15 Apr 2013

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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20 7GCC 10 18 states demand IAEA inspections on Bushehr Gulf officials meet over Iran nuke radiation fears

Max 36º Min 20º High Tide 03:31 & 14:01 Low Tide 08:42 & 21:27

RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council yesterday called for international inspectors to be sent to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant over concerns of possible radiation leaks after an earthquake hit the area. The body demanded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “send a specialised technical team to inspect the Bushehr nuclear plant and investigate potential damage”, GCC chief Abdullatif Al-Zayani told an emergency meeting of top Gulf officials. A 6.1 magnitude quake hit Iran on Tuesday at a depth of 12 km, in the area of Kaki, according to the Iranian Seismological Centre.

Zayani said the earthquake would “sound alarm bells over the safety of a nuclear plant situated in an area with high seismic activity”. He warned officials at the meeting in Riyadh of the “deep concern among GCC states and the international community about the potential risk that any damage to Iran’s nuclear plant could cause radiation leaks.” GCC states had already “warned that radiation leaks from Bushehr plant could have damaging effects on the natural environment in the Gulf region,” he said.

Zayani said and the six Gulf Arab states have previously urged Tehran to ensure its facility complies with international safety standards and join the Convention on Nuclear Safety, but Tehran did not show any sign it understood international concerns over its nuclear program. Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the convention, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated a wide area and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless.

Continued on Page 13 MOGADISHU: Two mothers run with their children yesterday after a suicide attack in the regional court premises. — AFP

Mogadishu attacks kill 34 civilians NAIROBI: A nine-man suicide commando blasted its way into Mogadishu’s main court complex yesterday, some blowing up their explosives vests while others sprayed gunfire on civilians in a rampage that left 29 dead, while five more civilians died in a separate bomb attack. “The African Union force, the Somalia National Army and local police have cleared the building. The latest figures indicate that there are 29 killed civilians, 9 dead Shabab militants and 58 people injured,” a security officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, five more people were killed when a remote-detonated car bomb near the airport struck a convoy carrying Turkish aid.

A spokesman for the Al Qaeda-linked Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which the coun-

try’s chief justice escaped unharmed, and promised more against the fledgling UN-backed government that took over last year. “Nine attackers died during the incident... six detonated themselves, and three were shot dead by security forces,” Interior Minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled told reporters. He said the government had regained control and added that a casualty toll was being compiled, amid fears the initial figure of five dead civilians could rise.

After Somali forces eventually ended the raid, during which a car bomb also exploded, chaos still engulfed the area and an AFP reporter saw medics evacuating wounded through the courthouse’s shattered windows. “Some of the terrorists are still inside the court building and they are wearing explosive

vests,” Fadumo Ali, a civilian trapped inside the building, told AFP during the raid from a mobile phone.

Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage claimed only five suicide attackers died in the raid.

“This was a holy action which targeted non-believers who were in a meeting within the court complex. We will continue until Somalia is liberated from invaders,” he told AFP. As the drama inside the court complex still unfolded, five people were killed when a remote-detonated car bomb near the airport struck a convoy carrying Turkish aid. “Five people, two of them women who were passing by the area were killed in the car bomb attack,” Hassan Moalim, who witnessed the attack, told AFP. Continued on Page 13

Saudi prince backs letting women drive RIYADH: Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal yesterday indicated support of allowing women there to drive. He said that would help the kingdom’s campaign to cut down on the number of foreign workers. “The question of allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia will save more than 500,000 jobs in addition to the social and economic benefits,” the prince wrote yesterday on his Twitter account.

Thousands of foreign workers have been fired from their jobs and then deported, part of a government campaign against foreigners who illegally reside and work in the kingdom. — AP

Court to rule on Barrak MP against arbitrary expat cut F1 draws world gaze to Bahrain

YANGON: A Muslim woman shops at a street market on April 12, 2013. — AFP

Myanmar Muslims fear toxic fallout of reform YANGON: After generations as part of one of Asia’s most ethnically diverse societies, Myanmar’s Muslims fear they are becoming “scapegoats” of its reform process following a wave of religious violence. At least 43 people died in Buddhist-Muslim clashes which broke out last month in central Myanmar where mosques were burned down and Muslim homes were destroyed. The unrest - which followed a wave of religious bloodshed in western Myanmar last year - has instilled fear into the country’s Muslims, some of whose families had lived peacefully alongside Buddhists for generations.

“All Muslims living in Myanmar are worried about this. What will happen to our faith? How can we live in this Buddhist society?” said Nyunt Maung Shein, president of the country’s Islamic Religious Affairs Council. “Why are we so

miserable that our men and women, children, students are brutally killed?

Muslims are scapegoats in this transition period from the brutal junta.”

Last year at least 180 people were killed in the western state of Rakhine in clashes between local Buddhists and Rohingya - a Muslim minority treated with hostility by most Burmese who see them as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

While the Rohingya - described by the UN as among the most-persecuted minorities on the planet - have long been denied Myanmar citizenship, the Muslims targeted in last month’s unrest are Myanmar nationals. The apparent trigger for the latest violence was a quarrel between a Muslim gold shop owner and Buddhist customers in the town of Meiktila. Soon afterwards, a monk was killed by Muslims.

Continued on Page 13

MANAMA: Bahrain vowed yesterday to take “appropriate” security measures for its Formula One race, as thousands of demonstrators kept up daily protests.

Bahrain “will ensure that appropriate security measures are taken during the F1 race and will take enough measures as in all other countries which host such international sporting events,” government spokeswoman Samira Rajab said. “The security situation in Bahrain is very reassuring,” she said, quoted by state news agency BNA. Her remarks came as witnesses said thousands took to the streets in Dair village near Manama international airport demanding the ouster of the government. “Sooner or later the people will achieve victory,” the protesters chanted. “Down with the government.” No clashes were reported.

On the wall of a home in the Bahraini village of AlAali, 20-year-old Hassan peered through a black balaclava to admire his latest artwork: a circle around the phrase F1 crossed out in red spray paint. The sentiment is shared by many Bahraini Shiites - the majority in this Sunni-ruled kingdom - who say the Formula One Grand Prix race Bahrain will host April 19-21 should be cancelled, as it was in 2011 when authorities crushed pro-democracy protests inspired by the ‘Arab Spring’. Two years on daily clashes still erupt, largely unnoticed outside the region.

Under the banner “Democracy is our right,” the mainly Shiite opposition is organising a week of protests that began on Friday to coincide with the Grand Prix. The major Shiite opposition bloc Al-Wefaq is planning a demonstration on April 19, as the event kicks off on the Sakhir circuit south of the capital. The race will once again draw international attention to Bahrain.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Former MP Musallam Al-Barrak addresses opposition activists at a huge rally at his house in Andalus late Saturday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The criminal court is expected today to issue its verdict against prominent opposition figure and former MP Musallam Al-Barrak on charges of insulting HH the Amir amid tight security measures called in and around the Palace of Justice in Kuwait City. The court may, however, delay the ruling if it decides to allow Barrak to hire a new defence team after his previous team walked out of the court last week in protest against the judge’s refusal to hear defence witnesses.

If the court does not issue the ruling, it will first allow Barrak to hire new lawyers and then set a date for him to prepare and make his final arguments in

the case. The new lawyer may also insist that judge Wael Al-Atiqi should hear the testimonies of Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, former opposition MPs Jamaan Al-Harbash and Khaled Al-Sultan and others.

Ahead of the ruling session, security measures have been beefed up in and around the Palace of Justice as supporters of Barrak called through social networks for a gathering outside the court in support of the opposition figure.

Opposition activists have been organizing sit-ins every night at the house of Barrak in Andalus to show their support.

On Saturday night, a huge public rally was staged to warn against issuing any sentence against Barrak after failing to Continued on Page 2

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LOCAL

Expats urged to carry IDs, legal documents Inspection campaign continues

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Agnes, a Filipina waitress, was yesterday riding a public transport bus on her way to the Kuwait City when the vehicle was stopped by the immigration police. As the police entered the bus, they immediately asked everyone to keep handy their civil identification for a brief inspection. Those who had civil ID remained comfortably seated and waited for their turn but Agnes betrayed nervousness. She had forgotten her civil ID at home in one of her bags. She left with just a copy of her passport with valid residency since she was in a hurry to keep up an appointment with her new friend in Kuwait City.

Authorities here would not accept copies of passport which she showed. Eventually, she was invited by the inspector of police to join the rest of other illegal expats who were arrested during the random inspection. They were then taken along with other offenders to a police station nearby.

“I was there for almost three hours,” Agnes lamented. “I showed them the copy of my passport and valid residency, but they would not listen. They told me to provide the civil ID and said then they will set me free. I called my friend several times, but since she was on duty at that time, it took me a few hours before she received my messages.”

Agnes missed her appointment but her circumstances taught her a lesson. “I want to tell everyone that if you do not want to unnecessarily suffer and land in police custody, even though it could be only for a few hours, please carry your civil ID at all times,”

she warned. Crackdowns on illegal immigrants continue in Kuwait even at the time of filing this report and many illegal residents who were arrested have been already deported while some were still being detained.

Kuwait plans to deport 100,000 foreign workers annually in a bid to address the Gulf state’s demographic imbalance. The plan, which aims to drive one million expatriate labor forces out of Kuwait within a decade, has elicited mixed reactions ever since the authorities announced it last month. The measure came following a meeting with a governmental committee tasked with finding ways to organize the country’s expatriate population. Some lawmakers reportedly voiced their support to the plan, calling it as ‘necessary.’ Many said the imbalanced demographic structure was putting pressure on public services in a state where health and education was deteriorating, traffic jams were regular and energy shortages were frequent even though Kuwait posted financial surpluses over the past years. However, certain sections opposed the plan since many of the illegal expats were products of human trafficking, and were runaways or victims of circumstances. Many of these illegal expats wanted to continue living in the country but were patiently waiting for amnesty.

Among such cases is that of Erlinda from Philippines. “I have against me a case of absconding pending since 2001when I ran away from my previous employer,” Erlinda told the Kuwait Times.

She previously worked as a housemaid in Surra. “I did not have any means to live on at that time when I ran away, and accepted a job as a nanny to several

kids in Salmiya. Now I am earning three times as much. During the amnesty offered in 2007, I did not take a chance because I still had children to be sent to school and decided to stay,” Erlinda noted. “Now I am ready to go, but I am afraid they will someday raid my house find me here. If they do, they will deport me and I will lose the chance to come back.

Why are they doing this? Why don’t they just give an amnesty to me so that I can come back again?”

Erlinda suggested.

“I hope they will grant amnesty instead of arresting and raiding people who just want to live and help their families as I do,” the Filipina nanny said.

Another case waiting for amnesty was of John, an Indian man from Goa. “I worked for a company for more than ten years, but they closed in 2010 because they went bankrupt,” he narrated. “I tried to apply for a job but they would not accept me anymore because I was already in my 50s. So I am left here without a visa and have been just waiting for amnesty so that I could go home, but now I am afraid they’ll find me and deport me. I just hope the government here will finally give amnesty, so I could go home gracefully,” he said.

The labor system in Kuwait is based on kafala or sponsorship system which is often criticized by international organizations for human rights violations recorded in Kuwait and the entire region. Kuwait is home to more than 3.8 million people, more than 2.6 million of whom are expatriates, according to official statistics. Other statistics indicate that foreign workers form nearly 91 percent of the workforce in the private sector.

Conferences help develop health sector KUWAIT: Medical and scientific conferences are significant projects that contribute to the development of health services in the country as this development cannot be achieved without holding such conferences, courses, workshops and exchanging expertise, said Minister of Health Dr. Mohammad Al-Haifi.

On the sidelines of opening (the challenges of the world of dentistry) conference, Dr. Al-Haifi said “Today, scientific schools are various and plenty, and submerging them together enriches the medical arena, develops ways of dealing with patients, diagnosis as well as treatment that vary from one experience to another.

Al-Haifi stressed the Health Ministry’s keenness on ensuring that the health services are close to every citizen and resident in Kuwait, noting that the most important achievement the ministry has done recently is opening specialized clinics in new areas.

On launching the national campaign for chronic diseases, he said “We are initially curing them by spreading awareness,” and forming a higher commit-

tee in line with what the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended.

Dr. Al-Haifi also emphasized the ministry’s keenness on the development of the medical staff of the dental sector, stressing the importance of supporting the private sector and its responsibility as a “key-partner” for the government in the provision of health care for the citizens and residents.

In his speech at the conference, he said that the medical conference is a key part in the march to support doctors’ professional levels and exchange of expertise as well as highlight the professional role of the Kuwaiti doctor.

The minister praised Kuwait Dental Association’s major role in intensifying the scientific level of the conference by attracting the most prominent lecturers in order to gain scientific benefits and a distinctive activity.

He stressed the seek to train the medical cadres by allowing scholarships to European and Asian universities or through fellowship programs in Kuwait

Institute for Medical Specialization.

For his part, president of the conference, Dr. Ibrahim Taqi said that the conference reflects the importance of concerted efforts between the public and private sectors in improving the performance of the health sector, which is raising the scientific level of doctors in general and dentists in particular to be up-to-date.

The three-day conference includes a series of lectures to view valuable papers of prominent academics and practitioners in dentistry from all over the world, such as the United States, England, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore, Taqi added.

The conference, which includes local, regional, Arab and international participations, and consists of workshops covering vital topics such as treatment of nerve, filling, cosmetic dental implants, ceramic coating technologies, in addition to the latest developments in cosmetic dentistry of gas anesthesia and orthodontic treatment, Taqi noted.—KUNA

KUWAIT: The fire department held a meeting in the office of chairperson for the Kuwait society for ideal family. Present at the meeting were Sheikha Fareeha AlAhmad, Chairman of the Union of Cooperative Societies Mr. AbdulAziz Al-Samhan and Lt Col Khalil Al-Amir, Director of Public Relations, Fire Department, Sulafa AlYaseen, Director of Licensing, and Captain Majid Al-Otaibi. The participants discussed preparations for the campaign “We want it to reach every house.”

—By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Ten Kuwaiti youngsters chosen to work at UN KUWAIT: Ten promising, qualified young Kuwaitis, who were enrolled in the UNDP’s Junior Professional Officer (JPO) program, were chosen out of 593 to work at the UN, Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Dr Rola Dashti announced yesterday.

“JPO comes as part of the implementation of the cooperation agreement that the Kuwaiti government signed with the UNDP last November as the government is responsible for choosing 10 JPOs to work within the UN system in various fields,” Dr Dashti said.

Th e f i e l d s i n c l u d e g ove r n a n ce, human development, environment, energy, small and medium enterprises, private sector development, information and communication, she added.

The minister stressed the government’s permanent keenness to suppor t Kuwaiti youngsters, providing them with a qualifying education, training them as well as improving their general knowledge in order to enhance such national cadres.

“This kind of agreement is based on HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah keenness

to support and rehabilitate Kuwaiti youth,” noted Dr. Dashti.

She noted that the objective of this program is to provide Kuwaiti new employees with work opportunities to help them acquire experience in international developmental cooperation, enhance national work agenda and improve the performance of both the public and private sectors under an intensive super vision by UN senior officials in its headquarters around the world.

“The process of selecting the applicants has been subjected to the principles of justice and transparency as it was conducted in collaboration with the UNDP’s JPO center in Copenhagen, Denmark,” she stressed.

The chosen applicants will leave the country this April and June to join the UN headquarters in the United States, Au s t r i a , D e n m a r k , B a r b a d o s a n d Turkey, she added.

Dr. Dashti expressed her happiness on working with the UNDP in Kuwait within this initiative, “which will help promote the status of Kuwait and its youth in the international community as it will support the basic principles of the UN.” —KUNA

Court to rule...

KNPC to get approval on clean Continued from Page 1 provide him with a “fair” trial, according to speakers. Former MP Falah Al-Sawwagh warned that jailing Barrak will trigger a fuel project strong reaction and the people will go to the streets and KUWAIT: Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Chairman and Managing Director Fahad Salem Al-Ajmi announced that his company is expected to get the final approval of the Kuwait Central Tenders Committee on its mega clean fuel project today.

Al-Ajmi said the seven endorsed international consortiums will present their final bids in six-month period and then KNPC will assess the bids and announce the winner. He noted the company, one of the subsidiaries of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has allocated KD 4.6 billion budget for the project designed to upgrade Mina Abdulla and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries with a view to increasing their daily output.

The increasing refining capacity will also proceed hand in hand with the process of sophistication as the most up to date equipment will be used in building or revamping of several units in both refineries in order to be capable of processing environment friendly fuel.

Aljmi expected the execution of the project would start early 2014. He also unveiled that the KNPC plans to put up for bidders KD 4 billion-worth project to build a new refinery before the end of 2013.

The KNPC is assessing the bids submitted for the project of constructing new sulfur-handling facilities at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Al-Ajmi said.

He uncovered that the South Korean Daelim Industrial Company has offered the lowest price, KD 147 million, and the total bid is assessed ahead of announcing the winner in a maximum period of 45 days. The KNPC Projects Department is working on preparing several other projects to be disclosed soon, he said. —KUNA

could eventually lead to civil disobedience. Also today, another bench of the criminal court resumes the trial of 70 opposition activists and former MPs, including Barrak, on charges of storming the National Assembly building in Nov 2011. Two weeks ago, the court heard the testimonies of Assembly guards which were contradictory after one guard said the outside gate of the building was not forced open by protesters but the guards’ chief ordered him to open it.

In another development, MPs were reportedly working on a new grilling against Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Sabah who has been targeted by MPs for the past few weeks. MPs Faisal Al-Duwaisan, whose first grilling against the minister was postponed by the Assembly, Youssef AlZalzalah and Safa Al-Hashem are said to be preparing the grilling amid calls by several MPs on the minister to quit.

Hashem yesterday called on the minister to announce the names of Kuwaiti Islamists suspected to be involved in a “terrorist cell” in the United Arab Emirates. The grilling is expected to also focus on security situation in the country, especially the theft of 35,000 bullets from a ministry store a week ago.

Independent MP Saad Al-Bous in the meantime said that the decision by Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Thekra AlRasheedi to cut 100,000 expatriates every year for the next 10 years is “incorrect” and will not help Kuwait’s domestic economy.

Bous said that dealing with the issue of “marginal” workers should be done after thorough studies and not arbitrarily. The minister repeated her statements three days ago, insisting that she will announce the measures shortly. Bous said to resolve the manpower problem, the law must be applied strictly and fairly on all as it is illogical for a small restaurant to have 60 labourers while big companies are prevented from recruiting needed employees. The lawmaker said Kuwait should not be randomly closed and should remain open with a strict application of the law.

Fire at beauty salon

By Hanna Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A report was received in the wee hours of yesterday about a fire that broke out at a women’s beauty salon and upholstery shop on the ground floor in a building at Fahaheel area.

The fire quickly spread to the

first and second floors where residential apartments were located because the upholstery shop was stocked with inflammable materials. The Fahaheel fire center responded to the call, supported by Mangaf fire center and the support center. The fire fighters divided themselves into two groups, with

one concentrating on fighting the blaze and the other on rescuing the people.

All the building’s residents were evacuated and fire was brought under control in a record time, without suffering any causalities.

Investigations were on to find the reasons that led to the fire.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LOCAL

Dead dolphin sparks debate on pollution EPA negligence under fire

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Photographs of the dead dolphin taken by visitors at the beach in Messilah.

KUWAIT: Some visitors at the beach in Meseela area recently saw a dead dolphin that had washed ashore. They took a photograph of the dolphin and sent it to the Green Line Environment Group - Kuwait (GLEG). The dolphin is a hardy creature, and its death signifies the pollution of Kuwaiti waters and the poor condition of the marine environment in the country. “The claims made by officials of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) regarding their monitoring of the marine environment are not true.

This disaster is an evidence of the lack of the EPA’s commitment to the environment,” GLEG Chairman Khalid Al-Hajiri told the Kuwait Times.

“EPA has not prepared any comprehensive report with regard to the protection of Kuwait’s marine environment and the polluting objects existing therein. There is no proper survey of the marine environment or even a map of it. There is neither any identification of dangerous and safe locations, nor has

the bottom of the sea been surveyed for ships - and there are more than 300 ships of different kinds lying on the seabed of Kuwaiti waters and Shat Al Arab,” he added.

According to Al-Hajiri, the recently spotted dead dolphin is not the first case of its kind in Kuwait. “We have registered more than one medium-size dolphin that washed up on our beaches in the past year during different periods.

Also, numerous oil spills have hit Kuwaiti beaches - but the EPA has denied it, despite some beach visitors having witnessed it,” Al-Hajiri pointed out.

Green Line Environment Group consists of volunteers and works within its resources. “All our members are volunteers, so our resources are limited. We observe some environmental problems and announce it, but we are not capable of conducting researches and surveys. This is the responsibility of the government and the public sector.

And the EPA is the official body in charge of carrying out such studies,” he stressed.

“Recently, the press published a

government report about the surplus budget reaching KD 17 billion.

Yet, there wasn’t any budget set aside for improving the environmental condition of Kuwait. The government should care more for the environment as it’s one of the most important issues,” Al-Hajiri stated.

The Kuwait environment suffers from various problems. “ The biggest problem is the negligence of EPA especially with regard to the marine environment. This leads to our doubts about the safety of Kuwaiti waters and the fish there.

The dead dolphin is one of the evidences of the pollution of the marine environment. The EPA should investigate the reason behind the dolphins’ deaths.

Whenever we highlight any environmental disaster, the EPA denies it and accuses us of fabricating the news or photos. But this time, it was the public that sent a photo of the dead dolphin. It wasn’t taken by us, so they cannot say it is fabricated,” Al-Hajiri concluded.

EPA officials were unavailable for comment.

Abbas extols Amir’s great support to Palestinian cause RAMALLAH: One day ahead of his official visit to Kuwait, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas lauded His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah and Kuwaiti people’s generous support to Palestinian people and cause.

“I know HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah since 1970s and he has been and is still playing an effective role in supporting the Palestinian cause,” President Abbas said yesterday. He also spoke high about the Kuwait civil society organizations and people’s backing to Palestinians.

Palestinian President is scheduled to arrive in Kuwait on Monday on an official visit, during which he would hold talks with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. President Abbas, whose visit would last for two days, would be accompanied by a delegation of officials. He described the relations between Palestinian and Kuwaiti people as historic and strong. “Kuwait had hosted the launch of the Palestinian Fatah movement and the first elec tion of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964,” he recalled.

The Palestinian President, however, admitted and regretted the deterioration of bilateral relations following the Palestinian Authority’s failure to condemn Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

“I paid a visit to Kuwait and apologized for Kuwaiti people about the Palestinian Authority’s stances of the Iraqi invasion,” Abbas told KUNA. “Despite the unwarm relations after the invasion of Kuwait, the State of Kuwait did not halt its political, economic, fi nanc i a l s u p p or t to Pal est inian p eo p l e.” The Palestinian leader thanked HH the Amir for his a pp rova l of t h e re op ening o f t he Pal est inian Embassy in Kuwait last year. “HH the Amir had a generously briefed me that he does not oppose the reopening of the Palestinian Embassy in Kuwait and we had sent an ambassador whose credentials were accepted by the Kuwaiti government and the Palestinian Embassy has resumed work,” Abbas said.

The Palestinian Embassy in Kuwait has been closed for 22 years since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 when the Palestinian leadership did not condemn the invasion. However, the current Palestinian Authority headed by President Abbas officially apologized to Kuwait in December 2004. The Palestinian Embassy in Kuwait had reopened last October after approval from HH the Amir and Kuwaiti government.

“I hope this would signal the start of a new chapter of relations between the two Arab nations,” he said.

President Abbas urged Kuwaiti business people to invest in Palestinian territories. He also invited Kuwaiti and Arab tourists to visit Palestine particularly Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian leaders vowed to help Kuwaitis restore their lost properties in Palestinian territories. “The Palestinian Authority has demanded those concerned to send lawyers or legal representatives to help solve their problems,” he said, noting that the Palestinian Authority has already managed to help return some of these properties to their original Kuwaiti owners. With regard to the US efforts to jump-start the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, President Abbas said the American officials have shown seriousness toward this issue, particularly during the recent visits paid by US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry to Ramallah.

Abbas also pointed the UN General Assembly’s recognition of the Palestinian State as a non-member state, has changed the status of Palestinian lands. “Palestinian territories are now considered occupied not disputed and the Israeli occupiers have to end this occupation of the land occupied in 1967,” he said.

As for the efforts to end Palestinian division and reach a real reconciliation among Palestinian rivals, the Palestinian leader expressed readiness for immediate formation of interim government and call for general elections if Hamas movement, which rules Gaza Strip, agreed. He also denied the existence of any hindrance obstructing the full implementation of the reconciliation agreements reached with Hamas movement in Cairo and Doha. —KUNA

News

in brief

Private firms to collect dues?

KUWAIT: The Finance Ministry is currently studying the option of hiring private companies to collect dues owed to the state for public services, a local newspaper reported yesterday, quoting sources with knowledge of the issue. Kuwait has increasingly been pursuing ways to improve mechanisms for collecting state dues amid government’s efforts to diversify its sources of income at a time when the state’s budget almost entirely relies on oil revenue. Official statistics indicate that the total amount of unpaid electricity bills has reached at least KD300 million. “Some private sector firms, including banks, have already started opening departments to collect state fees,” said the sources who spoke to AlQabas on the condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, the sources also indicated that the government was studying a project to collect state dues automatically by deducting the amount directly from people’s salaries.

Health ministry service KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health intends to terminate the services of all its Kuwaiti employees who have attained the age of 65 years, and will be retiring them.

The Ministry of Health has sent an official letter to Civil Service Commission to supply it with a list of all those Kuwaiti employees who have reached the age of 65, so that their case for retirement could be put up. The commission replied that the name were available on the comprehensive system which includes all the employees’ names as per age. The health sources revealed that the Ministry of Health has got a print out of the employees’ list to study it carefully before taking a decision in this respect.

Contract to develop infrastructure KUWAIT: Ministerial sources revealed that the growth committee at the council of ministers has asked the MEW to start considering a contract to develop the infrastructure, beginning the onset of this summer.

Sources pointed out that the MEW will set up a work team to follow up the issue of increasing generation of power to meet the increasing demand from different sectors, and give the chance to the private sector to start water and electricity projects. Sources said that the council of ministers is keen to implement the growth plan with respect to production port. This included increasing water distillation capacity and connecting the electricity grid with that of GCC countries.

Car stolen in Maidan Hawally

By Hanna Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A car was stolen from outside a restaurant in Maidan Hawally area even as its owner, a young Kuwaiti girl, was enjoying herself at a party inside. The university student, who is in her twenties, was invited to the party at the restaurant but could not find her car when she returned. She immediately sought help from Maidan Hawally police and supplied them with car details and plate number. She had bought the car recently.

Handbag stolen A Kuwaiti woman in her forties sought the help of Ahmadi police after she was robbed in one of the popular markets in Hawally area. Security sources revealed that the woman claimed that her handbag disappeared suddenly while she was shopping. She said she was followed by two girls who were watching her closely in a suspicious manner. She accused the two girls of stealing her bag and asked police to file a case of theft against them. The bag contained KD 100. The police station officer filed a report of theft against the two girls.

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud, and in the presence of Undersecretary Gen Ghazi Al-Omar and some assistant undersecretaries and general directors, a graduation ceremony was held yesterday at the MOI theatre, where diplomas were awarded to police college graduates from Saad Al-Abdullah Academy. A total of 145 graduate officers were awarded diplomas in police science and 47 officers received diplomas in police science in addition to eight female officers who were appointed as first lieutenants.

Damaged car An Egyptian expat complained about a bedoon man who leased a car from a car renting office where the complainant worked. The bedoon returned the car three days later, but refused to pay for repair of the damages that the car had suffered. Security sources said in the report filed with the Khaitan police station, the car renting office owner backed the complaint with official papers to prove that the car was in a sound condition it was leased, and the fact was recorded in the contract signed. A case was filed against the bedoon and he was asked to appear before the police to answer the accusations made by the car renting office before the case was sent to the concerned authorities.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LOCAL

Letters to Badrya

In my view

Increase in population

Asset that cannot easily be removed

By Labeed Abdal

local@kuwaittimes.net

A

s Kuwait’s population has reached over 3.6 million with expatriates comprising half of it, the issue needs a delicate approach so that we can achieve a healthy growth rate between Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis. Faced with a prospect of expelling 100,000 expats annually, it should not look like a tsunami hitting them from the seaside. The attempts to expel a million expats over the next ten years to fix loopholes in the labor market and to achieve demographic balance must not lead to unwanted disorder.

Moreover, since there are contradictory views about this plan within the parliament, it just underlines that there are important aspects to be considered, especially when such plans are also associated with certain seemingly unreasonable restrictions on transfer of families.

We should remember that these restrictions do not affect only the expats but also the employers who, too, want to see their workers in a stable environment without harbouring any apprehensions or worries.

I personally think that this move must be clearly explained by holding a press conference for information of the people in advance to avoid any ambiguity that could cause panic. Everyone agrees that we need to resolve the issue of marginal employees and combat the visa trade market which has negative social and economic consequences. However, we must discriminate in a positive sense and set clear and unambiguous rules to control the increase in population, without disturbing those people who are here and perform their work honestly in a spirit of genuine professionalism and are making serious contribution.

kuwait digest

New scandals at Interior Ministry

By Waleed Al-Ghanim

T

he Interior Ministry was hit by two scandals last week: first a robbery in which thieves stole 35,000 rounds of ammunition from a police academy’s warehouse, and the second, a police officer’s confession during a court hearing in which he said he operated five fake accounts to monitor Twitter and Facebook users in Kuwait.

Our fears and concerns today are justified when we see the ministry’s inability to maintain a sense of discipline and responsibility within its departments. How can we trust that the authorities will be able to keep our society secure when they cannot secure place as vital as ammunition warehouse?

After all, isn’t it surprising that 35,000 rounds were stolen and the theft was only discovered after the culprits escaped?

Where were the security guards, the surveillance cameras and the patrol officers?

Neglect and indifference in the Interior Ministry have reached unbearable levels. The chaotic scene in public as well as lack of security that people are increasingly feeling has become a main topic of daily discussion in deewaniyas and social gatherings.

The presence of reckless people who no longer feel deterred and violate the law with impunity further exposes how lenient and lax the Interior Ministry has become in performing its duties fully. Our fears and concerns today are justified when we see the ministry’s inability to maintain a sense of discipline and responsibility within its departments.

How can we trust that the authorities will be able to keep our society secure when they cannot secure place as vital as ammunition warehouse? After all, isn’t it surprising that 35,000 rounds were stolen and the theft was only discovered after the culprits escaped? Where were the security guards, the surveillance cameras and the patrol officers? What were all of them doing to earn the allowances and pay increases that they demand from the state?

Unfortunately, it seems that the Interior Ministry has become too busy monitoring social networks so that it can keep a close eye on the public. As a result, the crime rate is increasing while the Interior Ministry staff left their duties and is instead busy checking what people post on Twitter.

And that being said, I believe that ‘spying’ is the appropriate word to describe the ‘monitoring’ that the ministry is doing regarding social networks. This description applies to officers using fake accounts to follow the activity of social network users and go as far as obtain certain information from them to be used for security surveillance. This is a clear act of spying and it is saddening to see the Interior Ministry subjecting Kuwaitis to all this as if it is spying on terrorist networks. How does this change in security methods reflect upon the state’s reality?

Senior Interior Ministry officials must restore security as well as respect for police officers, and for the law and order. In the meantime, the ministry should keep a close eye on its members to make sure that they are doing their jobs properly first, before monitoring people’s activity. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Illogical media draft law

By Waleed Al-Rujaib

W

e told our children fairytalelike stories about the aftermath of the enforcement of pre-publication censorship imposed on the media and all publications in 1986 following the unconstitutional dissolution of the parliament. Back then, the situation became so dire that even any occurrence of the word ‘democracy’ was prevented and the word was removed from any publication, including literature and scientific works. This is usually cited as the main reason behind the fall in intellectual and literary output during the black years till this ‘prior censorship’ stipulation was overruled in 1992.

Such stories sound like myths to today’s generation who have access to all sources of information, communication and online blogging. But it seems that the Information Ministry wants to push us into those dark and terrifying days of the past when people had forgotten how it felt like being secure and knew that all their

moves and opinions were being tracked.

The ‘unified media’ draft law came as a shock to the utter chagrin of authors, news reporters and local newspapers who act responsibly in performing their duties in a professional manner and keep up with the era of freedoms and information that we live in. The proposed law reflects the government’s apathy towards culture, literature and arts - which are definitely going to be affected when authors refrain from writing as a result of censorship as they will be expected to seek permission to publish their work.

Many writers are likely to boycott writing itself because they know that the Interior Ministr y ’s staff are unqualified to critique or evaluate their artistic works. There are fears that a majority of works will be banned even before publishing.

And since the draft law suggests that its regulations apply to all, does

that mean that publications of the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters are going to be subjected to pre-censorship as well? If that’s the case, then it would be easier for the state to just shut down the NCCAL, the Kuwait Writers’ Association, the Kuwait Arts Association and other creativity-oriented organizations.

And how can the article which bans “damaging Kuwait’s relations with other countries” be explained?

The article sounds so general that it seems that anyone mentioning a country as a bad example for any reason, including Israel, will be penalized.

I don’t know who shaped this draft law or who assigned them to include these articles, but it seems they rather sought out some illogical and inapplicable things to be mentioned. I am afraid that MPs would eventually pass it without paying attention to the future of Kuwait and its coming generations. —Al-Rai

As-Salaamu-aliakum Badrya!

Thank You for your article titled ‘Stop Weeping and Wailing Over Expats.’ As an American teacher of English who passionately stood up for immigrants’ rights in the United States, it warms my heart to see someone like you standing up for us expats. I have been in Kuwait for three years and I love this country and the opportunities that it has given me and my family. I wish more Kuwaitis like you would understand that there are many of us who value and respect Kuwait, and wish to do more for its people. As a teacher here, I try to help the children of Kuwait and other Arab countries feel proud of themselves by celebrating their Arab greatness. I do this through the literature I teach and emphasize the Islamic values that we are taught as Muslims.

Just as it exists here, the United States too is afflicted by a similar mindset of an oxymoron mentality towards the low wage workers, in which the upper class white society complains that the “Mexicans” are taking away jobs from Americans for which the latter would never roll up their sleeves and get dirty. If it wasn’t for Mexicans and many other immigrants, we would not have farmers, factory workers, and so many others who do what are perceived as “dirty” jobs that upper class white society claims it is being robbed of.

Well done sister! I am a journalist too. I hope one day we can meet up. I would like to freelance for the Kuwait Times as well. I think that if Kuwaitis heard more from some the educated expats like myself and others, and understand of the benefit that we bring to this great country, they would not look at us as an intrusion but rather a valuable asset that cannot easily be removed or replaced.

Stay blessed, Sincerely, Tahira Muhammad As-ssalamu Alaikum-Ms. Darwish, Thanks for standing up for truth, may Allah ta’alla bless you. I am from America. My husband and I have been here for a year. We were talking yesterday among ourselves about whom do we know in Kuwait who we can really say is a good person with certain morals and we could only think of one person, now you make two. I have been so disappointed coming to a Muslim country and finding my people in such a state. I pray that Allah will open the eyes of my brothers and sisters before it is too late. The wealth for many is a curse, and blessed are those who share. It all belongs to Allah. I just wanted to let you know that I feel a little better now after reading your article. May be I will meet you one day, Insha Allah.

One must stand up for what’s right, even if one has to stand alone.

A man of few words has only a few to take back.

Khalilah Khadijah Kashiff

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Religious blackmail

Obsessed with bureaucracy

By Bassem Youssef

U

p till the 18th century, if a woman was accused of practicing sorcery or witchcraft in America, the whole village would go out chasing, apprehending and putting her on trial. On the trial, the woman had to go through a ‘holy’ test that would ‘prove’ her either guilty or innocent. These women were usually tied to large stones and thrown into the river and if they could manage to untie themselves and float to the surface, it meant that they were witches and managed to do so by the ‘evil powers’ they possessed. In such cases, women were usually retrieved and burnt to death. However, if they drowned, as expected, the villagers would realize that they were mistaken and would then start praying for her soul to be accepted in Jesus’ mercy.

The same approach was adopted by all totalitarians who took it upon themselves to judge peoples’ beliefs throughout history. The catholic Spaniards did so during the Inquisition period, the Church did so in Europe against scientists and political opponents. The Americans adopted the same strategy when Joseph McCarthy unleashed ideological terrorism in the 1950s at a time when ‘Communism’ was a serious accusation used against thinkers and celebrities in America.

The best way to deal with intellectual, social or even economic disputes is to label opponents as heretics, nonbelievers and enemies of Allah’s religion. In its US version, these could be called communist traitors and enemies of the nation. Such accusations would spare you the need to prove the validity of your surmise or theory as, for the people at large, your opponent becomes labeled as an infidel, a heretic and a blasphemer. Nobody would then listen to the condemned, no matter how right they are.

Islam was no exception in this regard. When the Kharijites (Al-Khawarej) appeared and started accusing everybody, including Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, of being an infidel using Quran, they committed terrible massacres and atrocities though they knew the Quran by heart.

Their practices were too far from being right, religious or even politically sound. It did not matter to them as long as they acted under a religious umbrella, parroting verses from Quran and questioning the Imam Ali himself, who, after a speech during the Great Tumult when some of the audience shouted ‘Allaho Akbar’, said “Right words and wrong Implications,” and accused them of twisting the truth.

It was then that they forced Imam Ali to fall for the trick of referring to the Quran after hoisting it on Spearheads.

This might look like a boring historical anecdote for you, but dear readers, we are being religiously blackmailed similarly and on a daily basis.

So many people promoted the ‘Islamic Project’ after the revolution and usually responded to the opposition by bandying about phrases like: “What have you seen from Allah that makes you hate his Sharea?” or “How can

you object to Sharea?” or “How dare you reject Allah’s regulations?” Such accusations were usually picked up by some young people who often felt like being in the shoes of American women accused of sorcery; they would either drown or be burnt to death. None of them dared to reject Islamic Sharea as he would have been accused of being secular, infidel, liberal and wanton.

However, you, dear young people, are not obliged to accept such options. Sharea is not a heirloom of Salafis or Muslim Brotherhood leaders. You have to realize deep within your souls that such inquiries ought to be directed to those asking them. Ask those parroting about Sharea about their own media and its focus on blasphemous lies and insults that they broadcast. Ask about the hateful, racist and insulting speeches their clergymen deliver. Ask about their support to evil after the revolution and how they pretend to be lions now while they acted like tame cats under the reign of Mubarak; those who vowed to die for Sharea (a pledge they have been using elastically) after getting rid of the very same young people whose loyalty, chastity and beliefs have been subject to questioning. What Sharea are you talking about when we see inter-Islamist disputes prevailing and the fact that they have started accusing each other of being infidel, liar, dishonest and corrupt?

What Sharea? What Islamic project are you calling for?

What are the articles you want to add to the law to achieve more oppression? For them, Sharea merely focuses on banning liquor and implementing religious penalties, which makes one believe that people in Egypt are drinking and committing adultery in broad daylight.

Why on earth the Islamists in power and the Islamist countries supporting them refuse to impose ‘Rekaz’ Zakat, which means distributing 20 per cent of the national income, made through selling natural resources, on the poor? This alone can put an end to poverty in all Muslim countries, but it is not important to them. Focusing on women outfits, alcohol and religious penalties is more important.

Nevertheless, they still arrogantly and deceivingly talk about Sharea. Dear young people, do not be blackmailed by those using some verses from the Quran out of context to make you feel that ‘His Islam’ is better than yours. They are not actually following Allah’s regulations. They have not shown us any role models in speech or manners. The bottom line is that those people cannot be trusted to enforce Sharea because they neither understand nor follow its rules.

So, whenever one of them asks what’s between you and Sharea, you should immediately say: “I have seen you and your hypocritical manners that are not related to Sharea. We do not and cannot hate Allah, but we simply hate your guts.” — Al-Jarida

The best way to deal with intellectual, social or even economic disputes is to label opponents as heretics, non-believers and enemies of Allah’s religion. In its US version, these could be called communist traitors and enemies of the nation. Such accusations would spare you the need to prove the validity of your surmise or theory as, for the people at large, your opponent becomes labeled as an infidel, a heretic and a blasphemer.

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

M

any believe that one’s left eye twitching means that something bad will happen to the person, and some believe it to the extent as if it was some definitive truth. There is another belief as per which if your right palm has an itching, it means you are likely to receive some money. However, if the itching is felt in the left palm, then it means you will spend some money.

None of these beliefs are logical, and I know through personal experience that the surmises are not true. I had itching in my right palm many a times, but never gained a single fils. Many a times, my left eye twitched but nothing happened. The beliefs, however, remain part of the popular heritage and belief system.

It is just like people trying to explain their dreams, because they believe that their dreams carry secret messages. Some people even sport a blue bead, engraved with the ubiquitous words “Made in China”, ostensibly to protect them from insidiousness.

In my opinion, such beliefs persist because it is in the nature of people to look for hope, even if it were to be in the form of an eye twitching, although medical science may say that it is explained by the movement of some muscles due to tension or defect and it has nothing to do with what is going to happen. Certain beliefs exist in popular perception and are inherited by one generation from another.

If what they say about the right hand palm itching were to be true, you would have found Kuwaiti people “walking and scratching their right palm” because these are people always waiting for something to come from the government.

Similarly, if what they say about the left eye twitching was correct, you would have found all Kuwaitis walking with their left eyes unstoppably twitching. Politically, we should rather expect the worse; since 2008, we have been falling from one ditch into another.

One of my friends believes in dreams having explanations, and whenever he has a dream, he moves heavens and earth to find an explanation for it. He has many idiosyncrasies and is very superstitious about black cats crossing his path, at times even changing his entire day’s plan if a black cat passed in front of him.

This friend was promoted to several higher positions in the government till he reached the rank of a general manager and was nominated for a still higher position. By the way, apart from such beliefs, he is a person of a sharp mind when it comes to the area of his expertise. .

In fact, I don’t know how many officials are obsessed with such beliefs, but one thing I know for sure is that most of them are obsessed with bureaucracy and fully believe in keeping the documents going around in an endless cycle. This is the main reason for the momentum of growth in Kuwait coming to a halt.

Otherwise, is it logical to take two years to furnish an organization with a “few chairs and tables” and keep documents go around in an endless loop?

I am talking about the functioning of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET).

If the furnishing tender is finalized today, students will be able to start studying by next September. Initial, the plan was to have students begin studying by September 2011, but the tender to furnish the offices of the authority have been kept in that cycle since 2010. — Al-Anbaa

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LOCAL

Four ministers targeted amid ‘reshuffle’ demands Attempt to put pressure on PM KUWAIT: Amid repeated threats to grill the First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah, efforts are under way to put pressure on the Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to carr y out a Cabinet reshuffle during the summer, according to recent reports.

Al-Qabas reported yesterday, quoting sources with knowledge of some MPs’ views that minister Al-Hmoud could eventually find himself facing two grilling motions “if lawmakers failed to agree on a unified interpellation”. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, further pointed out that efforts, led by MP Yousuf Al-Zalzalah, were being made with regard to questioning the interior minister “which are expected to finish very soon”.

Meanwhile, the same sources noted that these efforts could later be followed by more activities “to create pressure on the prime minister to carry out a reshuffle that includes the ministers of defense, health and oil in addition to the interior minister”.

In addition to Al-Zalzalah’s possible grilling, MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan also made his plans public about grilling

the interior minister next week in connection with three main topics: a deal with a security systems company that is allegedly owned by an Israeli company; the case of a Qadsiya Police Station officer who was killed by a fellow policeman; the theft of ammunition at an Interior Ministry warehouse.

These will be in addition to another topic, which will be announced when the petition to grill the minister will be filed. Meanwhile, Al-Rai reported yesterday that a conflict has emerged between the finance and communication ministries regarding the subordination of the recently privatized Kuwait Airways. According to sources with knowledge of the case, Minister of Communications Salem Al-Othaina prefers to place the company under the finance ministry, since the majority stake is now owned by the Kuwait Investment Authority, which operates under the finance ministry. On the other hand, Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali is reluctant to have the KAC annexed.

Head of the parliament budget committee, Adnan Al-Samad, told AlRai on Saturday that the KAC now technically comes under the finance ministry. But parliamentary insiders,

who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicate that the issue is still not settled, “because Al-Shamali believes that Al-Othaina should continue supervising the KAC privatization process which he had started since the beginning”.

Meanwhile, reactions against the ‘unified media law’ proposed by the government have been continuing, with the Progressive Movement saying in a statement issued on Saturday that the draft law is “retrograde” and “creates unwanted guardianship on media and freedoms”. The liberal Kuwait Democratic Forum was also scheduled to address the subject during a public seminar yesterday (Sunday) at its headquarters in AlNuzha.

The Criminal Court today is scheduled to make its highly anticipated ruling relating to a case in which former MP Musallam Al-Barrak is accused of offending HH the Amir during a public rally. Not only does the leading opposition figure face jail term if found guilty, but such ruling could ultimately end his political career, since previous convicts are banned from running for the parliament according to the electoral law.

KRCS continues aiding Syrian refugees in Jordan AMMAN: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) has distributed relief supplies to some 1,250 Syrian families that have taken up refuge in Jordan, fleeing violence at home.

Director of Public Relations and Media at KRCS Khaled Al-Zaid said that the food supplies which consisted of bread and olive oil were given to these families in the areas of Ajloun and Al-Naeemah north of here.

He added that another batch of relief supplies would reach the affected Syrian families in other areas of the Kingdom including Irbid, Ramtha, Jarash, Madba and Kark, saying the food supplies would be enough for a month time.

Al-Zaid asserted the importance of the relief supplies in the alleviation of suffering of the Syrian people. — KUNA

Al-Zayani warns of danger of Iranian reactor on Gulf states RIYADH: Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdulatif Al-Zayani warned yesterday of the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear reactor on GCC states.

Al-Zayani’s warning came while speaking to officials and specialists during an urgent meeting for the GCC national committees for emergency, which began here today.

He affirmed that this meeting comes in the wake of the earthquake that hit Iranian Bushehr province last

week, where the Bushehr nuclear plant is located, and necessity to study the fallouts of this quake, as well as its effects on nature and environment in the Gulf countries and ways of providing necessary protection, on joint consensus level, for GCC states. Also, the GCC Chief asserted the Council had previously raised fears about danger of the Iranian nuclear reactor in Bushehr, and warned of the possibility of a radiation leakage, as well as the harmful impacts it would have on environment

in the GCC region, indicating that the GCC countries have called on Tehran to abide by the international standards of safety and security in its nuclear plants.

In addition, he noted that the GCC national committees for emergency bear a grave responsibility during these circumstances, where they must speed up probing the situation with all its possibilities, and prepare joint work plans to face these dangers through cooperation and coordination. — KUNA

GCC officials discuss health media awareness in Kuwait KUWAIT: - The Gulf Committee for Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety sat down yesterday for a ninth meeting, chaired by Kuwaiti Health Minister Mohammad Al-Haifi, to discuss health media awareness in the region.

“The average of chronic diseases, like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and diseases of the heart and arteries is growing as a result of modernity, and the negative behavioral, nutritional and social changes that have accompanied this,” Assistant Health Undersecretary for Public Health Affairs Qais Al-Dowairi said in a keynote speech at the event’s opening session. Al-Dowairi pledged the Gulf Cooperation Council’s commitment to focusing on the health of individuals and the society in the region, forming the committee in 1993 in a bid to improve the performance of health authorities in the six

states of the GCC - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

“Providing health awareness to the public through the media is extremely significant to the spread of facts and information and in encouraging appropriate behaviour.

“The proposal, which is to be presented, set forth by the Kuwaiti Minister of Health Mohammad Al-Haifi on the mechanisms needed to implement the GCC unified week for awareness on chronic diseases is an affirmation on the adoption of the GCC of sincere and advanced steps in the field of healthcare,” he added.

The committee’s meeting will also grant the fifth GCC excellence award for health media awareness, in addition to discussing preparations made to host the fifth GCC health awareness conference and the a unified health library. — KUNA

Jahra Hospital denies fire report KUWAIT: Jahra Hospital yesterday denied reports posted on internet that a fire broke out in one of the wards, but it was gas leaking from an oxygen cylinder after it fell on the ground.

The oxygen cylinder fell in one of the wards and caused a huge bang sound followed by a leak, which forced one of the visitors to contact the fire department to ‘inform them of a fire,’ the hospi-

tal director general Dr. Shehab AlMuhannadi said. The huge sound caused by the oxygen cylinder fall and the leak caused panic among patients and visitors, he said and confirmed there was no fire in the hospital nor injuries because of the leak. Al-Nuhannadi urged the visitors and users of social media websites to make sure the news they post were correct in order to avoid any panic. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Dr Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah attended a ceremony held yesterday to inaugurate the ‘North Ahmadi Road’; a 6-km-long highway connecting the Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz and Al-Maquwa roads.

The KD4.6 million project was carried out by the Kuwait Oil Company in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Works, Kuwait Municipality and other state departments.

Burgan Bank card helpful for Umra travellers KUWAIT: Burgan Banks multi-currency X-Change cardholders travelling for Umra can now enjoy a comfortable travel experience. Umra travelers can choose their card in Saudi Riyal and purchase it at the best rate for the ease and convenience of their transactions.

The card will retain the same value of the exchange rate at which it was purchased to protect customers from currency fluctuation. The card can be purchased online through the banks website and can be also reloaded online. To find out more about Burgan Bank’s latest X-Change card and MyUS.com facilities, or any of its products and services, customers are urged to visit any of the bank’s branches, or contact the call center on 1804080. Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest commercial Bank and third largest by assets in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail and private bank customer base.

Burgan Bank has five majority owned subsidiaries, which include Gulf Bank Algeria - AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad - BOB (Iraq & Lebanon), Jordan Kuwait Bank JKB (Jordan) Tunis International Bank - TIB (Tunisia), and fully owned Burgan Bank - Turkey, (collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”).

The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base.

The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.

Burgan Bank’s brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire. ‘People come first’ is the foundation on which its products and services are developed. Earlier this year, ‘Brand Finance’ - the international brand valua-

tion company- rated Burgan Bank brand as AA with positive outlook. The rating places Burgan Bank Brand at 2nd amongst the most valuable banking brands in Kuwait.

Excellence is one of the Bank’s four key values and Burgan Bank continually strives to maintain the highest standards in the industry. The Bank was re-certified in 2010 with the ISO 9001:2008 certification in all its banking businesses, making it the first bank in the GCC, and the only bank in Kuwait to receive such accreditation.

The Bank also has to its credit the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twelve consecutive years.

Burgan Bank won the prestigious “Banking Web Awards” prize in the commercial and corporate Category for Kuwait. In 2010 Burgan Bank was awarded with the “Best Internet Banking Service award” from Banker Middle East Awards. Burgan Bank was recognized in 2011 as Kuwait’s “Best Private Bank”, by World Finance.

The bank also won, in 2011, the coveted “International Platinum Star for Quality” award from Business Initiative Directions, and “The Best Technical Award” from Banking Web Awards. In 2012, Global Banking and Finance Review online magazine recognized Burgan Bank as the “Best Banking Group in the MENA” as well as the “Best Corporate Bank in Kuwait”. The bank also won the coveted “Best Bank Branding” award by the Banker Middle East. For the second consecutive year in 2012, Burgan Bank also won World Finance’s “Best Private Bank” award, as well as the “Best Private Bank in Kuwait 2012” award from Capital Finance International. The bank recently won the “Best Bank in Kuwait” award from EMEA Finance. Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), is a strongly positioned regional Bank in the MENA region.

Housing project ‘at a standstill’ KUWAIT: Sources revealed that Public Authority for Housing has so far not received the lands at the 7th Ring Road. The matter relating to these lands is still not clear as several parties are interested in getting this land freed.

Former minister Shuaib AlMuwaizrowes was about to hand over

these lands to the housing authority but his resignation put an end to all his efforts and brought to a halt the 7th Ring Road project.

So far, the incumbent minister has not taken any action in this case.

Sources said that freeing the land from other government parties requires robust engagement with

them and forcefully putting across the claims, not just unfruitful meetings.

The municipality also needs to hand over the land.

Sources said that a meeting was held a month ago by the planning committee, but did not result in anything positive. For all practical purposes, the case was at a “standstill.”

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LOCAL

Father, daughter involved in squabble Trio sexually assaults teenager

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received Speaker of the National Assembly Ali Fahad Al-Rashed at Al-Sief Palace on yesterday.

South Koreans ‘get bored with’ war threats KUWAIT: As North Korea escalates on a daily basis the intensity of its threats to South Korea as well as to the US, the South maintains calm yet stern posture to the North, both in the public and private domain, according a South Korean embassy statement yesterday.

The national security officials of South Korea, while admitting the North’s bellicose rhetoric has been particularly worse than before, dismissed any need for excessive concern about the current situation on the Korean peninsula, since no unusual signs of imminent military provocation by the North have yet been detected. South Korean President Park Geunhye nonetheless emphasized during her first security ministers’ meeting on April 2 the importance of diplomatic and military deterrence against Pyongyang’s reckless bid for military action.

Prior to the security ministers’ meeting the South Korean Defense Ministry released a spokesperson’s statement denouncing North Korea’s on-going threats as “unacceptable”, reaffirming its full readiness for any possible contingency in the region. Also responding to North Korea’s claim that Foal Eagle, the annual Korea-US joint military exercise, serves as pretext for an allied invasion, the spokesperson made it clear that Foal Eagle has been held every year with advance notification to the North Korean

authorities, and is strictly defensive in nature.

Amid the growing military tensions, the citizens in South Korea remain surprisingly unshaken and steady with their daily life as usual. Unlike in 1994 when North Korea threatened to turn Seoul into ‘sea of fire’ to which many South Koreans responded seriously, they now seem rather skeptical about or even indifferent to the brinkmanship strategy that Pyongyang has resorted to for the past 60 years. Some analyze that South Koreans have developed a tendency to deliberately underestimate the degree of danger under similar circumstances, so that they may not be stressed out every time the North makes such intimidations. Kang Dong-wan, an inter-Korea relations expert at Dong-A University in Busan, South Korea, explains that after almost endless militant threats for so many years South Koreans now refuse to believe war is imminent. “It only takes a week for South Koreans to get bored with such threats, no matter how strong they are,” he said.

Security experts in South Korea however forecast that the tension between the two Koreas may continue at least till the end of April when Foal Eagle exercise finishes. They also warn of North Korea’s possible act of provocation during this period.

Warba Bank adds voice recognition to telebanking service KUWAIT: Warba Bank, the most recently opened Islamic bank in Kuwait, yesterday announced that it has added Voice Recognition capability to its telebanking service 182-5555 . Warba is among the first banks in the country to offer this advanced service in Arabic and English, which enables customers to conduct banking transactions using voice commands.

Ahmed Al-Bukhari Ahmed Al Bukhari, Call Center & Branches Manager - Retail Banking Group said: “This service works in both Arabic and English, letting customers quickly select lists and services without the need to use the buttons or the keyboard of the phone. Using this service, customers can enquire about accounts, cards, personal finance, as well as complete multiple banking transactions through voice commands.”

In the same context, he referred to the service

mechanism that depends on the customer to give orders on the phone and is easily implemented without the need to use the phone keypad. The allocated service lists also matches with the requirements of the bank’s clients from designing one of the most prominent services used to be the engine of Warba Bank Services.

Warba Bank’s Call Centre uses the latest global customer service technology system. It allows the bank to provide the highest levels of customer services and enables them to respond quickly and accurately to product and service enquiries, as well as receiving suggestions and complaints from customers.

Al-Bukhari added: “The launch of the new service enhances the efforts of Warba Bank to continue utilizing modern technology to meet the needs of customers. Our technology enables customers to manage their accounts easily around the clock, anywhere in the world according to the highest standards of safety and trust.

Warba Bank, an Islamic bank established by virtue of Amiri Decree, was officially registered in the Central Bank of Kuwait’s list of Islamic banks on the 5th of April, 2010. The state of Kuwait, represented by Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), owns 24% shares of the bank while the remaining 76% of shares, fully subscribed by the government, have been equally allocated among all Kuwaiti nationals. Warba Bank offers a range of customized Sharia-compliant services and solutions which are available through the banks three divisions of Retail, Investment and Corporate Banking. Branching out in five strategic locations, Warba Bank has over 150 employees.

KUWAIT: A woman and her father were charged with physical and verbal assault after reportedly engaging in a quarrel with a member of the Kuwaiti ruling family. According to the police repor t, the complainant had headed to a Fahaheel mall after her grandchildren called for help, complaining that a woman reportedly harassed them. After she confronted the woman who was harassing, the other woman who had come to rescue her grandchildren found herself subjected to physical assault. This prompted emergency calls after which police arrived at the scene and escorted the two to the police station. The offender, identified as a Moroccan woman, was soon joined by her father who reportedly lost his temper during the investigations and made offensive remarks against the complainant and her father. The man and his daughter were referred to the proper authorities after being charged. The complainant reportedly brought a medical report which showed bruises that she suffered as a result of the assault.

Online threats Security aler t level was raised at two embassies in Kuwait after there were online threats from unknown sources, a local newspaper reported yesterday, quoting a security source privy to the developments. Extra security forces were reportedly sent on Friday night to the two embassies located in Al-Daiya. The forces were there till late night before the

embassy premises were reopened. The State Security Bureau was contacted to follow up with the case.

Woman imprisoned Investigations were on in a case involving a woman who claimed to have been imprisoned by her brothers inside her family’s house in Jleeb AlShuyoukh after she left her husband’s house in Farwaniya. Police reportedly responded to an emergency call when a woman sought help and asked to be freed from forced confinement by her family. The woman’s brother allowed the police to check on her condition after answering the door.

He was escorted to the police station along with his two brothers after their sister accused them of locking her up against her wishes. The three admitted to keeping their sister hostage “to stop her from going out of the house freely as she wants.” They were charged based on the request of their sister who eventually chose to return to her husband’s house.

Shooting Jahra police are looking for the driver of a 2009 Jeep Cherokee who reportedly fired gunshots at a Kuwaiti man outside his house in Al-Waha, but missed his target. In his statements to local police, the complainant said that he was standing outside his house when the suspect passed by and fired a few shots though he was able to escape. Detectives were sent to the scene for investigations. The man gave descriptions of the suspect and his vehicle.

10 hurt in fights Ten people were injured in different fights reported on Saturday in Kuwait. The first fight was reported in Souq Sharq where two Kuwaiti men who suffered stab wounds were rushed in ambulances to the Amiri Hospital. Meanwhile, two Kuwaitis and three Egyptian men were treated for injuries sustained during a fight in Fintas, before they were escorted to the area’s police station to face charges.

A third incident was reported in Miseelah in which a Kuwaiti man was rushed to the Amiri Hospital with multiple fractures. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Kuwaiti was hospitalized with facial injuries following a fight near the Gulf Road. In the meantime, a fight was reported in Khaitan between an Asian man and an Arab. The Asian man was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital with stab wounds, while the Arab was taken into custody for investigations.

Rapists at large Investigations are on in search of three men who sexually assaulted a teenager after kidnapping him in Taima. According to the police report, the victim was forced into a car by two persons whom he knew, and was driven to a remote location. The suspects then assaulted the boy sexually and videographed the assault to blackmail him, before leaving him and driving away. The boy told his father who immediately reported the case and then helped his son to the hospital for treatment. —Al-Anbaa, Al-Rai

KUWAIT: In the presence of a large number of experts, the sixth forum for Al-Yaqza Salon was held under the title “The magic keys to women’s success.” The forum was organized by Manar Sabri and attended by Sahar Al-Shawwa, Dr. Noor Al-Huda Karmani, Basma Sultan, Dalal Al-Jinae, Dr. Nada Al-Raqam and Dana Madoo.

Algeria conference discusses Arab unemployment

ALGIERS: The 40th session of the Arab Work Conference will kick off today in Algeria with the participation of 20 Arab nations, including the State of Kuwait, to tackle the issue of unemployment in the Arab region.

Minister of State of Social Affairs and Labor Thikra Al-Rashidi, Head of Kuwait’s General Labor Union Fayiz Ali Al-Mutairi, and Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director General Rabah AbdRahman Al-Rabah, were chosen to represent the

country in the week-long meeting.

The agenda will shed light on investment tactics and other social and economic issues that would boost cooperation among Arab countries. On the sidelines of his meeting with the Kuwaiti minister, General Director of Arab Labor Organization (ALO) Ahmed Mohammad Luqman said the conference will see a participation of 18 ministers and an attendee of representatives of more than 500 unions, NGOs, and organizations concerned with social affairs and labor.

An in-depth dialogue is also on the agenda on problems of unemployment in the Arab world and feasible solutions. Enhancing cooperation in the field of labor in a manner that corresponds with current social and economic development and state of affairs will also be discussed.

The official further noted that the conference will also focus on rights of laborers and work conditions, as well as unification of labor legislative frameworks among member states. — KUNA

Kuwait Society for Family Development seeks social well being KUWAIT: The Society for Social Development affirmed yesterday its role at the local level for developing the Kuwaiti society and supporting family well-being as well as adopting United Nations principles that call for respecting human rights.

The association encourages people to volunteer in charity, humanitarian projects, offers programs and activities to develop the role of youth in the society, said Head of the society Mohammad Al-Hajji in a statement.

Moreover, it is encouraging marriage to successfully build a happy family, and also seeking to create mutual understanding among diverse segments of the Kuwaiti society through speech, to spread peace, love, and equality among the people of all walks of life in the country. Furthermore, the association Islamic teachings to develop the society, along with adoption of the UN principles, and other divine religions’ teachings for human rights, said AlHajji, adding that it also follows the Kuwaiti Constitutional rules and His Highness the Amir’s orders.

The society’s waqf is supervised by the General Secretariate of Awqaf, said Al-Hajji, shedding some light on its structural system.

The waqf prominently increases the role of governmental organizations, NGOs, and private sector associations in social development, and helping families in need. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The National Guards’ Military Security department recently celebrated the graduation of a new batch of military security warrant officers and personnel who were well trained on conducting inspection tasks, barracks security, conference security, preparing security patrols in addition to many other security tasks.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

Teenagers among 5 dead in Belgian bus crash

Syrian government airstrikes kill 25 Page 8

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CARACAS: A young woman casts her ballot in a polling station in Caracas yesterday. Venezuelans headed to the polls yesterday to elect Hugo Chavez’s successor, with his political heir, Nicolas Maduro, hoping to continue his socialist revolution and rival Henrique Capriles vowing change in the divided nation. — AFP

Venezuela votes for change ‘We will break turnout records in our mobilised democracy’ CARACAS: Venezuelans flocked to the polls yesterday to vote for Hugo Chavez ’s successor, choosing between the handpicked heir of his socialist revolution and an opponent vowing change in the divided nation.

After a brief and bitter campaign, suppor ters of acting President Nicolas Maduro played military-style bugles to wake up people before dawn to vote in an election pitting him against opposition rival Henrique Capriles.

Casting himself as his mentor’s “son,” Maduro led opinion polls to complete his six-year term, promising to continue oil-funded policies that cut poverty from 50 to 29 percent with popular health, education and food programs.

But Capriles hopes that discontent over the nation’s soaring murder rate, chronic food shortages, high inflation and regular power outages will give him an upset victor y after 14 years under Chavez.

Before dying, the late leader endorsed Maduro as his successor, and Chavistas chanted “Chavez, I swear, my vote is for Maduro!” throughout the campaign. Maduro, meanwhile, sought to elevate Chavez as a saint-like figure, calling him “Christ the redeemer of the poor.” From the Amazon region to the Caribbean coast and the capital’s hillside slums, voters cast ballots to decide the future of a nation sitting on the world’s biggest proven oil reserve.

People stood in line outside the school where Chavez used to vote in the poor January 23 neighborhood.

A truck nearby played a recording of the late leader crooning to a patriotic song. “The commitment to the revolution is very strong,” said Denis Oropeza, 33, a museum employee voting there as the truck played a recording of Chavez, made before cancer took his life, in which he asks Venezuelans to vote for Maduro.

“The people will massively go out and vote to defend his legac y,” Oropeza declared. But in the eastern Caracas neighborhood known as a Capriles bastion, voters said they were fed up with violence that left 16,000 people dead last year and a weak economy that has people struggling to find butter and milk in grocer y stores. “I want change because the situation is not good.

There’s no security, the country is divided in two,” said Pietro Bellacicco, 75, a retired agricultural worker. “I hope to see us united, all together again as Venezuelans.”

Chavez named Maduro-a former bus driver and union activist who rose to foreign minister and vice president-as his political heir in December before undergoing a final round of cancer surgery. He died on March 5 aged 58. “ We will break turnout records in our mobilized democrac y,” Maduro wrote on Twitter. Maduro rode a wave of grief over Chavez’s death throughout the campaign, culminating the day before the vote with a ceremony honoring the former colonel in the military barracks where he was laid rest. Capriles accused the government of “abusing power, abusing state resources” by staging televised events up until the eve of the elec-

tion even though official campaigning ended on Thursday.

“Let’s go vote! Hope, faith and courage,” Capriles wrote on Twitter.

Maduro and Capriles engaged in an acrimonious campaign marked by insults, government allegations of assassination plots against the acting leader and the virtual beatification of Chavez.

Maduro called his rival a “little bourgeois” while Capriles derided the tall, broad-shouldered acting president as a “bull-chicken.” Capriles avoided criticizing Chavez, however, pledging to maintain his social “missions.” He lost to Chavez by 11 points in the October 7 presidential election-the opposition’s best ever showing against him.

“I’m not the opposition, I’m the solution,” said the 40-year- old Miranda state governor, who represents the youthful face of the once fractured opposition. But he blamed the government for the nation’s economic woes and vowed to cut the “gift ” to Cuba-a deal in which Caracas ships 100,000 barrels of oil per day while Havana sends doctors and other experts to Venezuela.

Opinion polls gave Maduro a lead of 10-20 points, though the last survey conducted by Datanalisis last week gave him a narrower, 9.7-point edge. The winner will be sworn in on Friday. “ The opposition was able to excite its people,” Ignacio Avalos, a sociology professor at Central University of Venezuela. “Maduro has two very important weapons in his favor: Chavez’s last wish and the state machinery.” — AFP

Yemenis protest deportation of workers from Saudi Arabia SANAA: Ezzeldin Abdullah says he sold many of his valuables to raise 16,000 Saudi riyals ($4,300) for a Saudi Arabian visa, hoping work in the biggest oil-producing country in the world would repay his investment many times. But less than three weeks after arriving, he was arrested in a crackdown on workers lacking proper papers and deported back to Yemen.

“All is lost now,” said the father of three, sitting outside the ministry of expatriate affairs in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. “All I want is enough time to earn back the price of my visa,” added Abdullah, who was seeking menial or labouring work.

Saudi Arabia, home to about nine million foreign workers, began the crackdown this year to boost the proportion of Saudi citizens in private

sector jobs from the current 10 percent. Under Saudi law, employers must sponsor expatriates, but many switch jobs without transferring their residency papers. Of about 200,000 workers deported, some 20,000 were Yemenis, say officials in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished Arab neighbour, adding to joblessness in a nation of 25 million trying to recover from two years of political turmoil.

Ahmed Abdullah Al-Baydani, a truck driver in his 50s employed by a transpor t company based in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, said police picked him up during a visit to the Red Sea por t of Yanbu in Februar y. “ The police would not accept the written permit I had (to visit Yanbu) or my sponsor’s interventions, and treated me as a runaway

worker,” the father of 12 told Reuters outside the Expatriates Affairs ministry. “I was held for two weeks before I was moved to Jeddah, where I was held with hundreds of people for six more weeks before I was deported,” he said.

Saudi King Abdullah earlier in April gave foreigners three months to sort out papers. But few of the estimated one million Yemenis there would be able to do this in time, officials said.

Some 80 percent of Yemenis in Saudi Arabia bought visas from dignitaries widely believed to receive permits from Saudi authorities to distribute to acquaintances and relatives but which are not proper work permits, according to Abdelkader Hamam, assistant to the deputy minister of expatriate affairs. —Reuters

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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

Kurdish president’s re-election plans spark criticism SULAIMANIYAH: Moves to clear the way for Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani to ser ve a third term have sparked criticism in a region that touts itself as a democratic haven in an unstable country.

Much-delayed elections in the autonomous region in Iraq’s north are due before September 8, and voters are set to cast their ballots in provincial, parliamentary and presidential races.

In the last of those, Barzani and his dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) are looking to bypass what his opponents say are clear legal hurdles to another term in office. “We are against extending Barzani’s time in office, and we are against him being able to run for a third term,” said Yusuf Mohammed, a senior leader in Goran, the main opposition party in the region.

Barzani’s KDP and the smaller Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by ailing Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, have largely held a duopoly in Kurdish politics and have even run on a joint slate in recent elections.

Together, the two parties hold a

majority of seats in Kurdistan’s 111-seat regional parliament. Barzani, the son of revered Kurdish nationalist leader and KDP founder Mulla Mustafa Barzani, has enjoyed tremendous popularity in the region, winning 69.6 percent of votes in the most recent presidential election in 2009.

Born in 1946 in Mahabad, capital of the short-lived Kurdish republic declared by his father during Iran’s post-war unrest, Barzani joined the fight for an independent Kurdistan as a teenager. He took over the leadership of the KDP from his father in 1979 and has held the position ever since.

But his efforts to win a third term in office-he was initially appointed by Kurdish MPs in 2005, and re-elected four years later-have not met with universal agreement. The dispute centres around the rules regulating how long one person can serve as president.

Opponents of Barzani and the KDPprincipally Goran, but also the region’s Islamic and Communist parties and some PUK supporters-argue that he has served two full terms, and has complet-

ed the maximum allowed time.

“Nominating Barzani for a third term is illegal, he has no right to run,” said Goran Azad, one of the few PUK members of the Kurdish parliament opposed to Barzani running again. His supporters, however, say that because the first term was not the result of a popular election, he has one more left.

The KDP is currently looking at the legal issues around Barzani standing for another term, party spokesman Jaafar Aiminki said. KDP foreign relations chief Hayman Hawrami added that the party would take “constitutional and legal means, and deliberate with other political parties in Kurdistan, regarding this subject.”

Made up of three provinces-Arbil, where the eponymous regional capital lies, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk-the region controls most of its internal affairs and has sought to lessen its economic dependency on the central government.

Kurdistan is held up as a paradigm of economic growth and stability in a country still beset by deadly violence and chronic political crises, but critics say its

two main parties blur the lines between state office and their own party bureaucracies, fostering nepotism and corruption.

In February, Human Rights Watch accused Kurdish authorities of stifling free speech and detaining journalists, activists and political opponents without charge. “The nature of authority in the (Kurdistan) region comes close to that of a dictatorship, and does not give any importance to the demands of citizens,” said Salahedden Bahaddin, a former leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union.

“If he does not step back (from the proposals)... the same fate of the dictatorships in the region awaits him,” Bahaddin said, a reference to Arab Spring uprisings that unseated strongmen in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen.

Some among the region’s independent press have also voiced opposition to the plans. “Putting Barzani forward for another term is not democratic,” said Ahmed Mira, editor-in-chief of the Levine weekly. “Nominating him again will be a step back for the region, and make it closed, like a dictatorship.” — AFP

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani

Fayyad’s resignation complicates US plan PM unpopular at home but trusted by the West

ALEPPO: A Syrian man distributes bread to people in the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood of the northern city of Aleppo yesterday. Earlier in the week US President Barack Obama authorized the release of up to $10 million in food and medicine for rebels in Syria, saying the war there had reached a “critical” point. — AFP

Syrian government airstrikes kill 25 BEIRUT : Syrian government warplanes carried out airstrikes on a rebellious neighborhood of the capital as well as a village in the countryís northeast yesterday, killing at least 25 people, including 12 children, activists said.

With its ground forces stretched thin, President Bashar Assadís regime has relied heavily on its fighter jets and helicopters to try to stem rebel advances in the countryís civil war. The air raids also frequently hit civilian areas, drawing criticism from the international community.

A Human Rights Watch report last week accused the Syrian government of committing war crimes by using indiscriminate and sometimes deliberate airstrikes against civilians, killing at least 4,300 people since the summer.

Yesterday, government jets bombed rebel-held areas in the predominantly Kurdish village of Hadad in the northeastern province of Hassaka, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said at least 16 people were killed, including two women and three children.

A Hassaka-based activist who was in Hadad when the planes struck said the bombs sent huge plumes of black smoke billowing over the town. He spoke on condition that he be identified only by his nickname of Abu Qasem - by which he is widely known among his comrades - out of fear of reprisals. Another airstrike on the Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun killed at least nine children, the Observatory said. The government frequently targets Qaboun, where rebels pushed in early this year. The district has been ravaged by heavy street clashes and shelling since then as the military tries to expel the anti-Assad fighters.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, also reported that four civilians died after being tortured in a jail in the town of Zakyeh. It did not provide any further details. In the southern city of Daraa, the Syrian army shot and killed a man, the Observatory said.

Rebels have made significant gains in the surrounding province of Daraa in recent weeks, capturing military bases and territory that could provide anti-Assad fighters with a staging ground for an eventual assault on Damascus.

The push in the south has coincided with what Western and Arab official say are USbacked training of opposition fighters in Jordan and an influx of foreign-funded weapons into the south. The rebel dvances have given the opposition momentum and put the government on the defensive in the two-year civil war that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 70,000 people.

The fighting has spilled over on several occasions into neighboring states, including Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, stoking fears that those countries could be dragged into the conflict.

Yesterday, two rockets fired from Syria exploded in the Lebanese border village of al-Qasr, killing one person and wounding two, a Lebanese security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Two more rockets landed a nearby village of Hawsh, but there were no reports of casualties. There has been heavy fighting near the frontier in recent days as Syrian government troops try to regain control of the strategic area from rebels.

Also yesterday, the main Western-backed opposition bloc expressed concern about the Islamic extremist rebel faction Jabhat alNusraís pledge of allegiance to al-Qaeda last week. In a statement, the Syrian National Coalition urged Jabhat al-Nusra, one of the most powerful and effective rebel groups, ìto stay within the ranks of nationalistic Syrians, to continue its efforts in fighting the Assad regime, and in supporting and protecting the freedom of all Syrian sects.î Jabhat Al-Nusra’s pledge of fealty sparked concern that the allegiance to alQaeda means the group will be beholden to non-Syrian interests. But the broader rebellion desperately needs the extremist groupís fighting skills in its battle to oust Assad.

Jabhat al-Nusra itself has sought to ease concerns by saying it remains dedicated to the Syrian uprising’s cause of toppling the Assad regime. In the northern province of Aleppo, three journalists working for state TV were wounded in a car bombing Sunday, the SANA state news agency said.

Correspondent Shadi Helweh and two cameramen, Yehia Mosseli and Ahmed Suleiman, were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, the agency said. — AP

GAZA CITY: Palestinian women visit a building which used to be an Israeli prison to keep Palestinians during Israel’s occupation of Gaza, yesterday, as part of a tour organized by Hamas to show the facility that has now turned into a memorial center, in Gaza City.

Israel has evacuated its settlements and army posts in the Gaza Strip in 2005. — AFP

RAMALLAH: Palestinian officials and the United States voiced optimism yesterday that the resignation of US-backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad would not hinder Washington’s planned development initiative for the West Bank.

Fayyad quit on Saturday after months of tension with President Mahmoud Abbas, leaving the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in confusion just as the United States tries to revive peace talks with the Jewish state.

His exit came less than a week after US Secretary of State John Kerry visited and promised a plan to remove “bottlenecks and barriers” to economic development in the West Bank.

Kerry told reporters in Tokyo yesterday the United States would pursue its initiative “no matter what” and there is “more than one person that (the United States) can do business with”.

“We will continue to work at this and hope that President Abbas finds the right person to work with him in a transition and to work with us and to establish confidence,” Kerry said.

US-educated Fayyad, a former World Bank official, was appointed in 2007 and drew Western praise for his efforts to develop institutions fit for a future Palestinian state. But his popularity sank amid 25 percent unemployment and soaring prices.

Palestinian officials said Fayyad, trusted by the West as a non-corrupt conduit for aid funds,

would not handle the US development plan as interim caretaker prime minister.

But, one official said, “everyone knows that aid is meant for the Palestinian people, and not just one man”, and implementation of the initiative would be monitored by President Mahmoud Abbas and “a team of his choosing”.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestine Liberation Organisation official, said Fayyad’s resignation was internal politics and should have no bearing on Western efforts to boost the economy.

“It would be counterproductive and flagrant meddling to punish us for what was a domestic political decision, and something that was long in the making,” Ashrawi said.

Abbas and his Fatah party wrangled with Fayyad, an independent, over his handling of the moribund economy. The public debt and deficit have deepened and the World Bank predicts that 11 percent growth in 2010-11 will halve in 2013.

A poll in April put Fayyad’s approval rating at 25 percent, versus 49 percent for Abbas and 40 percent for Ismail Haniyeh, the Islamist Hamas party’s prime minister in the Gaza Strip.

Despite Fayyad’s reputation for clean dealing in the West, 78 percent of West Bank residents perceived Palestinian Authority institutions to be corrupt, according to the same survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

“Thank God he’s finally gone,” said Khaled Ashraf, a restaurateur in Ramallah. “Sure there was some growth, but it’s all done now, and just like usual the people aren’t better off.”

Some Palestinian officials credited Fayyad with progress, but said he had a tough job reviving an economy under Israeli occupation and as aid flows dwindled.

The Hamas government in Gaza, which split from Fatah in a 2007 war, despised Fayyad, seeing him as complicit in Israel’s blockade on the coastal enclave and a usurper of Hamas’s claim to the premiership after it swept parliamentary polls in 2006.

“It’s good that he’s left. This gives (FatahHamas) reconciliation a way forward,” said Mohammed Dar Ahmed, 23, one of 4,800 Palestinians in Israeli jails. Dar Ahmed spoke during an Israeli-sponsored media tour of Ofer prison in the West Bank.

“What about settlements? What about the prisoners? We need a prime minister who will solve the issues of Palestine,” he told Reuters. It was not immediately clear why he was in prison.

Palestinian law requires the president to choose Fayyad’s replacement within two weeks, but Abbas has outstayed his own term by four years and parliament has not met for years. He may yet wait for an elusive Hamas-Fatah pact before he appoints a unity cabinet, which could take months. — Reuters

Iraq election candidates slain before local vote BAGHDAD: Two Iraqi Sunni Muslim candidates were killed less than a week before local elections that are considered a major test of the country’s political stability after US troops left more than a year ago.

The election on Saturday to select provincial council members will measure Prime Minister Nuri AlMaliki’s political muscle against Shi’ite and Sunni rivals before the parliamentary election in 2014.

Violence and suicide bombings have surged since the start of the year with a local Al-Qaeda wing promising a campaign to stoke sectarian confrontation among Shi’ites, Sunni Muslims and ethnic Kurds.

No group claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks, but the two candidates killed since late Saturday night were moderate Sunnis campaigning in mostly Sunni areas where Islamist insur-

gents target political rivals.

Police said gunmen in Baiji town, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, killed Hatem al-Dulaimi, who was connected to the al-Ensaf Front group headed by Sunni politician Mishaan al-Jubouri. Jubouri once ran a small block in parliament.

“My cousin was secular, and his speech was moderate,” said Dulaimi’s cousin Ali Sabah. “I think those who killed him were the political groups with ties to the armed groups which operate in this area.”

Hours later yesterday morning, a roadside bomb killed Najim alHarbi, with two of his brothers and a bodyguard in Diyala province, police said. Harbi had ties to Deputy Prime Minister Saleh alMutlaq, a Sunni who has edged closer to Maliki since his Sunnibacked Iraqiya block splintered.

Another Sunni candidate escaped a separate roadside bomb in Balad Ruz, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of the capital on Sunday, authorities said.

Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion, Sunni ranks are deeply divided over how to manage a powersharing agreement with Maliki.

Some moderate leaders work with the government but others see the Shi’ite premier as an authoritarian.

Thousands of Sunni Muslims have protested since December in western provinces at what they see as their marginalisation since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the rise of the country’s Shi’ite majority to power since the 2003 invasion.

Many Iraqi Sunnis feel they have been sidelined from power-sharing and unfairly targeted by security forces. Maliki has offered concessions on reform of tough anti-terrorism laws and released prisoners.

But Sunni protests continue.

Washington has weighed into the election process, warning of the risks of disenfranchising Sunni voters after Maliki’s cabinet postponed voting in two majority Sunni provinces because local officials said security could not be provided there.

Even in Maliki’s Shi’ite coalition there are political splinters. The Sadrist block, led by anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has threatened to break Maliki’s coalition, even backing an attempt at a vote of no-confidence against him.

More than 8,000 candidates are running for nearly 450 seats, except in the three provinces administered by the country ’s autonomous Kurdistan region and in the disputed city of Kirkuk. Election officials may hold the postponed vote in Anbar and Nineveh provinces a month later. — Reuters

Sudan ready for rebel talks KHARTOUM: Sudan is still willing to talk with rebels in South Kordofan, the government said yesterday, despite the deadly weekend bombardment of the stateís capital. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) told AFP on Sunday it carried out the Friday afternoon shelling after being ìprovokedî by the government.

The attack came as President Omar al-Bashir held talks in the South Sudanese capital Juba with his counterpart Salva Kiir in a symbol of easing tensions, particularly over the Southís alleged support for SPLM-N. ‘We are ready to talk’ to the SPLM-N, the official SUNA news agency quoted Ibrahim Ghandour, head of the government’s negotiating team, as saying. ‘We are waiting for the time of the negotiation.’

The government had long rejected talks with the SPLM-N, which has been fighting for almost two years in South Kordofan and another state, Blue Nile. But on April 1 Bashir said his administration seeks a broad political dialogue, ‘including (with) those who are armed’. He also announced amnesty for all political prisoners, although only 11 are known to have been released, none from the SPLM-N. The rebels have said they are ready to talk on the basis of a UN resolution passed last year, but the government wants to use a different framework. — AFP

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, weeps over the flag draped coffin of an unknown Iranian soldier who was killed during the 1980-88 IranIraq war, during the funeral ceremony of two soldiers whose remains were recently recovered in Tehran, Iran, yesterday. — AP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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

Croatians go to polls in first EU vote ZAGREB: Croatians voted for their first European Parliament deputies yesterday amid tepid enthusiasm for membership in the EU that the Balkan country is set to join on July 1. Officials in the former Yugoslav republic have insisted that the vote to select the 12 lawmakers is “historic” and a key milestone on a path marked by years of difficult reforms, but turnout is expected to be low among the 3.7 million registered voters.

“These are the first European elections in Croatia’s history,” Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told reporters after casting his ballot in the capital Zagreb on a sunny spring day. nOpinion polls show that slightly more than half of the population want Croatia to become the European Union’s 28th member.

However analysts say that enthusiasm for member-

ship of the bloc has faded due to a difficult domestic economy as well as problems within the bloc. “I’m absolutely against Croatia’s EU entry as I see it as a new sort of a very sophisticated colonisation without a war,” Darko Stefanec told AFP. The 45-year-old clerk took part in the vote but left a blank ballot paper as a protest sign. “It’s a bit odd that in a country with almost 400,000 unemployed, one gives a vote to someone who is responsible for that unemployment and will now receive a salary of up to some ten thousand euros,” he said bitterly.

However, Milanovic, whose center-left coalition government took over from corruption-plagued conservatives in late 2011, said he believed that the turnout would be higher than Europe’s average.

In the 2009 vote for the European Parliament, the

average turnout in in the bloc was 43 percent. But ordinary citizens seem to be more concerned by the sluggish tourism-dependent economy which has not grown since 2009.

At a referendum on EU entry, held in January last year, the turnout was 44 percent, with 66 percent of Croatians casting a ‘Yes’ vote. Lukewarm interest in Sunday’s vote may also result from the apparent failure of politicians to campaign hard on EU-related issues amid rare media debates.

“I back EU entry ... but our incapable politicians are not worth my effort of going to a polling station,” Dubravka Simac told AFP. “They didn’t even try to explain to people what exactly they will do there (in the parliament)?” the 30-year-old saleswoman from Zagreb added.

Interest may also be low because the deputies’ mandate will be for only one, until Europe-wide elections in 2014 to choose a new European Parliament for the following five years.

Pre-vote polling suggests the ruling Social Democrats (SDP) party and its two junior coalition partners will take six of the 12 seats. The others would probably go to the opposition conservative HDZ party and the Labour Party, the surveys showed.

Polling stations will close at 1700 GMT while first partial official results are expected some three hours later. Croatia, which gained independence through a bloody 1991-1995 war, will be only the second of six former Yugoslav republics to join the EU. Slovenia joined in 2004. The European Parliament’s 754 members represent the EU’s 500 million citizens. — AFP

Teenagers among 5 dead in Belgian bus crash Cause of crash unknown

BERLIN: Members of the new anti-Euro party ‘Alternative fuer Deutschland’ (Alternative for Germany) react during the party’s founding convention in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. The organizers had to open a second room to squeeze in more than 1,500 members who had come from across the country to adopt a program and vote for a party board. — AP

SPD kicks off campaign for September vote AUGSBURG: Germany’s opposition Social Democrats (SPD) opened their election campaign yesterday pledging victory in September despite polls that suggest their best hope of regaining power will be in a “grand coalition” under Angela Merkel.

Opinion polls have put Peer Steinbrueck’s centre-left SPD well behind Merkel’s conservatives, and her personal popularity has soared to more than 60 percent while fewer than a third of Germans say they would prefer him as chancellor.

But Steinbrueck, who served as finance minister in the last Merkel-led “grand coalition” that led Europe’s biggest economy from 2005 to 2009, remained defiant about the party’s chances on Sept. 22.

“I want to be chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” Steinbrueck, 66, said at the party congress in Augsburg, reeling off a list of the SPD’s state election wins over Merkel’s centre right in the past three years.

“This government has nothing left on the shelves, just nice boxes in the shop window,” he said, and outlined a platform that stressed fair pay and pensions, affordable housing and more emphasis on job creation than Merkel-style budget austerity. Klaus Wowereit, the popular SPD mayor of Berlin, said the party was in fighting spirit. “The party is not demotivated, the mood is positive, even among those who are not natural Steinbrueck fans,” he said.

Steinbrueck himself has ruled out the possibility of serving with Merkel to avoid a repeat of 2009, when SPD disillusion with the grand coalition was blamed for its worst post-war election result of 23 percent.

One poll this week put the party back at that low level. “The message from this party congress is a clear ‘yes’ for RedGreen and nothing else,” said SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel, referring to the SPD and its Green allies in parliament.

But with Merkel’s current coalition partner, the liberal Free Democrats, far from certain of passing the 5 percent threshold to win seats in the Bundestag, and the SPD and Greens ruling out an alliance with the hardline Left party, a new grand coalition is a possibility that pragmatists cannot discount.

“I still think Red-Green is more likely, but you have to think about the alternatives,” said one senior party member, who asked not to be named and was already thinking about what the SPD should

demand in eventual coalition talks with Merkel.

The Greens, whose surging support will make them the third biggest party in the Bundestag lower house, are openly worried that the SPD is becoming resigned to a coalition with Merkel.

“They should remember that they emerged from the last one with 23 percent support,” said Greens leader Juergen Trittin. Bernd Groeger, a party member from North-Rhine Westphalia, summed up the attitude of many in the rank-andfile. “I personally wouldn’t welcome a grand coalition because it always hurts the party,” he said. “We lost credibility last time.”

Steinbrueck’s habit of speaking his mind in contrast with Merkel’s bland style once made him popular but there are now doubts as to whether he can lead Europe’s biggest economy.

He alienated the SPD’s left wing when he was discovered to have earned 1.25 million euros ($1.6 million) as an after-dinner speaker since leaving government in 2009. The party faithful seem unconvinced: 48 percent of SPD members polled for a Sunday paper said they would have a better chance with another candidate, versus 44 percent who backed him.

“Being an agent provocateur once made him Germany’s most popular politician,” one SPD premier told Reuters. “But if he wants to be chancellor, he must change.” In a push to silence his critics, the moderate Steinbrueck has adopted some leftist positions such as raising income tax for high earners. Party leaders urged him to ratchet up attacks on Merkel despite a mutual respect dating from when they worked together in government and tackled the global financial crisis.

Steinbrueck’s strategists fear the euro crisis plays to Merkel’s strengths and prefer to focus on domestic issues. But here too polls show her strategy of coopting centre-left and ‘green’ issues, such as the minimum wage and closing down nuclear power, has robbed her rivals of a strong platform.

The SPD plans a grassroots campaign to mobilise voters who stayed away in 2009. Steinbrueck is avoiding big speeches and instead meeting voters in their living rooms. “We have to attack the chancellor on her strong points as well, which means being bolder on Europe,” said Peter Friedrich, an SPD leader from BadenWuerttemberg state. — Reuters

BRUSSELS: Five people died and several were badly injured when a bus carrying Russian youngsters on their way to Paris crashed early yesterday in northern Belgium, officials said.

The Polish-registered bus had 42 passengers on board when it swerved off the E34 highway approaching the port city of Antwerp at around 6:30 am (0430 GMT). A spokesman for the local commune of Ranst, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Antwerp, said three of the young passengers died along with the two Polish drivers.

Nineteen people were injured. Six of them suffered serious injuries, including one who is in critical condition, and they will to stay in hospital longer, he said. The other 13 have left hospital after receiving treatment.

Early reports said the passengers were aged between 15 and 22 years, but the Ranst spokesman said some were as young as 10. In a statement, the commune said the passengers were all from Volgograd in southeastern Russia and were en route to Paris.

Contacted by AFP, the Russian embassy in Brussels was not able to provide any immediate information. Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said his “thoughts go to the victims. ... The Belgian emergency services and authorities (are doing) everything to help.”

A spokesman for Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said the government was working together with Russian and Polish diplomats here to organise facilities for the families of the victims if they decide to come to Belgium.

Pictures showed the badly damaged bus lying on its side some five metres (15 feet) below a bridge carrying the highway and then being righted by a crane and put back on the road.

RANST: A crane lifts a bus which crashed into a ravine in Ranst, Belgium yesterday. The Polish bus carrying Russian youngsters crashed through guardrails and off a highway onto a field below near the port city of Antwerp yesterday, killing at least five people and leaving five more critically injured. — AP Reports said no other vehicle was involved speculate about the possible cause after local and the bus apparently swerved off the road and reports suggested the driver might have fallen through a guard rail, sliding down the embank- asleep or become ill.

An official investigation has been launched, it ment of the bridge before coming to a halt added. The accident stirs painful memories of an underneath.

The immediate cause of the crash was accident a year ago when a bus carrying Belgian unknown, with no signs that the bus had braked schoolchildren crashed in Switzerland, killing 22 sharply. Ranst commune said it was too early to and six adults accompanying them. — AFP

French police hunt gangster after dramatic prison break LILLE: French police were on a manhunt yesterday for a notorious armed robber who staged a dramatic prison break in northern France after briefly taking several guards hostage. Lille prosecutor Frederic Fevre said about 100 investigators were involved in the hunt for Redoine Faid, known for brazen attacks on cash-in-transit vehicles, after he blasted his way out of a jail in the northern town of Sequedin on Saturday.

Faid, a 40-year-old who risked a heavy new sentence over the 2010 death of a policewoman, used explosives to blast through five prison doors and took hostage four prison guards, who were later released. Investigators were yesterday trying to determine how Faid had managed to obtain explosives and a firearm inside the prison, and who may have acted as accomplices. “A thorough investigation has begun. Obviously he had one or more accomplices. The investigators will now determine how he was able to obtain explosives and a weapon,” Fevre told AFP. Yesterday police detained a brother who had regularly visited Faid in prison for questioning, Fevre said. “No potential lead can be ignored. The doors must be closed one after the other,” he said, adding that the brother had been at the prison on Saturday to meet Faid but had not been able to do so.

French officials have warned that Faid is considered armed and “especially dangerous”. France has issued a Europe-wide arrest warrant and called in Interpol for help amid fears he may have already fled across the border into Belgium, which is only a few kilometres (miles) from the prison where Faid was being held.

A spokeswoman for Belgian Federal Police, Kaatje Natens, said roadblocks had not been ordered but that train stations and airports were being closely watched. Police have said the breakout was planned with meticulous precision and authorities insisted there was no fault on the part of prison workers. It began at 8:30 am (0630

SEQUEDIN: Forensic police officers enter Sequedin prison, yesterday in Sequedin, after one of France’s most dangerous gangsters, known for brazen attacks on cash-in-transit vehicles, blasted his way out of jail after taking several wardens hostage on Saturday. Redoine Faid, who risked a heavy sentence over the 2010 death of a policewoman, used explosives to blast through five prison doors and break free in the northern town of Sequedin. — AFP GMT) on Saturday while Faid was in a visitor’s room. Armed with the firearm and explosives, he took four guards hostage and in about half an hour blasted his way out of the prison, where an accomplice was waiting in a vehicle.

All of the hostages were released unharmed, one just outside the prison, another a few hundred metres (yards) away and the last two along the highway. The getaway car used in the escape was found burnt along the highway, where Faid is believed to have switched to a second vehicle.

Faid is known for co-authoring two books after a decade in prison for robbery, about his delinquent youth and rise as a criminal in Paris’s impoverished suburbs. He said his life of crime was inspired by American films such as “Scarface”

and “Heat”-where Robert De Niro’s armoured car heist has been cited as the model for real life attacks in South Africa, Colombia and other countries. “Movies for me were like a user’s guide for armed robbery,” he told the LCI news channel when his autobiography was released in 2010.

After insisting that he had turned his back on crime, Faid was in 2010 suspected of being the mastermind of an armed robbery in which a young policewoman was killed in a shootout.

Faid, nicknamed “The Writer”, landed back in prison in 2011 for failing to comply with his parole conditions and was due to serve the remaining eight years of his original sentence. He potentially faced 30 more years over the policewoman’s death. — AFP

Showdown looms in Italy’s long political drama ROME: Italy’s political leaders finally face a week of reckoning after nearly two months of disarray caused by a general election that left no clear winner but showed anger against austerity and corruption in the eurozone’s third largest economy.

A presidential election by parliament starting on Thursday has been preceded by behindthe-scenes talks and a bewildering array of possible candidates are being mentioned in Italian media, even as the deadlock on a new government drags on.

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who narrowly won the February 24-25 elections but fell short of an overall majority in parliament, met with his arch-rival Silvio Berlusconi last week to try and hammer out a deal on the presidency.

Berlusconi told La Repubblica daily that he was willing to support a leftist candidate for

the post but only on condition that the left ally with him and form a “grand coalition” government. Any move that brings three-time prime minister Berlusconi, a scandal-tainted billionaire tycoon, to power once more would be hugely controversial among many leftists in Italy but also abroad.

It could also split the left-leaning Democratic Party. The pressure is on for any kind of deal between the parties, with warnings from big business and the trade unions about the economic and social emergency that the recession-hit country faces.

Analysts said that the intensive negotiations on the presidential election could help end the deadlock on the creation of a new government. “ The presidential election is a key moment in this situation of crisis,” Roberto D’Alimonte, a professor at Rome’s Luiss University, told AFP, explaining that the type of

candidate chosen and the majority behind them would be crucial. Giovanni Guzzetta, a professor at Tor Vergata University in Rome, said a deal on a new government would depend on an agreement between Bersani’s Democratic Party and Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party. “The political forces appear more oriented towards some kind of deal,” he said. The successor to President Giorgio Napolitano will be chosen by a joint session of both chambers of parliament together with regional representatives-making for a total of 1,007 “grand electors”.

Napolitano tried to forge a climate of greater understanding by setting up a group of experts from both parties to outline the main reforms needed. The experts submitted their report on Friday, including proposals for election law reform, an overhaul of the labour market and the justice system-all to little effect as

politicians continue bickering.

The new president faces the unenviable task of trying to cobble together a government or-in a worst-case scenario-dissolving parliament and calling new elections within months.

Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti’s cabinet, which remains in place until a new government is formed, has only interim powers and observers say it cannot deal adequately with the economic crisis.

The head of Italy’s main big business federation Giorgio Squinzi, said Italy had already lost “1.0 percent of GDP” (Gross Domestic Product) since Monti formally stepped down in December 2012 after Berlusconi withdrew his support in parliament.

The leftist mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, who has ambitions to lead the centre-left, said political forces were “wasting time”. “Even the Church which is not a model of speed, man-

aged to organise itself quickly”-with the election of Pope Francis last month, he quipped.

Among the possible names for president mentioned in Italian media are those of former premier Giuliano Amato, ex-speaker of parliament Luciano Violante, Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri and former European commissioner Emma Bonino. If right and left agree on a presidential candidate “then a deal would be possible also on the government”, D’Alimonte said. Failure to find a deal could mean fresh elections although D’Alimonte said this was unlikely because of the “self-preservation instinct” of lawmakers who want to hold on to their seats. D’Alimonte said the two most likely scenarios were a minority centre-left government dependent on votes from its rivals in parliament, or a “president’s government”-a short-term cabinet that would essentially prepare for new elections within months. — AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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

Billions extra to reform education in Australia SYDNEY: Australia announced a Aus$14.5 billion (US$15.2 billion) plan to boost funding for schools yesterday in one of the country’s biggest education reforms in decades.

Under the proposal, the extra cash will be made available over six years from 2014 with the government setting a goal for Australian schools to be among the world’s top five in reading, numeracy and science by 2025.

“A world class school system is a key part of a strong economy for the future,” said Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a former education minister. “It will help every

In New Orleans, political brawl over police, jail NEW ORLEANS: A political brawl has broken out between the mayor and a sheriff who runs the city jail, which has come under scrutiny for a video showing inmates using drugs, drinking beer and one prisoner with a handgun.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked a judge last Tuesday to take the extraordinary step of placing the jail under federal oversight, effectively wresting control of it away from Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman. Landrieu is upset over an agreement Gusman reached with the US Justice Department to reform the jail, saying the city, which funds the jail, can’t afford the potential expense.

“Stated simply, the person at the top is neither accountable, nor capable of exercising leadership skills,” the city said in court documents that cited the video and the recent guilty pleas of two jail officials in a bid-rigging bribery case.

Landrieu is trying to reform the much-maligned police department and reached a widely heralded agreement with the Justice Department last year to clean up the agency. Now he’s trying to back out of it in light of Gusman’s separate agreement.

Landrieu said the city was making changes but can’t afford all the requirements outlined in the jail and the police agreements.

Gusman believes the city has consistently underfunded the jail and suggested race may be behind the attacks. The African-American sheriff recently told reporters that Landrieu, who is white, was employing “Archie Bunker rhetoric,” invoking the name of the fictional television bigot.

“They have to be looking at something different than just the record,” Gusman told The New Orleans Tribune. “And maybe they’re looking at the person who’s there. Maybe they’re looking at - they don’t like the way that person looks.”

Landrieu, a Democrat who carried a majority of the black vote in his 2010 election, has not directly responded to the remarks on race. While the problems at the police department have been widely known, less publicized have been unsanitary, violent and dangerous jail conditions that have long been the subject of lawsuits and court orders. The extent of the dysfunction was driven home during a recent federal court hearing on the jail reform pact when videos, apparently made by inmates in 2009, were released.

Shown to a stunned courtroom audience, one video showed inmates smoking, snorting and injecting drugs. Some drank beer, some had cellphones and one inmate ejected bullets from a handgun.

In another video, an inmate was seen wandering Bourbon Street and boasting, “Y’all know I’m supposed to be in jail right now.” Gusman, a Democrat who was first elected sheriff in 2004, has said the dilapidated building where the drug party and escape happened has since been closed. Two inmates who escaped, including the one seen on Bourbon Street, were arrested and prosecuted.

His sketchy memory of seeing the video in 2009, and his failure to involve state or federal authorities in the investigation, drew harsh criticism from jail consultants in court.

The agreement to make changes at the jail, known as a consent decree, would settle complaints the Southern Poverty Law Center filed on behalf of inmates. The agreement, which was signed by Gusman, is awaiting a judge’s approval.

During the recent court hearing, though, Gusman downplayed problems at the jail.

“I think we’re doing pretty good without the consent decree,” Gusman said, adding that a jail building now under construction with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be a major step in improving conditions.

How much the jail agreement will cost is in dispute and will be the subject of federal hearings in May. The Landrieu administration, citing one estimate in a court filing, says it could add $22 million annually to the $30.5 million the city already turns over to Gusman to house roughly 1,600 city inmates.

The costs would cover medical services, higher pay for deputies and a larger jail staff. City officials questioned whether he really needs that much money. “The jail consent decree has undermined our ability to move forward with the costs associated with the police consent decree,” Landrieu spokesman Ryan Berni said.

The city budgeted about $7 million for this year to begin complying with terms of the changes in the police department, where decades of scandal include the shootings of unarmed civilians in the law-and-order meltdown after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The police reforms could cost in the neighborhood of $50 million over the coming years. The big-ticket items so far include $1.4 million to begin equipping all patrol cars with cameras to better document police, $1.2 million for new computer equipment and $2 million for a monitor’s office that will make sure the police are toeing the following the pact.

While the administration complained the sheriff has asked for excessive funding given a jail population that has been decreasing, Gusman has cited increasing medical costs and the need for more pay for overworked guards. “The only person who is holding out in moving forward and doing the things we need to do is Mayor Landrieu,” Gusman said in a news release after the city’s latest court filing. “It’s disappointing.” — AP

Australian child get the best education possible and secure a high-wage, high skilled job.”

Gillard plans to make education a central pitch in her bid to be re-elected to government in September, with her ruling Labor currently badly lagging in opinion polls following a bitter party leadership struggle.

Of the money, the government would put in Aus$2 for every Aus$1 in extra investment made by the country’s states and territories to allow classrooms and teachers to be better resourced.

Gillard urged state and territory lead-

ers, who will meet in Canberra on Friday, to agree to the plan by June. “This new money will help schools pay for specialist teachers and modern resources. It will make sure every school is properly funded and will help give our kids the best start in life,” she said.

“It is vital that we as a nation seize this moment to make a difference for every child in every school for the long term.”

The announcement follows the most comprehensive investigation of the way schools are funded in Australia in almost 40 years-the Gonski Review-which was commissioned by the government and

released last year.

It found Australia was investing far too little in education, putting it at risk of slipping behind the rest of the world.

Part of Gillard’s reform agenda is to make “Asia literacy” a key plank of future education strategy.

She has previously announced a plan to prioritise Asian languages to better equip future generations to deal with key regional partners such as China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and India.

The proposals would partly be paid for by deep funding cuts to universities,

with the government on Saturday saying more than Aus$2 billion would be stripped from the sector, a move slammed by some education experts.

Glyn Davis, chairman of Universities Australia, the peak body representing the sector, said the cuts would “place severe strain on a sector that has been encouraged to expand enrolments”. “ The announcement will be condemned by those who understand that Australia’s university sector is crucial to national productivity growth, industrial diversification and long-term economic transformation,” he said. — AFP

Rubio vows tough, 10-year path to US citizenship ‘No job in US if you are not legally here’ WASHINGTON: Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican point man for immigration reform, yesterday said a new bill would carve an arduous 10-year path to citizenship for the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants.

Appearing on a string of Sunday talk shows, Rubio appeared keen to reassure hardline Republicans opposed to the idea of amnesty, promising a long and winding uphill climb to citizenship tethered to tighter border security.

Rubio, a Cuban-American seen as a possible 2016 White House candidate, said many immigrants would not qualify, and that those who did would have to pay taxes and fines and wait more than a decade before applying for citizenship. Even then, the path to citizenship would be tied to a major increase in border security, a high-tech verification system to track individuals who overstay their visas and mechanisms to prevent illegal immigrants from working.

“For those undocumented in this country, not only will they have to wait more than 10 years, they will have to wait until those... things are fully implemented,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’re not awarding anybody anything. All we’re doing is giving people the opportunity to eventually earn access to our new, improved and modernized legal immigration system.”

“You won’t be able to find work in the US if you are not legally here. That’s why that ‘e-verify’ part of it is so important,” Rubio said, adding that undocumented workers would be also barred from social and health programs.

Speaking to ABC News’s “This Week,” Rubio promised a process that “is going to be longer, more expensive and more difficult to navigate.” “It would actually be cheaper if they went back home, wait 10 years and apply for a green

card,” he said. “In exchange for all of that, we are going to get the toughest enforcement measures in the history of this country. We are going to secure the border to the extent that’s possible.” Rubio has been working with a bipartisan so-called Gang of Eight senators hoping to enact the most sweeping immigration reform in a quartercentury, with a Senate bill expected to be introduced as early as today. Rubio said he was “very optimistic” that draft legislation would be presented soon, but that there would be a “lengthy process” in which lawmakers would debate and amend the bill.

Republicans long opposed to amnesty have softened their position in the wake of their defeat in the 2012 election, when the Hispanic vote swung overwhelmingly in favor of President Barack Obama’s Democrats.

Senator John McCain, another member of the Gang of Eight who has said his fellow Republicans must address immigration if they hope to win national elections, said he was “guardedly optimistic” the reform effort would succeed. “A lot of my conservative colleagues have significant questions, and they’re legitimate. This is a start of a process,” he told CNN. Another bipartisan immigration bill is meanwhile being crafted in the Republican-led House of Representatives, amid public sentiment that appears increasingly to favor a comprehensive solution.

According to a March 21 survey, six out of 10 Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The last major immigration reform dates back to 1986 when, with Republican icon Ronald Reagan in the White House, some 3.5 million illegal immigrants were granted amnesty. The United States currently deports about 400,000 people annually. — AFP

WASHINGTON: In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Rubio says a proposed immigration bill expected to be introduced this week won’t offer amnesty to those who entered the US illegally. — AP

Mexican president faces teachers’ revolt

MADRID: Protestors shout slogans and carry a banner reading, “For the third republic!”, partly seen, during a protest against monarchy in Madrid, Spain, yesterday.

Thousands of people are protesting the Spanish monarchy and demanding the return of a democratically-elected head of state, another blow for embattled King Juan Carlos. — AP

Spanish anti-monarchy rally attracts thousands MADRID: Thousands of people demonstrated against the Spanish monarchy yesterday, demanding the return of a democratically elected head of state, another blow for embattled King Juan Carlos.

The marchers thronged Puerta del Sol, a central square in the capital, on the 82nd anniversary of the establishment of Spain’s last democratically-elected republic, which was overthrown by an army uprising that led to a civil war and the 36-year military dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.

Franco appointed then Prince Juan Carlos as his successor as head of state, a job the royal took over as king upon the dictator’s death in 1975. The monarchy’s popularity has slumped in recent months, with the

75-year-old king being criticized for going on a luxurious safari during Spain’s financial crisis and a corruption scandal with links to royal family members.

“This monarchy was imposed on us by the dictatorship, therefore we consider it to be illegal,” 45-year-old teacher Maria Ayuso said. “Also, we consider it anachronistic to have a non-elected head of state; it’s not democratic.”

For decades, the king was largely admired for having shepherded Spain from dictatorship to a modern democracy, with many citing his role in adroitly getting the participants in an attempted military coup in February 1981 to stand down peacefully as a highlight in his career. — AP

ATLIACA: Easter vacation was over, but there wasn’t a teacher in sight at the boarding school for indigenous children on the edge of this sunbaked southern Mexico hill town. A 37-year-old cook who hadn’t finished high school sat between two little girls on a cement stoop outside the kitchen, peering at their dog-eared notebooks as they struggled with the alphabet and basic multiplication.

“I’ve got the children here. If there aren’t any classes while they’re here, I have to teach them,” said the cook, who shared only her first name, Gudelia, for fear of retaliation from striking teachers. A short drive away, teachers marched by the thousands through the streets of the state capital, some masked and brandishing metal bars and sticks in an escalating showdown over education reform that’s become a key test of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s sweeping project to reform Mexico’s most dysfunctional institutions.

The fight is dominating headlines in Mexico and freezing progress on a national education reform that Pena Nieto hoped would build momentum toward more controversial changes. Those include opening the stateowned oil company to foreign and private investment and broadening Mexico’s tax base, potentially with the first-ever sales tax on food and medicine. Pena Nieto’s first major legislative victory after taking office in December was a constitutional amendment eliminating Mexico’s decades-old practice of buying and selling teaching jobs, and replacing it with a standardized national teaching test. That’s heresy to a radical splinter union of elementary and high-school teachers in Guerrero, one of the country’s poorest and worst-educated states. The teachers claim the test is a plot to fire

them in mass as a step toward privatizing education, although there is little evidence the government plans that. Reform advocates say the dissidents simply fear losing control over the state education system and the income it provides, despite the need to reform a system that eats up more of the budget and produces worse results than virtually any other in the world’s largest economies. The 20,000-member group walked out more than a month ago, turning hundreds of thousands of children out of class. Then it launched an increasingly disruptive string of protests.

On Wednesday, the protesters won support from a wing of the armed vigilante groups that have multiplied across poor Mexican states in recent months. On Thursday, they blocked the main highway from Mexico City to Acapulco for at least the third time, backing up traffic for hours. On Friday, they shut down entrances to some of the biggest stores in the state capital.

After returning Mexico’s former ruling party to power, Pena Nieto won international acclaim in his first five months by taking on some of the country’s most powerful people.

He jailed the head of the far-larger national teacher’s union when she threatened to fight school reform. Then his push to open the telecommunications business provoked a multibillion-dollar drop in the stock of the marketdominating phone companies owned by the world’s richest man. Now the president finds himself facing unexpectedly tough resistance from rural teachers in straw hats and plastic sandals in his first direct conflict with the Mexican far left, a diverse and fractious group encompassing student activists, militant unions, anarchists and the remnants of indigenous guerrilla groups. — AP

Guards, prisoners face off at Gitmo

GUANTANAMO: In this Oct. 9, 2007 file photo, Guantanamo guards keep watch over a cell block with detainees in Camp 6 maximum-security facility, at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba. — AP

MIAMI: Guards swept through communal cellblocks at the Guantanamo detention camp Saturday and moved the prisoners into one-man cells in an attempt to end a hunger strike that began in February, a US military spokesman said. “Some detainees resisted with improvised weapons, and in response, four less-than-lethal rounds were fired. There were no serious injuries to guards or detainees,” Navy Captain Robert Durand said in a news release. He said the action was taken because detainees had covered windows and surveillance cameras to block the guards’ view into the cellblocks. “Round-the-clock monitoring is necessary to ensure security, order, and safety as detainees continued a prolonged hunger strike by refusing regular campprovided meals,” Durand said. He said medical personnel had examined each detainee afterward. The detention camp at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba holds 166 men, most of them captured more than a decade ago in counter-terrorism operations.

Saturday’s early-morning sweep took place in Camp 6, a medium-security build-

ing where 80 to 100 detainees lived in cells that open into communal bays where they could eat, pray and watch television together. As part of the hunger strike, prisoners had been refusing to let food carts enter some of the bays.

Earlier in the week, Durand said 43 prisoners were taking part in a hunger strike, including 11 who were being force-fed liquid nutrients through tubes inserted into their noses and down to their stomachs.

The hunger strike began in February to protest the seizure of personal items from detainees’ cells. Some prisoners told their lawyers that their Korans had been mistreated during the cell searches, which the US military denied. Attorneys, military officials and human rights monitors have all said the hunger strike was partly an expression of frustration over the prisoners’ unresolved fate. About half of them have been cleared for release or transfer, but Congress has made it increasingly difficult to move prisoners out of Guantanamo and President Barack Obama has failed to implement his 2009 order to shut down the detention camp. — Reuters

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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

British university attacks BBC over covert N Korea trip LONDON: A leading British university criticised the BBC yesterday for arranging an academic trip to North Korea to make an undercover documentary, saying it had put students who were unaware of the plans in danger.

The London School of Economics (LSE) said three BBC journalists - including the respected reporter John Sweeney - joined a student society trip at the end of March, posing as tourists to make a film about the secretive state.

The university said the students had been told “a journalist” would accompany them, but it had not been made clear the BBC’s aim was to use the visit to record an undercover film for “Panorama”, a current affairs programme. “ This was not an official LSE trip,”

Craig Calhoun, the Director of the LSE, wrote on Twitter. “Non-students & BBC organised it, used the society to recruit some students, & passed it off.”

Tensions in the Korean peninsula have escalated in recent weeks, with North Korea threatening nuclear war against the United States and South Korea. Alex Peters-Day, general secretary of the LSE’s student union, told Sky News the students were only told of the BBC’s intentions at a very late stage, with one saying she was only informed when they were on the plane to North Korea.

The university said Sweeney, who graduated from the LSE in 1980, had posed as a history PhD student at the university to gain entry to the country even though he currently had no con-

nections with the institution.

“BBC staff have admitted that the group was deliberately misled to the involvement of the BBC in the visit,” the LSE said in an email to staff and students released to the media.

“It is the LSE’s view that the students were not given enough information to enable informed consent, yet were given enough to put them in serious danger if the subterfuge had been uncovered prior to their departure from North Korea.”

It said the LSE’s chairman had asked the BBC to pull the documentary, which is due to be shown on Monday, but the broadcaster ’s Director-General had refused. “ The students were all explicitly warned about the potential risks of trav-

elling to North Korea with the journalist as part of their group,” a BBC spokesman said on its website.

“This included a warning about the risk of arrest and detention and that they might not be allowed to return to North Korea in the future.” Sweeney also defended his actions on Twitter. “The LSE put out a statement which we dispute,” he said. “ We did go to North Korea Undercover. The North Korean agency unhappy. LSE students knew and understood what was at stake for them before trip. They consented.”

Panorama’s website said Sweeney had spent eight days undercover “inside the most rigidly-controlled nation on Earth”. “ Travelling from the capital Pyongyang to the countryside beyond

and to the De-Militarised Zone on the border with South Korea, Sweeney witnesses a landscape bleak beyond words, a people brainwashed for three generations and a regime happy to give the impression of marching towards Armageddon,” it said.

The LSE said aspects of North Korea were legitimate objects of study in several academic disciplines but said the BBC may have seriously damaged the university’s reputation, and jeopardised future visits to North Korea and other countries.

“BBC story put LSE students at danger but seems to have found no new information and only shown what North Korea wants tourists to see,” Calhoun wrote. — Reuters

Investigators probe Lion Air crash in Bali Divers searching for cockpit voice recorder

WATAHPUR: Afghan villagers watch US soldiers from the forward base Honaker Miracle patrol in Watahpur District of Kunar province yesterday. Budget cuts and war fatigue in Western capitals mean the 100,000 soldiers left serving in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force are packing up and taking off as the mission prepares to close next year. — AFP

Bomb kills anti-Taleban party leader in Pakistan MINGORA: A bomb blast killed a local leader of an anti-Taleban political party yesterday in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley, the fourth such attack targeting members of secular-learning parties during their campaigns for next month’s parliamentary election.

The bomb planted near Mukarram Shah’s car exploded in the village of Banjot, said Abdullah Khan, police chief of the city of Mingora where the village is located. He said the device appeared to have been set off by remote control.

Shah is from the secular Awami National Party, which supported military operations against militants in the region. The ANP is among three secular-leaning political parties that the Pakistani Taliban have threatened to attack during campaigns for the May 11 parliamentary elections. The other two parties are the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). In a video message, the Taleban have warned people to stay away from rallies held by the three political parties the Taleban consider enemy for their anti-militant stance. The three dominated Pakistan’s

last government, dissolved in preparation for the elections.

The ANP also headed the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Swat is located. It was fourth such attack since the Taleban issued the threat against the three parties several weeks ago. Earlier, two ANP’s candidates survived bomb attacks by the militants in the northwest and a Taliban shooter killed an MQM candidate in southern city of Hyberabad.

Pakistani Taleban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. “The three parties are on our hit list,” he told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Right-leaning and religious parties not being targeted by the Taleban have been holding their election campaign rallies without fear. Also yesterday, gunmen attacked a NATO supply convoy near Jamrud in Khyber tribal region, killing a truck driver and wounding another, said a local government administrator Iqbal Khan.

The Khyber Pass is one of the two main routes in Pakistan for the NATO supplies headed to neighboring Afghanistan. — AP

Arson against S Lanka paper targets Tamil vote: Party COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party accused the government yesterday of attacking the biggest opposition newspaper in an attempt to silence its political rivals ahead of key local council elections.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which represents minority ethnic Tamils, said Saturday’s torching of the Uthayan newspaper presses added to a “fear psychosis” among the population in the northern district of Jaffna.

“One of the main objectives (of the attack) is silencing the opposition ahead of provincial council elections,” TNA legislator Suresh Premachandran told AFP. “There is a fear psychosis in Jaffna, people are living in fear. They are scared to come out for political meetings. They fear there could be violence,” Premachandran said.

Three gunmen staged Saturday’s predawn arson assault on Uthayan’s office and printing press in Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s former civil war zone in the north of the country. Tamils have pressed for provincial elections to be called in the island’s Tamil-dominated north, where the first ever such vote is scheduled to take place in September. Local media reports quoted the defence ministry’s publicity arm claiming

that the attack was an “inside job” to discredit the government as the United States expressed concern for media freedom and urged a credible investigation.

The military in a separate statement issued Saturday denied any involvement in the attack. Police said a senior officer was heading an investigation into the assault which came on the eve of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year. No arrests have been made so far. Uthayan’s owner, Eswarapatham Saravanapavan, who is also a TNA MP, said it was the second strike on the publication this month. Five of his employees have been killed in recent years, but no suspects have been prosecuted, he said. A local media rights group, the Free Media Movement, said Saturday’s arson was a “direct attack on post-war democracy and media freedom”. Sri Lanka lifted emergency rule two years ago after the army crushed Tamil separatists in 2009 following a decades-long civil war, but media rights groups say journalists are forced to selfcensor their work due to fear of reprisals.

Some 17 journalists and media employees have been killed in the country in the past decade and no-one has been brought to justice. — AFP

YANGON: Revelers spray water from a pavilion during the traditional Thingyan celebrations in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday. Myanmar celebrated its annual water festival, known as Thingyan, from Saturday, marking the start of the New Year according to the traditional Buddhist calendar. — AP

BALI: Indonesian investigators yesterday began working to determine what caused a new Lion Air passenger jet to miss a runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 on board.

The National Transportation Safety Committee is examining the wreckage of the Boeing 737 800 that snapped in half before coming to a stop in shallow water near Bali’s airport on Saturday, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.

He said aviation authorities had already removed the plane’s flight data recorder and were planning to tow the aircraft to a beach. Divers were searching for the cockpit voice recorder located in the tail. Experts are examining what could have caused the crash, including whether wind shear may have played a role.

All 101 passengers and seven crew members were safely evacuated from the budget carrier’s flight, which came from Bandung, the capital of West Java province. Some swam from the wreckage, while others were plucked from the water by rescuers in rubber boats. Dozens suffered injuries, but most had been released from local hospitals yesterday. “I couldn’t wait to land in Bali when the cabin suddenly turned dark. I heard a sound like an explosion and water was coming in,” recalled Irawati, a 60-year-old woman who uses one name, like many Indonesians.

“I heard people shouting frantically: ‘The plane crashed! Get out!

Get out!’ I did not even have the energy to move my body,” she said.

“I was so weak and frightened, and I was asking a flight attendant for help before I passed out.”

Irawati told The Associated Press from her hospital bed that when she regained consciousness, the pilot and co-pilot were putting a life jacket on her and helping her down a rubber ladder. She was then pulled onto a surfboard by rescuers.

She suffered neck injuries.

Another survivor, Andi Prasetyo, who is now staying at a hotel, said there was no warning of any problem. “The cabin crew had already announced that we would be landing shortly, and I was so excited when I saw the ocean getting closer, but suddenly ... it fell,” he said. “I can’t believe that the plane actually landed on the sea, and everything changed to dark. It was full of horrif-

ic screaming. None of us remembered about the life jackets under our seats. Everybody rushed to get out of the plane.”

Officials said there were three foreigners on board - two Singaporeans and a French national all of whom suffered slight injuries.

Lion Air spokesman Edward Sirait

experienced, logging 10,000 flying hours. However, Indonesian aviation analyst Ruth Simatupang, a former investigator at the National Safety Transportation Committee, suspects some sort of miscalculation involving the landing.

“Something was obviously wrong with the pilot, and wind

holding about a 45 percent market share in the country, a sprawling archipelago of 240 million people that’s seeing a boom in both economic growth and air travel. The airline has been involved in six accidents since 2002, four of them involving Boeing 737s and one resulting in 25 deaths, according to

DENPASAR: This handout photo released by the Indonesian Search And Rescue Agency (SAR) on April 13, 2013 shows a Lion Air Boeing 737 lies submerged in the water after missing the runaway during landing at Bali’s international airport near Denpasar. — AFP said the plane crashed about 50 shear is a possibility that could lead the Aviation Safety Network’s webmeters (164 feet) ahead of the run- to an unstable approach,” she said. site.

Lion Air is currently banned from way. The weather was cloudy with Sudden changes in wind speed or direction can lift or smash aircraft flying to Europe due to broader rain at the time of the incident. safety lapses in the Indonesian airHe said the Boeing 737-800 Next into the ground during landing.

The pilot and co-pilot will be line industry that have long Generation plane was received by the airline last month and was grounded for two weeks for tests to plagued the country. Last year, a declared airworthy. The plane had ensure they were healthy during Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 landed in two other cities on the flight and for questioning by slammed into a volcano during a investigators. They also have under- demonstration flight, killing all 45 Saturday prior to the crash.

Given that the aircraft was new, gone alcohol and drug testing, and people on board.

Indonesia is one of Asia’s most Sydney-based aviation expert Tom the preliminary results were negaBallantyne said a technical or tive, Herry Bakti Gumay, a rapidly expanding airline markets, mechanical problem would seem Transportation Ministry official, told but is struggling to provide qualiunlikely. He said it was fortunate a news conference yesterday. In the fied pilots, mechanics, air traffic that the plane landed flat in shallow past two years, three pilots, one co- controllers and updated airport water rather than nose-diving or pilot and a flight attendant from technology to ensure safety. Lion hitting deep water, where it could Lion Air have been arrested for illicit Air, a private company which startdrug use. The airline said it planned ed flying in 2000, signed a $24 bilhave quickly been submerged.

“I’m surprised. The airplane split to suck the remaining fuel from the lion deal last month to buy 234 in two upon impact,” he said, esti- undamaged tanks in the plane’s Airbus planes, the biggest order mating it was likely traveling close wings before towing it at high tide ever for the French aircraft maker. It to 300 miles (483 kilometers) per to avoid destroying the area’s coral also gave Boeing its largest-ever hour. “It was coming into land and reefs. Bali is one of Asia’s most pop- order when it finalized a deal for hit the water very hard. It’s a miracle ular destinations, drawing millions 230 planes last year. The aircraft will nobody was killed,” Ballantyne said. of vacationers with its world-class be delivered from 2014 to 2026 as the airline positions itself to take on It was unclear whether human error surf and beautiful beaches.

Rapidly expanding Lion Air is AirAsia, which dominates budget may have played a role in the accident, and Sirait said the pilot was Indonesia’s top discount carrier, travel in the region. — AP

Once a landlord’s serf, Pakistani woman enters election fray HYDERABAD: When Veero Kolhi made the asset declaration required of candidates for Pakistan’s May elections, she listed the following items: two beds, five mattresses, cooking pots and a bank account with life savings of 2,800 rupees ($28). While she may lack the fortune that is the customary entry ticket to Pakistani politics, Kolhi can make a claim that may resonate more powerfully with poor voters than the wearily familiar promises of her rivals. For Kolhi embodies a new phenomenon on the campaign trail - she is the first contestant to have escaped the thrall of a feudal-style land owner who forced his workers to toil in conditions akin to modern-day slavery.

“The landlords are sucking our blood,” Kolhi told Reuters at her one-room home of mud and bamboo on the outskirts of the southern city of Hyderabad. “Their managers behave like pimps - they take our daughters and give them to the landlords.” To her supporters, Kolhi’s stand embodies a wider hope that the elections Pakistan’s first transition between elected civilian governments - will be a step towards a more progressive future for a country plagued by Islamic militancy, frequent political gridlock and the worsening persecution of minorities.

To sceptics, the fact that Kolhi has no realistic chance of victory is merely further evidence that even the landmark May 11 vote will offer only a mirage of change to a millions-strong but largely invisible rural underclass. Yet there is no doubt that hers is a remarkable journey. A stur-

dy matriarch in her mid-50s who has 20 grandchildren, Kolhi-a member of Pakistan’s tiny Hindu minority-is the ultimate outsider in an electoral landscape dominated by wealthy male candidates fluent in the art of back room deals.

Possessed of a ready, raucous laugh, but unable to write more than her name, Kolhi was once a “bonded labourer,” the term used in Pakistan for an illegal but widely prevalent form of contemporary serfdom in which entire families toil for years to pay often spurious debts. Since making her escape in the mid-1990s, Kolhi has lobbied the police and courts to release thousands of others from the pool of indebted workers in her native Sindh province, the vast majority of whom are fellow Hindus.

On April 5, Kolhi crossed a new threshold in her own odyssey when she stood on the steps of a colonial-era courthouse in Hyderabad and brandished a document officials had just issued, authorising her to run for the provincial assembly. With no rival party to back her, Kolhi’s independent run may make barely a dent at the ballot box in Sindh, a stronghold of President Asif Ali Zardari’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

But her beat-the-odds bravado has lit a flame for those who adore her the most: families she has helped liberate from lives as vassals. “Once I only drank black tea, but now I am free I can afford tea with milk,” said Thakaro Bheel, who escaped from his landlord a decade ago and now lives in Azad Nagar, a community of former

bonded labourers on the edge of Hyderabad.

“These days I make my own decisions. All that is thanks to Veero.” Like millions of the landless, Kolhi’s ordeal began a generation ago when drought struck her home in the Thar desert bordering India, forcing her parents to move to a lusher belt of Sindh in search of work harvesting sunflowers or chilies. Kolhi was married as a teenager but her husband fell into debt and she was forced to work 10-hour days picking cotton, gripped by a fear that their landlord might choose a husband for Ganga, her daughter, who would soon be ten years old.

One night Kolhi crept past armed guards and walked barefoot to a village to seek help. Her husband was beaten as punishment for her escape, Kolhi said, but she managed to contact human rights activists who wrote to police on her behalf.

Officers were reluctant to confront the landlord but they relented after Kolhi staged a threeday hunger strike at their station. More than 40 people were freed. “I was very scared, but I hoped that I could win freedom for myself and my family,” said Kolhi. “That’s why I kept on running.” Now Kolhi spends her days careering along dirt roads in a battered Suzuki minivan decorated with stickers of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Latin American revolutionary, on her quest for votes. Her only luxury: Gold Leaf, a brand of cigarette. Her only campaign equipment: an old megaphone. — Reuters

NEWS

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

An effigy of late British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher is carried during an anti-Thatcher party celebrating her death in Trafalgar Square in central London on Saturday. ‘Parties’ staged by opponents of Thatcher to celebrate her death took place in several locations across the UK. — AFP

Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized NEW YORK: Sometimes the bait is a small amount of cash in a stray wallet. Or a credit card. Even a pack of cigarettes can do the trick.

Police in New York City leave the items unattended - on subway platforms, on park benches, in cars - and wait to see if someone grabs them. The New York Police Department says the practice has been a valuable tool for catching career criminals and deterring thefts in public places. But a recent court ruling throwing out a larceny case against a Bronx woman cast a harsh light on a tactic critics say too often sweeps up innocent people.

Judge Linda Poust Lopez found that there was no proof Deirdre Myers tried to steal anything - and that she was framed by a sting that took the tactic way too far. Upholding the charges “would greatly damage the confidence and trust of the public in the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and rightly so,” the judge wrote. Myers, a 40-year-old single mother with no criminal record, has since sued the city, claiming she and her daughter were traumatized by a wrongful arrest in 2010. “You know how

embarrassing and humiliating this was?”

Myers said. “I’d never been stopped by the police for anything in my life.”

The city Law Department is still reviewing Myers’ lawsuit, city attorney Raju Sundaran said in a statement. But, he added, “undercover sting operations are lawful and help reduce crime.” The judge suggested that Myers’ brush with the law had its roots in the so-called lucky bag operation that the NYPD began in 2006 to deter thefts of wallets, shopping bags, smartphones and other valuables in the subways. A typical scenario was for a plainclothes officer to place a handbag with cash on a train platform and briefly look or step away. Anyone who took the bag, then passed up chances to return it to the undercover cop or to report it to a uniformed officer posted nearby could be locked up.

At the time, police credited the subway operation with driving down crime there. They say they still use the tactic when they see a spike in thefts of personal property in public places such as Grand Central Terminal or Central Park. But they now require more evi-

dence of intent - a suspect trying to hide a wallet or taking cash out of it and throwing it away - before making an arrest. Last year, police arrested a tourist from Atlanta in Central Park after he picked up a purse and took out $27 stashed inside, according to court papers in another pending civil case. He ended up paying a $120 fine as part of a plea bargain.

Authorities began using “bait cars” about six years ago in the Bronx to combat a chronic problem with car thefts and break-ins in working-class neighborhoods. In most cases, police plant property - an iPad, a pack of cigarettes in plain sight as the bait for thieves but make sure the car is locked so that a suspect would have to take the extra step of breaking in before being arrested.

But the strategy used in the Myers case “was certainly the most extreme version of the operation that we’ve seen,” said her attorney, Ann Mauer. According to court papers and to Myers’ account, she and her daughter Kenya, then a 15-year-old high school student, were sitting on the stoop of their building when the

GCC states demand IAEA inspections...

Continued from Page 1 There is no indication of any radiation leak following last week’s tremor and the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said the plant was built to withstand much bigger quakes. But the plant on earthquake-prone Iran’s southern coast is a growing worry for its neighbours, because the prevailing winds of the Gulf mean that if radiation ever does escape it would probably be blown over the Qatari capital Doha and the main oil exporting ports of the United Arab Emirates.

The quake killed 37 people and injured 850 others, Iranian authorities said, and was felt in nearby Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran said it informed the IAEA there had been no damage to the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, nearly 90 km northwest of the earthquake’s epicentre. Iran’s atomic chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said that the power plant was not operational when the quake struck as it was “under maintenance”, Iranian media reported. The Bushehr plant has yet to become fully operational, as its con-

struction has suffered a number of delays and setbacks.

Iran’s nuclear drive has put it at loggerheads with the West and Israel, who suspect the country of developing atomic weapons. Tehran has repeatedly denied the claims and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Saudi oil export ports could be spared by prevailing winds carrying any fallout further east over Qatari gas export facilities, UAE oil ports and big cities Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most nuclear plants are designed to withstand earthquakes and shut down safely if there is a major earth movement. In March 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook Japan, causing four nuclear power plants to shutdown their 11 reactors, as designed. But a subsequent tsunami destroyed back-up generators at one of them, Fukushima, causing its cooling system to fail and three of the reactors to melt down. Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6-magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. — Agencies

Myanmar Muslims fear toxic fallout...

Continued from Page 1 The violence escalated into a street riot that unleashed Buddhist-led bloodshed around the region.

Some monks were involved in the unrest while others are behind a nationalistic campaign calling for a boycott of shops owned by Muslims. The surge in Islamophobia is a major challenge for President Thein Sein’s reformist government which took office two years ago after the end of decades of harsh rule by a military that largely suppressed religious tensions. “We’re oppressed by fear, sorrow and doubt,” said Kyaw Nyein, legal consultant and senior member of Jamiat-Uloma-El Islam, an organisation of religious scholars. “Even if the government is willing to cure the disease, it is going to take decades.” The country’s transition from junta rule is proving a test for all of society, including the security forces, he said. “Previously, there was one military command that would stop any event,” he said. “Now it’s a civil administration. There are so many steps that need to be taken before (there is) action.”

Myanmar’s Muslims officially account for an estimated four percent of the population of roughly 60 million, although the country has not conducted a census in three decades. But local Muslim organisations believe the real figure is at least double that - and the proportion is possibly even higher in Yangon, the former capi-

tal and main commercial city, which is home to several Muslim neighbourhoods. In Meiktila an estimated 30 percent of the population is Muslim, including many who came from China decades ago as merchants.

Others hail from Bangladesh, although the majority came from India during British colonial rule.

Whatever their heritage, Muslims are widely considered as foreigners, said Alexandra de Marsan, an anthropologist with the Paris-based National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations. “There have been ver y few conversions” to Islam in Myanmar, she explained. “Most Muslims are descendants of foreigners from India or other countries.”

The recent violence triggered international alarm and brought calls for Thein Sein’s government to take swift action to quell the bloodshed. Rights groups have also accused police of failing to stop the violence, which has calmed since the former general appeared on national television on March 28 and vowed a tough response against those behind the attacks. Even so in cities such as Yangon - which has so far remained largely peaceful - Muslims are still living in fear. A fire that killed 13 teenagers at a Muslim school in early April added to the tensions, although the authorities insisted the blaze was accidental. “Everyone is scared, even me,” said Kyaw Nyein. “Every night there are rumours. We are under pressure.” — AFP

sting unfolded. “It seemed like everybody in the Bronx was out that night,” she said in an interview monitored by Vik Pawar, her attorney in her federal lawsuit.

The summer scene was interrupted by a bit of theater staged by police: A dark car raced down the block before stopping. Another vehicle carrying plainclothes officers wasn’t far behind. When the driver got out and ran, the officers gave chase, yelling, “Stop! Police!” her suit says. Myers’ daughter, seeing that the driver left the car door open, went over and peered inside to see personal items that included what looked like a bundle of cash - in reality, a dollar bill wrapped around pieces of newspaper. The girl had called her mother over when another set of police officers suddenly pulled up in a van and forced them to the ground, according to Myers’ account. “Get on the floor? For what?” Myers recalled telling the officers.

The officers took them into custody, even though they never touched anything inside the car, the suit says. While entering a stationhouse in handcuffs, Myers spotted the driver

of the car standing outside, smoking a cigarette. It dawned on her that he was an undercover with a starring role in the sting - a suspicion suppor ted by the cour t ruling. “I thought I was in ‘The Twilight Zone,’” she said.

The girl ultimately wasn’t charged. But her mother spent more than two years fighting charges of petty larceny and possession of stolen property.

A spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney’s office conceded that the bait car had been left unlocked and said prosecutors would not appeal the judge’s ruling. He declined to comment further. Though defense attorneys in the Bronx say there have been a few other cases involving bait cars and pretend police pursuits, the tactic hasn’t drawn much attention outside the borough. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and a lucky bag critic, said she wasn’t aware that police were using decoy cars until asked about the Myers case. “It’s such a bizarre and extreme attempt to set somebody up,” Lieberman said. “It’s like lucky bag on steroids.” — AP

Mogadishu attacks kill 34 civilians Continued from Page 1 He said two of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. An official from the Turkish Red Crescent confirmed to Turkish news television channel NTV that the organisation suffered casualties. “We unfortunately lost our Somali driver in the blast,” said Ahmet Lutfi Akar, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent. “Three Turks were also mildly injured but they are

in hospital now and doing well.”

Turkey has recently taken a leading role in Somalia and is very active in reconstruction and aid projects across the country, which has been left in ruins by two decades of almost uninterrupted conflict. “This attack is nothing but a sign of desperation by the terrorists, who’ve lost all their strongholds and are in complete decline right across Somalia,” Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh

Mohamud said in a statement. The courthouse is in the heavily-guarded administrative quarter of the capital and several senior officials were caught in the chaos. “The chief justice and other senior judiciary officials are all safe and sound, they were rescued unharmed but unfortunately a number of civilians and security personnel were killed in the attack,” police commander Mohamed Yusuf said. — Agencies

F1 draws world gaze to Bahrain Continued from Page 1 The 2012 meeting was accompanied by nightly skirmishes between protesters and security forces. This year, says Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, the signs are that tensions in the kingdom have eased and the risk of protests has diminished.

That’s a view opposition activists reject. “Of course we’re against it,” said Amani Ali, a 22-year-old university student dressed in the black garb typical of conservative Shiite women, standing a few metres from Hassan at the first of a series of opposition-organised marches. “The race brings money to the regime, which they use to buy weapons and attack us.” Many of the companies who help to finance Formula One are limiting their sponsorship involvement, although the firms, including Vodafone and Diageo, say the reasons are operational, not political. Formula One makes most of its money from hosting fees paid by race venues and from television rights. Bahrain pays an estimated $40 million annually to be part of the 19-race calendar.

Home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has faced unrest since pro-democracy protests broke out in Feb 2011, pitting a Shiite-dominated opposition against the minority Sunni-led government, led by the Al-Khalifa family. The protest was crushed, dozens of people were killed and authorities razed “Pearl Square” where mostly Shiite demonstrators camped out in central Manama in 2011. Now weekly sessions of a reconciliation effort between government and opposition known as the “national dialogue” take place outside Manama. But daily confrontations between stone-andpetrol-bomb throwing youths and birdshot-and-teargas firing police reflect a bitter political atmosphere.

Watched by millions around the world, the Grand Prix is the biggest sporting event hosted by Bahrain and authorities are eager to showcase Bahrain in its best light. The protesters know the race will not be cancelled. They feel there is an opportunity to use the media spotlight to highlight what they say are injustices still being committed against them. The Shiite majority complain of discrimination in jobs and govern-

ment while their loyalty in turn is questioned by members of Bahrain’s Sunni ruling family, bound by historical and marriage ties to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

For the most part, the opposition feels the West and friendly Sunni-ruled Arab states are ignoring their plight, as more horrific headlines from the civil war in Syria and Egypt’s major economic problems dominate media coverage. “People are getting killed. They (the government) wants to show that there’s nothing wrong in Bahrain,” said Hassan, at the same protest in Al-Aali in which thousands were calling for greater freedoms and for the downfall of the king.

A drive through the capital Manama and nearby rich suburbs showcase multi-lane highways, glittering five-star hotels, business towers and billboards advertising concerts. It is impossible to ignore the omnipresent pictures of the top three royal figures: King Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman Al-Khalifa plastered on malls, schools and billboards across the city. But a few minutes’ drive into poorer Shiite villages, and the skyscrapers are replaced by simple homes, many displaying anti-regime graffiti.

National dialogue talks that began in February have been in deadlock as both sides accuse each other of intransigence.

The tensions reflect the sectarian faultline in which Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are vying for influence in a region where traditional alliances are being recalibrated in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. The government denies opposition allegations of arbitrary arrests and abuse by security forces.

Last month, Hussein, a protest leader, said a group of men accosted him as he drove in his car late at night, and beat him.

“They told me say ‘Long live the King’,” he said. The men asked him if he participated in protests to which he replied that he joined government authorised ones. The men forced him to strip to his underwear and asked him the same question to which he gave the same reply. They then stripped him completely and asked him whether he would join protests, to which he replied no. “This time we’ll let you go,” he said the men told him. Information Minister Samira Rajab denied security forces would have carried out such an action. — Agencies

14

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

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Issues

Eurozone bank troublespots don’t come down to size

By Carmel Crimmins and Sinead Cruise hough the implosion of Cyprus’s bloated banking system has put other eurozone economies with outsized financial sectors such as Luxembourg and Malta in the spotlight, loan quality is the real litmus test of a country’s financial stability. Attracted by low taxes, high interest rates and light regulation, foreign deposits, largely from Russia and other former Soviet states, pumped up the Cypriot banking sector to nearly eight times annual economic output, more than double the European average of around 3.5 times.

Stripping out Russian banks and other international lenders, the three Cypriot banks for which the state was liable had assets amounting to more than five times Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a huge proportion for an island of just 800,000 people. What caused the problem, however, was that Cyprus’s two main banks used the gush of deposits to gamble on the Greek economy, leaving them horribly exposed when Europe imposed losses on Greek sovereign bonds. The implosion of the Greek economy rotted their loans to that country.

“Banks don’t fail because they are big. Banks fail because they make bad lending decisions,” said Frank Gill, director of European sovereign ratings at Standard & Poors. “It is important to understand that the Cypriot banking crisis was born on the asset not the liability side of the balance sheet.” Bank of Cyprus’s non performing loans shot up to 17 percent of its total book at the end of September last year. Cyprus Popular Bank, known as Laiki, which is being shut down as part of the Cypriot bailout, almost quadrupled its loan loss provisions to Ä400 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Officials from Luxembourg, anxious to protect the country’s reputation as a hub for international capital, are quick to draw the distinction between their risk exposure and Cyprus’. Though it has the largest banking sector in the euro zone, at an eye-watering 22 times GDP, and a population of only just over half a million people, roughly equivalent to Tucson, Arizona, the Grand Duchy is keen to emphasise that its banks are healthy and its liabilities much smaller than they appear on paper.

“In all the articles of the last few weeks, you have this famous bar chart measuring the size of the financial sector against GDP. It is not the way it should be looked at,” said Marc Saluzzi, chairman of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry. “If you look at Luxembourg, our centre is much more diversified; it is run by 142 banks, which are essentially subsidiaries of very large foreign banks, with solvency ratios above 15 percent. We are agents and not principals.”

Stripping out international banks, the core of Luxembourg’s financial system is based around three banks - state-owned BCEE, BGL BNP Paribas, in which French bank BNP Paribas has a majority stake, and Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL), majority owned by Qatar’s Al-Thani royal family. “Like the Cypriot banks, they do have fairly large external assets,” said Gill of those three banks. “Our estimate is just under 100 billion euros of external assets, which is 45 percent of GDP, but these are almost exclusively holdings of tradable, financial, highly liquid assets, securities they could realistically convert into liquidity almost instantly. “They are not claims on an insolvent economy.” According to the IMF, just 0.4 percent of loans in Luxembourg were non performing as of June last year.

After Luxembourg, Malta has proportionately the next largest financial sector in the euro zone, at around eight times the country’s GDP. But this statistic is misleading.

Stripping out international banks including some Turkish lenders that book a lot of their loans through Malta for tax reasons and do not take domestic deposits or lend domestically, the local banking sector has assets equivalent to under 300 percent of GDP and is dominated by two lenders - Bank of Valletta and HSBC Malta. If trouble hit, HSBC Malta would likely have the support of its parent HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, leaving Bank of Valletta with assets equivalent to around 1.4 times GDP. Malta’s domestic banks had non-performing loans equivalent to 8.2 percent of the loan book as of June 2012, according to the IMF. While the domestic banks in Malta have limited foreign exposure and have so far sidestepped any fallout from the euro zone crisis, the central bank this week called for them to raise their provisioning to better cushion them from potential losses. The vulnerability for Malta is the uncertainty caused by the Cypriot bailout, which for the first time forced large depositors and holders of senior bank debt to take losses - a ‘bail-in’ as the jargon has it. —Reuters

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

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

Beijing to US on North Korea - talk

By Christopher Bodeen mbedded within Chinese leaders’ convoluted, yet vague statements to Washington about North Korea is a simple message: Talk with Pyongyang. US Secretary of State John Kerry’s weekend discussions with officials in Beijing offered up the usual encouraging but familiarly noncommittal language on North Korea, emphasizing Beijing’s desire to strike a balance between easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula while not appearing to side against its prickly communist ally Pyongyang.

But while neither side offered details of their exchanges, Beijing is communicating its strong desire for some form of direct contact between the US and North Korea as a means of defusing the ongoing crisis over North Korea’s nuclear threats that have prompted a massive show of force by the US and South Korea. “North Korea wants to talk, so why not talk?” said Shen Dingli, a regional security expert and director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University. The question for China, Shen said, is how to make such discussions come about, adding that China is unlikely to make such calls too explicit for fear of putting either side in an embarrassing quandary.

Highlighting the difficulties of getting North Korea to talk with the US, the North rebuffed last week’s proposal by Seoul to

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resolve the tensions through dialogue.

North Korea dismissed the proposal as a “crafty trick” to disguise what Pyongyang calls the South’s hostility, and said it won’t talk unless Seoul abandons its confrontational posture. Chinese media reports on Kerry’s Saturday talks largely downplayed North Korea, and the Foreign Ministry’s official statements were predictably blurry. In its account of his meeting with Kerry, the ministry quoted Premier Li Keqiang as referring only to “those who stir up trouble on the peninsula only harm their own interests, like moving a stone only to drop it on one’s own foot”. That was a near echo of President Xi Jinping’s own comment in a speech earlier this month that “no one should be allowed to throw the region, or even the whole world, into chaos for selfish gains” seen as much as a rebuke to the US and its allies as to North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong Un. The ministry’s account of Kerry’s meeting with Xi didn’t mention the Korean Peninsula even obliquely. While China has grown more critical of North Korea since the latter’s third nuclear test in February, Beijing remains highly wary of pushing the hardline communist regime too far. China says it wants a Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons, but that all sides must play a role in that.

The stakes are high for China, with a potential conflict threatening its economic development and stability in the northeast

along its long, meandering border with North Korea. Beijing abhors the prospect of a pro-US unified Korean state on its border as well as internal North Korean conflict that could spark an outflow of refugees. China was already displeased by Kim’s lack of outreach and lack of concern for Beijing’s interests, and signed on to tighter UN sanctions following the North’s latest nuclear test in February. It’s also stepped up customs checks along their border, slowed some deliveries of equipment to the North and cracked down on suspect financial transactions by North Korean banks.

That’s had little apparent effect on Kim’s behavior, and he seems emboldened by China’s lack of a forceful response to past crises and Pyongyang’s perceptions of China’s fear of a collapse of the regime.

While North Korea’s population is starving and impoverished, the leadership gets by on Chinese food and fuel, along with growing investment, and imports of North Korean iron ore and other raw materials.

Despite that, it’s not clear what, if any, further pressure China is willing to exert, and if Xi, Li or others offered any further commitments, neither side was saying.

“Theoretically, there is more that China can do, but we’re very worried that doing so could stimulate Kim to do even more dangerous things,” said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at Renmin University in Beijing. “Be prudent, don’t go too far” is

China’s message to Washington and South Korea, Shi said.

While direct Washington-Pyongyang communication may offer a start, the ultimate key to easing tensions long-term lies in involving the other regional players, said Zhang Liangui, a researcher with the ruling Communist Party’s main research and training institute in Beijing. That would mark a return to Beijing’s preferred format of sixnation talks involving the two Koreas, China, the US, Japan and Russia, a process stalemated since 2009 over how to ensure North Korean compliance with denuclearization measures. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi again communicated Beijing’s preference for the Chinese-hosted talks in his Saturday meeting with Kerry.

“This is not an issue for the two sides only,” said Zhang, who is close to the Chinese leadership but said he had no direct knowledge of Kerry’s meetings. “It concerns the entire region, so all the countries involved should take part.” China is not the only one suggesting a phone conversation between the sides. Flamboyant former NBA player Dennis Rodman made the same point following a bizarre trip to Pyongyang and meetings with Kim in March. Both Kim and President Barack Obama love basketball “and there is even more they could talk about if Obama would just pick up the phone and call him”, Rodman said following the trip. — AP

Mubarak court appearance stuns Egyptians

By Jailan Zayan fter months of rumours that Egypt ex-president Hosni Mubarak was at death’s door, footage of the toppled leader looking strong and defiant in court stunned many who had cared little about his fate. The 84-year-old Mubarak who is being held at a military hospital in Cairo, has been treated for a heart condition, fractured ribs, fluid in the lungs, depression and high blood pressure, according to lawyers and official accounts. At one point last year he was even declared clinically dead as he slipped into a coma.

There were questions over whether he would appear in court for his scheduled retrial along with his top security chiefs for their alleged complicity in the murder and attempted murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters on January 25-31, 2011.

But on Saturday he was in the dock, sitting upright and looking strong. Wearing sunglasses, he waved and smiled at supporters, chatting casually with his two sons Alaa and Gamal who face corruption charges. In the event, the retrial came to an abrupt end with the main judge stepping aside and sending the case to the Court of Appeal, which will then refer it to a new circuit. “I expected to see a sick old man and I expected to feel sorry for him,” said Cairo resident Heba Radwan.

“But the pictures of him smiling and waving, they were so provocative.”

His demeanour was in stark contrast to the pictures of a pale and ailing Mubarak at the start of his trial in Aug 2011. “Mubarak in top form” read the headline of the state-owned Al-

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Akhbar. “I was furious when I saw him in the cage,” said Ahmed al-Sayyed, who works at a Cairo cafe. “I had forgotten about him. I didn’t even watch the trial live. But when I saw him on television later, I couldn’t believe the provocation,” he said.

A senior official with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party said Mubarak looked well enough to be taken back to prison. Mohamed AlBeltagy said Egypt was paying millions in hospital fees and transport costs for Mubarak “assuming he is really ill”. “Having the deposed Mubarak stay in hospital, transferring him by helicopter to court Saturday, seems increasingly like a satirical soap opera,” Beltagy said in comments posted on the Muslim Brotherhood website Ikhwanweb.

In January, Egypt’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, ordered a retrial for Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his life sentence, citing procedural failings. Former interior minister Habib Al-Adly had also been sentenced to life for his involvement in the deaths of the protesters, but controversially his security chiefs were acquitted, sparking widespread anger and protests after the verdict in June.

President Mohamed Morsi, who won elections last June on the Muslim Brotherhood’s ticket, had pledged new trials for former regime officials, including Mubarak, implicated in the protesters’ deaths.

But Morsi’s presidency has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, a revolt in the canal cities, sectarian violence and a devastating economic crisis, in what many fear is taking Egypt to the brink.

Mubarak had long warned

that if he were to step down, chaos would sweep the country. Some say that a feeling of vindication may explain his attitude in court. “Thanks, Guys”, read the headline in the independent pro-revolution daily AlTahrir which also translates as “Thanks Brotherhood”, a reference to Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood which has dominated politics since the uprising. “The revolution struggles, Mubarak smiles,” said the independent daily Al-Shoruk. A cartoon in Al-Tahrir shows the trial judge asking Mubarak where his lawyer is. “Why do I need a lawyer or defence? Morsi, bless him, has done a great job,” Mubarak replies. — AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

S P ORTS

Season over for Bryant

Newcastle keeper ruled out

Almagro and Isner advance

LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant has undergone surgery on an injured Achilles tendon and could be sidelined for up to nine months, the Los Angeles Lakers said on Saturday. Bryant, the fourth leading scorer in NBA history, sustained the injury late in the Lakers’ win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Lakers announced the surgery had been a success but said in a statement he would be out for a “minimum of six to nine months”. Bryant will miss any playoff action for the Lakers, if they can hang on to the final berth in the Western Conference, and could well be ruled out for a chunk of next season. The 34-year-old was quick to dismiss talk of his career being under threat, however. “Really, are you kidding?” he responded to reporters in the locker room. “Obviously there’s a bunch of players that have had this same injury, so I know I can do this.

“All I can do is what they’ve done, who had more success getting back quicker and healthier, and see what they did and see if I can improve upon it.” The Lakers have recovered from a poor start to the season to push themselves into playoff contention but their chances of making an impact will be sorely hurt by the loss of their leading player.—Reuters

LONDON: Newcastle United’s Dutch international goalkeeper Tim Krul will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder during yesterday’s 3-0 Premier League defeat to arch-rivals Sunderland. The 25-year-old was forced off after an hour of the derby at St James’ Park and replaced by Rob Elliott after awkwardly punching away a free kick from Adam Johnson.

Krul, who has played five times for the Netherlands, had only just returned to the starting line-up after being sidelined for a month with an ankle injury.

Newcastle were trailing 1-0 at the time, but lost after Johnson and David Vaughan added two more to Stephane Sessegnon’s opener midway through the first half.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said Krul will miss their remaining five league games. “Tim has dislocated his shoulder and is definitely out for the season,” Pardew told reporters. “The loss of Tim and the goal that was not given for offside were a couple of crucial moments.

“Losing Tim lost me a pair of legs and one sub which was difficult.

Those two moments meant Sunderland could see out the win.” The victory was Sunderland’s biggest at Newcastle since 1966 and eased their relegation worries.—Reuters

HOUSTON: Top seeded Nicolas Almagro needed less than an hour to cruise into the final of the US men’s clay court championship as he defeated American wild card Rhyne Williams 6-2 6-1 on Saturday. The Spaniard, ranked 12th in the world, will face American John Isner for the title. The fifth seeded Isner defeated champion Juan Monaco 1-6 6-4 64, avenging his loss in last year’s Houston final to the Argentine. Almagro won eight of the first 11 points in his match with first-time semi-finalist Williams. He broke Williams five times.

“I think I played better than yesterday,” Almagro told reporters. “I’m very happy with my game.” Isner dropped the opening set to Monaco in 33 minutes before the momentum shifted.

“Even though I got creamed in that first set, I felt I was playing pretty well. My serve wasn’t really on,” said Isner. “But I was making a lot of returns and so I told myself I was in the match. I just had to try and find a way to break through on his serve. “I served smart, got myself out of (some) jams the rest of the match.” Isner fired nine aces in the match, bringing his total to 57 through four matches and is three short of the tournament record of 60 set

by Pete Sampras in 2002. —Reuters

Butt wants Afridi to concentrate on cricket ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt advised Shahid Afridi to concentrate on improving his batting and bowling skills to keep his place in the national side, rather than criticize the ex-administrator.

Last week, Afridi said that during Butt’s tenure Pakistan was hit by matchfixing scandals and that he was removed as ODI captain despite Pakistan making the semifinal of the 2011 World Cup. “I always have felt very strongly that playing members should not make comments publicly,” Butt wrote in a letter that was sent to the all-rounder on Saturday.

“When you retire, you can definitely make such comments about other well wishers of cricket.” Butt started the war of words when he reportedly said that coach Dav Whatmore should be removed because his association with Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez was putting pressure on ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Afridi responded by saying that the squad setup was good and “everyone must support the team and the players.”

However, Butt reiterated his stance against Hafeez by saying that he doesn’t think the all-rounder is the right man to lead Pakistan in any format of the game Twenty20, tests or ODIs. “Hafeez is a very good all-rounder and can prove an asset to Pakistan cricket if he concentrates only on his cricketing activities,” Butt said in the letter. “I very strongly feel that he should not be made captain of any of the sides.”

Pakistan selectors have dropped veteran Younis Khan from the 30-man provisional list for Champions Trophy in England - a decision that does not go down well with Butt.

“This was very unfair,” Butt said. “All good cricketers have lien (lean) time. He had the lien (lean) time but won the Twenty20 World Cup when I made him the captain of the team.”

Butt also reminded Afridi that he enjoyed a very good friendship with new PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf and he just wants Pakistan cricket to flourish. “ Zaka Ashraf is not only known to me for over 40 years but he is also a good friend of mine,” Butt said. “My statement was basically as an advice to Zaka but I have never interfered in any of his working ever since he became PCB Chairman and I have the feeling that some people are not advising him sincerely in his cricketing activities.”

Afridi, who has not taken a wicket in his last six one-day internationals, also said last week he wanted to play until the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, provided he stays fit and continues to perform at the top level. “For this my suggestion to you would be that you should work hard to improve your batting and bowling efforts. In the past you have been one of the best all-rounders but in the recent times you have had a very lien (lean) time,” Butt wrote. Butt also invited Afridi to meet him whenever he comes to Lahore to clear the air between the two.—AP

Sahand Pouladi with Thamer Abdulnabi

FASTtelco sponsors Kuwaiti Taekwondo player Abdulnabi

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ommitted to its social responsibility and devoted to support Kuwaiti youth to succeed on the international scale, FASTtelco, Kuwait’s leading internet service provider specialized in offering innovative internet and data communications solutions, sponsored one of its sporting member employee in the Kuwait Universities Taekwondo team, Thamer Abdulnabi, who took part in the prestigious world International Cho Young Taekwondo Championship; winning the coveted Bronze Medalin his weight category, which was held in the scenic resort town of Phuket, Thailand on January 2013. Sahand Pouladi, FASTtelco’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the company does not only focus on technological achievement or events, but it also takes part both in social and sporting activitieswhich contribute to the development and prestigeof Kuwait and its society in general.

Through this successful sponsorship FASTtelco ensured that the real beneficiary would be the sporting society who through their successful participation have upheld and promoted the name of Kuwait in the international events, he added.

FASTtelco general philosophy and social responsibility is that it always

seeks to encourage sports development in Kuwait and that its sponsorship of Kuwait Universities Taekwondo team highlights the importance FASTtelco sets for such events. As far back as 2008 FASTtelco has been sponsoring such prominent events namely the 7th International Open Friendship Taekwondo Championships in Oregon State, Portland USA where the team showed an outstanding performance, knowing that they were the only Arab participants.

Abdulnabi, who won the bronze medal in Cho Young Championship, said he was very happy with the good result he attained and thanked FASTtelco for having given him such tremendous support and effective sponsorship. “Without FASTtelco’s support I would not have been able to participate in international championships and reach such an excellent accomplishment”, he added.

On behalf of all FASTtelco employees, Pouladi congratulated and thanked Abdulnabi for this amazing feat and reiterated that FASTtelco misses no opportunity to back Kuwaiti youth for it believes that they are the future of this country and if they receive enough support they will continue to carry Kuwait to new heights.

LOS ANGELES: Goalie Jonathan Quick No. 32 of the Los Angeles Kings covers the puck in the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center.—AFP

Rangers beat islanders in OT UNIONDALE: Defenseman Dan Girardi scored 3:11 into overtime to give the New York Rangers a stirring 1-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night in a game that felt every bit like a playoff matchup between the area rivals.

Henrik Lundqvist and Islanders counterpart Evgeni Nabokov staged a classic goalie duel that seemed destined to go to a shootout, but Girardi finished off a rush by flipping a shot over Nabokov’s shoulder for just his second goal of the season.

The Rangers are eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff race, one point behind the Islanders. The Rangers lead ninth-place Winnipeg by two points with seven games remaining - one more than the Jets. The Islanders have six games remaining, but only one more at home before they finish on a five-game trip they hope will end in their first playoff berth since 2007.

Lundqvist finished with 29 saves for his first shutout of the season. Nabokov stopped 19 shots.

The Rangers are 5-1-1 in their last seven. The Islanders, who had won their previous three, are 81-2 in their last 11.

lift Pittsburgh to its 19th victory in 21 games. Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh and Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves. Morrow also had an assist.

Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin missed the game with an upper body injury. The Penguins were also without Sidney Crosby, who is out indefinitely with a broken jaw. Scottie Upshall scored and Jacob Markstrom stopped 19 shots for the Panthers, which have lost three of their last four.

CAPITALS 6, LIGHTNING 5, OT In Washington, Washington blew a four-goal lead before Mike Green scored a power-play goal at 2:59 of overtime, extending the team’s winning streak to seven games.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 27th goal to move ahead in the NHL’s goal-scoring race, and the Capitals moved four points clear atop the Southeast Division, albeit after cruising way too much once they had a 5-1 lead early in the second period.

Green scored after Vincent Lecavalier was whistled for slashing Marcus Johansson, who was skating in on the crease for a clear look at a potential winning goal. Ovechkin broke a tie with the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos to take the solo spot atop the goal leaderboard for the first time this season.

Troy Brouwer, Jack Hillen, Jason Chimera and Eric Fehr also scored, and Braden Holtby made 35 saves for the Capitals.

Richard Panik and Martin St. Louis each scored twice for the Lightning, and Teddy Purcell completed the comeback when he scored with 2:35 remaining in regulation.

BLUE JACKETS 3, WILD 2, SO St. Paul, Mark Letestu and Cam Atkinson scored in a shootout to lift Columbus over Minnesota. The Blue Jackets won their third straight and pulled even with Detroit and Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 45 points.

The Wild dropped their third straight and were left clinging to a two-point lead over the Red Wings, Stars and Blue Jackets with 47 points.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 39 shots while Vinny Prospal and Fedor Tyutin each scored for Columbus. Pierre -Marc Bouchard and Jason Pominville scored for Minnesota, and Niklas Backstrom had 20 saves.

HURRICANES 4, BRUINS 2 In Raleigh, Jiri Tlusty scored two goals and Carolina ended a seven-game losing streak by beating Boston Bruins on Saturday. Joe Corvo’s powerplay goal at 9:36 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie.

The win was Carolina’s first in the month of April and the Hurricanes also ended an eight-game losing streak at home.

Jeff Skinner added a first-period power-play goal, the first time this season Boston had allowed two power-play goals in a game. Carolina goalie Justin Peters stopped 28 shots while Boston’s Tuukka Rask had 34 saves. Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic scored for the Bruins.

MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANADIENS 1 In Toronto, Toronto scored four goals on its first five shots, chasing Montreal goalie Carey Price midway through the first period en route to the win.

Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Jay McClement, Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel scored for Toronto, which has earned at least one point in 12 of its last 13 games (8-1-4). James Reimer stopped 36 shots for the Leafs. Price gave up three goals on four shots and was pulled after just 10 minutes, 25 seconds.

Peter Budaj didn’t fare much better, giving up a goal on the first shot he faced before finishing with 22 saves. Davis Drewiske scored for Montreal, which remained one point ahead of Boston for the Northeast Division lead and the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

PENGUINS 3, PANTHERS 1 In Sunrise, Brenden Morrow scored two goals to

STARS 2, SHARKS 1 In Dallas, Eric Nystrom and rookie Alex Chiasson scored goals, Richard Bachman made 31 saves and Dallas extended its winning streak to five games. Chiasson scored his sixth goal in just his sixth career NHL contest since being recalled from AHL Texas on April 2, helping the Stars improve to 45 points, even with Detroit and Columbus for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.

Brent Burns scored for the Sharks, who were coming off a 3-2 shootout win in Detroit on Thursday and are 8-2-1 in their last 11 contests.

AVALANCHE 4, CANUCKS 3 In Denver, Jan Hejda scored with 7.6 seconds remaining and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 24 shots, helping Colorado rally for the victory over Vancouver.

Hejda scored on a shot from just inside the blue line that beat a screened Cory Schneider. It was Hejda’s first goal of the season.

Gabriel Landeskog, Cody McLeod and P.A. Parenteau also scored to help the Avalanche beat the Canucks for the first time since Jan. 18, 2011.

Maxim Lapierre, Jannik Hansen and Jason Garrison scored for the Northwest Division-leading Canucks.

SABRES 1, FLYERS 0 In Buffalo, Jhonas Enroth stopped 29 shots to help Buffalo remain on the fringe of the playoff race with a victory over Philadelphia.

Christian Ehrhoff scored the lone goal, 17 seconds into the third period, when his fortunate shot rebounded off the end boards and sneaked in behind Steve Mason. Buffalo ended a two-game slide and climbed into a tie with New Jersey for 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. Enroth stopped 11 shots in the final period to close out his third career shutout and first since, Nov. 18, 2011. The Flyers lost their fourth straight, squandering an opportunity to jump a point ahead of the Sabres. They’ve lost four straight in regulation for the first time since Feb. 26-March 6, 2011.

KINGS 2, DUCKS 1 In Los Angeles, Mike Richards scored the tiebreaking goal, Jonathan Quick made 19 saves and Los Angeles crept closer to Anaheim atop the Pacific Division standings in the final Freeway Faceoff of the regular season.

Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist as the defending Stanley Cup champions solidified their hold on a top-four seed in the Western Conference by holding off the powerful Ducks, who have lost two straight. Los Angeles (24-14-4) trails divisionleading Anaheim (27-10-5) by seven points with six games to play. Ryan Getzlaf scored a shorthanded goal and Viktor Fasth stopped 16 shots for the Ducks, who have lost in their past five trips to Staples Center.

FLAMES 4, OILERS 1 In Edmonton, Sven Baertschi had a goal and an assist and Calgary hurt the playoff hopes of rival Edmonton. Mikael Backlund, Dennis Wideman and Max Reinhart also scored for the Flames, who have won three of their past four. Calgary improved to just 5-13-2 on the road this season.

Lennart Petrell scored for the Oilers, who have lost five in a row after a five-game winning streak.

The recent poor form puts Edmonton’s playoff hopes in peril as it is six points behind eighth place in the Western Conference with just seven games remaining.—AP

NHL results/standings Buffalo 1, Philadelphia 0; Colorado 4, Vancouver 3; Toronto 5, Montreal 1; NY Rangers 1, NY Islanders 0 (OT); Washington 6, Tampa Bay 5 (OT); Carolina 4, Boston 2; Pittsburgh 3, Florida 1; Columbus 3, Minnesota 2 (SO); Dallas 2, San Jose 1; Calgary 4, Edmonton 1; Los Angeles 2, Anaheim 1.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division

Pittsburgh NY Islanders NY Rangers New Jersey Philadelphia

W 32 21 21 15 17

Montreal Boston Toronto Ottawa Buffalo

26 26 23 21 17

Washington Winnipeg Tampa Bay Carolina Florida

23 21 17 17 13

L OTL GF GA PTS 10 0 141 102 64 16 5 119 122 47 16 4 100 96 46 16 10 96 113 40 21 3 108 126 37 Northeast Division 10 5 128 100 57 11 4 116 91 56 13 5 128 113 51 14 6 101 89 48 19 6 108 127 40 Southeast Division 17 2 129 118 48 19 2 109 123 44 21 3 132 128 37 22 2 107 131 36 22 6 99 142 32

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 31 5 4 132 85 66 St. Louis 23 15 2 110 102 48 Detroit 19 15 7 103 107 45 Columbus 19 16 7 102 107 45 Nashville 15 19 8 98 115 38 Northwest Division Vancouver 23 12 6 112 100 52 Minnesota 22 16 3 105 103 47 Edmonton 16 18 7 103 115 39 Calgary 16 21 4 110 141 36 Colorado 14 22 6 100 131 34 Pacific Division Anaheim 27 10 5 125 105 59 Los Angeles 24 14 4 120 104 52 San Jose 21 13 7 102 102 49 Dallas 21 17 3 116 121 45 Phoenix 18 16 7 110 110 43 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

S P ORTS

Braves, Cardinals triumph

OAKLAND: Athletics’ Derek Norris hits an RBI single off Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander in the second inning of a baseball game.—AP

Tigers maul Athletics OAKLAND: Prince Fielder homered for the second straight game, Torii Hunter hit his first clout since joining Detroit to help back Justin Verlander and the Tigers snapped the Oakland Athletics’ ninegame winning streak with a 7-3 victory Saturday.

Jhonny Peralta followed Fielder’s leadoff shot in the fourth with a three-run homer. A’s nemesis Verlander (2-1) outpitched Oakland lefty Brett Anderson before a sellout crowd. Verlander struck out six and walked three in six innings, allowing one run and three hits.

Anderson (1-2) allowed three home runs to match a career high. He was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out two and walked three.

ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 3 In New York, Nolan Reimold, Ryan Flaherty and Nick Markakis hit solo home runs, and Baltimore stopped the Yankees’ four-game winning string.

Nate McLouth doubled twice, singled and made a nifty catch in left field to back Jason Hammel (2-1). Orioles reliever Brian Matusz, Darren O’Day and Jim Johnson each pitched a scoreless inning. Johnson closed for his fifth save, shutting down a team that tagged him in last year’s AL playoffs. Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells hit solo homers for the Yankees. Phil Hughes (0-2) was booed off the mound after giving up three long drives in three-plus innings.

INDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 4 In Cleveland, Mark Reynolds hit a grand slam in a big fifth inning and Zach McAllister pitched into the seventh, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 9-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Reynolds had an RBI single to give Cleveland a 3-2 lead in the third inning. He connected off White Sox ace Chris Sale in a six-run fifth and tied a career high with five RBIs. The loss was Chicago’s fifth straight, all on the road. The White Sox are 0-5 away from home for the first time since 1972.

McAllister (1-1) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings and retired 16 of 17 at one point. Nick Swisher hit his first homer with Cleveland. Sale (1-1) gave up Swisher’s home run in the first and allowed a career-high eight runs in 4 1-3 innings.

RED SOX 2, RAYS 1 In Boston, Shane Victorino had a well-placed RBI single into a five-man infield in the 10th inning that lifted the Red Sox to a win over Tampa Bay. David Ross had a solo homer for Boston, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Junichi Tazawa (2-0) pitched one inning for the win. The Rays went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out off Brandon Gomes (0-1), stole second and advanced on catcher Jose Lobaton’s throwing error. Victorino then hit a hard grounder into the unusual infield configuration that second baseman Ben Zobrist made a diving stop on to his right, but was unable to make a throw home.

BLUE JAYS 3, ROYALS 2 In Kansas City, after finding out Jose Reyes likely will be sidelined until the All-Star break, Toronto got its first win from R.A. Dickey.

The NL Cy Young Award winner allowed one run and five hits in 6 1-3 innings, and Jose Bautista backed him with a two-run homer.

James Shields (1-2) was a hard-luck loser for the Royals, pitching a two-hitter with six strikeouts and three walks. Acquired from the New York Mets after going 20-6 last season, Dickey was 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in his first two starts for Toronto. Against the Royals, the knuckleballer struck out four, walked two and hit a batter, throwing 64 of 100 pitches for strikes.

ANGELS 5, ASTROS 4 In Anaheim, Albert Pujols hit a two-run double off Jose Veras with two outs in the ninth inning, Josh Hamilton hit his first home run for Los Angeles and the Angels stopped a five-game losing streak.

Jose Veras (0-1) came on in the ninth to protect a 4-3 lead for Lucas Harrell and walked No. 9 hitter Luis Jimenez with one out. J.B. Shuck flied out, Mike Trout reached on a two-out infield single to the left side and Pujols followed with a drive inside third base and down the left-field line, giving the Angels their first win in five home games this season.

Left-hander Michael Roth (1-0), promoted earlier in the day from Double-A Arkansas, pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts to win in his major league debut. Hamilton had gone 10 games and 37 at-bats without a home run.

WASHINGTON: Tim Hudson pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, Evan Gattis homered, and the Atlanta Braves beat Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals 3-1 Saturday for their eighth straight victory. Hudson (2-0) allowed one run, walked none and struck out three in improving his record against Washington to 15-5. He also singled twice off Washington ace Stephen Strasburg (1-2), who gave up two unearned runs and five hits in six innings.

Atlanta took the lead for good in the third inning, when Gattis homered after a two-out throwing error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. It was the fourth homer in eight games for Gattis, who made his major league debut on April 3. Craig Kimbrel got three straight outs for his sixth save in six tries.

CARDINALS 8, BREWERS 0 In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright (21) pitched a four-hitter for his fifth career shutout and drove in two runs with three hits, two in a seven-run sixth inning. St. Louis has thrown three consecutive shutouts.

Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo (01) allowed six runs - five earned - and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Gallardo dropped to 1-10 with a 6.83 ERA against the Cardinals; including a defeat in the 2011 NL division series, he’s 1-11 with a 6.86 ERA. Milwaukee has gone scoreless in 25 innings and has just five home runs in 10 games. Minus injured sluggers Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez, the Brewers are 1-8 since winning on opening day.

GIANTS 3, CUBS 2 In Chicago, Madison Bumgarner (3-0) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings on a near freezing afternoon, and Marco Scutaro had

three hits for San Francisco.

Pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro, batting right-handed, had a two-out, two-run homer off Bumgarner in the seventh. On Friday, the switch-hitter had a tying, pinch homer from the left side. Chicago put two on with no outs in the eighth, and Alfonso Soriano grounded out and Welington Castillo hit into a double play against Santiago Casilla, who finished for his first save. Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija (1-2) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.

briefly massaged the pitcher’s upper arm, and both then walked to the dugout.

Alfredo Simon (0-1) relieved Cueto with the score 1-1. Travis Snider reached on an infield single, Clint Barmes singled and Starling Marte singled with two outs to drive in the go-ahead run.

MARLINS 2, PHILLIES 1 In Miami, Chris Coghlan hit a game-ending single against a drawin infield with one out in the ninth

WASHINGTON: Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.—AP PIRATES 3, REDS 1 In Pittsburgh, Jeff Locke (1-1) won for only the second time in three major league seasons, and Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati after starter Johnny Cueto left in the fifth inning with a strained right triceps.

After striking out Pedro Alvarez starting the fifth, Cueto threw a firstpitch strike to Travis Snider then began shaking his right arm. A Reds trainer visited Cueto on the mound,

inning, giving Miami just its second win. Marlins 20-year old phenomenon Jose Fernandez pitched six scoreless innings to outduel Cole Hamels, and Miami (2-9), playing without slugger Giancarlo Stanton for the second straight day because of a bruised left shoulder, became baseball’s last team to win two games this year.

Fernandez gave Miami the lead in the fifth with an RBI single.

DODGERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 5 In Phoenix, Hyun-Jin Ryu struck out nine in six innings, getting his first three major league hits in the process, and Los Angeles held off Arizona. Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs as the Dodgers stopped a six-game losing streak in Arizona dating to last season. Matt Kemp singled in two runs, Skip Schumaker had an RBI double and Andre Ethier singled in a run for Los Angeles.

The Dodgers led 6-1 after six innings but Arizona tried to rally behind pinch-hit RBIs from Eric Hinske, Eric Chavez and Aaron Hill, and a home run by Martin Prado.

Ryu (2-1) allowed three runs and six hits. The South Korean left-hander singled twice and doubled.

ROCKIES 9, PADRES 5 In San Diego, Wilin Rosario had a career-high four hits and drove in three runs, and Jhoulys Chacin beat San Diego for the second time this season.

Rosario broke a 1-1 tie in the second with his fourth home run of the season, a two-run drive off Edinson Volquez (0-3). Rosario made it 5-1 with an RBI single in the third, singled off Thad Weber leading off the fifth and singled off Joe Thatcher in the ninth.

Chacin (2-0) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, his ERA rising from 1.35 to 1.96. He threw 83 pitches, extending the Rock ies’ streak of consecutive games without a 100-pitch star t to 113.

Colorado is 5-0 against the Padres this season.

Volquez gave up seven runs - six earned - six hits and three walks in 3 1-3 innings, leaving him with an 11.68 ERA. San Diego’s four th straight loss dropped the Padres to 2-9.—AP

RANGERS 3, MARINERS 1 In Seattle, Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre each hit two-out, RBI singles in the eighth inning to lift Texas over Seattle. Joe Ortiz (2-0) pitched two innings for his second win in three days. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in four chances. Jason Bay had two hits and an RBI for the Mariners, who have lost four of five.

Mariners starter Joe Saunders remained unbeaten at Safeco Field with a no-decision despite a strong performance, allowing an unearned run on three hits in seven innings.

Carter Capps (0-1) walked Craig Gentry to lead off the eighth and then got two outs before Andrus broke the 1-all tie with his hit to right. Andrus then stole second and kept going to third when Capps’ pitch went to the backstop, and scored on Beltre’s single.

INTERLEAGUE METS 4, TWINS 2 In Minneapolis, Matt Harvey didn’t allow a hit until Justin Morneau homered off the right-field foul pole with two outs in the seventh inning and led the Mets over the Twins.

Harvey (3-0) pitched past the seventh for the first time in 13 career major league starts, allowing one run and two hits in eight innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

Before Morneau’s homer - his first this season Minnesota’s only hard-hit ball came on Eduardo Escobar’s lineout to first base in the third. Making his first start since elbow surgery in December, Twins starter Scott Diamond (0-1) allowed all four runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. New York scored all its run in the fifth, when the Mets got seven straight hits for the first time since Aug. 1, 2001, at Houston. Marlon Byrd led off the inning with a 414-foot home run that landed in the second deck.—AP

VIENNA: Participants compete during the City Marathon in Vienna. —AFP

MLB results/standings Boston 2, Tampa Bay 1 (10 innings); San Francisco 3, Chicago Cubs 2; Atlanta 3, Washington 1; Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 4; Baltimore 5, NY Yankees 3; Detroit 7, Oakland 3; NY Mets 4, Minnesota 2; St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 0; Pittsburgh 3, Cincinnati 1; Toronto 3, Kansas City 2; Miami 2, Philadelphia 1; LA Dodgers 7, Arizona 5; Colorado 9, San Diego 5; LA Angels 5, Houston 4; Texas 3, Seattle 1.

Boston Baltimore NY Yankees Toronto Tampa Bay Detroit Kansas City Cleveland Chicago W Sox Minnesota Oakland Texas Seattle Houston LA Angels

American League Eastern Division W L PCT 6 4 .600 6 5 .545 5 5 .500 5 6 .455 4 6 .400 Central Division 6 5 .545 6 5 .545 5 5 .500 4 7 .364 4 7 .364 Western Division 9 3 .750 8 4 .667 5 8 .385 4 7 .364 3 8 .273

GB 0.5 1 1.5 2

Atlanta NY Mets Washington Philadelphia Miami

0.5 2 2

St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago Cubs Milwaukee

1 4.5 4.5 5.5

San Francisco Arizona Colorado LA Dodgers San Diego

National League Eastern Division 10 1 .909 7 4 .636 7 4 .636 5 6 .455 2 9 .182 Central Division 7 4 .636 5 6 .455 5 6 .455 4 7 .364 2 8 .200 Western Division 8 4 .667 7 4 .636 7 4 .636 7 4 .636 2 9 .182

3 3 5 8 2 2 3 4.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 5.5

Pakistani umpire Ghauri to appeal against ban LAHORE: Pakistani international umpire Nadeem Ghauri yesterday vowed to appeal against a ban imposed for spot-fixing after he was allegedly found willing to give favourable decisions in return for money. On Saturday the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) banned Ghauri for four years and first-class umpire Anis Siddiqui for three years after an Indian television sting operation in October last year exposing corruption in cricket.

But Ghauri said the ban was “one-sided” and vowed to appeal. “It’s a one-sided decision and I am not happy with this decision. They didn’t give me a chance. I think the PCB did it on some pressure. I will appeal that I should get justice,” Ghauri, 50, told a news conference.

The report, aired days after the World Twenty20 final in Sri Lanka, said it had “exposed” six umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions in return for money. The International Cricket Council (ICC)

immediately suspended the umpires and asked the respective boards to conduct inquiries.

Bangladesh Cricket Board last month banned its umpire Nadir Shah for 10 years while the inquiry in Sri Lanka is still pending. Ghauri protested that he only found out about the ban through the media. “At the moment I have not received any documents from the PCB, I came to know through media that I am suspended for four years,” said Ghauri. Ghauri had played one Test and six one-day internationals for Pakistan in 1989-90 before turning to umpiring. He officiated at five Tests, 43 oneday and four Twenty20 internationals before he was removed from the ICC Elite panel in 2010.

Ghauri questioned the ban, saying he does not come under the PCB. “I have no agreement with the PCB, I am not under PCB’s code of conduct. Is it possible umpires can do it? I don’t know about any other umpire but I think it’s been done on the pressure of the ICC.—AFP

Kenyans Sugut, Cheyech clinch Vienna Marathon VIENNA: Henry Sugut led a Kenyan sweep of the podium at the Vienna City Marathon yesterday to win the event for a third time in four years.

Sugut, who also won in 2010 and ‘12, left Solomon Kiptoo and Geoffrey Ndungu behind over the final two kilometers and finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 19 seconds.

“I am very proud to win again in Vienna,” Sugut said. “The people in Vienna cheered for me and that made me really happy.” Kiptoo, competing in only his second marathon, trailed Sugut by 15 seconds in second place. He finished 4 seconds short of the 2:08:30 he timed in his first effort in Eindhoven, Netherlands, last year.

Ndungu, a two-time winner in Dublin, came another 8 seconds back in third. The Vienna marathon has been won by an athlete from Kenya every year since 2007.

In sunny conditions and with temperatures reaching 14 degrees Celsius, Sugut failed to improve on his winning time from last year. In 2012, he set a course record of 2:06:58, the first marathon on Austrian soil to be completed in under 2:07.

“The weather was not bad but it was warmer than last year,” Sugut said. “It was okay, there was just a little bit wind. My opponents today were very strong. When I come to Vienna, I trust myself. I feel very strong here. Even when I run I remember the races I won here in the past.”

Flomena Cheyech of Kenya dominated the women’s race and finished in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 34 seconds to improve her personal best by almost 10 minutes. She beat Ethiopians Meskerem Assefa by 6:44 and Eyerusalem Kuma by 7:50.

Haile Gebrselassie won a half-marathon exhibition race for a third straight year. The Ethiopian great covered the 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) distance in 1 hour, 1 minute, 14 seconds.

“I wanted to run faster but it didn’t happen,” said Gebrselassie, who turns 40 on Thursday. “I ran a little bit faster at the beginning, I should have slowed down. But I am OK, it was fine.”

Meanwhile in Rotterdam, Tilahun Regassa led

an Ethiopian 1-2 to win the Rotterdam Marathon yesterday, breaking away around six kilometers from the line to finish alone in just his second race over the distance.

Regassa ran away from a leading pack of four runners around the 36-kilometer mark and blew kisses to the crowd down the Coolsingel final straight in this port city to finish in a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 38 seconds, 11 seconds slower than his first marathon, last year in Chicago.

Getu Feleke was second for the second straight year in 2:06:45, and Sammy Kitwara of Kenya finished third in 2:07:22.

Regassa said he suffered stomach cramps after drinking too much water at the 39-kilometer mark, but was able to comfortably hold off Feleke, whose preparation was interrupted by illness.

“The tempo was good and I managed to speed up when I wanted to,” Regassa said. Feleke said he felt the effects of a recent bacterial infection over the closing stages. “I was comfortable up until 32 kilometers,” Feleke said. “I wanted to accelerate with Tilahun, but then I felt I could not keep up with him and I kept running at my own pace.”

Jemima Jelagat of Kenya won the women’s race in 2:23:27. Abebech Afework of Ethiopia was second in 2:23:59 and Hilda Kibet gave Dutch fans lining the route something to cheer by finishing third in 2:26:42. Organizers had been hoping to break the men’s course record of 2:04:27 set by Kenyan pair Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai in 2009, but warm weather and windy conditions on parts of the course slowed the runners and took its toll in the second half of the race.—AP

VIENNA: Kenya’s Henry Sugut reacts after competing in the Vienna City Marathon, Sugut won the Marathon in 2 hours 08 minutes and 19 seconds.—AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

S P ORTS

Aussie winners shake up Super Rugby WELLINGTON: Three wins by Australian teams over New Zealand opponents reshaped the Super Rugby championship during the weekend’s ninth round.

The ACT Brumbies’ 30-19 win over the Dunedin-based Highlanders and the Queensland Reds’ 31-23 victory over the Hamilton-based Chiefs sent the Brumbies to the top of the table and dropped the Chiefs to second place. The 12th-placed Western Force then shocked the Christchurch-based Crusaders 16-14 to contribute to a reshuffle through the middle of the table which left only nine points between second and 11th-placed teams.

The Stormers’ win over the Sharks and the Blues’ win over the Hurricanes also closed up placings in the regional conferences. The Sharks now lead in South Africa by three points while the Brumbies and Chiefs have two-point leads in Australia and New Zealand.

The Brumbies and Reds, now separated by a two point margin, are scheduled to meet in Brisbane next weekend in a match which may heavily influence the outcome of the Australian conference.

Brumbies coach Jake White has already labeled the Reds favorites for the match despite his team’s superior standing and its larger contingent of current Wallabies.

“The Reds must have all the pressure,” White said. “The reality is they’re at home and they’ve probably got the best home record of any team in the competition.

“They’ve got players who’ve won championships. The pressure will be on everyone but we must not underestimate they must be king favorites, every guy in their starting team is a Wallaby.”

The Reds edged the Brumbies on countback last season to win the Australian conference but the Brumbies beat the Reds 246 when the teams met for the first time this season in the tournament’s opening round.

On that occasion, the Reds were without Genia, Cooper and captain James Horwill whose returns from injury have sparked their steady improvement in recent weeks.

The Brumbies’ form has sometimes wavered in recent weeks and they have mixed a draw with the Southern Kings and a loss to the Cape Town-based Stormers with a narrow home win over the Pretoriabased Bulls and Friday’s more convincing win over the Highlanders.

“I don’t think we’re at the point where we want to judge where we’re at, that will happen on its own,” White said. He said next Saturday’s match is “about testing ourselves against a team that have been the best, are considered the best, have no injuries, have won the conference two years in a row.

“They’ve even got a better coaching staff after adding (former Western Force coach) Richard Graham to their staff and it’s a great opportunity. They must be better

off than they were this time last year.”

The 32-year-old Smith, who retired from international rugby in 2010 after 110 tests and who has rejoined the Brumbies this season from Japan, was a major figure in their win over the Highlanders. He scored a try, forced turnovers and marshaled a defense which allowed the Highlanders only one, late and consolation try through All Blacks scrumhalf Aaron Smith.

The Highlanders have now lost seven games in succession, their worst-ever start to a Super Rugby season. Genia and Cooper were key figures in the Reds’ win over the Chiefs. Cooper scored a try and kicked four conversions and a penalty for 16 points while Genia expertly guided the attacking game, handing off to Cooper for his try and to winger Rod Davies for the second of his double.

“In the end we had enough up our sleeve, enough ideas and enough things we could execute to get the result,” Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said. “ The team doesn’t lack belief. It’s more about telling the doubters we’ve got something left in us.”

The seven-time champion Crusaders faced the Western Force in Perth on their way home from South Africa where they won one match and lost another. The Force built a 10 point lead in the first 12 minutes then defended stoutly to hold out the Crusaders, who were dominant for most of the match.

Crusaders center Ryan Crotty tackled a pitch invader who dashed onto the field with three others in the 75th minute, causing a brief delay.

The Auckland-based Blues took a bonus point from a four-try win over the Wellington-based Hurricanes to move into second place in the New Zealand conference and to close the gap on the Chiefs.

Winger Frank Halai and fullback Charles Piutau were outstanding members of a Blues backline, controlled by All Blacks scrumhalf Piri Weepu, which beat the Hurricanes at their own expansive game.

Joe Pietersen kicked six goals from six attempts, including the conversion of a solitary try to Juan de Jongh, as the injurystricken Stormers beat South African conference leaders the Sharks 22-15.

The Bulls returned to the comfort of home to end the Cheetahs’ record run on Saturday. Having lost their last three games away in New Zealand and Australia, the three-time champion Bulls had too much power back at Loftus Versfeld and outscored the Cheetahs two tries to one.

The Cheetahs, on a franchise-record five-match winning streak, landed a lastminute penalty through flyhalf Burton Francis for a losing bonus point that put them sixth overall, but with the same amount of points as the Bulls and Hurricanes.—AP

CHARLOTTE: Bobcats’ Josh McRoberts (11) controls the loose ball between Milwaukee Bucks’ John Henson (31) and Gustavo Ayon (19) during the second half of an NBA basketball game.—AP

Celtics cruise to victory ORLANDO: Courtney Lee scored 20 points and Jeff Green added 17 as the Boston Celtics cruised to a 120-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

The win locked up the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference for Boston, which never trailed in winning its eighth straight over Orlando.

All five Celtics starters reached double figures, with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively, after resting Friday against Miami.

Tobias Harris led the Magic with 22 points, and Nik Vucevic added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Orlando hasn’t won back-to-back games since December.

BOBCATS 95, BUCKS 85 In Charlotte, Kemba Walker had 21 points, Josh McRoberts nearly had a triple-double and Charlotte handed Milwaukee its ninth straight road loss.

The loss locked the Bucks into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, meaning they’ll draw the defending champion Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. McRoberts had 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine assists.

Bismack Biyombo chipped in with 13 points and 17 rebounds, as the NBA-worst Bobcats dominated the Bucks 52-36 on the boards. Mike Dunleavy had 19 points and Monta Ellis added 16 to lead the Bucks, who have lost 11 of their last 14.

TIMBERWOLVES 105, SUNS 93 In Minneapolis, Ricky Rubio had a career-high 24 points, 10 assists and five steals, and J.J. Barea scored 16 points to lead Minnesota past Phoenix.

Derrick Williams added 15 points and six boards for the Timberwolves, who gave coach Rick Adelman victory No. 1,001. It’s also the first

time the Wolves (30-50) have won at least 30 games in a season without Kevin Garnett on the roster.

Markieff Morris had 20 points and nine rebounds and Jared Dudley scored 16 for the Suns, who turned the ball over 28 times. The Suns have lost 15 of their last 17 and already are assured of having their worst record since their inaugural season in 1968-69.

CLIPPERS 91, GRIZZLIES 87 In Memphis, Chris Paul hit a free throw with 18.3 seconds left, and Los Angeles edged Memphis in a possible preview of a first-round

playoff series.

With the win, the Clippers took the season series 3-1 for what could be a crucial tiebreaker giving Los Angeles home-court advantage in the postseason even though the teams now are tied at 54-26. That puts them both one-half game behind Denver for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

DeAndre Jordan led the Clippers with 16 points. Paul finished with 13, Blake Griffin had 12 and Willie Green 10. Marc Gasol had 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for Memphis.

Zach Randolph finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.—AP

NBA results/standings Charlotte 95, Milwaukee 85; Boston 120, Orlando 88; LA Clippers 91, Memphis 87; Minnesota 105, Phoenix 93.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB NY Knicks 52 27 .658 Brooklyn 47 32 .595 5 Boston 41 39 .513 11.5 Philadelphia 32 47 .405 20 Toronto 31 48 .392 21 Central Division Indiana 49 30 .620 Chicago 43 36 .544 6 Milwaukee 37 43 .463 12.5 Detroit 28 52 .350 21.5 Cleveland 24 55 .304 25 Southeast Division Miami 63 16 .797 Atlanta 44 36 .550 19.5 Washington 29 51 .363 34.5 Orlando 20 60 .250 43.5 Charlotte 19 61 .238 44.5

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City59 21 .738 Denver 54 25 .684 4.5 Utah 42 38 .525 17 Portland 33 46 .418 25.5 Minnesota 30 50 .375 29 Pacific Division LA Clippers 54 26 .675 Golden State 45 35 .563 9 LA Lakers 43 37 .538 11 Sacramento 28 51 .354 25.5 Phoenix 24 56 .300 30 Southwest Division San Antonio 58 21 .734 Memphis 54 26 .675 4.5 Houston 44 35 .557 14 Dallas 39 40 .494 19 New Orleans 27 53 .338 31.5

Busch gets NASCAR sweep NEW YORK: Nonito Donaire knocks down Guillermo Rigondeaux during the tenth round of their WBO/WBA junior featherweight title unification bout at Radio City Music Hall. —AFP

Rigondeaux stops Donaire NEW YORK: Guillermo Rigondeaux retained his WBA super bantamweight championship and added the WBO super bantamweight belt, unanimously outpointing Nonito Donaire on Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall.

Rigondeaux improved to 12-0, receiving winning scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 116111 in the unification bout. He failed to knock out his opponent for only the fourth time since turning pro, but overcame being knocked down twice in the opening minute of the 10th round in a performance that had some booing the lack of action.

Rigondeaux’s speed appeared to be too much for Donaire (31-2), who was trying to defend his WBO super bantamweight belt for the fifth time. Donaire, the Professional Boxing Writers Association fighter of the year for 2012, was handed his first loss in 30 fights since 2001.

“I apologize,” Donaire said. “I wanted to deliver. During the last two rounds, I got stupid. I didn’t do my job. I didn’t use my jab and go to my left. I have no excuse. He beat me tonight. I gave it all I got. I never studied the fight and I should have.”

The Cuban defector, a two-time gold medalist believed to have fought over 400 amateur bouts, landed 129 of 396 punches.

Donaire landed only 82 of 352 punches and by the time the fight ended, he was trying to avoid further swelling on his right eye.

“We fought the Cuban boxing way, hit and don’t get hit,” trainer Pedro Diaz said. “We made Donaire look very bad.” Donaire appeared to knock down Rigondeaux in the opening seconds of the 10th, but referee Benjy Esteves ruled it a slip. After being dropped with a left hand, Rigondeaux quickly got up.

Going into the 12th round, judges Tom Schreck and Julie Lederman had the fight in favor of Rigondeaux, with Schreck scoring it 105-103 and Lederman 106-102. John Stewart had the fight even at 104-104.

“He was pitching a shutout,” trainer Diaz said. “He won every round. He was throwing more punches and being more aggressive.”

Rigondeaux ended his biggest victory as a pro by opening the 12th with three hard lefts and then began punishing Donaire with a series of punches along the ropes.

“I saw Nonito looking for one punch,” current WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley said. “It seemed like he was looking for one punch. He was following him around the ring but the thing about the Cubans is that they’re so smart. That’s why you kept seeing that right hand around the head.

That’s Cuban style fighting. That’s what they do.”

In the buildup to the fight, Donaire and Rigondeaux had an eye-to-eye confrontation in the weigh-in. When the fight concluded, Donaire headed to Rigondeaux’s corner and told him he was the best.

Rigondeaux dominated the opening round and appeared to catch Donaire offguard quickly with a pair of effective left hands and then got his attention with two more right hands, including one near the final bell.

“This is boxing,” Rigondeaux said. “I got him right away. He didn’t hurt me.” The fight was the second in the 82-year history of the building. The other was in 2000 when Roy Jones Jr. retained the light heavyweight championship against David Telesco in 2000.

Promoters said a crowd of 6,145 fans attended the fight including NBA star Carmelo Anthony.—AP

FORT WORTH: Kyle Busch was just trying to maintain the pace behind Martin Truex Jr. while waiting for his chance. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team pounced when the yellow flag came out with 21 laps to go at Texas Motor Speedway.

Busch finally regained the lead on pit road during that caution then held on for the final 16 laps after the last restart Saturday night in the Sprint Cup race, completing a NASCAR weekend sweep.

“As soon as that caution came, my boys stepped up the plate and hit a grand slam,” said Busch, who got his 26th career cup win in his 300th start.

After following Truex lap after lap, Busch came off pit road first and charged forward his Toyota forward in a strong restart.

It was the second time this season, and a NASCAR-record seventh time in his career, that Busch won Cup and Nationwide races in the same weekend. He was the polesitter Saturday night, and won the Nationwide race Friday night on the 11/2mile, high-banked track.

Busch, who also won both races at Fontana last month, led eight times for 171 of 334 laps. He is the first driver to win in all three series at Texas, with six Nationwide wins and two in trucks.

“To be in Victory Lane in Texas, there’s nothing better,” Busch said. “If it wasn’t for my pit crew, which is the most awesome group ever. ... Man, those guys were just awesome. They put together a heck of a stop to give us that lead. These cars are amazing to drive. They’re fast. They’re fun.”

Truex was trying to win for the first time since June 2007, but his winless streak reached 210 races when he finished a half-second behind Busch.

Truex came into the race 25th in points with no laps led this season, but had his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in front for 142 laps at Texas. “Debris huh????” Truex tweeted about the caution that cost him the lead.

Truex had more than a 4-second lead over Busch soon before pulling in for a green-flag stop on lap 281 just before two cars spun on the backstretch bringing out a caution. Truex had pushed back to a 1.3-second lead just before that last yellow flag that determined the race.

“The last caution came out and we got beat out of the pits, and that was the race,” Truex said. ‘It was pretty frustrating to run second again.”

NASCAR said that during a postrace inspection, it was determined that Truex’s No. 56 car was too low in the front. The series said the car would be looked at further, and the issue addressed next week.

Busch has 111 career victories in NASCAR’s three top series - 26 in Sprint Cup, 55 in Nationwide and 30 in Camping World Truck.

His weekend sweep in California last month was overshadowed by the last-lap crash in the Cup race between former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano that left Hamlin with a fractured vertebra in his lower back.

Logano barely made the start of the race after

TEXAS: Sprint Cup Series’s Kyle Busch (18) celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series NRA 500 auto race at Texas Motor Speedway.—AP

prerace inspections turned up problems. He started at the back of the field, but worked back to a fifth-place finish. Jimmie Johnson maintained his series points lead by finishing sixth, ahead of Aric Almirola.

“It was one of the toughest races I think we’ve ever dealt with and to come home with a top-five out of something like that, we couldn’t be more excited about that,” Logano said.

NASCAR confiscated the original rear-end housing parts from Logano’s No. 22 Ford and the No. 2 of Penkse Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, the defending Sprint Cup champion. NASCAR officials said the situation will be evaluated further next week, when decisions about any penalties could be made. Logano gave up his starting spot of 18th after being late to the starting grid while having to get additional inspections. Keselowski got on pit road in time and started 16th, and finished ninth.

In keeping with a long tradition for the winner at Texas, Busch received a cowboy hat and got to fire trophy six-shooters loaded with blanks in Victory Lane.

The title sponsor of the race was the National Rifle Association, which came at a time when the US Senate weighs legislation intended to reduce gun violence in the wake of the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. A senator from Connecticut requested that the Fox network not broadcast the race.

Busch didn’t get a rifle or shotgun for his qualifying run Friday like the other fastest Cup qualifiers had gotten since 2005. But track president Eddie Gossage said Saturday that was because there wasn’t a sponsor for that award this year, and not any reason other than that.

Carl Edwards, a three-time winner at Texas who had his seatbelt come loose during the race, finished third ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle.

Brian Vickers, filling in for Hamlin in the No. 11 Gibbs car, finished eighth. Hamlin was at the track this weekend and said he feel good, though he will miss at least another race, maybe more.

A part-time Cup driver for Waltrip’s team, Vickers had five top-10 finishes in eight races last year.

Vickers is a full-time Nationwide driver for Gibbs This was the 25th Sprint Cup race at the track that opened in 1997 and started hosting two races a year in 2005. It also was the first night race this season, and the first for NASCAR’s new Cup cars. Kurt Busch started on the front row next to his brother, but finished 37th and 18 laps off the lead.—AP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

S P ORTS

Snedeker and Cabrera share lead at Masters AUGUSTA: American Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera of Argentina survived a drama-packed day at the Masters on Saturday to share the lead after the third round, nosing themselves ahead of a congested leaderboard that included the imposing figure of Tiger Woods. Snedeker kept his cool in the suffocating pressure of Augusta National to shoot a flawless three-under par 69 to finish the day at seven-under and in sight of a first major title.

He was joined at the top by Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, who drained a birdie putt at the last hole for a 69, igniting a huge roar from the greenside galleries that echoed around the Georgia course. Adam Scott was third at six-under after also signing for 69, one stroke ahead of his fellow Australians Jason Day (73) and Marc Leishman (72), raising hopes the winner’s green jacket could finally be heading Down Under after years of nearmisses.

Matt Kuchar (69) was at four-under, just one ahead of South African Tim Clark, who shot the best round of the day with a 67, and the ever-present Woods, who was almost disqualified for a rule infringement. Woods has never come from behind on the final day to win a major but believes he can add to his tally of 14 after carving out a 70 in difficult conditions.

“I’m right there in the ballgame,” he said. “As of right now I’m four back with a great shot to win this championship.”

Tournament officials used their discretionary powers to allow Woods to remain in the championship after reviewing an incident in Friday’s second round. The world number one could have been disqualified for an illegal drop at the 15th hole but the Masters competition committee took a lenient approach, slapping him instead with a two-shot penalty. Woods said he was unaware that he had breached any rules after officials investigated the episode on Friday night and initially cleared him of any wrongdoing but conceded he had made an innocent mistake.

“I understand and accept the penalty and respect the committee’s decision,” Woods said in a statement before starting his round.

The decision not to disqualify Woods triggered an instant debate around the golfing world, with players and fans divided over whether he had gotten off lightly.

Critics said he should have voluntarily withdrawn to uphold the game’s integrity, but for the players on the course, it was business as usual as they tried to make up ground on what is traditionally known as moving day.

Snedeker, ranked fifth in the world, made a steady start, parring his first 12

AUGUSTA: Jim Furyk hits his second shot on the first hole during the fourth round of the Masters golf tournament.—AP

holes before reeling off three birdies on the back nine to join Day in the lead.

The American briefly held the lead in the final round at Augusta five years ago but crumbled under the pressure and finished tied for third.

“I’ve spent 32 years of my life getting ready for tomorrow and it’s all been a learning process,” he said. “I’m not here to get a good finish. I’m not here to finish top-5. I’m here to win.”

Day, who finished joint runner-up with Scott two years ago, led by a shot overnight. Like Snedeker, he also parred his first 12 holes then birdied the par-5 13th but slipped up with bogeys on each of the last two holes.

Scott, who threw away a four-shot lead with four holes to play at last year’s British Open, gave himself a chance for redemption with a tidy round while Leishman, who shared the lead at times throughout the day, made a bogey at 17 to finish level with Day. The Masters is the only major that has eluded Australia’s best golfers but with three players in the top five heading into the final round, the drought could soon be over.

“It’s a great opportunity for all of us to be the first,” said Day. “So if it happens tomorrow, that’s great. If it doesn’t, then we’re going to keep plugging away.”

Veteran American Fred Couples started Saturday’s round a shot behind Day but quickly lost touch with his younger rivals and carded a 77, while Rory McIlroy’s charge crumbled when he shot a 79 that included a triple bogey and a double bogey on the back nine.

“I was only a few off the lead going into seventh hole today and then all of a sudden I play seven through 11 in five over par and basically my chances in the tournament are gone,” said the Northern Irishman. The defending champion, American left-hander Bubba Watson, made six birdies but handed back four shots with a pair of bogeys and a double to finish the day at two-over.

“I have to shoot a real low one tomorrow to have a chance,” said Watson. “But I will come out tomorrow and just enjoy the walk as my last day as defending champ and try to shoot a decent number.” China’s teenage sensation Guan Tianlang, the feel-good story of the tournament, once again wowed the galleries with his clever shotmaking and nerves of steel that belied his tender years. “I get to play with all the top players on the weekend,” the 14-yearold said after his 77. “It’s great for me, and I think I had a pretty good run in the first two days, and today feels pretty good.”—Reuters

31 Adrenaline filled years of Mobil 1 at the Grand Prix KUWAIT: Since the creation of the first Mobil 1 lubricants almost 40 years ago, the brand has been actively involved in motorsports at all levels, from grassroots racing through to NASCAR and Grand Prix Racing. Mobil 1 has been involved in Grand Prix racing for 31 adrenaline-filled years and counting.

During that time parent company ExxonMobil has taken part in 518 Championship races and achieved 120 outright victories,323 podiums and 31(1-2) finishes. There have also been 11 World Championships, Six Drivers and five Constructors titles. Mobil 1 is proud to continue its 19-year association as technology partner to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team for the 2013 Grand Prix Racing season.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes won seven

victories during the 2012 season. 2009 Formula 1 World Drivers Champion Jenson Button, and team newcomer Sergio Perez, are positioned for further success in this year’s challenge with the launch of the new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-28 car.

In the 2013 Grand Prix Racing season, Mobil lubricants will be used throughout the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-28 race car. Specifically: Mobil 1 engine oil, Mobil 1 SHC(tm) gear oil, Mobilith SHC(tm) 1500 grease, Mobil SHC(tm) hydraulic oil & Mobilith SHC(tm) 220 grease Interesting Facts: • Mobil 1 has to lubricate a modern Grand Prix racing engine for up to 3,000 km

• Mobil 1 separates and cools over 300 moving parts in the V8 engine • Mobil 1 withstands engine forces 8,500 times greater than the force of gravity • Mobil 1 performs effectively to over 300degreesC (hot enough to melt tin and close to the melting point of lead) • Mobil 1 protects against the stresses generated from a race engine with an output of over 760bhp, running at up to 18,000 rpm Kuwait Automotive Imports Co (Al Shaya & Al Sagar) is the exclusive ExxonMobil - Mobil Lubricants distributor in Kuwait for more than 63 years successfully catering lubricant requirements to all sectors namely passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and industrial.

Photo of the day

Ronnie Renner (USA) speaks with a local during a freeriding session in the Nazwa Desert outside of Dubai. www.redbullcontentpool.com

Alonso wins Chinese GP SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso roared to a dominant victory in a highly strategic Chinese Grand Prix yesterday to give Ferrari their first win of the Formula One season and put the pressure on champions Red Bull. In a dry race dictated by tyre choices and frequent pitstops, the Spaniard beat Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen by 10.1 seconds to make amends for crashing out of the previous race in Malaysia. Lewis Hamilton completed a trio of world champions on the podium with third place for Mercedes after the Briton started on pole position but was unable to hold off the red car looming in his mirrors.

“The team did a perfect job with the setup of the car,” said Alonso, now third in the overall standings on 43 points after three races — six points behind Raikkonen and nine adrift of Red Bull’s triple champion Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari cut Red Bull’s lead in the constructor’s standings to five points. The win was Alonso’s second in China, where red is regarded as the colour of good fortune, and his first since Germany last July. It was also the 31st victory of his career - taking him to fourth in the all-time list alongside Britain’s 1992 champion Nigel Mansell. “It was a fantastic race for us from the start. There were no big problems and the tyre degradation was better than expected.

It feels great,” said the double champion after a battle involving four different leaders in the first seven laps.

“In the two races we’ve finished we have got second place and victory so our start of the 2013 season is very good.”

Raikkonen had started second on the grid but made a painfully slow getaway and was immediately passed by both Ferraris as the field engulfed him. The Finn fell to fourth spot before battling back through the many pitstops and despite breaking his car’s nose after being forced wide on to the kerb while trying to pass McLaren’s Sergio Perez. “What the hell is he doing,” the ‘Iceman’ shouted over the radio in an uncharacteristically heated moment.

Vettel finished fourth, just 0.2 behind Hamilton after a thrilling chase to the chequered flag that was a highlight of an afternoon that saw drivers more often pacing themselves rather than racing flat out. The German had started on the medium tyres, unlike the leaders who had lined up on softs, and left it until five laps from the end to change to the faster tyres that allowed him to reel in Hamilton.

“We’re not quite there yet, but we’re not so far away,” Mercedes principal Ross Brawn, whose team won in China from pole last year with Nico Rosberg, told Hamilton over the radio. The Briton could at least feel buoyed with his second successive podium finish for the team he joined from McLaren at the end of last season, while Rosberg failed to finish.

McLaren’s Jenson Button, who finished fifth to ensure five champions in the top five places, was even reduced at one point to asking his team whether he should fight or simply conserve the tyres. There was more agony for Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who started from the pit lane after running out of fuel in qualifying and who made an immediate stop after a first lap on the soft tyres.

The Australian lasted just 18 of the 56 laps, pitting twice and breaking his front wing in a collision with the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso of Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne. Webber accepted the blame and collected a three place grid penalty for next weekend’s race in Bahrain.

His afternoon was in stark contrast to the previous Malaysian Grand Prix, which he led until Vettel ignored instructions from the pit wall not to overtake and denied him victory. The feud between

the team mates was the talk of the Shanghai paddock in the runup to the race but they never came close to racing each other, let alone being in a position for Webber to exact any revenge. The nearest it came to any drama was when Vettel almost hit Webber’s loose right rear wheel as he rounded the turn 14 hairpin and found it bouncing and rolling in front of him.

“The way his strategy was going, it was working very well for him and he was back in the thick of it,” said team principal Christian Horner of Webber’s race. “The contact was unfortunate, and then to have to retire the car was even more unfortunate.” He angrily dismissed any suggestion of a conspiracy theory against the Australian, saying it was ‘complete rubbish’.

“We’re all about trying to get two cars to the finish as high as we can. Anybody who thinks there is a conspiracy here against either driver does not know what they are looking at,” said the Briton. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who also scythed past Raikkonen at the start, finished sixth with Australian Daniel Ricciardo seventh for Toro Rosso and Paul Di Resta eight for Force India.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean was ninth for Lotus and Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg secured the last point for Sauber to compensate for Mexican team mate Esteban Gutierrez ramming the rear of Adrian Sutil’s Force India. Gutierrez was handed a five place grid penalty for Bahrain.—Reuters

SHANGHAI: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso of Spain holds up the trophy as he celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. —AFP

Kuwait gears up for shooting tourney

By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: “The sporting shooting allows the largest number possible of shooters to participate in a friendly atmosphere at the international level.”

This is what President of the Arab Shooting Federation, Vice-president of Kuwait Shooting Federation Eng Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi said during a press conference Saturday evening to announce the organization of the Grand Prix of Kuwait at Compak Sporting, and the Sporting Grand Prix of Kuwait from April 24th until April 29th, 2013.

Eng Al-Otaibi said this championship will be organized for the first time in Asia. He said Kuwait is member of the International Spor ting Shooting Federation (FITASC), which includes several advanced countries in the shooting sport.

He said KSSC was always looking for facilitating all means to develop the sport of shooting in Kuwait, and attract Kuwait youth to join the shooting club, and practice the sport while following the rules of security and safety.

Eng Al-Otaibi said, that “we communicated with FITSAC, and we were welcomed at the general assembly in Chicago, and presented our papers expressing our wish to organize this championship to be the first in the Asian continent.”

He said the championship allows Kuwaiti youth to be on the international list which enables them to participate in

KUWAIT: Al-Ibrahim, Al-Otaibi, Al-Osaimi and Al-Ghurba during the press conference. championships organized in countries like Britain, Germany, Spain, USA, Australia and other countries, as competitions are held on monthly basis in Britain and Europe, and allow professional and amateur shooters to participate. He said the most important element in this championship is compliance with the security and safety rules, and the correct use of weapons.

Al-Otaibi said this championship is divided into two par ts “Compak Sporting” and “Open Sporting”. He said in the Compak Sporting there will be six targets launched from several angles where the source is known, but the open sporting covers a large area, as there will be 36 target launching

machines, and each machine uses different angles, and this does not allow the shooter to predict where the target is coming from.

He said amateurs prefer this championship because it is more fun. He added, the championship will follow the rules of KSSC, and registration will be open from April 20th, until April 24th for amateurs who were not previously registered, and they will be given courses to train them on the safety and security basis.

Eng Al-Otaibi, on behalf of Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and board members welcomed par ticipants, adding that the shooting club always look forward to present services to

Kuwait youth and society, to attract the largest number of youth who wish to practice this noble sport.

Responding to a question about the difference between the sporting shooting and others, he said both use shotguns only, and that skeet, trap and double trap are Olympic games for professionals and international shooters, but as for sporting the same targets and weapons are used but in different manner. He said the sporting federation is separate from the ISSF and was successful in attracting a large number of shooters.

He said we noticed large numbers of Kuwaitis who love the sport and the board of directors at the instructions of

Duaij Al-Otaibi speaking to the media.

Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, have an ambitious plan to have Kuwait among member countries of the International Spor ting Shooting Federation, because we do not want individuals to practice this type of shooting without complying with the security and safety ruler. Al-Otaibi said that among participating countries are Britain, Germany, Cyprus, France, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Morocco, Sweden, and Norway in addition to the Gulf countries. Secretary General of Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federations Obaid Al-Osaimi, Assistant Secretary General Eng Mohammad Al-Ghurba and Assistant Treasurer Adnan Al-Ibrahim were present at the conference.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

S P ORT S

United dismiss Stoke to close in on title Stoke 0

Man United 2

SPAIN: Barcelona’s midfielder Cesc Fabregas (left) vies with Zaragoza’s defender Alvaro Gonzalez (right) during the Spanish League football match. —AFP

Barca outclass Zaragoza MADRID: Barcelona continued their march towards a 22nd La Liga title as a muchchanged side were still too strong for struggling Real Zaragoza in a 3-0 win at La Romareda.

Thiago Alcantara got the visitors going with a tidy finish on 20 minutes and the Spanish international then played in Cristian Tello to make it 2-0 just before the break.

Tello showed great pace and poise to register his second of the evening seven minutes after the restart and there was even a rare clean sheet for Barca despite the absence of Gerard Pique at the back.

Tito Vilanova made six changes from the side that started Wednesday’s exacting Champions League clash with Paris SaintGermain. However, it was one of those not rested that caused a surprise as Xavi started a league game for the first time since early February.

Of those to come into the side it was Tello who looked most likely to make an impression as he curled just over after barely a minute and then blasted another effort off target from Alexis Sanchez’s clever cut-back 15 minutes later.

Zaragoza had dropped into the relegation zone due to Deportivo La Coruna’s win on Saturday and their lack of confidence having not won a game at all this year was in evidence as they failed to trouble a makeshift Barca defence throughout the first-half.

Indeed the opening goal arrived from one of the few occasions when Zaragoza might have been able to put the visiting defence under pressure, but instead Barca broke upfield from a home corner and a neat exchange of passes between Thiago and Sanchez allowed the midfielder to sweep home just his second goal of the season.

Thiago was involved again as Barca doubled their advantage six minutes before the break as this time he and Tello combined to allow the winger to run through on goal and he showed great composure to slot past Roberto Gago.

Sanchez could even have had a third before the break but for a good reaction save by the Zaragoza keeper and the Chilean’s luck was also out at the beginning of the second period as this time he lobbed Gago only to see the ball come back off the bar. It didn’t take long for the third Barca goal to arrive though as Tello showed off his frightening speed once more to dash past Glenn Loovens and slot into the far corner.

To their credit Zaragoza kept going and Paco Montanes forced Victor Valdes into his first save of the day with 28 minutes remaining.

However, they lacked the creativity needed to open up Barca and the Catalans comfortably held on to move 16 points ahead of Real Madrid, who take on Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday night.—AFP

Spanish League results/standings Rayo Vallecano 0, Real Sociedad 2 (Agirretxe 6, 14); Atletico Madrid 5 (Diego Costa 4, Falcao 27, 47, Raul Garcia 63, Filipe Luis 70) Granada 0; Real Zaragoza 0, Barcelona 3 (Thiago 20, Tello 39, 53).

Played Saturday Valladolid 2 (Oscar 68, Guerra 73) Getafe 1 (Alcacer 45); Levante 0, Deportivo La Coruna 4 (Valeron 12, Pizzi 20, Nelson Oliveira 28, Gama 90+2); Espanyol 3 (Wakaso 45+1, Verdu 82, Sergio Garcia 90+4) Valencia 3 (Canales 53, Jonas 87, Soldado 90+1); Malaga 1 (Julio Baptista 90+3) Osasuna 0.

Played Friday Real Betis 3 (Pabon 43, Ruben Castro 54-pen, Igiebor 89) Sevilla 3 (Rakitic 7, 19, Negredo 33) Standings in Spain’s La Liga ahead of yesterday’s late match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Barcelona Real Madrid Atletico Sociedad Malaga Valencia Real Betis Rayo Getafe Sevilla

31 30 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31

26 20 20 15 14 14 14 14 12 12

3 5 5 9 8 8 6 2 8 6

2 5 6 7 9 9 11 15 11 13

98 77 56 57 44 47 47 40 39 48

33 29 25 39 32 45 46 51 46 45

81 65 65 54 50 50 48 44 44 42

Espanyol Levante Valladolid Bilbao Osasuna Deportivo Granada Zaragoza Celta Vigo Mallorca

31 31 31 30 31 31 31 31 30 30

10 10 11 40 42 40 11 7 13 35 50 40 10 8 13 40 44 38 10 5 15 34 53 35 8 7 16 26 36 31 7 8 16 42 63 29 7 7 17 27 50 28 7 6 18 28 49 27 6 6 18 29 45 24 6 6 18 32 63 24

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Manchester United extended their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League to 15 points from Manchester City with a routine 2-0 win over Stoke City, who are just three points above the relegation zone.

Michael Carrick put United ahead just four minutes in while Robin van Persie’s second half penalty sealed victory for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, meaning they can now wrap up the title as early as next Monday’s match against Aston Villa.

It was the per fect start for United as Van Persie’s corner was not cleared by Geoff Cameron and Carrick was on hand to scramble home his second goal of the campaign.

The visitors came close to a second in similar circumstances as Patrice Evra fired over from another Van Persie delivery while Wayne Rooney, playing in a central midfield role, saw his effort well saved

by Asmir Begovic.

Stoke, whose fans produced 60 seconds of applause for late 14year-old fan Kameron Bourne on the 14 minute mark, did offer a test for United’s backline.

They went close to a leveller when Robert Huth headed wide from Glenn Whelan’s free kick as they looked for a way back into the game.

Stoke were unusually troubled at defensive set pieces and Carrick headed wide from Rooney’s corner while an audacious Van Persie effort from 45 yards went well wide of its target.

Dutchman Van Persie, who was without a United goal since February before this game, saw plenty of the ball and was next to go close as his shot from the edge of the area was pushed around the post by Begovic. As the game became more physical, with Andy Wilkinson left with a head bandage and a change of shirt, Rooney fired a 30-yard free kick off target as United continued to have the better chances. But buoyed by a passionate home crowd, Stoke put the visiting defence under pressure with Shawcross deflecting wide a

Gladbach slip in Europa quest ten games. On Saturday, German champions Bayern, who face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, crushed Nuremberg 4-0 at Munich’s Allianz Arena despite resting nine of the team which won 2-0 at Juventus last Wednesday.

Likewise, Dortmund hammered bottom side Greuther Fuerth 6-1 with Jose Mourinho, coach of their Champions League semi-final opponents Real Madrid, watching in Franconia.

Having already been confirmed Bundesliga champions the week before, Bayern extended their unbeaten run in the German league to 20 matches since losing to Bayer Leverkusen last October-their only league defeat this season.

Nuremberg came to Munich unbeaten in their previous nine games and chasing their first win at Bayern in 21 years, but it took just five minutes to dismiss any notion of an upset.

Even without nine first-choice players, Bayern were 3-0 up inside 25 minutes with goals by Germany pair Jerome Boateng and Mario Gomez, plus Brazil defender Rafinha.—AFP

Lyon end freefall with Toulouse win PARIS: Lyon hauled themselves back into contention for a place in next season’s Champions with a long overdue 3-1 victory at home to Toulouse yesterday to halt a sequence of five matches without a win.

Clement Grenier netted an eighthminute opener for Lyon before Wissam Ben Yedder levelled for Toulouse but second-half strikes from Bakary Kone and Bafetimbi Gomis secured the three points for Remi Garde’s side at Stade Gerland.

Lyon subsequently climbed to third, a point shy of second-placed Marseille, who travel to in-form Lille later on Sunday, after arresting an alarming loss of form that extinguished their title hopes and had seen them slide to fifth.

“We needed three points because of the results of our rivals (for the European places), Saint-Etienne and Nice in particular,” said Lyon defender Mouhamadou Dabo.

“We had to win to continue to believe in our goals. After their goal, we didn’t give up.

We stayed solid and in the second half we stepped it up a notch. We went in search of the win. It was essential.”

OL remain a distant 11 points adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain but more importantly moved two points clear of Nice and Rhone rivals Saint-Etienne for the third and final spot in next season’s Champions League, while Toulouse, who have yet to win in 19 trips to the Gerland in the top-flight stayed 11th.—AFP

Charlie Adam corner.

Stoke had the wind advantage in the second half but it took them a while to get going in a slow start after the break.

It was United who were first to create a chance in the second 45 minutes as Javier Hernandez played in Van Persie with a delicate pass but the Dutchman shot into the side netting from the angle.

Jonathan Walters fired over on the half volley for Stoke from Ryan Shotton’s header down after Steven Nzonzi’s cross from the left.

Adam, making his first Stoke start since January, offered the Potters a fair bit of creativity and his

fizzling left footed drive nearly caught David De Gea out.

Adam shot from the halfway line with the wind behind him forcing the United keeper to backpedal but he made a comfortable save.

Kenwyne Jones was next to fire in a shot from the edge of the area but it missed its target as Stoke showed they still had some attacking threat in them.

But just as it looked like the hosts would have a chance, United hit them on the break with Van Persie fouled by Wilkinson in the area from Rooney’s 67th-minute pass.

Van Persie confidently took the

spot kick, ignoring the wind which had blown the ball off its spot, to fire low and hard to Begovic’s left.

The relief was evident as the former Arsenal player celebrated with his manager Alex Ferguson.

Stoke heads did not drop though and they were nearly back in the game when Shotton shot straight at De Gea after running onto Adam’s cross-field pass.

The hosts sent on former United player Michael Owen as he winds down his career but other than an Adam free kick that was pushed away by De Gea, Stoke struggled to find a goal as they lost for a sixth time out of seven.—AFP

EPL results/standings Newcastle 0, Sunderland 3 (Sessegnon 27, Johnson 74, Vaughan 82) Stoke 0, Manchester Utd 2 (Carrick 4, Van Persie 66-pen).

Played Saturday: Aston Villa 1 (N’Zogbia 55) Fulham 1 (Delph 66-og); Arsenal 3 (Arteta 85-pen, Bassong 88-og, Podolski 90) Norwich 1 (Turner 56); Everton 2 (Gibson 40, Anichebe 56) QPR 0; Reading 0, Liverpool 0; Southampton 1 (Ramirez 59) West Ham 1 (Carroll 66); English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd Man City Arsenal Chelsea Tottenham Everton Liverpool West Brom Swansea Fulham Southampton

32 31 32 31 32 32 33 32 32 32 33

26 19 17 17 17 14 13 13 10 10 9

2 8 8 7 7 13 11 5 11 10 11

4 4 7 7 8 5 9 14 11 12 13

73 57 64 61 55 51 59 42 43 44 47

33 27 35 33 40 37 40 43 42 48 54

80 65 59 58 58 55 50 44 41 40 38

West Ham 32 10 8 14 36 45 38 Newcastle 33 10 6 17 42 59 36 Norwich 33 7 14 12 31 52 35 Sunderland 33 8 10 15 37 45 34 Stoke 33 7 13 13 28 41 34 Aston Villa 33 8 10 15 36 60 34 Wigan 31 8 7 16 37 57 31 QPR 33 4 12 17 29 54 24 Reading 33 5 9 19 36 63 24 Note: Top four teams will qualify for the Champions League and bottom three clubs will be relegated.

Newcastle violence completes black weekend of English football Newcastle 0

BERLIN: Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund hit 10 goals between them on their return to Bundesliga duty, while Borussia Moenchengladbach slipped in yesterday’s hunt for a Europa League spot.

With five games left, Gladbach’s 2-0 defeat at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday denied them the chance to break into the top six German league places, and a spot in next season’s Europa League, with five games left. An own goal by Gladbach’s Alvaro Dominguez approaching the half hour mark and Christian Gentner’s 34th-minute strike lifted Stuttgart up to 12th and away from the relegation places while Gladbach are seventh. South Korea striker Ji DongWon scored both goals in Augsburg’s 2-0 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt to ease the Bavarians’ relegation woes.

The win leaves Ausburg 16th in the table, which carries a promotion-relegation play-off in May, as ex-Sunderland striker Ji scored either side of the break and was only denied a hat-trick by an offside decision. Frankfurt remain sixth in the table, despite having won just two of their last

LONDON: Manchester United’s Michael Carrick (left) keeps the ball from Stoke’s Charlie Adam (second left) as Glenn Whelan (centre right) and Ryan Shawcross look on during their English Premier League soccer match. —AP

Sunderland 3

LONDON: Newcastle fans fought running battles with mounted police as English football, already scarred by Saturday’s Wembley disorder, was gripped by violence again yesterday.

Twenty seven fans were arrested and at least three police officers were injured following Newcastle’s 3-0 home defeat to bitter local rivals Sunderland.

Police said they were pelted with missiles as they clashed with Newcastle fans attempting to confront Sunderland supporters at the city’s railway station.

The violence came 24 hours after 14 men were arrested when Millwall fans fought amongst themselves in the dying moments of their team’s 2-0 defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley. London’s Metropolitan Police said 12 of those held were Millwall supporters and two Wigan fans. After yesterday’s game at Newcastle’s St James Park, police also said that smoke canisters had been set off at the match.

But they stressed that it was only a minority of hardcore fans who were involved in the fighting. “ The most serious incident involved a group of Newcastle fans in Central Station attempting to confront Sunderland supporters, but they were intercepted by officers from British Transport Police,” said a Nor thumbria Police spokesman.

“During this incident missiles were thrown at the officers, which resulted in three injuries to officers - one of them requiring assessment at hospital.”

Meanwhile, Paolo Di Canio tast-

ed victor y for the first time as Sunderland manager as his side recorded a joyous 3-0 win at derby rivals Newcastle United in the Premier League yesterday.

Goals from Stephane Sessegnon, Adam Johnson and David Vaughan earned Sunderland their first victory over Newcastle in seven attempts and ended a run of nine Premier League games without a win.

It was Di Canio’s first success since he took over from Martin O’Neill, and it could prove crucial in their attempt to escape relegation. And, in a week when they went out of the Europa League against Benfica, Newcastle have been dragged back into danger near the foot of the table.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew will argue with some justification that the outcome might have been different if an equaliser had not been controversially disallowed for offside.

But all three Sunderland goals were superbly taken and sparked extravagant touchline celebrations from Di Canio. The first came in the 27th minute of a first half that was largely dominated by Newcastle thanks to the influence of their French players.

Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Sylvain Mar veaux and Yoan Gouffran were all influential as Sunderland were stretched for long periods.

But Sessegnon made Newcastle pay for their failure to turn their superiority into goals. In one of their first attacks of the match, the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder cut inside Jonas Gutierrez as he advanced forwards before steering a low shot inside the post from 25 yards.

Di Canio celebrated by running onto the pitch and leaping into the air before quickly regaining his composure and calling over Alfred N’Diaye and Sebastian Larsson for fresh instructions.

Newcastle’s pace continued to

LONDON: Sunderland’s Italian manager Paolo Di Canio celebrates his team’s third goal during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle and Sunderland at St James’ Park. —AFP cause problems for the visitors and Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet came to his side’s rescue on several occasions.

Mignolet saved at the feet of Papiss Cisse after only six minutes and went on to make two splendid saves from the same player in a two-minute spell immediately after Sunderland’s goal.

Yet, for all their pressure, Newcastle could have been even further in arrears at the interval.

Sunderland striker Danny Graham, a lifelong Newcastle supporter, had valid claims for a penalty rejected when he was pulled back

by Steven Taylor inside the area.

Then Graham, without a goal since his Januar y move from Swansea City, thought he had finally hit the target with a header that was clawed away by Tim Krul in the 35th minute.

The second half was just as passionate as the first, with Sunderland wasting another chance to extend their lead inside the first seven minutes.

Johnson, one of the big disappointments of Sunderland’s season, was the culprit when he eluded a challenge from Cabaye but lacked the composure to direct the

ball over the advancing Krul.

Krul was to be involved only one more time as he suffered an arm injury dealing with a 55thminute cross and was replaced by Rob Elliot. Cisse continued to be Newcastle’s main hope of an equaliser and he had another swerving effort beaten away by Mignolet on the hour.

And, when Cisse did beat Mignolet from close range seconds later, it was disallowed for offside - a decision that angered Pardew after he viewed the replay.

Hatem Ben Arfa made his second Newcastle appearance after a long injury lay-off as a substitute and he almost made an immediate impact with a header that shaved the bar.

Then Cisse steered yet another opportunity wide before Johnson delivered the k iller blow to Newcastle’s hopes of a comeback with 16 minutes remaining. The winger moved onto a pass from Larsson and cut inside before curling a shot inside the far post.

The added bonus for Sunderland was a third goal in the 82nd minute, superbly struck by Vaughan across Elliot and into the top-right corner.—AFP

United dismiss Stoke to close in on title

Kenyans Sugut, Cheyech clinch Vienna Marathon

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

19

16

Snedeker and Cabrera share lead at Masters Page 18

LONDON: Chelsea’s Fernando Torres (right) attempts to connect the ball as he is watched by Manchester City’s Matja Nastasic during their English FA Cup semifinal soccer match, at Wembley stadium. — AP

City end Chelsea’s FA Cup defence LONDON: Manchester City withstood a valiant fightback from Chelsea to win a gripping FA Cup semi-final 2-1 at Wembley Stadium yesterday and knock the holders out of the competition.

Goals in each half from Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero put City in control, but Chelsea replied through Demba Ba, only for Roberto Mancini’s men to resist the holders’ desperate search for an equaliser. Fifteen points behind Manchester United in the Premier League, City seem destined to relinquish their league crown, but they will be strong favourites to defeat Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final on May 11 and reclaim the trophy they won in 2011.

“I said before the game, it would be difficult because Chelsea are in a good moment, but we deserved to win,” said City manager Mancini.

“Now we have to win the final and finish second in the championship - that is our target.” For Chelsea, there will be no fifth FA Cup in seven seasons, and although there is the consolation of a Europa League semi-final with Basel, interim manager Rafael Benitez will hope his tired squad still have enough energy for the battle to win a Champions

League place. Benitez was aggrieved that substitute Fernando Torres was not awarded a late penalty after going down under a challenge from Vincent Kompany.

“Was it a penalty? Yes, clearly. Very clearly. You can see the pictures. We have two situations like that in the second half,” he said.

“But we played against a very good team. If they had scored another, the game would have been over. But we keep going and we had chances to be back in the game, so these decisions were very important.” In stark contrast to Saturday’s first semi-final between Wigan and Millwall, which took place beneath steady drizzle and in front of nearly 27,000 empty seats, Sunday’s game was a sell-out played amid balmy spring temperatures.

City goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon was rewarded with a starting place for his performances earlier in the tournament, while Demba Ba returned to the Chelsea line-up after an ankle injury.

City started with intent and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to produce a smart early save to deny Aguero when he prodded the ball goalwards after Gareth Barry’s

Genoa boost survival hopes ROME: A spectacular long range effort from Brazilian Matuzalem struck 10 minutes from time to earn Genoa a vital point in their bid to avoid relegation after a 1-1 draw against derby rivals Sampdoria yesterday.

The result leaves the oldest team in Italy two points away from safety following Siena’s crucial 3-2 win at rockbottom Pescara on Saturday. Fellow strugglers Palermo also remain two points behind Siena as they drew 1-1 at home to Bologna.

Eder scored his fifth goal of the season for Sampdoria in the 28th minute of the ‘Derby della Lanterna’, sending a freekick under the jumping wall and into the bottom left corner.

Sampdoria had Andrea Costa sent off after 78 minutes for picking up two yellow cards and midfielder Matuzalem capitalised two minutes later, his 35 yard cross-come-shot from the right wing nestling in the top left corner.

In Palermo, Slovenia midfielder Josip Ilicic bagged his third goal in three matches to put the Rosanero ahead after just five minutes, but Manolo Gabbiadini equalised for Bologna in the 17th minute. With just six rounds of Serie A remaining Palermo and Genoa both need to make up two points on Tuscans Siena to survive while Pescara appear dead and buried at nine points from safety.

In Trieste, a Mauricio Pinilla double for Cagliari condemned Inter Milan to a 2-0 defeat, their third in four matches.

Pinilla sent Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic the wrong way from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute after he was tripped in the area by Matias Silvestre. He then slotted home his second on 76 minutes from close range as the Inter defence stood motionless. In Torino, 10-man Roma defeated the Granata 2-1 with Pablo Osvaldo heading home on 22 minutes for the visitors.

Rolando Bianchi equalised in the 31st minute with a

shot was helped on by Yaya Toure.

The Czech goalkeeper also repelled a near-post effort from Carlos Tevez, before Chelsea began to assert themselves.

Kompany came to City’s rescue in the 23rd minute, heading the ball off the line after Eden Hazard’s volley into the turf looped over Pantilimon, who had come for a cross and missed.

The Chelsea revival proved short-lived, however, and 10 minutes before half-time, City went ahead. Toure slipped a pass inside to Aguero, who in turn found Nasri, and when the Frenchman’s attempted return pass bounced back to him off Cesar Azpilicueta, he lashed the ball past Cech from close range. James Milner then saw a goalbound shot hit Aguero and Kompany spurned a fine chance in first-half injury time, side-footing wide from 10 yards after Cech could only parry Milner’s cross.

It was an opportunity that City were to rue for only two minutes of the second half, as Aguero doubled his side’s advantage in the 47th minute.

After City worked a free-kick wide to the right, Barry

Italian League results/standings

Celtic in Cup final

Palermo 1 (Ilicic 4) Bologna 1 (Gabbiadini 17); Chievo 0, Catania 0; Cagliari 2 (Pinilla 63-pen, 76) Inter Milan 0; Torino 1 (Bianchi 31) Roma 2 (Osvaldo 22, Lamela 60); Genoa 1 (Matuzalem 80) Sampdoria 1 (Eder 28); Parma 0, Udinese 3 (Muriel 12, 43, Pereyra 62).

GLASGOW: Substitute Anthony Stokes headed Celtic into the Scottish Cup final as they needed extra time to see off Dundee United in a thrilling 4-3 win at Hampden.

There was barely 80 seconds on the clock when Kris Commons opened the scoring for Celtic for the fourth match running with a superb strike.

Mikel Lustig hit the post with a header before a breakaway move saw United grab a 24th minute equaliser through Gary Mackay-Steven. United edged ahead on the half hour mark through Jon Daly’s header but only held their lead for just over a minute before Victor Wanyama nodded Celtic level.

Celtic regained their advantage through a freak goal which Commons put in with his chest on the hour mark but Daly directed a superb header past Fraser Forster to haul United back on level terms in the 71st minute. With the match in extra time Daly came within inches of a hat-trick as he sent a header off the post before Stokes bulleted the winner past Radoslaw Cierzniak in the 104th minute.

The win ends a run of three defeats at the national stadium for the Hoops and keeps alive their hopes of clinching a domestic double as they progress to May’s final where they will face Hibernian, who themselves needed extra time to defeat Falkirk in a seven-goal thriller on Saturday.

“There is some relief but I’m thrilled and so proud of the players. They’ve had a monumental season up to now,” Celtic manager Neil Lennon said.

“I’m glad to get over the line at Hampden for the first time in a while and now we’ve got a cup final that we need to win.”

His Dundee United counterpart said the defeat was difficult to take. “It was disappointing. I thought the players were exceptional and gave everything they had,” Jackie McNamara said.

Commons got Celtic off to a dream start. The Scotland international collected a pass from Wanyama before cutting inside Mark Millar and curling a superb strike just inside the far post.

Mikael Lustig missed a glorious chance to double Celtic’s advantage when he rose unmarked to meet Emilio Izaguirre’s cross four yards out but he somehow sent his header bouncing off the base of the post. United equalised with a great counter attack as Daly got away from Kelvin Wilson on the half-way line and released Mackay-Steven, who played a one-two with Ryan Gauld before he swept the ball beyond Forster.

Mackay-Steven then appealed for a penalty after being barged off the ball by Wanyama before United took the lead. Barry Douglas swung a free-kick from the right into the six-yard box where Daly rose to nod past Forster from close range.

United could only hold on to their lead for just over a minute, however, as Wanyama equalised. Izaguirre’s cross from the left hung in the air in the six-yard box and the Kenyan international headed beyond Cierzniak. — AFP

Played Saturday Pescara 2 (Celik 52, Togni 59) Siena 3 (¬ngelo 14, Zanon 33-og, Emeghara 86) Atalanta 0, Fiorentina 2 (Pizarro 61-pen, Larrondo 72).

Italian league table ahead of yesterday’s late match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

ITALY: Genoa’s Francelino Matuzalem Da Silva, of Brazil, fires a shot and score during a Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Sampdoria. — AP close range effort, only for Erik Lamela to casually curl the ball into the top left corner from 25 yards out to snatch the winner.

Roma’s Federico Balzaretti was sent off for collecting two yellow cards late in the second half.

Elsewhere, Udinese beat Parma 3-0 with a double from Colombian Luis Muriel and another from Roberto Pereyra.

Chievo drew 0-0 with Catania as they all but secured their safety in Italy’s top division. — AFP

swept an inswinging cross to the back post and Aguero directed a fine header back across goal and into the net via the right-hand upright.

Benitez gave his side a pair of fresh legs in the shape of Fernando Torres, still sporting a black mask to protect his broken nose.

Ba might have been at risk of being withdrawn, but instead it was John Mikel Obi who made way, and the Senegal striker vindicated Benitez’s re-shuffle by reducing the arrears in the 66th minute. It was a poor goal to concede, though, as David Luiz’s long ball was allowed to bounce behind the City defence and Ba adjusted brilliantly to hook a half-volley past Pantilimon.

The Romanian goalkeeper then produced two important saves in quick succession, first swiping the ball off Juan Mata’s toes and then thwarting Ba from close range after Hazard was allowed to manhandle Gael Clichy to the ground.

City survived, but Aguero was lucky to escape censure for an ugly stamp on Luiz that may yet land him in trouble with the Football Association. —AFP

Juventus 31 22 5 4 61 20 71 Napoli 31 18 8 5 57 29 62 AC Milan 31 17 7 7 55 34 58 Fiorentina 32 16 7 9 58 39 55 Roma 32 15 6 11 63 53 51 Lazio 31 15 6 10 40 37 51 Inter Milan 32 15 5 12 50 45 50 Udinese 32 1212 8 44 39 48 Catania 32 13 8 11 40 38 47 Cagliari 32 1010 12 37 49 40 Parma 32 10 9 13 39 42 39 Bologna 32 10 8 14 42 41 38 Sampdoria 32 10 8 14 37 39 37 Atalanta 32 11 6 15 34 47 37 Torino 32 813 11 40 45 36 Chievo 32 10 6 16 32 48 36 Siena 32 9 9 14 34 44 30 Palermo 32 513 14 29 45 28 Genoa 32 610 16 32 50 28 Pescara 32 6 3 23 24 66 21 Note: Sampdoria (one point), Torino (one point), Atalanta (two points) and Siena (six points) all docked points for involvement in the “Calcioscommesse” illegal betting scandal.

Business

Saudi banks beat Q1 profit forecast Page 22 Respect independence of CB: Cyprus bank chief

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

Page 25 72 companies to participate in Kuwait Real Estate Expo Page 26 Page 23

CFC net profit KD15.9m

BEIJING: A porter (left) chats with a man as he sits on shopping cart at the entrance of a supermarket in Beijing yesterday. China’s economic growth likely picked up slightly in the first quarter of this year, according to a poll of analysts, but they say the rebound is fragile and key data unreliable. — AFP

Dubai housing market set to bounce back 40,000 new homes to enter emirate’s property sector DUBAI: Another 40,000 new homes will enter Dubai’s property market over the next two years as developers revive projects stalled after the collapse of the emirate’s real estate market, a report said yesterday. The new properties to be built between 2013 and 2015 will represent 11 percent of the current stock of 357,000 units, consultants Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report on Dubai’s real estate market for the first quarter of 2013.

It said that a total of 28,000 dwellings are expected to be completed in 2013.

Around 2,200 residential units, mostly apartments, have already been handed over in the first quarter of the year, which include the Spirit Tower in Dubai Sports City, Lakeside Tower in JLT, Bay Central in

Dubai Marina as well as the Al Furjan Villas by developer Nakheel.

Dubai developers are reviving building plans after nearly three years of inactivity, encouraged by a gradual recovery in the emirate’s real estate after a historic collapse of homes prices by over 50 percent from its peak in 2008.

The REIDIN general residential sale index showed the villa sale price index and the apartment sale price index increased by 17 percent and 18 percent year-on-year respectively, the report said.

However, concerns have been raised on whether Dubai is again attracting speculators who are aiming to make their fortunes by buying apartments and villas for cash and then selling them

within weeks or days, repeating mistakes of the past. “An initial glance might suggest that many of the conditions that led to the unsustainable growth in real estate prices in Dubai in 2006 and 2007 have returned,” Alan Robertson, the chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle in the Middle East and North Africa said in the report.

“The excesses of the last speculative boom will hopefully be replaced by a period of slower but more sustained growth in demand and prices.” he added.

Police forces had to brought in on Saturday to control crowds after Emaar Properties, Dubai’s largest developer, offered 188 townhouses for sale in its new development called Mira.

The three-bedroom homes, part of a previously announced Reem development, were being sold at a starting cost of just 988,888 dirhams ($269,300), Emaar said, much cheaper than the market cost for such a property. The queues of investors outside offices of major real estate developers recall Dubai’s boom days before 2008 when money poured in from around the world, creating a property bubble that eventually led to a historic crash.

An initial attempt by the United Arab Emirates central bank to curb speculative buying by introducing limits on mortgage lending for residential properties was softened in March following a plea from commercial banks. — Reuters

Egypt wavers on brink of IMF deal CAIRO: Egypt is close to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan that would help it fight a deepening economic crisis but is still bristling at the conditions, diplomats said.

An IMF program could help stabilize Egypt’s economy in the rocky transition to democracy since the 2011 over throw of former President Hosni Mubarak , unlocking up to $15 billion in aid and investment to improve a dismal business climate. But diplomats and politicians say Islamist President Mohammed Morsi had still to approve required tax increases and subsidy cuts that prompted him to halt implementation of an earlier IMF deal in December, two weeks after it was agreed in principle.

“The mission said it is waiting until now for the government to present some of the roadmap related to reforming the economic system, and it is still in dialogue with the government to get acquainted with this map,” Abdullah Badran of the hardline Islamist Nour party told Reuters after meeting IMF negotiators.

Egypt’s economy has deteriorated significantly since then. Tourism and investment have shriveled due to political turmoil in the Arab world’s most populous nation, where 40 percent of the 84 million citizens live on less than $2 a day. The projected budget deficit has risen to around 11 percent in the fiscal year ending in June, foreign currency reserves have shrunk to less than needed to cover three months’ imports, and the country is suffering fuel shortages.

An IMF delegation has been holding talks in Cairo since April 4 on a revised economic program that includes a gradual reform of costly fuel subsidies that swallow 21 percent of the budget or 12 percent of gross domestic product, and an extension of sales tax to fewer items than previously planned.

The country’s finance minister and central bank governor have told local media the talks are going well, and diplomats said they are due to conclude,

one way or another, before the IMF mission returns to Washington on Tuesday. “We’re waiting for clarity from the presidency,” a diplomat briefed on the negotiations said. A spokesman for the president’s office declined comment on whether Morsi had given the green light for an agreement.

Diplomats said the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was reluctant to impose unpopular tax and fuel price increases before parliamentary elections provisionally due to star t in Oc tober. Never theless the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party is pushing through parliament new tax laws apparently linked to the IMF deal. Opposition politicians accuse the government of trying to impose its will without dialogue.

While the IMF team has been in town, the government has picked up $5 billion in apparently unconditional support from Arab allies Qatar and Libya to help it over the coming months.

But Planning Minister Ashraf El-Araby warned last week that Egyptians would face worse austerity without an IMF deal. Ministers fear a long, hot summer of power cuts, and possible fuel and food shortages that could spark unrest.

The state-owned Al Gomhuria daily quoted an economic source as saying the IMF deal had reached the final stages for signing. An Egyptian ministerial delegation including the central bank governor and the planning minister would go to Washington this week for the annual Spring meeting to seek agreement on the final phrasing of the loan deal, it said.

Central bank chief Hisham Ramez was quoted by independent al-Shorouk newspaper as saying Egypt had not requested an increase in the loan, but the amount could be raised by up to $1 billion if the maturity were extended beyond 30 months instead of the 22 months foreseen in last November’s accord.

The IMF mission, headed by Andreas Mauer, has spent the last few days meeting government and

opposition political leaders to seek broad backing for implementation of the reform programme.

Politicians who have participated in those sessions said there was wide acceptance of the need for an IMF loan but less willingness to accept even relatively mild conditions attached. “We heard the IMF’s view, and it became clear to us that they are asking for some reforms to the tax system, and their view is that there must be a review of subsidies,” said Badran, the Nour party’s parliamentary floor leader. “This, in our view, will increase the burdens on the poor.”

Leftist Popular Current party leader Hamdeen Sabahi said his group would support any unconditional loan that supported the Egyptian economy, but it must not be on terms that put extra burdens on the poor, farmers, workers and the middle class, or that dictate how the government spends the money.

“The Popular Current cannot agree to a loan with conditions that include lifting subsidies from basic commodities,” Sabahi, who came third in last year’s presidential election, said on his Facebook page.

Diplomats said the IMF had softened its conditions compared with many other adjustment programs, partly because the United States and European Union countries that are the Fund’s biggest shareholders were determined to support Egypt. “There is a sense that Egypt is too big to fail,” one senior diplomat said.

“The trouble is that the Egyptians know this, and think they can use it to escape the conditionality.”

IMF and World Bank studies show that most fuel subsidies benefit wealthier Egyptians rather than the poor, few of whom have cars. “Estimates show that the richest 20 percent of the population in Egypt receives more than half of the spending on fuel subsidies,” said Caroline Freund, the World Bank’s chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa.

That may explain why the subsidies are so hard to reform, with powerful interest groups keen to preserve their advantages.— Reuters

Qatar drops on profit-taking MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Qatar’s bourse booked its largest one-day drop in four months yesterday as investors took their cues from weak global markets to sell shares ahead of a huge IPO planned by a new state investment firm in May. Saudi Arabia’s bourse also dipped.

Stocks tied to global energy demand lead declines in both markets; in Qatar, heavyweight Industries Qatar retreated 2.5 percent and Qatar Gas Transport (Naqilat) fell 2.1 percent. All except three firms lose ground in Qatar ’s 20-stock main index.Commodities sold off globally on Friday, while world equity markets fell after a dour reading of US consumer sentiment and poor retail sales reinforced fears of a weak US economy that would hurt global growth. Brent crude lost $3 a barrel on Friday to hit a nine-month low.

“Sentiment was shot down on the back of the drop in global equities and commodities - there is mixed selling from locals and foreigners, with a migration of cash from equities to fixed income,” said Ahmed Shehada, head of trading at Qatar National Bank Financial Services.

Qatar underper formed other Gulf markets because of the plan by Doha Global Investment Co, backed by assets from the sovereign wealth fund, to offer shares to the public in May. It is expected ultimately to hold about $12 billion of assets, raising $3 billion from its initial public offer of shares on the Qatar Exchange. “Locals have been selling some of the names to free up cash for the new issue by Doha Global,” Shehada said. Officials have said the company plans to guarantee a 5 percent dividend in its first year. The promise of solid returns from Doha Global appears to have distracted investors from betting on the first-quarter earnings of existing listed companies.

Doha’s benchmark broke support on the March low of 8,450 points and retreated 1.2 percent to 8,381 points, its lowest close since Dec. 31 and its biggest one-day percentage loss since Jan. 15.

In Saudi Arabia, the index slipped 0.4 percent, down for a second session since Wednesday’s 11month high. Petrochemical stocks were the main drag as they tracked the fall in oil prices; the sector’s index lost 1.7 percent. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s largest chemicals producer, dropped 3.9 percent to a near four-week low.

Banks also fell after Banque Saudi Fransi posted below-forecast earnings and the disappointment spilled across the sector, even though most other banks have reported good earnings. Shares in Saudi Fransi tumbled 6 percent. In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s benchmark ended flat to match Thursday’s 40-month high. Shares in Dubai builder Arabtec slipped 2.7 percent, however, as some investors continued to sell on dilution concerns after shareholders approved its $1.8 billion capital raising plan.—Reuters

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

BUSINESS

BOJ, ECB, Fed — Is there a circle of manipulation?

By Hayder Tawfik KUWAIT: The recent weakness of the Japanese Yen against the dollar and the euro has been so fast and furious in particular against the euro that literally puzzled the market. What made it more interesting is that there has been no word from the ECB or the Federal Reserve officials.

This is contrary to only few weeks ago when the ECB objected to countries devaluing their currencies without mentioning Japan. So what has changed? For investors to understand this, they need to look at actions rather than words.

Just to remind the readers: over the last 5 months the Yen has weakened by 25 percent vs the dollar and a whopping 30 percent against the euro. This is what I call a dramatic move and possibly manipulated. Sometimes it is in the interest of all. Now may be it is the turn for Japan or let’s be honest about it and say Japanese money to save the euro-zone economies.

What followed the weakness in the Yen was even more dramatic. The Japanese stock market shot up by nearly 50 percent and the Euro-area bonds rallied strongly lead by Spain, France, Ireland even Italy which has no government. Japanese money has been pouring into global financial market on unprecedented level. Is this the trade off? Allowing Japan to devalue its currency on condition that it pumps billions of dollars into its economy!!

The Bank of Japan said last week it plans to purchase 7.5 trillion yen ($75 billion) of bonds a month. This is the biggest such move since Japan began the quantitative easing back in 2001 and is a bit smaller than what the Federal Reserve has been doing. This action pushes Japanese investors to Europe for higher returns, neutralizing the impact of Cypriot bank crisis and no government in Italy. Foreign money managers joined the Japanese in the race expecting the Japanese to continue the buying frenzy.

The BOJ move is aimed at reviving the world’s third-biggest economy, mired in three recessions in the past five years. The central bank set a two-year horizon for the 2 percent inflation price target under a “new phase of monetary easing,” as recently installed Governor Haruhiko Kuroda won the backing of policy makers. The effects of such big monetary easing could be very serious. Purchasing Yen7.5 trillion worth of bonds every month will push yields to near zero and will push Japanese investors to leave the Japanese Government bonds in search of higher yields around the world and in particular US Treasury and European bonds. In effect the BOJ has given Japanese investors an incentive to buy bonds in other markets.

This all sound good and promising but what if the BOJ strategy fails. Japanese economy has been in deflation over the last 20 years. During those years the domestic economy has become extremely competitive and companies survived on increasing volume and quality rather than higher prices. It will be naÔve of the BOJ to assume that it can push inflation up by just devaluing the Yen rather than restructure the domestic economy. I think as the Yen weakness and cost prices start going up domestic related companies will find it very hard to pass those higher costs to the consumers. Not only the Yen has to weaken a lot further say to around 160 vs the dollar but has to stay weak for a long time for inflation to start creeping back into the economy. The major winners of the very weak Yen will be the manufacturing exporters such as automakers, electrical and electronics makers and the chemical industry. German and US exporters that compete with the Japanese will be the losers if the Yen continues to weak against the $ and the Euro. For example if we look at the top of the range car produced by BMW and Toyota we find not much difference in their structure and the quality but how can we justify a devaluation of 30 percent by Toyota against BMW. I am sure it is good for consumers if they lucky to benefit from the currency move.

The implication of much weaker yen on the global financial markets: If Japanese investors are given the assurance that they are not going to lose money from the currency move then they will allocate a bigger part of their portfolio to international assets including real estates. I think the euro-zone and the US will take the biggest portion of the new allocation. The greater the allocation to foreign assets the bigger the weakness in the yen. Also, most of the exporters will stop hedging the currency and for sure they will lift any outstanding currency hedge in place. A huge Japanese capital outflow into foreign assets has started and could go on for the next few years. This will have a big impact on the valuation of bonds and equities around the world. May be another financial bubble will start soon.

— Hayder Tawfik is Executive Vice President of Asset Management, at Dimah Capital.

Saudi banks beat Q1 profit forecast Al-Rajhi Bank reports 2% rise in net RIYADH: Al-Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabiaís largest listed lender, posted a 2 percent increase in its first-quarter net profit, helped by a jump in both lending and customer deposits portfolio.

The bank made a net profit of 2.05 billion riyals ($546.6 million) in the three months ending March 31, compared with 2.01 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a statement to the Saudi bourse. Nine analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post, on average, 2.03 billion riyals for the first quarter.

Two other Saudi lenders, Saudi Hollandi Bank and Saudi British Bank (SABB) beat estimates for first-quarter

net profit. SABB, Saudi Arabiaís fourthlargest listed bank, said its first quarter net profit rose 11 percent over last year to 948 million riyals ($252.8 million) from 854 million riyals, a bourse filing said on Tuesday.

This exceeded the average forecast of nine analysts polled by Reuters for a net profit of 847.3 million riyals.

Meanwhile, Saudi Hollandi, the kingdomís eighth-largest listed bank, said its first quarter net profit rose 19.4 percent over last year to 346.3 million riyals in the first three months of 2013, compared with net profit of 290 million riyals in the first quarter of 2012, a separate filing said. Five analysts surveyed by Reuters

had forecast Saudi Hollandi to earn net profit of 315 million riyals in the quarter.

Al-Rajhi attributed its profit growth to higher operating income, without giving more details. Saudi banks typically do not comment on their performance until they publish more detailed results later in the quarter. Operating income for the quarter rose by 3 percent to 3.53 billion riyals.

Total financing at the end of the first quarter stood at 180 billion riyals, gaining 18.4 percent on the same point of 2012, although it added that its figures for financing, assets and customer deposits had been reclassified, without elaborating.

Bank lending growth in Saudi Arabia dipped from Decemberís 46-month high of 16.4 percent in the first two months of 2013, but it was still rapid at 15.9 percent in January and 15.6 percent in February.

In a March 26 research note, Dubaibased Arqaam Capital said loan growth at Al-Rajhi should be around 17 percent in 2013,with deposits increasing by around 16 percent over the course of the year.

Customer deposits stood at 232 billion riyals on March 31, up 20.8 percent on the same point last year. Al-Rajhiís total assets were worth 276 billion riyals at the end of the first quarter, up 18 percent on the same point of 2012. — Reuters

Egypt to hold $600m auction to cover strategic imports CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank will hold an exceptional foreign exchange auction for $600 million on Sunday to cover strategic imports, it said in a statement as it struggles to pay for fuel and wheat.

The auction, to be held between 1.30 and 2.00 pm Cairo time (1130 and 1200 GMT), is 15 times the size of the three $40 million currency auctions the cashstrapped central bank has been holding weekly in recent months. The most populous Arab nation is grappling with an economic crisis caused by more than two years of political instability. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves are at critically low levels and the government is struggling with an unaffordable deficit.

Shortages of imported fuel are disrupting transport and causing power cuts in the country of 84 million. The situation is expected to worsen as summer approaches and Egyptians switch on their air conditioning. The world’s biggest importer of wheat, Egypt has cut back on international purchases this year in the hope of a bumper local harvest.

The central bank auction, for which no quotas will be applied, coincides with the start of the wheat harvest for which farmers urgently need fuel supplies to run harvesters and transport the crop to storage centers. In a boost to Egypt’s finances, Qatar this week agreed to buy $3 billion in government bonds and to supply natural gas in the summer when it is needed. Libya also agreed to deposit $2 billion with the Egyptian central bank. The government is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan deal that would unlock billions more in international support. — Reuters

KHARTOUM: The first crude from South Sudan reached Sudan yesterday bringing both impoverished nations closer to billions of dollars in revenue after a dispute over fees.

First South Sudan oil reaches Sudan KHARTOUM: Sudan’s oil ministry said yesterday that the first crude from South Sudan reached its territory, bringing both impoverished nations closer to billions of dollars in revenue after a dispute over fees. “The first batch of oil already arrived on Sudanese land yesterday,” Sudan’s undersecretary at the petroleum ministry, Awad Abdul Fatah, told AFP. “It’s a small testing quantity.”

Eight days ago South Sudan held a ceremony to restart oil production at the Thar Jath field in Unity state after a shutdown of more than a year. The South halted crude production in early 2012, cutting off most of its revenue after accusing Khartoum of theft in a row over export fees.

China was the biggest buyer of the oil. Fatah said the oil flowed into a tank on Sudanese territory from South Sudan’s Block 5A operated by Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC), a joint venture between Malaysia’s Petronas and South Sudan’s government.

The block is southeast of the Unity state capital Bentiu. “They have already processed this oil and they have pushed this through to the export tank” on the Sudanese side, Fatah said.

He expressed hope that within a week oil could begin moving into the main pipeline to begin a journey of about 45 days to the export terminal at Port Sudan on the Red Sea. South Sudan became independent in July 2011 under a peace deal that ended a 22-year civil war. The new country separated with roughly 75 percent of the 470,000 barrels

Arabtec’s shareholders approve capital raise DUBAI: Shareholders of Dubai-based developer Arabtec, part owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments, approved a $1.8 billion capital increase program, paving the way for its regional expansion plans, the company said yesterday.

Arabtec, one of the builders of Dubai’s famous palm islands, replaced its chief executive last month in a management shake-up led by Aabar, its largest shareholder, which has been tightening its grip on the group.

The company had said previously that the funds would be raised through a rights issue and debt issuances. It plans to raise the money in stages with 2.4 billion dirhams ($653.46 million) to be raised through a rights issue before the end of June.

The company will use the cash raised from shareholders across four of its business areas. Some 55 percent will help to support growth in its oil and gas, infrastructure and power business and 25 percent will go on building affordable housing projects. — Reuters

per day of crude produced by the formerly unified country, while refineries and export pipelines stayed under Khartoum’s jurisdiction.

But independence left key issues unresolved, including how much the South should pay for shipping its oil through Sudan’s export infrastructure.

Rising tensions led to border clashes and a 10day South Sudanese occupation of the north’s main Heglig oil field last year.

At talks in Addis Ababa last month, Sudan and South Sudan finally settled on detailed timetables to resume the oil flows and implement eight other key pacts to normalize relations. The deals had remained dormant after signing in September as Khartoum pushed for guarantees that South Sudan would no longer back rebels fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Independence of the South left Khartoum without most of its export earnings and half of its fiscal revenues.

As a result, the pound currency plunged in value on the black market while inflation rose to more than 40 percent, where it remains. Loss of the export fees from South Sudan’s oil added to the north’s economic burden but for the government in Juba, shutting oil production meant the loss of 98 percent of its stated revenue.

It is now set to earn billions of dollars from exporting its oil again, while the deal is worth $1 billion-$1.5 billion annually in transit fees and other payments to Sudan, an international economist has estimated. — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2770000 .4310000 .3680000 .3020000 .2780000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0771240 .7513970 .3930000 .0720000 .7366120 .0370000

.2880000 .4470000 .3760000 .3170000 .2920000 .3020000 .0069000 .0035000 .0778990 .7589480 .4110000 .0770000 .7440150 .0440000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2841000 .4338920 .3707360 .3043390 .2795430 .0497330 .0443660 .2963730 .0365940 .2291130 .0029600 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0773800 .7538810 .0000000 .0757800 .7382100 .0000000

.2862000 .4370990 .3734770 .3065880 .2816100 .0501010 .0446940 .2985640 .0368650 .2308060 .0028810 .0052870 .0022880 .0029190 .0036810 .0779520 .7594530 .4048090 .0763400 .7436660 .0069870

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso

2.902 5.230 2.900 2.273 3.281 232.740 36.776 3.646 6.909

Thai Baht Irani riyal - transfer Irani riyal - cash

9.847 0.271 0.273

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

740.56 78.58 76.08

740.000 78.500 76.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

76.150 78.463 741.720 758.470 77.758

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

39.500 41.045 1.332 180.660 403.260 1.916 3.102 34.186

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 285.450 Euro 377.650 Sterling Pound 441.450 Canadian dollar 284.600 Turkish lira 159.060 Swiss Franc 311.290 US Dollar Buying 284.250

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

Selling Rate 284.900 284.550 439.335 371.135 306.905 754.280 77.545 78.200 75.935 401.615 40.977 2.269 5.224 2.895 3.651 6.906 698.872 3.860 9.910 4.025 3.365

GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

298.000 150.000 77.500

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar

SELL DRAFT 304.44 285.79 310.69 375.36 284.55 441.15 2.94 3.660 5.227 2.268 3.276 2.900 77.54 757.65 41.00 405.38

SELL CASH 307.000 286.500 309.000 376.000 285.500 441.000 3.300 3.745 5.450 2.500 3.450 2.975 78.300 757.850 40.000 413.000

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa

SELL CASH Europe 0.4305410 0.0061517 0.0460792 0.36888242 0.0459035 0.4273640 0.0407953 0.3023474 Australasia 0.2895259 0.2366270 0.0001116 America 0.2742160 0.0001484 0.2828000 Asia 0.0036068 0.0031610 0.0449532 0.0164633

SELLDRAFT 0.4395410 0.0181517 0.0510792 0.3763242 0.0511035 0.4348640 0.0457953 0.3093474 0.3015259 0.2466270 0.0001116 0.2832160 0.0001664 0.2849500 0.0036618 0.0033910 0.0499532 0.0195633

Guinea Franc Hg Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Jamaican Dollars Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

0.0000442 0.0341677 0.0051602 0.0000244 0.0028465 0.0028166 0.0033325 0.0893449 0.0031203 0.0028696 0.0064508 0.0000728 0.2263239 0.0019702 0.0094154 Arab 0.7494092 0.0389281 0.0129194 0.1483276 0.0000793 0.0001733 0.3963338 1.0000000 0.0001748 0.0220744 0.0012108 0.7291191 0.0776134 0.0754533 0.0479119 0.0031795 0.1787572 0.0761541 0.0012855

0.0000502 0.0372677 0.0052242 0.0000295 0.0038465 0.0029966 0.0035625 0.0963449 0.0033203 0.0029096 0.0069208 0.0000758 0.2323239 0.0022722 0.0100154 0.7579092 0.0409581 0.0194194 0.1501176 0.0000798 0.0002333 0.4038338 1.0000000 0.0001948 0.0460744 0.0018458 0.7401191 0.0783964 O.0760933 0.0484619 0.0033995 0.1847572 0.0776041 0.0013855

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 284.900 374.300 436.800 282.400 2.890 5.235 41.170 2.270 3.643 6.910 2.896 758.650 77.640 76.130

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Al-Fouz begins acquisition of Dimah Capital Restructuring of internal operations complete: Al-Marzouq KUWAIT: Al-Fouz Investment Company’s Board Chairman, Yousif Khaled AlMarzouq announced the official approval of commencing the acquisition of Dimah Capital by Al-Fouz. He also noted that Al-Fouz was only satisfied a number of high cash paying mediumterm real estate investments in 2011 in addition to taking care of and following up existing investments, rearranging its funds and restructuring them in a way to protect shareholders’ rights as well as company assets from potential risks.

Speaking on the sidelines of a general and extraordinary assembly held to discuss the fiscal year ending on December, 31, 2011 with the attendance of 87.9 per cent of shareholders, Al-Marzouq said that Al-Fouz runs what is worth KD10.35 million of assets on behalf of others. He also explained that these investments represent Al-Fouz’s real estate fund in addition to a number of other investment funds founded and offered to company clients. “The company managed to make a 10 per cent of the capital in profit,” he said.

Further, Al-Marzouq explained that Al-Fouz had completed restructuring its internal operations, reducing its operational cost and utilizing its revenues more competently. “General and admin-

KUWAIT: Al-Fouz Investment Company’s Board Chairman Yousif Khaled Al-Marzouq addresses the meeting. istrative expenses were fundamentally cut down by 22 per cent compared to 2010”, he underlined.

Al-Marzouq also noted that due to a drop in evaluating some of the company assets as well as being affected by the economic recession, the shortage in regional businesses and general shor tage of liquidity, the company recorded a loss of KD 1.4 million in 2011.

Moreover, Al-Marzouq stressed that in order to protect shareholders’ rights

Italy union warns subsidies for idle factory workers running out ROME: Italy ’s largest union, the CGIL, warned yesterday that state subsidies for idled factory workers urgently need funding or else the recession gripping the euro zone’s third-biggest economy could worsen. More than a half million factory workers have collected a portion of their salary through the program since the start of 2013, an increase of 12 percent from the first quarter of last year, the CGIL said in a report published on Saturday.

The subsidies allow factories to slow or stop production during a downturn and workers to collect part of their salaries during the time they are inactive.

Italy’s three biggest unions will stage a joint protest in front of parliament on Tuesday to demand about 1 billion euros ($1.31 billion) to finance the subsidies until the end of the year.

“Unfortunately the economic crisis has accelerated and worsened during the first few months of 2013,” CGIL chief Susanna Camusso said in an interview yesterday broadcast by Sky TG24 television.

“We have to find those resources not only to protect the income of those workers but also to avoid a further reduction to consumer spending that would in turn undermine production.”

Unions and the biggest employers’ lobby, normally at loggerheads, on Saturday held a conference together to call for an end to the political impasse, now in its second month, and the formation of a government. The February election left parliament split between three hostile blocs, none of which can govern alone, making an early return to the polls a growing possibility.

Apart from funding for the worker subsidies, which Camusso said will start running out in June, a 1-percentage-point increase in value added tax will automatically come into effect in July if no action is taken.

“The gravity of the situation requires the formation of a strong and credible government quickly to turn around the economic and fiscal policy put in place for the past 18 months,” Giuseppe Bortolussi, head of CGIA Mestre small business lobby, said in a statement.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity measures have worsened Italy’s recession, which started in mid-2011. Some historic indicators show the current slump is deeper than in 1929, at the outset of the Great Depression, CGIA Mestre said.

It is still unclear if opposing political forces will come to an agreement over the formation of a government or if there will be another snap vote. First parliament must elect a new president in voting that starts on Thursday. For constitutional reasons President Giorgio Napolitano cannot dissolve parliament in the final months of his mandate, and his successor will have another chance to find a solution to the deadlock or else call new elections.

Comic Beppe Grillo, whose anti-establishment 5-Star Movement came in third in the national vote, on Sunday said the centre-left and centre-right may seek a snap election to stop the economic reforms proposed by his bloc, according to a blog post.

But Grillo has repeatedly rebuffed, often in harsh terms, overtures from centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani to form a government. —Reuters

News

in brief

NCB posts 19.4% net profit rise RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s largest lender by assets, National Commercial Bank (NCB), posted a 19.4 percent increase in first-quarter net profit on the back of higher special commission and fee income, it said yesterday. The majority state-owned bank reported a net profit of 2.33 billion riyals ($621.3 million) for the first three months of 2013, compared to 1.95 billion riyals in the corresponding period of last year, the bank said in a statement. The profit jump was driven by a 10.4 percent increase in special commission income and a 7.2 percent hike in fee income from banking services, Mansour Al-Maiman, chairman of NCB, said in the statement without elaborating.

Unlisted NCB reported loans and advances climbed 19.9 percent year-on-year to stand at 171 billion riyals at the end of March, while customer deposits grew 11.6 percent to 277 billion riyals. Bank lending growth in Saudi Arabia dipped from December’s 46month high of 16.4 percent in the first two months of 2013, but it was still rapid at 15.9 percent in January and 15.6 percent in February.Standard & Poor’s said in a March report on the Gulf Cooperation Council banking sector that loan growth at Saudi banks would remain strong this year, given healthy demand in both the retail and corporate sectors.

Dubai Union Prop OKs debt extension DUBAI: Dubai’s Union Properties received shareholder’s approval plans to extend a 400 million dirhams ($108.9 million) loan from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank by another five years, the company said yesterday. The extension of the loan until 20 August 2017 was approved at an extraordinary general meeting on April 11, Union Properties said in a statement on Sunday. No financial terms of the debt extension was provided. Union Properties was among the many property firms in Dubai that were hit by a property market collapse in 2009-10, which saw home prices plunging by more than half and a large number of projects being put on hold. Recovery has been gradual as heavy supply still weighs on the emirate’s market. It swung to a profit of 175.8 million dirhams in 2012, compared with a massive loss of 1.57 billion dirhams a year ago. The developer reached a 3.8-billion dirham debt deal with largest shareholder Emirates NBD in 2012, where it transferred assets worth 1.1 billion dirhams to the bank.

by developing income resources and diversifying investment activities, AlFouz resumed its conservative investment approach that it had been following since establishment. “We have also continued fortifying our relations with business par tners in various fields, namely strategic ones, with the aim of enhancing our presence in local and regional markets”, he added.

Speak ing about the future, AlMarzouq expressed hopes that the economic environment would get better in

2013 through utilizing the huge financial surpluses resulting from the rise in oil prices to the best for national economy.

Al-Marzouq stressed that shareholders support the efforts exerted by the board of directors that had helped overcome the impact of the previous economic phase of recession.

Notably, the general assembly approved all the items on its agenda including the board’s report on the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2011, the

company’s budget, profits and losses and the board’s recommendations not to distribute any profits for the same year.

The assembly also elected a new threeyear board of directors including Yousif Khaled Al-Marzouq, Nouf Real Estate, General Trade & Contracting Co, Dimah Capital Investments, Faisal Abdullah Mohammed Al-Muttar and Hamed Mohammed Ahmed Al-Awadhi in addition to two spare members; Al-Imtiaz Investment and Al-Fanar Investment companies.

72 companies to participate in Kuwait Real Estate Expo Price spike deters property investors KUWAIT: The Real Estate and Investment Exhibition returns to Kuwait this year featuring the largest number of participation from local and foreign companies since the global economic crisis, Top Expo Managing Director Waleed Al-Qadoumi said at a press conference on Saturday.

Three local banks are among the 72 companies that announced their intention to take part in the event. The expo will kick off on April 29 and will last until May 4.

“More than 200 projects are set to be showcased from 17 countries around the world during the event,” AlQadoumi said.

The exhibition will be held over 3,027 square meters area which is close to 3,600 square meters area achieved in 2008 which was considered a major success. “According to current assessment, the property sector is stable and has started to regain its strength”, Al-Qadoumi said.

Al-Qadoumi revealed that this year’s show is characterized by the emergence of new markets such as Turkey, Georgia and Bosnia” which are taking the spotlight “amid lack of interest from previously dominated investors”. “A villa in Kuwait, which was offered for KD86,000 a decade ago, is today offered for KD400,000. The spike in the price has been caused by several factors including property regulations that limit the operations of the property firms”, he said. He added that this is driving Kuwaiti citizens to look for more feasible investment opportunities outside Kuwait.

According to Al-Qadoumi, the solution to the problem lies in cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as releasing properties that are currently under the state’s control for oil-related or security reasons, a press release added.

KUWAIT: Top Expo Managing Director Waleed Al-Qadoumi (center) addresses a press conference on Saturday.

Yemen CB FX reserves hit six-month low Oil exports drop 30% from January DUBAI: The foreign reserves of Yemen’s central bank shrank by $457 million in February to their lowest level since last August as oil exports from the impoverished Arab country plunged by a third, data showed yesterday. The Arabian peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered from frequent bombings of its main oil pipeline since political turmoil started in 2011.

Gross foreign assets held by the central bank fell to $5.8 billion in February, covering 5.9 months of imports, from $6.2 billion or 6.4 months of imports in January, central bank data showed. Net reserves, which factor in the central bank’s foreign obligations, stood at $4.5 billion in February. The central bank, which received a $1 billion loan from Saudi Arabia last year to support its reserves, did not explain the decrease in its monthly bulletin.

In March, its vice governor told Reuters that reserves of $6.2 billion were appropriate, but that the level would depend on whether Yemen continued to suffer pipeline bombings by Islamist militants and disgruntled tribesmen.

Attackers blew up parts of Yemen’s main 110,000 barrel per day oil export pipeline in February and March, halting the flow of crude.

Another explosion occurred earlier this month, only two weeks after the pipeline was repaired. A long closure of the line last year forced Yemen’s largest refinery at Aden to shut, leaving the country dependent on fuel donations from Saudi Arabia and imports. Yemen exported $210 million worth of crude oil in February, a drop of more than 30 percent from January, the data also showed. The government’s share of those exports was 1.8 million barrels in February, the lowest level since May 2012. In January, the International Monetary Fund warned that the political transition following the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February 2012, and security concerns - particularly attacks on key oil and electricity facilities - threatened the economic outlook. Yemen’s economy improved last year but its recovery remains fragile in the second-poorest Arab state after Mauritania. A third of Yemen’s 25 million people live on less than $2 a day, and unemployment is estimated at around 35 percent. Last year wealthy Gulf Arab states, Western governments and other donors pledged $7.9 billion in aid over several years to Yemen, but only a small fraction has so far arrived. The IMF said earlier this month that it was discussing fresh financial aid to Yemen, which a central bank official said could be as large as $500 million. —Reuters

NICOSIA: A woman passes outside a branch of Bank of Cyprus in the main shopping street in central capital Nicosia yesterday. Cyprus’ President Nicos Anastasiades has chided the central bank chief to not act in ways that “catch the government by surprise,” but to move to stabilize the country’s troubled banking sector. —AP

HSBC names Gupta M&A head for MENA DUBAI: HSBC Holdings has named Anshul Gupta as its head of mergers and acquisitions business for the Middle East and North Africa, replacing Omar Mehanna, who is taking a new role at the British bank’s Saudi Arabian affiliate. Gupta, who joined HSBC in 2005, is currently a managing director in the bank’s corporate sector group and will remain responsible for that coverage along with his new role, the bank said in an internal memorandum seen by Reuters.

In his new role, Gupta will report to Paul Skelton, regional head of global banking and Alain Renaud, the bank’s global head of M&A and co-head for its corporate finance business globally.

Mehanna is relocating to Riyadh as chief

strategy officer for Saudi British Bank, a lender 40 percent owned by HSBC. Mehanna has advised on several deals in the region, including the takeover by France Telecom of Egypt’s Mobinil in 2012.

The appointments are effective on June 1, 2013, the memo stated. M&A activity in the region is showing signs of revival after the global financial crisis hit investor sentiment and increased valuation disagreements between buyers and sellers.

Transactions with Middle Eastern targets reached $20 billion during 2012, double the activity seen in 2011, according to Thomson Reuters data. Fees from advising clients totaled $157.9 million, a 23 percent increase. —Reuters

EU, Japan begin trade talks to boost growth BRUSSELS: The EU and Japan will begin a first round of talks today on one of the world’s biggest free trade accords, part of a push to boost growth and get their faltering economies back on track.

Europe, like the United States, Japan and its other major partners are all looking for fresh momentum after the 2008 global financial blow-out morphed into the debt crisis and the worst economic downturn since the 1930s ‘Great Depression.’ Both sides have highlighted the benefits of an accord between them which would cover some 30 percent of global economic output and 40 percent of trade.

That is incentive enough to do a deal but it will not be plain sailing-there are considerable differences to overcome, not the least of them cultural, which will take hard bargaining to resolve.

“I consider that it is a matter of great significance,” Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi said last

month when the formal decision to start the talks was announced.

Japan is a big prize for EU exporters but they complain that its large market is skewed in favor of domestic producers, prompting Brussels to sound a note of caution.

The talks are “historic,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said last month, but the agreement “we have in our mind is a comprehensive one, tackling barriers and nontariff barriers, public procurement (and) intellectual property rights.”“It’s clear to me that dismantling the persistent non-tariff barriers will be the key for the success of the negotiations,” De Gucht said.

If a one-year review of the talks came up short, he warned, “the negotiations would be suspended.” EU Trade Spokesman John Clancy said Friday the “agenda remains flexible” but market access, public procurement and intellectual property would likely figure early on.—AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Eyeing Africa’s rise, law firms tap fear of graft JOHANNESBURG: Corruption-fearing western executives are still squeamish about investing in Africa, but as the continent’s economies take off, legal firms hope to make big bucks from assuaging those concerns. As debate rages about the sustainability of Africa’s economic rise, there is little doubt that the continent today offers investment returns that cannot be matched in most developed markets.

The International Monetary Fund projects that sub-Saharan Africa will grow at 5.7 percent in 2013, outpacing most regions and rivalling Asia’s boom markets.

According to a recent KPMG study, private equity firms got a record $3.03 billion back from African investments in 2011. “As growth in other economies have slowed in recent years...

investors have been looking to emerging markets and economies that will provide higher return rates,” said KMPG’s Dapo Okubadejo.

“Africa is continuously proving its business case for investment.” Home-grown African firms are expanding and, notably, China’s state-backed extraction companies have piled in to the continent. But US companies in particular have been slow to jump in. One reason for the delay is corruption, according to a recent survey by law firm Dentons and business advisory firm AlixPartners.

Their poll of 200 senior executives at multinationals based in the United States showed a quarter of respondents cited corruption as a reason they avoid the continent. “There is a perception

gap among a number of US companies as to both the opportunities on the African continent and a perception gap as to the underlying risks,” said Dentons partner Thomas Laryea.

Of those firms that already do business in Africa, 75 percent said there was a need for more transparent local business culture. “Concerns about corruption are clearly shaping companies’ decisions to invest in Africa,” said the authors. Dentons and AlixPartners have their own business reasons for drawing wary investors to continent, but the paucity of western law firms active in a Africa is cited as one reason for low rates of investment. But the lack of trusted local interlocutors may not be a factor for long.

It took around six decades, but in May 2012 Baker &

McKenzie-by some measures the world’s largest law firm-opened its first office in sub-Saharan Africa. The office, in Johannesburg, hopes to tap rich interest in the country’s energy, mining and finance sectors. It is just one of a host of big-name legal firms making the leap. Dentons already has ties with 19 associated firms in Africa, but Laryea admitted competition is heating up.

“Every other day we hear stories and announcements of other law firms that are establishing Africa practices.”

Services in the energy, infrastructure, resources and agriculture sectors, as well as financial sectors are in particular demand. But navigating government services, where perhaps most corruption pitfalls lay, may offer the broadest possible opportunities. —AFP

WASHINGTON: The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. Worried the Internal Revenue Service might target you for an audit? You probably should worry if you own a small business in one of the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles. —AP

Likely tax cheats flock South, West WASHINGTON: Worried the Internal Revenue Service might target you for an audit? You probably should be if you own a small business in one of the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles. You might also be wary if you’re a small-business owner in one of dozens of communities near San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta or the District of Columbia.

A new study by the National Taxpayer Advocate used confidential IRS data to show large clusters of potential tax cheats in these five metropolitan areas. The IRS uses the information to target taxpayers for audits. The taxpayer advocate, Nina Olsen, runs an independent office within the IRS. She got access to the data as part of an effort to learn more about why some taxpayers are more likely to cheat than others. The study also looked at tax compliance in different industries, and found that people who own construction companies or real estate rental firms may be more likely to fudge their taxes than business owners in other fields.

Many of the communities identified by the study are very wealthy, including Beverly Hills and Newport Beach in California. Others are more middle class, such as New Carrollton, Md., a Washington suburb, and College Park, Georgia, home to a section of Atlanta’s massive airport.

Steve Rosansky, president and CEO of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said business owners in his city are probably targeted because many have high incomes. The likelihood of an audit does increase with income, according to IRS data. “I imagine it’s just a matter of them going where they think the money’s at,” Rosansky said in an interview. “I guess if I was running the IRS I’d probably do the same thing.”

The study focused on small-business owners - sole proprietorships, to be specific - because they have more opportunity than the typical individual to cheat on their taxes. Many small businesses deal in cash while most individuals get paid in wages that are reported to the IRS. The IRS only audits about 1 percent of tax returns each year, so the agency tries to pick returns that are most likely to yield additional tax money. The IRS will not say much about how agents choose their targets. But as millions of procrastinators scramble to meet Monday’s deadline to file their taxes, the agency is running every tax return through a confidential computer program to determine the chances of collecting more money from an audit.

Each tax return is assigned a score. The higher your score, the more likely you are to get audited because, according to the IRS, the more likely you are cheating on your taxes.

The score is called the Discriminant Inventory Function, or DIF. A high DIF score does not guarantee you are a tax cheat but the IRS claims it’s reliable. “If your return is selected because of a high score under the DIF system, the potential is high that an examination of your return will result in a change to your income tax liability,” says an IRS publication that explains the auditing process.

How do you get high score? The IRS won’t say, but veteran tax preparers and former IRS workers believe they have a pretty good idea.

“If you’re reporting $8,000 of charitable contributions when you’re only making $50,000, that’s a red flag,” said Bob Meighan, vice president of TurboTax, an online tax preparation service. “Likewise if you’re reporting business or employee expenses that are out of the ordinary for your income range, that would attract the

interest of the IRS as well.”

The bottom line, according to the experts: People who take unusually large deductions for their income get a high score. Also, business owners who claim unusually large expenses for the size and type of their business get a high score.

“I had a case here where the person made about $40,000 and they claimed $25,000 of employment-related expenses,” said Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS lawyer who now teaches law at Fordham University. “Most people don’t spend $25,000 to earn $40,000. That’s an unusual number.”

DIF scores can vary across industry, according to the study by the taxpayer advocate. For example, people who owned construction and real estate rental companies were more likely to have high scores. Lawyers, accountants and architects and people who provided other professional services were more likely to have low scores.

Olsen said construction and real estate rental companies probably deduct more expenses that are not independently reported to the IRS. The IRS does not like those kinds of expenses because they are harder to verify without an audit.

“Construction for sole proprietors has been historically a cash business,” Olsen said. The study, which was included in Olsen’s annual report to Congress in January, used data from 2009 tax returns to plot the DIF scores for sole proprietorships across the country. The city where you live is not a component of the score, according to the study. Nevertheless, researchers were able to identify clusters of likely tax cheats.

Sole proprietorships make up about two-thirds of all US businesses. Sole proprietors report business income on their individual tax returns and, the IRS says, they account for the biggest share of the tax gap, which is the difference between what taxpayers owe each year under the law and what they actually pay. The tax gap was $345 billion in 2006, according the latest IRS estimate.

In all, researchers identified clusters of potential tax cheats in more than 350 communities in 24 states, mostly cities and towns but some neighborhoods, too.

About one-third of them were in California, with most near Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Most of the others were in communities near Houston and Atlanta, and in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. There were relatively few in the Midwest or the Northeast.

The researchers also looked for areas with high concentrations of small business owners who were very unlikely to cheat on their taxes. They came up with four: the Aleutian Islands in Alaska; West Somerville, Mass., a neighborhood in Somerville, a suburb of Boston; Portersville, an unincorporated town in the southern part of the state; and Mott Haven, a neighborhood in the Bronx, one of New York City’s boroughs. Stephen Mackey, president and CEO of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, said he’s glad the business owners in his community excel at civic virtue. But he was at a loss to explain why they stood out from so many others across the country.

“I’d like to think we’re not alone in terms of the civic engagement of business people,” Mackey said. “But I would say two things. One is they are very close to the community inside and outside their businesses. At the same time, it’s not small town America. It’s minutes from downtown Boston.” —AP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Bankers count on watered down EU trading tax LONDON: Bankers are confident they can persuade the European Union that its proposed financial trading tax poses enough risks to struggling economies and banks to warrant being watered down. Their campaign against the tax, which will be imposed by 11 of the EU’s 27 countries, focuses on how much it would boost the cost of funding for governments and companies, erode returns earned even by longterm investors, and hurt funding markets which are crucial to the health of the financial system.

Advocates of the financial transaction tax say it is small enough and covers enough assets not to distort markets while ensuring banks, which received taxpayers’ cash during the financial and euro zone crises, make a contribution to the public coffers as governments try to rein in budget deficits.

Their arguments have struck a chord with public opinion, particularly in those European countries where unemployment has been rising, social welfare has been cut and wages have stagnated or fallen due to government austerity measures. But bankers say the impact of the levy will be felt far beyond the financial sector if the EU sticks to its plan to tax buyers and sellers at each stage of every trade that is either transacted by someone in one of the countries imposing the tax or involves an asset issued by an institution based there.

“I think that the impact is so dramatic, I would be astounded if it passes in its current form,” Remco Lenterman, chairman of the FIA European Principal Traders Association said.

“I would almost theorize that if they pass and implement it in its current form, they would have to cancel it after a threeto six-month period as markets would become so dysfunctional that you would have to revert back.” The European Commission declined to comment.

Financial regulation is often changed in the process of negotiations.

Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, and Slovakia have said they will levy the tax. The Commission says revenues from the tax are expected to total up to 35 billion euros a year, or 1 percent of the total tax revenues of the participating countries.

It is still unclear how the tax would be collected in EU countries which won’t levy it - a group that includes Britain, which has the region’s biggest financial centre.

Bankers are stepping up lobbying of the European Commission and countries which will impose the levy to explain how a tax of 0.1 percent on stocks and bonds and 0.01 percent on derivatives could have such a seismic impact. One of their oft-cited examples is how much the tax would add to the cost of a transaction

which involves one investor selling a bond and another buying it.

Because such a trade typically involves dealers and brokers as intermediaries between investors, the tax could be levied 10 times, with the same dealer or broker sometimes being taxed twice-once for buying the bond and again for selling it on- as well as each time a position is hedged to mitigate risk.

Banks therefore expect the tax to depress trading volumes, which will hurt the profits they make from such business.

And they expect to pass higher trading costs on to clients.

“They say this is a tax on the financial sector but we pass on the tax to clients,” said a London-based banker responsible for derivatives trading who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Investors end up paying the tax, either through a direct charge or because market-makers are not market making anymore so bid/offer spreads widen and transaction costs rise.”

That is unlikely to sway the European Commission or those who signed up for the tax given one of their intentions was to deter financial trading which does not contribute to the efficiency of markets or to the economy. The Commission has said the levy targets transactions which take place between financial institutions but that it would not be “disproportionate” if

some of the costs were passed on to consumers.

But rising trading costs are expected to prompt investors to demand higher returns. The impact this could have on government and corporate borrowing costs, and therefore the economy, may end up being persuasive.

For example, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch study published in March said the tax could add as much as 8.5 billion euros to the combined cost of annual debt interest payments of Germany, France and Italy in the first year. It would also affect corporate bonds.

Consulting firm London Economics said the per-transaction impact of the tax, as a percentage of bond returns, would average between 6.2 and 12.8 percent for corporate borrowers from the countries which impose the levy.

“Our view remains that the tax is highly unlikely to be implemented in anything like its current form,” the Bank of America Merrill Lynch research note on the tax’s impact said. “(We) think such a tax would increase borrowing costs noticeably, increase financial risks and crimp the availability of finance to the ‘real economy’, as well as damaging monetary policy transmission mechanisms.”

The Commission’s own report on the potential impact of the trading tax estimates it could shaved 0.28 percent off

gross domestic product in the long run.

But it said that imposing the tax “will not negatively impact growth or jobs”.

Still, bankers say a potential drag on growth is the last thing highly indebted euro-zone countries need as they try to revive economic activity and, either avoid international bailouts, or exit such bailouts.

“I will eat my hat if this tax comes in as proposed on January 2014,” said David Lewis at Astec Analytics, which specializes in information on securities borrowing and lending.

“For politicians it’s gold, but it’s the wrong thing at the wrong time. In the current economic environment we should be freeing up the market, reducing costs and making things easier”.

Politics is expected to determine when and by how much the financial trading tax is eventually amended. Five bankers and six financial industry bodies contacted by Reuters pinpointed the German parliamentary elections, scheduled for September, as a key watershed.

“It is ... unlikely that the proposal - in its current form will survive,” said Judith Hardt, secretary general of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges. “Some lobbyists in Brussels say that part of the initiative is driven by the upcoming German elections. Some assume that the urgency of getting results quickly will diminish after the elections.” —Reuters

Respect independence of CB: Cyprus bank chief Demetriades ready to work with govt NICOSIA: Cyprus’s central bank governor said yesterday he was willing to work with the government to pull the island out of its economic crisis, provided the bank’s independence was respected.

A rift between Governor Panicos Demetriades, appointed last May by the communist former administration, and the ruling

unfolding drama drew a scathing response from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi, who wrote to the Cypriot president telling him any attempt to effectively sack the governor could land Cyprus in the European Court of Justice.

Anastasiades, when asked by reporters yesterday to comment on the apparent feud

NICOSIA: Cyprus Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades makes statements outside the parliament in Nicosia. centre-right government has deepened and pressure grown on him to resign over his handling of the crisis.

In the past week, the Cypriot parliament started an investigation against Demetriades, President Nicos Anastasiades’s government withdrew the appointment of his trusted deputy and three central bank officials resigned. The

between the two bodies, said he was “frankly, very saddened”. “My intention to work with the country’s democratic institutions is a given,” Demetriades, who sits on the ECB’s governing council, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Phileleftheros newspaper.

“We are ready to respond to every call for cooperation and coordination for the benefit of

this country always, however within the framework of total respect towards the central bank’s independence, as stipulated by the ECB.” Under European Union law, a governor can only be dismissed if he no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his duties, or if he is guilty of serious misconduct.

The investigation launched by Cypriot lawmakers this week is seeking to find out whether Demetriades supplied enough information during an investigation into the demise of Cyprus’s two biggest lenders, which left the economy in disarray.

The collapse of the Mediterranean island’s banking system imposed massive losses on depositors in order to qualify for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The departures in the past week from the regulator’s board have slimmed the six-member board to two, including Demetriades. However, executive power rests with the governor so while they add to the pressure on Demetriades to quit, they are not expected to affect policymaking.

The government, in power for under two months, has sought to play down accusations it was intervening with the central bank’s duties.Authorities have demanded Demetriades take back comments he made on the sidelines of a Eurogroup meeting in Dublin this week that the central bank’s independence was under attack, according to the government’s spokesman, Christos Stylianides.

“I did not expect Mr Demetriades to make public statements, especially while abroad, accusing his country’s government and his country’s parliament of supposedly acting against him,” Anastasiades told reporters. He said it was up to Demetriades to cooperate with the government.

“I hope he will work towards this... and behave in a way that will finally restore stability in the banking system,” he said. —Reuters

Chidambaram to woo investors in N America FM seeks FDI to fund current account gap NEW DELHI: India’s finance minister will seek to drum up foreign investment from the United States and Canada this week to fund a record high current account deficit, even as policymakers debate the risks of over-reliance on foreign investors to finance the gap.

As P Chidambaram kicks off a week-long North America trip, his officials are working on a series of steps to attract at least $20 billion in new investment to fund the deficit without depleting India’s $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves. The proposals include raising the cap on foreign investment in rupee-denominated government debt by up to $5 billion, reducing tax rates on such investments, making it easier for Indian firms to borrow abroad, and easing curbs on foreign investment in sensitive sectors such as defense, telecoms and media, finance and trade officials told Reuters.

The measures are still being formulated and have not been approved, the officials stressed.

Chidambaram, aiming to take advantage of a wave of cheap global funds, will meet foreign investors in New York, Ottawa and Toronto, the latest stops in a global roadshow to talk up India as an investment destination.

The new push for foreign investment is seen as part of an important but potentially risky shift in how India approaches its widening current account deficit, which has emerged as the government’s biggest economic worry. “We will take all steps to ensure that inflows remain strong for the next two years,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a gathering of industrialists in New Delhi earlier this month.

The new push for foreign investment stems from India’s struggle to boost its merchandise exports in a fragile global economy and rein in a high import bill. The government is now willing to

tolerate a current account deficit of 5 percent, roughly double what it has typically aimed for, the finance ministry officials said.

India’s current account deficit widened to an all-time high of 6.7 percent of GDP in OctoberDecember, driven by heavy oil and gold imports and muted exports.

India’s failure to attract sufficient capital inflows precipitated a balance of payment crisis in 1991, when the central bank was forced to airlift 47 tons of gold to Europe as collateral for a loan to avert a sovereign default. “The size of the deficit in itself is not a problem, if you can comfortably finance it,”

said an official familiar with the funding proposals being considered by the government.

Officials concede the strategy will make India far more dependent on foreign investors, exposing it to sudden reversals in capital flows, which could trigger a financial crisis. “But we do not have really too much of a choice other than relying on portfolio inflows,” said Jyotinder Kaur, an economist at HDFC Bank. Aninda Mitra, India economist at Capital Economics in Singapore, said much will depend on the global environment and the success of the government’s economic reform drive. —Reuters

Portuguese premier urges more credit for businesses LISBON: Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has urged banks to give more loans to businesses in a bid to fight recession in the heavily-indebted country. “The state is going to ensure that banks can do everything to revive credit distribution,” Coelho said on Saturday night after a meeting by his party’s national council in Lisbon.

He said the recession in his embattled eurozone country was partly caused by “the lack of credit flowing through the economy, while there are banks which are in a position to do so” after being recapitalized with state assistance.

Portugal is suffering from its deepest recession in 40 years amid austerity measures imposed by Coelho’s government, and the economy is set to contract by 2.3 percent this year after shrinking 3.2 percent in 2012. Unemployment has hit a new record of 16.9 percent and is set to increase even

further this year amid cutbacks in public spending.

The country is under renewed pressure after the constitutional court last week rejected several austerity measures worth 1.3 billion euros. This will make it difficult for the government to reduce the public sector deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, a condition for European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout funds.

However euro-zone finance ministers on Friday agreed to give bailed-out Portugal an extra seven years to repay aid received to save it from collapse.

To compensate for the rejected austerity measures government will have to make large budget cuts in the areas of health, social security, education and public enterprises.

The planned cuts will be presented to the troika of EU, IMF and European Central Bank lenders today. —AFP

US stocks move up, S&P, Dow hit record Dimah weekly global market commentary KUWAIT: US stock moved higher for the week, with both the S&P 500 and The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching record highs. All S&P sectors closed higher for the week led by Consumer Discretionary and Health Care stocks, while Energy and Materials sectors lagged. US equity markets recovered after the previous week’s drop, which was the biggest since the beginning of the year, as optimism that global stimulus efforts and corporate earnings growth will continue to power the world’s largest economy. Indices were up four out of last week’s five sessions and were in negative territory only on the last trading day of the week on the back of disappointing Retail Sales figures and tumbling commodity prices.

Consumer discretionary stocks rallied 3.4 percent for the week, as retailers’ monthly data offset Commerce Department figures showing a 0.4 percent drop in March US retail sales.

European stocks posted the biggest weekly gain in more than a month as speculation that central banks will con-

tinue to provide monetary stimulus and reports showed Chinese imports beat forecasts. Out of the sectors in the Europe STOXX 50, Financials led the charge, gaining more than 4 percent, while Consumer Discretionary lagged only slightly negative at -0.06 percent.

Poor figures coming out of Europe and the US suggest that central banks will continue running a loose monetary policy, keeping interest rates at record low levels and further pumping money into their respective economies.

Japanese stocks managed to record its second strongest week since the market started its dramatic rally in November of 2012. The index was up 5.1 percent for the week, easily outpacing its regional peers. Japanese stocks continued their impressive rally as the Yen continues to fall against the US dollar and other major currencies, just short of the JPY100 against the US dollar. But the major factor in influencing the performance of the Japanese equity markets last week was the unveiling Bank of Japan’s ambitious plan to spur inflation.

DR Congo banking on wage revolution for state workers KINSHASA: For civil servants working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the arrival of mobile banking has been just short of a miracle.

Aside from getting paid on time, workers are now receiving what is actually owed to them, circumventing greedy superiors who used to dip into their pay envelopes to “tip” themselves and leave staff with only a fraction of their salaries.

“The first time, they’re surprised” to see what they actually make, Hassan Wazni said, managing director at Sofibanque-one of about a dozen banks offering mobile banking accounts in the conflict-torn Congo.

For the impoverished central African country the size of western Europe, the introduction of the service represents a minor revolution and comes about a year after Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo vowed to end the practice where state workers were paid in cash.

With an average annual revenue of $240 (185 euros) per person, most Congolese had never visited a bank before, let alone had an account. Like a number of other countries in Africa and Asia that had only a tiny network of bank branches but where mobile phones are now ubiquitous, Congo opted for mobile banking. No smartphones are needed. Clients can pay bills, make deposits or conduct other transactions via text messages.

Many shops, even in rural areas, have the equipment and can take deposits, make withdrawals or make sales with transactions confirmed by the clients with their phones. “It’s very practical,” said Barthelemy Bosongo, who works at the Youth and Sports Ministry.

“Everyone likes it” even though there were a few hiccups with spelling of names at the outset. So far some 270,000 state employees have received bank accounts, and by June all one million civil servants should have their accounts.

A year ago, only 2 percent of Congo’s 75 million population had bank accounts, now, that number is at 5.7 percent — thanks mostly to the government push to provide them to civil servants. Widespread banking is important for economic development, and while the amounts many Africans hold in their accounts is small, the do add up. Sofibanque’s Wazni noted that in Kenya some $7 billion now flows through the mobile banking system every year.

Mobile banking should put a dent into the corruption that victimized even state employees. According to the head of a non-governmental organization which works with the Congolese army, it was common for state workers and soldiers to end up with the equivalent of about $5 after their $60 salaries had passed down the hierarchy to reach them. And it is not only the employees who are benefitting, but the state budget. The switch to mobile banking has helped rid out so-called “ghost workers”, or fictive people who have been added to the payroll so officials could pocket extra cash.

According to press reports, 30 fictive schools were recently uncovered in the North Kivu province, allegedly employing 200 fictive teachers. The savings should more than cover the $3.5 fee banks receive from the state to set up each of the accounts, much of is shared with the mobile operators. —AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Commercial Facilities Company holds general assembly Net profit KD15.9m in comparison to 14.2m in 2011 KUWAIT: Commercial Facilities Company (SAK) (CFC), the leading Financing Company in Kuwait announced yesterday that its General Assembly has reviewed and approved the audited financial statements for the year 2012. CFC achieved profits of KD15.9 million at the end of 2012 in comparison to KD14.2 million in 2011. This was due to increase in installment debtor’s portfolio by 3.8 percent, improvement in the performance of the company’s investments, and positively affected by the reversal of provisions. The results were released recently according to CFC’s Annual Report that was issued and distributed during the General Assembly, additionally the Shareholders’ equity reached KD169.5 million, an increase of 3.4 percent from the previous year.

Based on the released profits of the year 2012, the Board of Directors proposed a distribution of 24 percent (24 fils per share) cash dividend and the General Assembly has consented this recommendation.

During the General Assembly Meeting, CFC Chairman and Managing Director Abdullah Saud Al-Humaidhi said: “CFC’s share of the consumer loans market in Kuwait is around 20 percent and the company’s share in the financing company market is more than 75 percent, which

CFC Chairman and Managing Director Abdullah Saud Al-Humaidhi proves the strong performance and the success of the business model that we are adopting. The company’s financial performance during 2012 is a clear indication of the growing consumer’s confidence, since its establishment keeping its leading position in the finance sector at the local level. CFC is characterized by a strong performance and its diverse services in addition to marketing campaigns that contributes to meet customer confidence and

satisfaction throughout the previous years. “ He also added: “Despite the fluctuations in the economic and political situation in the area, weak performance of Kuwait stock exchange and reduction of discount rate to its lowest level, CFC was able to continue in its target towards development and growth, where CFC have launched “Tayhna Wahda” campaign during 2012. This campaign has achieved

great success reflected positively on the company’s profits, especially during the last quarter of the same year.”

Concluding Al-Humaidhi said: “On this occasion I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the company’s employees for their efforts, efficiency, and cooperation to achieve CFC goals and contribute to the progress of the company towards another successful year.” Commercial Facilities Company (CFC) was established

Jazeera Airways reports February 2013 operational performance Ranked #1 in Mideast in February 2013 by FlightStats KUWAIT: Award-winning Jazeera Airways yesterday issued its February 2013 Operational Performance Report,revealing an increasing number of passengers on routes that serve Amman, Assiut, Dubai, Jeddah, Luxor, Mashhad, and Sohag, and that the airline has maintained high market shares on other key routes. The monthly report, which presents market share figures based on official statistics from Kuwait’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), showed that Jazeera Airways was the leading airline serving the Egyptian destinations of Assiut, Luxor, and Sohag.

Jazeera Airways’ February market share on these routes was 56 percent, 73 percent, 50 percent respectively. When comparing these market shares with the same month from last year, the airline’s market share on the Kuwait-Assiut route saw an increase of 10 percent, the KuwaitLuxor increased by 6 percent from, and the Kuwait-Sohag route increased by 14 percent.

As for high demand tourist and business destinations, Jazeera Airways was once again the leading Kuwaiti airline serving Beirut from Kuwait with a 38 percent market share, Bahrain with an 11 percent market share, Dubai with a 14 percent market share, and Amman with a 34 percent market share.

Passengers also increased from February 2012 on routes serving Amman, Dubai, Jeddah and Mashhad, respectively by: 7 percent, 6 percent, 28 percent and 49 percent.

Jazeera Airways’ market share on the Kuwait-Jeddah route increased by 5 percent from February 2012.

Jazeera Airways’ monthly report for February 2013 also showed that the airline continued to lead in ontime performance (OTP) against all other airlines in the Middle East with a 94.35 percent performance, as ranked by the independent USbased OTP tracker FlightStats.

Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed company. The company has 12 fully-owned Airbus A320s in operation, distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways (seven aircraft), and its fullyowned leasing business, Sahaab Aircraft Leasing (five aircraft). Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines, and Jazeera Airways.

In 2012 the airline carried 1.1 million passengers in total across its network that includes today highdemand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Damascus, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf.

Al-Mulla Exchange picks 14 more winners 8th weekly Remit Tronics promotion KUWAIT: Al Mulla International Exchange, the premier exchange company in Kuwait, announced 14 lucky winners in the 8th draw of their ‘Remit Tronics’ mega promotion, which was held

on 9 April, at their Watiya 1 branch.

The three-month long promotion that began in February and will run until 6 May, 2013, picks 14 winners at the end of each week from all transactions done at any branch of Al Mulla Exchange during the previous seven days.

Last week’s big winner was Muhammed Shahid Hussain who won KD 400 for his transaction with Al Mulla International Exchange. The list of the other thirteen winners and the prizes

they won are as follows: John O Neill, Anana Mohamed Abdullah, Nagur Minar Sahib, Surender Kumar Chauhan each of whom won a Samsung Tab 2.

Alim Abdul Rahman, Arief Fawzoon, Ranjani Perera, Naveed Christopher

Rebello, Thishara Sameera who received a Samsung Duo mobile each. Marumudi Swamy, Manohara Iyyer, Moin Uddin Mohi Uddin, Denesh Kumara who each took home a Samsung 32” LCD television With more than 155 electronic items to be won and many more weeks to go, customers could send their remittances from any Al Mulla Exchange branch and win fabulous prizes each week, including cash prize of KD 400, Samsung Tabs, Samsung LCD televisions and Samsung mobile phones.

Now customers have yet another reason to remit their money through Al Mulla Exchange which offers, free insurance and loyalty points on every transaction, as well as SMS confirmation on delivery of remittances. Besides making money transfer a quick, safe and relaxed experience for customers, Kuwait’s premier exchange also offers the facility to send money from the comfort of one’s home or office through their online service at www.amxremit.com

in 1977 as the first Kuwaiti closed shareholding company with an initial capital of KD3.8million ($12.7million). It specializes in providing installment credit facilities to finance consumer and commercial products. CFC plays a major role in the development of the financial and consumer goods industry. It is one of the leading companies in offering installment credit facilities, car financing, and personal cash loans.

Xerox Kuwait gets ISO certification KUWAIT: Xerox Kuwait is pleased to announce that it has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification for Customer Service and Logistics Operations. This certification marks the culmination of a rigorous internal preparation process and is a clear demonstration of Xerox Kuwait’s commitment to quality and consistency.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a family of standards related to quality management systems, designed to help organizations meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. An ISO certification is an important differentiator in the market place. Receiving this certification puts Xerox Kuwait at the forefront of businesses in this industry, especially when working with sectors such as oil and gas, where ISO certifications are required.

The ISO certification confirms that Xerox Kuwait has reliable processes and procedures in place throughout its operations, and that these processes are dynamic and able to change to meet business needs. In addition, Xerox Kuwait makes the best use of available resources, using Xerox Lean Six Sigma tools and methodology in both internal and external projects, to reduce waste and increase effectiveness.

This recognition highlights Xerox’s ongoing commitment to brand excellence, and provides our customers with the assurance that they are receiving superior quality products and services.

Xerox Kuwait is the premier distribu-

tor of Xerox products in Kuwait and is committed to providing the highest quality products and services to its customers. Operating as part of Alamana Industries, a Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons

company, Xerox Kuwait is a technologies and services provider that enables industries and businesses to deploy smarter document solutions strategies and work more efficiently. Xerox Kuwait strives to be the market leader in technology, document and consulting services, providing innovative technologies, products and services to improve their customers’ business results.

Al-Soor launches rank-gauging system in 41 ‘Alfa’ stations KUWAIT: Al-Soor Fuel Marketing Company announced the installation of a new system that monitors the stock movement of different petroleum products in its “Alfa” stations according to the latest technologies.

The company’s chairman and managing director, Talal Ahmed Al-Khars, said that this newly launched Automated Gauging System (ATG) offers many advantages, mainly the ability to gauge the available fuel stock through a central system that provides data related to the tank gauging system in all “Alfa” stations and detects any leakage in the petroleum products tanks.

Al-Khars added in a press statement that this system efficiently contributes to the constant monitoring of the petroleum products in the stations. It indicates as well the stock available in the tanks, which makes it

Chairman and Managing Director Talal Ahmed Al-Khars possible to determine the missing quantities at any time and inform the

main warehouse automatically in Subhan and Ahmadi, owned by Kuwait National Petroleum Company, without the intervention of any employee who works in the station.

Al-Khars noted that the ATG system is one of the latest technologies used in the fuel stations globally. Al-Soor satisfied the terms and conditions of the National Petroleum Corporation and started cooperating with it according to the local and international requirements.

He explained that the installation of this system in “Alfa” stations comes in the framework of the company’s policy to adopt new development schemes that comply with the safety and security features. ATG is one of many environment friendly projects Al-Soor took part in and it detects any leakage that might occur in the tanks of the stations.

Al-Tijari announces winners of Najma Account draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma Account Daily draw yesterday. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani.

The winners of the Najma daily draw are: l Amjad Al-Yashaa Boles Shnoda — KD 7000 l Majeed Elaywi Al-Badaa— KD 7000 l Roujina Adel Ameer Bekheet— KD 7000 l Shakeel Ahmad Mohammad Shafi— KD 7000

Qamar Aziz Rahmatalla — KD 7000.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD500, l

customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or two months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

BEIJING: A Chinese woman looks on as she sits on a trailer with apples in Beijing yesterday. China’s economic growth likely picked up slightly in the first quarter of this year, according to an AFP poll of analysts, but they say the rebound is fragile and key data unreliable. —AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

technology

Media shifts spotlight to university’s drone class COLUMBIA: Tiger One sits on the ground like a hubcap-sized, four-legged spider. Or maybe a Lego-colored prop for a sci-fi movie. In minutes, journalism students will try to pilot this thing they call a J-bot, but the world knows it as a drone. They’re not computer engineers or information technology experts. They’re future story-tellers learning how a cheap technology can enhance their reporting with a bird’s-eye view of a story.

The national media has zoomed in on the University of Missouri journalism drone class in recent weeks. Is this yet another dimension of the coming of the drones, the future tool of the celebrity-chasing paparazzi? For now, the Federal Aviation Administration is holding them back, along with hundreds of other business applications, creating frustration over lost opportunities.

In five years, experts predict, more than 10,000 drones will be working overhead for American businesses. Some say the number

might soar as high as 30,000. That’s a lot of cameras staring down, some with infrared imaging, swiveling to see ever more. Every day advancements are made in the technology. As the machines become more weather-proof, with longer battery life, lighter, smaller, even bug-sized, the list of possible uses - and concerns - grows.

Drones for “commercial” use are strictly banned, and the FAA has a certification process for applications beyond hobbyist uses. Several hundred certificates have been issued, mostly to government entities and to commercial operators and universities for “experimental” purposes. “Europe and Asia are flying rings around us,” said Patrick Egan, a director at the Remote Controlled Aerial Photography Association.

Already, he said, Japan has issued 14,000 drone permits - mostly used for farming.

Last month in London, 30 quad-copters flew in formation above the darkened London Bridge. Their mission? Create a glittering logo in the night skies promoting the

COLUMBIA: University of Missouri students guide a quad-copter drone off the ground at Columbia’s Hinkson Field. —MCT

next Star Trek movie. This could not be done over Hollywood or New York Harbor. The FAA is under orders to open US skies to commercial drones by late 2015, and it’s in the process of writing the rules. But two years is an unprofitable eternity for an industry already exploding in other countries.

A recent report by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts an economic impact of $13.6 billion in the first three years of the integration of drones into our airspace. No wonder more rogue drones are appearing week after week. “Some people are taking their chances and doing it anyway,” said Egan.

“The FAA’s enforcement is inconsistent, but people are finding the loopholes in the rules.”

Jump on YouTube to see all the dizzying angles, the sweeping visuals that hobbyists are filming with drones. Drones circle the Statue of Liberty and dart under the Golden Gate Bridge. The FAA recently grounded a Minnesota business, Fly Boys Aerial Cinematography, after someone alerted the agency.

On March 25, some people say the first published drone photo in a newspaper (at least in Missouri) appeared in the St Louis Post-Dispatch. The photographer, Chris Lee, an unmanned aerial vehicle hobbyist, used his own machine and his personal camera on his day off to take a panoramic shot of a sledding hill. But a few years back, the News Corp.’s iPad newspaper used what was called “a journalistic secret weapon” to record flooding over Alabama, Missouri and North Dakota. The FAA sent the group a letter with a warning, according to Reuters.

That was hardly as serious as the FBI investigation about a drone that last month came within 200 feet of a commercial jet landing at New York’s JFK airport. (Or as serious as the case of the Massachusetts man who plotted to load the explosive C-4 on three remote-controlled airplanes for an attack on Washington, DC He got 17 years in prison.)

Last year, the NFL petitioned the FAA to speed up regulations for commercial users.

The Motion Picture Association of America has been lobbying the FAA for access for years. Television viewers already are watching drone-recorded video, experts say, such as in shows like “Survivor,” filmed in other countries.

Rumors began late last year that TMZ, the television tabloid gossip site, was seeking drones. “While drones are, in fact, awesome,” TMZ responded, “it just ain’t true.”

Mizzou’s journalism drone course - where the students practice with smaller toys that they call Baby Jayhawks because they crash all the time - is not the first. The University of Nebraska began teaching theirs last year.

“You are pioneers,” says Bill Allen, an assistant professor of science journalism at

Columbia, where journalism ethics are drilled into the ground pilots along with federal aviation regulations. “You don’t want to blow it by flouting the FAA rules.” At another point, he said, “Years from now, I don’t want to hear about a reporter who crossed the line and then find out that he was one of ours.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee held drone hearings a few weeks ago, and the hot topic was privacy. More than 30 state legislatures are looking at new laws to regulate unmanned aerial systems, particularly those launched by government agencies but also by commercial businesses, the media and individuals.

To Missouri state Rep Casey Guernsey, a family farmer in northwest Missouri, drones are a threat. “It’s very exciting to see how all of these applications can be used in the business of farming, especially in the state of Missouri,” he said. “But in terms of government surveillance, that’s a whole different ballgame. “An individual’s privacy is sacred and needs to be kept sacred. We can’t do too much to protect that.”

He proposed a bill, the “Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act,” in response to news last year about the Environmental Protection Agency’s aerial surveillance of cattle farms in Iowa and Nebraska. However, the EPA said its observations were made from piloted planes, not drones.

The measure, which passed the House by 87-66 a week ago, would make it illegal to use drones for surveillance of individuals or property without consent, except for certain law enforcement purposes. The measure also restricts the use of drones by news organizations.

Testifying in favor of the Guernsey bill was the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, a group the Republican typically doesn’t expect as a supporter. But the ACLU isn’t the only privacy group unsettled by drones. Amie Stepanovich is the director of the domestic surveillance project for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a leader in calling for new privacy protections.

Drones, said Stepanovich, “are almost a breeding ground for surveillance.

Automatic license plate readers, motion detectors, the list goes on. And they are cheap to own and operate.” Seattle police dropped a planned drone program in February following a community outcry over privacy concerns. Bills in Indiana and Nebraska would restrict some law enforcement uses of drones.

When technology is cheap, people tend to use it more, and that’s one of the chief reasons additional privacy protections are needed, Stepanovich said. Brookstone sells a quad-copter for $300. There’s also the matter of degree. Some argue that public cameras are watching us all the time any-

Bendable screens seek breakthrough Samsung to unveil ‘unbreakable’ screens this year SINGAPORE/NEW YORK: The touted arrival this year of wearable gadgets such as computer displays strapped to wrists and in wrap-around glasses is just a step towards a bigger revolution in screens - those that can be bent, folded and rolled up. Once freed from today’s relatively heavy, breakable and fixed glass displays, tomorrow’s devices may look very different, with screens that can be rolled out, attached to uneven surfaces, or even stretched. But there’s still some way to go. “It becomes a product designer’s paradise - once the technology is sorted out,” says Jonathan Melnick, who analyses display technology for Lux Research.

There is no shortage of prototypes - South Korea’s Samsung Electronics this year showed off a display screen that extends from the side of a device - but obstacles remain: overcoming technical issues, figuring out how to mass produce parts cheaply, and coming up with devices compelling enough for gadget buyers. Screen technology - and the global small display market is seen more than doubling to around $72 billion by 2016, according to DisplaySearch - is still dominated by liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which require a backlight and sit between two sheets of glass, making the screen a major contributor to the weight of a device, from laptops to tablets.

“Most of the weight in a tablet is the glass structure in the display and the support structure around it to prevent it from cracking,” said Kevin Morishige, a former engineer at Cisco Systems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and Palm. LCD’s dominance is already under threat from lighter Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) that don’t need backlighting, are brighter, offer a wider viewing angle and better colour contrast - and can be printed onto a few layers.

From gorilla to willow Glass, however, is getting lighter and more flexible. Corning Inc, whose toughened Gorilla glass became the screen of choice for many smartphones, will provide phones with curved glass edges as soon as this year. It is also now promoting Willow Glass, which can be as thin as a sheet of paper and is flexible enough to be wrapped around a device or structure. Initially, Willow will be used as a coating for products like solar panels, but it is eventually expected to create curved products.

A key selling point for Willow is more efficient production which involves so-called roll-to-roll manufacturing, like a printing press, rather than today’s more costly batch manufacturing. But the commercialization of Willow as a flexible product is some way off, James Clappin, who heads Corning’s glass technology group, told Reuters. And glass has its limits. “You can bend it, but you can’t keep flexing it,” said Adrian Burden, a UK consultant who has

worked on several start-ups related to display technology, and holds patents in the field. This means that while glass is likely to continue to play a leading role in devices with curved displays, screens that users can bend, fold and roll will likely be plastic. But plastic is not as robust as glass. “As soon as you introduce plastic substrates you have all kinds of issues with sensitivity to the environment,” says Burden.

Barrier films, nanoparticles So while OLED and plastic would seem to be companion technologies they create an extra problem when laid together: they need so-called barrier films to prevent the various layers from leaking oxygen and moisture. “There are barrier films in all sorts of products, for example food packaging, but the challenge is that OLED is one of the most sensitive materials we follow, and so creates huge challenges,” says Lux Research’s Melnick.

Singapore-based Tera-Barrier Films, for example, has developed a way to plug leaks in the layers using nanoparticles. Director Senthil Ramadas says that after years of delays the company last month started production in Japan and aims for mass production by end-2014. “You have several challenges in the value chain,” he said. “All these things need to be established, and only now is it coming out.”

And there’s another problem: all the materials in a bendable display need to be bendable, too including the transparent conductors that drive current through the display. Several technologies are vying to replace the brittle and expensive Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) used in most fixed displays, including nanowires, carbon nanotubes, graphene and conductive mesh.

Some of these technologies are close to production. Another Singapore -based firm, Cima Nanotech, for example, rolls a coating of silverbased conductive ink on a sheet which then selfaligns into a web of strands a few microns across that forms the conductive layer. It’s unlikely such shifts in the underlying technologies will yield products immediately. For one thing, “prototypes can be made,” says Melnick, “but that’s a long way from mass production as many of the processes and material in these devices face big yield and scaling issues.”

On a roll This is gradually changing, some in the industry say, as production shifts from making parts in batches of sheets to the more efficient roll-to-roll process. “Batch is more expensive and slower than roll-to-roll, which needs new equipment and design - and takes time,” said Ramadas at Tera-Barrier. All this requires money, and manufacturers have to be convinced to invest in the new equipment.

Even after the success of Gorilla Glass, popularized by the Apple Inc iPhone, Corning is having to work hard to prepare customers for Willow displays.

Clappin said customers want thinner devices and easier to produce glass, but Willow requires a completely different manufacturing set-up. “When we talk about commercialising Willow a big part of our development activity is enabling the ecosystem to handle what is essentially a brand new material,” Clappin added. “Nobody’s accustomed to working with glass that bends and moves. It’s a new material. The ecosystem needs to be trained to handle it.”

He sees demand, par ticularly from video gamers, for Willow-based curved screens, but remains less convinced about rollable or foldable screens. “Conformable is in the near future. As far as flexible, bendable, fold-upable goes, I see that further out and I’m not even sure that’s a viable product,” he said.

That in turn requires figuring out what end users might want. “For us and for our clients it’s not so much about the flexible display technology,” says Brandon Edwards, Shanghai-based executive creative director of frog, a design company owned by India’s Aricent. “That’s a huge part of it, but what are the practical ways we can bring products to market and how fast, and what’s the right cadence? What are consumers going to be responsive to?”

What do people want?

For companies with deep pockets, like Samsung, this can mean building prototypes such as those displayed at international technology shows. But that doesn’t guarantee success in selling products.

Sony Corp, for example, promoted flexible OLED displays back in 2007. “Six years later they’ve not come up with anything,” says Zhang Jie, senior scientist at Singapore’s Institute of Metals Research and Engineering. “If Samsung’s going to really drive this the application really needs to drive people and make them want it.” This slows down the process. In late 2011, Samsung told analysts it planned to introduce flexible displays into handsets “some time in 2012, hopefully the earlier part than later”, but a year later the company said the technology was still “under development.” In an investment note last month Jefferies said that while Samsung may introduce “unbreakable” screens this year, it didn’t expect to see flexible displays in Samsung devices until 2014-15.

Ultimately, teasing out the technical problems may be only half the battle. “ This is the eternal question of the speciality materials industry,” says Lutz Grubel, Japan-based head of marketing for German glass maker Schott ’s Xensation Cover 3D glass. “You have something, a material, and you’re looking for an application.

That’s the game.” —Reuters

way, but Stepanovich says even a string of building and street-level cameras have an “ending place.”

“And drones can do it in a way that’s quiet, unseen, unnoticed by the individual,” she said. Although there are statutes and case law that cover privacy matters, it would be best for all if the laws were written specifically to this technology, she said.

“You could promote the technology while still making sure people’s rights are protected,” she said.

The unmanned aerial systems industry has a different message: Privacy issues are overblown, and drones can deliver jobs.

The report by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International projects more than $82 billion in economic impact by 2025, with 100,000 new jobs.

That assumes the adoption of “sensible regulations.” Kansas is among the top 10 states expected to reap the most benefits. (A program at K-State in Salina is competing to be one of the six test sites authorized for drones by the FAA.) Regions with established aerospace industries are projected to do well, and 90 percent of the promising commercial markets are in precision agriculture and public safety. Now is the time to promote unmanned systems, not hamper them, especially in the face of international competition, said Michael Toscano, AUVSI president and CEO. Although privacy issues get the most attention, the potential benefits of drones need to be emphasized, he said.

“This technology allows us to extend our eyes and ears and hands - and our minds as well,” said Toscano, who recited all the ways he’s seen it work. Robert Blair, an Idaho farmer, is tired of naysayers who only see a boogeyman in the technology.

Unmanned aerial vehicles “are a platform to gather data. We need this technology now.

Our government has gotten in the way.”

Blair writes a blog called the Unmanned Farmer, and he sees drones as the next evolution of precision agriculture, which uses technology to gather a cascade of information that reduces costs, increases productivity and reduces environmental impacts.

Farmers only get a look at a small proportion of their fields by observing on foot or driving around them. Drones can provide aerial surveillance of crops at a fraction of the cost of piloted planes. “We’ll be able to see gradual changes in crops, insects, disease, weeds, overall plant health,” he said. Just tweaking fertilizer rates based on information from drones can easily save 20 to 25 percent in nutrient costs, Blair said.

Multiplied over several thousand acres of farmland, that’s tens of thousands of dollars in savings. To him, drones are on a par with Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and John Deere’s plow. “There are few points in history when someone in an industry can see a long-lasting change like this.” —MCT

US digital library brings culture, history online WASHINGTON: A new “digital public library” set to launch this month aims to provide an alternative to Google for those looking for American cultural information online. Visitors will be able to view, for example, letters penned by George Washington, a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, and ambrotype and daguerreotype images of Abraham Lincoln. The Digital Public Library of America site dp.la will launch April 18 with more than two million objects-including digital renderings of photos, books, manuscripts and other items from places such as the Smithsonian Institution, along with museums, libraries and historical institutions around the country.

“We are bringing together the richest of America’s archives and museums, and making them easily searchable for teachers, scholars, journalists and others,” said Dan Cohen, the DPLA executive director. Thomas Jefferson’s 1790 letter accepting his appointment as secretary of state to Washington is among the documents. One can find Matthew Brady’s early Lincoln photographs and historical maps of the Americas from the David Rumsey Map Collection.

The site created through the impetus of Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society is modeled after the Europeana library in Europe and the Australian National Library’s Trove project.

Cohen said DPLA can be used as a search portal for researchers, as an alternative to a search engine like Google because it is a selfcontained site with many objects that might not be available by Web search.

“I think we are going to have a lot better descriptions that won’t come through in a Google search,” Cohen told AFP. “It will be a far superior experience.” For students as researchers, DPLA can be an alternative to Wikipedia, because the new library will be a primary resource. “Wikipedia is a secondary source, but we are going to have the stuff,” Cohen said. “But I think Wikipedia will be a great partner.” For now, the library is not duplicating the efforts of Google Books-a project digitizing millions of works which has provoked controversy-but will “explore models for digital lending of in-copyright materials,” according to the DPLA website. Cohen said DPLA will be “a lot more comprehensive” than Google books, with “the full array of materials including music, photography, all kinds of art and manuscripts.”

He said the material will be online “in an open fashion, and not a gated fashion.”

Cohen said the site will be mobile-friendly and enable people to use their locations to find information such as “what New York City looked like in the 1840s” or “finding things in your area.” An advantage to the library is that

it will include materials which may not be on the Web but “sitting on hard drives” in local museums or historical societies, Cohen said.

“We are knitting together those collections,” he added. Cohen said that in addition to being a portal, the new library will be “a platform that other people will be able to build upon,” particularly software developers and researchers. A joint project with

WASHINGTON: This image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shows US President Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad in a photograph by US Civil War photographer Mathew Brady. —AFP Europeana will tell the story of European emigration to the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries with photographs, manuscripts and other documents. Carl Pforzheimer, the Harvard University Library and a member of the DPLA steering committee said the exhibit “inaugurates an alliance that will multiply the benefits of the Internet for generation after generation, everywhere in the world.”

Materials for the exhibit come from the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Jewish Museum of London, the Royal Library of the Netherlands, the Saxon State Library and the Norwegian Photo Archives. The project has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and private philanthropies including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Knight Foundation. The Digital Public Library is raising funds and is “open to other kinds of partnerships,” Cohen said. Cohen is leaving his position of history professor at George Mason University, saying he will be concentrating on “the greatest digital history project of all time.” —AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

China says bird flu death toll rises to 13 China H7N9 bird flu area spreads

Darby Aagaard, 4, eats her chicken nuggets during lunch at Chick-Fil-A on S Orange Avenue. — MCT

Most kids’ meals far from healthy ORLANDO: Even though children’s nutrition has received lots of attention the past few years, you’re still more likely to find chicken fingers and fries on kids’ menus than wraps and salads. Ninety-seven percent of major restaurant-chain children’s meals were deemed unhealthful in a recent report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer-advocacy group.

“I think what most restaurants have done is just add one or two meals that meet nutrition standards and left the rest of the menu very unhealthy,” said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Washington-based organization. “They’re still serving up the same old junk they always have.” With Americans spending nearly half of their food budgets on eating out, restaurants have been under increasing pressure from government and health advocates to make meals more healthful, especially for youngsters. Restaurants say they are making steady progress.

But kids are growing out of these meals earlier, and many parents aren’t exactly clamoring for fewer calories, less salt and more vegetables. And that’s why many restaurants are making token changes rather than substantial ones, some experts say. “There’s always been this mentality that people don’t go out to eat healthy,” said Julie Casey, an Orlando consultant who helps restaurants make themselves more child-friendly.

Anna Hancy of Orlando agreed with that last week as her 3-year-old daughter, Henley, ate chicken nuggets and fries at Chick-fil-A. “It’s kind of a splurge,” Hancy said. “It’s not the most nutritious meal she’ll eat this week. She’s also 3 and very picky, and it’s something she will eat.” Chick-fil-A offers a variety of sides for children, including applesauce and fresh fruit. Last year, it introduced grilled chicken nuggets.

But last week during lunchtime in an Orlando Chick-fil-A, children were eating fried nuggets, not grilled ones, which last year made up just one-half of a percent of the chain’s overall sales. The healthier nuggets were never meant to generate blockbuster sales, spokesman Mark Baldwin said in an email, but “we felt it was our responsibility to offer a grilled version of our nuggets as a healthier alternative for our nutrition-minded customers.” “(Restaurants) make more money selling junk food,” said Marion Nestle, a New York University nutrition and public-health professor and author of “What to Eat,” in an email. “Until that problem is addressed, I don’t see things changing.” Wootan sug-

gested chains should put more energy into making healthier fare “something more interesting than a plain grilled piece of chicken.”

Her group’s study looked at every combination of entrees, sides and drinks for America’s biggest chains. One was based on how many met the standards established by a panel of nutritionists for the study. Another was based on how many met less-stringent standards in a restaurant-industry program called Kids LiveWell.

CSPI’s criteria included having no more than 430 calories, 35 percent of them from fat, and 770 mg of salt. It also docked meal combinations with sugar-sweetened drinks. Kids LiveWell standards are similar but allow 600 calories. Three percent of restaurants’ meals met CSPI’s standards.

Fewer than one out of 10 met the KidsLive Well Standards.

McDonald’s has cut the size of its french fries and now includes apples in all Happy Meals. Still, the report called out the fastfood giant, saying it was one of several chains having no meals that met even the restaurant industry’s nutritional criteria.

Orlando-based Darden Restaurants’ Olive Garden was in the middle of the pack, though the report noted it offers morehealthful whole-grain pasta. One percent of its meals met CSPI’s standards, and 11 percent met those of Kids LiveWell.

Darden’s Red Lobster was one of the highest-ranking, with only Subway and IHOP having a greater percentage of meals that got a CSPI thumbs-up. All of Subway’s meals met the CSPI standards. At IHOP it was 31 percent and at Red Lobster, 28 percent. “Americans are increasingly conscious of making healthy choices... and Darden wants to ensure that those who dine with us find the choices they desire,” Darden said in a statement. Nutritionists who work closely with the restaurant industry acknowledge changes may seem slow. But it takes time to test products, find sources of healthy foods at an affordable cost and even consider things such as the choking hazards of grapes, said Orlando dietitian Jo Lichten, who has worked with chains including Wendy’s and Starbucks.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” she said.

“It is a lot slower than some of the health experts perhaps want.” It’s slower than Cindy Waddell would like, too. The Orlando nurse practitioner tries steering her young sons toward healthful choices when they go out to eat but says it’s not easy. “They’re mostly the same: burgers, hot dogs,” she said. “I think it’s tough on the restaurants to please as many kids as possible.” — MCT

Betrayed by the brain PHILADELPHIA: In hindsight, Susan Wendel thinks her daughter was sick months before she wound up in a coma.

Charlotte’s second-grade teacher that fall complained that she was disruptive. That was a big change from first grade, but her mother wrote it off as growing pains. Other behavior was a little odd, too. “She did things like wear her sweater backwards and pull her pockets inside out,” Wendel said.

Still, Charlotte was 7. Eccentricity isn’t unusual at that age. But, as 2009 ended, Charlotte crashed. Unable to walk or talk, she landed in an intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In a way, she was lucky. Doctors there quickly figured out that she had a form of encephalitis, or brain inflammation, that was caused by her own immune system. It

SCHWENKSVILLE: Charlotte Wendel, 10 (right) gives her mom, Susan, a hug at family home in Pennsylvania. — MCT

often starts with psychiatric symptoms that can lead doctors astray for months. Cases like Charlotte’s once would have remained mysterious, but researchers at neighboring Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania had discovered anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in 2005 and created a test for it in 2007. They also had identified a series of treatments that helped most patients.

This is where Charlotte was not so lucky.

Even with very quick treatment, she spent more than two years in a minimally conscious state. She’s on the mend now, but has only recently begun to walk again and returned to school. “She has made miraculous progress,” said Susan Wendel, a Schwenksville, Pa., chemist who works in research and development at Johnson & Johnson.

No one knows why Charlotte still struggles while many others respond better to treatments and recover completely. The disease has had its few minutes of fame lately as Susannah Cahalan, a young New York Post reporter, toured to market her book, “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness,” about her harrowing experience with antiNMDAR encephalitis.

Cahalan went through manic and psychotic phases before a doctor in New York realized that a neurologic symptom - an inability to draw a clock properly - proved that the right side of her brain was inflamed. He had read about an autoimmune disorder affecting young women that a neuro-oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Josep Dalmau, was studying.

Tests confirmed she had the newly named encephalitis. Dalmau, who now works primarily in Barcelona, Spain, and his team at Penn went on to diagnose hundreds with the disorder, which causes the immune system to attack the NMDA receptor, a key juncture in the brain’s chemical communication system. Eric Lancaster, a Penn neurologist who has worked with Dalmau, said it is what goes haywire when people take PCP, or angel dust. — MCT

BEIJING: Two people in the central Chinese province of Henan have been infected by a new strain of avian influenza, the first cases found in the region, while another four cases in eastern Zhejiang province brought the total number nationwide to 55. One of the Henan victims, a 34-year old man in the city of Kaifeng, is now critically ill in hospital, while the other, a 65-year old farmer from Zhoukou, is stable. The two cases do not appear to be connected.

A total of 19 people in close contact with the two new victims were under observation but had shown no signs of infection, Xinhua said.

Another four cases had been confirmed in eastern Zhejiang, state news agency Xinhua said yesterday, bringing the total number in the province to 15. Xinhua said none of the 483 people in close contact with the victims has presented any symptoms.

Three cases have now been reported outside

the original clusters in eastern China, including one in the capital Beijing, but there is nothing out of the ordinary so far, the China representative of the World Health Organization said.

“There’s no way to predict how it’ll spread but it’s not surprising if we have new cases in different places like we do in Beijing,” Michael O’Leary told reporters.

On Saturday, the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a seven year-old child in the capital of Beijing had been infected by the H7N9 bird flu virus, the first case to be reported outside of eastern China, where the new strain emerged last month. The child’s parents work in the poultry trade.

Investigators are trying to ascertain the source amid fears that it could cause a deadly pandemic similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, which killed about one in 10 of the 8,000 people it infected world-

wide. China has been anxious to avoid a repeat of the panic of 2003 by promising total transparency, and O’Leary said his organisation has been “very pleased” about the way information was being shared.

China’s health ministry said on Saturday that there is still no indication of human-to-human transmission of the virus, which has already killed 11 people in Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui. “That’s a key factor in this situation,” said O’Leary. “As far as we know, all the cases are individually infected in a sporadic and not connected way.” The husband of a H7N9 victim in Shanghai was recently infected, but O’Leary said there was no cause for alarm. “If there’s only very rare cases ... That’s different from the ease of transmission from person to person. It’s that ease of transmission that we are concerned about, and there’s no evidence of that yet.” — Reuters

Cheesed off protesters slam mimolette blockade NEW YORK: Around 40 protesters took to the streets of New York on Saturday to demonstrate against a US ban on mimolette that has angered lovers of the distinctive French cheese. Since March, several hundred pounds of the bright orange cheese have been held up by US customs because of a warning by the Food and Drug Administration that it contained microscopic cheese mites.

The mites are a critical part of the process to produce mimolette, giving it its distinctive grayish crust. The US decision has angered importers and consumers, who have even set up a Facebook page titled “Save the Mimolette.” Protesters in Greenwich Village-many dressed in orangehanded out bite-sized samples of the cheese to passersby in order to raise awareness of the ban.

“We had eight balls of three kilos (6.6 pounds), so we decided to educate people a little,” said Benoit de Vitton, an importer of the cheese. De Vitton said he was baffled by the recent blockade, noting he has imported mimolette for two decades without a problem.

“They are afraid of allergies,” he said. “But we’ve been doing this for 20 years without any problem.” The protesters included several Americans, including Jennifer Palmer, a lawyer who rallied to the cause after seeing the appeal on Facebook. “I want to support

mimolette,” said the Texan, who attended with her young daughter and husband.

“We adore mimolette.” — AFP

NEW YORK: Importers and supporters offers samples of French cheese Mimolette to pedestrians during an event to support the import in the US of the 17th century-old†cheese. — AFP

African-American boomers focus on their health more ATLANTA: Five days a week, Carolyn Banks rises at 5 am, dresses and drives 22 miles to the Beulah Baptist Church Family Life Center to work out the kinks in her joints, to rev up her heart and health. Exercise, she says, has been a part of her daily routine since 2009, when she was diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory disorder, and her physical health began to decline.

“I had been completely incapacitated,” the 63-year-old retired DeKalb County, Ga, educator said after class recently. “Doctors predicted my death.” But within a year of joining the aerobics class, she was feeling better, and the neurosarcoidosis went into full remission.

Banks became a firm believer in the benefits of exercise and good nutrition and the selfappointed spokeswoman for her church’s exercise program. She and fellow classmates work to attain optimum health. “They are demonstrating that barriers to a healthy lifestyle can be overcome, and the benefits of regular physical activity and a healthy diet can be achieved at every stage of life,” said Leandris C Liburd, associate director for minority health and health equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“We’re thrilled to know that they are effectively reducing their risk factors for certain diseases, managing chronic diseases and improving the overall quality of their life.” Banks said she hopes her story motivates and inspires other African-Americans, who statistically lead reports on adverse health conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol.

For instance, healthy officials say that 53.9 percent of black women aged 65 to 74 are considered obese compared to 38.9 percent of white women in the same age group, said Dr Ashleigh May, a CDC epidemiologist. “ That’s a huge concern, especially since we know obesity can put people at risk for some of the leading causes of death in the United States,” said May. “Some of these include heart disease, certain cancers and stroke, as well as Type 2 diabetes

and high cholesterol.” Banks’ classmates are a mix of retired male and female baby boomers - former teachers and firefighters, city employees and media specialists who found their way to the church after becoming concerned about their health. Some are members of Beulah, but most aren’t. All of them say the fitness classes, emotional and nutritional

support they receive from classmates have helped them overcome one illness or another.

Wayne K Jones, 60, a retired Delta Airlines employee from Decatur, Ga, was suffering from high blood pressure when he joined the class. And Nick Bowers, 58, a retired Atlanta fireman from Lithonia, Ga, was overweight. Not anymore. Bowers said a friend

DECATUR: An exercise group does abdominal work together at the Beulah Baptist Church Family Life Center in Georgia. — MCT Health impact of obesity l More than 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. l People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats, and LDL cholesterol, all risk factors for heart disease and stroke. l In 2010, African-Americans were 70 percent less likely to engage in active physical activity than whites. l Deaths from heart disease

and stroke are almost twice the rate for African-Americans as compared to whites. l African-Americans are 1.4 times more likely than nonHispanic whites to have high blood pressure. l African-American adults are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician. l African-American adults are 60 percent more likely to have a stroke than their white adult counterparts.

invited him to the class in 2010, but he didn’t accept until one morning “I was putting on my underwear and noticed I had to sit to put them on.”

“I weighed 204 pounds when I walked into the gym,” he said. A year later, Bowers, who also became a member of the all-male line -dancing class called the Beulah Boys, said he weighed in at 180. His goal now is to drop five more pounds and run the Peachtree in 55 minutes.

When he joined the class two years ago, Jones said he had high blood pressure. At a doctor ’s appointment seven months later, he learned his blood pressure was normal. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,” Jones said his doctor told him. “I was shocked.” Jones said he attends classes religiously and misses it when he’s away on vacation. “I feel a whole lot better.

I have much more energy, and my blood pressure is excellent,” Jones said. “I’m a firm believer now in exercise and diet. The combination has made a significant difference in my health.”

That’s the message Banks said she is trying to spread, especially to African-Americans. The proof, she said, is the changes she has witnessed not just in her own health, but that of her classmates.

“This isn’t just about weight loss, though that’s important,” she said.

“It’s about being healthy.” Banks said she started slow, walking around the indoor track before graduating to the 6:30 am boot camp. Within a year of joining the class, she said, she was stronger and had regained her equilibrium.

Anthony Watson, director of the church fitness center, said the 6:30 am class averages about 15 members, up to age 70. Three days a week, members run through an hour’s worth of circuit training, strength training, aerobics and muscle toning. In addition to fitness classes such as zumba, line dancing, Pilate’s and water classes for increased mobility, there’s a full offering of arts and crafts classes.

“We’re doing what the doctors ask,” Watson said. “Matter of fact, one doctor says if ever ybody would eat right and move, I would not have a practice because they’d be healthy.” — MCT

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

BSK Festival of Achievement and Graduation 2013

Greetings

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ecause today is your day, it’s an opportunity for you to know that you are special. We all wish you a very special birthday. Happy birthday to you! God bless you Wilson. From:Nuna Goel, Vishal Goel, Akash & family.

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appy birthday to Richard Rajesh D’sa from Moodbele in Udupi. Best wishes from mother Maggie, friends and relatives.

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he British School of Kuwait celebrated its Jade Anniversary, 35 years at the forefront of British education, when parents and dignitaries gathered in the magnificent splendour of the Futouh Ballroom at the Regency Hotel to laud the many wonderful achievements which the past academic year has brought. BSK was privileged to have Dr Nayef Al Hajraf, Minister of Education and Higher Education, as patron for this most glittering occasion in the school calendar.

Guests also included Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, Undersecretary for Protocol Affairs Amiri Diwan, who presented the Creative Arts Award to Savitri Butterworth, Mohammed Abdullah AlDahes, Director of Administration at the Ministry of Private Education, who presented the Council of International Schools Award to Osama Salim; the

IMAX film program Effective from 31st March 2013 Monday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm, 7:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30pm Tuesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 3D10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 11:30am, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Born to be Wild 3D5:30pm Wednesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am Tornado Alley 3D11:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Journey to Mecca 5:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 8:30pm Thursday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 5:30pm, 8:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 11:30am Tornado Alley 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 6:30pm

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

British Ambassador Frank Baker as well as a host of ambassadors, diplomats and VIPs. BSK Chairman, Sadiq Al-Mutawa, welcomed the graduates of the class of 2013 and urged them to continue their great efforts as they set out to take up places in universities and colleges throughout the world. Following the presentation of Diplomas of Graduation

by Dr AlHajraf prizes were awarded to the top 30 students in Years 11, 12 and 13. The much coveted Founder’s Award went to Ankita Handa with sister Ishita Handa receiving the Leadership Award from the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Senegal, Abdullahed Mbacke.

Guest Speaker Dr Hajraf opened his presentation with a call for a minute’s silence in tribute to the late Baroness Thatcher, former British Prime Minister and great friend to Kuwait. Minister

Hajraf referred to the many great traits displayed by Lady Thatcher and what a fine role model she would make for the BSK graduates. He spoke very warmly about the breath and standard of education which their parents had chosen for them by sending them to BSK and he concluded his remarks with three questions for the graduates: Where did they see themselves going? Where would they be in five years’ time and how were they going to get there?

Guest speaker Ambassador Baker developed this theme by referring to the great courage and leadership shown

by Lady Thatcher in all her endeavours.

She never gave up but persevered through thick and thin, he stated. In reply the BSK Principal, Paul Shropshire, delivered his state of the school address which included the results of the recent accreditation inspection when three

teams of inspectors representing the Kuwait Ministry of Education, the British Schools in the Middle East and the British Schools Overseas judged BSK to have the highest rating of any school in Kuwait.

The evening was not just about academic excellence. Achievement in the creative arts was also celebrated. Guests were treated to a series of musical treats from the BSK String Orchestra, ConArco, (Palladio by Jenkins) chamber group Moderato (Lady Gaga Fugue) and senior choir, Cantabene,(You Raise Me Up).

Head students Holly Shropshire and Fady Assaad brought the evening to a close with a vote of thanks to the Founder, Vera Al-Mutawa and the Festival of Achievement and Graduation Ceremony 2013 came to a rousing finale with a salute to the parents and staff of The British School of Kuwait.

Chef Kunal Kapoor visiting Lu&Lu Hypermarket for Food Fiesta

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u &Lu Hypermarket, the largest retail and lifestyle shopping destination in Kuwait, is set to launch Food Festival 2013 on Wednesday, April 17 at their Al-Rai outlet. The food festival, which is slated to run until Saturday, May 4, 2013, will be inaugurated at 5 pm on April 18 by Starplus celebrity chef Kunal Kapoor. The inauguration day will also witness the cutting of the biggest burger in Kuwait.

The food fiesta days will witness many interactive programs with the legendary chef, including special cooking demonstrations, press conference and a gala event entitled, ‘An Evening with Kunal Kapoor’. However, the highlight of this year’s food festival is a lineup of exciting culinary competitions that will be held throughout the promotion period. Details of the competition are as follows: Cookery competition: The initial phase of this contest will be spread across six days from 7 pm and the dates for form submission are: 1. Italian/Continental 21/4/2013 17/4/2013 2. Arabic 22/4/2013 18/4/2013 3. Filipino 23/4/2013 19/4/2013

4. Chinese 28/4/2013 24/4/2013 5. Indian 29/4/2013 25/4/2013 6. Dessert 30/4/2013 26/4/2013 A maximum 30 candidates will be chosen from each category. The selected participants will be informed by telephone or email. Participants will prepare the dish at home and bring it for the competition. Initial selection is based on the type and quality of recipe, and is solely at the discretion of the panel of judges.The panel of judges will taste the dishes and winners will be chosen based on criteria’s such as appearance, taste, aroma and innovation.

Three participants will be chosen from each category; they will then compete in a live cooking competition for their respective category. The competition will be from 6 to 9 pm and the dates for the different categories are Italian/ Continental, Arabic and Filipino on 24/4/2013 and Chinese, Indian and Desserts on 01/5/2013.

Exciting prizes await the first second and third place winners in each category. Wow the Master Chef Contest: this competition will take place on Thursday, April 18 at 6:30 pm. Create your special dish in any category such as

seafood, chicken, meat, vegetarian or dessert, and bring it for selection by Master Chef Kunal Kapoor. The winner will receive a special trophy from the celebrity chef and other participants will receive certificates of honor autographed by the renowned chef.

Contestants need to first send their recipes and a panel of judges will choose 30 candidates with the best recipes.Selected candidates will have to prepare the dish at home andbring it to the live event for evaluation.

Taste & Win Contest: On Thursday, April 18 from 7 pm, anyone over the age of 18 can taste the delicious foods prepared by our expert chefs and identify the ingredients used in the dishes. However, professional chefs are not eligible to participate in this competition.

Junior Chef Contest: On Thursday, April 25, from 7:30 pm children up to the age of 15 can try their hand at cake decoration. Decorate an already made cake in your own style and win fabulous prices. Ingredients for decorating the cake will be provided. Mr Chef Competition: Prepare different kinds of salad instantly and win fabulous prizes on Thursday, May 2 from 7:30 pm.

Pakistan Academy School celebrates Graduation Day

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he KG- Section of PAS celebrated the 7th Graduation ceremony on March 31. Alia Saad Munir AI-Mohannah participated as chief guest to honor the outstanding and excellence performance of the students. In his inaugural speech, Professor Syed Zakir, the principal, welcomed the honorable guests and applauded the meritorious performance of the student’s in academics activities.

The stage came alive with a splash of colors when UKG-D children clad in their attractive costumes danced to melodious popular English song ‘Wakka Wakka’ followed by other performances on English, Arabic and Urdu songs. The young graduates were honored by the chief guest for their extraordinary achievements and excellence. Certificates of appreciation were awarded to the teachers and the ceremony ended with the distribution of gifts to the young graduates.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

KromOzone participates in ACK’s Moto Bazaar

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romOzone from Yusuf Ahmad Alghanim & Sons participated in the Australian College of Kuwait’s (ACK) Moto Bazaar. The event attracted a large amount of car lovers who, apart from being drawn to the newest models in the market, were attracted to the special classic cars, motorcycles and other vehicles that were accessorized for the much-awaited event. KromOzone’s participation went into the digital realm with a fun and engaging contest that was held on Instagram, providing everyone with a chance to win exciting prizes with KromOzone by simply snapping a picture and uploading it onto the social media site.

With its larger than life tires, lifted suspension and breathtaking sound system, the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD that was displayed in the event showed off its amazingly accessorized exterior as well as interior. A beloved choice amongst the youth in Kuwait, the high-powered truck proves to be the ultimate answer for any terrain be it for rough rides in the desert, leisurely outings or a convenient tool for moving

large objects. Available in two and fourwheel-drive configurations, the 2013 Silverado is powered by a 4.8-liter engine that generates 335 hp, 5.3-liter engine that generates 365 hp and 6.0liter engine that generates 403 hp. The 2013 Silverado comes in regular, extended or crew cab versions.

Another car that was included was the Camaro that displayed its youthful, vibrant colors, large wheels and outstanding sound system that complement that in-dash monitor that enhances the driver’s experience by adding comprehensive entertainment tools. A Silverado 1500HD was the third car that KromOzone chose to display.

With its customized two-tone paint job, lifted suspension and large wheels, the Silverado attracted the curious eyes of passersby with its impressive size and youthful colors. KromOzone is one of the largest and most famous centers in Kuwait that is specialized in accessorizing all car makes. The center offers customers a wide range of accessorizing options including rims, door accessories, headlights, sound systems, bumpers

and grills, body paint and much more high quality, innovative accessorizing options for cars’ interior and exterior.

Due to its excellent service and products, KromOzone is considered as the ideal location for all car lovers who seek

to add a personal touch to their drive. In addition to its variety of accessorizing options, KromOzone also has a special department that provides customers with a warranty on all its services and products.

McDonald’s Kuwait announces 3rd stop on Tastes of World Tour

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TeamSpot is an easy-to-use software that makes moving digital content within the team simple. By means of this software, the users can share their work and discuss at the same time. Each TeamSpot has a central “worksurface” screen connected to an independent computer.

Users “jump” to this screen simply by moving their mouse cursor beyond the top of their laptop screen. Instead of sending files to everyone through email, they can simply drag and drop files, folders and weblinks to instantly transfer copies to the common screen, another person, or the entire group. TeamSpot reduces the need for everyone to write down or bookmark interesting content, freeing them to participate in discussion.

The TeamSpot Service at GUST is currently available in two Group-Study/Discussion rooms and on each level in the Library; in the lower level for women and in the upper level for men. Reservation is mandatory and has to be compliant to the existing Group-Study Room Policy. A M Al-Refai Library, one of the leading digital libraries in the Middle East provides a 24-hour access to its wide ranging collections which includes 87,393 unique full-text eJournal titles, 104,913 eBooks, and more than 70 abstract and full-text databases, to its users.

Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

GUST promotes technology to facilitate research he AM Al-Refai Librar y at Gulf University for Science & Technology (GUST), on Sunday, April 14, 2013, announced the launch of its two new initiatives: a)Open Access Resources Guideproviding relevant research literature to a wider audience at virtually no marginal cost, and b) TeamSpot Technology- a revolutionary approach to facilitate group projects and team collaboration. GUST is the first among the Universities in Kuwait to have launched these initiatives and has thus led the way for other academic Universities to follow.

What is an Open Access Resource?

Open Access Resources (OAR) provide free, immediate, availability on the public Internet those works which scholars permit any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full text of articles, pass them as data to software or use them for any other lawful purpose.

The newly devised guide ‘Open Access Resources’ is a comprehensive online guide promoting open access and publicly available on the library website.

The OAR guide provides access to a huge variety of open access content namely Books, Databases, Journals, Repositories, Theses & Dissertations, Visual Archives, and Open Education.

Embassy

cDonald’s Kuwait announces the launch of the highly anticipated third sandwich in its Tastes of the World promotion - The Mexican. Arriving on the heels of the recently launched The Asian and The Turkish, The Mexican promises a delicious crispy chicken patty, fresh lettuce, tangy tomatoes, and cheddar cheese, topped with spicy salsa and sour cream with chive sauce. The Mexican will be available in all McDonald’s Kuwait’s’ restaurants for a limited time.

George Khawam, Marketing Director said: “We are delighted to launch the third phase of our Tastes of the World campaign. This is a returning favourite from last year’s promotion, and we are looking forward to bringing it back to our menu for a limited time in 2013. Our last Tastes of the World sandwich, The Turkish, was incredibly well-received and we’re sure the zesty spice of The Mexican will satisfy once again.”

Following the overwhelming success of the 2012 Tastes of the World Promotion, McDonald’s again pays tribute to exotic flavour profiles by offering a limited time range of sandwiches inspired by unique destinations around

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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

the world. Customers wondering about the other sandwiches will have to wait patiently until they are launched; McDonald’s is keeping their identities a closely-guarded secret.

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on shortstay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database. Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. nnnnnnn

FAIPS Paris Tour 2013

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AIPS, DPS, Kuwait organised a weeklong trip to Paris. 14 students of classes 8th, Pre IG and IG accompanied by a teacher left Kuwait for Paris on March 23. After checking in at Hilton, the group left for a cruise on the river Seine.

The beauty of Paris revealed itself in the forms of the wonderful monuments dotting the Seine. The very cold weather did not dampen the spirits of the children throughout the tour. The children had a wonderful time with the guided tours of the Louvre museum, Musee d’Orsay and the Georges Pompidou Centre. Everyone was especially fascinated by Mona Lisa painting at Louvre Museum.

The eagerly awaited visit to the Eiffel tower was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

History books came alive during a guided tour of the Palace of Versailles. The stu-

dents loved the stroll though the beautiful gardens with the splendid fountains and the magnificent palace.

At the cheese factory in Jouarre, they were guided through a presentation of the various stages of cheese-making and they also got to taste the different types of the famous Brie cheese.The group marvelled at the beautiful SacrÈ - Coeur de Montmartre and the equally fascinating Cathedral of Notre Dame. The penultimate day of the tour was spent at Disneyland. The students had great fun enjoying the different rides, and the DisneyParade.

On the whole, it was a fun filled learning experience for the students. They returned to Kuwait on March 30 with bagsful of souvenirs and hearts filled with memories to be cherished forever.

McDonald’s Kuwait sponsors Dasman Model School Marathon

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cDonald’s Kuwait demonstrated its support to the special needs community by sponsoring the annual Dasman Model School Marathon. Many organizations from the special needs community took part in a fun and exciting day filled with smiles and laughter. The marathon also reinforces McDonald’s mission to promote an active and balanced lifestyle.

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF MEXICO The Embassy of Mexico to Kuwait has the pleasure to announce the opening of its Consular Section where visa applications are already being handled. The Consular Section is open to the public from Sundays-Thursdays 09.00-12.00 hrs. at Cliffs Complex in Salmiya, Villa No. 6 (3rd floor). nnnnnnn

EMBASSY GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday).

Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF ALBANIA The Embassy of the Republic of Albania to the State of Kuwait would like to inform that on 03.04.2013, the new Albanian Ambassador, Kujtim Morina presented credential letters to His Highness, the Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah. The address of the embassy is the same: Al - Zahra, Block 8, Street 802, Villa 169, Kuwait,P.O.BOX 3090, Safat 13131. The ebassy offers consular services as well. Working hours are from 9:00 to 14:00, Sunday through Thursday.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

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

In Search Of The King Cobra Animal Airport Wildest Africa Wild Hawaii Into The Pride Animal Airport Wildest Africa Wildlife SOS The Really Wild Show My Cat From Hell Cats 101 Growing Up...

Wildest Arctic Animal Cops Houston Call Of The Wildman Wildlife SOS Wild Africa Rescue Animal Precinct Wildest Arctic Orangutan Island The Really Wild Show Cats 101 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Must Love Cats Monkey Life Bondi Vet Call Of The Wildman Orangutan Island Wildest Latin America Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer My Cat From Hell Animal Cops Phoenix

00:25 Cash In The Attic 01:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 02:05 DIY SOS 02:30 Daily Cooks Challenge 03:00 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 04:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 05:15 DIY SOS 05:40 Antiques Roadshow 06:30 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:00 DIY SOS 07:25 Cash In The Attic 07:50 Cash In The Attic 08:15 Homes Under The Hammer 09:10 Bargain Hunt 09:55 Antiques Roadshow 10:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 11:25 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 13:00 Come Dine With Me 13:50 Gok’s Fashion Fix 14:40 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:00 Homes Under The Hammer 17:55 The Good Cook 18:20 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 18:45 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 19:15 French Food At Home 19:40 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Homes Under The Hammer

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

Duck Dodgers Wacky Races What’s New Scooby-Doo? What’s New Scooby-Doo? The Flintstones Tom & Jerry Tales What’s New Scooby-Doo? Taz-Mania The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry Tales Johnny Bravo Bananas In Pyjamas Jelly Jamm Ha Ha Hairies Bananas In Pyjamas Lazytown Krypto: The Super Dog Baby Looney Tunes Gerald McBoing Boing

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

Cartoonito Tales Lazy Town Baby Looney Tunes Krypto: The Super Dog Cartoonito Tales Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Lazy Town Jelly Jamm Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Moomins Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tiny Toon Adventures The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Taz-Mania Tom & Jerry Tales Moomins The Garfield Show The Looney Tunes Show Tiny Toon Adventures Taz-Mania Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo Pink Panther And Pals The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania Puppy In My Pocket What’s New Scooby-Doo? Looney Tunes Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Tales Pink Panther And Pals Moomins

00:30 Grim Adventures Of...

01:20 Johnny Test 02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 03:00 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 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk 07:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:45 Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 08:10 Evil Con Carne 08:55 Adventure Time 09:45 Regular Show 10:35 Angelo Rules 11:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 12:15 Hero 108 13:05 Mucha Lucha !

13:30 Angelo Rules 14:20 Evil Con Carne 15:10 Ben 10 16:00 Johnny Test 16:35 Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 17:00 Ben 10 Omniverse 17:25 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk

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

Jesse James Outlaw Garage Mythbusters Soul Food Family Dual Survival Border Security Auction Kings Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Crash Course Crash Course Overhaulin’ 2012 Dirty Great Machines Border Security Auction Kings Baggage Battles Moonshiners American Chopper Mythbusters Sons Of Guns How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Auction Kings Baggage Battles

21:30 Gold Rush 22:25 Jungle Gold 23:20 One Car Too Far

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

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

The Tech Show Weird Connections Nextworld Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Storm Chasers X-Machines Things That Move Things That Move Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Smash Lab Nextworld Mighty Ships Meteorite Men Things That Move Things That Move Weird Connections Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show X-Machines Smash Lab Nextworld Robocar Moon Machines X-Machines Things That Move Things That Move Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show X-Machines Prank Science Prank Science

Stitch A Kind Of Magic Replacements Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic Replacements Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Doc McStuffins Hannah Montana A.N.T. Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Austin And Ally Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Hannah Montana Wizards Of Waverly Place Jessie A.N.T Farm Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Jessie Shake It Up A.N.T Farm Austin And Ally Suite Life On Deck A.N.T Farm Austin And Ally Jessie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Phil Of The Future Hannah Montana Jonas Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Forever

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 American Dragon 06:35 Iron Man Armored Adventures 07:00 Kickin It 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 08:15 Almost Naked Animals 08:40 Slugterra 09:05 Scaredy Squirrel 09:30 Ultimate Spider-Man 09:55 Zeke & Luther 10:20 Kick Buttowski 10:45 I’m In The Band 11:10 Pokemon: BW Rival Destinies

THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT ON OSN CINEMA

11:35 Rated A For Awesome 12:00 Mr. Young 12:25 American Dragon 12:50 Kick Buttowski 13:20 Pair Of Kings 13:45 Zeke & Luther 14:10 Rekkit Rabbit 14:35 I’m In The Band 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 15:25 Almost Naked Animals 15:50 Rekkit Rabbit 16:15 Pair Of Kings 16:40 Mr. Young 17:05 Crash & Bernstein 17:30 Max Steel 18:00 Kickin It 18:25 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 18:50 Phineas And Ferb 19:40 Mr. Young 20:05 Pair Of Kings 20:30 Zeke & Luther 20:55 I’m In The Band 21:20 Rated A For Awesome 21:45 Rekkit Rabbit 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

00:30 01:25 03:15 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 12:05 13:05 14:05 York 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Opening Act THS E! Investigates THS Extreme Close-Up THS Style Star E! News Married To Jonas THS Ice Loves Coco Giuliana & Bill Kourtney & Kim Take New Style Star THS Extreme Close-Up Fashion Police E! News E!es Ice Loves Coco Chasing The Saturdays Chasing The Saturdays Kourtney And Kim Take Miami THS

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Heat Seekers 00:55 Outrageous Food 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Iron Chef America 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Food Crafters 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Unwrapped 07:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 07:50 Unique Eats 08:15 Andy Bates Street Feasts 08:40 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 09:30 The Next Iron Chef 10:20 Extra Virgin 11:10 Everyday Italian 11:35 Unwrapped 12:00 Staten Island Cakes 12:50 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:15 Barefoot Contessa 14:05 Extra Virgin 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Reza’s African Kitchen 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Tyler’s Ultimate 19:30 Chopped 21:10 Iron Chef America 22:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:25 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Heat Seekers 00:55 Outrageous Food 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Iron Chef America 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Food Crafters 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Unwrapped 07:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 07:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 07:50 Unique Eats 08:15 Andy Bates Street Feasts 08:40 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 09:30 The Next Iron Chef 10:20 Extra Virgin 10:45 Extra Virgin 11:10 Everyday Italian 11:35 Unwrapped 12:00 Staten Island Cakes 12:50 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:15 Barefoot Contessa 13:40 Barefoot Contessa 14:05 Extra Virgin 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Reza’s African Kitchen 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Tyler’s Ultimate 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Iron Chef America 22:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:25 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:15 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

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

The Haunted Dr G: Medical Examiner Who On Earth...

Who On Earth...

Couples Who Kill Scorned: Crimes Of Passion The Haunted Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover: Double Life Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Undercover: Double Life Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Sins Who On Earth...

I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 BBC World News 01:00 Newsday 01:30 Our World 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 India Business Report 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 BBC World News 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 Hardtalk 18:00 Global With John Sopel 19:30 World Business Report 19:45 Sport Today 20:00 BBC World News 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 23:30 Hardtalk

00:15 Route 62: The Longest Wine Route In The World 00:45 Tora Bora 01:40 Gone to save the planet, 6 02:05 Gone to save the planet, 7 02:35 New Zealand 03:00 Thailand 03:30 Bush Balladeers 03:55 Aterciopelados 04:25 The World of The Mayas 05:20 06:15 Northumberland 06:40 Tennessee 07:10 Pinotage South Africa’s Gift To The Wine World 07:35 Route 62: The Longest Wine Route In The World 08:05 Tora Bora 09:00 Gone to save the planet, 6 09:25 Gone to save the planet, 7 09:55 New Zealand 10:20 Thailand 10:50 Bush Balladeers 11:15 Aterciopelados 11:45 The World of The Mayas 12:40 City Chase Rome, 4 13:35 Prembrokeshire 14:00 Mexico 14:30 Route 62: The Longest Wine Route In The World Cont 14:55 Red And White Wine Goes Green 15:25 Meet The Mongolians 15:50 Wild Wild East 16:20 Gone to save the planet, 8 16:45 Gone to save the planet, 9 17:15 Brazil 17:40 South Africa 18:10 Afghan Willie 18:35 4 Men And A Dog

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

The Phantom Cat World’s Weirdest Hooked Ultimate Animal Countdown Crocs Of Katuma Shark Men Zambezi Hooked Ultimate Animal Countdown Crocs Of Katuma Built For The Kill World’s Weirdest Predator CSI Dangerous Encounters Fish Warrior Ultimate Animal Countdown Monster Crocs Built For The Kill World’s Weirdest Predator CSI Fish Warrior Ultimate Animal Countdown

BURNING BRIGHT ON OSN ACTION HD 21:00 Monster Crocs 22:00 Built For The Kill 23:00 World’s Weirdest

02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 PG15 14:00 16:00 18:00 PG15 20:00 22:15

Fright Night-PG15 Rage Of The Yeti-PG15 Go Fast-PG15 True Justice: Dead Drop-PG15 Green Lantern-PG15 True Justice: BrotherhoodTrue Justice: Dead Drop-PG15 Hide And Seek-PG15 True Justice: BrotherhoodThe Untouchables-PG15 Burning Bright-18

01:00 Prowl-18 03:00 The National Tree-PG15 05:00 The Game Of Their Lives-PG15 07:00 Sammy’s Adventure: The Secret Passage-FAM 09:00 Ties That Bind-PG15 11:00 The Wild Thornberrys Movie 13:00 Ike: Countdown To D-DayPG15 15:00 Ghost Machine-PG15 17:00 No Surrender-PG15 18:45 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 21:00 Shark Night-PG15 23:00 The Five Year Engagement

00:00 The Cleveland Show 03:00 Hot In Cleveland 03:30 1600 Penn 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 Hot In Cleveland 09:30 Two And A Half Men 10:00 The Office 13:00 Hope & Faith 14:00 1600 Penn 14:30 The Office 15:00 Two And A Half Men 18:00 Hot In Cleveland 18:30 Malibu Country 19:00 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 Don’t Trust The B In Apt. 23 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:30 Louie 23:00 Girls 23:30 Veep

19:00 Alphas 20:00 Revenge 21:00 Once Upon A Time

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

Supernatural Scandal Grimm Greek Necessary Roughness Grimm Supernatural Emmerdale Coronation Street The Closer Scandal Burn Notice Necessary Roughness Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Closer Supernatural Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Closer Alphas Revenge Once Upon A Time Game Of Thrones Greek

00:00 The Killing Room 01:45 The Silence Of The Lambs

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Fright Night Rage Of The Yeti Go Fast True Justice: Dead Drop Green Lantern True Justice: Brotherhood True Justice: Dead Drop Hide And Seek True Justice: Brotherhood The Untouchables

00:00 The Janky Promoters-18 02:00 Take Me Home Tonight-18 04:00 Below The Beltway-PG15 06:00 Hey Arnold! The Movie-PG 08:00 The Tooth Fairy 2-PG 10:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 12:00 Below The Beltway-PG15 14:00 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach-PG15 16:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 18:00 A Heartbeat Away-PG15 20:00 High School-18 22:00 The Janky Promoters-18

01:45 Twelve-18 03:30 In The Land Of Blood And Honey-R 05:45 13-PG15 07:45 Bound By A Secret-PG15 09:30 Jane Eyre-PG15 11:30 Seabiscuit-PG15 14:00 Justice For Natalee HollowayPG15 15:30 Jane Eyre-PG15 17:30 Virtual Lies-PG15 19:15 Suicide Shop-PG15 21:00 Red Riding Hood-PG15 23:00 World Trade Center-PG15

01:00 Attack The Block-PG15 03:00 According To Greta-PG15 05:00 Happy Feet Two-PG 07:00 Water For Elephants-PG15 09:00 127 Hours-PG15 10:45 Why Did I Get Married Too?PG15 13:00 Glee: The Concert MoviePG15 15:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules-PG 17:00 127 Hours-PG15 19:00 Underground: The Julian Assange Story-PG15 21:00 Killer Elite-18 23:00 The Woman In Black-PG15

01:00 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil 02:45 Valentina 04:30 The Adventures Of Scooter The Penguin 06:00 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil 08:00 The Great Bear 10:00 Tinker Bell And The Secret Of The Wings 11:30 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas 13:00 Maroons 14:30 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs.

Evil 16:00 Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer

00:00 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 03:28 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax-PG 05:00 Crisis Point-PG15 06:30 Perfect Plan-PG15 08:00 Puss In Boots-PG 10:00 Three Inches-PG15 12:00 Chronicle-PG15 14:00 Another Harvest Moon-PG15 16:00 Puss In Boots-PG 18:00 A Thousand Words-PG15 20:00 Ondine-PG15 22:00 Seeking Justice-PG15

OSN SPORT 1 HD 01:00 Super Rugby

03:00 06:30 07:00 09:00 11:00 11:30 13:30 14:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00 23:30

Premier League Darts ICC Cricket 360 NRL Premiership NRL Premiership ICC Cricket 360 Live NRL Premiership Trans World Sport Premier League Darts Trans World Sport AFL Premiership Highlights Super Rugby Highlights NRL Premiership ICC Cricket 360 AFL Premiership Highlights

01:00 02:00 03:30 05:30 07:00 09:30 13:00 15:00 17:30 19:30 21:00 22:00

Trans World Sport Super League NRL Premiership Super League AFL Premiership Premier League Darts Super Rugby AFL Premiership NRL Premiership Super League Super Rugby NHL

00:00 00:30 02:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 16:00 16:30 19:30 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Futbol Mundial Pro 12 Asian Tour Golf Golfing World Top 14 Futbol Mundial World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool ICC Cricket 360 Asian Tour Golf Top 14 Live Boston Marathon Golfing World ICC Cricket 360 Trans World Sport World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool

00:00 UAE National Race Day Series 01:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 02:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale Prelims 04:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale 07:00 WWE Bottom Line 08:00 WWE Experience 09:00 Ping Pong World 10:00 US Bass Fishing 11:00 NHL 13:00 UAE National Race Day Series 14:00 WWE NXT 15:00 WWE SmackDown 17:00 Ping Pong World 18:00 US Bass Fishing 19:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale Prelims 21:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter Finale

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

Cajun Pawn Stars Cajun Pawn Stars Mountain Men The Men Who Built America Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Cajun Pawn Stars Cajun Pawn Stars Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars Storage Wars Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Pawn Stars American Restoration Pawn Stars Storage Wars Ancient Aliens High Hitler Mountain Men Pawn Stars American Restoration Soviet Storm: WWII In The East High Hitler Mountain Men Pawn Stars American Restoration Soviet Storm: WWII In The East Pawn Stars Storage Wars Ancient Aliens Pawn Stars

Classifieds MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

FOR SALE BMW X5 2001 V8, full option 200,000 km, white color in good condition, just come out from service cost KD 800, price for sale KD 2,500. For more information feel free to call 90005442.

15-4-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, Moises Joao Gomes, holder of Indian Passport No: E9556439, hereby change my name to MOISES GOMES, Address: Bathiem Cuncolim Salcette, Goa, India. (C 4376) 14-4-2013 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)

SITUATION WANTED Female, MBA with over 11 years experience in all functions of HR/Admin.

Transferable Visa 18, can join immediately.

Knowledge of English, Hindi & Arabic. Please contact: 94062123. (C 4374) 14-3-2013

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (11/04/2013 TO 17/04/2013) 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)

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

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) FANAR-1 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) 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) NO SUN+ TUE+WED MARINA-1 GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED 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)

10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:45 PM 4:30 PM 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

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) 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) NO SUN+ TUE+WED 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)

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 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

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) OBLIVION (DIG) BAIRAQ-1 SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) NO SUN+ TUE+WED BAIRAQ-2 DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED PLAZA BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) LAILA OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG)

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 11:45 PM 12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

Prayer timings Fajr:

04:00

Shorook

05:22

Duhr:

11:48

5:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM

Asr:

15:22

Maghrib:

18:14

5:45 PM 8:15 PM

Isha:

19:34

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR JZR THY ETH GFA AFG UAE ETD FDB RBG MSR QTR THY DHX FDB KAC BAW KAC JZR FDB KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD KAC KAC GFA IRC MEA MSC JZR JZR KAC UAE MSR THY KAC QTR FDB MPH KAC SVA KNE OMA KAC

Arrival Flights on Monday 15/4/2013 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 503 LUXOR 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 344 CHENNAI 352 COCHIN 213 BAHRAIN 6521 LAMERD 404 BEIRUT 403 ASSIUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 284 DHAKA 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 93 AMSTERDAM 546 ALEXANDRIA 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 645 MUSCAT 788 JEDDAH

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

RJA KAC JZR QTR ETD FDB UAE ABY SVA GFA UAL JZR JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC FDB GFA KAC MSC KAC KAC KAC JAI FDB OMA ABY MEA MSR AXB MSC ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA QTR DHX FDB AIC JZR JZR UAL TAR JZR DLH PIA JAI KLM THY

640 118 535 134 303 71 857 127 510 215 982 177 777 542 144 786 104 63 219 618 405 774 674 742 572 61 647 129 402 618 489 401 229 859 307 136 217 146 372 59 975 239 185 981 327 135 636 205 574 411 772

AMMAN NEW YORK CAIRO DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI DUBAI SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI JEDDAH CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH LONDON DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA SOHAG RIYADH DUBAI DAMMAM MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA COCHIN/MANGALORE ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI CHENNAI/GOA AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN TUNIS BAHRAIN FRANKFURT LAHORE/PESHAWER MUMBAI AMSTERDAM/DAMMAM ISTANBUL

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

Airlines AIC JAI UAL DLH PIA JZR THY THY ETH AFG UAE FDB RBG MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB GFA THY KAC JZR BAW FDB JZR KAC ABY KAC UAE FDB QTR ETD GFA KAC KAC IRC MEA JZR KAC MSC KAC JZR MSR THY UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Monday 15/4/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD/AHMEDABAD 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 206 PESHAWER/LAHORE 502 LUXOR 773 ISTANBUL 765 SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 416 KABUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME/PARIS 6522 LAMERD 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

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

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

QTR KAC MPH KNE OMA SVA KAC KAC KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD FDB ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL QTR FDB GFA JZR MSC JAI FDB ABY KAC OMA KAC MEA MSR DHX MSC ETD ALK UAE QTR KAC GFA DHX FDB KAC QTR KAC TAR KAC

141 673 93 473 646 501 617 773 741 641 238 135 304 72 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 145 64 220 134 404 571 62 120 331 648 351 403 619 171 402 308 230 860 137 301 218 373 60 205 147 411 328 283

DOHA DUBAI AL MAKTOUM/HONG KONG JEDDAH MUSCAT JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN ASSIUT MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT COCHIN BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA BANGKOK/MANILA DUBAI/TUNIS DHAKA

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

34

stars CROSSWORD 160

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Conflicting energies may have left you drained of late, but realignment is now underway that will allow you to get back in tune with things. You will find yourself better able to take charge of your daily routine and let it energize you rather than drag you down. Put aside time-wasting diversions and go with what and who really make you feel alive and energized. Taking care of business is where most of your emotional orientation is concerned now. You crave organization and practicality, and you want to get things accomplished with the least effort. Your aim should be to have a place for everything and everything in its place, this includes your relationships as well.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

This is a freewheeling, enterprising, and creative time.

Fortunate opportunities arise. A new wave of optimism lifts your spirits, and successful developments in both personal and career matters make this an enjoyable time. Emotional expansion is what the energy is about for you at this time and for some time to come, when you just naturally attach yourself to larger issues, bigger feelings, and a more open heart. Travel broadens the mind even if only in your imagination. Just consider the people you might meet, even if you only fantasize about them it might be enough to manifest a reality.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. (computer science) A computer that is running software that allows users to leave messages and access information of general interest.

4. Bridge formed by the upper level of a crossing of two highways at different levels.

12. The seventh and last day of the week.

15. A small piece of cloth.

16. Presence of excess lipids in the blood.

17. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters.

18. A defensive missile designed to shoot down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.

19. Poisoning by snake venom.

20. A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter.

21. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.

23. The largest continent with 60% of the earth's population.

24. Port city on southern Honshu on Osaka Bay. 26. Type genus of the family Myacidae.

28. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

30. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

33. An informal term for a father.

37. 1,000 baiza equal 1 riyal-omani.

39. Informal terms for your occupation.

40. Hit hard.

42. (of time) Constituting the full extent or duration.

46. A small horizontal rope between the shrouds of a sailing ship.

48. Used of a single unit or thing.

49. The twelfth month of the civil year.

50. An associate degree in applied science.

51. A woman religious.

52. A small tessera.

54. Tiny lobster-like crustaceans usually boiled briefly.

56. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

57. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

59. A bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which vehicles can roll.

61. Electronic warfare undertaken to insure effective friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum in spite of the enemy's use of electronic warfare.

64. Make a prediction about.

69. The type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs.

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

75. Any plant of the genus Caragana having even-pinnate leaves and mostly yellow flowers followed by seeds in a linear pod.

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

79. Rare (usually fatal) brain disease (usually in middle age) caused by an unidentified slow virus.

80. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

81. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels.

82. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailand of its people.

83. Any of several plants of the genus Hepatica having 3-lobed leaves and white or pinkish flowers in early spring.

84. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

DOWN 1. (informal) Exceptionally good.

2. Used as a Hindi courtesy title.

3. (computer science) A standardized language for the descriptive markup of documents.

4. An informal word (abstracted from words with this ending) for some unidentified branch of knowledge.

5. An important or influential (and often overbearing) person.

6. An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure equal to about a bushel.

7. Above the surround or above the normal position.

8. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

9. Type genus of the Amiidae.

10. A female person who has the same parents as another person.

11. A constitutional monarchy on the western part of the islands of Samoa in the South Pacific.

12. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

13. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

14. A three-tone Chadic language.

22. Affect with wonder.

25. A facial expression of dislike or displeasure.

27. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

29. A shop where a variety of goods are sold.

31. A person who gains weight.

32. An itchy skin eruption characterized by weals with pale interiors and well-defined red margins.

34. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

35. Of or relating to the hands.

36. A sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury.

38. On or toward the lee.

41. Of or relating to or supporting Hinduism.

43. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

44. (law) Lacking any legal or binding force.

45. Used especially of fruits.

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

53. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

55. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the Middle East that remains dry except during rainy season.

58. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

60. Italian operatic composer (1813-1901).

62. An African river that flows northwest into Lake Chad.

63. Affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason.

65. A Hindu prince or king in India.

66. A gonadotropic hormone that is secreted by the anterior pituitary.

67. A strip of land projecting into a body of water.

68. A device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned.

70. A small cake leavened with yeast.

71. A sock with a separation for the big toe.

72. In bed.

73. The basic unit of money in Western Samoa.

76. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

77. Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

Implicit understandings based on mutual visions are the opportunity of the day, so don’t take your dreams for granted. What you share with others on the inner front greases the path to harmony and profit, so anything you can cook up along those lines will provide you with a tangible window to your imagination. You are more emotional and subjective than usual today. You may just want to have some alone time as you tend to question the motives and maybe even the manipulations of those closest to you. It’s easy to assume things right now, so rather than risk the wrong assumption you may want to just wait till you are feeling more level emotionally than to put yourself in a position to doubt someone that really won’t be justified.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) It’s unusual for you to let impatience take you over, but the events of today could see your normally patient nature taking a back-seat. A reunion or meeting with some good friends could be the catalyst for new romance or major new hobby. Financial issues look much more promising. If you are involved in a love relationship then a deepening of the relationship is likely at this time. You gain an even greater appreciation of each other, and you respect each other more than ever. Mutual understandings and cooperation on issues of importance make you feel very close and even more loving.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This is not a time to push yourself or be involved in activities that require intense competition or a great expenditure of energy. Reading something that is mind expanding, taking a trip, or planning a vacation is favored at this time. Your desire to make a fresh start with any romantic or emotional commitments you have are high today. Your physical energy, will, and courage are intensified. Unless you channel your abundant energy into decisive action or vigorous work, accidents, anger, and irritability are likely at this time.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) At this time you come across in an appealing, charming, openly affectionate manner which is likely to win you new friends and admirers. You make an excellent first impression now. This is a very favorable time for doing something to enhance your appearance, such as getting a hair cut or purchasing new clothing. Your need for approval is strong today. You want those close to you to affirm your value and confirm that you are a part of something special. Of course they may not realize you have these needs, so drop a few hints and you’ll get the affirmations you need.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You will want a break from the predictability of your usual routine and methods. You’re in the mood to experiment and to learn something new. Offbeat or original ideas excite you and you will seek people who can offer you a different way of looking at things. Discovery, inventiveness, and spontaneity are major themes now. Your relationships, particularly sexual or romantic ones, intensify and can have a deep, compelling, urgent quality today. Your inner feelings and need for love and closeness come on very strongly. You have a special magnetism and attractive power now, and you are feeling intensely loving also.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Your relationships have a very competitive quality at this time, and conflicts over power and dominance may erupt. You won’t want compromise with anybody. On the other hand, you may begin a new relationship or job now, boldly taking the initiative to pursue whatever it is you want. You want a break from your usual routine, and because you are willing to experiment and to be spontaneous, you are likely to experience a refreshing change of pace. A new romance or a revitalization of a current one is very likely. Unexpected pleasures, new friends, or a more playful, adventurous attitude in your relationships make this time period stimulating and delightful.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) For a period you may find yourself wondering if the people you’re involved with on an everyday basis are worth all the trouble, and you may consider doing a little pruning of timewasters and social situations that give less satisfaction than they promise. In fact, you may discover that less is more in terms of your social appetite and a breath of peaceful fresh air beats the excitement of a crowded venue. The issue is an internal one, and giving up at this point may actually result in getting more down the line as you resolve your priorities. In fact, in the end, you may find you save money in the process...

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Your ability to focus on your work is at its peak. This is a time to attend to details, take care of business, and to make your life more stable and secure.

Consulting advisors on investments and long range goals would be most beneficial to you, as well as putting your affairs in order. Eliminating waste and inefficiency is important to you now.

It’s an off sort of day today. You could be inclined to irritability, temper tantrums, and just down right cranky for little or no cause. You could also feel impatient and inclined to bulldoze your way into situations, which can cause accidents or bruised feelings of the part of the people you live with or are emotionally close to. Try to keep a firm grip of both your attitude and your words as you may be abrasive and insensitive.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) At this time your efforts to get ahead and advance your own interests are likely to be met with resistance or animosity. You seem over-eager, pushy, inconsiderate, or too narrowly focused on your own objectives, so that you alienate the people who could help you. Try to do as much as you can on your own, without trying to force others to agree with you or join you. You may feel inclined to speak to others about your innermost feelings, your past, and other personal subjects, which builds closeness and trust in your relationships. You are also a sympathetic listener, drawing out others’ feelings and personal experiences. You may hear from someone from the past or reach out to someone you have a long history with or who was once very important in your life.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) You may feel in tune with your inner energy and healing resources at this time. You could find a different, yet important, activity or outlet which allows you to express your individuality and your deep-seated needs and longings. Or this may be a time when you attempt to discover a healthy channel for both your physical and emotional growth. You meet people now who are considerate, understanding and nonjudgmental. You are also likely to form relationships with people based on a deep level of mutual appreciation and understanding for each other. You are in touch with your more sensitive, spiritual qualities, and you are able to express a greater level of sensitivity and greater empathy than usual.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Kerry Katona is engaged

T

he Atomic Kitten singer - who previously married singer/songwriter Brian McFadden in 2002 and taxi driver Mark Croft in 2007 - is set to tie the knot for a third time after her boyfriend George Kay proposed in front of Kerry’s four children at the top of Blackpool Tower. Kerry, 32, told the Sunday Mirror: “I’m thrilled but a bit overwhelmed by it all. “I was totally in shock about it, especially as I knew nothing, but my girls knew what was going on. “There were roses and champagne and George got down on one knee. It was the most romantic thing in the world. I am so happy.” George took Kerry and her children Molly, 12 and Lilly-Sue, 10, from her first marriage and Heidi, six, and Max, five, from her second, to Blackpool Tower for what Kerry thought was a family dinner, before he popped the question and Molly presented her mother with a diamond and gold engagement ring. A shocked Kerry added: “I knew something was going on but I had no idea what it was. “He got down on one knee and said I was his world and that me and the kids were his family and would I make him the happiest man in the world by marrying him? All the kids were screaming ‘say yes Mummy’ and they were really excited.” The couple have been dating for nine months but George, who was previously Kerry’s bodyguard, had been planning the proposal for two months. He said: “I am absolutely over the moon. I had been ready to explode all day because I was so excited and nervous. “I was frightened to death - I am 33 and I have never even thought about getting engaged before. Kerry didn’t have a clue what was going on and I got the kids onside, and had to get them to tell lies to their mum about what was happening.”

Klum exercises daily

H

eidi Klum tries to work out every day. The 39-year-old model doesn’t have much free time as she raises her four kids, Leni, eight, Henry, seven, Johan, six, and Lou, three, but tries to incorporate exercise into whatever she is doing in order to keep fit. She said: “My schedule is always really hectic so I try to incorporate exercise into my everyday routine as much as possible. Whether we’re jumping on the trampoline in the backyard or taking our dogs Freddie and Max for a hike, my kids definitely keep me in shape.” The ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge thinks it is important to stay in shape for the sake of her own self-esteem. She added to America’s OK! magazine: “Having been in the fashion industry for many years it is important for me to stay in shape, plus with my busy schedule it helps me to stay energized throughout the day. And like any woman, I want to feel attractive and confident so I can wear hot dresses and heels and always be date night ready.”

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne living separate lives

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haron and Ozzy Osbourne are reportedly living apart and haven’t seen each other in weeks. The couple - who have been married for 31 years - have moved out of their home and are in separate homes two miles away from each other in Beverly Hills. A friend told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “They are living at different addresses and not spending any time together. They row a lot. “They aren’t acting like husband and wife. It is unusual to not even have dinner together when both of them are five minutes apart.” Both have been spotted without their wedding rings recently, and their relationship could continue to be strained with Ozzy, 64, set to tour with Black Sabbath and a rumoured ‘X Factor’ UK return for Sharon. The couple have apparently been having fierce arguments lately, and the insider revealed they haven’t met up despite having chances to been together. The source added: “Sharon and Ozzy have had plenty of opportunities to meet up but haven’t spent any time together at all. “Sharon films ‘The Talk’ four days a week and Ozzy has been rehearsing but they’ve both had days off and still not seen one another. “It’s pretty unusual for a married couple to spend such a long time apart, especially when they both have drivers and can be at each other’s houses in five minutes.” However, a spokesman for Sharon, 60, dismissed the idea their marriage was “on the rocks” and said her new hotel home is “for work”. He said: “They’ve both got huge work commitments. She is at the hotel for work and he is starting his Black Sabbath tour. “Of course they row but they are still together. Sharon and Ozzy have spent long periods of time apart before when she was working in the UK. The marriage is not on the rocks.”

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Willis punches co-stars

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ruce Willis punches his co-stars to see how macho they are. The 58-year-old actor claims he likes “getting punched” and says he and his fellow action stars have always competed over who can cope with being hit hardest. He said: “I just really like getting punched, every guy does. It’s one of those men things, getting punched and never complaining. We spent decades on set seeing who could take the hardest punches, it’s a game, the first who complains is a coward.

It might be childish but...” Although he is getting close to entering his 60s, Bruce doesn’t feel old and insists his rigorous fitness regime keeps him in top shape. The ‘A Good Day To Die Hard’ star - who is married to 34-year-old model Emma Heming - told Italy’s Best Movie website: “I don’t feel old at all. Other people say I’m old, but I still feel the same, I still do the same things. I do a lot of sports and like eating a lot.”

Seymour splits from Keach

ane Seymour has split from her fourth husband James Keach. The ‘Live And Let Die’ actress confirmed the news and revealed while they are currently negotiating their divorce, they have been separated for “several months”. A spokesman for the 62-year-old star said: “Jane Seymour and James Keach confirm they are separated and have been for several months. At this time they are negotiating the terms of their divorce.” The announcement followed reports their marriage of 20 years was ended over James’ alleged cheating. The couple have twin sons John and Kristopher, 17, and will remain “devoted” to their children. The statement added: “They will continue their relationship as devoted parents to their children, as business associates and partners, and in their joint dedication to preserving and furthering the charitable endeavors that they have worked on throughout their marriage.” Jane’s first marriage - to actor Michael Attenborough - last two years until 1973, before she wed Geoffrey Planer in 1977 although they split the following year. Her third husband was businessman David Flynn - with whom she had children Katherine and Sean - who she married in 1981 before he ended their relationship a decade later, later admitting to over a dozen affairs.

Damon, wife to renew vows in St Lucia

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former top government official in St Lucia says actor Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, are renewing their wedding vows of eight years with a lavish party on the eastern Caribbean island. The party is being held at the Sugar Beach resort with an invitation list including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Ben Affleck. A former Cabinet minister and current CEO of a private company that oversees economic development in Soufriere says the party will help boost the island’s weak economy. Walter Francois of Soufriere Regional Development Foundation said Saturday, however, that people including fishermen and others not allowed near the hotel’s beach for security reasons should be reimbursed.

Beyonce is a klutz

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he superstar singer is constantly covered in bruises and cuts because with every music video or energetic dance routine that she does, she inevitably takes a tumble. She said: “I’ve fallen quite a few times, so I’ve learnt how to fall. It’s very rare that I’m not bruised in my life. I’m always bruised somewhere - like my legs, my hips, I’ve hit something, I’ve fallen... “We have a joke. Whenever I’ve had a video that’s great, I’ve definitely bled somewhere - the dancing, and the shoes, and the costumes - it’s always a ring or something that slices me. But you’ve already started so you’ve just gotta fight through it.” The 31-year-old star who has 15-month-old daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay-Z - is famed for her uber-glamorous stage outfits but she admits she grins through the pain in her towering high heels, but kicks them off the second she leaves the stage.

Beyonce said: “I don’t feel any pain on stage. The adrenaline, you know, takes over. But when I get off the stage?

They come off.” The singer has come under fire from feminist thinkers for the contradiction between her super sexy clothes and her songs promoting female empowerment, but she doesn’t understand the logic behind the negative comments. She told Britain’s Vogue magazine: “That’s exactly why I can [wear those outfits]! Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? “I’m just a woman and I love being a woman. If you’re attractive then you can’t be sexy, and you can’t be intelligent? What is all of that?”

Garner enjoys family reading time

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ennifer Garner loves reading with her kids. The ‘Butter’ actress has daughters Violet, seven and Seraphina, four, and 14-month-old son Samuel with husband Ben Affleck and says the family enjoy nothing more than to sit down together with a good book. She told People magazine: “We love ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ by Lemony Snicket. My daughter Violet is so into the series, she talks about the Baudelaire kids like they’re part of our family. It’s a blast.” Jennifer recently admitted her children love seeing her dressed up for red carpet events because they think she looks “like a princess”. She said: “I’m lucky I can have moments when my hair and make-up are done and I’m in something fancy. My kids say ‘Wow, You look like a princess.’ They love a sparkly dress.”

Jennifer insists she is happy with her appearance, because she believes “less is more”. The former ‘Alias’ star is keen to teach her daughters about inner beauty.

She said: “I want my kids to know they’re pretty on the inside no matter what they hear.”

—Agencies/Bang showbiz

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

South Korean rapper PSY, in a checkered jacket, performs his new song ‘Gentleman’ in his concert titled ‘Happening’ in Seoul, South Korea Saturday. —AP photos

Psy ’s ‘Gentleman’ video reaches 10 million YouTube hits

“G

angnam Style” star Psy’s new music video had been watched more than 10 million times on YouTube less than 24 hours after he unveiled his much-anticipated new dance in Seoul, the website showed yesterday. The South Korean pop star on Saturday performed for the first time the new hip-swinging dance aimed at replicating the global success of “Gangnam Style” and its famed horse-riding moves in his latest single called “Gentleman”. The video, released a day after the song hit online stores worldwide, registered 10.7 million hits in the 15 hours after its debut at a packed concert in the South Korean capital as curious fans flocked to the video-sharing site.

It shows Psy, wearing his signature sunglasses, dancing at various locations in and around Seoul including a high-end clothing store, restaurant

and swimming pool. The story line features the singer teasing and playing practical jokes on women, such as pulling their chairs away as they are about to sit, before meeting his match.

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.

Reactions to the latest electro-dance song were

mixed but video-showing the quirky singer’s signature self-mocking humor as well as the new hip-swiveling dance-left more fans impressed.

“The beat is quite catchy! I’m sitting here shaking my hips side to side even though i have no idea what he’s saying,” said one Youtube comment.

“Mark my words. This WILL be the second video to make it 1,000,000,000,” said another commentator, while some others said “R.I.P, Harlem Shake,” in reference to another viral hit that swept the world recently. “Gentleman” 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, vigor and humor,” Psy sings in Korean before launching into the song’s English catch-line: “I’m a mother-father gentleman.” —AFP

Richards joins Clapton at Crossroads Festival E

Hong Kong actor Alex Tsui holding the trophy for Best New Performer in the movie ‘Cold War’ during the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards. —AFP

ric Clapton’s Crossroads festival has become the hub for riff worshippers, so it was appropriate that guitar deity Keith Richards made a surprise appearance to perform with Clapton. The Rolling Stone received perhaps the most sustained standing ovation of the night as he joined his old pal toward the end of Crossroads, a two-night concert festival at Madison Square Garden that brought together a dazzling array of guitar masters, from John Mayer to Jeff Beck to legends like Buddy Guy, and of course, Clapton and Richards.

Richards - whose Stones announced another tour earlier this month - flashed his typical wry smile to the crowd before joining Clapton in playing the blues standard and Clapton favorite “Key to the Highway. “ “Now we’re gonna rock it up,” Richards said before launching into “Sweet Little Rock N’ Roller.” Richards’ appearance was only the beginning of Clapton’s hour-plus long set, which included hits like “Crossroads” and “Little Queen of Spades.” It also featured other special guests, like Robbie Robertson, who sang the classic “I Shall Be Released.”

“I just want to say it’s an honor to be here in honor of Crossroads and Eric Clapton,” said

Robertson. Crossroads Guitar Festival, which benefits Clapton’s Crossroads Centre for substance abuse in Antigua, has been held every three years since 2004; this Friday and Saturday was its first at Madison Square Garden. The show lasted almost five hours, with each performer showcasing his own particular brand of wizardry on the instrument (all the headliners were men, though there were a few women as supporting players in the program).

Clapton joined Los Lobos and Robert Cray early on and Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks played an acoustic set and brought out Gregg Allman. Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal paid tribute to the blues in their acoustic set, while newcomer Gary Clark Jr. had the crowd on its feet throughout most of his electrifying set, which was followed by another fiery set, this one by Jeff Beck. Other highlights a performance by blues great Buddy Guy an a set from Vince Gill, Keith Urban and Albert Lee. “It’s one of the greatest things that ever happened, getting this invitation from Eric Clapton,” Gill gushed onstage.

The night ended with just about all of the evening’s performers coming back on stage for a jam session with Clapton. “See you in three years,” Clapton told

Afghan schoolgirls study during a lesson in Qala-i-Gudar village.

Angelina Jolie, beautiful stranger behind Afghan school

Former graft-buster wins Hong Kong film prize in police role

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former graft-buster won the best new performer prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards for a role reprising his corruptionfighting persona in a police thriller, which swept the awards. “Cold War” took nine awards including those for best film, best actor and best director, with former Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) deputy director of operations Alex Tsui recognized in his first film role. “This award has given me very strong feelings,” Tsui, who was sacked by the ICAC 20 years ago and who played the organization’s commissioner in the film, said onstage as he received his award.

“I have been acting well as a civil servant for 28 years, but the British did not like it,” he added. Tsui was fired in 1993, four years before Britain returned the colony to China.

The details behind Tsui’s departure from the ICAC are unclear with its commissioner not requiring to give an explanation for any sacking. In “Cold War” veteran Hong Kong star Tony Leung Ka-fai plays a deputy police commissioner vying for power with a fellow senior officer played by actor Aaron Kwok over an operation to rescue five kidnapped officers in the film. The annual Hong Kong Film Awards-in its 32st edition this year-is considered to be the city’s equivalent to the Oscars. —AFP

In this picture taken on April 3, 2013, Afghan children study during a lesson in Qala-i-Gudar village in Qarabagh district Kabul province. —AFP photos

2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival artists and Eric Clapton perform at Madison Square Garden.

Eric Clapton and Keith Richards perform on Keb Mo and Taj Mahal perform on stage. stage.

t a school in a bombed-out Afghan village near Kabul, Angelina Jolie is known as an aid worker or engineer-never as one of the world’s most famous film stars. Jolie, a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, built the school in Qala-i-Gudar last year and is planning to open more in Afghanistan with profits from a newly-launched jewelry line that she has designed. The Hollywood star visited Qala-i-Gudar in 2011, and she retains an avid fanbase among residents who have never seen any of her films and have no idea about her global fame as an actress.

Acting is controversial in the country, with many conservative Afghans associating it with un-Islamic behavior and even prostitution.

Homaira, aged 13, is one of 250 pupils at the allgirls school who has benefited from the new facilities, which opened for their first full academic year last month. “We used to study in the backyard of the mosque, it was hard,” Homaira told AFP. “Now we are so happy to have a school. It’s a beautiful place.” Asked who built her school, Homaira smiled and answered, “the beautiful American lady.” The two-storey building, 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Kabul, has large windows and neat rows of desks. On the outside, which is painted light blue, is a plaque proudly boasting of its founder. “Through the generous contribution of Angelina Jolie UNHCR Special Envoy,” it reads.

Even headmaster Gul Rahmman Ayaz appeared ignorant of Jolie’s superstar celebrity, apparently believing she was a senior UNHCR official. “Is she?” Ayaz asked doubtfully after learning Jolie was an actress. “Well whatever, she is a great woman, very kind woman,” he added with a smile. Ayaz recalled Jolie visiting the mosque’s open backyard, which at the time served as a classroom, and sitting cross-legged with villagers discussing her plan to found a modern school.

“She was very humble. She sat on dust. She

didn’t behave like a movie star,” Ayaz said, remembering Jolie arrived in a UN-marked vehicle and wore a modest black outfit and brown headscarf.

Sabera, the school’s only female teacher, believed Jolie was a reconstruction expert sent to build schools in Afghanistan as it struggles to emerge from decades of war that left the village in ruins. “I thought she was an engineer,” said Sabera, 30, who like most Afghans uses only one name. “I have never seen her movies but I hope she comes back.” Under the hardline Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, cinema was banned and girls were prohibited from attending school. Qala-i-Gudar was on the frontline in fighting between the Taliban regime in Kabul and Northern Alliance forces. Today Afghans have a huge appetite for cinema, though they prefer the melodrama and music of Bollywood fare to US blockbusters. Officials say millions of children, about 40 percent of them girls, have returned to school-one of the key achievements of the billion-dollar international aid effort since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down the Taliban. But, according to Kabir Haqmal, head of public affairs at the education ministry, half of the 10.5 million students still study in the open air or tents, and 50 percent of about 200,000 teachers are unqualified. “Anyone investing in Afghanistan’s education is investing in the future of Afghanistan,” Haqmal told AFP. “I know this school was built by Angelina Jolie and we appreciate her work.”

Jolie, partner of Brad Pitt and star of the Lara Croft movies, has a long record of humanitarian work and told the E! News website that she hopes to fund more schools from the proceeds of her new jewellery line called “Style of Jolie”. In Qala-iGudar, as in much of rural Afghanistan, there is little access to television. Out of a dozen girls interviewed by AFP, half don’t have a set at home.

Another has one, but says “the aerial has been broken for a year”. —AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Muntaha’s ‘Arab Woman’ presented in London A photo shows Sheikha Hind Al-Qasimi honoring the Kuwaiti fashion designer Muntaha Al-Ajeel.

By Nawara Fattahova

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he Kuwait fashion designer Muntaha Al-Ajeel participated in the Arab Woman Forum and International Economy held in London, UK last March.

This event included a fashion show titled ‘Nafnoof’, during which Al-Ajeel displayed her new collection of traditional Abayas and Daraas for this season. “ When I received the invitation of Sheikha Hind Al-Qasimi to participate in this forum I was pleased and didn’t hesitate, as this forum highlights the role of the Arab woman in the social, economic and political life. It also focuses on the obstacles she is facing in the financial and business sphere,” said Al-Ajeel.

She also added that her new collection is called ‘Arab Woman’. “The Arab woman was my inspiration for the collection that consists of 16 pieces, and each piece narrates a story. I have chosen special cuts and loose designs with high waist to cover the imperfections of the body, while expressing the feminist of the Arabian woman. I also added some prints to my designs such as the Monaliza and Romeo and Juliet.

Photos show models presenting creations by the Kuwaiti fashion designer Muntaha AlAjeel.

The Thatcher look,

from handbag to true blue suits T

he invitation of a handbag designer to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral is testament to the way the Iron Lady used fashion to forge her image in what was then the man’s world of British politics. Memorably described by former French president Francois Mitterrand as having the “eyes of Caligula and the mouth of Marilyn Monroe”, Thatcher’s style mixed power dressing with femininity. The centrepiece was the famous handbag that struck fear into the hearts of ministers, but the blue skirt-suits and shoulder pads, the pearls and her bouffant hair became iconic in their own right.

So it was no surprise to see Anya Hindmarch, the fashion accessories designer for whom Thatcher was one of many celebrity clients, on the guest list for Wednesday ’s funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral. Thatcher herself said in a television interview in 1985: “It is not unfeminine to be well-tailored. Indeed, it often perhaps concentrates on what you are going to say if you have got well-tailored things on, because people no longer look at your clothes.” The Thatcher look began with the hair, a golden helmet anchored in place by hairspray.

Before she was in power she was fond of hats, including a gaudy striped affair that she wore for a party conference

File photo shows British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher meets with current British Prime Minister David Cameron (not pictured), inside 10 Downing Street in London.— AFP photos speech. But as shown in a scene from the Meryl Streep biopic “The Iron Lady” they disappeared when she ran for the leadership, to be replaced by a swept-back bouffant. A memorable exception to the bare -headed rule came when she teamed a cream headscarf with clear protective goggles while at the wheel of a

(From left) In a file picture taken on July 18, 1981 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher poses with German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, US President Ronald Reagan, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, French President Francois Mitterrand and Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Spadolini during the Summit of the leading industrial countries, in Ottawa.

Challenger tank in Germany in 1988. Her clothes also showed the evolution of Thatcher’s political style.

As late as the 1970s the mother-oftwo channeled the housewife look, favoring the same colorful shift dresses worn by the female electorate whose votes she tried to win over by identifying with their struggles to balance the books at home.

But that all changed with the blue skirtsuit she wore as she entered 10 Downing Street for the first time on May 4, 1979.

The color was the ultramarine blue of the Conservative party, with a tailored jacket over a white and blue patterned shirt and a heavily pleated skirt.

The look would appear again and again, including when she gave her famous “No, no, no” speech in parliament against European federalism. Thatcher reputedly bought many of her clothes in bulk from British high-street retailer Marks and Spencer. But her favorite designer was the British heritage outfitter Aquascutum, which provided the fur-collared camel coat that she wore on her triumphant visit to Moscow in 1987. Hilary Alexander, fashion critic of Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, said Thatcher’s wardrobe on the Soviet trip “made world headlines and established her as the decade’s most important ‘power dresser’, alongside Diana, Princess of Wales.”

Thatcher, however, set out a thrifty and practical approach. “I really only dress in two kinds of ways,” she said in a 1984 television interview. One style was based on “a classic suit and many, many varied different blouses,” she explained.

“And then also if you’re travelling overseas and you arrive by aircraft, I do find it much easier to arrive with a coat and dress outfit for a very simple reason-the moment you get on the aircraft you hang up your coat and then you can put it just before you get off, and you’re not full of creases.

“But you always will have to budget and I was brought up on that, so it’s nothing new to me.” Seven of Thatcher’s suits, including the jade-green wool outfit worn on the day she was confirmed as Conservative leader in 1975, fetched £73,000 at auction a London sale in September. Pussy bow blouses were another 1980s wardrobe staple-also favored by Diana-that added a touch of feminity. Pearl jewelry was omnipresent.

Margaret Thatcher attends the opening of a the new Canine Partners training accommodation building at the National Training Centre in Heyshott in West Sussex.

Traditional without being flashy, the pearls were summed up by the Guardian newspaper as “‘this lady’s not for turning’ in a necklace”.

But it was her square, black Asprey handbag that remained the quintessential Thatcher symbol. Thatcher often used the same bag on important occasions, carrying it as she entered Downing Street with her husband Denis and using it at summits with then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The bag was so famous that it sold at a charity auction for £25,000 ($40,350, 28,000 euros) in 2011. The term “handbagging” passed into common currency in Britain after it was used by her ministers to describe a dressing down at the hands of their formidable female leader.

Cartoonists often portrayed Thatcher clobbering opponents with it while Lord Kenneth Baker, who served in Thatcher’s cabinets from 1985 to 1990, called the bag her “secret weapon”. Thatcher often placed her handbag on the cabinet table as a symbol of her authority and “would usually get from it some paper with a

An employee poses with a handbag owned by Margaret Thatcher for over thirty years at Christie’s auction house in central London. conclusive argument,” Baker recalled. But her cabinet colleagues also acknowledged her femininity. “She was a very beautiful woman. She had beautiful hands and lovely ankles and she knew precisely how to use both,” John Gummer said after she died. “It was a pleasure to see the way she turned herself out and the way she never forgot she was a woman.”— AFP

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Suspension lamp called ‘Flying Flames’ designed by German designer Ingo Mauer is displayed at Milan’s Design Fair, in Milan, Italy. — AP photos

Lamps designed by French conceptual artist Yann Kersale’.

Milan show mixes design, fashion, architecture B

athrooms that beg indulgence. Tiles that reduce pollution. Lighting that mimics a rainbow. Extravagance, social consciousness and innovation are strange, but alluring, bedfellows at the Milan Furniture Show and the myriad side events dedicated to design that wrap up Sunday, ending a weeklong celebration of domestic bliss in its many forms. The burgeoning event was originally conceived to promote Italian furniture making, which is with standing the recession better than many industries, and now encompasses also design, fashion and architecture.

And as all these disciplines converge, so does utility. More and more, pieces can be shifted from room to room and from home to office. Global sales of luxury furnishings last year rose 3 percent to 18.5 billion euros ($24 billion), according to a study by Bain&Company for the Altagamma association of luxur y designers. That’s behind the 10 percent growth of the luxury industry as a whole, largely because emerging markets like China still haven’t gotten around to redecorating their interiors, which Bain says gives great growth potential to the sector. The sprawling event gives ample space for everyone from established designers like Phillipe Starck and Ingo Maeur to unknown newcomers to showcase their new creations.

Lighting Inside a darkened room, tiny LED lights create halos that seem to bend when a hand reaches through. The effect is one of a rainbow,

recedes into the darkness. And Ana Babic, 26, was inspired by the Ferris wheel to create a whimsical, rotating storage unit consisting of five tool boxes.

that evokes Asia. Phillipe Starck designed a series of elaborate 24-light chandeliers, one featuring three glass deer heads in full antlers, while Arik Levy created a modernist 4-level frozen pattern chandelier.

Munich-based Ingo Mauer had a wholly modern interpretation on the chandelier. His “Flying Flames” evoke floating candles fashioned from red or black circuit boards with an electronic flame rendered in LEDs, each suspended from the ceiling. The 32-light creation was shown spectacularly in front of a reproduction of Leonardo’s Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.”

Bath No more is the bathroom strictly utilitarian.

Increasingly, it is a sanctuary for indulgence, more spa than pit stop on the way to the office or out for the evening. Design firms are taking note of trend, and have begun to enter one of the fastest-growing luxury furniture sectors, worth 2.8 billion euros globally last year.

Kartell, the Italian design leader, launched its first-ever collection intended for the bathroom, teaming up with the Swiss fixture maker Laufen and designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba. “I noticed more than two years ago that the bathroom is becoming more and more important,” said Kartell president Claudio Luti.

“Now, people want to find the comfort there that you have in the rest of the house. It becomes total living.” The Palomba design team used Laufen’s latest technology, a ceramic called Saphir Keramik that is 30 percent lighter and easier to shape, to create graceful bathtubs

Designers Versace Home collaborated with the Haas brothers from Los Angeles to create black leather furnishings with golden accents that ooze the Versace DNA, evident in the names: The Stud Club and The Bondage Bench. An armchair is covered with studs, reflecting Donatella Versace’s rock ‘n roll spirit, while a

A crystal chandelier designed by French designer Philip Stark for Baccarat. it comes to pollution. Architect Mario Cucinella has been pushing the agenda of sustainable buildings and this year presented a conceptual project with tile-maker Marazzi aimed at focusing attention on the importance of clean air.

Titled “Pure Air,” the 6-square-meter (7-sq. yard) cube installed at Milan’s state university was filled with purified air and covered with hexagonal black stoneware tiles produced with an energy efficient process. Inside, both air and noise pollution are filtered out.

Cucinella said he wants to promote the idea that new architectural materials - like tiles that absorb humidity - can help tackle the growing problem of pollution. “For me the idea is to say, ‘Come to breath pure air,’ “Cucinella said. “I am not interested in making an extravagant building to show off my architectural ego.” For those not looking to build or embark on major remodel, the design week offered other stylish, sustainable solutions. Bologna-based designer Alessandro Israelachvili set up a temporary

A table lamp designed by German designer Ingo Mauer.

A table lamp made from an old iron is displayed at the ‘Unico’ showroom.

A table lamp made from an old telephone is displayed at the ‘Unico’ showroom. this one manmade with by the Tokyo/Milan design studio IXI with technology by Toshiba.

Here, crystals mimic water droplets and the LED lights the sun. The one-off installation created for design week is called “Soffio,” Italian for breath. Lighting fixtures remain a central theme during design week, from the elegant to the fanciful. The prestigious French crystal maker Baccarat engaged some of the industry’s luminaries to interpret lamps, chandeliers and lighting fixtures for this year’s furniture show.

Brazilian brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana incorporated rattan, bamboo and silk in a series of exotic lamps. For their Fusion collection, the encased a greenish blue crystal bulb within bell-shaped rattan shade that suggests the Maghreb. And a clear crystal bulb nests within bamboo cocoon in a table lamp

and washbasins and sanitary fixtures. The tub and sinks are freestanding and floor-mounted for a clean and spare look. Overflow drains can be hidden, and Kartell has designed colorful disks that fit over external faucets to incorporate utility. The fixtures are paired with transparent cabinets, shelves, stools and towel racks in Kartell’s signature transparent plastic - also in warm colors like orange and blue - that allow many configurations to customize the space.

Table lamps designed by German designer Ingo Mauer.

Sustainable living Design is getting more ecological. Consider that it may not be the family car that is contributing the most to pollution. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption and one-quarter of carbon gas emissions, exceeding industry and transport sectors when

Newcomers A group of young designers from Serbia presented creations based on their interpretation of a “memory box,” an exercise meant to reflect on Serbia’s drive for EU membership while confronting its role in the 1990s Balkan wars. The theme was the basis for a national

A table lamp called ‘Broken Egg’ designed by German designer Ingo Mauer.

store filled with furnishings made from recycled objects: lamps shaped from a 1970s desk telephone, an old-fashioned electric iron and even a washing machine centrifuge.

contest promoted by Serbia’s investment and export agency to promote young Serbian designers abroad. Each of the winning creations was inspired by necessity and had a spare simplicity in both the design and execution. Most were made from wood, a resource plentiful in Serbia.

Sasha Mitrovic created “Matrioshka,” a system of seven nesting wooden storage units that recall the Russian doll of the same name.

From a container measuring 110X86X63 centimeters (43X34X25 inches), which can easily fit in even a compact car, emerge smaller cabinets, drawer and shelf units with painted facades that stack together to create a wall unit. Mitrovic said he was inspired by the ingenuity of the matryoshka dolls. “You open the door, and don’t know what to expect,” he said.

Stevan Durovic, 25, showed off a switch-less lamp shaped, a large sphere that turns on and off when rotated. The light has a full-moon effect, accentuated by a spare dark base that

bench is wrapped in belts, which the collection notes say “plays with the sexuality of fashion and design.” The legs of the pieces are clad in honeycomb-shaped brass for a flashy look even in a darkened room.

For the show, Roberto Cavalli created a melange of tableware incorporating his animal prints, while Bottega Veneta commissioned American artist Nancy Lorenz to create 25 unique boxes inspired by the cosmos. The pieces are covered in the high-quality Bottega Veneta leather, and Lorenz used materials such as gold, silver leaf and mother of pearl to create abstract images that recall outer space.

Crossover design The lines between design, fashion and architecture continue to blur. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas shifted scale to create 11 pieces of furniture for the US industrial design house Knoll.

The “Tools for Life” pieces, meant for home or office, include a dynamic counter - a stack of three horizontal beams that can be transformed from a screen-like unit to cantilevered shelves and benches that invite people to sit, climb and lean in. The end result is a social/intellectual romper room.

Italian eyewear maker Safilo engaged architect Michele De Lucchi, who created a natural pinewood structure fitted with plaster casts of ancient figures wearing eyeglasses. Safilo CEO Roberto Vedovotto said the company’s participation in the design fair is meant “to underline we are fully part of the world of design.” — AP

A woman touches an alabaster made table lamp, by Atelier Alain Ellouz factory.

The Thatcher look, from handbag to true blue suits

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013

Participants in costumes dance at a ‘sento’, or Japanese public bath in Tokyo as people perform the Internet dance craze ‘Harlem Shake’ for a filming yesterday. Japanese exhibitionists took the Harlem Shake into a bathhouse and a centuries old shrine yesterday as they brought the YouTube phenomenon to the Japanese capital. Even as the meme appeared to be all but played out elsewhere on the Internet, dozens of people came to show off their gyrating and humping. — AFP

Iron Age warriors point to glories of Gaul O

n a muddy field located between a motorway and a meander of the Seine southeast of Paris, French archaeologists have uncovered an Iron Age graveyard that they believe will shed light on the great yet enigmatic civilization of Gaul.

The site, earmarked for a warehouse project on the outskirts of Troyes, is yielding a stunning array of finds, including five Celtic warriors, whose weapons and adornments attest to membership of powerful but long-lost elite. Archaeologist Emilie Millet crouched at one of 14 burial sites that have been uncovered in recent weeks after a nine-year excavation of the 260hectare (650-acre) site. At her feet are the remains of a tall warrior, complete with a 70-centimetre (28-inch) iron sword still in its scabbard.

“I have never seen anything like it,” said Millet, gazing at a metal-framed shield whose wood-and-leather core has long rotted away. Buried next to the warriors are several women, whose jewelrytwisted-metal necklaces known as torcs, and large bronze brooches decorated with precious coral-also speak of high

skinned savages, dressed in breeches with bleached hair, who cut off their enemies’ heads, preserving those of high rank in cedar oil. The barbarian image, though, has been dispelled by historical research in recent decades.

It has laid bare a complex civilization that had a mastery of metal and a trading

Cecile Paresys of the French national institute of preventative archeological searches stands next to the bones of two Gauls, pins and bronze jewelry, on a preventive excavation site, in Bucheres, near Troyes. — AFP photos

A member of the French national institute of preventative archeological searches sits next to the bones of two Gauls, pins and bronze jewelry.

status. In one grave, a woman was buried next to a man, separated by a layer of soil, speaking of a close but as-yet unfathomable bond.”This graveyard is exceptional in more ways than one,” says the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), which excavates sites of potential interest before the bulldozers are allowed in.

The jewelry suggests that the dead were buried between 325 and 260 BC, in a period known as La Tene. Another clue may come from analysis of the scabbards, whose decoration changed according to military fashion. Designs in this period typically had two open-mouthed dragons facing each other, with their bodies curled. La Tene, whose name comes from an archaeological site in Switzerland, ran from about the 5th century BC to the first century AD, marking the glory years of the Celts.

During this time, the Celts expanded from their core territory in central Europe to as far afield as northern Scotland and the Atlantic coast of Spain. They clashed with the emerging Roman empire, whose writers recorded the invaders as pale-

system which spanned Europe and generated great wealth. The find at Bucheres raises several questions, for there has never been any trace of major Celtic settlement in this neighborhood.

The graves were uncovered at a depth of about two meters (6.5 feet) but if they had any external markers, none remains.

An earlier civilization, from the Bronze Age, left a line of burial mounds nearby, “which would have been visible for miles (kilometers) around,” said Inrap archaeologist Cecile Paresys.

Just as intriguing, the excavation has yet to find any pottery or evidence of food, which were often added to Iron Age burials to sustain the dead in the spirit world.

No remains of children have been found, although this absence is common to Celtic necropolises-something that anthropologists are at a loss to explain.

Years of patient forensic work lie ahead to tease out clues about how these people lived and died. In the meantime, the remains are being recorded where they lie before being gently prised from the earth and preserved. — AFP

Nepalese presenter sets talk show world record

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broadcast to celebrate the twentieth Nepalese presenter has set the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence in world record for the longest televi2011. According to Guinness World sion talk show by staying on air for Records rules, Lamichhane was allowed 62 hours and 12 minutes, organizers said five minutes every hour for a break. yesterday. Rabi Lamichhane, a 36-year-old Organizers said he ate some meals based in the US, returned to Kathmandu while interviewing guests, banked several to stage the “Lord Buddha Was Born in Nepal” program, which took the Guinness world record late Saturday night.”Our campaign was aimed to spread the message to the world that the Buddha was born in Nepal,” said Anil Joshi, Chairman of News24, the television station broadcasting the program told AFP, adding that the program promoted tourism destiNepalese television presenter Rabi Lamichhane (right) is nations such as Mount presented with a certificate by a Guinness World Records Everest. official after taking the world record for hosting longest One hundred television talk show in Kathmandu yesterday. — AFP guests, ranging from photos former Maoist rebel of the slots for a longer rest period and leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to the Indian otherwise survived on energy drinks. The ambassador to Nepal, to Nepalese televishow was recorded in the Nepali lansion celebrities and common people guage with English subtitles from the joined Lamichhane during the program.

News24 studio in Kathmandu, and was Lamichhane’s performance broke the live-streamed on the channel’s website record previously held by Pavlo Kuzheyev and several partner websites. — AFP and Tetiana Danylenko for a 52-hour

Nepalese television presenter Rabi Lamichhane speaks with Chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda.