13 Apr 2013

IPT IO N SC R SU B

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

JAMADA ALTHANI 3, 1434 AH

No: 15777

48 150 Fils

Spanish, Germans kept apart in CL semi-finals

Don’t test missile, Kerry tells N Korea North has no nuclear capability: US

SEOUL: US Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea yesterday it would be a “huge mistake” to test launch a medium-range missile and said the United States would never accept the reclusive country as a nuclear power.

Addressing reporters after talks with South Korea’s president and leaders of the 28,000-strong US military contingent in the country, Kerry also said it was up to China, North Korea’s sole major ally, to “put some teeth” into efforts to press Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Kerry, like other US officials, played down an assessment from the Pentagon’s intelligence agency that the North already had a nuclear missile capacity. The United States, he said, wanted to resume talks about North Korea’s earlier pledges to halt its nuclear program.

The White House said yesterday that North Korea “has not demonstrated” the ability to deploy nuclear missiles, downplaying an intelligence report from the day before. “North Korea has not demonstrated the capability to deploy a nuclear armed missile,” said spokesman Jay Carney, while adding that “there’s no question that this is a situation that requires the US to take necessary prudent measures and that is what we’ve done.”

But Kerry in Seoul stressed that Washington would defend its allies in the region if necessary and pointedly said that Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, “needs to understand, as I think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be”. North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said yesterday were its “treasured” guarantor of security. Kerry’s visit coincided with preparations for Monday’s anniversary of North Korean state founder Kim Il-Sung’s birth date, a possible pretext for a show of strength, with speculation focusing on a possible new missile test launch. — Reuters

Max 32º Min 19º

South Korean marines (left) get off a ferry at the South Korea-controlled island of Yeonpyeong near the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea yesterday. — AFP

9mm bullets found in Jahra

MoH to probe patient death

KUWAIT: It appeared that the burglars of the ammunition from MOI’s shooting range in Subbiya felt that they were being cornered and about to be identified which would have led to their arrests. So they took the safe route out and dumped the ammo, said security sources. The sources also said that passersby reported finding 9-millimeter caliber bullets dumped in an open yard between Naeem and Taima, Jahra. They also reported finding some bullets in the nearby street. Following the report, special security teams were dispatched to the scene where they found around 100 bullets.

The security men also found cans of spray paint similar to that used by the burglars on the crime scene to hide their fingerprints. A thorough search was conducted in the surrounding area to find more ammunition or a lead to the burglars. (See Page 5)

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health will constitute a special committee to investigate the mysterious death of a patient who was found hanging at the psychological medicine hospital recently, official MoH sources said. The special committee will however exclude the hospital manager and the head of the department where the patient was hospitalized, the sources further elaborated. Health Minister Dr Mohammed AlHaifi informed that he was personally following up the case. He also noted that he had visited the hospital a day prior to the unfortunate incident. “Everything appeared normal on that day,” the minister said noting that the news of the ‘suicide’ and the patient using his own dishdasha to hang himself to death was shocking.

However, the minister urged all concerned to wait for the report of the investigation which is being conducted in collaboration with the interior ministry. “If anyone is found responsible for his death, the person will be held legally accountable,” he said.

Bahrainis protest against F1 race MANAMA: Thousands of Bahrainis staged a peaceful march yesterday in the first of a series of protests the opposition is planning to hold before next week’s Formula One Grand Prix race.

Police stayed away from yesterday’s demonstration. “You have no legitimacy,” they chanted.

The Gulf Arab state, where the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based, has been hit by unrest since prodemocracy protests broke out in early 2011, putting it in the frontline of the region-wide power struggle between Iran and Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.

Waving the red-and-white Bahraini flag, the demonstrators marched from one main roundabout to another in the village of Al-Aali, some 15 km (nine miles) outside the capital Manama.

“The Formula One is used by the regime to advertise that there is nothing wrong in

Bahrain,” said Abdelwahid Al-Nadhkhadha, a 53year-old company employee. “We are showing the world that we are people with demands.”

Watched by millions around the world, the Grand Prix is the biggest sporting event hosted by the US-allied country whose government is hoping for a big turnout despite continuing violent unrest. The race at the Sakhir desert circuit was canceled in 2011 when protests were crushed and at least 35 people died.

Demonstrations have taken place almost daily in the island kingdom since the end of martial law in June 2011, often resulting in confrontations as youths throw stones or petrol bombs and police fire birdshot pellets and teargas. The opposition and the government resumed reconciliation talks in February for the first time since July 2011 but little progress has been reported. — Reuters

LOCAL

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

KUWAIT: Speaker of Bahrain Parliament Al Thahrani said that whoever fights or becomes an enemy of the Gulf rulers will never win and that all those who became enemies to them have fallen in disputes and vanished away. Al-Thahrani gave that speech to reporters during his visit along with the accompanying delegation to the diwan of Al Ajman tribe Amr Shaikh Sultan Salman Ben Hithlain at Oqaila area over the weekend.

Kuwait for more healthcare cooperation with Egypt CAIRO: Minister of Health Dr. Mohammad Barrak Al-Haifi reiterated yesterday Kuwait’s eagerness to expand healthcare, scientific, and humanitarian cooperation with Egypt.

In statements during his presence at the Cairo-based Al-Hussein University Hospital to conduct gastric bypass operations for a number of Egyptian patients.

“The initiative to conduct the surgeries in cooperation with Egyptian surgeons is the practical implementation of cooperation

and experience sharing between the State of Kuwait and Egypt,” Al-Haifi said.

He pointed out that he will donate all costs of the surgeries, adding that “this is the second time in a month he conducts gastric bypass surgeries in Egypt”. “Kuwait has been and will continue to be supportive to all Arab countries,” Al-Haifi said.

He noted that the success rate of these types of surgeries is so high it may reach 99 percent. These operations are a group of sur-

geries that first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower “remnant” pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to different gastric bypass operation names.

Any of these operations leads to a marked reduction in the size of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food. — KUNA

Tahboub hails role of Kuwait in launching Palestinian revolution Abbas visit next week

KUWAIT: NBK employees were able to watch World Golden Cup hosted by NBK in the head office. Employees were able to take memorial photos with this historical cup which has great popularity world wide.

Kuwait delivers financial contribution to Japan Islamic center TOKYO: Kuwait Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi delivered a financial contribution on behalf of Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf (Endowment) and Islamic Affairs to the Japanese Islamic Center worth in total $123,265.

The contribution aims at rebuilding the center. On hand to receive the contribution in a ceremony which took place on Thursday was the center’s representative, acting president of the center Dr. Mousa Omar.

The ambassador praised the noble mission and efforts exerted by the center in presenting

Islam to the Japanese community as well as sponsoring Muslim intellectuals and scholars there.

Al-Otaibi also hailed the numerous achievements by the center since its establishment, mostly challenges facing the Muslims in Japan.

For his part, Omar expressed thanks and gratitude to the State of Kuwait for the support given to the center. The center was established in 1977, and efforts to rebuild it come to increase its capabilities, including sponsoring and hosting events for the Muslim community in Japan. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Palestinian Ambassador to the State of Kuwait Rami Tahboub praised the role played by Kuwait in the establishment of the Palestinian revolution, expressing appreciation and gratitude for its continuous support during the past decades.

This statement came during an interview on the occasion of the official visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to Kuwait, scheduled to take place next week to open the Palestinian Embassy to the country.

“No one can forget the role of Kuwait in establishing and launching the Palestinian revolution from Kuwait’s lands, allowing the Palestinian Authority to practice the law, which we couldn’t be here without,” he said, expressing his gratitude to the great stances taken by Kuwait in support of Palestine on all fronts.

“The distinctively strong personal and diplomatic relations between President Mahmoud Abbas and HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah have played an essential part to reopen the embassy in Kuwait,” 22 years after it was shut down due to the Kuwaiti-Palestinian rift following the Iraqi invasion.

He noted that the significance of opening the Palestinian Embassy in Kuwait represents an opportunity that will help Kuwaiti officials and citizens and the Palestinian community to interact together, stressing on the supporting stance of the Kuwaiti Amir and people for the Palestinian cause, as “Kuwait has played a major part in Palestine joining the UN.” On the property land belonging to Kuwaitis in Palestine, Ambassador Tahboub said that he has brought all the official papers related to that subject.

On Palestine’s participation at the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU), recently hosted by Kuwait, he said “We engage in any Arabic or Islamic or even international cooperative work, in which serves Palestine’s interest,” praising the union’s rec-

Ambassador Rami Tahboub ommendations that are required to be applied to save the Palestinians.

With regard to Palestine’s objection of resuming negotiations with the Israeli side, he pointed out that the Palestinian Authority would not mind taking part in any successful negotiations, yet the authority is not ready to negotiate with Israel as long as the latter continues its settlement and Judaization operations.

In response to a question about the Arab summit’s resolution to help the Palestinian Authority, he said that the aid provides Palestine with $100 million monthly financial safety net after Israel stops or abstains from transferring tax revenues, which are of the Palestinians’ rights.

“When Israel decides to punish the Palestinians, it stops transferring tax revenues, which is part of the Palestinian employees’ salaries paid by the government, leading to the loosening of its economic situation,” Tahboub concluded. — KUNA

LOCAL SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

KUWAIT: The National Guards held an Open Day for its personnel and their family members recently.

Mexico, Kuwait engage in fresh effort for boosting relations MEXICO CITY: Kuwait Ambassador to Mexico Samih Johar Hayat held talks late on Thursday with head of Mexican side of Kuwaiti-Mexican Friendship Society Carlos Peralta over ways to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries in all fields, especially in investments offered by Kuwait to Mexican businessmen.

Ambassador Hayat welcomed Peralta’s two-day visit to Kuwait, which will take place on Monday, heading the Mexican delegation that includes high-level economic activities

and senior businessmen, led by tycoon Carlos Slim Helu.

“We have discussed Peralta’s visit schedule, in which the Mexican delegation will meet with a number of Kuwaiti senior officials and businessmen, “ said Hayat, indicating that the visit comes in order to effectuate the agreement for boosting and protecting investments, which was signed by Hayat on behalf of the Kuwaiti government and Mexican Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal last February.

Iraqis show ‘thirst’ for Kuwaiti books at Erbil fair ERBIL, Iraq: Most of books displayed at Kuwaiti pavilion of Erbil International Book Fair have been sold, said the head of fairs department of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Saad AlEnezi.

“We are taking part in the event with most of our publications, namely the magazines of Alam AlMaarifah, Alam Al-Fikr, Al-Thaqafa Al-Alamiah and Al-Masrah AlAlami, in addition to various other books about the Kuwaiti heritage and those composed by Kuwaiti authors, with the intention to encourage them,” Al-Enezi said.

Most of the council publications are subsidized by the state, in line with a policy to encourage promotion of the national culture.

Other Kuwaiti publishing houses taking part in the cultural event are Al-Rubaiaan, Dar Al-Salasel, Platinum, Al-Falah, Al-Ibdaa AlFikri, Afaq and Iqra’. Number of Kuwaiti books, magazines and other various other intellectual

works at the exhibition reached up to 300.

The Kuwaiti participation was successful and distinguished and most of the visitors to the Kuwaiti section “expressed thirst” for these cultural works, Al-Enezi affirmed, expressing deep satisfaction at high turn-up of the mainly Iraqis’ visitors to the pavilion.

Al-Enezi, who underscored the solid cultural relationship bounding the two neighboring countries, affirmed that Kuwait would take part in such activities in Iraq in the future, indicating that other government departments would also get involved in such activities on the Iraqi arena.

The fair, due between April 2 and 12, is organized by Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada in coordination with Kurdistan’s regional Ministry of Culture and Youth.

More than 200 publishing houses from 17 Arab and foreign countries are taking part in the event. — KUNA

This accord aims at stimulating and protecting investments, luring Kuwaiti and Mexican companies to launch business in the two countries and drawing up economic partnership between the private and public sectors of Mexico and Kuwait, he added.

He also indicated that, within the framework of the mutual understanding, relevant authorities would provide necessary insurance to the companies. He noted that this agreement will constitute a crucial step on path of boosting economic, commercial and

investment cooperation as well as the distinctive political ties between the two countries.

Hayat stressed that the signing of the agreement demonstrates the great attention and support given by the two side’s leaderships, which is an extraordinary developmental step to both Kuwait and Mexico.

Ambassador Hayat expressed his happiness over this “successful step,” especially that the approval of accords related to averting double taxation and evasion of fees was announced last week. —KUNA

Van loaded with liquor found in Jleeb area Bedoon drug trader held KUWAIT: Farwaniya security director Lt Gen Abul Fattah Al Ali took a van loaded with 739 bags full of locally made liquor into custody and transferred it to drugs fighting administration. Detectives are trying to find out the person who was driving the bus. As per security soruces a patrol ordered a Suzuki van to stop and the Indian driver was ordered to show his identity card. As security men asked him to open the van box to see what was inside, the man fled the scene on foot in Jleeb Shuyoukh area. As the security men searched the van, they found 739 bags full of locally made liquor.

In the meantime, Farwaniya police arrested a 23-year-old bedoon who was found driving his car in an erratic way.

Police searched his car and found three bags of heroin. He and the drugs were sent to drugs fighting administration.

Case against tutor The mother of a student has filed a complaint against a private tutor accus-

ing him of sexually assaulting her after he had an argument with her on the amount due to him for giving private lessons to her son. The woman told Salmiya police that the tutor demanded her to pay KD 120, as fees for private lessons he gave to her son.

She asked him to wait until she gets her salary, to which he replied with something she considered as sexual assault. Police called the teacher to interrogate him about the complaint, and he told police that the woman kept saying that she will pay the fees later. He said that when he insisted on getting the fees, she considered it as an insult. Both parties were sent to concerned authorities for further investigation.

Woman assaulted A Kuwait woman reported to Sabah Al-Salem police that after she came back after midnight to the family house, she was surprised to see her brother waiting for her at the door and assaulting her.

She went to Adan hospital and obtained a medical report after being beaten by the brother. A case was filed after the woman gave police details of her brother. Police called the brother and when asked about what his sister said, he said he had beaten her and threatened that he will do the same if she comes home late.

Bullets found Jahra security director Lt Gen Ibrahim Al turrah has sent about 70 bullets to criminal investigations department , to check if those bullets are part of the stolen bullets from a store which belongs to Ministry of Interior.

Interior operations received a report about some bullets which were found on the street between Taima and Al Naeem. Security men rushed to the area and found about 70 bullets scattered in the place. Taima police station head Maj Ghunaim Al Thefir supervised the collection of the bullets.

LOCAL SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Kuwait parliament to debate GCC security pact Articles must be in line with constitution

Omar Al-Samerae

Skating rink open KUWAIT: Supervisor of skating hall at the Touristic Enterprises Company Omar Al-Samerae said that maintenance of the small skating rink has been completed and now it is in full operation. He said that work is going on in the grand skating hall. The hall is open to public daily from 8:30 am upto 10 pm except on Tuesday as it will be open from 6:30 pm to 10pm for women only, children above six years old will not be allowed on this day. Entry fees will be KD 2 instead of 3 for two periods.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s parliament is set to look into a much-anticipated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) security treaty, promoted as crucial in boosting collective security among the six-member states.

The pact was approved by the GCC leaders at their advisory summit in Riyadh in May, but needed to be signed by the interior ministers and endorsed by their parliaments. The ministers signed it in November.

GCC officials said that the agreement stipulated full cooperation between member states and mutual responsibilities to preserve their collective security and stability.

It also highlighted the need to promote common security arrangements to the highest standards to help combat transnational and organised crime, they said.

However, several lawmakers in Kuwait have said over recent weeks that they would not back it up if its included articles that clashed with the country’s constitution.

“The security agreement has six chap-

ters and 20 articles and the lawmakers will debate it maybe next week,” sources told Kuwaiti daily Al Jareeda.

“Article II for instance stipulates that the state parties will cooperate with one another in the pursuit of outlaws or those wanted by the state parties, regardless of their nationality, and take necessary action against them,” the sources that the paper identified as “well informed” said.

Article 10 states that the member states will work collectively or bilaterally to achieve the effective integration of their security services as well as operational cooperation, and provide support and assistance for any state party in order to face unrest security and disaster, the sources said.

However, the pact which was strongly opposed in Kuwait when it was first announced seemed to address the Kuwaiti concerns by stating in its first article that the “states parties will cooperate within the framework of this agreement in accordance with their national legislation and international obligations.”

The sources said that Article 16 on

handing over suspects, a source of contention in the past, has been amended to ensure that extraditions are based on national legislations and conventions.

“We have not seen the pact yet, but I do stand with common Gulf action as long as it does not violate the Kuwaiti constitution,” MP Mohammad Al-Jabri said, quoted by the daily on Thursday.

MP Faisal Al-Kindari said the security treaty was a positive step towards a Gulf confederation and that it held a special significance in the region subject to several security issues.

“We will push for endorsing the security agreement as a step forward for the Gulf nations,” he said. “However, we must make sure it is in line with the Kuwaiti constitution.

MP Mubarak Al Najada said that the main criterion for endorsing the security pact was the country’s constitution.

“Our constitution has clearly drawn the major principles of freedom. We will look at the articles through this prism. If the pact is in line with the constitution, then we will support it. If not, we will reject it,” he said.

Mohamed El-Erian

William Rhodes

Josef Ackermann

Kuwaiti, GCC inventors show their wares at expo GENEVA: Four Arab Gulf countries are participating in the ongoing 41st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, the world’s largest meeting place for innovation and inventors.

“The participation is meant to introduce GCC inventors and their inventions to the world and to help them reach out to industrialists who can manufacture and market their inventions,” Head of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Patent Office Fahad Zowaid AlMuttairi said yesterday. The GCC inventors are from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The Kuwaiti inventor Nada Al-Enzi takes part in the exhibition with an invention related to the mechanism of dynamic liquids, Saudi inventor Bassem Yussef Sheikh with a new device to help people with special needs, UAE inventor Mussa Essa Al-Omari with a smart bank check, and Bahraini inventor Adel Sanad with a new system for improving concrete bases in construction projects.

Al-Muttari noted that the GCC inventors’ presence in Geneva exhibition has great benefits. “The event serves as a golden platform for Gulf inventors to communicate, interact and exchange expertise with their peers from the four corners of the globe and to get acquainted with the latest trends in inventions worldwide,” he said. The Inventions Exhibition in Geneva is the most important event of its kind in the world. Over 725 exhibitors will come from 45 different countries to showcase their ingenious inventions, the latest technology in all sectors of the market, and all kinds of devices to improve people’s quality of life.

About 24 exhibitors are independent inventors and researchers and 76 percent are inventors from companies, research institutes and universities. Nearly 38 percent of the inventions shown are from Europe, 58 percent from Asia and the Middle East and 4 percent from other continents. A thousand completely new innovations are displayed in a large exhibition area. The categories in which there are the greatest number of inventions are: medicine and health care, protection of the environment and energy, electronics and computer sciences, mechanics and industrial processes, methods of transport, construction and civil engineering, security, practical novelties, sports and leisure, agriculture and gardening, furnishing, domestic science, sanitation and games and toys.

Over 60,000 visitors are expected to see the exhibition of whom 42 percent are industrialists, distributors and businessmen, coming from all over the world to find inventions and new products to market. —KUNA

Experts to speak at NBK symposium KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) will host today Mohamed El-Erian, William Rhodes, Josef Ackermann, Martin Feldstein and Edward Morse, all members of NBK’s International Advisory Board, as the guests of honor and speakers at its annual international symposium entitled ‘Navigating Global Risks’. In keeping with NBK’s tradition of hosting prominent speakers, the event will give NBK’s VIP clients, government officials, business leaders and academic figures a rare opportunity to hear the views of the world’s leading experts.

El-Erian, is the CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO, the global investment management firm with $2.0 trillion of assets under management. He was recently appointed by President Barak Obama as the Chairman of his Council for International Development, USA. Famous Rhodes, a Senior Advisor for Citigroup, was senior vice chairman and senior international officer of Citigroup and Citibank. He gained a reputation for international financial diplomacy in the 1980s as a result of his leadership in helping manage the external-debt crisis that involved developing nations and their creditors worldwide.

Ackermann, Chairman of Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland and Former

Martin Feldstein

Edward Morse

Chairman of Deutsche Bank Group, started his career at Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA) in 1977. In 1990, he was appointed to the executive board of SKA, becoming its president in 1993.

Feldstein, President Emeritus of NBER Professor of Economics, Harvard University, was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and President Reagan’s chief economic adviser. Morse, Managing Director, Global Head of Commodity Research at Citigroup, previously worked at Lehman

Brothers, Louis Capital Markets and Credit Suisse. He is a contributor to journals and was most recently ranked 23rd among the “Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2012” by Foreign Policy. NBK regularly invites world-recognized authorities on energy, economics and politics to Kuwait as part of its International Symposium series. Past speakers include former US Presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, former US Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

LOCAL SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

KUWAIT: Governor-General of New Zealand Sir Jerry Mateparae and his wife met yesterday New Zealand’s community living in Kuwait at the Amiri tent at Bayan Palace.

Lawyer arranges bedoon immigration to Australia KUWAIT: Australian lawyer, Fauzi Sulaiman announced accepting applications from bedoons (stateless people) wishing to immigrate to Australia for two weeks. He added that his office was subject to the Australian government supervision and that all bedoons in good health who have good command of English and have KD 100,000 were eligible for the immigration.

Speaking on a lecture held at KJA headquarters recently that was also attended by the Australian ambassador to Kuwait, Robert Taisson, Sulaiman stressed that university degree holders, especially doctors and engineers, would have special privileges if they wished to migrate to Australia.

On his part, the Arab Affairs advisor at the Australian foreign department and the chairman of KuwaitAustralia Freindship Society, Abdul Jaleel Al-Baf said that a large number of bedoons had already got Australian citizenship and that a whole regionwas being named after bedoons now because of their huge numbers in it.

Kuwait to withdraw KD15m loan for Santa Fe water project Additional guarantee needed KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) will not go any further with a KD15 million loan to the government of northeastern Argentina’s Santa Fe province for the Reconquista water transfer project unless the national government guarantees the operation. “There will not be any loan until the national government authorizes the operation,” governor Antonio Bonfatti said in a statement.

The Reconquista water project, whose total costs amount to $106 million, entails the building of a water intake system in Puerto Reconquista, a water treatment plant and a 350km distribution network reaching some 70 locations and 187,000 residents in the area. In order to access the KFAED loan, which the fund’s board of directors has already approved, Santa Fe province’s government has to sign an agreement with the national government as an additional guarantee in case the former fails to meet its obligations.

The avail has been pending for months “as details over the assets that will be part of the guarantee are being discussed,” a source familiar with the matter told BNamericas.

Al-Haifi conducts gastric surgeries in Cairo CAIRO: Kuwaiti Minister of Health Dr. Mohammad Barrak Al-Haifi arrived here on Thursday on a visit to Egypt under an invitation from Al-Azhar University.

Speaking to KUNA upon his arrival, the minister said he is scheduled to conduct a number of gastric bypass procedures (GBP) for a number of Egyptian patients as a token of Kuwaiti contribution to the sisterly ties with Egypt.

“The surgeries will be conducted at AlHussein University Hospital, “ he said. The initiative to conduct the surgeries in collaboration with eminent Egyptian surgeons falls in the framework of the close ties and experience sharing between the State of Kuwait and Egypt, Dr. Al-Haifi pointed out. “The State of Kuwait donates all costs of the surgeries and the necessary equipment out of keenness to support the hospitals of the Egyptian Health Ministry and provide medical care for the Egyptian patients,” he added.

The minister was received at Cairo International Airport by Kuwait Ambassador to Egypt Dr. Rashid AlHamad, Head of Kuwait Health Office Dr.

Mansour Rakhoh, and Health Attaches Eid Al-Adwan and Nasser Al-Ajmi.

The GBP are a group of surgeries that first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower “remnant” pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to connect to both.

Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different GBP names.

Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the size the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food. — KUNA

At the same time, “two levels of government belonging to different political parties could also be playing a role in delaying the decision,” the source said.

President Cristina Fernandez has often used such operations as a political card, and multilateral loans signed by local governments across the country have been reportedly blocked for years, lacking the president’s final approval.

The Reconquista water project is part of a broad strategy to bridge the infrastructure gap that affects the province rural areas by building 12 aqueducts across the province.

Five aqueducts are already under construction, while the studies for the remaining seven are underway or about to be underway. The KFAED has been backing a number of infrastructure and water projects - mostly located in Caribbean countries - over the last 20 years. A first KD 10.5 million project in Argentina, the only one in South America to date, goes back to 1994. Fernandez signed an agreement with Kuwait’s government in January 2011 in a push to strengthen commercial ties with the Middle Eastern country.

Changes in Interior structure KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud has made some amendments to the structure of state security sector splitting it into internal security and external security.

Security sources revealed that the minister issued a decision on Thursday by which he appointed retired general Ibrahim Al-Wasmi as assistant undersecretary for internal security and Sheikh Mubarak Salem Al Ali as assistant undersecretary for external security.

On the other hand acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud issued a ministerial decision amending some articles of traffic law. The amendment included detention of vehicles driven by drivers without license, whether they are citizens or expats, or bedoon.

Security sources said that assistant traffic director, Brig Ihsan Al-Owaish has prepared a report indicating that number of persons driving vehicles without license or with suspended license is increasing. As per the new ministerial order, patrols are to detain any vehicle driven without proper license, and to keep it detained there until the time the driver correct his position and correct reasons behind the detention of the vehicle. Sources added that if the car does not belong to the driver, that will not be an obstacle and yet the vehicle will be taken into custody, as owner of the vehicle will be responsible for handing his vehicle to some one who has no proper driving license, and shall be held accountable.

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Israel offers to deport Palestinian prisoner

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Suicide bombing kills 3 Chadian soldiers in Mali

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Massive security for Musharraf court appearance

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ALEPPO: This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians chanting slogans during a demonstration after Friday prayer in Aleppo, northern Syria yesterday. — AP

Syrian troops battle rebels in Homs UN talks begin on Qaeda-linked Syria rebels AL-QASR, Lebanon: Syrian forces battled rebels in the central province of Homs near the border with Lebanon yesterday as part of a counteroffensive aimed at regaining control of territory around the country and along strategic border areas. With a fresh influx of weapons, opposition fighters have made significant gains in the past weeks, particularly in the southern province of Daraa, where rebels have been advancing in the region between the Jordanian border and the capital, Damascus.

The province of Homs and its capital of the same name were the scenes of some of the heaviest fighting during the first year of Syrian conflict.

The violence has escalated there in recent weeks, with Syrian war planes hitting the city daily.

In the past two days, troops have clashed with rebels on the edges of the province along the Lebanese border in some of the worst fighting in the area in months. Yesterday, sporadic explosions inside Syria could be heard from the Lebanese side of the border and an reporter said Syrian warplanes carried out at least one airstrike inside Syrian territory. The border area is strategically important to both sides fighting in Syria’s civil war and battles there have been frequent in past weeks, particularly in and around the town of Qusair in Homs province. The area is considered vital to the Syrian regime because of its location along a road linking Damascus with the city of Homs, a strategic supply route for the military.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday’s clashes between soldiers and opposition fighters were concentrated around Qusair. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Overlooking Qusair from the Lebanese side are villages populated mostly by Shiite Muslim supporters of the Hezbollah militant group, who have supported Assad’s regime during Syria’s two-year conflict. The rebels fighting to topple Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

The Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Syrian warplanes carried out airstrikes around the country, hitting targets in Daraa in the south,

in Hasaka province in the north east near the border with Turkey and in the northern city of Aleppo, parts of which have been under rebel control since last summer. The airstrikes come a day after a US-based human right group accused the Syrian air force of carrying out indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas around the countryattacks the group claims amount to war crimes.

More than 4,300 people have been killed in aerial bombardments since last summer, Human Rights Watch said in a report Thursday.

In Tehran, Iranian state broadcaster Irib said an Iranian journalist was wounded on Thursday in a shooting near Damascus.

Saudi executes Pakistani for rape, murder RIYADH: Saudi authorities executed yesterday a Pakistani man convicted of rape and murder, in the northwestern town of Tabuk, the interior ministry said. Amjad Ali Kol was convicted of raping and strangling a woman, before stealing her money, the ministry said in a statement carried on official news agency SPA. His beheading brings to 33 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia since the

beginning of the year, according to an AFP tally. In 2012, the kingdom executed 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The US-based Human Rights Watch put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s strict version of sharia, or Islamic law. — AFP

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has begun informal talks on whether to impose sanctions on Syria’s rebel Al-Nusra Front after it pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman AlZawahri this week, France said yesterday.

The militant Islamist element of the Syrian conflict poses a quandary for Western powers and their Arab allies, which favor the overthrow of President Bashar Al-Assad but are alarmed by Sunni Muslim jihadi fighters whose fiercely antiShiite ideology has fuelled sectarian tensions in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters, French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said given Wednesday’s announcement by Nusra chief Abu Mohammad al-Golani it was logical to look at how to deal with the Syrian group in the framework of the “fight against terrorism”.

“One option is to act at the UN Security Council ... through the Al-Qaeda 1267 sanctions committee ,” he said. “It is one solution that we are studying and discussing informally with our UN Security Council partners and European allies,” he said.

He said talks were still at a very early stage.

Potential sanctions could include assets being frozen and travel bans. The US State Department in December designated the group a foreign terrorist organization. Experts have long said Nusra was receiving support from Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in neighboring Iraq. —Agencies

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Iraq mosque bombing kills 12 worshippers BAGHDAD: A bomb explosion killed at least 12 people and wounded 25 in front of a Sunni mosque in Iraq’s Diyala province as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers, police and medics said.

A surge of attacks by Sunni Islamists have targeted Shiite Muslims this year in growing sectarian confrontation, although officials say insurgents also hit Sunni religious sites as part of their campaign.

The bomb went off near the gate of the mosque, targeting worshippers and

enveloping the mosque in white smoke.

Witnesses said shoes and pieces of clothes were scattered outside.

“We were about 250 worshippers, we were just leaving when the explosion went off. Police were not protecting the mosque and people had to be taken to hospital in cars,” Ahmed Al-Karkhi, one of the wounded, told Reuters by telephone.

Iraq still struggles with tensions among its Shiite majority and Sunni and ethnic Kurds who make up a fragile government. Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias killed thousands in 2006-

2007 when the bombing of an important Shiite shrine triggered sectarian mayhem.

“The main reason to hit mosques is to incite the sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites,” said Sheikh Asaad AlMahsayki, a local council member.

“Sunni armed groups began to target the mosques to create tension.” Sunni Islamist insurgents tied to Al-Qaeda have stepped up their campaign of attacks this year with a string of suicide bombing attacks on Shiites and on security forces. Car bombs hit five Shiite mosques

in Baghdad last month.

Al-Qaeda’s local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has said it will keep up attacks and security officials say the group is gaining ground and recruits in the western desert bordering Syria, thanks in part to a boost from the neighboring war. Al Qaeda in Iraq this week announced it had merged with the al Nusra Front fighting against President Bashar AlAssad in Syria where an increasingly sectarian war is stirring up Iraq’s own delicate mix of Shiite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish. — Reuters

Israel offers to deport Palestinian prisoner Tel Aviv reopens Gaza border crossing

JUBA: South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (Centre left) and Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir (centre right) walk at Juba airport yesterday. — AFP

Bashir vows peace in first S Sudan visit since split JUBA: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said yesterday he wanted peace and normal relations with South Sudan in his first visit there since it split off from his country in 2011 after decades of civil war. The neighbors agreed in March to resume pumping oil through pipelines from south to north and ease the tensions which had threatened to reignite the war between them that had killed more than two million people. Diplomats hope Bashir’s visit will help the two sides overcome deep mistrust and solve their remaining disputes over the ownership of Abyei and other contested border regions.

Bashir, who cancelled a visit to Juba a year ago when border fighting almost flared into full-scale war, said in a speech in the southern capital that he had ordered Sudan’s borders with South Sudan to be opened for traffic. “I have instructed Sudan’s authorities and civil society to open up to their brothers in the Republic of South Sudan,” Bashir said, alongside South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.

Kiir said he had agreed with Bashir to continue talks to solve all conflicts over disputed regions along their volatile 2,000 km (1,200 mile) frontier.

“I and President Bashir agreed to implement all cooperation agreements,” Kiir said. After their meeting in the presidential office, Bashir, who invited Kiir to visit Khartoum, swapped his business suit for a traditional white robe to join prayers in the Kuwaiti-built mosque in central Juba. “I came to Juba because we now have the biggest chance to make peace,” he told 400 Muslim worshippers from South Sudan and the Sudanese expatriate community.

“We won’t go back to war. President Kiir and I agreed that the war was too long,” said Bashir, who last visited Juba to attend South Sudan’s independence ceremony on July 9, 2011. In the ramshackle capital Juba, where main roads were closed and festooned with the flags of both countries, residents said they hoped Bashir’s visit would finally bring peace.

“We need to live in harmony. We need peace between Sudan and South Sudan,” said 22-year-old engineering student Robert Mori. Edmund Yakani, head of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), which promotes civil society values, said Bashir’s presence showed he wanted peace.

South Sudan, the world’s newest state, shut down its 350,000 barrel a day oil output in January 2012 at the height of a pipeline fee dispute, with devastating effect on both struggling economies. —Reuters

JERUSALEM: Israel has offered to deport a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner to Europe or a UN-member country, an Israeli official said yesterday, in an effort to reach a compromise over the high-profile detainee. But a lawyer for the 33-year-old hunger striker says he has refused to be deported, and a European Union official denied that Israel had officially made the offer to deport him.

Samer Issawi, who is from Jerusalem, has been refusing food for the past eight months to protest his detention.

He has been drinking water and receiving infusions, which has kept him alive despite his frail health. On Thursday, he issued a rare plea urging Israelis to visit him in the hospital, parts of which were published in the liberal Israeli daily Haaretz.

The Israeli official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the prime minister’s office offered to deport Issawi after EU and UN officials expressed concern about his health. The Israeli official said neither body had replied to the offer.

The official said if an EU or UN-member country was willing to take him, Israel would be more than happy to let him go, but that so far, no country had offered.

He said the proposal came up recently in a work conversation between officials of the EU and Israel and in parallel between Israel and UN officials. An EU spokesman in Israel, David Kriss, said the EU had not received an official Israeli deportation offer. A spokeswoman for the UN was looking into the matter.

Jawad Bulous, a lawyer for Issawi, said the prisoner had turned down a previous offer to be sent to the Gaza Strip, and would not accept deportation to any other country. “He refuses all of these options,” Bulous said.

Meanwhile, Israel reopened a goods crossing into the Gaza Strip yesterday, officials said, after closing it several days earlier in response to rocket fire from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Kerem Shalom crossing was reopened this morning,” said Guy Inbar,

RAMALAH: Palestinians throw stones towards Israeli security forces during clashes following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the West Bank village of Silwad, east of Ramallah yesterday. — AFP

spokesman for the Israeli defense ministry unit responsible for all civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. The crossing “doesn’t normally function on Friday but we opened it especially to allow the transport of goods blocked since its closure on Monday,” he added.

A rocket fired from Gaza crashed into southern Israel on Sunday, as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

It struck an uninhabited part of the Negev desert, causing no damage or casualties.— Agencies

DUBAI: Emirati policemen patrol in a Lamborghini Aventador near Burj Khalifa in the Gulf emriate of Dubai yesterday. A sleek $550,000 Lamborghini Aventador, which can reach speeds of up to 349 km/h (217 mph), has joined the Dubai police department’s fleet of patrol cars to enhance the glizty Gulf emirate’s trademark image of luxury and prosperity. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A L SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Suicide bombing kills 3 Chadian soldiers in Mali Mali refugees in ‘deplorable’ conditions

BERLIN: German President Joachim Gauck (right) and the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh shake hands prior to a meeting at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin yesterday. —AP

Merkel, Cameron to bring families together in castle outside Berlin BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host David Cameron and his wife and children at a castle outside Berlin at the weekend in a rare family get-together that she may hope will create the right mood to heal a growing rift between Britain and Europe. Cameron, who warned this week that British support for the EU was “wafer thin”, will spend the weekend with Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer at Schloss Meseburg northwest of Berlin accompanied by his wife Samantha and their three children.

Spokesman Steffen Seibert was unable to recall any previous time that Merkel has hosted a leader’s children. She and Sauer have no children of their own and are both serious scientists who like listening to Wagner operas and hiking. “Don’t worry, it will be an interesting experience for all those present,” Seibert said. “You need have no concerns about the plans. Adults and children alike will have a lovely time.”

Merkel, 58, tends to keep her personal life private, rarely appearing with Sauer in public, though they were photographed in bathing suits on an Easter break in Italy and papers ran shots of her playing with her nieces and nephews. Asked why Merkel had turned the talks into a family gathering, Seibert said she and her husband had got to know the Camerons when they stayed at the British prime minister’s official country residence, Chequers, in 2011.

The gathering “demonstrates how tight our friendship and partnership with Britain is”, said Seibert. The Camerons and Merkel and Cameron will hold wide-ranging talks early today that will naturally include Europe, he said. Cameron’s desire to roll back European Union powers and his plans for a referendum on Britain staying in the bloc if he wins a new term in 2015 were “no surprise” to Berlin, said Seibert. Cameron said in an interview for several European media this week there was little support in Britain for an EU bureaucracy that he said “sometimes overreached itself” and needed reform. Merkel’s reaction to Cameron’s speech in January setting out his plans on Europe was more restrained than that of some other EU leaders and she has been careful to stress that Britain is an important German ally, especially on free trade issues. —Reuters

BRUSSELS: President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz (right) and Speaker of the House of the Representatives of Jordan Saed Hayel Srour (left) give a joint press conference closing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean yesterday at the EU Headquarters in Brussels. —AFP

GAO: A suicide bomber killed three Chadian soldiers yesterday morning at a market in the northern Mali town of Kidal, a Chadian military official and three witnesses said.

Chadian and French soldiers have been stationed in the desert town since late January to fight Islamist rebels hiding in the region’s mountainous borderlands.

“He blew himself up next to a group of Chadian soldiers. Three were killed in the blast and several others were wounded,” resident Ag Waerzagane Assikadaye told Reuters by telephone. The Chadian military official confirmed the death toll and added that four other soldiers were hurt. Chad has lost around 30 soldiers in Mali - the heaviest death toll of any of the government’s foreign allies.

A wave of deadly bombings and raids

by Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters has raised fears that Bamako is failing to reassert its control in northern Mali’s towns, after French forces drove the militants into desert and mountain hideouts.

Tuareg separatists who claim to be helping fight the Islamist insurgents remain in power in Kidal, near the border with Algeria, complicating plans to reunite the West African country after last year’s coup and northern revolt. Mali’s prime minister promised on Thursday that elections to replace the caretaker government would go ahead in July. But analysts fear preparations will not be completed in time and warn a botched poll could sow the seeds for further unrest.

Some 4,000 French troops are fighting alongside Mali’s army and a regional African force, though Paris is aiming to cut its military presence to 1,000 soldiers by year-end. Tens of thousands of Malian refugees are suffering “deplorable” conditions in Mauritanian desert camps, with just one toilet between 3,000 people, and two infants dying every day, a top charity said yesterday. Some 74,000 Malians displaced by war and ethnic tensions were in need of urgent help, with many falling ill after they arrive due to poor sanitary conditions, the Doctors without Borders (MSF)

group said in a report.

“When an extension was added to Mbera camp to accommodate the new refugees arriving in January 2013, our teams witnessed a situation where there were only four latrines for 12,000 people,” MSF said. “Humanitarian standards call for a minimum of one latrine for every 20 people”, added the group, complaining that humanitarian assistance at the Mbera

the United Nations. French forces intervened in Mali in mid-January this year to assist the Malian authorities in retaking the lost territory. MSF said that the displaced at the Mbera camp were also suffering from food insecurity and a lack of basic services, but there was no famine as “rations have improved, food is sufficient now”, said MSF emergency official Marie-Christine Ferir.

But water and shelter is scarce as tem-

GAO: French soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Regiment take part in day three of Operation Gustav in Gao, a hunt for Islamist fighters in a valley in northern Mali and one of France’s largest military operations during its three-month intervention in its former colony. —AFP camp was insufficient.

While there is “some improvement” at the camps, conditions remain “deplorable” and with no end in sight to the refugee crisis, “the challenge will be to continue to provide assistance that meets humanitarian standards,” the report said.

Since January last year, when Tuareg rebels declared the independence of Mali’s arid north before losing control to armed Islamists, more than 270,000 people have been displaced while 170,000 others fled to neighboring countries, mainly Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, according to

peratures soar to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

Refugees receive 11 litres of water a day on average but need 20 for cooking, drinking and personal hygiene. Children “should get a ration rich in milk and micronutrients so as to avoid malnutrition”, Ferir added. The death rate among children has soared, according to Ferir. “It is currently above the emergency level,” she said, adding that on average two children under the age of two die every day at Mbera, where most refugees are Tuareg, with a large group of Arabs. —Agencies

German poll sees SPD losing support BERLIN: The German opposition Social Democrats (SPD) are losing support in their bid to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s election and are no longer trusted more than her conservatives on social issues, according to a poll out yesterday.

The Politbarometer poll for public broadcaster ZDF will make tough reading for candidate Peer Steinbrueck ahead of a congress of his centre-left SPD in Bavaria on Sunday to present the official platform for the federal election on Sept 22. The long-standing lead for Merkel’s coalition widened to 46 percent versus 41 percent for the SPD and their Greens allies, while the proportion of Germans who would prefer a third term for Merkel rose three points to 63 percent. Only 27 percent said they would prefer Steinbrueck, down from 29 percent in the last Politbarometer poll in March. The 66-year-old former finance minister, who was Germany’s most popular politician less than two years ago, ranks eighth in approval ratings, where Merkel consistently ranks first.

It was the second poor survey for the SPD this week. A Forsa poll out on Wednesday suggested for the first time in three years that Merkel could get a governing majority with one point more support than the SPD, Greens and hardline Left combined. The Politbarometer poll put the combined opposition one point ahead

- but the SPD rules out an alliance with the Left because of its extreme views. Steinbrueck is a moderate whose nomination last year meant he had to veer to the left on issues such as higher taxes and regulating banks to mollify that wing of the SPD. But his high personal earnings and verbal gaffes have alienated many leftwingers and women voters. Embarrassed by the choice of a campaign slogan “It is we who decide” that was already being used by a temporary employment agency - not the kind of business the SPD supports - Steinbrueck told German TV that it accurately reflected voter sentiment.

“There is a craving among the people for less selfishness and more broad public welfare,” said the candidate. Party leaders worry that the economic troubles of Cyprus are prolonging the euro-zone debt crisis, which plays to Merkel’s strengths rather than focusing the campaign on domestic issues, where they believe they have the upper hand. However, as well as suggesting that the German public has vastly more confidence in Merkel’s ability to manage the euro crisis - 46 percent versus 10 percent for Steinbrueck - the poll said that for the first time more people trusted Merkel to bring about “more social justice” than the SPD candidate. —Reuters

I N T E R N AT I O N A L SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

US Immigration bill could exclude many WASHINGTON: A bipartisan immigration bill soon to be introduced in the Senate could exclude hundreds of thousands of immigrants here illegally from ever becoming US citizens, according to a Senate aide with knowledge of the proposals.

The bill would bar anyone who arrived in the US after Dec. 31, 2011, from applying for legal status and ultimately citizenship, according to the aide, who spoke on condition because the proposals have not been made public. It also would require applicants to document that they were in the country before Dec 31, 2011, have a clean criminal record and show enough employment or financial stability that they’re likely to stay off welfare.

Those requirements could exclude hundreds of thousands of the 11 million immigrants in the US illegally from the path to citizenship envisioned by the bill, the aide said. Although illegal immigration to the U.S. has been dropping, many tens of thousands still arrive

each year, so the cutoff date alone could exclude a large number of people. That may come as a disappointment to immigrant rights groups that had been hoping that anyone here as of the date of enactment of the bill could be able to become eligible for citizenship.

But Republicans in the immigration negotiating group had sought strict criteria on legal enforcement and border security as the price for their support for a path to citizenship, which is still opposed by some as amnesty. The new details emerged as negotiators reached agreement on all the major elements of the sweeping legislation.

After months of closed-door negotiations, the “Gang of Eight” senators, equally divided between the two parties, had no issues left to resolve in person, and no more negotiating sessions were planned. Remaining details were left to aides, who were at work completing drafts of the bill.

“All issues that rise to the member

level have been dealt with,” Senator Chuck Schumer said in a statement Thursday. “All that is left is the drafting.” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said the bill probably would be introduced on Tuesday.

The landmark legislation would overhaul legal immigration programs, require all employers to verify the legal status of their workers, greatly boost border security and put millions of immigrants living in the US illegally on a 13-year path to citizenship. A top second-term priority for President Barack Obama, it would enact the biggest changes to US immigration law in more than a quarter-century.

Deals gelled over the past two days on a new farm-worker program and visas for high-tech workers, eliminating the final substantive disputes on the legislation. Next will come the uncertain public phase as voters and other lawmakers get a look at the measure.

Already, some conservatives have made it clear their opposition will be

fierce. Sen. Jeff Sessions, complained that the bill would ensure that millions get amnesty but border enforcement never happens.

“This is also why it is so troubling that (Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.) has rejected the GOP request for multiple hearings and that members of the Gang of Eight have publicly announced their intention to oppose any amendments,” Sessions said in a statement Thursday. “To proceed along these lines is tantamount to an admission that the bill is not workable and will not withstand public scrutiny.”

Pro-immigrant activists also were gearing up for a fight even as they expressed optimism that this time, Congress will succeed in passing an immigration overhaul bill. Many of those pushing for the legislation were involved in the last major immigration fight, in 2007, when a bill came close on the Senate floor but ultimately failed. —AP

US Senate agrees to debate gun bill Lawmakers agree on background checks WASHINGTON: The US Senate voted to debate the nation’s most ambitious gun safety legislation in almost two decades, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed on expanding background checks. As relatives of the 20 children killed in the Newtown massacre watched from the visi-

leagues after the 68-31 vote. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the “bipartisan progress” was encouraging, but stressed it was just the “first stage in an effort to get sensible, common-sense legislation.”

President Barack Obama has leaned heavily on Congress to adopt his proposals after the

WASHINGTON: Senator Pat Toomey (right) and Senator Joe Manchin speak to the press , in the US Capitol building on Thursday about background checks for gun purchases. —AP tors’ galleries, years of Senate refusal to address gun laws in the United States was swept aside, along with recent Republican obstruction. Some 16 Republicans joined the Democrats, setting up crucial votes next week on amendments to a bill that would tighten checks for firearms buyers, stiffen penalties for gun trafficking and boost school safety measures.

“The hard work starts now,” top Democrat Harry Reid told his Senate col-

December tragedy in Connecticut. He called families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims to congratulate them on the vote result and pledge his continued support in the fight.

Jillian Soto, sister of slain Newtown firstgrade teacher Victoria Soto, said she had hoped for a tougher background check amendment. But “I’m happy that we are getting somewhere,” said Soto, who spent days pressing lawmakers on Capitol Hill to enact

tighter gun laws. The key ingredient in the complex gun control recipe is the compromise on background checks reached by Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Pat Toomey. The deal waters down the universal background check system sought by Obama, which was opposed by scores of lawmakers, including some Democrats from pro-gun states.

But it strengthens existing law, which only requires background checks for firearm purchases at licensed gun dealers, to require checks for sales at gun shows and online. It would still allow gun sales between relatives and friends to continue without such safeguards, however. “The bill will not, in any way, shape or form, infringe upon anyone’s Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms,” Manchin said in a statement after publishing the text when Reid put the measure on the schedule for next week. “The bill will not take away anyone’s guns,” Manchin insisted, in an effort to tamp down Republican concerns that the legislation will erode gun rights. And the bill “will not create a national (gun) registry; in fact, it explicitly prohibits it,” he added.

The big question now is whether the legislation, in part or as a whole, can pass the Senate and then the House, where an even tougher vote is expected. Senate Republican Mark Kirk helped craft the compromise and is likely on board. Another party moderate, Susan Collins, expressed her initial support but said she wants to study the bill’s language.

But conservative Senator Mike Lee took to the floor in opposition, reading letters from Americans who he said were “very concerned about Congress enacting any new gun control measures.” —AFP

Audrie Pott

3 teens held for assault after girl’s suicide SAN JOSE: Eight days after allegedly being sexually battered while passed out at a party, and then humiliated by online photos of the assault, 15-year-old Audrie Pott posted on Facebook that her life was ruined, “worst day ever,” and hanged herself.

For the next eight months, her family struggled to figure out what happened to their soccer loving, artistic, horse crazy daughter, with a gentle smile, long dark hair and shining eyes.

And then on Thursday, seven months after the tragedy, a Northern California sheriff’s office arrested three 16-year-old boys on charges of sexual battery. “The family has been trying to understand why their loving daughter would have taken her life at such a young age and to make sure that those responsible would be held accountable,” said family attorney Robert Allard. “After an extensive investigation that we have conducted on behalf of the family, there is no doubt in our minds that the victim, then only 15 years old, was savagely assaulted by her fellow high school students while she lay on a bed completely unconscious.”

Allard said students used cell phones to share photos of the attack, and that the images went viral.

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Lt. Jose Cardoza said it arrested two of the teens at Saratoga High School and the third, a former Saratoga High student, at Christopher High School in Gilroy on Thursday. The names of the suspects were not released because they are minors.

Cardoza said the suspects were booked into juvenile hall and face two felonies and one misdemeanor each, all related to sexual battery that allegedly occurred at a Saratoga house party.

The lieutenant said the arrests were the result of information gathered by his agency’s Saratoga High School resource officers. He said the investigation is ongoing, and Los Gatos police also continue looking into the girl’s September suicide. The Associated Press does not, as a rule, identify victims of sexual assault. But in this case, Pott’s family wanted her name and case known, Allard said. The family also provided a photo to the AP. —AP

I N T E R N AT I O N A L SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Taleban kill 13 Afghan troops at army post Over 100 militants attack camp from 3 sides

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf (center) is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at the High Court in Islamabad yesterday. —AFP

Massive security for Musharraf court appearance ISLAMABAD: Massive security accompanied Pakistan’s former leader Pervez Musharraf as he appeared again in court yesterday, bailed for another week for charges relating to his nine years in office.

The authorities shut down main roads, causing significant bottlenecks, as heavily armed paramilitary police, some of them dressed in riot gear, and plain-clothed intelligence agents fanned around the Islamabad high court. Snipers were posted on rooftops to guard the main approach as Musharrafwho the Taliban have threatened to assassinate-arrived in a black jeep, accompanied by a bristling convoy of bodyguards.

Local television channels reported that he wore a bulletproof jacket, an unprecedented precaution by a major figure making a public appearance in the capital, but AFP reporters could not approach the former military ruler to confirm.

Musharraf spent barely 20 minutes inside the courtroom to listen to the judge grant him bail until April 18, when he has been ordered to appear in person again, over his November 2007 sacking of judges, which paved the way for his downfall.

It was Musharraf’s second appearance in court since he returned home on March 24 to contest general elections in May after four years of self-imposed exile, and his third bail extension in the judges’ case.

He has also been bailed over the 2007 killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch rebel leader in 2006. At his previous court appearance on March 29, a lawyer threw a shoe at Musharraf, a hugely insulting gesture in the Muslim world.

On Monday, Musharraf’s lawyers will also appear in the Supreme Court over demands that the 69-year-old go on trial for treason for subverting the constitution by sacking judges in 2007. Musharraf has been approved to stand in one constituency in the May 11 election, which will mark the first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has served a full term in office in the country’s history. —AFP

Fire sweeps through Delhi slum, killing 2 NEW DELHI: A fire swept through a sprawling slum on the outskirts of India’s capital yesterday, killing two children and injuring at least six other people, an official said. Black smoke billowed from nearly 1,000 makeshift dwellings with thatched roofs that were destroyed by the blaze, said fire official Anoop Sharma. More than 100 firefighters took over two hours to douse the fire in the slum near the Bawana industrial area in northwest New Delhi.

Many residents of the area make a living collecting garbage for resale. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, Sharma said. —AP

KUNAR, Afghanistan: Scores of heavily armed Taleban militants killed 13 Afghan soldiers in fierce clashes yesterday after storming an army post in the east of the country near the Pakistan border, police said. More than 100 militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and guns launched the attack in the Nari district of Kunar province, attacking the post from three directions before dawn. “The attackers were heavily armed,” a senior police officer in the district, who declined to be named, told AFP. “We have recovered the bodies of 13 of our soldiers, the outpost has been nearly destroyed.” The attack was finally pushed back after several hours when Afghan military and police reinforcements arrived. One soldier was severely injured, police said.

Defense ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zaher Azimi confirmed the attack but said that exact casualty figures were not available.

“We are still in the process of gathering information,” he said. Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in an email to AFP, and said that the militants had seized all weapons and ammunition from the remote post. He added that 15 soldiers had been killed. The border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a key battleground in the fight against the militants, many of whom use safe havens inside Pakistan to launch attacks against Afghan soldiers and the US-led military coalition. For years, leaders in Kabul and Islamabad have traded accusations of blame over

the Islamist extremists who pose a threat to security in both countries and criss-cross the porous border with impunity.

Pakistan was an ally of the Taleban until joining the US-led “war on terror” after the September 11, 2001 attacks and has been accused of tacitly or actively supporting the insurgents.

Pakistani officials vigorously deny the allegations, but rebel bases in Pakistan infuriate Afghan President Hamid Karzai and remain a major obstacle to peace as US-led troops prepare to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. There

are presently around 100,000 international troops fighting the insurgents, with Afghan soldiers and police gradually taking over security responsibilities ahead of the withdrawal. Kunar province has seen some of the fiercest clashes in the country over recent years as fighting spread from the southern hotspots of Helmand and Kandahar to the eastern border regions.

A NATO air strike in the province on Sunday killed 11 children, officials said, when air support was called in after local and coalition forces came under attack. —AFP

KABUL: French photographer, Pierre Borghi (center), 29, looks at his girlfriend Payvand Seyedali (L) as a friend looks on at the French embassy in Kabul yesterday after he was freed on Sunday after four months in captivity. Borghi was working for ACTED (the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development), a Paris-based non-governmental organization, when he was dragged from a vehicle in Kabul. French officials have not confirmed how he was freed. — AFP

India’s SC rejects challenge to death sentence NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for the execution of a Sikh militant, rejecting his appeal in a ruling that could lead to more death sentences being carried out.

Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar from northwestern Punjab, who was convicted over a New Delhi car bombing that killed nine people in 1993, had appealed for his sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment on the grounds that he had spent two decades on death row. He also challenged the right of the state to execute mentally ill convicts, claiming he had developed psychological problems while languishing in prison, including schizophrenia.

A Supreme Court bench ruled that neither his lengthy wait in prison nor his apparent mental problems were reasons to set aside the death sentence.

“The petitioner has not been able to make out a case for commuting his sentence,” Justice G S Singhvi said, reading out the judgement. The ruling was being followed by more than a dozen other prisoners whose executions have also been held up for decades, including three men convicted over the assas-

sination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

“After this judgement, India will have to resume execution including of 17 death row convicts who had filed petitions before the courts on the grounds of delay,” said Suhas Chakma of the New Delhi-based Asian Centre for Human Rights. “India must decide whether it wants the tag of the top five executioners of the world along with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” Chakma said in a statement.

Indian courts hand down death sentences for the “rarest of rare” crimes but the country had not carried out an execution for eight years until last November when it put to death the only surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Another militant convicted for his role in an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 was executed in February after his appeal for clemency was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, who took office in July last year, has signalled a hard line on the death penalty by regularly dismiss-

ing mercy pleas-unlike his three predecessors. More than 400 people are on death row in India. Navneet Kaur, the 48-year-old wife of Bhullar who was present in the courtroom, said she was disappointed by the order. “We waited for so long... we have suffered so much.

The court did not consider our point, it has not been fair with us,” she told India’s NDTV news channel.

Bhullar was awarded the death penalty in 2001 for carrying out a bomb blast in Delhi in 1993 that killed nine people and injured several others, including prominent youth Congress leader M.S. Bitta.

An ideologue of the Sikh separatist militant group Khalistan Liberation Force, Bhullar was also suspected of being involved in a 1991 bomb blast in the northern Indian city of Amritsar.

He fled to Germany in 1994 but was deported a year later to India to face charges of terrorism. The main political parties welcomed the court’s judgement with the ruling Congress saying the “entire country would accept this order” and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) calling it a just verdict. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A L SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Explosives found on Taiwan train TAIPEI: More than 600 passengers were evacuated from a high-speed train bound for Taiwan’s capital Taipei yesterday after suspected explosives and triggering devices were found on board, police said.

“We think they are explosives as they contain liquid that smells like gasoline and some triggering devices, but further testing is required to identify the substance,” a police spokesman told AFP. Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said it alerted police after two unattended suitcases with a “strong odor” were spotted in a bathroom in train 616 bound for the capital. It evacuated the passengers when the

train arrived at Taoyuan station near Taipei, and police removed the bags for investigation.

In another development, a bomb squad and emergency services were called in when two suitcases apparently containing gasoline were found in lawmaker Lu Chia-chen’s office in New Taipei city, his assistant told reporters. Police were not immediately available for comment on whether the two cases were linked.

The train passengers were later put on another train to continue their journeys.

Officers searched the train for evidence

and the platform for Taipei-bound trains was temporarily closed during the removal of the suitcases, the company said. It said it had not received any threats prior to the incident and added that it was the first time an evacuation was carried out over unidentified objects found on one of its trains.

The Taipei-based news radio BCC quoted sources saying police were screening passenger lists and surveillance camera footage for possible suspects. “The high speed train I rode today stopped in Taoyuan for a long time and I thought it was a mechanical failure but later heard

that there were gasoline bombs on the train,” passenger and lawmaker Lu Shiowyen wrote on her Facebook page.

In 2004, “rice bomber” Yang Ju-man was arrested for planting 17 bombs to raise awareness of the plight of the island’s agricultural sector after Taiwan’s entry into the World Trade Organization.

Yang planted small explosives-some made from old-fashioned gunpowder with a handful of rice thrown on top-in parks, telephone booths, commuter trains and public restrooms in Taipei. Only two bombs actually went off and no one was injured. —AFP

Japan to move Patriot missiles to Okinawa Concerns over N Korea threats rise

YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles as she watches a performance of an artist troupe from the Free Funeral Service Society at the gate of her residence in Yangon yesterday. —AP

Suu Kyi visit highlights Japan’s Myanmar push TOKYO: Japan’s long-deferred aspirations for a larger role in Myanmar are getting a boost this coming week with a visit by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The visit by Suu Kyi, in Japan for the first time in 27 years, is highlighting Japan’s interest in helping to craft a blueprint for Myanmar’s economy and tapping its growth potential. So far, Japan’s investments and involvement lag far behind those of China and India. But that is fast changing, after Tokyo forgave about half of Myanmar’s more than $6 billion dollars in debt, clearing the way for renewed international lending to the impoverished Southeast Asian country. A high-powered delegation of business leaders, including top executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Sumitomo Chemical, toured Myanmar, also known as Burma, in February and pledged to cooperate in encouraging more investment. Although Suu Kyi is not in government, she is widely respected, especially in Japan, where she is expected to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other top officials and give speeches at two of Japan’s most prestigious universities.

“Aside from being the opposition leader and an icon for democracy and political freedom, she is a goodwill ambassador. The idea is to encourage the Japanese government and corporate Japan to support Myanmar,” said Jeff Kingston, a professor at Tokyo’s Temple University.

The handover of power by Myanmar’s military junta in 2011 to a nominally civilian government ushered in sweeping political and economic reforms, including releasing prominent political prisoners and allowing Suu Kyi, who spend years under house arrest, to run in parliamentary byelections. As of late February, Japan was the 11th largest investor in Myanmar, with $270 million in overall investments, way behind the $14.2 billion committed by China and $9.6 billion by Thailand, the top two sources with 33 percent and 23 percent respectively of total foreign direct investment.

Although it scaled back most business activity and cut government aid when the US and other western nations imposed sanctions in 2003 after the previous, military regime put Suu Kyi under house arrest, Japan did not impose sanctions on Myanmar. Small-scale humanitarian assistance continued, and most major Japanese businesses kept their offices and business registrations. The maintenance of commercial and government relations is proving vital now that Myanmar is embarking on its economic reforms Japan’s biggest contribution so far to Myanmar’s economic reform effort has been the debt forgiveness arrangement, involving billions of dollars in bridge loans by Japanese banks, that enabled the Asian Development Bank and World Bank to resume lending for crucial humanitarian and infrastructure projects. —AP

TOKYO: Japan said yesterday it would deploy Patriot missiles in Okinawa permanently from this month as part of its efforts to boost defense capability amid concerns over North Korea’s missile threat.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said his ministry would station Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) systems at two military bases in the southern Japanese island “at the earliest opportunity in April”.

The ministry had earlier planned to deploy them by March 2015 but “we were considering advancing the plan that will protect people’s lives and property against ballistic missiles,” Onodera told a news conference.

The move came as the country remains on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea.

South Korean intelligence says the North has prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions. The issue appeared to take on greater urgency yesterday after it was revealed a report compiled by the US military spy agency had suggested Pyongyang has the ability to launch a nuclear-armed ballistic missile.

Japan, where the armed forces have been authorized to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, has already stationed PAC-3s in its capital to protect the 30 million people who live there.

In addition to PAC-3 batteries, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Pyongyang’s bellicose rhetoric has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, with near-daily threats of attacks on US military bases including in Japan and South Korea in response to ongoing South Korean-US military exercises.

The timing of the North’s missile launch is still “unpredictable”, Onodera said, “but we will continue to be on alert so that we can take action at any time”.

Analysts said Tokyo’s measures were purely precautionary and a mis-targeted missile that might end up falling uncontrollably towards Japanese territory was most likely what Tokyo was readying for. —AFP

TOKYO: Visitors look at a PAC-3 missile interceptor, background, deployed at the compound of Japan’s Defense Ministry amid a tense situation over a possible missile launch by North Korea in Tokyo yesterday. —AP

Outcry as school bans China activist’s daughter BEIJING: Dozens of Chinese rights lawyers and citizens have flocked to an eastern city this week to protest an elementary school for preventing the 10-year-old daughter of an activist from returning to class. Supporters have gathered in the past few days in Hefei city to stage hunger strikes in front of Hupo Elementary School and hold makeshift classes for Zhang Anni, daughter of democracy activist Zhang Lin, at a nearby square.

The protesters are urging the school to allow Anni to resume les-

sons, saying the child should not be denied an education because of her father’s activism.

The outcry underscores public anger over social injustice and an increasing willingness among citizens to openly reject China’s long-held practice of extending the punishment of government critics to their family members, including their children.

Authorities routinely harass the relatives of activists and dissidents to pressure them into cooperating.

“I was shocked to learn that she

should be implicated by her father and deprived of an education,” said Kang Suping, one of the protesters who traveled to Hefei and staged a hunger strike yesterday. “It’s unthinkable that it should happen today.” The activist, Zhang, said four unidentified men took Anni from her school on Feb. 27 as authorities forced him and his daughter to temporarily return to their hometown while China held legislative meetings to install the country’s new leadership, a time when security was tightened nationwide. —AFP

JPMorgan CEO: ‘Work to do’ on controls, compliance

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Africa candidates stumble in WTO leadership race

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Business SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

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Austria defies renewed EU pressure to lift bank secrecy

Shares in India’s Infosys dive after weak earnings

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SINGAPORE: The general view shows the Keppel container port next to the financial district in Singapore yesterday. Singapore’s trade-driven economy shrank in the first quarter as demand for exports remained weak, but a robust construction sector cushioned the decline, preliminary government estimates showed yesterday. — AFP

US producer prices fall in March Wholesale prices post biggest drop in 10 months WASHINGTON: US retail sales contracted in March for the second time in three months, a sign the American economy may have stumbled at the end of the first quarter.

Retail sales fell 0.4 percent during the month, the Commerce Department said yesterday. That was below analysts’ expectations that sales would be flat. The sales data supports the view that the US economy continues to struggle and hasn’t gained as much momentum has analysts believed just a few weeks ago. At the same time, a separate report showed wholesale prices fell sharply in March due to lower gasoline costs. That will come as a relief to consumers beset by high prices at the pump, and could help the US Federal Reserve maintain its very accommodative monetary policy.

Readings for retail sales have been volatile so far this year, making it difficult to know whether the weakness in March was due to a tax hike that went into effect at the start of the year or to temporary factors related to the weather.

Retail sales advanced 1 percent in February, according to revised readings from the government. Stripping out cars, gasoline and building materials, sales fell 0.2 percent in March. This core measure corresponds closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. In a sign that higher taxes may have bitten more into family budgets than previously thought, the government revised lower past core retail sales figures to show a 0.3 percent gain in February and flat sales in January.

“The miss in retail sales sends concerns about the impact of high-

er payroll taxes,” Omer Esiner, a market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. US stock index futures extended loses after the data, while prices for US Treasuries added to gains, with 30-year bonds rising one full point. The dollar fell further against the yen.

Prior reports on retail sales had made consumers look surprisingly resilient despite tax increases that kicked in on Jan. 1. A tax on payrolls climbed for all workers, while income tax rates rose for the nation’s most wealthy.

Fiscal policy tightened further in March when the federal government began across-the-board spending cuts known in Washington as the “sequester,” part of Washington’s efforts to shrink the budget deficit. Non-partisan researchers working for the US Congress estimate Washington’s austerity drive will subtract about 1.5 percentage points from economic growth this year. “The worry is the full reaction to the expiration of the payroll tax cut and to the sequester budget cuts won’t be evident until sometime this quarter,” said Cary Leahey, a senior advisor at Decision Economics in New York.

Many economists have also noted the loss of economic momentum in many economic indicators for March could have been due to a warm winter, which may have led companies and consumers to pull forward spending.

Indicators from retail sales and hiring to factory manager confidence were much stronger in February, and a chilly March may have then dulled activity. It is also plausible that economic reports have not accurately adjusted for the shift in timing for the Easter holiday,

which fell in March of this year after falling in April of 2012.

The weakness in March retail sales was broad based, with car sales down 0.6 percent and receipts from electronics and appliance stores down 1.6 percent. Sales at clothing stores rose just 0.1 percent.

A separate report showed US producer prices recorded their biggest drop in 10 months in March as the cost of gasoline tumbled.

The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted producer price index fell 0.6 percent last month, the largest drop since May, after increasing 0.7 percent in February.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices received by the nation’s farms, factories and refineries to fall only 0.2 percent. In the 12 months through March, wholesale prices were up 1.1 percent, the smallest rise since July. Prices had increased 1.7 percent in February. Underlying inflation pressures also were muted, with wholesale prices excluding volatile food and energy costs rising 0.2 percent for a third straight month.

In the 12 months through March, the so-called core PPI increased 1.7 percent after rising by a similar margin in February. The benign inflation environment could strengthen the argument for the Fed to keep monetary policy loose as it tries to steer the economy towards faster growth, despite divisions among policymakers over continued asset purchases. Minutes of the Fed’s March 19-20 meeting released on Wednesday showed the US central bank was moving closer to ending its monthly $85 billion purchases of mortgage and Treasury bonds to keep rates low and spur faster job growth. — Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

EU commissioner pushes for fast banking union FRANKFURT: The European Union must clarify “rules of the game” regarding help for Europe’s ailing banks, and accelerate the creation of a mechanism to either help them or wind them up, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn said in a interview published yesterday by three European newspapers.

“I think it’s important that, as there is still some uncertainty on rules of the game concerning resolution and

bail-in, that we clarify these rules now,” Rehn told the Wall Street Journal Europe, the German newspaper Die Welt and the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad.

Rehn spoke to the newspapers ahead of an informal meeting on Friday of eurozone finance ministers in Dublin, where help for Cyprus to deal with its banking sector crisis is high on the agenda.

The EU official pointed to an EU

project that foresees a progression of aid for ailing banks, first from investors and creditors, known as a bail-in, followed by help from the host country, and as a last resort, from the European Stability Mechanism, a rescue fund, with the latter two representing bail-outs.

Rehn pointed to Spain as a “reference point” for how to help banks, and underscored that a European banking union should be set up by

2015. Such a union has been agreed to in principle, but some components have not been finalised yet, including the role of non-insured bank account holders, typically those with more than 100,000 euros ($131,000) on deposit.

Some EU officials argue that they should only be included in a bail-in if bank shareholders and creditors such as bondholders are unable to cover the amount of funds needed. —AFP

JPMorgan CEO: ‘Work to do’ on controls, compliance NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, says its first-quarter earnings soared, even as revenue fell slightly. The bank made $6.1 billion in the first quarter, after stripping out payments to preferred shareholders. That was up 34 percent from the same period a year ago, when it made $4.6 billion.

On a per-share basis, that amounted to $1.59. That blew away the estimates of analysts polled by FactSet, who had been expecting $1.39. Revenue and profit fell in its retail banking business, but increased in investment banking. JPMorgan funded $53 billion in mortgages, a jump of 37 percent from a year ago. But profits in the mortgage unit fell 31 percent, and the bank said profit margins were lower.

Revenue was $25.8 billion, after stripping out the effect of an accounting charge. That beat analysts’ estimates of $25.7 billion, though it was down 3 percent from the same period a year ago.

In many respects, it’s been a difficult year for the New York-based bank. A surprise trading loss, which the bank acknowledged about a year ago, has been haunting it, resulting in management shake-ups, increased scrutiny from regulators, scoldings from Congress and a big pay cut for CEO Jamie Dimon.

In a statement, Dimon said the bank has “work to do” to strengthen internal controls and make sure it is in compliance with regulations. He called it the new “top priority” for the bank.

“There is no room for compromise in meeting our obligations to comply with the new regulatory requirements and ensure that our systems, practices, controls, technology and, above all, culture meet the highest standards,” he said.

Last month, the Federal Reserve asked the bank to resubmit its capital plan by the end of September, to address the Fed’s concerns about unspecified weaknesses.

JPMorgan said yesterday it is “dramatically increasing the resources deployed” to address the Fed’s concerns, and said it “intends to fully address” the Fed’s requirements.

Dimon also said he was “very pleased” with the firstquarter results, and painted a picture of an improving economy. He said that consumers are “healthier and more confident,” noting that bank reduced the amount it set aside to cover bad loans in its retail banking business. He said the bank was seeing signs of a healing economy, including improved housing prices.

One exception Dimon noted, however, was loan demand. Total loans slipped about 4 percent compared to a year ago, a trend likely to be repeated when the other big banks report their earnings.

“Small businesses remain cautious about the recovery and fiscal uncertainty, and are not investing their capital,” Dimon said, though he added that the businesses were “well positioned to invest in growth once they decide to.”

Shares are down about 1 percent in pre-market trading, off 42 cents to $48.89. —AP

NEW YORK: A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this March 28, 2013 file photo shows the closing number for the S&P 500 index. World stock markets fell yesterday as investors turned cautious and took profits from recent rallies in spite of evidence pointing to an improving US employment picture. —AP

Oil tumbles to 8-month low as demand growth falters US jobs data keeps losses in check SINGAPORE: Brent crude held above $104 per barrel yesterday, not far from an eight-month low on concerns over global demand growth, although an improvement in US jobs data and worries over supply should help keep a floor under prices.

The world’s top oil forecasters this week all cut their 2013 oil demand forecasts due to subdued economic growth, but warned of lingering supply risks. A fall in the number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits revived risk appetite, pushing US shares up for a fourth day and supporting oil.

Brent crude traded 5 cents higher at $104.32 a barrel by 0440 GMT, after settling $1.52 lower. The contract slipped to a low of $103.40 earlier this week, the weakest since July 25, 2012. US oil slipped 27 cents to $93.24, after ending well below its 50-day moving average of $94.33.

“The market is set to go down further because of the weak demand growth outlook and an overall weak global economy,” said Ken Hasegawa, commodity

sales manager at Newedge in Tokyo. “But there is still expectation the global economy will improve, and concerns over supply are together supporting the market.”

Hasegawa expects Brent to trade between $103.50 and $105.50 a barrel over the next 24 hours, with the US benchmark staying within $92.50 and $94.50. The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday trimmed its global oil demand growth estimate, which followed similar moves by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

World oil use will rise by 795,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report. That is 25,000 bpd less than it estimated last month and a third straight reduction.

The IEA now has virtually the same view on demand as OPEC, which in a report on Wednesday lowered its consumption growth forecast to 800,000 bpd. The EIA on Tuesday lowered its estimate by 50,000 bpd to 960,000 bpd.

But the IEA warned it was too early to

call a bear market, citing supply risks. The agency lowered its oil supply forecast for countries outside OPEC this year for the first time in several months and said worsening security in Libya and oil theft in Nigeria had contributed to a decline in OPEC output last month.

This in addition to the fears that have prevailed through most of last year as tension between the West and Iran escalated over Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme. Supply worries from the Middle East have kept Brent above $100 a barrel through most of 2012 and this year.

Investors also drew comfort from US jobs data, which helped ease fears of a marked deterioration in labour market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, unwinding the jump in the prior week related to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal variations. That was the largest weekly drop since midNovember. —Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Price surge for tomatoes has Brazilians up in arms RIO DE JANEIRO: The tomato has long been a near-obligatory garnishing for just about any Brazilian dish, yet it’s becoming the country’s apple of discord. A longerthan-usual rainy season, high fuel prices

and superheated demand have combined to send prices for the beloved food soaring, and consumers are seeing red.

Facebook pages have popped up for Brazilians to vent their anger, and some

RIO DE JANEIRO: A woman shops for tomatoes with her daughter at a supermarket in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday. —AP

restaurants have even dropped tomatobased dishes from their menus. Opposition lawmakers pushed grocery carts laden with tomatoes and other pricey fruits and vegetables into the House of Representatives to complain about inflation, while people living near Brazil’s southern border are crossing into Argentina and Paraguay to smuggle in tomatoes in defiance of customs laws. The price of tomatoes has more than doubled over the past year, according to Brazil’s IBGE statistics agency. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) now fetches as much as $6.50 at some Rio de Janeiro supermarkets - a hefty sum in a country where the minimum wage is just $339 a month. While the price of a whole range of basic vegetables from carrots to cabbage to potatoes has risen steeply over the past year, only manioc flour, which saw a 140 percent price spike over the past 12 months, has risen more steeply than the tomato.

Clever cartoons and tongue-in-cheek photos on the “Tomatoes are very expensive” Facebook page cast them as a luxury, Brazil’s newest status symbol. “Five star meal,” reads the caption above a photo of a

Africa candidates stumble in WTO leadership race Candidates running to replace Lamy GENEVA: Two African candidates have stumbled in the race to lead the World Trade Organisation, along with their counterparts from Costa Rica and Jordan, sparking anger, Kenya’s trade ambassador told AFP yesterday.

“We’ve had a meeting with the troika to brief us on the outcome of the consultations,” said Anthony Andanje, referring to the top diplomats who are steering the process by polling all 159 member nations of the body that sets the rules of global commerce.

“They told us that the candidates from Ghana, Costa Rica, Kenya and Jordan were the candidates least

expected to get broad support,” Andanje said in Geneva.

An unprecedented nine candidates are in the running to replace Frenchman Pascal Lamy - a former European Union trade chief who has served two fouryear terms at the helm of the WTO-and emerging nations aim to stake their claim on the job which is vacant on September 1.

With four names now set to be axed from the race-Kenya’s former trade ambassador Amina Mohamed, plus Costa Rica’s commerce minister Anabel Gonzalez, Jordan’s Ahmad Hindawi and Alan Kyerematen of Ghana-Brazil’s WTO

MONTPELIER: In this Tuesday, April 9, 2013 photo, a shopper looks over the clothes at the Vermont Trading Company in Montpelier, Vt. US retail sales fell in March from February by the most in nine months, indicating higher taxes and weak hiring have made consumers more cautious about spending, according to the Commerce Department, yesterday. —AP

ambassador Roberto Azevedo is seen as a favourite in diplomatic circles.

But another key name is Indonesia’s former trade minister Mari Pangestu, whose country is due to host the WTO’s next summit at the end of this year-one of three women in the race, a first for the organisation.

The remaining challengers are Mexico’s Herminio Blanco Mendoza, South Korean Taeho Bark and Tim Groser of New Zealand.

The main task for the WTO’s new director general will be to revive longstalled talks on boosting international trade, which Lamy has warned could fail amid nations’ bickering.

Unlike similar organisations such as the various arms of the United Nations, whose chiefs are nominated, the WTO elects its leader based on a consensus system, meaning any member can block the process.

Amid reports of horsetrading between different country blocs-a common feature of leadership contests in international organisations-Andanje said that Kenya was deeply unhappy with how the race was being run.

“The selection process was flawed and the procedures were violated,” he said, while declining to elaborate on whether his country would therefore block the process.

“We want to make our reservations known,” he emphasised. The field is expected to be narrowed to two names, with the process expected to be wrapped up by the end of May. Created in 1995, the WTO aims to advance global trade negotiations in a drive to spur growth by opening markets and removing trade barriers, including subsidies, excessive taxes and regulations. —AFP

workaday lunch of breaded meat, rice and salad, crowned by two skimpy tomato slices. “Want to conquer her love? Give her this,” says a cartoon featuring a shining gold band topped off with a pyramid of juicy red tomatoes. According to a report in the newspaper O Globo, the online backlash started when an Italian restaurant in Sao Paulo announced that it was holding off on buying fresh tomatoes and suggested clients opt for spaghetti with shrimp sauce instead. A segment on the Globo television network showed Brazilians stocking up on tomatoes at supermarkets across the border in Argentina. The piece ended with a stern admonishment from a Brazilian customs agent warning that crossing back into Brazil with such “contraband” could lead to its confiscation.

Vendors and buyers at an outdoor fruit and vegetable market in Rio’s Flamengo neighborhood this week had tomatoes on the brain. Chauffeur Otacilio Cavalcante sorted through a bin of mostly small and yellowish tomatoes, searching for the juiciest and reddest specimens for a special lunchtime treat. —AP

Benckiser group to buy Masterblenders for $9.8bn T H E H A G U E : Dutch tea and coffee producer D.E. Masterblenders said yesterday that it has reached a conditional agreement with a German investor group led by Johann A. Benckiser on a 7.5-billion-euro ($9.8-bn) takeover deal aimed at creating one of the world’s leading hot drinks companies.

The companies “have reached conditional agreement on a recommended full public offer for D. E. Masterblenders of 12.50 euros per ordinary share,” the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement.

“The intended offer values outstanding Masterblender shares at approximately 7.5 billion euros,” Masterblenders added. Sold

by US food giant Sara Lee last year, Masterblenders said its board “fully supports and unanimously recommended the offer.”

It said the JAB group intended to finance the offer through a combination of debt and equity.

Masterblenders’s share price yesterday morning dipped slightly by 0.12 percent on the Amsterdam stock exchange’s AEX index, where the company has been listed since mid-2012.

When the iconic Dutch coffee brand last month announced a deal with JAB was in the pipeline, its shares surged by more than 27 percent to more than 12 euros.

At the time of the initial March 28 offer, the deal valued Masterblenders at 12.75 euros a share, which has now been slightly reduced.

“Today’s announcement means that a large investor group wants to completely focus on the coffee and tea market and wants to use Masterblenders to achieve that aim,” its spokesman Michiel Quarles van Ufford told AFP. It “confirms the value that has been achieved to date and the high potential platform we have built for the future,” Masterblenders interim chief executive Jan Bennink added in the statement.

Masterblenders, the second-biggest hot drinks group worldwide after Nestle, will be “central to the creation of one of the world’s leading coffee and tea companies,” Bennink added.

The deal is expected to be finalised by July and is subject to the usual terms and conditions.

JAB comprises a privately-owned affiliated group of companies and also owns a majority stake in the cosmetics company Coty and a minority holding in the health and hygiene company Reckitt Benckiser.

JAB also owns Labelux, a luxury leather goods company with well-known brands such as Jimmy Choo, Bally and Belstaff.

It first ventured into the tea and coffee sector last year with a purchase of the US-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Caribou Coffee companies. Masterblenders sells its products in more than 45 countries and employs 7,500 people worldwide.

It trades in brands including Douwe Egberts coffee, Senseo and Pickwick tea. —AFP

BUSINESS

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Japan slaps RBS’ wrist over LIBOR fixing TOKYO: Japan’s financial watchdog yesterday gave a slap on the wrist to the local arm of Royal Bank of Scotland over a rate-fixing scandal that saw the firm fined $612 million by UK and US regulators.

Despite noting that a local trader had played a part in the LIBOR rigging that has rocked confidence in the financial world and saying the actions “could undermine the market integrity”, the regulator issued little more than a ticking off.

Japan’s watchdogs are frequently criticised for lacking teeth and the Financial Service Agency’s issuance of a business-improvement order-an administrative punishment-risks further undermining their credibility.

The FSA said an RBS Securities Japan (RBSSJ) trader, whom it did not name, had asked RBS yen LIBOR submitters to manipulate interbank lending rates in favour of his derivative transactions from 2006 to 2010.

“The conducts are acknowledged to be seriously unjust and malicious and have a serious problem from the viewpoints of the public interest and protection of investors,” the agency said in a statement released in English.

The agency ordered the firm to submit a report on how it intends to improve its business operations by May 13. In February, the British state-rescued banking group said it would pay fines totalling $612 million to US and British regulators to settle allegations of Libor interest rate rigging.

Libor, or London Interbank Offered Rate, is a flagship instrument used all over the world, affecting what banks, businesses and individuals pay to borrow money. Libor is calculated daily, using estimates from banks of their own interbank rates, and affects the pricing of more than $300-trillion worth of contracts across the world, according to the British regulator.

But the system has been found to be open to abuse, with some traders lying about borrowing costs to boost trading positions or make their bank seem more secure. Immediately after yesterday’s announcement, RBSSJ said chief executive Ryusuke Otani was resigning from his post to take responsibility for the manipulation. The company also said it would meet the deadline for the submission of its business improvement plan.

“RBSSJ apologises to its customers and all parties concerned for the issues that led to the Business Improvement Order,” it said. “RBSSJ takes this matter very seriously.” — AFP

Austria defies renewed EU pressure to lift bank secrecy Fekter rejects data exchange as offence to privacy rights DUBLIN: Austria vowed yesterday to stick to its bank secrecy laws, defying renewed pressure to follow Luxembourg in revealing information on European Union depositors with governments to clamp down on tax evasion.

The issue of tax havens and bank secrecy was a last-minute addition to the agenda of informal talks of European Union finance ministers in Dublin. Cyprus’s bailout and extending loan repayments for Portugal and Ireland are also under discussion. Austria is a minority of one in defending its right to keep secrecy. “Austria is sticking to bank secrecy,” the country’s finance minister, Maria Fekter, told reporters before the first day of talks. She said she did not believe an automatic exchange of information was needed, as is accepted in other EU countries, and that such a step would be an invasion of privacy rights.

Ministers are set to agree to give Ireland and Portugal seven more years to repay bailout loans from the European Union. Their support for extending loan maturities for Portugal is likely to be conditional on Lisbon finding new ways to meet its 2013 budget targets, thrown into doubt by the constitutional court’s ruling that rejected some earlier planned measures. Euro zone ministers attending are also to give their backing to a 10 billion euro bailout plan for Cyprus, under which Nicosia will have to come up with 13 billion euros of its own money to cover its needs over the next three years and the cost of restructuring of its banking sector which was halved in the bailout. While the 13 billion is more than the initially envisaged 7 billion, the difference comes mainly from the agreement to close the country’s second biggest Laiki, or Popular, bank and restructure its biggest bank, the Bank of Cyprus.

The agreement between international lenders and Cyprus spells where Nicosia will get its part of the money from. Among the plans, Cyprus will sell 400 million euros’ worth of gold reserves, and will have to raise corporate tax and capital gains tax rates at a time when its economy is forecast to shrink more than 12 percent in the next two years.

The ministers will not discuss any emergency measures to help Slovenia, where a large portfolio of bad loans has raised concern the country may need EU help, like Cyprus.

The ministers’ meeting follows

DUBLIN: Austrian Federal Finance Minister Maria Fekter speaks to journalists as ministers arrive to attend the informal meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) ministers at Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland yesterday. — AFP Luxembourg’s decision this week to share foreign bank account details with EU governments from 2015, bringing it into line with all other countries in the bloc bar one - Austria.

This discussion could see some frank exchanges between Germany, whose finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble campaigned against bank secrecy, and Fekter, who has promised to fight “like a lion” to keep it.

“Automatic exchange of information involves a massive interference in people’s privacy rights. Here the state sniffs around deep into the private affairs of account holders,” Fekter said yesterday.

She criticised others including the United States and Britain for permitting tax havens.

“Great Britain has many money laundering centres and tax havens in its immediate legal remit - the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands,” Fekter said, repeating earlier accusations.

“These are all hot spots for tax evasion and money laundering,” she said, adding the standard imposed on Cyprus should be applied across Europe in the fight against tax havens.

The Dublin meeting is a so-called informal gathering - firstly of finance ministers for the euro zone countries, then for the full EU 27 and no decisions are expected.

It will also debate how to press ahead with setting up a “banking union” across the euro zone and Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he expected ministers to address last-minute German concerns about the legal basis for allowing the European Central Bank to supervise banks.

Banking union is considered a critical long-term reform since it addresses how to cope with future crises, touching on issues such as shutting down or salvaging bad banks, pan-European deposit protection and establishing a resolution fund to pay for the clean-up.

But momentum has slackened in part because of German concerns, as the euro zone’s biggest economy, that it could be left on the hook for banks across the bloc. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of regulation, said he hoped ministers would “redouble” efforts on banking union and tackling tax havens. —Reuters

US airlines upgrading the VIP passenger experience NEW YORK: Cutting in lines at airports used to be only for the rich, famous or very frequent fliers. But then airlines started granting fast-track access to anybody with the right credit card or who was willing to spend a few extra dollars.

Now, with the masses clogging up special security and boarding lanes in the US, true VIPs are saying, “Get me away from this chaos.” And the airlines are listening.

Just as they’ve made first class more enjoyable with new seats, tastier meals and bigger TVs, airlines are focusing on easing the misery of airports for their highest-paying customers and giving them a truly elite experience.

At a growing number of airports, special agents will meet these celebrities, high-powered executives and wealthy vacationers at the curb and privately escort them from check-in to security to boarding.

American Airlines built a private checkin lobby in Los Angeles for VIPs who are

greeted by name, given preprinted boarding passes and whisked by elevator to the front of the security line.

Once past security, the VIPs aren’t left in crowded terminals. Instead, Delta’s new Sky Club in New York includes a hidden lounge-within-a-lounge with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline. And in Atlanta, Delta will drive some VIPs from one plane to another in a Porsche. There’s no need to enter the terminal.

The special treatment continues at boarding. Most passengers jostle to get on the plane first to find a spot for their carry-on luggage. But celebrities like to be the last in their seats to avoid passengers asking for autographs as they trek through first class. Airlines make sure that last-second boarding is as smooth as possible. “We even do things like reserve overhead bin space for them,” says Ranjan Goswami, who oversees West Coast sales for Delta Air Lines.

American is going one step further and

reconfiguring jet bridges to allow boarding through the second door on some planes. That means coach passengers will no longer traipse through first class on its transcontinental flights.

In many ways, airlines are adding these extreme VIP services to fix a problem they have created for themselves. Frequent fliers find dedicated security lines packed as airlines try to squeeze out every dollar from passengers. Boarding has become a free-for-all as passengers fight for overhead bin space, a situation created when the airlines started charging $25 extra to check suitcases. There’s a lot of money on the line. At big airlines like American, 70 percent of the revenue comes from 20 percent of its customers. A one-way transcontinental business class seat purchased at the last minute can cost more than $2,500. By contrast, a non-refundable ticket in coach booked at least 21 days in advance might cost $159. “L.A.-New York is the pearl of domestic flying,” says airline

analyst Bob Harrell. “Airlines are fighting tooth and nail to get more than their share of passengers, particularly in the front of the plane.” American’s VIP checkin was originally designed to shield celebrities from Los Angeles paparazzi.

But there was another benefit: Fliers found themselves avoiding the hassle of the airport. The concept has since been expanded to Miami and is coming this year to Chicago, Dallas and New York.

But it’s not just for celebrities. Anybody can pay for the service and a chance to feel like a star at least for a few hours.

American’s program - called Five Star Service - costs between $125 and $275 for the first passenger, depending on the airport. Each additional adult is $75; children are $50 extra. Delta’s VIP Select, only available through the airline’s corporate sales department or travel agents in the know, costs $125 for the first person, $75 for the second and $125 for each additional person, regardless of age. —AP

BUSINESS

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Japan govt must keep economic promises TOKYO: Japan’s new central bank chief said yesterday he expected the government to keep its end of the bargain in the bid to fix the country’s flagging economy, after he unleashed a flood of easy money.

Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank and the government had agreed that they share responsibility for reinvigorating the country’s torpid economy, which included fiscal restructuring.

“We strongly expect the government to move on that front,” Kuroda told an economic symposium.

“It is vital for the government to clearly show the future course of fiscal consolidation and steadily make progress to reform fiscal structures,” he said.

At his first central bank policy meeting as governor last week, Kuroda unveiled plans to speed up the printing presses, doubling the amount of money in circulation over the next two years.

He said he would achieve this by boosting purchases of riskier assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and real-

estate investment trusts, as well as vacuuming up longer-term government bonds. The bank pledged to meet a two percent inflation target within two years, a key aim of a government that is intent on reversing the years of falling prices that have cast a 15-year shadow on Japan’s faltering economy. Almost immediately, the medicine kicked in, with yields on benchmark 10-year government bonds crashing, driving investors into equities on the hunt for a return on their money.

But in recent trading sessions longterm interest rates, which were reasonably stable, have been volatile, with Kuroda admitting the BoJ’s bulk purchases had disturbed the market equilibrium.

“If such purchases by the Bank were regarded as monetising government debt, the JGB market might start to be destabilised, raising long-term interest rates in a manner inconsistent with the real economy,” he said.

This made it even more important for the government to get itself into better fiscal shape, he said.

“This might not only offset the effects of monetary easing but also have nega-

TOKYO: Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda gestures while making a speech during the 348th lecture meeting of the Yomiuri International Economic Society at a Tokyo hotel yesterday. — AFP

tive effects on Japan’s financial system and its economy as a whole,” he said.

Years of ineffective pump-priming by successive governments have left Japan with a mountain of debt around twice the size of its economy.

Its ageing citizens are increasingly drawing down on their savings-much of which is tied up in government bondsshrinking the pool of money the state can readily tap to fund the growing social security costs associated with that ageing.

Kuroda said he would not limit his easing programme to two years if the economy still needed a boost after that time and if the two percent inflation target had not been hit by then. “It is not appropriate to say that the monetary easing will only last for two years,” he said.

“Obviously, there will be both upside and downside risks to economic activity and prices going forward. “The Bank will examine those risks carefully and will not hesitate to make adjustments as appropriate, should circumstances warrant,” he said. — AFP

India’s industrial data highlight ‘dismal’ economy Economy hit by high interest rates NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output rose just 0.6 percent in February, official figures showed yesterday, adding to a string of weak economic data and bolstering the case for more interest rate cuts.

While the output increase at factories, mines and utilities defied analysts’ forecasts of a 1.0-percent decline, it was much slower than January’s 2.4 percent gain and a sign Asia’s thirdlargest economy remains in trouble.

“It says quite a lot when we celebrate a 0.6 percent year-on-year industrial production output (rise), but this is testament to how low expectations have sunk,” wrote Credit Suisse economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

Manufacturing, which accounts for three-quarters of India’s Index of Industrial Production, grew 2.2 percent in February from a year earlier but output of consumer durables such as refrigerators and stoves fell by 2.7 percent.

“India’s industrial sector remains very weak, mirroring the performance of the rest of the economy,” said Glenn Levine, economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Soft domestic demand was highlighted by figures this week showing car sales in the once fast-growing vehicle market suffered their first annual fall in a decade.

The economy’s weakness, on top of a slight easing of consumer prices, bolstered hopes of a further interest rate cut at the central bank’s May 3 meeting on top of two reductions earlier this year, economists said.

The output numbers “clearly point to a dismal state of affairs in the economy, requiring urgent and bold steps,” said the head of industry body ASSOCHAM Rajkumar Dhoot.

Even in the flagship services sector,

IT outsourcer Infosys reported weakerthan-expected fourth-quarter results on Friday and forecast slow growth for the year ahead, leading to a 21-percent fall in its share price.

Offering a glimmer of hope, the industrial data showed output of capital goods such as machinery and equipment-seen as a barometer of investment intentions-rose 9.5 percent after shrinking 1.7 percent in January.

The government forecasts the economy will grow by around six percent in this financial year starting April 1 after estimated expansion of five percent last year, its slowest pace in a decade.

The Congress-led government has been battered by a spate of corruption scandals and is keen to revive growth before facing voters in polls due in early next year.

The economy has been hit by high interest rates in the face of stubbornly strong inflation, falling exports and slow investment caused by fears about corruption and disappointment with the government’s reform programme.

Analysts say industrial output will remain tepid due to soft global demand as well as supply bottlenecks caused by dilapidated highways, ports and other infrastructure.

Business has urged the government to accelerate reforms to open the economy wider to foreign investment and to speed up infrastructure project clearances. It has also been calling for aggressive rate cuts to boost consumption.

But inflation makes big rate cuts impossible, the bank has said, underscored by the Consumer Price Index on Friday showing retail inflation slipped in March for the first time in six months but still in double digits at 10.39 percent. — AFP

BANGALORE: Infosys Technologies Chief Executive Officer S.D. Shibulal speaks after announcing the company’s quarterly financial results at its headquarters in Bangalore, India, yesterday. — AP

Shares in India’s Infosys dive after weak earnings BANGALORE: Shares in Indian outsourcing giant Infosys dived yesterday after it issued a disappointing growth forecast and warned of global challenges, sparking worries about other firms in the flagship sector.

Infosys, whose earnings have traditionally been seen as a bellwether for the sector, said net profit rose 3.4 percent to 23.94 billion rupees ($439 million) for the three months to March, slightly ahead of forecasts.

But weak fourth-quarter revenues and sales projections for the coming 12 months came in below expectations, sending the firm’s shares tumbling by as much as 20 percent. “The lower-than-expected results and guidance reflects the uncertain macro environment and the pricing pressures the company is experiencing,” said Dipen Shah, head of private client research at Mumbai’s Kotak Securities Many of India’s IT outsourcing firms have been going through a rough stretch and they say the outlook for the industry remains difficult due to uncertainty in key US and European markets.

Infosys’ fourth-quarter revenues rose 18 percent to 104.54 billion rupees, undershooting forecasts of 107 billion rupees while its projections for revenue growth in the next 12 months were far below market estimates.

The outsourcer, the second-largest by revenues whose results kicked off India’s quarterly earnings season, said

its dollar-based revenue in the financial year to March 2013 would grow by six-to-10 percent, far weaker than analysts’ hopes of up to 12 percent.

The company reported full-year revenue of $7.39 billion for the year-to-March 2013, missing its own earlier forecast of $7.45 billion. It has stopped providing quarterly guidance since October and now has ceased giving an annual earnings per share forecast-both critical data for analysts. Barclays capital research head Bhuvnesh Singh said confidence in Infosys’s guidance remains “low”. In the past year, it has missed sales targets, lost market share and seen its stock slide as US revenues decline. “The earnings are very disappointing.

The revenue outlook for 2013-14 is in a very wide band,” said Mumbai’s Angel Broking analyst Ankita Somani said. In Mumbai trading Infosys fell almost 20 percent to a low of 2,340 rupees before recovering slightly to 2,369 rupees, still down 18.81 percent.

Shares in other outsourcers also fell, with market leader TCS down 1.4 percent at 1,514 rupees while another heavyweight, Wipro, was 4.61 percent lower at 383.75 rupees. The results come as Infosys, which is also listed on New York’s Nasdaq, seeks to reinvent itself with a strategic overhaul to focus on higher value software and consulting services instead of labour-intensive outsourcing services. —AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Japan, US agree on joining Trans-Pacific trade talks Abe over-rode farm lobby on TPP

CHONGQING: A man chooses milk formula in a supermarket in southwest China’s Chongqing yesterday. Blamed for empty shop shelves from Europe to Australia, networks of baby formula traffickers are shipping milk powder to Chinese parents fearful of local products, and working ever harder to meet demand. — AFP

Asian markets slip at end of strong week HONG KONG: Asian markets fell yesterday at the end of a strong week for equities and the dollar, despite another record day for US stocks on Wall Street fuelled by upbeat jobs data. The dollar slipped in early European trade after approaching the 100-yen level earlier in the day in Asia, while the euro dipped following an announcement from Cyprus that the cost of its bailout had expanded. Tokyo fell 0.45 percent, or 61.28 points, to 13,487.88, with profit-takers moving in to reap the benefits of a rally of about 10 percent since the Bank of Japan’s huge stimulus plan last week.

Seoul lost 1.31 percent, or 25.57 points, to end at 1,924.23 amid simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula. But Sydney rose 0.13 percent, or 6.4 points, to 5,013.5. Hong Kong was flat, edging down 12.22 points to 22,089.05, while Shanghai fell 0.58 percent, or 12.77 points, to 2,206.78. Regional markets have enjoyed a bright week, in line with a global advance, with the Bank of Japan’s promise of huge spending to fight deflation sending the yen tumbling and stocks soaring. Soft inflation figures from China also tempered fears of monetary tightening from Beijing, which provided regional support.

US investors provided a positive lead after the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment benefits came in at 346,000 last week, below the forecast 365,000 and a sharp fall from the previous week.

On Wall Street the Dow climbed 0.42 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.36 percent, both finishing at record highs for a second straight day. The tech-rich Nasdaq added 0.09 percent. On foreign exchange markets the dollar eased but hovered below the 100-yen mark, which it has not breached since April 2009.

The dollar bought 99.03 yen in European trade, compared with 99.73 yen in New York late Thursday. The greenback came within a whisker of the key marker Thursday, hitting 99.95 yen at one point. The euro was at $1.3048 and 129.30 yen, compared with $1.3096 and 130.68 yen.

The European single currency eased on renewed concerns over Cyprus, which said Thursday the cost of its EU-IMF rescue package had surged to 23 billion euros ($30 billion) from 17.5 billion euros, putting it back in danger of collapse. The rise means Nicosia will now have to find 6.0 billion euros more than first quoted in an agreement reached on March 25 in order to secure an EU-IMF contribution of 10 billion euros.

Global markets were rocked last month after Cyprus said it would tax all deposits to find the matching cash. While that was changed to protect small savers, those with more than 100,000 euros will still be hit. A source close to talks said its financing needs had “evolved”. “Notably, while the restructuring of the financial sector will now be very largely financed through private means, the projected fiscal needs of the state have increased as a result of the deeper-than-expected recession,” the source said.

Eyes are also on the stand-off between North Korea and South Korea and the United States after Pyongyang threatened a thermo-nuclear war. US Secretary of State John Kerry yester day denounced North Korea’s “unacceptable” rhetoric and said it would never be accepted as a nuclear state, while holding out the possibility of dialogue. Oil prices were lower, with New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, down $1.00 to $92.51 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for May delivery losing $1.27 to $103.00. Gold was at $1,548.60 an ounce at 1045 GMT compared with $1,558.48 late on Thursday.

In other markets: Singapore fell 0.44 percent, or 14.61 points, to close at 3,294.19. Taipei fell 0.46 percent, or 36.35 points, to 7,821.63. Hon Hai fell 2.36 percent to Tw$78.6 while TSMC was 0.99 percent down at Tw$100.5. Manila closed 0.87 percent higher, adding 59.69 points 6,891.43. SM Investments added 1.43 percent to 1,135 pesos, while Ayala Corp. rose 0.84 percent to 602 pesos and DMCI Holdings surged 5.78 percent to 60.40 pesos.

Wellington closed 0.59 percent, or 26.23 points, higher at 4,435.77. Fletcher Building was up 0.70 percent at NZ$8.66, Contact Energy rose 2.47 percent to NZ$5.81 and Telecom was steady at NZ$2.43.

Kuala Lumpur slipped 0.50 percent, or 8.51 points, to 1,698.53. UEM Land Holdings fell 2.5 percent to 2.78 ringgit and IOI Corp eased 2.2 percent to 4.87 ringgit. IHH Healthcare rose 0.5 percent to 3.76 ringgit. Jakarta climbed 0.26 percent, or 12.95 points, to 4,937.21. Bangkok added 0.69 percent, or 10.51 points, to 1,527.32.

Telecoms firm Advanced Info Service jumped 5.76 percent to 257.00 baht, while communications giant True Corp. rose 3.29 percent to 7.85 baht.—AFP

TOKYO: Japan and the United States have agreed on a deal to allow Tokyo to join talks on a US-led Asia-Pacific free trade pact that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a keystone of his strategy to open Japan’s economy and spur long-sought growth.

The agreement brings Japan closer to entering talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which Japan hopes to participate in as early as July.

“Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on Japan’s participation in the TPP talks,” Abe told reporters yesterday after a meeting with cabinet ministers. “I think Japan’s national interests are protected under this US-Japan agreement,” he said, adding he hoped Tokyo could take part in the negotiations as soon as possible.

Abe last month announced his decision to join the trade talks - despite fierce opposition from Japan’s politically powerful farm lobby as part of a “third arrow” in his “Abenomics” policy triad, after fiscal spending and drastic monetary policy easing.

Japan needs formal approval by all 11 participating countries in order to take part in the trade talks. If Japan does join, the pact would

cover almost 40 percent of world economic output. The US-Japan agreement allows the White House to give Congress 90-days’ notice that it plans to start trade negotiations in time for Japan to participate in a July round of TPP talks.

US labour groups had been concerned about the impact of removing US tariffs on autos. Japanese media have reported that Tokyo and Washington agreed that the United States could keep tariffs of 2.5 percent on Japanese cars imports and 25 percent on imported trucks. The bilateral agreement also covered insurance and farm goods, the reports said.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said last month the TPP member nations could formally decide whether to allow Japan into the talks when the 21-member trade officials meet in Indonesia on April 20-21 for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Countries in the trade talks include Canada, Mexico, Australia, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the 11 member nations aim to strike a deal by the end of this year. — Reuters

Woodside shelves huge gas project in Australia SYDNEY: Australia’s Woodside Petroleum announced yesterday it was shelving a controversial gas export project worth more than $40 billion, prompting government assurances that the resources boom was not over.

The energy giant said the proposed Browse liquefied natural gas development in Western Australia was not a financially sound option. “The development would not deliver the required commercial returns to support a positive final investment decision by Woodside,” the company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said cost pressures had eroded viability of the onshore precinct at James Price Point, north of Broome, and the project needed a “fundamental change in cost structure”.

“Our customers are saying to us very clearly ‘no longer can we pay for your expensive projects’,” Coleman told reporters.

Woodside will now return to its joint venture partners, which include BP, Japanese consortium Mitsubishi and Mitsui, and PetroChina, to recommend exploration of alternative development models including a floating LNG plant.

Coleman said Woodside supported the floating concept but it had “no preference yet” for options, warning it would take between two and five years to get back to the final investment decision stage.

The project had faced significant opposition from environmental groups and local Aboriginal landholders, and the latest news was welcomed as a victory for wildlife and cultural sites.

The decision was unveiled just months away from national elections, when the government’s economic management and Australia’s painful diversification away from mining is expected to come under scrutiny.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is lagging badly in the polls, was quick to assure voters

that the decision was not an indication that the mining boom, which saw Australia dodge recession during the financial crisis, was at an end. “We haven’t seen the peak of the investment phase into resources yet and we are yet to see the peak of the production phase,” said Gillard, promising “decades and decades” of resources sales yet to come.

Australia is set to become the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas producer, with predictions it will overtake Qatar by 2020 as it unlocks reserves that could last more than a century.

Analysts said Woodside had likely been spooked by cost blowouts and time delays at its other major LNG project, Pluto, north-west of Karratha. “(It) has had to learn a hard lesson that its onshore processing is a very costly business,” said IG Markets analyst Evan Lucas.

“The Browse development was looking like deja-vu. Several broker notes show the internal rates of return for Browse were well below viability levels and cash flows were not stacking up.”

The Broome Community No Gas Campaign said it “cautiously” welcomed the decision but would not rest until it was certain that James Price Point would remain untouched.

“All the environmental, cultural and social reasons that we opposed the precinct remain,” said campaign spokesman Nik Wevers. “Our opposition will not cease until we are sure that the James Price Point areathe monsoon vine thickets, the dinosaur footprints and the cultural heritage sites-are all protected.”

Australia has three operating LNG plants and seven others under construction, with projects worth about Aus$200 billion on the drawing board, according to the nation’s Petroleum Production and Exploration Association. — AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013 www.kuwaittimes.net

Japan races to read new Murakami novel PAGE 24

Psy back in saddle with new single ‘Gentleman’ PAGE 25

A table lamp designed by German designer Ingo Mauer is displayed at Milan's Design Fair, in Milan, Italy, yesterdy. The Milan furniture and design week fair is a six-day event which ends next Sunday. —AP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Lindsay Lohan Aaron Eckhart is a ‘troubled human’ joined Twitter to

‘get chicks’ T

he ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ actor recently joined the social networking site at the behest of his agent, but admits the only reason he signed up for a profile is to improve his dating life. He explained to The Guardian newspaper: “My agent made me [join Twitter] because there’s this insane notion that it all matters for business. They’ll tell me so-and-so has this many followers. I go, ‘Yeah, but did it get him a job? Are they a better actor?’ And they’re like, ‘No.’ “Why did I give in? I’m an old man. What do I need Twitter for? Mostly it’s just to get chicks.” Quizzed on whether he was desperate enough to field dates on the social network, he responded: “Yes I am. I’m very shy. I know you don’t believe it.” The 45year-old star stays away from dating websites, however, for fear of being recognised and having his sexual exploits made public. He added: “Then they tweet it and everything. Like, I’ve had some weird experiences ... but let’s not go into that.” The ‘Dark Knight’ star also revealed his belief in spiritual healing and is convinced he can cure himself of ailments. He said: “I believe it’s a science and it’s absolutely true. I believe I can heal myself. The other day I was chopping wood at my house at 5.30am and this bit whacked me in the eye, knocked me down, spilt my coffee. You just release everything and you’re healing boom, boom, boom, all of a sudden, pain’s gone, eye’s healed.”

L

indsay Lohan is a ‘troubled human’ according to ‘Scary Movie 5’ director David Zucker. The 26-year-old star has the potential to be a “really good” actress if she puts her wild antics behind after completing her upcoming 90-day stint in rehab as part of her plea deal on charges of lying to police about driving during a car crash in June 2012. Speaking at the Hollywood premiere of the new horror/comedy sequel at the ArcLight Cimenas Cinerama Dome, David told the New York Daily News newspaper: “She’s a troubled human and she was late a lot to the set, but she knew her lines and she’s a good actress. “This seems to be the business for all these addictions and craziness. Anybody has the potential to come back and straighten out.” Lindsay arrived fashionably late to the premiere, sauntering into the cinema 30 minutes after her co-stars and muttering, “Jesus!”, when she saw how many photographers were waiting to catch a glimpse of her. One of her entourage insisted: “She’s really happy to be here.” The redhead - who is gearing up for her sixth trip to rehab as part of last month’s court deal - turned heads in a skin-tight Dolce and Gabbana dress. Her co-star Ashley Tisdale was all praises for the Hollywood wild child, despite not having any scenes with her in the movie. She said: “I just know that she’s a really talented actress, so I think if anything I just would love to see her do more movies. I’ve known her for a really long time.”

Katie Price

thinks she is a ‘trend-setter’

T

he TV star tied the knot for a second time with her third husband Kieran Hayler at the end of last month in a Willy-Wonka-themed blessing in Weston-super-Mare, South West England, and created her own gown for the occasion, which featured 10 petticoats and a bodice covered in ostrich feathers. Katie thinks her unique outfit choice - which is part of her upcoming bridal range - has made her a fashion expert after learning dog clothes designer Lilly Shahravesh, has taken inspiration from the dress for her new pieces. Writing in her column for The Sun newspaper, Katie said: “I knew that I would one day become a trend-setter. At my recent wedding, I wore an ostrich feather dress that I designed myself. “Now I see that fellow couturier Lilly Shahravesh has had the same idea ... I’m happy I’ve been able to teach Lilly some new tricks.” The 34-year-old beauty made sure to turn to her mother, Amy, for advice on her wedding gown before walking down the aisle as she wanted to make her proud after her “rebellious” years of stripping off naked for photo shoots. Katie - who is currently pregnant with Kieran’s child and has who has three kids, Harvey, 10, Junior, seven, and Princess Tiaamii, five, from previous relationships added: “Mum is the word for any woman who wants an honest opinion about what she’s wearing. Over the years, I’ve rebelled against her by posing naked and wearing some pretty risquÈ outfits. “These days, age means my hemlines are getting longer but my mum won’t be truly happy until she sees me dressed as a nun. Never say never.”

Catherine

Duchess obsessed with ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’

T

he 31-year-old royal - who was known as Kate Middleton before her marriage to Prince William - has begun tuning into the show after she learned Kim Kardashian, who, like the duchess, is expecting her first child in July, is a big fan of hers. A source said: “Ever since Kim started mentioning Kate a lot in public, she has started watching ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ religiously. “She thinks the family is hilarious. People forget Kate is

just a normal girl who married into royalty and enjoys the same trashy TV shows most people do.” However, Catherine hasn’t been able to get her husband to watch the show with her and he has been “making fun” of her new obsession. The source added to the Daily Star newspaper: “Will doesn’t watch the show with her and makes fun of her for liking it so much.

“It doesn’t bother Catherine though. She finds it relaxing and is flattered Kim keeps speaking so highly of her.” It was recently claimed Kim -

who is in a relationship with Kanye West - had sent the duchess a maternity gift because she was so excited to learn they are both expecting their babies in July. A source said: “When Kim found out the pair had similar due dates, she got incredibly excited. “She had her PA write a kind, warm note to Kate, enclosing a gift for the future heir to the throne and explaining they were both due in July.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Charlie Sheen loves snacking on raw ginger

T

he former bad boy has swapped drugs and alcohol for healthy snacks and his personal chef Khristianne Uy revealed Charlie is always willing to experiment when it comes to food. She told People magazine: “”He loves snacking on raw ginger. He’ll try anything! He’s cool like that. He’ll be like, ‘Come to the ‘Anger Management’ set, K, cook whatever you want.’

He’s working out again.” Although Charlie was once renowned for wild parties at his home, these days the ‘Anger Management’ actor prefers to have friends over for dinner. Khristianne explained: “It’s just a normal house. We’re usually here for a late dinner and wait for the last guest to leave, but that’s just after midnight. Everyone is pretty much civil around here.”

Charlie has completely turned his life around following his dramatic firing from ‘Two And A Half Men’ after he reportedly went on a drug and alcohol binge and fell out with the show’s creator Chuck Lorre in 2011. Last year he donated $75,000 to 10-year-old Jasmine Faulk’s cancer fund last week after learning about her tragic story through his stunt double Eddie Braun, who had donated $25,000 himself. The father of five was touched by her courage after meeting her police officer dad, telling him: “No parent should have to watch their kid go through that.” Charlie subsequently made a generous donation to the fund to raise money for Jasmine, who needs over a year of expensive medical treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation.

Rochelle Humes has a collection

T

of five prams

he Saturdays singer - who is expecting her first child with husband Marvin Humes - has a spare room full of buggies, including an £800 posh pram and two trendy £730 Bugaboos, after the brunette failed to specify what gifts she needed, so friends splashed out on the lavish presents for her USthemed baby shower. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Rochelle loved the idea of an American-themed baby shower but had no idea her guests would be so generous in their gifts. “She was expecting a couple of babygros and a few toys - nothing as extravagant as a pram. Let alone five prams. “As each buggy got wheeled into the room, it became increasingly more awkward for all concerned. Poor Rochelle was mortified. “She’s now had to give up a spare room for all the prams whilst she and Marv decided what to do with them. It’s just a shame she’s not expecting quintuplets, really.” The 26-year-old beauty recently sparked speculation she is expecting a girl as the bash was full of pink balloons and she was spotted shopping for baby dresses in January.

Marvin’s JLS bandmate Aston Merrygold splashed out £2,000 on a four-wheeled Aston Martin-inspired pram for the couple and Rochelle took to Twitter to thank him for his generosity following the event in Oxfordshire on Saturday. She wrote: “Uncle Aston has been so naughty and spoilt baby Humes this week @JLSOfficial what a lucky angel xx (sic)’’. She added: “Had the best day ever.

“Thanks to all of my friends for lovely gifts and a great day Mwauhhhh xxx (sic)’’.

Taylor Swift wants to be a movie star T

he ‘Love Story’ singer feels she has conquered the music world and is now ready to take on Hollywood. A source told America’s OK! magazine: “Taylor has wanted to be a movie star ever since she was a child. She started acting lessons when she was nine and has never forgotten her original dream. “As soon as she’s finished touring her album ‘Red’ she’s going to revamp her image adding a little more edge. “She wants to move into acting while writing songs that aren’t about her latest breakup. She wants to really make a difference and leave an impact on the world that will be remembered.”

Taylor, 23, was also reportedly devastated when she failed to land a role in ‘Les Miserables’, despite trying out. The source said: “Taylor was devastated not to land a job in ‘Les Miserables’ because that would have been the perfect vehicle to showcase both her talents, her voice and acting.”

Justin Bieber is very spiritual T

he 19-year-old singer is deeply religious and maintains a close relationship with his pastor, Judah Smith of The City Church in Kirkland, Washington even when he is on the road touring. Pastor Smith told E! News: “Justin and I share Scriptures on a regular basis and communicate. And I think you find a lot of comfort and clarity in the Scriptures.” Justin previously said he believes God has a special mission for him on earth and he has found fame in order to help other people. He said: “I think that’s part of the reason I’m here. Not just because I’m talented, but because God had a purpose for me to just

help people. I’m spiritual... although I slept in [and missed] church yesterday. I haven’t been to church in so long, and I planned on going, and I slept in. I was upset. It’s all good. God forgives me.” Justin also revealed he tries not to respond when people bash him. He explained: “My Twitter is really nice. I have so many fans that I rarely ever see a nasty tweet... I see so much stuff on the Internet, sometimes I just want to go to Twitter and just go after people. But then I think twice: If someone if dissing me, I’m going to make this person way more famous by tweeting them.” — Bangshowbiz

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

BBC in death song ding-dong with Thatcher fans T

he BBC came under pressure yesterday to ban the Wizard of Oz song “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead” from its airwaves as it surged towards the top of the British charts following the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Opponents of the “Iron Lady” launched an Internet campaign to push the song from the much-loved film “The Wizard of Oz” to number one after the country’s first female premier died on Monday of a stroke at the age of 87.

The publicly-funded BBC, the world’s largest broadcasting organisation, has not commented yet on whether it will play the song on the radio when the weekly chart comes out on Sunday-three days before Thatcher’s high-profile funeral. John Whittingdale, a Conservative lawmaker who chairs parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport committee, said the song should not be played.

“This is an attempt to manipulate the charts by people trying to make a political point,” he told the Daily Mail newspaper.

“Most people find that offensive and deeply insensitive, and for that reason it would be better if the BBC did not play it.”

The Official Charts Company said the song was at number three on Thursday, currently closing the gap on the chart leader by

This is a file photo of Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney with his wife Linda as they perform in the band Wings, at Madison Square Garden, New York. — AP 2,000 copies a day but still 12,000 behind.

Britain’s right-wing Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph newspapers have led moves to have the song banned. The Mail called it an “insult to Maggie”. The Daily Telegraph reported that new BBC chief Tony Hall, whose predecessor resigned last year following the scandal over late paedophile television host Jimmy Savile, has refused to

Paintings by Andrea Del Castagno, part of “The Springtime of the Renaissance.

ban the song and told staff further down the chain it is an “editorial decision”. Songs the BBC has previously banned include “Je T’aime... Moi Non Plus” by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin (1969), “God Save the Queen” by the Sex Pistols (1977) and “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1983). Baroness Thatcher has proved as polarising in death as she was in life. The

state is sparing no expense on her funeral with Queen Elizabeth II set to attend the first funeral of any British prime minister since Winston Churchill in 1965, and world leaders past and present on the 2,000strong guest list. But opponents of Thatcher, whom they accuse of destroying the British industry and society with her free-market economic policies, staged rowdy parties on the night of her death, while many Labour lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary tribute to her on Wednesday.

Her official biographer Charles Moore, whose authorised account of her life will be published immediately after the funeral, accused the BBC itself of trying to promote the song. Conservatives have long said the British Broadcasting Corporation has a leftwing bias, which the corporation denies.

“Basically the BBC’s trying to get this ‘DingDong! The Witch is Dead’ up to the top of the charts by going on and on and on about whether it should be banned, and all this nonsense,” Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, said in a BBC television debate. Moore said that because of her role in the defeat of the “Eastern bloc” led by the communist Soviet Union, Thatcher was more like the heroine Dorothy in the 1939 classic movie than the witch whom she defeats. —AFP

Visitors look at the sculpture “Due angeli adoranti” by Italian artist Michelozzo. — AFP photos

Florence exhibition

evokes dawn of the Renaissance T

he Renaissance really began in a few decades at the beginning of the 15th century in Florence-an artistic revolution mapped out in a remarkable exhibition that brings together 140 sculptures and paintings from collections around the world. Works by masters including Donatello and Masaccio, Brunelleschi and Paolo Uccello have been loaned for the unprecedented show thanks to a partnership between the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, itself a Renaissance jewel.

“The exhibition aims to show that the origin of this revolution which lasted two centuries was sculpture,” Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, the exhibition’s Italian curator and scion of an

aristocratic Florentine family, told AFP. “The Dawn of the Renaissance” will run until August 18 and then travel to the Louvre between September 26 and January 6, 2014. Paolozzi Strozzi said the real hero of the exhibition was Florence’s own Donatello (1386-1466), who “put his mark on the era”.

“He lived a very long time and he never stopped experimenting,” she said, pointing to a gilded bronze sculpture of St Louis of Toulouse that includes elements of enamel and jewels as an example of the artist’s innovative energy. “Donatello is an artistic figure of a disconcerting modernity,” she said, showing visitors another work by Donatello-a large bronze horse head depicted with unnerving

realism. The horse’s head is just one of the exhibits that demonstrate how the Renaissance was inspired by ancient Roman art, which after neglect in the Middle Ages was being re-appreciated at the time. The works come from collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the BodeMuseum in Berlin, the Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in Washington.

The show is divided into 10 sections starting from “The Heritage of the Forefathers” to “The New Patrons”. The Louvre and Palazzo Strozzi “have shared the financing of the restoration of many of the works, which are now being presented in their best light”, said Paolozzi Strozzi.

The Bode Museum has provided a magnificent

Virgin and Infant by Donatello known as the “Madonna Pazzi”-a marble statue used to create moulds that were then used to cast copies in bronze. “These moulds in terracotta or stucco were not that costly so that any store or convent could afford the statues in Florence and elsewhere,” he said. “This allowed the aesthetic revolution to spread, including outside of Italy,” she said. Copies of the moulds made especially for the exhibition are also on display and visitors are encouraged to touch them. A Brazilian tourist said she was fascinated by the fine attention to detail. She said: “It’s nice to touch them and imagine how someone could make these sculptures just using their imagination!” — AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Psy

back in saddle with new single ‘Gentleman’

Banners advertising a concert by South Korean rapper Psy are displayed outside the World Cup Stadium in Seoul yesterday. — AFP

“G

angnam Style” star Psy unveiled yesterday the follow-up to his global hit with another catchy dance tune infused with his signature self-mocking humour-but fans had to wait for the all-important video. Even Kim Jong-Un’s threats of nuclear war couldn’t divert world attention from the main event on the Korean peninsula as “Gentleman” hit online music stores in a midnight rolling release across 119 nations. With fans and critics waiting to see whether the “Gangnam Style” singer and his invisible horse-riding dance are more than just a one-hit wonder, the new electrodance song offers an equally simple and catchy melody.

The song-a satire of a self-proclaimed “gentleman” trying to woo women at a party-contains more English lyrics than “Gangnam Style” in a clear nod to the singer’s newfound global audience. “Let me tell you about myself. I’m such a charmer with guts, vigour and humour,” Psy sings in Korean before launching into the song’s English catch-line: “I’m a motherfather gentleman.” “Gonna make you sweat. Gonna make you wet. You know who I am? Wet Psy!” he sings in English.

The song went straight to the top of the download charts on half-a-dozen South Korean online music sites, but the critical reaction on social network sites was mixed. A snap poll of 2,000 users on Daum.net, a leading South Korean news portal, saw 38.9 percent rate the song as either good or very good, but 48.3 percent opted for mediocre or dull.

“I can’t see this getting quite as big as Gangnam Style... but it is still irritatingly catchy,” tweeted @joe_thomas25. But Ahn JaeHee, a CD shop owner in Seoul, predicted that “Gentleman” would be “just as big a hit” as its predecessor. Many fans voiced frustration at having to wait for the accompanying video which will reveal Psy’s new dance moves.

“This is too similar to ‘Gangnam Style’ but far less fun.... I think I’ll wait until I see how good the music video is,” tweeted @dark_serika. The video is expected to be unveiled around the time of a promotional concert at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium on Saturday which will be streamed live on YouTube. The 35-yearold rapper offered a possible dance preview in a teasing video message showing off some new moves.

It was the video of “Gangnam Style”, and in particular Psy’s signature horse-riding dance, that pushed him to global stardom last year after it was posted on YouTube and turned into a viral sensation. A satire on the luxury lifestyle of Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, it has become the most-watched YouTube video of all time, registering more than 1.5 billion views since it debuted last July.

The song topped charts around the world, and inspired a horde of online tributes and parodies, as well as flash mobs of thousands of dancing fans in cities such as Paris and Milan. Psy has promised a “Psy style” take on a traditional Korean dance for the new video. “The dance is one known to all Koreans but new to foreigners. —AP

A shop clerk poses with a copy of the book “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage,” the latest novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami for media at a book store in Tokyo yesterday. — AP

Japan races to read new Murakami novel

J

apanese salarymen interrupted their commutes to buy Haruki Murakami’s new novel yesterday, as papers and broadcasters raced to give the first review of one of the most eagerly anticipated books of the year. Stores opened early in Tokyo, boasting special stands stacked high with the hardback books, as businessmen, housewives and students rushed to get a copy. But the new novel, “Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)”, was unveiled first to a dedicated band of followers at midnight.

Readers flocked to Tokyo’s Daikanyama T-Site bookstore, which flung open its doors at exactly 12 am, bringing Murakami into that select band of authors including Harry Potter creator JK Rowling-who can command late night loyalty. Sanseido bookstore temporarily became “Murakami Haruki-do (store)”, installing a new name board to mark the release of the eagerly awaited novel.

Fans were told virtually nothing about the book ahead of the release, adding to the mystique of an author who delights in setting riddles for characters and readers alike. A skim reading of the work by an AFP journalist reveals it is the story of a young man struggling with an ordeal in his past, who uses the support offered by a romance to get back on his feet.

The mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun managed a short article on the 370-page book in its later yesterday morning editions. Breakfast television programmes showed journalists who had been at their desks all night reading. “It’s gripping,” said one NHK reporter, adding he was mid-way through. The Asahi Shimbun posted what it called a “super-quick” review on its website at 7:46 am.

“This is a story about a man who tries to get back into his life again,” the review said. “You see the strength of a person who tries to overcome the feelings of loss and loneliness that he had amassed deep inside of himself,” the Asahi said. By yesterday evening, online book reviewer Kazunari Yonemitsu revealed more about the story’s plot including the secret of “colorless Tsukuru Tazaki” and an astonishing development involving a murder. “I don’t think I would be criticised if I say this is the first mystery novel by Murakami,” Yonemitsu wrote.

The book’s cover-featuring American artist Morris Louis’s “Pillar of Fire”-was also the subject of debate on the microblog Twitter. Ryosuke Kawai, 26, who was one of the first to get his copy at the midnight event said he had been caught off guard by its colourful stripes. “The title says ‘colorless’.

What does this illustration mean? I cannot wait to read it,” he said excitedly. —AFP

Cricket legend calls off Bollywood marriage rumours

P

akistan cricket icon Wasim Akram demanded privacy and respect from fans and media alike yesterday, calling for an end “once and for all” to rumours he is marrying Bollywood heroine Sushmita Sen. The famed paceman has been linked constantly in the media to the 1994 Miss Universe since they were judges in 2008 Indian dance show “Aik Khilari, Aik Haseena” (A player, a beauty). Wasim, a widower since his wife Huma died in October 2009, said he is fed up. “I am tired of denying such rumours and now I want this to end once and for all,” Wasim told AFP after Indian media claimed Thursday that the couple were about to tie the knot in Mumbai.

Pakistani television channels also splashed the story, hotly anticipating another high-profile cross-border union after the 2010 nuptials of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza. Wasim said he and Sen are good friends only. “She is one of the most graceful and decent ladies I have come across,” said Wasim of the 37-year-old Bollywood star. “It was huge fun working as judge with Sushmita as she is a thorough professional and presents herself gracefully.” The dance show also featured Indian cricket stars Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Nikhil Chopra and Vinod Kambli and was also telecast on a leading Pakistani channel. Wasim described the show as a good experience. —AFP

Indian Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan poses during the launch of the Filmfare magazine edition featuring a cover image of Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, and himself in Mumbai. — AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

A country song, assumptions - and a racial outcry

S

In this file photo, Jenna Jameson arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. Jameson has been arrested on suspicion of battery after a report that she attacked someone at an Orange County home. — AP

outhern white men don’t usually drive racial dialogue. For as long as race has riven America, they have been depicted more often as the problem than the solution. So after country music star Brad Paisley released his new song “Accidental Racist” this week, what happened next was hardly surprising: days of widespread criticism about his attempt to detail the challenges facing a “white man from the Southland” and his recruitment of LL Cool J to rap a black perspective.

The song sparked a predictable blaze this week on TV, talk radio and the Internet. USA Today asked if it was an “epic fail.” At The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates titled his analysis, “‘Accidental Racist’ Is Actually Just Racist.” More than a few ridiculed it as “the worst song ever.” Some elements of the outcry, however, raise less predictable questions: Where does naivetÈ turn into ignorance, and then into racism? What is the basis of modern Southern pride? And, possibly most important, should we grade racial attitudes on a curve? Paisley begins the song with an anecdote about a black man taking offense to his Confederate flag T-shirt. “The only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan,” Paisley sings, referring to the pioneering Southern rock group.

That scene actually happened to Paisley in real life, said Charlie Cook, programming director for West Virginia Radio Corp and a member of the Country Music Association’s board of directors, who heard Paisley discuss the song with a group of industry executives.

“He sat down and thought about it from another person’s perspective and said, ‘If I offended you, it was accidental,’” Cook said. “I think it’s really from his heart.”

That doesn’t matter, say many of the critical voices. They say it’s the result that counts - a song that, to them, turns some of the most stinging flashpoints of American racial history into aw-shucks anecdotes. They are receiving a message very different from the one Paisley intended: the country-music staple of trying to figure out one’s experiences through song. Ignorance is no excuse for Demetria Irwin, who savaged “Accidental Racist” in a piece on the black news and culture website TheGrio.com.

“I think he had good intentions. I think he genuinely wanted to explore a topic,” Irwin, who is black, said in an interview. However, “I don’t believe he doesn’t know what the Confederate flag symbolizes and what it means. There’s nothing accidental about that.” “There’s also just a general entitlement that some white people might have, the whole white privilege thing, being totally unaware of black culture in a real sense,” she added.

The song’s black culture was provided by LL Cool J, whose verses were widely panned as shallow. Coates pointed out that while rap is full of artists who are passionate about racial issues, LL is not one of them. “The only real reason to call up LL is that he is black and thus must have something insightful to say about the Confederate Flag,” wrote Coates, who is black. “The assumption that there is no real dif-

ference among black people is exactly what racism is.”

Choosing LL, he said, is like “assuming that Paisley must know something about barbecue because he’s Southern.” Being Southern comes with its own set of assumptions and stereotypes, some of them negative ones created by the low points of the region’s history.

Southern pride is largely a defensive reaction to such stigmas, said Eric Weisbard, a music critic and American Studies professor at the University of Mississippi.

So while some might see “Accidental Racist” as a ham-handed attempt to start a dialogue, it’s part of a long tradition in which Southern musicians “try to talk about who they are in answer to what others dismissively assume they are,” Weisbard wrote on NPR.org.

Much of the friction around the song comes from people who don’t understand this history, Weisbard said in an interview: “We’re as segregated culturally as we often are socially.”

Many people are proud of being from the “heartland,” New York

This combination of file photos shows Brad Paisley (left) and LL Cool J. — AP City or other American places, Weisbard said. But “the South has been branded a problem for the country as a whole at least since the Civil War.” “In every generation, there’s a new way in which white Southerners have marginalized themselves,” he said, “and the rest of America has to think about what that means.”

Paisley gave America something to think about with the chorus of the song: “I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the Southland / Tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be / I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done / And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history.” At the end of the chorus he sings, “Caught between Southern pride and Southern blame.” That’s a gray area for Chris Newman, 25, a white West Virginia University graduate student who grew up in Lexington, Ky. —AP

Malawi prez chides

officials for Madonna attack

M

alawian President Joyce Banda has “reprimanded” aides who issued a scathing attack on Madonna that fuelled a very public spat with the pop star, a source at the presidency said yesterday. She “reprimanded officers in the State House press department for issuing the statement without consulting her,” an official in Banda’s office told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Banda’s State House on Wednesday issued a four-page statement suggesting Madonna demanded VIP treatment, engaged in emotional blackmail, exaggerated her charity work and was a worse guest than Chuck Norris or Bono. It was, the statement said, “strange and depressing” that the singer seemed to want “Malawi to be forever chained to the obligation of gratitude” for having adopted two Malawian children.

Madonna reacted angrily to the statement, accusing the government of peddling lies about

her charity work.”I am saddened that President (Joyce) Banda has chosen to release lies about what we’ve accomplished, my intentions, how I personally conducted myself while visiting Malawi and other untruths,” Madonna said in a statement.

Press officer Tusekele Mwanyongo, who signed off on the government statement, refused to comment on the furore it has caused.

“I am out of it,” he said. During the trip, Madonna visited schools her charity has built, flanked by her four children, including David Banda and Mercy James who she adopted from the country. The statement also took a swipe at her for claiming to have built 10 schools when he had built classrooms. Madonna’s charity has poured millions of dollars into the support of orphans in Malawi, which is ranked by the UN Human Development Index as one of the world’s 20 least developed countries. — AFP

(From left) Musicians James “J.Y.” Young, Tommy Shaw, Chuck Panozzo and Ricky Phillips of the band Styx, perform at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival artist party at The Hard Rock Cafe New York on Thursday, April 11, 2013 in New York City, New York. — AP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

T Spring has sprung and love is in bloom

A

pril showers bring May flowers which means that love is in bloom! It is a time for renewal, regrowth and rebirth, so get out those floral skirts and embrace the warmth of the season with a palette of bright and cheerful colors picked directly from The Gelish Garden of Love. The six colors in the Gelish Love In Bloom collection include: Sweet Morning Dew: Carefree Coral; A Petal for Your Thoughts: Playful Punch; All Dahlia-ed Up: Flirty Fuchsia; He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: Perky Purple; Garden Teal Party: Timeless Teal; and A Mint of Spring: Minty Green.

The Love in Bloom Collection will be available in Kuwait, shortly.

Rob Lowe returns to the ‘80s with TV miniseries

hese days, Rob Lowe is an established actor and bestselling author working on his second memoir. But back in the 1980s, he was a hunky newcomer, a teen idol riding the crest of a decade that brought sweeping cultural, technological and geopolitical changes. It was the best time to be a young actor, he said: “To be at the right place at the right time when all of artistic culture was turning toward youth in a way that had never been done before.” So much happened, of course, during a decade that introduced us to small personal electronics and big corporate power. Lowe helps illuminate the period as the voice of “The ‘80s: The Decade That Made Us,” a six-part documentary series that begins airing Sunday at 8 pm ET on the National Geographic Channel. The 49year-old “Parks and Recreation” star reflected on the ‘80s with The Associated Press.

AP: Why do the 1980s merit a documentary series?

Lowe: The ‘80s had such an amazing dichotomy: It had the yuppie, shoulder pad, bad hair, really interesting music, MTV cultural youth explosion as the froth over some unbelievably revolutionary, game-changing events - from the fall of the Berlin wall to the advent of the personal computer. The way we live today is a direct result of things that started in the ‘80s.

AP: What elements in the series might surprise viewers who

didn’t live through this period?

Lowe: How much of the world that we take for granted today that feels like it’s been in existence for 100 years on the basis of how much it’s a part of our lives actually didn’t even exist in 1981. It really all comes down to how we communicate with each other, whether it’s computers, cellphones or how we watch television.

In 1980, it was still a big deal to have a TV series that focused on African Americans. ... MTV was one of the things that helped bring the Berlin Wall down. For the first time, entire nations were exposed to the freedoms that Americans have had forever, and they wanted their MTV. They wanted their MTV so much they tore the wall down to get it.

AP: Your career exploded in the ‘80s, so how much did you personally discover about the decade in doing this documentary?

Lowe: What gave me so many mixed emotions, and I don’t even know how to articulate it, was many of those events I was actually there for or knew the players personally. We talk about Iran Contra for example, which was really the end of the Reagan era of power. We talk about Oliver North and what that meant geopolitically. We talk about (North’s secretary) Fawn Hall, who I dated! So for me it was looking back on things that I took for granted as just living my life in that time and space and now looking back and realizing that I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat at a really interesting time. It made me nostalgic in the best possible way for that time.

AP: Whether it was Day-Glo clothes or Flock of Seagulls hair, everyone has an embarrassing ‘80s anecdote. What’s yours?

Lowe: We talk a little bit in the documentary about the rise of the teen film... People like to say that “St Elmo’s Fire”“s success was predicated on the rise of the teen film. I like to say “St Elmo’s Fire”“s success was predicated on the invention of hair mousse. I remember the day I discovered it. I’m not kidding. I remember where I was. I was like OK, this is a game-changer. — AP

Actors, others honor Ebert at Chicago theater H

ollywood came to Chicago on Thursday as actors, directors, film critics and studio presidents honored late movie reviewer Roger Ebert in his hometown. All of those who shared memories at the Chicago Theatre cheered Ebert as a champion of movies and a critic who used his influence to help filmmakers find audiences. He died last week at age 70 after a years-long battle with cancer. “He was always supportive of artists. He always gave you a fair shake,” said Chicago native John Cusack, who appeared with his sister and fellow actor, Joan Cusack.

Ebert worked at the Chicago SunTimes for more than 40 years. The day before his April 4 death, he wrote in a post on his blog that he was taking a break from his schedule of almostdaily movie reviewing because the cancer had recurred. “He was simply one of the finest men I ever met,” Chaz Ebert said of her late husband during Thursday night’s memorial.

Roger Ebert won national fame when he teamed with fellow film critic Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune in 1975 for a television show that had

them each give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down rating to the latest releases. John Cusack said he and his sister enjoyed watching Ebert and Siskel growing up. “Chicago’s lost a great icon but he’ll always be with us,” he said of Ebert. Joan Cusack read a letter from President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. The Obamas remembered Ebert as a “cultural leader.”

Earlier, Todd McCarthy, film critic for publications like Variety, said a key to Ebert’s success was that he was “a populist without prejudice.” “He was neither high-brow nor low-brow,” McCarthy said. “In the world of film criticism for 46 years there was Roger Ebert and then there was the rest of us.” Ebert continued the movie review TV show with Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper after Siskel’s death in 1999.

“I felt that as long as Roger was alive a little bit of Gene was, too,” said Siskel’s widow, Marlene Iglitzen Siskel, at the memorial. She said Ebert had an “unsurpassed body of work.” A choir opened the gathering by singing, “Roger Ebert, we will always

love you.” The historic theater was a fitting place for the event. Ebert screened movies there for many

Roger Ebert’s wife Chaz Ebert (center) talks about Roger, while her children stand beside her during a memorial for the film critic at The Chicago Theater. — AP

Actors John Cusack (left) and Joan Cusack (right) talk about Roger Ebert during a memorial for the film critic at The Chicago Theater in Chicago. — AP years. And in 2005, the city unveiled a he scouted out at film festivals while sidewalk medallion under the ornate at the same time taking Hollywood’s marquee of the theater as a tribute to biggest names to task when they Ebert. Next week, Ebert will be hon- missed the mark. Ebert was the first ored at Ebertfest, his annual film festi- journalist to win the Pulitzer Prize for val in Champaign. movie criticism and was the first critic He earned respect for champi- to have a star on the Hollywood Walk oning small independent movies that of Fame. — AP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Rob Starkman, Rock ‘Em Apparel founder, shows off his custom Aunt Pearl socks that are made to go with the KD V (Kevin Durant Five) Aunt Pearl shoes, April 3, 2013, at his Orlando, Florida home where the socks are designed and shipped. — MCT

R

ob Starkman just wanted a cool pair of socks. As a University of Central Florida student basketball manager with a growing shoe collection in 2011, Starkman was looking for something he could wear to work: gold-and-black gear to match the Knights’ colors. He saw his black-and-white Nike socks as a canvas. Working with his mother over her kitchen sink in Coral Springs, Fla., Starkman fashioned his first pair of custom socks. Now, two years later, Starkman, 23, is CEO of Rock ‘Em Apparel, a fastgrowing Orlando, Fla.-based company that he said is projected to do $1.5 million in sales this year, mostly in custom socks.

Starkman, who at 6-foot-10 looks like a basketball player more than a basketball manager, has jetted off to the NBA Draft and NCAA Tournament games to represent his company. Rock ‘Em has more than 115,700 “likes” on Facebook and more than 14,700 followers on Twitter. The University of Central Florida, Iowa State and Army are among the college programs that have worn the company’s gear during games. “Never would I imagine it being this big,” Starkman said.

Today, demand for the company’s socks has far exceeded his expectations when he was crafting socks over the sink in his off-campus apartment and selling them on eBay. Yet, in some ways, it’s not too far off. Rock ‘Em is operated in the garage of a house Starkman rents just a few minutes from UCF’s campus. It is run almost exclusively by UCF students and alumni, two full-time employees and seven parttime employees.

The designs, Starkman said, are inspired by a variety of things. Many of the socks match popular shoes, complementing the inner linings of the newest Nikes. Some are inspired by players or movies or comic-book characters such as Captain America or Batman. Starkman draws them on his computer then translates them to the socks through a process that is now more streamlined than dyes and kitchen sinks, instead using a screening process. New designs are introduced nearly every week, and the company often also makes custom socks to match purchaser’s specific requests.

Starkman purchases Nike socks in bulk at full price then alters them. He said Nike’s legal team contacted him about the process as his company began to increase in popularity, but it found no fault as long as the company was paying retail price for Nike socks it altered and not creating knockoffs. On a warm Tuesday afternoon last week, Starkman’s

employees, who also happen to be his friends, worked shirtless in the garage. Four of them are fellow former UCF basketball managers.

Music blared over speakers set up on a wall that featured posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bane, a character from the most recent Batman movie. Inside, the house is a blend of college-life-meets-startup-business. A paper cutter sits on the otherwise bare kitchen counter.

The living room has been fashioned into a shipping center, with a basketball court taped off on the floor and a minihoop on the wall. Starkman’s Apple computer, filled with designs for past and future sock orders, rests on a makeshift dining-room table/desk.

“This is a Steve Jobs’ garage type of thing,” said Starkman, who has a framed copy of the Time magazine cover memorializing Jobs hanging on his bedroom wall.

On an average day, Rock ‘Em sells 60 pairs of socks at $40 a pair. On good days last month, those numbers swelled to 150 orders. Long gone is the eBay account, since replaced by a professionally designed website. In addition to the Orlando and UCF-based orders, Starkman began fielding requests from as far as New Zealand and Macau. The international sales are tallied with a dry-erase marker on a living room wall.

“Within the first month of me starting (the company), I wrote down what I want it to be in a year, five years, 10 years,” Starkman said. “Seeing my five-year goals already being beat within the first year is awesome. So I probably have to reassess that at some time. ... Every day something brand-new is blowing my mind.”

Raised in a basketball family - his father, Bob, is a coach at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., his sister played college basketball and his brother is a basketball studentmanager at Florida - the socks have felt like a natural next step to his passion for hoops and custom sneakers. He started selling socks after his first pair drew raves on UCF’s campus. He would spend 18 hours a day over the bathroom sink in his off-campus apartment creating the products then sell them to friends on the campus or through eBay. As the orders started to pick up, Starkman realized he had a potential business opportunity on his hands. During spring break in 2011, he created a website to handle the increased interest. Soon, he decided to go on academic leave to run the business full time, a decision that did not thrill his parents.

“He called, and I was a little upset,” Bob Starkman said. “I told him, ‘We’re not paying your rent anymore.’ You know what his response was? ‘You don’t have to.’” Starkman’s mother, Jill, said she knows her son can return to finish his degree - he was 3 years in to his time at UCF - in the future.

Bob Starkman, a former US customs agent, joked that when he first saw his son’s operation in the off-campus apartment, he was not sure whether it was for illegal purposes. Now he uses his basketball connections to help promote his son’s company.

“I expect to see Broward College wearing Rock ‘Em socks next year,” he said with a chuckle. The company has continued to grow. Rob Starkman said he is now searching for a warehouse and storefront in the International Drive corridor. And the socks have continued to find their way onto the feet of college and pro players. In one case, it was a player’s face that ended up on a sock.

UCF senior basketball player Keith Clanton was honored during his final home game with socks that featured his face. Clanton bought and wore Rock ‘Em socks for much of his senior season and said opponents often approached him before and after games to inquire where he got the custom gear. “Everybody has the newest shoes, the craziest shoes,” Clanton said. “Socks to go along with it, nobody has done it before. If I wore them on the basketball court, it’s like a new (trend).”

The surreal moments have racked up so quickly since starting Rock ‘Em that Starkman began keeping a daily diary on his phone to chronicle them. Each day gets one line in the journal. Perhaps no night was as big as sitting in the stands at UCF, his former school, and seeing Clanton’s mother talk about his socks on national television. From the kitchen sink to living rooms everywhere. “Very proud moment,” reads Starkman’s entry March 2. “Just the beginning.” — MCT

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Models parade creations by various designers during the New Generation parade at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in Sydney yesterday. — AFP

TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Technology allows users to hide secret messages SYDNEY: A new technology will now enable Facebook users to encode secret messages in the pictures they upload on the social networking website.

The creator of the technology is OwenCampbell Moore - an Oxford University student and former Google intern.

Moore’s plugin, titled “Secretbook”, lets Facebook users share messages hidden in JPEG images without the prying eyes of others, reports News.com.au.

All the user has to do is download the plugin, refresh his Facebook page, and hit ctrl+alt+A. A dialogue box will appear which allows the user to upload an image with an encoded message. The plugin is only available on Google Chrome. Moore said he built it in Chrome to preserve users’ privacy.

Moore said he built Secretbook to demonstrate that JPEG steganography can be performed on social media where it has previously been impossible.

Facebook’s apps publicly list their users so building it within the social network would defeat the purpose of the app. Running it through a web browser means users can’t be detected by Facebook’s network analysis.

This technology creates a brand new security threat, as criminals or terror organisations could potentially use the app to share plans.

Facebook and the Australian Federal Police already work together and use a number of different tools including identification technology to investigate online criminal behaviour.

Wider lithium battery use strains technology No fool-proof way to predict short circuits WASHINGTON: Batteries like the one that burned on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in January can be made safer, but doing so can cut performance and raise costs, experts told US safety investigators on Thursday. The use of lithium-ion batteries has greatly expanded in the past decade, powering everything from Tesla cars to iPads, and the risk of fire is well-understood, experts said at a forum organized by the US National Transportation Safety Board.

But even as participants praised the batteries as the most powerful and lightest available, they also said there was still no fool-proof way to predict or prevent internal short circuits implicated in the Dreamliner fire. The fire in the battery compartment of a 787 parked on the ground in Boston in January, followed that same month by an in-flight battery malfunction over Japan, led to the grounding of the Dreamliner.

While the final cause of those incidents is still under investigation, Boeing has been allowed by the US Federal Aviation Administration to conduct tests of a redesigned battery unit, part of the plane’s auxiliary power system.

The two-day NTSB meeting that began on Thursday is aimed at helping the safety agency gauge the risk of lithium-ion batteries as their use in planes and vehicles expands. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said after Thursday’s session that the risks had to be addressed. “I think with lithiumion batteries, the genie is out of the bottle,” Hersman said. The number of lithium-ion cells made worldwide ballooned to 4.4 billion in 2012, from 800 million in 2002, according to the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, a trade group of battery makers.

Boeing’s high-tech Dreamliner, that also makes extensive use of carbon fiber to cut weight, is the first commercial airplane to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries. “The growth in the mission of lithium-ion batteries is substantial,” said Glen Bowling, vice president of sales at Saft Specialty Battery Group, a producer of lithium ion batteries.

“It’s a stretching of the technology boundaries and we have to be professional when we do that.” The understanding of what causes short circuits in lithium-ion batteries and how to prevent them remains murky.

Laurie Florence, principal engineer for the independent safety testing organization UL, said some cells in a battery can withstand a short circuit caused by a nail puncture, but not an internal flaw, perhaps caused by an impurity or other manufacturing issue.

While consumer uses have soared, the high costs of lithium-ion of making battery technology safe have led to a slower-than-expected development of electric cars and other bigger applications. Market predictions for those batteries made as recently as 2008 “were off by more than a factor of 10” when compared with actual market size in 2011, said Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“This created a great deal of stress among those who manufacture batteries,” he told the NTSB forum. Some went out of business, mainly because the market for lithium-ion did not materialize.

Currently, there is enough idle lithium-ion battery capacity to power 400,000 Nissan Leaf electric cars, he said.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama proposed a federal budget that would increase the tax credit for buying an electric vehicle to $10,000 from $7,500 to help support sales.

About 25 percent of a typical lithium-ion battery cell is flammable liquid, which increases the risk of fire, Chiang said. But making a cell safer through additives reduces performance, experts said.

The difficulties of lithium-ion batteries have prompted some experts to rework older technologies or leap ahead to more advanced batteries in hopes of finding a safer, less costly solution for modern uses.

Boeing rival Airbus has dropped lithium-ion batteries from its forthcoming A350 jet, saying it wants let the technology mature and avoid any risk of delaying the jet’s development.

Better technology is needed to predict if a battery cell will experience an internal short due to a manufacturing defect, Daniel Doughty, president of Battery Safety Consulting, told the NTSB forum. He added new methods were also needed to prevent a cell fire from spreading to other cells in the battery pack. The widespread use of lithium-ion batteries has also placed pressure on regulators to develop new ways to safely ship them.

“We all know lithium batteries are hazardous materials,” said Janet McLaughlin, deputy director of the Federal Aviation Administration’s hazardous materials safety programs. In the past, the FAA has estimated the amount of hazardous materials on a given cargo plane to be about 5 percent. But now, that figure can be around 80 percent, with much of that related to batteries, McLaughlin said.—- AP

Kaspersky analyzes active cyberespionage campaign DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab’s team of experts published a detailed research report yesterday that analyzes a sustained cyberespionage campaign conducted by the cybercriminal organization known as “Winnti.”

According to Kaspersky Lab’s report, the Winnti group has been attacking companies in the online gaming industry since 2009 and is currently still active. The group’s objectivesare stealing digital certificates signed by legitimate software vendors in addition to intellectual property theft, including the source code of online game projects.

The first incident that drew attention to the Winnti group’s malicious activities occurred in the autumn of 2011, when a malicious Trojan was detected on a large number of end-user computers across the globe. The clear link between all of the infected computers is that that they were used to play a popular online game. Shortly after the incident, details emerged that the malicious programwhich had infected the users’ computers was part of a regular update from the gaming company’s official server. Infected users and members of the gaming community suspected the computer game publisher was installing the malware to spy on its customers. However, it later became clear that the malicious program was installed on the players’ computers by accident, and that the cybercriminals were actually targeting the computergame company itself.

In response, the computer game publisher that owned the servers which spread the Trojan to its users asked Kaspersky Lab to analyze the malicious program. The Trojan turned out to be a DLL library compiled for a 64-bit Windows environ-

ment and used a properly signed malicious drive.

It was a fully functionally Remote Administration Tool (RAT), which gives attackers the ability to control a victim’s computer without the user’s knowledge. The finding was significant as this Trojan was the first malicious program on a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows 7 that had a valid digital signature.

Kaspersky Lab’s experts began analyzing the Winnti group’s campaign and found that morethan 30 companies in the online gamingindustryhad been infected by the Winnti group, with the majority being software development companies producing online video games in South East Asia. However, online gaming companies located in Germany, the United States, Japan, China, Russia, Brazil, Peru, and Belarus were also

identified as victims of the Winnti group.

In addition to industrial espionage, Kaspersky Lab’s experts have identified three main monetization schemes that could be used by the Winnti group to generate an illegal profit: Manipulate the accumulation of in-game currency, such as “runes” or “gold” that’s used by playersand convert the accumulated virtual money into real money; Use the stolen source code from online game servers to search for vulnerabilities inside games to augment and accelerate the manipulation of in-game currency and its accumulation without suspicion; Use the stolen source code from servers of popular online games in order to deploy their own pirated servers.

• • •

Currently the Winnti group is still active and Kaspersky Lab’s investigation is ongoing. The company’s team of experts has been diligently working with the IT security community, online gaming industry and certificate authorities to identify additional infected servers while assisting with the revocation of stolen digital certificates.

To read Kaspersky Lab’s research post and the full report about the Winnti group’s campaign, including a complete technical analysis of the investigation, please visit Securelist.

Kaspersky Lab’s products detect and neutralize the malicious programs and its variants used by the Winnti group, classified as Backdoor.Win32.Winnti, Backdoor.Win64.Winnti, Rootkit.Win32.Winnti and Rootkit.Win64.Winnti.

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*.

Throughout its 15-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for consumers, SMBs and enterprises. The company currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2011. The rating was published in the IDC report “Worldwide Endpoint Security 2012-2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC #235930, July 2012). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2011.

•

TECHNOLOGY

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Greenhouse gases make high temps hotter in China WASHINGTON: China, the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide, is directly feeling the man-made heat of global warming, scientists conclude in the first study to link the burning of fossil fuels to one country’s rise in its daily temperature spikes.

China emits more of the greenhouse gas than the next two biggest carbon polluters - the U.S. and India combined. And its emissions keep soaring by about 10 percent per year.

While other studies have linked averaged-out temperature increases in China and other countries to greenhouse gases, this research is the first to link the warmer daily hottest and coldest readings, or spikes.

Those spikes, which often occur in late afternoon and the early morning, are what scientists say most affect people’s health, plants and animals.

People don’t notice changes in averages, but they feel it when the daily high is hotter or when it doesn’t cool off at night to let them recover from a sweltering day. The study by Chinese and Canadian researchers found that just because of greenhouse gases, daytime highs rose 0.9 degree Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the 46 years up to 2007. At night it was even worse: Because of greenhouse gases, the daily lows went up about 1.7 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit).

China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal, which is the largest source of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. While the country has made huge investments in alternative energy such as wind, solar and nuclear in recent years, its heavy reliance on coal is unlikely to change any time soon.

About 90 percent of the temperature rise seen by the researchers could be traced directly to man-made greenhouse gases, the study said. Manmade greenhouse gases also include methane and nitrous oxide, but carbon dioxide is considered by far the biggest factor. The study appeared online in late March in the peerreviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The study uses the accepted and traditional method that climate scientists employ to attribute a specific trend to man-made global warming or to rule it out as a cause.

Researchers ran computer simulations trying to replicate the observed increase in daily and nighttime high temperatures in China between 1961 and 2007. They first plugged in only natural forces - including solar variation - to try to get the heat increase.

That didn’t produce it.

The only way the computer simulations came up with the increase in daily high and low temperatures that occurred was when the actual amounts of atmospheric heat-trapping greenhouse gases were included.

“It is way above what you would expect from normal fluctuations of climate,” study author Xuebin Zhang of the climate research division of Canada’s environmental agency said in a telephone interview. “It is quite clear and can be attributed to greenhouse gases.” China did not become the largest emitter of greenhouse gases until 2007; for much of the period studied, it had a smaller economy.

Because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for about a century, China and its defenders maintain that the US and other developed nations bear more responsibility for climate change. Outside experts praised the research as using proper methods and making sense. An earlier study didn’t formally blame the proliferation of U.S. heat records to a rise in greenhouse gases but noted that they were increasing substantially with carbon dioxide pollution.

“The study is important because it formalizes what many scientists have been sensing as a gut instinct: that the increase in extreme heat that we’ve witnessed in recent decades, and especially in recent years, really cannot be dismissed as the vagaries of weather,” said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann.

China has rapidly grown from a nation of subsistence farmers at the end of the 1970s into the world’s second-largest economy behind the US, and the environmental costs of such change are often visible.

Beijing is no longer dominated by bicycles but by cars, and the skyline is barely visible at times because of thick pollution. More people are living in cities, buying air conditioners and other energy-hungry home electronics and consuming more energy for transportation and heating.

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects the construction of the new Vosptochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region, about 200 km from Far Eastern city of Blagoveshchensk yesterday. In the coming years Russia has to catch up on space exploration with other nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the development of the space industry. Today Russia marks the Cosmonautics Day. —- AFP

Putin unveils $50 bn drive for Russian space supremacy New cosmodrome in the offing MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin yesterday unveiled a new $50 billion drive for Russia to preserve its status as a top space power, including the construction of a brand new cosmodrome from where humans will fly to space by the end of the decade. Fifty-two years to the day since Yuri Gagarin became the Soviet Union’s greatest hero by making the first human flight into space, Putin inspected the new Vostochny (Eastern) cosmodrome Russia is building in the Amur region of the Far East.

Putin said in a live link-up with the multinational crew of the International Space Sation (ISS) that Russia hoped to have the first launches from Vostochny in 2015 and the first manned launches in 2018.

“It’s going to be a great launch pad. It took a long time to choose but now work is fully underway,” said Putin in comments broadcast on state television, adding that Vostochny would be fully operational by 2020.

Russia still carries out all manned launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan-the same place where Gagarin made his historic flight-but this has been shadowed in recent years by disputes with the Kazakh authorities over lease terms. Putin announced that the town being built around the new cosmodrome to house its engineers and families would be called Tsiolkovsky, in honour of the Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky who pioneered rocket design in the early Soviet era.

The Russian space programme has been hurt in recent years by a string of launch failures of unmanned probes and satellites, but Putin vowed Moscow would continue to ramp up spending. He said that from 2013-2020, Russia would be spending 1.6 trillion rubles ($51.8 billion, 38 mil-

lion euros) on its space sector, a growth far greater than any other space power.“Developing our potential in space will be one of the priorities of state policy,” Putin said at a meeting in the regional capital Blagoveshchensk.

Putin complained that Russia was behind other states in space activities other than manned flights, which he said had long been the “priority” of the Russian space programme “to the detriment” of other projects.

With up to 58 percent of the Russian space budget going on manned space flight, Russia had lost ground to other powers, in particular in unmanned deep-space exploration, said Putin. “We need to preserve what we have achieved in manned space flight but also to catch up in these other areas,” said Putin, who said he also did not rule out the creation of a ministry of space.

One of Russia’s most embarrassing failures was the loss of its Phobos-Grunt probe to Mars in 2012 which ended up crashing back into Earth rather than even coming close to completing its mission of visiting a Martian moon. The disaster underlined Russia’s weaknesses compared with US space agency NASA, which has basked in the huge public successes of its unmanned Mars missions in recent years.

But speaking to Canadian spaceman Chris Hadfield, currently commander of the ISS, Putin hailed cooperation in space which meant world powers could forget about the problems of international relations and think “about the future of mankind.” Russia’s veteran Soyuz rocket and capsule system, based on the same principles as the system that launched Gagarin, is currently the sole means of transporting humans to the ISS since the retirement of the US shuttle.—AFP

Global warming didn’t cause big US drought WASHINGTON: Last year’s huge drought was a freak of nature that wasn’t caused by man-made global warming, a new federal science study finds. Scientists say the lack of moisture usually pushed up from the Gulf of Mexico was the main reason for the drought in the nation’s midsection.

Thursday’s report by dozens of scientists from five different federal agencies looked into why forecasters didn’t see the drought coming. The researchers concluded that it was so unusual and unpredictable that it couldn’t have been forecast.

“This is one of those events that comes along once every couple hundreds of years,” said lead author Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Climate change was not a significant part, if any, of the event.” Researchers focused on six states - Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Iowa - but the drought spread

much farther and eventually included nearly two-thirds of the Lower 48 states. For the six states, the drought was the worst fourmonth period for lack of rainfall since records started being kept in 1895, Hoerling said.

He said the jet stream that draws moisture north from the Gulf was stuck unusually north in Canada. Other scientists have linked recent changes in the jet stream to shrinking Arctic sea ice, but Hoerling and study co-author Richard Seager of Columbia University said those global warming connections are not valid.

Hoerling used computer simulations to see if he could replicate the drought using man-made global warming conditions. He couldn’t. So that means it was a random event, he said.

Using similar methods, Hoerling has been able to attribute increasing droughts in the Mediterranean Sea region to climate change and found that greenhouse gases could be linked to a

small portion of the 2011 Texas heat wave.

Another scientist though, blasted the report.

Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a federally funded university-run research center, said the report didn’t take into account the lack of snowfall in the Rockies the previous winter and how that affected overall moisture in the air. Nor did the study look at the how global warming exacerbated the high pressure system that kept the jet stream north and the rainfall away, he said.

“This was natural variability exacerbated by global warming,” Trenberth said in an email. “That is true of all such events from the Russian heat wave of 2010, to the drought and heat waves in Australia.” Hoerling noted that in the past 20 years, the world is seeing more La Ninas, the occasional cooling of the central Pacific Ocean that is the flip side of El Nino.

TV listings SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

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

Monster Bug Wars Untamed & Uncut Wildest Arctic Shark Attack File Whale Wars Call Of The Wildman Orangutan Island Last Chance Highway Wildlife SOS Meerkat Manor Dogs 101 Crocodile Hunter Weird Creatures With Nick Monkey Life Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Bondi Vet The Really Wild Show Wildest Africa Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Bondi Vet The Animals’ Guide To Survival Speed Of Life Great White: The Impossible Wildest Africa My Cat From Hell Baboons With Bill Bailey Baboons With Bill Bailey Untamed & Uncut

00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 02:15 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 03:05 Mitch And Matt’s Big Fish 03:30 Cash In The Attic 04:15 Bargain Hunt 05:00 House Swap 05:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 06:35 French Food At Home 07:00 Homes Under The Hammer 07:55 Homes Under The Hammer 08:50 Homes Under The Hammer 09:45 Homes Under The Hammer 10:40 Cash In The Attic 11:25 Come Dine With Me 12:15 Perfect Day 12:40 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 13:05 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 13:30 The Good Cook 13:55 French Food At Home 14:15 French Food At Home 14:40 Bargain Hunt 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:20 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 17:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 19:00 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 20:30 Come Dine With Me 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 23:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:10 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:10 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30

BBC World News America BBC World News America BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News Our World BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News BBC World News Horizons BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News Click BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News

TRANSFORMERS DARK OF THE MOON ON OSN ACTION HD 11:00 11:10 11:30 12:00 12:10 13:00 13:10 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:10 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:15 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:10 23:30

00:45 01:35 02:00 02:25 02:50 03:00

BBC World News Football Focus Horizons BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News World Features Newsnight BBC World News Our World BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Final Score BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Click BBC World News World Features Dateline London

Wacky Races Duck Dodgers Duck Dodgers Dastardly And Muttley Dastardly And Muttley Dexter’s Laboratory

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

00:30 01:20 02:10 02:35 03:00

Wacky Races Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Bananas In Pyjamas Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Ha Ha Hairies Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Krypto: The Super Dog Lazy Town Gerald McBoing Boing Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania Tom & Jerry Tales The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Dexter’s Laboratory Moomins The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Moomins Duck Dodgers

Grim Adventures Of...

Johnny Test Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien The Amazing World Of

Gumball 03:25 Regular Show 03:50 Ben 10: Omniverse 04:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 04:40 Powerpuff Girls 05:05 Evil Con Carne 05:30 Cow & Chicken 06:00 Casper’s Scare School 06:30 Angelo Rules 07:00 Thundercats 07:25 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 07:50 Young Justice 08:15 Hero 108 08:40 Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 09:35 Ben 10 Omniverse 10:00 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk 10:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 11:15 Evil Con Carne 12:05 Adventure Time 12:55 Regular Show 13:45 Angelo Rules 14:10 Ben 10 Omniverse 14:35 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk 15:00 Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 15:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 16:40 Adventure Time 17:05 Regular Show 17:30 Ben 10 17:55 Hero 108 18:20 Young Justice 18:45 Total Drama Action 19:10 Total Drama Action 19:35 Total Drama Action 20:00 Total Drama Action 20:25 Total Drama Action 20:50 Starwars: The Clone Wars

21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Evil Con Carne Ben 10 Ben 10 Mucha Lucha !

Mucha Lucha !

Powerpuff Girls

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

Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report World Sport Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business CNN Marketplace Africa The Situation Room World Sport Cnngo World Report CNN Marketplace Africa Backstory World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Business Traveller World Sport Mainsail The Best Of The Situation Room World Report The Brief Amanpour Inside Africa Talk Asia Eco Solutions World Report Inside The Middle East News Special Backstory International Desk African Voices CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief World Sport Living Golf International Desk Inside Africa International Desk Cnngo The Best Of The Situation Room World Report News Special

00:15 Crash Course 00:40 Crash Course 01:10 Overhaulin’ 2012 02:05 Dirty Great Machines 03:00 Mythbusters 03:55 Border Security 04:20 Auction Kings 04:50 Baggage Battles 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Magic Of Science 07:25 Magic Of Science 07:50 You Have Been Warned 08:45 Moonshiners 09:40 Bull Shark: World’s Deadliest Shark...

10:30 River Monsters 11:25 Animal Cops South Africa 12:20 Sons Of Guns 13:15 Sons Of Guns 14:10 Sons Of Guns 15:05 Sons Of Guns 16:00 Sons Of Guns 16:55 Sons Of Guns 17:50 Crash Course 18:15 Crash Course 18:45 Gold Rush 19:40 Jungle Gold 20:35 Sons Of Guns 21:30 Baggage Battles 21:55 Baggage Battles 22:50 Baggage Battles 23:20 Baggage Battles 23:45 Auction Kings

00:05 00:30 01:00 01:50 02:15 02:45 03:10 03:35 04:25

The Tech Show Weird Connections Building The Future Prank Science Prank Science Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Building The Future Robocar

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

Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Moon Machines Storm Chasers Engineering Thrills Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Mighty Ships Mighty Ships Robocar Robocar Robocar Weird Connections Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show X-Machines Da Vinci’s Machines Space Pioneer Food Factory Food Factory Tech Toys 360 Tech Toys 360 Storm Chasers X-Machines Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Storm Chasers Dark Matters: Twisted But True Gadget Show - World Tour

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

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 Jake & The Neverland Pirates Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Cory In The House Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Jessie Austin And Ally A.N.T Farm Sofia The First Tangled Ever After Cinderella II A.N.T Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie That’s So Raven A.N.T Farm Hannah Montana Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T Farm Sofia The First Cinderella II Tangled Ever After Jessie Shake It Up Austin And Ally Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Jessie Jessie Jonas Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Stitch

00:00 Opening Act 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E! Investigates 03:15 Style Star 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 E!es 05:05 THS 06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:15 E!es 11:10 E!es 12:05 E! News 13:05 Married To Jonas 13:35 Married To Jonas

TV listings SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013 14:05 Married To Jonas 14:30 Married To Jonas 15:00 Married To Jonas 15:30 Married To Jonas 16:00 Married To Jonas 16:30 Married To Jonas 17:00 Married To Jonas 17:30 Married To Jonas 18:00 E! News 19:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 20:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:00 Chasing The Saturdays 21:30 Fashion Police 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

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

Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Scorned: Crimes Of Passion Most Evil I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Undercover: Double Life Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite

Basics 17:50 Basics 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

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

Barefoot Contessa - Back To Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Chopped Chopped Ultimate Recipe Showdown Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

Australia North Devon New Forest Ep 13 Hunt For Funghi The Oldest Vine Hong Kong Istanbul Mumbai Ep 5 Ep 6 Ep 7 Ep 8 Madagascar Las Vegas Holland Aikido Hugh’s Three Hungry Boys, 2 Alaska Northumberland Angus The Sagra Maybe Baby India - Mumbai Greece - Athens Paris Bangkok Delhi

16:20 Las Vegas 16:45 Holland 17:15 Aikido 18:10 Hugh’s Three Hungry Boys, 2 19:05 Ep 5 19:30 Ep 6 20:00 Ep 7 20:30 Ep 8 21:00 Madagascar 22:00 The Last European Aborigines 22:55 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita, 1 23:20 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita, 2 23:50 Johannesburg

00:00 The Crazies-18 02:00 Intruders-18 04:00 True Justice: Lethal JusticePG15 06:00 RoboCop 3-PG15 08:00 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 10:00 Transformers: Dark Of The Moon-PG15 13:00 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15 15:00 Constantine-PG15 17:15 Transformers: Dark Of The Moon-PG15 20:00 Imago Mortis-PG15 22:00 Road To Perdition-18

01:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 03:00 Horrid Henry-PG 05:00 The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice-PG15 07:00 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 09:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 11:00 Espions-PG15 13:00 The Marc Pease ExperiencePG15

15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Second Chances-PG15 And Soon The Darkness-PG15 The Lincoln Lawyer-PG15 Leaves Of Grass-PG15 A Dangerous Method-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 02:00 South Park 03:00 Parks And Recreation 03:30 The Simpsons 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Hope & Faith 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:30 Hope & Faith 09:00 Parks And Recreation 09:30 30 Rock 10:00 Cougar Town 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 13:00 Hope & Faith 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 Cougar Town 15:00 30 Rock 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Parks And Recreation 18:30 Happy Endings 19:00 The Neighbors 19:30 The Office 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:00 Glee 19:00 The Glades 20:00 Criminal Minds

Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Affairs Stalked: Someone’s Watching Stalked: Someone’s Watching On The Case With Paula Zahn

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Outrageous Food 00:55 Unwrapped 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:10 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 02:35 Heat Seekers 03:00 Heat Seekers 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Andy Bates Street Feasts 04:15 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 07:25 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 07:50 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 08:15 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 08:40 Cooking For Real 09:05 Cooking For Real 09:30 Cooking For Real 09:55 Cooking For Real 10:20 Tyler’s Ultimate 10:45 Tyler’s Ultimate 11:10 Tyler’s Ultimate 11:35 Tyler’s Ultimate 12:00 Chef Hunter 12:50 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Unique Sweets 14:30 Unique Sweets 14:55 Unique Sweets 15:20 Unique Sweets 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Barefoot Contessa - Back To

21:00 The Mob Doctor 22:00 Sons Of Anarchy

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

Supernatural Survivor: Caramoan Smash Greek American Idol Smash Supernatural Smallville White Collar Glee American Idol Survivor: Caramoan Smallville The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar Supernatural Smallville The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar The Glades Criminal Minds The Mob Doctor Sons Of Anarchy Greek

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 Moon 15:00 17:00 19:15 Moon 22:00

The Keeper The Crazies Intruders True Justice: Lethal Justice RoboCop 3 Battle: Los Angeles Transformers: Dark Of The Battle: Los Angeles Constantine Transformers: Dark Of The Imago Mortis

00:00 Sightseers-18 02:00 40 Days And 40 Nights-18 04:00 The Winning Season-PG15 06:00 The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom-PG 08:00 Cheaper By The Dozen-PG 10:00 Sleepless In Seattle-PG 12:00 The Winning Season-PG15 14:00 Cheaper By The Dozen 2-PG 16:00 Sleepless In Seattle-PG 18:00 Scrooged-PG15 20:00 Extract-PG15 22:00 Sightseers-18

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

L.A I Hate You-PG15 The People vs Larry Flynt-R Oscar And Lucinda-PG15 Soldier Love Story-PG15 B-Girl-PG15 School Ties-PG15 Mutum-PG15 B-Girl-PG15 Separate Lies-PG15 Route Irish-PG15 Catch Me If You Can-PG15 The Fighter-PG15

02:30 We Bought A Zoo-PG 05:00 Treasure Buddies-PG 07:00 Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story-PG 09:00 Page Eight-PG15 10:45 New Year’s Eve-PG15 12:45 The Conspirator-PG15 14:45 Battle For Terra-PG 16:15 Page Eight-PG15 18:00 Tower Heist-PG15 20:00 American Girl: McKenna Shoots For The Stars-PG 22:00 Chloe-R

LEAVES OF GRASS ON OSN CINEMA

01:00 Wheelers 02:30 A Very Fairy Christmas 03:45 Hugo 06:00 101 Dalmatians 2 08:00 Teo: The Intergalactic Hunter 09:30 Rio 11:15 A Monster In Paris 12:45 Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 14:15 Hugo 16:30 Quest For A Heart

18:00 Rio 20:00 Twigson 22:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 23:30 Quest For A Heart

00:00 MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 02:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 06:00 NBC Nightly News 06:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer 07:00 Live NBC Nightly News 07:39 ABC Nightline 08:06 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 10:00 MSNBC Morning Joe 13:00 MSNBC Caught On Camera 14:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 16:00 MSNBC Up With Chris Hayes Saturday 17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 Live ABC 20/20 21:00 Witness 23:00 MSNBC News

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 09:30 10:30 16:30 18:00 22:00 22:30

NRL Premiership Top 14 AFL Premiership Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 Live Super Rugby Trans World Sport Live Super Rugby Super League Live Super Rugby ICC Cricket 360 AFL Premiership

00:00 02:00 03:30 07:00 10:00 10:30 12:30 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 19:00 19:45 22:00

Super Rugby Super League Premier League Darts Live AFL Premiership Futbol Mundial Live NRL Premiership Live NRL Premiership ICC Cricket 360 Trans World Sport European Tour Weekly Futbol Mundial Live Top 14 ICC Cricket 360 Live Super League WWE SmackDown

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 07:00 09:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:30 16:30 17:00 19:00 19:30

Trans World Sport Total Rugby Inside The PGA Tour European Tour Weekly Asian Tour Golf Top 14 Super League Total Rugby Trans World Sport ICC Cricket 360 Live NRL Premiership NRL Premiership Total Rugby Live Pro 12 European Tour Weekly Asian Tour Golf

00:30 02:30 03:30 04:30 05:00 07:00 09:00 09:30 13:30 16:30 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00

WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT Mobil 1 The Grid NHL WWE SmackDown Asian Tour Golf Live Asian Tour Golf Live AFL Premiership WWE Vintage Collection Mobil 1 The Grid UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC The Ultimate Fighter

W H AT ’ S O N SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

GUST hosts Ma’an Conference

T

Nawal Al-Muhaini then took the stage and discussed how it’s normal and expected of people to go through phases and experience different jobs to find the perfect fit. She emphasized on how it’s important to find out where you belong and feel truly comfortable before settling down. Different aspects of personality were brought up and that human beings tend to have a different persona in different circumstances to be able to adapt to the environment they’re in.

The first night ended with speaker Riyadh Al-Adsani and two Kuwaiti world record breakers sharing their experiences in their fields.

The second night focused more on the joy of giving back to society with Omar AlOthman and Foad Boushiri talking about how through their work and life they try to give back as much as possible to their community and country and the immense joy you get from doing even the smallest of things.

It was a great and motivational seminar, the theatre was always packed with GUST students, staff, faculty as well as outside visitors that were interested in listening and being inspired. GUST wishes Ma’an campaign the best of luck and success in their future workshops and seminars and hopes for future collaboration in the future.

he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) hosted Ma’an, a social development project which focuses on the youth held its annual closing ceremony with seminars at GUST discussing selfdevelopment and the joy of giving back with highlighted speakers like journalist Abdullah Bouftain and TV personality Omar Al-Othman among other notable speakers.

The project’s initiative is to motivate and inspire Kuwaiti citizens, targeting the youth age range from 17-30, to invest their time and energy towards self-development. By doing so, this will initiate a positive change and development in society seeing as society is made up of individuals. The series of seminars aim to invest in youth’s ambition to make them successful members of society. Ma’an opened with a Kuwaiti local band where traditional songs were performed.

The MC, GUST student Faisal Al-Saei greeted the eager audience and introduced the night’s first speaker: Abdullah Bouftain who managed to excite and engage the crowd by talking about self-development and relating it to work. Bouftain then talked about his experience in school and in the work field and encouraged the attendees to think about starting their own projects rather than always working for others.

NITCAA Kuwait conducts quiz program Trishna 7

“T

rishna” the festival of Quiz (Quiztival) was conducted in a befitting manner by the National Institute of Technology, Calicut Alumni Association, Kuwait Chapter (NITCAA - Kuwait) on Friday, 5 April 2013 in Kuwait Medical Association (KMA) Hall, Jabriya. Trishna, the word in Sanskrit means quest.

Trishna is an annual quiz competition conducted for the members and their families of Kuwait Engineers Forum (KEF) consisting of 8 Alumni Associations, organized by NITCAA every year since 2007. One of the most sought after and unique programs of KEF calendar, Trishna is celebrated for the joy of knowledge. Many enthusiastic quizzers from all-around Kuwait gathered in KMA hall to enjoy this festival of knowledge. 54 intelligent quizzers of KEF tested their mettle in this compe-

tition which was held in Junior, Senior and Family Trio categories. Venkatesh Srinivasan of the Karnataka Quiz Association, Bengaluru, India was the Quiz Master for Trishna 7.

The overall champions of Trishna 7 were KEA, First runner up - NSSCEA followed by Second runner up TECAA and Third runner up - NITCAA. The following quizzers emerged as the ultimate winners of Trishna for this year from each category: Juniors category: First Prize - TECAA represented by Adithya Ashok and Athul Suresh Krishnan Second Prize - KEA represented by Niharika Sunil and Dylan Daniel Muruppel Third Prize - CETAA represented by Rohan Saji John and Danush Jeyashankar Seniors category:

First Prize - NSSCEA represented by Sidharth Pradeep and Nihar Hareesh Second Prize - KEA represented by Shreyas Lalu and Saurabh Ravindranath Third Prize - TECAA represented by Anand Krishnakumar and Vijai Krishnan Family Trio category: First Prize - KEA represented by Ramesh Athreya, Susmitha Sunil and Nikhil V Varughese Second Prize - NSSCEA represented by Karthikeyan R., Priti Karthikeyan and Rithwik Karthikeyan Third Prize - NITCAA represented by Dr Biji Thomas, Shilpa Nair and Nitin Nirmal NITCAA has also been conducting weekly online quizzes and monthly quizzes for KEF every year in order to cultivate and boost up quizzing talent among

its members .The winners for weekly and monthly quizzes are Trishna 7 Weekly Online Quiz Mega Prize Winner - Rachel Mathulla (TKMCEA) KEF NITCAA Monthly Online Quiz (2012-2013) Mega Prize Winners - Shibu K John (TKMCEA) and Rithwik Karthikeyan (NSSCEA) Earlier onFebruary 1, 2013, NITCAA introduced new form of quizzing through MahaQuizzer - Middle EastKuwait, a written Quiz program which is the Middle East version of Mahaqizzer in India conducted at major cities. Prizes for the winners of Maquizzer were also distributed along with winners of Trishna 7. NITCAA President Jayaprakash P, Secretary MB Vijayakumar and Trishna 7 Convener K Kannan provided the leadership in conducting Trishna 7 successfully.

W H AT ’ S O N SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

PGA Everton hosts Qadsiya Club PGA Everton Under 10s hosted Qadsiya Club at their Bayan ground. The Premier Goal Academy, under the patronage of the British ambassador and sponsored by Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company is organising weekly matches involving school teams, Kuwaiti Clubs and Academies, bringing together hundreds of children aged from 8 to 17 years of age during April and May.

PGA hosts British Royal Navy football team

T

he Premier Goal Academy, under the patronage of the British ambasador and sponsored by Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, hosted the British Royal Navy football team from HMS Monmouth at Bayan recently. Crew members were enjoying a welcome break from duties at sea in the Gulf with a short stopover in Kuwait. Coaches and senior players from the PGA in association with Everton FC provided the opposition for a very confident and physically daunting navy team. After a thoroughly competitive and enjoyable encounter it was the fast feet, superior skill and clinical finishing of the PGA team that won the day by 8 goals to 5.

Greetings

Basil Arts ‘Nritholsav’ ara Jivara Mansour received gifts and congratulations from her parents and family members on the occasion of his successful completion of fourth grade. All the best and bright future for Yara.

Y

R

egistration for Nritholsav’s the group dance competition, organized by the Basil Arts, will close on April 15. The competitions are open for Indian students from Class 3 to 12 categorized as Sub Junior, Junior and Senior.

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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

HEALTH

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Will Nigerian boom babies feed prosperity or entrench poverty?

LAGOS: In the time it takes to read this article, Nigeria will have added 50 people to its population, or about 11,000 a day. While some see these new consumers feeding an engine of prosperity, others fear they will create a crisis of poverty and unrest. By 2050, the global Population Reference Bureau (PRB) projects it will be the world’s fourth most populous country, with 400 million people - just less than the projected figure for the United States, but with only a tenth of its territory.

While Africa’s most populous nation has long had business leaders salivating over its potentially huge market, especially retailers of fast-moving consumer goods, it is not clear whether it can turn a growing population - already at 170 million - into a richer society with widespread higher living standards. Nigeria is often used by promoters of an “Africa Rising” narrative urging investors to buy into the continent’s potential to reap a “demographic dividend” from an expanding population of young people of working age.

Yet in the waterside slum of Makoko, where 100,000 residents huddle together in homes on stilts that spill right out into the Lagos Lagoon, few feel on the verge of prosperity. “We’re poor, and not much is changing,” said Benedicta Hunkpe, as she stirred a cauldron of fish stew over smoking charcoal while children swept along the water in canoes. Demographers fear a crisis of poverty and social upheaval could offset gains from the birth of new consumers.

The 3,000 naira ($19) a week that the 55-year-old Hunkpe earns from selling fish helps feed her eight offspring and 10 grandchildren; her house sleeps 40 people at a time. “The money is never enough,” she said. “I wanted my children to go to school to give them a bet-

ter life, but I couldn’t afford it.” Sceptics say services and the environment can’t keep pace with a population rising at 2.4 percent a year, according to UN figures.

They fear swelling numbers of jobless and uneducated youths threaten the stability of a country already suffering an Islamist uprising in the north and oil theft, piracy and kidnapping by criminal gangs in the south.

“If we keep growing our population at this rate, without also growing our means to sustain it, we are heading towards catastrophe,” says Owoeye Olumide, a demographer at southwest Nigeria’s Bowen University. “We have to do something very fast ... or we face more poverty and agitation or worse - disease, hunger, war.”

NIGERIA RISING? Few investment funds share this view. Banks like Renaissance Capital believe African demographics will spur an economic transformation of the sort Asia has seen. “Only sub-Saharan Africa is positioned to experience 15-20 percent growth in the crucial 15-24 age range over the coming decades, which will provide the plentiful labour force the world economy will rely on,” the bank said in a 2011 report entitled “The bottom billion becomes the fastest billion”.

This will provide huge opportunities for retailers and the auto industry, for which “demographic data alone suggest Africa will be overtaking China within two generations”. Nigeria is already a big market for basic goods, like the soap, beer or flour sold by PZ Cussons, Nigerian Breweries and Flourmills of Nigeria. And some are preparing for the next step up; South African supermarket chain Shoprite has plans for 700 stores in Nigeria, up from only a handful at the moment.

Yet countries that reap the “demographic dividend” usually do so only once population growth starts to slow. While fertility rates are crashing across Asia and Latin America - mirroring falls in Europe a generation ago - in sub-Saharan Africa they remain high. A 2012 World Bank study put them at five children per woman; in Nigeria, it is 5.6. The United Nations predicts subSaharan Africa’s population will double by 2045 to 2 billion. Nigeria will account for a fifth of that, and some fear city infrastructure, education and the job market won’t keep up.

RUNNING TO STAND STILL Sprawling around a lagoon and the Atlantic coast, Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos - a steamy, tropical city of some 21 million people, according to its government - receives hundreds of thousands of new arrivals each year from rural areas. The city grows by 672,000 people a year, state data shows. “It’s like we’re running just to stand still,” said Ben Akabueze, the Lagos commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, a sharply dressed, bespectacled man whose phone trills constantly with demands from state governor Babatunde Fashola.

“You roll out services, then so many more people arrive,” he says. “Sometimes we can’t quite cope.” Two thirds of Lagosians live in what are effectively slums with no reliable electricity or water. Most crowd into “face me, face you” accommodation squeezing whole families into seven-square metre rooms sandwiched together along thin corridors. Noah Semedi, head teacher at one of only two schools serving Makoko’s tens of thousands, is lucky he can read at all.—Reuters

Bird flu vaccine ‘many months’ away: Experts

TRIPRA: Indian daily labourer, Abdul Rahman, 26, holds his 18 month old daughter, Roona Begum, suffering from Hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling, in front of their home in Jirania village on the outskirts of Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura yesterday. Rahman works in a brick factory earning 150 rupees ($2.75) a day and does not have the capability to treat his daughter. — AFP

UN aims to end child deaths from pneumonia, diarrhoea GENEVA: Child deaths from pneumonia and severe diarrhoea, mainly among the poor in Africa and South Asia, could be virtually eliminated by 2025 under an “integrated” strategy that includes better sanitation and newer vaccines, UN agencies said yesterday.

The 10-year action plan, estimated to cost $6.0 billion, aims to stop 2 million children under the age of five dying each year from the killer diseases, they said.

“We believe the targets set within this plan are achievable and actually are achievable over the next decade,” Elizabeth Mason, director of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health at the World Health Organization, told a news

briefing. “We are looking at targets for ending preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025,” she said. About 2 million children under the age of five die each year from the two diseases, among 6.9 million killed by causes including malaria, according to the WHO and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“Children are dying because services are provided piecemeal and those most at risk are not being reached,” they said.

The goal is to reduce combined mortality from pneumonia and severe diarrhoea to fewer than 4 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025, against 20 currently. The hope is to totally eliminate such deaths by 2035, they said.—Reuters

SHANGHAI: US public health experts said developing a vaccine for the H7N9 strain of bird flu could take “many months”, as China seeks to control an outbreak which had killed 10 people by yesterday.

Chinese authorities have confirmed 38 human cases of H7N9 avian influenza since announcing nearly two weeks ago that they had found the strain in humans for the first time. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Timothy Uyeki and Nancy Cox of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said worldwide efforts to develop a vaccine had started, but it would take time.

“Even if new vaccine manufacturing technologies... are utilised, the process from vaccine development to availability will probably take many months,” said the article posted on the journal’s website on Thursday.

China said this week it expects to have a vaccine ready in seven months. Chinese health officials say they do not know exactly how the virus is spreading, but it is believed to be crossing to humans from birds.

The journal article said the outbreak was a “seminal event” that raised global concerns and it urged China to enhance surveillance. “It might herald sporadic human infections from an animal source... or it might signal the start of an influenza pandemic,” the article said.

Experts fear the prospect of such viruses mutating into a form easily transmissible between humans, which has the potential to trigger a pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

Shanghai, which has the majority of confirmed cases, was the first to halt trading in live

poultry and cull birds last week, followed by other cities in eastern China-the site of the outbreak.

In Nanjing, a woman cut an official with a broken bottle as she tried to protect her chickens after the city barred residents from raising poultry at home and ordered them to cull birds, China News Service said yesterday.

“I want to get bird flu, so I can infect you,” the emotional woman told urban management officials seeking to kill her birds. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0) on Thursday expressed worry over the possible spread of H7N9 to China’s neighbours through infected poultry.

“There is a possibility that if inadvertently or advertently somebody moves infected poultry across the border from one country to another you can have a spread of the virus,” said Subhash Morzaria, Asia regional manager for the FAO’s emergency centre for animal diseases.

Japan yesterday gave itself new powers aimed at curbing outbreaks of infectious diseases in people, as it nervously watches the spread of H7N9 bird flu in neighbouring China.

Under a new law, the government can strengthen quarantines at airports, vaccinate doctors and government officials, shut schools and cancel events with large numbers of people. China has earned international approval for its transparency for H7N9, after being accused of covering up Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. “Chinese scientists are to be congratulated for the apparent speed with which the H7N9 virus was identified,” said the New England Journal of Medicine article, adding they had quickly made public the genome sequences. — AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

HEALTH

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

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Bayan

25388462

Mazda 3, model 2012, running 14,000 km, price KD 2,850, negotiable. Mobile: 66109046. (C 4372) 8-6-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, ABUL HASANSA DULI 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 RAHMATH ALI to ABUL HASAN RAHMATH ALI with immediate effect.

(C 4375) 11-4-2013 I, Tarun Kanti Paul and I, Mithu Paul parents of Supriti Paul, her Passport No. J6954961 hereby will change our daughter’s name as Zeta Supriti Paul.

(C 4369) I, Tarun Kanti Paul and I, Mithu Paul parents of Swaswati Paul, her Passport No. J6954985 hereby will change our daughter’s name as Luna Shashati

Paul.

(C 4370) Sangam Sivakumar Raju, S/o Sangam Kodandarama Raju Indian Passport No. K3372636 issued at Hyderabad, India, date 02/04/2013 Passport resident 9/130 Rly Kodur YSR District 516001 (A.P) India, hereby change to Sangaraju Sivakumar Raju. New resident 7/21 D, Gangireddypalem, Rajampet, Kadapa, A.P, 516115 India. (C 4371) 7-4-2013

SITUATION VACANT A family is looking to hire a cook with experience in Kuwaiti and Indian cuisines.

Tel: 99005438. (C 4373) 10-4-2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) SHARQIA-2 SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) SHARQIA-3 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) MUHALAB-1 DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) MUHALAB-2 OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) MUHALAB-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) NO FRI BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) FANAR-1 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM 1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM 12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:45 PM 4:30 PM

Prayer timings Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:04 05:26 11:49 15:23 18:12 19:32

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (11/04/2013 TO 17/04/2013) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) FANAR-2 DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) FANAR-3 GET LUCKY (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) MARINA-1 GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) MARINA-2 OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) AVENUES-1 THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) AVENUES-2 GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG)

7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) 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) 360º- 2 THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) 360º- 3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (DIG-3D) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) AL-KOUT.1 SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) JURASSIC PARK (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) AL-KOUT.2 DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) AL-KOUT.3 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM 2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM 12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM 1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM

information SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

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

Arrival Flights on Saturday 13/4/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 441 LAHORE 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 239 ISLAMABAD 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 130 DOHA 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 529 ASSIUT 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 503 LUXOR 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 344 CHENNAI 855 DUBAI 362 COLOMBO 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 1186 TEHRAN 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 157 BAGHDAD 4161 MASHAD 165 DUBAI 1188 MASHAD 401 ALEXANDRIA 284 DHAKA 325 NAJAF 241 AMMAN 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 480 TAIF 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 790 MEDINAH 6692 MASHAD 575 CAIRO 500 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 472 JEDDAH 341 DAMASCUS 788 JEDDAH 470 JEDDAH 538 SOHAG 640 AMMAN 118 NEW YORK 535 CAIRO 134 DOHA 125 BAHRAIN 303 ABU DHABI 71 DUBAI 357 MASHAD 857 DUBAI 127 SHARJAH 510 RIYADH 215 BAHRAIN 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 177 DUBAI 176 GENEVA 777 JEDDAH 502 BEIRUT 4167 MASHAD 542 CAIRO

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

QTR KAC FDB FDB NIA GFA KAC KAC KAC MSC JAI RBG KAC FDB OMA ABY IRA JZR MEA MSR KNE AXB KLM ALK UAE ETD QTR DHX GFA QTR FDB AIC KNE JZR UAL KAC JZR KAC DLH JAI JZR THY

144 104 8057 63 251 219 618 774 674 405 572 553 562 61 647 129 607 189 402 618 462 489 415 229 859 307 136 370 217 146 59 975 474 239 981 786 185 614 636 574 513 772

DOHA LONDON DUBAI DUBAI ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DOHA RIYADH DUBAI SOHAG MUMBAI ALEXANDRIA AMMAN DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH MASHAD DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA MEDINAH COCHIN AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI JEDDAH AMMAN BAHRAIN JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI SHARM EL SHEIKH ISTANBUL

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

Departure Flights on Saturday 13/4/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 413 AMSTERDAM 44 DHAKA 502 LUXOR 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 621 ADDIS ABABA 240 SIALKOT 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 240 AMMAN 164 DUBAI 537 SOHAG 6131 DOHA 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 324 AL NAJAF 534 CAIRO 789 MADINAH 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA

18:25 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:10 20:15 20:30 20:35 20:35 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:20 23:45

Time 0:05 0:20 0:25 0:30 0:55 1:30 1:30 2:20 2:30 2:45 3:35 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:15 4:20 4:20 4:25 5:15 6:30 7:00 7:10 7:10 7:25 7:45 7:45 8:25 8:25 8:50 9:10 9:10 9:15 9:25 9:30 9:35 9:50 9:55 10:00

ETD KAC IRM JZR GFA KAC KAC KAC IAW IZG JZR MSC IRM JZR JZR MSR KNE UAE FDB KAC QTR IRC MSR KAC KNE KAC SYR SVA KAC JZR KNE RJA KAC JZR JZR QTR ETD FDB JZR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL IZG QTR FDB FDB GFA NIA KAC RBG MSC JAI FDB ABY KAC OMA KAC IRA MEA MSR KAC KNE DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR KAC GFA DHX FDB KAC QTR JZR KNE KAC KAC

302 101 1187 356 214 541 165 501 158 4162 776 406 1189 176 124 611 481 872 58 561 141 6693 576 673 473 617 342 505 773 188 461 641 785 238 512 135 304 72 538 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 4168 145 64 8058 220 252 613 554 402 571 62 120 331 648 351 604 403 607 543 475 171 415 308 230 860 381 137 301 218 371 60 205 147 554 471 411 283

ABU DHABI LONDON TEHRAN MASHHAD BAHRAIN CAIRO ROME BEIRUT AL NAJAF MASHHAD JEDDAH SOHAG MASHHAD DUBAI BAHRAIN CAIRO TAIF DUBAI DUBAI AMMAN DOHA MASHHAD SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI JEDDAH DOHA DAMASCUS JEDDAH RIYADH DUBAI MADINAH AMMAN JEDDAH AMMAN SHARM EL SHEIKH DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN MASHHAD DOHA DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT KOCHI ISFAHAN BEIRUT LUXOR CAIRO JEDDAH BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DELHI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH BANGKOK DHAKA

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

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Word Search

Yesterdayʼs Solution

C R O S S W O R D 1 5 8

ACROSS 1. The local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England.

4. Capital and largest city of Iraq.

11. The 4th planet from the sun.

15. An association of countries in the western hemisphere.

16. Relating to or like or divided into areolae.

17. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

18. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

19. A large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression.

20. Surrealist Spanish painter (1904-1989).

21. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

23. Diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria.

24. Capable of wounding.

26. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

28. Wool of the alpaca.

31. Offering fun and gaiety.

34. Tag the base runner to get him out.

35. A thrusting blow with a knife.

39. Like an amoeba (especially in having a variable irregular shape).

43. A nucleic acid that transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm.

44. Administration of a nutritionally adequate solution through a catheter into the vena cava.

45. North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

49. (British) The position of headmaster or headmistress.

52. Being without physical aid.

53. Something that causes irritation and annoyance.

54. One of the three Furies.

55. Give over.

56. A three-tone Chadic language.

58. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

60. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

64. Inability to urinate.

67. The distinctive spirit of a people or an era.

70. A relativistic quantum theory of the electromagnetic interactions of photons and electrons and muons.

71. A member of a rural Finnish people living in eastern Russia.

72. French composer noted for his experimentalism and rejection of romanticism (1866-1925).

74. Jordan's port.

75. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

76. Putting something (as a literary work) into publishable form.

78. A decree that prohibits something.

79. Not only so, but.

80. Be worthy of or have a certain rating.

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

2. (New Testament) The sages who visited Jesus and Mary and Joseph shortly after Jesus was born.

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

4. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

5. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

6. Cut off the testicles.

7. A laborer who carries supplies to masons or bricklayers.

8. A chronic skin disease occurring primarily in women between the ages of 20 and 40.

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

10. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems.

11. A state in southeastern India on the Bay of Bengal (south of Andhra Pradesh).

12. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

13. A rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders).

14. One of a pair of planks used to make a track for rolling or sliding objects.

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

25. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

27. A Japanese woman trained to entertain men with conversation and singing and dancing.

29. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

30. A soft heavy toxic malleable metallic element.

32. A former unit of electric current (slightly smaller than the SI ampere).

33. German physicist who studied cathode rays (1862-1947).

36. Relating to or used in or intended for trade or commerce.

37. A strong emotion.

38. English monk and scholar (672-735).

40. Remove from office.

41. Affectedly dainty or refined.

42. Something causes misery or death.

46. Large American feline resembling a lion.

47. An enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals are kept.

48. Deciduous South African tree having large odd-pinnate leaves and profuse fragrant orange-yellow flowers.

50. United States film actress (born in Germany) who made many films with Josef von Sternberg and later was a successful cabaret star (1901-1992).

51. Small genus sometimes included in genus Onoclea.

57. Flightless birds having flat breastbones lacking a keel for attachment of flight muscles.

59. (of pain or sorrow) Made easier to bear.

61. Jordan's port.

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

63. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

65. The back side of the neck.

66. The chief solid component of mammalian urine.

68. A person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another.

69. Having wisdom that comes with age and experience.

73. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

77. A state in the western United States.

Yesterdayʼs Solution

DOWN 1. A pointed instrument used to prod into motion.

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SPORTS

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

SAN DIEGO: San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley (left) restrains Los Angeles Dodgers catcher AJ Ellis during a brawl between the two teams on Thursday, April 11, 2013. — AP

NL Capsules

AL Capsules

Orioles down Red Sox 3-2 BOSTON: Chris Davis hit his sixth homer and Adam Jones drove in two runs, including a tiebreaking double, to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on Thursday night. Davis and Jones extended their torrid starts for the Orioles, who took two of three in Boston. The pair has combined for 30 of Baltimore’s 85 hits, and Jones is batting .462 this season (18 for 39). Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli had consecutive RBI singles for the Red Sox, who dropped a series for the first time after taking two of three on the road from both the New York Yankees and Toronto.

Baltimore improved to 1-3 in one-run games after going 29-9 last season. With a game-time temperature of 45 degrees, Fenway Park was only about two-thirds full a night after a record sellout streak ended.

The paid attendance was 27,704, the smallest crowd at the ballpark since April 16, 2003. The Orioles broke a 2-all tie on Jones’ RBI double in the seventh inning off Koji Uehara. Clayton Mortensen (0-1) took the loss. Brian Matusz (1-0) struck out the only two batters he faced and Jim Johnson pitched the ninth in a light rain for his fourth save.

TIGERS 11, BLUE JAYS 1 Miguel Cabrera tripled, scored twice and even stole a base, and Detroit knocked Josh Johnson out of the game with a five-run second inning against Toronto. Doug Fister (2-0) allowed a run and eight hits in eight innings for the win. Johnson (0-1) gave up six runs and seven hits in 1 1-3 innings - the shortest start of his career. Prince Fielder had four RBIs and Torii Hunter added three for the Tigers. The temperature at game time was 35 degrees, the coldest for a Detroit home game since 1996, according to STATS. Blue Jays starters are 1-4 with a 7.59 ERA. Toronto, a chic pick to win the AL East after a splashy offseason, has lost three straight series to start the year for the first time since 1978. —AP

Greinke breaks collarbone in brawl SAN DIEGO: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke broke his left collarbone in a bench-clearing brawl with the San Diego Padres during Los Angeles’ 3-2 victory Thursday night. Juan Uribe’s pinch-hit home run in the eighth put the Dodgers ahead, two innings after Greinke hit Carlos Quentin on the left shoulder with a pitch.

The slugger started walking toward the mound and Greinke appeared to say something.

Quentin then charged the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner. They dropped their shoulders and collided, and Quentin tackled the pitcher to the ground.

Quentin and Greinke ended up at the bottom of a huge scrum as players from both sides ran onto the field and jumped in. When they were finally pulled apart, Greinke was checked by a trainer and manager Don Mattingly before walking off toward the dugout, his uniform top disheveled after it had been pulled over his head

by Quentin.

Greinke lowered his left (non-throwing) shoulder into Quentin and took the brunt of the blow as they collided. The right-hander, who had his wife and in-laws in the stands, joined the Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason, signing a $147 million, six-year contract. After the teams started going back to the dugouts and bullpens, Jerry Hairston Jr. came running across the field yelling and pointing at someone in the San Diego dugout and had to be restrained.

Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp also was livid, perhaps in part because Padres starter Jason Marquis threw a high-and-tight pitch to him in the first inning. The benches and bullpens emptied again, leading to pushing and shoving. It did not appear any punches were thrown, but suspensions and fines are sure to follow. Quentin, Kemp, Greinke and Hairston were ejected. Los Angeles reliever Chris Capuano was given all the time he needed to warm up when play finally resumed after a delay of about 15 minutes.

Quentin was hit by a pitch above the right wrist by Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario on Tuesday and had to leave the game. He sat out Wednesday night’s game. Greinke plunked Quentin once in 2008 and once in 2009 when both were in the American League, according to STATS. Uribe homered off Luke Gregerson (1-1) with one out in the eighth to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Matt Guerrier (1-0) retired Jesus

Guzman with two on and Kenley Jensen pitched the ninth for his first save. Former San Diego star Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers.

GIANTS 7, CUBS 6 Angel Pagan had a go-ahead sacrifice fly after pitcher Ryan Vogelsong walked with the bases loaded to tie it in the fifth inning, and San Francisco rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat Chicago. Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run double in a four-run fourth that was spurred by Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro’s two-out fielding error, helping the World Series champions win their fourth in a row. Vogelsong (1-1) yielded eight hits and five runs, four earned, in the first three innings before retiring his final 10 batters on a foggy and damp, 40-degree day. Scott Feldman (0-2) lasted 4 1-3 innings and gave up six runs two earned - on seven hits. Santiago Casilla got out of an eighth-inning jam and Sergio Romo allowed a one-out double in the ninth before striking out Castro and Anthony Rizzo for his sixth save. Rizzo hit a two-run homer and Brent

Lillibridge had a two-run single for the Cubs, snapping an 0-for-17 start to the season.

INTERLEAGUE NATIONALS 7, WHITE SOX 4 Ryan Zimmerman delivered a two-run double after Bryce Harper was intentionally walked, and Washington beat Chicago on a windy night to cap a three-game sweep. Dan Haren (1-1) got his first win for the Nationals despite allowing 10 hits in five innings. With the score tied at 3 in the fourth, Haren helped himself by doubling off Dylan Axelrod (0-1) and eventually scoring on a wild pitch with two outs.

Chicago then put Harper on base on purpose, but the move didn’t work: Cleanup hitter Zimmerman lined a double to right on Axelrod’s 103rd - and final - pitch of the evening. That put Washington ahead 6-3, and relievers Ryan Mattheus, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano made it hold up. After Harper drove in an insurance run in the eighth, Soriano pitched the ninth for his fifth save in six chances, and third this series. — AP

MLB results/standings Detroit 11, Toronto 1; San Francisco 7, Chicago Cubs 6; Washington 7, Chicago White Sox 4; Baltimore 3, Boston 2; Oakland 8, LA Angels 1; Texas 4, Seattle 3; LA Dodgers 3, San Diego 2.

American League Eastern Division W L Baltimore 5 4 Boston 5 4 NY Yankees 4 4 Tampa Bay 4 5 Toronto 3 6 Central Division Kansas City 6 3 Detroit 5 4 Chicago White Sox4 5 Minnesota 4 5 Cleveland 3 5 Western Division Oakland 8 2 Texas 7 3 Seattle 4 7 Houston 3 6 LA Angels 2 7

PCT .556 .556 .500 .444 .333

GB 0.5 1 2

.667 .556 .444 .444 .375

1 2 2 2.5

.800 .700 .364 .333 .222

1 4.5 4.5 5.5

National League Eastern Division Atlanta 8 1 Washington 7 2 NY Mets 5 4 Philadelphia 4 5 Miami 1 8 Central Division Cincinnati 5 4 St. Louis 5 4 Chicago Cubs 3 6 Pittsburgh 3 6 Milwaukee 2 6 Western Division San Francisco 7 3 Arizona 6 3 LA Dodgers 6 3 Colorado 5 4 San Diego 2 7

.889 .778 .556 .444 .111

1 3 4 7

.556 .556 .333 .333 .250

2 2 2.5

.700 .667 .667 .556 .222

0.5 0.5 1.5 4.5

SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

SHANGHAI: Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso of Spain (left) and Felipe Massa of Brazil (right) pose with their team for a group photo prior to the first practice session at the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai yesterday. —AP

Massa sets pace in Chinese GP practice Raikkonen second quickest for Lotus SHANGHAI: Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set an ‘incredible’ pace to top the timesheets at the end of Chinese Grand Prix practice yesterday after Nico Rosberg had led a Mercedes onetwo in the morning session. “In terms of everybody else on the tyre, the pace is not good, it’s incredible,” declared the Brazilian’s race engineer Rob Smedley after Massa set a quickest time of one minute 35.340 on the soft Pirelli tyre being used for the first time this season.

Kimi Raikkonen, winner of Formula One’s Melbourne season-opener in March, was second fastest for Lotus in 1:35.492 at the circuit outside Shanghai. “When I fitted the softs, the car improved a lot... it was impressive, like driving two completely different cars,” said Massa, who has out-qualified team mate Fernando Alonso in the last four races.

“Our race pace looks competitive, the car is handling well on both types of tyre and degradation was not excessive, even if the higher wear rate of the soft compared to the medium compound will be an important factor when it comes to choosing the right strategy.” Last year’s winner Rosberg had lapped in 1:36.717 before lunch, with 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton 0.454 slower. Teams focused largely on longer runs in the afternoon. The German has led the race in Shanghai in the past three editions while his 2012 win at the monumental circuit was the first of his Formula One career.

Hamilton, third in Malaysia last month after Rosberg was ordered not to overtake because of concerns the cars might run out of fuel, is the only driver to have won twice in China. “I felt very comfortable in the car and it was a productive day for us, we definitely learnt a lot,” Rosberg said. “We looked good on one lap, but there is some work still to do on the longer runs. Tyre degradation was particularly high on the option tyre out there today.” Red Bull’s Mark Webber, whose working relationship with world champion Sebastian Vettel hit

a new low after a team orders storm in Malaysia, ended both sessions ahead of the German.

TRICKY DAY Webber was third and fifth respectively while Vettel was fourth and 10th. “It was a tricky day for us. I seemed to struggle a little bit more this afternoon; the gap to the guys at the top is a bit bigger than I would like,” Vettel said. “But we have two or three things to work on and we should be in better shape tomorrow. It’s not a disaster.” Alonso lapped fifth in the morning and third in the afternoon, but with a car in a different specification to Massa’s, while McLaren’s Jenson Button was sixth in both.

“We can’t yet conclusively tell if the upgrades we brought to this race have improved the car. They’re perhaps not as big a step forward as we’d expected. The issues with the car are still there - but the car does feel a little bit better,” Button said. Triple champion Vettel leads the championship after two races with 40 points, nine clear of Raikkonen. China’s Ma Qing Hua, in the Caterham that will be raced by Frenchman Charles Pic on Sunday, wrote a foootnote in Formula One history by becoming the first Chinese driver to take part in a grand prix weekend on Chinese soil.

He was last of the 22 drivers on track in the morning, 6.828 seconds slower than Rosberg, with both Caterhams lagging rivals Marussia at the tail end. Button’s Mexican team mate Sergio Perez damaged the front wing of his McLaren when he skidded off into the gravel at the pitlane entry at the end of the session.

The team said they had plenty of spares. “The main problem is that the tyres were quite worn out and he’d done a slow sector so the front tyre temperatures dropped significantly, so he just lost a lot of grip,” sporting director Sam Michael said.—Reuters

F1 sponsors show limited appetite for Bahrain GP LONDON: Companies who help to bankroll Formula One motor racing are limiting their involvement in the Bahrain Grand Prix this month, saving some of their marketing dollars for less politically sensitive races. The grand prix was cancelled in 2011 following a bloody crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising, but sponsors were left squirming last year when the sport’s rulers ignored calls by campaigners in Bahrain and abroad for teams not to race, while police and youths staged nightly clashes with teargas and petrol bombs.

The race on April 21 will again draw attention to the human rights situation in the Gulf island kingdom. Taking a pragmatic approach, many sponsors will make the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November the focus for their Formula One promotional activities in the Middle East this year. “Abu Dhabi has taken a lot away from Bahrain.

Notwithstanding the trouble in Bahrain, the Abu Dhabi race is more interesting for sponsors,” said Jim Wright, a sponsorship consultant who worked in the sport for 18 years.

Bahrain was the first Middle East country to host a grand prix in 2004, but Abu Dhabi joined the calendar in 2009 with the Yas Marina circuit, lavish even by Formula One standards. “The timing at the end of the year is also an advantage for Abu Dhabi,” added Wright. “Now, it’s starting to be spring (in Europe), and sponsors have an opportunity to take people to races in Barcelona and Monte Carlo next month,” he added. Bahrain has been hit by unrest since pro-democracy demonstrations in early 2011, inspired by the broader regional “Arab Spring” protests that to date have forced rulers from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

Critics say staging the race hands a propaganda boost to Bahrain’s rulers, though last year’s, despite

dressing itself in the slogan “UniF1ed”, was seen as a public relations setback for the government, with television images of the unrest and heavy police presence broadcast around the world.

Two well known brands will be missing from the McLaren team at the Sakhir desert circuit in Bahrain, though the companies involved say they are not making a political point. Diageo says its Johnnie Walker whisky brand will not be on display because of local cultural sensitivities about alcohol.

“In common with other Grands Prix in Muslim countries and elsewhere, for the Bahrain race we had always planned to respect local customs and laws and not to activate Johnnie Walker branding on the cars or drivers,” a Diageo spokeswoman said. Vodafone, which also sponsors the McLaren team, said logos of its Middle East partner Zain would feature on the team’s cars and driver uniforms in Bahrain rather than its own brand. This was a commercial decision rather than a political one, said Vodafone, which is ending its sponsorship of the team at the end of the season.

BIG PAYDAY Formula One, built into a hugely successful business by Briton Bernie Ecclestone over the past four decades, makes most of its money from fees paid by venues to host races and from television rights. Bahrain pays an estimated $40 million annually to be part of the 19-race calendar, making it a valuable fixture for the sport. Ecclestone said last week he had no concerns about the race this year after Bahrain’s opposition and government resumed reconciliation talks in February. The CEO of the Bahrain International Circuit also struck a bullish note after a race held against a backdrop of half-empty stands last year. —Reuters

SPORTS

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Garcia, Leishman lead Masters as Tiger lurks Teenage prodigy Guan shines with 73 AUGUSTA: Australia’s Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia of Spain shared the lead at the 77th Masters on Thursday after both shot six-under 66s in the first round at Augusta National.

Leishman had set the early pace, sparked by four birdies in a row from the 13th, but Garcia matched him late in the day with a bogey-free round that matched his best ever at the Masters, where he debuted in 1999.

Dustin Johnson of the United States was a stroke further back at 67 with six players-Rickie Fowler, Fred Couples and Matt Kuchar of the United States, David Lynn of England, 2008 champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain-grouped together on 68.

Tournament favorite Tiger Woods was tucked in with a batch of players on two-under 70 while world number two Rory McIlroy shot level par and three-time winner Phil Mickelson had a 71.

China’s 14-year-old prodigy Guan Tianlang, who became the youngest player ever in Masters history, came in with a 73 to preserve his chances of playing at the weekend. Reigning champion Bubba Watson struggled to a three-over 75. By the end of a day of intense action, 45 players in the 93-strong field were at or under par and within six shots of the lead. Garcia, the former boy wonder of world golf, disparaged Augusta National last year after a poor final round and doubted his own chances of ever winning a major.

He was four under by the turn and showing off some of the superb shot-making that was his trademark before he lost some of his verve and swagger. Two more birdies down the back nine brought him in nicely for a 66, which equalled his best-ever round at the Masters, set in the final round in 2004.

Queried about his downbeat comments at last year’s Masters, Garcia said that they had been made in the frustration of the moment, although he admitted he still had reservations about the famed Georgia layout.

“I mean, it’s obviously not my favorite, my most favorite place, but you know, we try to enjoy it as much as we can each time we come here,” he said. “Sometimes it comes out better than others, but today it was one of those good days. And you know, let’s enjoy it while it lasts.” Leishman, the 2009 PGA Rookie of the Year, said that he had learned his lesson from his only previous appearance at Augusta in 2010 when he missed the cut after a second round of 79.

“You just put all your mistakes in the memory bank and try and not make them again, try and learn from them. And I hit it in a lot of bad spots my first year,” he said. “I managed to avoid those spots today. Hopefully I can avoid them for the rest of the week.” Woods opened his 19th Masters campaign looking to crown a remarkable return to the top with a long-overdue 15th major title. The 37-year-old American, who regained the world number one spot last month after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, got off to a quiet enough start, but was two under by the turn with birdies at six and eight.

Watched by the new love in his life, reigning Winter Olympic downhill champion skier Lindsey Vonn, the 14-time major winner stayed there until the par-five 13th, where he moved to three-under. A bogey at the bunkerless 14th hole set him back, but he parred his way in from there to tuck him-

AUGUSTA: Marc Leishman of Australia hits his second shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. — AFP self nicely in behind the leaders. “I putted well today,” he said.

“I didn’t leave myself the easiest of putts, so I am very satisfied with myself,” he said.

Woods’ rival for the world top ranking, McIlroy, blew hot and cold as once again he struggled for consistency with his new Nike golfing equipment. The 23-year-old Ulsterman, looking for his third major title after wins at the 2011 US Open and the 2012 PGA Championship, went out in two under 34, but three bogeys down the back nine pegged him back as he came in with a 72. Three-time winner Mickelson was out in two-over 38, but improved on the home stretch to edge under par at 71.

“It’s kind of what I kind of anticipated on Tuesday. I thought I would come out a little bit passive and tentative and I did. I didn’t feel great starting out or confident. I hadn’t been in competition for a while,” he said. “But the back nine ... I started to feel good with my swing, started to have confidence in the shots.” Ahead of McIlroy and Mickelson, Chinese schoolboy Guan made history by becoming the youngest player in Masters history and then showed why he is such an exciting prospect by shooting a battling 73, that included a showtime putt for birdie from the edge of the 18th green. — AFP

High-flying Bulls snap Knicks winning streak CHICAGO: Nate Robinson scored a season-high 35 points and the Chicago Bulls stopped another lengthy winning streak, rallying to beat New York 118-111 in overtime Thursday night and end the Knicks’ 13-game run. Robinson came up big down the stretch, scoring eight points in the extra period.

Jimmy Butler added 22 points, Luol Deng scored 16, and the Bulls busted a long streak for the second time in about a twoweek span, ending the Miami Heat’s 27-game run - the second-longest in NBA history - on March 27. They put the Knicks’ longest streak in nearly two decades to rest with a huge surge in the second half, offsetting Carmelo Anthony’s 36 points.

Robinson started overtime with a three-point play to give Chicago a 108-105 lead, and after Anthony scored, the Bulls started to pull away.

THUNDER 116, WARRIORS 97 Kevin Durant had 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder regain the Western Conference’s best record with a 116-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. Kevin Martin scored 23 points off the bench and Russell Westbrook added 18 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who moved a halfgame ahead of idle San Antonio for the top seed. The Spurs split the season series with Oklahoma City, but the Thunder (58-21) own the tiebreaker because of its better conference record. Stephen Curry scored 22 points and reserve Jarrett Jack had 19 points on a night the playoff bound Warriors lost center Andrew Bogut to another injury. The 7-footer left in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle. His status is unclear.

The Warriors (45-34) are a mere half-game ahead of Houston for sixth place in the West. The Rockets hold the tiebreaker after winning three of four this season over Golden State, which looked every bit like a team at the back of the playoff pack against the defending conference champions. At times, even in embarrassing fashion. Serge Ibaka blocked Bogut’s dunk attempt at the rim in the first quarter, then gave an extended finger wave that even drew roars from Golden State’s 31st straight sellout crowd announced at 19,596. Ibaka ran down court to tip-back Durant’s miss, then hit a 3-pointer and later dunked to put Oklahoma City ahead 22-15. Ibaka finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Durant was 10 for 16 from the floor, helping the Thunder outshoot the Warriors 50.6 to 44 percent.

Bogut exited with 2:55 remaining in the quarter, went to the locker and did not return. The team said Bogut sprained his left ankle, which he broke in January of 2012 and underwent microfracture on last April. It’s unclear how Bogut was injured and his status for Friday night’s game at the Los Angeles Lakers was not immediately clear. In the meantime, Durant and Westbrook got rolling late in the second half, including one series sure to fill the highlights: Westbrook finished a layup over a defender, then blocked Curry’s shot before Durant took the ball coast-to-coast for a soaring onehanded dunk at full extension that again brought the road fans to their feet once more.

The Thunder’s defense smothered Golden State’s shooters in the third quarter to put the game away. They started the third quarter on a 22-5 run, and they took a 94-73 lead on Durant’s 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter.

Oklahoma City played the second half without its center, too, due to an injury that seems far less serious. Kendrick Perkins sat out the final 24 minutes because of right hamstring tightness, the team said. With the Thunder in full control, there was no need to play anyway. — Agencies

Lin shares lead in Manila MANILA: Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang took a share of the lead with a one-over-par 73 in tough conditions on the second day of the Solaire Open in Manila yesterday, thanking a new putter and his decision to stop going to the gym. Lin was tied on two-under-par 142 with Thai duo Thammanoon Sriroj (69) and Kwanchai Tannin (71) and Australia’s Matt Jager (72) after a blustery day at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in the Philippine capital.

Talented Korean Kim Gi-whan, Richard T Lee of Canada, Elmer Salvador of the

Philippines and Pawin Ingkhapradit of Thailand were a further shot back on 143 at the inaugural $300,000 Asian Tour event. Overnight leader Dodge Kemmer of the United States posted 79 to slip to tied ninth. Lin’s last victory on the Asian Tour was at the 2009 Taiwan Masters. “I struggled with my putting last year and recently changed to a new putter this week. Even though I had two three-putts, I still feel very comfortable with the new putter,” he said, according to a release from the organisers.

The 39-year-old spent countless of

hours at the gym last year but said he had now decided to stay away. “I went to the gym quite often and my body was feeling sore. There were times when I struggled to swing. I’m getting older and I thought going to the gym would help me get more power. I was wrong! I decided to stop it completely this year,” he said. Jager, 24, formerly ranked third in the world as an amateur, recovered from a double bogey at the challenging par three eighth hole, with birdies on holes 12 and 15.

“You don’t have to do much wrong to

get the bogeys,” he said. “The wind might have changed on us for five or six times. That was the big thing because you always need to check the wind.”

Thammanoon, 43, a five-time Asian Tour winner, rolled back the years when he took advantage of the relatively calm conditions in the morning with four birdies against one bogey. Meanwhile, 2011 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines had to withdraw from the second round as his wife, who is expected to give birth within a fortnight, was feeling unwell. — AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Penguins overcome Lightning 6-3 LA Kings hold off Colorado in shootout TAMPA: Jussi Jokinen scored two goals and added an assist, Pascal Dupuis had a goal and two assists, and the Eastern-Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 Thursday night. Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin and Tanner Glass had the other Pittsburgh goals. Dupuis has three goals and eight points during a four-game points streak.

Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang was back in the lineup and had an assist after missing the previous six games with a lower body injury. The Penguins are still without center Sidney Crosby (broken jaw), left wing James Neal (concussion) and defenseman Paul Martin (hand). Pittsburgh has a six-game winning streak against the Lightning. Teddy Purcell had two goals for the Lightning. Brett Connolly had the other Tampa Bay goal.

CANADIENS 5, SABRES 1 Peter Budaj stopped 14 shots and Montreal clinched a playoff berth, regaining the Northeast Division lead with a win over Buffalo. P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov had a goal and assist each, and Rene Bourque, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens, who moved one point ahead of Boston, which was beaten 2-1 by the New York Islanders. In earning its fourth postseason berth in five years, Montreal is returning to the playoffs after bottoming out last year, when the Canadiens finished last in the Eastern Conference. Budaj’s shutout bid ended when Brian Flynn scored a short-handed goal 6:45 into the third.

KINGS 3, AVALANCHE 2, SO Jeff Carter scored his 24th goal and scored again in the shootout, and Los Angeles moved back into fourth place in the Western Conference with a win over Colorado. Mike Richards scored in the first period and Jonathan Quick made 26 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who ended a two-game losing streak. Captain Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar also scored in Los Angeles’ 3-for-3 shootout against JeanSebastien Giguere. Patrick Bordeleau scored with 14:55 to play to even it for the last-place Avalanche, who nearly pulled another upset in Southern California. Paul Stastny also scored for Colorado, which ended a 14-game, road-losing streak since Feb. 14 with a 4-1 win at powerful Anaheim on Wednesday.

ISLANDERS 2, BRUINS 1 Josh Bailey scored twice and New York added another big win in its surge toward the playoffs with a win over Boston. The Islanders, seeking their first trip to the postseason in seven years, improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games. They started the day tied with Ottawa and the New York Rangers with 44 points. New York kept pace with Ottawa, which won at Philadelphia.

The eighth-place Rangers were idle. Tyler Seguin scored for the Bruins, who fell to 5-2 in their last seven games one night after moving into second place in the East with a 5-4 win at New Jersey.

Bailey’s fourth goal in six games snapped a 1-1 tie at 13:12 of the second period.

CAPITALS 3, HURRICANES 1 The Capitals finished off a month’s worth of role reversal, winning their sixth straight and extending Carolina’s losing streak to seven. Troy Brouwer and Mike Green scored second-period goals, Brouwer added an empty-netter and Braden Holtby made 43 saves for the Southeast Division leaders almost one month to the day after their playoff hopes appeared buried following a shutout loss to the then-surging Hurricanes. Jeff Skinner scored in the first peri-

BUFFALO: Peter Budaj #30 watches while Josh Gorges #26 of the Montreal Canadiens tries to clear a loose puck during the NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. — AFP od, and Justin Peters had 28 stops for the Hurricanes, who now trail the Capitals by 12 points - an incredible 22-point swing from March 12, when Carolina beat Washington 4-0 at the Verizon Center.

SHARKS 3, RED WINGS 2, SO Patrick Marleau scored the winner in the shootout and had a short-handed goal early in the game, lifting San Jose over Detroit. Antti Niemi made 27 saves through overtime, while Jimmy Howard stopped 28 shots for Detroit.

Niemi got his glove on Niklas Kronwall’s slap

shot with 44 seconds left in the extra period, giving the Sharks a chance in the shootout. Marleau had a short-handed goal to put San Jose ahead 2:35 into the game. Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader tied it midway through the second period. San Jose briefly moved into fourth place in the West before the Kings beat Colorado to move back ahead by a point. Detroit is in eighth place.

SENATORS 3, FLYERS 1 Colin Greening scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and Ottawa snapped a fivegame losing streak with a win over Philadelphia.

NHL results/standings Ottawa 3, Philadelphia 1; Washington 3, Carolina 1; NY Islanders 2, Boston 1; Montreal 5, Buffalo 1; Pittsburgh 6, Tampa Bay 3; San Jose 3, Detroit 2 (SO); Winnipeg 7, Florida 2; St. Louis 2, Minnesota 0; Los Angeles 3, Colorado 2 (SO).

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF Pittsburgh 31 10 0 138 NY Islanders 21 16 4 119 NY Rangers 20 16 4 99 New Jersey 15 15 10 96 Philadelphia 17 20 3 108 Northeast Division Montreal 26 9 5 127 Boston 26 10 4 114 Toronto 22 13 5 123 Ottawa 20 14 6 99 Buffalo 16 19 6 107 Southeast Division Washington 22 17 2 123 Winnipeg 21 19 2 109 Tampa Bay 17 21 2 127 Carolina 16 22 2 103 Florida 13 21 6 98

GA PTS 101 62 121 46 96 44 111 40 125 37 95 87 112 89 127

57 56 49 46 38

113 123 122 129 139

46 44 36 34 32

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 30 5 4 129 83 64 St. Louis 23 14 2 109 98 48 Detroit 19 15 6 101 104 44 Columbus 17 16 7 95 104 41 Nashville 15 18 8 96 110 38 Northwest Division Vancouver 23 11 6 109 96 52 Minnesota 22 16 2 103 100 46 Edmonton 16 17 7 102 111 39 Calgary 14 21 4 103 138 32 Colorado 13 22 6 96 128 32 Pacific Division Anaheim 27 9 5 124 103 59 Los Angeles 23 14 4 118 103 50 San Jose 21 12 7 101 100 49 Phoenix 18 16 6 108 107 42 Dallas 19 17 3 109 118 41 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Flyers forward Claude Giroux was hit with a double-minor penalty for high-sticking with 6:07 left before Greening buried a wrister past Ilya Bryzgalov seconds later for a 2-1 lead. Zack Smith also scored and Daniel Alfredsson had an empty-netter with 6.9 seconds left for the Senators, who won for the first time since March 28. They are tied in points with the New York Islanders, two in front of the eighth-place New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference. Giroux had the lone goal for the Flyers.

BLUES 2, WILD 0 Brian Elliott notched his third straight shutout, stretching his streak to 189 minutes, 31 seconds without a goal, and St. Louis beat Minnesota for its sixth straight win.

Roman Polak ended a 120-game streak without a goal, and Andy McDonald also scored, sending the Wild to their sixth loss in eight games. They have been shut out in three of four, the only times they have been blanked all season. The Wild have six goals in six games, and their scoreless streak is at 121 minutes, 25 seconds. The last time the Blues won at least six straight was Oct. 22-Nov. 7, 2010, a seven-game streak. They have given up five goals during the run.

JETS 7, PANTHERS 2 Evander Kane scored two goals and Winnipeg beat Florida to tie the New York Rangers for eighth place in the East. Aaron Gagnon, Andrew Ladd, Grant Clitsome, Dustin Byfuglien and Chris Thorburn also scored to help Winnipeg win its third straight and increase its points total to 44.

The Jets are two points behind Southeast Division-leading Washington. TJ Brennan and Tomas Fleischmann scored for Florida. The Jets led 3-2 lead after a wild first period that featured four goals in less than 3 minutes. — AP

SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Uruguay backs ‘persecuted’ Suarez in punching probe MONTEVIDEO: The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) have promised to staunchly defend Luis Suarez after FIFA launched a probe into allegations that he had punched a Chilean opponent during a South American World Cup qualifier last month. Argentine referee Nestor Pitana missed the incident during Chile’s 2-0 victory in Santiago on March 26 when forward Suarez and Gonzalo Jara tussled in the penalty area at a corner.

Uruguayan media reports said Suarez, who plays his club football at Liverpool, reacted after Jara, who also plays in England for Championship (second division) side Nottingham Forest, grabbed his genitals. “Once again we feel Suarez is being persecuted by different football leagues, mainly the English, and we think this is unjust because it’s a normal action in football,” AUF president Sebastian Bauza said.

“We will defend him very strongly. We are working with all the videos and pictures showing Suarez reacted to an initial aggression from Jara,” he was quoted as saying on South American governing body Conmebol’s website (www.conmebol.com). The AUF earlier confirmed to Reuters that soccer’s world governing body were investigating the incident and said they would be consulting their lawyers before making their case ahead of an April 17 deadline. Suarez, who has scored eight goals in the qualifiers, was booked for a separate infringement and is suspended for Uruguay’s next qualifier away to Venezuela on June 11.

It was a second yellow card for Suarez, who was booked in a 1-1 draw against Ecuador in Montevideo last September. Uruguay, World Cup semi-finalists in South Africa in 2010 and Copa America winners a year later, have taken only two points from their last six qualifying matches and are in danger of failing to reach the 2014 finals in Brazil. Suarez, who is no stranger to controversy, was sent off for saving the ball with his hands during Uruguay’s 2010 World Cup quarter-final against Ghana. The African side failed to score from the resulting penalty and lost the match in a shootout.

The Premier League’s top scorer with 22 goals this term has also found himself in trouble playing for Liverpool in the past, notably being banned for eight matches last season for racially insulting Manchester United’s France defender Patrice Evra. He admitted to diving against Stoke City last October, but claimed he was picked on by the British media, and got away with handball as he scored the winner in an FA Cup tie in January. Before joining Liverpool from Ajax Amsterdam in January 2011 Suarez was handed a hefty ban for biting an opponent’s ear.—Reuters

United’s winger Young sidelined

Luis Suarez

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said yesterday that Ashley Young has been ruled out for a fortnight and will miss his side’s Premier League match with Stoke City tomorrow. Young was forced off in the 2-1 derby defeat with Manchester City on Monday after he picked up an ankle injury late in the match following a tackle by Pablo Zabaleta.

The Old Trafford boss said the 27-year-old England international will miss the next two weeks, which looks likely to include United’s matches with West Ham and his former club Aston Villa.

Ferguson had more encouraging news on the remainder of his injured players and in particular veteran midfielder Paul Scholes, who is set to resume training having not played since the end of January with a knee injury.

“Ashley is out after he had got a sore whack on his ankle and it will maybe be two weeks for him, but other than that we are in good shape in terms of player availability,” said Ferguson. “Paul Scholes will start training with the first team and has done a fair bit in the last week or so. “It will be a boost to have Paul’s football intelligence back in the squad. He’s been out for a few weeks now though so will need a good bit of training with us.”

Ferguson also said there has not been an extended hangover in the Manchester United camp following their Champions League exit to Real Madrid at the beginning of March. United have struggled to recapture the form they showed in the first half of the season since they were knocked out but Ferguson preferred to dwell on the positives with seven Premier League matches remaining. “I think the disappointment showed itself against Chelsea in the FA Cup and there was a draining effect, even from a supporters’ point of view,” said the Scot.

“But that’s a couple of weeks ago. My experience of football is that the disappointments disappear quickly because there is always something to look forward to. “There’s always the next game and we have a challenge. Our challenge at the beginning of the season was to win the league title back. “Our consistency has been brilliant and there’s no other way to look at that. It’s been fantastic. We are one great goal short of 100 goals this season, which mirrors the success of the team overall.” —AFP

EPL Preview

Man United seek to avoid a jittery end MANCHESTER: The English Premier League title is tantalizingly in reach for Manchester United, yet the jitters could begin to set in if the team fails to beat relegation-haunted Stoke tomorrow. The anguish of its end-of-season meltdown last year, when Manchester City came from eight points down with six matches left to snatch the title from its fiercest rival, has been the driving force behind United’s charge to a 20th league championship.

A repeat of that collapse is highly unlikely as United holds a 12-point advantage over City, but Alex Ferguson’s side will be anxious to wrap the title up as quickly as possible this time round, especially after Monday’s 2-1 loss in the derby on Monday. “We have a job to do,” a determinedlooking Ferguson said yesterday. “The incentives are there for ourselves in the sense that we’ve only got seven games left. “The challenge at the start of the season was to win the league back and at this moment in time our consistency has been brilliant.

There is absolutely no other way you can look at it.”

With City inactive in the league this weekend - it plays Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals tomorrow United can restore that 15-point gap with a victory at Britannia Stadium, where the team has won on three of its last four visits. However, Stoke isn’t usually this desperate for points after slipping to with-

in three points of the bottom three following a run of six winless games. Stoke manager Tony Pulis, often credited for doing a good job with limited players since his appointment seven years ago, has suddenly come under fire, with particular criticism of the team’s long-ball tactics that appear to have been found out this season.

“If I had an open checkbook and someone said you can have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, people of that ilk, fine - they would suit my style brilliantly,” Pulis said. “But we’re Stoke City and we work within a budget we can afford. “You don’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘We’re changing our entire style of playing today.’” Since a heartbreaking loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League on March 5, United has won just two of five games and is looking to avoid a third straight loss after defeats to Chelsea in an FA Cup replay and then City.

United will be without Ashley Young for two weeks after the England winger limped off against City with an ankle injury but could have center backs Jonny Evans and Nemanja Vidic available again after injury to deal with Stoke’s physical game plan. Arsenal can get a jump on Chelsea and Tottenham in the fight for Champions League qualification by beating Norwich at home, which

would lift Arsene Wenger’s team into third place.

Tottenham has the weekend off and could drop to fifth, adding to the team’s misery after going out of the Europa League on penalties on Thursday.

Wenger will be boosted by the return to fitness of key midfielders Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott, who are likely to be recalled despite Arsenal being the form team in the league after winning six of its last seven matches. While Tottenham goes through its traditional slump as the end of the season approaches, Arsenal just gets better and better as it looks to seal a 16th straight season in the Champions League.

“I believe our team has always developed a way to play that makes them stronger throughout the season,” Wenger said. “That is maybe one of the consequences of it - that we go from strength to strength. “We should not forget that, in recent seasons, we have started with young squads who have learnt first during the season, or with squads who have been disturbed because we sold players and we had to rebuild a team. Of course it takes a while to get into a good momentum.” Sixth-place Everton will stay in contention for the top four and all but relegate Queens Park Rangers - by beating the next-to-last visitors at Goodison Park today. —AP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

French League Preview

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

PSG turn focus to double bid after Euro exit ENGLAND FA CUP Millwall v Wigan Aljazeera Sport +5

19:15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal v Norwich 17:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD Aston v Fulham Abu Dhabi Sports HD

17:00

Everton v QPR Abu Dhabi Sports HD

17:00

Reading v Liverpool Abu Dhabi Sports HD

17:00

Southampton v West Ham Abu Dhabi Sports HD

17:00

SPANISH LEAGUE Real Valladolid v Getafe Aljazeera Sport +2

17:00

Levante v Deportivo Aljazeera Sport +8

19:00

RCD Espanyol v Valencia Aljazeera Sport +2

21:00

Malaga v Osasuna Aljazeera Sport +2

23:00

ITALIAN LEAGUE Pescara v Siena Aljazeera Sport +1

19:00

Atalanta v Fiorentina Aljazeera Sport +1

21:45

GERMAN LEAGUE Bayern Munich v Nuremberg Dubai Sports

16:30

Wolfsburg v TSG Hoffenheim Dubai Sports

16:30

FSV Mainz 05 v Hamburger Dubai Sports

16:30

SpVgg Greuther v Dortmund Dubai Sports

16:30

Fortuna v Werder Bremen Dubai Sports

16:30

Schalke 04 v Bayer 04 Dubai Sports

19:30

FRENCH LEAGUE ES Troyes v PSG Aljazeera Sport +4

18:00

AC Ajaccio v Nancy Aljazeera Sport +10

21:00

Evian Thonon v Stade Rennes Aljazeera Sport +8

21:00

FC Girondins v Montpellier Aljazeera Sport +4

21:00

Lorient v Bastia Aljazeera Sport +4

21:00

Brest v Stade Reims Aljazeera Sport +2

21:00

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain go to Ligue 1’s bottom club Troyes today with the focus on their bid to win a first-ever domestic league and cup double following their exit from the Champions League in midweek. The French capital club bowed out of Europe’s leading club competition at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday, losing on away goals to Barcelona after a 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Camp Nou. Carlo Ancelotti’s side came agonisingly close to beating the team regarded as the best in the world in recent years but, despite the disappointment at seeing their Champions League dream ended, there were plenty of positives to take from their continental campaign. Now they will be aiming to strengthen their position at the top of the Ligue 1 table when they go to Troyes before a French Cup quarter-final tie away to Evian next Wednesday.

PSG are seven points clear of Marseille at the summit with just seven games remaining, and a first league title since 1994 is now very much in sight. “We were knocked out by the best team in the world, but without losing,” said sporting director Leonardo, after PSG held the Catalans to a 2-2 draw in last week’s first leg. “It is incredible but that is the way it is. Now we must focus on the league. That was our primary objective at the start of the season and we will do everything to win it.”

PSG will be missing 26-goal top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to suspension at the Stade de l’Aube, but they should still be far too strong for a side who prop up the table and lie six points from

Spanish League Preview

Busquets to help plug Barcelona’s injury gap MADRID: Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has said he is prepared to play in central defence if needed as Barca look to move one step closer to the Liga title with a win at Real Zaragoza tomorrow. The Catalans progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League for a record sixth consecutive season on Wednesday night as they eliminated Paris Saint-Germain on away goals, but suffered another injury blow in defence as Adriano, who had just returned from a hamstring injury, was carried off in the second half.

With Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano already sidelined, playing the inexperienced Marc Bartra or moving Busquets back into the centre of the defence seem the only two options available to coach Tito Vilanova, but the Spanish international insists he would be comfortable in the back four. “If I need to play at centre-back, I will do whatever is necessary for the team,” he told Barca TV. “We still have two league games before the semi-finals of the Champions League. If we can pick up six points in these two games in the league, we will take a huge step towards winning the title.” The Catalans were far from their best in midweek as they struggled without their talisman Lionel Messi, who started on the bench to protect a hamstring injury. Messi, though, was required to turn the tie in Barca’s favour in the second half as he came on to help set up Pedro’s goal which took Vilanova’s men through.

And with the Argentine likely to be rested tomorrow given Barca’s 13-point advantage at the top of the table, Busquets admitted his presence will be sorely missed. “It is clear that Messi is the best player in the world and when he is not there, you notice it,” he added. Zaragoza, meanwhile, are desperate for the points after a horrendous run of 14 games without a victory which has left them just a point above the relegation zone. However, midfielder Victor Rodriguez believes they can take heart from their 11 draw against Real Madrid two weeks ago when they welcome the league leaders to La Romareda.“You can’t play the same way against Real Madrid and Barcelona because they play completely differently, but we need to play with the same attitude,” said the 23-year-old former Barca youth-teamer. —AFP

safety after winning just one of their last nine games. “It is an enormous challenge, colossal,” admitted Troyes coach Jean-Marc Furlan, who saw his team lose 4-0 at the Parc des Princes in November and must do without on-loan PSG striker JeanChristophe Bahebeck due to suspension today. The outstanding game of the weekend in Ligue 1 is tomorrow night, when in-form Lille play host to second-placed Marseille at the Grand Stade, which will be filled to it’s near-50,000 capacity.

Lille have played themselves into contention for a top-three finish, and a place in next season’s Champions League, thanks to a run of seven wins in eight games, while OM have made a habit of grinding out wins this season, with a five-game unbeaten run taking them up to second place. “Lille beat Lorient 5-0 last weekend and have been playing well for several weeks now,” warned OM’s Ghanaian star Jordan Ayew, “They had problems at the start of the season but are playing with confidence now and it will be hard there.”

Another Champions League contender, Saint-Etienne, are also in action in France’s far north this weekend as Les Verts traveled to Valenciennes yesterday in a clash between the best and worst teams in Ligue 1 since the winter break. Saint-Etienne are still unbeaten in 16 games in all competitions in 2013, while Valenciennes have the worst record of any team in the division since the winter break and are in danger of being dragged into the relegation battle.—AFP

Italian League Preview

Napoli set sights on AC Milan; Lazio host Juve MILAN: Title-chasers Napoli will look to maintain their purple patch against AC Milan today, when a win for the visitors and defeat for Juventus at Lazio could blow the title race wide open. A week after a 5-2 win over Torino, Napoli outclassed Genoa 2-0 last week to stay nine points behind leaders Juventus-a gap which most pundits feel is sufficient to secure the Bianconeri’s 29th title, despite having seven games to play.

Juve face Lazio in the Olympic Stadium on Monday, five days after suffering a quarter-final exit from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich. Napoli forward Goran Pandev, who scored only his fourth goal of the season last week, believes, however, that returning from Milan with all three points is easier said than done. “It won’t be easy to leave San Siro with all three points, but it’s not impossible,” said the Macedonian. In Napoli’s favour is the absence of Rossoneri striker Mario Balotelli, who was handed a three-game ban in midweek for insulting match officials.

Balotelli’s lawyer is said to be working hard on an appeal, leaning on the fact that the Italian-born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents-lost his temper after being racially abused by fans at Fiorentina last week. While awaiting the result of an appeal, Stephan El Shaarawy is ready to step up to the plate having spent much of the time since Balotelli’s arrival in the goalscoring shadows. “It will be difficult because Napoli are a top side with good players, so we will have to be fully focused,” said El Shaarawy.

The Italy striker said giving away a two-goal lead to finally draw with Fiorentina last week will provide extra motivation. “We are disappointed at giving up our 2-0 lead against Fiorentina... but we are still up there and have to focus on the next game with Napoli.” The league’s top scorer earlier this season, El Shaarawy still has 16 goals but has dropped to third since Balotelli’s arrival, one behind Udinese veteran Antonio Di Natale and six behind Napoli’s Edinson Cavani. With Balotelli now out the picture, El Shaarawy added: “The priority is to beat Napoli but if I score on the way there then all the better.” A win for Milan would take Massimiliano Allegri’s side to within one point of Napoli, who occupy the second and last spot for automatic Champions League qualification. —AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Benfica and Chelsea book Europa semis Basel topple Tottenham 4-1 on penalties BASEL: European heavyweights Chelsea and Benfica reached the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday and were joined by lesser lights FC Basel and Fenerbahce who made the last four of a continental competition for the first time. European champions Chelsea grabbed a spot in yesterday’s draw with a 5-4 aggregate win over Rubin Kazan despite going down 32 on the night in Moscow, while Benfica scored in stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Newcastle United for a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Tottenham Hotspur had done the hard work to level their tie at 4-4 against Basel before being reduced to 10 men just before the end of normal time to leave themselves a man down for the extra period which they survived before losing 4-1 on penalties. Fenerbahce weathered an onslaught behind closed doors at Lazio to draw 1-1 and go through 3-1 on aggregate. Chelsea continue to inject some glamour into Europe’s second tier club competition a year after they won the elite

Champions League even if their side featured some lesser known names.

Handing rare starts to Paulo Ferreira and 18-year-old Nathan Ake due to injuries, and with manager Rafael Benitez having one eye on Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City, they went ahead through a fifthminute goal from Fernando Torres. The Russians pulled one back through Ivan Marcano’s header after 51 minutes before Victor Moses reestablished the visitors’ lead four minutes later at the Luzhniki Stadium where Chelsea lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United.

Goekdeniz Karadeniz headed in from close range to make it 2-2 and Rubin snatched victory on the night when Bebras Natcho converted a 75th-minute penalty awarded after Cesar Azpilicueta was harshly adjudged to have pushed Aleksandr Ryazantsev. “It was a pity to lose the game but we went through and that’s the main thing,” Benitez told reporters. “I’m happy with the

first half but we have to improve on the second half, not just the defenders but the whole team. We have to deal with crosses better, but you have to give credit to them as well because they have some players with quality.”

Benfica, who held a 3-1 lead from last week’s first leg, endured a nervous conclusion to their game after falling behind to a 71st-minute header from Papiss Cisse that meant the hosts would go through on away goals if they could score again. The Portuguese former European Cup winners had to wait until the second minute of stoppage time to make absolutely sure of their passage into yesterday’s draw for the last four with Eduardo Salvio finishing off Rodrigo’s low centre from the left. “Two goals was a bridge too far,” Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi told ITV4 referring to the first-leg defeat against Benfica who, like Chelsea, had dropped down from the Champions League to play in European soccer’s second tier competition.—Reuters

Benitez plays down Chelsea’s infightin LONDON: Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez played down the argument between Frank Lampard and David Luiz in Thursday’s Europa League match at Rubin Kazan, an incident that hinted at internal discord heading into the season’s climax. With an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City to come on Sunday and the fight for Champions League qualification hotting up, Benitez refused to question his players’ passion for the cause and said it was a good thing to see them arguing on the pitch.

Chelsea became England’s last remaining representatives in Europe when they moved into the semi-finals of the Europa League despite a 3-2 defeat on the night as Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United both stumbled out. But their 5-4 aggregate win in Russia was marked by a heated exchange between Lampard and Luiz as the sides left the field at halftime with the argument played out in front of TV cameras.

Lampard pointed accusingly at Luiz with the Brazil international taking exception and reacting angrily as the players trudged towards the tunnel. It was left to goalkeeper Petr Cech and playmaker Yossi Benayoun to play peacemakers, pushing their team mates apart. Benitez was adamant that nothing sinister was behind the confrontation and the players were simply voicing their opinions. “It’s always good to have players arguing about things that happen on the pitch so you can correct these things at half-time,” Benitez told reporters.

“We were talking about that, adjusting positions, so it’s fine. Not a problem.” Chelsea never looked in any real danger of exiting the competition but the defensive issues that enabled Rubin to come out on top on the night gave the Spanish coach cause for concern ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash with City. With centre back Gary Cahill and left back Ashley Cole out injured and Branislav Ivanovic left on the bench, the Russian outfit breached Chelsea’s rearguard twice with simple crosses from the flanks.

FIRE AVB! “I’m disappointed because we didn’t defend well in the second half but we go through and I’m really pleased with the team and the effort, the players gave everything on the pitch,” Benitez said.

“I’m happy with the first half, but we have to improve on the second half, not just the defenders but the whole team. We have to deal with crosses better, but you have to give credit to them as well because they have some players with quality.”

While Chelsea reached their third semi-final of the season, not including the Club World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur, one of their principal rivals for Champions League qualification, can now focus exclusively on the fight for the top four. After the second leg of their quarter-final against Swiss side Basel ended in a 4-4 aggregate draw, they were dumped out on penalties after 120 minutes of gruelling action. Their manager Andre Villas-Boas hailed his team as “heroes”, but the club’s former chairman Alan Sugar called for his head. The television personality pointed the finger at unsuccessful penalty takers Tom Huddlestone and Emmanuel Adebayor. “AVB should be fired,” he said on Twitter, borrowing a catchphrase from his own show “The Apprentice”. “No tactics. Been lucky up till now with results. How can he put Huddlestone as pen taker. Then Adebayor you knew would miss.” —Reuters

NYON: A giant screen displays the draw for the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League yesterday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. — AFP

Fenerbahce-Benfica and Chelsea-Basel in Europa NYON: European champion Chelsea is the latest English favorite lined up for surprise Swiss side Basel, in the Europa League semifinals. Yesterday’s draw sent Chelsea on a first-leg trek to St Jakob Park, where Tottenham lost a quarterfinals penalty shootout on Thursday and Manchester United was eliminated from the Champions League last season.

“I like to be the underdog,” Basel president Bernhard Heusler said after UEFA paired Fenerbahce with Benfica in the other semifinal. “We are still a small Swiss side in the eyes of the English fans.”

Basel opens against Chelsea on April 25, and Fenerbahce hosts Benfica in Istanbul on the same date. Return matches are on May 2.

The May 15 final is at Amsterdam Arena. Chelsea aims to complete an unlikely double by lifting the second-tier trophy as the reigning Champions League winner.

All four semifinalists began the season in the Champions League before being eliminated and dropping into the second-tier competition. Basel, like Fenerbahce, has reached its first semifinal in any European club competition. Though Basel has never won a UEFA match in England, it led 2-0 at Tottenham in the first leg before being pegged to 2-2. Last season, the Swiss champion drew 3-3 at Old Trafford in the Champions League group stage before a 2-1 home win sent Basel to the last-16 at United’s expense.

“It wasn’t so long (ago) that people told me that Basel always fails against teams in England,” said Heusler, whose team has

progressed despite selling star players Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka in the offseason and firing coach Heiko Vogel late last year. Chelsea also fired a coach midseason, and Roberto di Matteo’s interim replacement Rafa Benitez aims to add a Europa League trophy to his UEFA Cup win with Valencia in 2004 and Champions League title with Liverpool the next year. None of the semifinalists has won the Europa League, or its predecessor the UEFA Cup. Benfica was beaten finalist in 1983, against Anderlecht.

Fenerbahce has enjoyed its best European run despite negative headlines over its links to a 2011 match-fixing case and UEFA punishments for its fans’ behavior. Home games against BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen in earlier knockout rounds were played in an empty stadium. “Two years ago we were banned from Europe, this year we were threatened by being banned from Europe and two times we played in a silent stadium,” Fenerbahce chief executive Hasan Yilmaz told The Associated Press.

“Sometimes they motivate us even more and give us the edge.”

Yilmaz praised the commitment of players such as Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt and Portugal midfielder Raul Meireles who joined in the offseason despite suggestions UEFA would bar the Turkish club from its competitions. “Players can be great and very expensive but they are not part of a team,” Yilmaz said. “These are great players.

There is a strong friendship and I trust our team.” — AP

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

Sports

Fenerbahce-Benfica and Chelsea-Basel in Europa

47

NYON: A giant screen displays the draw for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League yesterday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. — AFP

Spanish, Germans kept apart in CL semis Bayern, Barca face off; Real v Dortmund NYON: The prospect of an all-German or an allSpanish European Champions League (CL) final next month remains alive after yesterday’s semifinal draw. But with the Spanish and German teams kept apart when European football’s governing body UEFA made the draw for the last four, the Wembley showpiece could just as easily feature yet another Germany-Spain clash. Last year’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich, who have already secured the Bundesliga title, take on Spanish league leaders Barcelona.

In the other match, Borussia Dortmund will play Real Madrid, as representatives of Europe’s current dominant footballing powers go headto-head. Remarkably, the four semi-finalists can boast a total of 18 European titles between them. Real lead the way with nine victories, although their last success dates back to 2002.

Their arch-rivals Barcelona and Bayern both have four and Borussia weigh in with their single victory in 1997 when they upset favourites Juventus 3-1 in the final. Neutral fans were probably hoping for a Bayern v Barcelona final, promising a feast of football between arguably the continent’s two top teams of the moment.

The semi-final is given added piquancy in that former Barca coach Pep Guardiola is to take over the helm at Munich’s Allianz Arena next year. But Jupp Heynckes, the man he is to replace, will have reason enough of his own for wanting to reach the final-and not simply in order to bow out on a winning note in London. He will no

doubt also be hoping that Real win through to the Wembley showdown, as a fitting way to bring down the curtain on his long and distinguished coaching career against the side he led to the European crown in in 1998, bringing the

Madrid giants their first title in the competition in more than 30 years. Bayern, having comprehensively dispatched Juventus in the last round, again have home advantage first but are unlikely to find the Barca defence as porous as the

Dortmund boss critical of Arab cash injections BERLIN: Large Middle Eastern investment in European soccer clubs is unfair to other wellmanaged teams and Arab owners need to be more patient, Borussia Dortmund CEO HansJoachim Watzke said yesterday. The comments come just days after his club marched into the Champions League semi-finals with a last-gasp win over Qatar-owned Malaga.

Another Qatar-backed club, Paris St Germain, narrowly lost out on a last-four spot to Barcelona. “This (big cash injections) is neither sportsmanlike nor fair and our core business is still sport,” Watzke told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday. “We do not need to come with respect and fair play if this is not reflected on all levels.” Malaga are owned by Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, a member of the Qatar royal family.

The club, however, has been banned from future European competitions over outstanding payments to other teams, staff and tax authori-

ties. They have appealed the ban. France’s PSG have spent more than 200 million euros ($262.53 million) in transfers since the Qatari fund QSI bought the club in June 2011. “I have the feeling that some sheikhs looked at the flight schedules and then picked a pretty metropolis because that is where the connections to the Gulf region are the best. But that is not how it works,” he said.

Watzke has been instrumental in guiding Borussia Dortmund from the brink of bankruptcy in 2005 to a period of financial boom, fuelled by two consecutive Bundesliga titles and a German Cup in the past two seasons. With roughly 80,000 spectators per game, Dortmund have the second-highest average attendance figure across Europe, behind Barcelona. “There needs to develop a brand, a trigger force. That is something the gentlemen from the Arab region need to learn,” Watzke added. — Reuters

Italians, who shipped four goals without reply over the two legs. However, if they are to reach their third final in four years, Bayern will have to do so without the services of leading scorer Mario Mandzukic, who is suspended for the first leg. Barcelona, in their sixth semi-fial in as many years, showed just how reliant they are on World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi in their hardfought quarter-final triumph over Paris Saint Germain, eventually prevailing on away goals.

But they needed the less-than-fully-fit Messi to come off the bench in the second leg in Barcelona to orchestrate the equaliser on the night that saw them through. Jose Mourinho’s Real are unlikely to relish the thought of another trip to Dortmund in this season’s competition. In the group stages, the Germans overran Real 2-1 and then earned a deserved 2-2 draw in Madrid to finish top of the group.

And the way Real struggled to overcome game Galatasary, losing the away leg 3-2, while Dortmund were getting the better of another Spanish side Malaga with two late goals, will doubtless set the alarm bells ringing in the Spanish capital. There is also the little matter of the bitter memory of their last German semi-final opponents, Bayern, who beat them on penalties at the same stage of the competition last season.

The first leg matches will be played on April 23 and 24, with the return games on April 30 and May 1, with the final at Wembley stadium in London on May 25. — AFP