06 Apr 2012

Acquiring the ‘ideal’ accent: Effort or accident?

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Mali Tuareg rebels say liberation push is complete

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Venus topples Jankovic, Bartoli battles through

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NO: 15410- Friday, April 6, 2012

Iran flag burner freed SEE PAGE 4

KUWAIT: Kuwaitis hold a protest outside the State Security headquarters in South Surrah demanding the release of Nahar Al-Hajeri, who is accused of burning an Iranian flag, in this file photo. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

From the editor’s desk

Don’t worry, be happy

By Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan Editor-in-Chief

myopinion@kuwaittimes.net

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pparently the happiest countries in the world are mostly in northern Europe. According to the first ever World Happiness Report, which was commissioned for the United Nations Conference on Happiness, the top ten happiest countries in the world are as follows: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.

The report shows that happier countries tend to be richer countries that are economically and politically stable with the absence of corruption.

The question I was wondering about is what was happiness based on when this report was made? Apart from New Zealand and Australia, many people would consider this the list of the topmost miserable countries to live in terms of weather. Just ask Scandinavians themselves -

they will tell you they love countries with sunshine and many of them own houses in hot countries with sandy beaches. Plus it is ironic when you see that many of these countries rank really high in terms of suicide rates or people losing it and firing a machine gun in schools! Other than that, I do agree that these countries are more organized - they are economically stable, politically stable, enjoy a good amount of freedom, corruption is almost nonexistent and at least they don’t get sandstorms.

I guess living the American dream only puts you in 11th place, as that is where the USA is ranked. According to the report, the US has become less happy in recent times.

However, many of us still enjoy American movies, American music, American holidays and good old American pies, so we would rate the US on a higher ranking. The UAE was ranked the highest in the Gulf in 17th place followed by Saudi Arabia on 26th, Qatar 29th and Kuwait on 31st. Well that’s just a classic example of the fact money can’t buy happiness, especially with the amount of corruption we enjoy in the Gulf. However, the UAE is ranked in a good position; so, yes money can’t buy happiness but it sure as hell feels a lot better to cry in a luxury car. As for Kuwait, well we have the parliament and

sandstorms to thank for our misery.

The report shows that Palestine is among the countries with the lowest rankings in the world and Israel on 16th.

That is expected since Israelis are happy now that they are building new settlements and the Arab Spring has given them a curtain to hide behind while they do whatever they want to Palestinians without attracting attention. The world is just too busy with Syria. As for the Palestinians, of course they are not going to be happy, as they don’t really have a country and are about to lose more land and houses to Jewish settlers. I wonder if anyone in the UN will sing a remix of the Bobby McFerrin song to the Palestinians - If Jewish settlers are taking your land and you ain’t got nowhere to go?.. don’t worry, be happy.

If any country feels offended by my comments, then please be assured I am just jealous because I am in the 31st place in happiness and wish we could be happier.

Wish you all a HAPPY weekend.

Conspiracy Theories

Roma or Barcelona?

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

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f you are looking for love and attention; if you feel neglected and put on the shelf, girls or boys, men or women, you should pack and head to Spain. Or you can take a gondola and sail to Venice in Italy. Recently, I read a rating prepared by a media organization ranking the world’s most romantic nationalities. I laughed my head off. I thought that Arabs will be number one because they love marrying and remarrying. We have been known in history for poets who have experienced their love through words. In all honesty, all I can see in the Arab world is not industry or manufacturing but a lot of passion and poetry dedicated to the woman. Even in the past when Arabs used to go to wars, they would recite love poems to their beloveds. They used to launch wars over women.

I am sure you have all heard stories by Antarah bin Shadad who fell in love with Abla. Don’t forget the well-known lover Qais bin Al-Mulawwah and his crazy obsession with Layla. He wrote beautiful poems which generations after generations have been reciting and will continue to recite. He lost it in the end and he was called Majnoon (crazy) Layla.

After all these sacrifices from the Arab peninsula nations, they did not rate in the top 10 spot of that ranking except for Lebanon, which I don’t consider fully-

Arab. They came in 6th place. Bless the Lebanese! They always claim they are originally Phoenicians blended with French culture. Whatever! They ranked 6th . This is not bad at all, romantic souls.

Congratulations to Beirut!

Spain came first and of course don’t forget the Italians. Predictably good old Roma ranked 3rd after Argentina. I totally agree that Italians are very romantic. Even the less attractive woman gets attention in good old Italy known for Casanova.

The great USA rated 7th. I wonder why?

What is so romantic there? They marry in an hour and get divorced within the same hour. That is spontaneous. Or maybe the survey focused on courtship that involves dinner, a movie and a let’s-split-the-bill end of the evening.

I was looking for Kuwait in the ranking and it did not exist on the map of romance at all. What a shame! Maybe when they were doing the survey they skipped our famous Shara Al-Hub (Love Street) or Shara Khaleej (Gulf Road) where boys and girls “romantically” exchange phone numbers. But if the ranking is right, that means that our men and women have to look for some romance beyond the borders. Maybe it is the effect of the dust storms and the scorching sun; maybe they have killed the romance.

Have a romantic weekend!

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Satire Wire

Nip and tuck your worries away

By Sawsan Kazak

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net Friday Times has turned 7, and was feted by a delicious birthday cake from Sheraton and a lovely bouquet of flowers from Crowne Plaza.

Local Spotlight

Happy Easter !

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recently read an article chronicling the use of free cosmetic surgery in Brazil to lift the spirits of poor women. Apparently, more than 220 clinics across Brazil offer struggling women free cosmetic procedures to help them improve the way they feel about themselves. Botox, laser hair removal, chemical peels and anticellulite treatments are but a few treatments provided free of charge to underprivileged women.

The article explains that even though spending time and money on these procedures might seem frivolous to some people, the women really do benefit from them.

Doctors at these Brazilian clinics argue that removing women’s wrinkles or other physical flaws not only make them look better, it improves their self-esteem.

I for one applaud the efforts made by these doctors in Brazil. Helping women overcome insecurities with simple procedures is wonderful. And why should only the rich and famous have access to cosmetic procedures? I can see how some people can be against an emphasis on physical beauty rather than inner beauty or financial stability for instance. But the purpose of help-

ing people is to make them happier; some people are happier when they look better.

But why stop there? I think that after having improved a women’s exterior, why not move on to other aspects of her life? I would add to that a few sessions with a professional depending on the needs of the patient. Free appointments with a psychologist, an accountant, a lawyer, or any other specialist that can aid in improving the patient’s life. I don’t mean to be facetious, but if the aim is to help ‘poor’ people feel better about themselves, then why not take it a step further and help them to adjust to other areas of their lives for a prolonged effect.

Giving people access to financial, psychological and social information can help them and their whole family; making them beautiful on the inside and out. Beauty will eventually fade, but life lessons can be passed on from one generation to another. So I guess the expression would go ‘make a woman beautiful, help her for a few years. Teach a woman life skills, help her and her family for a lifetime’.

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

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would like to wish all those celebrating Easter on Sunday, April 8. By now, I am sure many are busy preparing chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks and jellybean-filled Easter eggs. I like the colorful look.

For those of you who do not know why Easter is important for Christians, here is a bit of information. It is the springtime holiday marking Jesus’ (PBUH) resurrection and the renewal of the Christian faith. Historically, Easter eggs were painted in bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Eggs play an important part in Easter.

I think the most popular egg rolling event takes place at the White House lawn in the United States. Every year I watch the event on TV that appears to be fun and joyous for everyone. Hundreds of children come with baskets filled with brightly decorated eggs and roll them down along the famous lawn, while the president of the United States and his family look on.

Like any religious celebration, it is time to think of all the blessings we enjoy. Life is all about giving. Therefore, we need to know how to be thankful and know how to help others in need. I believe death is also a blessing that marks the end of the journey called life, supposing that it has been fruitful and helpful. I think such gatherings offer a wonderful time for children. It is surely an enjoyable time for families. Any event that brings people together is a blessing, regardless of whether it is Easter or not.

Muslims may not agree with such celebrations. Not all Muslims are alike, though. Some are extremely conservative while others are open minded towards beliefs, practices and ceremonies. I see no harm in wishing my Christians friends and respect their religious beliefs and actions, even if I don’t share them. So, if Easter is a time to be counting blessings, we should respect others’ beliefs.

All religions ask man to be thankful. Sadly, many can’t afford to enjoy all of life’s blessings.

Happy Easter!

Iran flag burner freed Assembly passes first reading of tenders law

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry’s investigation department unexpectedly decided yesterday to release Nahar Al-Hajeri, who was arrested a week ago for allegedly burning an Iranian flag. Hajeri’s release comes a few days after the same department ordered an extension of 21 days to his detention pending further investigations and trial. It also comes after serious threats by Islamist MPs to grill the interior minister over the issue.

Hajeri was arrested on March 21, a day after the Iranian flag was set ablaze at a rally by Islamists in protest against a Shiite tweeter who allegedly insulted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his wife Aisha and some companions. The Interior Ministry accused Hajeri of burning the flag, but he denied it. Several Islamist MPs strongly criticized the arrest and detention of Hajeri. MP Waleed AlTabtabaei also vowed to grill the interior minister over the issue.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly unanimously passed the tenders law in the first reading, despite a heated debate in which the government said approving it without crucial amendments will harm development. All 48 MPs present voted for the law, which introduces a large number of amendments to the decades-old law to make it more open and fair for all bidders.

Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said the government voted for the law in a

KUWAIT: Kuwaitis hold a protest outside the State Security headquarters in South Surrah demanding the release of Nahar Al-Hajeri, who is accused of burning an Iranian flag, in this file photo. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh sign of cooperation but insisted that all law should not be passed without key the necessary amendments must be amendments.

Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali studied and incorporated in the law cautioned that the law could impact tenbefore the second vote.

MP Marzouk Al-Ghanem, head of the ders for manufacturing Kuwaiti dinar financial and economic affairs commit- banknotes and make it easier to fake the tee which had prepared the law, called Kuwaiti currency. Opposition MPs howon MPs and the government who have ever wanted the law to be passed and any proposed amendments to submit completed because of the government’s them to the committee. Ghanem said failure to submit its amendments to the the law will be ready for the second concerned Assembly committee, despite round of voting after one month, but the lapse of a very long duration. Top Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun said the sec- government bureaucrats including ond vote will take place on April 24. The Khaled Al-Kulaib, head of the Central session witnessed heated debates Tenders Committee, said the present between MPs themselves and between form of the law will obstruct developMPs and ministers who insisted that the ment plan and projects.

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Fashion extremes in Kuwait

By Sawsan Kazak

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ashion is always developing, changing and reinventing itself, and nowhere is that more clear than in Kuwait. Most people in Kuwait are very fashion conscious and are up to date with the newest of trends (no matter how silly or unflattering).

Shopping is the national pastime and is taken very seriously.

Brand names from around the world can all be found in this little country and are bought and worn with pride. Women and men strut their stuff in the latest items, but sometimes they miss the mark. Seeing as Kuwait is a country of extremes, extreme weather, extreme personalities and extreme driving; fashion is no exception and is taken to the extreme. The recent fashion trends in Kuwait have gotten a little out of control and are making it hard for most of us to shop.

Pant legs Pants in this country now only come in two styles: super skinny, and way-too-big. The super skinny trend is so annoying as jeans have morphed into skin-tight stretch pants. These kinds of pants are stuck to your body and give no room to breathe or to hide anything. Also, the fact that the pants hug your ankles, your shoes are permanently exposed. This usually ends up making you look like Big Foot or some sort of peasant that is wearing oversized shoes. Maybe there are part of my shoes I do not want exposed to the world (such as the heel), but with skinny jeans there is nowhere to hide.

As for the way-too-big trend, it is somewhat confusing. Girls walk around with what looks like a really long skirt, but when they walk a certain way, the legs separate and it then becomes clear that each pant leg has an oversized circumference. The most annoying part of this fashion trend is that most of these pants

Kuwait is a country of extremes - extreme weather, extreme personalities and extreme driving - and fashion is no exception and is taken to the extreme. come with suspenders. I guess you would need suspenders when your pants can fit seven more people at the same time.

Colors Color blocking is the latest trend in Hollywood. This is when you wear two or more bright colors at the same time but do it in a way so as they complement each other. Examples of color blocking would be wearing a red dress with bright pink shoes, or matching an orange skirt with a flashy blue top. As much as these colors seem to clash if worn together, when done right, color blocking is classy and stylish. But in Kuwait, color blocking is taken to the furthest extremes and it becomes color jamming. Wearing seven flashy colors at once does not show trendiness, it shows confusion.

Clowns wear flashy colors to get attention, but the attention gotten in a circus should not be the same kind you get when walking through the mall.

Heels The extremes in shoes is very apparent these days with shoes either being 10 inches high, or stuck to the floor. Stilettos seem to be very ‘in’ these days, bulky in the front and heels as thin as needle tips make for a dangerous combination. Trying to look professional and well-put together while you are walking like a robot on stilts is very hard. These kinds of shoes are great for weddings or special events, but I don’t want to be wearing them on a day-to-day basis; especially not with my skinny jeans.

But if I don’t pick the 10 inch heels, my only other option seems to be flats. Sandals and ballerina shoes now come with a sole as thin as a paper and flimsy straps that only hold your big toe in place.

For someone short like me, these shoes do nothing for my outfits and are not an option when going to work or another public event.

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Acquiring the

‘ideal’ accent: Effort or accident?

By Lisa Conrad

T

he accent with which people speak English can often be a sensitive point as perceptions of status and ‘prestige’ surrounding different accents continue to grow. In Kuwait, it’s often put forward that the more Western your accent, the more respect and prestige you’ll garner. However, is accent really as big an issue as it’s made out to be, or are we all just being misinformed by ageing stereotypes?

According to Munirah Al-Ajlan, a linguist and English teacher at Kuwait University, the accents with which English is spoken still make a difference, “One’s English accent certainly makes a difference in terms of status and image, as perceived by others,” she said. “Image counts for a lot in Kuwait and people pay a lot of attention and importance to what people think of them.

Using English language or code-switching with Arabic English implies prestige and a more ‘respectable’ level.”

Kuwaiti student Aicha Al-Faraj who is currently studying a Masters in Applied Linguistics with TESOL at the University of Sheffield, said, “I believe that speaking English fluently, and with an accent, helps in people seeing you as a cultured person even if you’re not.” It’s increasingly common in Kuwait, especially in the newer generations, for English and American accents to be used. Aicha and her husband both speak in American accents which, she adds, confused her UK friends, “A lot of people here in the UK can’t wrap their heads around how I’ve lived in Kuwait my whole life, but still managed to acquire an American accent. That goes for my husband, too.”

Given the impression that different accents give, it’s interesting to consider whether or not English speakers in Kuwait would ever adapt an accent purely for the ‘prestige’ they associate with it. According to English Literature student Farah, it’s not uncommon at all, “I went to an English school, and many of our teachers spoke in English accents, which is why my English has a bit of a British twang. Many of my classmates, however, have full-on, Middle American accents.” She added, “Many people make an effort to adopt another accent because they see it as fashionable or prestigious.

American is the most popular.”

Farah is most likely correct: both Munirah and Aicha listed American as the most popular accent to speak English with in Kuwait. Both agreed that it’s followed by the British accent and, lastly, the Australian accent.

Their answers regarding accents are put on purposefully, however, differed. “I think if someone’s picked up an accent of some sort it indicates that they’re interested in the culture. However I don’t think there’s a specific desire for certain accents, as English is still learnt as a foreign language here, not a second language.” said Munirah. “I really don’t believe that anyone makes a specific effort to pick up an accent. I think the American accent is popular here largely due to media exposure,” said Aicha. She added, jokingly “I don’t think people pick up accents on purpose, but I know a few people who imitate the British accent quite well.”

Whilst she questioned whether accents really could be transient and changeable with the trends, Munirah noted that it is not uncommon in Kuwait for trends to suddenly sweep the country and become fashionable.

According to Farah, however, accents can certainly be classified as a trend, but not a changeable one, “The American accent is the most desirable and it has been that way for years. I’m sure it will continue in the future as well. We’re inundated with American culture, American films, American music; is it really that shocking that people start talking in American accents?”

The implications of placing differing amounts of ‘status’ on accents, however, can be detrimental for some, “There is teasing at school over different accents,” said 13-year-old student, Yousuf. “If you don’t speak English with a good accent, other kids might make fun of you or call you stupid or slow. It depends on your friends and your school, but I have seen kids bullied because of it.” American expat Laura revealed that prejudices stemming from which accents are used are also present between adults. “I had a job interview, and the interviewer offered me the job based on my accent.” She added, “He told me that I’d do a better job than his other staff in meetings because my accent would be more respected, and therefore what I said would be accepted and believed more.”

Aicha agreed that it is a matter of status. “It doesn’t hurt to state the obvious again, but many people here like to enhance their image in every way possible, and

this is one of those ways!” She added, however, that it’s often harmless and a result of being exposed to other cultures, “This issue tells us that Kuwait is open to all kinds of English-language entertainment, and that many are also keen on traveling.” She continued, “I don’t think it’s an issue at all. If you’ve lived in Kuwait, you know how bilingualism is a prominent thing.

Welcoming a language is a step towards welcoming a culture. No harm done here.”

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Kuwaiti women attend the opening ceremony of the Al-Bairaq Mall in Fintas in this Oct 31, 2009 file photo. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Malls: Kuwait’s other social space

By Jamie Etheridge

T

he American University of Kuwait recently hosted a visiting professor who focused on the future of malls. Malls, he noted, have had a resounding impact on the world and have shaped the way we shop. They have created uniformity to our global shopping experiences, allowing us to experience the same shops thanks to franchising in Kuwait as in New York City. A cultural theorist, Professor Ian Buchanan serves as the director of the University of

Two young Kuwaiti men walk past during the opening of the 360 Mall in Zahra in this 19 July, 2009 file photo. — AP

Wollongong’s Institute for Social Transformation Research. He warned, however, that the financial viability of malls will be threatened by the growth of online shopping.

Malls play an important role in Kuwait, serving a range of purposes and only a few of these are related to shopping. First and foremost, malls are Kuwait’s primary social space. People spend hours lazily strolling The Avenues to see and be seen, to meet with friends and pass the time.

Many countries share the tradition of a ‘town

square’. Called an arcade, piazza, plaza, marketplace, agora, forum, village green or maidan, a town square is typically a place centrally located within the city where residents gather on evenings and weekends and for special occasions. It’s true, Kuwait has a ‘village green’ that serves the political role. Irada Square, located just across from parliament, is a gathering point for locals but the space is used almost exclusively for political means and almost exclusively in the short cool months of winter/spring.

Instead, it is the malls, starting from the old Souq Salmiya on Fourth Ring Road through Fanar, Souq Sharq, Marina and more recently The Avenues and 360 that fill the role of social gathering spot. In addition to dozens of cafes and restaurants, the malls often hold photography exhibitions, festivals, flashmobs, music concerts and other happenings. They are the destination for corporate social responsibility initiatives, the locale for mobile phone promotions and events, the place where the government announces new electricity conservation or traffic awareness campaigns, etc. Kuwait’s malls even have their own blogger, (http://www.965malls.com/).

Rather than fading away or losing out to online merchants, malls in Kuwait - and in fact the whole Gulf region - thrive on this mix of social and shopping. Maybe the millions of visitors every year aren’t shopping exclusively at malls, but no doubt the amount of money spent in cafes and restaurants contribute greatly to the bottom line.

Quite simply, there are few alternatives.

Thanks to long hot summers that preclude almost all outdoor activities, malls end up serving as the only common, public space where members of the society can come together.

Diwaniyas are male-only forums. While an important social and political gathering place, they do not offer the same social role as malls because they are not open to the general public and exclude more than half of the Kuwaiti population.

There are also long stretches of time where there are few other happenings or events. Dubai excepted, most of the region’s social scene is especially limited. Concerts, plays, festivals, fairs and other weekend events tend to be limited and this is even more so during summertime when Kuwait starts to look and feel abandoned as thousands upon thousands take off for summer holidays abroad. Stuck home with little or no other outlets, malls become the destination of choice, and necessity for evenings and weekends.

The added advantage, of course, is that for developers and merchants, the captive audience makes for excellent marketing opportunities. It’s nearly impossible, no matter how disciplined you are or how much you’ve spent on Amazon the day before, to visit the Avenues and walk out empty handed. You might spend hours having lunch, chatting with friends, viewing a photography exhibit, getting your nails done and only at the end ‘window’ shop. But it’s far more likely that most of us will grab that pair of slinky sandals we’ve been eyeing or pick up a lovely bottle of cologne. Sales, of course, only add to the temptation.

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

‘Numama’ choir promotes music, culture

By Ben Garcia

Dressing domestics T Rare exhibition displays uniform collection for maids

By Nawara Fattahova

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rare fashion exhibition was held last week at a villa in Salam where uniforms for maids and domestic workers were on display.

Designers Nadia Al-Duhaishi and Muntaha Al-Muqbil, who conceived the event, were pleased with the crowd turnout. “As this is our first exhibition and is being held in a private place, I think the attendance is really good. We didn’t advertize it as we aimed to see our family members and friends’ responses first. We don’t plan to participate in commercial exhibitions,” Nadia told Kuwait Times.

The idea germinated when Muntaha was preparing for her son’s wedding, “I went to the market and was looking for some special uniforms for maids to wear while serving guests. I couldn’t find something special, and the prices were very high. That’s when I thought of designing uniforms and I pitched this idea to Nadia who liked it and agreed immediately. After designing our own uniforms, the guests liked it and asked me where I bought these uniforms from.

For about two months, we worked on our designs,” explained Muntaha.

The atmosphere exuded a family event feel. “We added more items to this exhibition like a teapot station, few homemade food items and evening dresses to enrich this exhibition with more variety.

We aimed to make this event a family friendly event that combines shopping. The three-day event was a success,” Nadia said. “Many likeminded people care about the outfit that housemaids wear while going outside. We do not like to see them wear a common uniform while outHousemaids model designer uni- doors. On the other hand, I don’t like her to be dressed forms. casually. We want something in between, so we came out with the these designs of dressy uniforms,” she added.

There are more uniforms on display for other domestic staff. “There are special uniforms for special occasions like weddings, receptions, parties and other occasions. These uniforms are more chic and contain golden threadwork for instance to match the evening event or celebration. We also have uniforms for different domestic staff like nannies, home nurses and others. We have received some orders from individuals, a catering company, a salon and a hotel for their staff,” Nadia pointed out.

She also said that domestic workers were consulted before designing the clothes. “We took comments from housemaids, who usually choose the style they like, as they are the ones who will wear it. We also take measurements so that the clothes are a perfect fit. The uniform should not be short or long, and sometimes two to three trials are needed to get the perfect look of the uniform.”

Prices are affordable, between KD 14 to 20. “We aimed to make our uniforms affordable to everybody, while offering something special and high quality. We choose the best fabrics to make the uniform comfortable. We have received excellent feedback from the maids themselves who liked it, both the colors and fabrics,” Nadia said. The designers are planning to showcase seasonal collections. “We will have a new collection in winter, summer, for the holy month of Ramadan and Eid,” she added.

he love for music gathers a community of women every Wednesday in Rumaithiya.

Janet Swain, a musician, said music is a way of life for many but also can further strengthen ties between a group of peoples.

“Music can explore possibilities and as a matter of fact, it can stop war. It can foster camaraderie, understanding, promote values and culture of people. Music makes people come together and for many it can usher change or a new dawn. That is how music works in our lives and we want to spread music to everyone,” said Swain as she explained her purpose for establishing the Numama Choir Group.

“We are into music. This is not religion - we are not promoting any religion here. What we believe is that any music can be understood by human hearts, and so we promote music expressing love, happiness, joy even anger or deep grinding emotions. We all love to learn and sing anything,” she said.

Swain founded the Numama Choir Group in Singapore three years ago. It grew from eight members to more than fifty now. The group exists in Singapore to this date, still multiplying in numbers.

And to continue her legacy, she established Numama in Kuwait and teaches and plays music with the newly formed group here. “I lived in Singapore for three years before I moved here. When I was in Singapore, I started the Numama Choir Group. It is designed for women with children. I organized this to give a chance to working mothers, a chance for themselves, without leaving their babies at home. They can bring their children here and attend our music classes,” she explained.

Numama comes from a Chinese word Nu - meaning newborn baby.

“I borrowed the Nu word from the Chinese language to connect to the word mama or mother. In Singapore when I left, it became so popular it attracted many people.

In fact I had to teach two classes there regularly. When I moved here six months ago, I thought of starting one here - I began it with four members and it is growing fast now,” Swain noted.

The Numama Choir Group in Singapore is still doing great. “I want to connect this new group here in Kuwait to the Numama in Singapore, so it will be global. I started Numama one month after settling here in Kuwait. When you join us, I usually start with vocal warm-ups. Some sort of stretching, then we learn songs, some very simple songs, lullabies, then move to difficult songs. While singing, you can hold your baby in your arms while learning songs or leave your babies with a nanny. I really encourage women to do something for themselves while enjoying the company of other

mothers or women of any age. In short, this is for mothers, but we don’t want to do an exclusive thing for mothers only, so whatever your age - if you are a woman. please come and join us,” Swain beamed.

The Numama founder believes singing is very good for humans as it can do many things for one’s health. It can help unwind, rejuvenate the body and soul, help your body to relax and help you to forget stressful events too. “We sing many folksongs, some simple songs, sort of lullaby songs, even some beautiful religious songs mixed with English and other languages. I love songs, I love music. I love to learn even other languages to be able to share with people

said.

At the moment, Numama members are mostly Western expatriates, but she welcomed anybody.

“I have one Lebanese now, but I really want to encourage locals and other Arabs to join us, only ladies please. I want to encourage Indians, Filipinas and other nationalities to join the choir,” Singing can be used to communicate and to promote culture and understanding. “That is why I always encourage my members to share their songs. We also encourage mothers to bring their babies.

Babies love to hear their mother singing. Children love their mother’s songs.”

Besides Numama, Swain also

KUWAIT: Numama Choir Group founder Janet Swain plays the ukulele at her home in Rumaithiya. around me.” Swain sometimes composes lyrics of songs she is sharing with the group. Her concept includes deeper sort of explanations to every song she introduces. “It is more meaningful, especially if you understand the meaning of the song you are singing. So before teaching the music, I usually come out with the story behind the song. There are stories in every song, I love to share them so as to internalize the song, and get a deeper understanding. I am now learning Arabic songs, so next time, I’ll be including Arabic songs as well. I am learning Egyptian songs, many of them lullabies; once I learn to sing a song well, I will teach them to the group and we’ll sing together,” she

encourages children to join her ukulele classes which she offers for free. “I love ukuleles. It’s a simple instrument, small but easy to play, easy to carry. It is easier to play than a guitar. You can buy them here in Kuwait very cheaply. It’s really fun, you can also sing songs with the ukulele, it’s amazing. It’s an instrument that beginners can play and have fun too,” Swain will be organizing a small concert sometime in June (date and venue to be announced) before the summer vacations. “Please do come and learn some songs, bring your little babies, let them play and listen to our music.” For more information please visit the Numama website: www.numamachoir.com or visit her at Block 5, Villa 4, Rumaithiya.

Local FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Octogenarian falls to death

Kuwait-Iraq flights to resume after 20 years

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An 80-year-old Egyptian was killed instantly when he fell from a high building in Salmiya, said security sources. Further investigations are still in progress.

Fatal blow to head A 29-year-old Egyptian was killed instantly when a heavy solid object fell on top of his head in Mahboula, said security sources. The corpse was transported to the coroner pending further investigations.

Shot at in Wafra A 32-year-old Bangladeshi and his 37-year-old compatriot sustained injuries when they were fired at by unidentified shooters in Wafra, security sources said. Further investigations are in progress to identify the shooters.

Jazeera Airways to fly to Baghdad, Najaf BAGHDAD: Iraq has approved a request from Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways to operate services to Baghdad and Najaf, more than 20 years after direct flights between the neighbours were halted, officials said yesterday . “We agreed yesterday to the request of the Kuwaiti Jazeera Airways company to (begin) flights from Kuwait to Iraq,” said Nasser Hussein Bandar, the head of Iraq’s civil aviation authority. Bandar said Jazeera Airways, which was founded in 2004, had requested four flights a week to Baghdad and four more to the central

Iraq city Najaf. Karim Al-Nuri, an adviser to Iraq’s transport minister, confirmed that a deal was approved. “This is a step on the path to resolve all the suspended files between Iraq and Kuwait,” including unresolved disputes over borders, said Nuri. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, after which flights between the Iraq and its small neighbour to the south were suspended. During a visit by Iraqi premier Nouri Al-Maliki in mid-March, Kuwait agreed to a $500 million deal with Baghdad aimed at ending a decades-long debt dispute that saw an

Iraqi Airways flight impounded in London. According to Kuwait Airways, Iraq’s flag carrier owes it $1.2 billion as a result of the 1990 invasion. Kuwait says 10 of its planes as well as aircraft parts were plundered after its airport was seized during the invasion. The dispute saw British authorities seize the passport of Iraqi Airways chief executive Kifah Hassan Jabbar and impound the plane which he flew to London in April 2010.

The incident marred Iraqi Airways’ first commercial flight from Baghdad to London in 20 years. — AFP

Magic fight A 15-year-old citizen was injured in a fight with others at the Magic Shopping Mall in Abu Halifa, security sources said.

More evidence condemns blasphemer Following up the case in which a citizen was accused of blaspheming Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on his Twitter account, new evidence has emerged which includes a copy of an old tweet in which the suspect blasphemed Almighty God, which counters the suspect’s denials. The suspect had told the public prosecution that the tweets, including the blasphemous one, were fake. However, the suspect is now facing an extra two charges of blaspheming God and insulting GCC leaders. He remains detained pending investigations.

12 year old killed in hit and run A 12-year-old citizen was killed instantly in a hit and run incident along the Gulf Road near Kuwait Towers, said security sources. The child was hit by a speeding vehicle while crossing the road. The driver never stopped and fled the scene. A search is on for the vehicle.

Besotted ex chases married man In a strange incident, a citizen reported that a woman chased and harassed him all the way to the doorsteps of his house, where she had a fight with his wife. Security sources said the woman had been calling the man’s mobile over 100 times daily. The female ‘suitor’ said she wants to be married to the man, although she knows that he is already married. “She’s trying to destroy my family life....I need your protection!” the man told police. He admitted that he knew her before he got married and had broken up with her. A case was filed and the woman is being summoned for further investigations.

Traffic campaign Within the activities of traffic police to limit road accidents and traffic law violations, Farwaniya traffic police recently launched an unscheduled inspection campaign that resulted in impounding 16 vehicles, withdrawing the license plates of 25 trucks and 25 tickets issued to trucks driven during the ban period. Hawalli traffic police launched a similar campaign that resulted in 18 tickets issued for various traffic law violations.

KUWAIT: Al-Najat private primary school for boys held a cleaning campaign on Salmiya beaches, organized by the Public Relations department at Hawally Municipality in a bid to boost students’ awareness of environmental issues. —KUNA

Agility wins deal appeal KUWAIT: Kuwaiti logistics company Agility won an appeal in court and will be able to go ahead with a contract to build and maintain a fish market thanks to the new ruling, the stock exchange said yesterday. Shares in the company had been suspended ahead of the announcement. The bourse, which makes announcements on behalf of companies, said trading would begin again shortly. The shares closed at 410 fils ($1.47) on

Wednesday according to Reuters data.

The government had originally cancelled the contract but Agility managed to appeal that decision in court, the statement said. It added that the outcome would not affect Agility’s financial statements. The company reported a 114 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit compared to the same period in 2010, the firm said in a statement on Saturday. — Reuters

US, Kuwait boosting educational ties

KUWAIT: US Ambassador to Kuwait Matthew Tueller visits the Al-Nibras School yesterday. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The US is keen on bolstering educational ties with Kuwait, and providing assistance in special education is one of the various ways to boost relations, said US Ambassador to Kuwait Matthew Tueller said yesterday during a book donation event at AlNibras School. “I’ve had great pleasure visiting the Nibras school this morning to be able to see the wonderful work that they are doing in really cutting-edge education for the young people of Kuwait. I’m very proud to be associated with this school, and have been able to make a donation of books from the United States to reach children of all ages and ability groups at this school.”

General Manager and Founder of Nibras Schools

Dr Nora S Al-Dahery said that the school was honored to have received the US ambassador, thanking him for his generous donation. On the activities of the school, Al-Dahery noted that Al-Nibras was connected with the Kansas State University (KSU), revealing that a memorandum signed with the university helped shape the school’s curriculum, a magma of US and Kuwaiti educational systems. The deal also includes training courses for Al-Nibras teachers under supervision of their US counterparts.

She said that Al-Nibras School is open to students of all nationalities and groups, adding that the motto of the school ‘Everyone has the right to success’ is aimed at reflecting such an attitude. —KUNA

Recording sermons no longer required KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has decided to forego requiring prayer leaders or imams to record sermons given in their mosques, said a ministry official yesterday. The decision reflects the ministry’s confidence in imams delivering eventempered and non-volatile sermons at prayer congregations, said Waleed AlShuaib, the ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for mosques’ affairs, in remarks he made to KUNA yesterday.

He urged all speakers in mosques to practice self-censorship when delivering their sermons so as to avoid the pitfall of sounding extremist or radical. He outlined the ministry’s rules regarding the opening and closing hours of mosques and the strict conditions governing the use of loudspeakers for prayer calls. Furthermore, he noted that the ministry has formed a committee to review all the rules and regulations embedded in the ministry’s “Guide for Working in Mosques”, emphasizing that members of the committee have been drawn from Kuwait University and other prominent institutions in the country. He underscored the ministry’s long-term work plan to promote the virtues of moderation and of tolerance. — KUNA

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Fighting in Syria goes on despite talks of pullback

Egypt Brotherhood candidate says sharia main objective

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Gunmen kill 10 at Afghan govt base

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MALI: A picture shows MNLA fighters gathering in an undisclosed location in Mali.—AFP

Mali rebels declare cease-fire Malian rebels claim ‘Azawad’ liberated BAMAKO: The rebel group that recently seized control of Mali’s remote north in a maneuver that effectively partitioned the country in two announced a cease-fire yesterday, saying they had reached their military goal. Moussa Ag Assarid, a spokesman for the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, said the group was declaring the cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to resume in the north, where shops were looted. In Ivory Coast, the military chiefs of the nations bordering Mali met yesterday to hash out their plan for a military intervention.

Deputy Ivorian Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said military action is being considered both to reverse the coup that deposed Mali’s president last month, as well as to preserve Mali’s territorial integrity after the rebel advance in the north.

He instructed the army chiefs of the 15 nations in West Africa to draft a detailed plan, including how many troops each intends to send, how quickly they could ready them and what logistical means they plan to contribute.

In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France is ready to help African forces on a logistical level. The chief of staff of the French

army, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, travelled yesterday to Burkina Faso to discuss details with the president.

The rebels launched their insurgency in January, saying they wanted to establish an independent Tuareg homeland in the north, known as the Azawad. They only succeeded in taking small towns until March 21, when disgruntled soldiers stormed the presidential palace in the distant capital of Bamako, overthrowing the democratically elected president. In the confusion that followed the coup, the rebels launched a new offensive and succeeded in taking the capitals of the three main northern provinces, including Kidal, which fell last Friday, Gao on Saturday and Timbuktu on Sunday. “The NMLA has reached the end of its military operations for the liberation of the territory of the Azawad,” said Assarid, speaking by telephone from Paris.

“Since the day before yesterday when our units reached Douentza which we consider to be the frontier of the Azawad,” he said, referring to a town some 600 kilometres (375 miles) from Bamako, “the military offensive is declared over.” Assarid’s group is the largest rebel group involved in the offensive, but it is

not the only one, and in the three main towns in the north, local officials say they cannot be sure which of the rebel armies has the upper hand. Western observers have expressed concern over the presence of an Islamist faction

called Ansar Dine, which planted its ominous black flag in all three of the provincial capitals.This week, the group announced it was imposing Sharia law in the ancient city of Timbuktu. — AFP

Snake on a plane CANBERRA: An Australian pilot said he was forced to make a harrowing landing reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller after a snake popped out from behind his dashboard and slithered across his leg during a solo cargo flight. Braden Blennerhassett - unsure whether the snake was venomous - said yesterday that his heart raced as he tried to keep his hands still while manoeuvring the plane back to the northern city of Darwin. The snake popped its head out from behind the instrument panel several times, Blennerhassett said, and then the ordeal worsened when the animal crawled across his leg during the approach to the airport.

“I’ve seen it on a movie once, but never in an airplane,” Blennerhassett told Australian

Broadcasting Corp., referring to the 2006 movie “Snakes on a Plane,” in which deadly snakes are deliberately released in an airliner as part of a murder plot. The 26-year-old Air Frontier pilot was alone in a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron G58 and had just left Darwin airport on a cargo run to a remote Outback Aboriginal settlement when he saw the snake on Tuesday. Air Frontier director Geoff Hunt described Blennerhassett as a “cool character” who radioed air traffic control to report: “I’m going to have to return to Darwin. I’ve got a snake on board the plane.” But Blennerhassett admits he was shaken, telling Nine Network television that his blood pressure and hear rate were “a bit elevated.”—AP

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Turkey does diplomatic split to stay friends with US, Iran ISTANBUL: How does a country stay friends with both Washington and Tehran?

How does it condemn the Syrian regime without alienating Iran? These are the headaches troubling Turkish diplomats as Iran’s nuclear programme and the bloodshed in Syria put them in an increasingly awkward position with neighbours Iran and Syria and traditional ally the United States. Tehran said Wednesday it wants to ditch Istanbul as the venue for crucial nuclear talks due to take place next week between Iran and six world powers.

The move comes after Istanbul hosted a “Friends of Syria” conference on Sunday that was sympathetic to Syrian rebels, but was sharply criticised by Tehran. “Taking into account the extremist and illogical position of Turkey on Syria and the recent conference on Syria, Turkey has de facto lost any competence to host the meeting,” Aladin Borujerdi, head of the Iranian parlia-

ment’s foreign affairs commission, told Iranian TV. In an escalating diplomatic spat, Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador Wednesday over Borujerdi’s remarks. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said he had contacted his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi to express Ankara’s dismay at the comments that “obviously contradicted the deep-rooted relations” between the two countries.

Iran has asked Baghdad to take Istanbul’s place as host of the April 13-14 talks with the P5+1 group-the permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany. Turkey hosted the last round of talks in January 2011, showing its readiness to act as a broker between its neighbour and Western countries accusing Tehran of trying to build a nuclear bomb.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had announced that Istanbul was to be host of the next round, and Iran was still referring to the city a week ago as the best place to hold the talks.

But Wednesday Iran looked bent on punishing Turkey’s stance on close ally Syria. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast accused Turkey of diplomatic double-standards in the region.

“You can’t close your eyes to the legitimate demands of the people of Bahrain and Yemen and pretend to defend the demands of the Syrian people,” he told a government daily newspaper.

Iran and Turkey have insisted they continue to have good relations. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a twoday visit to Tehran last week, where he voiced his country’s unwavering support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which Tehran says are for peaceful purposes. But not all

of Turkey’s recent moves have pleased Iran.

“Don’t try to follow Turkey’s foreign policy too closely, you risk straining your neck,” said a blog post by Jean Marcou, a French expert on Turkey. Turkey, an emerging economic power that is the only Muslim-majority country in NATO, has a hyperactive diplomatic programme some observers call “neo-Ottoman” for the sprawling empire that preceded modern Turkey. It has rejected EU and US sanctions on Iran to block its oil exports. But it has also won praise from Washington for cutting its own imports of Iranian crude by 20 percent.

Ankara also agreed last year to let NATO install an early-warning radar system in its southeast as part of a missile shield that Washington says is aimed at thwarting threats from the Middle East, particularly Iran.—AFP

Egypt Brotherhood candidate says sharia main objective Constitution assembly to press on despite walkouts

GAZA CITY: A Palestinian child eats a candy apple during celebrations marking Palestinian Children’s Day yesterday. — AFP

Rival militias halt fighting in Libya ZUWARA: Rival militias whose clashes in western Libya have killed at least 18 people stopped fighting yesterday, after the government sent in troops to impose a ceasefire, an army official said. Reuters reporters in the town of Zuwara said there was no sign of fighting in marked contrast to the day before when mortars and rockets were kicking up plumes of smoke, and the town hospital was overflowing with the wounded. The flare-up in violence tested the ability of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC), in charge since a revolt ousted Muammar Gaddafi last year, to impose its authority on the fractious and volatile country.

Amara Ramadan, a defence ministry official, said a contingent from the national army had now moved in, four days after the fighting broke out, to keep the warring sides apart. “We have been here since last night. We are at the front line to separate the two sides and since last night there has been a ceasefire,” he told Reuters in Zuwara. “We have specific orders to use force in case one side does not respect the ceasefire,” he said. “Until now it has been okay.” The fighting, which broke out at the weekend, was between militias in Zuwara, on the Mediterranean coast about 120 km (75 miles) west of the capital, and rival fighters in the nearby settlements of AlJumail and Regdalin.

Exchanging bodies Officials were using the break in hostilities yesterday to exchange the bodies of people killed in the fighting so they could be buried in their own communities. Bodies were being taken to neutral territory, at the hospital in the nearby town of Sabratha, where they were to be collected by their own side. Ramadan, the defence ministry official, said that late on Wednesday the bodies of three Zuwara fighters had been sent from Al-Jumail to Sabratha, while Zuwara was also handing over the bodies of three fighters from Regdalin. The violence has its roots in last year’s rebellion against Gaddafi, which in the area around Zuwara, as in many other parts of the country, set one neighbour against another. —Reuters

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for the Egyptian presidency, Khairat Al-Shater, declared that introducing sharia law would be his “first and final” objective if he wins elections in May and June. Making his first reported statements since the Brotherhood’s surprise decision to field him in the elections, Shater also promised to reform the Interior Ministry which long played a leading role in suppressing dissent. However, he denied he had struck a deal with the military on his candidacy, announced last Saturday, even though it may help candidates close to the old order of ousted President Hosni Mubarak by splintering the Islamist vote.

“Sharia was and will always be my first and final project and objective,” Shater was quoted on Wednesday as telling a meeting of the Religious Association for Rights and Reform - a group of which he is a member, along with figures who belong to the hardline Salafi school of Islam. In comments reported in a statement issued by the Association, Shater told the meeting held on Tuesday night that he would establish a special entity to help parliament achieve this objective.

The Brotherhood’s reversal of its promise not to contest the elections has drawn criticism from inside and outside the group, whose party controls the biggest bloc in parliament and which dominates an assembly that is drawing up the constitution.

Shater called for reform of Interior Ministry to curb its “involvement in all aspects of the state”. The 61-year-old millionaire businessman is set to present his candidacy documents yesterday. He is viewed as a frontrunners because of the Brotherhood’s organisational clout and grassroots network. The rise of Islamists is being closely watched in the West, long wary of their influence in Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel and recipient of $1.3 billion in annual US military aid. But US and other officials have lined up to meet Brotherhood officials, including Shater.

No deal Shater, a pragmatic conservative, reject-

ed suggestions that he had connived with the military which has ruled Egypt since Mubarak’s overthrow last year to undermine the growing popularity of other Islamists. “There is no deal between me and the military regarding my candidacy,” said Shater, who often drew up the Brotherhood’s strategy from a prison cell during Mubarak’s rule. His candidacy may splinter the Islamist vote, which is already split between at least three other candidates, possibly benefiting opponents attached to Mubarak’s old order.

get involved in the elections.

Some Brotherhood officials have expressed fears that it will have to carry the burden of running a country in transition single-handedly if it wins the presidency, and that it will raise rivals’ concerns that it is seeking a monopoly of power. The assembly drafting the new constitution said on Wednesday it would press on with its work despite fears that withdrawals by liberals and religious institutions would hinder the process.

The constitution is due to be written

CAIRO: Khairat El-Shater, a leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, leaves the gates of the election committee headquarters yesterday. — AFP Two main Islamist contestants are Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who follows a much more conservative interpretation of Islam than the Brotherhood, and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotoh, who was kicked out of the Brotherhood for announcing he would run for president before the group changed tack. Some Islamist candidates say they have come under pressure to withdraw in favour of Shater but they have promised to stay in the race.

The ruling generals insist they will not

by the 100-member assembly of politicians and public figures over the next six months. However, dozens of non-Islamist representatives have walked out, complaining that their voices are being drowned out. “We will give the chance to our brothers to come back and we will proceed in our activities so that we aren’t late; both will take place simultaneously,” said Saad Al-Katatni, a Brotherhood member who heads the assembly and is also parliamentary speaker. — Reuters

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Fighting in Syria goes on despite talks of pullback Refugee flow to Turkey accelerates DAMASCUS: Syria told UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan it had begun pulling troops out of several cities yesterday in line with a peace plan accepted by President Bashar Al-Assad, but his foes said the army was still firing in those towns and elsewhere.

Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said Syrian authorities “told us that they have begun withdrawing troops from certain areas”, namely the cities of Deraa, Idlib and Zabadani. Speaking in Geneva, he said this was being verified, but did not say how.

“They are complete liars, there is no army withdrawal, they are still in the middle of the city. They fired on the city this morning, like they do every day,” a man calling himself Abu Mustafa said by telephone from Zabadani near the Lebanon border.

However, he did acknowledge a modest pullback. “The army withdrew 15 tanks yesterday, but the rest are all around the checkpoints as usual,” Abu Mustafa said. Video filmed by activists in the Hraytan district just outside the city of Aleppo showed a column of five tanks and armoured personnel carriers firing heavy machineguns as they advanced through a village. A diplomatic face-off intensified between Syria’s ally Russia and Western powers who want Assad to go, with France accusing the 46-year-old Syrian leader of cheating on his promises, while Moscow told opposition supporters abroad not to set ultimatums. But at the UN Security Council, both sides agreed to a statement calling upon Syria to comply with Annan’s April 10 deadline to halt fighting and withdraw. There has been no let-up in the violence since Assad accepted Annan’s six-point peace plan more than a week ago. In the flashpoint city of Homs, activists filmed explosions in a street littered with debris. Blasts and gunfire rocked Douma, a town near Damascus, shortly before a senior UN peacekeeping official arrived in the Syrian capital.

Norwegian Army former Chief of Staff Major-General Robert Mood, 54, brought an advance planning team of 10 to decide how around 250 UN monitors might oversee the truce between army and insurgents due to take effect by next Thursday. In Damascus, thousands of mourners turned out in the Kafr Souseh district for the funeral of two activists shot dead in their car overnight. “We are not afraid. God is with us,” they chanted.

There was no sign of troops in the streets. Some analysts say any arrival of men in UN blue helmets will embolden a return to

Yemen kills 10 militants SANAA/ADEN: Airstrikes killed 10 suspected Islamist militants in southern Yemen yesterday, an official said, and authorities boosted security at foreign missions and government sites in Sanaa over a warning al Qaeda planned car bomb attacks in the capital.

A local official in southern Abyan province, partly controlled by an Al-Qaeda-linked group, said Yemeni warplanes launched two strikes at Islamist targets in the village of Umm al-Jabalayn, near the militant stronghold city of Jaar.

The official said at least 10 militants were killed in the attack.

Jaar residents said they saw members of the group, Ansar AlSharia members bringing bodies back to the city for burial. The reported strike is near an area where Ansar Al-Sharia last week said it killed at least 20 Yemeni soldiers. In Sanaa, Reuters witnesses said paramilitary Central Security Service personnel had been deployed across the capital, especially in the diplomatic quarter in the south of the city.

Suspicious cars were being stopped at makeshift checkpoint for spot searches, they said. The Interior Ministry ordered heightened security near government buildings and foreign missions, “to deal with any potential act of sabotage and terrorism,” according to a statement posted on its website. “We have received information concerning plans by Al-Qaeda to move its operations to Sanaa,” a security official told Reuters. “We believe it is preparing to carry out these operations using car bombs any time soon,” he added. Yemen has a seen a surge in violence in the south since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in late February, vowing to fight Islamist militants who expanded their footprint during political turmoil over the fate of Hadi’s predecessor. Mass protests aimed at ending the 33-year rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh, long a key figure in Washington’s fight against Al-Qaeda, erupted in early 2011. The demonstrations were compounded by fighting within an army divided between Saleh’s foes and allies. — Reuters

mass protests, as happened when an Arab League monitoring mission began operating in Syria in December. It was later withdrawn as violence increased.

More than 42,000 Syrians have fled the country since the uprising began a year ago and quickly descended into violence.

Turkey said over 1,600 had crossed the border in the last two days, twice the recent average rate. The United Nations says

Assad’s forces have killed more than 9,000 people in the past year. Syria told the world body this week that 6,044 had died, including 2,566 soldiers and police. Assad has promised to withdraw his army from population centres by April 10, and Annan’s plan calls for rebel forces to cease fire within 48 hours after that.

“So the clock starts ticking on the 10th for both sides to cease all forms of violence,” Fawzi said in Geneva.— Reuters

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Iran lawmaker nixes Turkey for nuke talks TEHRAN: The head of an influential foreign policy committee in Iran’s parliament said the country does not want Turkey to host talks with world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program, raising further questions yesterday about whether negotiations can begin as scheduled next week. The comments by Alaeddin Boroujerdi do not represent the final word by Iran’s ruling system, but strongly suggest a growing impasse ahead of talks set to start April 13 between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Iran has balked at having the negotiations in Istanbul because of Turkey’s escalating pressure on the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key Iranian ally. Boroujerdi, head of the parliamentary committee for national security and foreign policy, supported Baghdad as a venue, one of several alternative sites floated by Iran in recent days. Iraq’s Shiite-

led government has long-standing ties with Iran, and other sites mentioned by Iran - Syria, Lebanon or China - are also allies of Tehran.

“Iranian officials are not interested in Turkey as the host,” Boroujerdi was quoted as saying by the independent Etemad newspaper. Western officials have complained about Iran bargaining over the venue for this month’s planned talks with world powers. Boroujerdi’s comments were published shortly after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Iran to commit to nuclear negotiations as soon as possible, describing the time for a diplomatic solution as limited. Clinton on Wednesday said the US wasn’t interested “in talks for the sake of talks.”

Earlier this week, Clinton said the talks would take place in Istanbul. Western officials have remained committed to Turkey as the host, although possible alternatives

Sequel to anti-warlord video addresses critics SAN DIEGO: A wildly popular Internet video turned African warlord Joseph Kony into a household name and boosted the international hunt for the brutal rebel leader. Can a sequel do more? That’s the burning question for the small California advocacy group Invisible Children and its follow-up effort, “Kony 2012 Part II.” The Associated Press was given a copy of the sequel before its release yesterday.

Part II repeats some of the same slick, inspiring shots as the original of a young global community mobilizing into action. But noticeably missing is the voice of the organization’s co-founder, Jason Russell, who directed the first video.

Russell was diagnosed with brief psychosis last month after witnesses saw him pacing naked on a sidewalk in a San Diego neighbourhood, screaming incoherently and banging his fists on the pavement. His outburst happened shortly after Kony 2012 thrust the group into the global limelight.

The sequel also lacks the kind of narrative that made the original unique. The first Kony 2012 presented the global issue through a child’s eyes, with a discussion between Russell, who directed the video, and his young son Gavin about stopping the bad guys. The latest video is a traditional - albeit hip - documentary that addresses criticisms fired at the San Diego-based nonprofit since its overnight launch to fame. Among the complaints were that Kony 2012 was too American-centric, that the group spends too little money directly on the people it intends to help, and that it oversimplified the 26-year-old conflict involving Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army.

The original video drew some 100 million hits on YouTube, and likely will go down in history as a case study on what can go viral, says pop culture expert Robert Thompson.

But the Internet is fickle, he said. “The fact is, the story has developed in so many odd ways with all the controversy, and the sequel can’t really promise the bang of that first video which is informing people of something they did not know before,” said Thompson, a Syracuse University professor.

“Now we’re getting into the details, which is never that thrilling.”

But then again, Thompson added, what goes viral never ceases to surprise. Ben Keesey, Invisible Children’s CEO, said the sequel was made in two weeks. The thinking, he said, was the organization needed to answer to people wanting to know who was behind last month’s Internet success that prompted the African Union to send 5,000 soldiers to join the hunt for Kony, and a bipartisan group of 40 US senators to back a resolution condemning Kony.

Keesey acknowledged the challenge in keeping up interest but said the campaign resonates with young people who feel like they’re part of a global community with friends across the world through social media. “It’s always hard to keep the momentum on an issue like this, especially because the majority of people watching this have no relationship, no connection to something that is happening thousands of miles away,” he said. —AP

could be Switzerland or Vienna, the site of the UN nuclear watchdog agency.

European envoys have taken the lead in trying to work out a location for the talks.

The last attempt at talks over Iran’s nuclear ambitions quickly collapsed 14 months ago after Iran refused proposals that included freezing its uranium enrichment in exchange for delivery of reactor ready fuel from outside the country. The West and others fear Iran could use its ability to make nuclear fuel to eventually develop atomic weapons. Iran says it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.

Mohammad Farhad Koleini, a political analyst in Tehran, said Turkey’s policies toward Syria have sharply soured relations with Iran. “Turkey has shown interest in playing in the ground of the West,” he said. “It tried to carry the flag of changes in Syria without considering that it could lead to

doubts about Turkey’s position among its neighbours.” The hard-line Javan daily wrote, “Turkey has lost its impartiality.” The newspaper said Ali Akbar Velayati, the international adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, believed holding talks in Baghdad will “promote the political weight of Iraq,” a critical backer of Tehran as Western sanctions bite into Iran’s economy.

Bouroujerdi said Baghdad is capable of hosting the talks since it has good relations with all the countries involved - including Iran and the United States - and currently holds the presidency of the Arab League.

But an Arab League summit in Baghdad last week saw low turnout, with only 10 heads of state of the 22-member body attending and the rest sending lower-level delegates. Security concerns and strained relations with Sunni Gulf countries contributed to the lack of attendance.— AP

France’s Juppe warns of left’s ‘explosive cocktail’ Sarkozy unveils manifesto PARIS: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned yesterday that Socialist presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande’s economic and European plans were an “explosive cocktail” that could derail Europe’s exit from its debt crisis. Leading the charge to back conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is struggling in his battle for a second term, Juppe said a 60-day plan of emergency economic measures outlined by Hollande on Wednesday could “drive France over a precipice”. He called the Socialist’s plans to freeze fuel prices and boost family welfare payments shortsighted and said his plan to renegotiate a European treaty on budget discipline would inject new uncertainty into nervous financial markets.

“The cocktail of these two measures, the immediate spending without savings, in other words slippage in our public finances, and secondly, throwing the EU treaty into question, could cause the system to explode,” Juppe said. He was speaking hours before Sarkzoy outlined his manifesto, less than three weeks before the first round of voting on April 22, vowing to achieve a budget surplus by 2017 and start reducing the public debt from a peak of 89.4 percent next year. Sarkozy said he would send a letter to the French people yesterday, setting out his election promises in writing. “We cannot delay the choice of competitiveness for our economy. We cannot avoid the questions of debt and deficit which are at the centre of my programme,” he told a news conference. Hollande leads Sarkozy in polls for a May 6 run-off, with hard left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon rising to third place in several polls ahead of far-right Marine Le Pen. The Socialist candidate said he would order an audit of public finances if elected - a move that appeared designed to prepare the ground for austerity measures that could be blamed on his predecessor’s stewardship of France’s debt and deficit. “We’ll have the Court of Auditors carry out an evaluation imme-

PARIS: France’s incumbent President and right-wing ruling party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate for the French 2012 presidential election Nicolas Sarkozy (left) speaks during a campaign meeting to present his project yesterday. —AFP diately ... and freeze certain spending once we have the results,” Hollande said in an interview on Canal+ television. His comment came after a cover story in the Economist weekly entitled “France in Denial” made waves in political circles by accusing both leading candidates of lacking serious ideas for tackling the country’s economic and fiscal problems.

The Socialists derided Sarkozy for waiting until so late to produce a comprehensive manifesto.

“It’s not very serious,” said Socialist Party chief Martine Aubry, who made a point of noting that Hollande had presented a fully costed manifesto in January. “Sarkozy’s programme is his record of the past five years, only worse,” said Hollande, whose main line of attack is that the wealthy rather than the needy were the big beneficiaries of tax giveaways since 2007. The Socialist candidate, who proposes hiring 60,000 school staff and creating 150,000 stateaided jobs if he wins power, said he

hoped to ensure recruitment of 4,000 school support staff before next September’s start of a new academic year. He also announced plans to freeze fuel prices for three months, increase a back-to-school bonus for poorer families by 25 percent and slap a 75-percent top income tax rate on people earning more than 1 million euros ($1.3 million) a year.

An opinion poll published on Thursday suggested the president may be losing momentum after recent poll gains. The CSA poll showed Sarkozy’s predicted first-round score stable at 30 percent, and Hollande’s rising by three points to 29 percent from a survey a week earlier by the same institute.

It showed Hollande winning the runoff against Sarkozy with 54 percent support, one point higher than previously. Sarkozy leads Hollande in most polls of first-round voting intentions but has been shown by all polls without exception to be the loser in the decisive round.—Reuters

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

N Korea opens nation’s biggest power station 2nd power station in the pipeline

MINAMI SANRIKU: In this photo, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (second right), accompanied by his wife Cecilia (right), observe the last remaining Moai statue at the Shizugawa High School. — AFP

Japan tsunami town bound to Chile by smiling statue MINAMI SANRIKU: The small Japanese fishing town of Minami Sanriku is half a world away from Chile, but the two places share a bond that crosses a vast ocean: Moai statues. For two decades an enigmatic smiling face, carved locally in the mould of an Easter Island Moai, kept watch over what residents of Minami Sanriku came to know as Chile Plaza. But when the huge waves of last March’s tsunami swamped the town, the statue, like hundreds of buildings, was toppled, its two-metre (six-foot) head knocked off its body. Much of the town’s infrastructure and most of its economy was wiped out when the gigantic waves swept ashore, killing 19,000 people along this once picturesque coast.

As the town gradually staggers back to its feet, the statue is providing inspiration, and a glimmer of hope for the future. When residents began their clear-up after the tsunami, they pulled the still intact head from the rubble of Chile Plaza and hauled it to a local high school, where it now watches the comings and goings of teenagers. Shizugawa High School student Nana Yamauchi, 17, has never known Minami Sanriku without a Moai.

“It was already in this town when I was small, and I would wonder what it was,” she said. “But now I know how important it is.” Minami Sanriku’s connection with Chile, 17,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) away, dates from 1960, when a 9.5 magnitude earthquake struck the South American country. More than 1,600 people were killed in Chile and two million were left homeless, but the quake also sent a tsunami hurtling across the Pacific to Japan, where it claimed 142 lives, more than a quarter of them in Minami Sanriku.

Thirty years later, the two disaster-prone communities celebrated each other’s recovery, and after a visit from the Chilean ambassador to Japan, Minami Sanriku set up the Moai statue in a coastal park, which local residents named Chile Plaza. “People loved the statue,” said mayor Jin Sato. “It was a symbol of recovery.” The Moai are mysterious human figures found on Easter Island off the coast of Chile, where hundreds of enormous figures-some as tall as several metres still stand in groups.

Ancient islanders are believed to have built the figures, but details such as how they raised the huge stones are unknown.

Now students in the town are using the Moai for a scheme to raise cash to help get their community back on its feet. The youngsters have designed a series of badges and other trinkets featuring the Moai, which they are selling to raise money to fund a community bus for the town’s elderly.

“There are many grandparents in this town, but it’s not easy for them to get around. The normal bus is very infrequent,” said Yamauchi. The scheme has won friends in high places. On a visit to Japan last week, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera took time out from high-level trade diplomacy in Tokyo to visit Minami Sanriku, where he and his delegation toured the devastation all sporting Moai souvenirs. “This is a symbol of hope for the future,” Pinera told AFP, pointing to his steel badge. “In this city, which was so badly hit by the earthquake and tsunami, it’s good to see that faith and courage are still alive.” Pinera was so inspired by the town that he has promised them a “bigger, more magnificent and more beautiful” Moai-this time the genuine article which the president said would be shipped across the Pacific. —AFP

HUICHON CITY: North Korea yesterday unveiled one of its biggest construction projects in recent years: a massive hydroelectric power station that is expected to provide the nation with much-needed electricity. The opening of the Huichon Power Station in Jagang Province, north of Pyongyang, was the first big ceremony in a month of celebrations timed for the April centenary of the birth of late President Kim Il Sung.

The power station on the Chongchon River, which had been under construction for more than three years, was a favoured project of late leader Kim Jong Il. Kim had visited the project at least five times before his December death. Son Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s new leader, visited the construction site with his father in August 2011.

The power station is North Korea’s largest, with two dams and a network of tunnels. The dams harness water from the Jangja and Chongchon Rivers. Construction on a second power station further down the Chongchon River is due to begin soon, said the top officials who spoke at yesterday’s ceremony. North Korea suffers from an acute power shortage.

New economic goals announced in 2009 called for undertaking major

construction projects such as the Huichon Power Station as well as modernizing farms and factories in time for the April 2012 festivities. North Korea will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on April 15. North Korea also has announced plans to

launch a satellite on the back of a long-range rocket as part of the celebrations. The United States and other nations have urged Pyongyang to cancel the launch, warning that it would be seen as a violation of a ban on missile activity.— AP

PYONGYANG: Workers at the Huichon Power Station are pictured. — AP

Myanmar’s old guard under pressure after Suu Kyi win YANGON: Myanmar’s ruling party, created by the military, says it must rethink strategy after by-election victories for the party of Aung San Suu Kyi who has raised suspicion in the ranks by suggesting the generals will need to withdraw from politics. To prevent more losses in a 2015 general election that could cripple its influence, the militarybacked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) acknowledges it must reinvent itself, possibly by adopting the pro-democratic ideas and populism the junta brutally suppressed for years.

“It’s natural for us soldiers to review ourselves after a battle,” said Dr Soe Min, the 49-year-old USDP candidate and former soldier who lost in Suu Kyi’s Kawhmu constituency. “We mend what we should and decide what we should do.” The dominance of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) at the ballot box on Sunday was stunning.

It took 43 of 45 available seats. For the ruling party and its former generals who kept Suu Kyi under house arrest until November 2010, this raises a troubling question: Is Myanmar changing too fast? Htay Oo, secretary general of the USDP, says the party needs to change.

“Of course, we have to review if we have any weakness. We need to make our policy known to the people,” he told the

Burmese-language service of Voice of America. Although only 7 percent of the legislative seats were up for grabs in the by-elections, the NLD’s win illustrated a hunger for democracy and rejection of the military’s stake in politics after five decades of misrule in the former British colony also known as Burma.

“War on the military”?

Some liken the NLD candidates to a Trojan Horse rolled into a parliament stacked with retired soldiers and uniformed military appointees, protectors of the army’s political power. One of Suu Kyi’s top priorities is to amend a 2008 constitution drawn up under the supervision of the then ruling junta that reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for the military, and allows the president to hand power to the armed forces chief in an ill-defined emergency.

In a speech less than a week before the elections, armed forces chief General Min Aung Hlaing vowed to protect a constitution that guarantees a “political leadership role” to the military.

Nobel Peace Prize-winner Suu Kyi has different ideas. She told a news conference on Friday the military must realise “the future of this country is their future, and that reform in this country means reform for them as well”. That has rattled soldiers who have long

regarded themselves as the pillar of the nation.

“I can’t say I’m optimistic. We’re very disappointed,” an army-appointed member of parliament told Reuters, requesting anonymity. “Some think it was like declaring war on the military.

To most of the military delegates, her slogan is tantamount to a threat to drive us back to the barracks as soon as possible.” The USDP’s defeat came despite a wave of reforms: the release of hundreds of political prisoners, loosening of media controls, legalisation of trade unions and protests, truce talks with ethnic minority rebels and sweeping economic changes.

It followed a November 2010 election widely seen as rigged that ended 49 years of direct military rule and swept the USDP to dominance in parliament. The NLD boycotted that vote. In the run-up to Sunday’s by-election, the USDP had much in its favour: big spending power, control of 76 percent of the legislature and powerful allies in the judiciary, civil service, business and military. But what they did not have was Suu Kyi, the wildly popular pro-democracy champion and daughter of the country’s independence hero who led a non-violent struggle against dictatorship for two decades, most of which she was under house arrest. — Reuters

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Gunmen kill 10 at Afghan govt base Suicide bomber kills 2, wounds 16

This combination of pictures shows Italian national Paolo Bosusco (centre) posing with tribal women at an undisclosed location in India and (right) India’s Orissa state legislature member Jhina Hikaka gesturing to journalists. — AFP

Indian prisoners set to be freed for Italian hostages BHUBANESWAR: Indian authorities have agreed to release 27 prisoners in exchange for an Italian tour guide and a local lawmaker held hostage by armed Maoist rebels in the eastern state of Orissa. The state’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, announced the exchange late on Wednesday and called for the two hostages to be released “immediately, unharmed and in good health.”

Paolo Bosusco, who runs a tour company in Orissa, was captured by the rebels on March 14 along with another Italian man, Claudio Colangelo, who was released 11 days later.

Their kidnapping was the first time the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of India’s tribal people and landless farmers, have targeted foreigners. Italian diplomats have been in Orissa during negotiations to free the pair, who were picked up by the Maoists while on an adventure holiday trekking in the remote district of Kandhamal. Patnaik said in his statement that the names of the 27 prisoners, including “eight left-wing extremists”, would be issued yesterday.

Orissa state assembly member Jhina Hikaka, who was picked up by the Maoists in a separate incident on March 24, is also due to be released in the exchange. The Maoist rebels, who have in the past killed some kidnapped local officials and villagers, have been fighting a low-intensity war against state and national authorities for decades.— AFP

Suicide bomber kills 3 in Karachi KARACHI: A suicide bomber yesterday targeted a Karachi police officer involved in a campaign against Islamist militants, killing at least three people, Pakistani officials said.

Senior police official Rao Anwar said he was the target of the blast, which tore through a busy area lined with market stalls at around 10:30 am (0530 GMT), and said he had been threatened by militants. “I was moving with my squad in Malir Halt district when the explosion took place. I am unhurt, but some of my men have been injured,” Anwar told AFP. An armoured police vehicle and vendors’ stalls were damaged in the explosion which police official Tahir Naveed said was a suicide attack. Up to four kilograms (nine pounds) of explosives were used in the device, according to a bomb disposal official. Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city and its port has been a lifeline for US troops fighting the Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan, though Pakistan shut down the supply lines last November when US air strikes killed 24 soldiers.

The bomber struck near a bank in a garrison area of the sprawling city, which is the country’s financial capital and home to 18 million people. “At least four people are dead and 13 others were injured,” police surgeon Hamid Parhyar told AFP. Police suspect the bomber was among the dead. All of the dead were men and there were two teenagers among the wounded.

Anwar has been heavily involved in a campaign against Islamist militants in Karachi, which is plagued with ethnic, sectarian and political violence. —AFP

KABUL: Gunmen attacked an outpost of a government-sponsored militia and killed 10 members of the security force in western Afghanistan, officials said yesterday. The Taleban are targeting Afghan and NATO security forces as they fight to assert their power and undermine US efforts to try to build up the Afghan military, which will take the lead in combat responsibility over the next couple of years. In other violence, a suicide bomber struck a bazaar in a northeastern district yesterday, killing two people and wounding 16 others.

The attacks appear to be part of an increase in violence at the beginning of the spring fighting season. During the harsh Afghan winter, snow often blocks roads and fighting dies down.

Taleban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack on the outpost late Wednesday in Farah province’s Khaki Safed district. Militants armed with assault rifles stormed the post manned by members of the Afghan Local Police, said provincial police chief Shamsul Rahman Zahid.

The militants shot a guard who was posted outside, then pushed into the compound and opened fire on those inside, said Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, the district administrator. Another two militia members were dragged outside and shot dead, while four militiamen survived the attack, Zahid said.

The Afghan Local Police is a force created with the help of the American military. They have been described as

an armed neighbourhood watch. The members come from the local community and receive a small government salary to man checkpoints and oversee security in their area. They receive a few weeks of training before starting the work.

The suicide bombing occurred in the Kishim district of Badakhshan

manded Afghan fighters against the Soviets in the 1980s. Insurgents killed Mir’s brother last year. Insurgents plot to kill leading figures in the north to eliminate opposition to the Taleban, which has its strongholds in the south.

Separately, the death toll from an attack Wednesday by a Taleban suicide bomber on a motorcycle rose

KABUL: A US soldier checks the body of a comrade at the scene of a suicide attack. — AP province, which is relatively peaceful.

Provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said the attacker was targeting Nazok Mir, an area elder who com-

yesterday to 13, including three American soldiers, according to NATO and US forces. Previously the toll was reported to be at least 10. — AFP

Pakistan, US still far from deal ISLAMABAD: Pakistan indicated yesterday it was still far from reaching an agreement with the United States on how to patch up turbulent relations after a series of major crises. One day after a senior US diplomat held a further round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said both sides were still at odds over US drone strikes and attacks that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit confirmed that both sides were discussing a framework agreement that would tax NATO convoys transiting to Afghanistan and resume compensation payments to Pakistan for fighting Islamist militants. “We are discussing all these matters but the final outcome hinges on policy guidelines that we will get from the parliament.” Pakistan’s relations with the United States nosedived in 2011. In January that year a CIA operative killed two Pakistanis, in

May a covert US raid killed Osama bin Laden and then came the November strikes. The air strikes brought relations to their lowest point as a furious Pakistan shut its Afghan border to NATO supplies and evicted US personnel from an air base reportedly used as a hub by US drones.

Although high-level contacts have now resumed, a formal resetting of the relationship is on hold until the Pakistani parliament finishes debating recommendations on how best to protect Islamabad’s interests. No timeline has been announced for the debate to finish. It has already been significantly delayed and with Pakistan in an election year few politicians want to be seen as accommodating the United States.

“We would like to put back our engagement to a level where it has been but it all depends on what our parliament says,” Basit said. He said Pakistan was unhappy over a US

decision not to pursue disciplinary charges over the November strikes, which saw the Pentagon blame both sides. “We have demanded that action should be taken against those involved in the attack but the United States has a different position,” Basit said. “This issue is also under discussion between the two countries,” he added, without giving further details. US Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides, who visited Islamabad on Wednesday, asked Pakistan to address US concerns about security and called for a “balanced” relationship that works through the countries’ differences. One of the major sticking points is the US drone war on Islamist militants on Pakistani soil, which US officials say is highly effective but which Pakistani lawmakers want to end, calling them a violation of sovereignty. “But let us not jump the guns. We are still working with the US to sort out differences on this important issue,” Basit said. — AFP

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

NY residents cry foul over university plans NEW YORK: Plans to expand the New York University campus in Greenwich Village are running into resistance from local residents, who say it would destroy a historic section of Manhattan. A local coalition that includes 50 area business owners is demanding that the university modify plans that would add 2.4 million square feet of academic and residential space to the campus. “NYU’s current plans would do more harm than good for the community,” said Judy Paul, president of the Washington Square Hotel, in a statement sent to AFP on behalf of a group named “Villagers for a Sustainable Neighbourhood.”

Greenwich Village is known for the artistic and bohemian lifestyle and its picturesque old row houses, which sharply contrast with the dizzying heights of nearby New York skyscrapers. The “Village,” as residents call it, is home to the main campus of NYU, founded in 1931. NYU has some 40,000 students, one

Prenatal debate divides Nebraska Republicans LINCOLN: The issues of illegal immigration and abortion have split Nebraska’s Republican-dominated politics, with some conservatives supporting a plan to offer state aid to pregnant women in the country illegally and others arguing that doing so would violate a bedrock GOP belief. The measure has made opponents of typical allies, with Republican Gov. Dave Heineman pushing hard against the proposal, even while noting his strong opposition to abortion. The Republican speaker of the Legislature, Mike Flood, has taken the opposite position, supporting the measure while stating that he has always been against illegal immigration. The measure would require the state to pay for prenatal care to low-income women who have entered the US illegally. It would extend coverage to an estimated 1,162 fetuses each year at a cost of $650,000 in state money and $1.9 million in federal tax dollars.

The measure advanced through first of three required votes Tuesday night, 30-16. Fourteen of the “yes” votes came from Republicans, who joined with a contingent of typically out-numbered Democrats. In an unusually terse news conference Wednesday, Heineman said he was “extraordinarily disappointed” with the Legislature’s veto-proof vote to support the measure. Lawmakers later Wednesday night advanced the bill through the second of three votes, 29-16, one vote short of being veto-proof.

Heineman singled out Flood, saying he and other lawmakers were wrong to support taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, regardless of the reason. “Unless you and the Legislature reverse course, the legacy of this session will be one in which illegals were given preferential treatment over legal Nebraska citizens,” Heineman said, reading from a letter that his staff hand-delivered to the speaker’s office. “This will be a session remembered for a tax increase on legal, working Nebraskan men and women while illegal aliens were provided taxpayer-funded benefits.”

Heineman said the issue revolves around immigration, not abortion, and that the bill would turn Nebraska into “a magnet for illegal aliens.” He said churches and private charities, not the state, should support pregnant women who have entered the country illegally. “I am one of the most pro-life governors in America,” he said. “This is about illegal immigration, and Nebraskans know that.” Flood, who has sponsored legislation banning late-term abortions, said the immigration concern is important but trumped by the health concerns for unborn children who lack access to prenatal vitamins, ultrasounds, doctors and nurses. He said medical data do not support the notion that pregnant illegal immigrants would move to a state for prenatal care. “For me, when you weigh the two issues, you have a baby’s life and health in the balance,” Flood said. “That’s weighted more. Take illegal immigration and instate tuition. That one, I think, is weighted differently, because there is no life at stake.” —AP

of the largest student populations of any private US university. NYU also has some 16,000 people on its payroll, making it one of the city’s largest employers, according to its website.

The development plan calls for building skyscrapers on two large city blocks south of Washington Square.

These buildings would include classrooms and offices for professors, as well as academic housing, a hotel and retail shops. “NYU needs to secure the space it requires in order to stay relevant and rigorous and to allow academic excellence to flourish,” the university said in a statement.

The expansion plan “will create an estimated 18,200 new construction jobs, as well as 2,600 long-term employment opportunities, and will generate an estimated $6 billion in construction spending,” the statement said. The neighbourhood coalition is not completely opposed to the plan, but says it needs to be

modified to “reduce the density and height of the buildings,” “protect and improve public open spaces” and “provide infrastructure improvements.”

“We believe that NYU can meet its need for growth in the future while still respecting the existing scale of Greenwich Village,” read a Villagers for a Sustainable Neighbourhood press release. Greenwich Village already has one of the lowest percentages of open space in Manhattan, and the NYU project would adversely affect three of them, the neighbourhood coalition said. In a recent vote, a neighbourhood council unanimously urged city officials to reject the NYU project. The New York City Planning Department, which has approved the project, is expected to review the plan again. The plan is also being reviewed by Manhattan’s borough president. In order to proceed, the plan would also require approval from the New York city council. — AFP

Santorum hits campaign restart in Pennsylvania ‘Damn right’ we cling to guns and religion: Santorum HOLLIDAYSBURG: Republican Rick Santorum campaigned across Pennsylvania Wednesday, insisting after a triple loss to rival Mitt Romney that winning his home state will light a fire under his struggling White House bid. Front runner Romney swept the contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and the US capital Washington on Tuesday, tightening his grip on the lead in the Republican race to see who will challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. But Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania who lost his seat in an election debacle in 2006, called on supporters in this picturesque town to help him “start this campaign anew” with a win on April 24 that could propel him to further victories in May and blunt Romney’s efforts to be crowned the nominee.

“There’s a long way to go” in the Republican race, Santorum told a few hundred people gathered at the local courthouse. “Getting the right candidate is more important than getting the first candidate.”

Earlier in the day, as Santorum kicked off what will be three weeks of intense campaigning in the state, he admitted it was make-or-break for him in Pennsylvania. “We have to win here,” he told reporters outside Bob’s Diner in Carnegie, in western Pennsylvania.

“We’ve got a strong base of support here and we’re going to work very very hard.”

Romney has drawn much of the air out of the Republican nomination battle, directing his attacks not at party rivals like Santorum or House speaker Newt Gingrich but at Obama. In a speech in Washington-before also heading to Pennsylvania to kick off his state campaign-Romney blamed Obama for failing to turn around the US economy quickly enough and creating a “government-centred society.” With Romney acting like the presumptive nominee calls have grown for Santorum to bow out of the race, but the arch-conservative is doing nothing of the sort.

The month of May “looks very good,” Santorum said, referring to contests in Indiana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas-all in the US Midwest or South,

regions where Santorum’s campaign has gained traction. “There’s a movement in Texas to make Texas a winner take all state,” which has 155 delegates at stake, Santorum said. “You throw those... delegates on our pile and this race becomes a very different race.”

State Senator John Eichelberger introduced Santorum in Hollidaysburg by stressing the candidate’s conservative credentials on social issues and fiscal prudence. He also

attack on religious freedoms and erosion of gun ownership rights under Obama, said Santorum, as sought to revive a political firestorm that erupted in the 2008 campaign over guns and religion.

“Barack Obama four years ago referred to this area of Pennsylvania, right here, as a place that clings to their guns and their bibles,” Santorum told supporters.

“You’re damn right we do!” he said, to a loud roar. Obama’s comments, which

HOLLIDAYSBURG: Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (center) holds a pair of boxing gloves at a campaign stop. — AP urged Santorum to criticize the president more directly. “It’s a new beginning for Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania,” Eichelberger declared. “It’s time for Rick to get tough, and Rick is going to get real tough,” he said, as he presented Santorum with a pair of boxing gloves before cheering supporters.

Santorum has needed no prompting to attack Obama’s policies. “We need to draw a clear contrast... whether we want a bottomup system of building a great and strong economy, based on free people and free enterprise, or whether we’re somebody who buys into Obama’s top-down government control,” he said.

Part of that control has led to an

went viral in April 2008, were interpreted by many blue-collar voters as a condescending swipe at a vast swathe of Americans. Santorum’s remarks were a blunt reminder that many are still stung by the remark. “You’re right we cling; we cling to our faith,” he said. “We cling to the rights that are God-given, that are guaranteed under our constitution.”

Romney has 655 delegates, well over half the 1,144 needed to win the Republican nomination at the party’s national convention in August. Santorum has 272 delegates, according to a RealClearPolitics tally, while Gingrich has 140 and congressman Ron Paul has 67.— AFP

International FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Prison time for ex-policeman in Katrina killings NEW ORLEANS: Four former New Orleans policemen convicted of shooting unarmed people following Hurricane Katrina were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on Wednesday in what the US government described as the most important police misconduct case since the Rodney King beating nearly two decades ago. The four former officers - Kenneth Bowen, Robert Faulcon, Robert Gisevius and Anthony Villavaso - were sentenced by a federal judge to between 38 and 65 years in prison. A fifth former officer - Arthur “Archie” Kaufman - who did not participate in the killings but engineered a four-year cover-up of the crimes was sentenced to six years.

The New Orleans police case was the “most significant police misconduct prosecution since Rodney King,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez said, referring to the beating of a black motorist by Los Angeles police officers in 1991 that was caught on videotape.

In both the Los Angeles and New Orleans cases, the federal government stepped in to prosecute the police officers for misconduct after local efforts failed.

The five former New Orleans officers sentenced on Wednesday were among a dozen officers who responded to a radio call that police were being shot at near the Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans just days after Hurricane Katrina. The officers packed into a rental truck and sped to the site. Witnesses testified that when the officers arrived, they jumped out of the truck and repeatedly fired assault rifles, shotguns and handguns at civilians walking on the bridge.

James Brissette, 17, and Ronald Madison, 40, were killed in the shooting spree. In reports filed by the officers or on their behalf, they claimed they shot only after being threatened or fired on and that they had seen weapons in the victims’ hands.

Kaufman was later convicted of planting a handgun at the scene.Lance Madison, who was with his brother when Ronald Madison was killed, and who was later arrested and jailed on false charges, told the judge on Wednesday that “I truly don’t know why I am alive today.”—Reuters

US sets stage for trial of 9/11 mastermind Charges could attract death sentence WASHINGTON: US officials cleared the way Wednesday for a longdelayed trial of the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and four alleged plotters, unveiling charges that carry a possible death sentence. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his accused conspirators have been held for years at the US-run prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while a legal and political battle has played out over how and where to prosecute them. “The charges allege that the five accused are responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York and Washington DC, and Shanksville, Pa., resulting in the killing of 2,976 people,” the Defence Department said in a statement.

If convicted before a military tribunal, “the five accused could be sentenced to death,” it said. More than a decade after the attacks that jolted the American psyche, “it is important to see that justice is done,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. He said President Barack Obama was still committed to making good on his promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, after legal setbacks and stiff opposition in Congress forced his hand.

The 46-year-old Mohammed, along with Walid bin Attash of Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Ramzi Binalshibh, Pakistan’s Ali Abd Al-Aziz Ali-also known as Ammar Al-Baluchi-and Mustapha Ahmed AlHawsawi of Saudi Arabia are due to appear in court for arraignment proceedings within 30 days, the Pentagon said. The joint trial, which could be months away, will be held at the American naval base in Guantanamo Bay, where the US government has set up special military commissions to try terror suspects. Mohammed, who US officials refer to simply as “KSM,” has been at the centre of a years-old debate over the legal fate of the accused plotters.

After he was captured nine years ago, Mohammed was subjected repeatedly to the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding that has been widely condemned as torture and other harsh interrogation methods. His treatment in US custody has raised questions about whether his statements to interrogators will hold up in a trial, but testimony from a former aide may resolve that problem.

Majid Khan, once Mohammed’s deputy, has accepted a plea deal with US authorities that will require him to testify against oth-

er terror suspects. After taking office in 2009, Obama initially sought to hold trial for Mohammed and his four accused accomplices in civilian court in New York, just steps from the Ground Zero site where the World Trade Center’s twin towers fell in 2001.

But the proposal sparked criticism and the president’s Republican foes in Congress put an end to those plans by blocking the transfer of terror suspects to the United States. Buck McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said it was fitting that the accused be tried before a military tribunal. “It is time for the American people to hear the fullest possible account of the atrocities that these individuals have committed against the United States,” he said. “It is time for judgement to be passed and long-delayed justice to be done.”

Human rights groups have slammed the Guantanamo tribunals as tainted and renewed demands that terror suspects be tried in a federal courts by civilian judges. “The Obama administration is making a terrible mistake by prosecuting the most important terrorism trials of our time in a second-tier system of justice,” American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement. A lawyer for Ali, the Pakistani defendant, said his client would not be facing possible execution if he was being tried in civilian court. “Because he did not kill or plan to kill, Mr Ali would not be eligible for the death penalty if this case were tried in federal court,” James Connell said. The military tribunals were created under George W. Bush’s presidency after the 9/11 attacks, with officials arguing that Al-Qaeda militants fell into a category that did not suit regular civilian courts.

Procedures for the military tribunals, also known as commissions, have since been modified by the Obama administration to make them more closely resemble civilian courts. Mohammed and the other accused plotters were charged once before under the Bush era commissions and, now that the system has been revised, had to be formally charged again to clear the way for a trial. The five are charged with terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury and destruction of property in violation of the law of war. — AFP

Texas residents rummage through tornado rubble FORNEY: As a twister bore down on her neighbourhood, Sherry Enochs grabbed the three young children in her home and hid in her bathtub. The winds swirled and snatched away two of the children. Her home collapsed around her.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt. Enochs, 53, stood Wednesday amid the wreckage of what was once her home in the North Texas city of Forney, among the hardest hit by a series of tornadoes that barrelled through one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas a day earlier.

No one was reported dead, and of the more than 20 injured, only a handful were seriously hurt.

“If you really think about it, the fact that everybody who woke up in Forney yesterday is alive today in Forney, that’s a real blessing,” Mayor Darren Rozell said. The National Weather Service is investigating the damage caused by the tornadoes, which appeared to flatten some homes and graze others next door. The twisters jumped from place to place, passing many heavily populated areas overhead and perhaps limiting what could have been a more damaging, deadly storm. Most of Dallas was spared the full wrath of the storms. While tornadoes can strike major cities, having two major systems strike a single metropolitan area is highly unusual, meteorologist Jesse Moore said. The Texas twisters would have done more damage had they stayed on the ground for more of the storms’ path. But weather experts and officials credited the quick response to tornado warnings for preventing deaths or more injuries. In the Diamond Creek subdivision where Enochs’ home was destroyed, residents put on work gloves Wednesday and began cleaning up. Many noticed things in their yards that didn’t belong to them.

Enochs doesn’t have a clear memory of exactly how things happened Tuesday, but she was found holding her grandson in the bathtub, which had blown into the area where her garage once was. A 3-year-old she was watching was found wandering around the backyard.

A neighbour pulled another child Enochs had been taking care of, 19-month-old Abigail Jones, from the rubble. “I heard the rumbling from the tornado and I didn’t even hear the house fall,”

Enochs said. Abigail was taken to the hospital but released. The blonde, smiling child with bows in her hair was bruised not just on her check and forehead but all over her body, but not seriously hurt. Her mother, Misty Jones, brought her back Wednesday to see what had happened. Seven people were injured in Forney, none seriously. An additional 10 people were hurt in Lancaster, south of Dallas, and three people in Arlington, west of Dallas.

FORNEY: Michael Denicola (left) and Elizabeth Mogilnicki dig through the rubble of Mogilnicki’s mother’s home after the tornado ripped though. — AFP

National Weather Service crews in Forney, east of Dallas, spotted storm damage that suggested the twister there was an EF3, with wind speeds as high as 165 mph. Other tornadoes in Arlington and Lancaster appear to have been EF2 tornadoes, with wind speeds up to 135 mph. Tornadoes can range from EF0, the weakest, to EF5, the strongest. An EF2 or higher is considered a significant tornado.

A twister can hit one spot and continue for miles before touching down again, Moore said.

It’s difficult to explain why a tornado touches down when it does. “It can destroy one house and the one across the street is fine. It can go back up for a mile or two and drop back down,” Moore said. “That’s all the crazy things that can happen with tornadoes.” Randy McKeever and his wife and several of their friends sorted through what was left of their house Wednesday.

Their roof was completely gone. The front yard was littered with shingles and pieces of wood.

Inside was a jumble of belongings. McKeever, 47, wore work gloves as he tried to find anything that could be salvaged.

“There’s a bunch of stuff in there that’s not even ours,” he said. Stunning video from Dallas showed big-rig trailers tossed into the air and spiralling like footballs. An entire wing of an Arlington nursing home crumbled. In Lancaster, dozens of young children cowered in the safe room of a day care near a local church. The storm pulled one of the walls back “like you were peeling an orange,” day care director Danita Harris said. The students were moved further indoors and rode out the rest of the storm safely, she said. “Not one Band-Aid had to be applied,” Harris said.—AP

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Europe shares, euro fall on debt worries

Japan passes $1.1 trillion budget PAGE 24

PAGE 20

NEW YORK: A trader studies monitors on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. — AP (See Page 24)

Turnover in Egyptian market falls Political uncertainty plagues Egypt stocks CAIRO: Political uncertainty is sapping demand for Egyptian equities and is likely to take the momentum out of any rebound in the coming week, analysts say. Trading volumes have been weak since the Muslim Brotherhood announced at the weekend that it would back its deputy leader to contest a presidential election, raising suspicions that it is rowing back on a pledge not to monopolize political institutions in the new Egypt.

A rally that made Egypt the world’s best-performing stock market early this year-the benchmark index rose as much as 51 percent-was built partly on optimism that the Brotherhood was working with the country’s army rulers to avoid a showdown before the voting in May and June. This optimism has now been dented, while uncertainty over whether Egypt’s political forces will rally around difficult economic reforms to cut the state budget deficit has also contributed to a 10 percent drop in the index since early March.

The government had hoped to seal a $3.2 billion emergency financing package from the International Monetary Fund last month, but now says it expects a deal in June.

Economists see the loan agreement as vital for helping replenish foreign reserves and the confidence of investors; the country has spent more than $20 billion in foreign reserves since last year’s uprising to prop up its currency. In the last few months the decline in reserves has slowed - they dropped $600 million to $15.12 billion in March, compared to a slide of roughly $2 billion every month late last year - and this may mean the country can cope with the delay

to the IMF deal. Nevertheless, the deal is seen as crucial to unlock a range of foreign aid for Egypt, so any delay is negative for investors.

Mohamed Seddiek, head of research at Prime brokerage, said the rally early this year had left Egyptian equities at levels where the market was more sensitive to risk. “I actually think the market was looking expensive prior to the news that the Muslim Brotherhood was going to nominate a candidate for the presidency,” he said, forecasting a choppy market characterized by low trading volume and small daily gains or declines in coming weeks. “I think foreign buyers might come back when a new president is in place,” he added. “We can’t have a mechanism to price equities as long as we don’t have a president.”

SAUDI BANKS In the Gulf, investors are looking ahead to first-quarter earnings announcements to justify the confidence which has driven the Saudi stock market up more than 23 percent this year to a 3-1/2year high. Banks are expected to start reporting next week and to post very strong profits for the quarter.

Commercial banks made a combined net profit of 10.24 billion riyals ($2.73 billion) in the first two months of this year, up from 7.44 billion riyals a year earlier, according to data from the central bank.

Bank lending to the private sector rose 12.1 percent from a year earlier in February, its fastest growth in 35 months. “Banks have been posting strong numbers this quarter because provisions

decreased by about 30 percent and the fees from bank operations brokerage and asset management - are expected to be high,” said Hesham Abo-Jamee, chief executive officer at Bakheet Investment Group.

Some of this performance is already reflected in share prices; the bank stocks index has risen 22 percent year-to-date. But AboJamee added, “Banks are still looking attractive at current PE (price-to-earnings) multiples and have good potential to increase further.” Al Rajhi Bank, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest, is projected to report a quarterly net profit of 2.1 billion riyals, according to Bakheet Investment Group and NCB Capital, up 23.5 percent yearon-year. It is trading at 14.4 times this year’s estimated profit, according to Thomson Reuters data, compared to an historical range of 10-43 times in past years and a banking index multiple of 12.3 times.

“Banking will be the strongest performer in Q1 - most are expecting a 20 to 25 percent increase in net income,” said Farouk Miah, acting head of research at NCB Capital. Growth could slow in the future as low interest rates and increasing competition limit banks’ scope to raise fees for bank services, according to Jadwa Investment. But the undertone remains bullish for this year, it said.

“Banks have room to increase their earnings in 2012...The sound domestic economic environment means demand for new bank lending should rise further and with banks very liquid, total lending growth will pick up,” Jadwa said in a report.— Reuters

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Small Palestine sovereign fund targets development DUBAI: Palestine’s sovereign wealth fund is aiming to boost the private sector and wean the strife-torn region off aid, with investments in sectors like tourism and power generating profits despite difficult relations with Israel, its boss said. While most other, much larger, sovereign wealth funds invest heavily abroad in a bid to spread risk and maximize returns, the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) is focused on developing the local economy.

“Our objectives differ from that of some sovereign funds elsewhere,” the PIF’s chief executive, Mohammad Mustafa, said in a telephone interview from his office in Ramallah. “We want to create jobs, contribute to increasing taxes and build a revenue base for the government. We want to build a Palestinian economy less dependent on the government and less dependent on aid from donors,” he said. The strategy appears to be having some success. The PIF is on track to deliver cumulative net profit of $800 million in the decade to 2013, most of which is paid as dividends to the Palestine Authority.

Mustafa said the fund had achieved strong results in challenging conditions. “Increasing political risk makes attracting investments more difficult - control by Israel of the natural resources in the region affects business, “he said. He gave the example of telecom operator Wataniya Mobile- launched in 2009 in a venture with Qatar Telecom’s Kuwaiti unit Wataniya, saying it faced an initial delay of two years because Israeli authorities would not release spectrum. The operator is facing fresh problems in Gaza, with its equipment lying in storage for the past six months, he said. Mustafa said PIF made a net profit of $33 million in 2011, down from $59 million a year earlier, when it had made profits on the sale of some of its assets. “As a fund we operate on a cycle of ten years - by the end of 2013, we estimate we would have made cumulatively $800 million in profit and distributed $700 million in dividends, a return of 15 percent per year,” he said. “Our main shareholder, the Palestine Authority, needed us to pay higher dividends in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and now we’re trying to moderate that.” The political imperatives of the funds are evident from investments such as the one in an economic empowerment program for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The 58-year-old Mustafa, a Palestinian with a doctorate in management and economics and a degree in engineering, came to PIF after 15 years at the World Bank.

The PIF pales in comparison with some of the sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf Arab region, which have ploughed petrodollars into investments ranging from British supermarkets to US banks and German carmakers. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s assets, for instance, are estimated in a wide range of $300 billion to over $600 billion, and the aggressive Qatar Holding is thought to have $100 billion under its belt. PIF was formed with assets of $570 million in 2003, transferred to it from the Palestine Authority after a valuation exercise by international auditors in coordination with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Its assets under management as at end-2010 were $868 million. While most sovereign funds depend on their governments for cash, often from exports of oil, the PIF has been a source of revenue to the Palestine Authority. “It’s been a one-way relationship, as our objectives differ from that of some sovereign funds elsewhere,” said Mustafa. He said that in the last five years the fund’s investments helped create 10,000 jobs. Real estate, which contributes 15 percent to the Palestinian economy, is a major sector for the fund, and in the hospitality business, it has stakes in the Grand Park hotel in Ramallah and the Intercontinental in Jericho. In the power sector, investments include the Palestine Electric Company and a power station in the northern West Bank.

The small and medium-sized enterprise sector is also an area of focus for the fund. Recently, PIF linked up with Dubaibased Abraaj Capital, the region’s biggest private equity fund, US tech firm Cisco , Bank of Palestine and the European Investment Bank to set up the Palestine Growth Capital Fund, with plans to invest and help manage SMEs in the Palestinian territories. Mustafa said the Growth Capital Fund, which raised $36 million from investors in a first round of funding, targeted raising $100 million in three years. PIF has invested $15 million in another fund, set up by investment bank Rasmala. Mustafa said the target with this fund was similar to boost its size to $100 million in three years from $38 million currently.— Reuters

Japan passes $1.1 trillion budget TOKYO: Japan passed a 90.3 trillion yen ($1.1 trillion) budget yesterday, with about half the spending expected to be financed by new bonds that will add to Japan’s massive debt mountain.

Although the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament voted down the budget earlier in the day, it was still passed after a draft was approved last month in Japan’s lower chamber. “The budget bill was enacted, based on the constitution,” a parliamentary official said.

Decisions by the powerful lower house have priority in case of conflict with the upper house and automatically become law 30 days after being sent to the upper chamber. Local media have reported that spending for the 2012-2013 fiscal year may be Japan’s highest ever, reaching more than 96 trillion yen when including extra public spending such as funds for rebuilding the nation’s northeast after last year’s earthquake and tsunami disas-

ter. About 49 percent of the budget would be financed by issuing new bonds, a plan fiercely contested by opposition lawmakers who are aiming to push Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to call snap elections, according to reports.

Noda’s ruling coalition, however, still faces a tough task to push through separate legislation that would authorize the government to issue the bonds needed to pay for nearly half its planned spending. The fresh bonds will aggravate Japan’s massive public debt, which at about double its gross domestic product is the worst among industrialized nations. Last week, Japan’s cabinet approved a bill to double the nation’s sales tax to 10.0 percent amid efforts to rein in the country’s debt. Noda, Japan’s sixth premier in as many years, has warned that the future of the world’s third-largest economy rests on tackling its public debt while financing an increasingly expensive social welfare system.— AFP

TOKYO: A man looks at cherry blossoms in front of an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo yesterday. Asian stock markets fell yesterday after a weak Spanish bond auction inflamed concerns about the European debt crisis and hopes faded for more help for the US economy from the Federal Reserve. — AP

Dubai agrees $2.5bn debt deal for private equity arm Dubai International Capital reaches deal with lenders DUBAI: Dubai Holding, the investment conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, said yesterday its private equity arm has reached an agreement with creditors to restructure $2.5 billion of debt, ending nearly two years of talks. Dubai International Capital, which has stakes in British-based budget hotel chain Travelodge and German alumina products maker Almatis, will extend $2.15 billion of outstanding bank loans by five years at an interest rate of 2 percent.

A further $350 million in loans will be extended for three years, said Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum. The debt agreement marks another milestone in Dubai’s effort to rebuild its credibility with investors who fled the region after state-owned conglomerate Dubai World shook markets in 2009 with plans for a $25 billion debt restructuring. Dubai World had built up the debts during the boom years before the financial crisis. It reached a final deal with creditors in 2010, extending repayment over five to eight years.

Dubai International Capital gave no details on how it plans to repay the debt at maturity but the private equity firm has been selling down assets. It sold hotel operator Ishraq Dubai to diversified firm Almulla Group in October last year. It also sold its 45-percent stake in valve maker KEF Holdings Inc for $178 million earlier in 2011. It also owns a 27-percent stake in hedge fund firm OchZiff Capital Management Group, according to Reuters data.

“Although we are under no pressure to sell assets, we have been able to make a number of profitable exits in recent months

demonstrating the quality of our investments and our ability to find buyers in current market conditions,” Chief Executive David Smoot said. Parent Dubai Holding’s portfolio includes brands in the property and hospitality sectors, organized under three main groups: Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG), DIC and Dubai Group. Dubai Group is itself in talks to restructure debts of around $10 billion. “Dubai Holding will continue to focus on reaching a consensual agreement with Dubai Group lenders,” its Chief Executive Ahmed Bin Byat said in the statement.

DEAL ALREADY PRICED IN The cost to insure Dubai’s debt was unchanged at 344 basis points on Thursday after the DIC announcement, according to data provider Markit. The spread has tightened nearly 100 basis points since the beginning of the year. “The deal was already priced in on the bond market. Options available to lenders were limited and deal fatigue has set in,” said Ahmad Alanani, senior executive officer at investment firm Exotix in Dubai.

“It’s better to restructure and take a small hit than force a borrower to default and deal with the implications.” DIC’s core creditors include HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, Emirates NBD and Mashreq DIC also formed a new board. Dubai Holding named Fadel al-Ali, a senior executive at Dubai Holding, as the new DIC chairman. DIC CEO David Smoot and Aidan Birkett, Dubai World’s chief restructuring officer, have also been appointed to the board. — Reuters

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

International telcos eye Libya High incomes, low data penetration lead to growth TRIPOLI: International firms are keen to enter Libya’s telecommunications sector, one of the major business opportunities created by last year’s uprisings in the Arab world. But they will only find out how they can do so after the wartorn country’s first free elections in June.

Foreign investment in the sector is much needed after a fifth of Libya’s transmitter stations were destroyed in last year’s revolution ending Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year dictatorship. The country of 6 million people remains in political turmoil; last week’s inter-tribal fighting left nearly 150 dead. But Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Saudi Telecom have all expressed potential interest in Libya.

Gaddafi isolated Libya’s economy from much foreign competition, reserving licenses and contracts for his own circle, which makes the market attractive to new entrants. There are only two mobile operators, Al Madar and Libyana, which are both state-owned. Libya’s huge energy reserves mean median incomes are much higher than for neighboring countries. And acquisition opportunities in telecommunications have dwindled globally in recent years, making Libya more alluring.

“At least three or four” foreign operators have expressed interest in entering Libya, Communications Minister Anwar El-Feitori told Reuters, “but we’ll leave it to the next government to decide on that.” Elections for a national assembly will be held in June to replace the interim government, which lacks a mandate to make major decisions about the economy.

Feitori said Libya would open its telecommunications market to fresh competition “when we have the rules for the competition and when we have the right infrastructure for that as well”.

He said about 20 percent of the sites operated by Al Madar and Libyana were damaged, with the most severe destruction in Zlitan, Misrata and Sirte, scenes of heavy fighting during the eight-month war. Each firm has about 1,000 base stations. The damage, which was estimated by the Gaddafi government to total hundreds of millions of dollars, meant mobile networks in the east and west of the country were cut off from each other when the conflict ended. “We worked on getting the services back to normal and now we’re almost there. There is a big demand in telecom services,” Feitori said.

Internet users have doubled since the revolution, he added; Facebook played a major role in mobilizing opposition to Gaddafi.

NEW ENTRANTS In other African markets, fierce competition

and multiple operators have left newer entrants struggling to compete. “Libya isn’t like that and so would be attractive to foreign operators, both in terms of buying into the existing players or from buying a third license,” said Peter Lange, an analyst at BuddeComm in Sydney. “Libya is one of the wealthiest markets in Africa, similar to South Africa and Gabon in terms of GDP per capita, and there’s a lot of money to be made in providing broadband and internet services.”

Libya’s mobile phone penetration, the ratio of phones to the population, rocketed from under 1 percent in 2001 to 172 percent in 2010, according to official data. But many analysts doubt the figures, believing they may have been invented by officials in the former regime, though the uneven quality of service means a significant number of Libyans do carry two mobiles. Real mobile penetration is probably much lower, allowing room for growth, while Libya’s broadband and internet penetration lag the regional average and are below levels for the country’s poorer neighbors. In 2010, 14 percent of people in Libya were using the Internet, according to the International Telecommunications Union, compared with 49 percent in Morocco, 37 percent in Tunisia and 27 percent in Egypt.

“Data offers a lot of potential, with only Libyana having a 3G license,” said Matthew Reed, a senior analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media in Dubai. “Data and mobile broadband services are relatively expensive, so there hasn’t been a strong take-up yet. There are still prospects for other value-added services, which is why foreign operators are interested.”

Etisalat bid for a third Libya license in 2009 but the former regime never completed the auction, leaving the sector firmly under the control of the Gaddafi family and its associates.

Reed said the preferred option for an operator such as Etisalat would probably be to buy into one of the existing service providers.

“Libya could sell stakes in both Madar and Libyana, which would increase competition and also allow for a skills and knowledge transfer,” he said. The general manager of Libya’s stock exchange, Ahmed Karoud, told Reuters last month that pre-war plans to list shares in Al Madar and Libyana would go ahead next year. The listings might be an opportunity for foreign operators to buy into the firms. One analyst said Libyana might be valued at around US$2 billion and Al Madar at about half that amount in the event of a sale, though he stressed that many uncertainties, such as the real level of mobile penetration, meant valuing the companies at this time was very difficult.— Reuters

CALIFORNIA: Maria Guadalupe Pimentel rests after working in the fields of Imperial Valley, Calif and making the trek home to Mexicali, Mexico. Thousands of Mexicans leave their homes each morning to become a pillar of one of most unusual and depressed labor markets in the United States. — AP

Alternate growth gauge points to more job gains WASHINGTON: An alternate measure of the health of the US economy suggests the current pace of job growth can be sustained at least through the rest of the year. A dramatic fall in the unemployment rate from 9.1 percent last August to 8.5 percent by year end despite sluggish overall growth had puzzled analysts. But data last Friday on this alternate growth gauge showed more strength in the economy late last year than was captured in gross domestic product, the conventional measure of growth.

GDP expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter and by 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter. In contrast the alternate measure, gross domestic income, which measures the income side of the growth ledger, expanded at a much faster pace of 2.6 percent and 4.4 percent over the same periods. While they are both measures of economic activity, they are calculated from different data sources.

The surprise has been that non-farm employment has accelerated since November, and in the first two months of this year it has averaged 255,500, even though GDP growth is tracking around a 2 percent rate this quarter.

Slow GDP growth and faster job creation has perplexed analysts. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week raised the issue and cited slow growth as reason to doubt that solid job gains would be sustained. Policymakers say that a widely accepted rule of thumb known as Okun’s law requires GDP growth at a faster pace than that registered in the third and fourth quaters in order to lower the unemploy-

ment rate. They have struggled to explain the discrepancy.

Economists say the GDI number may hold the answer. “Bernanke’s position, which seems to be focused on the conventionally reported GDP growth estimate, is that employment gains have been stronger than they should have been and therefore they are likely to slow,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. “The alternative is that growth has been stronger than the GDP numbers suggest and employment gains are more likely to be sustained, which is our view. We have re-established the 200,000 trend (in monthly payrolls) that was emerging last year.”

A range of other measures such as the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge and the Fed’s industrial production data point to the economy performing much better this quarter than implied by GDP forecasts.

Sung Won Sohn an economics professor at California State University Channel Islands said the GDP is underestimating the strength of economic growth right now. “When I look at the economy, things are not as bad as what GDP would indicate.” Sohn, who is also vice chairman of clothing retailer Forever 21, said the strong GDI numbers were in sync with their sales. “We are doing very well. If you look at GDI, it is consistent with the recent increase in employment,” he said. “We continue to see fairly healthy growth in jobs and expect 200,000 gains in jobs every month for the balance of this year.”— Reuters

In Bangalore, a remake to avoid being ‘Bangalored’ BANGALORE: Rajesh Rao is among a handful of Indian entrepreneurs who may prevent the country’s software industry from getting “Bangalored”. The 41-year-old self-confessed geek runs Dhruva, a firm that sells content and services to global online game companies from a bungalow in a crowded suburb of a city that has come to embody outsourcing and the transfer of jobs from the West. But plain vanilla outsourcing - help desks and back office operations - is finding cheaper locations abroad. India’s software industry has discovered it needs to move up the value chain or enter niche areas like gaming to continue growing.

Rao, a dapper man with a soul patch beard, was drawn to multimedia computing while at university and set up his own firm. He progressed to video gaming and says he lucked into a sector that is now realizing its potential. It is less than a $500 million business in

India - and $50 billion worldwide and growing. “Whenever something transcends from a geek activity to an everyday activity, that’s when you can say that this is now going to become mainstream,” Rao said at his unpretentious headquarters set amid shops, a temple, a women’s college and cheek-by-jowl homes.

As gaming scales up, the advantages of outsourcing are becoming apparent to the firms on the US West Coast that dominate the sector. Jobs that can cost up to $12,000-$15,000 per man-month there can be outsourced to companies in India like Dhruva for about $4,000-$5,000. “The gaming industry began to discover the benefits of outsourcing, and we were already there, and so we started seeing a huge upswing in business,” Rao said, speaking in a new office, set up as he expands staff. Many of the desks are unoccupied and cabling has yet to be completed. “We are now beginning to see that

big wave. Pretty much the floodgates are opening.”

San Francisco-based Zynga, which started off games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars on Facebook, has also bet on Bangalore, setting up an office and a creative studio, the first outside the United States, with over 200 employees. Thomson Reuters itself has more than 6,000 staff in technology, sales, editorial and customer support in Bangalore. Zynga Chief Technology Officer Cadir Lee said the city was attractive because it combined experience and talent. “I see Bangalore going through a pyramid, where you started with lower-value functions like call centre work, then it moved up to BPO (business process outsourcing) and more strategic IT projects, but still very directed work,” he said in a telephone interview.

“At the top of that is product development. That is just getting critical mass in Bangalore.”— Reuters

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Oil rises above $123 on supply disruption fears Iraq-Turkey pipelines shut after explosions LONDON: Oil rose above $123 a barrel yesterday, bouncing from sharp falls in the previous two sessions, on growing concerns over Iranian oil supplies being disrupted due to Western sanctions. In a move that could lead to a near standstill to Iran’s crude oil exports ahead of its European Union ban from July 1, a major Chinese ship insurer will halt indemnity cover for tankers carrying Iranian oil from the month. Brent crude oil futures rose $1.03 to $123.37 a barrel by 0825 GMT. US gained 82 cents to $102.29, after falling $2.54 in the previous session.

Volume was moderate for both contracts ahead of public holidays in Europe and the United States. Oil had fallen by more than $3 over the last two sessions due to the drop in the global stock market, a sharp increase in US oil inventories and fading expectations for more monetary stimulus from the US central bank. “The stock market and oil both moved lower yesterday. Oil is recovering because of geopolitical

China’s ship insurer deals new blow to Iran exports SINGAPORE: A major Chinese ship insurer will halt indemnity cover for tankers carrying Iranian oil from July, dealing a blow that narrows the insurance options for Tehran’s main export already constricted by payment barriers caused by Western sanctions. With Western sanctions on Tehran increasing, sources at the China P&I Club said yesterday it did not want to stand alone in the market, especially after insurers in Japan and Europe plan to either limit or ban their own coverage for tankers operating in Iran.

This is the first sign that refiners in China, Iran’s top crude buyer, may struggle to obtain the shipping and insurance to keep importing from the Middle Eastern country. Iran’s other top customers-India, Japan and South Korea-are running into similar problems, raising questions on how Tehran will be able to continue to export the bulk of its oil. Crude oil prices are up nearly 14 percent since the start of this year on concerns that Iranian supplies may be disrupted due to Western sanctions.

Brent crude traded above $123 a barrel yesterday.

The China P&I Club, whose members include major Chinese shipping firms Sinotrans and COSCO Group, is the first Chinese maritime insurer to confirm it will halt business with tankers operating in Iran. “Many ship owners want to join our club and want our club to cover this risk, but considering all these regulations from the United States and the EU, I know the China P&I club will not do that,” said a Hong Kong-based official with the insurer, which provides coverage to more than 1,000 vessels.

“The China P&I club will not take the risk. We have asked our members not to go there, if they go there, they take their own risk,” the official added, who wished not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Starting in July, European insurers and reinsurers will be barred from indemnifying ships carrying Iranian crude and oil products anywhere in the world, in line with sanctions on Tehran. Iran sells most of its 2.2 million barrels per day of oil exports in Asia, where China, India, Japan and South Korea are the four biggest buyers. Growing pressure by the West has led some Iranian oil buyers to cut imports, but the problem over obtaining maritime insurance could altogether halt shipments to Asian customers. Chinese imports from Iran are already down more than 21 percent in the first two months of 2012 to around 395,000 barrels per day compared to the same period last year. Along with Russia and the Middle East, China is one of the few remaining alternatives for Asian ship owners to replace European-based coverage. It is not clear if other Chinese ship insurers also planned to follow China P&I Club and cut coverage. “I really don’t know what will happen,” said a Beijing-based Chinese industry official. “We are talking about $1 billion in coverage (per tanker). No single insurance company can handle that.” European insurers provide cover for the majority of the world’s oil tanker fleet. Industry officials say ship owners who still legally trade with Iran will be pressed to find sufficient, or comprehensive, alternative insurance.— Reuters

risk over the long weekend,” said Christopher Bellew, broker with Jefferies Bache. Explosions shut yesterday both of the two pipelines bringing crude from Kirkuk in Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, a Turkish energy official said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the blasts but sabotage is common on oil and gas pipelines leading into Turkey from Iran and Iraq, where Kurdish separatist militants operate. China is the top buyer of Iranian crude and the insurance move is the first sign Chinese refiners may struggle to obtain the shipping and insurance to keep importing from OPEC’s second-biggest producer.

This comes days after industry sources told Reuters Japanese refiners planned to cut crude imports from Tehran yet again in April as they shy away from renewing annual contracts. Analysts also pointed out technical charts showed a floor for Brent oil of around $121.50-$122.50 level since March.

ECONOMIC OPTIMISM Later in the day, the market’s focus will shift to jobs data from the United States, the world’s second largest energy consumer after China. The key jobs report for March from the US Labor Department is expected to show a gain of 203,000 jobs, including a rise in private payrolls of 218,000.

Prices were also supported by fresh signs of a recovery in the US economy and easing fears of a sharp slowdown in China. A report showing US businesses added 209,000 jobs in March slightly beat expectations and raised hopes for a positive non-farm payrolls report last Friday. Sentiment over China’s economic prospects also strengthened after the services sector expanded again in March and business confidence hit an 11-month high, though overall activity remained below its long-term average, a private sector survey of purchasing managers said yesterday. — Reuters

Iraq oil majors play north versus south Baghdad threatens to punish Exxon for dealing with Kurds BAGHDAD: In the weeks before Iraqi Kurdistan revealed that Exxon Mobil had signed up to explore for oil there, executives at rival Shell faced a dilemma over whether or not to join the US oil major in its foray north and risk angering Baghdad.

The fields in the autonomous region offered rich potential, an easier working environment, better security and attractive contracts. That seemed a winning combination for smaller oil companies already working there, such as Norway’s DNO, even though they struggled to collect profits.

But at the 11th hour, industry sources say, Royal Dutch Shell backed out and decided to focus on a $17 billion gas deal in the south rather than sign exploration contracts with the Kurdish Regional Government, which the central government could dismiss as illegal and could prompt reprisals. Shell’s caution, Exxon’s silence on its deals and this week’s renewed dispute between Baghdad and Kurdistan over export payments reveal how delicate is the balance companies must manage between a central government and a Kurdish authority locked in a struggle over who controls Iraq’s vast oil wealth.

The dispute over oil is at the heart of a wider disagreement between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish region, which are also increasingly at odds over regional autonomy, land and political influence. Iraq has ambitious plans to develop its huge southern oilfields - potentially the world’s biggest source of new oil over the next few years - and few oil firms dare risk being barred from such a bonanza by angering Baghdad. But increasingly, some executives say, Kurdistan’s potential is also coming up in boardroom discussions, as sluggish output, red tape and infrastructure bottlenecks in the south take some of the shine off the central government’s oil program.

Oil majors are now waiting on the side-

lines, watching the outcome of Exxon’s balancing act between Baghdad and Arbil, the northern capital. France’s Total is the latest company to provoke Baghdad’s ire by acknowledging interest in Kurdistan.

“What companies are trying to do is get to the point where they are investing in the north and the south,” said one industry source working in Iraq. “But at the moment they cannot do that. And that is what you

hurdles. Output last year averaged 2.7 million barrels per day versus about 2.4 million bpd in 2009, the year of Iraq’s oil tenders. The government in Baghdad has driven a tough bargain with foreign companies, offering fee-for-service contracts with tightly controlled profit margins and little chance to benefit from high energy prices.

Firms have experienced problems get-

KURDISH REGION: Employees work at the Tawke oil field in the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. — AP have to build in when you decide whether to move in or not. You balance the risks.”

After decades of war and sanctions, Iraq has signed multi-billion dollar agreements with Exxon, Shell and BP to develop fields in the south where most of its crude is pumped, hoping to become a major global oil exporter with output targets of around 8-8.5 million bpd. But two years on, only modest gains have so far been notched up in production by companies frustrated by infrastructure constraints, payment disputes and logistical

ting visas for contractors and security staff, delays in bringing in armored vehicles and holdups securing operating licenses. Such hassles make Kurdistan’s offerings look more tempting by comparison. “Every delay we face cuts off a significant part of the internal rate of return,” said one oil company source. “Sometimes I wonder if we picked the wrong region.” This year Norway’s Statoil became the first major company to abandon one of Iraq’s lucrative new oil deals, selling its stake in West Qurna Phase-2 field to Lukoil.— Reuters

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Investors, tourists eye wary return to Tunisia TUNIS: At its factory on the outskirts of Tunis, US company Eurocast is gearing up for expansion. The maker of parts for airplane engines plans to invest $2 million in its plant in late 2012, allowing it to process a new range of superalloys. “From our standpoint, business is good. We are growing at 30 percent a year,” director general Thomas Wendt said.

“We were only shut down one day and that was Jan 14, the day of the general strike. Were we at full force after? No, but we were able to produce and overperform our regional target.” It has been a bumpy ride for Tunisia, where a January 2011 revolt ousted veteran dictator Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali and triggered “Arab Spring” uprisings across the region. Amid the messy work of building a new democracy, the economy shrank 1.8 percent last year. Strikes by newly emboldened workers led to factory closures that slowed the recovery.

Tourists, whose spending accounted for around 6.5 percent of gross domestic product of about $44 billion, cancelled bookings, fearing violence. Foreign direct investment and portfolio investment inflows sank nearly a third, according to Tunisia’s Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA), as companies were unsure whether the uprising would bring democracy or chaos. More than a year after the revolution and almost six months on from Tunisia’s elections, which were declared largely free and fair by election monitors, investors and tourists are tentatively returning.

FIPA data shows new foreign direct investment rose 35.2 percent in the first two months of this year from the same period of 2011, and 5.9 percent from two years earlier. Most of that money has gone into energy and industry; the recovery in tourism, which earned some $2 billion a year and employed 400,000 people before the revolt, has lagged. But Tourism Minister Elyess Fakfak said last month he expected the number of visitors to rise 20 percent this year. That would still fall a million short of the near 7 million visitors who holidayed in Tunisia in 2010.

But it could begin to cut unemployment, which was a key complaint of protesters who launched the revolt and has now climbed from 13 to 18 percent. The government’s early hopes that the economy would bounce back with 4.5 percent growth in 2012 have faded; Tunisia now forecasts more modest 3.5 percent growth. But local businessmen are gaining confidence that democracy and an end to Ben Ali’s grip over the economy, where competition was restricted as lucrative contracts and licenses were parceled out to members of his extended family, will eventually pay dividends. — Reuters

Islamic finance pressured to join accounting mainstream IFRS standards now conflict with sharia practices LONDON: Rapid growth of Islamic finance is increasing pressure for the industry to enter the accounting mainstream, by seeking guidance from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the global body which sets the tone for book-keeping in conventional finance. It would be a controversial move - by basing itself on religious principles, Islamic finance seeks to set itself apart from conventional finance. But some experts think the industry is becoming so big that it can no longer sit comfortably outside a trend towards harmonizing accounting rules across the world.

“The whole thing about financial reporting around the world today is the global move towards a single comparable set of highquality financial reporting standards...” said Samer Hijazi, financial services audit director at accounting giant KPMG, who monitors the development of Islamic finance. Islamic financial assets hit $1.3 trillion globally in 2011, a 150 percent increase over the past five years as the industry expanded into new countries beyond core markets in the Middle East and Malaysia, financial lobby group TheCityUK estimated last week.

At present the industry remains governed by a patchwork of national regulators, Islamic standard-setting bodies and scholars interpreting Islamic law - a recipe for different rules and practices.

This is creating confusion among investors, especially as major Western banks begin to enter the market. Most of the countries in which Islamic banks operate already use the IASB’s International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). But these standards have been developed for conventional finance, not Islamic transactions, in which interest and pure monetary speculation are banned and trades must be underpinned by physical assets.

So there is the potential for conflict between Islamic finance and conventional accounting rules. For example, in order to earn returns but not contravene the ban on interest, Islamic banks buy an asset such as a house on behalf of a customer and lease it out until the customer is able to acquire ownership. Under current IFRS standards, accountants say, this would probably be treated as a financial lease, requiring the bank to record the lease as an interest-earning loan - in apparent contravention of sharia law.

“IFRS is all about substance over form whereas sharia law is very much about compliance with legal form,” said Andrew Hawkins, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

GUIDELINES The solution, some experts say, is to have the IASB introduce

standalone guidelines under its IFRS framework that are tailormade for Islamic finance. These guidelines would ensure a uniform approach across the industry while blending with the IASB’s standards for conventional finance. Bodies such as the AsianOceanian Standard Setters Group (AOSSG), a regional organization which creates accounting guidelines, are calling on the IASB to put the drafting of Islamic finance standards on its agenda. The AOSSG has set up a working group to liaise with the IASB. More than three-quarters of 24 financial standards-setting bodies that responded to a survey by the AOSSG at the start of this year said there should not be separate Islamic accounting standards issued by other bodies outside the IFRS framework, because they could be incompatible with the global move towards convergence around IFRS, according to the AOSSG. Involving the IASB in Islamic finance may not be easy, however.

While the IASB has said Islamic accounting may move onto its agenda as it begins to identify its project priorities in coming months, the body is preoccupied with a range of regulatory initiatives around the world, so it is unclear if Islamic finance will become a priority anytime soon.

Also, the whole idea of having global reporting standards is that there is one set of rules which are not industry-specific.

Adding standards specifically for Islamic finance could undermine the uniformity of IFRS standards and spur demands for other exceptions to be made. For example, the problem of how Islamic banks classify their leases to customers might be solved if the IASB agreed to describe them as operating, not financial, leases.

But the IASB might not be willing to do this for fear of violating a basic accounting principle and disadvantaging conventional banks. In an interview with Reuters, Alan Teixeira, senior technical director at the IASB, said his body would consider the issue of Islamic finance. But he declined to say whether, when and how it might get involved in standard-setting.

“The ideal situation is to have one set of words that everybody can use,” Teixeira said. “The biggest challenge will be to see whether or not we can write the right words that don’t conflict with sharia law but fundamentally get the same level of transparency and good level of reporting.” Teixeira said the IASB was thinking of setting up a working group to educate its board about sharia law so that it could make informed decisions. “It might be that we can address any concerns by having guidance about how to apply or interpret certain aspects without necessarily changing an IFRS,” he said.— Reuters

Facebook, Google cutting into business NEW YORK: Yahoo Inc will lay off 2,000 people, or 14 percent of its workforce, in its deepest round of job cuts in years as new Chief Executive Scott Thompson tries to jumpstart growth with a leaner, more agile company while saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Wall Street’s reaction was lukewarm, after two previous Yahoo CEOs failed to find an answer to rivals like Web-search leader Google and the Facebook social-networking site.

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, which ended 2011 with some 14,000 employees, said it would save $375 million annually from the cuts and incur a pre-tax cash charge in the second quarter of $125 million to $145 million.

The company declined to comment on severance details. Some analysts were skeptical about the widely expected layoffs, which weren’t accompanied by details of Yahoo’s broader plan to revamp its business. “You can’t cut your way to revenue growth,” said Colin Gillis of BGC Partners.

“What people want to see out of Yahoo is ... a plan and provision for revenue growth.” Third Point, an activist hedge fund that is waging a proxy fight to install a slate of handpicked directors on Yahoo’s board, described the layoffs as “necessary.” But the hedge fund, Yahoo’s largest shareholder with a 5.8 percent stake, said in a statement that it was “disappointed that this round of cuts occurred before CEO Scott Thompson has articulated his strategic plan for the company.” Thompson, in all-staff memo obtained by Reuters, said the changes would transform Yahoo into a leaner

outfit that focuses on its main businesses, which he identified as “core media and communications,” “platforms” and “data.” “The changes we’re announcing today will put our customers first, allow us to move fast, and to get stuff done,” Thompson said in the memo, adding that the changes would result in a “smaller, nimbler, more profitable” company.

“We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities,” Thompson wrote in the memo. Macquarie Research’s Ben Schachter saw the layoffs as a start in determining the new direction of the company. “Scott Thompson is not there to tweak the business,” Schachter said.

“He saw something in the assets to make him think there was potential.” A Yahoo spokeswoman said that every organization within the company was affected by the layoffs but that some groups were affected more than others.

She declined to specify the groups most affected.

Yahoo said it would provide more details of its plans when it releases first-quarter results on April 17. The layoffs come as Yahoo’s revenue declines due to competition from Google and Facebook. Last year, Yahoo’s revenue totaled $4.98 billion, compared with Facebook’s $3.71 billion, accomplished with just 3,200 employees.

Yahoo is also fighting a battle with hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb. Loeb, who runs Third Point, is seeking to appoint four new directors to Yahoo’s board.—Reuters

Yahoo to lay off 2,000 employees

CALIFORNIA: The company logo is displayed at Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Yahoo Inc has announced that the company is laying off 2,000 employees as new CEO Scott Thompson sweeps out jobs that don’t fit into his plans for turning around the beleaguered Internet company. — AP

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

BoE watchdog’s untested weapons face bank battle LONDON: Britain’s Financial Policy Committee, tasked with fighting off the next financial crisis, first faces a battle to convince Britain’s banks that its untested weapons will do more good than harm. The FPC, a division of the Bank of England, was created last year to plug a big gap in regulators’ ability to tackle risks such as the credit and housing bubble that, on bursting, torpedoed banks across the world in 2008 and threatened the entire financial system. Similar bodies elsewhere, such as the European Systemic Risk Board and the United States’ Financial Stability Oversight Council, have been set up for the same purpose.

But the FPC’s proposed powers, unveiled less than two weeks ago, have already drawn fire from bankers and politicians who fear, among other things, that the focus on future risks will hamstring them and the economy when emerging from a downcycle. The FPC thinks that mindset has to change. “There has to be a political will to accept that actions will be taken which are unpopular, and could even turn out to be unnecessary, but they were the best judgment at the time about what was necessary to fend off ... a financial crisis,” FPC member Alastair Clark said.

A leverage cap is one of the three powers that the FPC has asked for, to limit banks’ total balance sheet or lending.

The second is the power to impose tailored ‘sectoral capital weights’, so the BoE can address perceived risks by increasing or decreasing the cost of lending in specific areas such as mortgages or small business loans. The third power is to require ‘counter-cyclical capital buffers’, which the FPC would increase in the run-up to a credit boom, applying a brake to lending, and then lower during a slump to give banks extra capital to keep lending going.

EXPERIMENTAL The FPC approach, in a policy area that both Clark and BoE Governor Mervyn King have conceded is “experimental”, has rung alarm bells with some bankers. In a recent newspaper column, Peter Sands, chief executive of Asia-focused British bank Standard Chartered, damned the FPC as “simultaneously extremely interventionist and extraordinarily blinkered”. Behind closed doors, other banks have also expressed concerns to Reuters in terms almost as strong. The British Bankers’ Association said that while its members welcomed the FPC and macroprudential regulation in principle, there were worries that banks, not the BoE, would take the flak for the higher lending costs that might ensue.

“If the FPC decides to increase the risk weightings on products like mortgages ... it will be important for it to communicate this clearly so consumers understand why pricing has changed,” BBA financial policy expert Adam Cull said.

The BBA fears that in practice the use of ‘counter-cyclical capital buffers’ will be one-sided. “It will be vital that the buffer goes down as well as up to enable banks to lend to the economy during the recovery from an economic downturn,” Cull said.

These worries might be dismissed as special pleading from within the industry, but the British parliament’s Treasury Committee, the main public body that holds the BoE to account, is also concerned. It has regularly challenged the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee over its apparent inability to spur small business lending, and seems to have similar concerns about the FPC. “Just as they need the tools to take the punchbowl away when the party gets going, so too they need to be able to add a tonic at the other end of the cycle,” Treasury Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie, a Conservative Member of Parliament, has argued.

To convince the sceptics, the FPC will want the strongest possible evidence to defend its decisions, but regulators have precious little by way of a track record to call upon.

Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke unwittingly highlighted regulators’ inability to spot looming dangers when he gave a speech in May 2007 as defaults in one corner of the U.S. home loans market were gathering speed. “We believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system,” he said.— Reuters

Gold rebounds; fading stimulus hopes weigh Light physical buying spotted in Asia SINGAPORE: Gold edged up yesterday after two straight days of deep losses, but gains were capped as receding hopes of further US monetary stimulus took the sheen off bullion’s appeal as a hedge against inflation. Bullion lost more than 3 percent over the past two days after the US Federal Reserve released minutes from its last policy meeting which showed policy makers were less inclined to launch more monetary stimulus as the economic outlook gradually improves.

Hopes for more money-printing by the Fed had buoyed spot gold prices to $1,790.30 in February, the highest level since last November. “The world in 2011 was all about QE (quantitative easing) and more potential QE. Now the environment is a little different - the US economy is back on better footing and needs less central bank help,” said Dominic Schnider, head of commodity research at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore.

Schnider estimated that investment demand globally

would have to grow at least 20 percent this year to absorb higher mine production, and shortfalls in jewelry demand and central bank purchases. “The 20-percent growth is in question since the macro picture has brightened.” Globally, investment demand in 2011 gained 5 percent to a record 1,640.7 tons as the uncertain economic picture burnished gold’s appeal as a safe-haven investment, according to the World Gold Council.

A deteriorating technical picture also kept potential buyers on sidelines. Gold broke below its 300-day moving average, currently around $1,619 per ounce, for the first time this year on Wednesday. Spot gold could fall towards $1,599 an ounce during the day, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,626.01 an ounce by 0635 GMT, off a near three-month low of $1,611.80 hit in the previous session.

US gold gained 0.8 percent to $1,627.40. The dollar index was slightly lower, helping gold regain some lost ground. It hit a two-week high in the previous session. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Traders wearing bunny ears work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. The company Annie’s, whose mascot is a bunny, rang the opening bell on Wednesday. — AP

Europe shares, euro fall on debt worries Investors losing appetite for riskier assets LONDON: European shares and the euro fell yesterday on fears the euro debt crisis is flaring up again, crimping investors’ appetite for riskier assets ahead of a long holiday weekend for many global markets. Chinese shares bucked the softer global trend, posting their biggest single-day rise since early February led by non-banking financials after Premier Wen Jiabao said the monopoly formed by the country’s big banks needed to be broken to get money flowing to cash-starved private firms.

Global stocks dropped more than 1 percent and gold tumbled to its lowest in nearly three months on Wednesday as euro zone worries, centered on Spain’s public and private sector debt burdens, added to concerns that markets won’t get another round of monetary stimulus from the US Federal Reserve. Lower-rated euro zone government bonds remained under pressure, supporting safe-haven German debt and US Treasuries, but the sell-off in global stocks paused before US non-farm payrolls data today.

Data showing British factory output suffered its biggest monthly fall in almost a year in February did little to soothe fears about the economic recovery in Europe though its impact on European shares was limited. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.5 percent, pulling the MSCI world equity index down 0.1 percent.

“There is still worry about Spain and it is a four-day weekend and

investors do not want to be long going into it as they do not know what potential news could come out,” Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index, said.

DANGEROUS TIMES German government bond prices jumped to three-week highs as Spanish 10-year yields rose five basis points to 5.77 percent, near levels last seen before the European Central Bank first flooded banks in December with cheap three-year funds.

Equivalent Italian yields, which rose in tandem with Spain as investors fretted about the government’s ability to meet budget deficit targets, were up four basis points at 5.42 percent. Spanish yields jumped 30 basis points on Wednesday after borrowing costs jumped at the country’s auction of bonds, expanding the yield premium over German benchmarks to 392 basis points, its widest since late November. “There’s been a lot of negative news on Spain over a sustained period of time but market sentiment was being buoyed by strong auction results until yesterday,” said Rabobank rate strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor. “It’s quite a dangerous time and if the market starts to panic then the sky’s the limit (for borrowing costs), although you may see some policy action come into play.”— Reuters

Business FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Pensioner’s suicide stuns austerity-weary nation ATHENS: A Greek pensioner’s suicide outside parliament has quickly become a symbol of the pain of austerity and has been seized upon by opponents of the budget cuts imposed by Greece’s international lenders. The 77-year-old retired pharmacist, Dimitris Christoulas, shot himself in the head on Wednesday after saying that financial troubles had pushed him over the edge. A suicide note said he preferred to die than scavenge for food.

The highly public - and symbolic - nature of the suicide prompted an outpouring of sympathy from Greeks, who set up an impromptu shrine where he killed himself with hand-written notes condemning the crisis. Some

protested at night, clashing with riot police who sent them home in clouds of tear gas. On Thursday, dozens of Greeks gathered around the shrine, leaving flowers and candles, and the “Indignant” protesters who held daily sitins for months last year said they would hold a second day of protests. A separate protest was planned in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

The conservative newspaper Eleftheros Typos called the victim a “martyr for Greece” and said his act was filled with “profound political symbolism” that could “shock Greek society and the political world and awaken their conscience” before a parliamentary election to determine Greece’s future. Anger over

the suicide was directed as much at politicians as it was at the harsh austerity medicine prescribed by foreign lenders in return for aid to lift the country out of its worst economic crisis since World War Two. “It’s horrible. We shouldn’t have reached this point. The politicians in parliament who brought us here should be punished for this,” said Anastassia Karanika, a 60-year-old pensioner. So far this week, police reported that at least four people have tried to kill themselves because of financial troubles. In one case, a 35-year-old cafe owner in central Greece was hospitalized in a critical condition on Tuesday after drinking pesticide because he feared his

business would be seized by the bank if he failed to pay his mortgage. With the election likely to take place on May 6, smaller parties opposed to harsh spending cuts included in the country’s second bailout were quick to point the finger of blame at bigger parties backing the rescue.

“Those who should have committed suicide - who should have committed suicide a long time ago - are the politicians who knowingly decided to bring this country and its people to this state of affairs,” said Panos Kammenos, a conservative lawmaker who recently set up the Independent Greeks antiausterity party. — Reuters

Opinion FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

In land of no loans, consumer debt mounts Saudi banks find ways to ‘lend’ money, often to the consternation of Islamic scholars

By Rob L Wagner

W

hen Reem Muhammad sought a personal loan to pay off some lingering debts, a Saudi bank offered 100,000 riyals ($26,667). The price tag? Repayment of the loan, plus 33,000 riyals. “I took the loan and repaid it, but I never knew what the 33,000 was for since it wasn’t interest,” Muhammad, 38, told The Media Line. “But it sure felt like interest.” Muhammad is one of thousands of Saudis taking advantage of Saudi Arabia’s healthy economy and banks’ increasing willingness to offer personal loans and credit cards. Her loan also illustrates the continuing debate in the Saudi banking industry whether some aspects of the loan system contravenes shariah, or Islamic law, that guides how Muslims conduct financial transactions. Personal loans in Saudi Arabia jumped nearly 20-fold to a staggering 219 billion riyals in 2011, up from an estimated 11 billion riyals in 1998. Loans included 27.7 billion riyals in property loans due in part to the passage of the 2011 mortgage law. Credit card debt in 2012 is estimated about nine billion riyals.

Asher Noor, chief financial officer for the Riyadh-based AlTouq Group, a global investment firm, told The Media Line the increase in loans reflects Saudi Arabia’s strong economy. “I find the increase in line with the growth of the Saudi economy, an emergence of an affluent middle class and creation of more high net worth individuals now than at any time in the past,” says Noor, who emphasizes he was offering a personal opinion. “The surge in personal loans is not just due to proliferation of credit cards in the Saudi economy, although plastic money has clearly made it easy to stack up debts. Real estate loans have also been a big reason for personal loan surge.”

Until about 2000, banks were reluctant to issue personal loans to individuals, preferring to limit their lending to large companies.

Consumer credit card use was also relatively rare. However, the demand for easier access to money has increased as the Saudi middle class has grown more affluent. Banks devised methods to offer credit cards compliant with shariah.

Islamic law does not permit usury, charging or paying interest and conducting business contrary to Islamic values, such as operating a casino and selling pork or alcohol. Saudis pay a fixed monthly fee on credit cards. Banks may require customers to have a savings account with a specific amount of money on deposit. Charges for late payments may be about 3 percent of the outstanding balance. Another way the card issuer earns a profit is to pre-purchase an item a customer plans to buy and then instantly resell it to him at a higher price.

Noor acknowledged there is “cause for concern” over the rapid increase in consumer loan and credit card debt, but the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has not allowed it to get out of control. “I think SAMA has not been asleep at the wheel and has kept the commercial banks in check with regulations like limiting loan to deposit ratios.” SAMA in 2006 established regulations that total loans may not exceed 33 percent of the total salary of employees and 25 percent of the income of retirees.

Nabil Al-Mubarak, executive-director of SIMAH, told the Arab News that, SIMAH’s policy labels card debtors as defaulters under two conditions: if they have not paid for six consecutive months and if the amount due is SR 500 and more.

Noor said the criteria to issue credit cards is heavily regulated in Saudi Arabia, noting that customers are rarely pre-approved and must prove their eligibility for credit cards. “There are SAMA regulations dictating the credit card and personal loan limits and the central database [Saudi Credit Bureau] SIMAH is monitoring defaults,” he said. Noor said that given the large expatriate population, whose work and residence permits are linked, banks are very careful

den type of interest as banks make you pay what they call a fine or a penalty for failing to pay them back on time. The same thing is applied in non-Islamic banks but they call it interest. I see no difference between the two unless you make sure you don’t use it for drawing cash. Or when you buy goods make sure you pay it back before the end of the time limit.”

Alkady also considers Muhammad’s 100,000riyal loan as contrary to Islamic values with some Saudi banks skirting shariah-compliant regulations.

Islamic banks use an asset-based loan system, such as providing an automobile loan, in which the bank purchases the car, maintains

2009 that tawreeq is “legal trickery” with roots in interest-based lending. Alkady said the Islamic Development Bank followed with a similar ruling in April 2011. “The bank’s scholars have issued a decree in which they consider tawreeq un-Islamic simply because the bank is selling goods that it does not actually own,” he said. Yet most Islamic banks worldwide embrace tawreeq, with many Islamic scholars in Muslim countries endorsing the practice.

Sami Al-Nwaisir, chairman of Al-Sami Holding Group, wrote in the Arab News recently that loans “favor the banks and their regulations” and “the unfair contracts by banks designed for their benefit alone, which victimize and sup-

A Saudi man looks at a Harley Davidson motorcycle at a shop in Riyadh in this April 22, 2010 file photo.—AP in credit card issuances and usually require having a bank account with them, salary transfer and employer letter before a card is issued.

“Since expatriates here are unable to leave the kingdom with credit card debts disproportionate to their earnings or end of service, the banks here have not struggled with staggering default rates as elsewhere,” Noor said.

Yet the explosion in obtaining credit cards and personal loans, and how banks charge fees, has led to consternation among some Islamic scholars whether the high fees are tantamount to paying interest. Ahmed Alkady, a trainer at the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, told The Media Line that he sees no difference between paying penalty fees and charging interest on credit cards. “I don’t use or even recommend credit cards,” Alkady said, “It is a hid-

ownership and then rents it to the customer.

The customer makes monthly payments that add up to more than what the bank paid for the vehicle. Ownership is then transferred to the customer once all payments are made. Alkady described Muhammad’s loan was tawreeq, or securitization, meaning the asset is made into financial tool like a share in a company. The transaction originates with an item, such as equipment or even property bought by the bank and then sold to the customer to be paid for on an installment basis. This allows the bank to raise the price of the item as a way of earning a profit while at the same time providing immediate liquidity for the borrower.

However, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s International Council of Fiqh Academy, a group of Islamic scholars, ruled in

press the individual through the systematic brutality of the one-sided agreement”. Noor faults the banks for not educating borrowers. “Islamic banking is asset-based and borrowers need to understand that to better appreciate it,” he said.

“Bankers, however, remain the culprit by complicating documentation and structures, and thus making it difficult for the layman to make a rational choice.”— Media Line

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FRIDAY, April 6, 2012

Years

www.kuwaittimes.net

Actress Allison Williams poses at the premiere of the HBO original series "Girls," Wednesday, April 4, 2012 in New York. The comedy premieres April 15, at 10:30p.m.

EST on HBO. —AP

Te c h n o l o g y FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Is that a bird or plane? No, it’s Superuser!

Android offers users immense operating potential

Did you know?

Malicious software can be lurking on serious websites as well BERLIN: People surfing only well-known websites still need sufficient virus protection. The reason is that viruses, Trojans and other harmful bugs are not just lurking in the darkest corners of the internet. “That can also happen on serious websites, for example through the ad banners,” warned Tim Griese of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The real problem is that even just visiting a page could be enough to be hit by malicious software. “You don’t even need to click on anything,” said Griese. The BSI spokesman said a well-protected computer should definitely include a firewall and an up-to-date virus scanner. And all software on the computer should be kept at the most-current status as well. “Most people think about the operating systems because the updates are automatically installed,” said Griese. But, just as important is keeping browsers and popular plug-ins such as Flash Player or Adobe Reader current as well. Due to their widespread use, such programs can be used as a gateway for viruses.

Jumping to top with browser button BERLIN: Whether it’s a news site, a forum or a Facebook profile, many websites are so long that scrolling back to the top is a real pain. Help is on the way with the extension Scroll To Top, which creates a jump button in Chrome and Firefox, allowing users to jump back to the top of a page with just one simple click.

Do not react to every email immediately BERLIN: At work, it is not effective to react to every new email immediately. “You should always complete the task you’re working on now before you check your emails,” according to Caroline Luedemann, a careers coach in Germany. “Otherwise you have to work your way back into the task and that takes so much time.” Workers are recommended to go through their inbox either after finishing a task or on a regular rhythm such as every three or four hours. “You should try to stay away from emails as much as possible in the mornings because that’s the time when we are most productive,” says Luedemann. The mailbox should also be broken down into separate, clearly marked folders, for example for different clients. “Emails from colleagues, bosses and contractors should not be mixed up with each another,” said Luedemann. Time can also be saved by using electronic signatures that automatically appear at the end of an email. — dpa

If

you really want to get to know your Android operating system, you’ll have to go rooting.

That’s the word for cracking open the system and giving yourself something like administrator privileges on your smartphone: An option that is not granted with normal factory settings.

Taking this step allows a person to become a root, or a superuser. It means the user has also gained the ability to install special apps or even entirely new operating systems - which comes in useful when needed systems have been delayed or canceled.

But there are risks that come with these enhanced abilities and it’s best to know what you’re doing before you damage the hardware and void the guarantee. Before thinking about any superuser action, make sure you’ve stored a backup of your apps, contacts and text messages. To do so, use an app like My Phone Explorer, which can be downloaded.

Then find a root tool. There’s no one-size-fits-all model. Most programs are designed for specific smartphone models or manufacturers. Popular options include Unrevoked (HTC), Odin (Samsung), which also requires the appropriate root kernel. There’s also SuperOneClick, which covers multiple manufacturers, Z4Root (Motorola, Samsung and Song, among others), Visionary (HTC) and Easy Root.

Generally, root tools have to be copied onto SD cards and installed with the help of a file manager.

Change settings beforehand to allow app installations from outside sources. There are also some tools that run on PCs. Help, tips and instructions are available at forums like pocketpc.ch, Xda-Developes.com or Androidadvices.com. Being a superuser means one might apply some settings that could later be regretted. To be safe, back up your data again as soon as you’ve rooted it, preferably with Titanium Backup. This app, unlike My Phone Explorer, can also secure one’s operating system and user settings.

Android administrators can, thanks to File Expert, get into all system files, even ones that are usually secured. They can also install apps that aren’t usually allowed with normal rights. Ad blocker AdFree Android doesn’t just block ads in the browser, but directly in all apps. DroidWall allows you to keep all apps on a leash and control their internet access. LBE

Privacy Guard also sets controls on access rights.

SD Maid cleans away junk data, while Samba Filesharing allows smartphone files, such as music or pictures, to be accessed from a home network.

Meanwhile, Webkey allows the smartphone display to be brought up on a PC browser window. And Quick Boot lets you restart your mobile.

Nonetheless, you should not give superuser rights to every app that requests it without thinking about it carefully. Fortunately, Android security functions tend to keep running, even on a rooted mobile. Apps continue to be encapsulated in the so-called Sandbox and special rights for apps can be checked with the Superuser function before they are granted or removed.

Some Android users have noted that there never seems to be an update to the operating system of their Android smartphone. Or if it comes, it does so way too late. Superusers can get around this by helping themselves to alternate Android operating systems, so-called custom ROMs, custom-made for specific phone models.

“Not especially simple, but better that getting upset about bugs and missing functions,” notes German computer magazine c’t. But users have to be clear about one thing: If custom ROMs are run on a phone, then the guarantee is voided. If something goes wrong, you’re on your own. Well-known custom ROMs with versions for multiple devices include CyanogenMod or MIUI. To find a custom ROM, complete with directions, check out the web forums mentioned earlier.

Installing an alternative operating system on a smartphone usually requires the ROM Manager application. To make sure this process, known as flashing, is uninterrupted, your battery should be full before starting. Be sure nothing interrupts the USB connection to the computer while the flash tool is running: A rule that also applies when rooting. — dpa

Pe t s FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

A star isn’t born - yet Vito Vincent wowed New York, but Hollywood is a much tougher town

P

oor Vito Vincent, who came to Hollywood chasing a dream. He’s been in LA for nearly a year without landing a single acting gig. Once he was homeless in New York. But before he came West last May, Vito was living a Cinderella story there. His career was taking off. He’d appeared in print and TV ads. He’d been on a pilot, gueststarred on “The Colbert Report” and scored a small spot on “30 Rock.” Even now, emails arrive with offers on the other coast. But here, nothing - and not for lack of trying.

People all over town have Vito Vincent’s head shots. And whenever he’s out in public, he generates a buzz. When shoppers at The Grove spy him sitting on a patio or going up the glass steps at the Apple store, they inevitably stop what they’re doing to gaze, snap cellphone photos, try to touch him. Still, Vito Vincent doesn’t have an agent. He can’t even get an audition.

What exactly does a talented tabby cat have to do to catch a break in this town? Vito’s biggest acting role to date is Christiane Aman-purr. He played the feline version of the famed foreign correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” last year. Stephen Colbert lifted him onto his desk and questioned him for two minutes. The lights were bright. The live audience of 150 was loud. People kept laughing as Colbert urged Vito to take a stand on the protests in Egypt.

Colbert pushed the cat to choose between two bowls of food - one marked “Democratic Uprising,” the other “Islamic Power Grab.” He tossed some food right at the animal, jiggled a laser pointer and waved around a colorful feathery toy.

Vito didn’t flinch. He barely moved. Try that with your average cat, says his stage father, Michael LeCrichia, who crouched under Colbert’s desk.

A few months later, LeCrichia crossed the country to further his cat’s career.

Vito Vincent, he says, makes people hap-

py. He wants him to reach the widest audience. LeCrichia supports himself and Vito working as a personal assistant, cook and butler, right now helping an elderly man in Beverly Hills recover from surgery.

But his 5-year-old ginger and white tabby, rescued from an animal shelter, is the center of the 42-year-old’s universe.

On a leash He thought people in the business in LA instantly would see why. But most haven’t bothered to look, he says. “It’s like there’s a wall up,” he said one evening as he and Vito sat outdoors at a steakhouse at The Grove. For more than an hour, Vito perched on a bistro chair as babies cried and pop songs played and a never-ending stream of people passed by. Vito is a certified pet therapy animal, calm enough to visit with, and be held by, ailing strangers, LeCrichia said. But he also has great range - for a cat.

He walks confidently - and rapidly on a leash. On command, he can come, spring from the ground to a higher spot and move or jump from Point A to Point

B. He also knows how to ride an escalator. He wasn’t born knowing, LeCrichia says. Just teaching him to walk on a leash took a year. At outdoor sessions almost every day, LeCrichia would squat behind his cat, urging him on, inch by inch.

One day LeCrichia read a New York

Post article about pets getting into movies and on TV shows. It mentioned some local agencies. LeCrichia thought a serene cat would stand out. He began calling and writing, and finally got a face to face. The women at All-Tame Animals on the Upper West Side were blunt. Vito was overweight. He was nearly 19 pounds, and had to get down below 15.

He also needed to expand his skills by learning to come and to stay on a mark.

Once he did, said All-Tame’s office manager Sharon Halley, the tabby worked steadily. He has a look that is popular in ads, she said, and when she sent out his photos, he almost always was hired. Basic jobs, without a lot of extras, pay about $500 a day plus expenses, she said.

Vito posed with a prescription-pill vial for a Prevention magazine article on how to avoid poisoning your pets. He was ray-gunned in a skit for the College Humor website. He did a Black Friday TV spot for Macy’s and “Animal Planet,” in which he zigzagged across a kitchen counter crowded with forgotten Thanksgiving leftovers. For a Comedy Central pilot, he sat on a very large woman’s small lap as she tried to resist ordering more tchotchkes from a TV shopping channel.

“The cat is fabulous. The cat can do anything,” Halley said. “We hope that it works out well for him in California.

Certainly, he’ll be warmer. But we hated to lose him and we would take him back any time.” The All-Tame agency keeps rosters of animals. It doesn’t have its own. In space-poor New York City, Halley said, there simply isn’t room for most companies to maintain their own menageries.

Need a cat or a dog for a movie shoot in LA? Chances are you’ll go to one of fewer than a dozen big outfits. Most have large spreads, mini-zoos and inhouse animal trainers, said Steve Dayan, business agent for Teamsters Local 399, which represents 140 animal handlers, trainers and wranglers.

Big limitations “There are companies that handle exotic animals like alligators and lions down to dogs and cats and even squirrels and skunks,” Dayan said. “Someone with just a cat is kind of limiting his desirability.” The studios know whom to contact, he said. “It’s not like they’ll usually do a casting call for an animal.”

What with animatronics, computer-generated imagery and the decline of the Western, there are fewer spots for animals and their trainers, he said. “It’s a very small and very specialized pool of talent.”

It’s also a close-knit one, said Jennifer Henderson, operations manager for Birds and Animals Unlimited, which worked on “Hugo” and “We Bought a Zoo,” and provided Crystal, the capuchin monkey for “The Hangover II.” When one company doesn’t have an animal, it asks the others, she said.

Henderson has met Vito. “He’s a good cat. He’s a really good cat,” she said.

“But generally it’s not really a personal pet kind of thing.”

In the rare case when you need a cat you don’t have, said Debbie Pearl, owner of another company, Paws for Effect, you tend to look close to home. She thought of a friend’s pet, for instance, when “Glee” wanted a fat cat to play Lord Tubbington. Sometimes, she says, she might call breeders for less common animals, such as a Bernese Mountain Dog. If a project needs a dog that is good at Frisbee, she might contact Frisbee clubs. But no one needs to search for a tabby cat, said Pearl, who also has heard from LeCrichia.

In Los Angeles, there is always, of course, the dream of being discovered.

The man walking past Vito at The Grove might be a big director in search of the perfect big-movie cat. Then, too, fame might come from seeking it, a la Angelyne. On a recent morning at The Grove, Vito kept turning heads as he visited boutiques, skulking under displays of designer purses, bras and books.

Small crowds formed, cameras clicked and a paparazzo scanning for stars got curious. “So the cat’s famous, huh?” asked Jose Reyes. “Well, he’s working on it,” said LeCrichia. Reyes walked away, then circled back. “You never know,” he shrugged. As Vito stood outside the Coach store, Reyes focused and called out: “All right, Vito. Let’s go, baby. Right here, baby. Don’t be shy.” — MCT

Food FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

By Sawsan Kazak

E

very culture has their own take on bread. Some like it fluffy with a lot of yeast, other’s like it plain and flat, and other cultures like to dress it up with grains and spices. Bread comes in a array of shapes, sizes and flavors, and nowhere is bread more adored than in the Middle East. An Arab family will never run out of bread and it usu-

ally featured at every meal. With such a presence in the everyday diet, why not try variations from around the Middle East.

Please send your suggestions and/or any recipes you would like to share to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

The history of bread

G

rown in Mesopotamia and Egypt, wheat was likely first merely chewed. Later it was discovered that it could be pulverized and made into a paste. Set over a fire, the paste hardened into a flat bread that kept for several days. It did not take much of a leap to discover leavened (raised) bread when yeast was accidentally introduced to the paste.

Instead of waiting for fortuitous circumstances to leaven their bread, people found that they could save a piece of dough from a batch of bread to put into the next day’s dough. This was the origin of sour-dough, a process still used today.

In Egypt, around 1000 BC, inquiring minds isolated yeast and were able to introduce the culture directly to their breads. Also a new strain of wheat was developed that allowed for refined white bread.

This was the first truly modern bread. Up to thirty varieties of bread may have been popular in ancient Egypt.

It was also during this time that bread beer was developed. The bread was soaked in water and sweetened and the foamy liquor run off. Beer was as popular in ancient Egypt as it is in America today.

The Greeks picked up the technology for making bread from the Egyptians; from Greece the practice

spread over the rest of Europe. Bread and wheat were especially important in Rome where it was thought more vital than meat. Soldiers felt slighted if they were not given their allotment. The Roman welfare state was based on the distribution of grain to people living in Rome. Later the government even baked the bread.

Through much of history, a person’s social station could be discerned by the color of bread they consumed. The darker the bread, the lower the social station. This was because whiter flours were more expensive and harder for millers to adulterate with other products. Today, we have seen a reversal of this trend when darker breads are more expensive and highly prized for their taste as well as their nutritional value.

In the middle ages bread was commonly baked in the ovens of the lord of the manor for a price. It was one of the few foods that sustained the poor through the dark age.

Bread continued to be important through history as bread riots during the French Revolution attest.

The famous quotation attributed to Marie Antoinette that if the poor could not get bread for their table then “let them eat cake,” became a famous illustration of how royalty had become igno-

rant of the plight of the lower classes. Actually, Marie Antoinette never said this and was merely being slandered by her detractors.

Still thought of as the “staff of life”, for centuries bread has been used in religious ceremonies. Even the lord’s prayer requests of God to “Give us this day our daily bread” - meaning not merely loaves, but moral sustenance.

Today, even with the competition of a growing variety of foods, bread remains important to our diet and our psyche. It has a prominent place in at the local market, in our cupboards, and even in our language. The word “bread” is commonly used as a slang term for money. It connotes importance as when we say that some aspect of our work is “our bread and butter”.

In many households bread is still served with every meal.

Bread has a long history for a reason.

It is a healthy and nutritious food that fills the stomach as well as the soul. (www.breadinfo.com)

Food FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Pita bread

Iranian Barbari bread

1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast 1/2 cup warm water 3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 cup lukewarm water 2 tablespoons salad oil (not olive oil) 3 -3 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

D

issolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the salad oil and stir. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring and mixing until you have a well blended, manageable dough. Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise for 1 hour. Take the dough, knead it a couple of times and divide in two.

Oil 2 baking sheets, and with your hands flatten the shape the 2 pieces of dough into 2 oblong loaves, 1/4 inch thick. With the edge of your hand make 3 ridges lengthwise on the surface of the dough. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Serve warm immediately. Or, later, reheat the breads by wrapping them in foil and placing in a hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

D

issolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water.

Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy. Combine flour and salt in large bowl.Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated. Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size. Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces.

Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick. Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up.

Turn over and bake for 2 minutes. Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take spatula and gently push down puff.

Immediately place in storage bags.

Turkish pide

C

500g (3 1/3 cups) plain flour, sifted 1 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 375ml (1 1/2 cups) warm water Olive oil, to grease 2 tsp sesame seeds 1 tsp nigella seeds 1 egg yolk 1 tbs olive oil

ombine flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add water. Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined, then use hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Brush a bowl with oil to grease. Place dough in the bowl and lightly coat with oil. Cover with a damp tea towel.

Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Place a baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 230ยบC. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Flatten slightly with hands. Place each half on separate pieces of floured, non-stick baking paper. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm,

draught-free place for 15 minutes.

With floured hands, stretch each piece of dough into an 18 x 40cm rectangle. Leave on non-stick baking paper. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes. Combine sesame and nigella seeds.

Whisk egg yolk and oil in a bowl.

Brush the top of each pide with egg mixture. Use floured fingers to make indentations on top and sprinkle with seeds. Remove tray from oven and slide 1 pide onto tray. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat with second pide.

THEY ARE THE 99!

99 Mystical Noor Stones carry all that is left of the wisdom and knowledge of the lost civilization of Baghdad. But the Noor Stones lie scattered across the globe - now little more than a legend. One man has made it his life’s mission to seek out what was lost. His name is Dr. Ramzi Razem and he has searched fruitlessly for the Noor Stones all his life. Now, his luck is about to change - the first of the stones have been rediscovered and with them a special type of human who can unlock the gem’s mystical power. Ramzi brings these gem - bearers together to form a new force for good in the world. A force known as ... the 99!

THE STORY SO FAR : On K2, the world’s second-largest mountain, Kabeera the Great tries to rescue a fallen mountaineering party, aided by Musawwira and the Mubdiayn. But she loses her footing

www.the99.org

The 99 ® and all related characters ® and © 2012, Teshkeel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

and begins to tumble down the mountain…

C h i l d re n FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Spot the difference

figure it Look at the clues below and fill all the numbers you can into the grid. Then start again and use your answers to help solve the other clues.

Across 2. Sixty-seven doubled 4. 6 down minus fifty-seven 5. 2 down plus twenty-two 7. Nine times nine 8. 3241 re-arranged 10. Number of weeks in a year 12. 19 down minus forty 13. Three times 620 15. 6 down plus half of 2 down 16. Quarter of 176 17. Seven times seven 18. Three times fifty-four

color me

Down 1. Nine times seven 2. A third of forty-eight 3. Three times 1442 4. Number of days in three weeks 6. 4 down plus sixty-two 7. Seventeen plus six times 2 across 9. 7 down minus 400 11. 4163 re-arranged 14. Four times 4 down 15. A third of 297 17. A quarter of 168 19. Five times thirteen

connect the dots

C h i l d re n FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

alfa-search

find the number

There are eight numbers in the box between 1 and 100. The numbers increase by nine.

Can you work out which numbers are missing?

word fit

Can you find the hidden words? Each word ends with the letter G. The words may be horizontal or vertical.

BOXING, EATING, FLAG, FROG, HIDING, ICING, JOKING, KING, RING, SONG, STAG,

STING, STRONG, THING, WAVING, WRONG, YOUNG.

sudoku

solution Can you fit all the words correctly into the grid?Two letters have already been entered.

3 letter words EMU GET NET SEE SUN TEA

TOE YOU 4 letter words BAKE FLEW PATH SHIP 5 letter words

APPLE EAGLE FINAL HAPPY LEAVE NIGHT PAGES SHEEP

Books FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

W

hen you’re at a party, do you suddenly feel the desperate urge to escape somewhere quiet such as a toilet cubicle and just sit there? Until I read Quiet, I thought it was just me. I’d see other partygoers grow increasingly effervescent as the night wore on and wonder why I felt so compelled to go home. I put it down to perhaps there not being enough iron in my diet. But it’s not just me. It’s a trait shared by introverts the world over. We feel this way because our brains are sensitive to overstimulation. I am genuinely astonished by this news. In fact, I read much of Susan Cain’s book shaking my head in wonder and thinking: “So that’s why I’m like that! It’s because I’m an introvert! Now it’s fine for me to turn down party invitations. I never have to go to another party again!”

Cain is an introvert. It has always been, she writes, “private occasions that make me feel connected to the joys and sorrows of the world, often in the form of communication with writers and musicians I’ll never meet in person”. She’s an introvert in a world that, she argues, excessively and misguidedly respects extroverts. We make them our bosses and our political leaders.

We foolishly admire their self-help books, such as How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Before the industrial revolution, she writes, American self-help books extolled character.

Nowadays it’s personality. We introverts attempt to emulate extroverts, and the stress of not being “true to ourselves” can make us physically and mentally ill. One introvert Cain knew spent so much of his adult life trying to adhere to the extrovert ideal he ended up catching double pneumonia. This would have been avoided if he’d spent time recharging his batteries in toilet cubicles, and so on.

At the Harvard Business School, socialising is “an extreme sport”. Extroverts are more likely to get book deals and art exhibitions than their introverted counterparts. Cain had to persuade a publisher she could conquer her stage fright and promote herself at book festivals before they agreed to take her on. In America, extroverted parents have been known to send their introverted children to psychiatrists to have their introversion “treated” out of them. We think extroverts are great because they’re charismatic and chatty and self-assured, but in fact they’re comparatively narcissistic and unthoughtful and we’re committing a grave error structuring our society around their garrulous blah.

Most egregiously, we form our workplaces around the extrovert ideal. I like her nightmare descriptions of open-plan offices where group brainstorming sessions descend on the startled introvert like flash-storms. Group-think favours the dominant extrovert. The loudest, most socially confident and quickest on their feet win the day, whereas the contemplative and quietly well-informed tend not to get a word in. School classrooms are increasingly designed to reflect this flawed environment. Children sit in pods facing each other and are rewarded for being outgoing rather than original. “You Can’t Ask a Teacher for Help Unless Everyone in Your Group Has the Same Question” read a sign in one New York classroom she visited. All this even though Gandhi and Rosa Parks and Steve Wozniak and JK Rowling and Eleanor Roosevelt have described themselves as introverts, at their best when solitary.

I finished Quiet a month ago and I can’t get it out of my head. It is in many ways an important book - so persuasive and timely and heartfelt it should inevitably effect change in schools and offices. It’s also a genius idea to write a book that tells introverts - a vast proportion of the reading public - how awesome and undervalued we are. I’m thrilled to discover that some of the personality traits I had found shameful are actually indicators that I’m amazing. It’s a Female Eunuch for anxious nerds. I’m not surprised it shot straight to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list.

Cain says we’re “especially empathic”. We think in an “unusually complex fashion”. We prefer discussing “values and morality” to small talk about the weather. We “desire peace”. We’re “modest”. The introvert child is an “orchid - who wilts easily”, is prone to “depression, anxiety and shyness, but under the right conditions can grow strong and magnificent”.

When I get to this part I think: Yes! We are like orchids! With good parenting we can become “exceedingly kind, conscientious and successful at the things that matter to us”. Then I feel embarrassed that I derived pleasure from being compared to an orchid and I realise that sometimes Cain succumbs to the kind of narcissistic rhetoric she eschews in extroverts.

Still her suggestions on how to redress the balance and make the world a bit more introvert-friendly are charmingly cautious. The way

forward, she argues, is to create offices that have open-plan bits for the extroverts and nooks and crannies where the quiet people can be quiet. A bit like the Pixar offices. In this she reminds me of the similarly measured Jonathan Safran Foer, whose anti-meat lectures climax in a suggestion that we should try if possible to eat one or two vegetarian meals a week. Give me this kind of considered good sense over showy radical polemicism any day.

But sometimes her brilliant ideas aren’t written quite so brilliantly. Her book can be a bit of a slog, not always a page turner. I wish she’d spent a bit more time adventuring and a bit less time analysing and philosophising and citing vast armies of psychologists. I love feeling her pain when she journeys out of her comfort zone to “life coaching” conventions. But those adventures vanish as the book wears on, and it starts to drag a little, especially during the many chapters about how brain scans seem to demonstrate neurological differences between extroverts and introverts. I don’t know why popular psychology books feel so compelled these days to cite endless fMRI studies. As any neurologist will tell you, we still have very little idea about why certain bits of our brains light up under various circumstances.

And there’s a bigger nagging thought I couldn’t shake throughout the book. It began during the preface, in which Cain prints an “Are You an Introvert?” checklist. She lists 20 statements. The more we answer “true” the more introverted we are: “I often let calls go through to voice mail. I do my best work on my own. I don’t enjoy multitasking. I seem to care less than my peers about wealth, fame and status ...” At the bottom of the quiz she mentions: “If you found yourself with a roughly equal number of true and false answers, then you may be an ambivert - yes, there really is such a word.”

I do the test. I answer “true” to exactly half the questions. Even though I’m in many ways a textbook introvert (my crushing need for “restorative niches” such as toilet cubicles is eerie) I’m actually an ambivert. I do the test on my wife. She answers true to exactly half the questions too. We’re both ambiverts. Then I do the test on my son. I don’t get to the end because to every question - “I prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities. I enjoy solitude ...” - he replies: “Sometimes. It depends.” So he’s also an ambivert.

In the Ronson household we’re 100% ambivert. We ambiverts don’t get another mention in the book. Even for a writer like Cain, who is mostly admirably unafraid of grey areas, we ambiverts are too grey. Her thesis - built on the assumption that almost everyone in the world can be squeezed into one of two boxes - may topple if it turns out that loads of us are essentially ambiverts. I suspect there are a lot of ambiverts out there.—Guardian

Books FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

P

ut any team from a lower division up against a premiership side in a cup competition and it’s odds on that every neutral will be cheering on the underdog. Some might call it schadenfreude, but most would prefer to see it as something more noble: the embodiment of the British sense of sporting fair play born out of the Corinthian spirit of the upper classes. Keith Dewhurst doesn’t deny that the origins of footballing underdogs can be traced back to the playing fields of Eton, but he does deny the romance: far from being a sporting version of noblesse oblige, generously donated to the masses to be handed down from generation to generation, it’s just a variant expression of class warfare.

to play the Old Etonians had worn off, the club had to deal with the practicalities. How was it going to afford to get to London and would their players be willing to lose money by taking time off work on Saturday morning?

Some were already on short time or had been laid off due to an economic slump. A Saturday afternoon kick-off was as necessary for the players as it was for their co-workers who came along to give their support. (The Old Etonians faced no such restrictions.)

Still, a cup tie against Old Etonians was a big event for the town and money was found.

Not that it initially made much difference as Darwen soon went 5-1 down. And then the unthinkable happened. The Old Etonians started to tire and Darwen came back; eventu-

In 1879, Darwen, a football team made up of cotton mill workers from a small town near Blackburn, Lancashire, were drawn against the Remnants, a Berkshire club for the well-off gentleman amateur, in the third round of the FA Cup. And beat them, in what was football’s first recorded act of giant-killing. Darwen’s reward was a quarter-final against Old Etonians, finalists in 1875 and 1876 and hot favourites to win the competition - they had three England internationals in their team. If ever a game symbolised a sport in transition rich versus poor, the old order against the new, the well-fed against the hungry (the Old Etonians were man for man two or three inches taller than the Darwen team and more than a stone heavier) - this was it.

It seems never to have occurred to the Old Etonians that they might be beaten. The game was to be played at the Kennington Oval in London, so most of the team appear to have imagined all that was required of them was to turn up for a gentle kick-about before returning to their gentlemen’s clubs for a celebratory drink and dinner. If any of them could place Darwen on a map of England, they certainly couldn’t name a single Darwen player. More conveniently still, the game was to be played to pretty much the Old Etonians’ own rules. Even in the late 19th century, football had no single code, and teams often had to agree which laws they were playing under; everything was up for grabs - including, on occasion, the ball.

Darwen’s problems started long before kick-off. Once the excitement at being drawn

ally, they equalised, and by full-time the Old Etonians were just hanging on. Most cup ties that ended in a draw went to extra time; the Old Etonian captain declined the offer of the extra 30 minutes, preferring a replay.

Nor was that the end of Old Etonian gamesmanship. The Old Etonians also declined Darwen’s offer of £40 to stage the match in Darwen - presumably once they did know where the town was, they had no desire to visit it - and instead offered the Lancastrians £25 to return to London the following weekend. The FA, as spineless then as it is now, did nothing to intervene. So once again Darwen was forced to shell out for expenses the club and its players could barely afford. The result was again a 2-2 stalemate, and once more the Old Etonians refused to travel north. For the third replay, with cash increasingly tight, Darwen travelled down on the overnight train, arriving on the morning of the game. This time they lost comprehensively.

So there was no more giant-killing in the end. Darwen may have returned to Lancashire as heroes, but it was the Old Etonians who walked away with the FA Cup. Yet something changed forever as a result of that tie.

Professionalism, long regarded as anathema, slowly became the norm, and the entitlement of the amateur elite was eroded as football’s working-class roots took hold.

Not that it was all straightforward. There were a great many detours and dead ends along the way. But, as with the game itself, this book rewards those who stick with it. For

some readers there will be a sense of dÈj‡ vu in learning that the game was as riddled with self-interest 150 years ago as it is now, but for all there will be that most joyous of contradictions in wondering how the most simple and beautiful of games can get so complicated and messy.—Guardian

Beauty FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Everything you need to know about

T

attooed eyebrows have become a more preferred grooming requirement with a majority of people opting to go for them as they are hassle free yet they leave you with a stunning look. However, before going for the procedure of getting your tattooed eyebrows in place, it is important that you take time and understand what the whole process entails and the implications that this may have on your.

Moreover, you also need to understand why you have decided to go for. The tattooed eyebrows are also referred by the term intradermal micropigmentation. This is

because they are known to use a variety of dyes, inks as well as pigments just like the regular tattoos. They are attainable by inserting the gun containing the ink before the desired color is implanted under the skin with the aid of a

vibrating needle.

These may be semi-permanent or permanent depending in personal preference. In the case of tattoos that are semi-permanent, the color is implanted on the surface while for the permanent one; the color goes through to the next layer. Even then some essentials factors need to be taken into consideration especially the question of hygiene hence always ensure that your tattooed eyebrows are done professionally.

There

are a number of reasons for opting for the tattooed eyebrows the first one being the need to have an eyebrow that stands out the natural one being very little.

Other people may go for the tattoos because they are not satisfied with the color of their natural eyebrows while others go for it out of the need to keep off the hassle of having to look sharp every morning. Also, for those who

spend much time swimming, they may want to go for it because regardless of the amount of time they spend swimming this tattoo shall never fade away.

Like everything else, going for this procedure has a second side of the coin that you must also know before deciding to

go for it. To begin with, being a cosmetic procedure, it is quite costly especially if you are getting it done by an artist whose reputation is established. Also, in some cases the procedure may be disappointing as it does not turn out as expected even though this could also be a result of working with a person who does not have the expertise of doing tattooed eyebrows.

Finally it is important to understand that the color of your tattoo has the capability of fading off after sometime. This essentially

means that you may have to go for touch ups to ensure that the eyebrows maintain their uniformity, consistency and stunning appearance they

had when the tattoo was done at the first instance. It is therefore up to you to ensure that you maintain your tattoo eyebrows from time to time. For individuals, who are not sure about going for the permanent tattoo eyebrow, you may want to try out the semi permanent tattoo eyebrows after which you may now go for the permanent one. (www.tattooedeyebrows.org)

What you need to know about aftercare for eyebrow tattoo healing

E

yebrow tattoo pictures you see online tell you only part of the story of what a tattooed area looks like after a procedure. The red or swollen and even scabbing images of women’s brows may look terrible and make you ask yourself if that is natural or if there is some way to avoid such things with proper aftercare. The answer to that question is two-fold.

First, there is no way to avoid some redness, some swelling, some irritation and eventually scabs will form and look less pleasant than you might like.

Second, the horror stories and the nasty pictures of infected procedures, which look monstrous, are avoidable and mostly preventable through an

understanding of aftercare for eyebrow tattoo and the healing stages through which you will pass.

What’s normal The basics of eyebrow tattoo healing are as follows. Immediately following the procedure, your brow will be sore, swollen, red and very tender. Your technician will have disinfected the area and placed a soothing ointment or cream on the region that has been tattooed and may cover it. The protective covering is only to get you home without dust and dirt entering the delicate skin that has been damaged by the needles. Remember the skin is open to infection. However, once you are

home, the covering may be removed gently.

Two things you must do The two most important factors to healing an eyebrow is moisture and cleanliness. Anywhere from 5 to 10 times a day, you should be applying an antiseptic cream or sterile ointment or a hygienic fragrance-free moisturizer.

You will do so after removing the old moisturizer, then applying more. This must be done gently so as not to disturb the scabs which will form.

Scabs and infection Don’t panic about scabs. Don’t go looking at hideous eyebrow tattoo pic-

tures with horrible scars that remained because someone scratched or picked at their brows and they got infected.

Infections and scars are rare these days because at the first sign of redness that persists and grows more obviously pussy or swollen after 24 hours will be treated with an antibiotic and will be stopped before damaging the brow.

Don’t soak in a tub of steamy or hot water, don’t shower for long periods of time with your face under the water, just cleans with cool water and reapply cream and never let your brows dry out. Don’t go out in the sun and try not to worry about anything for at least two weeks. (www.newshutr.com)

Beauty FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Using wrong hair shampoo?

What kind of shampoo should If you’ve been using the wrong shampoo, you might have a few problems such as dry hair, frizzy hair, flaky scalp, oily scalp, breakage or faded color.

U

sing the wrong shampoo is an issue that nearly everyone deals with though they may not be aware of the problem. And with so many different shampoos available, it isn’t hard to grab the wrong one off the shelf. You may even fall victim to misleading advertisements or fancy labels.

If you’ve been using the wrong shampoo, you might have a few problems such as dry hair, frizzy hair, flaky scalp, oily scalp, breakage or faded color. However, these symptoms are also beauty issues that can be caused by other products like gel, mousse, dry shampoo, leave-in conditioners, cream, milk, hair spray or texturizing powders.

Knowing all of this, it’s tricky narrowing down what exactly is causing the problems, but shampoos can help alleviate some of the issues caused by hairstyling products as well.

Stay away from Sulfates Shampoos that contain either Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) can cause a lot of issues not only with your locks, but also with your face and hands.

Sulfates aren’t only found in shampoos, but also body and face washes as well. Some side effects of these ingredients are eye irritation, tangled hair, scalp irritation, split ends, frizzy hair, and swelling of the hands, arms and

face. Long story short, be cautious and aware of the ingredients in the shampoo you are using.

Are you shampooing too often?

A big problem that you may have is shampooing too often. Shampooing should only be done when you have a need to. It usually doesn’t need to be washed every day, and you may even only need to wash it every three days or so depending on your personal needs. Dry shampoos can also be overused, and if you’re using them too frequently, you’ll dry out your scalp! Dry shampoos are great for in-between days or after a visit to the gym; just be sure to only use them when you need to.

Now that you know what causes hair to misbehave, you can better understand how to treat all of the issues that can come from over-styling or excessive shampooing. If you don’t use any hairstyling products, or if you use them so infrequently that you’re positive it’s the shampoo, the following information will greatly improve your next visit to the shampoo aisle.

Examining your habits and hair A lot of shampoos have harsh detergents, fragrances, and other chemicals that harm

your hair. So before buying a shampoo simply for the scent, buy one that will actually clean your locks without causing more damage! The first step is to pinpoint your specific hair type, texture, color, thickness, how often you shampoo, how often you use heat tools, if you color treat or chemically alter your locks, and if you have split ends or dandruff.

Do you have oily, dry or normal hair? If you’re unsure, ask your hairstylist for his/her thoughts. It can be difficult finding the right shampoo because most of us will have more than one symptom, so there is a lot of trial and error involved in finding the perfect shampoo. Here is an easy-to-follow guide for finding the right shampoo for you.

Types of Shampoos for Different Types of Hair lFor Normal Type For a normal type, you’ll want to find a shampoo that is made for normal hair because it won’t rob you of the natural oils.

Just be sure that you’re not shampooing too often because doing so will cause dry locks. lFor Oily Type If you have oily type, you will want a shampoo that uses tea tree oil, sage oil, or chamomile so that you can remove the oil from both your strands and scalp. Again, it’s important to only shampoo when it is needed! You’ll find that clarifying shampoos often have these ingredients, so read the labels to be sure that they’re safe for regular use. lFor Dry Type Dry type needs a moisturizing shampoo that has oils and shea butter because they’ll nourish dry hair strands. lFor Fine Type A volumizing or thickening shampoo is best for those with fine type. Volumizing shampoos cause the strands to swell and be lifted, while the conditioners provide a coat of protein on the hair strand to fill in gaps in the cuticle. You can also use volumizing conditioner if your hair is damaged or limp. lFor Dry, Flakey or Itchy Scalp Dandruff shampoo is ideal for these scalp irritations because it relieves you of these symptoms and moisturizes your scalp, which lessens the flakes. lFor Curly Type For curls and kinks, look for a moisturizing shampoo with a protein base. Make sure to look at the ingredients list; the sooner you read protein, shea butter, glycerin or glycerin, the better off you’ll be! lFor Color Treated Hair If you color or bleach your hair in any way, it’s important to use a shampoo that is colorfriendly so you don’t cause the color to fade away.

As for shampoos in general, they should keep your locks clean without taking the oils down the drain with them. So keep your hair healthy by only shampooing when necessary and limit the use of hot tools. (www.beauty-tips.net)

Health FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

What types of headaches do you have?

There are several types of headaches. In fact, 150 diagnostic headache categories have been established!

Below is a list of the most common types of headaches: Tension headaches: Also called chronic daily headaches or chronic non-progressive headaches, tension headaches are the most common type of headaches among adults and adolescents. These muscle contraction headaches cause mild to moderate pain and come and go over a prolonged period of time.

Migraines: The exact causes of migraines are unknown, although they are related to blood vessel contractions and other changes in the brain as well as inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain. Migraine pain is moderate to severe, often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from four hours to three days and usually occur one to four times per month. Migraines are associated with symptoms such as sensitivity to light, noise, or odors; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and stomach upset or abdominal pain. When a child is having a migraine they often look pale, feel dizzy, have blurred vision, fever, stomach upset, in addition to having the above listed symptoms.

A small percentage of pediatric migraines include recurrent (cyclic) gastrointestinal symptoms, in which vomiting is most common. Cyclic vomiting means that the symptoms occur on a regular basis-about once a month. These types of migraines are sometimes called abdominal migraines.

Mixed headache syndrome: Also called transformed migraines, this is a combination of migraine and tension headaches.

Both adults and children experience this type of headache.

Cluster headaches: The least commonalthough the most severe-type of primary headache, the pain of a cluster headache is intense and may be described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant. The pain is so severe that most cluster headache sufferers cannot sit still and will often pace during an attack.

The pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region, without changing sides. The term “cluster headache” refers to headaches that have a characteristic grouping of attacks. Cluster headaches occur one to three times per day during a cluster period, which may last two weeks to three months. The headaches may disappear completely (go into “remission”) for months or years, only to recur.

Sinus headaches: Sinus headaches are associated with a deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead, or bridge of the nose. The pain usually intensifies with sudden head movement or straining and usually occurs with other sinus symptoms, such as nasal discharge, feeling of fullness in the ears, fever, and facial swelling.

Acute headaches: Seen in children, these are headaches that occur suddenly and for the first time and have symptoms that subside after a relatively short period of time. Acute headaches most commonly result in a visit to the pediatrician’s office

and/or the emergency room. If there are no neurological signs or symptoms, the most common cause for acute headaches in children and adolescents is a respiratory or sinus infection.

Hormone headaches: Headaches in women are often associated with changing hormone levels that occur during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.

Chemically induced hormone changes, such as with birth control pills, also trigger headaches in some women.

Chronic progressive headaches: Also called traction or inflammatory headaches,

chronic progressive headaches get worse and happen more often over time. These are the least common type of headache, accounting for less than 5% of all headaches in adults and less than 2% of all headaches in kids. Chronic progressive headaches may be the result of an illness or disorder of the brain or skull.

Are Headaches Hereditary?

Yes, headaches, especially migraines, have a tendency to run in families. Most children and adolescents (90%) who have migraines have other family members with migraines. When both parents have a history of migraines, there is a 70% chance that the child will also develop migraines. If only one parent has a history of migraines, the risk drops to 25%-50%.

What Causes Headaches?

Headache pain results from signals interacting between the brain, blood vessels, and surrounding nerves. During a headache, specific nerves of the blood vessels and head muscles are activated and send pain signals to the brain. It’s not clear, however, why these signals are activated in the first place.

There is a migraine “pain center” or generator in the mid-brain area. A migraine begins when hyperactive nerve cells send out impulses to the blood vessels, causing

constriction, followed by the dilation of these vessels and the release of prostaglandins, serotonin, and other inflammatory substances that cause the pulsation to be painful. Serotonin is a naturally occurring chemical essential for certain body processes.

Headaches that occur suddenly (acuteonset) are usually due to an illness, infection, cold, or fever. Other conditions that can cause an acute headache include sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), pharyngitis (inflammation or infection of the throat), or otitis (ear infection or inflam-

mation).

In some cases, the headaches may be the result of a blow to the head (trauma) or rarely a sign of a more serious medical condition.

Common causes of tension headaches or chronic nonprogressive headaches include emotional stress related to family and friends, work, or school; alcohol use; skipping meals; changes in sleep patterns; excessive medication use; tension and depression. Other causes of tension headaches include eyestrain and neck or back strain due to poor posture.

Headaches can also be triggered by specific environmental factors that are shared in a family’s household, such as exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, strong odors from household chemicals or perfumes, exposure to certain allergens, or eating certain foods. Stress, pollution, noise, lighting, and weather changes are other environmental factors that can trigger headaches for some people. Too much physical activity can also trigger a migraine in both adults and children.

Do Children Outgrow Headaches?

Headaches may improve as children gets older. The headaches may disappear and then return later in life. By junior high school, many boys who have migraines outgrow them, but in girls, migraine fre-

quency increases because of hormone changes. Migraines in adolescent girls are three times more likely to occur than in boys.

How Are Headaches Evaluated and Diagnosed?

The good news for headache sufferers is that once a correct headache diagnosis is made, an effective treatment plan can be started.

If you have headache symptoms, the first step is to go to your family doctor. He or she will perform a complete physical exam and a headache evaluation. During the headache evaluation, your headache history and description of the headaches will be evaluated. You will be asked to describe your headache symptoms and characteristics as completely as possible.

A headache evaluation may include a CT scan or MRI if a structural disorder of the central nervous system is suspected. Both of these tests produce cross-sectional images of the brain that can reveal abnormal areas or problems. Skull X-rays are not helpful. An EEG (electroencephalogram) is also unnecessary unless you have experienced a loss of consciousness with a headache.

If your headache symptoms become worse or become more frequent despite treatment, ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist. Your family doctor should be able to provide the names of headache specialists. If you need more information, contact one of the organizations in the resource list for a list of member doctors in your state.

How Are Headaches Treated?

Your doctor may recommend different types of treatment to try or she may recommend further testing, or refer you to a headache specialist. You should establish a reasonable time frame with your family doctor to evaluate your headache symptoms.

The proper treatment will depend on several factors, including the type and frequency of the headache and its cause. Not all headaches require medical attention.

Treatment may include education, counseling, stress management, biofeedback, and medications. The treatment prescribed for you will be tailored to meet your specific needs.

What Happens After I Start Treatment?

When your doctor starts a treatment program, keep track of the results and how the treatment program is working. Keep your scheduled follow-up appointments so your doctor can monitor your progress and make changes in the treatment program as needed. —Webmd

Health FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Metabolism boosting foods 5 Options for Losing that Tummy Metabolism boosting foods are great as they can influence your metabolism to enable it to work faster. It is therefore important to include such foods in your diet to help your body process foods and their nutrients more efficiently. Take a look at five metabolism boosting foods that are right for your weight loss program.

List of metabolism boosting foods 1. Grapefruit: Grapefruit is regarded as a metabolism boosting food by individuals who are in need of a boost to their metabolic rate. When you eat grapefruit, you are able to lower the insulin levels in your body. When these levels are raised, they trigger the body to store carbohydrates and sugars as fats. It is therefore advisable to try and lower your insulin levels as much as possible in order to work against the storage of fat. In addition, grapefruit has a high fiber content, which allows for the passing of fats and other unwanted materials safely through the body system.

What’s more, because fiber is tougher for the body to break down, it also takes a lot of calories to achieve this breakdown.

2. Coffee: Caffeinated drinks such as coffee are able to boost your metabolism and increase activity in the body’s nervous system and muscles. However, coffee is preferred over other types of caffeinated drinks that are full of sugars and high fructose corn syrup.

3. Green Tea: Green tea contains a chemical called catechin which speeds up the brain and nervous system, thereby resulting in an increase in workload which can only be maintained by additional calories. As a result, the body burns more calories and provides your metabolism with a boost.

4. Cold Water: Before the body can absorb cold water and use it, it needs to warm it up which requires additional calories. While a single glass of cold water may provide only a minimal caloric output, with time, this may add up and result in an increase in your metabolism, without requiring any effort from you.

5. Peppers: Different types of peppers are able to aid in boosting the body’s metabolism. For instance, jalapenos contain capcaisin, a chemical responsible for the acceleration of both the metabolic and heart rate while causing calories to be burned for hours following consumption. (www.fatburningfoodsforbelly.com)

Arts FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Closer look at Raqs Media Collective

T

he Delhi-based trio Raqs Media Collective are Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. To describe them as artists doesn’t quite cut it. They make videos, high-tech objects, installations and online projects exploring a world reshaped by globalisation, from the blazing lights of India’s rapaciously evolving cities to the shabby gloom of a Tyneside dock. Since they founded Sarai, their Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, in Delhi in 2000, they’ve reached far beyond art’s usual bounds, developing media projects with local communities, conducting urban research, editing a journal and curating international exhibitions.

In Raqs’s recent work, the hard reality of industrial forms, economic systems and regulated global time clash with more mysterious realms of human feeling and history’s ghosts. Their 2009 installation Escapement features the kind of giant clocks you find in airport lounges and train terminals, all impersonal big white faces in metallic hubs.

Each is set to the time of a major international city, plus a few from myth and imagination, including Babel and Shangri-La. Yet they tick not through hours but personal experience, the day’s mood making drastic changes from guilt to nostalgia, ecstasy to anguish. The effect is twofold: revealing the unruly humanness belied by the orderly timetables that trade and transport demand, while sug-

gesting that the standardising force of globalisation attempts to box in human experience.

There’s a similar imposition of state control on personal identity shown in Untold Intimacy of Digits, a digital animation in their current show Guesswork. Here, the digits of a giant handprint are slowly clasped and unfurled.

Uncovered by the collective in UCL’s archives, the handprint belonged to Raj Konai, a Bengali peasant who, in 1858, was commanded by a government official to put hand to paper as a means of identification, in an attempt to manage colonial Britain’s wayward subjects. It found its way to Francis Dalton, a eugenicist and explorer, becoming a key part of his research into identification, which foreshadowed fingerprinting.

Waving at us from global capitalism’s earlier days, his hand conjures images of the hand of the state literally impressing itself on its subject’s skin. In spite of this attempt to catalogue Konai, his newly animated palm multiplies in ghostly palimpsests, keeping the life written in its lines an enigma. Given the introduction of new forms of identity tagging from India to the UK, the message Konai signals seems especially pertinent: identity cannot be so easily quantified.

Why we like them: For their film The Knots That Bind Are the Knots That Fray. In a canny reversal of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, where the Thames is compared to the wilds of the Congo, stout-legged shipbuilding cranes are shown departing the violet haze of a Newcastle dock, on their way to a new life serving the advanced industry of an Indian shipyard.

What’s in a name? Raqs comes from the Persian, Arabic and Urdu word for the visionary state attempted by whirling dervishes.—Guardian

Trio who critique globalisation through high-tech pieces such as a giant digitised handprint of a 19th-century Bengali peasant

Arts FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Why the Tate has a thirst for Hirst

D

oes Damien Hirst deserve his blockbuster exhibition at Tate Modern? It’s not as if he needs the institutional support. The British fortysomething artist, who has been rich and famous for a good couple of decades, recently staged his own global exhibition of his paintings with the Gagosian galleries. He is the wealthiest artist in the world and, given the inflation of art’s value and of wealth generally, that means he is the richest ever, in history.

You may already be gagging, but if so you are gagging on history. Hirst has made history in a few ways, including financially. When he created his diamond skull For the Love of God, he made his own wealth a theme of his art acknowledging that with all that glitter, he still looks death in the face. He became the curiosity in his own cabinet of curiosities.

Looking death in the face has always been the essence of his art. The shark in a tank swam towards you, in its prime, with the cold inevitability of death itself. Now it sags and wrinkles, a memento mori in a different way.

Meanwhile, flies feast on dead meat and a cow is dissected like a specimen on the anatomy table.

When Hirst had done the shark, the sheep, the cow and the calf, there were jokes about him going on to pickle his grandmother. He never did. It is worth asking why: and the reason Hirst would never do such a thing is because he is a very traditional artist. He makes powerful images of the human condition using sculptural materials - which include animals but never humans because that would be nihilist, obscene, and the whole point of Hirst is to invite serious contemplation of life and death.

No British artist before him ever set the international defining standard of “the new” before. Hirst cannot be compared, in his permeation of modern culture, with any other British figure - he owes more to Andy Warhol. In an

age when Britons were enthusiastic for Americana, when Martin Amis was trying to write like Saul Bellow, part of the appeal of Hirst was that it was so American ... So brash if you like.

This is the most basic way Hirst has made history - he blew a hole in the polite walls that had kept Britain away from the fast lane of modern art right through the 20th century.

A lot of minor and ephemeral contemporary British art since has defined itself against Hirst. Meanwhile, the timing of his exhibition is interesting: waves of enthusiasm for proper painting this year mean that pundits will almost certainly set this up as a “moment” when Hirst and all he has come to stand for meets his downfall.

The Tate is wiser. It has a sense of history. It knows that, when all is said and done, British art over the centuries has played a minor part in world culture. Hirst shook it and shocked it and made London a famous avant garde capital.

Anyone who looks at the story of British art with a bit of honesty has to acknowledge that he is one of our handful of greats.—Guardian

Comics

C R O S S W O R D

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FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

To Yester

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS

1. Intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase).

4. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

10. Term of address for a man.

13. A proportion multiplied by 100.

14. Of or relating to abasia (inability to walk).

15. The United Nations agency concerned with the international organization of food and agriculture.

16. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

18. A bachelor's degree in library science.

20. Tropical Asian tree with hard white wood and bark formerly used as a remedy for dysentery and diarrhea.

23. A kind of loud horn formerly used on motor vehicles.

25. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

26. The fatty flesh of eel.

27. (Middle Eastern) Small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds.

29. Long-established Hungarian breed of tall light-footed but sturdy white dog.

33. (of spatial position) In or brought into line with or into proper relative position.

35. Predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin.

36. Of a quality, as in.

37. A young woman making her debut into society.

39. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc..

40. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

42. Of or relating to or containing balsam.

47. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

48. (Greek mythology) One of the three Graces.

51. Russian country house.

55. Concerning those not members of the clergy.

56. Emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design.

60. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

61. One thousandth of a second.

62. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

64. Government agency created in 1974 to license and regulate nuclear power plants.

65. Any branch of Shinto other than Kokka.

66. Jordan's port.

67. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

DOWN 1. A detailed description of design criteria for a piece of work.

2. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

3. A New England state.

4. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

5. Feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious.

6. Of or relating to the lips of the mouth.

7. The sign language used in the United States.

8. The capital of Kyrgystan (known as Frunze 1926-1991).

9. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

10. The second largest city in Tunisia.

11. The villain in William Shakespeare's tragedy who tricked Othello into murdering his wife.

12. (used of especially horses) Having a brownish coat thickly sprinkled with white or gray.

17. The act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial) v 1.

19. An outburst resembling the discharge of firearms or the release of bombs.

21. Perennial plants resembling yucca.

22. Free from risk or danger.

24. The basic unit of money in Romania.

28. On or toward the lee.

30. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

31. A fraudulent business scheme.

32. (informal terms) "gave me a cockamamie reason for not going".

34. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

38. (Scotland) A small loaf or roll of soft bread.

41. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.

43. Having leadership guidance.

44. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

45. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.

46. Czech novelist who wrote in German about a nightmarish world of isolated and troubled individuals (1883-1924).

49. A wound made by cutting.

50. The function or position properly or customarily occupied or served by another.

52. A stick that people can lean on to help them walk.

53. A chordophone that has a triangular frame consisting of a sounding board and a pillar and a curved neck.

54. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

57. The basic unit of money in Albania.

58. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

59. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

63. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

Yesterday’s Solution

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Arab singer captures Israeli hearts A

young Arab woman who won a popular Israeli music competition has become an unlikely star, capturing hearts in a country where suspicion and hostility often mark relations between Arabs and the Jewish majority. Nissren Kader recently won first place on “Eyal Golan is Calling You,” a popular television show hosted by one of Israel’s most successful entertainers. On the program, Golan as host chooses over the course of a 3-month-long competition the best performer of Mizrahi songs, the musical tradition of Middle Eastern Jews.

In winning the show, the 25-yearold Kader seems to have pulled off a difficult balancing act: She touched on the nostalgia that many first and second generation Mizrahis, or Jews of Middle Eastern origin, feel for their ancestral homelands, even though

most proudly identify as Israeli. And by singing beautifully in Hebrew, she charmed her audience by showing that she too was moved by their cultural traditions.”I am so proud: I’m the first Arab to win a Hebrew singing program,” said Kader, who is from the northern Israeli city of Haifa.”I never imagined that they (Jews) would like me to the degree that they did. I’m an Arab citizen in a state that has troubles and disagreements between Jews and Arabs, and they saw something else,” she told The Associated Press. “They saw another side.”

Kader, who before competing on the show worked as a wedding singer in the Arab community, shared her win in late March with Maor Ashwal, a Jewish Israeli. The finals, on a cable TV music channel, were the second mostwatched show on television that night, according to an economic mag-

(From right) Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan part of the cast of Hindi film “Eklavya” poses with producerdirector Vidhu Vinod Chopra and dialogue writer, lyricist & playback singer Swanand Kirkire as they attend Chopra’s ‘A Film Festival’ in Mumbai late April 4, 2012. — AFP

Rachel Bradshaw, Terry’s daughter, inks album deal

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hen Rachel Bradshaw was a little girl, her father, hall of fame quarterback and parttime singer Terry Bradshaw, would pull out a guitar and employ the four chords he knew to sing Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” with his daughter. Two decades later, father joined daughter Wednesday night at a dinner to celebrate her signing a record deal with

Rachel Bradshaw

Bigger Picture Group. The younger Bradshaw came to Nashville from her hometown of Dallas to go to Belmont University, but had an ulterior motive.

“My parents wanted me to be in college but I came here to find out everything about music and about songwriting, who do I talk to, how do I talk to them?” Bradshaw said. “I spent a few years just meeting people and getting to know everybody I possibly could and I made friends and we’d start to write songs together.” One of those friends was Jerrod Niemann.

Bradshaw co-wrote his hit, the somber heartbreaker “What Do You Want,” sang backup on the song and played Niemann’s former lover in the video. The 24-year-old country singer will soon begin recording her debut album with Keith Stegall, Bigger Picture’s chairman and chief creative officer and a producer known for his work with Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band.

Turns out she’s not the only member of the family about to start work on new music. Terry Bradshaw, who signed a deal with Mercury Records in the mid-1970s at the height of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has released five albums with various labels and plans to begin work on a sixth soon.—AP

azine that publishes Israeli television ratings. During the final, her audiences sang along, cheered and clapped to songs in Hebrew - and Arabic. Israel’s Arab minority makes up about one-fifth of the population and occupies an uneasy place. They are citizens of a Jewish state who identify with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza.

Arabs in Israel are generally poorer, less educated and complain of discrimination.

In recent years, Jewish and Arab politicians have used increasingly harsh rhetoric against each other, further polarizing relations. Kader, for her part, has stirred up mixed feelings among Israelis. They marvel at the power of her voice, but are uncertain about how to deal with her Arab ethnicity. “My friends criticized (host) Eyal Golan: ‘Why did you pick an Arab? You

chose an enemy and let her win the show,’” said Moshe Alfassi, an Israeli of Moroccan descent who works with troubled youth. Alfassi, 27, said he found it strange to see an Arab woman singing Mizrahi music, but like many other Israelis, was quickly won over by her voice.

Eliyahu Haviv, a 70-year-old Iranian-born Israeli, said Kader deserved her victory, and shouldn’t be viewed through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He noted, as many Israelis did, that Kader sang in Hebrew to God to protect the people of Israel in a song that was originally written to commemorate slain Israeli soldiers.”She sang our prayers, and I think it was very good because she sang them with emotion,” Haviv said.

“I say yes, there are Arab terrorists, but this is something else. We need to be as one heart.” —AP

Hollie Cavanaugh fails to ignite on ‘Idol’ H

ollie Cavanaugh didn’t give the judges a good feeling on “American Idol.”

The demure 18-year-old singer from McKinney, Texas, fizzled Wednesday with her rendition of “Flashdance” by Irene Cara during an evening of 1980s tunes on the Fox talent competition. After her performance, “Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez warned Cavanaugh to stop listening to everyone and “let it go” when she’s performing on stage.

Steven Tyler was more blunt. “Your pitch was all over the place,” he said. “I’m so sorry to tell you.”

The panel also wasn’t in love with Elise Testone’s take on “I Want to Know What Love Is” from Foreigner. Tyler told the rocker, who impressed with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” last week, that he didn’t think it was the “right song choice,” while Randy Jackson informed the 28-year-old teacher from Charleston, S.C., that she was “much better than this.” “It was just out of tune everywhere

for me,” he said. There was much more praise for the other finalists, including 20-year-old face painter Colton Dixon of Murfreesboro, Tenn., with Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”; growly 21-year-old pawn shop worker Phillip Phillips of Leesburg, Ga., with Genesis’ “That’s All”; and 17-year-old student Deandre Brackensick of San Jose, Calif., with DeBarge’s “I Like It.” “I like it,” Lopez told the curly haired singer. “I like it a lot.” The judges were on their feet for a gospel-infused version of Simply Red’s “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” from 19-year-old student Joshua Ledet of Westlake, La. They were also pleased with Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” from 16-year-old student Jessica Sanchez of San Diego. The closing take on Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” from Skylar Laine incited a very different kinda of reaction: Lopez was on the verge of tears. —AP

In this undated image released by Fox, clockwise from left, “American Idol” contestants Skylar Laine, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick, Elise Testone, Jessica Sanchez, Hollie Cavanagh and Joshua Ledet pose in Los Angeles. — AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

‘American Reunion’ isn’t even half baked

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French rock star Johnny Hallyday

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eteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday, a legend in his homeland, is gearing up for a comeback tour two years after a health scare which nearly killed him in his adopted home of Los Angeles. In a tribute to the city “where they saved my life,” the 68-year-old will start the more than 50-show tour in a historic theater here, aiming to “make the public tremble with emotion,” he told AFP. “It’s like singing at home,” said the famously dazzling-eyed Gallic singer, in affable mood between rehearsals in Burbank, in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles.

The star, who lives in the chic ocean-front Pacific Palisades district with his wife Laeticia and their daughters Joy and Jade, recalls the “accident which happened, which everyone knows about.”

Hallyday underwent emergency surgery and was briefly put into an artificial coma in December 2009 after falling ill on the flight from Paris, where he had a hernia operation days before. The tour he was on at the time, Tour 66, was canceled. “It’s an American doctor who saved my life. It’s thanks to him that I am here today,” said the singer, known as the “French Elvis.”

“For me it’s a bit like re-starting what I didn’t finish the last time, in Los Angeles, the city where they saved my life. Morally, it’s important for me,” he added. Rehearsals began at the end of March.

He started out with about 40 songs, reducing them to 25 that will be in the show. “We took old ones and new ones, from the 1960s and 70s to the present day,” he said. With a repertoire of more than 1,000 tunes, he was spoiled for choicealthough some were out of the question. “Some songs have dated, in particular due to the lyrics,” he said.

“Some went down very well in the 60s but today seem a bit lightweight. “Da Dou Ron Ron,” for example, I can’t do that anymore!” Friendly and engaging, dressed all in black with a silver crucifix on this chest and his legendary blue eyes, Johnny seems totally at home surrounded by his musicians, led by Yarol Poupaud. “For the moment we’re working on the basics: rhythm with the guitars. Then we’ll add the brass section and backing vocals,” he said, describing the tone as “bluesrock.”

The opening concert will be at the Orpheum, a 2,000-seat theater in downtown Los Angeles where he plans to “break the show in, and rework the running order if we need to.” But the relatively small scale of the show will transform later in the tour to mega-concerts in the summer, where Hallyday-Johnny to his French fans — will “try to find things which will make the public tremble with emotion.” “I try to give people what I want to see from other artists,” he said, adding that for the big shows that means “a spectacle, because if we’re just coming to sing some songs with the group we would go to clubs, not stadiums.”—AFP

ou probably haven’t been lying awake in bed at night wondering whatever became of Stifler and Oz and the rest of the horny kids from the original “American Pie” movie. Yet here they are, after 13 years and a couple of sequels, in “American Reunion.” And they’re more bland than bawdy these days. That’s part of the joke: that they (and we) aren’t in high school anymore, that we all have to grow up and function as adults with responsibilities and whatnot. We can’t spend all our time thinking lascivious thoughts about pastry. That’s just adolescent. But that doesn’t make for a very fun or funny movie; instead, “American Reunion” relies on clichÈs about nostalgia, forced tension over strained friendships and melodrama about the rekindling of first loves.

Jim and Michelle (Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan) are now married with a 2-year-old son and zero sex life. But they return to their Michigan hometown for a 10-year high school reunion that’s being staged three years late because supposedly no one could get their act together on time. It’s a plot contrivance, leave it at that. There they run into the old gang, including Chris Klein as Oz, who’s now a slick sports anchor, Eddie Kaye Thomas as the sophisticated Finch and Seann William Scott as Stifler, who’s still ... Stifler. Tara Reid and Mena Suvari show up as personality-free blonde robots Vicky and Heather, respectively. And really, the women get short shrift here. They’re either boring good girls or sexually aggressive nymphets, with no shadings of substance or complexity in between.

“Harold & Kumar” creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg take over as writers and directors but the sense of unpredictability that infused their own franchise never surfaces here.

Plus, this kind of raunchy, hard-R comedy has

been done - and done better - countless times since “American Pie” debuted and seemed fresh in 1999. Movies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and even the recent hockey flick “Goon” (which also stars Scott) have found a way to push boundaries more daringly while simultaneously finding an unexpected, resonant sweetness.

“American Reunion” achieves neither of these extremes, and playing intrusive, cloying music to signal that certain moments are supposed to be special isn’t terribly persuasive. The few moments the film gets right - which is true of the whole series - involve Eugene Levy as Jim’s awkward but well-intentioned dad. A grieving widower, he misses his son and longs for the companionship of a woman once more.—AP

(From left) In this image released by Universal Pictures, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Chris Klein and Eddie Kaye Thomas are shown in a scene from ‘American Reunion’. — AP

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A file picture shows French director Claude Miller waving with his Jury prize for ‘La Classe de neige’ (The Class Trip). — AFP

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rench film director, producer and screenwriter Claude Miller, whose works include “The Best Way to Walk” and “Class Trip”, has died aged 70, his production company said Thursday. Miller died Wednesday in Paris after a long illness, said Les Films du 24, one of his production companies. “A sad day, Claude Miller is dead,” tweeted the Cannes Film Festival, at which Miller was awarded the special jury prize in 1998 for “Class Trip.”

Among other renowed works by the film-maker are “La Petite Voleuse” (The Litte Thief) which starred Charlotte Gainsbourg; “Garde a Vue” (Custody) in 1981; and “Mortelle Randonnee” (Mortal Circuit) in 1983. Born in Paris on February 20, 1942, Miller attended the prestigious Idhec cinema school in the French capital. He learned his craft with some of the giants of French cinema, as an assistant to Marcel Carne, then working with two leading figures in the New Wave, Jean Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. He worked his way up through all the key positions in the production side before taking the director’s chair in 1976 with “La meilleure facon de marcher” (“The Best Way to Walk”), his fulllength feature. Charting the conflict betweeen a macho counsellor at a children’s summer camp (Patrick Dewaere) and his more timid, middle class colleague, it got five nominations and one win at the French equivalent of the Oscars, the Cesars.—AFP

eing called the new Justin Bieber has put British singer Conor Maynard on the music world’s radar. The 19-year-old from Brighton has gone from uploading videos of himself singing at home to working with Pharrell Williams on his debut album in Florida. Maynard realized that by putting up covers of current tracks, people would stumble across his own versions. The results were impressive - NeYo offered to work with him after watching his version of “Beautiful Monster” and Chris Brown retweeted the video of his “Yeah 3x.”

Maynard couldn’t believe his luck. Actually, he was so skeptical he insisted on a chat with NeYo, to make sure it was the real R’n’B deal, rather than his friends joking around. “It was about midnight when I was on Skype to him, everyone in my house was asleep,” Maynard told The Associated Press. “So I was like, ‘Hi, NeYo.’ That kind of killed any starstruckness - I had to talk really quietly.”

Record company interest followed and now Maynard is dropping his debut single, “Can’t Say No,” on April 20 through Polydor. The comparisons with Canada’s Bieber aren’t that far off the mark. Both got their break via YouTube, both were mentored by an established rhythm and blues star (Bieber’s being Usher) and both, while inspired by American urban music, are foreigners.—AP

British singer Conor Maynard, poses for pictures in London.—AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

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op legend Whitney Houston may have overdosed on drugs and alcohol before drowning face-down in her bathtub, coroners said in a new report, giving grisly details of her February death.

The 42-page coroner’s report gave more details than an initial report released last month, which concluded that the Grammy-winning singer died from accidental drowning after taking cocaine, possibly triggering a heart attack. “The decedent possibly overdosed on a narcotic substance, prescription medications, overthe-counter medications, and alcohol,” said the full report released Wednesday from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

It added that there were no signs of foul play in the 48-year-old’s death. It cited the star’s personal assistant as having found her lifeless in her Beverly Hilton hotel room on February 11, hours before a star-studded party on the eve of the music industry’s annual Grammys awards show. “The personal assistant... went into the bathroom, and she found the decedent lying face down in the bathtub, unresponsive... The bathtub was filled with water, and there was water on the bathroom floor,” it said.

Detailing the condition of Houston’s body, it noted that “there was a bloody purge coming from her nose.”

The report said a substance-which was later determined to be cocaine-was found in the bedroom.

“Located on the south portion of the counter was a small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper,” it said. Various bottles were found in the hotel room-in all some 12 medications prescribed by five different doctors,

including anxiety treatment Xanax and the potent corticosteroid Prednisone, the report said.

It described in gruesome detail the scene when investigators arrived, after the body had been taken out of the bathtub and placed on the bedroom floorwhere the carpet was soaked from water overflowing from the tub. Efforts to re-start her heart had apparently already been made. “The bathroom floor was flooded and ... much of the carpeted area of the living room was moist also, even up to where the body lay,” it noted. “The decedent was nude, lying supine on the living room floor. There was a defibrillator patch on the upper right side of her chest and there was another defibrillator patch on the left central portion of her torso.

The coroner noted “skin slippage” on various parts of her body, and a “possible old puncture wound to her inner left elbow,” but said that overall the singer was “well built, muscular and fairly well nourished.”

Investigators also found a hole in her nasal septum, which could have been caused by long-term cocaine use. Houston’s sudden death cast a pall over the annual gathering at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with several tributes to the singer-and a public prayeradded to the show at the last minute.

The singer of hits such as “I Will Always Love You” sold more than 170 million records during a nearly three-decade career, but also fought a long battle against substance abuse. Last month it emerged that Houston had left all of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born from her troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown, who gets nothing. A few days lat-

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Brazilian-based movie company has acquired the rights to make a film adaptation of Bob Dylan’s iconic album “Blood on the Tracks,” an executive said Wednesday. RT Features is seeking a director for an English-language movie based on the 1975 record, which includes Dylan classics like “Shelter from the Storm,” “Tangled up in Blue” and “Simple Twist of Fate.”

The Brazilian firm’s senior vice-president Fernando Loureiro confirmed to AFP

er Bobbi Kristina said she plans to follow her mother into show business. Houston’s sister-in-law, Patricia Houston, claimed the star’s untimely death could have been predicted. “The handwriting was kind of on the wall. I would be kidding myself to say otherwise,” she told TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. — AFP

details reported by industry daily Variety, which said RT Features had sought rights from US firm Grey Water Park Productions.

“As longtime admirers of one of the greatest albums in the history of music, we feel privileged to be making this film,” he confirmed chief executive Rodrigo Teixeira as saying. “Our goal is to work with a filmmaker who can create a classic drama with characters and an environment that capture the feelings that the album inspires in all fans,” he added.

File photo shows singer Whitney Houston performing at the o2 in London as part of her European tour. — AP

“Blood on the Tracks” was Dylan’s 15th studio album. The singer-songwriter denied that its bleak themes were autobiographical, but critics have seen it as reflecting the collapse of his his marriage. Dylan, who turned 70 last year, said the album was inspired by short stories by classic Russian writer Anton Chekhov. —AFP

Mark Anthony and Jennifer Lopez arrive for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit in this file photo. — AP

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ruce Willis says he’s willing to give away his central Idaho ski resort to a nonprofit. The action star has already put his lavish home in nearby Hailey, Idaho, on the market - it’s listed at $15 million - along with his local bar and nightclub, The Mint - listed at about $4 million. Now the Idaho Mountain Express (http://bit.ly/Hg4qN7) reports Willis may be severing

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arc Anthony says working with Jennifer Lopez is like second nature, which is good since the exes are uniting for one night in concert. The pair have announced they’ll perform together May 26 in Las Vegas as part of “Q’Viva! The Chosen Live,” which will feature the top talent from their televised talent show. “It’s a very unique, modern way, and sexy way, to package these traditional talents,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’m really, really looking forward to the live show.” “Q’Viva! The Chosen,” which airs on Univision and Fox, features the former couple as they travel across the globe to find the best Latin talent. Both Anthony and Lopez are executive producers of the show, along with “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller and the show’s director, Jamie King.—AP

another real estate tie to Idaho. The actor told Camas County leaders he is willing to give the Soldier Mountain ski area in Fairfield to the right nonprofit.

Willis, best known for the “Die Hard” series and “Sixth Sense,” has owned the ski area since the late 1990s. It boasts 1,150 acres of in-bounds terrain, and its three lifts give access to a vertical rise of 1,425 feet.

Soldier Mountain is popular with families, serving as a laid-back alternative to the swanky Sun Valley ski resort about 65 miles away. Willis’ Soldier Mountain Development owns and operates the ski hill on public land under a US Forest Service special-use permit. At least one nonprofit has expressed interest in his offer.

John Palan, with the local Soldier Mountain Recreation Association, says his group is hoping to get enough help from donors to take over the ski area’s operations.

“If we can get our ducks in a row, seek sponsors and new members, we would like to transfer the Forest Service permit and continue operations,” said Palan, who also is a longtime Soldier Mountain employee.—AP

Construction work on the lodge at Soldier Mountain Ski Area, owned by Bruce Willis. — AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Models display creations by a group of Kyrgyz designers ‘NAH’ during a Fashion Week in Bishkek, on April 4 2012.

—AFP photos

Bishkek

Fashion Week

Models display creations by Kyrgyz designer Aigerim Kaiypova.

Models display creations by Kyrgyz designer Bermet Uzakbayeva.

Malaysia axes Singapore ballet show over tights

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uthorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia have abruptly cancelled a show by a Singapore ballet troupe amid concern that their costumes would be too revealing, a dance group said yesterday. Bilqis Hijjas, president of Malaysian arts group MyDance Alliance, said performers from the Singapore Dance Theatre were denied visas for the performance scheduled for this weekend due to the “indecency of their costumes.” Officials with the Information Ministry and a Malaysian

government agency that handles performances by foreign artists could not immediately be reached for comment.

But Janek Schergen, artistic director of Singapore Dance Theatre, told AFP he did not know why the performance was cancelled. “There has been some speculation about the reasons for the cancellation but I really don’t know why (approval) was not given... There can’t be any issue of costume or content because the performance is perfectly respectable,” he said. Malaysian Islamic

groups frequently oppose performances by Western artists whom they accuse of promoting promiscuity and corrupting youths. In February, authorities banned a concert by American singer Erykah Badu after a photo of her with body art including the Arabic word for “Allah” was published in a Malaysian newspaper.

The Singapore dance group was scheduled to perform a selection of classical ballet works including “The Nutcracker.” All of the costumes for

women included long skirts except for “The Nutcracker”, which was to be performed in ballet’s traditional short tutu and tights, Bilqis said. Bilqis, whose group promotes dance, called the move “deplorable” and warned it would make Malaysia appear an unreliable host for cultural performances, scaring off foreign arts investors. She also took authorities to task for inconsistency, noting that ballet performances in tights have been approved many times before, including earlier this year. — AFP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

East Berliner’s lifelong passion for vintage fashion

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hen Josefine Edle von Krepl fled East Berlin just before the Wall fell in 1989, she managed to save her vast hoard of vintage clothing by wrapping her china and glassware in it. The fashion designer, journalist and mother-of-two was allowed to take many of her belongings with her to the West because she claimed she was leaving communist East Germany to marry, she said. Her request to leave was granted three months before the detested symbol of nearly three decades of suppression was pulled down heralding the promise of an exciting new future of democracy and freedom.

But Edle von Krepl’s lifelong labor of love has been to look to the past through women’s fashion. She has collected over 5,000 items of clothing dating from 1900 until the end of the 1970s that chart social changes for women, wartime shortages, the advent of US influences and new fabrics. Edle von Krepl, a flame red-haired 68year-old with her signature long varnished nails who bears a striking resemblance to French Dresses from the 20’s and 30’s

Wartime patchwork dresses from the 1940’s fashion designer Sonia Rykiel, can reel off the provenance and, in many cases, the history of all the clothes.

“As an editor I used to go to villages and always asked people if they had old clothes and

A vintage mannequin from the 1930’s sports lederhosen

I bought them. They were sometimes dirty and had to be restored and cleaned which was complicated,” she told AFP. ”In the GDR (German Democratic Republic) people used to keep a lot.

But there was no understanding for (vintage) and people laughed. Of course after the Wall fell everyone wanted only Western things,” she said. Her passion for vintage fashion was sparked about 55 years ago when, aged 13, Edle von Krepl, who claims not to be fashionable herself, “saved” a black satin dress of her grandmother’s which was due to be thrown out.

Her mother’s elegant 1937 wedding dress in a buttery yellow hue also takes pride of place.

“She was a beautiful woman. It was a poor time... but she always wore something chic and red lipstick,” she said. After many years of hunting for a way to display her collection without being parted from it, the small town of Meyenburg, 140 kilometers (87 miles) north west of Berlin, offered its newly-restored chateau. About 360 of her items, together with bags, hats, shoes, jewelry and other period accessories, went on view to the public in 2006 at the elegant Modemuseum (Fashion Museum) in the historic building.

Leaving her home city to relocate to the grey, eastern German town was a wrench but the longing for a showcase was stronger and she has now made her home nearby, with her seven cats, in a former vicarage. “This dress I bought from a woman in Dresden, she’s long since dead..,” Edle von Krepl says of a dress from around 1900 in one of the display cases. Among a cluster of turn-of-the-century wedding gowns, a black dress stands out. Edle von Krepl explains that poorer women would dress in black to get married so they could wear the dress again. She then points to a shimmering white tulle dress worn in 1914 by its owner for her engagement which she planned to wear again on her wedding day with a different colored underlay.

“I was in Hanover doing a show at a fair which was shown on TV and a woman called and said she wanted to give me a dress,” Edle

von Krepl said. “Her fiance went to war and was soon killed, so it never could be a wedding dress. The woman lived on the fourth floor and had trouble walking so I picked her up and brought her to see the show and showed the dress,” she said. “She wept. She never met anyone else.”

Rescuer Syndrome A 1920s dropped-waist dress in a lilac floral pattern was fished out of a rubbish skip after Edle von Krepl spotted the shiny fabric while pushing her son in his buggy past a building site. “When I find something I must save it. I have ‘rescuer syndrome’,” she chuckles. The collection weaves a path through different stages in history-one dress reflects the public clamour for ancient Egypt after the widely-reported 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Patchwork frocks made from old clothes during World War II demonstrate women’s creativity in times of scarcity together with the requisite hat often made from cutting up their absent menfolk’s headgear. —AFP View of the facade of the Meyenburg Palace, which houses the Meyenburg Fashion Museum in Meyenburg, eastern Germany. —AFP photos

Lifestyle FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

An Indian Tamil Hindu devotee with a steel rod pierced through his cheeks.

An Indian Tamil Hindu devotee with lemons attached to his body with hooks takes part in a religious procession in New Delhi yesterday. Tamil Hindus seeking penance and blessings of the Lord Murugan, son of Lord Shiva pierce their body with metal skewers and carry pots of milk on their heads. Lord Murugan is especially popular among Tamils around the world. —AFP

An Indian Tamil Hindu devotee with a steel rod pierced through her tongue.

New Zealand offers tourists tanks for their memories

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n a country regarded as the adrenalinepumped home of adventure sports, one New Zealand company is offering frustrated drivers the chance to squash a car with a Centurion tank.

Tanks for Everything in Christchurch has a fleet of eight tanks, armored personnel carriers and Jeeps, the largest of which can easily crush a family sedan pancake-flat in a crescendo of squealing metal and shattering glass. “I think it maybe releases repressed frustration, to go and crush something with a tank,” owner Jonathan Lahy-Neary said.

“If you’ve had a bad day, it’s a pretty good stress reliever.” The pride of the operation is Maximus, a British-made Centurion battle tank, weighing 52 tonnes and powered by a V-12 Rolls Royce engine, which saw service with Australian forces in Vietnam in the early 1970s. There’s also a Soviet-era T-55, an incongruous sight in New Zealand’s rolling green hills, which Tanks or Everything’s Matthew Sandland said was surprisingly easy to purchase from an arms dealer in Hungary. “The Iraqis had these, the Afghans had these,” he said. “The dealers had over 100 and they sell them as fully functional battle tanks. We had to pay to have the gun deactivated to bring it to New Zealand.

“So basically anyone could have bought themselves a fully-functional battle tank if they wanted to.” It is the latest artillery round in the battle for the adrenaline dollar in New Zealand’s NZ$3 billion ($2.5 billion) adventure tourism industry. The

island nation has marketed itself as a spiritual home for the white-knuckled traveller with rafting, bungee jumping, heli-skiing or “zorbing” rolling downhill in an inflatable sphere resembling a giant hamster ball. “New Zealand is arguably the dominant adrenaline tourism destination,” said Neil Carr, associate professor of Otago University’s tourism school. “Part of this undoubtedly relates to the physical landscape of the country” along with savvy marketing, he noted.

‘Took a little getting used to’ Lahy-Neary admits that when it comes to his tanks, “it tends to appeal to blokes more,” but said customers range from teenagers to 80-year-olds celebrating their birthdays. Rugby All Blacks Piri Weepu and Conrad Smith, as well as visiting members of US rock band Smashing Pumpkins have all had a drive. Canadian tourist Michael Noel fulfilled a lifelong ambition by flattening one of Lahy-Neary’s cars, sourced from local junkyards, in the Centurion, describing it as “quite an experience”. “(It) took a little getting used to the gears and so on, but once you get used to it, it’s an awesome ride,” he said. Playing with what could be the ultimate boys’ toy does not come cheap, with a 15 minute drive costing NZ$450 ($365) and an extra NZ$395 to crush a car.

Lahy-Neary, who has been fascinated with tanks since he was a child in Britain, said importing the beasts into New Zealand was harder than purchasing them, with police and customs officials unsure

how to deal with his request. “Everyone was a bit gob-smacked because they’d never been asked the question before,” he said, detailing the mountain of paperwork he had to negotiate to obtain the necessary licences and permits.

Even though the tanks had been disarmed, Lahy-Neary and his wife still had to get firearms licences to import them, leading to some puzzled reactions from local hunters also sitting the licence test. —AFP

A woman visits the art exhibit ‘Goodbye to weapons: Smuggling on the border’ at the Memory and Tolerance Museum in Mexico City. The exhibit highlights the impact of arms trafficking from the US to Latin America, and will travel to Congress in Washington DC in August. — AP

Stars

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You are at your very best when it comes to dealing and working with others. You know just what to do and can act without haste.

You are called upon to make use of your natural abilities and commonsense. If you are in business to bring in a healthy quantity of fish, you will automatically know just where to sink the net or the lines in order to bring in the best catch. There is much beauty around you and in your life at this time and you find ways to show others your appreciation.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

There can be schemes and subtleties involved in today’s communication, especially in the workplace. While this tendency will pass, you must get both sides of all stories before making decisions involving others. Your name and reputation are spreading to higher-ups and your ability to solve problems is impressive. Your objective, as usual, is to get things accomplished. You can produce impressive writing results. You find ideas counting for much more than merely personal concerns, and you have a lot of respect for those that rise above difficulties.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

If you have been procrastinating on making a date with someone special, applying for the right job or in some way making yourself known you can set all your worries aside. You will appear more charming and refined than usual. You may find this a time when your career takes a turn and that could require some careful thought and good judgment on your part. Good energies and good luck appear on the horizon.

You have the ability to demonstrate great understanding and sensitivity to the need of others just now and that puts you in a positive place so that you can communicate well with those around you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Stick with what you know best right now—this may not be the best time for breaking away from the old routine. You may be the person that others come to for guidance in their lives. You have a lot of talent in knowing people and helping them to choose the right path for their career, expertise, education and talents. It would not be surprising to find yourself working as a psychiatrist, counselor or consultant.

Later, after work, you may decide to get out and about socially.

Chatting among friends or family will help to keep you in the know, so to speak. A philosophical subject grabs your interest tonight.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Taking risks and daring to be a little on the unconventional side attracts your attention; careful. You will prosper through new insights, inventions and an independent point of view. For example, some of those wild ideas of yours could be set down on paper and made into a play or film. Your life may move toward a kind of spiritual wanderlust just now, as you yearn to expand your horizons and reach for the very best that you can be. New and interesting involvement in some new directions could find you dabbling in such things as politics, law, education and religion, metaphysical or philosophical studies.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) An easy manner will make conversations and interactions go well. You may find yourself more talkative than usual. A dialogue with an older person may take place, someone you respect and from which you enjoy getting important feedback. Some areas of your investments or your budget can be adjusted to get the best results and you gain in a new understanding of business. This afternoon you may be feeling a bit nostalgic and domestic and can be expressive in the kitchen or through helping friends or relatives with their needs. Your time tonight with loved ones is sweet. A parent, probably a father, may be in a position to grant you a favor, if your approach is with patience. Make note of some future gift ideas this evening.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You are in the mood to work and to accomplish whatever job is at hand today. Talking about your career concerns with a partner will help you to see things in a larger scope and give the two of you ideas on how to strengthen your professional standing. A smart idea for an advertisement slogan will gain you recognition as well. You do not have to worry over a success that could end soon as you are a valued employee. Later today is good to spend with loved ones and family. Things may be a bit detached or rather cool on the personal level so be patient. This is a good time to strengthen relationships.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You seem to have lots of vitality and interest in communication skills at this time. Your problem-solving abilities will be able to reach out and touch someone today. You are open to expansive feelings and triggers for new opportunities. Your mental outlook, communications with others and urges to rush in and take care of any difficulties, may be slowed by delays—patience is important. You will also find romantic situations have slowed. Lovers, children and other people, or things that are dear to your heart, are emphasized at this time. The evening is a great time for you to shop.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You have all the energy you need to assert yourself in the pursuit of your professional success. There are many opportunities to show your self-discipline and your ability to carry through on responsibilities. It is important to keep up with current events at this time. Successful meetings with out-of-town business partners may depend on the information you have about their part of the world. Health care options fascinate you this afternoon. There are all sorts of news about spiritual healing, miracle vitamins and alternative therapies. Your contacts with family and friends are most pleasant and you may find there is a mutual interest in the alternative therapies. You enjoy turning to your friends and family in search of social pleasantries. Life is good.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You may find yourself wishing you could speak up against what someone is saying. You will do well by staying silent, however, as this could just be a test—patience. What is required now is presence of mind and real patience, in order to avoid a flare-up. You are good at keeping your feelings under control.

As you work with the truth of whatever subject has your attention just now, you will accomplish what you set out to achieve. If you allow your creative and intuitive nature to surface this evening, you could find many nice things evolving as a result. New answers to old problems, inventive ideas and the like are possible. A cultural event involving friends and associates is quite enlightening. You will learn about some unusual customs.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) The needs of a sensual nature are but one of the issues emphasized in your life now. You will instinctively want to be more powerful and in control. Perhaps in saying the right thing you could be directed toward some new and interesting experiences in healing and investing—or in the fascinating mysteries of the field of research. There may be a sense of others trying to cut you off or someone may try to make it difficult for you to express yourself. Your ideas and thoughts may not meet with the support that you feel they need; patience. There could be a lack of depth and feeling; however, this day can be lived gently; enjoy the positive results that are bound to happen through your efforts. You teach others through your own actions.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Allowing your head to be in the clouds, being unrealistic and in a kind of funk, could certainly keep you from performing your more established duties. Take your allotted breaks and make sure you receive the important nutrients for your body. This will enable you to perform your duties and help return you to your physical well-being. The difficulties that arise now will offer you the best opportunities to grow wiser; listen and learn. There are opportunities for discovery this afternoon. You are able to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Your sixth sense or psychic abilities are energized at this time. There is a close bond deepening between you and an older person in your family. This could be a time you will look back on with pride and joy.

COUNTRY CODES Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African Republic 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands)0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland)0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK)0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677 Somalia 00252 South Africa 0027 South Korea 0082 Spain 0034 Sri Lanka 0094 Sudan 00249 Suriname 00597 Swaziland 00268 Sweden 0046 Switzerland 0041 Syria 00963 Taiwan 00886 Tanzania 00255 Thailand 0066 Toga 00228 Tonga 00676 Tokelau 00690 Trinidad 001868 Tunisia 00216 Turkey 0090 Tuvalu 00688 Uganda 00256 Ukraine 00380 United Arab Emirates00976

W h a t ’s O n FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

A cricket match was held in Mina Abdulla last Friday between Shining Mangalore and NCC, organized by Artec. Shining Mangalore won the match. Man of the match award was presented to Shafi by Noushad (MD, City clinic).

KDA elects Farwaniya and Abbassiya office bearers

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arwaniya Area Office bearers of Kozhikode District Association (KDA) for the year 2012-13 have been elected unanimously in the Area Annual General Body meeting. The new office bearers are: Najeeb P V (President), Padmarajan C (Secretary), Noushad A (Treasurer). Others include Abdul Nassar. T V, Sasidharan Kovileri, Basheer Ahammad F M, Biju P V, Siddharthan K M, Muhammad Fazil AV and Haneef C were elected as representatives to Central Executive

Committee. Abbasiya Area Office bearers include Moideen K V (President), Gireesh Babu K (Secretary), Rathidas K V (Treasurer). Messrs Hassan Koya K, Aboobakkar K, Beeran Koya K T, Santhosh O M, Ragesh P, Radhakrishnan P, Kunhiraman K T and George Joseph were elected as representatives to Central Executive Committee. Indira Radhakrishnan was elected to the Executive Committee of Mahila Vedi.

Various unit office bearers were also elected in the meeting.

KKIC organizes students conference - ISCON 2012

K

uwait Kerala Islahi Center - KKIC is planning to conduct an Islamic Students Conference on 4th and 5th May at Grand Mosque under the auspices of Ministry of Awqaf. The conference logo is unveiled by Khaleel Adoor and Ashraf Ayour at the function arranged in the Ministry of Education in Salmiya. “The age of students are very critical and potential and unless we mould them to proper direction, they will be deviated to the wrong direction. This is what islahi center is

doing. They are guiding the people to the right aim and right direction,” Khaleel said.

‘Knowledge for salvation’ is the motto of the conference. The conference is for teenage students in Kuwait. In the one-day workshop career guidance, personality development, problems of adolescence, challenges of developing, molding behavior etc will be the topics and it will be handled by renowned trainers and scholars. There will be parenting session, inauguration session, speeches etc. Education

Blessen George Foundation Awards

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lessen George Foundation, whose main objectives include promotion of Sports and Games and encouragement of sportsmen and budding Sports talents in Kerala, is honoring outstanding sportspersons among the students of Indian Schools in Kuwait. The Awards and Prizes will be presented to the selected sportspersons on the final day of the Blessen George Memorial Ever Rolling Volleyball Tournament organized by the Foundation from 12th to 14th of April 2012 at the Indian Central School Volleyball Court.

The selection will be made on the achievement records by panel of Judges appointed by the Foundation. The Foundation invites all Indian Schools in Kuwait to send the names of students from their schools who have the best record in school, inter-school, national sportsmeets and games competitions with details of their achievements and the category or categories in which they won medals/prizes to this email blessongf@yahoo.com. Parents of outstanding sportspersons can also send names and details of their children and their achievements in sports/games to the same email. All nominations and recommendations must reach us latest by 10th of April 2012. For more details, contact mobile no. 99722437 or 67613763.

Embassy Notice Embassy of Australia: On the occasion of Easter, the Australian Embassy wishes to advise that it will be closed from 5th April 2012 till Sunday 9th April 2012. The Embassy will reopen on Monday 10th April 2012 after the holidays.

Embassy of France: The French Embassy in Kuwait will be closed on Sunday April 8th, 2012 for Easter holidays.

Embassy of Kenya: The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the general public that it will be closed on 8th and 9th April 2012, respectively on the occasion of Easter holidays. Normal office operation will resume on Tuesday 10th April 2012.

Embassy of Canada: The Canadian Embassy will be closed on Sunday and Monday 08 and 09 April 2012 on the occasion of Easter. The Embassy will resume its duties on Tuesday 10 April 2012. 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.

W h a t ’s O n FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Tollywood legend Balakrishna in Kuwait

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he famous Telugu cine-hero Sri Nandamuri Balakrishna arrived in Kuwait to participate in the ‘Pravasandhra Simha Garjana’ to be held today at Abbasiya Touristic park by Pravasandhra Telugu Desam, Kuwait. Prominent Telugu film actor and son of the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, NT Rama Rao, Nandamuri Balakrishna was crowded by Gulfwide Nandamuri fans upon his arrival at

Kuwait International Airport yesterday. Pravasandhra Telugu Desam President Mulaka Subbarayudu Naidu, Gulfwide Nandamuri Fans President Polineni Santaram Naidu welcomed Nandamuri Balakrishna with a bouquet of flower.

General Secretary Vegi Venkatesh Naidu, Pravasandhra TDP officials Venkat Koduri, Suresh Babu, Peram Ramana, Pidikiti Srinivas Chowdary, Damu, Perugu Srinu, B Lamipathi, Prakash,

Sudarshan, Ch Raja Shekar, V Raja Sekhar, Rama Chandra Naidu, Paritala Yuvasena President Ratakonda Laxmipathi garlanded their hero and Oleti Divakar Naidu welcomed him with a specially designed Kanduva. It was a long awaited day and a true festival for Balakrishna Fans in Kuwait. The Pravasandhra Simha Garjana Program will be held today from 2 pm onwards in Abbasiya Open Park. Entry is free for all.

ICS bids farewell to the Philips Natya Kalamandalam show

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ATYA KALAMANDALAM Kuwait is a centre for learning Indian Performing Arts and Culture. It was conceived to provide training to its students in Bharatanatyam Dance form. Natya Kalamandalam Kuwait will be conducting conferring celebration along with stage performance for its first batch of students today at 5:30 pm. Venue will be at Indian Central School Auditorium.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

E

xecutive members of Indian Cultural Society gave heartfelt farewell to Sonimon Philips. The function was held at the president’s house. Sonimon has been a member of ICS since last 10 years and provided all kinds of technical support to the organization. In spite of his own job network, he was much dedicated and committed with ICS mission. His wife Gigimol Varghese was working in Al Adan Hospital as an ICU head nurse. She served the community with honesty, care and dedication.

She also helped ICS in medical camps & relevant voluntary work. The association’s president Ashafque Khan appreciated their work and& support and wished them a prosperous life. On behalf of ICS, the executive members presented a sweet memory memento to Sonimon and a gift to Gigimol. Both expressed their gratitude & thanks to ICS team.

TV Listings FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

03:00 Deep Into The Wild With Nick Baker 03:30 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 04:25 Wild France 05:20 Escape To Chimp Eden 05:45 In Too Deep 06:10 Animal Cops Philadelphia 07:00 Monkey Life 07:25 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 08:15 Crocodile Hunter 09:10 Pandamonium 10:05 The Really Wild Show 10:30 The Really Wild Show 11:00 Safari Sisters 11:25 Cats Of Claw Hill 11:55 The Jeff Corwin Experience 12:50 Wild France 13:45 Wild France 14:40 Wildlife SOS 15:05 Wildlife SOS 15:35 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 16:30 Wild Animal Orphans 16:55 Wild Animal Orphans 17:25 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 18:20 Big Five Challenge 19:15 Untamed China With Nigel Marven 20:10 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 21:05 Austin Stevens Adventures 22:00 Planet Earth 22:55 In Search Of The King Cobra 23:50 Animal Cops Philadelphia

03:35 04:25 05:10 06:40 07:00 13:10 13:35 14:25 15:10 16:00 16:25 16:50 17:35 18:25 19:20 20:05 20:55 21:45 22:30 23:20

Gok’s Fashion Fix Gok’s Fashion Fix Cash In The Attic USA Cash In The Attic USA MasterChef Australia MasterChef Australia 10 Years Younger Gok’s Fashion Fix Gok’s Fashion Fix Diy SOS Diy SOS Holmes On Homes Holmes On Homes What Not To Wear Gok’s Fashion Fix Gok’s Fashion Fix Holmes On Homes Holmes On Homes Gok’s Fashion Fix Gok’s Fashion Fix

03:00 03:10 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:10 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30 11:00 11:10 11:30 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:00 13:10 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:10 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:10 22:30

BBC World News World Features Talking Movies BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News The Doha Debates BBC World News Click BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News World Features Talking Movies BBC World News World Features Dateline London BBC World News World Features One Square Mile BBC World News World Features Africa Business Report BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News World Features The Bottom Line BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Working Lives BBC World News The Doha Debates BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News The Bottom Line Sports World Have Your Say Sports World Have Your Say BBC World News World Features Talking Movies

SECRET WINDOW ON OSN ACTION HD 23:00 BBC World News 23:10 World Features 23:30 Working Lives

03:00 03:15 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:15 08:30 09:00 09:15 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 14:45 15:00 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:15 18:30 18:45 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30

CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom The CNN Freedom Project Inside Africa World Sport Road To Rio: A Green City Journey World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe I Report For CNN World Sport Aiming For Gold African Voices The Brief World Report News Special CNN Presents World Report Leading Women Future Cities Fareed Zakaria Gps State Of The Union International Desk Inside Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Open Court International Desk African Voices

21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

International Desk Road To Rio: A Green City Journey Fareed Zakaria Gps World Report News Special

03:00 03:25 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 06:35 07:00 07:25 Junior 08:15 09:10 10:05 11:50 12:20 14:10 14:35 16:25 16:55 18:45 19:10 20:05 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? American Chopper: Senior vs Desert Car Kings Street Customs Auction Kings Auction Kings Border Security Border Security Cash Cab Us Cash Cab Us Cake Boss Cake Boss Penn & Teller Tell A Lie The Future Of...

Mythbusters Lou Ferrante’s Mob Rules South Beach Classics South Beach Classics

03:05 The Gadget Show 05:40 The Gadget Show 06:10 Future Weapons

07:00 07:55 07:58 08:25 08:55 09:45 10:35 14:20 14:45 14:48 15:15 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40

Future Weapons Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections Smash Lab Catch It Keep It The Gadget Show The Gadget Show Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections The Tech Show Future Weapons Sci-Trek Bang Goes The Theory Bang Goes The Theory Robocar Killer Outbreaks Mega World Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Robocar Killer Outbreaks Weird Or What?

03:10 03:35 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:41 07:55 08:20

Stitch Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody So Random Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie

08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 10:25 11:55 12:05 12:16 12:25 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 18:50 19:05 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 22:45 22:55 23:06 23:20 23:45

Suite Life On Deck Jessie Shake It Up A.N.T. Farm Hatching Pete Phineas And Ferb Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Have A Laugh Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie A.N.T. Farm Recess Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place So Random Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up So Random So Random So Random Dadnapped Phineas And Ferb Have A Laugh So Random A.N.T. Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Recess Hatching Pete Have A Laugh Fish Hooks Fish Hooks The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody Sonny With A Chance

06:00 06:20 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:45 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 10:55 11:20 11:45 12:10 12:35 12:45 13:00 14:20 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:30 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 23:00

Kid vs Kat Rekkit Rabbit Rekkit Rabbit Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Timon And Pumbaa Timon And Pumbaa Mr. Young Mr. Young Kickin It Kickin It Zeke & Luther Zeke & Luther Scaredy Squirrel Scaredy Squirrel Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb The Suite Life Movie Phineas And Ferb Mr. Young Mr. Young Timon And Pumbaa Timon And Pumbaa Rated A For Awesome Rated A For Awesome Kick Buttowski Kick Buttowski Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Kickin It Kickin It Zeke & Luther Zeke & Luther I’m In The Band I’m In The Band Pair Of Kings Pair Of Kings Kid vs Kat Kid vs Kat Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

04:10 05:05 05:30 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 09:45 10:15 11:10 11:40 12:05 13:05 13:35 14:05 14:35 15:00 15:55 16:55 17:25 20:55 21:25 21:55 22:25 23:25 23:55

Sexiest Then And Now Then And Now THS Behind The Scenes E! News Extreme Close-Up Extreme Close-Up THS Ice Loves Coco Ice Loves Coco E! News Style Star Style Star Keeping Up With The Kardashians Keeping Up With The Kardashians Kourtney & Kim Take New York Kourtney & Kim Take New York Behind The Scenes Ice Loves Coco Ice Loves Coco Khloe And Lamar Ice Loves Coco Fashion Police Chelsea Lately Keeping Up With The Kardashians

03:10 03:35 04:00 04:50 05:40 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:05 15:30 15:55 16:20 16:45 17:10 17:35 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20 21:45 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:25 23:50

Sports Jobs Sports Jobs Carpocalypse Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Ride Guide Snow 2008 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2008 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2008 Freeflow Tour Freeflow Tour Slovaki: A True Movie About...

Parcour Alli Presents Alli Presents Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Mantracker Formula Drift 2011 Formula Drift 2011 Man’s Work Man’s Work Man’s Work Man’s Work Man’s Work Man’s Work Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Formula Drift 2011 Formula Drift 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Summer Dew Tour 2011 Mantracker Ed’s Up Ed’s Up Formula Drift 2011 Formula Drift 2011 Best Of The Streets Best Of The Streets Wrestling With Reality

03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05 05:30 05:50 06:35 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Unique Sweets Good Eats Aarti Party Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Food Network Challenge Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Food Network Challenge World Cafe Asia Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Good Eats Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger Paula’s Best Dishes Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Lidia’s Italy Reza, Spice Prince Of India Unwrapped Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Good Eats Guy’s Big Bite Aarti Party Cooking For Real Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger Unwrapped Paula’s Best Dishes Meat & Potatoes Chopped Cooking For Real Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Aarti Party Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Chef vs Britain Meat & Potatoes Food Network Challenge Chopped Restaurant: Impossible Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics Meat & Potatoes

03:40 04:25 05:15 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:25 10:10 10:35 10:55 11:40 12:25 13:15 14:00

A Haunting True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis FBI Case Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Mall Cops – Mall Of America True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Disappeared Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls

TV Listings FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

14:25 14:50 15:35 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:45 19:10 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

03:25 05:25 07:10 09:00 10:45 12:20 14:05 15:40 16:00 18:00 19:55 22:00 23:25

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:30 23:30

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:30 23:30

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00

Mall Cops – Mall Of America True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Disappeared FBI Case Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Mall Cops – Mall Of America True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Disappeared Behind Mansion Walls Kidnap And Rescue Scorned: Crimes Of Passion

Knightriders-18 Semi-Tough The January Man-PG Flight From Ashiya-PG Danielle Steel’s Heartbeat-PG Article 99-18 Crime And Punishment-PG Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM Twelve Angry Men The Perez Family-PG De-Lovely Everything You Always...... Sex-18 Toy Soldiers-18

Nomads Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Departures The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Madventures Departures Nomads Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Departures Meet The Natives: USA Young Global Hotshots One Man & His Campervan Bondi Rescue Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Long Way Down The Best Job In The World

By Any Means Meet The Natives: USA Young Global Hotshots One Man & His Campervan Bondi Rescue Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Long Way Down The Best Job In The World

18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Inside Monster Moves Is It Real?

Taboo The Border Megacities

03:45 Monster Fish 04:40 Maneater Manhunt 05:35 Crimes Against Nature 06:30 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 07:25 The Invaders 08:20 Monkey Thieves 09:15 Python Hunters 10:10 The Great Serengeti (aka Serengeti) 11:05 Hidden Worlds 12:00 Ultimate Vipers 13:00 Bears Of Fear Island 14:00 Monster Fish 15:00 Hooked 16:00 How Big Can It Get 17:00 Swamp Lions 18:00 Bug Attack 19:00 Monster Fish 20:00 Hooked 21:00 How Big Can It Get 22:00 Swamp Lions 23:00 Bug Attack

03:45 Monster Fish 04:40 Maneater Manhunt 05:35 Crimes Against Nature 06:30 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 07:25 The Invaders 08:20 Monkey Thieves 09:15 Python Hunters 10:10 The Great Serengeti (aka Serengeti) 11:05 Hidden Worlds 12:00 Ultimate Vipers 13:00 Bears Of Fear Island

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Monster Fish Hooked How Big Can It Get Swamp Lions Bug Attack Monster Fish Hooked How Big Can It Get Swamp Lions Bug Attack

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Men In Black II-PG Warriors Of Heaven And Earth-

03:00 05:00 07:15 09:00 PG15 11:00 13:15 15:00 PG15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:15

The Green Hornet-PG15 Bright Star-PG15 16 To Life-PG15 Swansong: Story Of Occi Byrne-

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Shinjuku Incident-PG15 The Haunting Of Molly Hartley-18 Secret Window-PG15 Shinjuku Incident-PG15 Ticking Clock-PG15 Secret Window-PG15 The Daisy Chain-PG15 Flightplan-PG15

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Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Mad Love Parks And Recreation Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne The Office Man Up! How I Met Your Mother The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Weird Science The Simpsons Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne How I Met Your Mother 2 Broke Girls Man Up! The Office The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Weird Science Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Friends With Benefits Friends With Benefits Raising Hope Traffic Light Whitney Allen Gregory The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live Family Guy Whitney

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Warehouse 13 Combat Hospital The View Live Good Morning America C.S.I. Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Criminal Minds Warehouse 13 Top Gear (UK) Live Good Morning America C.S.I.

Bright Star-PG15 The Art Of Getting By-PG15 Swansong: Story Of Occi ByrneCertified Copy-PG15 The Tempest-PG15 The King’s Speech-PG15 MacGruber-18

Parks And Recreation 2 Broke Girls Traffic Light The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne Weird Science How I Met Your Mother

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Body Of Proof Unforgettable Missing Top Gear (US) Combat Hospital

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Sons Of Anarchy Warehouse 13 One Tree Hill Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street Terriers Top Gear (UK) Criminal Minds Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Terriers Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Franklin & Bash Body Of Proof Unforgettable Missing Top Gear (US) The Killing

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Men In Black II-PG The Burningmoore Incident-PG15 Triassic Attack-PG15 Blank Slate-PG15 Dick Tracy-PG15 The Hunt For Red October-PG15 Blank Slate-PG15 Returner-PG15 Blood Out-18 Flightplan-PG15 Walled In-PG15

04:00 The Addams Family-PG 06:00 Addams Family Values-PG 08:00 Nothing Like The Holidays-PG15 10:00 For Richer Or Poorer-PG 12:00 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement-FAM 14:00 Just Married-PG15 16:00 Roommates-PG15 18:00 Away We Go-PG15 20:00 The Slammin’ Salmon-18 22:00 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie-PG15

Nomads Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Departures The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Madventures Departures Nomads Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Departures Meet The Natives: USA Young Global Hotshots One Man & His Campervan Bondi Rescue Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Long Way Down The Best Job In The World

By Any Means Meet The Natives: USA Young Global Hotshots One Man & His Campervan Bondi Rescue Extreme Tourist Afghanistan Long Way Down The Best Job In The World

World’s Deadliest Animals Situation Critical Lockdown Thunder Beasts Departures Aftermath In The Womb Banged Up Abroad World’s Deadliest Animals Situation Critical Lockdown Adventure Wanted Departures Fight Science Alaskan Killer Shark

17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:45 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

THE TEMPEST ON OSN CINEMA

The Time Traveler’s Wife-PG15 Don’t Look Back-PG15 Teen Knight-PG15 The Associate-PG15 The Eclipse-PG15 Shipwrecked-PG The Moveon.Org Story-PG15 Khao Niao Moo Ping-PG15 Eight Below-PG The Silence Of The Lambs-18 Posse-18

Love The Beast-PG Bound By A Secret-PG15 Ways To Live Forever-PG15 My Sassy Girl-PG15 Forrest Gump-PG15 Chico & Rita-18 Inside Job-PG15 My Sassy Girl-PG15 Eight Below-PG Burlesque-PG15 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World-18

04:00 Flubber-PG 06:00 Supertramps-FAM 07:45 Ulysses-PG 09:45 Beethoven’s Christmas AdventurePG 12:00 Yogi Bear-FAM 14:00 Flubber-PG 16:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville-PG 18:00 Beethoven’s Christmas AdventurePG 20:00 The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie-PG 22:00 Ulysses-PG

03:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 05:00 Live ABC 20/20 06:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 06:30 Live NBC Nightly News (Sat-Sun) 07:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 07:30 Live NBC Nightly News (Sat-Sun) 08:00 PBS Newshour 09:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 09:30 Live NBC Nightly News (Sat-Sun) 10:00 MSNBC The Dylan Ratigan Show 11:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 12:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 13:00 Live ABC 20/20 14:00 MSNBC Hardball Weekend 14:30 MSNBC Your Business 15:00 Live NBC Sunday Today Show 16:00 Live NBC Meet The Press 17:00 ABC This Week With G Stephanopoulos 18:00 MSNBC Melissa Harris-Perry 19:00 Live NBC Meet The Press 20:00 ABC This Week With G Stephanopoulos 21:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 22:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 23:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 11:45 14:00 16:00 17:45 19:45 21:45

City Of Life-PG15 Strength And Honour-PG15 Bustin’ Down The Door-PG15 Fast Lane-PG15 Soul Surfer-PG15 Bustin’ Down The Door-PG15 Quest For Zhu-PG Across The Hall-PG15 Unstoppable-PG15 Predators-18

04:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 14:00 18:00 19:00 21:00

UFC The Ultimate Fighter Super League Live NRL Premiership Dubai World Cup Live European PGA Tour Trans World Sport NRL Premiership European PGA Tour

04:30 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 19:30 21:30 23:30

Super Rugby Futbol Mundial Total Rugby NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership NRL Premiership Pro 12 Celtic League Trans World Sport Scottish Premier League Live Scottish Premier League Futbol Mundial Pro 12 Celtic League Super Rugby Scottish Premier League

05:00 07:00 08:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 15:30 17:30 21:30 23:30

Top 14 Trans World Sport Live AFL Premiership Scottish Premier League Super Rugby Futbol Mundial NRL Premiership Asian Tour Golf Scottish Premier League Super Rugby

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:30 10:00 14:00 15:30 16:30 17:00 18:45 19:45 20:45 22:15 23:15

WWE Vintage Collection UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE This Week V8 Supercars Challenge Live V8 Supercars Championship Live Asian Tour Golf V8 Supercars Challenge WWE Experience WWE This Week WWE SmackDown WWE Experience WWE Bottom Line V8 Supercars Challenge UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC

Information FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines PIA JZR QTR JZR JZR ETH RJA GFA UAE ETD DHX FDB MSR QTR KAC THY JZR BAW KAC JZR KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA MEA JZR MSR RBG IYE JZR RKM MSR GFA RJA KAC FDB OMA KAC QTR KAC JZR KAC QTR ETD JZR UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR ABY ALK KAC KAC

Flt 205 185 148 539 267 620 642 211 853 305 370 67 612 138 544 770 555 157 416 529 206 53 302 332 352 676 284 344 855 125 132 55 619 301 213 404 165 606 3553 825 561 310 610 219 640 672 57 645 538 140 788 257 546 134 303 215 857 215 510 982 177 127 227 502 542

Arrival Flights on Friday 6/4/2012 Route LAHORE DUBAI DOHA CAIRO BEIRUT ADDIS ABABA AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO DOHA CAIRO ISTANBUL ALEXANDRIA LONDON JAKARTA ASSIUT ISLAMABAD DUBAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM COCHIN DUBAI DHAKA CHENNAI DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA DUBAI LAR ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI LUXOR ALEXANDRIA SANAA SOHAG RAS ALKHAIMAH CAIRO BAHRAIN AMMAN DUBAI DUBAI MUSCAT SOHAG DOHA JEDDAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA DOHA ABU DHABI DEIREZZOR DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI SHARJAH COLOMBO BEIRUT CAIRO

Time 0:15 0:15 0:20 0:30 0:50 1:45 2:10 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:55 3:10 3:20 3:25 4:10 4:35 6:00 6:30 6:35 6:40 7:15 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:20 9:30 10:00 10:55 11:05 11:10 11:10 12:05 12:25 13:10 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:00 14:20 14:25 15:00 15:00 15:05 15:15 16:35 16:40 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:45 18:00 18:00 18:15

KAC FDB MSR KNE JZR KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC KAC KAC FDB MEA QTR SVA GFA KAC JZR JZR FCX ABY QTR UAE DHX AIC GFA UAL SAI JZR DLH THY KLM

166 63 624 472 787 618 674 742 572 102 774 562 61 402 146 506 221 786 481 135 304 129 136 859 372 975 217 981 441 239 636 772 413

PARIS DUBAI SOHAG JEDDAH RIYADH DOHA DUBAI DAMMAM MUMBAI NEW YORK RIYADH AMMAN DUBAI BEIRUT DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH SABIHA BAHRAIN RIYADH SHARJAH DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN CHENNAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN LAHORE AMMAN FRANKFURT ISTANBUL AMSTERDAM

18:40 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:40 19:50 20:00 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:10 23:40 23:40

Airlines AIC UAL DLH KLM PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR RJA JZR GFA THY KAC KAC BAW FDB KAC JZR ABY KAC KAC UAE JZR QTR

Flt 982 981 637 411 206 773 621 854 68 371 306 613 139 149 560 643 164 212 771 537 545 156 54 175 256 126 671 787 856 214 133

Departure Flights on Friday 6/4/2012 Route AHMEDABAD WASHINGTON DC FRANKFURT AMSTERDAM LAHORE ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DOHA SOHAG AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN ISTANBUL SOHAG ALEXANDRIA LONDON DUBAI FRANKFURT BEIRUT SHARJAH DUBAI JEDDAH DUBAI DEIREZZOR DOHA

Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:55 1:30 2:15 2:45 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:00 6:50 6:55 7:05 7:10 8:05 8:10 8:25 8:25 8:55 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00

KAC FDB ETD IRA GFA KAC RBG MEA KAC MSR KAC IYE JZR JZR RKM GFA FDB MSR RJA KAC OMA KAC KAC KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC ETD JZR JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY SVA UAL ALK FDB MSR KNE JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB KAC KAC MEA GFA JZR SVA ABY KAC QTR KAC KAC FCX DHX JZR UAE QTR GFA KAC JZR SAI

117 56 302 618 214 541 3554 405 501 623 103 825 480 176 311 220 58 611 641 561 646 673 785 617 786 135 773 741 304 238 538 141 858 216 134 128 511 982 228 64 621 473 184 283 361 571 62 343 351 403 222 502 507 120 381 137 301 205 102 373 554 860 147 218 411 528 442

NEW YORK DUBAI ABU DHABI LAR BAHRAIN CAIRO ALEXANDRIA BEIRUT BEIRUT SOHAG LONDON DOHA ISTANBUL DUBAI RAS ALKHAIMAH BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN AMMAN MUSCAT DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM ABU DHABI AMMAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH DUBAI DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI CHENNAI KOCHI BEIRUT BAHRAIN LUXOR JEDDAH SHARJAH DELHI DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD DUBAI BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN BANGKOK ASSIUT LAHORE

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

10:00 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:45 11:30 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:05 13:15 13:20 14:10 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:45 15:50 16:15 16:25 16:30 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:40 19:10 19:25 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:35 21:45 21:55 22:10 22:20 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:50 23:59

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Clinics Rabiya

24732263

Rawdha

22517733

Adailiya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Khaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Qadisiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

112 For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

ACCOMMODATION Room available in Salmiya near City Center for decent bachelor. Rent KD 75/-.

Contact: 99959140.

(C 3934) 5-4-2012

MATRIMONIAL RCSC parents of ancient family in Pala Dioceses invite proposal for their daughter 27 years, 157cm, BSc Nurse (Staff Nurse, MOH, Kuwait). Well placed boys with similar family background working in Kuwait. Preference to BTech, MBA, Mcom, BSc Nurse. Email: mathaimathai.1984@gmail.com (C 3929) I am an American male looking for a wife, any nationality, but I prefer a Kuwaiti woman, age 22-34, divorced no problem. Email: aliabdulmalik73@yahoo.com (C 3935) 5-4-2012 Matrimonial correspondence invited for an Orthodox Christian boy, B.Tech + MBA, 5’7”, 30 years, fair, employed as an Associate Manager in a reputed company near Ernakulam, from parents of qualified girls preferably in Kerala. Please contact with telephone number to: nithya_thomas@yahoo.com 4-4-2012 Kuwait Orthodox parents invite proposals for their son 29/172 cm, M.Com PGDBA, B & B in Kuwait and employed in a reputed MNC in Kuwait since 2008 from parents of Orthodox/ Jacobite/ Marthoma/ CSI girls B.Tech/ MCA/ MBA/ M.Com or suitably qualified and employed in Kuwait. Contact with details.

E-mail: thekalloors@gmail.com (C 3930) 3-4-2012

SITUATION WANTED Australian businessman just arrived in Kuwait, speaks good Arabic, seeking opportunity with well organized company in the field of Management, Auditing and/or Motor Industry.

Contact: 65835338. (C 3932) 3-4-2012 CHANGE OF NAME I, Thiru Vinoth Kannan K., holder of Indian passport No. E3242761 has converted to Islam with name of Abdul Rahman K. on 6th May 2009.

(C 3933) 4-4-2012

I, Mona D/o Syed Anwar R/o 18-8-134, Dargah Barhaneshah, Riyasathnagar, Hyd having Passport No. H4559826 have changed my name, henceforth I shall be known & called as MONA SYED ANWAR. (C 3928) 1-4-2012

TUITION Math teacher for secondary stage, language schools, bilingual schools and intermediate stage: Algebra, Gmath, Geometry, Statistics for arts and science branches. Tel: 66974020.

English language teacher specialized in starting elementary and intermediate, 10th and 11th experienced in starting functions, grammar, set book, vocabulary, notes and model exams available.

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Arabic language teacher, masters in methods of teaching for secondary and intermediate students. Tel: 50644685.

Senior Arabic language teacher, elementary and intermediate, long experience in Kuwait curricula, explaining grammar rules and starting those weak in reading and writing. Tel: 99262948.

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Senior philosophy and logic teacher for the 12th stage, psychology for 11th grade, with notes and exams solutions. Tel: 99835421.

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Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Heat rally to silence Thunder

MELBOURNE: Britain’s Joanna Rowsell (left) Laura Trott and Danielle King (right) race in the gold medal final of the women’s team pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships. — AP

Britain win women’s team pursuit MELBOURNE: Britain’s women’s team pursuit squad beat Australia in a dramatic finish yesterday to win gold in record-breaking time on the second day of the world track cycling championships.

Britain’s Danielle King, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell trailed Josephine Tomic, Melissa Hoskins and Annette Edmondson by more than a second after the first third of the 3,000-meter race, but surged back in the final leg to win in 3 minutes, 15.720 seconds. Australia finished in 3:16.943.

It was the second event to boast a new record at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena yesterday and the third time the women’s team pursuit record was broken at the meet after Australia, then Britain, set new world marks in qualifying.

“We didn’t know what we could do. We knew we had a good ride, but we just wanted to do the best we could and the time was just phenomenal,” King said. Canada won bronze in 3:19.529, ahead of New Zealand in 3:19.847.

In qualifying earlier yesterday, the Australians initially broke the record with a time of 3:17.053, beating the previous mark of 3:18.148 set by Britain at February’s track world cup in London.

King, Trott and Rowsell then clocked 3:16.850 to regain the record. Rowsell said she expected the women’s team pursuit to produce more records at this year’s London Olympics.

“The event as whole is still developing and we’re seeing faster and faster times every time it’s ridden at international level,” she said. “I don’t think the absolute limit’s quite been found yet. We did 3:15 and I’m definitely sure we can go faster than that again.

“All the countries are going to keep pushing each other,” Rowsell said. “Australia was such good competition ... we’ll see come the Olympics, but I think we’re going to see some faster times.”

Defending champion Anna Meares of Australia earlier set the a world record in the flying 200 meters during qualifying for the women’s sprint.

Meares’ time of 10.782 seconds at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena eclipsed the old mark of 10.793 set by Lithuania’s Simona Krupeckaite at Moscow in 2010. The flying 200 is part of the qualification for the women’s sprint.

Meares and British rival Victoria Pendleton later advanced to today’s sprint semifinals, along with Lyubov Shulika of Ukraine and Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania.

World records have now been set in four events at the meet after Britain broke the men’s team pursuit mark and Germany twice set records for the women’s team sprint on the opening day. — AP

MIAMI: LeBron James had 34 points and 10 assists and Dwyane Wade scored 19 points as the Miami Heat rallied to beat the Thunder 9893 on Wednesday night for their 17th straight home victory.

Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Chris Bosh had 12 for Miami, which trailed by 11 in the first half before a comeback fueled in part

by Russell Westbrook pulling James down from behind on a fast break in the second quarter. Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, and Westbrook added 28, but shot 9 for 26. James Harden had 12 for the Thunder, who lost despite holding Miami to 37 percent shooting.

The win moved Miami (39-14) within two games of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBA’s best record. Oklahoma City fell to 40-14.

Durant could have given Oklahoma City the lead with 1:30 left, backing down James and then trying a turnaround from the left side. His shot was way off, hitting the top of the backboard. Bosh, who had been 3 for 13 to that point, made a jumper on the next Miami possession to make it 96-93. Kendrick Perkins then missed two free throws with 43.6 seconds left, the first Thunder misses from the line all night after starting 18 of 18.

And after James couldn’t connect on the ensuing Miami trip, it was still a one-possession game. The Thunder called a timeout with 19.5 seconds left and went for the quick 3, Durant’s try hitting the front of the rim and going out of bounds. Wade made a pair of foul shots, stretching the lead to five.

Lakers 113, Clippers 108 At Los Angeles, Andrew Bynum scored 36 points and Kobe Bryant added 31 as the firstplace Lakers outlasted the Clippers 113-108, widening their Pacific Division lead to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Clippers and ending their rival’s winning streak at six games. By taking two out of three against their Staples Center co-tenants, the Lakers also earned the head-to-head tiebreaker in a game that could help decide the division winner and playoff seeding in the West. The division winner will likely earn the No. 3 seed behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

Former Laker Caron Butler scored 28 points to lead six Clippers in double figures. Chris Paul added 22 points and 16 assists, Blake Griffin had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the West’s fourth-place team the designated home team. Their winning streak was the franchise’s best in 20 years.

Ramon Sessions added 16 points and eight assists to help the Lakers win their fourth in a row.

Spurs 87, Celtics 86 At Boston, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 16 rebounds as San Antonio won its ninth straight game, recovering to beat Boston after blowing a 17-point, first-half lead.

Duncan also stopped Paul Pierce on the final play, forcing him into a fallaway jumper that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Danny Green scored 14 points, and Gary Neal had 13, including a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left that gave the Spurs the lead after Boston went on a 13-4 run to move in front.

Rajon Rondo had 17 points and 11 assists for Boston. The Celtics had won five in a row.

Pierce had 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he couldn’t maneuver into open space after Boston inbounded the ball with 7.9 seconds left. Avery Bradley scored 19 points off the bench for Boston, and Kevin Garnett had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Ray Allen returned after missing six games with a sore right ankle and added seven rebounds and five points, including a 3-pointer in the final minute.

Bucks 107, Cavaliers 98 At Milwaukee, Monta Ellis scored 16 of his 30 points in the final 5 minutes, helping Milwaukee fend off a Cleveland team missing Kyrie Irving.

LOS ANGELES: Clippers forward Blake Griffin (right) goes after a rebound along with Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol of Spain during the first half of an NBA basketball game. —AP Brandon Jennings scored 19 points, and Ersan Ilyasova added 18 for Milwaukee. The Bucks have won four of their past five to close within a game of New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks were off Wednesday.

Anthony Parker had a season-high 27 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost nine straight and 12 of 13. Irving reinjured his sprained right shoulder Tuesday night in a blowout loss to San Antonio.

Pacers 109, Wizards 96 At Washington, Danny Granger scored 20 points as Indiana won its third straight game, shooting a season-high 58 percent in a victory over Washington.

Darren Collison added 17 points and 11 assists for Indiana. The Pacers have won eight of 11 to move into third place in the Eastern Conference. Jordan Crawford scored 28 points, and Kevin Seraphin had a career-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds for Washington. The Wizards have lost eight of nine.

Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 85 At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and Dallas used a big fourth-quarter run to beat Memphis. Shawn Marion scored 10 of his 16 points when the Mavericks went ahead with a 21-4 run over a 7-minute span in the fourth quarter. It was the first of two games in four days between the teams in a virtual tie for fifth place in the Western Conference stand-

ings. OJ Mayo had 17 points to lead Memphis.

Warriors 97, T’wolves 94 At Minneapolis, David Lee had 31 points and eight rebounds as Golden State rallied from a 20-point deficit to edge the Timberwolves. Charles Jenkins had 19 points and seven assists,and Richard Jefferson scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to help the Warriors snap a six-game losing streak. They trailed by 20 with less than 2 minutes to play in the first half, but outscored Minnesota 40-19 over the next 8 minutes. Kevin Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Wayne Ellington scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost four in a row and five of their last six to fall out of contention in the Western Conference playoff race.

Hornets 94, Nuggets 92 At New Orleans, Eric Gordon scored 15 points in his first action in three months, capping the performance with two free throws in the final seconds to lift New Orleans past Denver. Trevor Ariza scored 15 points, and Chris Kaman added 14 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans. Ty Lawson scored 22 points for Denver, which tied it at 92 on Al Harrington’s 3 from the corner with 10 seconds left, only to see Gordon bait Arron Afflalo into a foul on an up-fake near the lane with 2 seconds left. Gordon was returning from a right knee bruise that required arthroscopic surgery. Afflalo finished with 15 points and a career-high seven assists. —AP

NBA results/standings Toronto 99, Philadelphia 78; Indiana 109, Washington 96; Atlanta 120, Charlotte 93; San Antonio 87, Boston 86; Miami 98, Oklahoma City 93; Milwaukee 107, Cleveland 98; Golden State 97, Minnesota 94; New Orleans 94, Denver 92; Dallas 95, Memphis 85; Phoenix 107, Utah 105; Portland 101, New Jersey 88; LA Lakers 113, LA Clippers 108.

Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 40 14 .741 Boston 30 23 .566 Denver 29 25 .537 11 Philadelphia 29 25 .537 1.5 Utah 28 27 .509 12.5 NY Knicks 27 27 .500 3.5 Portland 26 29 .473 14.5 Toronto 20 35 .364 11 Minnesota 25 31 .446 16 New Jersey 19 37 .339 12.5 Pacific Division Central Division LA Lakers 35 20 .636 Chicago 42 13 .764 LA Clippers 32 22 .593 2.5 Indiana 33 21 .611 8.5 Phoenix 28 26 .519 6.5 Milwaukee 26 28 .481 15.5 Golden State 21 32 .396 13 Detroit 20 33 .377 21 Sacramento 19 35 .352 15.5 Cleveland 17 35 .327 23.5 Southwest Division Southeast Division San Antonio 38 14 .731 Miami 39 14 .736 Memphis 30 23 .566 8.5 Orlando 32 22 .593 7.5 Dallas 31 24 .564 8.5 Atlanta 32 23 .582 8 Houston 29 25 .537 10 Washington 12 42 .222 27.5 New Orleans 14 40 .259 25 Charlotte 7 45 .135 31.5

Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Cards win season opener MIAMI: Kyle Lohse saw all the zeros on the scoreboard. St. Louis teammate David Freese was counting the outs to go. And in the seventh inning, the Miami Marlins knew they still didn’t have a hit in their new ballpark.

Lohse finally gave up a single to start the seventh, but he combined with three relievers on a four-hitter and helped the World Series champions open the season with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.

Lohse led the Cardinals in victories and ERA last year, but he only got the call for opening day because ace Chris Carpenter is sidelined with nerve irritation that has caused weakness in his pitching shoulder.

“Where’s Carpenter?” Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said with a laugh. “Lohse threw a tremendous game. He kept our hitters off balance.”

With the retractable roof open, the ball didn’t seem to carry well in Miami’s new home. Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit two flies to the warning track, but their new animated home-run sculpture never budged. “I took advantage of the park a little bit,” Lohse said. “It’s a good ballpark for a pitcher, obviously. It’s pretty hard to get it out.” It was the fourth inning before the Marlins even managed a baserunner. By the time they scored in the eighth, they trailed 4-0. Lohse was mindful he had a nohitter going. “It actually did cross my mind after five,” he said. “I looked up and saw a lot of zeros. But I’m not superstitious. I was talking to guys on the bench.”

MIAMI: St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran (3) watches as center fielder Jon Jay hits the wall after catching a ball hit by Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton in the seventh inning of the Opening Day baseball game. — AP Said Freese: “I was getting the feeling. I was counting the outs. But Kyle will take the outing every day of the week, and so will we.” The crowd of 36,601 included newly retired Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who quietly rooted for his former team from the press box.

He watched Lohse retire the first 10 batters before hitting Emilio Bonifacio with a pitch. The runner was erased when

Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play. Newcomer Jose Reyes’ leadoff single in the seventh was Miami’s first hit.

“Opening day, they throw a no-hitter, that’s not going to look too good,” Reyes said. “We played with a lot of energy but didn’t get what we were looking for, and that was a win.” Omar Infante scored the Marlins’ run in the eighth on John Buck’s double. Lohse went 7 1-3 innings, allowing

only two hits and one run. Freese, the World Series MVP, had a two-run single in the first inning to give Lohse the cushion he needed. Freese and Rafael Furcal each had three of the Cardinals’ 13 hits.

“Packed house. We win. Cool,” Freese said. “It doesn’t get much better.” Jason Motte earned the save with a one-hit ninth, completing the four-hitter. The Cardinals then gave rookie manager Mike Matheny a water shower to celebrate his first win. “It means a lot to them, so that means a lot to me,” Matheny said. Things were so bad for Guillen’s team that Marlins ace Josh Johnson recorded the ballpark’s first strikeout - but as a hitter. Johnson allowed 10 hits and three runs in six innings. Both teams began the season with a new look. The Marlins, anticipating better attendance and higher revenue in their new home, acquired three All-Stars in an offseason spending spree. The Cardinals, coming off a thrilling late-season charge to the World Series title, lost slugger Albert Pujols to free agency and La Russa to retirement. La Russa visited with Matheny before the game. Also on hand was baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, who said his reaction to the ballpark was, “Wow.” Among the eye-catching features is the colorful home-run sculpture beyond the center-field wall, but the Marlins failed to activate it, despite Stanton’s two deep drives. “Stanton hit a couple of balls today that are out of just about every park in baseball,” Matheny said. —AP

Red Wings soar over Blues ST. LOUIS: Johan Franzen scored with consecutive shots in the third period to end Brian Elliott’s shutout streak after more than 3 1-2 games, and Todd Bertuzzi netted the lone goal in a shootout as the Detroit Red Wings rallied to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Pavel Datsyuk set up both regulation goals for the Red Wings, who moved a

point ahead of Nashville for fourth in the Western Conference with 101 points. Both teams have two games remaining.

Detroit, over 100 points for the 12th consecutive season, is 9-2 in shootouts. The Red Wings handed the Blues their second straight home loss, dropping them to 30-55 and leaving them two points behind NHLleading Vancouver and the New York

NHL results/standings Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 2; Detroit 3, St. Louis 2 (Shootout).

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF NY Rangers 51 22 7 223 Pittsburgh 49 25 6 273 Philadelphia 46 25 9 260 New Jersey 46 28 6 222 NY Islanders 33 36 11 195

GA 178 217 227 206 244

PTS 109 104 101 98 77

Western Conference Central Division St. Louis 48 21 11 206 Detroit 48 27 5 245 Nashville 46 26 8 229 Chicago 44 26 10 244 Columbus 27 46 7 190

159 198 209 234 257

107 101 100 98 61

Northwest Division 50 21 9 244 41 33 6 205 35 29 16 194 34 35 11 174 32 39 9 210

195 209 222 221 233

109 88 86 79 73

Rangers.

David Perron and Andy McDonald scored for St. Louis, which has 107 points for second place in the West behind Vancouver. The Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard stopped T.J. Oshie, McDonald and David Perron in the shootout. Elliott, who had a franchise-record shutout streak of 241 minutes, 33 seconds snapped, finished with 26 saves through overtime.

Pacific Division 40 27 13 187 40 27 13 208 41 29 10 219 42 33 5 209 33 35 12 199

170 202 203 217 224

93 93 92 89 78

Canadiens 5, Lightning 2 At Montreal, Canadiens linemates Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty both scored two goals as Montreal ended a four-game losing streak by beating Tampa Bay. Lightning star Steven Stamkos didn’t

Northeast Division 47 29 4 262 41 29 10 246 39 31 10 214 34 36 10 227 30 35 15 207

198 233 224 258 223

98 92 88 78 75

Vancouver Colorado Calgary Minnesota Edmonton

Southeast Division Florida 37 25 18 197 Washington 40 32 8 214 Winnipeg 37 34 9 218 Tampa Bay 37 36 7 229 Carolina 32 32 16 210

222 227 237 275 238

92 88 83 81 80

Los Angeles Phoenix San Jose Dallas Anaheim

Boston Ottawa Buffalo Toronto Montreal

MONTREAL: Steven Stamkos No. 91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning shoots the puck in front of Tomas Plekanec No. 14 of the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre. —AFP

score, despite several good chances, and remained two goals short of 60. He will play in his hometown of Toronto on Thursday night and has two games left to reach the mark.

Cole scored twice in the second period, Pacioretty had a pair of goals in the third, and Alexei Emelin also scored for Montreal (30-35-15), the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

Vincent Lecavalier scored off a gift from Montreal backup goalie Peter Budaj, and defenseman Bruno Gervais added a goal for Tampa Bay (37-36-7), which is also eliminated from playoff contention. Montreal outshot the Lightning 25-16 in a game played in front of many empty seats. — AP

Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Green tea could cloud Olympic doping tests LONDON: Olympic doping officials are considering whether to tweak their tests after a recent British study showed green tea might hide testosterone from the standard test used to spot it.

The study was a test in a lab dish so scientists aren’t sure if the effects will be the same in people. But some experts say the results are intriguing enough that Olympic testing could be updated to include that possibility.

“It’s interesting that something as common as tea could have a significant influence on the steroid profile,” said Olivier Rabin, scientific director of the World AntiDoping Agency, or WADA. He said other foods and beverages, such as alcohol, are also known to muddle test results.

“We may need to adjust our steroid (test) to allow us to exclude whether a test is modified by food or training or disease, before we can say that it’s doping,” Rabin

said. He said they might have to raise their normal threshold for what is a considered a legal amount of testosterone to allow for any such interference.

In the study, researchers added green and white tea extracts - or catechins - to testosterone and tested whether the enzyme that usually detects testosterone in the body could still identify it. Tea seemed to reduce the testosterone concentration by up to 30 percent and appeared to work best when testosterone was only slightly higher than normal.

Similar results have been found in rodent studies, Rabin said.

Experts say athletes taking testosterone for doping purposes typically have 200 to 300 percent more in their bodies than normal. WADA has tight controls on other commonly consumed substances like caffeine. It bans diuretics that could mask drug use and warns athletes about taking

nutritional supplements, which could be spiked with banned drugs.

The researchers said it was too early to tell what the effect of green tea might be in humans, but said other beverages or foods likely produced similar effects.

“There’s no reason to think we just happened to pick the only food in the world that does this,” said Declan Naughton of Kingston University, who published the green tea research with colleagues in the journal, Steroids. Naughton said the green tea contains catechins, also found in white tea, which seem to stop an enzyme involved in detecting testosterone. By preventing that enzyme from working, testosterone largely goes unnoticed in the body and doesn’t get passed into the urine where officials usually test for the hormone. Charles Yesalis, a doping expert at Pennsylvania State University, said officials needed to react quickly. “Athletes will not

wait for the clinical trials,” he said. “I’ll bet there are already lots of athletes out there drinking loads of green tea,” he added.

Yesalis said many scientists were aware of foods that could skew drug tests but would not talk publicly about them.

“There’s no sense helping out the doping athletes by telling them what to eat,” he said. Yesalis was unconvinced that new tests could solve the problem. “There’s too much scientific uncertainty that can cloud the results,” he said.

WADA’s Rabin said all atypical results from doping tests involved an expert analysis, not just a lab result. “There’s a human interpretation of the data,” he said, explaining that officials regularly accounted for potentially troublesome results by considering things like intense exercise, jetlag and diet. Rabin also said it might be possible to test for testosterone in blood rather than the standard urine test. —AP

Controversial Pietersen puts England on top

Chris Cairns of New Zealand in action in this file photo

Cairns ‘vindicated’ over Modi libel win CANBERRA: Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns feels “complete vindication” and is ready for a new role in cricket after winning a libel action against former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi.

In the first libel action heard in England against a post on Twitter, Cairns, 41, was last month awarded 90,000 pounds ($143,000) damages after the judge dismissed fixing allegations levelled against the cricketer by Modi.

Modi was also ordered to pay an additional 400,000 pounds in costs. Cairns said he was “never going to back down” against one of international cricket’s most powerful figures.

In an interview published in The Canberra Times, Cairns said the case had consumed his life and ostracised him from the cricketing community.

Cairns said he had to fight to restore his reputation, adding that match fixing were some of the “dirtiest words in sport”. “I took it as far as I could go to clear my name and that’s what I had to do,” Cairns told the newspaper.

“It was a long hard road to get that complete vindication.

“An hour won’t go past when you’re not thinking about it. It’s a massive distraction and something that didn’t need to be in my life but I had to deal with it.

“It’ll take a good while to get out of the system and realise it’s not part of my life and I’ll have more time for all things family and professionally.”

Cairns and his wife have settled in Australia’s national capital because his young daughter was born profoundly deaf and, after a cochlear implant, receives regular therapy in Canberra.

Cairns, who was in the witness box for eight hours during the London court case, said he reacted angrily when it was revealed his accuser, Modi, would not take the stand.

“Lalit Modi and I are poles apart in life-financially, religiously, where we live, we are the complete opposite,” he told the newspaper.

“But the one place where you are equal, regardless of whether you’re a billionaire, a cricketer, male or female, is in the witness stand. Everybody’s the same in there. —AFP

COLOMBO: Kevin Pietersen shrugged off a switch-hit controversy to smash an explosive 151 off 165 balls as England took charge of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo yesterday.

The flamboyant Pietersen plundered 16 boundaries and six sixes in his 20th Test century as the tourists piled up 460 in their first innings before being all out just before stumps on the third day.

Sri Lanka, trailing by 185 runs, were 4-0 from one over in their second knock at close with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dhammika Prasad at the crease.

England, who lost the first Test in Galle by 75 runs, have two days to force a series-levelling win on the wearing P. Sara Oval wicket and retain their number one ranking.

Pietersen was warned twice by the on-field umpires before the tea break for changing his stance to make a switch hit-a right-hander playing a shot with a left-hander’s grip.

The warning from officials Bruce Oxenford and Asad Rauf came after bowler Tillakaratne Dilshan had to stop twice in his run-up as Pietersen turned around in his stance.

The laws of the game state the switch hit is legal, but a batsman cannot change stance before the bowler has delivered the ball.

Match referee Javagal Srinath of India said a third offence by any of the England batsmen in the innings would have resulted in five penalty runs being awarded to Sri Lanka.

The incident marred an otherwise profitable day for the tourists, who finally came good with the bat after losing four Tests in a row in Asia this year-the 3-0 rout by Pakistan and the Galle defeat.

But England may feel that they ought to have punished the hosts more.

Alastair Cook hit 94 and Jonathan Trott followed his 112 at Galle with 64, the pair sharing a second-wicket stand of 91 after skipper Andrew Strauss made 61 on Wednesday.

Pietersen reached his hundred in the same over he was warned, executing a

COLOMBO: England’s batsman Kevin Pietersen leaps into the air to celebrate his century on the third day of the second cricket Test match between England and Sri Lanka. — AP reverse sweep for two, and celebrated century.

The South African-born batsman had the landmark by pulling the next ball earlier smashed two fours and a six off from Dilshan for a boundary.

He had given England the lead with three consecutive deliveries from his third six, a straight drive off Suraj Randiv, and also hammered Dilshan Randiv, which also brought up his half- high over long-off. —AFP

SCOREBOARD COLOMBO: Scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the second and final Test between England and Sri Lanka at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo yesterday: Sri Lanka 1st innings 275 (M. Jayawardene 105, T. Samaraweera 54, A. Mathews 57, G. Swann 4-75, J. Anderson 3-62) England 1st innings (overnight 154-1): A. Strauss c P. Jayawardene b Dilshan 61 A. Cook c M. Jayawardene b Dilshan94 J. Trott c M. Jayawardene b Herath64 K. Pietersen lbw b Herath 151 I. Bell c Randiv b Prasad 18 M. Prior c Prasad b Herath 11 S. Patel c Prasad b Randiv 29 T. Bresnan b Herath 5 G. Swann c Dilshan b Herath 17 J. Anderson lbw b Herath 2 S. Finn not out 2 Extras: (b1, lb2, nb2, w1) 6 Total (all out, 152.3 overs) 460 Fall of wickets: 1-122 (Strauss), 2-213

(Cook), 3-253 (Trott), 4-347 (Bell), 5-380 (Prior), 6-411 (Pietersen), 7-419 (Bresnan), 8-454 (Swann), 9-458 (Anderson), 10-460 (Patel).

Bowling: Lakmal 22-4-81-0 (nb2), Prasad 23-8-63-1 (w1), Herath 53-9-133-6, Dilshan 20-4-73-2, Randiv 34.3-4-107-1.

Sri Lanka 2nd innings: D. Prasad not out 0 L. Thirimanne not out 0 Extras: (lb4) 4 Total (for no loss, one over) 4 Bowling: Anderson 1-1-0-0 Sri Lanka trail by 181 runs with 10 wickets in hand. —AFP

Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

The future of tennis: Game, set and number LYON: Budding tennis stars who dream of being the next Novak Djokovic should think twice before shelling out for more coaching when they might better invest in the racket that tracks every move.

Created by venerable French tennis company Babolat, which started out in 1875 making strings from animal gut, the soon-to-be-unveiled prototype invention is designed to look and feel just like a regular, hollow-tube racket.

The twist is that the frame is lined with tiny sensors recording reams of data on every volley, lob, serve and drop shot. Uploading this information to a separate monitoring device will allow players to pore over the finer points of their performance without a coach or high-end video equipment.

It could be a big leap forward for a

sport where rackets are often seen in a reverential, almost mystical light, and where critical distance and scientific analysis are left to the pros.

“There is an imaginary side to a player’s racket, that it’s like Excalibur, the sword that will win it all,” says Eric Babolat, the company’s greyhaired but youthful-looking 42-yearold chief executive, at his offices in Lyon, southeast France.

“We feel that people are looking for more rationality, more information on what is actually happening.”

Surrounded by display models of current rackets he believes will become relics of the past, the CEO reels off examples of precision data measured by the prototype racket dubbed “Play & Connect”: Force exerted, ball speed, string vibration and the exact position of where the ball is hitting the racket.

While international champions are already used to having their stats plastered across the world’s TV sets during top-flight tourneys, this will be the first time average players at the local club will have access to such data.

The more it is used, the more the racket will build up a broad performance history and track how a player is improving.

“It’s going to be like having your own personal coach,” says Babolat, who believes the new racket will be a key weapon in his fight for market share against rival brands like Amer Sports’ Wilson and Head.

Such souped-up electronic equipment exists already for other sports that require more endurance testing, such as rowing or cycling, helping athletes get prepped for this year’s Olympic Games in London.

Rowers can use computerised oars to measure power and position, while cyclists can buy mini-computers to fit to their bikes to measure speed and distance.

Where a similar invention for tennis could prove useful is in analysing mechanics and the arc of motion, rather than just power, according to Philip Friere Skiba, director of Sport and Exercise Medicine at Exeter University.

“In racket sports, not only could power data be valuable, but things like direction or position of the face of the racket,” he says. “Those things determine how fast the ball is going to travel.”

Whether the device takes off will depend on how sophisticated it is and whether it will be more than a marketing gimmick that few players will really use, adds Skiba. — Reuters

Venus sends Jelena packing

MONACO: The members of the US Davis Cup tennis team pose after the draw ceremony in Monaco yesterday. (From left) team captain Jim Courier, Bob Bryan, John Isner, Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison. The US tennis team will play against the French team, for the quarter final of the Davis Cup. — AP Preview

Spain favorites as clay kings step in PARIS: The kings of clay are set to reign as holders Spain are favorites to keep their Davis Cup title defence on track despite taking on old foes Austria without world number two Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at home starting today.

All four ties take place on the surface with France playing the United States in the Monte Carlo Country Club, the Czech Republic hosting Serbia in Prague and Argentina and Croatia going head to head in Buenos Aires.

Three of the world’s top players will not be competing for their countries in the team tournament with Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic, Nadal and ninth-ranked American Mardy Fish, all missing.Despite being favourites, captain Alex Corretja said hosts Spanish would be approaching their tie “with respect and humility” given that Spain have won just one of their four previous meetings - in Vienna 33 years ago.

Nadal is suffering from a knee injury which forced him out of the Miami Masters last week, but world number five David Ferrer is back alongside Nico Almagro (12), Marcel Granollers (26) and Marc Lopez (1147). The 30-year-old Ferrer arrives with three titles under his belt this season in Acapulco, Buenos Aires and Auckland, and a confident Corretja warned that “conditions here are perfect” for the Spanish at the Marina d’Or in Oropesa del Mar despite forecasts of rain for the weekend. The Jurgen Melzer-led Austrians are returning to the quarter-finals after a 17-year absence. Melzer, ranked 21, spearheads their bid for just a second semi-final appearance after 1990, alongside Andreas HaiderMaurer (139), Alexander Peya (708) and doubles specialist Oliver Marach. “It’s going to be difficult,” said Ferrer, who will play near his home in Alicante, eastern Spain. “Jurgen Melzer is a great player, who beat me on clay like he did Nico Almagro. They’re (the Austrians) among the best in the world in the doubles.” —AFP

CHARLESTON: Venus Williams played a brand of tennis at the Family Circle Cup that would be hard for anyone to overcome, including little sister Serena.

Venus Williams looked strong in her first clay-court tournament since 2010, defeating Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-0 to advance into the third round Wednesday night and continued her trek to a semifinal showdown with Serena. Don’t go planning the latest all-Williams match, yet, since Venus says she’s still testing her endurance after the onset of an autoimmune disease that sidelined her for more than six months. “Actually, winning a match in straight sets is not something I’m used to yet,” she said.

That’s because these days, each match for Williams is a learning experience, unsure if she’s got enough in the tank to compete the way she wants. That wasn’t the issue against Jankovic as Williams won 12 of the final 14 games in the meeting of two former No. 1s seeking their old form.

Was this Williams’ best performance of 2012? “I don’t know,” said Williams, a wry smile spreading on her face. “That second set was really nice.”

And the sort of showing that had plenty in the crowd of 6,908 at Family Circle Stadium dreaming of what could happen Saturday with a Venus-Serena meeting in the tournament semifinals.

“I love clay and I’ve won. I’ve won a lot of big titles on clay.

Came close to winning the biggest title and it didn’t work out,” Venus Wiliams said. “Someone beat me.” That was Serena back in 2002, the closest Venus has come to winning the French Open. Venus Williams fell to 134th in the world since withdrawing from the US Open after she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, which left her continually fatigued. She improved to 87th after reaching the quarterfinals at the Sony Ericsson Open last week, defeating third-ranked Petra Kvitova and 14thranked Ana Ivanovic on the way.

Williams wasn’t sure what might lie ahead on clay, a surface since hadn’t competed on in two years. “I always feel like I’m stepping into the unknown,” she said.

Jankovic saw the same old Venus Williams who’d won seven grand slam titles in her career. Williams broke Jankovic’s serve seven times on the way to evening their career mark at 6-6.

“I didn’t serve well and against Venus you have to serve well,” Jankovic said. Williams fell behind Jankovic 3-1 before taking control. Williams cracked her serves all match long, topping out at 120 mph, and hit the lines for winners throughout.

Williams’ game grew stronger as the match progressed. She appeared out of sorts following a 30-minute rain delay and quickly lost the first game back to move behind 3-1.

Jankovic was still up 5-4 and was two points from the set, but mistakes - a double fault and a wide forehand - opened the door for Williams as she won the final nine games of the match.

“I think more than anything, I’m really focused, especially once I’m able to start to really get into the match,” Williams said. “Then my focus and my mental game really kicks in.”

Jankovic, 17th in the world and the 2007 champion here, had hoped to get more of a work out in her first clay-court event this year. Then she saw Williams waiting as her first

CHARLESTON: Venus Williams returns a shot to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia at the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament. —AP opponent. “It’s a difficult draw,” Jankovic said. “Maybe if it’s some other player in the first round maybe I can get a little more rhythm.”

Williams, the 2004 Family Circle winner, will face Anastasia Rodionova on Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals. Serena, who won this title in 2008, takes on Marina Erakovic in a thirdround match.

Other winners Wednesday were third-seeded Marion Bartoli, who beat Russian Vera Dushevina in three tough sets, sixth seeded Sabine Lisicki, ninth-seeded Lucie Sararova, 13thseeded Nadia Petrova and 14th-seeded Polona Hercog.

Bartoli acknowledged she’s got work to do if she hopes to go even further at Roland Garros this year. Still, she was pleased that she had the mental strength to prevail in the 3 hour, 4 minute match.

“It was great to put up a fight and get the win out there,” said Bartoli, the highest seed in action at Family Circle Tennis Center. Second-seed and 2010 Family Circle champion Samantha Stosur had the day off. The scheduled top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, withdrew from the tournament this past Sunday after taking the Sony Ericsson Open final in Key Biscayne, Fla., last weekend. —AP

Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Preview

Wounded Bremen hopes to revive form in Cologne MUNICH: Injury-hit Werder Bremen will be desperate to end a poor run of results at relegation-threatened Cologne tomorrow, looking to force their way back into the European qualification spots with a muchneeded victory.

A sequence of just one win in their last six matches, culminating a shock 3-0 home defeat by Mainz last week has seen Werder drop to eighth place on 40 points, behind Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart on goal difference.

As it stands, the top seven finishers in the German top flight will be guaranteed European soccer next season. “We want to win because we are in a difficult situation and it is extremely important to get those three points,” Bremen top scorer Claudio Pizarro told reporters.

Victory will not be an easy task, however, with defender Naldo, who only recently returned from a long-term absence, Philipp Bargfrede and Sebastian Boenisch all ruled out of the game through injury.

“We have a great squad but because of all the injuries we can’t get into a rhythm,” forward Markus Rosenberg added. “The coach has to field a different team every week and that is negative and frustrating.”

There is some good news, however, with defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos set to make the team after overcoming a minor knee injury he picked up against Mainz that saw him miss training earlier this week.

“It feels fine and I don’t have any pain anymore. I will train again tomorrow and I feel fit for Saturday,” the Greece international said on Wednesday.

Opponents Cologne are in a much more difficult situation, battling to avoid the drop and feeling the heat from their own fans, who blocked the players’ departure following last week’s defeat to Augsburg, demanding explanations for their bad run.

Cologne have dropped into the relegation playoff spot after losing their last three games and conceding a total of 12 goals.

Coach Stale Solbakken narrowly held on to his job last week after all major German media had reported he had been sacked and Cologne issued a statement saying they still backed the Norwegian.

“I am responsible for the performances and the results,” Solbakken said. “We have to improve because we have to get points against Bremen.”

Solbakken, who is in his first season in charge, cut four players from a two-day training camp aimed at strengthening teamwork and from the game against Bremen due to bad performances.

“What is important for me is that we become mentally stronger and avoid any further collapse and not implode every time we concede a goal,” Solbakken added.

Leaders Borussia Dortmund travel to VfL Wolfsburg and will hope to extend their 22game unbeaten run and protect their threepoint lead over second-placed Bayern Munich, who entertain in-form Augsburg.

Third-placed Schalke, on 54 points, six behind Bayern, host fifth-placed Hanover 96 on Sunday. — Reuters

Preview

Emery’s Valencia future on line at the Bernabeu MADRID: Under-fire Valencia coach Unai Emery should have a clearer idea of his future prospects at the club after they have played La Liga leaders Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Sunday.

A worst case scenario could see them denied a place in the Europa League semi-finals by AZ Alkmaar, and shoved out of third place and La Liga’s last Champions League automatic qualification slot.

Valencia trail AZ Alkmaar 2-1 ahead of their second leg at the Mestalla, where fans have whistled them off in their last few home games, while their flagging league form has seen them notch only three wins in their last 14 outings.

A surprise victory at the Bernabeu, however, could boost the standing of one of La Liga’s longest serving coaches, who is not expected to renew his contract at the end of the campaign should he survive until then.

“I am used to the speculation over my future,” Emery said on Wednesday. “I continue with my work and take no notice of it, and I don’t see the players affected by it either.”

Real, who booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, are closing on their first title in four years and maintain a six-point lead over chasing Barcelona with eight matches left to play.

Jose Mourinho’s men have 78 points from 30 matches and with 100 goals scored to date have the league record of 107 set by John Toshack’s Real side in 1990 well within their reach.

Valencia are 30 points back in third, just one ahead of fourth-placed Malaga, who host second-bottom Racing Santander on Monday.

Barcelona’s trip to play 18th-placed Real Zaragoza tomorrow looks easier on paper, but they are taking on one of the form sides of the

Valencia coach Unai Emery moment. Cash-strapped Zaragoza’s spirited attempt at a great escape has seen them climb off the bottom taking 13 of the last 18 points available, and have claimed the scalps of Villarreal, Valencia and Atletico Madrid along the way. After last weekend’s 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon, coach Manuel Jimenez said they were “out of intensive care”, but they remain four points from safety.

The champions, however, have won their last eight league games and booked their place in a fifth-consecutive Champions League semi-final beating AC Milan on Tuesday.

Pep Guardiola will probably have to shuffle his defence again as Gerard Pique is a doubt with a muscle strain picked up against Milan, and Eric Abidal out for the rest of the season.

There are also high-profile clashes in the battle for the two remaining Champions League slots and the Europa League places, with only six points separating third-placed Valencia, on 48, from eighth-placed Sevilla.

Fifth-placed Levante, with 45 points, are at home to seventh-placed Atletico, with 42, on Sunday (1100) and Sevilla visit King’s Cup finalists Athletic Bilbao six hours later. — Reuters

Gloom descends over Serie A MILAN: A fresh refereeing row, another matchfixing scandal and failure to get a team to the Champions League semi-finals for the second year running have cast gloom over the weekend’s Serie A matches.

Leaders AC Milan will go into their match at home to Fiorentina tomorrow still smarting from their Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona in midweek and the goal that never was against Catania the weekend before.

They will, however, have the comfort of knowing that opponents Fiorentina are even worse off than themselves after a miserable run of one win in nine matches, which has seen them plummet towards the relegation zone.

Juventus, who have cut Milan’s lead to two points and remain unbeaten after 30 games, visit unpredictable Palermo tomorrow.

Juventus’ form over the last few weeks has been one of the bright spots and they can be credited with making the title race one of the most exciting in recent years.

Their sleek new stadium, invariably full and with the crowd urging the team on only metres from the pitch, is a novelty in a league usually criticised for its rundown, half-empty arena. But this week has shown that the old problems are still bubbling under the surface.

On Monday, former Bari defender Andrea Masiello was arrested and eight of his former team mates placed under investigation for allegedly fixing matches in Serie A last season, when their side was relegated.

Masiello, interrogated for three hours on Wednesday, is still playing in Serie A for Atalanta, themselves deducted six points this

SPAIN: AC Milan’s Ghanaian defender Prince Kevin Boateng heads the ball in this file photo. — AFP season over match-fixing in Serie B last season when they won promotion.

There was another reminder of Italy’s problems on Wednesday when former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi lost his appeal against a life-ban for his part in the scandal which led to the Turin club being demoted and stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles.

Refereeing has also been in the spotlight after Milan were on the wrong end of a goalline controversy for the second time in a matter of weeks as officials failed to spot that a Robinho shot had crossed the line in the 1-1

draw at Catania.

Milan posted a photograph on their website showing the ball over the line under the title “unacceptable.”

There had been an even more clearcut incident in the 1-1 draw against Juventus, when Sulley Muntari’s header clearly entered the Juve goal but the referee missed it.

On Tuesday, the gulf between the Serie A and Spain’s La Liga was all too clear as Barcelona eased past AC Milan 3-1 to end Italy’s interest in European competition this season. —Reuters

Sports FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Stoner ready for title defence PARIS: Australia’s two-time MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner begins his title defence in Qatar this weekend determined to show he is still the man to beat.

The 26-year-old has been in sparkling form in pre-season testing on his Honda, along with team-mate Dani Pedrosa, which has been all the more creditable as he and his wife Adrianna have just welcomed into the world their first child Alessandra.

The baby girl was born on February 16, the birthdate of Italian great Valentino Rossi, who will be hoping for a more positive season this year on his Ducati.

Stoner, who won the world crown in emphatic style last year for Honda after winning his first title in 2007 with Ducati, shrugs aside the idea that a new born baby and all that entails will make him lose focus on the day job.

“They say you slow down when you get married, but in my first year of marriage I won the title,” said Stoner, who has won 40 Grand Prix in all, 33 of those at MotoGP level.“When I found out we were having a baby I won it a second time. I don’t think

that’s the case (that you slow down),” he told his team sponsors Red Bull’s website.

Stoner, who in between world titles suffered from a mysterious virus that badly affected him in the 2009 campaign, says that he hasn’t had to adjust his fitness levels much with the new bikes going up from 800cc to 1000cc this term. However, he was less impressed that new rules brought in forced them into having to modify the bike.

“It is rather frustrating. We already had the bike developed and then they decided to change the regulations, so we had to add 4kg to the weight of our bike,” said Stoner.

“This is a disadvantage for us, because the bike was already developed with a specific weight in mind and now we have to add more. This affects the bike.”

Stoner admitted that racing this season would be more of a challenge with the added worry of whether they had enough in the tank to finish the race.

“Of course, when you have more power there is a critical aspect involved: Obtaining the same performance with less fuel consumption,” he said.

Malaysia police arrest 137 in gambling bust KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police yesterday arrested 137 people, mostly from China and Taiwan, in a raid on a ring that bet on English football and Internet gambling and carried out online scams.

Police conducted the raid in the city of Kajang, near the capital Kuala Lumpur, after receiving a tip-off in what was one of the biggest betting busts ever in Malaysia, said city police chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab.

Football, and particularly the English Premier League, is hugely popular in Malaysia. But sports betting is illegal and those found guilty can be jailed. Police said they would push for up to 20 years.

Five of those arrested on Thursday were Malaysians, while the rest were from China and Taiwan, the police chief told AFP. The group arranged betting on the Premier League and other forms of online gambling, he said.

The ring also carried out Internet scams that sought to obtain the credit card numbers of victims in China, Taiwan and Portugal by sending email notices claiming the recipients had debts they needed to pay immediately. Police did not immediately say how much money the group had earned from the illegal schemes.

But Abdul Rashid said the ring appeared to be relatively sophisticated because the five bungalows raided by police were equipped with closed-circuit televisions systems for security.

“For sure we will demand harsh punishments,” Abdul Rashid said, adding that the charges could lead to jail terms of up to 20 years and caning.

Most gambling is illegal outside of Malaysia’s sole casino resort, which is located in the Genting Highlands, also near Kuala Lumpur.

Aseh Che Mat, chairman of the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) transparency committee, said: “I praise the swift action by Malaysian police to wipe out this syndicate. “Criminal syndicates must realise they cannot sustain their activities in Malaysia for long.” Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Alex Soosay hailed the raid as having far-reaching benefits for the game.

“Gambling has been detrimental to the development of football in Asia,” he said. Malaysia has itself been dogged by longstanding concerns over match-fixing, fears that have spiked recently after FAM earlier this year suspended 18 youth players and banned a coach for life for fixing matches. Illegal betting was a particular problem in parts of Asia during the 2010 football World Cup. In June that year police in Malaysia arrested 129 people including students for illegal football betting worth $94 million. —AFP

“We have the same fuel tank capacity as with the 800cc bikes, only with a lot more power available, so it is going to be difficult to ensure we can finish each race. That is why it is crucial that Honda and Repsol work together to find the best solution.”

Pedrosa - who finished fourth in last year’s championship despite missing several races because of a broken collarbone will just be glad to be able to focus on racing after he was implicated in a fraudulent boat license scam last weekend in Valencia.

“I committed an error, in following bad advice,” he said in a statement released by his lawyers. “You can either ignore your mistakes or you can learn from them and for my part this will be a lesson for me. “I want to apologise to my supporters and all those who have confidence in me.

“Now I just want to look forward. I am a motorcyclist, the world championship begins next weekend in Qatar, and I want to focus exclusively on this race.”

Rossi for his part will be looking towards a season to remember rather than the past two eminently forgettable ones which

reached its nadir with the death of his close friend Marco Simoncelli at last year’s Malysian Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old nine-time world champion was believed to have considered retiring after that but instead he is back and wants Ducati to provide him with a bike that will have him challenging regularly this season rather than the mediocre one which failed to trouble the leaders last term.“We worked hard over the winter, and although we went the wrong direction at one point, we once again managed to find the good feeling with the GP12 that we’d had in the first test,” said Rossi, winner of 105 Grand Prix in all categories.

“I’m a realist, and I know well that our times are still a long way off and that there are still some things to fix. We won’t be able to address some of them right away, but it’s also true that both we at the track and the guys back home now have a direction to work in, and we must try to do as well as we can. “We won’t completely re-do the bike during the season, but we’ll try to progress little by little.” — AFP

Flamengo face Libertadores exit BUENOS AIRES: Flamengo’s Libertadores Cup chances were put in serious jeopardy when a late penalty consigned the former winners to a 3-2 defeat by a determined Emelec on Wednesday.

Midfielder Fernando Gaibor’s 90th-minute penalty sealed the surprise victory after Emelec had twice come from behind and left Ronaldinho’s Flamengo bottom of Group Two with just a home match against Lanus in Rio de Janeiro next week to come.

The result in Guayaquil also secured Argentina’s Lanus a place in the knockout phase after they crushed Paraguay’s Olimpia 6-0 in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Lanus are top with 10 points followed by Olimpia on seven, Emelec six and Flamengo, who led 2-1 at halftime with goals from right back Leo Moura and striker Deivid, on five.

“We picked up three very important points that keep us alive. We beat a team that don’t feel the weight of playing away, they have class players,” man-of-the-match Figueroa, who headed both Emelec’s equalisers, told Fox Sports.

“I can’t understand why Flamengo’s fans jeer Ronaldinho, he’s a class act, he just may not have the speed of his Barcelona days,” Figueroa added of the negative treatment visiting fans gave the Brazil striker. Emelec face Olimpia in Asuncion in their final match with the winner advancing regardless of the result in Rio de Janeiro.

Holders Santos were held 1-1 by fellow Brazilian side Internacional in Porto Alegre in Group One despite a bright performance from Neymar, who only failed to score because of tight marking and a string of superb saves by goalkeeper Muriel.

Santos conceded an early goal when Inter right back Nei curled a free kick over the wall. They equalised with a 66th-minute header

ECUADOR: Brazil’s Flamengo’s Dario Bottinelli (center) fights for the ball with Ecuador’s Emelec’s Enner Valencia (left) and Ecuador’s Emelec’s Pedro Quinonez during a Copa Libertadores soccer match. — AP

from substitute Alan Kardec with his first touch two minutes after coming on and Inter central defender Rodrigo Moledo was sent off in the 89th for two bookings in the final six minutes.

“To get four points out of a possible six from a team like Internacional can be considered very good so we are satisfied,” said coach Muricy Ramalho, whose side beat Inter 3-1 at home a month ago.

Santos lead the group with 10 points, two more than Inter and three ahead of Bolivia’s The Strongest, who visit eliminated Peruvian champions Juan Aurich (0 points).

Universidad de Chile beat Godoy Cruz of Argentina 1-0 in Mendoza, across the Andes from their Santiago home, to go top of Group Eight with 10 points from five matches and secure a berth in the last 16.

“La U” are two points ahead of

Colombia’s Atletico Nacional, who are at home to Uruguay’s Penarol next week, and five in front of Godoy Cruz.

The Chilean holders of the Copa Sudamericana, the region’s equivalent to the Europa League, scored one minute into first half added time through 17-year-old Angelo Henriquez.

The result eliminated last year’s runners-up Penarol, five times winners of the competition, who are bottom of the group with one point.

In a tight Group Three, Atletico Junior of Colombia beat Chile’s Universidad Catolica 3-0 at home in Barranquilla to revive their qualifying chances.

Union Espanola of Chile and Bolivia’s Bolivar, who meet next week in Santiago, have seven points apiece from four games. Catolica have six and Junior four from five matches. — Reuters

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012

Pietersen puts England on top

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Casey Stoner of Australia does a wheelie. Stoner begins his title defence in Qatar this weekend.

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