12th May 2012

IPT IO N SC R SU B

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

JAMADI ALTHANI 21, 1433 AH

No: 15446

8GCC countries 44 seek

150 Fils

Egyptians abroad vote as leadership contest heats up

Holders Santos crush Bolivar 8-0 in Copa

unity amid threats Riyadh wants united stand against Iran

in the

news

Rare ‘ageing disorder’ TAIPEI: A Vietnamese woman suffering from a rare premature ageing disorder has been treated in Taiwan, doctors said yesterday. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai, 28, began experiencing premature ageing when she was 10 years old but was unable to get proper treatment due to financial difficulties, doctors said.

Nguyen had the appearance of a 70year-old, walking difficulties and other health problems before coming to Taiwan in April, said doctors at China Medical University Hospital in central Taiwan. She was diagnosed with the Nguyen Ngoc Mai rare ageing disorder Werner syndrome, and underwent plastic and other surgeries to rejuvenate her appearance and treat skin and lung conditions, they said.

‘Dead’ man leaves hospital MELBOURNE: A man pronounced dead following a car crash

by Australian paramedics who then left the scene has been discharged from hospital after making a remarkable recovery, a report said yesterday. Daniel Huf, 30, was trapped upside down in the wreckage of a Porsche in a Melbourne suburb and was declared dead after being treated at the scene on April 1. He was reportedly left in the car for up to an hour as police began their investigations until emergency services officials began removing what they thought was a corpse and discovered a feeble pulse. The Age newspaper said Huf left hospital on Thursday. “We know that it is a miracle that Daniel can walk, read, speak some recognizable words, write logical messages and recognize his visitors,” his father said.

RIYADH: Gulf Arab leaders meeting on Monday will discuss closer union between their six states because of what they see as growing threats from Iran and Al-Qaeda after the Arab uprisings, but significant political obstacles loom. Some members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, worry that convergence might spell dominance by the group’s largest member, Saudi Arabia. They also view dimly reports that Saudi Arabia will merge initially with Bahrain, where majority Shiite Muslims have rebelled against a monarchy that like the other GCC dynasties is Sunni Muslim and is allied with the United States against Iran. “Qatar sees this all as Saudi’s way of undermining the Gulf states’ bilateral relations and forcing its own agenda, “said a source close to the Qatari government.

Smaller Gulf Arab states fear losing economic and political influence to Saudi Arabia, which has a population five times greater than the next largest member, Oman, and dominates the region’s allimportant oil and gas sector. Riyadh’s over-

arching concern is its regional tussle for influence with Iran, its Shiite Islamist archrival on the other side of the Gulf, and it wants more defense integration and foreign policy coordination to help in that struggle.

The Saudis believe Iran used the fall of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003 as a launchpad towards realizing region-wide supremacy, and they accuse Tehran of fomenting the uprising in Bahrain and unrest among Saudi Arabia’s own Shiite minority. The Islamic Republic denies such allegations. When GCC leaders last convened in December, Saudi King Abdullah urged member nations to move “beyond the stage of cooperation and into the stage of unity in a single entity”.

On Monday that might prompt the establishment of two much-discussed Gulf commissions to coordinate foreign and defense policy - although a Gulf government official said these would likely be purely consultative and might not be announced until the next full summit in December. The king’s call for integration was seen at the time as a response to Gulf

Arab worries that the Arab Spring would destabilize the Middle East, giving al Qaeda the opportunity to get a foothold in some states and Iran to gain sway over others.

“The desire increasingly is to present a more convincing front of unity in the context of some internal and regional pressure. But the pre-eminant importance of national sovereignty and wariness of the weight Saudi Arabia would have militate against any practical steps,” said Neil Partrick, visiting fellow at the London School of Economics Gulf Program.

That sense of pressure has not abated in the intervening half year. Shiite protests have flared anew in Bahrain, an old feud between the UAE and Iran over disputed Gulf islands has reignited and another exposed al Qaeda bombing plot reminded many of a nagging security threat emanating from Yemen. Given the obstacles to substantive political integration between the six states, Gulf capitals have recently buzzed with speculation about some form of initial union between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. — Reuters

Saudi king fires adviser RIYADH: Saudi King Abdullah yesterday sacked one of his advisers, an outspoken critic of the sexes mingling outside the home, something banned in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The state news agency SPA published the decree announcing the dismissal of Sheikh Abdelmohsen AlObeikan, an adviser to the royal cabinet, without providing further details. The move comes several days after Obeikan, speaking on local radio, lashed out at the interaction of men and women in court, accusing the judges of seeking to “Westernize society.” “Women suffer from gender mingling and harassment in the courts,” said the sheikh, a former Sheikh Al-Obeikan judge, while demanding the segregation of the sexes in court. “Some influential people have plans to corrupt Muslim society by seeking to change the natural status of women,” he said, accusing judges he did not name of “wanting to replace justice based on (Islamic) Sharia law with secular laws.”

Max 41º Min 29º

KUWAIT: A firefighter battles a raging fire at the Amghara scrap yard yesterday. — KUNA (See Page 2)

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Police bust vice den in Salmiya, five in custody KUWAIT: Hawally detectives arrested five Filipinas, who were providing massage services mixed with prostitution in Salmiya area at night. During the day time they were working in cafes as a cover up for their profession. Police received information about an apartment that was offering massage and prostitution at KD 20 to KD 30. Police obtained approval to raid the apartment, and sent undercover agents to the apartment. After the agent agreed to KD25 with a Filipina, the girl got ready. Minutes before the start, police raided the apartment after they received a signal from the agent. They arrested the Filipinas who confessed to their wrong doing, saying they used their work at the cafe to attract their clients, especially lesbians.

Phone call thieves Hawally security men arrested 10 Asian expatriates who were operating an illegal call business. Seven clients, who happened to be there at the time of the raid, were arrested with them. The apartment was run and operated by the three Asians for international calls to anywhere in the world at 10 fils per minute. The 10 persons, who are all Asians, were sent to Hawally police station for future interrogations and necessary follow up.

Drug smuggler Kuwait Airport customs foiled an attempt to smuggle 300 tramadol pills, which an expatriate passenger coming from his home country tried to smuggle into Kuwait.

An airport supervisor said the expatriate was stopped by Airport custom men after they suspected him. After searching seed boxes, which he brought with him as gifts, they found the drugs hidden among the seeds.

Rental car stolen A car leasing office reported to Salhiya police that a citizen leased from him at KD 50 per day an expensive car with a value of KD 25,000. He said the citizen leased the car for one day, and gave the leasing office all of his details but did not return the car on time. He tried to call him several times, but he did not respond. He then waited three more days before reporting the matter to police.

Sources said the leasing office owner gave police copies of all details of the lease and a copy of his Civil ID. The surprise was that the police checked the ID and found it to be forged. The case was sent to detectives for follow up.

After detectives checked the telephone number given to the leasing office by the citizen, they found the telephone number also has no recorded information as to who the owner is. There are also no details in the file for the telephone number. It is called a “white telephone” by police, meaning it is without information or records about the owner.

They tried to find out its incoming and outgoing calls, but nothing was recorded which could lead to the identity of the owner. This means the telephone was used only for the purpose of “leasing” or stealing the car. Detectives are still collecting information on how to reach to the thief.

Rape attempt An eye witness on Arabian Gulf Road called the operations room saying a muscular man was trying to rape a girl in the car parking lot of a well known restaurant. The eye witness said no one could do anything to stop him because he seemed to be muscular. As the police arrived, they found the girl crying. When they asked her what was the story, she said that a man stopped her in between the cars and kissed her and caressed her and started removing her clothes.

Her cries and shouting made him run away before the police arrived. The girl who is in her 20s, was asked about the details of his car or its plate number. She said that she only knew that his name was Abdullah. She remained silent and said she knows nothing else. She was taken to Daiya police station to find out who Abdullah is and what relationship she has with him.

KUWAIT: Firefighters in action after a fire broke out in Amghara scrap yard yesterday. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Nine firemen treated in third scrapyard fire Environmental crisis warning

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: For the third time within one month, a fire that was still burning at the time of this report broke out in the lumber section of Amghara scrapyard, security sources said. Clouds of smoke covered the yard and the surrounding areas, especially Saad Al-Abdullah area. Many MPs have been warning of an environmental crisis because of the scrap market.

Fire sources said firefighters were currently fighting the fires that erupted in four different spots. Initial fire reports indicate the fire is actually due to arson.

Dr. Salah Al-Mudhhi, Environment Protection Agency Chairman, said EPA gas detectors show the fumes resulting from the fire are not toxically hazardous.

Speaking to reporters, he stressed that the fumes were being examined every five minutes.

Dr. Faisal Al-Ghanim, manager of the Ministry of Health medical emergency department, stressed that nine firemen were treated for smoke inhalation (four on

site and five were sent to Jahra Hospital).

He added that nine ambulances were dispatched to the scene and that a field clinic was immediately set up.

Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim, Minister of Electricity and Water, spoke to reporters at the site saying that various government bodies such as the Municipality and the ministries of water and electricity, health and public works were cooperating to bring the fire under control.

He said the fire started in the car scrap yard and then spread to an old tire yard.

Then it travelled to some waste containers that apparently included some pressurized gas cylinders, which kept exploding.

Jahra governor, Sheikh Mubarak AlHumoud, said the Government had already started work on removing the scrap market away from residential areas.

Jahra security director, Major General Ibrahim Al-Tarrah, said eyewitnesses reported that some of the local workers had been seen leaving the burning sites moments before they caught fire. He said the whole area was sealed off so that inves-

tigations could start immediately firemen got the fire under control.

Overdose death A young citizen was found dead in an apartment in Sawaber Residential Complex, downtown Kuwait City. Security sources said initial reports suggest that the man died of a drug overdose.

Crash deaths A man was killed instantly when his vehicle collided into a garbage collecting truck in the early hours of the morning. Security sources said the truck driver also sustained various fractures and was rushed to Mubarak Hospital for treatment. An expatriate was torn to pieces when he was hit by a speeding vehicle in Sharq area. Security sources said the driver, an army officer, was detained pending investigations.

Crush death A Syrian mechanic was killed instantly when a car he was repairing fell on top of him and smashed his skull, said security sources.

Airport radar faces defect KUWAIT: Kuwait International Airport almost faced an air disaster which could have led to the deaths of 220 passengers who were on board a Kuwait Airways flight, civil aviation sources said.

The airport radar faced some defect, after the captain of a Kuwait Airways flight requested an emergency landing due to a defect in the aircraft itself min-

utes after take-off.

Sources said flight KU 331 leaving to India at 9:15 asked for an emergency landing 15 minutes after taking off after discovering a defect in the hydraulic system. Sources said an emergency was declared at Kuwait Airport in preparation for the aircraft to land, but the airport radar itself went out of order. The

aircraft and all other objects disappeared from the radar. The radar came back into operation a few minutes later and the aircraft landed safely, without any causalities. Sources said the situation at Kuwait Airport is very dangerous, as no standby radar is available. He said civil aviation and the lives of the passengers are in danger. — Al-Qabas

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Obesity in Kuwait reaches 42 percent KUWAIT: Almost 42 percent of residents in Kuwait of all age groups can be described as obese, said Dr. Abeer Al-Bahoe on Thursday.

About 65 percent of people in Kuwait do not practice any form of sporting activity, she said, noting that up to 53 percent of youngsters

spend between three to four hours motionless in front of the television or the computer on a daily basis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) observes this day every year to bring attention to the fact that moving around in any guise, be it walking or jogging or doing strenu-

ous exercises or practicing a favorite sport, does a world of good to a person’s health and well-being.

She said on this occasion the Ministry of Health, where she works, is organizing an open day for youngsters and their families to get involved in sporting activities in

‘Hybrid families’ call for changes in laws, mindset Plight of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis

By Sawsan Kazak KUWAIT: The dilemmas Kuwaiti women face when they marry a non-Kuwaiti is an issue that usually gets pushed aside for more ‘pressing’ issues the country is facing. But the problem is not going anywhere and Kuwaiti women still suffer when they choose to marry a nonKuwaiti. Kuwait law states that nationality can only be passed down through the father and not through the mother.

Therefore Kuwaiti men who chose to marry a non-Kuwaiti woman face no struggles in the country.

“We live here but we are not part of the society,” says a young Kuwaiti girl who would rather remain anonymous.

“My mother is Kuwaiti and my father is not. We are four siblings and have lived here our whole lives, but we cannot get citizenship,” the Kuwaiti girl explains, adding “We are humans. We want to be in Kuwait and be part of its growth and success. I think there needs to be more awareness to provide us with the rights and justice we deserve.”

This young Kuwaiti wants to know why her government is not passing any resolutions to grant the right for her and her siblings to have the opportunity to become part of this society. She believes it’s unfair that Kuwait is still dragging its feet on the topic when the rest of the world seems to have embraced this as normal, saying “If you see European and Western countries, the children can get citizenship from their mothers,” adding “even GCC countries like the UAE have passed a law where mothers can pass on their citizenship to their children.”

She was referring to the decree issued by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa last December that gives the right to children of Emirati women married to non-Emiratis the chance to apply for citizenship once they are 18 years old.

Other issues The legal issues are not only faced

by the children, but the father as well.

“Being married to a non-Kuwaiti is tough,” says Leila, a Kuwaiti girl in her mid-twenties who married an Australian man. “My husband has to leave the country every three months to renew his visa. I couldn’t sponsor him at all because I wasn’t allowed to at the time. We also had a tough time getting the residency sorted out for my daughter. She was actually fined for illegally being in the country, which they sheepishly dropped because it was ridiculous to fine an infant,” says the young mother.

Leila was not only upset at the lack of rights for her husband and daughter, but also the fact that the system is not used in Western-Kuwaiti marriages. “I spent an hour arguing with officials that my daughter has a middle name and she wasn’t going to take her father’s name like they have to in Kuwait.

They didn’t understand how I could give her two names and not include her father’s name. They even ridiculed my choice of names. When I told them I was going to call her Juliette Zainab, they laughed and said it was absurd. I said Zainab is a second name and that everyone has them in my husband’s culture,” she explained.

Leila and her husband faced so many legal problems in Kuwait that they opted to move to Australia to raise their daughter and settle down there.

“As for rights for my daughter, personally, I don’t care anymore. I don’t want her getting the Kuwaiti citizenship. It seems that people here seem to think that not getting the Kuwaiti citizenship is going to have a negative impact on my child’s life. It’s not the case because my daughter will be better off in Australia with their own free healthcare and education system. Kuwait doesn’t make it easy for Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis. In fact all of the hurdles they put in place makes it seem

like we are being punished for it,” says Leila. Leila admits that other Kuwaiti women do not have the option to leave as she does, saying “I know that other women aren’t as lucky as I am and would want their children to have as many rights as Kuwaiti children because not everyone can jump on the plane and move to another country so easily. Right now, I know the system is trying its best to look after the children of Kuwaiti mothers, but it should really focus on the husbands as well and not treat them like gold-digging spouses.”

Breaking up a home The young mother sees how this treatment creates a lot of resentment within the community and she believes it makes the Kuwaiti society look petty and racist. “There was a point while I was living in Kuwait where I thought that my marriage was going to collapse. It’s as if both the social and legal system wanted me to break so they could say ‘we told you so.’ I knew that staying in Kuwait was going to be unhealthy for both my husband and daughter. So we moved to Australia where we all have rights and we’re all treated more humanely,” says the young mother.

Before moving, Leila also considered the social impact of having a nonKuwaiti father and a Kuwaiti mother on her child. “I worried for my daughter because I knew that regardless of the rights she was given by the government, my daughter will always be treated as an outsider and a foreigner.

That’s something the law can’t change.

Even though people were waiting for me to fail, I never gave them that satisfaction. When we left Kuwait in February, we decided to never look back. It will take more than changing a few laws to make our children feel like it’s their home. Society has to change their prejudiced attitudes towards our hybrid families,” says Leila.

Increase in patients’ allowance LONDON: Yaqoub Al-Tammar, Chief of Kuwait’s Health Office in London, announced yesterday that the office has started settling the financial increases allocated for Kuwaitis receiving medical care in the United Kingdom and their two accompanying persons.

He said he has instructed the financial department to identify beneficiaries of the increases to start payments soon. Al-Tammar said the Cabinet decision states that patients and two accompa-

nying persons each receive 100 pounds sterling as pocket money per day from April 24, 2012. “The move is an attempt to help patients face the significant increases of the cost of living abroad, especially in a city like London which is known to be one of the most expensive places to live in the world,” he said. There will be special cards for the beneficiaries of this move, he said, adding that those who return to Kuwait before the start of payment will receive their allowance at home, he said. —KUNA

conjunction with a local university.

The open day will take place at the sport facilities of Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), where attendants will be offered free blood tests for diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure, she said. —KUNA

Al-Rajaan’s Swiss bank accounts frozen

By A Saleh KUWAIT: MP Riyadh Al-Adsani disclosed that the Swiss bank accounts of Fahad Al-Rajaan, Director of the Social Security Authority, has been frozen as a precautionary measure taken by the Swiss authorities.

Al-Adsani exposed various violations in Social Security investments and demanded an investigation.

The account was frozen upon orders from the Swiss authorities.

Meanwhile, MP Faisal Al-Mislem, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee investigating the foreign transfers, said the decision to extend the work tenure of the committee was shocking to the government.

Al-Mislem said that the foreign ministry informed him that the KD 87 million transfers were conducted upon orders from the Diwan of HH Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed in the period of Feb 7, 2006 and Nov 28, 2011.

New road opens KUWAIT: A newly-built road, stretching from King Faisal Highway towards Kuwait International Airport, will open today, said the Ministry of Public Works yesterday.

Meshaal Al-Sarraf, Chief Engineer of the project, said the new road is part of a venture including the construction and maintenance of road intersections along King Faisal Highway and the Fifth Ring Road. — KUNA

NBK launches beach clean-up campaign KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) launched an environmental awareness campaign to help keep Kuwait beach clean during the summer season. NBK staff and volunteers will clean up the beach littered with trash and other harmful waste and will also provide awareness initiatives to encourage campers to keep Kuwait beaches clean.

As part of its corporate social responsibility program, NBK aims to help keep the environment safe and clean this summer. The clean-up campaign will run until the end of September and will be open for the public to take part.

Notifications will be sent through NBK’s social media network. NBK is an environment-friendly bank and has launched a range of initiatives — including electricity conservation and paper recycling — aimed at promoting environmental awareness.

For more information, visit: NBK official page on Facebook or NBK Twitter account @NBKPage.

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Aqua Park Raft Race KUWAIT: Al-Jazeera Entertainment Enterprises Company yesterday organized the 24th Raft Race at Aqua Park. Attended by a large audience of park visitors, the raft race is the most significant marine sport event in Kuwait.

Many companies participated in the race, such as the Commercial Refreshments Company (Coca-Cola), Mohammed Nasser Al-Sayer Establishment (Toyota), the Sultan Trading Center, Al-Nasr Sports Company, Kuwait Agriculture Company, Al-Bostan National Trading Company, Al-Alali Products Company, Mojezat Al-Shifa, SebaMed Company, Fantasy Group Company and the InfoTech Institute.

Abdullatif Al-Shemmari, Aqua Park Public Relations and marketing manager, stressed that many preparations were made prior to the race day. He added that many other sporting activities, such as beach volleyball and a Speed Zone race, were held on the sidelines of the raft race.

A special ceremony was held to conclude the race to honor both the race winners and sponsors. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

KUWAIT: Indian Ambassador Satish Mehta makes his opening remarks.

KUWAIT: Nair, the Ambassador, embassy officials and community members during the reception. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Kuwait-India partnership robust: Indian official Indian embassy hosts reception to honor Nair

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: The partnership between Kuwait and India is witnessing a robust growth as a result of increased cooperation between the countries in various fields, said a highranking Indian official here on Thursday.

“India-Kuwait relations are growing steadily in every conceivable field and in all areas of human endeavor. Probably the remarkable growth in bilateral trade may be a tangible result of this partnership as it has crossed $12 billion mark,” said T K A Nair, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, while addressing a group of Indian community members at the Indian Embassy here.

The reception hosted by the Indian Embassy in honor of the visiting dignitary was attended by a host of Indian community members, media representatives and Indian embassy officials.

Earlier on Thursday, Nair met with two senior advisors to Diwan Al-Amiri, Mohammad Abdullah Abo Al-Hassan and Dr Yousef Hamad Al-Ibrahim and discussed topics of mutual interests.

“During my brief conversations with the officials, I gathered the distinct impression that Kuwait is keen to get more out of India.

We are also very keen that the relationship

must be a two-way traffic and economic cooperation must be multi-faceted given the great opportunities available to both countries,” he said.

The official said India has a stake in the development, progress and stability of Kuwait and every Indian expatriate living in Kuwait has a role to play in accomplishing that. Nair said over the last six years, he had the privilege in listening to the exchanges of views between Indian leaders and the leaders of the world, particularly leaders from this part of the world. Every one of them appreciates the contribution Indian community is making to his/her host country. “It is a heart-warming experience for all of us to listen to those words of great appreciation and admiration. The sentiments expressed by leaders of this part of the world really reflect the genuine appreciation of your contribution,” he said.

“I have great pleasure and privilege to place on record the country’s appreciation for you in contributing to the betterment of your families back home, to the development of your motherland and also to the development and progress of the host county,” he said. “It is not just about the remittances. You have raised India’s prestige in this part of the world. How India has

become important in global affairs depends to a large extent on the perception the country has derived from the experiences of Indian expatriates living in different parts of the world. In that sense, each one of you is an ambassador of India,” he commented. He commended the community members for their humanitarian servic-

KUWAIT: T K A Nair addresses the gathering at the Indian embassy.

es by supporting the less fortunate in the society. “Service to humanity is service to God. There may be difficult and challenging times in everyone’s life, but concerns and sympathy for others, especially for those less fortunate is commendable,” he said.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, Indian Ambassador Satish C Mehta said, the Indian community, the largest expatriate community in Kuwait numbering over 600,000, has enhanced India’s image in every walk of life in Kuwait.

Commending the community members, he said, “The community in Kuwait helps keep the country’s culture and civilization alive, a culture we have inherited for thousands of years. Some of the associations spend enormous time and efforts to organize major cultural events, showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage,” he said.

The ambassador also hailed the community organizations such as Indian Doctors Forum for their efforts in holding medical camps, blood donation camps and other humanitarian programs.

Earlier, Nair decorated Dr Mariam Chifti with a lapel pin for winning the Bharatiya Pravasi Diwas Award in 2004. Dr Chifti is an Indian doctor working in Kuwait for the last 40 years.

Senior Kuwaiti journalists to visit India next week NEW DELHI: An influential Kuwaiti media delegation comprising editors and senior journalists from different media establishments is slated to visit India from May 14 to 18. This would be the first such Kuwaiti media delegation visiting India in recent times.

In New Delhi, the delegation members are scheduled to meet India’s senior leadership, including Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna, Minister of Finance Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Ministry Anand Sharma and Parliament’s Speaker Meira Kumar.

Besides, their itinerary also includes interaction with Indian business houses, including the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry), captains of Indian industry, and senior Indian journalists.

On Monday, the delegation members would be attending a seminar - “Society, Gender and Media: Experiences from Kuwait”, to be organized by the India Arab Culture Centre of New Delhibased Jamia Millia Islamia University. The same evening, they would also be attending a lecture at New Delhi-based Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The Kuwait embassy in New Delhi would be hosting a dinner for the media delegates on Wednesday (May 16).

The delegation would be led by the Chairman of Kuwait Journalists Association Ahmed Yousuf Behbehani, who is also the Deputy Chairman of Kuwait News Agency.

Other delegation members include KUNA Editor-in-Chief Rashed Mohamad Al-Ruwaished, Editor-in-Chief of Arabic daily ‘AlAnba’ Yousef Khaled Al-Mazrook, Editor-in-Chief of of daily ‘AlNahar’ Emad Jawad Bukhamseen, Editor-in-Chief of daily ‘Kuwait Times’ Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of daily ‘AlJazeera’ Saoud Rashed Al-Anezi, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of weekly magazine ‘Al-Yaqaza’ Dalia Mostafa Al-Shater, delegation coordinator Adnan Khalifa AlRashed and photographer Majed Abdul Razaaq Al-Sabaej.

In between their busy schedule of meetings and interactions with different Indian groups and officials, the delegation members would also find time for visiting the country’s landmarks.

Speaking about the delega-

tion’s visit, official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said that India attaches much importance to the delegation’s visit as it is an “influential media group” from Kuwait visiting India in recent times.

“The delegation comprises senior Editors and journalists, who would be interacting with different Indian groups, including mediapersons and business houses, besides the top Indian leadership. We look forward to their visit,” he said.

The spokesman added: “It becomes all the more important for India as most of the delegation members come from big business houses in Kuwait, and they would be looking for tie-ups with Indian media groups or business houses.

Also, Kuwait is one of the major trade partners and oil suppliers for

India, besides being one of the oldest democracies in the Gulf region.”

According to Akbaruddin, the delegation’s visit would give a chance to media persons on both sides to understand each other in a better way, and know each other’s ways of functioning.

As per official figures, IndoKuwait trade stood at more than USD 12 billion last year. Both the nations enjoy warm ties for several centuries. Geographical proximity, historical trade links, cultural affinities and presence of a large number of Indian expatriates in Kuwait continue to sustain and nurture this relationship.

Kuwait’s ruling Al-Sabah family too has longstanding ties with India, also a natural trading partner and a destination for higher learning for Kuwait. — KUNA

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

SMEs draft law meant to satisfy demands of youth

Praise for progress in Kuwait-Iraq relations NAM final communique

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Ministers and state representatives in the NonAligned Movement meeting, hosted

by Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, have welcomed the ongoing progress between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi governments, encouraging further future cooperation.

After the final session, the ministers called in their communique on the Iraqi government to swiftly implement obligations and commitments they made with regard to UN Security Council resolutions, in particular the situation between the State of Kuwait and Iraq. The communique also noted on the exerted efforts by the UN to help end the Syrian crisis, including the six-point plan setup by UN-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan.

The ministers also renewed their calls for Israel to adhere to UN Security Council resolution 497, and for a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights up to the borders of 1967.

In this regard, the statement also noted to the illegal Israeli settlement

policy, voicing their refusal of it, including the confiscation of land and building of wall barriers.

The ministers also expressed sorrow for not ending the Palestinian issue, despite the fact that it has been 64 years since it all started.

With regard to Lebanon, the ministers also expressed full support of the Lebanese government and their call to fully implement UN resolution 1701 of 2006, which calls for ending Israeli continuous violations of Lebanon.

The ministers also called on Sudan and South Sudan to abide and commit to ending their dispute and implement the comprehensive peace agreement signed between the two sides. In other topics, the NAM communique expressed commitment to execute and adopt a working agenda approved by the fourth international conference on Women, which focuses on the role of women in uninhabited areas, poverty, development, and current challenges they are affected with.

The ministers noted on their deter-

mination to end all types of violence and discrimination against women, in particular in disputed areas and foreign occupied areas.

The conference included representatives of some 120 countries, with Kuwait’s delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah AlKhalid addressed the opening session by shedding light on the recent visit

by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Iraq. “The historic visit gave a strong impetus for the second session of the Joint Higher Commission, co-chaired by the foreign ministers of both sides in Baghdad on March 29 to iron out the sticking issues in the bilateral ties,” said the minister. The Foreign Minister affirmed on such brotherly relations, bilateral relations with Iraq along with good neighboring status that will prevail for the benefit of both countries’ peoples. — KUNA

Kuwait establishes liaison office close to spa favored by nationals SARAJEVO: Kuwait’s ambassador to Bosnia Mohammad Khalaf inaugurated yesterday the consular liaison bureau of the Kuwaiti embassy in the resort of Alija west of the Bosnian capital, close to the region’s spa, frequented by many Kuwaiti citizens.

The ambassador said that the office was opened close to the therapeutic center with the aim of securing greater care for Kuwaiti patients undergoing treatment at the facility. Staff of the bureau will handle any problem the Kuwaiti patients and visitors may face, and will coordinate

with the management of the spa for that purpose. The diplomat, who toured the site and met Kuwaiti citizens undergoing treatment, said the mission would register names of the patients to follow up on their conditions and needs.

Kuwaiti patients, particularly old ones, will no longer need to travel to the capital to do paper works with the embassy, he said, advising the nationals to carry their passports and refrain from carrying lots of money when venturing out of the spa. — KUNA

BEIRUT: Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh said here yesterday the draft law on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is meant to satisfy the demands of the youth and catalyze economic development.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 20th session of the Arab Economic Forum (AEF), Al-Saleh voiced hope that the National Assembly (Kuwaiti parliament) would pass the draft law at an early date.

“The law will help the country make a major stride in the efforts to support the youth, combat unemployment, and enable the private sector to drive economic growth,” he affirmed.

“The draft envisages launching a national fund for supporting the SMEs with a KD 2 billion capital; it takes stock of the imbalances that led to the botching of previous SMEs experiences,” the minister pointed out.

Dealing with the two-day AEF session, Al-Saleh said the gathering aims to debate the impacts of the political changes in the Arab region on the economic and financial situations.

Al-Saleh, leading Kuwait delegation to the event, added that he would take part in a meeting with senior economic decision-makers and business people from Lebanon and other Arab countries.

The meeting aims to discuss the roles of the banking sector and the SMEs in economic development as well as the outlook of the Arab economies in the wake of the Arab Spring events. — KUNA

KFAED assistance for Qinzhou development projects QINZHOU, China: The mayor of south China’s Qinzhou City hailed development aid extended by the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development (KFAED). He made remarks in this respect in his welcoming speech during the official visit by a group of consuls based in Guangzhou to his city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to inspect its industrial development areas and environment for investment and business.

“Development aid provided to Qinzhou by the KFAED is highly appreciated, in particular such assistance for the projects in 2008 building a highway and two seaports,” the mayor said, noting that these projects have helped attract investors from countries such as Britain and Malaysia in the new development areas established by the city government.

The mayor also expressed his delight at the presence of Kuwaiti Consul General to Guangzhou Abdulwahab Al-Sager in his city to see the achievements of the KFAED and a memorial marking the friendship between the two countries.

For his part, Al-Sager voiced his happiness to visit Qinzhou City to find opportunities for bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and tourism, and to exchange views with the mayor and city officials on areas of cooperation and mutual benefit between the two countries, as well as to invite the city’s companies and institutions for investment in Kuwait.

He said Consulate General in Guangzhou is ready to facilitate and accomplish all the work related to the participation of Chinese companies in any cities across China in investment in Kuwait, and to highlight the Chinese products in the exhibitions organized by Kuwait to get to know their counterparts from companies and businessmen in order to achieve the desired development for both parties. — KUNA

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Egyptians vote abroad, leadership race rages

8

British PM signed texts with ‘love’ to Brooks

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Kidnap-slaying suspect kills himself; 2 girls OK

12

DAMASCUS: Men run between dead and injured people at the scene where two bombs exploded in the Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus on Thursday. Two large explosions ripped through the Syrian capital heavily damaging a military intelligence building and leaving blood and human remains in the streets. — AP

Syrian protesters defy gunfire EU set to slap new sanctions on Damascus

DAMASCUS: Tens of thousands of protesters defied regime gunfire and took to the streets yesterday, a day after twin bombings killed dozens of people in Damascus, a monitoring group said.

Troops shot and wounded five protesters in the capital and 20 in the Hama town of Helfaya, where two civilians also died, and they killed one demonstrator in the northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Al-Halabi said the protester died from his wounds after regime forces opened fire in the Salaheddine neighborhood. For its part, state television said troops killed a would-be suicide bomber in the city. “The Syrian authorities have foiled an attempted suicide attack in Al-Shaar area in Aleppo, and killed the would-be attacker,” the channel added, saying the attacker’s car was laden with 1,200 kilos (2,640 pounds) of explosives. Halabi said “thousands of people are protesting in spite of gunfire. They are condemning the criminality of yesterday’s bombing.” They

also condemned the United Nations for failing to stop the violence in Syria, calling for “immediate international military intervention,” Halabi said.

The crackdown took place a day after Thursday’s bomb attacks struck the capital during the morning rush hour. They were the deadliest in 14 months of unrest, killing 55 people and wounding nearly 400, to a chorus of international condemnation.

The United Nations called on both sides in the conflict to cooperate with a month-old ceasefire as President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime and the opposition traded accusations over the perpetrators of the Damascus carnage. Elsewhere in the country, five civilians were wounded when regime troops opened fire in the Tadamon neighborhood” of Damascus to quell protests, said the Britain-based Observatory.

Thousands of people took part in anti-regime demonstrations across Syria after the weekly Muslim prayers, with the Observatory singling out Idlib province in the northwest, Hama in the

centre and the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Thursday’s bombings have raised fears that extremist elements could be taking advantage of the deadlock in Syria to stoke the unrest. World powers condemned the attacks that targeted a military intelligence building and urged both sides to the conflict to adhere to the ceasefire brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

The Security Council urged the regime and rebels to “immediately and comprehensively” implement Annan’s six-point peace plan, “in particular to cease all armed violence”.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon, who warned earlier this week of possible civil war if Annan’s plan failed, also renewed a call for all sides to cease violence and “to distance themselves from indiscriminate bombings and other terrorist acts.”

Syria’s UN envoy, meanwhile, said Britons, French and Belgians were among foreign fighters killed in the country’s escalating conflict and that there was Al-Qaeda involvement.

In northwest Idlib, a flashpoint of unrest, pro-

testers held up slogans reading: “When are you going to understand? There is no Al-Qaeda here,” according to amateur videos posted by activists on YouTube. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told the Security Council 12 foreign fighters had been killed and 26 detained in recent clashes with Syrian forces, “including one French citizen, one British citizen, one Belgian citizen.”

Neeraj Singh, spokesman for the UN observer mission overseeing the putative truce, said 105 monitors had so far arrived in Syria out of an expected total of 300, and had been deployed in flashpoints including central Homs and Idlib.

“Where we have our military observers on the ground, they have had a calming effect on the situation,” Singh said. “At the same time, we have seen a worrying trend of improvised explosive devices being used.” In other developments, the European Union is set to slap new sanctions on Syria, imposing an assets freeze and visa ban on two firms and three people, EU diplomats said in Brussels. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Egyptians vote abroad, leadership race rages Vote first chance for Egyptians to choose leader CAIRO: Egypt’s presidential election, set to be the freest it has ever had, began for citizens abroad yesterday after a caustic televised debate between two candidates that produced no clear favorite to lead the most populous Arab nation.

Egyptians who overthrew President Hosni Mubarak as uprisings swept the Arab world last year are savoring the spectacle of politicians competing for their votes and the streets are abuzz with argument over who is the best man to tackle poverty and corruption and uphold their new-found freedoms.

With no obvious winner for now, the fewer than 1 million expatriates registered to vote in consulates between May 11 and 17 may help swing the election. Recent polls suggest the race is wide open, with many citizens yet to make up their minds.

Expatriates who have registered to vote are a minority among the 6 to 8 million Egyptians who live abroad, mostly in Europe, North America and Gulf Arab states, according to official figures cited by local media. In France, Abd El Aal Shady, 55, an agriculture engineer living in Paris, said he had voted for leftist Hamdeen Sabahy.

“He is the black horse of this presidential election because he is the most famous to have fought the former government since he was a student,” Shady said.

“If (Amr) Moussa wins, it is catastrophic for the people. It leads to a second revolution.”Hundreds of Egyptians queued in front of their embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh to cast their votes.

“For the first time in my life, I take part in elections, and I don’t know how it will end or who will win,” said one of them, Mahy Samir. In Cairo’s sheesha (waterpipe) cafes and on Twitter, Egyptians swapped impressions of Thursday night’s unprecedented televised stand-off

CAIRO: An Egyptian, wearing a toy tank on his head and holding an Egyptian flag, attends Friday noon prayers at Cairo’s landmark Tahrir square yesterday. —AFP between Islamist Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh and Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister of Mubarak.

“If you didn’t enjoy the debate like me, remember that if someone told you a couple of years ago that there would be a presidential debate, you would have thought it was a sci-fi movie,” tweeted Mohamed Diab.

The disorganized build-up to the firstround vote on May 23 and 24 has been marred by deadly street clashes in Cairo and lingering suspicions that the generals now in charge will try to manage democracy from behind the scenes after formally handing over to civilians by July 1.

Egypt has never had a genuinely contested presidential election, but several candidates were disqualified last month and two recent court verdicts have challenged regulations for the vote, deepening the impression of a chaotic and fragile

political transition towards a more democratic future. A supreme administrative court is due on Saturday to view the state’s appeal against one of the court rulings which demanded the postponement of the election.

Egypt’s democratic experiment is being closely watched by long-time ally the United States and neighbouring Israel, both unnerved by the sweeping success of Islamists who were long repressed by Mubarak but who now dominate parliament. Liberal and leftwing activists who helped topple Mubarak have struggled to translate their success on the streets into a prominent role in politics. The presidential campaign is mostly a contest between Islamists and Mubarak-era figures. Policy paralysis and political bickering has drained some of the optimism that greeted Mubarak’s ousting in February 2011. —Reuters

Pirates seize Greek tanker off Oman NAIROBI: Pirates have hijacked a Greek-owned oil tanker carrying 135,000 metric tons of crude oil while in the Arabian Sea, the first successful attack on an oil tanker off the Horn of Africa in more than a year. The vessel’s manager, Dynacom Tankers Management, said it had lost contact with the crew of the MT Smyrni, a Suezmax-class tanker, following the attack off Oman at 1115 GMT on Thursday.

“The Liberian-flagged Tanker, the M/T SMYRNI, is carrying a cargo of 135,000 MT of crude oil,” it said. Suezmax tankers typically can transport a crude oil cargo of up to 1 million barrels, compared with 2 to 3 million barrels for very large oil tankers.

Dynacom gave no further details but Kenya-based piracy expert Andrew Mwangura said the vessel was headed for the Somali coastline. Industry websites said the vessel had sailed from Turkey, but there were mixed reports about its destination.

“Aboard are nine Indians and about eight Filipinos,” Mwangura, who is maritime editor of Somalia Report, said. “It is headed to Somalia,” he added.

OceanUSlive.Org, a social networking site for the maritime industry, said the attack was one of four to have taken place in the Arabian Sea in the past few days after a lull in pirate activity. The hijack success rate for Somali pirates has dropped sharply in recent months, due in part to more merchant ships turning to armed security guards, razor wire and water cannons to protect themselves.

In its statement, Dynacom did not disclose whether the Smyrni was carrying private security personnel. On Wednesday, a pirate gang fired rocket-propelled grenades at a crude tanker 350 miles (565 km) east of Socotra, an island lying between Yemen and Somalia’s lawless coastline, OceanUSlive.org said.

Seaborne gangs have raked in an estimated $150 million in ransoms in what has become a highly organised, international criminal enterprise, security analysts say.

Somali pirates in December released an Italian-owned Aframax oil tanker, smaller than the Suezmax, after receiving an $11.5 million payment. The Savina Caylyn was seized in February, 2011.

Despite successful efforts to quell attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international navies have struggled to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea owing to the vast distances involved. — Reuters

Palestinians step up hunger strike in Israel jails GAZA: Hundreds of Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails said yesterday they would shun vitamin supplements and prison clinics in an escalation of their mass protest against detention conditions.

“We swear we will not retreat. We are potential martyrs. Either we live in dignity or die,” prisoner organisers said in a letter announcing the move and which was read out by Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Islamist Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, during a demonstration. An estimated 1,600 inmates out of 4,800 launched the hunger strike on April 17 to demand improved conditions in Israeli custody, such as an end to solitary confinement and more family visits.

They have also challenged Israel’s policy of indefinite detention without charge of suspected Palestinian militants. The fate of the hunger strikers has touched a raw nerve among Palestinians, with daily support rallies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and political leaders warning that Israel could face new violence should any prisoner die. Dozens of Palestinians, including militants and politicians who had served terms in Israeli jails in the past, have gone on hunger strikes in tents put up in solidarity in

the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which witnessed daily heavy attendance by residents and visitors from Arab and foreign countries.

The prisoners include Islamists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which reject peace with

the Jewish state, as well as members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular and Western-backed Fatah movement.

Israel says all prisoners receive adequate medical attention, including in civilian hos-

JERUSALEM: Palestinian protesters shout slogans and hold portraits of relatives incarcerated in Israeli jails during a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners outside Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock mosque at the Al-Aqsa mosque’s compound, in Jerusalem’s old city yesterday. — AFP

pitals if required. A Prisons Service spokeswoman said there was no immediate sign of the hunger strike being stepped up. “As of now, I know that those who should be receiving extra care are receiving it,” the spokeswoman, Sivan Weizman, said.

Defending its so-called “administrative detention” policy, Israel says some cases cannot immediately be brought to open court for fear of exposing Palestinian intelligence sources th at have cooperated with Israeli security organs against militants.

Two inmates who helped launch the hunger strike, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla of Islamic Jihad, were in the 74th day of their fast yesterday. Anat Litvin of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel quoted Halahleh’s doctor as saying his death could be imminent. “What is very worrisome is the fact that he said that he doesn’t want to be saved if something happens to him and he loses consciousness,” Litvin said, adding that the Prisons Service’s medical facilities might prove inadequate. “They don’t have the equipment, they don’t have the expertise; constant follow-up that is very much needed is not available,” she told Reuters Television in Tel Aviv. — Reuters

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Merkel to meet Hollande in Berlin on Tuesday BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a first round of talks on the euro-zone crisis with French President Francois Hollande in Berlin Tuesday after his inauguration, her spokesman said.

“It sends a very strong message that the new French president is making his first trip abroad to Germany,” Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference yesterday.

“The chancellor is looking forward to close and friendly cooperation with the new French president. “She is sure that the traditionally close coordination with France will continue to be the foundation of their work together in Europe-to ensure prosperity, peace and democracy in the long run,” he added.

Seibert stressed that the meeting between the conservative German leader and the Socialist president was not intended to forge new policies but rather as preliminary talks to get acquainted. “It’s, of course, not a decision-making meeting but a getting-toknow-you meeting, a first get-together,” Seibert said. He said Merkel wanted to sound Hollande out on “his ideas about fiscal discipline and the promotion of economic growth and jobs and to present Germany’s convictions and what in our view Europe has already accomplished since the issue of growth started playing a key role on the European level at the end of last year.”

Merkel had said Monday that she thought her phone call to Hollande Sunday night to congratulate him on his election victory had been their first-ever conversation. The chancellor will welcome Hollande with military honours at her chancellery at 1630 GMT and hold a joint press conference with him at 1745 GMT, Seibert said.

Aides to Hollande had said Thursday that Hollande would fly to Berlin within hours of his swearing-in ceremony.

Hollande is to formally become president of France on Tuesday at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) replacing Merkel’s defeated ally Nicolas Sarkozy, and will name his prime minister before flying to Berlin, aides said. The French Socialist had pre-

BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (front) stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) at the Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. Westerwelle warned that new elections did not render the European Union’s deal on tighter fiscal policy invalid. — AFP

viously promised that his first visit would be to the German capital, where Merkel has said he would be welcomed with “open arms”.

France and Germany-Europe’s biggest economies-have traditionally been seen as the twin engines of European integration. But ties have come under strain during the debt crisis, with Sarkozy at first pushing for Germany to allow greater burden-sharing within the euro-zone, before backing down and tacitly accepting Merkel’s leadership. Hollande campaigned on a pledge to renegotiate the euro-zone’s fiscal pact, which binds member states to austerity measures, and which Merkel argues is essential to underpin the continent’s eventual recovery.

Both the German and French leaders have made conciliatory noises since Hollande’s election on Sunday, but the meeting is expected to be tense, with Berlin already insisting the pact cannot be re-opened.

Observers expect that some kind of compromise can be found, perhaps through a parallel treaty or annex to the pact that would include measures to favor growth alongside the previous deficit-cutting. Even here, however, divisions would remain, with Hollande favoring joint EU investment in major projects, and Merkel calling for structural adjustments to-in particular-labor markets and pensions. — AFP

Greek parties try to avert new election Attempt to form coalition govt looks doubtful

BRUSSELS: High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton speaks during a press conference after signing the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels yesterday.—AFP

Merkel faces more ballot woes in German vote BERLIN: A bad European week for Chancellor Angela Merkel looks likely to end with more electoral woes - this time, the likely re-election of a center-left government in Germany’s most populous state, which Merkel has sought to portray as irresponsibly addicted to debt. But despite the prospect of an embarrassing loss for her conservatives, Merkel still looks unlikely to join French ally Nicolas Sarkozy any time soon in the parade of European leaders booted out by voters weary of Berlin-backed austerity.

Merkel’s stance is widely shared by German voters nationally.

Sunday’s state election in North Rhine-Westphalia, a western region of some 18 million people, was called in March after its minority government, made up of Germany’s main national opposition parties, narrowly failed to get a budget passed.

Opposition leaders declared that it would send an important signal ahead of national elections due in late 2013. Merkel said it offered an opportunity for the region to elect a government that wouldn’t take on “ever more debt.” That line of attack looks unlikely to bear fruit: polls suggest the state government of Social Democrats and Greens led by popular governor Hannelore Kraft has a good chance of emerging strengthened, with a majority in the state legislature. —AP

ATHENS: The leaders of Greece’s oncedominant political parties made a last push yesterday to form a coalition and avert a new election, which a poll showed would all but wipe them out and give victory to a radical leftist who rejects an EU bailout.

The overwhelming majority of Greeks want to stay in the euro zone but voted last Sunday for parties that reject the severe terms of a bailout negotiated last year.

European leaders say Greece will be ejected from the common currency if it turns its back on the package of tax hikes and wage cuts. Socialist PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, whose party once towered over Greek politics but placed a distant third in election, is the last politician given a chance to form a government.

He met conservative rival Antonis Samaras, whose New Democracy party came first in the election, but who has already failed to form a coalition. If Venizelos fails as well, all parties will have one last chance to try before a new election must be held in the coming three to four weeks. After the meeting, Samaras told lawmakers from his party he was trying to avert a new election but was not afraid of one. “We are fighting to form a government and there are still hopes for this,” he said. A new vote could be catastrophic for Samaras, whose party benefited on Sunday from a rule that gives 50 bonus seats to the group that placed first in the election. In a re-run vote he stands to lose those seats - more than a third of the

pro-bailout contingent in the 300-seat parliament - to radical leftist Alexis Tsipras, making it inconceivable that a new government would back the bailout. PASOK and New Democracy jointly negotiated the 130 billion euro ($168.5 billion) EU/IMF bailout in a reluctant coalition last year and now are the only parties in parliament that support it. Enraged voters punished them by reducing their combined share of the vote from 77 percent to 32 percent at last Sunday’s election, leaving them two seats short of forming a coalition government.

Samaras and Venizelos may be hoping

Greeks, frightened by the prospect of hasty ejection from the euro, will return to the two traditional mainstream parties if the election is re-run next month.

But a new poll showed the main beneficiary of a new vote would be Tsipras’s Left Coalition SYRIZA. Tsipras, 37, rejects the bailout and has demanded it be torn up.

The first opinion poll to be published since the election showed SYRIZA would win with 27.7 percent of the vote, almost 11 points up on their election result, consolidating votes that had been split among smaller anti-bailout groups. —Reuters

ATHENS: Former conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamnlis talks with lawmakers just before the speech of the leader of the Party Antonis in parliament yesterday. — AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

British PM signed texts with ‘love’ to Brooks LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron signed texts to ex-Rupert Murdoch aide Rebekah Brooks “lots of love” and privately discussed the News of the World scandal with her, she told an inquiry yesterday.

In her long-awaited testimony at the Leveson Inquiry into the ethics of the press and its ties to politicians, she said Cameron also sent an “indirect” message of commiseration after she resigned from Murdoch’s media empire. Brooks, 43, was arrested in July over allegations of phone-hacking and bribing public officials. She and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie Brooks were rearrested in March on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Asked by counsel to the inquiry Robert Jay how Cameron signed his mobile phone text messages to her, Brooks replied: “He would sign them off DC in the main. “Occasionally he would sign them off ‘LOL’, lots of love, until I told him it meant ‘laugh out loud’.”

Brooks was editor of the now-defunct News of the World from 2000 to 2003 and quit as chief executive of Murdoch’s British newspaper wing News International in July 2011 after the hacking scandal erupted.

She said Conservative leader Cameron also asked her about phone hacking during a conversation in 2010, after a series of celebrities sued the News of the World over the interception of their mobile phone voicemails. “Did we ever speak about it in those two years (2010 and 2011)? Yes we did, but I do remember in 2010 having a more detailed conversation ... because that was when the civil cases were coming in and it became more newsworthy,” she said.

“I think he asked me what the update was, I think it had been on the news that day, so I explained the sto-

ry behind the news. No secret information, no privileged information, just a general update.”

At one point Brooks said she was “very concerned” to avoid questions that could prejudice any criminal proceedings. Brooks said Cameron had been friends for years with the family of her husband, with whom

LONDON: Handout still images from pooled footage at the Leveson Inquiry taken yesterday show former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks, giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics at the High Court in central London yesterday. — AFP Cameron studied at the elite boarding school Eton.

Asked about a report in The Times that Cameron had sent a text message saying “keep your head up” after her resignation on July 15 last year, Brooks said the message was “along those lines”. “I don’t think they

were the exact words but that was the gist. It was indirect,” she said in her sworn testimony to the inquiry.

Brooks said she also received indirect messages from Cameron’s Downing Street office and from the offices of finance minister George Osborne, interior minister Theresa May and foreign minister William Hague.

Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair also sent a message of commiseration but his successor Gordon Brown was “probably getting the bunting out,” she said with a smile. Murdoch’s Sun newspaper had dropped its support for Labor ahead of elections in 2010, when Brown was head of the party, and Labour were subsequently voted out of office.

The Camerons and the Brookses are neighbors in the premier’s constituency in rural Oxfordshire, forming part of what is dubbed the “Chipping Norton Set,” a group of the rich and powerful who live near the village of the same name. Brooks was greeted by a pantomime horse as she arrived at the inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London-a reference to the fact that Cameron has admitted riding a horse lent to Brooks by Scotland Yard.

The horse-riding incident was jokingly dubbed “horsegate” by the British press but it underscored real concern in Britain about the often cosy relationship between the media, politicians and police. Those links are part of the subject of the inquiry led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, as well as into the wider ethics of the press following the exposure of the hacking scandal at the News of the World. Former Cameron spokesman and News of the World editor Andy Coulson-who is also on police bail after being arrested over hacking and bribery allegations-testified at the inquiry on Thursday. — AFP

British woman held after five children die in fire Detectives keep open mind on cause

MOSCOW: Russian opposition supporters demonstrate against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s presidency, in a boulevard in central Moscow yesterday. Russia yesterday opened a criminal probe into the beating of a female protester by riot police after a video of the incident during a mass rally ahead of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration sparked outrage. — AFP

80 years for Taylor would be ‘excessive’ THE HAGUE: Lawyers defending convicted Liberian warlord Charles Taylor yesterday sought a lesser sentence than the 80 years suggested by the prosecution, which they said was “excessive.” “The 80-year sentence as advocated by the prosecution is manifestly disproportionate and excessive; it is not justified,” the former Liberian president’s lawyers said in papers filed before Sierra Leone’s UN-backed court.

“The suggestion (that) but for Mr Taylor, the war in Sierra Leone would not have happened the way it did is an outright fallacy, or wild speculation at best,” they added in a document made public by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Prosecutors and the defense will present their arguments to the court, based just outside The Hague, next week. Taylor, once one of the most powerful men in west Africa, will be sentenced on May 30. Taylor, 64, was found guilty last month of helping Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels wage a terror campaign during a civil war that claimed 120,000 lives between 1991 and 2001. In the first judgment against an ex-head of state by a world court since the World War II Nuremberg trials, he was convicted on all 11 counts including acts of terrorism, murder and rape committed by the rebels, who paid him for arms with diamonds mined by slave labor. —AFP

LONDON: British police yesterday arrested a woman in her twenties on suspicion of murder after five children died in a house fire in Derby, central England. “Sadly I can now confirm that five children have died, and their ages range from five to ten years,” Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cotterill of Derbyshire Police told a press conference. “I can confirm that a woman in her late twenties has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with this case,” he added, though he stressed that detectives were keeping an open mind about the cause of the fire.

Cotterill said a sixth child, aged 13, and two adults were being treated in hospital, after emergency services were called to the semi-detached house in Allenton, Derby, at 3:46 am (0346 GMT).

The children’s father had made a “valiant attempt” to rescue the children, who had been sleeping on the first floor, Cotterill said. “Our thoughts at this time are with the parents and the families for their tragic loss, and for the community in Allerton who would of course have known these children as they played,” the officer said. Cotterill said the family would not be named until their immediate relatives had been contacted. Sean Frayne of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service told the press conference that 30 firefighters had worked to put out

DERBY: A fire-damaged house in which five children died is pictured in Derby, central England, yesterday. British police yesterday arrested a woman in her twenties on suspicion of murder after five children died in a house fire in Derby, central England. — AFP

the fire and rescue the children. “The crews worked extremely hard in very difficult circumstances,” he said.

“Personnel at the scene then continued to work very, very hard to save the lives of the five fatalities.” All five

of the dead children were pupils at St George’s Catholic Primary School in Derby. A spokeswoman for the school said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and community at this sad time.” — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Biden pushed Obama on gay marriage, now apologizes WASHINGTON: Sorry, Mr. President. After nearly single-handedly pushing gay marriage to the forefront of the US presidential campaign and inadvertently pressuring President Barack Obama to declare his support for same-sex unions, there was only one thing left for Vice President Joe Biden to do: apologize.

Biden’s apology came Wednesday in the Oval Office, shortly before the president sat for a hastily arranged interview in which he told the American people that he now supported gay marriage.

The vice president expressed remorse and regret for declaring his support for same-sex unions ahead of Obama, said a person familiar with the exchange, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. Obama accepted the apology, saying he knew Biden had only been speaking from the heart. Biden’s apology followed days of frustration in the West Wing after the vice president went off script, something he had done plenty of times.

Without White House approval, Biden declared on a Sunday talk show that he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex married couples having the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

Usually Obama can swat away Biden’s freewheeling ways. But not this time. Biden’s remarks focused a fresh spotlight on what Obama had vaguely referred to as “evolving” views on gay marriage.

What few people outside of Obama’s inner circle of six or seven close aides knew at the time was that the president had, in fact, finished that evolution months earlier and was waiting for a suitable opportunity to inform the public of his views.

Biden’s comments accelerated those plans. And

they raised questions about political motives when Obama eventually did embrace gay marriage. If Obama had evolved on gay marriage months ago, why had he waited? And if Biden hadn’t spoken out of turn, would the president have spoken out before the November election?

Obama insisted he always planned to talk about his personal views on gay marriage before his party’s convention in early September. And he said he wasn’t angry when told by aides that the vice president had spoken out.

But in an interview with ABC News that aired

WASHINGTON: Vice President Joe Biden gestures while speaking to students and educators about student loans during a White House Briefing on College Affordability in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. — AP

Thursday, Obama did gently chide the vice president, saying that Biden “got a little bit over his skis” in his remarks but that he believed Biden did so out of a “generosity of spirit.” “Would I have preferred to have done this in my own way, in my own terms, without I think, there being a lot of notice to everybody? Sure,” Obama said. “But all’s well that ends well.” People close to Biden insist he was simply speaking of his personal beliefs, not trying to push the president to reveal his.

“Joe was being Joe,” said Ed Rendell, the Democratic former governor of Pennsylvania. “He probably wasn’t thinking about the fact that the president was going to make a statement about it on his own.”

And for some White House aides, that was exactly the problem. There was a plan and Biden hadn’t stuck to it. Biden’s words set off a scramble in the White House. A transcript of his interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” taped yesterday, landed on the desks of some top Obama aides in the West Wing.

Highlighted in yellow were his comments on gay marriage.

Suddenly it was Biden being showered with accolades by liberals for his bold stance on gay right issues, not Obama, the president responsible for pushing through the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members and ordering the government to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and gives states the right to refuse to recognize such marriages. Biden’s penchant for mistakes is legendary in Washington and was cause for some concern during the selection process for Obama’s running mate. —AP

Obama heads to struggling Nevada after fundraising Romney banks on election day payoff

OMAHA: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop in Omaha, Nebraska. — AP

US judge rejects effort to open CIA volume on Cuba WASHINGTON: A US judge has ruled that a final volume of the CIA’s three-decade-old history on the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba can remain shrouded in secrecy because it is a draft, not a finished product.

The disastrous 1961 invasion was meant to oust communism from Cuba. The National Security Archive, a private group seeking transparency in government, had sued the CIA to declassify the volume.The CIA characterized the volume in court papers as “a polemic of recriminations against CIA officers who later criticized the operation.” US District Judge Gladys Kessler accepted the CIA’s arguments that the fifth volume, entitled the “CIA’s Internal Investigations of the Bay of Pigs Operations,” did not even pass through the first stage of a multilayer review process.

The volume represented a proposal by a subordinate member of the history staff that was rejected by the chief historian as containing significant deficiencies, the CIA argued.

The CIA said the volume is protected from disclosure under the deliberative process privilege, an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act. The CIA had no problem declassifying an earlier volume of the history in which the author attacked President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, said Peter Kornbluh, who directs the National Security Archive’s Cuba documentation project. —AP

LOS ANGELES: President Barack Obama is turning his attention back to the economy after a day spent raising millions of dollars for his campaign and riding a media wave on his newly declared support for same-sex marriage. Obama was to promote housing policies to help homeowners avoid foreclosure in a quick visit yesterday to struggling Nevada, which ranks second in the nation in foreclosed homes and has the highest unemployment in the country.

Obama won in Nevada in his 2008 presidential election. But the economy presents new challenges as well as an opportunity for his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.

Four years ago, Nevada was economically reeling from the recession and Obama and union allies seized on the anxiety to mobilize voters and win the state. Today, the Nevada is still in dire straits and the economy belongs to the president. Obama was stopping in Reno, looking to shore up his support and draw attention to housing proposals that he says Congress must pass to help homeowners struggling with their mortgages.

“Obviously it is the swing state that has recovered the slowest of any. It was hit the hardest,” said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a centrist Democratic group that has examined the landscape in battleground states. The Reno visit caps a two-day trip otherwise devoted to fundraising, including a gala event at the Los Angeles home of actor George Clooney on Thursday night that raised nearly $15 million.

Obama acknowledged the challenges that a slow recovery means for his re-election in his remarks at Clooney’s sprawling canyon home. “Part of the reason it’s going to be harder,” he said, “is because folks are still hurting out there.” In Reno, Obama will play

LOS ANGELES: US President Barack Obama waves as he steps off Air Force One Thursday upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. — AFP up earlier efforts to make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages, an effort that the White House says has increased refinancing applications by nationwide by 50 percent, and by 237 percent in Nevada. Obama will visit a working couple selected because they benefited from the eased rules.

Nevada’s unemployment rate was 12 percent in March, worst in the nation. As of last month, Nevada’s foreclosure rate trailed only Arizona among states. And the Nevadans most affected by the state’s poor economy are the very voters who rallied behind Obama four years ago.

The question with those voters is less whether they will vote against Obama, but whether they will be as energized to head for the polls and vote in the first place. “Whether or not he wins it again will depend on how

enthusiastically labor works for him there, because they are such a critical part of getting out Hispanic vote, and the Hispanic turnout,” said Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster. “The critical thing is enthusiasm.”

Obama can also benefit from the political organization Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has built in the state, one that helped Reid fend off a tough challenge two years ago from tea party-backed Republican Sharon Angle. For Romney, the state’s struggles coupled with a small but cohesive Mormon population present a potential election day payoff. A Mormon, Romney benefited from the support of Latterday Saints church members during the state’s Republican caucuses. Though only 7 percent of the state’s population, Mormons participated heavily in the caucuses, and 90 percent went for Romney. —AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Kidnap-slaying suspect kills himself; 2 girls OK GUNTOWN, Mississippi: A man wanted by the FBI for slaying a mother and daughter and kidnapping two other girls shot himself to death as officers closed in, but the two children were rescued without injuries and released from a hospital yesterday. Authorities who tracked Adam Mayes to a wooded area Thursday evening said they repeatedly ordered him to surrender, but he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head. The FBI put him on their Top 10 most-wanted list this week in the killing of a Tennessee woman and her oldest daughter and the kidnapping of the two younger daughters.

Mayes, 35, was pronounced dead and sisters Alexandria Bain, 12, and Kyliyah Bain, 8, were rescued, ending a nearly twoweek search that began when Jo Ann Bain and her three daughters disappeared from their Tennessee home April 27. After getting a tip, law enforcement officers were sent to search a densely wooded area west of Mayes’ home in Guntown, Mississippi, said Aaron T. Ford, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis, Tennessee, office. At 6:50 pm Thursday, an officer saw Alexandria Bain in an area about 100 yards behind a church, Ford said.

Officers shouted commands for Mayes to show his hands, Ford said. But Mayes pulled a semiautomatic pistol from his waistband and shot himself in the head, Ford said. Law enforcement officers moved in to rescue the two girls, who were lying on the ground nearby. Ford said they looked like they had been in the woods for two or three days and were suffering from exposure, dehydration and poison ivy, but were otherwise safe. “They were immediately given water as they were escorted to safety,” Ford said. The girls were hospitalized “as a precaution,” he said.

“We are very relieved at this event

tonight,” Ford said at an early Friday news conference. “We have two little girls that we can return to Tennessee to their family.” Sara Burnett, a spokeswoman for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, said the two girls were treated and released early yesterday. Burnett didn’t have details on their conditions and didn’t know who picked them up. Mayes had been charged with first-degree murder in the April 27 deaths of Jo Ann Bain, 31, and

Ford and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn said authorities still had many unanswered questions and were continuing their investigation. They did not say how the girls and Mayes were able to survive in the woods.

Gwyn did not say whether there was specific evidence of people helping Mayes in Tennessee and Mississippi but added that investigators were still looking into that possibility and anyone found to have

GUNTOWN: Zion Hill Baptist Church sits near a densely wooded area, yesterday where two kidnapped Tennessee girls were rescued and the man accused of abducting them and killing their mother and older sister shot himself in Guntown, Mississippi. — AP her daughter, Adrienne Bain, 14. Their bodies were found buried outside Mayes’ home a week after they were reported missing by Jo Ann Bain’s husband. Mayes’ wife, Teresa, also is charged with firstdegree murder in the deaths. She told investigators he killed Jo Ann and Adrienne Bain at their Whiteville, Tenn., home so he could abduct the two young sisters, according to court documents.

helped Mayes would be held responsible.

“Thank God it’s over and the babies are safe,” said Teresa Mayes’ sister, Bobbi Booth.

“That’s all that mattered. I’m just glad it turned out the way it did.”Teresa Mayes told investigators that after she saw her husband kill the two in the garage at the Bain home, she drove him, the younger girls and the bodies to Mississippi, accord-

Muslim Americans challenge US ‘no fly’ list in appeals court ‘Plaintiffs have no way of defending themselves’ PORTLAND, Oregon: Lawyers for 15 Muslims in the United States barred from boarding commercial flights because they were on the US “no-fly” list will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate their constitutional challenge of the anti-terrorism measure.

The plaintiffs, who are US citizens or permanent legal residents, said they learned they were on the list when prohibited, without advance warning, from boarding a commercial airliner, and were later denied any means of petitioning the government to be removed from the roster.

“The government has created this secret list, and the people on the list have no way of defending themselves,” said Nusrat Choudhury, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who is representing the group, which filed a lawsuit against the US government in June 2010.

The “no-fly” list, established in 2003 and administered by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, includes some 20,000 people identified by the agency as known to have or reason-

ably suspected of having ties to terrorism. About 500 of them are US citizens, according to an agency spokesman.

The plaintiffs, who are residents of Oregon and other states and include four veterans of the US armed forces, deny any links to terrorism. “None of the plaintiffs pose any threat to airline security,” Choudhury said. Their suit argues that the government violated their constitutional rights to due process and the US Administrative Procedures Act by failing to provide notice of the reasons for their inclusion on the list and an effective means of contesting that status.

The ACLU is seeking to either remove the plaintiffs’ names from the list immediately, or allow them an opportunity to contest their inclusion on the roster.

A U.S. district court judge in Portland, Oregon, dismissed their suit, ruling the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter.

The ACLU appealed that decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel will be

asked on Friday to decide the proper legal venue for the case.

The restriction has kept the 15 plaintiffs in this case from visiting family and traveling for work or study, the suit said. Several said they apparently were added to the list while traveling abroad, where the ended up stranded as a result. The suit was originally filed in Portland because only one plaintiff Mohamed Kariye, an imam at a large Portland mosque - was in the United States at the time. He has been prevented from leaving the country to visit his daughter in Dubai or other relatives in Somalia.

US Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Timothy Healy, director of the Terrorist Screening Center, are named as defendants in the suit. The government argues that there is already an adequate process in place for contesting an individual’s inclusion on the list, and that all the plaintiffs have used it.

The government also has said none were permanently stranded in a foreign country. — Reuters

ing to affidavits filed in court. She faces six felony counts in the case: two first-degree murder charges and four especially aggravated kidnapping charges. Authorities refused to comment on the motive for the slayings and abductions. Mayes’ motherin-law, Josie Tate, had told The Associated Press that Mayes thought the missing sisters might actually be his daughters and it caused problems in his marriage to her daughter,

This combo of file photos provided by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety shows Alexandria Bain, 12, left, and Kyliyah Bain, 8.

Adam Mayes, wanted by the FBI for killing Jo Ann Bain, 31, and her daughter, Adrienne Bain, 14, and kidnapping sisters Alexandria Bain, 12, and Kyliyah Bain, 8, shot himself to death as officers closed in Thursday evening. — AP Teresa. “She was tired of him doting on those two little girls that he claimed were his,” Tate said. Adam Mayes’ mother, Mary Mayes, also has been charged with conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping. Mary Mayes’ attorney, Somerville attorney Terry Dycus, said his client maintains she is not guilty. The hunt for Adam Mayes and the two young sisters encompassed parts of at least three counties in northern Mississippi. — AP

US military class suspended for its view on Islam WASHINGTON: A course for US military officers has been teaching that America’s enemy is Islam in general, not just terrorists, and suggesting that the country might ultimately have to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Makkah and Madina without regard for civilian deaths, following World War II precedents of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima or the allied firebombing of Dresden.

The Pentagon suspended the course in late April when a student objected to the material. The FBI also changed some agent training last year after discovering that it, too, was critical of Islam. The teaching in the military course was counter to repeated assertions by US officials over the past decade that the US is at war against Islamic extremists, not the religion itself. “They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit,” the instructor, Army Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, said in a presentation last July for the course at Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. The college, for professional military members, teaches midlevel officers and government civilians on subjects related to planning and executing war.

Dooley also presumed, for the purposes of his theoretical war plan, that the Geneva Conventions that set standards of armed conflict are “no longer relevant.” He adds: “This would leave open the option once again of taking war to a civilian population wherever necessary (the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki being applicable...).” His war plan suggests possible outcomes such as “Saudi Arabia threatened with starvation ... Islam reduced to cult status” and the Muslim holy cities of Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia “destroyed.” —AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

12 bodies found at Russia jet crash site in Indonesia Ravines, cliffs block search operations

MANILA: Philippine policemen stand guard next to antiChina placards displayed during a rally in front of the Chinese consulate in the financial district of Manila yesterday. Hundreds of Filipinos demonstrated outside the Chinese embassy in the Philippines yesterday over an escalating territorial row, with the protesters denouncing China’s rulers as arrogant bullies. — AFP

China activist condemns nephew’s murder charge BEIJING: Blind activist Chen Guangcheng said yesterday his nephew is facing a murder charge after attacking officials who broke into his home in eastern China, a move he described as “outrageous”.

The nephew, Chen Kegui, is in detention after he attacked intruders who broke into the family home in Shandong province apparently searching for his uncle following his dramatic escape from house arrest last month.

Lawyers for Chen Kegui have said a local Communist Party official was injured seriously in the fight in the early hours of April 27 and two others were slightly injured, but no one died.

But Chen said police had issued an warrant charging Chen Kegui with “intentional murder”-an assertion backed up by rights lawyers who have taken up his case.

“This is outrageous, it is totally unreasonable,” Chen told AFP by phone from the Beijing hospital where he is being treated for injuries sustained during the escape. “Up to 10 people battered down the door and entered the home looking for me, but when they couldn’t find me, they began beating people. Chen Kegui was clubbed over the head so he picked up the knife and defended himself.”

The news comes a day after Chen accused authorities in his home province of Shandong of targeting his relatives in retaliation after he escaped from under the noses of guards on April 22 and fled to the US embassy in Beijing. Rights lawyers confirmed the murder charge, but said it was unlikely to stick because no one had been killed. “I don’t believe this kind of criminal charge will stand because Chen was only engaged in self-defense,” lawyer Liu Weiguo told AFP. “Even if it wasn’t self-defence, the most they could charge him with is intentional injury, not intentional murder ... no one was killed.” Chen said the seriously wounded official, named Zhang Jian, had burst into his home up to five times during his house arrest, confiscating and breaking household belongings while never producing legal documents permitting entry. —AFP

Massive fault found beneath Mount Fuji TOKYO: Japan’s Mount Fuji may be sitting on a large, active fault that could trigger a magnitude-7 earthquake, changing the shape of the mountain and devastating nearby communities, the education ministry said.

A survey commissioned by the ministry found a 30-km fault beneath Japan’s highest mountain, believed by many to be sacred, and research results indicate it was likely to be active, a ministry official said. If the fault sets off an earthquake, it could lead to a major landslide and hit communities at the foot of the 3,776-metre-high mountain. Further research was required, the official said.

A magnitude-9 earthquake and massive tsunami hit northern Japan last year, leaving nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

An earthquake in 1707 caused Fuji to erupt and killed an estimated 20,000 people. — Reuters

MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia: Search teams who scaled a volcano’s steep slopes found at least 12 bodies yesterday near the wreckage of a Russianmade jetliner that crashed in Indonesia during a demonstration flight for potential buyers, an official said.

All 45 aboard the Sukhoi Superjet100 that crashed Wednesday are feared dead.

“Today we have discovered 12 victims, all dead,” Rear Marshal Daryatmo, head of the national search and rescue agency, told reporters yesterday. Many of the bodies found yesterday had been torn apart in the crash, said Lt. Col. Oni Juniato of the Indonesian marines, whose search team found eight corpses before returning to base camp further down the mountain.

“We see many other victims ... but the ravines and steep cliffs prevent us from reaching them,” Junianto said in a statement.

Local television showed what appeared to be the plane’s tail with the blue-and-white Sukhoi logo, part of a wing and bits of twisted metal scattered along the slope like confetti.

About 85 soldiers, police and volunteers used ropes to climb up to the wreckage through jungle on the nearvertical slopes of Mount Salak, search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said by telephone.

Thick fog and the mountain’s jagged slopes kept helicopters from landing at the crash site, so the bodies remained there along with the search teams.

The soldiers, police and volunteers fashioned a landing area by hacking

JAKARTA: Relatives of the passengers of a Sukhoi Superjet-100 that crashed into a mountain in West Java, reacts to the news that rescuers have found dead bodies, at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in Jakarta yesterday. —AP down trees, but Prakoso said the helicopters were recalled to Jakarta late yestermday because the fog limited visibility to only about 5 meters (15 feet). The jetliner slammed into the dormant volcano at nearly 800 kph (480 mph) during drizzle.

Russian and French investigators have joined the investigation into the cause. The Superjet-100 is Russia’s first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and was intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry. The ill-fated Superjet was carrying representatives from local airlines and journalists on what was supposed to be a 50-minute

Cambodian villagers honor slain environmentalist PHNOM PENH: A prominent environmentalist who was fatally shot last month by a policeman after investigating illegal logging was mourned yesterday by more than 500 villagers who gathered in a forest that the activist had sought to protect. The memorial for Chut Wutty was in Koh Kong province in a forest near where the activist was killed after taking two journalists to look at a logging camp where a Chinese company is building a hydropower project.

Chut Wutty’s killing on April 26 drew worldwide condemnation and highlighted conflicts over land in Cambodia. “We want to send a very clear message to the illegal loggers that we are not afraid of them,” ceremony organizer and rights activist Ou Virak said in a telephone interview.

The government says a military policeman shot Chut Wutty during a heated argument, and then killed himself as a colleague tried to wrest his gun away from him. Human rights and environmental groups have demanded a full investigation. Environmentalists say Chut Wutty was aggressive in his work, and environmentalists say he earned powerful enemies.

Illegal logging is rampant in Cambodia, and often occurs under the protection of government agencies or important people, environmental groups have charged. Some protests against land grabs by influential people in recent years have been suppressed with deadly force. On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive temporarily suspending new land concessions to private companies in an effort to ease political pressure over the issue. — AP

demonstration flight. Just 21 minutes after takeoff from a Jakarta airfield, the Russian pilot and co-pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 meters to 1,800 meters). They gave no explanation, disappearing from the radar immediately afterward.

It was not clear why the crew asked to shift course, especially since they were so close to the 7,000-foot (2,200meter) volcano, or whether they got an OK, officials have said.

Communication tapes will be reviewed as part of the investigation, but it’s unlikely they will be released to the public any time soon. — AP

Thai PM insists no reform of royal defamation law BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she would not seek to change the country’s harsh royal defamation law despite outcry over the death of a grandfather jailed for the offence.

Ampon Tangnoppakul, 62, who was dubbed “Uncle SMS”, died Tuesday inside Bangkok prison hospital, while serving a 20-year sentence for sending text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy in 2010.

His death prompted renewed calls for reform of Thailand’s lese majeste law, with the prime minister’s supporters-known as Red Shirts-leading the clamor for change.

“I want to reaffirm that my government policy is to stay put,” Yingluck said in response to questions about possible reform of the law. “I have already told groups who push for amendment that the government’s urgent mission is to solve economic problems,” she said. Under article 112 of the Thai criminal code, anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count. Ampon, who was described as a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, pleaded not guilty during his trial, one in a series under the royal defamation legislation, which critics say is used to stifle free speech. His conviction triggered rare public protests against the lese majeste law in the capital Bangkok in December.

The royal family is a highly sensitive subject in the politically turbulent kingdom. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84, has reigned for 66 years but has been in hospital since September 2009. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

India-Pakistan talks on glacier in June

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said yesterday that it would host the next round of talks with India over the disputed Siachen Glacier, dubbed the world’s highest battlefield, on June 11-12 in Islamabad.

Troops from India and Pakistan have faced off on the glacier in the mountains of disputed Kashmir since the 1980s but calls for the stand-off to end have been growing after an avalanche on April 7 which buried 140 people at a Pakistani army camp. “Siachen is part of the dialogue process between India and Pakistan and defense secretary level talks on Siachen will be held on June 11 and 12 in Islamabad,” foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan told AFP. “We want to resolve all issues

through meaningful and result-oriented dialogue, and Siachen is an issue which is a source of concern for both the countries,” Khan added.

Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, last month called for a negotiated end to the confrontation and said the glacier should be demilitarized.

Previous rounds of negotiations between Delhi and Islamabad on Siachen have ended in stalemate.

Pakistan has said a redeployment of forces is one of “several proposals” made during the dialogue process.

India’s Defense Minister A K Antony told parliament this week that Pakistan would have to reveal its troop positions before any disengagement could be undertaken and he cautioned against

high expectations. “Don’t expect dramatic results (from the next round of talks). It is a complicated issue,” he said.

Sections of the Indian media have also raised doubts about the talks and any suggestion that India should relinquish a strategically important territory where hundreds of troops have lost their lives.

“Could PM gift away to Pakistan what Army has won?” read a headline for a front-page article in this week’s India Today current affairs magazine which detailed the opposition from within the Indian army.

An editorial said an agreement on Siachen would be an achievement for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who yearns for a peace deal with Pakistan, but “for the country it may however

amount to surrender for very little gain”.

Relations between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, have been plagued by border and resource disputes, and accusations of Pakistani militant activity against India.

This week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna pressed Pakistan to do more to combat Islamist terror networks, saying its territory should not be used as a launch pad for terrorist attacks anywhere.

Washington believes rapprochement between arch-rivals India and Pakistan can help ease regional tensions over Afghanistan as US combat troops prepare to leave in 2014. — AFP

Pakistani cabinet to mull reopening NATO supplies Meeting seeks to repair strained ties with US

NEW DLEHI: Nupur Talwar (left), mother and alleged murderer, of Indian girl Aarushi is escorted from the Dasna Jail to Ghaziabad Court around 40kms from New Delhi yesterday. A murder case that has obsessed India for four years has come to court when a middle-class couple from Delhi stand trial on charges of killing their teenage daughter and domestic servant. — AFP

Parents on trial over teen murder that gripped India NEW DELHI: A murder case that has obsessed India for four years came to court yesterday when a middle-class couple from Delhi stood trial on charges of killing their teenage daughter and domestic servant. At first police blamed the servant for murdering Aarushi Talwar, 13, but now her parents are accused of stabbing them both to death in a case awash with sexual rumor, as well as charges of police incompetence and a media witchhunt.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who are successful dentists, have always denied killing their daughter and Nepalese employee Hemraj Banjade in the capital’s suburb of Noida in May 2008.

The murders have raised awkward questions about the relationship between newly-wealthy Indian families and the poor, often-migrant servants who cook, clean and look after their every need at home.

When Aarushi was found with her throat slit, police immediately said Hemraj had murdered her-triggering a media firestorm that tapped into fears within many Indian households about untrustworthy domestic staff. But almost two days after Aarushi was killed, officers found Hemraj’s body lying in the hot sun on the roof terrace of the house after he was apparently murdered at the same time as Aarushi.

The discovery kicked off fevered speculation about whether her parents had killed the two after discovering their daughter was in a relationship with the servant, or that they were killed to hide the parents’ alleged affairs. “Our stand was that the probe of the investigating officer proves that no outsider was involved in this,” Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel R K Saini told reporters after the decision to prosecute for murder. “Circumstantial evidence is pointing out that whatever has been done, the parents only have done it,” he said. —AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani leaders will meet next week to discuss ending a nearly six-month blockade on NATO supplies into Afghanistan, officials said yesterday.

Tuesday’s meeting will also debate how and whether to repair relations with the United States in time to attend a key NATO summit later this month.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is understood to have confirmed the date for the meeting of the defence committee of the cabinet from London, where he is on an official visit to Britain, the second-largest contributor to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Pakistan shut its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, provoking a major crisis in Pakistani-US relations still reeling from the raid that killed Osama bin Laden the previous May. US officials expressed regret, but stopped short of apologizing for the deaths that an American and NATO investigation said stemmed from mistakes made on both sides. “A meeting of the defense committee of the cabinet has been convened on May 15. It will be followed by cabinet meeting on May 16,” said one senior government official.

Diplomats have been keen to resolve the impasse between Islamabad and Washington before the NATO summit on Afghanistan in Chicago on May 2122, to which Islamabad has been invited. “The meetings will discuss whether Pakistan should reopen the NATO supply route or not, and if Islamabad should attend the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago,” another official told AFP. “These are very critical issues, which need a serious discussion,” he added.

Gilani will chair the talks, to be attended by Pakistan’s service chiefs, including head of the army General Ashfaq Kayani and ISI intelligence head, Zaheer ul Islam, as well as Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, the defence, interior and finance ministers.

“This is an important meeting and it will decide about the future of Pakistan-US relations,” the senior government official told AFP. Officials declined to say publicly when the NATO supply route could reopen despite local press reports that Pakistan and the United States are on the verge of a breakthrough.

“We are discussing it on a technical level, it is under discussion but let me say again-no final decision has been taken yet,” foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan told AFP. On Saturday, Pakistan hosts the highest-level talks with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan military for a year, a further sign that momentum is building towards easing the deadlock.

US General John Allen, the ISAF commander in Afghanistan and Afghan army chief, General Sher Muhammad Karimi, will attend the talks at Pakistan’s

army headquarters in Rawalpindi, the military said. “Talks will focus on enhancing efficiency of border coordination measures along the Pak-Afghan border and to improve multilateral mechanisms at operational and tactical levels,” the military said.

Parliament last month approved new guidelines on relations with the United States, including a call for an end to drone strikes, which continue to target Al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives.

Analysts believe Islamabad has no choice but to reopen the border when US back-payments for fighting militants in the northwest, as part of the Coalition Support Fund, are needed to help boost state coffers ahead of the next budget. Some officials are concerned by reported moves by a US House of Representatives panel to deny $800 million in aid to train and equip the Pakistani army in counter-insurgency. — Reuters

AHMEDABAD: Indian children salvage rotten mangoes at a fruit market in Ahmedabad yesterday. India recognizes mango as its national fruit and is the world’s largest mango producer with about 13 million tons each year, far exceeding all other countries. —AP

Panasonic records $9.67bn annual loss

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Germany warns Greece: No money sans reforms

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India industrial output shrinks unexpectedly

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JPMorgan weighs on futures as banks drop

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SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

ROME: Dummies, symbolically representing the supposed victims of the ongoing financial crisis who have committed suicide, are placed hanging from a bridge in protest at the government’s austerity measures yesterday. — AFP

Spain, France raise budget flags Europe demands independent audit of banking system BRUSSELS/ATHENS: Spain and France came under intense pressure from the European Commission yesterday to take bolder steps to cut their budget deficits as Greece’s political impasse deepened, highlighting the range of problems facing the troubled euro zone. Presenting its twice-yearly economic forecasts, the European Commission said Spain would run a deficit of 6.4 percent of economic output this year and 6.3 percent next year, with both targets substantially above levels already agreed with the EU. France, the euro zone’s second largest economy, will also miss its 2013 budget deficit goal of 3 percent by a wide margin, the Commission said, meaning new President Francois Hollande will have to take swift action to cut spending and raise taxes. Hollande said he had been aware for several weeks of a bigger deterioration in public finances than the outgoing government had admitted, and would await an audit by France’s budget watchdog before “taking the necessary decisions”. “For Spain, the key to restoring confidence and growth is to tackle the immediate fiscal and financial challenges with full determination,” he said. In Greece, the leader of the moder-

ate Democratic Left party appeared to dash hopes for the formation of a coalition government following Sunday’s inconclusive elections, saying he would not back any coalition that supports the 130-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout keeping Greece afloat.

That raises the likelihood of having to hold a new general election, probably on June 17. But there is no guarantee a second poll will produce a result with better prospects for forming the probailout government that EU leaders want for the stability of the currency project. The latest opinion polls show that the radical left coalition SYRIZA, which came second in Sunday’s vote, could do even better in a new vote, potentially overtaking New Democracy, the conservative pro-bailout group that came first.

Such a result could tip Greece closer to leaving the currency zone, even though polls show 75-80 percent of Greeks want to keep the euro but not the harsh EU/IMF bailout terms. Banks in Europe and beyond have already begun quietly preparing for the possibility that Greece will have to reintroduce the drachma, the currency it gave up a decade ago when it joined the euro.

France deficit concerns While European policymakers remain deeply concerned about the potential for Greece to cause problems, Austria’s finance minister said the region was now more insulated from the threat.

“Now the contagion risk is not there to the same extent, so I assume the banking landscape in Europe would be prepared for this,” Maria Fekter told Austria radio. Contagion risks may have diminished, but the forecasts from the Commission suggest there are a host of deficit, growth and unemployment problems riddling economies beyond Greece, including Spain, Italy, Portugal and potentially France.

In rare bright spots, Rehn said Italy and Portugal were on track to meet their targets and did not need to take additional savings measures.

The Commission said it expected Spain’s economy to contract 1.8 percent this year and a further 0.3 percent in 2013, leaving the country climbing a mountain if it is to reduce its budget deficit by a large margin and tackle 24 percent unemployment. What’s more, the country’s major banks are in the midst of a capital restructuring that will see more than 180 billion euros of toxic assets moved

into a ‘bad bank’ and potentially several dozen billion euros more. “Spain stands out like a sore thumb,” Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London, said of the economic forecasts.

“Not only does the Commission expect the recession to be more severe and protracted, the anticipated fiscal slippages are increasing, with no progress expected next year. This is the strongest indication yet that austerity if failing in Spain.”

Spain had promised the Commission it would cut its deficit to 5.3 percent this year and to 3.0 percent in 2013, and has already announced a series of measures to hit that goal, including raising valued added tax and cutting health spending.

But it is the powerful Spanish regions that most need to be reined in, Rehn said, and those steps are still to be outlined. The Commission’s forecasts don’t take into account upcoming adjustments, but even when those are added it remains unlikely that Spain will meet its targets.

That has led some EU officials to suggest that Spain could be offered leeway, perhaps with its 2013 target of a 3.0 percent deficit being delayed by a year. —Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Gold hits 4-month low as dollar rises LONDON: Gold prices fell to a four-month low yesterday as worries over the financial health of Greece and Spain and huge trading losses for JPMorgan hurt stock markets and the euro, prompting investors to seek refuge in the dollar. Investors liquidated gold holdings to cover losses on other markets, analysts said, as a rise in risk aversion sparked selling across assets seen as higher risk, while lifting the US currency and safe-haven German Bunds.

Spot gold slid to $1,573.29 an ounce, its weakest since Jan. 3, after support gave way at $1,579, and was down 0.7 percent at $1,582.19 an ounce at 1145 GMT. Prices pared the worst of their losses as hopes that a Greek government may be formed soon lifted the euro from lows, but spot prices were still down nearly 4 percent so far this week, their worst weekly performance this year.

“May is turning into a trouble month for investors in most asset classes once again.

Gold, offering high liquidity, is being hurt by the need to realise cash and move to the sidelines,” Saxo Bank vice president Ole Hansen said. “We saw another sweep lower this morning assisted by another upside

attempt on the dollar,” he said.

Nonetheless, he added, the downward move could soon run out of steam.

“We are moving into an area of support with many talking about 1,550 as the line in the sand. The dollar should by now have been a lot stronger considering the strong buy signal given this week in the EUR/USD. This has so far not materialized.” European shares fell yesterday as uncertainty over Greece’s political outlook, a huge loss from JPMorgan and mounting concerns over Spain’s banking sector led to a sharp deterioration in market confidence.

German Bund futures pushed higher, while peripheral euro zone government bonds were set to remain under pressure as Greece made a last-gasp attempt to cobble together a government. The euro hit a 3-1/2 month low against the dollar Although last year gold tended to benefit from worries over the health of the euro zone, it has reverted to trading more in line with assets seen as higher risk as the dollar has taken over as the haven of choice.

“Safe-haven gold buyers remain largely absent while bullion continues to trade in the same direction as riskier assets,” VTB

Capital said in a note. “Risk appetite for gold is simply not there, with players preferring the greenback at the moment.”U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $13.50 an ounce at $1,582.00.

Indian gold demand soft Buying of physical gold has been lacklustre in recent weeks in major consumer India, where appetite has been dampened by rupee weakness, further eroding confidence in the metal. Some buying was seen in the United States, where sales of American Eagle gold coins hit 31,500 ounces so far this month, already 50 percent more than was sold in the whole of April. On the demand side of the market, the world’s biggest gold miner, China, produced 29.8 tonnes of gold in March, bringing total gold output in the first quarter to 80.8 tonnes, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said yesterday.

Silver was down 1.2 percent at $28.62 an ounce, tracking losses in gold. The gold/silver ratio, which measures the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, broke through 55 yesterday for the first time since mid-January as the

white metal underperformed. The world’s biggest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, has seen outflows of just over 87 tonnes of metal so far this month.

Spot platinum was down 1.4 percent at $1,460.49 an ounce, while spot palladium was down 1.6 percent at $600.47 an ounce, having earlier touched its lowest since mid-December at $596.33. Platinum Week, at which traders, miners, refiners, recyclers and buyers will meet, takes place in London next week.

Recent price declines in both metals are likely to be discussed. “After some sizeable price declines, we can’t help thinking that both platinum and palladium look like good value here,” UBS said in a note yesterday.

“From the year’s high of $1,737, platinum has already given back $245, while palladium has shed 15 percent from its high of $726.” “While some residual liquidation is possible if markets suffer another extreme risk-averse event, we tend to think that the bulk of the price declines are in the past and that PGMs have entered a value zone.” — Reuters

Japan’s Panasonic witnesses record $9.67bn annual loss Panasonic shares plunge to 30-yr low

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: This photo shows the Occupy camp remains in front of the European Central Bank (ECB). The “Blockupy Frankfurt” action, organised by a diverse group of anti-globalisation activists and far-left movements, is due to take place in the western German city from May 16 to 19. — AFP

Oil prices to stay high despite good supply: IEA LONDON: Tension between Iran and the West is likely to keep oil prices high despite a dramatic improvement in world supply and a big build in stocks, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. The agency, which advises 28 industrialised nations on energy policy, said soaring global oil supply from OPEC countries and the United States far outpaced global demand, curbed by poor economic activity in developed nations. The agency said global oil supply rose 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 91 million bpd in April and was now 3.9 million bpd over year ago levels, with 90 percent of the increase coming from OPEC. Saudi Arabia has said it pumped 10.1 million bpd last month, its highest for more than 30 years, in a bid to meet growing demand and curb oil prices, which hit a three-and-ahalf-year high in March. But the IEA said in its monthly Oil Market Report that uncertainty remained and the agency, which last year released strategic oil stocks to compensate for the outage of Libyan production, would be ready to act if necessary. “The path of market fundamentals for the rest of the year remains highly uncertain and geopolitical risks will likely continue to keep prices high,” the IEA said. “The IEA will monitor market conditions and stands ready to act if supply conditions warrant it.” The agency kept its forecast for global oil demand growth this year broadly unchanged, raising it by just 20,000 bpd from its previous report to 790,000 bpd. This would bring global oil consumption this year to around 90 million bpd, it said. World oil supply was likely to more than match the increase in demand, the IEA said. —Reuters

TOKYO: Panasonic yesterday posted a record $9.67 billion annual loss as one of Japan’s flagship companies was hammered by a strong currency, natural disasters and stiff competition from foreign rivals. The 772.2 billion yen shortfall, one of the worst-ever losses for a non-financial Japanese firm, comes as the consumer electronics giant reshuffles its boardroom and overhauls its business in a bid to return to profitability. The result was slightly better than the 780 billion yen net loss that the Osaka-based company had earlier forecast, but its shares plumbed 30-year lows, falling 1.55 percent to 570 yen yesterday.

“This result was due mainly to price declines and the appreciation of the yen, in addition to a sales decrease affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the flooding in Thailand,” the company said in a statement. A slump in sales of television sets weighed on Panasonic’s performance as it suffered a 67.8 billion yen operating loss in its digital products business, compared with the profit of 27.3 billion yen a year earlier.

Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo, who had previously announced he would step down amid the massive losses, conceded that the firm’s earlier television business strategy was off the mark. “We had invested a huge amount in 2006 and 2008 in the panel and TV businesses, but many changes occurred” since then, Ohtsubo told a news briefing in Tokyo.

“We realised that it was excessive investment...We have to remember this experience in the future.” Despite

TOKYO: A man looks at a line of Panasonic TV products at an electric store yesterday. — AP

the shortfall, Panasonic projected it would return to the black in the current fiscal year through March 2013 with a net profit of 50 billion yen.

“Although the company expects some risks to continue, the global economy is expected to show a slow recovery in fiscal 2013,” the firm said.

The latest results stand in stark contrast to Panasonic’s net profit of 74 billion yen in the year to March 2011, and its first forecast for the current year, which was for a 30-billionyen profit. “We’ve undertaken an unprecedented level of restructuring,” Takumi Kajisha, senior managing executive officer, told a news conference, according to Dow Jones Newswires. “No matter what, we will achieve a V-shaped recovery.”

But Hiroshi Sakai, chief economist

at SMBC Friend Research Centre, warned Panasonic and other Japanese electronics giants should not be “too optimistic” about a recovery this year. “Japanese electronics companies are likely to show moderate recovery from the tough year, but whether they can achieve a V-shaped recovery depends on how they can redefine their own core businesses,” Sakai said.

“They have to drop unprofitable businesses, concentrate on profitable ones and revamp their entire business structure,” he said. Panasonic, like its rival Sony which posted a record 456.66-billion-yen loss on Thursday, has long suffered major losses in its television business and its debt soared due to the purchase of smaller rival Sanyo. —AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Britons get gloomier: Hard revival to come LONDON: Britons turned gloomier last month as a slump in construction pointed to an even deeper recession and producers ramped up prices, highlighting the long and difficult road back to economic health. The economy has not fully recovered from the downturn caused by the 2007-2009 financial crisis, with many Britons left poorer as meagre wage growth has been eaten up by rising prices and government tax hikes.

Central bankers and politicians have only limited options to support the economy.

The Bank of England decided on Thursday not to give the struggling economy another cash boost, as its concerns over stubbornly high inflation outweighed worries of a prolonged recession and dangers from the euro zone crisis. Nor can consumers and businesses rely on much help from the government, after Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed his commitment to cutting a huge budget deficit, defying criticism over a lack of bold steps to kick-start growth.

Consumer morale worsened last month as Britons became more worried about jobs, lender Nationwide said yesterday, and the mood may darken even further as news that the economy slipped into recession came out after its poll was conducted. “It’s all a bit grim - it’s stagflation Britain,” said RBS economist Ross Walker, referring to a 1970s term combining economic growth stagnation with inflation.

Britain’s manufacturers raised prices more than expected in April despite lower input costs, official data

showed, increasing the risk that consumer price inflation may not fall as fast as the central bank hopes. The Office for National Statistics also said that construction output plunged by 4.8 percent between January and March - more than estimated in the first reading of firstquarter GDP. This revision alone pushes the economy deeper into the red, shaving off another 0.1 percentage point of GDP growth.

Extremely weak construction output was the main drag in the first quarter, contributing to an economic contraction of 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent fall late last year. The European Commission, meanwhile, cut its growth forecast for Britain for 2012 a notch to a mere 0.5 percent - below the 0.8 percent predicted by the British government’s budget watchdog OBR - though the Commission saw a recovery starting in the second half of the year and growth of 1.7 percent in 2013.

The body said Britain’s companies were unlikely to spend their cash piles on major investments before consumer demand increased towards the end of 2012, adding that access to bank credit remained an issue for smaller firms. The euro zone debt crisis, which has pushed some of the areas’s countries into recession, was hurting British exports, it noted.

Not all doom and gloom A recent rise of the pound to a 3-1/2 year high against the euro may compound these export woes, though the stronger currency does ease cost pressures

as it makes imports cheaper. Many economists argue, however, that the economy may be in better shape than official figures suggest. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said last week that the economy was recovering slowly and steadily, though many economists expect him to leave the door for more easing open when he presents the central bank’s new growth and inflation forecasts next week.

The BoE and many economists have voiced doubts about the GDP data as business surveys painted a firmer picture, and yesterday some reiterated these doubts.

“The scale of contraction that we’re seeing in construction doesn’t seem to fit with other anecdotal reports or indeed the feedback from construction industry participants themselves,” said Lloyds economist David Page.

“It adds to our view that GDP is probably underreporting the true underlying pace of economic activity,” he said. And for some Britons it is still business as usual: the country’s biggest department store chain John Lewis reported another double-digit rise in weekly sales. The retailer has been outperforming the wider market as its generally more affluent customers have been less impacted by the economic downturn.

However, high inflation may continue to weigh on most consumers, depriving the economy of one of its main drivers. Producer output prices rose 3.3 percent on the year. While this was the lowest annual increase since December 2009, it was still well above forecasts for a 2.9 percent rise. — Reuters

Germany warns Greece: No money sans reforms ‘We want Greece to remain in euro-zone’

BRUSSELS: EU Commissioner for the Economy Olli Rehn addresses the media on the spring economic forecast at the European Commission headquarters yesterday. — AP

EU predicts 0.3% contraction in 2012 BRUSSELS: The European Union estimates that the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro is in recession in the wake of a debt crisis that has prompted savage spending cuts and a jump in unemployment to record highs. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, forecasts that the eurozone economy will contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and grow by 1 percent next year. Its prediction for 2012 is far weaker than the one it gave last November, when it predicted growth of 0.5 percent. A year ago it was predicting growth of 1.8 percent.

Yesterday’s forecasts provide clear evidence of the impact of Europe’s debt crisis on the eurozone economy over the past year as governments have struggled to introduce deficit-reduction measures and business and consumer confidence has taken a dive. Olli Rehn, the EU’s monetary affairs chief, said the recession is likely to be “mild” and “short-lived”. A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth and figures next week are expected to show that the eurozone contracted by a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent for the second quarter running. Rehn insisted a “recovery is in sight” but urged member countries not to give up on their efforts to get their public finances back into shape. However, he did indicate that more could be done to give growth a boost. “Sound public finances are the condition for lasting growth, and building on the new strong framework for economic governance, we must support the adjustment by accelerating stability and growth-enhancing policies,” said Rehn. How to get the faltering eurozone economy growing again has become the hot topic in European policymaking circles over the past few weeks. —AP

BERLIN: Germany’s foreign minister kept up the pressure on Greece yesterday, saying there could be no more payments of aid unless Athens enacted reforms it has agreed with its international partners. “We want to help Greece and we will help Greece. But Greece has to want to be helped. If they deviate from the agreed reform path, then the payment of further tranches of aid is not possible,” Guido Westerwelle told lawmakers. “We are sticking to our pledges to help. But that means as well that the agreed reforms in Greece must be carried out.

“We want to keep the euro-zone together. The future of Greece in the euro-zone now lies in the hands of Greece,” he stressed. Greek politicians are battling to form a government after inconclusive elections at the weekend that handed massive gains to parties opposed to austerity measures the EU has attached to its bailout packages. There were small signs of progress late on Thursday after socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos won the conditional support of the small Democratic Left (Dimar) party in negotiations to form a cabinet. The stalemate in Greece has raised concerns about possible political chaos that could kill off reforms and eventually force the debt-laden nation to leave the euro-zone.

Germany has kept up the pressure on Greece to push through the austerity measures required or face the consequences.

“Solidarity is not a one-way street,” Westerwelle cautioned.

Westerwelle’s comments followed remarks by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who appeared to suggest that the euro-zone could cope if Greece left the 17-nation club.

Asked by the regional Rheinische Post daily whether the eurozone could withstand a Greek exit, the minister said: “Europe won’t sink that easily.” “We want Greece to remain in the eurozone. But it also has to want this and to fulfil its obligations.

We can’t force anyone.

“We have learned a lot these past two years and have built protection mechanisms. The danger of contamination for other countries in the euro-zone has become weaker and the euro-zone as a whole has become more resistant.” “No-one is threatening anyone here,” Schaeuble said in the interview.

“But we must be honest... and tell our Greek friends and partners that there is no other way that the one that we have cho-

sen together.” Earlier in the week, the euro-zone announced it was blocking 1.0 billion euros ($1.3 billion) out of 5.2 billion euros in bailout loans for Greece until Monday amid uncertainty over the country’s political future. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Monday that reforms in Greece were “of utmost importance.” — AFP

MUNICH: A employee of the German carmaker BMW shows a banner “fair temporary work” during a demonstration yesterday. — AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

India industrial output shrinks unexpectedly 2 Indian airlines in crisis with pilot strike

NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output shrank in March for the first time in five months, data yesterday showed, piling pressure on the central bank and other policymakers to act quickly to boost the stumbling economy. Manufacturing, mining and electricity output in Asia’s third-largest economy contracted by 3.5 percent from a year earlier, defying market expectations of a 1.5-percent rise.

“Growth risks have clearly gained prominence with today’s numbers,” HSBC’s chief India economist Leif Eskesen said.

“Industrial production fell flat on its nose,” he added.

The weak numbers could push the central bank to cut interest rates again, economists said, after it reduced borrowing costs last month for the first time in three years in a bid to spur growth.

Manufacturing production shrank by 4.4 percent in March from a year earlier while output of capital goods such as factory equipment-a vital investment activity indicator and portent of future activity-contracted by 21 percent.

The slowdown gripping India’s economy has been fed by weakening domestic and global demand, especially in the sovereign-debt-crisis hit euro zone. For the full financial year ending March 2012, industrial production expanded by just 2.8 percent, sharply below its 8.2 percent growth the previous year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee voiced disappointment over the numbers and said “investment recovery remains frail.”

The central bank last month warned scope for further cuts was curbed by still relatively strong inflation nudging seven percent. But these output numbers may make “a case to cut again,” said Credit Suisse Asian Economics Director Robert Prior-Wandesforde. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-stock Sensitive Index fell by around a percentage point after the data before recovering much of its losses to trade down 0.30 percent at 16,372.05 on investor hopes of fresh rate

cuts. The government has forecast 7.6percent growth for this fiscal year to March 2013, up from 6.9 percent last year, but economists’ expectations are far more pessimistic.

“There is a near absolute belief of a sharp downgrade (by the government) in the estimated growth rate to between 6.5 percent to seven percent,” Ajay Bodke, investment strategy head at Mumbai’s Prabhudas Lilladher, said. The

this has piled pressure on India’s rupee which has slid by nearly a fifth in the past year. “A strong perception of policy paralysis has taken root among both local as well as foreign investors, Prabhudas Lilladher’s Bodke told AFP. “A lot more needs to be done in terms of improving the economic environment.”

In another development, hundreds of passengers have been stranded in India after Air India cancelled around 20 inter-

NEW DELHI: An Air India plane is seen parked on the tarmac at the Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday. — AFP data comes as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress-led government is battling a series of corruption scandals that have stalled crucial reforms to open up the economy in such key areas as retail and insurance.

Regulatory flip-flops have added to the economic gloom, deterring vital foreign and domestic investment needed to improve India’s shabby infrastructure which has been creating supply bottlenecks and curbing growth.

Doubts have also been mounting about the government’s ability to check a ballooning fiscal deficit amid higher fuel subsidies and populist job, food supply and other measures to help India’s hundreds of millions of poor. All

national flights due to a strike by pilots.

Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said yesterday the government would negotiate with the pilots union only after the pilots return to work. At least 300 Air India pilots have stayed away from work for the past four days, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Air India operates 450 international and domestic flights every day. The carrier has sacked 36 pilots since the strike began. Meanwhile, privately owned Kingfisher airlines has cancelled a dozen flights after many of its pilots called in sick. Pilots at the financially troubled airline say they have not been paid salaries since December. — Agencies

China’s output growth at near three-year low BEIJING: China said yesterday that output growth hit a threeyear low in April, adding to pressure on Beijing to ease monetary policy after weak trade data the previous day fuelled fears over the giant economy. Official data showed yesterday that industrial output in the workshop of the world rose 9.3 percent last month, the slowest pace since May 2009 and below the 12.2 percent forecast in a poll of economists by Dow Jones Newswires. Analysts said the data, combined with a fall in investment growth to 20.2 percent in the first four months of this year, boosted the case for allowing more credit to flow into the economy.

“China’s economy is even weaker than thought, with industrial production growth back in single digits for the first time since the global financial crisis,” said Ren Xianfang, an economist for IHS Global Insight. China’s economy grew 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012, its slowest pace in nearly three years, while leaders target growth of just 7.5 percent for the whole year-down from 9.2 percent last year and 10.4 percent in 2010. Beijing has already cut bank reserve requirements twice since December as it aims to boost lending to spur growth, but economists are call for more policy changes as data continue to disappoint. Also yesterday Beijing said the consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 3.4 percent year on year in April, compared with 3.6 percent in March. The key food component rose 7.0 percent year on year-

contributing more than two percentage points to overall inflation-although it is down from 7.5 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said. China has targeted annual inflation within four percent this year, in the knowledge that surging prices carry the potential to cause social unrest. “The top issue for China’s economy is not inflation, but rather how to maintain economic growth,” Liao Qun, China economist for Citic Bank International in Hong Kong, told AFP. Easing inflation should give China more room to pursue more active monetary policies to combat slower economic growth.

“The easing in inflation pressure opens the room for finetuning of monetary policy,” said Zhu Haibin, an analyst with JP Morgan in Hong Kong, predicting up to three more reserve ratio cuts by the end of this year. Investments in urban fixed assets rose 20.2 percent year on year in the first four months of 2012, weakening from 20.9 percent in January-March. Fixed asset investment in the cities are a key gauge of government infrastructure spending, which has surged in recent years as Beijing has sought to cushion the impact of the global downturn. “Today’s data on April spending and output put another nail into hopes that China’s economy is bottoming out,” said Mark Williams, an analyst with Capital Economics. Yesterday’s data added to the anaemic trade figures on Thursday, which showed a rise of just 0.3 percent in imports for April while exports were up just 4.9 percent. — AFP

Nissan posts record sales, $4.28bn profit TOKYO: Nissan yesterday posted a $4.28 billion full-year net profit and record sales as the Japanese automaker shrugged off the devastating impact of last year’s quaketsunami disaster on production. Japan’s second-biggest automaker said it earned 341.43 billion yen in the fiscal year to March, up 7.0 percent year-on-year, surpassing its forecast of 290 billion yen and bucking a national trend of falling auto profits.

The company said sales rose 7.2 percent to their highest-ever 9.41 trillion yen with 4.85 million vehicles sold globally, even after a year that saw natural disasters and a high yen play havoc with many automakers’ operations.

Vehicle sales rose in Japan, the United States, Europe and Nissan’s biggest market, China, now the world’s largest auto market where the firm said sales jumped about 22 percent in fiscal 2011.

For the current year, Nissan said it expected a net profit of 400 billion yen, operating profit of 700 billion yen on soaring sales of 10.3 trillion yen. It also said its global sales for the year ending March 2013 would rise about 10.0 percent to 5.35 million vehicles. “Nissan has delivered robust operating profits and record sales amid growing demand for our models, brands and technologies around the world,” Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said in a statement.

“It is an even more encouraging performance given the headwinds created by natural disasters, an over-valued yen and uncertain global economic conditions.”

Nissan’s results stood in stark contrast to fellow Japanese auto titans Toyota and Honda whose full-year profits tumbled in the same period.

However, Nissan’s rivals are forecasting a swift recovery this year, as they leave behind a year that many Japanese firms would prefer to forget. The first six months of 2011 were torrid for the nation’s manufacturers, with the lingering impact of the March earthquaketsunami hamstringing production lines and electricitysaving measures squeezing capacity.

Nissan, Toyota and Honda all slashed production and shuttered plants because of power shortages and a component supply crunch. Japanese exporters have been battling the crippling effects of a sky-high yen, which makes their products more expensive overseas and erodes repatriated profits.

Flooding in Thailand that created a component shortage also proved a drag for firms with plants in the Southeast Asian nation. Nissan shares were up 3.34 percent at 804 yen yesterday, with its results released after markets closed. On Wednesday, Toyota said its net profit for the year to March was 283.56 billion yen, a 30.5 percent on-year fall, while Honda said late last month that its earnings for the period hit 211.5 billion yen, down about 60.0 percent.

Yesterday, Nissan said it would release 10 new products globally in the current fiscal year as the company locks horns with global heavyweights General Motors and Volkswagen. The Japanese firm has said it would dust off the shelved Datsun brand for emerging markets and start making a new midsize hatchback at its huge plant in Sunderland in the north of England from 2014.

It is also planning to build two models of its luxury Infiniti brand in China, while it and partner Renault this month announced a deal that gives them control of Russia’s Avtovaz, owner of the iconic Lada brand. — AFP

TOKYO: A TV cameraman takes a video at the showroom of the Nissan headquarters yesterday. — AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

New bill takes aim at US oil tax breaks

WASHINGTON: Hoping to build on voter anger about high gasoline prices, two US lawmakers launched a new attack on tax breaks for US oil, gas and coal companies on Thursday with a bill they said would cut more than $113 billion in subsidies over 10 years. The bill goes beyond other recent efforts that have targeted tax breaks for oil companies and includes research programs, loan guarantees and infrastructure funding, said its authors, Senator Bernie Sanders, a left-leaning independent, and Democratic Representative Keith Ellison.

“It is time to end that absurdity,” said Sanders, who conceded the bill faced an uphill battle in Congress. He said oil companies were very profitable and did not need the subsidies. Also targeted is a rule that lets pipeline operators and oil and gas companies operate as “master limited partnerships,” a structure under which there is no requirement to pay corporate income taxes.

Republicans in the US Senate blocked Democratic legislation in March that would have stripped $24 billion in tax breaks over 10 years from the “big five” oil companies. Democratic President Barack Obama, campaigning for re-election in the Nov. 6 presidential election, had urged Congress to end the breaks. But Republicans called the bill in March a stunt that would not help lower gasoline prices. “I’m not here predicting that we’re going to pass this bill tomorrow, but you’ve got to start somewhere,” Sanders told reporters.

Ellison says broader coalition needed Some of the biggest oil and gas tax breaks date back to the early 1900s, said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan federal spending watchdog group. “As soon as there was a tax code, the oil industry was getting breaks,” said Alexander. The US tax code has not been revamped since 1986, and is unlikely to be

reformed until after the election.

The Sanders-Ellison bill was quickly rebuffed by two fiscal conservatives in Congress aligned with the Tea Party movement who have introduced legislation to end temporary tax breaks for renewable energy producers and certain tax breaks for oil producers. The measure appears to try to punish the oil and gas industry by taking away basic business expense deductions, said Republican Senator Jim DeMint and Republican Representative Mike Pompeo. “It should be the same regardless of what business you’re in,” DeMint said. Pompeo and DeMint want to end expiring tax incentives for wind and solar energy production, tax credits that are supported by Obama. The American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry group, denies the industry receives any subsidies or makes current use of any special tax credits or deductions. The industry pays more of its

profits in taxes than other manufacturing companies, the API said.

Oil tax breaks are the next big political target for environmental groups that organized thousands of people to encircle the White House last year in protests credited with delaying the proposed Keystone XL crude pipeline from Canada.

They are planning events to spotlight lawmakers who support oil and gas tax breaks. Citing polling data, Bill McKibben, founder of protest organizer 350.org, said such support was out of step with the wishes of most Americans. But Ellison, who is sponsoring the legislation in the Republican-controlled House, warned environmental groups they would need to work hard to build alliances with fiscal conservatives on the issue. “It is an organizing challenge, people,” Ellison told supporters at a news conference launching the bill. “The coalition is not yet big enough.” — Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Americans’ pessimism on economy growing WASHINGTON: Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and handling it remains President Barack Obama’s weak spot and biggest challenge in his bid for a second term, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. And the gloomier outlook extends across party lines, including a steep decline in the share of Democrats who call the economy “good,” down from 48 percent in February to just 31 percent now. Almost two-thirds of Americans - 65 percent - disapprove of Obama’s handling of gas prices, up from 58 percent in February.

Nearly half, 44 percent, “strongly disapprove.” And just 30 percent said they approve, down from 39 percent in February.

These findings come despite a steady decline in gas prices in recent

weeks after a surge earlier in the year. The national average for a gallon of gasoline stood at $3.75, down from a 2012 peak of $3.94 on April 1.

US presidents have limited ability to affect gas prices, which are determined in international markets.

However, the party out of power always blames whoever is president at the time for high gas prices, as Republican Mitt Romney is doing now and as Democrat Obama did in 2008 when George W. Bush sat in the Oval Office.

Of all the issues covered by the poll, Obama’s ratings on gas prices were his worst. The public’s views tilt negative on his handling of the overall economy, 52 percent disapprove while 46 percent approve. In February, Americans were about evenly divided on his handling of

Facebook in your mutual fund?

BOSTON: Facebook can be a terrific way to connect with friends and family, a colossal drain on your time and productivity, or a little of both. Soon, another facet will emerge: investment opportunity. Mutual fund managers are scrutinizing Facebook’s strengths and weaknesses before public trading of its shares, which is expected to begin May 18. Because of its size, the initial public offering will be hard to ignore for managers specializing in technology stocks, and those focusing on the largecap, growth-stock market segment that Facebook will join. It’s expected to be the biggest IPO for an Internet company, surpassing Google’s 2004 market debut.

Facebook might seem to be an obvious potential buy MENLO PARK: This photo for those managers, given its shows a Facebook worker amazing rise from dormat the company headquarroom startup in 2004 to the ters in California. —AP world’s largest online social network. But successful stock-picking means being priceconscious. Until late last week, fund managers had little to go on in assessing Facebook’s potential investment value.

That’s when Facebook disclosed in a regulatory filing that its shares would be priced in a range of $28 to $35 apiece.

The specific price is to be released the day before trading, and decision time is approaching for fund managers considering Facebook for their portfolios.

A select few have already jumped in. Dozens have acquired private shares of Facebook over the past yearand-a-half, in some cases through secondary markets that are off-limits to average investors. More than 30 Fidelity Investments funds recently owned private Facebook shares, including Fidelity’s largest stock fund, Contrafund (FCNTX).

But Facebook made up just 0.1 percent of that $84 billion fund’s portfolio at the end of March, and other Fidelity funds holding Facebook had similarly small investments, spokeswoman Sophie Launay said.

Another big fund company, T. Rowe Price, recently reported that 19 of its funds owned private Facebook shares, in nearly all instances making up less than 1 percent of each fund’s portfolio. Morgan Stanley has also been active. Its $1.7 billion Focus Growth Fund (AMOAX) recently held 3.6 percent of its portfolio in Facebook shares. Several other funds from smaller companies have purchased shares on secondary markets. — AP

the issue. The economy is the No. 1 issue in the presidential race, thanks to the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression and one of the shallowest-ever recoveries.

While the recession officially ended in summer 2009, unemployment remains stubbornly high, at 8.1 percent in April. Some 12.5 million Americans are out of work. The increasing skepticism toward the recovery tracks a weakening overall economy as measured by the gross domestic product, and matches economic growth downgrades by many economic forecasters.

Against this background, the weak economy looms as a huge liability for Obama, and any drop in public confidence in his ability to deal with it can threaten his re-election prospects. Although Obama

held broad advantages over Romney on handling social issues and protecting the country, when it came to the economy about the same percentage said they trust Romney to handle it as trust Obama.

Mindful of Obama’s vulnerability, Romney focuses frequently on the economy, suggesting that his business background makes him the candidate who can create jobs. Like most Republicans, he blames Obama’s policies for making the economy worse. Obama acknowledges that times remain hard for many, but says conditions are slowly improving. He suggests the best chance for full recovery is if voters stick with him. Heather Beckman, 29, of Lantana, Fla., is a Democrat who said she’s undecided about her vote but leaned to Obama. — AP

JPMorgan weighs on futures as banks drop Investors look to producer price

NEW YORK: US stock index futures fell yesterday and were on track to extend the week’s losses after JPMorgan Chase & Co revealed a trading loss of at least $2 billion from a failed hedging strategy that weighed on bank shares. The news sent shares of the Dow component down 8.1 percent to $37.42 in premarket trading, and is the latest hurdle for a sector already besieged by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and fears of slowing growth globally.

While other gains partially offset the trading loss, JPMorgan Chase estimates the business unit with the portfolio will lose $800 million in the current quarter, excluding private equity results and litigation expenses. The bank had previously expected the unit to earn a profit of about $200 million.

Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of the biggest US bank by assets, cautioned that losses could grow by another $1 billion. “While this is an isolated incident that has nothing to do with how the economy will recover, it is very painful to hear,” said Tim Speiss, head of personal wealth advisors at EisnerAmper in New York.

“Investors need to look at what this might do to JPMorgan’s equity value, and whether it is something that could trouble the whole sector.”

Bank of America Corp fell 3 percent to $7.47 before the bell while Citigroup Inc lost 3.8 percent to $29.50 and the Financial Select Sector SPDR was off 1.9 percent to $14.70.

The S&P financial sector will likely extend its losses of almost 3 percent so far this month. Financial stocks have been among the most volatile in recent months as investors question what the growth outlook for the U.S. and the debt crisis of Europe will mean for the group’s profits.

JPMorgan has fallen 11.4 percent since the end of March.

The CBOE VIX Volatility Index is up almost 10 percent this month in a sign of growing caution. S&P 500 futures fell 7.1 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures sank 56 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 8.75 points.

For the week, the S&P is down 0.8 percent, the Dow is off 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq is down 0.8 percent.

All three are on track for their second straight week of losses. Investors are looking ahead to the April Producer Price Index, due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT), as well as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary May consumer sentiment index. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 76.2 compared

with 76.4 in the final April report, with producer prices flat. Software maker CA Inc late Thursday continued its run of estimate-beating profit, as demand rose at its North American business.

Nvidia Corp shares rose 8.1 percent to $13.43 before the bell after reporting adjusted first-quarter earnings that beat expectations.

With 449 of the S&P 500 companies reporting results through Thursday morning, 66.4 percent exceeded estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data, compared with more than 80 percent at the start of earnings season. The Dow rose modestly to break a six-day losing streak on Thursday, though a weak outlook from Cisco Systems Inc capped advances. The S&P 500 could not hold enough gains to close above its April low. Still, the index has rebounded after falling to a two-month low near 1,340 on Wednesday. — Reuters

NEW YORK: Automobiles pass by the JPMorgan Chase building. — AP

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‘The Dictator’ film launches in offensive style Page 27

A model holds the Beau Sancy diamond during a Sotheby’s auction press preview on Thursday in Geneva.

(See Page 25) — AFP

Obama jokes with Clooney at star’s gala fundraiser Page 28

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

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he actress - who plays Rachel Berry in the musical TV show - will no longer be playing a leading part in the series as her character will be graduating from high school, but has thanks all the ‘Gleeks’ for supporting her and the show since the beginning. She wrote on twitter: “It’s impossible to say how much Glee means to me. This year has been so amazing & I cannot WAIT for next year:) It’s going to be great...” She added, “I’m so grateful for our amazing crew and most of all to all of YOU! To all of our gleeks out there you all helped make our show what it is.”

“I love you all with all my heart! Can’t wait to have an amazing summer and see whats next for Rachel Berry in

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he ‘American Idol’ host and the ‘Rock of Ages’ beauty have been dating for two years and now the 37-year-old presenter has admitted the couple have been discussing taking their relationship to the next level. He said: “It’s something we talk about.”

Asked if he would consider it in the near future, he added: “We talk about that, too!” Ryan admitted the pair

enjoyed celebrating their recent twoyear anniversary as they took the time to reminisce over the period. He told Life & Style magazine: “[On our anniversary] night we talked about the things that we’d done that year. I think I did everything right!”. Though he produces fly-on-the-wall reality shows such as ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ and its spin-offs - including the wedding of Kim Kardashian to Kris Humphries last year - Ryan insists he wouldn’t want to televise his own nuptials. He said: “We wouldn’t televise our wedding.” Despite his comments, Ryan played a prank on his 23-year-old girlfriend on ‘American Idol’ this week.

After showing a clip from ‘Rock of Ages’, he said to her: “There’s something that’s been on my mind. It’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” He then reached into his pocket as if he was going to produce a ring but then said: “Oh, God ... Will you ... give this note I wrote to Tom Cruise?

Because I’m such a big fan.”

season 4!!!!(sic)” Lea also wished a happy birthday to her boyfriend and co-star Cory Monteith, proclaiming him to be a “very special person”. She wrote: “AND since is after 12pm... I’d like to be the first to wish a very special bday to a very special person @CoryMonteith... happy birthday:) <3 (sic)” Lea’s alter-ego Rachel is one of a number of stars of the show to be graduating this year - Amber Riley’s Mercedes and Dianna Agron’s Quinn have also left.

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he actor plays 80s rocker Stacee Jaxx in the movie adaptation of the classic musical - which also stars Russell Brand and Catherine Zeta-Jones - and although his vocals were shaky to star with, he eventually learnt how to do amazing things with his voice. Adam said: “Now he’s like a seven, but he started off at a one. He had never sung in his life. He was like, ‘I need to know that I can do this before I sign on.’ So I went to his house to hear him sing and even though he was completely green as a singer, his vocal cords were amazing. “He had this voice that blew me away. It was the most powerful voice I had ever heard. So loud. He could do anything and go as high as we wanted. It was like a kid discovering he had a new toy. I left there super-pumped knowing that not only could we make him pass as a singer in the movie, but we would blow people away with what he could do.” Adam believes Tom initially began filming with a sense of nerves but his self-belief grew as the movie continued shooting. He added to The Hollywood Reporter: “His confidence kept growing as we worked together. I think he started off a little nervous, as anybody would who has never done this, but he just bought it 110 per cent.” He added, “He works harder than anybody I’ve ever met in my life. By the end of this movie, the guy was just phenomenal. I remember telling him, ‘You’re a singer!’”

LIFESTYLE SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

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he TV mogul has signed the singer to appear as a judge on the US version of talent show - for a reported $15 million - and one of the promises he made to clinch the deal was to keep supplying her with the fruits she usually insists on in her tour rider. A source told the Daily Star newspaper: “He promised to fill her dressing room with them. That’ll make her ‘regular’ now.” Meanwhile the ‘Toxic’ singer is said to be embarking on a six-week course of intensive training to prepare her for the show. Britney has promised to be “glammed up” and totally dedicated to the program, which is expected to return to TV in the autumn. A source said: “Britney has to look picture perfect, even during downtime. Simon has laid down the law - he’s paying for ‘superstar Britney’ not the ‘trailer trash’ version she’s occasionally become known as. “Her people have promised she will be transformed. She’ll be glammed up, slimmed down and totally focused on the show. Her diet includes lots of protein and superfoods to helps speed up her metabolism.

The plan is to keep her full in between meals with vitamin juices, so she doesn’t get hungry and grab junk food.” Insiders estimate the makeover could cost over £250,000 and she will be working very closely with a team of stylists on every detail of her look. The source added to Closer magazine: “A full-time stylist will plan every detail of every outfit. She’ll spend around four hours in the hair salon and have regular manicures and pedicures.”

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he ‘Bleeding Love’ hitmaker, along with rapper Plan B, will help with the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Academy initiative in her home town of Hackney, east London, with the project aiming to help 10,000 youngsters with lessons in music, acting, fashion and radio. Leona said: “I grew up in Hackney and when I heard about the initiatives, I wanted to get involved. Young people relate to us more than politicians, especially with us coming from around here.” She added, “It’s important for us to come back and help and support those in the community who are doing amazing things. My aunt runs a dance and music group and is an influential person in the community she grew up in.” Leona and Plan B will work with kids aged 13 to 15 from the Pupil Correction Unit in Newham to create a special musical performance for the forthcoming Hackney Weekend festival. Plan B is enthusiastic about working with young talent. He told the Daily Star newspaper: “Me or Leona coming and planting one seed and walking away can help to shape people’s lives. The education they are getting is bad. Life is not just about academics.” The BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Academy initiative will run from June 1 to June 22.

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he ‘We Found Love’ hitmaker contracted a virus in November and admitted her “crazy” schedule meant she barely had time to rest and recover from her illness. Asked how hard she worked on latest record ‘Talk That Talk’, she said: “This is the craziest schedule I’ve ever been on in my entire life. One morning I woke up and started crying so hard. I finally just got to my bed from the IV [drip] and I was just like, ‘Good I can actually get to sleep tonight’ because we stayed up all night and I finished [the album] at 5pm the day before. I get in bed and it must have been two hours in before my phone started going off. I was so frustrated I kept ignoring the phone.” She added, “I know I’m sick but I’m the only person who can get it done so it was so frustrating so I was angry. I was so angry, I was so overwhelmed that I was sick, it felt crazy. I started crying really, really hard in my pillow. It was aggressive. I don’t cry loads. If I cry it’s because I’m very angry and I can’t do anything about it, because I’ve run into a dead end.

But this

time I needed to hear it, I almost wanted to punch somebody.” However, the 24-year-old beauty who quickly realized no one else could do her job so she “got up, showered and started to work” - insists the agony was “worth it” because she was so pleased with the finished album. In a newlyreleased video interview called ‘Road To Talk That Talk’ which was recorded earlier this year, she said: “When I got the copies in my hand, it was so worth it. I would never take it back. At times I wished things could have been different and easier but then I didn’t really care when I got the album. The fact it was so difficult, the album feels so much better.” Earlier this week, it was reported that Rihanna had been taken to hospital with exhaustion, sparking fears from her loved ones that she is pushing herself too hard.

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Members of the President’s Bodyguard from India give a demonstration of “Tent Pegging” during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant. — AFP photos

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undreds of horses and over 1,000 performers from around the world staged a glittering pageant in Britain in a stirring start to the major celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee.

Troupes from India’s Dancing Marwaris to the Chilean Huasos displayed their mettle Thursday in a rare gathering of global horsemanship in the royal town of Windsor, as festivities to mark the queen’s 60 years on the throne began in earnest.

In tribute to the monarch’s more than 250 Commonwealth and state visits, some 550 horses and 1,200 performers from 17 countries defied spring showers to perform against the backdrop of a 45metre (148-foot) replica of Buckingham Palace. Italy’s Carousel of the Carabinieri re-enacted an 1848 battle in a whirl of feathers and swords, before riders from Russia’s Kremlin Riding School formed a human pyramid on galloping mounts in a daredevil show of horseback acrobatics.

Between the horseback performances were bursts of song and dance, among them a didgeridoo performance, a Maori haka, Inuit throat-singers and a mariachi band. The robed Royal Cavalry of Oman thundered in on 100 Arabian steeds in clouds of frankincense, watched by a packed audience including the queen’s daughter Princess Anne, a former competitive eventing rider. “The empire may have faded into history but the guiding light of monarchy still continues,” said the presenter, television personality Alan Titchmarsh.

Royals will attend each of the show’s four nights, culminating in the Queen and husband Prince Philip watching an extended show on Sunday, featuring Scottish singer Susan Boyle and veteran Australian entertainer Rolf Harris. New South Wales’ mounted police gave the troop drill an Australian twist, performing to songs such as Waltzing Matilda as medieval Windsor Castle loomed behind them. The 86-year-old queen’s own racehorses staged a mock race, and her Household Cavalry joined all the performers in a grand finale recreating her coronation.

Bringing in 550 performing horses by air, road and sea was a “once in a lifetime” logistical feat, Sheila Duckworth, director of equestrian transport firm Shelley Ashman, told AFP before the show. The horses from Oman were flown over in two planeloads, while a team from Azerbaijan drove to Windsor in a 17-day road trip. So far there have been no mishaps, Duckworth said, adding: “Horses tend to be happy as long as they’ve got their friends beside them.” The equine pageant is close to the queen’s heart: she was given her first pony at age four and remains a keen rider, as well as an owner and breeder of racehorses.

Horses from the Carousel of the Carabiniere from Italy perform in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in Windsor, England on Thursday. Celebrating the 60 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 1,200 performers and 600 horses take part in the show in the private grounds of Windsor Castle running on the 10-13th of May.

“We have a lot of pride that we got the invitation,” said Inspector Kirsten McFadden, commander of the New South Wales Mounted Police. “It’s been a very hard week, long hours, but we’re very, very excited.

It’s all colour — every act is really special,” McFadden, whose mainly female unit also does riot squad duty,

Cathedral. The Queen and Prince Philip, 90, who have kept up a relentless pace of public engagements despite their age, are also due to open the London Olympics in July. — AFP

told AFP. Moses Ndungu, a Kenyan dancer, said: “It is a big honour for us. The queen became a queen in our country.” Queen Elizabeth was told of the death of her father, King George VI, and her own ascension to the throne while she was visiting Kenya in 1952. She has since earned respect as a symbol of constancy, with a reputation for dignity, shrewdness and stamina. “Our grandparents cooked for her. We have an attachment to her — we feel proud to be part of that history,” Ndungu said as he posed for photos with Britons attracted by his Kikuyu tribal costume of cowskins and seashells.

The jubilee began with the February anniversary of the queen’s father’s death, spent in low-key engagements. But in March she received a rock-star welcome as she began a jubilee tour of Britain, while younger members of her family are touring the world to mark the event. In Britain, the pageant will be followed by a four-day public holiday on June 2-5, with celebrations including a festival of about 1,000 boats on the River Thames, the lighting of more than 2,000 beacons and a service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s

Members of the Mexican Delfines Mariachi dance group perform.

A woman dressed in wild west costume performs.

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here was a time when Tim Burton was considered an exciting filmmaker, when his aesthetic seemed daring, inventive and unmistakably his own. But that seems like a while ago after seeing “Dark Shadows,” his eighth collaboration with Johnny Depp and their weakest yet.

Still, as you know, we like to be glasshalf-full around here. So while “Dark Shadows” feels like a visual and thematic recycling of Burton’s previous work, it does give us the chance to look back on the director’s five best films. Cue the Danny Elfman score: “Edward Scissorhands” (1990): Burton and Depp’s first film together and one that still strikes a wistful, poignant tone after all this time. I still can’t decide whether this fairy tale is sweetly dark or darkly sweet. Either way, Depp is delicate and lovely as the misunderstood title character, the creation of an inventor who died before his work was complete, leaving Edward to fend for himself in the outside world with scissors for hands.

While many initially fear him as a monster, he’s actually a gentle creature who

himself, Paul Reubens’ oddball man-child with the nasal voice and the too-tight gray suit who goes on a cross-country quest to find his beloved, stolen bike.

He’s so innocent and guileless, you’re more likely to want to protect him than think he’s creepy. And admit it: This is how you learned that there’s no basement at the Alamo.

“Beetlejuice” (1988): The ultimate crystallization of Burton’s signature style.

The comic-horror tone he sets here provides the basis for comparison to everything else that followed. This movie is such a trip and such a blast. Michael Keaton (who would go on to be Burton’s Batman) does some of the best work of his career here as the crass, wisecracking spirit who helps the newly deceased Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin haunt their own home. The effects look a little cheesy in retrospect but the subversive sense of humor remains firmly intact.

“Beetlejuice” makes the macabre seem downright adorable.

“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” (2005): One of only a handful of animated films Burton’s made over his three-decade career - although a feature-length version of “Frankenweenie” is due out this fall this is one of the best examples of the emotions of Burton’s films matching the visuals. Combining painstaking stopmotion animation with digital technology, he’s come up with a film that’s wondrous, strange and poignant. Yes, it does look a lot like “Edward Scissorhands” and “Beetlejuice,” and it features an all-star voice cast led by Burton regulars Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, but this medium brings these familiar details beautifully to life. Even creatures that are disgusting in reality are cute and sort of charming here.

“Big Fish” (2003): “If Fellini had directed ‘Forrest Gump.’” That’s how I described this movie when I reviewed it.

Looking back, it seems like even more of a departure for Burton in that it’s light and dreamlike, even hopeful. But as a fantastical tale, it absolutely makes sense within his oeuvre. He gets a little too carried away with the quirkiness of his characters, but his film is consistently dazzling, with some individual images that will take your breath away. And it features an excellent cast led by Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman. It’s time for Burton to take more chances like this again. — AP

In this file photo, director Tim Burton arrives at the premiere of his film, “Dark Shadows” in Los Angeles. — AP falls hopelessly in love with Winona Ryder’s idealized, fair-haired teenager.

Burton’s candy-colored vision of suburbia finds just the right satirical tone, and the ending gets me every time.

“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985): Burton’s first full-length feature easily remains one of his best. It’s colorful and playful, constantly surprising and endlessly quotable, with Elfman’s lively score perfectly complementing the film’s nonstop escapades. Speaking of originality, there’s the character of Pee-wee Herman

Musical of

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A model holds the Beau Sancy diamond during a Sotheby’s auction press preview. — AFP

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littering atop a succession of royal crowns, the 35-carat “Beau Sancy” diamond has been witness to 400 years of European history. Now the jewel, passed down through the royalty of France, England, the Netherlands and Prussia, could leave its noble past behind when it is sold at auction in Geneva next week. The gem is being auctioned at one of three multi-million dollar sales over as many days in the city, featuring the jewels of queens, film stars and billionaires alike.

“The Beau Sancy is one of the most fascinating and romantic gems ever to appear at auction,” said David Bennett of sellers Sotheby’s, who estimates its value at $2 million-$4 million (1.5 million-3 million euros). “One client I showed it to was moved to tears by it,” he said.

The pear-shaped diamond’s royal connections date back to 1604 when it was bought for Henri IV of France at the insistence of his wife Marie de Medici who wore it atop her crown at her coronation.

Later that century it was acquired by the Dutch and used to seal the wedding of Willem II of Orange Nassau to Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I of England. Stuart pawned the rose-cut gem to finance her brother Charles II’s fight for the throne. In 1702 the first king of Prussia gave it pride of place in the new royal crown and it has passed through generations of the House of Prussia until today. “We’ve sold much larger diamonds but it has this wonderful romantic history, an unparalleled royal history-it has never been in non-royal hands,” said Bennett.

The Beau Sancy will go under the hammer on May 15 as part of Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels” sale, also featuring a historic yellow diamond once the property of

Charles Edward Stuart, one-time pretender to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland. More commonly known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, his attempts to make the Stuarts regain the crown failed and following the Battle of Culloden in 1745 he went into exile in France and Italy, where he is thought to have offered the 7.3carat gem to the Corsini family in gratitude of their support.

It has an estimated value of $300,000 to $500,000. A collection of 70 jewels belonging to billionaire philanthropist Lily Safra is meanwhile expected to raise more than $20 million for charity when it is auctioned by Christie’s on May 14. Brazil-born Safra, 77, was married to the Jewish-Lebanese banker Edmond Safra who died in a blaze at his Monte-Carlo penthouse in 1999. The Elton John AIDS foundation, a water treatment programme in Brazil and children’s hospital in Israel are among 20 charitable institutes to benefit from the sale of the gems, many of them created specially for Safra by renowned Paris jeweller JAR.—AFP

Charlie Chaplin heading to Broadway

funny guy with a cane, a hat and an unforgettable mustache is heading to Broadway. Producers announced Thursday that a new musical depicting the life of Charlie Chaplin will begin performances later this summer at the Barrymore Theatre. Previews begin Aug. 21 with an opening set for Sept. 10. “Chaplin” has music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis, a pianist who wrote the theme song to the film “The Break” starring Martin Sheen, the theme song for the TV show “A Wedding Story” and has performed with such artists as Stevie Wonder.

Curtis co-wrote the book with Thomas Meehan, a Tony Award winner who helped pen “The Producers,” “Annie” and

“Hairspray.” Warren Carlyle, who directed and choreographed “Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway” and choreographed the revival of “Follies” this season, will direct and choreograph. The musical debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010 under the name “Limelight” and won the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle’s Craig Noel Award for Best Musical. Chaplin’s silent screen classics include “Modern Times,” “The Great Dictator” and his Little Tramp character in “City Lights.” — AP

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Loretta Lynn wants Zooey Deschanel in her musical

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Radio personality Ellen K is honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday in Hollywood, California. — AFP

CBS sues ABC over upcoming reality show

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BS sued ABC on Thursday to stop an upcoming reality show that CBS claims is being developed in violation of its copyrights and with secrets obtained from the long-running reality show “Big Brother.” The federal lawsuit seeks an injunction barring ABC from continuing its work or airing “The Glass House,” a show that will film and allow viewers to vote off contestants living together in a house.

CBS claims the show copies the formula used for its hit series “Big Brother,” and that ABC has hired 19 of the show’s former staffers to help make “Glass House.”

The lawsuit also names two top “Glass House” producers and an ABC programming executive who worked on “Big Brother,” claiming they are violating non-disclosure agreements and giving away secrets of the show to their new employers.

“In copying ‘Big Brother,’ defendants have had an

This file photo shows the CBS logo in Las Vegas.

CBS on Thursday sued ABC to stop an upcoming reality show that CBS claims is being developed in violation of its copyrights and with secrets obtained from the long-running reality show “Big Brother.” — AP

unprecedented and troubling degree of access to CBS’s copyrightable expression, as well as CBS’s protected trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary information related to the behind-the-scenes development, filming and production of ‘Big Brother,’” the lawsuit states.

In its lawsuit, CBS claims an unnamed ABC executive instructed others to try to hire as many former “Big Brother” staffers as possible to undercut its competitor.

ABC denied wrongdoing in a statement, calling the lawsuit meritless. “The differences between ‘Glass House’ and ‘Big Brother’ are both fundamental and obvious,” the network wrote in a statement, citing interactive elements, audience participation and new technologies.

It will be up to a federal judge to compare the similarities and differences in the shows and determine if CBS should be given an injunction and potentially millions of dollars in damages. The lawsuit states many valuable elements of “Big Brother” cannot be gleaned from merely watching the show. The suit says the processes in which story lines are created and challenges are handled involving the filming of contestants around-the-clock are protected by the non-disclosure agreements.

“Many of the ‘Big Brother’ trade secrets were developed because of the series’ fast-paced schedule and unique format,” the lawsuit states. — AP

ountry Music Hall of Fame member Loretta Lynn is taking her life story to Broadway, and she has tapped film and TV actress Zooey Deschanel to play her on stage. Lynn, 80, unveiled plans for a musical adaptation of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” during a Grand Ole Opry show at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday night. Wearing one of her signature long sleeve, floor length dresses, the singer blew through four songs before bringing Deschanel onstage to sing the title tune.

The announcement mirrored the way Lynn invited actress Spacek on the Opry stage in 1979 to reveal that Spacek would play her in the upcoming film. Spacek later won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Lynn. “I have a friend here tonight. I don’t know if ya’ll remember when Sissy Spacek was with me. I brought her out here with me. She about fainted. We both fainted,” Lynn said with a laugh. “She went on to do the ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ and you know from there. Well, there’s a little girl back stage that’s going to do the play of ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ on Broadway,” Lynn continued. “Zooey, where you at honey?”

Deschanel, 32, the star and a producer of the Fox comedy “New Girl,” then emerged in a short, vintage-inspired white dress. She grabbed Lynn’s hand and flashed a dazzling smile. “Are you going to help me sing ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’?” asked Lynn. “I’m going to help you sing,” said Deschanel, who has been nominated for a Grammy Award. “This is a great honor for me. This is my hero.” The two traded verses and they ended the song holding hands. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was a No. 1 hit for Lynn in 1970 that she wrote about growing up as one of eight children in rural Kentucky. It became the title of her 1976 autobiography and the basis for the 1980 movie, starring Sissy Spacek, which traces Lynn’s rise from humble beginnings into one of country music’s most beloved singers. In 1972, Lynn became the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association.

Among the songs performed in the film are “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man,” “You’re Looking at Country,” “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” and the title song. Plans for a stage adaptation are still in the beginning stages, with no creative team attached or workshop dates announced. The producers - Fox Theatricals and Scott Sanders Productions - have been behind such Broadway hits as “Legally Blonde,” “The Color Purple,” “Red” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Deschanel has starred in such films as “Elf,” “(500) Days of Summer” and “Your Highness.” Producers of the musical said their schedule would not conflict with the actress “New Girl” commitments.

Deschanel also has a musical side. She has appeared on some of her movie soundtracks and in a jazz cabaret act called If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies. She has also released three albums with M. Ward as the folk-rock duo She & Him, and she performed three songs for the recent animated film “Winnie the Pooh.” One of those songs, “So Long,” was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Song Written For Visual Media. During the surprise duet Thursday as part of the Grand Ole Opry Country Classics, Deschanel sang her parts strong, with a convincing lilt in her voice. As the music faded out, Lynn said to the crowd, “Don’t forget her name. Her name is Zooey.” And with that, another coal miner’s daughter was born. — AP

Country music star Loretta Lynn, right, and actress Zooey Deschanel sing Lynn’s hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter” during a performance of the Grand Ole Opry on Thursday. — AP

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

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erman Chancellor Angela Merkel and News Corp head Rupert Murdoch were among the targets of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical humour late on Thursday at the world premiere of his political spoof “The Dictator”. Donning full military regalia and a false beard, and brandishing a replica golden pistol, he swept up the London red carpet standing in a bright orange Lamborghini-with one wheel clamped and being carried on a tow truck.

Baron Cohen, in character as the freedom-hating North African dictator General Aladeen from the fictional Republic of Wadiya, was also surrounded by glamorous, uniformed female “body guards” in short skirts. “Now while I am here, I would like to grant political asylum to (Rupert) Murdoch,” he declared to reporters and fans along the red carpet.

“We also have mobile phone hacking in Wadiya.

Everyone who has a phone, we hack off their hands.”

On the subject of gay marriage, in the headlines this week after US President Barack Obama publicly supported same-sex marriage, Baron Cohen said: “I am very happy because yesterday Nicholas Clegg and David Cameron renewed their vows and now they are the world’s most famous gay couple.”

British Prime Minister Cameron and his coalition partner and deputy Clegg sought to re-launch their joint government this week after big losses at local elections.

Referring to the German leader, Baron Cohen added: “By the way Angela Merkel, you need to look after your appearance. I think Merkel would be more successful if Merkel has a sex change and becomes a woman.”

The 40-year-old comic has forged a successful career adopting offensive characters prone to politically incorrect pronouncements designed to amuse and offend. Internationally he is best known as Borat, the fictitious Kazakh reporter who travels to the United States in “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of

Sacha Baron Cohen

In this film image released by Paramount Pictures, Ben Kingsley portrays Tamir, left, and Sacha Baron Cohen portrays Admiral General Aladeen in a scene from “The Dictator.”

British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, arrives for the World Premiere of ‘The Dictator’, at a central London cinema on Thursday. — AP photos

Kazakhstan”. His other well-known characters are Londoner Ali G and gay Austrian fashion journalist Bruno. General Aladeen is the despotic ruler of an oil-rich country who is forced to travel to the United States in a lastditch attempt to prevent a UN-backed coup d’etat. Early reviews of The Dictator, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings as well as the nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea, have been generally positive.

Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail newspaper awarded it five stars out of five, writing: “The Dictator may be the most conventionally structured of Sacha Baron Cohen’s films-it’s essentially a romcom-but to my mind it’s the funniest.” Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it four stars, and said the film delivered “an explosion of weapons-grade offensiveness”. The Dictator, directed by Larry Charles, hits US and British cinemas on May 16.

— Reuters

British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, right, who plays Admiral General Aladeen, and Egyptian businessman Mohammed Al Fayed arrive for the World Premiere of ‘The Dictator’.

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

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President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday. Obama is traveling to the West Coast for a series of campaign fundraisers. — AP photos

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eorge Clooney played the suave host, chef Wolfgang Puck whipped up something for dinner, and President Barack Obama and about 150 of his Hollywood set donors enjoyed a few laughs at Clooney’s good humored expense. Obama told the crowd that his famed Hope poster from the 2008 was derived from a photograph of Obama sitting next to Clooney when Obama was a US senator. Clooney had been in Washington advocating on behalf of Darfur. “This is the first time that George Clooney has ever been photo-shopped out of a picture,” Obama said. “Never happened before, never happen again.”

Law enforcement vehicles are parked outside the home of actor George Clooney, the site of a private fundraiser for President Barack Obama.

One hundred and fifty supporters will dine with Obama at Clooney’s home, at a party organizers expect to gross $15 million for the President’s re-election campaign. — AP

In fact, the artist who created the poster, Shepard Fairey, used another photograph of Obama but said he relied on the Obama-Clooney picture to avoid a copyright infringement case with The Associated Press. He pleaded guilty in February to criminal contempt for fabricating and destroying evidence. In this crowd, Obama didn’t even need to mention gay marriage to get a vigorous applause. “Obviously,” the president said obliquely, “yesterday we made some news.”

The event, held under a stretched transparent tent outside Clooney’s sprawling tudor-styled canyon home, raised nearly $15 million, a record for a single fundraiser. The guests paid $40,000 to attend, accounting for about $6 million of

the evening’s financial haul for Obama’s campaign and the Democratic Party. The remainder came from a raffle for small dollar donors. Two winners - both women got to take part in the dinner and, even though Clooney was the host, they brought their husbands.

Puck’s dinner menu included an artichoke salad followed by roasted duckling “Peking style” with tiny buns, a duo of lamb and beef cheek with potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and sweet corn tortelloni.

“We raised a lot of money because people love George,” Obama said. “They like me; they love George.” Then seriously, he added: “He seems to occupy a constant state of grace, and uses his extraordinary talents on behalf of something truly important.” For Obama, the A-list party was not only a financial hit, it gave the president the kind of Hollywood buzz a Republican seldom gets. But the glitzy event, with its glamour and wealth, also has its risks and it set up a stark contrast with Obama’s mission on Friday to highlight the plight of struggling homeowners in Nevada.

Among those at the dinner were such actors and performers as Robert Downey Jr., Barbra Streisand and her husband James Brolin, Jack Black, Salma Hayek and Tobey Maguire, who shared a table with Clooney and Clooney’s girlfriend Stacey Kiebler. Heading to Clooney’s house, along the exclusive canyon roads, families gathered at dinner time to gawk, wave and cheer the presidential motorcade.

Children manned a lemonade stand with a sign: “Presidents drink free.”

Around the corner, a boy held up another hand-drawn piece of cardboard: “Will trade Lakers for Bulls if you stop.” And yet one more: “Our gay family says thanks Mr. President.” — AP

his time last year, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra was about a month removed from a contentious musicians’ strike that worsened its already strained finances. Now, the rebounding organization aims to raise the roof - and hopefully $1 million - with help from a hometown musician known more for rock, rap and country than classical. The orchestra will collaborate with Kid Rock today in a benefit concert at the Fox Theatre, down the street from the ensemble’s Orchestra Hall home.

Tickets start at $100, though VIP tickets fetch as much as $1,500 and include an afterparty with the genre-jumping artist who still lives in suburban Detroit.

Rock, who was born Robert Ritchie and grew up in Macomb County, Mich., is volunteering his services. So are Detroit Symphony Music Director Leonard Slatkin and orchestra members. Proceeds will help pay symphony musicians for community outreach and education efforts.

“As a musician, and of course a Detroiter, I am proud to be supporting this longstanding cultural institution,” Rock has said of his show with the orchestra.

One night - even one that rocks and rolls in big money - doesn’t erase bigger, long-term woes for the internationally recognized orchestra. Musicians agreed to major concessions during the six-month strike that ended in April of last year, but that’s only slowed the orchestra’s $2.5 million-to-$3 million annual drain of a roughly $14 million endowment that it draws from to survive. And officials have been mired in a so-far unsuccessful effort to restructure a $54 million bank loan on a real estate deal for the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

The lingering debt came before the labor strife but it’s “certainly become more acute after the strike and we returned to concerts,” said Paul Hogle, the orchestra’s executive vice president. Hogle said as long as the money is owed, the orchestra cannot increase its endowment.

Still, in the short-term, “we’re performing, broadcasting, we’re being an orchestra,” he said. “We still have an enormous amount of work to do,” Hogle said. “But the business of performing and attracting talent here is in fact returning and vibrant.”

He cited the hiring of seven musicians, including incoming concertmaster Yoonshin Song. The orchestra announced this week that the 30-year-old member of the Saint Paul Chamber Ensemble would permanently replace Emmanuelle Boisvert, who left after the strike to become associate concertmaster with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. —AP

In this file photo, Kid Rock performs at Ford Field in Detroit. The musician is known for dabbling in all kinds of musical genres: hip-hop, hard rock, country and Southern rock. Classical? Not so much. But he jumped at the chance to play a show with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The concert is designed to raise some much-needed cash for the DSO, which has been on shaky financial ground in recent years. — AP

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

A rare look into how a young Dior - a mama’s boy who liked to spend time in the garden became inspired by the Granville landscape and decided to dedicate his life to fashion.

Going back to where it all began, a new exhibit in the childhood home of legendary designer Christian Dior in Normandy sheds new light on the house’s huge contribution to the silver screen.

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oing back to where it all began, a new exhibit in the childhood home of legendary designer Christian Dior in Normandy sheds new light on the house’s huge contribution to the silver screen. The setting also provides rare insight into how a young Dior - a mama’s boy who liked to spend time in the garden - became inspired by the Granville landscape and decided to dedicate his life to fashion. The exhibit features a rare collection: three floors with 50 glittering gowns, worn by actresses including Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Rita Hayworth, both on and off the screen from 1942 to the present day. “It’s not something that many people know. For Christian Dior, it was his first job: it all started with cinema costume and dressing up. By the time of his first fashion show in 1947, he’d already done eight films. Now over a 100,” Christian Dior museum co-curator Barbara Jeauffroy-Mairet said.

Opening the exhibit is a mannequin in a black “flower stem” dress from Dior’s first collection in 1947. It’s one that Hayworth bought from what was then her up-and-coming designer friend on the cusp of fame. Standing against a huge photo of Hayworth reclining in an intimate setting with Dior - it’s visual proof that from the outset, cinema stars swarmed around the

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house. “Hayworth was there at that famous first show on the front row. Actresses couldn’t wait to be linked to the house. Dior was, simply, the desired style ... And to this day,” “Stars in Dior” curator Florence Mullen said. True enough: the exhibit testifies to the house’s staying power, ending 65 years later with the black tulle bustier worn by French actress Marion Cotillard’s at the 2009 Academy Awards.

“It was the theater, the decor in cinema - that’s what drove his passion from the beginning: the theatricality in fashion,” said Jeauffroy-Mairet. If fashion nowadays seems theatrical, this was nothing when compared with the catwalk in Dior’s lifetime, as archive footage in the exhibit testifies. A projection shows a platinum blond Jayne Mansfield watching a Dior haute couture show demurely from the front row. Without batting an eyelid, Mansfield is passed by one catwalk model dancing down it balletically, and even doing a pirouette.

“Yes, models would dance. In Dior’s time, they were taught how to do their job - their posture and walk - through ballet and classical dancing,” Mullen said. The collaborations were, at times, bittersweet: in one room filled with press cuttings, a provocative yet vulnerable Marilyn Monroe poses in a black, backless Dior dress for a photo. It’s said to be the last shoot before her tragic death in 1962.Another actress deeply linked to the house was fashion icon Marlene Dietrich - who loved Christian Dior so much she moved just down the road on Avenue Montaigne. Telegrams between the couturier and the German-American actress reveal the intimacy of their relationship. While, in one of the exhibit’s highlights - Dietrich’s famous dalliances with androgyny are confirmed by men’s clothing bills that are on display.—AP

Mannequins in Christian Dior designs are seen at an exhibition at the childhood home of the designer in Granville, Normandy, France, on Thursday. — AP photos

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Yahoo CEO denies misleading company SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is assuring his colleagues that he didn’t supply the incorrect information that led the troubled Internet company to list a bogus college degree in his official biography, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Thompson told other top Yahoo executives at a Thursday meeting that he never provided Yahoo with a resume or incorrect information about his academic credentials, the source said. The person asked not to be identified because the meeting was considered to be private. Yahoo Inc. declined to comment.

It’s the first time that Thompson has explicitly denied lying to Yahoo about his educational record before or after the company hired him in January.

Thompson summoned the executives as he fights to save his own job and bolster the morale of Yahoo employees. Company workers were still recovering from the shock of 2,000 layoff notices being handed out last month when serious questions arose about their new CEO’s credibility.

Thompson’s integrity is under attack because a dissident Yahoo shareholder last week revealed that his bio included a computer science degree that he never received. The shareholder, activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, is demanding that Yahoo’s board fire

Thompson for unethical conduct - a penalty that corporate governance experts say may well be merited.

Yahoo’s board has created a three-person committee to investigate how the illusory degree ended up in a Thompson bio that appeared on the company’s website and in materials filed with regulators on April 27. The misinformation also periodically appeared in other bios citing Thompson’s accomplishments for several years before Yahoo lured him away from eBay Inc.’s online payment service, PayPal. Ebay never listed Thompson’s nonexistent degree in its legal filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In his Thursday meeting, Thompson blamed the mix-up on an unidentified executive search firm and said he didn’t notice the bogus degree on his bio. Thompson’s explanation still doesn’t clear up the mystery surrounding the fabricated degree.

The original source of the falsehood remains unknown. Also left unanswered is why Thompson never bothered to set the record straight during the numerous times that the bogus degree appeared on his bio, or why Yahoo’s board apparently never asked him for a resume before he was hired. Corporate governance experts say it’s routine for a board to conduct thorough background checks on all CEO candidates. It’s also considered a CEO’s responsibility for his bio to be accurate, especially the

information that is being filed with the SEC. The flap over Thompson’s incorrect bio already has claimed one casualty - Patti Hart, the Yahoo director who oversaw the search that culminated in Thompson getting the job.

Hart is surrendering her board seat at the company’s stillunscheduled annual meeting later this year.

The uproar also is bolstering Loeb’s campaign to elect himself and three allies to Yahoo’s board. Loeb’s fund, Third Point LCC, contends the Yahoo needs more help to snap out of a long-running financial funk that has depressed its stock for more than three years. Third Point owns a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo.

As part of his effort to rally support, Loeb revealed Thursday that Yahoo has decided only investors who own company shares as of May 17 will be eligible to vote at the meeting. Yahoo hadn’t disclosed that date in SEC filings, but has shared it with brokers, banks and candidates for its board. Investors who don’t currently own Yahoo stock and want to vote at the meeting need to buy shares in the company by May 14 to ensure the holdings are on the books by May 17.

Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., usually holds it in late June, but the meeting was delayed until August the last time that an unhappy shareholder tried to shake up Yahoo’s board in 2008. — AP

Digital ‘wallets’ proliferate at cellphone show

Apple will never lose its cool PERTH: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says the company’s technology is so good it will probably never be a victim of its own success by becoming uncool.

“Apple a victim of its own success? You could have asked that at any point along the way,” the American technology guru said after a business forum in Perth.

“Of course there’s always a chance - and there’s also a chance that it will become twice as successful because of its success.”

Asked if the once-cool image of Apple as an innovative technological outsider was at risk of becoming too mainstream, ‘The Woz’ - as he is known to tech fans around the world - said the brand was strong enough to carry it through any trend.

“I’ve never seen the Apple brand tarnished in all the time, even when the company was doing poorly,” he said.

“That’s what’s holding it up - it’s like a savings account.”

“So I don’t think that question can ever say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re just going to get so used to it because everybody has Apple’.

“No, because it’s so good.” Mr Wozniak hinted that Microsoft’s Windows operating system had had its time and that savvy consumers were now recognising the user-friendliness of Apple’s products. “I’m sorry, but the Windows PCs were not that good,” he said. “I used them. I did not like their operating system on computers at all.”—AP

NEW ORLEANS: Cash, coins and credit cards are so Twentieth Century. At least, that’s the opinion of the electronics manufacturers, phone companies, banks and credit card issuers that expect cellphones to be the main way consumers pay for purchases in the not-so-distant future.

The trouble is, that vision-of-tomorrow is somewhat blurry, as evidenced at the US cellphone industry trade show held this week in New Orleans. There are a lot of ideas, but little agreement. The stakes, however, are high.

“Eighty-five percent of the world’s transactions are still made with cash and checks. We have a wonderful opportunity to convert those,” said Gary Flood, MasterCard’s president of global products and solutions, in a keynote speech at the show.

One concept that gets a lot of attention is the “digital wallet” - a virtual repository for our credit card numbers, receipts, coupons. It’s not much different from a PayPal account, which can be linked to different cards. A lot of companies see the wallet as the key to influence in the world of mobile payments, especially if it sits on a cellphone, not just on a PC. Google introduced its Wallet last year. It’s available on a few phones that can be tapped against certain payment terminals to complete a payment.

Andrew Lorentz, a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who works with the payments industry, said at the show that if he had a dime for every digital wallet that’s been announced, he’d be rich.

“I can have more wallets than cards,” he said. At the show, MasterCard announced a service that could speed up wallet proliferation even more. The company’s idea is to let any company that wants to set up its own wallet. “The idea behind this is: How do we get more wallets and more innovation?” said Ed Olebe, MasterCard’s senior vice president of ecommerce development. Consumers trust their banks, he said, and might want to

keep their cards in a bank-branded wallet.

Banks, meanwhile, want to extend their relationships with customers, tying them closer. Stores may also want their own wallets, taking the step up from issuing loyalty and credit cards.

MasterCard’s wallet, revealed at the show, will be live this fall and ready for purchases on Barnes & Noble’s website and through the American Airlines phone app. Instead of entering credit card numbers, users on those sites will be able to tap a button, jump to their wallets, pick a card and check out.

A crucial question is what information the wallet issuer will be able to see about a consumer’s transactions. There’s valuable information there that could be used to target marketing offers or for loyalty programs. MasterCard is still working out those details, Olebe said. “There’s a myriad of laws and rules we have to apply,” he said. “We don’t want to push the envelope on that.” There’s no guarantee that MasterCard’s wallets will work on phones for tap-to-pay transactions at the register, either. MasterCard is taking a “wait and see” approach to that, Olebe said.

MasterCard competitor Visa is more bullish about tap-to-pay phones. It has an online wallet like MasterCard, but also a wallet application designed to work on smartphones with built-in Near-Field Communications, which enables tap-topay transactions. But so far, the few smartphones in US stores that have NFC chips work only with Google’s Wallet. What’s holding Visa and others back, said John Partridge, the president of Visa, is that the U.S. phone companies have to allow the banks to load cards for use on phones.

Naturally, the phone companies have their own ideas about how digital payments will look in the future. Sprint Nextel Corp. is collaborating with Google and its Wallet, while the rest of the Big 4 national wireless carriers, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA, have formed a consortium to create their own wallet.

The phone companies are “earnestly trying to adapt to the new ecosystem,” said Bill Greenwell, the CEO of BilltoMobile. “”But there’s certainly friction on the legal side and the business side.”

His company lets people pay for things through their phones and have the charges appear on their phone bills.

Visa is getting a break at the Summer Olympics in London, where athletes and VIPs will be using the NFC-equipped Samsung Galaxy S III phones with prepaid Visa cards already loaded to make payments.

While paying for things with phones is still in its infancy, accepting payments with phones is already easy. VeriFone Systems Inc., the largest maker of creditcard terminals in the U.S., announced “Sail” at the show. It’s a thumbs-sized card reader that plugs into a smartphone, letting anyone who sets up an account accept credit-card payments. It’s VeriFone’s answer to similar products from financial software-maker Intuit Inc. and startup Square, already in use in New Orleans taxi cabs.

Much like its competitors, VeriFone will send the card readers out for free by mail to anyone who signs up, and will charge 2.7 percent of the amount of any transaction, or less if the user pays monthly fees.

VeriFone’s unique advantage is that its phone-based card readers can be combined with more full-featured smartphone jackets that accept chip-based cards, or full-blown payment terminals, said Dave Talach, VeriFone’s vice president of strategic development.

VeriFone’s latest terminals are by default capable of accept tap-to-pay transactions, unlike the previous generation. But it will take time for these terminals to replace the old ones. Stores switch them out after three to five years, Talach estimates. That’s down from a five-to-seven year cycle earlier, but ponderous compared to the pace of the cellphone world, where a phone is outdated after a year.—AP

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Ancient Mayan workshop for astronomers discovered NEW YORK: Archaeologists have found a small room in Mayan ruins where royal scribes apparently used walls like a blackboard to keep track of astronomical records and the society’s intricate calendar some 1,200 years ago.

The walls reveal the oldest known astronomical tables from the Maya. Scientists already knew they must have been keeping such records at that time, but until now the oldest known examples dated from about 600 years later.

Astronomical records were key to the Mayan calendar, which has gotten some attention recently because of doomsday warnings that it predicts the end of the world this December. Experts say it makes no such prediction. The new finding provides a bit of backup: The calculations include a time span longer than 6,000 years that could extend well beyond 2012.

“Why would they go into those numbers if the world is going to come to an end this year?” observed Anthony Aveni of Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., an expert on Mayan astronomy. “You could say a number that big at least suggests that time marches on.”

Aveni, along with William Saturno of Boston University and others, report the discovery in yesterday’s issue of the journal Science.

The room, a bit bigger than 6-feet square, is part of a large complex of Mayan ruins in the rain forest at Xultun in northeastern Guatemala. The walls also contain portraits of a seated king and some other figures, but it’s clear those have no connection to the astronomical writings, the scientists said.

One wall contains a calendar based on phases of the moon, covering about 13 years. The researchers said they think it might have been used to keep track of which deity was overseeing the moon at particular times.

Aveni said it would allow scribes to predict the appearance of a full moon years in advance, for example.

Such record-keeping was key to Mayan astrology and rituals, and maybe would be used to advise the king on when to go to war or how good this year’s crops would be, he said. “‘What you have here is astronomy driven by religion,” he said.

On an adjacent wall are numbers indicating four time spans from roughly 935 to 6,700 years. It’s not clear what they represent, but maybe the scribes were doing calculations that combined observations from important astronomical events like the movements of Mars, Venus and the moon, the researchers said.

Why bother to do that? Maybe the scribes were “geeks ... who just got carried away with doing these kinds of computations and calculations, and probably did them far beyond the needs of ordinary society,” Aveni suggested.

Experts unconnected with the discovery said it was a significant advance. “It’s really a wonderful surprise,” said Simon Martin, co-curator of an exhibit about the Mayan calendar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

While the results of the scribes’ work were known from carvings on monuments, “we’ve never really been able to identify a working space, or how they actually went about things,” Martin said.

The new work gives insight into that, he said, and the fact the room had a stone roof rather than thatching supports previous indications that the scribes enjoyed a high social standing.

“It’s a very important discovery. We’re only getting a glimpse of it” in the published paper, said John B. Carlson, director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy in College Park, Md. “This is an intriguing start for this discovery.” — AP

Technology revolution hits North Korea PYONGYANG: North Koreans are increasingly able to access global media and other information, loosening the regime’s iron grip on their knowledge and potentially bringing far-reaching changes to the so-called hermit kingdom. Interviews with refugees, travelers and defectors reveal that North Koreans are using illegal Chinese mobile phones, DVDs, computers and small flash drives to work around official barriers to outside information, according to a report released on Thursday. The interviews, conducted over a decade by the Washington-based consulting group InterMedia, show the “information environment has undergone significant changes” since the 1990s.

North Korea has long sealed itself off from the world, with an official state ideology of juche, or self-reliance, and a narrative that pits a resilient regime against a hostile world. That narrative, and the isolation that has allowed it to flourish, are beginning to crack as new information penetrates the North, InterMedia said.

“Positive perceptions of the outside world can call into question many of the North Korean regime’s most central propaganda narratives, which legitimate [sic] the regime by portraying it as the country’s protector from hostile outside forces,” according to the report, which was funded by the State Department.

The changes in information access are creating a more aware citizenry and “a greater space between North Korean citizens and their leaders and between the regime’s portrayal of North Korea

and the prevailing reality on the ground,” according to the report, titled “A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment.” The report noted that the changes taking place in North Korea so far are “very small” and there is little hope for any near-term grassroots “pushback” against the regime headed by Kim Jong Un, grandson of state founder Kim Il Sung.

Still, the technology and media developments “are illustrative of a potential long-term trajectory for change,” the report found.

The conclusions came as Kim Jong Un, who succeeded his late father as leader in December, called for harnessing the internet to collect technology from abroad. “We must use the internet to find more data on international trends and advanced science and technology from other countries,” Kim said, according to a segment on North Korea state television broadcast May 8.

“We need to send delegations to other countries to learn more about what we need and have them gather a lot of references.”

Accessing any kind of foreign media is illegal, and harsh punishments are meted out for those caught doing so, the report’s authors said. Even so, InterMedia said, breaking those laws seems to be more “normalised.” The report also found “the increase in media access has been accompanied by an increasing willingness among North Koreans to share information with those they trust.”

“Far fewer North Koreans appear to be reporting on each other than before,” according to the report.—AFP

PYONGYANG: “We must use the internet to find more data on international trends and advanced science and technology” ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. — AFP photo

Facebook buy of Instagram scrutinized SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook’s billion-dollar deal to buy the startup behind photo-sharing smartphone application Instagram has evidently caught the eye of US regulators. The hefty price tag qualified it for a review by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which remained mum on the subject despite a Financial Times report on Thursday saying that a probe was underway.

A Facebook spokesman contacted by AFP said the Californiabased company would not comment on reports of a FTC probe of the Instagram acquisition. The impetus of an FTC investigation was considered routine given the price tag on the deal, but such a probe could threaten to complicate the social network’s plan for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock next week.

“It takes 12 months to undergo review and the acquisition can’t close until the FTC finishes,” said independent analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley. “Now Facebook has an open acquisition during an IPO and that could be a problem.”

Takeovers under review by regulators tend to spook potential investors because of uncertainties regarding how they may play out. Facebook last month announced a deal to buy the startup

behind smartphone photo sharing application Instagram.

The big ticket purchase was seen by some as a move by Facebook to strengthen defenses against Google and blazingly hot newcomer Pinterest in the weeks ahead of what promises to be a history-making stock market debut. Top executives at the world’s leading social network this week kicked off their allimportant road show on Wall Street-an intense marketing drive ahead of the company’s expected trading launch on the techheavy Nasdaq on May 18.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook set a price range of $28 to $35 for its shares, which would value the firm at between $70 billion and $87.5 billion.

Based on the estimated market value, Facebook would rank behind Amazon and Cisco, each worth over $100 billion, but ahead of Hewlett-Packard ($48 billion) and struggling Yahoo! ($19 billion). If all stock options that could be exercised in the next one to two years are taken into account, the value would rise to between $91 billion and $97 billion-or up to 26 times the turnover Facebook posted in 2011. — AFP

TV listings SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

00:45 Untamed & Uncut 01:40 Human Prey 02:35 Killer Crocs 03:30 I Was Bitten 04:25 Wildest Africa 05:20 Wildlife SOS 05:45 Escape To Chimp Eden 06:10 Vet On The Loose 06:35 Vet On The Loose 07:00 Escape To Chimp Eden 07:25 Crocodile Hunter 08:15 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 09:10 Natural Born Hunters 09:35 Natural Born Hunters 10:05 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 10:30 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 11:00 Wild Animal Orphans 11:25 Project Puppy 11:55 Cats 101 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:45 Must Love Cats 14:40 Safari Vet School 15:05 Safari Vet School 15:35 Big Five Challenge 16:30 Wild Britain With Ray Mears 16:55 Wild Britain With Ray Mears 17:25 Panda Adventures With Nigel Marven 18:20 Mutant Planet 19:15 Mutant Planet 20:10 Great Ocean Adventures 21:05 Karina: Wild On Safari 21:30 Karina: Wild On Safari 22:00 Baboons With Bill Bailey 22:25 Baboons With Bill Bailey 22:55 Great Animal Escapes 23:20 Great Animal Escapes 23:50 Animal Cops Philadelphia

00:00 BBC World News 00:10 Weekend World 00:30 BBC World News 01:00 BBC World News 01:30 Horizons 02:00 BBC World News 02:10 Imagine 03:00 BBC World News 03:30 Fast Track 04:00 BBC World News 04:10 Riots And Revolutions: My Arab Journey 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 The Record Europe 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Click 07:00 BBC World News 07:10 Weekend World 07:30 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:10 World Football Focus 08:30 Horizons 09:00 BBC World News 09:10 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:10 World Features 10:30 Newsnight 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Our World 12:00 BBC World News 12:10 Weekend World 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 BBC World News 13:15 Sport Today 13:30 Fast Track 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 Dateline London 15:00 BBC World News 15:10 Imagine 16:00 BBC World News 16:30 Click 17:00 BBC World News 17:10 Riots And Revolutions: My Arab Journey 18:00 BBC World News 18:15 Sport Today 18:30 Fast Track 19:00 BBC World News 19:30 Click 20:00 BBC World News 20:10 World Features 20:30 Dateline London 21:00 BBC World News 22:00 BBC World News 22:30 Middle East Business Report 23:00 BBC World News 23:10 World Features 23:30 Our World

00:10 Duck Dodgers 00:35 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop 01:00 Tom & Jerry Kids

LEGENDARY ON OSN ACTION HD 01:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 01:50 The Jetsons 02:15 Puppy In My Pocket 02:40 Popeye 03:00 Tom & Jerry 03:25 Looney Tunes 03:50 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 04:15 Droopy: Master Detective 04:40 Wacky Races 05:00 The Flintstones 05:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 05:50 Popeye Classics 06:00 Wacky Races 06:10 Pink Panther And Pals 06:35 Dexter’s Laboratory 07:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 07:25 Jelly Jamm 07:50 Baby Looney Tunes 08:15 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:40 Ha Ha Hairies 08:55 The Garfield Show 09:15 The Looney Tunes Show 09:40 Tom & Jerry Tales 10:05 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 10:30 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt 10:55 Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch 11:20 Wacky Races 11:30 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop 11:50 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 12:10 The Garfield Show 12:35 The Flintstones 13:00 Dastardly And Muttley 13:50 Looney Tunes 14:40 Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo 15:05 Tom & Jerry 15:55 Top Cat 16:20 Top Cat 16:45 Pink Panther & Pals 17:15 The Garfield Show 18:05 The Looney Tunes Show 18:30 Scooby Doo And The Ghoul School 20:00 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 20:30 Tom & Jerry Tales

20:55 21:25 21:50 22:15 22:35 23:00 23:20 23:45

The Garfield Show The Flintstones Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch Popeye Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo Wacky Races Dastardly And Muttley New Yogi Bear Show

00:30 Bakugan: New Vestroia 00:55 Bakugan: New Vestroia 01:20 Powerpuff Girls 02:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Ben 10 03:50 Adventure Time 04:15 Powerpuff Girls 04:40 Generator Rex 05:05 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 05:55 Angelo Rules 06:00 Casper’s Scare School 06:25 Eliot Kid 06:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 08:05 Adventure Time 08:30 Regular Show 09:20 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 09:45 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 10:05 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 10:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 11:00 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 11:25 Grim Adventures Of...

12:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 13:05 Generator Rex

13:30 Powerpuff Girls 14:20 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 14:45 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 15:10 Best Ed 16:00 Fantastic Four...

16:25 Ben 10 16:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 17:15 Adventure Time 17:40 Regular Show 18:05 Powerpuff Girls 18:55 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:20 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:45 Ed, Edd n Eddy 20:35 Grim Adventures Of...

21:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 21:25 Redakai: Conquer The Kairu 21:50 Cow And Chicken 22:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Ben 10 23:40 Chowder

00:15 01:10 01:35 Junior 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:25 08:15 09:10 10:05 10:55 11:50

Manhunt: Search For A Killer Destroyed In Seconds American Chopper: Senior vs Desert Car Kings X-Machines Manhunt: Search For A Killer How It’s Made Factory Line Coal Factory Line Really Big Things Building The Biggest Extreme Engineering X-Machines Man, Woman, Wild Dual Survival

12:45 13:40 14:35 15:30 16:25 17:20 18:15 19:10 20:05 21:00 21:55 World 22:50 23:45

Ultimate Survival Ultimate Survival Oil, Sweat And Rigs Coal Gold Divers Gold Rush Storm Chasers River Monsters Man vs Fish With Matt Watson Extreme Fishing Inventions That Shook The

00:35 01:25 01:50 02:40 03:35 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:03 07:30 08:00 08:55 09:45 10:35 11:25 12:15 13:05 13:55 14:45 14:48 15:15 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Meteorite Men The Tech Show Nextworld The Future Of...

Weird Connections Weird Connections Stunt Junkies Stunt Junkies Mighty Ships Smash Lab Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections Future Weapons Nextworld The Future Of...

What’s That About?

What’s That About?

What’s That About?

What’s That About?

What’s That About?

Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections The Tech Show Future Weapons Space Pioneer The Future Of...

Scrapheap Challenge Catch It Keep It Cool Stuff & How It Works Cool Stuff & How It Works Sci-Trek Scrapheap Challenge Catch It Keep It Killer Robots: Robogames 2011

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:40 Cody 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 10:25 11:45 12:05 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:05 18:20 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 22:05

Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Suite Life Of Zack And

Weed Wars Gold Divers

So Random Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Jessie A.N.T. Farm Austin & Ally Dadnapped Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Wizards Of Waverly Place So Random Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place The Return Of Jafar Phineas And Ferb Jessie Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Dadnapped Good Luck Charlie

22:30 22:55 Cody 23:20 Cody 23:45

Fish Hooks The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Sonny With A Chance

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 20 Most Shocking Unsolved Crimes 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Bridalplasty 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 11:10 Giuliana & Bill 12:05 E! News 13:05 Scouted 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:35 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Khloe And Lamar 15:25 Khloe And Lamar 15:55 Khloe And Lamar 16:25 Khloe And Lamar 16:55 Ice Loves Coco 17:25 Ice Loves Coco 17:55 E! News 18:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 19:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 20:55 Style Star 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

00:30 01:20 02:05 02:30 02:55 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:05 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

The Haunted Psychic Witness I Was Murdered I Was Murdered On The Case With Paula Zahn Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Psychic Witness Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Mystery ER Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery ER Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Ghost Lab The Haunted A Haunting

00:00 Departures 01:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 02:00 Adventure Wanted 03:00 Meet The Amish 04:00 Keeping Up With The Joneses (Pilot) 05:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 06:00 Adventure Wanted 07:00 Meet The Amish 08:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 09:00 Deadliest Journeys 09:30 Cycling Home From Siberia With Rob Lilwall 10:00 Graham’s World 10:30 Graham’s World 11:00 Destination Extreme 11:30 Destination Extreme 12:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 12:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 13:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 14:00 Adventure Wanted

TV listings SATURDAY, MAY12, 2012 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Meet The Amish Keeping Up With The Joneses Keeping Up With The Joneses Treks In A Wild World Departures Pressure Cook Pressure Cook Which Way To First Ascent First Ascent Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy A World Apart

00:00 01:00 02:00 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 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Master of Disaster Taboo Megastructures Caught In The Act Hunter Hunted Nat Geo Amazing!

Which Way To Somewhere In China Master of Disaster Taboo Megastructures Caught In The Act Hunter Hunted Nat Geo Amazing!

Which Way To Somewhere In China Aftermath Taboo Megastructures World’s Deadliest Animals Shark Men Lockdown Adventure Wanted Departures

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 India) 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles The Kill Zone Bear Nomad Outback Wrangler Kangaroo Kaos Expedition Wild Animal Fugitives Monster Fish Swamp Men Tiger Man The Living Edens Cheetah Blood Brothers Caught On Safari Africa’s Secret Seven Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:55 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 13:00 India) 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Wild Chronicles Wild Chronicles The Kill Zone Bear Nomad Outback Wrangler Kangaroo Kaos Expedition Wild Animal Fugitives Monster Fish Swamp Men Tiger Man The Living Edens Cheetah Blood Brothers Caught On Safari Africa’s Secret Seven Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild

06:00 08:00 PG15 10:00 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Tracker-PG15 True Justice: Deadly Crossing-

01:00 03:00 PG15 05:00 07:00 09:00 PG15 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 PG15 19:00 21:00 23:00

Brotherhood-PG15 The LXD: The Uprising Begins-

No Time To Fear-PG15 Legendary-PG15 True Justice: Deadly CrossingStar Trek: First Contact-PG Legendary-PG15 Devil-PG15 Get Rich Or Die Tryin’-18

Spud-PG15 Miles From Nowhere-PG15 The LXD: The Uprising BeginsEasy A-PG15 Coyote County Loser-PG15 The Art Of Getting By-PG15 The LXD: Secrets Of The RaJumping The Broom-PG15 Bloodworth-18 Love And Other Drugs-R

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Enlightened 02:30 American Dad 03:00 New Girl 03:30 Happy Endings 04:00 Weird Science 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Mr. Sunshine 06:30 Dharma And Greg 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

08:00 Weird Science 08:30 New Girl 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 30 Rock 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Dharma And Greg 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Mr. Sunshine 12:30 Weird Science 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 Dharma And Greg 14:00 Happy Endings 14:30 Modern Family 15:00 30 Rock 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Mr. Sunshine 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Parks And Recreation 18:30 2 Broke Girls 19:00 The Office 19:30 Man Up! 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 American Dad 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00

American Idol Smash Survivor: One World Glee Strike Back Live Good Morning America The Invisible Man Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View

American Idol Glee Castle Good Morning America The Invisible Man The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Warehouse 13 Criminal Minds Sons Of Anarchy Top Gear (UK) Strike Back

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 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

Falling Skies Survivor: One World Combat Hospital American Idol Smash Glee Falling Skies Survivor: One World Castle The Chicago Code American Idol Glee Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Falling Skies Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Royal Pains Warehouse 13 Criminal Minds Sons Of Anarchy Top Gear (UK) The Tudors

01:00 Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown-18 03:00 Sugarhouse-18 05:00 The Thaw-PG15 07:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 09:00 X-Men-PG15 11:00 Four Brothers-18 13:00 The Devil’s Teardrop-PG15 15:00 X-Men-PG15 17:00 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG 19:00 The Kingdom-18 21:00 Get Rich Or Die Tryin’-18 23:00 Medium Raw-PG15

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

A Fork In The Road-PG15 Fat Albert-PG Feed The Fish-PG15 Little Secrets-PG Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 Big Fat Liar-PG Sgt. Bilko-PG 102 Dalmatians-PG Big Fat Liar-PG Cats & Dogs-PG The Other Guys-PG15 Killing Bono-18

01:30 The Silence Of The Lambs-18 03:30 The Sting-PG 05:45 Entre Les Murs-PG15 08:00 Paws-PG 09:30 Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming-PG15 11:00 Little Man Tate-PG 13:00 Le Crime Est Notre Affaire-PG15 15:00 Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming-PG15 16:30 Forrest Gump-PG15 19:00 Shout-PG15 21:00 Nowhere Boy-PG15 23:00 Agora-18

00:30 02:45 04:45 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:45 14:15 16:15 18:00 20:00 22:00

Night Stalkers Built for the Kill 4 Wildlife Rescue Africa Hunter Hunted Intimate Enemies Built for the Kill 4 Wildlife Rescue Africa Hunter Hunted Intimate Enemies Africa’s Secret Seven

Tamara Drewe-18 Too Big To Fail-PG15 Oceans-PG15 Leap Year-PG15 Lottery Ticket-PG15 How To Train Your Dragon-PG Yogi Bear-FAM The Tempest-PG15 Lottery Ticket-PG15 Burlesque-PG15 Game Change-PG15 Sucker Punch-PG15

00:00 Free Birds-FAM 02:00 Last Of The Mohicans-PG 04:00 How The Grinch Stole Christmas-PG 06:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 08:00 Gladiators: The Conspiracy-PG 10:00 Ice Age-FAM 12:00 Marco Antonio-PG 14:00 How The Grinch Stole Christmas-PG 16:00 Freddy Frogface-PG 18:00 Ice Age-FAM 20:00 Scooby-Doo! Curse Of The Lake Monster-PG 22:00 Marco Antonio-PG

Night Stalkers Built for the Kill 4 Wildlife Rescue Africa Hunter Hunted Intimate Enemies Built for the Kill 4 Wildlife Rescue Africa Hunter Hunted Intimate Enemies Africa’s Secret Seven

00:00 The Thaw-PG15 02:00 The Spirit-PG15 04:00 Thick As Thieves-18

12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

EASY A ON OSN CINEMA

00:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:30 ABC World News W/ Diane Sawyer 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 06:35 ABC Nightline 07:00 ABC World News W/ Diane Sawyer 08:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 09:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 10:00 MSNBC Morning Joe 13:00 MSNBC Documystery 14:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 16:00 MSNBC Up With Chris Hayes Saturday

17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 Live ABC 20/20 21:00 MSNBC Documystery 22:00 MSNBC Melissa Harris-Perry

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 PG15

Perfect Sense-18 Unstoppable-PG15 Call Of The Wild-PG15 Soul Surfer-PG15 Legendary-PG15 Senna-PG15 Hop-PG Slipstream-PG15 Legendary-PG15 Made In Dagenham-PG15 Game Change-PG15 The Haunting In Connecticut-

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 12:30 14:30 16:30 17:30 18:00 20:00 22:00 23:00

Super Rugby UFC Unleashed Live UFC The Ultimate Fighter Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Super Rugby Futbol Mundial Live Super Rugby WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline Futbol Mundial Live Super Rugby Live Super Rugby UFC The Ultimate Fighter Super Rugby

00:30 01:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 10:30 14:30 16:45 17:15 19:15 21:15 23:15

Mobil 1 The Grid Rugby League Challenge NRL Premiership Trans World Sport Top 14 Highlights SPL Highlights Futbol Mundial Total Rugby Super Rugby NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership Live Scottish Premier League Total Rugby Live Top 14 Live Pro 12 Scottish Premier League Rugby League Challenge

00:00 02:30 03:30 04:00 06:00 07:00 10:00 10:30 12:30 15:30 16:30 17:00 Cup 19:00 21:30

AFL Premiership Golfing World European Tour Weekly Rugby League Challenge Cup World Cup Of Pool Live AFL Premiership European Tour Weekly Rugby League Challenge Cup Live AFL Premiership Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live Rugby League Challenge

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 23:00

WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC (On Fox) Diaz v Miller WWE Bottom Line LIVE AFL Premiership WWE Experience This Week in WWE Live Sevens World Series WWE SmackDown

01:25 03:20 05:25 07:00 09:05 11:00 12:30 14:00 15:50 17:20 18:55 20:25 22:00

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

The Hill-PG Crest Of The Wave-FAM Action In The North Atlantic-PG The Tender Trap-PG Tom Thumb-FAM The Naked Spur-PG An American In Paris-FAM Son Of A Gunfighter-FAM Hotel Paradiso-PG Flipper-FAM Billy The Kid-PG The Color Purple

AFL Premiership NRL Premiership

WHAT’S ON SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Announcements Free Arabic course IPC is opening an Intensive Basic Arabic Course for ladies commencing from June 3 to July 8, 2012. The class will be from 5-7 pm for three days a week. Registration is on! For information, call 22512257.

MES training program MES, a socio cultural organization in Kuwait organizing two-hour training session in association with AMAR Consulting Group a well know consulting company in Kuwait on Saturday May 12, 2012. This training is mainly focussed on how to excel in your career and how to be a successful leader who makes changes. An interactive twohour session was held to help participants to learn how to position themselves on social and professional front and grow. The participants will be selected through prior registration based on first come first serve basis. Send your details to meskuwait@yahoo.com.

KNES celebrates International Day

Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main ICS gears to a new cultural entertainment in “Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main” with renowned playback singer from Bollywood Abhijeet & world fame theater cum comedy king Umar Sharif from Pakistan on 18th May Friday, at 7 pm sharp. The Chief Guest for the event will be Ambassador of India, Kuwait. Also guest of honor will be prominent personalities from Kuwait & respected embassies from different countries. So join @ Dr Kamil Al Rayes Auditorium, AIS opposite Police Station Maidan Hawally Kuwait.

Yoga with the Golden Era Club The Golden Era Club presents ‘The Eight Fold Path to Yoga’ on Friday, 25th May; 5 to 7 pm. Yoga here! Yoga there!

Yoga everywhere! Yet, few comprehend Yoga’s true nature!

Join Yoga Guru - Aacharya Shashikala Pushkarna - on this unique journey to the true ‘union’ between the mind, body and spirit. All seniors (60+) are cordially invited. VenueHouse #34, next to Abu-Tammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya.

S

tudents and staff of Kuwait National English School celebrated our annual international day on the first of May 2012. Once again this event was a huge success thanks to hard work from students and teachers.

International day is an important event on our school calendar. The world is turning into a ‘global village’ with high speed internet, advanced transport and communication systems and immigration, which is bringing the world closer and more accessible than ever before. The students of Kuwait

National English School is dedicated in learning more about other cultures, not only around the world but also about different nationalities and cultures in their own country.

Reception, KG, primary and secondary students represented different countries around the world ranging from Ireland, England, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Syria, United States of America, India, Egypt, France and Kuwait. All students enjoyed the celebrations and once again proofed that they have TOLERANCE AND RESPECT for all!

Open House for Indian Citizens The Ambassador of India will be holding an Open House for Indian citizens to address their problems/grievances on Wednesdays of the second and the fourth week of every month between 1500 hrs and 1600 hrs at the embassy. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day. To ensure timely action/follow-up by the Embassy, it is requested that, wherever possible, Indian citizens should exhaust the existing channels of interaction/grievance redressal and bring their problems/issues in writing with supporting documents. It may be mentioned that Embassy of India’s Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizen on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the consular officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall. For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) could be contacted. Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances. Similarly, a labor wing Help Desk functions from 0830 hrs to 1300 hrs and 1400 hrs to 1630 hrs in the Labor Hall to address the labor related issue. There is also a 24X7 Help Line (Tel No. 25674163) to assist labors in distress. For any unaddressed issues, the concerned Attaches in the labor section and the head of the labor wing could be contacted.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ON SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

The Kuwait Chapter of Kinkini Arts held decennial celebrations by presenting classical dance recitals recently. The event was held under the guidance of Guru Rangashree.

4

Decennial year celebration at India International School

th April 2012, was an extraordinary day in the history of IIS, a day for all of us to rejoice and celebrate the greatest event with fun and frolic. In the early part of the day, Director Malayil Moosa Koya addressed the staff members.

Following a prayer session presented devotionally in PowerPoint charged up everyone with the spirit of devotion, enthusiasm and commitment. The morning session was made pleasant with scrumptious breakfast. IIS successfully completed its 10 glorious years of imparting quality education in terms of

curricular and co-curricular activities. It is indeed a matter of proud that IIS has served as a beacon of light and had been a ladle of knowledge since its inception in the year 2002. The school has always striven to provide holistic and value based education to its students realizing very early that the overall development of a student is the foundation for a successful human being. The momentous program was attended by Director Moosa Koya, Principal F MBasheer Ahmed, Vice principal Narinder Kaur, KG HOS Shifana Muizz.

BSK Shakespeare Theatre

T

he British Academy of International Arts @ The Shakespeare Theatre (BSK) May 17-18-19, Wednesday 16, 7 pm (preview), Thursday May 17, 7 pm, Friday May 18, 2pm and 7pm, Saturday May 19, 2 pm and 7 pm.

T

BAIA offers Art & Craft courses

he British Academy of International Arts (BAIA) is pleased to offer Art & Craft courses. 8 weeks from Tuesday 03 April to Tuesday, 29 May, 16.00 - 17.00.

Register at the BAJA Box Office Tel: 60052087 / 25623604 (Ext 154) Salwa Block 1, Street 1, Villa 32.

KTAA Textile exhibition

T

he 13th Annual KTAA Textile Arts Exhibition Award Ceremony and Opening Reception will be on Wednesday 16th May 7pm-9pm.

The Exhibition continues daily through Saturday, 19th May 2012. Opening Hours: 9am - 1pm & 5pm - 9pm KTAA Exhibition Bazaar Friday 18 May 5pm-gpm Saturday 19 May 9am - 1pm The KTAA May General Meeting will be Tuesday 15th May at 7 pm.

Guest Presenter: Christine Porter International Exhibition Juror Location: Majeeb Al Dorsori Hall, AbdulAziz Centre Mishref, Block 4, Next to Cooperative Area.

If you wish to have a table as a Bazaar vendor please email Linda: lgfouke@yahoo.com

HEALTH SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

FDA panel backs first pill to block HIV infection Critics fear drug could create false sense of security

SAN FRANCISCO: In this photograph advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation protest Gilead Sciences’ drug pricing policies outside the Westin Airport Hotel on Thursday. — AP

Washington state declares whooping cough epidemic SEATTLE: Washington state’s worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge residents to get vaccinated amid worry that cases of the highly contagious disease could spike much higher. It’s the first state to declare a whooping cough, or pertussis, epidemic since 2010, when California had more than 9,000 cases, including 10 deaths. Washington has had 10 times the cases reported in 2011, and so has Wisconsin with nearly 2,000 cases this year, though that state has not declared an epidemic.

California responded to its crisis two years ago with a public information campaign, readily available vaccines and a new law requiring a booster shot for middle- and high-school students. Doctors were urged to spot whooping cough early, send infected babies to the hospital and promptly treat those diagnosed. In 2011, the number of cases there dropped significantly. In Washington, about 1,280 cases have been reported in 2012, and officials believe the state could see as many as 3,000 cases by year’s end. Health Secretary Mary Selecky declared the epidemic April 3, and since then officials have bought up the vaccine and made it available for free for people who don’t have insurance.

State officials have asked hospitals to vaccinate every adult who goes home with a new baby, and urged businesses to encourage their employees to get the adult booster shot.

Washington already requires a booster shot for middle- and high-school students. Last week, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced the state is putting $90,000 into a public awareness campaign and diverting some federal money to pay for 27,000 doses of vaccine. The state has also asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send a special team of investigators and an epidemiologist to the Washington.

State epidemic declarations are up to the states; there are no federal regulations for such decisions. Selecky said this is the first time in her 13 years on the job she has declared a state epidemic, but felt she needed to take action to stop the disease from spreading further. “When we’ve looked historically, we’ve seen nothing like this,” she said. “We’re taking this very seriously.” Adults and teens need booster shots so they don’t give pertussis to the babies in their lives, said CDC spokeswoman Alison Patti “We want to create a cocoon of protection around them,” she said. “We’re really worried about keeping babies safe.”

Pertussis is known as whooping cough because of the “whooping” sound people often make while gasping for air after a coughing fit. A highly contagious bacterial disease, it starts off like a cold but leads to severe coughing that can last for weeks. In rare cases, it can be fatal. Until routine child vaccination became widespread in the 1940s, pertussis caused thousands of fatalities each year in the United States. While deaths are uncommon today, they still occur: In recent weeks, infants in New Mexico and Idaho have died from the disease.

Because the adult booster for pertussis - called Tdap for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis - has only been available since 2005, fewer than one in 10 adults have gotten the shot and most don’t even know they need it. The numbers are better for teens: about 70 percent have received a booster shot. —AP

SILVER SPRING: The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection won the endorsement of a panel of U.S. federal advisers, clearing the way for a landmark approval in the 30-year fight against the virus that causes AIDS. In a series of votes on Thursday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of the daily pill Truvada for healthy people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel’s advice, though it usually does. A final decision is expected by June 15.

Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City, California, has marketed Truvada since 2004 as a treatment for people who are infected with the virus. The medication is a combination of two older HIV drugs, Emtriva and Viread. Doctors usually prescribe it as part of a drug cocktail to repress the virus.

While panellists ultimately backed Truvada for prevention, Thursday’s 12hour meeting highlighted a number of concerns created by the first drug to prevent HIV. In particular, the panel debated whether Truvada might lead to reduced use of other forms of protection, the most reliable defense against HIV. The experts also questioned the drug’s effectiveness in women, who have shown much lower rates of protection in studies.

Panelists struggled to outline steps that would ensure patients take the pill every day. In clinical trials, patients who didn’t take their medication diligently were not protected, and patients in the real world are even more likely to forget than those in studies. “The trouble is adherence, but I don’t think it’s our charge to judge whether people will take the medicine,” said Dr. Tom Giordano of Baylor College of Medicine, who voted in favor of the drug. “I think our charge is to judge whether it works when it’s taken and whether the risks outweigh the benefits.”

Panelists stressed that people should be tested to make sure they don’t have HIV before starting therapy with Truvada.

Patients who already have the virus and begin taking Truvada could develop a resistance to the drug, making their dis-

ease even more difficult to treat. The experts grappled with how to protect patients while avoiding hurdles that could discourage them from seeking treatment.

“If we put up too many hoops to jump through, there will be people who don’t make it through those hoops,” said Daniel Raymond, the panel’s patient representative. FDA approval would allow Gilead Sciences to formally market its drug for that use. But Truvada’s groundbreaking preventive ability has exposed stark dis-

This photo shows Truvada. — AP agreements on prevention among those in the HIV community. While Truvada’s supporters say the drug is an important new option, critics worry that the drug could give users a false sense of security, and encourage risky behavior. During the meeting’s public comment period, FDA panellists heard from more than two dozen doctors, nurses and patients who said patients would not take the drug as recommended - every day, in addition to using other precautions.

“Truvada needs to be taken every day, 100 percent of the time, and my experience as a registered nurse tells me that won’t happen,” Karen Haughey told the panel. “In my eight years, not one patient that I’ve cared for has been 100 percent adherent.” Other speakers worried that

wide scale use of Truvada would divert limited funding from more cost-effective options. Truvada sells for about $900 a month, or just under $11,000 per year.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which opposes approval of Truvada, estimates that 20 HIV-positive patients could be treated for the cost of treating one patient with preventive Truvada.

“Truvada for prevention will squeeze already-constrained health care resources that can be better spent on cheaper and more effective prevention therapies,” the group states in a petition to the FDA. The FDA is legally barred from considering cost when reviewing drugs. Medicare and Medicaid, the nation’s largest health insurance plans, generally cover all drugs approved by the FDA and many large insurers take their cues for coverage from the government plans. An estimated 1.2 million Americans have HIV, which develops into AIDS unless treated with antiviral drugs. AIDS causes the body’s immune system to breakdown, leading to infections which are eventually fatal. Gay and bisexual men account for the majority of cases - nearly two-thirds.

The number of new HIV infections in the U.S. has held steady for 15 years at about 50,000 per year. But with no vaccine in sight and an estimated 240,000 HIV carriers unaware of their status, doctors and patients say new methods are needed to fight the spread of the virus.

Nick Literski, a federal worker in Seattle, has been taking Truvada for HIV prevention for more than a year. His partner is HIV-infected and his doctor prescribes the drug as a precautionary measure, even though it is not yet FDA-approved for that use. Literski pays a $40 monthly co-pay for the once-daily pill.

FDA approval of the drug for prevention would be “a huge step forward” in the fight against AIDS, he said in an interview Thursday. But he said rejection would be devastating, threatening gay relationships like his that involve one partner who is HIV infected and one who isn’t. “Many HIV-positive men end up ending their relationships with HIV-negative men out of fear of infecting their partner,” Literski said, and he worried about that happening to him before he started using Truvada. — AP

Indian expert panel to probe drugs regulator NEW DELHI: India’s Health Ministry said yesterday it had set up an expert panel to review the operations of its drug regulatory agency, accused of colluding with pharmaceutical firms to approve drugs without trials. The accusations were levelled in a parliamentary panel report that said officials in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) were operating in wilful violation of regulatory practices. The report, which named a number of international drug majors, said the CDSCO had approved a number of medicines without mandatory final trials, including drugs that are banned in

some countries.

In a statement yesterday, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the creation of a three-member panel, comprising medical experts and academics, to look into the workings of the CDSCO. The panel will examine the “validity” of any scientific and statutory basis for approving new drugs without clinical trials and recommend measures to bring about “systemic improvements” in the approval procedure, Azad said. The parliamentary report had concluded there was sufficient evidence to suggest the existence of a “collusive nexus” between drug

manufacturers and CDSCO officials to push some medicines onto the market.

“Such irregular approvals spare drug producers the cost and efforts but put Indian patients at risk,” it added.

India’s pharmaceutical market has grown by an annual 14 percent in the past five years and, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, could be worth up to $50 billion by 2020. As Indian and international drugmakers rush for a slice of the market, the parliamentary report suggested some “expert” reports on drug safety were actually the work of the manufacturers. —AFP

HEALTH SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

FDA advisers recommend approving weight loss drug Average weight loss just 3.1% of starting body weight TRENTON: Advisers to government health regulators late Thursday recommended that they approve sales of what would be the first new prescription weight-loss drug in the US in more than a decade, despite concerns over cardiac risks. Shares of the drug’s creator, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., nearly doubled, jumping from $3.66 to $7.15 in after-hours trading after trading was temporarily halted.

A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 18-4 to recommend approval of Arena’s lorcaserin, concluded that its benefits “outweigh the potential risks when used long term” in overweight and obese people. One panel member abstained from voting. “We will continue to work with the FDA as the agency completes its review,” Arena CEO Jack Lief said in a statement. The company

noted that the FDA has set a target date of June 27 for deciding whether to approve sales of the drug. It’s intended for people who are obese or for people who are overweight and have at least one weight-related health problem, such as high blood pressure.

The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its advisory panels, but generally does so. Lorcaserin is one of three experimental weight-loss drugs whose developers have been trying for a second time to win approval, after the FDA shot them all down in 2010 or early 2011 because of serious potential side effects. The panel’s vote Thursday comes two days after federal health regulators gave a surprisingly favorable assessment of lorcaserin. When the agency turned the drug down in 2010, its scientists raised concerns about health

issues including tumors that developed in laboratory animals tested with the drug.

In the interim, the San Diego company again applied for approval, submitting additional data in hopes of swaying the agency to a favorable decision. A review of all the research studies by FDA staff, posted online Tuesday, stated that new analysis Arena submitted suggests there’s only a “negligible risk” of tumors in people taking the drug. However, questions remain about it possibly increasing risk of high blood pressure in diabetics or damaging heart valves, a life-threatening side effect that has been an issue with some earlier weight-loss pills. Earlier this year, rival Vivus Inc. won a surprising endorsement from an FDA panel for its diet drug, Qnexa. That move raised expectations for both Arena and Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., the third

company racing to get the first new diet drug into drugstores. But a month ago, Vivus said that the FDA had pushed back its target date for a final decision on Qnexa from April 17 until July 17. The agency said it needed more time to consider a new drug safety plan submitted by Vivus. While patients and doctors are eager for new options to fight obesity, none of these drugs enable patients to magically shed pounds.

Research showed that study subjects taking lorcaserin had modest weight loss, on average losing just 3.1 percent of starting body weight over a year. More than 37 percent of patients lost 5 percent of their weight or more, which is enough to meet FDA standards for effectiveness. By comparison, average weight loss with Qnexa was 11 percent, with more than 83 percent of patients losing 5 percent of their weight or more. —AP

CLASSIFIEDS

55700857. (C 3996) ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for decent Keralite bachelor in Abbasiya near German Clinic. Contact: 99651292/ 66471315.

(C 4000) 12-5-2012 One bedroom available for Keralite couples or a working lady in Abbassiya near Maliackal Jewellery with a Christian family from June.

Contact 99494671. (C 3993) Sharing accommodation for a new couple available at Mangaf near petrol station, looking for Indian or Philippines. Contact between 7 to 9 am and 4 to 6 pm. Tel: 23719415.

(C 3995) 8-5-2012 Wanted room-mate Indian only, near Garanada Cinema and KFH, Khaitan. Contact: 66141908 after 5pm only.

(C 3989)

FOR SALE 2002 Camry, 4 cylinder for sale, excellent condition, Al Sayer maintained, 190,000 km, KD 1950. Contact:

112 Prayer timings Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:29 11:44 15:20 18:32 19:58

9-5-2012

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer, golden color, 81,000 km. KD 1,800. Mob: 66729295.

(C 3992) 2011 Daihatsu Grand Max bus, automatic transmission, sliding side doors, air condition, mileage 7,500 km. Price KD 2,400. Tel: 50699345. (C 3991) 8-5-2012 SITUATION VACANT Required a live-in house maid Sri Lankan or Filipino for an Indian family in Farwaniya, salary KD 120/(for one month). Contact: 66473343. (C 4001) 12-5-2012

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

MATRIMONIAL

SITUATION WANTED

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Email: maibu007@gmail.com (C 3993) 10-5-2012 Marriage proposals invited from parents of RC Christian Nadar family, 30 years old boy, fair, 163 cm height, working in Dar Al Shifa hospital, engineering department.

Email: benadict.xavier@gmail.com (C 3988) 7-5-2012

Experienced Roman Catholic Christian Sri Lankan lady need to work in American, European, British family, living maid or nanny babysitting, cooking, house work.

Contact: 55493669. (C 3994) 9-5-2012 Accountant, MBA Finance has 5 years experience looking for part-time job, can prepare all your business accounting reports and financial statements independently. Call 55829223. (C 3980) 8-5-2012

AIRLINES

CHANGE OF NAME I, Bhasha Venkatesh holder of Indian passport No. E5976797 hereby change my name to Bhasha Chalapathy.

10-5-2012 I, Aniquinna Mariana Pereira has changed my name from Mariquinna Lucas R/O Cortalim, Goa, India, hereafter all dealings in my new name. (3997) 9-5-2012

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information SATURDAY, MAY 12, 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 JZR QTR JZR ETH SAI ETH PIA GFA UAE ETD OMA DHX FDB MSR QTR JZR THY DHX FCX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD BAB GFA JZR MSR IRM JZR MSR GFA KAC FDB KNE KNE QTR SVA KAC JZR QTR RJA KAC JZR QTR KAC IRC JZR KAC JZR ETD UAE SVA GFA UAL JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC

Arrival Flights on Saturday 12/5/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 539 CAIRO 3718 LIEGE 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 239 SIALKOT 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 370 BAHRAIN 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 201 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 344 CHENNAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 5066 MASHAD 201 DAMASCUS 611 CAIRO 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 460 MEDINAH 472 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN 325 NAJAF 6130 DOHA 640 AMMAN 788 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 134 DOHA 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH 6791 MASHAD 535 CAIRO 118 NEW YORK 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 510 RIYADH 215 BAHRAIN 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 176 GENEVA 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO

Time 0:15 0:20 0:30 0:30 1:30 1:45 2:05 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 2:55 3:10 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:35 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:15 7:30 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 11:05 11:25 11:55 12:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:10 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:15 15:30 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:55 17:20 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:40 17:45 17:45 18:00 18:15

JZR BAB KAC FDB KAC MSR KAC KAC JAI KAC IRA AXB OMA MEA QTR KAC GFA KNE ALK SYR KLM UAE JZR BBC ABY QTR JZR KNE DHX KAC JZR FDB AIC RBG GFA UAL JZR DLH THY

125 438 786 63 104 620 618 674 572 774 607 393 647 402 146 790 221 474 229 341 415 859 135 43 129 136 513 476 372 614 513 61 975 3553 217 981 239 636 772

BAHRAIN BAHRAIN JEDDAH DUBAI LONDON ASSIUT DOHA DUBAI MUMBAI RIYADH MASHAD KOZHIKODE MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA MEDINAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH COLOMBO DAMASCUS AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA SHARJAH DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH JEDDAH BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI CHENNAI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT ISTANBUL

Airlines AIC UAL DLH KLM THY SAI ETH PIA UAE FDB OMA DHX ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR JZR GFA THY BAW FDB JZR ABY JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC FDB

Departure Flights on Saturday 12/5/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 413 AMSTERDAM 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 3718 HONG KONG 240 SIALKOT 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 200 DAMASCUS 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 534 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI

18:30 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:40 19:50 19:55 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:40 Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:55 2:15 2:30 2:30 3:20 3:45 3:50 3:55 3:55 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:10 8:25 8:25 9:00 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:05

ETD BAB JZR GFA JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR MSR KAC JZR IRM GFA FDB MSR KNE KAC KNE JZR KAC RJA JZR KAC SVA QTR QTR KAC IRC ETD JZR JZR QTR UAE GFA JZR ABY SVA UAL JZR KAC FDB BAB KAC JZR MSR JAI IRA KAC KAC OMA MEA KNE GFA DHX ALK SYR KLM ABY KAC UAE FCX QTR KAC KAC JZR KNE DHX FDB BBC QTR AXB RBG GFA KAC

302 437 356 214 324 541 165 501 776 619 785 176 5065 220 58 611 461 673 473 124 617 641 512 789 505 6131 135 773 6792 304 238 538 141 858 216 134 128 511 982 266 613 64 439 283 184 621 571 604 331 351 648 403 475 222 171 230 342 415 120 381 860 102 137 301 205 554 477 373 62 44 147 394 3554 218 411

ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MASHHAD BAHRAIN AL NAJAF CAIRO ROME BEIRUT JEDDAH ASSIUT JEDDAH DUBAI MASHHAD BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO MADINAH DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN DOHA AMMAN SHARM EL SHEIKH MADINAH JEDDAH DOHA DOHA RIYADH MASHHAD ABU DHABI AMMAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI ISFAHAN TRIVANDRUM KOCHI MUSCAT BEIRUT JEDDAH BAHRAIN BAHRAIN COLOMBO DAMASCUS DAMMAM SHARJAH DELHI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI CHITTAGONG DOHA KOCHI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BANGKOK

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

10:15 10:25 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:25 13:10 13:20 13:25 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:10 16:15 16:25 16:55 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:25 19:30 19:30 20:05 20:10 20:35 20:50 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:35 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40

C R O S S W O R D

6 7 2

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

ACROSS 1. A baton used by a magician or water diviner.

5. Small genus of Eurasian aquatic perennial herbs.

10. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

13. American novelist (1909-1955).

14. Soft suede glove leather from goatskin.

15. Lap that forms a cloth border doubled back and stitched down v 1.

16. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems.

18. French couturier whose first collection in 1947 created a style (tight bodice and narrow waist and flowing pleated skirt) that became known as the New Look (1905-1957).

19. Used of a single unit or thing.

20. A long brightly colored shawl.

22. A strongly made box for holding money or valuables.

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

26. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

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

35. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

37. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

39. Sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws widely distributed in the northern hemisphere v 1.

41. A large Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria.

42. The sixth month of the civil year.

43. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

46. Realistic Norwegian author who wrote plays on social and political themes (1828-1906).

52. Someone who bakes commercially.

55. Shaped like a dish.

56. Resembling or characteristic of or appropriate to an elegy.

59. Jordan's port.

60. (informal) Of the highest quality.

61. Relating to or characteristic of a tribe.

64. A conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures.

65. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

66. Covered with scabs.

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

DOWN 1. A large number or amount.

2. A city in northern India.

3. Not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances.

4. Corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality.

5. A soft silvery metallic element of the rare earth group.

6. (British) A linear measure of 16.5 feet.

7. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

8. The cardinal number that is the sum of four and one.

9. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

10. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

11. A city in western Nevada at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

12. A stock exchange in New York.

17. A drug combination found in some over-the-counter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine).

21. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

23. The district occupied entirely by the city of Washington.

25. Wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation.

27. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

28. English monk and scholar (672-735).

30. An informal term for a father.

31. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

32. An informal term for a father.

33. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

34. A decree that prohibits something.

36. A river that rises in northeastern Turkey (near the source of the Euphrates) and flows generally eastward through Armenia to the Caspian Sea. 38. Having a woven pattern.

40. Norwegian composer whose work was often inspired by Norwegian folk music (1843-1907).

44. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints).

45. An associate degree in nursing.

47. The people of Great Britain.

48. Flat crusty-bottomed onion roll.

49. God of wealth and love.

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

51. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man.

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

54. The median ridge on the breastbone of birds that fly.

57. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.

58. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

62. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

63. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

Yesterday始s Solution

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Chelsea loom as Bayern out to down Dortmund BERLIN: Bayern Munich are out to break their losing streak to German champions Borussia Dortmund in today’s domestic cup final as their Champions League showdown with Chelsea looms.

Dortmund have beaten Bayern both home and away for the last two seasons on their way to claiming back-to-back league titles and Borussia are bidding to win the league and cup double for the first time in their 103-year history. The last of Dortmund’s two previous German cups wins was back in 1989, while Bayern come to Berlin’s Olympic Stadium chasing their 16th cup title.

The Bavarians host the Champions League final against Chelsea at their own Allianz Arena stadium on Saturday May 19 and while they could be forgiven for being distracted, goalkeeper Manuel

Neuer insists all eyes are on Berlin “All we’re thinking about is this final. We’ve forgotten the other matches,” he insisted. “Obviously, there are a lot of reports about the Champions League final, but everyone saw how overjoyed we were in Moenchengladbach when we made it to the cup final. “We’re fired up for the match and want to win the trophy.”

Neuer played a key role in the cup semifinal victory at Gladbach in March with a crucial save in the penalty shoot-out and is determined to hoist the golden trophy again having captained Schalke to their 2011 cup victory.

Lifting the German cup would also be a perfect foundation for the Champions League final the week after, says Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper.

“We’ve had a good season as a team, but

it’ll only be a superb season if we win trophies,” said Neuer. “The result in the cup final will definitely influence the mood, that much is clear, so we’ll do everything we can to win the cup.”

Bayern last beat Dortmund in February 2010 and the Bavarian giants are not used to losing regularly to a rival from within Germany. “When you lose four times, there is a certain anger,” said Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller.

“We want to show them that this isn’t how it’s going to be for the next five years.” Mueller is not the only Bayern star itching to break the losing streak.

“We all have a burning desire, we want to win,” said Munich’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben.

Unbeaten in their last 22 games in all competitions since losing to Marseille in

Lyon down Evian in French league EVIAN: Lyon beat mid-table Evian 3-1 to consolidate fourth place in the French league on Thursday. Yannick Sagbo opened the scoring for the hosts in the 15th minute by converting a cross from fullback Daniel Wass. But Lyon centerback Bakary Kone equalized with a header in the 23rd from a corner by Yoann Gourcuff. Evian goalkeeper Stephan Andersen palmed a cross from Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis into the path of an unmarked Jimmy Briand, who volleyed home in the 68th.

Lyon substitute Alexandre Lacazette sealed the win in stoppage time with a spot kick after Evian defender Cedric Cambon fouled him. The match was initially scheduled on April 29 but postponed because Lyon played Quevilly in the French Cup final the day before. Lyon also had chances in the 73rd when Sweden midfielder Kim Kallstrom’s lob bounced off the bar and in the 90th when Argentine forward Lisandro Lopez was denied by Andersen.

Evian could have taken the lead on the stroke of halftime. Midfielder Mohamed Rabiu was clean through on goal but his tame lob was cleared by Lyon centerback Cris. Promoted Evian is safe from relegation while Lyon can no longer get a Champions League playoff berth but secured a Europa League spot by winning the French Cup. Gourcuff and Gomis were looking to shine in the hope of being named next week in France’s provisional squad for the European Championship.

Gomis had an effort from a tight angle saved by Andersen in the 31st. He then shot straight at the Evian goalkeeper in the 36th. Gourcuff did not look sharp physically and had no impact on his team’s passing game. —AP Matches on TV (Local Timings)

German DFB Pokal Dortmund v Bayern Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport +3

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Spanish League Real Sociedad v Valencia Aljazeera Sport +4

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Real Betis v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +2

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ANNECY: Evian’s Ivorian midfielder Eric Tie Bi (left) vies with Lyon’s Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom during the French L1 football match Evian-Thonon vs Lyon at the city stadium Parc des sports. — AFP

the Champions League last December, Dortmund have yet to lose in 2012. “It’s one of the biggest matches in Germany of recent years. We’re totally looking forward to it,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller has said the showdown is too close to call.

“It’s a clash between evenly-matched sides, both teams have already achieved great things,” he said. “Bayern have the Champions League final against Chelsea and we’ve won the league, so it’s already a successful season for both clubs.” Both teams will be at full strength for the showcase final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, although Bayern vice-captain and Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger has admitted he is still carrying an ankle injury. — AFP

Duesseldorf secure Bundesliga playoff BERLIN: Fortuna Duesseldorf is a step closer to returning to the Bundesliga after beating Hertha Berlin 2-1 in the first leg of their playoff on Thursday. Roman Hubnik put the home side in front in the 19th minute, but Thomas Broeker equalized in the 64th and an Adrian Ramos own goal in the 71st put Fortuna firmly in control before Tuesday’s second leg in Duesseldorf. “It’s just one game. Fantastic to win it. Today was something special,” Duesseldorf coach Norbert Meier said. “I sweated like a pig.” Hertha, 16th in the Bundesliga, and Duesseldorf, third in the second division, are vying for a place in the top division next season with the loser going into the second tier. If the sides finish level on aggregate after both games, away goals will be considered, with extra time and penalties deciding the winner if necessary.

Hertha earned promotion from the second division last year after being relegated the season before, while Duesseldorf hopes to end a 15-year absence from the Bundesliga. The visitors came closest to scoring early on, Thomas Kraft saving from Duesseldorf captain Andreas Lambertz and then pushing Adam Bodzek’s header just wide. Hubnik beat Broeker to Aenis Ben-Hatira’s corner to score with a header, and Hertha seemed in control until Broeker atoned for his mistake with a fine individual effort. “It was a stupid goal,” said Hertha captain Levan Kobiashvili. “After the first half very few thought we’d give up the game. To lose like that is very bitter.”

Broeker beat three Hertha defenders including Hubnik - on the right before shooting beyond Thomas Kraft off the near post.

“The self-confidence came back with the equalizer,” Meier said. Duesseldorf pushed forward and deservedly scored when Ramos’ attempted clearance from Ken Ilso’s dangerous free kick flew past the helpless Kraft. The unfortunate Ramos was playing only because Hertha’s top scorer Pierre-Michel Lasogga suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the Bundesliga game of the season.

Kraft pulled off an outstanding one-handed save to deny Broeker late and keep Hertha still in the tie. Only four second-division teams progressed from the 13 playoffs to date. — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Blackburn owners see player exodus NEW DELHI: The unpopular Indian owners of relegated English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers said yesterday that up to a fifth of the squad could leave and they would not stand in the way of players asking for transfers. “We cannot hold back players.

Those who want to leave may do so,” director B Balaji Rao told the Times of India amid speculation that senior players such as goalkeeper Paul Robinson and midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen are set to leave.

“But let me tell you, 80 percent of the players want to stay.” Rao stressed again that owners Venky’s, a familyowned chicken farm operator, were “here for the longhaul”, dismissing speculation that they would look to offload the club.

“Me, my brother Venkatesh and my sister (Anuradha Desai), our entire family, have fallen in love with the club. We cannot sell it,” he said. “We were certainly not expecting to be relegated.

It was the saddest bit of news for me since my mother passed away,” he added. “But we will bounce back within a year.” Rao echoed comments by his brother and fellow Blackburn director Venkatesh, who said on Thursday that fans of the one-time English Premier League winners were entitled to be critical of the owners. “I can understand that the fans will be upset with the relegation. We, the owners, sympathize,” he said, adding that “there will be a lot of changes in the near future.”

There was no word on the future of manager Steve Kean, the widely criticised Scottish coach who replaced the veteran Sam Allardyce when he was sacked by Venky’s shortly after their 2010 takeover. Venky’s, which had no experience of sports management prior to their 23 million-pound ($37 million) takeover of Blackburn in November 2010, have been lampooned

by Blackburn fans all season.

The decision to sack Allardyce was unpopular and they then appeared out of touch, with demands for a top-five finish and a fruitless pursuit of Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho.

Fans have been demanding that Venky’s dismiss Kean for most of the season. British press reports criticized the absence of the Venky’s family at the club’s make-or-break Monday night clash with Wigan, which saw the club lose 1-0 and confirmed their drop from England’s money-spinning top division. — AFP

Relegated Wolves appoint Solbakken as new manager LONDON: Former Norwegian international Stale Solbakken was named as the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday following their relegation from the Premier League. Solbakken, 44, will take over from acting manager Terry Connor and will start officially on July 1, the club said in a short statement on their official website (www.wolves.co.uk). Solbakken said he was delighted, adding: ‘It’s an exciting opportunity to manage a great club and I cannot wait to get started.î Connor has been in temporary charge since Mick McCarthy was sacked in February but Wolves failed to win a game under him and were relegated on April 22.

He is expected to return to his former coaching role, but will take charge for their final game of the season against Wigan Athletic tomorrow. Solbakken won 58 caps for Norway between 1994 and 2000 and briefly played in the Premier League with Wimbledon in the late 1990s. He retired as a player after suffering a heart attack in training in 2001. He led FC Copenhagen to Danish league and cup titles during a five-year spell at the club and into the Champions League for the first time, but had less success at Cologne, where he was sacked in April a few weeks before they were relegated from the Bundesliga. — Reuters

Man City title triumph can usher in a new era

MANCHESTER: Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City have the ability to dominate the Premier League for years to come - but only if they secure their first title. City will clinch a first top-flight crown for 44 years if they defeat relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers at Eastlands tomorrow. Mancini’s side are level on points with Manchester United, who travel to mid-table Sunderland, but have a superior goal difference over their neighbors.

Asked if his City team could go on to dominate the league for years to come, Mancini told reporters in Manchester on Friday: “I think Manchester City now is one of the top teams in England and Europe. “After, if Manchester City can win the title for three or four years, it is possible. Now, I don’t know but now it’s important to win the first title and a second afterwards.” In a thrilling campaign, City have spent most of it at the top of the table.

However, a stuttering run of form allowed 19-times title winners United to open up an eight-point advantage at the summit with six games remaining, a lead City have managed to erode after a five-match winning run.

It has left City on the brink of winning a remarkable title race although Mancini was anxious to play down the hype at his pre-match press conference. “It’s been a normal week, the players are very well. I think maybe today or tomorrow they will have pressure because they have an important game,” added Mancini, who is set to keep faith with the same team which won 2-0 at Newcastle last Sunday. “But it doesn’t change our situation. We have to win an important game, a difficult game. “It’s a big game for Manchester City because it’s the first time in a long time.” QPR have a number of City connections which make them dangerous opponents.

Their manager Mark Hughes was sacked by City in

December 2009 while Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton are among three former players expected to line-up against their old club. “For me, QPR are a good team and don’t deserve to go down,” added Mancini. “I hope they can stay in the Premier League even if they lose against us.

“Sunderland play for nothing (against United). I’m sure they play 100 per cent but they play for nothing. For this

Roberto Mancini reason they (United) have the easier game. “I am very proud because I think my players work very well this year.

When you fight with a top team like United, you have to work very well. “We would like to win this Championship for our supporters. After more than 40 years it is very important for them.” — AFP

Ferguson hopes City stumble on title day MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is hoping “something stupid” happens to crosstown rival Manchester City on the last day of the race for the English Premier League title. City and United are level on points going into the final round tomorrow, though City’s superior goal difference means a home win against relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers will almost certainly clinch the title for the first time in 44 years. “We can only do our best and try to win the game, and hope something stupid happens to Manchester City,” Ferguson said ahead of his team’s trip to mid-table Sunderland.

City manager Roberto Mancini said the chance to win the title against QPR made the match harder than playing United. City beat United in the Manchester derby 11 days ago to draw level on points and maintained top spot with a hard-fought win at Champions League-chasing Newcastle last weekend to close on a first title since 1968. “We shall play against a team that plays against relegation,” Mancini said. “It will be hard, it will be difficult - more than Newcastle, more than United.” City has secured 17 wins out of 18 home league matches, while QPR has lost 13 matches on the road this season.

After holding an eight-point lead at the beginning of April, United must hope for an unlikely slip-up to snatch a 20th league title. Mancini struck a guarded attitude as he spoke at City’s

Carrington training ground day and insisted there was still work to do to secure the title. “We need to play another difficult game. They (QPR) are a good team that doesn’t deserve to stay at the bottom. I think tomorrow will be a tough game.” The match at Etihad Stadium has an interesting subplot. QPR manager Mark Hughes is a cherished former United striker who was sacked as City manager to make way for Mancini’s arrival.

Ferguson has joked that he wished Hughes could play for QPR, but Mancini insisted personalities would not come into the equation. “It’s not Mancini against Hughes or Hughes against Mancini, it’s Manchester City against QPR,” the City manager said.

“One team plays for the title, one

Sir Alex Ferguson

team plays for relegation.” Despite publicly conceding the title to United after falling eight points behind with defeat at Arsenal at the beginning of April, Mancini said the team always believed it had a chance. “You need to play 38 games,” he said. “We were on top for 28, afterward we had some problems with some important players injured. We don’t have the experience that United have, but we believe always.”

United will travel to Sunderland without defender Chris Smalling, whose groin injury will also rule him out of England’s Euro 2012 squad. “It’s not going to be easy for us up there and we know that,” Ferguson said.

“We’re going there with a chance of winning the league and you know it’ll never be easy. These last-day games where you have a chance of winning the league, three times we’ve won it and once we lost it at West Ham. They’re not easy.”

He said the impact on City of losing the title after investing so much money and going so close could have severe repercussions. “I think the disappointment of City losing the game would be unbelievable and untold at this moment in time (as regards) what effect it could have on them,” he said. “We do tend to get there in the end but it looks like we’re going to miss out this season.

“We’re not looking as though it’s the end of an era for us. In many ways, it’s the start of one for us.” — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Germany’s young guns aim for 4th Euro crown BERLIN: Germany arrive at Euro 2012 with a perfect qualifying record but Joachim Loew’s young guns still need to prove themselves in a tough Group B alongside the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark. Having won the Euro title three times, Germany are the most successful team in the history of the European Championships and last lifted the trophy in 1996 after victories in 1972 and 1980. Loew’s side earned 10 wins from 10 in their qualification campaign, scoring 34 goals in the process. They now aim to go one better than the Euro 2008 final when they

lost 1-0 to Spain thanks to a single goal from Fernando Torres.

Since taking charge in 2006, Loew has led his country to the European runners-up spot in Vienna four years ago and third place at the 2010 World Cup. Expectation is high in Germany, especially after their 100 percent qualifying record and last season’s friendly wins over Brazil and Holland. “We have many young players, who have never played a big tournament,” said Loew.

“It’s a similar situation to the 2010 World Cup. “An advantage is that our foundation is better than in 2008 or

even 2010, with our philosophy now solidified over the past two years. We have a very balanced squad with a good age structure.”

In the past, Germany have earned a reputation for frugal efficiency but using the skills of midfielder stars Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller, Loew has fashioned a formidable attacking unit able to compete with the world’s best. “The challenge for us is to improve at this high level,” he added. Loew is a fan of promoting young talent and named 18year-old Schalke 04 midfielder Julian

Draxler in his provisional squad, alongside 20-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper MarcAndre ter Stegen. Weaknesses were exposed when Loew’s under-strength team lost 2-1 at home to France in February’s friendly, with problems in defense and getting players into dangerous positions.

Nevertheless, Schalke defender Benedikt Hoewedes said it was better to have problems exposed before the championships. “Our aim is still to try to go all the way at Euro 2012,” he added. — AFP

After World Cup final, Dutch seek Euro win

KIEV: THE EURO 2012 soccer trophy is transported on a car roof during a parade in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine yesterday. — AP

Euro 2012: Denmark’s new ‘Laudrup’ the key to Euros COPENHAGEN: He was only a few months old when Denmark won the 1992 European Championship, one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history. Now, Christian Eriksen is at the center of Denmark’s hopes of springing another surprise at Euro 2012. The 20-year-old Ajax midfielder adds pace and creativity to an otherwise unimposing Danish team that will be a clear underdog against Group B rivals Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Though he has only scored twice in 21 international matches, Eriksen was instrumental in helping Denmark win its qualifying group for Euro 2012.

The quick-footed playmaker has also enjoyed success with his club: Eriksen scored seven goals as Ajax won the Dutch title for the second consecutive season. “I am quite satisfied with the way the season has developed for me,” Eriksen said.

“When I sum things up, I think this has been my best season.” Eriksen’s contract with Ajax runs until 2014 and he claims he is in no hurry to move on, despite rumors of interest from bigger clubs such as Manchester United and Barcelona. “I don’t see the need for a move at the moment. I feel very much at home here (in Ajax) and there is plenty I

can still learn,” he said.

In Denmark, Eriksen’s dribbling skills and eye for the game have earned him comparisons with Michael Laudrup, considered the country’s best player ever. Eriksen was a substitute in Denmark coach Morten Olsen’s squad in the 2010 World Cup, where he was the youngest player in the tournament.

But he gained a place in the starting lineup during Euro 2012 qualifying with emphatic performances against Iceland, Norway and Portugal. “If you have seen him playing in Europe and Ajax, he has matured as a football player and human being,” Olsen said. But Olsen didn’t want to put too much pressure on Denmark’s rising star.

“Individually, if he has a good day he can make a difference. But you know, his shoulders are only that wide,” Olsen said. “In two, three years it will be easier for him. We can’t say our success depends on whether he plays good or bad.”

Eriksen has a key role in Denmark’s attack along with forward Nicklas Bendtner and veteran winger Dennis Rommedahl. Thinly framed, he is not as robust in defense.

That could cause some headache for Olsen, who cannot expect

Denmark to dominate possession against teams that will surely go on the attack against what on paper is the weakest team in the group.

Denmark’s first opponent is the Netherlands, one of the tournament favorites. The teams last met at the World Cup in 2010, when the Dutch cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win.

Against Portugal, Denmark defenders Daniel Agger and Simon Kjaer will be put to the test yet again by Cristiano Ronaldo. In qualifying, they struggled to contain the Real Madrid striker in a 3-1 loss in Porto, but nearly managed to neutralize him in Denmark’s 2-1 win in Copenhagen.

Ronaldo was invisible for most of that match, but pulled one back for Portugal with a masterful free kick in injury time.

It is likely that Denmark’s fate will be decided in the third group match against Germany in Lviv, Ukraine.

The Germans will be huge favorites in that match, but would do well to remember that Danish habit of overachieving when one least expects it.

The last competitive match between the two sides was the 1992 European Championship final. Denmark, which entered that tournament as a late replacement for war-torn Yugoslavia, won 2-0. — AP

AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands has turned Dr Jekyll and Hyde into high art.

The Dutch team can either turn up at the opening whistle of the European Championship with its beautiful game of yore or rely on some of the brutal tactics it used at the last two World Cups. Both styles have proved effective and pushed the Netherlands into major finals. Only the sweet passing and finishing game that has become its trademark, though, has won the Dutch their only international trophy - the 1988 European Championship - and legions of fans around the globe.

Two years after coming out the loser in the most card-ridden World Cup final in history, the Dutch travel to Poland and Ukraine on the merit of yet another sparkling qualifying performance. It will count for nothing at the opening kickoff, however, especially since Group B play immediately puts it up against Germany, Portugal and Denmark in the toughest of the first round groups. Heading into the final month of preparation, Oranje has more question marks than usual. It can play with the poise that dumbfounded England at Wembley this spring with a 3-2 win or succumb to the defensive frailties it showed during a 3-0 loss to Germany early in the season.

“We want to be back on a more stable footing,” Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk said after the victory at Wembley. That stable footing was on show at the World Cup in South Africa when a workmanlike team, only occasionally sparked by the creative genius of Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, lost to Spain 1-0 in extra time in the final. On paper, the Dutch could pretty much do it all over again. Ten of the startling lineup at the World Cup final are expected to travel to their base in Cracow, Poland. Their creative quartet, which also includes Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart, is intact and is even fully standing with only a month to go before the opening kickoff against Denmark on June 9.

Two years ago, though, the crunching backbone of that midfield was provided by Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong. Beyond intimidation, that also counted for experience. This year it might count for age since Van Bommel has turned 35. It is still too early to call the Dutch old, but for a team that so often has thrived on precocious youth, it is starting to have the look of a mature team. Even if De Jong is only 27, he has faded somewhat of late, starting in barely half of Manchester City’s Premier League games.

Not that De Jong is one to doubt himself. “You have to find the right balance, and (Van Marwijk) wants to go back to what we had at the World Cup,” De Jong said. Tough to disagree with a man who brought the Dutch so close to their first World Cup. Like two years ago, the defense looks like an enigma. Again low on easy name recognition, there is talk it is too weak to withstand the best and not savvy enough to feed the midfield and attack.

But if anything, the world wants to see attacking flair. If anything, it might be Van Persie’s year. So far, the Arsenal striker has not carried over his promise in outstanding performances at the World Cup or Euros, but this season, he has been in a league, a Premier League, all his own. And last month, he got the ultimate accolade when his peers voted him player of the season for a stunning array of goals throughout the season. With the last round of games this weekend, Van Persie reigns with 30 goals, four ahead of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

In the German Bundesliga, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Schalke has already wrapped up the goalscoring title with 29, beating Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez by three. Little wonder every one of the nation’s 16 million coaches is wondering which of the two will get the center forward job for the Netherlands. Every Dutch player, though, wants to be in the shoes of Robben, the mercurial Bayern Munich winger who almost gave the Dutch the World Cup two years ago with several good breaks. Robben is notoriously injury-prone, but has survived this spring to help lead Bayern Munich into the Champions League final against Chelsea on May 19. Even if he has an on-off relationship with Bayern, he always feels at his best with the national team under Van Marwijk. “It feels so good to play with a coach that trusts you,” Robben said. — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Roma’s Luis Enrique ends troubled reign ROME: Luis Enrique has quit as manager of AS Roma, putting an end to a troubled reign in charge of the Serie A side, the club’s general director confirmed yesterday. “His work was good. At a certain point it wore him out and he felt the need to stop,” general director Franco Baldini told Sky. “He won’t be training anywhere next season. “We invited him to take all the time he needed to decide, hoping right until the end that he would stay.”

Italian media had reported Luis Enrique’s departure on Thursday, after a video surfaced of him apparently saying to goodbye to the play-

ers at the club’s training ground, but neither Roma, nor the coach himself, confirmed the news. The season has been a tough one for Roma, whose new owners, led by American Thomas DiBenedetto, put the Spaniard in charge of a long-term project that they hoped would make the club as successful as the big three of AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan.

However, the club have suffered 14 defeats, are seventh in the league with one game to play and may not qualify for Europe next season. The club remained publicly supportive of Luis Enrique but it was clear that

pressure from fans and the local media irritated him. Baldini said the club was committed to a flamboyant style of play which would continue under the new manager.

“The project hasn’t failed, we want to carry on playing a certain type of football, and from league statistics Roma is the team that has had more possession than any other, and is third behind Juve and Milan for territorial dominance and pass completion.

“This says a lot about the quality of play. The failure has been how our league campaign went, but the style of play was want we wanted from

Holders Santos rout Bolivar 8-0

Universidad de Chile thump Deportivo SAO PAULO: On a high-scoring night in the Libertadores Cup, Universidad de Chile recovered from a 4-1 first-leg deficit to trounce Deportivo Quito 6-0 while holders Santos crushed Bolivar 8-0 on Thursday. Fans of Universidad, holders of the lesser Copa Sudamericana, feared their attractive, attacking side had blown their chances at high altitude in Ecuador last week but “La U” bushed Deportivo aside to go through 7-4 on aggregate. There were two goals apiece from midfielder Junior Fernandez and striker Angelo Henriquez as the Chileans progressed to a quarter-final clash with Paraguay’s Libertad while the Ecuadoreans paid the price for trying to defend their first-leg advantage.

Santos’ home victory at the Vila Belmiro gave them a 9-2 aggregate win after they were beaten 2-1 by the Bolivian side in the thin air of La Paz in the first leg two weeks ago. Three times South American champions Santos will meet 1994 winners Velez Sarsfield of Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Inspirational striker Neymar and midfielders Elano and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who netted a brilliant free kick, all scored twice. In one astonishing sequence on the left wing, Neymar let a long ball out of defence bounce off his back and land perfectly for a team mate, then received the return, stepped over the ball and flipped it over his head to himself before passing it again.

Fluminense beat twice champions Internacional 2-1 in a much tighter allBrazilian last-16 tie at the Engenhao in Rio de Janeiro for an aggregate victory by the same score. Headed goals by Leandro and Brazil striker Fred in the first half cancelled out an early opening Inter strike by Leandro Damiao. Fluminense, looking to win the trophy for the first time, clash again with six times champions Boca Juniors in the last eight after meeting in the group phase when Flu beat Boca 2-1 away but then lost 2-0 at home to the Argentine side. Corinthians, another major Brazilian side yet to lift the trophy, meet 1998 champions Vasco da Gama in the other quarter-final after both qualified on Wednesday. — Reuters

MONTERREY: Footballer Hugo Ayala (left) of Tigres vies for the ball with Oribe Peralta of Santos, during a Mexican Clausura football tournament semifinal match in Monterrey. — AFP

the beginning. Former Roma striker Vincenzo Montella, who coached the club in the second half of last season after Claudio Ranieri’s departure, has been tipped to take Luis Enrique’s place but Baldini said the club had not yet lined up anyone. “I don’t know (about Montella). From when we knew that Enrique was leaving we have thought about alternatives, but we haven’t had the time to contact anyone.

“I don’t know how long it will be before we know the name of our new coach, (but outgoing Barcelona coach Pep) Guardiola would be science-fiction.” — Reuters

Scottish Premier League Preview

Celtic ready to party GLASGOW: Celtic players will finally get their hands on the Scottish Premier League (SPL) trophy when they take on Hearts in the final game of the season tomorrow. For Rangers, last term’s champions and Celtic’s arch-Glasgow rivals, the lack of the SPL trophy in their cabinet at the end of a season would once have been their greatest concern. But after months of financial turmoil at Ibrox, Rangers still don’t know who their new owner will be and cannot yet be certain they will even be in Scotland’s top-flight come the start of next season.

Celtic, who hold a 20-point lead over Rangers, wrapped up the championship at the start of April but have had a long wait for their trophy presentation. This weekend’s celebrations will cap off what has been a successful season for Neil Lennon’s side, who saw their boss named SPL manager of the season while Hoops duo Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest received the corresponding player and young player awards respectively. Mulgrew, also voted the season’s best player in Scotland by his fellow professionals, has enjoyed a memorable campaign having won his first Scotland cap in a friendly against Slovenia in February.

But the defender admits to a tinge of regret after his side’s hopes of a domestic treble of trophies came to an end with a League Cup defeat by Kilmarnock while tomorrow’s opponents Hearts knocked the Glasgow giants out of the Scottish Cup at the semi-final stage.

“Winning the cups would have been nice after getting to a semi-final and final but we’d have taken winning the league at the start of the season,” Mulgrew said.

“We’ll just need to look at the positives and improve next year again,” Mulgrew said. “It’s a great feeling to be voted for by your fellow professionals and to win these awards is brilliant but the most important thing is we won the league.” Hearts will try to ruin Celtic’s title winning party at Parkhead by claiming the point that will guarantee fifth spot and European football.

Despite the likelihood they may rest several key players before next week’s Scottish Cup final against Edinburgh rivals Hibernian, Hearts first team coach Gary Locke said there’ll be no slacking this weekend.

“The boys and the management staff all know what’s at stake. If we get a point then we’ll finish in fifth place and qualify for Europe. That’s what we’re looking for,” Locke said. “Hopefully if we can get a result at Celtic Park that will get us into Europe. That was certainly our aim at the start of the season.” Rangers will bring down the curtain on a season to forget with a game away to St Johnstone. Their future is far from certain after entering administration in February, a move that saw them docked 10 SPL points, while preferred bidder Bill Miller pulled out of the process to buy the 140-year-old club earlier this week. — AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Hamilton homers again for Rangers Rangers beat Orioles for doubleheader split BALTIMORE: Texas’ Josh Hamilton hit his major leagueleading 15th homer of the season as the Rangers won the night game against the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Thursday to split their doubleheader. Hamilton entered the doubleheader coming off a four-homer game Tuesday and had five home runs in his previous six at-bats. After going 1 for 4 with a single and two strikeouts in the first game, he resumed his assault on Baltimore pitching by hitting a tworun shot in the first inning off former Rangers pitcher Tommy Hunter (2-2).

Hamilton increased his major league-leading RBI total to 38. Texas starter Derek Holland (3-2) did not allow an earned run in six innings. In the opener, the Orioles set an American League record by hitting home runs in their first three at-bats and launched five in all to set up a 6-5 win. All the homers came off Texas pitcher Colby Lewis (3-2), who struck out a career-high 12. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game. Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-0) gave up two runs in 7 2-3 innings. David Murphy connected for a three-run homer in the ninth to cut the deficit to one run but Jim Johnson got three outs for the save.

YANKEES 5, RAYS 3 In New York, C C Sabathia outpitched David Price for the first time in six career matchups between the All-Star pitchers, guiding New York to victory over Tampa Bay. Sabathia

MLB standings

Tampa Bay Baltimore Toronto NY Yankees Boston Cleveland Detroit Chicago White Sox Kansas City Minnesota Texas Oakland Seattle LA Angels

Washington Atlanta NY Mets Miami Philadelphia St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Houston Milwaukee Chicago Cubs LA Dodgers San Francisco Arizona Colorado San Diego

American League Eastern Division W L 20 12 20 12 18 14 17 14 12 19 Central Division 18 13 16 15 15 17 11 19 8 23 Western Division 21 11 16 16 15 18 14 18 National League Eastern Division 19 12 19 13 18 13 16 15 14 18 Central Division 20 11 16 14 14 17 14 17 13 18 13 18 Western Division 20 11 15 16 14 18 13 17 11 21

PCT .625 .625 .563 .548 .387

GB 2 2.5 7.5

.581 .516 .469 .367 .258

2 3.5 6.5 10

.656 .500 .455 .438

5 6.5 7

.613 .594 .581 .516 .438

0.5 1 3 5.5

.645 .533 .452 .452 .419 .419

3.5 6 6 7 7

.645 .484 .438 .433 .344

5 6.5 6.5 9.5

(5-0) struck out 10 including B.J. Upton with two runners on base to end the seventh inning. The burly pitcher allowed two unearned runs in eight innings. Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson homered for the Yankees. It was the first time in Price’s career that he had given up homers to two left-handed hitters in the same game. Price (5-1) gave up 11 hits, many of them well tagged.

INDIANS 8, RED SOX 3 In Boston, embattled starter Josh Beckett did nothing to help restore his reputation, getting booed off the field at Fenway Park in the third inning of Boston’s loss to Cleveland. Jack Hannahan hit a two-run homer and Jason Kipnis had a solo shot off Beckett, who was already in the bad books with Red Sox fans for playing golf last week a day after he was scratched from his scheduled start with a sore muscle in his back. His return to the rotation couldn’t have gone much worse. Beckett (2-4) gave up seven runs and walked two in 2 1-3 innings as Cleveland teed off en route to a 7-1 lead. Indians starter Derek Lowe (5-1) pitched six effective innings against his former team, allowing two runs. The last-placed Red Sox have lost 11 of their past 12 home games.

BLUE JAYS 6, TWINS 2 In Minneapolis, Henderson Alvarez pitched seven strong innings to win his third straight start in Toronto’s victory over Minnesota. Alvarez (3-2) stretched his scoreless streak to 17 innings before a throwing error allowed the Twins to score in the third. He also gave up a homer in the sixth.

Yunel Escobar scored three times and hit four singles for the Blue Jays against Jason Marquis (2-2). The Twins are a major league-worst 8-23. — AP

Alonso puts upgraded Ferrari on top in Spain BARCELONA: Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso gave his home fans what they wanted to see with the fastest time in first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday. The double world champion lapped the Circuit de Catalunya in one minute 24.430 seconds, 0.378 faster than Red Bull’s reigning champion and overall leader Sebastian Vettel in second place on the timing screens. Alonso is looking for big improvements in his car after tests in Italy last week ahead of the first European race of the Formula One season.

Ferrari have struggled to keep up with champions Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes despite Alonso’s win against the odds in a rain-hit Malaysian race in March and the Spaniard is now fifth overall. So open is the championship, with four different winners in four races, that the Ferrari driver is still only 10 points behind Vettel, however. On a hot and bright morning, the session got off to a low-key start with Alonso keeping his fans waiting for more than an hour before he set a serious time.

Vettel, winner of the previous race in Bahrain, had been quickest until then.

While Ferrari assessed their upgraded car, McLaren were trying out a new raised nose after their strong start to the season has tailed off. Jenson Button was fourth fastest. Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas impressed with the fifth best time after taking Brazilian Bruno Senna’s place for the session. French reserve Jules Bianchi took Paul Di Resta’s Force India for the morning while American Alexander Rossi made his Caterham debut and Spaniard Dani Clos replaced Indian Narain Karthikeyan in the HRT. The arrival of Clos on track will go down as a footnote in Formula One history as the first time a Spanish team had run two Spanish drivers at a Spanish Grand Prix. Rossi was the first American driver to take part in a grand prix weekend since Scott Speed left Toro Rosso in 2007. — Reuters

INDIANAPOLIS: Brazilian IndyCar driver Rubens Barrichello speeds out of the pit area during the rookie orientation practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. — AP

Barrichello passes IndyCar rookie test FLORIDA: Brazilian Rubens Barrichello completed his IndyCar oval rookie orientation program on Thursday, clearing the way for the Formula One veteran to race at this month’s Indianapolis 500.

Despite spending almost two decades in F1, the 39-year-old Barrichello had to prove his skill on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, going 10 laps at 200-205 mph followed by 15 laps at 205-210 mph and 15 laps at 210 mph or higher.

Barrichello’s performance makes him eligible to participate in full practice starting on Saturday at the famed Brickyard and qualifying scheduled for May 19-20. “I enjoyed today very much,” Barrichello said in a statement put out by his team KV Racing. “I want to thank IndyCar for having the ROP (Rookie Orientation Program) session. “It allows you to progress gradually without too much pressure, so I was at ease with my car and the whole

process. Barrichello, who spent 19 seasons in F1 and started a record 322 races, moved to the North American-based series this year, making his IndyCar debut at the March 25 series opener on the streets of St Petersburg, Florida.

But for all his experience, Barrichello has never raced on the IndyCar’s infamous ovals, something he once promised his wife he would never do. Racing on ovals requires unique skills and a special bravery as cars stampede around the circuit wheel-to-wheel at speeds of more than 200 mph. Fans and drivers were reminded of those extreme dangers last October, when Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a crash during the series finale at the Las Vegas Speedway. Barrichello has run just four IndyCar races, all on familiar street and road courses, posting three top 10 finishes and a best result of eighth at the Grand Prix of Alabama. — Reuters

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Argentina’s hunger feeds Brazil basketball ambition RIO DE JANEIRO: Overcome adversity, play as a team, never think of defeat, hunger for medals.

Coach Ruben Magnano’s tenets for success have guided Brazil’s basketball team to their first Olympics in 16 years and given them genuine hope of a podium place in London. While they may sound like sporting cliches, Argentine Magnano used those same ingredients to steer his own country to the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

He told Reuters there was no reason why those principles could not result in a medal for Brazil, who won Olympic bronze medals in 1948, 1960 and 1964.

“If I manage to be competitive in my practices, the chances are there to get a medal,” Magnano said in a telephone interview on Thursday. He reflected on the characteristic that lifted Argentina’s “golden generation” to the title in Athens. “The first thing that comes to mind is that team’s hunger for a medal. Of course, there are technical and tactical attributes but above all the hunger they had to fight for a medal,” Magnano added.

Asked whether Brazil had shown that same determination to go after a medal, he said emphatically: “Of course they have. They showed it at the pre-Olympic (tournament). It was clear how to play

as a team, what a team feels, they were an example.

“There’s no doubt once they had qualified they were already dreaming of their chances at the Olympic Games in London. “It will be a completely new competition for them, but that will feed that hunger we need to fight for medals.” Brazil booked their ticket to London after finishing second to hosts Argentina in last year’s qualifying tournament in the Argentine resort of Mar del Plata. Brazil beat Argentina in the second round of the tournament, but when they faced each other in the final it was the hosts who came out on top.

NBA DEBATE Brazil’s qualifying success was down to a teamfirst mentality. Tiago Splitter was the only one of the four Brazilians in the NBA to play for the team.

Anderson Varejao was picked but then had to pull out through injury while Nene and Leandrinho turned down their call-ups. Qualifying without those players sparked a national debate over whether they should be picked for the Olympics, with Oscar Schmidt, who played at five Games, one of the loudest voices against their inclusion.

Magnano left the doors open to all from the start

but he will keep his cards hidden until May 17 when he is to name his squad to begin Olympic training. “I don’t think Brazil can afford to close doors and should look at each (player’s) case calmly and intelligently,” said Magnano, who will name 16 players for training and warm-up tournaments before cutting the squad down to 12 for the Games.

On court, whatever his line-up, Magnano wants to see in London the same style as the qualifiers strong defense and a collective effort with the points distributed among the players. “We mustn’t change absolutely anything we did in the preOlympic. Those must be the characteristics of our game, always putting the value of the team above the individual talents.” In London, Brazil will look to advance from their group at least in third place to avoid a possible quarter-final clash with favorites the United States, who are expected to win the other group. Cheered by Argentine fans when he led Brazil against the hosts at the qualifying tournament, Magnano said he would like another encounter with his former team. The two sides could meet in the semi-finals. “If we meet Argentina it will mean we’ve done a good job up to that point.”— Reuters

Poulter and Laird take joint control at Players Woods in tie for 100th place after 2-over-par 74 PONTE VEDRA BEACH: Britain’s Ian Poulter and Martin Laird shared the lead at the Players Championship after firing seven-under-par rounds of 65 in Thursday’s opening round. World number one Rory McIlroy had to settle for an even-par 72 after finding water at the parthree 17th, famous for its island green, while Tiger Woods risks missing consecutive cuts for the first time as a pro after shooting a twoover 74. American Blake Adams’ six-under-par 66 set the early pace at sun-blessed TPC Sawgrass while compatriots Kevin Na and Ben Crane were lurking a further shot back at an event that is widely regarded as golf’s unofficial fifth major.

Laird was the only player to finish the challenging course bogeyfree and once again his accomplished putting was the key. “Any time you go around this golf course bogey-free is obviously a very good day,” said Laird, who won in Florida last year, clinching the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. “I missed a few greens out there from good spots in the middle of the fairways but managed to scramble really well and chipped them up close enough ... but the key was the putter and any time I had a chance for birdie, I rolled it in.” Poulter, who finished second here in 2009, made just one bogey and had a run of nine single putt holes in what was a confident round. “It was a very, very good round of golf. That’s definitely in the top 10 of the rounds of golf I’ve ever played,” he said.

STILL STRUGGLING Woods, who missed the cut last week at Quail Hollow, runs the risk of another embarrassing early exit after a frustrating round that left him in a tie for 100th place. With a large crowd following Woods and playing partner Rickie Fowler in glorious sunshine, the 14-times major winner did prompt some cheers with a birdie at 17. But that was a rare bright spot for the former world number one who is still struggling with his game and made five bogeys. “I hit three decent shots in there and got some of the worst lies. The best shot I hit all day was on 3 and I ended up in a spot where I really couldn’t play from,” said Woods. “It was frustrating in the sense that my good shots ended up in bad spots and obviously my bad shots ended up in worse spots.”

Fowler, fresh off his first PGA Tour win at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, mixed four birdies with four bogeys for an even-par 72. World number two Luke Donald recovered to make even-par with birdies on the 16th and 17th, while defending champion KJ Choi shot a three-over 75. The worst performance at the popular 17th hole came from Argentine Angel Cabrera, who found water three times as he made a nine. Cabrera later withdrew, citing personal reasons, one of five players to pull out of the tournament on the opening day. Lee Westwood, ranked third in the world, finished the day one-under along with Phil Mickelson, the 2007 Players winner. — Reuters

FLORIDA: Ian Poulter of England putts on the green of the 18th hole during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship held at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. — AFP

India ‘lightning kid’ out to defend title NEW DELHI: They might not enjoy the same levels of adulation, but in the world of chess India’s Viswanathan Anand is every bit as accomplished as fellow countryman Sachin Tendulkar is at cricket. Both Anand, 42, and Tendulkar, 39, rose to the top of their game while teenagers and have stayed at the highest level for decades, lauded by their fellow players at home and abroad for their talent and polite charm. And while Tendulkar, one of the finest cricketers ever to play the game, is worshipped by millions of adoring fans and often considered India’s top international competitor, some suggest Anand’s record is actually superior.

“Anand is, quite simply, the greatest sportsman India has ever produced,” declares the website of the Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation started in 2001 to support the country’s world-class stars. Anand, the undisputed world chess champion since 2007, embarks Friday on one of the biggest tests of his career as he defends his crown against Israeli Boris Gelfand in the $2.5 million series in Moscow. Dubbed the “lightning kid” for his ability to make quick moves, he has been in a hurry all his life.

He became an international master at 15, was crowned Indian champion at 16, won the world junior title at 17 and became the country’s first grandmaster at 18. The Indian government, taking note of the young man’s rapid rise, conferred on him India’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, a few months short of his 19th birthday. The Tamil Nadu-born wizard, who lives in Spain with wife Aruna and one-year-old son, is seen as a star not only of today’s game but of all time. “I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess,” said Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, who lost to Anand in the 2008 world final. “Each champion has had some sort of speciality, and his is creating counterplay in any position out of absolutely nowhere.”—AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Delegates ‘misunderstood’ kiteboard vote Language problems caused confusion for voters

JERUSALEM: The International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) decision to drop windsurfing from the Olympics in favor of kiteboarding likely came about because some delegates didn’t realize what they were voting for, Israel’s sailing chief said yesterday. “The delegates were probably confused or didn’t understand the motion fully because of language difficulties, or some may have been napping at the presentations and then cast their votes without realizing the implications,” Yehuda Maayan said.

Maayan’s comments came as the Spanish Sailing Federation admitted it had voted in error. “The RFEV (federation) made a mistake in the vote between kitesurf and windsurf as an Olympic sport for Rio 2016. Spain supported and supports keeping windsurf (RS:X) in the 2016 Olympic Games,” the federation said in a statement on their website. “Despite all this, at the last moment the Spanish representative in the ISAF Council voted in favour of kite, an error caused by the

confusion in the voting system of which the federation president, Gerardo Pombo, takes full responsibility and for which he asks forgiveness from all the Spanish windsurfers.”

The ISAF was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters. Windsurfing is one of Israel’s most successful Olympic sports, having yielded three out of its seven medals, including its only gold, and a number of Israelis have featured highly at world and European championships over the years.

Maayan, the chairman of the Israel Sailing Association, did not attend the Melbourne meeting where the decision was made but said it was surprising that the professional committee’s clear recommendation to keep the RS-X sailboard had been voted down.

DECISION PROMPTED JEERS “The expert committee vote to retain the RS-X sailboard passed 17-2, but ISAF’s broader forum where many dele-

Blues beat Lions, end losing streak AUCKLAND: The Auckland Blues lifted themselves off the bottom of the Super 15 table when they beat the Golden Lions 25-3 in the battle of the cellar dwellers at Eden Park yesterday. In a week when the Blues franchise advertised Coach Pat Lam’s job, the side chalked up their second win of the season to end a run of seven straight defeats. The victory moved them two points clear of the Lions who have now suffered nine losses since they won their opening round match against the Central Cheetahs. The Blues scored three tries to none but the game never reached great heights, although Captain Luke Braid said the relief at not losing was satisfaction enough.

“We got the win and that’s all that matters,” he said singling out his side’s improved defensive effort. “They made a few line breaks and were hard on attack. In previous games they’d have scored tries from that but our scramble was awesome, we got back and fought for it.” The Lions started with a roar and their forwards dominated the Blues early, paving the way for an Elton Jantjies penalty to have them in front in the opening minutes. But following the initial burst the Lions were unable to sustain the pressure and the Blues forwards led by Luke and Daniel Braid gradually assumed control.

The turning point came when the Lions turned down the chance of a second kickable penalty and went for an attacking lineout about 12 minutes into the first half. Their planned forward drive to the line fell flat with the Blues winning possession and working their way up the length of the field where Michael Hobbs was able to cut through a weak defensive effort for the opening try.

Gareth Anscombe landed the conversion and a penalty to have the Blues ahead 10-3 with a second try eluding them on the stroke of halftime when David Raikuna was forced out in the corner. Anscombe, who had an erratic night with the boot, kicked a second penalty soon after the resumption of play to give the Blues a 10-point lead before Alby Mathewson scored their second try. The replacement scrum-half snapped up the ball from behind an untidy Lions scrum and scampered 40 meters to score in the corner.

The Blues struggled in the scrums late in the match after both starting props Tony Woodcock and Charlie Faumuina left the field with injuries. But the Lions, who appear destined to be replaced by the Southern Kings next year, were unable to capitalize on the advantage they had up front and when they did win the ball their backs suffered from handling errors. Luke Braid rounded off the scoring in the final play of the match when he broke off from the back of a scrum and forced his way over the line. — AFP

gates do not necessarily have an interest in windsurfing, rejected it 19-17,” Maayan said. The decision prompted jeers from leading athletes, but was hailed by kiteboarders whose discipline will be showcased for the first time at the Rio Games in 2016. Maayan likened the move to judo competitors being told to abandon their skills and compete as wrestlers. “There is no comparison between sailboard and kiteboard, it’s a completely different discipline and requires very different skills, it’s like telling judokas: no more judo for you, now you must be wrestlers.”

Ben Finkelstein, coach of Israeli women’s triple world champion Lee Korzits, voiced concerns to Reuters in a telephone interview about the cost implications of the switch. “Professional surfers who decide to make the change will be able to use their skills to adapt but I am much more worried about all the clubs and the less expert, young surfers.

“It is a completely different discipline and

if we want to nurture competitors in the new discipline it will mean changing the equipment and that will require a huge outlay,” Finkelstein said from the Olympic sailing site at Weymouth on England’s south coast.

Maayan said for Israel, a country lacking major sports funding and which highlights windsurfing as an important Olympic discipline, the cost of replacing the equipment would be under $1 million, although that was only part of the problem.

“Its hard to spend money when there is so little to go around but add to the price of buying new equipment the cost of training new coaches, it’s a tough proposition,” he said. Worried that the ISAF decision would not be changed, Maayan said he could foresee a situation soon when sailboards would be an unwanted item. “If kiteboarding is indeed adopted, all the Olympic sailboards will be go up in smoke next bonfire night,” he said. — Reuters

Nadal, Djokovic threaten to boycott Madrid clay Blue courts slammed for being too slippery MADRID: The Madrid Open was in danger of losing two of its star attractions for next year’s edition after Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic said they would boycott the Masters event unless organizers ditched the controversial blue clay courts. World number one Djokovic and number two Nadal have been the most vocal in attacking the new surface, which organizers argue makes it easier for TV viewers to follow the balls but many players say is much more slippery than traditional red clay.

Nadal was dumped out in the third round on Thursday when he was upset by 15th seed Fernando Verdasco, the French Open champion’s first defeat on clay in 23 matches and his first loss to his Spanish compatriot in 14 meetings on all surfaces.

“The ATP and the tournament can do what they want,” a visibly irritated Nadal told a news conference.

“I tried my best to prepare but I wasn’t good enough to adapt my game to this court,” added the 25-year-old, who was chasing a third straight clay title of the season. “The only thing that I know is that if things continue like this I am very sad but next year will be one less tournament in my calendar.” Organizers declined to comment, while the ATP said the blue courts are a one-year experiment and a decision will be taken on whether to keep them for 2013 once all feedback had been considered.

CHUCK NORRIS Djokovic slammed the Manolo Santana centre court after his labored secondround victory on Tuesday and joked that he was considering wearing football boots or enlisting the help of action star Chuck Norris to help deal with the slick surface.

He slipped and slid his way to a 7-6 6-4 win against unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday before announcing

MADRID: Spanish Rafael Nadal returns a ball against Spanish Fernando Verdasco during their tennis match of the Madrid Masters against compatriot Fernando Verdasco at the Magic Box (Caja Magica) sports complex in Madrid.

Verdasco won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. — AFP he would not play in the Spanish capital next year unless the red clay courts were reinstated.

“They are saying it’s exactly the same as the red clay which is not true because there is a big difference,” the Serb said.

“You are tripping and slipping and sliding all the time and winner will be the one who doesn’t get hurt until the end of the week because a lot of players fell down,” he added. “Generally it’s a new experience and the way it looks this year hopefully the last experience.” After his comfortable third-round win against Richard Gasquet on Thursday, world number three Roger Federer said he understood Nadal’s frustration.

“He was against it from the start and so

was I so obviously for him to go out in the third round is disappointing,” the Swiss told a news conference. “We never felt comfortable on the surface, it is a tough surface and that only makes you angry even more.” Nadal complained that having to play on a surface that is so different to the courts used at other tournaments, including the French Open starting later this month, was too disruptive. “I think the tournament is great but that is a bad decision,” he said. “The movements are very important for me and here I cannot move so I cannot hit the ball the way that I want.”

Although the blue clay is extracted from crushed brick, like the traditional red, the material is stripped of its iron oxide before being dyed. —Reuters

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Sports

Germany’s young guns aim for 4th Euro crown

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PHILADELPHIA: Chicago Bulls’ Carlos Boozer (5) shoots as Philadelphia 76ers’ Spencer Hawes defends in the first half of Game 6 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Thursday, May 10, 2012. — AP

76ers oust Bulls, face Celtics Celtics, 76ers advance; Nuggets stay alive

PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala made the go-ahead free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining to give the 76ers a 79-78 win over the top-seeded Chicago Bulls on Thursday, winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals. Omar Asik missed two free throws for the Bulls with 7 seconds left that would have sealed the win. Iguodala grabbed the second miss, sprinted the length of the court, and was fouled by Asik on the driving layup. He made both to send the crowd into a frenzy, then leapt onto the scorers table as the team anthem blared out.

The Sixers are just the fifth No 8 seed in NBA history to win a first-round series against a No 1 seed. In his second season, coach Doug Collins had already led the Sixers to their first winning season in seven years. Now, it’s on to the second round for the first time since 2003 and the Allen Iverson era. They will play Boston. Iguodala scored 20 points, and Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams each scored 14 for the Sixers, who won even though the Bulls crushed them 56-33 on the boards. Luol Deng had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls. Richard Hamilton scored

19 points and Carlos Boozer grabbed 13 rebounds.

CELTICS 83, HAWKS 80 In Boston, Kevin Garnett hitting a jumper to give Boston the lead with 31 seconds left, and the Celtics held on to beat Atlanta, clinching a 4-2 series victory and a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight year.

Garnett had a season-high 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Boston, which has won at least one playoff series every year since the new Big 3 was assembled. Paul Pierce had 18 points despite playing with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and Rajon Rondo had 14 points and eight assists.

Josh Smith had 19 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta, which failed to advance in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Joe Johnson had 17 points, Marvin Williams added 16 and eight rebounds and Al Horford had 15 points and nine rebounds. The Celtics will open the second round against Philadelphia in Boston today. The crowd cheered near the end of the third quarter when the final play of the Sixers-Bulls game was

shown on the scoreboard. That result meant the Celtics will have home-court advantage against eighth-seeded Philadelphia rather than facing the Bulls. The Hawks went 5 minutes without scoring early in the fourth quarter as the Celtics turned a two-point game into a 74-65 lead. But Atlanta scored 10 of the next 12 points, with Horford scoring the last three baskets, making it a one-point game with 3:52 left. Smith dunked to give Atlanta its first lead of the second half, 77-76.

Horford drove to the basket to give the Hawks a three-point lead.

Atlanta still led 79-78 when Garnett made a turnaround jumper in the lane to put Boston ahead by one. Smith had a chance to restore the visitors’ lead but missed a long rainbow jumper.

Ray Allen got a rebound with 10 seconds left, but made only one of two free throws, pushing the Celtic’ lead to 81-79. With 10 seconds left, Atlanta’s Johnson drove to the basket but Pierce blocked his shot and Garnett tipped it out of bounds with 3.1 seconds left. The Hawks got the ball in to Horford in the lane but as he went up for the dunk Marquis Daniels tackled him to prevent a score.

NUGGETS 113, LAKERS 96 In Denver, Ty Lawson scored 32 points, Corey Brewer added 18 and Denver forced a Game 7 in their first-round playoff series with a dominating 113-96 win over Los Angeles on Thursday. The free-wheeling Nuggets are one win from running the lumbering Lakers right out of the playoffs.

Game 7 in the Western Conference series is today in LA. It will be the Nuggets’ first all-or-nothing playoff game since losing to Utah in Game 7 of the 1994 conference semifinals. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points in 31/2 quarters despite a stomach upset that prevented him from attending the Lakers’ morning shootaround and forced him to take intravenous fluids all day.

He took a seat for good with Los Angeles down 101-73 with 7:52 remaining. The younger but deeper Nuggets have won three of four since dropping the first two games in Los Angeles, and they did it by once again outrunning and outgunning their star-studded counterparts who prefer a half-court game and not the frenetic pace and pickup-game style employed by the Nuggets.

Lawson’s 32 points were a career-playoff high, besting his old mark of 27 set last year. —AP