17 Mar 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU 40 PAGES

NO: 15750

150 FILS

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

www.kuwaittimes.net

JAMADA ALAWWAL 5, 1434 AH

Iran also tells Obama ‘all options on table’ Tehran authorizes commanders to respond to attacks conspiracy theories

Rest in peace Noura!

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

W

hat a tragedy! It was so sad to hear about the death of the 11-year-old young student Noura who died three days ago in a government school Al-Wusta in Sabah Al-Nasser area. She was in grade six. Noura’s cause of death was so vague. The news kept circulating that her teacher hit her with a book on the shoulder and she fell on the floor motionless. No reason for her death was given.

The Minister of Education resigned over the incident.

Nobody knew the reason for her death. Till the minute I am writing my stor y, the Ministr y of Education or any other authority has not provided reasons for her death. They said that the autopsy is ongoing in Farwaniya hospital. God bless your soul, Noura! I would like to convey my deepest condolences to Noura’s family.

Since after the invasion of Kuwait, Kuwait’s educational system has collapsed but nobody talks about it. Education in government schools before 1990 made us constantly proud. I remember I enrolled my kids in a government school in Shuwaikh. I used to mock their cousins who went to English schools. Few Kuwaitis would enroll their children in private English schools in those days. Only children who had an English or American mom or lived in the States for a while were enrolled in a private school with Western curriculum to avoid facing difficulties with Arabic.

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BETHLEHEM: A Palestinian man walks past a poster depicting US President Barack Obama in this West Bank city yesterday. Israel and the Palestinian West Bank are preparing for Obama’s three-day visit which will begin on March 20. — AFP

Max 26º Min 15º High Tide 3:35 & 14:44 Low Tide 09:12 & 21:55

TEHRAN: A top Iranian military commander yesterday told US President Barack Obama that Tehran also had all of its “options on the table”, echoing a warning to the Islamic republic by the American leader. “Mr Obama, do not make a mistake: we too have all our options on the table. Before you get deeper in the region’s quagmire, go back home!” Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri was quoted as saying on sephanews.com, website of the elite Revolutionary Guards. “Our commanders have been authorized to respond to any kind of hostile move by the enemy,” he said, without elaborating. The Islamic republic’s forces come under overall command of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Jazayeri was speaking two days after Obama in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 television said that Iran is “over a year or so” from getting a nuclear bomb, and warned that the military option remained on the table.

The United States, Israel and much of the West believe that Iran’s nuclear program of uranium enrichment is a cover for a weapons drive, a charge denied by Tehran.

Israel, the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, has refused to rule out the option of a pre-emptive military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the question of Iran would be a top priority in his talks with Obama when the US president visits Jerusalem later this month. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ commanders say they would view any Israeli attack as being carried out with US authorization, and have warned that they would retaliate by hitting US military bases in Afghanistan, Qatar and Bahrain. — AFP

Muslim states agree to UN statement on women UNITED NATIONS: Muslim and Western nations late Friday overcame deep divisions to agree a landmark United Nations declaration setting out a code of conduct for combating violence against women and girls. Iran, Libya, Sudan and other Muslim nations along with the Vatican ended threats to block the declaration and agreed to language stating that violence against women could not be justified by “any custom, tradition or religious consideration”. Western

nations, particularly from Scandinavia, toned down demands for references to gay rights and sexual health rights to secure the accord after two weeks of tense negotiations between the 193 UN member states.

Some 6,000 non-government groups were in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women meeting. Cheers and wild applause erupted when the accord was announced in the UN headquarters late Friday. Michelle Bachelet,

executive director of UN Women, said it had been an “historic” meeting. It was announced straight after that Bachelet would be leaving her post to return to Chile. “People worldwide expected action, and we didn’t fail them. Yes - we did it,” Bachelet said. UN leader Ban KiMoon said UN members had committed “to take action to prevent violence and provide justice and services to survivors” of violence against women, which he called a “global menace” and “moral out-

rage”.

Iran, the Vatican and Russia and other Muslim states had formed what some diplomats had called “an unholy alliance” to weaken a statement calling for tough global standards on violence against women and girls. They had objected to references to abortion rights and language suggesting that rape includes forcible behavior by a woman’s husband or partner.

Continued on Page 13

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LOCAL

Assembly panel puts final touches on debt relief 66,000 Kuwaitis expected to benefit

By A Saleh and Agencies KUWAIT: The parliament’s financial and economic committee will review at its meeting today the issue of debtors not covered by the recently approved debt relief measure, particularly those who availed loans from Islamic banks, panel member Mohammad Al-Jabri said in a recent statement. The deal reached last week called for the government to purchase bank loans granted between January 1, 2002 and March 31, 2008, and then waive off all interest on the said loans before rescheduling their repayment in easy installments which must not be higher than 40 percent of the debtors’ monthly income.

More than 66,000 Kuwaitis are expected to benefit from the debt relief, but that number does not include citizens who took loans from banks that operate under Sharia Law which bans usury interests, or Kuwaitis who benefited from a fund set up by the government in 2010 to resolve the issue. “ We are seek ing propor tional justice because it is impossible to achieve absolute justice,” Al-Jabri admitted while speaking to reporters at his private property in Kabad over

the weekend. He indicated that the measure benefitting 66555 debtors will cost the state KD750 million, while expanding the debt relief to include Islamic banks’ clients and people who benefited from the government’s insolvency law will increase the cost to KD950 million.

The draft law has triggered arguments from a religious standpoint since the debt relief was aimed at resolving a problem created by inflated rate of interest on the loans. “The parliament was supposed to be a protector of the constitution and justice, not the first party to violate them [by writing off the interests of loans],” said Dr. Ujail Al-Nashmi, head of the Sharia Scholars’ Association of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.

Al-Nashmi, who is a former dean of Kuwait University’s Faculty of Sharia, argued that the draft law will benefit people who were fully aware of the usury nature of the loans that they took. “I do not think that any lawmaker is unaware of the fact that the draft law violates the principles of justice when it allows a person who in most part had taken a usury loan to ask the state later to pay the interests,” he told AlAnba newspaper.

And while stressing that “every citizen is responsible for his or her behavior,” Al-Nashmi further indicated that banks should be held accountable if it was proven that irregularities on their part led to the problem in the first place. “Citizens should not be punished by making the state budget to pay for the debt relief as budget is the citizens’ sole right.” he added, calling upon HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad to reject the draft law.

Meanwhile, Dr. Khaled Al-Mathkour, the Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Implementation of Islamic Sharia Principles, released a statement calling it “illegal as per the Sharia Law” for the state to use public funds to purchase usury interests of loans.

The religious arguments will be on the table of the financial committee’s meeting today in which members will try to give final touches to the law before it is debated during Tuesday’s session when it is widely expected to be passed by the pro-government parliament. It is not clear whether the panel will discuss a proposal that was reported by Al-Rai on Friday to expand the debt relief in order to include expatriates who were similarly affected by bloated interests on their loans.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait sponsored the Public Authority of Industry’s 7th annual ceremony to honor outstanding employees and retired staff members.

Postpartum Depression not common in Kuwait

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: After giving birth, some women suffer from Postpartum Depression (PPD), which in extreme cases may lead to irrational behavior. According to Dr. Mahmoud Abdulsattar, Gynecologist, there are no official statistics in Kuwait about Postpartum Depression, as this disease is more commonly studied in the West. “Not all women agree to talk about it, though many of them do. There are not so many cases in Kuwait, yet there are some.

Definitely in the West it’s more common, and

recently we read about a British woman who killed her baby after delivery,” he told the Kuwait Times.

The intensity of the depression may differ among patients. “Some cases need to be treated at a psychiatric hospital. In fact, the psychiatrist is in charge of dealing with these cases. The gynecologist can provide his help and support for the pregnant woman. We can provide the patient with psychiatric support before delivery. I talk to patients to ask about their problems at home, if the pregnancy was planned or not, and other issues related to

the baby and maternity,” explained Dr. Abdulsattar. “I believe that the mother suffering from lighter forms of PPD needs the support of her family. PPD is a risk factor, though we don’t know what the reasons are that cause it, as not all women suffer from it. Also, if a mother suffered from PPD once, the risk is higher she will suffer from it again with her other deliveries,” he noted.

Forty year-old Sameera suffered from PPD after all three of her deliveries. “I became used to it after the first one. Also, I heard about this symptom, so I was watching informative TV

shows and programs on this issue and learning how to deal with it. Furthermore, I went to educational courses on PPD and how to deal with it, and all of this was useful for me,” she stated. “In my last delivery, which was three months ago, I suffered from PPD a week after the delivery. This symptom lasted for about a month. With the help of my family I also overcame PPD by reading the Holy Quran and by watching the baby and convincing myself that this baby needs me and I have to take care of him. I didn’t take any medications for the PPD,” added Sameera.

Govt ‘not encouraged’ for reconciliation KUWAIT: Several lawmakers tried last week to verify reports about ‘reconciliation talks’ between the government and the opposition, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting parliamentary insiders.

However, the sources who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity said there was a slim possibility of such talks actually happening “since the news was broken by members of the opposition.”

“Information we have indicates that talks for reconciliation are nothing but personal initiatives carried out by some personalities,” they said.

According to the sources, these people, who remain unnamed, found out after meeting some opposition members that “they are under the impression that they have the winning cards in their hands, whereas the reality is exactly the opposite.” The sources added that the government was “not encouraged” by the proposed reconciliation.

Separately, Al-Rai reported yesterday quoting sources close to the Progressive Movement that the political group was yet to receive any answer from the Opposition Coalition regarding four main conditions before joining the leading oppositionist faction.

“If no answers came forth, the Progressive Movement is expected to join only the general assembly without any of its members becoming an office bearer in the Opposition Coalition,” said the sources.

They added that office bearers’ names are expected to be announced today.

No health problems for Noura: Father KUWAIT: Speaking for the first time since the death of his daughter Noura Al Dasem at her school last week, the father said she was not suffering from any heart disease but denied she was subjected to any assault or beaten by her teacher.

He said that the minister told him how her daughter died and that version was not in conflict with what he found himself or what the school teachers relayed to him.

However, he did confirm that his daughter was quite alright before she left for school but believed that the teacher was not responsible for what happened. He said he believed in fate. He added that the educational area director and a number of officials offered condolences to the mother of the girl, pointing out that rumors about the cause of the death were disturbing and hurt them even more after the loss of their daughter. He called upon everyone to only follow accurate news.

The father thanked His Highness the Amir for the telegram of condolence which he received from the Amiri Deewan, emphasizing that coming from His Highness the Amir, this was not a strange gesture as HH was a father figure for all. He also thanked His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammed for being present to console him after Noorah’s death and appreciated all those people who extended their sympathy in this tragic phase.

KOC: Gas leakage contained near Burgan refinery KUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) said yesterday that they have now contained a gas pipeline leakage west of the country and near Burgan oil refinery. In a statement to KUNA, KOC said that first they isolated the leakage area, and later controlled the leakage area based on predetermined procedures of the company, noting that no injuries were reported.

The statement added that after controlling the leakage, KOC tested and measured the level of gas emissions in the surrounding area and found that it was normal. As a precautionary measure, people around the area were informed not to get near the leakage area, the statement added. —KUNA

Rest in peace Noura!

Continued from Page 1 Of course, that situation has changed totally after the liberation of Kuwait. Suddenly many private schools came out and they are full of Kuwaiti girls and boys. It is not like before that such schools were mainly for expats. This is due to the deterioration of the discipline and the curriculum in our government schools. Nobody took serious action. The government treated it the same way they treated Kuwait Airways - the pride of the nation that collapsed and has been on a downward spiral till now.

Neither the government nor the parliament cares for the education system or have they taken any serious measures to solve the problems. In Kuwait we always wait for a disaster to take place to take action or start considering action. Unfortunately, we waited for Noura to die for the ministry to start seriously reconsidering the attitude towards the education system. I hope they will do something and it is not only about crisis management and that all will be forgotten in a week or two.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LOCAL

MOH council approves clinical shifts segregation KUWAIT: Senior Ministr y of Health officials approved during a meeting last week a proposal that will accord priority to Kuwaitis in medical checkups during morning shift while making it mandatory for foreigners to visit these facilities only in the afternoon for medical tests, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting ministry insiders.

Speaking to Al-Anba on the condition of anonymity, the sources explained that the Council of Medical Zones’ approval was based on the fact that a majority of consultants and specialists usually work in public clinics during morning shifts, including Kuwaitis who usually work in private clinics during night shifts. “The decision was made in order to provide better service to Kuwaiti patients,” they indicated.

The news was in line with statements of Health Minister Dr. Mohammad Al-Haifi who said last week that the nationality-based segregation system could eventually be adopted at public medical facilities, but only if it was proven that it will benefit citizens.

Meanwhile, the sources assured that the quality of medical services that expatriates will receive in the afternoon shift will not be negatively affected.

“The afternoon services are going to remain the same as provided to Kuwaitis which means that no deficiency is expected,” they said. As per the approved proposal, Kuwaiti patients can still freely choose to avail tests during morning or afternoon shifts. The decision was not applicable to emergency sections.

The same newspaper reported last week that the proposal was going to be studied “as per accurate statistics about the number of patients at public hospitals in morning and afternoon hours in order to determine the feasibility of the proposed system.”

After it is approved, the decision will be referred to MOH Undersecretary Khalid Al-Sehlawi before it goes to the Minister of Health for adoption. After that, it will be put up before the cabinet for approval, making it effective. Currently, there is no timetable as to when these procedures will be finalized.

Reports last month had suggested that the ministry was studying a proposal to designate morning hours in governmental hospitals and clinics for Kuwaiti patients and the afternoon period for nonKuwaitis.

It came as part of the government’s attempts to improve the quality of services at its overcrowded medical facilities since the infrastructure development has remained inadequate vis-a-vis the country’s demographic growth.

The news had since sparked negative reactions about the ‘discriminatory’ nature of the proposal, leading ministry officials to come out later and explain that the issue was merely a suggestion for outpatient clinics and that the ministry did not necessarily plan to implement it. — Al-Anbaa

Participants enjoying a laugh during the finale session of the Kuwait Leadership Mastery series

KLM program empowers youngsters with critical leadership skills Catalysts of progress

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: A total of 58 young Kuwaitis and expatriates participated in the final seminar of the Kuwait Leadership Mastery (KLM) program held on Wednesday at the Gulf University for Sciences and Technology. This program equips them with the necessary leadership skills to act as catalysts of progress and advancement in Kuwait today. The KLM program is funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the US State Department, which has also funded projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with more than US$600 million in grants since 2002.

In collaboration with the MEPI of the US State Department and Center for Professional and Continuing Education (PACE), KLM program empowers young Kuwaitis with critical leadership skills for the development of Kuwait. Of the 270 young people who applied, ranging between 17 to 24 years in age, of whom two thirds were Kuwaitis, come from all universities in Kuwait including the Kuwait University and other private universities besides two or three private high schools.

Some had already graduated. They are all working in seven teams of participants, each entrusted with developing a unique campaign that is instrumental in accelerating development in Kuwait. Although the grant was for 50 participants, 58 participated in this program.

The four-part series of KLM that concluded on Wednesday was the brainchild of Dr. John P. Hayes, a professor in the College of Business at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST ). Dr. Hayes put the KLM program together as a unique entity that aims to develop leadership skills of youth in Kuwait who seek to accelerate growth and development within the public and corporate landscape in the country. Hayes said, “At present, Kuwait is

preparing the groundwork for mega projects and development that will have significant changes in both the public and private sectors in terms of dynamism and efficiency. Thus, the youth today will need to be equipped with the right skill-sets and leadership qualities to take on their role as key drivers of future development in the coming 10 to 20 years. Our participants are trained in different aspects of effective leadership through these seminars and we

KUWAIT: The Leaders Group for Consulting & Development has finalized preparations to launch the 2013 Horeca Kuwait, a hospitality and catering industry show which will kick off tomorrow and will feature 40 companies.

The General Manager of the Leaders Group insisted that all efforts have been made to ensure that the event matches up to its importance to the Kuwaiti market. “The exhibition is expected to contribute directly to supporting developmental projects

and improve tourism in Kuwait,” said Nabila Al-Anjari in a statement yesterday.

She added that Horeca Kuwait offers job opportunities to young people as it encourages small businesses in the restaurants and catering businesses, as well as provides a boost to the hospitality and tourism industry.

The three-day event at the Arraya Ballroom in Courtyard Marriott Hotel will be open from 10am to 1pm and 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

Burgan Bank celebrates Mother’s Day with exciting offers KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the launch of a special campaign to celebrate mother’s day. The campaign entitles its credit cardholders to varied discounts across a number of selected outlets for customers to choose the optimal gifts for their mothers, which include Asnan Clinic, Le Cocon, Amal Al Kuwait, Missoni Hotel, Pino Flowers, and Chocopolis.

Burgan Bank continues to demonstrate its efforts by introducing more solutions that aim at integrating banking into the lifestyles and daily needs of its customers.

Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest commercial Bank based in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail and private bank customer base. Burgan Bank has four majority owned subsidiaries: Gulf Bank Algeria - AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad - BOB (Iraq), Jordan Kuwait Bank - JKB (Jordan)

more effective,” Hayes told the Kuwait Times.

Go and study was another skill that realistically helps achieve the goals. “Principle is that you have to be yourself the deserving person before you can have what you desire. People generally do it backwards. They say they want this and that, and it is good that we all want have lots of money, a new house, a new car and so on. But we have to be the right kind of person first, so we have to be the leader, a per-

The organizing committee of KLM with Dr. Hayes have also invited successful leaders in Kuwait to share their knowledge, experience and lifelessons with the participants.”

“I am teaching the 58 participants how to become more effective leaders for the benefit of Kuwait and the region. Conducted since November 2012, this is the fourth seminar tonight in the series of three-hour seminars.

They are taught skills that leaders need, such as personality profiling, to be able to understand the profile of the people you manage and also to understand your own profile, to understand how to speak to people to be

Stage set for 2013 Horeca Kuwait

Nabila Al-Anjari

Participants presenting their final campaign for change in Kuwait to the judges

and Tunis International Bank - TIB (Tunisia), (collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”). The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.

Burgan Bank’s brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire. ‘People come first’ is the foundation on which its products and services are developed. Earlier this year, ‘Brand Finance’ - the international brand valuation company- rated Burgan Bank brand as AA with positive outlook. The rating places Burgan Bank Brand at 2nd amongst the most valuable banking brands in Kuwait.

Major foodstuff warehouse closed down in Mangaf

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Ahmadi municipality inspectors recently launched a campaign to inspect the foodstuff warehouses in investment buildings in Mangaf which resulted in a major warehouse being shut down as it was found running without a license from the municipality.

In this regard, the head of the inspectors’ team, Mesh’al Abalsafi, said that the warehouse was located in the basements of three adjacent buildings with their interfacing walls demolished and the common area thus created being used to store large shipments of foodstuff. He added that the warehouse did not conform to the cleanliness conditions, as cats were found foraging around. Meanwhile, Kuwait Municipality public relations department urged all consumers to check the production and expiry dates while purchasing any foodstuff items and to call the municipality’s hotline to report any violations or to lodge complaints.

son with integrity, a person who sets goals, a person who knows how to communicate with people, and we have to do something first so that we can earn the thing we want to have,” he added.

All participants will present their campaign about the change in Kuwait that they desire.

They will introduce their ideas about how Kuwait can change in the areas of economics, national unity, environment education, leadership and others. “They will be evaluated by five independent judges who will be sitting in the audience who will evaluate them on their per-

formance. They have very specific criteria to evaluate the campaigns, then the top three winners’ campaigns will be announced and they will be awarded on their graduation on April 3, 2013,” Hayes said.

“The hope is that the KLM program continues as a club here at GUST so that young people can continue to learn and practice leadership skills. That way they can become the right kind of people to do the right kind of things and achieve whatever they want in life,” he concluded. In the final seminar, Chairman and Managing Director of Boubyan Bank Adel A. Al-Majed, who is an exemplary leader in Kuwait within the corporate sector, addressed participants about various aspects of importance of leadership. He applauded strategic development programs such as KLM that focus on developing young entrepreneurs who will become Kuwait’s future leaders.

At the conclusion of the event, the seven teams were tasked to create innovative projects under the topic of “Campaigns for Change,” which tackle serious issues in Kuwait today.

Through this, participants, with the guidance of mentors who are accomplished local professionals who have volunteered their time to work with the KLM participants, will implement key learning from KLM into the project and in return, the exercise will enable them to identify what was required to accelerate development, and ultimately to become difference-makers in the country. Founded in 2012, the Kuwait Leadership Mastery program is open to the youth of Kuwait between the ages of 17 and 24, and is free of charge for qualified applicants.

The program is fully funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the US State Department and was hosted by the Center for Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) at Gulf University for Science & Technology (GUST) in West Mishref.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

Letters to Badrya

Cancellation of govt subsidies

Expats not stealing jobs badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

By Dr Bader Al-Daihani Dear Ms. Darwish This is primarily to thank you for your writings against discrimination in Kuwait. I am an Indian citizen and my grandfather came to work in Kuwait years ago. As a third generation Indian in Kuwait, I have seen the relationship between Kuwaitis and Indians (and other non-western expats) deteriorate. I also saw a significant increase in human rights abuses. So much so that now when I visit a friend’s house, I feel during any conversation that I empathize more with the maid than with my Kuwaiti brothers and sisters. I wish we could all just live to enhance a feeling of mutual joy. But thank you so much for your resolve. If anything is to change in Kuwait, and I pray that it does, we will need strong, fearless and determined voices like yours to speak out. You have my deepest respect and gratitude.

With warm regards, Nabeel Mohan

D

espite government statements about its intention to cancel the governmental subsidies on goods and services and to either increase or impose new fees on public services like electricity, water, municipality building licenses, official documents and others, it seems determined to overburden middle and lower class families to help deal with the state’s precarious finances.

According to official reports, the government wishes to pass a law to impose Value Added Tax (VAT), which is an indirect income tax to be added to goods’ prices and collected by the government from buyers, not from manufacturers or importers.

However, for political and legal reasons known to everybody, the government does not wish to announce this right now since the law 79/1995 about fees paid for public services and facilities bans it from increasing or imposing new fees without a law passed by the parliament. Well, the government plans to have the one-vote parliament to either cancel the earlier law or pass a new one. Then, we will be suddenly hit by a barrage of statements from the government about the state’s endangered budget and the good news about increasing the non-oil revenues by cancelling government subsidies, increasing fees or collecting new ones.

There is no doubt that our state budget has been going through turbulence because of poor management and that we are in dire need to develop the non-oil sources of revenue. This involves imposing taxes, provided this is done through an integrated package and a comprehensive but fair economic policy. Otherwise, taxes would be considered akin to looting public funds and unjust distribution of wealth as these will be deducted from the poor and middle class people and would line the pockets of the rich.

In other words, if the government scraps the subsidies and imposes new fees, where would the collected revenues go? Are the governmental subsidies only paid on goods and services provided to families and individuals? Shouldn’t the generous unlimited subsidies given to private investors, real estate and commercial companies should also be scrapped and services be given to them at the market rate instead?

These companies do not pay any profit or real estate taxes. They do not provide true job opportunities for Kuwaiti people, either. Moreover, the government pays a large segment of the salaries of their Kuwaiti employees and grants them cheap lands, provides them with special portfolios to save them from bankruptcy, exempts them from taxes and customs duties and gives them subsidized power. Companies pay one fils per kilowatt while individual consumers pay double. —Aljarida

kuwait digest

The confusing NA grillings

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

T

he previous parliaments were characterized by multitude of meaningless grilling motions that were filed. Of course, former MP Musallam AlBarrak was a pioneer in this field with his uncanny ability to dig into old files and exhume issues that had been left to gather dust for a long time. If you were a finance minister, then you must have had to deal with a very prepared Al-Barrak who would be waiting with thousands of issues to confront you the moment you stepped inside the parliament building. It is strange no one among the ‘protecting public funds’ enthusiasts ever wondered why Al-Barrak used to file separate interpellations for each case individually instead of filing one grilling motion addressing all the issues at hand.

Former minister Mahmoud Al-Nouri was grilled because he brought or smuggled Egyptian antiquities before he assumed ministerial office. And in a similar meaningless fashion, former minister Adel Al-Subaih was grilled because of a KD35,000 contract signed between the government and a company owned by the Al-Subaih family which Al-Barrak claimed was a suspected case of ‘wastage of public funds.’ Al-Barrak never pointed out the alleged profit that Al-Subaih could have made from the deal or the loss it purportedly caused.

Al-Barrak is being imitated these days as if his method was successful or his legacy of filing grilling

motions was a ‘role model’ for his successors to follow.

Al-Barrack had forwarded an interpellation because the Kuwait Investment Authority owned a company which has shares in another company that is partner with a Lebanese casino, something that according to Al-Barrack was ‘haram’ (forbidden). Today, there is a grilling motion against the oil minister because a Kuwaiti oil company owns a company that was owned by another company which was partners with a Belgian company that has a partnership agreement with a company which owns shares in Texaco that bought shares jointly with a company that is partner of a company which has shares owned by an Israeli company. Have I sufficiently confused you? Please give all credit to Al-Barrak.

If you deeply study the global business and financial system, you will find that a majority of mega firms are either owned by Jewish businessmen or have partnerships with Israeli companies through direct or indirect relations that can be as branching as the one mentioned above. In fact, there is no way for anyone to invest in the West and guarantee that their business will be free from usury, alcohol, pork, Jewish people or Israel. And besides, so what if a Kuwaiti company had partnership with Israel? Even the Palestinians are holding peace talks with the Israelis or in other words their Semitic cousins. What does Kuwait’s parliament has to do with it? — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

The Traffic Children

By Ibrahim Al-Awadhi

I

t was six o’clock in the evening and I was at the crossing where the Damascus Street and the Fourth Ring Road intersect when I saw something that I have seen many times before. There were a number of children walking between cars and selling cheap goods. I was left wondering if we have become so indifferent to the values of humanity and children rights. Have their parents lost the sense of responsibility if they were sending their children to go out without taking into account the emotional impact it was going to leave upon them? Was it their fault that they were born without a nationality, and that the state failed to grant them their basic civil and human rights?

Personally, I believe that the government is not going to be able to tackle this inhuman and immoral practice, not when its schedule is extremely busy with politics, politically motivated prosecutions, and nega-

The Kuwait Human Rights Society and other civil society organizations are required today to invoke the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which was approved by the UNICEF in 1989 and signed by Kuwait in 1991. The ‘traffic children’ must enjoy all their rights without discrimination, which include the right to improved living conditions and protection from maltreatment. tive procedures by which it plans to tackle the endless problems we face. I also do not believe that parents of these children are willing to stop this practice, either because they were resorting to such means to help them deal with the burdens of life, or because they no longer know the true meaning of humanity.

The Kuwait Human Rights Society and other civil society organizations are required today to invoke the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which was approved by the UNICEF in 1989 and signed by Kuwait in 1991. The ‘traffic children’ must enjoy all their rights without discrimination, which include the right to improved living conditions and protection from maltreatment.

And while I stress on parents of these children that they were under obligation in front of God above everyone else to provide full care for their children, I also call upon the state officials to ensure that children of stateless residents are granted the right to education and treatment. I also urge our MPs to legislate regulations for the protection of children from abuse and negligence like the one I mentioned above. — Al-Rai

Ms. Badrya Darwish, Your article titled “Stop Weeping and Wailing over Expats” brought a smile to mine and many expats’ faces as they did nothing but worked sincerely and lived decently in this beautiful country, abiding by its rules and regulations.

I do not fight the system when they say that all Kuwaitis have to be in higher positions than us, and I understand the idea of “Kuwaitization.” I do not ask for the benefits that my Kuwaiti colleagues receive because I understand it is your country and the better pay scales are for you. All I want is to work hard, remain sincere, work to the best of my ability and live in harmony.

Sadly no one sees the big picture as you do, and as you have explained in your article. Even those who do choose to ignore the truth than voicing it. I thank you for the article. The simple fact is that we, the expats, are not here to invade and grab anything that is rightfully yours. Instead, we are here to earn a living just like any other expat in any other part of the world. I respect you for seeing things as they are and being bold enough to voice your opinion, even though you have nothing to gain. I wish well for Kuwait and pray it flourishes even more.

My best, Regina Dear Ms. Badrya Darwish I read your article in Kuwait Times and was very impressed knowing how a Kuwaiti woman feels about the expats and respects their hard work. Now, there are certain people who say that expats are taking away their jobs. Such people are very ignorant, and we should forgive them.

When you choose to forgive those who hurt others due to their ignorance, you take away their power.

Great work, Simon (An Indian) Dear Badrya We as expats in Kuwait are very much impressed with your article which was posted last week. I would like to tell you my personal experience and would like to answer those Kuwaitis who think we are stealing their jobs. My brother is working in an IT company for the last three years and you will be surprised what kind of job he is doing after earning top qualifications abroad. He has done Masters in Information Systems from Napier University UK, and he is also an Oracle Certified Developer and Oracle Certified Administrator but the job he is doing for the last three years is just laying cables from one building to another. It is a big question mark on this country. Is it only wasta in Kuwait which can take you to a higher level in any company because I have heard and seen Kuwaitis studying abroad who come back and want to directly takeover as a GM in a company, something that we cannot do. What kind of jobs are we stealing from them?

We are struggling hard to find good jobs but have been unable to find any. When we listen to Kuwaiti Nationals saying that we are stealing their jobs, it hurts a lot. I hope whosoever reads my words can empathize with what we feel for my brother.

Thanks Adnan J. Iqbal Dear Mrs. Darwish, I read your column with great interest every day and would just like to point out a couple of ideas concerning your “Parking Nightmare” article. The lack of parking lots in Kuwait is due to a diverse array of factors. You personally mentioned commercial and residential constructors failing to include parking spaces in their newly erected buildings or unscrupulous owners renting out basements illegally as storehouses. However, I personally feel that along with these problems and with the urban planning limitations in Kuwait, there are two important factors that one must take into account.

Firstly, there should be general awareness and concern about the number of cars in Kuwait. Recent figures show that there are now over 1.6 million vehicles, well above the average of one car for every two people. Moreover, this figure is expected to continue to increase at an average of nine percent per year. Despite all the drawbacks that you mentioned and even if the municipality and local authorities were to tackle the issue of parking spaces from a legal and practical point of view, there is simply not enough physical space in Kuwait city to accommodate such a vast quantity of vehicles. Little can be done now to modify the urban planning model used for the city, especially in places such as Hawally, Farwaniya or Yarmouk, to mention a few. The problem should therefore be tackled by creating general awareness amongst the citizens of Kuwait, stressing the need to cut down on the vehicles per household due to limited parking spaces and also because of pollution, traffic and safety-related issues. The Ministry of the Interior has even offered a number of solutions such as introducing tolls and increasing car renewal registration fees. Both these proposals have met with staunch opposition from specific groups, but if we look at London, for instance, similar methods have proven extremely effective in restricting the number of vehicles that circulate in the city.

Secondly, it has become apparent that most people in this country are doubtful even at the best of times about the existing public transport. The words generally used to describe public buses, for instance, are ‘unreliable’, ‘unsafe’ and ‘decrepit’. If Kuwait were to have a modern and efficient public transport system, then many would choose it over driving their vehicle into town each day and having to face the wrath of traffic jams and parking troubles. One of the most obvious albeit costly solutions would be to construct a metro in Kuwait City, similar to the one in Dubai or in Madrid. There are plans for such a project, as stated by Engineer Fatima Al-Kandari, but one still wonders how long this will take. Parking has definitely become a nightmare as bad as the experience of driving in Kuwait. Nonetheless, there is no reason to believe that these two problems cannot be tackled. All that is needed is a good dose of general concern and willpower.

Daniel Losada Dear Madam, Thank you for your attitude of gratitude.

Have a wonderful day and years to come.

Maria Hello Mam, First of all I want to thank you from the core of my heart that you have defended the expats in Kuwait at a time when people are pointing fingers at us as being the only reason for their unemployment. I am from Afghanistan and work in a logistics company twelve hours a day as a supervisor in the desert. I don’t think that any Kuwaiti will be ready to work in my place.

I was so disheartened after reading columns regarding plans to impose taxes on expats and that expats were main reason for unemployment among Kuwaitis but after reading your wirings in the Kuwait Times, I have better hope and am sure that there are Kuwaitis who are with us.

Thank You so much Best regards, Mohammad Akhter

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LOCAL

Bedoon youth stabs manager to death in Hawally area Liquor smuggling attempt spoiled

By Hanan Al Saadoun

determine the reason behind the fire.

KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti man was stabbed to death by a bedoon youth during a violent scuffle that broke out in a company in Hawally area, security sources revealed. Sources said as per initial information, a manager and a bedoon employee, who worked as a delegate in the company, had a fight. Later, the bedoon man got hold of a knife and stabbed the manager repeatedly killing him on the spot.

Drug addict A police patrol stopped a citizen on the Arabian Gulf road who had parked his car and was completely under the influence of drugs.

The patrol officer noticed that the parked car was without a front plate number. As he approached to check out the vehicle, he found the driver resting his head on the steering wheel with drug-taking tools lying next to him. Later, as the man woke up, police sent him to drug enforcement administration for further investigation.

House fire Firemen rushed to a house in Saad Al Abdullah area on Friday night after receiving a report at 9:30 that evening about a fire, and brought it under control swiftly without suffering any casualties except for three men who complained of suffocation due to fumes.

Firemen from the Jahra fire center headed by Lt Col Abdullah Al Owaihan found that the fire in the two-storey house was big and heavy plumes of smoke were billowing out. The firemen divided themselves into two teams with one fighting the fire and the other rescuing people trapped inside the house. Soon, the blaze was brought under control and the three people, all of them Asian expats, rescued. They suffered suffocation due to the heavy smoke and were treated by the medical emergency team on the site. Investigations are on to

Body found An Asian expat’s body was found by his three Asian colleagues in a huge water tank even as Qashaaniya police suspected foul play. The deceased was later identified as a guard on one of the farms. A security source said that three Asians were surprised to find the body and said he may have committed suicide or drowned in the tank. The body was claimed by the coroner to determine the exact cause of death.

Rape case A Lebanese woman told Fahaheel police station that a bedoon man raped her in a toilet. She said that the bedoon learnt about her financial difficulties and offered to help her through a

charity society. When the woman went with him in his car, he forced her into a bathroom and raped her. Meanwhile, a citizen told Sabah AlSalem police that an unknown person hiding in his house stabbed him. In Nugra, a citizen accused an Arab Canadian and an Egyptian of stealing KD 33,000 that he was carrying to pay off a debt.

Liquor consignment Hawally detectives foiled an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of liquor into the country from the UAE through Shuwaikh Port. A source said detectives were questioning a Syrian who was to receive the shipment. There were 3500 bottles in the consignment.

Cable thieves Thieves stealing electric cables, often reported to be Asian expats, still seem proactive as they stole 45 electric poles along a 17 km long stretch of the Salmy Road. Several such thefts were reported in the past from new areas in all six governorates. When these areas were brought under surveillance, the thieves seemed to have moved to the desert. A security source said after people complained about lack of lighting on the road, policemen went to the area and discovered the theft that had caused the lights to malfunction. A complaint was lodged at the police station.

KRCS opens hospital in northern Lebanon ALMINIYA, North Lebanon: Chairman of Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Barjas Al-Barjas asserted here yesterday that the State of Kuwait spares no effort in supporting humanitarian and charitable work for the needy peoples everywhere.

Al-Barjas said on the sidelines of the opening of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society’s Hospital here that Kuwait is pleased to assist needy people everywhere and carry out humanitarian and developmental projects abroad.

He said that this medical institution will provide all the needs for all patients

and pregnant women because of the sections and advanced medical equipment it contains.

Al-Barjas pointed out that the hospital, which was built on an area of 4,710 square meters, includes an integrated emergency department, an outpatient lab, medical clinics for children, an intensive care unit, a special ward for surgery, xrays, nursing, pharmacy and a morgue.

He added that all sections in the hospital with a capacity of 40 beds are equipped with the latest and best medical equipment that will be in the service of all citizens. —KUNA

Probe in driver’s death KUWAIT: Investigations are on to determine the circumstances behind the death of a man found inside his car in Mansouriya recently.

Police and paramedics rushed to a parking lot in the area following a report about a man lying motionless in his car. The Kuwaiti young man was pronounced dead on the scene. The body was taken to the forensic department after crime scene investigators examined the place. A case was filed. Meanwhile, a middle aged man died after he suffered a heart attack while driving on the Sixth Ring Road recently.

Police and paramedics rushed to a location just beyond the edge of the highway coming from the Doha Junction where the man’s car had pulled over. The man, a Kuwaiti in his fifties, was pronounced dead on the scene while preliminary examination revealed that he suffered a heart attack. The body was taken to the coroner and a case was filed.

In a separate incident, a 19-year-old Kuwaiti was hospitalized in a critical condition following a motorcycle accident reported in Jahra. He was rushed to the Jahra Hospital in an ambulance. A case was filed to investigate the circumstances behind the accident.

In yet another accident, four people were injured in a four-car pileup reported recently at the Maghreb Highway. Police and paramedics had rushed to the site near Hawally after the accident involving four vehicles including a minibus that turned upside down. Four people of Arab and Asian nationalities were taken to the Mubarak Hospital for treatment. A case was filed for investigations.

Brothers held Two brothers who were arrested in Abu Hlaifa recently escaped from a police lock up using a car jack’s handle smuggled inside but were arrested soon thereafter. Police arrested a fugitive for being in possession of drugs and detained him alongside his brother who was arrested a few hours earlier on similar charges.

According to the police report, the two managed to break out of their cell using a car jack’s handle that was likely smuggled by a person who had visited them earlier. The two used the handle to intimidate officers and escaped, but only for a brief period as back up police succeeded in arresting them shortly afterwards.

The two were returned to their cell and charged with escape from prison, resisting apprehension and murder threat which they face in addition to their older charges. (Rai) Forgery A company owner was held for investigations into acts of forgery believed to have been committed by his employee who reportedly left the country to avoid arrest. The forgery was discovered at a Ministry of Commerce and Industry office where an Egyptian manager reached to finalize transactions for his auditing company. The ministry employee found that one of the transactions had the annual budget falsely increased from KD5000 to KD50,000, which prompted him to take action as similar forgery operations had been carried out earlier to collect money after filing transactions in respect of fake companies. The manager reportedly disappeared after claiming that the transaction in question was a typing error and asked to be excused to fetch documents from his car to prove his claim. The MCI official summoned the company owner after learning that

the manager left the country the same night he disappeared. The owner said that his manager had full authority to run his business, and confirmed that he too learnt only later that the suspect had left the country. A case was filed with the Public Prosecution for further action.

Murder threat Search is on for a man who faces criminal charges after he reportedly went in pursuit of his ex-wife and pointed a gun at her after forcing her to pull over. Al-Qairawan police station officers filed a case after the woman complained to them that she was threatened by her ex-husband. She said her husband hit her car repeatedly which forced her to stop, and then threatened her with a gun. Past disputes seemed to be the reason for the threat. The exhusband then escaped. Police examined the woman’s car which was damaged from the outside. Investigations are ongoing.

Kidnap case A divorced expat woman accused her husband of kidnapping their daughters, who are in her custody, from school and mistreating them.

A security source said the woman brought her daughters to the police station and complained that her divorced husband routinely visited the school and took the girls to his home without telling her. She said he would beat them up with a rubber whip as a punishment for not doing well at the school. The girls would return to their mother bleeding from such cruel punishment. Detectives were on the look out for the man for questioning.

Salmiya scuffle A security source said a scuffle broke out when a man refused to stop clicking pictures of girls at a coffee shop in Salmiya. The source said after a girl noticed the man sitting near them all by himself and taking their pictures, she asked him not to, but he continued clicking, eventually leading to a fight. Police, who were called in, took away both sides for questioning.

Chld beaten up In an incident of misplaced notions of revenge, a family beat up a classmate of their 10-year-old daughter. The family members beat up the girl and her sister. The father in the assaulting family even unleashed a verbal assault on the father of the victim girl in the presence of the detectives.

Bad breath A woman filed a complaint at the Palace of Justice asking for divorce from her husband citing unbearable bad breath as the grounds. The woman said she asked her husband to undergo treatment for whatever was causing such bad breath but he refused and used to beat her whenever she reminded him of the smell.

Physical assault A pregnant woman working in the Ministry of Education accused her stepson of physically assaulting her to make her suffer a miscarriage.

She said that her stepson stormed into her house in Mubarak Al-Kabeer and tried to hit her in the stomach, knowing fully well that she was carrying. She said she was rescued by one of her relatives. She said her stepson’s actions were prompted by financial and family disputes.

KUWAIT: Police remove the body of the Kuwaiti man after he was stabbed to death by a bedoon youth in Hawally area.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

PRATAP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LOCAL

Construction activity set to increase in Kuwait Major infrastructure developments KUWAIT: The construction industry is looking to a series of projects, combined with increasing demand from the private sector, to generate momentum following a period of minimal growth and thin margins. In recent months, the government has announced several infrastructure developments and re-introduced others that had been delayed due either to fiscal constraints or parliamentary hurdles regarding allegations of poor tender practice.

At the end of January, for example, the Kuwait Oil Company awarded a $486.5 million contract to Turkey-based contractor STFA to construct a port next to the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery, upgrade the existing harbour nearby and build other smaller harbours along the coast. The project is part of a larger development to increase shipping capacity for the refinery, which will be expanded to handle a capacity of around 4m barrels of oil per day by 2020.

Other projects in the pipeline include the $6billion expansion of Kuwait International Airport, which will increase its annual passenger-handling capacity to 20million; up to $14.2billion worth of road work to be completed over the next five years; and infrastructure to underpin a commercial seaport on the previously uninhabited Boubyan Island.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has forecast that the economy will expand by 3.1 percent in 2013, down from the 6.1 percent of 2012, though the non-oil sector will post growth of 5 percent, up from 4 percent. According to NBK,

this increase will largely be on the back of “a greater determination by Kuwaiti authorities to implement large infrastructure projects”.

The predicted rise in the sector’s fortunes will be welcomed by industry players, as a study conducted in 2012 showed annual average growth of just 1 percent for the five years to 2011. However, the report, prepared by market research firm Timetric, predicted year-on-year expansion of 7.5 percent through to 2016, with the greatest focus being on state-backed infrastructure. While there has been further growth in 2012, postponed projects and sluggish demand held back activity, with delays in state developments in particular limiting expansion.

According to Sulaiman Al-Maarouf, CEO of the Combined Group Contracting Company, it is becoming increasingly important for the major infrastructure developments to get off the drawing board. “Implementing and executing megaprojects in Kuwait is now vital,” he said. “Local and international companies have been waiting for too long. The government has announced plans to launch these mega-projects and still they are waiting.” While Maarouf concedes there can be unexpected delays to construction projects in Kuwait, plans to improve laws governing public tenders that will increase accountability and reinforce standards should benefit the sector and ease constraints.

However, it does appear that at least some of the large-scale projects will be delayed. On Feb 6, the parliament overrode government objec-

tions and voted to establish a committee to review the contracts for two developments following claims of abuse of the tendering process.

The review, covering the contracts for the AlZour North power plant and the Sheikh Jaber Bridge, is due to be completed in the next three months.Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim, the minister of electricity, water and public works, contested the allegations of abuse, stating that tenders for the Al-Zour North power plant and Jaber Bridge projects were carried out in line with all legal requirements. Ibrahim added that an investigation into the fully approved developments would cause delays and could undermine the confidence of foreign companies. Any postponement would pose problems for the economy, the minister told the parliament, adding that a delay in the development of the Al-Zour power station would be particularly problematic. “By next year, we will have zero reserve capacity without the project and we will be forced to adopt programmed cuts,” Ibrahim warned.

Even if there are delays in some of the bigticket government projects, there are signs the construction industry could get a boost from the private sector, as demand in the residential, investment and commercial segments appears to be on the rise. A report by NBK issued in early February showed property sales increased by 16 percent in 2012. “If this trend continues, alongside a more active government real estate fund, we could see a notable pick-up in sales in 2013,” the report said. — Oxford Business Group

KNPC releases children’s book on environment KUWAIT: Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has released a children’s storybook, in the Arabic language, that encourages protecting the environment.

The 40-page book depicts “a dialogue between a hoopoe (a colourful bird commonly known and native to the Middle East) and desert flowers, which grant the land beauty and splendor,” said Kuwait’s state oil refiner in a statement.

The initiative is the first to be aimed at children and will be followed by a series of steps the company intends to pursue amid its efforts to spread public awareness on the need to protect the environment and wildlife in the country, KNPC added.

“The book aims to illustrate to children the importance of protecting the environment through a well-liked bird - the hoopoe - and seeks to promote positive environmental rationality and interactivity between young readers and their sur-

rounding environment.” “The book also seeks to educate children and to encourage their use of observation skills, through focused sight and detailed scrutiny during their day-to-day lives in a positive manner,” said the company.

These messages are delivered “by using simple linguistic and metaphoric expressions that the targeted age group can relate to in a way that works to develop their language and writing capabilities.”

The book is the brainchild of company engineer Hessa Al-Sahlawi, and was written

by Lebanese children’s author Dr. Tariq AlBakri, known for writing over 500 novels and books published across the Arab world.

As part of its efforts on the matter, KNPC has created a special department for environmental affairs which currently hires 360 employees tasked with the role in every aspect. — KUNA

Arab states laud outcome of Kuwait donors conference

Al-Omariya High School students in a group picture

NBK welcomes students KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) recently hosted students from Al-Omariya High School for girls, who toured the bank’s head office to learn about the banking industry and the dayto-day work of the bank’s various departments.

NBK Public Relations officers accompanied the students on their tour of the bank’s various departments and gave them a brief presentation about NBK in general and the role of marketing

and public relations within the bank.

The students had the chance to learn about the broad range of NBK financial and banking products and services and were particularly interested in the multi-benefit Al-Azraq and AlShabab accounts, exclusively designed for high school, college and university students.

NBK supports fresh graduates and Kuwait’s youth, listens to their interests and issues and

offers a range of products and services to satisfy their needs. The tour is part of NBK’s ongoing commitment to its corporate social responsibility program and to promoting the education and development of the country’s youth. Other initiatives include providing summer training programs for students, hiring fresh graduates and offering professional development programs for new hires.

GENEVA: Several Arab states lauded, before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the “tremendous” outcomes of Kuwait-hosted talks that raised global pledges of $1.5 billion for Syrians displaced in neighbouring countries as a result of extreme violence in their own.

In a draft document released on Saturday, they urged donor countries to honor their pledges to alleviate the suffering of the displaced Syrian people. They also called on international community to give financial support to the countries which are hosting the Syrian refugees in order to provide an immediate help to the Syrians. The document which will be voted on by the end of next week also discussed a report by the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) on human rights vio-

lations and war crimes committed in Syria.

It demanded for a swift and transparent investigation that would bring violators to justice. It also called on extending the commission’s term in Syria to act as a watchdog to any infringements against international human rights laws that are taken place in Syria. A report of the commission’s finding should be submitted before the next UNHRC’s session.

The document emphasized the importance of protecting women from all types of harassments, sexually and physically, and called on engaging women in the decision-making process for solving dispute and setting the peace in the war-torn country. In addition, it demanded an immediate release to all those who were unjustly seized, especially Syrian journalists, and put away in Syrian prisons. — KUNA

40 Schools to participate in KT Art Competition KUWAIT: A total of 40 schools are expected to participate in the 6th Annual Kuwait Times Student Environment Art Competition in cooperation with Chevron and Crowne Plaza Hotel under the title “Kuwait Beautiful and Green.”

Over 5,000 school students from different age groups will be participating. The schools and their art teachers received their official entry sheets and each student will select an environmental topic to draw or paint. Students may draw anything related to planting and beautifying Kuwait and must complete the painting by April 11, 2013.

The objective of this competition is to teach students make them aware about the fragile environment of Kuwait. Through the student community, it is hoped that the Kuwaiti people

could be made more aware about national environmental issues. The judging committee comprising Kuwaiti and expatriate artists will judge the artworks as per the student’s age and category. These will include Elementary 68 years of age and 9-11, Intermediate 12-14, Secondary 15-17 and those with special needs. The criteria for winning entry will be based on the student’s creativity, uniqueness and amount of effort and technique. The best 10 young artists from each of the four categories will receive valuable prizes from the organizers.

Schools who are interested can approach Kuwait Times for the drawing sheets.

Contact on 24835616/7, 24833199, Fax 24835620-21 or email ads@kuwaittimes.net

Plans to start women basketball, volleyball league KUWAIT: The Chairwoman of Kuwait Women Sports Federation Sheikha Naima Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said yesterday that the federation is currently examining the possibility of launching women basketball, and volleyball leagues in the near future.

Sheikha Naima said, during her meeting with GCC heads of delegations participating in the third GCC women sport tournament, which was recently held in the Bahraini capital Al-Manama, that she began contacting government entities involved with this issue. Sheikha Naima added that

the league will include women teams from Al-Ouyon, Salwa, and Al-Fatah clubs, including engaging teams from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training.

Sheikha Naima highlighted as well many obstacles and technical difficulties facing women’s teams prior to participating in future tournaments, affirming the important role played by teams’ managers. The Chairwoman added that she will go through a rotating process for managers of the teams, to improve their managing skills and prepare them for future challenges. — KUNA

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

3 die as plane crashes at Florida parking lot

Scientology leader’s niece reveals Church secrets Page 11

Page 10

SALE: A Moroccan woman walks out of a mobile clinic in Sale, a conservative city in Morocco near Rabat, after being tested for HIV. (Inset) A Moroccan woman gets herself tested for HIV at a mobile. Around 29,000 people are infected with HIV in a country of 33 million, according to estimates by the Pan African AIDS Organization (OPALS), a relatively low figure compared with other Arab countries. —AFP

Battling AIDS stigma in religious heartlands Around 29,000 people infected with HIV in Morocco

News

in brief

15 pilgrims perish AMMAN: Jordan says a bus carrying Palestinian pilgrims has overturned and crashed into a trailer on a highway near the Israeli border, killing 15 people. A Civil Defense statement says 14 pilgrims and the driver were killed in the yesterday accident, while 32 Palestinians were injured. The statement says the pilgrims were passing through Jordan on their way back to the West Bank from Muslim holy shrines in the cities of Mecca and Medina in neighboring Saudi Arabia. It says the bus driver lost control over the brakes, skidded and collided into a trailer, then overturned about 20 kilometers east of the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge. The bridge across the Jordan River is used for passengers and cargo traded with the West Bank.

Sri Lanka bars Briton with Buddha tattoo COLOMBO: Sri Lanka denied entry to a British tourist sporting a Buddha tattoo on his arm because he showed disrespect to Buddhism, a newspaper report said yesterday. The unnamed Briton was turned back at Bandaranaike International Airport late Friday, according to the daily Lankadeepa Sinhalese. “When questioned about the tattoo, he spoke very disrespectfully about Buddhism,” an immigration official told the newspaper. “If he expressed such views after entering the country, it would have been a threat to his own safety.” An airport official confirmed the report, but declined to give details. Sri Lanka, a majority Buddhist nation, is highly sensitive to what is perceives as threats to the religion.

23 Pakistani troops killed PESHAWAR: At least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed yesterday when their bus plunged into a ravine on the main Pakistan-China highway in the mountainous northern region, officials said. “According to initial information, 23 soldiers died in a road accident when their bus plunged into a ravine on the Karakoram Highway,” said a senior military official. The military said 27 people were on board the bus including 25 soldiers heading home on leave and a civilian driver and cleaner. The soldiers belonged to a battalion of the Northern Light Infantry (NLI) and were deployed to the picturesque Swat valley, which was cleared of Taleban militants in 2009. A local administration official said they had dispatched teams to the remote accident site.

Mexico fireworks explosion kills 11 PUEBLA: A small truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in a central Mexican village on Friday, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens. One witness said he saw “bodies flying” as people ran for cover after a stray firework landed on the truck in Jesus Tepactepec in the middle of a march for the village’s patron saint. “My God, this is a tragedy,” said the bishop of Tlaxcala, Francisco Moreno, visibly shaken by the scene as he surveyed the site after the explosion. A spokeswoman for the Tlaxcala state government told AFP eight men and one woman were killed instantly in the village, which is part of the municipality of Nativitas, 125 kilometers east of Mexico City. Another man died in an ambulance.

SALE: “I don’t have anything,” said Asmaa with a sigh as she stepped out of the mobile clinic offering free AIDS tests in Sale, in a conservative city in Morocco where the veiled young woman lives. Around 29,000 people are infected with HIV in a country of 33 million, according to estimates by the Pan African AIDS Organization (OPALS), a relatively low figure compared with other Arab countries.

But large swathes of Moroccan society are religious, with sex outside of marriage and adultery still illegal, and the AIDS virus has long been a taboo subject.

Around 80 percent of victims don’t even know they are HIV carriers, according to OPALS, which was set up in 1994 to combat the spread of the disease and is active in 19 different parts of the country. While only a small proportion of the national population is infected (0.1 percent), the virus is concentrated in two specific areasthe southwestern tourist region of Agadir, notably among prostitutes and gay men, and the northern town of Nador, among drug addicts.

Across much of Morocco, conservative religious attitudes and the stigma attached to AIDS can complicate the efforts made in testing, treatment and prevention.

But in Sale’s Douar Jbala, a stronghold of the Islamist Justice and Development Party that heads Morocco’s coalition government, OPALS officials carrying out the AIDS tests are happy with the response to their campaign.

Like other poor neighborhoods, Douar Jbala is “vulnerable”, because of the conservative attitudes and prejudices that hold sway here, so the medics welcome the large turnout. “There is an enthusiasm, particularly among the women. It’s really important for us, it shows that it is no longer such a taboo,” said Dr Zakia Afkari, supervising the operation in partnership with Morocco’s health ministry. These young women “don’t hesitate to come on their own,” she added, before heading back into the clinic where dozens of people were waiting to be tested.

Asmaa, 21, said she decided to show up “without thinking too much” about it. In her age category (15-24), 61 percent of those infected are women. “I came across it by chance when I noticed a banner inviting locals to take the AIDS test. I hesitated for a moment and then came to the clinic,” she explained. “Now I’m glad I did,” she added with a smile, holding a piece of cotton wool on her finger where the blood sample was taken.

There was no sign of embarrassment among those standing outside the truck where the free and anonymous tests were performed. “For me there’s no shame in being tested for AIDS. It’s not a problem, it’s not against my religion,” said 18-year-old Khadija. Health experts say Morocco is ahead of other Arab countries partly because it began its anti-AIDS campaign early, in the 1990s, developing infrastructure to support victims of the virus, such as a hospital in the city of Casablanca run by the Association for the Fight against AIDS. But big challenges remain, especially in overcoming social prejudices surrounding the disease itself, said Dr Kamal Alami, who heads the UN’s AIDS/HIV program in Morocco. “Despite all the efforts, the taboo still exists,” Alami said. “There is a problem of discrimination and stigmatization for people who live with the HIV virus.”

“Most of them prefer not to be seen (to be infected), and this is often an obstacle in the fight against AIDS, in terms of prevention and support.” The clinic in Douar Jbala is one step in the struggle against that stigma.

“We have to get out among the poor and vulnerable, to make contact with them and raise their awareness,” said OPALS campaign organizer Khadija Ouazzani.— AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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

Sudan, South talk peace as insurgency rages KHARTOUM: Sudan and South Sudan are talking peace after months of intermittent clashes but observers say there is still no end in sight to a rebellion in the north’s border states. Regardless of whether deals reached over the past week-including a demilitarized border zone-finally end conflict between Khartoum and the South’s government in Juba, observers say Sudan will continue to face an insurgency in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Sudan says the South has been backing the rebels, who were not part of last week’s discussions in Addis Ababa.

“Even if Juba stops its support it doesn’t mean an ultimate end to this conflict,” said Magdi El Gizouli, a fellow at the Rift Valley Institute. “There are domestic local causes of this war and these causes have to be addressed.” Khartoum pushed for months to get guarantees that South

Sudan would no longer back rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a demand which held up billions of dollars in oil revenues for both crisis-hit economies because South Sudan denies backing the insurgency.

But at last weekend’s African Unionled talks, Sudan softened its stance on the security guarantees, helped an oil deal and eight other agreements including the border buffer zone to go ahead, observers say. The two sides finally settled on detailed timetables to implement the pacts, which had remained dormant after their signing in September. South Sudan halted crude production early last year, cutting off most of its revenue after accusing Khartoum of theft in a dispute over export fees.

Ostensibly between Sudan and South Sudan, the buffer zone on the undemar-

cated and disputed frontier really targets the rebels who have been fighting for almost two years, a diplomatic source said. “It seems to me that they hope to weaken the rebels further by these agreements,” said the source, declining to be named.But observers expressed concern that there was no structure for talks with SPLM-N, despite encouraging signs for Sudan-South Sudan ties after the last Addis meeting.

That is “the only weakness in this whole thing,” said an African diplomat.

He said key UN officials visited Khartoum this week “to lobby for direct negotiation... at least starting with a humanitarian ceasefire” that would allow aid into insurgent-held areas. The United Nations and the African Union have for months called on the SPLM-N and Khartoum to reach a negotiated settlement to a war which has forced more than 200,000

Born in war and poverty, youth don’t abandon Iraq BAGHDAD: The 21-year-old college student in Baghdad lost her father during the Iraq War to gunmen from a rival Muslim sect. Now she dreams of an Iraq where all people can “enjoy stable life and security.” The young bus driver from a former Al-Qaeda stronghold had to drop out of school to help support his family. He struggles to make ends meet but longs to resume his education.

The teenager from the northern Kurdish region works in his father’s barber shop when he’s not in class.

He looks forward to making a lot of money in Iraq - but only if the government can capitalize on its oil trade and foreign investments. As part of Iraq’s growing youth population - which accounts for about 60 percent of the nation’s people - all three say they are impatient at best about where their country is headed.

The US-led invasion of March 20, 2003, promised better lives for Iraqis after three decades of war, dictatorship and sanctions. Ten years later, the county is mired in widespread instability and political corruption.

Nevertheless, interviews and discussions across the country with more than a dozen Iraqi teenagers and young adults reveal a resiliency and refusal to abandon hope. Deadly violence is common, jobs are scarce

and education is a luxury, but they say they are unwilling to give up on Iraq. Moreover, a government survey shows that 80 percent of young Iraqis don’t want to move to another country.

“I want my country to be better, and I want my people to enjoy stable life and security, and for Iraq to be like a Western countr y,” said Shahad Abdul-Amir Abbas, whose father was killed in 2005 in the widespread sectarian fighting that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.

Abbas, a Shiite who attends college in Baghdad, wants to find a goodpaying job and to marry, but thinks “my personal ambitions will not come true unless my country gets rid of all the security, political and economic problems.”

An estimated 18 million people of Iraq’s population of 30 million are younger than 25, according to data provided by the CIA and the United Nations. By comparison, Americans of that same age group make up about one-third of the US population. Contraceptives are limited in Iraq, and an estimated 20 percent of girls ages 15 to 19 are married, according to the UN. The fate of Iraq’s youth is a top concern for the UN envoy in Baghdad, especially as there are few - if any - obvious successors

to the nation’s aging political leaders.

As the upcoming generation looks to the future, the decisions they make today - pursuing education, finding jobs, whether or whom to marry, and even to stay or leave the country - will help determine whether and how quickly Iraq is able to achieve peace and prosperity. A 2009 study by the Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sport reveals a decidedly traditional worldview among the nation’s young people.

The survey of 6,492 households across Iraq, focusing in large part on 15,087 people ages 10 to 30, concluded that 60 percent of the country’s youth are generally optimistic about the future, especially teenage girls. The study was the first of its kind in Iraq, according to the UN. However, the study also found that nearly 40 percent refuse to talk to people deemed different than them.

Slightly more than half - 52 percent do not have friends from different religions or sects. And more than 90 percent believe women must have the approval of their husbands or families before they are allowed to work outside the home. The survey has not been updated since 2009. It is currently being used to develop a national youth strategy, Iraqi government officials said. — AP

people to become refugees in South Sudan and Ethiopia. An estimated one million more have been affected inside Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

The SPLM-N says it is fighting to remove the Arab-dominated regime to ensure greater democracy, respect for ethnic diversity and human rights.South Sudan armed and trained SPLM-N when it was part of the south’s rebel force but says it cut military ties before the South’s independence in July 2011. Analysts and diplomats say there is no doubt South Sudan continued to back the rebels. If the buffer zone is established the SPLMN “will be in a much more weakened position without a credible supply line”, Gizouli said.

Juba accuses Khartoum of backing insurgents on southern territory too. The armies of the two countries say they have begun pulling troops back 10 kilometers

to implement the buffer zone which is to be supervised by dozens of monitors.

Putting that zone into effect will be a major challenge, observers say. “So much depends on this stuff starting to be implemented, and whether they’ve actually withdrawn support or not,” a foreign analyst said.

SPLM-N has reiterated its readiness for direct negotiations with Khartoum but the government says rebels must end hostility and cut ties with South Sudan’s military first. The rebels remain a “potential spoiler” of the Sudan-South Sudan deals and their response is uncertain, the diplomatic source said. After the September agreements, rebels began weeks of deadly mortar bomb attacks on the South Kordofan state capital Kadugli.

“I’m afraid we will have to see more months of war in southern Kordofan,” the source said. — AFP

US spies learning lessons from Iraq WMD disaster Spy agencies live under the shadow of disastrous failures WASHINGTON: US spy agencies still live under the shadow of disastrous intelligence failures that paved the way for the Iraq war, and now face a crucial test as they track Iran’s nuclear program. In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq 10 years ago, the CIA and other intelligence services confidently asserted that Saddam Hussein’s regime had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Their findings backed up the White House’s strongly-held conviction that Saddam was a menace who had to be toppled by force. But it turned out the intelligence community was “dead wrong in almost all of its pre-war judgments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction,” according to an official inquiry, the SilbermanRobb report.

The spy services failed to collect solid information, botched their analysis and reached conclusions based on flawed assumptions instead of evidence, making it “one of the most public-and most damaging-intelligence failures in recent American history,” the 2005 report said. Despite a desperate search for Saddam’s arsenal after the 2003 invasion, no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found, puncturing the whole case for the US-led war and igniting global outrage. “This thing has done us lasting damage,” said Brian Jenkins, a terrorism expert at the RAND Corporation think tank.

“It really significantly erodes the credibility of US intelligence in these areas,” said Jenkins, a former Green Beret who has advised the government on security. Since that humiliating episode, the country’s 16 spy services have sought to bolster intelligence-gathering efforts around the world and added vetting procedures to their analysis to avoid any repeat of the Iraq experience, former CIA officials and analysts said. “Lessons have been learned,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA analyst who oversaw intelligence on the Middle East.

Soon after the debacle over Saddam’s weapons programs, the CIA and other agencies took steps to improve the screening of informers and added measures “to hold even senior intelligence managers’ feet to the fire with regard to vouching for the credibility of source material,” Pillar said. Two separate inquiries, one commissioned by the White House and another by Congress, blasted the intelligence services for failing to dig up inside information about the regime’s weapons and for failing to question an array of assumptions. And in its own internal review, only recently declassified, the CIA found that it had badly misread Saddam’s intentions.

But some former spies and lawmakers say the intelligence agencies only deserve a portion of the blame, arguing that former president George W Bush’s deputies had made up their minds to invade regardless of what the spy services reported. “To say that the whole process was impervious to the political climate is just not credible,” Pillar said. The Bush administration was accused of selecting information that would support their case for war and ignoring intelligence reporting that did not fit their view.

LANGLEY, Virginia: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) logo is displayed in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in this Aug 14, 2008 file photo. — AFP Official inquiries found that intelligence reporting had not been politicized, but the issue remains the subject of bitter debate 10 years on.

Now, American spies are tracking another suspected weapons program-in Iran. Unlike with Saddam, UN inspectors have found ample evidence of ambitious uranium enrichment work in Iran. But the US intelligence community, which believes Tehran has not yet made a decision to build a nuclear weapon, faces a similar challenge in trying to discern the Iranian leadership’s intentions.

As Iran expands its uranium enrichment efforts and decision makers in the United States and Israel weigh potential pre-emptive military action, pressure will build on the spy agencies to offer a precise forecast as to how close Tehran could be to securing the bomb. But such predictions are inherently fraught, and the Iranian regime will have an incentive to exaggerate the potency of its program to discourage any air strikes, analysts said. “The whole unhappy experience of Iraq no doubt continues to weigh heavily on the minds of whoever happens to be working on the Iranian nuclear program today,” said Pillar. — AFP

Iraq becoming a major arms buyer BAGHDAD: Ten years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and smashed Iraq’s military, the country has become a major buyer of military equipment, spending billions to rebuild its armed forces. In doing so, Iraq has become a customer of some of the same companies that supplied the weapons used to attack Baghdad’s troops in 2003. US-led forces carried out a massive bombing campaign and then a ground offensive against Iraq in March that year. The campaign rapidly wrested control of the country from a military once considered among the strongest in the region but which was hard-hit by Saddam’s 1980-1988 war with Iran and the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait.

Paul Bremer, then the US administrator of Iraq, disbanded its military, helping fuel the insurgency that was to consume the country for years to come.

Even now, Iraqi security forces are still rebuilding. The “Iraqi army ... started from zero, so it needs many things,” Iraq’s top officer, Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari said at a security and defense exhibition in Baghdad.

According to the Iraqi defense ministry, some 54 companies from 13 countries participated in the show, advertising equipment ranging from jet aircraft, drones, missiles and shells to gas masks, uniforms and boots.

With a security and defense budget of about $16.4 billion for 2013 and a commitment to rebuilding its forces, Iraq offers significant opportunities for defense and security firms. “From a vendor’s perspective, between the US and Iraqi funding, there’s been a lot of money spent on defense goods and equipment in this country,” said Chris King of Britain-based BAE Systems, one of the companies at the expo. “They’re buying F-16s, they’re buying M1A1 tanks, they’ve bought equipment from other countries. So, there’s a market here,”

King said. “The Iraqi market is increasing, or at least it seems to be a market that’s gonna continue to spend on procurement at some steady level, if not a larger level over time,” he said. The Iraqis aim “to rebuild their military, air force and everything, so there are many (areas) to cooperate with them as far as defense companies’ point of view,” noted Sang Choi of Korea Aerospace Industries. Musab Alkateeb of US-based Honeywell International added that Iraq is “purchasing a great deal of equipment,” and its “procurement activity is sufficient to warrant interest from international firms.”

Representatives of aerospace companies were especially interested in advertising their jet training aircraft, given Iraq’s need for advanced trainers to complement the 36 F-16 warplanes it has ordered from the United States.

Though US troops departed Iraq in December 2011, the United States is still

the main arms supplier for the country, which has taken delivery of US military equipment ranging from M113 armoured personnel carriers and M1 Abrams tanks to M-16 assault rifles. The United States has also assisted Iraq in fielding equipment and training.

Iraqi security forces have held their own since the US withdrawal, keeping violence to roughly the same level as before American forces departed. But while violence has fallen from its peak in 2006 and 2007, Iraq is still beset by frequent bombings and shootings, which killed 220 people in February, according to an AFP toll based on security and medical sources.

And Iraqi forces continue to face issues such as checkpoints and other positions that are sometimes poorly defended or otherwise exposed to attack, and soldiers and police who frequently disregard basic gun safety rules. — AFP

BAGHDAD: People visit the Baghdad International Fair for Defense and Security in the Iraqi capital. — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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

Nigeria summons US diplomat over tweets on pardon LAGOS: Nigeria’s foreign ministry has summoned a top US diplomat over an issue of national importance - on Twitter. At dispute are two messages sent Friday by the US Embassy’s Twitter account critical of an unconditional pardon given to a former governor convicted on corruption charges, a man who President Goodluck Jonathan only weeks earlier referred to as “my boss.”

While the Twitter fight isn’t likely to end the close relationship Nigeria shares with the US, one of its top customers for crude oil, it signals the sensitivity the government has over the pardon, which has enraged Nigerians tired of corruption’s strangle-grip on the country. It also shows the growing power that social media have in Nigeria, and the rest of the world, to drive public debate.

The diplomatic spat began Friday morning with two short tweets published by the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. The first said the U.S. was “deeply disappointed” over the pardon issued this week to former Bayelsa state Gov. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

Alamieyeseigha was impeached and later pleaded guilty to corruption charges in Nigeria. Investigators said he used government money to acquire property in Britain and Nigeria worth more than $10 million.

The second tweet from the embassy simply said: “We see this as a setback in the fight against corruption.”

While sounding largely benign, the criticism from the US Embassy was uniquely direct. While then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton roundly criticized the country during a visit to Abuja in 2009 over corruption and election fraud, local US diplomats often strike a more conciliatory tone when speaking with the Nigerian government.

The US views Nigeria as a crucial ally in Africa, as it produces oil and provides peacekeeping troops for regional conflicts. On Friday night, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying it was urgently calling James P McAnulty, the US deputy chief of mission, for a meeting. The statement called the US remarks “undue interference and meddlesomeness,” since the president had followed the provision of the Nigerian constitution granting him the power to issue pardons.

“The ministry finally expressed the hope that the embassy of the United States of America would henceforth desist from making unwarranted comments on Nigeria’s internal affairs, which are capable of undermining the friendly relations that exist between them,” the statement said. Deb MacLean, a US Embassy spokeswoman, declined to comment Friday night about Nigeria’s remarks. The foreign affairs ministry singled MacLean out as the one responsible for making the comments on Twitter, though it was unclear who wrote the posts. Given the top-down structure of the US Embassy, it is likely Ambassador Terence McCulley at least signed off on the message.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said earlier Friday that the “recent pardons of corrupt officials by the Nigerian government” are a setback for the US support to strengthen the rule of law in Nigeria, “which is very important for the future of the country.” She hinted that the pardons could have repercussions on US assistance programs. “We have made clear to the Nigerians that this puts a question mark on the kinds of work that we’ve been trying to do with them,” she said. No sanctions or punitive measures have been taken, she said, “but we’re continuing to look at what’s appropriate.”

Alamieyeseigha served as governor of Bayelsa state, in the heart of Nigeria’s oil-producing southern delta, from 1999, when the nation became a democracy, through 2005. He was arrested in London after more than $1 million in cash was found in his home there.

Alamieyeseigha escaped British authorities - Nigerian officials say he disguised himself as a woman - and fled to Nigeria, where he ultimately stood trial.

Alamieyeseigha’s impeachment brought Jonathan, a little-known marine biologist who served as his deputy, into power. Jonathan as recently as a few weeks ago referred to Alamieyeseigha as “my boss” during an event in Lagos. Analysts and activists routinely refer to Nigeria as having one of the world’s most corrupt governments.

The continent’s most populous nation, Nigeria likely lost more than $380 billion to graft between 1960 and 1999, authorities have said. Meanwhile, just more than 60 percent of Nigerians earn the equivalent of less than $1 a day, according to a study published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Since the closed-door meeting Tuesday where Jonathan decided on the pardon, Nigerians have reacted with anger on Twitter and elsewhere over the decision. An editorial Friday in The Punch newspaper of Lagos simply said: “The situation is becoming hopeless.” It wrote: “Ours is a government being run by narrow minds and harder hearts.” — AP

Kenya’s Odinga challenges election defeat in top court NAIROBI: Kenya’s defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga filed a legal challenge to his election loss yesterday in a major test of the country’s democratic system five years after a disputed vote triggered deadly tribal clashes. Police used teargas to break up a rally of about 100 of Odinga’s supporters outside the Supreme Court earlier in the day, but he called on his allies to stay calm and trust in the law to resolve his complaint.

Odinga refuses to accept last week’s slim first-round election win by Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s richest man and son of its first president. Lawyers for Odinga’s CORD coalition said their petition to the Supreme Court covered allegations of vote manipulation, problems in the registration of voters and the failure of an electronic vote counting mechanism. “These failures dwarf anything Kenyans have ever witnessed in any previous election,” Odinga told reporters on the doorstep of his office in central Nairobi. He urged his supporters not to resort to violence. “We can not begin what is supposed to be a new era under a new constitution in the same old ways,” he said. Kenya’s March 4 election was the first since disputes over a 2007 presidential vote, which Odinga also lost, touched off tribal bloodletting in which more than 1,200 people were killed.

At least one person was wounded yesterday morning as police fired teargas to clear Odinga supporters from the front of the Supreme Court building. Some of the crowd wore Tshirts marked with slogans “I support the petition” and “Democracy on trial”, an echo of Odinga’s statement that his petition would be a test of democracy in the east African country. Throughout Nairobi the traffic was moving freely and there were no signs of further unrest in the capital. Kenyatta faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court alleging that he incited the 2007 violence. He denies the charges. That violence sent the region’s biggest economy into a tailspin and threatened the country’s image as a safe place for tourists and investors. — Reuters

Congo rebels surrender Ntaganda’s apparent defeat could speed M23 deal KINSHASA: Congolese rebels loyal to warlord Bosco Ntaganda have fled into neighboring Rwanda or surrendered to United Nations peacekeepers after being routed by a rival faction, rebel and UN sources said yesterday. Ntaganda’s apparent defeat comes after weeks of infighting within the M23 insurgency and could open the way for rival rebel leader Sultani Makenga to sign a peace deal with Kinshasa, bringing an end to a year-long rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rebel spokesman Vianney Kazarama said Makenga’s fighters seized control of the town of Kibumba, 30 km north of Goma, capital of mineral-rich North Kivu province, early yesterday. Ntaganda and an estimated 200 fighters fled into the forest while others crossed the border into Rwanda, Kazarama said. At least seven fighters were killed. “We’re sweeping the area and placing our soldiers at strategic points,” Kazarama said. “It is finished.”

Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of killing civilians during a previous rebellion. His links to M23 have been a stumbling block to peace talks with Kinshasa - the Congolese government has repeatedly said it wants him brought to justice. “We’re following the situation very closely. The only thing we want is for Ntaganda to be arrested,” government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

Ntaganda’s whereabouts could not be confirmed independently and members of his faction were not reachable by telephone yesterday. Rwanda said yesterday more

KIBUMBA: Former M23 President Jean-Marie Runiga (center) is accompanied by general Baudoin Ngaruye (left) as he holds a press conference in Kibumba. Col Vianney Kazarama, leader of the rival faction, said yesterday that his faction has regained control of all the M23 held territory in eastern Congo, and that Runiga has been arrested by Rwandan authorities after fleeing across the border. — AP than 200 rebel fighters had fled across its border overnight, including M23’s former political head Jean-Marie Runiga, a Ntaganda loyalist who was ousted from the rebel hierarchy last month. “It’s over for the Bosco (Ntaganda) and Runiga faction,” one UN source said. Dozens of other M23 fighters, including senior officers, had handed themselves over to UN peacekeepers in recent days, according to the source, who

asked not to be named. The United Nations has accused Rwanda of backing armed uprisings in its vast and unstable neighbor to tackle extremist Rwandan rebels who operate there and to protect its economic interests.

In 2009, Kigali played a key role in ending the last major insurgency when it arrested its former ally and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda as part of a deal with

Kinshasa. That agreement saw Ntaganda integrated into the Congolese army as a general. It was Kinshasa’s alleged failure to honor the terms of the deal that the rebels say sparked the M23 uprising. M23 is one of many rebel groups operating in eastern Congo, which has been torn apart by nearly two decades of fighting over land, ethnicity and resources which has left millions dead. — Reuters

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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

Too early? Republicans audition for 2016 election OXON HILL: Florida Sen Marco Rubio implored Republicans to reconnect with middle-class voters. Kentucky Sen Rand Paul basked in the glow of his lengthy filibuster, facing a sea of “Stand With Rand” signs. And former Florida Gov Jeb Bush predicted the nation’s greatest century if the GOP becomes the party of “inclusion and acceptance.”

Only months after President Barack Obama’s re-election, an annual gathering of conservatives served as an audition for Republicans looking to court conservative activists and raise their profile with an eye on greater political ambitions. It may seem early, but the diehard activists who attended the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference are already picking favorites in what could be a crowded Republican presidential primary in 2016.

The conservative summit was to release its straw poll results on Saturday, offering a symbolic boost to one of the high-profile Republicans on the ballot even though none has made his or her 2016 intentions known. That doesn’t mean they’re not thinking about it.

They’ve all injected their prescriptions for the future of the wayward GOP. Rubio drew thunderous applause by declaring that the Republican Party doesn’t need any new ideas. “There is an idea. The idea is called America, and it still works,” he said in a speech aimed squarely at middle-class voters.

Paul, a favorite of younger libertarians who packed the hall, bluntly called for a new direction in Republican politics: “The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered.” Bush, perhaps the highest-profile establishment figure as the son and brother of presidents, pushed for a more tolerant party in a Friday night speech. “ The face of the Republican Party needs to be the face of every American,” he said, and called on conservatives to move beyond “divisive and extraneous issues.” Earlier in the day, Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal urged Republicans to “recalibrate the compass of conservatism.”

The stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference was emblazoned with the words “America’s Future: The Next Generation of Conservatives,” a moniker that made clear the party’s interest in showcasing a new wave of talent. The gathering evoked the ending of one period and the beginning of another. Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, offered a valedictory of sorts, thanking activists for supporting his campaign. In a nod to the next generation, he urged conservatives to learn lessons from “some of our greatest success stories,” the nation’s 30 Republican governors. Romney specifically pointed to governors who have sought a larger national profile, including Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Chris Christie of New

Jersey. Christie was not invited to the conference after rankling some conservatives by complimenting Obama’s response to Superstorm Sandy - a move that some Republicans said undermined Romney in the campaign’s closing days.

The former Massachusetts governor also heaped praise on his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, pointing to the congressman’s “clear and convincing voice.” Ryan, whose stature has been elevated since the campaign, made no reference to the 2012 campaign in his speech Friday, instead focusing on congressional efforts to tame the deficit. His speech, warmly received by activists, pointed to his professed interest in policy matters rather than future national campaigns. Other 2012 presidential contenders - former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich among them - appeared at the conference to help maintain their place in the national conversation as the Republican Party looks for leadership.

Texas Gov Rick Perry, who excited many conservatives before withdrawing from the 2012 presidential contest, openly questioned the conservative credentials of the GOP’s last two presidential nominees. Walker, who won conservative admiration for challenging his state’s labor unions, was set to speak on Saturday, He told The Associated Press late last month that a 2016 presidential bid “would be an option,” although it

NATIONAL HARBOR: House Budget Committee chairman, and 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep Paul Ryan, R-Wis gestures as he speaks at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md on Friday, March 15, 2013. — AP wasn’t something he was “actively pursuing.” Walker’s comments illustrate a dance the potential presidential candidates undertake as they contemplate their political futures. Paul has said he’s “seriously considering” running for the White House. But others have been more circumspect. Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, has avoid-

ed such questions and instead continued his central role in one of Capitol Hill’s most significant policy debates.

And Jindal laughed off questions about his future. “Any Republican that’s thinking about talking about running for president in 2016 needs to get his head examined,” he said last month. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”— AP

Schools order book on Iran out of classrooms Chicago Public Schools ignite controversy

FLORIDA: A Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue worker checks a part of the Piper PA31 twinengine that crashed shortly after takeoff from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport into a parking lot east of the Airport in Fort Lauderdale. —AP

3 die as plane crashes at Florida parking lot FORT LAUDERDALE: A small plane crashed into a parking lot near a South Florida airport Friday afternoon, killing all three people onboard and burning about a dozen vehicles. No one on the ground was hurt. Fire-Rescue Division Chief John San Angelo said the Piper Navajo, a twin-engine turboprop, began experiencing engine trouble shortly after taking off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at about 4:30 pm. The plane tried to turn around and make an emergency landing, but it didn’t make it back to the airport, he said. The plane hit a tree and a fence as it crashed into a parking lot, part of a busy industrial area near blocks of tightly packed warehouses and stores.

The victims’ names weren’t immediately available. Seven cars and a boat caught fire. “It looks like a junk yard that burned up,” said Matt Little, a spokesman for Fort Lauderdale fire and rescue. Terry Knowles, owner of RJ Asset Recovery, said he and another one of his employees were in the repossessed auto lot when the plane crashed. “I was working on a car, and I heard the engine behind me. I turned around and saw the plane coming right over the building in front of me,” he said.

Knowles said the plane appeared to be banking around to head back to the airport, but it just couldn’t get the lift. “It hit the ground and exploded,” Knowles said. “It was an instantaneous fireball.”

Knowles said he yelled to check on his employee, who had been on the other side of the lot, and the two opened a gate for the presumed arrival of firefighters. Rick Blackburn was outside working on a race car when he saw the plane tilting sideways in the air as it rapidly descended down.

“It dropped like a rock. Boom!” he said.

“The plane hit really hard. We knew the pilot hadn’t survived. It was too intense of an impact,” said the 55-year-old Blackburn. He took video with his phone as flames devoured a row of cars, thick blankets of black smoke billowing out. “It was a ball of flames,” he said. Blackburn said it was immediately clear to those who ran over to help that “it was over.”

The heat coming from the blaze was intense, he said.

“There were a lot of explosions going off at first. Pop, pop, pop,” he said. About 40 firefighters were at the scene. San Angelo said smoke and the flames were so heavy that when firefighters first arrived, they couldn’t tell where the plane was. Television images showed heavy black smoke rising from the crash

scene. Later video footage show a parking lot with vehicles in a corner that were burned-out shells, a smoldering heap covered in foam spread by firefighters on the scene. The cars were by a chain-link fence, and a building on the other side was streaked with black. A storage facility and an indoor go-kart track are among the businesses listed nearby.

The airport serves smaller planes rather than the larger commercial flights at Fort Lauderdale -Hollywood International Airport. The crash happened at the start of rush hour alongside Interstate 95, the major north-south route along Florida’s Atlantic coast. It’s also near Fort Lauderdale Stadium, where the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles once held spring training, and Lockhart Stadium, where the defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Miami Fusion soccer teams played. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said he’s amazed no buildings were damaged.

“It’s a terrible scene. It’s the scene of a tragedy,” he said after walking through the wreckage. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said an investigator should arrive in Fort Lauderdale today. There have been several other high-profile crashes at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport over the last decade: In 2009, an 80-year-old pilot died when he crashed his small plane into a home shortly after takeoff. Nobody was in the home, which was destroyed.

In 2007, a small cargo plane crashed onto I-95 after takeoff. The pilot suffered serious injuries but survived. No one on the highway was hurt. Also in 2007, a small plane that had taken off from the airport crashed into the ocean while on its way to the Bahamas. Five people died.

In 2005, a World War II-era cargo plane crashed into a neighborhood after a mechanical failure. The pilot was able to steer the plane into a street - six cars were destroyed as the plane skidded 100 yards but the three crew members survived and no homes were struck.

In 2004, two people onboard a small plane died when it struck an auto body shop shortly after takeoff. No one on the ground was hurt. Friday evening, repossession lot owner Knowles said six of the destroyed vehicles were repos, while the seventh was his own truck. His boat, mud buggy and camper were also destroyed.

Several other vehicles sustained lesser fire damage. “Luckily it was just a bunch of property damage,” Knowles said.

“Things can be replaced. People can’t, unfortunately for the people on the plane.”— AP

CHICAGO: The Chicago Public Schools ignited a controversy this week by ordering that “Persepolis,” a critically acclaimed graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran at the time of the Islamic revolution, be removed from some classrooms. CPS Chief Executive Barbara Byrd-Bennett said on Friday that the district was not banning the book, by Marjane Satrapi, but had decided that it was “not appropriate for general use” in the seventh grade curriculum.

“If your seventh grade teachers have not yet taught this book, please ask them not to do so and to remove any copies of the book from their classrooms,” Byrd-Bennett said in a statement. She said the book had “powerful images of torture” and that the district was considering whether the book should be included in the curriculum of eighth through 10th grades.

The statement was sent as a clarification, since Chicago public school teachers received different instructions earlier this week telling them the book was to be removed from libraries.

Kristen Starr, librarian at Lane Tech, a selective enrollment school for students in grades seven through 12, said she was told Wednesday that the book must be removed from all classrooms and libraries. Christopher Dignam, principal of Lane Tech, sent an email

to staff Thursday confirming the order. The email said CPS personnel were directed to physically go to each school by Friday and collect the novel from all classrooms and libraries, and even make sure it had not been checked out by a student or teacher. Dignam in his email said he was not given a reason.

“It’s an unprecedented event in my career,” said Starr, who has been with the school system since 1994. “We’ve never been instructed to take a book off the shelves.” Robyn Ziegler, a spokeswoman for CPS, said that the original instruction on Wednesday “was simply a poorly written communication. Schools should never have been instructed to remove the book from their libraries.” At a rain-soaked after-school rally organized by opponents of the ban that drew about 50 students, parents and teachers, Neive Espy, a 17-year-old junior at Lane Tech who has read the book, held a sign that read: “Iran + CPS Two Dictators.”

“I think CPS should have faith in our intelligence,” Espy said. “You need to start informing kids at a young age about the truth about the world.” Steve Parsons, an advanced placement psychology teacher at Lane Tech and a union representative, asked, “ What ’s nex t?

Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’?” “Persepolis,” published in 2003 in the United States and

made into a film in 2007, is banned in Iran, Tunisia and Lebanon, said Paul Bogaards, spokesman for Pantheon, the book’s publisher.

A statement from Satrapi, who is currently in Germany, was not immediately available.

Starr said she and other librarians contacted CPS after hearing the order and were told Thursday that the books could be kept in the libraries. “ There’s no reason it should be removed,” said Acacia O’Connor, coordinator of the Kids Right to Read Project of the National Coalition Against Censorship. “It has been taught for a long time and it’s an award-winning book.” O’Connor said “Persepolis” was challenged at least once before, in 2009 by a parent in the state of Washington for being too violent and sexually charged, but the book was retained by the school district.

The Chicago Teachers Union, which has been battling CPS over expected school closings, issued a statement noting that while CPS now says the book will be available in libraries, 160 elementary schools don’t have libraries.

“Enough with the Orwellian doublespeak,” said CTU spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin. “We support our educators who are fighting to ensure their students have access to ideas about democracy, freedom of speech and self-image.

Let’s not go backward in fear.”— Reuters

Kerry voices US support for UN arms treaty UNITED NATIONS: US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced support on Friday for an international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global arms trade, but restated Washington’s “red line,” affirming that it would not accept limits on US domestic gun ownership. The UN General Assembly voted in December to hold a final round of negotiations from March 18 to 28 on what could become the first international treaty to regulate international weapons transfers after a drafting conference in July 2012 collapsed because the United States and others wanted more time.

Arms control campaigners say one person every minute dies worldwide as a result of armed violence and that a convention is needed to prevent the unregulated and illicit flow of weapons into conflict zones fueling wars and atrocities. “The United States is steadfast in its commitment to achieve a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty that helps address the adverse effects of the international arms trade on global peace and stability,” Kerry said in a statement.

“An effective treaty that recognizes that each nation must tailor and enforce its own national export and import control mechanisms can generate the participation of a broad majority of states, help stem the illicit flow of conventional arms across international borders and have important humanitarian benefits.” But he repeated that the United States - the world’s No 1 arms manufacturer - would not accept any treaty that imposed new limits on US citizens’ right to bear arms, a sensitive political issue in the United States. “We will not support any treaty that would be inconsistent with US law and the rights of American citizens under our Constitution, including the Second Amendment,” he said. “International conventional arms trade is, and will continue to be, a legitimate commercial activity,” he said, adding that countries should work to prevent arms from reaching those who commit “the world’s worst crimes, including those involving terrorism and serious human rights violations.” The point of the treaty is to set standards for all cross-border transfers of any type of conventional weapon - light and heavy. It would also set binding requirements for nations to review all cross-border arms contracts to ensure the munitions are not used in human rights abuses, do not violate embargoes and are not illegally diverted.

The leading US pro-gun group, the National Rifle Association, has vowed to fight the treaty, dismissing suggestions that a December US school shooting massacre in Connecticut bolstered the case for such a pact. If a treaty is approved, it will require ratification by countries’ legislatures before it goes into effect. The NRA has warned the arms trade treaty would undermine the right to bear arms and says it will fight hard to prevent ratification if the Obama administration supports the treaty. —Reuters

OHIO: Trent Mays, 17 (left) and co-defendant 16-year-old Ma’lik Richmond sit in court before the start of the third day of their trial on rape charges in juvenile court in Steubenville, Ohio. Mays and Richmond are accused of raping a 16-year-old West Virginia girl in August 2012. —AP

3 teens, with immunity, testify in Ohio rape trial STEUBENVILLE: Three teenagers granted immunity from prosecution have testified that a 16-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by two football players last summer was drunk and didn’t seem to know what was happening. Mark Cole, Evan Westlake and Anthony Craig on Friday gave their accounts of what happened, including descriptions of the West Virginia girl being digitally penetrated in a car and later on a basement floor.

Football players Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’Lik Richmond, 16, are charged with digitally penetrating the girl early Aug 12, first in a car and then in the basement of a house. Mays also is charged with illegal use of a minor in nudityoriented material. The two maintain their innocence. Cole testified that he took a video of Mays and the girl in the car, then deleted it.

Westlake testified he saw Richmond’s encounter with the girl in the basement, as did Craig. Testimony in the rape trial wrapped up late Friday as a judge, who’s hearing the case without a jury, pushed to finish the unprecedented case, which is continuing through the weekend.

The case so far has featured disturbing testimony from teens, both in person and in graphic text messages, and has cast an unwelcome light on what students in the community once considered rapid-fire but

private conversations. The teenagers who testified Friday winced at times as they were forced to read the adult language in the texts.

The case has riveted the small city of Steubenville amid allegations that more students should have been charged and led to questions about the influence of the local football team, a source of a pride in a community that suffered massive job losses with the collapse of the steel industry.

If convicted, Mays and Richmond could be held in a juvenile jail until they turn 21.

During Cole’s testimony, a prosecutor asked him why he deleted the video later that morning. “It was one of those moments when you realize you did something stupid and wrong that night, so I deleted it,” Cole replied.

Cole testified he saw Mays unsuccessfully try to have the girl perform oral sex on him later in the basement of Cole’s house. Cole also testified that the girl was intoxicated and slurring her words. On cross-examination, defense attorney Walter Madison suggested that the girl was behaving no differently than anyone else the night of the party.

Cole testified he saw Mays and the girl asleep under a blanket on the couch later in the morning. “Did anybody behave in a way to make you think that something was wrong?” Madison, Richmond’s attorney, asked. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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

Scientology leader’s niece reveals Church secrets LOS ANGELES: The Church of Scientology has lashed out at a new book by its leader ’s niece, which recounts a stolen childhood and how she was brainwashed and cut off from her family before eventually escaping. In “Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology And My Harrowing Escape,” Jenna Miscavige-Hill-whose uncle David Miscavige runs the secretive group-also claims she was forced to work as a child.

But a spokesman for the Church said her claims were “false” and denounced “efforts to exploit Mr Miscavige’s name.”

“The Church has long respected the family unit while accommodating and helping those raising children,” Karin Pouw, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology International said. “ The Church does not engage in any activities

that mistreat, neglect or force children to engage in manual labor. The Church follows all laws with respect to children,” she said, accusing Miscavige-Hill of “apostate behavior.”

In the book, published in February, the 29-year-old tells of hard labor she and other children were forced to do in the 1990s in the Ranch, in a remote part of the California desert. The Ranch, near San Jacinto, 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles, was “like a military boot camp, with grueling drills, endless musters, exhaustive inspections, and arduous physical labor that no child should have to do.” The children saw their parents for only a few hours per week. They did not receive any education in the traditional sense, said Miscavige-Hill, who lived there for six years, until she was 12 years

old. Those interned there until 2000 were the children of the Sea Org, the elite of the Church founded by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard. They worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week for a weekly wage of $45. The details fit in with another book which came out in January in the United States, “Going Clear” by journalist Lawrence Wright, which the Church described as “so ludicrous it belongs in a supermarket tabloid.” Among other back-breaking tasks the Scientologist children had to drag enormous rocks to build a wall, or dig irrigation channels under the blazing desert sun, said Miscavige-Hill.

“The conditions we worked under would have been tough for a grown man, and yet any complaints, backflashing (Scientology term for talking back),

any kind of questioning was instantly met with disciplinary action,” she said.

The Church of Scientology’s celebrity members include Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Juliette Lewis and the singer Beck. But the stars were shielded from the dark side of the shadowy organization. “There was never a risk that they would get exposed to child labor or something similar that the Church didn’t want them to see,” said Miscavige-Hill.

“Celebrities wouldn’t know from talking to them (to Sea Org members) or watching them whether they’d been paid their forty-five dollars that week, or if they missed their families.” The exScientologist, who like Wright and other ex-Church members including Canadian director and screenwriter Paul Haggiswho published an open letter when he

left-also criticizes its reported “disconnection” policy. The rule, which the Church denies having, allegedly bans all Scientologists from any contact with exmembers who criticize the organization.

Its spokeswoman cast doubt on the claims made in Miscavige-Hill’s book.

“Those who decide a religious order isn’t for them are free to move on with their lives, as Ms Hill did. Every religion has its detractors; there is no faith that can satisfy everyone’s spiritual needs,” she said.

“Revisionist histories are typical of apostate behavior and tabloid tales should always be taken with an enormous grain of salt.” Protected in the United States by the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, the Church of Scientology is considered a sect in other countries. — AFP

Swiss female tourist gang-raped in India Attackers ‘tied up husband and raped wife’

CARACAS: The hearse carrying the remains of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez heads to his resting place at the former ‘4 de Febrero’ barracks. — AFP

Chavez laid to rest after final farewell in Caracas CARACAS: Late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was laid to rest at a military museum on Friday after an emotional final journey through the streets of Caracas watched by hundreds of thousands. After more than a week lying in state, Chavez’s body was driven through the Venezuelan capital in a hearse, allowing his compatriots to bid a final farewell to the man who ruled the South American country for 14 years.

Friends and family joined government and army officials in surrounding the coffin as it arrived at Chavez’s final resting place-the hilltop former army barracks-turned-museum where he plotted his failed 1992 coup.

Official television coverage, streaming the procession throughout the day, cut the footage just as Chavez’s coffin, bedecked in a Venezuelan flag, was set to be interred.

Late on Friday Venezuelan officials ruled out embalming Chavez and leaving his body on permanent public display in a similar fashion as Lenin.

The museum housing Chavez’s body will open to the public from Saturday and the government expects the mausoleum to become a “place of pilgrimage for the world’s revolutionaries.”

Earlier, a black hearse loaded with the casket made its entrance through the gates of the barracks, and several senior military commanders carried the coffin down a red carpet. “Our people can be absolutely sure

that we won’t fail them, we will build Bolivarian socialism... following the comandante’s instructions,” the late president’s older brother Adan Chavez spoke just before the coffin closed, as he choked up and could not finish his speech.

Chavez succumbed to cancer on March 5 at age 58, plunging a deeply polarized Venezuela into mourning amid growing uncertainty over its future. “We came for the love and loyalty. Life will continue to remind us of Hugo Chavez, the man who opened our eyes and roads,” said Maria Ruiz, a local official of the ruling PSUV party who traveled from the northern state of Carabobo. The funeral procession had started after a mass and a solemn ceremony in the courtyard of the military academy, which for nine days and nights saw throngs of Venezuelans come pay their last respects. The “comandante” was laid out in an olive green uniform and wore his trademark red beret.

His daughter Maria Gabriela, donning dark glasses, broke through the applause to thank her father for “giving us the homeland back” and promised to defend his legacy, as Chavez’s mother wept incessantly. After a mass, the casket was loaded into a black hearse for the 12-kilometer procession by foot, motorcycle, car, jeep and on horseback to the barracks. — AFP

Handless Islamic cleric facing terror charges gets new prosthetics NEW YORK: The jail holding Abu Hamza AlMasri, the handless Islamic cleric awaiting trial on US terrorism charges, provided him with a new set of prosthetics on Friday, officials said at a hearing on Friday. His attorneys had been asking for the new limbs for months, after authorities refused to allow him to wear his usual metal hooks outside of his jail cell. Britain extradited Al-Masri last October. The United States accuses him of providing material support to the Al-Qaeda network by trying to set up a training camp in Oregon, among other charges.

Al-Masri is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center next door to the courthouse in lower Manhattan. The Egyptianborn, white-haired preacher appeared in court on Friday without any prosthetics.

Adam Johnson, an official with the MCC, told US District Judge Katherine Forrest that the jail will also bring in an occupational therapist to teach Al-Masri how to hold things with the new prosthetics “almost in a chopsticks style.” In trying them out earlier on Friday, Al-Masri struggled to get used to the limbs’ plastic grips, said Lindsay Lewis, one of his attorneys.

In another accommodation, Al-Masri, who is also missing an eye, will have access to a laptop computer to review evidence in his cell, Forrest said Friday. Forrest said the accommodation is being made in part because much of the evidence is in Arabic. “I must say that this is the first time that I have seen such a thing,” Forrest said of the accommodation. Al-Masri will have access to the computer at all times except for when it is charging, Lewis said after the hearing. It does not have Internet access, she said. Al-Masri will also be able to speak with his family by

telephone on March 18, Forrest said. Lewis said after the hearing that he is only allowed to speak to his immediate family.

Although pleased with the accommodations, Lewis told Forrest that Al-Masri still had other needs, including a change of sheets more often. After the hearing, Lewis explained he needs a daily change of bedding because of a medical condition. Most inmates at the MCC get clean sheets once a week, she said.

Forrest said that, while she understood Lewis’s concerns, they did not rise to a possible violation of Al-Masri’s constitutional rights, as Lewis suggested. — Reuters

Abu Hamza Al-Masri

BHOPAL: A Swiss female tourist was gang-raped in rural central India, police said yesterday, the latest victim of sexual violence against women in the South Asian nation. The woman was on a cycling trip with her husband in impoverished Madhya Pradesh state, when seven to eight men attacked the couple on Friday night, sexually assaulting the woman and robbing the pair, police said.

The attackers “tied up the man and raped the woman in his presence”, local police official S M Afzal said, adding that they stole 10,000 rupees ($185) and a mobile phone from the woman.

The attack comes just months after thousands took to the streets to protest against India’s treatment of women following the fatal gangrape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in December.

The couple were on their way to the tourist destination of Agra, home to the iconic Taj Mahal monument, in northern India when they stopped to camp for the night in a village. Indian media reports said the men were wielding sticks when they attacked the couple. After the attack, the rape victim, aged about 40, was admitted to hospital in Gwalior city, 212 miles from state capital Bhopal, local police official M S Dhodee said.

The victim was conscious yesterday, police said. No other details of her condition were known. She told police that the couple were both Swiss, police said, but they added they had not yet seen their passports to confirm their nationality. “ The victims, who belong to Switzerland, put up a tent to stay overnight” when the attack occurred, Afzal said. The other police official, Dhodee said that police were still investigating the case but added that “a rape case has been registered against seven unidentified people”. A spokesman for the Swiss embassy in New Delhi could not be reached for comment.

In 2003 a 36-year-old female Swiss diplomat was abducted in the car park of a popular New Delhi auditorium, driven away by two men and raped.

She was freed later nearby. No one has been convicted for that attack. Concern remains high in India over the safety and status of women and

girls in the country of 1.2 billion. Rape is one aspect of a wide range of violence, including domestic assaults, against women in India that claims many thousands of lives each year, according to rights workers.

The Congress-led government has been under heavy pressure to strengthen legal protection for India’s women following the December attack on the student who died from internal injuries after being savagely assaulted

by six men. Last Monday, Ram Singh, one of six accused on trial over the December assault was found hanged in his high-security jail cell in New Delhi. Police suspect he hanged himself, but his family says he was murdered.

Under a new bill approved by India’s cabinet earlier in the week, rapists face a minimum 20year jail term and the death penalty if the victim dies from her injuries or is left in a persistent vegetative state. — AFP

GWALIOR, India: A Swiss woman who was gang-raped by a group of eight men while touring by bicycle with her husband is escorted by policewomen for a medical examination at a hospital in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh yesterday. — AP

Woman killed, girl raped in New York carjacking ALBANY, New York: Probation officials are investigating how a man charged with possessing child pornography managed to cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet before carjacking a woman at a mall, fatally stabbing her and raping her 10-year-old-daughter, authorities said. David J Renz abducted the school librarian and her daughter as they left a gymnastics class Thursday night at a mall in the Syracuse suburb of Clay, about 150 miles west of Albany, state police said Friday. Renz bound both victims, raped the girl and drove a short distance to a spot where the girl escaped and was found by a passing motorist, troopers said.

The motorist told 911 dispatchers he saw a man running away, allowing police to quickly send in officers on the ground and a sheriff’s helicopter in the air. Renz was caught a short time later near a wooded area. It was unclear how the girl escaped or when her mother was killed, authorities said.

“We’re still trying to piece the timeline together,” Trooper Jack Keller said. The girl was being treated at a hospital Friday. Her mother died from multiple stab wounds.

Renz, 29, had been charged in January with possession of child pornography and allowed to remain free under terms that included staying off the Internet and away from places including schools, parks and arcades. He lost his job at a supermarket, moved in with his mother and hadn’t been able to find other work after his arrest, according to court documents.

Federal authorities said he cut his electronic monitoring device off his ankle shortly before Thursday’s attacks. Probation officials are

investigating whether Renz was able to get around an alert that is supposed to go off if the ankle bracelet is removed, Executive Assistant US Attorney John Duncan said.

Renz was arraigned Friday on murder, rape and kidnapping charges and was held without bail.

The lawyer assigned to his case, Ken Moynihan, didn’t return a call seeking comment. The Associated Press generally doesn’t publish information that could identify potential sex crime victims and isn’t naming the woman to protect the girl’s identity. According to an FBI criminal complaint, agents who went to the North Syracuse apartment where Renz was living in June found in his bedroom four computers that he told them he used to view adult pornography.

Agent Alix Skelton said Renz eventually admitted using the Internet for the past six years to download child porn to a drive on one of the machines, which he turned over to the agents.

Technicians determined in November that it had an encrypted hard drive, and Skelton said Renz provided the encr yption key.

Agents reviewing the drive in December found about 100 gigabytes of child porn comprising more than 500 videos and more than 3,000 images, according to the complaint. Among the images were two showing sex acts involving prepubescent girls, said Skelton, a member of a unit that targets people involved in online exploitation of children.

Renz was charged Jan 9 in federal court with possession of child pornography. On Jan 29, a judge granted a prosecutor’s request for an extension of the time required

for grand jury action so investigators could continue going over “numerous items of electric media” for additional evidence. Renz, who authorities said had no prior police record, was released after agreeing to stay at home at night with an electronic monitor and away from any place he might encounter children. Late Friday afternoon, state

police turned Renz over to federal authorities, who will hold him for violating the terms of his release, court documents said.

Duncan said the cases against him will continue in federal and state courts. The lawyer assigned to Renz in the child porn case, James Greenwald, didn’t return a call seeking comment Friday. — AP

SYRACUSE: New York State Police lead David Renz out of the North Syracuse state police barracks on Friday. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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

Show of ethnic harmony at China legislature BEIJING: Wearing an embroidered cap signalling her Uighur ethnicity, Rehangul Yimir’s presence in the Great Hall of the People symbolizes Beijing’s efforts to gloss over simmering frictions among its disparate peoples. According to official figures Xinjiang is 46 percent Uighur-who speak a Turkic language and are mostly Muslim-and 39 percent Han Chinese, after millions moved to the area in recent decades.

Relations between them are often tense and riots rocked Xinjiang, which is twice the size of Turkey and rich in oil and gas, in 2009, when about 200 people died.

But Yimir, who at 24 is the youngest member of Xinjiang’s delegation to the National People’s Congress (NPC), is proud to uphold Beijing’s banner of ethnic harmony, and expresses a keen interest in policy for the country’s legions of migrant workers.

“I’m satisfied” with the central government’s efforts on the issue, she said, praising what she called measures to promote opportunities for her people to work in other parts of China. The Communist Party line at the NPC, which ends on Sunday, is to stress warmth between China’s 55 ethnic minorities and the Han majority, who comprise 91 percent of the population of 1.35 billion. But far beyond the security bubble around the rubber-stamp legisla-

ture, the reality on the ground can be very different.

More than 100 ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire, many fatally, since 2009 to protest state policies and express a desire for the return of the exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. But Losang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet regional government, stuck resolutely to the official line.

“We will absolutely resist the Dalai clique to maintain harmony and stability in Tibet and realize sustainable development,” he said at the NPC. “We must cherish ethnic unity, as well as harmony and stability, as we do our own eyes.”

The day Yimir spoke, several knifewielding attackers killed four people and wounded eight others 2,400 kilometers away in the Xinjiang city of Korla, according to officials, amid reports of ethnic clashes and a security crackdown.

Authorities later blamed a family dispute.

Such discord is rarely raised at delegations’ NPC meetings, where “work reports” are read extolling progress.

“Xinjiang natives are carefree,” said an English-language brochure at the provincial gathering. China says Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and rising living standards as a result of huge investment by Beijing. Xinjiang-which straddles the Silk Road and has a strong trading history-has a growing urban middle class. Some

minority figures who have embraced the status quo have achieved national prominence, including Fu Ying, an ethnic Mongol vice foreign minister and an NPC spokeswoman. “Throughout the centuries, China has been a multi-ethnic society connected by a commitment to unity, prosperity and harmony,” she wrote in Britain’s Guardian newspaper in 2009. “Unity is deep in the blood.”

But those who question the state narrative face trouble. Rebiya Kadeer, once a wealthy businesswoman and NPC delegate, fell out with the government and was jailed before being released in 2005 and moving to the United States, where she now leads the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). Beijing-backed Uighur delegates to the NPC can gain promotions, government positions and business opportunities for themselves and their families, she said.

“Most of these delegates are the people who think about their own personal interests,” she said in an email relayed by the WUC. “They don’t care about their people and their suffering.”

Some hope to do good, she added, but find the “bitter reality” is that they cannot speak out in Beijing. Giving them the opportunity to do so, she added, “could have eased the tensions and helped to foster integration in China”. Reza Hasmath, lecturer in Chinese politics at Oxford

BEIJING: Rehangul Yimir (center) attends a group meeting during the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. —AFP University, said there was strong pressure for minority ethnic groups to conform with the authorities. “This is mainly due to the fact that minorities who cast their lot with the establishment can access Han social networks, which provides greater opportunities to higher status, and better paying jobs,” he said by email.

But Beijing’s policies can prove count-

US to bolster missile defenses to counter North Korea threat Pyongyang threatens preemptive nuclear strike against US WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has announced plans to bolster US missile defenses in response to “irresponsible and reckless provocations” by North Korea, which threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States last week. Hagel said the Pentagon would add 14 new anti-missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska - an effective reversal of an early Obama administration decision - and move ahead with the deployment of a second missile-defense radar in Japan.

The Pentagon also left open the possibility of creating a site on the US East Coast where the Pentagon could field more interceptors capable of striking down an incoming missile. The 14 additional interceptor deployments would cost nearly $1 billion and must be approved by Congress. “By taking the steps I outlined today we will strengthen our homeland defense, maintain our commitments to our allies and partners, and make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression,” Hagel told a news conference.

North Korea issued its threat last week to stage a preemptive nuclear attack against the United States as the United Nations readied new sanctions against Pyongyang in response to its Feb 12 nuclear test, the country’s third. Experts say North Korea is years away from being able to hit the continental United States with a nuclear weapon, despite having worked for decades to achieve a nuclear capability. But Hagel said the moves announced by the Pentagon were justified to stay ahead of the threat, underscored by the nuclear test and a December rocket launch that analysts believe was aimed at developing technology for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Hagel also cited North Korea’s display last April of what appeared to be a road-mobile ICBM. The Pentagon said the United States had informed China, North Korea’s neighbor and

closest ally, of its decision to add more interceptors but declined to characterize Beijing’s reaction. China has expressed unease at previous US plans for missile defense systems, as well as sales of such systems to Taiwan and Japan, viewing it as part of Washington’s attempt to “encircle” and contain China despite US efforts to ease Chinese fears.

China has responded by developing an antimissile system of its own, announcing the

caveat - the Pentagon said it would only buy the extra interceptors if they perform appropriately in tests. The interceptors in question have not hit a target since 2008, a defense official said. Boeing Co is the prime contractor of the system. Key Boeing subcontractors include Raytheon Co, which makes the kill vehicle, and Orbital Sciences Corp, which makes the rocket booster.

Admiral James Winnefeld, vice chairman of

VIRGINIA: US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel departs after speaking on the US missile defense system during a press briefing at the Pentagon. — AFP latest successful test in January.

SYSTEMS NOT AIMED AT CHINA, RUSSIA US officials say its missile defense systems are not designed to counter the large number of ICBMs in arsenals in China or Russia and are focused instead on the threat from North Korea or, potentially, Iran.

Friday’s announcement came with a key

the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed confidence in the missiles and said he believed the steps taken by the United States would make North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jung-un, think twice before acting on bellicose rhetoric. “We not only intend to put the mechanics in place to deny any potential North Korean objective to launch a missile to the United States, but also to impose costs on them if they do,” he

told reporters. “And we believe that this young lad ought to be deterred by that.

And if he’s not, we’ll be ready.”

Lee Jong-won, an expert on North Korea at Japan’s Waseda University, said the planned missile deployment could trigger unpredictable behavior from Pyongyang.

“With the measures the United States has announced, the North is likely to object even more ... The North’s objections could escalate,” Lee said. The addition of another 14 interceptors amounts to a reversal of an Obama administration decision in 2010 to stop expansion of the missile interceptor system at 30. The Bush administration had planned to deploy a total of 44.

The United States currently has 26 interceptors deployed at Fort Greely and four at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Congressman Mike Turner, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, said the Obama administration had began “to realize the shortcomings of its missile defense strategy.” “Now that the administration has decided to see clearly, America can get back on the right course,” Howard McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, lamenting lost time and resources.

In a sign of fiscal pressures facing the Pentagon, US officials acknowledged they were also forgoing development of a new anti-missile interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe. They said European defense would be unaffected.

Officials said the United States would move forward with congressionally mandated environmental impact studies for alternative sites in the United States for deploying additional ground-based interceptors, if needed. Winnefeld said locations on the East Coast were being considered but declined to offer details. “We’re still looking at sites,” he said. — Reuters

CIA may target Syrian extremists with drones Syria regime expands use of cluster bombs LOS ANGELES: The US Central Intelligence Agency is collecting information on Islamic radicals in Syria for possible lethal drone strikes against them at a later stage, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday.

Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper said President Barack Obama had not authorized any drone missile strikes in Syria yet, and none were under consideration.

However CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, which runs drone programs targeting militants in Pakistan and Yemen, had recently shifted several targeting officers to improve intelligence gathering on militants in Syria.

The targeting officers have formed a unit with colleagues who were tracking AlQaeda operatives in Iraq. Veteran militants from Iraq are believed to have moved to Syria and joined anti-government Islamic militias there, the report said.

The targeting officers focusing on Syria are based at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the paper said. But the agency is working closely with Saudi, Jordanian and other regional spy services active in Syria, according to The Times. The preparations come as radical Islamic fighters have won a growing share of rebel victories in Syria, the paper said. The State Department believes that one of the strongest Syrian opposition militias, Al Nusra Front, is a terrorist organization that is indistinguishable from the group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, The Times noted.

BANNED WEAPONS Meanwhile, the Syrian regime is expanding its use of widely banned cluster bombs, an international human rights group said in a report yesterday as the deadlocked conflict entered its third year. In new violence, rebels detonated a powerful car bomb in a city in the east of the country, setting off

clashes with regime troops, state TV and activists said. In the past six months, Syrian forces have dropped at least 156 cluster bombs in 119 locations across the country, causing mounting civilian casualties, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said. Two strikes in the past two weeks killed 11 civilians, including two women and five children, the report said.

The group said it based its findings on field investigations and analysis of more than 450 amateur videos.

Cluster bombs open in flight, scattering smaller bomblets. They pose a threat to civilians long afterwards since many don’t explode immediately. Most countries have banned their use. The report came a day after Syrians marked the second anniversary of their uprising against President Bashar Assad. The rebellion began with largely peaceful protests but in response to a harsh regime crackdown turned into an insurgency and, by last summer, into a fullscale civil war.

The fighting has killed some 70,000 people and displaced 4 million of Syria’s 22 million people, according to UN estimates. The conflict remains deadlocked, despite some recent military gains by the rebels who control large stretches of northern and eastern Syria. Also yesterday, rebels set off a car bomb close to an office building in the eastern city of Deir El-Zour, according to state TV and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The TV report said the car was rigged with more than two tons of explosives and that rebels entered the building after the blast but the rebels were pushed out of the building by government forces. The explosion triggered clashes between rebels and regime troops, said the Observatory, an activist group. Regime forces also shelled

several areas of the city, the Observatory said. Late Friday, rebel fighters from the AlQaeda-linked group Jabhat Al-Nusra and other Islamist factions seized a military base and munitions depot in the town of Khan Touman in the northern province of Aleppo, the Observatory said. It quoted witnesses as saying rebel fighters drove off with truckloads of ammunitions and

weapons. The Khan Touman base is only a few kilometers from a military engineering academy that is considered a key government stronghold in the province, the Observatory said. Fighting was also reported Saturday in the eastern city of Deir ElZour, the Observatory said. Heavy gunfire was heard in an amateur video said to be showing the city. —Agencies

er-productive, Hasmath said. Chinese authorities have slowly phased out the use of the Uighur language in most Xinjiang schools and universities, he noted, leaving Mandarin Chinese the main mode of instruction. While the intent was to promote amalgamation, he said, “at the same time, it creates greater ethnic tension”. — AFP

Pope Francis signals ‘more open papacy’ VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis was to meet the world’s press yesterday at the dawn of an already tradition-breaking leadership for a troubled Catholic Church, after the Vatican rejected claims he did nothing to save lives during Argentina’s “Dirty War”. The special audience at 1000 GMT was being billed by the Vatican as part of the greater openness that has characterized the first days in office of the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first pope from Latin America.

The 76-year-old pontiff has displayed an informal style that contrasts sharply with that of his more academic predecessor Benedict XVI. Under the simple slogan of “walk, build, confess” and speaking in a folksy Italian, he has urged Catholic leaders to shun worldly glories and lead a spiritual renewal in the Church that will reach “the ends of the earth”. The son of an Italian emigrant railway worker, he has warned them that without action the Church could end up becoming a “castle of sand” and just a charity with no spiritual foundation.

The Catholic Church has been rocked in recent years by multiple scandals including thousands of cases of abuse of children by pedophile priests, stretching back decades, and intrigue in the Vatican bureaucracy. Catholics are also abandoning churches in huge numbers in an increasingly secularized West. A moderate conservative in Argentina where he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis is unlikely to change any of the fundamental tenets of Catholic doctrine but he could push for more social justice and a friendlier faith.

Vatican experts have said his priorities will also include reforming the administration of the Church and the Vatican bank, which is being investigated in a money laundering case. The Vatican on Friday rejected claims that Pope Francis had failed to protect two Jesuit priests who were kidnapped and tortured by Argentina’s brutal military junta (1976-1983), and said he had in fact helped save lives.

The Vatican said the accusations were “defamatory” and “anti-clerical”. Bergoglio has been criticized by leftist Argentineans for his actions at a time when he was head of the country’s Jesuits but not yet a bishop.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Bergoglio in fact “did a lot to protect people during the dictatorship” in which 30,000 died or disappeared. But the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization, founded in 1977 to help locate children kidnapped under the junta, accused the pope of failing to speak out against the former military rulers. “He has never spoken of the problem of people who had disappeared under dictatorial rule, and 30 years have already passed since our return to democracy,” said Estela Carlotto, whose daughter Laura was abducted and killed during the military era.

There was more evidence Friday of the new pope’s informal style when he visited Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mejia in a Rome hospital, a day after the 90-year old suffered a heart attack. He spent 20 minutes with the cardinal before blessing the hands of the cardiologist treating him.

“It was amazing. He is really down to earth. He makes you feel at ease immediately,” the doctor, Marco Miglionico, told reporters.

Francis chatted warmly with staff and also blessed seriously ill patients before praying at the hospital’s chapel.

The new pontiff’s inauguration mass will take place on Tuesday-the Feast of St Joseph, the patron saint of the universal church. He has urged the faithful in his native Argentina not to travel to Italy for the mass but rather to give the money the trip would have cost to charity.

Nonetheless, heads of state from all over the world are expected to be present, while more than a million people are expected to throng Rome. — AFP

Taiwan develops first medium-range missile TAIPEI: Taiwan has developed its first medium-range guided missile that could be used against former rival China, according to a former defense minister in a new book cited by a media report yesterday.

Michael Tsai, a politician turned defense minister in the former government of the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), revealed in his book due to be published today that the military successfully developed the missile back in 2008, the Liberty Times said.

In response to the report the country’s defense ministry rounded on Tsai, telling AFP that disclosure of the information “may endanger national security”. The Times said Tsai knowingly used the term “mediumrange guided missile” in his book-entitled “God bless Taiwan”-in contrast to the cruise missiles already in the island’s arsenal.

Taiwan in 2010 confirmed it was massproducing Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles, the island’s answer to the US-made Tomahawk, despite fast warming ties with China. The cruise missiles could be launched from land or sea, and would be

capable of hitting airports and missile bases in southeast China, as well as cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. Tsai did not give specifications for the medium range weapon described in his book.

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have eased since Ma Ying-jeou of the Chinafriendly Kuomintang came to power in 2008 on a platform of beefing up trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists. He was re-elected in January 2012. However China still refuses to renounce the possible use of force against the island in its longstated goal of re-taking Taiwan, which has ruled itself since the end of a civil war in 1949. “We have to develop weapons on our own if we are to deter any attacks by China, who has targeted Taiwan with more than 1,000 missiles,” Tsai said in the book.

Taiwanese experts estimate China’s People’s Liberation Army currently has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island. The defense ministry, which often refuses to comment on reports regarding sensitive weaponry development and acquisition, condemned Tsai’s revelations. — AFP

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis pats the guide dog of a guest, during a meeting with the media, at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican yesterday. — AP

NEWS

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

Muslim states agree to UN statement...

Continued from Page 1

Participants ride horses at sunset during the Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan International Equestrian festival in the Boudthib Endurance Village near the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi yesterday. — AFP

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood had called the proposed UN document un-Islamic and warned it would lead to the “complete degradation of society”.

But the chief Egyptian official at the meeting, Mervat Tallawy, head of the country’s National Women’s Council, backed the accord. She said the declaration was needed to counter “a global wave of conservatism, of repression against women.”

With Norway and Denmark leading a European alliance with North America calling for tough language, right up to the final hours it had appeared that the meeting could end without an accord. The last attempt by the UN commission to agree a declaration on violence against women in 2003 ended in failure. “The commission urges states to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination,” said the declaration.

It added that states should “devote particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that

discriminate against women and girls, or perpetuate and condone violence against them”. Countries should “address and eliminate as a matter of priority domestic violence,” went on the declaration. The conference had been made more emotive by the Taleban attack in October on 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai for her promotion of girls’ education in Pakistan and widely publicized gang rapes in India and South Africa.

The United States welcomed the accord. It was an important first step to ensure that women and girls “live productive and safe lives, free from the scourge of violence and abuse,” senior US envoy Terri Robl told the meeting. But she added that “some important aspects” were omitted from the document and the United States believes the declaration should have clearly stated that it applied to lesbian women. “We regret that some delegations prevented this recognition explicitly,” Robl said.

Germany’s UN ambassador Peter Wittig said the document was “balanced and strong.” Wittig tweeted that the declaration “sends a much needed message to the women around the world: your rights are crucial.” — AFP

14

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

ANALYSIS

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Washington Watch

I was wrong

By Dr James J Zogby few weeks ago, I assumed that the main emphasis of President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the Middle East would not be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Taking my cues from Secretary of State John Kerry’s recently completed trip and the way the White House had been “low-balling” expectations about making any progress in restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, I thought that the president would focus his visit largely on the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program and the humanitarian and political crises resulting from the ever-worsening conflict in Syria.

However, after an hour-long meeting with the president and his national security staff, followed a few days later by a detailed press briefing on the president’s itinerary by a Deputy National Security Advisor, it is clear that I was wrong. Earlier this week, I was part of a group of Arab American leaders who met with President Obama and his senior advisers to discuss his visits to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Following our conversation, the White House issued a statement saying, in part, that the president “underscored that the trip is an opportunity for him to demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the Palestinian people - in the West Bank and Gaza - and to partnering with the Palestinian Authority as it continues building institutions that will be necessary to build a truly independent Palestinian state”.

Our discussions with the president were instructive on many levels - in particular, his interest in hearing our ideas about how to make the visit as productive and meaningful as possible. We offered a range of suggestions including the need to reach out directly to the Palestinian people: the business community struggling to create jobs; young people in need of hope; Christians concerned about their future in the Holy Land; women seeking empowerment; and those who are committed to a non-violent approach to challenging the occupation.

We emphasized that just as he intended, in Israel, to speak directly to the Israeli people, making clear to them his understanding of their history and his commitment to their security, it would be equally important to find opportunities to address remarks directly to ordinary Palestinians. In this context, we found promising the post-meeting statement issued by the White House and the details of the final trip schedule. As has been made clear on several occasions by Administration officials, the president will not use this visit to offer a plan to immediately restart negotiations.

Conditions simply do not exist for a peace-making initiative to bear fruit. The newly constituted Israeli government leans too far to the right. The Palestinian house is also in disarray, with reconciliation talks still stalled.

Given this, the best the president can do, in the short term, is attempt to speak directly to both peoples reasserting his commitment to them and to a peaceful future in an effort to change the discourse in both societies away from the cynicism and hardline views that have made progress toward peace so difficult. Seen in this light, almost every aspect of the president’s visit contains a message to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. He will want to win their confidence, demonstrating that he understands their histories and current realities. He will then note the dangers inherent in the current trajectory of regional developments and pose the challenges and opportunities that making peace will entail. He will engage the leadership of both communities, but he will also go beyond the leaders to speak directly to young Israelis and Palestinians about their futures.

No doubt, both Iran and the Arab Spring will be topics of conversation in Israel and Jordan. While in Jordan, the president will want to support the changes underway and will encourage the King to continue on the path of reform. He will also focus on the impact of the humanitarian crisis which has seen hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees coming into Jordan, testing that country’s resources and political order.

Another aspect of the Syrian war and the Middle East’s tumultuous last decade is the increased vulnerability of the region’s Christians. In a surprise move the White House added a stopover in Bethlehem between the President’s visit to Israel and his trip to Jordan. Going to that city’s Church of the Nativity will allow the president to focus attention on the two thousand year presence of Christians not only in the Holy Land, but in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. It is important to note that while in Bethlehem the president’s team will be able to see first-hand the impact of the occupation on Palestinian daily life. First and foremost will be the wall that snakes around the little city cutting Bethlehem off from Jerusalem. And then there is the Israeli settlement of Har Homa.

While the Israelis refer to this development as a “neighborhood” of Jerusalem, it is actually built on land seized in large part from Bethlehem. It will be recalled that in the late 1990s then President Bill Clinton strongly objected to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plans to build Har Homa on the green hill of Jabal Abul Ghnaim.

Netanyahu defied the US. Today that green space is gone, replaced by a settlement that is home to 15,000 Israelis (with expansion plans calling for a few thousand more). It, like the wall, separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. This will be the president’s first trip of his second term and while he will not table a peace plan, every indication is that he remains committed to an Israeli-Palestinian peace. This trip is designed to be the beginning of a process to engage the Israeli and Palestinian peoples (and American Jews and Arab Americans) in an effort to win new support for peacemaking efforts that will follow.

A

NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute

All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.

The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Gas revolution to close price gap with oil

By John Kemp iesel is now six times more expensive than natural gas on an energy-equivalent basis in the United States, a gap that is unsustainable. As Herbert Stein, chief economist to President Richard Nixon noted, if something cannot go on forever, it will stop. But how and when the gap closes is the single most important question facing oil and gas consumers around the world. The financial incentive to substitute gas for oil is enormous. Cheap gas has already started to transform America’s industrial landscape and transportation system.

On a global level, two parallel transformations are underway. A world gas market is slowly emerging as increasing volumes of seaborne LNG integrate the current system of separate national and regional prices. And the gas market is gradually becoming more integrated with oil as more users switch to gas. Half of all refuse trucks sold in the United States last year run on gas. Chinese firm ENN Group has opened five public refuelling stations for gas-powered trucks and plans to open 50 by the end of the year. Ventures backed by Chesapeake and Shell plan hundreds more.

On the railways, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF), the second-largest buyer of diesel in the country after the US Navy, has revived plans for gas-powered trains. BNSF could convert its entire fleet of 6,900 locomotives to run on a mix of diesel and up to 90 percent gas if the pilot is a success. Other Class 1 railroads such as Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific are partnering with locomotive manufacturers on the same idea. Gas is also starting to replace diesel in a range of industrial engines. Oilfield services company Halliburton has converted some of the pressure pumping equipment it uses for hydraulic fracturing to run on a gas/diesel mix. Major engine manufacturers including Caterpillar, General Electric and Wartsila are marketing dual-fuel motors and retrofitting kits.

In manufacturing, companies making energy-intensive products including chemicals, fertilisers, steel, aluminium, tires, plastics and glass have announced 107 major new investments in the United States totalling $95 billion that will use up to 6 billion cubic feet of extra gas per day, raising industrial gas consumption by about a third. The full list is contained in a letter from the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) to the Department of Energy that argues against the approval of gas exports.

D

Not all these projects have reached a final investment decision. But this week Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine became the latest company to confirm it will build a big new gas-fired plant, in this case to produce sponge iron, to take advantage of cheap gas in Texas, among other considerations.

Voestalpine’s chief executive noted that natural gas prices on the Texas coast were about a quarter of those in Europe. “It would have been impossible to build a comparable plant in the European Union, not least because of a lack of competitiveness in terms of operating costs.”

Others are trying to exploit the differential between gas and oil prices by building Fischer-Tropsch plants to convert gas into higher-priced diesel and jet fuel or applying for U.S. licenses to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to markets in Europe and Asia, where gas commands a price nearer to crude. Sasol has announced plans to build a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Louisiana. Shell is reportedly examining a similar project in Louisiana or Texas. And the U.S. Department of Energy has received applications from 25 companies to export nearly 30 billion cubic feet of gas per day as LNG, more than 40 percent of what the country presently consumes.

The gas revolution is furthest advanced in North America, where hydraulic fracturing has had the biggest impact on gas output and the gap between gas and refined product prices is widest. But it is starting to be felt even in regions where the gas industry is relatively immature and fracturing has yet to be widely used. China had 1.48 million vehicles driving on natural gas in 2012, up 48 percent from 2011 and a huge jump from just 6,000 in 2000. The vehicles, mainly taxis, buses and trucks, in parts of the country with abundant gas resources but far from the main cities on the east coast, run on compressed natural gas (CNG) as well as LNG. China’s government has targeted its enormous transport sector as a preferred user of natural gas. More than 30 automakers make gas-fuelled vehicles, and gas could reduce projected oil demand nearly 10 percent by 2030, according to a study from consultants Wood Mackenzie. Japan, which imports nearly all its gas as LNG on contracts indexed to the price of oil, has started to push for amended terms that would align pricing more closely with lower prices in Europe and especially the United States.

It is very unlikely gas prices will ever be completely equalised across regional markets or on an energy-equivalent basis with crude. But the current wide variations are unsus-

tainable. The increase in LNG capacity, the relocation of heavy manufacturing activity and the shift to cheaper gas in the transport sector will all help arbitrage some of the price differentials away.

Like all the interesting questions in economics, it is impossible to know whether the gap will close through a rise in the price of gas, a fall in oil, or some combination of the two. It is also impossible to know how much of oil’s current share of the transport market will eventually be lost to gas. If one company converts to using gas, while everyone else sticks to oil, it would derive an enormous economic advantage. If everyone converts, rising gas prices will quickly ensure no one benefits.

The right strategy depends on what everyone else does, which is unknowable in advance.

Converting up to economy-level, if all the proposed new manufacturing plants in the United States are built, all the LNG export applications are approved, all the railroads convert to gas and a substantial chunk of the trucking market coverts to LNG or CNG, surging demand for gas will quickly eliminate any competitive advantage from conversion. But if everyone sticks to oil, fearing that the advantages of conversion will be fleeting, the price gap will remain and the conversion benefits will remain for anyone bold enough to take the risk.

For large industrial energy users that move soon, it may be possible to offset some of this uncertainty by taking an equity stake in new gas fields or reaching other long-term supply arrangements. Steelmaker Nucor is taking a 50 percent working interest in onshore gas wells drilled and operated by Encana to help protect its expansion of US iron and steel-making capacity, for example. The indeterminate nature of the transition has fuelled a fierce fight over whether the US Department of Energy should approve applications for largescale LNG exports.

In an assessment of the economic impact of LNG exports commissioned by the department, NERA Economic Consulting concluded exports would have a limited effect on domestic prices and provide net benefits to the economy under all the scenarios considered (“Macroeconomic impact of LNG exports from the United States” Dec 2012). In its response, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America claims the study underestimates the potential growth in domestic gas consumption from the industrial, power generation and transport sectors in the years ahead.— Reuters

Obama won’t trip over Bibi’s Iran ‘red line’

By Dan Williams President Barack Obama visits Israel this week at the onset of spring - the “red line” previously drawn by his host, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to trigger an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. But an IsraeliIranian war, Washington’s nightmare as it tries to scale back defence commitments abroad and avoid a draining Gulf oil crisis, does not appear trip-wire imminent.

Officials and analysts say Iran warded off Israel’s threat by calibrating mid-level uranium enrichment so it does not accrue enough fuel for a potential first bomb the threshold Netanyahu warned about in a United Nations speech in September.

He was presenting a worst-case extrapolation from UN nuclear inspector reports.

The most recent of those, however, found a slowdown in the stockpiling of the 20 percent fissile uranium that Iran, in the face of mounting Western suspicions, says is part of an entirely peaceful program.

Netanyahu has not publicly revised the spring-to-summer 2013 dating for his “red line”. But several Israeli officials privately ack nowledged it had been deferred, maybe indefinitely. “The red line was never a deadline,” one told Reuters.

The chief US military officer, General Martin Dempsey, has questioned Israel’s ability to deliver lasting damage to Iran’s distant, defended facilities. Netanyahu, meanwhile, makes little secret of preferring that Washington take the lead in any war. Yet while mobilising Gulf forces and saying it was open to military force as a last resort, the Obama administration has resisted Israeli calls to present Tehran with a clear ultimatum.

Interviewed by Israel’s top-rated television news program on Thursday, Obama

US

voiced cautious hope that negotiations, re -launched last month between the United States, five other world powers and Iran, could still curb its disputed nuclear drive. “There’s a window - not an infinite period of time - but a window of time where we can resolve this diplomatically, and that it is in all of our interests,” he told Channel Two TV. The U.S. “red line” was Iran reaching the verge of acquiring a nuclear bomb, Obama said, adding: “That would take over a year or so ... But obviously we don’t want to cut it too close.”

Confidence in Obama is not unanimous among Netanyahu’s circle. While one Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said “American presidents don’t bluff ” and that therefore Obama should be trusted, others worried Iran might elude scrutiny and dash to nuclear arms capability.

“The key question is not when Iran will have a bomb, but only when we can no longer prevent Iran from having a bomb,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, told reporters. He accused Iran of planning to run an accelerated, “shorter track” toward nuclear weaponry “that is invisible because it is underground”.

A Feb. 21 UN report said Iran had 167 kg of mid-level enriched uranium, in gas form, after converting some of the stockpile to solid reactor fuel. Experts say it would need 240-250 kg of the gaseous material for a bomb, though the fuel would have to be further enriched to 90 percent purity. Yet Iran has also been expanding centrifuges so it could rapidly ramp up mid-level enrichment if it chose, diplomats say. Netanyahu alluded to those developments on March 4 when he reiterated his “red line” in a speech to a proIsrael lobby in Washington, saying Iran

was “putting itself in a position to cross that line very quickly once it decides to do so”.

An Israeli official posited Iran could gather 230 kg to 240 kg of mid-level uranium - just short of a bomb’s worth - and then, between inspectors’ weekly visits to the enrichment plants, churn out the few kilograms required to close the gap. Next, it could move all the material to a secret location for prospective later processing into weapons fuel, making the Islamic Republic a “latent nuclear power”, the official argued. “For now, we know what sites would have to be targeted in a military strike,” the official said. “Can any of us, even the Americans, be sure of having such full knowledge in the future?”

The United States sounds more secure about nuclear inspections and intelligence monitoring of the Iranians, as well as in its ability to intervene militarily at short notice. “We assess Iran could not divert safeguarded material and produce a weapon-worth of WGU (weapons-grade uranium) before this activity is discovered,” US National Intelligence Director James Clapper said on Tuesday.

Gary Samore, Obama’s former nuclear non-proliferation adviser, disputed the idea that Iran would break out of the UN inspections regime with just one bomb’s worth of fuel, or that it would be capable of making a quick switch to the highest level of uranium enrichment, given its technical lags. “Nobody knows, including the Iranians, how much 20 percent (enriched uranium) they need to have a bomb’s worth. They have never done it.

They have never converted,” Samore, who is now executive director at Har vard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said in a phone interview. That made threshold questions

“inherently ambiguous”, said Samore, who referred to Netanyahu’s “red line” alternatively as a “red zone”.

Mark Fitzpatrick, a former US State Department official who heads the nonproliferation and disarmament program at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, had similar doubts about whether Iran would try to sneak past Netanyahu’s “red line” and, if so, whether Israel would respond with strikes.

“Nobody’s going to make a war-or-peace decision based on a few kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium,” he said.

“Nobody knows what Israel’s real ‘red line’ is. I don’t think Israel knows either.”

Fitzpatrick faulted Netanyahu for fixating on Iran’s 20 percent enrichment, arguing that this risked distracting from ongoing progress in other risky aspects of its nuclear program like centrifuge improvements and tonnes of low-purity uranium.

“That may not have been a clever way of putting it, because Iran is able to make tactical adjustments and can push back the so-called ‘red line’ as long as it wants,” he said. But Fitzpatrick also saw a tactical gain for Netanyahu “in reminding the world that there was a concrete threat here, after the world has heard so much sabre-rattling from Israel”. Israel, which is reputed to have the region’s sole atomic arsenal, has spoken about being ready to attack Iran for close to a decade - rhetoric some Israeli officials say was designed, at least in part, to stiffen the determination of war-wary world powers to find a diplomatic alternative through sanctions.

Samore said the international coalition had been “deeply energised for years” in confronting Tehran. “I think we still have a reasonable prospect of stopping them, and that if the Iranians misstep, the US will act,” he said. — Reuters

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Ralf Schumacher hangs helmet MELBOURNE: Former grand prix driver Ralf Schumacher hung up his helmet and moved into team management yesterday, only months after older brother and seven times world champion Michael retired from Formula One. Mercedes said the 37-year-old German had relinquished his seat in the DTM (German touring car) series for a new role as managing shareholder at RSC Mucke Motorsport where he will support young drivers.

Ralf is Germany’s third most successful Formula One driver, with six race wins, behind brother Michael and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel. “I’ve been thinking a great deal about my future during the last few weeks and have reached the conclusion that I am better able to support the extensive changes at Mercedes-Benz with regard to the DTM in a management role than at the wheel,” he said in a statement.

“I am very grateful for more than two decades in professional motor racing and the last five years with MercedesBenz in the DTM. “This represents an exciting challenge for me, helping the best young drivers with my know-how and expertise,” added Schumacher. Michael Schumacher, now 44, retired from Formula One last year after three comeback seasons with Mercedes. He won 91 races with Benetton and Ferrari. —Reuters

Phipps to leave Rebels MELBOURNE: Australia scrumhalf Nick Phipps is to leave the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby franchise and return to Sydney to join the New South Wales Waratahs on a two-year contract next season, both sides said yesterday.

The 24-year-old Phipps is originally from Sydney but moved south to the Rebels when they began playing in the Super Rugby competition in 2011. “Nick has played a major part in laying the foundations of this club and it is disappointing to see him leave,” Rebels coach Damien Hill said in a statement.

“We have identified and developed some great talent within Australian rugby, who are now coming off contract and the reality is, these players now attract interests from other clubs with different financial circumstances.”

Phipps made his test debut against Samoa in 2011 and has since earned 12 caps, including starting in eight out of the Wallabies last nine matches when Will Genia was sidelined with a serious knee injury.

“Nick is a good threatening, attacking player,” Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said. “He’s good all round, in attack, in defence and with his kicking game; he’s a quality player and I think that he’s still got a lot of potential to fulfil.” —Reuters

Mancini regrets oversight LONDON: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admits he made a mistake by failing to boost his defensive resources in the January transfer window. The champions have been without influential captain Vincent Kompany since the centre-back suffered a calf injury at the end of January. There was still time to bring in cover but Mancini decided against it, something he now regrets.

“Probably we made a mistake because when we knew of this problem we were four days to the close of the market,” said the Italian. “Probably then we should maybe have bought another defender.

“Also, last year he had this problem, for one month he didn’t play. This is a big problem. For me we made a mistake in this case. “We had a chance because we had one good defender (in mind) but we didn’t think that Vinny would stay out for 40-45 days.” Kompany, 26, suffered the injury in the FA Cup win at Stoke on January 26 and has been out ever since. Although he has started running again, he is unlikely to be fully fit until after next week’s international break. City didn’t expect him to need such a long lay-off and their form has plummeted in his absence. —AFP

Flyers soar over Devils THAILAND: Chris Wood of Britain watches his fairway shot during the third round of Thailand Open Golf Championship at Thana City Golf and Sports Club. —AP

Lee leads Thailand Open THAILAND: Brazilian Lucas Lee refused to be overawed in the company of established duo Padraig Harrington and Chris Wood, carding a seven-under-par 65 yesterday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Thailand Open.

Lee, born in Brazil to Korean parents, mixed eight birdies with a lone bogey in the penultimate round for a 54-hole total of 19-under 197, a shot ahead of defending champion Wood (65) and China’s Hu Mu (64). Scotland’s Simon Yates shot a 64 on his 43rd birthday and overnight leader Scott Strange of Australia carded a 68 to be two shots behind the leader. Triple major champion Harrington plummeted down the leaderboard with a three-over 75 and the Irishman now trails Lee by 11 strokes.

The 25-year-old Lee, seeking his first win on a major circuit, said he had tried to put the status of his playing partners to the back of his mind during his composed third round where he signed

off with a birdie.

“After the first hole you try to forget who they are and try to beat them like any other of the guys, but they do hit the ball very well,” Lee told the official website (www.oneasia.asia). “It was a good learning experience. Tomorrow I’m just going to try and be as positive as possible, while also keeping it simple.”

Englishman Wood said it would take another low score on Sunday at the Greg Norman-designed course to make it two in a row at the $1 million event which is cosanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation and OneAsia.

“I’m really pleased with my efforts so far.

I came here to put in a good defence,” said the world number 64. “It will take something in the mid 60s to win.” Japan’s Katsumasa Miyamoto, who started on the 10th hole, equalled the course record with a 63 after making the turn on 29 with seven birdies. —Reuters

Jee leaves pack behind PHOENIX: Jee Young Lee birdied three of her last four holes to take a onestroke lead over Ai Miyazato on another hot day at the LPGA Founders Cup. Lee, the 27-year-old South Korean player who won the LPGA Tour’s 2005 South Korean event before becoming a tour member, had a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Friday to reach 15-under 129. She broke the tournament 36-hole record of 12 under set by Angela Stanford in 2011.

“I’ve waited so long, like seven, eight years,” Lee said. “I really want to win this week. But two days more, two days left, so I’m going to try to keep being more confident and patient.” She played in the morning before the temperature climbed into the low 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius) on Desert Ridge’s Wildfire course.

“My driver was good,” Lee said. “My tee shots keep in the fairway, and then my irons are pretty good, better than yesterday, and my putting works a little bit more.”

Miyazato bogeyed her final hole for a 67 a day after shooting a tournamentrecord 63. The Japanese star is playing her first event since sustaining a whiplash injury three weeks ago in a five-vehicle crash after a tournament in Thailand.

“I’m very happy with my round,” Miyazato said. “I made eight birdies out there. I had three bogeys, but still a lot of birdies, so it just feels good. ... I kept hitting the fairways and I kept hitting to the green, and I had 29 putts, which is like my green regulation.”

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, was four strokes back in third after a 65.

She holed out from 109 yards for eagle on the par-4 16th - her seventh hole of the day - and played the back nine in 4 under with five birdies and a bogey.

“I just really didn’t have any birdie putts the first few holes and then just hit a shot on 16 that was perfect,” Lewis said. “From there, I made about an 8footer for par on one and I think that really kept the momentum going and I hit some good shots on the back nine and made putts.”

Lewis has a chance to take the top

spot in the world from Yani Tseng of Taiwan with a victory. “If I ever get to No. 1, I’m going to enjoy it because I never as a kid dreamed of being in that position,” Lewis said. “It’s definitely on my mind.”

Tseng, the defending champion, was 2 under after a 72. She entered the week with a 22-event, 50-week winless streak, while Lewis has won five times in her last 22 tournaments.

“I think Yani’s put a lot of pressure on herself,” Lewis said. “I think she’s kind of taken the expectations up another level and I definitely think the state she’s at right now with her game, I think if she did lose it, I think she would start to play better.”

Lewis and Tseng played alongside Paula Creamer in the first two rounds.

Creamer, also slightly injured in the car accident on the way to the Bangkok airport, was 5 under after a 70. Secondranked Na Yeon Choi, also with a chance to move up to No. 1 with a victory, was 3 under after a 72. Michelle Wie missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 72. She also missed the cut in Australia, finished 45th in Thailand and tied for 45th in Singapore - both no-cut events. In 12 rounds this year, Wie - using an awkward hunched-over putting stance - has broken 70 only once, closing with a 69 in Singapore after a third-round 77.

Suzann Pettersen also missed the cut, shooting 73-71. The Norwegian player, ranked No. 7 in the world, was coming off a victory Sunday in China in a Ladies European Tour event.

DIVOTS: Kim Welch had a hole-in-one of the 163-yard 14th, using a 6-iron. She missed the cut by a stroke with rounds of 71 and 72. It was the third ace of the week. On Thursday, Jennifer Gleason also had one on the 14th, and Meena Lee holed out on the sixth. Jane Rah had a rare double-eagle 2 on No. 15 in the first round, holing a 3-wood shot from 226 yards. It was the 32nd albatross in tour history. ... Jaclyn Sweeney also missed the cut, shooting 71 and 72. She earned a spot in the field last month with a victory in the Symetra Tour’s season-opening VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic. —AP

PHILADELPHIA: Matt Read and Claude Giroux both scored goals in the shootout to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in the NHL on Friday.

Read beat Johan Hedberg on the first shot and New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk matched him. Giroux scored the second shootout goal, while David Clarkson and Patrik Elias both failed in their attempts against Ilya Bryzgalov.

The slumping Flyers badly need this win following a 5-2 loss to the Devils on Wednesday. The Flyers are still on the outside of the NHL Eastern Conference playoff race.

Max Talbot scored in regulation for the Flyers and Clarkson had a goal for the Devils. Bryzgalov finished with 26 saves.

Flames 6, Predators 3 In Calgary, Curtis Glencross had his second career hat trick to lead Calgary to its sixth straight home win. Mark Giordano, Blake Comeau and Jiri Hudler also scored for the Flames, who scored on their first two shots. Gabriel Bourque had his team-leading ninth goal for Nashville, and Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored.

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne was pulled for the second straight night after Comeau’s goal put the Flames up two 8 minutes into the game. While he leads the NHL with five shutouts, Rinne has been pulled in four of his last eight starts.

Red Wings 3, Oilers 2 In Edmonton, Pavel Datsyuk scored at 3:39 of over time as Detroit ended its three-game losing streak. Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall scored in regulation for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard had 30 saves. Taylor Jall and Sam Gagner had the Oilers’ goals, and Devan Dubnyk finished with 25 saves.

On the game-winner, Datsyuk made a nice move to get past defender Jeff Petry and blasted a shot past Dubnyk. Kronwall got credit for the tying goal with 5:53 to go in the third when Petr y knocked the puck into the Oilers’ net. —AP

NEWARK: Nicklas Grossmann No. 8, Ilya Bryzgalov No. 30 and Maxime Talbot No. 25 of the Philadelphia Flyers defend the net against the New Jersey Devils. —AFP

NHL results/standings Philadelphia 2, New Jersey 1 (SO); Calgary 6, Nashville 3; Detroit 3, Edmonton 2 (OT).

Pittsburgh New Jersey NY Rangers NY Islanders Philadelphia

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL 20 8 0 13 9 6 13 11 2 12 12 3 13 15 1

Montreal Boston Ottawa Toronto Buffalo

Northeast Division 18 5 4 18 4 3 13 8 6 15 12 1 10 14 3

88 76 64 82 70

69 54 58 78 84

40 39 32 31 23

Carolina Winnipeg Washington Tampa Bay Florida

Southeast Division 15 10 1 14 11 2 11 14 1 11 15 1 7 15 6

81 71 72 88 67

72 77 78 83 105

31 30 23 23 20

GF 103 71 65 79 79

GA 79 79 64 88 88

PTS 40 32 28 27 27

Chicago St. Louis Detroit Nashville Columbus

Western Conference Central Division 22 2 3 15 10 2 13 10 5 11 11 6 10 12 6

87 83 73 65 63

59 79 73 74 76

47 32 31 28 26

Vancouver Minnesota Calgary Edmonton Colorado

Northwest Division 13 7 6 14 10 2 11 11 4 10 11 6 10 12 4

75 64 75 66 65

72 64 87 79 78

32 30 26 26 24

Pacific Division Anaheim 20 3 3 89 64 43 Los Angeles 14 10 2 76 69 30 San Jose 12 8 6 62 64 30 Phoenix 13 11 3 77 77 29 Dallas 12 11 3 68 73 27 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

Seven travel packages to the UEFA Champions League finals awaiting NBK MasterCard Credit Cardholders Stefani stays ahead of pack INNSBROOK: PGA Tour rookie Shawn Stefani held his nerve as the field closed in on him to retain the outright lead after the second round of the Tampa Bay Championship on Friday.

Leading by two shots overnight, Stefani followed his opening round 65 with a one-underpar 70 at the Copperhead layout at Innsbrook Resort to reach the halfway stage at seven-under.

The 31-year-old briefly lost his lead but regained it when he drained a 14-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole. “The lead is one thing, but leading on the weekend is another,” Stefani told reporters. “I wasn’t any more nervous than I am any round. I’m always a little bit excited about playing and I get a little nervous, which I enjoy.”

Stefani finished the day in front but his lead was cut in half as Australia’s Adam Scott and South Korea’s KJ Choi both moved to six under.

Scott shot a flawless 66 while Choi, already a double winner of the Tampa Bay Championship, carded a 67, including an eagle-three at the first hole.

“To go bogey-free anywhere is good, and I think (to do it) here is particularly good,” Scott said.

“It’s quite a tricky golf course, and mistakes are easily made.” Scott finished third behind Tiger Woods at last week’s Honda Classic and is back in form after his meltdown at last year’s British Open. —Reuters

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SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Kobe’s right, and NBA should’ve done more ATLANTA: Kobe Bryant has had plenty of calls go his way during 17 seasons in the NBA, so it would be easy to dismiss his complaints in the ongoing debate about how he sprained his ankle. That would be a gross injustice.

Dahntay Jones’ play wasn’t just dangerous, it was downright dirty. If anything, the Los Angeles Lakers all-star didn’t go far enough in griping about the play in Atlanta that left him with a severely sprained left ankle.

The NBA also came up short in its response, which amounted to a statement acknowledging a foul should have been called on the Hawks player for sliding under an airborne Bryant while defending a shot at the end of the game.

Nothing more. Not even so much as a fine.

The league strangely failed to crack down on a very point it’s been emphasizing in recent years: When a shooter goes up, he must get a chance to come down.

Bryant never got the chance, his left foot landing on Jones’ right foot.

Bryant tried to come back Friday at Indiana without missing a game. He didn’t last long, missing four shots in the first quarter before he shut it down for the night. With his ailing ankle clearly not close to 100 percent, his jumpers kept coming up short. It was only the 15th scoreless game of Bryant’s career.

The Lakers still managed to pull out a win, beating the Pacers 99-93 while

Bryant, holding a device with wires running to his ankle, cheered on his teammates from the bench. “I just couldn’t put any pressure on it,” Bryant said. “It just continued to get worse. It didn’t get loose at all.”

Going forward, the NBA needs to do a better job defending Bryant, LeBron James and other high-profile players, because they’re the very reason we watch this game. But this really applies to anyone who goes up for a shot.

At the very least, Jones should’ve taken a hit in the wallet. A suspension of one or two games wouldn’t have been all that farfetched, either. There’s no way a journeyman who’s on his sixth NBA team and stays in the league largely because of his defensive prowess should get away with a shady move that could potentially have such profound impact on the postseason. Come to think of it, no one should.

Clearly, after the way Bryant struggled against the Pacers, it’s too soon to tell when he’ll get back to being the same player he was before Wednesday’s injury. You know, the guy who had literally taken an underachieving Lakers team on his back and hoisted them to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

With the 34-year-old Bryant playing like he did a decade ago and Dwight Howard looking healthy for the first time all season, Los Angeles had a potent 1-2

punch and a chance to move up another spot or two in the standings.

Certainly, they had the look of an extremely dangerous team for whoever they drew in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, who knows? Sprained ankles are a tricky thing. Maybe Bryant sits for a while, hoping rest will help.

Maybe he accepts being Kobe Light, someone who knows he can’t play at his usual level. Maybe he pushes himself too hard and makes things even worse.

Whatever the case, the Lakers could miss the playoffs - and the NBA would have two of its biggest stars sitting at home. All because of the way Jones defended Bryant’s fadeaway jumper that could’ve tied the game with 3 seconds remaining. The ball slid off the side of the rim and Bryant’s ankle twisted awkwardly when he landed on Jones’ foot.

Kobe crumpled to the court, the Hawks got the rebound and Kyle Korver made two free throws to clinch a 96-92 victory that could have a huge impact on both teams’ seasons. Jones defended himself Friday after a morning shootaround at Philips Arena, saying he didn’t mean to hurt Bryant. “I was just trying to make a basketball play, trying to contest the jump shot,” Jones said. “I was trying to make the best basketball play I could to help our team win the game. Unfortunately, he rolled his ankle. But that was never my intent.” The 32-year-old Jones has been around long enough to know better. His

version is even tougher to swallow when you consider there’s history between these two: Jones, you might recall, blatantly stuck out his leg to trip Bryant during Game 4 of the 2009 Western Conference finals.

“I’m not saying it should have happened,” Jones said after the latest run-in.

“But these things happen in basketball.

Unfortunately, there’s no exact science to contesting jump shots, exact space and specificities. I just tried to get as close to him as I could to try to contest the jump shot. That is all.” The video tells a different story.

With a chance to send the game to overtime, Bryant drove toward the baseline against Jones, stopped suddenly and launched a jumper while drifting away from the basket. Jones reacted a splitsecond after Bryant began to go up, but quickly reversed himself and began moving toward the shooter. As Jones explained, he was looking to get as close as he could to disrupt the shot, without picking up a foul.

He went too far, way too far. By the time Bryant came down, Jones was right underneath him - and, particularly troubling, he appeared to subtly stick out his right leg, which it how Bryant got injured.

While some Hawks privately complained that Bryant was at least partially to blame for kicking out his right leg at the top of his arc (no argument there; he did), that was a mere sidebar to the main issue.

Even one of Jones’ teammates acknowledged as much. “He played pretty aggressive defensively,” Hawks center Al Horford said. “I would say, uhh, it was pretty borderline. I wouldn’t want anybody to take my feet out. I don’t think that was his intention. He was just playing hard defense.”

With benefit of the replay, the NBA botched a chance to make it clear that hard defense is one thing, doing what Jones did is unacceptable. Instead, he essentially shrugged off any lasting ramifications.

“I don’t think this will be anything serious going forward,” Jones said. “It will blow over after a little bit.” In his mind, he was just going his job, and it’s easy to see how he came to that conclusion. This is how Jones and those like him stay in the league, with hustle and effort and stretching the rulebook as far as it will go - and then some.

“Dirty plays are things that have nothing to do with basketball itself,” Jones insisted. “I take pride in trying to make basketball plays, to be aggressive, to not give up on plays. As long as I do that, I’m not worried about the view of being a dirty player or doing anything dirty. I’m trying to make basketball plays. There’s nothing out of the context of trying to win a basketball game.” Now the NBA needs to do its job: Play a little defense on behalf of its biggest stars. —AP

Heat triumph, Lakers roll with 16 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which had lost four of five overall.

Jarrett Jack scored 20 points and David Lee had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors

MILWAUKEE: LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points as the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 in the NBA on Friday for their 21st straight win.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22).

They withstood an early scare when Dwyane Wade walked to the locker room with a neck strain after crashing to the court. Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1.

Miami next plays Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.

Bosh hit from all angles and was 12 of 16 in the game, nailing two 3-pointers. He even converted a four-point play that made it 67-53 about five minutes into the third quarter. Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat avenged a loss at Milwaukee in late December.

Lakers 99, Pacers 93 In Indianapolis, Kobe Bryant lasted just one quarter on a severely sprained left ankle, then watched Dwight Howard complete a go-ahead, three-point play with 90 seconds left to help Los Angeles hold off Indiana.

Bryant started two nights after he was hurt in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, but was ineffective. He went 0 for 4 in the first quarter, then went to the bench and did not return. He spent the second half holding a black box with wires running down to the injured ankle as he cheered on the Lakers. Howard finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Metta World Peace had 19 points. George Hill scored 27 points and Paul George had 20 for Indiana.

Thunder 117, Magic 104 In Oklahoma, Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 to help Oklahoma City keep up its dominant play at home with a victory over Orlando.

The Thunder scored a season-high 73 points in the first half, shooting 64 percent from the floor and converting 18 of 22 free throws. Oklahoma City led by 27 in the second quarter before Orlando pulled to 73-56 at the break.

Rockets 108, Timberwolves 100 In Houston, James Harden scored 37 points and Jeremy Lin had 24 as Houston rallied from 20 points down in the third quarter to beat Minnesota.

Nuggets 87, Grizzlies 80 In Denver, Kosta Koufos scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, helping Denver rally to beat Memphis for its 11th straight victory, its longest streak in 30 years.

Danilo Gallinari had 15 points, including two free throws to break a tie with just over two minutes remaining, as the Nuggets won their 15th in a row at home.

Zach Randolph had 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who had their six-game winning streak halted.

Mavericks 96, Cavaliers 86 In Dallas, Rodrigue Beaubois scored 18 points off the bench and keyed a fourthquarter run to lead Dallas past Cleveland.

Beaubois had seven points and two assists in a 17-4 run that gave Dallas the lead for good to start the fourth. Reserves Darren Collison and Brandan Wright each scored 13 to pace a Mavericks bench that outscored the Cavaliers’ 60-19.

Cleveland’s Dion Waiters had 21 points and Shaun Livingston chipped with 13. The Cavaliers were playing their second game without injured All-Star Kyrie Irving.

OAKLAND: Chicago Bulls’ Carlos Boozer (left) looks to pass away from Golden State Warriors’ Andris Biedrins (15) during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP Harden also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out eight assists for the Rockets, who stayed two games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the No. 7 spot in the NBA Western Conference.

Derrick Williams and Jose Barea scored 19 points apiece for the Timberwolves, who led 59-39 early in the third quarter. The Rockets held Minnesota to only 16 field goals the rest of the way.

Hawks 107, Suns 94 In Atlanta, Josh Smith made a strong return to Atlanta’s lineup with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Hawks easily beat Phoenix. Smith had missed one game with a sprained left knee. All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures,

with Al Horford adding 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Korver had four 3-pointers and 16 points. Devin Harris had 15 and DeShawn Stevenson scored 12.

Bulls 113, Warriors 95 In Oakland, Luol Deng scored 23 points and Carlos Boozer had 21 points and nine rebounds as Chicago bounced back from its most lopsided loss of the season to whip Golden State.

Two nights after a 121-79 shellacking at Sacramento that renewed calls for Derrick Rose’s return, the Bulls outscored the Warriors 38-17 in the third quarter to end a season-high, five-game road losing streak.

Nate Robinson added 20 points and seven assists, while Joakim Noah finished

Wizards 96, Hornets 87 In Washington, John Wall scored a season-high 29 points and matched his career high with three 3-pointers as Washington ran its home winning streak to four.

Wall went 12 for 15 from the field, displaying an outside touch that’s been mostly absent since he was chosen No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft. He entered Friday’s game just 3 for 20 from 3-point range for the season, and was a mere 3 for 42 last season. Eric Gordon scored 20 points for the Hornets, who have lost five straight on the road and five of six overall.

Raptors 92, Bobcats 78 In Toronto, Rudy Gay scored 28 points and Amir Johnson had 12 points and a career-high 21 rebounds as Toronto beat Charlotte. Sebastian Telfair scored 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 as the Raptors won for just the third time in 10 games. Gerald Henderson, coming off a career-best, 35-point performance in the Bobcats’ victory over Boston on Tuesday, scored 22 points. —AP

NEW ZEALAND: Canterbury Crusaders player Willi Heinz (front center) dives in to score a try during their Super 15 rugby union match against South Africa’s Northern Bulls. —AFP

Western Force overpower Reds BRISBANE: The Western Force dealt the Queensland Reds a surprise home defeat yesterday, overpowering the 2011 champions for a 1912 Super Rugby win in Brisbane.

The Reds, chasing a 23rd win from 26 home matches, never came close to their fluent best in a hard-fought encounter with Quade Cooper below par and handling errors throughout the team in the face of some ferocious pressure.

Alfi Mafi scored the only try and Sias Ebersohn kicked 14 points for the Perth outfit, who started the match next to last in the overall standings and were unlucky not to clinch their first win of the season by a bigger margin. “We’re bitterly disappointed with that performance,” said Reds captain Will Genia, who made his comeback from a knee injury. “It’s very poor. We got a little possession there but we got carried over there trying to do silly things and we got what we deserved.”

There could have been more tries for the visitors but for some valiant defending by the Reds and some bad luck for the Force, who have now won at all four of their Australian Super Rugby rivals.

There was some good news for the Reds, however, with the return of scrum-half Genia after more than six months out following knee reconstruction.

After David Pocock and Berrick Barnes were injured on successive weekends, Wallabies coach Robbie Deans would also have been pleased to see Genia come through 40 minutes of rugby unscathed.

The game had mostly been a scrappy contest of handling errors and kicking, with the Reds winning 9-6, until Force scrum-half Alby Mathewson broke artfully in midfield.

Dropping his shoulder and surging into space, Mathewson offloaded to Mafi, who headed diagonally to the left corner and, although he was tagged by the chasing Genia, managed to ground in the corner. Ebersohn slotted the conversion from out wide and the Reds could respond only with Cooper’s fourth penalty before the break. —Reuters

NBA results/standings Toronto 92, Charlotte 78; Washington 96, New Orleans 87; LA Lakers 99, Indiana 93; Atlanta 107, Phoenix 94; Houston 108, Minnesota 100; Oklahoma City 117, Orlando 104; Miami 107, Milwaukee 94; Dallas 96, Cleveland 86; Denver 87, Memphis 80; Chicago 113, Golden State 95.

Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 49 17 .742 NY Knicks 38 25 .603 Denver 45 22 .672 4.5 Brooklyn 38 27 .585 1 Utah 33 32 .508 15.5 Boston 35 29 .547 3.5 Portland 30 34 .469 18 Toronto 26 40 .394 13.5 Minnesota 22 41 .349 25.5 Philadelphia 24 40 .375 14.5 Central Division Indiana 40 25 .615 Chicago 36 29 .554 Milwaukee 32 32 .500 Detroit 23 44 .343 Cleveland 22 43 .338 Southeast Division Miami 50 14 .781 Atlanta 36 29 .554 Washington 22 42 .344 Orlando 18 48 .273 Charlotte 14 51 .215

4 7.5 18 18

14.5 28 33 36.5

Pacific Division LA Clippers 45 21 .682 Golden State 37 30 .552 LA Lakers 35 32 .522 Sacramento 23 43 .348 Phoenix 22 44 .333 Southwest Division San Antonio 50 16 .758 Memphis 44 20 .688 Houston 36 30 .545 Dallas 31 34 .477 New Orleans 22 44 .333

8.5 10.5 22 23

The victorious Gulf Bank team

Gulf Bank top KBC League 5 14 18.5 28

KUWAIT: The Gulf Bank continued its strong performance after defeating the International Bank of Kuwait 3-0 in week eight competitions of the KBC League. The win gives the Gulf Bank a five-point lead on top of the standings, ahead of Boubyan Bank who finished with 17 points after

being held to a 1-1 draw with National Bank of Kuwait. The Kuwait Finance House defeated the Ahli United Bank 2-1 to finish with 17 points at third place in the overall standings.

Week nine competitions of the tournament that is organized by the Kuwait Banks Club kick

off tonight in a match between Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait and Al-Ahli United Bank, while the Warba Bank goes against the NBK tomorrow. Boubyan Bank and the International Bank play on Tuesday while Burgan Bank goes head to head with the KFH on Wednesday.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Sri Lanka’s Herath puts Bangladesh in a spin

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Hamish Rutherford (left) bats with England’s fielder Ian Bell during day three of the international cricket Test match between New Zealand and England played at the Basin Reserve. —AFP

England firmly in control of second Test against NZ WELLINGTON: Peter Fulton and Kane Williamson guided New Zealand through to 77 for one in their second innings at the close of play on the third day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve yesterday though England were firmly in control of the match.

Fulton was on 41 while Williamson was 16 not out as the hosts were still 134 runs from making England bat again and needing the rain predicted for late on Sunday to arrive earlier than expected to save the match. While showers are predicted late on the fourth day, New Zealand’s MetService has forecast persistent rain for the Wellington region throughout Monday. England captain Alastair Cook had enforced the follow-on after bowling New Zealand out for 254 shortly before tea, with the hosts 12 runs short of the required target to put the tourists back in to bat and well adrift of England’s 465.

Stuart Broad had rattled through New Zealand’s lower order with figures of six for 51 and Bruce Martin was left stranded on 21 not out before Cook enforced the follow on at tea.

“It’s not often enforced to be honest because the bowlers tend to like a bit of a rest and it’s good to get their batsmen back out in the field and build a big lead with scoreboard pressure,” Broad told reporters of the reasoning behind enforcing the follow on. “With the weather around it’s unsure how much cricket will be left in the next two days, that was the only reason behind it.”

The hosts began their second innings under intense pressure from Broad and James Anderson but left-arm spinner Monty Panesar got the only breakthrough when Hamish Rutherford was brilliantly caught by a diving Ian Bell at leg slip for 15.

Fulton and Williamson, however, survived through to stumps to ensure the game went into a fourth day and gave local fans a slim hope of the team salvaging a weather-influenced draw,

though New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling said his side still felt they could pull out an improbable victory.

“Their bowlers have bowled quite a lot of overs now so the longer we keep them out there hopefully they get tired and start loosening up and giving us balls to put away and then we can put pressure back on them,” Watling said.

“The wicket’s a good track. I think we are obviously disappointed with our first innings effort. We needed 350 at least on that so if we can rectify ourselves in the second innings and put them under a bit of pressure (by scoring) 350-400, a lead of 200 on this track could be defendable.”

New Zealand had looked like they could avoid the follow on at lunch with Brendon McCullum in an obstreperous mood, having reached his 27th test half century shortly before the break.

The New Zealand captain quickly advanced to 69 before Steven Finn got some extra bounce, caught the outside edge of the bat and Jonathan Trott took a simple catch at second slip.

McCullum’s dismissal, immediately after he and Watling had brought up their 100-run partnership, left New Zealand on 189 for six. A reckless shot from Tim Southee, who inexplicably fell into the trap set for him by hooking a short Finn delivery directly to Broad at fine leg for three, left the hosts on 197-7 and teetering on the brink of total collapse.

Watling upped his scoring rate after Southee’s dismissal and brought up his fourth test half century with a punch in front of point off Finn for two runs. He was supported by Martin in a 42-run partnership before the second new ball ended their resistance when Watling (60) feathered a catch to Matt Prior off Broad.

Neil Wagner became Broad’s fifth victim when he fell in exactly the same manner for a 13-ball duck, then the tall fast bowler snared Trent Boult for two to finish with his third-best career figures. —Reuters

SCOREBOARD WELLINGTON: Scoreboard at the close of play on the third day of the second test between New Zealand and England at the Basin Reserve yesterday.

Fall of wickets: 1-6 2-48 3-48 4-85 5-89 6-189 England first innings (465) 7-197 8-239 9-252 New Zealand first innings (overnight 66-3) Bowling: Anderson 25-6-68-2 (w-1, nb-1), P. Fulton c Cook b Anderson 1 Finn 20-2-72-2 (nb-1), Broad 17.2-2-51-6 (wH. Rutherford c Cook b Broad 23 1, nb-1), Panesar 26-11-47-0, Root 1-0-6-0 K. Williamson c & b Broad 42 New Zealand second innings (following on) R. Taylor b Broad 0 P. Fulton not out 41 D. Brownlie lbw b Anderson 18 H. Rutherford c Bell b Panesar 15 B. McCullum c Trott b Finn 69 K. Williamson not out 16 BJ Watling c Prior b Broad 60 Extras (w-5) 5 T. Southee c Broad b Finn 3 Total: (for one wicket, 33 overs) 77 B. Martin not out 21 Fall of wickets: 1-25 N. Wagner c Prior b Broad 0 Bowling: Anderson 5-1-15-0, Broad 7-2-14-0 T. Boult c Prior b Broad 2 (w-1), Finn 7-1-30-0, Panesar 12-8-13-1, Trott Extras (nb-3, lb-10, w-2) 15 2-0-5-0.

Total: (all out, 89.2 overs) 254

COLOMBO: Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath completed a fivewicket haul as Sri Lanka dismissed Bangladesh for 240 runs in their first innings on the opening day of the second and final Test yesterday.

Herath took full advantage of the visitors’ inability to score on the sluggish outfield to finish with 5-68, his 15th five-wicket haul in tests, while paceman Nuwan Kulasekara grabbed 3-54 as Mominul Haque top-scored with 64.

Sri Lanka reached the close at 18-1 following the dismissal of opener Tillakaratne Dilshan after they were forced to see out four overs before stumps. Pace bowler Robiul Islam, playing his first test match since 2011, took the wicket off the third ball of the innings.

Middle-order batsman Mominul gave Bangladesh some hope with his second fifty in as many matches before Herath ended his resistance with his first ball into the third session.

Herath then broke a dogged 59run partnership between Nasir Hossain (48) and Sohag Gazi (32) before he completed his five-wicket haul to wrap up the innings by trapping Nasir lbw.

Bangladesh lost their top half in the first two sessions after Sri Lanka, seeking the series win after the first test was drawn, won the toss and sent the visitors in. Opener Tamim Iqbal, returning into the side after missing out on the first test, was the first to go when he was trapped leg before by Kulasekara for 10. Mohammad Ashraful (16), who scored a career best 190 in the previous test afte a 15-month absence, was slow to react to a call for a quick single and was run out by a direct hit.

Paceman Shaminda Eranga ended Jahurul Islam’s resistance on 33 before Herath removed Mahmudullah when Angelo Mathews took a diving catch at gully after the edge hit wicketkeep-

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan cricketer Rangana Herath appeals during the opening day of their second Test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium. —AFP

SCOREBOARD COLOMBO: Scoreboard at the close on the first day of the second and final Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh yesterday.

8-232 9-232 10-240 Bangladesh first innings Bowling: Kulasekara 18-3-54-3 (nb-1), Lakmal 16-4-44Tamim Iqbal lbw b Kulasekara 10 0(w-2), Mathews 3-1-7-0, Eranga 14-2-40-1 (w-1 nb-1), Jahurul Islam c Chandimal b Eranga 33 Herath 28.3-6-68-5, Dilshan 4-0-19-0 Mohammad Ashraful run out 16 Mominul Haque c Chandimal b Herath 64 Sri Lanka first innings Mahmudullah c Mathews b Herath 8 D. Karunaratne not out 12 Mushfiqur Rahim b Herath 7 T. Dilshan c Rahim b Robiul 0 Nasir Hossain lbw b Herath 48 K. Sangakkara not out 3 Sohag Gazi st Chandimal b Herath 32 Extras (nb-3) 3 Abul Hasan c Karunaratne b Kulasekara 4 Total (one wicket; four overs) 18 Rubel Hossain c Herath b Kulasekara 0 To bat: L. Thirimanne, D. Chandimal, A. Mathews, K. Robiul Islam not out 1 Vithanage, N. Kulasekara, S. Eranga, R. Herath, S. Lakmal Extras (lb-8, w-7, nb-2) 17 Fall of wickets: 1-7 Bowling (to date): Robiul 2-0-12-1(nbTotal (all out; 83.3 overs) 240 Fall of wickets: 1-16 2-51 3-100 4-128 5-152 6-163 7-222 3), Sohag Gazi 2-1-6-0 er Dinesh Chandimal’s pad and lobbed up. Herath then produced a superb deliver y to bowl Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, man of the match in the drawn first test at Galle with a double century. The visitors, who

earned their first ever draw against Sri Lanka in the high-scoring opening test in Galle, made three changes to their side.

Opener Tamim returned from injur y while Bangladesh also included pacemen Rubel Hossain

and Robiul Islam. Anamul Haque, Shahadat Hossain and Elias Sunny were dropped from the team that played the first match. In the only change to the Sri Lankan squad, paceman Suranga Lakmal replaced spinner Ajantha Mendis. —Reuters

Misbah leads Pakistan to series-levelling win CENTURION: Misbah-ul-Haq played a captain’s innings with an unbeaten 57 as he steered Pakistan to a sixwicket victory over South Africa in the rain-affected second one-day international at Centurion on Friday.

Pakistan speedster Mohammad Irfan tore through the top order and South Africa were restricted to a modest 191 which the tourists passed with more than four overs to spare in a game that had been reduced to 44 per side by a rain delay.

Misbah shared a match-winning unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 77 with Shoaib Malik (35 not out) as the pair showed patience initially and then blasted their way to victory.

Younus Khan (32) and Mohammed Hafeez (31) also made valuable contributions in a lowscoring game, but the win was set up by an attacking display with the ball.

Irfan posted career best figures of four for 33 as he took full advantage of the pace and variable bounce in the wicket. He helped reduce South Africa to 62 for five before a fighting maiden one-day international half-century from Farhaan Berhardien (58) and a career-best 44 from Robin Peterson gave the hosts a glimmer of hope.

“The way we started, four wickets in the first 10 overs, that set up the game for us,” Misbah said in a television interview. “It is satisfying for us because we really needed this win. It was an attacking move to bring in Mohammad Irfan and it paid off for us.”

Pakistan paced their chase expertly and South Africa’s frustration led to a wayward bowling performance. They offered Pakistan far too many opportunities to score and battled to create any pressure.

“It was a very disappointing performance, Pakistan took the initiative early on and bowled very well,” captain AB de Villiers said.

“There are no excuses, we just didn’t play well today. They controlled the game and did it easily in the end.” The teams head into today ’s third one - day international with the series level at 1-1 after South Africa had breezed to a 1 2 5 - r u n v i c to r y i n t h e f i r s t match in Bloemfontein last weekend. —Reuters

CENTURION: Mohammad Irfan of Pakistan takes a catch of his own bowling to dismiss South African batsman Faf du Plessis (unseen) during the second One-Day International (ODI) cricket match. —AFP

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the end of the second one-day international between South Africa and Pakistan in Centurion on Friday.

2 (1w), Saeed Ajmal 8.2-0-23-2 (2w), Umar Gul 5-0-37-0 (1w), South Africa won the toss and elected to bat Shahid Afridi 8-0-24-0, Mohammad Hafeez 9-0-35-2 (4w) South Africa innings H. Amla c Akmal b Mohammad Irfan 17 Pakistan innings G. Smith c Akmal b Junaid Khan 10 Nasir Jamshed c Smith b McLaren 10 C. Ingram c Akmal b Mohammad Irfan 0 Mohammad Hafeez c Abbott b Steyn 31 AB. de Villiers c Younus b M. Irfan 4 Kamran Akmal b Peterson 18 F. du Plessis c & b Mohammad Irfan 17 Younus Khan c Amla b Peterson 32 F. Behardien c Shoaib Malik b Hafeez 58 Misbah-ul-Haq not out 57 R.McLaren lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 17 Shoaib Malik not out 35 R.Peterson c Nasir Jamshed b Saeed Ajmal 44 Extras (lb-3, w-6) 9 K.Abbott c Shahid Afridi b Saeed Ajmal 5 Total (for four wickets; 39.2 overs) 192 D.Steyn b Junaid Khan 0 Fall of wickets 1-29 2-63 3-69 4-115 L.Tsotsobe not out 0 Did not bat: Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Extras (lb-10, w-9) 19 Khan, Mohammad Irfan Total (all out; 43.2 overs) 191 Fall of wickets 1-26 2-26 3-35 4-43 5-62 6-106 7-173 8-179 9- Bowling: D. Steyn 9-1-29-1, L. Tsotsobe 6-1-37-0, K. Abbott 8.20-31-0 (1w), R. McLaren 8-0-40-1 (2w), R. Peterson 8-0-52-2 191 10-191 Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 7-0-33-4 (1w), Junaid Khan 6-0-29- Result - Pakistan won by six wickets.

Puerto Rico eliminate US MIAMI: Puerto Rico jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to upset the United States 4-3 to reach the semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic and eliminate the heavily favored losers in Miami on Friday.

A brilliant starting performance by major league journeyman Nelson Figueroa held Team USA down for six scoreless innings. The Americans chipped away at the Puerto Rican bullpen with a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth but fell short.

J.C. Romero, who pitched 14 seasons in the major leagues, retired the U.S. team in order in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the win, raising his arms to the heavens after centerfielder Angel Pagan caught Jimmy Rollins’ fly ball to end it.

Romero was tackled to the ground by team mates and was buried under a celebration pile as Puerto Rico reached the final round of the elite, 16-team tournament for the first time.

“This is a dream,” said third baseman Andy Gonzalez, who drove in two runs with a twoout, bases-loaded double in the sixth inning off reliever Vinnie Pestano that made it 4-0. “I bet you the whole island is going crazy right now.”

Figueroa, who pitched nine major league seasons for six different teams, did not allow a hit for the first three innings and yielded just two hits in six innings for the win. “Just throw strikes, get ahead of hitters and have faith in Yady,” said 38-year-old Figueroa, who pitched with precision and guile and gave much of the credit to his catcher, Yadier Molina.

“We had a plan from the beginning. We stuck to that plan, attacking the hitters,” he said. “The second time around they were more aggressive and helped me out with my pitch count and that allowed me to go through six innings and help this team.”

The win, which avenged a 7-1 loss to the US on Tuesday, improved Puerto Rico’s mark to 4-2 in the 16-team competition and gave them the last spot for the final round in San Francisco, joining defending champions Japan, the Netherlands and Dominican Republic.

The semi-finals are on Sunday and Monday with the title game on Tuesday. Puerto Rico will play the Dominican Republic on Saturday in Miami to determine the seeding from Pool 2 before heading to the West Coast.

Clutch-hitting Puerto Rico scored all their runs with two outs, tallying one in the first on a single by Mike Aviles and adding three in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by Pestano and Gonzalez’s two-run double off the wall in left. The Americans got a strong start from Ryan Vogelsong but continued their struggles at the plate.

Until they scored in the seventh on an RBI single by Giancarlo Stanton, the U.S. had gone through a scoreless drought of 14 innings dating back to the first frame of their 3-1 loss to the Dominicans on Thursday.

Ryan Braun’s double over third base in the eighth made it 4-2 and a bases-loaded walk to Ben Zobrist brought the U.S. within a run.

But Romero came on to retire Eric Hosmer on a grounder and then set the Americans down in the ninth to end it.

“We always expect to win, but we never take winning for granted,” said U.S. manager Joe Torre, giving credit to Puer to Rico.

Figueroa underlined the importance of his catcher’s leadership. “Yady is the heart and soul of this team, he drives us all. He pushes to get the best out of you, and tonight he got the best out of me.” —Reuters

MIAMI: Joe Mauer No. 7 of the United States looks on during a World Baseball Classic second round game against Puerto Rico at Marlins Park. —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Wozniacki battles marathon to meet Sharapova in final INDIAN WELLS: Former champion Caroline Wozniacki battled through a marathon encounter to upset fourth-seeded German Angelique Kerber 2-6 6-4 7-5 on Friday and reach her third BNP Paribas Open

final in four years.

The eighth-seeded Dane, winner at Indian Wells in 2011 after being a losing finalist the previous year, held off a late fightback by Kerber to scrape through in a wildly fluctuat-

INDIAN WELLS: Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates a point against Maria Kirilenko of Russia during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. —AFP

ing contest lasting two-and-a-half hours.

In a match littered with 14 service breaks, Wozniacki led 4-1 and then 5-3 in the third set but the German clawed her way back to 5-6 before being broken for a seventh and final time when she netted a forehand.

Wozniacki will next face 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, who overcome fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-3 in the second semifinal at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Sharapova, like Wozniacki a former world number one, will also be appearing in her third final here, having been demolished by Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the title match last year.

“I led 4-1 in the third and should have finished it off there but she’s a great fighter,” a jubilant Wozniacki said courtside after ending a run of three consecutive losses to the German. “I played a bit short and she was all over it.

“It is very special,” the 22-year-old Dane said of reaching her third final at Indian Wells. “I really enjoy this tournament. I think it shows. I have done great results here in the past, and this is another very good one.”

Kerber who won her first WTA singles title in Paris last year, raced into a 4-1 lead before taking the opening set in 38 minutes after Wozniacki hit a backhand service return long.

The 25-year-old German appeared to be in cruise control when she broke her opponent’s serve for a fourth time at the start of the second set, then holding to 2-0 up but the match effectively turned in the seventh game.

At 3-3, Wozniacki survived nine deuces and five break points before holding serve and going on to level the match when she broke Kerber in the 11th game after the German

netted a forehand.

“We had some really good points in that game, and that was definitely very important in the match,” Wozniacki said of that marathon game in the second set. “I managed to turn it around.”

Kerber, who had not dropped a set in her three previous matches before gaining a walkover into the semi-finals when seventh-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur withdrew due to a calf injury, applauded Wozniacki’s play.

“She was moving better and hit the ball a little bit higher,” the German left-hander said. “It’s not easy to lose a match like this, but well done to her. It was a tough match from the beginning.

“I started very well, but she found her game in the second set.

And it was not easy for me, but I think it was a close and good match. At the end she won important points.”

Four-times grand slam singles champion Sharapova broke her good friend Kirilenko in the third game of the match and went on to take a hard-fought first set in an hour.

The slender Russian then tightened her grip in the second set with much sharper serving, breaking her opponent twice more to seal victory on her first match point with a crunching forehand winner down the line.

“I’ve known Maria since we were little girls so there are no secrets out there on court,” second seed Sharapova said courtside. “It’s always tough to play against someone when you have played so many tournaments together.

“I started to serve better in the second set and that gave me a few free points. She gets so many balls back and likes to play those long points. My job was to be more aggressive than usual.” —Reuters

Nadal’s comeback form was ‘expected’: Djokovic INDIAN WELLS: Rafa Nadal continues his impressive comeback yesterday by bidding for a place in the BNP Paribas Open final and top seed Novak Djokovic is not at all surprised by the Spaniard’s swift progress.

World number five Nadal, who returned to the ATP circuit only last month after seven months on the sidelines last year with a left knee injury, will face sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych in the last four at Indian Wells.

“Well, it’s sort of expected, considering the success throughout his career that he had on all the sur faces,” Serbian world number one Djokovic told reporters on Friday about the Spaniard’s form in his first hardcourt event in a year.

“It wasn’t a big surprise, but, you know, there was always a wonder if he’s going to feel physically fit or not to play four tournaments in five weeks. That’s very demanding for somebody that’s been off for seven months.” Nadal competed in three relatively minor claycourt events in South America last month, winning two of them after reaching all three finals.

The Spanish left-hander then arrived at the

hard courts of Indian Wells to test his knee on the surface where his counter-punching style has often been least effective.

So far, the 11-times grand slam singles champion has flourished, winning his first two matches and gaining a walkover before booking his place in the last four by crushing long-time rival Roger Federer 6-2 6-4 on Thursday. “Obviously he’s building the confidence,” said Djokovic, after cruising through his quarter-final on Friday in commanding fashion, winning 6-3 6-1 against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. “He feels good, and he’s very motivated, I’m sure, to perform his best. He’s been playing great tennis.”

Djokovic could meet Nadal in what would be a mouth-watering final on Sunday but for that to happen the Spaniard has to beat Berdych while the Serb will have to overcome Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.

“Del Potro is a powerful hitter from the back of the court, big serve,” Djokovic said of the 2009 U.S. Open champion, who upset British world number three Andy Murray 6-7 6-3 6-1 in their quarter-final on Friday.

“He moves really well for his height. US Open

champion, so he knows how to play on the big stage.” For his part, Del Potro faces a daunting task against Australian Open champion Djokovic, who is unbeaten in 22 matches dating back to last October.

“Tomorrow against Nole I will need to play better than today,” said the 6ft-6in (1.98 metre) Argentine, who has lost to Djokovic in their last four meetings. “I remember the (most recent) match in Dubai I was close to winning the second set, but he takes all the chances to beat me.

He’s the No. 1. You never know if he give to you a little chance to win, you know.”

Del Potro has beaten the Serb only twice in 10 career meetings but he has very fond memories of when he last tasted victory, winning 7-5 6-4 to claim the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. “That match was very special for me,” said the 24-year-old from Tandil. “Then we play in Cincinnati, in the U.S. Open, and Dubai and he beat me all the time. “But all the matches are close with him. He already beat me in Dubai in two sets, very close two sets. I need to be very focused on any chances (that come) and try to take (them).” —Reuters

SWITZERLAND: Mikaela Shiffrin of the US celebrates after winning the Women Slalom race and the crystal Globe trophy at the Alpine ski World Cup finals. —AFP

Shiffrin beats Maze for World Cup slalom title LENZERHEIDE: Mikaela Shiffrin delivered an astonishing second run to overtake Tina Maze and clinch the World Cup slalom title with an improbable come-from behind victory yesterday.

The American teenager trailed Maze by a massive 1.17 seconds after the first leg, and needed to finish ahead of the Slovenian to win the slalom title in her first full season on the circuit.

Shiffrin, who was fourth in the morning, had a tentative start to the second run but blazed down the bottom part of course for the fastest time of the afternoon. When first-run leader Maze crossed the line in third, Shiffrin put her hands to her face and sank to her knees in the finish area.

“I didn’t know I could make up all that time in one run,” said Shiffrin, who also won the slalom world championship title last month. “I’m excited to reach my goals. It’s amazing. I am still trying to find my best skiing but this was my best run of the season.”

It was so good that only one skier, Bernadette Schild of Austria, was within one second of her time in the afternoon. Shiffrin finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 55.60 seconds, with Schild 0.20 behind in second. Maze trailed by 0.35.

Maze had already clinched the overall World Cup title along with the giant slalom and super-G disciplines but was still visibly distraught at letting slip such a big lead to Shiffrin. While the American paraded her crystal globe in front of photographers, Maze stood with her head buried in her arm, sobbing.

“I didn’t lose the slalom season just in this race,” Maze told reporters from her native Slovenia. “I made a lot of mistakes and I had a chance to win it before Lenzerheide.”

The 29-year-old Maze praised Shiffrin as a “really big talent, one of the biggest. She did a great job.” Shiffrin was quick to pay tribute to her rival, who set a new World Cup points record in one of the most dominating seasons the sport has seen.

“I actually want to thank Tina Maze,” Shiffrin said. “She’s probably going to punch

me after this, but she’s been very inspiring and helped me get to where I am. She’s really my greatest idol this season.”

Maze led Shiffrin by seven points in the slalom standings going into the race, and seemed to have wrapped up the title after taking such a big lead in the first run.

So how did Shiffrin steady her nerves to put down such an impressive run in the second? “I didn’t,” she said. “I was freaking out.

Oh my God, I was freaking out.” Shiffrin’s mother Eileen was also nervous as she watched on, clapping enthusiastically as she leaned over a railing in a quiet VIP zone at the edge of the finish area.

“Un-be-lievable,” Eileen Shiffrin told The Associated Press seconds after her daughter was declared champion. “She dug so deep in that second run. Oh my God, she finally skied the way she can ski.” Shiffrin, who turned 18 Wednesday, is the first American World Cup slalom champion since Tamara McKinney in 1984.

With her victory, she went a long way to fulfilling predictions that she can follow teammate Lindsey Vonn as a superstar in Alpine racing and be one of the big profiles at next year’s Sochi Olympics.

Vonn was 20 when she won her first World Cup race, 23 when she secured her first season-long World Cup title in any discipline, and 24 before winning her first major gold medal, at the 2009 world championships.

Shiffrin already has that trio of accolades three days after her 18th birthday. The Vail, Colorado, native is the youngest World Cup slalom title winner since Christa Zechmeister of West Germany 39 years ago.

After a breakthrough season, which finishes with a giant slalom on Sunday, Shiffrin will return to face the media spotlight back home in the U.S. on Monday after four months racing in Europe.

First up is an appearance on “Late Show with David Letterman” on Tuesday in New York City. “Yeah, Letterman, I am so excited about that,” said Shiffrin, who will graduate high school in the summer. “I hope I don’t trip when I’m going up on stage.” —AP

Chan wins third title but Ten steals show at worlds

Yazeed Al-Rajhi

Rajhi arrives today to participate in Kuwait Intl Rally 2013 KUWAIT: Saudi rally driver and champion, Yazeed AlRajhi will arrive to Kuwait today to take part in Kuwait International Rally 2013, which is round two of the Middle East Rally Championship, due to kick off next Thursday. Notably, this is Al-Rajhi’s second participation in the championship as he took part in the first round held in Qatar last January. He had also won Kuwait Rally in 2008 driving a Subaru Impreza. He recently took part in many international and European rallies.

Speaking about his participation in Kuwait’s Rally, AlRajhi said that he believed that it would mark the real beginning of achieving his ambitions in the Middle East Rally. “Which I intend to win”, he underlined pointing out that Kuwait’s terrain and geography was different from that of Qatar and that they are perfect for his way of driving. “I don’t lack neither speed nor the skills it takes to win the race......I only need some good luck to win on Kuwaiti sand, the same way I did on Swedish snow”, he emphasized.

LONDON: When Denis Ten first started skating, the only rinks in Kazakhstan were outdoors. His mother would bundle him up before sending him out, often putting him in three pairs of pants so he would stay warm. “I looked like a cabbage,” he said, drawing laughs. Now he looks like a champion. Or pretty darn close to one. The men’s title at the World Figure Skating Championships on Friday night may have gone to Patrick Chan. But the night belonged to the little-known Ten. After never finishing better than seventh at a world championships or the Olympics, he came within one jump of knocking off the guy who has dominated men’s skating since the Vancouver Olympics. Ten won the free skate, but finished 1.3 points behind Chan because the three-time world champion had such a big lead after the short program. “I feel like I had (come) a long way (from) being a kid skating like a cabbage. Now I skate in a good costume at the worlds,” Ten said. “I’m glad I’ve got this medal.” It was the first medal for Kazakhstan. It also was, by far, Ten’s best finish at a major international competition. The 19-year-old was fourth at junior worlds twice, and fifth at both Skate America and Skate Canada last season. “It’s my best performance of the year,” Ten said, “and maybe of my skating career.” Javier Fernandez was third, giving Spain its first medal, too. US champion Max Aaron was seventh and Ross Miner was 14th, ensuring the Americans will have two spots in Sochi.

Chan’s biggest competition this week was expected to come from Fernandez, the European champion, or Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi and Yuzuru Hanyu. Kevin Reynolds was considered a darkhorse and maybe, just maybe, U.S. champion Max Aaron could surprise a few people. But Ten? He wasn’t even in the conversation. Just last month he’d been 12th at Four Continents, a competition that doesn’t include the Europeans or, this year, Chan. “When I came back after (Four Continents), I was like really, really disappointed. It was hard for me to start all over for me again and to get fresh thoughts and pump up my motivation,” Ten said. “At the same time, I felt worlds is coming and ... I realized that the game is not over. I

realized how much I wanted to prove to everyone that I’m still playing.” In addition to his regular training sessions with coach Frank Carroll, Ten would work out in his garage until 10 p.m. “I’ll let it be a secret,” he said when asked to describe his workout routine. “You can imagine what I can do in my garage.” Whatever he did, he ought to keep doing it. Continuing a story he’d started with the short program, Ten was a revelation. He didn’t so much as skate to “The Artist” as he did pick up where the Oscar-winning movie had left off - minus Uggie.

He was a silent film star on ice, pantomiming and using every other inch of his body to talk to the audience - and judges - without ever uttering a word. His skating was flawless, with centered spins and complex footwork. His quad was big and solid and the rest of his jumps were strong. But it was the landings that were most impressive, with his blades carving the ice like a diamond cutter.

Had he not doubled the first jump in his triple flip-double toe combination, he - not Chan would have been standing atop the podium. “My dream came true,” Ten said. “I still cannot believe that it all happened.” Chan might say the same.

With the Sochi Olympics a year away and these world championships in his own country, Chan wanted this title badly. Maybe too badly. “I definitely was disappointed in myself because I really wanted to go out there and have another short program moment,” said Chan, whose short program score was a world record. “It’s kind of selfish of me, but I really wanted to enjoy it. ... The moment wasn’t as good as it could have been but, nonetheless, it was very special.” He got off to a spectacular start, doing a quadruple toe looptriple toe combination and a solo quad toe that were so technically perfect, coaches all over went running for their DVR. Then the downward spiral began. He splatted on a triple lutz, a jump that’s simple in comparison to those quads, and fell on an underrotated triple axel. He flipped out of the landing on the last jump of a triple flip-single loop-triple salchow combination and watered down a triple lutz-double toe combo. —AP

MELBOURNE: Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland powers ahead of the pack during the wet Q1 qualifying session for the Formula One Australian Grand Prix. —AFP

Rain postpones Formula One qualifying in Australian GP MELBOURNE: The final stages of qualifying for today’s season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix were postponed to the morning of the race after heavy rain made conditions impossible yesterday. A chaotic opening segment of qualifying was completed after a delay but as the rain persisted and the skies grew darker, race director Charlie Whiting decided the climax of the session would have to wait until 11am local time today.

“I think it was absolutely the right decision to delay it until tomorrow morning,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “It’s a shame, but I think Charlie has made the right call.

“You can see it’s quite dark now and these conditions are not safe for the drivers. Hopefully this weather will blow through tonight and we’ll be back with better conditions in the morning.”

It was the first time since the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix that bad weather had caused qualifying to be held on the same day as the race and McLaren’s Jenson Button said it was disappointing for driver and spectator alike.

“There’s so much pent-up energy and adrenalin and we’ve got to find a way of getting rid of that now,” said the Briton, who has won three of the last four races at Albert Park.

“It’s sad for the fans, they’ve been here all day and we weren’t able to put on a show.” After a hot, sunny morning in Melbourne, the rain descended in time to disrupt the final practice session and rarely relented thereafter. The first section of qualifying started with plenty of water still on the circuit and ended in more heavy rain with bits of car strewn across the track.

Nico Rosberg set the quickest time for Mercedes in that session in one minute 43.380, ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean in a Lotus.

“I don’t want to think too much about the front row,” said Rosberg. “For sure, it’s going to be much more difficult in the dry. Today we were really quick in the wet ... in the wet, great car.”

Button escaped an embarrassing exit by making an early gamble on intermediate tyres but Pastor Maldonado of Williams was late to make the change and one of the six drivers eliminated.

The Venezuelan, a race winner from pole position last year in Spain, was accompanied by four of the five rookies but was not about to blame the weather for his early exit.

“We need to work very hard to solve the problems,” he said. “The car is undriveable at the moment.

In the wet we were slow and in the dry as well.”

Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, the Marussias of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton as well as Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde were also eliminated. Charles Pic finished last after a big crash before the end of the session, failing to record a time inside 107 percent of the quickest in his Caterham and so will have to appeal to the stewards to race on Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton’s first weekend with Mercedes continued to be eventful. The 2008 world champion was the first driver to set a time but his day almost came to an end on his next lap when he spun his Mercedes at turn two and bumped into the tyre wall before appearing to get bogged down on the trackside grass. —Reuters

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

S P ORT S

Real too good for Mallorca

LONDON: Southampton’s English player Steven Davis (left) vies with Liverpool’s English defender Glenn Johnson during the English Premier League football match.—AFP

Saints boost survival bid with Liverpool win Southampton 3

Liverpool 1

SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton did their hopes of avoiding the drop from the English Premier League the power of good and dented Liverpool’s top six hopes yesterday with a 3-1 win at St Mary’s.

Saints, striving to stay in the top flight after two consecutive promotions, took the lead after just five minutes through Morgan Schneiderlin, who fired home from close range. Liverpool seemed shell-shocked by that as they struggled to respond, save for a Daniel Sturridge long-range snapshot which Artur Boruc saved.

And the vistors were stunned still further when they found themselves two goals down after 32 minutes, Rickie Lambert firing home a freekick. Liverpool looked to have dragged themselves back into the match right on the stroke of halftime when Portuguese recent acquisition Phillippe Coutinho netted from close range

after good work from Sturridge.

But after the break, the pendulum swung back towards the hosts, who gambled in mid-season by firing Nigel Adkins as manager in January. Successor Mauricio Pochettino had prior to Saturday ’s encounter overseen only one victory in seven matches - albeit one over defending champions Manchester City last month.

But they made sure of the points with a third goal ten minutes from time courtesy of Jay Rodriguez. Rodriguez looked to have few options available as he ran at the Liverpool defence but forced an initial save out of keeper Brad Jones and then slotted home the rebound.

The success moved the Saints seven points clear of the drop zone with eight games remaining.

Liverpool, gradually making progress in recent outings under Brendan Rodgers, had been seeking a win which would have lifted them level on points with neighbours Everton, who earlier defeated Manchester City 2-0.

But instead, they went down to a loss which left the five-time European champions looking over their shoulders at fellow Europa League hopefuls West Bromwich Albion and Swansea.—AFP

MADRID: Three goals in six second-half minutes propelled Real Madrid to a seventh consecutive victory as they twice came from behind to beat Mallorca 5-2 yesterday.

Emilio Nsue had headed the visitors into a shock lead and after Gonzalo Higuain had briefly levelled for Madrid, Alejandro Alfaro restored Mallorca’s advantage midway through the first-half.

However, the introduction of Mesut Ozil at half-time proved crucial as Cristiano Ronaldo headed home the German’s corner before a wonder goal from Luka Modric put Madrid in front and Ozil played in Higuain to score his second of the evening.

And Karim Benzema slotted home from Higuain’s pass in stoppage time to round off a fine evening for Los Blancos’ previousy out of form strikers. Although still in the bottom three, Mallorca had won their two previous games and started brightly as Giovani Dos Santos saw an effort from distance fly just over Diego Lopez’s goal.

And just six minutes in the visitors took the lead as Giovani burst down the left and his cross was brilliantly headed into the bottom corner by Nsue. Higuain came close to an immediate reply as his prodded effort from close range bounced to safety off Dudu Aouate’s face, but the Argentine was on hand to level on 14 minutes as Modric’s pass released Pepe clear on goal and he squared for Higuain to roll home.

However, Mallorca were still posing a threat and after Lopez got down to save a tame effort from Giovanni, the Mexican produced another fine cross from a corner that was flicked on by Pedro Bigas and headed in at the back post by Alfaro.

Ronaldo ought to have levelled again shortly afterwards as he blazed over from Kaka’s through ball and Alan Hutton had to make a fine interception to prevent Higuain

having a tap-in from a low Ronaldo cross.

The Portuguese then clipped the bar at the end of a fine Madrid move as Kaka fed Higuain inside the box and he laid it back for Ronaldo, who just couldn’t keep his effort on target.

Hutton came within inches of putting Mallorca further ahead just before half-time from another corner as Madrid continued to struggle from set-pieces. Jose Mourinho reacted at the break by bringing on Ozil and Benzema for Alvaro Arbeloa and Alvaro Morata. However, it was again Mallorca who had the first opportunity of the second-half as Bigas spooned an overhead kick over the bar when completely unmarked just six yards out.

And that miss was to prove crucial as a rapid three-goal salvo decisively swung the game in the hosts’ favor. Firstly, Ronaldo leapt highest to nod in an Ozil corner from

the right before Modric volleyed in a wonderful strike from fully 30 yards three minutes later.

And Ozil’s presence was felt once more moments later as he showed great composure to lay the ball across the face of goal for Higuain to fire in his second of the evening.

The chances continued to come for Madrid and Aouate produced a wonderful save to prevent Higuain from sealing his hattrick seven minutes from time. However, Lopez and Fabio Coentrao then had to make desperate blocks from Giovani and Michael Pereira respectively to prevent a nervy finish for the champions.

Madrid then finished with a flourish as Higuain crossed for Benzema to round off the scoring as they cut the gap on Barcelona at the top of the table to 10 points ahead of the Catalans’ clash with Rayo Vallecano today. — AFP

Spanish League results/standings Real Sociedad 4 (Griezmann 33, 44, Agirretxe 39, Prieto 48) Valladolid 1 (Guerra 87); Getafe 1 (Borja 7) Athletic Bilbao 0; Real Madrid 5 (Higuain 15, 57, Cristiano Ronaldo 52, Modric 54, Benzema 90+2) Real Mallorca 2 (Nsue 6, Alfaro 21).

Playing later Valencia v Real Betis Spanish League table after points): Barcelona 27 23 2 Real Madrid 28 19 4 Atletico 27 18 3 Sociedad 28 13 8 Malaga 27 12 8 Real Betis 27 13 4 Valencia 27 12 6 Getafe 28 12 6 Rayo 27 13 2 Levante 27 10 6

yesterday’s evening match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, 2 5 6 7 7 10 9 10 12 11

85 71 48 49 38 39 38 38 36 32

30 27 24 35 25 39 40 44 43 40

71 61 57 47 44 43 42 42 41 36

Valladolid Sevilla Espanyol Bilbao Osasuna Granada Zaragoza Mallorca Celta Vigo Deportivo

28 27 27 28 27 27 27 28 28 28

9 10 8 9 7 7 7 6 6 4

8 5 8 5 7 6 5 6 5 8

11 12 11 14 13 14 15 16 17 16

36 39 31 32 23 25 25 30 27 32

38 40 37 51 30 38 38 55 41 59

35 35 32 32 28 27 26 24 23 20

Arsenal beat Swansea to close on top four Swansea 0

Arsenal 2

West Brom stifle Stoke Stoke 0

West Brom 0

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Stoke City were unable to shake themselves out of their recent slump as they were held to a goalless draw at home to West Bromwich Albion yesterday.

Tony Pulis’ side have now picked up just five points from a possible 30 in 2013, having found their best efforts repelled by newly recalled England goalkeeper Ben Foster at the Britannia Stadium.

The point meant Stoke remained in 10th place in the Premier League table, six points below ninth-place Swansea City, while Steve Clarke’s West Brom stay eighth.

The game began with a flurry of activity, with Stoke defender Ryan Shotton fortunate to escape punishment after chopping down recalled West Brom winger Jerome Thomas right outside the hosts’ penalty area.

Stoke threatened when Cameron Jerome headed over from a Matthew Etherington cross, before Chris Brunt shot straight at Asmir Begovic at the other end following a slick West Brom move. The two

sides could not sustain their early momentum, however, and the game descended into an attritional tussle.

Stoke came close in the 28th minute, when Jon Walters saw a shot deflected narrowly wide of the post, but for all the hosts’ endeavour, they could not find a way through.

West Brom procured a clear sight of goal early in the second period, but Romelu Lukaku could only head straight at Begovic from Thomas’ cross. The on-loan Chelsea striker then squandered an even better opportunity moments later when he was unable to apply a touch to Liam Ridgewell’s left-wing centre.

The visitors continued to press and came within inches of breaking the deadlock when Billy Jones’ drilled cross struck Lukaku and was somehow diverted over the crossbar by Begovic.

Peter Odemwingie tested Begovic with a low shot moments after coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute, before Youssouf Mulumbu shot narrowly off target.

With the rain beginning to fall in torrents, Marc Wilson spurned a good chance to put the hosts ahead in the 80th minute when he headed narrowly wide from a corner. Stoke put the West Brom defence under sustained pressure late in the game, but their best chance saw substitute Kenwyne Jones foiled by the commanding Foster.—AFP

Bayern two wins from title BERLIN: Bayern Munich are just two wins from the Bundesliga title after their 2-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen yesterday allowed them to stay 20 points clear at the top of the table. They have won 21 of their 26 league games this season and now only need to beat Hamburg at home next Saturday, then win at Eintracht Frankfurt on April 6 to have their 23rd German league title confirmed.

Bayern are also eyeing the Champions League title. Despite losing 2-0 to Arsenal on Wednesday, they still reached the quarter-finals on away goals to face Juventus.

With captain Philipp Lahm, wing Thomas Mueller and striker Mario Mandzukic all rested for the trip to Leverkusen, Germany forward Mario Gomez showed his strength with the opening goal on 37 minutes.

Leverkusen, the only team to beat Bayern in the Bundesliga this year, pulled a goal back when Simon Rolfes scored from a corner on 75 minutes. But Bayern took the three points when Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free kick deflected off Leverkusen’s Philipp Wollscheid shoulder into his own net on 87 minutes. Earlier, second-placed Borussia Dortmund routed Freiburg 5-1 with Poland’s Robert Lewandowski and Turkey’s Nuri Sahin both scoring twice. Dortmund, who play Malaga in the last eight of the Champions League, ran riot at Signal Iduna Park as Lewandowski set a new club record of scoring in each of his last eight league

games. Having fallen behind to an early Jonathan Schmid goal, Dortmund grabbed the game by the scruff on the neck to flatten Freiburg with three goals in five minutes at the end of the first half.

Lewandowski opened the floodgates with his eighth goal in consecutive league games on 41 minutes. But the Poland star is well short of Gerd Mueller’s Bundesliga record of a goal in 14 consecutive games for Bayern Munich.

The rout was wrapped up when 19-yearold Leonardo Bittencourt scored his first Bundesliga goal, two minutes after coming off the bench, on only his second league appearance, on 78 minutes when he tapped home a Lewandowski cross.

Schalke were hammered 3-0 at Nuremberg to drop down to fifth and out of the Champions League places, having been dumped out of Europe’s top competition with a home defeat to Galatasaray on Tuesday. Ex-Dortmund midfielder Markus Feulner put Nuremberg ahead before Alexander Esswein converted a pass from Japan’s Hiroshi Kiyotake for the hosts second as the Japanese star again provided the final pass for Mike Frantz to score the third.

Relegation-threatened Augsburg picked up their fourth win in their last 10 games to keep their survival hopes alive with a 1-0 win at seventh-placed Hamburg, but the Bavarian team remains five points from safety.—AFP

SWANSEA: Arsenal bounced back from their Champions League exit to step up their challenge for a top-four Premier League finish as goals from Nacho Monreal and Ger vinho secured a 2-0 win at Swansea City yesterday.

The win moved Arsene Wengers side to within two points of fourth-place Chelsea, 24 hours before Rafael Benitezs side face West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners struggled to break down Michael Laudrups side but eventually made the breakthrough when Monreal scored his first goal since arriving at the club in an 8.3 million ($13.2 million, 9.7 million euros) move from Malaga in January.

Then, with Swansea looking for a leveller, Ger vinho secured the win in added time.

Wenger had called on his side to display the qualities they had shown in beating Bayern Munich in mid-week, when they went out of the Champions League on away goals.

The message appeared to get through, with Arsenal pressing forward immediately and only narrowly failing to match their efforts in Munich, when Olivier Giroud had set them on their way with a third-minute goal.

This time the early opportunity fell to Alex Oxlade -Chamberlain, who tricked his way past Swansea right-back Angel Rangel before firing a right-foot shot that rebounded to safety off the crossbar.

But Swansea were equally positive in their response and Rangel made his presence felt at the opposite end of the pitch when he broke clear in the visiting area, only to slice his shot wide. Swanseas victory at Newcastle United two weeks previously had taken the League Cup winners to the 40-point target set

by Laudrup at the start of the season, prompting him to set a new target of a top-half finish.

His side looked capable of taking the first step towards that mark when Michu turned Per Mertesacker in the 17th minute, only to pull his left-foot shot across the face of Lukasz Fabianskis goal.

Fabiansk i had again been preferred to Wojciech Szczcesny in the Arsenal goal, with Szczesny taking his place on the substitutes bench alongside Thomas Vermaelen, the club captain.

In Vermaelens absence, the centre-back

SOUTHAMPTON: Swansea City’s English midfielder Nathan Dyer (left) vies with Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta during an English Premier League football match.—AFP pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Mertesacker had impressed in Munich and the duo again provided a solid barrier in front of Fabianski, denying Swansea for the rest of the first half.

And with more luck, the visitors might have reached the interval ahead, as OxladeChamberlain again hit the bar with another long-range effort after good work from the impressive Santi Cazorla three minutes before the break. Arsenal maintained their momentum after the restart, with Abou Diaby firing over from outside the Swansea box.

The home side had looked like a team sat comfortably in mid-table, but they began to show more urgency as the second half progressed, with Michu and Pablo Hernandez firing over from good positions.

But it was Arsenal who finally made the breakthrough, three minutes after Wenger had freshened up his side with the introduct i o n o f A a ro n R a m s e y a n d G e r v i n h o for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Diaby.

A period of sustained pressure brought about a corner that Swansea failed to clear effec tively. The home defence was then stretched by a strong Cazorla run across the face of goal and when the home side again fa iled to clear the Spaniards low cros s, Monreal was on hand to finish left-footed.

Swansea pressed for an equaliser but were caught out on the break when Ramsey sped down the right before squaring for Gervinho to finish from 12 yards.—AFP

EPL results/standings Aston Villa 3 (Agbonlahor 45, Weimann 59, Benteke 81) QPR 2 (Jenas 23, Townsend 73); Everton 2 (Osman 32, Jelavic 90) Manchester City 0; Manchester Utd 1 (Rooney 21) Reading 0; Southampton 3 (Schneiderlin 6, Lambert 33, Rodriguez 80) Liverpool 1(Coutinho 45); Stoke 0 West Brom 0; Swansea 0 Arsenal 2 (Monreal 74, Gervinho 90) English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd Man City Tottenham Chelsea Arsenal Everton Liverpool West Brom Swansea Stoke Fulham

29 29 29 28 29 29 30 30 30 30 28

24 17 16 15 14 12 12 13 10 7 8

2 8 6 7 8 12 9 5 10 13 9

3 4 7 6 7 5 9 12 10 10 11

69 51 51 56 55 46 57 40 40 27 39

31 26 36 30 32 35 39 38 38 35 44

74 59 54 52 50 48 45 44 40 34 33

West Ham 28 9 6 13 32 41 33 Newcastle 29 9 6 14 40 50 33 Norwich 29 7 12 10 27 45 33 Southampton 30 7 10 13 42 52 31 Sunderland 29 7 9 13 32 41 30 Aston Villa 30 7 9 14 31 56 30 Wigan 28 6 6 16 33 55 24 Reading 30 5 8 17 35 57 23 QPR 30 4 11 15 26 48 23 Note: Top four teams will qualify for Champions league at end of season and bottom three teams would be relegated.

Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League Sunderland v Norwich City Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5 Tottenham v Fulham Abu Dhabi Sports HD 6 Wiganv Newcastle Abu Dhabi Sports HD 4 Chelsea v West Ham Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5

16:30 18:00 19:00 19:00

German League Eintracht v Stuttgart Dubai Sports Borussia v Hannover

17:30 19:30

French League Nancy Lorraine v Nice Aljazeera Sport +4 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Toulouse v Girondins Aljazeera Sport +4 Saint Etienne v Saint-Germain Aljazeera Sport +4

16:00 19:00 23:00

Spanish League Malaga v Espanyol Aljazeera Sport +2 Sevilla v Real Zaragoza Aljazeera Sport +7 Osasuna v Atletico Aljazeera Sport +2 Granada v Levante Aljazeera Sport +7 Barcelona v Vallecano Aljazeera Sport +2

14:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 23:00

Italian League Siena v Cagliari Aljazeera Sport +1 AC Milan v Palermo Aljazeera Sport +1 Napoli v Atalanta Aljazeera Sport +10 Pescara v Chievo Verona Aljazeera Sport +2 Fiorentina v Genoa Aljazeera Sport +9 Torino v SS Lazio Aljazeera Sport +5 AS Roma v Parma Aljazeera Sport +8 Sampdoria v Internazionale Aljazeera Sport +1

14:30 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:00 22:45 22:45 22:45

England firmly in control of second Test against NZ

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

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Wozniacki battles marathon to meet Sharapova in final

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Rain postpones Formula One qualifying in Australian GP

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OLD TRAFFORD: Manchester United’s English forward Ashley Young (center) vies for the ball against Reading’s English goalkeeper Stuart Taylor (left) during an English Premier League football match. — AFP

United take step towards title 20 Man Utd 1

Reading 0

MANCHESTER: Wayne Rooney scored the only goal as Manchester United beat Reading 1-0 yesterday to open up a 15point lead in the Premier League and move closer to a 20th English title.

Manchester City’s defeat at Everton earlier in the day paved the way for United to extend their advantage and the all-time top-flight record for the largest title-winning margin-the 18 points by which United won the 2000 championship-is now under threat.

United also enjoyed a strong outing from defender Rio Ferdinand, who manager Alex Ferguson confirmed is due to link up with the England squad this week despite concerns over his long-term fitness.

Reading, under caretaker manager Eamonn Dolan, ended a traumatic week in which they had parted company with Brian McDermott with a creditable performance, but one which still leaves them deep in trouble near the foot of the table.

Rooney scored what looked likely to be an important opening goal after 21 minutes, although the architect of the

effort was Ferdinand, the centre-back recently recalled to Roy Hodgson’s England squad.

Ferdinand’s burst of power and pace allowed him to slip the ball through to his international team-mate, who unleashed a shot from the edge of the area that deflected off defender Alex Pearce and looped over goalkeeper Stuart Taylor into the net.

Ashley Young had signalled the first moment of real attacking intent after 20 minutes, collecting a fine cross-field pass from Ferdinand and sending a well-struck cross inches beyond the lunge of Robin van Persie.

Taylor was forced to rush from his line to beat Young to a dangerous Ryan Giggs pass and, with the goal soon following, United wrapping up victory seemed an imminent formality.

Danny Welbeck certainly thought so, surging forward and shooting inches wide from distance, while Rooney tested Taylor’s handling, also from long range.

But to the credit of Reading, and caretaker manager Dolan, they did not fold and actually enjoyed the better of the remainder of the first half.

Neat approach play from Nicky Shorey and Garath McCleary set up Hal RobsonKanu for a curling effort that just missed the United goal and Jobi McAnuff then darted to the by-line, from where he sent a teasing centre across the face of goal.

Reading maintained the pressure after the restart, with United defender Nemanja

Vidic fortunate to escape a penalty appeal after he appeared to push over Adrian Mariappa at a corner. It was a tense period for the champions-elect, although they emerged from it with a period of pressure of their own, one sparked by the unlikely source of left-back Alexander Buttner, making a rare start for United.

Only Jem Karacan’s well-timed tackle halted his progress on goal and, in quick succession from the subsequent corner, van Persie, Welbeck and Young all had shots that failed to test the opposition goalkeeper.

The same was certainly not true of a 64th-minute free-kick from van Persie, who beat the wall, from 20 yards, and saw Taylor parry his attempt with a smart dive low to his left.

Ferguson brought on Michael Carrick, to strengthen a midfield that had been second-best too often, and he started a move that ended with an attempted chip from Rooney that comfortably cleared the Reading goal.

Carrick was also involved in a move, featuring Giggs and van Persie, that culminated in the Welsh veteran having a nearpost shot well saved by Taylor. It was not until the 85th minute, and a tremendous strike from Rooney at the edge of the area, that the Reading goal was seriously threatened. His effort cleared the target by inches, while van Persie almost succeeded with a spectacular bicycle kick from substitute Shinji Kagawa’s injurytime centre. — AFP

LONDON: Everton’s Marouane Fellaini (centre) fights for the ball against Manchester City’s Matija Nastasic (centre left) during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP

Everton tear City’s title hopes to shreds Everton 2

Benteke boosts Villa’s survival bid AstonVilla 3

QPR 2

BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa eased their relegation worries as Christian Benteke’s late strike clinched a crucial 3-2 win over fellow strugglers QPR yesterday.

Paul Lambert’s team moved six points clear of the Premier League’s bottom three thanks to Benteke’s winner nine minutes from the end of a thrilling encounter at Villa Park. QPR had taken a first half lead through Jermaine Jenas, only for Gabriel Agbonlahor to equalise against the run of play just before the break.

Andreas Weimann put Villa ahead early in the second half before Andros Townsend hauled QPR level to set up a dramatic finale capped by Belgian striker Benteke’s seventh goal in the last eight league games-his 17th since his £8 million move from Genk last year.

While Villa can look to the final weeks of the season more optimistically after this win, QPR remain bottom of the table and are now seven points from safety.

To make matters worse for Harry Redknapp’s team, they should have been out of sight before half-time after a dominant opening. Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan made two excellent saves in the space of 60 seconds to keep his side on level terms.

The United States international backpedalled to turn a looping header from Christopher Samba over the bar after he had connected with a Jose Bosingwa free-kick. Then Guzan made an

even better save to turn aside another effort from Samba, this time from just inside the box.

But Guzan was beaten when Villa substitute Joe Bennett played a careless pass just inside his own half which was seized on by Jenas who released Bobby Zamora in space.

Zamora’s low drive was parried by Guzan but Jenas continued his run into the box and was first to the loose ball to make no mistake from close range. Villa narrowly avoided falling 2-0 down when Bosingwa’s powerful free-kick struck a post. But in first half stoppagetime Villa forward Agbonlahor scored a vital equaliser, timing his run to the far post and heading home Matt Lowton’s cross. The momentum swung Villa’s way after that Bennett atoned for his earlier costly error by setting up Weimann for his 11th goal of the season in the 59th minute. — AFP

Man City 0

LIVERPOOL: Manchester City’s faint hopes of retaining the Premier League title appear all but over after the champions crashed to a controversial 2-0 defeat against 10-man Everton yesterday.

Roberto Mancini’s side desperately needed a victory at Goodison Park to close the gap on leaders Manchester United to nine points. But instead they produced the latest lacklustre display of a disappointing campaign as Everton shrugged off Steven Pienaar’s second half dismissal to take the points thanks to a fine finish from Leon Osman in the first half and Nikica Jelavic’s strike in the final seconds. City had some cause for complaint as referee Lee Probert awarded the visitors a free-kick instead of a penalty in the closing stages after Carlos Tevez’s shot struck Marouane Fellaini on

the arm in the area.

Mancini’s men are now faced with the prospect of falling 15 points behind United when the leaders hosted managerless Reading in Saturday’s late match, while Everton remain in the hunt for a European berth after their fourth successive home win over City.

After their 3-0 home defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup quarter-finals, it was exactly the kind of response David Moyes was looking for from his Everton players and City simply had no match for their work-rate and desire. Neither side was able to find early fluency, but the hosts carried the greater threat, with Darron Gibson thumping a free-kick straight into the wall and Seamus Coleman having a cross blocked wide after a clever run that took him past two defenders. Coleman also clipped a shot over from just outside the area and City finally gave Jan Mucha something to do with a tame David Silva free-kick that flew straight to the Everton goalkeeper.

Tevez also forced a save from the Slovakian after drifting in from the left flank and hitting a firm shot while Edin Dzeko had a low effort saved.

Just after the half hour Everton took the lead with a strike of real quality as Coleman

squared the ball to Osman, who thumped a shot into the top corner, with Joe Hart failing to move.

The home side were well on top now and after a surging run, Gibson clipped a cross into the area where Victor Anichebe lifted a shot just over the bar. Tevez drove a shot narrowly wide as City looked for a response just before the interval.

City showed great purpose after the break and Aleksander Kolarov fired a shot well over the bar before sending over a corner that was flicked on by Gareth Barry but Matija Nastasic could not turn it in at the far post.

In the 61st minute Everton suffered a blow when Pienaar, who had already been booked, caught City midfielder Javi Garcia with a high challenge and was sent off. Yet City were still struggling to make an impact despite their numerical superiority and when they did create opportunities, they were denied by Mucha. Dzeko clipped a ball over the top for Tevez but his effort was blocked by the Everton goalkeeper, who got up to turn away James Milner’s shot.

Sylvain Distin could have put the game beyond his former club but headed over the bar from a corner from Leighton Baines. — AFP

Business

China keeps central bank chief on in reform push Page 22 KSE performance mixed over trading variance Page 24

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

Jaguar F-TYPE soon at Al-Zayani

Ex-JPMorgan exec tries to dodge ‘whale’ losses Page 23

Page 26

JAKARTA: This photo shows a Lamborghini sports car (R), a BMW (C) and other luxury cars parked at an exclusive area in an upscale commercial center of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Western companies experiencing a slowdown in sales close to home are turning to Southeast Asia's biggest economy, looking to take advantage of both a burgeoning middle class willing to spend and an elite looking for high-end toys.

Indonesians are buying new motors in big numbers, with 288 new cars hitting Jakarta's roads every day, worsening its already crippling traffic and polluted air. — AFP

Gulf Bank’s net profit at KD 30.9m in 2012 Board recommends 5% bonus shares approved by CBK KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Annual General Meeting yesterday at its Mubarak Al-Kabeer branch, announcing that it closed 2012 with strong results in the fourth quarter and realized solid growth overall in top-line revenue for the financial year (FY ) 2012. The bank’s FY 2012 income before provisions amounted to KD 121.4 million, up 13 percent against 2011. Net profit for the year was flat at KD 30.9 million against KD 30.6 million the previous year. The board recommended the distribution of 5% bonus shares, subsequently approved

by Central Bank of Kuwait. Earnings per share stood at 12 fils. In continuing with the strategy to build a fortress balance sheet, the precautionary general reserve was increased to over KD 148 million.

As of the end of December 2012, the bank’s total assets reached KD 4,847 million, deposits grew to KD 4,094 million, the loan book increased by 4.9 percent whilst total shareholders’ equity measured up to KD 449 million.

Mahmoud Abdul Khaleq Al-Nouri, Gulf Bank ’s Chairman, said: “ This year’s results show the continuation

of a strong and solid performance by Gulf Bank. In Consumer banking we have raised the bar with our “ We Promise” program, guaranteeing the best and fastest banking services, which, along with our strong leadership and management team, has contributed to solid growth and increased market share. Furthermore, on the Corporate Banking front, Gulf Bank was mandated as the lead manager to help finance two of the largest and most complex projects in Kuwait.

In 2012, the bank successfully completed its 2-year turnaround plan and embarked on its new 2012-2015 Plan that focuses on expanding the bank’s activities across three main pillars: “Solidify our gains, accelerate our growth, and surpass our limits”.

Gulf Bank received numerous awards in various disciplines across the Bank, and was honored to be named The Best Bank by The Bankera leading Financial Times publication.

The Bank re-affirmed its position as the leading Kuwaiti employer by winning the Localization Award from the GCC Council of Ministers for Social Affairs and Labour for the 8th consec-

utive year. The award further reflects the Bank’s commitment to developing careers for Kuwaitis within the Bank, and highlights its continuous efforts in achieving and maintaining one of the highest employment percentages of Kuwaiti nationals across the private sector, as well as being the first Kuwaiti bank to achieve this status.

Gulf Bank concluded its Corporate Social Responsibility program for 2012, which focused on blood donation, with over 1,000 lives saved. The bank also worked alongside a number of organizations conducting many social activities throughout the year and serving the underprivileged and community as a whole.

In closing Al-Nouri said: “We continue to set the industry benchmark for outstanding customer service with our ‘We Promise’ program, while maintaining world-class operating efficiency and enjoying solid and consistent growth in our top line revenue. We are contributing to Kuwait’s economic growth and prosperity and we strive to deliver an outstanding return on our shareholders’ investment.”

Omar Alghanim elected Chairman of Gulf Bank KUWAIT: Following the Annual General Meeting and the subsequent Board Meeting, the Gulf Bank Board of Directors has announced that it has selected Omar Kutayba Alghanim to be the new Chairman with immediate effect. Alghanim’s appointment, which will be for a two-year term, follows an earlier announcement from the Bank that Mahmoud Al-Nouri had stepped down as Chairman on health grounds.

Alghanim thanked the Board for their support for his appointment, saying: “During the past few years, Gulf Bank has made strong progress towards our goal of becoming Kuwait’s most admired financial institution. The Gulf Bank team has worked with great purpose to reposition the bank, and our 2012 results in particular have shown how far we have come. Our investment in talent, new technology and, most of all, our shared commitment to outstanding customer service have helped us build our leadership position as Kuwait’s best bank and become an important force in the community.

“As we drive forwards, I want to see Gulf Bank become the preeminent bank in the region. To do so we must maintain unwavering focus on our customers, our employees and new technology, and use this platform to continually build our reputation for great products, business prudence and service excellence.

Paying tribute to his predecessor, Alghanim said: “Mr Al-Nouri has provided wise counsel during the past year as Chairman and for the three years prior to that as a Gulf Bank board

Omar Kutayba Alghanim

member and Deputy Chairman. We thank him for his service and we wish him good health in the future. “ The appointment of Alghanim reinforces the bank’s determination to build on its success as one of Kuwait’s most significant financial institutions.

Following his appointment, the Board of Directors of Gulf Bank consists of: Chairman: Omar Kutayba Alghanim; Deputy Chairman: Ali Morad Behbehani; Director: Bader Nasser AlKhorafi; Director: Omar Hamad AlQanaei; Director: Jasem Mustafa Boudai; Director: Sayer Al-Sayer; Director: Ahmed Abdel Latif AlHamad; Director: Farouk Bastak i; Director: Bader Abdulmohsen ElJeaan; and Alternate: Bader Abdullah Banyan.

KUWAIT: The board members of Gulf Bank are pictured during the Annual General Meeting held yesterday.

Cyprus shocked over euro-zone bailout deal NICOSIA: Residents of Cyprus reacted with shock yesterday after the government agreed to a 10billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout that includes an unprecedented levy on all bank deposits. The debt rescue package, agreed with the euro-zone and International Monetary Fund early in the morning after around 10 hours of talks in Brussels, is significantly less than the 17 billion euros Cyprus had initially sought.

It includes 5.8 billion euros to be raised through the bank deposit levy of up to 9.9 percent, which will apply to everyone from pensioners to Russian oligarchs and tens of thousands of British expats. At the same time, a “withholding tax” would be imposed on interest on bank deposits, and Cyprus will have to hike corporate tax to 12.5 percent from 10 percent and sell off state assets so as to help balance the public finances. Though it was reached too late for Cyprus newspapers, and other forms of traditional media were caught unawares, the bailout deal prompted some to queue up outside banks to withdraw cash from ATMs. But analyst Sony Kapoor cautioned that there was no point, tweeting: “Dear Cyprus bank depositors, the time to line outside ur banks was last week, no point now.” A flood of angry comments flowed on the Internet.”The Cyprus deal is exactly why I don’t keep money in the bank anymore.

Brussels can commandeer your cash. Just like that,” one person wrote on Twitter. “The British & Russians will think twice before retiring to the sun and placing their deposits in some dodgy peripheral bank,” said another.

One tweeter used the micro-blogging website to call for a protest outside the presidential palace at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) yesterday against the “unacceptable eurogroup assault”. Government spokesman Christos Stylianides tried to calm shell-shocked Cypriots saying: “The situation is serious but not tragic, there is no reason to panic.”

LIMASSOL: An elderly man looks through the Limassol, Cyprus yesterday. — AP “The Cyprus government had to decide between saving the economy and a disorderly default,” he told the official CNA news agency.

The levy will see deposits of more than 100,000 euros hit with a 9.9 percent charge when lenders reopen their doors after a scheduled public holiday tomorrow. Under that threshold and the levy drops to 6.75 percent. Co-operative bank branches, which, unlike the main lenders, usually open for business on Saturdays, kept their doors closed as their systems were shut down, officials said. One furious customer reportedly parked his digger outside one such branch in the seaside resort of Limassol, claiming the government had “tricked” him into believing deposits were safe.

Ministers were in a race against the clock to

window of a closed cooperative bank shop in trash out draft legislation and push it through parliament, which the speaker’s office said was expected to convene today. President Nicos Anastasiades, who attended the rescue talks in Brussels, was due to land on the island at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) to brief his cabinet in an emergency meeting, CNA reported.

The negotiations had dragged on as Cyprus fought its ultimately doomed battle to avoid the haircut on deposits, which it argued would trigger a run on its banks and ricochet on through the euro-zone. Cyprus-which accounts for just 0.2 percent of the combined euro-zone economy-is the fifth country to secure a debt rescue package from its euro-zone partners in the three-year debt crisis. — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

BUSINESS

China keeps central bank chief on in reform push

Bayt.com weekly report

Sunday Blues, no more

I

t’s Sunday, and with the beginning of every week you get in a gloomy mood. But the good news is that you can easily shift your attitude by looking at the weekend with a more workpositive perspective. After all, weekends are really good for you. They offer you a break from work and everyday routine, and make sure you get back to your office on Sunday with a fresh mind and re-energized spirit. With the attitude-shift in mind, here’s what the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 Job Site recommend to make your Sundays a little more enjoyable: 1. Do what you love (or at the least like): A job is not only about a high salary and great benefits. Do not look for a job that just satisfies you financially because if it’s not a job you love, chances are demotivation and the feeling of frustration will soon take over. It is frustration that leaves you with that feeling of dread, and not just about Sunday, but on every other day of the week as well.

2. Do not procrastinate on Thursdays: We know it’s the last day of the week and you can’t wait to be out of the office; but you should avoid the trap of coming in, taking a longer coffee break, slacking during the day and getting distracted just like everyone else in the workplace. Instead of wasting your day waiting for the clock to strike 5 o’clock, focus on getting all of this week’s tasks done to alleviate your Sunday schedule from pending and deferred tasks. Sundays are always very busy; help yourself lighten them up by not procrastinating.

3. Plan ahead of time: Before you rush out the door on Thursday evening, prepare Sunday’s to-do list organizing your tasks from most to least urgent. This will help you start your day more smoothly on Sunday. Managing your time and workload is essential for you to feel more at ease with the beginning of every week; a lot of people dread Sundays because of their encumbered schedule and their lack of control over their workload.

4. The weekend is yours: When the weekend is here, remind yourself that you have earned it.

When you leave the office on Thursday, leave work at work. Enjoy and make the most out of your weekend. Spend it with family or friends and do the activities you enjoy most.

Weekends are better because they have five days of hard work before them.

5. Weekdays are fun too: Whether you are one among the 38 percent of professionals who like to spend all their free time with their family or one among the 51.7 percent of professionals who spend time outdoors (Bayt.com’s Rest and Recreation Habits among MENA Professionals poll - January 2013), make sure you allocate some time each day to relax or do what you like most. If you want to feel happy and motivated, plan some activities on weekdays so that you have something to look forward to after work on a normal day; this will definitely boost your energy.

6. Lunch breaks are there for a reason: Take advantage of your lunch break, not only on Sunday but on every other day of the week.

Your lunch break helps you relax and take a puff of fresh air; try to get out of the office for lunch or for a walk, you will come back refreshed and your day will feel shorter.

Always remember, a lot in life is about attitude and how you look at things.

Zhou re-appointed central bank chief BEIJING: China kept Zhou Xiaochuan on as governor of the central bank yesterday in a bid to speed up market-based reforms needed to sustain long-term growth in the world’s second-largest economy and to ensure policy continuity amid global uncertainties. The re-appointment of Zhou, a key driving force behind China’s financial liberalisation, signals Beijing’s bid to put economic growth on a more sustainable footing.

“By keeping Mr Zhou as the central bank governor, the new leaders signal that they endorse what Mr Zhou has achieved and wish to continue China’s unfinished financial reforms,” said Ting Lu, China economist at Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch in Hong Kong. “We expect China’s new government to further liberalise exchange rates, lift capital controls, liberalize interest rates, open up the banking sector and develop capital markets.”

Zhou, who took the helm of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in 2002, has led the drive to liberalise interest rates and abolish the yuan’s peg to the US dollar, a step along the path to turning it into a global currency. Reuters reported last month that Zhou was to keep his central bank post, courtesy

of his elevation to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that carries “national-level leader” rank and exempts him from compulsory retirement at 65 for officials in cabinet minister-ranked jobs.

Zhou reached that age in January. The announcement, which was widely anticipated following Zhou’s election to the CPPCC, came on the penultimate day of China’s annual session of parliament, the National People’s Congress. It was unclear how long Zhou will remain central bank chief, but a source with leadership ties told Reuters last month that he was needed to drive capital account reform. Zhou will be the longest-serving central bank chief since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and among the longest-serving in the world.

Analysts believe the PBOC aims to make the yuan basically convertible by 2015. But formidable challenges lie ahead as the country has entered a stage where big changes face pushback risks from vested interests, especially from state giants in key sectors. In the near term, Zhou has to keep inflation, which climbed to a 10-month high of 3.2 percent in February, at bay while ensuring the economic recovery remains on track.

Zhou said this week that China must stabilise inflation expectations and vowed to manage the risk of rising prices as the central bank’s first priority. China’s parliament also appointed Lou Jiwei, former head of China Investment Corp., the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, as finance minister yesterday. Lou, a key architect of China’s tax reforms in 1994, will lead reforms to lower the tax burden on smaller firms, with more fundamental changes needed to wean growthobsessed local governments off their reliance on land sales for survival.

“His appointment is not a surprise given that Lou is an old hand on finance and tax issues,” said Haibin Zhu, China economist at JPMorgan Chase in Hong Kong. “Finance and tax reforms are unavoidable but will probably be the most difficult.” China’s former land and resources minister, Xu Shaoshi, was named chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency that wields approval authority over major investment projects.

Gao Hucheng was named commerce minister to oversee the country’s vast export sector amid rising spats with trade partners. — Reuters

Indian banks probe money laundering

LISBON: People shout slogans outside the Portuguese Finance Ministry during a protest by Portuguese civil servants unions against austerity measures taken by the Portuguese government, Friday, March 15, 2013. — AP

NEW DELHI: India’s second-largest bank by assets, ICICI, said yesterday it has suspended 18 employees in a probe into possible money laundering after a media sting targeting leading private lenders. Online Indian news outlet CobraPost said earlier this week one of its reporters had posed as a customer at three top private banks-ICICI, HDFC and Axis-seeking advice on investing up to $2.8 million. The news outlet said the reporter used a hidden camera to record dozens of conversations with bank employees, which it posted on its website.

ICICI has suspended 18 employees, it said in a statement, as it investigated the allegations that employees offered advice on concealing funds from tax authorities.

“ICICI group conducts its business with the highest level of compliance to legal and regulatory requirements,” the bank said. HDFC said separately it has appointed accounting and audit firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India to conduct an inquiry into allegations that some of its officials were ready to facilitiate money laundering activities.

Axis meanwhile has launched an internal inquiry into the accusations, local media reported. The footage shot in so-called “Operation Red Spider” was said to show executives of the three banks agreeing to take cash from the undercover reporter, but no money actually changed hands. India’s finance ministry and central bank are already looking into allegations of money laundering by private sector lenders. The issue of so-called “black money”-funds not reported to the government for tax purposes or parked abroad to avoid tax-is one of the issues that has roiled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scandal-tainted administration. — AFP

US places sanctions on Iranian firms WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has imposed sanctions on Iranian companies it says provide insurance services to the country’s main petroleum shipper, part of the latest U.S. effort to choke funding to the Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

The US State Department said on Thursday it had imposed sanctions on Kish Protection and Indemnity Club, known as Kish P&I, and Bimeh Markazi-Central Insurance of Iran, known as CII. Kish provides insurance for the National Iranian Tanker Co, or NITC, and CII provides the shipper with reinsurance, it said. The Iranian companies had been modeled after European P&I clubs which had been banned by Western sanctions imposed last year. The department also placed a visa ban on six corporate officers with the companies. The measures were part of moves reported on Thursday by Reuters in which State

Department and the US Treasury slapped sanctions on a Greek shipping tycoon, saying he secretly operated a shipping network on behalf of Tehran to get around sanctions on the country’s oil sales. Countries in the West believe Iran’s nuclear program is developing weapons. Tehran says the program is purely for civilian purposes.

US and European Union sanctions imposed last year halved Iran’s oil exports to about 1 million barrels per day. The sanctions also helped push down Iran’s currency, the rial, and sent inflation soaring to about 25 percent. A proponent of tough measures on Iran said the sanctions on Iranian insurance companies are making it hard for Tehran to sell oil. “These measures have so increased the hassle factor of buying Iranian oil that they are leading countries like India to make decisions in their self interest to significantly decrease their purchases of Iranian oil,” said Mark Dubowitz, with the Washington based

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the US Congress urged the administration to crack down on the reflagging of ships that carry Iranian oil to avoid sanctions. “We are concerned that Iran has been able to continue its illicit shipping endeavors through its complex web of vessels reflagging. It troubles us that Iran has been aided by countries whose shipping registries are frequently complicit in this shell game,” said the letter on behalf of 56 US Representatives, 18 of them Democrats.

The letter was signed by Ed Royce of California, the Republican chairman of the chamber’s foreign affairs committee, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat. They urged the departments of State and Treasury to seriously consider sanctioning registries that knowingly participate in efforts to reflag oil tankers and cargo tankers operated by NITC and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, or IRISL.—Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2770000 .4210000 .3670000 .2980000 .2750000 .2910000 .0040000 .0020000 .0770430 .7506050 .3920000 .0720000 .7358360 .0420000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2838000 GB Pound/KD .4238840 Euro .3699760 Swiss francs .2998260 Canadian dollars .2766490 Danish Kroner .0496090 Swedish Kroner .0447920 Australian dlr .2925840 Hong Kong dlr .0365830 Singapore dlr .2276040 Japanese yen .0029650 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0772980 Bahraini dinars .7530850 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0757000 Omani riyals .7374300 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.955 5.252 2.911 2.257 3.278 229.200 36.791 3.603

.2880000 .4380000 .3800000 .3130000 .2880000 .2990000 .0068000 .0035000 .0778170 .7581490 .4100000 .0770000 .7432310 .0480000

.2859000 .4270200 .3727140 .3020440 .2786960 .0499760 .0451230 .2947490 .0368530 .2292890 .0029870 .0053090 .0022740 .0029310 .0036470 .0778700 .7586570 .4043850 .0762600 .7428870 .0070970

7.024 9.644 0.271 0.273

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 41.700 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.589 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.332 Tunisian Dinar 181.060 Jordanian Dinar 403.120 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.915 Syrian Lier 3.101 Morocco Dirham 33.970 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 285.350 Euro 372.670 Sterling Pound 426.460 Canadian dollar 278.800 Swiss Franc 301.640 US Dollar Buying 284.150

CURRENCY

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar

SELL DRAFT 300.38 283.88 307.42 376.07 285.00 435.68 3.04 3.638 5.269 2.263 3.302 2.917 77.66 758.85 41.41 406.02

Selling Rate 285.100 281.120 427.550 371.835 300.835 754.810 77.600 78.255 75.990 401.895 41.605 2.256 5.256 2.910 3.617 7.014 699.365 3.950 9.670 4.030 3.380 91.658

Bahrain Exchange Company

GOLD 298.000 150.000 77.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

738.000 78.500 76.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES 76.124 78.436 741.600 758.200 77.731

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

741.73 78.70 76.20

SELL CASH 295.000 280.000 305.000 372.600 285.500 429.000 3.300 3.740 5.350 2.480 3.420 2.880 78.000 756.000 41.600 410.000

BUY Europe 0.4240537 0.0061741 0.0459825 0.3678771 0.0455478 0.4209255 0.0407956 0.2992178

0.4330537 0.0181741 0.0509825 0.3753771 0.0507478 0.4284255 0.0457956 0.3062178

Australasia 0.2845866 0.2313160 0.0001098

0.2965866 0.2413160 0.0001098

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2734134 0.0001486 0.2832500

0.2824134 0.0001666 0.2854000

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo

Asia 0.0035801 0.0031662

0.0036351 0.0033692

British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

SELL

Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa Guinea Franc Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Jamaican Dollars Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.0448407 0.0164933 0.0000443 0.0342494 0.0052159 0.0000244 0.0028518 0.0029127 0.0032892 0.0877711 0.0031463 0.0028828 0.0065759 0.0000729 0.2265016 0.0019629 0.0092642

0.0498407 0.0195933 0.0000503 0.0373494 0.0052859 0.0000296 0.0038518 0.0030927 0.0035192 0.0947711 0.0033463 0.0029228 0.0070459 0.0000759 0.2325016 0.0022679 0.00988642

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.7506027 0.0395004 0.0130155 0.1485638 0.0000794 0.0001737 0.3969703 1.0000000 0.0001751 0.0218156 0.0012136 0.7302884 0.0777370 0.0755733 0.0501248 0.0031847 0.1808065 0.0762766 0.0012876

0.7591027 0.0415304 0.0195155 0.1503538 0.0000799 0.0002337 0.4044703 1.0000000 0.0001951 0.0458156 0.0018486 0.7412884 0.0785200 0.0762133 0.0506748 0.0034047 0.1868065 0.0777266 0.0013876

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 284.700 374.050 426.950 279.850 2.980 5.250 41.585 2.257 3.615 7.015 2.910 758.250 77.525 76.050

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

BUSINESS ERNST & YOUNG REPORT

Shifting perspectives

By Imran Ali KUWAIT: From the deserts of Libya to the oil wells of Iraq via the skyscrapers of Dubai, the Middle East is a vast and diverse region. In economic terms, many still think of it solely in terms of oil, and it’s true that six Middle Eastern countries control 44 percent of the world’s crude oil supplies.

But other sectors are growing fast as well, and the region now accounts for 10 percent of emerging market GDP, despite having only 6.7 percent of the population. Despite the events of the Arab Spring, in 2011 the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the Middle East rose by 7.8 percent on 2010, and their value by 2.2 percent.

Clearly, there is still confidence in the region’s attractiveness as an investment destination. A recent report (Shifting perspectives: Ernst & Young’s 2012 attractiveness survey - Middle East) reveals that business leaders are also optimistic: three-quarters of respondents to the survey believe the attractiveness of the Middle East will continue to improve.

The region has many of the qualities companies look for in an FDI destination: solid fundamentals, strong demographics and government willingness to improve the already concrete growth prospects. The region has a large population which is also one of the youngest and wealthiest in the world. Vast natural resources and increasing oil prices have created substantial budget surpluses among oil exporters, which have helped governments to increase their spending on infrastructure projects and drive their diversification efforts.

As a result, the image of the Middle East has changed; its economy can now offer growth in many other sectors as well as oil. Overall, investors remain positive about the Middle East, but still see some areas for improvement. The relatively stable Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remain FDI favorites, while investors are more cautious about nonGCC nations like Egypt and Libya.

Key challenges Respondents to the survey highlight a rigid regulatory environment, lack of technological readiness and the limitations in research and innovation capacity as key challenges: l Middle Eastern countries have a mediocre rank on the level of protection, transparency and disclosure that foreign investors require, while Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2012 gives many Middle Eastern countries an unfavorable ranking l The region suffers from limited access to the latest technologies.

However, according to the Global Information Technology Report 2012 from the World Economic Forum (WEF), most of the GCC countries rank well ahead of other emerging markets on WEF’s index of network readiness l Many countries in the region, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, hold a low rating on the Global Innovation Index 2012 A watchful attitude Although investors remain confident about the Middle East, they express some hesitation for the short term. The immediate investment plans of many foreign companies appear to be affected

not only by the uncertain outlook globally, but also by the recent political turmoil in some countries.

When asked about the way they plan to invest in the Middle East, 30 percent of the respondents chose “joint venture” or “alliance” as the most likely. This helps foreign companies gain leverage from the local connections of their partners, and, most importantly, share and mitigate the potential risks in the region. Only 7 percent are planning acquisitions and just 4 percent are considering green field investments in the Middle East. All in all, these results suggest that business leaders are playing it safe and investing in improving established operations in the region.

Challenges and opportunities There is a diverse array of reporting challenges and opportunities associated with investing in the Middle East, which go beyond the media focus on political risk and volatility. Corporate reporting standards are less developed than in other regions, with a particular issue relating to shareholding structures. Most corporate acquisitions in the Middle East are not formal buyouts, but involve the purchase of a minority interest. However, the usual instruments to protect investor returns - different classes of shares and preference shares - are not commonly available. This can make transactions more complicated and may involve setting up structures offshore to the investee countries, even within the region.

There are few additional listing requirements for companies looking to expand into the region; companies that are listed on a stock exchange in the US or Europe will not find the requirements in the Middle East particularly onerous.

Indeed, when it comes to the Dubai International Financial Centre or Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority, the standards are similar to most other capital market authorities. There has been significant progress in the last five years in reforming and upgrading standards, and these are now far advanced on the old listing requirements, which were generally run by each individual country’s stock exchange.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in terms of legal structures is how much equity foreign investors can own; many countries have caps on foreign ownership. But some, such as Saudi Arabia, are considering changes, including allowing direct foreign ownership to large institutional investors.

One obstacle that foreign investors do encounter is that corporate valuations in the Middle East are out of sync with much of the rest of the world - a reflection of the massive liquidity that has flooded into the region in the past 10 years. The Middle East (with a few exceptions) managed to escape the worse of the 2008 financial crisis, thanks to oil revenues. But this has had the effect of raising asset prices, putting off potential buyers.

The key challenge that companies encounter in the Middle East is generally to do with the business culture, rather than onerous rules and regulations. Tax is a clear example of this. In Bahrain and the UAE, there is no corporate tax at all, and taxation rates tend to be low in other countries. However, transparency levels and investor protection rights are more opaque than in other jurisdictions.

Carnival returns to profit MIAMI: The world’s largest cruise line has suffered through a number of high-profile mishaps. Yet passengers continue to book vacations thanks to discounts, albeit at a slower pace. Carnival Corp. offered more sales to attract wary passengers after an engine fire last month crippled the Carnival Triumph, leaving 4,200 people stranded for five days without working toilets or power.

This week, two more of its ships had mechanical problems, ruining the vacations of thousands more travelers.

Carnival Corp said Friday that it earned $37 million, or 5 cents per share, in first quarter ended Feb. 28. That compares with a loss of $139 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. But its forecast for the year came in below analyst’s predictions. Its shares fell more than 2 percent. On Thursday, the company ended the voyage of the Carnival Dream after the ship’s backup emergency diesel generator failed, causing problems with elevators and toilets. Instead of continuing back to Florida,

Carnival was forced to charter airplanes to fly home the ship’s 4,300 passengers. The Dream’s next trip, which was supposed to start Sunday, was canceled. All of the passengers scheduled for that voyage will receive a refund for the cruise and airfare.

The company also said that another ship - the Legend - was having mechanical problems and would skip its stop at the Cayman Islands, heading straight to its final port in Tampa, Fla. instead. Carnival runs cruises under 10 brands including Holland America, Princess, Cunard and its namesake line. Vacationers have been wary about booking cruises ever since the Costa Concordia - also owned by Carnival - sank off the coast of Italy in January 2012.

Passengers have returned to the seas, but many needed to be coaxed by deep discounts.

Asked if they would like to share how deep the discounts have been for the various lines, Carnival executives replied, “Not particularly.” — AP

In this photo, the Carnival Dream is docked in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. — AP

Ex-JPMorgan exec tries to dodge ‘whale’ losses Senator Levin says weighing referral to SEC, CFTC WASHINGTON: Ina Drew, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co executive who earned millions while in charge of the unit that made the disastrous “London whale” trades, refused on Friday to accept responsibility for the $6.2 billion in losses revealed last year. Testifying before a Senate panel, the former chief investment officer instead pointed a finger at the traders and managers below her. They did not appear at the hearing because they are in London and outside the Senate’s jurisdiction. Blame-shifting proved to be a theme of the hearing held by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, even as Chairman Carl Levin hit Drew and other current and former JPMorgan executives hard over past statements he believed to be inaccurate.

The litany of accusations by the powerful panel raises the prospect that the trading debacle will continue to legally dog the Wall Street bank, long considered one of the best managed.

Friday’s hearing and a subcommittee report released on Thursday paint a damning picture of a bank and high-level employees raking in huge payouts while ignoring risks, deceiving investors, fighting with regulators and trying to work around rules as losses mushroomed in a derivatives portfolio.

Drew made $29 million in 2010 and 2011, and Achilles Macris, who supervised the trading book at issue and reported to Drew, made $32 million during the same time frame. They were among the highest paid JPMorgan employees in those years. Drew, who resigned last May and was long a trusted lieutenant of Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, lamented the loss of her 30-year-career at JPMorgan and defended herself as a “reasonable and diligent” manager.

“Some members of the London team failed to value positions properly and in good faith, minimized reported and projected losses, and hid from me important information regarding the true risks of the book,” Drew said. “I did not (and do not) believe I bore personal responsibility for the losses in the synthetic credit book,” she said in her prepared remarks. Senator John McCain from Arizona, the top Republican on the panel, questioned why Drew and others were transferring blame, saying it was hard to explain. “It seemed that the traders seemed to have more responsibility and authority than the higher-up executives,” McCain said.

Dimon was not invited to testify. He has already testified twice before other congressional panels. In a statement, the bank said: “We have made regrettable errors and overhauled our risk policies to correct these mistakes, but senior JPM executives always provided information to regulators and the public that they believed to be accurate.” JPMorgan shares closed down 1.9 percent on Friday, underperforming the KBW Bank Index of bank stocks which closed up 0.4 percent.

Legal risks The trading debacle has been a legal and reputational black eye for the largest US bank.

JPMorgan’s losses stemmed from bets by London-based Chief Investment Office trader Bruno Iksil on an index for credit default swaps.

His outsized positions earned him the nickname “London Whale” from hedge fund traders taking the other sides of his trades. CEO Dimon was crit-

icized for initially dismissing rumors of a troubled trading position as a “tempest in a teapot” during an April conference call. Less than a month later, the bank disclosed problems with the trading strategy, and later said it lost $6.2 billion from the trades.

The Senate panel based its findings on 9 months of investigation, 90,000 documents and 50 interviews and briefings. Experts said disclosures from the hearing and the Senate report could provide ammunition to securities regulators and investors pursuing the bank for misconduct over the trades. “Clearly this report digs up

en rules, and took blame for failing to spot the losses. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry said the agency had improved its supervisory procedures as a result of the failures, and was working to adopt the Volcker rule “as quickly as possible.”

Outside advisers JPMorgan in January released a report by the bank’s management task force that primarily assigns blame for the trading debacle to three executives beneath Dimon: Ina Drew, Barry Zubrow, the former chief risk officer; and Douglas

NEW YORK: Media persons are reflected in the glass at the entrance to the JPMorgan Chase World Headquarters on Park Avenue in this file photo. — AFP

a lot of evidence that can be used in various legal proceedings,” said James Angel, a visiting associate professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “I’m sure the plaintiffs bar is looking at this very carefully and rubbing their hands with glee.”

The report could also assist the various investigations being conducted by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Levin said he planned to review the testimony and decide whether to make a formal referral to the SEC or to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

A person familiar with the SEC’s inquiry said investigators are focused on how quickly and accurately the bank disclosed the problems in SEC filings, shareholder calls and press releases.

The Senate report suggests they were not getting full disclosure. The SEC and Jennifer Zuccarelli, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan, declined to comment on any pending litigation. The report also gives ammunition to advocates calling for stricter financial reforms, including to regulators crafting the Volcker rule, which proposes to put limits on banks betting with their own funds.

“If derivatives books can be cooked as blatantly as they are in this case without breaking the rules, then the rules need to be revamped,” said Levin, a Democrat. Regulators appearing before the Senate panel agreed on the need to strength-

Braunstein, the former chief financial officer. On Friday, Drew and Braunstein said blame should be assigned elsewhere. Zubrow was not at the hearing.

Douglas Braunstein, who is now the bank’s vice chairman, criticized outside counsel and auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers for signing off on a shift from valuing trade positions at the middle of the range to an extreme that made the positions look better. Levin told reporters after the hearing that his committee may seek more information from PSC. The firm did not respond to a request by Reuters for comment. Levin repeatedly confronted Drew, Braunstein and the bank’s investment bank co-head, Michael Cavanagh, with statements they made during the course of the scandal which Levin said were inaccurate or damning.

He read to Drew from a transcript of a phone call in which she advised a London manager to “tweak” daily valuation reports to put them in the best possible light. He asked Braunstein why he did not tell investors the portfolio containing the whale trades had breached multiple risk limits.

And he took issue with Cavanagh’s characterizations that the trading losses were under control in public statements he made while the losses were still growing. The executives struggled at times to respond, but largely stuck to their past statements, at times frustrating Levin’s efforts to elicit direct answers. “So much for accuracy,” Levin said at one point. — Reuters

Antarctica concerns grow as tourism numbers rise ROSS ISLAND: Across most of Earth, a tourist attraction that sees 35,000 visitors a year can safely be labeled sleepy. But when it’s Antarctica, every footstep matters. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And it’s not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in “adventure tourism” like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.

In a remote, frozen, almost pristine land where the only human residents are involved in research, that tourism comes with risks, for both the continent and the tourists. Boats pollute water and air, and create the potential for more devastating environmental damage. When something goes wrong, help can be an exceptionally long way off.

The downturn triggered by the economic meltdown created an opportunity for the 50 countries that share responsibility through the Antarctic Treaty to set rules to manage tourism, but little has been done. An international committee on Antarctica has produced just two mandatory rules since it was formed, and neither of those is yet in force. “I think there’s been a foot off the pedal in recent years,” said Alan Hemmings, an environmental consultant on polar regions. “If it takes five years, 10 years to bring even what you agree into force, it’s very difficult to micromanage these sorts of developments.” Antarctic tourism has grown from fewer than 2,000 visitors a year in the 1980s to more than 46,000 in 2007-08. Then the numbers plummeted, bottoming out at fewer than 27,000 in 2011-12.

The Rhode Island-based International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators doesn’t have its final 2012-13 figures yet but estimates close to 35,000 visitors

ROSS ISLAND: In this photo, an inflatable boat carries tourists past an iceberg along the Antarctic Peninsula. — AP this season, which runs from November through March. The industry group expects slightly more tourists next summer. It’s not just the numbers of tourists but the activities that are changing, said Hemmings, who has been part of a delegation representing New Zealand in some Antarctic Treaty discussions.

“What used to be Antarctic tourism in the late ‘80s through the ‘90s was generally people of middle age or older going on cruises and small ships where they went ashore at a few locations and they looked at wildlife, historic sites and maybe visited one current station,” he said.

“But there’s an increasing diversification of the activities now so it’s much more action orientated. Now people want to go paragliding, waterskiing, diving or a variety of other things.”

Visitors can also skydive over the frigid landscape, and London-based Henry Cookson Adventures took two and three-man submarines to Antarctica in the latest summer.

Hemmings said he was once asked to advise on a Germany company’s

plan to fly gliders over the colossal Transantarctic Mountains to the South Pole, but that project was never carried out.

On Ross Island, a stark black-andwhite outcrop of ice on porous, volcanic rock, the active volcano Mt Erebus stands as a warning of the dangers of tourism in this remote and hostile environment. In 1979, an Air New Zealand airliner on a sightseeing tour from Auckland slammed into the mountain in whiteout conditions, killing all 257 people aboard.

After that disaster, sightseeing flights over Antarctica did not resume until the mid-1990s. Some of the earliest attempts at skydiving in Antarctica also ended in tragedy.

Two Americans and an Austrian died in the same jump in 1997 near the US Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station at the geographic South Pole. Hypoxia - a lack of oxygen - is a suspected reason why the skydivers failed to deploy their parachutes in time. Antarctica is not only the world’s coldest, driest and windiest continent, but also the highest. The South Pole is on an icy plateau 2,835 meters (9,301 feet) above sea level

and the air is relatively thin. The last fatalities at sea near the continent were in February 2011, when a Norwegian-flagged, steel-hulled yacht with three crew vanished during wild weather in the Ross Sea. It’s not only tourists who get into trouble. Searchers will wait until at least October to recover the bodies of three Canadians involved in scientific research who died in a plane crash in January near a summit in the Queen Alexandra range. A fire aboard a Japanese whaling ship in the Ross Sea killed a crew member in 2007. And anti-whaling activists lost a boat that collided with a whaler in 2010. No one was injured.

Hemmings said tourist ships have been involved in several mishaps in Antarctica in the past five years.

“Misadventure can befall anybody,” he said, but he added that the number of tourist ships coming to Antarctica’s busiest areas was a concern. While Antarctica is as big as the United States and Mexico combined, tourists and scientists for the most part keep to areas that aren’t permanently frozen and where wildlife can be found. Those account for less than 2 percent of the continent. It’s a land of many hazards, not all of them obvious. The dry air makes static electricity a constant threat to electronics and a fire risk when refueling vehicles. Residents quickly get into the habit of touching metal fixtures as they pass, and metal discharge plates are set beside all telephones and computer keyboards.

Most tourists arrive on the Antarctic Peninsula, which is easily accessible from Argentina and Chile.

The next most popular destination is the Ross Sea on the opposite side of the continent, a 10-day sail from New Zealand or Australia. Both landscapes are intensely bright and profoundly silent during the 17 weeks between sunrise and sunset in the summer. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

BUSINESS

KSE performance mixed over trading variance BAYAN INVESTMENT WEEKLY KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week with variance on its indices. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 2.41 percent, while the weighted index increased by 0.65 percent compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index decreased by 0.29 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 37.88 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 65.06 million, whereas trading volume average was 923.95 million shares, recording increase of 41.65 percent.

Kuwait Stock Exchange performance was mixed in most of last week’s daily sessions, due to the trading variance witnessed on some stocks during the week. The small-cap stocks remained to be the lead player in the market activity, as it witnessed strong purchasing operations and quick speculations which positively affected the market indices, especially the Price Index which was able to close at its highest levels in two years and since February 10, 2011.

On the contrary, the profit collection operations were strongly present during some sessions last week, and were concentrating on leading stocks and some small-cap stocks, which in turn realized different gains previously. Such operations could not push the Price Index down except in the last trading session of the week only, however was able to drag the weighted index and KSX-15 Index to the red zone in some of the daily sessions, especially KSX-15 Index, which was the only weekly loser.

In addition, the market is currently living an optimistic state, which positively impacted the trading activity, as trading value reached its highest levels since February of last year.

The same effect applies on the trading volume, which exceeded billion stock in last Tuesday and Wednesday sessions. Moreover, the positive market per formance came despite the watch state prevailing on many traders whom are waiting for the listed companies’ last year financial results announce-

ments, as many of them did not announce yet, although only two weeks of the provided legal period to announce are remaining.

For the annual per formance, the price index ended last week recording 13.46 percent annual gain compared to its closing in 2012, while the weighted index increased by 3.84 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded 1.85 percent increase. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,732.96 points, up by 2.41 percent from the week before closing,

whereas the weighted index registered a 0.65 percent weekly gain after closing at 433.68 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index closed at 1,027.71 points, decreasing with 0.29 percent.

Sectors’ indices Ten of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, while the other two recorded declines. Last week’s highest gainer was the Technology sector, achieving 4.54 percent growth rate as its index closed at 1,098.31

points. Whereas, in the second place, the financial services sector ’s index closed at 1,000.97 points recording 4.23 percent increase. The consumer goods sector came in third as its index achieved 4 percent growth, ending the week at 999.18 points. The insurance sector was the least growing as its index closed at 929.15 points with a 0.06 percent increase. On the other hand, the healthcare sec tor headed the losers list as its index declined by 2.69 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,007.58 points. The consumer services sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 0.40 percent, closing at 1,006.75 points.

Sectors’ activity The financial services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 1.82 billion shares changing hands, representing 39.43 percent of the total market trading volume. The real estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 35.17 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 1.62 billion shares.

On the other hand, the financial services sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 113.36 million or 34.85 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The real estate sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 83.53 million represented 25.68 percent of the total market trading value.

So the Dow hit a record; now where do we go?

NEW YORK: So the Dow Jones industrial average broke a record this month. Now what? It’s impossible to predict how the Dow, that popular barometer of the stock market, will zig and zag from here. The only thing certain about the market is that there will be more peaks and valleys ahead, and that’s about as specific as a fortune cookie. But we can look at the previous times the Dow burst through a record, and measure how long it kept rising and why it eventually stopped - ending the bull market. And what does history show? After it broke one record, the Dow kept rising for nearly nine years. After another, it rose for seven years, and after another, for five. But after one, it topped out just two months later. In most cases, the bull run ended because inflation and interest rates were rising and investors feared a recession loomed. Those conditions don’t exist today.

The Dow closed at 14,253.77 on March 5, beating its October 2007 record by 89 points. In the eight trading days since, it has risen on seven of them, setting a record each time.

Its only down day was Friday. So far, its highest close ever was Thursday, when it reached 14,539.14. Here are previous longheld Dow records since World War II, when they were broken and what happened after. Jamie Farmer, a managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, helped with the calculations.

RECORD DAY: Nov 23, 1954. The Dow breaks the record that had stood since September 1929, closing at 382.74.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for seven years, gains 92 percent and peaks at 734.91 on Dec 13, 1961. The Dow’s record-breaking day in 1954 was a long time coming. It had been 25 years since the index hit 381.17 on Sept 3, 1929, when the Roaring Twenties were still roaring. The Dow plunged in the Great Depression and bottomed at 41.22 in 1932 - down an astonishing 89 percent from the 1929 peak.

For the rest of the 1930s, it never came close to regaining all its losses. The highest it reached was 194.40 in 1937 - still down nearly 50 percent from the 1929 high. During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, the Dow rose to 174. Peacetime spurred it even higher, helped by a baby boom and a desire to spend after years of rationing. The US became the world’s powerhouse economy because the economies of Europe and Japan were wrecked by the war. After a late ‘40s bear, the Dow went on a bull market run that lasted from 1949 to 1961, its longest ever. On Dec 13, 1961, the Dow finally peaked at 734.91, and

then it languished. In the spring of 1962, President John F Kennedy’s fight with Big Steel over the industry’s price increases made businesses nervous about how they’d fare under his tenure. By June 26, 1962, the index had fallen 27 percent from the previous year’s record, to 535.76.

RECORD BREAKER: Sept 5, 1963. The Dow breaks the record that had stood since 1961, closing at 737.98.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for almost two and a half years, gains 35 percent and peaks at 995.15 on Feb 9, 1966.

The Dow bounced back from its so-called “Kennedy Crash,” and on Sept. 5, 1963, it set a new all-time high, up 38 percent from its low in June 1962. President Kennedy had taken pains to reach out to businesses and promised lower taxes. The standoff with the Soviet Union in October 1962, a fight that came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, ended without war, which gave the market license to rise again. On February 9, 1966, the Dow hit 995.15 and stopped rising. Investors went from planning Dow 1,000 celebrations to worrying that inflation was about to creep up and that the Vietnam War would drag on. After the February 1966 record, the Dow fell 37 percent over about four years. It bottomed out on May 26, 1970, in the middle of a recession, at 631.16.

RECORD BREAKER: Nov 10, 1972. The Dow breaks the record that had stood since 1966, closing at 995.26.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for two months, gains 6 percent and peaks at 1,051.70 on Jan 11, 1973. A new bull market began in May 1970, and the Dow rose 58 percent in two and a half years. By late 1972, cease-fire talks were under way for Vietnam, and investors were hopeful that the US would soon pull out. Inflation had cooled to about 3 percent.

Richard Nixon had just been re-elected in a landslide a few days before, beating George McGovern in every state but Massachusetts as well as DC. The New York Times captured the gleeful mood as the market approached its next goal post.

“Tapewatchers around the nation,” the newspaper wrote, describing the Nov. 10, 1972, record day, “rooted with the zest of football fans.” Four days later, the index closed above 1,000 for the first time. But the celebrations were short-lived. The Dow topped out two months later, on Jan. 11, 1973, at 1,051.70. The crisis in Vietnam continued, inflation took off again, and oil prices soared that fall, triggered by an embargo against the US. By Dec 6, 1974, the country was stuck in reces-

sion and the Dow was down to 577.60, 45 percent below the record it had set the year before.

RECORD BREAKER: Nov 3, 1982. The Dow breaks the record held since 1973, closing at 1,065.49.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for almost five years, gains 156 percent and peaks at 2,722.42 on August 25, 1987.

The Dow had to struggle to break the 1973 record. A severe recession hit in the mid ‘70s and New York City veered near bankruptcy. Jimmy Carter, running for president in 1976, summarized the state of the economy by emphasizing the “misery index” - the inflation rate plus the unemployment rate. By 1980, things had yet to improve, and Carter lost his re-election bid. (Inflation was at nearly 13 percent in November 1980, when Ronald Reagan won the White House.)

In August 1982, another bull market began. By November of that year, the Dow finally beat the 1973 record. Reagan’s tax cuts were taking effect. Over the next five years, unemployment and inflation fell, and the economy grew rapidly. Baby boomers were buying homes, raising kids and spending. In 1987, the Dow had 55 record-breaking days. Its last was August 25, when it peaked at 2,722.42 Things unraveled quickly after that. On Oct 19, 1987, investors panicked over whether the recent stock gains were just a bubble, and the Dow plunged 23 percent to 1,738.74.

The fall was so abysmal that it remains the index’s biggest one-day percentage loss ever. By the end of Black Monday, as it came to be known, the Dow was down 36 percent from the record it had set just two months before.

RECORD BREAKER: August 24, 1989. The Dow breaks the record held since 1987, closing at 2,734.64.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for almost a year, gains 10 percent and peaks at 2,999.75 on July 16, 1990. The Dow recovered quickly from its Black Monday in 1987. The Federal Reserve reassured investors by immediately cutting interest rates, a move meant to spur borrowing and lending, and declaring that it was ready “to support the economic and financial system.” Reagan insisted the economy was fundamentally sound. Soon enough, investors began to think of the one-day panic as a sign of scared stock traders and unwieldy computer trading, rather than an indictment of the broader economy.

Through 1988 and 1989, the economy kept expanding and

unemployment stayed low. On Aug 24, 1989, the Dow was up 57 percent from its Black Monday disaster and broke its August 1987 record. It kept rising for almost a year. In the summer of 1990, it came agonizingly close to a 3,000 close, ending at 2,999.75 on both July 16 and 17. On the second day, traders at the New York Stock Exchange tossed paper in the air in celebration at the end of the day- then realized, when the final figures were tallied, that the celebration was premature.

That same day, Saddam Hussein warned that Iraq would retaliate against other oil-exporting countries unless they curbed their production. Two weeks later, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Oil prices surged. As the Gulf War ramped up, the Dow entered a brief bear market from July to October 1990, falling 21 percent.

RECORD BREAKER: April 17, 1991. The Dow breaks the record held since 1990, closing at 3,004.46.

RISE CONTINUES: It keeps rising for almost nine years, gains 290 percent and peaks at 11,722.98 on Jan. 14, 2000. In October 1990, a new bull run began, one that would last through 2000. Its length was second only to the bull market that spanned the 1950s. An early milestone of this bull run happened on April 17, 1991: The Dow reached 3,004.46, passing its July 1990 high and posting its first close above 3,000.

The index was up 27 percent from its October 1990 low during the Gulf War. New technology like email, cell phones and, especially, personal computers, fueled a new era in workplace productivity. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, an encouragement to American investors. The Dow took off, and when there were unsettling developments in other parts of the world, like the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and crises in Russia and Brazil the following year, it kept rising anyway. The index cracked the 10,000 milestone in March 1999, and 11,000 barely a month later.

On Jan. 13, 2000, President Bill Clinton visited the New York Stock Exchange and told traders that he liked the way the market was looking. The next day, the Dow hit another record, 11,722.98. The Dow started to fall the next trading day. The bubble made by technology stocks soon burst. The 9/11 terrorist attacks, uncertainty about the wars that would follow, and accounting scandals at companies like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco left investors shell-shocked. By Oct 9, 2002, the Dow had fallen to 7,286.27, down 38 percent from the 2000 record.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Ali Alghanim & Sons launches after sales offer for owners KUWAIT: Having been at the top of Kuwait’s premium automotive segment for many years and achieved excellent sales in 2012, the BMW 7 Series is one of BMW Group’s most successful selling models in the Middle East as well as in Kuwait. To celebrate its segment leadership, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive has launched a special after sales offer that will make owning the new and refined BMW 7 Series, which arrived in showrooms late last year, even more joyful.

Customers who purchase a new 2013 BMW 7 Series vehicle throughout this promotion will receive free warranty for up to five years or 150,000 km (whichever comes first) and a four-year servicing package. In addition, all registration costs will be paid by Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, giving customers a convenient and hassle-free start to

F-35 fighter risks budget ‘death spiral’ WASHINGTON: It’s called the “death spiral,” and America’s newest warplane, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is in danger of falling into it before the plane has even gone into service. The term - recently invoked by top brass involved in the F-35 program - refers to a budgeting Catch-22 that plagues the defense industry. To keep the cost per airplane low, you need to build and sell a lot of planes. But in tough economic times, governments cut orders to save money. That pushes up the cost per plane, leading to more cancellations, pushing up the cost, leading to more cancellations. And so on.

The US military is in the process of making tough decisions due to mandatory budget cuts from sequestration which went into effect March 1 and could lop off $46 billion of Pentagon spending this fiscal year. Earlier this year, Pentagon budgeteers crunched the numbers on Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 in an exercise that spoke volumes about the troubles facing the world’s most expensive weapons system and the Navy’s uncertain commitment to it.

Postponing orders for about 40 of the 260 Navy models of the plane, which will take off from and land on aircraft carriers, would save money in the short-term, according to several defense officials familiar with the analysis, which has not been made public. But it would also add from $1 billion to $4 billion to the eventual price of the F-35 program, already at a record-setting $396 billion.

Seven years behind schedule and 70 percent over early cost estimates, the stealthy F-35 “Lightning II” appears to have overcome myriad early technical problems only to face a daunting new

question: is it affordable in an era of shrinking defense budgets? According to a congressional watchdog agency, the average price per plane has already almost doubled from $69 million to as much as $137 million since the F-35 program began in 2001. Any further price rise could scare off potential buyers including vital foreign customers.

“It’s a house of cards,” said one senior defense official who is familiar with the F35 program, but was not authorized to speak publicly. “We have finally started improving performance on the program and efficiency in testing, and bang, we get this budget challenge.” Steve O’Bryan, one of Lockheed’s top F-35 executives, says the company has already cut F-35 production costs by 50 percent, and is making progress on flight tests and software development.

“While there are still challenges and room for improvement, the program is heading in the right direction and we see no insurmountable obstacles to delivering the F-35 and its unprecedented 5th generation capability to our three US service and international customers,” he said.

Bullet proof?

Built by Lockheed and designed to be the next-generation fighter jet for decades to come for the US Air Force, Navy and Marines, as well as key US allies in Asia and Europe, the F-35 appears bullet-proofed against cancellation. There are no other new fighter jets in the pipeline; the US military’s fleet of warplanes is aging; and 10 allies including Britain, Japan and Israel are deeply invested.— Reuters

BARCELONA: A woman holds a placard reading “Because they don’t want” as she stands in front of a Caja Madrid bank during a protest by Platform for Mortgage Victims (PAH) to push for a new law to end a wave of evictions of homeowners ruined by the economic crisis, in Barcelona on March 15, 2013. — AFP

their BMW ownership.

Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, said: “We are trying to make ownership of our flagship BMW 7 Series model easier and this offer is part of our continuous efforts to do just that,” said Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive. “The BMW 7 Series is the epitome of luxury, elegance and innovation, all of which are qualities appreciated and desired by discerning Kuwaiti customers, and consequently why this model is consistently amongst our best-sellers. This offer is another way for us to celebrate the BMW 7 Series’ success here in Kuwait.”

The new and refined BMW 7 Series arrived in Kuwait in October last year, and has proved a strong driving force behind the company’s 2012 sales achievements as the second high-

est volume selling model. The car offers new levels of luxury, comfort and power, and includes a number of subtle but significant design and technology modifications that give the car a stronger presence on the road and provide an even more luxurious and powerful driving experience.

To further enhance the ride comfort of the BMW 7 Series, all models are fitted with air suspension and an upgraded chassis that helps give added comfort for both front and rear passengers. In addition, there is a range of new and comprehensively revised engines mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Alongside the entry-level BMW 730Li engine, Kuwaiti customers can also choose from the new six-cylinder in-line engine powering the BMW 740Li and the new V8 engine in the 750Li.

Investors in $7bn con could soon get payout Parties battling for control of $300m reach consensus HOUSTON: Investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by former Texas tycoon R Allen Stanford could finally begin getting back some of what they lost in the next few months, after a recovery process that has dragged on for more than four years. Investors - some of whom lost their life savings - will see only a pittance of what they put into the scheme. But the process got a boost this week as parties that had been battling each other for control of about $300 million in frozen foreign bank accounts and other assets once owned by Stanford reached an agreement to work together.

“The freeing up of funds... is a good thing,” Angela Shaw, a Dallas-area woman who founded the Stanford Victims Coalition after three generations of her family lost $4.5 million in the fraud, said Friday. In a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors is used to pay old ones.

Prosecutors said Stanford persuaded investors to buy certificates of deposit, or CDs, from his bank on the Caribbean island nation of Antigua then used the money to fund a string of failed businesses, bribe regulators and pay for his lavish lifestyle. Stanford, 62, was convicted last year on 13 fraud-related counts and sentenced to 110 years in prison.

Stanford’s financial empire once spanned from the US to Latin America and the Caribbean. In the wake of its collapse, a US judge in Dallas and an Antiguan court both

appointed people to try to recover assets. The US Justice Department also undertook its own effort. This week’s agreement consolidates the efforts to take control of assets frozen in Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

“Without the... agreement, the (parties) will be forced to expend substantial time, energy and money fighting over the Stanford assets,” attorneys for Ralph Janvey, the receiver appointed by a judge in Dallas to oversee the recovery efforts, wrote in a court motion filed this week.

Edward Davis Jr, one of the attorneys for the Antiguan liquidators, said the agreement is the “beginning of relationship that allows for everyone to be rolling in the same direction.” British retiree Kate Freeman, who lost $820,000 in Stanford’s scheme, said she believes the agreement is a positive step.

“This will help all of the victims,” Freeman said in a telephone interview from her home in Antigua. “This will put a little bit of money in everyone’s pocket.” Freeman said the agreement will provide the liquidators in Antigua needed funds to pursue lawsuits against individuals and organizations who aided Stanford’s fraud. The first distribution to investors will probably come from the US receiver, who in January announced a plan to make an initial distribution of $55 million.

That plan is still waiting for approval by a federal judge, but that could happen within

Boeing boosts CEO’s 2012 pay 15% Boeing CEO Jim McNerney’s compensation rose 15 percent last year to $21.1 million, as the company rewarded him for better-than-expected profits and faster airplane production. McNerney’s pay was disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday and analyzed by The Associated Press. It covered 2012, before problems emerged with Boeing’s new 787 that have grounded the plane for two months and counting. Other reasons cited by the company for the CEO’s pay raise included more orders and deliveries of Boeing’s 737 and 777, and cost-cutting efforts in Boeing’s defense business.

McNerney’s stock and option awards both rose 10 percent from 2011. His incentive-based cash bonus jumped 24 percent because Boeing’s profits were higher in 2010 through 2012 than the target set by its directors. The board wrote that factors in McNerney’s higher pay included his “effective leadership and successful implementation of Boeing’s business strategies.”

His base pay was unchanged at $1.9 million.

McNerney, 63, is also Boeing’s chairman and president.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. posted a 2012 profit of $3.9 billion, down 3 percent from 2011. Revenue rose 19 percent to $81.7 billion. Growth in its commercial airplanes business has been offsetting shrinking demand for its military wares. The filing covered 2012, when Boeing was speeding production of its new 787 Dreamliner. The plane was grounded in mid-January after two battery issues, including a fire in a plane on the ground. Boeing is testing a fix that, if approved, would get the planes flying again.

Boeing shares rose 2.7 percent during the year, to finish at $75.36. On Friday they rose $1.81, or 2.1 percent, to close at $86.43. It’s been rising in recent weeks as investors have anticipated a fix for the 787 problem.

Boeing’s annual meeting will be April 29 in Chicago.

The AP’s formula is designed to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the executive’s total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, performance-related bonuses, perks, and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. It also includes bonuses and above-market returns on deferred compensation, which McNerney did not receive. The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year. — AP

the next month or two, officials say. As of the end of January, Janvey had collected more than $230 million. But he had also racked up more than $119 million in fees and expenses, leaving about $111 million for investors.

Investors have criticized the amount of fees and expenses that have been tallied by the recovery process. Attorneys for Janvey have defended the expenses, saying the collapse of Stanford’s business empire required an expensive clean up. The Antiguan liquidators have retained control of about $227 million in assets, mostly in land once owned by Stanford, Davis said. That money won’t be available for distribution until the land is sold.

The initial distribution from the liquidators will likely come by this summer from funds recovered from the United Kingdom, he said. The amount investors will ultimately get back is expected to be small - probably about 1 percent of what they put in. “If you’ve saved your whole life and invested $300,000, you are only getting back $3,000,” Shaw said.

Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based attorney who specializes in investment fraud, said such small recoveries are the norm.

“Unfortunately these sorts of recoveries are kind of the nature of the beast when it comes to Ponzi schemes,” he said. — AP

Gulf Bank announces Al-Danah draw winners KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on March 10, 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of March 3-7. The Al-Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD 1,000 per winner.

The Al-Danah daily winners are: (Sunday 3/3): Waleed Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Jasem, Hussain Ali Hussain Baqer (Monday 4/3): Hussain Ebrahim, Ahmad Saeed Al-Zain ( Tuesday 5/3): Mohammad Jad Hassem Omran, Ali Abedeen Hasan Abedeen (Wednesday 6/3) Fahed Marzouq Ayed Al-Otaibi, Iqbal Siddique Mohammad Sadiq Siddique (Thursday 7/3) Khalid Qasem Mohammed Bushehri, Nada Ahmed Theb.

Gulf Bank’s new Al-Danah 2013 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD 1,000), as well as two additional prizes per quarter. Al Danah’s 1st Quarterly draw will be held on March 28 (KD 200,000, KD 125,000, and KD

25,000), 2nd Quarter - June 27 (KD 250,000, KD 125,000, and KD 25,000), 3rd Quarter September 26 (KD 500,000, KD 125,000, and KD 25,000) and the final draw held on January 9, 2014 announcing winners of KD 50,000, KD 250,000 and the Al-Danah Millionaire. Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money.

Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account. Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance.

BP seeks to block Gulf spill settlement costs NEW ORLEANS: BP sued Friday to block what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The London-based oil giant accused the court-appointed administrator for the settlement, Patrick Juneau, of trying to rewrite the terms of the deal. BP said Juneau violated the settlement in the way he used a complex formula to determine the payments to businesses. Last week, BP warned investors that the settlement’s price tag will be “significantly higher” than initially estimated.

“Although the ultimate exposure is at this time inestimable, it grows daily and could cost BP billions,” the company’s lawyers wrote Friday. U.S District Judge Carl Barbier appointed Juneau and has upheld his decisions for calculating payments. Juneau’s spokesman declined to comment on BP’s lawsuit.

Attorneys who worked on the class-action settlement with BP said the payments to busi-

nesses were spelled out in the agreement.

“Simply put, BP undervalued the settlement and underestimated the number of people and businesses that qualify under the objective formulas that BP agreed to,” attorneys Steve Herman and Jim Roy said in a statement.

BP said Juneau made decisions in January that expose the company to fictitious losses that were never contemplated in the settlement.

Friday’s court filing asked Barbier to block payments to any businesses whose awards are part of the January decisions. As an alternative, BP asked to block payments to businesses in certain industries, including agriculture, construction, professional services, real estate, manufacturing and retail. Before Barbier ruled last week, BP had argued that Juneau’s interpretation of the settlement would lead to “absurd results” and “false positives.” The judge said the settlement anticipated that “such results would sometimes occur.”— AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

BUSINESS

All new sports car Jaguar F-TYPE soon at Al-Zayani KUWAIT: Again, a gorgeous Jaguar is on its way to Al-Zayani showroom. The long awaited, all new sports car, Jaguar FTYPE represents a return to the company’s heartland: a two-seater, convertible sports car focused on performance, agility and driver involvement. The FTYPE is a continuation of a sporting bloodline that stretches back more than 75 years and encompasses some of the most beautiful, thrilling and desirable cars ever built. Derek Davies, Automotive Director at Al-Zayani, said: “This beautifully powerful sports car from Jaguar will open up new windows here in Kuwait.

After its announcement, customers have been anticipating its arrival and we can now say that we will be ready to present it extremely soon.”

Three variants will be available at launch - F-TYPE, F-TYPE S and F-TYPE V8 S. Each is distinguished by the power output of its supercharged petrol engine.

The V6 models are joined by a newly developed member of Jaguar ’s V8 engine family. Producing 495PS and 625Nm of torque in the F-TYPE V8 S model, it accelerates from 0 to 100 km in 4.3 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 300 kmph. The 380PS V6 F-TYPE S covers the 0-100 km sprint in 4.9 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 275 kmph while the 340PS V6 F-TYPE accelerates to 0-100 km in 5.3 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 260 kmph.

An active exhaust system, which is standard on the S and V8 S models, adds another dimension of driver-engagement. Valves in the exhaust system open under load from 3,000 rpm which allows the exhaust note to build to a thrilling crescendo at the redline. The F-TYPE has a set of eight closely-spaced, sporting ratios in its Quickshift transmission, giving greater driver control. The V6-pow-

ered S model also includes a Dynamic Launch feature, which optimises acceleration from rest.

Taking inspiration from the C-X16 concept unveiled in 2011, the front of the F-TYPE features a new interpretation

Starwood Hotels & Resorts to open 50 hotels across MENA DUBAI: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc is strengthening its position as the leading hotel operator across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with an existing portfolio of 82 hotels, representing nearly 22,000 guest rooms, the majority of which are operated under Starwood’s world-renowned Sheraton and Le MÈridien brands. The company announced today that it will increase its MEA portfolio by more than 60 percent with nearly 50 new hotels set to open over the next five years, adding more than 14,000 guest rooms to the region while creating thousands of local employment opportunities. With over 20 hotels expected to open by the end of 2015, Starwood is on track to reach a milestone 100 hotels across MEA. Further underscoring the importance of the region as one of Starwood’s fastest growing hotel and travel markets, earlier this month the company relocated its global headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut to Dubai for a month-long immersion.

“Starwood continues to see demand for growth of all of our brands across the Middle East and Africa despite economic and political uncertainty in some parts of this incredibly diverse region,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Rapid economic growth, rising personal incomes, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity are driving new travel patterns and demand for travel, and this region is at the center of these trends and a key focus of our growth strategy.”

With more than 70 percent of the world’s economic growth coming from fast-growing markets over the next few years, Starwood is focused on expansion in developing MEA markets such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa and Nigeria. The company is also focused on growth opportunities in key emerging markets including Iraq, Pakistan, Angola, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and East Africa.

By 2017, Starwood will operate more than 130 hotels in MEA, marking some key milestones, including: ● Portfolio growth of over 60 percent in the UAE with 12 new hotels, including six in Dubai, bringing Starwood’s portfolio to more than 30 hotels across the country. Starwood’s growth plans in the UAE also include expansion into Sharjah and Ajman. ● Rapid expansion across Saudi Arabia with six new hotels slated to open by 2015 bringing Starwood’s portfolio to 15 hotels in this key developing market. ● The re-entry of Starwood into Iraq with the milestone signings of three hotels across three brands in the city of Erbil, located in the re-emerging Kurdistan area of the country.

● Momentum in Nigeria with two new Starwood hotels, under the company’s Four Points by Sheraton brand. ● Addition of two new hotels in Algeria with a new Sheraton hotel in Annaba and Four Points by Sheraton in Oran. ● The launch of Starwood’s Aloft Hotels brand in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Aloft will also open its second property in the UAE in emirates of Sharjah.

strong relationships in the region remain a competitive advantage, and position us well to take advantage of the many opportunities for future growth,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development & Acquisition, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “We have a healthy pipeline of new hotels under development in the Middle East and Africa, and expect our growth to continue in 2013 as we look to expand in markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

Starwood strengthens luxury portfolio In 2011, Starwood introduced its ultra-luxury St

Conversion opportunities in MEA In addition to new hotel openings, Starwood is seeing increasing opportunities for hotel conversions in MEA. In the past ten months, Starwood has signed three conversion deals in the region, including Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates, which opened last month. “Thanks to Starwood’s nearly 50 year history in the MEA region and the proven strength of our brands, the company is well positioned to take full advantage of growth,” said Roeland Vos, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa & Middle East. “We are seeing a large landscape of independent hotels ripe for flags in the region and we expect to capture more than our fair share of conversion opportunities across all of our brands. The recent conversion of the Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates is a testament of this strategy.” As Starwood continues its extensive expansion across MEA, the company is also focused on upgrading its existing portfolio of hotels in the region, primarily under the Sheraton and Le MÈridien brands.

Frits Van Paasschen Regis Hotels & Resorts brand in the region with the opening of The St Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.

This was followed by last year’s debuts of The St Regis Doha and The St Regis Mauritius, marking the entry of the brand into Qatar and Africa. This year, Starwood will unveil a second St Regis hotel on Abu Dhabi’s vibrant Corniche, making it the only city in the world to boast two St Regis hotels. The brand will soon enter the Egyptian market with the opening of The St Regis Cairo.

Starwood is also seeing rapid growth of its contemporary, design-led W Hotels brand. Following the successful launch of the brand in the region with the opening of W Doha in 2009, Starwood has plans to open six more W Hotels across MEA in key markets, including three in Dubai and one each in Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Amman by 2017.

“Our long-established presence, local teams, and

Starwood relocates global headquarters to Dubai Earlier this month, Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top executives relocated to Dubai where they have been conducting day-to-day business from this increasingly important global destination and travel hub. Following the company’s successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move reflects Starwood’s innovative management approach to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.

“With 80 percent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it is simply not possible to lead a truly global business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said van Paasschen. “Dubai epitomizes the changing face of travel, and we expect this relocation will deepen our relationships with partners, associates and customers. The insights that come from experiences like this move make us more agile in today’s rapidly changing world.”

of the bold angular Jaguar grille from which flows the muscular clamshell bonnet with its signature ‘power bulge’. The all important heartline begins its journey in the blade dissecting the shark-like gills on either side of the grille before leading the eye to the top of the front wing, emphasised by the bi-xenon headlamp and integral LED daytime running lights, into the door and towards the rear of the car where it gracefully disappears.

The focus on driver involvement and sporting performance in the F-TYPE is emphasised by the ‘one plus one’ layout of the asymmetric cabin. This is evidenced by the grab handle which sweeps down the centre console on the passenger side, delineating it from the driver’s position. Further differentiation is provided by the use of different trim materials either side of the cabin, with a more technical finish on the driver’s side.

The all new Jaguar F-Type will be available at Al-Zayani showroom soon.

‘Annual Investment Meeting’ opens doors to investments in 80 nations DUBAI: Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the Ministry of Foreign Trade is organizing the third edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) scheduled from April 30 until May 2 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center (DICEC). With the participation of 80 countries and around 5,000 investors and businessmen from the region and the world, the meeting is set to offer participants the opportunity for promoting and identifying available investment opportunities as well as identifying investment opportunities available in the participating countries.

This edition will be focused on the future of the global economy, the implications that are expected for direct foreign investments as well as growth prospects in emerging markets. AIM has been witnessing an increasing importance since its inception two years ago as the world currently faces political, economical and financial challenges that require word leaders to discuss obstacles that could be imposed by these challenges in the face of the flow of direct foreign investments while focusing on growth prospects in emerging markets at a time when the global economic power is moving from the West to the East.

Discussions shall assess the potential capacities of emerging markets as well as the longterm viability of future economic growth through increased investments and foreign trade. Discussions will also focus on matters related to successful policies and frameworks in order to overcome the challenges faced by a global economy that is dominated by recession and make growth and development prospects less negative.

Commenting on this, Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al-Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade said: “the Annual Investment Meeting is in line with the ministry’s continuous approach to adopt innovative initiatives and programs that would improve the UAE’s reputation at the regional and international levels as one of the leading countries in the Middle East”.

“The United Arab Emirates adopts an open door policy to attract foreign investments and the central government is taking the necessary steps to establish the rules that facilitate investments. This is the reason why the UAE was ranked second among Arab countries attracting foreign investments in the last decade after Saudi Arabia which was ranked first, according to the latest report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)”, she added.

“Foreign direct investments (FDI) flowing

into the UAE amounted to $7.7 billion of the total amount of FDI to GCC countries, which was $26 billion in 2011 - according to the World Investment Report 2012 issued by the UNCTAD. This is an additional incentive to push us to work better on offering the suitable environment to double this number in the years to come by taking advantage of the UAE’s competitive advantages at the global level”, she continued.

“The Annual Investment Meeting is a unique opportunity for investors to gather and study the current investment opportunities in emerging markets. It is designed as a unique platform where international investors interested in viable innovative projects and long term investments meet with businessmen and decision makers from many world countries. Many foreign companies and investors consider the UAE as a safe haven for investments at a time when other countries in the region are witnessing political and security turmoil. The UAE is safe and is politically stable. It also has a strong infrastructure and is considered a leading hub for trade, logistics and services in the region.

Furthermore, it provides an encouraging investment environment that helps foreign companies and investors to develop their trade and investment activities in the country and expand their businesses in the markets of the region and the world starting from the UAE.” she said.

She also pointed out that the UAE is ranked fourth, globally, in EC Harris Built Asset Consultancy’s ‘Infrastructure Investment Index’, which is a report that ranks 40 countries across the globe according to how attractive they are to infrastructure funds. “There are significant and radical changes in the source, direction and flow of foreign direct investments. According to the World Investment Report 2012 issued by the UNCTAD, the global rate of FDI in 2011 has exceeded the average that was registered prior to the economic crisis, reaching $1.5 trillion despite the challenges facing the global economy. Whereas the rate of FDI increased in 2011 amongst economic blocks, developing countries attracted 45 percent of global investments”, Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al-Qasimi concluded.

Heads of State, Ministers of Trade and Industry, financiers and academics from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Gulf and international organizations such as the World Bank, the World Trade Center, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations World tourism Organization (UNWTO) as well as food and agriculture international organizations are getting ready to participate in this high level event which has been gaining more importance since its inception.

Travel and tourism report focuses on job creation GENEVA: Switzerland, Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of their travel and tourism industry competitiveness with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore completing the top 10, according to the fifth Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, released today by the World Economic Forum with the strategic partnership of Booz & Company.

The biennial report, published under the theme, Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation, sees considerable movement in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index’s top 10 countries. France fell four places from third in 2011 to seventh, while Spain climbed to fourth from eighth. Also showing strong improvement were the United Kingdom - up two places to fifth - and Canada, up one place to eighth.

Alongside Switzerland and Germany, the United States and Singapore maintained their positions, in sixth and 10th places, respectively.

Sweden, the only other country in the top 10 to fall, dropped from fifth to ninth. Among developed economies, New Zealand and Japan improved strongly; the former climbing to12th from 19th and the latter moving up eight posi-

tions to 14th. Emerging market economies reported mixed levels of progress, with India being the only BRIC nation to move up in the rankings. In this category, rising stars include Panama, climbing from 56th to 37th, and the Philippines, which climbed from 94th to 82nd on the back of policy improvements supporting the industry.

As well as providing insight into how countries are fostering the development of their travel & tourism industry, the report also offers a snapshot on the health of the industry and its role in driving global economic growth. With travel and tourism accounting for one in 11 jobs globally, the report highlights that the industry has proven resilient during the global economic downturn and can be a key factor in paving the way for developing and emerging markets to diversify into higher value economic activities.

Company. With its year-round sunshine, whitesand beaches, shopping malls, entertainment centers, recreational facilities and some of the finest restaurants in the world, UAE is definitely a popular tourist destination “Despite the impact on natural resources, the country has managed to build a thriving travel and tourism industry. It is also a world-class international hub for global

“Qatar’s ability to offer tourists a safe and secure environment compounded with its role as a transport hub has significantly enhanced its travel and tourism competitiveness,” added Antoine Nasr, Senior Associate. “Due to the economic boom, business tourism has significantly increased.

Ranked fourth in the MENA region, Bahrain

MENA region In the MENA region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the top performer. “The UAE ranked 28th in the global Index - continues to lead the region thanks to rich cultural resources and a slew of international fairs and exhibitions, said George Atalla, Partner with Booz &

Antoine Nasr

George Atalla

air travel.”

In second place for the region is Qatar (41st globally), a nation that boasts well-developed ICT and tourism infrastructures as well as excellent air transport and sports infrastructure.

has fallen 15 places since the 2011 assessment, namely due to security concerns. However the country maintains a number of clear strengths.

Those include a highly-evolved transport infrastructure, skilled human resources and strong

price competiveness.

Lebanon ranks 8th in the region and 69th overall with a number of cultural attributes, including five World Heritage cultural sites and some creative industries. Perhaps more importantly, Lebanon is ranked 1st out of all countries for its affinity for travel and tourism, with tourism accounting for a significant amount of economic activity, a very positive attitude toward foreign travellers, and an appreciation of the value of the country’s attributes for tourism.

“Egypt, ranked 10th regionally, drops 10 positions in the global assessment to reach 85th overall, probably the result of the continuing unrest in the country. Most notably, the evaluation of the safety and security environment has dropped to the lowest position of all countries covered in the Report” added Atalla.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index covers 140 countries and uses a combination of data from publicly available sources, international travel and tourism institutions and experts. It also incorporates the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum and its network of partner institutes (research institutes and business organizations) in the coun-

tries covered by the report. The survey provides data on many qualitative institutional and business environment issues.

The report’s cross-country analysis of the drivers of competitiveness in travel and tourism provides comparative information that is useful in business decision-making and supporting policies of governments wishing to improve their travel and tourism environments.

In addition, the report includes contributions from industry experts. Several chapters explore issues such as how visa facilitation can play a role in stimulating economic growth; the importance for policy-makers to leverage local competitive advantages to thrive in a volatile environment; the impact of the tourism sector on employment creation; and how the connectivity that aviation sector creates sustains economic development. The report also contains detailed country profiles for the 140 economies featured in the study, including a comprehensive summary of their overall positions in the Index and a guide to the most prominent travel and tourism competitive advantages and disadvantages of each. Also included is an extensive section of data tables covering each indicator used in the Index’s computation.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

technology

Tech in Galaxy S 4 doesn’t come together NEW YORK: The Galaxy S 4, Samsung’s latest and greatest, has a cute feature we’ll probably see in a lot of phones soon: You can shoot both yourself and your surroundings at the same time, using the front- and back-mounted cameras. It’s a bit like having a two-camera film crew follow you around. But other than that, it’s hard to point to anything that will set the world on fire in the new phone, revealed Thursday at an event in New York. The S 4 has what you’d expect from a new smartphone: a bigger screen and a faster processor. It may prove to be unfortunate that didn’t stop there when it presented the successor to its hit Galaxy S III, because the phone has a grab-bag of features that don’t come together as a pleasing whole.

Samsung provided reporters with some hands-on time with preproduction units, which revealed the S 4 to be, in terms of hardware, a solid successor to the III. The screen is slightly larger, at 5 inches on the diagonal compared to 4.8 inches for the III and 4 inches for the iPhone 5. It sports a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, as much as you’d find on a high-definition TV set. This should mean that the resolution chase is over in the smartphone area: the eyes just can’t discern any more pixels on these small screens. Competing top-line Android phones already have the same resolution, so Samsung isn’t breaking new ground here.

The bigger screen is crammed into a chassis that’s actually a hair narrower and thinner than the S III’s. This is quite a feat. Samsung shrank the frame surrounding the screen to make room. Shrinking other internal components allowed it to make the battery 20 percent larger than III’s, but Samsung isn’t saying whether that translates into longer battery life - the added battery power could be eaten up by software and hardware changes.

The body is still dominated by softly molded plastic, and the S 4 doesn’t really advance the aesthetics of its predecessor the way competitors Apple, Sony and HTC have done with their latest phones.

Apple and HTC, in particular, have put a lot of sweat into machining metal into jewel-like enclosures; Samsung doesn’t seem to care all that much about looks. Samsung does care about trying to push the envelope on what the phone does, but it may have poked through the envelope, tearing a hole or two in it. It’s probably not a disaster, because most of its features can be turned off, but first-time users could be confused.

For one thing, Samsung is taking the whole “touch screen” thing further by now sensing when the user’s finger is hovering over the screen. In other words, you don’t even need to touch the phone to make it react. Hovering over a thumbnail of a picture in the Gallery will reveal a bigger thumbnail, and hovering over one email in a list will show a preview of its first lines.

The idea is similar to the “mouse hover” feature on a PC, which sometimes reveals things before the mouse is clicked. Implementing it on a smartphone is trickier, though. On the PC, you have to use the mouse, so you’ll discover the hover functions in the normal course of use. But since the feature is new in a smartphone and there’s normally no reason to have your finger hovering over the screen, users are likely to discover this feature by chance. That wouldn’t be so bad if all applications responded to hovering in a consistent manner, but very few applications react to it all. On the S 4, the “Email” app will show previews, but the “Gmail” app won’t. The built-in “Gallery” app will show picture previews, but other photo apps won’t. I suspect users will get tired of trying to hover with their fingers and give up on the whole thing. The hovering feature also sets the phone up for another problem. In my testing, I found that the phone sometimes registered a close hover as a touch. In other words, the screen was overly sensitive, thinking I was touching it when I wasn’t. This may be fixed by the time the phone is in production, but it’s potentially an annoying issue.

The S 4 tries to divine your intentions in two additional ways. It has an infra-red sensor that looks for hand movements up to about 4 inches away from the phone, and it uses the front-side camera to figure out if it’s front of the user’s face. Thanks to the IR sensor, the phone’s browser responds to an “up swipe” in the air above it with by scrolling up, and to a “side” swipe by jumping to another tab. This could be pretty useful when the smartphone is the lunchtime companion and you don’t want to grease it up with foody fingers, but again, the “air swipe to scroll” shows up in only a few applications.

The camera is supposed to engage when you’re watching a video, pausing playback if it thinks you’re looking away. This didn’t work in the preproduction unit I tested, but it’s hard to imagine that this is a feature to die for. The list of user interface innovations goes on, but they don’t amount to a coherent new way of interacting with the phone. Nor do they turn the phone into something that’s intelligently aware of what goes on around it. It’s more like Samsung is throwing a bunch of technologies into the phone to see what sticks. Sometimes, that’s how progress works, but consumers might not appreciate being guinea pigs.

The S 4 presents an interesting contrast to the BlackBerry Z10.

Research In Motion Ltd jettisoned the old BlackBerry software and rebuilt it from the ground up. The phone’s hardware isn’t as impressive as Samsung’s, but the software is easy to use, and it’s based on a strong idea: taking the pain out of communicating across email, text messaging and social networks. The S 4, unfortunately, doesn’t have the same clarity of purpose. — AP

Russia dashcams are digital guardian angels for drivers Cameras an insurance against erratic road users, corrupt police

KOSTANAY: Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford of NASA (right), Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy (center) and Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin pose for a photo at the airport after their landing in northern Kazakhstan yesterday. — AFP

Space crew returns to Earth from ISS ARKALYK, Kazakhstan: Three astronauts returned safely to Earth from the International Space Station early yesterday, aboard a Russian capsule which landed on the freezing Kazakhstan steppe, mission control said. “There is landing!” flashed a Russian mission control centre message transmitted by NASA. Rescue teams rushed to recover the capsule carrying NASA US astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin.

“The crew felt normal through the descent and landing, their mood is good,” Russian agencies quoted the Russian mission control official commentator as saying.

It was the first space mission for the Russian cosmonauts, and the second for astronaut Ford, who was captain of the crew. They arrived at the space station in October. Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed the landing time as 0305 GMT. “The landing was completed as planned,” it said in a statement. “The crew is feeling good. In the coming hours, they will be transported to a permanent location for post-flight rehabilitation.” Yesterday’s landing had been delayed by a day due to poor weather conditions, but rescue helicopters still had to contend with thick ground fog which descended on the landing area and drastically reduced visibility. The spherical Soyuz vessel landed upright and four workers were shown prying the hatch open to extract the three men. They pulled the crew members out of the capsule and helped them down a special slide.

Russian cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin pumped his fists as he sat on the edge of the capsule. The smiling men were then bundled up by the Russian rescue workers and sat recovering in special chairs. They were rushed into a helicopter within minutes of arrival to escape the subzero temperatures, as no medical tent was brought to the location by the skeleton evacuation crew that braved nearly zero visibility, the NASA commentator said in footage broadcast online by NASA-TV. NASA later uploaded a photo of the trio giving a collective thumbs-up at Kazakhstan’s Kustanay airport, near Russia’s border. Ford was holding an apparent departure gift on his lap: a traditional Russian nesting doll painted as an astronaut.

“The crew that landed today, they have an aura of a united, friendly team,” said Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin in a televised press conference. “I think they have a great future in space.” The crew encountered no problems during their 143 days in space, where they conducted 34 scientific experiments, he added. “What will this crew be remembered by? That everything went as planned during their flight,” he said.

The Soyuz TMA-06M Russian spacecraft had separated from the ISS on schedule and entered

the earth atmosphere at about 0240 GMT. “Just closed the hatch on the departing crew. The echo rang through the Station in many ways, we are now 3 onboard this huge ship. So cool,” tweeted Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who is now captain of the remaining ISS crew members, NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko.

The current team will remain in space until May. They expect to be joined by Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy, who will be sent into space later this month.

Since 2009 there have been teams of six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station, whose capacity was previously limited to only three people. Soyuz spacecraft, used since 1967, are currently the only way to ferry astronauts to the ISS after the US retired its iconic space shuttle program in 2011. Russia has suffered several recent setbacks in its space program, notably losing expensive satellites and an unmanned supply ship to the ISS last year, but the manned missions have been flawless. — AFP

MOSCOW: When a bright meteor streaked across the sky over the Russian Urals last month, it was the film footage captured by hundreds of in-car cameras and hastily uploaded to YouTube by dumbfounded drivers that allowed the world to share the event. Mini video cameras - dubbed dashcams - have been growing in popularity in Russia as drivers fix them to their windshields as an insurance against erratic road users, corrupt traffic police and the arbitrary justice that is still prevalent here.

Minutes after the space rock entered the atmosphere and struck near the city of Chelyabinsk on Feb 15, leaving a spectacular glow in the morning sky, hundreds of dashcam films hit the Internet. For days, millions of people entertained themselves watching the meteor disrupt the morning commutes of Chelyabinsk residents who observed its passage across the sky with impressive nonchalance. Most cursed in surprise, then kept on driving.

The meteor’s dashcam debut revealed an entire Internet meme of films capturing bizarre episodes on Russia’s roads, from hair-raising near-misses to the sudden appearance of tanks and fighter jets on the highway, and even dozens of cows falling out of a truck into oncoming traffic. According to Euroset, an electronics distributor, sales of dashcams, nonexistent in Russia just a few years ago, have grown to 1.5 million in 2012, a fivefold increase on the previous year. “Some people buy these cameras to get a bit of glory, since some videos get millions of views,” said Pavel Volkov, head of Euroset’s portable electronics department.

But the main reason for their popularity is that people “hope to have evidence in case of a disagreement on the road”, he told AFP. In Russia, where poor road quality and a relaxed attitude to traffic laws contribute to a very high accident rate, dashcams are one way to ensure

a fair investigation in the event of a crash.

Police are known to arbitrarily prosecute drivers without sufficient political weight or money. “It’s a way of keeping a peace of mind, to protect yourself from people who want to falsely accuse you of causing an accident,” explained Sergei Zaitsev, a sales manager in another electronics chain MVideo. “Or, in a case where the police don’t, let’s say, follow the rules,” he continued with a smile.

Moscow resident Alexei Drozdov learned of their usefulness from experience. When his motorcycle was hit by another car on an intersection, the driver at fault accused him of running a red light. Little did he know that Drozdov had a camera attached to his neck.

The footage was indisputable. “It was clear that I passed on green and had priority. So the other driver was named responsible,” said Drozdov, who ended up saving $1,000 dollars in repair

bills, all thanks to a device that costs about $100. Another time, when a traffic policeman accused Drozdov of running a red light, he suggested they take a look at the film footage.

Drozdov had thought that the policeman might threaten him with a ticket, in the hope of receiving a cash bribe to let him off. Once he pointed out the camera, however, the matter went no further.

Dashcams have also exposed government officials breaking road rules and abusing their right to use special blue flashing lights, known as migalkas, to force their way through traffic.

Recently some lawmakers in the State Duma caused a minor scandal by proposing to ban dashcam use - but it appears unlikely their idea will gain any traction. Commentators say that the popularity of the cameras speaks volumes about public confidence in the rule of law in Russian society.—AFP

MOSCOW: A picture taken on March 12, 2013 shows a mini camera with a screen placed on a dashboard of a car rolling down a street. — AFP

Security breach or harmless prank?

SAN FRANCISCO: Federal prosecutors say Reuters’ deputy social media editor conspired with a notorious hacker network to cause an online security breach that should be punished by decades in federal prison. Fervent online supporters of Matthew Keys say the journalist was just taking part in an online prank that briefly altered the Los Angeles Times’ website, and he shouldn’t ever have been suspended from his job. In an age when the line between tech superstardom and outright hacking grows increasingly blurry, the case against Keys, 26, lays bare sharp divisions about what constitutes Internet crime and how far the government should go to stop it.

“Congress wants harsh penalties doled out for these crimes because they don’t want people defacing websites, but there has to be a way that we can bring the law into harmony with the realities of how people use technology today,” said Hanni Fakhoury, an attorney at the San Francisco-based nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Keys, a well-known figure in the Twitterverse, was charged Thursday with conspiring with the hacking group Anonymous to alter a Times news story in late 2010. The federal indictment accuses Keys of giving hackers the information they needed to access the computer system of Times’ parent company, Tribune Co. Tribune also owns a Sacramento television station Keys had been fired from months earlier. An attorney for Keys said he is not guilty, and that the government is overreaching in its zeal to prosecute Internet pranks. “No one was hurt, there were no lasting injuries, no one’s identify was stolen, lives weren’t ruined,” his Ventura-based attorney, Jay Leiderman, said Friday. “Mr Keys was no different than any other embedded journalist. The story he was going after was inside this chat room, and he went there.”

Keys was hired in 2012 as deputy social media editor for the Reuters news service. He didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. “I’m okay,” he tweeted Friday in response to a journalism col-

league wondering how he was doing. According to Keys’ Facebook profile, he is single and works at Thomson Reuters Corp’s New York office, where “I get paid to use Twitter and Facebook at work”. He was suspended with pay late Thursday, said Reuters spokesman David Girardin, who did not elaborate. A spokesman for the Chicago-based Tribune Co. declined to comment.

According to the indictment, a hacker identified only as “Sharpie” used information Keys supplied in an Internet chat room and altered a headline on a Dec 2010 Times story to read “Pressure builds in House to elect CHIPPY 1337.” The reference was to another hacking group credited with defacing the website of video game publisher Eidos in 2011. Keys is charged with one count each of conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer, as well as transmitting and attempting to transmit that information. If convicted, prosecutors say the Secaucus, NJ, resident faces a combined 25 years prison and a $500,000 fine if sentenced to the maximum for each count.

However, first-time offenders with no criminal history will typically spend much less time in prison than the maximum sentence, said Mary Fan, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in criminal law and procedure at the University of Washington School of Law. Keys’ arraignment is scheduled for April 12 in Sacramento. His indictment comes after recent hacks into the computer systems of two other US media companies that own The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Both newspapers reported in February that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, likely to monitor media coverage the Chinese government deems important.

Anonymous and its offshoot, Lulz Security, have been linked to a number of high-profile computer attacks and crimes, including many that were meant to embarrass governments, federal agencies

and corporate giants. They have been connected to attacks that took data from FBI partner organization InfraGard, and they’ve jammed websites of the CIA and the Public Broadcasting Service.

Keys’ indictment also follows the suicide of Aaron Swartz, a 26-yearold Internet activist who was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Jan 11 as a trial loomed in his future.

Family and friends say Swartz killed himself after he was hounded by federal prosecutors. Officials say he helped post millions of court documents for free online and that he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles from an online clearinghouse. “In the wake of the Aaron Swartz case, we really thought that Justice would kind of catch their breath and maybe understand that they had erred in pushing these cases forward in such an aggressive manner for what are essentially pranks,” Leiderman said.

Keys’ Facebook page says he worked as an online news producer for Tribune-owned FOX affiliate KTXL from June 2008 to April 2010.

After that, he worked briefly in San Francisco as the tech industry began its latest ascent. Today, top software companies often sponsor ‘hackathons,’ weekends of intense work and little sleep, to get free outside programming help to solve problems or advance products. Sometimes, coding straddles the lines between what’s legal and illegal. The hacking crimes Keys is charged are laid out in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was enacted in the 1980s.

Federal prosecutors use the act to go after a wide range of Internet crimes, but the law may not reflect how our behavior online has changed over the last three decades, Fan said. “Some might say if you take someone’s property or break into a private place without permission, we don’t get upset about prosecutions, so why would we be upset about these prosecutions if the trespass happened online?” Fan said. “Others might say is what happened in this case really even a problem? It’s kind of a culture clash.” — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

China performed 330 m abortions since 1971 BEIJING: Nearly 330 million abortions have been performed in China in the 40 years since it first implemented measures to limit population growth in the world’s most populous nation, official data showed. China has announced structural changes to its family planning system which oversees the controversial one-child policy during the ongoing annual meeting of the national legislature in Beijing. Data posted on the health ministry website earlier this year shows that from 1971 — shor tly before China star ted encouraging people to have fewer children-through 2010 a total of 328.9 million abortions were carried out in the country, which has a population of 1.35 billion.

China says that its one-child policy introduced in the early 1980s has prevented overpopulation and boosted economic development. The policy exempts some rural families, ethnic minorities and couples who are both only children. Calls have increased, however, for the restriction to be phased out as the country’s labor pool shrinks and the ranks of the elderly swell. Human rights groups have criti-

cized what they say are harsh enforcement methods.

Under the policy, urban families are generally allowed to have just one child, while rural families may have a second if the first is a girl. Those who contravene the rules must pay a fine.

Last Sunday, the government announced the merger of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, which oversees the policy, with the health ministry in a move state media said was meant to improve, not abandon the one-child policy. “After the reform, China will adhere to and improve the family planning policy,” Ma Kai, secretary general of the State Council, China’s cabinet, said when the move was announced, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The move was included in a report on governmental restructuring submitted to the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, which ends its annual session on Sunday. China’s latest census in 2010 showed that the population could have been 400 million larger if the one-child policy had not been implemented, according to Xinhua.—AP

Donor in rabies cases was Air Force recruit NEW YORK: A Maryland man died from a transplanted, rabies-infected kidney from a donor who wasn’t known to have the disease, and the rare death has prompted authorities to treat three others who got organs from the same donor, federal health officials said Friday. The Maryland man, who died last month, received the kidney more than a year ago. The recipients of the donor’s heart, liver and other kidney are getting anti-rabies shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Those patients live in Florida, Georgia and Illinois, the CDC said.

The donor, a 20-year-old North Carolina man, died in 2011 in Florida, where he was training to become an Air Force aviation mechanic, the Defense Department said. The three other recipients have a strong chance of surviving since they haven’t shown symptoms of the disease, said a rabies expert who successfully treated a teenage girl with rabies in 2004. “They’re getting a really excellent vaccine. This is the best we’ve got,” said Dr. Rodney Willoughby of Milwaukee. Public and military health officials said they’re trying to identify people in all five states who were in close contact with the donor or the recipients.

Those people might also need treatment, the CDC said. The CDC refused to disclose the identities of the donor and recipients.

In North Carolina, state health officials are recommending vaccine for at least one of the donor’s relatives, the state’s top public health veterinarian said Friday. Fewer than five family members from North Carolina visited the man while he was hospitalized in Florida, Dr Carl Williams said. Local and state health departments have contacted them and are evaluating their risk.

“What generally happens in human rabies patients that are hospitalized is that there is a lot of close contact, not only from health care workers but from close family because the patient is going to die,” Williams said. The disease could, in rare cases, be transmitted by saliva from a kiss on the lips or tears being wiped away by a visiting mother, Williams said.

Williams wouldn’t describe where the donor lived before moving to Florida, saying even naming the county could identify the rabies victim. Rabies is common in wildlife statewide. How the donor may have gotten the raccoon rabies virus is under investigation, the CDC said.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago confirmed the Illinois transplant was performed there and that its doctors are administering the rabies treatment to that recipient. Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the patient has no rabies symptoms, but began treatment Thursday.

The Defense Department said the Maryland man who died was an Army

veteran who had transplant surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He died in February, Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said. The CDC said there has been just one other reported instance of rabies transmission by transplanted solid organs, a 2004 case in which all four recipients died after receiving tissue from an infected donor. There have been at least eight instances of rabies transmission through transplanted corneas, CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said.

“Human rabies is very rare in the United States, and so, of course, when we’re talking about organ transplantation, very, very rare,” she said. Rabies is diagnosed as the cause of just one to three deaths per year in the United States, she said. Rabies cannot be confirmed until after death, by examining the patient’s brain tissue, health officials said.

Because there is no rapid test, rabies testing is not routine in organ transplant situations, where every second counts, Reynolds said. Willoughby said such testing could be counterproductive: “To do it right away would probably mean that you throw away most of the organs while they’re testing,” he said.

The Maryland death was announced Tuesday by state health officials. State Public Health Veterinarian Katherine Feldman said the organ recipient had encephalitis, a brain inflammation that can be caused by rabies. Doctors suspected before he died that he had rabies, and they knew about his kidney transplant, but considered a rabies-infected kidney to be a remote possibility, Feldman said.

“This was a very long interval from transplant to onset and there was nothing that screamed, ‘This patient is ill because of his renal transplant,’” Feldman said. The man had had no reported animal exposures, health officials said. The Florida donor also had encephalitis, health officials said.

The CDC confirmed after the Maryland man’s death that both he and the organ donor had died from the same type of raccoon rabies virus. This type of type of rabies virus can infect not only raccoons, but also other wild and domestic animals.

In the United States, only one other person is reported to have died from a raccoon-type rabies virus, the CDC said. That virus has a typical incubation period of one to three months, although there have been other cases of such long incubation periods, the CDC said.

The donor died at a Florida medical facility. At the time of the donor’s death, rabies wasn’t suspected as the cause and testing for rabies was not performed, the CDC said. Florida Department of Health epidemiologist Carina Blackmore said investigators don’t know how the donor contracted rabies. “We are concerned that because of the time that has passed we may not ever know,” she said.—AP

CHICAGO: The emergency entrance at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago is seen.—AP

CHINA : A visitor stands next to a bee made of flowers at the flower show in Hong Kong on March 15, 2013.—AFP photos

Nature fans get green fix at HK flower show Hong Kong celebrates all things green HONG KONG: It’s notorious for its cramped living conditions, traffic-clogged streets and polluted air, but once a year Hong Kong celebrates all things green at the city ’s flower show.

Though most residents have no outdoor space for gardening, thousands flock to the annual 10-day event, which started on Friday and covers six football pitches in the central Victoria Park.

In contrast to the surrounding apartment and office blocks, the park has been overtaken by cascades of orchids-the show ’s theme flower-along with tulips and kitsch floral sculptures, from giant ants to pandas and toadstools.

Some visitors come just to photograph the lavish displays, but many are picking up plants and gardening equipment. The park is lined with stalls selling seeds, pot plants, compost and garden tools.

It’s a testament to the fact that, despite Hong Kong’s cheek-by-jowl and high-rise lifestyle, its residents crave greenery and are making the most of the limited space they have to grow plants. Queenie Wong, 25, who is studying Chinese medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University, holds a tiny fern in a pot, which she has just bought from one of the stalls. “I don’t grow anything at home because I

don’t have the space. I’ll take care of this plant in my university office, which is where I spend most of my time,” she says.

Like many in Hong Kong, 11-year-old Zoe Shum makes do with a balcony at home for her horticultural ambitions. “I grow bamboos on a balcony, but I wish I had more garden space to grow more things. At school we have lots of plants and they’re really pretty,” she said. For 30-year-old Amy Tang, the show is a chance for her parents to stock up. “I bring my parents here every year because they like to shop for plants for their balcony-and we like just looking at the flowers,” she said.

Hong Kong’s popular image is of a frenetic commercial hub where making a fast buck trumps all other concerns, but flower show chairman Horace Cheung says its seven million people do enjoy connecting with nature. “We may be a busy, densely populated city but there is increasing awareness of how planting and growing things can enrich the environment and our lives,” he said. Small plots for vegetables and flowers, made available to residents as part of the government’s community garden scheme, are heavily oversubscribed, says Cheung. “We have to have a ballot for plots ever y time they come up because of the

A family takes pictures at the flower show.

demand,” he said.

Residents pay HK$400 ($51) to do a gardening course which includes working on a 2.25 square meter plot for four months. The year 2011-12 saw more than 10,600 participants across 21 gardens, according to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which also runs the flower show. The event was launched in 1968. Organizers expect around 500,000 visitors at this year’s show, which features a series of gardening talks and an information stall to promote sustainable living-another contrast in a city where avid consumption often outpaces environmental concerns.

Joseph Leung, an executive director at Hong Kong theme park Ocean Park, is promoting its vibrant stand at the show, which includes edible plants, rec ycled containers and an aquaponics section on how plants can grow without soil. He believes Hong Kong residents are indeed concerned about their environment and want to simplify their lives. “People are more interested in sustainable living. I think they have got to a point where they are so busy that they want to stop and go back to basics,” he said. “When it comes to improving our environment we have to start somewhere-we have to start at home.”— AFP

School children draw flowers at the flower show in Hong Kong.

California quake warning system passes major test LOS ANGELES: In the seismic annals of California, Monday’s magnitude 4.7 earthquake was little more than a footnote. It gave Southern California a small morning jolt but caused no damage and was largely shrugged off by noon. But in one important way, the quake was highly significant because it marked an advance in California’s burgeoning earthquake early warning system.

The quake struck in the desert town of Anza, about 35 miles south of Palm Springs, and hundreds of sensors embedded in the ground immediately send an alert to seismologists at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. They had 30 seconds’ warning before the quake was felt there.

“It was right,” said Kate Hutton, a Caltech seismologist. “I sat really still to see if I could feel it and it worked.” The system has been in place for more than a year. But Monday’s quake offered a rare opportunity to actually see - and feel - whether it worked.

The sensors have warned scientists of numerous quakes, but the vast majority were either too small to feel or too far away to be felt in the Los Angeles area. For example, the sensors gave an early warning of several magnitude 5 quakes last year in Imperial County, but the temblors hit too far away for them to be felt in LA. The Anza quake was different. Even though it measured only magnitude 4.7, its location on solid granite made the shaking stronger and more widespread. People reported to the US Geological Survey that they felt it as far away as Arizona and Central California. At Caltech, computer screens flashed with a 30-second countdown to when the shaking would hit Pasadena.

Sure enough, it came on time.

Hutton and others declared the test a success, with some caveats. The system initially overestimated the quake’s magnitude, saying it was 5.2.

But USGS seismologist Susan Hough was not overly concerned about the error. She noted that the main job of the system is to alert people to a coming quake, not to gets its magnitude precisely right. The Anza quake caused an unusually intense amount of shaking, Hough added, so the warning system accurately captured that.

The earthquake early warning system is a pilot project for what scientists hope will eventually be a statewide network using thousands of sensors to notify people about imminent shaking from moderate to strong earthquakes. Backers say an early warning would give utilities time to shut down, trains a chance to slow so they don’t derail and workers a chance to move away from hazardous materials or precarious positions. Warnings would be sent to the public through text messages, emails and other special alerts.

Similar systems are already operating in Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. Two years ago, Japan’s program alerted some 50 million residents ahead of the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake. The warning program’s reliability hinges on where sensors are placed. They need to be located near active fault zones. The Anza quake hit in a seismically active area where scientists have embedded many sensors. Scientists have long believed that a major quake could erupt in the desert and mountain regions north and east of LA because the San Andreas fault and other faults run along there. The Monday quake was along the San Jacinto fault zone.

Hough and others warned that the system would be effective only for quakes some distance from the urban center of Los Angeles. The warning system works when sensors in the ground detect the first signs of earth movement, known as P waves, that travel at the speed of sound. The more damaging shaking, called the S waves, lag behind at a slower speed. The greater the distance from the epicenter, the more time population centers would have to prepare. The system would provide little to no warning for a quake at the center of the city.

“It’s physics,” Hough said. “We have an earthquake like Northridge ... those early warnings would not have helped in those places that were damaged.” Earlier this year, scientists showed off the system using a simulation of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. A person in Pasadena, 40 miles away, would have about 18 seconds to prepare if an alert were issued. On Monday, the Anza quake provided a real-life example.

The system currently is being funded largely by private donations. Scientists are proposing that the state spend $80 million to install and upgrade thousands of the sensors across California. If they can get the money, seismologists said the system could be operational in two years. For all their excitement, the Caltech scientists said the system still needs more refinement as well as many more sensors to help detect quakes. The network is fine for quake experts, but they want to do more work before making it publicly available. “It’s not ready for prime time. In that sense it’s being fine-tuned,” Hough said. “Every earthquake is an opportunity to test the system.”— MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

‘Underground Galapagos’ excites scientists WASHINGTON: Diverse underground ecosystems buried deep beneath the Earth’s crust may offer clues to the origins of life on Earth, several recent studies have revealed. Whether it is tiny worms found wriggling in the depths of a South African mine or micro-organisms discovered six kilometers under the surface in China, subterranean life forms are found everywhere.

“We are making incredible discoveries about the nature and distribution of deep microbial life,” said Robert Hazen, executive director of the Carnegie Institution’s Deep Carbon Observatory

geophysical laboratory. “If you are near the surface from a few centimeters to many kilometers, there is microbial life anywhere you go. “You drill deep holes, you bring up the core and there are microbes living in the rocks.” The Deep Carbon Observatory was set up to analyze the amounts, sources and movement of carbon within Earth. Scientists say microbes found in the oceanic crust and sediment layers lying below them could play an important role in microbial diversity by inserting themselves into the genome of micro-organisms. “It’s an intriguing part of evolution,” said John

Baross, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“The deep sub-surface may have acted as a natural laboratory for the origin of life in which multiple experiments could have been carried out in tandem,” he said. “You have everything you need to make life including energy, water and carbon-rich molecules that could have made the underground rather than the surface of the planet, the cradle of the very first life on earth. “We may find totally new kinds of life as we reach greater depths, higher temperatures and pressures. Quite possibly Earth’s deepest

life doesn’t use DNA and proteins the way normal cells do.”

The variety of bacteria and viruses living in this dark realm has been described by scientists as an “underground Galapagos.” Mark Lever, of the Center for Geomicrobiology at Aarhus University in Denmark, noted that micro-organisms in the Earth’s crust use hydrogen to convert carbon dioxide into organic materials. Although the vast ecosystem is probably based mainly on hydrogen, several different forms of life exist in this extreme environment, he added in a study published Friday in the

journal Science. Finding life in Earth’s most hostile environments could create a picture of life found on other planets, such as Mars. Researchers at the University of Maryland studying microorganisms in a salt lake in Antarctica on behalf of the US space agency NASA have found subtle variations in proteins from extremophile bacteria compared to those of ordinary micro-organisms.

The variations could allow them to survive in environments such as Mars, notable for extreme temperatures and high salinity, according to a study published in the journal PLoS One.—AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Art of merging realism and abstract SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Announcements CRYcket 2013 tournament riends of CRY Club (FOCC) announces 16th CRY (Child Rights & You) cricket tournament for children and will be held at the GC grounds at Jaleeb Al-Shuyoukh on Friday, 12th Apr 2013 from 6:30 a.m to 4:30 pm. The one day “CRYcket” tournament is a very popular annual family event, participated by children under 14. 12 teams each are set to participate in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions initially in four groups in round robin fashion leading to 4 winners who will clash in the semifinals. The last date for registration of Teams is 5th Apr 2013. For more details & game rules, visit the FOCC website http://www.focckwt.org

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Kuwait Cricket election uwait Cricket, will conduct an election for 4 additional positions to be part of the Kuwait Cricket’s Executive Council. All registered teams with Kuwait Cricket has been informed about the election proceedings which will be conducted at Kuwait Olympic Committee auditorium on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 7 pm. Kuwait Cricket would whole heartedly seek the support & cooperation of member teams associated with Kuwait Cricket to actively participate in the voting to enhance the strength of the organization and at the same time add value to the council. Officials of the teams registered with Kuwait Cricket is to nominate the most deserving members from their team to participate in the election procedures and to also contest for this coveted position as a candidate.

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Eligibility to be a Candidate: The candidates should have ALL of following qualifications. (a) The candidate should be a Kuwaiti Citizen or a resident, holding valid residence. (b)The candidate should be registered with Kuwait Cricket either as a team official \or a player, for current cricket season 2012-2013. (c)The candidate should have been associated with Kuwait Cricket for at least 5 of last 7 years (the period from 2006 tilldate). This affiliation could have been either as a team official or a player or the combination of both.

This affiliation could be with one team or combination of multiple teams. (d) The candidature should be filed on the prescribed Nomination Paper For more details, please feel free to contact Asad Baig, Director General, Kuwait Cricket on abaig@gckuwait.com Musical extravaganza with Dr Yesudas

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rend setter Udupi Restaurant, Kuwait proudly present “Gandharva Nadamritham”, a live classical musical extravaganza featuring the living legend & maestro Padmabooshan Award winner Dr. K.J. Yesudas with his troupe from India, on March 22 at American International School, Maidan Hawally, Kuwait.

Basketball Academy he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls.

Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course.

Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

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ICSK students excel In ‘xpressions 2013’ The students of the Indian Community School, Kuwait, participated with great enthusiasm in the recently held multi-talent inter-school competition ëXpressions 2013í conducted by the Indian English Academy School (Don Bosco School) and won several prizes in various competitions. ëXpressions 2013í that concluded on 26th January, 2013 was a mÈlange of wide-ranging events. In the event ëLaugh Out Loudí that was held as part of the event, the ICSK students comprising Rohit Radhakrishnan, Frewin James, Aswin Suresh, Akash Jose Antony, Sreevatsan Agormurthy, Varun M Menon, Suraj Jayachandran and Kevin Reji Kuruvilla skillfully presented a skit which won them the first position. The creativity and aesthetics of another group comprising Thaniya Sonali, Rachel Rego, Qurratulain Abbas Rizvi outclassed in the ëSalad Dressingí event and they were awarded the first position for their presentation. Though all the Indian schools in Kuwait participated in the ëXpressions 2013í, ICSK students proved their mettle by bagging many first prizes in various events.

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

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ne of the pioneer modern artists in the Middle East, Hussain Madi masters the art of merging realism and abstract to form a piece of excellence. Whether he’s creating a sculpture or painting, Madi bares any figure from its elements and nature; just like the observations on his beloved birds, their movements, wings which all

disappear leaving behind it’s yarn to freedom... So consistent that it’s close to perfection. Madi gave colors in his works the sanctuary it deserves and condensed all the forms to its origin, a dot that fiercely converts into lines, angles, geometric shapes against emptiness that Madi is aware of its complications and solutions. Women, their curves &

lines, were source of endless inspiration to Madi who was able to abstract them, epitomizing love scenes, as a quest to find their genuine creation, identity and psychological equivalents.

Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) in collaboration with Dar Al Funoon present (Madi - The Abstract Works 1963 2013) a retrospective exhibition to hon-

or Mad’si history and achievements, highlighting the beautiful philosophic abstract contributions linked to his intellectual backgrounds & infinite desire to analyze, dismantle and assemble. This exhibition is an opportunity to stand in front Madi’s outstanding ability in abstract creations in more than five decades.

AUK Student receives USA prestigious Student Leadership Award

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UK student, Alia Mustafa Aref became the first international student to win Sigma Tau Delta International English Society’s prestigious Student Leadership Award. The award will be conferred at the organization’s convention in Portland, OR, USA on March 22, 2013. According to Dr Sarah Dangelantonio, President of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, the Student Leadership Award is patterned after the Society’s Delta Award, which recognizes Faculty Sponsors for outstanding service to Sigma Tau Delta at the international level.

“We created this award to recognize and celebrate students who demonstrate commitment to the ideals of Sigma Tau Delta and who promote those ideals through a leadership role in their local chapters,” Dangelantonio said. The Sigma Tau Delta Board of Directors established the Student Leadership Award in 2008 to be presented to students for outstanding service to Sigma Tau Delta at the chapter level.

Applicants may be nominated by the Chapter Sponsor or other chapter members. Aref was nominated by a unanimous vote of her chapter and by the American University of Kuwait’s faculty sponsor, Dr Kathy Nixon. “Alia was one of the founding members of this chapter and has poured her heart into its success,” Nixon said. “I am so proud of her and grateful that those who decide the recipients of this award have recognized her immense contribution here at AUK.” Aref has been secretary, vice president, and president of the organization at AUK in addition to organizer of its most successful book drive. The Student Leadership Award includes a cash prize and a commemorative plaque. It has

been awarded to one or two students annually since 2009. There have been a total of five recipients in previous years, according to the information compiled by the Sigma Tau Delta national office.

Alia is one of two students to receive the award in 2013.

With this award, the chapter in Kuwait has swept all of the major individual and chapter awards it is qualified to win with the Sigma Tau Delta. In 2012 the chapter won a Service Award for its annual book

drive for KACCH while Nixon won the Elaine J Hughes Chapter Sponsor Award.

In 2011 the AUK group won the Chapter of Year Award. And in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 the chapter has earned a Regent’s Common Reader Award for its annual reading event held on the AUK campus.

The AUK Alpha Rho Eta chapter of Sigma Tau Delta was established in the fall of 2009 becoming the first chapter of this international honor society in the

Middle East. Current chapter president, Ayat Al Bloushi, whose essay was accepted to be read at the Portland convention, will accept the award in the US for Aref.

“Alia has been a constant supporter for me. Looking at her time as the president, I was inspired to become as outgoing and passionate as she was. It is a pleasurable challenge to try to maintain the respectable reputation that Alia helped to build.” Al Bloushi said. “It is a privilege to accept the award on her behalf.”

‘Human Rights in Kuwait’

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he UNDP in Kuwait was proud to celebrate its Human Rights Day on the December 10, 2011. As the promotion of human rights is a fundamental goal of the UN, Human Rights are intrinsic to the work of the UNDP in Kuwait. UNDP Kuwait strives to better the lives of people affected by human rights violations & works to improve their living conditions in accordance with universal human rights standards. Human rights are not a privilege but a necessity in today’s world. Hind will shed some light on the activities of the Kuwait Human Rights Society in liaison with international organizations working in the field of human rights. (Hind Al-Rasheedi works

for Kuwait Human Rights Society. She participated in monitoring elections in Kuwait & participated in many conferences inside & outside of Kuwait about Human Rights.

She was among the advocates of involving women as judges in the ministry of justice in Kuwait. She is also among the proponents of devoting private parking lots for the handicapped in Kuwait. Hind is among the organizers & participants of plant 1 million palm trees in Kuwait campaign. She was honored by the Prime Minister of Kuwait as well as other international prominent figures for her exclusive contributions towards human rights.) AWARE Special Diwaniya (March 19 at 7pm)

Sitarist Ravin Singh plans ghazal album

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avin Singh, an Indian music performer of Kuwait who has mastered instruments like sitar, harmonium, keyboard and guitar is adding another note to his musical career: an album of ghazals. Penned by renowned shayer (writer) Qamar Minto, the album is composed and sung by Ravin Singh.

The versatile music performer who is in Kuwait since 11 years is composing the untitled album amidst his busy schedules of performing mainly at Radisson Blu Hotel, Salmiya.

The Dehradun- born musician who graduated in music from Pracheen Kala kendra, Chandigarh and Prayag Sangeet

Samiti Allahbad, took a course in western music from London’s Trinity College.

Ravin Singh started his career as a music teacher in Kuwait at Indian and foreign schools. While working as a teacher he juggled tasks of directing dramas and performing at various Hotels in Kuwait.

“Composing an album that is in the realm of ghazal is surely something I’m looking forward to”, said Ravin Singh after the jam-packed Oriental Wednesday organized by Radisson’s Rangoli Restaurant. The performer who caught the attention of the entire guests was accompanied by Mohammed Kamal on tabla.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

British Council honors winners in ‘Learn English through Newspaper’ initiative

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm. nnnnnnn

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ritish Council Kuwait honored the winners in a ceremony held as part of the “Learn English through newspaper” initiative launched in collaboration with Al Rai newspaper and aimed at supporting English language learning in Kuwait. The ceremony took placeon Wednesday March 13 at the British Council office in Mansouriya. The main goal of this initiative was to develop English language skills in Kuwait through newspaper articles published every Saturday in Al Rai newspaper.

These educational and entertaining articles, called Premier Skills, were written by language specialists from British Council. The project comes in the frame-

work of a global initiative undertaken by British Council to promote the teaching of English language in non-English speaking countries and targets all learners, particularly young people between the age of 18 and 35. Eye-catching and fun, each insert contains an interesting article with accompanying comprehension questions and vocabulary exercises manageable by the intermediate reader.

These articles will be published every Saturday from 2 February to 15 June 2013. In addition to the interesting articles, readers can also win an iPad mini through an online competition. The six winners in the contest from the first six weeks of publication visited British

Council to collect their prizes. One of the winners, Noor MamounKouki, “I don’t get a chance to use my English language skills much. This is an interesting idea to encourage people to read more articles in English”. On the other hand, another winner, Mohammad Abdel-Azeem Mahmoud, explained “it is a new experience to find an English article in an Arabic newspaper with such interesting activities and attractive topic. This is a creative way to learn English”. British Council encourages Kuwaiti youth to improve English language skills and offers them many opportunities to do so and believes that better English will create better work opportunities and an

easier way to communicate with people from around the globe. This project marks the first collaboration between British Council and a Kuwaiti newspaper to enhance the English language development in Kuwait. Andrew Glass, Director of British Council Kuwait, said:”We appreciate Al Rai’s commitment in providing such an opportunity to their readers.” He further explained “It is a way of helping learners in Kuwait improve their reading skills outside a classroom”.

The “Learn English through Newspaper” initiative is part of the global “English for the future” program designed by British Council to support English language skills development in the Middle East.

Flash mob at Kuwait Bilingual School

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t was a surprise for the primary school students at Kuwait Bilingual School, Jahra, when the 4th graders emerged as a group in the playground during recess time to do a rhythmic body movement on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The 3 synchronized lines of

GUST’s Islamic Finance Club travels to London

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he Islamic Finance Club (IFC) at Gulf University for Science and Technology is preparing for a student trip to London from March 2329. London is one of the world’s largest and most important financial markets. The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is the lead sponsor for the trip and participants will visit the largest Islamic Financing institutions in the city.

The IFC announced the 7-day trip last month, which is open to any GUST student who is interested in developing a better understanding of Islamic Finance in a real setting. The IFC’s strategic goals are to develop students’ knowledge in economics and Islamic finance, as well as improving students’ educational, personal, leadership and decision-making skills. The recently opened club has managed to organize multiple workshops and courses such as the Fundamentals of Islamic Finance as well as Risk Management, and it is continuously expanding.

The lead sponsor, Kuwait Finance House, is a leading Islamic Financial institution in Kuwait, and one of the first such institutions in the region.

KFH has received several awards from internationally known institutions such as EuroMoney, The Banker and Global Finance. The Gulf University for Science and Technology, which hosts the Finance Club, began operation in 2002 as the first private university in Kuwait. It is based on an Americanstyle model of higher education and aims to serve the increasing educational demands of Kuwait and the Gulf region. It currently hosts approximately 3,000 full-time students.

the 3 sections of grade 4 students danced to the tune of Macarena, the 1994 Spanish dance song by Los del Rio. The students did the flash mob, assembling suddenly, performing the unusual steps to the surprise of many. The synchronized movements were part of a

unit ‘How We Organize Ourselves’ in the international Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) the school has undertaken, said 4th grade teachers Lee Higginbottom, Joshua Marc Rains and Michelle Dejardine.

Yellow House tops ESF Sports Fest

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he English School Fahaheel recently played host to a series of sports days for all students in the school from Kindergarten to Year 13.

After meticulous planning from the Physical Education Department all students were exposed to a plethora of fun and competitive physical activities.

The smallest (and arguably cutest!) children in the school in Kindergarten and Reception participated in some traditional events such as the “Egg and Spoon Race” and the “Baton Relay” and more contemporary events such as the “Assault Course”. All students competed in excellent spirit as their parents cheered from the side lines and were particularly pleased after receiving their shiny medals!

Years 1 through to 6 travelled to the Sahel Stadium and spent the day at the Sahel Stadium for their sports bonanza.

All students took part in a fun carousel which included activities such as “Pop the Balloon Relay”, “Kangaroo Relay”, “Three-Legged Race”, “Tug of War” and “Water Relay”. The day culminated in several 100 metre races where each child demonstrated how fast they are.

By the end of the sports day there were certainly a lot of very tired but very happy young people leaving the stadium!

After both of the aforementioned sports days the scores were calculated and It emerged that all four Houses the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green were tied In first place! This is the first time this has happened in ESF Sports Day history. It was therefore up to the Upper School students to exercise their sporting prowess and fight for their House to win the coveted ESF House Cup. The Upper School Sports Day was also held at the Sahel Stadium in Mangaf. During the first half of the day students engaged in a carousel of mentally and physically demanding activities which required team work,

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei 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 open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on shortstay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes.

Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database.

Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, firsttime applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com. nnnnnnn

Embassy of Mexico The Embassy of Mexico to Kuwait has the pleasure to announce the opening of its Consular Section where visa applications are already being handled. The Consular Section is open to the public from Sundays-Thursdays 09.00-12.00 hrs. at Cliffs Complex in Salmiya, Villa No. 6 (3rd floor).

collaboration and excellent communication skills. Track and Field athletic event s ensued after the team games which tested students’ athletic ability.

Students participated in events such as the Javelin, Shot Put, 100 metres race 200 metres race, 400 metres race and relays. During the whole day the scores were extremely close with no House pushing forward out of reach of the others.

As the scores were being calculated at the end of the day the teachers were given the opportunity to race. Several teachers volunteered to run showing excellent spirit and sportsmanship. Mr Warner, Head of the Red House, who won the teacher race last year stepped forward and was very pleased to win the male teacher title again in 2013.

Miss Donald, Head of the Blue House also ran a flier to claim the title of female teacher champion.

Finally the results were ready! Red House finished in 4”~, Blue House in 3~ leaving the Green House in Runner Up position and the Yellow House were crowned the ESF 2013 Sports Day Champions. The House Cup was hoisted to the sky by the Yellow House captains to jubilant cheers from all members of their house!

After the Upper School Sports Day, Mr Horrocks, Head of Physical Education said “the Sports Days have been a massive success and thanked the Physical Education staff: Mr Ahmed, Ms Miah, Ms Lyneth and Mr Waldron who have led and organised each day.

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EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF TURKEY The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that a new classes of Turkish language for beginners will start at the Embassy’s Tourism, Culture and Information Office on 17 February 2013. The lessons will be two times in a week for six weeks, for further details and registration please contact. Or fill the application form on http://kuveyt.bemfa.gov.tr and send it to the email: embassy.Kuwait@mfa.gov.tr

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Into The Pride 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Wildest Africa 03:15 My Cat From Hell 04:05 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:30 Baboons With Bill Bailey 04:55 Animal Cops Houston 05:45 Wildest Africa 06:35 The Really Wild Show 07:00 Cats Of Claw Hill 07:25 Cats Of Claw Hill 07:50 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Breed All About It 09:35 Wild France 10:30 Mutant Planet 11:25 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 12:20 The Really Wild Show 12:50 The Animals’ Guide To Survival 13:45 The Animals’ Guide To Survival 14:40 Glory Hounds 16:30 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 17:25 My Cat From Hell 18:20 Animal Crackers 18:45 Animal Crackers 19:15 Cats Of Claw Hill 19:40 Cats Of Claw Hill 20:10 Into The Pride 21:05 Wildest Africa 22:00 Mutant Planet 22:55 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 23:50 Animal Cops Houston

00:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 00:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 01:25 Homes Under The Hammer 02:15 Homes Under The Hammer 03:10 Homes Under The Hammer 04:00 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 04:25 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 04:50 New Scandinavian Cooking 05:15 The Hairy Bikers USA 05:40 The Hairy Bikers USA 06:05 New Scandinavian Cooking 06:30 The Hairy Bikers USA 06:55 MasterChef 07:20 MasterChef 08:15 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 08:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 09:35 The Hairy Bikers USA 10:00 The Hairy Bikers USA 10:25 MasterChef 11:20 MasterChef 12:15 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 12:45 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 13:10 New Scandinavian Cooking 13:35 The Hairy Bikers USA 14:00 The Hairy Bikers USA 14:25 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 16:00 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 16:55 Antiques Roadshow 17:45 Bargain Hunt 18:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 19:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 20:00 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 21:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:20 00:45 01:10 01:35 02:00 02:25

Yogi’s Treasure Hunt Duck Dodgers Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Dastardly And Muttley Popeye Wacky Races

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

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

Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones The Jetsons What’s New Scooby-Doo? Taz-Mania The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry Tales Johnny Bravo Bananas In Pyjamas Jelly Jamm Ha Ha Hairies Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Gerald McBoing Boing Lazy Town Krypto The Superdog Bananas In Pyjamas Cartoonito Tales Ha Ha Hairies Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Lazy Town Krypto The Superdog Baby Looney Tunes Ha Ha Hairies Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Lazy Town Krypto The Superdog Tiny Toons Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals Tom And Jerry Tales 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Johnny Bravo Dexter’s Laboratory Looney Tunes Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Taz-Mania The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Pink Panther And Pals What’s New Scooby-Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Puppy In My Pocket The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop The Addams Family Droopy: Master Detective

Mainsail World Sport World Report Talk Asia World Report Amanpour CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom Business Traveller Inside Africa World Sport Inside The Middle East World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe Eco Solutions World Sport Living Golf African Voices The Brief World Report News Special CNN Presents Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report Cnngo State Of The Union International Desk Backstory Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Mainsail International Desk African Voices International Desk Inside The Middle East Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report World Sport

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

Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings Factory Line How It’s Made Factory Line How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Factory Line Fast N’ Loud World’s Top 5 American Chopper Gold Rush Gold Divers Around The World In 80 Ways How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Mythbusters Superhuman Showdown James May’s Man Lab Hurricane Sandy Inside The Gangsters’ Code Gold Divers

00:40 The X-Testers 01:05 The X-Testers 01:35 Finding Bigfoot 02:25 Dark Matters: Twisted But True 03:15 Bang Goes The Theory 03:45 Finding Bigfoot 04:35 The X-Testers 05:00 The X-Testers 05:25 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 06:20 Return To The Bermuda Triangle 07:10 Weird Or What?

08:00 Meteorite Men 08:50 Stunt Junkies 09:15 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 10:30 Things That Move 10:55 Things That Move 11:25 Da Vinci’s Machines 12:15 Tech Toys 360 12:40 Tech Toys 360 13:10 Food Factory 13:35 Food Factory 14:00 Moon Machines 14:50 Bang Goes The Theory 15:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 16:10 Weird Or What?

17:00 Tech Toys 360 17:25 Tech Toys 360 17:55 Superships 18:45 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 19:35 Da Vinci’s Machines 20:30 Meteorite Men 21:20 Finding Bigfoot 22:10 Tech Toys 360 22:35 Tech Toys 360 23:00 Meteorite Men 23:50 Dark Matters: Twisted But True

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15

Stitch A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School

SECRET WINDOW ON OSN ACTION HD

02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:05 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 12:30 12:40 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 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 Cody 23:20 Cody 23:45

Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Suite Life On Deck A.N.T Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks Fish Hooks That’s So Raven Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Jessie Austin And Ally A.N.T Farm Gravity Falls Starstruck Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T. Farm Luck Of The Irish Gravity Falls Jessie Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up Austin And Ally My Babysitter’s A Vampire A.N.T Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Stitch

00:20 Little Einsteins 00:50 Special Agent Oso 01:05 Special Agent Oso 01:15 Lazytown 01:40 Jungle Junction 01:55 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:20 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:20 Handy Manny 04:30 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Jungle Junction 08:30 Little Einsteins 08:55 Lazytown 09:20 Imagination Movers 09:45 Timmy Time 09:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:20 The Hive 10:30 Doc McStuffins 10:45 Zou 11:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 11:15 Toy Story Toons 11:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 11:45 Doc McStuffins 12:00 Handy Manny 12:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 12:25 Mouk 12:35 Lilo And Stitch 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 13:10 Timmy Time 13:20 The Hive 13:30 Doc McStuffins 13:45 Doc McStuffins 14:00 Zou 14:15 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 14:30 Mouk 14:45 Handy Manny 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:05 The Hive 16:20 Mouk 16:35 Zou 16:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 17:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 17:20 Doc McStuffins 17:35 Doc McStuffins 17:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:00 Animated Stories 20:05 Timmy Time 20:15 Pajanimals 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 21:20 The Hive 21:30 Pajanimals 21:45 Handy Manny 22:00 Handy Manny 22:25 Pajanimals 22:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:15 A Poem Is...

23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny 23:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

00:00 00:55 01:25 02:20

Dirty Soap Style Star THS THS

04:10 THS 05:05 Extreme Close-Up 05:30 Extreme Close-Up 06:00 30 Best & Worst Beach Bodies 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Extreme Close-Up 09:45 Extreme Close-Up 10:15 E!es 11:10 Opening Act 12:05 E! News 13:05 E! News Special 13:35 Married To Jonas 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 15:30 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 16:00 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 16:30 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 17:00 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 17:30 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 18:00 E! News 19:00 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 19:30 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 20:00 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 20:30 Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami 21:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 22:00 Chasing The Saturdays 22:30 Opening Act 23:30 Opening Act

00:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Heat Seekers 01:55 Outrageous Food 02:20 Unwrapped 02:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:10 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:25 Unique Eats 04:50 Food Crafters 05:15 Charly’s Cake Angels 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Unwrapped 07:35 Unwrapped 08:00 Everyday Italian 08:25 Everyday Italian 08:50 Everyday Italian 09:15 Everyday Italian 09:40 Mexican Made Easy 10:05 Mexican Made Easy 10:30 Mexican Made Easy 10:55 Mexican Made Easy 11:20 Unwrapped 11:45 Unwrapped 12:10 Unwrapped 12:35 Unwrapped 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 15:05 Kid In A Candy Store 15:30 Kid In A Candy Store 15:55 Kid In A Candy Store 16:20 Kid In A Candy Store 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Bobby’s Ireland 18:25 Tasting Ireland 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Iron Chef America 23:50 Iron Chef America

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

I Was Murdered On The Case With Paula Zahn A Haunting Dr G: Medical Examiner Deadly Affairs I Was Murdered I Was Murdered On The Case With Paula Zahn A Haunting Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite

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

Making Tracks Living With The Amish Meet The Amish Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Oz Travel Oz Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Making Tracks Making Tracks Living With The Amish Meet The Amish Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Oz Travel Oz Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Making Tracks Making Tracks Living With The Amish Keeping Up With The Joneses

Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Couples Who Kill

CONTRABAND ON OSN CINEMA 17:15 17:40 18:10 18:35 19:05 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:55 23:20 23:50

Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Travel Oz Travel Oz Making Tracks Making Tracks Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Maverick Chef

00:00 Army Of Darkness-18 02:00 Hide And Seek-18 04:00 True Justice: Violence Of Action-PG15 06:00 Go Fast-PG15 08:00 Vengeance-PG15 10:00 The New Daughter-PG15 12:00 Secret Window-PG15 14:00 Vengeance-PG15 16:00 Interview With A HitmanPG15 18:00 Secret Window-PG15 20:00 Circle Of Eight-18 22:00 Beverly Hills Cop-18

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

Madea’s Big Happy FamilySafe House-PG15 The Artist-PG The Wild Thornberrys Movie-

20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Eureka Grimm Scandal The Tudors

00:00 Army Of Darkness 02:00 Hide And Seek 04:00 True Justice: Violence Of Action 06:00 Go Fast 08:00 Vengeance 10:00 The New Daughter 12:00 Secret Window 14:00 Vengeance 16:00 Interview With A Hitman 18:00 Secret Window 20:00 Circle Of Eight 22:00 Beverly Hills Cop

00:00 Zero Effect-PG15 02:00 Stuck On You-PG15 04:00 Jumping The Broom-PG15 06:00 3 Holiday Tails-PG15 08:00 Wild Wild West-PG15 10:00 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult-PG15 12:00 Jumping The Broom-PG15 14:00 A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song-PG 16:00 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult-PG15 18:00 Mrs. Miracle-PG15 20:00 The Banger Sisters-PG15 22:00 Zero Effect-PG15

Madea’s Big Happy FamilyGarfield’s Pet Force-FAM Soapdish-PG Ties That Bind-PG15 Soldier Love Story-PG15 This Means War-PG15 Contraband-18 Hesher-PG15

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

Saturday Night Live Family Guy Louie Happy Endings Til Death The Tonight Show With Jay

00:00 01:00 02:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00

Bones Sons Of Anarchy The Mob Doctor Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Top Gear (UK)

Hope & Faith 10 Items Or Less Less Than Perfect Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Til Death Modern Family Parks And Recreation The Neighbors The Office Last Man Standing The Tonight Show With Jay 10 Items Or Less Til Death Hope & Faith Less Than Perfect Happy Endings The Office The Neighbors 10 Items Or Less Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Hot In Cleveland Two And A Half Men The Office The Cleveland Show Breaking In Saturday Night Live Family Guy The Cleveland Show

02:00 1941-PG15 04:00 Offline-PG15 05:45 The Man Who Came With The Snow-PG15 07:00 Waiting For Superman-PG15 09:00 Henry’s Crime-PG15 10:45 The Insider-PG15 13:30 Jane Eyre-PG15 15:30 Henry’s Crime-PG15 17:15 Love And Other Impossible Pursuits-PG15 19:00 The Terminal-PG15 21:15 Bloodworth-18 23:00 Perfect Sense-18

00:00 Casino Jack-18 02:00 Tim Richmond: To The LimitPG15 03:00 Senna-PG15 05:00 Barnyard-PG 07:00 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 09:00 Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer-PG 10:45 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 13:00 The Art Of Getting By-PG15 15:00 Blackthorn-PG15 17:00 Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer-PG 19:00 Young Adult-PG15 21:00 Source Code-PG15 23:00 Anonymous-18

01:00 Return To Halloweentown 02:45 Freddy Frogface 04:30 Toyz Goin’ Wild 06:00 Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas 08:00 Arthur’s Missing Pal 10:00 The Lucky Dragon 11:45 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules 13:30 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 14:30 Return To Halloweentown 16:00 Blue Elephant 2 18:00 The Lucky Dragon 20:00 Treasure Buddies 22:00 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 23:30 Blue Elephant 2

00:00 A Better Life-PG15 02:00 Dead Lines-PG15 03:30 Real Steel-PG15 05:45 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows-PG15 08:00 The Adventures Of Tintin-PG 10:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15

12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 19:45 22:00

Dolphin Tale-PG Three Inches-PG15 The Adventures Of Tintin-PG A Thousand Words-PG15 X-Men: First Class-PG15 Blind Revenge-18

01:00 02:30 04:30 05:30 06:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 13:30 14:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 19:30 20:00

Super League Live Champions Tour Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Live NRL Premiership ICC Cricket 360 Inside The PGA Tour PGA European Tour Weekly Live PGA European Tour Inside The PGA Tour Champions Tour Trans World Sport Live Anglo Welsh Cup Futbol Mundial Inside The PGA Tour Live PGA Tour

00:45 02:00 03:00 05:00 08:00 08:30 10:30 12:30 13:00 14:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 20:00 23:00

WWE Bottom Line UFC Countdown Live UFC Prelims Live UFC Futbol Mundial Super Rugby Live NRL Premiership ICC Cricket 360 NRL Premiership NRL Premiership WWE Bottom Line UFC Countdown UFC Prelims UFC Anglo Welsh Cup

00:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 09:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:30

Super Rugby Trans World Sport Live NRL Premiership Total Rugby Premier League Darts Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 PGA European Tour Weekly PGA European Tour Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Trans World Sport NRL Premiership

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 13:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

WWE Vintage Collection NHL US Bass Fishing WWE Bottom Line NHL WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Experience WWE This Week Mobil 1 the Grid NHL Prizefighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection WWE Experience NHL UFC Countdown

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

Pawn Stars WWII: Secret Army Storage Wars Pawn Stars American Restoration Pawn Stars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas American Restoration Pawn Stars American Pickers Ancient Aliens WWII: Secret Army Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Pawn Stars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Pawn Stars High Hitler Ancient Aliens Mountain Men

Classifieds SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 THE BAY (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

MUHALAB-1 THE BAY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-1 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-1 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PLAYBACK (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-1 THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (14/03/2013 TO 20/03/2013)

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:30 PM

THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

6:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

360ยบ- 1 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

SITUATION WANTED Female, MBA with over 11 years experience in all functions of HR/Admin.

Transferable visa 18. Can join immediately.

Knowledge of English, Hindi & Arabic. Please contact: 94062123.

(C 4345) 16-3-2013

CHANGE OF NAME

AL-KOUT.1 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1 JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

PLAZA AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG)

5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM

LAILA JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG)

6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM

AJIAL.1 CELLULOID (DIG) (MALAYALAM) CELLULOID (DIG) (MALAYALAM)

6:30 PM 9:30 PM

Bhupinder Singh, S/o Darshan Singh, Dhaiiwai R/o Ramnagar Sibia (Sanrur) changed my name to Bhupinder Singh Dhaiiwai.

(C 4346) 14-3-2013 Ramesh Kumar Ravichandran, son of Ravichandran and Victoria bearing an Indian Passport No. H3125212 and having an address No.21 Clive Street Port, Cuddalore, Tamilnadu 607003 - has embraced Islam and changed the name to Abdul Rahman.

(C 4344) 12-3-2013

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

1889988

Prayer timings Fajr:

04:37

Shorook

05:56

Duhr:

11:57

Asr:

15:22

Maghrib:

17:57

Isha:

19:14

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI THY JZR JZR QTR RJA ETH GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR KAC CLX DHX THY JZR BAW KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA IRC IRA IRC JZR MEA MSR SYR UAE KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KNE SVA QTR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 17/3/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 642 AMMAN 620 ADDIS ABABA/DAMMAM 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 6507 SHIRAZ 603 SHIRAZ 6666 AHWAZ 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 742 DAMMAM 284 DHAKA 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 672 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA

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

JZR QTR JZR UAE ETD RJA UAL GFA SVA JZR QTR ABY KAC JZR RBG KAC FDB AFG KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA FDB JAI AXB MSR ABY QTR ALK MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE KAC JZR KAC DHX FDB KLM UAL AIC JZR GFA KAC JZR DLH

561 134 787 857 303 640 982 215 510 777 144 127 542 177 3553 786 63 415 166 618 674 102 562 647 61 572 393 606 129 146 229 402 136 221 307 859 172 135 514 372 59 417 981 981 239 217 502 185 636

SOHAG DOHA RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH DUBAI KABUL PARIS/ROME DOHA DUBAI NEW YORK/LONDON AMMAN MUSCAT DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE LUXOR SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN TEHRAN BAHRAIN DUBAI AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN CHENNAI/HYDERABAD/AHMEDABAD AMMAN BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI FRANKFURT

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

Airlines AIC UAL KAC AXB DHX BBC JAI DLH ETH THY FDB UAE ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA THY CLX JZR FDB BAW KAC KAC ABY UAE KAC KAC FDB ETD KAC QTR GFA IRC KAC IRA IRC JZR KAC JZR MEA KAC MSR SYR JZR UAE

Departure Flights on Sunday 17/3/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 283 DHAKA 390 MANGALORE 371 BAHRAIN 44 CHITTAGONG/DHAKA 573 MUMBAI 637 FRANKFURT 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL 792 VIETNAM 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 171 FRANKFURT 671 DUBAI 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 741 DAMMAM 117 NEW YORK 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 773 RIYADH 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 6508 SHIRAZ 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 6667 AHWAZ 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 786 RIYADH 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 342 LATAKIA/DAMASCUS 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI

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

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

FDB KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC QTR KAC JZR ETD KAC JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA UAL JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR RBG JZR FDB AFG FDB OMA JAI AXB ABY MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC DHX KAC KLM QTR KAC JZR GFA KAC KAC

58 561 673 473 503 617 141 501 238 304 513 538 135 858 641 216 982 184 511 128 266 145 3554 134 64 415 62 648 571 394 120 619 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 860 351 373 205 417 147 343 502 218 415 411

DUBAI AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH MEDINAH/JEDDAH DOHA DOHA BEIRUT AMMAN ABU DHABI TEHRAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI JEDDAH DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI COCHIN BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DAMMAM/AMSTERDAM DOHA CHENNAI LUXOR BAHRAIN KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA BANGKOK/MANILA

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

34

stars CROSSWORD 131

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Keen perceptions give you the edge on others; you express yourself readily and to good effect if you keep emotions and personalities out.

Sensory perceptions and powers of observation are increased. Showing your feelings may not be the best thing to do right now. Keeping to yourself could save you from unwanted drama. Be true to yourself and don’t whine too much, and you will gain the respect of anyone that might be watching for your mature way of handling life’s little drama’s.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) At this rather rare time, it is possible to stand back and take a look at your aesthetic accomplishments and generally take self-congratulatory stock of your surroundings. Although you may take your talents for granted, it can be a joy to take inventory now and then so you know just what you are showing off. Unexpected pleasures, a more playful, adventurous attitude in your relationships make this time period stimulating and delightful. Emotional beginnings, a fresh start, perhaps the establishment of new habit patterns, just make sure they’re good ones, because they’ll set the tone for you for quite some time to come! A new romance or a revitalization of a current one is very likely.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.

5. (Judaism) An eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem.

12. The second day of the week.

15. A state in the western United States.

16. Proceed or issue forth, as from a source.

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

18. (New Testament) The sages who visited Jesus and Mary and Joseph shortly after Jesus was born.

19. Put in a new, usually larger, pot, as of a plant that has grown.

20. (architecture) Forming or resembling an arch.

22. Member of the stage crew in charge of properties.

24. After noon.

25. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.

26. The 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

27. A series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep.

30. A state in midwestern United States.

31. Glazed yeast-raised doughnut-shaped roll with hard crust.

34. A member of the branch of Islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors to Mohammed.

37. Openly declared as such.

39. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.

41. Fairly small terrestrial ferns of tropical America.

42. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria.

45. A human limb.

46. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

47. A person forced to flee from home or country.

51. Large family of important mostly marine food fishes.

54. Of a cask or barrel.

55. Before noon.

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

57. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

59. Blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi.

60. Informal terms for a mother.

62. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

64. A public promotion of some product or service.

66. North American plant having large leaves and yellowish green flowers growing in racemes.

70. A mask with a filter protects the face an lungs against poisonous gases.

74. An elaborate song for solo voice.

75. Narrow and long and pointed.

78. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

79. A city in southeastern South Korea.

80. A river in the east central United States.

81. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

82. Being the one previously mentioned or spoken of.

83. Not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course.

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

DOWN 1. A lump on the body caused by a blow.

2. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

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

4. A member of an Algonquian people who lived west of Lake Superior.

5. Queen of the Olympian gods in ancient Greek mythology.

6. A sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury.

7. A period of time spent sleeping.

8. Not open.

9. The capital and largest city of Nepal.

10. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

11. (of persons) Highest in rank or authority or office.

12. Joint capital (with Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia.

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

14. A quantity of no importance.

21. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.

23. A noisy riotous fight.

28. (anatomy) A fold or wrinkle or crease.

29. Destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle.

32. Evergreen Indian shrub with vivid yellow flowers whose bark is used in tanning.

33. A gland in which gametes (sex cells) are produced.

35. Living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household.

36. A large fleet.

38. An informal term for a father.

40. A narrow thin strip of wood used as backing for plaster or to make latticework.

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

44. Decapod having eyes on short stalks and a broad flattened carapace with a small abdomen folded under the thorax and pincers.

48. Husk of a pea.

49. Indian chief and founder of the Powhatan confederacy of tribes in Eastern Virginia.

50. English scholastic philosopher and assumed author of Occam's Razor (1285-1349).

52. Being nine more than ninety.

53. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

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

61. Any of a group of heavenly spirits under the god Anu. 63. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.

65. (Irish) Chief god of the Tuatha De Danann.

67. The chief solid component of mammalian urine.

68. (computer science) A data transmission rate (bits/second) for modems.

69. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

71. A subdivision of a larger religious group.

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

73. God of love and erotic desire.

76. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

77. (computer science) Memory whose contents can be accessed and read but cannot be changed.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

Things may not have appeared too rosy regarding a recent career or financial issue, but today shows the possibility of something shifting in this area. Difficulties with in-laws or wayward kids may require some outside help. Plans to take a journey are put into action before somebody changes his/her mind. Your close relationships with others can undergo some abrupt changes at this time. The driving force behind these changes is your impatient, demanding need to achieve greater sincerity, honesty, and understanding between you and others.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Throughout the day you could come into contact with individuals who think along the same lines as what you do. Given this, you may team up and make something happen that has been a dream of yours for some time. You directly confront something that has been hidden, forgotten, or ignored for a long time. Unresolved issues in personal relationships are stirred up and the underlying causes for a painful or problematic issue of a relationship may be brought to light, confronting it in a logical and calm manner will get you farther than losing your temper. A good time to do some healing.

Leo (July 23-August 22) It’s a good day for relaxing recreation. This is also a good time to approach someone who is in a position to benefit you intellectually, spiritually, or materially. Good humor and optimism prevail now, and you are able to get a larger perspective on your life. You may not appreciate how others insist on getting personal with the questions they ask, take it as a compliment that they aren’t necessarily being nosey, but that they really want to get to know YOU. Dreams and illusions, forgiveness, and an understanding of human frailties are what arouse deep feelings for you at this time.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You feel more lackadaisical now, less focused on mundane tasks, and possibly less energetic as well. Your imagination and fantasy life is very active and you can dream up some very creative ideas. Negatively, you tend to dissipate your energy or to avoid the real world. Don’t let annoying disagreements get your goat — put your patience hat on and do your best to act like a saint. It’s something to shoot for, anyway.

This is a time for getting a little loose and wild with friends, going dancing, or doing something out of the ordinary that is stimulating and fun. You meet interesting new people and are more open to people who are quite different from yourself. An opportunity for a romance may happen which is likely to be exciting.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You have an abundance of energy and self-confidence at this time, and can take on new projects and challenges with ease. You feel bolder and less dependent on others’ acceptance and approval. Taking a strong stand or striking out with initiative on your own in some manner is likely to work out well for you. Your ideas and thoughts may run counter to accepted values, your own or those of others. You may find yourself in a disapproving mood. Decisions made now about emotional issues may have to be re thought later so don’t be too hasty. You could find yourself tense and short tempered today, remember to breathe.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Rather than focusing on the strictly personally rewarding aspects of your efforts (for example, your income, amount of vacation time, and other amenities), you are more sensitive to the value of your service as a contribution to society. Your motivations and personal ambitions become more elevated and idealistic now. You are able to see your work in better perspective. Relationships run smoothly for you today, so it’s a good time to show your partner how much you really appreciate them for the little things. If you have a solid emotional base in your life, you will receive the benefits of that.

If not, this is a good time to network with people so you can broaden your social circle and find someone that you can form a lasting relationships with.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You can make your influence felt at this time and any efforts you make to advance your career or other important future goals very effective.

Independent action, relying on yourself, or taking on more of an assertive leadership position are in good favor now. You have the green light! You may be feeling a bit restless and dissatisfied with your present relationships or situation. You may feel limited and restricted by your responsibilities and impatient to achieve your larger goals. Don’t let your impatient ness put you in a position that you may regret.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Arrangements made by others without consulting you first could make you a little angry, but it won’t be enough to spoil the fresh equilibrium you have developed. Things could feel a bit muddled in your personal life, so make sure you avoid making hard and fast statements until another day. Keeping your relationship fresh will give you a more content partner, this doesn’t require bending over backwards just to keep their attention. Just avoid stale routines and do what comes naturally to put life into each moment in its own way. A quick email or voice mail with a word of appreciated or even an idea for a fantasy may be all it takes.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) The general feeling all around is that your plan is the best one, so take advantage and move as far as you can. Sometimes you just know it’s right and jump without hesitation. Right now that can put you well ahead of the game, as a good sense of what will work finds something sensible to work with. Emotional self control and feelings of distance and aloneness could overwhelm you today. You are coolly objective about your friends and loved ones, and their shortcomings as friends or lovers. You are probably being a bit too critical and hard on them right now so try to loosen up and realize we are all in this journey together. harmony make this a happy time.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Before you call the whole thing off, make a point of chatting with the experts or those who have been involved with the organization a lot longer than you. It’s time to organize your life in a fashion that caters to the new interests you are developing. Relationships are particularly pleasant and productive now, and you will find that relationships formed now work out very well. Cooperation and friendship is strong now, and you may receive a gift or offer from someone that you weren’t expecting.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya Jabriya

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF KUW K WAIT A

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AV VIA ATION T METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT DA AY Y: Saturday

Ext.: 262 2627 - 2630

Issue Time

Sunny with light to moderate freshening gradually south easterly to southerly wind, with speed of 15 - 40 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear

BY Y NIGHT:

Partly cloudy with moderate to fresh south easterly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h

No Current Warnings arnin a

WA ARNING MIN. REC.

KUW WAIT A CITY

34 °C

21 °C

KUW WAIT A AIRPOR RT

36 °C

16 °C

NUW WAISEEB A

32 °C

17 °C

WA AFRA

38 °C

16 °C

SALMI

36 °C

17 °C

25746401

ABDAL LY

39 °C

19 °C

25316254

JAL ALIY YAH A

38 °C

17 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

32 °C

17 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

31 °C

22 °C

Mishref

25381200

QARUH ISLAND

26 °C

20 °C

W Hawally

22630786

UMM AL-MARADEM

24 °C

20 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

SFC. CHART

16/03/2013 0000 UTC

4 DA AYS Y FORECAST Temperatures DA ATE T

WEA AT THER

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

14 °C

SE

25 - 50 km/h

14 °C

N-NW

25 - 50 km/h

31 °C

13 °C

NW-N

20 - 45 km/h

30 °C

12 °C

NW-VRB

08 - 30 km/h

MAX.

MIN.

New Jahra

24575755

Sunday

17/03

partly cloudy + raising dust

35 °C

West Jahra

24772608

Monday

18/03

partly cloudy+rain+dust

33 °C

South Jahra

24775066

Tuesday

19/03

sunny + scattered clouds

Wednesday e

20/03

clouds to increase

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

PRA RA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

Fajr

04:38

MAX. Temp.

37 °C

05:57

MIN. Temp.

15 °C 56 %

Ardhiya

24884079

Sunrise

Firdous

24892674

Zuhr

11:57

MAX. RH

Asr

15:22

MIN. RH

06 %

Sunset

17:57

MAX. Wind

S 25 km/h

Isha

19:13

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

00 mm

16/03/13 02:59 UTC

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

Fintas

V1.00

T1.06

23900322

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

BY Y DA AY:

MAX. EXP P.

Omariya

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

Expected Weather e for the Next 24 Hours

DA AY

22418714

Fax: 24348714

16/03/2013

ST TAT TION

Al-Madeena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Lady Gaga expected to wear Donatella Versace at wedding

Salman Khan searching for a home in Dubai

T

he pop star - who has been with Taylor Kinney since September 2011 - is reportedly keen on a design by the Italian, and asked her to create a black and gold silk gown with diamonds in the bodice. A source told The Sun newspaper: “Gaga’s spending millions on her wedding to Taylor Kinney and Doatella Versace’s designing a typically overthe-top dress which on its own will cost thousands. “She thinks white is cheesy and wants black and gold silk with all these crazy removable bits.” The extra “bits” include a removable skirt and train, which would then be converted into a separate gown for the ceremony.

‘The Edge of Glory’ hitmaker and the ‘Vampire Diaries’ actor have had trouble finding time for the wedding among the singer’s heavy schedule but a break from recording and touring should allow a date to be set for the summer. It’s also reported they want to get married in New York to allow her grandmother Angelina Germanotta to attend.

T

he king of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has one. The first family of India’s Hindi film industry, the Bachchans, own one. Now, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is also looking for a home in Dubai. Salman has been in Dubai in recent weeks shooting for his brother Sohail’s film. But when not on the sets, the action star has been checking out properties in the city state. Shah Rukh Khan owns a villa in Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island off the Dubai coast. Actor Abhishek Bachchan and his actress wife Aishwarya Rai also own a villa in Dubai. Salman says he is keen to buy a place in Dubai. “If I wasn’t living in Mumbai for work, then I would surely be living in Dubai,” Salman Khan told reporters recently.

Berry counts rap song appearances

H

alle Berry is counting her rap song appearances. ‘The Call’ star said her name is featuring in rap songs increasingly and she likes to be kept up-to-date on the odd trend. She told the Daily Express newspaper: “Someone will always call me up and be like, ‘Halle, here’s another one’. “Then they’d send it to me or tell me about it and I’ll go and listen to it. I think I’ve counted about eight so far.” The 46-year-old star isn’t bothered by the extra attention though, taking it as a compliment while she admitted dancing to a track featuring her name is “weird”. She continued: “I’m flattered by it, whenever it happens I think it’s funny. I have danced to a song that had my name in it and that’s weird.” Halle recently revealed her perfume tips, claiming she sprays her scents between her legs to make the smell last longer. She said: “You don’t put perfume on the palm of your hand! The way you’re supposed to wear fragrance, you’re supposed to spray it in between your thighs.

“Then it heats up and the aroma rises up all day long. And when you hug somebody you don’t leave your sent on them. That’s true.

That’s how you’re supposed to wear it.”

Dannii Minogue wants more kids D

annii Minogue wants more children and a new romance. The ‘Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model’ star has one son - two-year-old Ethan - from her past relationship with former rugby player Kris Smith, and has revealed the first step is to find a new man.

She said: “Then I’d like to have more kids, but we’re into the terrible twos with Ethan so we’ll see. “He requires a lot of time, which is why I changed my schedule to be with him more. I don’t want to miss out on these moments with him.” Dannii, 41, also explained moving back to her native Australia has helped Ethan lead a normal life although he enjoys travelling between there and her UK home. She added: “It is the most amazing experience to be able to say to him, ‘Mum works in London, let’s jump on a plane.’

“We stopped in Abu Dhabi and he saw camels. You can’t learn that at a creche. It’s a great experience. “He has just taken to it. I thought he’d take a lot more adjusting to it but he has travelled since he was born.”

Brad Pitt wears Spanx

T

he 49-year-old actor - who raises six children with fiancee Angelina Jolie - is reportedly so worried middle age has taken its toll on his physique that he has taken to wearing shapewear from the brand’s men’s range at all times. A source told In Touch magazine: “They minimize the bad and accent the good. He’s close to 50 and is showing his age.” Spanx are a favorite of many celebrities, with Katy Perry previously admitting she is happy to don the shapewear because she is too lazy to work out and she wants her fans to know she is just like them.

She said: “I think one of my favorite moments is seeing like a hot girl dancing in a club, and then accidentally seeing her Spanx. “People don’t want to look up - they want to look across at someone. They want to feel like ‘hey, that’s my girl. I relate to your song. Maybe I felt something like that, but I didn’t have the words to capture that moment like the Katy Perry song.’” And Octavia Spencer has admitted to donning three pairs at a time to get a perfect hourglass figure on the red carpet. She said:”I was not a Girl Scout, but I try to be very, very prepared. I triple Spank. Which is not good. Spanx really, really work, but you don’t need to overdo it.

“It’s wonderful because it gives you the illusion of an hourglass with the sand kind of spread out.”

McConaughey massive weight loss

M

atthew McConaughey didn’t find losing weight “hard”. The actor’s wife Camila Alves says his shocking weight loss which saw him shed 38lbs for his role as an AIDS patient in ‘The Dallas Buyers’ club - was a lengthy process she helped him with closely to make sure it was carried out safely. Camila - who gave birth to their third child Livingston three months ago explained: “It wasn’t hard, it was a long process. It wasn’t something that was done in a short bit of time. There was a lot of work put in and he was very disciplined. We made sure we had a whole system in place so it was safe.” “He was great, we had a funny dynamic because he was losing and I was gaining!” Asked whether the couple’s children - Levi, four, Vida, three, and Livingston - noticed the change in their father, she quipped: “They did, but it wasn’t a big thing for them.” Now shooting has wrapped, the ‘Magic Mike’ actor is working on putting the pounds back on and Camilla has been feeding him healthy meals packed with essential nutrients to make the process easier. She explained to Britain’s OK! magazine: “He’s good, were working on slowly getting him back to his normal weight. [I’m cooking for him], but I cooked for him to lose it too so its all part of the process.”

Ashton is a diva on set A

shton Kutcher is reportedly a diva on the set of “Two And A Half Men’. The 35-year-old actor has refused to talk to fans who take part in the Warner Bros back lot tour, even though his predecessor Charlie Sheen always made time for his supporters. A source told Hollyscoop: “Charlie was the greatest. He stopped and took pictures with fans on the tour. But Ashton won’t let anyone down the back lot streets where his trailer is, even during tour hours.” Meanwhile, Ashton’s costar Jon Cryer has revealed they were both left shocked when fellow star Angus T. Jones launched a tirade against the sitcom calling it “filth” in a video with his church pastor. He said: “It is surreal to be part of several internet storms. When the latest one happened Ashton came up to me and he looked like he had seen a ghost and he was like, ‘Did you hear about Angus?’ and I was like, ‘He is ok?’ He said, ‘Sort of,’ and he showed me the video. And as I said having become a veteran of the internet storm afterward I just looked at Ashton and said, ‘Well do you think he still wants to go in on the crew gift?’ It’s just been one after the other. “My life has taken a lot of strange turns. Mostly I’m just glad everybody is still alive.”

Jovi opens up on daughter’s overdose

J

on Bon Jovi found out about his daughter Stephanie Bongiovi’s drug overdose in the “worst phone call ever”. The 51-year-old rocker was horrified when the 19-year-old college student was rushed to hospital in November after being found unresponsive in her dorm room at Hamilton College in Kirkland, New York. He told chat show host Katie Couric: “Worst phone call ever. “Now she’s doing great and I truly appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers but in short, that problem is much more of a problem than I knew and I can’t get over how many people have said ‘My son, my daughter’. There is a lot of pressure on kids these days. “I’m just blessed she’s healthy and whole and we’ll get through it.”

Jon previously admitted he and his wife Dorothea were devastated at the teenager’s “sudden and steep decline” when drugs including heroin and marijuana were reportedly found in her room. He said: “I didn’t have any sisters. We bring home this girl the first day. Now what? Where’s the manual? There was no manual. So you bring her up the best you can, you surround her with hugs and kisses and know that she may eventually fall down... I’m shocked as much as the next parent with this situation and had no idea. But then you surround them with best help and love and move on, and that’s where we’re at with it. Steph is a great kid... Cool school, Hamilton College up in Clinton, New York. “Everything about it is idyllic. She was doing great. Then a sudden and steep decline.” —Bang Showbiz

37

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

A worker splashes orange color on a machine used to create shapes of flowers and leaves on textile at the Marimekko factory in Helsinki, Finland. —AFP photos

A worker folds fabrics at the Marimekko factory.

Marimekko’s women take ’60s success into long bloom

H

uge cotton prints drape the entrance of Marimekko’s factory in Helsinki, instantly recognizable as the bold, iconic designs that took the fashion world by storm in the 1960s and remain the lifeblood of the Finnish brand today. With its bright floral and geometric prints, Marimekko is synonymous with modern Finnish design and the company that started in 1951 as a small family-run business now has more than 100 stores selling clothing, crockery and home decor in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Beverly Hills.

“Our goal is to make people happy with our products that are part of their daily lives. They can use one of our colored mugs and wear a piece of clothing with the same pattern,” Marimekko spokeswoman Sanna-Kaisa Niikko says over the din of the textile machines rumbling behind her. Large swathes of colorful material roll off the machines as members of the design and manufacturing teams bustle around, most of them women-not so strange given that a whopping 90 percent of the company’s 500 employees are women. Since its foundation in 1951 by Armi Ratia, Marimekko has been all about putting women first.

In the 1960s, the brand made a splash by presenting itself as an alternative to post-war fashion, when women squeezed into uncomfortable girdles under body-conscious and sober outfits.

Their roomy, comfortable dresses with bold colors and clean lines were perfectly adapted to a new generation throwing off the strictures of the 1950s and embracing women’s liberation. “At the time, it was very unique,” says Pekka Korvenmaa, a design professor at Helsinki’s Aalto University. At the

elevating the brand to icon status as Marimekko hit the pages of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar and went on sale in New York’s trendiest boutiques. In 1964, Marimekko’s star designer Maija Isola created the Unikko print featuring over-sized poppies, which quickly became the brand’s most

A textile coloring machine is seen. factory, many of the employees recall with pride how one particularly stylish customer catapulted the brand onto the international fashion scene.

“In 1960, Jackie Kennedy stood next to her husband wearing one of our dresses,” explains Niikko. The then-First Lady of the United States, known for her sense of style, wore a sleeveless red number on the cover of Sports Illustrated, buying seven of the dresses for herself and

recognizable pattern and is still popular today.

That was followed in 1968 by a simple striped unisex tee, with the even stripes symbolizing equality, also in line with the times. The company did well through the 1970s, but by the mid-1980s it had fallen on hard times. Ratia had passed away, and Marimekko had been sold to Finnish industrial group Amer. Poorly managed, it had lost its way artistically and

teetered on the verge of bankruptcy until 1991 when retired Finnish advertising executive Kirsti Paakkanen bought the brand, determined to give it new life.

“Paakkanen knew the world of design and she knew how it worked. Marimekko lacked this

real-life fan of the brand too.

Other celebrity devotees include Elton John, who was pictured wearing Converse trainers with a Marimekko print in St Tropez, and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton who last year took time out of her schedule during a visit to

A woman walks up the stairs at the Marimekko factory. kind of people,” explains Korvenmaa. “She put the brand back on track by mixing innovation and the use of old patterns created in the 1960s,” he adds.

Marimekko quickly recovered its international cachet. By the end of the 1990s, the hit American show “Sex and the City” featured Marimekko curtains in the apartment of main character and fashionista Carrie Bradshaw, and Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress who played Carrie, is a

Helsinki to tour the Marimekko factory. She left toting overflowing shopping bags. In 2008, Paakkanen sold the company to Mika Ihomuotila, a banker who took over as chief executive. He has since kept the Marimekko ship on the same course steered

by Paakkanen. At the factory, the textile machines every day roll out as many Unikko prints, soon 50 years old, as they do new innovative creations by the 40 or so in-house designers.

“We release four collections per year, one per season. The designers use nature and the weather as inspiration, because they are big topics of conversation in Finland,” laughs Pirkko Heikkilae, who heads the home decor design team. All of the designs are “Made in Finland”, and while many other retailers make their products in laborcheap Asia, Marimekko had 79 percent of its manufacturing and production in Finland and other European Union countries last year. Its 2012 sales hit a respectable 88.5 million euros ($115 million). For a company of such modest size, the brand’s reach and reputation is even more impressive.

But with heavy investments and loss-making stores in Sweden and the US last year, the company fell into the red in 2012. It nonetheless plans to open up to 24 new shops this year, a gamble amid the global economic crisis.

Disappointingly for those nostalgic of the brand’s 1960s-era success, Marimekko is no longer associated with the promotion of women’s issues. According to professor Korvenmaa, the company has simply evolved with the times. “It keeps one special feature, which makes it successful today,” he says. “It’s a small brand, almost a family brand, which managed to be famous abroad, thanks to this mix of old and new patterns.” —AFP

Home Centre gifting guide for Mother’s Day I

This photo shows the South Philadelphia home featured in the 1979 movie “Rocky II,” Friday, March 15, 2013, in Philadelphia. —AP

Yo! Rocky’s house in South Philly for sale

W

ant to live like Rocky Balboa? The Italian Stallion’s house is on the market. The home in South Philadelphia was featured in the 1979 movie “Rocky II.” In the sequel to the Oscar-winning smash, the fictional boxer played by Sylvester Stallone buys the house after he loses a bout to Apollo Creed but gains renown for his toughness. The 1,036-square-foot row house has three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms. Asking price: $139,000.

Real estate agent Joe Bianco says the home is for sale because the woman who lived there since the time of filming recently died. He says the house was picked for “Rocky II” because the filmmakers “happened to like the front of the home and knocked on the door.” —AP

ts mum who truly makes your home complete.

Here are some thoughtful gifts, from Home Centre, to ensure that she feels thoroughly special and spoilt: 1— Relive sweet family memories of mom with a selection of photo frames.

2— Tell mom how extraordinary she is with a bouquet of freshly cut flowers in an elegant vase. Or get her an artificial bouquet that can dress her bed side table for days to come.

3— Make a tasty gourmet snack for your mum with an eclectic set of kitsch fondue pots.

4— Declare who makes the rules in the house with the ‘Her Highness coffee mug’.

5— Ensure she has some much deserved rest ‘n relaxation with a plush and comfy chaise longue.

6— Brighten up her day with a choice of elegant lanterns, lamps or tea-light holders.

Home Centre offers everything from furniture and soft furnishings to lighting options and wall art that can make perfect gifts for the special homemaker. Whether you’re mom’s the best cook or a cleanliness fanatic, Home Centre has numerous gifting options. Choose from crockery and serve ware, decorative home essentials and even smart storage solutions - designed to delight every mother.

Now available at all Homecentre stores - Al Rai, Shuwaikh, Awqaf and Fahaheel. Also opening soon at The Avenues Phase 3.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013

lifestyle M u s i c

T

he screenwriting duo behind raunchy workplace comedy “Horrible Bosses” have tapped the competitive world of Las Vegas magicians to bring the absurd antics of “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” to the screen. “Burt Wonderstone,” out in US movie theaters on Friday, is the creation of screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who made their writing debut with 2011’s “Horrible Bosses.” The duo found inspiration in the cutthroat industry of Las Vegas magicians for their latest film, which stars Steve Carell and Jim Carrey.

“It’s a fascinating world, it’s one that you don’t really have to heighten or exaggerate all that much to get to comedy because it’s already a crazy world of Vegas magicians,” Goldstein said. The rivalry among Burt Wonderstone (Carell), Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) and Steve Gray (Carrey) was drawn from the real world of Las Vegas illusionists, after Daley and Goldstein talked to magicians such as Lance Burton, Penn Jillette and David Copperfield, who makes a cameo in the film.

“Like rock stars or movie stars, these guys are very competitive with one another, and there’s not a lot of love lost between them,” Goldstein said. Carrey channeled his outrageous comedic roots that rocketed him to fame in films such as 1994’s “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “The Mask,” bringing an unpredictable edge to street illusionist Gray’s absurd stunts, such as slicing his face open for a trick. “(Jim’s) role in this is a throwback to the stuff he did in the ‘90s, where it’s very big and physical, and that is my favorite kind of Jim Carrey character,” Daley said.

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Daley, 27, and Goldstein, 44, who began their careers in television. Daley, who plays a psychologist in TV crime series “Bones,” found fame as a teenager acting alongside James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel in Judd Apatow’s coming-of-age sitcom “Freaks and Geeks” in 1999. But it took him nearly a decade to tap into writing and directing.

“You can only be taken so seriously when you’re 9 years old, that’s why acting came first ... you can work as a child actor but not as a child director and writer,” Daley said. Goldstein spent 10 years working in television as a writer and producer, meeting Daley on “The Geena Davis Show” and teaming with the actor to work on features.

While “Horrible Bosses” became a box-office success, grossing more than $117 million in US theaters in 2011, alongside raunchy R-rated comedies such as “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover Part II,” Goldstein said the pair did not want to be known as “the hard R guys,” referring to the rating for such films.

The duo expanded their screenwriting talents into upcoming animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” to “cover as many bases” within the comedy field, and bring humor rooted more in reality.

“There’s something of a tendency now to go to a pretty mean-spirited place, where everybody’s kind of nasty to each other. It’s a very dark, cynical place in that R-rated world, where it’s kind of the grossest thing you can think of, the most extreme, and it doesn’t really matter if you like the characters,” Goldstein said. With the screenplay for “Horrible Bosses 2” in the bag, Daley and Goldstein will be making their directorial debut with the upcoming comedy “Vacation,” starring Ed Helms. — Reuters

From raunchy comedies to animation The road to writing and directing feature films has been a long one for

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This film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Steve Buscemi, background, and Steve Carell in a scene from, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” — AP

rammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne tweeted Friday that he was “good,” as record company executives dismissed a report that the singer had been in critical condition after a string of seizures. The hip-hop star declared on Twitter: “I’m good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love,” after celebrity news website TMZ reported he was in an induced coma in hospital, and that his family was rushing to his bedside.

Vickie Charles, a spokeswoman for Cash Money/Young Money/Republic Records, pointed out the star’s tweet in an email to AFP, adding: “Wayne is doing well. We appreciate your concern.” According to TMZ, Lil Wayne, 30, was rushed to Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles on Tuesday after suffering multiple seizures. He left the following day but was re-admitted hours later, and his condition had not stabilized.

Citing “hospital sources” in an update a couple of hours after its initial report, TMZ said the singer was still in critical condition but stabilizing, adding that his prognosis was “uncertain.” It said his mother was flying to Los Angeles, and that any decisions about his treatment, including on whether to stop life support, would not be made until she arrived. But Mack Maine, the head of the Young Money record label to which Lil Wayne is signed tweeted: “Dont believe the nonsense about comas and tubes to breathe ... that’s false!!”

And Birdman, a rapper and co-founder of Cash Money Records to which Lil Wayne is also signed, tweeted: “My son

is in good spirit..feelin much betta...be home soon.” In October the star, who won four Grammy awards in 2008 including best rap song and best rap album, reportedly suffered a number of seizures while on his private jet. Last September Lil Wayne celebrated his 30th birthday by overtaking Elvis Presley for the number of times he’s been on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart, his 109th time as a featured artist on “Celebration” by West Coast rapper Game.

At the 2008 Grammys he won best rap album for “The Carter III,” best rap song for “Lollipop,” best rap performance “Swagga like us” with Kanye West and Jay Z, and best rap solo performance “A Milli.” Lil Wayne, who counts President Barack Obama among his fans, has been rapping since the age of eight. He has made 10 studio albums-and served time in a New York jail in 2010 for unlawful possession of a firearm. — AFP

File photo shows recording artist Lil Wayne meets fans and celebrates his contemporary street wear apparel brand TRUKFIT at his hometown Macy’s, in New Orleans. — AP photos

File photo shows Lil Wayne accepts the award for best hiphop video for “Hyfr”at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.

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irector Florin Iepan says his new documentary on the execution of thousands of Jews in Odessa, Ukraine-one of the worst World War II massacres-is a plea for his fellow Romanians to acknowledge their role in the Holocaust. “Odessa”, a 55-minute documentary, “is a protest against the authorities’ lack of reaction to this episode... probably the grimmest in Romania’s history,” Iepan told the audience after the film’s premiere this week in Bucharest during the One World Romania documentary festival. “We live in a vulnerable society. Intolerance, hatred or xenophobia can still flare up” unless Romanians assume their past, he told AFP. Alternating poignant accounts and ironic comments, the documentary puts under the spotlight the 1941 massacre of 22,500 Ukrainian Jews by Romanian troops, in retaliation for the blowing up of the Romanian army’s headquarters in Odessa. Around 100 Romanian and Soviet soldiers were killed in the blast, which pro-Nazi marshal Ion Antonescu blamed on the Jewish community.

On October 23, 1941, thousands of Jewish civilians-men, women and children-were driven into a dozen warehouses on the outskirts of Odessa and burnt alive.

Those who managed to escape were gunned down. “I recall the thousands of women marching in column, in deep silence,” towards their death, said a Romanian witness, aged seven at the time. He added it was only much later that he realised “where that persistent stench of burnt flesh came from.” Passed over by Romanian textbooks, this tragic episode prompted Iepan to embark on a long journey trying to raise awareness about the horrors of the Holocaust. Romania for a long time denied having participated in the mass killing and deportation of Jews during World War II and many Romanians still consider Antonescu a national hero.

Between 280,000 and 380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews died in Romania and the

territories under its control during Antonescu’s regime, according to an international historians’ commission headed by Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel. Iepan, 44, said he only learnt about this in 2006 when he was commissioned by public television to do a short documentary on Antonescu. The marshal featured on a list of 100 “great Romanians” drawn up as part of a TV program.

Antonescu finally came in sixth, but rumors have circulated that the poll was manipulated to avoid the program crowning a war criminal.

Iepan had a priceless companion along part of his journey-the last known survivor of the Odessa massacre. Mikhail Zaslavski, 86, lost his mother, three sisters, a brother and an aunt in the carnage. Decades after the war, he still faces animosity from some in Romania. During a seminar on Romania’s ex-king Michael attended by historians, Zaslavski was not allowed to take the floor, while Iepan was accused of disturbing the meeting.

Former centre-right president Emil Constantinescu avoided shaking the survivor’s hand and several politicians refused requests

by Iepan to talk about the mass execution. “I think that 70 years after the massacre, a top Romanian official should go to Odessa and apologize to the last survivor and to the Jewish community, and tell them that today’s Romania is different from Antonescu’s,” Iepan said. “This may be a merely formal gesture but it would nevertheless open a much-needed debate.” — AFP

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early 18 years after his novel “The Tunnel” grabbed critics’ attention, 88year-old writer William Gass is back making literary music with a new work of fiction. “Middle C,” published this week by Knopf, is Gass’ first full-length novel since 1995’s “The Tunnel,” which earned him the American Book Award. As the title suggests, the book incorporates music into both its structure and plot.

“Language is to a writer what notes are to a musician,” Gass told Reuters in an interview. “It’s a modulation, a refrain.” The book centers on Joseph Skizzen, an Austrian ÈmigrÈ who moves to a small town in Ohio with his mother and sister as World War Two winds down. Introverted and feeling out of place, he spends much of his time playing the piano and becomes a professor at a local college.

Joseph carves out a niche as an expert on composer Arnold Schˆnberg, the Austrian exile who originated atonal music. The structure of “Middle C” mirrors Schˆnberg’s musical style. Instead of having the plot build up, crest and ebb, the book flows evenly in a series of anecdotes and recollections of the protagonist’s everyday life.

Throughout the book, Joseph is constantly trying to wrangle a certain sentence into what he feels is its best form. The sentence’s repetition serves as a harmonizing chorus. “It expressed the situation as I thought of it,” said Gass, who said he wrote many more permutations of the “musical sentence” than actually appear in the book. As Joseph moves through life, he presents various credentials and personae both to the outside world and in his own mind, many exaggerated or fabricated.

He inherited this inclination from his father, who disguised the Catholic family as Jews in order to escape Austria on the eve of World War Two and start anew in London.

Joseph’s father eventually leaves the family to reinvent himself yet again. The process of trying on and sometimes fabricating different elements of identity is common, Gass says, but living in the digital age complicates things. The anonymity of the Internet makes

he third season of “American Horror Story” will be subtitled “Coven,” and add actress Kathy Bates to the series’ ensemble, according to the TV anthology’s cocreator, Ryan Murphy. “We’re far enough along in the writing that I can tell you what it’s about,” Murphy announced to more than 1000 of the show’s fans who attended the PaleyFest panel on the series Friday night at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles. Murphy (“Nip/Tuck,” “Glee,” “The New Normal”) confirmed there would be witches in the new season, but failed to reveal any more plot specifics. “It’s a really cool story that we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, actually, and this seemed the year to do it,” he continued, dropping one more tidbit: After filming the first two seasons on lots and soundstages, parts of the series three will be shot in New Orleans.

“The fun thing about doing the show is researching what are the really haunted places in America, because every year the institution is one of the lead characters,” Murphy explained. “The first year was Murder House, and this year was Asylum. We have another couple doozy locales.” Joining

crafting alternate identities easier and more appealing, he says, but also makes it easier to spot dissemblers.

William Gass “We can create, are begged to create, new selves all of the time,” Gass said. “But it’s also easier to catch people.” At 88, the author says he is lucky to have had a good sense of himself early in life that endured into his twilight years. “I knew what I wanted to be in high school,” he said. “It’s really a great advantage to not have to wonder, as so many do.” Gass said he has been “like a machine” with his writing process over the last several decades, and has no plans to retire. He says working has become slightly more difficult as he has advanced in age, but that hasn’t stopped him. He is currently working on several nonfiction projects, including a collection of essays on painting, music, and the arts. “Instead of playing golf or collecting stamps, etc. I pursue my work,” he said. “It’s what I can still do.”— Reuters

Murphy on the panel were “American Horror Story: Asylum” cast members Frances Conroy, Naomi Grossman, Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Lily Rabe as well as executive producers Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear. Before the event, it had been reported that Conroy, Lange, Paulson, Peters and Rabe were confirmed to be a part of the third season.

Previously, Murphy had also said Lange would be playing a “glamor cat” in her latest “Story” role. When Lange was asked about that new character, she replied, laughing, “I don’t know what a ‘glamor cat’ is, but I am excited about it.”

Late in the event, the ensemble’s latest major cast addition was introduced to the audience: the Oscar-winning Bates (“Misery”), who said she was a big fan of the series and a longtime friend of Lange. Joked Murphy, “You know, I love a good Oscar winner,” referring to two-time Academy Award honoree Lange, and adding that he and Lange had thought of Bates as this season-three character for some time.

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yria’s Omar Souleyman arrived literally at the 11th hour at South by Southwest (SXSW) for a benefit concert in the wee hours of yesterday for victims of the conflict in his homeland. Souleyman, a cult favorite among world music fans across the globe, trekked from Turkey, where he and his family live as refugees, via Syria and Lebanon, overcoming road blocks and US visa red tape along the way. So arduous was his journey that he missed a scheduled panel appearance Friday afternoon where he was to discuss Syria’s plight to participants in the 10-day interactive, film and music festival that concludes this weekend.

He finally arrived in hard-partying Austin-about as far from the violence and misery in Syria as anyone can getbarely two hours before he was to take the stage at a benefit concert attended by several hundred fans. Organizers said the event, titled Our Heart Aches for Syria, raised several thousand dollars to be distributed via the Red Cross to both Syrian refugees and those still inside the country two years after the fighting began. It was too early to say exactly how much was collected, but tickets at the door sold for

$10 each-with additional contributions very much welcome-for a night that also included a raft of alt-rock acts.

“I do not view this as an opportunity to educate anyone about the fighting in Syria. That is not my purpose,” Souleyman told the official SXSW magazine prior to arriving in Austin. “I would like that people simply pay attention to how Syrian people are suffering,” added the musician, a regular on the international music festival circuit who last played in Austin in November 2011. Souleyman, a native of northeastern Syria who sings in Arabic and Kurdish, took to the stage in his trademark keffiyeh headdress and sunglasses, with YouTube images of the fighting in Syria flashing on a screen behind him.

Accompanying him was his virtuoso keyboards player Rizan Said. His New York manager Mina Tosti, a key figure in getting SXSW to agree to host a Syria charity event, told AFP that Souleyman would be staying in United States to record a new album in New York next week. “We wanted a visible platform” to raise American awareness of what Syrians are going through, she said, and “I thought the best place would be a gathering of creative minds” such as

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File photo shows Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day on stage at the Heart Radio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

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reen Day isn’t talking about the recent rocky past, but they’re playing like the old days. An upbeat Billie Joe Armstrong whipped the Grammy-winning punk trio through an ear-splitting twohour show Friday night at the South

by Southwest Music Festival, returning to the stage for only the second time since Armstrong emerged from a rehab stint that caused the band to postpone an arena tour. The 41-yearold Armstrong made no mention of his problems with substance abuse while playfully bantering with a nearly sold-out crowd Moody Theater and ripping through a 25song marathon. The energetic set mixed new rockers from the “Uno!” “Dos!” “Tre!” trilogy the band rolled out last winter and old favorites like “Longview” and “American Idiot.”

“This ain’t no (expletive) cafe!”

Armstrong told the crowd right out of the gate. “Get crazy!” Armstrong’s good spirits were a sharp contrast to his profane meltdown at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas in September, when he complained the band’s time was being cut short and smashed his guitar.

Two days later, Green Day announced Armstrong was headed

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to treatment for substance abuse.

His cheery chatting with the audience at the showcase SXSW gig did include one moment when, while apparently encountering a hiccup with his microphone, Armstrong quipped, “I wasn’t even on drugs,” while laughing.

Green Day is among the marquee acts at SXSW this year along with Justin Timberlake, Dave Grohl and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The weeklong festival turns out the lights Saturday when Prince is scheduled to play an intimate finale for just a few hundred guests at a small Austin club. Green Day didn’t just swing into Texas for a warm-up show before their delayed tour finally begins March 28 in Chicago. The band also walked a red carpet earlier Friday for the premiere of the documentary “Broadway Idiot,” which chronicles Green Day turning their 2004 career-reviving album “American Idiot” into a musical. — AP

andcuffed and being bundled into a police car after his conviction for killing his wife, Michael Morton called out to a nearby cluster of reporters. “I didn’t do this,” the Texan cried, his dazed voice filled more with confusion than anger or heartbreak. “I did not do this.” Nobody believed him. In “An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story,” writer/director and two-time Oscar nominee Al Reinert offers an unflinching look at how Morton was wrongfully convicted of murder and had his only son disown him as he served a life sentence. It lays bare how the Austin grocery store inventory manager lost everything except the fact that he was innocent - but was finally exonerated in 2011 by new DNA evidence after nearly a quarter century behind bars.

On Monday, another man, Mark Norwood, goes on trial for the murder of Morton’s wife Christine, who was beaten to death in her bed in August 1986. Norwood has also been linked to a similar 1988 slaying of another woman, Debra Masters Baker, sparking speculation that authorities allowed him to kill again while wrongfully focusing on Morton. The district attorney who helped send Morton to prison, Ken Anderson, has been accused of withholding evidence that could have helped the defense. Anderson is now a state district judge and faced a court of inquiry, a proceeding held to examine alleged wrongdoing by court officials. A decision in that matter may come next month.

Asked about Anderson following a screening of “An Unreal Dream” at the South By Southwest film festival this week, Morton said it’s “not a personal, visceral hatred I have for him.” “I had to literally let that go. I’ve had a lot of time to do that,” Morton said. “But, at the same time, there needs to be accountability.” —AP

nrest in northern Mali has left Liya Ag Ablil living in exile for years, but as he takes his Saharan desert blues to the wider world, he looks forward to peace back home. Ablil fronts Terakaft, an offshoot of the internationally known Tuareg band Tinariwen that has been filling smaller, more intimate venues at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival this week with its trance-like sounds.

“The lyrics that we sing are those of our culture,” Ablil, also known in desert blues circles as Diara, told AFP after a lunchtime show Thursday under the early spring Texas sun behind a French bistro on the east side of Austin.

And if Terakaft’s audiences have been relatively small compared to the big crowds that flock to see the indie rock bands that dominate SXSW, Ablil feels the response to its music among Americans has been positive.

“Yes, yet, it’s been good. They’re interested in the music,” said the fifty-something electric guitarist who plays with nephew and songwriting partner Sanou Ag Ahmed, 33, and lists Dire Straits among his influences. Fatherof-four Ablil has lived in southern Algeria for nearly two decades, but still close enough to the Malian border to know of the harsh crackdown on music by Islamist rebels linked to AlQaeda in the north of his homeland.

“We knew that if you were to perform there, you’d be picked up, your guitar would be broken,” said the musician, who takes the stage in a flowing deep-purple Tuareg robe and matching “cheche” or headscarf. But since French troops intervened in January to help

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SXSW, which is attended by tens of thousands.

Also keenly involved were indie garage rockers the Black Lips out of Atlanta, Georgia, who shared the bill with Souleyman along with four other bands from as far afield as Vancouver, Canada. Big fans and supporters of the onetime wedding singer whose music has been described as “Syrian techno,” the Black Lips got a first-hand taste of the Arab Spring when they toured Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon last year. “His reach is very, very worldwide,” Souleyman’s publicist Graeme Flegenheimer told AFP. “To me, he has the potential to be on the cult level of a Bjork or a David Byrne, and very respected.”— AFP

Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman performs in the early hours of yesterday at a benefit concert for victims and refugees of the conflict in his homeland during the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. — AFP photos

Malian troops regain control of the north, dislodging the Islamists and establishing a fragile peace, Ablil is cautiously optimistic for the future. “We knew that it could never last,” he said, referring to the Islamist hard line on cultural expression. “Now we can perform. I’m waiting for people to call me, now that everything has changed.”

It’s no mistake Terakaft’s hypnotic sounds remind listeners of Tinariwen, one of the biggest names in world music: Ablil cofounded the band in 1982 and is the brother of one of its core members, the late Inteyeden Ag Ablil. The two groups remain close, said Ablil inside a cool white tent lined with oriental carpets that served as the green room behind the stage. “It’s the same thing, the same family, the same parents, the same music,” he noted. This is Terakaft’s first US tour, following up on the stateside release of their latest album “Kel Tamasheq” (speakers of Tamasheq, the Tuareg language) produced by English guitarist Justin Adams.

Normally the band has two additional members, but they were inexplicably denied US visas. Standing in on bass guitar has been Austin musician Manny Flores, who’s also hosting Terakaft at his house during SXSW. “Basically, I picture the Sahara desert and what it must be like to live there, out in all that space,” said Flores, 58, on how it feels to perform desert blues when the desert you know best is in arid Texas. But Ablil and Ahmed are encouraged that their own US visas are valid for three years, and manager Phillippe Brix is trying to cut thorough the

Depeche Mode performs at the SXSW Music Festival.

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hen it was launched more than a decade ago the Ultra Music Festival was a low budget, one-day affair for a few thousand electronic dance music fans. It has since grown into a massive, two weekend-long party expected to attract 300,000 participants from around the globe paying $300 for a three-day pass. The lineup of the festival, which opened on Friday afternoon, includes dozens of the world’s top DJs, including David Guetta, deadmau5, and Swedish House Mafia, some who are paid tens of thousands of dollars to play for as little as an hour.

Electronic dance music, known as EDM, has become one of the world’s most popular genres as DJs and pop artists collaborate, drawing massive crowds to live shows as well as the attention of investors and companies eager to tap into its money-making potential. It coincides with the annual Winter Music Conference, an EDM industry gathering of DJs, producers and concert promoters, for a weekend of seminars and pool parties. The two events create one of the world’s largest dance music gatherings. An economic impact report commissioned by Ultra’s organizers claimed it supported nearly 1,000 jobs and injected $79 million into the Miami economy.

remaining red tape so that Terakaft can return as a whole to tour more widely. In the nearer term, the group-which takes its name from the Tuareg word for desert caravan-is looking forward to a summer of touring European festivals, a well-travelled circuit that has helped desert blues thrive.—AFP

Sanou Ag Ahmed and Liya Ag Ablil of the Malian desert blues group Terakaft perform at the rear of Justine’s restaurant in Austin, Texas on March 15, 2012 during the South

by Southwest (SXSW) festival.

To help launch the Doritos “For the Bold” campaign, New Jersey-based music group Delicate Steve perform on the Doritos #BoldStage at the South by Southwest Music Festival on Friday in Austin, Texas.

Ultra latam Ultra in recent years has also launched several satellite festivals around the world, including ones in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. “In 2006 we got some interest to take it to Brazil,” said Russell Faibisch, co-founder of Ultra which launched the first festival in Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte in 2008. “Now we’re focused on doing the festival in Sao Paulo every year.” Ultra has since also expanded, staging events in Argentina and Chile.

Along with rising into the mainstream, electronic music in Latin America has also become popular due to the Internet’s growth and the ability for would-be music producers to do on their laptop what once required expensive studio equipment. “The bedroom producer is more enabled than ever,” said Diego Martinelli, co-founder of Safe, which produces electronic music events in Miami throughout the year. Promoters and event producers have also been staging larger shows, with eye-popping production that includes powerful, multicolored lasers, strobe lights and smoke machines.

The rising popularity of EDM has also attracted the attention of law enforcement due to its association with

The Mexican rock group Los Estramboticos performs during the first day of the Vive Latino 2013 Music Fest at the Foro Sol in Mexico City. — AFP photos

amphetamine drugs such as Ecstasy, which fans say enhances their enjoyment of the music. The latest innovation dubbed ‘Molly,’ is a refined form of Ecstasy, and gets its name from the MDMA molecule, which creates feelings of euphoria and gives partiers the energy to dance through sunrise. At last years’ Ultra, pop diva Madonna made a surprise appearance causing a stir when she called out to the audience; “How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?”

Despite claims that it’s the “purer” form of Ecstasy, researchers at the University of Miami say it’s no safer than Ecstasy tablets, which can be adulterated with various other chemicals, including the powerful stimulant methamphetamine.—Reuters

The Venezuelan rock band Los Amigos Invisibles performs during the first day of the Vive Latino 2013 Music Fest at the Foro Sol in Mexico City.

Omar Souleyman sings for his troubled Syria at SXSW

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A gallery assistant walks in front of US artist Andy Warhol’s 1983 “Endangered Species” estimated to fetch between 250,000 - 300,000 GBP (378,000 - 454,000 USD) at Sotheby’s auction house in central London on March 15, 2013 ahead of the sale of “Old Master, Modern and Contemporary Prints” on March 19, 2013. — AFP photos

A gallery assistant poses in front of Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup”, estimated to fetch between 150,000 - 200,000 GBP (227,000 - 303000 USD) at Sotheby’s auction house in central London.

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usan Wang couldn’t speak English when she arrived in California from Taiwan, aged 16. Now 49, she heads a school offering US children a similar experience, plunging them into a Chinese world. And her establishment is part of a rapid expansion of “immersion” Mandarin language programs in the United States, helped notably by Beijing providing lowcost native-speaker teachers to cash-strapped US schools. Pupils as young as five at her Broadway Elementary School in Venice, west of Los Angeles, take classes entirely in Chinese, in a project so successful that it is having to move to a new campus.

“The single most exciting thing has to be watching the kids learn, and how they learn, and how fast they pick up another language, it’s just amazing,” she told AFP, in a pause from her busy day at the bustling local school. “I didn’t speak English when I came, so when it comes to dual language and language learning ... it’s something close to my heart,” she added. Chinese immersion programs are not new in American schools.

But China’s rapidly expanding world role has fueled growing demand for Mandarin language skills, mirroring Washington’s diplomatic pivot across the Pacific.

Mandarin teaching has expanded nationwide over the last decade, in contrast to other foreign languages which have steadily decreased, according to data compiled by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL).

“Mandarin is really taking off ... Chinese was one of the few languages that increased, most other language offerings decreased, including French, German, and Japanese,” Nancy Rhodes of the Washingtonp DC-based CAL told AFP. Beijing’s education ministry is also helping, by sending native-speaker teachers effectively for free to work in US schools.

“Schools are of course experiencing huge budget Yuli Sun, a Chinese language immersion teacher checks her students’ work. cuts, so the offer of free or low cost native-speaker In the classroom at Broadway, the linguistic immerBut increasingly parents cite economic and careerteachers from China to teach language classes really looks good,” said Rhodes. California has been in the prospect reasons for having their offspring able to sion is total. The walls are plastered with pictures and forefront, both geographically and historically, ever speak Chinese. “I wanted them to have the opportunity signs entirely in Chinese, the text books are in since huge numbers of Chinese workers helped build to be able to leave the US if they wished to go and seek Mandarin, and the teacher will not accept a word of the US railroad system. San Francisco and LA have the employment somewhere else,” said Julie Wang, an English. And while some children have a Chinese parent biggest Chinese communities after New York. Australian who came to the United States when she was or grandparents, the eager faces around the room are Traditionally families with one or both parents from 25. “I did that myself ... I came out here. I think it’s a from all backgrounds, from African American and white Chinese backgrounds have put children into Mandarin- great opportunity for them to experience different cul- Caucasian to Latino youngsters. Many don’t speak a language schools to bolster their cultural “heritage,” or tures, different ways of life, not just the one that they word of Mandarin when they arrive. “At the beginning it is difficult,” said kindergarten teacher Carol Chan, grew up in,” she added. ability to communicate with grandparents back home.

Yuli Sun, a Chinese language immersion teacher plays a word game with her students at Broadway Elementary School, part of the city of Los Angeles’ public school system, January 31, 2013 inVenice, California. — AFP photos

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are bronzes, contemporary masterpieces, museumquality furniture and antiquities dating back more than 3,000 years are among thousands of art objects hitting the auction block in New York next week during Christie’s and Sotheby’s Asia week sales. The four days of auctions, estimated to take in anywhere from $74 million to $106 million, begin on Tuesday with Sotheby’s sales of contemporary Indian art and Chinese ceramics and art, and Christie’s Indian and Southeast Asian sale, which includes some of its higher-priced works.

The semi-annual sales of Asian works of art have become an important driver in the global market, with strong activity in recent years. But a recent report found art spending by Chinese collectors fell 24 percent last year because of slowing

Students raise their hands during a second grade class taught exclusively in Mandarin Chinese.

economic growth and a lack of availability of top-quality works. “Just as we’ve seen in the overall market, we’re seeing a focus on quality” within Asian art collecting, Christie’s international director of Asian art, Hugo Weihe, told Reuters.

“And there’s a deeper level of scholarship now, so we have been selective in what we offer,” he said. This season, Christie’s has more extensive offerings, with eight sales over four days expected to take in between $44 million and $62 million.

Sotheby’s four auctions over three days should total from $30 million to $44 million.

Among highlights is a towering, Tibetan bronze figure of a bodhisattva from around the ninth or 10th century that reaches nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters) and is expected to fetch about $2.5 million at Christie’s. “Buddhist art in general has become

adding at first she has to use a lot of gestures, visual aids-and a lot of games.

“I use a lot of pictures and ... a lot of music. It is difficult. because they don’t understand a word I’m saying.

But through physical language and gestures, they really catch on. And they’re having fun with me too!” Firstgrader Grace Ehlers says it was tough at first, but now she is equally confident in both languages. “It’s the same, or maybe a little bit easier in Chinese because my dad speaks many languages and sometimes he teaches me a little bit of it,” she said, when asked to compare classes in English and Mandarin.

The school’s principal says the availability of free Chinese teachers was crucial to Broadway Elementary’s decision to offer the Mandarin language immersion program. “I am Chinese, born and raised in Taiwan. But that has nothing to do with why I’m here doing this program. “The Chinese volunteer teachers were what we were able to get. Had we been able to get free French teachers, or free Spanish teachers, we’d be teaching those,” she added. According to CAL, there were 74 Mandarin language immersion programs in the United States in 2008, the last time the data was updated. “I do know that there are more programs not yet listed,” said Rhodes.

Overall Spanish has the most immersion programs, with 45 percent of the total, followed by French on 22 percent, Mandarin on 13 percent, Hawaiian with 6 percent, Japanese 5 percent and German 3 percent. “In the past Chinese has traditionally been taught more on the West Coast and in major cities, but we’re seeing more Chinese programs cropping up all over the country now,” she said. “Even smaller districts that we work with ... that are starting up elementary school language programs are considering between Spanish and Chinese,” she said, adding that the expansion will likely continue.

“I don’t see the trend slowing anytime soon,” said Rhodes. — AFP

A student reads a book in Chinese.

an increasingly big focus,” Weihe said. “The old collection pieces have become incredibly desirable, especially for Chinese collectors who are seeking to acquire these cultural objects back.”

Sotheby’s sales include its first private collection of Indian art in over a decade, consigned by the owner, Amrita Jhaveri.

Featuring Sayed Haider Raza’s 1982 canvas “Rajasthan I,” estimated to fetch $600,000 to $800,000, and an untitled Tyeb Mehta work expected to sell for $800,000 to $1.2 million, the sales proceeds will underwrite a project at New Delhi’s Khoj International Artists’ Association.

At its classical Chinese paintings sale, Tang Dai’s “StreamLaced Mountain After Snow” is likely to fetch about $500,000.

Top offerings at Christie’s include a 12th/11th century BC

Chinese bronze ritual wine vessel ($800,000 to $1.2 million) and a 17th/18th century painters table nearly 15 feet (4.6 meters) long, which is expected to fetch as much as $2 million.

Officials said another top lot, a large-scale, intricate Tibetan Buddha painting estimated at $600,000 to $800,000, would likely sell for much more, given the results for a similar work last year and interest generated by the previously unseen work. Sales of Japanese and Korean art, jade carvings, Chinese snuff bottles and rare porcelain round out the auctions.— Reuters