14 Jan 2012

IPT IO N SC R SU B

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

SAFAR 20, 1433 AH

No: 15328

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Police disperse ‘stateless’ protest, dozens arrested Human Rights Watch slams Kuwait

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JAHRA: Kuwait’s riot police disperse bedoon protesters who are demanding citizenship and other basic rights in Jahra yesterday. — Photos by Joseph Shagra and Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: Several people were wounded and dozens arrested yesterday as Kuwaiti police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse stateless protesters demanding citizenship, witnesses and a rights group said.

Hundreds of riot police backed by armored vehicles assaulted several hundred protesters who braved a stern interior ministry warning not to demonstrate as authorities promised to resolve their decades-old plight.

Police chased the protesters into the streets of Jahra, northwest of the capital Kuwait City, and arrested many of them, including a 13-year-old boy, the independent Kuwait Association of Human Rights said on

its Twitter account. A number of young protesters were seen with their heads bleeding after they were beaten with batons by riot police, witnesses said.

Private Al-Watan TV channel said its photographer was wounded. Stateless people, officially known as illegal residents or bedoons, have been demonstrating over the past several weeks for their rights. Kuwait’s interior ministry issued three statements this week warning them not to do so or face punishment. The Islamic Ommah Party, the leftist Progressive Movement and former MPs and election candidates blasted what they called “police repression” and called for a peaceful

solution to the bedoons’ problem. “The repressive treatment of bedoons proves that the previous government’s approach is still continuing,” former opposition MP Mussallam Al-Barrak said in a statement.

Earlier yesterday, Human Rights Watch called on Kuwait to scrap the decision banning stateless people from protesting. “This is a shameful effort to curb the rights to peaceful expression and assembly of Kuwait’s bedoons,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch’s Middle East director, said in a statement. Kuwait has long alleged that bedoons, and in some cases their ancestors, destroyed their original passports to claim the right to

Kuwaiti citizenship in order to gain access to the services and generous benefits provided to citizens by the state.

In a bid to force the bedoons to produce their original nationality papers, Kuwait has refused to issue essential documents to most of them, including birth, marriage and death certificates, according to a June report by the New York-based rights group. Fifty-two bedoons are on trial for protesting while 32 others are under investigation. More than 105,000 stateless people have been living in Kuwait for decades but were denied citizenship. The government says only 34,000 of them qualify for citizenship. — AFP

LOCAL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011

Police break up demo by stateless

KUWAIT: Scores of stateless people were wounded and dozens arrested yesterday as Kuwaiti police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse stateless protesters demanding citizenship. Pictures show the

protesters run for cover as riot police backed by armored vehicles assaulted protesters who defied an interior ministry warning not to demonstrate. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

LOCAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Oppn weighs options after Mislem ruling Bloc considers boycott of election

KUWAIT: As the opposition began weighing options after disqualifying Faisal Al-Mislem from contesting elections, a constitutional expert told a daily newspaper that the incident for which the ex-MP has been convicted, cannot be considered a breach of trust crime.

“Al-Mislem only provided information as part of his job as a parliament member,” said Kuwait University professor Dr Mohammad Al-Feeli to AlRai. “He used this information to correct a legislative error as part of a lawmaker’s monitoring duty.” The Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that Dr Al-Mislem can no longer contest elections, set for February 2, after the Appeals Court upheld a verdict passed against him for revealing classified bank information during the debate of a grilling motion. Under Kuwaiti election law, citizens cannot run for parliamentary elections if they were previously convicted of committing breach of trust crimes.

“To say that [Al-Mislem’s actions] are a breach of trust don’t fall in line with the concept of parliamentary work,” Al-Feeli argued, adding that the candidate can still appeal the verdict at the Administrative Court.

During the infamous debate session in December 2009, the first grilling motion to ever be filed against a prime minister, Dr Al-Mislem showed a copy of a KD 200,000 cheque he

Former MP Faisal Al-Mislem during a parliamentary debate. (file photo) accused former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah of issuing to a former MP. The bank whose name was mentioned in the cheque later, sued Mislem on charges that he exposed banking secrets that were detrimental to its reputation and business. The lower court convicted him and slapped a fine of KD 200. On Wednesday, the Appeals Court upheld the verdict, paving the way for the Interior Ministry’s decision. Since then, specu-

lations have been doing the rounds on how the opposition reacts to losing one of its most active members.

Former MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Al-Mislem’s fellow member of the Development and Reform Bloc, announced that he will stand by his promise of withdrawing from the elections race if Al-Mislem is disqualified. This spells trouble to the DRB; one of three main opposition blocs in the previous Parliament along with the Popular Action Bloc(PAB) and the National Action Bloc (NAB). The Islamic bloc now stands with two members, former MPs Jamaan AlHarbash and Falah Al-Sawagh who are contesting elections. According to sources, the DRB has already mentioned its decision to withdraw completely from elections in response to Al-Mislem’s disqualification.

This option was one of three that were put forward during the meeting held following a gathering at AlMislem’s diwaniya in Khaitan.

According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Popular Action Bloc(PAB) led by Ahmad AlSaadoun and Musallam Al-Barrak who both are frontrunners in the upcoming elections, proposed to continue with their election cam-

paign and plans to file a grilling motion against Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah as soon as the new Parliament holds its first session. The third option discussed during the meeting was for the opposition to lead a mass demonstration outside the Palace of Justice today. The opposition blocs argue that the Appeals Court order does not specifically convict Al-Mislem in a crime of honesty and integrity.

They fear that the ‘politically motivated’ ruling can limit a lawmaker’s ability to exercise supervisory role fully. Representatives of youth groups called during the opposition’s meeting on Thursday, for Al-Mislem’s conviction to be appealed in court. In a related development, a group referring to itself as ‘Assembly of Sulaibikhat and Doha’s Youth for Reform’ filed a case with the Administrative Court to look into the nomination of second constituency candidate and former MP Khalaf AlDumaitheer, who was previously convicted in a fraud case. Group member Saad bin Dablan told Al-Rai on Thursday said that they filed the case with the court directly after the Ministry of Interior ignored a complaint that was filed earlier. — Al-Rai

Conflicting reports on meningitis outbreak Ministry denies spread of disease

KUWAIT: A seven-year-old child is currently undergoing treatment after contracting bacterial meningitis infection at the Intensive Care Unit of Al-Sabah hospital, said two senior Ministry of Health(MoH) officials on Thursday.

“There is one recorded case of infection with bacterial meningitis - a seven-year- old child who is currently receiving treatment at the ICU of AlSabah Hospital,” said Dr Yousuf Mendekar Director of Public Health Department to Al-Rai who was also able to receive a confirmation from the Manager Dr Abbas Ramadan.

Furthermore, the same report published yesterday quotes Dr Afrah AlSarraf Director of Al-Amiri Hospital as

saying that one meningitis patient was receiving treatment at the hospital, reported Al-Rai. Meanwhile, Al-Qabas daily reported yesterday that a 17-year-old Indian girl was admitted to Al-Sabah Hospital after contracting meningitis, while four citizens have been quarantined. It is not clear whether the Indian girl’s case is the same as the one mentioned by Dr Mendekar, that could have been inaccurately reported by Al-Qabas’ sources. Al-Qabas also reports quoting unnamed MoH sources about a patient who was discharged on Thursday from the Mubarak Hospital after being treated for meningitis.

The Ministry of Health(MoH) has

released an official statement on Thursday in response to rumors that two meningitis cases were referred to Al-Sabah Hospital. The statement says that one of the suspected cases was discharged after test results showed negative to meningitis. The other remains in the hospital for further testing. The ministry reiterated earlier that vaccination is not necessary for people who are directly in touch with infected individuals, reported AlQabas.

Meanwhile, director of Al-Jahra Medical Directorate Dr Adel Al-Asfour categorically denied rumors that a Kuwaiti pre-primary student was admitted to Al-Jahra Hospital after contracting meningitis.

People urged to vote for future of Kuwait KUWAIT: People should vote in the upcoming 2012 National Assembly elections to bring upon a better future for the country, said a number of academics and eligible voters here yesterday.

Academics said in separate statements to KUNA that voters should not be reluctant to practice their rights in choosing their representatives in next parliament incarnation. Dr. Khaled Al-Mathkoor, Head of the Supreme Committee for the Implementation of Islamic Sharia, said that it was vital to choose the suitable candidates to represent the people at parliament, adding that it was a moral

and legal responsibility biding the Kuwaiti people.

Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University (KU) Dr Ghanem Al-Najar had similar views, noting that being absent from voting would harm the political scene in Kuwait, affirming that some might not be satisfied with the previous parliament; however, hope was not lost and citizens should vote to make things go in the right direction.

KUNA also met with a number of eligible voters who expressed similar sentiments, saying that negativity would not change the situation in the country, stressing that change came through action. — KUNA

Deputy PM leaves for Tunisia KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s representative Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khalid AlHamad Al-Sabah left for Tunisia, yesterday, to attend the first anniversary of the Tunisian revolution of January 14. — KUNA

Local SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Britain slaps ‘no fly’ ban on al-Qaeda man Fadli Terror ‘threat’ to London Olympics

LONDON: A suspected Al-Qaeda chief has been banned from flying to the UK amid fears of a terrorist threat to the Olympics.

Sami Mohamed Ali Al-Fadli, 20 is thought likely to launch an attack in the UK or on a plane.

Home Secretary Theresa May ordered the suspected terror leader to be barred from all flights into Britain after intelligence chiefs warned he poses a threat to the Games.

At least 150 airlines are affected by the urgent blanket ban on Fadli - with 90 of them operating from Heathrow alone. It is also thought Fadli - believed to be lurking in terrorist hotspot Yemen - might try to blow a plane out of the sky in a suicide bombing spectacular.

A British intelligence source said Wednesday last night: “This man is regarded as a very real threat.

“Information about him indicates that he could also be in a position to influence and lead others.”

Fadli - a shadowy figure who once lived in Britain as a refugee - was the second suspect with terror links to be made the subject of a flight ban and exclusion order as fears mounted that al-Qaeda agents could stage a bloody atrocity to disrupt this summer’s Games.

He was allowed to remain here after claiming he came from Kuwait. But doubts later surfaced and there were strong indications he may originally be from Iraq. A further alarm was sounded when no close members of his family could be traced in the UK. He is understood to have left his last known address in London towards the end of last year.

His current whereabouts are uncertain - but he is believed to have almost certainly spent time in Yemen recently. A series of murderous plots are known to have stemmed from there - including one to sneak a bomb on a passenger jet at Heathrow.

The intelligence source said: “This man is deemed to pose a significant threat.

While here he linked up with other extremists. The security services conclud-

Mystery shrouds as body abandoned in hospital KUWAIT: Criminal investigators are investing the mystery behind the death of a teenager whose corpse was abandoned at Al-Sabah hospital. Police are seeking to identify two people who disappeared immediately after reporting to the medical facility.

Criminal investigators found bruises on the body which indicate that foul play is involved. Staff members who help wheelchairbound patients into the hospital told police investigators that the body was bought by two people who claimed that he was unconscious, and needed urgent medical attention. The two suspects left the scene. A case was filed with the nearest police station, as police seek prime suspects, reported Al-Rai. Fatal accidents A female citizen was killed and her husband suffered serious injuries in a car crash that took place in Al-Sulaibiya recently.

Paramedics and police rushed to the scene in response to an emergency call about a vehicle that had flipped over after colliding with another car. The woman succumbed to fatal injuries before paramedics arrived. Her husband was rushed to the Farwaniya hospital. The person at the helm of the other car was not hurt in the accident. A case was filed, reported Al-Rai. At a street near Umm Al-Haiman, a citizen, whose car flipped over after the victim lost control over it, died instantly. The body was referred to the Forensic Department, reported Al-Rai.

At the ready ... an RAF helicopter over the Olympic stadium ed that his presence was not conducive to the public good. A major concern is that an attack could be attempted here or on an aircraft travelling here.

“As a result, action has been taken to exclude him from Britain. “His name has been added to the no-fly list and the list for pre-departure flight checks. His leave to remain has been withdrawn and his travel documents revoked.”

Passenger lists on all flights destined for the UK can now be electronically scanned to rapidly identify names in any official ban. Fadli’s details and photo are

Nobel laureate Karman to visit Kuwait tomorrow KUWAIT: Yemeni activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakul Karman will arrive in Kuwait on Sunday after accepting an invitation extended by a local daily newspaper. She will participate in several events and meet up with high-ranking figures. “An official and public program to welcome Karman has been prepared, which includes meetings with top state figures, as well as addressing a mass public gathering held as part of preparations for Kuwait’s upcoming parliamentary elections,” stated a report published by Al-Qabas on the front page of yesterday’s (Friday) issue.

Karman is expected to deliver a speech on the struggle of Yemeni people and other countries around the Arab World to achieve human rights, dignity and freedom, the report further indicated. It, however, doesn’t specify for how long Karman will be staying in Kuwait.

Tawakul Karman is a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for playing a prominent role in the Yemeni public uprising to end the decade-long reign of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and became symbolic of the Arab Spring. —Al-Qabas

also on a UK Border Agency watch list.

The other terror suspect barred is Algerian Reda Masouf, 18. He came to MI5’s attention during a probe into Islamic extremism in Manchester. His indefinite leave to stay in the UK was cancelled after he left for the Middle East.

Police and armed forces are on high alert to guard the Olympics. It was revealed yesterday that Britain is stockpiling vaccine to counter an attack on the Games with deadly anthrax disease. And health workers are getting jabs against smallpox. — The Sun

‘Iraqi PM keen to end disputes with Kuwait’ KUWAIT: A former Iraqi minister believes that his government wants to take ‘serious’ measures to put an end to problems that persist with Kuwait, and open a new chapter in relations based on mutual respect and cooperation.

“The problems between Iraq and Kuwait are simple and can be overcame with good intentions,” said Ali Al-Sajri former Iraqi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He stressed on his government’s ‘willingness’ to boost relationships with Kuwait by ending problems that include paying war-time compensations that date back to the 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait, dues owed to the Kuwait Airways for destroying its fleet, as well as remains of Kuwaiti prisoners believed to have been killed and buried in Iraq. In the meantime, Al-Sajri mentioned ‘foreign and regional sides’ were blamed for “pressuring Kuwait toward retaining the situation in Iraq.”

Regarding the controversy behind Kuwait’s Mubarak AlKabeer port, Al-Sajri stressed that Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki rejects the ‘convulsive statements’ “sometimes made by Iraqi politicians. Instead, it has left judgment to be based on studies of specialized committees who have been assigned the task of assessing if the Kuwaiti port affects Iraq’s interests. — Al-Rai

Harasser attacked A state department employee who sustained several bruises was rushed to the hospital after being attacked by his female coworker’s husband. The female citizen told police that she had asked her husband to confront her colleague to put an end to his alleged harassments. Police headed to the scene after the fight was reported. A female employee told officers that she was left with little choice but seek her husband’s help after she ran out of ways to face harassment from her colleague. The attacked employee was taken to the police station in connection with sexual harassment charges. Meanwhile, physical assault charges were also pressed against the husband, reported Al-Rai. Inmates brawl Police were asked to intervene and stop a vicious brawl that broke out between three inmates at the Central Jail. According to reports, the three, two Pakistani citizens and a stateless resident, began exchanging blows after a disagreement turned worse. Officers returned to the police station afterwards and opened a case. Meanwhile, other reports hint that no legal action is expected to be taken against inmates, reported Al-Rai. Jilted lover threatens suicide Salwa police successfully persuaded a woman from ending her life after her boyfriend called off their relationship. Officers rushed to a location in Salwa where an eyewitnesses reported that a woman threatened to kill herself. The Filipina woman told police that she was asked to leave the home she shared with her American boyfriend. She explained that he ended the relationship after she demanded that he live up to promises of marriage he had allegedly made earlier. An investigation was launched into the case after the situation was placed under control, reported Al-Rai. Police assaulted Police arrested four suspects in Saad Al-Abdullah after they assaulted two patrol officers who charged them with flouting laws. The suspects were in a car that was stopped by a patrol officer. When patrol officers approached and demanded that they behave well, suspects launched a physical assault. Back-up police reached the scene minutes later, and placed them under arrest. The suspects were identified as three citizens and a bedoon resident, reported Al-Anba.

Exams leak Investigations are currently ongoing into a case in which unidentified Ministry of Education staff were accused of leaking mid-term tests with answers to students. Patrol officers in AlJahra turned suspicious after being surrounded by teenagers in a parking lot of the area. They went in pursuit of the suspicious vehicle after it drove away from the scene as soon as its driver sensed police’s presence. The suspect was eventually forced to pull over, and was identified as a bedoon resident with a history of criminal record. Police found stacks of mid-term test papers with model answers in the suspect’s car.

LOCAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Kuwait slips to 71 in economic freedom

Consistent decline from 2008 results

KUWAIT: The PAAAFR patrol boat that sank after overturning in bad weather during patrolling off Kuwait Bay.

Teacher arrested on student’s fake plea

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An Ahmadi high school senior teacher was arrested for allegedly assaulting a student. Case papers indicate that the teacher tried to stop a tenth grader (usually employees studying in afternoon schools) from cheating during an English exam held on Thursday, angering the student who lost his temper and attacked the teacher.

After being discharged from hospital, the teacher approached the nearest police station in order to file a complaint. Unfortunately, he learnt that the student had lodged a complaint against the teacher by providing a fake medical report. Police detained the teacher. Further investigations are still in progress.

Patrol boat sinks A Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) patrol boat sank off Kuwait Bay owing to poor weather conditions. There were four crew members on board who sustained various injuries.

Street fight A 32-year-old Egyptian suffered multiple injuries in a street fight that took place at the Friday Market, said security sources. The man was rushed to Al-Sabah hospital.

Hit and run case A 39-year-old Indian died on the spot after being runover by a speeding vehicle along Taawon Street, Salwa while trying to cross the road.

Car accidents A 29-year-old citizen fractured his right knee and a 32year-old Indian broke his left leg after their cars collided into each other along King Fahad Highway. In another incident, two individuals were seriously injured in a traffic accident that took place along King Fahad highway. Both men sustained serious head injuries and were admitted to Adan hospital.

MEW employees to get bonuses KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water(MEW) will pass a budget that has been drawn up to pay overtime bonuses across various sectors, sources said. An amount of KD 3.1 million will be set aside to motivate ministry staff members, namely those who have not received any bonuses for exerting extra efforts during 2011 summer.

The sources added that the budget will be approved by Civil Services Commission within a month. The bonus value will be equal to a month’s salary, as per Minister AlOthainah’s request. He is also keen on paying employees for working extra shifts. — Al-Anba

KUWAIT: Kuwait was ranked 71st in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom published by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Kuwait’s economic freedom score is 62.5, making its economy the 71st freest in the 2012 Index showing a consistent decline compared to the 2008 index results. Its score is 2.4 points lower than last year, with score declines in management of government spending, labor freedom, and business freedom outweighing a gain in freedom from corruption. Kuwait is ranked 7th out of 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. It recorded one of the 20 largest score declines in the 2012 Index, but its overall score remains above the world and regional averages.

Bahrain and Qatar are the only two Middle Eastern countries that are ranked as mostly free respectively on 17th and 25th ranks. Lingering institutional weaknesses continue to constrain overall economic freedom. The judicial system lacks the capacity to defend property rights effectively.

Despite some progress, corruption remains widespread, undermining prospects for long-term economic development. High oil revenues have delayed privatization and other deeper structural reforms that would diversify the economy.

Nevertheless, Kuwait has been modernizing its economy for several years and performs relatively well in many of the 10 economic freedoms.

There is no income tax, and corporate tax rates have become more competitive since 2008. Efforts to enhance the efficiency of the business regulatory framework have yielded mixed progress overall.

Here are some experts from the report on the Kuwait: During the “Arab Spring” of 2011, there were small demonstrations by young activists calling for anti-corruption and political reforms, as well as by stateless Arabs demanding citizenship and jobs. With an estimated 104 billion barrels of oil reserves, Kuwait controls roughly 9 percent of the world’s oil supply. Oil accounts for nearly 50 percent of GDP and 95 percent of export revenues. In 2010, the government initiated a five-year, $130 billion economic development plan to diversify the economy, reduce dependence on oil revenues, enhance the role of the private sector, and attract foreign investments.

A well-functioning legal framework is absent, and the rule of law remains weak. The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but the amir appoints all judges. The inefficient court system is susceptible to political pressures and corruption. Property rights are not protected effectively, and enforcement of intellectual property rights is seriously deficient.

Corruption continues to erode the foundations of economic freedom.

Kuwait does not tax individual income. In practice, foreign-owned

firms and joint ventures are the only businesses that are subject to the corporate income tax, which is a flat 15 percent.

There is no value-added tax (VAT) or sales tax, and overall tax revenue (mainly from duties on international trade and transactions) is 1.5 percent of GDP. Government spending is equivalent to 41.9 percent of GDP, and public debt is about 10 percent of GDP. Kuwait has taken steps to improve its regulatory framework, but progress has been gradual and uneven. Starting a business still takes longer than the world average of 30 days, and bureaucratic hurdles continue to add to the cost of business.

Overall, labor regulations lack flexibility. Inflation has been relatively high, and the government provides numerous subsidies and controls prices through state-owned utilities and enterprises. The trade weighted average tariff rate is 4.2 percent, with burdensome non-tariff barriers increasing the cost of trade. Foreign investment is welcome, but heavy bureaucracy hinders dynamic growth in new investment. The relatively well-developed financial system offers a wide range of financial services. In 2010, the National Assembly passed a Capital Market Law to strengthen supervision of the Kuwait Stock Market and enhance its transparency.

Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland top the ranking for the 2012 index.

Ex-ministers urge voters to choose responsibly KUWAIT: Former ministers, commenting on upcoming parliamentary elections, praised HH the Amir’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call for holding polls and affirmed the voters’ sensitive responsibility of choosing their legislative representatives on sound basis.

Abdul-Wahab Al-Wazzan, the ex-minister of commerce and industry, said HH the Amir’s decision to dissolve the assembly, accept resignation of the (former) government and “refer the issue to the people to choose their representatives was a wise decision and helped in defusing tension on the political arena.”

Responsibility, now, lies on shoulders of the voters who should use prudent judgment to select their representatives in the parliament, said Al-Wazzan in remarks to KUNA. In this respect, the former minister affirmed that tribal, sectarian and family considerations must not be the basis of electing a nominee. Such an approach would not be in service of interests of the country or the citizens, he stressed. Next parliament is forecast to be distinguished with “opposition spirit,” he said, indicating that a large number of young citizens would vote and, thus, affect formation of the upcoming assembly.

Change of the parliament formation is forecast at 60 percent, he said, “and volume of the opposition representation in the assembly will increase and will represent the various political forces,” he added. In the same vein,

Al-Wazzan said the government should be prepared to deal with a parliament of such tendencies. On issues that need to be tackled after the election, Al-Wazzan called for amendment of some laws of economic nature, namely the privatization and BOT laws and other legislations that ban banks from acquisition of real-estate housing plots and mortgage, as well as issuing laws aimed at luring foreign investors.

He also urged prospected MPs to make balance between the two major tasks; legislation and supervision. Badr Al-Humaidhi, the former minister of finance, expressed hope that the parliament to be elected would devote attention to crucial issues namely development schemes. He also hoped MPs would refrain from actions might threaten unity of the society fabric. However, he voiced caution as to the formation of the next parliament, expressing his belief that some of the young voters would side with those “who incite the public.” Ali AlBaghli, who had served as minister of oil, called on voters to abide by HH the Amir’s call for choosing the “fit” to serve in parliament. He criticized former MPs for seeking “excessive” interpellation of the ministers. The country needs action to execute major ventures for renovating the infrastructure, hospitals, roads and universities, he said, urging members of the next parliament to take these needs into consideration. — KUNA

LOCAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Kuwait, US bicker over Gitmo inmates Al-Odah, Al-Kandari still in US detention

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti government is intensifying efforts to seek the transfer of two Kuwaitis who remain at the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a prospect that has grown dim as the facility turned 10 years old Wednesday amid continued political battles over its operation.

In recent months, Kuwaiti officials have pressed the US to transfer Fawzi Al-Odah and Fayiz Al-Kandari to Kuwait, where they would continue to be detained at a US military facility but in proximity to family members, said people familiar with the discussions.

Kuwait is a staunch US ally, and the two Kuwaitis aren’t considered among the highest-risk prisoners.

Both circumstances would appear to make transfer easier under guidelines the Obama administration adopted in 2009.

But US officials have cited security concerns about transfers to Kuwait.

“The Kuwaiti track record in the past was not very good,” said a senior US official familiar with the case.

A person who is helping the Kuwaiti government in negotiations with US officials said the Kuwaiti proposal posed little security risk to the US, because the US would continue to have custody of the prisoners at a US base in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti proposal would allow family members to visit the men, the person said.

The result is that both men have been put on a list of 48 prisoners the

US intends to detain indefinitely. In 2008, one of 10 Kuwaitis transferred home during President George W Bush’s administration carried out a suicide bombing in Iraq.

The cases of the two men, who are among 171 prisoners in Guantanamo, illustrate how the changing political climate in Washington and terrorism events in recent years have worked against President Barack Obama’s plan to close the prison. Obama announced the plan on his second day in office, yet Guantanamo’s status as a longterm facility for terrorism suspects seems as secure as ever.

Congress enacted restrictions in 2010 and 2011 spending bills that attempted to make the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners more difficult.

Congressional opposition also scotched Obama’s plan to transfer a smaller population of prisoners to a federal prison in Illinois.

Republican and some Democratic lawmakers who have blocked Obama’s Guantanamo plans in part cite security concerns in opposing transferring prisoners to other countries or moving them to the US for civilian trials.

Obama, while a senator, was a critic of Bush administration detention policies and of military trials for terror detainees. But after facing pushback as president, he has ordered military trials in some cases using new rules that added protec-

tions for defendants.

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said this week that Obama’s commitment to closing Guantanamo “is as firm today as it was during the campaign,” but cited opposition from lawmakers. He added that closing the prison

waiver to allow transfers to restart.

About 30 prisoners could qualify to be repatriated or transferred to other countries. But 50 Yemeni citizens who earlier were cleared for repatriation or transfer are indefinitely detained because of the worsening security conditions in Yemen.

Fawzi Al-Odah

Fayiz Al-Kandari

remains “the right thing to do for our national security interests.”

One small step in that direction, according to administration officials, came in the most recent Pentagon spending blueprint, which gives the defense secretary authority to grant a

Messrs. Odah and Kandari, the two Kuwaitis at Guantanamo, were captured in Pakistan in 2002 and turned over to the US military, which moved them to Guantanamo. The men maintain their innocence.

Odah was in the Afghanistan-

Pakistan border region around the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks teaching religion, his attorney said. US authorities alleged that he attended a terrorist training camp.

But he has never been charged by US military authorities. A judge rejected his habeas corpus petition to be released.

Kandari is accused of being a jihadi recruiter in Afghanistan and receiving training at a terrorist camp. The military authority overseeing the charges issued against him hasn’t referred the charges for trial. An appeals court is considering his petition challenging the government’s use of hearsay evidence.

David Cynamon, an attorney for the two men, said the US allegations were based on thin evidence from interrogation reports that were never intended to be used in court. The standard they are facing, Cynamon said, requires them “to prove their innocence and to prove that there’s no conceivable possibility in the future that they’ll do anything we don’t like.”

A person who is helping the Kuwaiti government in negotiations with US officials said the Kuwaiti proposal posed little security risk to the US, because the US would continue to have custody of the prisoners at a US base in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti proposal would allow family members to visit the men, the person said.

—The Wall Street Journal

Kuwait ‘frontrunner’ of democracy in Mideast

Much to do in economic sector: EU legislator

MUSCAT: The National Guard announced yesterday they are sending five recruits to study at the Sultan Qabous Military College in the Sultanate of Oman. First Major Nayef Khalaf from the National Guard’s scientific rehabilitation division visited the college recently and met with its commander Colonel Rashid Al-Sudairi and deputy commander Saad bin Mas’oud to finalize procedures of signing the Kuwaiti servicemen. —KUNA

Albania PM lauds GCC SARAJEVO: Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha lauded yesterday, the diplomatic presence of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in his country, calling on bolstering these diplomatic ties even further. During a meeting with Arab ambassadors in the Albanian capital of Tirana, Berisha pointed out that his government looks forward to strengthening economic and commercial ties

with the GCC countries. He highlighted Kuwait’s role in alleviating multilateral relations between Albania and the GCC countries.

For his part, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Albania Najib Abdelrahman Al-Bader expressed appreciation to the Albanian’s efforts in deepening the fast moving bilateral relations to achieve a better future for both countries. —KUNA

BRUSSELS: Member of the European Parliament Holger Krahmer lauded the progress made by Kuwait in building a democratic society but said the Gulf State needs to do more in the economic sector. Commenting on his impressions of a visit to Kuwait as part of an EP delegation in 2010, the German MEP said “It was very impressive to see that Kuwait is an example how it is possible to open up Arab societies.”

“Kuwait is something like a front-runner for development of democratic rules and for women’s rights,” he told the Kuwait news agency, KUNA, in an interview. “But it shows also that in democracy can be at risk if the democratic institution is not able to take decisions,” said Krahmer, who is Vice-Chairman EP Delegation for Relations with the Arab Peninsula. “My impression of Kuwait is that the democratic society is based on public opinion . There Kuwait shows a very good example that an open society is not a risk,” he noted.

“There is a free press and free opinion. The highest development in the Arab world in my opinion you can find in Kuwait. In Europe many people do not know that this is the case. Many people in Europe do not know that a parliament exists in Kuwait,” said Krahmer who is an MEP since seven years.

He suggested that Kuwait should exert more efforts to inform the world about its image adding that “democracy also needs promoting.” “My impression was that if I went from Qatar to Kuwait there was a jump back to the

nineties. There is more to do in the economic sector. The opportunities are great,” said the EU parliamentarian.

Turning to the European Union policy in the region, Krahmer said the EU makes the general mistake not to take the Gulf region in its strategic focus.

The European focus is only on oil supply and this is too one sided, he commented. “My impression is that the societies in the Gulf in the economic sense are more oriented towards Asia than Europe which is losing ground. We underestimate the economic challenges in this region,” said Krahmer who is a member of the Liberals group in the EP. He stressed that the “Gulf Cooperation Council is going to be an important platform and a very important institution “ pointing to the GCC’s role in resolving the crisis in Yemen. He called for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and the EU to boost economic cooperation.

Krahmer said it was necessary for Europe and the Arab world to have more cultural and religious knowledge about each other. “European politicians and citizens don’t know enough about Islamic culture and countries. We have too many stereotypes and prejudices about these societies.

It is necessary that we learn more about each other,” he told KUNA. On the Palestine question, he said this problem needs to be resolved in the region itself at the negotiating table by the concerned parties while Europe can play a mediator role. —KUNA

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011

Tehran buries scientist slain by ‘CIA and Mossad’

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Myanmar frees many political prisoners

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Japan PM shuffles cabinet to rescue tax hike plan

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HOMS: This image from amateur video shows smoke billowing after explosions in Homs. (Inset) A Syrian armored military convoy moves on the international road that links Beirut with Damascus in the area of Jdeideh, near the Lebanese border yesterday. — AP

Arab League warns of civil war in Syria Arabs split over troubled monitoring mission

BEIRUT: Arab League head Nabil Elaraby said yesterday he feared a possible civil war in Syria that could have consequences for neighboring countries, as the credibility of the League’s monitoring mission was hit by members starting to walk out. An Algerian former monitor said several monitors had left Syria or might do so soon because the mission had failed to halt President Bashar AlAssad’s violent crackdown on a popular revolt against his rule.

“Yes I fear a civil war and the events that we see and hear about now could lead to a civil war,” said Elaraby, whose body deployed the monitors on Dec 26 to check whether Syria was respecting an Arab peace plan. “Any problems in Syria will have consequences for the neighboring states,” he said in an interview with the Egyptian Al-Hayat television channel. He described reports from the mission head as “worrying”, but said there was “no doubt that the pace of killing has fallen with the presence of the observers”.

Syrian opposition groups say the monitors, due to present their findings to the Arab League’s foreign ministers on Jan.

19-20, have only bought Assad more time to crush protests that erupted in March, inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere. “(The ministers) will decide whether there is any benefit in continuing or not,” said Elaraby. The monitors resumed work on Thursday, a League official said, for the first time since 11 were injured by proAssad demonstrators in the port of Latakia three days previously, an attack that also sidelined plans to expand the team.

SHARED CHAGRIN Anwar Malek, an Algerian who quit the monitoring team this week, said many of his former colleagues shared his chagrin. “I cannot specify a number, but many. When you talk to them their anger is clear,” he told Reuters by telephone, adding that many could not leave because of orders from their governments. He said a Moroccan legal specialist, an aid worker from Djibouti and an Egyptian had also left the mission.

Their departures could not immediately be confirmed. But another monitor, who asked not to be named said he planned to leave Syria yesterday. “The mission does

not serve the citizens,” he said. “It doesn’t serve anything.” The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 21 people were killed across the country on Thursday. Seven died in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor when security forces opened fire and the bodies of seven security force members were delivered to a hospital in the town of Maarat Al-Noman, apparently killed in clashes with army deserters.

The Arab League is divided over Syria, with Qatar its most vocal critic and Algeria defending steps taken by Damascus. The mission, the first of its kind the League has mounted, is led by Sudanese General Mohammed Al-Dabi, who has come under fire from rights groups over his role in the Darfur conflict. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking after talks in Washington with Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, stressed “the need to end the Assad government’s assault on its own people”. Medelci, who had earlier said that the Assad government had taken steps to defuse the crisis, said he and Clinton had a “concurrence of views”.—Reuters

‘dangerous cargo’ heading to Syria SAINT PETERSBURG: A Russian ship carrying a “dangerous cargo” has sailed for Syria after a brief stopover in Cyprus, despite a pledge reportedly given to Cypriot authorities, the vessel’s owner said yesterday. An independent Russian military analyst separately reported that the ship was likely to dock at the Syrian port of Tartus with what media said may be up to 60 tons of ammunition supplied by the state Russian arms exporter.

The Cypriot foreign ministry said Wednesday the Saint Vincent-flagged cargo ship was allowed to refuel and set sail from the port of Limassol after its Russian owners agreed to change the destination from Syria. Cyprus inspectors said the ship’s documents showed Turkey as an alternative destination point. But the vessel’s Saint Petersburg-based operator Westberg Ltd said the Chariot decided to keep to its original schedule after leaving the Cyprus port. “It was classified as a dangerous cargo, but that could really mean anything. We are not responsible for knowing what was inside the crates,” a source at the shipping company said.—AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Israel, Palestinians to hold further talks today JERUSALEM: Israelis and Palestinians will hold their third round of face-to-face meetings this year today in what diplomats hope might lead to the resumption of full peace talks, sources on each side said yesterday.

The exploratory discussions began on Jan. 3 and followed a long break in negotiations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas on Thursday played down prospects of any breakthrough, telling members of his Fatah party that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not put forward any new proposals.

“The words that we heard in Netanyahu’s resi-

dence (in 2010)are the same words he is repeating now, nothing new,” Abbas said, adding that he had told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the apparent lack of progress. Abbas is due to travel to London, Berlin and Moscow over the next 10 days to discuss the situation.

The “Quartet” of international peace mediators the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - sought in October to revive the peace talks, which broke down weeks after they began in 2010.

The Quartet wants the two sides to state their positions on the borders and security arrangements of a future “two-state solution” by Jan. 26 to help open the door to a resumption of full negotiations.

US officials have signalled that the Jan. 26 target date for the two sides to exchange proposals could slide. An internal European Union report, leaked to reporters this week, warned that the chances of creating a workable Palestinian state alongside Israel were being eroded by constant Jewish settlement building and restrictions on Palestinian economic activity and demographic growth.

“The window for the two-state solution is rapidly closing,” said the report, put together by EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah. The negotiators are holding their meetings in Amman under the auspices of Jordan’s King Abdullah, who will visit US President Barack Obama next week to review developments. — Reuters

Tehran buries scientist slain by ‘CIA and Mossad’

‘Iran to continue its nuclear activities’ TEHRAN: Iran yesterday buried a top scientist it said was killed by Israel and the United States as part of a covert campaign against its nuclear programme, as a US-led drive for crippling sanctions ran into opposition, even from allies.

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a deputy director of Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant, was given a funeral service in north Tehran after noon prayers, state media reported. He and his driver were killed on Wednesday when two men on a motorbike slapped a magnetic bomb on his car while it was stuck in Tehran traffic.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the “abominable” and “cowardly” killing was committed “with the planning or support of the intelligence services of the CIA and Mossad,” of the United States and Israel. He said in a statement his country would “continue with determination” its nuclear activities, which Western governments suspect mask a drive for a weapons capability despite Tehran’s repeated denials. Some media close to Iran’s conservatives have called for “retaliation” against Israeli officials. The Iranian government has demanded that the UN Security Council condemn the “terrorist” killing.

The United States has strongly denied it had anything to do with the assassination, although Defence Secretary Leon Panetta admitted: “We have some ideas as to who might be involved.”

The prime suspect is widely seen as Israel, as it was in the murders of three other Iranian scientists in similar circumstances over the past two years.

Israel, though, has a policy of not commenting on intelligence matters.

Asked in a CNN interview yesterday if Israel was involved in Wednesday’s assassination, President Shimon Peres said: “Not to the best of my knowledge.” US President Barack Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the day after the scientist’s murder to discuss developments in Iran. The United States has been leading a campaign to bring Iran’s economy to its knees by slapping unilateral Western sanctions on its vital oil exports. Obama last month signed a law targeting Iran’s central bank, which clears most of the oil payments, and US envoys have been fanning out in recent days to convince other nations to come on board or risk seeing their firms barred from doing business in America.

The aim is to “close down” Iran’s central bank, said a senior US official

TEHRAN: Mourners carry the coffin of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, during his funeral in Tehran yesterday, one day after he was killed when two men on a motorbike slapped a magnetic bomb on his car while it was stuck in Tehran traffic. — AFP

speaking on condition of anonymity.

Companies from China, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have already been hit for failing to meet the terms of the new US sanctions, the US Treasury Department said on Thursday. EU foreign ministers are to meet on January 23 to consider new sanctions including action against the central bank and a proposed ban on Iran oil imports that may be phased in over months to avoid hurting struggling eurozone economies.

But Iran’s two main allies on the world stage, Russia and China, have expressed strong criticism of the new Western measures and remain adamantly opposed to any new UN sanctions. “Additional sanctions against Iran, as well as potentially any military strikes against it, will unquestionably be perceived by the international community as an attempt at changing the regime in Iran,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gannady Gatilov said yesterday.

“This line of action undermines the international community’s efforts at resolving the Iranian nuclear problem,” he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Even some US allies-those that rely significantly on Iranian oil-are proving reluctant. “The United States would like to impose sanctions. We believe it is necessary to be extremely circumspect about this matter,” Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told a press conference yesterday. Iran has met the covert killings and the sanctions push with defiance, starting production at a new plant able to enrich uranium closer to the threshold that could be used in nuclear bombs.

It has also warned that, if attacked or strangled by sanctions, it could close the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf-a chokepoint for 20 percent of the world’s oil. The United States has warned that that would be a “red line” that Iran should not cross, and it has sent two aircraft carriers to waters near the Gulf to replace one that Iran’s military had warned away as it wound down its deployment.—AFP

TUNIS: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (L) is welcomed by Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (R) upon his arrival yesterday in Tunis.

Qatar’s chief of state arrived yesterday in Tunisia for a two-day official visit and to attend the celebrations of the first anniversary of Tunisia’s revolution and the fall of the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. — AFP

Saudi security forces kill protester in oil province DUBAI: Saudi security forces killed a young protester and wounded three in the kingdom’s oil-producing Eastern Province, home to a large Shi’ite Muslim minority, websites and activists said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter, is sensitive to any Shi’ite unrest in Eastern Province because of what it says are concerns it could be fomented by non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran to destabilise the Gulf region.

Tehran denies involvement.

The Shi’ite website www.rasid.com said Saudi security forces opened heavy fire late on Thursday after protesters threw stones at a police vehicle in Awamiya, a village in Eastern Province.

It showed a file picture of 22-yearold Essam Mohamed Abu Abdallah and said he was killed by gunfire from security forces. A Saudi Interior Ministry statement quoted by state news agency SPA said security forces patrolling Awamiya in their vehicle were attacked with petrol bombs and it caught fire.

“While the security forces were trying to control the fire, they were exposed to shooting and were dealing

with the situation as necessary,” it said.

“The exchange of fire led to two people being injured among those involved in the shooting, and they were taken to hospital where one of them died later.”

“The security forces will deal firmly with all cases and situations that endanger the security and safety of citizens and security forces,” the statement added. The Rasid website also said security forces closed down the entrances to the village after clashes between villagers and security forces.

Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite population is mostly based in two oasis districts of the Eastern Province - Qatif on the Gulf coast where Awamiya is located, and alAhsa southwest of the provincial capital al-Khobar.

The Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom says it has 1.3 million Shi’ites in a total population of 19 million. Human rights groups say there are around 2 million Shi’ites in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this month, Riyadh ordered the arrest of 23 Shi’ite Muslims in Eastern Province held responsible for unrest. Saudi Arabia accused the 23 of serving the agenda of a foreign power, usually a reference to Iran. — Reuters

international SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Gunmen kill Somali aid worker, driver: Sources MOGADISHU: Gunmen on Thursday killed a local aid worker and his driver in central Somalia, an official, elders and non-governmental organisation workers said. “We got horrible information saying an aid worker and his driver were killed. They were working with a local NGO and their job was to deliver food aid to people in need. We are still investigating the incident,” said Ibrahim Ali, a security officer in Dhusamareb district.

“The assailants fired a rocket propelled grenade, destroying the car. The officer and his driver instantly died... and we don’t know who the assailants were,” said Ahmednur Adan, an elder in the area.

“The bodies of the victims were taken to where their relatives live and the motive of the killing is not clear yet,” said Osman Manlawe,

another witness. The sources identified the aid worker as Abdikarin Hashi Kediye, who worked with Towfiq Development Organization, a local NGO, which they described as a partner of the World Food Programme (WFP).

The driver has not been named. It is not clear what motivated the killing, which took place in a region controlled by the moderate Sufi group Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa. Other militia groups are also present in the region. The incident comes less than three weeks after three aid workers, two of whom were WFP staff, were killed by an armed man in Mataban district of Hiran province in central Somalia.

In that incident the gunman opened fire instantly killing one WFP staff member and a man working for a cooperating partner. A sec-

ond WFP staff member was shot and later died as a result of his injuries.

The gunman in the Hiran attack gave himself up to authorities. WFP temporarily suspended operations in the area. Somalia has been without an effective central government since president Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

One of the world’s most dangerous countries for aid workers, Somalia is also in great need of their presence after two decades of war and a series of famines, culminating in a particularly devastating one that started in late 2010.

The Shebab Islamists, who control much of the south of the country, have imposed draconian restrictions on international aid agencies operating in the areas they control, large parts of which were declared famine zones

earlier this year.

In November, the Shebab ordered shut 16 UN and other international aid agencies after raiding several of their offices, banning organisations that it considers to be “engaged in activities deemed detrimental to the attainment of an Islamic State.”

The Shebab’s raids left just a handful of aid agencies able to operate in rebel-held areas, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres. ICRC said Thursday it had suspended food aid to 1.1 million people in southern and central Somalia because of obstruction by local militia. The UN has called Somalia the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Three regions of south Somalia are still in a state of famine. —AFP

57 killed in tribal revenge attack in South Sudan 25 women and 23 children among those killed

CAIRO: Former US president Jimmy Carter speaks during a press conference in the capital Cairo yesterday. —AFP

Carter says Egypt military likely to retain some power CAIRO: Former US president Jimmy Carter said yesterday that the generals ruling Egypt since a popular uprising ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak were likely to retain some powers after the transition. “When I met with military leaders, my impression was they want to have some special privilege in the government after the president is elected,” Carter told reporters in Cairo. His comments, which came after meetings with members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), political leaders and representatives of civil society groups, reflect the widespread belief that the military intends to maintain a political role in the country’s future.

The SCAF has repeatedly pledged to cede full powers to civilian rule when a president is elected by the end of June. It has pointed to the parliamentary elections as proof of its intention to step out of politics. “It may be that the military leaders are sincere in their desire to turn over authority. They may wish to retain some special privileges,” Carter said. But “the leaders of all the political parties have told me that they intend to assume full civilian authority of government affairs when this process is concluded,” Carter said, pointing to possible power struggles in the near future.

“My belief is that when the new government is formed, all powers should be in the hands of elected officials. “The military should be completely subservient to the elected civilian officials,” Carter said. The former president was in Cairo to present the Carter Centre’s findings on the conduct of the landmark parliamentary elections, which he said had been “acceptable.” Egypt’s two main Islamist parties have claimed a crushing victory in the election for a new assembly, whose functions remain unclear.

The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest and best organised political group, “will probably receive between 45 and 50 percent of votes,” Carter said. It will be followed in second place by the Al-Nur party representing the ultra-conservative Salafi brand of Islam and the liberal Wafd party in third place, he said.

“The will of the people has been adequately and accurately expressed in the results of the elections,” Carter said. In its preliminary findings on the election, the Carter Centre stressed that “the ultimate success of Egypt’s transition will depend on the earliest possible handover of power to a civilian government that is accountable to the Egyptian people.” —AFP

JUBA: Hundreds of armed attackers from a South Sudanese tribe that suffered a devastating assault last month charged into three villages, burned them to the ground and killed 57 people, an official said yesterday, an act that perpetuates a cycle of revenge attacks in the world’s newest nation.

Some 400 men from the Murle ethnic group attacked the Lou Nuer villages on Wednesday, said Simon Hoth, a county commissioner in Jonglei state, the site of devastating violence the last three weeks. Hoth, a member of the Lou Nuer, said 57 were killed and 40 people were missing and likely abducted.

Twenty-five women and 23 children were among those killed in the Uror county attack, Hoth said. Fifty-two people were wounded. “They have butchered these people,” he said. There was no immediate independent confirmation of Hoth’s figures. Murle fighters were accused of killing 22 people in similar attacks in neighboring Akobo county on Sunday.

Uror was the scene of a larger Murle attack in August in which an estimated 600 Lou Nuer were killed. Those attacks prompted a series of retaliatory raids by

the Lou Nuer in Pibor county beginning Dec. 23. One Murle official has said that 3,000 Murle died in those attacks. Neither the central government or the UN has confirmed that figure, but scores are feared to have died. The government of South Sudan recently declared Jonglei state a disaster area. The UN mission in South Sudan estimates at least 60,000 people have been affected by the ongoing violence. The UN operation says it has launched one of the most “complex and expensive” humanitarian operations since the end of the Sudanese civil war in 2005.

South Sudan became the world’s newest country last year after decades of war with Sudan, but it is now experiencing massive internal violence. But with retaliation attacks occurring more and more frequently, there is little hope for an end to these clashes. Cattle raiding is at the heart of the tribal clashes. The Lou Nuer are said to have stolen tens of thousands of cattle from the Murle in the December attack.

“Arms are still in the hands of the civilian population,” said Jonglei Gov. Kual Manyang Juuk. “And these attacks will continue, definitely.” Juuk said the government is sending police to patrol the

area, but Jonglei’s extreme underdevelopment makes securing the area difficult.

“This is a challenge for the government.

They don’t live in formal towns,” he said.

Hoth said Uror’s residents have little hope of being kept safe. “People are now living in fear because the whole county has no security. The UN is not there and the (South Sudan military) is not there.”

The area is also desperately short of health care to treat those hurt in the fighting.

Heather Whelan, a spokeswoman for humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, said the group airlifted 12 seriously wounded patients from its clinic in Yuai to receive surgical treatment in neighboring Upper Nile state. Whelan said five of the victims were women and “six were children under 5, with beating or gunshot wounds.” The International Organization for Migration said yesterday that an IOM convoy of four trucks carrying kits that include kitchen utensils, soap, jerry cans, blankets, plastic sheeting and mosquito nets is en route to Pibor town in Jonglei. The convoy the first by road since the recent violence began - will be delivered to about 7,500 people. —AP

Norway gunman gets new psychiatric test

Anders Behring

OSLO: An Oslo court yesterday ordered a new psychiatric evaluation of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in July, after an earlier and widely contested test found him criminally insane.

“Due to the gravity of this case, the criminal responsibility (of Behring Breivik) must be examined again,” Oslo District Court judge Wenche Elizabeth Arntzen told a news conference.

Two new experts, Agnar Aspaas and Terje Toerrisen, were named to evaluate the 32-year-old rightwing extremist’s sanity “before the beginning of (his) trial” scheduled to start on April 16.

The new evaluation risks being complicated by the fact that Behring Breivik has already refused through his lawyer to cooperate with the probe. In late November, two court-appointed psychiatrists concluded that Behring Breivik was suffering from

paranoid schizophrenia and should be considered criminally insane and therefore not accountable for his actions.

If the finding is confirmed, Behring Breivik, who has confessed to carrying out the deadliest massacre on Norwegian soil since World War II, would likely be sentenced to psychiatric care in a closed ward instead of prison.

Yesterday’s “decision does not imply any criticism of the first experts’ report,” Arntzen said and justified the decision to order a new evaluation by stressing “the necessity to clarify this case as much as possible.”

The initial report, later supported by an expert panel, was controversial in Norway, with critics pointing to the years of detailed planning Behring Breivik had put in and his cool and methodic execution of the massacre. —AP

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Kazakh leader guards stability in polls after unrest TARAZ: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s face stares down from scores of billboards in the old silkroad town of Taraz, evidence of his claim to unquestioned power even after the calm of the Central Asian state was shaken by an Islamist attack and a mutiny by oil workers.

No-one doubts Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party will win Sunday’s parliamentary elections by a landslide. But for the first time, the second-placed party will automatically be guaranteed seats in the chamber, a concession unlikely to weaken the veteran leader’s grip on power.

‘You are the one and only independent Kazakhstan,’ reads one poster in Taraz exalting Nazarbayev.

Another urges citizens to learn the state language, Kazakh, in a country where Russian is still more familiar to millions.

In a city now synonymous with a rampage last November by an Islamist militant who killed seven

and blew himself up, most people still trust Nazarbayev to enforce security and prevent any spread of violence akin to that in nearby states.

“Everywhere around us there are wars. We don’t want one here,” said medical assistant Sholpan Tulendiyeva, 35, visiting a bazaar where many locals make a living trading textiles and shoes imported from China and Turkey.

At 71, Nazarbayev, ruler of Kazakhstan since Soviet times, has no clear successor. He has prized economic growth and stability over democratic reforms, showing little tolerance for dissent. His most strident critics live in exile. While many of Kazakhstan’s 16.7 million people demand a bigger slice of the wealth generated by plentiful oil resources, and perhaps more democracy than Sunday’s election will offer, confidence in Nazarbayev appears unshaken in this southern town.

As Nazarbayev ages, his name is

more exalted. December 1 has been declared a public holiday, “The Day of the First President”. Scientists who discovered a new hydrocarbon cluster have applied to name the mineral Nurnazen in his honour.

Almaty-based author Roza Akbolatova has penned a series of fairy tales, six so far, depicting Nazarbayev as a modern-day legend.

Her books share shelf space in the book stores with the works of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. “Such people are chosen.

They don’t arrive in this world by chance,” Akbolatova said. Neither can they last forever. With no clear succession plan, some fear Kazakhstan might be saving up problems for another day. The December riots in the far western oilproducing region of Mangistau were a stark illustration of the dangers.

The president’s reaction to the clashes between riot police and protesters, during which officials say 17

France opens murder probe into journalist’s killing in Syria Damascus to investigate death

PARIS: France yesterday opened a murder probe into the killing of a French journalist in Syria, amid suspicions of regime collusion in the first death of a Western journalist since protests began 10 months ago.

Judicial sources said a murder enquiry had been opened into the killing on Wednesday of 43-year-old France 2 television reporter Gilles Jacquier during a government-organised trip to Homs, a flashpoint for antiregime protests.

Jacquier’s body arrived back in France yesterday morning and an autopsy was to be carried out later in the day after his death during a shelling attack in Homs while being accompanied by President Bashar alAssad’s troops.

The head of French public television news, Thierry Thuillier, told AFP that there were “troubling elements” surrounding the death. “For instance, why, while this journalists’ convoy was under military escort, why did the soldiers all of a sudden disappear just as the first shells were fired?” “They went back, they withdrew from the place that was hit, leaving the journalists surrounded by civilians. Why?” Thuillier asked.

Damascus said Thursday that it will investigate his death, which the Syrian opposition said was the result of an orchestrated attack aimed at preventing journalists from covering the protests. Foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said France wanted “truth and justice” from the Syrian enquiry, about which “we have not been contacted by the Syrian authorities.” “We demand guarantees of a reliable, independent, credible and transparent enquiry so that all light can be shed on this,” Nadal told jour-

nalists, declining to say whether he trusted Damascus to carry out the enquiry. Nadal also called for the Syrian authorities to provide French

“The Syrian authorities were the only ones who knew that a group of Western journalists were visiting Homs that day and in which neigh-

An image grab taken from a video posted on You Tube yesterday shows someone holding up a sign picturing late French cameraman Gilles Jacquier, with the Arabic words: “Gilles Jacquier: victim of a free press”, during an anti-regime demonstration in the northern Kurdish-populated village of Derbasiye. France opened a murder probe into Jacquier’s killing. — AFP investigators with “all the means to be able to independently probe the circumstances of this death.” “We have no information about these circumstances,” he said.

French daily Le Figaro yesterday quoted a source close to President Nicolas Sarkozy implicating the Syrian regime in his death. “We are inclined to believe this was an underhanded manoeuvre,” the source said, adding however that there was no proof Jacquier’s death was intentional.

bourhood they could be found,” the source said. “We can believe this was an unfortunate accident. But it certainly works out well for a regime that is seeking to discourage foreign journalists and demonise the rebellion,” the source said. An AFP photographer said Jacquier was killed when a shell exploded among some 15 journalists covering demonstrations in Homs.

Eight Syrians were killed, said Syrian news agency SANA, and several other people were wounded. — AFP

people were killed, was to replace younger officials-including his sonin-law Timur Kulibayev-with trusted hardliners.

Nazarbayev picked out Kulibayev, the investors’ favourite to succeed him, as the scapegoat by removing him from the top job at SamrukKazyna, the $90 billion sovereign wealth fund that ultimately owns the companies where sacked oilmen had protested.

“Investors are concerned by the recent reshuffle and about the ‘old guard’ being at the forefront. They are eager to see Kazakhstan continue on a more open trajectory,” said Kate Mallinson, senior analyst at political risk consultants GPW. Kyrgyzstan, scene of a revolution and ethnic bloodshed in the last two years, lies just across the border. The economy in Tajikistan, where tens of thousands were killed in a civil war in the 1990s, is propped up by remittances from migrant workers. — Reuters

Lithuania marks bloody Soviet 1991 crackdown VILNIUS: Lithuania will never give up its quest for justice over a 1991 Soviet military crackdown on its independence movement, President Dalia Grybauskaite said yesterday. “The statute of limitations should apply only to cynicism, not to restoring justice,” Grybauskaite said at a ceremony marking the 21st anniversary of the assault which killed 14 civilians and wounded 700.

The January 13, 1991 attack on key buildings shielded by tens of thousands of peaceful independence supporters was part of failed efforts to bring Lithuania to heel. Lithuania had declared independence in March 1990 after almost five decades of Kremlin rule, becoming the first republic to secede from the Soviet Union.

After an economic blockade failed to tame Lithuania, Moscow opted for force. A similar crackdown on January 20 in neighbouring Latvia killed seven. Lithuania, Latvia and fellow Baltic republic Estonia finally won recognition from Moscow as independent states in September 1991, three months before the formal demise of the Soviet Union itself.

Several Lithuanian Soviet-era officials have since been convicted for their role in the crackdown. But 21 Russian and two Belarussian citizens suspected

by Lithuania of war crimes and crimes against humanity remain out of reach in their homelands.

Last July, Lithuania blasted fellow European Union member Austria over its speedy release of Russian Mikhail Golovatov, who led a unit in 1991.

Golovatov, detained on a Lithuanian warrant at Vienna airport, was freed within 24 hours.

Austria said Lithuania failed to provide extra information to justify his extradition. Vilnius rejected that and accused Austria of caving in to Russia, something Vienna denied.

Ties between giant Russia and Lithuania, a nation of three million, have been rocky since independence, and notably since the Baltic state joined the EU and NATO in 2004.

Lithuania this week announced that Russia had rejected its request to question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev about the crackdown. “The decision was not too much of a surprise, as Russia has not even dealt with the communists’ crimes against its own citizens,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said yesterday. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Still in ruins: Haiti marks two years after quake PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitians flocked to churches Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that killed a quarter-of-a-million people in the poorest country in the Americas.

The flattened presidential palace and Portau-Prince’s hollowed-out cathedral offered striking symbols of the failure of an international aid effort that never lived up to its promise, despite billions of pledged dollars.

By the ruins of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, whose roof and towers collapsed after the 7.0-magnitude quake, Jean Wilbert, a 40-year-old cripple ekes out an existence in a makeshift camp with his mother.

“I’ve been here for the past two years,” Wilbert told AFP, admitting he found it hard emotionally to move on from the disaster. “I cannot detach myself from this place where I lost my two legs,” he said. UN fact sheets highlighted the hundreds of thousands of people relocated from tent cities in 2011 and the 1.1 million children now receiving daily food aid, but the pace of reconstruction has been painfully slow.

That is partly explained by the cataclysmic scale of the January 12, 2010 disaster, which killed, injured or displaced one in six of the Caribbean nation’s entire population, razing some 250,000 homes in the capital alone. But Haiti was also already the economic basket case of the Western Hemisphere, a dysfunctional country often ruled by a corrupt elite while 80 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, most in stinking slums.

More than half-a-million people displaced by the 2010 quake subsist in 800 squalid tent camps around the capital, and the health authorities, propped up by an army of NGOs, are still battling a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 7,000 people since November 2010. In this largely Roman Catholic country, places of worship were holding services throughout the day to remember the disaster, throwing open their doors to quake survivors, many still traumatized by the events of that day.

Government officers were shuttered along with schools and businesses. At 4:53 pm local time (2153 GMT), the moment the earthquake

Missing teenager Natalee Holloway declared dead

BIRMINGHAM: The parents of Natalee Holloway looked on somberly as a judge on Thursday declared their child dead, more than six years after the American teenager vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba.

“We’ve been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years,” Dave Holloway said after a brief hearing. He said the judge’s order closes one chapter in a long ordeal, but added: “We’ve still got a long way to go to get justice.

Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba on May 30, 2005.

The 18-year-old was last seen leaving a bar early that morning with a young Dutchman, Joran van der Sloot. Her body was never found and the ensuing searches for the young woman would reap intense media scrutiny and worldwide attention.

Thursday’s hearing was scheduled long before van der Sloot - a suspect questioned in Holloway’s disappearance pleaded guilty Wednesday in Peru to the 2010 murder of a woman he met at a casino in Lima. Stephany Flores, 21, was killed five years to the day after Holloway, an 18-year-old from the wealthy Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared.

Shortly after Flores’ death Natalee Holloway on May 30, 2010, van der Sloot told police he killed the woman in Peru in a fit of rage after she discovered on his laptop his connection to the disappearance of Holloway.

Police forensic experts disputed the claim. Dave Holloway told the judge in September he believed his daughter had died and he wanted to stop payments on her medical insurance and use her $2,000 college fund to help her younger brother. The teen’s mother originally objected, but her lawyer, Charlie DeBardeleben, said she subsequently changed her mind once she understood her husband’s intentions.

Natalee Holloway’s parents were divorced in 1993 and Beth Holloway sat in the back row of the courtroom, mostly staring at her hands in her lap through the hearing Thursday afternoon in a probate court in Birmingham.

Although Beth Holloway declined to speak to journalists, her attorney signaled it was a difficult moment for her to witness a judge signing the order declaring her daughter dead. “She’s ready to move on from this,” DeBardeleben added. —AP

struck, President Michel Martelly was to lay a wreath at the mass grave north of the capital where most of the dead lie entombed, dumped there in lorry-load after lorry-load in the days after the disaster.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to those who died-including more than 100 UN personnel-and called on international donors to keep up their “vital support” for the rebuilding two years after the disaster.

“Despite considerable achievements, including in the areas of rubble removal and the resettlement of displaced persons, many Haitians remain in need of international assistance,” Ban said.

UN special envoy to Haiti Michaelle Jean said “murderous negligence” had contributed to the vast toll as she pointed to “an absence of laws and regulations to standardize construction works” that led to building collapses.

“It is irresponsible laissez-faire, generalized disorder set up as a system,” she said. Shocked in the immediate aftermath of one of the deadliest disasters of modern times, the international community promised billions of dollars of aid

money to “build back better.” Decentralizationaway from the slum-infested, sprawling capital of three million-was the buzzword in a plan to be implemented under the watchful eye of former US president Bill Clinton.

This grandiose vision now appears to have been a pipe-dream. Less than half the $4.59 billion pledged has been received and disbursed, and the coffers of the aid agencies are also drying up. More than 50 percent of the quake rubble has now been cleared, but little has been erected in its place.

Most of the hundreds of thousands of people who fled Port-au-Prince after the quake have since returned to the overcrowded capital, desperate for work and food in a country still lacking another effective pole to attract labor.

Martelly, a former carnival entertainer and pop singer, was sworn in as the new president in May, riding a populist wave and promising to bring the change that the country so badly needs. But faced with a parliament dominated by his political opponents, it took him five months to even get a prime minister appointed. —AFP

GOP candidates fail to get primary ballots ‘It’s a different campaign than it was earlier’ WASHINGTON: Many of Mitt Romney’s presidential challengers are having trouble fulfilling a fundamental requirement of running for public office: Getting on the ballot. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman have all failed to qualify for the ballot in at least one upcoming GOP primary. In other states, they have failed to file full slates of delegates with state or party officials, raising questions about whether these candidates have the resources to wage effective national campaigns.

And if one of them were able to marshal enough anti-Romney forces to challenge the front-runner, the ballot blunders could limit their ability to win delegates in key states. The exception: Ron Paul, who appears to have avoided such pitfalls so far. “This is why you need a real-life, no-kidding-around campaign,” said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist and former Gingrich aide who is neutral in the 2012 race. “All these guys who have been crowing that they found a new way to run for president, it’s like saying I’m inventing a new airplane, and it has only one wing.”

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won the first two contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he is leading in the polls in South Carolina and Florida, the next two states to have primaries. Romney raised $56 million in 2011 for his campaign, giving him big financial and organizational advantages over his GOP rivals. Those advantages are on display as many of his competitors miss deadlines or fail to collect enough signatures to meet ballot requirements in upcoming contests.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who came within a few votes of winning the Iowa caucuses, failed to get on the ballot in Virginia or the District of Columbia.

His campaign also filed incomplete slates of delegates in Illinois and Ohio, which could limit his ability to win dele-

gates in those key states.

Virginia has been a tough ballot to crack for several GOP candidates because the state requires campaigns to collect signatures from at least 10,000 registered voters. Romney and Paul were the only ones who made the ballot for the March 6 primary. Perry sued, and he has since been

dates who are serious about winning the nomination will be on the D.C. ballot.”

Santorum adviser John Brabender acknowledged that Romney has more money and a larger campaign organization. But, he said, Santorum’s campaign has gained resources and momentum since the close finish in Iowa. Romney, he

MANCHESTER: Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum kisses his wife Karen during a primary night rally, in Manchester, N.H. —AP joined in the lawsuit by Gingrich, Huntsman and Santorum. Santorum is the only major candidate who will be left off the ballot in the District of Columbia primary April 3, said Paul Craney, executive director of the DC Republican Committee.

The party provides two ways to get on the ballot: Pay $10,000, or pay $5,000 and collect signatures from 296 registered Republicans in the heavily Democratic capital city. “It’s not easy, but it can be done, if you are a serious presidential candidate,” Craney said. “All the presidential candi-

said, has been running for president for the past six years, giving him more time to build his organization.

“It’s a different campaign than it was earlier,” Brabender said. Huntsman, the former Utah governor, failed to get on the ballot in Arizona or Illinois. The requirements to get on the GOP ballot in Arizona are pretty easy - all you have to do is fill out a two-page form. Twenty-three candidates managed to do it properly, so they will be on the ballot for the state’s Feb. 28 primary. —AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Candidates make final push ahead of Taiwan vote TAIPEI: Candidates in Taiwan’s closely fought presidential election appealed for last-minute support yesterday, with President Ma Yingjeou offering his vision of better relations with China, and his main challenger attempting to galvanize resentment over growing income inequality.

Amid swirling campaign banners and cheering crowds, Ma and Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party crisscrossed the island ahead of a contest that pits Ma’s experience against Tsai’s populism. Eighteen million Taiwanese are eligible to vote in Saturday’s election, with results expected by about 10 pm. Opinion surveys published a week ago - the last permitted under Taiwanese law - showed Ma clinging to a slim 3-4 percentage point lead that was within the statistical margin of error, despite Tsai never having won an election for public office in Taiwan. A third candidate, James Soong, a former heavyweight in Ma’s Nationalist Party, has little chance of winning, though political analysts say he could draw voters away from the president. Legislative elections being held at the same time are likely to see Ma’s Nationalists retain a

majority in the 113-seat house, although with a diminished margin.

Ma, a 61-year-old former justice minister and Taipei mayor, is staking his re-election on his success in tying Taiwan’s high-tech economy ever closer to China’s lucrative markets.

During his 3 1/2 years in office, his China initiatives - including opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists and increasing the number of flights across the 100-mile- (160-kilometer-) wide Taiwan Strait - have helped reduce tensions between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China to the lowest level since they split amid civil war in 1949.

Ma’s signature achievement has been the completion of a China trade deal in June 2010 which lowered tariffs on hundreds of goods. While most of Taiwan’s $124 billion worth of exports to China last year were electronic goods like television displays and cellphone chips, there was also a big upsurge in agricultural sales from southern Taiwan, long a stronghold of Tsai’s party.

Tsai, 55, who has a doctor’s degree from the London School of Economics, has acknowledged that the economic aspects of Ma’s China policies have received broad support

and shows no sign of undoing them.

But she has hit out repeatedly at the growing economic inequality she says they have spawned. She has also accused Ma of undermining Taiwan’s de facto independence in exchange

TAIPEI: Supporters of Taiwan opposition Democratic Progressive Party, DPP, presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen wave flags during an election rally at New Taipei City, Taiwan, yesterday. — AP for economic benefits from China - a claim that resonates strongly with her party’s pro-independence base.

There is some evidence that her claims are starting to hit home. “The economy is the main thing” in the election, said Jenny Wu, the propri-

Myanmar frees many political prisoners HRW says its ‘a crucial development’

YANGON: Myanmar freed some of its most famous political inmates yesterday, sparking jubilation outside prison gates while signaling its readiness to meet Western demands for lifting economic sanctions.

Prominent political activists, leaders of brutally repressed democratic uprisings, a former prime minister, ethnic minority leaders, journalists and relatives of the former dictator Ne Win were among those released.

State media described the presidential pardon freeing 651 detainees as allowing them to take part in “nationbuilding.”

It was the latest in a flurry of accelerating changes in Myanmar sought by the West, including starting a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Thursday’s signing of a cease-fire in a long-running campaign against Karen insurgents.

Myanmar likely now feels the ball is the West’s court to lift the crippling economic measures. But the United States and allies may take a wait-andsee approach, to see if government truces with various ethnic rebel groups hold, discussions with Suu Kyi move forward and scheduled April elections appear free and fair.

“I think we are close to the removal of Western sanctions,” said Monique Skidmore, a Myanmar expert at the

University of Canberra, adding that the US and others might first wait to see Aung San Suu Kyi take a seat in parliament. “There’s a sense that there’s still more to go before the

group called for their release and urged the government to allow international monitors to enter prisons to verify the numbers and whereabouts of those still jailed. Until yesterday, as

HPA-AN: Myanmar blogger and prominent political activist Nay Phone Latt (2nd L) celebrates with relatives upon his release from detention in Hpa-an, in the country’s eastern Karen state yesterday. Myanmar pardoned a number of prominent dissidents, journalists and a former premier on January 13 under a major prisoner amnesty, intensifying a surprising series of reforms by the army-backed regime. — AFP sanctions will be removed.”

Human Rights Watch called yesterday’s release “a crucial development” in promoting human rights in Myanmar but stressed that an unknown number of political prisoners still remain detained. The

etor of a small home wares shop in Taipei. “People will be looking for more opportunities for employment and help for the working class.”

Taiwan, one of Asia’s economic successes for decades and now a cen-

many as 1,500 political prisoners were believed to be behind bars, by some counts, and the exact tally of those released yesterday will likely take several days. Suu Kyi’s party said it was expecting the release of many of the 600 dissidents it tracks. — AP

ter of high-tech development, has turned in a mixed performance under Ma. Unemployment has fallen in the past two years after reaching a high of 6.16 percent in 2009, and preliminary growth figures for 2011 were a respectable 4.5 percent. — AP

Seoul still wants dialogue with Pyongyang: official SEOUL: South Korea said yesterday it still wants dialogue with North Korea despite a series of strongly worded attacks from Pyongyang following the death of its leader Kim Jong-Il. The North late Thursday published what it called a “White Paper”, blasting President Lee Myung-Bak’s government as a “group of traitors” and accusing it of pushing inter-Korean ties to the lowest point in years.

Despite such attacks, “it’s better for South-North relations to move along the path toward co-existence and co-prosperity while maintaining peace and stability”, said Kim Hyung-Suk, a spokesman for Seoul’s unification ministry which handles cross-border issues.

“In this context, we find it necessary to set up a stable dialogue channel and when it’s in place we will be able to discuss and resolve pending issues through dialogue between responsible authorities.”

Relations have been icy since the South accused the North of responsibility for two deadly cross-border incidents in 2010. In recent weeks the North has accused the South’s government of showing disrespect during the mourning period for Kim, who died on December 17 and was succeeded by his son Jong-Un. On Thursday the North’s state Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said Lee’s government had escalated confrontation and staged a smear campaign. It said the South Korean military was put on alert following the announcement of Kim’s sudden death and accused the Seoul government of “levelling the gun at the fellow countrymen shedding tears in great grief”. “All the facts show that the Lee Myung-Bak group of traitors is the number one group of maniacs keen on confrontation and war,” it said, warning that “the group will face only merciless punishment”.

North Korea test-fired three short-range missiles into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula this week, a report said yesrterday. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Vietnam jails policeman over beating death HANOI: A court in Hanoi sentenced a policeman to four years in jail yesterday over the death of a 53-year-old man who was beaten in custody after being arrested for a minor traffic infraction, an official said.

Trinh Xuan Tung died last year after being detained over a scuffle about a motorbike helmet. He was hit on the neck and left handcuffed despite warning police that paralysis was seizing his body, his family said at the time. The

police officer responsible “was given four years in jail on charges of causing death while exercising official public duties under article 97 of the criminal code,” an official at the People’s Court of Hanoi told AFP. No other police officers faced charges and there were “no other additional sanctions” against anyone else involved in the incident, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Tung’s family could not be

reached for comment after the Friday verdict. Tung had been riding a motorcycle taxi as a passenger in Hanoi when he removed his helmet to make a mobile phone call.

Riding without a helmet is illegal in Vietnam and a policeman confiscated the vehicle and fined the driver.

The driver refused to pay, leading to an argument and a scuffle in which Tung, a street vendor, became involved. His family say Tung was

then attacked and beaten by police before being taken to a police station where they found him with cuffs on his wrists and legs, complaining of paralysis.

He later died in hospital. Activists have used the case as an example of alleged widespread brutality by the Vietnamese police force, with USbased Human Rights Watch saying it highlighted an “alarming” use of violence among police. — AFP

Japan PM shuffles cabinet to rescue tax hike plan Reshuffle greeted with political shrug by opposition

MANILA: A government official, left, talks to a group of Filipino people arriving from Syria at Manila International Airport yesterday in suburban Paranaque City, Philippines. Some 75 Filipino workers were repatriated by the Philippine government to escape the escalating violence in Syria. — AP

Thailand detains suspect after US attack warning BANGKOK: Thai authorities said yesterday they had detained a Lebanese man with suspected links to the Hezbollah militant group, after the United States warned of a terrorist threat against tourists in the kingdom.

“Foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future,” the US embassy in Bangkok said in an emergency message posted on its website. “US citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok.” A Thai senior intelligence officer who did not want to be named told AFP that the kingdom had been informed before the New Year by Israel of a possible threat.

The suspect was detained Thursday while the other man had already fled the country, he said. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung told AFP by telephone that the detained suspect was being questioned by the Thai authorities.

“We already have one suspect in custody for interrogation at a government building in Bangkok. He is a Hezbollah from Lebanon,” he said. “I want to assure people that there is nothing to worry about. The police will take care of the situation and everything will be under control.”

Hezbollah, an Iranian- and Syrian-backed Muslim Shiite group, is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Washington and currently dominates the Lebanese government. “Israel was suspicious that these two men might be terrorists, so they gave information, including their names, to our police before the New Year,” the senior intelligence officer said. The suspect has denied involvement with any terrorist activities, he added. “These two men entered Thailand a while ago but did not conduct any terrorist activity. I wonder why Israel was suspicious about them.” The warning is another blow to Thailand’s tourist-friendly image, which was badly dented last year by devastating flooding across much of the country, as well as rounds of rival political protests in recent years.

In 2008 a nine-day blockade by “Yellow Shirt” protesters stranded tens of thousands of travellers, and the industry was badly hit again in 2010 during “Red Shirt” street demonstrations.

Bangkok’s central shopping area was reduced to a battle zone during an army crackdown on the rallies, and more than 90 people were left dead. An eight-year-old shadowy insurgency continues to plague the country’s Muslim-majority deep south, but the rebels have never been known to attack outside of the region. —AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s premier yesterday reshuffled his cabinet just four months into the job as he looks to rescue plans to raise the sales tax and dig the country out from under its mountain of debt. Yoshihiko Noda used a round of ministerial musical chairs to rid himself of two under-fire colleagues whose presence had threatened to scupper his legislative programme and sink plans to hike consumption tax.

He also brought in a political heavyweight to help drive through the unpopular tax rise that analysts of all stripes agree is needed if Japan is to get to grips with its huge debt, which stands at around 200 percent of GDP. “I’ve done the reshuffle to create the best and strongest cabinet lineup so as to steadfastly carry out the... social security and tax reforms, which we must face, which we cannot avoid or put off,” Noda said at a press conference.

All cabinet ministers present at a morning meeting handed in a letter of resignation but the bulk of them were told they would be staying in their posts. Five were replaced, chief among them were Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Consumer Affairs Minister Kenji Yamaoka, both of whom have been censured by the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a press conference that Katsuya Okada, a former party chief, had been brought in as deputy prime minister, a position that previously did not exist, with responsibility foramong other things-reform of the social security and tax systems.

Okada, 58, is a former foreign minister, an ex-DPJ leader and one-time trade ministry technocrat known for his exhaustive policy knowledge and strait-laced “Mr Clean” image.

His political experience is widely believed to be vital if the administration is to garner the cross-party support it needs for tax reform legislation.

Ichikawa’s successor as defence chief is Naoki Tanaka, 71, husband of former foreign minister Makiko Tanaka and son-in-law of late premier

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, center, leads his new Cabinet members for an official group photo session at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, yesterday. — AP

Kakuei Tanaka. The new education minister will be Hirofumi Hirano while the new justice head will be upper house politician Toshio Ogawa. Jin Matsubara is the new consumer affairs minister.

Heavyweight posts including foreign minister and finance minister were unchanged. The reshuffle was greeted with a political shrug by the opposition, with Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, telling reporters Noda had “only changed some faces to cover up his responsibility for having failed to pick the right person” in the first place.

With his approval ratings having slid since he took office in September, Noda is under pressure to do something to stop the rot if he is to avoid becoming the latest casualty of Japan’s revolving door premiership, which saw his last five predecessors survive only a year each.

He needs the help of the opposition to pass a package of tax and social reform bills and see through his unpopular plan to raise consumer tax from five percent to eight percent in early 2014 and 10 percent in late 2015.

But petty politicking has looked set to derail the plan, with the opposition using the time-honoured technique of targeting individual ministers in a bid to undermine the premier in the highly factional world of Japanese public life.

Yamaoka was ticked off by the opposition-controlled upper house after giving his support to what some have alleged is a pyramid investment scheme. Ichikawa, meanwhile, has been a liability from day one, bizarrely playing up his lack of knowledge about defence matters soon after being appointed.

He got himself into more hot water when he described the rape of a 12year-old girl by three US servicemen in Okinawa as a “sexual orgy incident”, particularly angering islanders opposed to the huge US military presence there. Censures of the two men were passed in December by the upper house, which Noda’s DPJ does not control, with opposition lawmakers threatening to boycott future votes if the two retained their posts. Noda had initially refused to bow to pressure to sack the men, but with the re-opening of parliament just days away, appeared to be running out of options. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Afghan opposition supports peace talks KABUL: Prominent Afghan opposition leaders said yesterday that they support possible US-brokered peace negotiations with Taleban militants, but want to be part of any talks. Members of a coalition representing Afghanistan’s ethnic minorities spoke as they returned from a conference in Berlin, where they met with US congressional leaders. Most of the delegation fought in the Northern Alliance against the Taleban government in the 1990s.

Minority support for any peace process is crucial because many former Northern Alliance figures wield power and influence, raising the possibility of civil strife if they don’t approve of any deal with their longtime enemy.

The Taleban recently said they will open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar and expressed interest in negotiations with the U.S., but it is so far unclear what other Afghan factions might be involved. The Taleban persist in referring to President Hamid Karzai’s government as a puppet and stooge of foreign powers.Prominent Tajik minority leader Ahmad Zia Masood said that he supports peace talks, but added that the government should be cautious of giving up too much in any future talks to end the

decade-long war. Most international troops are scheduled to withdraw by 2014, making achieving a negotiated peace a more urgent priority.

“The achievements we have gained in

the last 10 years, we shouldn’t let go of them,” Masood said, adding later, “If the peace process is not clear, then peace cannot be successful.”

Masood is a prominent leader of the

KABUL: Ethnic Hazara leader Mohammad Muhaqiq, center right, hugs a supporter after returning from Germany at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday.

“If the government is going to start a peace process, then we should also be in this process because we also represent part of the nation,” he said. —AP

Kabul angry but calm after Marine abuse video KABUL: Feared anti-US protests over a video showing Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghan insurgents failed to erupt after Friday prayers in the Afghan capital, but anger ran deep on the streets.

“This is an absolutely savage act and condemnable in any religion,” said Waheedullah, 20, a road construction worker as he left a mosque in Kabul. “First they kill Afghans in their homeland and then they urinate on them. It is not acceptable-we should do it to them.”

The online video showed four US soldiers urinating on three bloodied corpses, and one of the men, apparently aware he was being filmed, saying: “Have a great day, buddy,” referring to one of the dead.

The images conjured up previous abuses committed by US troops during the decade-long war and top US officials scrambled to condemn the soldiers. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the behavior in the video was “utterly deplorable”, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of her “total dismay”, and both vowed that the culprits would be found and punished. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said the government was “deeply disturbed” at the desecration, which he described as “simply inhuman and condemnable in the strongest possible terms”.

But the mullah at Kabul’s biggest mosque did not mention the incident in his sermon Friday, and worshippers dispersed peacefully. Protests have in the past been sparked by inflammatory sermons.

“I believe there has been kind of a deliberate effort by people inside the government to cover up the issue,” Mati Kharoti, Afghan analyst and commentator, told AFP. “But this doesn’t mean that nothing will happen. It takes time for people to become aware of the news, thus I believe there is a good possibility we will witness angry reactions in the coming days.” The quiet reaction so far on the streets reflects a surprisingly measured response by the hardline Taleban Islamists, whose fighters are believed to be the victims in the video. A Taleban spokesman condemned the behaviour of the soldiers as “barbaric”, but said it would not derail tentative moves towards peace talks between the insurgents and the United States. “Normally such an issue would be used to bash foreigners, but their reaction could be an indicator that they might be serious about talks,” said Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. —AP

Afghan National Front opposition coalition and the brother of slain Northern Alliance chief Ahmad Shah Masood, considered a national hero by anti-Taliban forces. Ethnic Hazara leader Mohammad Muhaqiq said minority leaders should participate in any future talks.

“If the government is going to start a peace process, then we should also be in this process because we also represent part of the nation,” he said.

A spokesman for former Northern Alliance general Abdul Rashid Dostum said yesterday that he also is in favor of peace talks despite earlier skeptical comments. Dostum, a powerful Uzbek warlord accused of involvement in the deaths of 2,000 Taleban fighters shortly after the 2001 US-led invasion, was quoted in Berlin as saying it would be “naive” to exclude the possibility that the Taleban are using negotiations to assuage the US government while troops are being withdrawn, while planning to “resurge” after they are gone at the end of 2014.

The spokesman, Faizullah Zaki, told reporters Dostum’s earlier comments were overblown. “The general doesn’t have any objection to peace and he is on the side of the peace process.” — AP

Pakistan president lobbies for support Allies fearful of antagonising generals

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari’s ruling party lobbied coalition partners yesterday for a vote of support as the government faces the most intense pressure from the powerful military since a 1999 coup. One of Zardari’s allies introduced a resolution in parliament which places “full confidence and trust” in the political leadership of the nucleararmed South Asian state.

The National Assembly will debate the confidence motion on Monday and the government hopes for a vote next week. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was cautious, saying the purpose of the move was not an attack on the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 64-year history through a series of coups, and from behind the scenes.

A disputed memo allegedly from Zardari’s government seeking US help in reining in the generals soured relations between the civilian leadership and the military, pushing them to their lowest point since the last military coup in 1999. While another takeover is unlikely, the open hostilities will reinforce the view that Pakistan’s leaders are caught up in power struggles so often that they are incapable of running a country facing enormous social, security and economic problems.

The latest crisis also troubles Washington, which wants smooth ties between civilian and military leaders so that Pakistan can help efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan, a top priority for President Barack Obama. Some coali-

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar arrives to attend a joint session at the Parliament House in Islamabad yesterday.

Pakistan’s prime minister appealed for backing from lawmakers, saying they had to choose between democracy and dictatorship amid a confrontation with the military that could see his ouster. — AFP tion partners of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) warned that Zardari and his allies should not push the military too hard, fearing further upheaval in the South Asian nation facing a Taleban insurgency of its own.

“We will support any such resolution as it will be a move to strengthen democracy in the country, but it will be difficult for us to support any resolution which targets any state institution,” said a member of parliament from a major coalition ally of the PPP. Gilani was simi-

larly cautious. “The resolution we mentioned, its purpose is absolutely not that we are against any institution,” he told parliament in a speech televised live. “It absolutely does not mean we are bringing this against the military.” Gilani’s office denied a report yesterday that the prime minister this week called the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, expressing concerns that the army might be about to mount a coup, and asking for London to support the government. —Reuters

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Protests and strikes shut down Nigeria

Greece holds fresh talks on bond swap

Business

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Asian shares climb

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Lloyds CEO gives up $3.7m bonus

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

JAMMU: A worker pushes a metal wire roll at a factory in India. India’s industrial production rebounded in November, government data showed, providing some relief to Asia’s third-largest economy, which has been struggling with slowing growth and investment coupled with high inflation. —AP

‘Govt yet to decide on oil cuts’ Japan backtracks on Iran oil embargo

TOKYO: The Japanese government yesterday began backtracking on its pledge to join Washington’s drive to strangle Iranian oil exports as top figures insisted no decision had yet been made. Just 24 hours after the country’s finance minister indicated Tokyo was falling into line with US demands, the premier and his foreign minister both signaled a significant retreat.

The US is trying to ramp up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, threatening to cut off financial institutions that deal with the country’s central bank, so squeezing Tehran’s vital oil export business.

China has refused to play ball, but Washington appeared to score a diplomatic victory Thursday when Finance Minister Jun Azumi told visiting US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that Tokyo was planning to cut its imports from Iran. But yesterday Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba was less than enthusiastic. “The United States would like to impose sanctions. We believe it is necessary to be extremely circumspect about this matter,” Gemba told a news conference with French Foreign Minister Alain

Juppe in Tokyo.

“We must look at this extremely carefully and find an intelligent solution. “We as a government are in the process of examining the issue and coming to a common position.” Gemba said that over the last five years Japan had reduced its dependence on Iranian crude, which now made up around a tenth of the country’s oil imports.

“We are examining whether there is any advantage in a further reduction. But it is important to know what impact any reduction would have on the price of crude.

“One can imagine there would be negative effects (from this scheme) not just on Japan but on the world economy.” At a separate press conference Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said his finance minister had been speaking in a personal capacity. “Minister Azumi’s comment was to recap what has happened in the past so far, and expressed his personal views on the outlook,” Noda told reporters. “As a government, we wish to engage in more concrete discussions at a working level.”

The seeming volte-face came after what

appeared to be a coup for Washington when Azumi told Geithner that Japan was on board with the US bid to economically punish Iran for what it and its Western allies say is a weapons program. “In the past five years, we have reduced... the amount of oil imported (from Iran),” Azumi said as he stood next to his US counterpart. “We wish to take planned and concrete steps to further reduce this share, which now stands at 10 percent.”

Geithner had come away empty handed from Beijing, which refused to add its economic might to the campaign to isolate Tehran. India, which buys about $12-billion-worth of oil from Iran a year, also said Thursday it had not told refiners to reduce supplies, while South Korea said it would ask the US to let it not cut imports. The EU has thrown its hat in with the US and said Wednesday it expected to finalize its sanctions against Tehran by the end of the month.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for exclusively peaceful purposes, has repeatedly said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite four rounds of UN Security Council sanc-

tions demanding it desist. Tehran has threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz if more sanctions are imposed. Yesterday, Juppe said the world could not afford to let Iran acquire nuclear weapons and oil sanctions were a sensible way forward.

“France and her European partners believe Iran’s nuclear program.. is a serious violation of its international obligations and is a threat to world peace,” he told the news conference. “It would be a grave error to ignore this.” Azumi insisted yesterday that there was “no confusion” and “no inconsistency” within the government, Kyodo reported.

Under Washington’s financial measures, foreign firms will have to choose between doing business with the Islamic republic or the United States.

The pressure from Washington and the European Union to boycott Iranian crude comes at a time when Japan must make greater use of fossil fuel power plants after a huge earthquake and tsunami sparked a nuclear power crisis last March.

The vast majority of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are now shut down, amid public distrust of the technology and calls for increased safety. —AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

European markets sink on S&P downgrade rumor LONDON: European stock markets sank into the red yesterday and the euro plunged back under $1.27 as investors were rattled by rumors that Standard & Poor’s was set to downgrade several eurozone countries. An S&P spokesman declined to comment on building speculation that the ratings agency was preparing to downgrade the nations within the single currency bloc, including possibly France.European shares and the euro, which were rising earlier yesterday ahead of the rumors, went into reverse on talk of the potential downgrades. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top shares fell 0.80 percent to 5,616.92 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 slid 0.77 percent to 6,131.07 points and in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 0.29 percent to 3,190.65.

The European single currency meanwhile tumbled as low as $1.2686, near a 16-month low and compared

with $1.2816 in New York late on Thursday. European equities had risen in earlier yesterday trade as investors digested a mixed Italian bond auction, one day after strong debt sales by Rome and Madrid. However, they hit reverse as markets were rocked by rumors of potential downgrades. “Any further downgrades to eurozone countries, especially ones of the likes of France and Germany would be a devastating blow for European leaders ahead of the European summit at the end of the month,” Spreadex trader Simon Furlong told AFP. “Any credit downgrade will make the fight to keep this debt crisis under control all the harder as it inevitably results in higher bond yields as a countries credibility comes into question. “The markets are in a delicate situation at the moment, and with all delicate situations, investors need to tread carefully,” he added.Earlier this week, ratings agency Fitch said it did

not plan to downgrade France’s top triple-A credit rating in 2012 unless the country suffered major economic shocks. “Just rumours for now,” said GFT analyst David Morrison, when asked about the downgrade speculation.

“However, investors are rather jumpy as they’ve been adding to their risk positions all week after Fitch said that it was not anticipating France losing its tripleA rating in 2012. This helped to remove a major preChristmas eurozone concern.” France had been on notice that its triple-A debt rating was on the line, amid fears over its large public deficit and its own banks’ exposure to even riskier sovereign debt in eurozone partners Greece and Italy. European Union leaders will hold their latest crisis summit on January 29 in an attempt to resolve the region’s long-running sovereign debt crisis. — AFP

Protests and strikes shut down Nigeria for 5th day Union vows to stop oil production

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan autorickshaw driver transports coconuts past a coconut vendor yesterday. — AP

Lanka worries over Iran oil COLOMBO: Sri Lanka may be a minnow in the oil world, but a near total reliance on Iranian crude imports means it has more reason than most to find a way to avoid being caught in the clutches of US sanctions. The island’s only refinery-the 50,000 barrels-a-day Sapugaskanda refinery-is almost entirely reliant on imports of Iran’s crude. Switching to alternatives is not easy because the refinery has been configured to handle Iran’s high-sulphur and high-density crude oil. “We don’t have any other alternative than getting oil from Iran,” Petroleum Resources Minister Susil Premajayantha told Reuters. “Our main problem is that you can’t use all types of crude here for our machines.”

The Indian Ocean island is in a virtual straitjacket as the United States tries to tighten the noose on Iran to persuade Tehran to rein in its nuclear ambitions. The United States is Sri Lanka’s biggest trade partner, so much is at stake in its relationship with Washington. The Sapugaskanda refinery relies on Iran crude, but for Sri Lanka to qualify for a waiver from the US sanctions it would have to demonstrate to Washington a significant cut in the crude it imports from the world’s fifthlargest oil exporter.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s government has moved closer to China and Russia, two countries that oppose the US sanctions, after pressure from the United States to address allegations of war crimes at the end of its 25-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers in 2009 strained ties with Washington.

US President Barack Obama signed a new law on New Year’s Eve that imposed sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran’s central bank, which clears oil payments.

Washington has already moved to impose sanctions on a Chinese oil company and ones in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, although Sri Lanka’s central bank governor said the island wouldn’t be rushed into decisions. “We have to do it very carefully,” Ajith Cabraal told Reuters.—Reuters

ABUJA: A nationwide strike and mass protests shut down Nigeria for a fifth day running yesterday, but union leaders called for a weekend pause in demonstrations as talks sought to avert a halt in oil production. A first round of negotiations between labour leaders and top government officials, including President Goodluck Jonathan, failed to reach a deal on Thursday night over soaring fuel prices, but more talks are set for today. Union officials said the pause in talks until then was to allow for labor officials from across the country to gather in Abuja and meet on the way forward. With domestic flights grounded, they would be forced to come by road. The main oil workers’ union has threatened to shut crude production beginning tomorrow if the government does not reverse a move that ended fuel subsidies on January 1, more than doubling pump prices in Africa’s top crude exporter.

World oil prices moved higher in Asian trade yesterday over concerns that Nigerian supplies could be hit.

Although the strike has paralyzed Africa’s most populous country and brought tens of thousands on to the streets, oil workers have so far not moved to halt output of crude, the country’s economic lifeline.

Babatunde Ogun, president of the 20,000-strong PENGASSAN oil workers’ union warned that “from tomorrow, we are shutting down”. The bluecollar union NUPENG had already joined the strike.

“A shutdown of oil production in Nigeria means a potential loss of at least three percent of global oil production,” said Kayode Tinouye, an analyst with Lagos-based Afrinvest.

OPEC member Nigeria produces more than two million barrels per day and is a key supplier of crude to the United States and European Union. While protests pushed ahead yesterday, including thousands in the economic capital Lagos, where Muslims held

prayers at the main protest ground, labour leaders said there would be a pause in demonstrations over the weekend.

Nigeria Labor Congress president Abdulwahed Omar however told a rally in the capital Abuja that Monday will see “the mother of all crowds” if the government does not backtrack.

While unions have not officially suspended the strike for the weekend, there was the widespread expectation that a number of businesses would open temporarily to allow Nigerians to restock on food. Government officials and economists say removing subsidies was essential and will allow much of the $8 billion per year in savings to be ploughed into projects to improve the country’s woefully inadequate infrastructure. But Nigerians are united in anger against the removal of subsidies, which they view as their only benefit from the nation’s oil wealth. There is also deep mistrust of government after years of blatant

corruption. Labor officials have said the government had offered to reduce petrol prices to 120 naira per litre ($0.74, 0.58 euros) — down from the current 140 or more-but unions have not yet accepted it. The strike and protests have put the government under mounting pressure as it also seeks to stop spiraling attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, which have raised tensions and led to warnings of civil war. More than 80 Christians have been killed in bomb and gun attacks in recent weeks, most of them attributed to Boko Haram. A raid on a Muslim village in the northeastern state of Adamawa late Thursday saw a mob kill two people and burn mosques and homes. Some residents said the raid was in retaliation for recent killings of Christians in Adamawa, but the state also holds governorship elections on January 21, with campaign periods in Nigeria often provoking such violence. — AFP

LAGOS: Angry youths protest on the streets following the removal of a fuel subsidy by the government. — AP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Spain’s ghost airports multiply, burn cash MADRID: Built during a boom and now deserted, Spain’s growing ranks of “ghost airports” may not be the international air hubs their creators dreamed of-but they are still burning up cash. When Badajoz airport, near the Portuguese border in western Spain, saw its last commercial flight take off at 8:05 am on Tuesday morning, it became just the latest of many eerie signs of the country’s sharp reversal of fortune. Among them is the private airport in the eastern city of Castellon, still deserted after opening in March last year. Critics complain it pays for staff and even pest control-all it lacks are flights and passengers.

“At the time the airport was a reasonable idea because it was linked to a broader tourism promotion project,” says Eva Martinez, a member of the regional parliament from the opposition Socialist Party. But the airport turned out to be too much. “The nearest airport, in Valencia, is barely 50 kilometers (30 miles) away,” Martinez says. Now Castellon and the highly indebted Valencia region, which has begun raising taxes and cutting spending on services such as healthcare, is haunted by the costs of the ghost site.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if the airport had stayed as just an idea,” says Martinez. “The problem is that it is built now,” she adds, detailing the 7.2 million-euro budget a ghost airport runs, which must be paid for “even when it is not functioning”. This includes 424,000 euros to pay seven staff and 90,000 euros a year for falcons and ferrets, used by airports to keep birds and rabbits away from the planes and runways. On top of all this is 30 million euros spent on advertising. “It is an absolute scandal that in the economic situation we are in, with the Valencia region in ruin, we continue to spend money on this airport,” Martinez says.

Spain, where economic growth was driven for years by a building bubble that burst in 2008, has more international airports for commercial flights than any other country in Europe: 48 public and two private. Four of the public ones now find themselves with no regular commercial flights. At Badajoz, the carrier Air Nostrum, owned by Iberia, announced in November that it was abandoning the airport “due to the sharp fall in reservations” in “the economic crisis that has affected the Spanish domestic market”.

Badajoz was built in 1990 but was hard hit by the economic slump from 2008. In 2011, just over 56,000 passengers used Badajoz, 8.3 percent fewer than in the previous year, according to figures from airports agency AENA. It had logged a record of 75,000 passengers in 2007, the year before the worst of the financial and economic crisis struck. In 2010 it started work to double the size of its terminal, car parks and runways. The ghost sites appear a paradox in a country whose public airports overall received 204 million passengers in 2011 — described by AENA as the second best results in their history. The first of the two private airports, in Ciudad Real, south of Madrid, opened in 2008 and may close now following its last flight by budget airline Vueling in October. Apart from these, “airports that have less than 100,000 passengers a year, that is less than one flight a day, are really ghost airports too,” says Germa Bel, an economist at Barcelona University. “In Spain, there are some 15 airports like this,” adds Bel. “There is certainly going to be a lot of debate about what to do with them. It is quite annoying to close an operating theatre in a hospital and keep open an airport with 30 or 40 people working there and no planes landing.” — AFP

Greece holds fresh talks on bond swap ‘We are completely on track’

WASHINGTON: In this image, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (right) greets Hungary’s IMF Negotiator Minister Tamas Fellegi at IMF headquarters. — AP

Hungary expected to sign IMF deal PRAGUE: It may irk Hungarians who have always regarded themselves as superior to their poorer neighbours to the east, but Romania may have lessons to teach Budapest as it seeks a rescue from the EU and IMF. By sticking to the terms of a similar program, Bucharest has managed to put its once troubled economy back on the path to growth.

But that path will bring short term pain and punish the policymakers who follow it.

Facing a spike in borrowing costs that is threatening to shut his government out from foreign bond investors, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has abandoned a confrontational approach to the lenders and is trying to make amends. But the European Union and International Monetary Fund are likely to demand both the unravelling of reforms that have defined his conservative Fidesz administration and new measures to compensate, which could lead to more austerity.

It was that tough stance that forced Orban’s Romanian counterpart Emil Boc to push through unpopular belt-tightening measures despite wide public opposition and a steep drop in his popularity, factors that Orban will surely consider. If Hungary secures the deal, it will stabilize its economy and promote

reform. But negotiations will be very tough, indicating a rough ride for markets in the months ahead.

“The IMF was hardly flexible in the case of Romania and it will be even less flexible in the case of Hungary,” said Nicholas Spiro, an economist specialising in sovereign risk. “It will be keen on reversing flagship reforms or things that will be acutely sensitive for Fidesz voters, and that’s where it’s going to get extremely difficult.” Orban’s about-face towards the IMF has boosted the forint 3 percent this week after last week’s steep drop. Without a funding backstop, Hungary has no way to refinance 5 billion euros in debt this year.

Two paths Both Hungary and Romania secured rescue loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund at the height of the economic crisis as they faced recession, capital outflows, collapsing currencies and deteriorating external imbalances. Then they diverged. In 2010, then newly elected Orban ended cooperation with the Fund and embarked on a pro-growth strategy that raised taxes on banks and other foreign-owned firms and cut them for small businesses and most Hungarians. —Reuters

ATHENS: The Greek government held a second day of talks yesterday with representatives of private bondholders on a crucial debt relief deal, without which it could suffer a catastrophic bankruptcy that would send shockwaves through the global economy. The country is rushing to reach a deal on a bond swap that reduce its public debt by 100 billion ($127 billion) - roughly half its privately held debt burden - ahead of a visit Monday by international inspectors monitoring its austerity program.

The private debt deal is a key part of Greece’s second international bailout, worth a total 130 billion ($166 billion), which tops the initial 110 billion program agreed in May 2010 to keep the country solvent after its borrowing costs soared to unreachable heights. Fellow eurozone members Ireland and Portugal have also been forced to take international bailouts, with the threat of contagion rattling Europe’s economy and battering the euro. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will be meeting Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre of the Institute of International Finance yesterday. After a first round of talks Thursday, a senior Greek official said a deal could be struck by the end of next week, with a formal public offer coming at the beginning of February. “We are completely on track, exploiting the momentum,” the official said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

An IIF statement said “a range of issues were discussed and some key areas remain unresolved,” and stressed that “time for reaching an agreement is running short.” Frederic Oudea, the CEO of French bank Societe Generale, which holds a substantial amount of Greek debt, said the negotiations could finish in the next few days and private creditors might end up accepting losses even larger than the target of 50 percent. “But we have to be careful to maintain a balance because even if governments are saying that Greece will be a unique case, it will be instructive to investors,” Oudea said in an interview with Les Echos newspaper. “It could become a ‘cautionary tale’ that could weigh on other countries.” The two-year-old Greek debt crisis, which followed revelations that Athens had been underreporting key data on its bloated budget deficit and public debt, has shaken the eurozone and roiled financial markets.

Yesterday, Greece’s foreign ministry said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will visit Athens tomorrow for talks with Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas.

Westerwelle is also expected to meet with Papademos.

Germany is a key contributor to Greece’s rescue loan pro-

gram. Athens will only continue to receive the loans if it satisfies inspectors from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund that its austerity program is working. But the 2011 budget deficit is expected to overshoot targets, while the pace of promised reforms remains sluggish. The inspectors, collectively known as the troika, are expected to arrive in Athens next Tuesday.

Over the past two years, Greece has slashed pensions and salaries while repeatedly hiking taxes, in a deeply unpopular program that has sparked a string of general strikes and often violent protests. Last week, Papademos urged unions to accept further income losses, warning that bankruptcy and an ignominious exit from the euro could otherwise follow. — AP

ATHENS: A woman speaks on her phone in front of a Greek bank’s banner with ancient coins yesterday. — AP

business SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Italy borrowing rates drop in bond auction Italian cabbies hold wildcat strike over reforms

CLEVELAND: Thomas Warren installs a fuel cell on a Freightliner truck at a plant. About 1,100 workers laid off from a factory that builds long-distance Freightliner trucks will be called back to work to meet increasing demand as economies in the US and elsewhere improve, Daimler Trucks, North America said. —AP

Drop in UK output prices shows inflation slowdown LONDON: British factory-gate prices fell for the first time in 11/2 years in December, in a sign consumer price inflation is set to ease, providing some relief for cash-strapped consumers and paving the way for more economic stimulus from the central bank. Britons have been cutting back on spending as government cuts, tax hikes and slow wage rises squeeze their budgets, pushing the economy closer to recession.

Producer output prices unexpectedly fell by 0.2 percent on the month, the first monthly drop since June 2010, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Annual producer price inflation slowed to 4.8 percent on the year from 5.4 percent.

The figures lend support to the Bank of England forecast that inflation - still just off a recent three-year high of 5.2 percent will slump early this year and dip below its 2 percent target late in 2012, as economic weakness weighs on prices and one-off effects such as a 2011 sale tax increase disappear.

The easing input price pressures raised the chances that consumer price inflation could fall more than so far pencilled in, said BNP Paribas economist David Tinsley. “Utility providers are beginning to come forward to cuts in gas and electricity prices to reflect lower wholesale prices,” he said.

Three of Britain’s six main energy suppliers announced cuts in prices this week, while many retailers slashed prices to lure customers in the run-up to Christmas.

The price figures fuelled views that the central bank would inject more stimulus into the economy in February to support growth, and may even add another boost in May to stop inflation falling too far below its target. The Bank of England stopped short of announcing an expansion to its quantitative easing programme on Thursday. Data due next week is expected to show that consumer price inflation fell to 4.2 percent in December from 4.8 percent in November.

Consumer hopes The predicted decline in inflation this year is one reason for Britons to be optimistic about the future, Britain’s finance minister George Osborne said in an interview on Thursday. A boost to consumption, which accounts for more than 60 percent of Britain’s GDP, would be key for the economy to recover. Construction data also released by the ONS yesterday indicated the sector may have weighed on growth in the fourth quarter as a 0.2 percent monthly rise in November failed to make up for the 1.0 percent drop in October.

However, some economists warned that there are limits to how much lower prices can lift consumer spending given that Britons face rising unemployment, weakening real incomes and high debt. “Don’t overdo it,” said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank. “There are far more pressing matters that will determine how households behave.” Moreover, some economists warn of the risk producer, and eventually consumer, price inflation will pick up again if the price of oil goes up because of tensions in the Middle East. —Reuters

ROME: Italy saw its borrowing costs drop for a second day in a row yesterday as it easily raised euro4.75 billion ($6.05 billion) in a bond auction that indicated improved investor confidence in the country’s financial future and the 17 countries that use the euro. The auction caps a rare week of good news in Europe, which on Thursday saw successful bond auctions in Spain and Italy and upbeat comments from the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi. He noted “tentative signs of stabilization” in the region’s economy and said the ECB had prevented a serious credit contraction in the eurozone with a massive injection of cheap funds in December.

However, investors and markets recognize that, while some progress has been made this week, a long haul to full European economic recovery lies ahead.

Investors demanded an interest rate of 4.83 percent to lend Italy three-year money, down from an average rate of 5.62 percent in the previous auction and far lower than the 7.89 percent in November, when the country’s financial crisis was most acute.

While Italy paid a slightly higher rate for bonds maturing in 2018 which were also sold in yesterday’s auction, demand was between 1.2 percent and 2.2 percent higher than what was on offer. The results were not as strong as those of bond auctions the previous day, when Italy raised euro12 billion ($15 million) and Spain saw huge demand for its own debt sale.

“Overall, it underscores that while all the auctions in the eurozone have been battle victories, the war is a long way from being resolved (either way),” said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities. “These euro area auctions will continue to present themselves as market risk events for a very protracted period.”

Italy’s euro1.9 trillion ($2.42 trillion) in government debt and heavy borrowing needs this year have made it a focal point of the European debt crisis. Fitch Ratings Agency, which has said it would consider whether to downgrade Italy’s credit rating by the end of the month, estimates the country needs to borrow euro360 billion ($458 billion) this year.

Italy has passed austerity measures and is on a structural reform course that

Premier Mario Monti claims should bring down Italy’s high bond yields, which he says are no longer warranted. Analysts have said the successful recent bond auctions were at least in part the work of the ECB, which has inundated banks with cheap loans, giving them ready cash that at least some appear to be using to buy higher-yielding short-term government bonds.

Some 523 banks took euro 489 billion in credit for up to three years at a current interest cost of 1 percent. Banks may also be buying up government bonds to use as collateral so they can tap another unlimited offering of three-year ECB credit to banks that is to be handed out

imminent European financial collapse. “A good deal of credit should be assigned to the ECB, which has been, and will be, we argue, supporting the European financial system, its sovereigns, and to some degrees the European economies via significant liquidity injections and lower rates,” Schaffrik wrote in a note to investors.

In another development, Italian cab drivers have staged a wildcat strike to protest plans by the government to open up their profession to outsiders to spur more competition. Passengers arriving at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport found empty taxi stands yesterday and commuters around the country had to find

ROME: A taxi sign is pictured yesterday as Italian cab drivers stage a wildcat strike to protest plans by the government to open up their profession to outsiders and spur more competition. —AFP on Feb. 29.

That factor could fade after the February credit allotment, however, said Rabobank analyst Jane Foley. But use of the 3-year ECB loan money could mean that “the implications are more positive for the periphery and successful peripheral debt issuance is likely to last longer,” she said. Peter Schaffrik, head of European rates strategy for RBC Capital Markets, said the ECB had helped scale back fears prevalent late last year of an

alternative ways to get to work thanks to the unauthorized walkout. Premier Mario Monti’s government, which came to power two months ago to try to save Italy from financial ruin, has passed tough austerity measures aimed at reducing Italy’s massive public debt. It is now focusing a second phase of measures on boosting economic growth, including opening up professions that traditionally restrict newcomers, like cab drivers and pharmacists, to encourage competition. —AP

Swedbank writes down banking liabilities RIGA: Nordic banking giant Swedbank said yesterday it was writing off nearly two billion kronor on its operations in Latvia, which has emerged from the world’s deepest recession. In a statement, the bank described the decision as a “goodwill write-down” of 1.91 billion kronor (213 million euros, $275 million). “It is important to note that the write-down of goodwill has no impact on our view on Swedbank’s operations in Latvia, which is one of the bank’s four home markets. Our commitment to and outlook for the Latvian operation has not changed,” Swedbank chief Michael Wolf said in the statement. The write-down will be

included in Swedbank’s 2011 results.

Swedbank is the largest bank in Latvia, holding around 20 percent of a market which has been dominated by Nordic players following the collapse of another local bank, Parex, in November 2008.

It holds assets of more than four billion Latvian lats (5.7 billion euros, $7.3 billion) in the nation of 2.2 million people. In December, it was hit by rumours about the stability its Latvian operation, sparking a panic that saw depositors queueing at cashpoints to withdraw their money. Latvian police are still investigating the source of the rumours which, although dismissed as

“absurd” by Swedbank, underscored ordinary people’s jitters in the wake of the Parex collapse and last November’s failure of another local player, Krajbanka, amid a fraud probe.

Ex-Soviet Latvia joined the European Union in 2004 and posted double-digit growth stoked by rising wages and easy credit. But its overheated economy went off the rails as the global crisis struck, shrinking by a quarter over 2008 and 2009 combined, sparking a draconian austerity drive. An economic revival saw growth of at least 4.0 percent in 2011 although this is expected to slow to 2.5 percent this year. —AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Asian shares climb up after strong European debt sales Market cautious ahead of Lunar New Year holidays

HONG KONG: Asian markets were broadly higher yesterday, boosted by strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain as well as soothing words from the European Central Bank on the state of the region’s finances. The euro was also holding onto strong gains made in late Thursday trade while dealers shook off weak data from the United States. Tokyo jumped 1.36 percent, putting on 114.43 points to 8,500.02, while Seoul closed 0.60 percent, or 11.11 points, higher at 1,875.68 and Sydney ended 0.36 percent higher, adding 14.9 points to 4,195.9.

Hong Kong gained 0.57 percent, or 109.04 points, to 19,204.42.

But Shanghai, which soared a total of more than five percent on Monday and Tuesday, fell 1.34 percent, or 30.34 points, to 2,244.58, with investors awaiting concrete steps by the government to ease monetary policy. Analysts also said the market was likely to be cautious ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays at the end of next week. Confidence was boosted after Spain successfully passed its first bond test of 2012, locking in sharply lower borrowing rates and raising far more money than first planned.

Investors flocked to the issue and Madrid took advantage of the cheaper rates to raise about 10 billion euros ($13 billion) — twice the original target. And Italy raised 12 billion euros, with borrowing rates for short-term funds down sharply in a sign of improving market confidence. The auctions provided much relief to investors who have seen the borrowing costs of Italy and Spain sit around levels considered unsustainable for governments to service their debts.

The two countries are considered most at risk of needing a bailout, which many fear could tear the eurozone apart. Also on Thursday European

Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said the bank’s decision last month to make unlimited liquidity available to eurozone banks was helping to stabilize the region’s crisis-ridden economy. The ECB in January announced it would make

concerned about the state of the economy. The rare day of good news lifted the euro to above $1.28 late Thursday, days after sinking to a 16-month low of $1.2662. In early European trade it bought $1.2824. It was also at 98.35 yen,

BEIJING: A vendor waits for customers at her store selling decorative dragon toys for the upcoming Lunar New Year. — AP available to eurozone banks as much as they wanted for a period of three years at super-cheap rates.

“We have seen several positive developments. The more time that passes since we had the first three-year longterm refinancing operation, the more we see signs that it has been an effective policy measure,” Draghi said. He was speaking after the bank said it would keep interest rates on hold at one percent, suggesting officials are not too

compared with 98.38 yen late in New York Thursday, while the dollar was at 76.67 yen from 76.79 yen. “Despite the continued threat of political-event risks, the potential for further ratings downgrades and the upcoming (European Union) summits-all of which have the potential to provide substantial headwinds-the number of threats investors face appears to have subsided from the previous quarter,” said Barclays Capital in a note to clients. — AFP

Lloyds CEO gives up $3.7m bonus LONDON: Lloyds Banking Group Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio has waived his bonus for 2011 due to a twomonth absence, the bank’s performance and the tough economic circumstances faced by its customers. The bonus could have been worth 2.4 million pounds ($3.7 million) for HortaOsorio, who will get basic pay of 1.1 million. He may also get 4.5 million pounds in a long-term plan due to be paid in 2014.

“My bonus entitlement should reflect the performance of the group but also the tough financial circumstances that many people are facing,” he said yesterday.

“I also acknowledge my leave of absence has had an impact both inside and outside the bank, including for shareholders.”

Bankers’ pay, especially bonuses, has been politically contentious since the government spent 66 billion pounds bailing out Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008. UK Prime Minister David Cameron wants to curb executive pay by making shareholder votes on remuneration packages binding.

Horta-Osorio’s move could put pressure on other European bank executives to waive their bonuses after a torrid year for shareholders and more job cuts. In Britain, an insurance misselling scandal affected millions of customers. Lloyds’ shares slumped 60 percent last year, one of the worst-performing stocks in the FTSE 100. The shares were up 2.5 percent at 29.9 pence at 1215 GMT, leaving the government, which owns 40 percent of the bank, sitting on a 12-billion pound loss on its 20 billion bailout.

‘Outrageous’ Horta-Osorio joined Lloyds at the start of 2011, taking over as CEO in March. Since then he has implemented sweeping changes, unveiling a plan aimed at returning the bank to

financial health that includes 15,000 job cuts. The 47-year-old Portuguese shocked investors in November when he temporarily stepped down, suffering from fatigue. He returned this week. Horta-Osorio, by his own admission a detailobsessed manager, plans to change his intensive working style and have fewer people reporting to him.

Lloyds, Britain’s biggest retail bank with more than 30 million customers, made a 3.9-billion pound loss in the first nine months of last year, and said it may miss medium-term financial targets due to the tough economic outlook.

Saddled with tens of billions of pounds of losses from its takeover of troubled rival HBOS at the height of the 2008 crisis, Lloyds could report a loss for 2012 as well as last year as bad loans remain high, analysts at Barclays Capital said. Lloyds said it will be considering bonus awards for executives and staff in the next month. Paul Myners, a Labor peer and former Treasury minister, this week slammed the “outrageous” bonus and consultancy package awarded last year to former Lloyds CEO Eric Daniels.

Daniels was awarded a 1.9-million pound bonus for 2010, but months later the bank announced a 3.2-billion pound hit to cover losses on insurance mis-selling. “The decision to award Eric Daniels an almost full bonus was based on a board perception of his performance which should be revisited,” Myners said. UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel was the first head of a big bank to forgo his 2010 bonus, but he was not followed by many peers after a good year for the industry. A year earlier, Barclays bosses John Varley and Bob Diamond waived their awards, prompting UK rivals to follow suit or give their bonus to charity. — Reuters

Inpex and Total approve $34bn LNG project in Australia TOKYO/PERTH: Japanese group Inpex and French oil group Total gave the go-ahead for a $34 billion liquefied natural gas export project that will see Australia overtake Qatar by 2017 as the world’s top LNG exporter, mostly to Japan. The budget compared with a Nov 3 estimate from Total for “a little more than” $30 billion and an initial $20 billion forecast made in 2008 for Ichtys, which has reserves of 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

“I think we have a highly accurate cost estimate,” Inpex President Toshiaki Kitamura told reporters in Tokyo on Friday. “The $34 billion capex ensures sufficient economic efficiency,” he said, adding it was unlikely to increase further. An energy boom in Australia has led to labour shortages and cost blow-outs-the go-ahead means Australia will have a total of eight LNG projects under way. Total shares were up 0.7 percent at 1020 GMT, ahead of a 0.1 percent lower European oil and gas sector. Earlier, Inpex closed up up 1.2 percent, in line with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index.

The green light for the 8.4 million tonne per annum (mtpa) project comes amid an LNG rush in Australia that will see its export capacity almost quadruple to nearly 80 mtpa by 2017 from 20.1 mtpa now. Inpex had delayed its final investment decision on the scheme, which will pipe gas from the Timor Sea to the coastal city of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, from late last year.

Inpex holds a 72.805 percent stake in the project and Total has 24 percent. Tokyo Gas bought 1.575 percent on Thursday, Osaka Gas has 1.2 percent and Toho Gas 0.42 percent. Inpex is in talks to sell an additional stake to Total, which has expressed interest in lifting its stake to 30 percent, Kitamura said. The final investment decision, ahead of a Total board meeting to approve fourth-quarter results, means the Paris-based group can book reserves of 720 million BOE for 2011, one dealer said. This should mean it is able to report rising total reserves for 2011 — a key metric for oil companies. A venture of JGC, KBR and Chiyoda has won a $15 billion order to build two LNG trains and other infrastructure for Ichthys, JGC said. Because the share of lump-sum payments to contractors, as opposed to costplus payments, seems large in the $15 billion order, Inpex has lowered its exposure to potential cost overruns in future, which is positive for the operator, said Hidetoshi Shioda, senior analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities.

About 70 percent of Ichthys LNG will be shipped to Japan, where demand has risen sharply since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which triggered a nuclear crisis. In December, Inpex signed around $70 billion of LNG sales agreements with a consortium of five Japanese utilities including Tokyo Electric Power Co, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kyushu Electric Power Co and Kansai Electric Power Co, which will buy a total of 4 million tonnes annually for 15 years from Ichthys. Chubu Electric, Toho Gas and Taiwan’s CPC Corp have also committed to buy 0.49 mtpa, 0.28 mtpa, and 1.75 mtpa respectively. Inpex and Total will each take 0.9 million tonnes LNG per year from Ichthys, with Inpex reiterating its aim to start production by the end of 2016. When Ichthys starts production, Inpex expects its equity oil and gas output to jump around 50 percent from its current level of 420,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Kitamura said. — Reuters

NEW YORK: This file photo shows the JP Morgan Chase logo at the base of one of the bank’s larger Lower Manhattan buildings. JPMorgan Chase said yesterday its income fell 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 after the bank set aside a large sum for litigation reserves and its investment banking income declined. — AP

business SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Retail sales weaken but cap record year Sales total record $4.7 trillion in 2011 WASHINGTON: America’s retailers enjoyed a record 2011 and their first $400 billion sales months ever. But the final month of the year was a dud. Sales eked out a 0.1 percent increase in December, to a seasonally adjusted $400.6 billion. It was the second straight month that sales topped $400 billion. Revised government data showed that sales in November also surpassed that level. December’s increase, though, was the weakest in seven months. Excluding volatile auto purchases, overall sales actually fell 0.2 percent. It was the first such drop since May 2010.

ing during the holiday shopping season. Many retailers said they had to offer cut prices in December to attract shoppers. The sluggish retail-sales data followed a report this week that consumers raised their borrowing in November by the most in a decade.

Many might have charged more spending to their credit cards because their pay has all but stagnated. The savings rate has also declined.

Continued job growth may be needed to sustain spending increases. In the meantime, Thursday’s news “reminds us that the economy is still struggling,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at

CHICAGO: In this photo, Jerry Clay of Chicago, shops at the Macy’s on State Street store. —AP But analysts said they still expect consumers to help the economy strengthen further, especially because businesses have stepped up hiring.

More jobs mean more people with money to spend. “Although consumer spending is not particularly robust, households do continue to spend and provide moderate support for the overall economy,” said Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics.

For all of 2011, sales totaled a record $4.7 trillion. That was a gain of nearly 8 percent over 2010 - the largest percentage increase since 1999. Steady sales gains have fueled a 20 percent surge from the low during the Great Recession. Monthly sales are even 6 percent above their pre-recession high.

The figures confirm evidence that the economy was strengthening as 2011 ended. Part of the reason for December’s weak showing was lower gasoline prices. Those prices reduced sales at gasoline stations. Excluding gas stations, overall retail sales would have risen 0.3 percent in December.

Another factor was heavy discount-

Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “This is the recovery of fits and starts.”

Separately, more people applied for unemployment benefits last week.

Applications rose 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000. But the gain was due largely to companies shedding workers after the holiday season.

Economists downplayed the increase. It followed three months of declines that had reduced the number of unemployment applications to their lowest level in three years. And businesses increased their stockpiles in November to meet rising consumer demand. That gain likely boosted economic growth in the final months of 2011. Companies are rebuilding stockpiles after cutting them last summer amid fears of another recession. It means many anticipate higher consumer spending.

The retail sales report showed that holiday discounts helped push department store sales down 0.2 percent in December. Compared with the same time last year, retail sales have risen 6.4 percent. An earlier survey of 25 major

retail chains by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that December revenue at stores open at least a year rose 3.5 percent over the same month a year ago.

That survey’s figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal changes; the government’s figures are. The government report is also a broader gauge. It covers purchases at all retailers, not just major national chains. It also includes auto dealerships, restaurants and bars, grocery stores and gasoline stations.

The strength last month was led by a 1.5 percent jump in auto sales.

Furniture and hardware stores reported increases, too. But sales at electronics and appliance stores sank nearly 4 percent.

The government’s retail sales report is its first look each month at consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of the economy. A healthy report typically signals a stronger economy. This week, the Federal Reserve issued a report saying the final six weeks of 2011 were among the economy’s best last year. It noted higher holiday and auto sales, along with increased travel.

U.S. automakers have said that November and December were their two best sales months in 2011. The job market has brightened, too. Employers added 200,000 jobs in December. And the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest in nearly three years.

At the same time, the U.S. economy remains under threat. The biggest risk is that Europe’s debt troubles could destabilize the world’s financial system and trigger a global recession.

Other threats could come from another spike in oil prices or political gridlock that blocks a full-year extension of a Social Security tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits.

Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said he thinks spending will ease in coming months, in part because of a need to rebuild savings after the holidays.

“We don’t think the consumer is completely going into hiding, but we do think that the pace of consumer spending is poised to slow,” Vitner said. Because the government’s retail sales report is seasonally adjusted, the current month can be compared with the previous month. But the figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. A separate government report each month measures consumer spending. It’s a more inclusive gauge. It covers all spending at retailers - for both durable goods like cars that are expected to last for years and nondurable goods such as food. It also covers spending on services. Services include items such as doctor’s visits, airline tickets, apartment rentals and utility bills. The service category makes up two-thirds of consumer spending and isn’t covered in the retail surveys. —AP

BERN: This file photo shows the main entrance of the Swiss Central Bank in Switzerland. The Swiss National Bank said yesterday it expects to earn a profit of roughly 13 billion francs ($13.7 billion) for 2011 mainly due to the rise in the value of its gold and foreign currency holdings. —AP

Delta eyes US Airlines bid NEW YORK: Delta Air Lines is eyeing a bid for bankrupt rival American Airlines, a source close to the matter said on Thursday, despite doubts that the proposed mega-carrier would win regulatory approval. Atlanta-based Delta, the world’s second largest airline after recently merged UnitedContinental, has enlisted investment firm Blackstone to craft a potential bid, the source said. American Airlines declared bankruptcy in November, as it struggled to slash its debt burden and costs.

Bankruptcy, a common tactic in the airline trade, was invoked to offer more legal room for maneuver to renegotiate or cancel service and wage contracts. But some observers were doubtful that any link between Delta and American would pass muster with US aviation watchdogs. “We are skeptical on both the merits of any potential acquisition by Delta, which we do not think needs to get larger, or by the ability of such a deal to pass regulatory scrutiny,” said Jim Corridore, an airline analyst with S&P Capital IQ. The Wall Street Journal reported that private-equity firm TPG Capital was also considering a bid for American. —AP

News

in brief

Slovak inflation hits 3.9% in 2011 BRATISLAVA: Slovak consumer inflation accelerated to an average 3.9 percent in 2011 from a record low 1.0 percent in 2010, official data showed yesterday. In December, prices rose 0.1 percent from November when they increased 0.5 percent, the Slovak Statistics Office said. On a 12-month basis, December inflation eased to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in November. The finance ministry expects inflation to slow to an average 2.6 percent this year, in line with slower economic growth. An ex-communist country of 5.4 million which joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone in 2009, Slovakia posted 4.0 percent growth for 2010 after having contracted by 4.8 percent in 2009 during the global crisis. But the outlook for the country is gloomy because of the eurozone debt crisis and a slowdown in its major trade partners, namely Germany.

At the end of last year, the finance ministry cut its growth forecast for 2011 to 3.0 percent and halved the 2012 forecast to 1.7 percent.

Bulgaria 2011 inflation at 4.2% SOFIA: Inflation in Bulgaria averaged an annual 4.2 percent in 2011, well above the 3.2-percent government target, official data showed yesterday. The rate in the European Union member-but not part of the eurozone-was also higher than the 2010 average of 2.4 percent, driven up by rising food and transportation prices. Inflation slowed to 2.8 percent on a 12-month basis in December from 3.1 percent in November, data by the national statistical institute showed. The government’s year-end target was 2.5 percent. On a monthly basis, Bulgaria’s consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.1 percent in December after 0.3 percent in November, the data showed. Using the European Union’s harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), the European Central Bank’s inflation yardstick, average annual inflation last year was 3.4 percent. The 12-month HICP rate was 2.0 percent in December, down from 2.6 percent in November, while monthly inflation was 0.3 percent. Bulgaria’s 2012 average inflation target is 3.2 percent. —Agencies

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Christie, Oprah talk about weight, love, politics Page 29

New musical seeks to find humor in divorce Page 24

A miniature guitar hangs on a wall below a sign, that read in Spanish; “The children of San Felipe are to tell that through our music, we will succeed!” at the Danilo Perez Foundation music school in Panama City, Thursday. The Central American capital will host the ninth edition of the Panama Jazz Festival from Jan 16 to 21.

Panamanian Grammy winning pianist Perez is also the founder and artistic director of the festival that this year will honor saxophonist Carlos Garnett. —AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Braxton

hospitalized after her immune system shuts down

Sinead O’Connor’s marriage is over - again T

Craig, Weisz splashing out $11.5 million on new home

T

he couple - who married in a surprise ceremony last June - are set to buy a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in New York’s SoHo district. The 4,350 square foot property boasts an additional 2,000 square feet of outdoor space - including a private roof garden with its own kitchen - and facilities including a media room with a woodburning fireplace, the New York Post newspaper reports. Meanwhile, city records show that Rachel has just sold her old house in the city - with the buyer being her former partner, director Darren Aronofsky. The ‘Wrestler’ filmmaker - who has a five-year-old son, Henry, with Rachel paid $2.52 million for the five-storey townhouse. The sum is considerably less than the $3.4 million the former couple paid for the 11.5 room property in 2005 and the house is said to be worth an estimated 3-4 times more than what Darren has just paid. Though it is unclear how many bedrooms the house has, it also boasts a terrace off three second-floor kitchen, a double parlour, and a garden.

T

he ‘Un-break My Heart’ singer suffered a flare-up of her condition Lupus - which causes the immune system to attack healthy cells, tissue and organs - but says everything is now under control and she is “totally fine”. She told TMZ.com: “I wanted to say thanks to all my fans for their support, as I have been experiencing some flare ups with my Lupus which has me in the hospital for a few days.” “I wanted to clear the record before rumors started, and will totally be fine as I’m blessed to having an amazing family for support.” Toni - who has two sons, Denim, 10, and Diezel, eight, with her former husband, Mint Condition musician Keri Lewis - has suffered a string of health setbacks in recent years. In 2008, she revealed she suffers from pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart, after being made a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

The 43-year-old star - who also has hypertension, most commonly referred to as high blood pressure - said: “I have heart disease. I found out about four or five years ago. I’ve also been diagnosed with hypertension. “When I found out I was disappointed. I didn’t get it. But I soon learnt I had to make lifestyle changes. I always ate relatively well, but sometimes I would have pizzas and burgers late at night - I had to change that.”

Paul Bettany is addicted to antique guitars

T

he 40-year-old actor has spent thousands of pounds on vintage instruments but says the most valuable one was a gift from wife Jennifer Connelly. He said: “My main addiction is guitars. I like antique guitars, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve spent on them. Though I think my wife actually bought me my most expensive one, actually.” Paul - who raises children Kai, 14, Stellan, eight and Agnes, seven months, with Jennifer - admitted he doesn’t mind being recognized when he is doing his job but he gets so enraged if people intrude on his private time, he wants to “kill people”. He told Shortlist magazine: “If I’m at a premiere it’s because I’m in the film or my wife is in it. I accept certain things about my job - if someone comes up and says, ‘I really liked you in so and so,’ that’s nice, that’s fine. “But seeing paparazzi outside my kids’ school makes me want to kill people. In a life that has lots of good things, that’s the one annoyance.”

he ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ hitmaker broke up with husband Barry Herridge after just two weeks of marriage in December, before they reunited a few days later. However, they have now split again and Sinead is blaming the alleged harsh treatment he has received from the Irish media. In a statement on her website, she wrote: “His association with me became something very bad for his life. And slowly since we were married I became very ill as result of what was done to my husband and I was unable to cope. And became depressed.. “The behavior of one particular paper resulted in very serious damage to my husband and myself personally and consequently made the marriage untenable so that it is now over and I hope the media will kindly leave the poor man alone to get on with his life. (sic)” The 45-year-old star - who has been married twice before - now hopes to get on with her life, and does not think she will get romantically involved with anyone again. She wrote: “I will never again associate myself romantically with anyone as I could not bear to see these things done again to someone I love. “I’m gonna be me. And if anyone doesn’t like that they can seek therapy. Because I am wonderful. Exactly as I am. As Bridget Jones would say. And I shall continue being me. If being me means certain Irish media will try to destroy my romantic life ... So be it ... I have ten fingers and a number of toys (not really the toys. But need them now so maybe u cud all post me some!) (sic)”

parents want her to date NFL star Tim Tebow

Katy Perry’s

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

T

he ‘Firework’ singer only split from husband Russell Brand in December, but her Christian pastor parents, Mary and Keith Hudson, believe the Denver Broncos player can help heal her broken heart. A source told the New York Daily Post newspaper: “Katy’s mentioned on more than one occasion how much she likes Tim. “Katy’s mom firmly believes the best cure for heartache is to quickly fall in love again.

In her mind, Tebow is the perfect guy for

Minnillo

can handle anything as long her husband is by her side

T

he ‘Wipeout’ host married the TV presenter last year and although she says marriage hasn’t changed their relationship, it is a “comfort” to have his support.

Vanessa explained: “It’s good! In a good way, nothing is dramatically different, so I think that means we were good to begin with. We worked out all of our kinks when we dated and after everything we’ve been through, there’s nothing that we can’t handle and take on. It’s a comforting thought to know that I’ve got my partner by my side walking through life and all the ups and the downs. I know we can handle it. There’s nothing too big or too crazy that’s going to tear us apart. “He always just tells me how beautiful I am and that he loves me. I think any woman wants to hear that because we have our off days, so whether they’re lying or not, to hear that from your man is always encouraging.” Vanessa, 31, insists she and 38-year-old Nick make each other a priority and says their relationship comes before their careers. She told Parade magazine: “First and foremost, we have to make the priority each other and everything else falls into place. Yes, work is what makes the world go ‘round and it’s our creative outlet, but at the end of the day, your partner is your family and that is your life.”

her daughter. He’s handsome, charming, intelligent and above all, a good Christian.”

Russell, 36, filed for divorce on December 30 after just 14 months of marriage, and it has been speculated one of the reasons for their split could be because he is not Christian and kept making jokes about the family’s faith. Last year, Katy said: “Russell has made very blasphemous jokes in the past, but he’s making fewer all the time because he knows that I am very sensitive

about this subject.” Russell - who has been treated for sex addiction and drug abuse - is a practicing Buddhist and has said it helped him overcome his wild past. He said: “I’m quite a neurotic thinker, quite an adrenalized person. But after meditation, I felt this beautiful serenity and selfless connection.

My tendency towards selfishness, I felt that exposed as a superficial and pointless perspective to have.”

Chris O’Dowd’s wedding won’t be like the one in ‘Bridesmaids’

T

he 32-year-old actor - who plays Officer Nathan Rhodes in the hit comedy movie - recently got engaged to long-term girlfriend Dawn Porter and the presenter says she wants her big day to be very different to the one depicted in the film, and she isn’t planning on having female attendants to walk down the aisle with her. She said: “I don’t think I’ll have bridesmaids at my wedding, not as such. I can’t say that I’ve ever been massively into weddings, to be honest. I don’t think that our wedding will be anything like the ‘Bridesmaids’ wedding, that’s for sure. I’m not a very traditional bride.” Dawn was shocked when Chris popped the question while the couple holidayed over the festive season but she doesn’t want a long engagement and the couple will wed later this year. She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “It was a shock to get proposed to; I wasn’t expecting it at all. I’m still just coming down to earth, really. I wasn’t expecting a marriage to be on the cards for this year. I don’t know what I want to do for the wedding yet exactly, but I know it won’t be a long engagement. It will happen this year, it will definitely happen at some point this year.” With a little help from Andrex, Dawn has embarked on a campaign to convert as many people to Andrex Washlets as possible. Check out how Dawn got on with her Clean Campaign by watching her advertorial mini episodes from 17 January on Channel 4. — Bang Showbiz

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

A

cacophony ranging from Asian string instruments to the delicate cadences of classical piano pours out of a two-storey building in central Kabul. Here, at Afghanistan’s sole music academy, students are taught music with the hope it will bring comfort in the face of war and poverty, bringing back cellos and violins to revive a rich musical legacy disrupted by decades of violence and suppression.

“We are committed to build ruined lives through music, given its healing power,” Ahmad Sarmast, head of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, told Reuters. The trumpet player turned musicologist set up the school two years ago on the site of the School of Fine Arts’ music department, which was forced to shut in the early 1990s as civil war engulfed the country following a decade-long Soviet occupation. The austere Taliban, who took over in 1996, then banned music outright, something unthinkable in today’s Afghanistan, where cafes and cars blast Indian love songs and the tunes of 1970s Afghan crooner Ahmad Zahir.

But while the institute’s 140 full-time pupils have little recollection of that time, they still face hardships in their musical pursuits. Half the students are orphans or street children, with the rest selected after a music exam. All are passionate about music, said voice and flute teacher Mashal Arman, daughter of famed Afghan musician Hossein, whose black-and-white photographs grace the school’s hall. “They are so thirsty for music and art, it is fabulous to see the country finally changing,” said Arman, whose accent hints at her connection to Switzerland, where she fled with her family more than 20 years ago.

Sarmast said he had also set a quota that a third of students must be girls-a gesture towards the plight of Afghan women, who still struggle for basic rights such as education after 30 years of war and harsh Taliban rule. All students receive full scholarships to attend the school, which operates under the Ministry of Education with significant foreign funding, notably from Britain, Germany and Denmark. They are awarded internationally recognised music diplomas.

“The return of music is one of the most positive changes in post-Taliban Afghanistan,” said Sarmast, who studied in Moscow and Australia before returning to Afghanistan in 2008 with a mission to establish the academy.

In one of the school’s carpeted rehearsal rooms, recently soundproofed with Afghan timber, 14-year-old orphan Fatima strums a sitar, conjuring up sounds familiar to Afghan children, who adore Bollywood films and their music. “I was encouraged to come here and I am happy for it. I love playing,” Fatima said, adjusting the pink cap covering her hair that she uses instead of a headscarf. Her Indian teacher, Irfan Khan, one of 16 foreign instructors at the school, watches approvingly but laments the poverty that prevents students from owning instruments, hindering their progress.

“We are reviving music for those who have been deprived,” he said. “However, many of the students do not come from affluent families and are only able to practise here”.

At $600, a new saxophone is more than $100 higher than an average worker’s annual salary, according to Finance Ministry estimates. For star classical piano pupil Sayed Elham, a jovial 13-year-old with a passion for Chopin, the $3,000 needed to trade his family’s Casio keyboard for a full-size piano is nothing but a dream. “I want our government to improve the state of Afghan music,” he said after performing Chopin’s Nocturne for some fellow students, who gathered to hear him rehearse.

Despite the school’s success-it takes on an extra 80 or so students for its two-month winter academy and is building a 300-seat auditorium and separate building for rehearsing-the future for musicians in Afghanistan is bleak. Rights taken for granted by musicians in the West, such as copyright and royalties, do not exist, and most recording and broadcasting fees must be paid out of the musician’s pocket. In addition, there are scant prospects of jobs. “We have a long way to go to make sure that our graduates are getting just remuneration and their rights protected,” Sarmast said. But he now hopes his graduates will form Afghanistan’s first national symphony orchestra, a vision already in the works.— Reuters

In this photo taken Tuesday, Jan 10, 2012, Janna Cardia, playing the character of Linda, third from left, performs during a preview performance of Divorce Party the Musical, at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, in West Palm Beach, Fla. —AP

A

t the start of “Divorce Party The Musical,” a frumpy, middle-aged divorcee named Linda sits on the living room floor, bawling, comforted only by her pint of Chubby Hubby ice cream. But, recovering in record time, she is transformed by the show’s conclusion into a svelte, liberated woman, celebrating her failed marriage with a clink of mimosa glasses as confetti and streamers rain down. If only all breakups came and went so effortlessly. No matter. The show making its debut at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts taps into the desperation a broken heart can bring, nudging audiences to laugh at their misfortune and move on with a bit of fanfare.

“Don’t get mad,” its motto implores.

“Get everything.” Its creators speak from experience. Mark Schwartz, a veteran theater producer who is twice-divorced, saw the following he garnered with “Menopause The Musical” and was looking for another subject that would appeal to the same demographic. He met Amy Botwinick, a chiropractor who authored “Congratulations on Your Divorce: The Road to Finding Your Happily Ever After” after her own prolonged breakup, and the two teamed up, convinced people can find humor in one of life’s worst events, as they have.

“A lot of it, if you look back, it’s funny what you went through,” said Schwartz.

“Maybe not when you’re going through it.”

“Divorce Party” chronicles a weekend in Linda’s life, in which her sister, a cousin and

In this photo, Mark Schwartz, left, and Amy Botwinick, right, the creators of Divorce Party the Musical, are shown before a preview performance at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.—AP

a college friend sweep in to resurrect their crushed confidante. The story is strung together with song parodies of everything from “I Say a Little Prayer” to “Respect.”

In a spoof of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Linda’s visitors try and stir her from her funk. “I see a little woman wallow in selfpity,” they sing. “Suck it up! Suck it up!”

Some of it directly relates to divorce: the lawyers and haggling over possessions, the heartbreak, the reasons the marriage failed.

But there are significant asides dealing with body grooming, sexual fulfillment and other topics that might make some blush. “This isn’t Sondheim,” Schwartz said. Though premiering in a 295-seat theater, “Divorce Party” seems destined to garner a larger following. Schwartz hopes to see it follow the model of “Menopause,” which he produced, having the show travel to smaller venues around the country, find a longstanding home at a Las Vegas casino, and become an off-Broadway production once it has garnered sufficient buzz. Much of its future may lie in the hands of about 100

producers, theater managers and the like from around the country who are expected to pass through “Divorce Party” during its six-week run here, which finishes Feb 19.

Botwinick was aglow as she watched the first preview performance of the show this week. She was seated beside her mother, who she said heard all the tales of woe as her three-year divorce battle progressed and helped her laugh at it. “To be able to find the humor in it was a huge turning point for me,” she said. As the show nears its end, Linda still feels anger toward her ex. “I want to disembowel him with a grapefruit spoon,” she says. But her weekend reawakening has let her see the opportunities ahead. “No longer a wife now, is my favorite part of life now,” she sings atop a giant cake commemorating her divorce.— AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

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veryone wants to be a multi-hyphenate. No one wants to be pigeonholed. And so basketball players try to be rappers and rappers try to be basketball players. Jessica Simpson sells shoes and Jennifer Lopez sells perfume. But while actors often try to be singers - Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time,” anyone? singers also frequently venture into acting. Sometimes they carve out impressive second careers for themselves; sometimes, they’re Britney Spears in “Crossroads.”

This week, we see several musicians who’ve made the transition from the recording studio to the big screen. Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton co-star in the gospel comedy “Joyful Noise,” while Mark Wahlberg plays a master smuggler in “Contraband.” So here’s a look at five great music stars who became great actors.

For sake of argument, performers like Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and even the aforementioned J.Lo, who had their roots in both art forms simultaneously, don’t count. We’re talking about people who were primarily known as singers (or rappers, etc.) and made the leap: Frank Sinatra The Chairman of the Board was, of course, a major pop star who caused a frenzy among screaming bobbysoxers in the 1940s before crafting a major movie career for himself. Sinatra won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1953’s “From Here to Eternity” and earned a best-actor nomination for 1955’s “The Man With the Golden Arm.” Early film roles naturally were in musicals, including “Anchors Aweigh” (1945) and “On the Town” (1949) with Gene Kelly. The original “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) allowed him to play it smooth as master thief Danny Ocean, while the political thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) probably provided him with his greatest performance.

Will Smith The former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air transformed himself into a two-time Oscar nominee, going from catchy rap tunes and sitcom laughs to heavyweight roles in “Ali” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Smith is the epitome of a movie star, with talent and charm for days. He’s proven he can do it all, from comedy (the “Men in Black” movies) to action (the “Bad Boys” movies) to romance (“Hitch”) to sci-fi (“I Am Legend”) to serious dramas (“Seven Pounds”). But his first major role, in 1993’s “Six Degrees of Separation,” showed he was confident enough to juggle multiple genres within the same film.

At this point, I would say he’s crossed over so completely, he’s known more for his acting than for his music.

Bette Midler The Divine Miss M forged her career belting out

In this film publicity image released by Screen Gems, Cher is shown in a scene from “Burlesque.” —AP

In this film image released by 20th Century Fox, Justin Timberlake, left, and Amanda Seyfried are shown in a scene from “In Time.” —AP tunes on Broadway, at nightclubs and in bathhouses (with a then-unknown Barry Manilow as her accompanist) - a petite woman with a larger-than-life stage presence. But she wowed the world with her acting abilities in her first major film role in 1979’s “The Rose,” playing a self-destructive, drug-addicted rock star inspired by Janis Joplin. The performance earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress; a second nomination would come for 1991’s “For the Boys.” Standout comic roles include “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “Outrageous Fortune” and “The First Wives Club.” And just try to watch “Beaches” without crying.

Cher She’s a diva who’s had highs and lows and been around forever. But Cher was a singer and variety television star (with then-husband Sonny Bono) known for her big, flamboyant personality before putting together a string of strong, eclectic film performances in the ‘80s and ‘90s, including “Mask,” “The Witches of Eastwick” and “Tea With Mussolini.” She won a best-actress Oscar as the hard-headed Loretta in 1987’s “Moonstruck” (and before that was nominated for best supporting actress for 1983’s “Silkwood”). Her last film role was ... well, it was providing the voice of a lioness under Kevin James’ care in 2011’s “Zookeeper.” But Cher is always full of surprises, so - as her “Burlesque” ballad goes - we haven’t seen the last of her.

Justin Timberlake I was very tempted to put Dwight Yoakam in this

In this Jan 9, 2012 file photo, actor Will Smith laughs after viewing a “Men in Black 3” movie trailer during a Sony news conference at the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas. —AP spot. Or Mos Def, or even Ice Cube. But JT is just too powerful. He has long since transcended his “Mickey Mouse Club” and boy-band origins to become not just a formidable solo performer but also an actor of surprising range. Following dramatic supporting roles in “Alpha Dog” and “Black Snake Moan,” he was charismatic as hell as the ambitious Sean Parker in “The Social Network.” This year, he proved he can be both a romantic lead (“Friends With Benefits”) and an action star (“In Time”), while reinforcing his strengths as a comedian (“Bad Teacher”). And then there are his “Saturday Night Live” appearances, which - granted - spoof his pop-star youth, but they also allow him to show off that sharp comic timing. — AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

US historical art treasures shine again at NY museum T

he Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York unveiled new galleries Thursday dedicated to the history of American painting, sculpture and design, some of which museum officials said displayed the country’s “crown jewels.” The new galleries are part of a $100 million renovation of the museum. “Today we celebrate 10 years since the beginning of the project to re-imagine, reinvent and rebuild the American Wing,” said Morrison Heckscher, chairman on the “American Wing,” during a presentation to the news media. “This is a big moment for the Met and for the American Wing.”

Renovation of the galleries for American art from the 18th century to early 20th century began after Heckscher and his team concluded the previous galleries “were not doing justice to the collection display.” The 26 classically-styled renovated

rooms occupy about 2,800 square meters, representing a “total reconfiguration of the space” and creating “modern galleries with a very historic feel,” Heckscher said.

A centerpiece of the American Wing is the immense oil painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze, which depicts the peak of the American War of Independence. Leutze, a German American, painted the picture in Germany in 1851. It shows the revolutionary hero and first US president with his troops in a wooden boat crossing the ice-laden river that separates Pennsylvania from New Jersey on Christmas 1776.

Another emblematic painting is “The Last Moments of John Brown,” painted in the late nineteenth century by the Irish-American Thomas Hovenden. It shows the abolitionist leader kissing a black baby

A man looks at Eastman Johnson “The Hatch Family “during a Press Preview for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture and Decorative Arts in New Yorkon Thrusday. —AFP

Thomas Crawford’s “The Babes in the Woods” during a Press Preview for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s New American Wing Galleries for Paintings, Sculpture and Decorative Arts in New York on Thursday. —AFP

on the way to the gallows just before the outbreak of the American Civil War. A recurring theme of American art is spectacular landscapes of the New World, which often are portrayed in the “Hudson River School” style of paintings. The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century art movement embodied by landscape painters such as Thomas Cole whose art reflected romanticism, particularly for images from New York’s Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area. The galleries are arranged to provide a tour of American art trends, from colonial period portraits

(1730-1776) by artists such as John Singleton Copley to American Impressionism (1880-1920).

“What we tried to do when you enter is to develop united story lines about the evolution of American painting and sculpture,” said curator Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser. “At the same time, these story lines parallel American history.” The first part of the “American Wing” renovation was completed in January 2007 on galleries devoted to classical arts in America. The second stage was finished in May 2009 with the renovation of space focused on the history of furniture and interior decoration. —AFP

A pedestrian walks past the snow covered statue “The Whisperers” by artist Rose-Amee Belanger during a snowfall Thursday in Montreal. —AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

A visit to the

Sonoran Desert after dark

“E

verything in the Sonoran Desert either sticks, stings, bites or eats meat. There are quite a few things you don’t want to

This undated photo courtesy of Donna Graver for the McDowell Mountain Regional Park shows interpretive ranger Amy Burnett holding a Sonoran desert toad during a tour at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills, Ariz. —AP

touch and in the dark it’s harder to discern between safe and scary,” said tour guide Bruce Leadbetter as he geared up to lead a night hike of McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills, northeast of Phoenix.

The cautionary note was not necessarily comforting as I headed into the vastness of the desert after dark with a dozen other hikers. Nothing but the moon illuminated the shapes and shadows of barren trees, wiry plants and cacti. But then, like a sign from above, the near pitch black was ablaze with streams of bright white lights as meteoroid after meteoroid shot through the sky for what seemed like minutes. The natural fireworks were a prelude to several hours of darkness on a hike that mixed the mystical beauty of the desert at night with the humorous warnings from our guide, a former Marine and co-owner of an outdoor adventure company called 360 Adventures.

For example: “If you get lost, look for barrel cactus, they tend to always lean south.” But don’t get too close.

Pointing at the “jumping cactus,” (also known as the cholla cactus), which looks like the pale lovechild of a cactus and a pine tree, Leadbetter warned that the species will pierce your skin with its sharp needles if you even just slightly brush against them. Moments later, someone in the group yelped as the jumping cactus lived up to its name.

For the most part, though, explor-

ing the Sonoran on that moonlit night was an almost solemn experience, and a stark contrast to the heat and blue skies of a daytime trip. In the evening, the sinking sun beams a fiery light over the mustard-red buttes, spires and mesas, and you gradually adjust to the calm of the cool air and dark and quiet landscape with dilated pupils and a heightened awareness.

Depending on the time of year, lizards, toads and other nocturnal creatures may also be spotted.

In addition to privately arranged expeditions like the one offered by 360 Adventures, McDowell Mountain Regional Park offers public monthly moonlit tours led by interpretive ranger Amy Burnett for just $6 a carload. Other ways of exploring the desert include hot-air balloon rides from Hot Air Expeditions - with desert launches for sunrise trips daily throughout the year and sunset trips November-March ($175 per person or $195 with hotel pickup in Phoenix). Jeep tours from Arizona Territorial Adventures - offer expeditions June-October to see the moonrise over the rugged desert terrain, $80; other times of year, the company offers daytime desert trips. The nighttime treks from 360 Adventures are arranged upon request, yearround, $200 for the first person, $80 each additional person, and for a group of six or more, a flat $80 each. Then there are the local culinary adventures.

Hole-in-the-Wall is a Phoenix smokehouse with a great view that offers bar-

becue fare grilled on its vintage outdoor smoker and barbecue pit. The chicken is finger-lickin’ good and the cornbread moist; in-the-wall . The restaurant’s backyard feast for two is $23 a person; located at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, 7677 N 16th St In Phoenix’s cool Roosevelt Row neighborhood, try Barrio Cafe at 2814 N. 16th St., decorated with Day of the Dead artwork. Its exceptional Mexican fare by award-winning chef Silvana Salcido Esparza includes shrimp tacos, pomegranate-infused guacamole, stuffed peppers and sweet potato mash; menu prices range $10-$26.

For a fun if kitschy Western atmosphere, Greasewood Flat, a onetime stagecoach stop in Scottsdale from the 1880s, hosts country music nights with live bands on weekends with line dancing in the outdoor eating area, 27375 N. Alma School Parkway, under $10. — AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Buzz around Beyonce as fly named in diva’s honor

Clooney lauds ‘ER’ creator at Hollywood star

George Clooney accepts the award for best actor for “The Descendants” during the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on Thursday in Los Angeles. —AP

G

eorge Clooney paid tribute to veteran “ER” and “West Wing” writer-producer John Wells, who was honored Thursday with his own star on the storied Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hollywood heartthrob Clooney, who spent five seasons on “ER” before becoming a big screen A-lister, said 55-year-old Wells had made the career of many actors and actresses, as well as TV crew. “When ‘ER’ sold for a record-breaking fee, it was (Wells) that gave bonuses to every crew member. Every single crew member on our show got a check between $25,000 and $100,000,” said Clooney.

“It’s his character that kept a young A.D. (assistant director) on our show who was suffering from terminal cancer on the payroll, long past the time he was able to do his job,” he added. Wells, who is a six-time Emmy winner, four as a producer of “The West Wing,” received the 2,457th star in a small ceremony on the Walk of Fame, which draws millions of tourists along the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard.

“West Wing” star Allison Janney said he had “a unique, almost savant-like ability to know where the story is, the heart of it, how to twist it and shape it and keep it pulsing over years and years and hundreds of episodes.” The producer himself added: “This is a star I’m proud to have my name on, but it represents the hundreds of us doing this work for over two and a half decades.”— AFP

Heather Locklear taken to California hospital

H

eather Locklear was taken to a Southern California hospital for precautionary reasons Thursday after an emergency call was made from her home, authorities said. Paramedics and sheriff’s deputies responded Thursday afternoon to Locklear’s home in Westlake Village, which is 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

Locklear was taken to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where a spokeswoman told KCALTV the actress was stable and her parents were by her side.

“Her parents wanted everybody to know that she’s doing well, she’s fine, she’s not in any danger, she’s healthy,” hospital spokeswoman Kris Carraway-Bowman told the station.

Ventura County sheriff’s Capt.

Mike Aranda said he did not know Locklear’s condition but deputies were not investigating. Locklear has been hospitalized several times over the years. In 2009, she pleaded no contest to reckless driving after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication. —AP

Undated handout photo released by the CSIRO yesterday shows a previously un-named species of horse fly whose appearance is dominated by its glamorous golden lower abdomen. The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae has been named in honour of American pop diva, Beyonce - a member of the former group Destiny’s Child. —AFP

I

Colbert preps prez run, transfers PAC to Stewart

S

tephen Colbert isn’t running for president - at least not yet. During Thursday night’s episode of “The Colbert Report,” Colbert legally transferred his super political action committee to his friend and Comedy Central cohort Jon Stewart. Dropping by from “The Daily Show,” Stewart happily signed the documents and accepted the post, which was ceremonially observed by the two holding hands and bodily transferring the PAC powers.

The move potentially paves the way for Colbert to enter the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, his home state.

Campaigning politicians are prohibited from simultaneously running super PACs. But Colbert only hinted at such a decision, which he had grandly hyped ahead of Thursday’s show. In flirting candidate style, he announced that he is forming “an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina.”

Patriotically colored balloons were released in the studio while a graphic screamed “I’m Doing It!” Stewart and Colbert hashed out the peculiar legalities of their arrangement. With Colbert’s lawyer (and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission) Trevor Potter on hand, they spelled out that while Colbert was legally forbidden from participating in strategy and advertising with the super PAC, he could still

talk about his plans on his TV show and even volunteer for the super PAC. Stewart declared Colbert vice president of youth outreach for the super PAC, which was renamed The Definitely Not Coordinated with Stephen Colbert Super PAC. Along with Potter, the three joined hands like a sports team and - with thick irony - cheered in unison: “Noncoordination!”

In 2007, Colbert attempted to enter the South Carolina primary but was stymied by filing fees.

The super PAC could very well eliminate any such financial concerns. Colbert hasn’t publically revealed the amount raised from viewer contributions by the PAC, but on Thursday he repeatedly hinted that it was a shockingly large amount.

Colbert has otherwise been very transparent about the PAC’s workings, using it to parody the current system’s contradictions and potential conflicts of interest.

Political action committees stem from a 2010 Supreme Court decision that changed the rules of corporate political donations. A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday found that Colbert is polling ahead of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman in South Carolina. According to the survey, Colbert has 5 percent of the vote and Huntsman has 4 percent.

Upon reading those results on “The Report” on Wednesday, Colbert said: “This just got real.”— AP

t might not be the most flattering accolade for the “bootylicious” American pop star, but new mother Beyonce now has a fly named after her. Just days after the singer and actress gave birth to a baby girl, Australian scientists said yesterday they had named a rare horse fly from far northern Queensland in her honour because of its impressive golden lower abdomen.

Researcher Bryan Lessard from CSIRO, the government’s top scientific research institute, paid tribute to Beyonce’s bottom in saying the spectacular colour of the insect’s derriere made it the “all-time diva of flies”. “It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer Beyonce as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy-the naming of species,” he said.

The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae species was collected in 1981 in Queensland state, the same year the former Destiny’s Child singer was born, but had never been named. Although often considered a pest, many species of horse fly are important pollinators of plants, said Lessard. Beyonce, 30, and her rapper partner Jay-Z celebrated the birth of their baby Blue Ivy on Saturday night in New York. —AFP

Filmmaker Moore visits Occupy Washington camp

F

ilm director Michael Moore visited anti-capitalist protesters participating in the Occupy Washington movement Thursday but said he would not make a movie about the demonstration. “I’ve been doing movies for 20 years about the subject and now the people know what they need to do,” Moore told AFP. Wearing his trademark baseball cap, the director of “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which won the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, said he was in Washington for a conference. He said he wanted to show support for the protesters camped in Freedom Plaza, a short walk from the White House. Moore, who gained notoriety for films critical of conservative politics, said, “I thought I would stop to see if the tents are still up.”

He told a few people nearby, “I’m here to listen,” not to give advice.”I am one of your fans,” shouted one of the campers before joining others who asked to be photographed with Moore. The film director discussed his support for the “Occupy” movements that sprung up last year in cities nationwide by saying, “In any movement, the hardest thing to do is to convince the majority of people to come with you.”

The majority of Americans now agree with principles of the protesters, who started with the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, he said. He said major corporations, such as Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Exxon Mobil, helped the movement by turning people against capitalism. —AFP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

In this Oct 27, 2011 photo released by Harpo Inc, Oprah Winfrey, right, listens to New Jersey Gov Chris Christie during an interview for “Oprah’s Next Chapter”, airing tomorrow on OWN. — AP

Christie, Oprah talk about weight, love, politics

T

ime to steal the doughnuts! Apparently, that’s also the way to steal New Jersey Gov Chris Christie’s heart. In an interview with talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, set to air this weekend, the hefty GOP governor said he knew that he had found a partner for life in wife Mary Pat when she suggested making an illicit latenight doughnut run.

The governor and Winfrey also dished about their struggle with weight and presidential politics. A full transcript of the interview was obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

The hour-long interview, filmed at Christie’s home in Mendham, is scheduled to air tomorrow at 9 pm EST on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Asked by Winfrey what drew him to Mary Pat, whom he met at the University of Delaware in the 1980s when they were both involved in student government, he said it was her independence, her faith, and because she was fun.

“She was fun in a different way than I’d ever experienced with anybody I’d ever dated. She was very spontaneous,” Christie told Winfrey.

“Spontaneous like?” Winfrey asked. “Let’s go break into the kitchen in the dining hall at college because we smell that they are baking doughnuts for the next morning,” he recalled Mary Pat saying. “So let’s sneak in and steal some of the doughnuts now.” Christie and Winfrey spoke at length about controlling their weight and managing the criticism surrounding it; specifically what it feels like to be on the short end of a Dave Letterman fat joke.

“It didn’t bother you?” Winfrey asked.

“Because let me tell you, when David Letterman was making jokes about me, it bothered me.” “I think I was girded for it, Oprah, I really do,” Christie responded, saying he had developed “a shell about it.” The conversation also hit more serious overtones as Winfrey asked him, Mary

Pat and their four children - Andrew, 18, Sarah, 15, Patrick, 11, and Bridget, 8 - about the pressure of being asked to run for president.

Sarah lamented to Winfrey about being banned from having a Facebook page. “By the way, who backed us up on you not having a Facebook account?” Christie pointed out. “Mark Zuckerberg,” co-creator of the social networking site, Sarah answered, reluctantly. Christie, Zuckerberg and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, appeared on Winfrey’s talk show in September 2010 to announce that Facebook was pledging a $100 million donation to the Newark public schools.

Christie said he wanted his daughter to wait until she was a little older, given his position, so that she can better handle the “opportunity for mischief” that Facebook provides - a position he said Zuckerberg supported. While Booker, who has been rumored as a potential candidate to run against Christie in 2013, is close to Winfrey and her best friend, Gayle King, Christie met the daytime icon for the first time at the taping of the show about Facebook’s donation.

Christie had been in office less than a year when he first met Winfrey. Elected in a Democratic-leaning New Jersey 2009, Christie quickly became YouTube sensation and darling

In this Oct. 27, 2011 photo released by Harpo Inc., Oprah Winfrey, center, poses with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, and his wife Mary Pat during an interview at the Christie home in Mendham, NJ, for “Oprah’s Next Chapter”. —AP

of the Republican party for his blunt style, and pressure quickly mounted for him to run for the White House in 2012. He briefly considered changing his mind against running this fall, but didn’t and instead endorsed Mitt Romney, whom he has been campaigning hard for ever since. Winfrey, who openly endorsed Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential elections, asked Christie what advice Christie he had for the president and what he thought Obama’s chances for re-election were.

Surprisingly, Christie warned that those who underestimate Obama as a campaigner do so at their own peril. “He is as good a politician as I’ve ever seen ... he’s really good at it. And I think he’s very charismatic. And I think he’s genuine. I think what he says he believes he believes.

That’s a very dangerous politician.”

But Christie was quick to say that Obama was weak in governing, and needed to work on his relationships with adversaries - something Christie has credited with helping him pass major changes to New Jersey’s pension and health benefits systems. “If he had asked me a year ago, I would have said, “So, Mr. President, make John Boehner your best friend in the whole world.

Have him over for dinner. Have him for golf regularly. Call him on the phone talk, to him, charm him, make him your pal.”

So why didn’t he run for the White House himself? Christie said he wasn’t sure that his “true compass” thought he was ready. “Is that compass telling you that you may be ready four years from now?” Winfrey asked. “Who knows?

It depends on who wins. Is the president reelected? Does a Republican win? I don’t know,” Christie said. “But in terms of me, I’ll be much more ready four years from now than I am now.” — AFP

TECHNOLOGY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

LAS VEGAS: This recent, undated handout photo courtesy of Switch Lighting shows Switch Lighting’s new-generation LED (light-emitting diode) bulb that they believe will transform the more than $30-billion global market. — AFP

Smart appliances set to transform the home LAS VEGAS: You’re at work when you get word of unexpected dinner guests. No problem. Smart appliances to the rescue. In a world made possible by innovations unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, you could whip out your smartphone on your bus or train ride home.

You use the virtual joystick to steer your cameraequipped vacuum robot around the living room, activating the speaker to tell the dog to get off the couch.

You switch to the application on your phone which allows you to check recipes against the contents of your refrigerator, which sends you a text message telling you you’re out of milk. Once you’ve decided what you’re going to cook, you inform your refrigerator, which tells the oven to begin pre-heating based on the recipe you’ve selected.

Floor-cleaning robots, refrigerators and ovens on display at the annual CES gadget fest can do all of the above-and more. “Smart appliances, while they’ve been kind of a pipe dream for the last couple of years, are really becoming a reality,” said John Taylor, vice president of LG Electronics USA. South Korea’s LG is a leader in the field, which not only involves building Wi-Fi connectivity into appliances to allow them to communicate but also using real-time energy monitoring to save on electricity bills. “Last year there were a lot of questions about when (smart appliances) are coming,” said Kevin Messner, vice president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

“The progress we’ve made over the last year on smart appliances from where we were last year at CES to where we are today is just staggering,” he said. A refrigerator at the LG booth at CES has a touchscreen built into the front with a “food manager” function that provides an inventory of what’s inside, where items are located-orange juice, left door-and expiration dates. You compile the inventory of what’s in your refrigerator by taking a photo of your receipt from the grocery store with your smartphone and sending it to your fridge, or by scanning the barcode of each item individually.

A refrigerator being offered by LG rival Samsung lets you shop from select stores by dragging and dropping icons of various items-apples or eggs, for example-on a touchscreen and having the groceries delivered to your door. That service is currently only available in South Korea. A floor-cleaning robot from LG has not one but three cameras and yes, you can call it from your smartphone and tell the dog to get off the furniture. Warwick Stirling, global manager of energy and sustainability for Whirlpool, said smart appliances are just part of what is known as the “connected home.”

“I see it as making household chores simpler, simplifying your life,” Stirling said. “I don’t think it’s being Facebook friends with your fridge. And I don’t think it’s about surfing Facebook from your fridge.” “I think it’s in its infancy,” Stirling added of the era of smart appliances. “I think it’s going to become real this year and it’s going to get bigger and bigger and bigger over time.” Taylor said that while LG is “really bullish about the future of smart appliances,” they are more expensive and are “certainly not going to be the majority of products in the marketplace” for some time to come.

“There is a certain level of consumer who wants the latest and greatest and will be attracted by some of the new smart features,” he said. Jon Van Dore, senior product development manager for China’s Haier, said rapidly changing technology poses a particular challenge for home appliance manufacturers, whose products are intended to last for a long time.

“Technology has a life span of one to two years,” Van Dore said, holding up his cellphone. “We have a life span of 10 to 20 years.” Wi-Fi connectivity and intelligent machines may be the wave of the future, Van Dore said, but he cited the cautionary tale of a rival appliance manufacturer who built a screen into a refrigerator a decade ago. “It became obsolete in six months,” he said. “It’s still a good refrigerator but now it’s got this old technology stuck to it.” — AFP

Next-generation bulb shines at CES LAS VEGAS: A California startup out to change the world shined at the Consumer Electronics Show on Thursday with a light bulb blending beauty and efficiency with love for the Earth. Switch Lighting executives Tracy Bilbrough and Brett Sharenow glowed as they showed off new-generation LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs that they believe will transform the more than $30-billion global market. “It is exciting to be the little David taking on the Goliath’s of the world,” Switch chief Bilbrough told AFP. “You pick this because it doesn’t have mercury; you can dim it; it loves cold weather; there is no ultra-violet so they don’t draw any bugs outdoors, and it fits in any fixture an incandescent bulb goes in.” Switch bulbs being are being tested in two US hotels and will begin shipping later this month as a smart option to incandescent or CFL models. Incandescent bulbs are power-sucking classics being phased out in countries around the world, replaced by energy-efficient CFL versions containing toxic mercury that make them hazardous to toss in the rubbish.

“LEDs are really the next thing in lighting,” said Switch chief strategy officer Sharenow. The Silicon Valley company’s bulb is touted as Earth-friendly from “cradle to cradle” and lasts about seven times longer than CFLs while providing the kind of light people like from incandescent. Switch bulbs have an artistic look akin to a snow glove perched on a silver pedestal. They can also survive a three-foot drop to a hardwood floor. A ring of metal prongs, each with a computer chip on it to emit light, is immersed in liquid that fills each bulb. The liquid cools the chips while acting as a lens to magnify light.

“It is food-grade; actually used in making beer, pasta and women’s cosmetics,” Sharenow said of the liquid, the ingredients of which were secret. “We actually get more light out of the LEDs with liquid in the glass dome than if there was air in there.” Switch bulbs use 80 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs and last for about 25,000 hours no matter often you switch them on or off, he added. The life spans of CFL bulbs shrinks as they are flicked on or off and they buzz or burn out if dimmed.

Switch bulbs, which are being launched in 65- and 75-watt models, are priced at $35 each but the price was expected to drop under $20 by the end of the year. Even at a price of $35, businesses recover the cost in six months while homeowners hit that mark in two years, according to Sharenow. LED bulb efficiency is on par with CFL, which cost about three dollars each versus 50 cents for incandescent. Bilbrough expected LED bulbs to quickly get more efficient that CFL. Switch is first targeting businesses that see cost-savings in energy-efficient bulbs that last them more than a decade.

Bilbrough estimated that Switch bulbs would last about 25 years or longer in home use. “If you put that in your baby’s room when they come home from the hospital, they will still be studying under it when they are in college,” Bilbrough said with a nod toward one of the bulbs. “These things will last longer than your phone, iPad, car or sofa.” When people are done with Switch bulbs, the company wants them back so they can recycle or reuse the parts giving them new lives in a practice referred to in the industry as “cradle to cradle.”— AFP

Microsoft eclipses Yahoo in US search for 1st time

LAS VEGAS: An industry affiliate tries out the Sensics 3D SmartGoggles headset at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, Thursday in Las Vegas. — AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft Corp. has finally reached a long-sought and expensive goal - its Bing search engine now ranks second behind Google in the Internet’s most lucrative market. Bing and Microsoft’s other websites fielded 2.75 billion search requests in the US during December, catapulting in front of Yahoo Inc. for the first time in the jockeying for runner up to Google Inc., according to statistics released Wednesday by comScore Inc. Bing’s December volume translated into a 15.1 percent share of the US search traffic, comScore said. Yahoo processed 2.65 billion search requests, representing 14.5 percent of the US market.

Google remained Internet’s go-to place for information, with 12 billion US requests in December. That works out to a 65.9 percent market share.

Other research firms track the Internet search market. But comScore’s numbers matter the most to industry analysts and the companies trying to attract queries so they can make more money from the ads that appear alongside the results. Google’s dominance of online search is the main reason it has established itself as the Internet’s most profitable company. Analysts have expected Microsoft and Yahoo to flip-flop their positions in Internet search since they announced a partnership in July 2009. The 10-year agreement has enabled Yahoo to save money by relying on Microsoft to provide the bulk of its search technology.—AP

TECHNOLOGY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Wi-Drive gives Apple-Amazon gadgets more capacity LAS VEGAS: Kingston Technology Co. is helping pack more entertainment into Apple gadgets and Kindle Fire tablets. A Wi-Drive demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show here by the computer memory specialty company allows data-devouring iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Kindle Fire fans easily tote more movies, music, pictures or digital documents.

“Kindle Fire only gives you one gigabyte of usable storage,” Kingston marketing manager Randy Marsh told AFP as he cradled a 16-gigabyte Wi-Drive in the

USB key opens home files from anywhere LAS VEGAS: A USB-style key that splits in two lets people open their home or work computer files from any Internetlinked computer. Singapore-based iTwin was at the Consumer Electronics Show this week to entice technology fans with a way to avoid being out of touch with data on work or home machines no matter how far they roam. “The iTwin acts like a cableless cable connecting you to your files,” said company spokeswoman Kara Rosenthal.

“If you are on a business trip and don’t know what files you need you can just access your hard drive from any other computer and have whatever files you want.” An iTwin user simply plugs the device, which is the size and shape of standard thumb drive, into their computer USB port and drags into it any data they wish even if it is an entire hard drive.

Half the gadget is left plugged into a home or work computer, while a user takes the other half with him or her to serve as a key.

Plugging the key into another Internet-connected computer automatically accesses files. Data is encrypted and password protected. Keys can be remotely disabled if lost or stolen. At CES iTwin demonstrated a newly added “multi” feature that lets as many as 20 keys be synched to the part left in a home or work machine. ITwin devices were priced at $99.— AFP

Indian court threatens to block Google, Facebook NEW DELHI: An Indian court has threatened to block sites such as Facebook and Google unless they take steps to eliminate “offensive and objectionable” content. “You must have a stringent check. Otherwise, like in China, we may pass orders banning all such websites,” the Delhi High Court said during a hearing Thursday with legal representatives for Facebook and Google India.

Both companies should “develop a mechanism to keep a check and remove offensive and objectionable material from their web pages”, Justice Suresh Kait was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. Communications Minister Kapil Sibal last month pledged a crackdown on “unacceptable” online content, saying Internet service providers had ignored India’s demands to screen images and data before they are uploaded.

He provided examples of faked naked pictures of Indian political leaders and religiously sensitive images. Sibal’s comments provoked anger and derision among Indian Internet users, with experts arguing that such demands could not be enforced and smacked of state censorship. “No human interference is possible and, moreover, it can’t be feasible to check such incidents,” Mukul Rohatgi, a lawyer for Google India, told the High Court hearing.

India, the world’s largest democracy, has more than 110 million Internet users out of a population of 1.2 billion, with predictions that 600 million people will be online in the next five years.

Facebook and Google had moved the High Court to stay a summons issued last month by a lower court that is hearing a private criminal complaint against them. Facebook is officially blocked in China, while Google pulled its search engine out of the country two years ago after a confrontation with Chinese authorities over censorship. — AFP

palm of one hand. “If you get one of these bad boys you automatically expand to 17 gigs.” Apple devices come with a variety of memory storage capacities but more is usually welcomed among people who increasingly turn to mobile devices for entertainment or information. Wi-Drives are the same size and shape as Apple’s latest iPhone and come in models of 16 gigabytes for $60 or 32 gigabytes for $90. A 64-gigabyte version is scheduled to be released by mid-year with no price announced yet.

Fountain Valley, California-based Kingston is testing a model set for release soon that is designed for smartphones or tablets powered by Google’s Android software, Marsh said. Free applications that can be downloaded to gadgets connect them to drives using the same built-in Wi-Fi capabilities that link to Internet hotspots. As many as three different devices can be synchronized with a Wi-Drive simultaneously, each accessing different movies, music or other data. — AFP

Apple suspends iPhone sales at China stores Crowds furious after being refused entry BEIJING: Apple said yesterday it was suspending sales of the new iPhone at its China stores after fans desperate to get their hands on it fought with security and threw eggs at an official outlet.

Police detained at least two people outside the Beijing shop yesterday when angry crowds who had queued for hours in freezing temperatures for the Chinese launch of the iPhone 4S were left furious after being refused entry.

An AFP reporter outside the store in the upmarket Sanlitun district saw frustrated shoppers attack a security guard after police with megaphones shouted at the 1,000-strong crowd to go home and said the gadget would not go on sale. “We waited here all night. It’s not fair,” said 18-year-old Tom Sun. “We’re angry because this American company told us it would open its doors at 7:00 am.” Apple said its other mainland China stores-another in Beijing and three in Shanghai-had sold out of the new device within hours.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible,” said spokeswoman Carolyn Wu. “Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhones will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.” Apple said customers could still order iPhones online and at other authorised retailers in China. A worker at a small, downtown China Unicom shop said 80 iPhone 4S models had sold out in four hours.

Some of the people gathered outside the Sanlitun store from the early hours yesterday told AFP they had been paid 100 yuan (almost $16) each by touts to stand in line and wait for the doors to open. Shouts of “Open the doors!” and “We want mobile phones!” went up occasionally as the restless would-be customers jostled to get close to the front of the pack. Many took videos of the scene, using older iPhones.

One young Chinese man who refused to give his name said he planned to buy as many of the phones as he could and resell them at a profit of at least 500 yuan ($79) a piece. “These are not fake iPhones,” he said. “People

want Steve Jobs’ best.” Reselling is a major industry in China, where the new iPhone has been on sale for months at a premium on the black market, after being smuggled in from neighboring countries and from Hong Kong.

The new model, whose features include a high-definition video camera and a quick-witted artificial intelligence “personal assistant” named Siri, had its global launch in October. Die-hard fans in China, which has the world’s largest online population with more than 500 million users, have been known to line up for days to get their hands on the latest Apple products. “I will be really upset if they don’t open the doors,” said 29year-old Li Tianye, who had travelled for two days by bus from the eastern province of Shandong to get to Beijing for the launch, staying in a 24-hour McDonald’s overnight.

But not everyone was disappointed.

Some Beijing shoppers willing to pay a premium bought the iPhone 4S in an electronics retailer one floor below Apple’s Beijing Sanlitun store after seeing the trouble upstairs. “There was a problem at the Apple store. Too many

angry people,” said a young Chinese man who gave only his surname, Du, and said he had been waiting since Thursday evening to buy the phone. Du told AFP he had paid 5,388 yuan for the most basic model of the iPhone 4S-sold online in China by Apple for 4,988 yuan.

Calmer scenes were witnessed in Shanghai, where an AFP reporter said Apple stores had opened to large crowds and the phone had been on sale. Greater China-which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan-has become Apple’s fastest growing region, with revenue there second only to the United States.

The California-based company has recently expanded aggressively in China, opening its first store in Hong Kong and its third in Shanghai last September, which brings the total to six in Greater China. But Apple’s popularity has also brought problems, with widespread counterfeiting and illegal smuggling of its products. In July, an American blogger uncovered fake Apple stores in the southwestern city of Kunming, where even staff working there did not appear to know they were fake. — AFP

HANGZHOU: A Chinese worker shows an iPhone 4S at a shop in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province yesterday.—AFP

TV listings SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

00:50 Maneaters 01:45 Animal Cops Houston 02:40 Wildest Africa 03:35 Whale Wars 04:30 Maneaters 05:25 Dogs 101 06:20 Animal Cops Houston 07:10 Monkey Life 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 Monkey Life 08:25 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 09:15 Crocodile Hunter 10:10 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 11:05 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 11:30 Bondi Vet 12:00 Monkey Life 12:25 Talk To The Animals 12:55 Dogs 101 13:50 Wildest India 14:45 Must Love Cats 15:40 Dogs 101 16:35 Bondi Vet 17:00 Bondi Vet 17:30 Max’s Big Tracks 18:25 Into The Pride 19:20 Monster Bug Wars 20:15 Monster Bug Wars 21:10 Dogs 101 22:05 Wildest Africa 23:00 Shark After Dark 23:55 Human Prey

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

00:40 01:35 02:05 02:30 02:55 03:25 04:15 05:05 05:50 06:20 06:45 07:10 07:35 08:05 08:25 09:20 15:15 15:40 18:15

Eastenders Doctors The World’s Toughest Driving Live At The Apollo The Weakest Link Keeping Up Appearances Balamory Tellytales Penelope K, By The Way The Roly Mo Show Buzz & Tell Tweenies 3rd & Bird Nina And The Neurons Balamory Tellytales Penelope K, By The Way The Roly Mo Show Buzz & Tell Tweenies 3rd & Bird Nina And The Neurons Big Top Keeping Up Appearances New Tricks Doctor Who Eastenders Eastenders Eastenders Eastenders Big Top New Tricks Mutual Friends Doctor Who The Weakest Link Keeping Up Appearances Holby City Holby City Doctor Who As Time Goes By dinnerladies Live At The Apollo Little Britain One Foot In The Grave One Foot In The Grave Doctor Who Freefall

Antiques Roadshow What To Eat Now - Autumn What To Eat Now - Autumn James Martin’s Champagne James Martin’s Champagne Come Dine With Me 10 Years Younger Fantasy Homes By The Sea What To Eat Now - Autumn James Martin’s Champagne What To Eat Now - Autumn James Martin’s Champagne What To Eat Now - Autumn Cash In The Attic USA Antiques Roadshow Masterchef Australia Masterchef Australia Cash In The Attic USA Cash In The Attic USA

THE FAST AND FURIOUS ON OSN ACTION HD 18:40 19:25 20:10 21:00 21:50

Bargain Hunt Bargain Hunt Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow Gok’s Fashion Fix

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:15 07:40 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:40 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:30 13:20 13:45

Johnny Bravo Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Droopy: Master Detective The Flintstones Johnny Bravo Duck Dodgers King Arthur’s Disasters The Scooby Doo Show Popeye Classics Tom & Jerry Popeye The Jetsons The Flintstones Looney Tunes Pink Panther & Pals Tex Avery Duck Dodgers The Garfield Show Yogi’s Treasure Hunt Popeye Paddington Bear Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Puppy In My Pocket Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show The Scooby Doo Show The Flintstones Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Top Cat Popeye

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

Tom & Jerry Top Cat Top Cat Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo Dastardly And Muttley The Flintstones Wacky Races Scooby Doo Where Are You! Popeye Classics Scooby Cinema Top Cat Dastardly And Muttley Tom & Jerry Wacky Races The Scooby Doo Show Tom & Jerry Johnny Bravo

00:40 Samurai Jack 01:05 Samurai Jack 01:30 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 02:20 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:45 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 03:10 Best Ed 04:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:25 Adventure Time 04:50 Generator Rex 05:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 05:40 Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 05:55 I Am Weasel 06:55 Powerpuff Girls 07:45 Angelo Rules 08:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge 08:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien

09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:05 11:30 11:55 12:20 12:45 13:10 20:40 21:00 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:25 23:50

Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Race Against Time Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10 Ben 10 Courage The Cowardly Dog

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:45 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:15 09:30 10:00 10:15 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00

Connect The World The Best Of Backstory World Sport The Situation Room World Report Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business CNN Marketplace Africa Erin Burnett Outfront World Sport Cnngo World Report CNN Marketplace Africa The Best Of Backstory World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East World View World Sport Mainsail The Best Of The Situation Room World Report

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

African Voices World Report This Week Inside Africa World Report Inside The Middle East Talk Asia Eco Solutions News Special The Best Of Backstory International Desk African Voices CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa World Report This Week World Sport Living Golf International Desk Inside Africa International Desk Cnngo The Best Of The Situation Room

00:15 00:40 01:35 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 12:45 13:40 14:35 15:30 16:25 17:20 18:15 19:10 20:05 Green 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Destroyed In Seconds Animal Cops South Africa Dirty Jobs Overhaulin’ Ultimate Survival Mythbusters How It’s Made How It’s Made Dirty Jobs How It’s Made Really Big Things Huge Moves Extreme Engineering Mighty Ships Man, Woman, Wild Dual Survival Ultimate Survival Ultimate Survival License To Drill Coal Deadliest Catch Gold Rush: Alaska Raging Nature Man vs Fish With Matt Watson Extreme Fishing With Robson

00:40 01:05 01:35 02:25 02:50 03:15 03:40 04:35 05:00 05:25 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:55 08:58 09:25 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:35 14:55 15:45 15:48 16:15 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

The Gadget Show The Gadget Show The Colony The Tech Show Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Ecopolis How Does That Work?

How Stuff’s Made Engineered Da Vinci’s Machines The Future Of...

What’s That About?

Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Ecopolis Future Weapons Future Weapons Head Rush Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections The Tech Show What’s That About?

Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Mighty Ships Smash Lab Scrapheap Challenge Punkin Chunkin 2010 Weird Or What?

Smash Lab Scrapheap Challenge

00:00 00:25 00:50 01:15 01:35 02:00 02:25 02:50 03:15 03:35 04:00 04:25

KIM POSSIBLE Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents STITCH STITCH REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS EMPEROR’S NEW SCHOOL EMPEROR’S NEW SCHOOL STITCH STITCH REPLACEMENTS

Ultimate Survival An Idiot Abroad Freddie Flintoff vs The World Surviving The Cut

04:50 REPLACEMENTS 05:15 Fairly Odd Parents 05:35 Fairly Odd Parents 06:00 PHINEAS AND FERB 06:25 SHAKE IT UP 06:45 SUITE LIFE ON DECK 07:10 FISH HOOKS 07:30 A.N.T. FARM 08:00 SHAKE IT UP 08:25 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE 08:50 SHAKE IT UP 09:15 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE 09:40 SHAKE IT UP 10:05 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE 10:30 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE: THE ROAD TRIP MOVIE 11:50 HAVE A LAUGH 12:00 SO RANDOM 12:25 SHAKE IT UP 12:50 SHAKE IT UP 13:15 A.N.T. FARM 13:40 RECESS 14:00 FISH HOOKS 14:25 SHAKE IT UP 14:50 SHAKE IT UP 15:15 FISH HOOKS 15:35 SO RANDOM 15:55 THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY 16:20 THE SUITE LIFE OF ZACK AND CODY 16:45 MY BABYSITTER’S A VAMPIRE 17:10 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 17:30 A.N.T. FARM 18:00 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE 18:20 SHAKE IT UP 18:45 GOOD LUCK CHARLIE 19:10 SHAKE IT UP 19:30 SHARPAY’S FABULOUS ADVENTURE 21:00 HAVE A LAUGH 21:05 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 21:25 MY BABYSITTER’S A VAMPIRE 21:50 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 22:15 WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE 22:40 HANNAH MONTANA 23:05 A.N.T. FARM 23:30 SHAKE IT UP 23:55 SHAKE IT UP

00:20 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 00:35 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 00:50 JUNGLE JUNCTION 01:05 JUNGLE JUNCTION 01:15 LITTLE EINSTEINS 01:40 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 01:55 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 02:10 JO JO’S CIRCUS 02:30 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 02:45 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 03:00 JUNGLE JUNCTION 03:15 JUNGLE JUNCTION 03:25 LITTLE EINSTEINS 03:50 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 04:05 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 04:20 JO JO’S CIRCUS 04:40 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 04:55 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 05:10 JUNGLE JUNCTION 05:25 JUNGLE JUNCTION 05:35 LITTLE EINSTEINS 06:00 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 06:15 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 06:30 JO JO’S CIRCUS 06:50 JUNGLE JUNCTION 07:00 JUNGLE JUNCTION 07:15 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 07:30 HIGGLYTOWN HEROES 07:45 HANDY MANNY 08:00 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 08:15 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 08:40 TIMMY TIME 08:55 LITTLE EINSTEINS 09:20 THE HIVE 09:30 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 09:45 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 10:00 JUNGLE JUNCTION 10:10 HANDY MANNY 10:25 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 10:45 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 10:50 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 11:15 LazyTown 11:45 ART ATTACK 12:10 IMAGINATION MOVERS 12:30 THE HIVE 12:40 LazyTown 13:05 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 13:30 HANDY MANNY 13:45 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 14:00 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 14:15 THE HIVE 14:25 TIMMY TIME

TV listings SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012 14:35 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 14:50 HANDY MANNY 15:05 THE HIVE 15:15 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 15:40 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 16:05 HANDY MANNY 16:20 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 16:35 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 16:50 JUNGLE JUNCTION 17:05 HANDY MANNY 17:20 LazyTown 17:45 ART ATTACK 18:10 IMAGINATION MOVERS 18:35 LITTLE EINSTEINS 19:00 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 19:15 HANDY MANNY 19:30 HANDY MANNY 19:45 JUNGLE JUNCTION 20:00 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 20:05 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 20:30 ANIMATED STORIES 20:35 HANDY MANNY 20:50 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 21:05 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 21:20 THE HIVE 21:30 MINI ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH 21:33 A POEM IS...

21:40 JUNGLE JUNCTION 21:55 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE 22:20 JAKE & THE NEVERLAND PIRATES 22:35 SPECIAL AGENT OSO 22:50 LITTLE EINSTEINS 23:15 TIMMY TIME 23:25 HANDY MANNY 23:40 JUNGLE JUNCTION 23:55 MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE

21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared The Haunted Ghost Lab

00:00 Somewhere In China 00:30 Inside 01:00 Going Bush 01:30 Ancient Megastructures 01:30 Geo Sessions 02:00 Earth Tripping 02:30 Inside 02:30 Travel Madness 03:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 03:30 Situation Critical 04:00 One Man & His Campervan 04:30 Naked Science 05:00 City Chase Marrakech 05:30 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 06:00 Somewhere In China 06:30 Ancient Secrets: Mystery of The Silver Pharaoh 07:00 Going Bush 07:30 Geo Sessions 07:30 Inside 08:00 Earth Tripping 08:30 Ancient Megastructures 08:30 Travel Madness 09:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 09:30 My 9/11 10:00 One Man & His Campervan 10:30 Inside 11:00 City Chase Marrakech 11:30 Situation Critical 12:00 Somewhere In China 12:30 Naked Science 13:00 Word of Mouth 13:30 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 13:30 Food School 14:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 14:30 Fish Warrior 15:00 Gone to save the planet

15:30 Gone to save the planet 15:30 Prehistoric Predators 16:00 Travel Madness 16:30 Ancient Megastructures 16:30 Destination Extreme 17:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 17:30 Geologic Journey 18:00 Departures 18:30 Nat Geo’s Most Amazing Photos 19:00 Word of Mouth 19:30 Food School 19:30 Stonehenge Decoded 20:00 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 21:00 Gone to save the planet 21:30 Britain’s Underworld 21:30 Gone to save the planet 22:00 Travel Madness 22:30 Destination Extreme 22:30 Rescue Ink 23:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 23:30 Dogtown

00:00 Malibu Shark Attack-PG15 02:00 Deadline-18 04:00 Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead-18 06:00 Winning Time-PG15 08:00 X-Men-PG15 10:00 The Stepfather-PG15 12:00 The Fast And The Furious-PG15 14:00 X-Men-PG15 16:00 Ip Man-PG15 18:00 The Fast And The Furious-PG15 20:00 The Grudge 3-18 22:00 Odysseus: Voyage To The Underworld-PG15

01:15 03:00 05:00 06:45 09:00 11:00

The Maiden Heist-PG15 Gasland-PG15 The Last Airbender-PG Mammoth-PG15 Gasland-PG15 The Greatest-PG15

13:00 15:00 PG15 17:00 PG 19:00 21:00 23:00

Extreme Forensics Ghost Lab Psychic Witness True CSI Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases Extreme Forensics Ghost Lab Psychic Witness Killer Outbreaks FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

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

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

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr.Crazy On The Outside-PG15 Lost Boys: The Thirst-18 Pete Smalls Is Dead-18

12:00 Two And A Half Men 12:30 Will And Grace 13:00 Melissa And Joey 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 16:30 The Office 18:00 Raising Hope 18:30 2 Broke Girls 19:00 30 Rock 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 23:00 Family Guy

01:00 02:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00 23:30

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E!es 02:20 E! Investigates 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Bridalplasty 10:15 Bridalplasty 11:10 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 13:35 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Dirty Soap 16:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:55 Style Star 17:25 Fashion Police 17:55 E! News 18:55 THS 19:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 20:55 The Soup 21:25 Kendra 21:55 Kendra 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 The Soup

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

5 Dollars A Day-PG15 Swansong: Story Of Occi Byrne-

Drop Dead Diva Damages White Collar Good Morning America Law & Order: Los Angeles The Bachelor Downsize Me The View Law & Order: Los Angeles Drop Dead Diva Live Good Morning America Emmerdale Coronation Street Breakout Kings The Killing C.S.I. Miami In Treatment In Treatment

00:00 C.S.I. 01:00 Damages 02:00 Supernatural 03:00 Drop Dead Diva 04:00 Glee 06:00 C.S.I. 07:00 The Cape 08:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 09:00 Drop Dead Diva 11:00 Glee 12:00 The Cape 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 15:00 C.S.I. 16:00 How I Met Your Mother 16:30 Coronation Street 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 19:00 Breakout Kings 20:00 The Killing 21:00 C.S.I. Miami 23:00 Lights Out

01:00 Icarus-18 03:00 Jason X-18 05:00 Malibu Shark Attack-PG15 07:00 The Sorcerer’s ApprenticePG15 09:00 Behind Enemy Lines-PG15 11:00 The Thirteenth Floor-18 13:00 Dick Tracy-PG15 15:00 Behind Enemy Lines-PG15 16:30 King Arthur-PG15 18:45 The Hurt Locker-18 21:00 Odysseus: Voyage To The Underworld-PG15 23:00 The Evil Dead-R

00:00 Born Yesterday-PG15 02:00 Like Mike-PG 04:00 Babe-FAM 06:00 50 First Dates-PG15 08:00 The Big Green-PG 10:00 Nothing Like The HolidaysPG15 12:00 The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle-FAM 14:00 Hanging Up-PG15 16:00 Born Yesterday-PG15 18:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 20:00 American Virgin-PG15 22:00 The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who...18

01:00 For Keeps-PG15 03:00 The Two Escobars-PG15 05:00 Shout-PG15 07:00 Catch That Kid-PG 09:00 The Blind Side-PG15 11:15 Leaving Normal-PG15 13:15 Moon Over Parador-PG15 15:15 Who Is Clark Rockefeller-PG 17:00 Celine: Through The Eyes Of The World-PG15 19:00 Cape Fear-PG15 21:00 Heart And Souls-PG 23:00 The Third Wave-PG15

GASLAND ON OSN CINEMA

01:00 03:30 05:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Thelma And Louise-18 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid-PG 9-PG The Social Network-PG15 Tron: Legacy-PG15 Love Happens-PG15 City Of Life-PG15 StreetDance-PG15 Tron: Legacy-PG15 Little Fockers-PG15 Morning Glory-PG15 The American-18

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

Ed-PG The Prince Of Dinosaurs-PG Fly Me To The Moon-PG Queen Of The Swallows-FAM Ed-PG True Story Of Puss’n Boots-PG Columbus III: The New WorldFly Me To The Moon-PG Legend Of The Guardians-PG True Story Of Puss’n Boots-PG How The Grinch Stole

Christmas-PG15 22:00 Columbus III: The New WorldPG

00:00 Dare-18 02:00 Frenemy-18 03:45 District 9-PG15 06:00 How To Go Out On A Date In Queens-PG15 08:00 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 10:00 District 9-PG15 12:00 Head Over Heels-PG15 13:45 Just Go With It-PG15 16:00 The Librarian: The Curse Of Judas Chalice-PG15 18:00 Furry Vengeance-PG 20:00 Morning Glory-PG15 22:00 Salt-PG15

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 05:30 12:45 14:00 16:00 23:00

UFC TheUltimate Fighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line UFC Total Ultimate Fighter Powerboats Live Test Cricket Live Volvo Ocean Race European Challenge Cup Test Cricket UFC The Ultimate Fighter

03:30 05:00 05:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:00 23:00

Volvo Ocean Race ICC Cricket World Live Test Cricket World Cup of Pool World Pool Masters US Bass Fishing ICC Cricket World Test Cricket Volvo Ocean Race

00:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 11:30 12:30 13:00 17:00 18:00 20:00

Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Trans World Sport World Cup of Pool World Pool Masters US Bass Fishing FIVB Beach Volley Ball FIVB Beach Volley Ball European PGA Tour Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live European PGA Tour Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Scottish Premier League European PGA Tour

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:45 14:00 15:00 15:30 17:30 18:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 142 Countdown UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection Volvo Ocean Race Live Volvo Ocean Race WWE Bottom Line SPL Highlights Live Scottish Premier League WWE This Week WWE SmackDown UFC 142 Countdown UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 Cherry 2000-PG 01:35 Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia 03:25 Ulee’s Gold-PG 05:15 Love At Large 06:50 A Prayer For The Dying 08:35 Diplomatic Immunity 10:10 Hornet’s Nest-PG 12:00 Yellowbeard-PG 13:35 How To Beat The High Cost Of Living-PG 15:20 Limit Up-PG 16:50 Critical Assembly-PG 18:20 Irma LA Douce-PG 20:40 In His Life: The John Lennon Story-PG 22:10 Mgm’s Big Screen-FAM 22:25 Cherry 2000-PG

what’s on

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Cinemagic schedule THE GREAT DICTATOR In Chaplin’s satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double... a poor Jewish barber... who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Thursday, January 19th at 7:30pm THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED Should Tom (Duris) make like his thuggish father or pursue his dream of becoming a pianist? Saturday, January 21st at 7:30pm

Kuwait festival

THRONE OF BLOOD A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become Emperor.

Thursday, January 26th at 7:30pm

he Kuwait festival is to give great opportunity from different countries to present their products and services directly in order to unlock new horizons. The world in the heart of Kuwait

T

festival will provide more than 1,300 different products from different countries.

The festival will be a single event meant for visitors and tourists from all over the world to enjoy over 30 days and will play

a key role in the marketing of recreation facilities in Kuwait beginning for Friday, January 27. For details log on to info@galbq8.com

Mad Musicals 7

gant restaurants; modern shopping complexes and marinas, and long and lazy retreats at new beach resorts mark the Kuwait City experience.

The organizers of the Kuwait International Boat Show expect more than 100 marine companies to display their latest products, boats, yachts, super yachts, electronics, engines and thousands of boating accessories from major marine manufacturers. The Boat Show encompasses more than 120.000 m2 of space, both on land

and in water. Where: Souk Sharq Marina & Water Front Kuwait International Boat Show Timings: 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm Local exhibitors & for more info kindly contact Mr. Abdulla Al Manei (Exhibition Manager): 2538-7100 Ext: 172, 9978-8130, 2539-3872, 2539-8123, 9444-9102, a.almanei@kif.net International exhibitors & any additional info kindly contact Mrs. Kaya Gabrielcic info@kuwaitboatshow.com

Kuwait Little Theater in Ahmadi will stage Mad Musicals 7 and Dick Whittington this season KLT continues from 14 - 17 February on to push the theatrical envelope with a whole new genre of show brought to you by Kristen Falcioni and Stephen Grimes.

GREASE Good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance? Saturday, January 28th at 7:30pm AKIRA A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop. Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in - and appreciation for - the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Entrance is free of charge and includes refreshments, popcorn and much more.

GLEE-esque show choir This Valentine’s Day step into a musical Love Story performed by Vocal Rhapsody, KLT’s first ever GLEE-esque show choir. Vocal Rhapsody’s “Love Story” - is a show choir production with hit songs from artists such as Journey, Queen, Katy Perry and Meatloaf. It promises to be an exciting evening for all with some classic songs that everyone will enjoy. For contact: http://www.theklt.com Kuwait Boat Show Kuwait, in the cradle of one of the most ancient and most-contested corners of the world, is best described as a city state. The burgeoning capital, Kuwait City, is like a magnet: indeed it has been attracting Bedouin people from the Arabian interior, in search of a sea breeze and an escape from recurring drought, for centuries. Today the metropolis is still an oasis in a land of desert plains, but rather more of the cultural and epicurean kind. Excellent museums; a corniche ornamented with combed beaches and extrava-

Upcoming events AWARE Arabic courses highlight: l Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics l Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic l Combine language learning with cultural insights l Taught in multi-nationality group settings l Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information or registration, call 25335260/80 ext 105/104/0 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Get ready get set - RunQ8 Registrations are now open for RunQ8, the annual 10km charity race to be held on January 21, 2012. Organized by the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) and Agility, the race route will run from Marina Crescent in Salmiya along the Gulf Road up to the Third Ring Road and back. The

race is aimed at supporting health issues affecting our community and raising awareness around them. In its second year, RunQ8 is promoting road traffic safety. 2011-2021 has been named the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety with a goal to stabilize and then reduce global road traffic fatalities by 2021. In Kuwait, traffic accidents are the third leading cause of mortality and a large number of people and their families are affected by the debilitating effects of injuries caused by road accidents. Last year, the race raised over KWD 50,000 for the Kuwait University’s Community Eye Health Care Initiative that supports Vision 2020, a joint initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). RunQ8 invites all members of the community to join in this initiative and help support road traffic safety in Kuwait. To register contact the FSRI office 25720338 or visit the race websitewww.Runq8.org for more details.

There are also pre-race articles and videos produced by FSRI’s specialized sports trainers, physiotherapists, nutritionists and psychologists to help get you ready for the race. Please see our website www.runQ8.org and our Facebook page for updates on our running and walking clinic, race events, and other initiatives.

Vichar Bharati seminar on Swami Vivekananda On the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary, Vichar Bharati, an affiliate of Seva Darshan Kuwait, will hold a seminar on Swami Vivekananda on Friday, January 20, 2012 at the Indian Central School, Abbasiya. Vivekananda is regarded as the patriot saint of modern India and an inspirer of her dormant national consciousness. His Philosophy and vision became the eye-opener for millions across the world. Vivekananda’s unique message still remains as “an unopened gift” to mankind and Vichar Bharati aims to enlighten its

members and well wishers with the message of this great visionary. Eminent speakers from the Indian community in Kuwait will deliver thoughts on various aspects of Vivekananda’s life. Suresh V Balakrishnan, HOD, English Department at Bharatheeya Vidhya Bhavan will deliver a speech on Swami Vivekananda and Manmaking. Sajeev K Peter, Business Editor, Kuwait Times will speak on the role of Swami Vivekananda in propagating Indian culture and heritage. Dr Srikumar T S, Scientific Consultant, Kuwait Foundation For The Advancement of Science, will deliver a speech on ‘Swami Vivekananda, the Patriot and the Voice of India.’ Krishno Sarkar (Planning Engineer, KNPC) will talk on ‘Swami Vivekananda - The Role model of the Youth’ while Satyanarayanan S, Electrical Supervisor, Al Julaih Petroleum Company, will speak on Spiritual Perceptiveness of Swami Vivekananda. For more details and information please contact vbkuwait@gmail.com

what’s on

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information.

The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of nnnnnnn

Birthday Greetings Happy birthday! Ebere Ezukam. May the good Lord guide you and crown all your efforts with success.

Amen. Greetings from brother Emmanuel Ezukam, Lilit, Daniel, Vanessa, friends and well-wishers.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 12:30 to 01:00 pm for lunch break. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca.

The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca. nnnnnnn

Kuwait St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church celebrate New Year & Xmas

K

uwait St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church celebrated New Year/Xmas Get-together and 8th anniversary of the St. Mary’s Sunday school on 6th January, at Indian Central School. The program started with the prayer song by Sunday school students and church choir. Vicar, Rev. Fr Biju Kavattu presided over the meeting. Jt. Secretary James George welcomed the gathering. Sunday School Headmaster Mathai Varghese presented Sunday school report. Parish members and Sunday school students performed variety of colorful programs and entertained the gathering. The updated website of the Parish (http:www.smjsc.org) has been launched by Rev. Fr. Biju Kavattu during the function. The program ended with Carol songs by the Parish Carol team. Church trustee P.P.George Puthussery conveyed vote of thanks.

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus requests Cypriot citizens living in Kuwait to register with the Embassy. This registration service is provided so that the Embassy can update its contact list and assist Cypriot citizens in cases of emergencies.

Registration information can be emailed to cyprusembassykwt@gmail.com or faxed to 22253227 or given by phone to 65906048 (Mrs Christine). nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GERMANY The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application.

Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com

HEALTH SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Marathoners face low risk of heart incidents NEW YORK: It’s dramatic news when a marathon runner collapses with no pulse. Now a big study finds such calamities are rare and usually due to a pre-existing heart problem.

The study also found such incidents are increasing as more runners try to go the distance. “You hear about this more and more,” said Dr. Aaron Baggish, senior author of the study Baggish, who runs a program for athletes with heart issues at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authors present their analysis in Thursday’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study covers 10.9 million runners who participated in marathons or half-marathons in the United States from 2000 to 2010.

By scouring media reports and checking with medical staff of races, the researchers identified 59 cases of cardiac arrest, where a runner became unconscious with no pulse during the race or within an hour of finishing.

Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops because of a heart attack, a rhythm problem or other disorder.

Forty-two of the runners died. The overall figures translate to 1 cardiac arrest per 184,000 participants and 1 death per 259,000 participants, the researchers said.

Those numbers are low compared to other athletic activities, as shown by prior studies of deaths in college ath-

letes, triathlon participants and previously healthy middle-aged joggers, researchers said.

Most of the cardiac arrests involved marathons rather than half-marathons, and 51 of the 59 cases happened in men. More cases showed up during 2005-2010 than in the preceding five-year span, but that’s just because more people are participating in the races, Baggish said.

More worrisome was the finding that among male marathoners, the rate of cardiac arrest per 100,000 runners was higher during the latter half of the decade than in the first half.

Baggish thinks that’s because of a shift in attitudes about who can run long distances. Even a decade ago, 26.2-mile marathons were considered appropriate only for very athletic people, he said. But more recently people have come to think of it as “something anyone can do,” and even as a healthy activity for lowering the risk of heart disease, he said. So it has attracted people with a family history of early heart disease or early deaths, and “these are just the people who are likely to get into trouble.”

In the 31 cardiac arrests for which researchers could find a cause, most were due to clogged, hardened arteries or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a sometimes inherited condition in which an unusually thick heart muscle

can interfere with the pumping rhythm. Most of the victims were unaware of their pre-existing conditions, Baggish said. Baggish said he would encourage aspiring and experienced runners to talk to their doctors about their heart risks for distance running.

Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, president of the American Heart Association, called the study “reassuring” for finding so few cardiac arrests. For most people, “running a marathon, if you are so inclined, is a reasonably safe proposition,” he said. Tomaselli, a heart specialist at Johns Hopkins University, also said runners should pay attention if they feel chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness or unusually short breath or rapid heartbeat while running. “You should listen to your body,” he said.

In the same issue of the journal, other doctors wrote a brief report about treating three runners who suffered heart attacks after finishing last year’s Boston Marathon.

None had cardiac arrest and all survived. “We don’t want to alarm people about marathon running. The benefits of exercise are well established” said one of that report’s authors, Dr. Navin Kapur of Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The report shows even seasoned marathon runners can have heart attacks, something paramedics should keep in mind if a runner shows suggestive signs, he said. — AP

J&J delayed reporting insulin pump problems

Widening quality issues mystify regulators

MIAMI: Minute Maid Orange juice made by the Coca-Cola Co is seen on a store shelf on Thursday in Miami. The company announced it had found an unapproved fungicide in their orange juice and its competitors, the beverage company which makes Simply Orange and Minute Maid, wouldn’t say which brands had shown the fungicide. — AFP

Study finds no better odds using 3 embryos in IVF LONDON: A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos. They also have a greater chance of risky multiple births. “Women who have gone through infertility treatment want the best chance of having a baby, but we need to explain that the data shows transferring more embryos doesn’t actually do that,” said Dr Scott Nelson, head of reproductive and maternal medicine at the University of Glasgow, who coauthored the study published in Thursday’s issue of Lancet.

In Western Europe, where some countries pay for in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, many authorities recommend a single embryo transfer for women under 37 and a maximum of two embryos for women 37 to 40. For women over 40, three is often the limit by law.

In the United States, there are relatively lax guidelines and a lack of regulation. That country has seen a rise in multiple births, including the highly publicized case of Nadya Suleman, labeled the “octomom.” She had octuplets in 2009 after her doctor transferred 12 embryos. She already had six children through IVF. Most fertility treatment in the US is paid for privately and can cost at least $10,000 per cycle, which experts believe encourages the use of more embryos in the belief it will improve odds.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends single embryo transfers for women under 35, but there is no enforcement of that. For women 35 to 37, they advise two to three embryos, and three to four embryos for women ages 38 to 40.—AP

TRENTON, New Jersey: The widening quality problems at health giant Johnson & Johnson have former regulators and analysts mystified, as yet another J&J business at least the seventh - has come under scrutiny.

The lapses are hard to reconcile with J&J’s image: It’s the company that decades ago set the textbook standard for protecting public safety with a nationwide recall of Tylenol bottles that an outsider had poisoned. And its executives still cite the corporate credo, prominently displayed at headquarters, stressing the company’s responsibility to the doctors, patients and parents who use its products.

This time it’s the unit that makes insulin pumps for diabetics, Animas Corp., that’s being investigated. The Food and Drug Administration has warned Animas that unless it corrects violations soon, it could face fines and other sanctions for selling faulty insulin pumps and delaying disclosures of serious injuries to patients using its OneTouch Ping and 2020 pumps.

The FDA ordered Animas to explain by Jan. 20 why it kept selling pumps known to fail and also to submit a plan to rectify its failure to promptly report cases where its device might have caused or contributed to death or serious injury. In a Dec. 27 warning letter posted online by the FDA Tuesday, the agency wrote to Animas and J&J CEO Bill Weldon that inspectors found Animas, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, never reported on one complaint about serious patient injury and delayed reporting on two others. Those patients were hospitalized with dangerously high blood sugar, respiratory failure and coma, and a lifethreatening complication called diabetic ketoacidosis caused by lack of insulin to break down blood sugar. The problems follow a string of nearly 30 product recalls announced by New Brunswick, New Jerseybased Johnson & Johnson since September

2009, with the latest just three weeks ago.

The recalls have included millions of bottles of Tylenol, Motrin and other nonprescription medicines for children and adults, prescription drugs for seizures and HIV, faulty hip implants and contact lenses that stung the eyes. Reasons ranged from contamination with metal shards and glass particles to nauseating odors and inaccurate levels of active drug ingredients.

“Any company can have one of these things pop up and smack them, and you can have a bad coincidence when two of them come and smack you three weeks apart. But it’s not bad luck when you have” this many, said Erik Gordon, a professor and analyst at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “The amazing thing is that Bill Weldon still has a job.”

Insulin pumps, which are about the size

of a cellphone, automatically inject small amounts of insulin through a tiny needle under the skin throughout the day to keep diabetics’ blood sugar at a safe level.

Patients program the device to inject additional insulin right before a meal or snack, according to the amount of carbohydrates about to be eaten.

Animas spokeswoman Caroline Pavis said in an interview that the company did not report the three patient incidents to FDA as required within 30 days because each involved patients not using the pumps according to directions. In one case, she said, the patient ignored an alarm signaling the cap had come off the insulin cartridge inside the device, preventing insulin from being pumped into the body. She said Animas will now report all patient complaints promptly.—AP

SECUNDERABAD: Indian school children form “Polio Free India” during their awareness campaign at the Saint Francis girls high school in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad yesterday. India marked a year since its last new case of polio yesterday, a major milestone in a country once considered the epicenter of the disease and one that gives hope the scourge can be eradicated worldwide. — AP

HEALTH SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS

ACCOMMODATION Fully furnished single room with separate bathroom available with small Muslim family in 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms C-A/C flat in Hawally, Tunis Street, near Sadique roundabout behind Commercial Bank. Contact: 97794619.

(C 3826) A two bed room central A/C flat with two bathrooms and large hall for rent. Most of the household furniture for sale including bedroom set with two cupboards, IKEA dressing table, Fridge, Two coffee tables, Dining table with 4 chairs, Two seater sofa, Kitchen cabinets etc.

Call 65053439 12-1-2012

FOR SALE Mitsubishi Gallant 1998 for sale. Passing till November 2012. Owner wants to leave Kuwait for good. Please call 66372366.

Mitsubishi Nativa 2008, 66564 km, black color, excellent condition, KD 3,560/-, negotiable.

Contact: 60306273. (C 3827) 14-1-2012 Toyota Corolla 2012 model, gray color, alloys wheel, sensor, mileage 5000km, under warranty 3 years, price KD 4,950/-. Contact: 55522942.

(C 3818) Mitsubishi Lancer 2004 GLX, Price KD 850/-, Mitsubishi Box 2006, Price KD 2,000/-.

Contact: 66052331. (C 3820)

SITUATION VACANT A gift wrapping and gift basket designer with basic knowledge on flower arrangement required for a high end gifts shop.

Applicants must send CV to giftwrapq@gmail.com 12-1-2012 A Kuwaiti family looks to hire a driver (full time).

Contact: 99774658.

(C 3823) Required house cook, Indian nationality - male, attractive salary. Contact: 99062666. (C 3822) 11-1-2012

MATRIMONIAL Proposal invited for Sunni Muslim Pakistani daughter age 25, tall, smart, Dr. Pharmacy, on job in Kuwait, from suitable matching data boy through parents. Contact email: ahmeedk555@gmail.com (C 3824) 11-1-2012

BABY SITTING Baby sitting available in Khaitan area, Kuwait. Contact: 66436924.

(C 3819) 10-1-2012

TUITION Mathematics teacher, Intermediate and secondary Exams models, Easy method, Exams from past years with solutions. 97301901 English teacher (3) years

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

experience, looking for a job and ready to start with all educational stages.

55963993 Mathematics teacher for Universities, Institutions, Foreign Schools, Administrative, American, English, Australian, Bahrain, Electric and Gulf Sciences, Algbra Prel, Mathematics, intermediate, gmat, sat college, math98, 110 pre calculus geometry. 97619261 Senior Biology teacher for secondary stage. Biology for University students and foreign schools, sciences of intermediate stage and 10th grade physics.

A Syrian Arabic language teacher. Masters in methods of teaching and follow up of 10th grade and 11th grade students. 97934291 A Syrian Arabic Language teacher. Masters, for secondary, intermediate, religious institution, universities, and establishment of the elementary stage using the Aleppo method “the alphabet then the word”.

50513599 Islamic education teacher for elementary and intermediate stages. Experienced in Kuwait curricula. Easy explanation, and summary of the subject, training for exams.

66292985 Syrian Arabic language teacher for elementary and intermediate stages.

Experienced in following learning difficulties, and those weak in reading and writing. 97264100 Female senior Mathematics teacher with more that 30 years experience in Kuwait, to teach secondary, interme-

diate and elementary stages.

Religious and applied, communications and navigation institutions, special courses and secretariat institution.

97926737 Computer teacher for secondary and intermediate.

Practical on laptop, power point projects, front page, visual basic data, universities and applied institutions.

50603063

FOR RENT A park in Wafra animal pens, very clean, over an area of 2500m, very large fenced yard in front (5) rooms, saloons, separate diwaniyas and swimming pool, fountain, children games tent. 94426116 For rent in Farwaniya, basement 700m, car parking.

66920123

No: 15328

Flat in Maidan Hawally, one room, living room, bathroom, super deluxe finished kitchen, outstanding location. Rent KD 195. Foreigners and expatriates only. Central satellite, CA/C and boiler. 66980123

For rent in Salmiya, an apartment 3 rooms + 2 baths + saloon + swimming pool + DSL + Gym + Security + children games + other features.

Rent start from KD 475.

Foreigners and expats only.

66297171

A floor in Dasman, 300m, outstanding location, on main street can be sued by lawyer, consultations, clinics, health club, saloon, workshop, training center. 66980123

For rent in Salmiya, an apartment 3 rooms + 3 baths + Saloon + Kitchen + Satellite.

Outstanding location.

Foreigners and expatriates only, no brokers. 66060299

information SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 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 KLM JZR ETH THY PIA UAE QTR OMA DHX MSR FDB ETD GFA THY DHX FCX JZR JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD FDB GFA JZR RKM IRM KAC MSR KAC MSR FDB MSR UAL GRF QTR KNE SVA RJA KAC KAC KAC JZR LMU QTR SVA KNE JZR ETD KAC UAE IRC CLX GFA SVA ABY JZR ALK

Arrival Flights on Saturday 14/1/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 447 AMSTERDAM/BAHRAIN 539 CAIRO 620 ADDIS ABABA 772 ISTANBUL 239 SIALKOT 853 DUBAI 138 DOHA 641 MUSCAT 370 BAHRAIN 612 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 211 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 201 DUBAI 503 LUXOR 555 ALEXANDRIA 416 JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 352 COCHIN 302 MUMBAI 362 COLOMBO 344 CHENNAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI 55 DUBAI 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 310 RAS ALKHAIMAH 5066 MASHAD 382 DELHI 610 CAIRO 672 DUBAI 621 ASSIUT 57 DUBAI 606 LUXOR 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 93 KANDAHAR/DUBAI 140 DOHA 745 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 562 AMMAN 786 JEDDAH 284 DHAKA 257 BEIRUT 611 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 2626 JEDDAH 839 JEDDAH/MEDINAH 535 CAIRO 303 ABU DHABI 118 NEW YORK 857 DUBAI 6791 MASHAD 792 LUXEMBOURG 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 127 SHARJAH 777 JEDDAH 227 COLOMBO/DUBAI

Time 0:20 0:30 0:50 1:45 2:15 2:20 2:35 2:40 2:50 2:55 3:00 3:05 3:10 3:15 4:50 5:15 5:30 5:55 6:00 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:05 9:15 9:20 9:55 11:20 11:45 12:40 12:45 12:55 13:20 13:30 13:50 13:55 14:05 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:40 14:45 14:50 15:00 15:00 15:10 15:25 16:05 16:15 16:25 16:50 16:55 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:45 18:00

KAC JZR FDB KAC QTR JZR KAC KAC IRA KAC KAC KAC KAC SYR JAI OMA AIC MSR KAC DHX KNE MEA GFA QTR UAE JZR KAC KLM KAC FDB JZR UAL AXB BBC DLH Airlines PIA UAL AIC DLH KLM KAC ETH THY KAC PIA FDB UAE DHX OMA ETD MSR QTR THY JZR GFA FDB BAW JZR KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY ETD KAC FDB

550 SOHAG/SHARM EL SHEIKH 177 DUBAI 63 DUBAI 542 CAIRO 6130 DOHA 125 BAHRAIN 178 GENEVA/FRANKFURT 618 DOHA 607 MASHAD 674 DUBAI 104 LONDON 774 RIYADH 790 MEDINAH 341 DAMASCUS 572 MUMBAI 647 MUSCAT 975 CHENNAI/GOA 618 ALEXANDRIA 788 JEDDAH 372 BAHRAIN 789 JEDDAH 402 BEIRUT 217 BAHRAIN 136 DOHA 859 DUBAI 135 BAHRAIN 502 BEIRUT 445 AMSTERDAM 614 BAHRAIN 61 DUBAI 239 AMMAN 981 BAHRAIN 393 KOZHIKODE/COCHIN 43 DHAKA 636 FRANKFURT Departure Flights on Saturday 14/1/2012 Flt Route 216 KARACHI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 976 GOA/CHENNAI 637 FRANKFURT 447 AMSTERDAM 283 DHAKA 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 381 DELHI 240 SIALKOT/ISLAMABAD 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 642 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 256 BEIRUT 671 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 785 JEDDAH 101 LONDON/NEW YORK 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 302 ABU DHABI 549 SOHAG/SHARM EL SHEIKH 56 DUBAI

18:00 18:15 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:10 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:20 21:25 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:05 22:15 22:45 23:00 23:40 23:45 23:50 Time 0:30 0:45 0:50 1:20 1:45 2:40 2:45 3:15 3:30 3:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 3:55 4:00 4:00 4:55 5:50 6:55 7:00 8:25 8:40 9:00 9:00 9:15 9:20 9:25 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:00 10:05

QTR GFA JZR KAC KAC JZR RKM JZR MSR IRM MSR FDB MSR KAC KNE UAL KAC RJA KAC JZR KAC LMU SVA KAC KAC QTR KNE SVA JZR ETD JZR QTR GRF UAE IRC GFA ABY SVA CLX JZR KAC JZR ALK FDB JZR IRA QTR SYR DHX KAC KAC JAI OMA MSR KNE KAC DHX MEA GFA FCX QTR KAC JZR UAE KAC KLM FDB JZR KAC

133 214 356 165 541 776 311 176 611 5065 622 58 607 673 746 982 789 641 617 124 787 612 505 501 773 141 840 9426 238 304 538 135 82 858 6792 216 128 511 792 266 613 134 228 64 184 616 6131 342 171 331 351 571 648 619 790 543 373 403 218 102 137 301 554 860 205 445 62 528 411

DOHA BAHRAIN MASHAD ROME/PARIS CAIRO JEDDAH RAS ALKHAIMAH DUBAI CAIRO MASHAD ASSIUT DUBAI LUXOR DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN MEDINAH AMMAN DOHA BAHRAIN JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BEIRUT RIYADH DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH AMMAN ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA BAGHDAD DUBAI MASHAD BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH HONG KONG BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI/COLOMBO DUBAI DUBAI AHWAZ DOHA DAMASCUS BAHRAIN TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUMBAI MUSCAT ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH CAIRO BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI ISLAMABAD BAHRAIN/AMSTERDAM DUBAI ASSIUT BANGKOK/MANILA

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

10:10 10:40 10:50 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:50 13:50 13:55 14:15 14:30 14:35 14:55 15:05 15:10 15:20 15:30 15:35 15:50 15:50 15:55 15:55 16:00 16:15 16:25 16:30 17:05 17:05 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:00 18:10 18:10 18:15 18:25 18:35 18:45 18:45 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:55 20:20 20:30 21:00 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:35 23:55

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Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

ACROSS 1. Fleshy folds of tissue as those surrounding the mouth.

4. A member of the Iroquoian people formerly living east of Lake Ontario.

10. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

13. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

14. A resident of Kansas.

15. Support resembling the rib of an animal.

16. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

18. A state in midwestern United States.

19. Affect with wonder.

21. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

23. East Indian silk cotton tree yielding fibers inferior to kapok.

24. North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

26. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

28. The quarter of many North African cities in which the citadel is located.

31. An association of people to promote the welfare of senior citizens.

35. A rapid bustling commotion.

36. A public promotion of some product or service.

37. Large family of important mostly marine food fishes.

39. An award for winning a championship or commemorating some other event.

42. Small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals.

43. A metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed-stressed syllables.

45. 10 grams.

46. A ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element.

49. Australian shrubs and small trees with evergreen usually spiny leaves and dense clusters of showy flowers.

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

58. An island of central Hawaii.

61. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

62. Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes.

63. Exactly vertical.

64. Bound or secured closely.

65. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood.

66. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

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

DOWN 1. A Bantu language spoken in southern Zaire.

2. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a mosque.

3. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

4. A Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds.

5. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group.

6. A town in north central Oklahoma.

7. (Old Testament) The second patriarch.

8. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

9. Squash bugs.

10. The biblical name for ancient Syria.

11. An ancient Egyptian city on the west bank of the Nile opposite Cairo.

12. Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829).

17. European freshwater game fish with a thick spindle-shaped body.

20. Some point in the air.

22. King of Saudi Arabia since 1982 (born in 1922).

25. A river that rises in central Germany and flows north to join the Elbe River.

27. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

29. Chief port of Yemen.

30. A sodium salt of carbonic acid.

32. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

33. Type genus of the Ranidae.

34. Small beads made from polished shells and formerly used as money by native Americans.

38. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

40. A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church.

41. A unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at one atmosphere pressure.

44. A white trivalent metallic element.

47. Tropical American trees with palmately compound leaves and showy bell-shaped flowers.

48. A blanket that is used as a cloak or shawl.

49. Before noon.

50. In bed.

51. A hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head.

52. A large mountain system in south-central Europe.

53. Fallow deer.

54. A roughly cylindrical that is vessel open at the top.

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

56. An informal term for a father.

59. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

60. A woman religious.

Yesterday始s Solution

sports

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Fish hooks Kooyong final spot MELBOURNE: Mardy Fish kept his focus after a rain interruption yesterday to complete a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over Austria’s Jurgen Melzer, propelling the American into the final of the Kooyong Classic. The 30-year-old Fish, ranked eighth in the world, will face promising Australian teen Bernard Tomic in today’s final of the elite eight-man tune-up for the Australian Open which starts on Monday.

Conditions at the Kooyong club were challenging for a third straight day, with light rain stopping play in the second set with Fish up a break and 2-2, 15-all in the second. After a 45-minute interruption, Melzer returned to court the stronger of the pair, leveling the match after breaking Fish to love for 5-4. But the third set swung back to Fish, with the American re-establishing dominance to book a spot in the final after less than 90 minutes of play. “I played well, with maybe one bad game,” said Fish. “You have to get used to rain delays again and it’s been a while since I dealt with one, I could

have shown some more energy when we came back out,” he added. Today he will attempt to follow in the footsteps of his friend Andy Roddick, who won the Open warm-up tournament three times. Fish is hoping to build on the breakthrough he made last year when he moved into the ATP Top 10 after losing weight and rebuilding his game following knee surgery in 2009.

The American said playing a competitive match made all the difference in preparation for the Open. “No matter how many practise matches you play at Melbourne Park, you can’t duplicate this: a crowd, television, the pressure. This is great preparation for the Open,” he said. Fish has a 2-1 record against the 19-year-old Tomic, who is ranked 37th and lost their last meeting in the October Shanghai second round. “He has a great feel for the game, he’s got all the shots and he’s awkward to play. He’ll only get more confident and tougher to play.” said Fish. “He’s light-years ahead of where I was at 19 so I can’t compare myself to him.”—AFP

Azarenka ends Li winning run SYDNEY: Victoria Azarenka ended Li Na’s unbeaten two-year run at the Sydney International with a fighting three-set victory in the final yesterday. The Belarusian third seed claimed her ninth career WTA title with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the fourth seeded Chinese star in one hour 56 minutes at Ken Rosewall Arena. French Open champion Li was on a nine-match winning run in Sydney after beating Kim Clijsters in last year’s final, but was edged out

by Azarenka, who ranks third in the world behind Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova. It capped a big week for 22-year-old Azarenka with victories over Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli, Agnieszka Radwanska and Li ahead of Monday’s Australian Open in Melbourne.

“It brings a lot of confidence,” Azarenka said.

“But it’s going to be a new week, a new tournament, so for me it’s going to be starting from zero.

“I’m glad the way I played here through those battles that I went through, so I really tested myself before a big event. “I’m just going to try to keep going the same way with the same attitude, the same way I’m playing.” Despite her victory Azarenka will remain at number three in the world, while Li is expected to drop one place to sixth behind Australian Samantha Stosur when the next rankings

are released on Monday. Azarenka is among six players with a chance of reaching the top spot depending on results at the year’s opening grand slam tournament in Melbourne.

In three trips to Australia Li has compiled a 21-4 record, highlighted by a semi-final appearance at the 2010 Australian Open, her runner-up finish to Clijsters at last year’s Open, her Sydney win last year and the run to this week’s final. Li, who beat Kvitova in Thursday’s Sydney semis, heads to Melbourne in form after a dip in the second half of last year following her landmark French Open success, which saw her become the first Asian to win a grand slam title. Li, who only won seven matches in the second half of 2011, said she was back in the form she had enjoyed prior to Wimbledon, where she bowed out to Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the second round.

“Now I am feeling I have more confidence. Now why should I worry? Nothing to worry,” Li said. “I think now it’s much, much better than last half year.

Still step by step, yeah.” Azarenka broke Li’s service three times to storm through the opening set of the final in 34 minutes, but encountered greater resistance in the second set when Li called her coach/husband Jiang Shan to the court and her play tightened up significantly. —AFP

MELBOURNE: Marty Fish of the US serves during his match against Jurgen Melzer of Austria at the Kooyong Classic tennis tournament yesterday. —AFP

Stubs: Top players will regret Kooyong snub MELBOURNE: The titans of men’s tennis no longer slug it out at the invitational Kooyong Classic to warm up for the Australian Open, but tournament director Colin Stubs remains defiant they will realize the error of their ways and come back. The tournament’s venue, the 120-year-old Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs, remains a charming relic of a bygone era when white-clad players toting heavy wooden rackets entertained crowds jammed onto the terraces. Spectators to the modern-day Classic still sit on stiff wooden seats around the rustic main stadium, which was centre court for the Australian Open until it was moved to the then brash, new site at Melbourne Park in 1988. Corporate types sip champagnes under the cover of austere metal sheds, sheltered but open to the elements. The tennis remains high quality with three top-10 play-

ers in the eight-man field this year, but a far cry from the days when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer prowled the baselines. Federer took his last bow at the tournament in 2009 as the global financial crisis began to bite Australia’s resources-reliant economy. Mother Nature has added to the boutique tournament’s struggles by raining on its parade in recent years. “The weather didn’t sit too well on Wednesday,” Stubs said ruefully after gale-force winds and showers nearly washed out the matches and kept spectators away. “Our walk-ups (tickets) were negligible because of Mother Nature... Of course it hurts us, the gate’s a big part of the income.”

Last year’s tournament was also plagued by heavy downpours, while corporate sales have yet to recover to their pre-global financial crisis levels.

The naming rights sponsor’s contract and a broad-

casting deal with a local network expire next year.

But the tournament, like its plainspoken 70-yearold director, has ridden out tough times throughout its 24-year history. The 1993 event had to be moved away from Kooyong after torrential downpours washed out the courts, while the 2005 edition, won by Federer, was held without a naming rights sponsor.

LED ZEPPELIN While there is no question of raising the money to upgrade the stadium that hosted rock acts the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the 1970s, Stubs has attempted to breathe new life into the sleepy event with more aggressive promotions. He had the players promote the tournament at a busy public square in Melbourne to give it a kick along earlier in the week, while British world number four

Andy Murray came back for a second year in a row to play an exhibition match yesterday. The players, who receive appearance fees, remain the tournament’s life-blood, but their flow to Kooyong has been squeezed by the rise of cash-rich tournaments springing up in the Persian Gulf states.

Players can head to an exhibition in Abu Dhabi before the ATP tour’s Qatar Open and arrive in Australia after a long-haul flight too exhausted or uninterested to play in another warm-up before the year’s first grand slam. “We’re not in the race competing with the Middle East tournaments.

They’ve got bottomless pockets,” Stubs said.

“We’ve got to come up with a strategy. “Money’s not going to win it, whatever we’ll do, they’ll just top it.” Stubs hints cagily at plans to keep the tournament afloat for the long haul but volunteers no details. —Reuters

SPORTS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Sharks blank Jets 2-0 Senators stop surging Rangers NEW YORK: Craig Anderson made 34 saves for his first shutout of the season and Jason Spezza scored twice as the Ottawa Senators beat the surging New York Rangers 3-0 on Thursday. Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, who have won five straight at Madison Square Garden and seven of eight there. New York, which entered with the most points in the NHL, had won five straight and 10 of 11. Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves for the Rangers, who had their fourth winning streak of at least five games stopped.

BRUINS 2, CANADIENS 1 At Boston, Jordan Caron and Milan Lucic scored, and Tim Thomas stopped 33 shots to lead Boston over Montreal. Carey Price made 28 saves for Montreal, which lost to Boston for the third straight time and fell to 3-8 since Randy Cunneyworth took over as coach. Yannick Weber scored for the Canadiens. Montreal won the first two matchups against the defending Stanley Cup champions, winning home-and-home games at the end of October. But since then the Bruins have won 25 of 30 games.

FLYERS 3, ISLANDERS 2 At Uniondale, New York, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 33 shots as Philadelphia beat the New York Islanders for the 26th time in 28 games. Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers (26-12-4), who moved within two points of the Atlantic Division-leading New York Rangers. Kyle Okposo and John Tavares scored for the Islanders.

RED WINGS 3, COYOTES 2, SO At Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout as Detroit beat Phoenix for its 13th straight home win. Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen scored in regulation for the Red Wings, who moved within one home win of matching the team’s best streak. Jimmy Howard stopped 25 shots to earn his 100th career NHL win. Radim Vrbata, Taylor Pyatt scored regulation goals for Phoenix, and Vrbata added one in the shootout.

Mike Smith made 40 saves.

HURRICANES 5, LIGHTNING 2 At Tampa, Florida, Jiri Tlusty had two goals and an assist, and Tuomo Ruutu added a goal and two assists as Carolina defeated Tampa Bay. Tlusty scored twice during Carolina’s four-goal first, helping the Hurricanes take a 4-1 lead. Jay Harrison and Tim Brent also scored for the Hurricanes, who had lost four of five. Tampa Bay got goals from Nate Thompson and Teddy Purcell, but the Lightning dropped their fifth straight (0-4-1).

CANUCKS 3, BLUES 2, OT At St Louis, Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal 46 seconds into overtime to give Vancouver a victory over St Louis in a matchup for first place in the Western Conference. Alexandre Burrows had two goals and drew the decisive penalty for the Canucks. Jason Arnott scored both goals for the Blues, who lead the Central Division by a point despite the end of a four-game winning streak.

PREDATORS 3, AVALANCHE 2, OT At Nashville, Tennessee, David Legwand scored his second goal of the game at 4:26 of overtime as Nashville rallied from a two-goal, first-period deficit to beat Colorado. Legwand scored the winner on a rebound of his own shot. The Predators have won seven straight over Colorado and nine of 10 overall in the series, dating to Feb 4, 2010. Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist, and Gabriel Landeskog added a goal for Colorado.

BLACKHAWKS 5, WILD 2 At Chicago, Dave Bolland had two goals, and rookie Jimmy Hayes and Viktor Stalberg scored 23 seconds apart in a three-goal second period as Chicago beat Minnesota. Devin Setoguchi had the game’s first goal for Minnesota, and Kyle Brodziak added a rebound tally in the third period for the Wild.

SHARKS 2, JETS 0 At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Logan Couture and Brad Winchester scored, and Antti Niemi made 24

BOSTON: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Raphael Diaz (61) upends Boston Bruins left wing Benoit Pouliot (67) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Boston on Thursday Jan 12, 2012. — AP saves for his second shutout of the season in San Jose’s victory over Winnipeg. Couture scored at 13:36 of the second period, and Winchester made it 2-0 early in the third for the Sharks, who have won five of six. Couture scored for the second straight game. Ondrej Pavelec faced 37 shots in his 36th start of the season, but the Jets lost for the fourth time in five games.

STARS 5, KINGS 4, SO At Los Angeles, Loui Eriksson scored twice and then netted the deciding goal in a shootout to help Dallas rally for a victory over Los Angeles. Eriksson

tied the game 4-4 on a power-play goal at 14:35 of the third period. He tried to center the puck in front of the net, and the Kings’ Willie Mitchell inadvertently knocked it in when he tried to clear it.

Eriksson, the Stars’ second shooter, pushed the puck over the goal line as goalie Jonathan Quick fell over. Trevor Lewis then failed to connect for the Kings. Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves to earn his 150th NHL victory. Quick stopped 34 shots for the Kings. Jack Johnson and Dustin Brown scored consecutive power-play goals to give the Kings a 4 3 lead in the third period.— AP

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Thursday.

Boston 2, Montreal 1;Philadelphia 3, NY Islanders 2; Ottawa 3, NY Rangers 0; Carolina 5, Tampa Bay 2; Detroit 3, Phoenix 2 (SO); Vancouver 3, St Louis 2 (OT); Nashville 3, Colorado 2 (OT); San Jose 2, Winnipeg 0; Chicago 5, Minnesota 2; Calgary 1, Anaheim 0 (OT); Dallas 5, Los Angeles 4 (SO). (SO denotes shootout, OT denotes overtime) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF NY Rangers 27 10 4 118 Philadelphia 26 12 4 142 New Jersey 24 17 2 119 Pittsburgh 21 17 4 124 NY Islanders 15 20 6 98 Northeast Division Boston 28 11 1 148 Ottawa 24 15 6 143 Toronto 22 15 5 135 Buffalo 18 19 5 107 Montreal 16 20 7 110 Southeast Division Florida 21 13 8 109 Washington 22 17 2 119 Winnipeg 20 18 5 112 Tampa Bay 17 21 4 115 Carolina 15 23 7 118

GA PTS 86 58 124 56 124 50 112 46 129 36 77 144 131 123 119

57 54 49 41 39

116 120 126 146 150

50 46 45 38 37

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 26 13 5 144 127 57 St Louis 25 12 6 112 92 56 Detroit 27 15 1 138 101 55 Nashville 24 15 4 118 117 52 Columbus 11 26 5 101 142 27 Northwest Division Vancouver 28 14 3 147 110 59 Minnesota 22 16 6 103 110 50 Colorado 23 20 2 117 127 48 Calgary 21 19 5 110 127 47 Edmonton 16 22 4 112 121 36 Pacific Division San Jose 24 11 5 118 94 53 Los Angeles 21 15 8 97 100 50 Dallas 24 17 1 119 123 49 Phoenix 20 17 7 111 114 47 Anaheim 13 22 7 104 136 33 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

Tebow magic takes on Brady brilliance NEW YORK: The Denver Broncos will try to bring a little Mile High magic to Foxboro when they take on the New England Patriots in a fascinating National Football League (NFL) divisional showdown today featuring two of the game’s most intriguing figures. The Patriots and Broncos will clash for the second time in four weeks but this time much more will be at stake with the winner advancing to the AFC championship game and one step from the Super Bowl.

The 13-3 Patriots and their highoctane offence led by Tom Brady were always expected to be in the Super Bowl frame unlike the 8-8 Broncos, who arrive in the divisional contest thanks to some edge-of-your-seat drama provided by Denver quarterback Tim Tebow, who has mastered the art of the late game comeback. With three Super Bowl rings, two Super Bowl most valuable player awards and one supermodel wife, Brady has been the player fans have gravitated to much of the past decade but this Saturday the seven-times Pro Bowler will concede the limelight to Tebow, the gridiron miracle worker.

Tebow hysteria reached new levels on Sunday when the unorthodox quarterback, whose shortcomings as a passer have been well documented, tossed a touchdown strike to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime to stun the favored Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 at Mile High Stadium. Tebow-time has also become TV-time, the contest producing the highest television ratings for a wildcard game in 18-years with 42.4 million viewers tuning to watch Tebow work his magic. While most of the attention will be on the two quarterbacks the outcome of the contest is likely to hinge on defense.

Thrashed 41-23 by the Patriots in Week 15 the Broncos defense is well aware of the task that awaits them.

Containing Brady, one of only four quarterbacks to throw for 5,000 yards or more in a single season, and his Pro Bowl cast of receivers in Wes Welker and tight end Rob Gronkowski will be job one for the Broncos. While Denver’s surge into the playoffs gave birth to Tebow-Mania, the Broncos mid-season turnaround had as much to do with a healthy defense that limited opponents to 15 or fewer points five times during a 7-1 run. “As a pro athlete, you kind of live for these moments,” Broncos 11-times Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey told reporters. “This is why you play, to be on the big stage and to get out there and show what we can do as a team.

“I expect us to play better, make it a little more difficult for them, but it’s Tom Brady. “He’s good for a reason. He’s won a lot of games-won a lot of big games, Super Bowls, so we expect their best shot.” The pressure will also be on a leaky New England defense ranked second last in the league in total yards (411.1) and passing yards (293.9) allowed. “They’re a really solid team that has performed well in every area,” praised Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “Defensively, they’re fast. They have an excellent pass rush with (Von) Miller and (Elvis) Dumervil outside.

“They’re athletic inside, their linebackers blitz well. They cover well, they’re good in the secondary.”— Reuters

SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Classic NFL playoff matchup: Saints vs 49ers NEW YORK: As NFL matchups go, this one is a classic: Unstoppable offense against impenetrable defense. The second round of the playoffs begin today in San Francisco, where one of the league’s top defenses - the 49ers yielded 229 points and ranked fourth overall in yards allowed, first against the run - takes on Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints’ record-setting attack. If defense wins championships, as has been the theory in American football for decades, the edge clearly belongs to the 49ers.

Then again, the NFL hasn’t seen an offense as prolific as the Saints.

“They’ve been very consistent all year,” Saints coach Sean Payton said of the NFC West division champion 49ers. “The formula has been outstanding defense. ... They’re the No 1 team in taking the football away and they’re the No 1 team in protecting the football offensively. Those are significant numbers.” Their offense has been so efficient that San Francisco gave away the ball only 10 times, tying the 2010 New England Patriots for fewest in NFL history.

The Saints tore through the NFL, setting league marks for total yards on offense (7,474) and yards passing (5,347, including sacks), with Brees shattering Dan Marino’s 27-year-old record of 5,084 yards passing by throwing for 5,476. He had 468 completions, breaking Peyton Manning’s 2010 mark of 450, and completed 71.6 percent of his passes, breaking his own 2009 record of a 70.6 completion percentage.

Darren Sproles had an NFL-record 2,696 combined yards, easily breaking the previous mark of 2,690 set by Derrick Mason with Tennessee in 2000. “We always go into every game with an aggressive mentality,” Brees said. “We’re going to throw the kitchen sink at everybody with our tempo, personnel groups, formations, running the ball, outside, drop-back pass, bootlegs, heavy play-action, everything.” Also looking to move today are the AFC East champion Patriots, who host the AFC West winners, the Denver Broncos. Tomorrow, AFC South winners the Houston Texans are at AFC North champs the

Walker, Abu Dhabi bounce back in style ABU DHABI: Ian Walker guided Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to a much-needed in-port victory in the Volvo Ocean Race yesterday to delight home fans and his oil-rich national backers who are funding the big-money campaign. The Briton is spearheading the Gulf region’s first venture into yachting’s premier off-shore event, but a disastrous dismasting on day one of the first leg start in Spain and then a disappointing fifth in the second leg sailing into his home port from Cape Town heaped pressure on the crew.

However, Walker insisted on Thursday in a pre-race news conference that he and his team were still full of confidence and they proved it less than 24 hours later with a bold early-race maneuver that outflanked closest rivals Groupama of France. After that Abu Dhabi never looked back and they won with just under a minute to spare from Groupama with Camper (Spain/New Zealand) in third. Walker and his crew celebrated with date champagne - the alcoholic version is not allowed to be consumed in public places - after tossing their Emirati crew member Adil Khalid into the Indian Ocean near the shore in celebration.

“I don’t know what to say. What an amazing day! This is what sport is all about. One day you are down and you can’t get out of your own way and the next you arrive here as a winner,” the delighted skipper said. His regal cruise to victory was witnessed at close quarters by Britain’s Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II, who is a keen sailor and was on board as a special, nonparticipating spectator. “We’re involved in a nine-month odyssey round the world but today is the most important day for Abu Dhabi,” Walker continued. “We have never seen this many boats out on the water to watch racing, and there are lots of people out who are new to sailing,” he told reporters.

“Right now all they are seeing is their country flag being waved. It’s a real thrill for that to happen. People will ask whether this win will restore our confidence but we never lost confidence.” The win boosts Abu Dhabi’s challenge by six points and is their second in-port victory having triumphed in Alicante where the race started in November. Overall race leaders Telefonica, victors of the first two legs, finished a disappointing last of five competing boats but still lead overall on 68 points, six clear of Camper. The third leg of the 39,000-plus nautical mile, nine-month marathon begins on Saturday and will finish in around three weeks in Sanya, China. — AFP

Baltimore Ravens, then the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers host the NFC East champs the New York Giants.

New England has lost its last three postseason games: the 2008 Super Bowl to the Giants, then home matchups with Baltimore and the New York Jets the last two Januarys. Now comes the Tim Tebow phenomenon, and it’s become difficult to doubt Denver with the way it has responded to tough times. After blowing a 14point lead and being forced to overtime by Pittsburgh, the Broncos needed all of one play - a dynamic 80-yard catch-and run by Demaryius Thomas to beat the far more experienced Steelers.

The challenge is just as formidable in Foxborough. “You’re definitely at a high, you’re feeling great, a lot of momentum, and that’s good,” Tebow said. “But you really have to use that as fuel for next week and trying to continually improve on that. I think you can’t necessarily relish on it too much because the next day we have to get ready for a big game and the

Patriots.” Baltimore is getting ready for its first playoff home game under coach John Harbaugh, brother of 49ers coach Jim. The Ravens have made the playoffs in all four seasons under Harbaugh, but as wild cards.

They won their eight home games in 2011, including beating the Texans 29-14 in October. “We did what we had to do to get that first-week bye,” defensive end Cory Redding said.

“Guys are fighting on the field with big gashes down their legs and almost bruised ribs, messed up knees and toes and ankles and hands, and yet we still fought our way.

That was the biggest thing. We got control in the AFC North accomplished.” Like the Texans, the Giants are trying to accomplish a difficult feat: Winning at Lambeau Field, where the Packers were 8-0 this season, and defeating a team that beat them in early December in New York.

The Giants are banking on a revived defense, especially the pass rush, and an invigorated running game which crushed Atlanta 24-2 last weekend. — AP

Magic beat Warriors Grizzlies overcome Knicks to end losing streak

OAKLAND: Dwight Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain’s nearly 50-year-old NBA record for the most free throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39 in the Orlando Magic’s 117-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Warriors hacked Howard intentionally throughout, sending the notoriously poor shooter to the line in record-setting fashion.

Chamberlain shot 34 for the Philadelphia Warriors against St. Louis on Feb. 22, 1962. Howard finished with 45 points and 23 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to propel the Magic to their third straight victory. Monta Ellis had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and David Lee added 26 points and 12 rebounds for the short-handed Warriors, playing without starters Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright. Howard had never shot more than 24 free throws in a game - which he had four times previously - and fouled so early. Certainly, nothing compared to the Warriors’ ways.

CAVALIERS 101, SUNS 90 At Phoenix, rookie star Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 26 points and Antawn Jamison matched his season high with 23, helping Cleveland beat Phoenix. Irving, who played only 11 games at Duke before being drafted first overall, topped his previous high of 21. Anderson Varejeo contributed 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Steve Nash led six Suns players in double figures with 16 points, becoming the 15th active player to reach 16,000 points. He also had 15 assists. Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix. Michael Redd, playing his first game for Phoenix, had 12 points in 19 minutes.

GRIZZLIES 94, KNICKS 83 At Memphis, Tennessee, Rudy Gay scored a season-high 26 points as Memphis beat New York to end the Knicks’ winning streak at four games. The Knicks played most of the second half without scoring leader Carmelo Anthony after he sprained his right ankle early in the third period. He didn’t return and Xrays were negative. Gay made 11 of 16 shots to help the Grizzlies snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 4-6.

OJ Mayo scored 18 points, also a season high, on 7-of-12 shooting and had eight rebounds. Tony Allen added 12 points, and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Anthony and Bill Walker each scored 14 points to lead the Knicks (6-5). Rookie guard Iman Shumpert had 12 points, but was 5 of 20 from the field.

HAWKS 111, BOBCATS 81 At Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 30 points and Joe Johnson added 23 as Atlanta won its first game without All-Star center Al Horford, routing Charlotte to improve to 8-4. The Hawks

MEMPHIS: Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay (center) shoots over New York Knicks defenders Landry Fields (left) and Josh Harrellson (55) in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, Jan 12, 2012. — AP learned earlier in the day that Horford, a leader on and off the court, will miss at least three months after tearing the pectoral muscle in his left shoulder Wednesday night at Indiana. Byron Mullens led the Bobcats with 21 points in his first career start.

BUCKS 102, PISTONS 93 At Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and Stephen Jackson added 25 as Milwaukee beat Detroit. The Bucks improved to 4-0 at home and 4-6 overall, while the Pistons dropped to 2-9 with their sixth straight loss and fifth in a row on the road. Detroit last lost six straight from March 13-April 3, 2010.

Rookie Jon Leuer, making his first start for the Bucks, added 15 points and six rebounds. Greg Monroe led the Pistons with a career-high 32 points and had 16 rebounds. — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Warner inflicts ton of pain on India

Australia humiliate India on 1st day of 3rd test

HONOLULU: Graham DeLaet, of Canada, lines up his putt on the 13th green during the first round of the Sony Open golf tournament in Honolulu. — AP

DeLaet sets Waialae pace with seven-under-par 63 HAWAII: A year after back surgery almost entirely wiped out his 2011 campaign, pain-free Canadian Graham DeLaet made a near-perfect start to his 2012 season in Thursday’s opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. The 29-yearold from Saskatchewan took advantage of surprisingly benign conditions at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, firing a seven-under-par 63 to surge into a two-shot lead.

DeLaet, who competed in only four events last year, recorded six birdies, a chip-in for eagle and a lone bogey to set a sizzling pace in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of the season. “I’m just so excited to be back out,” a smiling DeLaet told reporters. “Just being in Hawaii, period, is a great way to start the year and to come out and fire a nice round in the opening round was great.” South Korean KJ Choi, the 2008 Sony Open champion who has always enjoyed playing at Waialae, carded a 65 to finish level with Swede Carl Pettersson and American Kyle Reifers.

American world number five Steve Stricker, who clinched the PGA Tour’s season-opening Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Monday, also made a strong start with a 66. Asked to assess his all-round fitness, DeLaet replied: “I’m feeling great. I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent, but better than three years ago, even before the real bad injury. “There was times (after the surgery) when I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play (again). I was in a pretty bad place mentally and physically, but it’s just nice to be back. “I had a good season my rookie campaign (in 2010), and then it was all basically just taken away. And I realize now how fortunate we are to be playing golf for a living. My whole attitude is definitely better.”

DeLaet had surgery on his lower back on Jan. 3 last year and returned to competition in June before lingering pain forced him to abort his season after playing just two events apiece on the PGA Tour and its feeder Nationwide Tour. He is competing on the 2012 PGA Tour in the major medical extension category and has 26 events to earn a total of $657,694 to secure his card for 2013. “I really think that if I can just go out and play my game here for the next five or six months, I can make it happen,” said DeLaet, a three-times winner on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour. Stricker, mentally and physically fatigued after his impressive victory on the hilly terrain at the Kapalua Resort, was delighted with his first-round 66. “It’s just a quick turnaround from last week and it’s a difficult course that we walked last week,” the 44-year-old said. — Reuters

PERTH: David Warner smashed the fastest test century by an opening batsman as Australia humbled India on the first day of the third test yesterday, dismissing the tourists for 161 before racing to within 12 runs of that tally. Warner’s 69-ball century was the joint fourthfastest ever in tests and, despite a knock on the head from a Umesh Yadav bouncer, he finished the day on 104 not out with Ed Cowan unbeaten on 40 and the hosts sitting pretty on 149 without loss. The 25-year-old lefthander, playing his fifth test, lit up the afternoon as he put the Indian bowlers to the sword and was cheered to rafters when brought up the hundred with a huge six, one of three in an innings which also included 13 fours.

“We had to capitalize on what the bowlers did,” said Warner. “I’ve always said if the ball’s in my zone, I’m going to go after it and that’s what I did. “Here at the WACA, you’re going to get value for your shots. I just backed my game, backed my instincts and I’m a hundred not out.” After Captain Michael Clarke had won the toss and sent India in to bat on a lively green wicket, Australia barely put a foot wrong throughout a hot and humid day at the WACA. Pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc, who was preferred to spinner Nathan Lyon, set the tone for a dominant day when they shared the 10 Indian wickets between them.

Already 2-0 down in the four-match series after heavy defeats in Melbourne and Sydney, India needed a much better showing to get themselves back into the series and their vaunted batsmen will again rue some poor shots. “In my mind, I think they’re bowled over already,” a confident Warner added. “Time will tell if we win 4-0 or if we win 3-0. Hopefully we can capitalize on the start we’ve got and get this test out of the way.” Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were all removed at the cost of 73 runs by lunch before Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman launched something of a fightback by putting on 67 for the fifth wicket.

Siddle (3-42) removed them both - Kohli for 44, Laxman for 31 - in a key spell before tea and the last four wickets tumbled for 17 runs in a little more than five overs after the second break. “The wicket got easier to bat on as the day went by,” said Kohli. “We needed to execute our shots better after that big partnership.

These kind of things happen but unfortunately it has happened a lot to us recently.” Hilfenhaus (4-43) had struck as early as the fourth over of the morning to despatch Sehwag for a duck and later returned to end the stubborn resistance of the other Indian opener, Gambhir, for 31.

DRAVID BOWLED Gambhir’s departure was the second of two wickets just before lunch after Harris had trapped Tendulkar lbw for 15 to end the batting maestro’s 22nd attempt to secure his century of centuries. The morning session was punctuated with loud lbw appeals but Dravid continued his recent trend of being bowled out, this time for nine runs when a Siddle yorker breached his defenses. It was the fourth time in five innings in the series that Dravid had been bowled - the fifth if you count the Siddle dismissal that was ruled out for a no ball in the first test.

India also chose to go with four quicks, handing right-armer R Vinay Kumar his debut in place of spinner Ravi Ashwin in a side otherwise unchanged from the first two tests. Ashwin’s batting was sorely missed after tea when Vinay Kumar (5) gave Starc his first wicket of the day with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni following him to pavilion soon afterwards, caught in the slips off Hilfenhaus for 12. Zaheer Khan (2) was Hilfenhaus’s fourth victim with Starc (2-39) mopping up the final wicket when he had Ishant Sharma caught behind for three. — Reuters

PERTH: Australian opening batsman David Warner plays a shot on day one of the third cricket test match against India at the WACA ground in Perth yesterday. — AFP

Scoreboard PERTH: Scoreboard at the close of play on the first day of the third test between Australia and India at the WACA yesterday: Australia won the toss and elected to bowl India first innings G. Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 31 V. Sehwag c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 0 R. Dravid b Siddle 9 S. Tendulkar lbw Harris 15 V. Laxman c Clarke b Siddle 31 V. Kohli c Warner b Siddle 44 M. Dhoni c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 12 R Vinay Kumar lbw Starc 5 Z. Khan c Clarke b Hilfenhaus 2 I. Sharma c Haddin b Starc 3 U. Yadav not out 4 Extras: (b-2, lb-2, w-1) 5 Total: (all out, 60.2 overs) 161 Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-32 3-59 4-63 5-131 6-138 7-152 8152 9-157 Bowling: Harris 18-6-33-1, Hilfenhaus 18-5-43-4, Starc 12.2-3-39-2 (w-1), Siddle 12-3-42-3.

Australia first innings D. Warner not out 104 E. Cowan not out 40 Extras: (lb-3, w-2) 5 Total: (without loss, 23 overs) 149 To bat: S. Marsh, R. Ponting, M. Clarke, M. Hussey, B. Haddin, P. Siddle, R.Harris, M. Starc, B. Hilfenhaus.

Bowling (to date): Zaheer 7-1-44-0 (w-1), Yadav 6-1-42-0 (w1), Vinay Kumar 4-0-31-0, Sharma 5-0-28-0, Sehwag 1-0-10-0.

Australia lead the four-match series 2-0.

SPORTS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Napoli win amid ball-over-the-line row MILAN: Napoli snatched a late winner against Cesena amid protests that the ball had not crossed the line to reach the Italian Cup quarter-finals on Thursday. Macedonia striker Goran Pandev’s 86th-minute free kick was palmed away by Cesena goalkeeper Nicola Ravaglia, but the referee ruled it had crossed the line. The call was so close that even television replays were unclear, although Cesena’s players had no doubts as they angrily protested the decision. Their 2-1 win in the single-leg tie came on the debut of new signing Eduardo Vargas, a 22-year-old Chilean forward seen as one of the jewels of South American football.

Relegation-threatened Cesena took a firsthalf led when Stefan Adrian Popescu scored from the edge of the area after poor defending by the hosts. Vargas, signed after an outstanding year with Universidad de Chile which included a glut of spectacular goals, struggled to strike up an understanding with Edinson Cavani and was taken off at halftime, to be replaced by Pandev. Napoli equalized in the 65th minute when Pandev’s shot was parried by Ravaglia and Uruguay forward Cavani snapped up the rebound for his 15th goal of the season in all competitions. — Reuters

NAPLES: Napoli forward Eduardo Vargas of Chile (left) is fouled by two Cesena defenders during a Cup of Italy soccer match at the San Paolo stadium in Naples on Thursday, Dec 12, 2012. — AP

French League Preview

Spanish League Preview

Real seek to mount pressure on Barca MADRID: Real Madrid travel to Mallorca knowing a victory would stretch their lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga to eight points, before Barca face Real Betis in the Camp Nou tomorrow. The title race shifted dramatically in Madrid’s favor last weekend when Barca dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Espanyol, a huge blow to the Catalans’ aspirations to claim a fourth consecutive league title.

With the great rivals not due to meet again in the league until April, the attention has moved to the probable clash between the two teams in the first leg of the Spanish Cup quarter-finals in Madrid next Wednesday.

However, Real captain Iker Casillas has attempted to cool talk about Barca and look ahead to today’s important league game. “We must not become obsessed with Barcelona and look first of all to the Mallorca game,” he said. “We want to hold on to first position and be consistent in the league. “The league is week in, week out. We slipped up against Levante and Racing earlier on but recovered quickly, now we have this advantage over second place we have to take it match by match now and not drop silly points.”

Real have quickly returned to winning ways since the 3-1 home defeat to Barcelona in December, beating Sevilla 6-2 and Granada 5-1 to increase their advantage at the top. However controversy for Real, fuelled by a demanding local press, is never far away and Casillas was quick to dispel stories that the relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and

the Bernabeu crowd was at a low after the Portuguese star was booed for failing to celebrate a goal in the victory over Granada. “He is a very competitive person who pushes himself to the limits and demands a lot from himself, he wants the best for the club as do the fans, but the crowd have been with him since day one,” he said.

Mallorca will provide stern opposition for Real after a remarkable fightback from three goals down in the first leg of the last 16 stage of the Spanish Cup to sweep aside Real Sociedad 6-1 in the second leg in midweek for a resounding aggregate win. All the Mallorca goals came in 25 minutes either side of halftime, with live-wire Uruguayan midfielder Chori Castro bagging two. “This result is a reference for us before the Real Madrid game, the attitude and work rate has to be the same. We have to respect them but if we can play our game we can cause them problems,” he said.

Barcelona host an improving Betis side who travel to the Catalan capital on the back of three consecutive league victories. Although susceptible away from home where they have won three times in eight outings, Barca have yet to concede a league goal at home all season, scoring 39 goals in nine games in the Nou Camp where only Sevilla have managed a point. Third-place Valencia host Real Sociedad today while two teams struggling for form this season meet tomorrow when Atletico Madrid play Villarreal in a home debut for Atletico’s new coach Diego Simeone. — AFP

Ancelotti set for PSG league bow PARIS: Carlo Ancelotti will take charge of his first league match with Paris Saint-Germain when the Ligue 1 leaders welcome Toulouse to the Parc des Princes today as the French league resumes following its winter break.

The Italian was installed as the new manager of PSG following Antoine Kombouare’s dismissal just before Christmas and was in the dugout for the capital club’s 2-1 victory over fifth division Locmine in the French Cup last Sunday.

Midfielder Mathieu Bodmer admitted things have changed since the introduction of the former Chelsea, AC Milan and Juventus boss, saying: “The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti and his technical staff has brought a change in working methods. “The fact that these professionals have come from foreign leagues has also given us a different vision of the game.” “You have to learn it to know it, the group is receptive and everything is going well at the moment. It’s up to us to adapt to this new technical team.”

Unbeaten in their last four league matches, PSG hold a three-point lead over surprise package Montpellier at the season’s midpoint and will be looking maintain their momentum with three points against Toulouse. “It’s clear, and it’s the objective.

The fans at the Parc (des Princes) are knowledgeable and demanding, but that’s normal because the club has very big ambitions this season,” said Bodmer on the importance of starting 2012 on a positive note. “It will be a complicated match. Toulouse are a very athletic team that has a lot of talented players.”

A 3-1 success in the reverse fixture in August helped kickstart PSG’s league campaign. “Away, we had a really good second half at their ground, which launched our sea-

son. I hope that we can do the same today in front of our own fans,” Bodmer added. The two sides share the distinction of having the stingiest league defense, having both conceded just 17 goals so far, but Alain Casanova’s men have struggled to find the back of the opposition net, tallying just 20 goals through 19 matches. Meanwhile, PSG have completed the signing of Brazilian defender Maxwell from Barcelona with incumbent left-back Siaka Tiene destined for the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.

Elsewhere today, second-placed Montpellier host fourth-placed Lyon at the Stade de la Mosson. Rene Girard’s side are aiming to re-ignite their title challenge after picking up just one point from a possible nine prior to the festive period. Lyon won four consecutive league matches before going down 1-0 at Valenciennes in the final fixture of 2011, leaving them five points off the pace.

Tomorrow’s lone fixture sees a resurgent Marseille host third-placed Lille at the Stade Velodrome. Didier Deschamps’ side are unbeaten in their past five league games and will be seeking to keep their outside title hopes alive. Marseille cut short Brazilian striker Brandao’s loan spell at Gremio to bolster the club’s attacking options with brothers Andre and Jordan Ayew set to depart for international duty with Ghana and Andre-Pierre Gignac out injured. Meanwhile, Lille’s hopes of retaining their league crown will heavily depend on the club’s ability to keep hold of Belgian star Eden Hazard in the January transfer window with Europe’s big clubs keeping a close eye on the 21-year-old. — AFP

sports

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Gerrard in search of Stoke treat LIVERPOOL: Steven Gerrard will hope to round off a fine week when Liverpool entertain Stoke at Anfield as they try to maintain their pursuit of a European place. Gerrard scored the winning goal in Liverpool’s 1-0 League Cup semi-final first-leg win at Premier League leaders Manchester City on Wednesday. And then the England midfielder, 31, followed that up by signing a long-term deal that will keep him at the club for the rest of his career before he undertakes an ambassadorial role at Anfield.

The Reds go into the weekend in sixth place and have attracted criticism for the performances of expensive new signings Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing.

Liverpool-who have not won any silverware since the FA Cup in 2006 — must, given the league title looks beyond them, either win the League Cup or the FA Cup to avoid their tro-

phy drought stretching into next season, which would be their longest spell without honors since a barren run from 1966 to 1973.

But Gerrard, who missed most of last year through injury, maintains he would not have signed a new contract with the club if he did not believe the Reds were going in the right direction. “This is the club I love and is the club I have supported since I was a young boy,” he said. “I am living the dream as the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I love coming to work every day and the experiences I have had since I was eight years of age and first signed for the club, I wouldn’t change them for the world. To extend that and to hopefully have some more good times in a red shirt is what I want. “There will be more highs and lows, there’s no doubt about it as that’s part and parcel of being a football player

at a top club. “The important thing is that you react well to the lows and experience more of the highs. I’m confident moving forward that the club is going in the right direction. “We’ve got a fantastic team, we’ve got the right owners in place and the right team behind our team, so I’m really confident we’ll have more good experiences in the future.”

Midfielder Jay Spearing is doubtful for the game against the Potters after limping out of the City victory with a hamstring problem. But other than Lucas Leiva, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has no other fitness concerns ahead of the weekend. Stoke have caused the Reds plenty of problems at the Britannia Stadium in recent years but have not won at Anfield since 1959. Irish midfielder Glenn Whelan, 27, has also signed a new deal

Scottish League Preview

Celtic aim to continue their winning streak GLASGOW: Celtic defender Thomas Rogne says the Scottish Premier League leaders are staying grounded as they aim to continue their winning streak when Dundee United visit Parkhead today. The Hoops have a two-point lead at the top of the table after trailing Rangers by 15 points at one stage. After winning their past 10 league matches in a row, Neil Lennon’s side last weekend progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup to keep their dreams of a treble winning season alive.

However, Norwegian defender Rogne says his teammates are not looking too far ahead and are fully focused on just continuing their winning momentum. “It is not about maintaining the lead, it’s about getting the three points,” he said. “It is still January, there is a long way to go and we are not thinking about the league or the title, it’s just the next game and three points.

“We always believed that we could turn it around. It might have happened quicker than we thought. “In mid-November we were 15 points behind or something like that but obviously results have gone our way. “But things change quickly in football. So we need to be alert and take it game by game.” The Hoops have been dealt a blow with the news that Israeli midfielder Beram Kayal has been ruled out for the rest of the season but Swedish defender Mikael Lustig is available after arriving at the club this week. Rivals Rangers will have the chance to go top again and heap the pressure on the Hoops if they can win away to St Johnstone in the early kick-off.

One player desperate to be involved is striker David Healy.

The Northern Ireland international has been a bit-part player since joining Rangers last year but an injury crisis at the Ibrox club has seen Healy start and score in the past two games. And Healy is glad to at last be making a contribution at the Old Firm club. “It’s nice to be a part of it. I always knew I wasn’t going to be a first-choice striker but I’ve wanted to make a contribution,” the striker said. “I’ve been here for 12 months and I’ve waited for my chance so to come in and make a little bit of an impact has been nice. “I said last year I wanted to score goals that make a difference and it has been good to get us off the mark in our last two games.

“Strikers take confidence from scoring goals and playing well and it’s hard when you’re only getting five or 10 minutes here and there for you to build momentum. “I feel as though I’m moving in the right direction though and I’m determined to prove I can keep doing a job for this club.” Manager Ally McCoist will be without Kyle Lafferty and Steven Whittaker through injury for the match. Elsewhere today, Hearts, who have gone five games without defeat, could claim third spot with a win over St Mirren. Bottom club Dunfermline host second bottom Hibernian in a relegation dogfight at East End Park. Third-placed Motherwell will be without Stephen Hughes, who left the club this week, for the visit of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.-—AFP

this week, extending his agreement with the Midlands club until 2015.

Tony Pulis’s side are now a well-established Premier League power and Whelan feels there are only more good times ahead for the club, which is now in its fourth season back in the top flight. “I am excited about what the next few years could have in store, and I am proud to be a part of it as we look to continue the club’s excellent progress,” Whelan said. “All of the hard work I have done over the past 12 months has paid off. “To play at Wembley twice, reach the FA Cup final (where Stoke lost to Manchester City last season), play in Europe and be doing well at international level has certainly made it a memorable time for me.” Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson and striker Mamady Sidibe will once again be sidelined with knee problems.—AFP

Italian League Preview

Transfer drama threatening to overshadow Milan derby ROME: Normally the build-up to this weekend’s Milan derby would be dominating the headlines in Italy with talk about titles, previous results and in-form goalscorers. But as champions AC Milan prepare to host Inter, it has been transfers-or rather the lack of them-which have grabbed the most attention. And all of it has involved the red and black half of the city, leaving the blue and black part to quietly get on with their preparation. Milan was a hive of spec-

MILAN: AC Milan’s Brazilian forward Pato (left) fights for the ball with Atalanta’s midfielder Simone Padoin during the Italian Serie A football in this file photo. —AFP

ulation and activity all week with tales of Pato leaving for Paris St Germain and Carlos Tevez due to replace him by joining from Manchester City. The seven-time European champions seemed to be gearing up to make the big Tevez announcement, while presumably hoping it would overshadow a similar revelation about the 22-year-old Brazilian’s departure.

Everything came to a dramatic head on Thursday as first Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani travelled to England, ostentatiously to tie up the Argentina forward’s signature.

At the same time reports emerged in France that a 28-million-euro deal-plus seven million euros in bonuses-had been agreed to take Pato to Paris. But then in late afternoon both deals dramatically fell through. Milan released a statement confirming Pato’s decision to stay in Italy and reject the move to PSG. Minutes later Galliani was said to have abandoned talks with City over Tevez. Just as a grand crescendo seemed to have been reached, the Italian football world was left with nothing.

Milan had missed out on their much sought-after transfer coup but instead had held onto a player five years Tevez’s junior whose best years may yet be ahead of him.

Pato stated that Milan is his home-he is also dating the club president Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter Barbara-and that he wants to stay and win more things with the rossoneri. As for Tevez, Milan’s decision seems to have left him in limbo.

PSG have already tabled the highest bid for the 27-year-old but he appears unwilling to move to Paris while he seemed to clearly favor Milan over Inter.

Thursday’s developments may well open the way for Inter to come back into the reckoning and snatch away their bitter rivals’ top transfer target. That’s unlikely to happen before Sunday’s super-clash, though, but should Inter manage that and continue their recent winning form-they have had five successes in a row and seven in their last eight league games-then they would be right back in the title picture. Inter currently sit eight points adrift of joint leaders Milan and Juventus, paying for a disastrous start to the season in which they won only two of their first nine games.

Defeat, however, would almost certainly end Inter’s hopes of reclaiming the scudetto crown they dominated for five years in a row before Milan dethroned them in May. In other games Juventus will hope to exploit any Milan slipup as they host Cagliari, who have just discovered they may have to close their dilapidated Sant’Elia stadium.

Third-placed Udinese face what on paper would usually be considered a tough away trip to Genoa, but their hosts come into the game on the back of conceding nine goals in their last two matches. Free-scoring Napoli, who have hit nine in their last two-including a 6-1 demolition of Genoahost Bologna on Monday night.—AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Man City’s Silva poised to return, Balotelli doubtful MANCHESTER: Manchester City playmaker David Silva should be fit for Monday’s Premier League trip to Wigan Athletic but striker Mario Balotelli is a doubt, assistant coach David Platt said yesterday.

Spaniard Silva, who missed the midweek League Cup defeat by Liverpool with an ankle problem, has been inspirational for the league leaders this term and his return would be welcome news as City try to arrest a recent slip in form. “David did a bit of running yesterday over in Spain, he’ll do a little bit more when he gets back, we are hopeful he will be on the training pitch tomorrow,” Platt told a news conference.

A below-par Balotelli was taken off before half-

time against Liverpool with an ankle problem and Platt said the Italian was a “maybe” for Monday.

City’s three point lead over Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur could have disappeared by the time they face Wigan. The New Year has not been kind to Roberto Mancini’s men, who have mustered only one win and three defeats in the four games they have played in all competitions this month.

That includes back-to-back cup defeats, having lost 3-2 to United in the FA Cup third round last weekend before a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg.

Nevertheless, they have still lost only twice in the Premier League all season, scoring 56 goals already,

and Platt brushed off any notion of a “crisis”. “We are where we are, it’s not a bad position to be in,” he said. “It’s some crisis, isn’t it really-we’re still in the League Cup semi-final, with a group of players that is quite capable of going and resurrecting that game ... and I’d hazard a guess that there’s 19 clubs in the league that want to be where we are in the championship.” They will be without suspended captain Vincent Kompany for Monday’s game, while fellow defender Kolo Toure and his midfielder brother Yaya are on African Nations Cup duty with Ivory Coast.

Wigan are second from bottom in the table and were beaten 3-0 when the teams met at the Etihad stadium earlier this season. — Reuters

Villas-Boas wants Chelsea to be London’s best LONDON: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is confident his side will end the season as London’s top club. The Premier League winners of 2010 will kick off 11 points behind leaders Manchester City when they welcome Sunderland to Stamford Bridge today. And they will also begin that match eight points adrift of fellow Londoners Tottenham Hotspur, the club directly above them in third place.

Chelsea fans are not used to being out-performed by the men from White Hart Lane but Villas-Boas believes that though Harry Redknapp’s side are in impressive form at the moment, the bigger picture will favor his players. “They (Totteham) have overtaken Chelsea in the Premier League this season,” Villas-Boas said. “Both of them have fantastic history but over the last 10 years there is no comparison between the two clubs.

“The question about good football normally belongs to the leaders. When you are under pressure you don’t do things so well and maybe your quality drops. It might be that fact that makes you lose points.” Tottenham moved to within three points of City on Wednesday night-and nine ahead of fifth-place Arsenal-by turning a game in hand at home to Everton into a 2-0 but Villas-Boas had anticipated such a scenario. “It doesn’t change a lot as we were expecting Tottenham to win that game,” the Portuguese said. “Manchester City lost three in four and Manchester United are trying to find consistency. Eight points is some distance you can shorten.”

Former Porto manager Villas-Boas is hoping the £7million ($10.7million) transfer of England defender Gary Cahill can be concluded in the near future. Negotiations over wages have been ongoing for a while and it has been suggested Chelsea are close to pulling out if the 26-year-old does not put pen to paper imminently.

But Villas-Boas believed the deal would be completed, saying: “I’m sure that all of the parties are protecting their interests.” Cahill’s arrival would allow the Brazilian Alex, who submitted a transfer request in December, to join Queens Park Rangers.

Meanwhile, Chelsea captain John Terry is confident a knee injury sustained in a collision with a post during Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Portsmouth will not rule him out this weekend. “All is fine,” the England skipper said. “It’s a little bit swollen but I am sure with the couple of days off we have, it will heal,” the defender added.

Sunderland are enjoying life under new manager Martin O’Neill, who replaced the sacked Steve Bruce early in December. The Black Cats beat Manchester City 1-0 on New Year’s Day and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was confident his side could cause another upset.

“It is important when you play the top teams to not just sit back and hope for a 0-0, because eventually they always score,” he said.

“You need a few possibilities so they are scared to push themselves

further forward. If you keep a clean sheet and you score one, you have done your job.” Sunderland have won five of their seven games under former Aston Villa manager O’Neill and are up to 10th in the table. “We are now a little bit clear from the bottom three so it is nice to have some breathing space,” Mignolet added. — AFP

(Local Timings)

English Premier League Aston Villa v Everton Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Blackburn v Fulham Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Chelsea v Sunderland Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Liverpool v Stoke City Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Man United v Bolton Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Spurs v Wolves Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

West Brom v Norwich Abu Dhabi Sport HD

18:00

Italian League Catania v Roma 22:45 Aljazeera Sport +1 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD French League Etienne v Sochaux 23:00 Aljazeera Sport +10

LONDON: Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Ramires (left) celebrates with Spanish midfielder Juan Mata in this file photo after scoring during the English FA Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge in London. — AFP

Waiting game could suit Man City boss Mancini LONDON: Premier League leaders Manchester City have to wait until Monday to play their next fixture, away to relegation candidates Wigan, and that may be no bad thing for manager Roberto Mancini. For a start, there is no guarantee reigning champions Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, both three points behind City, will have drawn level with Mancini’s side by the time the Italian’s men kick-off. And a weekend out of the spotlight will at least mean attention is focused on someone else.

Mancini was incensed when star defender Vincent Kompany, now in the midst of a four-

Matches on TV

game ban, was sent-off for a two-footed challenge on Nani in holders City’s FA Cup derby defeat by United last weekend, even though the Belgian appeared to win the ball cleanly. And he was even more furious when no action was taken against Liverpool’s Glen Johnson for a similar challenge on Joleon Lescott during Cityís 1-0 League Cup semifinal first leg defeat on Wednesday. Time for a break, perhaps. Not since the late 1960s have City been crowned champions of England but Tottenham’s wait has been even longer yet. However, a midweek win over Everton has bolstered the self-belief of every-

one at White Hart Lane that they could win the title for the first time since 1961.

Now Tottenham are relishing their upcoming clash with Manchester City but midfielder Rafael van der Vaart remained wary of Wolves. “When we played Man City in August, they were too good but in the last few games they have not been as consistent and they lost last night too (against Liverpool),” van der Vaart told Thursday’s London Evening Standard. “Maybe it’s a little bit in their heads. They have invested so much money, so everyone expects they’re going to win it, but we’re still there.” — AFP

Germain v Toulouse Aljazeera Sport +4

23:00

Lorraine v Lorient Aljazeera Sport +6

23:00

Montpellier v Lyonnais Aljazeera Sport +5

23:00

Caen v Rennais Aljazeera Sport +9

23:00

Brest v Nice Aljazeera Sport +8

23:00

Bordeaux v Valenciennes Aljazeera Sport +7

23:00

Spanish League Real Zaragoza v Getafe 20:00 Aljazeera Sport +1 Sevilla v Espanyol Aljazeera Sport +6

20:00

Granada v Rayo Vallecano Aljazeera Sport +4

20:00

Real Mallorca v Real Madrid Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3

22:00

Tomorrow Valencia v Real Sociedad Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3

0:00

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012

Sports

Warner inflicts ton of pain on India

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PAMPLONA: (From left) Osasuna's defenders Lolo, Miguel Flano and Marc Bertran vie with Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi during the Spanish Cup football match Osasuna vs Barcelona on January 12, 2012 at the Reyno de Navarra stadium in Pamplona. — AFP

‘Clasico’- Barca, Real face off Barcelona overpower Osasuna in Spanish Cup MADRID: Barcelona will play Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals after coming from behind to beat Osasuna 2-1 on Thursday and cruise to a 6-1 aggregate victory. Defending champion Madrid hosts the first leg Wednesday, with the return match at Barcelona on Jan 25. The rivals have already met three times this season, with Barcelona winning the two-legged Spanish Super Cup 5-4 on aggregate in August before a 3-1 victory at Madrid in the league last month.

The two games will take the number of “clasico” matches in the last nine months to nine. Madrid’s sole victory was in the Copa del Rey final last season. “That’s the draw for us. We’ll have to prepare well like we always do,” defender Gerard Pique said. “In a Barca-Madrid there are no favorites.” On a foggy Thursday night, Dejan Lekic deservedly put host Osasuna ahead in the 41st minute of a strong first half against a Barcelona lineup that included several “B”

team players with the team having won the first leg 4-0.

Alexis Sanchez leveled by heading in Adriano’s cross in the 47th and, with Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets coming on as substitutes, Barcelona dominated until the end with Sergi Roberto capping a typical buildup by scoring the winner in the 72nd.

Earlier, Gaizka Toquero’s impressive backheeled goal helped Athletic Bilbao beat third-tier club Albacete 4-0 play Mallorca in the last eight. Bilbao or Mallorca will play either Espanyol or third-division club Mirandes, while Barcelona or Madrid will face the winner of a city derby between Valencia and Levante.

Osasuna, also fielding a number of youth team players, pressured the European champions in the first half to disrupt their play. Pique headed a chance off the line before goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto dived to save Lekic’s volleyed shot in the 17th.

Lekic again volleyed wide shortly before

finally scoring after Raoul Loe eluded defenders near the Barcelona area. After the restart, Adriano bounced a cross across the face of goal to find Sanchez at the far post for the leveler. Sanchez was replaced by Messi in the 58th and the Ballon d’Or winner settled in by threading the pass through for winger Roberto to shoot past Riesgo into the bottom corner for the winner.

At the San Mames, Toquero controlled the ball inside the area and, with his back to goal, used the back of his foot to make it 3-0 in the 78th minute. Markel Susaeta scored the opener, reaching Iker Muniain’s through ball before chipping goalkeeper Alvaro Campos in the 24th. Ander Herrera doubled the lead with a volley into the top corner in the 64th after collecting the rebound from Campos’ save from Muniain. Mikel San Jose scored with a header in the 86th. Fernando Llorente had a number of scoring opportunities in his first match since early December before being replaced. — AP

12th Asian Shooting Championship opens DOHA: The 12th Asian Shooting Championship kick-started Thursday, drawing over 1,200 shooters from 32 Asian countries.

In a keynote speech, Chairman of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Association Ali Al-Ghanim said the championship is a good opportunity for Asian athletes to boost their bonds of friendship and fraternity. He hoped that the 12th Asian Shooting Championship, which runs through January 22, will witness high levels of performance by competing sports shooters.

On his part, the chairman of the Asian and Kuwaiti shooting associations, Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah appreciated all Asian efforts to raise the number of Asian seats in London Olympics 2012 from 28 to 35. “We still hope to see more achievements through more cooperation and spirit of sincerity,” he said.

He voiced confidence that the event would lead to enriching the experience of all participating sports shooters from Asian nations.

He thanked Qatar for hosting the Asian shooting event. Speaking to KUNA following the opening ceremony, Sheikh Salman hoped that there would be strong competition among all athletes. He also wished that sports shooters from Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states would perform well and notch up good results. — KUNA