20 Mar 2013

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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JAMADA ALAWWAL 8, 1434 AH

MPs pass debt relief law as govt abstains Ministers, lawmakers call for more amendments to bill

Max 27º Min 17º High Tide 6:38 & 16:35 Low Tide 13:03

By B Izzak conspiracy theories

It’s not rocket science

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

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he closer the debt relief scheme - which has been in the works for quite some time - gets to its final stages, the more complications and opposition it is facing. Many living in Kuwait read or heard that Kuwaitis have been demanding for the last 10 years to scrap their debts. There is no parliament which came in Kuwait which did not put on the agenda the issue of the debts or made it a priority.

However, it does not mean that if parliament is demanding something, that demand is right. Most of the times parliamentarians want to please their voters. Many MPs in various parliaments were in favour of the debt relief. Even the opposition MPs were more enthusiastic to convince the government to scrap the debts. The current parliament is demanding the same. Unluckily for the opposition, the approval came under a new parliament which is considered a partially pro-government parliament.

It was a halfway decision though. Not to scrap the debts but to scrap the interest. There are many conditions attached to the decision and they are trying to solve them now.

Even scrapping the debts’ interests has been met with negative statements from various high-ranking businessmen and bankers. Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali himself is not in favour of scrapping anything if it was up to him. It is clear that solving this problem is becoming a political issue more than a way to help the nation.

I myself join the opponents of the plan for many reasons. In every country there are people with debts to banks. It is about simple mathematics. We have a lot of expertise, why don’t they use it to solve this conundrum? Why doesn’t the Central Bank allow banks to let debtors reschedule their debts like in any other country on earth? The borrower can reschedule his or her debt and continue paying it off under a different lower interest which suits his income at the current time.

Governments are not supposed to take public funds and pay off people’s debts. These borrowers have enjoyed the money for various reasons, so why the public has to pay for it? What about those who did not take loans? This is not the way countries come up with solutions to enhance their business and financial status. What is the impact and effect on the young generations? How serious is this?

Bring expertise from banks, the finance sector and universities. Forget the parliament because they have interests. Study it thoroughly and come up with a solution. See what other countries are doing and apply what best fits Kuwait. It is not rocket science. It is just loans.

KUWAIT: MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah (center) speaks with fellow MPs as they attend a session at the National Assembly yesterday. The Assembly passed in principle a bill that requires the government to buy billions of dollars of bank loans owed by citizens and reschedule them after waiving interest. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Nisf seeking to restore Kuwait Airways’ glory

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways Chairman Sami Al-Nisf yesterday said he wants to restore the carrier’s historically good reputation and reassured passengers about the safety of its aircraft. Nisf, who was speaking at the Kuwait Journalists Association headquarters, said, “We will not get rid of competent employees,” adding that those who retired did so by their own choice and wanted to take advantage of the “golden retirement package”.

Nisf insisted that profitability will come with the modernization of the fleet along with other services. “Without modernization there is no profitability,” he said. “We are waiting for finances as the company is incurring losses and has bank overdrafts.” He said when a new plane is ordered, it takes seven to eight years to be delivered, adding that manufacturers make alternate arrangements until a delivery is made. He said support for the carrier dropped after Kuwait’s liberation, blaming ageing planes of different types for the increase in costs. “We hope to see a new Kuwait Airways just as much as we want to see a new Kuwait,”

RIYADH: The Saudi authorities have arrested 18 suspected spies, including an Iranian and a Lebanese, on charges of espionage for a foreign country, the interior ministry said yesterday. “Sixteen Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese were arrested in coordinated and simultaneous operations in four regions of the kingdom,” including the capital Riyadh and the holy city of Makkah, the ministry said in a statement. The suspects, some of whom were arrested in Eastern Province where the kingdom’s Shiite minority is concentrated, were working for a foreign country which it did not name, the statement added.

Their arrest was made after the ministry had “received information concerning the involvement of Saudis and expats in espionage on behalf of a another country,” said the statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The suspects “gathered information on vital installations which they provided to the country” they had been working for, it added. — AFP

Kuwait to cut expats by 100,000 annually Visit-to-work transfers to end April 1

Sami Al-Nisf Nisf said.

On safety issues, Nisf insisted that “we make sure that no aircraft is flown unless it is completely safe to do so. I am specialized in safety, and I can say we are still known for that.” He said that last year was the best in the carrier’s history and “we are partners in safety”. He said Kuwait Airways will soon receive the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) award for safety, adding the carrier pays the least insurance premiums because of its safety record.

Continued on Page 2

Syrians trade blame over chemical attack Rebels elect Hitto as PM

Saudis arrest 18 for spying

KUWAIT: The National Assembly yesterday provisionally passed the debt relief law that requires the state to bail out citizens who took loans before March 30, 2008, but the government opposed the legislation and said major amendments must be made. Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali said the government cannot accept a law in which the cost is not known after the Assembly’s financial and economic affairs committee pushed “the door wide open” for more debtors to be covered by the law.

“We don’t know the cost of the law which could be between KD 1 billion and KD 4 billion,” Shamali told the house.

Thirty-three MPs voted for the law, three opposed it while 20 others, including 15 Cabinet ministers, abstained. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said “the government rejects the law in its current form” but as a sign of cooperation with the house, “we will abstain” in the voting. MPs and the government then agreed that they will study any amendments to the law before the second round of voting which is expected in the coming few weeks.

The law requires that the government buys all loans taken by Kuwaiti citizens before March 30, 2008 from conventional and Islamic banks and financial companies. The state will then write off all interest on the loans before rescheduling their repayment in easy instalments over a maximum of 15 years under the condition that each monthly instalment does not exceed 40 percent of the debtors’ income. The law stipulates that debtors are free to tailor their instalments which can be Continued on Page 2

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops and insur- istry of Russia said it had “information” gents yesterday accused each other of from Damascus that rebels had used using chemical weapons for the first chemical weapons, and expressed contime, as a newly elected rebel premier cern that such weapons “have fallen into ruled out dialogue with President Bashar the hands of rebels, which even compliAl-Assad’s regime. State cates further the situation in media reported that “terrorSyria.” ists fired rockets containing Responding to claims by chemical materials on Khan the Syrian government and al-Assal in Aleppo province,” its ally Russia, White House and Information Minister spokesman Jay Carney said Omran Al-Zohbi called the Washington has “no evidence attack a “dangerous escalato substantiate the charge tion”. Deputy Foreign that the opposition has used Minister Faisal Muqdad said chemical weapons”. The White 31 people had been killed, House also warned it would and state media added that be “totally unacceptable” for Ghassan Hitto around 100 more were the regime to use such arms, injured. and Britain said if reports of But the insurgents denied the charges chemical weapons usage were true it and accused regime forces of a deadly would “revisit” its approach to the twolong-range missile attack that caused year conflict. “breathing problems”. The foreign minContinued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rasheedi yesterday said her ministry was processing necessary measures for reducing the number of foreign workers in Kuwait by 100,000 annually. “The strategy envisages bringing down the total number of expatriate workers to only one million in 10 years,” Rasheedi said in a statement to KUNA. “It’s part of the ministry’s efforts to regulate the labor market, curb the phenomenon of marginal labor and restore the demographic equilibrium of the country,” she explained, adding the transfer of all kinds of visit visas into work Continued on Page 2

Thekra Al-Rasheedi

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LOCAL

Govt serious about solving loans problem

KUWAIT: Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali (centre) speaks with MP Safaa Al-Hashem and Minister of Planning and Development Rola Dashti during a parliament session at the Kuwait National Assembly yesterday. Parliament Speaker Ali Al-Rashed (center) and MP Safaa Al-Hashem (right) speak during the parliament session. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: Sensing the magnitude of settling once and for all the issue of loan defaulters, a Kuwaiti minister said yesterday that the cabinet convened until midnight last night discussing details of the issue.

In remarks during the discussion of the issue in the National Assembly yesterday, state minister for cabinet and municipal affairs Sheikh

Muhammad Abdullah Al-Sabah said the government was quite serious about coming to terms with the lawmakers over how to deal decisively with the sticky problem of loan defaulters.

He said the government showed its seriousness by attending the meetings of the National Assembly’s financial and economic committee,

which is tasked to deal with this issue. He sounded his reservation about the draft proposal for a law establishing a fund for the defaulters to be named The Family Fund, noting that the total cost for dealing with the loans issue was not clearly determined by the committee.

Moreover, he was of the opinion that there were conflicting viewpoints among the lawmak-

Ministry calls to link schools to polyclinics ‘Law must be applicable to all’ KUWAIT: Following the recent death of 11-year-old school student Noura AlDasam that reflected how underequipped were the clinics at schools and how an ambulance could not reach to rescue the girl in time, it became obligatory to find more effective ways to protect students’ lives, said well-informed sources in the domain of education.

The sources added that the Ministry of Education called for quickly executing a project that will link school clinics with respective areas’ polyclinics. Special files would be available for each student on the centers’ computer systems to enable the school’s nursing staff quick access in administering any health related care.

“A special committee is currently studying the project and will come up

with a report in the next few weeks,” added the sources noting that the Ministry of Health has expressed readiness to cooperate with the Ministry of Education in this regard.

Day after his resignation in the aftermath of the school girl’s death last week was rejected, the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Nayef AlHajraf, resumed contact with all educational officials and met with the undersecretaries’ council, urging them to enforce the law on everybody without showing any leniency.

In this regard, sources close to the minister stressed that warned all school administrations and teaching staff against violating the ministry’s directives on running schools and deal with the

students without resorting to any corporal punishment or violence.

“Law must be strictly enforced if anyone violated the norms, as only that will set an example for the others,” the sources quoted Al-Hajraf as saying. The sources added that the minister stressed the need to coordinate with officials in order to ensure success of the ministry’s strategy.

Moreover, other educational sources said that Ministry of Education intends to transfer the teacher of the deceased girl to another school once a full report along with the result of the investigations and details of the interrogation that the teacher underwent over the past few days, was submitted to the minister.

ers themselves as to how to approach resolving the issue. Echoing similar reservations was deputy prime minister and the minister of finance Mustafa Al-Shimali, who indicated that the total cost of the Fund would probably be between 3.5 to 4 billion dinars.

He counseled patience and gradual steps in studying the pros and cons of the Family Fund,

which he said details of which the cabinet was apprised of last night. He said the draft law for establishing the fund was a new move foisted on the government which required ample time to study. He however assured the loan defaulters that their problems in the end would be resolved permanently to everybody’s complete satisfaction. — KUNA

Drunk girl returned to family

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti woman reported to police that her 17-year-old daughter became pregnant outside of marriage following her involvement with a 20year-old Kuwaiti man. She told police that the girl was absent from the house for long periods, and when she later returned home she complained about pain in her stomach. A doctor later confirmed that the daughter is in the third month of her pregnancy.

The daughter told the mother that she regularly met the man in an apartment in Salmiya. Further, police report having brought the girl to her family after

finding her drunk. A case was filed.

A police sergeant from the VIP protection administration reported that this patrol car collided with an unknown person driving an American car. The officer said he was on duty at the time of the accident. He stated that he believed the collision was not an accident and that the driver of the other car fled the scene after the accident. A case was recorded in the police station at Al-Rawdha.

A corporal in the Coast Guard reported to police that a person he knows fired a gun at his Lexus automobile while it was parked in front of his house in the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Area. A case was filed.

Nisf seeking to restore Kuwait Airways’...

Continued from Page 1 When asked why the compensation from Iraq was reduced from $1 billion to $500 million, Nisf said the one-billion figure was what was demanded by Kuwait in court, “but there was a settlement after the political leadership agreed and accepted the $500 million”.

On reports that Kuwait Airways will not be able to pay salaries in April, he said this will never happen as the problem is technical and salaries will be paid without delay. On Kuwaiti women being restricted from becoming pilots, Nisf said there are no such restrictions and found it strange “why it was taking this long for women to get into this field”. When asked about the carrier’s large number of employees, he said the different types of planes require different crews to operate and service it. “We may need more employees if we expand,” he said. When asked about discounts given to senior

state employees, he said this will eventually create more revenues as they must fly the national carrier by law, adding that Kuwait Airways’ fares are no more or less than those in the market.

When asked why not get rid of the loss-making company and start a new and profitable one, Nisf said shutting the company is out of the question, unless it is sold for one dollar. “Other airlines did not sell out, rather they restructured and became profitable,” he said. On the KD 439 million losses on the balance sheet, Nisf said these are accumulated losses since 2004. He said when planes fly, they bring revenues, but when they remain in the hangar, they incur costs without bringing revenues and increase losses. He said new planes will save money.

“The first step to improve is to modernize the fleet and without this it is not possible to improve anything,” Nisf said. “We want something new that Kuwait will be proud of.”

Kuwait to cut expats by 100,000 annually Continued from Page 1 permits would be halted from April 1 while those already approved would go ahead. Rasheedi said that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has been linked online with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Kuwait Municipality and that the Kuwait Chamber of

Commerce has been tasked to define the legal job descriptions of businessmen. Moreover, Rasheedi said that hiring workers would be restricted to local ones only without bringing any more from abroad. She also stressed that a special inspection team had been formed to make sure employers are fully committed to private sector labor regulations. — KUNA

MPs pass debt relief law as govt abstains Continued from Page 1 less than 40 percent of their income provided repayment does not exceed 15 years. The legislation also allows people covered by the law to seek fresh loans from banks provided their income is capable of meeting credit rules and conditions that apply to normal people.

Shamali objected to the report of the financial and economic affairs committee because it opened the door to include new categories, thus increasing the cost to public funds.

“We need to have a technical solution the cost of which should be reasonable. After all this your money,” the minister said. Several MPs then strongly criticized the minister, accusing him of backing down from an agreement he reached with the committee last week and charging that the minister was trying to hinder the passage of the law.

Head of the financial committee MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah criticized Shamali for backing down, saying he is deliberately exaggerating the cost of the process. Zalzalah said the cost as supplied by the Central Bank will be KD 720 million for clients of conventional banks and KD 930 million if customers of Islamic banks are added.

He also insisted that the cost to public funds will be minimal and banks will lose KD 300 million in interest after the government pays in full the amount of loans to the banks.

Zalzalah said that some people don’t want this Assembly to continue and don’t wish to see this house make any

key achievement. “We went to His Highness the Amir and his instructions were clear to resolve this problem”.

MP Khaled Al-Adwah said the finance minister has always opposed any solution to the debt problem and is trying to obstruct the passage of the solution. He accused him of siding with banks and merchants. MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi said that during the period until 2008, banks illegally charged high interest rates and these funds must be returned to borrowers.

Islamist MP Ali Al-Omair questioned why debtors who took loans after 2008 are not covered. “Aren’t these people Kuwaitis too?’ asked Omair, who blasted the law as unfair.

Independent MP Salah Al-Atiqi said the law was basically politicallymotivated to meet election purposes.

“The issue started with some candidates making election promises. In fact, there is no real debt problem in Kuwait. No country in the world has ever written off loans or interest,” Atiqi said. “Waiving interests could lead to the collapse of the credit system and trigger a financial catastrophe.

Merchants and banks are the only ones to benefit from the law,” he said.

“The most dangerous aspect in the law is that it encourages people not to respect their financial commitments because there is always a state ready to bail them out,” Atiqi said.

MP Ashour said that banks must be made to return the illegal interest they had charged, claiming that the government has made deposits worth KD 17 billion at a nominal inter-

est rate of 0.5 percent while banks use these funds to lend to people at an interest rate ranging from 4 to 15 percent. MP Saadoun Hammad however made a different proposal. “Since we have 5,000 petrol stations in Europe and all of them sell liquor, I propose to use proceeds from selling liquor to fund the proposed solution,” he said sarcastically.

Speaker Ali Al-Rashed, who strongly opposed any debt relief scheme in previous assemblies, called for passing the law. “Kuwait helps friendly countries with billions of dinars, why can’t it help its people with KD 900 million” he said. “The issue is not only technical but also political. There are some quarters who don’t want this Assembly to continue. We should give our people something,” said Rashed.

MPs have also proposed that every Kuwaiti who does not benefit from the debt relief scheme should be given a grant of KD 1,000 ($3,500). Native Kuwaitis number 1.2 million. The government had rejected a similar bill passed overwhelmingly by parliament in Jan 2010. At that time, the size of debt stood at around $21.6 billion and the interest at $5.2 billion.

The change in government position came amid a bitter political dispute in the state and after the election of a pro-government parliament in a December poll boycotted by the opposition, which has staged several street protests. OPEC member Kuwait holds assets estimated at $400 billion, mostly invested abroad, amassed during the past 13 years on the back of high oil prices.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LOCAL

No govt decision yet on changing school timing Traffic problems continue

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Traffic in Kuwait is a nightmare for the drivers, and with time the situation has become even worse. All solutions suggested in the past made no radical improvement in ending the traffic jams which become even worse during peak hours in the morning and afternoon, particularly when the school hours begin or end.

Also, the traffic is worse during the hours when ministries’ offices open or close.

As maximum traffic is because of the schools, the Ministry of Education made a proposal during a meeting with the Ministry of Interior about shifting the school opening and closing timings in respect of students of all ages.

Unfortunately, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior refused to comment on the meeting with the Ministry of Education officials that took place two days ago. It was also not possible to reach any official from the Ministry of Education to provide us with details of the meeting and the procedure that will be followed in order to reduce the traffic jams.

The parents complain about the daily traffic during the school year. “I think if the timing of schools were changed, it will lead to some

relief on the road. I suggest that the schools start at 8:30 am, instead of 7:30 am, and close an hour later at 2:30 pm, instead of 1:30pm. It will help a lot,” Manal, a 46-year-old, told the Kuwait Times.

She also made another suggestion in this regard. “In my opinion, if all students started using group transportation (buses), the number of vehicles on the road will decrease. In fact, my children do not go by bus because it takes longer. My daughters finish school at 1:30 pm but the bus delivers the last of the students at 2:30 pm even though they live in the same area. In summer, it is very hard for the students to stay inside the bus for that long. If there were more buses and these would not take more than 30 minutes, I would allow them to go by bus,” Manal further said.

On his part, Yunis, a father of three children, also complained about the traffic becoming more congested every year. “I believe that if the timings of schools were changed, the traffic will ease. I think that the schools start very early anyway. I do not understand why they must start that early. Of course, I welcome the idea of changing schools’ timings. They should open at 10 am and can close at 3:00 pm or even 4:00 pm. Life would be much more comfortable then,” he pointed out.

Abu Omar, a father of five children, is not convinced about such an idea. “I do not think that by changing the timings of schools, the traffic problem will be solved. It is about going together at the same time and not at what time. It may be 7:30 am or 9:00 am. I am an employee and my work starts at 8:00 am, so drop my children on the way, but if they were to go to school later, then I would not be able to take them along. This solution can only make a difference for those children whose mothers, who are housewives, drop them to school,” he explained.

Hasan, a 49-year-old teacher, said he was comfortable with his current working timings and would not like it to be shifted. “Since a long time, we have been hearing about this suggestion about changing the timings when employees and students have to leave home, but the employees rejected the suggestion since it will be difficult for them to first go home from work and then go and pick up their children from school. In my opinion, the traffic issue can be resolved by checking the chaos that drivers create and improving the traffic sense. These are the main reasons for the congestion on the road. It is more of a behavioral problem than one of timing,” he stated.

Anomalies in tendering process KUWAIT: The fire exercise in progress in the UN building in the embassy area at Mishref.

Fire exercise at Mishref

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The fire department, in cooperation with the UN office’s Kuwait branch, carried out a mock drill to deal with fire in the UN building in the embassy area at Mishref.

The drill included ways to fight any fire and how to carry out rescue operations. It also involved practice about evacuating the building. The drill was aimed at providing the firemen an opportunity to practice what they have been trained for in case of a fire exigency in a big building. Firemen also learnt about safety and security issues in case of partial and total evacuation.

The drill began with a report about a fire

received at 10:00 am. The first group of firefighters arrived within two and a half minutes only. Mishref center firemen evacuated everyone in the building and provided first aid to the injured. Escape ladders were used in the evacuation and people were shifted to a safe place outside the building where a headcount was carried out to ensure no one was left back in the building that was on fire.

The drill was supervised by Mishref fire center chief Ali Al-Abdul Razzaq and led by Lt. Colonel Abbas Shamsan, Mohammad Haider and Lt. Saud Al-Naji from public relations and security councilor Al-Abbood from UN office, besides Fahad Al-Shilimi.

Kuwait-Slovakia ties need more development KUWAIT: Member of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Osama Al-Nisf said yesterday that bilateral relations between Kuwait and Slovakia are ancient and needs to be developed in the economic and commercial fields.

Al-Nisf said on the sidelines of a meeting with a trade delegation from Slovakia that Slovakia has great investment opportunities, especially due to its geographical location in the heart of Europe where Kuwaiti businessmen can benefit from it, adding that Slovakia owns sophisticated economic sectors like tourism industry and others.

He said that the Slovak delegation offered many opportunities and investments in various sectors, including industry, auto parts, technology and others through Slovak companies’ representatives accompanying the delegation.

He pointed out that the Slovak delegation also included representatives from government agencies such as the Ministries of Trade, Finance and Economy to discuss with their Kuwaiti counterparts ways to develop relations in all fields, especially that Slovak-Kuwaiti relations are “historic and ancient.” —KUNA

KKAMCM role hailed KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Ahmad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah praised yesterday the role played by Kuwaiti Kinsfolk Association of Martyrs, Captive and Missing (KKAMCM) in preserving the memories of Kuwait’s martyrs who sacrificed themselves in defending their homeland.

Sheikh Ahmad made the remarks on behalf of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah, who patronized a ceremony hosted by KKAMCM for the second consecutive year.

Sheikh Ahmad expressed, in a statement to KUNA, his appreciation for constant efforts exerted by the association and support to martyrs’ families.

The minister called on the families to cherish and be inspired by their fathers’ legacy and continue to serve their country the best way possible. For his part, KKAMCM’s Chief Fayez Al-Enezi said that the association joined in 2008 the Arab Veterans Union, one of the main official entities of the Arab League. —KUNA

New security system KUWAIT: Informed sources at the Ministry of Oil said the ministry has allocated KD 18 million to build a security system for all oil establishments of the KOC. Sources explained that the ministry seeks to head off environmental catastrophes resulting from oil and gas leaks, therefore, the ministry has presented to the council of ministers a plan to protect oil producing regions.

Sources added that the ministry has allocated KD 42 million for the construction of fuel lines from Ahmadi port to Al Zur and Shuaiba power stations, along with KD 25 million for the construction of utilities at Khabji field. The ministry has also set aside KD 32 million to build one of the largest liquid gas filling factories in the area and has allocated KD 12 million to develop early warning and fire fighting systems in oil outlets.

KUWAIT: MP Ahmad Al-Muklfi warned of a scandal in the Ministry of Public Works regarding the tender prices and said he put up a question in the parliament based on information he received.

In a press release, he said, “I asked a question two days ago regarding Mubarak Tower, particularly because the estimated cost allocated for it was KD 7 billion, and compared that with Khalifa Tower in Dubai.”

Al-Mulaifi said that he received an official answer from the Ministry of Public Works in which the government stated that there was some inefficiency or lack of experience in this case.

“My question was about evaluating the new furniture of the NA council as the Ministry of Public Work estimated the cost of furniture at KD 10 million, though the cost of the entire building was KD 30 million. In general, the council objected to this figure and put a limit at KD 2.099 mil-

lion,” he said.

Al-Mulaifi said, “I asked a question to the Minister of Public Works about the difference but the disastrous answer I received proved our doubts and people’s doubts about exaggeration in projects’ cost and wastage of public funds. The answer was incomplete and mentioned that the minister has formed a committee that was neutral since it had members from outside the ministry who will study the process of tendering, supply and import besides maintenance of the furniture.”

It was found that KD 10 million was not the true figure and the real tender did not exceed KD 2.099 million. “I was not given the committee’s report and I hold the minister responsible for that,” he said.

Al-Mulaifi called that those behind these anomalies in the tendering process, including the junior most staff member to the undersecretary of the ministry, be punished.

KUWAIT: Sri Lankan Ambassador C A H M Wijeratne paid a courtesy call recently to Thekra Al-Rasheedi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs at the minister’s office. They discussed the issues of promoting labour cooperation between Sri Lanka and Kuwait, particularly, implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on labour recruitment and welfare signed in May 2012.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LOCAL

the column

In my view

All quiet on the Northern Front!

Kuwait tax and expats

By Fouad Al-Obaid

By Labeed Abdal

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter:@fouadalobaid

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labeed@kuwaittimes.net

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he minister of finance has assured that the government had no intention to impose taxes on the income and remittances of expatriates.

He also stressed that the reports published in newspapers in this regard were incorrect as any matter related to taxes must pass through Ministry of Finance for approval. This was an important move by the minister in favour of all the expats in this country. Thousands of expats, including professionals, were attracted to this regional tax free haven. They have added to the Kuwaiti work force and the country’s tax free system gave them a good chance to earn more.

Whether or not these news reports were correct, any move to tax the citizens or expats must be transparent and based on parity.

Moreover, in principle, this financial burden, if imposed, must be seen as a payment exacted through legislative means.

Taxes are not donations, but legally enforceable contribution that governments impose as tolls or levies because they need formal sources of revenue to build the country’s infrastructure, protect our public health, run education system and means of communication, transport, housing etc.

Unquestionably, there is a big obligation upon the government to provide sundry services to all citizens and foreign residents to their satisfaction.

If the government did not have such a source of revenue, then it would not be able to provide such services. In that case, concepts like justice, fairness and public comfort will only remain an illusion.

kuwait digest

Unprecedented challenges

By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa

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eaction in Kuwait in the wake of regretful incidents along the country’s northern border was rather sharp. Hundreds-strong crowds of Iraqis destroyed and removed the border pipes stretching between marks 105 and 106 with the help of Iraqi police who fired towards Kuwaiti side of the border where a UN team and Iraq’s border men were working. Kuwaiti MPs vent their rage against the Kuwait government without finding out what had actually happened.

The media in Kuwait made things worse by hyperventilating on the incidents and putting out reports that were marked by overexcitement. The Reuters news agency quoted the Iraqi police as saying that they fired into the air on Monday to disperse the crowds throwing stones at them in protest against border demarcation.

Some people on the Kuwaiti side thought they were under fire.

Once things became clear, MPs and Kuwaiti newspapers saw politicians launching all out attacks against the Kuwait and Iraq governments without taking into consideration that border disputes and such transient incidents were normal in all countries and should be dealt in a diplomatic fashion away from the excitement seen in the national assemblies in Kuwait and Iraq as well as the media hype in the two countries.

Kuwait and Iraq have certain elected MPs who are more interested in inciting the street and gaining popular support at the expense of the two countries’ supreme interests. These elements receive all the help from the hyper nationalistic media in the two countries. The problem, which is unknown to the private media in both countries and the elected politicians, is that it is not in the interest of the two people to let anything become a cause for strife, non-cooperation and differences. Kuwait and Iraq can very well do without anyone creating more problems.

What the politicians in the National Assembly and those writing in the media do not understand is that Kuwait and Iraq have gone a long way to ensure cooperation between them and all bilateral

issues between them are being addressed, including the latest about Kuwait and Iraq Airways. HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki played a role in removing all obstacles in the way of the two countries becoming closer. Politicians and Kuwait’s public opinion makers should be aware that Iraq today is free and not controlled by a nerd like Saddam Hussein. It is not a country that can impose any single view by a tyrant leader. Iraq today has parties which compete for leadership, and some of them are nationalist in their ideology while there are others whose outlook is religious or separatist.

Iraq’s prime minister needs at times to appease all these parties and co-exist with them because he has to ensure that laws regarding domestic and international issues are passed. We should, in fact, thank Iraq’s leadership for attempting to find solutions that are satisfactory for both Kuwait and Iraq.

HH the Amir was right when he said in the presence of the Kuwaiti diplomats, “We face unprecedented regional and international challenges.” The situation in the Arab region was a tinderbox, and no one knows when things will settle down in the Arab world.

Egypt and Tunis are experiencing troubles, demonstrations and protests. Egypt, the largest Arab country, is going through chaos and instability due to the differences between the religious Muslim Brotherhood and the civil National Salvation Front.

Syria is witnessing a civil war which is affecting the entire region with no solution visible on the horizon so far.

In Iraq, Al-Anbar province is going through a civil disobedience, and at the same time, differences between Iraqi politicians are still so sharp that it is difficult to find a settlement acceptable to all parties to achieve unity, stability and prosperity for the entire Iraqi people. Finally the National Assembly members and the media should work to bring the Iraqi and Kuwaiti people closer, because it is in both, Iraq’s and Kuwait’s, interests to consolidate relations so that the two countries enjoy security and stability. — Al-Watan

kuwait digest

A new idea worth trying

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

S

ome lawmakers pitched recently the idea of establishing elected municipality councils in each governorate. This is a positive move, and it is actually not the first time that such a proposal would be discussed in Kuwait. Back in the 1970s, a number of Salmiya residents had some sort of a ‘council’ for their neighborhood, and launched serious efforts to turn it into a municipal council. The move received strong support.

In fact, there were strong indications that the late Amir HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was very enthusiastic about the idea, which, of course, never materialized because it was nipped in the bud by those who loved centralization of power and felt threatened by people trying to impose their will.

I have a feeling that this idea is never going to materialize into a draft law, and that people promoting it are going to face fierce opposition from those who

It will be hard to convince some skeptics, especially those whose interests are involved and who are against the idea of people taking control of the municipality affairs.

However, testing the idea in a few areas could perhaps encourage us. stand to benefit from the centralized system - whether in the government, parliament or anywhere else.

Ending this centralization of authority would end the influence of many people, while empowering the people. The people will then be able to expose the shallowness and uselessness of many institutions and individuals. It will be hard to convince some skeptics, especially those whose interests are involved and who are against the idea of people taking control of the municipality affairs. However, testing the idea in a few areas could perhaps encourage us.

For example, public cleaning and maintenance tasks can be handled by the area’s co-op society or a council elected by the area’s residents. This would open new job opportunities for Kuwaitis required to operate machines and electrical appliances needed for the new services. Furthermore, it would allow areas to compete with each other to prove themselves as better and being reflective of an honestly nationalist desire. The general budget of the Kuwait Municipality can be distributed among the respective councils in accordance with the population in their areas. Let us try one thing just assign an elected council or even an elected co-op board to handle the parks in their respective area. Let citizens bear the responsibility so that residents of the same neighborhood learn how to address the challenges that come with it. Maybe then people would understand that management comes with responsibilities, and requires sacrifices before it becomes about privileges and gains.—Al-Qabas

he geopolitical reality of a belligerent northern neighbor has unfortunately been affirmed yet again with what appears to be a recurring incident base, of disgruntled Iraqis, preventing the establishment of a clearly demarcated border area that has a buffer zone. The tragedy is that the border is one of the main issues of contention with our northern neighbor and despite it being set and officially demarcated. Some parties nevertheless, in Iraq, still want to leave issues unresolved. In their psyche, they still want to leave the idea that Kuwait is an integral part of Iraq floating! Delirious is what they would be should they continue to let such fantasies live.

The issues faced by Kuwait Airways today that partially explain why Kuwait has not benefited from the aviation hub business that other neighbors to the south have pursued successfully emanates from an ongoing structural issue coupled with a devastating blow to its financial position with the blatant theft of its planes and spare parts. The settlement issue that tragically was agreed upon by Kuwait is less than half of the value of the prejudice incurred - $1.2 billion not taking into consideration inflation, interest, and damages-, to add injury to insult, the idea that only $300 million would be paid directly, a remaining $200 would be invested in a jointairline is ludicrous! Even though the idea has been floating that Iraq would decide to pay the full $500 million, it is still $700 million short, without any compensation for prejudice, and interest accumulated. Ironically, Kuwait looks like it will be forced to pay $2.5 billion for a breech of contact in the K-Dow deal arbitration deal! While the case against Iraq brought forth by Kuwait Airways spanned the better part of two decades in British courts.

The hearts and minds of Kuwaitis and Iraqis alike both of whom suffered by the rule of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein - have yet to amend social ties and to reduce the burden brought by atrocities committed during the invasion and the ‘highway’ robbery of Kuwait and its goods, and lastely - certainly not least - the deliberate burning of our oil fields. All these issue makes it hard for Kuwaitis to truly forgive Iraq. I personally don’t see how it would be possible lest generation come to pass with cordial relations built on a mutual vision for brotherly relations to start forgiving, but forgetting would be hard to envision.

As a step towards such a future strategically, Kuwait is one of two internationally sanctioned neighboring countries that are stable enough to launch projects in Iraq; helping Iraq move past its past trouble into potential economic regeneration. The question of Port Mubarak located in Bobuyian Island has created much commotion with different ministerial meetings brining both Iraq and Kuwaiti delegation to discuss the impact of the project.

The fear by local Iraqi located near the Gulf is that the fact that Kuwait has started work on the port will render obsolete Iraq’s own Al-Faw Port that ironically is planned to be located exactly in front of Mubarak port with a negligible maritime distance between them. Though usually two would be better than one, having two ports so close would create a operational nightmare, and would be counter productive.

Perhaps as a move of good faith Iraq could get a certain percentage of products through the Mubarak port without having to pay a duty charge. In exchange Iraq would consider maintaining stable relations allowing Kuwaiti companies preferred investment opportunities all the long starting to create joint-companies to carryout projects that would see Iraq grow out of its cycle of chaos and become a viable counter in the Northern Gulf.

(An attitude of forgive - maybe - but certainly I don’t see people forgetting the atrocities of a neighboring country sending tanks rolling during a fateful summer month two decades ago.)

kuwait digest

Kuwait among the top!

By Dr Hassan Abbas

W

e want Kuwait to become an advanced country. We want it to become a global commercial hub. We want it this, we want it that. Too bad nothing can be achieved by hoping. We can hope for a thousand years for a better future, but things will remain the way they are as long as we remain the same.

But hey, there are world lists in which Kuwait is ranked among the top.

For example, Kuwait has the third largest rate of diabetes in the world (Dr. Waleed Al-Dhahi - Al-Kuwaitiya Daily March 3). Kuwait ranks 54th in the world’s transparency index (Alam Al-Youm), and compared to its sister Gulf states, it comes the last in transparency and the first in corruption (Al-Qabas). In education, Kuwait has the third largest spending rate but ranks 80th worldwide in academic achievement (Al-Mu’allem Magazine). In engineering, Kuwait ranks among the top in the ratio of engineers to the population, aided by 6422 forged engineering degrees (Kuwait University’s College of Engineering and Petroleum Instructor Dr. Khalid Mahdi - Al-Rai). Most recently, a CNN report ranked Kuwait as the fourth most unfriendly nation worldwide towards tourists. Kuwait also has the world’s highest water consumption rate.

We want to move forward, but that will continue to be a dream as long as we do not take any step forward. We will not improve as long as we continue doing the same things, thinking the same way, putting the same people in the driver’s seat and following the same policies.

How can we expect change to happen when we continue doing the same things that we have been doing for decades? Change requires rebellion against oneself. It requires starting a different movement and replacing existing things. It needs replacing long-lasting officials with young people, the outdated with the futuristic, the chaos with order, the obsolete teaching mechanisms with technology, wasta (unlawful mediation) with justice and equality, and the rentier state with privatization.

Change requires hard work, determination and a will to face the challenges. Unless we do that, we ought to stop raising all these slogans about change and ‘turning Kuwait into a financial and commercial hub’. — Al-Rai

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LOCAL

Cabinet conflicted on debt relief before vote Cost could reach up to KD 4 billion KUWAIT: While the parliament passed the debt relief draft law in its first hearing yesterday, the step did not come without controversy as conflicting opinions were expressed about certain provisions of the scheme during a meeting of the cabinet on the preceding night. Notwithstanding the fact that the debt relief measure was approved during a meeting with the parliament’s financial and economic committee last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali criticized the high cost of the scheme during yesterday’s session, which he said could reach up to KD 3.5 billion or even KD 4 billion.

According to sources quoted by AlQabas yesterday, Al-Shamali had maintained his position during the cabinet’s weekly meeting which called for “assuring justice and equality while making sure that the constitution is not violated by pursuing populist demands made at the expense of public funds.”

The scheme calls for the government to purchase loans taken by citizens from Islamic and conventional

banks between Jan 1, 2002 and March 30, 2008, estimated by some MPs at around KD 1 billion. Then, the government will waive off all interest on the loans and reschedule their repayment in easy installments, provided that an installment must not exceed 40 percent of the debtors’ monthly income.

Central Bank Governor Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel attended the cabinet’s meeting which reportedly went on into the night as per orders of Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMuabrak Al-Sabah. “[Dr. Al-Hashel] reiterated the technical opinion which was opposed to waiving off the loans’ interests due to the high cost involved, and instead supported the insolvency fund - a state fund set up four years ago to help defaulters pay their dues - as the best solution to resolve the problem,” said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry labeled the solution in a statement Monday as “not an apposite remedial measure for a nonexistent problem,” adding that the debt

relief was being proposed “for purely political reasons because only 1.8 percent of loans in Kuwait can be described as non-performing loans (NPL).”

It further warned about the “dangerous efforts to win popularity at the expense of justice, development and public funds,” and pointed towards the repercussions of the draft law which may result in “encouraging waste and leading to over consumption.”

Meanwhile, the stipulation allowing people who took loans from Islamic banks to benefit from the debt relief raised questions about the mechanism by which this was going to be fulfilled, given the fact that these banks do not charge any interests on loans. “Conventional bank gives loans as per a fixed interest rate, making it easy for the interests to be bought through the proposed scheme,” said banking insiders who spoke to Al-Jarida on the condition of anonymity. “On the other hand, an Islamic bank gives its client a model based on the ‘Murabaha’ concept.”

KUWAIT: Prominent members of Pakistani community visited Kuwait Times yesterday and discussed matters of mutual concern with Editor-in-Chief Abd AlRahman Alyan.

‘Horeca Kuwait boosts tourism’ KUWAIT: Horeca Kuwait plays a significant role in boosting tourism and economy as it brings together leading companies in hospitality and catering under one roof, said a number of participating firms in statements yesterday.

The 2013 Horeca Kuwait is being organized by the Leaders Group for Consultations and Training in cooperation with the Hospitality Services.

More than 40 companies and exclusive suppliers of top brands and products in the fields of hospitality, cater-

ing and hotel equipment are participating in the event. “Taking part in this event is very important to our plans to continue focusing on food safety,” regional director of Boecker Nisreen Sufair said.

Meanwhile, Marketing and Sales Manager of Mabrouk Co., Abdulridha Farahat, said that a special team from Italy was brought to display the company’s “smart kitchen” products in the exhibition. Farmland CEO Antoine Obaid spoke about “the great opportunity that the event provides to showcase our exclusive products to top companies and senior chefs in attendance.”

Representatives of Middle East Airways, Al-Zad Group, Diet Care, AlNabeel Food Industries, and Al-Rifa’ie also commended the exhibition which will conclude today with a ceremony to award winners of cooking competitions held throughout the three-day event.

Kuwait urges UN members to approve arms treaty UNITED NATIONS: The State of Kuwait, representing Arab Group to the Final Conference on Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), urged UN member states Monday to approve an arms treaty, which should not be used to interfere in countries’ internal affairs.

“The major objective of this conference is to have a treaty that organizes trade of conventional weapons and ban illicit arms trade, eliminate them and restrict smuggling because these weapons cause catastrophic consequences on lives of millions of people,” Kuwait’s Ambassador to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi told the 10-day conference.

Conferees should concentrate “on achieving concrete and clear objectives ... to make sure progress is achieved in that domain,” he said.

The Arab Group believes conferees should concentrate on goals that restrict abuse of the treaty, he said.

Al-Otaibi emphasized that the Arab group would not accept any legal text that fails to ensure the states’ rights to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity, or turns the possible treaty into an excuse for interference in other countries’ internal affairs.

He hoped that some concepts like human rights and economic development could not be used as a pretext for some countries to poke their nose into others’ internal affairs.

Al-Otaibi stressed the significance of the global characteristic of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), calling on major weapons manufacturers, exporters and importers to approve the treaty.

He voiced the Arab group’s disappointment at the failure of UN members to reach agreement on a final communique of the conference on the ATT in July 2012.

He regretted that the draft treaty was lacking in necessary criteria for ensuring a balanced and globally acceptable con-

vention.

In this context, the Kuwaiti diplomat urged the presidency of the conference to attach enough attention to negotiations and consultations with all delegations in full transparency and to take all suggestions into account in order to reach a treaty that reflects the concerns and positions of all parties in a balanced manner.

He also emphasized that ongoing efforts to adopt the treaty should not mean forgetting the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which was adopted in 1978.

The treaty should fully and clearly match the goals and principles of the UN Charter, including the states’ right to selfdefense, production, exporting and importing of conventional weapons, respect of the States’ sovereignty, territorial integrity and the self-determination of the people who are under foreign occupation and non-occupation of other countries just as Israel is doing in Arab lands, including occupied Palestinian territories, non-use of armed force against civilians, and the State’s sovereign right to control weapon transfer operations at home, he said.

Al-Otaibi reiterated the Arab group’s commitment to effective involvement in the conference in order to help in the fulfillment of the expectations and hopes of Arab and world peoples for a balanced and global treaty.

On efforts to delay Palestine’s full participation in the conference, the Kuwaiti diplomat said: “The Arab group shows much dismay at some parties’ insistence on delaying this participation. Such parties are now repeating what they did last July, using the same pretexts to thwart this involvement, which is unjustifiably and unfairly linked to the success of the conference.”

Such pretexts contradict the new legal status of the State of Palestine following the UN General Assembly resolution in November upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations, he said.

Attempts to circumvent Palestine’s new legal status run counter to the UN General Assembly resolution which states that the conference should be held in line with internal statutes adopted last July, which allows even non-UN members to take part in the event, he lamented.

However, Al-Otaibi said the Arab group welcomed the effort by the conference chairman to reach consensus on participation as an exceptional procedure that should be avoided in similar conferences.— KUNA

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LOCAL Wataniya Telecom sponsors Arabian Horse Festival KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom has recently contributed in supporting and sponsoring the 2nd Kuwait International Arabian Horse Festival which was held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah. The event took place at Bait AlArab - the Kuwait State Official Stud Farm — and lasted for four days starting from March 13 to 16.

The goal of this festival is to shed light on the Arabian horses and highlight their prestigious position in the Arabian culture locally, regionally and internationally. A number of the well-known celebrities attended the festival from various countries. They were delighted to witness the success of the festival especially since this event is equivalent to major international championships in terms of organization and the large number of participating horses amounting to 422.

This successful event had gathered a huge amount of attendees from various nationalities including foreigners and Arabs from all over GCC countries- who filled the stands of “Bait Al Arab” throughout the festival days. The attendees were pleased that such an event was organized

as it highlighted the importance of the Arab Identity and National Heritage especially since horses formulate a big part of them; on the other hand, these events gave the foreigners the chance to enrich their knowledge about the Arabian culture. Wataniya’s sponsorship comes in line with its social responsibility agenda which aims to have an active role in social activities in particular the ones attached to the deeprooted Arabian heritage. It’s worth mentioning that Wataniya Telecom has been recently playing a great role in sponsoring various festivals inside and outside Kuwait to show their loyalty and belonging to this beloved homeland.

On this occasion, Fatemah Dashti - Public Relations Manager at Wataniya Telecom- had declared: “Wataniya Telecom’s participation in this event stems from its social responsibility to share and support various sporting activities and particularly those related to the authentic Arabian heritage.” In addition to their sponsorship the festival, Wataniya Telecom had presented a car as a prize designated to the leading farm category which went to Alaa Al-Roumi — Al Rayyah Stud owner.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team managed yesterday to remove debris of a wooden ship which sank one kilometer off the coast near the Doha Port.

Two drug traders in Jahra police custody Man killed in accident

Kuwaiti diplomat lauds commercial ties with China GUANGZHOU, China: Kuwaiti Acting Consul General in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou Dhaif Al-Shammiri lauded the ever growing economic and commercial relations between the State of Kuwait and China, as the renowned Canton Fair opens its doors to international exhibitors next month.

The diplomat gave a special heed to the economic cooperation with Guangdong Province where imports and exports have reached $185.1 billion, a rise of 7.6 percent in 2012.

Al-Shammiri praised the Canton Fair,

also known as China Import and Export Fair, which will be held from April 15 to May 5. The fair will provide the best platform for overseas buyers and businesses owners.

Meanwhile, the second secretary at the General Consulate Hani Al-Hammad pointed out that businessmen and Kuwait tourists who are staying in Guangzhou and who would like to visit special administrative regions such as Hong Kong and Macau to get a double-entry or multipleentry Chinese visa to ensure smooth traveling within the country. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Two drug traders were arrested in Jahra when they fell in a police trap while in an inebriated state. The two were lured to a location in the area’s industrial zone where they agreed to meet an undercover informant who called them earlier to buy drugs.

They were caught for being in possession of heroin, hashish, shabo (meth) and drug paraphernalia. Both were identified as Kuwaitis, with one man in his twenties and the other in his thirties. Police also found out that one of the suspects was wanted in an earlier case involving the death of an addict due to drug overdose whose body was found outside a local hospital. The two were taken to the proper authorities to face charges.

Gamblers deported Officers at the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police station decided to deport two men who were arrested when they fought while they were gambling and were also under the influence of alcohol. Police broke into an apartment after neighbours called to report about these quarrelling men, and detained the two Asians. After investigations confirmed that the two were gambling and drinking homebrewed liquor, they were referred to the Deportation Department.

Failed suicide A woman was hospitalized after falling unconscious in Farwaniya, an incident that

was later found to be one of potential suicide. An ambulance rushed the Jordanian woman to the Farwaniya Hospital after her sister reported that she had collapsed all of a sudden. Medical tests revealed that she had consumed a large amount of medications, leading officers to file a suicide case which will remain open for investigations.

(Rai) Attempted kidnap Investigations are on in search of a male suspect accused of planning to kidnap two teenagers in Saad Al-Abdullah. According to the police report, the suspect had offered the two brothers KD60 and then raised it to KD100, to entice them into accompanying him to a remote location. The two ran away to their house and bolted the front door, but the suspect stood outside for a while before returning to his own home nearby. The case was filed shortly afterwards at the area’s police station by the brothers’ father.

Teacher charged A school teacher faces charges after a parent of one of his students accused him of physically assaulting her son, and that too severely. Maidan Hawally police station officers filed a case an Egyptian woman, armed with a medical examination report diagnosing her eight-year-old son with a perforated eardrum, lodged a complaint. She gave the

identity of her son’s Syrian teacher whom she accused of assault that led to her child’s injury. Investigations are ongoing.

Road accident A male driver was killed and another was injured in an accident reported recently at the King Abdul-Aziz Highway. Paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after the accident was reported, and pronounced the 30year-old Kuwaiti man dead after examining him. They rushed the other driver to the Adan Hospital for treatment. The deceased’s body was taken to the forensic department after detectives investigated the scene.

Investigations are on to determine the circumstances behind the accident.

Murder threat Search is on for a man who faces attempted murder charges after shooting at his friend’s car over a financial dispute. Police headed to a location in Al-Adan and examined the car which had its exterior damaged by gun shots. The Kuwaiti car owner showed the police a text message sent by his friend that read, “This time it was the car, but next time it will be you.” He said the two had been feuding ever since they quarreled over money a week before. Investigations were underway to trace the suspect whose phone was responding as switched off when police tried to contact him.

Kuwait lashes out at Israeli violations against Palestinians GENEVA: Kuwait yesterday condemned in the strongest terms before the Human Rights Council the grave violations practiced by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians and their property and the inability of the international community to stop it.

Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations ambassador Dirar Razouqi said in his speech to the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved if Israel continues these violations against the Palestinian people.

The ambassador praised the efforts of the fact-finding committee of the Council about the negative effects resulting from the Israeli settlements and the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on violations exercised against the Palestinians by Israeli forces.

At the same time, the ambassador confirmed to the Council that all those reports confirmed what is fixed and known and substantiated by other reports, but the next step is completely absent from the Council’s decisions, therefore, Israel can not and will not respect the human rights of the Palestinians and UN resolutions.

He attributed his expectation due to Israel being safe from any punishment as the UN only uses condemnation which has become irrelevant with the recurrence of violations and increasing their rates abnormally.

The ambassador cited a documentary video tape showing Israeli security experts confirming intention of the government of Tel Aviv not to seek peace and the absence of a clear vision in this regard, but assisted by settlement experts in defiance of international criticism. — KUNA

Gulf Bank hosts Job Shadow Program KUWAIT: Gulf Bank recently hosted a Job Shadow day as part of INJAZ Kuwait’s Program. During comprehensive sessions held, 14 students from British School of Kuwait (BSK) received presentations from Gulf Bank personnel about the banking industry and the skills required to succeed in a modern office environment.

The day included visits to three different Gulf Bank branches. The students first visited the Head Office, where they met with the Bank’s Learning and Development Team for a brief introduction about job functions at the Bank. Each student received a booklet about Gulf Bank’s history, vision, promises, and core values to help them better understand how the Bank operates.

Following this initial session, students divided into two groups to visit the Bank’s Dahiyat Abdullah Al Salem and Nuzha branches, to see firsthand how the Bank interacts with its customers and delivers its services.

At the end of the sessions, the students met with the General Manager of Human Resources, Ms. Salma Al Hajjaj, who provided them with some advice and guidance that might help them develop their problem-solving skills and overcome the challenges in different working areas, especially in the banking sector, with the view to encourage them in the future to join Gulf Bank which provides suitable job opportunities for young talents. Moreover, each student was rewarded for completing the session, and a fun competition was held where Students were given the opportunity to answer questions about what they learned and a prize was given to the winner.

Gulf Bank’s partnership with INJAZ Kuwait on the Job Shadowing

program is based on the Bank’s 2013 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, which is focused on the two critical areas of youth and education.

The Job Shadowing program gives the Bank an opportunity to present itself to Kuwait’s future business leaders, increasing their understanding of

the banking industry and demonstrating the importance of operating as a team. Gulf Bank looks forward to a building a prosperous future for Kuwait’s next generation and by joining forces with INJAZ Kuwait the Bank is confident of achieving great results.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Colorado governor to sign gun controls

Wave of Iraq blasts kill 56, decade after invasion Page 8

Page 12

VATICAN: Pope Francis reacts during his inauguration mass yesterday at the Vatican. Pope Francis swept into St Peter’s Square yesterday to greet throngs of pilgrims before a sumptuous ceremony in which Latin America’s first pontiff will receive the formal symbols of papal power. — AFP

Pope sets tone for humbler papacy Ceremony simplified, shortened to match Francis’ style VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis set the tone for a new, humbler papacy at his inaugural Mass yesterday where he called for the Church to defend the weak and protect the environment.

Addressing up to 200,000 people including many foreign leaders gathered under bright sunshine in St. Peter’s Square, the Argentine pope underlined his central message since he was elected by a secret conclave of cardinals last Wednesday - that the Church’s mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged.

The Mass, formally installing Francis as head of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, was much simpler and an hour shorter than the baroque splendour of his predecessor Benedict’s inauguration in 2005.

Although he is as conservative doctrinely as Benedict , Francis’s simpler style and emphasis on the poor marked a sea change from his predecessor that has been widely welcomed by Catholics.

The first Jesuit pope inherits a Church mired in scandals over priests’ sexual abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging corruption and rivalry between cardinals inside the Church government or Curia.

He has also been accused by some critics in Argentina of not doing enough to oppose human rights abuses under a military government during the 19761983 “dirty war” when some 30,000 leftists were kidnapped and killed. The Vatican has denied the accusations.

In his homily, delivered on the steps of the giant St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis said the Church’s mission “means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

“It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we

think about.” The message chimed with the teachings of the 13th century St. Francis of Assisi, from whom the pope took his name and who is a symbol of poverty, simplicity, charity and love of nature. Francis said that whenever human beings failed to care for the environment and each other, “The way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically in every period of history there are ‘Herods’ who plot death, wreak havoc and mar the countenance of men and women.”

Before the Mass, the pope toured St. Peter’s Square in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof popemobile often used by Benedict.

He stopped frequently to greet those in the huge, flag-waving crowd, kissing babies and getting out to bless a disabled man. “He is a simple, humble person, he is not like the untouchable popes, he seems like someone normal people can reach out to,” said Argentine electrician Cirigliano Valetin, 51, who works in southern Italy.

Argentinian Cardinal Leonardo Sandri told Reuters: “For me this is a call to humility and service to others that will mark his papacy... This is a new breeze of fresh air that is blowing through the Church and the name of that breeze is Francis.”

Six sovereigns, US Vice President Joe Biden, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, other leaders as well as heads of many other faiths were among the 130 delegations. They included Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Russian Orthodox and Anglican leaders.

Francis called for world leaders to be “protectors of one another and of the environment ... Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives.

Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts.”

For the Mass he wore plain white

vestments, trimmed with gold and brown, and black lace-up shoes, in contrast to the stylish red loafers that Benedict wore. The ceremony was shortened to two hours after a threehour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy. “We have gone from the rigid theology professor to a teacher of Christian simplicity,” said Italian church historian Alberto Melloni, referring to the contrast between the warm, common touch of Francis and Benedict’s stiff, intellectual manner.

Before the Mass, Francis collected his newly minted gold ring and pallium, a liturgical woollen band worn around the neck, that had been placed overnight on the tomb of St. Peter under the basilica’s altar. Hundreds of priests, sheltering from the sun under umbrellas in the Vatican’s white and yellow colours, distributed communion to the crowd while Francis watched from a raised throne behind the altar.

Francis greeted foreign delegations inside the basilica after the Mass. They included Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses. He was able to travel to the Vatican because it is a separate territory, outside the EU. The pope also met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians has attended a Roman pope’s inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.

Before the Mass, Latin America’s first pope made a surprise phone call to thousands of his Catholic compatriots, listening at loudspeakers in the Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires where they had gathered hours before dawn to watch the celebrations on large television screens. — Reuters

Mortar explosion kills 7 US Marines HAWTHORNE: A 60mm mortar explosion killed seven US Marines and injured a half-dozen more during a training exercise in the Nevada desert, prompting the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of the weapon worldwide until an investigation can determine its safety, a military official said yesterday.

The explosion occurred Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a facility used by troops headed overseas, during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Several Marines from the unit were injured in the blast, authorities said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether the mortar exploded prematurely inside its firing tube or whether more than a single round exploded. The official was not authorized to speak to a reporter about the

accident. The 60mm mortar is a weapon that traditionally requires three to four Marines to operate, but it’s common during training for others to observe nearby. Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, the area’s major trauma hospital, took eight patients, including one who died, five who are in serious condition, one in fair condition, and one who has been discharged, according to spokesman Mark Earnest.

All the patients are men under the age of 30, he said. Hospital officials described their injuries as penetrating trauma, fractures and vascular injuries.

The rescue was complicated by the remoteness of the site. A helicopter ride to Reno is 41 minutes long, according to Care Flight spokesman Kurt Althof, and the distance is 2 1/2 hours by car. Small hospitals in rural Nevada aren’t prepared to accommodate mass casualties.

The identities of those killed won’t

be released until 24 hours after their families are notified. “We send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in this tragic incident,” said the force’s commander, Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox. “We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice.”

The Marine Corps official said an explosion at the point of firing in a training exercise could kill or maim anyone inside or nearby the protective mortar pit and could concussively detonate any mortars stored nearby in a phenomenon known as “sympathetic detonation.”

The official did not know whether the seven dead Marines and several others who were hurt were in the same firing pit, standing nearby for training observation or in an adjoining mortar pit, but any of those situations would have been them in danger after such an explosion.—AP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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

World powers, Iran hold fresh exchange on nuclear proposals BRUSSELS: World powers gave Iran fresh details on a proposed deal aimed at ending international concern over Tehran’s nuclear programme during talks in Istanbul, the European Union said yesterday.

At the talks on Monday, experts from the five permanent UN Security Council members-Britain, China, France, Russia and the US-plus Germany “had technical discussions with Iran,” said a brief statement from a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Monday’s technical exchange will be followed by political talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on April 5 and 6, said Michael Mann, the spokesman for Ashton, who heads the talks between the six powers and Iran.

In Istanbul, the experts, led by Stephan Klement, “provided further details on the revised confidence building proposal” put forward by the western powers to Iran in talks in Almaty on February 26 and 27.

The six last month offered Iran a softening of non-oil or financial sector-related

sanctions in exchange for concessions over Tehran’s sensitive uranium enrichment operations.

The West suspects Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of what the Islamic republic insists is a purely civilian programme with peaceful ends.

The offer, reportedly involving easing sanctions on Iran’s gold and precious metals trade and lifting others on some very small banking operations, in return demands a tougher nuclear inspection

regime and the interruption of enrichment operations at the Fordo bunker facility where 20-percent enrichment goes on.

The EU statement said the Istanbul talks also provided an opportunity for experts from both sides “to explore each other’s positions on a number of technical subjects.”

On Monday, US President Barack Obama urged Iran to take “immediate and meaningful steps” to move “toward an enduring, long-term settlement” with the world over its disputed nuclear pro-

gramme.

In a video message in honour of the Iranian Nowruz holiday, Obama said that if Tehran took such action “the Iranian people will begin to see the benefits of greater trade and ties with other nations, including the United States.”

Both the United States and Israel have refused to rule out military action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and the issue is likely to top the agenda this week during Obama’s first trip to Israel as president. —AFP

Wave of Iraq blasts kill 56, decade after invasion Cabinet postpones elections in two provinces BAGHDAD: A wave of bombings tore through Baghdad yesterday morning, killing at least 56 people in a spasm of violence on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion. The attacks show how dangerous and unstable Iraq remains a decade after the war - a country where sectarian violence can explode at any time. And though attacks have ebbed since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, tensions simmer and militants remain a potent threat to

decided to postpone upcoming provincial elections in two provinces dominated by the country’s minority Sunnis for up to six months. The decision followed requests from the political blocs in the provinces, according to the prime minister’s spokesman, Ali al -Moussawi.

The two provinces affected, Anbar and Ninevah, have been at the center of the nearly three month-long protests against I raq’s Shiite -led government.

Provincial elections were sched-

attacks bore hallmarks of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The terror group favors spectacular, coordinated bombings intended to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-led government.

Police and hospital officials who provided accounts of the days’ bloodshed reported the most casualties from a car bombing near the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Baghdad’s eastern Qahira neighborhood at around 10 am That blast killed seven people and wounded 21.

BAGHDAD: People inspect a car destroyed in a car bomb attack close to one of the main gates to the heavily-fortified Green Zone, which houses major government offices and the embassies of several countries, including the United States and Britain in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. —AP Iraq’s security forces.

Yesterday’s attacks were mostly by car bombs and targeted mainly Shiite areas, small restaurants, day laborers and bus stops in the Iraqi capital and nearby towns over a span of more than two hours. Along with 56 killed, over 200 people were wounded in the attacks, officials said.

The bombings came 10 years to the day that Washington announced the start of the invasion on March 19, 2003 - though by that time it was already the following morning in Iraq. Also yesterday, Iraq’s Cabinet

uled for April 20.

One of the deadliest of yesterday’s attacks struck close to one of the main gates to the heavily-fortified Green Zone, which houses major government offices and the embassies of several countries, including the United States and Britain. That blast outside a restaurant killed six people, including two soldiers, and wounded more than 15. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from the area as ambulances raced to the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but the

The officials provide casualty numbers on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to journalists. The violence started at around 8 am, when a bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in Baghdad’s Mashtal neighborhood, killing four people and wounding 15. It blew out the eatery’s windows and left several cars mangled in the blood-streaked street.

Minutes later, two day laborers were killed and eight were wounded when a roadside bomb hit the place where they gather every day in an

area of New Baghdad. In the poor Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, a bomb stuck to the underside of a minibus killed three commuters and wounded seven people. Another car bomb exploded in a commercial street in the same area, killing two people and wounding 11, and yet another bomb struck a police patrol in the neighborhood, killing five people and wounding 13.

Hussein Abdul-Khaliq, a government employee who lives in Sadr city, said he heard the explosion and went out to find the minibus on fire.

“We helped take some trapped women and children from outside the burning bus before the arrival of the rescue teams. Our clothes were covered with blood as we tried to rescue the trapped people or to move out the bodies,” he said.

“Today’s attacks are new proof that the politicians and security officials are a huge failure,” he said.

Other attacks struck the largely Shiite neighborhoods of Hussainiyah, Zafarniyah, Shula and Utaifiya, as well as the Sunni district of Tarmiyah.

Just outside the capital, a mortar shell landed near a clinic in the town of Taji, killing two people and wounding five. And about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Baghdad, in Iskandiriyah, a car bomb exploded near a bus stop, killing five people and wounding 20.

Tuesday’s attacks came a day after insurgents killed nine people, including a bombing by a suicide attacker who killed five when he drove an explosives-laden car into a checkpoint in the central Iraqi town of Balad Ruz. Al-Qaeda’s Iraq arm, which operates under the name the Islamic State of Iraq, has sought to reassert its presence in recent weeks. Last week, the group claimed responsibility for a highly coordinated attack earlier this month in far western Iraq that killed nine Iraqis and 51 Syrian soldiers who had sought temporary refuge in the country.

And on Sunday, al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch took responsibility for a brazen and again highly coordinated raid on the Justice Ministry in downtown Baghdad last week. The attack, involving car bombs and gunmen disguised as police, killed at least 24 people. —AP

NEW DELHI: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (center) holds hands with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (right) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a ceremonial reception at President House yesterday. —AFP

Morsi urges end to Syrian ‘bloodshed’ NEW DELHI: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called yesterday for an urgent halt to the “bloodshed” in Syria after holding talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi. Morsi, who arrived in India late Monday for a twoday visit, told reporters that the global community must work together to end the “bloodshed in Syria and find a peaceful solution”. The statements by Egypt’s first democratically chosen leader came after talks with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Morsi’s tour started in Pakistan where President Asif Ali Zardari urged him to assist efforts to end the conflict in Syria that has claimed 70,000 lives and forced millions from their homes, according to UN figures. Egypt has been a strong backer of the Syrian revolution, insisting President Bashar Al-Assad’s administration has no place in Syria’s future. Singh, whose government last month supported an Arab League proposal urging the Syrian president to quit, also condemned the violence in Syria.

Morsi’s appeal for an end to Syrian hos-

tilities came as his own administration has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, blocking efforts to build support for a muchneeded program of economic reform. The main purpose of Morsi’s trip to India was to promote trade and investment in Egypt’s troubled economy, with the countries signing seven agreements to enhance trade ties in such sectors as communications, information technology and small-scale industries.

“Our economic partnership has rich possibilities,”said Singh, adding Egypt’s location works as a geographic bridge between Asia and Africa and makes it an attractive business destination for India.

Trade between the two countries has blossomed in recent years with India now Egypt’s seventh-largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade totals $5.5 billion. Morsi’s trip comes as Egypt battles to restore investor confidence after suffering a sharp economic downturn since the popular uprising that overthrew authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak in Feb 2011. —AFP

Gaddafi’s cousin arrested in Cairo CAIRO: Egyptian police arrested yesterday Moamer Gaddafi’s cousin Ahmed Qaddaf alDam, wanted in Libya for his role in the regime of the slain Libyan strongman, Egyptian officials said. Egypt’s prosecutor general ordered Qaddaf al-Dam’s detention for 30 days pending investigation into “several charges,” a security official said without elaborating.

Qaddaf al-Dam surrendered hours after his bodyguards traded fire with policemen who tried to enter his apartment, an aide said. Police then escorted Kadhafi’s former special envoy to the public prosecutor’s office.

Reached on his mobile telephone, he sought to play down the arrest, however, and said he would file a complaint with the Egyptian public prosecutor and Libyan authorities. “I am on my way now, in the company of lawyers,” he said before arriving at the prosecutor’s office.

A Libyan embassy official told AFP Qaddaf al-Dam had surrendered after the consul met him in his apartment and told him “there is no escape”. His bodyguards were Libyan and Palestinian, the official said.

A security official and state television said Qaddaf al-Dam gave himself up to police after they besieged his home. The official MENA news agency said he would be handed over to the Libyan authorities, who want to put him on trial.

Another official at the Libyan embassy told AFP the authorities had also arrested two other figures, former Libyan ambassador Ali Maria and Mohammed Ibrahim, the brother of senior Kadhafi-era Libyan official Ahmed Ibrahim. “ This is par t of a plan by the Libyan authorities in coordination with Egyptian authorities to arrest wanted Libyans living in Egypt,” said Abdel Hamid al-Safi. It was not

ALEPPO: In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, yesterday. —AP

Egypt investigating Hamas in new case

CAIRO: Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam (C), cousin of ousted Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, smiles as he is escorted by Egyptian policemen in a car after being arrested in Cairo yesterday. Egyptian police arrested Qaddaf al-Dam, who is wanted in Libya for his role in the regime of the slain Libyan strongman, Egyptian state media reported. — AFP immediately clear whether Qaddaf al-Dam, whose mother was Egyptian, carried Egyptian nationality, which could complicate his transfer to Libya to stand trial.

A Libyan embassy official said he was certain Qaddaf al-Dam was not an Egyptian citizen before the 2011 uprising in which Moamer Gaddafi was toppled and killed. But his nephew said he carried with him an Egyptian national identity card.

Shortly after the start of the uprising, Qaddaf al-Dam had announced he had resigned from all official functions. Until then, Qaddaf al-Dam, who had permanent resi-

dence in Cairo, oversaw Libya’s relations with Egypt.

Residents of Zamalek said they had heard gunfire overnight. Qaddaf al-Dam’s nephew and aide said that “masked men” had tried to storm the apartment at 2 am. “His bodyguards fired at them and there was an exchange of fire,” he said from the prosecutor’s office where Qaddaf al-Dam was being questioned. The nephew requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Speaking to French satellite channel France 24, Qaddaf al-Dam said several people had been injured during the shooting. —AFP

CAIRO: The Egyptian military is investigating whether the Palestinian group Hamas is linked to a batch of confiscated fabric that could have been used to make counterfeit uniforms, a security official said yesterday.

The official said the probe came alongside other investigations into alleged Hamas activities in Egypt going back to the 2011 uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak and led, over a year later, to the election of President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian group’s ideological parent. The announcement follows unconfirmed reports in the Egyptian media that Hamas members orchestrated an August attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula bordering the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Accusations that Hamas has been meddling in Egyptian security matters could damage Morsi’s standing. Morsi is perceived by many Egyptians as overly indulgent toward Hamas. His government has already been shaken by a bitter conflict with the opposition and by economic shortages, and the armed forces have been issued thinly veiled warnings that they might return to politics.

Also yesterday, three people were killed when a soccer game between teenagers in Cairo’s crowded Shubra neighborhood turned into a brawl involving knives, witnesses and officials said.

Several dozen were wounded and some 50 cars were damaged.

Deadly incidents such as these, often the result

of the police force’s withdrawal from the streets following the uprising, feed Egyptians’ sense of insecurity. In the Sinai, Egypt’s military has been battling an Islamist insurgency that is believed to have links to radical groups in Gaza, and also cracking down on the Bedouin-run smuggling networks used to run weapons and militants, as well as consumer goods, into the Israeli-blockaded coastal territory.

On Sunday, a military spokesman had warned that unnamed parties might impersonate Egyptian troops after the fabric, used for police and army uniforms, was seized near a tunnel running under the Egypt-Gaza border. “The armed forces are urging the Egyptian masses to watch out, be attentive and alert .... in case of impersonation,” said Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali on the military’s official Facebook page.

The military, according to the official media, responded to such threats by installing checkpoints, dispatching cement trucks to seal tunnels, and other methods meant to stop the smuggling.

Egypt also last week arrested seven Hamas members before releasing them two days later.

However, a security official said that the military is working with its normal capacity and that the media campaign is part of the conflict between the military and Hamas. He also said the Egyptian military believes that Hamas does not have full control over its members and allied militants. —AP

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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

Death toll from Nigeria bus station attack rises to 22 Govt to continue its unrelenting war against terrorists

LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, second left, walks along the deck of warship HMS Belfast with WWII veterans Lt. Cdr Dick Dykes, second right, Jock Dempster, right, and HMS Belfast veteran Frank Bond in London, yesterday. — AP

British sailors who kept up Soviet supplies honoured LONDON: British veterans who braved enemy fire, freezing waters and brutal weather to keep open supply lines to Russia during World War II were yesterday honoured for the first time with a new medal.

Prime Minister David Cameron presented about 40 men with the new Arctic Star at a special ceremony at Downing Street, where he apologised for the 70-year delay in recognising their bravery.

“You were involved in the most important struggle of the last 100 years when you were supplying one of our allies in the battle to defeat Hitler and to defeat fascism in Europe,” Cameron said.

About 3,000 sailors and merchant seamen died between 1941 and 1945 on a mission described by wartime leader Winston Churchill as “the worst journey in the world”.

Men as young as 16 sailed from Britain to the northern Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to help the Soviets, who were under blockade by Nazi Germany. More than 100 civilian and military ships were lost as they ran the gauntlet of enemy submarines and vessels, their crews killed in the attacks or left to perish in the freezing waters.

Between 200 and 400 sailors, now all in their late 80s or 90s, survive from the campaign although the medal is also available for relatives of those who took part in the Arctic convoys.

Among those receiving the award at Downing Street on Tuesday was veteran Frank Bond, 98, who attended with his daughter Emma.

“It’s the culmination of 72 years since I first went on the Russian convoy to recognise not what I did, but what the sailors who gave their lives did,” he said. “I am not a hero, I am a survivor. But the guys who went up there, they really had it rough and a lot of them didn’t come back.”

Cameron was later given a tour of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast, which is now a museum moored on the River Thames in London but once protected the Arctic convoys. “It shouldn’t have taken 70 years for this to be recognised. They were very brave people and were struggling against appalling odds,” the prime minister said. — AFP

ICC wants Congo warlord after shock surrender THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court (ICC) called yesterday for the swift transfer of wanted DR Congo warlord Bosco Ntaganda to The Hague after his shock surrender to the US embassy in Kigali.

Nicknamed “The Terminator”, Ntaganda is wanted on seven charges of war crimes and three of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in DR Congo that include using child soldiers, murder, rape and sexual slavery.

“The ICC welcomes news of Bosco (Ntaganda’s) surrender,” the Office of the Prosecutor said in an email to AFP. “We will liaise with the relevant authorities in the region to facilitate his immediate surrender to the ICC.” “This is great news for the people of the DR Congo who had to suffer from the crimes of an ICC fugitive for too long,” it added. Ntaganda, around 40, surrendered to the US embassy in the Rwandan capital on Monday after escaping from neighbouring DR Congo.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said he had asked to be transferred to the ICCthe world’s first permanent independent war crimes court-and Washington is in contact with the ICC and the Rwandan government.

Kigali however refuses any involvement in Ntaganda’s potential transfer to The Hague, saying it is a matter for the US, ICC and DR Congo. Ntaganda is believed to have been involved in several armed groups in DR Congo, before being incorporated into the regular army and given the rank of general as part of a peace deal.

He defected last year and became involved in the M23 rebel mutiny against Kinshasa, before fleeing to Rwanda, which has been accused by the DR Congo and the United Nations of masterminding, arming and even commanding M23.

A UN report in November said the M23’s “de facto chain of command” included Ntaganda and culminated with Rwandan Defence Minister James Kabarebe.

Ntaganda was allegedly involved in the brutal murder of at least 800 people in villages in eastern DR Congo, using child soldiers in his rebel army and keeping women as sex slaves between September 2002 and September 2003.

ICC judges said last year that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that dozens of villages were attacked” by rebels under Ntaganda’s command. The attacks “resulted in a high number of civilian deaths and forced displacement of over 140,000 people,” they said.

The court had already issued one warrant against the warlord in 2006 for recruiting child soldiers but in May last year added the new crimes against humanity charges.

Born in Rwanda, Ntaganda fought in the Rwandan Patriotic Front led by current President Paul Kagame, which ended the 1994 genocide by Hutu extremists against the country’s Tutsi minority.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), which said in May that the warlord had forcibly recruited at least 149 boys and young men into his militia, yesterday welcomed his arrest, saying the US “can ensure that he finally faces justice.”

“Ntaganda’s appearance in the dock at a fair and credible trial of the ICC would send a strong message to other abusers that they too may face justice one day,” HRW Africa researcher Ida Sawyer said. — AFP

LAGOS: An attack that saw two suicide bombers ram their car into a bus station in northern Nigeria has killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens more, police said yesterday.

The attack on Monday in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, led to a huge explosion that hit five buses, police spokesman Magaji Majia told AFP. Witnesses spoke of hearing multiple blasts and said they saw wounded victims in bloodied clothes fleeing the area as authorities cordoned off the scene.

President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack and said his government would continue “its unrelenting war against terrorists”.

But the government has so far shown little ability to halt violence linked to an insurgency by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Police spokesman Majia said that sixtyfive people were wounded in Monday’s attack in Kano. “ Two suicide bombers rammed their Volkswagen Golf car into a luxury bus loaded with passengers about to leave for the south. This led to an explosion that engulfed the bus and four other buses lined up waiting for passengers,” he said.

The targeted bus station primarily services passengers heading to the mostly Christian south of Nigeria. It was also attacked in January of last year in a blast

KANO: Deputy governor of Kano state in northern Nigeria Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (center) listens to a victim on his hospital bed at Murtala Mohammed Specialist hospital in northern Nigeria’s largest city of Kano yesterday. — AFP which wounded several people. Authorities ed bomb and gun attacks.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation have not said who was behind the bombing and there has been no claim of respon- and largest oil producer, is roughly divided sibility, but it was similar to previous between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south. Boko Haram’s attacks by Boko Haram.

Kano has been repeatedly targeted by targets have included symbols of Nigerian the group, blamed for killing hundreds in authority, churches and Muslims it views as the region since 2009. Its deadliest assault collaborating with the government.

A suicide bombing of UN headquarters yet occurred in Kano in January 2012, when at least 185 people were killed in coordinat- in Abuja in 2011 killed at least 25 people.

The group has claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state, though its demands have repeatedly shifted.

It is believed to include various factions with differing aims. One splinter faction, Ansaru, appears to have focused on kidnapping foreigners.

Boko Haram had not claimed any kidnappings until recently, when it said it was behind the abduction of a French family of seven over the border in Cameroon.

Diplomats say Boko Haram members have for years travelled to northern Mali for training with elements of Al-Qaeda’s north African affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Many analysts have said poverty and neglect of northern Nigeria, which remains underdeveloped when compared to the oil-rich south, have helped feed the insurgency.

Despite the country’s oil reserves, most of Nigeria’s population lives on less than $2 per day, with corruption deeply rooted. The response to the insurgency from Nigeria’s military has also worsened the situation, according to rights groups and activists in the region.

Soldiers have been accused of major abuses, including burning homes and killing civilians. Violence linked to the insurgency in northern and central Nigeria, including killings by the security forces, have left some 3,000 people dead since 2009. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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

Police: US college student plotted an attack ORLANDO: A University of Central Florida student who pulled a dorm fire alarm in the middle of the night had a more sinister plan than sending students scurrying out into the night, authorities said.

Campus police said Monday that 30-year-old James Oliver Seevakumaran was armed with two guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a backpack filled with explosives and a plan to attack other students as they fled the seven-story dorm where he lived.

His plans were thrown off by campus police officers’ quick response to the fire alarm and a 911 call from Seevakumaran’s roommate who had holed himself up in a bathroom after Seevakumaran pointed a gun at him. Police officers found Seevakumaran dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his dorm room. No other students were hurt.

“It could have been a very bad day here for everybody. All things considered, I think we were very

blessed here at the University of Central Florida,” said Richard Beary, University of Central Florida’s police chief. “One shooting is bad enough. Multiples would have been unthinkable. So, anybody armed with this type of weapon and ammunition could have hurt a lot of people here, particularly in a crowded area as people were evacuating.”

Some 500 students were evacuated from the building just after midnight, unaware how narrowly they had escaped what could have been another Virginia Tech-style bloodbath. Morning classes were canceled, but most campus operations resumed around noon.

“The kid’s bringing huge explosives in his room.

So yeah, it could have been a lot worse,” 19-year-old UCF sophomore Anthony Giamanco said shortly after arriving on campus Monday morning.

Roommates told detectives that while Seevakumaran showed some anti-social tendencies,

American guilty in Irish student’s murder in Tokyo TOKYO: A 19-year-old American musician was convicted and sentenced to at least five years in prison yesterday for murdering an Irish exchange student after he drank with her until she passed out and used a wheelchair to take her, unconscious, to the hotel room where she died.

Richard Hinds, of Memphis, Tennessee, stood silently as he was found guilty of strangling Nicola Furlong in what the presiding judge called a “vicious” attack. He was ordered to serve no less than five but no more than 10 years in a Japanese prison.

Hinds and another American were accused of taking Furlong, 21, and one of her friends to the hotel after they had passed out in a bar.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Hinds strangled Furlong when she regained consciousness to keep her quiet.

The other man, James Blackston, was convicted last week of sexually assaulting Furlong’s friend. During the two-week trial, prosecutors said Hinds and Blackston met Furlong and her friend after a concert last May. The four went to bar, where both of the women passed out, allegedly because their drinks were drugged.

Security camera footage submitted as evidence showed Blackston molesting Furlong’s friend in the backseat of the taxi on the way.

Hinds watched and egged on

he had never expressed any violent behavior. The business major, who held a job at an on-campus sushi restaurant, had never been seen by university counselors and had no disciplinary problems with other students, said university spokesman Grant Heston.

Police shed no light on a motive, but Heston said that before the episode, the school was in the process of removing Seevakumaran from the dormitory because he hadn’t enrolled for the current semester. He had attended the university from 2010 through the fall semester.

Detectives found notes and other writings that indicated Seevakumaran had carefully planned an attack and “laid out a timeline of where he was going to be and what he was going to do,” Beary said. The episode began when Seevakumaran pulled a gun on one of his roommates who called police and holed up in a bathroom, Beary said. Around the

same time, Seevakumaran pulled a fire alarm, apparently to get other students out in the open, the police chief said. Police officers responded to the dorm within three minutes of the first call.

“His timeline got off,” Beary said. “We think the rapid response of law enforcement may have changed his ability to think quickly on his feet.” In his room, investigators found four makeshift explosive devices in a backpack, a .45-caliber handgun, a .22caliber tactical rifle, and a couple hundred rounds of ammunition, police said. Beary said it appears his weapons and ammunition purchases began in February locally in Orlando.

Antonio Whitehead, 21, said he heard the fire alarm go off in the dorm and thought it was a routine event. “All of a sudden, I felt the crowd move a little faster. And a police officer with a machine gun or something told everyone to start moving a lot faster,” he said. — AP

Colorado governor to sign gun controls Measures are some of strictest gun laws in US

TOKYO: Andrew Furlong, left, his wife, Angela, right, and their daughter, Andrea, leave Tokyo District Court in Tokyo yesterday after hearing a verdict of Richard Hinds who was accused of murdering their other daughter, Nicola, at a Tokyo Hotel last May. — AP Blackston from the front seat. Using Although Japan has the death wheelchairs borrowed from hotel penalty, the maximum sentence for staff, the men then took the uncon- a murder committed by a minor is 10 scious women to separate rooms. years.

The court ruled that when Furlong Blackston, a 23-year-old dancer regained consciousness, Hinds stran- from Los Angeles, was sentenced to gled her with a towel or a piece of three years in prison for the sexual clothing, allegedly to keep her quiet. assault of Furlong’s friend. Furlong’s Hinds denied intent to kill, though mother, Angela, said Hinds’ sentence he acknowledged “lightly” pressing was too lenient. “Her life is worth on her neck. “The manner in which more than that,” she said after the he committed this crime was atro- verdict was read. “But at least her cious and vicious in nature,” Presiding name was cleared. She didn’t do Judge Masaharu Ashizawa said. anything wrong.” Furlong, a Dublin Hinds was a minor under City University student, was in Japan Japanese law when Furlong died, as an exchange student at a universibut was tried in an adult court. ty near Tokyo. — AP

DENVER: Colorado’s governor will sign legislation today that sets limits on ammunition magazines and expands background checks for firearms, marking a Democratic victory in a state where a debate over gun rights has played out in the wake of two mass shootings.

The measures proposed are some of the strictest gun laws in the US, and their passage comes after weeks of tense legislative battles. Republicans and gun rights supporters put up a major fight against the measures in this politically moderate state, while Democrats made them the centerpieces of a package of legislative proposals drafted in reaction to shooting rampages at a suburban Denver movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school last year.

“I think it will make it more difficult for people to get guns who shouldn’t have them, and that’s really the goal,” said Democratic Rep. Beth McCann on the expanded background checks.

Magazine limits would reduce gun violence and have an impact during mass shootings, because they would force gunmen to reload more times, she said. “It’s an interruption in the spraying of bullets.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s spokesman Eric Brown confirmed Monday that the governor would sign the measures. Colorado’s gun controls, which become effective July 1, are the first beyond East Coast states approved this year. They also are getting approval as Congress embarks on its own gun debate in Washington, where Colorado Democrats’ proposals were closely watched because the state is seen as a bellwether.

Gun control has become a major national issue in the wake of the mass shootings last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that left 20 children and six staff members dead. Last July, a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding about 70.

The Colorado laws include a ban on ammunition magazines that can carry more than 15 rounds, and eight shotgun shells. The bill on background checks expands the requirement to sales and transfers between private

DENVER: In this Dec 12, 2012 file photo, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is pictured during an interview with the Associated Press at his office in the Capitol in Denver. Hickenlooper will sign legislation yesterday that sets limits on ammunition magazines and expands background checks for firearms, marking a Democratic victory in a state where gun ownership is a treasured right and Second Amendment debate has played out in the wake of two mass shootings. — AP parties and online purchases.

Republicans reviled both bills and argued the proposals would not prevent more shootings, but only deprive law-abiding citizens of exercising their constitutional right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

“We’re obviously very disappointed.

I think we demonstrated time and time again all of the issues associated with” the magazine limits, said Rep. Mark Waller, the Republican leader in the state House.

“They’re doing this without any proof that banning this is going to have any impact on public safety,” he said. Republicans seemed resigned from the start that the bills would become law, though. Hickenlooper said previously he would sign the magazine limit, and he specifically asked the Legislature to expand background checks in his annual address.

The governor also was planning to sign a bill reviving user fees for gun purchasers needing background checks. Colorado charged $10 background-check fees more than a decade ago, but the fees were dropped. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation currently picks up the

tab checking prospective gun owners.

A Colorado-based magazine manufacturer said it would leave the state if the new restrictions were passed, taking hundreds of jobs with it.

Democrats tried to ease the concerns from Magpul Industries, saying the company can still manufacture highercapacity magazines if they were sold out of state.

Other Democratic gun control proposals still pending in the state Legislature include a ban on gun ownership by people accused of domesticviolence crimes and a bill to eliminate online-only safety training for people seeking concealed-weapons permits.

Two more Democratic gun control bills were withdrawn when they appeared to lack support for passage.

Those included a new liability standard for gun owners and sellers, and a ban on concealed weapons on public college campuses.

Republican gun ideas were hastily rejected earlier this year. Those ideas included expanding gun laws to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons, and a failed attempt to require armed security guards at businesses that ban concealed weapons. — AP

Mexico’s pres gathers power, pushes reform MEXICO CITY: New President Enrique Pena Nieto has been fast out of the blocks in attacking some of Mexico’s toughest issues in a country often stymied by monopolies and corruption.

He arrested the most powerful woman in Mexico, leader of the largest union in Latin America, on allegations of corruption that previous presidents saw but were too compromised to tackle. He is taking on the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, and pledges to bring diversity to a television industry dominated by the head of the largest network in Latin America, a scion of one of Mexico’s leading families.

At one time all three were key allies of Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled for 71 years with a combination of coercion and corruption before being voted out of office in 2000. Now, Pena Nieto is declaring that there are no more sacred cows.

The moves have built momentum behind what could be his most dramatic and difficult reform modernizing and drawing foreign and private capital to the behemoth state oil company, a long sacrosanct but increasingly inefficient pillar of the Mexican economy. On Sunday, at a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the nationalization of the Mexican oil business, Pena Nieto said again that he will transform Petroleos Mexicanos. The longtime head of the Pemex union, who had been expected by many to fight any changes but has been the subject of questions about unexplained family wealth, pledged his support.

Pena Nieto says his plan will make Mexico more democratic and compet-

MEXICO CITY: In this March 3, 2013 file photo, Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto delivers a speech during a national convention of his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico City. Pena Nieto has been fast out of the blocks in attacking some of Mexico’s toughest issues in a country often stymied by monopolies and corruption. — AP itive in the world economy, and his first results, plenty of time for big drive for reform is fueling international promises to be derailed by special confidence about Mexico. Rating com- interests, institutional inertia and the pany Standard and Poor’s raised the PRI’s old guard.

“It’s quite remarkable to me that country’s long-term sovereign credit rating from “stable” to “positive” last people are assuming that somehow week, citing optimism about the gov- we’re at a new stage in political or ernment’s ability to carry out structur- institutional or economic developal changes. The Mexican peso is ment in Mexico,” said John Ackerman, stronger against the dollar than it’s a law professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and been in a year and a half.

But some analysts warn against a visiting scholar at American mistaking style for substance and University in Washington.

“Increased competition is great. making early declarations of victory against entrenched powers built up by But the central problem that’s holding the very party that now says it’s trying back Mexico’s economic development is the concentration of political and to bring them to heel.

It will take many months, in some economic power at the top, and with cases years, before Pena Nieto’s reform Pena Nieto we see more of this, we see agenda becomes law and produces its a consolidation of this in fact.” —AP

NEWS Syrians trade blame over chemical attack Continued from Page 1 State television showed ambulances arriving at a hospital in Aleppo carrying the wounded, with medical officials and residents saying that the attack involved “toxic gas”. “We have neither long-range missiles nor chemical weapons. And if we did, we wouldn’t use them against a rebel target,” mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Muqdad told AFP. “We understand the army targeted Khan al-Assal using a long-range missile, and our initial information says it may have contained chemical weapons,” he said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, however, that a ground-to-ground missile had been fired at an army position in Khan al-Assal, killing 16 soldiers and 10 civilians. The watchdog was unable to say if the missile contained chemical materials.

Meanwhile, Ghassan Hitto, elected the first rebel premier early yesterday in Istanbul, pledged there would be no dialogue with Assad’s regime. “We confirm to the great Syrian people that there will be no dialogue with the Assad regime,” said Hitto, who is now tasked with setting up an interim government to administer rebel-held areas in the strife-torn country. He was chosen by a majority of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, after hours of consultations and amid allegations that the Muslim Brotherhood had backed his candidacy.

Coalition chief Ahmad Moaz AlKhatib had proposed talks with regime officials, with conditions, including the release of some “160,000 detainees”.

The United States welcomed Hitto’s election but Russia’s foreign ministry greeted the news with “deep regret”, warning it would “only deepen the state of internal instability in Syria”. Hitto said

he would focus on regime change, but also seek to bring security and basic services to large swathes of rebel-held territory in northern Syria which are mired in poverty and insecurity. “The main priority we have before us is to make use of all tools at our disposal to bring down the Assad regime,” he said, adding that he will work with rebels to ensure “security and the rule of law”.

His interim government would “fight crime” and “limit the proliferation of weapons” in rebel-held regions, he said.

Hitto also promised to coordinate with international humanitarian agencies to bring in much-needed aid, and “run border controls” that have fallen into rebel hands. A former IT executive who has lived in the United States for many years, Hitto said he form a government of technocrats. Free Syrian Army chief of staff Selim Idriss has said the rebels will work under the umbrella of the provisional government. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

King Abdullah slams Erdogan, Morsi, Assad AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II launched a broadside against regional leaders in an interview published yesteray in a US magazine, saying Egypt’s president has “no depth” in reading the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and that Turkey’s premier sees democracy as a “bus ride”. In remarks to The Atlantic that the palace said were “taken out of context”, the king also said “wolves in sheep’s clothing” ran the Muslim Brotherhood, criticising some Western allies for failing to understand that. He reserved some harsh words for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. “I was trying to explain to him how to deal with Hamas, how to get the peace process moving, and he was like: ‘The Israelis will not move.’ “I said: ‘Listen, whether the Israelis move or don’t move, it’s how we get Fatah and Hamas (the rival Palestinian factions) together,” the king told The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg. “There’s no depth to the guy.”

He said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan “once said that democracy for him is a bus ride. ‘Once I get to my stop, I’m getting off’.” “Instead of the Turkish model, taking six or seven years - being an Erdogan -

Morsi wanted to do it overnight,” king added. Asked if Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was “a bit of a provincial”, the king replied: “There was a dinner with me and him and the king of Morocco, at the king’s residence in Cairo. And so Bashar at dinner turns to us and says, ‘Can you guys explain to me what jet lag is’? He never heard of jet lag.”

King Abdullah, whose country is a key US ally, believes his Western allies are naive about the Brotherhood’s intentions, saying he was told that “the only way you can have democracy is through the Muslim Brotherhood,” the report said. “I see a Muslim Brotherhood crescent developing in Egypt and Turkey,” he added. “The Arab Spring highlighted a new crescent in the process of development,” he added, insisting that “our major fight” is to prevent that. The royal palace in Amman issued a statement saying the report “contained many errors and the king’s remarks were taken out of context”. “The writer reflected his own analyses, attributing remarks to the king in an inaccurate and dishonest way,” it said. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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

India govt rocked by coalition pullout Sonia attacks Italian ‘betrayal’ over marines

MANILA: Activists supporting the Reproductive Health (RH) Law hold a protest in front of the Supreme Court building in Manila yesterday. The Philippines’ highest court suspended a controversial birth control law that had met fierce opposition from the powerful Catholic Church. Voting 10-5, the Supreme Court issued a four-month freeze against the law, which requires government health centres to hand out free condoms and schools to teach sex education, court spokesman Theodore Te said. — AFP

Philippine Supreme Court halts contraceptives law MANILA: The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday temporarily halted the implementation of a law that provides state funding for contraceptives, legislation opposed by the dominant Roman Catholic Church but supported by reproductive health activists.

The Responsible Parenthood Law was passed by lawmakers late last year despite the church’s opposition but petitioners questioned its legality on several grounds, saying it offends religious beliefs and fosters abortion, which remains illegal in the country.

Voting 15-5 in favor of 10 separate petitions, the justices stopped the implementation of the law until June 18, when both sides will argue their cases before the court, said Theodore Te, spokesman for the Supreme Court. Catholic leaders consider the law an attack on the church’s core values and say it promotes promiscuity and destroys life. The government says it helps the poor manage the number of children they have and provides for maternal health care.

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the Philippines are unwanted, according to the UN Population Fund, and a third of those end up aborted in back-alley clinics. The

Philippines has a population of 94 million and one of Asia’s highest birth rates.

Edwin Lacierda, spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III, said that the government was confident it will be able to defend the merits of the law. Aquino risked the clash with the church and church-backed politicians to sponsor the law and lobby for its passage. Aquino signed the law in December, and the Department of Health last week drafted and approved its implementing rules, setting it into motion.

The law mandates government health centers to provide universal and free access to nearly all contraceptives to everyone, particularly the country’s poorest, who make up a third of the population. So far, such access has been patchy, expensive, and hinged on the political will of local governments. In the past, for instance, some mayors banned free distribution of condoms in their areas.

The law also makes sexual education compulsory in public schools. The government made some concessions in deference to the church, according to Mellisa Upreti, regional director for Asia at the U.S.-based Center for Reproductive Rights.—AP

Pakistan arrests suspect in murder of US journalist ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has arrested a former militant leader in connection with the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, security officials said yesterday.

Qari Abdul Hai, once a leader of the outlawed Sunni militant group Lashkar-eJhangvi (LeJ), was arrested on Sunday during a security crackdown in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, said the officials.

Pearl, an American, was kidnapped in Karachi while researching a story on Islamist militants in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al Qaeda militant who claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks, said he beheaded Pearl after his abduction.

It was not clear what role Hai was suspected of playing in the abduction and murder.

The LeJ has emerged as a major security threat in Pakistan. It has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that killed hundreds of Shi’ites this year.

Security officials said Hai was linked to several attacks on Western targets since Pearl’s death.A Pakistani court sentenced British-born militant Omar Sheikh to death for

killing Pearl.

The family of slain US journalist Daniel Pearl welcomed the arrest in Pakistan of a former leader of a banned militant outfit allegedly involved in his 2002 murder. Qari Abdul Hayee, popularly known as Asadullah and from Karachi’s eastern Gulshan-e-Iqbal neighborhood, was detained in a raid on his hideout on Sunday, according to a spokesman for Pakistan’s Rangers paramilitary force.

Ruth and Judea Pearl, who live in the Los Angeles area, hailed the news, in a statement issued through the New York-based Daniel Pearl Foundation.

“We are gratified with this latest arrest and hope that justice will be served in a timely manner on all those who were involved in the abduction and murder of our son, Danny,” they said.

Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi on January 23, 2002, while researching a story about Islamist militants. A graphic video showing his decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in the city nearly a month later. —Agencies

Swiss man claims ‘deceived’ by teen Singapore prostitute SINGAPORE: A Swiss expatriate facing a possible jail term for having sex with an underage Singaporean prostitute said at the start of his trial yesterday that he was tricked into thinking she was an adult.

Juerg Buergin, 41, is contesting charges filed against him and 50 other local and foreign men accused of paying for sex with the 17-year-old call girl in 2010 and 2011, a case involving prominent figures that caused a scandal in Singapore.

“The prostitute, in a conspiracy with the pimp, had deceived the accused as to her true age and thereby intentionally induced him to engage her services,” his lawyer Selva Naidu said in a written statement released to

journalists. The prosecution said the website advertised the girl as an “18-year-old polytechnic student”. Buergin’s lawyer said the prostitute had not been “coerced into the trade by threats or intimidation”. Singapore law makes it illegal for anyone to pay for the sexual services of a girl under the age of 18.

The offence is punishable by up to seven years in prison, a fine, or both.

Buergin, a married former executive with banking giant UBS, is out on bail. Prosecutors said yesterday that he booked the prostitute, who went by the name “Chantelle” on the escort agency website, on two occasions in September 2010 and January 2011 and met her at a luxury hotel.—AFP

NEW DELHI: The second-biggest party in India’s ruling coalition announced yesterday it was withdrawing from the government, heightening the risk of early elections before their scheduled date next year.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a regional party from the state of Tamil Nadu, had been pressuring the government to condemn Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes against ethnic minority Tamils during the island’s civil war. Party leader Muthuvel Karunanidhi told a press conference in the city of Chennai that his party would pull out of the left-leaning United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition which has been in power since 2009.

“We can’t accept the stand of the centre,” said Karunanidhi. Unless a solution is found-the DMK has threatened in the past to withdraw without following through-the government would be more vulnerable to falling before the scheduled date for elections in the first half of 2014. The UPA is dominated by the Congress party run by the Gandhi political dynasty and has technically been a minority in parliament since September when another regional party withdrew. It has so far marshalled support from outside allies to pass legislation, and analysts said the DMK’s loss would be unlikely to trigger polls in the short term.

“No one expects the government to fall, but the drop in numbers will affect its stability,” Parsa Venkateshwar Rao, a political columnist for the DNA daily newspaper, told AFP. “The picture is that this government is in disarray, facing crisis after crisis.”

The DMK, which depends on Tamil voters who have close ties to their counterparts in Sri Lanka, is the secondbiggest coalition member with 18 members of parliament and has five mostly junior positions in cabinet.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters yesterday the government remained “stable” and Karunanidhi might be persuaded to stay if parliament passed a resolution condemning Sri Lanka.

“He will review his decision if that resolution is brought before cabinet,” he told reporters. The instability comes amid a sharp slowdown in economic growth, which has slipped to decade lows, and could affect the government’s declared intention to introduce more promarket reforms.

Chidambaram was among three senior ministers who rushed to Chennai at the weekend to seek a solution with the DMK, with the government trying to balance domestic political needs against a desire not to antagonise a neighbour.

Karunanidhi had warned that the DMK would withdraw unless the government supported a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that condemned “genocide and war crimes” in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan forces ended a decades-long civil war with a 2009 onslaught against Tamil Tiger separatists which has since been dogged by war crime allegations.

The UN estimated that some 40,000 people were

killed in the final months of the war, while rights groups put the death toll even higher. Sri Lanka denies that its forces killed civilians.

The UPA coalition would control 230 seats in the lower house of parliament if the DMK withdrew, far short of a majority of 272. But the support of outside allies the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, which mostly vote in favour of the UPA, would give it 273 seats.

Political columnist B.G. Verghese said the move was typical political brinkmanship. “I see the pullout as a lot of bluff and blackmail by the DMK,” he told AFP. “I don’t see any threat to the Congress government. Minority governments have functioned in the past and done very well.”

Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of India’s ruling party, accused Rome of an unacceptable “betrayal” yesterday as she waded into a bitter dispute over two marines who have skipped bail. Gandhi told a Congress party meeting that she supported any move to ensure the two marines return to India to face murder charges after Rome reneged on an earlier undertaking to India’s Supreme Court from the Italian ambassador.

“The defiance of the Italian government on the question of the two marines issue and its betrayal of a commitment given to our Supreme Court is outright unacceptable,” Gandhi said in New Delhi.

“No country can, should, or will be allowed to take India for granted,” said Gandhi, the widow of slain former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Italy has accused India of violating laws on diplomatic immunity by preventing the ambassador, Daniele Mancini, from leaving the country.

But Gandhi, India’s most powerful politician, who took Indian citizenship in 1983, said action had to be taken to ensure the pledge to return the marines is fulfilled.

“All means must be pursued to ensure that the commitment made by the Italian government before the Supreme Court is honoured,” said Gandhi in her speech, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. The marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, are accused of shooting dead two fishermen off the southwestern state of Kerala in February last year, when a fishing boat sailed close to an Italian oil tanker they were guarding.

They say they mistook the fishermen for pirates.

Gandhi’s comments on Tuesday were her first on the affair and came after opposition accused her of conspiring to help the marines evade justice. A local leader of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party was quoted last week as saying Gandhi “plotted” to help the marines, while a communist lawmaker in Kerala said that “secret hands of Italy’ had been working on their behalf.— AFP

CHENNAI: Indian Tamil activists and students shout slogans while trying to push past a barricade during a protest against Sri Lanka’s alleged wartime abuses, in Chennai, India, yesterday. A key ethnic Tamil political party withdrew from the ruling Indian government yesterday over its unmet demands that India amend the UN resolution to declare that Sri Lanka committed genocide against its minority Tamil population during the final months of its civil war against the Tamil Tiger rebels. — AP

British tourist injured fleeing India sex attack NEW DELHI: A female British tourist was admitted to hospital after jumping through a hotel window yesterday over fears of a sex attack in the Indian city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, police said.

The victim, who was not named but was in her early 30s, suffered leg injuries when she leapt from the first floor after two men tried to enter her room in the Hotel Agra Mahal at around 4:00 am.

“She got frightened so she ran to the other end of the room and jumped out of the window,” Pawan Kumar, superintendent of police in Agra, told AFP. Another officer who was with the victim in hospital said she had earlier rejected the hotel manager’s overtures offering a massage. He then returned with a second man and attempted to open the door to her room with a key, the officer said. Swaranjeet, deputy superintendent of police in Agra, who only uses one name, said that one person had been taken into custody on charges of harassment.

The victim had suffered a ligament fracture in one leg but her injuries were not serious, Swaranjeet told AFP. “But she is very scared and has cancelled her plans to keep travelling in India. She just wants to return home,” she added. A member of staff at the hotel, who would not give his full name, said the manager had merely tried to wake up the victim in time for an early morning train.

“We don’t know what she thought but she jumped out of the window of her room,” said the staff member.

Last week, a Danish tourist Judith Jensen has a long list of don’ts to help her feel safe during her holiday in India. She won’t hail a taxi off the street, she won’t stay in an obscure

hotel and she won’t go out after darkall decisions made in response to the growing reporting of sexual crime in the country. “I have read and heard so much about rape in India that now I feel this persistent sense of danger,” Jensen, 42 said as she walked through a popular market in downtown Delhi.

The tourism ministry’s ubiquitous Incredible India marketing campaign has helped boost the number of foreign visitors over the past decade to around 6.6 million a year-albeit still way behind the likes of China and Malaysia. But that push is now hampered by a growing sense that India is simply not a safe destination, particularly for women. The fatal gangrape of an Indian student in December shone a disturbing light on the levels of sexual violence and a

series of subsequent attacks on foreigners have added to the sense of unease.

On Friday night, a Swiss tourist was gang-raped while on a cycling holiday in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Her husband was tied up by the gang who are also accused of stealing a laptop, a mobile phone and 10,000 rupees ($185). On the same night, a group of men in a city near Delhi briefly kidnapped an Indian male executive working for the French engineering giant Alstom.

Other incidents reported since the December bus gang-rape include that of a South Korean student who said she had been raped and drugged by the son of the owner of the hotel where she stayed during a holiday in January.

A Chinese woman working in

AGRA: The facade of an Indian hotel, where a British tourist reportly jumped from in an attempt to escape a sexual assault, is pictured in Agra yesterday. A female British tourist was admitted to hospital after jumping through a hotel window yesterday in a bid to escape a sex assault in the Indian city of Agra. — AFP

Gurgaon, a town bordering the Indian capital, was also reportedly raped by an acquaintance last month. Indian officials say there is no need for alarm, pointing out that foreigners are victims of crime the world over and the vast majority of visitors experience no safety problems. But travel advice from a host of countries stresses the need for visitors to take care. An advisory from the Swiss foreign ministry, issued before Friday’s attack, urged men and women visiting India to travel in large groups and with guides. The US State Department’s website warns female travelers to “observe stringent security precautions” and “avoid travelling alone in hired taxis, especially at night”. Britain’s foreign office updated its advisory for India last week, saying that “women travelers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men”.

In a notorious case five years ago, 15-year-old British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling was raped and left to die on a beach in the tourist resort of Goa. Jensen, who stands out in an Indian crowd with her blonde hair, recalled how she spent a carefree week backpacking around southern India a decade ago. But now, travelling with her 10-year-old daughter, it is a different story with her husband texting her several times a day to check up on their safety.

“There is no question that these stories will have an impact on foreign visitors,” she said. “Women will prefer to visit other places like Singapore or Bali or Thailand, where safety is not such a big concern.” At the Delhi office of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, executive director Gour Kanjilal said it was unfair to portray India as dangerous— AFP

Renewed nuke sale fear after recent N Korea test SEOUL: North Korea’s nuclear test last month wasn’t just a show of defiance and national pride; it also serves as advertising.

The target audience, analysts say, is anyone in the world looking to buy nuclear material.

Though Pyongyang has threatened to launch nuclear strikes on the US, the most immediate threat posed by its nuclear technology may be North Korea’s willingness to sell it to nations that Washington sees as sponsors of terrorism. The fear of such sales was highlighted this week, when Japan confirmed that cargo seized last year and believed to be from North Korea contained material that could be used to make nuclear centrifuges, which are crucial to enriching uranium into bomb fuel. The dangerous message North Korea is sending, according to Graham Allison, a nuclear expert at the Harvard Kennedy School: “Nukes are for sale.” North Korea launched a long-range rocket in

December, which the UN called a cover for a banned test of ballistic missile technology. On Feb. 12, it conducted its third underground nuclear test, which got Pyongyang new UN sanctions.

Outside nuclear specialists believe North Korea has enough nuclear material for several crude bombs, but they have yet to see proof that Pyongyang can build a warhead small enough to mount on a missile. The North, however, may be able to help other countries develop nuclear expertise right now, as it is believed to have done in the past.

“There’s a growing technical capability and confidence to sell weapons and technology abroad, without fear of reprisal, and that lack of fear comes from (their) growing nuclear capabilities,” Joel Wit, a former US State Department official, said at a recent nuclear conference in Seoul.

Pyongyang says it needs nuclear weapons because of what it calls a hostile

US policy aimed at invading the North. The US, South Korea and others say North Korean brinksmanship meant to win aid and other concessions is the real motive.

Even China, North Korea’s most important ally, opposes its neighbor’s nuclear ambitions. North Korean nuclear sales earn the impoverished country money that can be pumped back into weapons development, analyst Shin Beomchul at the South Korean-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul said yesterday.

Its growing capabilities could make North Korea more attractive to buyers, especially if it is determined that highly enriched uranium was used in last month’s test. Proliferation worries have ramped up since late 2010, when North Korea unveiled a long-suspected uranium enrichment operation. North Korea’s first two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, were suspected to be fueled by its limited plutonium stockpile. A crude uranium bomb is

easier to produce than one made with plutonium, and uranium production is easier to conceal.

Little is known about North Korea’s uranium program, but Washington and others are keenly interested in whether it is producing highly enriched uranium for bombs and whether uranium was used in the third test - two things suspected, but not yet confirmed, by outsiders. A nuclear test using highly enriched uranium “would announce to the world - including potential buyers - that North Korea is now operating a new, undiscovered production line for weapons-usable material,” Allison, the Harvard nuclear specialist, wrote in a New York Times op-ed after the North’s test.

US officials have hinted that retaliation would follow should Washington discover North Korean cooperation behind any atomic attack on an American city or US ally. Pyongyang’s nuclear transfers and any use of weapons of mass destruction

“would be considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies, and we will hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences,” President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, said last week. US officials have long tracked North Korean dealings in nuclear and weapons technology. Sanctions have cut down on missile sales, but Iran and Syria, two countries seen by Washington as rogue actors, may continue to be customers. In November, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization proposed observing North Korea’s nuclear test, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported, citing an unidentified Western diplomatic source privy to Pyongyang-Tehran ties.

North Korea is believed to have helped Syria build what senior US intelligence officials called a secret nuclear reactor meant to produce plutonium. In 2007, Israeli jets bombed the structure in a remote Syrian desert. — AP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

ANALYSIS

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Issues

Iraq war’s most damaging legacy

By David Rohde

A

merican households will be blanketed this week by a torrent of coverage, commentary and regret about the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war. Liberals claim that Twitter - if it had existed - could have stopped the invasion. Conservatives argue that the links between Saddam Hussein and terrorism have, in fact, been underplayed. The glaring lesson of the war is that American ground invasions destabilize the Middle East, instead of stabilizing it. The 100,000 Iraqis who perished, the 4,500 American soldiers killed and the $1 trillion spent should have halted what Tufts University professor Daniel W Drezner has called the “creeping militarization of American foreign policy.”

Instead, the civilian American institutions that failed us before Iraq have grown even weaker.

The State Department is the first example. Drezner correctly argues that as the Pentagon’s budget has ballooned in the post9/11 decade, so has its influence over American foreign policy.

Too many former generals, he contends, have occupied foreign policy important positions. That trend has slowed in the second Obama administration, but the budget, planning capabilities and training programs of the State Department are still laughably small compared with those of the US military. Money equals power, influence and a seat at the table in Washington. As one former national security reporter put it to me, weak civilian institutions leads to fewer potential civilian responses to crises.

In his first major speech as secretary of state, John Kerry tried to put the size of the American civilian effort in perspective. He cited a recent poll that found most Americans believe the State Department and US foreign aid programs consume 25 percent of federal spending. In fact, they receive 1.0 percent. (The military gets roughly 20 percent.) Kerry’s speech got virtually no press coverage. Just as it did a decade ago, the news media - a second vital American civilian institution - is failing us. This week the media is being correctly excoriated for its failure to be more skeptical of the Bush administration’s central justification for the Iraq war: weapons of mass destruction that turned out not to exist. In the months before the invasion, the New York Times published a series of exaggerated WMD stories by reporter Judith Miller on its front page. At the same time, editors at the Times and other mainstream outlets largely ignored intrepid reports by Knight-Ridder newspapers that questioned the administration’s WMD claims. Ten years later, Miller is a Fox News contributor, and the Knight-Ridder chain no longer exists. A harrowing report released by the Pew Research Center on Monday found that the full-time professional editorial staff at newspapers has declined by 24 percent since 1989. A separate analysis found that the ratio of public-relations workers to reporters grew from 1.2 to 1 in 1980 to 3.6 to 1 in 2008.

The rise of social media and citizen journalism arguably fills the void created by dwindling newspaper resources. Eric Boehlert of Media Matters argued this week that Twitter could have forced mainstream reporters to do a better job before the Iraq invasion. He cited recent cases of mainstream newspapers columnists being forced to respond to a torrent of criticism on Twitter about pieces they wrote.

Jonathan Landay, one of the Knight-Ridder reporters whose pre-invasion work questioning the WMD evidence received little attention, said social media might have made a difference. But he hesitated to say Twitter would have silenced the White House.

“Had the New York Times, Washington Post and the networks done the kind of reporting that we had, could the administration have been able to take the country to war? I don’t know,” Landay said in an email message. “But social media would have brought far more attention to our work, and perhaps more journalists would have followed our lead.” Looking back, Landay, a former colleague and longtime friend who now reports for McClatchy, blamed the news media and American intelligence agencies.

“The mainstream news media was as egregious in its failure to do its job,” he said, “as the U.S. intelligence community was in its failure to produce accurate intelligence on Iraq’s non-existent WMD.” Today, fears of “another Iraq” dominate America’s foreign policy debate. The choice is binary. The United States can respond to a foreign policy threat by carrying out a risky ground invasion. Or it can do nothing at all. Diplomatic, economic and other non-military attempts to influence events overseas are given short shrift.

Any American involvement will make the situation worse, the argument goes, and create another quagmire.

The United States, of course, should not launch another ground invasion in the Middle East. But that does not mean it should not interact in the region at all. The Arab Spring showed that people in the Middle East, in fact, desire democracy. Young Arabs, in particular, want self-determination, jobs and modernity.

Washington has an interest in helping them but no inclination, and has few non-military tools, to do so.

A decade after Iraq, the State Department remains the Pentagon’s Mini Me. The news media is one-third the size of the public-relations industry. And we continue to view military force as our principal means of addressing foreign policy challenges. In post-Iraq America, our foreign policy debate has devolved into an “invade or not invade” dichotomy. Far more options are available. Every country is not Iraq. —Reuters

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.

Election limbo keeps Egypt IMF loan on ice

By Asma Alsharif and David Stamp

O

nce parliamentary elections are out of the way, Egypt stands a chance of securing an International Monetary Fund loan to help address its currency and budget crisis; the problem is that no one knows when that will be. With face-toface contact between Egypt and the IMF re-established this week after a two-month gap, both sides are pushing for urgent action, but with strikingly different emphases. President Mohamed Morsi’s government wants a full $4.8 billion loan, as agreed in principle last November, but based on a gentler reform programme than originally planned, “in light of preserving growth rates, employment and protecting the poor”.

By contrast, the IMF’s top official for the region, Masood Ahmed, spoke only of “possible financial support” after he met the government and central bank in Cairo on Sunday. Also, the IMF has vigorous reform in mind to tackle problems such as energy subsidies, which are draining huge sums from the state budget.

“Egypt needs bold and ambitious policy actions to address its economic and financial challenges without further delay,” spokeswoman Wafr Amr said last week. Such “policy actions”, most likely tax rises and subsidy cuts that will send fuel costs soaring, would not go down well at any time with a population suffering from a steady economic slide since the 2011 revolution, let alone before an election.

“The IMF will want to see measures to rein in the budget deficit in order to agree to a package which the government may be loath to implement prior to elections. An imminent agreement seems unlikely,” said Giyas Gokkent, Chief Economist at National Bank

of Abu Dhabi. Cairo already had to request a delay in the IMF loan in December during serious street violence, and trouble has regularly erupted since then over a variety of grievances. In such a volatile atmosphere, matters would be helped if everyone knew when a new lower house of parliament would be installed. Morsi announced last month that the elections would start on April 22, only for a court to cancel his decree on a procedural technicality.

So, at this crucial stage of a turbulent transition to democracy since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt has had no lower house for nine months, and nobody, from Morsi down, can say when it will. “Egypt’s unstable politics is likely to be the primary concern for IMF officials,” said Oliver Coleman, analyst at risk consultancy Maplecroft. “The judiciary has shown itself more than willing to rescind the decrees of the Morsi government, and a controversial economic reform package may meet the same fate without the mandate of a universally recognised parliament in place to back it up,” he added.

Egypt’s needs are pressing. In its plan drawn up for the IMF, the government forecast the budget deficit would hit 12.3 percent of the country’s entire annual economic output in the year to June unless it made urgent reforms. Far wealthier and more stable Portugal, which restored democracy almost 40 years ago, had to take a bailout from the IMF and European Union in 2011 after running a deficit that peaked below 10 percent of gross domestic product. Egypt’s pound is also steadily losing value, even though the central bank, which spent roughly two thirds of the Mubarak era foreign currency reserves trying to prop it up, is drastically rationing the supply of dollars.

This is crippling many small and medium-sized

businesses, which are forced to turn to the black market, where unfavourable exchange rates can wipe out their profits. On the streets, motorists queue for scarce supplies of diesel and other cheaper fuel, and anger is growing over inflation, which leapt to an annual 8.2 percent in February from 6.3 percent the previous month, eating into the living standards of people struggling to make ends meet. This is creating a sense of helplessness among ordinary Egyptians about the reforms likely to come with an IMF loan.

“Now everything is expensive, and if they remove the subsidies, what will we do?” said Mohamed Shabaan, a 37-year-old driver. “We don’t want (the loan), but at the same time I don’t think that the country can function without it.” Shabaan, who makes a living chauffeuring visitors and expatriates around Cairo, has much to lose. According to the projections, the most commonly used 90 octane gasoline would leap to 5.71 Egyptian pounds ($0.85) a litre from 1.75 if subsidies go, while diesel would go up to 5.21 pounds from 1.10.

The government has promised limited amounts of subsidised fuel would remain available to some drivers under a smart card system due to start in July, but Shabaan’s larger engined car would be excluded from the scheme. In Tuesday, the government said it also planned to start rationing subsidised bread, a measure that would affect poor Egyptians particularly badly.

The Islamist-led administration, which is at loggerheads with the liberal and leftist opposition about the very character of Egypt, denies the stalled elections will determine the timing on an IMF loan. “All the discussion was about financial support or the loan that Egypt aims to obtain from the Fund,” gov-

ernment spokesman Alaa El-Hadidi said after Sunday’s visit by the IMF official, the first since January. “There is no link between the loan and parliamentary elections.”

But officials of the IMF and its biggest shareholder, the United States, regularly stress that the reforms need to win backing, or at least acceptance across Egyptian politics. Consensus seems a remote possibility. Many opposition parties had already decided to boycott the elections in a series of disputes including over the electoral law, a new constitution written by an Islamist-dominated assembly and a Morsi decree last year when he temporarily gave himself sweeping powers.

Indicating the divide in Egyptian life, Hadidi said the economic program had been sent to the political parties “some of whom disagree with anything the government presents”. Hadidi spoke of technical-level talks lasting between one and three weeks, but no date has yet been announced for when they would start. Ahmed, who heads the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, gave little away after he met Prime Minister Hisham Kandil and central bank Governor Hisham Ramez. “We agreed that our discussions would continue diligently over the coming weeks with the aim of reaching agreement on possible financial support from the IMF,” said Ahmed.

William Jackson of Capital Economics in London noted the IMF seemed to believe a deal might take some time. “This probably reflects the difficulties of passing any reforms with the political situation so volatile and without elections,” he said. The IMF has raised the possibility of a bridging loan to tide Egypt over, an idea rejected by Cairo as it pushes for a full loan in return for a full reform program. —Reuters

Khamenei mobilises loyalists to swing election

By Marcus George

I

ran’s supreme leader may have helped Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to win two presidential elections, but he is now bent on stopping his turbulent protege from levering his own man into the job.

Time was when even reformist presidents would defer to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic’s clerical system. Ahmadinejad changed all that. Ahmadinejad’s relentless quest for power and recognition has led him into direct confrontation with Khamenei, the man to whom he arguably owes his second term, if not his first. And as Iran’s first non-clerical president since 1981, he has not stopped short of challenging the power of the clergy.

Even though he cannot stand for a third term, Ahmadinejad is widely seen as determined to extend his influence by backing his former chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie for president.

Khamenei loyalists accuse Mashaie of inspiring a ‘deviant’ trend that favours strong nationalism over clerical rule. “So magical is the political prowess attributed to Mashaie and Ahmadinejad’s populist appeal that Mashaie’s prospective candidacy causes much concern in the Khamenei camp,” said Shaul Bakhash, professor at George Mason University in the United States, weighing prospects for the election in mid-June.

Voters, preoccupied by bread-andbutter issues in an economy battered by Western sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear program, may only have conservatives to choose from. Reformists are unlikely to get a look in. Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who ran against Ahmadinejad in a 2009 election they denounced as rigged, languish under house arrest. The reformist movement “has no organizational capacity and no recognised candidate right now,” said Scott Lucas of EA worldview, a news website that monitors Iranian media.

Iran’s rulers, keen to avert any repeat of the mass protests and violence that shook Iran after the 2009 poll, will try to ensure that only obedient candidates pass the vetting process. And to block

Mashaie or any other pro-Ahmadinejad candidate, Khamenei is turning to a three-man alliance of principalists - hardliners loyal to him to unite behind one candidate to secure a quick and painless election win, say diplomats and analysts. The driving force behind this appears to be the supreme leader’s foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, who is one of the three possible contenders, along with Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and lawmaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel. “If principalists are divided ... and the presidency is not in the hands of principalists in the future, we will have a tragedy,” Velayati said last month. “From these three people one person will be introduced as a candidate, so we can finish the job in the first round.”

Analysts agree that Khamenei, deeply concerned about the election outcome, has given the nod to the initiative. “Ayatollah Khamenei has systematically and effectively concentrated both power and authority in his person. No one in Iran today can become president without his approval,” said Ali Ansari, an Iran scholar at St Andrew’s University in Scotland.

Velayati appears to be leading a drive to eradicate Ahmadinejad’s power and unite all principality’s behind a single candidate despite their own virulent political divisions.

A US-trained doctor who served as foreign minister for 16 years until 1997, Velayati is now regarded as one of Khamenei’s most influential advisers, often deployed to carry out high-level initiatives on the leader’s orders. Velayati’s partners in the antiAhmadinejad alliance are established politicians, but less well known abroad.

Haddad Adel is the father-in-law of Khamenei’s third son, Mojtaba, the gatekeeper of access to the leader himself. An MP and former parliament speaker, he commands influence in the assembly and much respect for his academic credentials. His family ties to Khamenei have strengthened his position within the leader’s inner circle, but have opened him to accusations that he is little more than a pawn of the leader.

The third member of the trio, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, is a former commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary

Guards (IRGC). He is regarded as a pragmatist who “reaches out to more moderate conservatives”, said Scott Lucas of EA World view.

Popular, charismatic and boasting support from the Guards, Qalibaf’s inclusion in the alliance may be intended to stifle any threat he might pose by running as an independent candidate. “He is too popular in his own right and may represent IRGC constituencies that the supreme leader is nervous about,” said a European diplomat who focuses on Iran policy.

Khamenei can tighten his grip on the poll via the Guardian Council, which can veto candidates - although barring too many would risk destroying public interest in a vote which, however circumscribed, bolsters Iran’s claims to democratic legitimacy. “Without these elections and high participation, even the pretence of democracy would fall apart,” said Trita Parsi of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.

But allowing an Ahmadinejad-backed contender - or dark-horse independents - to run has risks for the ruling establishment.

“Ahmadinejad has shown he isn’t going quietly,” said the European diplomat. “The danger will be if his candidate doesn’t get in amid voter fraud speculation - then we’ve got a 2009 situation, involving regime insiders.”

Tensions are already rising. Last month Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani - also a principalist - was pelted with shoes and stones by Ahmadinejad supporters in the holy city of Qom, where he had come to make a speech on the 34th anniversary of Iran’s revolution.

It was the latest skirmish in a personal feud that had exploded into public days earlier when the president accused Larijani’s family of using its position for economic gain. Larijani’s brother, Fazel, described Ahmadinejad’s behaviour as a conspiracy carried out by “Mafia-like individuals”. Such public wrangling among Iran’s conservative political elite is an embarrassment to the Supreme Leader.

“Khamenei no longer seems able to impose discipline eve among his own lieutenants when it comes to those fierce political rivalries,” said Bakhash.

Among independents to throw their hats in the ring are former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaie, a losing candidate in 2009. Both are conservatives who could disrupt Velayati’s campaign to close ranks for Khamenei and shut out any Ahmadinejad proxy. A president loyal to Khamenei might prove slightly less adversarial than Ahmadinejad in relations with the West, but would still be unlikely to accept a major nuclear compromise. “Since they are beholden to the supreme leader, I can’t see much change other than a reduction in some of the rhetoric,” said Ansari of St Andrew’s University. “Although this would help, at least on a superficial level.” -—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

S P ORTS Woods, Vonn are dating

Appleton to leave Blackburn

NEW YORK: Golfer Tiger Woods and Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn confirmed on Monday they are dating. Woods released a statement and photographs of the pair on his website and Facebook page before Vonn posted similar messages on her social media accounts.

“Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating,” said Woods. “We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy. We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.”

Vonn also posted a note and pictures on her Facebook page, confirming rumours they were romantically linked. “I guess it wasn’t a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods,” she said.

“Our relationship evolved from a friendship into something more over these past few months and it has made me very happy.”

Woods, a winner of 14 golf majors, divorced from his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, in 2010 after a highly-publicised sex scandal in which he publicly admitted to infidelity. Vonn, who won the women’s downhill gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, divorced from her husband Thomas Vonn in January. —Reuters

BLACKBURN: Blackburn descended into further disarray in its first year out of the Premier League by firing Michael Appleton yesterday, leaving the club in search of its fourth permanent manager this season.

Appleton lasted just 67 days under Blackburn’s Indian owners before departing following a run of nine games without a win in the League Championship, which dropped Rovers into 18th place in the 24-team division.

Steve Kean and Henning Berg, who had just 57 days in charge, have also been sacked this campaign. Premier League champions in 1995 and an established topflight club when Asian poultry giant Venky’s completed a takeover in November 2010, it is now a mess and in danger of dropping into the third tier.

Rovers said in a brief statement that Appleton has been “relieved of his duties” along with three other members of his backroom staff - assistant manager Ashley Westwood, first-team coach Darren Moore and head of senior recruitment Luke Dowling.

Appleton’s last win as Blackburn coach came at Arsenal in the last 16 of the FA Cup on Feb. 16, but it missed out on a semifinal spot at Wembley Stadium by losing 1-0 to Millwall in a quarterfinal replay last week.

His final game was a 1-1 draw at local rival Burnley on Sunday. Reserve-team coach Gary Bowyer will be in charge of the first team for the remainder of the season. —AP

Reds coach to step down MELBOURNE: Ewen McKenzie will step down as Queensland Reds’ director of coaching at the end of the year to pursue opportunities outside Super Rugby, the Brisbane-based team said yesterday. McKenzie, who guided the Reds to a maiden Super Rugby title in 2011, has long been touted to take over from Australia coach Robbie Deans and could well be in the frame if the Wallabies fail to beat the touring British and Irish Lions in their three-test series this year.

“My experience at the Reds and with Queensland Rugby will be something I’ll always treasure but I feel the time is right to pursue new coaching challenges outside of Super Rugby,” McKenzie said in a statement on the team’s website. “Anyone who knows me understands I have strong coaching ambitions and, after spending nine years coaching at a Super Rugby level, I’m excited about pursuing a different role either here or overseas.” McKenzie, a former Wallabies prop in the 1991 World Cup-winning team, joined a struggling, financially-stricken Reds team in 2010 and turned the Super Rugby basement dwellers into winners of the southern hemisphere competition within two years. He stepped back to take a more strategic role last year and allowed former Western Force coach Richard Graham to take the match-day reins, and the pair piloted the injury-ravaged team to the Australian conference title and another postseason appearance. “While it is always difficult to farewell a championship-winning coach, we have always known that Ewen had aspirations to coach at the next level,” Queensland Rugby Chairman Rod McCall said.—Reuters

Blackhawks get past Avalanche

Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi says the Kuwait International Rally has assembled arguably the strongest ever line-up for a FIA Middle East Championship event.

Al Qassimi ready for classic battle in Kuwait ABU DHABI: Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi believes this weekend’s Kuwait International Rally could produce a classic battle for supremacy between the Arab world’s top drivers in what is arguably the strongest line-up in FIA Middle East Championship history.

The UAE star’s Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3 is one of ten powerful entries contesting the leading class in the second round of this year’s regional series on Friday and Saturday.

And while reigning Middle East champion Nasser Al Attiyah and Al Qassimi are seen as the two most likely winners, the Emirati driver believes at least two other contenders, Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, could mount serious challenges for victory.

“This could be the strongest ever Middle East rally,” said Al Qassimi. “We have 28 cars, one more than the WRC Rally of Mexico last week and there’s a lot of quality.

“Most people seem to be focusing on Nasser and myself, especially after we finished first and second in the first round in Qatar. I think there are four or five drivers who could win.

“Abdulaziz showed what he can do by winning the WRC2 title in Rally Mexico and Yazeed did the same in the previous round in Sweden. They are both fast and will be battling for every stage - they’ll be

hard to drop.”

Partnered by Scott Martin in the Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3, Al Qassimi says the size and depth of the Kuwait International Rally starting line-up augurs well for the future of the FIA Middle East series.

He also hopes the emergence of Abu Dhabi Racing as a new force in the championship will help to raise the profile of the series and attract more young Arab talent.

“What we’re doing in Abu Dhabi is creating a lot of interest and helping to raise standards in the championship,” he said. “We’ve started something and we’re hoping it will open the door for others to follow.”

Also part of the impressive Abu Dhabi Racing driver line-up in Kuwait are Mohammed Al-Sahlawi and Mohammed Al Mutawaa who contest the new 2WD category in a pair of CitroÎn DS3 R3s. Elsewhere, Bader Al Jabri competes in Group N in a Subaru N15.

FIA ME Rally positions after Round 1: 1. Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) 25pts 2. Khalid Al Qassimi (UAE) 18pts 3. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari (QAT) 15pts 4. Khalid Al Suwaidi (QAT) 12pts 5. Adullah Al Qassimi(UAE) 10pts 6. Yazeed Al Rajhi (KSA) 8pts 7. Abdulla Al Kuwari (QAT) 6pts 8. Bader Al Jabri (UAE) 4pts

Al Qassimi is ready for a major battle for victory in his Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team DS3.

You know nothing, Hamilton tells critics LONDON: Lewis Hamilton has taken a swipe at critics, including former Formula One drivers, who had warned that his move to Mercedes was a mistake. “It’s nice to prove people wrong,” the 2008 world champion was quoted as saying on Tuesday as he savoured his fifth-place finish at last weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The 28-year-old Briton had qualified third on the grid. “It has been everyone, particularly all the ex-drivers, a lot of them commenting and saying that it was the worst decision ever, saying: ‘he’s going to finish nowhere, they are going to be nowhere’. “And then they contradicted themselves, going the other way...they don’t know what they are talking about,” Hamilton told British reporters.

Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren,

perennial championship contenders who gave him his F1 debut in 2007, for a Mercedes team who were largely off the pace last year was widely considered a gamble at the end of 2012.

However Mercedes have looked far more competitive in testing and in practice while the new McLaren has had a troubled start with Britain’s Jenson Button and Mexican Sergio Perez ninth and 11th respectively on Sunday. Button, the winner in Australia three times in the four years prior to Sunday’s race, said in Melbourne that McLaren had “fundamental things” to change.

“The way the car is at the moment, this package that is sat in the garage right now is not going to win a race,” said the 2009 champion, who is next in action in steamy Malaysia this weekend. —Reuters

DENVER: Ray Emery stopped 17 shots to remain unbeaten this season, while Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists as Chicago held off Colorado 5-2 on Monday night in the first meeting since the Avalanche halted the Blackhawks’ record points streak.

Jimmy Hayes and Andrew Shaw scored 57 seconds apart in the first period, Brent Seabrook contributed another and Jonathan Toews added a late insurance goal for the surging Blackhawks, who have won three straight to move to 3-2-0 after their NHL-record 21-0-3 start to the season was ended in the Mile High City on March 8.

Emery, the backup to Corey Crawford, extended his league record with his 11th consecutive victory to start the season. Gabriel Landeskog and Milan Hejduk scored for slumping Colorado, which has lost a season-high four in a row. Toews finished with a score and two assists.

Ducks 5, Sharks 3 In Anaheim, Emerson Etem scored his first NHL goal and defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored twice as Anaheim beat San Jose for its 12th consecutive home victory. Viktor Fasth made 32 saves for the streaking Ducks, who have the NHL’s second-best record at 21-3-4 while earning a point in 11 straight games.

Ryan Getzlaf had a short-handed goal and an assist, while Peter Holland and Etem scored 34 seconds apart in the second to keep the Ducks unbeaten at Honda Center since their opener Jan. 25.

Jason Demers scored his first NHL goal and Antti Niemi stopped 23 shots for the Sharks, who have lost six of seven. Matt Irwin and Patrick Marleau also scored after Anaheim took a 4-1 lead.

Wild 3, Canucks 1 In Vancouver, Charlie Coyle scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, Niklas Backstrom made 35 saves and Minnesota took sole possession of the Northwest Division lead with a win over Vancouver.

Jonas Brodin and Matt Cullen also scored for the Wild, who moved two points ahead of Vancouver for the division lead with their eighth win in 11 games. Henrik Sedin scored as the Canucks suffered their second straight loss and 11th in 16 games.

Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo made his fourth straight start despite being in net for Vancouver’s 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Luongo finished with 22 saves.

Kings 4, Coyotes 0 In Los Angeles, Jonathan Quick earned his first shutout of the season with 27 saves and Tyler Toffoli scored his first NHL goal on a power play in only his second game with Los Angeles, helping the Kings beat Phoenix.

Rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin also scored with the man advantage, while Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter each had a goal and an assist for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Quick’s 25th career shutout gave the Kings their 11th victory in 15 games and their 10th in the last 11 at Staples Center.

The Conn Smythe Trophy winner, who set a franchise record with 10 shutouts last season, is seven behind Rogie Vachon’s club record.

DENVER: Goalie Semyon Varlamov No. 1 of the Colorado Avalanche defends the goal against a shot by Duncan Keith No. 2 of the Chicago Blackhawks as Shane O’Brien No. 5 of the Colorado Avalanche follows the play at the Pepsi Center. —AFP Stars 4, Flames 3 In Dallas, Loui Eriksson scored twice and Ray Whitney added two assists to lead Dallas to a victory over Calgary. Eric Nystrom and Erik Cole also scored for Dallas, which snapped a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) - a stretch that dropped the Stars from seventh place in the Western Conference to 13th.

Kari Lehtonen made 16 saves for the Stars, who were coming off an 8-1 loss Saturday night against Chicago and had been outscored 14-2 while losing their last three games.

Jiri Hudler and Jay Bouwmeester scored for Calgary, which battled down to the wire after Alex Tanguay’s goal with 4:46 remaining pulled the Flames within one. —AP

Lightning 4, Flyers 2 In Tampa, Teddy Purcell scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period to lift Tampa Bay to a win over Philadelphia. Purcell’s in-close deflection at 9:25 of the third came shortly after the Lightning killed off a shorthanded situation. Ondrej Palat, Tom Pyatt and Steven Stamkos also scored for Tampa Bay, which improved to 121 when leading after the first period.

Stamkos scored his 21st goal this season into an empty net with 3 seconds to play. Maxime Talbot and Claude Giroux scored for Philadelphia, while defenseman Kimmo Timonen played in his 1,000th NHL game on his 38th birthday.

Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1 In New York, Rangers rookie J.T. Miller fumbled his way to a goal in the third round of a shootout as New York ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over Carolina. Rick Nash scored in the opening round of the tiebreaker and Henrik Lundqvist stopped both Carolina tries for the Rangers (14-12-2), who moved into ninth place in the Eastern Conference - two points behind Carolina (15-11-2), which lost its third straight (0-2-1). Eric Staal scored in the first period, and Derek Stepan tied it in the second for the Rangers. The rest of the game belonged to the goalies: Lundqvist, who made 29 saves, and Carolina counterpart Ellis, who stopped 35 shots in his third start since No. 1 goalie Cam Ward was injured March 3.

NHL results/standings NY Rangers 2, Carolina 1 (SO); Tampa Bay 4, Philadelphia 2; Dallas 4, Calgary 3; Chicago 5, Colorado 2; Minnesota 3, Vancouver 1; Anaheim 5, San Jose 3; Los Angeles 4, Phoenix 0.

Pittsburgh New Jersey NY Rangers NY Islanders Philadelphia

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL 22 8 0 13 10 6 14 12 2 13 12 3 13 16 1

GF 108 72 67 83 81

GA 80 81 68 91 92

PTS 44 32 30 29 27

Montreal Boston Ottawa Toronto Buffalo

Northeast Division 19 5 4 19 5 3 15 8 6 15 12 2 10 15 4

90 81 72 86 76

70 57 62 83 93

42 41 36 32 24

Carolina Winnipeg Tampa Bay Washington Florida

Southeast Division 15 11 2 15 12 2 13 15 1 12 15 1 7 16 6

83 77 96 78 70

78 85 86 85 109

32 32 27 25 20

Chicago St. Louis Detroit Nashville Columbus

Western Conference Central Division 24 2 3 16 10 2 14 10 5 11 12 6 11 12 6

100 85 78 67 64

62 80 75 77 76

51 34 33 28 28

Minnesota Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Colorado

Northwest Division 16 10 2 13 9 6 11 11 6 11 12 4 10 14 4

73 78 69 78 71

69 80 81 91 89

34 32 28 26 24

Pacific Division Anaheim 21 3 4 95 69 46 Los Angeles 16 10 2 85 71 34 San Jose 12 10 6 67 74 30 Phoenix 13 12 4 77 82 30 Dallas 13 12 3 73 84 29 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

Bolt to run 100m in Rome ROME: World record-holder Usain Bolt will run the 100 meters at Rome’s Golden Gala on June 6. It will be the third consecutive year the six-time Olympic champion from Jamaica will run at the Stadio Olimpico, Local organizers announced yesterday.

Rome is the opening European meet in the Diamond League. Bolt has also committed to run the 200 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, on June 13; the 4x100 relay at the Golden Spike in the Czech city of Ostrava on June 27, and the 200 again at the Areva Meeting in Paris on July 6, as part of his preparations for the world championships in Moscow from Aug. 10-18.

Bolt won gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at last year’s London Olympics and is aiming to repeat the triple feat in Moscow. Bolt won the 100 in Rome the past two years, clocking 9.91 seconds in 2011 and 9.76 last season. On both occasions, former world record-holder Asafa Powell was runner-up and Christophe Lemaitre of France was third.

Rome organizers have not yet announced who will be running against Bolt this time. Bolt’s most recent 100 record of 9.58 was set at the 2009 worlds in Berlin. —AP

Usain Bolt

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

S P ORTS

Tournament one thing NCAA gets right LAS VEGAS: It’s a short walk from the MGM Grand sports book - where the odds on Saturday favored Oregon by two points over UCLA - to the arena where the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament was contested. Timed just right, a fan could have sneaked away at halftime to place a bet on his favorite school and still made it back before play resumed.

That certainly had to flummox the NCAA, which believes this gambling city is so evil that it refuses to even consider letting it host part of the NCAA tournament. This being Las Vegas, though, the city just moved on to the next best thing, hosting four different conference tournaments in the last two weeks in three different arenas.

All told, 68 teams full of impressionable young men and women came to town seeking glory on the hardwood, including the No. 1 men’s team in the nation. Their fans filled arenas, enjoyed the city’s nightlife, and, yes, even wagered a few bucks on their favorite teams.

If they took Oregon and gave the points, they managed to fatten their wallets a bit. The Ducks not only beat UCLA but covered the spread, making it a big night for Oregon fans and gamblers alike.

The fact there wasn’t a peep about it from the NCAA underscores what many have suspected for a long time now. The agency that’s supposed to regu-

late college athletics barely regulates anything anymore, at least when it comes to basketball and football, the only two sports that generate any serious revenue.

It can’t keep student-athletes out of Las Vegas, can’t keep conferences from breaking apart in search of more money. Its investigative unit is in a shambles and NCAA President Mark Emmert has so little influence that even his simple plan to pay players a $2,000 annual stipend out of the millions their universities bring in from sports can’t get through the organization’s byzantine power structure.

And while Emmert has tried to make his name with plans to strengthen academics, the truth is that little has been done to close a huge gap in graduation rates between white and black athletes.

The annual study by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida of tournament teams found that, although graduation rates are ticking upward, just two out of every three black basketball athletes graduate from college.

“It is simply not acceptable that in 2013, 40 percent of the men’s teams had a GSR (graduation success rate) disparity of greater than 30 percent between white student-athletes and AfricanAmerican student-athletes, and 53 percent had a GSR disparity of greater than 20 percent,” said Richard Lapchick, the primary author of the study.

The days of the NCAA wielding a big stick over college athletics are pretty much over, and for that we should all be grateful. It controls the tournament and little else, and the people who are supposed to make sure schools follow the rules have been exposed as a group of amateurs who might have trained under the bumbling Inspector Clouseau.

Without the NCAA tournament, the organization itself might not even exist. It’s a cash cow that will bring in $702 million in television rights fees this year alone and the tournament may be the one thing that keeps big schools from bolting from the NCAA umbrella completely. The money - much of which is distributed to member schools - allows it to function as a quasi-legitimate overseer of college sports, though most of the important decisions in basketball and football are made by the big conferences and their broadcast partners.

It’s hard to take anything the NCAA does seriously anymore. That’s especially true when it comes to enforcement, where in the past few months the agency has botched investigations of both the University of Miami and star UCLA recruit Shabazz Muhammad.

Miami is fighting back, with its president calling the probe “unprofessional and unethical.” Strong words, but Miami’s reaction to the NCAA probe is yet another sign that even its member schools are fed up

with the way the organization operates.

As for Muhammad, he eventually got to play all but three games of what will be an abbreviated college career. What makes his case interesting, though, is that the NCAA spent a year investigating him for taking paid recruiting trips - and he’s from Las Vegas.

Indeed, the agency seems to have a strange fascination with this city. Investigators once lived here nearly full time, hoping they might bust UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian for littering or crossing the street against the light. It wasn’t until Tarkanian fought back with a lawsuit the NCAA eventually settled by paying him $2.5 million that the organization finally backed off. Tarkanian sat courtside Saturday to watch the final of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

There were 18,500 fans packed into the arena his teams built, and later that night 11,000 more watched UCLA and Oregon at the MGM Grand.

It was March basketball at its best and, if a few people wanted to place wagers on it, well so be it.

There will be literally billions of dollars changing hands on the NCAA tournament beginning this week, much of it in office pools that the NCAA in its puritanical beliefs also finds objectionable.

It’s almost laughable, but the hypocrites at the NCAA are hosting the biggest betting event ever.

Let’s just hope it’s the one thing they manage to get right. —AP

Heat get past Celtics

SAN FRANCISCO: Andrelton Simmons No. 9 of the Netherlands bobbles a ball while trying to make a play against the Dominican Republic during the semifinal of the World Baseball Classic. —AFP

Dominicans beats Netherlands SAN FRANCISCO: After two World Baseball Classics dominated by Japan, this one is coming down to a pair of Caribbean nations. When the undefeated Dominican Republic plays Puerto Rico on Tuesday night in a rematch only three days after they last met in Miami, two island countries with years of baseball success will give the world a version of a Caribbean championship.

“Whoever wins the Classic ... It could be Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, but it will belong to the Caribbeans,” Dominican manager Tony Pena said after his team’s 4-1 win against the Netherlands on Monday.

Tuesday’s winner will earn the distinction of world champion for the first time in the three -event histor y of the WBC. Fernando Rodney surprised his teammates in the middle of the game when he pulled out a lucky plantain, sent from a family member back home in the Dominican just in time for Monday’s semifinal.

The quirky Tampa Bay closer certainly found it to be the perfect motivational prop. Late lineup addition Moises Sierra hit a tying RBI double in the fifth and Jose Reyes added a go-ahead single two batters later as the spirited Dominicans reached the final and avenged an early exit at the hands of the Dutch in the last Classic four years ago.

The banana will be around for another day. “Keep it, why not?” winning pitcher Edinson Volquez said. “It’s like we have this one mission as a team, winning and winning.”

Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI single as the undefeated Dominicans survived a rocky start from Volquez, who benefited from Sierra’s catch over the left-field wall in foul territory to end a first-inning threat.

The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will play for a third time this tournament after the Dominicans won Saturday in Miami before the teams flew West.

Puerto Rico eliminated two-time defending Classic champion Japan 3-1 on Sunday night.

Rodney finished Monday’s game for his sixth save as dozens of seagulls swirled right above the field. Players rushed out of the dugout as fans chanted “Dominicana!

Dominicana!”

This time, the Dominicans didn’t let the Netherlands interfere with their road to the WBC championship. They were still fuming four years after the Netherlands beat them twice in the 2009 WBC’s first round for a stunning early exit. “We kept it in the past,” Volquez said. “ We’re just focused on our game.”

And Pena cer tainly didn’t mind Rodney’s spontaneous dugout contribution. Former Oakland and San Francisco shortstop Miguel Tejada earned a start at third base and singled twice and scored a run. He drew cheers from the Bay Area fans during pregame introductions.

Andruw Jones hit a two-out single in the fourth for the first Dutch hit against Volquez, who yielded Wladimir Balentien’s first-inning RBI groundout before settling

in to earn the win.

Carlos Santana hit a one-out double in the fifth and Sierra followed with an RBI double as the Dominicans tied the game at 1 and later chased Netherlands starter Diegomar Markwell.

The Dutch lefhander, who came in at a 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his two previous WBC outings, didn’t allow a runner past first base through four innings. But his pitch count quickly went up in a four-run fifth as the Dominicans tagged him for five hits, so that was it considering the WBC pitch limit is 95.

Tom Stuifbergen replaced Markwell with two outs in the fifth and threw a wild pitch on his first offering to Robinson Cano, allowing Reyes to score from third for an insurance run.

Cano - batting 15 for 29 (.517) this tournament with two home runs, six RBIs, five runs scored and two doubles - went 1 for 2 with two intentional walks.

The second baseman and Yankees star made a pretty stop on Roger Bernadina’s sharp grounder in the sixth in which he lunged left then spun and threw to first.

Now, Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens will head back to the Arizona desert for his other gig: hitting coach of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The Dutch-born Meulens’ mother is Dominican, so he had fans on both sides for this one.

About half of the Dutch roster is from the Netherlands and the others from his native island of Curacao. He warned his team that the Dominicans had all the big names and the major league experience, but not to let it affect the Dutch doing what got them this far: playing solid, fundamental baseball. “I’m proud of our guys,” Meulens said. “I thanked them for playing with a lot of heart.”

This game drew only 27,527, compared to 33,363 a night earlier as Japan went down to the surprising Puerto Ricans.

While hardly as festive without the favored Japanese, some sections of fans stayed on their feet and danced to music and the beat of drums and horns. One man cheered “Let’s go Giants!” in the top of the fourth inning.

Volquez, the Dominican right-hander, had a pair of walks and a wild pitch - with two mound visits by Santana, the catcher through the first two batters of the game.

He threw nine balls among his first 11 pitches, but got out of it with minimal damage after allowing Balentien’s runscoring grounder. And the Dominican Republic’s reliable bullpen did the rest.

Pena made a lineup switch after consulting with his coaches, going with Sierra in left field and in the No. 8 hole instead of Ricardo Nanita. On a night countryman Felipe Alou threw out the ceremonial first pitch to get things started, the Dominicans got it done for their baseball-crazed homeland. “Of course when you’re representing your countr y and you’re making your country proud, that’s amazing. That’s awesome,” Volquez said. “It’s not something that you can do every day.” —‚AP

BOSTON: LeBron James made the goahead jumper with 10.5 seconds left against the Boston Celtics to lead Miami to its 23rd consecutive victory, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The 105-103 win Monday night allowed the Heat to surpass the 22 straight that Houston won in 2007-08.

The Heat streak now trails only the 33 in a row won by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

James scored 37 with 12 assists as the Heat won in Boston in the regular season for the first time in 11 tries despite a career-high 43 points from Jeff Green. The Celtics were without Kevin Garnett, who has the flu and a left thigh strain.

Paul Pierce had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics. But he missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that could have given Boston the win.

76ers 101, Trail Blazers 100 In Philadelphia, Spencer Hawes had 18 points and 13 rebounds as Philadelphia held off Portland. The Sixers wasted a 14-point lead and Portland took the lead late in the fourth.

Holiday, though, rallied the Sixers and stretched the lead to 101-97 on a pair of free throws.

Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 101-100. Holiday fell on the inbound pass and the ball sailed into the Sixers’ bench, giving Portland the ball with 7.1 seconds left. LaMarcus Aldridge missed the potential winner on a turnaround over Hawes. Aldridge had 32 points and 14 rebounds, and Lillard scored 27 points.

Nuggets 119, Bulls 118 In Chicago, Andre Iguodala’s 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left in overtime sent Denver to its 12th consecutive win.

Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 35 points, Corey Brewer added 16 and Ty Lawson 13. Iguodala finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Andre Miller had 13 assists.

Nate Robinson scored 34 points for Chicago, which lost for the seventh time in 11 games. Luol Deng added 21 points, Marco Belinelli scored 18, and Joakim Noah had 12 rebounds and 14 points. It was the 12th time in the last 13 games that Denver scored at least 100 points, and marked the first time in seven games that an opponent has scored at least 100 on the Nuggets.

Suns 99, Lakers 76 In Phoenix, Luis Scola scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter as Phoenix pulled away to beat Los Angeles, which was without Kobe Bryant for the second straight night.

Steve Nash scored 19 against his former team, but was just 6 of 17 as the Lakers shot 33 percent for the game. The Suns outscored the Lakers 28-10 in the fourth quarter to snap a four-game losing streak.

Dwight Howard had 16 points and 11 rebounds, but was just 6 of 18 from the field for the Lakers, still without injured Pau Gasol. Wesley Johnson added 14 points for the Suns, who beat the Lakers in Phoenix for the fourth time in a row.

Knicks 90, Jazz 83 In Salt Lake City, JR Smith scored 20 points and Raymond Felton had 19 as short-handed New York defeated Utah to end a four-game losing streak. The Knicks (39-26) dropped games at Golden State, Denver, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers by an average margin of 20 points, but salvaged the last game of their trip and stayed a game ahead of the Nets in the Atlantic Division.

New York was without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who practiced earlier Monday and indicated his right knee feels better since he had fluid drained. New York also remained without center Tyson Chandler, bothered by a strained neck muscle, and forward Amare Stoudemire, who recently underwent knee surgery. Gordon

BOSTON: LeBron James No. 6 of the Miami Heat defends against Paul Pierce No. 34 of the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics. —AFP seven rebounds, while former Pistons guard Jerry Stackhouse had 10 points in his first game since Jan. 26.

Warriors 93, Hornets 72 In New Orleans, Stephen Curry scored 30 points as Golden State won easily for the second straight night. Curry, who scored 29 points in a 30-point victory at Houston on Sunday, made 10 of his 19 field goal attempts, going 6 of 9 on 3pointers, hitting one from as far as 29 feet.

David Lee added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 13 points for the Warriors. Ryan Anderson had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who came in tied for the Western Conference’s worst record and have lost four straight. Anthony Davis added 16 points and Greivis Vasquez 14.

Smith added 13 points for Atlanta.

Hayward led Utah with 17 points, Paul Millsap had 12 and Al Jefferson 10, but the Jazz shot 38 percent.

Pacers 111, Cavaliers 90 In Cleveland, Gerald Green scored 20 points and Tyler Hansbrough, starting in place of the injured David West, had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Indiana.

West missed the game with a sprained lower back sustained Saturday against Philadelphia, but the Pacers dominated without their second-leading scorer. Green scored 13 points in the second quarter and Hansbrough, making just his second start of the season, led a balanced attack. CJ Miles led Cleveland with 21 points, but injuries continued to plague the Cavaliers.

Guard Dion Waiters didn’t play after the first quarter because of a sore left knee and Cleveland played its fourth straight game without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who is out with a sprained left shoulder.

Bobcats 119, Wizards 114 In Charlotte, Gerald Henderson had 27 points, Kemba Walker came up big late and Charlotte snapped Washington’s three-game win streak.

Walker scored nine of his 18 points in the final three minutes to spark a 12-0 run, lifting the Bobcats to only their second win in their last 14 games. Walker shot 8 of 14 from the field and had seven assists.

Henderson, who came in averaging 22.5 points over his previous five games, was 8 of 16 from the field and 10 of 11 on free throws. He also tied a career high with eight assists.

Ben Gordon had 19 points and Josh McRoberts added 17 for Charlotte. John Wall scored 25 points and Nene added 21 for the Wizards, who have lost three of four games this season to the NBAworst Bobcats.

Grizzlies 92, Timberwolves 77 In Memphis, Mike Conley had 20 points and six assists to help Memphis win for the first time in three games.

Conley was 8 of 14 from the field and connected on 3 of 6 from beyond the arc to help Memphis get its 10th straight win in the series. Marc Gasol finished with 16 points and Jerryd Bayless added 15.

Zach Randolph had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince scored 12 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds. Alexey Shved led the Timberwolves with 12 points, and Mickael Gelabale and J.J. Barea finished with 11 apiece. The Timberwolves’ reserves scored 44 points as no Minnesota starter finished in double figures. Minnesota shot 34 percent and was outscored 50-28 in the paint. —AP

Nets 119, Pistons 82 In Auburn Hills, Deron Williams scored 31 points in 28 minutes, and Brooklyn easily won the opener of an eight-game road trip. Detroit lost its ninth straight and fell to 2-13 since the All-Star break. Pistons coach Lawrence Frank returned after missing six games to be with his seriously ill wife. Frank is planning to return to New Jersey before Detroit plays Friday in Miami.

The Nets, coming off a 12-point loss to Atlanta on Sunday, pulled within a halfgame of New York in the Atlantic Division, with the Knicks playing later Monday at Utah. Brook Lopez added 18 points and

Mavericks 127, Hawks 113 In Atlanta, Darren Collison scored 24 points as Dallas set season highs for points in a half and a game. Dallas led 68-55 at halftime and kept adding to the lead in the second half. Dirk Nowitzki, who had 22 points, hit two free throws as the Mavericks reached 100 with their first points of the final period.

Collison made 10 of 14 shots from the field, going 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Jeff Teague scored 19 points, Al Horford had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh

NBA results/standings Philadelphia 101, Portland 100; Charlotte 119, Washington 114; Indiana 111, Cleveland 90; Dallas 127, Atlanta 113; Brooklyn 119, Detroit 82; Miami 105, Boston 103; Denver 119, Chicago 118 (OT); Memphis 92, Minnesota 77; Golden State 93, New Orleans 72; Phoenix 99, LA Lakers 76; NY Knicks 90, Utah 83.

NY Knicks Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT 39 26 .600 39 28 .582 36 30 .545 26 40 .394 26 41 .388

Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland

Central Division 41 26 .612 36 30 .545 33 32 .508 23 46 .333 22 45 .328

Miami Atlanta Washington Orlando Charlotte

Southeast Division 52 14 .788 37 30 .552 23 43 .348 18 49 .269 15 52 .224

GB 1 3.5 13.5 14

4.5 7 19 19

15.5 29 34.5 37.5

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 50 17 .746 Denver 46 22 .676 Utah 34 33 .507 Portland 31 35 .470 Minnesota 23 42 .354

4.5 16 18.5 26

LA Clippers Golden State LA Lakers Sacramento Phoenix

Pacific Division 46 21 .687 39 30 .565 36 33 .522 23 44 .343 23 45 .338

8 11 23 23.5

San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans

Southwest Division 51 16 .761 45 21 .682 36 31 .537 32 35 .478 22 46 .324

5.5 15 19 29.5

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

S P ORTS Preview

INDIAN WELLS: Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return in this file photo. —AFP

Djokovic, Serena lead injury-hit Miami lineup MIAMI: World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams head the fields in the WTA and ATP Masters Miami hardcourt event that begins yesterday, although several big names will be among the missing.

Rafael Nadal, who secured the Indian Wells title on Sunday for his third title since his comeback from nagging knee injuries, and Swiss World No. 2 Roger Federer are absent on the men’s side, which features 45 of the world’s 50 top players.

Injured World No. 10 Samantha Stosur of Australia is missing on the women’s side, having suffered a right calf injury that forced her to drop out of her quarter-final at Indian Wells.

Djokovic will try to claim his fourth Miami title while Williams attempts to take her sixth career crown at the $8.5 million tournament, which provides first-round byes to seeded players.

Williams will play her first event since reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking at Dubai, where she reached the final. Serbian star Djokovic lost to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the Indian Wells semi-finals, ending his 22-match winning streak in a run that included a fourth Australian Open title, his sixth career Grand Slam crown.

“I need a few days off and I’ll move on to Miami,” said Djokovic, who could become the first player since Andre Agassi in 2003 to lift a third Miami title in a row.

Del Potro, who also ousted World No. 2 Andy Murray of Britain in the Indian Wells quarter-finals, is looking for big things at Miami as well after falling to Nadal in the Indian Wells final.

“After tomorrow I will be happy for this tournament and get motivation for the future, for the next one, and be ready, waiting for another chance like I made in this tournament,” Del Potro said.

“I’m excited to play Miami. Many Argentinian fans, friends, family, come to

watch me there. It’s a very good tournament. I’m so excited to be playing there. But first I need a couple of days for recovery, for rest, and I wish to do a similar tournament there.”

Djokovic won at Miami in 2007 as well as the past two years and has reached the final in four of the past six years. He will play his opener Friday against either Gilles Muller or Lukas Rosol and could face 30th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the third round.

Reigning US Open and Olympic champion Murray, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s Miami final, will try to add to his 2009 title, which came with a victory over Djokovic.

Australian Bernard Tomic or a qualifier will await Murray in his first match. Spanish third seed David Ferrer, in Djokovic’s half of the draw, looks to bounce back from a second-round defeat at Indian Wells. He will open against a qualifier but del Potro could be a quarter-final opponent for Ferrer. The South American will open against against either Tobias Kamke or Blaz Kavcic. Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych, who could meet Murray in a semi-final, will open against either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Denis Istomin.

On the women’s side, Williams has a trophy haul that includes Miami titles in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. The 31-year-old American also reached the final in 1999 and 2009 and she could become the first sixtime Miami winner.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion is looking to sustain the 2012 form that brought seven titles, including the US Open, Wimbledon and the London Olympics.

Williams will open against either Flavia Pennetta or Johanna Larsson on Thursday.

Indian Wells runner-up Caroline Wozniacki is a possible quarter-final opponent for Williams, provided the Danish ninth seed escapes a fourth round that could see her face China’s Li Na. —AFP

Lancaster hopes Lions and Pumas can boost England LONDON: England coach Stuart Lancaster is looking to his side’s forthcoming tour of Argentina and the British and Irish Lions series in Australia to find out more about the composure of a youthful group of players who suffered a collective loss of nerve in failing to complete a Grand Slam against Wales.

Saturday ’s humbling 30-3 loss, the heaviest of Lancaster ’s reign, denied England both a clean sweep and the Six Nations Championship, the Welsh retaining the title they won last season to the delight of a raucous crowd of over 74,000 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Several days on, England’s frustration with the rulings of Kiwi-born Australian referee Steve Walsh at the scrum and breakdown was still evident, but Lancaster accepted his side remained a work in progress when it came to handling the pressure of a big occasion away from Twickenham. But with a number of his players set to be involved in Lions action against the Wallabies, with the next best tier on their way to Argentina for what is sure to be a tough series with the Pumas, Lancaster believes the post-season tour schedule will provide him with useful feedback ahead of the 2015 World Cup in England.

“The next step is for our best players to go to the Lions and see how they develop under that pressure, which will be significant, and for (England assistant coach) Mike Catt and I to take another group of players to Argentina and make sure we get that depth of talent we really need to see emerge,” Lancaster said yesterday.

“It will be critical for us because we go to a hostile environment and put ourselves under pressure. That is why we want midweek games as well. “It gives us a chance to work with a wider group of players and see which players can make the transition from club to country and play and deliver in a hostile environment.”

That ability to “deliver in a hostile environment” was sorely lacking in Cardiff where England, six points down at the interval, were overwhelmed in the second half. Lancaster has been criticised for dispensing entirely with the services of a senior group of players following England’s miserable World Cup campaign in New Zealand, but he insisted Saturday’s reverse was part of a necessary learning curve for an inexperienced squad. “When we made

the transition from the 2011 World Cup squad through to where we are now, we wanted to find out more about the players and we did that, particularly in the last game,” Lancaster said.

“We were tested at the highest level.

The final 20 minutes was the most disappointing thing about the game, to let it slip away like that. “At 9-3 we were still in the game. We put the ball straight into touch and had a period of defence which resulted in 12-3.

Stuart Lancaster “ There was then a turnover at the breakdown-which we still need clarification on-and that was the tipping point in the game (because it led to Wales’ first try).

“Whatever happened in that breakdown it was disappointing to lose composure and let the game slip away.”

Never theless, Lancaster was still encouraged by the fact England-who haven’t enjoyed a clean sweep of their major European rivals since 2003, when they also won the World Cup-had at least put themselves in a position to win a Grand Slam.

“Overall when you look at the campaign we made good progress,” he said. “We have a good group of players and we played some tough games during the Six Nations and to put ourselves in a position to win it was hugely pleasing.” —AFP

Grand slams, not top spot, the lure for Sharapova LOS ANGELES: Maria Sharapova rose to number two in the rankings on Monday after her impressive title run at the BNP Paribas Open but says she is motivated much more by grand slam glory than the prospect of regaining the top spot.

“Number one is a great number,” the elegant Russian laughed after demolishing eighth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-2 in Sunday’s final of the elite WTA event at Indian Wells to land her 28th title on the circuit.

“The more consistent you are and the better results that you have and the more wins that you’re able to get, the better chances you have of getting that spot. “Is it something that all of us want? Absolutely. It’s a ‘no-brainer’ question. But I think at this point in my career, titles and grand slams are just a bigger priority.”

Four-times grand slam Sharapova is well accustomed to the allure of being viewed as the game’s best player, having become the fifth youngest woman to reach the top of the world rankings, at the age of 18 in 2005.

For her to regain that top spot, however, she will have to overhaul American Serena Williams who, when fully fit and on her game, is virtually unbeatable in women’s tennis.

“Serena was very dominant last year,” Sharapova said of Williams, who won Wimbledon, Olympic gold and the U.S. Open as she piled up seven titles in a dazzling 2012 campaign. “She played tremendous, confident tennis.

“She’s also very strong and very athletic, so you need to be consistent with her. She’s also a great frontrunner. You’re down a little bit and she goes with it. She’s a confidence player.”

When it comes to head-to-heads between Sharapova and Williams, it is virtually no-contest.

The Russian has won only twice in their 13 career meetings with her most recent victory dating back nine years to the Tour Championship in Los Angeles. Sharapova has been beaten in straight sets by Williams in their last six matches.

In the eyes of many, the battle for top spot in the women’s game could come down to a seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs between Williams, Sharapova and third-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion.

“Serena is the most dangerous and she is the favourite at this point when she goes into tournaments because she has the most weapons,” former world number one Tracy Austin told Reuters.

“She’s an extraordinary athlete and I think because she has had some time off in her career, for extended periods where she was either injured or just away from the game, she still has the hunger.”

Asked whether anyone could get close to Williams when the American was in prime form, Austin replied: “Azarenka gave her a good show at the U.S. Open last year, losing 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the final.

“Then we thought Serena was on her game at the Australian Open in January and she lost to Sloane Stephens (in the quarter-finals). So it’s cer-

INDIAN WELLS: Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a forehand return in this file photo. —AFP tainly possible.”

Austin, who at 16 became the youngest US Open champion in 1979 before claiming a second U.S. crown in 1981, regards Azarenka and Sharapova as the likeliest challengers to Williams for top spot.

“Victoria has really come through,” said Austin.

“She got mentally tougher, has more belief, got speedier about the court, got better movement and now she has the two grand slams.

“She is the most likely challenger right now.

And then you have Maria. She is just a great story because she’s already won so much and yet the motivation never seems to dissipate.

“She just seems to love the challenge of trying

to improve as a tennis player and I just admire her so much for that because she clearly has won enough, she clearly has enough money.”

Austin said she had been hugely impressed by the Russian’s fighting spirit after having surgery on her right shoulder in October 2008 before dropping out of the top 100 in the rankings by May of the following year.

“After the surgery, I am sure she was concerned whether she was ever going to get that big weapon of a serve back again, as most of us were. “But she just kept on fighting and working and believing in herself, won the French Open last year and got back to number one for a short time. It’s a really spectacular story.” —Reuters

NFL to pay $42m for using retired players’ images MINNEAPOLIS: The NFL has agreed to pay $42 million as part of a settlement with a group of retired players who challenged the league over using their names and images without their consent.

The league will use the money to fund a “common good” trust over the next eight years that will help retired players with an array of issues including medical expenses, housing and career transition. The settlement also establishes a licensing agency for retired players to ensure they are compensated for the use of their identities in promotional materials.

“We look forward to building an unprecedented new relationship with retired players that will benefit everybody, especially those who need extra medical or financial assistance,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday in a statement issued by the league.

The settlement could improve the frosty relationship between the NFL and many of its retired players who have felt left behind as the league has exploded in popularity over the last decade. Former stars like Mike Ditka, Jim Brown and others have lobbied hard for more help dealing with retired players’ mounting financial difficulties and medical expenses, and for a bigger role in negotiations of labor agreements.

Brown called the settlement a “landmark for those who really need it.” “We were able to finalize this agreement and for the first time in history retired players will be represented at the table,” Brown said at a press conference in Arizona, where owners are holding meetings this week.

Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea and five other retired players filed the federal class-action lawsuit in Minneapolis in 2009 accusing the NFL of blatantly exploiting retired players’ identities in films, highlight reels and memorabilia to market the league’s “glory days.”

“The retired players who created these glory days, however, have gone almost completely uncompensated for this use of their identities,” the plaintiffs said.

“Notably, while exploiting the identities of retired players for commercial gain, the NFL prohibits retired NFL players from using their own identities as players to promote themselves commercially.”

The Common Good fund will be administered by a group of retired players approved by the court, a significant legitimization of a group as a whole that for years has felt like it was on the outside looking in. And the licensing agency will for the first time market retired players’ publicity rights in conjunction with the NFL, thereby making it easier for retired players to work with potential sponsors and advertisers.

“There’s now going to be a voice for the retired players,” said Charles Zimmerman, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “That’s very important.” The other players listed in the suit are Jim Marshall, Ed White, Joe Senser, Fred Dryer and Dan Pastorini. In the past, if Marshall was approached by a company looking to pay him to use footage of him as a player in a commercial or advertisement, the company would have to go to the NFL for approval, to the Minnesota Vikings for more approval and to any player featured in that footage for more approval. —AP

Gianni Meersman celebrates in this file photo

Meersman makes it two in a row in Tour of Catalonia MADRID: Belgian rider Gianni Meersman retained the overall lead in the Tour of Catalonia after making it two stages wins in as many days yesterday.

The 27-year-old beat home Italian Daniele Ratto and Brett Lancaster of Australia in a sprint finish to the 160.7km ride from Girona to Banyuls. Meersman sits atop the overall standings, 16sec ahead of Spain’s Alejandro Valverde with Swiss Danilo Wyss a further four second adrift. Meersman benefited from a crash on the final bend which saw several contenders for the stage win come to grief or being hindered so badly they had no chance of recovering.

Today the overall favourites for the title such as Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins should come to the fore as the riders face their first tough challenge with the 180km ride climaxing at the ski station of Vallter 2000.

Meanwhile, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has said the legal processes involved in the Operation Puerto trial taking place in Madrid have been “frustrating.”

Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and four coaccused are on trial accused of endangering public health due to the blood transfusions he administered to a number of high-profile cyclists, but no charges involving doping have been filed as doping was not a crime when

the five were arrested back in 2006.

And whilst Rogge welcomed a proposed new law that will be tougher against doping offences in Spain, he said it is well overdue. “I understand very well the legal limitations the judge has to deal with,” he told the El Mundo newspaper.

“That is to say that she cannot rule upon something that was not legislated for, but the fact that she is ruling only upon matters of health and not on doping leads to a very frustrating outcome.

“The new law is very good but it should have been passed years ago.”

Rogge’s words come just a day before an IOC inspection team arrive in Madrid to carry out their assessment on the city’s bid to host the Olympic Games in 2020.

Much attention has been made to the bid coming at a point of economic crisis in Spain, but Rogge doesn’t believe that should derail the bid as much of the infrastructure is already in place after failed bids for the 2012 and 2016 games.

“In the case of Madrid the crisis won’t affect it because the substantial things are almost all already built.

“There is no need for a huge investment and the city is already ready.”

Tokyo and Istanbul are the other cities still in the race to host the 2020 games with a final decision to be taken on September 7 in Buenos Aires. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

S P ORT S

Former England striker Owen to hang his boots

Didier Deschamps

Deschamps faces dilemma ahead of Georgia qualifier FRANCE: France coach Didier Deschamps must decide whether to gamble on picking players for the World Cup qualifier with Georgia who are at risk of being suspended for the critical game against Spain four days later.

Midfielders Yohan Cabaye, Maxime Gonalons and Blaise Matuidi and center back Laurent Koscielny will be suspended if they are booked against Georgia on Friday, leaving Deschamps with a difficult decision to make over whether or not he should leave out firstchoice players.

“Yes, that is a possibility but that doesn’t mean I will do it. The risk of suspension is an extra danger,” Deschamps said Monday, adding that he is wary of pushing tired players too far against a Georgia team which he expects to sit back and defend deep in numbers. “We could find ourselves in that situation,” he said. “I’m expecting to face a Georgia team which will come to Stade de France to defend well.” Deschamps also has injury concerns, with Cabaye and winger Jeremy Menez nursing groin strains and star winger Franck Ribery recovering from an ankle ligament injury, and he may be better served resting some of them.

“Freshness is important when you are playing two teams with completely different profiles,” Deschamps said. “I have to take into consideration that I have four players who could be suspended (for the Spain match) and three of them in midfield.”

France is level with Spain at the top of Group I with seven points after having drawn 1-1 away to the Spanish in October. Koscielny, meanwhile, is confident he can cope with playing under the threat of a yellow card.

“When I play I think first and foremost

about the match. If I play then I will give everything without putting myself under pressure over the yellow card,” the Arsenal defender said. “The most important thing is the Georgia match, even though I know everyone’s focusing on Spain. We have to win against Georgia, then after that we will have a lot of time to think about Spain afterward. Spain had a lot of trouble winning over there and we are expecting a tough game.”

Resting Koscielny against a Georgia team not renowned for its attacking flair, however, could be an ideal opportunity to give 19-yearold center back Raphael Varane his first cap.

“There is always a risk when a player starts.

There are examples of that, but Varane will start at one stage or another. There is no such thing as zero risk in football,” Deschamps said.

“I have no doubt about his ability but this is a different context. Is he capable of dealing with that? Yes.” Paul Pogba, who turned 20 last week, has proved a goal threat from distance by scoring five times from Juventus’ midfield this season.

He said he is ready to seize his opportunity if it arises. “I enjoy my football and I am happy to be at Juventus. The players believe in me, so does the coach. So I have no pressure,” Pogba said. “If I am here now it means that (Deschamps) has faith in me. If he has selected me it means he thinks I am ready. I am ready to play and to show my ability.” Deschamps is bracing himself for a scrappy contest against Georgia, which held out until late on before losing 1-0 at home to Spain. “We’ve watched quite a few videos of their last games,” he said.

“They defended very well at home to Spain, with a lot of aggression.”—AP

LONDON: A career that was launched into orbit by a stunning goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup will end meekly 15 years later after Michael Owen announced yesterday he will hang up his boots at the end of the season.

The former England striker, who made his first-team debut for Liverpool as a 17-year-old and also played for Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United, has almost disappeared from view at Stoke City for whom he signed last September.

“I now feel it is the right time to bring the cur tain down on my career,” the injury-prone 33-yearold said on his personal website (www.michaelowen.com).

“I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey that like many young players starting out, I could only have dreamt of.” Diminutive Owen had already shown his potential at Liverpool when he thrust himself onto the world stage with a sensational solo goal against Argentina in a 1998 World Cup second round defeat in St Etienne.

A natural striker with a devastating burst of pace, Owen went on to make 89 international appearances, scoring 40 goals to sit fourth on the all-time England goalscorers’ list.

Another famous England performance came in the 5-1 World Cup qualifying win in Germany in 2001 when he scored a hat-trick.

“It ’s sad news for football that Michael Owen will retire. He’s been a fantastic football player for all the clubs he played for and for England,” Sven Goran Eriksson, his England coach from 2001-2006, told Britain’s Sky Sports News TV. “He was very easy to manage.

First of all, he’s a fantastic man professional, never any problems

on or off the pitch. If you had him in your team you knew that at any time he’s a danger, he can score the winning goal.

“Beating Germany 5-1, that couldn’t or shouldn’t happen. It was one of those games you can never forget. I felt very proud to be the manager of Michael Owen.”

In 297 appearances for Liverpool he scored 158 goals, making him one of the most sought-after strikers in the world, voted 2001 European Player of the Year and twice winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot award.

In 2001 he helped the Reds win the FA Cup, with two late goals in the final to come back to beat Arsenal 2-1, as well as the League Cup and UEFA Cup. Owen joined a star-studded Real Madrid team in 2004 and despite starting mainly as a substitute, he managed to score 16 goals in his only season at the Bernabeu before returning to English football with Newcastle.

The latter years of Owen’s career have been marked by regular injury problems. After battling to recover from a broken foot to be fit for the 2006 World Cup finals, Owen suffered a serious knee injury in the first minute of a match against Sweden and missed almost a year. “It is a great shame that Michael has decided to call time on his career, but he can look back with great pride and satisfaction of having contributed so much to the game, both at international level and domestically,” English FA Chairman David Bernstein said in a statement.

“We hope Michael’s experience is not lost to football.” Owen’s free transfer move from Newcastle to Manchester United was a shock for fans of arch-rivals Liverpool but apar t from a hat-trick in the Champions League against

LONDON: In a file picture taken on October 31, 2009 Manchester United’s English striker Michael Owen in action during their English Premier League football match. —AFP Wolfsburg, it was clear that he had lost the acceleration that once terrorised defenders. A first Premier League winner’s medal was forthcoming though with United in 2010/11 and an injury-time winner in the 4-3 derby victor y over Manchester City the season before will be forever remembered by

United fans. Since joining Stoke he has made only seven appearances, six of them as substitute, scoring one goal. “Emotional day,” Owen said on his Twitter site. “I’m overwhelmed. So many nice messages.

Having known it for a while I thought I would be ok. Reduced to tears.”—Reuters

Profile

Blatter: FIFA ‘totally’ trusts WCup host ZURICH: Despite fears Brazil won’t be ready to host the 2014 World Cup, FIFA President Sepp Blatter isn’t worried. “Don’t be afraid. It’s all a question of trust and confidence. From the FIFA side it is totally there,” Blatter told reporters yesterday after meeting with Brazil’s sports minister and FIFA’s World Cup organizing committee.

Persistent delays have raised doubts over Brazil’s preparations for hosting the world’s biggest sporting event. Brazil has delivered only two of six stadiums so far for the Confederations Cup in June, when the eightnation tournament will test how matches are staged. Players, officials, fans and media must also be transported around Brazil which FIFA says is more like a continent than a country.

The iconic Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro - due to host the Confederations Cup final on June 30, and the World Cup final - is still being rebuilt, and has an April 27 completion deadline. Two weeks ago, a FIFA inspection visit was canceled when heavy rain flooded the construction site. Blatter expressed faith in Brazilian soccer and government authorities.

“They will be ready because it is the World Cup and no one can afford not to be ready for the World Cup,” he said. After the committee session, the FIFA president and secretary general Jerome Valcke met with Brazil sports minister Aldo Rebelo. He plans to join Blatter in touring the 12 World Cup host cities during his visit for the Confederations Cup in late June. “I am confident that we will meet the challenges and the promises that we have given,” the minister said through a translator.

Rebelo said officials were monitoring “very, very carefully” the situation in Sao Paulo where stadium construction funding had not been released by a bank. The Arena de Sao Paulo is scheduled to host the World Cup opening match on June 12.

The FIFA committee agreed that the 32team World Cup final draw would be staged at 1 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Dec. 6 at Costa do Sauipe in Bahia. The date and venue had been announced last September. The panel accepted a proposal by Russian organizers of the 2018 World Cup that the global qualifying program draw should take place in St. Petersburg on July 24 or 25, 2015.—AP

The wonder boy who ran out of gas LONDON: When Michael Owen comes to reflect on his career, he may have cause to remember New Year’s Eve 2005 with particular regret. After an underwhelming season at Real Madrid, Owen was back in England with Newcastle United.

He had missed the start of the season with a thigh injury, but since making his debut in September, he had scored seven goals in nine league games, including a hat-trick at West Ham United a week before Christmas.

Aged 26, he still looked like the lean, livewire striker who had scored 158 goals in 297 games for Liverpool, but in first-half injury time of a league game at White Hart Lane, disaster struck. In diving to save at the striker’s feet, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson landed on Owen’s right foot, breaking his fifth metatarsal bone.

Owen made one, 30-minute appearance in the second half of the season but arrived for the World Cup in Germany well short of fitness.

The injury jinx struck again in England’s third group game against Sweden, when Owen’s right knee buckled awkwardly beneath him.

His anterior cruciate ligament ruptured, he spent almost a year out of action and when he did return, he was not the same player. Prior to the injury at Spurs, he made 347 club appearances and scored 179 goals at a rate of 0.52

goals per game.

In the seven years since, he has played only 128 club games and scored just 41 times. “If you look at my time at Newcastle, the problems started when Paul Robinson landed on my foot against Tottenham just after Christmas,” Owen said in 2009.

“I’ve then rushed my preparations for the World Cup. I played half a game for Newcastle.

After being in plaster for so long my leg was de-conditioned and with hindsight, I should never have gone to Germany with England.” In the latter years of his career, Owen became more closely associated with gaffes than goals.

After Newcastle were relegated in 2009, he was pilloried for a crudely written brochure advertising his services that was released by his management team. Branding Owen “ The Athlete, The Ambassador, The Icon”, the 32page document only served to highlight the depths to which he had fallen, a year after winning the last of his 89 England caps.

He was also criticised in 2011 when he described winning the Premier League title with Manchester United as “the pinnacle” of his career, despite having contributed just two goals to the club’s success.

As his career wound down with United and then Stoke City, Owen faced accusations, which he always denied, that he had lost his

hunger for football and was more interested in his stable of race horses.

In hindsight, the pinnacle of his career had come in 2001, when he was awarded the Ballon d’Or. Sandwiched between Luis Figo and Ronaldo, Owen’s presence in the list of winners bears testament to the huge expectations that accompanied the early years of his career.

A phenomenonally prolific goal-scorer as a youth, he registered his first goal for Liverpool after just 16 minutes of his senior debut at Wimbledon in May 1997. A year later, in the last 16 of the 1998 World Cup in France, he scored the goal that was to define him.

Collecting a pass from David Beckham inside the centre circle at Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, he streaked through the Argentina defence before beating goalkeeper Carlos Roa with a rising shot to become a global superstar at the age of just 18.

It was the third of his 40 international goals, but injuries and a profile unsuited to playing as a lone striker prevented him from surpassing Bobby Charlton and becoming the first man to reach a half-century for England.

The archetypal boy wonder, his reliance on pace meant that injuries affected him more than most, but for a few years around the turn of the millennium, he had seemed preordained for greatness.—AFP

Preview

Shillingford hopes to spin more magic DOMINICA: Tall spinner Shane Shillingford returns home to Dominica hoping to continue his heroics as the West Indies chase a sixth successive cricket Test victory when they take on Zimbabwe, starting today.

Shillingford was man of the match after taking nine wickets in last week’s easy triumph in the first test in Bridgetown, Barbados. West Indies won by nine wickets in two-and-a-half days as spin bowling proved a surprise catalyst for success at the Kensington Oval.

It will be no surprise if the 30-year-old Shillingford, recalled to the test side last week, wreaks havoc at Windsor Park in

Shane Shillingford

Roseau, his home ground. He got 10 wickets there last April against Australia and says he wants similar success against the inexperienced Zimbabweans.

“Hopefully I will get a good return again,” he said in a television interview on the eve of the second of the two-test series.

West Indies coach Otis Gibson called Shillingford’s role in the first test exceptional, saying: “We expect the same again in Dominica. The spin department is strong right now. We have four or five quality spinners to choose from.”

For the home side in the second Test, scheduled to run through to Sunday, Gibson said there would be more focus on batting. “One of our plans as a batting group is to try and bat 140 to 150 overs in an innings. (In Bridgetown), we got bowled out in a day; that wasn’t the best for us,” he told the official West Indies cricket website (www.windiescricket.com).

West Indies last got six test wins in a row in 1988 but their latest achievement is still far from the halcyon days of calypso cricket three decades ago. Their latest streak is made up of two wins over New Zealand last July, success in a two-match series in Bangladesh, followed by the easy win over Zimbabwe, who were playing their first test in 14 months. The inexperienced Zimbabwe will give wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva a late fitness test as he recovers from a finger injury. If he fails, captain Brendan Taylor will return to behind the stumps with batsman Sean Williams likely given a chance in the middle order.—Reuters

McManaman escapes penalty after ugly tackle on Haidara LONDON: Wigan midfielder Callum McManaman escaped punishment for his violent challenge on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara after the Football Association said yesterday its rules don’t allow retroactive action in this case.

McManaman was not sent off during the game and the FA said it could not impose a retroactive ban because “at least one of the match officials saw the coming together” in Sunday’s Premier League match.

The governing body added that it was powerless to act even though the official presumably a linesman - didn’t see “the full extent of the challenge.” Haidara was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital with an injury to his left knee after McManaman’s ugly challenge in the first half of Wigan’s 2-1 win. The challenge didn’t even draw a free kick, as referee Mark Halsey appeared to have his view of the incident blocked by another player. The full extent of Haidara’s injury hasn’t been determined. The incident sparked anger in the Newcastle dugout, with assistant manager John Carver having to be restrained as he tried to confront McManaman at halftime.

Carver was charged by the FA with misconduct in relation to that incident. The FA’s decision on McManaman was also met with fury

by Newcastle.

“It is clear from this decision that the current disciplinary procedures are not fit for purpose,” Newcastle said Tuesday in a statement.

“Newcastle United, along with other clubs, have had players suspended for incidents

reviewed after the game. Whilst not trivializing these incidents, they were not, in our opinion, of the seriousness of Callum McManaman’s tackle on Haidara.

“Whilst we understand that the current procedures give the FA limited options, it cannot be correct that the most serious offenses - those which have the potential to cause another player serious harm - can go unpunished, even if the original incident was seen by match officials.”

Newcastle said the challenge was “reckless

and dangerous,” one that could “end a player’s career.” Haidara will undergo a further scan next week and there has been no timescale for his recovery, the statement read.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, whose career was cut short when he sustained a broken leg in a challenge in the 1960 FA Cup final, defended McManaman on Monday, saying he got the ball “as clean as a whistle.” The FA is against taking retrospective action if officials saw a particular incident “to avoid the rerefereeing of incidents.”—AP

WIGAN: Newcastle United’s French defender Massadio Haidara is stretchered off the pitch in this file photo after being injured in a tackle by Wigan Athletic’s English striker Callum McManaman during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

Heat get past Celtics

17

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Former England striker Owen to hang his boots

19

Djokovic, Serena lead injury-hit Miami lineup

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (third right) successfully appeals for the dismissal of Bangladeshi captain Mushfiqur Rahim (second right) during the fourth day of the second Test cricket match. — AP

Herath spins Sri Lanka to series win COLOMBO: Rangana Herath celebrated his 35th birthday with a career-best 7-89 as Sri Lanka clinched the series against Bangladesh with a comfortable seven-wicket win in the second and final Test yesterday.

Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (57) and left-hander Kumar Sangakkara (55) put on 94 for the second wicket to steer the home team towards their 160-run target on the penultimate day in Colombo. The opening Test in Galle ended in a draw.

Former captain Sangakkara, who scored three successive centuries in the series, cracked eight fours in his 85-ball knock before being bowled by off-spinner Sohag Gazi. He was named man of the series while Herath was man of the match.

Dilshan, bowled by paceman Robiul Islam, hit six fours in his 73-ball knock. “What more can you ask from Herath? After Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan), Herath has been the man for us,” said Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, leading in his first Test series.

“We were put under a little bit of pressure in

the first innings, but Sangakkara and (Dinesh) Chandimal scored those useful centuries.

Bangladesh played really well but I never really doubted my team.”

Bangladesh, trailing by 106 runs on first innings, were bowled out for 265 in their second innings after adding 107 to their overnight total of 158-4. Left-arm spinner Herath did the damage by capturing four of the remaining six wickets in the morning. He also completed his third haul of 10 or more wickets in a Test, after bagging 5-68 in the first innings.

“We were probably 100 runs short in the second innings,” said Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, who still hailed his team’s progress. “We are really playing well over the last one-and-ahalf years,” he said. “A couple of young guys played really well against Sri Lanka in a pressure situation. Hopefully, they will get better with time.”

Rahim (40) offered some resistance before becoming Herath’s 200th Test victim, caught by Angelo Mathews at first slip after hitting one six and three fours in his 87-ball knock.

Tailender Abul Hasan cracked two sixes in his unbeaten 25 to help Bangladesh cross the 250 mark. Herath had taken three wickets on Monday and struck again in his opening over of the morning, having Mominul Haque caught by Dimuth Karunaratne at short-leg with a delivery that turned and bounced. Mominul had managed to add just one to his overnight score of 36.

Herath then bowled Nasir Hossain for a duck in his third over to reduce Bangladesh to 171-6.

Bangladesh counter-attacked, with Rahim smashing Herath for a straight six and Gazi (26) later lofting the spinner over long-off for his first six. Gazi kept playing his shots after being dropped on 14 by Karunaratne at second slip off paceman Nuwan Kulasekara.

He hit the next two deliveries for fours but his flourish did not last long. He was caught by Suranga Lakmal at long-on while attempting a big slog off Herath, who shared the new ball with Kulasekara. Sri Lanka on Monday were bowled out for 346 in their first innings in reply to Bangladesh’s 240. — AFP

was at Arsenal, Felipe Melo who came from Juventus, Albert Riera from Liverpool and Fernando Muslera from Lazio.

“The team also has an excellent coach, the best in Turkey, who also coached at one time in Italy, with a bunch of supporters who are unique,” he said with masterful understatement, given the intimidatory welcome all sides face when they play Galatasaray.

Meanwhile, Mourinho did not attend the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala because he was warned by some of those who voted for him as coach of the year that their votes showed up as supporting other candidates instead.

“Am I sorry for not having gone to the gala? No. It was the right decision,” Mourinho told RTP television on Tuesday in excerpts from an interview.

“One, two or three people called me saying they had voted for me but the vote showed up as cast for somebody else. So, I decided not to go,” he said.

The Portuguese coach and former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola lost the 2012 FIFA coach award to Spain’s Vicente del Bosque at January’s gala.

FIFA said in a statement: “FIFA confirms that the list of votes published on FIFA.com is accurate.” — Reuters

COLOMBO: Scoreboard at the end of the and Bangladesh yesterday.

Bangladesh first innings 240 Sri Lanka first innings 346 Bangladesh second innings (158-4 overnight) Tamim Iqbal b Eranga 59 Jahurul Islam st Chandimal b Herath 48 Mohammad Ashraful b Herath 4 Mominul Haque c Karunaratne b Herath 37 Mahmudullah b Herath 0 Mushfiqur Rahim c Mathews b Herath 40 Nasir Hossain b Herath 0 Sohag Gazi c Lakmal b Herath 26 Abul Hasan not out 25 Rubel Hossain b Dilshan 7 Robiul Islam b Eranga 10 Extras (b-1, lb-4, nb-4) 9 Total (all out; 100.4 overs) 265 Fall of wickets: 1-91 2-96 3-143 4-143 5-160 6171 7-202 8-228 9-239 Bowling: Kulasekara 12-0-36-0(nb-1), Lakmal

second and final test between Sri Lanka 9-1-26-0, Herath 36-9-89-7, Dilshan 25-4-62-1, Eranga 15.4-3-39-2 (nb-3), Mathews 3-2-8-0 Sri Lanka second innings D. Karunaratne lbw b Robiul 16 T. Dilshan b Robiul 57 K. Sangakkara b Gazi 55 L. Thirimanne not out 13 A. Mathews not out 13 Extras (b-2, lb-1, nb-3) 6 Total (three wickets, 41.4 overs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-125, 3-135.

Did not bat: D. Chandimal, K. Vithanage, N. Kulasekara, S. Eranga, R. Herath, S. Lakmal.

Bowling: Robiul Islam 11-0-42-2(nb-3), Abul Hasan 4-0-21-0, Sohag Gazi 13-1-47-1, Rubel Hossain 3-0-16-0, Nasir Hossain 4-0-11-0, Mahmudullah 3-0-12-0, Mohammad Ashraful 3.4-0-8-0.

Result: Sri Lanka won by seven wickets.

Wasim to help groom fast bowlers for Pakistan

Real must take lead to Istanbul, says Mourinho MADRID: Real Madrid must beat Galatasaray in their Champions League quarter-final home leg or else they face a tough time in the return leg in Turkey, coach Jose Mourinho said yesterday.

Mourinho, who has already guided Porto and Inter Milan to Champions League glory, said that Real face a tough challenge against a side packed with quality including Champions League-winning players Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba and with Turkey’s best coach Fatih Terim in charge. “It will be tough, but we must try and get a positive result at home in the first leg, which is not what we managed to do against Manchester United (a 1-1 draw in Madrid).

“We must go there with at least a small advantage.” Mourinho, whose side play the home leg on April 3 with the away trip to Istanbul on April 11, watched Galatasaray last Sunday and came away impressed.

“I saw everything I expected to see: a team that is used to the Champions League and who not only have two former winners of this competition, Drogba and Sneijder, but also players who have played for other top clubs,” he said.

“Players like Emmanuel Eboue who

SCOREBOARD

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho gestures during the Spanish League football match in this file photo. — AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram yesterday promised to help groom a future generation of speedsters as his country looks to recapture former fast bowling glories.

Wasim was part of a long line of worldclass Pakistani fast bowlers that began with Fazal Mahmood in the 1950s and featured the likes of Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. But pace stocks have dwindled in recent years and Pakistan currently have no fast bowlers among the top 10 in either Test or one-day rankings.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim last week expressed disappointment over the lack quality fast bowlers, a concern which Wasim hopes to help address by holding a two-week camp in April to unearth new talent.

Wasim, who is regarded as the best leftarm fast bowler ever to play at international level with 414 Test and 502 one-day wickets, said Pakistan need to improve their bench strength to excel in the long form of the game.

“I am sure talent is there but there is no plan B,” he said. “We don’t have good bowlers for Tests which was proved in the series against South Africa where we lacked in that department.”

Pakistan were white-washed by world number one South Africa 3-0 last month in their recently concluded Test series. The hosts also hold a 2-1 lead in the ongoing

five match one-day series.

Wasim added Pakistan’s inability to make use of home-advantage, which allows players to excel, was a key factor holding back the development of youngsters. “Not playing at home is the key factor in not producing quality players.

Until and unless you don’t play top quality teams at home it will be hard to find quality players,” he said. Pakistan have not hosted top-level international cricket since terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009, an event which prompted foreign teams to shun tours to the country over security fears.

Wasim said it was time for cricket authorities to take concerns over fast-bowling more seriously. “The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) needs to lift the first-class cricket and find some quality fast bowlers.

Once I get 10-12 fast bowlers, I will work on them and they can be groomed to play at international level,” said Wasim.

The PCB is also trying to rope in Waqar Younis, with whom Wasim formed a fearsome partnership during the 1990s, for their national cricket academy in Lahore, built to groom young players.

With the emergence of Twenty20 cricket, the shortest form of the game, teams around the world have experimented with different bowling line-ups for each format.

But Wasim said when it comes to pace bowling, one size should fit all. — AFP

Business

Chrysler production boom irks workers Page 23 China fires warning shot at North Korean banks Page 25

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

Trade, economy top agenda as Xi meets Lew

Cyprus uncertainty weighs on shares

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NICE: The Katara, a 124 meters superyacht, property of the emir of Qatar arrives on March 15, 2013 in Nice harbor, southeaster France.— AFP

The cost of Qatar’s punchy spending style Spending spree is beginning to risk unintended consequences News

in brief

Spanish bad loans grow MADRID: The burden of bad loans held by Spanish banks rose in January, after easing in December for the first time in 17 months when a “bad bank” began to mop up risky assets, the Bank of Spain said yesterday. The ratio of doubtful loans, mostly mor tgages, extended by Spanish banks rose to 10.78 percent of total credits in January from 10.44 percent in the previous month, the central bank said. The rise in bad loans to 170.69 billion euros ($220.71 billion) in January follows a decline to 167.45 billion euros in December, its lowest level since May 2012, after the transfer of lower-quality credit portfolios to the so-called “bad bank” that started operations that month. Spain is shoring up its banks after they were hammered by a property market crash in 2008, using a European Union rescue loan obtained last year of up to 100 billion euros.

As one of the conditions imposed in return for the European credit, Madrid agreed to create bad bank Sareb to absorb impaired assets from troubled banks. Four of the hardest hit banks that were taken over by the state last year Bankia, Catalunya Caixa, NovaCaixaGalicia and Banco de Valencia-transferred their bad assets to Sareb on December 31 last year.

BMW ‘cautiously optimistic’ FRANKFURT: German top-of-the-range carmaker BMW said yesterday it is “cautiously optimistic” for business in 2013 after achieving the best year in the company’s history last year. “After achieving a record-breaking year in 2012, the BMW group’s outlook for the current 12-month reporting period is cautiously optimistic, based on ambitious targets set amid a persisting difficult and volatile economic environment,” BMW said in a statement. “We are aiming to achieve a further rise in unit sales in the current year and hence a new sales volume record,” said chief executive Norbert Reithofer. However, earnings would likely remain stable, he said. “Due to high levels of expenditure for new technologies and models as well as investment in the production network, we expect to report group profit before tax on a similar scale to the year 2012,” Reithofer said. As reported last week, net profit rose by 4.4 percent to 5.122 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in 2012 and pre-tax profit was up 5.9 percent at 7.819 billion euros.

Drake & Scull wins contracts DUBAI: Contractor Drake & Scull International has been awarded contracts worth 369 million dirhams ($100.46 million) for the construction of three projec ts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said yesterday. Drake, which specializes in mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP) operations, has been gradually expanding its operations outside of Dubai following a slowdown in the emirate’s once-booming real estate sector. The contracts include 287 million dirhams worth of work awarded by Al Rajhi Bank to construct the bank’s cash centre, operations centre and a data centre facility in Riyadh, according to a statement on the Dubai Financial Market. The company has also secured a contract worth 82 million dirhams for the construction of a government utility project in Abu Dhabi.

DUBAI: Qatar’s spending spree is beginning to risk unintended consequences. The tiny Gulf country has made its presence felt by splashing its cash on seemingly random targets, buying Western luxury brands and large stakes in blue-chip stocks at the same time as propping up the Egyptian economy. The scale and frequency of Doha’s investments make it impossible to ignore but its investment style may be undermining efforts to cultivate lasting strategic alliances.

Putting a number on how much Qatar is spending on foreign investments and acquisitions isn’t easy. The resource-rich country will have a current account surplus worth 27 percent of GDP, or $51 billion, this year, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund. The Qatar Investment Authority, its sovereign fund, boasted of having $30 billion to spend last year alone.

Some of Qatar’s expenditure makes financial sense, earning a decent return and diversifying the economy away from oil and gas to other more stable sources of revenue. But many of its high-profile projects - such as its expansion of its influential Al Jazeera television network or purchase of trophy assets like the Valentino fashion label - lack compelling commercial logic. The only thing Qatar’s investments have in common is that they forge a new link between the emirate and the global system.

BUYING CONNECTIVITY It’s not hard to see why Qatar might want to buy connections, familiarity and influence around the globe. The tiny coun-

try with a local population of around 250,000 is the richest in the world on a per capita basis. It is surrounded by larger powers in an unstable region. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 showed the vulnerability of small Gulf states. Qatar’s security is partly strengthened by its status as the world’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, and the fact that it is home to military bases used by US forces.” Still, international spending boosts Qatar’s visibility and gives others a stake in its sovereignty.

The problem is that Qatari cash is still perceived as a last resort by businesses in need of capital, rather than a supportive steward like, say, Warren Buffett. That’s partly because Qatar has made a reputation for aggressively targeting firms when they are in distress. Qatar’s investment in British bank Barclays in 2008 has generated good returns but it has also been dogged with controversy. In the latest example, Qatar is reportedly seeking an effective “first right of refusal” from the government over some of Britain’s biggest infrastructure projects in exchange for investing billions.

It is often unclear what Doha wants back from its investments - an ego boost, political, or a financial return. Qatar appears most heavily invested in the UK, a favored destination for rich Gulf Arabs escaping the blistering desert summer. The two countries share a royal connection. Real-estate developer Qatari Diar famously scrapped its original plan for the prime Chelsea Barracks site in London after heir-to-thethrone Prince Charles objected to the modern design. But the site, acquired in 2007,

still remains undeveloped.

A lack of consistency is also a concern.

Take the QIA subsidiary Qatar Holding. It made a welcome evolution from a passive to an active investor in global stock markets last year when it forced Glencore to improve the terms on its agreed merger with London-listed miner Xstrata. But Qatar abstained from voting on the side issue of retention bonuses which would have pitted it against top UK institutional shareholders. It remains unclear if Qatar expects to develop strategic links with the commodities giant.

FLEXING MUSCLE Increasing investment confidence has coincided with a more interventionist approach to foreign policy. Qatar was previously content to play a regional role as a mediator. In recent years, it has become an active supporter of the Arab spring, supporting military intervention first in Libya and now in Syria. Doha has thrown its weight behind Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood with aid worth more than $5 billion. But the Qatari flag has been burnt in Tahrir Square as the Islamists blunder their way through the transition.

In France, a plan for Qatar to invest millions of euros to help regenerate poorer suburbs has prompted skepticism from local politicians. Qatar’s various initiatives have bought it high visibility externally. But can it effectively manage its increasingly sprawling interests? This is a small country that arguably lacks the human capital needed to actively supervise such a diverse

India cuts key interest rate to spur economy MUMBAI: India’s central bank cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points yesterday-its second such reduction this year-in an effort to jumpstart a sharply slowing economy. But central bankers warned that still stubbornly entrenched inflation limited the “headroom” for further rate cuts. The Reser ve Bank of India (RBI) announced it would lower the benchmark repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, by a quarter percentage point to 7.50 percent in a move widely expected by economists.

Business leaders have been calling for lower borrowing costs to help the economy, which is projected to grow at just five percent in the current financial year to March 31, the lowest pace in a decade. The bank warned that with headline inflation lower, but not yet tamed, substantial future rates cuts could not be guaranteed.

“Even as the policy stance emphasizes addressing the growth risks, the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited,” RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said in a statement on the bank’s website after the meeting. Indian shares fell 0.66 percent after the announcement on worries about chances for further rate cuts. The cash reserve ratio-the per-

MUMBAI: Indian workers walk past an under-construction bridge near the international airport in Mumbai yesterday. India’s central bank cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points yesterday. — AFP centage of deposits banks must keep been widely expected,” he said. India’s with the central bank-was kept finance minister P Chidambaram in his unchanged. While overall annual budget last month pledged to cut a inflation rose in January, core infla- gaping fiscal deficit in a bid to avert a tion-which strips out volatile goods damaging credit ratings downgrade such as food and fuel and is closely and help revive sustained growth. watched by the RBI-fell to a near Chidambaram said ahead of the RBI’s three-year-low of 3.8 percent. decision that the bank should “take “We have seen a sharp drop in comfort” from the government’s fiscal core inflation. The fiscal situation looks reduction efforts. The RBI had slashed under control,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, rates by 25 basis points at its previous chief India economist at Barclays meeting in January-its first such move Capital. “In this scenario, a rate cut had since last April.—AFP

portfolio, and communicate with its growing set of stakeholders. Unanswered questions about the country’s financial and political objectives are hurting Qatar’s image as rumor is left to runaway with itself.

This will be difficult to put right as long as governance is opaque and decision making is so tightly held within a small circle of individuals, including the emir and the prime minister. Other resource-rich countries have avoided the problem by making fewer high-profile investments and relying more on external fund managers to generate returns out of the spotlight.

Qatar is not blind to criticism. Doha is planning a bonanza of initial public offerings at home, including the listing of a $12 billion investment vehicle half owned by the sovereign fund, to ward off any domestic discontent that its population isn’t sharing the benefits of the state’s spending.

That includes an ambitious infrastructure rollout across the country to host the football World Cup in 2022.

But Qatar cannot control the broader investment climate. The Gulf emirate has found it easy to deploy funds and make a name for itself in past years when demand for rescue funds has been high and competition for assets scarce. In the process, Qatar has won a reputation for being a demanding partner, aggressive on fees, and unpredictable. As the Middle East settles postArab spring, Western economies recover and capital becomes more abundant, it will be harder for Qatar to throw its weight around.— Reuters

Bank Muscat launches $500 million 5-yr bond DUBAI: Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest lender, launched a $500 million five-year bond yesterday in its first dollar debt issue in nine years, with strong demand allowing the deal to launch at among the lowest borrowing costs available to it. The bond issue is the latest means deployed by the Omani lender to raise funding.

Earlier this year, the company secured a $200 million equity investment from the International Finance Corporation in a private placement. Prior to that, in August, it raised 96.7 million rials ($251.2 million) from an oversubscribed rights issue. The bond, which is the first dollar-denominated issue from Bank Muscat since 2004, launched at a spread of 170 basis points over fiveyear midswaps.

Final guidance released earlier in the day had indicated the issue would price between 170 and 180 basis points over midswaps, tighter than the 187.5 bps area indicated on Monday. Order books for the deal totaled more than $2.5 billion before they were closed at 0930 GMT, arranging banks said. The bond is a rare international debt sale from the Gulf sultanate, but traders said the issuer, rated A- by Standard & Poor’s, should be compared with other large Gulf banks in which the state holds a significant stake.

The government owns a 25 percent stake in Bank Muscat, which expects its credit growth to be around 14 to 15 percent this year, driven by high government spending and higher wages for local citizens. The bank said proceeds of the bond would be used for general financing purposes and gave no further detail.

Citigroup, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank , HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered are arranging the sale, which will fall under the lender’s $800 million EMTN program.— Reuters

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

BUSINESS

Alwaleed’s valuation dispute has simple solutions DUBAI: The controversy over the true value of Prince Alwaleed’s investment vehicle has some simple remedies. Kingdom Holding, with stakes in everything from Citigroup to Twitter, is at the centre of a bitter row with Forbes magazine over the exact size of the prince’s wealth. Part of the problem is that the Riyadh-listed company suffers from a tiny free float, limited liquidity, and puzzling share-price movements.

Kingdom has a listed value of $19 billion but only a 5 percent free float in a market where 30 percent is closer to the norm. Alwaleed wanted to list up to one third when it went public in 2007 but the firm and the regulator agreed at the time that it would be too much for the market to absorb. The

problem is that stocks with small free floats are more susceptible to share-price volatility or even market manipulation.

The prince’s flagship firm is actively exploring its options to become a more liquid stock, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. One way would be for Alwaleed to sell down. But that would look bad in the wake of the clash with Forbes and would send the wrong signal about Kingdom’s value. Alternatively, Kingdom could sell some new shares. The difficulty here is that the firm doesn’t have an urgent need to raise cash and can ill afford to run an inefficient balance sheet.

Kingdom could of course issue stock in support of a big deal. The snag is that it would have to be a

sizeable acquisition to result in a meaningful dilution of Alwaleed.

And the target might be loath to take paper whose value is the subject of such a fraught debate. Still, investment banks could be hired to conduct an independent valuation. The radical option would be to delist. That would be the least palatable for the prince. Fading into the background isn’t Alwaleed’s style and risks being perceived as failure in a region where initial public offerings are a symbol of pride. But if an illiquid free float is causing such difficulty, it is hard to see how the listing’s benefits outweigh its costs.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and his flagship investment vehicle, Riyadh-listed Kingdom Holding,

said on March 5 that it had severed ties with Forbes’ billionaires list after a row over the prince’s net worth. Forbes magazine subsequently published a lengthy investigation into Kingdom Holding. The prince controls 95 percent of Kingdom’s shares. The magazine said: “We value his [Alwaleed’s] Kingdom Holding stake at $10.6 billion, or $9.3 billion less than what the market cap suggests”. Shadi Sanbar, chief financial officer of Kingdom, said: “KHC puts a premium on tracking the true value of our investments and it is contrary to both our practice and nature to assist in the publication of financial information we know to be false and inaccurate.”

Kingdom was listed in 2007, and holds stakes in Citigroup and Twitter. — Reuters

Brent falls below $109 LONDON: Crude oil fell below $109 a barrel yesterday as uncertainty over a bailout for Cyprus revived concerns about the eurozone debt crisis, but a rosier economic outlook in the United States capped losses. Cyprus’s parliament was set to reject a divisive tax on bank deposits in a vote yesterday, pushing the island closer to a debt default and banking collapse.

The proposal announced over the weekend shattered calm in the euro-zone and caused global markets and the euro to tumble on Monday. The move sparked concerns of a run on banks elsewhere in the euro-zone and worries that similar extraordinary measures might be taken if other indebted member states need funding help. Such a scenario would weaken demand for oil from the euro-zone.

“The situation in Cyprus, although small, goes to show that the problems in the EU are far from over and it will exacerbate the declining demand within EU, keeping a lid on oil prices if not pushing them down,” said Natixis analyst Abhishek Deshpande in London. “If a deal is reached, we should see oil prices rise slightly or even remain unchanged... but if there is no deal, then the chances of Cyprus leaving the EU still could be high, and we could potentially see prices slide back further.”

Brent crude for May delivery was down 70 cents at$108.81 a barrel by 0930 GMT. It briefly hit a three-month low on Monday

before settling 31 cents lower. US crude for April was down 5 cents at $93.69.

Late on Monday, the decision by euro-zone finance ministers to give Cyprus more flexibility over a levy on bank deposits, that is part of the bailout conditions, partially restored confidence. “It’s an over reaction from a complacent investor crowd,” Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. “Expect oil prices to rebound once there are better economic headlines emerging from China and the United States. The ECB will make sure that this Cyprus contagion will not spread and is a one-off.”

In the United States, investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve policy meeting for any indication of whether it would scale back its monetary expansion as the economy shows signs of improvement. Almost all US states began 2013 with lower unemployment rates than at the start of 2012, Labor Department data showed on Monday. “It will be business as usual (in the United States). We don’t expect any changes or scale back by Fed especially during such turbulent environment in Europe,” Deshpande at Natixis said. Investors will also watch US oil inventories data today for a further fall in crude stocks at oil futures delivery hub Cushing, Oklahoma, that could strengthen West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices against Brent.—Reuters

Back 2 School promotion at Lu&Lu Hypermarket KUWAIT: Lu&Lu Hypermarket, the retail destination of choice for shoppers in Kuwait, will launch its Back 2 School promotion today. The promotion, which is slated to run till Saturday, 6 April, will provide parents the opportunity to shop for all the school stationery needs of their

children from under one roof.

Shopping for children’s stationery and school items need not be a tiresome affair anymore, as Lu&Lu Hypermarket has stocked a wide assortment of choice products for the ‘Back to School’ shopping period.

Products on display include school

bags, water bottles, lunch box, lunch bag, book cover rolls, coloring items, uniforms, stationery sets, pencils, pens, clay, umbrellas and a whole lot more.

Special Sinarline notebooks for Indian Schools are available at the most attractive prices. A large variety of school bags and stationery sets featuring trendy cartoon characters such as Disney Brave, Winnie the pooh, Princes, Micky Mouse, Ben10, Hello Kitty, Lulu Catty, Spiderman III, Iron man III, Angry Bird, Tom & Jerry, are ready to attract the young school-goers.

Lu&Lu Hypermarket has ensured that parents and children are able to have peace of mind during the ‘Back to School’ purchases by stocking high quality items at very competitive prices. The main attraction during the promotion period is that anyone purchasing stationery worth KD5, will get a Coolgear water bottle of 946ml for only 290 fills. Parents and children are urged to visit any outlet of Lulu Hypermarket to see the large variety of ‘Back to School’ products on offer and ensure they have a wide choice before stocks run out.

TOKYO: An employee of Japan’s jeweler Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry displays a pure gold samurai helmet designed with Mickey Mouse logos at their main shop in Ginza shopping district yesterday. The Disney pure gold helmet will be on sale from today, ahead of Children’s Day on May 5, a traditional festive event to celebrate the growth of children. — AFP

Gold holds above $1,600/oz Safe haven bids support gold, but investors lukewarm SINGAPORE: Gold hovered near a 2-1/2-week high yesterday, as nervousness around an upcoming vote on a levy on bank deposits in Cyprus supported safe haven interest in gold, but investors were skeptical about such support being sustained. Cyprus’s parliament was set to reject the divisive tax yesterday, pushing the island closer to a debt default and banking collapse, despite eurozone ministers agreeing to flexibility in exempting depositors with less than 100,000 euros from the levy.

The radical bailout package announced over the weekend has not changed general expectations for a global economic recovery among investors, whose interest in safe havens such as gold remains lukewarm.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, posted its biggest daily decline in nearly a month on Monday despite a gain of 0.8 percent in gold prices.

“There are worries, but the extent of such worries is limited, reflected in the fact that some investors panicked and others used the opportunity to pick up (risky assets),” said Jiang Shu, an analyst at China’s Industrial Bank. “After all, the US economy is doing much better than 2009 and 2010, which helped blunt the blow from Cyprus.” Spot gold was little changed at $1,603.86 an

ounce by 0730 GMT, trading in a $4 range below a 21/2-week high of $1,610.81 hit in the previous session.

US gold traded nearly flat at $1,603.10.

Technical analysis suggested spot gold faces resistance at $1,611 an ounce and may either hover below this level or retrace to $1,593, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. In a sign of ebbing fear, Asian shares rebounded and the euro pulled back from a threemonth low against the dollar hit on Monday. The US Senate inched closer on Monday to passage of a bill to fund federal agencies through Sept 30 and avoid a government shutdown when existing funds run out at the end of March, alleviating fears that spending cuts would derail the recovery.

Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting yesterday and today, expecting little change on the central bank’s monetary policy but possibly a more positive tone in assessment of the economy. In Asia’s physical market, buying slowed as prices moved higher from this month’s low at $1,560, dealers said.

Spot platinum edged down 0.2 percent to $1,572.74, off a two-week low of $1,567.75 an ounce hit in the previous session. Spot palladium bounced off a 1-1/2-week low of $750.22 and traded at $757.72.— 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 .4260000 .3640000 .2990000 .2750000 .2920000 .0040000 .0020000 .0771100 .7512650 .3920000 .0720000 .7364830 .0420000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2840500 GB Pound/KD .4290010 Euro .3675180 Swiss francs .3011720 Canadian dollars .2776370 Danish Kroner .0492930 Swedish Kroner .0440450 Australian dlr .2946020 Hong Kong dlr .0366020 Singapore dlr .2271850 Japanese yen .0029940 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0773660 Bahraini dinars .7537480 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0757670 Omani riyals .7380800 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 2.987 5.283 2.906 2.251 3.313 229.280 36.787 3.614

.2880000 .442000 .3810000 .3170000 .2890000 .3000000 .0068000 .0035000 .0778850 .7588150 .4110000 .0770000 .7438840 .0480000

.2861500 .4321720 .3702350 .3033980 .2796890 .0496570 .0443700 .2967800 .0368720 .2288650 .0030160 .0053090 .0022750 .0029260 .0036550 .0779380 .7593210 .4047380 .0763270 .7435360 .0070900

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

7.009 9.730 0.271 0.273

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

741.34 78.66 76.16

738.000 78.500 76.400

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd GCC COUNTRIES 76.150 78.463 741.720 758.470 77.758

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

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 41.450 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.410 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.332 Tunisian Dinar 182.160 Jordanian Dinar 403.260 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.916 Syrian Lier 3.102 Morocco Dirham 33.821 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 285.450 Euro 371.090 Sterling Pound 432.740 Canadian dollar 280.400 Swiss Franc 303.030 US Dollar Buying 284.250

Bahrain Exchange Company

GOLD 298.000 150.000 77.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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 300.11 283.00 307.13 372.53 284.85 434.24 3.07 3.636 5.254 2.260 3.298 2.914 77.62 758.45 41.39 405.80

Selling Rate 285.200 282.605 432.110 371.110 301.730 755.075 77.625 78.285 76.015 402.035 41.443 2.251 5.281 2.903 3.618 7.000 699.610 3.980 4.885 4.030 3.400 91.335

SELL CASH 298.500 280.600 307.000 373.500 285.000 432.900 3.300 3.720 5.350 2.450 3.420 2.880 78.000 755.600 41.600 411.000

BUY Europe 0.4238268 0.0061667 0.0455217 0.3643208 0.0452647 0.4207013 0.0402846 0.2963228

0.4328268 0.0181667 0.0505217 0.3718208 0.0504647 0.4282013 0.0452846 0.3033228

Australasia 0.2864248 0.2273459 0.0001104

0.2984248 0.2373459 0.0001104

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2720299 0.0001486 0.2831000

0.2810299 0.0001666 0.2852500

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo

Asia 0.0035782 0.0031645

0.0036332 0.0033945

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 Arab 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 O.0761733 Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams

0.0448166 0.0164833 0.0000443 0.0342301 0.0052034 0.0000244 0.0028500 0.0029017 0.0032766 0.0873314 0.0031351 0.0028771 0.0065549 0.0000729 0.2241651 0.0019617 0.0093184

0.0498166 0.0195833 0.0000503 0.0373301 0.0052734 0.0000295 0.0038500 0.0030817 0.0035066 0.0943314 0.0033351 0.0029171 0.0070249 0.0000759 0.2301651 0.0022667 0.0099184

0.7502049 0.0394152 0.0129975 0.1484851 0.0000793 0.0001735 0.3967581 1.0000000 0.0001750 0.0217534 0.0012127 0.7298987 0.0776958 0.0755333

0.7587049 0.0414452 0.0194975 0.1502751 0.0000798 0.0002335 0.4042581 1.0000000 0.0001950 0.0457534 0.0018477 0.7408987 0.0784788

0.0500982 0.0031830 0.1801190 0.0762357

0.0506482 0.0034030 0.1861190 0.0776857

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) 284.800 371.750 432.650 280.300 3.010 5.265 41.405 2.257 3.614 7.000 2.905 758.550 77.600 76.080

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

BUSINESS

European car sales fall as austerity bites Sales overall down 10.2 percent to 829,359 MILAN: Europe’s car sales fell last month to their lowest February level in at least 23 years, industry figures showed yesterday, dwindling to the sort of trickle usually only seen during the August holiday when cities are empty. New car registrations shrank 10.2 percent to 829,359 in the month compared with the year before, according to the Association of European Car Manufacturers (ACEA). It was the slowest February since ACEA started compiling figures in 1990.

After yearly sales slumped 8.2 percent to a 17year low of 12.05 million vehicles in 2012, this year is already shaping up to be another tough slog, particularly for mass-market carmakers as consumers in recession-hit European economies postpone purchases. Ford Motor Co has been one of the biggest casualties, with sales dropping at twice the rate of the overall market’s decline for a third straight month. Its sales dropped 20.8 percent to 53,660 cars.

Ford is cutting back its European production capacity with three plant closures, including its Genk factory in Belgium, to stem regional losses.

General Motors Co and Fiat SpA were the next biggest fallers, dropping 20.1 percent and 15.7 percent respectively. Carmakers in Europe are still reeling from a poor 2012, during which mass-market manufacturers lost an estimated $7 billion in the region, Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said at the Geneva car show this month.

BARCELONA: Bank employees are seen working on their desks as members of Mortgage Victims’ Platform (PAH), occupy a bank branch during a protest to support neighbors who are facing evictions processes in Barcelona yesterday. With 26 percent unemployment, Spain is struggling to emerge from its second recession in just over three years. —- AP

CONTAGION SPREADING “The recession and the car market slump is impacting the countries most exposed to the dictates of austerity, but the contagion is spreading to the entire euro-zone,” said Italian automotive research group Studio Promotor in a statement.

Market forecaster LMC Automotive recently estimated this year’s sales would drop 3.1 percent in western European to 11.4 million vehicles. With the exception of August 2012 when just 688,000 cars were sold, the month of February was the worstever month in absolute terms since 2003, when ACEA figures star ted to measure 27, not 15, European countries. European market leader Volkswagen AG saw sales of its core VW brand fall nearly 10 percent and its luxury Audi brand decline 3.8 percent.

Only three brands managed to add sales in February: Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co eked out a 1.4 percent gain, Mazda Motor Corp rose 13.1 percent and Honda Motor Co Ltd 27 percent.

Another bright spot was Britain, where sales rose 7.9 percent. “All other significant markets faced a downturn, ranging from 9.8 percent in Spain to 10.5 percent in Germany, 12.1 percent in France and 17.4 percent in Italy,” ACEA said in a statement.

Analysts at Citi noted: “The German drop is worrying as it comes amidst the new launches like new A-Class and new VW Golf.”— Reuters

Chrysler production boom irks workers Fiat idles plants

BARCELONA: An airplane of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair takes off from Barcelona’s airport. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair yesterday announced that it has ordered 175 Boeing 737-800 airplanes worth 15.6 billion USD (12.1 billion euros) at catalogue prices. — AFP

Ryanair orders 175 Boeing 737s worth $15.6 billion LONDON: Irish low-cost airline Ryanair yesterday announced that it has ordered 175 Boeing 737-800 airplanes worth $15.6 billion (12.1 billion euros) at catalogue prices.

“Ryanair ... today signed an agreement with the Boeing Company to purchase 175 new Next Generation 737-800 airplanes,” the Dublin-based carrier said in a statement.

The deal was signed by Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Lear y and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Ray Conner in New York, where they will hold a joint press conference at 1415 GMT. “When finalized, the deal will be worth nearly $15.6 billion at current list prices, and will allow Ryanair to grow its airline to more than 400 airplanes, serving more than 100 million passengers per year across Europe by the end of the delivery stream in

2018,” the statement continued. Ryanair added that it was Boeing’s largest order to date so far this year, and would support “thousands” of jobs in the United States.

“Upon approval by Ryanair’s shareholders, the purchase will become Boeing’s largest deal to date in 2013 and will be the largest ever aircraft order from a European airline,” the Irish company said. “It will sustain thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs in Boeing and its supplier companies and will represent the largest ever capital investment by an Irish company in US manufacturing and US jobs.” The news came one day European aviation giant AirbusBoeing’s fierce rival-announced a record order worth 18.4 billion euros ($23.8 billion) from Indonesia’s Lion Air for 234 medium-range A320 jets.— AFP

Citigroup to pay $730 million to settle suit NEW YORK: US banking giant Citigroup said Monday it will pay $730 million to settle a class-action suit by bondholders related to the 2008 financial crisis. The suit alleged Citigroup misled buyers of its bonds over its exposure to subprime mortgages and other high-risk securities ahead of and during the crisis, from May 2006 to November 2008.

The settlement is the latest step by Citi to put the ill-effects of the financial crisis behind it. Citi was harmed more by the crisis compared with some peers, such as JP Morgan. The plaintiffs had argued that Citigroup misrepresented its exposure to mortgage-related assets, according to Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman, the plaintiffs attorneys. Citi also understated the loss reserves for its mortgage loans and “falsely stated” that assets held off its balance sheet were of high value, Bernstein Litowitz said.

“It wasn’t until November 2008, when the bank received substantial government assistance, that investors learned the full

truth about Citigroup’s financial condition,” the law firm said. In a statement, Citi denied the allegations, but said it was settling the case “solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden and expense of further protracted litigation.” Citi called the settlement, which must be approved by the US district court, “another significant step toward resolving our exposure to claims arising from the financial crisis.” “We look forward to putting this matter behind us,” the bank said.

The plaintiffs in the case included the Arkansas Teacher Retirement Systems and the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund. In August 2012, Citi announced a $590 million settlement with investors in Citigroup shares who had charged that the company hid its exposure to the collateralized debt obligations market in order to prop up its share price. The investors took heavy losses after the losses became public and Citi’s share price tanked. In that case, Citi also denied the substance of the allegations and said it was settling to avoid any more legal costs.— AFP

BBC to sell Lonely Planet at a 93 million euros loss LONDON: The BBC’s commercial arm is selling the Lonely Planet travel guide business to a US media firm at a loss of almost £80 million ($121 million, 93 million euros), the British broadcaster said yesterday. NC2 Media will buy Lonely Planet, which publishes hugely popular travel guides in nine languages, for £51.5 million. But the price is a massive 60 percent loss on the £130.2 million that BBC Worldwide spent acquiring the publisher in two chunks in 2007 and 2011.

The BBC Trust, the broadcaster’s governing body, has ordered a review into the huge loss. “Although this did not prove to be a good commercial investment, Worldwide is a very successful business, and at the time of purchase there was a credible rationale for this deal,” said the Trust’s vice-

chairwoman Diane Coyle. “Given the significant financial loss to Worldwide, however, we have asked the BBC Executive to commission a review of lessons learned and report to the Trust with its findings.”

The BBC sparked controversy with its purchase of Lonely Planet because its commercial arm had previously been involved in selling BBC productions, rather than buying other firms. The sale comes as Worldwide returns its focus to promoting BBC brands and programs. Lonely Planet has sold more than 100 million books since it was founded in the 1970s by two travel enthusiasts, husband and wife Tony and Maureen Wheeler. Worldwide stressed that no taxpayers’ money from the publiclyfunded BBC had been used to buy Lonely Planet. —AFP

DETROIT: With auto sales in Europe stalled, Fiat is pushing Chrysler to boost production at key US plants over the opposition of blue-collar workers who don’t like the new work schedules.

Less than four years after Chrysler was saved from certain death by a government-backed bankruptcy and steered back to profitability by Fiat, a growing number of workers are complaining that they are being asked to sacrifice once again. But they’re not getting a lot of support from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which negotiated the changes with Chrysler as part of a more flexible contract aimed at improving competitiveness.

The switch to four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days means less overtime pay, a shifting schedule and the regular loss of their Saturdays. “It’s terrible for workers,” said Alex Wassell, a Chrysler employee who was fired after helping to organize a recent protest outside a plant in Warren, Michigan which builds the popular Ram pickup truck. “It makes child care more difficult, and makes it impossible for a lot of workers to attend school activities, and eliminates weekends with your family,” Wassell said.

“It’s not a good situation for many workers.

One of every three workers will have to work Saturdays indefinitely.” Chrysler said it has altered work schedules-and hired 8,000 new hourly employees since emerging from bankruptcy in June 2009 - to keep pace with growing demand for the company’s vehicles. “Chrysler

Group has been fortunate enough to see demand for its products increase significantly over the past three years,” said Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson.

The new schedule makes room for a third shift of workers and lets Chrysler run the plants 20 hours a day, six days a week. It also eliminates the roughly $120 a week workers used to earn in overtime pay, which substantially trims labor costs. “We have worked in partnership with the UAW to find creative ways to boost production at all of our facilities,” Tinson said, noting that the four-day work week means an extra 49 days off a year. “We understand and appreciate that this is a transition to a new work pattern,” Tinson said in an e-mail.

While Fiat has idled factories and workers in Europe amidst an industry-wide slump, Chrysler production in the United States has climbed from 950,000 units in 2009 to 2.4 million units last year and is expected to increase to 2.6 million units in 2013. Without Chrysler, which saw its profits jump 68 percent last year, Fiat would have lost 1.04 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in 2012 instead of earning a profit of 1.4 billion euros ($1.86 billion dollars) according to the Italian carmaker’s financial reports.

The Warren plant which builds the popular Ram pickup truck began operating on three shifts this month. The protest that cost Wassell his job only attracted between 25 and 50 people, but dozens of other workers either voiced

support or gave the demonstrators a thumbs up as they filed into the plant during shift change.

The issue has also been raised repeatedly on social media and during local union meetings in recent months. Wassell’s firing brought the union reluctantly into the fight.

David Edgar, the president of UAW Local 869, would not comment on the dispute but said the union filed a grievance challenging Wassell’s dismissal and demanding his immediate re-instatement as the controversy escalated. Tinson said Wassell was dismissed for violating a prohibition on “engaging in activity constituting or appearing to constitute a conflict with the interest of the Company.” A senior UAW official, who asked not to be identified because they didn’t have authority to speak with the press, said the union’s current contract with Chrysler allows the company to utilize alternative work schedules to meet production demands.

“Chrysler’s within its rights,” the official said.

Up until now, the UAW has played down discontent and had worked to defuse similar protests last year at Chrysler plants in Trenton, Michigan and Kokomo, Indiana. The union has become less confrontational and more cooperative since the deep economic downturn of 2008 nearly brought down the US automotive industry, said Sean McAlinden, of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“They would rather see the companies add jobs now,” he said. — AFP

Fed to back low-rate policies despite gains WASHINGTON: The US economy is strengthening on the fuel of more job growth, rising home prices and solid retail sales. Just don’t expect the Federal Reserve to let up in its drive to keep stimulating the economy with record-low interest rates. Not yet, anyway. That’s the view of economists as Fed policymakers hold a two-day meeting that started yesterday. Today, the Fed will issue a policy statement and update its economic forecasts, and Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference.

All of which will likely reinforce Bernanke’s stated view that the job market, in particular, has a long way to go to full health and still needs the Fed’s extraordinary support. The unemployment rate, at 7.7 percent, remains well above the 5 percent to 6 percent range associated with a healthy economy.

The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term rates at record lows at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent, as long as the inflation outlook remains mild. And it foresees unemployment staying above 6.5 percent until at least the end of 2015. Today, economists think Bernanke will acknowledge the economy’s gains. But most foresee no pullback in the Fed’s strategy of keeping short-term rates at record lows and of buying $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to keep long-term loan rates down.

“They will keep the pedal to the metal at this week’s meeting,” says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. “Even though the economy has improved, it has not improved enough to switch course. We still don’t have unemployment low enough.” The economy slowed to an annual growth rate of just 0.1 percent in the OctoberDecember quarter, a near-stall that was due mainly to temporary factors that have largely faded.

Economists think growth has rebounded in the January-March quarter to an annual rate around 2 percent or more. The most recent data support that view.

Americans spent more at retailers in February despite higher Social Security taxes that shrank most workers’ paychecks. Manufacturing gained solidly in February. And employers have gone on a four-month hiring spree, adding an average of 205,000 jobs a month. In February, the unemployment rate, though still high, reached its lowest point in more than four years. The brighter news has prompted speculation that the Fed might be preparing to dial back its easy-money policies. Such thinking has been fed by concerns voiced by a few Fed regional bank presidents about the low-rate policies.

These include fears that the Fed has pumped so

WASHINGTON: Photo shows the Federal Reserve Building in Washington. — AP much money into the economy that it could eventually ignite inflation, fuel speculative asset bubbles or destabilize markets once the Fed has to start raising rates or unloading its record $3 trillion investment portfolio. Minutes of the December and January policy meetings showed that some officials suggested that the Fed might need to at least scale back its $85 billion-a-month in bond purchases.

Still, the low-rate policies received solid backing in 11-1 votes. And economists see no sign that this support is eroding. When he gave the Fed’s twice-ayear economic report to Congress in February, Bernanke defended the low-interest rate programs.

And while he acknowledged the fears of critics, he downplayed them. He struck the same note in a speech to a conference in San Francisco. There, Bernanke said it would be “quite costly” to the US economy if the Fed pulled back too soon. At their last meeting Jan. 28-29, Fed officials reaffirmed their decision in December to keep short-term rates at super-lows at least as long as unemployment stays above 6.5 percent. The Fed’s benchmark rate for overnight bank lending has remained at a record low near zero since December 2008. The Fed also repeated its plan to keep buying bonds to lower long-term rates until the job market had improved “substantially.” One reason for the Fed’s reluctance to reduce its stimulus is the history of the past three years. In each of the three, economic prospects looked promising as the year began. Yet in each case, the economy stumbled.

In 2010, US growth was hurt by turmoil from Europe’s debt crisis. In 2011, a spike in gas prices

and supply disruptions caused by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami dampened growth. And in 2012, higher gas prices cut into consumer spending. Though the economy has brightened this year, it still faces threats, including across-the-board government spending cuts that took effect March 1 and are expected to trigger furloughs and layoffs.

Those spending cuts, along with the Social Security tax increase and higher taxes on top earners, are expected to cut growth in half this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO predicts that the drag will slow growth by 1.5 percentage points, to 1.5 percent. “There are still question marks over the economy,” says David Wyss, former chief economist at Standard & Poor’s and now a professor at Brown University. “Things are looking a little better, but they are not better enough to make the Fed change anything significantly.” As for concerns that the Fed’s easy-money policies will escalate inflation, Wyss suggests looking at Japan, which has pursued similar policies for 20 years without triggering runaway prices.

The bigger danger in Japan remains the opposite threat of deflation - a prolonged period of falling prices. David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors, expects the Fed’s policies to remain intact this week and at its April meeting. But he says policymakers might signal at their June meeting that they’re considering some changes in their bondbuying program. “I think the June meeting will be the one that really counts,” Jones says. “At that time the Fed might consider at least tapering its $85 billion in bond purchases to a smaller level.” —AP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

BUSINESS

Cyprus uncertainty weighs on shares Asian shares steady from bailout jolt, India drags TOKYO: Asian shares steadied as investors awaited a parliamentary vote in Cyprus on a bailout plan crucial to avert bankruptcy, but potential political instability in India emerged as a fresh worry. A 1.3 percent tumble in Indian shares dragged down the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, erasing earlier gains to hold steady.

The fall in Indian shares followed a key regional ally pulling out of India’s ruling coalition yesterday in protest against the government’s position on a US-backed United Nations resolution on war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war. European markets are seen extending

small losses, with financial spreadbetters predicting London’s FTSE 100, Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX to open around 0.2 percent down. Benchmark indices in Spain and Italy are seen down 0.4 percent and down 0.2 percent respectively. US stock futures were nearly flat, hinting at a calmer start for Wall Street.

Euro-zone confidence was partially restored by news on Monday that the Eurogroup decided to give Cyprus more flexibility over a bank levy which is part of the bailout conditions, after a teleconference of euro-zone finance ministers.

“The worry about Cyprus is overdone, as the scenario there is unlikely to spread to bigger euro

zone countries. Global markets were due for a correction after last week’s long rally,” said Lee Young-gon, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities.

South Korean shares led the early gains in the pan-Asian region with a 0.5 percent rise, as bargain hunters drove the market up from Monday’s one-month lows, while Australian shares gave up early gains to fall 0.6 percent, extending Monday’s 2 percent loss after minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest meeting were read as reducing the chances of a rate cut.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average gained back 2 percent after shedding 2.7 percent for its biggest

one-day percentage drop in 10 months on Monday as the yen rose broadly. Japanese financial markets will be closed on Wednesday for a holiday.

As a knee-jerk flight to safety subsided, the dollar steadied around 82.757 against a basket of major currencies , after inching closer on Monday to a seven-month high of 83.166 hit last week. A recovery in general risk sentiment supported Asian credit markets, narrowing the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index by five basis points. The Thai baht yesterday hit its strongest since the 1997 Asian financial crisis on sustained inflows as some investors saw the Cyprus/euro-zone issue as unlikely to affect appetite for Thai assets.

The key 10-year US Treasury yield inched up 1 basis point to 1.967 percent in Asia while 10-year Japanese government bond yields also added 1 bps to 0.595 percent. Spot gold eased 0.1 percent to $1,603.58 an ounce after climbing as much as 1 percent to a three-week high on Monday. “There are worries, but the extent of such worries is limited, reflected in the fact that some investors panicked and others used the opportunity to pick up (risky assets),” said Jiang Shu, an analyst at China’s Industrial Bank. “After all, the US economy is doing much better than 2009 and 2010, which helped blunt the blow from Cyprus.”

GLOBAL JITTERS The euro-zone’s decision over the weekend to partially fund a bailout of Cyprus by taxing bank deposits, which raised fears the measure could set a precedent for future euro-zone bailouts, and destabilize its financial system, rattled investors and alarmed policymakers outside Europe. “It is, in a way, a prohibited measure. I acknowledge it is a request from the EU and the IMF but it needs to make sure (other nations know) this is an exceptional measure. If this happens to other nations, it would cause significant agitation,” Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari told reporters yesterday. The euro hit a three-week low of $1.2882 on Monday but was trading at $1.2940 yesterday.

Stability in the euro eased pressure on oil prices but they remained vulnerable. US crude oil were nearly flat at $93.75 a barrel while Brent eased 0.2 percent to $109.29. “While there still is uncertainty over Cyprus ahead of the vote, markets for now see it as a one-off case that will not trigger a contagious run on deposits in other euro-zone states,” said a senior official at a Japanese institutional investor. “But I fear this could elevate hurdles for Germany to approve burden-sharing in future bailouts when the euro-zone faces another financial crisis,” he said, referring to how Germany has been pushing for strict conditions in exchange for rescue funds. — Reuters

ATHENS: People wait yesterday to withdraw money from an automated teller machine at a Bank of Cyprus branch in Athens while Cypriot banks remained closed in Greece until tomorrow. — AFP

A look at Cyprus’ move to seize bank deposits PARIS: Lawmakers in Cyprus are still scrambling for a way to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help pay for an international bailout of the country’s banks and government. A plan to seize up to 10 percent of people’s savings has been met with fury and it has raised concern, if not panic, in the rest of Europe about the security of bank deposits in times of financial turmoil.

Yesterday, Cypriot lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a revised plan that would not be so burdensome for people with less than 100,000 euros in the bank. Any plan must be approved by the other euro-zone countries, which would then commit 10 billion euros in rescue loans to Cyprus. Banks in Cyprus will remain shut until tomorrow to give political leaders time to hash out a deal. Here’s a look at the plan and the problems it may pose.

HEY, HOW CAN THEY DO THAT? As a member of the euro currency, Cyprus can raise or lower taxes whenever it wants. It isn’t the first time that a euro-zone nation has raised taxes to cope with mounting debt and to prop up struggling banks. Residents of Greece, Portugal and Ireland - all bailout recipients - have seen their tax bills skyrocket in recent years as those countries tried to reduce their debts. But Cyprus is charting new ground here, and there could be legal - and political - challenges.

AND HOW EXACTLY WILL IT WORK? Banks have already acted to seal off the amount of the levy - a 6.75 percent tax on deposits under 100,000 euros and 9.9 percent on those above - so depositors can’t access it. Banks will remain closed until tomorrow to avoid a rush of withdrawals while lawmakers finalize the move. They will vote on Tuesday, but some are seeking modifications, mainly to lower the tax rate on deposits under 100,000 euros. To do that, however, they have to raise the rate for the larger depositors, since the overall scheme has to raise a total of 5.8 billion euros.

HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE? So far in the euro crisis, depositors have been protected. But European countries have taxed bank deposits before. In the 1990s, Italy levied a tax on every bank account to stave off the collapse of its lire currency. The rate, however, was miniscule - 0.06 percent - compared to what Cyprus is enacting.

Iceland - another island with an outsized financial sector, although worse weather - also relied on depositors to prop up its banks.

When the crisis hit there in 2008, Iceland protected its domestic deposits but reneged on deposit insurance for overseas, Internet-based accounts held by British and Dutch. Those two governments stepped in to help their citizens to the tune of $5 billion. The UK and the Netherlands sued Iceland unsuccessfully in a European court to get their money back, but Iceland has nevertheless started to repay some of that money. European officials are promising that Cyprus is a unique case, and they are right in one aspect: Cypriot banks are overwhelmingly funded by deposits, not bondholders. So it wouldn’t have been very fruitful to go after bondholders.

WHO IS AFFECTED? All people with money in Cypriot banks - except those with money in Greek branches, which will be sold to Greek banks. EU and IMF creditors clearly wanted to protect struggling Greece, but perhaps also saw that Greece is the most likely place in the euro-zone for a bank run. Protecting depositors

there minimizes that possibility. Of the more than 68 billion euros on deposit in Cypriot banks, foreigners hold about 40 percent - and most of those are Russians.

Cyprus could have only gone after non-EU depositors, but it may have been hard to distinguish between Cypriot and Russian savers, said Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. That is because many Russians have dual citizenship and many Russian businesses are registered on the island. Kirkegaard said Cypriots may paradoxically welcome this measure since the government just managed to widen its tax base to include a lot of Russians; the taxes levied in Greece, Portugal and Ireland were for residents alone to shoulder.

WHY DID CYPRUS NEED A BAILOUT? Cyprus built its economy in recent years by becoming a financial center, much the way Ireland and Iceland before it did. Its banks offered Internet accounts to foreigners, were renowned for their service, provided substantial privacy to clients and had very low taxes. It worked so well that Cyprus’ banking industry ballooned to nearly eight times the country’s gross domestic product at the height of the boom. In December, it was still more than seven times Cyprus’ ?17.5 billion GDP. Russians looking for warmer climes, lower tax rates and shared culture in the form of Orthodox Christianity are thought to hold the majority of those accounts, with about ?20 billion in the island’s banks.

But Cyprus’ banks held a lot of Greek debt and suffered significant losses when they took a writedown of those bonds as part of the Greek bailout.

Much of Cyprus’ bailout money will be used to recapitalize Cypriot banks to prevent them from collapsing. Like other euro-zone countries, Cyprus has also seen its deficit and debt explode as growth has ground to a halt. And with the banking system so large, the government wouldn’t have been able to bail it out even in a healthy economy.

WHY RUSSIANS KEEP MONEY IN CYPRUS? Russian businessmen have preferred to place their savings in offshore jurisdictions, partly to escape political uncertainty and corruption in Russia. Cyprus offers a 10 percent corporate tax rate and relatively stable political situation. Cyprus is also believed to be a top destination for moneylaundering. It is much safer for a corrupt Russian official to keep proceeds from illegal activities abroad, hiding information about their fortunes and holdings away from the prying eyes of Russian banking regulators. Russian officials estimated that about $49 billion, which is equivalent to 2.5 percent of Russia’s gross domestic product, was wired to foreign accounts illegally last year.

MARKET REACTION Stock markets and the euro dropped on Monday but not too much. Kirkegaard says that the decision to tap depositors indicates that the European Central Bank is confident that the risk of a bank run elsewhere in the euro-zone is low - and by excluding Greek branches of Cypriot banks, they have reduced the possibility even further. But Heather Conley, director of Europe program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says it’s hard to know the far-reaching implications of this one-off deal. The “exceptions” created to solve Europe’s debt crisis are adding up, she said. And some investors may look at this late-night, three-day-weekend deal and see what she saw: a dress rehearsal for a country dropping out of the euro. — AP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

BUSINESS

Trade, economy top agenda as Xi meets Lew BEIJING: China and the United States put trade and economic issues at the top of their diplomatic agenda as President Xi Jinping met US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew yesterday and called for the two sides to focus on shared interests rather than differences. The two men stuck resolutely to diplomatic niceties in front of the watching media ahead of what was, for both, their first major international meeting since taking their respective offices. A US official said in an e-mailed statement that the meeting itself was a 45minute strategic level discussion of the major issues on the bilateral agenda including currencies, Europe and the global economy, intellectual property, cyber-security and North Korea, in which Lew was “candid and direct.” China’s official Xinhua news agency in a commentary - which are not policy statements but typically reflect government thinking - said Lew should use his visit to convince Beijing that Washington would solve its debt problems, stabilize the value of the dollar and honor trade treaty commitments.

“The stakes are high,” the commentary said, striking a more hawkish tone than Xi. “I can say we have a seamless connection,” China’s new president said, speaking in front of a tapestry depicting a pine tree and flying cranes, both symbols of hospitality. “In the China-US relationship we have enormous shared interests, but of course unavoidably we have some differences.” Lew said both

countries had a responsibility to promote global growth, and called on China to boost domestic demand to help in global rebalancing. “The (US) president is firmly committed to building a relationship of growing strength where we cooperate on issues of economic and strategic importance, understanding that we will each have to meet our own responsibilities, but we’ll also have to manage our differences,” he said. Both Xi and Lew agreed on the important role of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue - due to take place in the United States this year after being held in China in 2012 - in cooperation and making progress on differences, according to the US official’s e-mailed note.

TRADE RIVALRY Trade is clearly an area of both cooperation and rivalry for the world’s two biggest economies, as China’s Commerce Ministry reinforced at a separate event, saying it would accelerate trade talks with key trading partners as US efforts to seal its own transPacific free trade deal gather pace. China will hold three rounds of trade negotiations with Japan and South Korea this year and step up talks with other trading partners, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The talks are seen by analysts as a twopronged initiative by Beijing to engage with Japan after recent diplomatic tension over disputed islands in the East China Sea, while

also countering the “pivot” by the US to reaffirm its role in Asia in the face of China’s economic rise. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last week that Tokyo would seek to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks that currently bring together the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.

Bringing the world’s third-largest economy into the negotiations would set the stage for a final agreement covering nearly 40 percent of world’s economic output, but could also isolate China in the process. “We will improve communications and talks with the related parties and push forward the progress of our own free trade areas,” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman, Shen Danyang, told reporters when asked about Japan’s plan to join TPP talks.

“We always think that every economy in the world has the right to participate in the process of world economic integration and we always take an open and inclusive attitude for all efforts to push for regional and world cooperation,” Shen said. “We also think that any regional or bilateral free trade agreement should be only a complement to the multilateral trade system, not a replacement for it,” he added. For its part, Washington is eager for China to move toward a more consumer-oriented economy and away from investment and export-driven growth, which

has contributed to a record-high $315 billion US trade deficit with China last year.

Washington wants China to reduce barriers to trade and investment and to let the yuan currency float freely in markets. US companies face barriers to invest in around 100 Chinese sectors, while China has complained the United States blocks Chinese investments on unjust national security grounds. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the head of government, pledged on Sunday to forge “a new type of relationship” with the United States and called for the end of a cyber-hacking row between the two coun-

tries. A private US computer security company said last month a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks targeting the United States. President Barack Obama raised the issue during a phone call with Xi last week. Also yesterday, Lew met Xu Shaoshi, chairman of China’s National and Development Reform Commission, the economic planning agency that wields approval authority over major investment projects. Lew will also meet newly-appointed finance minister Lou Jiwei, formerly head of China’s sovereign wealth fund, and US business leaders.—Reuters

BEIJING: Newly appointed US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping chat during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. — AP

China fires warning shot at North Korean banks N Korea runs ‘bad news’ trade surplus

TOKYO: Outgoing Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa answers questions during his last press conference at the headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP

Outgoing BoJ chief ‘failed on deflation’ TOKYO: The Bank of Japan’s outgoing governor yesterday acknowledged he failed to end the country’s long-running deflation over a “turbulent” tenure, but pointed to better times ahead as he steps down from the post. Masaaki Shirakawa, 63, leaves the job about three weeks before the official end of his term after sparring with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over policies aimed at stoking the world’s third-largest economy.

Abe pressured BoJ policymakers for aggressive easing and other measures to stoke growth, while the central bank has also faced criticism from incoming Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who himself has pledged to reverse years of falling prices that crimped private spending and corporate investment. Shirakawa’s tenure faced one crisis after another, including the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers that sent the world economy into a tailspin, and the euro-zone debt crisis that helped push up the value of the safe-haven yen, hurting Japan’s exporters.

The country was also hammered by the ear thquake -tsunami and subsequent nuclear crises in 2011, damaging Japan’s manufacturers.

“The Japanese economy experienced serious downturns due to a number of significant events, including the Lehman shock, the European debt crisis and the (quake-tsunami),” he told a parliamentary committee yesterday. “Despite our utmost efforts, unfortunately we have yet to bring the economy back to a path of sustained

recovery with stable prices,” he added.

Shirakawa said that a “proactive” government approach to economic growth would help turn around Japan’s fortunes, and pointed to a cautious recovery in the US and China. “I believe the Japanese economy will be revived again,” he said.

Shirakawa’s appointment in 2008 was sparked by a crisis that saw a deeply divided parliament unable to agree on a BoJ governor, leaving the post vacant for weeks with the job ultimately given to the soft-spoken deputy governor. Japan’s revolving-door political system saw Shirakawa run the BoJ under five different prime ministers. Despite criticism that he was too cautious on battling deflation, Shirakawa was credited with keeping Japan’s financial system relatively stable through 2008 and 2009 when the international banking system came to a near collapse.

“It was a turbulent five years,” Shirakawa said yesterday. Shirakawa repeated warnings that easing would not fix Japan’s problems without further de-regulation and economic reform, adding that Tokyo must chip away at its massive debt, proportionally the worst in the industrialized world at more than twice the size of the economy. “If you review Japan’s situation, you must take a broad range of measures to increase its competitiveness and growth potential,” he said. On the question of his legacy, Shirakawa said it was “up to you and historians” to judge his term.— AFP

Zain awards Basset contract KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunications in 8 markets across the Middle East and North Africa, yesterday announced its selection of Basset, the global market leader in interconnect billing, routing optimization and trading for the wholesale market, for the supply of a full Interconnect solution.

Zain Group undertook a thorough evaluation of the existing systems in the market and found the Interconnect product by Basset to be the most suitable to provide it with the best support for its future growth; both within Kuwait and in its other operating companies. Important factors in Zain Group’s decision process were the identification of a platform in which all involved parts of the organization are able to work together as a team in one system; from interconnect billing and routing functions to quality management.

Zain Group found an integrated platform in Interconnect by Basset; which uses one data model and one data source for all users where the complete team will benefit from using the same terminology. Zain Group will further strengthen its end-toend business process for wholesale and interconnect services utilizing the platform, and establish the general operations team in a solid position to handle expected growth for years to come.

Henri Kassab, Director Roaming &

Wholesale Zain Group said: “With the start of our strategic project we seized the opportunity to choose the best solution for our partner agreements and settlement management processes. We chose to implement Basset’s Interconnect solution knowing Zain Jordan and our former operations in Africa have won great results from doing so. Additionally, we valued being able to work closely with Basset regional services team.”

Interconnect by Basset is a market-leading wholesale business management solution handling every kind of network traffic for local, regional and worldwide operators in a single, highly integrated platform, which provides highly efficient partner management, optimized traffic trading and routing through the network, accurate billing and settlement for all services including traditional voice, data, IP/content and GSMA roaming services.

Khalid El Hajji, VP & Regional account Director for Basset MEA said: “As operators grow, the wholesale business either becomes an important revenue-generator, or an expensive cost center. Interconnect

by Basset offers all operators - local, regional and global - the opportunity to optimize their carrier-to-carrier billing and settlements processes and we are proud for the confidence put in us and our technology by Zain Group in yet another strategic project.”

SEOUL: Chinese regulators appear to have issued a warning shot to North Korean banks, telling them to stay within the remit of their permitted operations in China or risk penalties after a new round of UN sanctions sought to cut Pyongyang’s funding. A report from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency yesterday cited a Beijing-based source as saying the warning had been given to four North Korean financial institutions, some of whom have been named in United Nations and United States sanctions for aiding Pyongyang in its nuclear and missile programs.

The report said Chinese authorities had so far turned a blind eye to the short-term lending and remittance operations by the banks, which may have allowed the North to save on fees and have access to preferred exchange rates. Asked to confirm the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said he was unaware of it. If true, the measures would not amount to anything close to the kind of clampdown called for in new UN sanctions aimed at curtailing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The March 7 sanctions tighten financial curbs on North Korea and order mandatory checks of suspicious cargo. “But I want to stress that China is a responsible country and has consistently, in accordance with domestic law and including the UN Security Council resolutions and its international obligations, handled the relevant problem,” Hong told reporters in Beijing. The China Banking Regulatory Commission and the central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yonhap said Tanchon Commercial Bank, Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), Korea Daesong Bank and Golden Triangle Bank had received notices from the banking regulator ordering them to conduct business according to their permits.

“These Chinese measures that ban illegal operations by North Korean banks in China came about as part of implementing UN Security Council resolutions, so it would be difficult to see them as bilateral sanctions imposed by China,” the source in Beijing said. “China is in effect putting pressure on North Korea by saying they’ll do things according to the law.” The report came ahead of a visit to Beijing by a senior US Treasury official amid Washington’s push for implementation of the UN sanctions.

CHINA KEY TO SANCTIONS Kwangson is legally authorized to handle border trade settlement in China in the yuan and North

Korean won currencies, according to the website of the government of the Chinese border city of Dandong. An employee at a freight forwarding company in Dandong told Reuters on condition of anonymity that he had heard the restrictions would start on May 1, and were still under discussion.

The company last settled through Kwangson Bank about two weeks ago, and had no direct knowledge of whether it was still doing business, he added.

China is Pyongyang’s sole diplomatic and economic ally, although it negotiated the latest sanctions with Washington and has said it wanted them implemented. The measures were announced in the wake of

vulnerable to pressure on its nuclear program.

Marcus Noland and Stephen Haggard, both North Korea experts at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, say their research suggests the North’s current account went into surplus in 2011.

In a posting yesterday on the institute’s website, they said the improvement had come “largely on the back of expanding trade with China” and added that preliminary research also pointed to a 2012 surplus.

The findings will surprise many given the North’s reputation as an economic basket case wrecked by decades of mismanagement and ruinous spending

PYONGYANG: People walk through Kim Il Sung Square, in Pyongyang, North Korea yesterday. The writing on top of the building reads ‘Hurrah to the DPRK,’ the acronym for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.— AP North Korea’s Feb 12 nuclear test, its third and most powerful to date. Beijing has joined every round of UN sanctions although questions remain over how closely it imposes restraints on its neighbor.

‘BAD NEWS’ TRADE SURPLUS After decades in the red, North Korea may be running a trade surplus, according to two economists who warn the breakthrough makes Pyongyang less

on military hardware. While acknowledging “significant uncertainty” in calculating the North’s balance of payments, Noland and Haggard said their conclusion was “bad news”-both for North Koreans and the rest of the world. “It is bad news for North Korea because as a relatively poor country, they should be running a current account deficit, importing capital, and expanding productive capacity for future growth,” Noland said.— Agencies

China eyes faster trade talks; Trans-Pacific pact advances BEIJING: China will hold three rounds of trade negotiations with Japan and South Korea this year and step up talks with other trading partners, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday, as US efforts to seal a trans-Pacific free trade deal gather pace. China said the first set of talks on a three-way free trade agreement (FTA) with its two neighbors would be staged in Seoul, the South Korean capital, from March 26-28.

They will then move to China, with a third leg to be held in Japan, ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a news conference. The talks are seen by analysts as a two-pronged initiative by Beijing to engage with Japan after recent diplomatic tension over disputed island territory in the East China Sea, while also coun-

tering the “pivot” by the United States to reaffirm its role in Asia in the face of China’s economic rise.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last week that Tokyo would seek to join the US-led TransPacific Partnership (TPP) talks that currently bring together the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. Bringing the world’s third-largest economy into the negotiations would set the stage for a final agreement covering nearly 40 percent of world’s economic output, but could also isolate China in the process.

“We will improve communications and talks with the related parties and push forward the progress of our own free trade areas,” Shen told reporters when

asked to respond to Japan’s plan to join TPP negotiations. “We always think that every economy in the world has the right to participate in the process of world economic integration and we always take an open and inclusive attitude for all efforts to push for regional and world cooperation,” Shen said.

“We also think that any regional or bilateral free trade agreement should be only a complement to the multi-lateral trade system, not a replacement for it,” he said. Shen gave no dates for any of the later talks he said were planned as part of the three-way China-Japan-South Korea pact. The three nations last held ministerial-level talks on a free trade deal four months ago during the East Asia Summit held in Cambodia.— Reuters

NBK celebrates Mother’s Day in style Credit Cardholders enjoy exclusive offers at Regency Hotel KUWAIT: Valid from tomorrow until Saturday 23rd of March, 2013, NBK cardholders ( Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club) will receive 30 hours of luxury package from the Regency Hotel for Mother’s Day. The 30 hours luxury package includes exclusive and valuable offers for two including staying in a deluxe room and enjoying many exclusive and superior services provided by the Regency at the specified offer period, such as complimentary access to the Ladies’

Lounge, free breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Silk Road restaurant and many other privileges specially prepared for that occasion.

“We value our customers and want to help them celebrate important occasions,” said Manal Al Mattar, NBK Public Relations Executive Manager. “Celebrating Mother’s Day with Regency Hotel offers NBK customers a chance to treat their mothers with a special gift, while benefiting from exclusive offers and services from their favorite retailers.” Al Mattar

added “NBK’s leadership in the cards market in Kuwait has been established by consistently delivering superior value to our customers. We always strive to develop promotions to reward our customers.” NBK Cards are accepted worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay. For more information log onto nbk.com or contact Hala Watani on 1801801, or follow NBK on Twitter @NBKPage, and on Instagram @NBKPage.

Manal Al Mattar

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

BUSINESS

$1 billion invested in Dana Gas & Crescent Petroleum KUWAIT: Dana Gas PJSC, the Middle East’s leading private-sector natural gas company, and Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East’s oldest private oil and gas company, in their capacity as joint operators, have announced that the total investment on behalf of the partners in gas operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has exceeded $1 billion. Total cumulative petroleum production from inception to date has now reached 79 million barrels of oil equivalent from continuous production from the Kor Mor field for the past four and a half years, making it the largest investment and highest level of cumulative production achieved by private companies in Iraq’s oil and gas sector.

Daily production reached a peak rate of 88,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd), averaging 80,000 boepd, which includes 340 million cubic feet of gas per day and 15,000 barrels per day of condensate liquids.

Total investment by the partners until end of February 2013 stood at $1,004 million, since entering into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government for the Kor Mor and Chemchemal blocks in April 2007, and there are plans for further expansion in investment and production levels, under discussion with the

Ministry of Natural Resources.

In total, more than 375 billion cubic feet of gas and 16.5 million barrels of condensate and liquids have been produced by

uous power supply for 4 million people in the Kurdistan Region, in contrast to the electricity crisis in other parts of Iraq, and provided $9.1bn of savings in

ment of the entire region at the same time.

“As regional companies who pride ourselves on moving quickly to address local needs,

the companies since the start of production in October 2008, with the gas supply to local power stations enabling 1,750 MW of new electricity generation for the Kurdistan Region.

This has ensured almost contin-

fuel costs for the government, with annual savings of $3.3bn going forward and major environmental benefits in cutting greenhouse gas emissions while transforming and energizing the economic and social develop-

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum are proud to have delivered these important results, which are also a testament to the policies of encouraging private investment and local development that have

been applied in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” said Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Member of the Board of Dana Gas. “In addition we are receiving more regular payments for our products, and are working with the KRG to resolve the outstanding receivables as soon as possible.”

Marking the important investment milestone, Rashid AlJarwan, Executive Director and Acting CEO of Dana Gas, said: “We thank the KRG for their cooperation and support in achieving this milestone, as well as our partners, contractors and all of our staff. We are working with the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources on the next phase of development and expansion, and look forward to growing our operations and investment to enable further progress and prosperity for the local community.”

During the project’s construction phase, work opportunities were provided for over 2,000 Iraqi workers from all ethnic groups and sects, supported by expatriate workers from over 20 nationalities in the region and worldwide. Currently employing 460 full-time employees in the Kurdistan Region, the companies have successfully implemented a nationalization program, already

achieving over 80% local staff ratio in their operations while implementing a major training program.

The many notable technical achievements of the project include: achieving first gas in a record time of only 15 months, the installation of a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain that required the clearing of minefields; installation of new gas processing plant drilling successfully to tertiary reservoir formations at depths of 2,300 meters, importing and installing over 64,000 tones of equipment in over 3,500 truckloads, with pipe material supplied from China and Thailand, and the state-of-the-art gas processing plant imported from the USA. Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas have also implemented a corporate social responsibility program to support the local communities, including providing school supplies, drinking water treatment, generators and fuel enabling 24 hour electricity for the local villages, mobile medical units, and youth sports facilities. These initiatives are assisting the local communities in improving their standard of living, health, well-being, security and stability and the development of human capital in the Kurdistan Region.

China heads back to the ’90s in economic reform drive Premier Li’s line-up shows economic reform credentials BEIJING: China is poised to launch its most serious economic reform drive since the 1990s after a series of top appointments at the weekend put the architects of Zhu Rongji’s clash with state owned enterprises in charge of key economic agencies. Vice Premier Ma Kai, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan were all Zhu lieutenants at the State Commission for Restructuring the Economy, which drew up the blueprint to sever the army’s ties with business and make millions jobless as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were reformed.

They headline a clutch of officials in Premier Li Keqiang’s new line-up, who are broadly considered probusiness economic reformers able to finish the work started by arch-reformer Zhu when he was premier in a way that meets the different economic conditions of today. “China is about to bring on the structural reforms that will ultimately reduce the old SOEs to ashes,” Paul Markowski, President of New York-based MES Advisers and a long-time adviser to China’s financial authorities, told Reuters.

“This is changing the economic policy team in a way that would be akin to bringing back the Clinton economic team to run President Obama’s economic initiatives,” said Markowski, who met with senior officials including those at the central bank and the powerful planning agency the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) - during China’s annual parliamentary meeting this month.

Zhu was credited with getting China into the World Trade Organization in a move that required shutting thousands of inefficient businesses and ultimately set the nation’s exporters on course to become the world’s most prolific, driving the economy to No 2 spot behind the United States in the process. The pace of reform hasn’t been matched since, allowing SOEs to expand their share of economic activity and retain their preferred borrower status at the nation’s banks, which critics say starves the private sector of capital and chokes innovation.

The need for an energetic push on economic reform is acute, not least because easier reforms have been done and China’s economy, now more than five times the size it was when Zhu left the stage, will respond in more muted fashion. In his first news conference since taking charge of the world’s second-largest economy,

Premier Li pledged on Sunday to take on vested interests in order to ensure the economic restructuring needed to recalibrate China’s growth engine and keep it ticking over smoothly for the long term.

PRODUCTIVITY GAINS NEEDED China has set a 7 percent annual economic growth target in its five-year plan that runs until 2015 and has pledged to double household income over the coming decade, implying the growth target will stay for 10 more years. Economists say China must raise economic productivity massively to do so, especially as it plans to spend 40 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) in the next phase of urban development, which envisages shifting 400 million people from the countryside to cities over the next decade.

Li mentioned reform more than two dozen times when answering journalists’ questions, leaving little room for doubt about his policy emphasis at the start of his anticipated decade in power. It will likely be autumn when the initial reform program is unveiled at a high-level meeting of top officials from China’s ruling Communist Party. Until then, the best guess is Li’s agenda will be focused on fiscal changes that redistribute income and promote private consumption, cutting China’s reliance on investment-led, export-oriented growth while pursuing the next phase of urbanization that is designed to drive domestic economic activity.

Ting Lu, chief China economist at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, cautioned against playing down the reforms since the end of the Zhu era even if the pace of change clearly slowed. “I’m relatively confident that they will speed up reforms. That’s not an overstatement. Re-start is an overstatement. There might not have been much reform in the last 10 years, but there has been some reform. Zhou Xiaochuan has done quite a lot of financial reform,” Lu added.

Zhou, who took control of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in 2002, is the architect of broad financial reforms that have spawned fledgling capital markets, liberalized some interest rates and broken the peg between China’s yuan and the US dollar - a step along the path to turning it into a global currency on a par with the greenback. Keeping him in the job is seen as a clear statement of intent that work started must now be finished.

Lou, the new Minister of Finance, said in an interview with Reuters in November that China’s easier reforms had already been accomplished and only harder ones remained, including tax reform and for more freedom of movement and convertibility for the yuan currency, though at a pace that fosters capital market strength. “Right now, Chinese banks are pretty strong, but the capital markets are pretty weak. Just opening up the capital account without developing the capital markets would lead to problems, so there is much reform to do,” said Lou, who at the time was head of the sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp.

NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY Xiao Gang, named China’s top securities regulator on Sunday, will have a big hand in making those reforms happen. “The financial industry should not be complacent. Instead, it must seize the opportunity to continue its reforms and restructuring,” Xiao, a former PBOC deputy governor under Zhou, wrote in a February article in the state-run China Daily, for which he frequently writes. That sets a worrying tone for the vested interests at state-backed banks - one of which Xiao used to run - that have earned fat margins from China’s fixed deposit and lending rates on largely riskfree loans to SOEs. According to one analyst with ties to the powerful NDRC’s State Information Centre think-tank, the Party views economic reform as vital to its ability to remain in power for the long term and while not political reforms as such, the economic agenda is being designed to ensure political survival. “Delegates (to the National People’s Congress) were clearly agreed that their biggest risk was doing nothing,” said the analyst on condition of anonymity.

That’s why competent administrators have been stacked into key financial positions, including the NDRC - itself born in the aftermath of the Zhu reforms - to ensure that skilled people with hands-on experience are running the system. Whether enlightened selfpreservation or not, St John Moore, a director of communications and lobby firm, Brunswick, is telling his clients the latest drive for reform is encouraging. “I’m optimistic that they’ve at least put the right leadership team in,” Moore said. “Execution is now going to be the challenge.” —Reuters

Qatar First Bank: The new name For Qatar First Investment Bank DOHA: After four successful years since establishment Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB), Qatar’s first independent Shariah compliant bank regulated by QFC Regulatory Authority, revealed yesterday that it has changed its name to Qatar First Bank (QFB). Following an upgrade to a Category 5 license back in 2010, which would allow the bank to broaden its product offering, the management took the decision to change the Bank’s name to better reflect the strategic evolution of its business model.

QFB’s new identity was revealed at a dinner reception held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha. The event was attended by government officials, CEOs of leading Qatari Institutions and family businesses, shareholders, business leaders and key media. The guest of honor and main speaker was HE Mr. Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based global property developer.

Launched in 2009 with a mission to enrich the business community in the GCC by providing a unique perspective to Shari’ah compliant investment banking,, QFIB has since then succeeded in affirming its leadership status in the investment banking industry. To date, the Bank invested QAR 1.5 billion in 16 transactions spanning five different sectors, seven geographies and successfully exited four investments.

Building on its four years of success as a leading shariah compliant investment bank, QFB will now evolve its business model to offer a comprehensive range of financial products and services, in addition to its existing Principal Investments, Corporate Finance and Asset Management offerings. Abdulla bin Fahad bin Ghorab Al Marri,

Chairman, QFB commented, “The last four years have been very challenging as the world was going through what economists described to be the worst financial crisis since the Wall Street crash.

Yet in spite of this tough global economic condition, we managed to source, develop and exit deals in strategic sectors generating sound returns for our shareholders. Today marks an important milestone as we celebrate four years of success. The change in our

name reflects our growth strategy as we move from pure investment bank to a financial institution that offers a full suite of shariah compliant financial products and services. QFB is well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for shariah compliant banking and we look forward to the future with great optimism.”

In his keynote address, HE Alabbar said: “The success achieved by QFB in a short span of time, despite the challenging environment globally for financial institutions, underlines the trust of its stakeholders in its values and integrity. I congratulate His Excellency Al Marri, the Board of Directors and the management team for their exemplary work. They are setting the benchmark for performance and purpose for the financial community in the region. QFB has an excellent growth opportunity in today’s new world order. However, through this onward journey, is it important to note that performance is not solely about profits but also about creating stakeholder value.

As the organization starts a new chapter today, I wish the bank and its board members the very best in creating valuable and long-term stakeholder relationships.” QFB’s future plans include the opening of an exclusive high end branch that will offer a portfolio of financial services including investment products

such as sukuk funds, , direct private equity co investment, in addition to transaction services such as credit cards, cheque books and transfers. Furthermore, the Bank will offer non-financial services such as concierge, advisory and research services. Emad Mansour, CEO, QFB commented, “There is a high concentration of wealth in our target region. We want to capitalize on the growing demand for international standard financial services for high net worth individuals and corporates. Our structured approach to business and prudent investment strategy were instrumental in defining our success. We now take our successful business model a step further as we evolve to offer high net worth and corporate financial products and services.

Our new name better reflects the future direction of our business.

Our business model is unique as we will also offer clients the opportunity to gain access to our portfolio of investments and benefit from a range of first class transactional and non-financial services”. QFB will continue to capitalize on opportunities available in Qatar, broader GCC, MENA and Turkey, working closely with clients to originate, structure and execute deals to meet their specific financial and strategic objectives. QFIB continues to work closely with the regulators to list the Bank on the Qatar Exchange.

flydubai touches down at Mattala Rajapaksa Airport KUWAIT: flydubai, Dubai’s innovative airline, yesterday made a special touch down at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, also known as Hambantota International Airport, as part of the official opening day celebrations. flydubai’s Chief Commercial Officer, Hamad Obaidalla, headed the delegation on the same day the carrier announced it will start a three-times a week service to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport from 21 May 2013. Today’s celebratory flight landed at 1220hrs to a ceremonial water cannon salute before Obaidalla was met by senior aviation authority and other government officials.

Commenting on the occasion, Obaidalla, said: “We are grateful to the authorities for their continued support and for giving flydubai the opportunity to serve the Sri Lankan market. We launched flights to Colombo in July 2010 with a four-times weekly service. Following increased demand this rose to five times a week two months later, before daily operations began in March 2012. We are delighted to start operations to the new Mattala Airport, which will help to increase the accessibility and drive the development of the Eastern and Southern coasts.”

Through this second route to the island, flydubai continues to further support the Sri Lanka Government’s efforts to bring in 2.5 million visitors a year by 2016. The airline carried 104,000 passengers in 2012, recording a remarkable 67% year-on-year growth. To better accommodate the surge in passenger traffic to Sri Lanka especially from Central & Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), flydubai has focused on improving connection times in Dubai. Its new, more convenient schedule led to a 911% increase in the number of pas-

sengers connecting from 34 weekly flights to Colombo to date.

“We are always exploring new opportunities to connect Dubai to other destinations within our network. Through this new route, those seeking leisure breaks from Central & Eastern Europe and the CIS will be able to take advantage of the affordable, high quality service for onward travel to Sri Lanka via one stop in Dubai aviation’s hub,” added Obaidalla. flydubai has the most comprehensive network to the CIS and Central & Eastern Europe of any other Middle Eastern carrier, connecting Colombo, and once in operation Hambantota, to 15 destinations in 10 countries in the regions.

FLIGHT DETAILS Flights to Hambantota will operate threetimes a week from 21 May 2013. FZ551 departs Dubai Terminal 2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 2250hrs, landing in Mattala International Airport at 0635hrs local time following a stop in Colombo at 0555hrs.

The return flight, FZ552, direct to Dubai departs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0730hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1050hrs local time. Return fares from Dubai to Hambantota start at AED 995 with return fares from Hambantota to Dubai starting at LKR 31,365. Fares include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg and one small laptop bag or hand bag. Checked baggage starts at AED 50 ($14) for 20kgs. A seat with extra legroom costs AED100 ($28) extra.

Flights between Dubai and Hambantota can be purchased from flydubai’s website (www.flydubai.com), its call centre (+9714 231 1000) or through travel partners.

Cyprus turns to Russia as bailout deal stumbles NICOSIA: Cyprus turned to Russia yesterday as President Nicos Anastasiades battled to garner support from lawmakers for a controversial eurozone bailout deal that the central bank warned was in danger of collapse. State radio reported that a parliamentary vote due may be postponed while the presidency announced Anastasiades had called an emergency meeting of party leaders for today to “examine alternative plans.”

Commentators believe that if the measure is put to the vote it will not secure enough support as Anastasiades does not have a clear majority in the 56-seat parliament. Uncertainty about the vote comes despite changes by Cyprus to the terms of the the 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) deal sealed with euro-zone partners at the weekend. The revised plan, drafted yesterday in response to an angry backlash at home and jitters that roiled global markets, sees a one-time levy being dropped on bank savings below 20,000 euros but retained at 6.75 percent on deposits of 20,000100,000 euros and at 9.9 percent for amounts above 100,000.

Under the original accord, Cyprus agreed to impose a levy of 6.75 percent on bank accounts up to 100,000 euros and 9.9 percent for larger

deposits. The move was aimed at raising 5.8 billion euros for the government. The changes prompted a warning by Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades that the bailout deal could collapse as it will now no longer “yield the estimated 5.8 billion euros agreed by the Eurogroup”. “If we secure 5.5 billion it will be considered in breach of the agreement and perhaps will not be accepted,” Demetriades told parliament’s finance committee, as cited by the Cyprus News Agency.

Fearing a run on accounts, Cyprus has shut its banks until at least tomorrow, with the local stock exchange closed for the same period. A Cyprus government spokesman said Anastasiades would have further telephonic discussions on the terms of the bailout with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later, after a first round of talks on Monday.

With Cyprus appearing to be heading for a showdown with the European Union and International Monetary Fund over the details of the bailout package, Europe’s main stock markets slid for the most part yesterday. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 0.32 percent while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.73 percent.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies managed a 0.11 percent gain in afternoon trading. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

technology

Xerox not straying from its technological roots NEW YORK: Xerox dominated the office of yesterday with its copiers, laser printers, and fax machines. Now Ursula Burns is trying to strengthen its role in the offices of tomorrow. Since becoming CEO in 2009, she has increased Xerox’s sales of IT-related services, like processing health insurance claims and managing customer-service call centers. Nevertheless, Burns-a mechanical engineer who has worked at Xerox since an internship in 1980—told MIT Technology Review’s deputy editor, Brian Bergstein, that the company isn’t straying from its technological roots.

The field of business services does not necessarily reward technological innovators. Isn’t it largely driven by how well you lower a client’s costs?

It is. The start of BPO [business-process outsourcing] was basically taking the mess of somebody else and doing it for less. Let’s take business processes that are identical-everybody has to answer calls-and if you can [handle such things for many companies], then you can use scale to your advantage. Then it went to “Can we move it to lower-cost areas and lower-cost people?” So it became labor arbitrage. And where we are now with BPO, and this is the most exciting part

about Xerox, is that the next big step is not in trying to go to the next cheapest place.

Why? Have we reached the lowest that labor costs can go?

Not yet, but we’re getting there. The next big step comes in technology. So if you have 100 people answering the phone and they take 10 calls an hour, can you get it such that you have 100 people that take 15 calls an hour? Can you apply technology to make it such that instead of taking six or seven weeks to train a person in a complex call, you make it take two weeks, or one week? Can you make it such thatmost calls are recorded-you can look at the calls after and figure out key things, see patterns via big data?

And can you actually apply that?

What’s an example of a services deal you won because of technology you had?

Working with municipalities in California on better parking. Parking is a pain in the ass. And it doesn’t get enough money for the value. In the middle of the day [cities] want to charge a whole lot of money for parking on the street. We developed congestion-parking solutions such that [cities] can vary price. So you’re

driving around, and-some of this is still in trial modeyou can get a bing on your phone that says “There’s a parking spot a block over,” and it will charge you the appropriate amount. This is all driven by technology from our Grenoble labs [in France].

In the 1970s, PARC, Xerox’s Silicon Valley lab, invented computing breakthroughs that languished because they didn’t fit into Xerox’s copier business.

How do you keep your researchers focused now?

It’s all about themes. Even if [Xerox’s customers] are in many different lines of work, one of the themes is that they [all] have a lot of information, and a lot of it has to be processed, and generally by people. A large amount of what we do is to try to figure out a way we can make a process operate via technology like a human would operate it, without the inefficiencies and the errors and moods.

Why have you cut Xerox’s spending on research, development, and engineering?

Primarily because of what we are RD&Eing. When you are a builder of things, one of the most expensive pieces of RD&E is the building of the thing-the prototyping. If you look at a software company’s RD&E, it’s

[often] counted in cost of goods or packaged in the price of a deal. You develop a solution on behalf of a client and it’s not called “research.” It’s not a capital expense.

My big balance right now is to make sure we don’t spoil ourselves into believing all of the innovation will come at the client site. I want to think even beyond that. That’s where the labs have to jump to.

How much longer will Xerox still be selling copiers and printers?

For as long as the customer needs them, which will still be a while.

Well, will offices still be churning out lots of paper in 2020? 2030?

In 2020, oh yeah, there will still be a lot of paper.

People like it. You fold it up, you put it in your shirt.

Until somebody develops a technology that [has such] benefits in some other form, paper will be here.

I was just looking at cars. They still hand me brochures! It’s really important. And by the way, when I do it on my iPad, it’s not as easy. So until they figure out a way to make it that easy, paper will be there and I’ll still be printing. — MCT

Future of UIs: A computer you can look in the eye Virtual assistant Zoe revealed

Omar Draghmeh and Walid Gomaa.

HP introduces new storage solutions KUWAIT: HP yesterday introduced several industry-first innovations for its Converged Storage portfolio to the Kuwaiti market, with new platforms that enhance simplicity and efficiency for enterprises of all sizes.

During the road show, representatives from HP Kuwait and HP Middle East also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its operations in the country. HP Executives cited the efforts its local office has made in recruiting the most talented employees to best service the market, supporting the education sector with a variety of campaigns, and contributing to the strategic vision and development plans of the State.

“As a company, we are committed to contributing towards various sectors and create new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society, “said Omar Draghmeh, Managing Director, HP Kuwait and Bahrain.

“We place innovation at the heart of everything we do and believe that technology enables change goes hand in hand with Kuwait’s vision of the development of a competitive and diversified economy. We are confident that innovation and technology will contribute to

the future development of Kuwait.”

Designed for virtualized, cloud and big data retention environments, the solutions launched at the JW Marriott Kuwait City this morning include new HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage, HP Store All Storage and HP Store Once Backup product offerings.

Many organizations waste as much as 70percent of their budgets oncapacity that is not actually storing data. This creates a rigid sprawling infrastructure that often forces organizations to choose between features and affordability.

In2011,HP announced Converged Storage to address legacy storage limitations exposed by the growth of human information, infrastructure convergence and the emergence of IT-as-a-Service data centers.

The HP Converged Storage system vision is polymorphic simplicity. This is a new storage concept that enables a single-systemarchitecture to exist in several forms, shapes and sizesfrom low to high, but retains common data services for block, object and file applications. This vision also calls for optimization for both hard disk drives (HDD) and solid state disks (SSD).Today,HP is expanding that portfolio.

LONDON: Sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf envisaged a future where computers appeared as disembodied heads that chatted to humans, albeit in a bored and offhand manner. A similar vision of what nextgeneration user interfaces might look like went on show this week when the virtual assistant Zoe was revealed by researchers at Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Lab and the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.

Zoe is a 2D photorealistic digital avatar that can recite speech and display a range of emotions, courtesy of a text-to-speech engine and face-modelling program. It appears to the user as a head floating in space.

The idea is that interfaces like Zoe could one day be the face of smartphone assistants like Siri, of audio books or on automated kiosks in, say, a doctor’s surgery reception.

“In the short term I can imagine people using it with something like Siri on their phone, said Bjorn Stenger, head of the computer vision group at Toshiba Research Europe.

“Longer term, you could have it as an interactive assistant or someone who could look up things for you, teach you a language or chat with you about the news, but that’s probably a little bit off.”

Another possibility is that smartphone users may one day be able to create their own virtual assistants (VA) using training systems similar to those that generated the data for Zoe, researchers believe. These custom VAs could allow people to send face messages, where a virtual version of themselves reads out their message while looking and sounding happy, sad or whatever emotion is desired. Talking avatars are nothing new: the digital newsreader Ananova dates back to the turn of

the century, but Zoe is able to reflect a more believable range of human emotions on its face and through its voice, said Stenger.

“Obviously there have been talking heads before but this approach is more flexible and realistic than before,” he said.

The flexibility in what Zoe can say and the emotions it can express comes from the large store of English phonemes, units of sound that make up a spoken language, and captured facial expressions, which Zoe’s text-to-speech and facial modelling engines can draw upon.

This store was gathered from high definition video of Hollyoaks actress Zoe Carpenter reading thousands of lines of text from a wide variety of sources, from newspapers to phone directories.

Visual recognition software analysed the video to capture the shape and position of the face when uttering different phonemes, as well as when expressing different moods.

Meanwhile speech analysis software captured the phonemes that made up the words, and how these same sounds varied according to mood.

By combining these different data points, Zoe can recreate myriad emotions and read the majority of sentences it is given convincingly, Stenger said. For instance, combining happiness with tenderness and slightly increasing the speed and depth of the voice makes it sound friendly and welcoming. A combination of speed, anger and fear makes Zoe sound as if it is panicking.

Zoe currently exists as a test system where the user types in the words they want it to say and selects one of six preset moods - happy, sad, tender, angry, afraid and neutral - as well as setting the intensity of that emotion and the depth, pitch and

speed of the voice. These settings are used to generate just under 50 parameters that dictate how to animate Zoe’s face.

The virtual assistant doesn’t exist outside of the lab at present and Stenger says the group will continue to focus on improving Zoe’s believability. For Zoe to function as a virtual assistant that can field human queries, it would have to be combined with a speech recognition engine and a branching dialogue system, but this is not something researchers are looking at present. The team who created Zoe are working with a school for autistic and deaf children, where the technology could be used to help pupils to “read” emotions and lip-read.

The researchers built the text-to-speech engine, face capture and modelling software and system training algorithms. A variety of programming languages were used but where performance was important they chose C++. There are no plans to open source the code at present.

Zoe’s calibration is being carried out on a Linux cluster and the text-to-speech and face modelling engine runs on a Linux server. The end-user interface showing Zoe is a Java client and only tens of MB in size, so it is multiplatform and would sit happily on smartphone or tablet.

The prospect of real-life receptionists being replaced with automated systems might fill certain people with dread rather than excitement, and Stenger says he shares that apprehension about such interfaces being misused. “I think one has to be really careful not to annoy people with bad systems,” he said. “But eventually interfaces that are more natural to interact with will come, I’m sure. It’s more intelligible to hear a voice and see a face.” — MCT

BlackBerry promises new apps as Z10 hits stores SYDNEY: The head of BlackBerry has taken a swipe at Apple, saying in an interview the iPhone’s operating system was outdated, while promising thousands of new apps as it prepares to launch its new Z10 handset.

Thorsten Heins said there were signs users were switching to the Canada-based firm, which rebranded itself on launching its BlackBerry 10 platform this year, as it works to win back those who had shifted to the iPhone or Android devices.

He told the Australian Financial Review that big name apps such as Instagram and Netflix were being attracted by the reaction to its new BB10 operating system.

“Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market... They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon,” he said.

“The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is

now five years old.” While BlackBerry helped create a culture of mobile users who were glued to the company’s smartphones, many of those customers have since moved to Apple or other smartphone makers such as Samsung.

Apple’s iPhone remains hugely popular but its iOS system is almost unchanged since 2007 and the firm’s CEO Tim Cook last week sought to allay fears over what some suggest is a lack of innovation, saying it still has the ability to “create magic”.

The touchscreen Z10, operating on the BB10 system, is seen as critical to BlackBerry’s future.

At the Z10 Canadian launch in January, many observers praised its technical prowess but suggested a relatively small amount of available apps — 70,000 — could prove a problem.

Heins said the company now expected 100,000 apps to be ready for the US Z10 launch later this week and negotiations were advancing with photo sharing service Instagram and video

provider Netflix.

“We are working constantly on getting these important apps on board,” he told the newspaper. “I think we are seeing the dynamic changing over time as they want to watch and see how BlackBerry 10 is making it in the market.

“They want ROI (return on investment) on their development dollars as well. I think this is a very respectful way of looking at your business, and it is our job to convince them that BB10 is a successful platform.”

Heins added that the company was in a robust financial position and was boosted last week when a mystery buyer ordered one million handsets-which he said was the biggest in BlackBerry history. “This is huge, those customers take on inventory and a financial risk, and in doing this it shows that they have a very strong belief that they can be successful with BlackBerry 10,” he said. —- AFP

Computer models show how deep carbon could return to Earth surface Mars rover Curiosity stands down after new problem LOS ANGELES: After recovering from a computer problem, the Mars rover Curiosity is sidelined again, further delaying the restart of science experiments.

The latest complication occurred over the weekend when the six-wheel rover entered safe mode after experiencing a software file error.

Curiosity remained in contact with ground controllers, but it can’t zap rocks, snap pictures or roam around until the problem is fixed. Rover team members had expected to resume activities Monday, but they now have to wait a bit longer - perhaps until the end of the week.

“We would definitely like to get over this and get back to doing something,” said project manager Richard Cook of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates the $2.5 billion mission.

Studies at the Gale Crater landing site have been on hold since the beginning of March after engineers discovered a problem with Curiosity’s com-

puter memory, possibly caused by space radiation. The latest snafu isn’t as serious, but any unexpected problem throws off the schedule, Cook said.

It’s the longest stretch of inactivity since Curiosity’s daring touchdown near the Martian equator last year.

Just before halting its investigations, the nuclear-powered rover used the drill at the end of its 7-foot-long robotic arm to bore into a rock near where it landed and analyze the powder. Last week, scientists announced the results from the first drilling: Curiosity had discovered an ancient Martian environment that could have been favorable for primitive microbial life. Despite the excitement over achieving one of the mission’s main goals, it has yet to find complex organic molecules considered the chemical building blocks of life.

Once Curiosity returns to normal, it’ll only have a few days to work before a planetary alignment limits radio communication between Earth and Mars during most of next month. — AP

CALIFORNIA: Computer simulations of water under extreme pressure are helping geochemists understand how carbon might be recycled from hundreds of miles below the Earth’s surface. The work, by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Johns Hopkins University, is published March 18 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Carbon compounds are the basis of life, provide most of our fuels and contribute to climate change. The cycling of carbon through the oceans, atmosphere and shallow crust of the Earth has been intensively studied, but little is known about what happens to carbon deep in the Earth.

“We are trying to understand more about whether carbon can be transported in the deep Earth through water-rich fluids,” said coauthor Dimitri Sverjensky, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

There is plenty of water in the mantle, the layer of the planet extending hundreds of miles below the Earth’s crust, but little is known about how water behaves under the extreme conditions there-pressures run to hundreds of tons per square inch and temperatures are over 2,500 F. Experiments reproducing these conditions are very hard to do, said Giulia Galli, professor of chemistry and physics at UC Davis and co-author on the paper. Geochemists have models to understand the deep Earth, but they have lacked a crucial parameter for water under these conditions: the dielectric constant, which determines how easily minerals will dissolve in water.

“When people use models to understand the Earth, they need to put in the dielectric constant of water-but there are no data at these depths,” Galli said. Galli and Sverjensky are collaborators in the Deep Carbon Observatory, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which seeks to understand the role of carbon in chemistry and biology deep in the Earth. Researchers have speculated that carbon, trapped as carbonate in the shells of tiny marine creatures, sinks to the ocean floor and gets carried into the mantle on sinking crustal plates then is recycled and escapes through volcanoes, Sverjensky said. But there has been no mechanism to explain how this might happen.

This rendering shows a carbonate ion (red/grey) dissolved in water (pink/white) against a backdrop of a cross section of the Earth. New computer simulations show that under pressure deep in the Earth, carbonate could dissolve in water, providing a route for carbon to return to the Earth’s surface.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Czech village overshadowed by disputed nuke plant TEMELIN, Czech Republic: Flanked by Germany, which is phasing out nuclear power, and Austria, which has already done so, the Czech Republic is pinning its future on atomic energy. The ex-communist republic of 10.5 million people, which now relies on nuclear for about 30 percent of its energy mix, is pushing an upgrade of its disputed Temelin plant and betting on getting at least half of its energy from the atom by 2025. Twentythree years after its launch, Temelin’s Soviet-designed reactors still stir controversy among neighbours and environmentalists, yet people living directly in their shadow are more circumspect.

“I’m not afraid of the power station,” says Vaclav Hrabe in the kitchen of his modest house encircled by a small garden in Temelin, a village some 120 km south of the capital Prague. At 90, he’s the oldest resident of the village, over-

shadowed by the four huge steaming concave cooling towers of the plant, which soar to a height of 155 m.

According to a recent survey, 72 percent of Temelin’s 400 villagers back the planned additional two units at the power station, run by the CEZ state-run power giant.

The Czech environment ministry recently gave the go ahead for the lucrative project worth an estimated 200-300 billion koruna ($10.2-15.3 billion). US industrial giant Westinghouse is bidding for it against a group called MIR-1200, led by Russia’s Atomstroiexport and backed by several Czech companies.

France’s Areva remains bitter over having been eliminated from the running late last year. “The power station will grow bigger, just like the village. There are quite a few people who want to build a house and live here,” says Hrabe,

Dar Al Shifa welcomes celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Toni Nassar KUWAIT: Dar Al Shifa Hospital recently announced the third visit of Dr Toni Nassar (member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery) to the hospital. He is also renowned for being the “celebrity plastic surgeon” in the Middle East. Nassar is a specialist, and a valuable source of information on

Dr Toni Nassar plastic surgery. A recipient of the Helosia Bos Prize in the field of reconstruction of the scalp with expanders from the Association of the FormerStudents of Professor Ivo Pitanguy in Sept 2000, Nassar’s artistic abilities as well as his combined knowledge to achieve superior results along with top-quality medical care across the cosmetic surgery field has earned him international recognition, in which patients from all over the world utilize his skills. Some of his patients include prominent celebrity figures. In 2010, Nassar was nominated by French based T V M6 as the “ The Plastic Surgeon of the Stars”, and has participated in Miss Lebanon Elections 2008,

in which he was awarded with the title of “Beauty Ambassador in Lebanon”.

He was also features on renowned broadcast channels such ass CNN, M6, LBC and MTV. Nassar is also known for conducting a wide range of comprehensive medical based cosmetic procedures that include botox, lip, cheek and facial surgeries, Nefertiti neck lift, non-surgical face lifts; SMAS face lift, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, male breast reductions, and body sculpting through buttocks augmentation. His knowledge and professional skill set in utilizing the latest in what modern science had achieved as well as advanced medical technologies with regard to stem cell technology for buttocks augmentation, laser hair removal, women cosmetic surgery, and skin treatments using plasma techniques, was a clear indication in attracting patients from around the world to benefit from one of the Middle East’s most reputable plastic surgeons along with the great results he continue to achieve.

On this occasion, Nassar said: “It gives me great pleasure to continue cooperating with Dar Al Shifa Hospital through my third visit and be able to contribute with my skills to help patients in Kuwait achieve their desired results in the field of cosmetic surgery. From beauty treatments to plastic surgery, cosmetic medical care today spans a wide range of procedures that can help patients realize the best outcomes. Together with the team at Dar Al Shifa Clinic, we will continue to personalize beauty for our patients and help them realize their full potential.” “Dar Al Shifa Hospital is amongst the top healthcare institutions in Kuwait, and we will continue to work and provide comprehensive healthcare solutions that are in line with patients’ needs,” assured Dr Nassar.

Despite evidence, parents’ fears of HPV vaccine grow More parents of teen girls not yet fully vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which protects against cervical cancer, are intending to forgo the shots altogether - a trend driven by vaccine safety concerns, according to a US report. Researchers, whose findings appeared in Pediatrics, found that about three-quarters of girls ages 13 to 17 were not up to date on their HPV vaccine series in 2010. And the proportion of parents of those girls who said they didn’t plan to get their daughters the rest - or any - of their HPV shots rose from 30 percent to 44 percent.

“These are wonderful vaccines which are preventing severe diseases,” said study leader Paul Darden from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. “HPV is the first vaccine that will prevent cancer, which is a tremendous health benefit.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children, both boys and girls, receive three HPV shots as preteens. “There were a lot of very sensationalized anecdotal reports of (girls) having bad reactions to the vaccine,” said pediatrician and vaccine researcher Amanda Dempsey from the University of Colorado, Denver. “Safety concerns have always risen to the top of the pile, in terms of being one of the main reasons people don’t get vaccinated, which is unfortunate because this is one of the most well-studied vaccines in terms of safety and is extremely safe,” added Dempsey, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

Darden and his team got their data from a national immunization survey that involved phone calls to almost

100,000 parents. They found that from 2008 to 2010, the percentage of teens who were up to date on their Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), MCB4 (meningococcal) and HPV had all risen slightly. But aside from the fact that a majority of girls were not up to date on their HPV shots in 2010, the researchers also found that the proportion of parents of those girls who said they didn’t plan to get their daughters the rest - or any - of their HPV shots rose from 30 percent to 44 percent. At the same time, the proportion who cited safety concerns as their reason for abstaining from getting the HPV vaccine increased from less than five percent to 16 percent.

For all three vaccines covered in the survey, the other reasons parents gave for skipping their teenagers’ shots included not thinking they were necessary, not having had a specific vaccine recommended by a doctor and, for the HPV vaccine, believing that ther child was not sexually active. Dempsey said past research has suggested that although more girls are being vaccinated against HPV, vaccine rates haven’t increased as quickly as for other shots.

Parents shouldn’t rely on the media or Internet to learn about vaccines, Dempsey said, since it’s hard to tell what information is legitimate. “If they have questions or concerns, they should trust their provider to give them accurate information about the vaccine,” he added. Darden reports having been a consultant for Pfizer, and one of his coauthors is on a safety monitoring board for vaccine studies funded by Merck, which makes Gardasil, one of the HPV vaccines. — Reuters

proud of his idyllic village in which the hulking nuclear facility seems completely out of place.

Temelin the village is also cashing in on Temelin the atomic facility. “Every year, the power station gives Temelin 10 million koruna to boost its infrastructure.

The village also gets 30 million koruna from CEZ a year in real estate tax,” says Marek Svitak, spokesman for the plant.

Cheekily dubbed “Disneyland” by the locals owing to the colourful lights that illuminate the plant at night, the power station, launched in 2000, uses two Russian-era VVER pressurised-water reactors, with output of 1,000 megawatts each.

Coupled with CEZ’s other nuclear plant in the southern village of Dukovany, Temelin covers 30 percent of energy consumption in the Czech Republic. The two new reactors, expect-

ed to come online in 2025, will raise that share to 50 percent. Just sixty kilometres to the south, Austria, which gave up nuclear power in 1978, eyes the communist-era plant with grave concern. But the Czech government, which holds a controlling stake in CEZ, says nuclear power is a strategic part of the Czech Republic’s drive for energy self-sufficiency and has no intention of giving it up.

In his garden opposite Temelin’s town hall, pensioner Frantisek Riha is among the minority of villagers who share Vienna’s concern. “Nobody has persuaded me the plant is safe,” he says firmly, adding that emergency drills held four times a year were “stressful”. In Ceske Budejovice, a city just 30 km from Temelin, environmentalist Monika Machova-Wittingerova is an avowed opponent of the plant. “Nuclear power depends on activities that harm the

environment, like uranium extraction and treatment,” said the head of a protest movement dubbed the South Bohemian Mothers. “There’s also the unresolved problem of nuclear waste storage... and you can never fully rule out the risk of a serious accident,” she added. “We organise concerts in the memory of Chernobyl and Fukushima, but only few protest rallies because public opinion is rather lukewarm,” MachovaWittingerova admits.

Two years after Japan’s March 11 Fukushima nuclear disaster which prompted EU heavyweight Germany to decide to shut down its nuclear plants in 2022, Prague remains undeterred. Other ex-communist countries Poland and Lithuania keen to overcome their energy dependence on Soviet-era master Russia are also pushing ahead with nuclear facilities. — AFP

US backs Antarctic reserve amid calls for fishing ban WASHINGTON: Hailing the waters of Antarctica as a living laboratory, the United States has joined Australia and New Zealand in appealing for the creation of marine sanctuaries in the most remote and pristine part of the world. The United States and New Zealand have drawn up a proposal for a marine sanctuary covering 6 million sq km of the Ross Sea, which would be the world’s largest reserve. Nations led by Australia, France and the European Union also want to protect 1.9 million sq km of critical coastal area in the East Antarctic.

But the proposals were blocked when talks in November at the Commission for the Conser vation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - comprising 24 countries and the European Union - ended without resolution amid concerns from Russia and China.

Now the nations in favour are boosting their efforts to get the two sanctuaries approved at a special meeting of the group in Germany in July.

“Antarctica is a collection of superlatives. It’s the highest, coldest, the windiest, the driest, the most pristine and the most remote place on Earth,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday at a gathering organized by the Pew Charitable Trusts. “And it has beguiled humankind for centuries as people have sought

to understand it,” he added, arguing that the waters of the Southern Ocean, home to 16,000 species, are a “living laboratory.”

Kerry told the gathering at the National Geographic Society he believed the world can “work together to ensure that Antarctica remains a place devoted to peace and devoted to expanding human understanding of this fragile planet.” “This is one of the last places we could do this, and I think we owe it to ourselves to make it happen.”

Australia’s Environment Minister Tony Burke said the CCAMLR would be “the biggest game in town” for the protection of oceans in the coming 12 months. “What we are wanting to do is replicate in the Southern Ocean what we have already done in Antarctica on land,” he said in comments emailed to AFP. “It’s a long process of conversation, or diplomacy, but ultimately it’s a scientific argument that needs to win out.”

But conservationists argue the proposals do not go far enough to protect marine life notably the Antarctic toothfish, which is fished in huge quantities and served as Chilean sea bass on restaurant tables around the world. The Ross Sea proposal, while creating a reserve to protect Adelie and emperor penguins, as well as killer whales and Weddell seals, would still allow

some 3,000 tonnes of toothfish to be commercially caught each year.

“We wanted New Zealand to come up with a much stronger proposal, and they just didn’t, and they dug their heels in, and basically the US had to go for New Zealand’s proposal,” documentary film-maker Peter Young said. “It doesn’t matter how sustainable this quota is, we shouldn’t be in the last place. We don’t take buffalo from Yellowstone. We don’t take kiwi from the forests in New Zealand. We should not fish from the Ross Sea.” The Pew trust, which organized Monday’s event, is also calling for the Ross Sea zone “to be designated a no-fishing area so that the integrity of the entire ecosystem can be maintained”. Young’s film “ The Last Ocean,” about the Ross Sea, was screened at the event attended by Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr and former New Zealand prime minister Mike Moore.

Kerry told the audience how as a child growing up around Cape Cod in Massachusetts he was taught early on about the wonders of the seas and how to find mussels and clams. “I am a child of the ocean in many ways,” he said. “The Ross Seas is a natural laboratory, and we disrespect it at our peril, as we do the rest of the ocean.” — AFP

HAMBURG: Swans swim yesterday on a lake in northern Germany. — AFP

Skimmed milk ineffective against toddler obesity PARIS: Giving your toddler skimmed or semiskimmed milk is unlikely to make inroads against the risk of obesity, a large study conducted among American children has found. Researchers trawled through data from a long-term probe into the health of 10,700 children born in 2001. Parents or caregivers were asked about milk consumption when the infant was two and were questioned again two years later, when the child was again weighed and measured.

Overweight or obesity was widespread: 30.1 percent of the children at two years fell into this category, rising to 32.2 percent at the age of four. But children who were overweight or obese were likelier to drink skimmed milk or semi-skimmed milk, which has one-percent butterfat, than counterparts of normal weight, the probe found. Low-fat or fat-free milk was consumed by 14 percent of heavy two-yearolds and 16 percent of heavy four-year-olds. This compared with nine percent of normal-weight twoyear-olds and 13 percent of normal-weight fouryear-olds. Kids who drank full-fat milk, which has a 3.5-percent fat component, or reduced-fat milk, which has two-percent fat, also tended to weigh less than counterparts who drank skimmed or semiskimmed.

US health watchdogs - the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association - recommend that all children drink skimmed or semiskimmed milk after the age of two to reduce intake of saturated fat. The study says that the logic behind this recommendation is to reduce consumption of calories and thus prevent weight gain. But the reality could be more complex, it cautions. Milk fat may increase a sense of fullness, thus reducing craving for fatty or calorie-rich foods, the authors argue.

Obesity fighters, they argue, should look at other sources of weight control, “such as decreased television viewing, increased physical activity and decreased juice and sugar-sweetened beverage intake, as well as a focus on non-Western diets with higher vegetable content.” The paper, published on Monday in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, was led by Mark DeBoer at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. — AFP

Warming houses linked to better health NEW YORK: That toasty warm building in winter may not just be psychologically comforting. According to a UK study, improving buildings to enhance “thermal comfort” with central heating or insulation, for instance - pays off in both physical and mental wellbeing. “I think the main message is that housing improvement can improve health, especially if it’s warmth and energy improvement targeting people with respirator y illnesses,” said Hilar y Thomson, the study ’s lead author from the Medical Research Council in Glasgow, UK. Several studies have tied poor housing conditions to poor health, but there are some questions about the quality of evidence for that link, according to Thomson and her colleagues. Researchers have trouble teasing apart the effects of poor housing and other factors that may play a role, such as age and poverty, Thomson and her team write in The Cochrane Library. The most common housing conditions tied to poor health are air quality, heat and humidity conditions, radon, noise, dust, tobacco smoke, falls and fires. To see whether improving physical conditions in homes could translate into tangible improvements in residents’ health, the researchers pooled information from 39 previously published studies on the topic. The past research examined a number of possible housing improvement, including refurbishing existing homes, relocating people to new homes and providing bathrooms. Most of the data from these studies could not e combined into a single pool for analysis because the research designs were too different, so

Thomson’s team concentrated on the results that stood out across studies.

Overall, they found that programs that improve temperature control in the homes of people who are in poor health and in the worst quality housing lead to the greatest benefit, compared to improvements that are applied to whole areas of housing regardless of need. For example, two studies from New Zealand targeted people who lived in homes with inadequate heating. They added insulation to better regulate the houses’ temperature and found that the number of children and adults listed in “poor or fair health” fell by about 40 percent, relative to a comparison group with no housing changes.

A UK study found more mixed results when it looked at heating improvements throughout an entire community, without a focus on par ticularly needy homes.

Thomson’s group cautions in their report that the results from the New Zealand studies could have been more robust because they targeted a specific population while the UK study did not. Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing in Columbia, Maryland, told Reuters Health that she felt the new review was incomplete, because it did not look at studies on lead, radon and other household hazards.

“We certainly want people to be comfortable and warm in their homes, but it’s not the only concern in the US,” said Morley, who was not involved in the research. But Thomson said they excluded those hazards from the review—- Reuters

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

‘Brazilian’ could be pubic enemy No. 1 PARIS: A trend for shaving, clipping or waxing pubic hair may encourage the spread of a skin virus, French doctors suggested yesterday. In a letter to a specialist journal, dermatologists in Nice said that over the past decade they had noted a rise in cases of a so - called pox virus called Molluscum contagiosum, or MCV. MCV causes painless, pearl-like nodules on the skin that usually disappear af ter a few months among people of normal health. It is sometimes seen on the face, arms and hands, but can spread through scratching or sexual con-

tact. The doctors reported on the case of 30 patients who over 14 months were treated at a private dermatology clinic in Nice for sexually-transmitted MCV. Six of them were women and the rest were men; their average age was 29.

All but three of the patients had used pubic hair removal, with 70 percent using shaving. All had MC V nodules on the pubis, abdomen or legs, while 10 also had other conditions such genital warts, bacterial skin infection or ingrown hairs. Hair removal may cause “microtraumisms” to the surface of the skin, facilitating infec-

tion by the virus and other “minor” sexually transmitted infections, the doctors theorise.

The risk appears to be higher for shaving, but does not apply to laser treatment for hair removal.

“Pubic hair removal is a body modification for the sake of fashion, especially in young women and adolescents but also growing among men,” according to the letter, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

“The reasons for choosing genital hair removal remain unclear but may be linked with Internet-based pornography.” — AFP

Study questions vitamin D supplements in pregnancy PARIS: Taking vitamin D supplements in pregnancy seems to make no difference to a child’s bone health, in contrast to guidelines in some countries, research published in The Lancet yesterday says. University of Bristol investigators in western England looked at vitamin D levels throughout the pregnancy of nearly 4,000 British women.

They then measured the bone mineral content of the women’s children at the age of nine. They found no association between the mother’s vitamin D levels and the health of the children’s bones.

Vitamin D plays a big role in healthy bones and teeth as it regu-

lates calcium and phosphate in the body. Eggs, oily fish and meat are all rich in the vitamin, which is also derived from the action of sunlight on skin. Its importance is such that doctors in some countries recommend pregnant women take a daily supplement to help their baby get stronger bones. But the guidelines vary and some health watchdogs do not give any advice at all, reflecting conflicting opinions that supplements are effective or - if used in higher doses - safe.

The authors say this is the widest and most thorough research into whether maternal vitamin D makes a

difference to a child’s bone health.

“We believe that there is no strong evidence that pregnant women should receive vitamin D supplementation to prevent low BMC [bone mineral content] in their offspring, although we cannot comment on other possible effects of vitamin D in pregnant women,” said researcher Debbie Lawlor. The World Health Organisation ( WHO) on its website says that vitamin D supplements are “currently... not recommended” in order to prevent pre - eclampsia, a highly dangerous condition in pregnancy. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

EQUATE launches home safety campaign 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

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QUATE Petrochemical Company has launched its EQUATE Home Safety campaign (Stay Safe) for awareness on household incidents and how to avoid them.

During Stay Safe’s launching press conference, EQUATE VP for Technical Services and head of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program Mohammad Al Benali said, “This campaign is an extension of previous initiatives organized by EQUATE CSR Program which is aimed at realizing overall sustainability in all fields.”

Al Benali added, “EQUATE CSR Program has launched several initiatives relevant to health, education, scientific research, environmental preservation, and community awareness through addressing topics such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, general health, the importance of plastics, as well as annual university scholarships for employees and other members of the society, with all of which being part of manifesting EQUATE’s ‘Partners in Success’ tagline.”

Announcements

On his part, EQUATE Environment, Health & Safety Leader Mohammad Al-Shamary said, “The significance of home safety stems from the critical need of observing caution and care when performing many of the daily routine activities around the household, in addition to handling any arising emergency.”

Al-Shamary stressed, “Home safety is not a complicated matter as it is simply relevant to logical behavior when walking around the house, using ladders, avoiding the choking of children due to toys or food and dealing with fires, things which the campaign will address along with other issues that face every person at home.” To ensure optimum interaction between all community members, citizens and expats alike, the campaign will host several activities at malls, schools and dewaneyas to share the campaign’s messages.

In recognition of its sustainability achievements, EQUATE has earned several prestigious honors, including His Highness the Amir Award for the Best Plant in Kuwait; The Gold Award in Health, Safety, and

Environment (HSE) for Gulf private sector companies; The Award for Best Gulf Company in Recruiting Nationals; Arabian Business Best CSR Company Award; Oil & Gas (O&G) Middle East CSR Award; O&G Best Implemented Environmental Program of the Year; Middle East Chemical Week (MECW) Plant of the Year Award; as well as Kuwait’s CSR Award in the Industrial and Oil Sector. In addition, EQUATE has received the Highly Commended Best Community Program Award during the First Middle East CSR Award Summit.

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).

Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive celebrates success with employees

KPFA National Days’ celebrations uwait-Pakistan Friendship Association (KPFA) will be celebrating jointly the National Days of Kuwait and Pakistan today (March 20) at 7:30 pm at “The Andalus Hall” Crowne Plaza Hotel Farwaniya. This year the event will be unprecedented as the Undersecretary of Amiri Diwan Khalid Al-Ghanium will grace the occasion and will present special memento to KPFA for its efforts in bringing the people of two nations together. The event will also be attended by the Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Iftikhar Aziz. The event is restricted to all those KPFA members who have valid membership for year 2013.

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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 AlShuyoukh 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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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.

Ties Center Ties Center cordially invites to the following March activities: 1- Diwaniya presentation about, “The Meaning of the name Allah (SWT).” All of the names of and attributes of Allah (SWT) are established in the revelation. It is not permissible to name Allah with a name that He did not give Himself and that was not affirmed by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). These are the authentic sources for Allah’s names and attributes: the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah says what can be translated as: “And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing, or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning.” (17: 36).

If you want to learn more about the meaning of Allah, you are welcome to the TIES Center Tomorrow March 19, 2013 at 7:00pm.

2- Movie Night: Women in Islam The right status and responsibility of Muslim women are some of the least understood topics when talking about Islam. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) recognized women as individuals with specific rights and responsibilities more than 1,400 years ago. He encouraged educating women and returned their Allah-given rights back to them. Many Muslim women today are asserting these rights and reclaiming their status as equal partners in society.

Come a long with your friends to enjoy this educating movie in a serene environment at the TIES Center on March 25, 2013 at 7:00pm.

3 - Lecture entitled, “The Impact of Islamic Civilization on the West.” On March 26, 2013, Bryn Barnard will be discussing the impact of Islamic civilization on the West, the subject of his book The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World. This one hour illustrated PowerPoint talk will include aspects of Islamic philosophy, art, book arts, music, astronomy, medicine, engineering ; a discussion of how Islamic civilization is presented in North American schools; and suggestions about why the deep historical connections between Islam and the West are not better known today. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation.

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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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li Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the BMW Group importer in Kuwait, recently held an open day focused on rewarding its employees for their contribution to the company’s record 2012 sales results - the most successful year in its history.

This annual initiative demonstrates Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive’s commitment to its employees and is just one of the ways the importer recognises their

hard work and loyalty.

Present at the event was representatives from the management of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive who thanked attendees for their hard work and ongoing professionalism. Throughout the day, staff members and their families enjoyed a wide range of activities and team competitions, whilst reflecting on the company’s 2012 success. The open day also included a special entertainment pro-

gramme featuring a raffle prize draw for the employees Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive management team thanked the employees for their efforts and contribution to the company’s 2012 sales achievements, also encouraged staff to aim higher and strive to excel in all elements of the business, in particular customer service. Marking this occasion Yousef Al Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive said: “We

wanted to recognise the contribution made by our employees to the 37% increase in BMW and MINI vehicle sales that we achieved in 2012 - the highest growth witnessed by any BMW Group Middle East importer. It is their commitment to providing premium quality products and services, while delivering excellence in customer service, that has allowed our company, and the BMW Group brands, to reach such heights in Kuwait.”

Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a reveals Mother’s Day getaway

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ovenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a has unveiled a bouquet of exclusive packages to celebrate the Mother’s Day in style.

Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait invites guests to celebrate the Mother’s Day and show the dearest women in their lives how special they are with a splendid Mother’s Day treat specially designed to pamper and indulge them.

Mother’s Day is one special day of the year. It is a day to show mothers how much they are loved and appreciated for their long years of labour and unconditional love. It is a day to celebrate and create unforgettable memories.

Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait offers special promotions on the occasion of Mother’s Day for

guests who want to say ‘a warm thank you’ to these most exceptional women in their lives. Guests can treat these extraordinary women either to a ‘free’ mouth-watering meal at Breeze Restaurant or let them relax within the luxurious setting of a world-class spa.

For those celebrating Mother’s Day on March 21st, Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait invites them to enjoy a meal at Breeze, the 160 seat signature restaurant with its exciting range of oriental and international dishes that also features the famous ‘Swiss’ fare. For all mothers coming with families, mothers will eat free lunch or dinner.

This promotion is valid for a minimum of four adults, one will eat for free. The Mother’s Day lunch or dinner will be complemented by a beautiful

ambience and discreet service as well as a complimentary cake from the hotel.

That is not all. Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al Bida’a Kuwait has gone a step further by offering mothers a day of indulgence at its exclusive rejuvenating world-class spa.

Guests can spoil Mums with a package that includes a full body massage, lavender-crystal bath and a relaxing facial. This special Mother’s Day package is valid thorough out March. It will give the multi-tasking mothers, who wear more hats than one a perfect gift that will help them relax, rejuvenate and soothe away the stress of daily living. Time spent at The Spa will leave them feeling refreshed and beautifully fragrant. It will also let them experience a return to beauty and wellness.

W H AT ’ S O N

Enjoy summer with countless benefits at The Regency’s Ladies’ Lounge

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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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he Ladies’ Lounge at The Regency is the most exclusive ladies-only sanctuary in Kuwait. It will re-open for the summer season on 1 st April 2013 and will feature a stunning swimming pool, a shallow waterfall pool, a private lounge area with an extensive menu and a discreet private beach with wonderful views over the Arabian Gulf.

From 9am - 7pm daily The Ladies’ Lounge offers a personal and private relaxation experience.

For the 2013 summer season, a membership programme is available to give better value to frequent users. Still available is the daily entry fee of KD 20, but for true fans of the Ladies Lounge experience a

full season membership filled with exciting benefits and discounts is available, from 1st April - 31st October.

Benefits include discounts on rooms in the hotel, food and beverage within not only, the Ladies’ Lounge, but also at any time in the Silk Road restaurant and in the magnificent Al Liwan. In addition, the soon to be launched Balsamico, a state-of-the-art Italian restaurant and The Regency Gourmet, an elegant confectionery and cake shop will complete a wonderful range of tempting delights. Discounts are also included for all the themed nights at The Regency whether they be Lebanese, Seafood,

Barbeque or the famous Royal Brunch, truly the king of Kuwait brunches.

To tempt Ladies’ Lounge guests the hotel will hold a Ladies’ Lounge Open Day on Saturday 23rd March from 10am - 3pm to celebrate the launch of the season, so for those who enjoy topping up the tan there is an opportunity to enjoy a tour, meet staff and sign up for membership Members who sign up on 23rd March 2013 receive an additional benefit - a complimentary day pass for a girlfriend to use between 1 15 April. Start the season in style! The most elegant 5-star beach sanctuary in Kuwait awaits you at The Ladies’ Lounge at The Regency.

ACK hosts its First Alumni dinner

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

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he Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) organized its inaugural alumni dinner on the 14th of March on its campus, bringing together graduates ranging from the class of 2006 till present.

The warm environment of the dinner was a fantastic opportunity to gather and unite ACK’s alumni.

Fresh graduates and alumni had the chance to meet, reminisce and share their experiences.

Highlighting their memories of the college brought a sense of enjoyment to the graduates and staff in attendance.

The successful alumni dinner represents ACK’s

emphasis on the importance of uniting its graduates. The college is planning to actively engage with its alumni community on a regular basis, not only to strengthen its ties with the graduates, but to help create and develop relationships between the alumni as well.

Farewell to ex-ISK teacher Mrs Meera Mathulla

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n March 2, some of the students of ISK (Indian School Kuwait) Class of 1990 arranged a gettogether with Mrs Meera Mathulla (exteacher ISK Salmiya, Kuwait) at her residence to bid her farewell. Mrs Mathulla was here in Kuwait for the last 35 years

and had worked as an English and History teacher at ISK for 25 years; her husband Isaac Mathulla worked for Kuwait Airways; they would be leaving on March 19, 2013. She was dedicated and always an encouragement for all her students. She leaves behind beautiful

memories which will be cherished by her students who saw her as an inspiration.

She strived to assist students in achieving good results by her constant encouragement, guidance and hard work. During the meeting the students individually spoke of their experiences and also

thanked her for all her efforts during the school days. Mrs Mathulla was deeply touched and appreciated the time taken to meet her. The ex-ISK students finally presented her with a memento as a token of appreciation. Wishing her all the best from all the ex-ISK students.

Huge turnout for KIFF blood donation camp

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).

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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

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he Kuwait India Fraternity Forum, a socio cultural organization of Indians residing in Kuwait successfully launched KIFF Blood Donors Network with a Mass Blood donation camp on March 15 at Ministry of Education for Private schools Hall, Salmiya.

The event was organized in association with Kuwait Central blood Bank & Noor Clinic.

The program witnessed a large number of people gathered during the inauguration and long queue of blood donors were seen till the end. Even though more than 300 people have registered to donate; due to the lack of time, only about 200 were able to donate blood.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Consultant and Head of Hematology, Al-Adan Hospital said that, a healthy adult could give blood 3-4 times a year without any problem. The withdrawn blood volume is restored within 3-4 days, he said even as allayed other fears and misconceptions regarding blood donation.

Dr. Mohamed Gaber Lotfy, Registrar, Kuwait Central Blood Bank, applauded the efforts of the organizers in encouraging the youth and conducting such a camp.

Inaugurating KIFF blood donors Network, Amjath Ali, General Secretary, Kuwait India Fraternity Forum said that, the organized efforts would be made to increase the

acquisition of the new blood donors, retention rate of the existing blood donors and maintaining the comprehensive data about the donors.

Abdul Hameed Mulki, President, KKMA, Karnataka Wing, Malayil Moosa Koya and Ms Ghadeer Al Edan, Marketing and PR Executive, Noor Clinic also spoke on the occasion. Other prominent guests on the occasion include Dr. Sunny Varghese, Head of Blood Bank, YIACO Labs, Ms. Sara Munir Ali, Marketing and PR Executive, Noor Clinic. Shamsheer Aman delivered the welcome speech, Thayif Ahmed proposed the vote of thanks, and the event was anchored by Mohammed Sameer.

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

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

Swarm Chasers Untamed & Uncut Wildest Arctic Shamwari: A Wild Life Shamwari: A Wild Life World Wild Vet Shamwari: A Wild Life Escape To Chimp Eden Animal Precinct The Really Wild Show Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Jeff Corwin Unleashed Jeff Corwin Unleashed My Cat From Hell Monkey Life Bondi Vet Shamwari: A Wild Life Escape To Chimp Eden Wildest Arctic Shamwari: A Wild Life Shamwari: A Wild Life World Wild Vet Animal Cops Houston Animal Precinct The Really Wild Show Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Weird Creatures With Nick Breed All About It Breed All About It Monkey Life Bondi Vet Shamwari: A Wild Life Escape To Chimp Eden Wildest Arctic Wildest Islands Wild France Animal Cops Philadelphia

00:00 Homes Under The Hammer 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 01:35 Come Dine With Me 02:25 Holmes On Homes 03:15 Masterchef: The Professionals 03:45 Masterchef: The Professionals 04:10 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 04:55 Bargain Hunt 05:40 Bargain Hunt 06:25 House Swap 07:10 Indian Food Made Easy 07:40 Indian Food Made Easy 08:05 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 08:50 Homes Under The Hammer 09:45 Bargain Hunt 10:30 Antiques Roadshow 11:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:15 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:45 Masterchef: The Professionals 13:10 Come Dine With Me 14:00 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 14:30 French Food At Home 14:55 Holmes On Homes 15:40 Bargain Hunt 16:25 Antiques Roadshow 17:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 18:00 Homes Under The Hammer 18:50 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 19:20 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 19:45 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 20:10 French Food At Home 20:35 Come Dine With Me 21:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:30 04:55 05:20

Taz-Mania Pink Panther And Pals Moomins Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Dastardly And Muttley Dexter’s Laboratory Wacky Races Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry

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

The Garfield Show Bananas In Pyjamas Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Ha Ha Hairies Bananas In Pyjamas Lazytown Krypto: The Super Dog Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Cartoonito Tales Bananas In Pyjamas Ha Ha Hairies Lazytown Krypto: The Super Dog Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Cartoonito Tales Krypto: The Super Dog Lazytown A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Tom And Jerry Tales Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Johnny Bravo Tiny Toons 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby-Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom And Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show Tiny Toons 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Moomins The Garfield Show Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom And Jerry Tales Moomins Dexters Laboratory Johnny Bravo Puppy In My Pocket The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby-Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show

00:00 Amanpour 00:30 World Sport 01:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 02:00 World Report 02:30 World Sport 03:00 Anderson Cooper 360 04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 05:00 Quest Means Business 06:00 The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 News Special 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Inside Africa 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 World One 12:30 On China 13:00 Amanpour 13:30 CNN Newscenter 14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 On China 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

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

Outback Truckers Driven To Extremes Finding Bigfoot Mythbusters How Stuff’s Made Auction Kings Auction Hunters How Do They Do It? How Stuff’s Made Sons Of Guns Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Magic Of Science Magic Of Science

09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Kings 10:30 Auction Hunters 10:55 How Do They Do It? 11:25 How It’s Made 11:50 Outback Truckers 12:45 Driven To Extremes 13:40 Finding Bigfoot 14:35 Border Security 15:05 Auction Kings 15:30 Auction Hunters 16:00 Inventions That Shook The World 16:55 Magic Of Science 17:20 Magic Of Science 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Sons Of Guns 19:40 How Do They Do It? 20:05 How It’s Made 20:35 Auction Kings 21:00 Auction Hunters 21:30 James May’s Man Lab 22:25 Superhuman Showdown 23:20 Mythbusters

00:15 The X-Testers 00:40 Gadget Show - World Tour 01:05 How Tech Works 01:35 Scrapheap Challenge 02:25 The X-Testers 02:50 The X-Testers 03:15 Bang Goes The Theory 03:45 Da Vinci’s Machines 04:35 Oddities 05:00 Oddities 05:25 Man-Made Marvels Asia 06:15 Science Of The Movies 07:05 NASA’s Greatest Missions 08:00 Da Vinci’s Machines 08:50 Man-Made Marvels Asia 09:40 Scrapheap Challenge 10:30 Science Of The Movies 11:25 Gadget Show - World Tour 11:50 How Tech Works 12:15 How The Universe Works 13:10 Man-Made Marvels Asia 14:00 Scrapheap Challenge 14:50 Bang Goes The Theory 15:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 16:10 The X-Testers 16:35 The X-Testers 17:00 Gadget Show - World Tour 17:25 How Tech Works 17:55 Science Of The Movies 18:45 Building The Future 19:35 NASA’s Greatest Missions 20:30 Last Flight Of The Space Shuttle 21:20 The Loch Ness Monster Revealed 22:10 Gadget Show - World Tour 22:35 How Tech Works 23:00 Last Flight Of The Space Shuttle 23:50 The Loch Ness Monster Revealed

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

Hannah Montana Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Fish Hooks Suite Life On Deck My Babysitter’s A Vampire A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Jessie Good Luck Charlie Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse A.N.T Farm Jonas Los Angeles So Random Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance

SUCKER PUNCH ON OSN ACTION HD

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

Kim Possible Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place That’s So Raven Austin And Ally Art Attack A.N.T Farm Suite Life On Deck My Babysitter’s A Vampire Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T Farm Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Suite Life On Deck Austin And Ally My Babysitter’s A Vampire A.N.T Farm Good Luck Charlie Jessie That’s So Raven Cory In The House Phil Of The Future Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana

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 Lazytown 08:45 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:10 Timmy Time 09:20 Zou 09:35 Zou 09:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:20 Doc McStuffins 10:35 Doc McStuffins 10:50 Handy Manny 11:00 Lilo And Stitch 11:30 Cars Toons 11:35 Mouk 11:45 Art Attack 12:10 Imagination Movers 12:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 13:10 Doc McStuffins 13:25 Handy Manny 13:40 Jungle Junction 13:55 Timmy Time 14:05 The Hive 14:15 Mouk 14:30 Little Einsteins 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:00 The Little Mermaid 16:25 Lilo And Stitch 16:55 Zou 17:10 Zou 17:20 Mouk 17:35 Mouk 17:45 Lilo And Stitch 18:10 The Hive 18:20 Cars Toons 18:25 Zou 18:40 Zou 18:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:25 Doc McStuffins 19:40 Doc McStuffins 19:55 Handy Manny 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 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 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 03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 12:05 12:35 13:05 13:35 14:05 York 14:30 York 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00

Opening Act Style Star THS Style Star Extreme Close-Up THS E!es THS Style Star Opening Act Opening Act THS Khloe And Lamar Khloe And Lamar Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Kourtney & Kim Take New Kourtney & Kim Take New Style Star THS Extreme Close-Up Giuliana & Bill E! News Fashion Police

20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:30

E!es Kourtney And Kim Take Miami Chasing The Saturdays E! News Chelsea Lately

00:15 Guy’s Big Bite 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 Guy’s Big Bite 04:00 Guy’s Big Bite 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 Unwrapped 08:25 Unwrapped 08:50 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 09:15 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 09:40 Symon’s Suppers 10:05 Barefoot Contessa 10:30 Barefoot Contessa 10:55 Cooking For Real 11:20 Cooking For Real 11:45 Unique Eats 12:10 Food Crafters 12:35 Charly’s Cake Angels 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Symon’s Suppers 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 15:05 United Tastes Of America 15:30 Food Crafters 15:55 Guy’s Big Bite 16:20 Guy’s Big Bite 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Unique Sweets 19:40 Charly’s Cake Angels 20:05 Guy’s Big Bite 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Charly’s Cake Angels 23:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 23:50 Unique Sweets

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

I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Couples Who Kill Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner The Haunted Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

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

Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Evil, I Evil, I I Almost Got Away With It

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

Kimchi Chronicles Around The World For Free The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Adventure Wanted Banged Up Abroad City Chase Marrakech Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Exploring The Vine Kimchi Chronicles Around The World For Free The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Adventure Wanted Banged Up Abroad City Chase Marrakech Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Exploring The Vine Kimchi Chronicles Around The World For Free The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia Adventure Wanted Banged Up Abroad City Chase Marrakech Exploring The Vine Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1 Making Tracks

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 PG15 14:00 16:00 17:45 PG15 19:30 22:00

RoboCop 2-PG15 The Perfect Host-PG15 The Stool Pigeon-PG15 Season Of The Witch-PG15 Ice Road Terror-PG15 Sucker Punch-PG15 True Justice: Angel Of DeathIce Road Terror-PG15 Deadly Hope-PG15 True Justice: Angel Of DeathCarlito’s Way-18 The Daisy Chain-PG15

FOOTLOOSE ON OSN CINEMA

01:00 The Way-PG15 03:15 Larry Crowne-PG15 05:00 Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage-FAM 07:00 Ike: Countdown To D-DayPG15 09:00 The Way-PG15 11:15 Larry Crowne-PG15 13:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 15:00 Marley & Me: The Puppy Years-PG 17:00 Teen Spirit-PG15 19:00 Footloose-PG15 21:00 A Little Bit Of Heaven-18 23:00 Prowl-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Normal 02:00 Weeds 03:00 Louie 04:00 Til Death 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Hope & Faith 06:00 10 Items Or Less 06:30 Less Than Perfect 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Til Death 08:30 Modern Family 09:30 How I Met Your Mother 10:30 Last Man Standing 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 10 Items Or Less 12:30 Til Death 13:00 Hope & Faith 13:30 Less Than Perfect 15:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 10 Items Or Less 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Ben And Kate 19:30 The Mindy Project 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Ricky Gervais Show 22:30 Weeds 23:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

Homeland In Plain Sight Good Morning America The Practice The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle The Practice In Plain Sight Live Good Morning America Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Finder Franklin & Bash Awake The Carrie Diaries

00:00 02:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Bones Homeland Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs Bones Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs The Finder Franklin & Bash Awake The Carrie Diaries Damages

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 17:45 19:30 22:00

RoboCop 2 The Perfect Host The Stool Pigeon Season Of The Witch Ice Road Terror Sucker Punch True Justice: Angel Of Death Ice Road Terror Deadly Hope True Justice: Angel Of Death Carlito’s Way The Daisy Chain

00:00 Girl Walks Into A Bar-PG15 02:00 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou-PG15 04:00 It’s Kind Of A Funny StoryPG15 06:00 Hop-PG 08:00 Below The Beltway-PG15 10:00 A Kiss For Jed-PG15 12:00 It’s Kind Of A Funny StoryPG15 14:00 Police Academy 3: Back In Training-PG15 16:00 A Kiss For Jed-PG15 18:00 Smooch-PG15 20:00 The Guru-18 22:00 Girl Walks Into A Bar-PG15

01:00 Biutiful-18 03:30 The Crucible-PG15 05:45 Red Riding Hood-PG15 07:30 Uncorked-PG15 09:00 Backwash-PG15 11:00 Departures-PG15 13:15 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 15:00 Backwash-PG15 17:00 Loosies-PG15 18:45 Quiz Show-PG15 21:00 Manolete-18 23:00 Fargo-18

01:00 On The Inside-PG15 03:00 Jack And Jill-PG15 05:00 33 Postcards-PG15 07:00 African Cats: Kingdom Of Courage-PG 09:00 Honey 2-PG15 11:00 Unmatched-PG15 12:00 Kings Ransom-PG15 13:00 The Tree Of Life-PG15 15:15 Certain Prey-PG15 17:00 Honey 2-PG15 18:45 Battleship-PG15 21:00 Pariah-18 23:00 Horrible Bosses-18

01:00 Queen Of The Swallows 02:45 The Ugly Duckling In Tales Of Mystery 04:30 Tommy & Oscar 06:00 Queen Of The Swallows 08:00 The Nimbols: Part I 10:00 The Search For Santa Paws 11:45 Snow Day 13:15 The Apple & The Worm 14:45 Queen Of The Swallows 16:15 Alex & Alexis 18:00 The Search For Santa Paws 20:00 Rebound 22:00 The Apple & The Worm 23:30 Alex & Alexis

00:00 Last Holiday-PG15 02:00 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island-PG 04:00 The Marc Pease ExperiencePG15 05:45 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.2-PG15 08:00 Alpha And Omega-PG 10:00 The Borrowers-PG 12:00 Last Holiday-PG15 14:00 Mr. Popper’s Penguins-PG 16:00 Alpha And Omega-PG 18:00 Chronicle-PG15 20:00 The Change Up-18 22:00 Gone-PG15

01:00 Futbol Mundial 01:30 Premier League Darts 05:00 Super League 06:30 ICC Cricket 360 07:00 Super Rugby 09:00 Super Rugby Highlights 10:00 Anglo Welsh Cup 12:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 13:00 PGA Tour Highlights 14:00 Trans World Sport 15:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 18:00 NRL Premiership 19:30 Futbol Mundial 20:00 ICC Cricket 360 20:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 21:00 Inside The PGA Tour 21:30 Trans World Sport 22:30 Super Rugby Highlights 23:30 Anglo Welsh Cup

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:30 11:30 13:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 20:00 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

UFC The Ultimate Fighter NHL Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 WWE Bottom Line Super Rugby Trans World Sport Super League NHL NHL Premier League Darts ICC Cricket 360 Futbol Mundial NHL Super Rugby European Tour Weekly Inside The PGA Tour Futbol Mundial Premier League Darts

00:00 Top 14 Highlights 00:30 NRL Full Time 01:00 World Pool Masters 02:00 World Cup Of Pool 03:00 NRL Premiership 04:30 Ladies European Highlights 05:30 NRL Full Time 06:00 Golfing World 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Asian Tour Highlights 09:00 Ladies European Highlights 10:00 World Pool Masters 11:00 World Cup Of Pool 12:00 Super Rugby 14:00 Golfing World 15:00 NRL Full Time 15:30 World Pool Masters 16:30 World Cup Of Pool 17:30 Anglo Welsh Cup 19:30 Super League 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Super League 23:00 ICC Cricket 360 23:30 Golfing World

Tour

Tour

00:00 WWE Bottom Line 01:00 NHL 03:00 Ping Pong World Championship 04:00 US Bass Fishing 05:00 NHL 07:00 WWE Vintage Collection 08:00 WWE NXT 09:00 Ping Pong World Championship 10:00 US Bass Fishing 11:00 NHL 13:00 WWE SmackDown 15:00 WWE Vintage Collection 16:00 UAE National Race Day 17:00 UFC Prelims 19:00 UFC 22:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 23:00 WWE Experience

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 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

SHARQIA-2 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D)

2:15 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-3 SNITCH (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 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

MUHALAB-2 AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-3 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

FANAR-1 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-2 SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED FANAR-3 SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:45 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (14/03/2013 TO 20/03/2013)

AL HAFLA (DIG)

12:05 AM

FANAR-4 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) THE BAY (DIG) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:45 PM 11:15 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-5 JACK THE GIANT SLAYER JACK THE GIANT SLAYER JACK THE GIANT SLAYER JACK THE GIANT SLAYER JACK THE GIANT SLAYER JACK THE GIANT SLAYER

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-1 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PLAYBACK (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:00 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) 6:15 PM OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) 9:00 PM OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) 11:45 PM 360ยบ- 2 SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) NO SAT SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG)

9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360ยบ- 3 HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish)

12:30 PM 3:15 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

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

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM

MARINA-2 AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-3 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)

AL-KOUT.2 SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) PARKER (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) PARKER (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) PARKER (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.3 HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish)

2:15 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 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

BAIRAQ-2 SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

BAIRAQ-3 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) THE BAY (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 8:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

PLAZA AL HAFLA (DIG) HABIBATI (DIG)(Turkish) AL HAFLA (DIG)

5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM

AVENUES-1 THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) THE BAY (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-2 SNITCH (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-3 COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) COTTAGE COUNTRY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360ยบ- 1 OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) 12:45 PM OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM

Prayer timings SITUATION WANTED

MATRIMONIAL

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

Proposals invited for a Marthomite girl, 25/160cms, B/B in Kuwait, Masters in Psychology from U.S.A. working in an international school as counselor. Invites proposals from God fearing well educated employed boys. Email: proposals0327@gmail.com (C 4348) 20-3-2013

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:34 05:53 11:56 15:23 17:59 19:16

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

CHANGE OF NAME I, Fathima w/o Abdul Rasak holder of Indian Passport No. E5241458 hereby change my name to Beer Fathima. (C 4347) 19-3-2013

No: 15753

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)

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI THY JZR JZR QTR ETH GFA UAE ETD OMA FDB MSR QTR DHX THY JZR JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC ETD UAE KAC ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA IRA IAW JZR JZR MEA KNE KNE MSR UAE KAC CLX FDB KAC SVA QTR JZR

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 20/3/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 643 MUSCAT 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 529 ASSIUT 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 933 ABU DHABI 855 DUBAI 344 CHENNAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 157 BAGHDAD 165 DUBAI 143 DAMMAM 404 BEIRUT 482 TAIF 470 JEDDAH 610 CAIRO 871 DUBAI 284 DHAKA 792 LUXEMBOURG 57 DUBAI 672 DUBAI 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA 561 SOHAG

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

KAC QTR KAC JZR JZR IYE UAE JZR ETD RJA UAL GFA SVA KNE JZR QTR ABY KAC JZR KAC JZR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA FDB KAC JAI AXB MSR ABY QTR ALK MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE JZR FDB DHX KLM UAL AIC JZR JZR JZR DLH

788 134 538 787 329 824 857 357 303 640 982 215 510 462 777 144 127 542 177 786 145 63 166 618 102 674 774 647 61 614 572 389 606 129 146 229 402 136 221 307 859 135 59 372 417 981 975 239 185 331 636

JEDDAH DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH RIYADH NAJAF SANAA DUBAI MASHAD ABU DHABI AMMAN WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH MEDINAH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH CAIRO DUBAI JEDDAH DAMMAM DUBAI PARIS DOHA NEW YORK DUBAI RIYADH MUSCAT DUBAI BAHRAIN MUMBAI MANGALORE LUXOR SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN CHENNAI AMMAN DUBAI NAJAF FRANKFURT

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

Airlines AIC UAL KAC JAI DLH ETH THY FDB UAE OMA ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA THY KAC JZR FDB JZR BAW KAC KAC ABY UAE KAC FDB ETD QTR ETD GFA KAC JZR POT KAC IRA IAW JZR KAC MEA JZR JZR KAC KNE KNE MSR JZR UAE

Departure Flights on Wednesday 20/3/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 283 DHAKA 573 MUMBAI 637 FRANKFURT 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 142 DAMMAM 156 LONDON 787 JEDDAH 671 DUBAI 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 934 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 175 FRANKFURT 356 MASHHAD 4753 LARNACA 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 158 AL NAJAF 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 405 BEIRUT 786 RIYADH 328 AL NAJAF 785 JEDDAH 461 MADINAH 483 TAIF 611 CAIRO 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI

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

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

FDB CLX KAC SVA KAC JZR QTR KAC KAC JZR IYE ETD JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA UAL JZR SVA KNE ABY JZR QTR JZR FDB JZR FDB KAC KAC OMA JAI ABY MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB KAC UAE DHX KAC KLM QTR JZR JZR KAC

58 792 673 503 617 144 141 773 613 238 824 304 538 135 858 641 216 982 184 511 471 128 266 145 134 64 330 62 353 331 648 571 120 619 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 381 860 373 205 417 147 502 528 415

DUBAI GIALAM DUBAI MADINAH DOHA DAMMAM DOHA RIYADH BAHRAIN AMMAN SANAA ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH JEDDAH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI AL NAJAF DUBAI KOCHI TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT MUMBAI SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DELHI DUBAI BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DAMMAM DOHA LUXOR ASSIUT KUALA LUMPUR

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

34

stars CROSSWORD 134

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) People respect your opinion, and seek your advice. Business dealings show steady progress. At times like this, it’s important to remember those who helped along the way. You’ll want to give them a pat on the back and yourself as well. You have a special magnetism and attractive power now, and may be feeling intensely loving also.

Your relationships, particularly sexual or romantic ones, intensify and have a deep, compelling, urgent quality. Your inner feelings and needs for love and closeness emerge very strongly. You may also channel some of these feelings into creative or artistic, work, things that evoke and expresses your deepest self.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Rigid thinking on your part can get you into trouble today. It’s important for you to keep an open mind when judging the ideas of others as well as your own.

Somewhere in the mix an off the wall idea is going to come your way that will turn out to be a real winner. Stay receptive to all ideas and you won’t miss it! At this time you have important discussions with people you are (or once were very close to. You may wish to visit, email, or make a telephone call to someone from your past. Connecting with your past is the feeling now, with an emphasis on seeing the past objectively. Memories and old feelings surface very clearly now. Maybe time to clear up some old issues so you can move on with an open mind.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

4. Either of the two main stops on a pipe organ.

12. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

15. The facility where wild animals are housed for exhibition.

16. Having no employment.

17. A Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds.

18. A large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals.

19. Constituting or relating to a tail.

20. Any of several short-billed Old World rails.

22. Moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as adults.

24. Course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf.

26. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

27. A Bantu language spoken by the Chaga people in northern Tanzania.

28. (zoology) Lacking a tail or taillike appendage.

30. An associate degree in nursing.

31. Uttering in an irritated tone.

32. The hair growing on the lower part of a man's face.

36. The cry made by sheep.

39. A monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles.

40. Tall perennial herb of tropical Asia with dark green leaves.

41. English scholastic philosopher and assumed author of Occam's Razor (1285-1349).

44. Lacking general education or knowledge.

47. Primarily temporal sense.

50. Genus of widely distributed agarics that have white spores and are poisonous with few exceptions.

51. A tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown.

52. A sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains.

54. An acute inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants.

55. A republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia.

57. A large body of water constituting a principal part of the hydrosphere.

60. A blood group antigen possessed by Rh-positive people.

61. A soft gray ductile metallic element used in alloys.

62. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

63. A small ball with a hole through the middle.

65. God of wealth and love.

68. Small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body.

70. A field of cultivated and mowed grass.

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

74. Australasian kingfishers.

77. A civil or military authority in Turkey or Egypt.

78. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

79. The trait of lacking restraint or control.

81. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

82. A young woman making her debut into society.

83. In a natty manner.

84. Informal terms for a mother.

DOWN 1. A member of the Nahuatl people who established an empire in Mexico that was overthrown

by Cortes in 1519.

2. Any of the larger branches of a tree.

3. Music composed for dancing the conga.

4. Type genus of Dicranaceae.

5. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

6. (zoology) Pertaining to alulae.

7. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

8. A genus of tropical American plants have sword-shaped leaves and a fleshy compound fruits composed of the fruits of several flowers (such as pineapples).

9. One of the people of mixed Ostyak and Samoyed origin in Siberia.

10. A mouth or mouthlike opening.

11. A committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security.

12. Weight to be borne or conveyed.

13. A town and port in northwestern Israel in the eastern Mediterranean.

14. A complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds.

21. Learn something again, as after having forgotten or neglected it.

23. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

25. A state in north central United States.

29. In a foreign country.

33. At full speed.

34. Someone who pays rent to use land or a building or a car that is owned by someone else.

35. Cause to become detached or separated.

37. Fruit of the oak tree.

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

42. Growing old.

43. Of or relating to or characteristic of Morocco or its people.

45. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

46. A metric unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter.

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

49. Marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay.

53. Italian operatic soprano (born in 1922).

56. A port city in southwestern Iran.

58. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

59. A deep bow.

64. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.

66. Stable gear consisting of either of two curved supports that are attached to the collar of a draft horse and that hold the traces.

67. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

69. Neither warm or very cold.

71. A sudden desire.

72. A quantity of no importance.

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

76. Feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and being unable to roar.

80. A Mid-Atlantic state.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

A broad scope or general sweep come easier now, leave details until there’s time for them later. If you get the principle of the thing now, you can extrapolate the rest as it develops — and it’s lots easier than doing it the other way around. Feelings swell, emotions rise, for a time the heart grows another size. Your desires and romantic urges are very strong now. In all of your relationships, whether romantic or not, you feel quite warm and affectionate. You are less competitive, more interested in pleasing others, and creating harmony. Just don’t let anyone take advantage of you unless you really want to.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) 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. The general feeling all around is that your plan is the best one, so take advantage and move as far as you can. You are in a partying mood and just want to play and share a good time with your friends. You are also very generous and tolerant toward others. Though you feel wonderful now, you’re likely to regret your actions later if you don’t curtail your impulses to overindulge, overspend, and enjoy too much of a good thing.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Part of you may want to sever ties with someone just now but the timing is wrong. You’re better off to forget any grievances you have, and even if you have to spend time with that person, try to enjoy it if you can. The time will soon come when you can gracefully do what needs to be done and move onto greener pastures. This is a busy time with lots of communicating and getting in touch with others being the likely scenario for the day. Numerous phone calls, emails, meetings, errands, or discussions bring you into contact with others. This is a good time to brainstorm with someone you really care about and share ideas for future goals.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Dogfights and catfights may be happening almost anywhere, so make it a point not to join in. Simply agree to disagree and move on, as it?s easy to get caught up in pointless rows. Projects and relationships begun now will also tend to fall into disarray, so back off a bit until you can take a second look. Take a look around you today, you may appreciate and discover the beauty in your life and in those you are closest to.

At the same time, everything could take on added value and importance in your emotional psyche. Be careful that you don’t overspend or indulge too much just to impress someone.

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Libra (September 23-October 22) The memory of past challenges may haunt you today. If unchecked, these unpleasant memories may put you in a melancholic mood and thwart any chance you would have at having a happy, productive day. While it would be easy to let yourself fall into a good mope, you’ll be much better off if you get out in the world and enjoy its amazing richness. This is a time for you to shine! This is also a good time to begin something new, to initiate a relationship or project you may have been considering. You have an extra measure of energy and confidence now and will make a strong impression on those in your environment. You will be noticed more than usual.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) The buzz about you comes in a rising crescendo that peaks now, so start figuring out ways to take it to the bank. Although you may be tempted to squirrel yourself away at home, take time out during these few days to flaunt yourself. Although the pace may be accelerated and last-minute additions come crowding in, you can have a fuller, rosier picture of just where you stand in your profession and what people think of you. If someone close to you seems to be putting some distance between the two of you don’t try to force yourself on them. They’re likely to be dealing with some personal problems that they prefer to keep as private as possible. Give them the distance they need and they’ll be back in your life full tilt soon.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your independent nature is accentuated today, so it’s important for you to know when to turn it off and on, especially when you’re dealing with others whose egos are as big, but more importantly, less flexible than yours. Try to avoid civil war if you can and act with humility when the occasion calls for it. You could find that you are appreciated or valued for your feelings or your ability to act and get things done. This is a time when you express yourself very clearly, and conversations, negotiations, and communications of all kinds can be very successful in any love or romantic relationship you are involved in. Expect a the time to fly by today with lots of communication in all forms.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) When you’re asked to explain it for the third or fourth time, it may be time to give up. Brain drainers who want to tap your ideas right down to the bottom of the keg should be put off — hit that cutoff valve and save some for later. You needn’t be rude, just say enough is enough and tell them to come back for more later. You know just what you want right now and it’s not a good thing for anyone or anything that gets in your way! You are much more likely to become domineering, pushy, or inconsiderate of others now, so it is a good time for you to do what you need to do by yourself rather than with others. Accidents, mistakes made in haste, or ego conflicts may occur due to your impatience and willfulness.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

Your ability to study quietly, to concentrate on complex mental work, and to think deeply about serious matters is much better than usual. This is a good time to organize your affairs and also to seek professional advice about your concerns. Enjoy yourself and the people around you, just take care not to take anyone or even yourself too seriously right now, it’s more a energy of play and adventure rather than seriousness and commitment.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) A good time to take your blood pressure — if it’s not elevated now, you’re in really good shape. It can be easy to get worried about health matters now, but moderation is the right response. The temptation to throw yourself into a new regimen may run high, but choose your new path well before you embark or it will be a flash in the pan. The same goes for cleaning house in the workplace and starting off on a fresh footing. Make sure you’re not demanding too much of yourself in the long run — you will not always have this much drive, and you don’t want to peter out because you can’t keep up with yourself. A good program is determined by whether you can keep it going on an off day.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

WDDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

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24810221

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24770319

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24575755

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24772608

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24775992

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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

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22635047

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22613623/0

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25655535

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22641071/2

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22562226

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22525888

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25653755

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25620111

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25327148

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22639939

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22666288

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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

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36

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

lifest yle G o s s i p

he former ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star is currently single but hasn’t ruled out having a sibling for her six-year-old daughter Suri - whose father is the actress’ ex-husband Tom Cruise - in the future. Asked if she wants more kids, she said: “I don’t know. I’m open to it.” It was recently claimed the brunette star was considering a career change to become a lawyer, and she hinted it could be a realistic option for her.

She said: “Well, my brother and father are attorneys,

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he ‘No Worries’ hitmaker has been discharged from California’s CedarsSinai Medical Center’s intensive care unit (ICU), where he was treated for six days after suffering a seizure. Insiders told website TMZ that the rapper - whose real name is Dwayne Carter - was feeling “weak” but a lot better and is planning to “lay low” until he is fully recovered. Wayne’s close friend, Young Money president Mack Maine, later confirmed the news on Twitter. He wrote: “Thanks to Cedar Sinai for everything!!! @LilTunechi has been officially been released and is headed home....God is great (sic)”. And Cash Money CEO Birdman added: “God Bless.my son just release frm hospital.thanks 4 all tha luv.YMCMB.Richgang (sic)” News of Wayne’s release from

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and... we’ll see. I like the practical thinking of attorneys.” The 34-year-old screen beauty tries her best to be nice to people at all times following some advice she was given by her mother when she was younger.

She explained to the forthcoming April edition of Allure magazine: “[The advice was] ‘You may be pretty, and you may be talented, but nobody will remember that if you’re mean.’ “Though Katie’s last acting venture, the Broadway play ‘Dead Accounts’, was can-

he ‘Scream & Shout’ singer generously went to a cash machine to withdraw five $20 bills for the street sleeper, but she started “screaming” as he went in for a hug and security staff leapt to her rescue because they thought she was being mugged. An onlooker outside pharmacy in Los Angeles said: “This shabby-looking guy approached Britney outside the shop. “He said to her: ‘Please help me, I’m at the end of my rope.’ So she walked to a nearby cash machine and withdrew five $20 bills and gave them to him. “He was so taken aback and happy he jumped up and lunged at her for a big bear hug. Britney started screaming and within seconds the shop’s security guards had run over.” But the 31-year-old pop megastar quickly explained she was just donating money to the homeless man and the situation was resolved. A source told the Daily Star newspaper: “The security men snatched the notes out of the man’s hand and automatically thought he’d mugged her. “Britney was frantically trying to explain, saying, ‘No! No, give this man his money back, I gave it to him.’ “The man was so grateful and didn’t actually seem that fussed by all the drama.” Britney isn’t the only generous celebrity around. Russell Brand gave his friends $2,400 to hand out to homeless people in Los Angeles over Christmas, and One Direction star Harry Styles splashed out $4,800 on pizza for some people living rough last year when he had a day off in Los Angeles.

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he ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ star is set to play mythological Greek hero Hercules on the big screen and he is currently on an intensive training regime which means he is eating up to seven meals a day in preparation for the role. Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the London premiere for ‘G.I. Joe’ at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, he said: “In terms of training, it all depends on what I’m doing that day. It all depends on what the goal is.

Right now I’m prepping for ‘Hercules’ so the diet is a crazy diet. I eat six to seven times a day.” The 40-year-old wrestler-turned-actor admits his diet, which mainly consists of protein-heavy lean meats and rice, is dull. He added: “A lot of it is fish or carbohydrates. It’s so boring!” Dwayne may be known for his intimidating physique and tough action roles on screen, but the actor couldn’t be more “gentle” in real life, according to his ‘G.I. Joe’ costar Lee Byung-hun. The hardman - who will defend his WWE title at ‘Wrestlemania XXIX’ on April 7 - said: “He’s so big. He looks so tough and rough, but he was not in person. He was so kind and gentle. He was a very generous person.” Other stars who walked the red carpet at the premiere included Adrianne Palicki, DJ Cotrona, Ray Stevenson, Jonathan Pryce, Elodie Yung and ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ director Jon M Chu.

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hospital came hours after Birdman told Hot 97’s ‘Angie Martinez Show’ that reports his pal had suffered “multiple” seizures and had briefly left hospital last week were untrue. He also dismissed reports Wayne’s illness wasn’t due to drug abuse, believing it to be a result of working too hard. He said: “To me, it’s just his work ethic. It’s just how he put in and what he believe in and how hard he work, how much dedication he gives to music and his fans and what he tryin’ to accomplish in life. It had nothing to do with drugs. “He just needs to get some rest, relax, take it one day at a time.”

he 19-year-old Canadian singer - who caused controversy recently after he delayed his show by two hours in London and threatened a photographer - was reportedly “evicted” from the city’s prestigious Hotel Le Meurice on Monday after just one night because of his “attitude” and “blatant encouragement of fans waiting outside.”

French TV presenter Jean-Marc Morandini claimed the singer was asked to leave the hotel and wrote on his blog: “Justin Bieber has just been kicked out of the Meurice Hotel in Paris. “It was a decision taken by the management of the luxury hotel because of his attitude in the establishment, and because of the nuisance caused by the presence of his fans around the buildings.” Earlier today, Justin praised his French fans for their support and retweeted a message on his Twitter that said: “Big ups to the French Beliebers. Very respectful.” But spokesperson for the singer told the MailOnline.com that it was his decision to leave the hotel, explaining: “He chose to switch hotels because once he had engaged with some of the fans in front of the hotel, an overwhelming crowd congregated outside. “The original hotel did not have a separate exit, which created a potential safety issue for everyone.” The Hotel Le Meurice also added: “Justin Bieber had indeed left the establishment to go elsewhere, but we do not know where. But this is a decision made by him or his team. We do not turn people away.”

celled before the end of its run, she is still happy to have been part of the production because she was so determined to return to theatre work. She said: “I was open to - well, to whoever wanted me. But it was always my goal to make it back to the stage.”

he 32-year-old reality TV star - who will give birth to her first child with her rapper boyfriend Kanye West in July and is rumoured to be having a little girl - is planning to decorate the tot’s room in chic black and white. A source told People.com that the ‘Kourtney & Kim Take Miami’ star was gushing about her nursery plans while carefully selecting gifts for her baby registry with her sisters Khloe, 28, and Kourtney, 33, at Bel Bambini in West Hollywood.

The insider said: “[She] mainly [looked] at simple clothing, nothing too girly.” Gifts on the brunette beauty’s registry include clothes from Baby Dior, Fendi, Chloe and Roberto Cavalli, as well as a Stokke Sleepi crib. Kim was also spotted taking pictures of furniture, which reflected her desired colour palette, to show her boyfriend of almost one year. Jessica Simpson also visited the popular boutique to create her baby registry ahead of the arrival of her son later this year. The 32-year-old ‘Fashion Star’ mentor, who welcomed her daughter Maxwell last May, chose a number of toys and clothes from Splendid, Jean Bourget and Little Marc Jacobs.

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he One Direction heartthrob - who enjoyed a two month romance with the country singer late last year - reportedly told friends that he wishes he never went out with the 23-year-old star after she took a swipe at him in her new music video ‘22’. A source close to the 19-year-old British boy band member told RadarOnline.com: “Harry might have taken Taylor’s swipes with an air of grace, but he now wishes he never ever dated her. “I mean, the fact she’s aiming a jab at him in the ‘22’ video has got Harry wondering what’s coming next! He just doesn’t know what to expect. “It wasn’t the most amicable of splits, but Harry said all along that he wanted to take things slow and easy with Taylor. “There was certainly no commitment made, despite Taylor’s protestations and the fact that they were so busy with their careers and lived in different countries meant that it could never have really got that serious. “What for Harry was ‘a bit of fun’ at the time has slowly turned into a personal nightmare. But he won’t stoop to Taylor’s level, he’s just going to continue to be the more grown-up person and get on with his life. Perhaps something Taylor should consider too.” Harry was previously said to have demanded that all footage of his ex-girlfriend be removed from the upcoming One Direction film. A source recently revealed: “During their relationship producers shot Taylor and Harry in Los Angeles and New York City but Harry has ordered that none of it makes the cut. He wants nothing more to do with Taylor, she was a fling and they’re done.”

The film, which is called ‘1D3D’ and is due to be released in August, will show the group’s meteoric rise to global stardom, their backstage antics and life on the road. — Bangshowbiz

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37

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

LIFESTYLE

Tajreed:

A selection of Arab Abstract Art

nder the patronage of the Minister of Information and the State Minister of Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah, Contemporary Art Platform Kuwait proudly presents “Tajreed Part I: A Selection of Arab Abstract Art”, one of the biggest retrospectives that celebrate and map the abstract movement in the Arab world by featuring the works of 88 Arab artists during the Modern period. This event will be held on March 27, 2013 and the opening reception is at 7 pm at CAP Industrial Shuwaikh, Life Center.

Covering artists born between 1908 and 1960, the first chapter of the exhibition presents a panorama of selected artists and artworks chosen for their abstract nature. The show sheds light on an artistic production that culminated over 50 years of Arab art, but needs to be revisited and further researched after 3 decades of oblivion and neglect.

Seventy years after its irruption in the mid 1940’s, the mysteries around the birth of abstraction in Arab art remain a challenge. A mutation has happened in different cities simultaneously within a timeframe of remarkable brevity: Saloua Raouda Choucair started experimenting her modular paintings in Beirut in 1946, paralleled with published articles about her theories of abstraction in 1951. Flamed Abdallah executed his first “papier froissé” or “Crumbled paper “abstract compositions in the same year 1946 in Cairo, while Ramses Younan was testing abstract

U

drawings in watercolors as early as 1947.

Iraqi artist Madiha Omar published a thesis on the abstract dimensions of Arabic calligraphy in Washington DC, at the Corcoran Institute in 1949, while her compatriot Jamil Hammoudi was painting his curvilinear compositions in Paris in 1949. For the first time, Arab artists were producing art within which the references to the visible world disappeared. So far, there were no precedents in the Middle East, although abstract art in the West goes

back to 1910. And while technological progress and scientific knowledge can elucidate the mysteries of birth of Western abstraction, it is clear that on the

Arab front, the adoption of this artistic revolutionary movement was more of an identitarian issue and a statement of modernity and progressiveness. In addition to those 5 artists, the exhibition will illustrate and honor the works of many Arab artists during that generation.

List of Artists: Shafic Abboud, Hamed Abdallah, Mustafa Abdel-Moati, Mohamed Abla, Etel, Adnan, Adonis, Yousef Ahmed, Mohammed Al-Amen, Dia Al-

Azzawi, Saleh Al-Jumaie, Rashid Al-Khalifa, Shakir Hassan Al-Said, Safwan AI-Ayoubi, Wijdan Ali, AlHashemi, Munira Al-Kazi, Abdullatif Al-Smoudi, Himat Au, Farid Aouad, Yvette, Ashkar, Fadi Barrage, Michel Basbous, Farid Belkahia, Fouad Bellamine, Mahjoub, Ben Bella, Abdallah Benanteur, Kamal Boullata, Hassan Bourqia, Huguette Caland, Mounir Canaan, Naseer Chaura, Ahmed Cherkaoui, Ahmed Chibnine, Chaouki, Choukini, Mahmoud Daadouch, Salem Dabbagh, Jafaar Dashti, Rashid Diab, Saliba, Douaihy Mohanna Durra, Saeed El Adawi, Amine El Bacha, Jumana El Husseini, Rafik El Kamel, Helen EIKhal, Moustafa Fathi, Ismail Fattah, Paul Guiragossian, George Guy, Farid Haddad, Samia Halaby, Mahmoud Hammad, Jamil Hammoudi, Adam Henein, Farouk Hosny, Taha Hussein, Jafar lslah, Mohammed Kacimi Fouad, Kamel, Elie Kanaan, Mohammed Khadda, Jean Khalifeh, Mohammed Omar Khalil, Hussein Madi, Hanaa Malallah, Mohammed Melihi, Jamil Molaeb, Fateh Moudarres, Mehdi Moutashar, Mohamad Muhraddine, Abdullah Murad, Nazir Nab’a, Nabil Nahas, Rafa Nasiri Madiha Omar, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Mohammad Rawas, Aref Rayess Nizar Sabour, Nadia Saikaly, Faisal, Samra, Mona Saudi, Juliana Seraphim, Hassan Sharif, Nabil Shehadeh, Nasser Soumi, Hanibal Srouji, Tania Tanbak Gebran Tarazi, Ramses Vounan and Salwa Zeidan. This exhibition is curated by Saleh Barakat in collaboration with Contemporary Art Platform.

Duo enchants the audience in Kuwait duo of talented musicians from Switzerland entertained the guests at the Al-Babtain Library on Monday evening with music composed

by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Faure entertained. The chamber music concert which was held on the occasion of the Francophone Week was co-organized by the Ambassador of Switzerland in Kuwait Etienne Thévoz in cooperation with Al-Babtain Library.

Pianist Manon Gertsch and Cellist Cécile-Nicole Tacier performed for an audience of diplomats, public figures, journalists and guests. The two Swiss musicians, who live in different cities in Europe, travel to rehearse. It has been their first visit to Kuwait. They both admit that they have been involved with music all their lives. Born in La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland Gertsch is enthusiastic about theater, dancing and literature, which is why, she willingly collaborates with artists from different domains. She says that her life is about music.

Currently, she is playing the piano part in a modified version of the play “Le joueur d’échecs” of S Zweig and is one of the initiators of the lecture-concert on Johannes Brahms, Robert and Clara Schumann, entitled “Une amitié passionnée”. Moreover, she is working with the dancer and choreographer Léonore Guy and the set designer Laure Bourgknecht on a novel hybrid form of the lectureconcert.

During her soloist tour in 2011, she was twice received in South America for a reproduction of her concert. Her performances in Buenos Aires, in Uruguay and in Venezuela were a great success. Gertsch spends her life oscillating between Brussels and Paris, where she serves as highly appreciated Professor due to her excellent pedagogical qualities.

She started to study the piano with the Professors Mouna Walter, Catherine

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Indian Bollywood film actress Priyanka Chopra (second left) poses with film and TV producer Ekta Kapoor (left), music director and singer Anu Malik (right) during the promotion of the song ‘Bubbly Badmaash’ from the upcoming Hindi crime film ‘Shootout At Wadala’ directed by Sanjay Gupta (second right) in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP

Mother’s Day gift guide:

The perfect shoes for your mother’s lifestyle lowers, check. Chocolate, check. Dinner, check. If this is what you’re doing for your mother on Mother’s Day, then you have become too predictable. Strut the extra mile and get a stylish gift for your mother this Mother’s Day and this year we’re all about the shoes. Some say that shoes are the window to your sole (no pun intended) and we agree. We have put together a quick and simple fashion-guide to help you choose the best shoes for your mother this Mother’s Day, based on her lifestyle.

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For your career-driven, working mother This woman is not phased one bit juggling a million tasks, going for business meetings and solving world crises, and even if she’s going to get her hands dirty, she’d prefer doing it flaunting a pair of shiny, black pointy stilettos. A career-driven mother ultimately means her preferred style would be graceful and functional and her shoes should reflect just that.

Look for dark colors or darker shades with minimalistic designs. The best colors are black, browns and greys with a simple cut to best match her entire professional attire. Try to avoid shoes that are four-inches or higher as that might get her flustered. Stick to heels that are between one to three inches, as that will give her the fabulously poised posture she needs without affecting her ability to move around. The ideal shoe is “Danielle” in black from “Sam Edelman” and can be found in all ShoeBox NY stores across Kuwait.

For your stay-at-home, queen mother This woman dedicates every living minute to cater to the needs of her home and her loved ones. That being said, the ‘social butterfly’ in her flies out once in a while, sipping a warm cup of coffee and enjoying a few laughs with her lady friends. A stay-at-home mother usually wants to be comfortable, while making a statement. If this is your mother, then don’t be afraid to go for a little flair in color or even a little embellishment, more often than not, your queen bee will be daring enough to wear diamonds in clear daylight.

Go for an embellished wedge! Wedges are wonderful shoes to provide her with a little added height, while keeping her grounded. The shape of the wedge is perfect to elongate her legs to give it that slender and feminine look that she most definitely desires. The ideal shoe is “Peter” in toasted mauve from “BCBGeneration” and can be found in all ShoeBox NY stores across Kuwait.

For your on-the-go, active mother This woman enjoys the thrill of being in high-spirits and prefers to occupy herself with activities, charging away day and night to get things done for the home and loved ones. If this is your mother, then you know her high heels are stacked away for important occasions. Yet this woman knows how to fashionably pull-off colorful flats and ballerinas. It is best to go for closedtoed flats with a pointed front with dual or more clashing colors. These two features will provide a modern, yet sophisticated look for her age that will make up for the lack of heels and embellishment. Best to choose between “Baca” from “Dolce Vita” or “Toker” from “Vince Camuto” both found in all ShoeBox NY stores across Kuwait.

Courvoisier and Paul Coker in the music academy in La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland. She pursued her formation through classes in chamber music, held by the Russian Professor Felix Gottlieb at the Musikhochschule of Freiburg in Breisgau. In February 2000 she graduated with distinction from the Musikhochschule, where she acquired the diploma of higher artistic education in chamber music.

Alongside her career as a soloist, Getsch cultivates a particular interest in the chamber music. She gave several concerts in Europe, participating, for instance in the “Schubertiade d’Espace 2” in Neuchatel (CH), in the Festival “Piano in St-Ursanne”, in the “ Festival des MidisMinimes “ in Brussels (B) and in the “ Festival van Vlaanderen “ of Grand (B). As

Pianist Manon Gertsch and Cellist Cecile-Nicole Tacier perform in Kuwait.

Ambassador of Switzerland in Kuwait Etienne Thevoz (fifth right) is seen during the concert held in Al-Babtain Library on Monday evening. — Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh her regular performances partners the violoncellist Cécile-Nicole Tacier, the violinists Céline Bodson and Elisabeth Wybou, the soprano singer Betsabée Haas and the promising quartet Alfama can be cited.

Tacier was born in Zurich, where she

started her music studies too. Guided by Professor Claude Starck she passed a degree in music education and, with distinction, an instrumentalist degree. She pursued her education at the Universitat der Kunste in Berlin, where she was taught by Professor Wolfgang Boettcher

and graduated with a soloist diploma.

Tacier participates in many festivals and master’s classes. By means of these experiences and contacts with professionals, like the cellists Ralph Kirshbaum, Janos Starker, Patrick Demenga or the quartets Brandis, La Salle and Orpheus, she is able to bring her skills to perfection.

Cécile-Nicole Tacier was granted a scholarship from the German foundation “ Villa Musica “ and from the Swiss foundation “Junge Musiktalente, Luzern”.

Likewise, she received the award for studies from the “Société Suisse des Musiciens “ and the award of the “Kiefer-Hablitzel” foundation.

Tacier frequently performs as chamber musician, amongst others, during the Schwetzinger Festspielen (D) or at the festival “Piano a St-Ursanne” (CH) together with Gertsch.

Further, she plays as soloist with orchestras, such as the Musikkollegium St. Gallen and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. Since 2005, she is a member of the orchestra of the Komische Opera in Berlin.

Launch of Call It Spring SS13 at The Avenues all It Spring steps foot in Kuwait with its Spring Summer 2013 collection launch on Thursday March 14, 2013. This grand occasion was attended by the Canadian Counsellor Colleen Mapendere along with other major officials and managers from Mondial General Trading.

This is its first branch in Kuwait and is located In Avenues Mall Phase 1.

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Key Spring/Summer 2013 Trends Virtual dream Do you dream of Genie? We dream of 1950s pastels and prettiness mixed with forward?thinking flare. If only our grandmothers had had this much edge... Let this feminine collection make your wishes come true! Warm up your summer look with a trend that updates the Grease aesthetic into a contempo-

rary fantasy featuring crisp linen, pastel patents and the glint of chrome on a pink Cadillac with the scratchy sounds of Tony Bennett wafting from the car radio... too much? Naw, never! Because our Virtual Dream know no bounds.

Culture clash The world is your oyster, and you’ve found a pearl. Start your own tribe with these globetrotting prints, earthy tones and touchable textures just waiting for you to mix and match la you.

On the other side of the rainbow there’s a place where all cultures mix and match into a patchwork of possibilities... okay, it sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, but really it’s about the summer’s hottest globe-trotting trend: Culture Clash, where

Moroccan prints pop beside Egyptian cottons and Indonesian batik. This look has got a one?love vibe, a loose fit, a relaxed attitude and a party kids soul. So when are we leaving for Coachella?

Plastic fantastic A little shine, a little squeak, a little hue, a lot of me...This is a statement collection that screams now!

Why stand out in a crowd when you can dance out instead?

With a wink to ‘90s hip?hop and

retro graffiti, we’re strutting a look that adds a new zest to mod with neon hues, glossy surfaces and silver edges so sharp they’ll cut down posers, like, lickity?split.

Uber Sleek, Plastic Fantastic takes the best of techno textiles and high design styles and blends them into active wear that’s fun, flirty and hot enough for the street. ‘Cause we ain’t wasting this outfit on the basketball court.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

lifestyle

16-year-old twin models of Cavalera pose before their show during the 2013 Summer collections of the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 18, 2013. — AFP/AP photos

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new film by a Hollywood director has revived a mystery of how a group of Soviet hikers met their grisly deaths on a Russian mountainside in unexplained circumstances more than 50 years ago. The film, “The Dyatlov Pass Incident”, loosely retells the true story from 1959 when nine students went on an expedition to a peak in the northern Urals known as the Mountain of the Dead never to return. Soviet investigators found the students’ bodies scattered over a large area, while their tent had been cut open from the inside. One man’s body registered a high level of radiation, while one woman’s tongue had been cut out. Some of the bodies were strangely discoloured or had missing eyeballs. Others had fatal internal injuries but no outer signs of trauma. Many seemed to be frozen in attitudes of horror.

Few believe that the hikers’ death was an accident - and conspiracy theories abound as to exactly what happened on the mountain. The English-language film by action and horror director Renny Harlin, best known for “Die Hard 2” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4”, updates the story with a group of five naive American students visiting the scene

and travelling through time to encounter the original group The film has American, British and Russian actors, both US and Russian producers and was filmed partly on location in Russia’s Far North Murmansk region, but it puts a distinctly Hollywood spin on the story.

In one scene, a tear-stained blonde woman stares into a wobbly camera in grainy green footage reminiscent of 1999 horror smash hit “The Blair Witch Project.” “Jason, we’re not going to get out of here!” she wails. In Harlin’s film the students travel back in time and see Soviet soldiers hiding the bodies in a top-secret bunker used for experiments. To up the conspiracy levels, the director references the so-called Philadelphia Experiment, in which the US navy allegedly tested teleportation in 1943 - and throws in some hungry zombies for extra gore.

Secret of the fireballs The real-life case was investigated by the military who came to the mysterious conclusion that the group had died from “a natural force they were unable to overcome.”

They closed the file and classified it as secret. Suppressed

during the Soviet era, the incident was brought back into the public eye in the 1990s when the investigator who worked on the case, Lev Ivanov, wrote an article about it called the “Secret of the fireballs,” which suggested that the students were killed by some kind of energy from strange fireballs seen in the sky at the time. His account sparked a host of outlandish theories in books and documentaries and on the internet-including that the group were attacked by native people for trespassing onto a sacred site, or that the culprits were yetis or aliens.

Others suggest that they could have witnessed testing of some kind of non-standard weapon, or that the military simply killed them because they saw something they shouldn’t have. The one survivor, Yury Yudin-who left the expedition early-told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper last October that he believed the group accidentally witnessed secret tests and became contaminated.

“If they were really killed by a natural force, then there would be no secret, and we would not be talking about this 53 years on,” he said.

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avemen - they’re just like us! - or so “The Croods” seems to be saying with its familiar mix of generational clashes, coming-of-age milestones and generally relatable laughs.

The animated adventure features a strong, star-studded cast and dazzles visually in wondrously colorful, vibrant 3-D, but the script doesn’t pop off the screen quite so effectively. The overly facile message here is: Trying new things is good. It’s a useful notion for kids in the crowd to chew on, but their older companions may be longing for something more substantive. Still, “The Croods” is both brisk and beautiful, and should be sufficiently entertaining for family audiences for whom few such options exist these days.

“The Croods” might be especially resonant with young female viewers, with a strong, resourceful teenage girl at its center named Eep (voiced by Emma Stone in her usual charming rasp). It’s the prehistoric era, and while the rest of Eep’s family prefers the comforting safety of hiding fearfully inside a cave, with only sporadic outings for group hunts, she longs to see what’s outside those stone walls.

Her dad, Grug (Nicolas Cage), is especially protective, neurotically worrying about every possible unknown and urging the same sort of apprehension in everyone else, including his supportive wife, Ugga (an underused Catherine Keener), and doltish 9-year-old son, Thunk (Clark Duke). (“Never not be afraid,” is one of dad’s favorite sayings.) There’s also a sharp-toothed

Tasmanian devil of a baby named Sandy and Grug’s mother-in-law, voiced in reliably sassy fashion by Cloris Leachman. The gags that depict her as a disapproving nag are more than a bit stale; if there’s any heart-tugging or even vaguely engaging bond here, it’s the father-daughter one between Grug and Eep. One day, Eep dares to escape while everyone else is sleeping and meets up with the hottest (and only) guy she’s ever seen. Conveniently, he’s named Guy, and he’s voiced by Ryan Reynolds. He has a furry, impossibly cute companion named Belt who holds up his pants (kids will dig this tiny scene-stealer). But he also astonishes her with something she’s never seen before called fire.

Guy warns that the world is ending, and that she should come with him if she wants to live. When her family’s cave is destroyed, they reluctantly realize they must all go with Guy. This sets up: a) some basic, tried-and-true road trip jokes and b) a blossoming romance between Guy and Eep, which dad naturally tries to stifle.

The themes aren’t exactly groundbreaking from cowriters and directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco (with John Cleese sharing a story-by credit, having been a part of early drafts of the script), and the plot feels too repetitive with the Croods encountering one unexplored terrain after another and responding in predictable ways.—AP

n countless films about emergencies, crimes and police work, the emergency dispatcher is but a bit player, an anonymous, robotic voice briefly heard on the other end of a breathless call made by our movie’s main players. But in “The Call,” the operator gets a starring role. It would seem to be long overdue, since Halle Berry is apparently among their ranks.

She’s a highly professional emergency operator in Los Angeles, where the trauma of a first kidnapping case has forced her to hang up the headset. But, having shifted to a trainer position, she’s lured back for a second kidnapping call when a rookie dispatcher can’t handle the frightened pleas from a teenager trapped in a car’s trunk (Abigail Breslin).

Director Brad Anderson (who has a few sturdy thrillers to his credit: “Transsiberian,” “The Machinist”), working from the simple, high-concept screenplay by Richard D’Ovidio, ably cuts between Berry’s increasingly emotionally-attached Jordan Turner and Breslin’s panicking Casey Welson, contrasting the fraught strategizing of Turner with the frantic police pursuit of the kidnapper (Michael Eklund). Turner’s cop boyfriend (Morris Chestnut) is among those in the hunt.

“The Call” dials up a shallow thrill ride, but one efficiently peppered with your typical “don’t go in there!” moments. But what once was usual for Hollywood - reliable, popcorn-eating genre frights -isn’t so much anymore. “The Call” is a rudimentary, almost old-fashioned 90-minute escape that manages to achieve its low ambitions. To distract and calm Welson, Turner at one point asks her her favorite movie, to which she replies “Bridesmaids.” The bit has a two-pronged effect. One, we can’t help but think: Wouldn’t it be nice to instead be watching something as good as “Bridesmaids”? But also, two, to remind us of the joy of moviegoing, of which thoughtless movies like “The Call” are a definite part.

But while “The Call” manages to build some suspense from the trunk of the car - the clever attempts to elicit help, the dwindling cell phone battery - its deficiencies become less forgivable once the action turns off the road. Eklund’s psychopath kidnapper is cartoonishly drawn and when he has Welson back at this lair - and Turner is summoned from the high-tech, oddly NASAlike call center - “The Call” disconnects with horror film cliches.

Berry, with a ball of short curly hair, keeps the film rolling even when it veers off course. Breslin, making a leap to more sordid territory, has little to do but be scared. Michael Imperioli makes a brief appearance as a concerned bystander, a reminder mainly that the fine “Sopranos” actor deserves considerably better.

‘It’s our own version’ Harlin’s film does not claim to uncover the truth behind the incident. “It’s a strange, mysterious story, it’s our own version,” one of the Russian producers, Sergei Melkumov, told AFP. “It’s not a Russian version or an American version.

It’s a made-up story, shot by an American director.”

Melkumov said his film company Non-Stop Production received 60 million rubles ($1.95 million) for the production from the government Cinema Fund, which subsidises a number of major film companies.

The film has largely been perceived as American in Russia, however. It was released in Russia on February 28 and agreements have been signed to release it in Eastern Europe, Melkumov said, but no US release has yet been agreed. The film, which had a budget of $4.5 million, has so far made $4.2 million at the box office, according to Variety Russia. — AP

From “Phone Booth” to “Cellular” (a film with which “The Call” shares many similarities), phone-based movies have generally been bad service for moviegoers, who so often would rather look at their own mobiles in the movie theater. Perhaps we can await a sequel to “The Call” that shifts to the routine city call center, where a pothole complaint spirals dramatically out of control. So call me maybe? “The Call,” a Sony Pictures release, is rated R for violence, disturbing content and some language. Running time: 95 minutes.

Two stars out of four. — AP

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

lifestyle

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hinese melodrama “Mystery” has been honored as the best film at the Asian Film Awards. The film directed by the often-censored Lou Ye tells the story of a middle-age woman who plans to take revenge on her husband after discovering his infidelity. Lou said backstage Monday night that the award was an encouragement to the whole team, including photographers and art directors. “Mystery” also took home the award for best newcomer, Qi Xi, and best screenwriters.

The Philippines topped the acting categories. Nora Aunor was named best actress for “Thy Womb,” and 87year-old Eddie Garcia was named best actor for “Bwakaw.”

Aunor thanked the AFA and her fans at home in the

Philippines, while Garcia said he was “elated and honored” for his win. He also took home the people’s choice award for favorite actor. Japan’s Kitano Takeshi was named best director for “Outrage Beyond” but did not attend.

Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh, previously named recipient of the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, called herself “an extremely lucky gal. “I’ve worked with truly the best of directors, not just in Asia but around the world,” she said. “I do believe that the harder you work, the luckier you get and I’ve been very, very privileged. So I thank God every day that I’ve been so blessed.” Last year’s people’s choice winner Andy Lau was in a different role this year, president of the jury.

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Actress Vera Farmiga poses for a portrait on Monday, March 18, 2013 in New York. — AP

era Farmiga has some advice for Norma Bates, her character in the new series “Bates Motel”: “Honesty is always the best policy.”

Honesty - or the lack of it - is a key theme in the 10episode prequel to the classic Hitchcock film “Psycho.” The A&E show, which premiered yesterday at 10 pm, reveals just what drove Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) over the edge. In an interview Monday, the Oscar-nominated actress said Norman and his mother, Norma, are “harboring a dark secret which will unfold as the series continues.” Along with the everyday angst most parents experience, Norma “knows something about him that I think makes her hyper-protective,” Farmiga said.

Farmiga didn’t have a lot to go from to create her character. In “Psycho,” Norman’s mother was a skeletal role. (Although Farmiga did reveal that in an upcoming episode she dons the same hairstyle as Norman’s mother from the original film.)

Farmiga, who has two toddlers of her own, said she studied hers and other maternal relationships around her to help her get into character. She says in her mind Norma is a mother who is trying to be a good influence.

“Yeah, she’s insane as any mother goes insane sometimes,” Farmiga said. “It’s a very typical portrayal of maternity and its function and dysfunction and its victories and defeats. She doesn’t always make the right decisions.” The actress said she also looked to the theater, where she began

Models display creations by Japanese designers during the 2013-2014 autumn/winter Collection at the Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo yesterday. — AP photos

“I like films or performances that moved me,” he said about how he decided his votes. Asked backstage why films from the greater China region did not fare well this year, Lau said his own theory was that it was just a cycle.

“This year, perhaps Hong Kong produced more comedy films, like the ones you saw, and also some action films.

They are at a slight disadvantage,” he said. With new films from other directors in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the coming year, things will change. “It takes a year or more to make a film,” the Hong Kong actor said. “So I think next year we will make a comeback.” — AP

her career, for inspiration in women in Chekhov and Ibsen plays. “It just reminded me a lot of the heroines and the yearning to start over,” she said.

“Our story is that: What lengths will a mother go to to give her child the life that she envisions for him?”

In the series, Norma Bates has another son, Dylan (Max Thieriot), with whom she says Norma “failed miserably.” That explains why her relationship with Norman is “so tightfisted, so entwined,” she said. “You could say these two still have an umbilical cord like wrapped around the two of them and for an audience to decide and take that journey to decide how close is too close,” Farmiga said. Anyone who has seen “Psycho” knows that it does not end well. While Farmiga acknowledges that the characters are doomed she says “Bates Motel” wants the audience to root for them, “to hope against hope that maybe things turn out differently.” — AP

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indsay Lohan isn’t headed back to jail - but she won’t be free to party for a while either. The troubled 26-yearold actress accepted a plea deal on Monday in a misdemeanor car crash case that includes 90 days in a lockeddown rehabilitation facility that she won’t be able to leave.

Lohan who has struggled for years with legal problems and been briefly jailed five times, pleaded no contest to reckless driving and lying to police who were investigating the accident involving the actress in June along Pacific Coast Highway. A charge of obstructing justice was dropped.

Lohan also was found in violation of her probation in a 2011 necklace theft and sentenced to 180 days in jail. However, she can avoid jail time if she complies with the conditions of her plea deal, which also includes 30 days of community labor, 18 months of psychological therapy and an unspecified fine and restitution.

Lohan spoke little to Superior Court Judge James R. Dabney in court and said “yes” when asked if she accepted the plea deal. Before the “Mean Girls” actress left the courtroom, Dabney offered her a suggestion. “Don’t drive,” he said.

Dabney did not set a date for Lohan to begin rehab. Instead he set another hearing for May 2, when the court must be given proof of enrollment in a treatment program. The sentence extends Lohan’s probation for another two years.

Dabney warned her that there won’t be any discussion about putting her back on probation if she doesn’t meet the conditions of the latest sentence.—AP

Lindsay Lohan heads to rehab after plea deal

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

The 1902 Kelch Rocaille Egg sits on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston as part of the largest private collection of items in the United States from the Russian artisan Peter Carl Faberge.

The 1913 Nobel egg and the “surprise” watch that was enclosed are seen. — AP photos

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back to Russia and will never be seen again.” The tradition and creation of Faberge’s ornate Easter eggs began in 1885, when the Czar Alexander III gifted one to his wife, apparently to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their engagement. He was so delighted by the egg and its cleverness - inside was a little bejeweled “surprise” - that he ordered one every year, a tradition continued by his son Nicholas II until 1916. Each egg took more than a year to create, and often the czar was intimately involved, whispering ideas to the artists as they worked in secrecy on the piece.

Of the 52 eggs Faberge made for the Romanov family, 42 have survived, according to the website of Faberge, a modern fashion house that makes creations under the name of the 19th century artist. Dozens of other eggs were made for other affluent families - though only the czar’s wife could have the color mauve in a creation - and the McFerrins own between 40 and 50 of those.

“There was certainly a culture of luxury at the court and a general indifference to the vast differences to the way the royal family lived and the vast majority of the people in the country lived,” said Joan Neuberger, an expert on modern Russian cultural history at the University of Texas in Austin. “Nicholas II was particularly averse to engaging with the social and economic realities of the country that he governed and at the time enjoyed ... giving lavish gifts to his wife.” By 1916, Russia was in the throes of World War I and the anger that would lead to the first Russian Revolution, which would erupt just months later, was already brewing. In 1918, after the second revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power, Czar Nicholas II, his wife, their five children, their servants and their dog would be executed at the orders of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.

Faberge, and his Easter eggs, was viewed as a symbol of the disparities between the country’s small affluent class and the more than 85 percent who were landless servants. The Bolsheviks, as part of their revolution, seized Faberge’s shop and the family fled to Paris, leaving all his creations and tools behind.

Over the years, the collection now worth tens of millions of dollars - has spread out across the globe. Some has never been found. While the McFerrins have a broad collection of Faberge and czarist artifacts, including photo albums of yellowing pictures of the Romanov family, ornate cigarette holders, exquisite jeweled matchboxes, elaborate gold-threaded women’s evening bags and even the pillowcase in which some items were smuggled out of Russia, the focus of most collectors are the so-called

t began 10 years ago while on a quest for French chandeliers. Instead, Dorothy McFerrin bought what she believed to be an Easter egg created by the famed Russian artisan Peter Carl Faberge. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, I have no light fixtures, but I have this Easter egg,’” Dorothy McFerrin said, laughing when she recalled purchasing that first egg. Quickly, though, she learned she had been duped. She had spent thousands of dollars on an egg covered in real gems and gold that was not the work of the Russian czar’s personal jeweler. That mistake sparked what has become nothing short of an obsession.

An imperial presentation box by Faberge workmaster Mikhail Perkhin is seen.

Today, McFerrin and her husband, Artie McFerrin, own one of the largest private collections of authentic Faberge items in the United States. Included in that collection, now nearly all of which is on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, is one egg gifted by the Russian czar to his wife, and two others considered by experts to be among the “big ones” because they were made for the Nobel family of later prize fame and the Kelch family, affluent merchants from Moscow.

“It is interesting. It’s a good investment - the prices have just risen over the years, especially as the Russians have gotten interested,” McFerrin said, explaining the interest she and her husband have in collecting Faberge pieces. “A lot of it has gone

The 1891 imperial diamond trellis egg by Faberge workmaster August Holmstrom.

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An ornate Faberge fire screen frame, a gift from Russian Tsar Nicholas II to his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna is shown.

An Elisabeth Balletta fan by Faberge workmaster August Holmstrom is seen.

Imperial eggs the Czars had made as Easter gifts. The quest to find and purchase the eggs evolved almost into an extension of the Cold War as a race erupted between wealthy American and Russian collectors to get their hands on the most eggs. Today, roughly half are believed to be owned by Russians, though not all are in the country, McFerrin said. About 11 are displayed in the Kremlin. To understand why the Czar was gifting his wife such a lavish gift on Easter - rather than, say, on Christmas - one has to understand the significance of the holiday in Russia. Easter comes on the heels of winter, a frigid, snowy season, said Joel Bartsch, the Houston museum’s president and something of a Faberge expert. It is a time of rejuvenation and renewal, a time to look over the past year and correct mistakes.

“Americans just look at it as Easter and the Easter bunny. But for Russians, it’s their high season, at time for rejuvenating your life,” McFerrin said. And eggs are inextricably tied to the holiday, key even in a special cake generations of Russians have baked on the holiday to have blessed at church, she added. The McFerrins, who made their fortune in the Houston-area chemical and petroleum industry, are committed through the purchase of the artwork to sharing not only Faberge’s art with a new generation that may know very little about the czars and their tragic downfall, but also the ideas Russians associate with the Easter. “We love it because of the workmanship. It’s a lost craft, it will never be reproduced again,” McFerrin said. — AP

An imperial presentation frame with a miniature portrait of Russian Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna is seen.