19th May 2012

IPT IO N SC R SU B

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

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Kuwaiti sets vehicles ablaze to punish govt

‘Free-falling’ Indian rupee hits new lows

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150 Fils

JAMADI ALTHANI 28, 1433 AH

No: 15453

Chelsea and Bayern face off in CL finals

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Tehran-Gulf Arab tension escalates Iran summons Bahraini envoy as union row rages

Max 39º Min 27º

in the

news

34 die as bus crashes HANOI: A crowded overnight bus plunged off a bridge into a river in central Vietnam, killing 34 passengers and injuring 21 others in one of the country’s deadliest road accidents. The 50-seat coach lost control and ripped through the bridge’s guardrails Thursday night, diving about 18 meters and landing on its top, partially submerged in the Serepok River, said local official Tran Bao Que. “When the accident happened, everyone in the bus was sleeping,” survivor Nguyen Van Khanh told online news site Dan Tri. “I vaguely heard a noise like a gun fire and then people were screaming when the bus was overturned. ... I managed to escape through a window which was smashed opened by others.”

Foetuses for black magic BANGKOK: Six human foetuses which had been roasted and covered in gold leaf as part of a black magic ritual have been seized from a British citizen in Bangkok, Thai police said yesterday. Chow Hok Kuen, 28, who is of Taiwanese origin, was arrested with the grisly haul in the city’s Chinatown on Thursday, police said. The corpses had been packed into luggage and were set to be smuggled to Taiwan. The suspect bought the foetuses several days ago from a Taiwanese man in Thailand for 200,000 baht ($6,500) and planned to sell them in Taiwan for up to six times that amount, police said. The origin of the foetuses was unclear. “He said he planned to sell the foetuses to clients who believe they will make them lucky and rich,” said Colonel Wiwat Kamchamnan of Bangkok police. The man faces one year in prison and a 2,000 baht fine for possession of the foetuses.

Market blasts kill 5 BAGHDAD: Three near-simultaneous bomb blasts at a pet market in east Baghdad killed five people yesterday, officials said, just hours after an attack in the city’s southeast left five dead. The explosions, which occurred at around 7:00 am in the Maamal area, also wounded at least 31 other people, the security and medical officials said. “At least five people were killed and 31 others were wounded when three bombs exploded in sequence inside a pet market,” an interior ministry official said.

A medical source in Al-Sadr general hospital said it had received five bodies and treated 34 other people, more than 20 of whom were youths.

Qaeda targets Saudi WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri has urged Saudis to follow Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans in rising up against their rulers, US-based monitors said yesterday. “Why don’t you follow the example for your brothers in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and the Levant?” He was referring to the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings that has roiled North Africa and the Middle East since December 2010. The sixminute, 19-second video was produced in February or March and appeared Thursday on extremist websites, according to SITE. It opens with footage showing Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah meeting Pope Benedict XVI, former US president George W Bush and current US President Barack Obama.

TEHRAN: Iranian demonstrators wave Bahraini flags during a protest yesterday. — AFP DUBAI: Thousands of Iranians rallied yesterday against plans for union between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, state television showed, and an influential cleric denounced the idea as an “ill-fated plot” that will never be tolerated by Muslims. Tension between Iran and US-allied Gulf Arab states has run high in recent months with Arab leaders accusing Tehran of fomenting Shiite Muslim unrest in Bahrain - a charge that Shiite Iran and the protesters deny.

The dispute worsened when Tehran denounced efforts by six Gulf Arab states at a summit earlier this week to forge closer political and military union, largely to counter Iran’s growing regional power. The talks ended inconclusively. In the run-up to the Riyadh meeting, speculation was rife that an initial union would be announced between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, where anti-government protests led by majority Shiites have gripped the island state since last year.

“This plot is an ill-fated plot that is taking place with the American and Zionist (Israeli) green light but they should know that the people of Bahrain and the region, Muslims around the world and in Iran will never toler-

ate it,” cleric Kazem Sediqi said in a Friday sermon broadcast live on state radio. Iranian state television aired footage of thousands of people holding rallies around the country and chanting slogans against the ruling royal families in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to protest against the proposed ManamaRiyadh union.

“Instead of surrendering to its own people, it (the Bahraini government) is surrendering its identity, with total abjectness, to another country,” Sediqi said. Tehran summoned the Bahraini charge d’affaires on Thursday to complain about a statement from the small Gulf island state - strategically sensitive as the base for the US Fifth Fleet that accused Iran of violating its sovereignty.

Bahrain had already called in Iran’s envoy to Manama after Tehran criticized the Riyadh meeting, where Arab heads of state mulled Saudi Arabia’s call for joint economic, political and defense policies between Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

No agreement on further integration emerged, with smaller Gulf Arab states wary of Saudi domination and asking for more details, and talks on the matter are to

resume later this year. Majority Shiites have been leading a pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain for over a year. Saudi Arabia, fearing that unrest in Bahrain could spread to its own Shiite community in its major oil-producing Eastern Province, sent troops to Bahrain last year to help its government crush the initial phase of the revolt.

In Bahrain, tens of thousands of protesters chanting “Bahrain is not for sale” jammed a major highway yesterday to denounce the proposals. The rally’s large turnout - demonstrators stretched for more than five kilometers along a main highway - underscored the strong backlash to efforts by Bahrain’s rulers to integrate key policies such as defense and foreign affairs with their powerful Saudi neighbor.

Riyadh has aided Bahrain’s embattled Sunni monarchy with troops and money during the island nation’s 15-month uprising. Leaders for Bahrain’s majority Shiites call the unity proposal a sellout of the country’s independence and an effort to give Saudi security forces a stronger hand in crackdowns in the strategic island kingdom. — Agencies

local

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

KUWAIT: Dozens of bedoons hold demonstrations in Taima demanding full civil rights.

Court upholds bedoons’ release order Stateless hold peaceful demo in Taima KUWAIT: The Appeals Court upheld on Thursday, a Court of First Instance verdict that pronounced 32 stateless residents not guilty of holding illegal demonstrations, damaging state property and attacking police officers on duty.

Simultaneously, dozens of bedoons held a peaceful gathering in Taima in protest against procedures undertaken by the Central Agency for Illegal Residents, demanding full civil rights. The protest which started after the afternoon prayer (around 3:30 pm) lasted for

an hour before police convinced gatherers to disperse.

The 32 were previously released on a KD 200 bail, following their arrest after holding demonstrations that were reported in March last year. The charges were pressed by the Ministry of Interior who argued that bedoons had gathered with the intention of holding illegal demonstrations, and initiated violent confrontation with officers who attempted to enforce the law.

The bedoons’ issue was the main topic of

discussion during a seminar held on Wednesday at the Democratic Forum’s headquarters in Al-Munais Dewan in Al-Adailiya.

The gatherers blamed the “government’s negligence combined with legislative shortcomings” for the persisting issue.

Meanwhile, activist Ibtihal Al-Khateeb referred to a “confidential document” released in 1986 which prevents stateless residents from receiving medical and educational care, subsequently dropping bedoons’ numbers in Kuwait. Al-Khateeb further talked about flaws

Islamist MPs to go ahead with constitutional amendments KUWAIT: Islamist lawmakers still plan to amend Article 79 of the Constitution with the aim of enforcing religious-oriented laws in Kuwait despite the country’s ruler’s recent announcement rejecting a proposed amendment to Article 79.

“The process of making laws comply with Islamic Sharia is ongoing through efforts made to discuss regulations that contradict with Sharia,” said Deputy Speaker Khalid Al-Sultan in statements published by Al-Rai yesterday. The state-

ments come a day after front pages of local dailies carried headlines of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s disagreement to add a clause to Article 79, requiring that draft laws comply with the Sharia law after being passed by the Parliament and sanctioned by the Amir.

“HH the Amir’s observed that regulations in Kuwait already comply with Islamic regulations and are derived from the Constitution supporting Islamic laws,” said MP Badr Al-Dahoom of the Justice Bloc which proposed the afore-

mentioned amendment. He added that the opposition will not thwart the bloc’s plans to proceed with a project to amend Article 2 of the Constitution, making Islamic Sharia the only source of legislation.

“The Justice Bloc is currently studying all laws in Kuwait to see if any article contradicts with Islamic Sharia so that we can propose an amendment,” AlDahoom said. “Islamization of laws will continue until it is time to propose Article 2 amendment.”—Al-Rai

in the Kuwaiti Citizenship law formulated in 1959, starting from a stipulation that was later canceled according to which citizenship is only granted to people who can prove that they have lived in Kuwait before 1920.

Al-Khateeb also indicated that many residents failed to apply at naturalization committees in Al-Ahmadi between 1961 and 1963 due to ignorance. She indicated that during the period between 1967 and 1973, the “largest naturalization process in Kuwait’s history that was purely political” took place. —Al-Qabas

Amend laws to lift Olympics ban: IOC KUWAIT: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged that proposed laws be amended so that Kuwait will be allowed to participate in London 2012 Olympics An official source from Kuwait Olympic Committee said that participation is ‘conditional’ and linked to amendments passed by IOC without exception by May 23. Among conditions placed is compliance with amendments as agreed upon between IOC and Kuwait government on October 23, 2009.

Some of the most notable suggestions include permission to hold several posts, contrary to the government’s proposal which stipulates that the head must choose the post to be taken. The second amendment states that all restrictions be eased. The Kuwait Olympic Committee Boards of Directors must be reelected and that existing sports laws be merged into one law, provided that government interference in sports organizations will be minimal and to establish a sports court. —Annahar

News

in brief

Outdoor work ban during summer KUWAIT: The Labor Ministry has begun implementing the ministerial decree banning outdoor work in open areas from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm starting June 1 until the end of August. Preparation are underway to form task forces to enforce the rule and team members will be provided with special identification cards. They said that inspection will be carried out across government and private sectors.

KUWAIT: The National Guard of Kuwait, the Kuwait Army, Interior Ministry and representatives from MBRI, an American company yesterday held a joint training exercise. —KUNA

38,000 absconding cases KUWAIT: At least 38,000 individuals have been reported to be absconding during the first half of this year. The most number of absconding cases were registered against Article 20 holders (maids). Article 18 holders came in second place. A source from Human Rights Society said the statistics serve as a warning and accused sponsors of infringing upon rights and paying them low salaries. The source said that many suicide cases were the result of mistreatment by sponsors, adding that visa traders bore responsibility for such incidents. —Al-Shahed, Al-Anbaa

LOCAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Majority bloc files grilling motions Development plans may be put on hold amid stormy debates KUWAIT: The Parliament’s majority bloc could be forced to put developmental plans and ant-corruption measures on hold as multiple grilling motions have been filed ahead of the scheduled debate of two motions initiated against Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali.

Lawmakers announced ‘grilling’ motions filed against Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ahmad Al-Rujaib, Minister of Defense Sheikh Ahmad AlKhalid Al-Sabah, as well as Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

Speculations were rife that that Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah could face not one but two grilling motions in the future.

MPs Saifi Al-Saifi and Riyadh Al-Adasani announced on Thursday, their plans to submit a joint grilling motion against minister Al-Rujaib related to alleged corruption within the ministry and violations in the expatriate labor and social care fields.

Meanwhile, MP Marzouq Al-Ghanim announced his support to question Al-Rujaib who he described as “a tool in the hands of the most corrupt,” accusing him of mishandling the troubled sports issue in Kuwait, Al-Ghanim threatened to disclose ‘serious

violations’ during the session scheduled after AlShamali grillings’ debate.

Al-Saifi announced that the grilling will be submitted after Al-Shamali’s and will be discussed before the end of the current parliamentary term. “[Minister Al-Rujiab] is a prime example of corruption in the government, a man who damages national unity with his racism,” Al-Saifi told reporters Thursday.

In other news, MP Dr Khalid Shukhayyer announced plans to file a grilling motion against Defense Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Khalid over ‘violations and corruption’ which include “a suspicious KD 2.5 billion military aircrafts deal” that was rejected by 12 countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The lawmaker indicated that his interpellation motion will be submitted “after coordinating with the majority bloc.”

The Bloc is commonly used to refer to a coalition of 35 lawmakers who form the majority in the Parliament, and previously asserted on performing legislative duties which include ushering in anti-corruption and political reform regulations. The Parliament’s session on Tuesday is scheduled to feature the debate of two grilling motions supported

by the Bloc against Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali; the first filed

by MP Obaid Al-Wasmi and the second by Musallam Al-Barrak, Khalid Al-Tahous and Abdurrahman Al-Anjari. On Thursday, Al-Shamali sent a letter to the Parliament, requesting clarification over accusations pertinent with alleged errors in the Zour Power Plant project. The minister indicates that the documents provided by Al-Barrak, AlTahous and Al-Anjari lack concrete evidence to prove that violations were committed.

Meanwhile, Al-Anjari announced separate plans to question Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak if he fails to fire or suspend General Director of the Public Institution For Social Security, Fahad Al-Rajan. MP Jamaan Al-Harbash also stated that the Bloc “will not leave [Al-Anjari] alone.” He was reacting to unconfirmed reports stating that AlRajan’s assets in Switzerland were frozen by order from authorities there. Alleged PIFSS violations are expected to be discussed during Al-Shamali’s grilling debate, reported Al-Qabas.

Separately, the Justice Bloc is reportedly discussing the possibility of grilling Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud over a recent incident

democracy before Gulf union vital: Speaker

Portugal FM to visit Kuwait LISBON: The Kuwaiti diplomatic mission in Portugal will work on schedules and arrangements for a visit by the foreign minister of the European nation to the Gulf country, expected soon, according to the ambassador. Suliman Al-Merjan, the top Kuwaiti diplomat in the country, said KUNA that the minister, Paulo Portas, had been addressed with an official invitation by the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry to visit Kuwait, adding that the diplomatic mission in Lisbon would “work on arranging this visit as soon as possible.”

Such a visit will boost the friendly Kuwaiti-Portuguese ties, he said, hoping that the volume of trade exchanges between the two Suliman Al-Merjan countries, estimated at 14 million euros, would be increased.

Al-Merjan expressed satisfaction at the level of the bilateral ties, praising the nation’s support for Kuwait in face of the 1990 Iraqi aggression, and noting that these relations have recently improved, with establishment of a Kuwaiti embassy in the country in 2010. The opening of the embassy in Portugal was intended to bolster the diplomatic relations.

Portugal granted facilities for allied warships en route to the Gulf during the 1990-1991 crisis that ended with liberation of Kuwait from the occupation. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Gulf monarchies must respect human rights, freedom of expression and allow for popular participation before turning the six-nation council into a union, Kuwait’s Parliament Speaker said on Thursday. “It is inevitable that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will have no choice but to improve their relations to an advanced form of a union,” Ahmad Al-Saadoun said on his Twitter account.This will make the member states “capable of confronting potential challenges targeting their interests, security and even their very existence,” Al-Saadoun said.

But he insisted that all member countries of the proposed union must have similar regimes that are open to their people and respect human rights and freedoms. This should include “freedom of expression and the right of popular participation in decision-making, which we hope will be achieved in all GCC states shortly so the union can be established under its umbrella,” the veteran Opposition figure said. The GCC consists of Bahrain and Kuwait, the only two states with elected Parliaments, in addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, which have appointed or partially-elected assemblies.

Gulf leaders agreed on Monday to allow more time for further discussions over a Saudi proposal to turn the GCC into a union likely to start with the kingdom and unresthit Bahrain. The union was first floated by Saudi King Abdullah in December. Bahrain’s state minister for information, Samira Rajab, said it could follow the “European Union model.” The GCC was formed in 1981, when the Sunni-dominated monarchies of the Gulf aimed to bolster security after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran which was followed by an eight-year war between Baghdad and Tehran. —AFP

Durango seeking closer ties with Kuwait: Mayor MEXICO CITY: The northern Mexico state of Durango is eying special close ties with Kuwait and development of bilateral cooperation on all domains, Durango Mayor Jorge Herrera Caldera has said. During his reception of Ambassador of Kuwait to Mexico Samih Jowhar Hayatt, currently visiting Durango, said Caldera hoped the bilateral relations will undergo remarkable progress in the near future. The Mayor spoke high of his friendship to Kuwaiti people and leadership and announced plans to visit Kuwait soon, accompanied by a large business delegation. Ambassador Hayatt and Caldera have reviewed the draft of a twinship agreement between Durango and the Kuwaiti governorate of Hawalli. Hayatt also expressed gratitude to the warm reception and hailed the friendly ties between Kuwaiti and Mexico. The ambassador invited Mexican investors to contribute to Kuwait state to development plan.

where authorities allowed a man blacklisted for “offending the beliefs and figures of the Sunni faith” into Kuwait. This was announced by bloc member Badr Al-Dahoom who demanded that the minister “expel the so-called Hassan Al-Maliki or else face severe measures.”

MPs Al-Wasmi and Khalid Al-Turaiji are said to be coordinating to file a grilling motion against the Interior Minister over alleged errors in naturalization procedures, according to speculations based on recent statements of both lawmakers.

In other developments, MP Nabil Al-Fadhl urged Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun to take “strict disciplinary measures” against political activist Abbas AlShaabi for reportedly attacking controversial lawmaker Mohammad Al-Juwaihel in the Parliament.

Al-Fadhl’s statements come after Al-Shaabi, a staunch supporter of Al-Saadoun’s Popular Action Bloc(PAB), reportedly admitted his actions.

Separately, Al-Rai daily reported yesterday that MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabatabaei met in Cairo recently with representatives of the Syrian opposition, and quoted lawmaker calling for arming the Free Syrian Army “to save Syria from the crimes committed by the Syrian regime,” reported Al-Rai.

Accomplish annual plan: Al-Athaina KUWAIT: Communications Minister Salem Al-Athaina instructed all ministry leaders to take necessary action to accomplish the annual plan, especially those related to development projects, by removing all administrative and financial obstacles.

Sources said that Minister Al-Othaina asked ministry officials to raise the percentage of contract commitments by 90 percent this year. They said the percentage was low before Al-Othaina took over, totaling to 45 percent of the allocated budget last year.

Al-Othaina has said that paperwork processing time must be shortened, and contracts should be made in coordination with other ministries to complete jobs, including the Ministry of Public Works whose projects run parallel with the Communication Ministry’s especially related to streets and buildings maintenance. —Al-Anba

LOCAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

KUWAIT: Vehicles on fire after they were set ablaze allegedly by a revengeful woman. — Photos by Foud Al-Shaikh

‘Vengeful woman’ sets vehicles ablaze KD 14,000 worth jewelry stolen from Roudhah house KUWAIT: A senior female citizen was arrested for setting three cars ablaze in a premeditated act of revenge. Following her arrest, the 59-year-old woman told officers that she wanted to punish the government for “stealing her money.” Sulaibiya police station officers launched an investigation after receiving a report about an unidentified arsonist who set a bus belonging to the state department on fire. The incident was soon followed by a similar one in which a minibus and an SUV were burnt. The suspect was arrested after she was identified as the owner of a Japanesemade car described in both reports. She quickly admitted to committing the crime, but refused to explain the reason why she was prompted to commit the act of revenge. Meanwhile, a police team found 51 jerry cans filled with gasoline inside the suspect’s home. The woman was taken into custody.

Fatal accident A male motorist was killed in a car accident that took place on Thursday along the Fifth Ring Road. Paramedics and police reached the accident scene shortly after the incident was reported. The citizen died instantly. Investigations went underway to determine circumstances that resulted in the accident.

Man beats up ‘friend’ A close friendship between two Egyptian residents in

Kuwait ended abruptly when one of them was punched in the face for seeking the other’s sister’s hand in marriage. The assaulted man filed a complaint with the Abdullah Port police station. The man explained to officers that he had taken comfort in the strong relationship shared with his best friend and sought to marry his sister. The friend perceived it as an apparent a betrayal of trust and reacted violently. A search is ongoing for the attacker who disappeared following the incident.

Escape plan goes wrong Investigators are on the lookout for a male suspect who has been accused of kidnap and rape by a domestic worker from Al-Fintas. The suspect reportedly convinced the Filipina woman to escape from her employer’s home to meet him, after which he locked her up for three days at his apartment in the area. The domestic worker managed to escape from his custody and returned to her sponsor. However, he immediately escorted her to the area’s police station to report the case.

The woman explained the incident to officers starting from the escape from her employer’s first floor apartment, meeting with her lover, kidnap and subsequent escape. She only provided the suspect’s first name. Detectives are now looking to collect more information.

Home burgled Police are hunting for a suspect who has been accused of stealing KD 14,000 worth jewelry from a citizen’s home. He filed a case at Al-Roudhah police station after discovering that a thief had broken into his home. Criminal investigators collected fingerprints from the scene and investigations are ongoing.

Drug smuggling thwarted A man was arrested at Kuwait International Airport with possession of drugs he attempted to smuggle into the country. The Ethiopian man had just arrived from his home country and customs officials searched his two suitcases. The man was placed under arrest after 12 kilograms of the contraband was found concealed in his clothes. He remains in custody pending legal procedures.

Murder threat A man pressed charges at Al-Wafra police station recently against a compatriot who threatened to murder him. In a statement to officers, the Somali resident said that he happened to spot the suspect with whom he had outstanding disputes. he charged at him and beat him up. The complainant said that he wore traditional Kuwaiti attire and disappeared. Investigations are ongoing into the case. — Al-Rai

News

in brief

KOC chooses new top official KUWAIT: The Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Board of Directors has approved the promotion of Munali Al-Enezi, Group Director of Gas Development to the post of Deputy Managing Director for Gas and Planning, replacing former deputy Mohammad Hussein. An official source said that Al-Enezi will assume his post on Sunday. The board adopted new evaluation procedures, to choose the right candidate because several individuals were nominated for the post.

New health insurance scheme KUWAIT: Proposal for new health insurance scheme will be introduced soon, said Public Authority for Health. The move will be taken in cooperation with concerned authorities. Dr Ali Al-Obeidi, Health Minister said that healthcare sector will accorded top priority by revamping primary and preventive health care facilities and hospitals.

Kuwait sweeps GCC TV awards MANAMA: Kuwait took home 15 awards at the GCC Radio and Television Festival held in Bahrain on Thursday, more than any of the other five nations. Kuwait Radio, the state radio won nine awards including six gold and three silver, with KTV collecting six to three gold and three silver medals. The Information Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Television, Ali Al-Rayyis expressed delight, stating that the awards reflect the standards upheld by the ministry. — KUNA , Al-Anbaa, Al-Shahed

KUWAIT: The National Security College sponsored ‘Meetings and Committees Chairmanship and Management’ training course concluded yesterday. A number of senior officials from Ministry of Interior, Defense Ministry, the National Guard and Ministry of Public Works took part in the course. The event was held in the presence of Assistant Director, Brigadier Fauzi Al-Suwalam.

Kuwait spotlights environment at Tashkent Islamic conference KUWAIT: Kuwait regards protection of the environment as an extremely crucial issue, its chief delegate told the Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers in Kazakhstan yesterday. Salah Al-Modhi, Director General of Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority (EPA), told the gathering that “HH the Amir (of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah) has pledged $150 million to support energy, the environment and the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research.”

This illustrates clearly, Kuwait’s commitments to these issues at

the highest level, domestically, regionally and internationally, stressed the official. Kuwait, represented by the EPA, he said, has highlighted its priorities on the agenda of Rio+20 (the UN Conference on Sustainable Development) which focus on the issues of climate change, and the need to support developing countries.

This leads to enhanced mutual trust - the major component of plans for sustainable development, he suggested. The official went on to describe the Islamic joint efforts as tandem to Kuwait’s planned proposals at the Rio de Janeiro conference on June 20-22. — KUNA

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

MCI cautions consumers against bogus promotions KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) cautioned consumers against products and promotions by bogus companies, which sometimes use telemarketing campaigns that give false impressions of a certified and reliable business dealing in safe and quality products.

Rashid Al-Hajri, Director of the MCI Department against Commercial Fraud, said such companies chose to call consumers and promote products that are often hazardous to health and safety, in addition to being of poor quality. Once purchased, the consumer has no means to guarantee a return or exchange for the goods he finds unsatisfactory, as these salespeople do not set up offices or receive complaints.

ASJF presdient extols Kuwait-Palestinian ties RAMALLAH: Honorary President of Asian Sports Journalists Federation and Emeritus member of the International Sports Journalists Federation Abdulmohsen Al-Husseini lauded the historic relationship shared between Kuwait and Palestine. In his speech at the Second Arab Sports Journalists Forum, AlHusseini said that sports have played an important role in developing Kuwaiti-Palestinian relations. He recalled the role played by late Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah President of the Olympic Council of Asia as well as a member of the International Olympic Committee in supporting Palestinian cause and sports.

‘Sheikh Fahad had exerted efforts to help Palestinian sports federations join the International Olympic Committee,’ Al-Husseini told KUNA. ‘In 1979, he invited the Palestinian Olympic Committee to participate in the Winter Olympic Games in Japan after helping 12 Palestinians enroll into sports federations — KUNA

The majority of products sold using this method, and the most hazardous of all, are cosmetics, dietary supplements, vitamins and alleged panaceas. Some substances sold should only be administered under proper and close care by a physician, and the products may even contain harmful substances or poisonous matter, he said.

He said engaging in such a business is a sign of loose morals. Those who operate in this manner are accountable to legal action, as they violate Kuwaiti laws. “It is imperative for consumers to cooperate with the authorities to stem such trifling with people’s wellbeing. Should a product be needed and only sold in this manner, the buyer must first verify the presence of a license and obtain information about the actual physical premises

and the quality of the product promoted,” he said.

The official called on consumers who purchase such goods and find them unsatisfactory for any reason to come forward and file a complaint at the closest commercial supervision office, to help hold the bogus entity accountable for its fraud.

Describing the functions of the department, Al-Hajri said its duties are two-fold. The department seeks to curb commercial fraud and protect consumers rights, and at the same time works to increase consumer awareness and responsibility. The ministry realizes the importance of efforts in this regard, thus the recent change from a mere consumer protection department to assigning this task to an independent sector in the ministry. — KUNA

Ambassador honors Sheikh Nasser LONDON: Kuwaiti ambassador to the UK Khalid Al-Duwaisan has held a luncheon in honor of former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, currently on a visit to the nation as Representative of His

Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Nasser arrived in London on May 15 to represent HH the Amir at celebrations marking the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. He was

received at Luton Airport by the Kuwaiti ambassadors and other Kuwaiti diplomats. The scheduled celebrations will mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, or the 60th anniversary of her coronation. — KUWAIT

Cinescape purchases screening rights of 30 Cannes movies CANNES, France: General Manager of Programs and Operations of Kuwait National Cinema Company (Cinescape) Hisham AlGhanim has succeeded in purchasing the screening rights of 30 movies competing in the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival. Al-Ghanim pointed out that the 30 movies represent the best products of the latest US Cinema production.

“Negotiations are going on to buy a number of the top Iranian and Turkish movies participating in the international event,” he told KUNA, adding the Iranian movie “Divorce”, which won Oscar Prize for best foreign film in 2012, is top on the list. Al-Ghanim praised Arab contribution to the 65th round of the Cannes Film Festival. He described the participation of the Kuwaiti film “AlSalheyya”, by young Director Sadegh Behbabahi, in the short movies contest as “a good start” for Kuwaiti cinema production in the international film festivals. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Ministry of Interior Acting Undersecretary, Lieut Gen Sulaiman Al-Fahad honored two traffic police officers yesterday for their sincere efforts.

LONDON: Former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ambassador to the UK Khalid Al-Duwaisan and other diplomats during a reception. — KUNA

Proposal to turn Kuwait into world’s oil capital State’s energy consumption up 66%: Study KUWAIT: The concept of ‘Kuwait as the world’s oil capital’ will see the light after being studied comprehensively, said, Fadhel Safar Minister of Public Works and Planning and Development revealed on Thursday.

On the sidelines of a preparatory meeting for the country’s second midterm development plan, Safar said to KUNA that the idea of turning Kuwait into a world oil capital goes falls in line with the vision of turning it also into a financial and commercial hub. This can be accomplished by offering a complete set of Kuwaiti oil and manufacturing industries by providing job opportunities for 21,000 potential employees, the minister said during last night’s meeting that included the presence of representatives for the Kuwaiti oil and industrial sectors.

The meeting provided a good opportunity to discusses some of the challenges that hinder the performance of these two sectors such as the lack of

space to set up industries and bureaucracy. Ahmad Al-Arabied, a former leading figure in the oil industry, commented that more than 200 Kuwaitis academics and former leaders in the oil sector are creating a framework of their idea of “Kuwait as a world’s oil capital.”

Kuwait’s energy consumption, which makes up roughly 16 percent of the oilrich Gulf nation’s oil production, has risen by 66 percent compared to the year 2000, according to a recent study.

Kuwait consumes around 413,000 barrels per day, exceeding the 14 percent rise in output, according to the study released by the Diplomatic Center for Strategic Studies.

Kuwait’s growing energy consumption is a key challenge to strategic development goals in the country, added the study. It deemed that the hike in energy consumption is a big problem, not only to Kuwait but to several world countries as well.

However, it listed the main obstacles to Kuwait’s strategic oil plan, which targets an output rise to four million barrels per day by 2020, as poor oil infrastructure and technological complications of stupendous oil and gas reserves development.

In general, the global oil industry is predicted to face major challenges in the coming decades amid expectations that a high demand for oil will hit 35 percent by 2035, the study indicated.

The Arab region, which has a population of 350 million, consumes 10.8 million barrels of energy, making up five percent of the world’s total energy consumption, it added.

In Arab countries, the per capita consumption of energy hits 11.4 barrels per annum, which is the fastest rate in the world. Arab oil reserves are estimated at roughly 683 billion barrels, constituting 58 percent of the world’s total energy reserves, the study showed. — KUNA

LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Laying track for growth KUWAIT: Plans are moving ahead for Kuwait’s country-wide metro system, which is hoped to address the growing issue of congestion and create a better environment for growth in commercial, business, industrial and residential markets.

In late March, the Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) invited contractors to express interest in a variety of contracts to develop rolling stock and systems for the Metropolitan Rapid Transit System Project (KMRT). A month earlier, the PTB signed a feasibility study for $7 billion metro. The project should be completed in five phases, with construction beginning in 2013. Once finished, it will span more than 160 kilometers and be serviced by 69 stations.

The PTB plans to give winning bidders 40 to 50 percent of shares in ‘design-buildfinance-maintain’ infrastructure packages.

The PTB has said it expects the metro to begin operating by 2020 and that the first phase of the development will extend more than 54 kilometers, and be serviced by 28 stations, nine of which will be underground.

“As the first public transport public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the country, the various procurements for the KMRT System are expected to contribute extensively to the realization of the philosophy of a multimodal and integrated public transport network,” wrote the PTB. The metro is the first of a number of PPPs planned by the government as part of a KD 37 billion infrastructure overhaul plan. Other transport initiatives include the 22.5-kilometer Al-Ahmed Bridge, which will cost KD 733 million, connect the mixed-use Silk City project with Kuwait City. Also in the works is the construction of a 550 kilometer railway, as part of a planned $25bn Gulf network, which aims to link GCC member states.

Supporters say the metro will be crucial to the nation’s development, particularly in light of its expected population increase from 3.6 million in 2010 to 5.3 million by 2030, according to a recent report from market research firm Euromonitor International and high levels of traffic congestion.

Speaking at the Kuwait Infrastructure Investment summit in late March, Abraham Akkawi, H ead of Infrastructure and PPP advisory services at UK-based accounting firm Ernst & Young, said the building of a metro was a long-term commitment and that this was the right time to launch the plan. “Kuwait is going through a major transformation in its infrastructure. Therefore, it makes sense to anchor it with one of the most elaborate projects,” he said.

Adding further to the growing support of transport infrastructure development, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) revealed that Kuwait will soon launch a KD700 to800 million initial tender for construction of a second terminal at its international airport.

Hossam Al Tahous, Undersecretary for MPW, told Reuters that the project should be finished by late 2016, with solar panels expected to provide approximately 10 percent of the terminal’s energy supply.

In a related development, local media reported that a parliamentary committee has recommended Kuwait amend its laws regarding public tenders to allow foreign companies to participate in biddings directly without the need for a local agent.

Previously, troubled negotiations between the Cabinet and Parliament over policy have been blamed for delays in large-scale infrastructure projects. — Oxford Business Group

YEREVAN: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan holds talks with Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at the presidential headquarters in Yerevan. — KUNA

YEREVAN: Sheikha Fareeha meets Armenian Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan. — KUNA

Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad visits Armenia YEREVEN: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received on Thursday Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, President of Kuwait Association for The Ideal Family at the presidential headquarters.

Sheikha Fareeha met First lady of Armenia, Rita Sargsyan. During the meeting, they discussed issues of women, family and

children in both countries. She also met the Armenian Minister of Culture, Hasmik Poghosyan, tackling means of enhancing and bolstering cooperation between the two countries to better serve issues related to the family, women and children. The Armenian First Lady held a luncheon in honor of Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad and the

accompanying delegation. Sheikha Fareeha, who also paid a humanitarian visit to a poor family in Armenia, was accompanied by the Kuwait’s Ambassador to Armenia Bassam Mohammed Al-Qabandi, Armenian ambassador to Kuwait Fadi Sharshogliyan, and wife of the foreign minister of the Asian nation. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Acting Undersecretary Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad, Undersecretary Assistant for General Security Affairs Major General Mahmoud Al-Dousary, and Undersecretary Assistant for Operations Affairs Major General Abdullah Al-Muhanna lead the crackdown in Amghara.

703 expats held in huge Amghara crackdown KUWAIT: Hundreds of people were arrested during an operation against illegal activities carried out Thursday in Amghara.

Described as “one of the largest security crackdowns in the history of Interior Ministry”, the unscheduled 5-hour operation started early morning hours while police made sure to block all of the area’s exits to trap violators.

According to an official statement by the Ministry, at least 703 expatriates were arrested for violation of labor and residency laws, facilitating illegal international calling services, as well as drug abuse, in addition to domestic workers reported missing by their sponsors.

The detainees also include suspects accused of stealing goods from state warehouses such as electric cables and manhole steel covers.

Several stolen items in addition to drugs and ammunition were seized during the campaign that was led by the senior ministry officials including Acting Undersecretary Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad, Undersecretary Assistant for General Security Affairs Major General Mahmoud Al-Dousary, and Undersecretary Assistant for Operations Affairs Major General Abdullah Al-Muhanna. — KUNA

The violators and illegal residents who were rounded up during the crackdown.

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Tensions mount over British queen’s regal jubilee lunch

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France names first S Korean-born minister

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Chinese court jails fugitive smuggling king Lai for life

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KUFR QADDUM: Palestinians throw rocks at an Israeli army bulldozer during clashes in the northern West Bank village of Kufr Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kdumim, yesterday. — AP

Sharing Jerusalem no longer possible Settlements thwarting Palestinian state JERUSALEM: Surrounded by aides, including one whose only task seems to be light his cigarettes, Mahmoud Abbas sits in a vast presidential office and speaks of his ambition to create a Palestinian state. But outside his sprawling compound on the hills of the West Bank town of Ramallah reality on the ground is different - his dream is being built over by ever-expanding Jewish settlements. From Ramallah to the sacred city of Jerusalem 20 km away, and all across the West Bank, the sprawling new communities, perched on hilltops that dominate the landscape, are testament to a shifting political geography and a reminder of the 64-year-old conflict and its winners and losers.

As Abbas resists pressure to resume talks on statehood until Israel halts construction, some Palestinians say he is too late to secure a viable national territory - partly because Yasser Arafat, his predecessor, failed to grasp the challenge of the settlements when he agreed an interim peace nearly 20 years ago. “There will be no Palestinian state,” said Khalil Tafakji, a geographer who advised Arafat but says the late PLO leader, in exile for much of his life, did not appreciate how far Israelis had gone by the early 1990s in permanently colonizing the West Bank and East Jerusalem, captured in war from Jordan in 1967.

“Look at the facts on the ground,” Tafakji said last week as he reviewed maps of Israeli towns and infrastructure, which the United Nations deems illegal on occupied land: “There is no geographic contiguity between Palestinian villages and cities,” he said. “They have expanded settlements, built bridges and tunnels. We now have two states inside one state.” Aside from its tightening grip on Arab East Jerusalem, Israel now directly controls about 58 per cent of the West Bank, while the rest is administered by Abbas’s

Palestinian Authority. The Oslo peace accords of 1993 left it to future negotiators to agree the “final status” of the division of territory between Israel and a Palestinian state. Failure to reach agreement has, in effect, left Israel drawing up its own map of the future.

GLOOMY VIEW Nabil Shaath, a senior figure in the Palestine Liberation Organization and a veteran of peace negotiations going back decades, concurs with Tafakji’s gloomy view of “facts on the ground” making it ever harder to establish a state: “Every day we lose territory on the ground, we lose sovereignty, we lose people,” he said in Ramallah, where the Authority is based, in the hope of one day being able to set up a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.

“They are grabbing as much land as possible to control the situation on the ground.

“Israel should not change the status quo on the ground during the negotiations,” Shaath argued. “They should cease settlement building and any violation of the Oslo accord. “But they want to draw the map of their land grab.” Tafakji reckons it might have been possible a decade ago to share Jerusalem with Israel but says that is no longer the case due to a policy of settling Jews in - and around - the Arab East, including the Old City revered by three religions, as well as legal moves to bar Palestinian residents of Jerusalem from returning to the city if they spend time living abroad. “Today you cannot divide Jerusalem,” he said. “It is impossible,” he added noting how Israeli settlers were moving in to houses inside mainly Arab-populated city neighborhoods. Palestinians are adamant that the east of the city they call Al-Quds will be capital of a state they demand on less than a quarter of what was British-

ruled Palestine before the establishment of Israel in 1948. Their national dream is endorsed by fellow Arabs and bolstered by the spiritual aspirations of a billion Muslims to regain control around the third holiest site in Islam. But for Israelis the entire city, Yerushalayim in Hebrew, is the “eternal and indivisible” capital of the Jewish state, the home the Jews dreamed of throughout 2,000 years of bitter exile.

THE SHARON MAP The ruling Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come round to accepting the Oslo concept of a “two-state solution”. But he rejects dividing Jerusalem and, while willing to redraw borders and give up some settlements, wants Israel to keep a security cordon around the West Bank in perpetuity. For Tafakji, the settlement enterprise that has now matured long predates the Oslo process and the hopes it raised for a peaceful resolution of a century-long conflict between Arabs and Jews over how to share the land.

That story begins in 1978 when Matitiyahu Drobless, head of the World Zionist Organization Settlement Division, prepared a first comprehensive plan for the establishment of colonies throughout the West Bank with a settler population intended to reach 1 million.

For many Zionists, disappointed by partition of Palestine in 1948, victory in the Six Day War of 1967 was the chance to build a greater Israel across the whole territory. The Drobless Plan for the hill country stretching 40 or so miles north and south of Jerusalem, known as the West Bank internationally or in Israel by the Biblical names of Judea and Samaria, was to scatter Jewish communities along the heights around Palestinian towns and cities.—Reuters

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Syria deaths mount, but no alternative to Annan plan UNITED NATIONS: Bodies are piling up in Syria while President Bashar Al-Assad sits entrenched in his palace, but the international powers say there is no alternative to UN observers watching a non-existent ceasefire. Two bombs that exploded near UN convoys in the first month of the UN mission highlighted how the unarmed military monitors are on one of the most perilous enterprises undertaken by the United Nations. Now UN leader Ban Kimoon says he believes Al-Qaeda was behind recent huge attacks in Damascus.

Syria is “very, very, dangerous,” said Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary general for UN peacekeeping. “They are there unarmed and there is no ceasefire, there is no peace agreement, there is no dialogue between the parties and it’s an urban warfare. “This is something we have never seen before. We have never placed our military

observers in a situation like this,” he said. The UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) is closing on its full strength of 300 monitors. But western countries are still predicting UNSMIS will not be renewed after its first 90 day mandate on July 20.

“There is a risk that at any moment military observers will be killed or injured,” said Britain’s UN envoy Mark Lyall Grant. “There have been some close shaves, so it is a situation we are keeping under close review.” Artillery attacks on towns have reduced since the mission deployed, but the death toll is still high. “It is the same strategy with a different tactic,” said one senior UN diplomat. “Instead of killing 100 they kill 60 and arrest 500.”

Rights groups and other sources say there has been an explosion in targeted killings. The UN says up to 10,000 people have been killed in the past 15 months. Assad has

shown willingness to start political talks. And the opposition is still too divided for negotiations, diplomats said.

No one has a Plan B to propose however to the peace plan of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. “I know lots of questions have been asked about what happens if the plan fails,” Annan said last week. “I am waiting for some suggestions as to what else we do. If there are better ideas I will be the first to jump onto it.” “There is no credible alternative,” according to Germany’s UN ambassador Peter Wittig. So the international community is sticking with Annan’s plan though most diplomats and observers say the a new Security Council battle over Syria is likely when the 90 day mandate ends. Russia, Assad’s main international ally, may demand an extension of UNSMIS, along with fellow permanent member China, and India, Pakistan and South Africa.—AFP

Egypt’s Brotherhood forms human chain for candidate CAIRO: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood organized a 760-km (470mile)-long human chain of supporters across the country on Thursday to back the group’s presidential candidate Mohamed Mursi in a show of strength ahead of next week’s historic vote.

From Cairo to Aswan, members of the Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), held posters of Mohamed Mursi, the Brotherhood’s alternative choice to the group’s initial candidate Khairat Shater, who was disqualified over a military court conviction. Rows of activists and supporters, some wearing TShirts and caps emblazoned with a print of Mursi’s face, held up campaign posters also showing the former engineer’s bearded face and a campaign slogan reading: “Mursi, for president of Egypt” The event, organized by Mursi’s presidential campaign, highlighted the Brotherhood’s powerful network of supporters across the country. On its website, the Brotherhood said it had aimed to form the “longest human chain in the world”. Known to have been the most organized political entity during the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, the Brotherhood boasts a campaign machine that can galvanize supporters across the country quickly. Mursi has been trailing behind other presidential candidates, mainly former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and Islamist candidate Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh.

But members of some liberal political groups say Mursi is likely to show considerable strength given the resilience of the Brotherhood’s decades-old network, which supports his campaign. The Brotherhood’s FJP dominates parliament after winning most seats in November parliamentary elections. “We are confident Dr Mursi will win from the first round,” Yasser Ali, a member of Mursi’s campaign, said. In March, the Brotherhood reversed an earlier decision to not contest the presidency and fielded a candidate, saying its party in parliament had little room to make policies because power was still in the hands of the ruling military council and its appointed government.— Reuters

CAIRO: Egyptian women line up to form a human chain as they hold posters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, Mohammed Morsi with Arabic that reads, “Dr. Mohammed Morsi, president for Egypt, 2012,” for the upcoming elections. — AP

WINDSOR: King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Princess Sabika are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh as they arrive at a lunch for sovereign monarchs of the world, held in honour of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee, yesterday. Critics are aghast at the choice of some guests for the lunch - among them the king whose Gulf nation has been engaged in a brutal crackdown on political dissent. — AP

Tensions mount over British queen’s regal jubilee lunch Bahraini, Swazi Kings invitations anger rights groups LONDON: A glittering lunch for the world’s sovereigns to be held to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has been marked by a withdrawal and protests over the guest list. Spain’s Queen Sophia has pulled out of the event at Windsor Castle, west of London, amid tensions over Gibraltar, while there were protests over the invite of Swaziland’s King Mswati III. Rights groups are also angered that the guest list, released by Buckingham Palace yesterday, includes Bahrain’s King Hamad, whose Gulf island country is in a state of civil unrest following a deadly crackdown on protests.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “The sovereigns lunch is a matter for Buckingham Palace, but we understand all reigning sovereigns have been invited.

“The jubilee celebrations are about marking 60 years of the queen’s reign, they are not a political event. “The palace is not releasing further details, including details of the guest list, until the day of the engagement.”

Queen Sofia, the consort of King Juan Carlos, cancelled her trip due to tensions with Britain over the tiny Gibraltar peninsula, which Spain ceded to Britain in perpetuity in 1713.

Last week Madrid protested to London over a planned June 11-13 jubilee visit to

Gibraltar on behalf of Queen Elizabeth by her youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex. “The government considers it is hardly adequate that in the current circumstances, Queen Sofia take part in Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee,” a spokesman for the Spanish royal household said Wednesday. The Spanish king and queen were due to attend the Windsor lunch, which is being held to mark Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne, but King Juan Carlos had already pulled out, recovering from hip replacement surgery after a fall during an elephant hunting expedition in Africa. After the lunch, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are hosting a dinner for the foreign sovereign monarchs at Buckingham Palace in London. Not all the sovereigns are attending both events. Japan’s Emperor Akihito-who attended Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 - and Empress Michiko are going.

They visited the Kyoto Garden in London’s Holland Park on Thursday. On Wednesday, a group of Swazis living in Britain protested outside London’s luxurious Savoy Hotel, where King Mswati was said to be staying with an entourage of more than 30 people.

Swaziland Vigil co-ordinator Thobile Gwebu said that in contrast Swazis had

been reduced to eating cow dung. She said Swazis in Britain did not want to spoil the jubilee celebrations but had written to Queen Elizabeth, asking her to influence King Mswati. Meanwhile former Europe minister Denis MacShane blasted the Foreign Office thought to have assisted on logistical matters-for not stopping King Hamad’s invite. The Bahraini regime “has done such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a year ago”, he said. “For too long we have turned a blind eye to the repression carried out under the rule of royals in Arabia.”

The Foreign Office “should protect the British queen rather than expose her to having to dine with a despot”. Prominent rights campaigner Peter Tatchell went further, saying that “inviting blood-stained despots brings shame to our monarchy and tarnishes the diamond jubilee celebrations”. He said the monarchs of Brunei, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and the United Arab Emirates all “preside over regimes that abuse human rights”. Queen Elizabeth, 86, and her husband Prince Philip, 90, visited northwest England on Thursday as part of their jubilee tour of Britain. They took a trip round the Albert Dock in Liverpool in an amphibious “Yellow Duckmarine”. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Cattle dying, fields scorched as drought strikes Senegal WODOBERE: In the northeastern nook of Senegal, one of the most stable and developed nations in the drought-hit Sahel region, carcasses of cattle lie in the sun, the fields have withered and food depleted. As scanty rains wreaked havoc across the belt, hitting droughtweary Chad, Niger, Mali and other countries, this west African hub is struggling to provide food to its people and entire villages are going hungry.

“The shepherds and people have told us they feel as if they have been left to their own devices,” said famed Senegalese singer Baaba Maal, who last week toured the Matam region from where he originates. In Wodobere, a town of about 6,000 people skirting Mauritania, Maal-an ambassador for British charity Oxfam-called for urgent aid to avert famine as he toured the

region, listening to the concerns of villagers and giving concerts. Crops have failed across eight countries after late and erratic rains in 2011, and aid agencies have raised the spectre of a food crisis bigger than the one which left millions starving in 2010.

This is the third drought in the Sahel in a decade, and while the previous ones were felt mostly in Niger and parts of Chad, this year it has unfolded across the entire region. In Mbelogne, a hamlet where most of the 450 residents survive off animal husbandry, its chief Ely Hamady Diallo said: “There are problems both with food and water, for people and for the animals.” Here a cow carcass lies on the cracked, scorched earth. Emaciated cattle lie in the shade, too weak to lift themselves.

The only well, some two kilometers

Jury begins deliberations in John Edwards case GREENSBORO: A jury started weighing yesterday morning whether John Edwards committed a crime when money from two wealthy donors was used to hide his pregnant mistress during the candidate’s run for the 2008 White House. Jurors heard about 17 days of testimony, a lot of focusing on the details of the lurid sex scandal between the Democratic candidate, his mistress Rielle Hunter and his once-trusted aide Andrew Young, who initially claimed he was the father of his boss’ baby. Edwards is charged with six criminal counts including conspiracy to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, accepting contributions that exceeded campaign finance limits, and causing his campaign to file a false financial disclosure report. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted of all charges. Jurors will not be judging Edwards character. Instead, they will have to weigh whether to believe Edwards, who argued that he didn’t knowingly break the law, or his aide, Andrew Young, who said Edwards recruited him to solicit secret donations in excess of the legal limit for campaign John Edwards contributions, then $2,300. The choice before them comes down to choosing which liar to believe. Young, the prosecution’s star witness, falsely claimed paternity of his boss’s baby in December 2007, after tabloid reporters tracked a visibly pregnant Hunter to a doctor’s appointment. Edwards repeatedly denied having a relationship with Hunter, only to go on national television in August 2008 to admit having a brief affair with Hunter but that it was physically impossible he was the father of her baby girl. In fact, his relationship with Hunter had lasted more than a year.

A recording of that interview was played for the jury last week as the prosecution rested its case. The bulk of the alleged illegal campaign contributions flowed to Young, including $725,000 in checks from heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, who is now 101 years old. Young spent some of the money to care for Hunter, but financial records introduced at the trial showed the aide siphoned off most of the money to help build his family’s $1.6 million dream home near Chapel Hill.

Another $400,000 in cash, luxury hotels, private jets rides and a $20,000-a-month rental mansion in Santa Barbara, Calif., were also provided by wealthy Texas lawyer Fred Baron to help cover up the affair. Baron served as Edwards’ campaign finance chairman. Prosecutors say Edwards knew about the money and directed the cover-up, showing the jury phone records indicating he was in constant contact with Hunter and Young while they were in hiding. The defense countered that it is Young who should be on trial, not Edwards, accusing the aide of using Edwards’ name without his knowledge to bamboozle Mellon out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal use. Young received immunity from prosecutors. —AP

from the village, is nearly dry. “We can’t even respect tradition and offer you some cold milk. My cow died because she didn’t have anything to eat or drink,” said Yacine Diallo, holding her daughter in her arms.

“We have nothing left,” said Diallo, who came to Mbelogne to see Maal, adding that the situation is the same in her nearby village of Ndouloumadji. In another village named Dolel, chief Mamadou Gaye does not complain about the drought, but calls for water pumps, machines to irrigate the land and proper health infrastructure.

Patrick Ezeala, who works with Oxfam in the region, said the food crisis is currently affecting 800,000 people in Senegal. As the country struggles to feed its 13 million inhabitants, it imports basic goods such as rice, forc-

ing the prices up. “Twenty million people (in the Sahel) are threatened with famine because of a lack of rain, climate change, and the flare in the prices of basic goods,” said Maal after a concert in Wodobere which attracted several hundred people. “In a few months’ time, the worst could unfold in front of our eyes. We need to act now,” he said, calling on authorities and international organizations to intervene and avoid a worst-case scenario. Fatouma Sow and Penda Ndiaye came decked up for the concert, and after singing and dancing they reflected on the message of one of the country’s most respected artists.

“He spoke of a food crisis, it concerns us too. Before a kilo of rice cost 250 CFA francs, now it is 350 CFA francs (0.53 euro cents, $0.67). Here, it is hard for everyone,” said Sow. — AFP

South Sudan urges UN sanctions on Khartoum Juba ready for ‘fair oil deal’, wants UN guarantees JUBA: The United Nations should impose sanctions on Sudan for failing to obey a Security Council resolution calling for an end to hostilities and renewed negotiations with South Sudan over oil and border disputes, South Sudan’s negotiator said yesterday. Pagan Amum said Khartoum had not complied with the May 2 resolution giving neighbors Sudan and South Sudan, under threat of sanctions, two weeks to resume talks over their differences, which boiled over into border clashes last month.

He said while South Sudan, which became the world’s newest independent nation last year, had signaled its readiness to restart talks immediately, its neighbor had carried out air attacks after May 2 and had not moved to resume negotiations. “They have violated the timeline,” Amum, Secretary-General of South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), said in an interview in the South Sudanese capital Juba. He urged the UN Security Council to “impose sanctions now and take measures against Khartoum”. A spokesman for Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said Amum’s remarks were “unfortunate” and accused the south of violating the Security Council resolution by continuing its “aggression” in Sudan’s territory.

While insisting the South wanted to live in peace with Sudan, Amum criticized both the United Nations and the African Union for failing to deal firmly with Sudan, which he said routinely defied the international community. “If the UN fails to take action, they will be judged by humanity and the people of South Sudan will lose trust and confidence in them,” the South Sudanese negotiator said. “We are going to ask them, ‘What are you going to do?’” He said he had written to former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is in Khartoum as head of the AU panel tasked with resolving the north-south disputes, asking when the negotiations with Khartoum would restart but had not so far received a response.

El-Obeid Morawah, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: “The Security

Council and the AU have their own monitoring mechanisms and it is they who will say which side violates the decisions.

I think it is better for them (South Sudan) and for us to put the negotiations first.”

On Thursday, the UN Security Council demanded that Sudan immediately withdraw troops from the disputed Abyei border region but Khartoum pledged only to do so after a joint military observer body for the area was created. Amum said South Sudan had withdrawn its police forces from Abyei in compliance with the UN demands and said Khartoum’s failure to pull out its military was a violation that should be punished by the Security Council.

gave it about three quarters of the oil output of the previously unified nation.

A dispute over the fees South Sudan should pay to Sudan to export its crude through the north prompted Juba to shut off its oil production earlier this year, straining the two economies. Bashir said this week Khartoum would not allow South Sudan to export any oil through its territory unless the two settle all border security disputes. Amum said Juba was ready to strike a “fair commercial agreement” with Khartoum on oil transit fees but South Sudan would demand international guarantees for such a deal to prevent Sudan from “stealing or diverting” its oil. — Reuters

‘FAIR’ OIL DEAL Juba accuses Khartoum of launching bombing raids on South Sudanese territory after May 2. UN peacekeepers have verified damage and casualties from at least one raid and the UN’s top human rights official said last week she was outraged by “indiscriminate” aerial attacks

by Sudan that she said were killing and injuring civilians. Sudan denies Juba’s accusations of air raids and independent verification of rival claims are often difficult because of limited access to remote conflict areas.

Amum chastised the UN and the AU for what he said was inaction over repeated Sudanese attacks. “The UN sees it as normal for (Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-) Bashir to bomb and kill the people of South Sudan. The conscience of the international community is not pricked ... they are used to it, it has become normal,” he complained. He said the international community only reacted when South Sudanese forces, in what he called self-defense, occupied the disputed Heglig oil region, as the two armies clashed on their border last month. Under international pressure, South Sudan withdrew from Heglig. The two Sudans, which fought a civil war for more than two decades before a 2005 peace deal that eventually led to South Sudan’s independence, sit on significant oil reserves. The South’s independence

NIZHNY TAGIL: Igor Kholmanskikh, a section head at the Uralvagonzavod tank factory in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil that builds battle tanks, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, unseen, in the NovoOgaryovo residence outside Moscow yesterday. President Vladimir Putin has given the senior government post to Kholmanskikh, a tank factory worker who had offered to come to Moscow with fellow laborers to disperse opposition protests. — AP

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

France names first SKorean-born minister Minister shows up in jeans, causes sensation PARIS: President Francois Hollande has named 38-year-old technocrat Fleur Pellerin as France’s first South Korean-born minister, in charge of small and medium enterprises and the digital economy. Pellerin, born in Seoul and adopted by French parents at the age of six months, is a classic product of France’s elite education system as opposed to the hierarchy of Hollande’s Socialist Party. She had a brilliant academic career from high school on, attending the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) that also educated Hollande and much of France’s political class.

Pellerin, who told AFP she does not see herself as Asian, was raised in a family “with left-wing values” and only joined the Socialist Party in 2006, before becoming Hollande’s advisor on the digital economy. She says that she declined an offer to stand for an easy seat in next month’s parliamentary elections. In France, ministers are not required to hold elected office. Previously little known in France, Pellerin was feted by the Asian media during the grueling campaign.

She said that in Korea “there is a kind of collective guilt about having sent away children for adoption during the 1970s. Now, they’re trying to renew their links and to see what these children have become.” Her passport still carries what was her first name at birth-Jong-Sook-which she for a long time thought meant “perfect woman.” “It’s a first name that’s a little out of fashion that can be translated as ‘clear, transparent’,” she said. Pellerin says that in her spare time she likes to paint, cook, play classical piano and sing karaoke. She is married to Laurent Olleon, who also attended the ENA and now works at France’s State Council that provides legal advice to the executive. She has an eight-year-old daughter, Berenice, from a previous marriage.

MINISTER IN JEANS In another development, France’s housing minister has caused a sensation by showing up in jeans while her colleagues donned dresses and suits for the new left-wing government’s inaugural cabinet meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Cecile Duflot, 37-year-old head of the Greens ecology party, struck a lone figure in denims on Thursday when several of the 34 ministers spared no effort to look chic for the debut meeting with President Francois Hollande. Less might have been said in public if Duflot had not been taken to task by a notoriously pugnacious rightwing adversary whose disparagement fired up debate on Twitter.

“Personally speaking, when you are a representative of the French people you have to distinguish between cabinet meeting clothes and weekend dilettante wear,” said Nadine Morano, who was a minister until the left took over this week.

Duflot, also the sole minister to arrive and leave by public transport, earned qualified support from former health minister Roselyne Bachelot, who issued a Twitter message saying: “Frankly, if Duflot’s jeans are made in France she did well to wear them to the cabinet meeting.” Hollande, who unseated conservative Nicolas Sarkozy in a May 6 vote, says he wants to be a “Mr Normal” leader after years of a more flashy style that rapidly won Sarkozy the name of “president bling bling”.

Neither he nor Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault waded into the Duflot dress code debate. — Agencies

Merkel under fire BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday came under attack from members of her own party for firing a minister blamed for a regional election that weakened her domestically as she fights the euro crisis. In a shock move on Wednesday, Merkel dismissed Norbert Roettgen from his post as environment minister, after he led a much-criticized campaign in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia that saw a crushing loss for her conservatives.

Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), complained that Roettgen “had gone within a few hours from the great white hope of the union to the only person being blamed for the awful defeat in North RhineWestphalia.” This all happened “much too quickly,” Bosbach told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Meanwhile, Norbert Lammert, another CDU politician who is also speaker of the Bundestag lower house of parliament, called the sacking “regrettable for the party as a whole.” During a hastily organized news conference on Wednesday, Merkel replaced Roettgen, 46, with close ally Peter Altmaier as a consequence of the CDU’s worst ever result of 26.3 percent in the state election on May 13. —AFP

Violence erupts at Venezuelan prison Latest violence in long history of jail trouble CARACAS: Venezuelan authorities yesterday restored order at a notoriously overcrowded Caracas jail after shots rang out earlier in the day in the latest outbreak of violence in the country’s badly strained prison system. Authorities are trying to close the chaotic La Planta facility, built in 1964 to house 350 inmates, which has housed nearly 2,500, many armed with heavy weapons. Inmates have, however, been resisting closure for weeks, leading to a virtual siege with security forces ringing the jail and periodic clashes with relatives camped outside.

Shots rang out for two hours and smoke rose over the facility in the morning. Prisons Minister Iris Varela said authorities had convinced a group of 100 prisoners to move to other facilities. “We managed to reason with a significant number of people being held here, and they have already started to come out,” Varela told state television, showing images of prisoners walking past armed troops toward waiting vehicles. “We hope to be finished with this in the coming hours, to completely evacuate the jail,” said Varela.

President Hugo Chavez’s government accuses opposition media of exaggerating and aggravating the situation.

Critics of the socialist president counter that his government has neglected the prison issue, especially during Chavez’s absence from public life for cancer treatment. “The situation in La Planta is another example of this government’s failures on the issues of prisons and Venezuelans’ security,” said opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who is running against Chavez in an October election. Last year some 5,000 soldiers took a month to quell violence in another overcrowded prison where riots killed 22 people. Relatives outside La Planta jail spoke of injuries and deaths inside during Thursday’s flareup. Varela

CARACAS: Relatives of inmates protesting against measures taken by authorities to control a riot at the La Planta prison clash with National Guard soldiers outside the jail in Caracas on Thursday. — AP said prisoners could have been wounded or killed but did not provide details.

HELL IN PARADISE The South American nation’s prisons are notorious for the ease of access to weapons and drugs as well as mobile phones and computers hooked up to the Internet, allowing inmates easy access to the outside world, often to run criminal gangs. The country’s 34 prisons house nearly 50,000 people, but were built for under a third of that, local rights groups say. Hundreds die each year in riots and gang fights - 500 last year, according to a local prisons NGO - and the latest violence at La Planta left a district of Caracas virtually off limits for residents and motorists. In perhaps Venezuela’s worst single prison incident, about 130 prisoners were burned

or hacked to death with machetes during gang fights at Sabaneta jail in Maracaibo in 1994.

Two years later, authorities at La Planta locked a number of prisoners into cells before firing tear gas inside. A fire broke out, and 25 prisoners burned to death while guards looked on, local news reports said. The charred remains took a week to identify, their bones glued to the furniture inside. On Thursday, explosions could be heard from within a police cordon round the prison, which is in the ironically named “El Paraiso” (Paradise) district of Caracas, surrounded by hillside slums. Shots sounded out for a couple of hours. “Hell in paradise,” was how one local characterized it on Twitter. Some relatives wore face masks to protect themselves against teargas swirling from the prison. — Reuters

West African bloc opens talks with Malian rebels OUAGADOUGOU: West African bloc ECOWAS has opened talks with Mali’s rebel groups, including fighters linked to Al-Qaeda, as part of its effort to restore constitutional rule in the country in the wake of its March 22 coup, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister said. The talks are the first publicly acknowledged negotiations with the armed groups by the regional bloc since a mix of separatist rebels and Islamist gunmen took control of northern Mali following the coup in the capital.

“We have to ensure that all factions feel involved in the peace process ... it is better for them all to be present at negotiating table,” minister Djibril Bassole told journalists late on Thursday. Burkina Faso is one of ECOWAS’s lead mediators in the Mali crisis. Bassole gave no details on any progress made. ECOWAS is trying to map out a political transition and has said that it has a 3,000-strong force ready to be deployed to Mali, though analysts have questioned the bloc’s readiness and appetite for desert warfare against heavily armed rebels.

The two main groups occupying Mali’s north are the Tuareg-led MNLA, which wants an independent state in the desert north, and Ansar Dine, an al Qaeda-linked group

which is seeking to impose Islamic law, sharia, across Mali.

But other groups including AQIM, al Qaeda’s North African wing, MUJWA, which is an AQIM splinter group, and foreign fighters are also operating in the area, fuelling regional fears it has become a haven for extremists and international criminal gangs. ECOWAS has offered to help Mali retake control of its north but plans remain vague and, before any force comes to the country, the bloc will have to resolve the political crisis.

The current interim president’s term runs out this weekend and the military has proposed a national convention to choose a successor, but regional leaders and many of the country’s politicians have rejected the plan. “It is about proposing a plan that brings together the transitional government, the armed groups and other actors to find a way out of this crisis,” Bassole said. “We want the armed groups to take part in the management of the transition of the country, under conditions that we will set out,” he added. ECOWAS and the soldiers who led the coup remain at loggerheads, with West African leaders demanding they return to barracks but the former junta seeking to retain a say in the country’s future. — Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

South Carolina woman battles flesh-eating bacterial disease CHARLESTON: A new mother of twins in Greenville, South Carolina, is the latest victim of a rare and potentially fatal flesh-eating bacterial infection, health officials said on Thursday. Lana Kuykendall, 36, was in critical but stable condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dees said. Kuykendall, who gave birth to twins this month at a Georgia hospital, came home to South Carolina and had severe pain in her leg, her husband, Darren Kuykendall, told a local television station. Within 15 minutes of noticing that the painful spot on her leg was spreading, she went to the hospital, he said. She underwent her fifth surgery to remove necrotic, or dead, tissue from her lower leg after being hospitalized last Friday, the hospital said in a statement.

“A team of surgeons, critical-care physicians and infection disease specialists at Greenville Memorial Hospital continue to very closely monitor and treat her condition,” the statement said. Kuykendall was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating infection that can destroy muscles, skin and tissue. Necrotizing fasciitis is typically managed by surgery, antibiotics and aggressive supportive care, the hospital said. “She remains very ill but stable,” said Dr Bill Kelly, hospital epidemiologist for Greenville Hospital System. Lana Kuykendall is a paramedic. Her husband, Darren, is a firefighter. “We’re extremely grateful for the extraordinary medical care and the incredible community support we’ve received,” Darren Kuykendall said.

THE WORST KIND Dr Jerry Gibson, an epidemiologist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said she was on a ventilator. “She has the worst kind of bacterial infection,” Gibson told Reuters. “It destroys tissues and invades the long membranes. We see four or five cases a year in South Carolina. There’s no prevention.”

Two other cases of flesh-eating infections have been reported recently in South Carolina and Georgia. But Gibson said, “These cases don’t cluster together except randomly.”

Different bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis.

Gibson said he had not seen Kuykendall’s medical chart and did not know what type of bacteria was to blame. The hospital would not name the underlying bacteria.

Necrotizing fasciitis can be caused by group-A streptococci or by staphylococci, common bacteria that live on people’s skin and in their noses, he said. “Normally, they do nothing,” Gibson said. “Sometimes the group-A strep causes strep throat. Sometimes the staph causes a skin infection. Rarely, people can become infected in a place that’s usually sterile - heart, lung, tissue under the skin and have group-A strep where it shouldn’t be.

HIGH MORTALITY RATE “This is a condition that scares people,” he said.

“Patients are usually very normal and then they deteriorate fast. It usually starts at the site of a break in the skin.

People may wash it out and it suddenly starts progressing.” Gibson said he does not know if Kuykendall’s infection could have started in the hospital where she gave birth. “It started growing on her leg,” he said. Necrotizing fasciitis has a high mortality rate. “It moves so fast and often requires very invasive surgery to correct it,” he said.

In another recent case, Georgia college student Aimee Copeland, 24, was being treated for necrotizing fasciitis at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, Georgia. She has had most of one leg amputated and was expected to suffer the loss of her fingers as well.

Copeland contracted the infection after a zip-line accident in which she fell and cut her leg along the Little Tallapoosa River near Carrollton, Georgia. Doctors blamed her infection on the Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria, which are found in fresh or brackish water. A former South Carolina fire chief, Glenn Pace, told a local television station he had been battling the disease since early April, spent 20 days in the hospital and had three surgeries on his foot but did not have to have his leg amputated. The infection is caused by “something subtle, sometimes in a person who has poor nutrition or alcohol use but also in people who have no immune deficiencies,” Gibson said. The “flesh-eating” infection is not communicable, he said. — Reuters

TULTITLAN: Honduran Reina Jackeline, who is six months pregnant, rests near a passing train in Tultitlan, Mexico state on May 17, 2012. More than 200 illegal immigrants have been killed in Mexico in the last 10 months, according to the Casa del Migrante in Saltillo (Coahuila, northern Mexico), which coordinates several shelters for the homeless run by the Catholic Church. Some 140,000 Central Americans, according to government figures, enter Mexico illegally each year in hopes of reaching the northern border to cross into the United States. — AFP

Justice Dept urges terror label for Nigeria’s Militia Designation gives law enforcement power to monitor, detain WASHINGTON: The Justice Department is pressing the State Department to designate Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group alleged to be responsible for hundreds of deaths, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” according to a document obtained by Reuters. Lisa Monaco, head of the Justice Department’s national security division, sent a letter in January to State Department counter-terrorism chief Daniel Benjamin requesting that Boko Haram, also know as the “Nigerian Taleban,” be put on the list. A Congressional source said that in the last few days, State Department representatives have lobbied Congress to try to stop legislation which would force the administration to act against the group or explain why they had not done so.

On Thursday, Rep Patrick Meehan, a Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on Homeland Security, introduced an amendment to a defense bill that does just that, after he said State officials inexplicably cancel led a briefing on Boko Haram.

In several recent cases, including that of the so-called underwear bomber, in which a Nigerian failed to blow up an airliner headed to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, the United States has been handcuffed by waiting too long to designate a group as “terrorists,” Meehan said.

“Only later, after they’ve committed terrible acts have we put them on the list of foreign terrorists,” Meehan said. “To not have the capacity that it gives law enforcement to both monitor and to hold people who give material support to an organization like that, puts us at a disadvantage.”

Representative Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said: “Boko Haram claimed credit for the suicide bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja,

Nigeria, killing 23 people and injuring more than 80 others. “That meets my definition of a terrorist group, but if the administration has a reason why they don’t want to designate them, I would like to hear it,” Rogers said.

A senior State Department official said the department was “very concerned about violence in Nigeria” and added that it was “looking at this very carefully.” The official insisted the department was “not stalling or dragging our feet.” But he noted that adding a group to the sanctions list is a “rigorous process which has to stand up in a court of law.” Also on Thursday, Rep. Charlie Dent added an amendment to a foreign affairs bill that would also require State to explain why Boko Haram had not been designated a terrorist organization.

The measure passed the House Appropriations Committee Thursday.

LINKED TO SERIES OF ATTACKS Congress has recently been at odds with the Obama administration regarding demands that a Pakistan-based militant group linked to the Taleban known as the Haqqani Network also be added to the foreign terrorist organization list. Some administration officials have hinted that they are resisting putting the Haqqani network on the list in the hope that not doing so might advance continuing, but patchy, peace negotiations between the US and Taleban groups in Afghanistan.

Assistant Attorney General Monaco’s letter said that in her view, Boko Haram meets the criteria for a foreign terrorist listing, in that it either engages in terrorism which threatens the United States or has a capability or intent to do so. According to Monaco, since 2009 the group has target-

ed violent attacks against Nigeria’s “police, politicians, public institutions and civilian population.” She said the group was responsible for an attack in December 2010 in which 80 were killed in a town called Jos; a June 2011 attack on Nigeria’s national police headquarters; an August 2011 attack on a UN compound in Nigerian capital Abuja; and multiple attacks in November and December 2011, including Christmas Day attacks on churches and other targets.

Monaco said that according to press reports, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for 510 victims in 2011, and also took credit for a Jan 20 attack on government buildings in Kano in which more than 160 were killed. Monaco said that although Boko Haram attacks until now have occurred only within Nigeria, the US should not underestimate the threat the group poses to US interests. She claimed the group had forged links with “transnational terrorist groups,” including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a north African affiliate of AlQaeda’s Pakistan-based core group, and Boko Haram has “openly espoused violence against the West.” In a March 30 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Meehan and House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Peter King suggested some of Boko Haram’s most recent tactics have paralleled those of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Tehrik-i-Taleban in Pakistan, both of which have been linked to attempted - though unsuccessful - attacks on the United States. Administration officials have said that US government representatives will hold high-level talks with Nigerian officials in Washington next month and the issue of Boko Haram is certain to come up. — Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

China shadow looming as Ma set for 2nd term TAIPEI: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has leveraged growing economic ties with China to reduce tensions to their lowest level since the two sides split in 1949.

China’s incessant effort to draw the democratic island closer politically has been on the back burner, and as Ma’s second term begins Sunday the question is whether he can keep it there.

China continues to insist that Ma’s selfgoverning island of 23 million people is part of its territory, to be brought back into the fold by persuasion if possible, by force if necessary. But Taiwan, backed by a United States that is re-engaging in Asia after a decade-long preoccupation in the Middle East, has no desire to give up its de facto independence. Analysts say that Ma, who won re-election over a more Chinawary opposition, probably won’t be pressed by Beijing anytime soon, but might toward the end of his second fouryear term.

Since Ma took office in 2008, trade volumes between Taiwan and China have soared. Commercial barriers have tumbled, and tourism and other exchanges have

become commonplace. That may not be enough for Beijing, which says concrete progress toward formal unification is the most useful metric for measuring Ma’s performance. On that point, Taiwan and the authoritarian mainland remain far apart. In 1992, informal representatives of the two sides acknowledged that there is only one China, but took no clear position on whether it is the People’s Republic of China on the mainland or the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Taiwan’s mass circulation United Daily News said Wednesday that Beijing appears to hope that Ma’s overtures will eventually “go beyond the 1992 Consensus, and reach the more concrete formula that ‘both sides belong to one China.’” If Ma ever accepted that formula, it could be seen as signaling his acceptance that Taiwan must eventually be ruled by Beijing. During his re-election campaign, Ma raised the prospect of a formal peace treaty between the two sides, his first clear political move in Beijing’s direction. But he quickly drew back after popular opposition to the idea spiked, an illustration of how he

is constrained by Taiwan’s boisterous electorate. Despite supporting the president’s efforts to engage China economically, that electorate strongly resists political integration, amid a growing tendency to define itself as Taiwanese and not Chinese at all.

“People are open to dealing with China economically and even going there to work,” said political scientist Ketty Chen of Taipei’s National Taiwan University. “But they still consider themselves Taiwanese and see China as just another foreign country, even though they speak the same language.” Public opinion polls have repeatedly shown that no more than 10 percent of Taiwan’s people want political integration with the mainland, while 60 to 70 percent favor the status quo. The remainder support formal independence, a step that China says would lead to war.

Political scientist Alexander Huang of Taipei’s Tamkang University said Beijing appears to appreciate the political constraints under which Ma is operating. “I suspect that China will not push Ma too hard during the coming four years,” Huang said. “It has an increasingly good under-

standing of Taiwanese politics, and understands the pressures that Ma is facing.”

Another reason to expect a moderate Taiwan policy from Beijing, Huang said, is China’s preoccupation with its own problems. Its once overheated economy has cooled abruptly, and political troubles seem to be cascading in the wake of unspecified allegations of malfeasance against one-time Communist Party highflyer Bo Xilai. “I just don’t think it’s wise for China to take on a big issue like Taiwan at this juncture,” Huang said.

Political scientist George Tsai of Taipei’s Chinese Culture University said Beijing will have to determine if it wants to take advantage of Ma’s weakened political standing at home, which has come to the fore in recent weeks following a series of conspicuous missteps on economic policy. “They can either take advantage of his position, or they can decide to not apply pressure on him,” Tsai said. Chen said she expected that China would hold off on pressing Ma during the next year or two, but could change its tune after that, even at the risk of reinvigorating Ma’s political opponents. — AP

Chinese court jails fugitive smuggling king Lai for life Lai found guilty of smuggling luxury cars

MASINLOC: A Philippine soldier stands guard next to fishing boats (back) at a pier in Masinloc town, Zambales province, 140 miles from Scarborough Shoal yesterday, which protesters were to board and set sail to the disputed shoal. Philippine President Benigno Aquino told protesters to abort plans to sail yesterday, to a disputed South China Sea shoal also claimed by China, the leader of the group said. — AFP

Philippines stops protest trip to disputed shoal MASINLOC: Philippine President Benigno Aquino told protesters to abort plans to sail yesterday to a disputed South China Sea shoal also claimed by China, the leader of the group said. A group of about 20 people, led by outspoken former Philippine Marine officer Nicanor Faeldon and including television crews, was set to depart to Scarborough Shoal from the northern coastal town of Masinloc.

China claims the shoal along with most of the South China Sea, even up to the coasts of its Asian neighbours, while the Philippines says the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. Cranking up tensions, both countries have had ships posted around the shoal since April 10, after Chinese vessels prevented a Philippine Navy ship from arresting Chinese fishermen. China and the Philippines have imposed separate fishing bans around the disputed area that came into effect on Wednesday, moves that were seen by some observers as a face-saving way for both claimants to back away from the row.

Aquino’s last-minute telephone call yesterday led to the protesters calling off their trip, protest leader Faeldon told reporters after speaking to the president on his mobile phone.

“I received a call from the president requesting the postponement of this voyage.... I consulted the group and we agreed to concur with the wisdom of the government to postpone it,” he added. —AFP

BEIJING: A Chinese court yesterday handed a life sentence to Lai Changxing, the head of a vast smuggling operation who spent 12 years on the run in Canada before being deported last year. Lai was found guilty of smuggling luxury cars and cigarettes worth billions of dollars and of bribing officials, in a case that brought down senior military and police figures and tested relations between China and Canada. The 53-year-old was sentenced at a court in southeast China’s Xiamen, the city from which he directed his sprawling criminal empire before fleeing the country, the official news agency Xinhua said.

Once known as his country’s most wanted fugitive, Lai would likely have been sentenced to death under different circumstances. But in order to secure his extradition, China issued an unusual promise to the Canadian government not to execute him-a pledge it stuck to with his sentencing yesterday. At least 14 death sentences were meted out to less important figures in the case when trials were held over a decade ago, bringing down national-level military and police officials and a swarm of local functionaries.

“The trial shows China’s firm resolve in fighting crime and corruption,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular briefing after the sentencing.

“This case also shows that China and Canada have important law enforcement cooperation.” Footage from Lai’s trial last month showed him pale and expressionless, a far cry from the flamboyant businessman who once drove a bulletproof Mercedes that had previously belonged to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin.

The verdict was not given until yesterday before the sentencing, which will see Lai spend the rest of his life in jail.

Lai was sentenced to life for smuggling, in addition to losing all his personal assets, according to Xinhua. The court separately

sentenced him to 15 years in jail for bribery, the agency said, giving no further details. Lai’s organization smuggled luxury cars, cigarettes and other products worth a total of 27.4 billion yuan (4.3 billion dollars), evading 14 billion yuan in taxes, Xinhua said, quoting the verdict. This was made possible by paying bribes in cash or

VANCOUVER: This file photo shows Chinese fugitive Lai Changxing (L) speaking to reporters in Vancouver.

A Chinese court yesterday handed a sentence of life in jail to Lai, the boss of a huge smuggling and bribery scam who was at the centre of a lengthy deportation battle with Canada, state media said. — AFP

in kind worth 39.1 million yuan to 64 different officials. “The sums involved are unusually large, and the details are extraordinarily serious, meriting the double sentence,” Xinhua quoted the court as saying.

Xinhua did not indicate whether Lai appealed the sentence. The Xiamen court declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The case, one of the largest graft scandals in communist China’s 62-year history, exposed a tight relationship between officials and entrepreneurs in the freewheeling port city of Xiamen. It has received huge attention in China, where corruption is one of the key causes of public discontent. As the case unraveled in the late 1990s, Lai managed to escape to Canada on a tourist visa, but was deported back to China in July last year after a 12year battle against repatriation.

He claimed the accusations against him were politically motivated and sought asylum, sparking a diplomatic tug-of-war that tested the countries’ relations. Lai’s career in crime delivered the material for thousands of media reports and several books, delving into how he paid off officials and entertained them in a lavish private club known as the “red mansion”. At the time the People’s Daily newspaper-mouthpiece of the Communist Party-said the club, with its sumptuous eateries, ballrooms, karaoke bars, saunas, cinemas and bedrooms, was where dozens of high-ranking officials “resigned themselves to degeneracy and became tools of Lai’s group”.

While he was reviled in the national press, Lai was also known to some as a modern-day Robin Hood who would lavish money and goods on local communities near Xiamen where he grew up in poverty. The reaction to Lai’s sentence on China’s popular microblogs appeared to suggest many people still thought well of him. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

New bill grants Indian women improved security after divorce NEW DELHI: Indian women’s groups applauded yesterday cabinet approval of amendments to a bill that would for the first time grant women a clearlydefined share of their husband’s property after divorce.

The new Marriage Bill will, if passed by parliament, ensure a woman’s right to a 50 percent share of the residential property owned by her husband, whether it was acquired before or after their marriage. Activists said the amendments green-lighted by the cabinet on Thursday threw an impor-

tant legal lifeline to women who too often find themselves homeless and with no income source after a divorce.

“The government’s decision is a giant leap in the right direction. It will secure every woman’s future,” said Ranjana Kumari who heads an advocacy group called Women Power Connect.

Existing law recognises a divorced women’s right to a property share, but the size of the share is not defined and, when disputed, is left to the discretion of the court along with the alimony

payment. “The changes in the divorce law are pragmatic,” said Pinky Anand, a lawyer and an expert on family law in the Supreme Court. “It also gives recognition to a wife’s contribution in the household. She will never be on the street with no money after her divorce.”

Another amendment approved by the cabinet on Thursday stipulates that a statutory six-month “cooling off period” for couples seeking a divorce can only be waived with the agreement of both parties. Currently, either party is

able to seek a waiver without consent of the other. There is no immediate timeframe for when the amended bill will go before parliament. India, where marriage is still viewed as the bedrock of society, has traditionally had one of the world’s lowest divorce rates, with only about one in 100 marriages failing. But the rate is rising, particularly in big cities, in line with the greater empowerment and increasing financial independence of women in urban India through better education and employment. — AFP

Two perish in Taleban attack on NATO base in Afghanistan Taleban announce start of their annual spring offensive

COLOMBO: In this file photo, defeated presidential candidate and former army chief Sarath Fonseka gestures as he is escorted by prison guards to a court room. High Court granted bail for Fonseka yesterday, a move seen as a step toward a full pardon for the man credited with ending the country’s long civil war but who later was jailed after challenging the president in elections. — AP

Lanka grants bail for ex-army chief COLOMBO: A court granted bail for Sri Lanka’s ex-army chief yesterday, a move seen as a step toward a full pardon for the man credited with ending the country’s long civil war but who later was jailed after challenging the president in elections. Sri Lanka’s High Court set Sarath Fonseka’s bail at $8,000 in a case where he is accused of harboring army deserters. His lawyer, Saliya Peiris, said that Fonseka was also asked to surrender his passport.

The court’s decision comes ahead of a meeting between Sri Lanka’s foreign minister and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday in Washington in which human rights issues in the island nation are expected to be discussed.

The US has called Fonseka a political prisoner. However, Fonseka will not be freed immediately because he is serving a 30-month jail term after a court martial found him guilty of planning his political career while still in the military and of committing fraud in purchasing military equipment.

Separately, in November 2011, he was sentenced to an additional three-year prison term for implicating the defense secretary and president’s brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in war crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war. He has appealed the conviction.

Fonseka has said the cases are a political vendetta launched to persecute him for daring to run against incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2010 election. The government has denied any political motive for the legal action. Government spokesmen over the past days have been hinting that Fonseka will be given a full pardon. President Rajapaksa also got approval from his Cabinet for Fonseka’s release, a government website reported yesterday.

Fonseka was hailed as a war hero in 2009 after he led Sri Lanka’s army to victory in its 26-year civil war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, and both he and Rajapaksa were immensely popular among the Sinhalese majority for defeating a rebel group that had seemed invincible for decades. But the two men had a falling out months after the war ended, and their relationship deteriorated further after the general challenged Rajapaksa in the Jan. 26, 2010, election. Fonseka was arrested Feb. 8. Later that year, one court-martial found him guilty of planning his political career while still in the military and stripped him of his title, medals, pension and other honors in addition to dishonorably discharging him from the army. —AP

KABUL: A Taliban rocket attack on a NATO base in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar killed two international soldiers and wounded six, officials said. It came a day after gunmen dressed in Afghan police uniforms and wearing suicide vests stormed a government compound in the southwestern province of Farah, killing seven people and wounding 12 others. The Taleban this month announced the start of their annual spring offensive, a campaign of bombings and attacks that picks up every year as the weather warms.

A local spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said of the latest incident: “Two ISAF soldiers were killed and six others injured in a Taleban rocket attack on an ISAF base in Nari district today.” Two other local officials confirmed the account, while the ISAF press office in Kabul said that “two service members died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan”. It gave no further

details and did not reveal the nationalities of the dead soldiers, in line with policy. ISAF has around 130,000 soldiers fighting alongside some 350,000 Afghan security personnel against the hardline Islamists.

At least 158 ISAF troops have died in Afghanistan this year, according to a toll by the website icasualties.org. More than 3,000 have been killed since the US led an invasion to topple the Taliban in late 2001. NATO is to pull its troops out of the country in 2014 and details of the process will be hammered out at a summit in Chicago starting on Sunday.

Afghanistan is looking to NATO countries to provide at least $4.1 billion a year for its security forces after the troops withdraw, saying it should be seen as insurance against a resurgence of terror attacks on Western countries.

“This is not charity, Afghanistan is and will be on the frontline of the world’s fight against terrorism,” deputy foreign minister Jawed Ludin told for-

eign journalists. Describing the $4.1 billion figure as “modest”, Ludin said it would be far cheaper for contributing countries to have Afghans fighting the war on terror on their behalf than doing it themselves. The United States, which has nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, spends close to $10 billion a month on the war. In return for the funding, Afghanistan will commit to preserving gains in respect of democracy and human rights, and will be an ally of the international community in the fight against terrorism, Ludin said.

In Chicago, NATO is sure to talk up the ability of Afghanistan to survive the departure of its troops, both in terms of security and the economy. But NATO’s rush to get out of a “quagmire” in Afghanistan risks the collapse of the state and strategic failure for the Western alliance in its decade-long war, former senior EU adviser Barbara Stapleton on Afghanistan warned this week. — AFP

Turkmenistan leader frees more than 1,000 prisoners ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan has pardoned more than 1,000 prisoners, including 35 foreign citizens, in celebration of a national holiday in the reclusive former Soviet republic, state television reported yesterday. President Kurbanguly

LOGAR PROVINCE: An Afghan Army soldier prays on his guard position at an Afghan Army base in Logar province, east Afghanistan, yesterday. NATO sits down tomorrow in Chicago to prepare for the eventual withdrawal of international forces and the handover of Afghanistan’s security to the Afghan National Army. — AP

Berdymukhamedov was shown telling a government meeting that all of those pardoned should be allowed home to their families for the holiday. He also ordered that jobs be found for all of those released. “Criminals who have sincerely repented are regularly pardoned in our country,” state television showed Berdymukhamedov, a qualified dentist embarking on his second term as president, telling the meeting.

The broadcast did not identify the nationality of the foreigners released. Turkmenistan, a Central Asian state of 5.5 million people that holds more than 4 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves, is regularly ranked by human rights groups as one of the most repressive countries in the world. Official data on the number of prisoners in Turkmenistan are not available. Every year thousands of prison inmates are amnestied on big national holidays, a tradition that began under the rule of Berdymukhamedov’s predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov.

Though Berdymukhamedov has promised greater economic freedom since coming to power after Niyazov’s sudden death in 2006, he holds virtually unlimited powers and has embraced a rising cult of personality. Known as Arkadag, or The Patron, Berdymukhamedov secured five more years as president in February by winning 97 percent of the vote in an election shunned by OSCE observers for a lack of competition. The country allowed a Red Cross delegation to visit one of its prisons in April, the first such visit since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. — Reuters

Business 16

Turkey warns oil majors against Cyprus gas bid

‘Free-falling’ Indian rupee hits new lows

17

US economy gains pace after early spring slump

20

Police detain more ‘Blockupy’ activists

18

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

SEOUL: Currency trader holds his head near the screen showing Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters yesterday. — AP

Leaders focus on fixing Greece World stocks plunge before G8 summit

LONDON: World stock markets mostly fell yesterday and the euro hit another fourmonth dollar low, slammed by a ratings downgrade for Greece and warnings for 16 Spanish banks, ahead of a crucial G8 meeting. In late morning deals, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.96 percent to 5,286.83 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.42 percent to 6,282.61 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.26 percent to 3,004.04.

Madrid’s IBEX-35 index was up 0.03 percent at 6,540.70 points and Bankia shares surged as the financial sector staged a dramatic recovery despite the downgrade news.

However, the European single currency tumbled as low as $1.2642 to reach a level last seen on January 16. It later stood at $1.2687. Stocks in Asia were weak, and the Tokyo market ended with a fall of 2.99 percent on the Nikkei 225 index. Seoul plummeted 3.40 percent and Sydney dived 2.67 percent, suffering its biggest fall in eight months. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with a fall of 1.24 percent.

Later yesterday, world leaders gathered at Camp David for a two-day summit with

the focus on Greece amid concerns it could leave the euro-zone with wildly uncertain repercussions for the global economy. “Fears that Greece could collapse at any moment, downgrades for Spanish banks, reports of runs on one or two banks in those countries.... It could well be a tough few days at the G8,” said analyst Mike Mason at Sucden Financial Private Clients.

Moody’s slashed the ratings of 16 banks in Spain by between one and three notches, citing “renewed recession, the ongoing real-estate crisis and persistent high levels of unemployment”. It also blamed the reduced creditworthiness of the government. Fitch meanwhile downgraded Greece’s credit a notch, to CCC from B-, saying it was vulnerable to default amid political uncertainty over Athens’s commitment to a crucial bailout plan and its possible exit from the euro-zone.

The run-up to the Group of Eight industrialised powers meeting has witnessed a marked deterioration in the euro-zone’s long-running debt crisis that has already resulted in massive bailouts for Greece,

Ireland and Portugal, and now appears to be circling Spain. “There is little respite in the euro-zone banking crisis which is having spill-over effects on the global economy and global financial markets,” added VTB Capital economist Neil MacKinnon.

“Investors are worried about deposit-runs in the euro-zone banking system and the ‘flight of capital’ is pushing US, UK and German bond yields lower.” Germany’s 10year borrowing rate fell to a record low level of 1.399 percent in early euro-zone bond trading yesterday in a climate of alarm over the state of Greece and banks in Spain.

The German 10-year Bund is the benchmark bond in the euro-zone, and it rose as funds were moved to safe havens, thereby depressing the rate from 1.411 percent on Thursday. Europe’s main markets had tumbled on Thursday on the back of ongoing uncertainty in Greece, which was forced to call a new election earlier this week after an inconclusive vote against harsh austerity measures.

“European stock markets were hammered again on Thursday, with the financial sector bearing the brunt of the selling pres-

sure,” said Capital Economics analyst Jonathan Loynes. “The trigger for the selloff was the news that the European Central Bank has suspended its lending to some Greek banks at a time when a growing number of depositors are withdrawing their money ahead of a potential exit of Greece from the euro-zone.

“Not surprisingly, concerns are growing that bank runs could soon become a regular feature in other troubled countries in the region deemed at risk of following Greece’s lead.” In Madrid yesterday, the biggest gainer was surprisingly the nation’s staterescued lender Bankia, whose stock soared by almost 26 percent as the Spanish financial sector staged a dramatic recovery.

Just a day after Bankia’s stock was hammered by a hotly denied report of a run on its funds, and hours after Moody’s Investors Service slashed its rating of most of the sector, the banks made a comeback. Bankia leapt 25.88 percent to 1.79 euros while the euro-zone’s number-one bank by market capital, Santander, surged 3.80 percent to 4.614 euros and rival BBVA advanced 4.76 percent to 4.994 euros. — AFP

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SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Turkey warns oil majors against Cyprus gas bid Total, Eni, Petronas among bidders ISTANBUL: Turkey said yesterday that companies bidding to develop Cyprus’ offshore gas fields would be shut out of Turkish energy projects, amid a spat between the rivals about who has rights to potentially vast reserves in the east Mediterranean. Turkey does not recognise the Nicosia government, seen by the rest of the world as Cyprus’ sole

Turkey,” the Foreign Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. “Turkish Cypriots have the same, indissoluble rights as Greek Cypriots to the natural resources of the island’s continental shelf,” it said.

“Both communities must decide together how maritime natural gas and oil resources will be used.”

French oil major Total, Malaysia’s

VARNA: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (centre) meets Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and Qatari counterpart Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani in the Euxinograd palace near the Black sea port yesterday. —AFP authority, and wants offshore exploration to await a peace settlement between the Greek and Turkish communities, estranged since a 1974 Turkish invasion of the north of the island.

Although Turkey has few oil and gas reserves of its own, the NATO member retains leverage because of its substantial navy and its role as an important transit hub for energy from Russia and the Caspian Sea region. “Companies that cooperate with (Greek Cypriots) will not be included in future energy projects in

Petronas, Korea’s Kogas, Eni of Italy, Russia’s Novatek, Delek of Israel and Australia’s Woodside Energy Holdings are among the 15 companies who have bid for contracts. Cyprus, along with Israel and Lebanon, straddle what may be the biggest natural gas find of the past decade in the politically volatile eastern Mediterranean.

Military escort Nicosia says any exploration is within its rights, and has received backing from

its partners in the European Union.

Turkey, which has also begun exploration work off its Mediterranean coast, sits on strategic energy routes to lucrative Western markets. Eni is part of a venture that wants to build a 340-mile pipeline, worth $3 billion, to ship Russian gas to world markets. The potential of the eastern Mediterranean deposits is enormous. US-based Noble Energy last year reported 5-8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas south of Cyprus-enough to make Cyprus self-sufficient for 250 years.

Turkey responded to Noble’s exploration by sending out a seismic research vessel accompanied by military escort.

The question of who has the right to tap the deposits, which could total more than 100 tcf, has added urgency to efforts to settle the conflict over Cyprus and has also brought Lebanon into dispute with Israel over the Jewish state’s discoveries.

Most of the interest shown by bidders this month was for a block lying northeast of the recently discovery on the maritime border between Cyprus and Israel. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the Cypriot tender included a western area that abuts Turkey’s continental shelf. “As Turkey has previously stated, it will not allow any activity in that area,” the statement said.

Only Turkey recognises the Turkish Cypriot administration and keeps tens of thousands of troops on the island, located some 40 miles off its southern coast.

The decades-long dispute has threatened to derail Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. A member since 2004, Cyprus takes over the bloc’s rotating presidency in July, and Turkey has said it will suspend its candidacy during that tenure. Efforts to reconcile Greek and Turkish Cypriots have failed more than a dozen times since the 1960s. The two sides are now currently engaged in another round of UN-backed negotiations. —Reuters

Italy economy on ‘right track’: IMF M I L A N : An International Monetary Fund official on Wednesday said the euro-zone’s third-largest economy is “on the right track” and has made notable progress in the six months since Premier Mario Monti took over. An IMF review of Italy found its reform measures have meant the country is financially more secure and the program of reform should be considered a model for Europe, Reza Moghadam, the director of the IMF’s European department, told a news conference in Rome. But he urged urgent measures to boost growth, and said Italy’s banks need to boost their capital.

“There has been remarkable progress. It is not easy to remember that Italy faced a very difficult and dangerous situation at the end of last year” Moghadam told reporters after meeting with Monti and his government of technocrats. Monti was brought in last November to head a government of technocrats aimed at preventing Italy from succumbing to the euro-zone’s debt crisis. Italy’s debt ratio is 120 percent of GDP, or 1.9 trillion, a sum that would overwhelm the euro-zone if Italy were unable to raise money from the bond markets to make payments on outstanding debt.

The IMF mission report was the second vote of international confidence for the Monti government, the day after President Barack Obama in a phone call asked Monti to open the first session at the Group of Eight meeting in Camp David. Monti said the IMF’s report showed that Italy “has done and needed to do to put its public accounts on a safe basis and launch incisive reforms.”

While encouraged, the IMF mission concluded that Italy needs to do more to promote growth. The IMF urged accelerating plans to spin off the gas distribution network from the Eni oil company, speeding the opening of professions like accountants and pushing for more privatizations of such things as local utilities. Labour market reforms and liberalization of the service sector could increase Italian growth by 6 percent, the IMF said. Labour market reforms, including measures to make it easier to fire workers as well as discouraging short-term contracts, are being debated in Parliament.

“It will help to create jobs and the sooner it is implemented, the quicker that process can start,” Moghadam said. The mission also said that Italy’s banks, which are heavily exposed to sovereign debt, need to raise their capital, by raising equity or disposing noncore assets - not by cutting loans. Moody’s ratings agency this week downgraded 26 Italian banks. The government expects the economy to contract by 1.2 percent this year. The Italian statistics agency this week confirmed a third straight quarter of contraction as the country’s recession deepens. —AP

Shell in talks with Baghdad on Majnoon oil field plan LONDON: Shell is pressing ahead with talks over final development of Iraq’s Majnoon oil field, a senior executive told Reuters, and a lower, more realistic oil production target is a core part of discussions. Majnoon is one of four southern super giant fields that are vital to Iraq’s ambition to at least double its oil output and put it firmly back among the world’s top producers. But crunch time is approaching. Iraq awarded service contracts in 2009 to foreign firms who vowed to boost its capacity beyond 12 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2017, but this target has proved too aggressive due to infrastructure bottlenecks and logistical shortcomings.

With that in mind, companies are now drafting final development plans due by the start of next year. “We’re having ongoing exploratory discussions with the Iraqi government, to determine the optimum field development plan for Majnoon,” said Hans Nijkamp, Royal Dutch Shell vice president

and country chairman for Iraq. “But you have to look at it in the bigger context of the optimum aggregate production level for Iraq.”

Iraq’s top oil officials acknowledge the need for a more prudent output target and have suggested a level of around 8.5 to 9 million bpd. Other experts see 6 to 7 million bpd by the end of the decade as the most realistic outcome for the war-damaged country. That would imply an output target of around 1 million bpd for Majnoon, industry sources say. Shell, with junior partner Petronas of Malaysia, won the Majnoon contract by promising to boost the largely undeveloped field to 1.8 million bpd for a fee of $1.39 a barrel. Production capacity is now 65,000 bpd. Oil ministry documents show that Shell has opened discussions on a target of around 1 million bpd for Majnoon, as part of its full field development plan.

The company, the first to open talks with the ministry of oil, also proposed to extend

the field’s plateau period - the time period for which its peak production can be sustained and which is to begin in 2017 - to more than 20 years from seven years now. Those figures are not set in stone. “It depends on what Iraq wants out of Majnoon. You can develop this field in different ways with different plateau levels and durations,” Nijkamp said on the sidelines of an Iraq Britain Business Council event on Thursday. “The 1.8 million barrels a day that we bid for was a realistic plateau level that we can responsibly develop and produce - but obviously for a shorter period of time than a plateau level below 1.8 million.”

Hurdles ahead The Shell executive said Baghdad is doing its best to overcome myriad infrastructure hurdles, but bottlenecks in the export system are choking production gains. “That will really determine the production capacity because the production capacity is there

from the license round 1 fields,” he said, referring to the southern fields of Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna-1 that are already up and running. Recovering from decades of wars and crippling sanctions, Iraq is unique among producing nations seeking to boost oil flows. But the level of red tape and logistical sluggishness beats regional rivals.

“Things do take time in Iraq - whether it’s entry visas or customs clearance,” said Nijkamp. “Customs clearance in most ports in the region is a matter of days to a week. We have some equipment that’s been stuck for months.” Around $50 billion will be needed to ramp up Majnoon, which straddles the border with Iran. “These are early days. We’re sticking our toe in the water and learning how to effectively operate in Iraq,” said Nijkamp. “But to be confident that Iraq is a good place to invest, we need to ensure timely payment. That will really determine ongoing investor confidence.” —Reuters

business

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

‘Free-falling’ Indian rupee hits new lows Analysts predict further dip

MADRID: A woman uses an ATM cash point machine at a branch of the Bankia bank in Madrid yesterday. —AP

Spain beset by bank crisis downgrades MADRID: Spain’s borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction yesterday and its troubled banks suffered a double blow, with shares in part-nationalised Bankia diving and 16 lenders - including the euro zone’s biggest - having their credit ratings cut. Official data confirmed Spain was back in recession and a newspaper reported a big outflow of deposits from Bankia , but the government said it had taken a fundamental step to strengthen Spain’s credibility by agreeing big budget cuts with the country’s free-spending regions. Moody’s Investors Service cut the long-term debt and deposit ratings of the 16 Spanish banks, including Banco Santander , the euro zone’s largest, saying the government’s ability to support some banks had weakened.

Spain’s banks, saddled with bad loans after a property boom collapsed, lie at the heart of the euro zone crisis as markets fear any major rescue would strain Madrid’s already stretched finances and possibly require an international bailout. Gary Jenkins, credit analyst at Swordfish Research, said Spain had problems which went beyond the risk of contagion from the crisis in Greece, whose future in the euro is in doubt “Whilst the attention of the world is on Greece, the fact is that Spain faces many challenges irrespective of how the Greek situation is finally resolved,” he wrote in a note.

Moody’s cut the rating of BBVA, Spain’s second largest lender, as well as Santander even though both are generally regarded as sound, unlike some of their smaller peers. Nicholas Spiro of Spiro Sovereign Strategy said the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was not handling the crisis well. “Sentiment towards Spain is deteriorating with each passing day, mainly because of a loss of confidence in the Rajoy government’s approach to tackling the problems in the banking sector,” he said.

Attracting buyers At Thursday’s debt auction, the Treasury had to pay around 5 percent to attract buyers of three- and four-year bonds. The latter s o ld with a yield of 5.106 percent, way above the 3.374 percent the last time it was auctioned. “This ... fits the pattern of recent sales, with the Spanish treasury successfully getting its supply away but at everhigher yields,” said Richard McGuire, rate strategist at Rabobank in London. “This unfavourable trend looks set to remain firmly in place ... Ultimately, this ratcheting up of yields will likely require some form of outside intervention.”

Spain officially slipped into recession in the first quarter this year, final figures confirmed on Thursday, leaving the country threatened with a prolonged slump as the turbulent euro zone struggles to balance austerity with growth. The European Commission warned last week that high debts of the 17 regions, which account for about half of overall public spending, and the welfare system would prevent Spain meeting its goal of cutting the budget deficit to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product this year from 8.5 percent in 2011.

However, the government said the regions - most of which missed their deficit targets last year - had agreed to cut their spending by 13 billion euros and increase revenues by 5 billion euros. After weeks of negotiations, Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro approved the plans presented by every region except for the small northern one of Asturias, which will have to produce a new budget within 15 days. “We’ve taken a fundamental step for Spain’s credibility,” Montoro told a news conference. Overspending by the regions caused Spain to miss its deficit reduction target badly last year.

Moody’s agency downgraded on Thursday its ratings of four regions including two of the biggest, Catalonia and Andalucia. Regions which meet their targets will get help from the state to cover their financing needs through a new mechanism which will be introduced by July. The government has been working for weeks on a new instrument called “hispanobonos” allowing the regions to issue debt underwritten by the Treasury. —Reuters

MUMBAI: India’s central bank promised yesterday to use “all its available tools” to stabilise the rupee, which sank to a record low against the dollar for a third straight day amid turmoil in global markets. The Indian unit fell to 54.91 against the dollar, below its previous low of 54.58 a day earlier, before clawing back to 54.4 in late afternoon trade. Asian shares and currencies fell after Moody’s downgraded 16 Spanish banks on Thursday, while poor US manufacturing data heightened concerns over the global economy.

The central bank “will use all its available tools to fulfil its objective of curbing volatility in the foreignexchange market”, the bank’s deputy governor Subir Gokarn told reporters in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

“The central bank will not hesitate to take more steps to stem the falls in rupee, if needed,” he said.

But analysts and traders expect the rupee to fall further in coming days with risk aversion hitting global markets and sentiment souring over India due to its gaping trade and current account deficits and slowing economy. “The rupee is in a freefall. Unless the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and the government take major steps to boost sentiment, there are more worries ahead,” said Abhishek Goenka, chief executive of India Forex, a consultancy firm.

India’s central bank is suspected to have intervened on Thursday to help prop up the rupee in one of more than a dozen recent occasions it has sold dollars to help slow the decline of the currency. Last week, it announced new measures to support the local unit, ordering exporters and other foreignexchange earners to convert half of their total foreign-exchange earnings kept in banks into rupees.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee this week blamed the deteriorating international climate for the falls as international investors sell risky emerging market assets and retreat to safe havens. Other emerging currencies from Indonesia to Brazil have also been hit.

Foreign investors have been turned

The falling rupee is bad news for India’s economy, pushing up import prices and aggravating inflation that is running at over seven percent, limiting the central bank’s scope to roll back interest rates and spur the economy. It will also further strain the government’s budget because oil importswhich are priced in dollars-will

NEW DELHI: In this photograph, an Indian parking lot employee counts Indian rupee notes. —AP off the country of 1.2 billion people become more expensive. The central due to recent regulatory moves by the bank said recently it had spent more government, which has stalled on a than $20 billion in spot-market interpro-growth reform agenda aimed at vention between September and the opening up the economy. Overseas end of February. Analysts estimate a funds withdrew a net $133.44 million further $5 to $7 billion to have been worth of Indian equities in the new pumped in since. The rupee was Asia’s financial year, which started April, worst performing currency in 2011, pulling down local share prices seven losing more than 20 percent of its value in the calendar year. —AFP percent in the same period.

Oman Trading supplies diesel cargo to India SINGAPORE: Oman Trading International (OTI) has sold what could be its first diesel cargo into India, as the company looks to expand its trading activities into Asia, industry sources said yesterday. The company, which is a joint venture between state-owned Oman Oil Company and Swiss-based trader Vitol, was set up in 2006 but has only in recent years been seen active in the spot market for oil products, traders said.

OTI has in the past supplied the occasional jet fuel cargoes to Pakistan and kerosene cargoes to India, but this is the first time the company was seen to be supplying diesel into India, they added. “They’re mainly seen as a buyer of gasoline and occasional seller of jet fuel, but I’ve hardly seen them being active in diesel,” said a Singapore-based trader.

OTI was awarded a tender by India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp for a combination cargo of 15,000 tonnes of 340 parts-per-million (ppm) sulphur diesel and 15,000 tonnes of 45 ppm sulphur

diesel. BPCL paid a premium of $6.50 a barrel over Middle East quotes for the cargo, which is to be delivered into Kandla over May 28-30, traders said.

“Oman Trading last sold a kerosene cargo to BPCL in March or April 2011, but has not sold any diesel cargoes to the company,” said one of the sources familiar with the matter. OTI has around 200,000 cubic metres of storage for light and middle distillates out of a total 1.285 million cubic metres of oil storage in the Port of Sohar, a deep-sea port in the Sultanate of Oman.

The company is the trading arm of Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company which operates the 116,000 barrels-per-day Sohar refinery, which has also been operational since 2006. “OTI has one of the only low sulphur diesel streams out of Sohar, so this puts them in the privileged position for India which uses the low sulphur 350 ppm and 50 ppm specification,” said a trader based in the Middle East.

Middle East refiners mainly produce

and market the medium sulphur 500 ppm sulphur diesel which is the grade most frequently used by countries across the Gulf region. Better freight economics from the Middle East to the west coast of India could also have provided an incentive for the company to participate in the tender, another trader said. “At the levels that got done for the tender, it looks good for both the buyer and also for the seller as the freight is cheaper from the Middle East compared with from Singapore,” he added.

Oman plans to boost capacity at its Sohar refinery by up to 50 percent by 2016 to satisfy its own rapidly rising fuel demand. According to the company website, OTI manages 4 million tonnes of petroleum products imports and exports every year, including feedstocks and blend components.

With its headquarters in Dubai, OTI also has offices in Oman and Singapore and plans to expand to Europe and the United States, the website states. —Reuters

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SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

India eyes wheat exports to Iran Unmanageable stocks expose grains to rot, decay FRANKFURT: Police carry a protester away, after demonstrators had blocked a street yesterday. —AP

Police detain more ‘Blockupy’ activists FRANKFURT: German police began removing anti-capitalist protesters yesterday from outside a Frankfurt skyscraper that is Goldman Sachs’ home in the German financial capital. The demonstration was part of a four-daylong “Blockupy” protest, due to run until today, against capitalism and austerity measures implemented to tackle the euro zone crisis. “Hungry? Eat a banker,” read one banner protesters held up outside the Messeturm skyscraper, housing Goldman Sachs offices. Reuters’ Frankfurt office is also in the building. Police closed off the road outside the Messeturm - a main artery into Frankfurt - and flooded it with officers. They far outnumbered the group of some 50 protesters, and began detaining them. There was no violence. Police said they detained 40 activists elsewhere in Frankfurt. The protesters are angry at the misery they say governments are inflicting on people with their response to the crisis, which has intensified since inconclusive elections in Greece this month fueled concerns about its future in the euro zone.

Yesterday’s protest followed a legal scrap between activists and authorities over whether the demonstrations should be allowed to go ahead. A court on Monday gave the go-ahead for a rave on Wednesday and protests on Saturday but ruled against them taking place on the other days. On Thursday, police said they detained 150 demonstrators for defying the protest ban. On Wednesday, they peacefully removed demonstrators from outside the European Central Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters.

The ECB reported no trouble yesterday and commercial banks, many of whom have made contingency plans to cope with the protests, said their operations were running smoothly. “Our operating business is not curtailed. We were well prepared,” said a Commerzbank spokeswoman.

Police sealed off Deutsche Bank’s headquarters. Germany’s biggest bank said its business was unaffected. —Reuters

Bank of Ireland seeks to cut more than 1,000 jobs DUBLIN: Bank of Ireland is seeking to axe more than 1,000 jobs in a voluntary redundancy deal, as part of cost-cutting measures at the group, it said yesterday. “The overall number of people which we need to employ will regrettably reduce,” chief executive Richie Boucher said in a statement. The bank added that the deal will apply “in specific areas affected by business change across the group in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain”.

The government owns 15.1 percent of the bank. It is only lender to avoid nationalisation as a result of Ireland’s economic crisis following a property bubble collapse. The bank had announced 750 jobs cuts over two years ago. After 350 staff left, the scheme was put on hold as the finance ministry wanted the redundancy terms to be brought in line with schemes in the public service.

“We have now agreed a package today to facilitate over 1,000 staff to leave on a voluntary basis,” said Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) general secretary, Larry Broderick.

“This is a very, very challenging day for staff in Bank of Ireland,” he told RTE state radio. Broderick said Bank of Ireland employed up to 16,000 four years ago and this would be reduced to about 10,000 under the re-structuring. The IBOA will be recommending the deal to members in a forthcoming ballot. —AFP

NEW DELHI: India is considering wheat exports to Iran, a government source said yesterday, as New Delhi hopes to boost exports to the sanctions-hit nation to help settle part of its oil imports bill through a bilateral mechanism. An Iranian trade delegation will come to India next week to discuss wheat exports, the source added, without elaborating on the likely payment mechanism for sales to Iran.

Food shipments are not targeted under Western sanctions, but Iranian companies have been cut off from much of the global banking system because of the financial measures against Tehran, making payments difficult and discouraging traders. Tighter sanctions are targeting Iran’s oil trade and central bank to pressure Tehran to shut down its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Asked whether the government would export wheat to Iran, the government source told reporters: “That is under consideration.” India, one of Iran’s largest oil clients, aims to cut the trade imbalance which is currently tilted

towards Tehran. Exports from the South Asian nation accounted for about $2.8 billion versus imports of about $11 billion in 2010/11, according to government data. India earlier this year decided to try to settle 45 percent of its oil trade with Tehran in the rupee-which is not globally traded-by settling payment for Indian exporters without the involvement of foreign banks.

Unmanageable stockpile Ministers will soon meet to decide on government to government deals for wheat to other countries as well, the source said, adding the meeting will also consider giving export incentives for wheat due to lower global prices. The source said ministers would also decide the price India will offer for its wheat.

Bumper harvests since 2007 have swelled stocks at government warehouses, forcing a state-run grain procurement agency to store extra stocks under tarpaulin.

Grains stored in open fields are vulnerable to rot and decay, inviting criticism from the opposition as hunger is

endemic among the country’s 500 million poor. Despite the government’s decision last September to lift a fouryear old ban on wheat exports, unattractive global prices have hobbled largescale shipments. Exporters have sold only around 830,000 tonnes of wheat since exports were allowed.

To sort out the issue of unmanageable stocks and agree on exports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early this month set up a committee under his top economic adviser C. Rangarajan who has now favoured some exports with incentives.

Food Minister K. V. Thomas on May 10 said the government was considering selling wheat to states in Africa, the Middle East and neighbours such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Wheat stocks at government warehouses on May 1 were 38.2 million tonnes, more than nine times the official target of 4.0 million tonnes for the quarter ending June 30. Iran has not bought Indian wheat in more than a decade over quality issues.

Other buyers have not raised issues over quality. —Reuters

JPMorgan CEO gets crisis marks but war isn’t over NEW YORK: Shooting from the hip may have got Jamie Dimon into deep trouble-shooting straight may help to get him out of it. The JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO made the crisis over the bank’s trading loss of at least $2 billion far worse because he had assured financial markets back in April that news reports about massive bets the bank’s Chief Investment Office had taken were “a tempest in a teapot”. It meant that when the bank disclosed the big and probably growing loss on May 10, it not only had to admit a sizable problem, but also that it had been misleading investors.

The context of the “tempest” comment changed the whole dynamic of the bank’s response, according to a source familiar with the bank’s thinking. It was one of the main reasons that Dimon was so blunt in admitting just about everything was wrong with the situation-he said the hedging strategy was “flawed,” there was “sloppiness” and that “egregious mistakes” had been made. The approach gets high marks from crisis communications experts, who said Dimon did the best he could with a bad hand, albeit a hand that he was involved in dealing himself.

His problems may not yet be over. He has agreed to testify before Congress and the bank faces probes by reglators and shareholder lawsuits. But at least getting out in front of the news has made it more difficult for his critics to paint him as a banker-villain.

“One of the tried and true rules of this kind of communication is, if it’s not going to end well, try and end it on your own terms,” said Michael Robinson, of Levick Strategic Communications and a former US Securities and Exchange Commission public affairs and policy chief.

“In 2012, there is, in the court of public opinion, a pretty healthy percentage of

people who want to see bankers get their comeuppance. And I think he recognized that and went on there to say ‘OK, the buck stops with me, we made a mistake and we’re responsible, and we’re going to fix it,’” Robinson said. In response to questions concerning its public relations strategy, the

and Company. “Ultimately you’re talking about the reputation of a business and nothing disappears as rapidly as reputation.”

The approach won praise from Lucas van Praag, the former head of Goldman Sachs’s public relations department. Van Praag for years had to defend Goldman’s behavior and

TAMPA: A poster of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is covered with eggs thrown by protesters, outside the gate of JP Morgan Chase annual stockholders meeting. —AP bank said it wanted to be open and honest and admit its mistakes.

Dimon has long been unusual among Wall Street executives for his plain-spoken manner. In the hours after announcing the bank’s loss, Dimon called many journalists to discuss the matter. It was unusual for an executive under fire, but characteristic of Dimon. “Jamie Dimon came out quick, and that’s a big plus,” said Kenneth Makovsky, the CEO of the public relations firm Makovsky

comments by the firm’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein from its many critics. “My observation is that they are trying hard to be open, to minimize any further surprises, take decisive action to correct mistakes, make their most senior executive available, stay calm, and not burn any bridges,” van Praag said in an email.

“From a communication perspective, the approach is smart, although I’m sure their legal team would probably rather pursue a bunker mentality.” —Reuters

Business

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Bhutan counts the cost of trying to buy happiness THIMPHU: They say you can’t buy happiness - and it’s something Bhutan is finding out the hard way.

The tiny, mostly-Buddhist Himalayan kingdom won a world voice for adopting a happiness index to measure its economy. But its prime minister says it promptly forgot its own lesson, and let a sudden rush of prosperity go to its head. “Wealth creates increased desire,” Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley told Reuters in an interview in the capital Thimphu, surrounded by tree covered mountains dotted with prayer flags.

“There are families with four or five cars. There are luxury vehicles being imported that can hardly drive on our roads and are made for far better roads than we have here.” A country that was closed to foreigners until 1974 and only recently opened up to the forces of globalisation lacked the tools to cope with new-found economic growth and the wealth it brought.

Debt-fuelled consumerism that far outpaced economic output has now led, inevitably, to a rude awakening. The government has cut expenditure and is considering raising taxes on imported vehicles. The central bank, the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, has rationed the main trading currency, the Indian rupee, squeezing private businesses.

Youth unemployment is over 9 percent and people are drifting away from the countryside, and traditional values, to the towns. Worst of all, Bhutan’s most recent Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, in 2010, found only 41 percent qualified as “happy”.

Becoming more materialist “We have been moving away from GNH values and, like many countries, becoming more materialist,” said Thinley. “When such tendencies come at a cost to the economy, like we are suffering now, the government has to take difficult measures,” he said. “We have to accept that the rupee is not our currency.” Thinley’s Druk Phuensum Tshogpa government won power in Bhutan’s first democratic election in 2008 and heads to the polls again next year. He said the crisis highlighted the need to focus once more on the happiness index, which uses nine criteria: psychological well-being, ecology, health, education, culture, living standards, use of time, community vitality and good governance. “Our economic problems are the result of being opened to the world and being part of the globalisation process.”

Despite its boom, Bhutan remains one of the world’s least developed and poorest nations, where 70 percent of 700,000 people live on subsistence farming. But economic growth led to a surge in imports of industrial and consumer goods from neighbouring India.

Almost one in eight of the 65,000 vehicles on its roads were imported last year. Thinley said the cost of importing fuel to keep these cars on the roads wiped out the earnings that Bhutan made from its major industry, selling hydro-electric power to India.

“The revenue we earn from exporting clean energy is the same as the cost for the dirty fuel that we import from India,” he said, sipping Bhutan’s traditional butterand-salt tea in a timber-clad room dominated by portraits of Bhutan’s five kings.

Happiness or development?

But it seems to be getting harder to convince people to put a holistic sense of happiness ahead of raw economic development. In parliament on Thursday the government forecast economic growth of 7-8 percent next year and said it hoped to reach its target of cutting poverty to 15 percent from 23 percent. The electricity grid covers 77 percent of the country.

“It’s sad but true that the roads we are building to take services to villages are the roads by which villagers leave and some set up shanty towns around the cities,” said Thinley, dressed in Bhutan’s traditional knee-length, belted robe. He said the government must prioritise policies that promoted the appreciation of rural life and stop the drift into urban areas, which was decimating villages and making the country more dependent on imported produce.

“In many ways, life in the rural setting is better and the possibility to find happiness is far greater than living in a city where you don’t even know your nextdoor-neighbour and violence is rising,” he said. “We need to create a conscious desire in our people to continue to live in rural areas or move back from urban areas. Rather than live in a stuffy apartment, go back to the farm!” It may be a hard message to sell to the young people heading for the towns, abandoning traditional dress for jeans, and looking for civil service jobs rather than manual work. “People across Bhutan need to realise that we need to be more independent,” he said, “(relying) on our own farming and resources.” — Reuters

Gold rises by 1%, eyes weekly gain Gold on track to snap two-week run of weekly losses

JIANGSU: This photo shows a worker at a steelmaker in Zhangjiagang. China’s economic growth has abruptly decelerated from overheated to slower than Beijing wanted in just half a year. — AP

US firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended WASHINGTON/HONG KONG: The suspension of US sanctions barring investment in Myanmar in response to political reforms in the poor Southeast Asian state opens the door to US firms queuing to scout for business in one of the last frontier markets. US firms are expected to join those from Asia and Europe that have already moved into a market of up to 60 million people in the former British colony. Analysts and experts have said there will be opportunities for foreign companies across the industrial landscape - from energy, mining and construction to agriculture, finance and tourism.

General Electric Co, the biggest US conglomerate, said yesterday it was working with the Myanmar government on possible infrastructure projects and opportunities in the healthcare and energy sectors. “We are looking at healthcare. We are working with the government on energy.

Eventually we will look into all of the infrastructure businesses,” GE Vice-Chairman John Rice told Reuters in Hong Kong. “We are looking at Yangon’s power needs, working with the ministry and the government to figure out how we can

help reduce some of the shortages,” said Rice, who runs GE’s global operations and visited Myanmar in April. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the suspension of sanctions at a news briefing on Thursday with Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, on his longisolated nation’s first official visit to Washington in decades. “Today we say to American business: invest in Burma and do it responsibly,” Clinton said. Nabil Barakat, CEO of Wamar International, a US-based energy services firm, met Myanmar government officials this week to discuss projects including repairing gas-fired power plants in Yangon, media reported.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has huge gas resources, but a dysfunctional power grid, with nationwide rolling blackouts. A spokesman for automaker Ford Asia told Reuters: “It’s very encouraging to see the rapid and positive developments ... We are sure Ford will find opportunities to participate in this ongoing transformation.”

The International Monetary Fund has estimated Myanmar’s gross domestic product at a little more than $50 billion. —Reuters

LONDON: Gold rose more than 1 percent yesterday, building on the previous session’s hefty gains, as a recovery in the euro prompted fresh buying of the precious metal after prices slid to five-month lows earlier this week. Spot gold was up 1.1 percent at $1,591.10 an ounce at 1332 GMT, having earlier touched a high of $1,594.10, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up $16.50 an ounce at $1,591.40. Gold posted its biggest one-day gain since Jan. 25 on Thursday in a reversal that has put it on track to end the week 0.7 percent higher, snapping two weeks of losses. “For the first time in ages yesterday, gold divorced itself from the euro and started to improve on the crosses,” said Simon Weeks, head of precious metal at the Bank of Nova Scotia.

“A lot of blame for the move has been laid at the door of (Thursday’s weaker than expected) Philly Fed numbers, but I think the market was overcooked on the downside and having held above $1,522 was ripe for a bounce.” However, a lack of major volume in the market meant the move did not change his negative view of gold, he added. The euro recovered from a four-month lows against the dollar to move into positive territory, taking some pressure off gold, though concerns over a Greek euro exit and instability in the Spanish banking system meant confidence was weak.

Gold bucked the trend in the wider markets to trend lower, with European shares falling 0.6 percent and oil prices slipping to their lowest this year. The metal’s relationship to heightened risk aversion has been rocky since the start of the euro zone crisis. It rose to record highs last year in part because investors were buying the metal as a safe store of value, but as the dollar and treasuries found greater favour as havens, it slipped back along with the euro. Its price fall to its lowest since January has tempted investors back, however.

“Yesterday, gold defied a stronger dollar, weaker

equities, and another raft of negative EU headlines (to rise). It felt like the gold market of yesteryears,” UBS said in a note.

Momentum key “To see a return of gold reacting positively to macro stresses is indeed refreshing, but it is still far too early to make any firm conclusions from here that gold has indeed turned the corner,” it added.

“Momentum will be key, and follow-through buying will have to kick in to encourage investors to jump in.” “More importantly, gold’s reaction function will have to consistently exhibit its safe haven properties, and do so for some time to attract strategic buying.” Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds tracked by Reuters, which issue securities backed by physical metal, edged up 76,000 ounces on Thursday, but remained under the 70 million ounce level they slipped below a week ago. Among other precious metals, silver was up 1.7 percent at $28.52 an ounce.

The gold/silver ratio, which measures the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, touched 56.6 this week its highest since late December, easing back yesterday to around 56 as silver outperformed gold in a rising market. Spot platinum was up 0.6 percent at $1,455.74 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 0.9 percent at $603.08 an ounce. Both metals underperformed surging gold prices, with the gold:platinum ratio rising to a 3-1/2 month high at 1.09.

As chiefly industrial metals used in autocatalysts, platinum and palladium are more exposed than gold to the economic cycle, and have suffered from a lack of car demand in recent years.

Industry players gathered in London from Platinum Week this week were pessimistic that prices would recover soon. “Ever-tightening margins should reduce the appetite for investment in the sector, and that should, in turn, result in slower production growth,” RBS said in a note.—Reuters

business SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

US economy gains pace after early spring slump Housing is at a three-year high NEW YORK: Maybe the US economy’s strength this winter wasn’t just weatherrelated after all. Home construction is near a three-year high. And factory output has risen in three of the year’s first four months.

The data released Wednesday suggest growth in the April-June quarter is off to a good start, helped by falling gas prices and solid hiring gains. Fears of a spring slump are easing. “It’s all very encouraging,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at

trend in housing starts has been running at roughly the same annual pace - approximately 700,000 - over the past six months.

That’s 100,000 more on average than the pace for the previous six months. Ashworth said the higher level suggests demand is increasing and the mild winter had less effect than some economists had thought.

“We expect starts to strengthen further this year,” Ashworth wrote in a note to clients.

Even with the gains, the rate of construc-

NEW YORK: In this file photo, shoppers scramble for door buster deals at Target. —AP Capital Economics. “Things look good at the moment.”

Builders broke ground in April at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes, the Commerce Department said.

That nearly matches January’s pace, the best since October 2008. Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments. Some economists have noted that a warm winter led companies to move up some hiring and accelerate other activity including homebuilding - that normally wouldn’t occur until spring. That gave the appearance that the economy had strengthened in January and February and weakened in March.

But Ashworth noted that the overall

tion for all homes is only about half the 1.5 million annual pace that most economists consider healthy. But the increase, along with rising builder confidence and stronger job growth, is a sign that the home market may finally be starting to recover nearly five years after the housing bubble burst.

Single-family home construction is now 39 percent higher than its recession low.

And developers are also anticipating more sales. Permits for single-family home construction rose 2 percent last month. The growth in single-family home construction is important because those homes make up roughly 70 percent of the market. Since the recession, homeownership has declined while demand for apartments

Cyprus tourist arrivals dip 5% NICOSIA: Tourist arrivals in Cyprus dipped 5.1 percent in April compared with the same month in 2011, as fewer Britons and Germans visited the Mediterranean island, official data showed yesterday. A 12.5-percent fall for holidaymakers from Britain-the island’s biggest market-and a 6.7percent drop for those from Germany spelled bad news for the key sector, which registered a decline of 11 percent in February. No official survey was conducted for March.

There were 10,000 fewer Britons and 1,200 less Germans arriving in Cyprus last month compared with a year ago.

And there was a 9.8-percent decline from crisis-hit Greece but a 30.9-percent surge from big-spending Russian tourists, helping to take the edge off the poor figures. Russia has become the island’s second biggest source of tourists behind Britain, and Germany is third in front of Greece. There were also significant increases in tourists from France, up 22.5 percent, and Sweden, up 18.9 percent.—AP

has surged. Economists say continued job gains could quickly reverse that trend.

“Homebuilders are reporting stronger demand,” Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note to clients. “And while rental demand means the multi-family sector is much stronger than single family, that will change as the labor market improves further.” US manufacturing, one of the strongest areas of the economy since the recession ended nearly three years ago, also rebounded in April after a March lull.

Factory output is now 18.3 percent higher than its low hit in June 2009, the month the recession ended. It’s only 6.1 percent below its pre-recession peak.

Factories are busier in part because automakers are selling more cars and trucks. Half of the April increase in factory output reflected a 3.9 percent jump in the production of motor vehicles and parts.

That was the fifth straight gain at auto plants.

Production also rose at a wide range of companies in April, from makers of computers and electronics to aerospace and furniture factories. The modest gain shows that US manufacturers aren’t cutting back in the face of Europe’s financial crisis and slower growth in China. Faster output at US factories has been a key reason employers have added 1 million jobs over the past five months. It’s also helped lower the unemployment rate from 9.1 percent in August to 8.1 percent last month.

Manufacturing companies have added 167,000 jobs in that stretch. That’s roughly 17 percent of the job gains, even though manufacturing represents less than 10 percent of the economy. More jobs, along with record-low mortgage rates and low home prices, are making home buying more attractive to some Americans. And gas prices have dropped in the past month after surging earlier this year. So consumers have more money for other purchases. The average price of a gallon of gas was $3.73 on Wednesday, according to AAA. That’s 18 cents less than a month ago. —AP

Ukrainian hardball irks at trade body GENEVA: Laos, a small nation dependent on aid and rice farming, wants to join the World Trade Organization. WTO powers including the United States, China and the European Union want it to. But it can’t, because Ukraine - and only Ukraine - half a world away and with no trade to speak of with Laos, says ‘No’. It is also alone of the 155 members of the world trade body in keeping out Yemen, whose Western-backed government, a product of the Arab Spring, wants international help to stabilise a nation beset by poverty, conflict and an al Qaeda insurgency.

Frustrating Laos and Yemen, both of whom have spent over a decade negotiating membership, is part of a pattern of single-handed consensus-busting that diplomats from major blocs say is turning Ukraine, second biggest of the former Soviet states, into the new “bad boy” of the Geneva-based global trading club. For a nation that hopes to seal its emergence from Russia’s shadow into a closer embrace with the European Union by co-hosting next month’s Euro 2012 soccer tournament, Ukraine would not win many diplomatic popularity contests; EU states complain of graft and rights abuses and this week froze a cooperation pact due to its jailing of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Now, at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Ukrainian diplomats are seen as pursuing a policy that looks like bullying, though their explanations leave many speculating on other motives - ranging from bloody-minded revenge for Kiev’s own rocky journey to membership to treating Laos and Yemen as mere bargaining chips in a wider strategy of diplomatic reward and retribution. Among other puzzles, Ukraine has asked the WTO to block an Australian anti-smoking measure that bans branding on cigarette packets - though it exports little tobacco itself to Australia.

Export ambitions “Petty”, “predatory” and “pernicious” are just a few of the adjectives attached to Ukraine by diplomats in Geneva, not to mention “pain in the ass”. As one negotiator put it: “For these guys, the idea of ‘soft power’ is just nonsense.” But Ukrainian trade negotiator Valery Pyatnytsky insists that he is merely promoting fair trade. His country attached “paramount importance”, he said, to finding compromises and completing talks with the two aspirant WTO members - both of which could hope to join the body this year, if Ukraine relents.

But Kiev would resist outside pressure to cut a deal, he added.

“The completion of negotiations with other... members cannot impose any obligation or imperative requirement to immediately end the process of bilateral negotiations,” he said in emailed replies to Reuters.

For a country to accede to the trading club, all existing members must agree, giving Ukraine a veto. —Reuters

US natural gas prices drop NEW YORK: Natural gas is no longer at decade lows, but the price remains sensitive to reports of any significant increase in supply. The price dropped Thursday as the government said supplies continue to build, at a time when mild weather is dimming demand in parts of the country. Natural gas fell 2.4 cents to end the day at $2.594 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York. That’s still nearly 70 cents, or 37 percent, above the 10year low of $1.907 hit on April 19. The Energy Department reported Thursday that natural gas stockpiles rose 61 billion cubic feet to 2.667 trillion cubic feet for the week that ended May 11. That’s nearly 41 percent above year-earlier levels and the five-year average. Analysts expected a smaller increase of 52 billion to 56 billion cubic feet.

Natural gas plummeted earlier this year as a production boom helped fill storage facilities while a mild winter allowed consumers

and businesses to use less gas for heat. It has bounced back as some energy companies reduced production. Some utilities also switched to using more cheap natural gas to generate power instead of coal. Others used it as a substitute for nuclear power that was offline for maintenance, PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said. Now, the mild winter has given way to a mild spring in many areas. That means homes and businesses aren’t powering up their air conditioning systems just yet. And Flynn said many of the idle nuclear plants are being returned to operation, which could reduce the utilities’ need for natural gas. Electricity demand from January through May 12 fell about 3.3 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Edison Electric Institute, the country’s main electric utility trade group.

In other trading, oil prices fell as worries persisted about the future of Greece in the

European Union and the long-term impact the crisis could have on the global economy.

Some wonder if Greece will be forced to leave the group of countries that use the euro as currency if Greek politicians who oppose austerity measures win next month’s elections. That uncertainty trumped positive US economic news. The Labor Department said that weekly applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week at a seasonally adjusted 370,000. That indicated modest gains in the job market.

Benchmark oil fell 25 cents to finish at $92.56 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price many international oil products, fell $2.26 to $107.49 per barrel in London. Heating oil dropped 4.86 cents to end at $2.849 per gallon and gasoline futures declined 4.27 cents to $2.8782 per gallon. —AP

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SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Years

Five top models-turned-actors Page 24

File picture dated September 10, 1979 shows Cairo-based Algerian diva Warda al-Jazairiya during her performance at the Olympia music hall in Paris. Warda, who over her five-decade career had sold some 14 million records, died of a heart attack at her apartment in Cairo late on May 17, 2012, according to her family. The veteran singer, who moved to Egypt in the 1960s, was born near Paris in 1940 to an Algerian father and a Lebanese mother. She was married to one of Egypt’s most prominent composers, the late Baligh Hamdi, in the 1970s and her popularity went beyond the borders of Egypt and Algeria to cover the whole Arab world.

(See Pages 22-23) —AFP

Lady Gaga warned to tone down Philippine show

US burlesque artist Dita Von Teese poses as she arrives to take part in the “fashion dinner against Aids” an event organized by Sidaction with French fashion Page 26 federation to raise funds for the Aids research in Paris. —AP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Algerian singer

Warda

dies in Cairo at 72 T

File picture dated July 23, 2006 shows Algerian diva Warda cutting the cake with friends and celebrities as she celebrates her birthday in Giza, south of Cairo.

File picture dated August 3, 2008 shows Warda waving to the audience during a concert back home in Algiers.

he Algerian singer Warda, whose sultry voice and range helped make her one of the giants of Arab song has died. She was 72. Egyptian state TV said Warda died Thursday at her home in Cairo.

The official MENA news agency said she was 72, and that her body transferred to Algeria yesterday for burial. Along with Lebanon’s Fayrouz and Egypt’s late Umm Kalthoum, Warda was one of the legendary singers of the Arab world, with a voice that has been described as both sweet and powerful.

She lived in Egypt on and off for more than 40 years, and it was in Egypt that she earned both her cinematic and singing breakthroughs that won her fame across the Middle East. She had at least five lead roles in Egyptian films, and some 300 songs to her name. Warda Aldjazairia, or the Algerian Rose, was born in France in 1939 to an Algerian father and Lebanese mother. She began singing as a little girl, gaining a following among Arab children in France through her songs broadcast on local radio.

She traveled to Algeria for the first time in 1962 after the country gained independence from it French colonial rulers. She married an Algerian, and quit singing for ten years. After moving to Cairo, at the time the heart of the Arab cultural and artistic scene, she had her big break in the late 1970s with the hit “My Times Are Sweeter With You.” She frequently worked with Egypt’s and the broader Arab world’s best-known composers, and eventually married one - Baligh Hamdy. They formed a formidable team, even after their divorce, making some of the most memo-

rable Arab love songs, including “Stay Here, Stay” and “Listen To Me.” Late Egyptian singer and composer Mohammed Abdel-Wahab said Warda had “a broad voice with special abilities that other singers lack.” “I feel safe when she sings my tunes,” he said. Warda sang in all Arab dialects, and although better known for her love songs, she also sang nationalistic songs for Algeria and the larger Arab world. She was first introduced to a wider audience in Egypt when she took part in a pan-Arab song in 1960 called “The Greater Nation” written under Egypt’s charismatic president, Gamal Abdel-Nasser. In the song, she sang the part about Algeria, earning her the moniker Aldjazairia, or The Algerian. Warda had a liver transplant ten years ago, which forced her to give up performing for a number of years. Her son told an Arab newspaper Sunday that his mother was planning to film a new song in Algeria soon. Her last album was released in 2011, titled: “The Years I lost.” — AFP

In this July 6, 2009 file photo, Arabic music diva Warda performs during a show in Algiers, Algeria to inaugurate the second Pan-African Festival.

File picture dated August 21, 2008 shows Warda Al-Jazayriah, one of the Arab world’s most famous Divas, during her memorable performance on the steps of the Bacchus Temple in the Roman Acropolis of Baalbek in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. — AP/AFP photos

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

File picture taken on September 2, 2011 shows Cairo-based Algerian diva Warda AlJazayria during her last performance in Beirut.

File picture dated July 28, 2009 shows Warda performing at the Carthage festival in Tunisia.

File picture dated November 1, 1999 shows Algerian singer Warda acknowledging applause at a concert in Algiers.

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

File photo shows actress Milla Jovovich poses behind a motorcycle, during a photocall for the latest ‘Resident Evil’ movie in Munich, southern Germany.

—AP photos

File photo shows US actor Tyrese Gibson arrives at the opening ceremony of the Moscow international film festival in Moscow.

actors

Five top models-turnedE

veryone in Hollywood wants to be a multi-hyphenate, right? Everyone wants to show they can do it all. A key figure in that tradition is the model-turned-actor. Maybe they wanted to act but had to take modeling gigs first; maybe they modeled first but wanted to prove they were more than just a pretty face. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker continues her crossover this week with supporting roles in two very different films: “Battleship” and “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” There are countless other examples of performers who’ve done this, but here’s a look at five who’ve staked out serious careers in front of both kinds of camera.

Milla Jovovich: Born in Kiev, she was spotted at age 11 by famed photographer Richard Avedon, who featured her in Revlon’s “Most Unforgettable Women in the World” ads. Jovovich went on to appear on dozens of magazine covers and in campaigns for several brands including Banana Republic, Donna Karan, Gap and Versace. But she’s also carved out a major acting career as star of the sci-fi “Resident Evil” series (directed by her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson) and has appeared in films as varied as “The Fifth Element” “He Got Game” and “Stone.” But she still keeps a hand in fashion, in recent years serving as co-designer for the clothing line Jovovich-Hawk and sitting in the front row of shows for Chanel, John Galliano and Nina Ricci. (Jovovich also recorded her first album when she was just 16. But that’s a whole ‘nother list.)

File photo shows actress Charlize Theron holds the Oscar she won for best actress for her work in Monster at the 76th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. — AP

Charlize Theron: The statuesque stunner from South Africa started modeling in Milan at 16. She later moved to New York to train as a ballerina, but a knee injury forced her to quit dancing and nudged her toward acting. Since then, she’s shown a fearlessness in her choices and an eagerness to play parts that are less than beautiful on the outside (her Oscar-winning performance as a frumpy serial killer in “Monster”) as well as on the inside (her blistering portrayal of a delusional former prom queen in “Young Adult”). In recent years, she’s been watching others walk the runway at Fashion Week shows including Rag & Bone and she’s been the face of Christian Dior’s J’adore perfume.

Ashton Kutcher: The 6-foot-2 Kutcher dropped out of the University of Iowa, where he’d planned to study biochemical

engineering, after an agent recruited him at a bar to take part in a modeling competition. He ended up winning first place and went on to work the catwalks in New York, Milan and Paris. Kutcher made his name playing dumb pretty-boy roles on the TV series “That ‘70s Show” and in movies like “Dude, Where’s My Car?” But as any of the nearly 10.7 million Twitter followers of (at)aplusk can attest, he’s got more substantive matters on his mind. Now he’s replaced Charlie Sheen on the unfathomably popular “Two and a Half Men” and he’s about to play the late Apple founder Steve Jobs in an upcoming biopic.

been Kim Basinger: blonde, beautiful, and glamorous. She’s been a Bond girl (in “Never Say Never Again”) and had the contents of a refrigerator poured all over her (in “9 1/2 Weeks”). She’s played the Caped Crusader’s girlfriend (in the 1989 “Batman”) and Eminem’s mom (in “8 Mile”). And in 1998, she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the quintessential hooker with a heart of gold in “L.A. Confidential,” beating out then-87year-old Gloria Stuart, who was considered the favorite for “Titanic.” — AP

Tyrese Gibson: He grew up in South Central Los Angeles but burst onto the pop-culture scene as a teenager singing “Always CocaCola” in a 1994 commercial. Soon afterward, Tommy Hilfiger himself picked the gorgeous Gibson to be the face of his brand; he’s also modeled for Guess? jeans.

Gibson is actually a model-turned-singerturned-actor, having released several R&B albums. After making his acting debut in John Singleton’s “Baby Boy,” he found himself with recurring roles in a couple of heavy-duty franchises: all three “Transformers” films and a couple of the “Fast and the Furious” movies. In “2 Fast 2 Furious,” he had the daunting task of replacing Vin Diesel as Paul Walker’s sidekick and he oozed charisma from every pore of his flawlessly sculpted physique.

Kim Basinger: She was a Breck Girl - that alone qualifies her for this list. A former Georgia pageant queen, she signed a contract with the Ford modeling agency and appeared on several magazine covers in the ‘70s. Since then she’s been ... well, she’s

File photo shows actor Ashton Kutcher attends the 2011 GQ Gentlemen’s Ball at the Edison Ballroom in New York.

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Jesus and Mary Chain reconnect in China

F

ighting, and smashing up their equipment was all part of getting noticed for The Jesus and Mary Chain in their formative days-before the Internet gave everyone a potential audience. But much has changed in the 27 years since the release of their influential debut album Psychocandy, whose combination of 1960s pop and punk menace has manifested itself in the DNA of countless rock bands since.

The Glaswegian band are preparing to play their first ever show in China. A slot at the China Music Valley festival in Beijing today will be followed by a date in Hong Kong next week and a show in Singapore.

“We’d never been to China before, and thought we should take the chance to have a new experience,” singer Jim Reid told AFP by telephone from his seaside home in Devon, England, where he admits “doing the school run is about as exciting as it gets these days.”

It is just one illustration of change for a band whose music first planted them left-of-field, but whose influence can now be seen and heard in the mainstream as the Internet gives even the most esoteric acts a platform. “We’d have been a lot more successful if we’d been around in this particular climate,” Reid, 50, said.

“Whether it’s more geared towards pop-today’s radio stations would still rather play Lady Gaga-thanks to the Internet, guitar bands have a place to

In a file picture taken on 25 August 2007, Scottish band Jesus and Mary Chain’s singer Jim Reid performs during the Rock en Seine music festival, in SaintCloud, near Paris. —AFP

be heard.” Reid and his older brother William certainly had to fight to get noticed in an early 1980s Britain polarised by Thatcherism and high unemployment. Inspired by punk band The Sex Pistols, the brothers’ early influences also included The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and The Shangri-Las as they began playing in 1984 using deliberately de-tuned instruments, noise and feedback.

“We were sneaking in the back door and willing to do anything to get noticed really,” Reid said. “We came from East Kilbride, we had been on unemployment benefit, and suddenly we got noticed. We didn’t know what the rules were in the first place, so we

couldn’t play by them.” The band’s artistic impact continues to be felt, inspiring bands ranging from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr, Spiritualized and The Horrors. Original members Bobby Gillespie went on to form Primal Scream and Douglas Hart became a successful video director.

The Reids’ iconic look of skinny black jeans, leather and shades, meanwhile, is now mandatory in the playbook of any aspiring indie act. Briefly touted in the 1980s as Britain’s most notorious band, some towns banned The Jesus and Mary Chain from playing amid exaggerated tales of drugs and violence after outbreaks of fighting at some shows.

They disintegrated in 1999 as ten-

sions between Reid and guitarist brother William became unworkable. “Back in the 1990s we’d argue over anything,” Reid said. “It’s always going to be a stormy relationship between my brother and myself. We just know where the line is now, and if you cross it there’s going to be hell. We’re both able to back down more than before.” The band returned in 2007, performing at the Coachella festival in the US with actor Scarlett Johansson appearing on stage to sing “Just Like Honey” after the track was used in the 2003 movie “Lost in Translation”.

Reid said a new album has been “discussed” but not recorded, and the band continues to tour sporadically, with a string of North American dates lined up for June. Far removed from the chaotic early 1980s concerts that saw the band play 20-minute shows, sometimes with their backs to audiences, Reid said the Asia dates would comprise a “best of” spanning their six albums between 1985 and 1998. In particular for Beijing and Hong Kong, where British indie music has a strong following, the shows will present the opportunity to hear songs from a debut that still resonates today. “At that time nobody was doing that kind of musicthat kind of pop-noise took everybody by surprise,” said Reid when asked about Psychocandy’s impact. “It has lasted because we were good at what we were doing.”— AFP

‘What to Expect’

no better than pickles and ice cream

I

t’s said that the only reason women are capable of giving birth more than once is that they forget about the pains of labor once it’s all over.

Here’s hoping that audiences unfortunate enough to see “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” undergo a similar bout of amnesia. This insipid comedy uses the best-selling pregnancy guide as a jumping-off point for multiple overlapping storylines, almost all of them banal, trite and hackneyed.

Strangely enough, the only memorable moments of this mess come when things get serious, despite the track record of director Kirk Jones, who demonstrated most recently with “Everything’s Fine” that he’s not particularly good with all-star ensembles or with sentimentality.

Among the threads of this film are a baby-boutique owner (Elizabeth Banks) finally becoming pregnant at the same time as her husband’s (Ben Falcone) younger stepmother (Brooklyn Decker); a young food-truck chef (Anna Kendrick) getting one in the oven after a one-night stand with a culinary rival (Chace Crawford); a TV weight-loss guru (Cameron Diaz) and her partner (Matthew Morrison) from a celebrity dance competition show try to figure out how to fit a baby into their careerdriven lives; and a married couple (Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro) face the possibility of adoption.

Cue the gags about water breaking, hemorrhoids, screaming for epidurals and just about every other clichÈ imaginable. There are lots of “I thought you wanted this baby too!” arguments and daddy conflicts (Falcone’s character has spent his life in competition with his NASCAR-racing daddy, played by Dennis Quaid) and predictable jokes about bladder control and weight gain.

What you won’t find are any same-sex couples

Bollywood film actor Shah RukhKhan faces the media at his home in Mumbai on May 17, 2012. — AFP

conceiving - even though baby fever in the gay and lesbian community seems like it’s at an all-time high - or any people of color going into the delivery room (all the ethnic minorities here either have kids already or can’t give birth to their own) or any jokes that feel fresher than 1985.

When Lopez and Santoro have real conversations about adoption, or when one of the characters suddenly miscarries, “What to Expect” actually achieves a certain poignancy, suggesting that this enterprise might have worked better as a drama with occasional laughs than as a comedy with a few tear-jerking moments.

The cast is uniformly fine, although you can practically feel them chafing against the moronic things they’re called upon to do and say. And after the dreadful “Friends with Kids,” this is the second movie of 2012 that suggests there might be a “Bridesmaids” curse. (Falcone, Rebel Wilson and Wendi McClendon-Covey are all alums from last summer’s hit.) —Reuters

Bollywood star gets cricket stadium ban after row

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umbai cricket officials yesterday announced a five-year ban on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan from the city’s main stadium after a late-night row with staff at the grounds. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has filed a police complaint against Khan, co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders, over the heated altercation on Wednesday night at Wankhede stadium. “The ban was a unanimous decision,” MCA president Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters in the city. “Action will be taken against whoever breaks the law.”

The MCA says Khan should not have entered the ground after the game, saying he misbehaved and used foul lan-

guage when officials asked him to leave. They also tried to stop a group of children including Khan’s daughter from playing on the field. “Even for us, there are rules of who should come in and who cannot,” said Deshmukh.

Khan, one of the biggest names in Bollywood, has denied accusations he was drunk or behaving illegally, saying he became angry when officials at the stadium abused him and “physically manhandled” the children.

The MCA’s parent body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, will look into the “unprecedented case”, said its chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty.

“Never have we seen this kind of behavior at any time on any (cricket) ground in India,” he said. — AFP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Filipino Christian youths chant ‘Stop the Lady Gaga concerts’ during a rally, calling for the cancellation of the singer’s May 21-22 concerts, outside the Pasay City Hall in Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines yesterday. — AP photos

Filipino Christian youths flash the thumbs-down signs as they chant “Stop the Lady Gaga concerts” during a rally.

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In March the Korean Association of Church Communication vowed to take action to stop young people from being “infected with homosexuality and pornography” during the star’s concert in Seoul. But the star has so far failed to tone down her performances. In Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo, she rode on to the stage on a mechanical horse, wearing a black bodysuit and an enormous black metal headpiece. After Manila, the tour heads to Bangkok and Singapore. She was due to play in Jakarta after that, before flying south to New Zealand and Australia. — AFP

ady Gaga was warned yesterday to refrain from nudity, lewd conduct and blasphemy when her Asian tour reaches the Philippines next week, after her controversial act was banned by neighboring Indonesia.

Antonino Calixto, mayor of Manila’s Pasay district where the American pop phenomenon is due to perform on May 21 and 22, said inspectors will be on hand at the venue to ensure she does not overstep the mark. “We reminded the producers of Lady Gaga’s concert that the show and the event as a whole shall not exhibit any nudity or lewd conduct which may be offensive to morals and good customs,” he said in a statement.

“Although we respect artistic and musical expressions, I won’t allow anyone or any group to provide acts which may be questionable in (any) way.” Lady Gaga has already faced opposition elsewhere on the Asia leg of her tour, including in Indonesia where police denied her show a permit amid threats from Islamic hardliners. Calixto said religious groups in the Catholic-majority

Philippines have expressed concern over the show and that City hall was yesterday picketed by several dozen members of a Bible study group offended by Lady Gaga’s “Judas”. The group claimed the song “mocks and blasphemes the name and person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the central figure of each faithful Christian in the country”, Calixto said.

Ovation Productions, the promoters of the Manila concert, told AFP its president Renen de Guia was unavailable for comment yesterday. On Wednesday Lady Gaga’s Indonesian promoters vowed to fight to save her show, despite police denying it a permit and Islamic hardliners threatening “chaos” if she came to the mostly Muslim nation. Production Company Big Daddy said it still hoped to find a way to hold the June 3 event after already selling more than 50,000 tickets to a concert in Jakarta. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said it would create havoc if Lady Gaga were allowed to perform in Indonesia, calling her the “devil’s messenger” and warning they were ready to die to stop the concert.

Internationally famed performer Lady Gaga arrives at the Sungshan airport in Taipei.

‘Queen of Disco’ Donna Summer dies, aged 63

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Fan Maurice Castellanos places a portrait of Donna Summer on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday May 17, 2012, in Los Angeles. Donna Summer, a pop icon, died Thursday. — AP

rammy-winning disco legend Donna Summer, who topped the charts repeatedly in the 1970s and 80s with raunchy hits like “Love to Love You Baby” and “Hot Stuff,” died Thursday aged 63. Known as the Queen of Disco, the singer whose hits also included “I Feel Love” and “She Works Hard for the Money,” died in Florida from lung cancer, the TMZ celebrity news website said. “Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts,” said a family statement. “While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.

Tributes poured in within hours of her death, led by President Barack Obama who said: “Donna truly was the ‘Queen of Disco.’ Her voice was unforgettable, and the music industry has lost a legend far too soon.” “Truly that will be her legacy, she was the Disco Queen,” soul legend Aretha Franklin told CNN. Barbra Streisand, with whom Summer duetted on 1979’s “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)”, said she was “shocked” at the news. “She was so vital the last time I saw her a few months ago. I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented. .. It’s so sad,” she said in a statement.

In Hollywood, flowers were placed on her sidewalk star on the storied Hollywood Walk of Fame, across the street from the world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Summer, who also became something of an icon in the gay community, shot to fame during the disco era of the 1970s with hits like “MacArthur Park,” “Hot Stuff” and “Bad Girls.” The orgasmic-sounding “Love to Love You Baby,” released in 1975, was one of the first disco songs to be released in extended form, giving full vent to Summer’s erotic

moans and groans.

In the 1980s her hits included “She Works Hard for the Money” and “State of Independence.”

The disco diva was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines into a large devoutly Christian family in Boston and started singing in the local church, before performing in a number of Motown-influenced groups in her teens. Summer took her stage name after marrying Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer in 1972, anglicizing her name after divorcing him. She spoke fluent German and the couple had a daughter, Mimi Sommer.

The singer won five Grammy awards during her spectacular career, including in 1980 for best rock female vocalist for the 1979 “Hot Stuff,” but also as recently as 1997 for best dance recording for “Carry On.” She holds the record for most consecutive double albums to top the Billboard charts-three-and first female with four #1 singles in a 12-month period, three solo and one with Barbra Streisand, according to the IMDb website. “Hot Stuff” also got a boost from being used in the 1997 hit movie “The Full Monty,” as the track to which a group of unemployed British steel workers performed a striptease act.—AFP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

For women in 2011’s top movies, it’s quantity over quality

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hanks to “Twilight”s’ Bella Swan and the women from “The Help,” it looks like Hollywood’s glassceiling for actresses is starting to show some cracks. There were more females in the top 100 domestic grossing films of 2011 than there were a decade ago, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. But before women in the movie business start popping the champagne, they should know that the roles that actresses get a chance to play are not of the same caliber as their male counterparts. Moreover, the representation of women among the biggest grossing films in the United States only improved by a modest five percent since 2002. Females still represent just one third of all characters in last year’s top grossing films.

“The findings are a mixed bag,” Martha Lauzen, the center’s executive director and the report’s author, told TheWrap. “I was really heartened to see the percentage of female characters overall increase. People may say, ‘Gosh, it’s just 5 percentage points,’ but when I see a jump that’s very encouraging to me, because I know how absolutely resistant to change the film industry is.”

Lauzen said that the numbers of female characters in movies have remained roughly the same from the 1940s to the early aughts, which makes the slight uptick in roles for actresses somewhat remarkable. Not that all these

parts were memorable. In the roles actresses did get last year, they were more likely to be stuck darning socks than they were to be seen commanding armies - or to put it in “Twi-hard” terms, Bella was left to moon about while vampires and werewolves did the fighting.

Entitled “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World,” the report found that female characters were much less likely of to be portrayed as leaders. Overall, male char-

acters accounted for 86 percent of cinematic leaders and females represented a meager 14 percent of the take charge crowd last year.Moreover, most of the films that did hit screens were told from a male perspective, and that trend is actually getting more pronounced. Females accounted for 11 percent of protagonists in 2011, down from 16 percent in 2002.

The study also found that female characters remain younger than their male

(From Left) US director Paul Haggis, actress Roberta Armani, Czech model Petra Nemcova and US actor Sean Penn pose during the photocall of ‘Haiti: Carnival in Cannes,’ an event to raise money for charities working in Haiti, at the 65th Cannes film festival yesterday in Cannes. —AFP

counterparts and are more likely than males to have an identifiable marital status. In welcome news for Clint Eastwood, males 40 and over account for 50 percent of all male characters. Yet females 40 and over comprise 25 percent of all female characters. Lauzen says that the preponderance of youthful females is impacting their onscreen depictions as followers, not leaders.

“One of the consequences of keeping female characters young is that filmmakers tend to keep them relatively powerless,” Lauzen said. “When do we come into our power? It tends to happen for most people in their forties.” “All these females in their twenties and thirties are too young to have vast power.” The situation could improve this year. After all, “The Hunger Games” featured a bowand-arrow-wielding female protagonist en route to a $624 million worldwide gross, and this summer brings two new warrior princesses in “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Brave.”

But Lauzen said she won’t believe that things are fundamentally changing until she crunches the numbers. “Every year, and I’ve been doing this study for over a decade, there are some high-profile roles for women and girls in films that can lead us to believe that things are a lot better,” Lauzen said. “Until you actually count the number of characters, it’s easy to have your perceptions distorted.” — Reuters

Cannes

Reality TV gets close-up, with prisoner as star A

Actors Chris Rock, left, Ben Stiller, right and an actor dressed as a cartoon character, pose during a photo call for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, yesterday. — AP

‘Madagascar’, stepping stone to Cannes glory

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t may only be as a talking lion, but Ben Stiller joked on Thursday that coming to Cannes with the cartoon romp “Madagascar” could be a stepping stone to art house glory.

“To have my voice in a film at Cannes is a first step to actually being here in a movie!” the US actor quipped at a press conference before the red-carpet premiere of the billion-dollar zoo escape caper’s third installment. Stiller was in the Riviera city with most of the star-studded cast of the 3D animation movie, including “Friends” star David Schwimmer and comedian Chris Rock who quipped that he was in it for the fun”And cash!” Elaborating on his soft spot for the cartoon genre, Rock said: “I’ve been at movies with my kids-the kids get fidgety and I’m like, ‘I’m not going until I find out what happens to this bear!’”

“Madagascar’s” original voice cast are joined this time by “Tree of Life” star Jessica Chastain as the svelte jaguar “Gia”. “I started in repertoire theatre doing all kinds of plays, and I want to be the kind of actress who does all types of films,” Chastain said. — AFP

n Italian tragicomedy starring a prison inmate as a father of three who loses himself in a quest to become a reality television star premiered Friday at the Cannes Film Festival. “Reality” by Matteo Garrone, who captured the event’s 2008 Grand Prix runner-up award for “Gomorra” about the mafia’s wide-reaching grip on southern Italy, tells the story of a fishmonger who dreams of joining the “Big Brother” franchise. The film features Aniello Arena, who began his acting career a decade ago in the theatre troupe of Volterra prison, where he is still incarcerated.

“Reality” is his first movie.

Garrone said Arena was given permission to act in the film on a day-release program but not to join the cast and crew on the French Riviera, without revealing for what crime he is serving time. A step back from the ambitious reach of “Gomorra”, “Reality” sticks close to Luciano and his clan of sweet-natured relatives in Naples who initially share his enthusiasm about grabbing a shot at fame and fortune.

“A lot of people try to change their lives and their destinies through reality television,” Garrone told reporters after a politely received press screening, explaining its ongoing appeal in Italy.

Luciano basks in the attention he gets from dressing up in drag and clowning around at family events and catches the television bug when he meets “Big Brother” star Enzo, who has been hired to entertain at a wedding. While continuing to work at his market square fish stall, Luciano auditions for the show and then begins an agonizing wait for a call saying he has been cast. What begins as a lark becomes an obsession, and he becomes convinced that the “Big Brother” producers are watching him day and night to determine whether he is fit for the show?

Thinking they are looking for a good-hearted everyman,

Italian director Matteo Garrone , Italian actress Loredana Simioli (5thL) and Italian actor Nando Paone (5thR) pose during the photocall of ‘Reality’ presented in competition at the 65th Cannes film festival on May 18, 2012 in Cannes. — AFP

he begins giving away his family’s belongings to the poor and inviting indigents to meals, driving his once-adoring wife to distraction. “He’s like a Joe Blow who wants the thing that a lot of other people want in society but he becomes obsessed with the idea,” said one of the screenwriters, Ugo Chiti. Garrone said Arena’s tough experiences in real life palpably enriched his performance. “He as an actor had really become that character, and I think you can see it on the screen,” he said. —AFP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Workers install an artwork at the Hong Kong International Art Fair in Hong Kong on May 16, 2012. — AFP photos

Asia’s private museums

blaze new trails in art world

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boom in private museums funded by wealthy collectors is transforming the artistic landscape in Asia, and filling the cultural vacuum left by penny-pinching governments, experts say. Organizers of the Hong Kong International Art Fair (Art HK), which opened in the southern Chinese city on Thursday, said the next Henry Tate or John D. Rockefeller Jr. could be among the collectors perusing the pieces for sale. Art HK advisory board member Philip Dodd, the former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts London, said the growth of private museums was symbolic of the shift in economic power from West to East.

“For a short period these private museums are functioning as national museums, like the Met,” he told AFP, referring to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which grew from the private collection of a railroad boss. “As the power is moving East there is a sense that China is moving from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’.” Indonesian tobacco baron Oei Hong Djin, whose recently opened OHD Museum in the

city of Magelang is intended as a de facto national gallery, was among the visitors to the Hong Kong fair.

“We do not have a national museum and the government is not taking steps in that direction, so we as private collectors have to take over that role,” he told

a panel discussion, referring to his homeland of 240 million people. “In Indonesia, most or all of the private museums are funded by the main business of the owner, which is not related at all to art.” The OHD Museum, which opened last month in central Java, is a

trove of around 1,500 modern and contemporary pieces of Indonesian art, collected by 74-year-old Djin over five decades.

“My collection is like a national museum. It is very much historically orientated and that is because we don’t have a national museum from the government,” he said. New York-based Art+Auction magazine recently placed another Indonesian private gallery owner, Budi Tek, eighth on a list of the 10 most influential collectors in the world.

Li Bing, who owns the Beijing He Jing Yuan Art Museum in the Chinese capital, said economic and social reforms since the late 1970s had unleashed a natural instinct for private collecting in China.

“In the past 30 years of reform the Chinese have gone back to this habit of collecting art and things of value, and this has a lot to do with our historic economic development,” he said.

“The love for art and culture is something we all share. I would like to share my own passion and commitment with

everyone.” Wang Wei, who is rushing to open her private Dragon Art Museum in Shanghai in November, during the auspicious Year of the Dragon, said she began as a “housewife” with a plan to collect Chinese political art. “I was thinking that I could collect in a systematic manner to reflect the history of that art,” she said. “I would like to develop a family-based, community-based and also female-dominated gallery.” Lars Nittve, the former director of the Tate Modern Gallery in London, is now leading a state-backed project to develop a museum of contemporary art on the waterfront in Hong Kong, which will be known as M+.

He said there had been “exponential growth” in private museums in Asia, with hundreds of new spaces for art opening around the region in recent years. Hong Kong is third only to New York and London as an art auction centre. “If you go back 100 years or so (in the United States) there was a sudden boom in culture, cultural facilities and museums and concert halls and so forth, and it happened at a certain stage in the economic development,” he told AFP. “There are different drivers behind this but of course it all needs finance to become a reality.”

Some of the Art HK merchandise bears the provocative slogan “Money Creates Taste”, a message private museum owners could be tempted to embrace. But Nittve said he disagreed that wealth created taste in the contemporary Asian art scene, despite the power of rich private benefactors. “Many of the taste-creators are not the wealthiest,” he said. “The wealthiest are making use of the existing taste and want to be seen as having that taste, but they might not be the ones who created that taste.” — AFP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

An order of ‘Artisan Foie Gras and Liberty Farms Duck’ by Mark Dommen of ‘One Market’ in San Francisco awaits being served at the ‘Melisse’ eatery in Santa Monica, California.

— AFP photos

Chef Mark Dommen from ‘One Market’ in San Francisco and a sous chef put the finishing touches on the orders of ‘Artisan Foie Gras and Liberty Farms Duck’ on the menu at the ‘Melisse’ eatery in Santa Monica.

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simmering row between animal rights campaigners and a handful of California’s top chefs is coming to the boil, ahead of a looming ban on foie gras in the western US state.

Protestors took their message to the streets this week as a series of high-end restaurants staged events-with menus including foie gras ice cream to celebrate the gastronomic delicacy, made from force-fed ducks. “Helpless ducks are force fed, eat somewhere else instead,” chanted some 30 protestors outside the Michelin two-starred “Melisse” eatery in Santa Monica. “We were out there being the voice for the ducks, which obviously don’t have a voice,” Amber Coon of the Animal Protection and Rescue League told AFP, saying famously liberal California is leading the way for other states.

California’s foie gras ban comes into force July 1, and a group of chefs have formed the Coalition for Human and Ethical Farming Standards (CHEFS) to combat the perception they don’t care how animals are treated. Inside the “Melisse,” owner and chef Josiah Citrin offered guests at the ticket-only event a mouth-watering six-course menu including foie gras-French for fatty liver-in every dish, from entrees to desserts. Prepared by a team of eight top chefs, the $200-dollar-a-head meal included Pressed Foie Gras Terrine, Duck and Foie Gras Parfait, Foie Gras Tortelloni, and Pistachio Crusted Foie Gras.

There was also Maine Lobster with Foie Gras and Salsify, and Wild King Salmon prepared with Foie Gras, Bloomsdale Spinach, French Radish and Jus au Vin Rouge, while the Roasted Liberty Farms Duck came with Artisan Foie Gras. For dessert there was Foie Gras Butter Kuchen with Local Cherries and Foie Gras Ice Cream. Citrin is even selling T-shirts emblazoned with “Touche Pas a Mon Foie Gras” (“Keep Your Hands Off my Foie Gras”), with a picture of a duck in a little white chef’s hat. The event aimed to “raise money and awareness about this legislation, which single-handedly attacks foie gras but fails to address the lack of humane or ethical standards and treatment for other items in our food chain,” he said.

“Our guests have been extremely supportive of our restaurant,” he told AFP. “All the ingredients that I try to use, that I use in my restaurant, I really work hard to find humanely-raised animals by farmers who really care about it,” Citrin added.

The CHEFS lobby group presented a petition to lawmakers in Sacramento a few weeks ago, and at least four LA-area restaurants held events on Monday to highlight the cause. But even more directly in the firing line is California’s only farm producing the delicacy, the target of animal

Protesters hold a banner and placards while shouting slogans in front of the “Melisse” eatery. rights protests in various countries in recent years. Artisan Sonoma Foie Gras Farm was founded more than 20 years ago by Guillermo and Junny Gonzalez from El Salvador who studied in France’s Perigord region before establishing themselves in Sonoma, north of San Francisco.

They insist their production methods adhere to the highest standards, and are not cruel-and that their family business was closing down as a result, with the loss of jobs and tax revenues for California. “Our farm is being forced to shut down at the end of June, and the most unfortunate fact is that science has not been given a chance to play a role in this debate,” Guillermo Gonzalez told AFP. “The larger impact however, is that a powerful special interest group with an anti-meat agenda was able to impose its morals on us all,” he added.

He cited a study published in the World’s Poultry Science Journal in 2004, which he said concluded that “based on the extra physiological use of a natural fattening phenomenon, foie gras has been recognized as a non-pathological and non-harmful product.” “We do not believe that foie gras farming, when done correctly, is harmful or hurtful to a duck,” he added. The anti-foie gras protestors are not convinced and showed photos and an iPad video to passers-by and diners arriv-

ing at the Santa Monica eatery, a few blocks back from the Pacific Ocean.

“We were just letting them know that they can’t get away with (presenting) foie gras in a humane sustainable farming practice,” said Coon.

“Most of them tried to ignore us... they obviously knew that they were going to a fundraiser by a lobbyist to repeal an animal welfare law, so that’s the type of crowd you’re going to get anyway,” she added. She noted that the ban was agreed eight years ago, but enforcement was put off to allow the Sonoma farm and restaurateurs to prepare. Over 100 restaurants have removed foie gras from their menus, before the upcoming deadline. “Obviously this is not a surprise to all these chefs who are suddenly whining about it... they’re all of a sudden upset about it. But this has been in the works for years,” she said. “There’s really just a few, very well connected wealthy hold-outs such as ‘Melisse’ who are making a big fuss about this,” she said.—AFP

A protester holds a poster while shouting slogans in front of the “Melisse” eater.

technology

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

SpaceX in high-stakes space station launch First private company to send cargo ship to space WASHINGTON: SpaceX aims to become the first private company to send its own cargo ship to the International Space Station, a feat that only a handful of world governments have pulled off. The high-stakes mission is scheduled to begin before dawn today (4:55 am, 0855 GMT) with the launch of the unmanned Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The bid, if successful, would catapult the company owned by billionaire Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk even further ahead in the race to fill the void left by the shuttle program’s end last year and restore America’s access to space. If not, it would be a setback for SpaceX, one of several companies working to build and launch a spacecraft that could tote astronauts to the ISS by 2015, and the first to attempt a cargo mission as a precursor to a manned flight. “The attention given to this flight creates a set of high expectations and it’s still a test flight but the consequences of failure would be very serious,” said John Logsdon, space policy expert at George Washington University. “NASA is putting a big bet on

this succeeding.” SpaceX has so far received $381 million from NASA as part of a multi-year $1.6-billion contract to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the ISS. NASA has struck a similar deal with a second company, Orbital Sciences, though it has yet to attempt its first cargo mission. The final flight of the US space shuttle program in 2011 ended a 30-year era of US dominance in human spaceflight and left Russia as the only nation capable of transporting both astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

SpaceX is already further ahead than any of its other competitors in the private space race, which also include aerospace giant Boeing, the Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Washington state-based BlueOrigin LLC. In 2010, SpaceX became the first commercial enterprise to successfully launch its space capsule into low-Earth orbit and back for a safe ocean recovery. It has also been able to develop the Falcon 9 rocket launch vehicle at a third of the cost — $1.7 billion-it would have been for the US space agency to do the same - $4 billion-according to a NASA/Air Force Cost Model analy-

sis. “They are playing with their own money and they have real incentives to hold down costs,” said Howard McCurdy, an author and space policy expert at American University in Washington.

“SpaceX is in the lead but whether or not they are going to wind up in the lead at the end, we don’t know, that’s what makes it fascinating to watch,” he said. “It’s like the Kentucky Derby.

The winner may be halfway back. We are just going around the first turn right now.” If today’s launch is successful, the Dragon will attempt a fly-under of the

Key facts about SpaceX WASHINGTON: Space Exploration Technologies is about to become the first private company to attempt to send its own cargo capsule to the International Space Station and back.

Here are some key facts about the company, known as SpaceX, and its mission.

SPACEX SpaceX was founded in 2002 by billionaire Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, the co-founder of PayPal. Musk is also currently the chief executive officer of Tesla Motors which builds and sells electric cars. The Hawthorne, California-based company’s mission is “to revolutionize space transportation in order to eventually make it possible for people to live on other planets.”

SpaceX employs more than 1,700 people, including a number of former NASA astronauts. Launch facilities are at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base; rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas; and offices in Chantilly, Virginia and the US capital, Washington.

ROCKET The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket stands at a height of 48.1 meters with the Dragon space capsule on top, and is capable of producing one million pounds of thrust in a vacuum. All structures, engines, avionics and ground systems are designed, manufactured and tested in the United States. It is named after the

Millennium Falcon, the personal spaceship of the Star Wars characters Han Solo and Chewbacca. The rocket is powered by nine Merlin engines in the first stage and one in the second stage. Falcon 9 is powered by liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene. Its first successful launch was on June 4, 2010, followed by a second on December 8, 2010.

SPACECRAFT Dragon is a reusable spacecraft that was built to carry and return both astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station. The white capsule stands 4.4 meters high and is 3.66 meters in diameter. With its two solar array wings extended, the span is 16.5 meters wide. Dragon can carry over 3,310 kilograms split between pressurized cargo in the capsule and unpressurized cargo in the trunk. On this mission, it will carry 521 kilograms of cargo for the space lab and will also aim to return a 660 kg load to Earth.

Dragon is also built to carry up to seven astronauts to the ISS on future missions. The capsule is maneuvered by 18 Draco thrusters powered by nitrogen tetroxide/monomethylhydrazine propellants.It is protected by the most powerful heat shield in the world, designed in cooperation with NASA and made of a material called PICA-X. In December 2010, it became the first private spacecraft to reach orbit and back-a feat previously achieved by only the governments of Russia, the United States and China. — AFP

FLORIDA: The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket stands ready for launch at complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral yesterday. — AP orbiting lab at a distance of about 1.5 miles three days later, followed by a berthing bid with the ISS on day four of the mission.

Astronauts already aboard the ISS will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture the gum-drop shaped Dragon capsule as it approaches and help it latch on, a high-precision maneuver given that both the lab and spacecraft are orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes. On day five, astronauts already at the ISS will unload cargo from the Dragon and restock it with supplies to carry back to Earth. After a two-week stay in space, the Dragon aims to return to Earth for a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. If weather or other reasons prevent today’s liftoff, another opportunity for launch opens on May 22. In addition to Russia, the space agencies of Japan and Europe also operate cargo ships to the ISS. — AFP

SunPower shares up more than 9% NEWYORK: Apple Inc plans to power its main US data center entirely with renewable energy by the end of this year, taking steps to address longstanding environmental concerns about the rapid expansion of high-consuming computer server farms.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad said on Thursday it was buying equipment from SunPower Corp and startup Bloom Energy to build two solar array installations in and around Maiden, North Carolina, near its core data center. Once up, the solar farm will supply 84 million kWh of energy annually. The sites will employ high-efficiency solar cells and an advanced solar tracking system.

The two solar farms will cover 250 acres, among the largest in the industry, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters. Apple plans on using coal-free electricity in all three of its data centers, with the Maiden facility coal-free by the end of 2012.

“I’m not aware of any other company producing energy onsite at this scale,” Oppenheimer said in a telephone interview. “The plan we are releasing today includes two solar farms and together they will be twice as big as we previously announced, thanks to the purchase of some land very near to the data center in Maiden, which will help us meet this goal.”

Shares in SunPower leaped more than 10 percent to close at $5.59 on Thursday, and tacked on a 6-cent after-hours trading gain on top of that. Concerns about the ever-expanding power consumption of computer data centers have mounted in recent years, as technology giants build enormous facilities housing servers to cater to an explosion in Internet traffic, multimedia use and enterprise services hosting, via cloud computing.

“Our next facility will be in Prineville, Oregon.

This is still in the planning stages and we have already identified plenty of renewable sources nearby,” Oppenheimer said. “We haven’t finalized our plans for on-site generation, but any power we need to run our center in Prineville that we get from the grid will be 100 percent renewable and locally generated sources,” the Apple CFO said.

Switching tack SunPower, now majority-owned by France’s Total SA, makes the most efficient solar panels in the world, according to industry analysts. Prices for solar panels - particularly at large-scale solar plants like the one Apple envisions - have been dropping rapidly, narrowing the gap with the cost of fossil fuel power. Analysts say that may encourage some corporations to switch.

“SunPower will take a bite out of Apple’s environmental impact with our highest efficiency solar at their North Carolina data center, the nation’s largest privately-owned solar array,” SunPower CEO Tom Werner said via email.

Several activist groups have expressed their concerns over the use of “dirty” power by Apple’s data centers, which support its Internet storage and service-hosting service iCloud.

Several members of Greenpeace staged a protest this week at Apple’s Cupertino campus using a giant “iPod.” Greenpeace, which has also targeted Amazon.com and Microsoft with clean energy campaigns, saluted Apple’s decision. “Apple’s announcement today is a great sign that Apple is taking seriously the hundreds of thousands of its customers who have asked for an iCloud powered by clean energy, not dirty coal,” Greenpeace International Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook said in a statement. —Reuters

TV listings

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

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

Untamed & Uncut Human Prey Into The Dragon’s Lair I Was Bitten Wildest Africa Wildlife SOS Escape To Chimp Eden Vet On The Loose Vet On The Loose Escape To Chimp Eden Crocodile Hunter The Planet’s Funniest Animals Natural Born Hunters Jeff Corwin Unleashed Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Wild Animal Orphans Project Puppy Dogs 101 Wildlife SOS Safari Vet School Safari Vet School Must Love Cats Queens Of The Savannah Queens Of The Savannah Queens Of The Savannah Great Savannah Race Great Savannah Race Great Ocean Adventures Karina: Wild On Safari Karina: Wild On Safari Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer Great Animal Escapes Great Animal Escapes Animal Cops Philadelphia

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

BBC World News Weekend World Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News Horizons BBC World News Imagine BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News The Culture Show BBC World News The Record Europe BBC World News Click BBC World News Weekend World Mishal Husain Meets BBC World News World Football Focus Horizons BBC World News World Features Working Lives BBC World News World Features Newsnight BBC World News One Square Mile BBC World News Weekend World Equestrian World BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News Imagine BBC World News Click BBC World News The Culture Show BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Click BBC World News World Features Dateline London BBC World News World Features Working Lives BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News World Features One Square Mile

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25

Duck Dodgers The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

15:30 16:25 17:20 18:15 19:10 20:05 21:00 21:55 World 22:50 23:45

Coal Gold Divers Gold Rush Storm Chasers River Monsters Man vs Fish With Matt Watson Extreme Fishing Inventions That Shook The Weed Wars Gold Divers

00:35 Meteorite Men 01:25 The Tech Show 01:50 Nextworld 02:40 The Future Of...

03:35 Weird Connections 04:00 Weird Connections 04:25 Stunt Junkies 04:50 Stunt Junkies 05:20 Mega Builders 06:10 Smash Lab 07:00 Head Rush 07:03 Sci-Fi Science 07:30 Weird Connections 08:00 Future Weapons 08:55 Nextworld 09:45 The Future Of...

10:35 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 11:25 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 12:15 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 13:05 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 13:55 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 14:45 Head Rush 14:48 Sci-Fi Science 15:15 Weird Connections 15:45 The Tech Show 16:10 Future Weapons 17:00 Space Pioneer 17:50 The Future Of...

18:40 Scrapheap Challenge 19:30 Catch It Keep It 20:20 Invisible Worlds 21:10 Sci-Trek 22:00 Scrapheap Challenge 22:50 Catch It Keep It 23:40 Punkin Chunkin 2011

KING ARTHUR ON OSN ACTION HD 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:00 05:25 05:50 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:40 08:55 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:20 11:30 11:50 12:10 12:35 13:00 13:50 14:40 15:05 15:55 16:20 16:45 17:15 18:05 18:30 20:00 20:30 20:55 21:25

The Jetsons Puppy In My Pocket Popeye Tom & Jerry Looney Tunes Scooby Doo Where Are You! Droopy: Master Detective Wacky Races The Flintstones A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Popeye Classics Wacky Races Pink Panther And Pals Dexter’s Laboratory Bananas In Pyjamas Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing Ha Ha Hairies The Garfield Show The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry Tales Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Yogi’s Treasure Hunt Help! It’s The Hair Bear Bunch Wacky Races The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop A Pup Named Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show The Flintstones Dastardly And Muttley Looney Tunes Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo Tom & Jerry Top Cat Top Cat Pink Panther & Pals The Garfield Show The Looney Tunes Show Scooby Doo On Zombie Island Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Garfield Show The Flintstones

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

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

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

12:15 Courage The Cowardly Dog 13:05 Generator Rex 13:30 Powerpuff Girls 14:20 Batman: The Brave And The Bold

14:45 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 15:10 Best Ed 16:00 Fantastic Four...

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

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

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

One Man Army Destroyed In Seconds American Chopper: Senior vs Desert Car Kings X-Machines One Man Army How It’s Made Factory Line Flying Wild Alaska Factory Line Built From Disaster Mega Builders Extreme Engineering X-Machines Man, Woman, Wild Dual Survival Ultimate Survival Ultimate Survival Oil, Sweat And Rigs

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

Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Fairly Odd Parents Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Suite Life Of Zack And So Random Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm Jessie Radio Rebel Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Jessie A.N.T. Farm Austin & Ally Jessie Wizards Of Waverly Place So Random Jessie Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Jessie Radio Rebel A.N.T. Farm Austin & Ally Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Jessie Radio Rebel Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks

22:55 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 23:20 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 23:45 Sonny With A Chance

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E!es 02:20 E!es 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Bridalplasty 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 11:10 Giuliana & Bill 12:05 E! News 13:05 Scouted 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Khloe And Lamar 15:25 Khloe And Lamar 15:55 Khloe And Lamar 16:25 Khloe And Lamar 16:55 Ice Loves Coco 17:25 Ice Loves Coco 17:55 E! News 18:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 19:55 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 20:55 Style Star 21:25 Fashion Police 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

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

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

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

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

True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Ghost Lab The Haunted A Haunting

00:00 Departures 01:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 02:00 Adventure Wanted 03:00 Meet The Amish 04:00 Keeping Up With The Joneses 04:30 Keeping Up With The Joneses 05:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 06:00 Adventure Wanted 07:00 Meet The Amish 08:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 09:00 Deadliest Journeys 09:30 Cycling Home From Siberia With Rob Lilwall 10:00 Graham’s World 10:30 Graham’s World 11:00 Destination Extreme 11:30 Destination Extreme 12:00 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 12:30 Weird & Wonderful Hotels 13:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 14:00 Adventure Wanted 15:00 Meet The Amish 16:00 Keeping Up With The Joneses 16:30 Keeping Up With The Joneses 17:00 Treks In A Wild World 18:00 Departures

TV listings

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

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

Pressure Cook Pressure Cook Which Way To First Ascent First Ascent Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy A World Apart

Aftermath Taboo Megastructures Caught In The Act Hunter Hunted Nat Geo Amazing!

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

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

00:00 Triumph of Life 01:00 World’s Worst Venom 01:55 Bear Nomad 02:50 Outback Wrangler 03:45 Giant Panda 04:40 Expedition Wild 05:35 Animal Fugitives 06:30 Superfish 07:25 Swamp Men 08:20 Tiger Man 09:15 The Living Edens 10:10 The Great Serengeti (aka Serengeti) 11:05 Wild Dog Diaries 12:00 Caught On Safari 13:00 Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild India) 14:00 Lions Behaving Badly 15:00 Built for the Kill 4 16:00 Wildlife Rescue Africa 17:00 Hunter Hunted 18:00 American Eagle 19:00 Built for the Kill 4 20:00 Wildlife Rescue Africa 21:00 Hunter Hunted 22:00 American Eagle 23:00 Caught On Safari

17:45 King Arthur-PG15 20:00 Fright Night-PG15 22:00 Hustle And Flow-18

01:00 Middle Men-18 03:00 Love The Beast-PG 05:00 How Do You Know-PG15 07:15 Date Night-PG15 09:00 Love The Beast-PG 10:45 How Do You Know-PG15 13:00 Ice Dreams-PG15 15:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 17:00 My Sassy Girl-PG15 19:00 Love And Other Impossible Pursuits-PG15 21:00 Going The Distance-18 23:00 Drag Me To Hell-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 02:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm 03:00 New Girl 03:30 Happy Endings 04:00 Weird Science 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Mr. Sunshine 06:30 Melissa And Joey 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Weird Science 08:30 New Girl 09:00 Seinfeld 09:30 30 Rock 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Melissa And Joey 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Mr. Sunshine 12:30 Weird Science 13:00 Seinfeld

13:30 Melissa And Joey 14:00 Happy Endings 14:30 Modern Family 15:00 30 Rock 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Mr. Sunshine 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Parks And Recreation 18:30 Wilfred 19:00 The Office 19:30 Man Up! 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 23:00 Curb Your Enthusiasm 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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

American Idol Smash Survivor: One World Glee Damages Good Morning America The Invisible Man Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View American Idol Glee Castle Good Morning America The Invisible Man The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street Warehouse 13 Criminal Minds Sons Of Anarchy Top Gear (UK) Damages

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

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

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

Empire-18 Road To Perdition-18 Dread-PG15 Rocky II-PG15 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 The Losers-PG15 Salt-PG15 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 Restitution-PG15 The Losers-PG15 Hustle And Flow-18 Malibu Shark Attack-18

00:00 Reach The Rock-18 02:00 Jack Goes Boating-PG15 04:00 The Open Road-PG15 06:00 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement-FAM 08:00 Inspector Gadget (1999)-PG15 10:00 Return To Sleepaway CampPG15 12:00 How To Train Your Dragon-PG 14:00 You Again-PG15 16:00 Return To Sleepaway CampPG15 18:00 Submarine-PG15 20:00 Saint John Of Las Vegas-18 22:00 How High-18

01:15 Combien Tu M’aimes-18 03:00 The Maiden Heist-PG15 05:00 Phone Booth-PG15 07:00 Star Trek III: The Search For Spock-PG15 09:00 Oscar And The Lady In PinkPG15 10:45 Secretariat-PG15 13:00 South Solitary-PG15 15:00 Oscar And The Lady In PinkPG15 17:00 Cinema Verite-PG15 19:00 Light It Up-PG15 21:00 Spiderman 2-PG15 23:15 The Dry Land-18

00:30 02:30 04:30 06:30 09:00 11:00 13:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Vampires Suck-PG15 Legend Of The Guardians-PG 9-PG Senna-PG15 Cars 2-FAM Inside Job-PG15 My Name Is Khan-PG15 Cars 2-FAM Jonah Hex-PG15 The Switch-18 The Town-18

00:00 Garfield’s Pet Force-FAM 02:00 Globehunters-FAM 04:00 Paws-PG 06:00 Mars Needs Moms-PG 08:00 Moomins And The Comet Chase-FAM 10:00 Barbie In A Mermaid Tale 2FAM 12:00 Ulysses-PG 14:00 Paws-PG 16:00 Despicable Me-FAM 18:00 Barbie In A Mermaid Tale 2FAM 20:00 The Borrowers-PG 22:00 Ulysses-PG

00:00 Triumph of Life 01:00 World’s Worst Venom 01:55 Bear Nomad 02:50 Outback Wrangler 03:45 Giant Panda 04:40 Expedition Wild 05:35 Animal Fugitives 06:30 Superfish 07:25 Swamp Men 08:20 Tiger Man 09:15 The Living Edens 10:10 The Great Serengeti (aka Serengeti) 11:05 Wild Dog Diaries 12:00 Caught On Safari 13:00 Wild India (aka Secrets of Wild India) 14:00 Lions Behaving Badly 15:00 Built for the Kill 4 16:00 Wildlife Rescue Africa 17:00 Hunter Hunted 18:00 American Eagle 19:00 Built for the Kill 4 20:00 Wildlife Rescue Africa 21:00 Hunter Hunted 22:00 American Eagle 23:00 Caught On Safari

00:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 06:35 ABC Nightline 08:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 10:00 MSNBC Morning Joe 13:00 MSNBC Documystery 14:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 16:00 MSNBC Up With Chris Hayes Saturday 17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 Live ABC 20/20 21:00 MSNBC Documystery 22:00 MSNBC Melissa Harris-Perry

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:15 16:00

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00

Dread-PG15 The Eagle-PG15 Law Abiding Citizen-18 Ladder 49-PG15 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 The Eagle-PG15 King Arthur-PG15 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 Dick Tracy-PG15

HOW DO YOU KNOW ON OSN CINEMA

Howl-18 Just Go With It-PG15 Napoleon Dynamite-PG Zookeeper-PG15 The Chaperone-PG15 Ticking Clock-PG15 Just Go With It-PG15 Chasing 3000-PG15 The Chaperone-PG15

18:00 Morning Glory-PG15 20:00 Fright Night-PG15 22:00 The Men Who Stare At Goats18

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:30 12:30 13:00 21:00 22:00

WWE Bottom Line Super Rugby UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE Bottom Line Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live Super Rugby Live Super Rugby Futbol Mundial Live Test Cricket WWE Bottom Line Super Rugby

01:00 03:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 14:30 16:15 18:00 20:00 22:00

NRL Premiership AFL Premiership Mobil 1 The Grid Top 14 Highlights SPL Highlights Live AFL Premiership Super League Total Rugby Live Super Rugby Super Rugby NRL Premiership Live Super Rugby Live Super Rugby AFL Premiership

02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 14:30 19:00 19:45 21:30 23:30

Golfing World Super League Trans World Sport World Cup Of Pool European PGA Tour European Tour Weekly NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership Live European PGA Tour Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Live Volvo Ocean Race Scottish FA Cup European PGA Tour

00:45 02:45 03:45 04:45 05:45 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:30 22:00 23:00

WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline WWE Vintage Collection UFC The Ultimate Fighter V8 Supercars WWE Bottom Line V8 Supercars Extra LIVE V8 Supercars WWE Vintage Collection WWE Experience This Week in WWE V8 Supercars UAE National Race Day Mobil 1 The Grid WWE SmackDown WWE Experience WWE Bottomline V8 Supercars Extra V8 Supercars V8 Supercars UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE SmackDown

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

Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Ax Men Planet Egypt Decoded Ancient Aliens Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Ax Men Mega Movers Mega Movers Secret Superpowered Aircraft Lock N’ Load With R. Lee Ermey Lock N’ Load Mega Movers Mega Movers Secret Superpowered Aircraft Planet Egypt Decoded Ancient Aliens Mud Men Pawn Stars Storage Wars American Restoration American Restoration Irt Deadliest Roads: The Andes Swamp People

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

what’s on SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Creativity at its best at Salmiya Indian Model School

R

eaching beyond the normal curriculum, the first round of ‘Inter house Competitions’ for the session 2012-13 were held at SIMS, Kuwait.

Various themes were given to the children for different categories. They came out with excellent, innovative ideas, with 100% participation.

Class II children recited ‘Frogs at School’ with great confidence and poise.

Guests were totally bowled over by the rhythm and gusto of the children.

Materials used for ‘Best out of Waste’ by the students of classes IV, V & VIII, reminded us of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’. The idea of using old magazines, egg cartons etc to make wall hangings, trash cans and handbags was appreciated by one and all.

The kids of Class I brought out the freshness and beauty of God’s creation, reiterating the underlined message of live and let live. The parents Were overwhelmed to see their wards taking the stage in their fancy dress with meaningful messages representing ‘Nature and Flowers’.

Different collages were made by the students of VI & VII based on Pollution and its harmful effects, to spread awareness.

‘Eid and Friendship’ cards were made

by Class III students throwing light on the importance of ‘Unity in Diversity’.

The beauty and purpose of these activities is to reinforce and tap the potentialities of all the children, inculcating the spirit of co-operation and sportsmanship through group competition.

The themes of these activities were specially selected to make the children aware of their responsibility of preserving the environment, to make the world a better place for them to live in.

Sanjay Yadav, Principal emphasized the school’s commitment in providing ‘Model Education’ for the students and applauded the efforts put in by the entire SIMS learn. F le also acknowledged the support and cooperation rendered by the Parent fraternity.

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF BRAZIL The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency.

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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. 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.

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EMBASSY OF CYPRUS The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus requests Cypriot citizens living in Kuwait to register with the Embassy has moved. 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).

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EMBASSY OF KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref. New Address: Embassy of the Republic of Korea Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6 The Embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Saturday to Thursday Morning: 8:00 am to 12:30 pm Lunch Break: 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm Afternoon: 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm ■■■■■■■

Umar Sharif in Kuwait

U

Congratulations Congratulations to Habib Yousry on graudating from Class Four from Al-Aman Indian School.

Best wishes from family, friends and well-wishers.

mar Sharif a well-known Pakistani comedian, artist arrived to perform in Kuwait. In cooperation with ICS-Kuwait, Pakistani VOOC (Voice of Overseas Community) is organizing Umar Sharif Show to be held at Kuwait Medical Association Hall near Blood Bank Jabriya today at 7:30 pm.

Sharif started his showbiz career from Karachi as stage performer at the age of 14. He introduced lots of actors, actresses of stage plays, and films. Umar Sharif has been associated with lots of charity works like Earth-Quack in Northern Areas of Pakistan, for Shahzad Roy “Zindagi Trust”, for Fatimeed Foundation, for Imran Khan “Shoukat Khanam Cancer Hospital, for Abrar-ul-Haq “Sahara Trust” etc. Now he just started his own “Umer Sharif Welfare Trust” and announced and started work on his “MAA Hospital”.

EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico is pleased to inform that it is located in CLIFFS Complex, Villa 6, Salmiya, block 9, Baghdad street, Jadda Lane 7. The working hours for consular issues are from 9:00 to 12:00 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is closed from 14:00 to 15:00 hours for lunch break. The Embassy of Mexico kindly requests all Mexicans citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the e-mail: embkuwait@sre.gob.mx in order to register or update contact information. Other consultations or/and appointments could be done by telephone or fax: (+965) 2573 1952 ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, AlSalaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location.

Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com

health & science

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Healthy eating can be less costly, says study Junk food no more cheaper

A quarantined black bear cub plays with his stuffed otter toy at The Oregon Zoo in Portland. — AP

French autistic kids get psychotherapy LONDON: In most developed countries, children with autism are usually sent to school where they get special education classes. But in France, they are more often sent to a psychiatrist where they get talk therapy meant for people with psychological or emotional problems.

Things are slowly changing, but not without resistance.

Last month, a report by France’s top health authority concluded there was no agreement among scientists about whether psychotherapy works for autism, and it was not included in the list of recommended treatments.

That provoked an outcry from psychiatrists. Groups including Freudian societies, the World Association of Psychoanalysis and France’s Child Institute started a petition calling on the French government to recognize their clinical approach, focused on psychotherapy.

“The situation in France is sort of like the US in the 1950s,” said Dr Fred Volkmar, a US expert who directs the Child Study Center at Yale University. “The French have a very idiosyncratic view of autism and, for some reason, they are not convinced by the evidence.” Behavioral methods, which focus on helping autistic children communicate with others and develop social skills, are the norm in Britain, Canada, Japan, the US and elsewhere in Europe. But they’re seldom used in France. France has long been criticized for its approach to treating autism. In 2002, the charity Autism Europe lodged a complaint against France with the Council of Europe, charging the country was refusing to educate autistic children, as required under the European Social Charter. The charge was upheld and the European Committee of Social Rights declared “France has failed to achieve sufficient progress” in educating autistic children.

The committee also slammed France for making autistic people “an excluded group” and said there was a chronic shortage of care. Volkmar said some forms of psychotherapy might be helpful for high-functioning autistic children to handle specific problems like anxiety, but should not be considered a first-line treatment. He said the vast majority of autistic children in the USmore than 95 percent attend school.

But French children with autism are lagging far behind. According to government data, fewer than 20 percent of autistic children attend school. Mostly they’re either kept at home or go to a day hospital for psychiatric sessions. Many French experts insist psychotherapy is essential. “I would never say that psychoanalysis is ‘the A 15-year-old boy in best’ method, but it is invaluConflans Sainte Honorine. able,” said Marie Dominique Some French parents Amy, president of CIPPA, a resort to sending their French association of psychildren abroad to get chotherapists and psychiaadequate treatment. — AP trists. — AP

WASHINGTON: Is it really more expensive to eat healthy? An Agriculture Department study released found that most fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods cost less than foods high in fat, sugar and salt. That counters a common perception among some consumers that it’s cheaper to eat junk food than a nutritionally balanced meal.

The government says it all depends on how you measure the price. If you compare the price per calorie - as some previous researchers have done - then higher-calorie pastries and processed snacks might seem like a bargain compared with fruits and vegetables. But comparing the cost of foods by weight or portion size shows that grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy foods are less expensive than most meats or foods high in saturated fat, added sugars or salt.

That means bananas, carrots, lettuce and pinto beans are all less expensive per portion than French fries, soft drinks, ice cream or ground beef. “Using price per calorie doesn’t tell you how much food you’re going to get or how full you are going to feel,” said Andrea Carlson, scientist at the USDA’s Economic Research Service and an author of the study.

For example, eating a chocolate glazed donut with 240 calories might not satiate you but a banana with 105 calories just might. In the comparisons, the USDA researchers used national average prices from Nielsen Homescan data, which surveyed a panel of households that recorded all food purchases over a year from retail outlets. The cost of eating healthy foods has been the subject of growing debate as experts warn Americans about the dangers of obesity. More

than a third of US adults are obese, according to the government, and researchers expect that number to grow to 42 percent by 2030.

“Cheap food that provides few nutrients may actually be ‘expensive’ for the consumer from a nutritional economy perspective, whereas food with a higher retail price that provides large amounts of nutrients may actually be quite cheap,” the study said.

The USDA study criticizes a 2010 report from researchers at the University of Washington, which found that calorie-for-calorie junk food is more cost-effective for lowincome people than eating healthy.

Adam Drewnowski, director of the Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Washington and lead author of the prior study, said he stands by his findings that a healthier diet generally costs more. He said there is no government recommenda-

tion for how many pounds of food an American should eat each day, but there are federal guidelines that suggest a 2,000 calorie diet.

“Some of these calories are in fact empty calories, so from the standpoint of nutrition they are not terrific,” Drewnowski said. “But the empty calories keep you from being hungry, and this is why people buy them, especially lower-income people.”

Margo Wootan, a nutrition advocate with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said some people don’t think they get as much value from fruits and vegetables as they get from other foods. “If they buy a bag of chips for $2, they think it’s a good deal, but if they buy a bag of apples for $2, they think it’s a lot,” Wootan said. “We need to do more to help people understand that fruits and vegetables are not as expensive as they think they are.” — AP

A photo provided by the US Agriculture Department shows a plate showing portion sizes of 100 calories worth of strawberries, broccoli, potato chips, bread and M&Ms. That counters a common perception among some consumers that it’s cheaper to eat junk food than a nutritionally balanced meal. —AP

Breastfed babies may gain less weight: Study Babies who are breastfed gain less weight over their first year of life compared to babies fed either breast milk or formula from a bottle, according to a US study.

The report, in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, is one piece of a growing body of evidence that breastfeeding appears to be the best choice for a newborn and protect against obesity later in life. Lead author Ruowei Li of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the difference may come down to how much a role babies play in deciding when to stop feeding instead of mothers or fathers forcing them to finish a bottle. “If the babies are fed by the breast, the baby plays a very active role, because they are the ones who decide when to suckle and when to stop,” she said.

Li and her fellow researchers followed about 1,900 babies from across the United States who were born in the mid-2000s. Through a series of surveys sent to their mothers, the researchers asked for, among other things, babies’ weights at different ages and how often women breastfed, pumped their breast milk or used formula.

Babies who were fed from a bottle, either with only breast milk or only formula, gained about 85 grams (three ounces) more per month compared to those who were solely breastfed.

After that, the findings became a bit more complicated.

When mothers combined breastfeeding and bottle feeding with human milk only, babies didn’t gain any extra weight.

But if the babies were fed both breast milk and formula, they grew similarly to babies who were solely breast-fed.

It’s not clear why those babies fed a combination of breast milk by bottle as well as formula may not have gained additional weight, the researchers said. But “the key message out of this study is that breastfeeding really is the first feeding choice for the babies,” said Li, adding that supplementing breastfeeding with breast milk from a bottle is a good second option.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed for six months and continue breastfeeding as foods are introduced until at least 12 months. But experts acknowledged that care needs to be taken not to put mothers under pressure about breastfeeding, acknowledging that it just may not be possible for a number of reasons.

“There were millions of babies raised on formula well before the obesity epidemic started,” said Jeffrey Wright, a pediatrician from the University of Washington School of Medicine, who wrote an editorial linked to the study.

“Each family should weigh the benefits they see against the hassles they take to get there, and the father should be involved in that discussion.” —Reuters

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

health & science

CLASSIFIEDS SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030

ACCOMMODATION

Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968

Accommodation available from June in a C-A/C flat in Abbasiya, for one or two Christian bachelors. Contact: 65625804. (C 4011) 19-5-2012 Sharing accommodation available for Indian only near Kuwait Finance House, Khaitan.

Contact: 66141908. (C 4007) Semi furnished spacious room with attached bath in a C-A/C flat in Hawally near Dar Al-Shifa Hospital, suitable for an executive bachelor or spinster.

Contact: 97706970. (C 4008) Sharing accommodation available in Mahboula for nonsmoking Keralite. Contact: 66725394. (C 4009) Single room in flat, separate bathroom, 1st floor, flat-1, near HighWay Center (Time Out), Abbasiya, rent KD 90/-Contact: 55108310/ 66494240. (C 3998) 16-5-2012 One bedroom available for Keralite couples in Abbasiya near Maliaekal Jewellers with a Christian family. Window A/C, single bathroom. Contact: 99494671.

(C 4004)

SITUATION WANTED Accountant, MBA-Finance, B.Com-Accounts & CA-Inter, having 5 years experience looking for part time job; can prepare your all business accounting reports and financial statements independently.

Contact: 55829223 or Email: acconline@yahoomail.com 19-5-2012

ACCOMMODATION Laptop Dell, Model D510, Ram 1GB, HD 60 GB, DVD + CD Writer Combo, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth, display 15�, excellent condition, price KD 50/-. Contact: 99322585.

(C 4012)

15-5-2012 Nissan Sunny 2007, Golden color, 114,000 km, 1.6L, KD 600 cash + KD 46 (for 23 Months) or KD 1,600/- cash, negotiable.

Contact: 66925390/ 66604286.

(C 4003) 14-5-2012

MATRIMONIAL Christian Orthodox boy, 29/178cm working as IT

Professional invites proposal from parents of well qualified girls.

Contact: lijoshere@gmail.com (C 4013)

with good family background. Contact - Email: tcjohn@gmail.com (C 4014) 19-5-2012

Female, 29 years, Malayalee, CSI, Accountant in Australia, B.Com, Master in professional Accounting, Australian citizen willing to relocate, seeks suitable alliance from professionally well qualified boys

CHANGE OF NAME I, Saldana Rita, holder of Indian passport No. G1350852 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Sameera. (C 4005) 15-5-2012

Hospitals Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

03:30 11:44 15:20 18:31 19:57

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

112 Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Sabah Hospital Amiri Hospital Maternity Hospital Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital Chest Hospital Farwaniya Hospital Adan Hospital Ibn Sina Hospital Al-Razi Hospital Physiotherapy Hospital

24812000 22450005 24843100 25312700 24849400 24892010 23940620 24840300 24846000 24874330/9

Clinics Rabiya Rawdha Adailiya Khaldiya Khaifan Shamiya Shuwaikh Abdullah Salim Al-Nuzha Industrial Shuwaikh Al-Q adisiya Dasmah Bneid Al-Ghar Al-Shaab Al-Kibla Ayoun Al-Kibla Mirqab Sharq Salmiya Jabriya Maidan Hawally Bayan

24732263 22517733 22517144 24848075 24849807 24848913 24814507 22549134 22526804 24814764 22515088 22532265 22531908 22518752 22459381 22451082 22456536 22465401 25746401 25316254 25623444 25388462

information SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR QTR JZR ETH SAI ETH PIA GFA UAE ETD OMA DHX FDB MSR QTR JZR THY DHX FCX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD BAB GFA JZR MSR IRM JZR MSR NCR GFA KAC FDB KNE KNE QTR SVA KAC JZR RJA JZR KAC SVA QTR KAC IZG IRC KAC JZR JZR ETD SVA UAE SVA GFA UAL JZR JZR ABY KAC KAC KAC JZR

Arrival Flights on Saturday 19/5/2012 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 148 DOHA 539 CAIRO 3718 LIEGE 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 239 SIALKOT 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 370 BAHRAIN 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 503 LUXOR 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 201 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 344 CHENNAI 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 436 BAHRAIN 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 618 ALEXANDRIA 5066 MASHAD 201 DAMASCUS 610 CAIRO 950 AQABA 219 BAHRAIN 672 DUBAI 57 DUBAI 460 MEDINAH 472 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 500 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN 325 NAJAF 641 AMMAN 257 BEIRUT 788 JEDDAH 2680 JEDDAH 134 DOHA 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH 4161 TEHRAN 6791 MASHAD 118 NEW YORK 535 CAIRO 357 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 2386 JEDDAH 857 DUBAI 510 RIYADH 215 BAHRAIN 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 177 DUBAI 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 176 GENEVA 502 BEIRUT 542 CAIRO 125 BAHRAIN

Time 0:15 0:20 0:30 0:30 1:30 1:45 2:05 2:20 2:25 2:30 2:50 2:55 3:10 3:20 3:25 3:55 4:35 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:30 7:45 7:50 8:05 8:15 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:00 11:05 11:25 11:55 12:30 13:30 13:30 13:40 13:40 13:45 14:10 14:15 14:25 14:30 14:30 14:35 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:20 16:35 16:50 16:55 17:20 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:40 17:45 17:45 18:00 18:15 18:30

BAB KAC FDB KAC QTR MSR KAC KAC JAI KAC IRA AXB OMA MEA QTR KAC GFA KNE ALK SYR KLM UAE JZR BBC ABY QTR KNE DHX JZR KAC FDB AIC RBG GFA UAL JZR DLH THY

438 786 63 104 6130 620 618 674 572 774 607 393 647 402 146 790 221 474 229 341 415 859 135 43 129 136 476 372 513 614 61 975 3553 217 981 239 636 772

BAHRAIN JEDDAH DUBAI LONDON DOHA ASSIUT DOHA DUBAI MUMBAI RIYADH MASHAD KOZHIKODE MUSCAT BEIRUT DOHA MEDINAH BAHRAIN JEDDAH COLOMBO DAMASCUS AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA SHARJAH DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH BAHRAIN DUBAI CHENNAI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN AMMAN FRANKFURT ISTANBUL

Airlines AIC UAL DLH KLM THY SAI ETH ETH PIA UAE FDB OMA DHX ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR JZR GFA THY BAW FDB JZR ABY JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR KAC KAC FDB ETD BAB JZR

Depature Flights on Saturday 19/5/2012 Flt Route 976 GOA 981 WASHINGTON DC 637 FRANKFURT 413 AMSTERDAM 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 3718 HONG KONG 621 ADDIS ABABA 240 SIALKOT 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 200 DAMASCUS 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 126 SHARJAH 534 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 671 DUBAI 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 133 DOHA 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 101 LONDON 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 437 BAHRAIN 356 MASHHAD

18:40 18:40 18:45 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:35 19:40 19:50 19:55 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:25 20:35 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:40 Time 0:05 0:25 0:30 0:55 2:15 2:30 2:30 2:45 3:20 3:45 3:50 3:55 3:55 4:05 4:20 4:50 5:40 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:10 8:25 8:25 9:00 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:35 9:40 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:15 10:25 10:30

GFA JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR MSR KAC JZR IRM GFA FDB MSR KNE KAC KNE JZR KAC RJA JZR SVA KAC SVA QTR KAC NCR IZG IRC ETD JZR JZR QTR SVA UAE GFA JZR ABY SVA UAL JZR KAC FDB BAB KAC JZR MSR QTR KAC JAI IRA KAC KAC OMA MEA GFA KNE DHX ALK SYR KLM ABY KAC UAE FCX QTR KAC KAC KNE DHX FDB JZR BBC QTR AXB RBG GFA KAC

214 324 541 165 501 776 619 785 176 5065 220 58 611 461 673 473 124 617 641 512 505 789 9380 135 773 951 4162 6792 304 238 538 141 9387 858 216 134 128 511 982 266 613 64 439 283 184 621 6131 153 571 604 331 351 648 403 222 475 171 230 342 415 120 381 860 102 137 301 205 477 373 62 554 44 147 394 3554 218 411

BAHRAIN AL NAJAF CAIRO ROME BEIRUT JEDDAH ASSIUT JEDDAH DUBAI MASHHAD BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO MADINAH DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN DOHA AMMAN SHARM EL SHEIKH JEDDAH MADINAH JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH AQABA MASHHAD MASHHAD ABU DHABI AMMAN CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN BEIRUT BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DHAKA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA DOHA ISTANBUL MUMBAI ISFAHAN TRIVANDRUM KOCHI MUSCAT BEIRUT BAHRAIN JEDDAH BAHRAIN COLOMBO DAMASCUS DAMMAM SHARJAH DELHI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI ALEXANDRIA CHITTAGONG DOHA KOCHI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BANGKOK

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

10:45 11:00 11:30 11:45 12:00 12:15 12:25 13:10 13:20 13:25 14:25 14:25 14:30 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:05 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:45 16:55 17:20 17:30 17:40 17:45 17:55 18:05 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:25 19:30 19:30 20:05 20:10 20:30 20:30 20:35 20:50 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:35 21:35 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40

C R O S S W O R D

6 7 9

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

ACROSS 1. An associate degree in applied science.

4. 100 kopecks equal 1 ruble.

9. Cry plaintively.

13. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric.

14. 1,000 baiza equal 1 riyal-omani.

15. Any competition.

16. Toward the mouth or oral region.

18. An unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision.

19. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

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

21. Norwegian explorer of the Arctic and director of the League of Nations relief program for refugees of World War I (1861-1930).

25. A small cake leavened with yeast.

28. Paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people).

29. A male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917).

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

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

35. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

36. Water frozen in the solid state.

37. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

39. A flexible container with a single opening.

43. Unknown god.

45. The syllable naming the fourth (subdominant) note of the diatonic scale in solmization.

46. (of complexion) Blemished by imperfections of the skin.

47. The capital and largest city of Ghana with a deep-water port.

50. (heraldry) An ordinary consisting of a broad horizontal band across a shield.

52. A state of abnormal softening of tissue.

54. Port city of Denmark in eastern Jutland.

58. Any of various coarse shrubby plants of the genus Iva with small greenish flowers.

59. A member of a seafaring group of North American Indians who lived on the Pacific coast of British Columbia and southwestern Alaska.

61. A large bundle bound for storage or transport.

62. A local and habitual twitching especially in the face.

63. In an unnatural eery manner.

65. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix.

66. Noisy talk.

67. Egyptian statesman who nationalized the Suez Canal (1918-1870).

68. Preserve of crushed fruit.

DOWN 1. In a murderous frenzy as if possessed by a demon.

2. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

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

4. A unit of information equal to 1024 bytes.

5. Consisting of or made of wood of the oak tree.

6. A cadenced trot executed by the horse in one spot.

7. The second larges of the four main islands of Japan.

8. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.

9. German states who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe (1913-1992).

10. A girl or young woman who is unmarried.

11. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

12. Being of the age 13 through 19.

17. An informal term for a father.

22. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

23. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

24. Popular music originating in the West Indies.

26. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

27. The cry made by sheep.

30. Used of the language of the deaf.

31. The highest level or degree attainable.

32. Having been read.

38. Long green edible beaked pods of the okra plant.

40. Matters of personal concern.

41. An independent group of closely related Chadic languages spoken in the area between the Biu-Mandara and East Chadic languages.

42. Sour or bitter in taste.

44. A city in western Germany near the Dutch and Belgian borders.

45. A state in northwestern North America.

48. Type genus of the Caviidae.

49. A sharp abrupt noise as if two objects hit together.

51. A river that rises in central Germany and flows north to join the Elbe River.

53. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

55. A pilgrimage to Mecca.

56. The inner and longer of the two bones of the human forearm.

57. Joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces.

60. God of the underworld.

64. A period of time containing 365 (or 366) days.

Yesterday始s Solution

sports SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

NL Roundup

Braves go top of NL East ATLANTA: Atlanta’s Brandon Beachy pitched a complete game shutout to guide the Braves to a 7-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday and top spot in the National League East division.

Beachy (5-1), who has won five straight decisions, pitched his first complete game. He had no walks and six strikeouts, lowering his major league-best ERA from 1.60 to 1.33. He struck out two in the ninth inning to cap Atlanta’s first shutout of the season as the Braves moved above Washington at the head of the division.

Freddie Freeman homered and Chipper Jones had two hits for the Braves. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco (4-2) gave up four runs in four innings.

GIANTS 7, CARDINALS 5 In San Francisco, Brandon Crawford hit a two-run single as San Francisco capitalized on shoddy fielding by St Louis. St Louis made three errors in a game for the second time this week. Three of the five runs scored off Adam Wainwright (2-5) were unearned. Giants starter Matt Cain (32) got some overdue run support to take the win. Since his first season in the majors in 2006, he has received a major leaguelow 3.89 runs of support per game.

SAN DIEGO: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon (above) watches his throw as San Diego Padres’ Chris Denorfia slides in during their baseball game in San Diego. —AP

PIRATES 5, NATIONALS 3 In Washington, Andrew McCutchen homered twice in Pittsburgh’s win over Washington. Pirates starter James McDonald (3-2) struck out a career-high 11 and retired his first 13 batters. He was helped by two spectacular plays on defense, from Casey McGehee at first base and McCutchen in center field. Rod Barajas added a two-run homer and three

Athletics edge Ranger 5-4

ARLINGTON: Oakland’s Kila Ka’aihue hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning as the Athletics shrugged off a disputed call that cost them the lead and still beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Thursday. Ka’aihue’s single off Mike Adams (0-2) drove in Jonny Gomes, who had three hits. Josh Reddick’s homer had made it 4-4 in the seventh.

Oakland’s Ryan Cook (1-0) escaped a ninth-inning jam to take the win. He has pitched 19 2-3 scoreless innings this season, most among American League relievers. Brian Fuentes recorded the save.

Oakland fell behind 4-3 in the sixth when Texas’ Craig Gentry scored from third base on a squeeze bunt that A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy claimed he caught.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin was ejected for arguing the call.

RED SOX 5, RAYS 3 In St Petersburg, Florida, Cody Ross homered and drove in four runs to help Boston end Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak. Ross extended the lead to 5-2 on a two-run single with two outs in the eighth. Red Sox starter Felix Doubront (41) allowed two runs over 5 2-3 innings to win his third straight start. He was hit on the ear by a ball during batting practice on Tuesday but cleared to start. Rays starter Matt Moore (1-4) gave up three runs in six innings.

BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 1 In Toronto, Jose Bautista and JP Arencibia each hit a two-run homer and that was enough for Toronto to down New York. Bautista hit his second homer in two nights and 10th this season. He connected off Phil Hughes (3-5) who went 5 1-3 innings. New York lost its third straight and fell to 0-9 this season when failing to hit a home run. The Yankees, who have scored only 12 runs across its nine losses this month, dropped into fourth place in the AL East. Making his sixth major league start, Toronto’s Drew Hutchison (3-1) allowed one run in six innings.

ORIOLES 5, ROYALS 3 In Kansas City, Adam Jones hit a two-run homer and JJ Hardy also drove in a pair of runs as Baltimore beat Kansas City and notched a seventh straight road win. The Orioles also improved to 12-1 when Jones hits a homer, including a victory the previous night, when his long shot in the 15th inning decided the game. Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz (3-4) won for the third time in four starts after enduring a career-worst 12-decision losing streak.

He allowed three runs and one walk in six innings. Royals starter Luke Hochevar (3-4) went six innings.

INDIANS 6, MARINERS 5 In Cleveland, Carlos Santana hit a game-ending single with one out and the bases loaded in the 11th inning, capping a two-run rally which lifted Cleveland over Seattle. Michael Saunders’ double in the top of the inning had given Seattle a 5-4 lead, but closer Brandon League (0-3) couldn’t hold it. Jose Lopez, who had tied the game in the eighth with a three-run homer, drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a wild pitch. After a strikeout and a walk, Asdrubal Cabrera’s singled to tie the game and Santana hit the winner.

Indians reliever Joe Smith (4-1) got the win despite allowing the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th.

WHITE SOX 6, ANGELS 1 In Anaheim, Chris Sale pitched effectively into the sixth inning, giving Chicago’s rotation a much-needed solid outing, as the White Sox capitalized on some shoddy Los Angeles defense and won comfortably. After a three-game stretch in which Chicago starters gave up a combined 18 earned runs over 14 1-3 innings, Sale (4-2) restored order in his sixth major league start. He struck out seven and gave up one run. Angels starter CJ Wilson (4-4) threw 88 pitches in 3 2-3 innings and tied a career worst with six walks while conceding four runs.

hits for Pittsburgh. Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann (2-4) gave up a season-worst four runs in six innings.

METS 9, REDS 4 In New York, David Wright lined his second double of the game to break the tie in the eighth inning and give New York victory over Cincinnati. Down 4-0, the Mets began their comeback in the middle innings. Ronny Cedeno’s three-run homer capped a five-run eighth against Logan Ondrusek (3-1), a burst that began with a neatly placed bunt single by backup catcher Rob Johnson with one out.

Wright was up next and sent a one-hopper off the wall in center for a 5-4 lead.

Wright raised his majors-leading average to .411. A trio of Mets relievers held the Reds scoreless ball, with Bobby Parnell (10) getting the win.

DODGERS 8, PADRES 1 In San Diego, Aaron Harang held his former team over seven shutout innings and steered Los Angeles to victory over San Diego. Harang (3-2) struck out six and walked none to beat his hometown Padres for the first time in three starts against them this year. He was 0-5 in his previous seven starts against San Diego.

Harang also managed to get a hit, one of 12 for the Dodgers. Padres starter Edinson Volquez (2-2) allowed five runs in five innings.

PHILLIES 8, CUBS 7 In Chicago, Roy Halladay threw eight innings for his first victory in a month as Philadelphia held off Chicago for its season-best fifth straight victory. Halladay (4-

3) hadn’t won in five starts, and had lost three straight decisions to match a career high. But he limited the Cubs to three runs. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts this season. Chicago’s Welington Castillo stroked a three-run double in the ninth to cut the deficit to one run, but Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon retired Reed Johnson on a grounder for his 11th save. Cubs starter Chris Volstad (0-6) endured his 19th straight start without a win. He lasted just two innings, allowing six hits and three walks. Carlos Ruiz had four hits and three RBIs for the Phillies while Jimmy Rollins scored three times as Philadelphia moved over .500 for the first time since winning its season opener.

ASTROS 4, BREWERS 0 In Houston, Jed Lowrie hit a two-run homer as Houston downed Milwaukee.

Astros starter J A Happ (3-3) pitched out of trouble for six scoreless innings, escaping jam after jam as the Brewers stranded eight runners. Brewers starter Shaun Marcum (2-2) allowed a season-worst nine hits in five innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, ROCKIES 7 In Denver, Justin Upton hit a two-out, two-run homer off in the ninth inning to give Arizona victory over Colorado in a game that was briefly delayed by a swarm of bees. Upton sent a fastball from Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt (1-1) over the right field fence for his first homer in two weeks. Willie Bloomquist and Ryan Roberts also drove in two runs apiece for the Diamondbacks. Brad Ziegler (2-1) got one out for the win.—AP

MLB results/standings Cleveland 6, Seattle 5 (11 innings); Minnesota 4, Detroit 3; NY Mets 9, Cincinnati 4; Oakland 5, Texas 4 (10 innings); Baltimore 5, Kansas City 3; Arizona 9, Colorado 7; Chicago White Sox 6, LA Angels 1; San Francisco 7, St. Louis 5; Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3; Toronto 4, NY Yankees 1; Boston 5, Tampa Bay 3; Atlanta 7, Miami 0; Philadelphia 8, Chicago Cubs 7; Houston 4, Milwaukee 0; LA Dodgers 8, San Diego 1.

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Baltimore 25 14 .641 Tampa Bay 24 15 .615 Toronto 21 18 .538 NY Yankees 20 18 .526 Boston 18 20 .474 Central Division Cleveland 22 16 .579 Detroit 18 20 .474 Chicago White Sox 18 21 4.5 Kansas City 15 22 .405 Minnesota 12 26 .316 Western Division Texas 24 15 .615 Oakland 20 19 .513 LA Angels 17 22 .436 Seattle 16 24 .400

GB 1 4 4.5 6.5 4 .462 6.5 10 4 7 8.5

TWINS 4, TIGERS 3 In Detroit, Justin Morneau hit a tworun homer in his second game back from a wrist injury as Minnesota edged Detroit. Twins starter PJ Walters (1-1) allowed four hits in 6 1-3 innings.

National League Eastern Division Atlanta 24 15 .615 Washington 23 15 .605 NY Mets 21 17 .553 Miami 20 18 .526 Philadelphia 20 19 .513

0.5 2.5 3.5 4

Central Division St. Louis 22 16 .579 Cincinnati 19 18 .514 Pittsburgh 18 20 .474 Houston 17 21 .447 Milwaukee 16 22 .421 Chicago Cubs 15 23 .395

2.5 4 5 6 7

Western Division LA Dodgers 25 13 .658 San Francisco 19 19 .500 Arizona 17 22 .436 Colorado 15 22 .405 San Diego 14 25 .359

6 8.5 9.5 11.5

Morneau’s homer off Doug Fister (0-2) and opened the scoring in the third, and Trevor Plouffe followed with a long ball. Minnesota led 4-0 before the Tigers came back with three solo homers. —AP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Struggling Rossi vows to keep racing LE MANS: Struggling superstar Valentino Rossi heads into tomorrow’s French Grand Prix insisting he has no intention of following world champion Casey Stoner through the MotoGP exit door. The nine-time world champion is currently in the worst slump of his 17-year career, having failed to register a point in this season’s three races while having already endured a first ever winless season in 2011. Defending world champion Stoner stunned the paddock on Thursday by revealing he will quit at the end of the season, admitting he has lost his passion for the sport.

Rossi, 33, insists, however, he will not join the Australian in retirement. “For me it’s very difficult to understand where the news starts because I never speak about my retirement, and I want to race in MotoGP for the next two years for sure,” said the Italian.

Rossi returns to the French track where last year he enjoyed his only podium spot, desperate to kickstart his campaign on his under-performing Ducati. “I like the track, but you always have to fight with the weather.

We will try to improve our performance to get closer to the guys in front of us. “Last year was our best result

Palmer leads Nelson with Leishman, Cejka in pursuit IRVING: American Ryan Palmer fired a bogey-free sixunder par 64 on Thursday to seize a one-shot lead over German Alex Cejka and Australian Mark Leishman after round one of the Byron Nelson Championship. Palmer lost last year’s Nelson title in a playoff to countryman Keegan Bradley. Palmer birdied the last hole to force a playoff but found water on the first extra hole and lost the $6.5 million US PGA event at TPC Four Seasons. Palmer began off the 10th tee. He birdied the par-4 11th, had back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and par-5 16th and hit back-to-back birdies again at the par-3 second and par-4 third. He added another at the par-3 fifth. “It’s great to be in this spot again,” Palmer said.

“Continuation from last year, that’s what’s cool about the whole thing. I knew everything was going in the right direction. It was a matter of putting it all together at once.” Palmer was disappointed at hooked tee shots on his last four holes but salvaged pars on them all. “That’s what the short game is there for and fortunately it was good,” said Palmer. Leishman had back-to-back birdies at the par-5 seventh and par-4 eighth but capped the front nine with his lone bogey of the day. His big jump up the leaderboard came on “awesome” eagles at the par-4 11th and par-5 16th.”On 11, I was trying to drive it up toward the right bunker, pulled it a little bit, right in front of the green about 10-foot off the edge, easy chip, (30-feet) down grain,” Leishman said.

“On 16, I think about 245 (yards), hit a 2-iron to about 8 feet, easy putt, straight up, rolled that in and it was a good day.” Leishman has not cracked the top 15 in 11 US PGA starts this season, his best result a share of 17th at Riveria in February. “I drove the ball a lot better than I have been. I think I only missed two or three fairways,” he said. “Haven’t been hitting a lot of fairways this year so far.

I drove it well and holed the par putts that kept the round going. “I have actually felt like it’s been there for about four or six weeks. It has been really close and I feel like I’ve been playing all right, just not getting a whole lot out of my game. I feel like I’m doing the right things.”

Bogey-free Cejka closed strongly to share second, making a birdie at the par-3 fifth then making a run of four birdies in five holes starting at the par-3 13th and ending at the par-3 17th. “I played pretty solid, kept the ball in the fairways and gave myself a lot of chances,” Cejka said. “I had actually a good back nine, where I made a couple of good birdies, so I’m pleased with the start.” Matt Kuchar, last week’s Players Championship winner, was among seven players sharing fourth on 66, two off the pace. Bradley, who followed last year’s Nelson triumph by winning his first major title three months later at the PGA Championship, was among 13 players on 67. — AFP

with the Ducati here, so we will see. We are optimistic.”

All eyes will be on Stoner who said his decision to walk away from the sport was for “family reasons”.

The 26-year-old has won 35 MotoGP races and leads the current standings by a point after winning two of the season’s three rounds. “After so many years taking part in this sport that I love, and with all the sacrifices that I have had to make, I no longer have the passion to continue and I think that it is best to stop,” said the Honda rider. “This sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it.” He added: “There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction. And so, basically, we won’t be continuing any more. “It would be nice if I could say I would stay one more year, but then where does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now.”

Stoner, who also won the world title in 2007, became a father for the first time in February when his wife Adrianna gave birth to a baby daughter. Despite his blistering start to the season, Stoner has been critical

of a series of technical changes to the sport that he claimed were undermining the championship. This year’s MotoGP bikes are 1000cc as opposed to the 800cc of old, while manufacturers such as Kawasaki and Suzuki no longer field factory teams, leaving just Honda, Ducati and Yamaha with official squads.

He has also been battling cramps in his arms that prove particularly painful under braking. Those problems came to the fore in the season-opener in Qatar, where he finished third before going on to secure wins in Spain and Portugal. Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, who won the Qatar opener and is a point behind Stoner in the standings, is keen to make the most of the Australian’s waning interest in the sport.

“We arrive in good shape having always been in the first two positions in the three races of the year so far, I want to keep this going in Le Mans,” said the Spaniard. “Last year we struggled, especially in acceleration but I feel that this year is going to be a little different. It’s a good track for my riding style so we will try to fight for the win again but always thinking about the championship.”— AFP

Australia cricketer charged in India over hotel assault Pomersbach accused of molesting a woman

NEW DELHI: Delhi policemen escort Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach towards a court appearance yesterday. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police yesterday arrested and charged Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach with molesting a woman and badly beating up her fiance after a late-night party at a posh New Delhi hotel. The 27-year-old batsman, who has one international cap for Australia, is signed up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, which took on the Delhi Daredevils on Thursday night. He faces up to three years in jail after being charged with molestation, assault and house-breaking after allegedly groping a 27-year-old American woman during an aftergame party at the ITC Maurya Hotel, a police statement said.

“We have arrested Luke Pomersbach for assaulting a woman and beating up the fiance who objected to his action,” police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said. Pomersbach has battled depression and drug problems and narrowly avoided a jail sentence in Australia after admitting to assaulting a police officer who was trying to arrest him for drink-driving. He arrived in India saying he was now “on top of things” after recovering from some “bad decisions”, adding that he was determined to make the most of the moneyspinning but scandal-plagued Indian league.

The alleged victim told the Times Now news channel that Pomersbach had “tagged along” with her and her Mumbai-based fiance and had suddenly grabbed her while they drank together in their hotel room. “My fiance said, ‘hey listen, you shouldn’t treat any girl like that. Why dont you just leave...’ “When he said that, he (Pomersbach) turned around and started hitting him. He hit him so many times, punched him on his face, he got injured in his ear.” The fiance is in a stable condition in a private New Delhi hospital, but was complaining about losing hearing in his left ear, doctors said.

Pomersbach, from Perth in Western Australia, was later seen leaving a different hospital, where he was taken for a checkup by police with his right hand heavily bandaged. Royal Challengers Bangalore team manager Avinash Vaidya declined to comment on the incident since “the matter was being handled by the police”.

Pomersbach has not featured for Bangalore in this season’s IPL, which has again hit the headlines for the wrong reasons and is being dubbed the “Indian Problem League” by some commentators. Earlier this week, five Indian players signed to IPL teams were suspended after an undercover TV report alleged they were prepared to take money for spot-fixing, an illegal practice in which parts of the game are fixed.

On Wednesday night, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, was involved in an ugly late-night row with officials at Mumbai’s main cricket stadium. Khan faces a five-year ban from the ground and a police investigation for allegedly abusing security staff. He denies allegations he was drunk and says he was protecting a group of children he was accompanying. The annual IPL tournament also faces allegations of massive corporate corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as well as secret deals to hide teams’ real owners and even links to India’s criminal underworld. — AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Dixon finds speed as Indy pole fight looms INDIANAPOLIS: New Zealand’s Scott Dixon led Thursday’s practice session for today’s Indianapolis 500 pole qualifying, turning the second-best lap of the week at the famed 2 1/2-mile oval. Honda-powered Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, made a lap in 40.3428 seconds at an average speed of 223.088 mph. The only faster practice lap came on Tuesday when American Marco Andretti made the trip around in 40.2367 seconds.

“It’s nice,” Dixon said. “We have all taken this week a little slower. We’re just working on the race car. We’ve made big improvements on how it feels. We made the car feel a lot nicer to drive, especially in traffic.” The speed chart showdown intensifies this weekend with today’s battle for pole position in the May 27 race.

Sunday will see the remaining cars fill the 33-car field

with slower cars bumped from the lineup once the limit is reached. Only 33 of 37 entered cars have passed technical inspection approval so far to take to the track.

US rookie Josef Newgarden, who spun on Wednesday after setting that day’s fastest lap, was also among Thursday’s quickest with a lap at 222.709 mph with countryman Graham Rahal achieving his best speed of the week at 222.080 mph. Australian Will Power, the IndyCar season points leader in quest of his first Indy season title and Indy 500 victory, was fourth on Thursday at 221.932 mph. He expects the new IndyCar chassis to produce a tight Indy 500 race day. “You can run closer with this car than with the old car,” Power said. “It punches a massive hole in the air, so the tow effect is huge. You could be leading

doing 217 (mph) and the guy behind you could be 5 mph quicker.

“You have to be second, if not first. It’s hard to say if you can put a move on. It will be a very tight race because I don’t think anyone will get left behind.”

Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais and England’s Katherine Legge received good news when race officials approved an engine switch for the Dragon Racing team, changing from Lotus power to a Chevrolet motor in hopes of finding more speed. “The team has done a great job,” Legge said. “They are all really tired, and they worked really hard to put the engine in and get all the bits on to get us out.” “With the way the car is now, it’s fine,” Bourdais said. “We can drive flat out and not even think about it, which is what you want around here.” — AFP

Pacquiao deals ‘safe’ Gay row rages

QINHUANGDAO: Katie Taylor (right) of Ireland clashes with Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan during their lightweight semifinal boxing match at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao yesterday. — AFP

Irish punching machine in women’s world final QINHUANGDAO: Irish punching machine Katie Taylor cruised through to her fourth consecutive Women’s World Championships final yesterday in China. The 25-year-old lightweight star and reigning champion picked apart Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva 16-6 to place one glove on the gold medal she has owned since 2006. A successful fight tomorrow against Russian Sofya Ochigava-who defeated England’s Natasha Jonas in the other semi-finalwill top off a glorious week for Taylor after she qualified for the London Olympics.

“I didn’t intend on going into the semi-final to mix it up with Mavzuna too much. I kept her at length with my jabs,” said Taylor, who is coached by her father Peter. He added: “We said we had only loaned the title back to the organizers for the 10 days of the tournament and we plan to collect it again to take home after the final.” Chorieva, who has also qualified for the Olympics, was undone by Taylor’s patient boxing and superior technical ability. There was

disappointment for Jonas, who was overwhelmed by world number 10 Ochigava despite a tenacious fourthround rally.

But the English boxer-who like Chorieva will leave China with a bronze medal as well as an Olympic berth was magnanimous in defeat. “If you said at the start of the tournament that I would come here and qualify for London and win a World Championship medal, I would have taken that any day,” she said. “I know I am one of the best in the world and finally I have my chance to prove it. I am one of the lucky ones going to London 2012,” said the 24-yearold. Twelve places are up for grabs in each of the Olympic weight categories-flyweight, lightweight and middleweight. Boxers at the World Championships are chasing eight Olympic slots with the rest going to wildcards given to developing countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania-a system that has led some critics to complain that a diminished field will take to the boxing rings of London in July. — AFP

MANILA: A row sparked by boxer Manny Pacquiao’s comments on gay marriage has damaged the world champion, but has not so far affected any of his mega-buck endorsement deals, his spokeswoman said yesterday. Pacquiao told a US website this week he was opposed to same-sex unions, in an article that erroneously suggested the Philippine superstar had quoted a biblical passage calling for gays to be put to death. Despite Pacquiao denying he had quoted the verses from Leviticus-and the interviewer admitting he had inserted the line himself-there were calls for sports manufacturers to drop the eight-division champion. “The misquote had a huge effect. A lot of people spoke out against it,” Pacquiao’s spokeswoman Rose Tamayo said.

“There was even one group that came out to campaign for Nike to drop him,” she said, referring to the US sports goods giant. “So far not one (endorsement deal) had been cancelled,” she added. Following the controversy over the blog, which came after US President Barack Obama came out in favor of gay marriage, Pacquiao was banned from an upmarket Los Angeles shopping mall where he was due to give a TV interview.

Nevertheless, Tamayo said Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in 2010, took a big hit.

“If I had hurt anyone I offer my apologies,” Pacquiao, a 33-year-old father of four, said in an interview aired by Manila television station GMA yesterday.

“I was asked about my stand, whether I was in favor of gay marriage or not. I said I am against gay marriage and I believe in God. That was all I said.”

Naomi Fontanas, head of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines, said the Pacquiao apology was not enough. “It doesn’t change the fact that Manny is not supportive of the equal rights of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community,” Fontanas said. Tamayo said that the flap had not affected Pacquiao’s training ahead of the defense of his World Boxing Organization welterweight title against American Tim Bradley on June 9.

Pacquiao, formerly known for enjoying late-night parties, womanizing and gambling, has become a devout Catholic and now reads the Bible every day, she said. “The congressman is a patient person, even if people say bad things about him. He resorts to prayer.” Forbes.com magazine on Wednesday put Pacquiao at number-33 on its Top 100 list of the world’s “most powerful celebrities”, putting his total earnings at $67 million. “Pacquiao has become a pay-per-view stud with five fights each generating at least one million PPV (pay per view) buys during the past four years,” it said. “Pacman has expanded his endorsement reach by signing deals with Monster Energy and Hennessy. Other partners include Nike and Hewlett-Packard.”— AFP

Brumbies overwhelm Hurricanes in Super 15 WELLINGTON: The ACT Brumbies scored three tries in a secondhalf rally which carried them to a 37-25 win over the Wellington Hurricanes in Super 15 rugby yesterday, snapping a nine-year losing streak in New Zealand’s capital. Flyhalf Zack Holmes scored the last try to capture a valuable four-try bonus point for the Australian conference leaders and to lift his individual tally from the match to 22 points. The win improved the Brumbies’ record to seven wins from 11 games, carrying them 13 points clear of the defending champion Queensland Reds, their closest rivals in Australia, at the start of the tournament’s 13th round.

The Brumbies rushed to a 13-5 lead in the 20th minute, but trailed 15-13 at halftime and fell behind 25-16 after 11 minutes of

the second half as the Hurricanes scored their fourth try to claim a bonus point. The Brumbies rallied with three unanswered tries in 14 minutes to lock Sam Carter, flanker Michael Hooper, who was the player of the match, and to Holmes, whose conversion of his own try completed a 21-point turnaround.

The match showed the best and worst of the Hurricanes, who have a 6-6 record and have faded a little from playoffs contention after starting the round in eighth place but only two points outside the top six. They showed their outstanding counterattacking ability in scoring four tries - two to teenage scrumhalf TJ Perenara and others to backrower Victor Vito and prop Jeffrey To’omagaAllen. But they also conceded a vast amount of possession

through turnovers, particularly through the last 30 minutes as the Brumbies dominated territory.

The Brumbies also committed too many errors in a first half strewn with 21 turnovers but settled into a much more controlled game in the second half, thanks to a pack well led by hooker Stephen Moore. “I just said stick to the things that are working for us,” Brumbies captain Ben Mowen said. “That first 10 or 15 minutes, we were able to accumulate 13 points with not a lot of field position so I said when we’re down there just be patient because we are going to get points. “The Hurricanes attacked very well and put us under a lot of pressure and we were fortunate that we scrambled hard and didn’t give away more points than we did.”—AP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Finland stun US in quarterfinals Slovakia top Canada 4-3 HELSINKI: Jesse Joensuu scored with 9 seconds left to give Finland a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the world ice hockey championships, and Michal Handzus scored the winning goal late in the third period in Slovakia’s 4-3 victory over Canada. In the semifinals today, Finland will face Russia, and Slovakia will play the Czech Republic. In Stockholm on

Thursday, Milan Michalek scored in the final minute to give the Czech Republic a 4-3 victory over Sweden, and Alex Ovechkin scored in his first game of the tournament to help Russia top Norway 5-2. Joensuu scored twice, and Mikko Koivu added a goal for Finland. Kyle Palmieri and Bobby Ryan scored for the United States.

In the Canada-Slovakia game,

Milan Bartovic tied it for Slovakia off a rebound with 6:35 left. Canada killed off Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ boarding penalty, but Ryan Getzlaf was given a kneeing major for an open-ice hit on Juraj Mikus with 2:32 to play. Four seconds later, Handzus tipped in the winning goal. Tomas Kopecky and Miroslav Satan also scored for Slovakia, and Evander Kane, Jeff Skinner and Alexandre

Burrows countered for Canada. In Stockholm, Martin Erat, Petr Nedved and Jiri Novotny also scored for Czech Republic.

Loui Eriksson, Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson scored for Sweden. Alexei Yemelin, Nikolai Zherdev, Alexander Popov and Ilya Nikulin also scored for Russia. Patrick Thoresen and Per-Age Skroder scored for Norway. — AP

Japan eye Olympic berth in qualifiers

LOS ANGELES: Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings knocks over Shane Doan #19 of the Phoenix Coyotes in the third period in Game Three of the Western Conference Final. — AFP

Kings down Coyotes Kings poised to complete 4-0 sweep LOS ANGELES: The giant-killing Los Angeles Kings extended their magical playoff run, moving to just one win from their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1993 with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. With Dwight Kings go-ahead goal 1.47 minutes into the third period breaking the deadlock, the eighthseeded Kings took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final.

Los Angeles, who crushed the thirdseeded Coyotes 4-0 in Phoenix on Tuesday, have now won eight consecutive post-season games but they are taking nothing for granted ahead of Sundays Game Four, also at home. “You don’t get anything for three wins,” Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick told reporters after producing another superb performance with 18 saves. “Were going to go back to work tomorrow to get ready for Game Four. “Obviously you’ve got to enjoy the victory for a few minutes here.

That’s why you work so hard. We know what we have ahead of us. We know (Phoenix) is going to come out hard in Game Four.”

Phoenix, who edged Los Angeles in a scoreless first period with 11 shots on goal

versus eight, opened the scoring when center Daymond Langkow powered home a wrist shot 1.03 minutes into the second period. The Kings responded just 2.07 minutes later, Slovenian center Anze Kopitar breaking clear following assists by Dustin Brown and Justin Williams before deftly backhanding the puck past goalie Mike Smith into the net. With cries of “Lets Go Kings” echoing around the Staples Center, Los Angeles struck early in the third period when left wing King scored with a wrist shot in the top corner of the net, his fifth goal in five games, to put his team 2-1 ahead.

KINGS STRIKE “I got the puck off the wall and had a little more time than I expected,” said King.

“Once I got close enough to the middle, I had a great chance to shoot and that’s what I did.” Roared on by an electrified sellout crowd of 18,367 with many of them waving their Kings towels in the air, the home team held on to push the Coyotes to the brink of elimination. The Kings upset the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs before going on to sweep the second-seeded St Louis Blues

and advance to the Western Conference final.

“I thought we were playing fine,” Phoenix captain Shane Doan said. “I don’t think we played bad for very much of the game. “For the most part we played the way we wanted and couldn’t find a way to score. We had a couple of chances that we couldn’t bury and that’s the difference.”

Asked to assess his teams feelings after trailing 0-3 in the series, Doan replied: “None of us planned on being in it (a 3-0 hole). I dont think its disbelief but I think its disappointed.”

Coyotes goaltender Smith kept his team in the game by stopping 26 shots in an inspired performance, but he was unable to save Kings shot to the glove side in the third period. “It was a tight game all the way through,” Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “We didn’t create a lot, but we hung around, gave ourselves a chance to win.

The level is being raised here. We just haven’t been able to get to the next level.”

The Coyotes were without forward Martin Hanzal, who was suspended one game by the league on Wednesday for a harsh hit on Kings captain Dustin Brown in Game Two. — Reuters

TOKYO: Hosts Japan are hoping home advantage in the final Olympic women’s volleyball qualifying tournament starting today will help them secure a berth at London 2012 as they bid to end a 28-year medal drought.

Eight countries-Japan, Cuba, Peru, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand-will play in the nine-day round robin tournament in Tokyo, all chasing the final four of 12 women’s volleyball spots in London.

The top three teams and the best Asian side other than that trio will book the tickets, with the event also doubling as Asia’s continental elimination round.

Already qualified for London are hosts Britain, the top three teams at the 2011 World Cup (Italy, United States and China) and the winners of the other continental qualifiers-Algeria, Dominican Republic, Turkey and Brazil.

“Absolutely, our goal is to qualify at the top of the table although I know other Asian powers will also be desperate,” Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe told Japanese media.

Japan, the 1964 and 1976 Olympic champions, will be seeking their first medal since bagging the bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Japan are currently third in the world rankings and the highest placed among the eight teams.

But European champions Serbia, ranked sixth, could pose a threat to the hosts, whom they beat in straight sets at the 2011 World Cup. Japan have also struggled against world champions Russia, ranked seventh, over the years.

Russia, who defended their world title in 2010, are the most decorated women’s team in the Olympics with four gold medals and two silvers they won as the Soviet Union.

But Japan finished third at the 2010 world championships and fourth at the 2011 World Cup in which they beat Brazil and the United States. “We are much closer than ever to the world’s top teams,” Manabe said. “The mindset of our players has changed.”— AFP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Liu seeks Olympic sparkle at Diamond meet SHANGHAI: Chinese superstar Liu Xiang faces a huge test of his Olympic credentials when he lines up against reigning 110m hurdles world champion Jason Richardson at Shanghai’s Diamond League meeting today. The 2004 Olympic gold-medalist has hit form as he bids to erase his injury heartbreak of 2008 and will be backed by his home crowd as he faces America’s Richardson as well as Aries Merritt, the newly crowned world indoor champion.

Liu, who was forced out of the Beijing Olympics by an Achilles injury in front of a packed Bird’s Nest Stadium,

was second behind Merritt in March and cruised to victory at the World Challenge in Japan this month. “I’m very happy to be on my home field for the Shanghai Diamond League competition,” Liu, 28, told a news conference yesterday. “This time, each athlete has very strong power. For me, I just want to give full play to my training for the best performance.” Today, he can lay down an important marker against Richardson, who took gold in last year’s highly contentious world championships final in Daegu, South Korea. Liu finished second after he was obstructed

by Olympic champion Dayron Robles,

who was disqualified over the clash.

The Chinese heads a star-studded line-up in Shanghai, nearly two months before the Olympics get under way in London. “It will be interesting to see how everybody performs,” said Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen, the 2008 Olympic javelin champion. The women’s 200m is shaping up as a duel between Jamaican Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown and American Carmelita Jeter, the 100m world title-holder, in a preview of the two countries’ rivalry at the Games. “I do know it’s going to be competitive in London. I’m just going to train hard,”

Campbell-Brown said Thursday.

Australian pole-vaulter Steve Hooker, the reigning Olympic champion, will hope to take another step forward, a week after qualifying for the Games following struggles with a knee injury and an alarming slump in confidence. “I think I’m doing very well towards London,” he said. “I’m just looking to consolidate the work I’ve done this year.” Another star entrant is long-distance legend Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, the current Olympic champion and world record holder for both the 5000m and 10,000m, which he will be seeking to retain in London this year. — AFP

Pacers overcome Heat Spurs rip Clippers for 16th win in a row

ROME: Serena Williams, of the United States, returns the ball to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta during their quarter final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament yesterday. — AP

Nadal, Serena reach Italian Open semis ROME: While he’s down to No 3 in the rankings this week, Rafael Nadal showed he’s still a major threat on clay with a 64, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych yesterday to reach the Italian Open semifinals. Berdych was coming off a runner-up performance at the Madrid Open. He lost to Roger Federer, who then replaced Nadal at No 2. Nadal broke in the opening game to take control of the first set. He recovered a break midway through the second before pulling ahead for good in his quest to win the French Open warm-up event in Italy for a record sixth time. Nadal dominated from the baseline, committed just 10 unforced errors and hit 34 winners against his opponent’s 28. Nadal’s semifinal opponent will be sixth-seeded David Ferrer, who beat Richard Gasquet 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic played No 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga later and Federer was up against local hope Andreas Seppi of Italy. In women’s action, Serena Williams reached the last four after Flavia Pennetta retired with a right wrist problem while trailing 4-0 in the first set. Williams’ winning streak is up to 17 matches following titles in Charleston, South Carolina and Madrid. She also has two victories in Fed Cup. “For me it was good because I have played every day and I haven’t had a day off,” said Williams, who won Italy’s clay-court tournament 10 years ago. “I hope she is feeling better.”

Pennetta called for the trainer after falling behind 3-0. The Italian had her wrist re-taped, but conceded during the fifth game after 28 minutes of play. “I felt pain during the second or third point of the opening game,” Pennetta said.

“Something happened on the backhand. ... Then not being able to serve and attack like usual, there wasn’t much else to do.” Williams’ next opponent will be French Open champion Li Na, who eliminated No 14 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Older sister Venus Williams will play defending champion Maria Sharapova. — AP

INDIANAPOLIS: The Indiana Pacers showed more balance, toughness and togetherness than Miami, throttling the Heat 94-75 on Thursday to take a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals. Roy Hibbert had 19 points and 18 rebounds, George Hill scored 20 and Danny Granger 17 for the Pacers, who were often overlooked during the regular season and given little chance to upset the reigning East champions.

Miami’s LeBron James scored 22 - 16 in the first half before wearing down - and Mario Chalmers added 25 for the visitors.

However, Dwyane Wade scored only 5 on 2-of-13 shooting for the Heat, already missing forward Chris Bosh because of a strained abdominal muscle and not expected to return for this series.

Indiana outscored Miami 51-32 in the second half, when the Pacers could do no wrong. They made big shots, challenged everything the Heat tossed in the air and didn’t back down from a Miami team that had appeared certain to make an easy run to the NBA finals after top-seeded Chicago lost Derrick Rose and was eliminated in the first round. The Pacers, though, are proving to be a higher hurdle than expected. In the second half, Indiana forward David West flung James to the floor in the lane, and Granger later got in the superstar’s face after a foul on a breakaway. After winning Game 2 in South Florida by three points, the Pacers wanted to show they’re for real.

With his team down 20 in the closing minutes, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra waved the white flag and pulled out first Wade, then James, who quickly removed his headband as he got to the bench and then pulled out the mouthpiece inscripted with XVI - the Roman numeral for 16 - or the number of wins it takes to get a championship. Indiana broke the game open with a 17-3 run in the third quarter, doing it with an insideoutside attack that had the Heat wondering what was coming next. The Pacers pushed their lead to 69-55 after three and then held off one brief run by the Heat in the fourth quarter.

Wade missed all five field-goal attempts, made two turnovers and ran around like a first-time rookie and not a superstar playing in his 95th career postseason game. He also appeared to be involved in a heated argument with Spoelstra during a third-quarter timeout. Spoelstra made a dramatic change to Miami’s starting lineup, putting Shane Battier at power forward and using bench-riding center Dexter Pittman in place of Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf in the first five along with James, Wade and Chalmers - a group he played together for just nine minutes during the regular season.

SPURS 105, CLIPPERS 88 In San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 22 points on his 30th birthday, leading San Antonio over fading Los Angeles and to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. Veteran Tim Duncan had 18 for San Antonio, which has won 16 straight games and will travel to LA for Game 3 today. Clippers star Chris Paul responded to his awful Game 1 with only a slightly better encore, scoring just 10 points. Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 20 points. His plan to manage his ailing knee so he would have enough steam for the fourth quarter proved moot, as both teams emptied their benches with another Spurs blowout assured.

The All-Star matchup of Paul vs. Parker went from a Game 1

INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert (55) is fouled

by Miami Heat’s Ronny Turiaf during the second half of Game 3 of their NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. — AP bust to a lopsided mismatch. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro says his star is still struggling with an aching hip and groin, even as Paul insists he’s OK. He again looked anything but.

While Parker celebrated his birthday by more than tripling his seven points and dreadful 1-for-9 shooting in Game 1, Paul shot 4 of 9 and had just five assists. At halftime, the third-place finisher in league’s MVP voting had more personal fouls (3) than point (2), assists (2) or rebounds (2).

Duncan, on the other hand, turned back the clock. At 36 years old and playing in his 182nd postseason game - and with no contract beyond these playoffs - Duncan turned in another solid performance that sometimes recalled the former MVP who was going for his championships in his prime rather than the old-timer who’s chasing a fifth ring now. He scored 14 points in the first half - almost as much as the rest of the starting lineup - and finished 9-of-14 shooting. Points in the key weren’t even close: the Spurs had 50, and the Clippers 18.

Boris Diaw added 16 points and Danny Green had 13 for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili scored 10 and was held scoreless in the second half. Randy Foye was the Clippers’ only other player in double digits, scoring 11. — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Greece’s Karagounis looks for Euro success ATHENS: Giorgos Karagounis knows what it is like to be part of a miracle, when Greece overcame long odds and doubtful pundits to win the 2004 European championships in Portugal. Now 35, the compact Panathinaikos midfielder is hoping for an unprecedented repeat of that success in Poland and Ukraine-or at least a good run in the tournament to give some cheer to a nation in a deep political and financial crisis.

“Certainly it is not easy and such repetitions do not happen often.

Even countries with great potential have failed to win a second Euro in such a short time,” he said in emailed comments to AFP. “Even more so if you consider that here the infrastructure as well as the domestic league are not the best. But we have faith and passion on the team and this overrides any disadvantages.”

With 115 caps for Greece, second only to Euro 2004 captain Theodoros

Zagorakis, Karagounis is used more sparingly now by Greece coach Fernando Santos but is still seen as the spark that can inspire the team as well as younger generation of players. Karagounis is hoping that even with a change in manager since “King” Otto Rehhagel, Greece still has the ability to make an impact on the tournament and build on their unbeaten record in qualifying, when they finished top of their group.

“The team spirit which distinguishes us as well is the faith in the team and in ourselves with the belief that we can achieve something good,” he explained. “Also unique is our passion for achievement while wearing the national emblem and for representing our country, something that makes us perform our best and to give it all in order to qualify for the next round.”

Karagounis says defending champions Spain, Germany, Italy and the

Netherlands will be the teams to watch but warned that surprise package Greece could not be written off.

“We also have ambitions,” he insisted. “We want first to be able to qualify from the group and then we’ll see. Most importantly, we are for the third consecutive time in the finals of the Euro-and that says a lot.”Greece have been drawn against co-hosts Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic, with pundits suggesting the outcome of the group is anyone’s guess. “All are good teams,” he added but said Greece had the advantage. “We, if you look at the past decade, are more stable in our course and our successes than the rest. I think that if we’re in proper form at the appropriate time we can achieve a lot.”Now in the twilight of his career, Karagounis speaks like a man who knows his best footballing days are behind him but said he has

Euro 2012

Preview

Arshavin hopes to regain old spark MOSCOW: Russia’s captain and star striker Andrei Arshavin is hoping at Euro 2012 to show the blazing inspiration that set the last tournament alight after his insipid stint with English Premier League giants Arsenal.

Arshavin comes into the Euro tournament hosted by Poland and Ukraine again as a winner, after helping guide his boyhood team Zenit Saint Petersburg to a storming victory in the Russian Premier League. The 30year-old-who has only ever played for two clubsrejoined Zenit in February on a loan deal from Arsenal and will stay at the Russian club until July. He was instrumental in helping the Saint Petersburgers see off the final challenge from the Moscow giants, scoring in a key April clash with CSKA that all but earned Zenit the title.

“I feel joy and satisfaction from the work that has been done. We’ve seen this thing through,” Arshavin, known in Russia as “Shava”, said on his website after Zenit clinched the title. His move back to Zenit seems to have brought back some of the old spark in Arshavin, whose much-heralded move to Arsenal in 2009 started promisingly but became marked by injuries and time on the bench. Arshavin’s dashing runs and flashing strikes at goal were one of the highlights of Euro 2008 and a memorable goal by him against the Netherlands took Russia to the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Spain.

It was that performance, as well as Zenit’s stunning UEFA Cup win in 2008, that earned interest from big European clubs, including Arsenal but Arshavin never seemed at ease in the Arsene Wenger set-up in north London. Born in Saint Petersburg while the city was still known as Leningrad in the former Soviet Union, Arshavin has always been loyal to his beloved home city team. It was there that he launched his career, making his debut for the reserves in 1999 and then moving to the first team in 2000 before winning his first international cap for Russia in 2002.

For the last half decade, Arshavin-Russia’s biggest footballing name and a heart-on-sleeve patriot-helped Russia win the right to host the 2018 World Cup and travelled with the government delegation for the voting.

It was the need to ensure a first-team place for Euro 2012 that encouraged Arshavin to move back to Russia and he scored his first international goal in several encounters during a friendly with Denmark in February. Clearly relieved after scoring, he ran towards Russian team coach and his former Zenit mentor Dick Advocaat who-

in a much discussed moment-kissed Arshavin on the forehead.

But a cloud was cast ahead of the Euro when Advocaat-a presence in Arshavin’s career since he took charge of Zenit in 2006 - announced he would be leav-

Russian forward Andrei Arshavin ing the national team after the championships.

“Speaking frankly I’m upset with his decision,” Arshavin said. “There was good chemistry in our team and we achieved good results. I expected to be playing the next qualifying campaign under Advocaat,” he told Sport Express newspaper. But he added that Advocaat was a “professional” and he and the team would be working together to achieve a good result. — AFP

many good memories. They include joining Panathinaikos at aged 18, going on to win two domestic titles and the Greek cup with the Athens club, an Italian cup with Inter Milan or scoring goals against Manchester United and Arsenal in the Champions League. But winning Euro 2004, where he scored the first goal in the Greeks’ first match against Portugal with a stunning long-range effort, is the stand-out moment alongside qualification for the World Cup two years ago, he says. “That match was a great opportunity, perhaps the last for many on the team, to play in a World Cup finals competition,” he said. “We fought against many odds, but at the end we played with nine players and achieved a great victory, one of the most significant in the history of our national team and one more important qualification that gave us the ticket to South Africa.” — AFP

Stakes ‘very high’ for West Ham, Blackpool LONDON: Hours before the Champions League final kicks off in Munich today, West Ham United and Blackpool contest a fixture at Wembley that will attract a larger attendance, no little hype and, as a one-off game, is more lucrative for the winner. The English Championship playoff final offers the golden ticket to the Premier league as its prize, with 45 million pounds ($71.16 million) in extra revenue the financial carrot for West Ham or Blackpool if they gain promotion to the most-hyped domestic league in world football.

While the greater glory will be experienced by Bayern Munich and Chelsea in Bavaria, the winners will only bank nine million extra euros for inscribing their name on the trophy. Even their season’s income from Europe’s flagship tournament, expected to be around the 50 million euros accumulated by Barcelona last season, fails to match the high-stakes being played for at Wembley.

The Championship playoff final has established itself in the fabric of English football and because of the build-up and Wembley fanfare overshadows the achievements of the two clubs (Reading and Southampton this season) who earn automatic promotion from the second tier of English football. Today’s playoff final is the 26th in the series that began in 1987 under a different format when Charlton Athletic, who had finished fourth from bottom in the top flight, beat Leeds United (who finished fourth in the old division two).

The following year, when the playoffs also involved one team from the top flight and the third, fourth and fifthplaced teams from the second tier, Chelsea tumbled out of the elite in a two-legged final defeat against Middlesbrough. Since then, the playoffs have been a mini tournament between the third, fourth, fifth and sixthplaced teams in what is now branded as the Championship.

Some of the fading names of England’s rich footballing history, the likes of Burnley, Derby County and Notts County have made brief returns to top flight via playoff finals while Blackpool, once graced by the wing wizardry of Stanley Matthews, have fresh memories of success. Two years ago, they beat Cardiff City 3-2 at Wembley to return to the top echelon for the first time in 39 years and although Ian Holloway’s team narrowly failed to survive, they have re-grouped and are again knocking on the door.

West Ham were also relegated last season after finishing rock bottom of the table under Avram Grant. A regular member of the Premier League over the past decade, their need is perhaps greater than Blackpool’s as the club owners are still chipping away at alarming debts, have many players on top-flight salaries and are hoping to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium from 2014. —Reuters

sports SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Boca, Velez win first-leg quarterfinals BUENOS AIRES: Pablo Mouche’s goal in the 52nd minute lifted Boca Juniors to a 1-0 victory over a 10-man Fluminense of Brazil on Thursday in a first-leg quarterfinal of the Copa Libertadores. In another first-leg quarterfinal Thursday in the Argentine capital, Velez Sarsfield beat defending champion Santos 1-0, with Mauro Obolo scoring from a header in the 36th minute. Boca forward Mouche scored from a sharp-angled, left-footed shot from 10 meters that sneaked inside the far post behind keeper Diego Cavalieri.

The Rio de Janeiro club played with 10 men after Carlinhos was shown a red card in the 34th following a bruising tackle. “We needed to win at home and after the first goal we were hopeful of getting another,” Boca midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme said. “But we lacked finishing. We didn’t bother them as much as we should have.” With former star and Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez watching at Boca’s La Bombonera stadium, the home side started slowly but was in control by the time Carlinhos was sent off. Boca began to press and came up with a chance in the 18th when Cavalieri stopped Facundo Roncaglia on a close-in shot. Minutes later, Dario Cvitanich sailed a shot over the crossbar.

Boca had most of the possession with the man advantage. Cavalieri sprawled to stop Mouche in the 41st. A

minute later, Riquelme shot just wide of the near post, and seconds later Cavalieri saved Rolando Schiavi’s shot.

Referee Hernan Buitrago wrongly turned down a Fluminense penalty apeal late in the first half with replays showing Roncaglia stopped a shot in the area with his outstretched arm.

Velez boosted its chances of advancing to the semifinals by denying Santos an away goal, while scoring through Obolo, who got on the end of a cross from Emiliano Papa and nudged in a header which beat Santos keeper Rafael and went inside the far post.

The goal capped a sustained period of pressure by Velez, with Juan Manuel Martinez and Francisco Cerro having shots moments earlier. Ganso had the best early chance for Santos, forcing Velez keeper Marcelo Barovero into a leaping save in the 20th. Santos’ star striker Neymar was not much of a factor, getting few clear shots and eventually picking up a yellow card. On Wednesday in first-leg quarterfinals, Universidad de Chile drew 1-1 at Paraguay’s Libertad. In Rio de Janeiro, Vasco da Gama was held to a goalless home draw by Brazilian rival Corinthians. The Vasco-Corinthians winner will play Velez or Santos in the semifinals. It will be Boca Juniors or Fluminense against either Libertad of Universidad de Chile in the other. All four second-legs matches are next week. —AP

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s Boca Juniors’ Dario Cvitanich (left) and Brazil’s Fluminense’s Anderson go for a header during a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Buenos Aires, Argentina. —AP

Kagawa - the odd one out as Asians struggle Bolton make sweeping changes after relegation LONDON: Relegated Bolton have parted company with 12 players as boss Owen Coyle prepares for life outside the Premier League next season. Wanderers crashed out of the English top-flight on the final day of the league season after a 2-2 draw at Stoke and Coyle has moved swiftly to streamline his squad. Relegation is likely to cost Bolton around £50 million ($79 million) in lost revenue and Gretar Steinsson, Paul Robinson, Sean Davis, Robbie Blake, Ricardo Gardner, Ivan Klasnic, Mark Connolly, Tope Obadeyi, Rhys Bennett, Dino Fazlic and Tom Eckersley have all been released. Nigel Reo-Coker has also departed after activating a release clause in his contract, while Tuncay Sanli, Dedryck Boyata and Ryo Miyaichi have returned to their clubs after loans spells.

However, Coyle will still be able to call on striker Kevin Davies and defender Sam Ricketts in the Championship next season as both have signed new contract. Davies agreed a one-year contract, while Ricketts signed a two-year extension. Bolton are also in discussions with Jussi Jaaskelainen and Zat Knight over their contracts and Coyle said: “I would like to thank the players that are leaving the club for their work at Bolton. We wish them all well. “One of those is Ricardo Gardner, who has been with the football club for 14 years. “He has offered incredible service to Bolton and I’d like to personally thank him for all of his efforts, particularly during the time I have worked with him.” —AFP

HONG KONG: Japan international Shinji Kagawa looks set to be a high-profile mover in the European transfer market this summer, but Asia’s other big names have endured a tough season on the continent.

The Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder revealed on Wednesday that he had met Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, with the deposed Premier League champions believed to head a queue of English clubs chasing Kagawa’s signature. Kagawa, who scored 17 goals to help Dortmund to a league and cup double, has made no secret of wish to move and the German club look set to cash in on the 23-year-old, who cost only 350,000 euros ($450,000) in 2010.

“I want to think hard before making my decision,” said Kagawa, who has been valued at around 13 million euros, a modest price because he has only a year to run on his current deal. But while Kagawa could be on his way to Manchester United, South Korea’s Park Ji-Sung may be headed for the Old Trafford exit after a disappointing season prompted speculation over his future.

Park, 31, made only 10 Premier League starts all campaign culminating in last month’s pivotal Manchester derby, in which he was substituted before the hour-mark.

Rivals City won 1-0 and then sealed the title last weekend.

This week Park, who has a year left on his contract, said he wanted to retire at Manchester United-but he admitted that his ambition may not “translate to reality”. “It is true I want to retire at Manchester United,” Park told reporters in South Korea, according to the Korea Times. “But what I want does not always translate to reality. It becomes more feasible when the whole situation clicks.” However, Park is at least faring better than his compatriot and Arsenal striker Park Chu-Young, whose season hit a

new low on Thursday when he was dropped by the South Korean national side.

Despite hardly featuring for Arsenal since last year’s move from AS Monaco, Park was expected to lead South Korea’s assault in final qualifying for the 2014 World Cup and remains one of their most potent weapons.

But South Korea ditched him over an ongoing row about his move to delay compulsory military service by obtaining a 10-year residency visa for Monaco. “A national team must take into account not only an individual player’s capability but the atmosphere of the whole team,” said coach Choi KangHee, suggesting disapproval for Park in the dressing room.

Striker Ji Dong-Won, 20, is in the squad for two World Cup qualifiers next month, but he also endured a wretched time in the Premier League, scoring two goals all season for Sunderland and spending most his time on the bench. And there was misery for Bolton Wanderers’ Lee Chung-Yong, who missed almost the whole season after breaking his leg in pre-season. Bolton, who were relegated on a thrilling final day of the Premier League season, snapped up on loan Arsenal’s young Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi in the winter transfer window, and he enjoyed a bright start before falling away.

Meanwhile CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda, the flamboyant 25-year-old Japanese who has been mooted for a move to England, is only just returning to action after nine months disrupted by a knee injury. Japanese players had happier times elsewhere in Europe, with German clubs in particular eyeing up the country for bargain buys this summer. Midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake has sealed a move to Nuremberg, his club Cerezo Osaka said on Thursday, while Kashiwa Reysol and Hanover have

reached an agreement over under-23 international defender Hiroki Sakai. They will join a host of Japanese in Germany, including Wolfsburg’s dynamic midfielder Makoto Hasebe, the Japanese skipper, and striker Shinji Okazaki of Stuttgart.

Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, 29, who plies his trade for Lierse SK in Belgium, has set his heart on a move to Italy and has been linked with AC Milan. “I want to play in Serie A. I practiced with Parma for one month when I was 18 and I visited Italy many times. I played in Belgium to get used to the European style of football, but the level is very low there,” said Kawashima. If he does join AC Milan, he will face compatriot Yuto Nagatomo, the Inter Milan full-back who has surpassed expectations since moving to Italy.

Only one Chinese is a top-flight regular in European football, Zhang Chengdong, who plays in Portugal’s Primeira Liga for Beira-Mar. Most the traffic is now going the other way, with Nicolas Anelka lured to the newly rich Chinese Super League (CSL) by Shanghai Shenhua, and Guangzhou Evergrande snapping up World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi this week.

“I think one of the reasons there aren’t more Chinese in Europe is because the CSL is uncomfortable with being a ‘feeder’ league and does everything it can to hold onto its talent, including more often than not charging extremely high transfer fees,” said Brandon Chemers, of WildeastFootball.net.

“The other problem is China’s national team and clubs have failed to get themselves onto the larger stage. “China’s constant failure to qualify for the World Cup and its getting eliminated in the group stage of the previous two Asian Cups has meant that scouts don’t get much of an opportunity to see them.” —AFP

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

Sports

Australia cricketer charged in India over hotel assault

42

Nadal, Serena reach Italian Open semis

45

An unpredictable dream final Champions League

By Xavier Moraes

T

he dream Champions League final undoubtedly should have been between Barcelona and Real Madrid, but both Spanish giants messed up in the semifinals, leaving an intriguing showdown to an unpredictable competition.

Bayern Munich battered by Dortmund in the German Cup would be looking to get back to their winning ways as Chelsea’s old horses have been riding a blue wave after downing Liverpool in the final of the FA Cup and breaking Barcelona hearts in the semifinals of the Champions League.

Despite the absence of the top two Spanish teams, the affair will definitely not be a dull affair for Europe’s most coveted trophy. Bayern will be seeking to get into the soccer books while Roman Abramovich who has dug deep into his pockets will be eyeing Chelsea’s first Champions League title since he bought the club in 2003. Both clubs have spent fortunes to reach this pinnacle.

The big regret will be the absence of top players on both sides due to yellow cards and suspensions. But warriors, Frank Lampard, 33, Didier Drogba, 34, are proving their critics (who said they were too old) wrong. Chelsea’s Ivory Coast striker Drogba has yet to renew his contract for next season and one wonders if this would be his last match for the Blues, but clinch-

ing Europe’s top silverware would be a fitting feather in the cap for the lively Ivorian.

Arjen Robben of Bayern has donned the war paint saying that it is a do-or-die situation for the Germans as his time is running out. Well, as they say time and tide waits for no man, it is appropriate that he thinks along those lines. Robben has been an outstanding forward for Bayern and would like to make amends for the loss to Dortmund.

Come what may, the huge fan followers of the Germans and the Londoners will be in for an exciting final as the rest of the top European teams will remain mere spectators.

Match on TV (Local Timings) UEFA Champions League Final Bayern Munich v Chelsea ............... 21:45 Al Jazeera Sport +3 Al Jazeera Sport +7 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD