2 Apr 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

www.kuwaittimes.net

JAMADA ALAWWAL 21, 1434 AH

Three convicted killers hanged at the gallows

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TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Authorities yesterday hanged three convicted murderers in the first executions in the state since May 2007.

The men, a Pakistani, a Saudi and a bedoon (stateless Arab), were hanged at the Central Jail in Sulaibiya in front of judicial and security officials and journalists. Hangings were previously carried out at Nayef Palace in Kuwait City.

Pakistani Par vez Ahmed Ghulam Rasool was convicted of strangling a couple - Khalid Bashir Ahmad and his wife

First executions in Kuwait since 2007 Remedios Bajulaiye - to death in 2006, while Saudi Faisal Dhawi Al-Otaibi stabbed a compatriot Khalid Reja AlThafiri to death in 2006. The bedoon Thaher Marzouq Al-Otaibi was hanged for shooting and killing his wife Badriya Khalid Dahash and his son and daughter after claiming he was a long-awaited imam. He also attempted to kill another daughter but she managed to flee.

Public attorney Mohammad Al-Duaij, who supervised the executions, said another 48 people are on death row Continued on Page 2

KUWAIT: A man is executed by hanging at the Central Jail in Sulaibiya yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page 2)

Guard ‘ordered’ to open Assembly gate Constituency law ruling on June 16

By B Izzak KUWAIT: A National Assembly guard sprung a major surprise in court yesterday by telling the judge that he was ordered by the commander of guards to open the main outside gate of the National Assembly for protesters, refuting his commander’s testimony that protesters broke open the gate. The testimony is so crucial that it may deal a massive blow to the case against 70 opposition activists and former MPs who are on trial for allegedly storming the Assembly building and damaging some property during a protest on Nov 16, 2011.

Mubarak Al-Hajeri, who was on duty on that day, told the court that the Assembly guards commander Maj Gen Bassam Al-Refai, who was a brigadier at the time, ordered him to open the gate for protesters after receiving a call on his mobile. Refai, who was recently promoted to his current rank, earlier told the court that protesters forced the gate open and stormed the building.

Hajeri was even more explicit when he told judge Hisham Abdullah that he was approached by some national guards officials and asked to state that it was former opposition MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Musallam Al-Barrak

who led the demonstrators to open the gate and storm the Assembly. He said he insisted on giving the correct account on one of the most controversial events in Kuwait’s political crisis.

Another guard, Fahad Al-Azemi told the court that the protesters did not initiate any violence nor they assaulted the guards. They did not also try to force the gate open.

The 70 defendants, including 11 former MPs, are facing charges of storming a public building, assaulting soldiers and wounding some of them besides damaging public property, for which they face several years in jail. The activists had strongly denied that they forced the gate open or intended to damage any public property, saying they decided to lead protesters into the Assembly to avoid an imminent clash with riot police. The incident came during a public rally organized by the opposition to press for the resignation of former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who submitted his resignation less than two weeks later. Following a marathon hearing that lasted more than nine hours, the court set April 15 for the next session to hear the testimony of several new witnesses Continued on Page 2

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TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LOCAL

Three convicted killers hanged ...

Continued from Page 1 awaiting a final decision on their sentences by HH the Amir. Under Kuwaiti law, the Amir has the right to commute death sentences to a life term. “We have begun executing death sentences as criminality and brutality have increased in our community, and the court issues sentences for serious crimes on a daily basis. These executions should eliminate the increasing number of crimes and be a deterrent,” he said. None of the family members of the executed men or their victims’ families attended the hangings. “(The bedoon) Thaher met his brother in prison last night, but the rest of his family didn’t visit him. The other two men also didn’t receive any visits from their families,” Duaij added.

The convicts were transferred by special vehicles to the yard of the prison in brown clothing, blindfolded and their hands secured. One of them was smoking his last cigarette. The Saudi convict called out for his mother before saying the shahadah (declaration of faith).

According to sources from the Ministry of Interior, Saudi officials tried to negotiate with the family of the victim to forgive the killer in return for blood money, but the victim’s father refused.

Kuwait had six years ago stopped executing convicts sentenced to death without providing an explanation.

Among those on death row are two members of the AlSabah ruling family convicted over drugs trafficking and murder, and a woman who set a wedding tent ablaze in 2009 killing 57 people. Kuwait has executed a total of 69 men and three foreign women since it introduced the death penalty in mid-1960. Most of those condemned have been convicted murderers or drug traffickers.

Guard ‘ordered’ to ...

Continued from Page 1

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

including Assembly Secretary General Allam Al-Kundari.

In another development, the constitutional court yesterday said it will issue its verdict on the controversial amendment of the electoral constituency law on June 16. It will also rule on a number of other election petitions. The ruling will be extremely crucial on the future of the political crisis in Kuwait as it could nullify the amendment and the whole election held on Dec 1 which means that the existing pro-government Assembly will be dissolved. Almost all opposition groups and activists boycotted the general election in protest against the amendment of the electoral constituency law which reduced the number of candidates a voter can pick from four to just one. The opposition had said the change was aimed at electing a pro-government Assembly.

General Coordinator of the Opposition Coalition and former opposition Barrak said yesterday the Coalition has decided to go back to the street in a series of protests and rallies ahead of the constitutional court’s ruling. Speaking after a late night meeting of the Coalition bureau on Sunday, Barrak said the first rally will be held outside the Palace of Justice on April 10 to highlight the jailing of several opposition tweeters and former MPs. The Coalition will also hold rallies on April 17 and 24 and a protest on May 1 outside Jaber Stadium near Ardiya because the stadium symbolizes corruption, Barrak said. He said the Coalition plans to hold a huge protest after that but gave no date or venue.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LOCAL

Expat quotas system to ‘empty’ Kuwait of experienced labor Govt examining a new system KUWAIT: A quota policy that sets a time limit for foreigners to stay in Kuwait is going to cost the country valuable labor assets and reflect negatively on the private sector as well as on several state departments that rely on their services. This was published yesterday by a local daily, in a report quoting officials from various organizations that have a high number of expatriate workers.

Al-Qabas had reported last week that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor was examining a new system, as part of its efforts to reduce the country’s expatriate population, which involves setting a cap on the number of years after which a foreign worker’s visa would not be renewed. The system has classified foreign workers and their maximum duration of stay in Kuwait under three categories: marginal workers (five years), medium-skilled technical workers (seven years) and skilled workers (10 years).

The proposal has drawn wide criticism from labor, political and social circles ever since it came out in the press. It brought to attention a problem, which had arisen a few years ago, in connection with nurses who used Kuwait as a ‘transit station’ to gain experience before moving to Europe or the United States.

As per the proposed system, an expatriate teacher, for example, would be required to leave Kuwait after serving for ten years in public schools-a period which many educationalists describe as the ‘prime of teachers’ careers’.

“Educational work is based on gaining experience through years of teaching, and the idea of letting go of teachers after all the knowledge they have gained from teaching for 10 years in Kuwait does not make any sense”, said a Ministry of Education insider who preferred to keep his

identity anonymous.

The source further told Al-Qabas that the system would add to the teacher shortage problem faced by a ministry that sends delegations to four Arab countries each year to hire teachers for basic subjects such as English language, mathematics, and science. “Does it make sense, after putting a lot of effort in hiring competent teachers and training them to integrate with the Kuwaiti environment, to terminate their services after a few years?” the source questioned.

Similar concerns exist in the health sector, where many highly experienced medical personnel working in public hospitals and polyclinics face the risk of repatriation if the government implements its plan. “The proposed system is unacceptable in its current form because it could lead to an acute shortage of expert medical and nursing staff”, said Kuwait Medical Association Secretary General Marzouq Al-Azmi. He further insisted that doctors and nurses must be excluded from such stipulations due to the fact that the health sector suffers labor shortage as a result of competition from neighboring countries. “As a pediatrician, I deal with staff shortage every day and that is because many competent doctors eventually choose to work in nearby countries that pay them more”, Al-Azmi added.

Expert diagnosis and treatment comes with years of experience, Al-Azmi stated. “Many doctors gain experience through years of practice, as well as through training courses and interaction with visiting medical consultants,” he said, adding that “it would be illogical to miss on the opportunity to benefit from their experience”.

Many believe that the proposed ‘quotas’ system would do little to help address the problem of demographic imbalance when marginal labor-

ers continue to roam Kuwait’s streets. “Instead of jumping to the unknown with decisions that lead to the targeting of experienced workers, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and other state departments should focus on the large number of marginal laborers, especially those reported missing by their employers”, said former minister Abdulwahab Al-Wazzan.

While admitting that the problem with regard to a large expatriate population needs to be addressed (2 million people among an estimated total population of 3.2 million are foreigners), AlWazzan said that a solution needs to put in place gradually, starting with deportation of workers who are in Kuwait without having a proper job and, as a result, are mostly found doing manual labor. A senior MSAL official, who requested anonymity, asked why did minister Thekra AlRashidi resort to implementing the quotas system instead of fighting visa traffickers “who are identified in the ministry’s system”. “It appears that neither the minister nor officials in the Labor Department have any idea about their jobs”, he said.

In addition to firms and state departments, the proposed system would create a problem for employers of domestic workers, who, under the quota policy, would be required to find new housemaids, drivers and chefs every five years.

“Sometimes it takes that long to train people to do household work perfectly. Does the government expect us after all that time and effort to simply watch as they leave us and go?”, asked Um Khalid, who has five domestic workers in her house, including a chef who has been working for 27 years, a housemaid who has been around for 25 years, and a relatively new worker who has been serving her for seven years.

Maldives president arrives in Kuwait KUWAIT: The President of the Republic of Maldives Dr Mohammad Waheed, accompanied by a delegation of state officials, arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit to hold official talks with HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Waheed was greeted at the airport by HH

the Amir, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Ali Fahad AlRashed, Deputy Chief of the National Guard Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Call for quick release of Gitmo detainees KUWAIT: A former MP, who is an Islamist, suggested that Kuwaitis could kidnap American soldiers in the Gulf state in order to ‘trade’ them with two Kuwaiti prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay prison, but later reiterated that the Kuwaiti people “would never resort to such bad methods.”

Former MP Mohammad Hayef made that comment during a gathering held outside the United States embassy in Kuwait on Sunday night to demand the release of Fouzi Al-Odah and Fayez Al-Kandari, imprisoned in Guantanamo for 11 years now.

“The Kuwaiti people are capable of kidnapping two US soldiers in order to

make America bow down, so show some respect and directly contact the Kuwaiti government to release our fellow citizens in Guantanamo,” Hayef said, before insisting that “Kuwaitis (will) never resort to such bad methods despite the fact that Americans roam our malls and visit our dewaniyas.”

Meanwhile, Hayef suggested forming a public committee to find new ways to put pressure on the US administration “because gatherings and protests have so far failed to make any improvement.” “America disrespects the Kuwaiti people by holding two of its people in custody without

trial,” he said, and demanded fair trial for Al-Odah and Al-Kandari. He said their prolonged confinement was helped because of “a weak [Kuwaiti] government incapable of demanding that America put its people on trial.”

Fellow Islamist former lawmaker Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said that failure to put Al-Odah and Al-Kandari on trial is “a conclusive evidence of their innocence.” “There are many countries whose citizens were freed from Guantanamo despite providing nothing to America in return,” he said, adding that “the Kuwaiti negotiator is either weak, or fails to use the many services that Kuwait provides to

America (as a bargaining chip) during negotiations.”

Khalid Al-Odah, Fouzi’s father and founder of the Kuwait Family Committee - an organization formed in 2004 by relatives of the Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo - was also present at the gathering. He posed a series of questions to US President Barack Obama, accusing him of failing to live up to his promise to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison. He also mentioned reports released by foreign organizations which talk of hunger strikes being carried out by several detainees as well as cases of force feeding. —Al-Qabas

KUWAIT: President of the Kuwait Center for Islamic Arts, Fareed Al-Ali welcomed the assistant director of the Omani Society of Fine Arts, Abdullah AlWaeli who visited Kuwait as part of a cultural exchange program between the two centers. Al-Waeli was taken on tours to the Grand Mosque, the Tariq Rajab Museum, Dar al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah and others.

Consultative assembly to support small projects KUWAIT: Representatives from the private sector launched yesterday an initiative to establish an advisory assembly to support small projects aimed at helping the vision of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah succeed in supporting the Kuwaiti youth to launch their initiatives in the private sector.

“The idea behind the revival of this initiative is to accomplish the noble desire of HH the Amir in helping young ambitious Kuwaitis through the success of the government’s efforts in the application of the integrated program to support small enterprises,” Kuwaiti Gulf Group for Economic and Administration Consulting Chairman Dr Mustafa Behbehani said.

Behbehani added that this assembly includes a group of national administrative elites in both the public and private sectors as the executive committee will include the Minister of Public Works and former Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar, economic expert Dr Amer Al-Tamimi, Nabila Al-Anjari, Dr Jassem Al-Fahad, Nader Al-Obeid and Khaled Al-Damkhi, in addition to himself.

“Our efforts will be concentrated at the current stage to identify basic problems that lead to the obstruction and failure of small works projects in Kuwait and try to find professional and practical solutions to help the Kuwaiti youth succeed,” he noted.

He said that the executive committee will contact and visit all those officials entrusted responsible for achieving this initiative in order to fulfill the works of the small and medium enterprises fund, recently passed by the National Assembly.

The chairman said that the assembly contains competencies and expertise in both the public and private sectors, “which we hope they help the entrepreneurs in finding appropriate ways of funding and establishing the commercial projects needed in the market.”

He also stressed the significance of benefiting from the successful experiences in other countries in the field of small businesses “as we will establish special incubators to sponsor the initiator in the first years in order to be able to overcome any possible obstacles.”

The assembly will offer suggestions and views that lead to the development and simplification of working mechanisms and regulations of small businesses in order to achieve the maximum benefit from the government’s national fund, he noted.

“We welcome all constructive efforts in this regard so that this national project is complete and comprehensive for all categories of the Kuwaiti society,” said Behebehani, indicating that the assembly has another goal, that is to highlight the national fund by carrying out media campaigns and holding specialized conferences at the local and regional levels.

“We hope that there will be constructive cooperation between the consultative assembly and the national fund for the development of small and medium enterprises,” he added.

There is a serious tendency to cooperate with all administrations and institutions working in the field of small project management, such as the Industrial Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Small Projects Company, the program to restructure Kuwait workforce and executive apparatus and the department of small projects in the ministries of Commerce and Industry and Information, he noted.

He stressed “It is the time to help Kuwaiti youth, without delay or procrastination, to be able to realize their dreams and HH the Amir’s vision to succeed in this great project, which leads to the growth of Kuwait’s economy.”

The assembly stressed the need to support small and medium enterprises by qualified local cadres, capable of sup-

porting the youth’s aspirations “away from favoritism, nepotism and red tape,” Behbehani stated.

He added that the main goal of this initiative is to bring back the role of Kuwait as a brooder for creative ideas.

Kuwait’s National Assembly has approved last February the government’s proposal to establish a USD-two-billion national fund to support small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), aiming to encourage national energies to engage in business in the private sector. —KUNA

News

in brief

Health minister grilling KUWAIT: Parliament sources said a number of MPs will file a grilling motion against the Minister of Health, Mohammad Al-Haifi, next week citing some violations and health issues.

Sources explained that a number of questions coming up on the contemporary political scene was the beginning of an attack on the minister. They said MPs have outlined the violations in the ministry apart from the poor treatment made available to patients sent abroad and a number of other mistakes in the field of medicine. Sources said the fact that the minister had challenged the MPs and ignored their demands is one of the main reasons behind the grilling motion.

Drinking water safe KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water stressed the safety of the drinking water it produces, underlining that it is of “high quality” and that it “conforms to international standards and specifications.” The ministry “analyses and assesses its water system on a regular and continuous basis in order to ensure the safety of its drinking water,” it added in a statement, addressing the Kuwaiti public.

Human rights issue MANAMA: Kuwait’s ambassador to Bahrain Sheikh Azzam Mubarak Al-Sabah said yesterday that Kuwait is a beacon of freedom and democracy and human rights issue is a priority to the country. The ambassador said during his meeting with a delegation representing the Bahrain Center for Human Rights that human rights in Kuwait comes as a priority, adding that Kuwait is keen on human rights, justice, equality and human dignity. He pointed out that Kuwait has set up an Office for Human Rights in the Ministry of Justice, in addition to continuing efforts to create a public body for human rights, stressing Kuwait’s keenness on the issue of human rights as a basic foundation for the construction of the modern civil state.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LOCAL

the column

In my view

The death sentence Yea, Nay

Find a solution to traffic jams

By Fouad Al-Obaid

By Labeed Abdal

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter:@fouadalobaid labeed@kuwaittimes.net

A

number of discussions are taking place to solve the problem of traffic jams in Kuwait which are causing much headache to the people.

Congestion on the roads is resulting in people remaining stuck on the streets for hours at end, and there is little hope of things improving.

The easy flow of traffic must be a priority for the traffic police and the public works ministry which should ensure that the road network is adequate and logical exits are provided.

Any decision to withdraw driving licenses from a large number of people would be unjustified and will

S kuwait digest

Crazy subsidy policies

By Dr. Shamlan Al-Essa

Any decision to withdraw driving licenses from a large number of people would be unjustified and will be considered a violation of the right to free movement. It will be a violation of human rights of those who came to Kuwait to work as drivers. be considered a violation of the right to free movement. It will be a violation of human rights of those who came to Kuwait to work as drivers.

Authorities need to come up with comprehensive solutions which should include legal residency for all illegal expatriates, real employers, combating the increase in illegal immigrants and checking the illegal visa trade.

Furthermore, Kuwaiti cities need to move towards real urban modernization and road network must be expanded adequately.

All these steps need to be taken urgently and will help make a big difference.

Kuwait needs to keep pace with the development happening in the neighbouring GCC countries.

These countries have stolen a march over us and are progressing at an astonishing speed. We can catch up with focused efforts and determination.

B

ritish Financial Times newspaper published a nice column about a unique experiment in one of India’s states where the local government subsidizes kerosene to be used for cooking. As this state has an enlightened government, it decided to run an experiment to reduce the demand on subsidized kerosene. Since the subsidy policy was leading to squandering of public funds, it decided to scrap the subsidy on kerosene and instead pay the citizen an amount equivalent to the subsidy in cash. Interestingly, the state noticed that the kerosene consumption dropped by half, which meant that the citizen decided to reduce his consumption when he felt the cost was high, and he would stand to benefit more by saving.

We in Kuwait are among the states that rely heavily on revenues from oil, despite so many warnings from economists in and outside Kuwait. The experts have been telling us that government subsidies must be reduced or scrapped altogether but the government has continued with its “subsidize everything” policy, be it in the domain of services rendered by the state to the citizens, or subsidizing oil or other things. Officials at the ministry of electricity and water sounded an alarm to underline that the per capita consumption of water in Kuwait was the highest in the world, even though the country is neither industrial nor agricultural; rather it is a backward third world country.

Consumption numbers as far as electricity is concerned are huge, and while the state spends 40 fils on a unit of power, it sells the same to the citizens or expats for two fils only and this price includes everyone, rich and poor. The predictions for future are scary as we will be burning no less than one million

barrels a day in ten years’ time, a figure that represents a large percentage of national income which can be used if this quantity was to be exported. The figure, hold your breath, is expected to reach around 40% by 2023.

We will not be revealing any secret if we say that the crazy subsidy policies now cost more than KD 6 billion, roughly equal to $21 billion, the salaries and wages bill hovers above KD 11 billion, roughly $35 billion. So much of treasury’s money is being spent on non-productive state employees who hinder the private sector’s activities.

Human experience tells us that total reliance on the oil revenue economy encourages the growth of corruption in the society, and leads to a culture where corruption is accepted and becomes an everyday fact of public and private life.

Finally, the question is what should one do? How can our society and country stop squandering public funds? MP Nabil Al-Fadhl proposed that the government, instead of subsiding goods and services, should grant direct cash subsidy to citizens and let them pay the true cost of fuel, water, electricity, health, education, etc. We are sure that consumption of electricity, water and petroleum will drop and wastage will stand reduced, because every citizen and expat will be keen on saving the money in hand. The Kuwaiti citizen does not differ from his or her Indian counterpart and will feel similarly responsible. They will realize that spending that money on goods and services that cost so much is not in their interest.

If the government is serious in implementing what H.H. the Amir demanded recently, and wants to create responsible citizens, all it has to do is to stop its subsidy policies. — Al-Watan

kuwait digest

Problem ends with resolve

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

B

usiness expert Jassem Al-Saadoun wrote in a recent column suggesting that if it were not for “some reason”, “some decency” and “some respect” he has for a number Cabinet members who he believes are still concerned about a country that is facing internal threats more than at any time before, he would have filed an interdiction lawsuit against the cabinet and parliament on the basis that they act like minors.

I want to add to his satirical comments by simply hoping that Minister of Social Affairs and Labor is among those he accuses of incompetency, since she has made inconceivable statements about dropping the number of expatriate labor forces by 100,000 annually as part of a ten-year plan.

If there is indeed such a plan, it would be sheer nonsense than anything else. First of all, Kuwait does not suffer from a huge demographical imbalance problem as much as it suffers from a moral crisis when it comes to ‘allowing’ a number of Kuwaitis to destroy the country and indulge in human trafficking. If there was law enforcement and we had clear regulations criminalizing those who smuggle in laborers and then leave them without jobs, or if we had any real development plans, we would never have seen unemployed people on the streets.

Moreover, the minister believes - according to the statements attributed to her - that the volume of labor forces in Kuwait is invariable. All we need is to get rid of 100,000 foreigners each year and demographic balance will stand restored with one million workers repatriated in ten years.

This is delusional because as the country continues to grow, businesses develop and the need for foreign laborers will not stop. Furthermore, substitution was already happening with people continuously leaving for their home countries and being replaced by others. But who is going to determine how and which labor forces are to be replaced? Who is going to determine which worker will be allowed to grow in his workplace and which one not? Will the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, crippled with too much corruption, be able to come up with a set of regulations to follow?

The minister knows well that there are hundreds of production companies that are forced to employ thousands of workers without sponsoring them, because they have failed or are simply unwilling to cooperate with the labor assessment department (an MSAL division which decides the maximum cap on labor force that a company working in Kuwait can hire). On the other hand, there are inactive companies whose records in the ministry’s database show thousands of workers hired. In such cases, an employer knows nothing about workers registered in his fake company except after a year when they blackmail him to renew their visa and stay in Kuwait.

The demographical imbalance does not need repatriation of 100,000 workers a year - and the minister is fully aware of the fact that the ministry’s staff is incapable to even carry out the paperwork required for that.

The problem that needs to be addressed is the ongoing despicable trade in the name of welfare of hundreds of thousands of poor workers whose Kuwaiti employers can be easily identified. The minister is also aware of those in the ministry who help them carry out their crimes.

The issue requires resolve and enforcement of law, not a decision to get rid of a 100,000 people each year, something that the government does not have the capacity to do. — Al-Qabas

ince time immemorial crime has been linked to our very human predicament. As much as we would like to believe that all humans could live together, side by side in peace and harmony. The reality is, that mischief will always loom wherever you have human habitations. Fellow primates in the animal kingdom are no stranger to murder and cannibalism, (arguably every time we have a burger we took part in murder-but that is for another argument, another day) which is part of daily life where the survival of the fittest prevails.

Historically, many societies developed a form of retribution against violent crimes (murder included) where a form of capital punishment was carried out to restitute a semblance of justice (in some cultures the perpetrators were not necessarily those who were killed). As societies evolved, and as cities developed, a codification of laws grew out of a need for the general well being of all inhabitants. A need to provide security pushed for the adoption of sometimes severe laws to ensure the reduction of crime which itself was necessary for development of commerce.

As nation-states became the prime political umbrella, keeping a check on violent crime, and ensuring the monopoly of violence was a necessity to reign supreme and ensure the steady flow of taxes. In essence, the objective of capital punishment became dual, a mean to right an injustice just much as a mean to prevent further transgressions, which ultimately would ensure social peace.

Many scholars both religious and secular throughout the ages pondered on the need to use capital punishment. Some argued that perhaps one could never be certain that the person put to death truly carried out the crime he was judged guilty of. The burden of proof being to shaky to ensure a 100% just conviction lead to a re-thinking of the notion of capital punishment especially after its liberal use as a political weapon, and in a random manner to instill fear for better domination by repressive states during the 20th century.

In Kuwait, the legal code is a mix brining elements of a civil code that can be traced to the French legal code (through Egypt) and elements of Sharia law in matters that pertain to it, murder being one of them.

The execution of three criminals yesterday goes without saying that it ride this earth of people that have not spared a life and hence as mandated by the Sharia their life needs to be taken to render a semblance of justice towards the families of the victims.

Some may argue that capital punishment no longer is an acceptable form of punishment in the 21st century, and they may point out that many countries have adopted an abolition stand on the matter, and yet crime still is rampant in those countries. If the argument is stated that even in cases where the death penalty is enforced violent crimes are still committed without much concern. In the case of the later a response may be that more effort in communication is necessary, for in the case that criminal has the utmost disregard for the life of others, no concern should be held with regards to his/her fate.

kuwait digest

Political bone crushing

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

I

n case of someone who wears a certain kind of cheap cologne, you can tell if he was around or you can feel him behind you without even seeing him.

You can do so because you can catch a whiff of his cheap cologne, which still hangs around even after the person has left the place sometime back.

One of the state’s politicians, even if he swears on oath that he has nothing to do with the political scene today and that he is very far from the things happening lately, cannot convince anyone. That is because you can distinctly make out the smell of his “political perfume” in what is going on regarding the latest political disputes.

You can confidently say that it is no one else but him behind all these stories. You can read his imprint because there is the same unmistakable style and the same pattern of using certain people to execute his designs and use the media towards that endeavour.

Those carrying out his agenda in their articles and TV talk shows resort to the same words, phrases and sentences which contain justifications for dealing with the case under discussion. All this while, he is the person behind the entire drama.

One year ago, I wrote that the conflict among certain influential persons has reached the phase of “bones breaking” but that was before the February 2012 council was formed. Today, it seems that conflict has reached the phase of “bones crushing” and the upcoming election this year will be the last battle of conflict among all parties.

The battle of the influential people is not a recent one; instead, it has roots that go back deep. This conflict is based on interests, influence and considerations of money. Everyone will be out to play their last cards during the upcoming elections, which will be held after the current council is declared void.

The only problem of these influential people is that each one of them has enough reasons to weigh in on any side, and any coalition that they cobble up will remain under doubt. If you want to attack any one of them, all you have to do is to look through his past record.—Al-Anba

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LOCAL

‘Random arrests to blow up illegal immigrant figures’ 300 people deported in March

KUWAIT: Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan and the Marketing Manager Taleb Kanjo yesterday received Amani Shokor, public relations manager and Hani Omar, public relations coordinator of Kuwait Sheraton Hotel who extended congratulations on the 7th anniversary of establishing Friday Times.

The delegation presented a cake specially made for the occasion. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

KOC efforts to protect environment KUWAIT: In response to an invitation from the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), a number of engineers and specialists from the environmental affairs department and the Kuwait municipality made a field visit to Abdalia reserved area, which belongs to the KOC. The visit was aimed at highlighting the company’s efforts to protect the

environment, on the occasion of the inauguration of phase 2 of the reserved area, which is located in the west of Kuwait.

The visiting delegation was received by chief engineer Nasser Al-Hajery and engineer Mohammad Hussain Al-Duwsary.

The trip around the reserved area lasted for more than 3 hours as

the visitors got acquainted with the plants there, because there are more than 4,000 kinds of desert plants thriving in the area.

Engineer Mohammad Hussain Al-Dawsory said there were several kinds of birds in the reserve, adding that underground water was used to develop small lakes in the area. “Stray dogs used to endanger and frighten the birds, but we got rid of them using the services of a specialized company.

There have been other problems, some arising from campers and shepherds who usually cut the fence and enter the reserve, and others from sand stacks caused by nature during the sand storm season which starts from April through the month of September ever year. Besides, we have to deal with the leftovers of campers. We, therefore, ask campers to keep a minimum distance of 500 metres from the fence surrounding the reserve,” he said.

At the end of the visit, memorial gifts were handed to the visiting delegation.

KUWAIT: More than 300 people were deported after mass arrests were made during four crackdowns that were carried out in March on violators of residency and labor laws, a local daily reported yesterday, citing official statistics.

The first in the series of raids started at the vegetable market in Sulaibiya early last month, during which 531 expatriate workers were arrested. In that regard, security sources who provided the statistics to Al-Qabas revealed that only 100 people were sent for deportation afterwards, while the remaining 431 were released.

The second raid took place in AlRai, during which 450 were arrested, out of whom only 83 were deported, according to a source. He said 43 people were deported out of the 143 held during the third raid, which was conducted in Kabad, while 100 were deported out of the 406 held during the final crackdown in Fahaheel’s industrial zone.

This brings the total number of people detained last month to 1,530, out of which 326 were deported and the rest released. In connection with that, the security source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the releases happened for either of two reasons: the workers were actually not in violation of the law and were

detained to ‘increase’ the number of people rounded up during the crackdowns, or interventions were made to release the violators illegally.

Other security sources also criticized the police for carrying out the crackdowns “and arresting as many workers as possible in their minds”.

“Why aren’t we seeing similar crackdowns carried out against drug dealers and weapon traffickers in Kuwait?” one source questioned. He insisted that senior Interior Ministry officials could locate drug and firearm traffickers by coordinating with the State Security Service and the Criminal Evidence General Department.

According to official records, 15 reports involving firearms were made last month, including those on public shooting and possession of unlicensed weapons.

On a related subject, a security source revealed some Migration General Department statistics which indicated that the total number of expatriates living in Kuwait illegally had reached 90,000 — a figure that is much higher than the number of violators the police arrested during the crackdowns last month. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested that an amnesty period allowing violators to legalize their status or leave Kuwait without paying fines could help

reduce their numbers. A similar step taken in 2011 helped deport 43,000 violators, including 28,662 who left Kuwait voluntarily.

Meanwhile, despite some MPs intending to suggest certain amendments to be made in the citizens’ loan interests law, it seems that the law will be approved, especially in view of the emphasis laid by the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mustafa Al-Shamali, that the government will vote for the ‘new form’ of the Family Fund Law after passing the amendments agreed upon in a meeting with the parliamentary financial committee.

In this regard, Al-Shamali stressed that the government had reached an agreement with the committee on the Family Fund Law and the categories which will stand to benefit from it. He added that the new law would solve the loans problem to a large extent.

Further, Al-Shamali explained that the solution would take two parallel paths - the Delinquents’ Fund that had been operating for long and helped solve many cases and the Family Fund.

“The new law will be an ideal solution to the problem and therefore, the government will vote for the articles agreed upon during the recent meeting with the parliamentary financial committee,” he stressed.

Two charity foundations dissolved KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs a n d L a b o r Th e k r a A l - R a s h i d i recently ordered dissolution of two charity foundations for comm i t t i n g ‘s e r i o u s’ v i o l a t i o n s, according to a report quoting a ministry insider privy to the case.

Speaking to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, the source indicated that both foundations f a i l e d to p rov i d e t h e m i n i s t r y with documents detailing their work, while one of them reportedly collec ted charit y direc tly from donors without prior perm i s s i o n a s p e r M S A L re q u i re ments.

Other violations included collecting donations for an unlisted foundation, raising funds without receipts, as well as using help of workers not registered under the foundation’s sponsorship.

Moreover, the source said that investigations revealed that one of the dissolved foundations did not have any headquarters, and that they funded private tuition

classes without the ministry’s permission. “The step is set to be followed with similar crackdown on

charity foundations responsible for violations noticed in residential areas,” said the source.

KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait honored employee Abrar Al-Fahad who won gold medal in taekwondo during the Women’s Gulf Games that took place recently in Bahrain.

Immigration employee caught for forgery

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Director General of Immigration Detectives Administration and Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Travel Documents, Lt Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al-Rasheed, referred an employee at a service center in the Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate to the public prosecutor for stealing the special code of his colleagues and finalizing files of residency without legal papers.

The employee would later cancel those files after taking amounts between KD 250 - KD 400.

Security sources said the employee was caught when the center director discovered illegal files and the needle of suspicion pointed towards the suspect as some files were being ostensibly finalized by employees who were not even present in Kuwait.

Angry husband A Lebanese expat woman made use of the absence of her husband and went shopping without his knowledge, as a result of which she got beaten up later.

When the husband returned to their house in Maidan Hawally, he was surprised to see that she was not home.

He called her on her mobile, but she did not answer his calls. He then waited for her, much worried that something might have happened to her. Few minutes later, the wife entered the house, carrying shopping bags containing new

clothes that she had bought from the market. After a heated argument between the two, the husband gave her a beating and left home. Deciding to sue him, the wife went to Maidan Hawally police and filed a case.

Security campaigns to continue

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Security sector at the Ministry of Interior emphasized that security campaigns across the six governorates will continue round the clock covering all areas to ensure everyone’s safety and fight all kinds of crime, particularly the tendency to fire random shots at weddings.

Such indiscriminate celebratory firing often leaves victims in its wake.

Fahaheel detectives noticed people firing from inside a vehicle that was part of a wedding party in Fahad Al Ahmad area. Back up patrols proceeded to assist the detectives and intercepted the vehicle.

Of the four people riding in the

vehicle, two were Kuwaiti citizens, one from a different GCC country while the fourth could not be identified. Security personnel recovered an automatic gun from them, along with three bullets cases and one colt pistol with 16 bullets. The unidentified suspect confessed that he fired 30 gunshots to celebrate the wedding. All four, along with the recovered arms and ammunition, were sent to the concerned authorities.

Security sector underlined that it was consistently coordinating with criminal security personnel to stop the celebratory firing menace. Security media called upon all citizens to abide by rules and not indulge in such behaviour during weddings.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LOCAL

Probe in ‘annual robbery’ at municipality archive Teacher caught with drugs KUWAIT: In a rather peculiar incident, which was a repeat of what happened twice earlier, medical licensing transaction papers and stamps were stolen from the Salmiya municipality office, three days after an anonymous caller warned about the impending theft and even predicted the exact day it would happen.

Police were called on Sunday morning after employees discovered the theft and were told about the call received by the office manager, in which the caller had forewarned about the crime.

Investigations revealed that similar theft had happened in the same premises around the same time last year and the year before. Detectives suspected collusion by some insider employees in the crime. Preliminary investigations also indicated that the operation could have been carried out to cover up serious violations in the medical licensing procedures.

Road accidents A Saudi origin motorist died in an accident on the Salmi road reported on Sunday. Paramedics

and police reached the scene along with police shortly after the accident was reported. They pronounced the man in his twenties dead on the scene. The body was later taken to the coroner after crime scene investigators examined the place. Investigations were on to determine the circumstances which led the vehicle to lose balance and turn over.

In another incident, a worker was killed in an accident reported at a company dealing with heavy equipment in Sulaibiya on Sunday.

According to preliminary investigations, the Asian man was operating a forklift when it lost balance and overturned while lifting heavy equipment. The man’s injuries proved to be fatal and he died on the scene. Investigations are on to determine the circumstances behind the case.

Teacher caught A teacher was arrested in AlMangaf for being in possession of drugs and in an inebriated state in his car. Patrol officer approached a vehicle when they noticed a person asleep inside. They woke up the

man who was under the influence.

A search of the car led to the recovery of an amount of heroin as well as drug paraphernalia. Police looked up the man’s identity and found out that he was a senior Kuwaiti teacher at the Ministry of Education. He was referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

‘Rejected’ man A woman filed a case at the Sabah Al-Salem police station accusing a person of threatening her after she rejected his proposal of friendship. In her statements to the police, the American woman said that she first received a text message containing suggestive remarks, and when she called the number a man answered and asked for her friendship. She hung up, but soon received another text from the same number threatening her if she continued to reject him. Detectives were assigned to identify the person and summon him for investigations.

Suicide attempt A domestic worker was hospitalized in a critical condition after she tried to commit suicide at her

employer’s house. Police arrived at the Mubarak Hospital after being notified about a housemaid diagnosed with complications from a medication overdose. Police questioned the female employer who said that her Sri Lankan housemaid consumed the pills for unknown reasons. A case was filed for investigations.

Car thief Search is on for a male suspect who stole a brand-new SUV after forcing its driver to step outside under the pretext of being a policeman. In his statements to officers, the Asian driver said that he was approached by a man dressed in a black shirt and black sweatpants, who ordered him to park the car in a no-parking spot outside the Mishref co-op. Despite insisting that he had stopped at the allocated parking space, the driver eventually stepped outside the vehicle when the man kept yelling at him. The driver then handed his ID to the suspect as per his request, but the latter jumped into the vehicle and drove away. The driver then called his sponsor who reported the case.

Al-Shimali heads delegation to Dubai financial bodies meeting DUBAI: Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Mustafa Al-Shimali, heads a Kuwaiti delegation to the annual meetings of the Arab Financial Bodies and the 4th meeting of the Council of Arab Ministers of Finance, to kick off today, under the patronage of the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

The Kuwaiti delegation to meetings consists of officials from the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Ministry of Finance, and the Public Authority for Investment, namely CB Governor Dr. Mohammad Al-Hashil, KFAED Director General Abdulwahad Al-Bader, Assistant Undersecretary for

Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance Samie Al-Saqabi, and other officials.

Meetings include Council meeting of shareholders in the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development and annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and board meeting of shareholders of the Corporation Arab Investment Guarantee and Export Credit and annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Arab Monetary Fun in addition to eeting of the fourth ordinary session of

the Council of Arab Ministers of Finance.

The agenda includes discussing several recommendations, programs and access the 35th annual report of Arab bodies and fiscal repor ts of 2012. The meeting will choose a president of the Commission for 20132018 as well as electing President and Vice-President for the next session of the 38th Council of shareholders.

It will also witness the participation of Arab Ministries of Finance and Economy, Arab central bank governors and the Directors-General of Arab finance institutions in addition to a number of of regional and international observers and participating delegations. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Thirty four camps were removed during an operation carried out by Ahmadi Municipality in cooperation with the State Property Violations Removal Committee yesterday, targeting camping violations in Wafra, Nuwaiseeb and Mina Abdullah.

Kuwait to participate in Expo Milano 2015 fair KUWAIT: Minister of Information, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and commissioner general of Kuwait’s pavilion in Expo Milano 2015 fair, Sheikh Salman Sabah AlSalem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, discussed with the participating executive team the country’s preparation for this event.

The minister stressed on importance of Kuwait’s participation in this international fair, themed “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” due to be held with participation of 120 countries. Kuwait’s participation in the event will reflect its humanitarian and civilized aspects, its achievements and developmental progress, he affirmed. This participation comes

upon the desire of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, and is greatly supported by the government. Expo Milano will shed light on children all over the world, which gives this fair a great importance and encourages local governmental bodies, namely the Ministry of Information, to exert further effort to prepare for Kuwait’s participation in the event, he added.

Kuwait is perfectly prepared for this fair, and is keen to best benefit from the experiences of participating experts in various fields, he said.

The minister praised effort of the Kuwaiti executive team responsible for preparing for Expo Milano, including representatives from the

various ministries and governmental institutions. The Minister discussed with the team the progress of the work plan, besides offering remarks on the preparatory program of the Kuwaiti participation in the fair.

Sheikh Salman instructed the team to finish the preparatory program in due time to allow the team to receive requests from companies willing to build and decorate the Kuwaiti pavilion in the fair, according to the standards of the organizing committee.

Expo Milano 2015 is the second largest rally in the world following the Olympics, and the number of visitors is expected to hit 20 million, coming from various countries. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Participating physiotherapists with their certificates.

Workshops on ‘Mulligan Concept’ pain-free physiotherapy method KUWAIT: Leading multi-disciplinary non-profit organization, Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI), recently held several workshops in collaboration with Gulf Bank to train physiotherapists in Kuwait on the pain-free Mulligan Concept physiotherapy method, as part of FSRI’s mission to deliver the latest techniques in physical rehabilitative therapy to orthopedic practitioners in the country.

The workshops were led by the highly-qualified Australian-based clinical physiotherapist and lecturer, Gaetano Milazzo, who comes with 35 years of clinical experience, working in more than seven countries. Milazzo trained 25 physiotherapists working at the Ministry of Health and various medical institutions in Kuwait on the Mulligan Concept treatment which adopts a pain-free technique to restore mobility and function in patients, which results in instant healing to musculoskeletal and joint disorders.

The President and Medical Director at FSRI, Dr. ElhamHamdan, said, “In the region and in Kuwait, very few orthopedic therapists are trained in the Mulligan Concept, a treatment practiced by many expert therapists worldwide to improve the quality of life of patients, without pain. We are today glad to announce that we have trained and certified physiotherapists in Kuwait to implement this unique treatment and further improve the quality of life of patients here. We also take this opportunity to thank Gulf Bank for supporting the goals of this

Students learning the Mulligan concept from Gaetano Millazzo. workshop and understanding the val- patients will also be able to continue ue in medical advancements in the practicing it at home.” region.” Gulf Bank’s Fawzy AlFawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Thunayan, General Manager of Board Institute is a leading multi-disciplinary Affairs said, “We are always happy to non-profit organization that aims to support the advancement of medi- empower people with acute injuries cine in Kuwait. Workshops such as and long-term disabilities, the comthese develop local therapists which munity at large and healthcare profesultimately enhances the well being of sionals alike. the society in Kuwait. It is important Established in 2006 with a mission to continue developing the health- to promote wellness and provide care system to ensure we reach inter- effective physical rehabilitation solunational standards.” tions for the people in Kuwait and the Abdullah Alhomoud, 23, physio- Gulf region, Fawzia Sultan therapist at the Sports Medicine Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) is a leadCenter in Kuwait and a participant in ing multi-disciplinar y non-profit the workshop said: “ The Mulligan organization that aims to empower Concept is a very new experience to people with acute injuries and longme with a distinct method of healing term disabilities, the community at patients. The pain-free concept will large and healthcare professionals definitely benefit my patients and alike.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

Texas DA’s killing put prosecutors on alerts

All Sudan political prisoners to be freed Page 8

Page 10

HWACHEON: South Korean anti-aircraft armoured vehicles move over a temporary bridge during a river-crossing military drill in Hwacheon near the border with North Korea yesterday. South Korea’s new president promised a strong military response to any North Korean provocation after Pyongyang announced that the two countries were now in a state of war. — AFP

S Korea vows to strike back at North US not seeing major mobilisations by North SEOUL: South Korea’s new president yesterday promised a strong military response to any North Korean provocation after Pyongyang announced that the two countries were now in a state of war.

President Park Geun-Hye’s warning came as North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament formalised the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state and appointed a sacked economic reformer for a fresh term as prime minister. It also coincided with a US announcement that it had deployed stealth fighters to South Korea as part of an ongoing joint military exercise.

At a meeting with senior military officials and Defence Minister Kim KwanJin, Park said she took the near-daily stream of bellicose threats emanating from the North over the past month “very seriously”.

“I believe that we should make a strong and immediate retaliation without any other political considerations if (the North) stages any provocation against our people,” she said.

Her defence minister made it clear that the South would carry out preemptive strikes against the North’s nuclear and missile facilities in the event of hostilities breaking out.

“We will... establish a so-called ‘active deterrence’ aimed at neutralising the North’s nuclear and missile threats quickly,” Kim said. The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since the North’s long-range rocket launch in December which its critics condemned as a ballistic missile test.

United Nations sanctions were followed by a nuclear test in February, after which came more sanctions and apocalyptic threats from Pyongyang as South Korea and the United States conducted joint military drills.

Those threats have run the gamut from warnings of limited artillery bombardments to pre -emptive nuclear strikes, and have been met with counter-warnings from Seoul

and Washington of severe repercussions.

The United States takes seriously North Korea’s war threats but has not seen any sort of large-scale mobilization of troops or positioning of forces

by Pyongyang, the White House said yesterday.

“We haven’t seen actions to back up the rhetoric,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

North Korea said last week it is in a “state of war” with South Korea and issued other threats that heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula.

“I would note that despite the harsh rhetoric we are hearing from Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the North Korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilizations and positioning of forces,” Carney said. The United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula as part of a military exercise last week in a show of force to reassure US allies in the region.

The Pentagon has also been beefing up US missile defense capabilities on the West Coast. The United States has stressed that it has the capability and willingness to protect itself and its allies in the region.

The US military said yesterday it had deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of the ongoing “Foal Eagle” military exercise.

“The F-22s are advanced fighter aircraft and they’re an important display of our commitment to the South Korean alliance,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters in Washington.

“The North Koreans have a choice.

They can continue to engage in provocations, with bellicose, overheated, irresponsible rhetoric, or they can choose the path of peace,” he said.

North Korea has already threatened to strike the US mainland and US bases in the Pacific in response to the participation of nuclear-capable

US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in the exercise.

Yesterday ’s gathering of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly, or parliament, was notable for the promotion of a former premier who was sacked in a reported backlash against his pursuit of economic reforms.

Pak Pong-Ju, 74, was unanimously returned to the post of prime minister which he had previously held from 2003-2007, when he spearheaded modest economic reforms of state enterprises. An apparent backlash from the party and the military saw him suspended from duty in June 2006 and sacked the following year.

The parliament also adopted an ordinance on “consolidating the position of nuclear weapons state for selfdefence”, KCNA said, fulfilling the party leadership’s call a day before for the country ’s possession of nuclear weapons to be “fixed by law.”

Sunday’s gathering of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, which was chaired by leader Kim Jong-Un, had also insisted that the nuclear arsenal be beefed up “qualitatively and quantitatively”.

On Saturday the North announced it had entered a “state of war” with South Korea and warned that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict.

It also threatened to shut down the joint-Korean Kaesong industrial complex, which is a crucial source of hardcurrency revenue for Pyongyang and has been shielded from previous crises.

The border crossing to Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside the North, was functioning normally yesterday.

The operating stability of the complex is seen as a bellwether of inter-Korean relations, and its closure would mark a clear escalation of tensions beyond all the military rhetoric. —Agencies

Mandela’s condition improving JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela’s condition has improved further, the South African government said as the ailing anti-apartheid icon spent his fifth day in hospital yesterday receiving treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia. Doctors “have reported a further improvement in his condition,” President Jacob Zuma’s office said in a statement late Sunday. The 94-year-old is continuing to receive treatment after doctors drained excess fluid that had built up on the lining of his lungs due to a lung infection.

The procedure, described as the tapping of a pleural effusion, has helped him breathe without difficulty, the government has said. South Africa’s revered first black president and one of the towering figures of modern history was admitted late Wednesday for his third hospitalisation in four months. It remained unclear how long Mandela would remain hospitalised. In December last

year, he had an 18-day hospital stint, his longest since he walked free from jail in 1990. Mandela’s recent health troubles have drawn an outpouring of prayers and well wishes from around the world.

Zuma thanked all “who continue to keep Madiba (Mandela’s clan name) and his family in their thoughts.” “We also thank foreign governments for their messages of support.” US President Barack Obama last week said he was “deeply concerned” for the health of Mandela and would keep him in prayers. But Mandela’s illness has also seen South Africans come to terms with the mortality of their revered Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Instead of being all concerned about his illness, “we should rather celebrate what he stood for, and what he continues to stand for, that he has been an icon of peace, an icon of service,” a Catholic priest Father Sebastian Rossouw told worshippers at the Regina Mundi parish in Soweto township on Sunday. — AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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

Hamas set to re-elect Meshaal as leader GAZA CITY: Veteran Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is set to be elected to a new term as head of the Palestinian Islamist movement, party officials said yesterday.There had been speculation that Meshaal, who is based in exile, would be forced aside by the movement’s powerful leaders in the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled since 2007.

Meshaal himself had said last year that he would not seek a new term. But Hamas officials said that the party’s governing shura council was poised to re-elect him

at a meeting in Cairo later yesterday or today. “The movement’s leaders have decided to renew Meshaal’s term for four years,” a high-ranking official told AFP on condition of anonymity.”The leadership of the shura council are meeting today (Monday) to decide on the selection of the movement’s chief,” he said, adding their decision would be officially announced yesterday evening or today at the latest.

Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The elections take place in total secrecy, but it’s

widely known that Meshaal’s term will be renewed.”

Hamas officials were in Cairo on Sunday and Monday for the vote, and to discuss with Egyptian leaders reconciliation with the rival Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

A brilliant orator, Meshaal has used the freedom of movement that is denied to Hamas leaders in Gaza to criss-cross the Arab and Muslim world. Developments in the Middle East since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 “pushed Hamas to

choose Meshaal... who has given the movement a national face... and has good relations in the Arab world,” a third Hamas officials said yesterday.

It was only last December that Meshaal made his first ever visit to Gaza. He was propelled to the movement’s leadership in 2004 after Israel assassinated the movement’s founding leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his successor Abdelaziz alRantissi in the Gaza Strip.Meshaal himself survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997 when agents of the

Mossad secret service disguised as Canadian tourists bungled an attempt to poison him on a street in Amman.

Three of the attackers took refuge at the Israeli embassy, but two were captured by Jordanian authorities. Meshaal fell into a coma and a furious King Hussein demanded Israel hand over the antidote if it wanted the captured agents to be freed.

The episode compelled then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu-re-elected in 2009 and again this year-to release Yassin and 19 others from prison. —AFP

Suicide truck bomb kills nine as Iraq unrest spikes Bombing comes ahead of provincial elections BAGHDAD: A suicide truck bomber killed nine people at a police headquarters yesterday as data showed March was Iraq’s deadliest month since August, raising fears of a surge in violence leading up to elections.

The latest attack, in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, comes

Tikrit, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 28, according to Mohammed Hassan Attiya, the head of the security committee within the provincial council of Salaheddin, of which Tikrit is the capital.

Among the victims were eight

Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda often use suicide bombers and vehicles packed with explosives to target security forces and officials in a bid to destabilise the country.

The bombing comes ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April 20, due to be held in 12 of Iraq’s

FALLUJAH: Mourners grieve over the bodies of three men killed on Sunday, during a mass funeral in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. Assailants gunned down Sheikh Talib Youssef, a mosque preacher, along with his nephew Othman Khalil and another man on Sunday, residents say Sheikh Talib Youssef was one of the organizers of weekly Sunni demonstrations against the Shiite-led government that have been taking place for the past three months. —AP as Iraq marks 10 years since the USled invasion of the country that intended to oust Saddam and install a stable, democratic ally in the Middle East but instead unleashed brutal violence and endless political disputes.

The attacker detonated the tanker truck at a police headquarters in

policemen who died and 25 who were wounded, Attiya said. Also north of the capital in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, gunmen wounded the mayor and his two bodyguards, officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the Tikrit attack, but

18 provinces, the country’s first polls since a parliamentary vote in March 2010.

“Because we are approaching elections, which are a key event in the country, this is pushing terrorist groups ... to carry out maximum damage against internal security,” a senior

security official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They are aiming to hinder the elections.”

Questions have been raised about the credibility of the polls as they have been postponed in two provinces roiled by months of protests, and 11 candidates have been killed, according to an AFP tally.

Officials cited security threats to candidates and election officials in justifying the delay in Anbar and Nineveh province, but diplomats have voiced concern over the move.

“The fact is that while security has been put forward as a rationale for that postponement, no country knows more about voting under difficult circumstances than Iraq,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said on a surprise visit to Baghdad last month.

The vote is seen as a key barometer of support for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as he grapples with criticism from within his unity cabinet and protests in the minority Sunni Arab community.

Though violence remains high by international standards, Iraq’s military and police are consistently described

by Iraqi and American officials as capable of maintaining internal security, but are not yet fully able to protect the country’s borders, airspace and maritime territory.

Figures compiled by AFP and based on reports from security and medical officials, meanwhile, showed that March was the deadliest month in Iraq since August with 271 people killed and 906 wounded in attacks.

The death toll was sharply higher than the toll for February, when 220 people were killed and 571 were wounded. In last month’s bloodiest day, 56 people were killed in a spate of bombings and shootings nationwide on March 19, marking the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Iraq has largely eschewed any formal ceremonies marking the date of the invasion, but events are likely to be held on April 9, which marks the day Baghdad fell and is typically reserved as a public holiday. —AFP

Yemenis demand release of Guantanamo detainees SANAA: Activists and relatives of around 90 Yemeni detainees held in Guantanamo Bay protested outside the US Embassy in Sanaa yesterday to demand the prisoners’ release after more than a decade in detention.

Yemenis make up the largest contingent of the 166 detainees held at the US naval base in Cuba.

Most were detained in Afghanistan

following the 2001 US invasion.

Rights activist and protester AbdelRahman Barman said conditions at the prison are “very poor” and that at least two of the men there are on hunger strike.

They are among some 33 prisoners whom the US military says went on hunger strike, including three who were hospitalized for dehydration. The prisoners say that they

have been denied water and that the air conditioning was being kept frigid to punish them during a hunger strike. The military disputes the claims and says prisoners are also offered bottled water.

The largest of Guantanamo’s hunger strikes began in the summer of 2005 and reached a peak of around 131 prisoners, when the facility held about 500 detainees.

SANAA: Riot police secure the vicinity of the US embassy, during a protest by relatives of Yemenis detained at the US detention center “Camp Delta” at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during a protest to demand their release, in Sanaa, yesterday. — AFP

The US military broke the protest by strapping detainees down and force-feeding them a liquid nutrient mix to prevent them from starving themselves to death.

An embassy employee was seen accepting a letter from relatives of the detainees who protested yesterday. The embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.

The latest hunger strike began on Feb. 6. It was prompted by what the prisoners considered more intrusive searches of their cells and of the Qurans that each man is issued by the government, as well as the more general complaint of their open-ended confinement without charge.

Seven apparent suicides have taken place at the prison. The latest was a 32 -year-old Yemeni in September who had been held there for around 10 years. Two others were determined to have died from natural causes.

Yemen’s government has requested its nationals in Guantanamo Bay prison be sent to Sanaa, and has suggested rehabilitating the detainees if they disavow militancy - a policy used with dozens of Saudis who were repatriated to their country.

Washington argues that Yemen, where al-Qaida is active, is too unstable to prevent former prisoners from engaging in militant activities.

President Barack Obama had pledged to shutter the prison at Guantanamo soon after taking office but Congress opposed it, passing a law that prohibits the government from transferring Guantanamo prisoners to US soil and requiring security guarantees before they can be sent elsewhere in the world. —AP

KHARTOUM: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir addresses a new session of Parliament, yesterday, in the capital Khartoum. Bashir will release all political detainees, as tensions ease following recent agreements with South Sudan. —AFP

All Sudan political prisoners to be freed KHARTOUM: Sudanese President Omar alBashir said yesterday that he will release all political detainees, a move welcomed by the opposition as tensions ease with South Sudan.

“Today, we announce a decision to free all the political prisoners and renew our commitment to all political powers about dialogue,” Bashir said in a speech opening a new session of parliament.

“We confirm we will continue our communication with all political and social powers without excluding anyone, including those who are armed, for a national dialogue which will bring a solution to all the issues,” the president said.

Farouk Abu Issa, who heads the opposition alliance of more than 20 parties, said Bashir’s announcement was “a step toward genuine dialogue.”

He said the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which has been fighting government forces for almost two years in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, had been demanding a prisoner release. “ Ver y good news,” said Farouk Mohammed Ibrahim, of the Sudanese Organisation for Defence of Rights and Freedoms, a group of activists. He said there are “a large number” of detainees in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. These include 118 SPLM-N prisoners whose cases are being handled by his organisation in southern Blue Nile alone.

“It’s a step forward,” Ibrahim said. But SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar declined comment on Bashir’s announcement, saying he was “not sure which political prisoners he is referring to”.

Bashir’s statement elaborated on an offer made last week by Vice President Ali Osman Taha, who reached out to the SPLMN and opposition political parties, whom he invited to join a constitutional dialogue.

Sudan needs a new constitution to replace the 2005 document based on a peace agreement which ended a 23-year civil war and led to South Sudan’s separation in July 2011.

Bashir’s regime had long rejected negotiations with the insurgents. In a written

message to AFP on Monday, Agar reiterated that the rebels want talks on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2046, “full stop”.

The resolution, passed in May last year, called for an end to fighting between Sudan and South Sudan along their disputed frontier and demanded talks to settle outstanding issues including the war between Khartoum and the SPLM-N. Negotiations should occur on the basis of a deal which the SPLM-N signed in June 2011 with Bashir’s assistant Nafie Ali Nafie, the UN said.

That agreement, which was not implemented, recognised the SPLM-N as a legal political party. It committed the SPLM-N and the Islamist government to a “political partnership” in the two states and a national vision that recognised the country’s diversity.

Last week Agar said the government had been misleading by mooting negotiations under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended Sudan’s civil war.

The CPA led to South Sudan’s independence after an overwhelming vote in a referendum. South Kordofan and Blue Nile both have large non-Arab communities and were accorded special status under the CPA, which said they would have “popular consultations” as well.

“The popular consultation got buried with the end of the CPA,” Agar said. South Sudan armed and trained SPLM-N when it was part of the south’s rebel force but says it cut military ties before the South’s independence. Khartoum’s accusation that the South continued to back SPLM-N in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was the major impediment to improved bilateral relations with the government in Juba. In early March the two countries finally settled on detailed timetables to ease tensions, after months of intermittent border clashes, by resuming economically vital oil flows and implementing other key pacts including a demilitarised border zone designed to cut cross-border rebel support. An estimated one million people have been affected by the fighting inside South Kordofan and Blue Nile. —AFP

March was bloodiest month in Syria war BEIRUT: March was the bloodiest month yet in Syria’s two-year conflict, with more than 6,000 people killed, a third of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday.

The group opposes President Bashar al-Assad but has monitored human rights violations on both sides of a revolt that began as peaceful protests but is now a brutal war between forces loyal to Assad and an array of rebel militias.

The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources across Syria, has documented 62,554 dead in the conflict, said Rami Abdelrahman, the head of the group.

“But we know the number is much, much higher,” he told Reuters by telephone. “We estimate it is actually around 120,000 people. Many death tolls are more difficult to document so we are not officially including them yet.”

As in previous months, around a third of those killed in March were civilians, the Observatory said. Almost 300 children died, taking the number killed in the conflict to around 4,390. The United Nations says more than 70,000 people have died in Syria. Abdelrahman said both sides have found ways to minimize their dead to keep morale high among their followers.

“There are some groups where it took us longer to get access to sources. For example we started counting deaths much later among the shabbiha,” said Abdelrahman, referring to pro-Assad militias that have fought alongside security forces.

His group has a rough count of 12,000 dead shabbiha fighters but has yet to include those in its toll. Also unknown is the number of dead among the tens of thousands jailed by Assad’s forces since the conflict began. There was also no way to count the number of Syrian soldiers killed after being captured by rebels. Activists believe those are also likely to number in the thousands.

Some 2,250 dead opposition fighters are unknown, and the Observatory said it believed most of those are fighters from abroad who joined the rebels in Syria, which has become a site for jihad, or “holy war”, to many Islamic militant groups.

Assad has long accused his opponents of being “terrorists” funded by Gulf and other foreign powers. Disunity among the opposition in exile and the armed factions on the ground has hindered the struggle against Assad and contributed to Western reluctance to intervene. —Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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

Berezovsky’s girlfriend casts doubt on suicide MOSCOW: The 23-year-old girlfriend of the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky said yesterday she did not believe he had killed himself and that they had been planning to go to Israel on holiday together days after he was found dead.

Katerina Sabirova said in a magazine interview she did not believe Berezovsky, 67, whom she first met in 2008, would have killed himself, and that in their last conversation a day before his death, his voice “had sounded better than usual.”

Berezovsky was found on March 23 in the bathroom of a mansion outside London and a postmortem found that he had been hanged and no evidence of a struggle.

“He was definitely planning to come to Israel on Monday (March 25). I know that

for sure,” she told the liberal weekly New Times, and showed a printout of her air ticket to Tel Aviv.

“He had big plans” of going to the Dead Sea, she said, adding that he had been down but that she had not believed he was suicidal. Berezovsky “used to say: ‘Imagine if I’m not around, all the problems will go away,’ but this wasn’t a guide to action, I could not and cannot imagine that he could do this. It’s very hard to believe this,” Sabirova said.

Berezovsky was due to meet her at Tel Aviv airport’s VIP lounge, after flying out with his bodyguard Avi, she said. He had proposed the trip on March 18, choosing Israel because Sabirova’s British visa had run out.

The magazine printed a photograph of

Sabirova with Berezovsky, his arm around her shoulder. Friends of Berezovsky confirmed that they were in a long-term relationship, it said.

When she came to a Moscow restaurant for the interview, “heads turned,” the magazine wrote. Sabirova also confirmed that Berezovsky had discussed with her his letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking for forgiveness, whose existence was revealed after the oligarch’s death by Putin’s spokesman.

“He said that he did not see another way (to return to Russia) than to bow down,” she said, adding that she saw a draft and inferred that Berezovsky sent it in November but there had been no answer.

Alexander Goldfarb, a close associate of Berezovsky, wrote on his Snob.ru blog, that

the businessman would have been likely to confide in Sabirova.

“It’s true that Katya Sabirova was dating Boris, and this relationship was close and trusting enough for him to have shared his plans for such a letter, if he planned to write it,” he said. “I was in touch with Katya in the last days and I think she told the truth in her New Times interview.”

Friends of Berezovsky concurred that he had been extremely depressed after losing a multi-million-pound court battle against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea football club, last year.

Sabirova said she last met Berezovsky in November after his court defeat, when she brought him Chinese herbal medicine cures from Moscow to help him sleep. “He

smoked a lot-he didn’t drink but he smoked, sometimes several packs a day.

He ate very little. By our last meeting, he had lost a lot of weight,” she said.

Berezovsky, who made his fortune in the post-Soviet 1990s before quarrelling with Putin and gaining asylum in Britain, had a complicated love life. He was married twice and had six children by three different women.

In 2011 he agreed to pay a recordbreaking divorce settlement to his second wife, Galina Besharova, set by a British court, even though they had not lived together for more than a decade.

His former long-term partner Elena Gorbunova last year went to a British court to freeze some of his assets to prevent him selling them to settle his debts.— AFP

Mali troops sweep Timbuktu for Islamist fighters ‘There are no more gunshots’

VATICAN: Pope Francis waves to the crowd after the Regina Coeli prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican yesterday.— AP

Pope condemns human trafficking VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis prayed for a “political solution” in Syria and for “reconciliation” on the Korean peninsula in his first Easter Sunday message in front of a crowd in St Peter’s Square.

Latin America’s first pontiff also issued an appeal for hostages held by militants in Nigeria and condemned human trafficking as “the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century”.

The pope delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to Rome and the world from the same balcony of St Peter’s Basilica where he made his first appearance after his momentous election to the papacy on March 13.

Speaking in front of some 250,000 people from around the world in the Vatican, Francis prayed for “dear Syria, for its people torn by conflict and for the many refugees who await help and comfort”.

“How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before a political solution to the crisis will be found?” he said.

As he delivered his message, violence still raged in Syria, where Easter Sunday fighting killed at least 140 people-including 56 civilians-engulfing areas in and around Damascus and sparking a mass exodus from a badly hit district in the northern city of Aleppo, a watchdog group said. “On the Korean peninsula, may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow,” Francis said, as North Korea vowed to strengthen its nuclear weapons a day after declaring it was in a “state of war” with South Korea.

Francis also prayed for Nigeria, “where great numbers of people, including children, are held hostage by terrorist groups”an apparent reference to a French family kidnapped in Cameroon and believed held by radical Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.

The pope also toured St Peter’s Square in his open-top “popemobile”-kissing babies and waving to cheering crowds who waved flags from around the world, including his native Argentina.

Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar and celebrates the belief in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. It is the culmination of weeks of intense prayer for Christians.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem on Sunday invited the pope and the world’s Christians to visit the Holy City, which he called the birthplace of “ever ything Christian”.

“Our new evangelisation, in order to be up-to-date and effective, must start out again from Jerusalem, start out from the first Christian community,” Fuad Twal, the senior Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, said in his Easter homily.

In his first Easter sermon as archbishop of Canterbury, who leads the world’s 80 million Anglicans, Justin Welby warned against “pinning hopes on individuals” to solve all of society’s problems.

A “hero leader culture” in which all trust was placed in one person only led to false hope, he told worshippers.

The 76-year-old pope, formerly Buenos Aires archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, has said he wants a “poor Church for poor people” and has adopted a less formal style than that of his predecessor Benedict XVI. A moderate conservative on Catholic doctrine, he was known in Argentina for his humble lifestyle, his outreach in poor neighbourhoods and his strong social advocacy during his homeland’s devastating economic crisis.

But he faces major challenges ranging from reform of the scandal-ridden Vatican bureaucracy to addressing decades of child abuse by paedophile priests. — AFP

Rebels and oppn form govt in Central Africa BANGUI: The Central African Republic’s prime minister has named mostly rebels and opposition figures to his new postcoup government, as reports emerged of child soldiers killed in the fight for the capital. Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye-who has been allowed to keep his post by new strongman Michel Djotodia, whose rebels seized the capital a week ago-named a 34member cabinet Sunday that includes nine ministers from the Seleka rebel coalition.

The new government, named in a decree read on national radio, also includes eight ministers from the former opposition and one close to ousted president Francois Bozize.

Rebel leader Djotodia, who named himself president after ousting Bozize last Sunday, added the post of defence minister to his job titles.

The petroleum, security, water and forestry, and communications ministries also went to Seleka members. Djotodia’s rebels launched a rapid-fire assault on the capital, Bangui, last weekend to oust Bozize after the collapse of a January peace deal.

After days of looting and chaos, rebel soldiers have largely secured the city with the aid of a regional African force. But troubling reports of child soldiers being killed in the battle for Bangui were published Sunday in South Africa, which had sent troops to the Central African Republic in a failed effort to stabilise the country before

Bozize’s fall. “It was only after the firing had stopped that we saw we had killed kids,” a paratrooper who took part in the fighting told the Sunday Times.

“We did not come here for this... to kill kids. It makes you sick. They were crying calling for help... calling for (their) moms.” In the City Press newspaper a soldier was quoted as saying many of the rebels were “only children”.

The South African army declined to comment on the reports. Around 200 South African troops fought against some 3,000 rebels during the battle for Bangui, which lasted several hours.

In what has turned out to be South Africa’s heaviest military loss since apartheid, 13 soldiers were killed in the fighting. South Africa’s government is facing increasing calls at home for a probe into why President Jacob Zuma sent troops to the Central African Republic.

Seleka, a coalition of three rebel groups, launched its insurgency in December, accusing Bozize of failing to honour earlier peace deals signed with rebels in the conflict-prone country.

They quickly came within striking distance of Bangui, forcing Bozize into signing the January deal, which created a powersharing government with Tiangaye as prime minister. But the rebels claimed Bozize was not respecting the deal and renewed their assault. —AFP

BAMAKO: Malian troops swept Timbuktu for remaining Islamist fighters after a weekend battle that left seven dead and forced France to dispatch reinforcements and fighter jets to help Mali’s army.

By late Sunday relative calm had been restored, after Islamist militants used the chaos created by a suicide bombing Saturday night to infiltrate the city and engage French and Malian troops in a day-long battle that left four more rebels, a soldier and a civilian dead.

“For the moment it’s calm in Timbuktu. We have the situation under control,” a Malian officer told AFP. “Our team on the ground is sweeping (the city) and checking whether any jihadists are still active or not.”

A resident confirmed the fighting had died down. “There are no more gunshots, but everyone is staying home,” he said. The Islamists began their assault late Saturday with a suicide bombing at an army checkpoint on the edge of Timbuktu that wounded a Malian soldier.

Militants then infiltrated the fabled Saharan city, which French and Malian soldiers recaptured from Islamist rebels in January after a 10-month occupation.

They opened fire on two sides of the city centre, targeting a Malian military base and a hotel serving as a temporary residence for the governor. France sent in a unit of around 50 soldiers to help the Malian army and dispatched fighter jets to back them up.

Three Islamists and one Malian soldier were killed in the fighting, officials said.

A French soldier was wounded, the military said in Paris. Four Malian soldiers were also wounded, officials there said.

An army source requesting anonymity said a Nigerian civilian who had been taken hostage also died during a shoot-out between Malian troops and his captor-an Islamist rebel seen wearing a bomb-belt who had holed up in a house in the northern part of the city.

It was unclear whether the pair had been killed in the firefight or the hostage-taker had detonated his belt.

A Malian security source said occupants had

been evacuated from the targeted hotel, including the regional governor and two foreign journalists. Mali has been the target of a series of attacks claimed by Islamist insurgents since France launched a military operation in January against Al-Qaeda-linked groups occupying the north of the country.

The French-led operation has forced the extremists from the cities they seized in the chaotic aftermath of a military coup that overthrew Mali’s government in March 2012.

But French and African forces have faced continuing suicide blasts and guerrilla attacks in reclaimed territory.

On March 21, a suicide bomber blew up a car

near the Timbuktu airport at the start of an overnight assault on the city.

One Malian soldier died in the blast. Around 10 Islamist fighters were killed in the ensuing fighting with French and Malian forces.

That assault was claimed by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of three Islamist groups that had seized the north.

MUJAO said it had “opened a new front in Timbuktu”, which had not come under attack since French-led forces entered the city on January 28.

No group has so far claimed last weekend’s attack. — AFP

TIMBUKTU: In this Sunday, March 31, 2013 photo, residents gather to look at the body of a dead jihadist following clashes between Islamist rebels and Malian and French security forces in Timbuktu, Mali. Shooting continued yesterday for a third day in the Malian city of Timbuktu, as the army went house to house searching for the Islamic extremists who infiltrated the town over the weekend. — AP

Serbs in divided north anxious over Brussels talks MITROVICA: Branimir Cvetnic likes to remember his hometown of Mitrovica as the lively, multicultural industrial hub it once was, rather than the grim symbol of Kosovo’s ethnic division it has become.

“Back then, Mitrovica was an open city, a city for everybody. And, now ... it’s not even possible to compare,” said Cvetnic, 57, whose family have lived here for almost a century. “We used to live together, but can we do it again? I don’t know.”

Mitrovica, a former mining center in northern Kosovo, was sharply split into Serb and Albanian parts at the end of the Kosovo war in 1999.

Officials from Serbia and Kosovo meet in Brussels on Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement that could pave the way for reuniting the city an agreement that the town’s Serbs fear could see their demands sacrificed by a Serbia desperate to join the European Union.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but until now Belgrade has refused to accept the split. The Serbs of northern Kosovo up to 50,000 people - have rejected any authority of the ethnic Albanian government in Pristina, creating parallel institutions, including hospitals and schools, all financed and supported from the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

But Serbia’s bid for membership in the European Union has been conditioned on normalizing relations with its former province and abolishing the parallel structures.

Impoverished by years of wars and international sanctions during the 1990s, Serbia is desperately seeking to move closer to EU membership. If the deal is reached today, Serbia will likely be granted a date to open talks with the 27-nation bloc, which means access to pre-entry funds and an improved position in the eyes of international investors. If the deal is not reached, Serbia would likely be put on hold by the EU. In a sign that agreement may be near, top Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic said last weekend that the

country “can no longer afford a frozen conflict.” Kosovo Serbs now fear they will be abandoned to save the EU deal. In Mitrovica, they warn that reuniting the town against their will could lead to a Serb exodus or to unrest. The ethnic division is clear in every corner of Mitrovica - population unknown since the divided groups have never managed to carry out a reliable census. A huge pile of sand and soil blocks the bridge over the Ibar river that leads into the southern, Albanian part, while Serb flags flutter on buildings and lamp posts in the northern part.

A big banner in the town center reads: “The Serb Town.” The street signs are written in the Cyrillic alphabet traditionally used by Serbs, and the official currency remains the Serbian dinar, instead of the euro used by ethnic Albanians.

Underscoring the religious split the Serbs are Orthodox Christians

while ethnic Albanians are mostly Muslims - a large Serbian Orthodox Church overlooks the town from the Serb side. In the distance, a mosque minaret is visible in the southern part of the city. Residents from the two sides hardly ever mix.

“Whatever they may sign (in Brussels) we will fight for this to remain part of Serbia,” said housewife Gordana Djokovic, defiantly. The dispute over the Serb-held north has been a constant source of tension and occasional violence over the years.

Clashes between Serb hardliners and NATO-led peacekeepers have led to injuries on both sides. Last year, Serb nationalists set up barricades to prevent the Kosovo authorities from taking over border checkpoints. The roadblocks were dismantled following a deal on joint Kosovo and Serb manning of the crossings.

A year later, Serb and Kosovo border officials are stationed at the

KOSOVO: In this photo taken Friday, March 29, 2013, a billboard damaged with bullet holes shows honorary citizens of Zvecan, from left, tennis player Novak Djokovic, Dr Zoran Krivokapic, politician Jugoslav Kostic and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on a road near Zvecan northern Kosovo. Mitrovica, a former mining center in northern Kosovo, was sharply split into Serb and Albanian parts at the end of the Kosovo war in 1999. The town’s fate has come into renewed focus as officials from Serbia and Kosovo meet in Brussels today in hopes of reaching an agreement that could pave the way for reuniting the divided city. — AP

boundary, but there is no sign to mark that the visitors are entering the territory of Kosovo. “We will not accept any integration into Kosovo,” Milan Ivanovic, a hardline Serb leader from northern Kosovo told The Associated Press.

He said that if Serbian government officials agree in Brussels on Tuesday to lift their hold over northern Kosovo, four Serb municipalities in the region - including Mitrovica - will form a self-styled association and declare that they will remain within Serbia.

Some 10,000 people died in Kosovo before 78 days of NATO bombing in 1999 forced the Serbian army and police to pull out. Tens of thousands of Serbs then fled or were driven out. Some who stayed behind gathered in the northern parts bordering Serbia.

Serbia has until now insisted on a high level of self-rule for the Kosovo Serbs, including their own police, judicial authorities and self-government. But this has been rejected by Kosovo Albanians as a de-facto partition of Kosovo, which enjoys the backing of the United States and most European Union countries.

In the Kosovo capital, Pristina, officials say they will not budge. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci made a rare appearance in the area last weekend, visiting the home of Ali Kadrija, an ethnic Albanian who rebuilt his house which lies along the route leading into the Serb-held part of Mitrovica.

“I will never leave this place,” Kadrija said. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, who is the chief Serbian negotiator, recently demanded more concessions from the Albanians, saying they could regain the Serb-controlled northern Kosovo only by force.

Last weekend, several thousand Albanian demonstrators gathered in the southern part of Mitrovica demanding that the town be reintegrated fully and without delay. Nebi Qena from Pristina and Zvezdan Djukanovic from Mitrovica contributed. — AP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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

Colorado massacre suspect to learn if faces execution CENTENNIAL: After a week of legal twists and turns, James Holmes will find out if he could face execution if convicted in the Colorado theater attack that killed 12 people.

Behind-the -scenes maneuvering erupted into a public quarrel between prosecutors and the defense over Holmes’ public offer to plead guilty, but the two sides could still come to an agreement that would spare Holmes’s life in exchange for spending the rest of his life in prison.

“Even if they give notice yesterday that they are seeking the death penalty, they can come off that and enter into a plea bargain any time,” said attorney Dan Recht, a past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. As the tangled and bloody case

returns to court, survivors and families of the victims are uncertain about what happens next. If the case goes to trial, “all of us victims would be dragged along potentially for years,” said Pierce O’Farrill, who was shot three times.

“It could be 10 or 15 years before he’s executed. I would be in my 40s and I’m planning to have a family, and the thought of having to look back and reliving everything at that point in my life, it would be difficult,” he said.

Holmes is accused of a meticulously planning and brutally executing a plan to attack a Colorado movie theater at midnight during a showing of the latest Batman movie, killing 12 people and injuring 70.

Defense lawyers revealed in a court filing last week that Holmes would plead

guilty if prosecutors allowed him to live out his days in prison with no chance of parole instead of having him put to death.

That prompted an angry response from prosecutors, who called it an attempt to gin up public support for a plea deal. Prosecutors also said the defense has repeatedly refused to give them the information they need to evaluate the plea agreement.

Prosecutors want to know how persuasive an insanity case Holmes could make before they agree to give up the death penalty, said Mimi Wesson, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School. “To the prosecution, it’s clear what they’re giving up, but less clear what the defendant is giving up, because it’s hard to know how strong his

claim of insanity might be,” she said.

If prosecutors do accept a deal, they will want to ensure that it’s air-tight, said Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor who is now an adjunct professor at the University of Denver law school.

Holmes would give up his right to appeal by pleading guilty, she said. And although he could ask to change the plea if new evidence surfaces or if he claimed his lawyers were ineffective, “it’s very, very hard to withdraw it,” she said.

District Judge William Sylvester would want assurances from defense lawyers that Holmes is mentally competent to plead guilty and accept a life sentence with no parole, Steinhauser said.

The judge could order a mental competency evaluation before accepting a guilty plea, but Steinhauser said that’s

unlikely unless Holmes showed some sign of incompetence.

She said Sylvester would probably accept the word of Holmes’ lawyers. If Holmes is sentenced to prison, the state Department of Corrections would determine what kind of mental health care he gets, said Alison Morgan, a department spokeswoman.

A third of the state’s inmates have moderate to severe mental illness, and the prison system has an extensive mental health division with a 250-bed facility for the acutely mental ill, she said.

Inmates can be sent to the state mental hospital in Pueblo - where people found not guilty by reason of insanity are committed - but the stay is temporary, and they are returned to the prison system after treatment, she said. — AP

Texas DA’s killing puts prosecutors on alert Prosecutor slain at home, had armed himself

GUADALAJARA: Forensic personnel work at the scene of a crime where four people were shot dead, in a bar of Guadalajara, Mexico, on Sunday. Most crimes go unsolved in Mexico, but security experts say bar shootings may be linked to turf wars between drug gangs or a way for criminal groups to scare owners into paying extortion money. — AFP

Three feared dead as Alaska Troopers copter crashes ANCHORAGE: An Alaska State Trooper helicopter carrying a trooper, a pilot for the agency and a rescued snowmobiler crashed in the south-central part of the state, leaving the three aboard feared dead, a spokeswoman said Sunday night.

Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said the aircraft went down Saturday night, the wreckage spotted Sunday, and no survivors have been found.

Peters said that though the three are feared dead, there has been no confirmation of any fatalities.

“This is a huge, profound tragedy for us.

We can replace the helicopter but we can’t replace what went down with it,” she said.

“It’s been a bad day.”

Wreckage of the helicopter burned, but Peters said it was not known how the fire started or how long it lasted. The trooper helicopter was on a mission to pick up a snowmobiler stranded near Larson Lake 7 miles east of Talkeetna in the MatanuskaSusitna Borough.

The helicopter picked up a trooper and began a search, spotting the snowmobile and landing just before 10 p.m. It took off with the snowmobiler and was supposed to meet medics near Talkeetna but did not arrive.

The National Weather Service said the

temperature in Talkeetna Sunday night was 34 with light rain that turned into snow at about 11 pm, but that visibility was 10 miles. Peters said it’s not known if weather was a factor in the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Alaska Air National Guard helicopter spokeswoman Kalei Rupp said fog in Anchorage and mandatory crew rest kept an agency helicopter from launching until 5 am.

A guard helicopter spotted the wreckage at 9:20 am Sunday and landed.

Talkeetna is a community of nearly 900 about 80 miles north of Anchorage. It’s the primary departure point for air taxis taking climbers to Mount McKinley. The crash site was near the south end of Larson Lake.

The Alaska State Troopers have had at least one officer die in a helicopter crash during a search and rescue mission.

Trooper John David Stimson was on a chartered helicopter in 1983 that was attempting to reach a downed pilot in a blizzard.

The chartered helicopter crashed near Cordova.

Stimson survived and assisted pilot Gary Wiltrout, who had suffered a broken back.

However, when rescuers reached the crash site after 24 hours, the 11-year trooper had died of exposure. Wiltrout survived. — AP

Two tourists held, one sexually assaulted in Rio RIO DE JANEIRO: Two foreign tourists were held for hours, brutalized and one of them sexually assaulted aboard a public transport van they boarded in Rio de Janeiro’s showcase Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said in a statement.

Two men aged 20 and 22 have been taken into custody and a third is being sought in connection with the incident, which saw the two foreigners held for around six hours starting shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said.

The statement said the suspects forced other passengers to get out of the van and then sexually assaulted the female tourist inside the vehicle, which was one of a fleet of vans that serve bus routes and seat about a dozen people.

During the alleged assault, the tourists were driven to the poor suburban neighborhood of Sao Goncalo, where the two suspects were apprehended, the statement said.

The victims’ nationalities have not been released, but local media reports have said the woman is American.

Reports said the two had been studying Portuguese in Rio for about a month and that both left the country following the incident.

The statement said one of the victims’ cellphone was found in the suspects’

possession. The suspects had also used a debit card belonging to one of the victims at two gas stations, the statement said. The Globo television network broadcast surveillance camera images of two men filling up the white van and showed police images of a metal bar the suspects are thought to have used to beat and intimidate the victims.

The victims positively identified the two suspects, and a Brazilian woman has said she’d also been assaulted by the pair on March 23, the statement said.

Multiple calls to police seeking further detail yesterday have not been returned.

The incident raises new questions about security in Rio, which has cracked down on once -endemic drug violence in preparation for hosting next year’s soccer World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympic games.

The attack also drew comparisons with the fatal December beating and gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus. Six men beset a 23-year-old university student and male friend after they boarded a private bus, touching off a wave of protests across India demanding stronger protection for women.

In Brazil, more than 5,300 cases of sexual assault were reported between January and June 2012, according to the country’s Health Ministry. — AP

KAUFMAN: Deputies escorted some Kaufman County employees into the courthouse yesterday, two days after the district attorney and his wife were found shot to death in their home in an attack that stirred fears that other public employees could be targeted by assassins.

Law enforcement officers were seen patrolling one side of the courthouse, one holding a semiautomatic weapon, while others walked around inside. Authorities have said little about the investigation into the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, whose bodies were found Saturday.

The couple’s slayings came less than two weeks after Colorado’s prison chief was shot to death at his front door, apparently by an exconvict, and a couple of months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was killed in a parking lot near his courthouse office. No arrests have been made in Hasse’s Jan. 31 killing. “I don’t want to walk around in fear every day ... but on the other hand, two months ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” County Judge Bruce Wood, the county’s top administrator, said Monday at a news conference.

Law enforcement agencies throughout Texas were on high alert, and steps were being taken to better protect other DAs and their staffs. In Harris County, which includes Houston, District Attorney Mike Anderson said he accepted the sheriff’s offer of 24-hour security for him and his family. Anderson said he also would take precautions

at his office, the largest of its kind in Texas, with more than 270 prosecutors.

“I think district attorneys across Texas are still in a state of shock,” Anderson said Sunday. McLelland, 63, was the 13th prosecutor killed in the US since the National Association of District Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes would not give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded and said there was nothing to indicate for certain whether the DA’s slaying was connected to Hasse’s.

El Paso County, Colo., sheriff ’s spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said investigators had so far found no evidence connecting the Texas killings to the Colorado case, but added: “We’re examining all possibilities.”

Colorado’s corrections director, Tom Clements, was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell at his home outside Colorado Springs.

Evan Spencer Ebel, a white supremacist and former Colorado inmate suspected of shooting Clements, died in a shootout with Texas deputies two days later about 100 miles from Kaufman.

In an Associated Press interview shortly after the Colorado slaying, McLelland himself raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang.

McLelland, elected in 2010, said his office had prosecuted several cases against such gangs, particularly one known as the Aryan Brotherhood. The groups have a strong presence around Kaufman County, a mostly rural area dotted

Man yelled about God after church killing ASHTABULA: Witnesses say the 25-year-old man accused of walking into an Ohio church and fatally shooting his father after an Easter service Sunday was yelling about God and Allah after the killing.

Police say Reshad Riddle walked into the Hiawatha Church of God in Christ in Ashtabula and killed his father, 52-year-old Richard Riddle, with a single shot from a handgun Sunday afternoon.

Associate Pastor Sean Adams told The (Ashtabula) Star Beacon newspaper that worshippers started screaming, ducking down and calling 911 on cellphones after the shooting. “”It was terrifying,” Adams told the newspaper.

“The children were screaming and people were dialing 911. We were afraid to breathe.”

Adams said Reshad Riddle then continued into the church, still holding the gun, and yelled that the killing was “the will of Allah. This is the will of God.” Reshad Riddle was quickly subdued by officers, who arrived just moments after the shooting.

They say he has been mostly cooperative. The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported that another church pastor said congregants were leaving when they heard a gunshot. “People pushed me into a back office and said, ‘Somebody’s here with a gun,’” said the Rev. David Howard Jr. “The guy was outside hollering and acting crazy.” County Coroner Pamela Lancaster said Richard Riddle’s wound was “immediately fatal.” Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell said the younger Riddle offered no motive for the shooting.

“Witnesses at the scene said the shooter entered church and made some references to Allah, but we are not sure if that was a motive or if there was a family problem,” Stell said. “There is no indication that the father and son had a bad relationship. Everyone thinks this was very surprising.”

Court records show Reshad Riddle has an extensive criminal record. Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records show he was arrested and charged with two counts of felonious assault, kidnapping, abduction and tampering with evidence in 2006. Records show that in 2007, Reshad Riddle was charged with felonious assault, and in 2009 he was charged with possession of drugs, tampering with evidence and possession of cocaine.

According to police reports, one of the felonious assault charges stemmed from an incident when Reshad Riddle allegedly attempted to cut his girlfriend’s throat. Capt.

Joseph Cellitti said the young woman’s neck had been cut with a knife and she suffered bruising on her side and chest. Church parishioners said Reshad Riddle was a member of the church as a child, but did not attend services regularly as an adult. “No one would have thought twice about him being here with his family on Easter,” Adams said. “His family (has) been members here for years and years.” — AP

TEXAS: Kaufman county judge Bruce Wood pauses as he responds to a reporter’s question during a news conference at the county court house annex yesterday, in Kaufman, Texas. Law enforcement officials throughout Texas remained on high alert seeking to better protect prosecutors and their staffs following the killing of county district attorney whose assistant was gunned down just months ago. — AP with subdivisions, with a population of about 104,000.

After Hasse’s slaying, McLelland said, he carried a gun everywhere around town, even when walking his dog.

He figured assassins were more likely to try to attack him outside.

He said he had warned all his employees to be constantly on the alert. “ The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it,” he said of dealing with the danger, “because they’re going to need it more in the future.” The number of attacks on prosecutors, judges and senior law enforcement officers in the US has spiked in the past three years, according to Glenn McGovern, an investigator

with the Santa Clara County, Calif., district attorney’s office who tracks such cases.

For about a month after Hasse’s slaying, sheriff ’s deputies were parked in the district attorney’s driveway, said Sam Rosander, a McLelland neighbor. The FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation into the McLellands’ deaths.

McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, had two daughters and three sons.

One son is a police officer in Dallas.

Riccardi reported from Denver.

Associated Press writers Michael Graczyk in Houston, Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth and P. Solomon Banda in Denver contributed to this report. — AP

Venezuela candidates torched in Easter effigy CARACAS: Venezuela’s two presidential candidates were burnt in effigy Sunday in an Easter tradition that replaces the biblical Judas Iscariot with disliked public figures.

In Caracas, supporters of interim President Nicolas Maduro-the hand-picked successor of late president Hugo Chaveztorched an effigy of opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

His crime? “Betraying the Venezuelan people and surrendering to the interests of imperialism,” Socialist Party politician Nahum Fernandez told VTV state television network.

Separately, a dummy with three headsthose of Maduro, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol, and a Caracas-area mayor, Jorge Rodriguez-was set on fire in the parish of La Candelaria, in northwestern Caracas.

“These people have betrayed not only the country but especially Caracas, abandoning it to insecurity and disrepair,” event organizer Carlos Julio Rojas told local media.

In another opposition stronghold of Caracas, an effigy representing crime and currency devaluation were set ablaze by activists who accused the government of “incompetence” in facing the issues.

Maduro and Capriles formally start campaigning for the April 14 presidential election on Tuesday.

The burning of an effigy of Judas-the man who betrayed Jesus-is an ancient Easter-time Catholic tradition brought to the New World by the Spanish and Portuguese colonizers. It is still practiced in parts of Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. — AFP

WASHINGTON: In this March 1, 2013, file photo President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House press briefing room in Washington. In his first term, Obama engaged in 107 short question-and-answer sessions with reporters during events in the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room and similar settings, versus 354 such events with former President George W. Bush. In impromptu Q-and-A’s, the questions fly about anything and everything from the national press corps, and these wide-open opportunities to challenge the president on the events of the day have become increasing rare. — AP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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

Pakistani woman to run for parliament ‘I want to become a voice for women’

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE: In this March 28, 2013 file photo, US Army carry team move a transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Michael Cable, 26, of Philpot, Ky., at Dover Air Force Base, Del. An Afghan teenager killed Cable in eastern Afghanistan by stabbing him in the neck while he played with a group of local children, officials said yesterday. —AP

Afghan teenager stabs US soldier KABUL: An Afghan teenager killed an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan by stabbing him in the neck while he played with a group of local children, officials said yesterday.

The killing comes as the monthly US death toll rose sharply in March to 14 with the start of the spring fighting season when the Taleban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks.

Sgt. Michael Cable, 26, was guarding Afghan and US officials meeting in a province near the border with Pakistan when the stabbing occurred last Wednesday, two senior US officials said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The attack occurred after the soldiers had secured the area for the meeting, but one of the US officials said the youth was not believed to have been a member of the Afghan security forces or in uniform so it was not being classified as an insider attack.

The official said the attacker was thought to be about 16 years old, but the age couldn’t be verified.

The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in

Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the US military.

The soldier was playing with a group of children outside when the attacker came from behind and stabbed him in the neck with a large knife, Khan said, adding the young man had escaped to nearby Pakistan.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the young man was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had joined the Islamic militant movement since fleeing the scene.

The Pentagon said in a statement last week that Cable, of Philpot, Ky., died from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. At least 14 US soldiers died in March, compared with four in the previous two months, according to an Associated Press tally.

The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan has dropped sharply as international forces increasingly take a back seat while preparing to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.

But they continue to face dangers ranging from roadside bombs to attacks by their Afghan counterparts or insurgents disguised as government forces. — AP

Carter to observe Nepal elections KATHMANDU: Former United States President Jimmy Carter said yesterday that his Carter Center will observe elections in Nepal, although opposition parties are threatening to disrupt the vote and the government has been unable to set a date.

Carter, who arrived last week to meet political leaders, said he was asked by the government and political parties to observe the elections initially planned for June but expected to be postponed.

“We don’t know yet when the election will be scheduled. It has been considered for the last week of June. I think it is the general consensus, which I share, it will not be possible at this point,” Carter told reporters. “The election commission and the government will decide exactly when the election will be held and how long it will take. It will likely be after the monsoon season, perhaps in November.”

A government was appointed by the main political parties last month under the chairmanship of the supreme court chief justice. Its main task was to conduct the election by June but it has so far been unable to fix a date.

Smaller political parties have threatened to disrupt the election, saying they want another government that would have representation from all the political parties to ensure free polls. Those smaller parties called for political demonstrations this week and a general strike on Sunday.

Carter said he heard that election workers who were collecting voters’ names had been held captive for hours by supporters of those opposition parties.

“This violence to achieve political goal is completely contrary to the commitment the people of Nepal have made in the last five years,” said Carter, who also met the leader of those groups.

Nepal has been struggling with political uncertainty since 2006 when street demonstrations forced then King Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule. The Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 abolished the centuries-old monarchy and converted the nation to a republic.

However, no single party was able to achieve a majority in the assembly and successive coalition governments have lasted only a few months. The Carter Center observed the 2008 election. — AP

KHAR: A 40-year-old Pakistani housewife has made history by becoming the first woman to run for parliament from the country’s northwest tribal region, a highly conservative area that is a haven for Islamist militants.

Badam Zari told The Associated Press yesterday that she will participate in the May 11 election to bring greater attention to problems facing women, which she believes the government has ignored.

“I want to reach the assembly to become a voice for women, especially those living in the tribal areas,” Zari said.

Zari is from Bajur, part of Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The area is mostly populated by Pashtun tribesmen who have very conservative views toward women. Most women in the tribal region are uneducated, rarely work outside the home and wear long, flowing clothes that cover most of their skin when they appear in public.

A picture of Zari in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper showed her wearing a large shawl wrapped around her body and head, with only her eyes showing.

Bajur is also one of the many areas in the tribal region where the army has battled Taleban militants who are waging a bloody insurgency against the government. The militants have a history of using violence to enforce their hardline views on women.

Last fall, militants in a different part of the northwest shot 15-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in the head in an unsuccessful attempt to kill her because she resisted the militants’ views and was a strong advocate of girls’ education. Zari, who finished high school and does not have any children, said she filed the paperwork necessary to run for office on Sunday in Khar, the main town in Bajur. She was accompanied by

BAJUR: Badam Zari, right, gets her candidacy application for a parliamentary seat checked at the election office in Khar, capital of the Pakistani tribal area of Bajur yesterday. A 40-year-old Pakistani housewife has made history by becoming the first woman to run for parliament from the country’s northwest tribal region, a highly conservative area that is a haven for Islamist militants. — AP her husband, who she said fully backed her decision to run for a seat in the National Assembly.

“This was a difficult decision, but now I am determined and hopeful society will support me,” Zari said. Men in Bajur and other parts of the tribal region have historically discouraged women to vote, saying they should remain at home according to local traditions.

Far fewer women vote than men in other parts of Pakistan as well, and females remain underrepresented in the country’s politics. But there are examples of Pakistani women holding

Women tourists desert India after sex attacks NEW DELHI: The number of foreign women tourists visiting India has dropped by 35 percent in the past three months following a spate of sex attacks that have made global headlines, a new survey has found.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) says overall tourist arrivals are down 25 percent yearon-year, with holidaymakers opting instead to visit other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

The fatal gang-rape of a 23-yearold Indian student by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December sparked outrage at the country’s treatment of women, and since then there have also been other widely reported attacks.

A Swiss cyclist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh last month, while a South Korean tourist was allegedly drugged and raped in the same state in January by the son of the owner of a hotel where she was staying.

Such incidents have “raised concerns about the safety of female travellers to the country,” said D.S. Rawat, secretary general at ASSOCHAM, which surveyed 1,200 tour operators from different cities.

The figures contradict monthly estimates compiled by the Indian tourism ministry, which found an increase in foreign tourists arriving in early 2013, although figures for March were not yet available.

February saw arrivals increase by 1.6 percent compared with last year, according to the ministry, still far lower than the 7.9-percent growth logged in February 2012.

Gour Kanjilal, executive director of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, also questioned the scale of the drop in visitors reported by ASSOCHAM, but said some potential visitors had been in contact to discuss concerns.

BODHGAYA: In this Dec. 30, 2012 file photo, foreign tourists offer flowers in remembrance of an Indian woman who died after being gang raped in a moving bus in December, in Bodhgaya, India. The rape and murder of the young woman followed by two attacks on foreign female travelers altered how tourists view India and led to a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, a study said. — AP “There is a decline whenever any such incident takes place.

Tourism becomes the first casualty,” he told AFP. The ubiquitous “Incredible India” marketing campaign has helped raise the number of foreign visitors over the past decade to about 6.6 million in 2012 — albeit still far behind destinations such as China and Malaysia.

The concern over sex crimes and

Australia readies charges against kidnappers

KATHMANDU: Former US President Jimmy Carter (C) leaves after a press conference in Kathmandu yesterday. Carter is in Kathmandu on a four-day visit. — AFP

very powerful political positions in the country, such as the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Zari said she hopes she can convince women to come out to vote. She said she has not yet received any threats or been discouraged from locals to run.

“My decision to contest the election will not only give courage to women in general and attract attention to their problems, but also helps negate the wrong impression about our society,” Zari said. “This will reflect a true picture of our society, where women get respect.” — AP

MANILA: Freed Australian hostage Warren Rodwell met with a Philippine prosecutor yesterday to help prepare charges against the Islamic extremists who held him in captivity for 15 months.

A gaunt, grim-looking Rodwell, who was in a wheelchair and escorted by Australian embassy personnel, filed a statement describing his ordeal before assistant prosecutor Aristotle Reyes at the Justice Department in Manila. “This is to process the investigation of the case. The statement can be used by the PNP (Philippine National Police) to pursue a complaint,” said Reyes, without disclosing details of the statement.

Armed men posing as police abducted Rodwell, 54, from his home in a coastal town of the southern Philippines in December, 2011, and demanded $2 million for his safe release.

The militants freed a deeply emaciated Rodwell on March 23 after a payment, reportedly of four million pesos (nearly $100,000), was made. — AFP

the lurid reporting of the crimes is a blow to government attempts to boost the tourism industry, especially during a period of lagging economic growth.

Rawat said deteriorating standards of safety and security were the main reasons for the apparent drop in tourists this year, although the global economic slowdown was also a factor.

Travel advisories from various

countries stressing the need for their citizens to take care in India has “further aggravated” the situation, said the release from the industry body on Sunday.

If found nearly 72 percent of tour operators had a number of cancellations in the last three months-usually a busy tourist season-especially by female visitors from countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia. — AFP

More Tibet landslide bodies recovered BEIJING: Recovery crews have found 36 bodies after a huge landslide in Tibet buried more than 80 mine workers three days ago, Chinese state-run media said yesterday, but dangerous conditions forced a halt to operations.

Another 47 miners remained missing under two million cubic metres of earth east of the Tibetan capital Lhasa, and more than 4,000 emergency workers had been battling snow and altitude sickness to search for them, said the official news agency Xinhua.

But it added: “Their odds of survival are slim.” Work at the site was suspended on Monday afternoon because of the risk of another landslide, it said. Some workers dug with their bare hands following Friday’s landslide to avoid damaging bodies or because the disaster had blocked roads needed to deliver large-scale rescue equipment, reports said.

One worker at the camp, Zhao Linjiang, survived the landslide but his brother was among those buried, Xinhua said.

“I was numbed by the scene and trudged back and forth, crying all along,” it quoted him as saying in Lhasa, wiping tears from his face. “It’s so cosy here, but my brother is so cold up there on the mountain.”

Experts from the ministry of land and resources have arrived in the area to investigate the cause of the landslide.

Mountainous regions of Tibet are prone to such occurrences, which can be exacerbated by heavy mining activity, and the risk of additional landslides has heightened concerns about safety.

In recent years China has discovered huge mineral resources in Tibet, including tens of millions of tonnes of copper, lead and zinc, and billions of tonnes of iron ore. — AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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

Myanmar police failed to stop killing, arson: HRW BANGKOK: Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday urged Myanmar to investigate the failure of police to stop a recent wave of Buddhist-Muslim killing and arson attacks.

The New York-based rights watchdog released satellite images which it said showed more than 800 buildings were totally destroyed in the central town of Meiktila, leaving several charred areas where homes and properties once stood. “The government should investigate responsibility for the violence in

Meiktila and the failure of the police to stop wanton killings and the burning of entire neighborhoods,” said HRW Asia director Brad Adams.

Last month’s unrest, which later spread to several other towns, has left 43 people dead and more than 1,300 homes and other buildings destroyed, according to state media in the former army-ruled nation.

According to the United Nations, about 12,000 people have been displaced. The worst-hit areas in Meiktila

are believed to be neighbourhoods once home to “a significant number of Muslims”, said HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.

The violence “was allowed to run for days on end”, he told AFP. “There’s been plenty of information that we found, and that others have reported, of essentially the police allowing it to go on and not intervening.” HRW said the destruction bore similarities to sectarian unrest in a different area in western Myanmar last year that killed at least 180 people and

left “large, clearly defined residential areas in ashes”.

The situation appears to have calmed since President Thein Sein on Thursday vowed a tough response against those behind the violence, which he attributed to “political opportunists and religious extremists”.

In a radio address on Sunday, the former general appealed to members of the Buddhist clergy to “assist the government in promoting peace and stability”.

Some monks were involved in the recent

violence, according to witnesses, while others have spearheaded a move to shun shops owned by Muslims.

Security forces have fired warning shots in some instances to disperse rioters, but they have also faced criticism from Muslim leaders in the Buddhistdominated country for failing to stop attacks.Last year HRW accused local security forces of killing Muslim villagers in the western state of Rakhine while government troops “stood by and watched”. — AFP

N Korea taps reformist PM amid nuclear tension ‘Pak Pong Ju is the face of economic reform’

YANGON: A woman buys a newspaper from a seller as retailers wait for a bus after receiving newspapers from a wholesale dispatcher in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday.

For most people in Myanmar, it will be a novelty when privately run daily newspapers hit the streets yesterday. Many weren’t even born when the late dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly on the daily press in the 1960s. — AP

Private dailies re-emerge in Myanmar, face difficulties YANGON: Four private dailies hit the newsstands for the first time in almost 50 years in Myanmar yesterday, but many others failed to appear, hamstrung by poor financing, archaic equipment and a dearth of reporters.

Sixteen dailies were granted licences by authorities, but only four were published.

The government-affiliated Union Daily, one of three dailies available free of charge, used financial clout to beat out competitors like D-Wave, the paper of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), for which publication preparations are still underway.

“All four papers sold out quickly today,” Kyi Kyi, a roadside book vendor, told Reuters. “But it’s very hard to predict their future sales since three of them were distributed free of charge today and the remaining one was sold at 150 kyat ($0.17) per copy,” Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government took power in early 2011 after the military dictatorship relinquished a half-century stranglehold on the former Burma. It embarked on media reforms as part of its democratisation programme in August 2012, when it relaxed draconian censorship. The three other newspapers distributed were the Voice Daily, Golden Fresh Land and The Standard Time Daily, all Burmese -language publications.

Competitors were unwilling, or unable, to get their dailies into the hands of the public quite as quickly. “Frankly it’s quite early to say for sure when ours will come out. We are still making necessary preparations to publish the daily,” said Han Tha Myint, a member of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee, which publishes D-Wave Weekly. Distribution, poor infrastructure, outmoded printing equipment and staffing

issues are some of the stumbling blocks for media organisations wanting to expand into dailies. “To be frank, the government granted licences much earlier than we expected and we were caught by surprise,” said the editor of one private paper, who uses the pseudonym Ko Maung.

“There are a lot of things we have to prepare like printing facilities and training staff,” he told Reuters, pegging well-funded state-owned dailies as the likely major competitors in a market that will become very crowded, very quickly.

The Ministry of Information has invited local and foreign partners to invest in a joint venture to publish the New Light of Myanmar, a former state propaganda newspaper and the only English-language daily in the country.

Other media groups are waiting for clarity on how Myanmar will treat publications benefitting from foreign investment.

“It’s been an excruciating wait, a bit like a tree trying to grow through a crack in a rock, but we have now arrived at the starting line and no one seems at all in a hurry,” Ross Dunkley, managing editor of The Myanmar Times, which is applying for licences for both Burmese and English dailies, said last month.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Myanmar 151st out of 179 countries in its Press Freedom Index, up 18 places compared to the previous year.

RSF has warned that a media bill, presented to parliament in March, could threaten the “fragile” progress Myanmar has made since 2011. It criticised provisions that could result in newspapers being declared illegal for publishing material liable to threaten national reconciliation, denigrate religions or disturb the rule of law. — Reuters

Philippines says ‘no’ to short cops MANILA: Short people hoping to join the long arm of the law in the Philippines will be left disappointed after President Benigno Aquino vetoed a bill removing height requirements for police yesterday.

Parliament had passed a bill repealing minimum height requirements for the police, fire service and jail guards, but the president felt that some jobs required people of a certain stature, his spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.

“If you need to rescue someone from a burning house... or secure detainees, then

you would need certain physical attributes.

That is the nature of these jobs and it is not discrimination,” she told reporters.

Aquino’s the minimum height of five feet, four inches (1.63 metres) for men and five feet, two inches (1.57 metres) for women applying for these jobs, would still apply, Valte said.

She said the police and other agencies already granted height requirement waivers for certain applicants so short people still could get in if they have special qualifications. — AFP

MANILA: In this photo made available by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-News (CBCP-News), Filipino Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, left, is greeted by CBCP President Archbishop Jose Palma during their meeting in Manila, Philippines yesterday. Kiram and Palma discussed the on and off clashes in Malaysia’s Sabah state which have affected thousands of poor Filipino Muslims and Christian settlers. — AP

SEOUL: North Korea yesterday shifted, at least temporarily, away from weeks of warlike rhetoric, appointing a new premier seen as an economic reformer after a high-level declaration that nuclear bomb building and a stronger economy are the nation’s top priorities.

The US, meanwhile, announced its latest conspicuous display of firepower, sending F-22 stealth fighter jets to participate in annual USSouth Korean war games that Pyongyang calls preparation for invasion. The new South Korean president, who has a policy meant to re-engage Pyongyang with talks and aid, told her top military leaders yesterday to set aside political considerations and respond strongly should North Korea attack.

The reemergence of Pak Pong Ju as premier at an annual spring parliamentary session is seen by analysts as a clear signal that leader Kim Jong Un is moving to back up recent statements vowing a focus on strengthened economic development. The UN says two-thirds of the country’s 24 million people face regular food shortages. Pak was reportedly sacked as prime minister in 2007 after proposing a U.S.-style wage system. The appointment signals that Pak will play a key role in economic policymaking again. “Pak Pong Ju is the face of economic reform, such as it exists - reform with North Korean characteristics as they say,” said John Delury, a professor and North Korea analyst at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

Any economic changes won’t be radical, Delury said, and, for the time being, they’re mostly aspirational. One possible change could entail a shift of part of the country’s massive military spending into the economy as a whole, he said. Pyongyang has reacted with anger to the US-South Korean military drills and to a new round of UN and US sanctions that followed its Feb. 12 underground nuclear test, the country’s third. Analysts see a full-scale North Korean attack as unlikely and say the threats are more likely efforts to provoke softer policies toward Pyongyang from a new government in Seoul, to win diplomatic talks with Washington and to solidify the young North Korean leader’s military credentials at home.

Despite the rising hostility, there has been a noticeable shift in North Korea’s rhetoric to a message that seeks to balance efforts to turn around a moribund economy with nuclear development. “There was a danger that this was getting to the point ... of a permanent war footing,” Delury said. “In the midst of this tension and militant rhetoric and posturing, Kim Jong Un is saying, ‘Look, we’re still focused on the economy, but we’re doing it with our nuclear deterrent intact.’” On Sunday, Kim and top party officials

BEIJING: In a file picture taken March 23 2005, North Korean Premier Pak Pong-Ju (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao at Fujian Halll, the Great Hall of People in Beijing.

North Korea yesterday announced the appointment of Pak Pong-Ju, an economics expert, as new prime minister in a reshuffle endorsed by its rubber-stamp parliament.— AFP adopted a declaration calling nuclear weapons “the nation’s life” and an important component of its defense, an asset that wouldn’t be traded even for “billions of dollars.” Pyongyang cites the US military presence in South Korea as a main reason behind its drive to build missiles and atomic weapons. The US has stationed tens of thousands of troops in South Korea since the Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

While analysts call North Korea’s threats largely brinkmanship, there is some fear that a localized skirmish might escalate. Seoul has vowed to respond harshly should North Korea provoke its military. Naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the Korean coast have led to bloody battles several times over the years.

Attacks blamed on Pyongyang in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans. Under late leader Kim Jong Il, North Korea typically held a parliamentary meeting once a year. But Kim Jong Un held an unusual second session last September in a sign that he is trying to run the country differently from his father, who died in late 2011.

Parliament sessions, which usually are held to approve personnel changes and budget and fiscal plans, are scrutinized by the outside world for signs of key changes in policy and leadership.

Six die in China coal mine blast BEIJING: An explosion killed six workers yesterday at a coal mine in northeast China where 28 miners were killed in a similar accident just three days earlier, state media reported, one of a string of industrial accidents across the country that is again focusing attention on lax enforcement of safety regulations.

The explosion at the mine outside the city of Baishan in Jilin province left another 11 miners missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The cause of the most recent accident was under investigation and it wasn’t clear why work had restarted at the mine so soon after last week’s deadly blast.

Further south, an explosion at the Xinyu Group Iron Works smashed its 100-ton No. 2 furnace, killing four people and leaving 32 injured Monday, Xinhua said. It said the injured were transported to hospital but gave no word on the cause of the accident.

Staff members reached by phone at the company confirmed the explosion, but said they had no other information to provide. Local government officials declined to comment, and all refused to give their names.

Meanwhile, workers on Monday had recovered 36 bodies from the site of a massive landslide outside Tibet’s capital Lhasa that buried 83 copper miners on Friday, Xinhua said. Just one worker survived the disaster at the Jiama Copper Polymetallic Mine, having left the site earlier to purchase tents in the city, it said. The miners were mostly impoverished farmers from the southern province of Guizhou recruited to work in the frigid conditions at 4,600 meters (15,100 feet) above sea level.

More than 4,000 rescuers were still looking for those buried, but little hope was being held out for their survival, Xinhua said. The sudden collapse of the surrounding hillside left a layer of rocks and soil over the miners 30 meters (98 feet) deep in places, the reports said.

China has struggled to boost workplace safety in recent years amid the pressures of rapid economic growth. Tougher enforcement of safety rules has brought major improvements in areas such as coal mining, while companies have also been forced to improve conditions to attract workers amid a tightening labor market. — AP

At a session last April, Kim was made first chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, the body’s top post.

On Sunday, Kim presided over a separate plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, a top decision-making body tasked with organizing and guiding the party’s major projects. The meeting set a “new strategic line” calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal.

North Korea’s “nuclear armed forces represent the nation’s life, which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats exist on Earth,” according to a statement issued by state media after the meeting.

Sunday marked the first time for Kim to preside over the committee meeting. The last plenary session was held in 2010, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry, and before that in 1993.

South Korea now faces a major decision. If President Park Geun-hye and her advisers react as her hardline predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, did, “then they’re stuck in the same place, where North Korea limps along, but with regime stability,” Delury said. If so, then “the risk of a conflict is like a dark cloud over the next five years of the Park Geun-hye administration. It’s not such an appealing path for her.” — AFP

Acehnese seek approval of flag BANDA ACEH: Thousands of Acehnese people took to the streets yesterday to demand that a separatist flag be made the official flag of the province, police said.

About 3,000 people took part in the demonstration at the main mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh and then marched to the parliament building, said local police spokesman Col. Gustav Leo. They unfurled a giant red flag with a white crescent and star outside the mosque while shouting “Allah akbar,” or God is great, and “Long live Aceh.” Last week, the Aceh Legislative Council passed a bylaw allowing use of the flag, once the symbol of the Free Aceh Movement, as the official flag of the province.

“This flag is our pride, we can’t wait anymore to see it fly in our land,” said Indra, a rally organizer who goes by a single name.

Indonesian law prohibits the use of separatist flags and symbols, while any bylaws made by provincial councils must be forwarded to the Home Affairs Ministry for approval. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the move could be a setback to a 2005 peace deal between the

government and the Free Aceh Movement.

“We have evaluated their bylaw,” Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said. “We will soon convey the results to the local government.”He said he hoped that local leaders and lawmakers could adjust the bylaw within the existing state’s laws and regulations.

Aceh, an oil-and-gas-rich province of 4 million people on the northern tip of Sumatra island, has experienced almost constant warfare for more than 140 years, with an outbreak of serious fighting that started in 1976 killing at least 15,000 people. Efforts to end the civil war gained momentum after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck on Dec. 26, 2004, which left at least 167,000 people dead or missing and half a million others homeless in the province. Under a 2005 peace deal, the rebels gave up their long-held demand for independence and handed over all of their weapons, while the government allowed them to participate in local politics.

It also allowed the predominantly Muslim province to implement a version of Sharia law and to enjoy semi-autonomy

BANDA ACEH: Acehnese display a giant Crescent-Star flag once used by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels during a rally outside Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, yesterday. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the province to demand that the separatist flag once used by Free Aceh Movement rebels to be made the official flag of the province. — AP

NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

A rainbow is reflected in a fountain on the river Alster yesterday in Hamburg. After cold weather in the last weeks, temperatures rose to 5 degrees in northern Germany. — AFP

Iranians rebel over price of beloved pistachio TEHRAN: This should be the time of year that nut shop owner Mohammad Ahmadi counts his profits, after the recent Persian new year holiday when Iranians scarf up huge amounts of their iconic snack, pistachios. Instead, he and others in the trade are staring at piles of unsold nuts. Iranians have rebelled against a nut that is as linked to their national identity as apple pie is to America’s or feta cheese to Greece’s. A Facebook-driven boycott of pistachios has taken off, protesting prices that more than doubled in recent months. “The number of customers has dropped terribly,” said Ahmadi, looking out at busy streets where few customers turned into his shop in the Salsabil neighborhood of downtown Tehran.

The beloved pistachio has become another casualty of Iran’s sanctions-battered economy. The embracing of the boycott reflects the public dismay over inflation now at 30 percent, ahead of the June presidential election to pick a successor for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Yet, the government, which usually tries to contain Iranians’ anger over the economy, has heartily backed the pistachio boycott - again for reasons tied to the Western-led sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. Pistachio exports provide a small but important pipeline for foreign rev-

enues at a time when sanctions are squeezing Iran’s oil and gas sales. Authorities say fewer nuts consumed at home means more available to sell abroad.

The pale green nuts are Iran’s top non-oil export, though admittedly they are very distant second. Iran earned at least $750 million last year from exporting the nut, with some estimates as high as $1 billion.

That’s a fraction of the around $128 million a day it earns from oil exports. But oil revenues were down some 45 percent last year because of sanctions on the industry, making pistachios an attractively reliable earner. “Nowadays, any revenue from exports is like a drop of lifeblood for Iran,” said Saeed Leilaz, an economic and political affairs analyst.

Iran is the world’s No. 2 producer of pistachios after the United States, and together the two rivals overwhelmingly dominate the world market in the nut. The US re-imposed a ban on Iranian pistachio imports in 2010, but it had little effect on Iran’s sales since its main customers are in Asia, Europe and the Arab world. In 2012, Iran exported some 110-140 million tons of pistachios, the majority of its production, and the industry employs hundreds of thousands of people.

But at home, Iranians are fuming over the cost of

their national snack. Pistachio prices have soared from about 260,000 rials ($8) a kilo last year to more than 600,000 rials ($17). In some areas, a kilo has reached 800,000 rials, or about $25, according to press reports.

The exact cause for the rapid rise in prices remains somewhat unclear. Iranian pistachio growers do not need to import major parts or machinery, whose costs have skyrocketed with the sinking value of the Iranian rial. The rial is currently trading at more than 35,000 to $1 compared with about 10,000 just two years ago.

Prices of all Iranian products have been dragged higher by galloping inflation.

Last month, the head of the pistachio association, Mohsen Jalalpour, said prices at home have been affected by the rising price pistachios get on the international market - compounded by the rial’s fall. The campaign to boycott the nut was launched on Facebook head of last month’s Persian new year, or Nowruz. Demand for pistachios hits an annual high with the new year celebrations, when the nuts are served on nearly every table. Still, they are a treat, not a staple. Last year, another Internet-driven campaign tried to fuel a boycott on chicken after a similar price spike. That appeal fell flat because chicken is central to

the Iranian diet.

The boycott of pistachios, in contrast, has gained a wide following. “This is the first time that such a campaign has been answered widely,” said Hamed Shabanali, a specialist in information technology.

“Word has spread among ordinary people.” Another information technology specialist, Mahmoud Tehrani, said the boycott showed “how Facebook and virtual world are effective in the Iranian society, now.”

Leila Alipour, a housewife, said she learned about the boycott from her son’s teacher. “I will not buy any nut this year,” Alipour said in a Tehran bazaar. “It is too expensive.’ Initally, the government in Februar y responded to anger over the rising prices by banning exports of pistachios to increase stocks at home and reduce prices. But it quickly reversed course, lifting the ban within a week and subsequently backing the boycott when it was launched. State TV, which reflects the views of the ruling clerics, even paid notice of the boycott in an economics show earlier this month. It reported a survey of 1 million people with 87 percent supporting the pistachio boycott. Ahmadinejad, in a February television interview, called the boycott a “good job”. — AP

14

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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Issues

Investors wary of ‘slow panic’

By Mike Dolan orld markets have reacted calmly to the twists and turns of Cyprus’s financial rescue in the last fortnight but many investors fear the economic fallout is yet to come. They have sold European assets, rather than make a global dash for safety that could signal concerns about a euro breakup. Euro blue chip and bank equity prices , regional bank bonds and the euro exchange rate have all fallen sharply this week but Wall St stocks set a record closing high. Mutual fund data released by fund tracker EPFR on Friday showed that European equity, bond and money market funds all saw hefty redemptions this week even as investors continued to pile into Japanese and U.S. equity funds.

Cyprus’s €10 billion rescue averted an immediate financial meltdown that could have caused a Lehman Brothersstyle shock in financial markets. But it came with a forced shut down of the island’s second largest bank and a raid on bank deposits of over €100,000, that forced big depositors to become part of the rescue. Global investors are worried that the precedents set in the messy rescue will strain bank funding, hurting businesses and the fragile regional economy and delaying any recovery.

Ben Bennett, strategist at British fund managers Legal and General Asset Management described the scenario of depositor fear, bank solvency and recession as a “slow panic”.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who’s woken up in a cold sweat at midnight wondering what assets they need to dump - this is much more of a slow grind,” said Ben Bennett, strategist at British fund managers Legal & General Asset Management.

Investors are worried that the precedents set for resolving a bank’s problems has pushed up the cost of lenders’ funding.

If banks have to pay more to borrow they will be reluctant to lend to businesses, already grappling with a recession and difficult credit conditions. This would hurt growth and questions about the ability of the bloc to shake off its debt spiral and the viability of Europe’s single currency would resurface. Forcing savers to take a hits also sets a precedent that may mean depositors in other countries withdraw money more quickly in the future if they hear of troubles in the banking system.

While the principle of bail-ins for senior creditors may have been flagged for some time the impact of the depositor exposure is a wild card. Investors are looking for any sign that savers elsewhere in Europe withdrew deposits from banks fearing they might end up losing money like the depositors in Cyprus. But it will be at least another four weeks before Europe’s central banks release data on depositor behaviour post-Cyprus for March and a fuller picture will take another month.

Until there is clear evidence, investors will be nervous, being led by anecdotal evidence and market pricing. Euro bank stocks have lost more than 10 percent since mid-March to their lowest since September and default insurance costs on senior European bank bonds have jumped about 50 basis points over the same period to six-month highs. While these price moves are relatively contained, the impact on growth of the higher costs bank will pay to fund themselves appears to be a much bigger worry for many investors.

The world’s biggest bond fund manager PIMCO said last week it was cutting exposure to the euro currency and its chief executive Mohamed El-Erian told German tabloid Bild on Thursday that after three years of euro crises, recession on the periphery was hurting the core and “the costs are rising”.

John Stopford, co-head of fixed income and currency at Investec Asset Management, said the confidence bought by the European Central Bank’s promise last summer to do what was necessary to save the euro hinged on growth returning and policy finding a coherent tack.

The events in Cyprus raised questions about both, he said. “I’m increasingly pessimistic,” said Stopford. “It does seem to me the goalposts are being moved quite a lot at the moment and there’s a danger (investor) trust will go again if they’re not careful. There’s a slow credit crunch going on where banks are having to strengthen balance sheets and events in Cyprus can only exacerbate that.”

Any problems in the banks would make things worse for the small and medium size firms that are crucial to economic growth and are already struggling to find lenders. “The lack of funding to SMEs is clearly at the heart of the ECB’s thinking at the current juncture, as a blatant and persistent sign that policy transmission remains significantly impaired,” a Deutsche Bank report said this month. The existing credit drought and ongoing fiscal austerity on business confidence has already been clear in regional Purchasing Managers Surveys that disappointed expectations again through February and March.— Reuters

W

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.

Court poised to change US race laws

By Hope Yen as the nation lived down its history of racism and should the law become colorblind? Addressing two pivotal legal issues, one on affirmative action and a second on voting rights, a divided Supreme Court is poised to answer those questions. In one case, the issue is whether race preferences in university admissions undermine equal opportunity more than they promote the benefits of racial diversity. Just this past week, justices signaled their interest in scrutinizing affirmative action very intensely, expanding their review as well to a Michigan law passed by voters that bars “preferential treatment” to students based on race. Separately in a second case, the court must decide whether race relations - in the South, particularly - have improved to the point that federal laws protecting minority voting rights are no longer warranted.

The questions are apt as the United States closes in on a demographic tipping point, when nonwhites will become a majority of the nation’s population for the first time. That dramatic shift is expected to be reached within the next generation, and how the Supreme Court rules could go a long way in determining what civil rights and equality mean in an America long divided by race. The court’s five conservative justices seem ready to declare a new post-racial moment, pointing to increased levels of voter registration and turnout among blacks to show that the South has changed.

Lower federal courts just in the past year had seen things differently, blunting voter ID laws and other election restrictions passed by GOPcontrolled legislatures in South Carolina, Texas and Florida, which they saw as discriminatory.

“Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes,” Justice Antonin Scalia said in oral arguments earlier this year, suggesting that it was the high court’s responsibility to overturn voting protections overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2006. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, part of the court’s more liberal wing, countered that while conventional discriminatory tactics may have faded, new ones have emerged.

“Congress said up front: We know that the (voter) registration is fine. That is no longer the problem. But the discrimination continues in other forms,” she said.

The legal meanings of “equality,” “racism” and “discrimination” have been in flux since at least 1883, when justices struck down a federal anti-discrimination law, calling it an unfair racial advantage for former black slaves. Today, justices face the question of whether the nation has reached equality by a 1960s definition or some new standard. By some demographic measures, America has reached a new era. But the latest census data and polling from AP also show race and class disparities that persist. President Barack Obama, the nation’s first black chief executive, was re-elected in November despite a historically low percentage of white supporters. He was aided by a growing bloc of blacks, Hispanics, AsianAmericans and gays, and a disproportionate share of women, who together supported him by at least a 2-to-1 margin. Another sign of shifting times: Among newborns, minorities outnumbered whites for the first time last year, the Census Bureau reported. “The end of the world as straight white males know it,” one newspaper headline said on the morning after the November election.

H

Still, issues linger by race, age and class: Jobs and income. Black poverty has fallen by half since 1959, to 27.6 percent, but is still nearly three times the poverty rate of whites.

Black and Hispanic men are twice as likely as whites to work in the low-paying service sector. Since the 1970s, the unemployment rate for blacks has remained double that of whites.

Wealth. The wealth gap between whites and minorities is at its widest since 1984.

Predominantly younger minorities were hit hard when home prices fell, while older whites were more likely to invest in 401(k) retirement plans and stocks, which have rebounded since the recession. The median net worth of white households was $113,149 in 2009, compared with $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks.

Class and education. By some measures, the gap between rich and poor has stretched to its widest since 1967. Globalization and automation have eliminated many mid-skill jobs, leaving a polarized pool of low-wage work and high-skill jobs requiring advanced degrees. About 40 percent of whites age 25-29 graduate from college, compared with 15 percent for Latinos and 23 percent for blacks. ï Racial bias. Prejudice against blacks worsened slightly in the four years since Obama was first elected in 2008, according to an AP poll. In all, 51 percent of Americans expressed explicit anti-black attitudes, compared with 48 percent in 2008. Questions designed to ferret out subconscious bias raised the proportion with anti-black sentiments to 56 percent, and the share of people expressing pro-black attitudes fell.

Roderick Harrison, a demographer who is black, says he felt pride in Obama’s re-election, which to him reaffirmed a historic achievement not only for black Americans but also a broader coalition of racially diverse groups.

state’s high schools. That helps bring in students of different backgrounds because Texas high schools are highly racially segregated, reflecting decades of segregated neighborhoods.

In a state where blacks now make up 11.5 percent of the population and Hispanics 38 percent, the university’s enrollment of 50,000 students never rose above 3 percent to 4.5 percent black and 13 percent to 17 percent Hispanic. So in 2004 it decided to allow students who miss the 10 percent cutoff to be considered for admission based on a range of socioeconomic factors, including race. The share of black students has since increased slightly to 6 percent, while Hispanic enrollment rose to 26 percent.

The university’s affirmative action plan is being challenged in the Supreme Court by Abigail Fisher, a white student who missed the cutoff and was rejected. Fisher says she was denied fair consideration because of her race.

A 2003 Supreme Court opinion said universities may consider race only as one of several factors to promote diversity. The court said diversity benefits everyone because in a global economy it fosters leaders who can relate to people of different backgrounds.

In the last week, justices also agreed to take up a second affirmative action case this year, deciding whether states may pass laws that restrict the use of race preferences in college

In this March 5, 2013 photo, University of Texas senior Bradley Poole poses for a photo on campus near a Martin Luther King Jr statue in Austin, Texas.—AP Still, he worries that demographic change and Obama’s success may lead to a tipping point in the opposite direction, where people in the United States are led to assume racial equality has fully arrived. The strength of minority support behind Obama was aided by the 1965 Voting Rights Act and other protections, he said. The term “minority” often refers to an unequal or disadvantaged status and isn’t always about numbers or counts, said Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau. The District of Columbia, Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Texas already have populations of racial and ethnic minorities that collectively add up to more than 50 percent. Across the US, more than 11 percent of counties have tipped to “majorityminority” status. “Minority status is a matter of exclusion from full participation in society, remaining long after a nation becomes ‘majority minority,’” Harrison said.

To Bradley Poole, 21, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, racial progress is measured by the little things. An advertising major, Poole became a member and then president of the school’s Black Student Alliance, seeking camaraderie after noticing he often was the only African-American in his classes. “I definitely feel the difference,” he said. The university automatically grants admission to the top 10 percent of students in each of the

admissions. That case involves an appeal to a lower court ruling that found a 2006 voterapproved ban in Michigan unconstitutional, reasoning that such bans put minorities at a disadvantage. The justices’ decision to hear the Michigan case next fall - with their decision in the Texas case still to be announced this spring - suggests that the court will not decide in the Texas case to eliminate affirmative action programs in higher education.

In the seven or so states that enacted bans on affirmative action at their public universities, freshman enrollments of blacks and Hispanics almost always fell afterward - as much as 50 percent at UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley - although in some cases they later rebounded. Those states now include Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. A Supreme Court ruling that further restricts affirmative action could shake up college admissions policies nationwide, perhaps shifting focus to low-income students or low-performing schools.

Before opting to enroll at Texas, Poole says he considered attending a mostly white university in Iowa and a historically black college in Louisiana. The college course he now values the most: an advertising seminar that he attended along with a Hispanic, a female student-athlete and an Asian-American. No one in

that class was a “minority,” he said, and there was a range of perspectives. Outside class, Poole says his organization has experienced racial incidents. One white student ran up in “blackface” to where members were gathered on campus, daring them to respond. A legal brief filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on behalf of Poole’s group lists other racial incidents in recent years, some of which led to suspensions or public apologies. “Racial diversity is a conversation we need to have,” he said.

Not since the tumultuous 1960s have US ideals of equality been more closely contested.

Legal analysts say a Supreme Court holding of a colorblind Constitution, either as a matter of law or practical effect, could begin to emerge in two rulings on voting rights and affirmative action due out by late June. A third ruling in the Michigan affirmative action case will come next term.

The five conservative justices who make up a majority could overturn the 2003 opinion or take a less dramatic step. The court may opt for tighter restrictions that make it difficult for colleges to consider race or rule narrowly that in a situation like Texas, its unique top 10 percent plan is enough on its own to achieve diversity.

In the court’s other racial case, a conservative majority may declare the 1965 Voting Rights Act constitutionally flawed for its focus on racism in the South but leave it up to lawmakers to sort it out. The court could also find a less sweeping, more technical way of deciding the voting rights case, much as they did four years ago. Back then, Chief Justice John Roberts suggested Congress should update the law to reflect improved conditions in the South. Congress hasn’t done so.

Prominent legal bloggers are already warning of sharp public reaction, especially if justices strike down federal voting protections. “If the court rules in a conservative direction, this will be a pivotal year with regard to race in the Constitution and a year that could have a devastating effect on racial diversity,” adds Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine law school.

Has the country put its racist past behind it? That question is at the core of the challenge to the Voting Rights Act. The arguments before the court raised questions about whether new, more subtle forms of voting discrimination have taken the place of Jim Crow laws. In 1870, the Constitution guaranteed blacks the right to vote. But for many decades afterward, whites in the post-slavery South used poll taxes and literacy tests to block AfricanAmericans from voting.

That changed in 1965 with enactment of the Voting Rights Act, which let minorities file lawsuits against voter discrimination. Section 5 of that law went even further, requiring nine states, mostly in the South, and scores of counties and townships in seven other states, all with histories of disenfranchisement, to get federal approval before making any election change. Changes can include everything from a different poll location to a new political redistricting map.

The voting act was renewed by Congress in 2006 for another 25 years. The Justice Department and the federal courts last year used Section 5 to block voter restrictions in South Carolina, Texas and parts of Florida. That saved hundreds of thousands of votes that would otherwise have been lost in November, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Many were cast by blacks and Hispanics who turned out for Obama. Lawyers for Shelby County, Alabama, which is challenging Section 5, say the tables have turned in a nation that is now much more racially diverse, with minority voters possibly holding an unfair advantage.

“You have a different constituency from the constituency you had in 1964,” attorney Bert Rein told the justices. “Senators who see that a very large group in the population has politically wedded themselves to Section 5 are not going to vote against it.”— AP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Indian boxer ordered to take drugs test

Misbah does not want to return to int’l T20

Powell pulls out of Australian race

NEW DELHI: India’s boxing pin-up boy Vijender Singh was ordered by the Indian sports ministry yesterday to take an immediate out-of-competition test after police said he had used heroin on several occasions. Singh, whose middleweight bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics helped raise boxing’s profile in India, landed in trouble after last month’s $24 million drug haul in the northern state Punjab when a fellow boxer told the investigators he and Singh consumed heroin supplied by the drug dealer.

Singh has denied the allegation but Punjab Police on Sunday said the 27-year-old boxer had taken heroin on 12 occasions, prompting the sports ministry to ask the National Anti-Doping Agency to carry out a test on him. “Such reports in respect of a sporting icon are disturbing and may have a debilitating influence on other sportspersons in the country,” the ministry said in a statement.

“It has, therefore, been considered necessary that NADA gets a test carried out on Vijender Singh for his repor ted use of heroin even out-of-competition.”—Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul-Haq says he will not return to international Twenty20 despite finishing as the top scorer in the premier domestic T20 competition.

Misbah scored 206 runs at a staggering average of 103 from five matches and led Faisalabad Wolves to victory in Sunday’s final against Sialkot Stallions. Misbah says he will lead his hometown Wolves in this year’s Champions League. Misbah had been criticized by some for his slow batting in international matches, but said he now intends to stick with an attacking style. “I will play aggressively in future, whether I meet success or not is a different story,” he said.

Misbah, who turns 39 next month, quit international Twenty20 last year after playing 39 matches and scoring 788 runs with a decent average of 37.52. Mohammad Hafeez replaced Misbah as Pakistan’s T20 captain, but he was nowhere near to Misbah’s belligerent batting form in the domestic event at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Misbah’s 206 runs featured a dozen fours and as many sixes while Hafeez scored 145 runs from four matches with 20 boundaries and four sixes. Hafeez’s Lahore Lions which also had star players like Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal and Kamran Akmal was also knocked down by Misbah in the semifinal.—Reuters

MELBOURNE: Former world record holder Asafa Powell has withdrawn from yesterday’s Stawell Gift handicap race in Australia with a recurrence of the hamstring injury which forced him to pull up during the 100-meter final at the London Olympics . Powell experienced soreness during the warm-up Saturday for the 120-meter race in western Victoria state, his first competitive appearance since London. The 30-year-old Powell was unable to run at full pace and finished third in his heat in 12.24 seconds after starting from scratch. He contacted the Stawell Athletic Club on Monday to say he is still experiencing tightness in his hamstring and he will not line-up in Australia’s most famous footrace.

The Jamaican will have an MRI scan in Melbourne today.

“No, I definitely can’t run (on Monday),” Powell said. “The hammy is giving me some problems and it wouldn’t be fair to me to go out there and push it.

“But I really wanted to give the crowd the performance today. From 30 meters, the leg started to get real tight. I came out of the drive phase and just started running. —AP

North’s future sparks bust-up in Wales LONDON: Wales wing George North’s proposed move from Scarlets to English Premiership club Nor thampton has sparked a major row between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the country’s four professional regions.

Regional Rugby Wales, the body that represents the four Welsh regions, has called on the WRU to help prevent the steady drain of leading Welsh players to clubs in England and France.

North’s fellow Wales internationals James Hook, Mike Phillips, Paul James, Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts have all joined clubs outside the country in recent years as Scarlets, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Newport-Gwent Dragons struggle to retain their best players due to the spending capabilities of clubs in France and England.

But the WRU on Sunday claimed Scarlets attempted to sell North without first informing the 20-year-old. North has a year remaining on his current contract at Parc y Scarlets, but appears set for a move to Northampton for a fee reportedly in the range of £250,000, having rejected a move to France.

The WRU also claimed they were prepared to provide the backing to keep North in Wales by tying him to a central contract, only to later discover the regions had an agreement in place not

to field any player contracted to the union.

But the Scarlets slammed those suggestions and asserted that far from actively seeking to offload North, they have done all they can to retain his services.

Their statement read: “The Scarlets are astonished and disappointed that the governing body of Welsh rugby has chosen to speak about an individual player from within our region publicly in this fashion. “We must therefore clarify, that at no time has the WRU made any proposal to us to help retain any player international or otherwise within our region.

“Any contract discussions involving George North have only taken place within the last two months including the Scarlets’ offer of a three-year contract extension that was the very best offer that the club could make.”

The WRU responded by urging the regions to abandon their opposition to central contracts, which is their preferred method of ensuring the best Welsh talent remains in the principality.

In a separate section of its wide-ranging statement, the WRU also laid the blame for the delay in establishing a Professional Regional Game Board firmly at the door of the regions.—AFP

NBK to hold today the first draw of its UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 campaign KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) will hold today the first draw in its UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 campaign in partnership with MasterCard International. Four MasterCard Credit Cardholders will win travel packages for two to watch the UEFA Champions League semifinals live.

This exclusive campaign, valid until 30th of April 2013, offers seven travel packages for two to attend the semifinals or the final game. NBK MasterCard Credit Cardholders still have the chance to enter the last draw to win one of three travel packages to attend the final match. Each travel package includes two round trip airline tickets, hotel accommodation, transfer service and match tickets for both winner and guest.

NBK MasterCard Credit Cardholders will get one chance to enter the draws

for every 10 KD spent using their NBK MasterCard for all purchases during the promotion period. Cardholders can also double their chances to win while spending overseas during traveling or on the internet.

NBK is the only bank in Kuwait offering its MasterCard Credit Cardholders a chance to win fully paid packages to see the UEFA Champions League semifinals or the final game in London. The more NBK MasterCard Credit Cardholders use their cards during the promotion period the more chances they get to win one of the last three travel packages. NBK Credit 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.

BUFFALO: Anton Khudobin No. 35 of the Boston Bruins deflects the puck against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Boston won 2-0.—AFP

Flyers edge Capitals PHILADELPHIA: Ruslan Fedotenko scored 1:34 into overtime after Kimmo Timonen got the tying goal with 9.5 seconds left in regulation and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Sunday night.

Maxime Talbot, Matt Read and Claude Giroux also scored for the Flyers, who moved within two points of the idle New York Rangers and New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals are a point ahead of Philadelphia in a jumbled East. Desperate to get a point, the Flyers tied it at 4 when Timonen ripped a slap shot past Braden Holtby after several chances in front. Timonen then set up Fedotenko with a perfect crossing pass in OT to cap off a remarkable comeback and set off a wild celebration.

Marcus Johansson and Alex Ovechkin scored powerplay goals 26 seconds apart in the third period to give the Capitals a 4-2 lead.

Blackhawks 7, Red Wings 1 In Detroit, Brandon Saad had two goals and an assist and Dave Bolland scored twice in the Chicago Blackhawks’ win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Jonathan Toews added a goal and two assists and Jeremy Morin and Nick Leddy, also scored for Chicago.

Cory Crawford made 33 saves.

Cory Emmerton scored Detroit’s goal. Jimmy Howard was pulled in favor of Jonas Gustavsson early in the second period. Gustavsson made nine saves.

Chicago led 3-0 at the end of the first period after scoring on its first three shots in a 1:39 span in the game’s first 41/2 minutes.

NHL results/standings Chicago 7, Detroit 1; Columbus 2, Anaheim 1 (OT ); Los Angeles 3, Dallas 2; Philadelphia 5, Washington 4 (OT); Boston 2, Buffalo 0.

EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION W L OTL GF Pittsburgh 28 8 0 123 New Jersey 15 11 9 88 NY Rangers 16 15 3 78 NY Islanders 16 16 3 100 Philadelphia 15 17 3 95 NORTHEAST DIVISION Montreal 22 7 5 107 Boston 22 8 4 97 Ottawa 19 10 6 89 Toronto 20 12 4 112 Buffalo 13 17 6 94 SOUTHEAST DIVISION Winnipeg 18 16 2 89 Carolina 16 15 2 92 Washington 16 17 2 102 Tampa Bay 15 18 1 110 Florida 11 19 6 88

GA 84 97 84 112 108

PTS 56 39 35 35 33

83 75 76 100 113

49 48 44 44 32

106 97 101 103 125

38 34 34 31 28

WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION Chicago 26 5 3 116 74 55 Detroit 17 13 5 91 92 39 Columbus 15 14 7 87 97 37 St. Louis 17 14 2 94 93 36 Nashville 14 14 7 87 96 35 NORTHWEST DIVISION Minnesota 21 11 2 97 86 44 Vancouver 19 10 6 92 90 44 Edmonton 14 13 7 87 95 35 Calgary 13 16 4 93 114 30 Colorado 12 18 4 84 108 28 PACIFIC DIVISION Anaheim 23 7 5 107 90 51 Los Angeles 20 12 3 103 88 43 San Jose 17 11 6 85 84 40 Dallas 16 15 3 94 103 35 Phoenix 14 15 6 94 101 34 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

Blue Jackets 2, Ducks 1 In Columbus, Mark Letestu set up the only goal in regulation and scored the game-winner in overtime, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 30 shots to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Anaheim Ducks. The victory improved the Blue Jackets to 9-0-3 in their last 12 games at Nationwide Arena and gave them points in 15 of their last 17 games (10-2-5) to crawl into playoff contention in the West.

Emerson Etem had the only goal for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, who had lost four in a row until winning 2-1 in Chicago on Friday night.

Kings 3, Stars 2 In Dallas, Brad Richardson and Justin Williams scored third-period goals just over a minute apart to help lift the Los Angeles Kings past the Dallas Stars.

Jeff Carter also scored his 20th goal of the season for Los Angeles, which has lost just once in regulation in Dallas in its last 14 visits (11-1-2) and outshot the Stars 40-15. Richardson’s goal was particularly impressive, since the fourth-liner was playing his first game since Feb. 10 and third of the season overall after sitting out as a healthy scratch the other 32 contests. Jonathan Bernier needed to make just 15 saves for the Kings, and remained unbeaten - 8-0-0 in his starts this season.

Jamie Benn and Ray Whitney scored for Dallas, which had won both previous meetings between the Pacific Division rivals this season by a combined score of 7-2.

Bruins 2, Sabres 0 In Buffalo, David Krejci and Nathan Horton scored goals less than three minutes apart in the third period, and Anton Khudobin stopped 26 shots in leading the Boston Bruins over the Buffalo Sabres.

Krejci broke open a scoreless game during a scramble in front with 7:06 remaining, and after Horton was stopped twice from in close by Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. Krejci then returned the favor by setting up Horton for a tap-in in front with 4:16 left in helping Boston win for only the third time in eight games (3-41). Khubodin earned the second shutout of his career, while the Bruins improved to 2-5 in their last seven road games.—AP

PHILADELPHIA: Jason Chimera No. 25 of the Washington Capitals checks Erik Gustafsson No. 29 of the Philadelphia Flyers in the third period of an NHL hockey game.—AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Points holds nerve to clinch Houston Open

Scott Hend

Rival Tours put Asian golfers in dilemma SINGAPORE: The Asian and OneAsia Tours went head-to-head with tournaments once again last week, with the rivals squabbling on social media websites while some of the players prioritised other circuits. As Australian Scott Hend overcame a six-shot deficit to win the Asian Tour’s inaugural Chiangmai Golf Classic in Thailand on Sunday, South Korean Choi Ho-sung scored a two-shot win at the Indonesia PGA Championship on the OneAsia circuit.

The Asian Tour’s $750,000 event offered more world rankings points while OneAsia’s co-sanctioned event with the Japan Golf Tour countered that with a greater prize pool of $1 million.

It was the second time this year that the rival circuits had events coinciding despite the vast gaps in both schedules that should mean clashing easily be avoided. Instead, both attempted to play up their importance. “The Asian Tour has been a fantastic place for me to be in,” Hend said in an Asian Tour statement yesterday.

“This is the Tour in the region and in my eyes it is the only Tour in the region.” The event, however, was unable to attract their reigning order of merit winner Thaworn Wiratchant, who opted to play in Indonesia instead of his homeland.

OneAsia were cooing about their capture, hailing the event for ‘bringing together one of the most powerful Asia-Pacific fields ever assembled.’

Officials from the two tours traded barbs on Twitter across the week arguing why the unconventional swinging Thai had chosen to play in Indonesia.

For Thaworn’s manager, the decision was easy. “He wants to remain in the top 100 in the rankings,” Pimporn Rojsattarat told Reuters yesterday.

“This year he will concentrate on Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour and if there is a week where there is no clash he can play

elsewhere,” she added, pointing to the fact he is also a European Tour and OneAsia member.

While both tours push for supremacy, the Japan Golf Tour arguably sits above them in Asia with more money and usually more world rankings points. They also have less co-sanctioning.

Last year, the Asian Tour co-sanctioned the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open with the Japan Tour but that event has yet to appear on the 2013 schedule with the Japanese linking up with OneAsia to co-sanction their opening two events this year in Thailand and Indonesia.

The Asian Tour’s 2011 order of merit winner Juvic Pagunsan has prioritised the Japan Golf Tour and the Filipino finished tied second in Indonesia on Sunday.

Chinese number one Liang Wenchong is another who is prioritising the Japan Golf Tour in a crowded 2013 calendar after failing to play in enough Asian Tour events last year to count towards the order of merit title. “Hopefully this year they won’t clash that much,” Liang’s manager Jacky Peng told Reuters on Monday after the Chinese finished tied seventh in Indonesia. “The priority is still retaining his card in Japan and Europe and also the OneAsia events in China.

“The Asian Tour have a minimum of nine tournaments to count to the money list and last year we only did eight so we can’t make it.”

The Asian Tour head to Delhi this week for the Panasonic Open India before they come back east for the Solaire Open in the Philippines and then the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea.

The tour, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, then hosts the Indonesian Masters on May 2-5, which goes head-tohead against OneAsia’s next event - the Volvo China Open.—Reuters

HOUSTON: American DA Points held his nerve through a late weather delay to claim a one shot victory at the Houston Open on Sunday and earn a ticket to the Masters.

Clinging to a one shot advantage over clubhouse leader Henrik Stenson with four holes to play, Points had his momentum interrupted when a storm swept across the Redstone Golf Club and forced the evacuation of the course.

When play resumed after a nearly three hours, Points picked up where he left off by carding four consecutive pars to return a bogeyfree six-under 66 for a winning total of 16-under 272, one shot clear of Swede Stenson (66) and compatriot Billy Horschel (66).

Dustin Johnson (65) and Ben Crane (68) finished two shots back on 14-under 274. It was the second career PGA Tour win for Points, who failed to make the cut in seven of nine starts this season and whose best previous finish was a tie for 63rd. “I’ve been having a really tough year,” Points said. “To have a putt to win, you want that starting out every week. “I would have liked for it to have been closer.”

After a bogey at the 13th, Stenson’s shot at the title appeared to disappear but the Swede produced a sizzling finish with four birdies over his final five holes, including the 17th and 18 to keep the pressure on Points.

HUMBLE: DA Points poses with the trophy on the 18th green after winning the Shell Houston Open at the Redstone Golf Club. —AFP But Points did not crack, rolling in a nerve-jangling 13-foot par putt at the last with a putter he borrowed from his mother to clinch the victory.

Phil Mickelson, the 2011 Houston winner, started five back of the leaders and looked like he

might take a run at the title after opening with four consecutive birdies.

The three-times Masters champion’s charge quickly ran out of steam, however, and eight straight pars followed by two birdies and a double-bogey left him on four-

under 68, six shots behind Points.

Former world number one Rory McIlroy was not a factor either, finishing 12 shots off the pace, but the Northern Irishman did wrap up his week in style by dropping birdies on his closing two holes for a twounder 70.—Reuters

Stenson plays his way into Masters HUMBLE: One way or another Henrik Stenson knew he was going to the Masters. Stenson, who eight months ago was No. 133 in the world, closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday in the Houston Open and was the leader in the clubhouse when the final round was delayed because of thunderstorms.

In the end he didn’t get the tournament victory, as DA Points returned after the rain and closed out a one-stroke win. But he did get a major reward.

The Swede needed to finish at least in 13th place in Houston to break into the top 50 of the world rankings - which brings an automatic invitation to the Masters. Stenson didn’t feel comfortable until he blistered his tee shot on the 18th hole and hit his approach into about 10 feet for birdie.

“I said to my caddie walking up 18, ‘No matter what, we’re playing for a green jacket in a couple of weeks,’” Stenson said. “That will be nice. That was the main goal coming here.

And when I played as well as I did, put myself in a good position, I’m still trying to do well here and then give myself a chance to win this tournament.”

On the other side of the Atlantic, Marcel Siem of Germany won the Hassan Trophy in Morocco. That moved him to the cusp of the top 50, but Siem fell short when Russell Henley closed with a 68 at the Houston Open.

The best Siem could do was No. 51. Henley already is in the Masters from winning the Sony Open in January.

Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden and Richard Sterne of South Africa also were added to the

Masters field by staying in the top 50. Neither played this week.

Charles Howell III, the Augusta native who started the year outside the top 100, needed to finish no worse than fourth place alone at the Houston Open. He hurt himself with middle rounds of 72-70 at Redstone, but put together a late charge. Howell closed with a 66, but likely fell at least three shots short of having a chance.

“It was a nice finish,” Howell said. “Probably not quite good enough for what I need to go to Augusta, but I played well. I gave myself a chance. It was a good effort, but good efforts don’t get that invitation to Augusta.”

Geoff Ogilvy, who played 10 out of 11 weeks trying to get into the Masters, started the week at No. 50 and missed the cut for the second straight week. Ogilvy withdrew Sunday from next week’s Texas Open, ending his hopes of returning to the Masters. The winner of the Houston Open and Texas Open earn a trip to the Masters.

Ogilvy last year fell one shot short of ending the year in the top 50 and assuring his spot at Augusta. Howell is not playing the Texas Open, either.

“I thought my best chance of getting in was the top 50,” Howell said. “I played a ton of golf. I’m a little tired, to be honest.”

Howell finished third at the Sony Open, and he lost in a playoff the next week at the Humana Challenge. What hurt even more was closing with a 78 in the Honda Classic and a 73-75 weekend at Bay Hill, costing him valuable ranking points. Howell said there was no

point in looking back. “I’m not going down the road of disappointment,” he said. “I played good. I would love to be in the golf tournament. So would 300 million other golfers. I played well this year and I’m going to watch the tournament on TV. It’s just horrible to watch on TV, to be honest.”

The addition of Stenson, Sterne and Jacobson brings the Masters field to 91 players expected to compete. There are no more than two spots available for the winners of the Houston Open and Texas Open if they are not already eligible, meaning this will be the smallest field at the Masters since 90 players competed in 2006.

Stenson began his turnaround last September when he tied for fifth in the Dutch Open. He took a big leap with his win at the South African Open, and then a tie for seventh in the season-ending event in Dubai on the European Tour. Last week, he tied for eighth at Bay Hill, which moved him up five spots to No. 53 and gave him a good chance at cracking the top 50 in Houston.

And that he did. With so many players in contention in Houston - 20 players separated by four shots going into the final round - he needed to pile up birdies. Stenson was worried when he failed to birdie the reachable par-4 12th, and then hit a tee shot against the lip of a fairway bunker and wound up making bogey on the par-5 13th. But he birdied three of his last four holes to sew up his spot at the Masters. And he still had a chance to win. “Just been a great turnaround these last two weeks,” he said.—AP

ABK hosts 2nd ‘ABK Golf Challenge’ Simon Gerrans

Gerrans wins Basque Tour stage MADRID: In-form Australian rider Simon Gerrans won the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country after a 156.5km ride around Elgoibar yesterday.

The 32-year-old edged out Peter Velits and Angel Vicioso on the line form his second stage win in Spain in just over a week after also emerging victorious in the penultimate stage of the Tour of Catalonia. Pre-race favourite and twotime winner of the event Alberto Contador finished back in seventh, but registered the same time as the leaders.

However, a crash just five kilometres from the end of the stage cost another contender Samuel Sanchez five seconds as he finished down in 18th. Until that point the day had been largely controlled by the peloton.

Amets Txurruka and Laurent Didier set the early pace as they broke away after 30km to establish a healthy five minute lead just before the 50km mark. That was as big a gap as the peloton allowed though as led by Contador’s Saxo-Tinkoff team the front two began to be reeled in.

Txurruka made a solo break 36km from the finish but was eventually caught 18km out by the chasing pack. At that point the Sky and Movistar teams carried the workload in the peloton, but the leading pack was reduced to some 17 riders after a crash at the top of the final climb up the Alto de Aiastia.

The chasing pack was never able to make up the gap the crash created and Gerrans timed his run to the line to claim the stage win.—AFP

KUWAIT: A total of 72 players grouped into teams of 4 competed across the 18 holes for the privilege to raise the ‘ABK Golf Challenge’ Trophy at the Sahara Golf Resort and Spa. First place was won by the team consisting of Marty Willet, Fanie Bester, Piero Corsini and Mike Fox, who each received an individual trophy and had their names engraved as the 2013 winners.

The awards ceremony was attended by Abdulla Al Sumait, Deputy Chief General Manager (DCGM) and senior staff of ABK, where the first, second and third place winning teams were awarded trophies presented by the DCGM. Stewart Lockie, General Manager, Retail Banking at ABK said “at ABK we are committed to support sporting activities, more so since they go a long way in promoting a strong relationship with the society we live in.

The ABK Golf Challenge was another great success, where golfers enjoyed the day, indulged in healthy competition.”Lockie added “we would like to take this opportunity to thank our

partners Emirates Airlines and Golfme who supported us, as well as the Sahara Golf Club for the fantastic organization of the event.”

In addition to the first three places, there were some additional

prizes. Chris Brocklehurst was awarded “Beat the Pro”, the prize being a return ticket on Emirates Airlines,. “Nearest-the-pin” went to Fin O’leary who received a putter presented by Golfme, and the

“longest-drive” was won by Fanie Bester, who received a BlackBerry.

Finally, the last place team members each won a complimentary hour of golf lessons at the Sahara Golf Club.

Puerto doping trial reaches climax MADRID: The Operation Puerto doping trial involving Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and four co-accused is set to conclude today with the judge ruling on whether the five were guilty of endangering public health. Fuentes is on trial with his sister and fellow doctor Yolanda as well as Manolo Saiz, Vicente Belda and Ignacio Labarta who held various positions in the Liberty Seguros and Kelme cycling teams.

The latter three are accused of facilitating Fuentes’ involvement with riders in their teams, whilst it is claimed that Eufemiano and Yolanda Fuentes performed blood transfusions and stored and transported blood bags

in a manner that represented a health risk to those undergoing the treatment. However, it is not only Fuentes and his accomplices that have been scrutinised over the course of the 10-week long trial. The wider image of how Spanish sport deals with doping has also come under the spotlight. From the first day of the trial Judge Julia Patricia Santamaria did not require Fuentes to provide a comprehensive list of the sportsmen and women he worked with, something which frustrated the many foreign journalists waiting to see which stellar names from other sports would be implicated. However, the problem

Santamaria has had throughout is balancing the contrasting elements between the trial many wanted to see and that which was actually brought before her.

Fuentes and his co-accused are not on trial for any type of doping offence as when they were arrested in 2006, doping was not a crime in Spain.

That lack of legislation allied to the haul of some 200 blood bags seized from properties belonging to him has led to an outside view that the Spanish authorities are a soft touch when it comes to doping.

In light of the trial and Madrid’s bid for the

2020 Olympics, a new law has been drafted by the Spanish government which will bring Spanish law into line with the World AntiDoping Agency’s (WADA) code on doping.

The weight of evidence in the trial also does not bode well for all five, who face up to two years in prison should they be found guilty.

Former cyclists Jesus Manzano and Tyler Hamilton both gave evidence saying they fell ill while riding after receiving treatments from Fuentes.

Hamilton also claimed that another former cyclist, Alberto Leon, performed a transfusion on him with a blood bag handed

down by Fuentes despite having no medical training whatsoever.

However, even tough sentences for all those involved should they be found guilty are unlikely to curry favour outside of Spain unless Santamaria also allows the blood bags confiscated and preserved since 2006 to be handed to WADA so that those treated

by Fuentes outside the world of cycling can be identified. Such a process could leave a few prestigious reputations sullied, but would be a necessary evil if Spanish sport is to have a transparent future when it comes to doping.—AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Astros top Rangers in MLB opener

HOUSTON: Astros and Texas Rangers players observe a moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as the United States and Texas state flags are displayed in centerfield before a season-opening baseball game. —AP

Heat roll over Spurs SAN ANTONIO: Chris Bosh scored 23 points, including the winning 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-86 on Sunday night with LeBron James, D wyane Wade and Mario Chalmers sitting out due to injuries.

Ray Allen had 14 points, Norris Cole added 13 and Mike Miller 12 for Miami (58-15), which swept the season series with San Antonio (55-18). By earning the head-to-head tiebreaker with San Antonio, the Heat essentially have a four-game cushion with nine remaining for the league’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.

Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who a seven-game home winning streak snapped. Danny Green and Tony Parker added 12 points apiece and Stephen Jackson had 11.

Bosh finished 3 for 5 on 3s, including the final shot from straightaway in the closing seconds. He let out a loud yell after making the shot and celebrated with teammates when Parker’s jumper bounced off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.

Knicks 108, Celtics 89 In New York, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks extended their winning streak to eight games and moved closer to ending Boston’s hold on the Atlantic Division title.

The Knicks beat the Celtics for the second time this week and won the season series for the first time since 2003-04, when they also went 3-1 against Boston. New York climbed back into a tie with Indiana in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, which would currently mean a playoff meeting with the Celtics.

Jeff Green scored 27 points, and Paul Pierce had 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Celtics had a twogame winning streak snapped. Boston has won the last five division titles since acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the summer of 2007. The Knicks haven’t won the division since the 1993-94 season.

Bulls 95, Pistons 94 In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 28 points, Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson each added 16, and Chicago beat Detroit for the 18th straight time.

Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points

and Greg Monroe added 18 points for the Pistons, who have not beaten the Bulls since Dec. 23, 2008.

Chicago rallied from a 13-point deficit to tie the score 78-all with 9:27 remaining on Butler’s dunk after a steal. Robinson then fed Deng for a layup for an 80-78 lead, the Bulls’ first advantage since 1-0.

Deng and Robinson each hit 3pointers to extend the Bulls’ lead to 91-84. Stuckey’s layup cut Chicago’s lead to one with 1:27 left before Deng had a layup for a 94-91 lead. Charlie Villaneuva missed a 3 with 5.9 seconds left and Daequan Cook made a free throw. Stuckey made a 3 before the buzzer for the final margin.

Hornets 112, Cavaliers 92 In New York, Greivis Vasquez scored 25 points and Ryan Anderson added 23 to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 112-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.

Anthony Davis had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Brian Roberts scored 15 and Eric Gordon 14 for the Hornets, who snapped a two - game losing streak, including a blowout loss to Miami on Friday. Davis’ double-double was his 17th, tops among NBA rookies.

Kryie Irving returned from a shoulder injury and led the Cavaliers with 31 points and six assists. Cleveland, which lost its eighth straight, was 1-7 in Irving’s absence. Tristan Thompson, Wayne Ellington and Mareese Speights each scored 12 points for the Cavaliers and Shaun Livingston had 11.

Wizards 109, Raptors 92 In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 24 points in his return to the lineup, leading Washington past Toronto.

Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and John Wall added 18 points and 10 assists for Washington.

The Wizards, who came in having lost two in a row on the road, won their seventh straight at home and moved into a tie with Toronto for 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Raptors, losers of six of their last seven. Toronto leading scorer Rudy Gay scored 11 points - about seven below his average - while being limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble.

Toronto, which has lost six of seven, cut a 20-point third-quarter deficit to six twice in the fourth quarter before Washington pulled away.—AP

SAN ANTONIO: Miami Heat’s Rashard Lewis (9) and San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) chase a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP

NEW YORK: The Kansas City Royals have been absent from the playoffs since the day Billy Butler was born. They’ve barely had a winning season in the last two decades. They’ve often lost 100 games in a year. And yet, buoyed by the best record in spring training, hope abounds - for the Royals, for most everybody putting on a big league uniform. “ There’s no reason we shouldn’t be better,” said Butler, the Royals’ All-Star slugger. “How much better that is? I’m not a mind reader. I’m not a projector.”

Ah, opening day.

The hot dogs taste better, the boxscores mean more and most every team thinks it’s just a break or two away from reaching the World Series. A dozen games were set for Monday across the majors. Star pitchers Justin Verlander, Stephen Strasburg and Adam Wainwright try to get off to great starts, old rivalries are renewed at Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium, and a quirky interleague schedule unfolds.

No snow is in the forecast for any ballpark on April Fools’ Day, but freezing temperatures are expected at Target Field in Minnesota when Verlander and the AL champion Tigers take on the Twins.

“It’s going to be cold but I’ve pitched in that kind of weather before,” Verlander said. “I don’t think about it. It’s always cold in Detroit on opening day.”

The season started Sunday night in Houston when the Astros, who shifted from the National League to the American League during the winter, beat the Texas Rangers 8-2. Astros righty Bud Norris threw a called strike to Ian Kinsler to begin the year, and Houston’s Jose Altuve singled for the first hit.

Long the site of baseball’s traditional opener, Cincinnati was going to have a new look Monday. That’s when Josh Hamilton and his new Los Angeles Angels teammates visit Cincinnati in the first interleague matchup this season.

HOUSTON: Melissa Bull and Byron Wilcher watch as fireworks explode following the Houston Astros’ 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers in a season-opening baseball game at Minute Maid Park. —AP

The Astros’ move left 15 teams in each league, meaning an AL vs.

NL matchup most every day this season. “It is very strange,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. On both coasts, there was a very familiar look - Red Sox-Yankees and Giants-Dodgers.

Mariano Rivera was set for his final opening day when the banged-up Yankees hosted Boston. The New York closer is among several big names who missed most or even all of last year - Troy Tulowitzki, Victor Martinez and John Lackey are in that group. Injured stars Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira won’t be in pinstripes for the first pitch.

“It’s still the Yankees, it’s still going to be a good lineup,” Boston starter Jon Lester said Sunday. “They’re missing a few of their big guys but anybody that fills in for them, it’s like what I said, they’re going to put professional at-bats together and still it’s not going to be a walk in the

park.”

No easy decisions, either, for Boston manager John Farrell, one of six new skippers in the majors this year. At Dodger Stadium, Matt Cain starts for the World Series champion San Francisco Giants when they play Los Angeles in the century-old rivalry.

It will mark the 64th season at the microphone for Dodgers announcer Vin Scully. Heck, Tigers manager Jim Leyland seems like a mere pup by comparison, now starting his 50th year in pro ball.

All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez is sidelined for the Dodgers. Around the majors, third basemen Chase Headley of San Diego, David Freese of St. Louis and Brett Lawrie of Toronto will begin the season on the disabled list.

Mets third baseman David Wright plans to be in the lineup at Citi Field to take on San Diego.

He hurt his ribcage at the World Baseball Classic.

“I feel good physically,” Wright said. “It would have been nice to

have maybe a few more at-bats toward the end, but I didn’t have that luxury.”

On Tuesday, there are two more openers - Baltimore at Tampa Bay, and Cleveland at revamped Toronto. All 30 teams will pay tribute to the 20 children and six adults killed last December at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear a memorial patch through Tuesday that includes the seal of Newtown, a black ribbon and 26 stars, and there will be a moment of silence at each stadium.

Seven weeks after teams broke out the bats and balls, players seemed ready to get going. “I’m really prepared. Well, finally spring training is over, it was a long one,” Seattle ace Felix Hernandez said Sunday, a day before his start in Oakland.

“It’s another season. We’re a different team. It’s always special, opening day, not for me but for all the guys,” he said.—AP

Louisville beat Duke to reach Final Four INDIANAPOLIS: Writhing on the ground, his leg splintered, Kevin Ware had only one thing to say to his heartsick Louisville teammates.

“Just go win the game.” The Cardinals did, exploding for a 13-2 run early in the second half that sealed their 85-63 victory over Duke.

Now they’re headed for Atlanta with their eyes on the national title and Ware’s words echoing in their heads.

Top-seeded Louisville - the only No. 1 left will play Wichita State in the national semifinals next Saturday. In Ware’s hometown, no less. “We want to do this for him,” Peyton Siva said. “We know how much it means to him.”

Louisville (33-5) was devastated by Ware’s injury, which occurred with 6:33 still left in the first half. The sophomore had jumped to try and block Tyler Thornton’s 3-point shot but, and as he landed, his right leg snapped midway between his ankle and knee, the bone skewing almost at a right angle. Ware dropped to the floor right in front of the Louisville bench and, almost in unison, his teammates turned away in horror. Thornton grimaced, putting his hand to his mouth as he turned around. “He stumbled a bit for a second and fell, and his leg wasn’t where it should be,” Luke Hancock said. Ware had surgery later Sunday night, and Pitino said he and his son Richard, who recruited Ware, and an equipment manager would spend the night in Indy, along with the team’s doctors.

School officials said doctors reset the bone and inserted a rod into the tibia during the two-hour procedure. Coach Rick Pitino went to help Ware up when he went down - and then saw the player’s bone poking through the skin.

“I literally almost threw up,” Pitino said, his voice catching. “Then I just wanted to get a towel to get it over that. But all the players came over and saw it.” Louisville for ward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor and Chane Behanan, Ware’s closest friend on the team, looked as if he was going to be sick on the cour t, k neeling on his hands and feet.

Hancock patted Ware’s chest as doc tors worked on the sophomore and Russ Smith walked away, pulling his jersey over his eyes.

The arena was silent, and several fans wept and bowed their heads.

Pitino had tears in his eyes as he tried to console his players. Dieng draped an arm around the shoulders of Smith, who repeatedly wiped at his eyes and shook his head.

“It was really hard for me to pull myself together,” Smith said. “I didn’t ever think in a million years I would ever see something like that. And that it happened, especially, to a guy like Kevin Ware, I was completely devastated.”

As the Cardinals (33-5) gathered at halfcourt to try and regroup before play resumed, Pitino called them over to the sideline, saying Ware wanted to talk to them before he left.

“He told us countless times: ‘Just go win this game for me. Just go win this game. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. Just go win this game.’ I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know how he got strength to do it, but he told us to go out there and win.” The injury was so gruesome CBS stopped showing replays of it. Many who saw it were reminded of the horrific bro-

ken leg that ended Joe Theismann’s NFL career, and the former quar terback was among the many who took to Twitter to wish Ware well, saying, “Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.” Pitino wiped away tears as Ware, whom Smith described as the Cardinals’ “little brother” was wheeled off the court. Surgeons reset his leg and inserted a rod in his right tibia during a 2-hour operation at Methodist Hospital. Ware is expected to remain in Indianapolis until at least Tuesday, but the Cardinals hope he can join them in Atlanta, where he moved before he started high school. “He was groggy, in good spirits,” Pitino said when he returned to his hotel late Sunday night after visiting Ware. “He saw us win the trophy and was crying and said it was all worthwhile.”

But when play resumed, it was clear the Cardinals’ minds were elsewhere. They missed four of their next five shots along with two free throws, and were uncharacteristically sloppy. “Honestly, we were in shock,” Hancock said. “I don’t think we did re-group for the rest of the half. I think we were still in such shock. I mean, you could imagine how a team would feel if one of your brothers had this happen to them.” When they went into the locker room,

“Everybody on the team just wanted to step up for him.” Smith converted a three-point play and Siva followed with a silky-smooth jumper from the top of the key. Just like that, Louisville was off. Siva had six points during the run, which was only halted by a timeout.

But Dieng kept it rolling with a jumper and a tip -in. Af ter Plumlee made a pair of free throws, Hancock made a 3 and Lucas Oil Stadium shook from the thunderous cheers of the Louisville fans. The Blue Devils were never close again. Smith finished with 23 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Midwest Region. Siva added 16 while Dieng had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Plumlee had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. But the Blue Devils (30-6) couldn’t overcome a poor start by Curry, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half.

This was only the second time the Blue Devils have reached the regional finals and failed to make it to the Final Four. The only other time? In 1998, when the Blue Devils lost to eventual national champion Kentucky. “I thought we had a chance there, and then, boom,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That’s what they do to teams. They can boom you.”

This was the first time Pitino and

INDIANAPOLIS: Mason Plumlee No. 5 of the Duke Blue Devils attempts a shot against Gorgui Dieng No. 10 of the Louisville Cardinals during the Midwest Regional Final round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.—AFP Pitino’s message was simple. “Don’t lose the game for Kevin Ware,” Smith said. “That’s it, really.”

The Cardinals had finished the first half on a 12-6 run, and Smith padded that by making all of his free throws when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. But just as he did against Michigan State, Duke star Seth Curry got hot after halftime, making two 3s in the first three minutes. Mason Plumlee dunked, and the game was tied at 42.

That, however, was all Louisville needed.

Clawing for every rebound, diving on the floor for loose balls and cranking the intensity up even higher on their ferocious defense, the Cardinals were not going to lose. And everyone, Duke included, knew it.

“These guys really came to play,” Siva said.

Krzyzewski had met in the regional finals since that 1992 classic that ended with Christian Laettner’s improbable buzzer-beater, a game now considered one of the best in NCAA tournament history. This game will be remembered, too, but for very different reasons. As the final seconds ticked down, Behanan, put on Ware’s No. 5 jersey and stood at the end of the bench, screaming and waving a towel in triumph.

“I don’t think we could have gathered ourselves - I know I couldn’t have - if Kevin didn’t say over and over again, ‘Just go win the game,’” Pitino said. “I don’t think we could have gone in the locker room with a loss after seeing that. We had to gather ourselves. We couldn’t lose this game for him. “ We just couldn’t.”—AP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

S P ORTS

History weighs heavily on Berlin’s football clubs BERLIN: Germany’s clubs are among the favorites for the Champions League but the countr y ’s capital remains a barren wasteland for football at the highest level.

For the second time in three years, Berlin is the only major European capital without a top-flight team, although its malaise goes further back in history, with Cold War politics, the Berlin Wall and upheaval all playing their part.

Hertha Berlin, the city’s best supported club, was relegated again last year after a single season in the Bundesliga, and though it looks assured of bouncing straight back into the top flight again, few in the capital expect it to challenge for the title or play in the Champions League again anytime soon.

It seems the city’s division into East and West after the Second World War has had a lasting effect. No team from the German capital has won the Bundesliga since it was formed 50 years ago and united Germany has not had a Berlin-based champion since 1931, when Hertha defended its first title.

East Germany’s Oberliga, which ran from 1949 to 1991, did produce winners from the divided capital Dynamo Berlin and Vorwaerts Berlin but Dynamo’s record of 10 successive titles between 1979-88 is tarnished due to its association with the state’s secret police and allegations of match-fixing, while Vorwaerts - the army team - was moved from Leipzig to fulfill a political agenda in 1953.

Vorwaerts claimed six Oberliga titles between 1958-69, two years before the club was moved again to Frankfurt (Oder) near the Polish border.

“They certainly are tainted, but more so in the case of Dynamo because the link to (Stasi chief Erich) Mielke adds a more insidious side to it when looking back,” Jacob Sweetman of the Berlin-based football magazine No Dice told The Associated Press.

But Sweetman added it would be disingenuous to say Dynamo’s titles are entirely synonymous with Mielke’s benefaction.

“In fact one could say that Dynamo’s relative lack of success in

Europe was as much down to the political decision to not allow foreign players into the leagues, so this influence wasn’t actually always for the best,” he said.

East German sides’ fortunes have dipped following reunification.

Dynamo now plays at fifth-tier level, while Vorwaerts merged with another local side and plays at a level below.

Interest in football has always been high in the German capital. The country’s oldest active club is Berliner FC Germania, founded in 1888. Now it languishes at 10th-tier level.

Berlin clubs did taste success at national level after Germany’s first official championship was played in 1903, with Union 92 Berlin claiming the city’s first title two years later, and Viktoria Berlin emerging victorious in 1908 and 1911.

Her tha ended its run of four straight German championship final defeats with back-to-back titles in 1930-31. When the Bundesliga was formed in 1963, Hertha was one of its inaugural members, but the club was demoted after two seasons for attempting to bribe players to move to West Berlin, which had been isolated following the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

The German football federation was keen to have a side from the divided city in West Germany’s top league and so Tasmania Berlin was promoted through a complicated process. Tasmania quickly found itself out of its depth, however, and completed the worst Bundesliga season in history in 1966, with just two wins from 34 games.

Tennis Borussia Berlin, Hertha’s main city rival, could only manage two Bundesliga seasons in the 1970s before dropping to the lower leagues.

Financial problems took their toll as they did with so many of the city’s clubs.

Blau-Weiss 90 Berlin, the successor to Union 92 Berlin following its merger with another local side, folded in 1992. It had managed one Bundesliga season in 1986-87.

Both Borussia and the successor to Tasmania, which was declared bankrupt in 1973, currently play in the sixth-tier Berlin-Liga.

Hertha was once described as a

“sleeping giant” by former Germany great Franz Beckenbauer. But it has found it difficult to draw fans from across the East-West divide.

Arguably, the club’s greatest success was its Champions League appearance in 1999, when it drew 1-1 with Barcelona in the second group stage. But promise has given way to despair in recent years.

Her tha fan Johannes Kellner blamed poor management over successive years for wasting transfer fees, not giving young players enough time to develop and failing to keep players’ egos grounded. He also blamed the media for stoking unrealistic expectations and increasing the pressure at the club.

“If Hertha are promoted and start doing well (in the Bundesliga), by November they will be talking about reaching Europe,” Kellner told the AP. Not all football fans in the city would welcome Hertha’s promotion back to the top flight. One benefit of demotion was giving Berlin a real derby, thanks to the emergence in recent years of former East German side Union Berlin, not to be confused with the 1905 German championship winner.

Union had little success in the Oberliga but has emerged from hated city rival Dynamo’s shadow, highlighting its working class roots, overcoming financial difficulties and a spell at four th-tier level to become the German capital’s second-best supported side.

Fans gave blood under the slogan “Bleed for Union” to raise almost ‚Ǩ1.5 million for the club in 2004 and hundreds volunteered to rebuild the stadium five years later.

The Bundesliga would likely be a step too far for the financially prudent club and Union’s fans are happy to cheer their side on in in the grittier and less glamorous second division.

Indeed, football in the lower leagues is thriving, with the Berlin Football Federation counting over 400 clubs including more than 3,000 teams among its members.

Only Hertha’s fans retain notions and hopes of grandeur. After all, not many second division sides boast stadiums with the Olympiastadion’s capacity of 74,220.—AP

Juve all smiles for big clash at Bayern MUNICH: Juventus will enter today’s heavyweight clash with Bayern Munich with smiles on their faces, an 18match unbeaten record in Europe behind them and no concerns about the Bavarians’ nine-goal demolition of Hamburg.

Today’s quarter-final first leg is a match where the Champions League can live up to its hype, with teams who have dominated the season in Germany and Italy respectively and share 50 domestic titles between them.

Bayern, who won 4-1 in Turin when the teams last met in the 2009/10 season, have a 20-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga and produced their most emphatic win of the season on Saturday when they flattened Hamburg 9-2.

They need two more points from six games to wrap up their 23rd German league title. Italian champions Juventus come into the game with a nine-point lead at home and well on course for a 29th Serie A title.

“We’ll head to Munich with a spring in our step

MUNICH: Juventus French striker Nicolas Anelka (left) and Swiss defender Stephan Lichtsteiner joke during the final team training on the eve of UEFA Champions League quarter final first-leg football match against Bayern Munich. —AFP knowing that we’ve done our job on the domestic front,” said Juventus coach Antonio Conte after his side won 21 away to bitter rivals Inter Milan on Saturday. “We’ll head there to keep alive our dream and to test our mettle in the European arena, and we’ll do it with a smile and no fear,” added Conte, himself a rather dour figure.

“We just want to see how far behind Europe’s best we are. We’ll try to put out a strong physical side but I’ll

sleep on it first,” he added.

Back in the quarter-finals after a seven-year wait, Juventus have been happy to accept the underdogs’ role, saying they cannot match the brash Bavarians’ spending power.

Yet, in European terms, they have looked more impressive than their opponents. Although Bayern are a fearsome prospect on their day, they are prone to sudden lapses especially at the Allianz Arena which hosts the first leg.

They lost last season’s Champions League final at their own stadium, beaten on penalties by Chelsea after a 1-1 draw, and were knocked out by Inter Milan at home two seasons ago, losing 3-2 in front of their own fans after winning the first leg 1-0 away.

Bayern suffered another bout of Allianz jitters earlier this month when, having won 3-1 at Arsenal in the first leg of their last-16 tie, they froze in the return and lost 20, surviving by the skin of their teeth thanks to the away goals rule.

Bayern also suffered a shock 3-1 defeat away to BATE Borisov in the group stage this season, although they bounced back convincingly to reach the last 16.

Juventus, aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time in a decade, have not lost in European competition for three years since a 4-1 defeat to Fulham in the Europa League.

They were knocked out of the following year’s Europa League without losing any of their 10 games and are also unbeaten in the current campaign, where they have won their last six games.

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, struggling to contain the climate of jubilation at a club nicknamed FC Hollywood, did his best to calm things down after Saturday’s gala display.

“We played textbook football at times, and that’s basically what we have to do on Tuesday,” said Heynckes, who will be without midfielder Javi Martinez because the Bundesliga’s record signing is suspended.

“It definitely won’t be possible in the same way,” he said cautiously. “Tuesday will be a totally different match. Juventus are one of the top teams in Europe, very aggressive and full of running.”

Teams: Bayern Munich: 1-Manuel Neuer; 21-Philipp Lahm, 5Daniel Van Buyten, 4-Dante, 27-David Alaba; 6-Bastian Schweinsteiger; 25-Thomas Mueller, 39-Toni Kroos, 10Arjen Robben, 7-Franck Ribery; 9-Mario Mandzukic Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 15-Andrea Barzagli, 3Giorgio Chiellini, 19-Leonardo Bonucci; 21-Andrea Pirlo; 23-Arturo Vidal, 6-Paul Pogba, 8-Claudio Marchisio, 22Kwadwo Asamoah; 32-Alessandro Matri, 27-Fabio Quagliarella.—Reuters

Photo of the day

Louie Vito from the USA performs at the Superpipe Finals at the X Games in Tignes, France. www.redbullcontentpool.com

PSG face greatest test against Barca PARIS: Qatari-backed Paris St Germain’s mission to be considered one of Europe’s top clubs faces its toughest test yet when they host Barcelona in an intriguing Champions League quarter-final first leg today.

Barcelona, having recovered from a first-leg stumble in their last-16 tie against AC Milan to qualify for the last eight 4-2 on aggregate, are widely considered favourites to win the trophy for the fourth time in eight seasons at Wembley in May. PSG, who saw off Valencia in the last 16, believe however that this could be a turning point in their climb to the peak of the European game.

The wealthy French club, under experienced coach Carlo Ancelotti, are on course for their first domestic title for 18 years as well as being in the last eight of the Champions League after an 18-year absence. They go into today’s tie, however, as underdogs for the first time this season - and will do well to survive it.

Qatari fund QSI has set PSG a tough agenda of winning the Champions League within five years, having bought the club last year and poured huge amounts of money into transfers to build a team made for Europe.

Centre back Thiago Silva, front man Zlatan Ibrahimovic and forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, who all signed last year, have been key in helping PSG reach this stage, and at least they have a good omen on their side.

The last time they reached the quarter-finals in 1995, they beat Barcelona but much has changed since. PSG have been absent while Barcelona have been crowned European champions three times.

Thiago Silva said the tie was “the game we all were dreaming about” and the expensively purchased trio

will have to raise their level to the heights if PSG are to stand any chance of winning.

Latest signing David Beckham, who joined them on a five-month deal in January, believes they can meet these expectations.

“This club have high aspirations.

We want to go as far as we can in all competitions,” the former England captain told reporters after the Ligue 1 home win over champions Montpellier on Friday.

“It’s obvious that we have the players for it. There’s no doubt we have the mentality. Now, it’s up to us to prove it on the pitch. “Or course, it will hard, but very exciting too,” added Beckham.

PSG’s chances were boosted when Ibrahimovic was freed to face his former club after the two-match ban imposed following his dismissal at Valencia was halved. “It changes the deal,” midfield Clement Chantome said. Ibrahimovic had a mixed yearlong spell at Barca but said facing them again would not pose any problems for him.

“I have already played against Barcelona since I left and the game will be special for everybody here,” said the Swede, who faced his former team mates in the group stage with AC Milan in 2011.

“How to beat them is the question.

We will need to stay focused and the coach will probably set up specific tactics to block the best team in the world.”

While PSG will bank on Ancelotti’s tactical expertise, his Barcelona counterpart Tito Vilanova could return to the dugout for the first time after two months in New York receiving cancer treatment during which his assistant Jordi Roura has been in charge.

Vilanova flew back to Barcelona

last week and took training on Friday but did not travel with the side to Vigo on Saturday.

“The return of Tito re-energises the whole team,” goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto said after their 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo. The La Liga leaders maintained their 13-point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of the standings, with nine games left to play, but were disappointed to concede a late equaliser despite having fielded a weakened side.

World Player of the Year Lionel Messi set up the first and scored the second to complete a run of netting in 19 successive league games, against every team in La Liga consecutively.

Vilanova called up Jordi Alba and Xavi, who missed Saturday’s game but have both recovered from hamstring strains they suffered while on international duty with Spain.

Captain Carles Puyol and Adriano Correia are out injured and, with forward Pedro suspended, Cristian Tello could feature in Paris. The pacy 21year-old winger scored Barca’s first against Celta and set up the second for Messi. “Tello is an option,” Roura said. “He is a player with a lot of talent who brings something different to the team. He is working well and gaining the aggression he lacked. Today he played an extraordinary game.”

Teams (probable): Paris St Germain: 30-Salvatore Sirigu; 26-Christophe Jallet, 2-Thiago Silva, 13-Alex, 17-Maxwell; 29-Lucas, 24-Marco Verratti, 14-Blaise Matuidi, 27-Javier Pastore; 18-Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 11-Ezequiel Lavezzi Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 2-Dani Alves, 3-Gerard Pique,14-Javier Mascherano, 18-Jordi Alba; 16-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 4Cesc Fabregas, 10-Lionel Messi, 7David Villa. —Reuters

PARIS: Barcelona’s midfielder Andres Iniesta (center) runs with teammates during a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match against Paris Saint-Germain. —AFP

San Lorenzo falter in Argentina BUENOS AIRES: Newell’s Old Boys spoilt San Lorenzo’s Easter Sunday with a 1-0 win in the Saints’ first Argentine championship home match since Pope Francis became their most famous fan.

Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez did the damage with a superb goal in the 37th minute of a match at the Nuevo Gasometro that had begun in a party atmosphere.

Striker Ignacio Scocco was inside the

Newell’s half when he received a clearance from his goalkeeper and he threaded a fine low ball that split the defence for Rodriguez to run onto and steer home under Saints keeper Pablo Migliore.

Newell’s went joint top on 16 points from seven matches in the “Final” championship standings, although Lanus can pull three points clear again if they beat Quilmes at home on Monday. San Lorenzo are in mid-

table with nine points. The Saints lined up for a team photo before kickoff in front of a large red and blue banner adorned with a picture of Jorge Bergoglio, the Argentine pope who has been a club member since his childhood.

The Saints had enjoyed a victory, 1-0 away to Colon in Santa Fe, in their first match after the papal annoitment but league action was interrupted last weekend for World Cup qualifiers. Martin Palermo’s Godoy Cruz are third

with 14 points after they came from behind to beat San Martin 3-2 away in an exciting Andean “clasico” in San Juan.

Ten-man Boca Juniors held Independiente 1-1 in Sunday’s big derby at the Libertadores de America stadium in the capital between two of Argentina’s top clubs.

Boca had defender Cristian Cellay sent off in the 11th minute, then had goalkeeper Agustin Orion to thank for saving a 17th

minute penalty from midfielder “Rolfi” Montenegro before striker Santiago Silva gave them the lead in the 38th. Independiente, beset by relegation worries, equalised through Paraguayan defender Claudio Morel Rodriguez in the 63rd minute. River Plate are fourth with 13 points after being held 0-0 at home on Saturday by title holders Velez Sarsfield, winners of the “Inicial” championship in the first half of the season.—Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

S P ORT S

Atletico denied second spot

MEXICO: Raul Jimenez of America celebrates his goal against Guadalajara, during their Mexican Clausura tournament. —AFP

Tigres stay unbeaten MEXICO: Unbeaten UANL Tigres hold a two-point lead in the Mexican Clausura championship after a 2-1 win at relegation threatened Puebla on Sunday.

The 2011 Apertura champions have taken 28 points from 12 matches with Atlas, who beat Cruz Azul 2-1 away on Saturday, in second place.

Tigres went ahead after half an hour when Argentine Lucas Lobos found fellow midfielder Juninho on the right and the Brazilian volleyed the ball into the middle to set up Spaniard Luis Garcia for the score. Former US international DaMarcus Beasley, a second half substitute, put Puebla back on level terms in the 58th minute when he rose between the central defenders to head home the equaliser

from a William Paredes cross.

Tigres, who hit the post though Garcia three minutes later, scored the winner in the 86th minute when Alan Pulido tapped in after Puebla goalkeeper Hugo Hernandez had failed to hold a stinging shot from substitute Elias Hernandez.

Champions Tijuana, winners of the Apertura title in the first half of the season, lost 1-0 at Toluca on Saturday, their fifth defeat in the championship.

Tijuana, who have concentrated this year on their debut participation in South America’s elite club tournament the Libertadores Cup, dropped out of the top eight in the standings. After the 17 rounds of the league format, the top eight qualify for the knockout phase.—Reuters

Leeds owner studying investor offers DUBAI: GFH Capital, the unit of a Bahraini investment firm that bought Leeds United in December, is studying several offers from investors for stakes in the English soccer club, the Dubaibased firm said yesterday.

Last week, Bahrain-based International Investment Bank bought a 10 percent stake in the club as part of GFH Capital’s strategy of bringing in additional investors to develop the Championship (second division) club.

“GFH Capital has received several offers from a number of investors, which are currently being studied and evaluated,” GFH Capital’s parent company Gulf Finance House said in a filing to the Dubai stock exchange.

The statement added that the sale of any stakes in Leeds United were

part of the company’s investment strategy and not a sign of a weak financial position.

There was confusion over the future of the club when it emerged last week that Gulf Finance House had said in its annual report that the club was already up for sale again.

Gulf Finance House has been forced into a number of debt restructurings since 2010 as it struggled with its debts in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

It completed a takeover of the club in December in a deal reportedly worth 52 million pounds ($79 million) Leeds United currently sits 11th in the 24-team Championship, having won just one of their last seven league games.—Reuters

San Lorenzo captain arrested and charged BUENOS AIRES: San Lorenzo captain and goalkeeper Pablo Migliore has been arrested on charges of perverting the course of justice in a homicide investigation, the Argentine club said.

Migliore was arrested on Sunday after his team lost 1-0 to Newell’s Old Boys in a “Final” league championship match in a police operation at their Nuevo Gasometro ground in the capital.

Migliore is suspected of aiding Maximiliano Mazzaro, an alleged high-ranking member of Boca Juniors hard core barrabrava fans, often associated with football hooliganism.

Mazzaro is wanted by police for his alleged role in the death of Ernesto Cirino, who died from injuries sustained in a 2011 beating.

The goalkeeper’s lawyer, Matias Morla, said they would try to have Migliore released as soon as possible. “He isn’t allowed to communicate with us. For now he is isn’t going to make a statement,” Morla told reporters.

“Since the investigation has a nondisclosure order we have to wait until that is lifted. Equally, the crime he is charged with allows for his release, so today we will ask for that.”

Police claim they have evidence that the 31-year-old Migliore has been in contact with Mazzaro. San Lorenzo club president

Pablo Migliore Matias Lammens explained how police arrested Migliore after Sunday’s match.

“The search warrant arrived during halftime and of course with a court order from a judge we are not going to deny their entry. They came in and when the game finished they communicated with the player,” said Lammens.

A convoy of police vehicles transported Migliore, who played for Huracan, Boca and Racing Club before joining San Lorenzo, to a nearby police station.

While police continue to search for Mazzaro’s whereabouts, Mauro Martin, another leader of the same Boca fan group was arrested earlier this month as part of the same investigation and is awaiting trial.—Reuters

MADRID: Atletico Madrid missed out on the chance to go second in La Liga when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by improving Valencia on Sunday.

Radamel Falcao cancelled out Jonas’s strike, both goals coming in the first six minutes, leaving Diego Simeone’s side third with 61 points and nine games left in the season.

Atletico are a point behind city rivals and King’s Cup final opponents Real Madrid in second, 14 adrift of leaders Barcelona.

Barcelona, with 75 points, drew 2-2 at lowly Celta Vigo on Saturday when Real were held 1-1 at Real Zaragoza. An own goal by Javi Lopez earned Real Sociedad a deserved 2-2 draw at Espanyol to leave them fourth with 48 points, in the last the Champions League qualification berth.

Malaga, who won 3-1 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, were fifth with 47 and Valencia sixth with 46. Valencia made a whirlwind start at the Calderon and took the lead after five minutes when Jonas took advantage of slack defending to score from close range.

Atletico struck back within a minute as Arda Turan crossed and Falcao beat the offside trap to volley the equaliser, his 22nd goal of the campaign.

Atletico soaked up intense pressure to make it to halftime without conceding a second, thanks in part to great saves from Thibaut Courtois. Atletico wrestled control after the break but either side could have snatched the honours in an entertaining clash. It was only the second time this season that Atletico had failed to win at home in the league. “A point keeps our direct rivals at the same distance. If you can’t win, the least you can do is

MADRID: Atletico Madrid’s Brazilian defender Filipe Luis (left) vies with Valencia’s Brazilian forward Jonas Gonsalves during the Spanish League football match. —AFP

draw,” Atletico coach Simeone told a news conference.

“They have competed in the Champions League, we were in the Europa League. They have the third best squad in La Liga after Madrid and Barca. I have no complaints about our performance.”

In Barcelona, Espanyol took the lead after nine minutes when Simao crossed low for former Spain striker Sergio Garcia to dink in a close-range shot.

Sociedad patiently worked their way back into the game and levelled when David Zurutuza volleyed a long-range lob into the empty net from a weak punched clearance.

A wonderful piece of skill from Sergio Garcia won him space on the left and he crossed for Christian Stuani to volley Espanyol back in front again before the break.

The visitors dominated the second period and were well worth the equaliser when Espanyol’s Lopez stuck out a foot to block Antoine Griezmann’s cross and slotted the ball inside his own near post. Surprise-packages Sociedad extended their run to 19 games with only one defeat.

In the midday kickoff, Kike Sola scored twice as Osasuna came from behind to win 3-1 at Real Valladolid.

At the foot of the standings, Deportivo La Coruna fired their survival hopes with a 3-2 comeback victory at fellow strugglers Real Mallorca, earning their first away win of the campaign.

Silvio, Carlos Marchena and Riki netted the goals that put Depor 3-1 up midway through the second half, but a scrappy late strike from Emilio Nsue ensured a nail-biting finale at the Iberostar stadium. Depor remain bottom with 23 points but are now just four behind 17th-placed Zaragoza and safety. Mallorca are in 19th with 24 points, behind Celta on goal difference.—Reuters

Sio shines as Sochaux stun Lyon PARIS: Giovanni Sio scored one goal and set up another to lead Sochaux to a stunning 2-1 victory at misfiring Olympique Lyon which left Paris St Germain seven points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday. Sio put the visitors ahead with a powerful header in the 50th minute and set Cedric Bakambu up for the winning goal with two minutes left. Lyon, who hit the woodwork three times and recorded only five attempts on target out of 22, needed a 68th-minute penalty by Bafetimbi Gomis to find the net.

Lyon have not won in their four last league games and slipped to the third spot with 53 points after Olympique Marseille leapfrogged them thanks to a 10 win at Nice in the day’s early kickoff.

“We have not to ruin everything after our very good first half of the season. Let’s go back to work and keep our spirits up,” Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons told French channel Canal+.

Marseille have 54 points and trail PSG, who beat Montpellier 1-0 at home on Friday, by seven.

Nice are sixth on 48.

In the day ’s other game, Salomon Kalou and Nolan Roux were on target to help Lille climb to fifth on 49 with a 2-1 victory at 18th-placed Brest. The 2011 champions are just one point behind fourth-placed St Etienne. Sochaux moved up to 17th after completing a perfect 2013 record against the league’s top three having beaten PSG and Marseille since January.

Although Lyon dominated possession from the start, the visiting side could have taken an early lead but Sio headed a Sebastien Corchia cross on to the post. The Ivory Coast frontman, who joined during the winter transfer window, did find the net five minutes into the second half. The home team pushed

FRANCE: Lyon’s Argentinian forward Lisandro Lopez (center) vies with Sochaux’s French goalkeeper Simon Pouplin (left) during the French League football match. —AFP hard for an equaliser and Alexandre Lacazette went close to levelling at 1-1 but his shoot from the right struck the woodwork, a minute before he was awarded the penalty converted

by Gomis. Lyon laid siege to their gallant visitors’ area but the bad luck continued as a Lisandro Lopez header struck the woodwork and Sochaux took advantage of a rare attack to regain the lead.

Clement Grenier could have saved a point for Lyon in stoppage time but his 25-yard free kick was parried on to the crossbar. There were fewer chances for Marseille in Nice but the first proved enough for Andre-Pierre

Gignac to score his 10th goal of the season and earn his side their eighth away win. Gignac headed home a Mathieu Valbuena corner in the 15th minute and wasted two other first-half opportunities to secure the victory for Marseille, who controlled the game thanks to their tough defence and collective discipline.

“We have been criticised but we have shown the same quality since the season started,” OM coach Elie Baup told French channel beIN Sport.

“There are still eight games left and we will have to fight hard to stay on the podium.”It was not all good news for

Marseille, however, as key centre back Nicolas Nkoulou had to leave the pitch in the second half with a thigh injury.

“I’ll undergo some tests tomorrow,” the Cameroon defender said.

Florian Raspentino put Brest ahead in the 10th minute but their lead was shor t-lived as Salomon Kalou equalised seven minutes later with a header.

The visitors barely threatened Brest, who have not won a ny o f t h e i r l a s t n i n e h o m e games, until Nolan Roux ran on to the goal from a neat Benoit Pedretti deep pass to seal the victory with 12 minutes to go. —Reuters

Pato penalty gives Corinthians victory RIO DE JANEIRO: Alexandre Pato won and converted a late, controversial penalty to give Corinthians a 2-1 win derby win over bitter rivals Sao Paulo.

The former AC Milan forward intercepted a back pass and went over as he was challenged by Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni.

Sao Paulo protested furiously, delaying the match for seven minutes before Pato finally converted from the spot. “It was a disgrace, both players went for the ball and he went in with his foot raised and could have broken my foot,” Sao Paulo captain Rogerio told reporters after Sunday’s Paulista championship match at the Morumbi.

“It was 100 percent a penalty, if he hadn’t

stopped me, I would have scored into an empty goal,” retorted Pato. Jadson gave championship leaders Sao Paulo, already qualified for the quarter-finals, an early lead and Danilo levelled for Club World Cup winners Corinthians four minutes before halftime against the run of play.

Santos forward Neymar scored his first goal since Feb. 10 to help his side to a 2-1 win over Oeste in another of Sunday’s games.

Former Brazil fullback Branco quit as coach of Guarani after they lost 3-0 at home to Atletico Sorocaba, leaving them bottom of the table.

“The supporters don’t deserve this,” said the 1994 World Cup winner who played for Por to, Genoa and had a shor t spell at

Middlesbrough in his club career. The Paulista is one of a plethora of regional tournaments which kick off the Brazilian season.—Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

UEFA Champions League PSG v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +5

21:45

Bayern v Juventus Aljazeera Sport +4

21:45

Points holds nerve to clinch Houston Open

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

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Heat roll over Spurs

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PSG face greatest test against Barca

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LONDON: Manchester United’s English defender Chris Smalling (right) vies with Chelsea’s Senegalese striker Demba Ba (left) during their English FA Cup quarter final replay football match at Stamford Bridge. — AFP

Ba goal, Cech save see Chelsea through LONDON: Holders Chelsea kept one hand on the FA Cup by overcoming a lacklustre Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge yesterday in their quarter-final replay.

Senegalese striker Demba Ba settled the tie with a memorable goal early in the second half to send Chelsea into the last four for the sixth time in eight seasons.

Winners of four of the last six tournaments, Chelsea will play Manchester City in the semifinals at Wembley Stadium on April 14.

Despite his unpopularity with the Chelsea fans, interim manager Rafael Benitez could yet end the season with two trophies, as Russians Rubin Kazan await in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

“It was a great win,” said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who produced a breath-taking save from Javier Hernandez to preserve his

side’s lead. “We love Wembley, we respect the FA Cup as a whole and we always want to win.

“For my save, it was a great ball into the box and I just went as fast as I could and let my left arm do the job. Luckily I was able to reach it.”

United, meanwhile, have now gone nine years without winning the FA Cup, having seen hopes of a league, cup and Champions League treble evaporate in the space of a month.

Their 15-point lead in the Premier League means they are virtually guaranteed to succeed City as champions, but manager Alex Ferguson faces the odd prospect of an end to the campaign with nothing to play for.

“We spoke about Demba Ba, with the players’ experience of playing against him when he played for Newcastle,” said Ferguson.

“He scored that exact type of goal against us a while back and we were caught napping.”

Benitez complained that Ferguson snubbed his offer of a handshake prior to the 2-2 draw in the sides’ first meeting, but the United manager put the matter to bed by offering Benitez a perfunctory handshake as the Spaniard emerged from the tunnel.

Instead, the day’s first headlines were created by Ferguson’s team selection. With Wayne Rooney absent due to a groin injury and Robin van Persie on the bench, Danny Welbeck supported Javier Hernandez in attack, while Phil Jones bolstered the midfield. Benitez made six changes to the team beaten at Southampton on Saturday, and if there was unfamiliarity in the two line-ups, it told in a very cautious opening.

Neither goalkeeper was tested until United

number one David de Gea blocked from Ba in the 31st minute, by which time the hosts had already lost Ashley Cole to an apparent hamstring injury.

United’s imprecision in attack forced them to rely on shots from range, with Nani drilling narrowly wide from 25 yards and Hernandez almost embarrassing Cech with a skidding shot that the Czech goalkeeper kicked away in unorthodox fashion.

The creative players were beginning to come into the game though, and at the other end Eden Hazard bent a shot over the bar from Oscar’s lay-off.

Juan Mata had been quiet, but four minutes into the second half he created the opening goal with a lofted pass that Ba hooked past De Gea with a sublime volley.

A United equaliser seemed certain in the

Sharapova, Serena pleased with game ahead of French Open

Little known Qatari eyes seat at FIFA’s top table SINGAPORE: Having successfully navigated Qatar’s unlikely bid to land the right to host the World Cup, ambitious if somewhat anonymous lawyer Hassan Al Thawadi now wants a seat on FIFA’s powerful executive committee.

The 34-year-old Qatari acknowledges his first task is to make introductions as he heads into an AFC election against the experienced Bahraini Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, whom he describes as a ‘dear friend’.

“I have to focus on people getting to know me and find out who I am. A lot of people might think of Qatar 2022 and that’s all they know about me,” Al Thawadi told Reuters in Singapore on Sunday after meeting with the country’s football association.

“With some federations, they don’t know who I am.” Al Thawadi’s low profile comes from not being a member of the Qatari Football Association (QFA) and therefore not part of the continental governing body, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Having prevailed despite the laughs and sniggers when he first pitched the idea of a World Cup in the desert, however, there must be few obstacles he views as unsurpassable.

He has zigzagged across Asia in recent weeks to meet and greet with numerous member associations ahead of the elections in Kuala Lumpur on May 2, when Sheikh Salman will also be standing for AFC President.

His tour has also seen him meet with FIFA President Sepp Blatter, although the influential Swiss told him he remained neutral in the vote between the two West Asian candidates.

While Al Thawadi’s lack of experience may count against him, he can also boast to have had no part of the AFC’s recent murky past-including

the axing of his fellow Qatari Mohammed Bin Hammam as president after being found guilty

by FIFA of corruption.

“All I can say is this is me, whether that is an advantage or a disadvantage is what other people are going to have to judge,” Al Thawadi said.

“I think the AFC, or Asian football in general over the last two or three years, has obviously gone through a very bumpy ride in many different aspects but I believe in the potential it has.

“What I would like to do is come back on a unified platform and create a unified Asia so that the small and the big can both contribute and both benefit,” he said, acknowledging he is not the first to attempt to bring together the often fractured region.

While his views on the use of goalline technology and much of his manifesto remain under wraps, he did reveal that he wants to create a blueprint centered on four key areas — commercial, technical, social and administrative — that all member associations can subscribe to.

Education programmes were also prominent in his plan. “Access to education for players and other stakeholders in football is of the utmost importance in developing a sustainable industry around the sport,” he said, highlighting the need for a strong link between associations and universities and schools. “ This provides players with longer-term careers in the game, creates an industry through football that in turn can create jobs and assist local economies — while also ensuring that football is administered in a way that furthers social development across the continent.”

And of course, a seat in the FIFA executive committee might just help smooth relations with some, most notably UEFA president Michel

61st minute when Hernandez ghosted in to meet Welbeck’s cross with a close-range header, but Cech showed astonishing reflexes to deflect the ball over the bar.

Ferguson sent on van Persie, followed by Ryan Giggs, by which time Mata had threatened to extend the hosts’ lead by thrashing a shot into the side netting.

United had another close shave moments later, with Hazard seizing on a loose pass from Michael Carrick and bearing down on goal, only to roll his shot wide from 12 yards.

Ramires, Mata and Oscar also shot wide, while van Persie sent both of United’s best chances of an equaliser over the crossbar.

Mata could even have made it 2-0 in the 89th minute, but after a neat exchange with Hazard, his shot was fielded by De Gea. — AFP

Hassan Al Thawadi Platini, who have continually said Qatar should be forced to hold the World Cup in the winter.

“Being part of FIFA’s family in the executive committee and the AFC I think it will potentially also provide insight into how the World Cup can be of further benefit and it compliments each other rather than being mutually exclusive,” he added, while admitting the criticism had been difficult.

“It is a very, very valuable experience and one that has built character, one that has taught me a lot about myself and more importantly my team and it is an experience that I would never think of replacing or substituting.” — Reuters

MIAMI: Maria Sharapova is pleased with the state of her game as she prepares to begin her clay-court preparations for defending the French Open title, even though the Russian star still has no title at Miami. World No. 2 Sharapova led by a set and a break before world No. 1 Serena Williams battled back, capturing the final 10 games on her way to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory in Saturday’s WTA Miami hardcourt final.

Williams won her sixth Miami crown and denied Sharapova her first Miami title, dropping the Russian to 0-5 in Miami finals.

Williams has beaten Sharapova 11 times in a row and leads their overall rivalry 12-2.

But after running off 11 match wins in a row overall before the loss, including a victory at Indian Wells without Williams in the field, Sharapova has greater confidence in her game and her chances to defend at Roland Garros.

“When you experience such a nice moment in your career, to be able to come back there and to play on that court again where you lifted the trophy, won the match point, it’s always special and meaningful,” Sharapova said. “I’ll treat it as any other title that maybe I haven’t won and really want to win because I would love to win it again.”

She had hoped to collect a first Miami crown but was pleased that she took a set off Williams for the first time since the 2008 quarter-finals on clay in Charleston, South Carolina.

“It’s tough to lose in the final stage because you’ve worked so hard to get there, no doubt about that,” Sharapova said.

“But it is a really nice stage to be at. It’s a nice opportunity that you’re giving yourself.

The more that I give myself this opportunity, the better chance that I have of winning.

That’s what I have to think about. “Within a tournament there are a lot of ups and downs and I’m really happy with what I have been able to achieve in the last month.”

Williams praised Sharapova’s effort even as she avoided losing to the Russian for the first time since 2004. “Maria played really the best I have seen her play,” Williams said.

“She was moving unbelievable and she was hitting winners from everywhere. “I feel like she lifted her level.”

Sharapova, however, saw Williams stretch her game when faced with the possibility of defeat. “That’s why she’s No. 1 in the world. She’s really capable of doing that,” Sharapova said. “I was controlling a lot of the points in the first set and the beginning of the second. Then toward the end, I wasn’t there.

“I was losing a little bit of pace on my ball, which hurt me, and against a player like Serena, you can’t really do that.”

Williams will begin her clay season next week at Charleston, but unlike Sharapova she is not talking about taking the French Open trophy just yet.

“My goal is to win a match at Roland Garros this year, take it one at a time,” Williams said. “I love the French Open. I love the clay. I love sliding. Hopefully I can just keep winning matches on clay. I’ll probably hit just a few tomorrow just to get sliding a little bit, because I have a match so soon.”

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, 25, is a semi-final loser at the Australian Open, Indian Wells champion and Miami runner-up this year just as she was in 2006 when she won her only US Open title.”I like that,” Sharapova said. “Let’s write it down and put it in a pocket.” — AFP

Business

Markets look less worried in 2013 Page 22 KSE witnesses variance in March Page 24

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

Burgan Bank hosts annual general assembly meeting

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Automak adds Higer dealership to portfolio Page 26

TEHRAN: Five tons of ice-cream (left) made by Iranian Choopan dairy is displayed during a ceremony at the Tochal mountainous area of northern Tehran yesterday. (Inset) An Iranian woman eats ice-cream during the ceremony. — AP

Iran hopes to break ice cream record Giant tub is 6.5 feet wide TEHRAN: An Iranian dairy company unveiled a five-ton tub of chocolate ice cream in Tehran yesterday in a bid to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. The company, Choopan, put the giant tub, which is more than two metres (6.5 feet) wide and 1.60 metres (5.2 feet) tall on display at a ski resort in the foothills of Tochal, just north of the capital,

where over 10,000 people came to see it. “We finished making the ice cream on Sunday, and it took us eight hours to fill the tub,” Khashayar Baheri, CEO of Choopan told AFP. “We recorded exactly how we made the ice cream and we will give all the documents to Guinness as evidence to support our attempt,” he added. Representatives of the

Qatar budget spending to jump 18% this year DOHA/DUBAI: Qatar plans to boost government spending by 18 percent to 210.6 billion riyals ($57.8 billion) in the 2013/14 fiscal year that began yesterday, the QNA state news agency quoted Finance and Economy Minister Youssef Kamal as saying. Analysts said the planned spending increase suggested that after a slower start than many businessmen had expected, the wealthy Gulf state was moving to implement a massive infrastructure building programme in preparation to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament.

“It shows how serious the country is about racheting up infrastructure development to get ready for 2022,” said Farah Ahmed Hersi, senior economist at Masraf Al-Rayan bank in Doha. Simon Williams, HSBC’s chief economist for the Gulf, said: “Budgeting in Qatar should be taken as a statement of intent rather than a detailed financial plan. “This budget makes clear that Qatar not only intends to drive spending upward, it has the means to do so.”

The Emir of the tiny, gas-rich state yesterday approved a budget with revenues of 218.1 billion riyals and a planned surplus of 7.4 billion, well down from a surplus of 27.7 billion riyals it pencilled in for the previous fiscal year, QNA said. “The surplus decrease is understandable. When external accounts are that healthy, there is a natural tendency to increase spending, and in doing so, you dig into your surplus. But that’s okay - 7 billion riyals is still quite healthy,” Hersi said.

Williams said he was not concerned by the anticipated surplus

decrease. “The real challenge for them is to execute what’s planned.”

Qatar’s infrastructure building plans envisage spending about $140 billion through 2022 on a rail system, a new airport, a seaport, and hundreds of kilometres of major new roads in addition to stadiums for the soccer tournament.

The building plans, which would tax the skills of a much larger country, risk causing bottlenecks, waste and a jump of inflation if they are not managed smoothly. Kamal said in a statement carried by QNA that the new budget was based on a number of considerations: “The first of which is that there are indications that the world economy is on its way to improvement, despite the fact that these expectations are marred with uncertainty.”

The government decided to keep the oil price which its budgets assume unchanged at $65 per barrel, Kamal said. Brent crude oil is currently well above $100. Economic growth in the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas is expected to be more than 4 percent this year, driven by the non-hydrocarbon sector, especially services and construction, Kamal said.

Qatar’s state budget leaped into a large surplus of 94.6 billion riyals in the July-September period, the second quarter of its 2012/13 fiscal year, equivalent to 53.9 percent of gross domestic product in that period, preliminary central bank data show.

Analysts polled by Reuters in January forecast Qatar’s budget surplus would be 9.1 percent of GDP for the whole 2012/13 fiscal year, narrowing to 7.5 percent in 2013/14. — Reuters

Guinness Book of World Records did witness the record attempt in Tehran, but could not speak to the media for “security reasons,” Baheri said. The current record is held by American ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins after they made a tub of vanilla ice cream weighing 4.02 tonnes (8,865 pounds) in September 2005.

The dairy company Choopan, Farsi for shepherd, was founded in 1991 near Tehran, but only launched its line of ice creams last year. The company’s management said that it is among the top three dairy producers in the country, and that it also exports to the Gulf and the Middle East, and has made plans to break into the Russian market. — AFP

Gold does brisk business in Syria war ALEPPO: Abu Salem used to sell lunchtime sandwiches to office workers in Syria’s commercial capital. Since a rebel offensive turned Aleppo into a warzone last July, he has been buying up their heirlooms. In Syria’s northern metropolis, as across the Middle East, those who can afford to have traditionally invested in jewellery for their womenfolk, especially gold, to ward against a rainy day.

As daily clashes between troops and rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad have brought a devastating halt to all normal economic activity, the trade in precious metals has boomed as people struggle to make ends meet.

It was the loss of electricity to power his refrigerators that was the last straw for Abu Salem’s sandwich stall. The 40-year-old turned to the most lucrative alternative business available, braving the daily threat of robbery by the myriad of armed groups active in the many Aleppo neighbourhoods beyond the control of Assad’s security forces.

“Many jewellers have fled the fighting. They had enough money to flee the country,” he told AFP. “I buy and sell gold in order to feed my five children. A few steps away, another gold dealer has set up his scales. “Every day, people come and sell me 10 or 20 grams (310 or 620 troy ounces) of gold,” Abu Ahmed told AFP. “Once, a customer came to sell me earrings and bracelets that weighed 200 grams. He was selling off his wife’s jewels.” Umm Mohammed, 50, is among those looking to sell off their portable wealth. “I have a gold necklace to sell. How much would you pay for it?” the mother of four asks. For five grams of gold, Abu Salem offers 24,000 Syrian pounds ($240). Umm Mohammed goes to his shop every day to weigh her family’s jewellery and check his prices. “I’ve only got one necklace left now. It’s my son’s gold chain. It won’t be long before I sell it, because we need to buy food and clothes for the children,” she said.

Umm Mohammed’s husband used to work in a factory, but lost his job several months ago when the power supply was cut. Her family has only been able to get by thanks to the jewellery they owned. Buyers are not hard to come by. Two years of devastating conflict have sent the Syrian pound into freefall and, for those with any money, gold is a popular refuge to maintain the value of their savings.

Before the uprising against Assad’s rule broke out in March 2011, a gram of gold sold for 3,200 Syrian pounds, and the Syrian pound traded at 65 to the dollar. Today, one gram of gold sells for 4,900 pounds, and the pound

trades at 113 to the dollar. “Those who want to safeguard their wealth are converting their cash into gold,” Abu Ahmed said. But there are big risks, fellow gold trader Abu Khaldoun underlines. “Armed men come to steal from us.

Some of them are members of the (mainstream rebel) Free Syrian Army,” the 49-year-old said.

“Nowhere is safe, and we are real targets for thieves.

Some people are hiding their gold and money in holes in

the ground.” Abu Ibrahim, 45, has been in the jewellery trade nearly all his working life. He says he refuses to take sides in this conflict as his business frequently requires him to cross the frontlines. He tells of a fellow trader who lost all his stock to an armed robbery. “He had 12 kilos of gold in his shop. He lost 60 million Syrian pounds last week when armed men broke into his shop and stole the lot.” — AFP

Saudi oil export demand to grow DOHA: Demand for Saudi crude is likely to rise over the next few months, Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said yesterday, in a sign that the world’s largest oil exporter sees a recovery in its biggest export market, Asia. State-run Saudi Aramco cut production sharply in the fourth quarter of last year because of weak economic growth abroad and lower seasonal demand for oil for power generation at home. It kept oil output steady at around 9.05-9.15 million barrels per day (bpd) in January and February, but industry sources have said exports could rise in the second quarter, driven by Asian demand.

Naimi confirmed on the sidelines of an industry event in Doha yesterday that he expected external demand for Saudi crude to rise over coming months, but said it remained to be seen by how much. China’s factory activity rebounded in March in a sign that its underlying economic recovery is strong enough to weather any patchy export periods, surveys showed yesterday.

China imported 1.08 million barrels a day of crude from Saudi Arabia in 2012, up 7.24 percent from 2011, and state-run CNPC expects China’s total net imports to rise again in 2013. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s leading producer and holder of the world’s only significant spare capacity, slashed its output by around 700,000 bpd over the last two months of 2012, helping drive a rise in crude prices from early December to February.

Long term With Europe wallowing in debt and the United States consuming more of its own oil, demand from

Asia has become the main driver of oil exports from producers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) over the last decade. Asia collectively bought more than three times as much Saudi crude in 2011 as buyers in North America, and five times more than Europe, according to Saudi government data.

Rapid population growth in Asia, and a booming middle class in China in particular, is likely to see ever more Saudi crude head east as European and US oil import demand wanes. “For decades, GCC energy supplies helped support economic growth in the US and across Europe... We have done the same in Asia, supplying energy to help fuel its increasing growth and prosperity,” Naimi told the Brookings Doha Center. “It is thanks to Asian demand and GCC energy supplies that our region’s combined GDP is at an historic high - and that economic growth remains strong,” he said, pointing to population growth as a firm driver for future demand.

OPEC oil producers have played down the potential threat of a surge in North American shale oil production over the last few years, arguing that more supplies are good for price stability. “I, for one, welcome all new energy sources to the market. I don’t think anyone should fear new supplies when set against increasing global demand,” Naimi said, according to a copy of his speech in Doha sent to the media. “More companies and nations are competing for their slice of the energy pie. That’s true.

But the pie is getting bigger and there is enough to go around.” — Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

BUSINESS

US manufacturing expansion slows Construction spending rises 1.2 percent WASHINGTON: US factory activity slowed in March as new orders weakened, but a rebound in construction spending in February was another sign of faster economic growth in the first quarter. The Institute for Supply Management said yesterday its index of national factory activity fell to 51.3 last month from 54.2 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

The report was at odds with other data showing growth in the nationís factories picked up in March on strong orders, closing out the best quarter for the sector in

two years. Financial data firm Markit said its US. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 54.6 last month from 54.3 in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

While the two surveys use the same sub-indexes, they give different weights to the components. ìHopefully this is an anomaly. This gives a pause in the recent bullish data we have been seeing,î Craig Dismuke, chief economic strategist at Vining Sparks in Memphis, Tennessee. US stock prices slightly extended losses after the data. US Treasuries prices slipped in

morning trade, while the yen rose against the dollar.

Despite tighter fiscal policy, data on employment, consumer spending and factory activity have been relatively strong, leaving economists scrambling to raise their forecast. That run of strong socalled real data, which has left first-quarter GDP growth estimates ranging as high as a 3.5 percent annual rate, continued yesterday.

The Commerce Department reported construction spending advanced 1.2 percent to an annual rate of $885.1 billion in

February. Spending had declined 2.1 percent in January. The construction report added to a series of other data that have suggested economic growth accelerated in the first quarter from the fourth quarterís anemic 0.4 percent annual pace.

Construction spending in February was boosted by a 1.3 percent rise in private construction projects. Spending on private residential projects increased 2.2 percent to the highest level since November 2008. Part of the increase reflected renovations. The housing market is no longer a drag on the economy

and residential construction contributed to growth last year for the first time since 2005. It is expected to do so again this year.

Spending on private nonresidential structures rose 0.4 percent after declining 5.9 percent. Public sector construction spending increased 0.9 percent, rising for a second straight month. Outlays on federal government projects fell 1.1 percent.

However, state and local spending, which is far larger than federal projects, rose 1.1 percent. It was the second straight month of gain in state and local government out-

‘Markets look less worried in 2013’

By Kuwait Times Staff Reporter

S

imon Vaughan Johnson, CEO of HSBC in Kuwait speaks with Kuwait Times in an exclusive interview: KT: The Arab Spring has not reached anywhere yet and the region’s political dramas are still unfolding causing considerable turmoil in the regional economies.

However, the Kuwait economy remained largely insulated and resilient amid challenges throughout last year. How do you look at the outlook of the Kuwait economy this year, especially after a new government at the helm?

Johnson: Kuwait posted a record budget surplus for FY2011/12, reaching 27.7 percent of GDP. Although current spending is likely to keep increasing, low near term levels of capital spending and high revenues from the oil sector should ensure another strong surplus in 2013, which we forecast at 22.5 percent of GDP, up from our previous forecast of 19.7 percent. In my opinion, against this promising fiscal background, the country has entered a new phase with the most stable political outlook in the 2 years since I arrived in Kuwait.

With this comes renewed commitment from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to encourage the acceleration of private sector development in order to diversify the economy and move away from its oil dependency.

As part of this process, we are seeing further investment in the legal system and the finalising of the new Companies Law, both offering clear signs of the improving environment.

We are seeing more consensus within government, and an increased urgency to move the development plans forward. Progress on the second phase of the Sheikh Jaber AlAhmed Al-Sabah Causeway linking the capital with the Subiyah New Town is another sign that there is a willingness to put money into action.

KT: The Kuwait government has initiated a few measures to improve

diversification of the economy. There is also an increased interest in investment in PPP that will encourage the development of a larger, more open economy that over the long-term will enable the private sector to generate sustainable wealth..

KT: Give me a brief overview of the regional economy. Do you see any bubble forming in any of the regional economies?

Johnson: No, we don’t. Rates of growth vary across the region: the oil

its business environment. The Capital Market Authority is expected to bring more transparency and oversight to Kuwait Stock Exchange and instil confidence among foreign and institutional investors. Similarly, the approval of the new Companies Law, replacing the Commercial Companies Law of 1960, is envisaged to boost more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the country. What is your opinion?

Johnson: The introduction of the Capital Markets Authority was a very positive step to boost the confidence of both domestic and international institutional investors in the Kuwait market. Within a short period, the CMA has taken decisive steps to ensure orderly functioning of the Kuwait market including delisting on-compliant companies and tightening up procedures to deal with market violations. At the same time the CMA has issued Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Finance of Terrorism guidelines and has given clear directions relating to money market funds.

The recent approval of the new Companies Law is also another important and tangible step towards positioning Kuwait as a leading financial centre in our region. It creates a far more appealing process for the formation and registration of companies, incorporating a specialised department for the purpose at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Additionally, the law initiates the creation of a framework to support the issuance of sukuks, and is taking a welcome look at the rules on corporate governance, which will be of tremendous benefit in attracting foreign institutional investors.

KT: The Kuwait economy is solely reliant on oil revenues. Many experts feel that it is time the country ended its economic monoculture. What is your considered view?

Johnson: Oil revenues invested in the National Development Plan will shift the focus to infrastructure development and act in support of the

Simon Vaughan Johnson importing economies are not growing as fast as the GCC, and within the GCC, there are outperformers (Saudi Arabia, Qatar and increasingly, the UAE). But even for these economies, the growth looks slower, and of a higher quality than that which led to the asset price bubbles we saw a few years ago.

KT: How do you look at the current oil market scenario?

Johnson: The stability and resilience of oil prices, despite economic weakness in the West, is clearly a testament to the strength of demand from China and the emerging markets to the East of us, which are expected to see a pick-up in growth in 2013. We see this creating a positive environment for the oil prices.

KT: The euro-zone economic crisis

still remains a major worry across the globe. Do you see any immediate solution to the crisis and what are the near-term implications on global economy?

Johnson: The consensus view is that any solution to the crisis will take time. Meanwhile, the heavy debt burden of the euro-zone states is likely to weigh on economic performance for the foreseeable future. We don’t see the bloc breaking up, but we do think there is a lot more reparation to happen before the economic outlook in the euro-zone improves significantly.

In terms of the implications for the global economy, markets look somewhat less worried in 2013 than they were in 2012, helped by the ECB’s intervention and a pick-up in Chinese growth. Oil prices have been resilient in the face of the western economic weakness, and this of course is a key positive for us here in MENA. KT: What are the possibilities of a global currency war?

Johnson: It’s true that Japan is seeking a weaker exchange rate in order to kick start its economy after years of persistently low growth. This could undermine the competitiveness of other emerging market exporters, which may respond by looking to artificially weaken their own currencies. On balance though, given that governments also recognise the economic value of a strong and stable currency, we don’t foresee the development of anything that could be termed a “currency war”.

KT: How do you look at the sweeping budget cuts in the US and what are their potential implications, domestically and globally?

Johnson: Clearly, if we look at how austerity has affected the economies in Europe over recent years, there is a price to be paid in terms of growth from large cuts to government spending. However, there is also a clear need to rein in the deficit and stabilize the debt to GDP ratio. Our US economists see growth of 1.7 percent for the US in 2013 - a slowdown, yes, but not a catastrophic one.

Kyrgyzstan mountains

flydubai to operate direct flights to Tajikistan’s capital DUBAI: flydubai, Dubai’s innovative lowcost airline, has announced operations to two new destinations in the CIS region: Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan and Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Flights to both cities will operate twice a week, with Osh beginning on 24 April 2013 and Dushanbe one week later on 30 April 2013. flydubai’s CEO, Ghaith Al-Ghaith, said: “With the addition of these two new routes we now have a network of 20 destinations across the CIS which is a tremendous achievement. We marked our entry to the Kyrgyz market back in February 2012 with flights to the capital, Bishkek, and through adding Osh and Dushanbe we are able to link even more underserved destinations to our ever growing network.”

The past 12 months have seen overall air

traffic between Dubai and Bishkek grow by 157 percent. The 3,000-year-old city of Osh, is home to the largest outdoor market in Central Asia and for the first time will have direct air links to Dubai.

Meanwhile, thanks to its widespread mountainous terrain, Tajikistan remains a largely untouched country with an emphasis on outdoor activities and a rich cultural history. Fares include 20 kg checked baggage plus one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7 kg and one small laptop bag or handbag. A seat with extra legroom costs KD 8. Once on board, passengers can choose from a range of optional extras, including in-flight entertainment packages priced from 800 fils or select from the varied menu of refreshments and Duty Free items.

Bahrain growth slows in Q4 DUBAI: Bahrain’s economic growth slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2012 as growth in hydrocarbon output stalled and two years of social unrest weighed on the banking sector. The economy grew 3.4 percent in full-year 2012, government figures showed, compared to a median forecast of 3.5 percent in a Reuters poll and up from 1.9 percent in 2011 when the government crushed pro-democracy protests.

The small non-OPEC oil exporter has reported a decline in crude output from its key Abu Safa field shared with Saudi Arabia, which accounts for around 70 per-

cent of budget revenue. Output in the hydrocarbon sector, which accounts for a quarter of Bahrain’s $30 billion economy, grew by a mere 0.4 percent in OctoberDecember from the previous quarter and plunged nearly 8 percent on an annual basis.

Growth of Bahrain’s gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, slowed to 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in OctoberDecember from a revised 2.8 percent in the third quarter. On an annual basis, the growth rate decelerated to 2.7 percent from 3.3 percent, the data showed.— Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Irani Riyal - cash

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 .4300000 .3620000 .2970000 .2770000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0772190 .7523200 .3930000 .0720000 .7375180 .0370000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2843000 GB Pound/KD .4323210 Euro .3644300 Swiss francs .2993260 Canadian dollars .2793690 Danish Kroner .0488760 Swedish Kroner .0435620 Australian dlr .2962260 Hong Kong dlr .0366200 Singapore dlr .2291820 Japanese yen .0030170 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0774340 Bahraini dinars .7544120 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0758340 Omani riyals .7387290 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.987 5.283 2.906 2.251 3.313 229.280 36.787 3.614 7.009 9.730 0.271

.2880000 .4450000 .3780000 .3160000 .2920000 .3010000 .0068000 .0035000 .0779950 .7598810 .4110000 .0770000 .7449300 .0440000 .2864000 .4355140 .3671220 .3015370 .2814330 .0492370 .0438840 .2984140 .0368910 .2308750 .0030400 .0053060 .0022660 .0029210 .0036790 .0780060 .7599840 .4050920 .0763940 .7441860 .0070670

0.273

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

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 GOLD 298.000 150.000 77.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

SELL DRAFT 301.98 285.17 305.72 369.44 285.25 437.63 3.10 3.657 5.259 2.249 3.293 2.963 77.73 759.51 41.29 406.37 742.38 78.77 76.27

Selling Rate 285.600 284.120 435.565 365.930 300.760 756.135 77.735 78.395 76.125 402.600 41.375 2.253 5.265 2.898 3.632 6.992 700.595 4.035 9.830 4.035 3.375 92.145

Bahrain Exchange Company 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 Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

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

SELL CASH 300.000 283.000 305.000 368.000 286.250 437.000 3.300 3.740 5.400 2.450 3.450 2.980 78.500 758.500 41.300 413.000 740.000 78.500 76.500

British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc

BUY Europe 0.4267132 0.0061866 0.0449108 0.3607049 0.0446604 0.4241508 0.0396009 0.2951579

SELL 0.4357132 0.0181866 0.0499108 0.3682049 0.0498604 0.4316508 0.0446009 0.3021579

Australasia 0.2869837 0.2306706 0.0001118

0.2989837 0.2406706 0.0001118

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2736595 0.0001488 0.2833500

0.2826595 0.0001668 0.2856500

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa

Asia 0.0035948 0.0031691 0.0449179 0.0165100

0.0036498 0.0033991 0.0499179 0.0196100

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

Guinea Franc Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Jamaican Dollars Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.0000443 0.0342580 0.0052050 0.0000244 0.0028547 0.0029535 0.0032711 0.0882472 0.0031376 0.0028723 0.0065441 0.0000730 0.2258670 0.0019515 0.0093454

0.0000503 0.0373580 0.0052699 0.0000295 0.0038547 0.0031336 0.0035011 0.0952472 0.0033378 0.0029123 0.0070141 0.0000760 0.2318670 0.0022535 0.0099454

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.7512658 0.0399153 0.0129967 0.1486950 0.0000794 0.0001738 0.3973239 1.0000000 0.0001752 0.0215277 0.0012152 0.7309380 0.0778056 0.0756400 0.0480305 0.0031875 0.1792045 0.0763447 0.0012887

0.7597658 0.0419453 0.0194967 0.1504850 0.0000799 0.0002338 0.4048239 1.0000000 0.0001952 0.0455277 0.0018502 0.7419380 0.0785886 O.0762800 0.0485805 0.0034076 0.1852045 0.0777947 0.0013887

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 *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 285.300 368.700 435.800 282.700 3.035 5.262 41.335 2.248 3.619 6.965 2.899 759.550 77.700 76.200

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

business

Burgan Bank’s CEO spells the bank’s story of success Eguren awarded ‘Best CEO for Kuwait’

By Velina Nacheva

E

duardo Eguren Burgan Bank Chief Executive Officer was recently awarded the ‘Best CEO for Kuwait’ award by a prominent publication in the financial industry - a recognition given not only for excellent leadership but also for leading Kuwait’s third largest bank by assets on a spiral of continuous sustainable growth.

Burgan Bank was recently awarded “Best banking group in MENA” for a second consecutive year by one of the world’s leading global banking and finance online publications. Previously, the bank was also recognized as the “Best bank in Kuwait”, “Best private bank in Kuwait for 2012” and the “World’s finance’s best private bank.”

Today, Burgan Bank has five majority-owned subsidiaries and operates in nine countries. Recently, the bank posted KD 55.6 million in net profits, a 10 per cent increase over the same period in 2011. Operating profit before provisions amounted to KD119 million, marking a 17 percent increase. Loans and advances grew 50 percent, reaching KD3.4 billion, while customer deposits grew 39 per cent to reach KD3.9 billion.

According to Eguren, a confluence of factors con-

‘We developed a business model that we call a four-wheel drive. We have to be able to operate in both favourable and unfavourable conditions. We have to run well on a highway and in the desert, in the mud or in sunny weather or rain. Because of that characteristic we have been able to consistently make progress in all our subsidiaries and businesses.’

and 25 percent of FIM Bank in Malta, which were completed recently.

Burgan Bank looks at a combination of organic and inorganic growth in the pursuit of inorganic strategy.

“That has been very eloquently described in our strategic positioning,” Eguren stressed.

The resilience and success of Burgan Bank is grounded in its business model. “Our business model is simple and focused. We have a simple business organization.

Every business has to be able to be successful by itself and to support the rest.”

Burgan Bank generates 51 percent of its revenues from its international operations. The bank aims to further diversify out of Kuwait. “The lower growth in the local market has created an opportunity to diversify into areas with faster growth. At the same time, we diversify the revenues and risks. The more we continue to grow inorganically outside of Kuwait, the more attractive this diversification will be from a risk perspective. So, we clearly want to continue growing,” Eguren asserted.

Banks embrace different approaches in times of low increase in demand. For Eguren, Burgan Bank’s growth vision is straightforward: “You can grow market share, you can diversify or you can grow outside of Kuwait and grow organically. We have different avenues to grow.”

However, growth is not the biggest concern for the CEO of a strongly positioned regional player like Burgan Bank. “I am concerned that we maintain the discipline of risk and values in the company. We are doing well. We should not throw overboard the good things that took us years to build just because of the anxiety to meet expectations. We have to nurture the bank well.”

In his words, the growth conditions are not going to be the same as in the 90s because the very low interest rates prevailing in the market make the credit intermediation a lower profitability for business compared to before. “The sad aspect of the present circumstances is that there is a lot of liquidity in all the markets and there is very little appetite from entrepreneurs to take risks. If you want to push demand just because you have to grow, you hit the wall with your head. We do not do that.”

Development Plan perspectives The financial sector, purported as the main beneficiary of Kuwait’s Development Plan projects, has been ruled by a sense of optimism. However, the speed of

levels, Eguren said his bank can confront storms better than any. “We do not run the bank assuming that the government will bail us out if we have a problem. We have higher liquidity standards than our competitors.

This is driven by our model. If tomorrow the government changes its attitude for whatever reason, we do not have to change our model,” he emphasized.

Burgan Bank, Eguren says, is a commercial bank and not an investment bank. “We are a dominant supplier of financial services to our customers - something like onestop banking.”

Reflecting on what part of the business Burgan Bank focuses on Eguren said, “We run this as a federation. We have minority shareholders and we treat them with

tributed to the bank’s solid performance. Burgan Bank’s unique business model - solid business strategy, adaptability to any changes in the surrounding environment in addition to a turnaround plan which the bank has completed - has helped establish it as a leading player in the region’s financial domain and has made it resilient to recessionary impacts.

In an interview with Kuwait Times this week, Eguren explained that the bank’s unique DNA is based on greater flexibility in addition to aligning its business strategy with the new global environment.

“We have to realize and accept that we are in an unfavourable economic moment. The world situation is complex. There are challenges in the (MENA) region, too.

This is not temporary. This is the new reality,” he said, adding, “We have to adjust and accept that we are going to be in a low-growth mode for a good while.”

Taking the point further, Eguren said limited investment, very modest job creation and low-growth will be the new conditions. In order for a bank to achieve success, positioning itself well in the new circumstances is pivotal. “We developed a business model that we call a four-wheel drive. We have to be able to operate in both favourable and unfavourable conditions. We have to run well on a highway and in the desert, in the mud or in sunny weather or rain. Because of that characteristic, we have been able to consistently make progress in all our subsidiaries and businesses,” Eguren said.

Reflecting on the bank’s recently announced net profit, Eguren said, “Our underlined profitability is much higher than that (KD55.6 million) because we have been building: precautionary reserves. We feel that we are very well-provisioned.”

The corporate bank generates the most important part of Burgan Bank’s profits, in addition to the private bank, treasury and financial institutions. Eguren said, “In retail we are growing slowly but firmly.”

Growth predictions Asked to make an economic growth forecast for Kuwait for 2013, Eguren put it succinctly, “I expect growth in terms of the economy and the market to be of low-single digits.” Elaborating on the growth prospects, he said, “We are going to grow faster than that because we are driven by the inertia of the economy in the world and the region. This is not bad because now we are entering a potential recessionary environment, both in Europe and the US. There is a clear deceleration in Asia, too.”

As evidence of that, Eguren pointed to the economies of the G3 (US, Europe and Japan) and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries which account for 75 percent of the global GDP. “All of them are growing at a slower pace in this decade, compared to the previous one,” he said. “The fact that in the region, we are still having some positive growth is good. The region has chances of doing better than the world in general.”

Strategy and diversification Burgan Bank’s outperforming growth pace is a result of the execution of an ambitious corporate strategy that is aimed at gaining market share with profitability in the core markets and at acquiring scale, capabilities and footprint through strategic acquisitions of the scale of acquiring 99.26 per cent of Eurobank Tekfen in Turkey

developing the projects has added a layer of gloom to that optimistic picture. Reflecting on the opportunities presented by the Development Plan, Eguren said: “We do not depend on the Kuwait Development Plan to be successful. If it comes, and hopefully it does, all the boats will rise with the tide,” Eguren said. “These projects take time. There is demand from customers that position themselves to do this. Our customers have also learnt that they cannot develop funding for something that may or may not come,” Eguren said, elaborating that this is a gradual process where credibility has to be confirmed. “I do not expect big changes in 2013.”

Eguren assessed the conventional banking system in Kuwait as being very strong. “All our balance sheets are very strong. We have a very strong Central Bank and we are a strong country in terms of reserves. We are Gibraltar,” he said. Looking at capitalization and liquidity

‘You can grow market share, you can diversify or you can grow outside of Kuwait and grow organically. We have different avenues to grow.’

business

respect. We are not McDonald’s where everything needs to be cloned. We run this with high accountability and the best control matrix that we can implement, preserving accountability and allowing entrepreneurship.”

He further explained that adjusting to a certain environment is necessary. “You have to be flexible... We also pursue some level of returns across the network. In

remain variable. “Although there are some recent good news regarding employment, unfortunately, I do not believe they are going to last. The debt keeps growing, the deficits are still there. It is going to be a painful recovery process.” In taking the point further, he stressed, “This is not about anticipating doomsday. It is about being realistic. It is unbelievable how much liquid-

The sad aspect of the present circumstances is that there is a lot of liquidity in all the markets and there is very little appetite from entrepreneurs to take risks. If you want to push demand just because you have to grow you hit the wall with your head. We do not do that.”

some environments it is easier to have higher returns than in others. We run the company for returns for shareholders and not for growth.”

According to Eguren, size matters in banking and therefore growth is important. “But having a race for who becomes the biggest is not our game.”

Debt relief Asked to explore the premise if there is an alternative to Kuwait’s debt relief that is currently debated Eguren says, “Every country is sovereign to decide how they spend their resources. Kuwait is rich and can afford doing this without having to give explanation to anybody. Countries with long-term plans become more skilled when they have adversity. This is for the local leadership to decide.” He opined, “If oil-producing countries do not prepare themselves for the moment when resources are not available, life is going to be very difficult. Kuwait is lucky because it has reserves for many years.”

He went on to add, “Times are changing. We all need to adjust and we have to be prepared that if we have frontal winds, we can still be successful and grow rather than longing for the good conditions of the past. Focus on delivery is very important.”

Dwelling on the topic of possible taxation in Kuwait, Eguren eloquently explained, “At a time of low investment in Kuwait, to start putting taxes would be an additional disincentive to create growth.”

Looking ahead Eguren defined three economic challenges for the MENA region - solving the puzzle how to generate investments and create employment, having inclusive growth and unleashing the benefits of scale.

He argued that investments should now hit the right objectives. According to him, the region needs employment generation which would also prove to be an effective way of reducing social tensions. “It doesn’t matter what is your system of beliefs. If you can feed your kids, you discuss this with a complete different attitude. But if you are unemployed and the streets are violent and you can’t invest in education of your children, then societies go into extremes.”

Is the global economy and Europe headed for another recession? “I am cautious with predictions normally because new and unexpected things might happen.

There is a chance that Europe is going to go at least for ten years of stagnation,” Eguren forecast, explaining that the recent events in Cyprus are dangerous precedents affecting negatively the trust in the system and particularly in the law.

In the same vein, he defined the US as having a phenomenal and flexible economy where the fundamentals

ity there is in the market. The cost of money is negative because interest rates are below inflation. Investments are very sluggish.”

On a final note, Eguren said, “When there is confidence, the confidence generates investments; investment generates income; income generates saving and saving generates more investment.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

BUSINESS

VIVA announces winners of Audi A5, KD 10,000 in ‘Win a Car’ campaign KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing telecom operator, announced yesterday the winners of the ‘Win a car every week’ campaign. The lucky draw winners were Shayek Shaun Basha, Emad Jakem Almosed and Mubarak Muddhi Alenezi who each won an Audi A5 Sportback 2014 and Yasser Mohammad Al-Enezi, Madhi Fahad Alazmi, and Shahad Satea Sulaiman Sulaiman who each won KD 10,000.

The winners drawn on 25 March 2013 will have until 24 April 2013 to claim their prize; otherwise the prize will be given to the alternate winner. VIVA congratulated the lucky winners and invited its customers to participate in the longest on-going campaign of its kind.

With the continuous success this campaign is witnessing, VIVA is keen to further engage its customers and therefore developed further means to

facilitate the process of entering the draw. Entering the draw can be done through one of the following options. The first option is to subscribe with 500 fils per day giving customers infinite minutes and SMS to any VIVA line. This option entitles the customer to one chance to enter the draw each week.

The second option is to subscribe to the BlackBerry KD3.9 service, which gives customers full and unlimited BlackBerry services. This option provides customers with 7 automatic chances to enter the draw each week. The third option is to purchase the KD 2 prepaid line. Upon activating the line, customers should simply send ‘GO’ to 535, and will be presented with four chances to enter the draw each week.

The fourth option is to recharge for 500 fils or more, and this entitles the customer to one chance

Alghanim air conditioning launches latest campaign KUWAIT: Under the slogan, “A Little Friendly Advice: Make the Switch Before Summertime,” Alghanim Air Conditioning from Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Company has launched a new campaign as a reminder for home and apartment complex owners to improve their air conditioning systems before the heat of the summer sets in. The promotion’s duration period is from March 31, 2013 until May 30, 2013, a time frame that allows people to trade in their old central air conditioning systems regardless of their model or make with a brand new one, a convenient process that will be complete within 12 hours only. Customers will also benefit from a flexible installment plan in addition to a free offer that includes duct cleaning for the newly installed air conditioning system so as to effectively combat the summer heat with cool, pure air.

On the occasion of this special offer, Abdul Aziz Al-Awadhi, Alghanim Engineering’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager, stated, “Our continuous efforts to satisfy our customers provides us with an incentive to offer the best timely promotions especially when it comes to bringing comprehensive solutions and services from our highly skilled installation and maintenance team which is the largest in Kuwait. Our division includes 360 vehicles equipped with wireless phone technology, quality spare parts and other necessities, all of which enable us to provide the fastest and most effective maintenance service in Kuwait. With this in mind, we have enhanced this promotion that is specifically geared towards central air conditioning systems as we are aware of our customers’ needs that are met with quality air conditioning

Abdul Aziz Al-Awadhi solutions that will provide everyone with the peace of mind and comfort they need during the hot summer season.”

It is worth mentioning that the Alghanim Engineering Group is one of the largest companies in Kuwait that is specialized in air conditioning systems and comprehensive maintenance services. The company supplies, installs and maintains central air conditioning systems for governmental institutions, businesses, villas and private homes as well. In addition, the company represents a large number of globally renowned and quality brands specialized in air conditioning services including Hitachi, Alaska, Carrier and the American company Lennox that utilizes an R410A refrigerant, a chloride-free option for the eco-friendly customer.

to enter the draw for every 500 fils. In addition, customers can also enter the draw by subscribing to the 500 fils local bundle which presents customers with 60 local minutes per day. This can be done by sending ‘3’ to ‘232’, and entitles the customer to one chance, or by subscribing to the 500 fils international SMS bundle, which presents customers with 100 international SMS to any country for the duration of seven days. This also entitles the customer to one chance.

Last but not least, customers who choose to enjoy the prepaid internet service will receive either one chance upon subscribing to the 500 fils ‘Surf On’ service, which offers 500 MB for a day, or two chances upon subscribing to the 1 KD ‘Surf On’ service, which offers 500 MB for five days, automatically upon activation.

Customers can also subscribe to more than one

of the eight options, increasing their chances each week to win the valuable prizes. In the case a customer does not win, the points will be accumulated and carried on to the next draw. Prepaid customers interested in the full, unlimited, local KD 3.9 BlackBerry offer, can send an SMS with the number ‘2’ to ‘535’. For the full menu of the prepaid offers, send an SMS with the word “GO” to number ‘535’.

Nissan ME appoints new Managing Director DUBAI: Nissan has announced the appointment of Samir Cherfan to the role of Managing Director, Nissan Middle East, effective immediately. In his new role, Samir Cherfan will have overall responsibility for both Nissan and Infiniti brands in the Middle East region.

Samir’s new appointment follows a year as Director, Sales & Marketing Nissan Middle East and well over 20 years of Renault-Nissan Alliance experience spanning engineering and commercial roles. His extensive resume and knowledge of the Middle East automotive market is complimented by fluency in Arabic, French and English.

Samir, 45, commented: “It is a privilege to be appointed to this position and I pay tribute to my predecessors who have made Nissan one of the leading automotive brands in the region with a proud heritage and reputation for quality, reliability and durability. Our innovative and exciting model range, ever strengthening brand momentum and excellent retail network puts Nissan in a strong position to reach new levels of success.

“I look forward to facing the challenge of leading such a strong brand in a market which is of great significance to Nissan’s global growth strategy. On a personal note, it is also particularly pleasing for me to lead Nissan in a market in which I have such a strong cultural link.” Samir succeeds Atsuo Kosaka who held the Managing Director position for over four years. Kosaka-san will return to Japan to undertake a new role with Nissan Motors Limited.

Samir Cherfan Samir joined Nissan Middle East in 2012. An engineering graduate, he joined Renault in 1992 and progressed in the initial 11 years of his career with varied management positions linked with development, purchasing and manufacturing. A further seven years were spent in vehicle programs where he was given the important role of Program Director for mid-range segment for international markets.

At the same time, Samir was selected to the strategic role of a Cross-Functional Team (CFT)

Pilot, leading a successful two year project for fixed cost reduction. He repor ted to the Renault Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. In 2010, Samir moved to the front line role of Managing Director - Renault Retail Group in Paris, the position from which he joins Nissan Middle East. Samir is a keen sports enthusiast and likes to explore new cultures globally. He describes himself as a leader who is a coach to his team and sets them on the path to success.

Home remodeling goes social as tech startup transforms industry

H

SELMA: Macabeo Murillo, 58 (left) looks at plum trees as he is driven by Antonio Magdaleno, 59, in Selma, California. — MCT

Farm labor shortage looms SELMA: Vicente Contreras is 70 years old - and “no mas,” he insists with a smile - and he says he is still fit and hearty enough to perform the hard labor of California’s farm fields. Contreras concedes his knees hurt when he climbs ladders to pick peaches, nectarines and plums for $8 to $9 an hour, six days a week, during the peak summer harvest. And during the less rigorous pruning of grapevines in winter, he can’t move as fast as the young workers - at least when they happen to be around.

Amid the verdant fields and orchards of America’s most bountiful agricultural region, California farmworkers are graying. A labor shortage deepens as fewer younger workers arrive from Mexico and more head home to stay. Increasingly, California’s $44.3 billion agricultural industry must rely on the well-calloused hands of older workers who came many years ago to fill jobs pruning, planting, picking and packing.

These days at Chandler Farms, a fourthgeneration family ranch 20 miles south of Fresno, veteran workers like Contreras are in the majority. On a recent weekday, Antonio Magdaleno, 59, cut grapevines in a neighboring field. Magdaleno emigrated from Michoacan, Mexico, in 1973 and has spent 36 of his last 40 years on Central Valley farms. His features bronzed and weathered, Magdaleno said he looks forward to the mid-winter pruning, “a beautiful time and something special,” marking the start of the growing season.

“It’s always been us,” Magdaleno said in Spanish. “Time has passed, and we’re older.

The young people want to work in factories and other places.” The aging of California’s agricultural workforce reflects a convergence of trends. In many cases, the children of farmworkers who arrived decades ago have little interest in field work, leaving much of the vital labor to their elders. Tighter U.S. immigration enforcement, as well as brutal carteldriven violence along the Mexican border, have deterred many potential workers from attempting to cross.

And, amid a rebounding economy in

Mexico, Mexican farms are facing their own labor shortage and have plenty of work to offer at home. The upshot, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation, is that more than 70 percent of state agricultural producers anticipate a worker shortage starting this spring and worsening though the growing season. Some officials estimate the labor force could fall by more than 80,000 farmworkers _ down from the 450,000 workers on whom farmers have come to rely for the peak harvest of late summer.

“Basically, we’re running out of low-skilled workers. People simply are not doing farm work to the extent they were doing before,” said J Edward Taylor, a University of CaliforniaDavis, economist who has studied the migration of farmworkers from Mexico. Contreras, the 70-year-old farmhand, says he is happy to be among those still working the orchards and vineyards at Chandler Farms, which produces tree fruit, raisin grapes and almonds.

“What I like is being out with people in the fresh air,” said Contreras in Spanish, his eyes glinting in the crisp morning sun. “I’m alive, active and ready for this work.” Grinning, he contorted to parody a feeble man shriveling into a ball. “If I don’t work, I’ll do this,” he said.

But from California’s Central Valley to Washington DC, the graying workforce adds urgency to the debate over immigration reform.

Farm lobbyists and elected officials are discussing remedies that include granting legal status to more than one million undocumented farmworkers in the United States and establishing an expanded guest worker visa program for agriculture to ensure a steady supply of laborers. “We have to try to find a system that is not going to cause a major disruption to our industry,” said Bryan Little, director of labor affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation. The industry group favors letting undocumented farmworkers stay in the country while applying for legal status, as well as drawing in seasonal guest workers to replenish the labor force.—MCT

ome remodeling, one of the biggest industries in the country, is being transformed by the Internet with a push from a fast-growing startup in Silicon Valley.

Until recently, a homeowner thinking about remodeling would have checked out books from the library, read some design magazines, asked friends for advice and tried to find help on the Web. But in January, 14 million people turned instead to Houzz, a small Palo Alto, Calif, company that has grabbed the $300 billion remodeling industry by the tail and is changing the way homeowners connect with design professionals and figure out how they want to improve their homes. And it’s taking off just as the housing market is rebounding and giving homeowners more equity to play with.

It’s the latest example of the way the Internet has disrupted an entire industry, having already transformed everything from publishing to entertainment. But this is with a twist: Rather than hurting established players in the remodeling business, sites like Houzz are likely to benefit them by bringing them more business more efficiently.

“Houzz has had a huge impact in the residential design community,” said Mark Demerly, an Indianapolis architect and recently chairman of the American Institute of Architects’ custom residential network. “We ask our clients to seek out things on it they like and that inspire them.” Created four years ago by Alon Cohen and Adi Tatarko, who were remodeling their Palo Alto home, the home-improvement site quickly caught on across the US and in Canada.

“Clipping things out of design magazines seemed so antiquated,” Cohen recently recalled. “ Today everything is online. We thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this.’ “ Houzz’s iPad and iPhone apps have been downloaded 6 million times. It has 14 million visitors a month - up from 1.3 million downloads and 4 million visitors a year ago - who pore over 1.2 million images of remodeling projects with links to 188,000 architects, designers and other professionals. In a little more than two years, it has drawn $48.6 million in three rounds of venture funding.

The revenue comes from advertising by national brands and a professional subscription package launched a few months ago. Now competition is emerging. Last month, the Seattle-based home-valuation site Zillow introduced Zillow Digs, a similar service. Zillow spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak said it’s “a huge market,” citing a study that found that nearly 25 percent of recent homeowners completed a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project last year.

The new Zillow Digs iPad app includes cost estimates for many remodeling projects and

links to more than 20,000 home improvement professionals and more than 30,000 photos. It’s too new to have any user metrics, but Zillow’s home-valuation site has 46 million monthly visitors. “The world is changing as far as design goes,” said Nan Walz, an Alamo, Calif., interior decorator for two decades.

Walz says she tells clients to go to Houzz and start a library of projects and ideas they like there. “We can save you money and save me the time trying to guess what they love.

People really are enjoying the whole process.”

“It’s addictive, though - be careful,” said Nicole Strauss, an orthopedic surgeon who is using it to get ideas for remodeling rooms in her San Francisco home. “You can spend hours perusing that website.” Houzz and Digs give design and remodeling professionals a place to show off their work. Homeowners can find products, designers and remodeling projects they like, saving photos to share with family, friends and their architect or designer. They can also network with other homeowners for remodeling tips.

Houzz has made “quite a splash in a few short years,” said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. “It’s not clear there’s anything revolutionary in any individual piece of it. What they seem to have done better than anyone else so far is really integrate all this stuff.” Tech professional David Hew used Houzz to exchange ideas with architect Eugene Sakai

when he remodeled his home in Los Altos, Calif., partly to get ready for the arrival of a baby. “It was monumentally useful to use Houzz rather than cut and paste and bookmark things and use a ton of bulky books,” Hew said. “Everybody I talk to that does a remodel spends close to 10 hours a week on that thing, just flipping through those pages.”

“It’s really a nice community,” Sakai said. “It’s very active and a great way for even a person on a budget to get a fair amount of advice.”

When eBay executive Daniela Mielke bought a ranch-style home on eight acres in Half Moon Bay, Calif., she began browsing the Internet for ideas. “I don’t remember how I found Houzz probably through a Google search - and then I just started surfing around. It’s very nice and has a very serendipitous way of searching and seeing things. I would often go there without a specific thing in mind, just browsing around. I saw this picture of a kitchen I really liked.”

She called the architect, Mark English of San Francisco, and hired him over the phone. Now she has a red, glossy Italian kitchen with hardwood floors, a high ceiling and some appliances she researched on Houzz. For some the site is taking the place of magazines and books. “I send all of my clients to Houzz, if they haven’t been there already,” said Mary Jo Fiorella, a Castro Valley, Calif., designer. “In the past, they would buy magazines and search through books for ideas to show me things they liked. Now we have a virtual place to share ideas with each other.” — MCT

LOS ALTOS: Winnie Cheng and her daughter, Sabrina, pose in the family room of their home in Los Altos, California. — MCT

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

BUSINESS

KIPCO witnesses double digit growth in 2013 KUWAIT: Today, at its annual Investors Forum, KIPCO - the Kuwait Projects Company - said it expected its core companies to achieve double-digit revenue increases in 2013.

The announcement was made at the company’s annual Shafafiyah (transparency) Investors Forum where KIPCO presented a review of 2012 and guidance for 2013 to an audience of shareholders, financial analysts and institutional investors.

The Investors Forum followed the company’s General Assembly meeting where KIPCO shareholders approved a cash dividend of 20 per cent (20 fils per share) and a stock dividend of 5 percent.

As part of its review of the last 12 months, KIPCO said 2012 was its twenty-first consecutive year of profitability and that it had met its 2012 objectives by continuing its regional expansion, repaying debt and reducing costs. The company also highlighted key performances of Group companies during 2012. KIPCO said that considering market circumstances, all its companies were performing

well and that the prospects for an increase in revenues over the next twelve months looked very promising.

KIPCO expects Burgan Bank Group and OSN to increase their revenues by 25 percent or more during the year while Gulf Insurance Group - the MENA region’s leading insurance group — is likely to increase its premiums written by 10 percent or more in 2013. The company also said its food manufacturing and real estate businesses were expecting to see revenue growth of 15 percent and 10 percent respectively during the next twelve months.

Speaking at the Forum, KIPCO’s Vice Chairman, Faisal Al-Ayyar, said: “At last year’s Investor’s Forum, we set ourselves three key objectives: continue regional expansion, repay debt and reduce costs.

Just like we have done each year since we started our Shafafiyah event, we have delivered the promises we made. In 2012, we expanded our geographical presence through acquisitions in the

insurance markets of Iraq and the UAE and by buying Eurobank Tekfen in Turkey. During the year, United Gulf Bank, UIC and KAMCO also repaid a total of KD 120 million of debt and cut their operating costs. This demonstrates our commitment to shareholders and our ability to drive our businesses in the right direction.”

Commenting on the outlook for 2013, Al-Ayyar said:“We enter 2013 with a portfolio of solid operational assets. We believe most of the companies within the KIPCO Group will continue - and indeed accelerate - the growth they have achieved over the last two years. As a result, we expect to see double-digit revenue growth from all our core companies in 2013. We expect all our companies to do better than they did this year. We also sense that 2013 could be a turning point in the outlook for the regional and local economies and our companies are ready to maximize the opportunities from this potential improvement in their respective markets.”

Faisal Al-Ayyar

Investment Map Project leads initiative to attract funds

Al-Sayer Group switches off lights to celebrate Earth Hour KUWAIT: Mohamed Naser Al-Sayer & Sons Est Co WLL participated in global earth hour events by switching off its unnecessary lights (external and internal lights) and electrical appliances at most of group sites at the level of the state of Kuwait on March 23, 2013 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. To participate world people in Earth Hour Events which organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

This participation comes as a part of AlSayer Group Policy and its social responsibility towards the environment, which aims to raise of environmental awareness for its employees,

customers and the public generally by raising their awareness of the importance of protecting the earth from carbon emissions which are released from electricity generation stations which adversely affect the safety of the environment, and motivate them to change their habits by exploitation of natural resources in a good manner without any extravagance to be more sustainable.

Preserving the environment and reduction of pollution will remain an established principal and integral part of its policy and social responsibility.

BANGALORE, India: South Indian cine actress Radhika Pandit inaugurates the 85th World Class showroom of Malabar Gold and Diamonds at Phoenix Market City, Bangalore, as Malabar group chairman, group executive directors, zonal directors and others look on.

DUBAI: Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri, Minister of Economy stressed that the UAE has become a strategic hub for foreign investments and leading international establishments, thanks to its solid economic fundamentals and wise economic policies that are based on openness, diversity and flexibility. Nowadays, the UAE enjoys a leading status as pivotal destination for investments.

Al-Mansouri said the “Investment Map Project” is the latest initiative launched by the Ministry aimed at attracting foreign investment capital and promoting UAE among investors.

Furthermore, it enlightens potential businessmen from around the globe about investment opportunities and better understand the realities here.

Al-Mansouri said the Ministry of Economy is keen to develop the economic legislative system in the country as it continues to work on putting the final touches on a number of draft laws to enhance UAE business performance, most notably the foreign investment law, corporate, industry and small and medium enterprises, competition and intellectual property rights protection. All these draft laws are in their final stages.

The new investment law will give extra protection for foreign investors, and includes incentives to encourage foreign investment, and aims to enhance the investment climate in the UAE and to ensure economic diversification in line with UAE Vision 2021.

Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri said that the AIM which is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, UAE Vice President has gained an ever increasing regional and international attention since its inception two years ago, especially in light of political, economic, financial and climate crises which still threaten the future of the world.

The meeting has become a comprehensive platform in bringing the attention of government, decision makers, private sector and other related entities including the civil society as it offers exclusive discussions to exchange views

between participants from around the world.

This event is also important as it allows the concluding of trade deals and ratification of the agreements between the countries of the world.

Al-Mansouri hailed the efforts of Ministry of Foreign Trade headed by Sheikha Lubnabint Khalid Al-Qasimi, the Minister of International Cooperation and Developmentand her role in making this meeting a success in its past editions. The Ministry of Foreign Trade was the host of this event, however Ministry of Economy will now host this event as MOFT tasks were shifted to MoE as per the new cabinet formation announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Ministry of Economy will build on efforts to make this event

Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri

a destination for investors from around the world. Minister of Economy also stressed on the importance of the third edition of this meeting which be held on April 30. He said that the AIM draws a true picture of the global economic landscape in light of the crises and challenges. It also monitors the repercussions of these crises on foreign direct investment, referring to the accelerated change in the international economy in light of the multiplicity of attractive investment destinations. The new realities require concerted efforts and professional implementation of creativity and innovation in planning for future projects.

He described the UAE as a motivating environment for investors, as it allows full ownership in free zones, and has state of the art infrastructure, availability of efficient and highly qualified manpower, the protection of intellectual property rights and laws against piracy, strategic geographical location which is a gateway to the MENA and South Asia for international companies that look for premium investments.

Al-Mansouri emphasized on promising investment opportunities in the aviation, tourism and hospitality, retail, health care, industry, oil and gas, renewable energy, financial services, logistics and education. The minister underlined that UAE economy has countless features and characteristics including premium investment environment supported by security, political stability and modern infrastructure. This is in addition to the strategic location as international trade hub providing access to all regional and international markets as well as advanced laws that protect capital, investment and flexible economic legislations and low custom tariffs with rates ranging from zero to 5 percent and the absence of income tax.

He stressed on the importance of the foreign direct investment to the United Arab Emirates and its impact on sustainable development, and role in strengthening the national economy, and success of UAE’s strategy to build a sustainable economy based on knowledge and innovation, and in line with UAE Vision 2021.

Automak adds Higer dealership to portfolio KUWAIT: Automak, a leading Kuwaiti Company in the field of transport solutions, has announced its acquisition of the exclusive dealership in Kuwait for Higer, the gigantic Chinese company for light duty vehicles (LDV ). Automakis also Higer’s exclusive dealer in Egypt for buses, small trucks, and LDV. The agreement was signed by the Chief Operating Officer of AutoMAK, Omar Al-Omar, during his visit to the Higer factory in China, where he met with the Company’s management and viewed their operations. From Higer’s side, the agreement was signed

by Chen Siran, Lieu Yu, and Yuchao Ma. In commenting on this agreement, Al-Omar stated: “We are very proud of this partnership and our acquisition of exclusive dealership of Higer in Kuwait and Egypt. This is an excellent addition to our current dealerships; allowing us to offer our clients broader choices and services in line with our philosophy that our client satisfaction is our main concern.”

Al-Omar added that “Chinese companies now hold a strong presence in the international market, and they are in direct competition with other similar companies in terms of quality.” Further, he stated: “We are

excited about this partnership and look forward to building a new success story for Automakand Higer in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Al-Omar pointed out that “Higer’sLDV combine performance, strength, endurance, and long term durability with a modern, elegant design. We have introduced these trucks to the Kuwaiti and Egyptian markets k nowing that they ’ll be well received because of their practicality and their catering to the various needs of individuals and companies.”

Chen Siran from Higer confirmed that “Higer products have contributed positively to the reputation of Chinese manufacturing because of our success in arriving at an ideal formula that combines practicality and durability with performance and elegance. This has allowed us to become one of the top three buses and small trucks manufacturing companies in China.” He added: “We are very proud of this partnership with Automakthat is present in various markets such as the dynamic market of the Gulf region as well as the gigantic market in the Middle East and North Africa.Automak, specializing in transport solutions, is compatible with our specifications; thus making it the ideal partner to represent us in

KUWAIT: Ghazi Al-Omar and Omar Al-Omar are seen during the signing of the agreement.

the region. We are confident that this partnership between Higer and Automakwill prosper and prove successful to both parties.

It is noteworthy to add that Higer is now available in Automakshowrooms where its vehicles are offered for sale with a 3-yearor 100,000 km warranty. In addition, Automak manages and operates a fleet of 5000 cars and vehicles, and employs around 1,000 personnel in its main branch in Kuwait and its regional branches in Qatar, Egypt, and China.

Automak offers a variety of services. These include long-term and short-term rental of cars, large trucks, and small trucks to individuals as well as companies.

It also provides drivers, individual and family airport services, and special services for VIP’s. In addition, Automaksells used cars through the “SAFQA” service.

It also provides various services to fund car sales catering to all budgets and needs; along with insurance services. Another one of Automak’sservices is vehicle maintenance and spare partsat Automak Express Service Center. Automak is also the exclusive distributor for various automotive international companies such as “Hercules” Tires, “Adnoc Voyager” Grease, Oil, and Coolants; and “DFAC” Trucks.

Since its inception in 2002, Automakhas taken pride in its products’ quality, services, as well as the comprehensive services that it offers its clients. As a result, Automakhas earned a favorable reputation as one of the leading companies in the domain of transport solutions. As for Higer, it was established in 1998 and achieved record growth by becoming one of the top three vehicle manufacturing companies in China. Higer has acquired a favorable reputation in China where it is considered one of the leading manufac turing companies in a countr y with the strongest growing economy in the world. Around the world, Higer is famous for its varied and practical products that provide a high value for cost.

Higer manufactures 22,000 vehicles yearly, of 50 different types. These include public transportation busses, small trucks, and lightweight trucks. The company adheres to the highest international safety measures, and has received the “BAAV” award for the safest vehicle for five consecutive years. Higer is in partnership with the reputable Swedish factory “Scania”, and has received local and international awards along with its dazzling economic success stories.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

technology

Youth flock to mobile messaging apps, may be threat to Facebook SAN FRANCISCO: Create personal profiles. Build networks of friends. Share photos, videos and music. That might sound precisely like Facebook, but hundreds of millions of tech-savvy young people have instead turned to a wave of smartphone-based messaging apps that are now sweeping across North America, Asia and Europe.

The hot apps include Kik and Whatsapp, both products of North American startups, as well as Kakao Inc’s KakaoTalk, NHN Corp’s LINE and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat, which have blossomed in Asian markets.

Combining elements of text messaging and social networking, the apps provide a quick-fire way for smartphone users to trade everything from brief texts to flirtatious pictures to YouTube clips bypassing both the SMS plans offered by wireless carriers and established social networks originally designed as websites.

Facebook, with 1 billion users, remains by far the world’s most popular website, and its stepped-up focus on mobile has made it the most-used smartphone app as well. Still, across Silicon Valley, investors and industry insiders say there is a possibility that the messaging apps could threaten Facebook’s dominance over the next few years. The larger ones are even starting to emerge as full-blown “platforms” that can support third-party applications such as games.

To be sure, many of those who are using the new messaging apps remain on Facebook, indicating there is little immediate sign of the giant social media company losing its lock on the market.

And at a press event this week, the company will unveil news relating to Android, the world’s most popular smartphone operating system, which could include a new version of Android with deeper integration of Facebook messaging tools - or possibly even a Facebook-branded phone. But the firms that can take over the messaging world should be able to make some big inroads, investors say.

“True interactions are conversational in nature,” says Rich Miner, a partner at Google Ventures who invested in San Francisco-based MessageMe, a new entrant in the messaging market. “More people text and make phone calls than get on to social networks. If one company dominates the replacement of that traffic, then by definition that’s very big.”

Facebook spokespeople declined to comment for this article, citing this Thursday’s planned announcement.

Facebook’s big challenge is reeling back users like Jacob Robinson, a 15-year old high school student in Newcastle upon Tyne in the U.K., who said the Kik messaging app “blew up” among his friends about six months ago. It has remained the most-used app on his Android phone because it is the easiest way for him to send different kinds of multimedia for free, which he estimated he does about 200 times a day.

Robinson said he trades snapshots of his homework with friends while they stay up late studying for their exams - or not. “We also stay up in bed with our phone all night, just on YouTube searching for funny videos, then you quickly share it with your friends,” he added. “It’s easy. You can flip in and out of Kik.” Facebook “has really started to lose its edge over here,” said Robinson, who found his interactions on Facebook less interesting than his real-time chats.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Kik has racked up 40 million users since launching in 2010. Silicon Valley entrants in the race include Whatsapp, funded by Sequoia Capital, and MessageMe, launched earlier this month by a group of viral game makers. MessageMe has received seed-stage funding from True Ventures and First Round Capital, among others, and claimed 1 million downloads in its first week. Meanwhile, Asian companies are producing some of the fastestgrowing apps in history. Tencent’s WeChat boasts 400 million users - far more than Twitter, by way of comparison

- while LINE and KakaoTalk claim 120 million and 80 million users, respectively.

Both have laid the groundwork to expand into the US market.

The growth in the messaging apps reflect the dramatic shift in Internet usage in recent years, as Web visits via desktop computers have stagnated while smartphone ownership and app downloads have skyrocketed.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has publicly called Facebook a “mobile company” to emphasize the company’s priorities. Last year, he splashed $1 billion for photo-sharing app Instagram, which has remained red hot, while Facebook also launched its own Messenger app, offering a suite of smartphone communication tools.

Still, Facebook has also been forced to play defense. Earlier this year, the company cut off its data integration with a young startup called Snapchat and then mimicked its feature with a new messaging tool called Poke, which sends messages that self-destruct. It has also shut off its integration with messaging apps like MessageMe and Voxer.

At the same time, Facebook has also hired graphic artists to draw emoticons and graphics for Messenger that emulate features of the wildly popular Asian apps like LINE, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Dave Morin, an early Facebook employee who left to found the “private” social network Path in 2010, said he recognized last summer the critical role of messaging functions in smartphone apps, and quickly began working to incorporate them.

Since Path released a new version of its app earlier this month, the number of Path’s daily users has risen 15 percent, which Morin attributed to the new messaging features.

“What’s the number one reason why people have this thing?” said Morin, holding up his iPhone. “It’s to call, to text, to communicate.” Messaging,

Morin added, is “the basis for the mobile social network.”

While established social networks move to incorporate messaging features, the new-wave messaging apps are looking to grow into social networking platforms that support a variety of features and enable innovations from outside developers.

“The tried and true approach for a social network is first you build a network, then you build apps on your own, then you open it up to third par ty developers,” said Charles Hudson, a partner at early stage venture capital firm SoftTech VC. The moves mirror Facebook ’s younger days, when its user growth and revenues were boosted by game publishers like Zynga Inc, which made popular games like FarmVille for the Facebook platform.

In the South Korean market, for instance, eight of the top ten highest grossing Android apps are games built on top of K ak aoTalk. Tencent announced in November that it would introduce a mobile wallet feature enabling payment for goods with WeChat. And Tencent also makes money in China by using the app’s location data to displaying nearby merchants’ deals to potential customers.

If the messaging apps reach a certain scale, they could form networks that rival Facebook’s “social graph,” the network of user connections and activities that enable highly targeted delivery of content and advertising.

“The folks on your address book are ver y different from your Facebook friends and your LinkedIn contacts, and that’s a natural place for a very powerful graph to be created,” said Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital.

Ted Livingston, the 25-year old chief executive of Kik, said he developed the capability for his service to support external features in November, and he plans to open the platform to outside

developers in the near future.

Livingston said Kik and Whatsapp were “in a race to see who’s the first to build a platform.” Whatsapp, which has been the most widely downloaded communication app for both iOS and Android in recent months, according to analysis firm App Annie, has been profitable by selling subscriptions to its service for $1 a year. Although it has remained mum about its platform plans, the company has been rumored to be in talks with Asian game publishers about hosting games, according to news reports in South Korea.

Goetz declined to address the reports, saying only that because it relied on a subscription business model, Whatsapp did not need to sell games or ads to make money. Still, he said, the Whatsapp team “spends a lot of time thinking about the developer community.”

Established social networking giants could also swoop in for the upstarts and Facebook has demonstrated its appetite for acquisitions.

Indeed, investors are eyeing a round of potentially lucrative buyouts resembling the series of deals involving group messaging applications in 2011.

Facebook acquired group messaging app Beluga in March of that year, enlisting its founders to help build its own stand alone app, Messenger, which launched six months later.

In late 2010, First Round Capital, an early stage venture capital firm, invested in GroupMe, a group messaging startup that was sold to Skype just fifteen months after it launched.

Kent Goldman, a First Round partner who has backed MessageMe, said it was unlikely that the market in the long term could support numerous independent messaging startups, which by their nature become more powerful as they grow larger. “You don’t want to be the smallest one when the music stops,” he said. —Reuters

YouTube shuts down, Google sniffs in April Fool gags PARIS: YouTube is shutting down, Twitter users have to pay for the use of vowels, and the new Google Nose search engine will bring a whiff of wet dog or daisies right to your computer or smartphone.

Smells fishy? These internet giants went allout to try and bamboozle their users with April Fool’s gags on the most mischievous day of the year.

YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing site, revealed it had merely been an eight-year contest to find the best video and would be closing to review all entries. The winner would be announced in 2023.

“We are so close to the end. Tonight at midnight, youtube.com will no longer be accepting entries. After eight amazing years, it is finally time to review everything that has been uploaded to our site and begin the process of selecting a winner,” said Tim Liston, named as “competition director.”

YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar said that “we started YouTube in 2005 as a contest with a simple goal: to find the best video in the world.”

In keeping with its prankster reputation, Google also unveiled a complex search engine that would offer “the sharpest olfactory experience available.”

The search engine claims to have a database of smells from all over the world. Users can search for “new car smell”, or “Egyptian tomb”, sniff their screen and even share it with a friend.

Google’s “Android Ambient Odor Detection” also allows you to collect smells on your phone.

Meanwhile micro-blogging site Twitter said it had decided to shave off even more characters by providing a new vowel-free service to users. “ Trd th nw Twttr yt? Mr tm fr mr twts” (Translation: “Tried the new Twttr yet? More time for more tweets”) the site announced. Of course, vowels would still be available but only to premium users willing to pay five dollars a month.

Several recent newsmakers were targeted in other pranks on April Fool’s Day with North Korea cropping up twice. South Africa’s Daily Maverick newspaper carried a story headlined “ Exclusive: Oscar Pistorius signs up for North Korea’s inaugural Friendship Run.” The paper said the double-amputee paralympian sprint star who is charged with killing his model girlfriend, will lead SA’s team in Kim Jong-Un’s bid to build bridges between lessunderstood world regimes and less-understood global figures.

“Just days after being allowed to travel while on bail, Oscar Pistorius has received an unexpected honour: A personal invitation from North Korea’s newly-minted and beloved leader, Kim Jong-Un, to join the many worthy celebrities participating in his Friendship Run, a 10km race through the exquisitely manicured streets of Pyongyang.

When he heard of the invitation, Pistorius said: “I’ll take it.”

On hearing that the race was not going to be his favourite 400m sprint, but 25 times longer at 10km, Pistorius curtly replied: “I’ll be fine.”

Meanwhile German news website Tagesschau.de reported that television actor David Hasselhoff, known for roles in Baywatch and Knight Rider, had been asked by the US State Department to mediate in North Korea.

“Until now, diplomatic efforts have gotten us nowhere, as have resolutions and sanctions. Why not try less controversial methods for once?” the newspaper cited State Department spokeswoman Victorie Nuland as saying.

Hasselhoff is very popular in Germany where he had a number one hit with his song “Looking for Freedom” which he sang in front of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He recently sang the song to massive crowds in the German capital protesting the removal of a part of the wall for a construction project.

The Huffington Post news website reported the wealthy Qatari backers of London’s new Shard skyscraper were building the “Shlide”, a heartstopping thrill ride curving all the way down the 72-floor building.

Providing an image of the slide, the site quotes Project Co-Ordinator, “Dizzy ” Lizzy McGovern who said there had been some teething problems in the project.

“We wish Brian, the initial tester, a speedy recovery after the operation to replace both his knees.” —AFP

Tech firms bumping up perks to recruit, retain CUPERTINO: Apple’s ring-shaped, gleaming “Spaceship Headquarters” will include a world class auditorium and an orchard for engineers to wander. Google’s new Bay View campus will feature walkways angled to force accidental encounters. Facebook, while putting final touches on a Disney-inspired campus including a Main Street with a B-B-Q shack, sushi house and bike shop, is already planning an even larger, more exciting new campus.

More than ever before, Silicon Valley firms want their workers at work.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has gone so far as to ban working from home, and many more offer prodigious incentives for coming in to the office, such as free meals, massages and gyms.

This spring, as the tech industry is soaring out of the Great Recession, plans are in the works for a flurry of massive, perk-laden headquarters.

“We’re seeing the mature technology companies trying to energize their work environments, getting rid of cube farms and investing in facilities to compete for talent,” said Kevin Schaeffer, a principal at architecture and design firm Gensler in San Jose.

“That’s caused a huge transition in the way offices are laid out.”

New Silicon Valley headquarters or expansions are under way at most of the area’s major firms, including eBay, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia and Oracle. Many will be huge: Apple Corp.’s 176-acre campus will be one of the world’s largest workplaces.

On the outside, many of the new buildings boast striking architectural designs and will collectively be among the most environmentally friendly in the country. Inside, there are walls you can draw on, ping pong tables, Lego

stations, gaming arcades and free haircuts.

Critics say that while some workplace perks and benefits are a good thing, the large, multibillion dollar corporate headquarters are colossal wastes of money that snub the pioneering technology these firms actually create.

“Companies led by older management tend to be very controlling, but when I look at people in the 20s or 30s, they’re totally capable of working on their own and being productive,” said Kevin Wheeler, whose Future of Talent Institute researches and consults on human resources for Silicon Valley businesses. “To have artificial structures that require everybody to be in the office at certain hours of the day is simply asinine.”

Wheeler said he thinks Yahoo called everyone back to work “because they had gotten into a culture of laziness,” and that the firm will likely loosen the restrictions soon. Yahoo was, in fact, an early model of Silicon Valley’s happy workplace culture, touting their espresso bar and inspirational speakers as a method of inspiring passion and originality. Today yoga, cardio-kickboxing and golf classes at the office, as well as discounts to ski resorts and theme parks, help it receive top ratings as one of America’s happiest workplaces.

Companies say extraordinary campuses are necessary to recruit and retain top talent and to spark innovation and creativity. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. The publicly traded 100 Best Companies To Work For in America consistently outperform major stock indices and have more qualified job

applicants and higher productivity, according to the San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute. That may not always be obvious, however.

“People do work really, really hard here,” Facebook spokesman Slater Tow said as an engineer glided past a row of second floor conference rooms on a skateboard. “They have to be passionate about what they do. If they’re not, we would rather someone who is.”

He points out the Jumbotron frame for outdoor movies, the Nacho Royale taqueria, a bank branch with tellers standing by, an artist in residence.

Traditional benefits are part of the Silicon Valley packages as well.

Facebook offers free train passes, a shuttle to work, a month of paid vacation, full health care and stock options.

Facebook staffers are welcome to stop by and play in Ben Barry‘s Analog Research Laboratory, a large, sunlit studio with laser cutters, woodworking tools, a letter press machine and silk screening supplies.

“I believe if people feel they can control their environment, that leads to a greater sense of ownership over the product,” says Barry, who makes posters for the campus walls with mantras like “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” and “Move fast and break things.” —AP

BARCELONA: A man displays a Sony SmartWatch conected to a Sony mobile phone during a presentation at the Mobile World Congress in this February 28, 2012 in Barcelona. Amid much speculation on the future of the “smartwatch,” the consensus is growing: the time is right. In recent weeks, reports have surfaced about plans for smartwatches from tech giants Apple, Samsung and Google, with launches possible later this year. —AFP

BANGKOK: This picture taken on March 21, 2013 shows a woman (R) using a smartphone at a BTS train station in Bangkok. A recent Facebook-sponsored study showed smartphone owners are often connected all day. People can be found glued to their smartphones at airports, on trains, in restaurants and even while walking on the street, creating a disconnection from their immediate surroundings. Smartphone sales are expected to continue to surge this year with some 918 million units to be bought worldwide. —AFP

Time for Apple to step in and disrupt TV business WASHINGTON: Steve Jobs couldn’t hide his frustration. Asked at a technology conference in 2010 whether Apple might finally turn its attention to television, he launched into an exasperated critique of TV. Cable and satellite TV companies make cheap, primitive set-top boxes that “squash any opportunity for innovation,” he fumed. Viewers are stuck with “a table full of remotes, a cluster full of boxes, a bunch of different [interfaces].” It was the kind of technological mess that cried out for Apple to clean it up with an elegant product. But Jobs professed to have no idea how his company could transform the TV. Scarcely a year later, however, he sounded far more confident. Before he died on Oct 5, 2011, he told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, that Apple wanted to create an “integrated television set that is completely easy to use.” It would sync with other devices and Apple’s iCloud online storage service and provide “the simplest user interface you could imagine.” He added, tantalizingly, “I finally cracked it.”

Precisely what he cracked remains hidden behind Apple’s shroud of secrecy. Apple has had only one television-related product-the black, hockey-puck-size Apple TV device, which streams shows and movies to a TV. For years, Jobs and Tim Cook, his successor as CEO, called that device a “hobby.” But under the guise of this hobby, Apple has been steadily building hardware, software, and services that make it easier for people to watch shows and movies in whatever way they wish. Already, the company has more of the pieces for a compelling next-generation TV experience than people might realize.

And as Apple showed with the iPad and iPhone, it doesn’t have to invent every aspect of a product in order for it to be disruptive.

Instead, it has become the leader in consumer electronics by combining existing technologies with some of its own and packaging them into products that are simple to use. TV seems to be at that moment now.

People crave something better than the fusty, rigidly controlled cable TV experience, and indeed, the technologies exist for something better to come along. Speedier broadband connections, mobile TV apps, and the availability of some shows and movies on demand from Netflix and Hulu have made it

easier to watch TV anytime, anywhere. The number of U.S. cable and satellite subscribers has been flat since 2010.

Apple would not comment. But it’s clear from two dozen interviews with people close to Apple suppliers and partners, and with people Apple has spoken to in the TV industry, that television-the medium and the device-is indeed its next target.

The biggest question is not whether Apple will take on TV, but when. The company must eventually come up with another breakthrough product; with annual revenue already topping $156 billion, it needs something very big to keep growth humming after the next year or two of the iPad boom. Walter Price, managing director of Allianz Global Investors, which holds nearly $1 billion in Apple shares, met with Apple executives in September and came away convinced that it would be years before Apple could get a significant share of the $345 billion worldwide market for televisions. But at $1,000, the bare minimum most analysts expect an Apple television to cost, such a product would eventually be a significant revenue generator. “You sell 10 million of those, it can move the needle,” he says.

Cook, who replaced Jobs as CEO in August 2011, could use a boost, too. He has presided over missteps such as a flawed iPhone mapping app that led to a rare apology and a major management departure. Seen as a peerless operations whiz, Cook still needs a revolutionary product of his own to cement his place next to Saint Steve. Corey Ferengul, a principal at the digital media investment firm Apace Equities and a former executive at Rovi, which provided TV programming guide services to Apple and other companies, says an Apple TV will be that product: “This will be Tim Cook’s first ‘holy shit’ innovation.”

Rapt attention would be paid to whatever round-edged piece of brushed-aluminum hardware Apple produced, but a television set itself would probably be the least important piece of its television strategy. In fact, many well-connected people in technology and television, from TV and online video maven Mark Cuban to venture capitalist and former Apple executive Jean-Louis GassÈe, can’t figure out why Apple would even bother with the machines. —MCT

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

CDC: 24 E coli illnesses linked to frozen foods NEW YORK: Health officials say at least 24 people have become sick from an outbreak of E coli infections linked to frozen snack foods marketed to children. No one has died, but eight people, mostly kids or teens, were hospitalized. An investigation detected E. coli in an open package of Farm Rich brand frozen chicken quesadillas at an ill person’s home.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported illnesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The Buffalo, NY based Rich Products Corp. has recalled quesadillas, mozzarella bites and other frozen products made in November.—Reuters

One in five US teenage boys diagnosed ADHD WASHINGTON: Nearly one in five American teenage boys is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, marking a dramatic rise in the past decade, the New York Times reported yesterday. The condition, for which potent stimulant drugs like Adderal or Ritalin are often prescribed, has been previously estimated to affect three to seven percent of children. The newspaper compiled the data from raw figures provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which took a phone survey of 76,000 parents from 2011 to 2012.

The report said that 15 percent of school-age boys in the United States have received an ADHD diagnosis, compared to seven percent among girls.

Among those age 14 to 17, the rate was higher: 19 percent for boys and 10 percent for girls. An estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 have received an ADHD diagnosis at some point in their lives, a 16 percent increase since 2007 and a 53 percent rise in the past decade, the newspaper said.

Experts said the figures were surpris-

ing and raised concern about the potential for abuse of the medications used to treat ADHD, as well as risks of misuse including psychosis, anxiety and addiction. “We need to ensure balance,” CDC director Thomas Frieden was quoted as saying. “The right medications for ADHD, given to the right people, can make a huge difference. Unfortunately, misuse appears to be growing at an alarming rate.”

James Swanson, a professor of psychiatry at Florida International University and a leading ADHD researcher, expressed concern about the findings.

“There’s no way that one in five highschool boys has ADHD,” he was quoted as saying. “If we start treating children who do not have the disorder with stimulants, a certain percentage are going to have problems that are predictable-some of them are going to end up with abuse and dependence.” The newspaper also noted that sales of stimulants that treat ADHD have more than doubled in recent years. In 2007, sales amounted to four billion dollars; in 2012 they were to nine billion dollars.—AFP

WASHINGTON: File photo shows Rep Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill, speaks during a Debt Commission meeting on Capitol Hill.—AP

Can mass marketing heal the splits on ‘Obamacare’?

WASHINGTON: How do you convince millions of average Americans that one of the most complex and controversial programs devised by government may actually be a good deal for them? With the nation still split over President Barack Obama’s health care law, the administration has turned to the science of mass marketing for help in understanding the lives of uninsured people, hoping to craft winning pitches for a surprisingly varied group in society. The law’s supporters will have to make the sale in the run-up to an election - the 2014 midterms. Already Republicans are hoping for an “Obamacare” flop that helps them gain control of the Senate, while Democrats are eager for the public to finally embrace the Affordable Care Act, bringing political deliverance.

It turns out America’s more than 48 million uninsured people are no monolithic mass. A marketing analysis posted online by the federal Health and Human Services Department reveals six distinct groups, three of which appear critical to the success or failure of the program. They’re the “Healthy & Young,” comprising 48 percent of the uninsured, the “Sick, Active & Worried,” (29 percent of the uninsured), and the “Passive & Unengaged” (15 percent). The Healthy & Young take good health for granted, are tech-savvy and have “low motivation to enroll.” The Sick, Active & Worried are mostly Generation X and baby boomers, active seekers of health care information and worried about costs. The Passive & Unengaged group is mostly 49 and older, “lives for today,” and doesn’t understand much about health insurance.

The challenge for the administration is obvious: signing up lots of the Healthy & Young, as well as the Passive & Unengaged, to offset the higher costs of covering the sick and worried. Uninsured middle-class Americans will be able to sign up for subsidized private health plans through new insurance markets in their states starting Oct 1. Low-income uninsured people will be steered to safety net programs like Medicaid. “The goal here is to get as many people enrolled as possible,” Gary Cohen, the HHS official overseeing the rollout of the law, told insurers at a recent industry conference. Partly for that reason the first open enrollment period will continue until March 31, 2014.

Coverage under the law takes effect Jan 1. That’s also when the legal requirement that most Americans carry health insurance goes into force. Insurance companies will be barred from turning the sick away or charging them more. The new law is mainly geared to the uninsured and to people who buy coverage directly from

insurance companies. Most Americans in employer plans are not expected to see major changes. Administration officials say they see an opportunity to change the national debate about health care. They want to get away from shouting matches about the role of government and start millions of practical conversations about new benefits that can help families and individuals.

The HHS marketing materials reveal some barriers to getting the uninsured to embrace the law. The Healthy & Young lead busy lives and tend to be procrastinators.

Plus, why would they need health insurance if they’re full of vigor? The Passive & Unengaged fear the unknown and have difficulty navigating the health care system. The Sick, Active & Worried dread making wrong decisions. Marketing for the new system will start this summer, going into high gear during the fall after premiums and other plan information becomes public. There’s already widespread concern that the new coverage costs too much, because of a combination of sicker people joining the pool and federal requirements that insurers offer more robust benefits. A recent study by the Society of Actuaries forecast sticker shock, estimating that insurers will have to pay an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies. The administration says such studies are misleading because they don’t take into account parts of the law that offset costs to individuals and insurance companies, along with other provisions that promote competition and increase oversight of insurance rates.

Rep Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill, who has long supported coverage for the uninsured, is predicting vindication for Obama once people see how the program really works.

“It’s harder to sell what is a pretty new idea for Americans while it is still in the abstract,” said Schakowsky, who represents Chicago. “I think as people experience it, they ’re going to love it, much like Medicare.” That will put wind in the sails of Democratic candidates. “I think it’s going to be a very popular feature as far as the American way of life before too long,” Schakowsky added. But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says Democrats have been predicting for years that Americans would learn to love the health care overhaul and that has not happened. McConnell had his picture taken next to a 7-foot stack of “Obamacare” regulations recently to underscore his disdain.

“I agree that it will be a big issue in 2014,” said McConnell. “I think it will be an albatross around the neck of every Democrat who voted for it. They are going to be running away from it, not toward it.”—AP

MUMBAI: (Left) A receptionist sits in the front office of Novartis India yesterday. (Right) Indian protesters march during a demonstration against Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis, outside their offices.— AP

Drug maker Novartis loses India patent battle Activists see verdict as win for patients in poor countries NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG’s attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines. Novartis had argued that it needed a patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the drug did not merit intellectual property protection in India because it was not a new medicine.

In response to the ruling, Novartis said it would not invest in drug research in India.

The court’s decision has global significance since India’s $26 billion generic drug industry, which supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world, could be stunted if Indian law allowed global drug companies to extend the lifespan of patents by making minor changes to medicines. Once a drug’s patent expires, generic manufacturers can legally produce it. They are able to make drugs at a fraction of the original manufacturer’s cost because they don’t carr y out the expensive research and development.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, which makes a version of Glivec for less than a tenth of the original drug’s selling price, said the court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug, and not to those which are only slightly different from the original. “Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug,” Singh told reporters outside the court. Novartis called the ruling a “setback for patients,” and said patent protection is crucial to fostering investment in research to develop new and better drugs.

Ranjit Shahani, the vice chairman and managing director of Novartis India, said the ruling “will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options.” He said the court’s decision made India an even less attractive country for major investments by international pharmaceutical companies. “Novartis will not invest

in drug research in India. Not only Novartis, I don’t think any global company is planning to research in India,” he said. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 to patent a new version of Glivec, which is mainly used to treat leukemia and is known as Gleevec outside India and Europe. The earlier version of Glivec did not have an Indian patent because its development far predated the country’s 2005 patent law.

Novartis said Glivec is patented in nearly 40 other countries. India’s

patent office rejected the company’s patent application, arguing the drug was not a new medicine but an amended version of its earlier product. The patent authority cited a provision in the 2005 patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for making only minor changes to existing medicines - a practice known as “evergreening.” Novartis appealed, arguing the drug was a more easily absorbed version of Glivec and that it qualified for a patent because it was “a revolutionary treatment,” not an incremental improvement.

MUMBAI: In this photograph taken on December 21, 2012, Indian protesters march holding placards during a demonstration against Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis, outside their offices.—AFP

Anand Grover, a lawyer for the Cancer Patients Aid Association, which led the legal fight against Novartis, said the ruling Monday prevented the watering down of India’s patent laws.

“This is a very good day for cancer patients. It’s the news we have been waiting for for seven long years,” he said. Aid groups, including Medicins Sans Frontieres, have opposed Novartis’ case, fearing that a victory for the Swiss drugmaker would limit access to important medicines for millions of poor people around the world. Glivec, used in treating chronic myeloid leukemia and some other cancers, costs about $2,600 a month. Its generic version was available in India for around $175 per month.

“The difference in price was huge.

The generic version makes it affordable to so many more poor people, not just in India, but across the world,” said Y.K. Sapru, of the Mumbai-based cancer patients association.

“For cancer sufferers, this ruling will mean the difference between life and death. Because the price at which it was available, and considering it’s the only lifesaving drug for chronic myeloid cancer patients, this decision will make a huge difference,” Sapru said. Leena Menghaney of Medicins Sans Frontieres said India would continue to grant patents on new medicines. “This doesn’t mean that no patents will be granted. Patents will continue to be granted by India, but definitely the abusive practice of getting many patents on one drug will be stopped,” Menghaney said.

The judgment would ensure that the prices of lifesaving drugs would come down as many more companies would produce generic versions. “We’ve seen this happening with HIV medicines, where the cost of HIV treatment has come down from $10,000 to $150 per year. Cancer treatment costs have come down by 97 percent in the case of many cancer drugs,” she said. “This decision is incredibly important. The Supreme Court decision will save a lot of lives in the coming decades,” Menghaney said.—AP

No sign of human transmission in new bird flu appearance-WHO BEIJING: The World Health Organization says no evidence has emerged to show that a type of bird flu which has killed two Chinese men can be transmitted between people.

Two men in Shanghai, aged 87 and 27, fell sick in late February. A woman in Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in critical condition. “At this point, these three are isolated cases with no evidence of human-to-human transmission”, the WHO representative in China, Dr Michael O’Leary, told reporters yesterday.

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed on Sunday that the three cases were the H7N9 virus, which had not previously been known to infect humans.”A new virus tends to be more virulent in the beginning. Either it is going to become a truly human virus, in which case we have to start dealing with it regularly, or it is going to be primarily an animal virus with just a rare human case,” O’Leary said.

Some Chinese had complained that authorities took too long before announcing the deaths on Sunday. O’Leary said the government acted properly as the deaths needed to be investigated. “China actually for a long time has been reporting promptly and openly. I think SARS was a turning point globally for that sort of thing. Not just in China,” he said. He was referring to the 2003 epidemic of Severe Acute Respirator y Syndrome, which caused a scandal when official numbers of cases were later dramatically revised upwards.

SARS emerged in China and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. People buying poultry at a Shanghai market yesterday said they were worried the incidents had been made public only weeks after the deaths and said they hoped the government would be quick to report any

new cases. “In the future, no matter what it is, the government should make it public quickly and let the people know early. That way they can prevent it themselves”, said shopper Zhang Zhili, 60.

Many users of Chinese microblogs, known as “weibo”, said they suspected the latest outbreak of bird flu was related to more than 16,000 pig carcasses recently found dumped

ZOUPING: A woman stands near chickens at a chicken farm in east China’s Shandong province yesterday.(Inset) World Health Organization’s China representative Michael O’Lear y speaks during a press conference yesterday.—AFP/AP

in rivers around Shanghai. O’Leary said that while the dead pigs were part of the overall investigation, there was no evidence of any connection. It is not known how the three victims were infected. The virus does not seem highly contagious because no health abnormalities were detected among 88 of the victims’ close contacts, the health commission said. —Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

A day for Palestine at GUST 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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ulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) welcomed The Kuwaitis for Jerusalem (KFJ) Organization, a part of the Graduates Society and Women Cultural Social Society for a one-day exhibition they organized. The exhibition aimed to raise awareness about the issues in Palestine among staff and students at GUST by having a selection of activities throughout the day. The Kuwaitis for Jerusalem

Organization’s objectives are mainly to raise awareness among Kuwaiti citizens about the Palestinian crisis. They hold fund raising events for educational and health programs, find matches between donors and donations and organize awareness campaigns to explain and educate Kuwaitis about the Palestinian issue regarding the war and wall of division. They also gather donations from exhibitions like these to fund long term

projects for Palestinians in health and education like offering scholarships to Palestinian students and helping nongovernmental organizations work with hospitals and cancer patients. The organization renovates old houses into social centers that help support other centers in the region.

Qassem Al-Istanbuli, a Lebanese citizen passionate about the Palestinian cause, performed a one=man skit at the

center of GUST about the ongoing crisis happening in Palestine and tried to show the Palestinian citizens’ situation through acting. Hand-made goods were sold at the exhibition with the participation and generosity of Kuwaiti businesses where the money was collected and used for donations. The event succeeded in raising awareness among GUST staff and students where attendees were both mentally and emotionally touched.

Announcements CRYcket 2013 tournament riends of CRY Club (FOCC) announces 16th CRY (Child Rights & You) cricket tournament for children and will be held at the GC grounds at Jaleeb Al-Shuyoukh on Friday, 12th Apr 2013 from 6:30 a.m to 4:30 pm. The one day “CRYcket” tournament is a very popular annual family event, participated by children under 14. 12 teams each are set to participate in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions initially in four groups in round robin fashion leading to 4 winners who will clash in the semifinals. The last date for registration of Teams is 5th Apr 2013. For more details & game rules, visit the FOCC website http://www.focckwt.org

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Basketball Academy he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls. Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

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IMAX

Tuesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 11:30am, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 5:30pm Wednesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Journey to Mecca 5:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 8:30pm Thursday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 5:30pm, 8:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 11:30am Tornado Alley 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 6:30pm Friday: Fires of Kuwait Tornado Alley 3D To The Arctic 3D Flight of Butterflies 3D Born to be Wild 3D

2:30pm 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm 4:30pm, 7:30pm 6:30pm 9:30pm

Saturday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 1:30pm, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 3:30pm Journey to Mecca 4:30pm Notes: All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request.

“Fires of Kuwait” is in English. Arabic headsets are available upon request.

Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

Saleem Akhter, Secretary General of Pakistan Christian Welfare Society in Kuwait has strongly condemned the brutal attack on the property of Christians in Lahore, Pakistan. This is not the first time that the minority in Pakistan has been tortured and victimized.

This ethnic cleansing of religious minorities has been ongoing since the implementation of blasphemy law from General Zia era in 1979, said Saleem. We, Pakistani Christians, working in Kuwait and our organization appeal to the government of Pakistan through our ambassador in Kuwait to change and amend the blasphemy law so that the minorities in Pakistan can live in peace like other citizens.

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

BSK Visions 2013 Exhibition

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he British School of Kuwait (BSK) recently held it’s annual Art, Design & Technology Exhibition ‘Visions’. The work featured is from students aged 6 to 18. The exhibition, housed in the school’s Euston Gallery, was opened by Syed Shahed Reza the Ambassador to Bangladesh and was also attended by their the ambassadors of Japan, Vietnam and Hungary.

All students at BSK study an extensive programme of Creative Arts including Fine Art, Ceramics, Design & Technology, Graphic Design and Photography as part of the curriculum. Across the four floors of the Euston Art building the Visions exhibition includes interactive activities where visitors could “Get Creative”, this year’s theme.

Visitors were able to try their hand at pottery in the Ceramics Studios. They could make finger puppets or mobile phone holders with the Design and Technology team on the first floor. A selection of BSK students (who were on hand in the gallery areas and classrooms to explain their creative endeavours) helped to demonstrate their own artistic flair in observational drawing and helped guests try it out themselves. Many visitors took the opportunity to study and observe the Sixth Form students in their Senior Studios working on examination and coursework pieces and discussed with them their interpretations of their personal themes.

The Visions exhibition annually showcases the artistic talents of our young people and has a central focus on demonstrating the key skills that students learn and develop as they progress through the school. Each display across the Art building includes examples of the preparatory stages of the work and an explanation of the artistic process (Research, Experimentation and Development) which goes into each and every project the students work on. Dr Dan Marsh and colleagues from the Art team as well as senior students were on hand to explain each display to guests. The main exhibition in the Euston Gallery may be viewed by visiting BSK throughout the week until the end of the current term in late April.

‘My Favorite Things’ at AUK

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he faculty recital entitled “My Favorite Things,” held at the American University of Kuwait (AUK)on March 20thfeatured critically acclaimed AUK Assistant Professor of Music Stephanie Shih-yu Cheng on the newly acquired Yamaha C7XPE grand piano.

The concert was Dr. Cheng’s debut performance in Kuwait after she joined the AUK music faculty in the fall of 2012. Dr. Cheng commenced the recital for the faculty with Bach’s Prelude in B minor, and subsequently played Mozart’s Twelve Variations on “Ah, vousdirai-je, Maman,” before moving to Chopin’s iconic Nocturne, Op.9 No. 2, Debussy’s famous Claire de Lune, Liszt’sLiebestraume, No. 3, Rodgers’ “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music, and finally Moszkowski’sCaprice Espagnol, Op. 37.

This semester’s recital was met with particular success; the auditorium was near capacity, the musical selection was popular with the audience, and Dr. Cheng’s talent on the piano was recognized and appreciated. Previously, Dr. Cheng has performed around the world in renowned locales including but not limited to Carnegie Hall in New York City, the National Concert Hall of Taipei, and the Opera City Hall of Tokyo. Her critics have referred to her performances as “memorable and sumptuous affairs” (New York Concert Review) and “fearless, with a graceful ease” (Courier-Post).

Before arriving at AUK, Dr Cheng was on the faculty of City University of New York, and Manhattan School of Music. Her most recent CD, a collaborative effort entitled License to Thrill, was released by Summit on March 12, 2013. More information about Dr. Cheng and her musical offerings are available at www.stephanie-cheng.com. The Department of Music and Drama at AUK offers a wide range of opportunities for both beginning and advanced students within the context of a liberal arts education.

The Music and Drama faculty of talented professionals work closely with students to prepare them for campus concerts and plays, and to academically challenge them in performing arts courses. The department fosters artistic proficiency, cultural appreciation, a sense of community, and a lifelong commitment to the arts.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Gulfmart inaugurates mini-supermarket in Mahboula

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

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

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ulfmart’s impressive growth as Kuwait’s fastest growing retail chain was given another boost on Friday March 29, when their 18th branch, and 5th mini-supermarket in the country, opened in Mahboula.

The new branch was inaugurated in front of a crowd of customers, well-wishers and top Gulfmart management by prominent entrepreneur and Indian community representative, Mathunny Mathew.

The new mini-supermarket, which is located in Block 3 of Mahboula, at the Mussad Al-Saleh Complex on Street 11, sported the brand’s easily visible, refreshingly new two-toned green leaf logo across the faÁade. The bracing new logo, which the brand adopted since November 2012, epitomizes a reinvigorated and dynamic Gulfmart, and underlines its fresh product offerings.

“Our new logo projects a fresh, vibrant and youthful image of Gulfmart at a time when we are into the second phase of our expansion drive in Kuwait and the region,” said Arif Sheikh, Managing Director of Gulfmart Group.

“We are excited at the opening of fifth mini supermarket in Mahboula and would like to thank our customers for their continued support and cooperation over the years.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Mahboula branch opening, Gulmart’s Country Manager in Kuwait, Dr TA Remesh, said, “The new branch in Mahboula is our fifth outlet in the mini- supermarket format. We plan on opening several more outlets in different size formats across Kuwait to take the total Gulfmart branches to 25 by end of 2013. Our expansion strategy,which has been labeled 25/25, envisions eventually opening 25 mini-supermar-

kets in the 800-3000 sq ft range all over Kuwait.” The country manager added, “In the immediate future, we will be launching a third branch in Fahaheel of 30,000 sqft, a second branch in Khaitan of similar area and a 10,000 sq ft third outlet in Hawally.”

The management team at Gulfmart expressed the view that the new branch in Mahboula was opened in response to clearly defined needs of customers in the area, and that the mini-supermarket format would prove to be as successful as the other four outlets already opened in various locations. They added that the new branch reinforced Gulfmart’s commitment to presenting customers in niche residential areas with enormous value through wide selection, competitive prices and excellent service, along with great offers and superb promotions.

The ambassador of Senegal and Dean of the diplomatic corps Abdul Abdou Lahad Mbacke held a farewell reception at Crowne Plaza on Sunday for the Russian ambassador to Kuwait Alexander Kinshchak on the occasion of the end of the diplomatic mission. It was attended by a remarkable number of diplomats and other dignitaries.

— Photos by Joseph Shagra

BSK students visit Nepal 19 intrepid explorers and 5 members of staff from The British School of Kuwait met at Kuwait International Airport, ready to depart on the adventure of a lifetime. What lay in store? New experiences? Excitement? A new perspective on things?

The group could only wonder as they moved through the airport bound for Kathmandu. A pleasant flight followed, and 13 hours later, a little weary, the team rolled out into the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, greeted by a cheery Chandra from NEAT Adventures. Rucksacks loaded onto the 4x4s, we rolled through the streets of Nepal’s capital, taking in the myriad unusual sights, sounds and smells of one the world’s most amazing cities. A delicious welcome meal followed, with traditional dancing laid on, giving us a warm welcome to the country and its traditions.

Rising early after a restful night, the groups took off out of Kathmandu and into the rural landscapes on Nepal. A seven-hour drive ensued, with stunning views and stop offs, and the group arrived at the first night’s campsite. Paddy fields to the right, an incredible river valley to the left, and lush forest and greenery all around. It was like a different world. We chatted with the locals, did some exploration (some for a little longer than others) and took the opportunity to fully experience the amazing surroundings in which we found ourselves. Some even boasted they’d seen a bear! After a hearty meal prepared by the excellent guides, it was off to bed to ready for the days trekking.

As the sun rose, so did our adventurers. Most had slept marvelously, taking full advantage of the clean mountain air and peaceful surroundings. Groups set off in 30 minutes intervals, heading down into the valley as moody clouds spirited over snow capped

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on shortstay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes.

Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database.

Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, firsttime applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com. nnnnnnn

peaks in the distance. Trekking along the river, the groups came to a newly constructed hydroelectric dam, highlighting the important changes that the country was currently undertaking as it developed.

After the dam was a good few hours of steady climbing. Some took to the challenge more warmly than others, but all BSK students fully acquitted themselves by the end of the day as they strode in to camp two, morale high and songs being carried across the valleys by enthusiastic voices.

Day two of trekking was short, but the height lost and gained was much greater than the previous day.

Knees groaned and ached under the pressure of a good two hour descent of steep hillside. A Harlem Shake on a suspension bridge later, and it was back up the other side of the valley towards the day’s final meeting point: Tawal School. The team entered as one, to a rapturous welcome from the staff and students at the school. It was hard to tell who appreciated whom more. Attitudes were shifting and opinions changing. Many were convinced that this was the greatest place they’d ever been.

Two days of work and service followed at the school. English was taught to classes ranging from KG to 19-year-olds, and all students adapted brilliantly to their newfound roles as teachers and educators. New phrases were passed on, some more useful than others, and everyone made a great impression on those they taught. Whilst teaching was an important part of the service, so was mainte-

nance and improvement of the school. The KG class was painted with friendly cartoon animals and decorated with letters and numbers. The window frames received a lick of paint, and, as a lasting reminder of BSK’s commitment to Tawal School, a mural was painted of Nepal’s national bird on a large rock in the playground and signed by the ‘BSK IA Silver Team, 2013’.

In the evening, a football friendly was held between BSK and the local Tawal team. Tawal, masters of the sport on uneven ground and at altitude, roundly saw off their BSK opposition, despite some stellar performances from all involved. Shirts were swapped and friendships made, and both teams left with an experience shared.

An early start to day three of the trek and the teams were on the home straight. Leaving the school as the students filtered in, the scenery unfolded into the most unforgettable of the journey so far. Everyone appreciated what an incredible place they were in, and many talked about how they would one day come back to the country ‘where the people had so little, but were so happy’. The trek drew to a close and the team arrived once again in Kathmandu for a final night, before exploring the city the next day. Monkey temple? Check. Rickshaw rides? Check. Shopping? Check. All returned to Kuwait as richer people. Their wealth? A raft of new experiences and stories to tell others, and the understanding of how lucky they really were.

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). nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA On the occasion of Easter Sunday and Family Day, the South African Embassy will be closed from Sunday, March 31 to Monday, April 1, 2013. The Embassy will resume it’s normal working hours on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the working hours will be from 8:00 to 16:00 & the Consular Section operation hours will from 8:30 to 12:30. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF TURKEY The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that a new classes of Turkish language for beginners will start at the Embassy’s Tourism, Culture and Information Office on 17 February 2013. The lessons will be two times in a week for six weeks, for further details and registration please contact. Or fill the application form on http://kuveyt.bemfa.gov.tr and send it to the email: embassy.Kuwait@mfa.gov.tr

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 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 Latin America Shamwari: A Wild Life Shamwari: A Wild Life World Wild Vet Shamwari: A Wild Life Dark Days In Monkey City 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 Dark Days In Monkey City Wildest Latin America Shamwari: A Wild Life Shamwari: A Wild Life World Wild Vet Animal Cops Philadelphia 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 Dark Days In Monkey City Wildest Latin America 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 Masterchef: The Professionals 02:55 Masterchef: The Professionals 03:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:15 Bargain Hunt 05:05 Bargain Hunt 05:50 House Swap 06:40 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 07:05 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 07:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 08:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 09:10 Homes Under The Hammer 10:00 Bargain Hunt 10:45 Antiques Roadshow 11:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 12:20 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

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

04:55 05:20 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

Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry 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 Leading Women 12:45 Future Cities 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 Leading Women 19:45 Future Cities 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

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

07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Ultimate Survival 08:45 Crash Course 09:10 Crash Course 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 Crash Course 17:20 Crash Course 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 Baggage Battles 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 The Kustomizer 06:15 Science Of The Movies 07:05 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 08:00 Da Vinci’s Machines 08:50 Building The Future 09:40 Scrapheap Challenge 10:30 Science Of The Movies 11:25 Gadget Show - World Tour 11:50 How Tech Works 12:15 NASA’s Greatest Missions 13:10 Building The Future 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 The Kustomizer 19:35 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 20:30 Bad Universe 21:20 Oddities 21:45 Oddities 22:10 Gadget Show - World Tour 22:35 How Tech Works 23:00 Bad Universe 23:50 Oddities

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

HELL ON OSN ACTION HD

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 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Doc McStuffins Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm A.N.T Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Shake It Up

10:50 Shake It Up 11:15 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 11:40 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:05 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 12:30 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 12:55 Jessie 13:20 Jessie 13:45 A.N.T. Farm 14:10 A.N.T. Farm 14:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:25 Shake It Up 15:50 Austin And Ally 16:15 Jessie 16:40 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Girl vs Monster 18:25 Prank Stars 18:35 Prank Stars 18:45 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 19:10 A.N.T. Farm 19:35 Good Luck Charlie 20:00 Jessie 20:30 That’s So Raven 20:50 Cory In The House 21:15 Phil Of The Future 21:40 Hannah Montana 22:05 Good Luck Charlie 22:30 Good Luck Charlie 22:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:45 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 02:00 Lazytown 02:20 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:50 Imagination Movers 03:20 Handy Manny 03:30 Handy Manny 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Special Agent Oso 04:00 Timmy Time 04:10 Lazytown 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Jungle Junction 07:25 Jungle Junction 07:50 Cars Toons 07:55 Lazytown 08:20 Imagination Movers 08:45 Timmy Time 08:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:20 The Hive 09:30 Doc McStuffins 09:45 Zou 10:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:15 Toy Story Toons 10:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 10:45 Doc McStuffins 11:00 Handy Manny 11:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 11:25 Mouk 11:35 Lilo And Stitch 12:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 12:10 Doc McStuffins 12:25 Doc McStuffins 12:35 Doc McStuffins 12:50 Doc McStuffins 13:05 Doc McStuffins 13:15 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 13:30 Mouk 13:45 Lilo And Stitch 14:10 Cars Toons 14:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:05 The Hive 15:20 Mouk 15:35 Zou 15:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:20 Doc McStuffins 16:35 Doc McStuffins 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Lazytown 17:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:05 Mouk 18:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 19:00 Animated Stories 19:05 Timmy Time 19:15 Pajanimals 19:25 Doc McStuffins 19:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:10 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:20 The Hive 20:30 Pajanimals 20:45 Handy Manny 21:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:25 Pajanimals 21:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 22:00 Timmy Time 22:10 Animated Stories 22:15 A Poem Is...

22:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 22:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:20 Little Einsteins 23:50 Special Agent Oso

00:00 00:25 00:55 01:25 02:20 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 15:00 15:30

Chelsea Lately Style Star Style Star THS THS Style Star Extreme Close-Up THS THS THS Style Star Opening Act Opening Act THS Khloe And Lamar Khloe And Lamar Married To Jonas Married To Jonas Kourtney & Kim Take New Style Star THS

16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:30

Extreme Close-Up Giuliana & Bill E! News Fashion Police THS 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 - Back To Basics 10:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 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 Reza’s African Kitchen 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 - Back To Basics 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Reza’s African Kitchen 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 06:40 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 23:20 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 Endurance Traveller Street Food Around The World David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 Exploring The Vine Kimchi Chronicles Somewhere In China Travel Madness Travel Madness Adventure Wanted Banged Up Abroad City Chase Marrakech Exploring The Vine Kimchi Chronicles Street Food Around The World David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 Around The World For Free Kimchi Chronicles David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 Making Tracks

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

RoboCop-18 Seventh Moon-18 Dad Savage-PG15 Red Faction: Origins-PG15 RoboCop 3-PG15 Batman: Year One-PG15 The Presence-PG15

THE BIG BANG ON OSN CINEMA 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

RoboCop 3-PG15 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 The Presence-PG15 Hell-18 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15

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

Return-PG15 The National Tree-PG15 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 Ties That Bind-PG15 Return-PG15 The Proud Family Movie-FAM Enter The Phoenix-PG15 Espions-PG15 Interview With A HitmanThe Trotsky-PG15 The Big Bang-18 Meet Monica Velour-R

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The New Normal 02:00 Weeds 02:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 03:00 Louie 04:00 Til Death 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Hope & Faith 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 Less Than Perfect 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 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 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 Weeds 23:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:00 05:00 09:00 10:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

Homeland Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Live Good Morning America Castle The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Finder Franklin & Bash Awake The Carrie Diaries

00:00 02:00 06:00 08:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

C.S.I. New York Homeland C.S.I. New York Covert Affairs The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs C.S.I. New York 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 Mine

Hustle And Flow Street Kings 2: Motor City Goal!

Killer Mountain True Justice: Vengeance Is

10:00 12:00 14:00 Mine 18:00 20:00 22:00

True Justice: Urban Warfare Warbirds True Justice: Vengeance Is Warbirds The Crazies Outcast

00:00 Arthur-PG15 02:00 The Romantics-PG15 04:00 The Search For Santa Paws-PG 06:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 08:00 The Tooth Fairy 2-PG 10:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 12:00 The Search For Santa Paws-PG 14:00 Wild Wild West-PG15 16:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 18:00 Sleepless In Seattle-PG 20:00 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou-PG15 22:00 Arthur-PG15

01:15 03:00 05:15 07:15 PG15 09:00 11:00 PG15 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:00

Bruc-PG15 Oscar And Lucinda-PG15 Swing Kids-PG15 An Invisible Sign Of My OwnBound By A Secret-PG15 TT3D: Closer To The EdgePage Eight-PG15 Bound By A Secret-PG15 The Art Of Getting By-PG15 The Evening Star-PG15 Black Snake Moan-18 Gandhi-PG

01:00 One Angry Juror-PG15 02:45 War Horse-PG15 05:15 The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice-PG15 06:45 Real Steel-PG15 09:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15 11:00 War Horse-PG15 13:30 StreetDance 2-PG15 15:00 Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story-PG 16:45 New Year’s Eve-PG15 18:45 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol-PG15 21:00 We Need To Talk About KevinPG15 23:00 The Sitter-18

01:15 Teo: The Intergalactic Hunter 02:45 The Tooth Fairy 2 04:30 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil 06:00 Wheelers 08:00 Maroons 10:00 Barbie: A Perfect Christmas 11:30 Rainbow Valley Heroes 13:15 The Adventures Of Scooter The Penguin 14:45 The Tooth Fairy 2 16:15 Hugo 18:15 Three Investigators And The Secret Of Terror...

20:00 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 21:45 Barbie: A Perfect Christmas 23:15 Hugo

00:00 02:00 04:30 06:00 08:00 10:00 11:45 14:15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax-PG The Avengers-PG15 A Mother’s Choice-PG15 Treasure Buddies-PG A Thousand Words-PG15 Three Inches-PG15 The Avengers-PG15 According To Greta-PG15 A Thousand Words-PG15 Source Code-PG15 Crazy, Stupid, Love.-PG15 Peacock-PG15

01:00 01:30 05:00 06:30 07:00 09:00 10:00

Futbol Mundial Premier League Darts Super League ICC Cricket 360 Super Rugby Super Rugby Highlights Top 14

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 Top 14

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 Super Rugby 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 AFL Premiership 05:30 NRL Full Time 06:00 Golfing World 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 PGA European Highlights 09:00 World Pool Masters 10:00 World Cup Of Pool 11:00 Top 14 Highlights 11:30 ICC Cricket 360 12:00 Trans World Sport 13:00 AFL Highlights 14:00 Golfing World 15:00 NRL Full Time 15:30 World Pool Masters 16:30 World Cup Of Pool 17:30 PRO 12 19:30 Super League 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Super League 23:00 ICC Cricket 360 23:30 Golfing World

Tour

00:00 WWE Bottom Line 01:00 NHL 03:00 Ping Pong World Championships 04:00 US Bass Fishing 05:00 NHL 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 WWE NXT 09:00 Ping Pong World Championships 10:00 US Bass Fishing 11:00 NHL 13:00 WWE SmackDown 15:00 WWE Vintage Collection 16:00 UAE National Race Day Series 17:00 UFC Unleashed 18:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 19:00 UFC Ultimate 100 Knockouts 22:00 UFC Unleashed 23:00 WWE Experience

01:00 03:25 05:45 08:00 10:05 12:00 15:15 17:25 19:30 21:15 23:00

The Wild Bunch-U North By Northwest-PG Destination Tokyo-FAM Mr. Skeffington-FAM The Human Comedy-FAM Giant-PG The Prize-PG Never So Few-PG Dodge City-U Dial M For Murder-PG Splendor In The Grass

Classifieds TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (28/03/2013 TO 03/04/2013) SHARQIA-1 KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 5:45 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 7:45 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:15 AM SHARQIA-3 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) MUHALAB-1 TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) MUHALAB-2 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 4:00 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 8:15 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:45 AM FANAR-1 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) FANAR-2 KON-TIKI (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) FANAR-3 HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED MARINA-1 KON-TIKI (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

1:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:45 AM

1:00 PM

KON-TIKI (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG)

3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 AL HAFLA (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG)

1:30 PM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 4:00 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 8:15 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:45 AM AVENUES-1 THE TALL MAN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) LOVE AND HONOR (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) LOVE AND HONOR (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 1:45 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 3:45 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 5:45 PM THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 7:45 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 12:15 AM 360º- 1 G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D)

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360º- 2 AL HAFLA (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360º- 3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.1 G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D)

1:00 PM

NO FRI+SAT THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM FRI+SAT THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 5:30 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 7:45 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:15 AM AL-KOUT.2 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) THE TALL MAN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.3 KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) AL HAFLA (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1 G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-2 IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

BAIRAQ-3 KON-TIKI (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

PLAZA JAFFA (DIG) (TELUGU) NO THU+ TUE+WED AL HAFLA (DIG) THU+ TUE+WED G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) LAILA THE CROODS (DIG) NO WED OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) NO WED G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) NO WED AJIAL.1 RED WINE (DIG) (MALAYALAM) RED WINE (DIG) (MALAYALAM) AJIAL.2 RANGREZZ (DIG) (HINDI) THU RANGREZZ (DIG) (HINDI) THU

5:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM

6:30 PM 9:30 PM

6:45 PM 10:00 PM

FOR SALE Mazda Two car Salon model 2011, white color, four cylinder, 1500CC engine, very excellent original condition, 60,000km done, installment possible with or without down payment, cash price KD 1,950/- negotiable. Contact: 66507741.

(4363) 2-4-2013 MATRIMONIAL B.D.S Doctor, Christian girl, born and brought up in Kuwait seeking proposal from professionally qualified boys. 30 years, fair, height 150cm. Contact email: proposal.dentist@yahoo.com (C 4361) SITUATION WANTED Female, MBA with over 11 years experience in all functions of HR/Admin.

Transferable Visa 18. Can join immediately, knowledge of English, Hindi, Arabic. Please contact: 94062123. (C 4358) 2-4-2013 British male consultant engineer work in petrol chemical and manufactur-

ing industries in leading companies in Europe and UK. 20 years experience, seeking job in Kuwait. Mob: 50936694, 25742132.

1-4-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, Moiz Ali Mazaf Aziz, holder of Indian Passport No: F9295029 hereby change my name to Aziz Mazaf.

(C 4362) I, ABUL HASANSA DULI S/O RAHMATH ALI, holder of Indian Passport No: G3925520, issued at Kuwait, on 13.11.2007 permanent resident of 3/81 A, middle street, SP Pattinam (Post), Ramnad dist., Tamil Nadu and presently working at Sharq - Kuwait, do hereby change my name from ABUL HASANSA DULI S/O RAHMATH ALI to ABUL HASAN S/O RAHMATH ALI

with immediate effect.

(C 4364) 2-4-2013 MISCELLANEOUS I, Zafar Khalil, holder of Pakistani Passport No. KG347400 change my date of birth old 02-11-1968, to new 02-11-1969 proved by the Embassy. (C 4365) 2-4-2013

Prayer timings Fajr:

04:17

Shorook

05:37

Duhr:

11:52

Asr:

15:23

Maghrib:

18:07

Isha:

19:25

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines BBC QTR JZR JZR PIA THY ETH GFA UAE ETD RJA FDB RBG MSR OMA QTR THY DHX FDB KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA MEA TMA JZR JZR KAC UAE MSR KAC QTR FDB KAC SVA KNE

Flt 43 148 267 539 239 764 620 211 853 305 642 67 555 612 643 138 770 170 69 412 157 416 206 503 53 302 332 352 855 125 132 55 605 301 213 404 213 165 561 284 871 610 514 140 57 546 500 472

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 2/4/2013 Route DHAKA DOHA BEIRUT CAIRO SIALKOT SABIHA ADDIS ABABA BAHRAIN DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN DUBAI ALEXANDRIA CAIRO MUSCAT DOHA ISTANBUL BAHRAIN DUBAI MANILA LONDON JAKARTA ISLAMABAD LUXOR DUBAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM COCHIN DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA DUBAI ISFAHAN ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT BEIRUT DUBAI SOHAG DHAKA DUBAI CAIRO TEHRAN DOHA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH JEDDAH

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

KAC SYR RJA JZR QTR ETD FDB UAE ABY SVA GFA UAL JZR JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC AXB KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI RBG FDB OMA ABY MEA IRA MSR KLM ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA DHX QTR FDB AIC JZR JZR UAL DLH JAI THY

562 341 640 325 134 303 71 857 127 510 215 982 177 777 542 144 786 166 104 63 618 393 772 674 742 678 572 553 61 647 129 402 619 618 415 229 859 307 136 217 372 146 59 981 239 185 981 636 574 772

AMMAN DAMASCUS AMMAN NAJAF DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI DUBAI SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI JEDDAH CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH PARIS LONDON DUBAI DOHA KOZHIKODE RIYADH DUBAI DAMMAM MUSCAT MUMBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH BEIRUT LAR ALEXANDRIA AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI ISTANBUL

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

Airlines AIC PIA AXB JAI UAL DLH KLM JZR BBC PIA THY MPH THY ETH UAE FDB RBG MSR OMA ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB RJA GFA THY KAC JZR BAW FDB KAC KAC ABY UAE FDB QTR ETD IRA KAC GFA KAC KAC MEA TMA JZR JZR KAC KAC JZR MSR

Departure Flights on Tuesday 2/4/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 206 LAHORE 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 411 AMSTERDAM 502 LUXOR 44 DHAKA 240 SIALKOT 773 ISTANBUL 93 AL MAKTOUM 765 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 561 AMMAN 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 101 LONDON 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 223 DUBAI 776 JEDDAH 324 AL NAJAF 677 MUSCAT 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO

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

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

UAE FDB QTR KAC KNE SVA KAC KAC KAC SYR RJA JZR QTR ETD FDB JZR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL QTR FDB AXB RBG JAI FDB ABY OMA KAC KAC MEA IRA MSR DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR GFA DHX FDB KAC QTR JZR KAC KAC JZR

872 58 141 673 473 501 617 771 741 342 641 238 135 304 72 538 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 145 64 394 554 571 62 120 648 343 351 403 618 607 171 415 308 230 860 381 137 218 373 60 205 147 554 411 283 528

DUBAI DUBAI DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM DAMASCUS AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH MUSCAT CHENNAI KOCHI BEIRUT LAR LUXOR BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DELHI DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA ALEXANDRIA BANGKOK DHAKA ASSIUT

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

34

stars CROSSWORD 147

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) This is one of the busiest days of the week. Activities are centered around frequent short trips, phone calls, and letter-writing. Direct your restless mind into new channels. Golfing, model-making, knitting, or study courses will aid in keeping from fretting about insignificant worries. This is a marvelously easy going time in which you will be well served by indulging in a big helping of lighthearted fun. Socializing with close friends or a fun day trip with your mate will keep a smile on your face and a snap in your walk.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today could hold an exceptional opportunity for you to assert yourself in an unusual area of work or creativity that you’ve been holding yourself back from. If you want to make the most out of a conversation with a special person, make sure you do not allow your passions to cloud the truth. Talking about your feelings and the feelings of those close to you comes easily at the moment. Use this time to not only resolve any lingering misunderstandings, but to create a better understanding of the emotional bonds you share with those you love. Time spent strengthening your relationships now will guarantee many fulfilling moments in the future.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. Edible tuber of any of several yams.

4. (India) Flat pancake-like bread cooked on a griddle.

12. 32nd President of the United States.

15. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

16. Fan palms of the southern United States and the Caribbean region.

17. A metal-bearing mineral valuable enough to be mined.

18. The residue that remains when something is burned.

19. Of or relating to or characteristic of Vienna or its inhabitants.

20. A small piece of cloth.

21. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

23. A British peer ranking below a Marquess and above a Viscount.

25. A soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element.

27. Of the appetites and passions of the body.

29. A platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it.

32. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

35. A nonmetallic largely pentavalent heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liquid element belonging to the halogens.

36. The month following February and preceding April.

37. A light touch or stroke.

42. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.

44. Move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody.

45. The cry made by sheep.

47. A doctor's degree in religion.

48. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

50. Informal terms for the mouth.

51. A town in Italy in southwestern Sicily near the coast.

56. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group.

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

58. Well matched.

62. A small cake leavened with yeast.

64. Greek mythology.

66. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

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

74. The compass point that is one point south of due west.

75. Not performed on the stage.

77. Ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure = 1.5 gallons.

78. Towards the side away from the wind.

79. Unworthiness by virtue of lacking higher values.

80. A doctor's degree in education.

DOWN 1. Not only so, but.

2. A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church.

3. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

4. Being five more than one hundred fifty.

5. A port in northwestern Israel on the Bay of Acre.

6. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment.

7. Sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors.

8. A former copper coin of Pakistan.

9. A relative position or degree of value in a graded group.

10. A unit of magnetic flux density equal to one weber per square meter.

11. A strong emotion.

12. Marine microorganism having a calcareous shell with openings where pseudopods protrude.

13. Any of numerous low-growing cushionforming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems.

14. Belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler.

22. Repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaning.

24. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

26. An informal term for a father.

28. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

30. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

31. Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips.

33. Any of a group of Indic languages spoken in Kashmir and eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

34. In bed.

38. (informal) Exceptionally good.

39. Aquatic South American rodent resembling a small beaver.

40. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

41. A small Asian country high in the Himalayas between India and Tibet.

43. Jordan's port.

46. American novelist (1909-1955).

49. A member of an Algonquian people living in central Canada.

52. A Loloish language.

53. Emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being.

54. An area of ground used for some particular purpose (such as building or farming).

55. Jordan's port.

59. Lower in esteem.

60. Relating to or having the characteristics of bees.

61. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

63. A French abbot.

65. (prefix) In front of or before in space.

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

68. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

69. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on land.

71. A relatively large open container that you fill with water and use to wash the body.

72. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

73. A doctor's degree in dental surgery.

76. A radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

You’re entering a period of emotional change now: feeling two ways at once without getting too deep into either polarity is possible. Habits are in a cycle of change; variety satisfies a deep inner need. Being on the go and keeping a finger to the winds of change make you feel in touch. Learning and communicating scratch an instinctive itch. Giving and receiving appreciation, love, and happiness come into your life now.

You are moved to express your affections more openly than usual. You also want to be surrounded with beauty and harmonious people. It’s a great day to sit back and enjoy what and who makes you happy.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This is a great day to feel comfortable not only with yourself but with people in the world around you. It’s days like this that make it easy for you to simply say “yes” to any opportunity that brings you into group and social activity. Sharing dreams and creating shared dreams and goals with your mate will create the foundation for a very rewarding future. To reap the full rewards possible it is important that you be as honest as possible, but remember to choose your words carefully and avoid ultimatums.

Leo (July 23-August 22) If you are fed up with your current work arrangements, today is the day when you could work out the perfect speech for the next meeting. You’ll have to grin and bear things the way they are for a while to come, but eventually you should receive what you want. The craving for comfort in the form of loving affection is strong now. This is a good time to spoil yourself and also to spend time with the people who love and appreciate you the most. Also, you could be feeling rather tender and softhearted, and may do something on impulse.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Continued success on the career level may point to your abandoning some of your hopes and dreams, your ideals. While success is important, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Your ideals got you where you are. Try for a good compromise. Emotional security and a sense of belonging and as well as nurturing are felt instinctively now. You may crave a sense of intimate connection that will last beyond the moment, someone that will watch your back as much as you watch there’s. Some place safe against the turmoil’s of the world, even if it’s just in the arms of someone special.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Quickly passing notoriety may come your way, an unexpected word from without that lets you know they’re watching you, and not always when you’re expecting it. When you raise your flag, anyone can see it, and often does, but not often with import. You’re entering a period of emotional change now: feeling two ways at once without getting too deep into either polarity is possible. If you are unhappy in your personal life, this is brought out now, and you’ll need to face what is causing your dissatisfaction. Differences in personal style, tastes, and ways of expressing affection may emerge.

What occurs now makes you more aware of what you need, feel and want in your relationships.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You have an extra measure of energy and confidence now and will make a strong impression on those in your environment. This is a very good time to go for a job interview, meet the public, or simply go out and be seen. You will be noticed more than usual. You come across in an appealing, charming, openly affectionate manner which is likely to win you new friends and admirers. You make an excellent first impression so be sure to start the day out like your’re going to be photographed in everyone’s memory. This is a very favorable time for doing something to enhance your appearance, such as getting a hair cut or purchasing new clothing.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Events may make it easy for you to be original, have breakthroughs, and find new solutions to old problems. You may find yourself able to implement your ideas and put them into practice. Independence, originality, and eccentricity are to the fore. This is a really good time of the month to get noticed, so get out there and take charge. Who you want to play with and what you want to play at are particular reflections of who you are and who you want to be. Sounds confusing? Not really, as you resolve one, the other comes into plainer view and the way is clear on what path you want to follow. A significant development in a close relationship or strong feelings of attraction to someone you encounter, are very likely at this time.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Pressing the point too strongly only leads to arguments, not triumph, so when you catch the true essence of what the real agenda is you may just want to pass them by. Confront them, and a false victory is the best you’ll get. Rumors of dramas are just that, born of the breeze and blown away by it. You are likely to distance yourself from others now, feeling the need to withdraw and reflect. Your thoughts are inclined to be heavy and pessimistic at this time, so it would be good to realize that you are only seeing part of the picture. This can also be a time of leaving, separating from relationships and choosing a new way.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Within reason, do what you have to do to get the recognition and rewards you deserve regarding a work situation. A family issue is finally smoothed over, thanks to a younger family member. A household addition is very welcome and something you will appreciate for a long time to come. Keeping your relationship fresh will give you a more content partner, this doesn’t require bending over backwards just to keep their attention. Just avoid stale routines and do what comes naturally to put life into each moment in its own way. A quick email or voice mail with a word of appreciated or even an idea for a fantasy may be all it takes.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) You’ll be restless and probably won’t be very patient with any type of routine today. Don’t expect to get much cooperation and understanding from others for your dynamic spirit and search for adventure so don’t waste your time looking for it. Rigid, serious people will really irritate you today, so avoid them. Buck your usual schedule, go your own way today and you’re sure to end the day with a smile on your face. Feelings and internal visions can get a bit mixed up right now. Emotional miscommunication, either unintended or on purpose, may get in the way of how you really feel. Misunderstandings can snowball, so be ready to cut loose and try again later. Avoid long term commitments if possible, try to keep things open for negotiation at a later time.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

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22418714

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22545171

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24810598

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22545171

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24742838

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22434853

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22545051

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24711433

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24316983

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23927002

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24316983

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23980088

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23711183

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23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

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22517733

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22517144

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25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

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25616368

Kaifan

24849807

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24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

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22526804

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24814764

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22515088

Dasmah

22532265

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22531908

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22518752

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22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

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22456536

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22465401

Salmiya

25746401

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25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ hits $200m at foreign box office Disney “Oz the Great and Powerful” blew past the $200 million threshold at the foreign box office this weekend and is about to do the same domestically. With this weekend’s $22.2 million take from 37 foreign markets, the “Wizard of Oz” prequel has taken in $214 million overseas since opening on March 8 with nearly $80 million domestically and $70 million from abroad.

Its US total stands at $198.2 million, so it should go past $200 million yesterday.

Disney invested $225 million to make the film, and at least half that much to market it. The studio has yet to make a decision on whether to go forward with a sequel.

Sam Raimi directed the 3D special effects extravaganza, which prominently features the production design of Robert Strombeg (“Alice in Wonderland”). James Franco stars as the young wizard, with Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz as

witches.

Paramount’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” which opened with $80.3 million from 54 foreign markets, was easily the top international moneymaker for the weekend. With the $51.7 million it rolled up at North American theaters over the long Easter weekend, it’s global haul is north of $132 million. In its second week, DreamWorks Animation’s 3D family film “The Croods” rolled up an impressive $52.5 million from 60 foreign markets for distributor Fox. That upped its overall foreign total to $140.5 million and its global total $229 million.

Warner Bros.’ “Jack the Giant Slayer” took in $25.2 million this week, including $6.5 million from China. That ups the foreign total for “Jack,” which has disappointed on the homefront with just $61 million since opening on March 1, to $96 million and its worldwide total to $157 million. —Reuters

Members of American rock band Maroon 5, from left, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, Adam Levine, James Valentine and Matt Flynn, pose during a press conference at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in this April 25, 2011 file photo taken in Singapore. —AP

Maroon 5 launch summer tour, writes for new album

M

aroon 5 says they’re working on a new album, but before that the pop-rockers will launch a summer tour that finds the fivesome playing outdoors. The Grammy-winning band announced Monday that they will headline the 2013 Honda Civic Tour, which kicks off Aug. 1 in St. Louis and will feature Kelly Clarkson. “I think the live outdoor kind of summer vibe is always different than the indoor arena tour because there’s less emphasis on production and more on live music,” frontman Adam Levine said in an interview. “It’s kind of the purist form of a tour ‘cause there’s not too many bells and whistles.” The 31-date tour wraps Oct 5

in San Diego.

Levine says he and his bandmates are riding high off the success of last year’s “Overexposed,” their fourth album that has achieved platinum status. It features the popular hits “Payphone,” “One More Time” and “Daylight.” “It’s so amazing to have an album people connect with and embrace. It’s a dream come true. It’s hard to believe to have lighting strike twice and three times and four times,” he said. “We’re having a moment. A good moment.” He also says the group is working on the follow-up to that album: “We’re just getting started. We’ve got some great songs in the can.”

“The stuff we’re working on now, it definitely has gone maybe a little darker in its sound, maybe back a little bit more to what we kind of did on (our debut) ‘Songs About Jane,’” said guitarist James Valentine. “But at this point we do have all kinds of different songs and it is early.”

Levine is also busy balancing his life with NBC’s “The Voice,” which returned last week with new coaches Shakira and Usher, alongside Blake Shelton. “It’s great. Sometimes it’s difficult to maneuver, but it’s been a lot of success,” said Levine, who will have his former mentee, Tony Lucca, open on some dates of the tour. “I’d be pretty foolish not to be happy about it.” —AP

Review

The Band Perry delivers fresh 2nd album

L

Wilson continues to chart own musical path

M

ike film director Tim Burton, the Band Perry puts an entertaining spin on the darker aspects of life and love. With their second album “Pioneer,” singer Kimberly Perry and her brothers Neil and Reid continue to blend sinister and innocent in deliciously fresh ways. The trio’s new work highlights just how welldeveloped they’ve become as songwriters they’re responsible for nine of the 12 songs and how inventive they can be with arrangements. They bring out the best in veteran producer Dann Huff, who does his best work here since helping Keith Urban create his distinctive sound.

Like Urban, The Band Perry use banjos and other string instruments to create a down-to-earth foundation on songs like the No. 1 country hit “Better Dig Two.” They also like juxtaposing acoustic and electric elements, which adds texture to catchy tunes like the anthemic “I’m a Keeper” and the Cheap Trick-like “Night Gone Wasted” - both co-written with another family group, The Henningsens. Throughout, Kimberly Perry wields her smoky voice like a skilled actress, inhabiting each song to bring the lyrics alive. “Pioneer” is an artistic tour de force that furthers the potential shown on group’s award-winning 2010 debut. —AP

ost current country rockers draw on hard-rock arena riffs lifted from the 1990s, but Gretchen Wilson’s influences reach back further than that. Her new album, “Right on Time,” mines the classic rock of the 1970s - the first single, “Keep on Rollin’,” for example, includes a piano-guitar interplay that mirrors Bob Seger’s blue-collar arrangements. She also spreads her wings, musically and thematically, now that she’s recording for her own record label, Redneck Records. Her independence allows this self-proclaimed redneck woman to branch out into classic soul, with “One Good Friend,” and to cut the cheeky “Grandma,” about an elderly relative who loves smoking pot.

That’s not to say Wilson is out of date: She opens with “Get Outta My Yard,” co-written

by Kacey Musgraves, whose recent debut album pushes contemporary country music into progressive new territory. Instead, Wilson rocks as hard as she desires while choosing songs that represent her lifestyle and point of view - just as she always has. “Right on Time” doesn’t hit the highs of her 2004 debut, “Here For The Party.” But it continues the fiercely autobiographical stance that distances Wilson from most modern country artists in all the right ways.-AP

Charles Bradley turns up fuzz on latest CD

NKOTB’s new album, ‘10,’ plays the field

harles Bradley is preoccupied with love on his latest album, but it’s something of a stylistic leap on a handful of songs that makes his latest album stand out. Buried at the center of the album is a small run of fuzzy songs that push Bradley into rockin’ psychedelic territory and add a different dimension to the 64-year-old soul shouter’s sound. More important, they should fit right in onstage, where “The Screaming Eagle of Soul” truly shines.

Bradley’s Menahan Street Band opens “Love Bug Blues” with a vibrato horn solo meant to mimic the sound of a buzzing bee, then launches into a vibrant funk line that fits the former James Brown impersonator’s aged voice perfectly.

The band extends the run through the intermission instrumental “Dusty Blue,” with its shimmery keys and breathy woodwinds. Then Bradley and band really crank things up with “Confusion,” laying down a fuzztone bass line with echoey vocals and a staccato horn line, back to back with the towering “Where Do We Go From Here” - both among their best work together.

“Victim of Love” is added proof Bradley is more than a soul revivalist. He’s something special. —AP

,” the sixth album from New Kids on the Block, offers up the boy band brand of catchy pop adapted to modern tastes - easy, swaying hooks melded with unexpected Euro beats, sensitive lyrics and vague echoes of retro sounds. But make no mistake, these guys are here to conquer your heart all over again, even going as far as to issue an Enrique Iglesias-doppelganger sounding tune, “The Whisper.” In a world where true pop romance is dead, this 12-track album separates the men from the boys in the musical arena.

They sing with confidence on the touching ballad “Back to Life” (a wink to their phoenix-like rebirth?), issue a playful, energetic party invitation on the first single “Remix (I Like The)” and let emotion pour in “Miss You More.” Their swagger in “We Own the Night” puts to shame their contemporary counterparts who sing in only one direction. They may not set teenage hearts aflutter anymore, but they’ve got the rest of the market cov-

C

“10

This undated publicity photo provided by Capitol Christian Music Group shows singer Amy Grant. —AP

Grant to release 1st album of new songs in decade

A

my Grant is set to release her first full album of all new songs in 10 years.

The Grammy-winning Christian recording artist’s “How Mercy Looks From Here” will be available May 14. The album was produced by Marshall Altman and includes guest vocalists James Taylor, Carole King, Sheryl Crow, Will Hoge, and Eric Pasley, who wrote the only song not penned by Grant on the album. Grant’s

husband, Vince Gill, also makes an appearance.

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter is among the most successful Christian artists with multi-platinum album sales and crossover success on the pop music charts.

Grant started the album after a conversation with her mother, who passed away in 2011, and promises “no filler” in a news release announcing the record. —AP

Spanish singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias is presented with a Guinness World Record for ‘Best Selling Latin Artist in the World’ at a press conference in Beijing yesterday. Iglesias was promoting his upcoming tour of China, and recieving a Guinness World Record for ‘Best Selling Latin Artist in the World’ after selling 250 million albums. —AFP

Dolce & Gabbana slapped with fine for tax evasion

A

n Italian court has ordered the Dolce & Gabbana fashion house to pay a fine of 343 million euros plus interest for failing to declare millions of euros in revenue to tax authorities, local media reported. The international fashion giant, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, plans to appeal the verdict and the payment of any fine would be suspended pending the appeal, reports said.

The fashion house was found to have “violated legislation with the sole objective of procuring a fiscal advantage,” according to the ADN Kronos agency which quoted the verdict. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005, thereby avoiding paying Italian taxes of around 420 million euros ($550 million).

Prosecutors have argued that setting up the Luxembourg company Gado-an acronym of the surnames of the two designers-while the company was still operating out of Italy, was an attempt to defraud the state.

The pair have repeatedly denied the accusations. “All that I care about is making clothes, that’s all. Let them do and say whatever they want,” Gabbana said in a tweet following Saturday’s verdict, which was not publicly announced and was reported in the local press late on Sunday.

“To be accused of something that’s not true is not a pretty thing, but the heart of the matter is, who cares, we’ll all end up in the ground in the end.” Investigators completed a probe into the designers, as well as five other people, in 2010 and the case was dismissed in April 2011 but reopened in November last year when Italy’s highest court ruled the pair must face trial. —AFP

37

LIFESTYLE

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

F e a t u r e s

Promoter AEG faces US trial over Jackson death ing of Pop Michael Jackson’s mother is seeking billions of dollars from tour promoter AEG Live over her son’s 2009 death, in a trial that will finally get underway in Los Angeles in April. Jury selection begins today for the trial, in which Katherine Jackson accuses AEG of negligently hiring doctor Conrad Murray to look after her son as he prepared for a doomed series of London shows. Murray, jailed after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for giving the singer an overdose of the drug propofol, could be called to testify, although he may refuse to do so, lawyers have suggested.

The 82-year-old Jackson matriarch herself, as well as the late pop star’s two elder children, will also give evidence in the trial that comes nearly four years after his death, and could last more than two months.

The trial could also broach child molestation allegations against Jackson, after the trial judge allowed such evidence even though the singer was acquitted of charges in 2005. Jackson died at his LA mansion on June 25, 2009 aged 50, from an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol, administered by Murray to help the “Thriller” legend deal with chronic insomnia.

At the time of his death, he was rehearsing for a series of 50 shows in London, organized with Anschutz Entertainment Group in what was seen as an attempt to revive his career, and also to ease his financial woes. Jackson’s mother claims that AEG Live pushed her son too hard to prepare for the London shows. But AEG claims that Jackson had a history of drug abuse long before the singer met Murray, hired to care for him before and during the shows at London’s O2 Arena. The wrongful death trial on Katherine Jackson’s civil lawsuit-filed in September 2010 — was put off until after Murray’s 2011 criminal trial was over, and legal wrangling also delayed a scheduled September start.

Lawyers have notably argued over what should and should not be admitted in evidence. LA Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos has granted an AEG demand for testimony about the child molestation charges to be heard-which Katherine Jackson says are irrelevant-claiming it could explain the star’s stress and medical woes. But she has refused to allow testimony notably about the parentage of Jackson’s three children, or a bizarre incident in which his mother was allegedly kidnapped by family members and taken to Arizona last year. Murray may be called from prison to give a deposition, but only with the jury out of the courtroom. And he may invoke his Fifth Amendment right to decline to testify in case it might incriminate him further.

AEG says it was not responsible for hiring and supervising Murray, who treated Jackson with propofol and other drugs to tackle his insomnia as he rehearsed in LA, and was to accompany him to London for the doomed shows. According to celebrity news website TMZ, Jackson’s mother and his three children-Prince, 16, Paris, 14 and 11-year-old “Blanket”-want more than $40 billion from AEG for loss of future earnings and other damages. AEG claims the figure is “preposterous” because Jackson’s career was in a downward spiral following the child molestation allegations as well as self-imposed exile in the Middle East, TMZ reported.

Broadcasters CNN and NBC are pressing for the judge to allow live coverage, noting that it was granted for the Murray trial two years ago.

Their lawyers will press her again on Tuesday, after she denied a CNN request on March 7. “Michael Jackson undoubtedly was one of the most famous entertainers (who) ever lived. His sudden death... sent shockwaves around the world, with intense public interest in understanding what caused his untimely demise,” they said. “Without cameras, second-hand accounts and opinions dominate; with cameras, members of the public can see for themselves what transpires in the courtroom, providing the most accurate and dignified portrayal of the judicial system.” —AFP

K

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

Renovated buildings flank the Farmers’ Market.

By Luaine Lee

W

hile everybody talks about the “flyover” states, few people stop to see what all the chatter is about. In the midsection of the United States sits Nebraska, a state that boasts treasures worthy of unfastening your seatbelts and putting your tray-table in its upright position. The “golden triangle” of Omaha, Nebraska City and the state capital, Lincoln, is a good place to start. Where else could you do the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, visit the state’s most popular venue and discover terrain that made “Little House in the Prairie” a hit?

S

cott Hofert’s career is a marriage of automated and manual, spiritual and tangible-a veritable workshop of internal growth and external product. In short: church and cowhide. Hofert, 42, is a co-pastor of the church Watershed in the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte, NC and the founder and owner of ColsenKeane, a custom-leather goods shop located just four doors down from his church office.

Hofert didn’t always juggle the two. But four years ago, after a career of desk jobs, academia and then pastorship, he longed for the satisfaction of working with his hands again. Hofert isn’t alone. He’s one of a growing number of 21st-century professionals who, after spending countless hours a week at a computer, long to produce something that can’t be stored on a server. The New York Times-bestselling book, “Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work,” by Matthew Crawford, has become a mouthpiece for the movement.

Following a doctorate in political philosophy and a job as an executive director of a Washington think tank, Crawford quit his job to open a motorcycle repair shop. He argues that, though the scope of the economic crisis is yet uncertain, the crisis of confidence professionals now feel in “our most prestigious institutions and professions” is strong.

“The question of what a good job looks like-of what sort of work is both secure and worthy of being honored-is more open now than it has been in for a long time,” Crawford writes in the introduction. And after reassessing his work values, Crawford says he’s never been so fulfilled.

Hofert read the book after he’d already started his leather shop and felt instant kinship with Crawford.

“Had I read that prior to working at this,” he said, pointing a calloused hand toward the tool sets and 9,000 square feet of rolled cowhide stacked

A large mural decorates a wall in the state capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Originally blossoming under the canopy of the Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha is now a sophisticated city with five Fortune-500 companies and much to see and do. Its Old Market district is peppered with stately brick warehouses that fell on hard times when railroads declined.

They rest here with their ghost-like ads clinging to the exteriors still whispering of patent medicines, wood works, buggy repairs-their interiors resuscitated for new uses.

The jewel in this crown is the Durham Museum in the old Union Station. It’s an art-deco classic with multi-colored marble halls and life-sized resin replicas of folk from the ‘40s, frozen in time. A traveling salesman pores over the time table, a matron bellies up to the ticket counter, a soldier waits for the “all-aboard.”

Built in 1931, the station once handled 10,000 passengers a day, serving seven railroads. Transfixed with nostalgia, you can still score a chocolate shake at the old-fashioned soda fountain. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for kids 3-12.

Nebraska’s most popular attraction is the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Animals in the zoo are partitioned according to geographic location: South America, Asia, Africa. The site features the world’s largest indoor desert and an aquarium that offers a 70-foot water tunnel where fish slither above you.

Great places to eat in Omaha include the Boiler Room, J Coco, the pub Dundee Dell, and Warren Buffet’s favorite, Piccolo Pete’s. Accommodations include: The Embassy Suites Downtown, located in the Old Market district; $170-$249, (800) 362-2779; and the nearby Embassy Suites / LaVista, which sits in a convention center, (402) 541-1480. The Courtyard by Marriott costs about $109$189, (866) 204-9388, and the Holiday Inn runs between $142-$249, (402) 341-0124.

For an authentic flavor of Nebraska don’t miss the Farmers’ Market, May through mid-October on Saturdays from 8 am to 12:30 pm at 11th and Jackson streets, Sundays at Aksarben Village, 9 am to 1 pm at 67th and West Center Road.

If you harbor a creative bent you can visit artists in their lair at Hot Shops Art Center. Located in a former mattress factory, the Center houses 80 artisans indulging their muses in everything from blacksmithing to oil painting.

They welcome on-lookers.

One glance at the Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha’s botanical gardens, and you know you’re not in Kansas anymore.

You can hop a tram for 10 bucks and view its 17 outdoor gardens, incredible model railroad, and massive steam locomotive that once chugged for the Union Pacific.

Ease on down I-80 about 35 minutes you’ll hit the Wildlife Safari Park, where you can take a ride on the wild side, spotting white-tailed deer, bison, elk, wolves, white pelicans-all in their natural habitat. Open April-October.

Just down the road is the Strategic Air & Space Museum featuring more than 40 military aircraft including the centerpiece, the Blackbird spy plane, still the fastest plane in the world clocking 2,200 mph.

Also in this region lies Nebraska’s most-visited state park, the Eugene T Mahoney. A rustic Disneyland, the park boasts a water park, miniature golf, fishing ponds, indoor theater, horseback rides, nature trails, camping facilities, restaurant and bar (yes, a bar), ice skating. Open yearround. Admission $5 a day vehicle pass, attractions cost extra.

Fifty-five miles south of Omaha sits Nebraska City, an idyllic town that despite its size (4,500) boasts 300 historic sites. Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left their non-carbon footprints in Nebraska City. You can grasp a sense of their mission with a visit to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail & Visitor Center here.

You’ll spot samples of the flora and fauna they dispatched to President Thomas Jefferson, the weapons they carried, the critters they encountered. Re-enactors simulate some of their activities from May-October.

On April 26 the Kregel Windmill Factory Museum will officially open in Nebraska City. The factory operated from 1903 to 1991, and it remains exactly as the owner left it the day he became ill. It’s the site of the oldest set of business records in the state. They still abide atop the roll-top desk, yellowed with dust. An overcoat still clings to its coat rack and the dial telephone awaits the operator. To arrange a visit before April email: Jeremy@kregelmuseum.org or phone (402) 873-1078.

Lied Lodge & Conference Center at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City offers accommodations and all kinds of activities including hiking, fruit picking, bird watching, orchard tours-all environmentally focused. Rates $109$300, (800) 546-5433.

Whispering Pines B&B runs $119-$134 (www.bbwhisperingpines.com) and Best Western charges about $75 a night. (800-WESTERN.) For dining try Parker’s Smokehouse: BBQ with Soul (incredible brisket), El Portal Mexican Restaurant (a favorite of locals) or, for lighter fare,

on metal shelves, “I would have just thought, ‘Oh, that guy just doesn’t like his job.’” But now, he says, “When I read that book, I felt as though it were speaking to my soul.” Hofert’s great-grandfather opened a repair shop for watches and clocks in Kenmore, NY that was passed along to Hofert’s grandfather and then Hofert’s father.

Hofert started his Charlotte business four years ago, naming it after his two sons, Colsen, 8, and Keane, 5, who he hopes will one day take over the family business as well. He’d long been drawn to high-quality leather goods, so one day, Hofert decided to make some himself. He spent a couple hundred dollars on a piece of leather and $50 on tools. His first project was an iPad case, which he made by wrapping leather around it.

Pleased with the final product, he made a few more cases and posted photos of them on Etsy, a website for selling handmade crafts. The requests rolled in: leather belts, wallets and bags. Hofert’s backyard shed, where he made his goods, grew increasingly crowded, and the U.S. Postal Service made regular visits for shipments. “It snowballed,” he said.

Hofert’s wares range in price from $50 for a basic wallet to about $800 for large leather bags. His most expensive project was a one $2,000 bag, made from rare cowhide.

After he’d saved a little money from his new enterprise, Hofert began to advertise. He says he spent $1,000 on business-card-sized ads in “Rolling Stone” magazine, bought ads in Delta and US Airways in-flight magazines and took out ads in “MacLife” because of his leather iPad and MacBook cases. Since starting the business in 2009, Hofert says he has served about 2,000 people, and the business has grown 300 percent each year.

ColsenKeane customers now hail from the US and Canada, as well as Mexico, South America, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and all across Europe. A recent customer, the head of security for a diamond mine in Africa, came across Hofert’s business after stopping someone in an Amsterdam airport to inquire about his hand-crafted leather bag. Five months passed since the encounter, but when the African man’s job brought him to the U.S. temporarily, Hofert said, he made sure to find Hofert in Charlotte and commission his own bag.

Two weeks ago, Hofert opened a new workspace and storefront on Central Avenue, just steps from to his church office. You see, he says, his two jobs aren’t mutually exclusive. Hofert says that creating works of art from leather actually helps him organize his thoughts, making him more productive and effective as a pastor. He’s even in a church small group with fellow entrepreneurs. “It’s really fascinating,” Hofert said. “I can sit down ... and talk about how to better a marriage and then next minute talk about business.”

Right now, he spends more than 40 hours a week as a pastor and more than 20 hours in the shop. He employs three other full-time leathersmiths and two church members who handle the books and shipping part-time.

Carl Miller stitches a leather cover at ColsenKeane Custom Leather Goods.

The Durham Museum was once a rail station serving seven railroads.

Janie’s Confections & Coffee.

On the way to Lincoln, stop off at Denton and the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center for a three-mile hike through the REAL Nebraska, the way the settlers first saw it on their way west.

Bowing prairie grasses, confetti of wild flowers, shimmering cottonwoods and the sounds of the meadow lark punctuate the undulating moraines that were nudged by glaciers eons ago. If you look carefully you can even spot ruts left by the wagons that passed this way.

Close the triangle with a visit to Lincoln, the state’s capital and its massive capitol building topped by a 400foot limestone tower. Tours Monday through Friday on the hour from 9 to 11 am, 1 to 4 pm Entrance on the north side, second floor.

There are all kinds of museums here, from the National Museum of Roller Skating to the Quilt Study Center, with the largest publicly held collection of quilts in the universe. The Sheldon Museum of Art displays more than 12,000 works in all media, the free Nebraska History Museum at 15th and P streets, follows the state from its pre-historic times to World War II. Don’t miss the historic Haymarket District and the Children’s Zoo where you can pet a hedgehog, feed a llama or consort with hundreds of butterflies in their very own cloister.

Accommodations include the Holiday Inn downtown — $139-$148, (800) 465-4329; the Victorian Inn — $69$105, (402) 475-4921; and the Cobbler Inn, five miles from the University Campus — $75-$80, (800) 777-4808.

For good eats try the Capital City Grill in the Haymarket area; Dish, great for seafood downtown; or La Paz Mexican Restaurant in northeast Lincoln. — MCT

Jeremy Snyder, 29, who has spent 15 years in the music industry, met Hofert through Hofert’s wife, Taryn, a musician. Snyder started at ColsenKeane in December 2012, and for now, stitches, trims and evens the edges of the leather. “I am interested in intellectual stimulation, but I find that, as a thinker, I’m more productive with hard work than when I’m sitting at a cafe with other thinkers,” Synder said. “The iconic visual of Aristotle and his buddies sitting around, making things up, seems a lot more difficult than you’d think.”

Hofert says he’s content to grow ColsenKeane slowly. He says he never wants the need for mass production and high-tech machinery to outweigh the value _ and intimacy _ of handiwork. After all, he said, “We’re getting back to what I surmise we were created to do. ... For some, it’s basketball on the weekend. For some, it’s taking the car apart on the driveway, or gardening. “... The guy who works construction, the plumber who knows how to take pipes apart, there’s a real quality of life to that. Because at the end of the day, you can step back and say, ‘I did that.’” — MCT

Finished products on display at ColsenKeane Custom Leather Goods in Charlotte.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

lifestyle T r a v e l

A visitor to the Cathedral Notre Dame in Paris, France, takes a picture.— MCT photos

By Gary A Warner

T

ired of airports, I recently opted for the overnight train from Rome to Paris. It was an icy cold when I disembarked at Gare de Lyon on a bright, clear Sunday late winter morning, with daytime temperatures dipping into the 40s. But regardless of the frosty reception, the City of Light has its pleasures any time of year.

The most obvious in March is the lack of tourists. Hotels offer deals, restaurants don’t always need reservations, and French is more commonly heard in a city that can swell with more than 1 million tourists a day during peak summer periods.

My Paris pit stop was just two nights, but I had a chance to make a few discoveries and visit old haunts.

Here are some thoughts and tips on Paris I wanted to pass along before I made my way to Gare du Nord for the Thalys train and my next destination: Brussels.

Check out Rive Gauche Hotels, a small chain of threestar (and one four-star) hotels on the Left Bank. When business gets slow, they offer last-minute discounts of more than 50 percent. Normally, you can’t book the deals more than three days in advance. I had a nice room (despite some bothersome construction noise next door) at Hotel des Grands Hommes across the street from the Pantheon. The price: 109 euros ($142) per night for a classic room with a deep bathtub. The standard rates start at about 220 euros ($286).

See Notre Dame cathedral from a new perspective for

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a limited time. To mark the yearlong celebration of the 850th anniversary of the great church, bleachers were erected in December in the plaza in front of the church. Though controversial-some critics say they take away from the experience of approaching the church-they offer an elevated look at the front of the church never before available to the average visitor. I enjoyed sitting on the bleachers and gazing at the great face of French Catholicism. For more on the anniversary, go to notredamedeparis2013.com.

Sometimes the beaten path is that way for a reason.

Le Train Bleu, the 112-year-old gilded dining room in the Gare de Lyon train station, is the greatest restaurant in any airport, train station, port facility or bus terminal in the world. It’s a place where black-coated waiters and rolling luggage peacefully coexist. There’s even a TGV Special, which promises to serve your entire meal within 45 minutes if you are hurrying to catch the high-speed train to Lyon or Avignon. Expect to pay 40 euros ($52) a person before wine. It’s a splurge worth saving for. I was able to make same-day lunch reservations through the restaurant’s website, le-train-bleu.com. Or from Paris, call 01-43-43-09-06.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Montparnasse Tower, the banal skyscraper that casts a long shadow across the former bohemian district in the heart of the Left Bank. Tourism officials are trying to play up the event, but not me. To borrow a phrase from Britain’s Prince Charles, it is like an ugly carbuncle

The Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik, Iceland, is one of the country’s iconic experiences.— MCT photos

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his is the only country that gives you a bath before they send you home. The Blue Lagoon, open year-round, rain or shine, envelops thousands of tourists from all over the world in its misty embrace. Many of them come in big tourist buses on the way to the airport, which is only 15 minutes away.

They leave, freshly scrubbed and silky soft, after an hour or three at Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction-and yes, it’s really blue, thanks to the silica, other minerals and beneficial algae in the geothermal springs.

The Blue Lagoon, like the rest of Iceland, will be elbow-toelbow this summer as tourism to Iceland explodes, with as many as a million tourists expected this year in a country of only 319,000 people. Iceland? It wants the tourists. It welcomes them.

It needs the money to help it recover from a near national bankruptcy in 2008. So in the Blue Lagoon, there is always space for one more. Iceland, a tiny dot in the northern Atlantic, has never felt geographically closer to the United States. That’s because Icelandair, the national airline, now flies to eight American airports, including Boston, Minneapolis and Washington, DC It’s just a hop and skip to get there. Americans like it because most Icelanders speak excellent English. It’s a safe, upscale, Nordic nation with odd volcanic scenery. The dollar goes further in Iceland than it did five years ago. In summer, it’s a party place.

Most visitors rush around the country trying to see everything-waterfalls, volcanoes, lava, Icelandic horses, pools. But for me, heading home from Greenland, quirky Reykjavik was more interesting than the cold and dreary March countryside.

The capital city of 118,000 people dates from the 9th century.

Today, it is striking for its brave adventures into architecture, good shopping, nightlife and literacy-plus its pivotal spot in world events and culture. Traveling there off-season? Here are my suggestions: Hofdi House: There’s nothing super special about this old, white stately house-except that in 1986, President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev had a summit here that was a turning point in ending the Cold War. Remember the name and event, because a new film being shot this year,

A slack liner practices walking a rope near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

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on the face of an old friend. The tower is the biggest mistake in Parisian city planning in the past century.

And with the dismal Les Halles development as competition, that is saying something. For the propaganda version, go to tourmontparnasse56.com.

Favorite shopping find: Copies of medieval pilgrims’ purses for about 25 euros ($32) at the gift shop of Sainte-Chapelle, the 13th-century king’s chapel on Ille de la Cite. Meant to hide coins in secret compartments under garments of those traveling to shrines, the leather copies come in the shape of a walnut, seashell and, my favorite, a heart. Because of the hook at the top, they work as large key-chain wallets for the modern era. 8 Boulevard du Palais.

There are few sights as spectacular as the earlyevening view from the esplanade of the Palais Challiot, looking across the River Seine when the lights come on the Eiffel Tower. The icon basks in a warm, golden-brown glow against the last bit of blue sky, then suddenly comes alive with a brief sparkling light show that always brings gasps from the crowd.

Searchlights at the top give it an otherworldly look, while sightseers can just make out the skaters on the winter season ice rink constructed on a midtower observation deck. Metro stop: Trocadero.

Though hotels and restaurants are uniformly nonsmoking indoors, it’s still a shock to see how many people are smoking in Paris. A long, very thin white cigarette is still considered a chic look to go along

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with boots, jeans, black coats and scarves. Most depressing is the number of under-20s puffing away around the Latin Quarter and the trendy shops of the Marais.

Favorite restaurant find: Au Port du Salut, a small bistro near the Pantheon at 163 Rue St-Jacques in the Left Bank. The nearest Metros are Odeon or Luxembourg. Bonjour, bon appetit and bon voyage! — MCT

Reykjavik, Iceland’s architecturally controversial City Hall building looks pretty nice from across the town pond.

“Reykjavik,” starring Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz, will reenact the tense event. Tourists likely will be crawling all over this place two years from now.

Perlan: A must-see for architecture fans. Demonstrating how to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, this striking community icon has a pleasing glass dome set atop six bland holding tanks for the city’s hot water supply. It features the upscale Pearl revolving restaurant and, one floor down, a fine cafeteria serving Icelandic cuisine with great city views. The day I visited, it also had a huge used book sale, with hundreds of shoppers.

The Harpa: Reykjavik’s new concert hall opened in 2011 on the harbor. Viewed from different angles, it looks as if it’s a different building, with streaks of colored lights appearing on its midnight blue surface. Concerts, opera, symphony, shops, restaurants. But mostly, enjoy the building itself.

City Hall: Reykjavik citizens still debate the merits of this barracks-like concrete gray building with exposed rivets. Personally, I thought it was a blight on the landscape, but it’s part of the Icelandic soul by now, so accept it. Best view of it is from across the adjacent pond.

National Museum of Iceland: My two favorite sights here were singer Bjork’s first album cover from 1977 and a chalice that dates from the 16th century made out of a coconut husk (an astonishingly rare and valuable item in Iceland back in the day).

By the way, if you take a city bus tour, you’ll pass Bjork’s all-black seaside house. “Don’t look to your left, it’s not supposed to be on the tour, but that’s Bjork’s house,” the tour guide said as the bus sped past and tourists fumbled with their cameras.

Speaking of celebrities: You won’t find any obvious evidence of the famous American chess player Bobby Fischer. The National Museum owns the chess table from the 1972 world chess championship match between Fischer and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, but after being on display last year, it’s stuffed in a closet somewhere, to my great disappointment.

Because the eccentric Fischer lived in Reykjavik in his final years, he still lives in the memory of citizens here, many of whom encountered him lurking around town. Ask someone. They’ll like-

Parisians enjoy a bright winter’s day at a cafe in Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris, France.

Reykjavik, Iceland, is a walkable city with no need for a car.

ly have a story about the odd chess grand master.

Shopping: All Iceland, all the time. Handmade wool sweaters.

Angora socks. Delicious chocolate. Blue Lagoon cosmetics. When you buy something here, you know it’s made in Iceland. The best shops are on Laugavegur and Bankastraeti streets.

Hallgrimskirkja Church: The exterior is so incredibly interesting; it’s a sweeping two-sided steep staircase to the heavens. You can see this church from everywhere in Reykjavik, so you’ll never be lost. Inside, take an elevator to the top and get great city views. The church’s interior is starkly plain and starkly beautiful.

Yay, Lutherans.

Blue Lagoon: It truly lives up to the hype. Take your own bathing suit, flip-flops and robe if you have them, or rent all these things plus a towel. It has a cafe, restaurant, outdoor massage and an outdoor lagoon bar. Do all these things, or just soak in the water for hours. Iceland will send you home squeaky-clean.

7 quirks of Iceland

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way to measure Iceland’s fall from financial hotspot to recession-plagued recovering nation is that the number of Range Rover registrations plummeted from a high of 259 in 2007 to 4 in 2011.

The mayor of Reykjavik is an actor.

Due to the downslide of the Icelandic krona against the dollar, it’s about 25 percent cheaper to visit Iceland than it was before the 2008 recession.

Iceland had 277,000 tourists in 2002. In 2012, about 700,000 visited the country. This year, it might hit 1 million, a government official said.

In summer, nightclubs really get busy only after midnight. But the sun is still up.

Americans built the original international airport at Keflavik during its military occupation in World War II, bringing American culture and influence to Iceland.

• There are 40 publishing houses in Iceland, making its people among the most literate in the world. On the other hand, who else will publish a book in Icelandic if they don’t?

If you go When to go: High season is mid-June through August, when the midnight sun shines and partiers congregate. Try May or September; true iconoclasts should come way off-season for low prices and quiet.

Getting there: Icelandair flies from several US cities to Reykjavik; from Boston and Washington Dulles it’s a 5-5 { hour flight for about $860 round-trip in the off-season or $1,100 in summer. Check package deals for flights, hotels and activities at www.icelandair.us, 800-223-5500.

Getting around: The Keflavik Airport Flybus (www.re.is/fly-

bus) takes tourists between the airport and Reykjavik. Tour companies like Reykjavik Excursions (www.re.is) offer day trips to far-flung sights and rides from your hotel to the airport, with a stop at the Blue Lagoon. Staying in Reykjavik? It’s a walkable city with no need for a car; take a taxi to Perlan or other sites on the city’s edge. Rent a car for jaunts to the countryside.

Stay: Most of Reykjavik’s hotels are Iceland-owned, such as Center Hotels with multiple properties in downtown Reykjavik (www.centerhotels.com).—MCT

Maroon 5 launch summer tour, writes for new album

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013

36 Sesame Street Muppets Ernie and Bert pose for photographers during a press conference on the 40th anniversary of the Sesame Street in Germany in Hamburg.—AFP

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ndian and Afghan producers of children’s T V favorite “Sesame Street” are brainstorming in a New Delhi office, swapping tips on how to make Big Bird and his fluffy pals palatable to local viewers. As the show makes India a satellite hub for production and training, it is a chance for the Afghan producers to tap into their Indian peers’ six years of experience in balancing sensitivities in their own culturally and religiously diverse nation. In doing so, the Afghans are working out how to avoid upsetting their own audiences in their quest to teach reading, writing and arithmetic in a conflict-torn country where only 50 percent of children attend school.

“This is all the education they’re getting,” says Sayed Farhad Hashimi of the other half. Hashimi is an advisor to the Afghan show that launched in 2011 and is now heading into its second season as “Bagch-eSimsim” (Sesame Garden). Hashimi notes that in his religiously conservative, warring country, the program treads a fine line, and is unique as a show for young children there. “Parents control the television and they’re going to turn it off if they don’t like what they see,” he explains over cups of green tea in mugs emblazoned with “Sesame Street” puppets.

“We don’t want that to happen. We want it to be received well-in fact it’s vital,” he says, adding that the program consults with the government and parents about content. “In most places, schools aren’t open, so we’re reaching out to high-need areas.” “Sesame Street”, which airs in countries from Pakistan to Tanzania to Turkey, insists its co-productions are not done to create positive attitudes toward the United States but to “foster positive attitudes” in children about themselves. “The goal is to reach all children at the same time as accommodating local sensibilities,” explains Ira Joshi, an education director of the Indian version of the highly popular US show, as the Afghans nod strongly in agreement.

‘Gender equity’ On this afternoon, ideas fly thick and fast as the Afghans and the Indians, along with producers from the US parent show, work on a plot showing a sevenyear-old girl learning Afghanistan’s vigorous Attan national dance. “We can get her to practise with her little brother,” suggests Mina Sharif, the bubbly Canadian-Afghan producer of the Afghan show, which is funded by the US Department of State and broadcast four afternoons a week. “We’ll get the whole family involved-everybody will be clapping-even the grandfather,” Sharif tells the session.

In the initial season, Afghan script writers feared parents might frown on encouraging children to dance-such activity is often seen as sexual in Afghanistan-so they got them to “exercise” instead. But these writers figure they’ve found a way round by getting all the family to participate while the brother partnering his sister will send a message of “gender equity” in a country where girls rights are often severely curtailed. “The boy’s participation puts the gender part of it across,” says Lilith Dollard, content specialist for the US Sesame Street, which has become a global entertainment powerhouse since its 1969 launch. “Gender equity is a cross-cutting theme for all we do,” says Dollard.

Acceptance of diversity Gender equality is also an important buzzword for program makers in India where girls are often undervalued, which results in them getting less food, medical attention and schooling than boys. Promoting acceptance of diversity is another priority, with the Afghans introducing children in different provinces to each other and the Indian program-makers doing the same. “In India, we show a slice of a child’s life” in different parts of the country. “We show what these kids have in common,” says Joshi. Both the Afghan and Indian programs promote education with puppets wearing school uniforms to express the importance of education for both boys and girls.

The Indian show features a gutsy girl muppet who says: “Stay in school, study, work hard —- there isn’t anything you can’t do.” In Afghanistan, the program sought to push the envelope a little last season.

“Sesame Street” viewers in Afghanistan include around one million three-to-seven-year-olds, its target audience, but the actual number of watchers is much greater as whole families are clustered around the set.

“To show the experience of the first day at school, we had a little girl as role model, not a boy as might be the case-taken to the school by her father and mother,” says Hashimi. But the show’s tried-and-tested formula of songs, letters and numbers presented by the vibrantly hued puppets is in abundance in both the shows. “We don’t want to overload the program with messages-we want it to be fun,” says Dollard. — AFP