. “The Earth is full,” argued Gilding, author of “The Great Disruption,” in which he reasons that as technology drives efficiency and economic growth it powers breakneck consumption that the planet cannot endure.

“It is full of us. It is full of our stuff, full of our waste, and full of our demands,” he said. “We have created too much stuff. This is not a philosophical statement, this is just science.” The world’s population has topped seven billion people and resources are being devoured faster than they can be replenished, he said. “Our approach is simply unsustainable,” said Gilding, the former director of Greenpeace International.

“Thanks to those pesky laws of physics, it will stop. The system will break.” On a TED stage famous for presentations from leading entrepreneurs developing ways to make the world a better place, Gilding argued that technology was making matters worse.

With China and other developing countries booming, in many cases thanks to technology, the world’s resources are being rapidly devoured, the author argued. “The Earth doesn’t care what we need,” Gilding said. “Mother Nature doesn’t negotiate; she just sets rules and administers consequences.” He cited national debt crises, the

Occupy Wall Street movement and rising global temperatures as signs the breakdown of modern life is underway. “We’ve had 50 years of warnings and pretty much done nothing to change course,” he lamented, his eyes watering with tears.

“Those people who think technology will get us through are right; they are only missing that it takes a crisis to get us going... We really do love a good crisis and this one is a master.”

The head of the nonprofit X Prize Foundation, which is devoted to technology breakthroughs for the good of mankind, was then brought on stage to provide a counter-point to Gilding’s dark vision. “I’m not saying that we don’t have our share of problems-climate change, species extinction, resource shortage-but ultimately we have the ability to see problems way in advance and knock them down,” Peter Diamandis said. He argued that rapidly improving sensors, robotics, digital medicine, synthetic biology and computing power in the Internet “cloud” provided hope for a better future. He added that a Slingshot device about the size of a college dorm room refrigerator and capable of cheaply making drinking water from even the most tainted of sources was being tested with the backing of a beverage company. Diamandis also heads Singularity University in Silicon Valley, which serves as a training ground and academic boot camp for entrepreneurs, inventors and technology industry executives. The strongest defense against overpopulation is making people educated and healthy, he said, adding: “I have extraordinary confidence in the innovators who are out there.” — AFP

purpose company called IP Application Development Ltd. that concealed it was acting on Apple’s behalf.

Experts in the high-tech field say such tactics are common given the secrecy surrounding new product launches, especially Apple’s. — AP

Chinese relish crack in Great Firewall, log on to Facebook SHANGHAI: Some Chinese Internet users have this week been able to access blocked websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, relishing the newfound freedom although the reason for the breach in China’s Great Firewall of censorship was a mystery. China blocks most foreign social networking sites (SNS) out of fear that unfettered access would lead to instability. Chinese SNS firms have filled the void by offering similar products that censor topics the government may find sensitive. “I can suddenly access YouTube! No need to breach the firewall!” Weibo user Arvin Xie posted on Tuesday.

Weibo is a microblogging platform, similar to Twitter, that allows users to post short messages and follow other users. Internet users including students on university campuses reported that they were able to access YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on their mobile phones and desktops in the afternoon and evening on Monday and Tuesday. “I used Facebook for the first time yesterday,” Zhang Wenjin, 23, a student at Shanghai’s prestigious Jiao Tong University told Reuters on Tuesday. “I went on and took a look. I’m sure there were suddenly a lot of people who signed up on Facebook yesterday,” Zhang said, adding that she had also signed up for an account. It is unclear what caused the crack in China’s Great Firewall, as the blocking of websites and censoring of search results for politically sensitive terms is known, or how widespread it was. Yesterday, access to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter was again blocked. Some users in China pay for a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass the blocking of websites and censoring of searches.

Over the weekend, Chinese users also gained access to Google Inc’s social networking site, Google+ and flooded US President Barack Obama’s page on the site with calls for greater freedom in the world’s most populous country. Google+ is currently blocked through regular desktop access but its mobile application, which let users in China access the site, has become accessible recently. China, with more than 500 million Internet users, is the world’s largest and most vibrant Internet community. — Reuters

EMC Greenplum named as a Leader in Enterprise Hadoop Solutions MC Corporation yesterday announced that Forrester Research, Inc has positioned EMC Greenplum as a Leader in its February 2012 report, “The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Hadoop Solutions Q1 2012”. Forrester regards Hadoop as the nucleus of the next-generation EDW in the cloud stating, “Hadoop implements the core features that are at the heart of most modern EDWs: cloud-facing architectures, MPP, in-database analytics, mixed workload management, and a hybrid storage layer.”

In recognizing EMC Greenplum as a Leader, Forrester notes that EMC Greenplum is the first mover in Hadoop appliances becoming “the first EDW vendor to provide a full-featured enterprisegrade Hadoop appliance and roll out an appliance family that integrates its Hadoop, EDW, and data integration in a single rack.” The report also states that EMC Greenplum “provides its own open source Hadoop distribution software, integrates EMC’s

E

strong storage product portfolio in its appliances, and has an extensive professional services force of EMC technical consultants and data scientists with Hadoop expertise.”

EMC’s Hadoop offerings can be found in the Greenplum HD product line. Greenplum HD enables organizations to take advantage of Big Data analytics without the overhead and complexity of a project built from scratch. Available in a packaged software distribution as well as the Greenplum HD Data Computing Appliance Module, Greenplum HD provides a complete platform including installation, training, global support, and value-add beyond simple packaging of the Apache Hadoop distribution. Recently, the company announced that EMC Isilon(r) Scale-out NAS with HDFS, combined with Greenplum HD, delivers powerful data analytics on a flexible, highly-scalable and efficient storage platform. This new enterprise-

ready solution combines scale-out NAS data storage and Hadoop analytics capabilities with services, training and certification, and customer support from a single vendor, ensuring a more seamless user experience. By combining EMC Isilon scale-out NAS with EMC Greenplum HD, EMC reduces the complexities associated with Hadoop deployments and allows enterprises to easily extract business value from unstructured data. Scott Yara, senior vice president of products, Greenplum, a division of EMC, said: “EMC Greenplum is at the center of Big Data and analytics. We recognize that Hadoop is an important component of a complete Big Data analytics platform that requires rapid execution of advanced, embedded analytics against structured and unstructured data. As a pioneer and leader in this space, we’re proud to help our customers improve analytic productivity to drive more effective decision making and outcomes.”

H E A LT H & S C I E NC E

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

Remote-control surgery grows, despite inconclusive evidence New technology increasingly replacing traditional methods

LOUISIANA: In this file photograph provided by Chimp Haven Inc, Flora, 29, rests with her unnamed baby, two days after staffers discovered she had given birth.— AP

La. chimpanzees pregnant despite vasectomies SHREVEPORT: Female chimpanzees are going on birth control and male chimps are getting another round of vasectomies at a sanctuary in Louisiana after workers discovered two surprise pregnancies. The director of the retirement home for research chimpanzees says an employee noticed one of the chimpanzees, Flora, had given birth on Valentine’s Day. Linda Brent, the head of Chimp Haven, says that

prompted pregnancy tests for seven female chimpanzees. An ultrasound confirmed that 42-year-old Ginger is pregnant and due in the summer. Brent says five males will get another, more complex vasectomy. She is not sure if at least one of them was able to grow back tubes that were originally cut out or if the initial operation was not done as well as it could have been. — AP

The Lithe life PHILADELPHIA: Thirteen women in running tights and racerback tanks are waiting for a Lithe Method exercise class to start, and there isn’t a love handle, a muffin top, or an ounce of back fat in the entire room.

The Lithe Method studio in Philadelphia’s Old City is such a belly-fat-free zone that even a five-month-pregnant attendee is rocking muscular arms and amazingly tight quads. “I started lithing last year to help me get in shape for my wedding,” said Carrie Maio, 30, a pharmaceutical researcher, after class. “Now that I’m pregnant, the only thing that’s changed is my belly. Everything else is pretty intact.” That’s the magic of Lithe.

Fitness buff Lauren Boggi introduced her Lithe Method five years ago, and the locally grown exercise style is becoming a bona fide fitness phenom. Some of the city’s smartest women swear it’s the secret to their shapely, but not skinny, yet fiercely toned bods. Lithe is so popular in certain Philadelphia circles it’s not just an adjective

OLD CITY: Lauren Boggi Goldenberg, 34, a mother of a five-month-old, leads a Lithe Method class in her Old City studio. — MCT anymore. It’s accepted as a noun - as in lither - and a verb - as in, I’m getting ready to lithe. Allison Lubert, owner of Philly’s Sweet Freedom vegan bakery, lithes on the regular as does Christine Speer Lejeune, deputy editor of Philadelphia Magazine.

Well-known local lithers include CBS3 news anchor Lesley Van Arsdall, a new mom, as well as Beka Rendell, special-events planner and daughter-in-law of former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (yes, she is preggers). “It’s a little bit like a cult,” said Kelly Boyd, owner of Center City public relations firm KB Consulting, who says lithing keeps her perennially bathing-suit ready. “It’s like a girls’ club full of fit and healthy women.”

Boggi, 34, a tiny-waisted mother of a 6month-old, got her start in the fitness world as a Pilates instructor. The former cheerleader added some cheer and dance moves to her routine and the Lithe Method was born. Yes, the Lithe Method and Pilates are related, Boggi says, but are more distant cousins than direct descendants. “I like to think of it as one part cardio, one part cheerleading, one part sculpting,” she said.

At the moment, Boggi offers 38 kinds of Lithe Method classes, such as “Fab-u-legs,” which tones thighs, and “Arm-istice,” which

promises to eviscerate bat wings. Classes last about an hour, and getting through them requires mastering Boggi’s breathing technique - a deep inhale through the nose followed by a sharp exhale through pursed lips. The movements are low-impact and challenging. Hard-bodied instructors lead lithers through weights, rounds of squats against a ballet bar, and a series of jumps that require holding on to rubbery resistance bands that hang from the ceiling.

Ouch! Where’s the clock? How much longer? Pain aside, the Lithe Method works because it strengthens the region between the chest and the knees, commonly referred to as the core. A strong core helps us stand up taller, run faster, and look great in, and out, of our clothing. “Lithing helped me build my strength,” said Kate Spiller, 27, who started lithing last year to cross-train for the Philadelphia Marathon. “I can see a difference in my curves.”

Next stop for Boggi is lifestyle. That, of course, includes a website, www.lithemethod.com, and a blog. And food. Boggi teamed in April with Philadelphia chefs Lauren Hooks and James Flail to introduce Lithe foods, a collection of smoothies, salads, and low-carb foods designed to keep folks lean. In June, Boggi introduced a line of workout-to-cocktailhour gear called Lithe Wear. Local women’swear designer Bela Shehu is behind these sleek moisture-wicking tops and yoga pants with ruching. There is also a pair of $90 leather leggings.

Boggi sells water bottles and lunch totes, too, in ocean blue, her favorite color.

And twice a year, lithers can take a trip with fellow enthusiasts: The Lithe Escape is a well-being jaunt taking 12 to 15 lithers to a tropical island paradise to relax and lithe.

The Lithe experience pulled in a little more than $1.5 million in sales last year, Boggi says. This year, look for more Lithe expansion. In March, Boggi will open a new studio on the Main Line in Haverford Square.

The Lithe Method New York is scheduled to open in late spring, and Boggi is working on a deal in Los Angeles. “It’s all grown so organically,” Boggi said. “I’m not pushing it on people. They just want more. It’s become a way of life.” The first time Boggi heard the word lithe she was 10 and watching “The Nutcracker.” A man sitting next to her described the dancers as “lithe.” Boggi went home and looked it up.

“I fell in love with the word,” said Boggi, who stands 4 feet, 10 inches tall. “I knew then that I would make being lithe my life’s goal. Look at me: I’m short, I’m not skinny, and I’m definitely curvy.” So Boggi became captain of the cheerleading squad at Vineland High School. She went on to cheer at the University of South Carolina, but in her sophomore year she tore her rotator cuff. She began doing Pilates as a way to rehab it. After college, Boggi moved to New York, where she got small parts acting in “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light.” She started teaching Pilates to make ends meet, but something was missing. “I didn’t have that hot, tight cheerleader body I once had,” she said. She wanted it back. She began adding weights, push-ups, and sit-ups to her routines. Then, fed up with acting, she moved back to Philadelphia and invested $20,000 in a Philadelphia studio she named Lithe Pilates.

Then she started adding lunges and weights, and changed the name to Lithe Evolved Studio. Next came the bars and hanging cardio bands. Finally, she settled on the Lithe Method as a name. “It was so far from Pilates, I just couldn’t call it that anymore,” Boggi said. Back then Boggi had just 25 regulars. Today, with her three locations (one is in Rittenhouse Square), she has more than 1,000 clients. Her 22 Lithe teachers all have perfectly lithe bodies, naturally. And while Philadelphia still may not be one of America’s healthiest cities, its change in attitude toward fitness has helped her grow. “Philly is one of the toughest cities to introduce something new in,” Boggi said. “But this method is all Philly. Lithe straight out of Philly.” — MCT

CHICAGO: Chubby, pink and anesthetized into unconsciousness and paralysis, 16-week-old Ian Lund was a small bump under blue drapes on an operating table at University of Chicago Medicine. Perched above him was a robot, with arms like a three-legged spider. One long instrument, containing a camera, had been inserted through the baby’s bellybutton. Two others had been slipped into small incisions in his left side, each with tiny operating tools. All three arms were controlled by a surgeon sitting in a boothlike console facing a wall several feet away.

Operating the surgical instruments with joystick-like controls and the camera with his foot, Dr Mohan Gundeti carefully snipped away a blocked portion of Ian’s left ureter, the tube that carries urine from his left kidney to his bladder, and sewed the healthy part back to his kidney.

The operation was a success; Ian would go home the next day. His mother, Denise Lund, burst into tears upon hearing the news. “Can I tackle-hug you?” she asked, rising to embrace Gundeti. The robot, known as the da Vinci Surgical System, was built by Intuitive Surgical Inc. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company has sold more than 1,500 robotic systems in the US Intuitive Surgical is a medical sensation, transforming surgery in some fields, especially gynecology and urology, in about a decade.

More than 250,000 hysterectomies and prostate removal surgeries were done with the da Vinci last year, according to the company. Surgeons are expanding use of the machines to other procedures, from gastric bypasses to thyroid cancer surgeries. Advocates of the devices say they make minimally invasive surgery possible for more patients, helping them recover more quickly and in less pain.

But patients wondering whether they should opt for robot-assisted surgery should be aware that the choice is sometimes more complex than the messages presented by hospitals and the company. Despite a flood of scientific papers associated with the da Vinci, there is a dearth of randomized, controlled studies showing patients do best if procedures are performed with the da Vinci. Federal oversight of medical devices such as the da Vinci is light. There have been voluntary recalls - more than a dozen since 2005 - involving problems with software and surgical instruments. Lawsuits have helped raise concerns that some surgeons are using the devices before the doctors are adequately trained. This month, a jury awarded a Chicago man’s family $7.5 million after he died following a robot-assisted removal of his spleen in 2007 at the University of Illinois Hospital. Neither the hospital nor Intuitive was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The family alleged that the man’s small intestine was punctured twice during surgery, causing a fatal infection. The man’s surgeon testified it was the first time he had used the robot on a living person, according to court documents. “The robot is the symbol of the current American health care marketplace - rapid widespread adoption with little to no evidence to support it and increased costs,” said Dr Martin Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author of a study of 400 hospital websites that found they were making unsupported claims about robot-assisted surgery.

The technology that eventually gave birth to the da Vinci robot was created in the 1950s by engineers who wanted to develop robotic arms that could be maneuvered from afar to handle hazardous materials or go places people cannot easily go, such as in space or at the bottom of an ocean. Eventually people wondered whether the technology, which had been expanded and refined, could be used to improve surgery.

Before the da Vinci, minimally invasive surgery was accomplished with hand-held long instruments and a camera introduced through guiding tubes inserted through small incisions.

Known as laparoscopic surgery, that approach spared patients a long scar while potentially reducing complications, pain and recovery time.

But laparoscopic surgery proved hard for many surgeons to learn. The instruments had limited movement compared with the human wrist, and the technique was difficult to adapt to more complex procedures. The engineers behind the da Vinci aimed to solve those problems, said company CEO Gary Guthart, an engineer who has been with the company since 1996. The da Vinci system would let the surgeon sit and move tools designed to mimic the natural motion of the wrist. The tools would move intuitively. Minimally invasive surgery would be easier to learn. A special video camera would offer a three-dimensional image. Makary said he remembers when he saw a da Vinci system for the first time, at a surgery conference. Surgeons crowded the exhibit booth, vying for a chance to try the robot. “It was the hottest thing,” he said.

By 2009, US News and World Report had put the da Vinci robot on the cover of its best-hospitals issue. “The public perception was if you don’t have a robot, you aren’t one of the best hospitals,” said gynecologic oncologist Dr John Chan, a surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco. According to Intuitive, about twothirds of top-tier US hospitals - including 15 in Chicago - have at least one da Vinci surgical system, which cost $1.1 million to slightly more

than $2 million, plus a yearly maintenance contract that can cost up to $180,000. Despite the enthusiasm, there is not conclusive evidence on whether robot-assisted surgery is worse, better or the same than other approaches.

A 2011 review of studies involving robotassisted partial nephrectomy, a surgery to remove part of the kidney, found no randomized, controlled clinical trials comparing approaches, but also no indication the procedure was less safe or led to worse outcomes. Last month, researchers reported that they found no randomized, controlled clinical trials, pro or con, on robot-assisted surgery for gynecological cancers. Doctors are divided over the benefits. “The marketing largely has sort of suggested that (with robot-assisted surgery) everything is better: better potency, better continence,” said Dr William Catalona, director of the clinical prostate cancer program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

“Actually, that turns out to be untrue.”

Even the data on one of the most popular robot-assisted surgeries, the radical prostatectomy, are mixed. The surgery is a difficult one, requiring the surgeon to remove the cancerous prostate without damaging nerves that control a man’s continence. Give the nerves too wide a berth, and cancer may be left behind. Get too aggressive, and the nerves may be damaged, risking impotence or incontinence. One 2010 review of studies comparing approaches to the prostatectomy questioned whether valid conclusions could be drawn about one technique over another at all due to the lack of strong studies. “I believe that robotic prostatectomy is not only not better than open prostatectomy, it is not as good,” wrote Catalona, who has per-

being guided by the feel of tissue, surgeons must learn to be guided by their eyes, as the robot offers no sense of touch. They must develop hand-eye coordination without seeing their hands. Some of that can be learned using Intuitive’s surgical simulator, on cadavers or animals, and in being mentored by more experienced surgeons. But eventually, a surgeon has to hone his or her skills on living people.

Researchers have tried to determine how long it takes surgeons to master the technique, delivering the same results a patient would have gotten with a traditional surgical approach.

Intuitive estimates the number is about 20 cases.

Other studies have put the number higher, at dozens of cases to well more than 1,000. “There is no doubt experience matters,” said Shalhav, who has done more than 1,500 robot-assisted surgeries. “At about 500 cases, something clicked.” At that point, he felt he could handle the most complex cases, he said: “Until then, everything was with learning.”

Juan Fernandez was Dr George Salti’s first robot case, in January 2007. Salti’s attorney, David Hall, said the surgeon had been fully trained on Intuitive’s simulator program and had obser ved a dozen procedures on human patients. He also brought in a surgeon with lots of robot experience to co-manage the operation. Hall said Salti and the other surgeons in the operating room said the procedure was uneventful. But Fernandez became desperately ill soon after the operation. Two small holes were discovered in his small intestine. Hall said there was no evidence the surgeons caused the holes, but the jury disagreed, awarding the family $7.5 million. In a way, baby Ian is a living comparison of open versus robot-assisted surgeries. Weeks before Ian’s da Vinci procedure, Gundeti, who

CHICAGO: Dr Dennis Liu, left, a specialist in pediatric urology, squeezes past Dr Mohan Gundeti, right, who performs da Vinci robotic surgery on Ian Lund, age 16 weeks, at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago. — MCT formed more than 6,000 open prostatectomies and is a vocal critic of the push for robot-assisted surgery, in an email. Dr Gregory Zagaja, a surgeon who helped develop the robot-assisted surgery program at University of Chicago Medicine, said robot-assisted prostatectomies are as good as open.

“If you look at (the scientific literature), cancer control and urinary control, they are pretty much equal,” said Zagaja, who has performed about 1,800 robot-assisted procedures. “The perceived benefit is that they will be able to get back to full-functional capacity faster.” Intuitive CEO Guthart said there are 4,600 peer-reviewed clinical papers involving the da Vinci system, including more than 500 comparative studies.

“The literature is incredibly deep,” he said. He said there are not many blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trials because it is hard to do such trials in surgery in general. Patients don’t want to leave decisions about surgery up to what amounts to a coin toss, experts say.

Those studies will never happen, said urological surgeon Dr Arieh Shalhav, who founded the robot-assisted surgery program at University of Chicago Medicine. “That shift to robot-assisted surgery was so fast.” Guthart said he disagrees that the jury is still out on robot-assisted surgery and cited a number of studies showing benefits, including a 2011 analysis of studies done by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health that found statistically significant differences favoring the robot over open surgery and laparoscopic surgery in some areas. But that study warned that the evidence wasn’t as strong as it could be, and that it was unclear how meaningful those differences were.

Shalhav said the popularity of the robotassisted surgery is evidence itself. “We should not ignore the ‘wisdom of the crowd,’” he wrote in an email. For patients unsure of whether they want to join the crowd, one key variable is the experience of the surgeon. Studies have shown that surgeons learning to operate using the da Vinci face a steep learning curve. Accustomed to

has performed about 112 robot-assisted cases, operated on the child’s other ureter. It was blocked to such an extent that his kidney was being seriously damaged, and the baby was not large enough to have the operation done with the robot yet. So Gundeti did it the old-fashioned way. He made a 2-inch incision in Ian’s right side and did the work directly with his hands, holding tiny tools. Ian went home about three days after the operation, his parents said.

“It was definitely more sore when he was cut versus the robotic,” said his mother, Denise Lund.

“It was completely different.” Denise Lund is a veteran of the open surgery too, having had the same problem as a child. Talking about it, she reaches to her side. “I still have a scar,” she said.

“But they fixed me.”

WHAT TO ASK YOUR SURGEON Here are some questions patients should ask their surgeon when considering a robot-assisted procedure: When did you do your first robot-assisted procedure? How were you trained? How many robot-assisted cases have you done? How often do you do them? How many robot-assisted cases have you done of my procedure?

Are you more comfortable doing this type of procedure laparoscopically, robot-assisted or the traditional open approach? What are the pros and cons of each?

What happens if the robot malfunctions during surgery or you have to convert to open surgery? How many open cases of my procedure have you performed? How often do you do them?

What kind of training on the da Vinci do the nurses and other surgeons in the operating room get? How experienced are they? How experienced are they in converting to an open procedure mid-surgery?

Will you be mentoring another surgeon during my procedure? Will he or she be doing any of it? If so, how many cases has he or she performed? — MCT

EU breast cancer deaths ‘to drop 9%’ in 2012 GENEVA: The number of women dying from breast cancer in the European Union is expected to drop by nine percent this year thanks to advances in treatments, researchers said yesterday. In the 20-49 age group specifically, the death rate in 2012 will fall by as much as 13 percent, the Italian-Swiss study found. Breast cancer is the leading cause of female cancer deaths in the EU, accounting for 15 percent of all cancer deaths. Although deaths from the disease are declining, the incidence rate has “probably” not gone down, according to the paper published in the journal “Annals of Oncology.”

There will be nearly 1.3 million deaths from all forms of cancer in the EU this year,

researchers estimate — 717,398 men and 565,703 women. “The fact that there will be substantial falls in deaths from breast cancer, not only in middle age, but also in the young, indicates that important advancements in treatment and management are playing a major role in the decline in death rates,” said Carlo La Vecchia, a professor at M ilan University’s faculty of medicine and one of the leaders of the study. Overall cancer death rates will be 139 per 100,000 men and 85 per 100,000 women in 2012, a fall of 10 and seven percent respectively compared to 2007 data.

Deaths from lung cancer are continuing to rise among women but declining among men

for whom it is the deadliest cancer. Rates of pancreatic cancer are rising among both men and women, a finding which surprised the study authors given the decline in smoking.

“Smoking and being overweight or obese are known to be risk factors for pancreatic cancer and so the increasing prevalence of obesity may be a reason,” said La Veccia. “Another may be better diagnosis and certification. We do not know the causes of 70 percent of pancreatic cancers, but this rise is certainly not reassuring.” The study was co-authored by cancer specialist Professor Fabio Levi from Lausanne University and used data on EU cancer deaths for the period 1970-2007 to produce a 2012 estimate.—AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

H E A LT H Fake Avastin contained several chemicals, no drug WASHINGTON: Counterfeit versions of the popular cancer drug Avastin obtained by European regulators contain a variety of chemicals but not the active ingredient found in the genuine drug, according to drugmaker Roche. The Swiss drugmaker said in a statement that an analysis of the contents of the vials picked up traces of 10 substances, ranging from starch and salt to solvent chemicals like acetone, which is used in paint thinner. Medical experts said Tuesday the chemicals are unlikely to harm patients, provided they are not taken in large doses. “They’re not great to have in your system, but depending on the concentration, your body can probably handle them pretty well,” said Dr Miguel Fernandez of the South Texas Poison Center in San Antonio. “It’s the dose that makes the poison.” Incidents of counterfeiting reported by drugmakers have increased steadily over the decade to more than 1,700 worldwide last year. The rise comes as pharmaceutical supply chains increasingly stretch across continents. More than 80 percent of the active ingredients used in US pharmaceuticals are now manufactured overseas, according to a recent congressional report.

Roche sells Avastin in 120 countries and manufacturers and packages the drug at eight sites worldwide. Roche did not provide detail on the level of the chemicals found in the vials. “The counterfeit product is not safe or effective and should not be used,” the company said in a statement.

The drug is one of the most widely used cancer drugs in the world, generating

about $6 billion a year in sales. Avastin is used to treat cancers of the colon, lung, kidney and brain. The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the source of counterfeit Avastin imported and distributed by a US wholesaler to doctors here.

British regulators have confirmed that 41 vials of fake Avastin were shipped to the US Five have been recovered. Authorities in Europe have traced the counterfeit product back through distributors in Britain, Denmark and Switzerland. The original country of origin is still unclear. Dr Philip Cole of Johns Hopkins University said several of the substances appear to be common to biotech drugs, including starch, salt and benzoic acid.

“But I don’t think any of them are useful for getting the functional effect of Avastin,” said Cole, who directs the pharmacology program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Cole said the presence of the solvent acetone was concerning, since it does not have a medical use. “We do make some acetone in our bodies as a byproduct of various metabolic pathways,” Cole said.

“Small quantities are not dangerous, but it certainly can be toxic at higher levels.”

Experts say gauging harm from a counterfeit cancer treatment is very difficult because drug infusions are spaced out over weeks and months. A colon cancer patient, for example, might receive 18 to 20 Avastin infusions over six months. Missing one dose seems unlikely to have a dramatic effect on survival odds, but it’s not provable either way.— AP

Oetzi the iceman predisposed to heart problems: experts VIENNA: Oetzi the iceman, whose 5,000-yearold remains were found in the Alps 21 years ago, might have died of a heart attack had he lived longer and was allergic to milk products, new research suggests. After analyzing raw data gained from a sequencing of Oetzi’s DNA, researchers have discovered he was genetically predisposed to cardiovascular disease, and that he already had a hardening of the arteries when he was killed. “The evidence that such a genetic predisposition already existed in Oetzi’s lifetime is of huge interest to us,” said anthropologist Albert Zink and bioinformatics expert Andreas Keller. “It indicates that cardiovascular disease is by no means an illness chiefly associated with modern lifestyles. We are now eager to use these data to help us explore further how these diseases developed.” The findings by the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) in Italy, and Tuebingen and Saarland universities in Germany, were published in the new issue of the magazine Nature Communications. Their findings also indicated

that Oetzi’s ancestors had migrated from the Middle East, with their genetic heritage most common today in geographically isolated areas and islands such as Sardinia and Corsica. They also confirmed that Oetzi had brown eyes and hair, and was allergic to milk products, supporting the theory that despite the increasing spread of agriculture and dairying at the time, lactose intolerance was still common. The ability to digest milk throughout adulthood developed steadily over the next millennia alongside the domestication of animals, the researchers said.

Oetzi’s mummified remains were discovered in September 1991 in the Oetztal Alpshence the nickname-in South Tyrol, northern Italy, by two German hikers, in what became an archaeological sensation. Research showed that he suffered a violent death, with an arrow severing a major blood vessel. He is believed to have died around the age of 45, was about 1.60 meters tall and weighed 50 kilogram. His remains are now at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. — AFP

Autism not diagnosed as early in minority children Minority children also experience more severe symptoms WASHINGTON: Early diagnosis is considered key for autism, but minority children tend to be diagnosed later than white children. Some new work is beginning to try to uncover why and to raise awareness of the warning signs so more parents know they can seek help even for a toddler. “The biggest thing I want parents to know is we can do something about it to help your child,” says Dr Rebecca Landa, autism director at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute, who is exploring the barriers that different populations face in getting that help.

Her preliminary research suggests even when diagnosed in toddlerhood, minority youngsters have more severe developmental delays than their white counterparts. She says cultural differences in how parents view developmental milestones, and how they interac t with doc tors, may play a role.

Consider: Tots tend to point before they talk, but pointing is rude in some cultures and may not be missed by a new parent, Landa says. Or maybe mom’s worried that her son isn’t talking yet but the family matriarch, her grandmother, says don’t worry - Cousin Harry spoke late, too, and he’s fine. Or maybe the pediatrician dismissed the parents’ concern, and they were taught not to question doctors.

It’s possible to detect autism as early as 14 months of age, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that youngsters be screened for it starting at 18 months. While there’s no cure, behavioral and other therapies are thought to work best when started very young. Yet on average, USchildren aren’t diagnosed until they ’re about 41/2 years old, according to government statistics. And troubling studies show that white kids may be diagnosed with autism as much as a year and a half earlier than black and other minority children, says University of Pennsylvania autism expert David Mandell, who led much of that work. Socioeconomics can play a role, if minority families have less access to health care or less education.

But Mandell says the full story is more complex. One of his own studies, for example, found that black children with autism were more likely than whites to get the wrong diagnosis during their first visit with a specialist. At Kennedy Krieger, Landa leads a well-known toddler treatment program and decided to look more closely at those youngsters to begin examining the racial and ethnic disparity. She found something startling: Even when autism was detected early, minority children had more severe symptoms than their white counterparts.

By one measure of language development,

the minority patients lagged four months behind the white autistic kids, Landa reported in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. It was a small study, with 84 participants, just 19 of whom were black, Asian or Hispanic. But the enrolled families all were middle class, Landa said, meaning socioeconomics couldn’t explain the difference. One of the study’s participants, Marlo Lemon, ignored family and friends who told her not to worry that her son Matthew, then 14 months, wasn’t babbling. Boys are slower to talk than girls, they said. “I just knew something was wrong,” recalls Lemon, of Randallstown, Md. Her pediatrician listened and knew to send the family to a government “early intervention” program that, like in most states, provides free testing and treatment for young children’s developmental delays.

Matthew was enrolled in developmental therapy by age 18 months, and was formally diagnosed with autism when he turned 2 and Lemon enrolled him in Kennedy Krieger’s toddler program as well. In many of his therapy classes, Lemon says, Matthew was the only African-American.

Now 7, Matthew still doesn’t speak but

Lemon says he is making huge strides, learning letters by tracing them in shaving cream to tap his sensory side, for example, and using a computer-like tablet that “speaks” when he pushes the right buttons.

But Lemon quit working full-time so she could shuttle Matthew from therapy to therapy every day. “I want other minority families to get involved early, be relentless,” says Lemon, who now works part-time counseling families about how to find services early. For a campaign called “Why wait and see?” Landa is developing videos that show typical and atypical behaviors and plans to ask Maryland pediatricians to show them to parents.

Among early warning signs: Not responding to their name by 12 months, or pointing to show interest by 14 months. Avoiding eye contact, wanting to play alone, not smiling when smiled at. Saying few words. Landa says between 18 and 26 months, kids should make short phrases like “my shoe” or “where’s mommy,” and should be adding to their vocabulary weekly. Not following simple multi-step commands. Not playing pretend. Behavioral problems such as flapping their hands or spinning in circles. — AP

RANDALLSTOWN: This file photo, provided by the Lemon family, shows Matthew Lemon, center, accompanied by his brother Joshua and sister Victoria. Matthew was diagnosed with autism at age 2, and his mother Marlo Lemon says he was lucky to have begun treatment for developmental delays. — AP

30

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

W H AT ’ S O N Greetings

Dear Subitchan, Happy Birthday to you, you reached 7 now and you will get all the showers of blessing from God. Today and forever.

With love, Amma Priya, Appa Selva, Uncles & Aunties, Brothers & Sisters, Grandmother and friends.

The organizing committee’s meeting at ACK.

ACK to host engineering design competition

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Islam Ahmad Eisa graduated from 1st Class British School.

ustralian College of Kuwait (ACK) is to host the annual engineering design for secondary school students at its campus in Mishref on Saturday. The event will be held under the auspices of HE Sheikh Talal Khalid AlAhmad Al-Sabah, Managing Director for Government and Parliamentary Relations and Public Relations and Communication of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

Dr Raghad Al-Kazmi, Director of Students Affairs of ACK, stated that ACK is interested in hosting the competition to enhance and support the

engineering thought for a segment of our youth, who are approaching a higher academic stage, while providing them with the opportunity to experience certain engineering practices, represented in creative projects. “The competition will be held in a spirit of scientific challenge.” She said.

The rbitration Panel of the competition will consist of Dr Khalid Mahdi, Dr Hasan Kamal, Dr Suad Al-Bahar, and Dr Khalid Al-Khaldi. The organizing committee shall consist of Engineer Waleed Al-Khamis (Chairman), Engineer Hanan Al-Mazrai (Reporter), Dr Mohammad Al-

Matrouk, Engineer Omar AlSayed Omar, Engineer Abdulaziz Hamada, Engineer Raed Al-Ahmad, Engineer Ebaa

Dr Raghad Al-Kathmi

Al-Muzaini, Engineer Buthaina Al-Khubaizi, Prof Fatma AlAwadi, ProfMaryam Al-Qabandi, and Prof Jassim Al-Shimmari.

Kuwait Annual Engineering Design Competition is organized for secondary stage students in Kuwait, especially those interested in mathematics, physics and engineering.

The competition enables participant students to apply scientific and engineering theories by designing and engineering project. “The various disciplines provided by ACK are: mechanical and civil engineering technology, electronics and communications, aircraft mainte-

nance engineering, in addition to management, marketing and human resources. The two-year study course qualifies for a diploma, followed by two years for bachelor degree.” Dr AlKazmi elaborated.

“I wish success for all participants in this distinctive scientific engineering competition. In fact, we enthusiastically seek to foster the spirit of scientific competition among the secondary school students in Kuwait, while helping schools benefit from the effects of scientific applications in developing the innovative skills of the youth,” she concluded.

Eritrean embassy hosts celebration

Minatallah Mohammed Abdu graduated from 1st class at Al-Najat School.

The Eritrean embassy in Kuwait recently hosted a celebration for the ‘Liberation of Massawa’ attended by members of the Eritrean minority in the country.

Bishop Dr Joseph joins Mar Thoma golden jubilee fest

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Omar Mohamad Sulaiman graduated from the 1st Class.

Announcements Kuwait Improv Fun lovers of Kuwait unite. A get together by people who love to surprise, be surprised and just be about at anything are welcome to Kuwait Improv, a gathering, reminiscent of the famous American TV program Whose Line is it Anyway, informally organized by American School of Kuwait teacher Brad Manker. No histrionic talent required, but a willingness to share. Please contact: mankerb@ask.edu Tulu speaking classes Here’s a great opportunity for parents who always wished their children could learn Tulu. Tulu Koota Kuwait, in its objective towards promoting Tulu language and culture, is pleased to announce the opening of Tutu Speaking Classes “Tulu Siri” at Indian Public School Salmiya @ 11:30 am. For more details kindly contact Ramesh Kidiyoor97204716/99596457,Shalini Vijay 66502369,Tharendra P. Shettigar 66757979,Jayalaxmi Karkal - 66958848, Sathyanarayana Salian - 66585077,Vanitha Dias94996459. And our Website: www.tulukootakuwait.org Email: info@tulukootakuwait.org Music festival On March 1, 2012, the “Blend Music Festival,” a mellow acoustic get-together of several local musicians, will take place in Bayt Lothan, the official sponsor, host, and curator of the event. This event will be FREE of charge and open to everyone to attend. We hope to see you all there, and here’s to a great start to 2012! The “Blend Music Festival” will be the first of many concerts to be held; there are a handful of musicians on board, and more will be added to the sets at a later stage. Here is the program for March 1st: 1- Ali Sleeq with Gary Ruston & Kevin Owen = JAZZ; 2- Hadi Sarieddine, Bader Nana, & Sarj = ROCK; 3- Lewis Chapman - FOLK / ROCK.

ast weekend, the supreme head of the mar Thoma church Dr Joseph Mar Thoma, the head of Delhi Diocese Dr Abraham Mar Paulos, and the three newly consecrated bishops of the church attended the 50th year celebrations of the Kuwait Mar Thoma Church. The programs were organized jointly by the five Mar Thoma parishes in Kuwait. “This is the first time ever that five bishops of the church together participating in a program outside India”, said John Thampan, the coordinator of the 125-member organizing committee.

The key event tagged as Mar Thoma Sabha Kuwait Pravasi Samgamam at Ramada Hotel, Riggai, on Friday, was truly a show of strength and unity of the Marthomites in Kuwait. The main Al-Istiqlal ballroom of the hotel and its peripheries were packed with loyal members of the church, who maintained commendable order and discipline all through the four-hour proceedings. The distinguished guests were accorded a colorful reception at the hotel entrance by members of the church choir, women clad in typical Kerala attire, and also hundreds of children waving the national flags of India and Kuwait and also the flag of Mar Thoma church. The new bishops, Dr Mathews Mar

Makarios, Dr Gregorios Mar Sthephanos, Dr Thomas Mar Theethos were felicitated during the program. Rev Amanuel Gharib, chairman of the National Evangelical Council in

Kuwait (NECK), Prof P J Kurian, member of the Indian Parliament and former Union Minister, were present. The metropolitan was presented the Light of the Diaspora award for

his leadership role in various spheres of the society. Rev Chacko Thomas, Rev Genil Abraham, Rev Thomas Koshy, Messrs Laloo Thomas, Rajan Daniel, Joy John, Aby Varicad

also spoke on the occasion. Dr Joseph Mar Thoma inaugurated the year-long activities in connection with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Mar Thoma congregation in Kuwait. “It was in May 1963 that the Mar Thoma worship services were officially started in Kuwait and we are entering the 50th year shortly”, explained Laloo Thomas, General Convenor.

In his speech, the Metropolitan exhorted that the Golden Jubilee should not become mere celebration, it should rather be an opportunity to help and remember the less privileged brethren around you.

The organizers have revealed that several humanitarian initiatives will be included in the one year programs of the Jubilee.

The Pravasi Samgamam donated Rs 10 lacs towards the Sneha Karam (The Loving Hand) project of the church, aimed at rendering financial help to the poor victims of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, AIDS, heart and kidney ailments.

Sneha Karam was instituted in 2010 to mark the 80th birthday of the Metropolitan. Christy Thomas, the Finance Committee convener, announced during the meeting that necessary funding for a full-fledged Blood Bank at the St Thomas Mission Hospital, Kattanam, will be provided shortly.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency. nnnnnnn

Kuwait National English School holds National day celebration

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he Early Years Department at Kuwait National English School held an annual party to celebrate Kuwait National Day. The children dressed in Kuwaiti fashion and celebrated its culture and its Global connections. This year’s celebration was enjoyed by all the children from Pre-School, Kindergarten and Reception. Kuwait National English School attempts to celebrate its

diversity every day and also to encourage pride in this amazing country we call home. Happy National Day from the Young Children of Kuwait National English School!

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, AlMutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 A.M until 12:00 P.M on Sunday through Wednesday. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home.

The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.uae.gc.ca. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus requests Cypriot citizens living in Kuwait to register with the Embassy. This registration service is provided so that the Embassy can update its contact list and assist Cypriot citizens in cases of emergencies. Registration information can be emailed to cyprusembassykwt@gmail.com or faxed to 22253227 or given by phone to 65906048 (Mrs Christine). nnnnnnn

Missoni appoints new GM, new Director of Sales and Marketing

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otel Missoni Kuwait announces the appointment of Lydia Kholud Rafea, who joins the Executive Team as Director of Sales and Marketing. Within this role Lydia will be responsible for all Sales & Marketing and PR activities at the hotel, reporting directly to the General Manager. Lydia, a German national of Egyptian origin, studied economics in Berlin before graduating from London with a degree in Hotel Management, specializing in Sales and Marketing. Lydia started her career in hospitality as a Sales Manager at The Grand Hotel Esplanade before joining the opening team for Concorde Hotels & Resorts in Berlin in 2005. Over the years Lydia went on to hold various sales positions, her most recent post being Director of Sales at The Regent Berlin.

Within these roles Lydia was responsible for all national and international Sales and Marketing activities focused

on the European and Middle Eastern Market. Lydia, who speaks English, Arabic and German fluently, has solid sales and marketing knowledge and a strong travel trade background. A

skilled negotiator with a proven track record in business development and strategic planning, Lydia will no doubt be a great asset to Hotel Missoni Kuwait.

Lydia Kholud Rafea

Alfio Bernardini

Hotel Missoni Kuwait is also delighted to announce the appointment of Alfio Bernardini as General Manager.

Alfio is an Italian national, who studied Hotel Management in Italy and is graduated from DCT University in Lucerne Switzerland. Alfio gained extensive experience in the Hospitality Industry over the past 15 years in different countries such as Italy, Austria, France and the UK. During his career path he held different roles at Hotel Lord Byron in Rome, Palace Hotel Lucerne and The Royal Monceau in Paris - to only name a few.

The Rezidor Hotel Group is happy to welcome Alfio back to the company. He previously held the position as General Manager at the Radisson Style Hotel in Vienna. Alfio speaks Italian, English, French and German and his happy to move to Kuwait together with his wife and two children to take over this new exciting responsibility.

EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref.

New Address: Embassy of the Republic of Korea Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6 The Embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Saturdays to Thursday Morning: 8:00 am to 12:30 pm Lunch Break: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm Afternoon: 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy will move its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location from 26 January, 2012. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, e-mail:myankuwait11@gmai1.com nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF RUSSIA Embassy of the Russian Federation will hold the elections of the President of the Russian Federation on March 3, 2012 between 8 am and 8 pm in the Embassy’s premises by the address: Kuwait City, Daiya, Block 5, Diplomatic campus, Plot 17. All Russians are invited to participate. They are requested to present valid Russian passports. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF UKRAINE We’d like to inform you that in response to the increasing number of our citizens who work in the state and the need for 24-hour operational telephone in case of emergency the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait has opened “hotline telephone number” (+ 965) 972-79-206. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF VENEZUELA Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, request Venezuelan citizens living in Kuwait to register with the Embassy, This registration service is provided so that the Embassy can update its contact list and assist Venezuelan citizens in cases os emergencies. Registration Information 25324367 or by email: embavenez@gmail.com. Our time is from Sunday to Thursday from 8.30am till 2 pm. nnnnnnn

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

GUST hosts lecture on the Middle East Partnership Initiative

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National and Liberation days at ESF

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he English School Fahaheel held the special annual National and Liberation Days Concert in the Lloyd Webber Theatre. The event was beautifully arranged by the Arabic Dept and included traditional dances and sketches from Kuwait’s rich history. A big thank you to Mrs Al Ghouti and her staff. The event was enjoyed by all.

he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) A M Al-Refai Library and MBA Office in coordination with the US Embassy in Kuwait, arranged for a presentation on the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) with presenters Ms. Deborah S Hart-Serafini, MEPI Coordinator and three Alumni members of MEPI. During the event, the presenters gave detailed information on MEPI Exchange Program for students and its opportunities in Kuwait; highlighting how the program would enable the students to take a course

abroad, meet students and key people from diverse cultures. The event was attended by MBA students, faculty and staff. The attendees found the lecture to be informative as well as interactive. Students, who had previously attended this program, also shared their experiences. The session was open to questions in the end, which students raised and presenters happily answered. The presentation was part of the ongoing lectureseries that are frequently held at GUST and represents the association GUST shares with the Public Affairs Section at the US Embassy.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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03:35 Wild France 04:30 Wildest Africa 05:25 League Of Monkeys 06:20 Escape To Chimp Eden 06:45 In Too Deep 07:10 K9 Cops 08:00 Orangutan Island 08:25 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 09:15 The Really Wild Show 09:40 Cats Of Claw Hill 10:10 Dogs 101: Specials 11:05 League Of Monkeys 12:00 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin 12:55 RSPCA: On The Frontline 13:20 Wildlife SOS International 13:50 New Breed Vets With Steve Irwin 14:45 Animal Cops Phoenix 15:40 League Of Monkeys 16:30 Shamwari: A Wild Life 17:00 The Really Wild Show 17:30 Pandamonium 18:25 Cats 101 19:20 Extraordinary Dogs 19:45 Extraordinary Dogs 20:15 Orangutan Island 20:40 Wildlife SOS International 21:10 Escape To Chimp Eden 21:35 In Too Deep 22:05 Rats With Nigel Marven 23:00 Beast Lands 23:55 Snake Crusader With Bruce George

03:05 03:30 04:00 04:20 04:30 04:45 05:00 05:05 05:25 05:36 05:50 06:10 06:20 06:35 06:45 06:50 07:10 07:20 07:35 08:05 08:35 09:20 09:50 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:45 14:15 14:45 15:35 16:25 17:10 17:40 18:10 18:40 19:10 20:00 20:50 21:20 21:50 22:40 23:05 23:50

03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:10 05:35 06:25 07:10 07:35

dinnerladies My Family Me Too! Charlie and Lola Gigglebiz Boogie Beebies Poetry Pie Fimbles 3rd & Bird Forget Me Not Farm Me Too! Charlie and Lola Gigglebiz Boogie Beebies Poetry Pie Fimbles 3rd & Bird Forget Me Not Farm 2 Point 4 Children dinnerladies The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Casualty Lark Rise to Candleford My Family 2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Casualty Lark Rise to Candleford The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors dinnerladies 2 Point 4 Children The Orang-Utan King Last Woman Standing Little Britain My Family Jekyll Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show The Weakest Link The Orang-Utan King

James Martin’s Champagne James Martin’s Champagne James Martin’s Champagne What To Eat Now - Autumn What To Eat Now - Autumn Indian Food Made Easy 10 Years Younger Celebrity Fantasy Homes James Martin’s Brittany James Martin’s Brittany

08:05 08:50 09:35 10:25 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:35 15:25 16:15 17:00 17:45 18:35 19:00 20:35 21:00 21:50 22:45 23:40

Bargain Hunt MasterChef Australia MasterChef Australia Bargain Hunt Antiques Roadshow Come Dine With Me 10 Years Younger MasterChef MasterChef Celebrity Fantasy Homes House Swap Bargain Hunt Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic USA French Food At Home French Food At Home 10 Years Younger MasterChef MasterChef Bargain Hunt

03:00 BBC World News 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 Newsday 06:30 Asia Business Report 06:45 Sport Today 07:00 Newsday 07:30 Hardtalk 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 World Business Report 11:45 Sport Today 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 Hardtalk 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 BBC World News 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:30 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 World Business Report 21:45 Sport Today 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:30 World Business Report 23:45 Sport Today

03:15 03:40 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:00 06:25 06:50 07:00 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:05

Puppy In My Pocket Popeye Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races The Flintstones A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye Classics The Garfield Show Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals Puppy In My Pocket The Scooby Doo Show Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

TV PROGRAMS

Years

11:25 11:50 12:15 12:40 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:55 14:45 15:10 Doo 15:35 16:00 16:50 17:15 17:40 18:05 18:20 19:10 19:35 Doo 20:00 20:15 20:40 21:05 21:30 21:55 22:20 22:45 23:10 23:35

Duck Dodgers Tom & Jerry Kids Pink Panther And Pals Wacky Races Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Bananas In Pyjamas The Garfield Show A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:45 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 22:45 23:00

World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business Erin Burnett Outfront World Sport Talk Asia World Report World Report World Sport News Special World Business Today Backstory News Special World One Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Living Golf International Desk Quest Means Business CNN Marketplace Europe Piers Morgan Tonight

03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 22:50 23:20

Ultimate Survival Mythbusters How Does It Work How It’s Made Dirty Jobs Mythbusters Gold Rush Swamp Loggers How Does It Work Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings Science Of The Movies Science Of The Movies Overhaulin’ Ultimate Survival Mythbusters Cash Cab Us Border Security Dirty Money How It’s Made How Does It Work Cake Boss One Man Army I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks I Escaped: Real Prison Breaks Ross Kemp On Gangs

03:15 04:35 05:00 05:25 06:20 07:10

Sci-Fi Science How Does That Work?

How Stuff’s Made Under New York Thunder Races Space Pioneer

Looney Tunes Puppy In My Pocket Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show The Scooby Doo Show Scooby-Doo And ScrappyJelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Pink Panther And Pals Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones

WINDTALKERS ON OSN ACTION HD

08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:05 14:55 15:20 15:50 16:40 17:05 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

The Gadget Show The Gadget Show How Does That Work?

How Stuff’s Made Sci-Fi Science Under New York Thunder Races Space Pioneer Invisible Worlds How Does That Work?

How Stuff’s Made The Gadget Show The Tech Show Thunder Races Bad Universe Engineered Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Trek Thunder Races The Gadget Show Bang Goes The Theory Sci-Trek

03:15 EMPEROR’S NEW SCHOOL 03:35 STITCH 04:00 STITCH 04:25 REPLACEMENTS 04:50 REPLACEMENTS 05:15 Fairly Odd Parents 05:35 Fairly Odd Parents 06:00 HANNAH MONTANA 06:20 RECESS 06:45 TIMON AND PUMBAA 07:05 PHINEAS AND FERB 07:30 Good Luck Charlie 07:55 FISH HOOKS 08:10 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 08:35 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 09:00 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 09:15 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 09:25 HANDY MANNY 09:40 THE HIVE 09:50 RECESS 10:15 SO RANDOM 10:45 HANNAH MONTANA 11:10 SUITE LIFE ON DECK 11:35 JAKE & BLAKE 12:00 SONNY WITH A CHANCE 12:25 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 12:55 PHINEAS AND FERB 13:10 SO RANDOM 13:30 SUITE LIFE ON DECK 13:55 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 14:20 HAVE A LAUGH 14:30 PHINEAS AND FERB 14:55 Good Luck Charlie 15:15 MY BABYSITTER’S A VAMPIRE 15:45 FISH HOOKS 16:10 SHAKE IT UP 16:35 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 17:00 TIMON AND PUMBAA 17:30 Good Luck Charlie 17:55 FISH HOOKS 18:20 SUITE LIFE ON DECK 18:45 SUITE LIFE ON DECK 19:10 Good Luck Charlie 19:30 HAVE A LAUGH 19:35 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 20:00 HANNAH MONTANA 20:25 PHINEAS AND FERB 20:50 SHAKE IT UP 21:15 FISH HOOKS 21:35 RECESS 22:00 SHAKE IT UP 22:25 SHAKE IT UP 22:50 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 23:15 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 23:35 SONNY WITH A CHANCE

03:00 JUNGLE JUNCTION 03:15 JUNGLE JUNCTION 03:25 LITTLE EINSTEINS 03:50 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 04:05 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 04:20 JO JO’S CIRCUS 04:40 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 04:55 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 05:10 JUNGLE JUNCTION 05:25 JUNGLE JUNCTION 05:35 LITTLE EINSTEINS 06:00 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 06:15 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 06:30 JO JO’S CIRCUS 06:50 JUNGLE JUNCTION 07:15 JUNGLE JUNCTION 07:30 JUNGLE JUNCTION 07:45 HANDY MANNY 08:00 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 08:15 JUNGLE JUNCTION 08:30 JUNGLE JUNCTION 08:45 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 09:10 THE HIVE 09:20 HANDY MANNY 09:35 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 09:50 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 10:05 THE HIVE 10:15 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 10:20 MOUK 10:32 MOUK 10:45 THE HIVE 10:55 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 11:20 IMAGINATION MOVERS 11:45 ART ATTACK 12:10 IMAGINATION MOVERS 12:35 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 12:45 LazyTown 13:10 HANDY MANNY 13:25 JUNGLE JUNCTION 13:40 IMAGINATION MOVERS 14:05 THE HIVE 14:15 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 14:25 LITTLE EINSTEINS 14:50 LazyTown 15:15 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 15:40 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 15:55 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 16:05 MOUK 16:20 HANDY MANNY 16:30 THE ADVENTURES OF DISNEY FAIRIES 17:00 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 17:15 MOUK 17:30 THE ADVENTURES OF DISNEY FAIRIES 17:55 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 18:25 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 18:40 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 19:00 THE ADVENTURES OF DISNEY FAIRIES 19:25 THE HIVE 19:35 LITTLE EINSTEINS 20:00 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 20:05 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 20:25 101 DALMATIANS

20:50 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 21:05 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 21:20 THE HIVE 21:30 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 21:35 A POEM IS...

21:40 ANIMATED STORIES 21:45 MOUK 22:00 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 22:25 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 22:40 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 22:55 LITTLE EINSTEINS 23:20 TIMMY TIME 23:30 JUNGLE JUNCTION 23:45 HANDY MANNY 23:55 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE

03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kendra 09:45 Kendra 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Khloe And Lamar 13:35 Khloe And Lamar 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:35 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Ice Loves Coco 17:25 Ice Loves Coco 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 Scouted 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

03:05 03:50 04:40 05:25 06:15 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:40 10:25 11:10 11:35 11:55 12:40 13:25 14:15 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:35 17:20 18:10 19:00 19:45 20:10 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

I Almost Got Away With It Cuff Me If You Can Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted A Haunting Mystery Diagnosis CSU Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared CSU Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Kidnap And Rescue Fugitive Strike Force

03:15 Till The End Of The Night-PG 03:15 TILL THE END OF THE NIGHT 04:45 Blood Red-PG 04:45 BLOOD RED 06:15 Galaxy Of Terror-PG 06:15 GALAXY OF TERROR 07:35 The Bridge At Remagen-PG 09:30 Taras Bulba-PG 11:30 Hell Boats-PG 13:05 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 13:20 Hannibal Brooks-PG 15:00 How To Succeed In Business Without Trying-PG 17:00 Give Me Your Life-18 18:30 Kidnapped-PG 20:10 Slow Dancing In The Big CityPG 22:00 Mission Of The Shark 23:35 Knightriders-18

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother

By Any Means A World Apart Treks In A Wild World Treks In A Wild World On Surfari Word of Mouth Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother

By Any Means A World Apart Treks In A Wild World Treks In A Wild World Food School Bondi Rescue The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Exploring The Vine Market Values Making Tracks Making Tracks Adventure Wanted Departures Food School Bondi Rescue The Green Way Up The Green Way Up Exploring The Vine Market Values Making Tracks Making Tracks Adventure Wanted

03:45 Windtalkers-PG15 06:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 08:00 Ballistica-PG15 10:00 Snake In The Eagle’s ShadowPG15 12:00 Armored-18 14:00 Ballistica-PG15 16:00 Star Trek: Generations-PG15 18:00 Armored-18 20:00 The Spirit-PG15 22:00 My Bloody Valentine-R

TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN ON OSN CINEMA

04:45 Leap Year-PG15 07:00 Love The Beast-PG 09:00 Unanswered Prayers-PG15 11:00 Leap Year-PG15 13:00 5 Dollars A Day-PG15 15:00 Unanswered Prayers-PG15 17:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 19:00 Letters To Juliet-PG15 21:00 Season Of The Witch-PG15 23:00 A Little Help-18

03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 Mr. Sunshine 04:00 Dharma And Greg 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Just Shoot Me 06:30 Til Death 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Dharma And Greg 08:30 The Simpsons 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 Two And A Half Men 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 10:30 Til Death 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Just Shoot Me 12:30 Dharma And Greg 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 Til Death 14:00 Mr. Sunshine 14:30 Hot In Cleveland 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Just Shoot Me 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 Mr. Sunshine 19:00 The League 19:30 State Of Georgia 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Big C 22:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

Strike Back Bones Good Morning America Eureka Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View American Idol Eureka Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Look-A-Like Psych American Idol Necessary Roughness Bones

03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

American Idol Switched At Birth Smallville Emmerdale Coronation Street Parenthood The Ellen DeGeneres Show American Idol Parks And Recreation Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Parenthood Smallville Law & Order: Los Angeles The Ellen DeGeneres Show Parenthood Psych American Idol Necessary Roughness Supernatural

03:00 Wild Things: Foursome -18 05:00 The Morgue-18 07:00 X2-PG

09:15 PG15 11:00 13:00 15:00 PG15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Bodyguard: A New BeginningFatal Secrets-PG15 The Bannen Way-PG15 Bodyguard: A New BeginningDeadly Impact-18 Assassination Tango-18 8 Mile-PG15 Bad Guys-18

04:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 06:00 Nativity!-PG 08:00 Coming & Going-PG15 10:00 Checking Out-PG15 12:00 Born Yesterday-PG15 14:00 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry-PG15 16:00 Lost In Yonkers-PG 18:00 The Making Of Plus One-PG15 20:00 Greenberg-18 22:00 Serial Mom-18

03:00 05:00 07:15 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:45 PG15 16:45 19:00 21:00 23:00

Blame It On Mum-18 Nine-PG15 Oceans - Into The Deep-PG Soapdish-PG The Wronged Man-PG15 Winning Time-PG15 Squanto: A Warrior’s TaleA Simple Twist Of Fate-PG15 The Clearing-18 Return To Paradise-PG15 Chico & Rita-18

03:00 The Tempest-PG15 05:00 Open Season 3-FAM 07:00 A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song-PG15 09:00 Just Wright-PG15 11:00 By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama-PG15 13:00 Just Married-PG15 15:00 The Client List-PG15 16:30 Just Wright-PG15 18:30 Eat Pray Love-PG15 21:00 Season Of The Witch-PG15 23:00 True Grit-PG15

03:45 PG 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Gladiators: The TournamentRamses Of Egypt-PG Yona Yona Penguin-PG Marco Antonio-PG The Nimbols: Part II-FAM Supertramps-FAM Yona Yona Penguin-PG Marco Antonio-PG Garfield-PG Supertramps-FAM

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 15:45 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Chaperone-PG15 Head Over Heels-PG15 Slipstream-PG15 The Chaperone-PG15 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid-PG Slipstream-PG15 The Great Debaters-PG15 Across The Hall-PG15 Resident Evil 4: Afterlife-18 Dare-18

03:30 04:30 05:00 07:00 10:30 11:30 13:30 14:00 15:30 16:30 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00

Trans World Sport Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Super Rugby Premier League Darts Super Rugby Highlights Live NRL Premiership ODI Cricket Highlights Volvo Ocean Race Volvo Ocean Race Volvo Ocean Race Highlights NRL Premiership WWE NXT UFC - The Ultimate Fighter ODI Cricket Highlights Futbol Mundial Live Premier League Darts

04:30 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:00

Futbol Mundial European Tour Weekly Asian Tour Highlights Total Rugby Pro 12 Celtic League

09:00 Super Rugby Highlights 10:00 World Cup Of Pool 11:00 World Pool Masters 12:00 US Bass Fishing 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 ICC Cricket World 14:30 ODI Cricket Highlights 15:00 NRL Premiership 17:00 Total Rugby 17:30 Golfing World 18:30 Asian Tour Golf Show 19:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 19:30 ODI Cricket Highlights 20:00 ICC Cricket World 20:30 European Tour Weekly 21:00 Trans World Sport 22:00 NRL Premiership

07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:30 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 19:30 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Golfing World Asian Tour Highlights Cricket ODI Highlights European Tour Weekly Total Rugby Trans World Sport Scottish Premier League SPL Highlights Golfing World Asian Tour Highlights European Tour Weekly Futbol Mundial Super Rugby Volvo Ocean Race Cricket ODI Highlights Top 14 Highlights Super Rugby Highlights Golfing World

03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 09:30 10:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00

Speedway Le Mans Series Highlights UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown Speedway Power Boats Aquabike World WWE Experience WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottom Line Aquabike World Aquabike World Speedway FIM World Power Boats WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 144

03:00 Indian Times 04:00 Intrepid Journeys 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 Planet Food 07:00 Glutton For Punishment 07:30 Life’s A Trip 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 10:00 Sophie Grigson In Thailand 10:30 Sophie Grigson In The Orient 11:00 Planet Food 12:00 Flavours Of Peru 12:30 Life’s A Trip 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Planet Food 15:00 Intrepid Journeys 16:00 Indian Times 17:00 Globe Trekker 18:00 Going South 18:30 Flavours Of Peru 19:00 Planet Food 20:00 Globe Trekker 21:00 Cruising The South China Sea 22:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 23:00 4real 23:30 Life’s A Trip

04:30 Mutiny On The Bounty 07:30 TCM Presents Under...-U 08:00 Anna Christie-PG 09:30 The Adventures Of Quentin Durward-FAM 11:10 The Big Sleep-PG 13:05 Catlow-PG 14:45 Flipper-FAM 16:15 The Harvey Girls-FAM 17:55 Gaby-PG 19:30 The Swan-FAM 21:15 Memphis Belle-PG 23:00 The Morning After

34

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

stars CROSSWORD 603

STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) You have questions and will not rest until you have found the answer. Getting away from the search may help you to find the answer but clearing the mind can be a problem. Think about a purple, polka-dotted elephant for awhile and then seek the answer once more. You may be surprised at how quickly you find your answers. You have profound insights and a generous nature. You want to improve the world. There is an opportunity in the workplace to respond to just such a calling and when you see the opportunity you freely give. You set a positive example for others and you enjoy the reward of a smile. Spending a little time at the gym this afternoon replenishes your energy. Relationships with loved ones are excellent at this time.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Someone has a birthday or an anniversary today and since this day is not always on the calendar, it might be fun to watch the response when you bring attention to his or her special day. Your workday is full of surprises. A past employee stops by for a visit and a new employee knows someone from your past. Much time is spent with customers today and everyone seems to be in a hurry—miraculously the demands of the day are completed. This afternoon you might be stopping at a garden shop or nursery to purchase seeds or other necessary items that will help you get ready for a spring garden. Consider planting in pots and leaving the plants on the inside for now . . . soon these plants will look great around your living quarters. Roses can be planted now.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

4. Small genus of shrubs and lianas and trees of Africa and Madagascar.

10. A transuranic element that has not been found in nature.

13. Automatic data processing by electronic means without the use of tabulating cards or punched tapes.

14. On a ship, train, plane or other vehicle.

15. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

16. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers.

18. Genus of New Zealand mat-forming herbs or subshrubs.

20. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

21. Half the width of an em.

22. A unit of elastance equal to the reciprocal of a farad.

23. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

26. Strong woody fibers obtained especially from the phloem of from various plants.

27. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

31. Alsatian artist and poet who was cofounder of Dadaism in Zurich.

32. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

38. Not only so, but.

40. A toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur and tellurium.

41. A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element.

42. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

43. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

44. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

46. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

48. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

49. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

51. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

52. Feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and being unable to roar.

54. A unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns.

56. A unit of pressure.

58. A stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top.

62. A small piece of cloth.

64. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

66. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

67. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

68. In or belonging to the air or operating (for or by means of aircraft or elevated cables) in the air.

70. The most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on.

71. The cry made by sheep.

72. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

73. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. A game in which numbered balls are drawn and random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards.

2. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

3. The capital of Western Samoa.

4. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

5. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

6. A radioactive metallic element that is similar to tellurium and bismuth.

7. German chemist who was co-discoverer with Lise Meitner of nuclear fission (1879-1968).

8. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.

9. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

10. (used of opinions and actions) Far beyond the norm.

11. Sole genus of the family Naiadaceae.

12. A line that forms the length of an arrow pointer.

17. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

19. A native-born Israeli.

24. Lower in esteem.

25. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

28. (Greek mythology) Greek god of war.

29. Large elliptical brightly colored deep-sea fish of Atlantic and Pacific and Mediterranean.

30. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

33. Type genus of the Nepidae.

34. The state prevailing during the absence of war.

35. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

36. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

37. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

39. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

45. Lack of normal muscular tension or tonus.

46. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

47. Minute floating marine tunicate having a transparent body with an opening at each end.

50. (Old Testament) The second patriarch.

53. A crown-like jewelled headdress worn by women on formal occasions.

55. A small cake leavened with yeast.

57. The content of cognition.

59. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

60. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

61. God of love and erotic desire.

63. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

65. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one market for immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).

69. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) The workplace seems to be full of people with questions and then, before you know it, they have the answers to their own questions. The thing is, they speak out loud the question and the answer, which creates a noisy and busy workplace. The observation is that all of this appears very funny and you are left wondering if there was a bug in the store and it, thankfully, missed you!

Later today you could write a short story for your rendition of the day could be quite comical. At home this afternoon you may decide to do a little repair job from the results of a recent storm. You may find a few neighbors are outside with the same plan in mind. If some of the repairs are beyond your know-how, you might take notes of the needs before calling a handyman.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

You could be most persuasive with others and find higher-ups convincing you to attend a meeting just to serve that particular purpose . . . talk someone into something. If you are in sales . . . think about offering your talent in sales toward an increase in pay as you design or plan the best way to push this very old or very new product. You are the one that will make this product irresistible to the consumer. You should know that, in the business place, you can teach others your methods and techniques . . . for a price. Later today you may become involved in some political or civic activity. You have a natural sense of what the public wants and when asked, you might consider a public office. You are right in thinking some further education would be an important factor.

Leo (July 23-August 22) All the dancing on television has you interested in taking some ballroom dancing. Tonight you will be learning with your friends and might we suggest scheduling in a few evenings that will create an opportunity for you to meet new people. Whirling around on the dance floor with someone new is exciting and romantic and just what you can take pleasure in.

Work is quiet this morning and you have phone calls to make so busy yourself in contacting your customers or clients and calling back those that have called you.

Your day will move along quickly. Later, this afternoon, there is an opportunity to stop and listen to gossip but you turn away and encourage others to do the same.

There is real harmony around you at this time.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You and a friend live near or within a big city and are constantly looking for fun things to do over the weekends. Taking a survey at work today you may discover a couple of activities you did not realize existed in your own area. Taking notes and checking out the Internet may give you some information to share with your friend or friends later today. You won’t have to go far to experience a fun weekend this next weekend. The work may stack high on your desk but with your enthusiasm you will have it done and out of the way quickly. The desire for new music has you visiting the bookstore after work today and you may find some upbeat, motivating music to play as you exercise or just generally work around your living quarters.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) A co-worker is mischievous and you may be blamed for his or her behavior. Without your comment on the matter, there will be disclosure soon enough . . . no worries. Future problems may come up but steadiness on your part is golden. You are happy with the work you do but you are always on the lookout for new ways to increase the income. Have cheer . . . you are about to find new areas of work but take the options that you love. The options you love will create in you the desire to excel. Extended education options are opening to you soon and you might want to study the booklets of classes to decide which of your talents you would like to develop. If you play a musical instrument, this evening would be a great time to practice those old songs.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Some habits are really hard to break but you may decide the time is right for you to plot your path to overcome this old habit of yours. You know the rewards are yours and you are determined to achieve. One day at a time, you can do anything. You work at top speed today, concentrating on each task and putting the complicated to rest. You are the rising star . . . keep on your path to success. You are most persuasive and as people hear you speak they want whatever you are selling. You are particularly dynamic and have a lot of energy and drive available to stay in motion all afternoon long. This afternoon you realize just how much energy you put forth today and could make the decision to enjoy a massage and then a light dinner before going home.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

The city where you live may have tours to see new styles of gardening or planting that would take less water than usual. In fact, they may even have a system for catching rainwater and a teaching session to show the public how to conserve water. You might consider putting this class or tour on your calendar so you can learn and be able to grow plenty of vegetables of your own this year. Professionally speaking, you are successful. You enjoy your work and you are sensitive and responsible in your work. A co-worker acquaintance may ask you to watch an animal while he or she is on vacation—you have time to give this some thought. There are several reasons that this may not be a good idea and now you will be ready with an answer.

You like to keep up with the latest trends and all the new technical toys. One most important thing in your thoughts today is to stop by these special shops and check out the new toys. This could be some specialty item that you have seen advertised for the car or tips on how to monitor your home when you are away. Work is never ending, particularly when your mind may be into the view of these new technical products. It may be that you have to have a mental talk with yourself so that you can stay focused. A co-worker keeps you focused with a technical problem later today but soon enough, you are able to enjoy these stores. It may not be time for you to take a new item home but you have ideas for a new invention and busy yourself with paper and pencil.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Feeling two ways at once this morning has to do with the placement of the planets. Have patience and by this afternoon you will find that your indecision has become better focused into a few more defined answers. People that you interact with today seem to have agendas of their own but late this afternoon you may find a few people that are seeking answers and making lots of sounds. They could be planning a wedding, a kid’s birthday party or decorating for a dance. If you are a planner, you will easily gain control of the situation by having them write out their ideas. If you are standing nearby you could become a part of the problem and it would be good to move. You are grateful for a peaceful evening, full of beautiful music and wonderful food.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

Begin now to confer with loved ones and set some individual goals for future activities. Asking for a report from each member of your family or roommates helps everyone to contribute their ideas into some destinations, education, future accomplishments and missing activities. The missing of activities could be anything from visiting out-of-town relatives or friends to attending the state fair this year. This is a time when your path of self-development and expression becomes finely tuned—bringing you closer to the people about whom you care. In the workplace you jot down your own ideas during the day and tend to business in your own successful style. An easy dinner this evening will bring everyone together.

Go with the flow of what comes next.

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

lifestyle G o s s i p

Dioncancels more live shows S

inger Celine Dion has canceled more shows at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace, citing a virus causing an inflammation of her vocal cords.

Christi Nelson, an official with show producer AEG Live, said Tuesday that the French-Canadian pop superstar has been ordered to rest her voice for six to eight weeks and will resume performances June 9. “I tried to sing at my sound check last week, and I had no control of my voice whatsoever,” Dion said in a statement. “We thought that after a few days’ rest I would improve, but it wasn’t getting any better.” Officials announced last weekend that Dion was canceling shows

Garner and Affleck

through March 3. On Monday, she was diagnosed with a viral illness and weakness in her right vocal cord by Dr Gerald Burke, an authority in laryngeal physiology at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. The singer of romantic odes including “My Heart Will Go On” and “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” returned to Caesars Palace a year ago for a three-year engagement. The Las Vegas Strip casino spent $95 million building the Colosseum for Dion in 2003, complete with a humidifier to protect her voice. After a five-year run at the casino, she embarked on a world tour and took time off for her family, giving birth to twin boys in

2010. Tickets to the new show in Las Vegas sell for up to $250 apiece. Dion said the doctor assured her she’ll be “back to 100 percent” after resting her voice, but she said she’s disappointed by the cancellations. “Obviously this is the worst thing for a singer ... not being able to do your shows,” she said. “I feel worse knowing that I’m disappointing my fans. I’m so sorry ... I hope they forgive me.”

Chenoweth

welcome son

S

tar couple Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have welcomed their third child, a baby boy, People magazine said on Tuesday, without giving further details. Garner, who made her name in the television drama “Alias,” wed actor and producer Affleck in June 2005 at a private ceremony in Turks and Caicos, in the Caribbean. They welcomed their first daughter, Violet, in December 2005, and second daughter Seraphina in 2009. The couple, both 39, announced they were expecting their third child in August last year and while they did not reveal the baby’s sex, Garner told chat show host Jay Leno in January this year that they knew.

“It would be so weird to have a boy,” Garner was quoted as having told Ellen DeGeneres. She also said it would be “cool and different.” Garner will next appear in the comedy “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” later this year.

Affleck, who won a Best Screenplay Oscar for “Good Will Hunting,” which he co-wrote with Matt Damon, next stars in and directs the thriller “Argo.”

He will also appear in an untitled Terrence Malick project with Jessica Chastain, Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz.

to kick off a concert tour

Lohan: I’m

‘homebody’ these days

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ristin Chenoweth is taking the long way home.

The Tony Award-winning singer and actress announced Wednesday that she’ll kick off her first ever concert tour on May 9 in Seattle and it will end June 24 in Broken Arrow, Okla., the town she grew up in. Chenoweth’s 19-city North America tour will hit Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Toronto, New York, Nashville and Atlanta, among other cities. In her hometown, the main stage at the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center will be renamed in her honor. Says the singer: “For me, it will be very emotional.” Chenoweth says she’ll perform songs from her latest album as well tunes from the TV show “Glee” and ones from her Broadway shows like “Wicked.”

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indsay Lohan says she’s “clean and sober” and “a homebody” these days. And she likes it that way. The troubled starlet’s career in recent years has been upstaged by legal and personal problems. But she’s on a comeback that now has brought her to NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” which she hosts this week. She acknowledges in an interview for NBC’s “Today” show that repairing her damaged reputation could be a lengthy process. She admits in the interview that airs Thursday that “it could be scary for people to invest in me.” Her next project is playing Elizabeth Taylor in a biopic that she says will start production soon. With that film as well as the “SNL” gig, she vows to “not let anyone down, especially myself.”

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ollywood director Ridley Scott is to take part in a project documenting the first anniversary of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, a television network said yesterday. The Briton, famous for “Alien”, “Blade Runner” and “Gladiator”, will join “Japan in a Day”, a film about life in the nation 12 months after the disaster that claimed more than 19,000 lives, Fuji Television Network said. Fuji TV will work with Scott Free, a production company run by the director and his brother, to knit together videos shot by members of the public and footage gathered from 200 TV cameras set up in the affected areas. The project is asking for people in Japan and around the world to contribute videos of their daily life on March 11, 2012, exactly one year after the earthquake and tsunami hit. “Japan in a Day is dedicated, with deepest sympathy, to those who lost their lives and those who are suffering as a result of the earthquake and tsunami,” Fuji TV said. The film will be completed by the autumn for release in Japan and then overseas. Fuji plans to donate profits to victims of the disaster. Videos will be uploaded to a special YouTube “Japan in a Day” website, it said.

Scott

to join Japan quake project

Ricci is C

hristina Ricci is glad to be out of the “hurricane” of her early 20s. The 32-year-old actress has no problem with getting older because she has learned to be more calm and less selfdestructive. She said: “I’m so glad I’m not 20 years old anymore. I was in a hurricane. “I’m a lot calmer now. I don’t cause destruction for myself and others everywhere I go. “I take things as they happen and

Streep donates $10,000 in Davis’ honor to RI school

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he morning after actress Meryl Streep walked off with an Oscar many bet would go to Viola Davis, Streep gave a cash-strapped school in Rhode Island a $10,000 donation in Davis’s honor, the school’s founder said on Tuesday. Davis, 46, has been a champion for now-bankrupt Central Falls, Rhode Island, the town she grew up in and has herself donated cash to help keep the library open. Her longtime friend and sometimes rival Streep, 62, in response to Davis’ cheerleading sent a $10,000 check to a local charter school, the Segue Institute for Learning, which faces closure. The check arrived on Monday, the morning after Streep won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” beating out front-runner Davis, who played a maid in “The Help.”

“We’ve just been screaming from the rooftops,” said Angelo Garcia, founder and director of operations at the school. “We’re excited Meryl Streep has gotten the ball rolling for us, but we recognize there’s a long road ahead of us,” he said. The school is currently located in a public building that’s slated to be sold because of financial difficulties in Central Falls, said Garcia, who has been friends with Davis since childhood. It must buy the building or move to another location in the next 12 or 13 weeks, he said. The donation from Streep’s Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, which the charity confirmed, will help the school start a capital campaign aimed at raising $1.2 million

to buy and renovate the building and an adjacent community center, Garcia said. Davis has “always kept us on her radar,” Garcia said, and the donation followed a conversation Davis had with Streep “about a little school started” by her longtime friend. The school has more than 200 students this year and was expected to grow to 240 next year, he said.

glad to be older

I’ve learned t be calm about things. Troubleshoot as problems arise and just make the best out of things.” The ‘Bel Ami’ actress - who is currently single - believes it is important not to let anyone change her as her best asset is her “individuality”.

She told Britain’s Marie Claire magazine: “I’ve always said to people you should never let anyone try to change who you are because the only commodity

you really have is you individuality. There are a million actresses and that’s the only thing that makes you special.” Christina values intelligence in any potential partners. Asked what she goes for in a guy, she said: “Somebody smart and funny that I love being with.” — Agencies

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

lifestyle M u s i c

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good example of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s uniquely manic comedy comes early in their first movie, “Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.” Tim and Eric, given $1 billion by studio executives to make a movie, have turned in a three-minute disaster. Faced with financial ruin, they must fire their spiritual guru who penned the poem that inspired the film, Jim Joe Kelly (Zach Galifianakis). We’ve seen such a scene in many movies before, the angry split between close collaborators. At first, Wareheim, Heidecker and Galifianakis merely inflate the drama, with excessive shock and emotion.

Then Kelly falls in a pool, necessitating an equally dramatic rescue and much thrashing in the water.

After resuscitating him, Tim and Eric dump him back in the pool and jump in after him. Back on dry land, Kelly’s moaning gradually soars to the pitch of operatic singing. Finally, after debating whether the parting phrase is “Peace out” or “Please out,” Kelly settles on “Please out,” flutters his arms, and morphs into a shiny beam of light that flies away. In the land of “Tim & Eric,” there is no “too much.” Over-the-top isn’t something to be evaded, it’s an ethos.

Packaged in public access TV production and frenzied, chopped-up editing, it has the hyper pacing you’d expect to find in a Japanese TV commercial.

It would be the stuff of stoners, if they could keep up. The comedy of “Tim & Eric,” as they’re known, has built a small but fervent following.

They’ve created a number of cheaply made cult TV shows, including “Tim and Eric Awesome Show,” “Great Job!” and “Tom Goes to the Mayor.” (Perhaps their most widely seen work is the Old Spice ad campaign starring Terry Crews, which they produced.) Other comedians, like Galifianakis, Will Ferrell (who also appears in the film) and Bob Odenkirk (who discovered them) have gravitated to their unbound, whacked-out universe. There seems to be no filter, whether external or internal.

Questions of subtlety and taste don’t enter in: The philosophy seems to be to take a risk, and then take 12 more.

“Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” is a faithful if not exceptional example of their comedy, which like most sketch comedy - is best consumed in smaller doses. It can take time to adjust to their herky-jerky rhythm - and certainly a large percentage of the public will have no tolerance for it - but if you go with it, there’s quality absurdity here. The film opens with a domino of corporate parentage parody, first with an ad for the Schlaaang “Super Seat” recliner hosted by “Chef” Goldblum (really Jeff Goldblum) and then by a myriad of Schlaaang

&

M o v i e s

graphics to present the movie (Schlaaang Production, Schlaaang Group, and so on).

After the film finally screens - with a 30-second graphic crediting Tim and Eric for directing (which they did) - the executives (headed by Robert Loggia) demand their money back. Tim and Eric skip town, where they are lured by promises of riches by Damien Weebs (Ferrell), who hires them to manage his rundown mall. Ferrell makes good on his few scenes, enjoying one of his favorite staples: the lunatic huckster. He initially shoots at Eric and Tim, then hugs them, then gets upset at them for knocking over his piles of floppy disks and finally makes them watch “Top Gun.” Twice.

In the mall lives Taquito (John C Reilly), a kind of sickly, grown orphan. At one point, he raps. Also in the mall is Allen Bishopman (Will Forte), a furiously defensive sword salesman. Of course, with limitless absurdity comes a kind of glossy-eyed meaninglessness and extreme tastelessness. You probably don’t want to know about the toy-aided sex scene that’s juxtaposed with a diarrhea bath. That, for many, will be a bridge too far.

But Heidecker and Wareheim remain very hard to pin down. Even when you’re expecting unpredictability, they surprise you. Who would have ever predicted an Aimee Mann song? “Tim & Eric’s Billion

Dollar Movie,” a Magnet release, is rated R for strong crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, comic violence and drug use. Running time: 94 minutes. Two stars out of four.—AP

In this film image released by Magnolia Pictures, Tim Heidecker, left, and Eric Wareheim are shown in a scene from “Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.” — AP

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In this file image released by Fox, judges from left, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson listen to contestants on the singing competition series “American Idol.”— AP

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ermaine Jones has a second shot at becoming an “American Idol.” The 25year-old so-called “gentle giant” of Pine Hill, NJ, was given a last-minute spot among the male semifinalists Tuesday after the Fox singing contest’s judges had dismissed him in Las Vegas. Jones was lauded for his bass-fueled take on Luther Vandross’ “Dance with My Father” during Tuesday’s performances from the 13 male semifinalists. “Thank you so much for proving why we asked you to come back,” said Steven Tyler. Many of the guys were praised by the panel after crooning a song of their choice, including 27-year-old new father Adam Brock of Washington, Pa, with Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” 20-year-old musician Colton Dixon of Murfreesboro, Tenn, with Paramore’s “Decode,” and 28-year-old street performer Creighton Fraker of New York, with Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.”

“I don’t want you to go home,” Jennifer Lopez told Fraker. “I want you to stay.”

Several singers soared with vocal acrobatics, including 19-year-old receptionist Jeremy Rosado of Valrico, Fla, with Sara

Bareilles’ “Gravity,” 19-year-old crawfish lover Joshua Ledet of Westlake, La, with Jennifer Hudson’s “You Pulled Me Through,” and 17-year-old student Deandre Brackensick of San Jose, Calif, with Earth Wind and Fire’s “Reasons.” “Your voice is so perfect to me,” Lopez beamed to Brackensick.

Reed Grimm kicked off the show with a jazzy rendition of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” that included a drum solo from the 26-year-old nanny of Ellsworth, Wis, and some bleeping from the show’s censors when Grimm stuck to the lyrics and later when Tyler enthusiastically alerted him that “there’s gonna be a whole new generation watching your (expletive).” The curvy new “Idol” stage seemed to swallow a couple of contestants. Only 22-year-old vocalist Heejun Han of New York and 15-year-old Eben Franckewitz of Loveland, Ohio, received criticism from the judges. They disapproved of Han’s song choice of Robbie Williams’ “Angels” and chastised Franckewitz for a rocky start on Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.”

“It wasn’t all perfect, but at the end, you really brought it home,” Jackson told the youngster. Somewhere in the middle of the pack were 27-year-old performer Aaron Marcellus of Atlanta with the Jackson Five’s “Never Can Say Goodbye,” 21-year-old country crooner Chase Likens of Point Pleasant, W.Va., with Hunter Hayes’ “Storm Warning” and 21-year-old pawn shop worker Phillip Phillips of Leesburg, Ga, with Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” “It’s not easy having a voice like yours and fitting it into other people’s songs,” Tyler told a growly Phillips. The top 12 female singers will perform late yesterday, and then all the top 25 semifinalists will learn today if they received enough votes to be among the viewer-selected top 10 or one of the three “wild card” finalists to be determined by the show’s judges. — AP

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told a news conference. “But I’m totally understanding of (the minister’s) protection of the laws and its people. He doesn’t want anything to happen. I’m good with that.”

The photograph ignited criticism from some politicians and religious groups in Muslim-majority Malaysia after a newspaper published it Monday in a feature to promote Badu’s show. The daily has since apologized for what it called an “oversight” that led to the photo’s publication. Badu, 41, said the photo was inspired by images from “The Holy Mountain,” a 1973 surrealist movie by Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. “I think art is often misunderstood in the realm of religion, and it’s OK,” she said. “In America, it’s a lot different. Art is also misunderstood but it is not such a harsh gesture to promote the names of God. I am learning and understanding about Islam in other countries more as we travel.” Malaysian Information Minister Rais Yatim said Tuesday that the controversy surrounding Badu’s photo “could jeopardize national security and cause a negative impact to the government’s image.”

Public reaction to the concert ban has been divided. On Twitter, many Malaysians, including Muslims, accused the government of intolerance, but others praised authorities for being firm about defending religious principles. Badu said she would “absolutely” welcome another chance to perform in Malaysia someday. She is scheduled to sing at a jazz festival this weekend in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.— AP

oul singer Erykah Badu said yesterday she holds no grudge against Malaysia’s government for barring her from performing after a photograph of her body art offended some Muslims. More than 1,500 people had bought tickets to watch the Grammy-winning American singer at a Kuala Lumpur auditorium yesterday, but Malaysia’s

American singer Erykah Badu apologizes after the publication of her picture with the word “Allah” on her upper body during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — AP

information minister announced on the eve of the concert that it could not proceed because a promotional photo of Badu with the Arabic word for Allah painted on her bare shoulders was “an insult to Islam.” “It’s sad, because we traveled a long way,” Badu

bare-chested Vladimir Putin strokes the bottom of an Olympic gymnast and overdoses on Botox as his wife Lyudmila takes refuge in a monastery-in a new staging of a play at a Moscow theatre. The play-staged ahead of March 4 polls where Putin is expected to win back the presidency-takes plenty of inspiration from Internet gossip and breaks almost every remaining taboo about the Russian leader’s personal life. The play, “Berlusputin”, is a Russian adaptation of a work by Italian playwright Dario Fo called L’anomalo Bicefalo. But it is updated every performance to include the latest news. The play imagines what might happen if half of former Italian prime minister and Putin buddy Silvio Berlusconi’s brain was transplanted into the Russian strongman’s head after an accident.

But true to Fo’s street theatre philosophy, the performance in Moscow at the ground-breaking Teatr.doc house in the centre of the city is very much a work in progress. People queued in the snow to catch two consecutive performances on Friday in the black-painted cellar theatre known for its hard-hitting political plays. The tiny, sweaty theatre was sold-out. “This play is probably a producer’s dream. There’s only two roles and crazy interest in the play,” said director Varvara Faer.

The play’s absurd plot imagines that Berlusconi has died in an attack and Putin, injured, has been given a transplant of half his brain.

Unexpectedly, he reveals previously unseen liberal tendencies and even “repents” in front of the parliament. But then a Botox overdose has a reverse effect. A flurry of speculation on the Internet backed up by picture evidence has suggested Putin, 59, underwent cosmetic procedures to reverse the ageing process. However this had always been denied by aides. Putin is played by an actor with foam muscles strapped to his chest, while an actress devoutly wraps herself in a headscarf to play his wife Lyudmila, who has got a little too close to her spiritual advisor at a monastery.

Putin as a grotesque dwarf “You kept me for 20 years on a short leash,” complains Lyudmila.

“You tormented me, you always tormented me.” His marriage is another subject of frenzied Internet speculation and Putin has not been seen in public with his wife for months. His spokesman has insisted this is simply because Putin is very busy. The theatre’s frank airing of the rumors about Putin’s private life is a bold move in Russia, where state media and even opposition-inclined newspapers and television observe a rigid silence on the issue. The Botox overdose results in Putin morphing into Dobby the house elf from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, in a joke unlikely to amuse the strongman.

A television puppet show that parodied Putin as a grotesque dwarf closed shortly after he became president in 2000. And he was reportedly offended by widespread comments on his resemblance to Dobby when the film depiction came out back in 2003. The audience broke into applause after a spoof of state television news coverage of Putin speaking to the parliament and Vladimir Churov, the much-disliked head of the Central Electoral Commission. The lobotomized Putin expresses his horror at the “Party of Crooks and Thieves”, an opposition term for the ruling United Russia party.

And gasps and laughter came as the actor playing Putin leered at a projection on the wall of Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva twirling her ribbons, and then stroked his hand across her bottom. A newspaper in 2008 alleged that Putin was about to divorce and marry Kabayeva, rumors that both angrily denied, but which have lingered on. The play also satirises claims by pro-Kremlin politicians that protests and Putin’s power swap with President Dmitry Medvedev are financed by the US State Department, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making an appearance. In a performance days before the presidential election, Berlusconi took a back seat to topical jokes. Faer told AFP the most recent additions to the script included Putin’s campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin calling the intelligentsia “the shit of the nation”. “We will do this play as long as Putin is in power,” said the director. — AFP

Actors Evdokia Germanova and Sergei Epishev perform in central Moscow, Teatr.doc, on February 24, 2011, as they take part in “Berlusputin,” a Russian adaptation of a work by Italian playwright Dario Fo called L’anomalo Bicefalo. — AFP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

lifestyle F a s h i o n

Fatima Lopes

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aris fashion week is rarely known for understatement, as confirmed by Portuguese designer Fatima Lopes who opened the fallwinter 2012 season with a proverbial bang at the iconic war museum Invalides that houses canons and artillery. When the fashionistas finally managed to unstick themselves from wandering tourists, the message of the Lopes show rang out loud and clear: female flesh is the real source of fire-power, with the offering of sensual, if slightly busy, sheath ensembles.

The short first day of the nine-day Paris fashion race is reserved for up-and-coming talent.

Because of its hit-or-miss reputation, Tuesday is avoided by many fashion editors. However rising star Julien David, who delved playfully into men’s clothing, proves that the day does deserve the limelight. His boyish knitwear looks and dark rusings about the Yeti monster provided one of the day’s best shows, and with a touch of irony: all too rare in Paris. Italian designer Corrado de Biase also produced a fine show mixing up feminine silhouettes with men’s wear - quickly becoming a strong trend this fall. Metallic touches, too, ticked the in-vogue box, having featured prominently on catwalks in Milan and New York. A man of contradictions, Biase said his show mixed references to Coco Chanel with touches of the 1970’s.

Wednesday - the first full day on the calendar will see the week move into top gear with shows including Dries Van Noten, Mugler and London’s enfant terrible Gareth Pugh.

CORRADO DE BIASE “The tomboy is back,” read the program notes at Corrado de Biase’s Paris fall-winter show that served up floaty silhouettes with a twist of men’s wear. It was an accomplished affair considering it’s only the third ready-to-wear offering from the designer, with Barbour raincoats successfully fused on top of sheer 1920’s underskirts. Petrol green added futuristic shimmer to quilted capes and jackets, crossing eras in style and time, while 3-D floral brocades on several short coats and pencil skirts were given an aggressive edge in metallic silver. A lot this fall has been about men’s wear on women, and here this was on full display. Classical tailoring appeared in boyish collars and lapels on nylon shirtdresses in sheer black, but the exposed breasts punched spectators with the clear androgyny.

For the designer’s inspiration, look no further than the biggest tomboy of her day: Mademoiselle Chanel. “I love the garcon look of the twenties,” said Biase backstage, “how Coco gave bourgeois women a men’s look while staying light in spirit.” For the fashion crowd it was a good thing the spirits were light: the cramped venue and lighting glitches might have dampened the mood had the collection not been so strong.

FATIMA LOPES Fatima Lopes’ fall-winter show Tuesday put blood reds, provocative leathers and fox fur on the catwalk at the Hotel des Invalides war museum. The Portuguese designer channeled human morphology with bloody dress inserts, shredded leather sleeves and prints of the venous system in the iconic monument that was built for generals wounded in French imperial wars. Bucking the current trend for padding, the Lopes woman in geometric sheaths had narrow shouldersa look that would have accentuated the frailty of the tiny-boned models had it not been for the provocative leathers in patent black and nude.

Sexy was the overriding mood, with bias-cut sheaths split revealingly up the leg and exposing the shoulders. In another sensual but slightly busy look, a plunging decollete and voluminous brown fox fur sleeves contrasted with tight patent leather lapels and a second-skin micro skirt. When the show ended, the crowd departed sheepishly through the courtyard, with 40 huge canons pointing straight at them.

JULIEN DAVID Designer Julien David presented a zany and boyish Paris fall-winter collection inspired by the Yeti monster, which should help consolidate his up-and-coming star status. There was a trendy insouciance to many of the looks (you can see he’s lived in Tokyo): a double face knitted skirt suit in light gray wool was complemented with a sporty sweatband and snowboots. This was one of many looks that might have come with a warning: “It’s just fashion. Don’t dress like this if it snows!” Flashes of chainmail and metallic silk quilting on pouffy dresses added a cooler, aggressive edge to the first wave of overly warm-looking clothes.

The men’s wear looks, like a tailored houndstooth suit, also gave the collection variety. But soon enough David was back to the show theme in the mountains, this time facing a childhood fear: the Abominable Snowman. Suffocating Yeti wool blouses, skirts, short pants and snowboots filed out as if the designer was preparing for a bleak winter.

The piece de resistance drew gasps: a disturbing Yeti wool mid-length dress and huge marshmallow mask with two nightmarish eye-holes and nowhere to breathe.

When the revelers noisily applauded for the designer to take his bow, there was no reply and he was nowhere to be seen. — AP

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

lifestyle F a s h i o n

Models present creations by Italian designer Corrado De Biase during the Fall/Winter 2012-2013 ready-to-wear collection show, on February 28, 2012 in Paris. — AFP/AP photos

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Stacy Haskin, foreground, gets her first look at her shorter hair while Emon Fowler, right, takes a look in the mirror from behind her at Sarah Bellum salon.

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n the cold, winter night that Sharon Coleman shaved off all her hair, she sat surrounded by other African-American women who were grinning and applauding as the clippers hummed. And when every strand of her shoulder-length, straight hair was on the floor, Coleman stood from her seat, and fell into the arms of the women circled around her. The room was filled with strangers who had come to witness the new hair ritual, show support and find courage to do the same, Coleman said.

“All the women just embraced me and were very encouraging,” she said as she recalled the event. “Everyone was complimenting me: ‘I like the way you look. I love your hair.’” For AfricanAmerican women, hair is often a battle ground for how beauty is defined. For one group of black women, shaving their hair to a closecropped, boyish style has become a way of empowering themselves, rejecting mainstream standards of beauty and shedding their obsession with extensive, daily hair rituals.

Earlier this month, Emon Fowler launched her Chicago-based “Harriet Experiment,” in which she is asking black women to abandon weaves, wigs and chemical relaxers and spend a new year with new hair. She wants the women to start with the “big chop,” in which they shave off their processed hair completely and start anew. Fowler, 30, has organized gatherings to take place throughout the year for women to cut their hair while surrounded by cheerleaders who have done the same. She has been recruiting women on Facebook, stopping them in grocery stores and making appearances at fairs and festivals to promote her cause.

“This is all about breaking free from that hair bondage,” said Fowler, a hair stylist. She says her project isn’t about building a clientele, but changing mind-sets. “When a woman decides to cut all her hair, she discovers something underneath that is liberating. It can be therapeutic because you have to let go of the idea that you need these superficial extras to feel beautiful. It says, ‘I’ve accepted me.’”

Fowler said she was inspired to start her movement after reflecting on the life of Harriet Tubman, the iconic hero who risked her life to free hundreds of slaves. She sees her mission as

helping to free African-American women from the emotional and psychological baggage associated with their hair. There are varying opinions in the black community about the meaning of straight hair, but some think it’s an attempt to imitate the white standard of beauty. Fowler said she wants to reinforce to AfricanAmerican women that they don’t have to change their hair to feel pretty or accepted.

For African-American women, shaving off all their hair is nothing new. In the 1970s, thousands of black women wore their hair short and close-cropped as a symbol of racial pride and consciousness, said Lanita Jacobs, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California. But in Fowler’s project, the women who decide to undergo the big chop do it publicly, and with a built-in support system of cheerleaders, Jacobs said. That support can help ease what can be a shock to black women’s psyche, one expert said.

“Black women have been conditioned to believe that our hair, in its natural state, is not beautiful, not professional and not manageable,” said Chris-Tia Donaldson, a Chicago-based author who wrote a book about the topic.

“When you go to hair that is short, it can take a toll on your self-esteem. You have to learn how to work it and own it.” There is a growing trend toward wearing hair more naturally, which some believe means a change in the definition of what beauty is for the next generation of African-Americans, Jacobs said.

“There has been a radical shift in black people’s minds on what can be beautiful,” she said.

“Increasingly, black men are making room for non-straightened and non-long hair as a qualifier for beauty. More African-American celebrities are experimenting with natural hair. “What black women do with their hair has always created questions: Who are you? Who are you trying to be? What does this mean?”

When any woman shaves her hair close to the scalp, it can unearth feelings of vulnerability, said Jacobs. For those African-American women who have straightened their hair for much of their lives, it can be particularly stirring.

“You are in some cases stepping away from something that you know and into new,

unknown territory,” Jacobs said. “When you do the big chop, people come up and ask questions. It can complicate your appeal to the opposite sex, it can complicate your job searching endeavors, it can complicate your family relationships. Your family may ask, who are you?”

Because her hero, Harriet Tubman freed an estimated 700 slaves, Fowler has an ambitious mission to find 700 black women willing to undergo the big chop this year, she said. So far, she’s only gotten a couple dozen to join her on the journey. But her project isn’t just about numbers, she said. It’s about making a statement. — MCT

Emon Fowler poses for portrait at her hair salon Sarah Bellum in Woodlawn, January 28, 2012. — MCT photos

ehind the scenes of New York Fashion Week, reams of legal contracts bind together designers, models, hair and make-up artists, photographers, stagehands, lighting technicians and even celebrities flaunting their clothes. These days fashion contracts can range from a premium price of up to $65,000 to rent the main runway at Lincoln Center where the top designers tend to show, to a smaller designer’s DJ contract including a clause that the DJ must have the right to publicly broadcast the music they pump out during the show.

“No one ever sees all of the business and legal work that goes into creating these shows,” Susan Scafidi, director of Fordham Law School’s Fashion Institute, said. “There are reams of contracts that have to happen.” Below is a peek of the kinds of negotiations that take place in order for each of the 90-plus shows to happen.

The tents: The fashion shows most familiar to the public are those at the IMG event at Lincoln Center, where tent rents range from $16,500 to $65,000.

Contracts for these venues are generally non-negotiable, and, like most Fashion Week-related agreements, subject to secrecy. The IMG contract, Scafidi said, “has confidentiality written all over it.” Some of the standard provisions cover lighting, seating and how long the designer will have access to the tents.

Tent contracts also require that literature for each show includes the event’s full name, and that a designer’s sponsors don’t conflict with the week’s official event sponsors. With Diet Pepsi as a sponsor this year, for instance, Diet Coke would likely not be approved.

Models: While fees and other details are typically included in a designer’s contract with models, the issue lawyers on both sides worry about most is how the models’ images will be used in advertising, social media and other outlets. Designers usually want to be able to use the images “in perpetuity.” Models’ representatives try to limit that contract language to a more defined period, typically six months, said Ali Grace, deputy director of business and legal at model management company Wilhelmina International Ltd. For prominent models, the contracts will be heavily negotiated, often at the last minute. Typically, design houses present their own contracts to the model agency and the agency edits the language and tries to persuade the designer’s representative to agree.

Music rights: IMG has a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the organization that controls music rights. For the fashion shows, ASCAP allows designers to play most artists without worrying about the record companies claiming copyright infringement, said Steve Gordon, an entertainment lawyer who discussed the topic at a panel held at Fordham Law School last week. Designers who show away from Lincoln Center at smaller spaces such as art galleries need to purchase ASCAP licenses themselves, or ensure any contract with the DJ includes a clause that they have the right to publicly broadcast the music they play.

Sponsors: Designers use sponsors to help defray the costs of the show. Because that involves using the sponsor companies’ trademarked logos as well as how the companies’ names will be used, lawyers are needed. An issue that sometimes arises is the conflicting sponsorship. For example, labels showing in Mercedes-Benz tents can’t turn to other carmakers as sponsors. But if the designer is showing at another venue, automakers are fair game-which is why the label Rag & Bone could sign up Land Rover for Fashion Week last September. That involved both a sponsorship fee as well as Land Rover providing cars to ferry Rag & Bone V.I.P. guests to and from their show, said Douglas Hand, an attorney at Hand Baldachin Amburgey who helped negotiate the contract.

Celebrities: Designers work hard to get celebrities to their shows, and the process often is complicated, involving negotiations over if the starlet will speak to the press, pose for pictures and what they’ll wear, Scafidi said. The contracts however are nearly unenforceable, since no designer would want the bad press of suing a celebrity for non-attendance.

— Reuters

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Boyish look kicks off Paris fashion week

Years

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

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Employees pose next to a 1994 embroidery work entitled ‘Tutto’ (Everything) by Italian artist Alighiero Boetti at the Tate Modern in central London on February 27, 2012. The Tate Modern will present an exhibition of Boetti’s work titled ‘Game Plan’ from February 28 to May 27, 2012. — AFP

Titanic auction T

interest rises as 100th mark nears

he April 1 auction of more than 5,000 Titanic artifacts a century after the luxury liner’s sinking has stirred hundreds of interested calls, with some offering to add to the dazzling trove already plucked from the ocean floor. Auctioneer Arlan Ettinger said his New York auction house, Guernsey’s Auctioneers & Brokers, has heard from some descendants of the more than 700 survivors, including one offer he describes as morbid: papers found on the floating body of a passenger after the sinking.

“Their relative was found floating and, when the body was recovered, papers were removed passports and other documents,” he said. “That has stayed in the family’s hands and they offered it to us.”

The papers will not be included, but something much more poignant will be: a children’s bracelet with the name Amy spelled out in diamonds. Only two Amys were listed among 2,228 passengers, of whom more than 1,500 died. “It’s very personal and very touching to see that,” Ettinger said. The auction will feature clothing, fine china, gold coins, silverware and “The Big Piece” - a 17-ton section of the Titanic’s hull plucked from the pitch-black depths 2 1/2 miles beneath the North Atlantic. It will be sold in one lot and the winning bid will be announced April 11. It was appraised in 2007 at $189 million.

Ettinger said Guernsey’s has had its share of high-profile auctions - treasures from the estates of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Princess Diana and President John F Kennedy - but the collection from the world’s most famous shipwreck tops them all. The Titanic sank April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg the night before during its maiden passage from Southampton, England, to New York. “Where on this planet can you go and say the word ‘Titanic’ and not get some reaction?” he asked.

An international team led by oceanographer Robert Ballard located the wreckage in 1985, about 400 miles off Newfoundland, Canada. The auction will be the first of Titanic artifacts collected from its final resting place, although items gathered from the ocean surface and from

survivors have been sold in the past.

Premier Exhibitions Inc. has been displaying a fraction of the artifacts in traveling shows worldwide, including a permanent exhibit in Las Vegas. RMS Titanic Inc, a division of Premier that has overseen the artifacts for 18 years as the court-recognized salvor, said the public company decided to auction the collection in response to shareholders’ wishes. By order of a federal maritime judge in Virginia who has overseen the case for years, the items cannot be sold individually and they must go to a buyer who agrees to properly maintain the collection and make it available for occasional public viewing. The sale is also subject to court approval.

Ettinger said the court-ordered covenants governing the sale made this auction a unique challenge. “Many, many people would covet the opportunity to own this or that thing, but not the whole shebang,” he said. Mindful of the strings attached, Ettinger will be reviewing bids through March to make sure interested parties can abide by restrictions.

“It does certainly restrict the number of potential buyers,” he said. Still, Ettinger said he has heard from museums, companies and individuals, none of whom he will name.

Besides the massive hull section, the collection includes an array of personal items, such as a mesh purse, eyeglasses and a waistcoat remarkably preserved in a leather satchel. A bronze cherub that once adorned the Grand Staircase is included, as are bottles and ship fittings, including the stand upon which the ship’s wheel stood.

James Delgado, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Maritime Heritage Program, calls the collection a “powerful and compelling” record of Titanic’s doomed voyage. “The power of the collection as a whole speaks to the ship, to the people and the events of that night in a way that one item can’t,” said Delgado, who led a science team that recorded the wreck site in 2010. “They offer context - where they came from and what they once represented on the ship when it was afloat.”

Binoculars found among the debris of the Titanic wreck in New York. — AP photos

The vast majority of the Titanic’s opulent furnishings, recreated in James Cameron’s blockbuster film “Titanic,” remain within the two main sections of the wreck, he said. The wreck is considered “sacred” and off limits to salvors.

The Guernsey auction is also offering first-ofits-kind archaeological data and images of the wreck, as well as the only detailed map of the debris field on the ocean floor. It’s about 2-by-3 miles. The intellectual property includes more than 1,000 hours of film footage showing where

the artifacts were gathered, 400,000 still images and 3-D footage of the Titanic’s bow and stern, said Brian Wainger, a spokesman for Atlantabased Premier Exhibitions. The buyer could also have the opportunity to become the steward of the wreck site itself.

Delgado said the public’s continued fascination with the century-old wreck is due, in part, to the poignancy of the disaster and the human drama that played out on the ship’s decks while it sank. It was also the first modern disaster to capture the public imagination through wireless transmissions. “It was the first time the world dealt with a disaster in real time,” he said. — AP

Chicken slaughter art project ruffles feathers

O

File photo shows Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey’s Auction House, standing next to a model of the Titanic, during a press conference and preview of Titanic artifacts.

File photo shows a bracelet from the RMS Titanic which was recovered from the ocean floor during an expedition to the site of the tragedy.

fficials have banned an artist from publicly slaughtering chickens, saying the proposed art installation would amount to animal cruelty. Assistant City Attorney Chad Sublet said Tuesday that artist Amber Hansen told him she intended to abide by the city ’s animal cruelty ordinance.

Violating it could lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. Even keeping the chickens on private land would require her to meet other city codes on animal care. Sublet said Hansen, an artist in residence at the University of Kansas, is considering alternatives to draw attention to the process of slaughtering animals, including a public sculpture.

Through the project, called “The Story of Chickens: A Revolution,” Hansen originally planned to display coops of chickens at locations across Lawrence, where they would be cared for by volunteers. The birds would later be publicly slaughtered by a local farmer and served as a meal. “By building a relationship with the birds, the project will transform the contemporary view of chickens as merely ‘livestock’ to the beautiful and unique creatures they are, while promoting alternative and healthy processes of caring for them,” she wrote on her project’s website.

Hansen received funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts’ Rocket Grants program in collaboration with the Charlotte Street Foundation and the University of Kansas’ Spencer Museum of Art. Hansen spoke to the Lawrence-Journal World newspaper but did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press left for her through a relative. She has said she grew up on a farm where some animals were raised for food. She said she began to feel disconnected from her food after she left and went to art school.

“If people choose to eat meat, it is an important process to witness and be mindful of,” Hansen told the Lawrence newspaper. “It is a process that takes place on a mass scale every day, and we aren’t really allowed to see it.” But several animal rights activists, including Lawrence’s Compassion for All Animals group and United Poultr y Concerns, had expressed concerns, including that the public display would be stressful for the animals.

Hansen acknowledged there had been concerns. “ The project will move for ward to accommodate that discussion, but it will abide by the city ’s codes,” she told the Lawrence newspaper. — AP