16 Apr 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Mobile number portability to go into effect in Kuwait

Chavez heir Maduro wins by a whisker, oppn cries foul

40 PAGES

NO: 15780

150 FILS

3

www.kuwaittimes.net

JAMADA ALTHANI 6, 1434 AH

Heat set club mark with victory over Bulls

Superheroes rule at raunchy MTV Movie Awards show

20

38

13

Death and horror as blasts rock Boston Two dead, scores hurt after twin explosions at marathon

Max 35º Min 19º High Tide 04:16 & 14:35 Low Tide 09:14 & 22:01

conspiracy theories

Back in the limelight

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

T

he biggest news yesterday was the verdict that the court issued against the well-known opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak. Till the very late hour of the evening yesterday, Barrak was still in his home in Andalus surrounded by his supporters.

The former John Wayne (a very famous American Western movie actor) of Kuwait’s parliament Musallam Al-Barrak is in the limelight again. He is becoming a hero and a superstar. In my opinion, the court’s ruling will boost his ego even more. It is known that if you want to make someone a hero in the political arena in any country, all you have to do is jail him. In such a case, the nation would stand beside him and support him. He will not lack followers.

Are we going to see a very heated summer considering that just the normal heat is enough for us in July. It will exceed the 50s. If the protests escalate and the political situation escalates, we will face a new chapter in our stagnant political arena. Another date to wait for this summer which might inflame the situation more is June 16, when the Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the one-vote electoral law.

What if the court rules in favour of that law? What are the expectations from Kuwait? What if the opposite scenario happens? Will the current parliament complete its term?

In my opinion, lately Musallam Al-Barrak lost some of his audience and he became a topic at diwaniyas for his non-conventional press statements - especially the one he made from the barber’s chair. People thought that this was a bit of an improper showoff. It quickly became rich material for jokes circulated by the youth on social media. He was seen in a slightly different light.

Yesterday’s court ruling placed him back in the public sphere. It gave him a boost.

BOSTON: Medical workers aid injured people at the 2013 Boston Marathon following two explosions near the finish line yesterday. — AP BOSTON: Two bombs exploded in the packed streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday, killing two people and injuring more than 100 in a terrifying scene of shattered glass, bloodstained pavement and severed limbs, authorities said. A senior US intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course. At the White House, President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will “feel the full weight of justice”. There

was no word on the motive or who may have carried out the attack, and police said they had no suspects in custody.

Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

“They just started bringing people in with no limbs,” said runner Tim Davey, of Richmond, Virginia. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children’s eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but “they

saw a lot”. “They just kept filling up with more and more casualties,” Lisa Davey said. “Most everybody was conscious.

They were very dazed.”

The fiery twin blasts took place almost simultaneously and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course. When the second bomb went off,

the spectators’ cheers turned to screams.

As sirens blared, emergency workers and National Guardsmen assigned to the race for crowd control began climbing over and tearing down temporary fences to get to the blast site. A pool of blood formed, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories. Boston police said two people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 105 injured, at least 15 of them critically.

Continued on Page 9

Barrak handed 5-year jail term Thousands take to streets • Govt defends ruling

€1m egg stolen from Kuwaiti firm recovered

KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah greets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after he arrived in Kuwait yesterday to open a Palestinian embassy. — KUNA

Abbas opens Palestinian embassy, hails relations First visit by Palestinian leader in 20 yrs KUWAIT: Mahmoud Abbas made the first visit of a Palestinian leader to Kuwait for more than two decades yesterday, cementing ties soured by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s failure to denounce Iraq’s 1990 invasion of the state. Abbas, attending the opening of the Palestinian embassy in Kuwait, is trying to rally support in the face of deadlocked peace talks with Israel amid differences over Jewish settlement building on land cap-

tured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Kuwait was an important supporter and funder of Arafat, who launched his Fatah movement while working in the oil-producing Arab state in 1964. But ties were broken over Arafat’s perceived sympathy for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s decision to occupy his neighbour. Arafat said at the time he did not support the invasion but rather objected Continued on Page 13

GRENOBLE, France: A bejewelled golden egg stolen four years ago in Geneva and worth an estimated one million euros ($1.3 million) has been recovered by French police near the Swiss border, police said yesterday. The egg, containing more than a kilogramme of gold and boasting hundreds of gems, was burgled in 2009 from a Kuwait import-export firm based in Geneva. The precious egg, made in the style of the famous Faberge pieces, was discovered on Thursday in a “suspect” BMW pulled over during a routine roadblock near the Swiss border, driven by two Belarusian men who were promptly arrested. A third Belarusian, a Swiss resident, trailing in a Jaguar was pulled over and arrested a short while later, according to a police statement.

Under questioning the three men unconvincingly claimed they had found the jewelled work of art lying on the ground, or had bought it cheaply in a flea-market, a French police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The three, aged between 24 and 38, were charged with receiving stolen goods and possessing a weapon. They were already sought in France and Switzerland for several burglaries. — AFP

KUWAIT: Thousands of Kuwaitis demonstrate after the lower court sentenced opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak to five years in prison yesterday.

(Inset) Barrak gestures to supporters at his residence in Andalus. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak and Agencies KUWAIT: Thousands of Kuwaitis demonstrated yesterday after the criminal court sentenced prominent opposition leader and former MP Musallam Al-Barrak for five years on charges of insulting HH the Amir and undermining his authorities. An estimated 10,000 people marched from Barrak’s residence in Andalus to the nearby Central Jail in Sulaibiya, where Barrak could be taken if arrested, chanting slogans in support of the outspoken opposition figure amid a surprising total absence

of police with the exception of a helicopter that hovered overhead during the protest.

Earlier in the day, the criminal court handed the maximum sentence against Barrak for making statements at a public rally on Oct 15 that were deemed offensive to the Amir. Judge Wael Al-Atiqi issued the verdict in a half-full courtroom although Barrak’s defense team walked out of the courtroom a week ago without making their final defense arguments because the judge refused to hear the Continued on Page 13

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LOCAL

Palestinian president arrives in Kuwait News

in brief

Bedoon entry report denied KUWAIT: In response to statements made earlier by MP Dr. Meshari Al-Husseini about the entry of bedoons belonging to Al-Mahdi Army into Kuwait, the Iraqi embassy in Kuwait recently issued a statement denying the entire story. The embassy’s statement denied AlHusseini contentions made during two television interviews in which he claimed that PM Nouri Al-Malki had said that there were lists of 37,000 bedoon names and that half or nearly three quarters of them were politically affiliated to the Al-Mahdi Army or Moqtada Al-Sadr bloc.

“Al-Husseini’s statements are untrue and his accusations against PM Al-Malki are baseless,” stressed the embassy statement.

Donation appeals banned Information ministry asked the media not to publish or broadcast any advertisement in print, audio or video if it included an appeal for donations, either from people in Kuwait or abroad, unless it was approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The ministry said the instructions were based on the MSAL’s letter regarding a ban on any statement or advertisement that urged the public to donate money, without its approval.

Camel raisers protest In view of the soaring prices of animal fodder, scores of camel raisers recently protested outside the Public Authority for Agricultural and Fish Resources Affairs (PAAFRA), demanding immediate payment of government subsidies for the fodder they had purchased.

Protestors accused PAAFRA of deliberately delaying the payment that HH the Amir had ordered last October. They said fodder was being sold at skyrocketing prices in the black market, pointing out that a 50 kg sack of barley was sold for KD 6 in Kuwait, whereas it was sold for only KD 2 in other GCC states. PAAFRA director and chairman of board Jassim Al-Bader said the organisation was not responsible for the fodder shortage, adding that fodder rations were being evenly distributed as per the law. He also stated that a study was being conducted with Kuwait Flour Mills Co. on opening special fodder distribution outlets in Wafra, Kabed and Sulaibiya.

KUWAIT: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with his official accompanying delegation arrived here yesterday on a two-day official visit, during which he is to hold official discussions with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Upon his arrival at the airport, President Abbas was received by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti House Speaker Ali Fahad Al-Rashed, Deputy Chief of National Guard Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Acting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, senior state officials and senior army, police, and national guards personnel.

The accompanying mission of honor for President Abbas is headed by Amiri Diwan Advisor Dr. Adel Taleb Al-Tabtabaei.

President Abbas’s accompanying delegation included member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Dr. Saeb Erekat,and number of senior officials in the brotherly state of Palestine.

Later, Abbas attended the opening ceremony of the Embassy of Palestine in Kuwait in Bayan area. The opening ceremony was attended by House Speaker Ali Fahad Al-Rashed, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and head of the Mission of Honor, Adviser at the Amiri Diwan Dr. Adel Al-Tabtabaei.

Saddam psychologically disturbed Former Iraqi cabinet member and Iraqi government’s spokesman, Ali Al-Dabbagh, recently recorded a threehour long television interview with former Iraqi FM Tareq Aziz, Al-Arabiya TV network said, noting that the interview would be shown exclusively on Arabiya TV starting next Thursday. According to the network’s website, Saddam’s ‘educated frontman’, or Aziz, as he was called by the Ba’th party members, talked in the interview about the truth behind the alleged presence of WMDs and stressed that when he ordered the invasion of Kuwait, Hussein was psychologically disturbed. He also blamed Saddam’s family for all the mistakes he made, namely his son-in-law, Hussein Kamel, whom he described as a ‘cancer who was looking forward to replacing Saddam himself.’

Kuwaitis major investors in Istanbul real estates Leaders in business

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: More than 10 percent of the 300 plus rooms/apartments recently opened by Astay Real Estate Company in Istanbul, Turkey (OnaltiDokuz), high-end property, are owned by Kuwaitis. Speaking to Kuwait Times after a press conference held at JW Marriott Hotel yesterday, Cemalettin Akgul, Sales and Marketing Director at Astay, said Kuwaitis were the first takers in the project as they are considered the best investors in the world right now.

“Whenever there are good projects in Turkey, you will always find Kuwaitis in the picture and they are the first takers in many of our projects. They are good at sensing the opportunities,” said Akgul, who acknowledged the presence of about 40 VIPs’ families from Kuwait who owned and bought properties in the newly opened OnaltiDokuz.

“Kuwaitis are leaders in this business. They are good businessmen and spenders. I am here today to personally thank them and also invite more investors, to invest in our booming real estate company,” he added.

Kuwaitis continue to diversify their businesses and buy properties outside their countr y. “ We came to Kuwait to cater to the needs of Kuwaitis who are known to be sophisticated in their selection of real estate proper ties.

OnaltiDokuz Istanbul will be a residential area perfectly catering to the needs of unique and high class residential dwellings in Istanbul since it is not only defined by stylish and modern furnishing compatible with neo-ottoman style but by the panoramic views of Marmara sea and the Princes’ Islands from the old Istanbul City and the Bosphorus in the east to the New Istanbul City and Yesilkoy in the south.”

The location, according to Akgul, is one of many considerations for many takers (buyers) as it is located in the land from where you can have an entire view of the oldest and busiest city in Europe, Istanbul.

“The occupancy now is about

KUWAIT: Cemalettin Akgul, left, poses here with his deputy, before the start of a press conference yesterday at JW Marriott, Kuwait City.

—Photo by Joseph Shagra

90 percent. It is almost sold out and people are still coming to buy.

But we are here not only to invite Kuwaitis, but to thank them for their trust and confidence in our projects. It was really very overwhelming to see many Kuwaitis coming to Turkey and considering our place as their home,” Akgul said.

Foreign investors in Turkey are treated just like the Turkish people.

“We do not see other investors as foreigners. They are part of the country and, in fact, if you purchase a property in Turkey, you will be granted a one year residency in Turkey,” he noted.

OnaltiDokuz is a three-tower commercial and residential complex which attracts the attention of many Kuwaitis. The residential complex is unique in style, located on a 30-acre stretch, where apartments from ground floor to the top have a panoramic view of what Istanbul Turkey city is all about.

The place also boasts of shopping facilities featuring some of the most high-end brands and a social area for both children and adults alike. It also takes pride in having indoor park ing besides social and landscape facilities that are considered as high-end and very sophisticated.

“At Astay, we believe that the results we achieve will be not less

than perfect when each division of our system complies with the highest level of standards. We want to expand and share our achievement with Kuwaiti people and we are confident that OnaltiDokuz will perfectly meet their expectations,” Akgul noted.

Akgul presented their projects to a group of invited media and some Kuwaiti investors.

Established in 2004, Astay aimed at developing real estate projects in Turkey and improving the quality of life of its residents. Istanbul Four Seasons Hotel Bosphorus and Four Seasons Sultanahmet hotels are just two of their projects in recent years. Asked about the growing competition with other real estate companies, he said, “I don’t think we have a problem with that. In fact, we encourage them to compete because only then we would be able to achieve high standards in real estate properties which we offer,” he mentioned.

He said the real estate properties in Turkey are yet very affordable, compared to these in some big cities around the world. “We have a stable government and investors usually consider the political stability of the country before buying properties. Turkey is known to be stable for years now and it will remain stable in the coming years,” he concluded.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LOCAL

Mobile number portability service launched in Kuwait

By Nawara Fattahova

Adel Belcaid

Hilal Halaoui

Major milestone in telecom field KUWAIT: With the imminent launch of Mobile Number Portability in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti mobile market is about to pass a major milestone in telecommunications development and liberalization. After repeated delays, the Ministry of Communications is resolutely pushing for the implementation of MNP, with a target launch in the summer of 2013. Bearing in mind that half of GCC countries and the vast majority of developed countries have already implemented MNP, Kuwait is not an early adopter. However, despite the delay, MNP will bring a much needed wave of consumer choice. Consumers will no longer have to relinquish their mobile numbers if they choose to switch among operators. In effect, this could open the door for many subscribers, who until now were staying put for fear of losing their number, to leave operators without looking back.

While MNP is clearly good news to consumers and businesses in Kuwait, its impact depends greatly on how it is implemented. Indeed, it is important to note that the impact of MNP in the markets that have implemented it has varied greatly, depending on the fluidity and cost of the number porting process as perceived by customers. In some markets as many as 30 percent of mobile subscribers switched providers in the wake of MNP launch, while others saw virtually none budging. For MNP to have a lasting effect in Kuwait and help take the industry to a new level of healthy competition and service innovation, the Ministry of Communications, along with all stakeholders, must insure that a straightforward and affordable porting process is in place.

As for mobile operators, the imminent launch of MNP in Kuwait signals that the name of the game going forward will be a flawless focus on the customer and the best possible customer experience. They should regard MNP as an opportunity to up their game and give customers reasons to stick around beyond attachment to numbers and a penchant for lower tariffs. The hope for operators is that they can turn subscribers from mere opportunistic or functional users into emotionally involved advocates who are attached to the brand and the services and who do not hesitate to recommend them to their social and business networks.

To get the customer experience right, mobile operators need to revamp their value proposition into a holistic experience centered on customer needs. Granted, most operators have been trying to adapt their identities and position themselves as innovative brands that customers can relate to emotionally. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg; customer experience goes well beyond customer segmentation and branding elements. It includes all business areas, stretches into all customer touch points and covers every stage of the customer journey: from customer acquisition and service usage, to billing and customer care, and into retention. It involves intimately studying the behavior and purchasing habits of customers, and mapping their evolving needs into the operational DNA and culture of the company. During customer acquisition, this can translate into specifically tailored offerings and welcome packages; and of course a satisfactory buying experience in all direct, indirect or virtual channels. In subsequent phases of the customer lifecycle, a positive customer experience builds on a reliable network, appealing promotions to target segments, and all-important customer care.

In parallel, the customer experience must be mirrored internally through the right culture, systems, processes, people and operating structure. For culture in particular, enhancing customer experience spans putting in place the right motivators, incentive schemes, and staff development models to ensure people know what they need to focus on and are rewarded for doing so.

All in all, getting customer experience right is certainly not a simple task, but the incremental value is real and proven.

Experience shows that operators benefit by reducing churn levels and prolonging customer tenure; customer experience excellence also provides an opportunity for additional revenues through usage stimulation, leading to a higher customer willingness to consume new services, and a powerful word of mouth effect. In the US alone, the impact of customer experience enhancement on mobile operators’ revenues was estimated at $1.3 billion in 2011.With the impending implementation of MNP in Kuwait, the case for achieving customer experience excellence is particularly compelling. Unless operators in Kuwait start adapting internally and externally, they may soon start to see their subscriber bases and revenues thinning, to the advantage of those who understand the importance of customer experience.

(From Hilal Halaoui and Adel Belcaid, Booz and Company)

Women housing regulations still in need for development KUWAIT: Laws and regulations dedicated for women have developed, but are still in need for more revision and improvement, member at Consumer Protection Council, housing expert Dr. Suad Al-Tararwa said here yesterday.

Historic development of the law of women’s rights in housing care started with establishment of the construction council in 1954, she added during ae seminar themed “Women rights in housing care,” held at Kuwait Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies, last night.

The seminar tackled two main ideas, namely rights of Kuwait women in housing care offered through a series of regulations, related problems and proposed solutions, AlTararwa said. Law (2-2012) which offered women further housing care rights has a number of positive and negative consequences, she added.

Director of rental housing department in the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, Fuad Mallah, discussed procedures of presenting the hosing request, as well as legal controls and conditions of offering the housing loan to a Kuwaiti women married to a non-Kuwaitis, widows, divorcees or singles. The seminar also tackled legal controls of the offered housing loan according to the regulations considered at the Savings and Credit Bank (SCB).

Deputy Director General of SCB Maha Al-Daboos and legal advisor at the SCD Ashraf Zaki took part in the seminar. The seminar was run by member of technical office at Kuwait Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies legal advisor Nawwaf Karam, and the deputy director general of the institute for constant training, advisor Salah Al-Hoti.

Al-Hoti said that the women rights in housing care are directly related to the Kuwaiti family, and cover a great number of humanitarian cases in the matter.

The seminar was also attended by members of public wellfare organizations specialized in social and women affairs. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Users of mobile phones will be able to change their service provider without needing to change their telephone number. The service will be free of charge. This was announced during a press conference held by the Ministry of Communication and the National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC) yesterday at the 150-metre-high Liberation Tower.

The service will be provided by the three main telecommunication companies on the Kuwaiti market - Zain, Wataniya and Viva - and will be available after 3045 days. Subscribers will only have to fill an application and pay their bill to their current ser vice provider, after which they will receive a new SIM card with their existing mobile number. The transaction will not take more than 24 hours.

Minister of Communication and Housing Affairs Salem AlOthaina had promised to launch this ser vice af ter he was appointed to his post. “We faced some obstacles at the beginning, as there was no budget for this project. The budget was then approved, and this was followed by the technical process involving preparing the local and international exchangers.

Simple procedure offered

Meanwhile, NTEC prepared special devices to facilitate transfer of the numbers and connecting those to four parties - three telecom companies and the Ministry of Communication,” said the minister during the press conference.

The ser vice was launched yesterday, so it will take some time to be activated. “We want to avoid the problems that some countries have faced previously while launching this ser vice.

Such problems caused financial losses, especially to the subscribers. Therefore, although we have launched it today, we need some time to get the billing system ready, such as the ones for roaming ser vices and others.

Then this service will be ready for the public,” he added.

The availability of this service will benefit the consumer in the first place. “This will encourage the telecom companies to provide better services and prices.

Each company will provide better offers to attract more customers and to preser ve their current customers. This service will provide equal opportunities to all the three telecom companies on the Kuwaiti market, and customers will be free to choose the company that best suit their needs,” explained Al-Othaina.

The ministry is keen to provide the latest services and tech-

KUWAIT: Minister of Communication Salem Al-Othaina (center), Anas Meerza, and officials from the telecom companies during the press conference held yesterday at the Liberation Tower.

— Photo by Joseph Shagra nologies, which can benefit the public. “During the trial period, we will work towards solving all the technical and financial issues that need to be solved, so that the system can be completely ready before the service is provided,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Anas Meerza, the General Manager of NTEC, noted that the company was working with the best international companies, which are exper ts in

transferring numbers, in order to execute the project in the best possible way. The company have also appointed an international consultant for the projec t in order to benefit from his experience and ensure the success of the project,” he pointed out.

The Director of the Project, engineer Izat Abu Imara, noted that NETC - in cooperation with the M inistr y - will launch an awareness campaign on the cor-

rect application of the number transfer service. “The company has also developed the technical operations policies that are required to allow the telecom companies to effectively connect with the central system of NETC. This project is completely owned by the M inistr y of Communication, and NETC only has the responsibility to execute it in cooperation with the foreign partner,” he stated.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LOCAL

Duo in police custody for attempting to rape Filipina Man attacks woman in Rumaithya KUWAIT: A Filipina was able to escape from two men and sought another man’s help who escorted her to the Jahra police station. The woman said two persons forced her into their car and took her to Salmy area but she escaped even as they were trying to drag her inside a stable. Police arrested the stable owner who told them about his accomplice, a bedoon who was also arrested. Both were sent to the public prosecution and charged with kidnapping and attempted rape.

Woman assaulted A woman told Rumaithya police that a man, who she knew, threw stones at her and insulted her verbally before chasing her all the way to the police station where he hit her car and then beat her up right in front of the police station.The woman, who works for the interior ministry, said she was surprised to see the man outside her house. He tried speaking to her, but she rushed to her car and sped away. The man followed her, prompting her to turn towards the police station where he hit her car and beat her before escaping.

Sheep theft A Kuwaiti man took two expats and a citizen to the police for questioning in a case of theft of 30 sheep. The citizen said his Bangladeshi guard told him that some persons stole 30 sheep from him. The citizen went to the sheep market in Kabd and was surprised by some of the sheep being sold there by another Bangladeshi. The citizen asked him about the source of the sheep and was told these were bought from an Egyptian. The Egyptian, who was arrested, told the police that he bought the sheep from a citizen, whom the police are trying to locate.

Drug traders The Director of Drug Control General Department, Brig. Saleh Al-Ghannam, arrested an Egyptian and a citizen for being in possession of drugs that they intended to sell. Brig AlGhannam received a tip off about an unemployed Egyptian trading in drugs. He was arrested red handed while selling five Tramadol tablets for KD15 to an undercover source.

Police found 50 more tablets from his house.

Meanwhile, officers arrested a citizen, who turned out to be convicted earlier, while he was selling five grams of heroin. A search of his house led to the discovery of another 150 grams of heroin. He confessed he planned to sell these drugs.

Drug addicts Two Syrian expats were arrested while being under the influence of drugs and in possession of seven illicit tablets. A security source said a police patrol suspected a car and asked the driver to pull over but he attempted to escape. When the car was intercepted, the two persons were found under the influence of a drug.

Women fight A female citizen accused a Moroccan expat of insulting her verbally. A security source said a fight broke out in a mall between two women, a citizen and a Moroccan, and both exchanged blows. Police asked the two to go to hospital and come up with medical reports. Once in the police station, the citizen claimed that the Moroccan’s father insulted her and her family verbally. Police are investigating.

Old man attacked Three persons sought help from an elderly citizen, claiming that their own car had gotten

stuck in the sand. After some hesitation, the old man agreed. The trio gave him directions as to where they wanted to be dropped. One of the three suddenly accused the old man of being tired, and started bullying him, eventually asking him to do as he was being ordered. Another of the trio wrapped his head cover around the senior citizen’s neck. The old man said he was so scared that he stopped, abandoned the car and tried to flee but the three overpowered him.

They began beating him and ripping apart his clothes, before asking for his wallet. He said while they were busy searching the car, he was able to hide from them and was helped by another three men who took him to the police station. The man claimed that he told the police about the incident but so far the investigations could reveal nothing.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Qurtuba theft A citizen, who spent a weekend away from his house in Qurtuba, discovered a theft worth KD50,000. Criminal evidence officers rushed to the house to lift fingerprints and find out how the suspect gained entry. One of the windows was found smashed and the suspect was able to reach the bedroom. Jewelry worth KD 50,000 was stolen.

KUWAIT: An Asian expat received slight burn injuries when a fire broke out in an apartment in Salhiya but fire fighters swiftly brought the blaze under control.

The first report about the fire was received yesterday afternoon and three fire centers, namely the Al-Maidan fire center, Al-Hilali fire center and technical center, responded quickly to the call.

KUWAIT: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received at his residence in Bayan Palace National Assembly Speaker Ali Fahad Al-Rashed yesterday.

Fire breaks out in Salhiya apartment As firemen arrived, they found that the fire was in an apartment on the 3rd floor in the five-storey building. Firemen had to evacuate the building of all the residents, and then they carried out airing exercise to scatter the smoke. The fire was brought under control in a record time and the Asian expat who received slight burn injuries was taken to a medical emergency facility for treatment. Investigations were on to find the reasons behind the fire.

Thieves held Three Arab girls and an Iranian man were arrested on charges of theft, escape and endangering others’ lives when they stole a car and drove it recklessly before being arrested. A security source said that a citizen told them that he found his car missing. Police swiftly launched a search and officers in a patrol vehicle spotted it.

They found the Iranian and three Arab girls driving recklessly. The suspects confessed to stealing the car as mere entertainment and adventure.

Burgan Bank visits Nusaiba school KUWAIT: Burgan Bank recently visited Nusaiba Bint Kaab Middle School for Girls. During the visit, the bank’s team focused on highlighting the importance of saving, as part of the save week event.

During the event, Burgan Bank’s team highlighted various approaches on money saving methods while also providing additional tools to help students and attendees reach their savings

goals.

This visit comes as part of the bank’s education program that targets different schools around Kuwait.

Burgan Bank is committed to developing and executing best practice methods of social responsibility, a core component of its Corporate Governance framework that has paved the way for the bank to attain prominent accolades which demonstrate its leading position.

To find out more about Burgan Bank services as well as its latest promotions, customers are required to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch 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 stateof-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.

Burgan Bank’s brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the

high standards to which we aspire. ‘People come first’ is the foundation on which its products and services are developed. Earlier this year, ‘Brand Finance’ - the international brand valuation company- rated Burgan Bank brand as AA with positive outlook. The rating places Burgan Bank Brand at 2nd amongst the most valuable banking brands in Kuwait.

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.

Woman raped at gunpoint

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An Asian woman expat claimed she was kidnapped and raped by a soldier at gunpoint. In her complaint to the Nugra police station, the woman said the man who assaulted her was a soldier who stopped her and asked her to get into his

car. He forcibly took her to an uninhibited area and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.

Later, he snatched away her mobile and KD 5 which were with her and escaped. She told the police that the suspect was wearing civilian clothes and was armed with a gun. A case of rape and possessing a firearm was filed.

KUWAIT: Some of the birds spotted in Jahra Birds Reserve recently.

Jahra Reserve attracts 240 migrating birds KUWAIT: Jahra Birds Reserve has succeeded in attracting around 240 crossing and migrating birds, said Kuwaiti Researcher yesterday.

The Jahra Birds Reserve, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA), witnessed, last year, infrastructural development that included repair of roads and construction of water networks, in coordination with Kuwait Oil Company , a researcher at the department of safeguarding the biodiversity in KEPA, Khaled Mohammad Al-Ghanim, said.

Various species of birds were lured to the reserve due to the renovation works,

abundant water and food.

In April 2012, the first Plover nest in Kuwait was set up with four eggs, and in May another nest was spotted in the reserve. In April 2013, a number of different nests were spotted.

The water network aided the Reed plant which brings security for the water birds and nesting, Al-Ghanim added.

Numerous species of birds were recorded for the first time in Jahra Bird Reserve in the past months.

Al-Ghanim expressed appreciation for efforts of the KEPA and KOC in developing a protected infrastructure. —KUNA

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LOCAL

No prior censorship on media content Minister clarifies main features KUWAIT: Minister of Information Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah stated yesterday that the proposed unified media law does not allow prior censorship on media content.

“The bill does not permit prior censorship on media content,” Sheikh Salman, also Minister of State for Youth Affairs, told reporters after attending a special session on the issue at the National Assembly’s Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee.

The Minister unveiled that he has clarified the main features of the bill and briefed the MPs about entailed advantages.

“Neither prior permission is required nor censorship is allowed on social media, such as WhatsApp,” he said.

Sheikh Salman noted that the bill would replace imprisonment with fines in media-related offenses. “We seek, through this bill, to help

found effective and influential media and to allow more freedoms,” Sheikh Salman said.

The Minister added that he has listened and recorded the MPs comments on the bill.

“The Ministry welcomes the comments and suggestions that help strengthen national unity, stability; increase media freedom and achieve the higher interests of the State of Kuwait,” he concluded.

Sheikh Salman said the unified media law was aimed at regulating the information flow in the country but it was still only a proposal that can be amended by parliament. He said the draft law was still under study and eventually it will be the MPs who will take a decision.

Terming the criticism of the draft law as “legitimate and one that can be used during discussions,” Al-Humoud said, “I do not have any comment on the proposed law because it is being

revised at the National Assembly in order to prepare a report on it.” He said the proposals were a result of years of efforts by the information ministry to combine audio-video and print laws, apart from the laws applicable to electronic publication, into one comprehensive law.

He stressed that what was presented was merely a “proposed law” and legislations presented by the government to the National Assembly were called as such since the NA had the option to amend them.

Al-Humoud said that everyone had a right to express their opinion but “we hope that no one rushes into passing judgments before reading the details and discussing them.”

He said, “We are open to any opinion and comments and are proud of our media and journalism, and hope to provide the most suitable atmosphere to boost liberties.”

Amir receives Bahraini minister KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah received yesterday at Bayan Palace Acting Prime Minister and

Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Bahraini Interior Minister Lt Gen Sheikh Rashid Bin-Abdullah Al-

Khalifa and his accompanying delegation, on the occasion of his visit to the country.

Also, HH the Amir received at

KUWAIT: Bahraini Interior Minister Lt Gen Sheikh Rashid Bin-Abdullah Al-Khalifa and his accompanying delegation leaves after a short visit to Kuwait yesterday.

Bayan Palace today the Executive Head of the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) Trevor Michael Rajah and his accompanying delegation, on the occasion of his visit to the country.

Also, HH the Amir received at Bayan Palace yesterday Carlos Slim Helu and a delegation of businessmen from the friendly United Mexican States, on the occasion of their visit to the country. Also, HH the Amir received at Bayan Palace today Chairman of Bait Al-Arab Kuwait State Stud Mohammed Jassim AlMarzouq and members of the board, during which they showcased HH the organization’s various activities and events. HH the Amir praised their efforts, wishing them continued success.

The meetings were attended by Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of State for Municipality Affairs, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, and Director of the Public Authority for Assessment of Compensation Resulting From Iraqi Aggression (PAAC), Khalid Ahmed Al-Mudhaf. — KUNA

Citizens encouraged to work in private sector KUWAIT: Government officials briefed the Cabinet over means of addressing unemployment, encouraging Kuwaitis to work in private sector and replacing expatriates with citizens in the government sector.

Minister of state for cabinet affairs and minister of state for municipal affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah AlSabah, executives at the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the workforce restructuring authority briefed the cabinet over proposals to offering incentives to employees in the private sector.

They also talked about a strategy aimed at replacing

expatriates with Kuwaiti citizens in the government sector, as well as supporting and encouraging Kuwaitis to work in private sector, an official statement said.

They said the CSC, noted the statement, has already begun the replacement policy as well as appointing fresh graduates in jobs that match their studies.

They added that jobs were created in 21 government bodies while Kuwaitis represented 90 percent of total workforce.

They proposed financial incentives for Kuwaitis in private sector and creating jobs through small-size enterprises, said the statement.

The Cabinet was chaired by acting prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Ahmad Humoud Al-Jaber AlSabah.

Meanwhile, information minister Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet about the activation of media environment of the government.

He said the information ministry would act as an advisor for a ministerial committee which would be tasked with formulating the State’s media address.

The ministry, explained Sheikh Salman, would contribute to determining local and international media expertise to help formulate the media address.

He said the official spokesman would be the one authorized to speak to media with regards to the state general policies.

For his part, deputy prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet about outcome of the recent Kuwait-Bahrain higher committee meetings that were held here.

He said Kuwait reaffirmed firm support for Bahrain’s call for national dialogue.

The committee, he said, concluded the meeting by signing a number of agreements to finance development projects in Bahrain, as well as MoUs on agricultural, animal, maritime, parliamentary, media, cultural and tourism cooperation.

The Cabinet, meanwhile, took note of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s assigning of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to attend the funeral of former British prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher.

The Cabinet was briefed on a recent letter received by HH the Amir from Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, hailing Kuwait’s hosting of the first session of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue Conference on October 15-17, 2012, and HH the Amir’s initiative for supporting development projects in non-Arab Asian countries.

The Cabinet was also apprised of a recent letter received by HH the Amir from FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva, appreciating Kuwait’s support for the FAO’s effort at all levels and hosting the donor conference on Syria on January 30, 2013.

Acting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ahmad Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah then kept the cabinet posted on the outcomes of a visit by Queen Silvia of Sweden to Kuwait last week, and the outcomes of talks between both sides on ways and means of reinforcing and developing distinguished relations between both friendly nations.

The Cabinet also welcomed a visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Kuwait on Monday, which came within the framework of bolstering and cementing brotherly relations between Kuwait and Palestine and how to further promote and consolidate them in all fields. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Interior Ministry’s assistant undersecretary for backup services Maj Gen Eid Abu Saleeb and assistant undersecretary for border affairs Maj Gen Anwar Al-Yaseen yesterday visited Abdali northern land border exit to check the ongoing construction works there.

Spouses of Arab ambassadors hold philanthropic bazaar TOKYO: The Kuwaiti embassy took part in the annual bazaar, organized by spouses of Arab ambassadors to Japan on April 14, raising funds for philanthropic aid in Fukushima.

Spouse of the Japanese premier visited the bazaar and was briefed by wife of the Kuwaiti ambassador to Japan, Jemila AlOtaibi, about Kuwaiti products, cloths and food that were on display at the event.

Proceeds of the bazaar, which marked its 15th anniversary, will be dedicated for Hirata Hospital in Fukushima. The raised

funds will be used for purchase of nuclear radiation detection equipment and supporting the Canon association for supporting children, namely disabled kids-as a manifestation of depth of the JapaneseArab relations.

Al-Otaibi expressed deep gratitude to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its response to the requirements of the embassy, namely the needs for holding such events and activities, thus affirming the ministry officials’ keenness on facilitating work of the Kuwaiti missions abroad. — KUNA

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

Review co-ops Law soon

Kuwait not a police state

By Dr Faisal Al-Shareefi

I

By Labeed Abdal

local@kuwaittimes.net

A

s we have one of most advanced constitutions in the Gulf region, we must not allow it to become weakened or to be used to restrict the freedom of expression or opinion that it guarantees us.

The new media draft law came as a shock to all of us in Kuwait. The idea of having provisions for awarding jail sentences for holding dissenting opinions or points of view should have been avoided.

Even if it were to be proven that some religious figures or politicians were offended, it is possible to deal with it through punitive measures like fines and compensations. In fact, these could be so exemplary that the offending media company owners and /or writers could be even rendered bankrupt or face closure of their establishment. As mentioned in many newspapers, the new proposed fines could reach KD 200,000, by any means a considerable sum of money that would be enough to convey that the law means business when it comes to disciplining someone. Surely, we do not want our country to become a police state as described by some MPs, and want to see Kuwait always taking a lead in the region when it comes to protection of the right to expression and all other public rights and liberties.

kuwait digest

Long record of lying kuwait digest

Professional ‘eligibility’

By Dr Terki Al-Azmi

H

ealth Minister Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi said in a recent statement that vacant posts at the senior level will soon be filled “with candidates qualified as per professional eligibility” and it will be ensured that supervisory positions are not handed over to incompetent employees. First of all, I would like to point out a sad reality existing in the ministry’s facilities, particularly two aspects of it: the first pertains to the nature of the physician’s job and the relationship between the oath administered to the doctors and actual practice, and the second pertains to the eligibility policy that the minister announced as the basis of hiring supervisors.

On the first point, a veteran doctor who practiced medicine at a professional level for two decades told me that the great values mentioned in the doctor’s oath were not being applied by the majority of doctors in Kuwait.

For example, his experience of working in the public health sector made him say that many doctors are unfamiliar with the proper ways to deal with patients.

“Sometimes, you find doctors failing to build a relationship based on trust with their patients which hurts the patients and their families psychologically,” he said, adding that it often leads to even physical assault cases against doctors. Kuwait has recently witnessed a rise in such cases.

This problem can be addressed through training courses wherein doctors could be trained in the art of dealing with patients, something that is desperately needed in Kuwait’s overpopulated medical facilities.

Regarding the ‘eligibility’ policy, I believe that a search for qualified staff members must start by first vacating all current supervisory posts, including the undersecretary, assistant undersecretaries, heads of departments, and supervisors. This will put an end to the bureaucratic system that is blamed for most of the ills afflicting the Health Ministry. What kind of ‘qualified candidates’ should we expect when there are doctors who watch as mute spectators even as their patient’s condition deteriorates, and keep waiting for a consultant from another hospital to provide a diagnoses? What ‘qualified candidates’ are we talking about when there are many children suffering from illnesses and no doctor is able to properly diagnose them?

I believe that qualified personnel must be selected by an unbiased body which must operate as per certain standards of professionalism, and not just hire candidates as per the ‘eligibility’ policy that the minister proposed. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

Security pact necessary

By Yasser Abdul Aziz

T

he responses given by the former Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mahdi Akef, to Aljarida in an interview are still being debated in Egypt, especially since these came just before some major events and highlighted some of Brotherhood’s attitudes and policies.

Despite the significance of the interview and the ideas discussed therein, the public opinion became too busy with Akef’s denials when confronted with his own words quoted in that interview. Aljarida responded to the denial by uploading an audio-visual recording of the interview which simply proved that the former MB leader was not telling the truth.

The simplest definition of lying is ‘stating untruthful things.’

A lie is a lie even if it is unintentional. Intentional lies stand banned by all heavenly as well as worldly religions. Lying is also condemned by all moral value systems and traditions.

Why do Islamists lie when they take up politics, then? Why their lies are so easily exposed?

Why do they have to lie again?

Why doesn’t this negatively affect their supporters? What are the consequences of such lies on religion and politics?

To start with, one has to be fair and admit that many politicians and activists lie. Lying has become strongly associated with certain professions like diplomats and official spokespersons.

Even Islam allowed lying on three specific occasions, according to the traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH); first during a war with the enemy, second when reconciling people involved in disputes and third while attempting to bridge differences between quarrelling spouses.

In Islam, lying is strictly forbidden except in these three scenarios. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) stressed: “Four traits whoever possesses them is a hypocrite and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it: the one who when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise, when he disputes he transgresses and when he makes an agreement he violates it.” The term ‘lying’ was also mentioned 251 times in the holy Quran in Al-Baqara and Al-Monafiqoun Sours.

There is no logical explanation of what the ‘Islamists’, who are supposed to adopt an Islamic moral project derived from Islam and its teachings, are doing. They are repeatedly lying and considering us enemies.

It seems that this is the real reason why they shamelessly and persistently keep lying. We never hear that those whose lies had been exposed were being held accountable by the political Islamists themselves, be they leaders or Muslim Brotherhood members. After all, such was the case with Shaikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismael who lied about his mother’s US citizenship during his presidency candidacy, though odds were greatly on his side because of his numerous followers in poor districts. His lie was discovered and he was found in violation of the candidacy conditions.

Both Salafi MPs, Anwar AlBalkeemi and Ali Wanees, also lied when the former claimed that he had been attacked by bandits and money he used for ‘Dawa’ was stolen from him while the truth turned out to be that he had undergone a plastic surgery. The latter was caught with a girl in a car parked along a darkened road.

So, Akef was not the only one who lied while knowing that he was lying. President Morsi himself has a long record of lying.

He said that he worked for NASA but then denied it; he described Jews as being descendants of apes and pigs and then denied it; he denied any intention to retain the parliament; he denied any intention to visit Iran last August; he lied about the resignation of vice president, Mekki; he denied sending a friendly letter to his Israeli counterpart; he strongly denied news about his intention to authorize the Shura council to legislate; he denied filing any complaints against journalists or media figures. And yet all of these turned out to be cases in which the president was not telling the truth and knew he was not.

Psychologists say children lie at a very early age and that an ability to lie develops with time. For example, they start lying at the age of four and a half years when they fail to come up with ‘good’ logically believable lies.

Psychologists also stress that children who lack ethics and morals keep on lying once they manage to develop the ability to plot and logically ‘weave’ their lies.

It seems that we are facing an inexperienced political bloc who has become used to working below the ground in secrecy for decades and finds it difficult to fool others with its naÔve lies. However, with time they will learn how to make ‘good’ logically ‘believable’ lies, but the question is: Where does lying come on the list of values they believe in? — Aljarida

We never hear that those whose lies had been exposed were being held accountable by the political Islamists themselves, be they leaders or Muslim Brotherhood members.

After all, such was the case with Shaikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismael who lied about his mother’s US citizenship during his presidency candidacy, though odds were greatly on his side because of his numerous followers in poor districts. His lie was discovered and he was found in violation of the candidacy conditions.

By Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Duaij

kuwait digest

I

sincerely hope that all the founding states of the GCC in 1981 would adapt the proposed security pact.

Despite certain differences, like their size, the six GCC states have many common factors like being ruled by hereditary regimes approved by their people and which have been in power for centuries. They all depend on oil as the main income resource, which enabled some of them to enjoy excellent living standards and others good ones. The GCC states also have relatively small populations. However, despite their excellent economic status and spending billions on armament for years, the GCC states are not militarily strong. Nevertheless, they can become so if they were to fashion a real unity, not a superficial one as is the case currently.

The dangers surrounding the GCC states are not a secret anymore. Some of them are new, like the fear which Americans describe as ‘The Arab Spring’ and its disastrous revolutions that might extend to engulf the GCC states. What makes such fears worse is that Iran has been exploiting the situation and interfering in Bahrain’s domestic affairs in broad daylight. Iran has been also trying to interfere in the KSA’s domestic affairs from behind the scenes. There is also the danger of terrorism spreading to GCC states, and its terrible consequences on the internal situation if it weren’t for the sincere efforts of security authorities.

For all the above reasons, the security pact is not only a security requirement for the GCC states but also a strategic necessity that might turn out to be the first step towards creating a real union amongst the six GCC states in various fields, not only in military or security related ones. —- Al-Watan

The crazy media law

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

M

any believe that Kuwaitis displayed an honorable position during the Iraqi Invasion by showing loyalty to the ruling family, thus underlining the so-called ‘Kuwaiti legitimacy’. Citizens who feel they have been subjected to injustice on the part of the government often remind us promptly about this, in the process perhaps subtly accusing the ruling family of ingratitude or showing no appreciation for Kuwaitis’ dedication to defend the legitimacy of Al-Sabah family’s rule in Kuwait.

I believe that this idea of gratitude is rather inappropriate, and I do not think that the ruling family should be expected to repay any ‘favor ’, because Kuwaitis were actually defending their very own existence, their rights and their human choices, above everything else. At least for me, that was the reason behind my

resistance. The loyalty we showed to the ruling family back then was our way of maintaining our existence in the first place.

Most people are also under the impression that the ruling family “rewarded” Kuwaitis for their alleged loyalty by letting an illegitimate and unconstitutional National Council to resume work (a 75-seat house with 25 appointed members which replaced the 50-seat parliament between 1990 and 1992), and that it was in violation of the agreement reached during the Jeddah Convention. Though I believe that the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad AlSabah had officially dismissed the National Council during his first public speech after the liberation, but for one reason or another, it resumed operation. It continued to work till new parliamentary elections were held in 1992.

Kuwait, which was lost during the invasion, almost faced the same fate a few months ago, according to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah. However, the Kuwaiti people once again stood by the legitimate leadership to save Kuwait, its system and political stability that were almost lost.

Kuwaitis stood in the face of childish challenges that certain people remained adamant on throwing.

Kuwaitis went to the ballot boxes against the will of fellow citizens, family members and even children, in order to show support to the ruling family.

After the electoral battle was won, and after Kuwait won its strength from the jaws of defeat, Kuwaitis are being “rewarded” today with attempts to enforce a crazy media law, the same way the National Council was forced. — Al-Qabas

do not wish to underline the significant role played by co-operative societies in Kuwait which cannot be denied by any sane person. No one denies their role in providing all basic and luxury needs besides their social and communal activities. They have become like small commercial malls serving most areas around Kuwait.

Such an expansive and developing role calls for developed means of financial and administrative control by relevant authorities which can be done through formulating new laws and legislations.

The state has been providing land and huge funds to build these co-ops’ infrastructure. It is, in fact, a major indirect contributor to their budgets. So, there is no harm in putting in place some additional control over direct and indirect expenditures to prevent anyone from abusing their positions. In addition, the recruitment of the co-ops’ staff and employees needs constant surveillance by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the national labor support program.

Yes, indeed we realize the existence of some remarks with regard to the performance of some co-op general assemblies, and the fact that eventually, the board of directors has to clear their final financial and administrative reports. Yes, we realize that some auditing offices are not to be trusted with shareholders’ money and, therefore, we call for transferring this task to the auditing bureau instead.

Some people accuse certain boards of embezzlement but most complaints made to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor are either lost or wrongly dealt with.

Therefore, we do urge lawyer (minister) Thekra AlRasheedi to review the co-ops law.

We have over 50 co-ops in Kuwait which run hundreds of branches and deal in hundreds of millions in funds, a prospect that might tempt anyone. There are thousands of employees, including those who do not deserve their salaries and some of them are in fact fictitious labor that does not really exist.

It is no secret that some co-op elections have been used for purposes other than co-operative work; they have become a backdoor for tribal and sectarian coalitions.

Some board members have complaints about the expenses spent on Umra, Chalets and purchases that way surpass the needs of consumers. In addition, suppliers are paid in advance regardless of whether they followed the standard routine bureaucratic procedures put into place by the MSAL. Maintenance contracts of PCs, floors, air conditioners etc are also carried out differently, varying from one co-op to another. — Aljarida

kuwait digest

Illogical media draft law

By Waleed Al-Rujaib

W

e told our children fairytale-like 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 Ministry’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

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. 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

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Troops rehearse for Thatcher’s funeral

Syrian warplanes pound Damascus Page 8

Page 9

BAGHDAD: Iraqis look at the remains of vehicles damaged following an explosion in the al-Obaidi neighborhood, east of Baghdad yesterday. More than a dozen bombings across Iraq killed at least 50 people in the latest in a spike in violence just days before the country’s first elections since US troops withdrew. — AFP

Wave of Iraq attacks kills 50 Country’s deadliest day since March 19

BAGHDAD: Dozens of attacks across Iraq, including a brazen car bombing on the way to Baghdad airport, killed 50 people yesterday, just days before the country’s first elections since US troops withdrew.

The violence, which mostly struck during morning rush hour amid tightened security ahead of the polls, also wounded nearly 300 people and raises further questions about the credibility of the April 20 vote, seen as a key test of Iraq’s stability and its security forces’ capabilities.

A total of 14 election hopefuls have already been murdered and just 12 of the country ’s 18 provinces will be taking part in the vote. Officials said more than 30 bombings and a shooting hit 12 different areas of Iraq, leaving 50 people dead and making yes-

terday the country’s deadliest day since March 19.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently attack both government targets and civilians in a bid to destabilise the country, and they have reportedly sought to intimidate candidates and election officials ahead of polling.

The deadliest attacks were in Baghdad, where eight bombings struck in seven neighbourhoods across the capital despite tougher checkpoint searches and heightened security. Among them was a car bomb in a parking area used by vehicles making their way to Baghdad’s heavily-guarded airport, a rare bombing on the road famously known as “Route Irish”.

The airport road was once referred to by American forces as

“RPG alley” for the high numbers of attacks there, but it has since become far more secure. “There were several people, buses and private cars in the parking area when the explosion went off,” said a man who gave his name as Abu Ali, at the site of the blast. “It happened all of a sudden, and several people were killed and wounded.

Some of the buses went straight to the airport to avoid more attacks.” In all, 30 people were killed and 92 wounded in the capital, officials said. AFP journalists in Baghdad reported that sites of attacks were cordoned off by security forces who barred journalists from filming or taking photos of the aftermath of the bombings. In Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometres (110 miles) north of Baghdad, six people were killed and 67 wounded by three near-

simultaneous car bombs, and in Kirkuk, five people were killed and 44 wounded by six more car bombs.

Attacks elsewhere killed nine people and wounded 92 others.

Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu lie at the centre of a tract of disputed territory that stretches from Iraq’s eastern border with Iran to its western frontier with Syria.

The swathe of land is claimed by both the mostly Arab government in Baghdad and the threeprovince autonomous Kurdistan region of north Iraq. The dispute is often cited by officials and diplomats as the greatest longterm threat to Iraq’s stability.

Soldiers and policemen cast their ballots for the provincial elections on Saturday, a week ahead of the main vote, the country’s first since March 2010 parlia-

mentary polls. It is also the first election since US troops withdrew from Iraq in December 2011. The election also comes amid a longrunning crisis between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and several of his erstwhile government partners, which officials and diplomats say insurgent groups exploit by using the political differences to enhance their room for manoeuvre on the ground.

More than 8,000 candidates are standing in the elections, with 378 seats on provincial councils up for grabs. An estimated 16.2 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.

Although security has markedly improved since the height of Iraq’s confessional conflict in 2006-2007, 271 people were killed in March, making it the deadliest month since August, according to AFP figures. — AFP

Mubarak still jailed despite release order

CAIRO: Egypt’s deposed President Hosni Mubarak will remain in custody on new corruption charges, despite a court order to release him before his retrial over the killing of protesters in the uprising against him, Egypt’s state news agency said yesterday.

The order by the Cairo Criminal Court followed Mubarak ’s request to be released after two years in detention without a final verdict. The court said Mubarak could be released on bail if he is not wanted for any other court cases.

Prosecutors then pointed out that Mubarak has three other cases pending, and he will be held on the basis of those charges despite yesterday’s decision. The 84-year-old Mubarak has been in detention since 2011 for trial in the main case against him - responsibility for the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the uprising. Most of those were killed in the early days of the revolt that started on Jan. 25 and ended with his stepping down on Feb. 11.

Mubarak was taken into custody in April 2011. He was the first Arab leader to appear in a defendant’s cage, on trial by his own people. On June 2 2012, he received a life sentence for failing to stop the killings. Then he won an appeal in January this year, canceling the sentence on grounds of shoddy procedures. A retrial was ordered.

The new trial convened Saturday, but the judge recused himself, forcing a delay. A new date and a new panel of

judges have yet to be determined.

Prosecutor spokesman Mahmoud elHefny told the state news agency that Mubarak will remain in custody during investigation into three corruption cases.

Prosecutors are looking into accusations that Mubarak and his family pocketed state funds designated for upkeep of the presidential palaces.

They are also investigating charges that he received gifts from state media organizations, as well as another case in which he is accused of profiteering from his public office.

Lawyer Mohammed el-Damati, who represents families of those killed in the uprising, said although the court decision followed the letter of the law, the court could have used its discretion and kept him locked up in this case on grounds that he might tamper with evidence or pressure witnesses if released.

He said he will file a request to the prosecutor general to appeal the decision. “It doesn’t matter what else he is being held for. What matters to Egyptians foremost are the charges related to killing of revolutionaries,” el-Damati said.

“Political accommodation is acceptable in cases like these ... otherwise, things will blow up.”

Calls to Mubarak’s lawyer were not immediately returned. Mubarak’s first trial was a focus of public attention. People were transfixed by scenes of their former dictator wheeled into court on a hospital bed, answering charges and hearing his

CAIRO: Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is wheeled out of a medical helicopter and into an ambulance in front of the Maadi military hospital following a court session in Cairo yesterday. —AFP

opponents in court shouting out their demands of a death sentence.

In the months that followed, Egyptians have shifted their focus to deteriorating conditions in the country, as the turbulent transition has led to widespread protests over political and economic problems.

If Mubarak were released, that would likely cause an outcr y in an already

charged political atmosphere. Activists and lawyers connected to the trial say there is no guarantee new evidence will be submitted in the Mubarak case. They complain about a lack of a comprehensive transitional justice program to hold Mubarak and former regime officials accountable for crimes committed during his rule, as well as the killing of protesters. —AP

Car blast hits Bahrain ahead of F1: Police DUBAI: A Bahraini youth opposition group yesterday said it blew up a car in Manama overnight in an incident the authorities blamed on a “terrorist group” just days ahead of the country’s Formula One Grand Prix.

There were no casualties in the blast and no damage other than to the car, police said in a statement. “A terrorist group used a gas cylinder to burn a car in Manama at night on Sunday causing an explosion,” the statement said. The radical youth movement February 14 claimed responsibility in a statement on its Twitter account, saying the aim was to disrupt “activity in Manama’s financial centre in opposition to holding the Formula One race” next Sunday.

Security services are investigating the attack aimed at “attracting the attention of the media” before the controversial race, official BNA news agency quoted a government official as saying.

Police and protesters chanting “No, no to F1” clashed in Shiite villages around Manama late on Monday, witnesses said. Roads were blocked by burning tyres and police fired tear gas and sound bombs at demonstrators.

The blast came as police also fired tear gas and sound bombs to disperse protesters in several Shiite villages. No casualties were reported. The main Shiite opposition bloc Al-Wefaq condemned Sunday’s attack “regardless of the party which carried it out.”

It reaffirmed its “commitment to peaceful action as a strategic choice” and urged a “probe into the incident by an independent commission.” Sunni-ruled Bahrain has vowed to take “appropriate” security measures ahead of the April 19-21 Grand Prix, as Shiite demonstrators stage daily protests. Under the banner “Democracy is our right,” the mainly Shiite opposition is holding a week of protests that began on Friday to coincide with the lead-up to the race.

Al-Wefaq said on Sunday that 98 people have been arrested and 31 injured in clashes with police so far this month.

According to Human Rights Watch, police have been rounding up pro-democracy activists in an attempt to head off protests over the Gulf state hosting the race. Last year’s event went ahead against a backdrop of police using tear gas, sound bombs and birdshot to disperse protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said in China he could see “no reason” why the Bahrain race should not be successful. “Yes. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be (a success),” Ecclestone told AFP at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Amnesty International, meanwhile, said in a statement that Bahraini authorities were amending the penal code to bring in jail terms of up to five years for anyone found guilty of insulting King Hamad.

“Increasing the punishment for criticism of Bahrain’s king is a further attempt to muzzle activists ahead of the upcoming Grand Prix,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty’s deputy Middle East and North Africa programme head. Bahrain was rocked by month-long prodemocracy protests led by the kingdom’s Shiite majority in early 2011 that were crushed with the help of Saudi-led troops. The race was cancelled that year but went ahead in 2012.— AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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

Israel honors war dead with somber Memorial Day JERUSALEM: Israelis paused to honor fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism yesterday as sirens wailed and ceremonies were held for the country ’s Memorial Day. It is one of the most melancholy and emotional dates on the Israeli calendar.

After decades of conflict, many Israelis have lost loved ones in battle.

Cafes and places of entertainment shut for the day. Radio and TV stopped their regular shows and instead broadcast war documentaries and stories about soldiers killed in action.

Nationwide, Israelis stopped in their tracks and stood in silence as air raid

sirens sounded at 11:00 am. Traffic stopped and people got out of their vehicles on highways and roads to stand with heads bowed for two minutes.

Israel said 23,085 soldiers and defense personnel have been killed in fighting since the count began in 1860.

Israel has fought a half-dozen wars with Arab countries since its establishment in 1948 and has and battled two Palestinian uprisings. Bereaved families gathered at cemeteries across the country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a ceremony for the war dead that it is impossible to completely ease the

pain of losing a loved one. Netanyahu’s brother, an army commando, was killed during the famed rescue mission to free passengers of a hijacked plane in Uganda in 1976.

Netanyahu said many tried to eradicate Israel from the day of its inception but will never succeed. Families of the fallen laid wreaths and a military guard gave a gun salute. At a separate ceremony marking victims of terrorist attacks, Netanyahu said that the country will never give into terror and will pursue its perpetrators.

At another ceremony, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Israel wants

peace but is ready to deal with threats.

The world cannot brush the problem of a nuclear Iran under the carpet, as history, both recent and ancient, has proven that concessions and a lack of determination now, are recipes for a lack of control and disaster in the years to come, he said.

Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat, citing Iranian denials of the Holocaust, its calls for Israel’s destruction, its development of missiles capable of striking the Jewish state and its support for violent regional groups. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful, a claim that Israel and many

Western countries reject. Our hand reaches out to the world, and we will strive with all our might to make peace with our neighbors.

We do not want to lose our sons and daughters. But unfortunately, there are still many who refuse to recognize our right to a Jewish national home in the land of Israel in any borders, forcing us to fight back and cut their intentions short, he said.

The sad atmosphere ends sharply at sundown when in jarring contrast, Israelis joyfully take to the streets for independence day celebrations with dancing, fireworks and parties. —AP

Syrian warplanes pound Damascus UK concerned over signs of chemical arms

QASR: Mourners pray in front of the coffin of a 13-year old Lebanese child who was killed when the border town of Qasr, in the Hermel border region, came under artillery shell fire from Syrian territory, as they attend the funeral in the village of Hosh Sayyed Ali, on the Syrian-Lebanese border. — AFP

Lebanon protests fire from Syria BEIRUT: Lebanon yesterday condemned the spillover of fire from Syrian rebel and regime forces onto its territory and said it would protest to the Arab League after artillery fire killed two people on Sunday.

“The safety of every Lebanese citizen and village is the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and any attack from any side is unacceptable,” Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour said after a ministerial meeting.

He said the foreign ministry would “undertake all necessary measures and communications to ensure all sides bear their responsibilities and do not repeat such attacks.” Abu Faour said the measures would include “the preparation of a memorandum to the Arab League,” which would “protest... any attack regardless of which party was responsible for it.”

The decision, taken by select ministers of the Hezbollah-dominated caretaker government, comes a day after two separate incidents of fire spilling over from Syria.

Shellfire from Syrian has regularly hit Lebanon, on occasion killing Lebanese, but Sunday’s incidents were the first deaths in Hezbollah strongholds in the border region, reportedly from rebel fire.

Security sources reported further shelling yesterday, with two shells landing in the town of Qasr, where one person was killed a day earlier. Beirut, which has officially followed a policy of “dissociation” from the Syrian conflict, has been reluctant to publicly blame either regime forces or rebel fighters for fire hitting its territory.

The war in neighbouring Syria has exacerbated existing tensions in Lebanon’s multi-confessional population and fractious political system. bAbu Faour said the military was taking unspecified measures “to protect Lebanese citizens from any attack,” without detailing whether the army would return fire across the border. After the

attacks on Sunday, the Lebanese army said its units “were deployed widely across the area and took measures in the field necessary to protect people and respond to the source of the attack as appropriate.”

A security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that two shells hit Qasr yesterday, although no casualties were reported. Syrian rebel commanders reached by AFP via the Internet confirmed insurgents had fired shells into Lebanon on Saturday and Sunday, but denied there were any attacks yesterday.

“Yesterday (Sunday), Hezbollah bombarded Qusayr, Nahriyeh, Burhaniyeh and Saqarji (near the Lebanese border) from its positions in Qasr and Hosh Sayid Ali. They bombed civilians and killed many women and children,” said Abu Oday, a commander of the rebel Independent Farouq Division.

“If we have to, we will target civilians just like they do. Our civilians are not less valuable than theirs. Hezbollah is killing arbitrarily in Syria,” he said.

“Yesterday, we responded. We hit back at Hezbollah’s positions,” he added. Another rebel leader, Abu Ahmad, said insurgents did not fire into Lebanon yesterday.

“We are giving the Lebanese authorities an opportunity to respond, to take practical steps to put a stop to their shelling, before we respond again.” Meanwhile, residents of Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, told AFP that the bodies of five Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria were brought back on Sunday and Monday for burial. “Yesterday, we buried a Hezbollah martyr, Assaad Ali Assaad, who was killed in Syria some days ago”, said a resident of Khraybeh in eastern Lebanon. A security source in Hezbollah stronghold southern Lebanon meanwhile told AFP on condition of anonymity that four other fighters from the region had also been killed in Syria. — AFP

GAZA CITY: More than one hundred Palestinian refugees protest outside the offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza City in demand of undelivered aid supplies yesterday. The United Nations reopened last week aid distribution centres in Gaza, after a four-day closure in response to the storming of its offices by protesters demanding reinstatement of a monthly cash allowance to poor families which was halted from April 1 due to budget cuts. — AFP

BEIRUT: Syria’s air force yesterday carried out several air strikes on rebel enclaves in and around Damascus, while fresh clashes between troops and rebels raged to the east of the capital, a monitoring group said.

“At least one civilian was killed in an air strike on Qaboon” in northeast Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, “while regime troops pounded the district of Jubar” in the east.

Amateur video distributed by the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC), a network of activists on the ground, showed a cloud of grey smoke rising after the air raid. The regime also used warplanes to bombard the rebel-held towns of Yabroud, Douma and Harasta east of Damascus, as well as Sbeineh southwest of the capital, said the Observatory.

Meanwhile, “fierce clashes raged on the edges of Jubar (in eastern Damascus), near Abbasiyeen square,” said the group.

Rebels view the square as a strategic target because it lies well within the confines of the capital, the regime’s main bastion of power.

The SRGC, meanwhile, reported the army’s use of heavy artillery fire on Yarmuk in southern Damascus, with tanks also striking other rebel enclaves nearby.

Violence rages daily in southern Damascus, with rebels holding the outer edges of several districts, while the regime tries to push them out.Elsewhere in Syria, warplanes also hit targets in the northeastern city of Raqa as well as an area near the regime-held Base 17 in the same province. Raqa’s provincial capital fell into rebel hands in early March, and insurgents have since been fighting to gain control of Base 17, one of the army’s few remaining bastions in the province.

In coastal Syria, “the army launched a massive operation... in the north of Latakia province”, near the Turkish border, attacking rebel-held villages, said pro-regime daily Al-Watan.

And in the northwest, the Observatory reported fierce clashes pitting rebels against troops in Idlib while the army tried to send in supplies to soldiers holed up in besieged Wadi Deif and Hamidiyeh bases.

In the same province, the army took control of two hills overlooking insurgent-held villages,

ALEPPO: Syrians inspect the remains of destroyed houses following an airstrike by the Syrian airforce in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo yesterday. The conflict in Syria, which is now in its third year, has cost 70,000 lives, according to the United Nations. — AFP said the watchdog. Later in the day, fierce clashes broke out near key the Idlib town of Maaret al-Numan, which rebels seized last October.

According to a preliminary toll for Monday, at least 22 people were killed in violence across Syria, said the Observatory, which relies on a broad network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reports.

The UK is increasingly concerned there is evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, Britain’s foreign secretary said yesterday.

William Hague said such allegations must be urgently investigated, telling British lawmakers that he is urging President Bashar Assad’s Syrian regime to cooperate fully and allow UN investigators unfettered access to all areas.

“The world is watching and those who order the use of chemical weapons or participate in their use must be held to account,” he said.

Hague also reiterated that no decisions have been made to arm the Syrian rebels who want to overthrow Assad but stressed that Britain and France are convinced a European Union arms

embargo will need to be amended or lifted altogether. “We need greater flexibility,” he told lawmakers. The embargo expires at the end of May. Hague earlier detailed the nonlethal aid that Britain has given the Syrian rebels - including five armored 4x4s, 20 sets of body armor, 107 generators and 130 solar-powered batteries - in a written statement to lawmakers.

In the House of Commons, he pointed out that Assad’s regime still has access to flows of weapons while the rebels do not. The British foreign secretary will be in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting with the Friends of Syria group, which brings together the Syrian opposition’s big donor nations from Europe and the Arab world.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also will attend the meeting, where the talks are expected to focus on the EU arms embargo and coordinating Western support and assistance to the Syrian opposition. The United Nations says over 70,000 people have been killed in Syria’s twoyear civil war and over 1 million have fled the country. — Agencies

Iran does not need atomic bomb, says Ahmadinejad ABOMEY-CALAVI: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, yesterday defended his country’s controversial nuclear program while on a tour of west Africa, calling it peaceful and arguing that Tehran has no use for an atomic bomb.

Speaking during a visit to Benin, the first stop on a three-nation tour, Ahmadinejad called nuclear energy a “divine gift” providing affordable electricity.

“They accuse Iran, like all nations that seek to rapidly find their way out of the current domination,” the Iranian leader said through an interpreter in a speech at a Benin University. “ We don’t need an atomic bomb. ... And besides, it is not atomic bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values.”

Western powers suspect Tehran of covertly developing the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb.

Iran denies this and says its program is for energy and medical purposes. On Tuesday, Iran unveiled a new uranium production facility and two mines, only days after talks with world powers on its nuclear program again ended in deadlock.

Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Benin on Sunday night, was due later yesterday to travel to neighboring Niger, one of the world’s top producers of uranium.

Iran needs uranium for its nuclear program, and Niger has recently criticized a longstanding agreement with France-which gets most of its uranium from the former colony-demanding a bigger share of the profits from uranium ore mining.

Uranium from landlocked Niger is trucked to Benin ports for export, but Benin’s foreign minister has insisted that uranium was not on

the agenda for his Benin visit.

Talks in Benin were to focus particularly on energy, agriculture and education, Benin officials have said.

Ahmadinejad will travel to Ghana today following his visit to Niger for the final leg of the tour.

During his speech at the university, Ahmadinejad condemned what he called colonialist thinking from wealthy nations that exploit poorer countries.

“Colonialist thinking has not yet disappeared,” he said. “Only the method has changed, but the system is still there.”

“To save their economy, they impose war everywhere to cover their failure, the failure of the capitalist system,” said Ahmadinejad, who is due to leave office after June elections.

In Niger, the Iranian president’s visit was being welcomed by those who said the impoverished country should search for new partners in the sale of its uranium.

“We must from now on adhere to policies in our own interests, in selling our uranium to who we want, including Iran,” Nouhou Arzika, a prominent civil society activist in Niger, told AFP. Niger’s foreign minister visited Tehran in February. The African country is the world’s fourth-largest producer of uranium.

The head of the student union at Niger’s University of Niamey welcomed the Iranian leader’s visit. The union previously organized a protest against French nuclear energy giant Areva.

“We are a sovereign state and will deal with who we want,” Mahamadou Djibo Samaila told reporters.

“Our uranium, our oil, we are going to sell them to who we want.”

Iran’s relations with African

countries have not always been smooth.

A diplomatic dispute hurt ties between Iran and Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, when weapons shipped from Iran were seized at a Lagos port in October 2010. An

alleged Iranian Revolutionar y Guard member was accused of being one of the suspects behind the shipment, which Iran said was destined for Gambia, though Banjul denied being the intended recipient. The weapons had been labeled as building materials. —AFP

Bahrain govt backs 5-year sentences for king insults MANAMA: Bahrain’s government has backed proposals to impose penalties of up five years in prison for insulting the Gulf state’s king or its national symbols, the media said yesterday.

It’s the latest move across the region against dissent on the streets and online.

Gulf leaders have sharply escalated efforts to muzzle criticism since the Arab Spring uprisings, which include more than two years of clashes between Sunni-led authorities and majority Shiites seeking a greater political voice.

Bahrain’s Cabinet approved proposals to impose jail terms up to five years and fines of 10,000 dinars ($26,500) for defaming the king or Bahrain’s flag or coat of arms. It’s unclear how widely the new laws could be applied, but anti-government protests often include chants against the king in the strategic island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Last week, Kuwait announced a new media law that could bring fines of about $1 million for insulting the emir. Dozens of

people across the Gulf have been arrested for social media posts considered offensive to rulers.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is pledging to expand security before hosting next week’s Formula One race after a series of explosions, including a gas cylinder blast that set a car ablaze in the Gulf nation’s financial district.

The attacks caused no injuries and limited damage, but sent a message that anti-government militants could step up violence in attempts to embarrass officials before Sunday’s F1, the premier international event in the kingdom.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said the four blasts happened in quick succession late Sunday, ending with the gas canister explosion inside a stolen car in Bahrain’s Financial Harbor.

Bahrain’s government spokeswoman, Samira Rajab, said “all the needed security” would be provided to protect fans and F1 teams.

More than 60 people have been killed in Bahrain’s unrest.

Some rights groups place the death toll higher. —AP

BOSTON BOMBINGS

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Smoke billows at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following twin explosions yesterday. – AP/AFP photos

Twin blasts hit Boston Marathon Continued from Page 1

A video grab shows victims of one of the blasts at the finish line.

A Boston police officer wheels an injured boy down Boylston Street as medical workers carry an injured runner.

US President Barack Obama speaks about the bombings at the Boston Marathon in Washington.

Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathons. One of Boston’s biggest annual events, the race winds up near Copley Square, not far from the landmark Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library. It is held on Patriots Day, which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution, at Concord and Lexington in 1775.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis asked people to stay indoors or go back to their hotel rooms and avoid crowds as bomb squads methodically checked parcels and bags left along the race route. He said investigators didn’t know precisely where the bombs were planted or whether they were hidden in mailboxes or trash cans. He said authorities had received “no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen” at the race. The Federal Aviation Administration barred low-flying aircraft from within 3.5 miles of the site.

Obama was briefed on the explosions by Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco. Obama also told Mayor Tom Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick that his administration would provide whatever support was needed, the White House said.

“We still don’t know who did this or why,” Obama said, adding, “Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this.”

A few miles away from the finish line and around the same time, a fire broke out at the John F Kennedy Library. The police commissioner said it may have been caused by an incendiary device but didn’t appear to be related to the bombings. The first loud explosion occurred on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the finish line.

The second explosion could be heard a few seconds later.

They occurred about four hours into the race and two hours after the men’s winner crossed the line. By that point, more than 17,000 of the runners had finished the race, but thousands of others were farther back along the course.

The four-hour mark is typically a highly crowded time near the finish line - both because of the slow-but-steady recreational runners likely to be completing the race and because of all the relatives and friends clustered around to cheer them on. Runners in the medical tent for treatment of dehydration or other race-related ills were pushed out to make room for victims of the bombing.

A senior US intelligence official said the two other explosive devices found nearby were being dismantled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the findings publicly. A woman who was a few feet from the second bomb, Brighid Wall, 35, of Duxbury, said that when it exploded, runners and spectators froze, unsure of what to do. Her husband threw their children to the ground, lay on top of them and another man lay on top of them and said, “Don’t get up, don’t get up.”

Competitors and race volunteers were crying as they fled the chaos. Authorities went onto the course to carry away the injured while race stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site. Roupen Bastajian, a 35-year-old state trooper from Smithfield, Rhode Island, had just finished the race when they put the heat blanket wrap on him and he heard the blasts. “I started running toward the blast. And there were people all over the floor,” he said. “We started grabbing tourniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. ... At least 25 to 30 people have at least one leg missing, or an ankle missing, or two legs missing.”

At Massachusetts General Hospital, said Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency services, said: “This is something I’ve never seen in my 25 years here ... this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war.” The Boston Marathon honored the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting with a special mile marker in yesterday’s race. Boston Athletic Association president Joanne Flaminio previously said there was “special significance” to the fact that the race is 26.2 miles long and 26 people died at Sandy Hook Elementary school.

In Britain, police said they were reviewing security plans for Sunday’s London Marathon, the next major international marathon. Thousands of people compete in the London Marathon every year, thronging the city’s streets. London is also considered a top target for international terrorists. A London Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed yesterday that police are working with marathon officials to review security plans for Sunday’s event. The London race’s chief executive, Nick Bitel, expressed shock and sadness about the situation in Boston, saying “it is a very sad day for athletics and for our friends in marathon running.” In New York City, police spokesman Paul Browne said that critical response teams are deployed around the city. Officials were stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations. — Agencies

People react to a second explosion at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

A runner embraces another woman on the marathon route near Kenmore Square.

An unidentified Boston Marathon runner is reunited with loved ones near Copley Square.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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

Obama advisor in Russia amid blacklist row MOSCOW: US President Barack Obama’s national security advisor yesterday held bruising talks with top Russian officials in Moscow, days after the former foes exchanged Cold War-style blacklists in a row over human rights.

White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon is the highest-ranking American to visit Russia since Obama’s inauguration for a second term in January, but his trip coincides with one of the trickiest moments in bilateral relations in recent years.

Donilon held a morning meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who said that the American side had emphasised they did not want the “irritations” to spoil the strategic nature of US-Russia relations. “We understand the importance of US-Russian cooperation for international

relations. But removing the problems that have been growing in our ties remains for us priority number one,” Lavrov told reporters at a later news conference with his Finnish counterpart.

The United States late Friday published a list of 18 Russians it was blacklisting over human rights abuses. Russia a day later angrily responded with a similar list of its own in a tit-for-tat move.

The US lists 16 Russians allegedly linked to the death of jailed lawyer Sergei Magntisky in 2009 as well as two Chechens who stand accused of murder.

They are barred from travelling to the US or holding assets there.

Russia slammed the move as unfriendly and a day later hit back with its own blacklist of 18 Americans, including several well-known figures linked to

detention practices at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

“The first person to feel the effects of Washington’s blacklists is going to be T. Donilon. He is not coming to us at the best of times,” the head of the Russian lower house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee Alexei Pushkov wrote on Twitter. Donilon is also to meet his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev but in a sign of the chill in Russia-US ties, it is not clear whether he will meet President Vladimir Putin. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian strongman might at some point “join in” the discussion between Patrushev and Donilon “if his working schedule allows”.

The Kommersant daily said the Kremlin’s refusal to confirm the meeting

was a sign of its irritation with Washington, not just over the blacklists but over the fact Obama had failed to meet with Patrushev on one of his visits to Washington. According to Lavrov, Donilon will be carrying a message for Putin from Obama over the prospects for bilateral relations. Even before the blacklist row, the visit was seen as having huge importance as Obama looks for new bilateral nuclear weapons cuts and support from Russia in the North Korea crisis.

The US blacklist stems from the Magnitsky Act which Washington passed last year and infuriated Russia. Moscow responded by banning adoptions of Russian children by Americans, a move that caused an international outcry. The death of Magnitsky in pre-trial detention in 2009 at the age of 37 — after being

accused of a fraud scam that he claimed to have uncovered-has come to symbolise the Kremlin’s failure to protect human rights. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the ITAR-TASS news agency at the weekend that the Russian blacklist also includes a secret section with more names, similar to a list of more highly placed Russian officials compiled by Washington. According to The New York Times, the classified US list includes far more senior figures who include the controversial Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and its publication would have caused an even greater row.

“Whether I am on the list - and I do not know if I am or not - makes no difference for me. I’ve never been to America and never plan to,” Kadyrov said in a statement. —AFP

Cuba relieved as Chavez heir wins in Venezuela Raul Castro sends congratulatory message to Maduro HAVANA: Cubans were relieved yesterday by the announcement that the late leader Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor had been elected Venezuela’s new president, apparently allowing their country to dodge a threatened cutoff of billions of dollars in subsidized oil.

Cuban President Raul Castro sent a congratu-

“They will probably be thinking that they now have perhaps a maximum of five years of Venezuelan subsidies left,” Hare said, “because if the trend continues moving against him, as I think is likely, this will be the last term even if they are able to continue all the subsidies for that period. ... The clock’s ticking for that rela-

CARACAS: Opposition supporters celebrate after their demands to close a polling station that remained open past the allotted time, were met, in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday. —AP latory message to Nicolas Maduro, who is seen as an ideological ally who will want to continue the countries’ special relationship as he serves out the remainder of Chavez’s six-year term.

“The main thing from Cuba’s point of view is that he’s won, if it’s ratified,” said Paul Webster Hare, a lecturer in international relations at Boston University and former British diplomatic envoy to both Venezuela and Cuba.

tionship.”

Venezuela ships an estimated 92,000 barrels of oil per day worth $3.2 billion a year to the island, providing for about half its consumption.

Cuba accounts for about half that figure through barter deals, sending legions of medics, sports trainers, political advisers and other specialists to the South American nation. The remainder is covered by 25-year, 1 percent interest loans. That

amounts to an economic lifeline for the island nation, which is in the middle of an attempt to boost its perennially sagging economy with a series of reforms. More than a dozen other poor countries around Latin America and the Caribbean have also benefited greatly from Venezuela oil aid on generous terms.

Maduro’s opponent, Henrique Capriles, had said on the campaign trail that as president he would ensure that “not another drop of oil will go toward financing the government of the Castros.”

No surprise, then, that Raul Castro’s government was among the first to congratulate Maduro. “In name of the Government and people of Cuba, I congratulate you on this transcendental triumph, which demonstrates the fortitude of the ideas and work of Commander Hugo Chavez,” Castro said in his message, published on the front page of Communist Party newspaper Granma.

Maduro, who has been serving as acting president, saw the double-digit lead he had in the polls soon after Chavez’s death in early March wither in the run-up to Sunday’s vote.

Electoral officials said he ultimately received 50.7 percent to Capriles’ 49.1 percent.

Some said that razor-thin victory margin, which had Capriles demanding a recount, bodes ill for Maduro’s political future and could mean Cuba’s relief will be short-lived. “The difference in votes is very small, and I think that it will be very hard for Maduro to govern,” said Maite Romero, a 74-year-old retiree. “For us in Cuba, I’m very pessimistic. I think it will be a debacle.” “ This result demonstrated that Maduro decidedly is not Chavez, and now is the time for him to show that he is the worthy successor,” added Diego Franco, 69. “Once more it is clear that we have to solve our problems ourselves and not continue to depend on others.”

Others were more optimistic. Maduro “will go forward like Chavez, his ideals and thoughts always supporting the Cuban people,” said Felix Montero, a construction worker. “He will always have the support of the Cuban people.” —AP

Republican money backs immigration push BOSTON: As Congress readies for a drawn-out immigration debate, an expanding network of Republican fundraisers is pressing for a path to legal status for millions of immigrants living in the United States illegally.

Business leaders and donors who raised tens of millions in the last election are meeting with top GOP fundraisers and Republican lawmakers who may be reluctant to support what critics call “amnesty” for immigrants who broke the law. At the same time, a coalition of fundraisers who support overhauling immigration is funneling donations to a new crop of outside groups designed to protect like-minded congressional Republicans who fear a backlash by GOP’s core supporters.

In most cases, the donors have ties to Wall Street and businesses that want more high- and low-skilled immigrants in the nation’s legal labor pool. Backed by the US Chamber of Commerce, these business-minded Republican fundraisers say they’re getting a relatively receptive audience in the face of an undeniable new political reality. Record Hispanic turnout helped President Barack Obama defeat Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney last fall. And projected population growth ensures that immigrants’ political clout will grow stronger.

The network of Republican donors is at odds with many on the GOP’s right flank - tea party activists among them - who argue for increased border security first and foremost. That was largely the position of Romney, who encouraged immigrants without legal status to “self-deport.”

“Immigrants are an important part of this economy and they’re an important part of my business,” said Frank Vandersloot, an Idaho businessman who steered more than $1 million to a group backing Romney last year and gave tens of thousands more to others.

“I have met with many members of Congress and will continue to,” Vandersloot said. “People will talk to me. And I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful they listen.” Top donors have signed onto a new bipartisan group known as the Partnership for a New American Economy, which includes business leaders and mayors who support a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire, backs the organization, as does top Romney backer Bill Marriott, Jr. - who heads the Marriott International hotel company - and GOP donor Jonathan Johnson, the CEO of Overstock.com.

“These are people that can and do donate,” Johnson said. “I think the more business leaders get involved in this, the more pressure will be put on Congress.”

Congressional leaders are putting the finishing touches on legislation that would outline the most sweeping immigration changes in decades.

The donors mostly refused to identify the lawmakers they are lobbying but said they’re communicating with as many Republican elected officials and new party fundraisers as possible. The list includes already-sympathetic figures such as Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is among four GOP senators and four Democrats crafting a bill to improve border security, streamline legal immigration and offer eventual citizenship to millions now in the US illegally.

A similar proposal favored by former President George W. Bush failed in 2007 following intense opposition from conservative opinion leaders. In some cases those opinions have begun to soften. Vandersloot said that congressional Republicans have been receptive behind closed doors, although strong opposition remains among the GOP’s most passionate voters.

By boosting their role in the debate, major donors hope to assuage the fears of timid congressional Republicans worried about losing re-lection - or facing primary challenges - should they side with Democrats on immigration. Obama and the bipartisan Senate panel publicly support legalization, although the fate of the overhaul is uncertain in the House, where conservative Republicans hold more sway. Donors say they don’t expect a speedy resolution to the debate. They’re preparing a network of outside groups and donors to be active well into next year if necessary.

Still, some donors say there has been a wholesale attitude shift among Republican officials during private conversations. “People are starting to understand that immigration is one of the issues that allows Republicans to have a comeback on all issues,” said Charlie Spies, the founder and treasurer of the super PAC that raised more than $142 million to help Romney’s 2012 presidential bid.

Spies leads a new super PAC dubbed “Republicans for Immigration Reform” that draws from some of the same Romney donors to fund advertising campaigns designed to protect Republican lawmakers who support more lenient immigration policies. The group, which can accept unlimited donations along with its sister non-profit organization the Hispanic Leadership Network, has already spent $60,000 to run ads in South Carolina to commend Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham’s efforts.

At the same time, Spies says that his partner Carlos Gutierrez, the commerce secretary under President George W. Bush, is hosting private meetings with Republican officials and Republican donors who may not have been supportive of immigration reform in the past. Gutierrez is hosting multiple meetings a week across the country, targeting places with the highest concentration of donors - New York, Florida, Texas and California. “Money is effective in that it helps drive a message,” Spies said. —AP

6 strangled in Mexico CANCUN: Six people were found strangled to death and one decapitated in the southern Mexican tourist resort of Cancun on Sunday, the state’s deputy attorney general said, in the latest mass killing to strike the city in the last few weeks.

Police found the bodies of the five men and two women in a shack in the outskirts of Cancun, a major tourist destination on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, that has largely escaped the drug-related violence that has racked Acapulco, a faded tourist destination on the Pacific coast.

“It looks like the victims were independent drug dealers without any links to any specific cartel,” said Juan Ignacio Hernandez, deputy attorney general of Quintana Roo state.

Police later presented seven men as suspects in the killing. Last month six people died and five were injured after two men opened fire in a bar on the outskirts of Cancun. In a separate incident, police on Sunday found the body of another man in Cancun who had been gagged, bound and wrapped in sheets.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised to put an end to the violence that exploded after his predecessor, Felipe Calderon, launched a military-led attack on the warring cartels. More than 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2007. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: People hold signs calling for stricter gun laws in front of the White House in Washington yesterday. The US Senate voted last week to debate the nation’s most ambitious gun safety legislation in almost two decades, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed on expanding background checks. —AFP

Close vote seen on background checks on gun buyers WASHINGTON: A bipartisan Senate proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers gained the backing of one Republican and the potential support of a second Sunday as sponsors said the vote expected this week was too close to call.

The plan would “strengthen the background check system without in any way infringing on Second Amendment rights,” Maine Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement explaining her support for the measure. But she added that “it is impossible to predict at this point” what will be in a final bill.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has a B+ rating from the National Rifle Association, said he was “very favorably disposed” to the proposal that has emerged from Sens.

Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, DW.Va. “I appreciate their work,” McCain said.

“And the American people want to do what we can to prevent these tragedies. And there’s a lot more that needs to be done, particularly in the area of mental health.”

It was in McCain’s home state that a gunman with schizophrenia shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head during a 2011 rampage in Tucson that left six people killed. Collins and Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois are the only two Republicans besides Toomey who are expected to vote for the compromise as of now.

It will take 60 votes to pass, meaning that more Republicans will have to come on board because some Democrats from gunfriendly states are expected to oppose the measure. “It’s an open question as to whether or not we have the votes. I think it’s going to be close,” Toomey said.

The measure requires background checks for people buying guns at gun shows and online. Background checks currently apply only to transactions handled by the country’s 55,000 licensed gun dealers.

Private transactions, such as a sale of a gun between family members, would still be exempt.

Manchin urged lawmakers to read the 49-page proposal. He said it should dispel any misconceptions about infringing on the constitutional right to bear arms. “You can imagine for what, the last two or three months, that all you heard is they’re going to take this away from you and that away,” and all of the gun groups are trying to outdo each other, Manchin said Sunday on Fox

News Channel. “And the bottom line is when you have a group now - Alan Gottlieb, the chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said, ‘We read the bill, we like the bill’ and it protects law-abiding gun owners like myself. And they are supporting it now. That is huge.”

Gottlieb did not respond to a request Sunday to provide more details of the position taken by his group. The ManchinToomey compromise was also endorsed late Sunday by the Independent Firearms Owners Association, a pro-gun group that is smaller and more moderate than the NRA. The bill is the right way to “stand firm in defense of our constitutional rights and the security of our fellow citizens,” said the group’s president, Richard Feldman, a former NRA official.

The senators’ agreement actually includes language expanding firearms rights by easing some restrictions on transporting guns across state lines, protecting sellers from lawsuits if buyers passed a check but later used a gun in a crime and letting gun dealers conduct business in states where they don’t live.

“If you are a law-abiding gun owner, you’re going to like this bill,” Manchin said.

He acknowledged the vote would be tight.

Asked how many votes he thought he had now, Manchin said: “Well, we’re close. We need more.”

The compromise, if successful, would be added to broader gun control legislation to strengthen laws against illegal gun trafficking and to increase slightly school security aid. Other additions to the legislation also are expected to be debated this week, including a measure that would allow concealed hand gun permits issued by one state to be accepted nationwide as a de facto background check.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in news show interviews that concealed weapons permits should be applied nationally. He also called for more prosecution of people that are trying to buy guns and fail a background check.

The Senate is also expected to consider, and reject, Democratic amendments to ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds.

Manchin and Toomey were on CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

McCain was on CNN. —AP

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian riot police officers talk with drivers of vans and minibuses during a protest in Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, yesterday. A new law promoted by Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes that bans the operation of vans and minibuses in the southern part of the city — including the famed beach districts of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon — came into effect yesterday, prompting protests from the workers of these transportation services. —AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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

Kerry to visit family of diplomat killed in Afghanistan TOKYO: US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday he would be making a stop on the way home from a 10-day overseas tour to visit the family of a young diplomat killed in Afghanistan. “ The reason that I’m stopping in Chicago is to visit the parents of Anne Smedinghoff,” Kerry told embassy staff just before leaving Tokyo, referring to a 25-year-old American who died in a bomb attack earlier this month.

Smedinghoff was one of five Americans who died in separate attacks on April 6 in Afghanistan, one of the deadliest days of the year so far for foreigners in the war-torn country. Her death shook the US, with relatives and colleagues paying tribute to a smart,

young woman at the beginning of a promising career.

“Everybody understands and feels that kind of a loss. A 25-year-old young woman full of ideals, full of hopes, taking books to children in a school so they can learn... wiped out by terrorists,” said Kerry, who met the diplomat when he went to Afghanistan last month.

“We are not going to be deterred. We are going to be inspired. And we’ll use Anne’s idealism as another motivation to the idealism that brings all of you to this effort in the first place,” he told embassy staffers.

“We can make this world better,” Kerry said. “We can strengthen other countries.

We’ve seen it happen. “As long as I am

secretary of state I promise you I will do everything in my power to cover your back, you cover mine. We’ll be a good team and together we’ll get the job done.” Smedinghoff’s parents said in a statement their daughter had “enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the Afghan people”.

She “was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war,” they added. The last American diplomat killed on the job was US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. At least three US soldiers and another civilian were killed in the attack that saw a suicide car bomber strike a NATO convoy in the southern province of

Zabul. Speaking to staff and families at the US Consulate General in Istanbul the following day, Kerry acknowledged that such attacks pose a “huge challenge” as US troops and their NATO allies prepare for a withdrawal at the end of next year.

“It’s a grim reminder to all of us, though we didn’t need any reminders, of how important and also how risky carrying the future is... and just trying to provide opportunity to those young boys and girls and men and women in Afghanistan.”

Flags and white ribbons lined the street of Smedinghoff’s family home in River Forest, a suburb of Chicago, local media reported at the time.

Smedinghoff’s first assignment as a

diplomat was in Caracas before she volunteered to work in Afghanistan starting in July as a public diplomacy officer.

Her parents said she had joined the US Foreign Service right after graduating from college in 2009 and loved her work, despite the risk. “We always knew in the back of our minds that this was a possibility. She went everywhere. She usually told us about it afterward, but she never expressed any fear at all,” her father told CBS News.

In their statement, Smedinghoff’s parents said they were “consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world.” — AFP

Afghan commandos kill 22 insurgents No casualties among security forces or civilians

PUNE: In this photograph taken on February 13, 2010 bystanders look at a destroyed bakery in Pune. An Indian court yesterday convicted a man over a blast at a busy restaurant in Pune city three years ago which killed 17 people and injured dozens of others. — AFP

Indian court convicts cyber cafe worker in Pune blast MUMBAI: An Indian court convicted a cyber cafe worker of murder yesterday over a bomb blast which ripped through a packed restaurant in the western city of Pune three years ago, killing 17 people.

A lower court in Pune found Mirza Himayat Baig guilty of criminal conspiracy and murder for the attack on the popular German Bakery restaurant where five foreigners were among those killed by a bomb in a rucksack left under a table.

“Baig has been found guilty of all the key charges. He was a co-conspirator,” special public prosecutor Raja Thakare told AFP. Baig’s sentence will be handed down on Thursday and he could face the death penalty for the bombing that also injured more than 60 people. Five co-accused are still at large, Thakare said.

The blast on February 13, 2010 in the restaurant located in an upscale area of Pune in Maharashtra state was the first major attack in India after the 2008 assault on Mumbai by Islamist gunmen that left 166 dead.

The bomb exploded while the bakery and restaurant was jammed with mainly young Indians and tourists. Thakare said Baig, in his early 30s, was linked to the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown Islamist group with links to militants in Pakistan, which the government had suspected of involvement in the blast.

Prosecutors had told the court the conspirators planned the attack at a meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where Baig was trained to make a bomb, but the defence team denied this and said he was not in Pune at

the time of the blast.

“We will file an appeal to the high court,” Baig’s counsel A. Rehman told reporters after the verdict was delivered in Pune, a university city which lies 150 kilometres (94 miles) from India’s financial capital Mumbai.

The explosion tore through the building, creating a huge hole in the wall measuring six feet by four feet (1.8 metres by 1.2 metres) and sending those inside fleeing screaming in panic for their lives.

Baig, who used to run a cyber cafe in Maharashtra, was arrested after several months of investigation, while police say a co-conspirator who planted the bomb is among those still at large, local media reported. Police took Baig into custody after finding explosives at his home in Latur in Maharashtra, according to local reports.

The German Baker y was popularly known as “Pune’s Cafe Leopold”-named after the hangout popular with tourists and young people in downtown Mumbai, which was targeted in the 2008 attacks. The restaurant was about 200 metres from an ashram, or religious retreat, specialising in meditation courses run by Swiss-based firm Osho International and popular with visitors. It was also close to Chabad House, a Jewish cultural and religious centre run by the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose members were targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Pune was hit again last August by a string of low-intensity blasts that targeted a bustling restaurant and centrally located shopping area in the city, injuring one person. — AFP

KABUL: Afghan commandos killed 22 insurgents yesterday during an operation to capture a Taleban commander in eastern Afghanistan, police and the US military said. The raid was carried out in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar when a team of commandos raided a village looking for the Taleban leader, the US-led Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force said in an announcement.

During the raid, insurgents opened fire on the soldiers and 22 of the Taleban were killed, the task forces said. Masoum Khan Hashimi, the deputy police chief of Nangarhar province, said there were no casualties among the security forces or civilians. He said the Taleban commander, Jamal Faroqi, was killed in the pre-dawn raid and 10 insurgents were captured.

In another operation, NATO said a team of Afghan and coalition special forces captured a senior leader of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-eTaiba. The group, which is banned in Pakistan, is blamed for the November 2008 rampage in Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people. It said he was captured in the Anadar district of eastern Ghazni province - a lawless area that is a major infiltration point for insurgents travelling into Afghanistan from Pakistan.

“The leader is alleged to have planned and participated in multiple attacks against Afghan

and coalition forces throughout Kunar, Kandahar and Ghazni provinces. He is known to have links to multiple foreign fighters, and was actively planning a high-profile attack at the time of his arrest,” NATO said in an announcement. It did not provide further details.

There have been increasing reports that insurgents from Pakistan, including members of the Pakistani Taleban, have joined Afghan insurgents in the fight against government and foreign forces. Many Afghan Taleban take sanctuary in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas over the harsh winter months and come across the frontier during the spring thaw. Violence has increased in recent weeks as more and more Taleban join the fighting. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated in recent months, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of trying to torpedo efforts to begin peace talks with the Taleban.

Both countries have also accused each other of supporting insurgents fighting on their respective territories.

In the most recent exchange President Hamid Karzai charged late Sunday that Pakistan was setting up a border gate in eastern Afghanistan without asking Kabul. He ordered his ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior to remove the gate and all installations around it. It was unclear how they would do that as Pakistan

claims the facility is inside its border. Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi also said Afghanistan was investigating the participation of Pakistani Taliban in an attack last week that killed 13 Afghan soldiers at a small base in eastern Kunar province.

In other violence, Afghan officials said a roadside bomb killed at least seven members of a family travelling in a trailer towed by a tractor in southern Afghanistan.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the vehicle hit the bomb on a road in the Mali Zai region of Zabul province just after daybreak on Monday. It said four other people were wounded by the blast, which the ministry blamed on the Taleban.

A spokesman for the provincial governor, Shareef Nasari, says the death toll could be as high as eight. He says all the dead are members of the same family. A roadside bomb also killed four Afghan police and wounded three overnight in southern Helmand province, Musa Qala district chief Enayamatullah Khan said. Another two policemen were killed and six kidnapped during a Taleban attack on an outpost in northern Zawzjan province, according to Gen. Abdul Aziz Ghairat, the police chief. Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report. — AP

Dead falcon sparks spying fears on border JAIPUR: Indian security forces have found a dead falcon fitted with a small camera which has sparked alarm near the country’s highly militarised border with Pakistan, an official said yesterday. The carcass was discovered near the ancient fort city of Jaisalmer in the far west of the desert state of Rajasthan where the Indian armed forces regularly conduct drills and war games.

“It was fitted with some device and an antenna,” a senior Border Security Force officer stationed in the state told AFP by telephone on condition of anonymity.

Suspicions were initially that the bird might have been used for military spying, but the

camera did not appear very sophisticated and it might instead have been the work of Pakistani hunters, the official said.

“However, the possibility of it being an espionage attempt from Pakistan cannot be ruled out at this stage,” he said, adding that an investigation was being carried out.

In 2010, Indian police detained a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission. Local officers in Punjab state, which lies to the north of Rajasthan, said the white bird had a ring around its foot and a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body in red ink. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf holds a copy of his party manifesto for the forthcoming general election at his residence in Islamabad yesterday. Musharraf has been approved to stand in one constituency in the May 11 election, which will mark the first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has served a full term in office in the country’s history. — AFP

JALALABAD: Afghan protestors burn an effigy of US President Barack Obama during an anti-US demonstration in Jalalabad yesterday. Hundreds of university students took to the streets in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad to condem the recent coalition forces bombardment in Kunar which killed civilians. — AFP

Bangladesh prevents publication of daily DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities have prevented the publication of a pro-opposition daily whose editor was arrested last week for sedition and inciting religious tension, an official said yesterday. Police sealed off the printing press of Amar Desh on Thursday after the arrest of its editor Mahmudur Rahman, but officials have now barred the publication from using the facilities of another pro-opposition daily.

“They don’t have any declaration (authorisation) to publish the newspaper from another press,” Dhaka district administrator Yusuf Harun told AFP. Nineteen press workers from Amar Desh were arrested on Saturday and police have filed a case against the editor of the other pro-opposition daily Sangram which offered its printing press, he said. The arrests follow a nationwide crackdown on the opposition including the detention of more than 200 senior officials of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the entire leadership of the largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

On Thursday a court in Dhaka remanded Rahman for 13 days in police custody for interrogation after he was accused of sedition and publishing false and derogatory information that incited religious tension. The sedition case was related to hacking and the publishing of leaked calls between a judge from the country’s controversial war crimes tribunal and an expatriate legal expert. Rahman, who served as a deputy minister for energy in the cabinet led by opposition BNP leader Khaleda Zia between 2001 and 2006, bought Amar Desh in 2008. He became its acting editor and made it an opposition mouthpiece. — AFP

Goa says no to India’s first Playboy club PANAJI: The holiday state of Goa has decided to reject a proposal for India’s first Playboy club on one of its beaches following complaints that it would promote prostitution, local officials said yesterday. A local lawmaker threatened to go on hunger strike last week if the nightclub was allowed to open on Candolim Beach, but it was ultimately rejected on a technicality.

Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, told a state assembly session in state capital Panaji that Playboy’s application had failed because it did not meet requirements to set up a beach shack.

“The shack policy of the state makes it mandatory that the application for any shack should be applied for by a local individual in his name and we can’t grant shack permission for a brand,” Parrikar said.

PB Lifestyle, the Indian franchisee of the Playboy brand, announced plans in November to open 120 clubs, hotels, fashion cafes and shops in India over the next 10 years. Goa’s tourism minister

Dilip Parulekar said the planned venue in Goa had sparked much discussion.

“There have been concerns raised about vulgarity being promoted through the club. We are aware of how prostitution is rampant in the state’s coastal belt,” he said. PB Lifestyle, which had insisted there would be no nudity at the venue, was not immediately available for comment on the rejection.

In a bid to appease the country’s conservative values, Playboy in December unveiled a new-look costume for the “bunny girl” waitresses in its Indian outlets. The traditional skimpy corset has been replaced with a sari-inspired twopiece costume, comprising a one-shoulder top, a bare midriff and a sheer, fulllength skirt with a split. The ears, bowties and fluffy tails remain.

Playboy magazine remains banned in India, along with a host of other foreign “adult ” publications, owing to obscenity laws banning material deemed “lascivious or appealing to prurient interests”. —AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

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

Boat filled with protected species hits coral reef MANILA: A Chinese vessel that ran into a protected coral reef in the southwestern Philippines held evidence of even more environmental destruction inside: more than 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of meat from a protected species, the pangolin or scaly anteater.

The steel-hulled vessel hit an atoll on April 8 at the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site on Palawan island. Coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo said Monday that some 400 boxes, each containing 25 to 30 kilograms of frozen pangolins, were discovered dur-

ing a second inspection of the boat Saturday.

The boat’s 12 Chinese crewmen are being detained on charges of poaching and attempted bribery, said Adelina Villena, the marine park’s lawyer. She said more charges are being prepared against them, including damaging the corals and violating the country’s wildlife law for being found in possession of the pangolin meat.

It is not yet clear which of the four Asian pangolin species the meat comes from. The International Union of Conservation of Nature lists two species

as endangered: the Sunda, or Malayan, pangolin, and the Chinese pangolin. Two others, including the Philippine pangolin endemic to Palawan, are classified as near threatened.

The animals are protected by laws in many Asian nations, and an international ban on their trade has been in effect since 2002, but illicit trade continues.

The meat and scales of the pangolin fetch hundreds of dollars per kilogram in China, where many believe they cure various ailments.

The IUCN says rising demand for pangolins and lax laws are wiping out the

toothless anteaters from their forest habitat in Southeast Asia. Alex Marcaida, an officer of the government’s Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Philippine authorities consider the Philippine pangolin threatened because of unabated illicit trade. He said the Chinese crewmen have said the pangolins came from Indonesia, but officials were still verifying the claim.

The Philippine military quoted the fishermen as saying they accidentally wandered into Philippine waters from Malaysia. They were being detained in southwestern Puerto Princesa city,

where Chinese consular officials visited them.

Tubbataha is a 97,000-hectare (239,700-acre) marine sanctuary and popular diving destination 640 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Manila. The massive reef already had been damaged by a US Navy ship that got stuck in January and had to be dismantled.

The fishermen face up to 12 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $300,000 for the poaching charge alone.

For possession of the pangolin meat, they can be imprisoned up to six years and fined, Villena said. — AP

Lion Air jet that crashed into sea must be cut up Lion Air putting growth ahead of safety

TOKYO: US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, listens to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday. Kerry is in Tokyo as part of Asian tour amid a tense situation over a possible missile launch

by North Korea. — AP

Kerry defends America’s strategic pivot to Asia TOKYO: US Secretary of State John Kerry defended the re-orientation of US foreign policy toward Asia on Monday as he ended a trip to the region dominated by concerns about North Korea’s nuclear programmes.

The “rebalancing” of the United States toward Asia has caused unease in Beijing, which has tended to focus on the military dimensions of the strategy and to view it as a way to contain China’s rise. On the final leg of a 10-day trip that included stops in Seoul and Beijing, Kerry sought to assuage Chinese concerns even as he offered reassurance to US allies such as Japan and South Korea that the United States wasn’t going anywhere.

“Some people might be sceptical of America’s commitment to this region,” Kerry told students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. “My commitment to you is that as a Pacific nation that takes our Pacific partnership seriously, we will continue to build on our active and enduring presence.”

The United States has beefed up its military presence in the region in recent weeks, deploying two missile defense systems following repeated North Korean threats to attack the United States and its allies. The North increased its menacing language after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions in response to its latest nuclear arms test - its third - in February. Speculation has mounted of a

new missile launch or nuclear test. Kerry has stressed his interest in a diplomatic solution.

“The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearisation, but the burden is on Pyongyang,” he said. “North Korea must take meaningful steps to show that it will honor commitments it has already made, and it has to observe laws and the norms of international behavior.”

On Sunday evening, however, Kerry appeared to open the door to talking without requiring the North to take denuclearisation steps in advance. Beijing, he said, could be an intermediary. “If the Chinese came to us and said, ‘look, here’s what we’ve got cooking and so forth,’ I’m not going to tell you that I’m shutting the door today to something that’s logical and that might have a chance of success,” he said.

While signaling US support for its Asian allies, Kerry also said he did not want territorial disputes between Japan and China to jeopardize the region’s security and prosperity. “It is time also to put long-festering territorial pursuits behind us,” “The stakes are far too high and the global economy is too fragile for anyone to allow these inherited problems to divide the region and to inflame it,” he said. Tensions between the two nations soared last year over rival calims to a crop of islands in the East China Sea. — Reuters

Filipino troops attack Abu Sayyaf hideout, seven dead MANILA: More than 100 Filipino troops attacked a mountainous stronghold of two al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf commanders, including one on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists, sparking clashes yesterday that killed at least seven militants in the country’s south.

The offensive targeted Abu Sayyaf commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Puruji Indama in the outskirts of Tipo Tipo town on Basilan Island, but it was not clear if the two were hit or managed to escape during the main assault after dawn and two clashes that erupted afterward, army brigade commander Col. Carlito Galvez said.

At least three soldiers were wounded in the clashes with about 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen, the military said. Washington has offered a $5 million reward for the capture or killing of Hapilon, who has been accused of involvement in deadly bomb attacks, kidnappings and beheadings, including of Americans in the past, landing him on the list of the FBI’s mostwanted terrorists.

Indama has been wanted by Philippine authorities for his alleged involvement in deadly bombings and kidnappings of several people, including a former Australian soldier who was freed last month after 15 months of jungle captivity after ransom was paid.

Indama has been blamed for the 2007 beheadings of 10 marines in Basilan, a widely condemned atrocity that prompted a major military offensive against the militants.

Galvez said in a telephone interview that Hapilon and Indama are also accused of trying to sabotage infrastructure projects, including the construction of a road, and of trying to extort money from several business firms.

“Both their signatures appeared on the extortion letters,” he said. The attack

took place near a community-like encampment of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country with which the government has been negotiating a peace accord for years.

The Moro rebels said they were the ones attacked by army troops, adding the assault violated a years-long truce and may have been aimed at undermining their Malaysian-brokered peace negotiations with the Philippine government.

The Moro rebels said in a statement on their website that the 30-minute clash left scores of guerrilla casualties. Soldiers entered another rebel community in Basilan but the guerrillas there avoided clashing with the troops to prevent damaging the peace talks, it said.

Galvez denied troops attacked the Moro rebel camp, which was located 300 meters (yards) from the Abu Sayyaf encampment that they targeted. Abu Sayyaf gunmen have deliberately encamped there, thinking they would be backed by the Moro rebels in case of fighting with troops, he said.

The Moro rebels, however, did not help the Abu Sayyaf in yesterday’s clashes, Galvez said. The Abu Sayyaf, which was founded in early 1990s on the predominantly Muslim province of Basilan, has been blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization for deadly terror attacks and kidnappings for ransom. U.S.backed offensives have killed or captured many of its commanders in recent years, leaving the group without an overall leader to unify its factions on Basilan, nearby Jolo island and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The Abu Sayyaf, however, has survived with about 350 armed fighters, mainly through kidnappings for ransom and extortion and remains a security threat in the south. — AP

BALI: A Lion Air jet that slammed into the sea as it tried to land on the Indonesian resort island of Bali over the weekend remains stuck in shallow water and must be cut into pieces for removal, vividly underlining the challenges facing the budget airline as it races to expand in Asia.

Authorities initially planned to tow the Boeing 737-800 aircraft that split in two, but have now determined it is too heavy and must be carved into several parts to avoid the possibility of damaging the area’s coral reefs, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.

The tail is perched on top of a reef, making it unsteady when sets of waves hit the wreckage.

Divers have also faced difficulties recovering the cockpit voice recorder from the plane’s partially submerged rear, a key part of the investigation as officials work to determine what caused the crash. The flight data recorder has already been

removed. All 101 passengers on the domestic flight - including five foreigners from Singapore, France and Belgium - and seven crew members survived Saturday’s crash, and no one was seriously injured. The plane’s belly thumped into the sea short of the runway at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, fracturing the fuselage.

The accident has raised questions among some analysts about whether Lion Air may be putting growth ahead of safety. Indonesia’s largest private airline, which was started in 1999 by two brothers who pooled $850,000, stunned the aviation industry two years ago when it announced the biggest-ever order for Boeing planes - 230 jets in all - at an event with President Barack Obama. It made headlines again last month after signing a $24 billion deal to buy 234 planes from Airbus, the French aircraft maker’s largest order ever.

Lion Air has about 45 percent of Indonesia’s

DENPASAR: Members of a rescue team (foreground) watch as divers (back L) prepare to retrieve the black box underwater from a Lion Air Boeing 737 partially submerged in the water two days after it crashed while trying to land at Bali’s international airport near Denpasar yesterday. — AFP

air travel market and hopes to increase that to 60 percent by 2014 as cheap travel continues to boom in the sprawling archipelago of 240 million people. The airline has had seven accidents and incidents since 2002. Most were minor and all but one occurred during landing, according to the Aviation Safety Network’s website. The worst crash in 2004 killed 25 people.

The pressure to keep planes flying, coupled with the difficulty of finding enough qualified pilots can create a bad combination, said Tom Ballantyne, a Sydney-based aviation expert.

“It’s certainly an issue for fast-expanding airlines,” he said. Indonesia is one of fastest growing air travel markets in Asia, but the country has a troubled past when it comes to air safety. In 2007, the Europe Union banned all Indonesian airlines due to the country’s poor record. It has lifted restrictions for some carriers as improvements are made, but Lion Air remains on the blacklist.

Despite efforts to clean up the industry, Indonesia has struggled to find enough qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and inspectors.

Airport technology and infrastructure also lag behind, highlighted by a 15-minute blackout late last year at Jakarta’s international airport that disrupted its 26-year-old radar system.

Indonesia currently needs up to 800 pilots a year, but it can only prepare about 500, Transportation Minister Evert Ernest Mangindaan said at a news conference. “We have to say that we still lack pilots in the face of this air travel boom,” he said. Foreign pilots are now being employed to work for domestic airlines and flight schools are being established, he said.

Alvin Lie, a former Indonesian lawmaker and aviation analyst, said Lion Air’s aggressive push to buy more aircraft is likely adding to the burden on its pilots. But he said the Bali crash will likely not affect business in Indonesia. However, the airline has also positioned itself to take on budget carrier AirAsia, which dominates no-frills travel in the region.

“If abroad, that would definitely reduce consumers’ confidence,” he said of the crash. “But the characteristics of consumers here are different.

The most important thing for them is the cheap price.” — AP

Cambodia, Thailand clash over temple at top UN court THE HAGUE: Thailand and Cambodia took their dispute around a flashpoint ancient temple to the UN’s highest court yesterday, in a case Phnom Penh warned could end friendly relations between the countries.

The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun a week of hearings after Cambodia asked two years ago for an interpretation of the 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear temple.

Thailand does not dispute Cambodia’s ownership of the 900year-old temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has seen deadly clashes along their joint border. But both sides claim an adjacent 4.6square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) patch of land.

Without an interpretation of the 1962 ICJ ruling, there could be “unfortunate consequences which would prevent the two states from living in a friendly, peaceful and cooperative environment,” Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the court.

He stressed that the Preah Vihear temple was a “very important symbol of the peaceful relations between Thailand and Cambodia.” Bangkok allegedly did everything “to delay a swift decision by the court,” he added. Ahead of Cambodia’s opening statement yesterday, Hor Namhong told reporters his country “felt threatened” by troop incursions from Thailand.

A verdict from the ICJ, which judges disputes between states, is not expected for several months. In February 2011, 10 people were killed in fighting at the Preah Vihear temple site and fresh clashes broke out farther west in April 2011, leaving 18 dead.

The ICJ subsequently ruled that both countries should withdraw forces around the Khmer temple, which is perched on a clifftop in

Cambodia but with access much easier from the Thai side.

Access from the Cambodian side was so difficult in the 1970s that it was the last place to fall to the Khmer Rouge regime, and also the Communists’ last holdout in the 1990s. Cambodia and Thailand finally pulled hundreds of soldiers out of the disputed border area in July 2012, replacing them with police and security guards. The situation remains calm.

But Cambodia said Monday that despite a request to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last year, Indonesian observers have still not been put in place.

Thailand ahead of the hearings said it would “fight the case transparent-

ly and with our best effort.”

“When all the statements are released, people can consider the issues,” Thailand’s ambassador to The Hague, Virachai Plasai said ahead of the hearings. Thailand says that arguments over the land bordering the temple stem from Cambodian efforts to define rights over it as part of its application for World Heritage status for the temple.

The roots of the dispute are however much earlier, dating to maps drawn during French colonial disengagement in the early 20th century. Thailand is broadcasting the hearing live on its state-run television channel, with a translation in Thai.

Tensions between the two nations have calmed since mid2011 when Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thai prime minister. Her brother is a friend of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The powerful head of the Thai military, General Prayut ChanO-Cha said in February that his countr y would not necessarily respect an ICJ ruling. “The government will decide if it respects it,” he told journalists. If the government’s response is negative, “we will have to take a decision on what to do next, but not by using aggression. We are civilised countries,” he said. Thailand is to put its case on Wednesday. — AFP

CAVITE: US Marines from Company B, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Philippine counterpart, storm the beach to simulate a combat rubber boat raid at the culmination of their 12-day joint military exercise dubbed Balikatan 2013 (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) between the Philippines and United States yesterday at the Philippine Marine Base, Ternate township, Cavite province, southwest of Manila, Philippines. — AP

NEWS

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

This picture taken on Oct 18, 2012 shows two rebel soldiers in Syria guarding their sniper’s nest in the Karmel Jabl neighborhood of Aleppo as light streams through more than a dozen holes made by bullets and shrapnel in the tin wall behind them. This picture won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography yesterday. — AFP

Chavez heir Maduro wins by a whisker Oppn cries foul, demands recount CARACAS: Late socialist leader Hugo Chavez’s chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, won Venezuela’s presidential election by a whisker but now faces opposition protests plus a host of economic and political challenges in the OPEC nation. The 50-year-old former bus driver, whom Chavez named as his preferred heir before dying of cancer, edged out opposition challenger Henrique Capriles with 50.7 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election, according to election board returns. Capriles took 49.1 percent, just 235,000 fewer ballots.

Capriles, whose strong showing confounded most forecasts, refused to recognize the result and said his team had a list of more than 3,000 irregularities ranging from gunshots to the illegal reopening of polling centers. “I didn’t fight against a candidate today, but against the whole abuse of power,” Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, said after Maduro was declared the winner. “Mr. Maduro, you were the loser ... This system is collapsing, it’s like a sand castle - touch it and it falls.”

Capriles demanded a full recount, but it was unclear if the election board would agree. Either way, the dispute could usher in a new chapter of uncertainty for Venezuela, an already deeply polarized nation with the world’s largest oil reserves. Though some opposition supporters chanted “fraud”, burned tyres, and banged pots and pans in protest overnight, Capriles did not call them into the streets en masse. Caracas returned to normal yesterday with businesses open and traffic flowing, although about 200 pro-opposition students protested in an upscale district, trying to enter a hotel where unofficial foreign election observers were meeting.

Maduro said he would accept a full recount, even as he insisted his victory was clean and dedicated it to Chavez. The US government yesterday backed the call for a full audit of the results and the Organization of American States offered to send election auditors to help. Indicating what a tall order the opposition faces, officials said Maduro was to be formally proclaimed winner by the election board at a ceremony and rally in downtown Caracas yesterday afternoon despite the ongoing controversy. “I won ... we’ve had a fair, legal and constitutional triumph,” Maduro told a victory rally on Sunday night, saying he would be vigilant against destabilization. “We will know what to do if someone raises their insolent voice against the people.”

Maduro’s slim victory provides an inauspicious start for the “Chavismo” movement’s transition to a postChavez era. It also raises the possibility that he could face challenges from rivals within the disparate coalition

CARACAS: Venezuelan acting President Nicolas Maduro waves after knowing the election results late Sunday.— AFP that united around the towering figure of Chavez, an icon of the Latin American left. Chavez beat Capriles by 11 percentage points and 1.6 million votes in October, showing how quickly the gap between the two sides has eroded without the larger-than-life presence of the former leader. Opinion polls had all predicted a comfortable win for Maduro, due to emotion over Chavez’s March 5 death and the popularity of his social welfare programs. The gap narrowed fast in the final days but even so the result took most Venezuelans by surprise.

The sympathy effect for Maduro following Chavez’s death was clearly wearing off and Capriles’ campaign message - slamming his rival as an incompetent and poor copy of Chavez unable to fix the nation’s many problems - hit home. Maduro was unable to match his former boss’ charisma and electrifying speeches but nevertheless benefited from a well-oiled party machine and poor Venezuelans’ fears that the opposition might abolish Chavez’s slum development projects. The short campaign apparently helped Maduro. If it had gone longer, he could have lost even more support. — Reuters

Barrak handed 5-year jail term Continued from Page 1 testimony of defense witnesses including the prime minister. “I did not insult the Amir. I addressed the head of the state,” Barrak told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television in an interview. “My speech to the head of the state and addressing authorities is permitted.” Barrak later told supporters at his residence that the “ruling is illegal but I will give myself up to police if they come to pick me up”.

The verdict was issued with immediate effect, which means that Barrak has to go to jail even before the appeals court looks into his challenge. Hours after the verdict was issued, a number of high ranking police officers arrived at Barrak’s residence and wanted to arrest him but his lawyers refused and demanded they produce an official court order for his arrest - which they did not have - so they left without arresting the former lawmaker.

Ahead of the procession late yesterday, around 15 former opposition MPs and prominent activists repeated the same speech for which Barrak was given the harsh prison term. “We will not let you,” they chanted, repeating part of the fiery speech Barrak addressed to the Amir.

“Repeating this speech is not in support for Barrak. It is in support of justice and for the nation,” Faisal Al-Yahya, a former MP told the crowd at Barrak’s house ahead the march. Other opposition figures plan to repeat the speech everyday at Barrak’s residence before planned demonstrations.

Barrak said that the verdict was illegal because the court did not guarantee him the right to defend himself by appointing a new lawyer after his entire defense team walked out. The defense lawyers said they were going to challenge the ruling which they considered as “null and void” and said they are certain the appeals court will overturn the ruling. But until late yesterday, the appeal was not submitted and is expected to be filed today with the hope that the appeals court can set a quick date to review the case and suspend the implementation of the jail term until the case had been reviewed.

Before the court decision, the government put a special forces squad on alert and boosted police patrols. The government said Barrak was given a transparent and fair hearing. “All citizens, regardless of their position, are

equal in the eyes of the law. Anyone accused of a crime in Kuwait will get a fair trial with a comprehensive legal defence and open appeals process,” the Information Ministry said in a statement.

The verdict was issued amid tight security inside and outside the Palace of Justice. Kuwaiti stocks dived over 100 points or 1.4 percent immediately after the ruling was announced but most of the losses were recovered later. Former liberal MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari said “the ruling is purely political ... far away from the principles of justice”. “Musallam Al-Barrak is not just a (member of a) tribe and a political trend, but a conscience of a nation struggling to protect its rights, freedoms and wealth,” former opposition MP Osama Al-Shaheen wrote on his Twitter account. “Consciences cannot be locked up,” he said.

The verdict came two days after the Kuwaiti opposition threatened to stage street protests and call for civil disobedience if Barrak was denied a fair trial and jailed.

Independent political analyst Mohammad Al-Ajmi said he expects a serious escalation of opposition-led protests after the verdict. “I believe that escalation of protests is inevitable because of Barrak’s heavy political weight and as he is considered an important symbol for the opposition,” Ajmi said.

The opposition leader is also facing trial on several other charges including storming parliament and participating in protests. Barrak is the fourth former opposition lawmaker to be sentenced to a jail term on the charge of insulting the Amir. In February, former MPs Falah AlSawwagh, Bader Al-Dahoum and Khaled Al-Tahous were sentenced to three years in jail over similar charges.The appeals court however suspended the jail term even before the former lawmakers were taken to prison.

Several other opposition tweeters have also been sentenced to various jail terms for writing tweets deemed offensive to the Amir. Several others are on trial.

Kuwait’s opposition has been staging protests to demand the dissolution of the parliament elected last December on the basis of an electoral law that had been amended by the Amir. The opposition charged the change was illegal and aimed at electing a rubberstamp parliament.

Abbas opens Palestinian embassy, hails...

Continued from Page 1 to the use of force against Iraq, seeking instead a political solution for the crisis. After the war hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were coerced into leaving or expelled outright amid hostility from Kuwaitis who suspected them of disloyalty. The conflict ended when US-led forces drove out Iraqi troops in 1991.

Abbas inaugurated the embassy in Bayan, ending a long process of restoring ties with Kuwait that began in 2001, when Palestine Liberation Organisation Executive Committee member Faisal Al-Husseini visited the country.

In 2003, Kuwait snubbed Abbas, then prime minister to Arafat, putting off a visit because he would not apologise for the Palestinian president’s stand during the invasion, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported at the time.

“We are always proud of the position of Kuwait regarding the Palestinian cause and its housing of thousands of Palestinian people,” Abbas said in a speech at the opening ceremony. He said Kuwait hosted the “beginning of the Palestinian struggle and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah”. Abbas thanked HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti government and people for this “great gift” of the opening of the Palestine embassy.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah voiced content on the visit of Abbas to Kuwait, the first since the UN General Assembly approved to upgrade Palestine’s status to a nonmember observer state. Sheikh Sabah hoped Abbas would visit Kuwait again when the UN Security Council (UNSC) approves Palestine as a full UN member. — Agencies

KUWAIT: Thousands of Kuwaitis demonstrate at the house of key opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak after the lower court sentenced him to five years in prison yesterday for insulting HH the Amir. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

14

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

ANALYSIS

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.

E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Issues

Gene swapping makes H7N9 a moving target

By Kate Kelland new bird flu virus that has killed 13 people in China is still evolving, making it hard for scientists to predict how dangerous it might become. Influenza experts say the H7N9 strain is probably still swapping genes with other strains, seeking to select ones that might make it fitter. If it succeeds, the world could be facing the threat of a deadly flu pandemic. But it may also fail and just fizzle out. The virus’ instability also raises questions about whether H7N9 might become resistant to antiviral drugs such as Roche’s antiviral drug Tamiflu, a possibility already suggested by analyses of genetic data available on the strain so far.

“Even with just the three (gene) sequences we have available, there’s some evidence that one doesn’t quite fit with the other two. So we might think this virus is still fishing around for a genetic constellation that its happy with,” said Wendy Barclay, a flu virologist at Imperial College London. “Maybe there are other viruses out there that it is still exchanging genes with until it gets to a stable constellation.” To be able to say with any confidence whether this new strain, which before March had never been seen in humans, could go on to cause a pandemic, scientists need to know a lot more.

So far, genetic sequence data from samples from three H7N9 victims and posted on the website of GISAID, the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, show the strain is a so-called “triple reassortant” virus with a mixture of genes from three other flu strains found in birds in Asia.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, researchers who conducted a detailed analysis of the strain’s origin said it seemed that so far the reassortment of genes to make H7N9 had taken place in birds rather than in humans or in any other mammal - a somewhat reassuring sign. Barclay said this may continue, and could mean it is some time before the strain finds a form in which it can spread swiftly and efficiently in bird populations. Yet genetic analyses also show the virus has already acquired some mutations that make it more likely be able to spread between mammals, and more able to spark a human pandemic. A study in the online journal Eurosurveillance by leading flu experts Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin and Masato Tashiro at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, said the H7N9 sequences “possess several characteristic features of mammalian influenza viruses, which are likely to contribute to their ability to infect humans”. These features, the scientists wrote, “raise concerns regarding their pandemic potential”. That sentiment was echoed on Saturday by the World Health Organization (WHO), which said “genetic changes seen among these H7N9 viruses suggesting adaptation to mammals are of concern” and warned: “Further adaptation may occur”.

While experts take some comfort in the lack of evidence so far that H7N9 is passing from person to person a factor that would dramatically increase its pandemic potential - they are find little comfort in not yet knowing how the 60 or so people confirmed as having this flu strain became infected. “We know H7 viruses can spill over into humans ... and for me the most important thing to find out now is from which species do we think this H7N9 is spilling over,” said An Osterhaus, head of viroscience of the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands. “Is it one species? Are there different species? At this stage we are still lacking a lot of data.”

He said rigorous surveillance of wild birds, such as ducks and quail, and poultry such as chickens, as well as well-known flu-carrying mammals such as pigs, should yield answers. Recent pandemic viruses - including the H1N1 “swine flu” of 2009/2010 - have been mammal and bird flu mixtures. Experts say these hybrids are more likely to be milder, because mammalian flu tends to make humans less severely ill than bird flu. Pure bird flu strains like the new H7N9 strain and like the H5N1 strain that has killed around 371 of 622 the people it has infected since 2003 - are generally more deadly for people.

The world’s worst known pandemic, the “Spanish flu” of 1918 that killed more than 50 million people, was a bird flu that had picked up gene mutations that enabled it to spread efficiently in humans. David Heymann, a flu expert and head of Britain’s Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, said it is important to put the discovery of H7N9 in humans into the context of modern-day scientific capability. He said that in the years since the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003, there has been a significantly increased focus on detecting and reporting flu-like respiratory infections in Asia and across the world.— Reuters

A

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.

Maduro inherits tough economic problems

By Brian Ellsworth enezuelan President-elect Nicolas Maduro faces a difficult economic panorama of rising inflation and slowing growth, further complicated by his slim election victory that is being challenged by the opposition. Maduro won by the smallest margin of any Venezuelan election in the last 50 years after a whirlwind campaign triggered by the death of Hugo Chavez from cancer last month. The late president’s lavish social spending financed by an unprecedented oil boom created a following of millions, and his endorsement of Maduro before his death appeared to put his protege on track for an easy victory.

Instead, the winning margin was just 1.6 percentage points and opposition candidate Henrique Capriles refused to accept the official result. He is demanding a full recount. A perception that Maduro has a weak mandate could prompt challenges from within the disparate ruling coalition that formed around Chavez, just as overstretched state finances force him to slow the very oil-funded largesse he staked his reputation on maintaining. The OPEC nation’s strong growth is seen by most private economists as dropping this year as the government pares back following hefty spending in 2012 that was a key driver of the economy and helped Chavez win reelection in October.

At the same time, annual inflation may head toward 30 percent thanks to a currency devaluation and expanding money supply, while periodic shortages of products such as medicine and corn flour look likely to remain an annoyance. “We’re going to see a reduction in government spending, most notably in the home construction program, and the devaluation is also going

V

to limit growth,” said Angel Garcia of consulting firm Econometrica, which is critical of the government. “It’s going to be a year of inflation with stagnant growth.”

There are few signs, however, that the situation could descend into a full-blown crisis or force Venezuela to default on its debt.Wall Street investors who have for years sneered at Venezuelan socialism are likely to continue buying up its lucrative and high-yielding paper. And government supporters have long chuckled at doomsday predictions by the opposition of economic mayhem that in retrospect were exaggerated or simply wrong. But with the opposition questioning his legitimacy, Maduro may have little room for pragmatic measures such as unwinding the Byzantine system of price and currency controls that have created economic distortions. His narrow win may also dampen speculation that he is seeking a market-friendly replacement for Finance Minister Jorge Giordani, who led the Chavez-era expansion of state control. From a program of cash-handouts to poor mothers to a massive home-building campaign that gave new apartments to grateful supplicants, voters were showered with state spending in 2012 as part of Chavez’s re-election just months before his death. It was financed in part by nearly $21 billion in bond issuance over two years and at least $36 billion in loans from China. That spending was crucial in spurring economic growth of 5.6 percent last year. But growth for this year is seen by many private economists at 2 percent or below as the government slows spending as it normally does following presidential races. Central government outlays fell in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the previous quarter, according to the central bank.

State oil company PDVSA also cut contributions to state development fund

Fonden that has provided infrastructure financing. That signals a slowdown in the construction sector, which delivered a fifth of last year’s growth. Chavez’s wave of nationalizations helped stir up nationalist sentiment and expand state control over the economy, but also severely weakened the private sector and made business leaders reluctant to make new investments.

Many of the companies nationalized under Chavez have seen their output tumble amid under-investment and chronic labor problems. Steelmaker Sidor, taken over five years ago to much celebration, is operating at less than half its capacity according to local media reports.

The economy has become increasingly dependent on imports, which constitutes a drain on growth because they generate jobs abroad rather than at home. “Last year’s growth came on the back of booming domestic demand, with both consumption and investment soaring,” said JPMorgan analysts in a research note. “But in the context of a domestic supply side that has been crippled in recent years by nationalizations and regulatory uncertainty, imports have necessarily had to rise.”

The government maintains growth projections of 6 percent for this year, and Maduro’s allies dismiss talk of a slowdown as a politically-motivated smear campaign.

“There should not be a slowdown, growth should be similar to 2012,” said Jose Pina, an economist whose analyses tend to be similar to those of government officials. He said the inflation rate in 2013 would be close to last year’s 20 percent, but that it was not of great concern to workers because planned minimum wage hikes would boost spending power.

Critics of Wall Street analysts note that their projections last year considerably overestimated Venezuela’s inflation rate

and debt issuance. At a rally late in his campaign, Maduro vowed to hike the minimum wage by 40 percent in 2013 - words cheered by supporters as a sign of a brighter future. Economists had precisely the opposite reaction, seeing the announcement as confirming an acceleration of inflation this year that will eat into consumer spending power. Consumer prices rose 5 percent in the first two months of 2013 alone, and one local media report puts the March figure at 2.8 percent.

The central bank has not yet released statistics for March, possibly to avoid embarrassing headlines before the election.

Venezuela, which maintains currency controls created a decade ago by Chavez, devalued the bolivar by 32 percent in February. At the same time, it scrapped a parallel currency mechanism based on bond swaps that had improved dollar distribution, replacing it with a new system that business leaders say is confusing and cumbersome. An inability to obtain dollars can paralyze businesses, from motorcycle couriers unable to buy imported replacement parts to factory owners who cannot bring in machinery needed to maintain or expand operations.

With companies struggling to obtain hard currency, greenbacks on the black market are fetching close to four times the official rate of 6.3 per dollar - boosting the price of imported products and further feeding into inflation. Easing economic distortions will depend heavily on who ends up in Maduro’s cabinet. “He appears to be closer to relatively less radical figures like central bank president (Nelson) Merentes and Oil Minister and PDVSA president Rafael Ramirez, rather than to Finance Minister Giordani,” said Credit Suisse in a research note. “Replacing Giordani could also be a positive signal.”— Reuters

Don’t underestimate German anti-euro party

By Noah Barkin he political establishment has dismissed Germany’s new anti-euro party as a fear-mongering populist aberration that could implode even before a looming federal election. But the first congress of the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) showed that the movement, launched only a few months ago by a group of renegade academics, journalists and businessmen, is striking a chord with voters and may prove an influential force come September. Over 1,500 AfD supporters from across Germany packed into the Intercontinental Hotel in central Berlin on Sunday to elect the party leadership and formally approve a policy programme that has one objective above all: an end to the euro and return of the deutsche mark.

The meeting was not without the sort of hitches one would expect from a new party that is virtually devoid of experienced, professional politicians. A speech by party founder Bernd Lucke was interrupted at one point by a man waving a German flag. And delegates interjected repeatedly to remind AfD leaders gathered on the stage about proper protocol as motions were voted on. Still, the mood in the vast conference room where the congress was held bordered on the euphoric at times. And the attendees - mainly older men in suits with a sprinkling of middleaged women - said they were amazed at how much interest the party was generating among friends and family members. “ There is huge potential,” said Alexander Gauland, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) for 50 years before he defected and signed up with the AfD a month ago. “What has become clear over the past weeks is that there are many people who feel they are not being heard by the big parties, especially when it comes to euro zone bailouts.”

Unlike some other anti-euro movements in Europe, like the Dutch Freedom party of Geert Wilders or Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, the AfD says it is neither nationalist nor anti-immigration. Its program calls for Canadian-style policies to entice more skilled foreign work-

T

ers to Germany. The party supports an “orderly” dismantling of the euro zone because it believes this to be in Germany’s best interests, but also because it says this would help southern members of the currency bloc that are struggling with crushing recessions and rising unemployment. Above all, attendees in Berlin expressed frustration with the lack of debate in Germany’s big parties over policies that have led to multi-billion euro bailouts for Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus since the bloc’s debt crisis first erupted over three years ago. The rescues were backed not only by members of Merkel’s centre-right coalition, but also by the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens. “This party offers Germany a chance. It is talking about themes that were taboo for decades. Until AfD came along there was no alternative, and that is undemocratic,” said Henry Strasen, a 47-year-old who runs a gas station in the town of Luebben south of Berlin and previously supported the Free Democrats (FDP), junior partners in Merkel’s coalition.

Thomas Rang, a 62-year old real estate developer and also an FDP supporter before quitting the party in 2011, said he sympathised with southern member states that were “trapped by the euro”. “They can’t devalue. They are growing resentful of Germany. I’m for Europe but not for this kind of Europe,” said Rang, who travelled from Duesseldorf for the congress.

Since its founding in early March, over 7,500 people have joined the new party. Spokeswoman Dagmar Metzger says three times as many members have come from centre-right parties in Merkel’s ruling coalition than from the centre-left camp of the SPD and Greens. Opinion polls show one in four Germans would consider supporting the AfD. Despite that, most pollsters say it will be difficult for the party to get above the five percent threshold needed to enter parliament in September, although few are ruling out the possibility. “The question is whether on election day people who sympathise with this party actually vote for it,” said Frank Decker, a political scientist at Bonn University.

That will depend on a number of factors. The AfD will need to collect 2,000 signatures in each of Germany’s 16 federal states over the coming months to stand in the election at all. In a country where overt nationalism in politics is frowned upon because of the crimes of the Nazi era, the new party must also take care to keep out fringe elements that could embarrass it and cloud its message. In front of the hotel on Sunday, some people were handing out copies of “Junge Freiheit”, or “Young Freedom”, a weekly that is popular with the far-right.

Some believe AfD must become more than a one-issue party to have a chance in September. The programme approved on Sunday included recommendations on education, energy and integration policy, as well as long passages on Europe. The Pirates, an upstart party that became a magnet for protest voters in regional elections across Germany last year, also provides a cautionary tale for the AfD. It has seen its support crumble over the past months amid infighting and organisational disarray.

“We shouldn’t overdramatise this party but we shouldn’t underestimate them either,” said Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior lawmaker in Merkel’s CDU who has found himself ostracised within the party for refusing to back euro zone bailouts but rules out defecting to the AfD. “I don’t believe they will get over 5 percent. It is very hard to organise nationwide in just five months. But the voters that switch to this party can really hurt the CDU.” The irony is that if the AfD does do well in the election, stealing a disproportionate number of votes away from Merkel’s centre-right bloc, it probably increases the likelihood that she will be forced into a “grand coalition” with the SPD. Such a government would be expected to be even more supportive of European rescues and closer economic integration than the current administration - a result that several AfD members said they preferred not to think about. “If the euro fails, Europe will not fail,” party leader Lucke, a Hamburg-based economist, told the cheering crowd in Berlin, playing on one of Merkel’s favourite phrases. “If the euro fails, Angela Merkel will fail.” — Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

S P ORTS

Show your elbows, McLaren tell Perez MANAMA: McLaren new boy Sergio Perez has been told by team boss Martin Whitmarsh to use his elbows and make life harder for Formula One rivals.

“I think he’s been very polite so far this year, I think he needs to toughen up,” Whitmarsh told reporters after the Mexican finished a disappointing 11th in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

“I think he’s been generous in allowing people past him. He was a bit more robust today.” Perez had a coming together with Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen on the track on lap 16, with the usually glacial Finn sufficiently exercised to exclaim heatedly over the team radio about the youngster’s behavior.

The incident damaged Raikkonen’s front wing and prevented the 2007 champion challenging for the victory, eventually finishing second behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.—Reuters

Two soccer fans shot dead

Isner bags Houston title

FORTALEZA: Two soccer fans were shot dead on their way to a match at the Arena Castelao World Cup stadium in the northeastern Brazilian city of Fortaleza on Sunday, media reported.

The national Globo network’s website (www.globo.com) cited police sources in their report that the two young men, fans of visiting team Ceara, were shot in the head from a passing vehicle allegedly carrying two Fortaleza supporters.

The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper (www.folha.uol.com.br) said Ceara fans started a fight by throwing stones at Fortaleza supporters, which sparked the shooting. They said an unidentified man had been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred about five kilometres from the Arena Castelao and police carried out severe security checks at vantage points close to the stadium.

Ceara beat bitter rivals Fortaleza 1-0 in their Cearense state championship match in the Atlantic coast city, where the stadium had its first test for Confederations Cup. The Confederations Cup, to be played by eight nations from June 1530, is a dress rehearsal for the World Cup finals a year later in Brazil.

Folha quoted World Cup local organising committee official Tiago Paes as saying the incident was not directly related to Sunday’s match, which went smoothly with a crowd of about 15,000.—Reuters

HOUSTON: American John Isner won the US men’s clay court championship in Houston with a 6-3 7-5 win over top seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro on Sunday.

For fifth seeded Isner, the runner-up in Houston last year, the title is his sixth on the ATP Tour but his first on clay and his performance drew the praise of his opponent. “He did a really good job today. He played aggressive,” said Almagro, who like Isner was playing in his first final of 2013. “He served like normal, but today was tough for me. I want to congratulate him, because he’s a really good player and a good person and I think he did a good job this week.”

World number 23 Isner broke the 12th-ranked Spaniard three times to secure the win 81 minutes. Isner finished with seven aces to Almagro’s five and set a tournament record with 64 aces during his run to the title, beating Pete Sampras’ mark of 60 in 2002. Meanwhile, Milos Raonic beat Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-4 and Roberto Bautista Agut upset Gilles Simon 63, 7-6 (6) in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday. Raonic served 15 aces and broke his French opponent three times to set up a match against Jarkko Nieminen, who thrashed Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-2.—Reuters

Red Sox blank Rays

WASHINGTON: Henry Rodriguez No. 63 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Atlanta Braves batter during the ninth inning of the Nationals 9-0 loss at Nationals Park. —AFP

Braves thrash Nationals WASHINGTON: Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons homered to help the Atlanta Braves win their ninth in row as Paul Maholm beat the Washington Nationals 9-0 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. Upton hit his seventh home run of the season. Chris Johnson had four hits and two RBIs for the Braves, who took a 7-0 lead in the third inning against Gio Gonzalez (1-1).

In sweeping their NL East rivals and compiling the best record in the major leagues, Atlanta (11-1) has outscored the opposition 62-23.

Washington has lost seven straight to Atlanta since last year. Maholm (3-0) allowed four hits in 7 2-3 innings. He has not permitted a run this season in 20 1-3 innings over three starts.

PHILLIES 2, MARLINS 1 In Miami, Roy Halladay earned his 200th career victory, bouncing back from consecutive poor outings to pitch eight innings and help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 2-1.

Laynce Nix broke a 1-all tie with his second pinch-hit homer of the season in the ninth. Halladay (1-2) allowed five hits, walked one and lowered his ERA from 14.73 to 7.63.

He’s the 109th pitcher to reach the 200-win milestone, and the first to do so in a Phillies uniform since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1978. Nix batted for Halladay with one out in the ninth and homered into the upper deck in right field off Jon Rauch (0-2). Jonathan Papelbon pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his second save.

DIAMONDBACKS 1, DODGERS 0 In Phoenix, Paul Goldschmidt hit a gamewinning single off Josh Beckett with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill pitched six-hit ball for 7 1-3 innings. J.J. Putz (1-0) walked one in the ninth. Beckett (0-2) gave up a one-out double to A.J. Pollock in the ninth. Beckett ran the count to 3-0 before intentionally walking Miguel Montero, and Goldschmidt singled to right field.

ROCKIES 2, PADRES 1 In San Diego, Todd Helton had a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Jorge De La Rosa and three relievers combined on a two-hitter to carry the Colorado Rockies over San Diego.

Colorado also swept San Diego at Coors Field last weekend. Helton’s homer off Dale

Thayer (0-1) broke a scoreless tie. It was Helton’s first homer this season and his third career pinch homer.

De La Rosa (1-1) held the Padres scoreless on two hits in six innings. Rafael Betancourt gave up a run in the ninth before getting his fifth save.

BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 3 In St Louis, Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo home run in the 10th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals and avoided a sweep.

The Brewers had gone a team-record 32 innings without scoring before Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer off reliever Trevor Rosenthal in the eighth. Braun’s second home run of the season snapped a 39-inning shutout streak for St. Louis pitchers.

Milwaukee tied it in the ninth on a leadoff single by Carlos Gomez and a double by Yuniesky Betancourt off Mitchell Boggs.

Lucroy’s first homer this year came off Fernando Salas (0-2).

Brandon Kintzler (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth. Burke Badenhop got his first save. Matt Adams homered for the third straight game for St. Louis.

TIGERS 10, ATHLETICS 1 In Oakland, Austin Jackson had four hits, homered and drove in three runs, and Torii Hunter added two doubles and a triple as the Tigers routed the Athletics.

Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs for the Tigers, who had 14 hits and won for the third time in four games. The first eight batters in the Tigers batting order had at least one hit, and seven players drove in runs. Anibal Sanchez (2-0) overcame a sluggish start to pitch seven innings, winning his second straight outing and giving Detroit’s bullpen a needed rest. He allowed one run, three hits and four walks, matching his season-high of eight strikeouts.

Jarrod Parker (0-2), who lost to Detroit in Games 1 and 5 of last year’s AL division series, gave up a career-high

eight runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings.

shutout into the sixth.

WHITE SOX 3, INDIANS 1 In Cleveland, Jake Peavy struck out 11 in seven innings, Paul Konerko homered and the Chicago White Sox broke a five-game losing streak.

The White Sox went into the game as the majors’ only winless team on the road. Chicago was swept three games in Washington before dropping the first two against the Indians.

Peavy (2-1) gave up a home run to Michael Bourn on his first pitch of the game but held the Indians to five hits overall and didn’t walk a batter.

ROYALS 3, BLUE JAYS 2 In Kansas City, Alex Gordon drove home Chris Getz with a single in the ninth inning as the Royals beat the Blue Jays to avoid a series sweep.

The Royals played from behind nearly the entire way, but broke through when Getz doubled off Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver (0-1) with one out in the ninth. Gordon swatted the first pitch he saw from Oliver into the outfield, and Getz slid home easily ahead of the tag. Kelvin Herrera (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the

ANGELS 4, ASTROS 1 In Anaheim, Mike Trout hit his first home run of the season and Josh Hamilton also connected, leading CJ Wilson and the Angels over Houston.

Trout put the Angels ahead for good with his solo homer in the third inning.

He also doubled and scored three times. Hamilton tripled and singled before hitting his second homer of the year, a two-run drive in the eighth.

Wilson (1-0) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked four. Philip Humber (0-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings and struck out four.

MARINERS 4, RANGERS 3 In Seattle, Dustin Ackley broke a sixth-inning tie with a single for his first RBI this season, and rookie Brandon Maurer (1-2) rebounded from a horrible start to allow three runs - two earned and five hits in six innings. Raul Ibanez added a solo homer as Seattle split the four-game series, and Tom Wilhelmsen pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Nick Tepesch (1-1) made his second big league start and gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.

BOSTON: Stephen Drew of the Boston Red Sox cannot make a catch at second base against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.

All uniformed team members are wearing jersey number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. —AFP Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his fourth save, retiring Jason Giambi with a runner on to end the game.

Konerko’s two-run homer ruined a solid effort from Brett Myers (0-2), who took a

Royals, who got eight strong innings from Ervin Santana to remain within striking distance. Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in both runs for the Blue Jays.

YANKEES 3, ORIOLES 0 In New York, Hiroki Kuroda (2-1) pitched a five-hitter for his fifth major league shutout and Brett Gardner hit his first home run off a left-handed pitcher since July 2010. Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (0-2) matched Kuroda until the fifth. Brennan Boesch led off with a single and scored on Jayson Nix’s sacrifice fly, and Gardner hit a drive high off the right-field foul pole. Gardner had gone 178 at-bats without a home run off a lefty - 198 including the postseason - since connecting off Toronto’s Ricky Romero on July 3, 2010.—AP

GIANTS 10, CUBS 7 In Chicago, Edwin Jackson and Michael Bowden equaled a major league record by combining to throw five wild pitches in an inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs in the 10th.

The Cubs matched the record for wild pitches by a team in an inning during a fourrun sixth. Hunter Pence hit a tying homer with two outs in the Giants’ ninth off Shawn Camp (0-1). A balk by Camp scored the goahead run in the 10th. George Kontos (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning and Sergio Romo worked the 10th for his seventh save in eight chances.

PIRATES 10, REDS 7 In Pittsburgh, backup catcher Michael McKenry had the first two-homer game of his four-year major league career, while Starling Marte hit a tiebreaking two-run drive in a sixrun eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Cincinnati to its fifth straight loss.

The Pirates swept the Reds for the first time since April 2010 in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh trailed 5-0 when McKenry homered off Mat Latos leading off the seventh. McKenry hit a tying homer in the eighth. Jared Hughes (1-0) got the win and Jonathan Broxton (0-1) took the loss.—AP

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

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Boston 7 4 .636 NY Yankees 6 5 .545 Baltimore 6 6 .500 Toronto 5 7 .417 Tampa Bay 4 7 .364 Central Division Detroit 7 5 .583 Kansas City 7 5 .583 Cleveland 5 6 .455 Chicago W Sox 5 7 .417 Minnesota 4 7 .364 Western Division Oakland 9 4 .692 Texas 8 5 .615 Seattle 6 8 .429 Houston 4 8 .333 LA Angels 4 8 .333

BOSTON: Clay Buchholz didn’t allow a hit until Kelly Johnson’s broken-bat single leading off the eighth inning, helping the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 on Sunday.

Buchholz, who threw a no-hitter in just his second career start in 2007, allowed two hits and four walks in eight innings and struck out a career-high 11.

Johnson singled with an 0-1 count on Buchholz’s 101st pitch, sending the ball over first baseman Mike Napoli while the top part of the bat landed near the front edge of the infield between first and second.

Buchholz (3-0) lowered his ERA to 0.41, allowing one earned run in 22 innings He left after 109 pitches, and Andrew Miller finished with a one-hit ninth. Alex Cobb (1-1) allowed four runs - three earned - and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, and Tampa Bay lost for the fifth time in six games. The Rays have eight runs in their last six games.

GB 1 1.5 2.5 3

Atlanta NY Mets Washington Philadelphia Miami

1.5 2 2.5

St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago Cubs Milwaukee

1 3.5 4.5 4.5

San Francisco Arizona Colorado LA Dodgers San Diego

National League Eastern Division 11 1 .917 7 4 .636 7 5 .583 6 6 .500 2 10 .167 Central Division 7 5 .583 6 6 .500 5 7 .417 4 8 .333 3 8 .273 Western Division 9 4 .692 8 4 .667 8 4 .667 7 5 .583 2 10 .167

3.5 4 5 9 1 2 3 3.5 0.5 0.5 1.5 6.5

SHANGHAI: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso (front) of Spain is followed by Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in this file photo. —AFP

Alonso has no illusions about F1 title chances SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso says he has “no illusions” about his prospects in the Formula One championship despite ending a 12-race drought with an authoritative victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The dozen races without a win was the Ferrari driver’s longest barren period since his winless 2009 season, and represented a sharp change of fortunes after a Did-Not-Finish result at the previous race in Malaysia.

“It couldn’t have gone better than this today,” Alonso said after Sunday’s race. “This has a special feeling because it was a tricky race full of action.

“Along with the second place I got in Australia, this result shows that the car is competitive and that we are working in the right direction to always be in the fight for the podium.”

The Spanish driver said he had “pace in his pocket” which he kept in reserve, yet still drove away to a comfortable 10-second victory margin over Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton clung on for third, just two tenths of a second ahead of the fast-finishing Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. The comfortable nature of the win raised Ferrari’s hopes of taking its first drivers’ championship since 2007, partic-

ularly with the next race coming this weekend in Bahrain, giving rival teams no chance to introduce any significant aerodynamic upgrades in the meantime.

However, the 2013 season is already shaping as one in which fortunes will change from venue to venue depending on the layout of tracks, surfaces and the various team strategies revolving around tires. The Red Bulls were dominant in Malaysia, yet absent from the podium in Shanghai.

“With no one dominating the championship, it makes it extremely interesting, even if we are aware this is only the third race,” Alonso said. “We are under no illusions and we must continue to concentrate and do all we can to improve still further.” Vettel still leads the drivers’ standings, with his advantage sliced to three points over the consistent Raikkonen. The Finn’s second place on Sunday was his 20th consecutive points finish in Formula One, joining Alonso (23) and Michael Schumacher (24) as the only men to achieve that feat. That string of points finishes appeared to be in serious jeopardy when he ran heavily into the back of Sergio Perez’s McLaren early in the race, but remarkably his Lotus lost little pace and the team opted to

keep the damaged front wing and nose on the car.

If not for that accident, and a slow start that saw the Finn immediately shuffled down from his second place on the grid to fourth, Raikkonen would have posed a much stronger challenge to Alonso.

“It was quite difficult out there,” Raikkonen said of driving with a rearranged front assembly. “The car is not designed like that otherwise we would use it all the time, but I was surprised how good it was. Of course there were some handling issues, which was not ideal, but we just had to try to live with it and we still had pretty okay speed.”

Lotus’ trackside operations manager Alan Permane calculated that the damage cost Raikkonen about one-quarter of a second per lap. Given it happened with 40 laps to go, that was 10 seconds in all - precisely the margin behind the race winner. “Without the poor start and without the incident for Kimi then we definitely would have fought for a win today,” team principal Eric Boullier said. “Kimi showed once more why he’s one of the very best drivers in the world by being one of the fastest on track despite sustaining damage to his car.”—AP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

S P ORTS

All not well at Masters, but it ended well AUGUSTA: It was easy to root for the guy who won. Same for the guy who lost. So while all may not be well at the Masters more on that in a moment - at least it ended that way.

Australian Adam Scott beat Argentine Angel Cabrera with a 12-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff as darkness descended and the rain that began in midafternoon continued to fall. They embraced warmly, patted each other’s backs, then walked off the 10th green that way. It was a scene across which the word “respect” was writ large.

“His chip on the first playoff hole was just beautiful, and unlucky not to go in,” Scott said. “That must have gone right over the edge of the hole. My heart was about to stop as I was standing at the side of the green thinking, ‘Is this it, really?’

“But you know, managed to skid one up there myself and knock it in. And then he hits a beautiful putt on 10, as well, and you know, those things can just as easily go in as go out,” he added. “But you know, I knew then that was really my chance, because it was getting too dark to play anymore. I had to finish it.” Halfway around the world, back in mostly sunny Australia, a sports-

mad nation celebrated the first victory by one of its own. Back here, meanwhile, other than the roar that accompanied both men’s birdies at the 18th to force the playoff, and another that heralded the end, there was a noticeable lack of fireworks.

The slippery, overcast conditions put a damper on the rapid-fire exchange of birdies that make Sunday afternoons at this singular place so exciting. Instead of clapping, most spectators had their hands wrapped around umbrellas. But there will be plenty of time to celebrate this win.

“It’s going to change quite a lot, his life,” said Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion.

“He’s been looking for it, searching for it, this major title and he’s achieved it. His life is going to change really fast right now.”

Speaking of changes, there was one really important one at Augusta National this year - two women finally joined all the men parading around in green jackets - and a glaring need for several more.

Transparency has never been the members’ strong suit and this year, it came back to bite them.

No less an expert than Jack Nicklaus popped into the interview room Tuesday on the 50th anniversary of the first of his

six wins here - and called current chairman Billy Payne the most forward-looking steward the club has ever had. And to an extent, that’s true. Payne, who shepherded the 1996 Atlanta Olympics from bid to closing ceremonies, quietly convinced the membership to add women to their ranks and expanded the tournament’s already formidable outreach to international players deeper into Asia.

Beginning in 2010, the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was guaranteed a spot in the Masters field. By reaching into the amateur ranks, Augusta officials were aiming at the emerging golf market in China, which has very few tour pro-caliber players at the moment, but plenty of promising youngsters. It paid off this time around, when 14-year-old sensation Guan Tianlang went wire-to-wire in the event and turned up here.

The kid can play, something Guan demonstrated by showing poise and making the cut. But like most teenagers, he often has a hard time making up his mind, and settling on which club to hit caused his threesome to slow down play. At the 17th hole Friday, after sufficient warnings, he was docked a stroke and barely made

the cut. It seemed like harsh treatment, especially for a kid, but the club fell back on the game’s strict, yet sometimes-confusing “rules-are-rules” policy. Yet that uproar was barely subsiding when Tiger Woods took what was eventually ruled an illegal drop at No. 15 later the same day.

There’s neither time nor space to recount the whole process here. What’s clear is that Woods behaved badly and the green jackets behaved worse, bending the rules and torturing the logic they were based on to let Woods off with a retroactive two-stroke penalty instead of being disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

They took the fall for Woods, golf ’s biggest draw, but hardly for altruistic reasons. They were protecting the weekend ratings on CBS and their share of the take.

And sure enough, CBS returned the favor by having host Jim Nantz essentially whitewash the whole thing in the opening few minutes of the telecast.

Asking a club where change arrives at a glacial pace to move fast would be too much. Besides, the green jackets wield too much power to be pushed around. So here’s an incremental change that’s cost-

effective and will likely ensure the problems this year don’t pop up again.

The game’s three other major championships already employ a rules official to walk with each group. Had one been along with Guan, and even Woods, one of the most knowledgeable players in golf, the tournament probably would have been spared plenty of aggravation and a lot of wasted time.

While defending the decision on Woods, competition committee chairman Fred Ridley was asked whether the club would reconsider its policy and provide rules officials for each group.

“Well, that’s not something we talked about,” he began. “If there’s one thing about the Masters tournament, whether it’s whether or not we’re going to have chicken sandwiches next year or whatever, we look at everything. So we’ll be looking at this situation, what could we do in the future, is there any different processes we could employ?”

A word of advice, Fred: Bring back the chicken sandwiches, and then hand one on the first tee to the rules officials you ought to hire to walk the course with every group.—AP

Scott ends Australian misery at the Masters

AUGUSTA: Jason Day of Australia reacts during the 77th Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.—AFP

A place where prayers are answered AUGUSTA: It is a place where dreams come true for both golfers and fans alike the place where Australian prayers were answered on Sunday. It is, as the oldtimers say, where the four-day Masters tournament really begins in Sunday’s final round, the place where green jackets are won and lost.

It is a breathtaking piece of golfing real estate, an iconic stretch featuring holes 11, 12 and 13 that is tucked away in the far corner of Augusta National Golf Club and where reputations are often made and destroyed. It is Amen Corner.

“I don’t know that it’s a great conglomeration of holes. I think it’s a great conglomeration of circumstances,” explained six-times Masters champion Jack Nicklaus. “They are all great holes, don’t get me wrong, because I like all three of them.

“But the thing is, you have got everybody and your brother there watching you play. “People can sit there and watch you play all three holes from one location, and it’s just become such a great focus, not many places in golf that you can do that.”

With its dastardly tricky winds and the water of Rae’s Creek ready to swallow up misjudged shots, Amen Corner can produce plenty of thrills and spills as Kevin Na and defending champion Bubba Watson discovered on Sunday as both carded 10s at the par-three 12th.

But the real drama came later in the day when the leading pairs made their way in puring rain around White Dogwood (par-four 11th), Golden Bell (par-three 12th) and Azalea (par-five 13th).

Tiger Woods launched a back nine charge with a birdie at 10, followed by a spectacular shot from the trees to salvage par at the 11th. Another birdie at 13 and suddenly the world number one was at four-under and back in the title chase.

The Australian challenge that had stalled suddenly picked up pace at Amen Corner when Adam Scott birdied the 13th, then went on to beat Argentina’s Angel Cabrera in a high-quality playoff to give his golf-mad country its first Masters win.

“To be in the thick of it, to feel that excitement, to feel that pressure, to grace Amen Corner knowing you need birdies and trying to win a green jacket, that is the greatest thrill a golfer can possibly experience,” said Mickelson, a threetimes Masters champion.

It was the great American golf writer Herbert Warren Wind, searching for a

way to describe the trio of holes, who coined the name Amen Corner in 1958.

Wind would later reveal that the moniker came from the title of a jazz album he had liked called “Shouting in that Amen Corner” and fans have been roaring there ever since.

The thundering cheers from ‘Amen Corner’ have over the decades provided the Masters sound track. While Augusta National is often referred to as the ‘Cathedral of Pines,’ Amen Corner is where thousands come to worship each year on the final day of the year’s first major.

When the gates to Augusta National swing open, patrons (who are forbidden from running on the Augusta grounds by an army of security staff ) briskly make their way to the outer boundaries of the world’s most exclusive golf club and stake their claim to small patches of grass or a grandstand seats.

They then wait patiently for hours for the first golfers to appear. While the oncourse hospitality suites that dot nearly every other major golf tournament are not allowed at the Masters, Amen Corner is such a hot piece of property that enterprising companies hire helpers, load them up with folding chairs and send them early in the morning to grab the very best front row positions.

Caddies have also been known to set up a few chairs for family and friends while two men told Reuters their wives had come out to early to claim the coveted spots.

Amen Corner is a place of idyllic beauty but danger lurks at every turn as Cabrera found out when his second shot at 13 ended up in Rae’s Creek and he wound up with a bogey to drop back into a tie for the lead with Australians Scott and Jason Day. Masters histor y is full of ‘Amen’ moments penned by some of golf’s legendary figures like Byron Nelson, who surged through the turn in 1937 with a birdie and eagle at 12 and 13 en route to the claiming the winner’s green jacket.

“If you don’t pay it the respect that it deserves, they will bite you with a double,” said Mickelson. “I think that’s what’s so interesting is that you look at it on the surface, you need to make birdies if you’re going to win. You expect to make birdies on 13 and so forth.

“But, if you don’t give those shots respect, it bites you with a double.

Especially 11. “That’s the thing about Amen Corner is the respect that it demands.”—Reuters

AUGUSTA: Adam Scott finished the job this time, and put an end to more than a half-century of Australian misery at the Masters.

With the two biggest putts of his career, Scott holed a 20-footer for birdie on the 18th hole of regulation that put him into a playoff with Angel Cabrera, and then won his first major championship Sunday with a 12-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole.

“We like to think we’re the best at everything. Golf is a big sport at home, and this is the one thing in golf we hadn’t been able to achieve,” Scott said. “It’s amazing that it’s my destiny to be the first Australian to win.

It’s incredible.”

Scott leaned back and thrust his arms in the air after the putt dropped on the 10th hole, a celebration for all of Australia and personal redemption for himself.

It was only last summer when Scott threw away the British Open by making bogey on his last four holes to lose by one shot to Ernie Els. The 32-year-old Scott handled that crushing defeat with dignity and pledged to finish stronger given another chance.

“Next time - I’m sure there will be a next time - I can do a better job of it,” he said that day. Scott was close to perfect, and he had to be with Cabrera delivering some brilliance of his own.

Moments after Scott made his clutch birdie on the 18th hole for a 3-under 69 to take a one-shot lead “C’mon, Aussie!” he screamed - Cabrera answered with a 7-iron from 163 yards that plopped down 3 feet from the cup, one of the greatest shots under the circumstances. That gave him an easy birdie and a 2-under 70. They finished at 9-under 279.

They both chipped close for par on the 18th in the first playoff hole, and Cabrera’s 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th grazed the right side of the cup. With his long putter anchored against his chest, Scott’s putt was true all the way.

Under darkening clouds - no sudden-death playoff at the Masters had ever gone more than two holes Scott said he could barely read the putt. That’s when he called over caddie Steve Williams and asked him to take over. Williams was on the bag for 13 of Tiger Woods’ majors, and read the putt that helped Woods to the 1999 PGA Championship.

“I said, ‘Do you think it’s just more than a cup?’ He said, ‘It’s at least two cups. It’s going to break more than you think,’” Scott said. “He was my eyes on that putt.”“The winning putt might be the highlight putt of my career,” Williams said. “Because he asked me to read it.” The Masters had been the only major that never had a champion use a long putter. Scott’s win means four of the last six major champions used a putter pressed against their belly or chest, a stroke that might be banned in 2016.

What mattered more to Scott was that the Masters had been the only major an Australian had never won.

He was among dozens of golfers who routinely rose in the early hours of Monday morning for the telecast, only to watch a horror show. The leading character was Greg Norman, who had four good chances to win, none better than when he blew a six-shot lead on the last day to Nick Faldo in 1996.

There was also Jim Ferrier in 1952 and Bruce Crampton 20 years later. Scott and Jason Day tied for second just two years ago. Norman, though, was the face of Aussie failures at the Masters, and Scott paid him tribute in Butler Cabin before he slipped on that beautiful green jacket.

“Australia is a proud sporting nation, and this is one notch in the belt we never got,” Scott said. “It’s amazing

that it came down to me today. But there’s one guy who inspired a nation of golfers, and that’s Greg Norman. He’s been incredible to me and all the great golfers. Part of this belongs to him.”

Reached at his home in south Florida, Norman told The Associated Press, “I’m over the moon. Sitting there watching Adam, I had a tear in my eye. That’s what it was all about. It was Adam doing it for himself, and for the country.”

Norman was so nervous watching TV that he went to the gym when the final group made the turn. He headed home for the last four holes - Day, Scott and Marc Leishman all had a chance to win - and was texting with friends as his emotions shifted with every putt.

“I can only imagine how everyone else felt when I was playing,” Norman said. And when Cabrera stuff his

break at No. 15 when his drive ricocheted out of the trees into the fairways, allowing him to reach the green in two.

His lead vanished just as quickly, however. Day chose to hit putter from behind the 16th green, came up 5 feet short and missed the par putt. He hit into a bunker on the 17th for another bogey.

“I think the pressure got to me a little bit,” Day said.

The tournament unfolded behind him, and it turned out to be quite a show.

Scott hit the ball beautifully the entire day and watched one putt after another turn away from the hole. But he also received perhaps the biggest break of the tournament when his shot into the par-5 13th spun back off the green and was headed down the slope into the tributary of Rae’s Creek when it suddenly stopped, a blessing from a day spent in the rain. He

AUGUSTA: (Left to right) Adam Scott of Australia receives his green jacket from 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson after Scott wins the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.—AFP shot into the 18th, Norman said he sent a text that said, “The golfing gods can’t be this cruel to Australia.”

Scott was just as gracious in victory as he was in defeat last summer at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. He and Cabrera flashed a thumbs-up to each other after their shots into the 10th hole in the playoff, and they walked off the 10th green with their arms around each other when it was over. “Such is golf,” Cabrera said.

“Adam is a good winner.” It was a riveting conclusion to a week filled with some awkward moments. There was the one-shot penalty called against 14-year-old Guan Tianlang that nearly kept the Chinese teen from becoming the youngest player to make the cut. There was the illegal drop by Woods, who was given a twoshot penalty over questions and confusion about why he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect card.

And at the end, there was shot-making at its finest.

Scott didn’t make a bogey after the first hole, and he really didn’t miss a shot the rest of the day on a rainy Sunday at Augusta. He just couldn’t get a putt to fall until it really mattered. Then, he made two of them.

Day closed with a 70, his second close call at the Masters in three years. This one hurt far more because he had a two-shot lead when he stepped to the 16th tee.

He ran off three bold birdies down the stretch getting up-and-down from the back bunker on the 13th, a 10-foot putt on the 14th, and capitalizing on a

Abdullah Dashti with the tourney shield.

got up-and-down for birdie, and he two-putted for birdie on the 15th.

Cabrera wasn’t so fortunate. Playing in the group behind, his approach hit the bank and tumbled down into the water, leading to a bogey that cost him the lead. Cabrera answered with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th, however, that gave him a share of the lead.

And then came a one-two punch of birdies. For the fans who endured a soggy final round, this made up for it. Two players. Two clutch birdies. Two different celebrations.

Scott screamed at the top of his lungs, “C’mon, Aussie!” and clapped hands forcefully with caddie Steve Williams when his 20-foot birdie putt curled around the left side of the cup - just like Phil Mickelson’s winning putt in 2004 - and dropped in the back.

Scott was in the scoring room when he looked up and saw Cabrera chase after his approach, pumping his fist when his 7-iron plopped down 3 feet from the cup for a birdie. Cabrera affectionately hugged his son and caddie, Angel Jr., as they walked off the green toward the scoring room.

“It was a split second I thought I’d won,” Scott said.

“That was the putt we’ve seen so many guys make to win, and what I thought is it’s time for me to step up and see how much I want this. To make a couple putts to win the Masters is just an amazing feeling.”—AP

Al-Thenayyan with the team

Gulf Bank wins KBC soccer tourney KUWAIT: Gulf Bank’s soccer team celebrated winning the soccer tourney 2013 organized by the Kuwaiti Banks Club (KBC ) for

bankers.

The team captain and players extended their congratulations and expressed appreciation for

the support they received from the bank’s board chairman, Omar Qotaiba Al-Ghanim, board members, executive manager, Michele

Al-Akkad, general manager for board affairs, Fauzi Al-Thenayyan and the HR manager, Salma AlHajjaj.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

S P ORTS

Griner, Delle Donne, Wiggins lead WNBA draft class

Brittney Griner

Lelisa Desisa wins Boston Marathon BOSTON: Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa won the Boston Marathon men’s title yesterday, sprinting away at the finish to end a string of three straight Kenyan victories.

The 23-year-old Desisa won in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 22 seconds to become the fourth Ethiopian to win the race and the first since Deriba Merga in 2009. Kenyans had won the men’s title in the three editions since Merga’s victory, but this time around they could do no better than second-and Kenya’s Micah Kogo had to battle at the finish to hold off Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam for the runner-up spot. Kogo was second in 2:10:27 and Gebremariam third in 2:10:28.

Defending men’s champion Wesley Korir was fifth in 2:12.30. Desisa was running just his second career marathon. He made an impressive debut at the demanding distance in January when he won the Dubai Marathon in 2:04:45 — the 13th-fastest time in history.

“Everything was good!” said a delighted Desisa. “The people are good, the weather is

good-everything is good!”

Rita Jeptoo kept the Boston women’s title in Kenyan hands, finishing strong to win in 2:26:25. Jeptoo, the third straight Kenyan woman to lift the trophy, added a second Boston title. Since her triumph here in 2006 she had taken time off from 2008-2010 to have a baby. Ethiopia’s Meseret Hailu was second in 2:26.58 and 2012 champion Sharon Cherop of Kenya was third in 2:27.01.

Portugal’s Ana Dulce Felix had labored for miles alone in the lead of the women’s race, after overtaking Colombia’s Yolanda Caballero on the 17th mile. She built a lead of more than a minute over the field, but by the 23rd mile was peering nervously over her shoulder as a small chasing pack led by Jeptoo closed in and passed her. Felix faded to finish ninth.

Jeptoo said she had been training so well, she knew in the later stages she had plenty in reserve. “I knew I was ready when I came to Boston this year,” she said. “At 35 kilometers, I was very, very strong.”—AFP

BOSTON: Rita Jeptoo of Kenya (left) winner of the women’s division and Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia, winner of the men’s division, hold the trophy during post-race activities of the 117th Boston Marathon. —AFP

Nadal admits winning streak will one day end MONACO: Rafael Nadal admitted yesterday that his incredible 42-match, 10-year unbeaten run at Monte Carlo will end, but he is in no hurry to see that day.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, who last lost on the clay of Monte Carlo as a fresh-faced 16year-old when then-clay court king Guillermo Coria defeated him in straight sets in the third round, also claimed he is not the clear favorite he has been in the past. Nadal is bidding for an unprecedented ninth straight title at the Masters event in the heart of the Cote d’Azur but says his recent seven-month injury lay-off means he cannot be treated as the all-conquering clay king of old.

“I cannot say I’m the biggest favourite to win here again,” the Spaniard said on Monday as he prepared for his second-round start after a bye. “This is not an easy event to win. I don’t want to lose perspective, but I don’t want to lose either. “Everything in life finishes sometime. Someday the winning will stop, not everything is forever.

“But I’m excited to be here, it is always a high motivation for me to play Monte Carlo.”

Nadal, who won the Indian Wells hardcourt Masters 1000 crown three weeks ago and then rested his troublesome knees on the advice of doctors, remains quietly confident of his abilities on clay, where he has dominated for a decade.

While missing seven months during the last half of 2012 and well into 2013, the 26year-old knows that he has the skills to step right back into his role as clay court master.

But he is not happy to be continually fielding questions about the state of his knees or his

form. “I want to focus on the tennis day by day,” he said. “I don’t want to talk knees, if I’m here I’m here to compete. “I will try my best and hope to play better each day. I had a fantastic comeback (two February clay titles in Latin America before winning Indian Wells).”

Nadal said that while standing fifth in the world he is not prepared to complain about his ranking. “You can’t be in the top four if you did not play for seven months,” he reasoned.

“I’ve always gone day by day and just want to try and keep improving.

“I’m always excited to be back here and have the chance to work hard and try to win.

Now my job is to try and play well.”

On court Nadal’s journeyman compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut pulled off an upset as he defeated French 11th seed Gilles Simon 63, 7-6 (8-6).

Another seed Marin Cilic avoided a similar fate but only just as the ninth-seeded Croat battled back from a set down to beat Horacio Zeballos 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.

Finn Jarkko Nieminen defeated slumping Serb Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-2 while Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko dispatched German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-3, 6-4.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic was testing his injured ankle for another day after vowing to try and regain fitness in time for a Wednesday start at the event which begins the European clay season.

Djokovic hurt the ankle last weekend in a Davis Cup win but has made faster progress than he might have deemed possible and holds out hopes of taking his spot in the draw.—AFP

NEW YORK: Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins are expected to be the top three selections in this year’s highly touted WNBA draft. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.

Phoenix has the envied No. 1 pick in the draft Monday night and it’s anticipated that the Mercury will select Griner, the 6-foot-8 Baylor standout who averaged 23.8 points - third-best in the country - and 4.14 blocked shots as a senior. The two-time AP women’s college basketball Player of the Year finished her career as the No. 2 scorer in NCAA history with 3,283 points and set records with 748 blocks and 18 dunks.

“She’s no doubt going to be an impact player right away,” Tulsa coach Gary Kloppenburg said on a national media conference call.

“Defensively, great shot-blocking, just clogging the lane even with the new (defensive 3-second) rule she’s mobile enough she’s going to be able to understand the two-point line, getting in, getting out.

“Offensively, you really have to double-team her and she’s so skilled down there with all her array of shots. Her passing ability has improved so much, she’s going to really tilt that team with that low-post presence.” Griner, who is expected to bolster a Mercury team that finished 7-27 a year ago, gained national attention as a high school player when videos of her dunking went viral on the Internet. She went on to a dominant college career while drawing new fans to the women’s game and helping the Bears win the national championship in 2012.

Washington coach Mike Thibault, entering his first season with the Mystics after spending the previous 10 in Connecticut, also praised Griner’s skills while disputing the notion the high-scoring Mercury will need to alter their high-speed offense to accommodate the defensive stalwart.

“I strongly disagree,” he said. “I think she will enhance the way they play. People think they have to slow down for her. How many better outlet passers are there going to be in our league than her to start the break with a rebound and an outlet pass? She may not get across half court before they take the shot, but the break will get a good start.”

New York coach Bill Laimbeer, back in the league after a nearly four-year absence, believes the biggest adjustment Griner may have to make is to the physical play in the WNBA especially after Louisville played her tough defensively in a win over Baylor in the NCAA tournament’s round of 16. “ That’s everyday business in the WNBA,” Laimbeer said. “It’s a physical league, they’re grown women. They ’re much bigger and stronger than the college ladies out there.”

Chicago is likely to take Delaware’s Delle Donne with the second pick, followed by Notre Dame star Diggins going to Kloppenburg’s Shock at No. 3.

The 6-foot-5 Delle Donne, who can play all three positions, was second in the nation in scoring (26.0 ppg) and averaged 8.5 rebounds. She ended her career with 3,039 career points - fifth all-time in NCAA history.

“We haven’t seen a player like her come into our league,” Kloppenburg said of Delle Donne’s versatility. “I guess the comparison is to Lauren Jackson, but in a way she’s got a greater skill set than even Lauren with her ability to put the ball on the floor.”

Though Delle Donne is most likely headed to the Sky, a team that last season finished one game out of reaching the playoffs for the first time its seven-year history, she’s prepared to play in either Chicago or Tulsa. “I’m going to be thrilled wherever I end up,” she said. “I’ve heard Chicago is an amazing place to live so I’d really be excited moving to the city. That’s a very talented team and I think it would be an awesome opportunity to really take (that) team to the next level.” Diggins also had a strong senior season, averaging 17.1 points, 6.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals while helping the Irish reach the Final Four, where it lost to eventual champion UConn. “She’s a great player and has those intangibles,” Kloppenburg said. “I think she’s one of those that can impact our league right away and we know she’s an extremely hard worker and will put the time in to get better.”

Other players expected to be taken in the first round include guards Alex Bentley (Penn State),

Kelly Faris (UConn), and Tayler Hill (Ohio State), forward Tianna Hawkins (Maryland) and center Kelsey Bone (Texas A&M).

“The talent is spread throughout the positions,” Diggins said. “There’s a lot of players that have the potential to come in and make an immediate impact and be franchise players for their teams. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

After the big three are taken, Washington will begin the uncertain portion of the draft with the fourth pick, and New York has two of the next three selections - with Seattle in between at No. 6. San Antonio will pick eighth, followed by defending champion Indiana, Los Angeles, Connecticut and Minnesota to complete the first of three rounds.

“The joke around here is I have the first pick in the other draft,” Thibault said with a laugh before acknowledging a Mystics team that finished a league-worst 5-29 last season has plenty of holes. “We’ve narrowed it down to three or four players. We’re going back and forth as a staff and that’s the decision we have to make.”

Laimbeer said the Liberty will be looking for a post player with one of their first-round picks, most likely at No. 5, and then the best available to fill a need with the other selection.

“Mike’s driving the bus right now,” he said. “It’s a matter of who’s there and we won’t know that until Mike picks and sets off a chain of events.”

Training camps open May 5, with the league’s 17th season set to being on May 24.—AP

Delle Donne

Blackhawks down Blues ST. LOUIS: Corey Crawford stopped 30 shots and the Chicago Blackhawks got goals from Bryan Bickell and Marian Hossa for a 2-0 win over St. Louis on Sunday.

The Blackhawks lead the NHL with 68 points, and have won five in a row. They’re 3-1 against the Blues, all with Crawford in net.

The Blues rarely tested Crawford until the third period and lost their second straight in front of a standing room crowd of 19,385 that had a healthy contingent of Blackhawks fans.

St. Louis has seven games remaining in the regular season, all but one at home.

Bickell tapped in his own rebound on a rush early in the second period to end Blues goalie Brian Elliott’s shutout streak at 214 minutes. Hossa’s short-handed goal off a faceoff win by Jonathan Toews was the crusher early in the third, coming 17 seconds after Duncan Keith was whistled for cross-checking David Backes in front of the Chicago net.

SABRES 3, LIGHTNING 1 In Buffalo, Jhonas Enroth stopped 32 shots and helped Buffalo keep up its late-season playoff push. Tyler Ennis got his first goal in 12 games, and Jochen Hecht and Kevin Porter also scored for Buffalo (18-19-6), which took over sole possession of 10th place in the Eastern Conference - four points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers.

Benoit Pouliot score for the Lightning, who dropped to 1-4-1 in their past six. Tampa Bay has particularly struggled on the road, where it’s winless in four straight (0-3-1) and 1-6-1 in the last eight.

Enroth stopped the first 16 shots he faced

before allowing his first goal in two games with 6:30 left in the second period.

RED WINGS 3, PREDATORS 0 In Nashville, Henrik Zetterberg scored in the second period, and Detroit gained two crucial points in its chase to extend its streak of playoff berths.

The Red Wings got their first win in four

games, the last two shootout losses, and moved into sole possession of eighth in the Western Conference - two points ahead of Dallas and Columbus. Johan Franzen also scored a goal, and Justin Abdelkader added an empty-netter late. Jimmy Howard made 22 saves for his third shutout this season. Pekka Rinne made 29 saves for Nashville, which lost its sixth straight.—AP

NHL results/standings Chicago 2, St. Louis 0; Buffalo 3, Tampa Bay 1; Detroit 3, Nashville 0.

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 18

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 6 111 128 42 Southeast Division 17 2 129 118 48 19 2 109 123 44 22 3 133 131 37 22 2 107 131 36 22 6 99 142 32

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 32 5 4 134 85 68 St. Louis 23 16 2 110 104 48 Detroit 20 15 7 106 107 47 Columbus 19 16 7 102 107 45 Nashville 15 20 8 98 118 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)

NASHVILLE: Joakim Andersson No. 63 and Drew Miller No. 20 of the Detroit Red Wings fight David Legwand No. 11 and Victor Bartley No. 64 of the Nashville Predators for a rebound in front of Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne No. 35 at the Bridgestone Arena. —AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

S P ORTS

English football shaken by return of hooliganism LONDON: A fan punches a police horse as the streets of Newcastle are turned into a battleground. Bloodied supporters brawl inside Wembley Stadium as weeping youngsters watch on. Fighting erupts at train stations as hooligans hurl racist abuse.

English football has been in a time warp this weekend, with a return of the crowd trouble that stained the national game in the 1970s and 80s when its fans were the pariahs of Europe.

Almost 80 fans were arrested as violence spread from stadiums to the streets and transport network, prompting fears that the “English disease” had resurfaced.

“You never finally defeat football hooliganism,” British sports minister Hugh Robertson told The Associated Press. “Huge, huge strides have been made since the 1980s. The situation has been transformed but we don’t appear to be able to make it go away forever. “You’ve got to remain vigilant and remain tough when it occurs.” Wembley witnessed its most violent scenes since the rebuilt national stadium opened six years ago as Millwall fans turned on each other during Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal loss to Wigan.

Four teen arrests were made inside the stadium as the disorder was allowed to build throughout the second half in the Millwall end. As trouble spilled out of the stadium into a nearby tube station, another six Millwall fans were arrested for a series of offenses, including affray and racist abuse.

Fans of the second-tier London club, which was renowned for its struggle with hooliganism in the 1970s and 80s, made light of their unruly reputation by chanting: “No one likes us and we don’t care.”

But the American-owned club has sent out a clear message that it does.

“The reputation of our club, which over the last few years has been steadily and painstakingly rebuilt, has been severely damaged once

again,” Millwall chief executive Andy Ambler said after talks with Football Association chiefs on Monday. “We understand that there are now bridges to be rebuilt, and if there are lessons to be learned from the weekend I’m sure all parties will be keen to take them on board and ensure that those unsavory scenes are not repeated.”

Ambler vowed to help bring the perpetrators of the “mindless violence” to justice, and Newcastle was also forced to condemn its own fans yesterday.

Newcastle fans responded to a 30 loss at home to local rival Sunderland on Sunday by running amok in the city center, with three police officers injured after being attacked during clashes.

In one scene that provoked widespread outrage, a man was also seen swinging at a police horse. Thirty men were arrested, and Newcastle vowed to impose lifetime bans from matches on anyone found guilty.

“We were embarrassed and appalled by the behavior of a minority of socalled fans who last night were involved in disturbances and disorder,” Newcastle said in a statement.

British Transpor t Police also reported unrest on Sunday with fans traveling to and from the FA Cup semifinal between Manchester City and Chelsea. Seven Chelsea fans were arrested and four City fans were held for offenses including assault and racist abuse.

On Saturday, 11 fans of secondtier club Watford were also arrested as they traveled from a match at Peterborough through London’s King’s Cross rail station “In recent years, police, football clubs and other partners have made great strides in tackling the (hooligan) problem, and we’ve seen enormous reductions in offenses thanks to a combination of robust policing and the banning of troublesome individuals from attending matches,” said Andrew Trotter, chief constable of the British Transport Police.

“The scenes at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and in Newcastle on Sunday serve as a firm and sobering reminder that there is still much more to be done in tackling footballrelated disorder.”

The incidents came days after the 2018 World Cup organizing committee said they are looking to England to see how to solve Russia’s own hooliganism problem.

“What you achieved in England in the past 30 years was a true revolution,” World Cup director Alexander Djordjadze said.

But the ugly reminder over the weekend of England’s hooligan past has reinforced the urgency to prevent the violence spreading as the season enters its final month.

“The events of the weekend ... do not represent a return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s,” said Robertson, the government minister with responsibility for football. “The world saw the very best of British sport last summer (at the London Olympics). The last thing we want is these sorts of incidents.”

Robertson said the early indications are that the incidents were caused by a “combination of too much drink, warm weather and an enormous amount of stupidity from the fans involved.”

Worse crowd disorder has been witnessed on the continent this season, with three Borussia Moenchengladbach fans stabbed in Rome ahead of a Europa League match against Lazio in February.

A Tottenham supporter was also stabbed in Rome in November, while the London club’s fans were attacked in a Lyon pub for another Europa League game in February.

This weekend saw riot police deploy tear gas in Italy to deal with disorder outside AC Milan’s match against Napoli. And in Brazil, two Ceara fans were shot in the head after being confronted by supporters of local rival Fortaleza while traveling to a stadium being used at the 2014 World Cup.—AP

Photo of the day

Drew Bezanson executes an Under Flip at the BMX Performance Camp in Toronto, Canada. www.redbullcontentpool.com

Rivaldo’s team relegated in Brazil BRAZL: Uruguay for ward Diego Forlan scored twice to help Dunga’s Internacional record another easy win on Sunday as they beat Juventude 41. Forlan opened the scoring after two minutes, capped Inter’s performance with the fourth midway through the second half, set up a goal for Leandro Damiao and had another effort disallowed. Airton was Inter’s other scorer.

Inter, in their first season under former Brazil captain and coach Dunga, have already won the first stage of the Gaucho (Rio Grande do Sul state) championship and top their group in the second stage.

The tournament is one of the numerous regional championships, each with different and often bafflingly complex formats, which kick off the marathon Brazilian season.

World club champions Corinthians suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by Linense in the Paulista championship, but it mattered little as they had already qualified for the quarterfinals. In a game played on Saturday, Santos forward Neymar scored four goals, hit the post and had another disallowed as his side, also qualified, won 4-0 at Uniao Barbarense, taking

his tally in the competition to 12.

Sao Caetano, whose team includes 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo, were relegated after a 1-1 draw with Penapolense in the same competition. “I’m very sad about the relega-

tion of Sao Caetano, it’s the first time I’ve experienced anything like this,” Rivaldo wrote on Twitter. “But I have a wonderful footballing past and I’m not going to let it get me down, I will keep on fighting.” —Reuters

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: FIFA president Joseph Blatter speaks during a press conference at the National Palace in Santo Domingo.

Blatter is on a six-day trip to CONCACAF countries where FIFA has important development projects. —AFP

Tigres unbeaten record ends

LIVERPOOL: A supporter holds up a blue and white Everton scarf amid Liverpool scarves during a memorial service at Liverpool FC’s Anfield football ground in Liverpool, north-west England on the 24th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 of the club’s supporters died at the FA Cup semi final against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium. —AFP

Everton face test of CL hopes against Arsenal LONDON: Everton can take a huge step towards an unlikely top-four finish and Champions League soccer next season if they can maintain their recent run of great form by winning at Arsenal for the first time in 17 years today.

To do that, they will have to overcome opponents who have risen to third in the table on the back of a superb run of results just as the race for Champions League qualification enters the finishing straight. With Manchester United and Manchester City set to finish first and second, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been jostling for the remaining two Champions League spots for the last three months.

Yet victory at Arsenal will make Everton serious contenders too.

United, who need just seven points from their last six matches to win the title lead the pack with 80 points from 32 games, 15 points clear of City who have 65 from 31.

Arsenal have 59 points from 32, followed by Chelsea on 58 from 31, Spurs on 58 from 32 and Everton 55 from 32. Today’s match at Emirates Stadium is one of four important midweek Premier League games before a full programme next weekend.

Runaway leaders Manchester United play at West Ham United on Wednesday, fourth-placed Chelsea play at neighbors Fulham and Manchester City host relegation-

threatened Wigan Athletic in an FA Cup final rehearsal.

Arsenal, who are chasing a 16th successive Champions League berth next season, have recovered superbly since they were beaten 2-1 at arch-rivals Spurs on March 3.

They have won all four league games since then, including Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Norwich City when all three goals came in the last six minutes.

Everton’s European ambitions have taken root with four wins and a draw from their last five games, with coach David Moyes praising his team’s professionalism in their 2-0 win against relegation candidates Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.

“It was a very important win and a very disciplined and professional performance. Now, if we can go and win at Arsenal, you might say that we’ve got a chance of being involved in the Champions League.

“If we don’t, you’ll probably say we’ve got a chance of making the Europa League. No matter what happens there, the players have given themselves a great chance.”

He added: “There’s six games left to go. We’ve been doing it for most of the season. Why would it change in the last few games?”

What Everton need to change is their record against Arsenal. They have lost eight of their last 11 league matches and not beaten them for six years.

Manchester United, who brushed aside a toothless Stoke City 2-0 on Sunday, can take another step towards their 20th title if they win at mid-table West Ham who drew 1-1 with Southampton on Saturday. A last-minute goal from Robin van Persie gave United a 2-2 draw at Upton Park on their last visit there for an FA Cup third-round tie in January. They have a good record at the ground, winning their last three league matches there and outscoring the Hammers 9-2.

In a dress-rehearsal of the FA Cup final on May 11, Manchester City meet Wigan at home with the game of far greater significance to their opponents.

Wigan are 18th and in the relegation zone, but have two matches in hand on the teams above them.

Chelsea, who relinquished their hold on the FA Cup on Sunday when they lost 2-1 in their semifinal against Manchester City, will be playing their seventh match in 19 days, when they make the short trip to Fulham.

Fulham’s Craven Cottage ground is just two miles from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Chelsea usually do well at Fulham having lost there only once in the Premier League, and interim coach Rafa Benitez will be desperate for all three points to keep their momentum going in the race for Champions League qualification.—Reuters

MEXICO CITY: Tigres lost their 14-match unbeaten record in Mexico’s Clausura championship with a 2-1 defeat at UNAM Pumas on Sunday but still managed to cling to a one-point lead over second-placed Atlas.

Striker Emanuel Villa, the championship’s top scorer with nine goals, put Tigres ahead in the eighth minute with a header from Brazilian Danilinho’s cross.

An own goal by Tigres defender Hugo Ayala, trying to block a shot from Javier Cortes, brought the Pumas level and Argentine striker Martin Bravo hit the winner with a scissors kick after half an hour at the Olimpico Universitario in the capital.

“Yes, this was a surprise because Tigres were unbeaten and playing great games, but we have been improving. We were dynamic and the team showed we can compete with anyone,” Bravo told reporters. The victory lifted Pumas into fifth place on 23 points from 14 matches, six points behind Tigres. Record 11-times champions Guadalajara’s chances of reaching the eight-team title playoffs were dealt a blow with a 2-1 loss to Atlante at their Omnilife stadium.

Mexico striker Rafael Marquez Lugo put the Chivas ahead with a first-half penalty but goals from Luis Venegas and Francisco Uscanga left them in 13th place with 16 points.

The top eight after the 17 rounds of the league format qualify for the championship’s knockout phase. Guadalajara, with only three wins, are four points behind eighth-placed

Monterrey. The Chivas have a chance to reverse their fortunes when they face Atlas in the Guadalajara city derby, known as the “Clasico Tapatio”, on Saturday.

“We will prepare in the best way possible and try to finish (the league phase) well and get in (the quarter-finals),” midfielder Jesus Sanchez told the club website (www.chivascampeon.com).

Cruz Azul, who won the Copa Mexico knockout competition beating Atlante on penalties in the final on Wednesday, crushed title holders Tijuana 5-0 on Saturday and climbed back into the top eight. Tijuana, winners of the Apertura championship in the first half of the season, have dropped out of the top eight as they appear distracted by a run to the last 16 of the South American Libertadores Cup.—Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

English Premier League Arsenal v Everton .................................. 21:45 Abu Dubai Sports HD

MEXICO: Mexico’s national football team players Diego Reyes (left) and Angel Reyna, take part in a training session in Mexico City. Mexico will face Peru in a friendly match tomorrow.—AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

S P ORT S

Brazil sees airports as key challenge for WCup RECIFE: Brazil faces a major challenge in modernising its airports ahead of next year’s World Cup and will make available both civilian and military airfields for the teams, a government official said.

“The big problem” for the tournament is “the quality of airports”, Luis Fernandes, the government representative on the World Cup’s Local Organising Committee (COL) said in an interview with foreign correspondents in the northeastern city of Recife Sunday.

The work to completely upgrade the airports will be finished in 2018 and the 32 squads and officials will be able to use both civilian and military airports,

Fernandes added.

Fernandes, who is also executive secretary in the sports ministry, said the tournament offers great development opportunities for Brazil and he insisted the country will stage an “excellent” World Cup with a “Brazilian touch”.

Why is it important for Brazil to host the World Cup ?

“FIFA must guarantee the success of the event but we (the government) must also ensure that it helps the development of the regions and the country.

This is why we chose to have 12 host cities instead of eight. All are tourist

hubs who will benefit from the infrastructure improvements (ports, airports, urban mobility, telecommunications).

The federal government is to invest $15 billion in the World Cup and this June’s Confederations Cup. These events raised the country’s international profile.

Brazil wants to boost its tourism. This will lure investments. We expect a 0.5 percent hike annually in the national GDP as a result of these sporting events (including the 2016 summer Olympics).

Will everything be ready in time ?

The stadiums are the most important.

Six will already be operational for the

Confederations Cup in June. But there have been delays. Only two were ready in December, which was the initial deadline, and the four others will be by the end of April.

We will have to conduct (FIFA) tests of the facilities in parallel rather than in sequences, but they will all be carried out. The same thing will happen for the 2014 World Cup. Every six months, we will take stock. The big problem is the quality of the airports. The modernisation plan runs until 2018. But for 2014, they (airports) will operate well and military airports will be used to welcome officials and to park the planes. Foreign

teams will be able to fly into both civilian and military airports.

How is the relationship with FIFA ?

We have been very firm in our negotiations with FIFA but we had to remain open because we want to ensure the success of the game. The government had to be represented on the Organising Committee (COL). The relationship improved a lot as a result and FIFA has an interlocutor within the government.

We have also managed to guarantee a 50 percent reduction in admission tickets for seniors (over 60 years of age) as established by Brazilian law.”—AFP

Ronaldo powers Real to victory

ITALY: AC Milan’s Colombian midfielder Kevin Constant (right) vies for the ball with Naples’ Italian defender Paolo Cannavaro during the Italian Serie A football match. —AFP

Milan held, Inter lose ITALY: Mathieu Flamini scored and was sent off as AC Milan were held 1-1 by Napoli in a third-versus-second battle in Serie A on Sunday while Inter Milan were on the wrong end of another controversial penalty in a 2-0 loss at Cagliari.

Genoa and Sampdoria drew 1-1 in their derby and a blunder by Palermo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino, who appeared to forget the back pass rule, cost the relegationthreatened Sicilians a precious win against Bologna in another 1-1 draw.

Flamini fired Milan ahead in the 29th minute at San Siro and Goran Pandev replied four minutes later as a scrappy game briefly came to life, before fizzling out in the second half amid a glut of niggly exchanges. The worst of them involved Flamini who lunged at Juan Camilo Zuniga with his studs up and was sent off amid pushing and shoving between the players.

The point improved Napoli’s chances of a Champions League group stage place next season but reduced their hopes of catching leaders Juventus, who have 71 points and are eight clear with a game to come at Lazio late yesterday.

The draw was not much use for Milan (59 points), who stayed four points behind Napoli in third and, with only the top two going straight to the Champions League group phase, look increasingly likely to face the uninviting prospect of a playoff tie in August. Milan, missing suspended forward Mario Balotelli, also have to look over their shoulders at fourth-placed Fiorentina, only four points behind them after a 2-0 win at Atalanta on Saturday.

Cagliari’s Mauricio Pinilla won and converted a 63rd-minute penalty after he was caught by Matias Silvestre in what appeared a harsh decision and the Chilean also scored the second to hand Inter their fourth defeat in five league matches.

Inter complained last week that they

had not been awarded a penalty for 21 matches and club president Massimo Moratti said referees were not acting in good faith.

Inter’s complaints were criticised by other clubs including neighbours AC Milan but coach Andrea Stramaccioni blamed injuries rather than the referee for his side’s latest slip. “The referees are making mistakes but they are repeating them,” he told RAI television, adding that an injury to midfielder Walter Gargano upset Inter’s balance. “The penalty was completely non-existent.” Inter, almost certain to be without Champions League football again next season, dropped to seventh with 50 points from 32 games.

Cagliari played the match in Trieste, nearly 1,000 km from their Sardinian base, due to security problems at the Is Arenas.

A speculative cross-shot by Matuzalem in the 80th minute gave Genoa a point against Sampdoria, who had taken the lead in the first half with a free kick by his fellow Brazilian Eder which went under the defensive wall. Sampdoria had Andrea Costa sent off for a second bookable offence just before the equaliser. Palermo went ahead with a fourth-minute goal by Josip Ilicic but Bologna levelled in bizarre circumstances.

Sorrentino moved to pick up Michel Morganella’s back pass, changed his mind, the ball went underneath him and Manolo Gabbiadini tapped into the empty goal.

“I made a huge mistake today,” he wrote on Twitter. “If we didn’t get the win, it was purely my fault and I apologise to everyone.” Palermo and Genoa stayed level on 28 points in the relegation zone, two behind Siena and safety. Pescara are bottom with 21. Colombian forward Luis Muriel scored twice to help Udinese to a 3-0 win at Parma in a mid-table clash and Erik Lamela struck on the hour as AS Roma won 2-1 at Torino to go sixth with 51 points.—Reuters

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo proved too powerful for Athletic Bilbao as he scored with a fizzing free kick and a towering header in Real Madrid’s bruising 3-0 victory at San Mames in La Liga on Sunday.

The Portugal forward took his league tally for the season to 31 goals, netting in his eighth successive game in all competitions, and set up Gonzalo Higuain for Real’s third. Coach Jose Mourinho has said Real’s title defence is effectively over but fielded a near fullstrength side at San Mames as they moved on to 68 points, 13 short of leaders Barcelona with seven games left to play. A weakened Barcelona side had earlier cruised to a 3-0 win at struggling Real Zaragoza thanks to two Cristian Tello goals.

Ronaldo stroked a free kick over the wall and into the top corner after only two minutes in Bilbao, but it sparked a strong response from the hosts who forced Diego Lopez into two finger tip saves before halftime. Angel Di Maria had hit the bar in the first half and the temperature was rising as tackles flew in thick and fast.

Ronaldo was at the centre of much of the attention and reacted by outjumping his marker to thump Xabi Alonso’s free kick past Gorka Iraizoz in the 68th minute.

Higuain was played into the space in the area by Ronaldo soon after, and the Argentine settled the match with low shot into the far corner.

Like Real, Barca’s priority is to conserve their energies for the Champions League semi-finals in two weeks time, and they rested a host of players in Zaragoza including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique.

Making the most of their opportunities were Barca youth academy

products Tello and Thiago Alcantara. Thiago ran the length of the pitch on a counter-attack and fired in off the far post after a onetwo with Alexis Sanchez in the 20th minute. The Spanish international then laid on the second for Tello. His through ball put the pacy left winger clear to lift his shot over Roberto just before halftime, and Tello sped past his marker to squeeze the third inside the far post in the 53rd minute.

Alexis had already hit the crossbar but Zaragoza, who have yet to win in 2013, rarely threatened. “We miss Messi, obviously, but we have some great players with a lot of football in their boots,” Thiago told Spanish broadcaster Canal Plus. “ We would like to win the league as soon as possible but there are still many games left to play. The title isn’t won yet.”

Radamel Falcao scored twice as Atletico Madrid swept aside visiting Granada 5-0 to keep the pressure on second-placed Real.

The Colombia striker, constantly linked with a move to Europe’s top clubs, took his league tally for the season to 24 as Atletico moved on to 65 points in third, three short of next month’s King’s Cup final opponents. Atletico were ahead after only four minutes at the Calderon when Diego Costa headed in Koke’s cross, and the Brazilian striker set up Falcao for the second after a swift counter-attack.

Midfielder Koke, a Spanish youth international, curled in teasing free kicks for Falcao and Raul Garcia to volley the third and fourth goals after the break, and the over-lapping Filipe Luis made it 5-0 in the 70th minute.

“It ’s impossible to say a Champions League place is now secured,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone told a news conference.

“We can’t think like that. We

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (left) celebrates with teammate Real Madrid’s defender Sergio Ramos (right) after scoring his second goal during the Spanish League football match against Athletic Bilbao. —AFP must look to try and finish second, which would be a big step forward for this club.” A quick-fire double from Imanol Agirretxe helped fourth-placed Real Sociedad to a 20 win at Rayo Vallecano that strengthened their hold on the last Champions League qualification

berth in La Liga.

The club from San Sebastian were 2-0 up inside 14 minutes and extended their unbeaten league run to 13 games as they moved on to 54 points, four clear of Malaga and Valencia in fifth and sixth respectively.—Reuters

Bayern meet Wolfsburg in German Cup semi-finals FRANKFURT: Bayern Munich’s record-breaking season could give Jupp Heynckes a title he has never won as a coach - the German Cup. Little more than a week after clinching the Bundesliga championship and one week before hosting Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals, Bayern faces Wolfsburg in the final four of the German Cup. In last year’s final, Bayern was humiliated 5-2 by Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern’s redemption came this season, taking the Bundesliga title from Dortmund and becoming the first team to win the championship so early in the season. While the Champions League remains the target, Heynckes is not overlooking the German Cup. He won the competition as a player with Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1973.

“I definitely want to reach the final, that’s one

title that’s missing in my collection,” Heynckes said ahead of today’s match in Munich. “It’s not going to be a piece of cake. Every team wants to go to Berlin badly.” Bayern will be without the suspended Franck Ribery. As coach, Heynckes lost both German Cup finals - the first in 1984 with Moenchengladbach against Bayern and last season against Dortmund. Heynckes could end the season with three titles before he turns over the club to Pep Guardiola, who will become Bayern coach.

The 67-year-old veteran coach has not said whether he intends to continue coaching somewhere else, but he could go out with a bang.

Bayern’s remarkable season comes after a very frustrating one, Heynckes’ first in his return as coach of Bayern. But the team has been so dominant that Heynckes left out nine regulars on

Saturday against Nuremberg and his team still won 4-0. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home against relegation-threatened Hoffenheim. “We’ve played better on the road this season than at home,” Wolfsburg general manager Klaus Allofs said. Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking said his team can win the cup and shouldn’t have too much respect for Bayern. “That’s a justified target, I mean it,” he said. “You have a chance in every game, although I am not going to go as far as to say we’ll rout them 4-0.”

In the other semifinal match on Wednesday, Stuttgart hosts Freiburg, one of the surprises of the season. The small provincial club is fifth in the Bundesliga and looks set to earn a place in the Europa League next season - if not even a slot in the Champions League.—AP

Don Bosco lift coveted CRC Trophy 20th Edition 9-a-side Football Tournament KUWAIT: Don Bosco Oratory emerged champions of the 20th Edition CRC Chinchinim 9-aside Football Tournament beating Skynet Raiders in the tie-breaker in the finals played at MoH grounds, Shuwaikh.

The tie-breaker was enforced after the teams failed to break the deadlock in a pulsating final. Don Bosco turned out better shooters from the spot. Godfrey Aguair and Roney excelled for Don Bosco, while Skynet goalkeeper Melvin showed immense reflexes throughout the tournament.

Earlier, in the semifinals, Don Bosco defeated Indian Strikers while Skynet Raiders overcame inform AVC to reach the finals.

A number of dignitaries and presidents of participating clubs attended the finals.

Glittering prizes and trophies were awarded to the winners and runners-up. Samson of Skynet was awarded Man of the Match while Godfrey Aguiar was adjudged best defender of the tournament.

CRC Chinchinim President Bosco Leitao spoke on the occasion and also proposed a Vote of Thanks. Vice President of the CRC Chinchinim Venancio Pereira, Anthony H. Viegas — Sports-Incharge, Gen. Secretary Olvin Leitao, Lester Fernandes — Team coordinators, Anthony Fernandes — Team Manager, and other members of the club were also present on the occasion. Aleixo Minguel Fernandes, CRC Chinchinim’s longest serving player and member was felicitated on the occasion at the hands of Olvin Leitao.

The prestigious and popular CRC established ‘Athlete of the Year’ award instituted since 1994 was presented to Fidelis Fernandes, President of Kuwait Indian Football Federation

(KIFF), for yeomen services rendered in the promotion of football among Indian expatriates.

The award was presented at the hands of CRC Chinchinim President Bosco Leitao.

Fidelis Fernandes awarded Athlete of the Year. Fidelis Fernandes hails from Colva, Salcette, Goa and has been President of KIFF for 4 consecutive years. He is associated with KIFF for several years in various positions and has been elected in the past to executive committees of New Goan Overseas Association (1987), Goan Welfare Society (GWS) (1989), Colva United Centre-Kuwait (2005), Kuwait Goan Association (KGA), among others.

Following is the list of ‘Athlete of the Year’ award winners.

1.Alcantra Barretto (Navelim Youth Centre) -1995 2.Francis Machado (CRC Chinchinim) - 1996 3.V.K.Vohra (ex-President of KIFF) - 1997 4.Inacio Faleiro (ex-President of KIFF) - 1998 5.Tony Coutinho (GOA Maroons) - 1999 6.Judas Fernandes (CRC Chinchinim) - 2000 7.Cajetan Godinho (Veterans XI) - 2001 8.Joseph Salema (United Goans Centre) - 2002 9.Sarto Baptista (United Friends Club) - 2003 10. Gasper Crasto (Navelim Youth Centre) - 2004 11.Gajendra Pillay (GOA Maroons) - 2005 12.Tony Dias (ex-President KIFF & Santos FC) - 2006 13.Julio Cardoso (GOA Maroons) - 2007 14.Tony Gonsalves (United Goans) - 2008 15.Avelino Dias (Navelim Youth Centre) - 2009 16.Anthony Rebello (Curtorcares United) - 2010 17.Americo Fernandes (Navelim Youth Centre) - 2011 18.Fidelis Fernandes - 2012-13

Scott ends Australian misery at the Masters

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

16

Desisa wins Boston Marathon

17

English football shaken by return of hooliganism

Page 18

LOS ANGELES: San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (left) shoots as Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard defends during the first half of their NBA basketball game. — AP

Heat stop Bulls charge, Lakers roll

MIAMI: LeBron James scored 24 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 as the Miami Heat set a club record for home wins in a season, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.

Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen each scored 15 for Miami, which improved to a 36-4 win-loss mark at home - topping the 356 record by the 2004-05 Heat.

Miami held Chicago without a 2-point basket for the first 16 minutes of the second half, with the Bulls relying almost exclusively on 3-pointers.

Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 20 rebounds for the Bulls, who snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak last month. Chicago finished with 29 field goals and 30 fouls, allowing the Heat to shoot a season-high 41 free throws.

The loss keeps Chicago in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami has wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

LAKERS 91, SPURS 86 In Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds, helping Los Angeles rally in the fourth quarter to beat San Antonio in its first game since losing Kobe Bryant for the season. Steve Blake scored 23 points for the Lakers (44-37), who lead Utah (42-38) by 11/2 games for the eighth postseason spot in the West after their seventh win in eight games. Bryant limped off the

Staples Center floor with a torn Achilles tendon Friday night. Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost six straight road games. San Antonio (58-22) is likely to finish second in the West behind Oklahoma City (59-21), which holds the tiebreaker.

NUGGETS 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 109 In Denver, Andre Iguodala scored 28 points as Denver beat short-handed Portland to set an NBA franchise record with its 55th win.

Rookie Evan Fournier added 24 points for the Nuggets, who also extended their franchise-best winning streak at home to 22 straight to move a game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis for the third seed in the West.

The Nuggets went 54-28 in both 1987-88 and 2008-09, when they reached the conference finals. They are 37-3 at home - also a team best since joining the NBA 37 years ago. Rookie Damian Lillard led Portland with 30 points.

KNICKS 90, PACERS 80 In New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and New York clinched the No. 2 seed in the East for the playoffs with a victory over Indiana - the Knicks’ 15th win in the last 16 games.

Chris Copeland added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 15 for the Knicks, who will host seventh-seeded Boston next weekend. New

York is guaranteed the home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs after finishing a distant second to Miami in the conference.

Lance Stephenson scored 22 points and West had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who came into the game with a chance to catch the Knicks for second but settled for the No. 3 seed after fourth-place Brooklyn lost at Toronto.

RAPTORS 93, NETS 87 In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points, Rudy Gay had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Toronto never trailed in beating Brooklyn for its third straight victory.

Amir Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who hadn’t won three straight since a five-game winning streak from Feb. 8 to 19.

DeRozan scored 14 in the fourth quarter and finished 9-for-9 at the free throw line, converting a vital pair in the final 15 seconds.

Deron Williams scored 30 points, Brook Lopez had 16 and Andray Blatche 15 for the Nets, who will be the No. 4 seed in the East.

ROCKETS 121, KINGS 100 In Houston, James Harden had 29 points and nine assists while Omer Asik had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Houston cruised to a win over Sacramento in its regular-season home finale.

Jeremy Lin added 15 points for the Rockets, who’ve won nine of their last 12 home games heading into the playoffs. The Rockets climbed to sixth place in the Western Conference. They have the same record as Golden State (45-35) but own the tiebreaker after winning the season series with the Warriors 3-1. Houston plays Phoenix on Monday and finishes the regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. John Salmons scored 14 points and Isaiah Thomas had 10 points and 10 assists for the Kings.

MAVERICKS 107, HORNETS 89 In New Orleans, Shawn Marion had 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting and Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 to become the 17th NBA player to surpass 25,000 career points, leading Dallas past New Orleans.

Brandan Wright and Vince Carter added 16 points for Mavericks (40-40), who reached the .500 mark for the first time since they were 11-11 in mid-December. They had lost by double digits in their three previous chances to even their record.

Ryan Anderson led the cold-shooting Hornets with 20 points, but he was only 8-of-20 from the floor. Eric Gordon added 15 points, and Robin Lopez had 10 points and 13 rebounds. New Orleans shot 39.7 percent in its final home game and trailed by as much as 27.

76ERS 91, CAVALIERS 77 In Philadelphia, Dorell Wright scored 15 points and Thaddeus Young had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Cleveland.

Spencer Hawes and Jrue Holiday each added 14 points for the 76ers, who raced to a 19-point lead in the first half and sent the Cavaliers to their fourth straight loss.

Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Kevin Jones had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while AllStar guard Kyrie Irving had only four points in 18 minutes.

The Sixers finished 23-18 at home and are 33-47 overall a year after winning 35 games and a round in the playoffs during the lockout-shortened season.— AP

NBA results/standings Miami 105, Chicago 93; Toronto 93, Brooklyn 87; NY Knicks 90, Indiana 80; Philadelphia 91, Cleveland 77; Denver 118, Portland 109; Dallas 107, New Orleans 89; Houston 121, Sacramento 100; LA Lakers 91, San Antonio 88.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB NY Knicks 53 27 .663 Brooklyn 47 33 .588 6 Boston 41 39 .513 12 Philadelphia 33 47 .413 20 Toronto 32 48 .400 21 Central Division Indiana 49 31 .613 Chicago 43 37 .538 6 Milwaukee 37 43 .463 12 Detroit 28 52 .350 21 Cleveland 24 56 .300 25 Southeast Division Miami 64 16 .800 Atlanta 44 36 .550 20 Washington 29 51 .363 35 Orlando 20 60 .250 44 Charlotte 19 61 .238 45 Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 59 21 .738 Denver 55 25 .688 4 Utah 42 38 .525 17 Portland 33 47 .413 26 Minnesota 30 50 .375 29 Pacific Division LA Clippers 54 26 .675 Golden State 45 35 .563 9 LA Lakers 44 37 .543 10.5 Sacramento 28 52 .350 26 Phoenix 24 56 .300 30 Southwest Division San Antonio 58 22 .725 Memphis 54 26 .675 4 Houston 45 35 .563 13 Dallas 40 40 .500 18 New Orleans 27 54 .333 31.5

Business

JAT, Etihad get set to team up on flights Page 22 Dollar drops as risk-on trade continues Page 23

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Boubyan Bank profits increase by 25% to KD 3.1 million in Q1

India’s ‘dhow’ shipbuilders sunk by anti-piracy rules Page 26 Page 23

SILIGURI: Indian shopping mall employees walk past a billboard in Siliguri yesterday. India’s inflation unexpectedly slipped to below six percent for the first time in nearly three and half years, official data showed yesterday, fanning hopes of fresh interest rate cuts. — AFP

Greece to return to growth in 2014 Greece seals deal with debt inspectors ATHENS: Greece cleared an important hurdle in its drive to receive its next batch of bailout loans after international debt inspectors said yesterday they had reached an agreement over the country’s economic reforms - including the firing of thousands of civil servants. The review by delegates from the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank - known collectively as the troika - is part of a regular process under which Greece receives installments of its multibillion-euro bailout.

“Greece is being stabilized and our position is being bolstered,” Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a televised address yesterday afternoon.

“Late last night we reached an agreement for the disbursement of the next installment of 2.8 billion euros ($3.65 billion), and the road has opened for the May installment of 6 billion.” Greece has been dependent on some 270 billion euros in bailout loans and other rescue packages since 2010. In return, successive governments have pledged to overhaul the Greek economy and imposed stringent spending cuts and tax hikes.

Almost every troika review since the start of the bailout has been delayed due to targets being missed or disagreements with the government.

Apart from the initial installments, no rescue loans

have been disbursed on time. Despite often major differences between the two sides, there was less tension for this review because the threat of imminent bankruptcy, which had hung over many previous negotiations, was no longer there.

The reforms have been painful for Greece. The country is mired in a deep recession, currently in its sixth year, and unemployment has spiraled to around 27 percent. In a joint statement, the three institutions said recent steps taken by Greece will mean that targets for March “are likely to be met in the near future” and that the country’s debt sustainability “remains on track.”

As a result, the group of 17 European Union countries that use the euro could soon agree to disburse 2.8 billion euros ($3.7 billion) pending from last month. The euro-zone and IMF board are expected to approve the review in May. The review mainly covered the dismissal of civil servants. The government and troika have been wrangling for weeks over state-sector job losses, something which hasn’t happened during the crisis so far despite pressure from Greece’s creditors and massive private-sector unemployment.

The firings would be “targeted at disciplinary cases and cases of demonstrated incapacity, absenteeism, and poor performance, or that result

from closure or mergers of government entities,” the troika review said. Samaras said 15,000 civil servants would be removed by the end of 2014, with 4,000 of them by the end of this year. New young employees will be hired in their place.

The job losses would include sacking those who have been convicted of criminal offenses or disciplinary violations, voluntary departures and from positions that have been axed. “That is not a human sacrifice, as some claim. Firing people who have disciplinary violations and hiring young and able people. It is a qualitative upgrading of the public sector and a demand of the Greek people,” Samaras said.

Until now, civil servants have been constitutionally guaranteed jobs for life under a law dating from the early 20th century to protect public sector workers from unfair dismissal due to political affiliations. But the law was widely abused, with politicians accused of stacking the civil service in return for votes. The result was a massively bloated, inefficient civil service with about 700,000 employees in this country of less than 11 million people - a total that was only discovered when a public sector census was carried out at the start of the bailout in 2010.

“It’s still a taboo to dismiss people from the

public sector. There have been no forced dismissals of employees whose positions are eliminated or who for some reason do not perform,” said the IMF’s troika representative Poul Thomsen, speaking during a conference on the economy in central Athens. “So this dramatic rebalancing of the economy ... has caused a sharp increase on unemployment in the private sector while public sector employees have been protected. This is another source of the sense of lack of fairness in the process.”

Minister for Administrative Reform Antonis Manitakis said Greece’s creditors had long been pressing for 15,000 public sector workers to be sacked without being replaced, but the agreement to hire new workers in their stead followed the higher-than-anticipated number of retirements - more than 180,000 of which are expected between 2010-2015. The troika also warned that the government must still be vigilant and “respond promptly to any slippages that may emerge.”

“Greece has indeed come a very long way,” said Thomsen. “The fiscal adjustment in Greece has been exceptional by any standard.” If the country continues implementing its pledged reforms, it will be able to achieve its overall budget targets

Kuwait stocks fall over politics

Gold tanks to 2-year low LONDON: Weaker-than-expected Chinese economic growth figures weighed on markets yesterday as the price of gold slid another $100 to hit a two-year low amid concerns that a 12-year bull run for the commodity has come to an end. Though Chinese government figures showed that the world’s second-largest economy expanded 7.7 percent in the first quarter of the year compared with a year earlier, the figure was down on the previous period’s 7.9 percent rate and was worse than expectations for a modest increase to 8 percent.

The report stoked worries about the strength of China’s economy at a time when a run of US economic data has disappointed and Europe remains embroiled in its crisis over too much government debt.

“Weak economic growth in China has taken investors by surprise,” said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor. “With the recent run or weaker global economic data investors have reached an impasse and without a great deal in sight this week to inspire them, we should see markets drift lower.” In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.8 percent at 6,332 while Germany’s DAX fell 0.5 percent to 7,708. The CAC-40 in France was also 0.6 percent lower at 3,708. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.5 percent at 14,784 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.6 percent to 1,579. The falls came despite a 17 percent rise in the value of Sprint shares after it agreed to be acquired by Dish Network for $25.5 billion and Citigroup, which rose over 2 percent after solid earnings.

Much of the interest in financial markets

though is centered on gold, which has taken a battering over recent sessions. By late afternoon London time, an ounce of the yellow metal was trading around $90, or 6 percent, lower at $1,413. Earlier, it fell to $1,395, its first foray below $1,400 since March 2011. Gold has fallen sharply over recent trading sessions from over $1,600 10 days ago and there is talk in the markets that a number of institutions are cashing in following a reduction in gold price predictions from leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs.

Many reasons have been put forward to explain the sudden change of course, including speculation that Cyprus may sell a chunk of its reserves to finance its part of its financial rescue. Though that may not materialize, it was enough to prompt some investors to think that a gold-selling strategy may be used elsewhere in the troubled euro-zone.

Another reason put forward is that the Federal Reserve will outline a strategy to withdraw its monetary stimulus later this year despite recent mixed signals out of the U.S. economy, the world’s largest. One of the reasons why the price of gold has been so well-bid in recent years is a direct result of the Fed’s policy - the new dollars created under so-called quantitative easing have found themselves recycled in financial markets and many of them have gone to the perceived haven of gold.

“Investors are clearly turning away from gold here, using the price action as justification for unwinding positions and taking capital away from what was once considered as almost a one-way bet,” said David White, a trader at Spreadex. “Even those

without imposing any further austerity measures, Thomsen said.

The institutions still predict Greece will return to growth gradually in 2014, and say this is being helped by improved wage flexibility helping to restore competitiveness. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said Greece’s main target now for this year was to achieve a primary surplus of the budget - a surplus without taking into account interest payments on existing loans.

Once this is achieved, Athens could request activation of something Greece’s euro-zone partners agreed on late last year - a further reduction in the country’s private debt. In March 2012, Greece forced private investors to write off more than half the value of the government bonds they held. Following the bond writedown, officially known as the Private Sector Involvement, Greece’s debt is now mainly in public hands. A further debt reduction could come from easing the terms of the country’s bailout. “In my opinion, the major target now is to achieve a primary budgetary surplus this year so that we can ... ask for a drastic reduction in the public debt,” Stournaras said.

“That will create a very positive boost in developments and would speed up our exit from the crisis.” — AP

WASHINGTON: Three .9999 fine gold bars, 400 troy ounces or 28 lbs each, with a combined value of more than $2 million, are displayed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) in this photo. —AFP naturally contrarian are struggling to find reasons to own gold.” The sharp decline in the price of gold has had knock-on effects throughout commodity markets. The price of oil has been in retreat too and the benchmark New York rate was down another $1.87 at $89.42 a barrel.

Subdued investor appetite for risk, as seen by the performance of stocks, was evident in the currency markets too, where the euro was trading 0.4 percent lower at $1.3057. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 1.6 percent lower at 13,275.66, falling for a second straight trading day after a series of gains. The Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing to lift borrowing and spending drove Japanese stocks to

their highest close in nearly four years last week as well as weighing heavily on the yen. However, the yen has gained some ground over the last couple of sessions, and the dollar was 0.4 percent lower at $97.77 yen.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.4 percent to 21,772.67 while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.9 percent to 4,967.90 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.1 percent to 2,181.94. South Korea’s benchmark index narrowed its losses amid expectations that policymakers in major economies may put pressure on Japan to halt the yen’s slide, which has hurt South Korean exporters. The Kospi closed at 1,920.45, down 0.2 percent. — AP

DUBAI: Most Gulf bourses extended declines yesterday as losses in global stock markets and commodities prices spurred investors to take profits. Kuwait’s market slipped after a prominent opposition politician was sentenced to five years in jail. Weak oil prices hurt Saudi Arabia, where better-thanexpected earnings failed to boost stocks. Saudi Cement posted a first-quarter net profit of 340.3 million riyals ($90.7 million), up from 325.6 million riyals a year ago and above an average analyst forecast of 308.8 million riyals, but its stock closed flat.

Saudi Kayan lost 0.9 percent. The firm posted a loss for the first quarter of 155 million riyals, wider than 71 million riyals a year earlier. That was better than analysts’ average forecast of a 182 million riyal loss, but NBK Capital cut the stock to a hold from a buy, and the market’s petrochemical index fell 1.2 percent. The Saudi benchmark index fell 0.7 percent, losing ground for a third session since last week’s 11-month peak.

Brent crude oil sank below $101 a barrel to a nine-month low. Commodities led a sharp, broad decline in global risk assets as weaker-than-expected Chinese data added to concerns raised by US data about the world economic outlook.

Abu Dhabi’s bourse fell 0.9 percent, down from Sunday’s 41month high. Dubai’s benchmark fared relatively well, falling just 0.4 percent, which trimmed its 2013 gains to 21.3 percent.

“The Q1 results catalyst is going to help the UAE (United Arab Emirates) maintain its levels until there is further positive sentiment across global markets,” said Marwan Shurrab, vicepresident and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments. Dubai Islamic Bank fell 4.3 percent after posting on Sunday an estimate-beating 17 percent rise in profit, which some investors had apparently foreseen - the stock rose sharply last week.

In Kuwait, the index, which hit a 26-month closing high on Thursday, dipped 0.2 percent. A court found Musallam AlBarrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, guilty of insulting Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in a speech in October last year in which he appealed to the emir to avoid “autocratic rule”. — Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

BUSINESS

JAT, Etihad get set to team up on flights BELGRADE: Serbia’s loss-making JAT Airways has secured a marketing alliance with Gulf airline Etihad Airways to share route-booking codes, stopping short of the equity tie-up mooted by Serbia’s government. Mired in recession and struggling to find investors in the crisis-hit European Union, Serbia had hoped Abu Dhabi-based Etihad would buy a stake in JAT, with media reports suggesting 49 percent was up for sale.

Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan told a news conference yesterday that any investment could be a long way off. “We have to look at JAT to see if that opportunity exists. It is still a very early stage of that process.” JAT will add its JU code to flights to 21 destinations within Etihad’s network, while the Gulf airline will put its EY code on all 23

JAT flights to Europe, Hogan said.

Etihad will start operating flights between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade on June 15, following Gulf competitor Qatar Airways, which started flights between Doha and the Serbian capital via Ankara late last year. Serbia has been trying to offload JAT for years.

Last month the government said it was ready to take on 170 million euros ($222.66 million) of the carrier’s debt, pay leases for six new aircraft from EADS’s Airbus and secure severance payments for redundant workers. JAT operates 10 ageing Boeing 737-300s and four ATR 72-200 turboprop aircraft on 30 routes within Europe and to the Middle East.

Serbia is looking east for investment and sov-

ereign lenders including Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates. Belgrade has already secured a $400 million sovereign loan from Abu Dhabi for agriculture investment and agreed more than $400 million in investment by the Al Dahra agricultural firm based in the emirate.

Trying to ease the burden on its budget, the Balkans country is also trying to sell its remaining state run firms, including the RTB Bor copper mines, JAT Tehnika aircraft maintenance company and indebted Galenika pharmaceuticals. On Friday, the Finance Ministry said that the United States-based unit of Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International was the only potential partner for Galenika, having met all the conditions of a tender. —Reuters

Farmers say Egypt’s wheat crop hopes are ‘a dream’ MINYA: Egypt’s Islamist-led government must be dreaming if it expects a bumper wheat harvest over the next six weeks that will save the country billions of dollars in imports, says farmer Farid Boshra Abdel Malek. “How can they expect any increase in wheat production when they are not providing us with water, fuel for our machines or much-needed enrichment seeds?” said the wheat grower in Matay village, near the city of Minya in the lush but slender Nile valley that is this desert nation’s granary. “They are giving us nothing and expecting more.”

Farmers say Cairo is over-optimistic in expecting a significant increase in this year’s crop as their long-standing complaints about bad fertiliser, shortage of irrigation water and of plant-enhancement seeds remain unresolved. New worries about a shortage of diesel fuel to power pumps, tractors and trucks to bring in the harvest and transport it have added to the uncertainty.

“Only God knows how much we will harvest this season, given the problems, but we are doing our best,” farmer Hana Munir said. Egypt, the world’s top wheat importer, aims to cut imports this year by around 10 percent, hoping a bigger home crop and modified storage will help the most populous Arab state keep its 84 million people in low-cost subsidised bread. The country has endured political and economic turmoil since the overthrow of autocratic President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Foreign reserves have fallen from $30 billion to $13.4 billion - less than three months’ imports - raising doubts about the state’s ability to import basic foodstuffs such as wheat.

Egypt usually imports about 10 million tonnes a year, which might cost it just over $3 billion. But this year the state says it will buy only around 4-5 million tonnes abroad, hoping to get the rest from local production. “For the government to

able interlocutors estimate Egyptian wheat production at about 6-7 million tonnes,” it said. “The government is forecasting wheat procurement (from local farmers) at 4 to 5 million tonnes, but this appears unrealistic. “The government is setting import procurement and wheat stock policies based on (significant) local crop production overestimations.”

It forecast that Egyptian wheat imports would have to rise to 8.5 million tonnes in the fiscal year beginning in July from 8 million tonnes in the current year, which was sharply down from 11.65 million tonnes in 2011/12. USDA said wheat stocks are likely to plunge below 1 million tonnes by June 30 because the economic crisis has crippled purchases from the world market. The government has held off imports to save hard currency and says it still has 2 million tonnes in reserve, enough to last 81 days.

The United States is one of Egypt’s main suppliers, along with Russia and France.

expect 4 to 5 million tonnes of local wheat for bread is a dream, a nice dream but nothing more than that,” said Abdel Malek, who owns a 13 feddan (5.5 hectare) farm in one of Egypt’s biggest wheat-producing regions.

A bread shortage in 2008 and similar problems in the 1970s provoked riots at a time when protests were not as routine as in post-revolutionary Egypt, where any lack of bread is likely to trigger violence, if not another uprising. Small protests have already begun in some villages in Minya over bread shortages.

“Overestimations” Minister of Supply Bassem Ouda told Reuters this month that bread is the top priority for his administration since he took office in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this year. “The old regime’s policy was never in favour of Egypt or our local wheat crop, and it treated farmers badly as it used to humiliate any Egyptian, but that era has ended,” said Ouda, who is from the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which supports President Mohamed Mursi. He forecast a 9.5 million tonne domestic wheat harvest, of which about half ends up in government flour mills.

Egypt would sign import deals, if needed, only with countries that “fit our plans, time schedule and give us the best offers and credit facilities”, Ouda added.

A ministry official who asked not to be named said Egypt would always need to import wheat. Local production could be increased if the government improved soil and fertilisers and worked harder to solve farmers’ problems, but that would take years, he said. The latest US Department of Agriculture report on Egypt forecast production will increase 2.3 percent to 8.7 million tonnes this year due to an expanded area under cultivation. But it said diesel fuel shortages could disrupt the harvest.

“The trade and other knowledge-

Enhanced fields Aiming to harvest 1.4 million hectares from April 15 to May 20, the government is pioneering a technique that smoothes fields so farmers can plant more wheat on the same area. It announced plans last month to build 150 silos before the 2014 wheat harvest and said in February it would raise the price it pays for local wheat to 400 Egyptian pounds ($58.30) per ardeb (150 kg) up from 380 pounds. Many existing silos are outdated and contribute to loss of grain.

“We have over 2,000 fields to demonstrate a new style of planting that saves up to 25 percent of soilenhancement seeds and water and has already been implemented in Sharqia,” said Salah Moawed, a senior agriculture ministry official. As a result, the Nile delta region of Sharqia, one of the biggest wheat growing areas, is expected to nearly

double the amount it harvests to 1.4 million tonnes this year, according to deputy minister of agriculture there Mohy el-Din Mahmoud.

According to Moawed, Egypt grows 9 to 9.5 million tonnes of wheat a year but more than half never reaches the market. “We waste a lot of our production due to the lack of proper storage as we only have silos to store up to 5 million tonnes, besides losses during harvesting and transport,” he said.

Farmers keep back some wheat to make their own bread, to feed livestock and for seeding in the next season. “We are not putting any pressure on the farmer to plant wheat, but we are giving him incentives and solving his problems to make him want to do so,” Moawed said. But Minya farmer Mohamed Hussein said: “We don’t feel there is a government that cares about farmers. We never protest, we don’t do anything except work and eat.

Yet no one ever looked at us or took our problems seriously.”

NEW YORK: A sign on the Citigroup office tower is seen in this file photo in New York. —AFP

Citigroup beats on earnings NEW YORK: Citigroup beat analysts’ estimates for first-quarter earnings and revenue, and the bank’s stock rose in pre-market trading. Citi’s investment banking business jumped and the bank also released funds it had set aside for bad loans. Citigroup bank made $4 billion, up 17 percent from a year ago, after stripping out the effects of an accounting charge. That amounted to $1.29 per share, beating the $1.17 that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.

Revenue was $20.8 billion after stripping out the accounting charge, up 3 percent from a year ago. That also beat the $20.2 billion that analysts had expected. Investment banking revenue there jumped 31 percent, the bank reported yesterday, while revenue from consumer banking was flat.

Citi’s investment banking unit advised more companies on mergers and acquisitions and underwrote more stock and bond offerings. In the consumer bank, credit card revenue inched down.

Citi Holdings, the unit where the bank has shuttled troubled assets related to the financial crisis, lost less than in the same period a year ago.

Citi Holdings lost $789 million, compared with more than $1 billion a year ago. The bank also continued to release money it had set aside for bad loans, including releasing reserves from Citi Holdings’ North American mortgage portfolio for

Farmers’ problems Matay farmers gather daily to talk over their problems and ease stress during a mid-day break before they go back to work.

According to Abdel Malek, farmers complain of a decrease in the Nile water coming from Ethiopia and the government’s failure to provide them with enough subsidised seeds and fertiliser. “Subsidised fertiliser costs 75 Egyptian pounds a 50-kg bag, while we pay 150 pounds for the same amount on the black market to meet our needs,” farmer Gerges Ayad said. Urban sprawl is also eating into available farming land. “A lot of good agricultural land has been used for housing as the government does not have money to build multi-floor houses and only builds one or two-floor homes, so it has to build more to cope with the increasing population, which is eating up our land,” farmer Abdel Malek said. —Reuters

the first time. Its total allowance for loan losses is now $23.7 billion, or 3.7 percent of total loans, compared to $29 billion, or 4.5 percent of total loans, a year ago.

Citi also benefited from a deferred tax credit.

When companies have big losses, they get a break on taxes. Citigroup, which suffered big losses in 2008, was allowed to hold onto tax credits to use in the future, in years when it was profitable.

CEO Mike Corbat highlighted the bank’s improving capital levels and the reduced “drag” from Citi Holdings.

It was Citi’s first full quarter under Corbat, who took over last fall. Former CEO Vikram Pandit stepped down under pressure from a board that was unhappy with his efforts to turn around the bank. Corbat is now under pressure to turn around a bank that his predecessor couldn’t. Corbat called the bank’s first quarter results encouraging, but he sounded more cautious about the economy than his peers at JPMorgan and Wells Fargo did when they reported earnings Friday. “The environment remains challenging,” Corbat said in a prepared statement, “and we are sure to be tested as we go through the year.” Citi’s stock rose 2 percent to $45.83 in pre-market trading even while stock index futures were down. —AP

Egypt stalls on IMF terms, no deal seen CAIRO: Egypt is stalling on the terms of a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan to help it fight a deepening economic crisis, and no deal is likely while an IMF team is in Cairo, diplomats said on Sunday. The IMF mission is set to leave on Tuesday after nearly two weeks of talks, and negotiations may continue on the sidelines of this week’s IMF ministerial meetings in Washington, they said.

An IMF programme could help stabilise Egypt’s economy in the rocky transition to democracy since the 2011 overthrow 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 Mohamed Mursi had yet to endorse 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,” Abdullah Badran of the hardline Islamist Nour party told Reuters after meeting the IMF team. A spokesman for the president’s office declined comment on whether Mursi had given the green light for an agreement. One Western diplomat said that after securing $5 billion in stopgap finance from Qatar and Libya last week, Egypt no longer felt the same sense of urgency to conclude the IMF negotiations. “That seemed to be the way things were moving since the Libyan and Qatari announcements. You can imagine them reaching that conclusion; that they have reached a short-term fix, it means they are not that beholden to the IMF,” he said. Egypt’s economy has deteriorated significantly since the November IMF agreement stalled. Tourism and investment have dwindled due to political turmoil in the Arab world’s most populous country, where 40 percent of the 84 million citizens live on less than $2 a day. —Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds 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 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2841000 .4338920 .3707360 .3043390 .2795430 .0497330 .0443660 .2963730 .0365940 .2291130 .0029600 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0773800 .7538810 .0000000 .0757800 .7382100 .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.902 5.230 2.900 2.273 3.281 232.740 36.776 3.646 6.909

.2880000 .4470000 .3760000 .3170000 .2920000 .3020000 .0069000 .0035000 .0778990 .7589480 .4110000 .0770000 .7440150 .0440000 .2862000 .4370990 .3734770 .3065880 .2816100 .0501010 .0446940 .2985640 .0368650 .2308060 .0028810 .0052870 .0022880 .0029190 .0036810 .0779520 .7594530 .4048090 .0763400 .7436660 .0069870

Thai Baht Irani riyal - transfer Irani riyal - cash

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

9.847 0.271 0.273

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.500 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.045 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.332 Tunisian Dinar 180.660 Jordanian Dinar 403.260 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.916 Syrian Lier 3.102 Morocco Dirham 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 GOLD 298.000 150.000 77.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

SELL DRAFT 301.16 283.57 308.59 375.61 284.65 439.54 2.98 3.666 5.208 2.269 3.266 2.901 77.57 757.92 40.93 405.52

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Selling Rate 285.000 282.965 438.210 373.695 306.885 754.545 77.570 78.230 75.965 401.755 40.965 2.270 5.208 2.895 3.652 6.910 699.120 3.905 9.895 4.030 3.350 93.535

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY

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

740.000 78.500 76.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES 76.150 78.463 741.720 758.470 77.758

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

740.82 78.60 76.04

SELL CASH 308.000 283.500 307.000 369.000 286.500 437.000 3.300 3.740 5.400 2.450 3.450 2.975 78.300 757.850 41.300 413.000

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 0.4295851 0.0061567 0.0459211 0.3678174 0.0456597 0.4275160 0.0406003 0.3016272 Australasia 0.2873548 0.2344366 0.0001116 America 0.2730689 0.0001484 0.2829000 Asia 0.0036081 0.0031622 0.0449693 0.0164700

SELLDRAFT 0.4385851 0.0181567 0.0509211 0.3753174 0.0508597 0.4350160 0.0456003 0.3086272 0.2993548 0.2444366 0.0001116 0.28206890 0.0001664 0.2850500 0.0036631 0.0033922 0.0499693 0.0195700

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 0.0341806 0.0051411 0.0000243 0.0028477 0.0028295 0.0033337 0.0892219 0.0031207 0.0028706 0.0064499 0.0000728 0.2263116 0.0019719 0.0094121 Arab 0.7496745 0.0389245 0.0129248 0.1483801 0.0000793 0.0001734 0.3964753 1.0000000 0.0001748 0.0220864 0.0012114 0.7293790 0.0776409 0.0754800 0.0479288 0.0031807 0.1787211 0.0761813 0.0012859

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

0.0000502 0.0372806 0.0052051 0.0000295 0.0038477 0.0030095 0.0035637 0.0962219 0.0033027 0.0029106 0.0069199 0.0000758 0.2323116 0.0022739 0.0100121 0.7581745 0.0409725 0.0194248 0.1501701 0.0000798 0.0002334 0.4039753 1.0000000 0.0001948 0.0460864 0.0018464 0.7403790 0.0784239 O.0761200 0.0484788 0.0034007 0.1848211 0.0776313 0.0013859

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

BUSINESS

Dollar drops as risk-on trade continues NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKET REPORT The dollar continued to drop against most of its major counterparts except the yen, amid the announcement of the Bank of Japan’s aggressive quantitative easing program in the prior week. The announcement continued to fuel the risk-on trade and to push currencies such as the euro, sterling and the Aussie higher as carry trades became more attractive following the sharp drop in the yen. The greenback gained further against the yen towards mid-week as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee signaled that the Fed might slow or end its open market purchases towards the end of the year. The USD Index opened the week at 82.70 and dropped to a low of 82.04 amid a disappointing retail sales figure. Finally, the Index closed the week at 82.12 recouping some of its losses.

The euro gained against the dollar as risk sentiments remained intact following the BoJ announcement. The single currency then dropped against the Dollar following the Fed minutes on Wednesday. However, the currency regained its losses despite disappointing data emerging from Germany. The Euro opened the week at 1.2990, and reached a 5-week high of 1.3138. On Friday, news emerged that Cyprus would need to raise an extra EUR 6 billion ($7.8 billion) to secure a EUR 10 billion bailout from the Troika. That would bring the total funding to rescue Cyprus from EUR 17.5 to EUR 23 billion. The news fuelled concerns in the market and pushed the Euro lower. However, the currency managed to close above the 1.3100 level at 1.3111.

Similarly, the sterling pound started the week at 1.5293 and quickly reached a low of 1.5237. However, the risk sentiments fuelled by the BoJ announcement combined with positive economic data

from the UK pushed cable to a 7-week high of 1.5411. On Friday, profit taking pushed the sterling lower to close the week at 1.5342.

The Japanese Yen continued to drop across the board following the announcement from the Japanese central bank’s aggressive quantitative easing program. The JPY opened the week at 98.37 and gained gradually to break the 99.00 level. The currency then reached 99.94 its highest level since 2009. Finally, the Yen gained against the dollar on Friday to close the week at 98.38.

Gold opened the week at $1,576 an ounce and fell towards the end of the week as the risk-on trade pushed investors towards riskier assets.

Additionally, the precious metal fell further after the Federal Reserve minutes showed that some policymakers expected to slow the pace of bond purchases and to discontinue them by year-end.

Shortly after, a European Commission report showed Cyprus agreed to sell excess gold reserves to raise around EUR 400 million to help finance its part of its bailout. That combined with negative data from the US, drove gold to post its biggest weekly decline since December 2011. The metal broke the $1,500 per ounce to close the week at $1,478.

Minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that a few policymakers expected to slow the pace of asset purchases by midyear and end them later this year, while several others expected to slow the pace a bit later and halt the quantitative easing program by the end of the year.

The committee, led by Chairman Bernanke, decided to continue with $85 billion in monthly bond buying until the labor-market outlook has “improved substantially.” The Fed meeting was held before the Labor Department’s jobs

report, which showed that the economy added 88,000 jobs in March, substantially less than market expectations.

Jobless claims show labor market recovery The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in labor market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. On Thursday, initial claims dropped 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, unwinding a jump in the prior week and recording the largest weekly drop since mid-November.

The market expected claims to drop to 365,000. Economists stated that the slowdown in job creation reflected seasonal hiring being brought forward rather than underlying weakness in the labor market.

US retail sales Retail sales in the US unexpectedly fell in March by the most in nine months as employment slowed, showing that household spending ended on a softer footing during the first quarter. The 0.4 percent decrease, the biggest since June, followed a 1 percent gain in February.

Economists project that consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, grew in the first quarter at the fastest pace in two years, as advances in the first two month of the year made up for last month’s weakness.

University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment The University of Michigan’s final reading on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 in April down from 78.6 the previous month, well below expectations of 78.5.

Analysts stated that worries about the long-term health of the economy have risen.

Europe Industrial production Industrial output in the Eurozone expanded more than forecast in February, adding to signs that the European economic recovery is beginning to gain traction. Factory production rose by 0.4 percent from January, when it dropped 0.6 percent, while the output fell 3.1 percent from the year earlier. The European Central Bank President Mario Dragi said last week that the euro-zone economy is struggling to regain momentum after five quarters of contraction and the ECB stands ready to cut interest rates if the economy deteriorates further.

German trade balance German imports fell sharply in February for the third time in the last four months and exports also declined, in a sign the euro-zone’s largest economy cannot be relied on to help lift the currency bloc out of recession. Data from the Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday showed imports sliding 3.8 percent, undercutting even the lowest estimate in a Reuters poll of economists. The consensus forecast had been for imports to rise 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, exports have been expected to remain unchanged, dropped by 1.5 percent, highlighting how weakness in Germany’s key European partners is affecting demand for its goods. Exports have fallen in three of the last six months.

United Kingdom Manufacturing production Manufacturing rose twice as much as expected in February as it rebounded from a slump during snow the previous month. Factory output increased 0.8 percent from January, when it fell 1.9 percent. The data may ease concerns that

the economy will fall back into a recession as manufacturers battle a continued slump in the Euro area, the UK’s biggest trading partner, as well as lackluster demand at home.

Industrial production Industrial output rose 1 percent in February from January and was down 2.2 percent from a year earlier. The monthly increase, which exceeded economists forecast by 0.4 percent, was led by a 2.8 percent gain in mining. Gas and electricity increased 1.3 percent, boosted by demand during the cold weather, as temperatures in February were lower than the long- term average for the month.

Trade balance widening However, the trade gap widened to GBP 9.42 billion ($14.4 billion) in Februar y from GBP 8.17 billion in January, the biggest deficit since August.

Exports fell 1.1 percent, led by oil and chemicals, while imports rose 1.7 percent. The services trade balance was GBP 5.77 billion, leaving a total trade gap of GBP 3.64 billion.

Japan Current account surplus Japan’s current account registered a surplus for the first time in four months in February as a weaker yen boosted overseas investment income to offset a persistent trade deficit caused by higher fuel imports and still sluggish exports.

Ministry of Finance data showed a surplus of JPY 637.4 billion ($6.56 billion) in February, more than the JPY 466.3 billion expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The surplus was still down 47 percent from a year earlier, but it followed three consecutive deficits, the longest on record.

NBK holds 6th International Advisory Board meeting KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) held the 6th annual meeting of its International Advisory Board (IAB) in Kuwait to discuss the latest economic and geopolitical developments in the region and world as well as NBK’s strategy. The meeting highlighted the increasing challenges that are facing the global and regional financial markets, and their implication on GCC economies.

The meeting was chaired by the Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir John Major and attended by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Former Prime Minister of Singapore and Senior Advisor of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Mohamed El Erian, CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO, the Chairman of the President’s Council for International Development, USA, William Rhodes, Senior Advisor for Citigroup, President and CEO of William R. Rhodes

Botched Cyprus rescue adds to uncertainty LISBON: After a bungled bailout of Cyprus, the recession-stricken euro zone will stand out for the wrong reasons when finance ministers meet in Washington this week to run the rule over the global economy. China on Monday is likely to report a growth rate of 8 percent for the first quarter, according to economists polled by Reuters.

In the United States, figures on housing starts and a pair of regional Federal Reserve surveys are expected to depict an economy that is far from firing on all cylinders but is at least chugging along. And Japan is back. Animal spirits and stock prices are rising in response to the Bank of Japan’s aggressive new monetary stance aimed at ending two decades of deflation.

What’s more, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shown an appetite to inject more competition into the economy by reaching a deal with the United States on Friday to pave the way for Tokyo to join transpacific free trade talks. By contrast, the European Union’s growth strategy has been a failure and the economy will continue to stagnate unless bold steps are taken, according to a study commissioned by the EU itself.

The 17 countries that use the euro were in recession in 2012 and will probably contract further this year. The sovereign debt crisis has mutated into a crisis of confidence, undermining consumer demand and the willingness of businesses to invest. “It’s so bad things can’t get any worse,” said Steen Jakobsen, chief economist with Saxo Bank in Denmark. “The man in the street and companies are as disillusioned as they have ever been.”

One reason is that the European Central Bank’s (ECB) low interest rates are not feeding through to struggling economies on the rim of the euro zone, such as Portugal. Loans generally remain hard to get and cost a lot more than in northern Europe. This is where the messy bailout of Cyprus comes in.

Cyprus fallout In return for bailing out Cyprus, the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) initially agreed to a levy on all bank deposits, including those insured up to 100,000 euros. The plan was shot down within days and the entire burden is being shifted on to depositors with more than 100,000 euros. But the damage has been done.

AntÛnio Horta-OsÛrio, chief executive of Lloyds, Britain’s biggest retail bank, said the Cyprus fiasco had made it more difficult for banks to regain the confidence of clients that was shattered by the financial crisis. Lloyds itself had to be bailed out and is 39 percent owned by the state.

“Without the trust of our customers, banks are effectively unable to carry out their role in supporting the recovery and building a stronger economy,” Horta-Osorio told the British Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Lisbon on Friday.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies, who convene on Thursday on the eve of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, will breathe a sigh of relief that financial markets have not taken fright at events in Cyprus.

But Derry Pickford, a macro analyst at investment managers Ashburton in London, said big depositors were bound to get twitchy the next time banking strains intensify. “What’s happened with Cyprus has raised risks of systemic instability,” he said.

Headwinds and tailwinds in America The United States has hardly been a model of policy-making either on the fiscal front. Because of a failure to agree a long-term deficit reduction plan, blunt federal spending cuts are being phased in that will amount to about 0.6 percent of GDP over the next six months. The resulting drag on the economy will be considerable, according to Kevin Logan, HSBC’s chief US economist in New York.

Friday’s surprising fall in March retail sales and a weak sentiment survey suggest that consumers are already responding to the cuts, which come on top of an increase in payroll taxes at the start of the year. On the plus side, business investment and housing are on a firmer footing and should help the economy notch up full-year growth of around 2 percent, said Sam Bullard, an economist with Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Housing starts, forecast by Reuters to come in at an annual rate of 930,000 in March, are likely to jump by almost a quarter in the whole of 2013, albeit from a low level, he said. “In our baseline forecast, housing is still a primary support to our call,” Bullard said. US growth could accelerate next year to around 3 percent, according to IHS Global Insight, an economic consultancy.

With China purring along and economic momentum in Japan likely to build in coming quarters, things are not looking bad for exportdependent Asia, said Rajiv Biswas, the firm’s chief regional economist in Singapore. Biswas worries about the danger of a government debt crisis down the road in Japan and is keeping an eye on risks in China from fast-growing shadow banking and the property market. But everything is relative. “When you meet someone coming from Europe, they can hardly believe that there’s a part of the world that’s doing so well by comparison with them,” Biswas said. —Reuters

Global Advisors, LLC, Josef Ackermann, The Chairman of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and Former Chairman of Deutsche Bank Group, Martin Feldstein, President Emeritus and Professor of Economics at Harvard University, United States, Abdlatif Al Hamad, Chairman and Director General, Arab FundKuwait, Charles Dallara, Chairman of the America’s, Partners Group, Switzerland, Lubna Olayan, Deputy Chairman and CEO, Olayan Financial Company, Saudi Arabia, Anthony Cordesman, Arleigh A Bruke Chair of Strategy, CSIS and Edward Morse, Managing Director, Global Head of Commodity Research for Citigroup. NBK’s International Advisory Board was established in 2007. NBK is the only Arab bank to have an International Advisory Board. The board members include world recognized political leaders, businessmen, bankers and economists.

India’s ‘dhow’ shipbuilders sunk by anti-piracy rules MANDVI: Shailesh Madiyar forlornly surveys the giant shipyard in the Indian port of Mandvi. A place synonymous with wooden boat-building for centuries, it now lies largely deserted. “Four years ago, around 20 ships were being made at any one time, now there are just two,” says Madiyar, of the Mandvi shipbuilders’ association.

“These days, no more than five or six are made in a year,” he said, gesturing towards around a dozen half-built boats which have been shored up like carcasses after construction was abandoned.

Mandvi stands on the banks of the Rukmavati river which flows into the Arabian Sea. A sleepy town located in western Gujarat state, it’s a place where shipbuilding and sea trading have traditionally gone hand in hand. But both industries have been pummelled by a ban from sailing in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia, once a lucrative trading destination. The restriction on certain Indian-registered vessels was introduced in 2010 shortly after Somali pirates captured eight boats from Gujarat and almost 100 Indian crew members in a flurry of attacks over a period of several days.

Small cargo boats, or ‘motorised sailing vessels’, are now prohibited from sailing south of Oman, effectively blocking trade not only to Somalia but other African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Yemen. “No Somalia, no trade. This ban has been disastrous for us,” said Musabhai Sameja, whose family has been involved in shipping in Mandvi for three generations.

“Most traders have seen their income drop by half,” he added, complaining that investment in the construction of new boats has all but dried up. For four centuries, generations of craftsmen from the small town have built ships prized by traders for ferrying goods along the ancient Indian Ocean trade routes that link Asia to the Middle East and Africa.

Today, using techniques passed down through generations, the few craftsmen who still have work build a kind of mastless dhow favoured for its durability and also its size, which allows easy access to the region’s smaller ports.

The working day begins at the crack of dawn with a dizzying ascent up a ladder pitched steep to the side of the boat.

The craftsmen then use traditional tools such as hand-saws, hammers and chisels to cut and shape planks of sal, a hard wood native to South Asia. With an average cargo capacity of 1,000 tonnes, Sameja said the boats fill a niche in the trade of basics such as rice and flour to war-rav-

aged Somalia, a country with a long coastline but few ports accessible to big container ships.

But more recently, the boats have been seen as easy prey for pirates operating in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, according to the ban imposed by India’s Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) in March 2010. Much smaller than tankers and lacking sophisticated tracking equipment, the boats are easier to seize and then use as mother ships from which to attack larger vessels.

ness from Mandvi to the UAE to skirt the ban, others have quit altogether. “There are only about 10 families left in the trade now,” said Saleh Mohammed, who sold his last cargo boat a year ago. “Before the ban there were more than 30.” Following the ban he could only do business with countries in the Gulf such as Iran and Iraq where large ports meant his small vessels struggled to compete with container ships equipped with air-conditioning for perishable goods.

“So it was better to run away from the busi-

MANDVI, India: In this photograph, Indian workers take part in the construction of a vessel at Mandvi some 425km west of Ahmedabad, India. —AFP But Sameja said traders are prepared to take the risk and would have preferred to employ private security to protect their ships.

Meanwhile, with no such restrictions, business to Somalia for traders based mainly in the United Arab Emirates is thriving. Edward Simpson, an expert on the dhow trade at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said shipbuilders in Dubai are constructing wooden boats with twice the cargo space as the vessels from Mandvi. He recently saw a Somalia-bound ship being loaded in Dubai with everything from Japanese secondhand cars, generators and tractors, to eau de cologne.

While some families have moved their busi-

ness and sell up,” he said. With the proceeds he bought a hotel that lies not far from the dock where he used to moor his ships. The sun may be setting on shipbuilding in Mandvi, but the skills of its craftsmen will stay in demand in the coming years for the upkeep and repair of existing ships which are usually seaworthy for at least 40 years.

Mohammed said he misses the trade in which his ancestors prospered. His grandfather used to take his small sailing dhow on the twomonth voyage to East Africa where he traded goods as far as the spice islands of Zanzibar.

But after three decades keeping the family business afloat, he sighed: “I’m now better off sitting in my hotel than running around chasing dhows.” —AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

BUSINESS

Germany subsidises cheap electricity for neighbours Low German wholesale prices make it attractive for exports FRANKFURT/LONDON: Germany’s neighbours enjoy cheap imported power subsidised

by Berlin’s green energy policy and paid for by German households, analysts say. Generous subsidies have boosted renewable electricity generation, and created a German green power glut. But Germans themselves do not see lower prices, which are restricted to the wholesale market - in fact the opposite.

Instead it is their neighbours whose bills benefit thanks to cheap imports from Germany.

International Energy Agency data for 2012 put household electricity in Germany at $352 a megawatt hour, Dutch electricity at $238, Switzerland at $222 and France at $187.

When Chancellor Angela Merkel’s govern-

ment accelerated the nuclear exit in 2011 and set the country on a course to switch to renewable energy, some experts warned that there would be power shortages as a result.

But power trade statistics from the biggest electricity market in Europe not only dispel this notion, they also show that German households subsidise power supplies elsewhere.

“The Germans have taken on a disproportionate share of the high cost of renewables via the support payments,” said Kornelis Blok, director of science at Dutch consultancy Ecofys. “These leave a burden on the household price. So who is in fact paying for cheap Dutch power? It is the Germans.” Despite its

nuclear exit, Germany remained a large exporter of electricity in 2012, especially to the Central West Europe (CWE) market region of France, Benelux and Germany and into the Alpine states of Switzerland and Austria.

Germany exported 67.3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of power last year compared with 42.8 billion kWh of imports, data issued by the federal statistics office and the industry statistics group AGEB show, although they say that this includes transits and non-commercially traded volumes arising from grid balancing.

Wholesale power prices in Europe’s biggest economy have dropped by over 32 percent in the past two years, pulled down largely by a flood of subsidised new solar power genera-

tion that has not been equalled in neighbouring markets.

German solar power producers added 31 percent more capacity in 2012 to arrive at 32.4 gigawatt of capacity at the end of the year.

“German power prices have decoupled from other central European markets, such as France, the Netherlands or Belgium, likely on the back of strong growth in solar capacity,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a research note. The equivalent French price has dropped around 27 percent, while Dutch prices are down less than 20 percent, according to Reuters data (see chart).

German households bills rise Germany’s cheap wholesale power prices make them attractive for exports. The German export figure is equivalent to what eight conventional power plants generate in a year. The

Netherlands were the biggest recipient of German electricity, with 22.6 billion kWh (2.5 power stations), followed by Austria’s 15.1 billion kWh (2 power stations), and Switzerland’s 12.7 billion kWh which equate to the annual output of 1.5 large power stations.

The rest of German electricity exports largely went to France, which also supplied large amounts of power back to Germany.

German retail power customers have already seen their bills rise by over 12 percent since the beginning of the year, with the share of renewable subsidies and other state charges in their total bill now at 50 percent. Merrill says that the trend of decoupled and lower German prices is not seen coming to an end as it expects more renewable capacity to be added to the system until the laws are changed. “We see a possibility of further decoupling,” the bank said. — Reuters

OHIO: In this file photo, President Barack Obama campaigns at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. — AP

Obama paid 18.4% tax rate WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama paid an effective federal tax rate of 18.4 percent in 2012 and saw income from his best-selling books drop as he ran for re-election, according to his tax returns released by the White House on Friday.

Obama and his wife Michelle had adjusted gross income of $608,611 last year, down from $789,674 in 2011, and paid $112,214 in total taxes, compared to $162,074 in 2011. Their total income came in at $662,076 - down almost 22 percent from $844,585 the previous year. As president, Obama is entitled to a $400,000 annual salary. He reported salary income in 2011 and 2012 of $394,800, however, after deducting pretax amounts he paid for his health insurance premium, according to a White House official.

The Obamas’ outside business income fell sharply as the president’s book sales declined. In 2012, the couple had business income of $258,772, down from $441,369 in 2011. Book sales have declined dramatically since the early days of his presidency. In 2009, his business income from book sales came in around $5.2 million.

“Dreams From My Father,” an autobiographical look at his early life, was published in 1995, and “The Audacity of Hope,” which sketched out his policy vision, was published in 2006. The Obamas reported giving $150,034 to charities, representing roughly 25 percent of their adjusted gross income. The largest gift was $103,871 to the Fisher House Foundation, an organization that provides housing for military families near military hospitals.

Michelle Obama has made supporting the military one of her top public causes as first lady.

The couple also gave $1,000 to the Palm Beach County Law Enforcement Foundation. One of its police officers was killed in September 2012 while working in the presidential motorcade.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, reported adjusted gross income of $385,072 and paid $87,851 in total federal taxes last year. Their charitable contributions amounted to $7,190, including some $2,000 in donated clothing and other items. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which tracks the non-profit world, Americans on average give about 4.7 percent of their income to charity. Those who make more than $200,000 annually give about 4.2 percent of their income away.

Paying their share Obama has pressed for wealthy people like

himself to pay a greater share in taxes. The issue was a sticking point in his campaign against Republican Mitt Romney, a wealthy former private equity executive who had an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent in 2011. “Under the president’s own tax proposals, including limitations on the value of tax preferences for high-income households, he would pay more in taxes while ensuring we cut taxes for the middle class and those trying to get in it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

The president’s effective tax rate in 2011 was 20.5 percent. Effective tax rates vary wildly from one taxpayer to another because of the many tax breaks available, but counting all US taxpayers, the average income tax rate in 2010 was 11.8 percent, according to the Tax Foundation, a business-oriented tax research group in Washington. In 2011, about 46 percent of Americans paid no federal income tax, most of them because they were poor or elderly, according to the Tax Policy Center, a centrist tax think tank. Almost two-thirds of those who paid no federal income tax did pay federal employment taxes that support the Social Security pension system and the Medicare health program, the center said.

The Obamas were subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT) a parallel tax system set up to ensure the affluent do not avoid tax altogether. They paid about $21,220 extra in tax because the president was subject to the AMT in 2012, up from about $12,500 in 2011. The 2014 White House budget released this week proposed a new type of minimum tax for the wealthy known as the Buffett Rule, named for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has complained that his tax rate is lower than that paid by his secretary.

The wealthiest taxpayers get most of their income from investments - which are taxed at about half the rate of ordinary wages. Nearly all of the Obamas’ income was subject to the ordinary income tax rate, with some of it taxed at the top 2012 rate of 35 percent. For 2012, the Obamas overpaid their taxes, which entitled them to a refund of $16,815. They chose to apply that total to their 2013 estimated tax. They made the same decision for 2011, applying their $24,515 refund for that year to their 2012 estimated tax. In 2013, Obama plans to give back 5 percent of his pay in a gesture of solidarity with government workers who must take unpaid leave as a result of deep spending cuts that went into effect last month. — Reuters

Russian economy at risk from global ‘crisis’: Putin MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin warned yesterday that the world economy was in crisis and its consequences risked hurting Russia’s performance just as the global slowdown did in 2008-2009. Putin ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to convene a special meeting of Kremlin and government advisers to come up with a response to a warning that Russia was nearing recession. The Kremlin chief sternly cautioned that “the global crisis is obtaining ever more dangerous contours that will inevitably impact us, too.”

“This happened in 2008 and this is what we are witnessing today,” Putin said. Russia’s economy contracted by nearly 10 percent in 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis that began the previous year. The country’s banks then betrayed their exposure to dollar-denominated foreign loans that soared in value with the accompanying drop in the global price of oil

and collapse in the value of the ruble. Russia’s economy was saved from outright ruin thanks to tens of billions of dollars that the government quickly infused into the frozen banking sector and invested in badly struggling industries. But the economic recovery that followed was slow and peaked at just half the rate of the nearly eight percent growth recorded prior to the crisis. The economy today is slipping back from even those modest rates following a disappointing 2012 in which growth came in at a modest 3.4 percent.

The economic ministry last week slashed Russia’s growth forecast for this year to 2.4 from 3.6 percent amid a slowdown in both industrial output and consumer demand.

Economic Minister Andrei Belousov followed that up on Friday by warning that quarterly growth could turn negative by the end of the year. “We are not in a recession yet, but we could end up there,” Belousov warned.—AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

BUSINESS

Africa to have robust 2013-15 fiscal growth Labour unrest in South Africa among areas of concern

SHANGHAI: A woman holds her baby as she shops at a market yesterday. — AFP

China growth slows to 7.7% in Q1 BEIJING: Growth in China slowed to 7.7 percent in the first quarter, data showed yesterday, below forecasts and fuelling fears a recent pickup in the world’s number-two economy is faltering on weak overseas demand. The figure for January-March from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) compared with a median 8.0 percent forecast in a poll of economists by AFP and marked a slowdown from 7.9 percent in the previous quarter. Observers have expressed optimism China’s economy will be a driver of a global recovery and the pick-up at the end of last year-which snapped seven straight quarters of slowing-reinforced those hopes.

But analysts said yesterday’s data and a series of other downbeat figures recently point to a weak outlook and questioned whether policymakers would be able to address it. The GDP statistics unsettled investors, who pushed the Shanghai Composite Index down more than one percent to close at its lowest level since the end of December. In a statement the NBS cited “the complicated and volatile economic environment at home and abroad”, adding that China’s ruling Communist Party and government were committed to “making progress while ensuring stability”.

NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun told reporters the global economy saw “profound adjustment” in the first quarter of 2013, blaming aggressive monetary easing policies overseas for strengthening China’s yuan currency and hitting exports. “The recovery has been slow, in particular some developed countries have carried out quantitative easing policies,” he said. “This has created bigger pressure for the appreciation of currencies in developing countries and this has made it more difficult to increase exports.”

Sheng did not name any countries but central banks in the United States and Japan have unveiled measures to support their economies with aggressive monetary easing. Wendy Chen, a Shanghai-based economist at Nomura Securities, told AFP: “The (GDP) figure was lower than market expectations, indicating the recovery in the real economy was not on a solid foundation and remained weak.”

She said that given concerns about inflation rising in the next few months it was unlikely the central bank will move to stimulate the economy by cutting interest rates “as loosening monetary policy may bring greater inflationary risks”. China’s economy grew 7.8 percent in 2012, its slowest rate in 13 years, and authorities have kept their growth target for this year at a conservative 7.5 percent.

Yetserday’s figures followed statistics last week showing China recorded a trade deficit of $880 million in March owing to softening demand in key US and European markets, while below-forecast inflation pointed to weakness at home. Policymakers have vowed to rebalance the economy away from a reliance on the traditional growth drivers of investment and exports, and towards consumer demand.

Fixed-asset investment, a key measure of government spending on infrastructure, jumped 20.9 percent year on year in the first quarter, the NBS said.

But compared with the 21.2 percent growth for the first two months of the year, the cumulative data for the first quarter indicate the pace is slowing. “The GDP data coupled with weaker March data suggest weakening in the economy and puncture our narrative of an investmentled upturn,” Alaistair Chan, economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote in a report.

Industrial production rose 8.9 percent yearon-year in March and 9.5 percent in the first quarter, the NBS added, while retail sales were up 12.6 percent in the month and 12.4 percent in the quarter. Industrial production growth had suffered a “sudden deceleration”, IHS Global Insight economists Alistair Thornton and Ren Xianfang said in a report. “In short, there is plenty more downside risk out there than upside risk,” they said. “We have lost confidence in a robust recovery.” The GDP figures came after Chinese President Xi Jinping last week expressed confidence in the economy, telling business leaders it was in “good shape”.

He said China will probably not be able to sustain the “ultra-high speed of economic growth” of the past, but that a “relatively high speed of economic growth” will be possible. — AFP

JOHANNESBURG: Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth should accelerate to more than 5 percent over the next three years, far outpacing the global average, but the region must do more to convert this into reducing poverty, the World Bank said yesterday.

In its latest Africa’s Pulse analysis of prospects for the region, the bank saw increased investment, high commodity prices and a pick-up in the global economy driving this expected growth surge in the world’s poorest continent. It said foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa were projected to increase to record levels each year over the next three years, reaching $54 billion by 2015. This compared to $37.7 billion in 2012, a 5.5 percent increase in a year when FDI flows for developing countries fell on average by 6.6 percent, the bank added. The Washingtonbased multilateral lender predicted Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth would be 4.9, 5.1 and 5.2 percent for 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.

In 2012, the region’s growth was estimated at 4.7 percent. “If properly harnessed to unleash their full potential, these trends hold the promise of more growth, much less poverty, and accelerating shared prosperity for African countries in the foreseeable future,” said Punam Chuhan-Pole, a lead economist in the World Bank’s Africa department. Compared with Africa’s expected growth spurt, global GDP was projected to expand by 2.4 percent in 2013 and gradually

strengthen to 3 and 3.3 percent in 2014 and 2015.

The report said a decade of strong growth had reduced poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, with provisional data showing that between 1996 and 2010, the share of Africans living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 58 percent to 48.5 percent. But World Bank economists cautioned that high inequality and a dependence on mining and mineral exports in many countries had actually dampened the poverty-reducing effect of income growth.

“While the broad picture emerging from the data is that Africa’s economies have been expanding robustly and that poverty is coming down, the aggregate hides a great deal of diversity in performance, even among Africa’s faster growers,” said Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa. Noting that higher growth does not automatically mean less poverty, the report said resource-rich countries such as Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria performed worse than their less resourceblessed fellows.

The World Bank said better administering of mineral wealth, development of agriculture and a careful managing of rapid urbanisation would help African governments seize the opportunity to lift more of their people out of poverty. “Better governance will need to underpin efforts to make growth more poverty reducing,” the report said.

Sweden lowers growth forecast STOCKHOLM: The sluggish global economy will impact Swedish growth more than expected next year, the government said yesterday as it revised downwards its 2014 growth forecast from 3.0 percent to just 2.2 percent. Finance Minister Anders Borg, presenting the supplementary spring budget to parliament, said he expected growth for this year to tick in at 1.2 percent, up a notch from the 1.1 percent forecast last autumn. “There is a strong headwind from the global economy which is holding back the recovery in Sweden,” Borg said in a statement.

Unemployment was meanwhile expected to affect 8.3 percent of the workforce this year and 8.4 percent next year, before falling back to 8.1 percent in 2015. In February, the jobless rate was 8.2 percent.

Erica Blomgren, analyst at bank SEB, said the government’s previous growth forecast from the autumn was “too optimistic”, while the current forecast was “more in line” with that of the central bank.

Sweden will hold legislative elections in September 2014, when the left-wing opposition, headed by Social Democrat leader Stefan Loefven, hopes to wrestle power from the centre-right government in power since 2006. In a speech Friday, Loefven promised that if the Social Democrats were to win the elections, they would bring the unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent by 2020.

“The government has failed on the jobs front, and Sweden today has higher unemployment than comparable countries in the European Union,” Loefven lamented, citing eurozone countries such as Austria, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the Swedish government also lowered its forecasts for its public finances. It predicted a budget deficit of 1.6 percent of gross domestic product for 2013 and 1.0 percent for 2014, compared to the 1.3 percent and 0.6 percent forecast respectively in December. Until September last year, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s government had aimed to have a budget surplus in 2013. According to yesterday’s forecasts, public debt is expected to climb to 42 percent of gross domestic product this year, compared to 38.2 percent in 2012. — AFP

Dish Network eyes Sprint in $25.5bn deal NEW YORK: Dish Network is offering to buy Sprint Nextel Corp in a cash-and-stock deal it values at $25.5 billion, saying its bid is superior to that of Japanese phone company SoftBank. Sprint’s stock jumped in morning trading yesterday. SoftBank Corp is seeking approval from US authorities for its $20 billion purchase of a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel Corp. that would be Japan’s biggest foreign acquisition ever.

Sprint previously said that it expected the deal with SoftBank to close during the summer.

The transaction, which was announced in October, was seen as a way to position Sprint as a stronger competitor against rivals AT&T and Verizon. Dish, an Englewood, Colo, satellite television company, has its own vision for a proposed combination with Sprint. During a conference call yesterday, the company stressed that demand for

South Africa among problem spots The bank added that continuing investment in infrastructure was critical to maintaining and strengthening growth. Among the positive developments was the spreading energy exploration in East Africa that had led to the opening of several oil and gas wells. In Southern Africa, Mozambique was expected to attract increased foreign investment in its huge coal deposits and offshore gas discoveries and Zambia would continue to see increased investments in its copper sector.

In West Africa, investment was likely to keep flowing into the minerals sectors of Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. But the bank saw some problem spots, singling out labour unrest in South Africa, the region’s largest economy, and political unrest in Central African Republic, Mali and Togo.

Food price spikes could also be a cause for concern.

Also on the risk side, the World Bank said a fragile global recovery, whether characterised by a deterioration of market conditions in the euro zone or a weaker pickup in the United States, could still undermine the positive African outlook. It added that with Chinese demand accounting for 50 percent of many industrial metals exported from Africa, a sharperthan-envisaged downturn there could lead to a slump in commodity prices, which would hurt resource-reliant African states. — Reuters

data by consumers is outpacing network capacity as people increasingly use cell phones, tablets and other devices. Dish Chairman Charles Ergen said that a combined Dish/Sprint company would have low-band, big band and high band spectrum access and be able to provide twice as much bandwidth as AT&T and Verizon. Dish said that its proposed transaction includes $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock. Sprint stockholders would receive $7 per share, which is a 13 percent premium to its Friday closing price of $6.22. This includes $4.76 per share in cash and 0.05953 Dish shares per Sprint share.

Dish said that the cash portion of its bid is an 18 percent premium over the $4.03 per share implied by the SoftBank offer, while the stock portion represents about 32 percent ownership in a combined Dish/Sprint company, as compared with SoftBank’s

LAS VEGAS: Attendees look at a wall showing 28 of Dish Network’s 30 high definition television channels at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in. US satellite television provider DISH Network said yesterday it had made an offer to buy wireless provider Sprint Nextel, putting its value at $25.5 billion (19.5 billion euros). — AFP

proposal of a 30 percent interest in Sprint alone.

Dish Network Corp said that its offer is a 13 percent premium to the existing SoftBank offer. The company also said that its proposal would result in estimated cost savings of $11 billion. In a letter sent to Sprint Chairman James H. Hance Jr., Ergen said that the company would fund the cash component of its bid with $8.2 billion of cash on its balance sheet and additional debt financing. The letter also said that Dish would have preferred holding confidential talks with Sprint about its proposal, but that the existing agreement with SoftBank and impending deadlines related to its shareholder vote prompted Dish to confirm its offer publicly. Ergen said during the conference call that Dish believed that SoftBank undervalued Sprint. While he would not say whether Dish would raise its bid for Sprint if SoftBank came back with a higher offer, he said that Dish would be more than will to pay the $600 million breakup fee for Sprint and SoftBank to terminate their proposed transaction.

“We have to see how this plays out,” he said.

Another component of the Sprint purchase is wireless network operator Clearwire. In December, Sprint agreed to buy the portion of Clearwire it didn’t already own after raising its offer price to $2.2 billion. The deal would give Sprint control of an affiliate it depends upon to provide high-speed “Sprint 4G” data services on some of its phones. It would increase Sprint’s access to the airwaves, meaning it could boost data speeds in coming years. However, cell towers using Clearwire spectrum have poor range, making it difficult to provide broad coverage. The Clearwire deal is contingent on the Softbank deal going through. Dish made its own bid of about $5.15 billion for Clearwire in January. Ergen said that Dish has not formally withdrawn its Clearwire offer and that its Sprint buyout bid is not contingent on Clearwire going through with the Sprint offer. Dish added 14,000 TV subscribers in the fourth quarter, compared with a gain of 22,000 in the same quarter last year. It ended the year with 14.1 million subscribers. DirecTV has 20 million. Shares of Sprint rose 97 cents, or 15.6 percent, to $7.19 - above the offered price - in morning trading. Dish shares fell $1.63, or 4.3 percent, to $36. — AP

SACRAMENTO: Artist Danny Scheible (left) and his business manager Tre Borden, pictured in Sacramento, California, raised $16,000 via crowd funding to make “Hacker Glasses.” — MCT

Crowd funding could open doors for small businesses To raise $15,000 for a new business venture, Sacramento, Calif, artist Danny Scheible went the route of many creative professionals: crowd funding. In a matter of weeks, his online appeal to launch a new line of quirky eyeglasses scooped up more than 200 interested donors. In amounts ranging from $5 to $1,000, backers of his “Hacker Glasses” surpassed the initial goal, promising donations of more than $16,000. For Tapigami, Scheible’s masking-tape art venture that’s moving into a new gallery space, raising money online was a natural.

“It’s the best designed system to fund any sort of creative project,” said Scheible, who has become a renowned young artist using a decidedly unconventional medium: masking tape.

“There’s no other place where you can publicly ask for money and people feel comfortable contributing. It’s the best format out there for a creative person who doesn’t have a business background to get started.”

Crowd funding, on websites like IndieGoGo, Kickstarter and PeerBackers, has been around for several years, primarily as a low-key, grass-roots way for creative types - musicians, artists, filmmakers, writers and such - to gather donations for personal projects. This year, crowd funding is poised to enter a new realm: small-business startups. Under the federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act passed by Congress a year ago, crowd funding will be allowed by entrepreneurs who want to raise up to $1 million a year by selling shares to investors.

For startups and small businesses unable to find or afford conventional loans or stock offerings, it’s intended to spur job growth and eliminate the costly regulatory hurdles typically required for issuing stock in a company. The only hang-up: The Securities and Exchange Commission was supposed to issue the new “equity crowd funding” regulations by Dec. 31, but has yet to do so.

Until then, as new crowd funding websites are poised to jump in, regulators are urging caution. In general, the crowd funding-forsmall-business concept is “a good thing,” encouraging job creation, economic growth and technology innovation, said California Department of Corporations spokesman Mark Leyes. “But we do have some cautions for folks on both sides: entrepreneurs and potential investors. There are risks and opportunities for abuse and fraud. People should be careful.”

With little state or federal oversight of the crowd funding offers, Leyes said, investors should do their due diligence, the same as with any online investment. “There is endless speculation on how equity crowd funding is going to work, and hundreds of websites are waiting to launch to facilitate (it) once it’s legal,” said Laura Good, program and operations director for the Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance, in an email.

In the investment community, she noted, there are differing opinions “on whether or not equity crowd funding will be a good thing.” But, Good said, many of the technology entrepreneurs that her group works with consider it “a faster way to raise small amounts of capital from a larger pool of investors,” as well as an opportunity “for ‘average’ people to support the potential success of a startup they believe in.” For anyone

contemplating raising money through crowd funding, the National Federation of Independent Business has some tips: Spread the word: Reach out to your network of friends, family, patrons, existing clients and customers. Use social networking, as well as word of mouth.

Make it personal: It’s about a personal connection to you and your project. Tell why it’s important or how it will benefit others.

Backers want to be part of something that matters.

Support your claims: Use videos, testimonials, examples of your work.

Show progress: It’s helpful for supporters to see you’ve made progress on an idea. If you’ve got a prototype, show it.

Keep it legal: Avoid little-known sites that might be making promises outside the law.

Until the SEC rules are in place, do not utilize sites that promise investors a stake in your company.

Tapigami essentially followed all of those guidelines on its Kickstarter.com campaign, which raised more than $16,000 in about three weeks. Scheible and his business manager Tre Borden, both 28, have been friends since their grade school days in Sacramento. The new funding moves their Hacker Glasses closer to production. The frames are being designed and 3-D printed by several local companies or individuals.

“It’s entry-level, commissioned artwork,” said Borden. “The fact that they’re locally designed and 3-D printed - and wearable - makes them all the more cutting-edge and compelling.” With Scheible’s colorful, tape-art lenses that are custom designed for each buyer, the glasses will sell for about $300 each. (And yes, to answer Tapigami’s most-frequently-asked question: You can see through them, but vision is limited.)

“They’re not sunglasses; they’re ‘fun’ glasses,” said Borden. He and Scheible envision buyers wearing them to events, using them in company advertising, displaying them like artwork. The prototypes feature San Francisco Giants, Track 7 brewery and other business or personal logos.

Aside from getting their Hacker Glasses on the market, the partners’ other immediate focus is readying their first full-time gallery, artist’s studio and storefront space. It’s scheduled to open May 11 at Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza mall, inside a recently vacated Hyundai dealership.

It will feature Scheible’s signature “Tape City” installation, a cityscape made entirely of masking tape buildings, towers, flowers and trees, which recently wrapped up a nine-month exhibition at the California Museum. Getting online financial backing is essential to entrepreneurs who don’t fit inside conventional boxes.

“It’s a launching pad,” said Borden, who earned a Yale degree and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the University of California-Davis.

“At this point, we wouldn’t qualify for a huge capital loan, nor would we want to. Right now, we’re only responsible to the people who believe in us.”

But conventional funding could lie ahead.

“The whole starving artist concept is outdated,” notes Borden. “Too often we don’t pair the arts with economic vibrancy. We want to change people’s perspectives.” — MCT

• • • • •

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

BUSINESS

‘Al-Mazaya’ adds third tower to ‘Kuwait Business Town’ project Two land plots under construction at ‘Queue Point’ project

Air Arabia expands operations in Saudi SHARJAH: Air Arabia, the first and largest lowcost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, yesterday announced the launch of non-stop services to Abha in Saudi Arabia, from its primary hub in Sharjah.

The new service from the carrier’s primary hub in Sharjah marks Air Arabia’s eighth destination in the Kingdom and 85th worldwide.

Beginning May 22, 2013, Air Arabia will offer three weekly flights to Abha, making it easier and convenient for passengers to travel between the two cities.

Operating on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Air Arabia’s Abha service will depart from Sharjah International Airport at 12:50 and arrive Abha International Airport at 14:40.

Return flights will depart from Abha on the same days at 15:20 and arrive in Sharjah at 19:10.

“The new service to Abha is a testament to Air Arabia’s commitment in offering greater

connectivity and value-for-money services for our customer base in the Kingdom,” said, Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia.

“Since launching operations to the Kingdom in 2004, Air Arabia has been determined to using its infrastructure to organically grow its operations into many cities across the Kindgdom.”

Offering 88 weekly non-stop flights to Saudi Arabia from Sharjah, and its Alexandria hub in Egypt, Air Arabia continues to strengthen its intra-regional Arab network offering customers a wider choice for affordable air travel. In addition to Abha, Air Arabia operates non-stop flights the Riyadh, Jeddah, Madina, Dammam, Qassim, Yanbu, and Taif in Saudi Arabia. The city of Abha is the capital of Asir, a south-western province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a popular tourist destination due to natural attractions such as its seasonal weather and fertile mountains.

KUWAIT: Al-Mazaya Holding Company has concluded an exchange deal with the National International Holding Company and has taken the opportunity to acquire a tower at the Kuwait Business Town project in the heart of the Kuwaiti capital, as well as two land plots under construction at the Queue Point project at Al-Liwan in Dubai, and selling office units with a total area of 101,000 sq ft owned by Al-Mazaya at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai to the National International Holding Company.

Regarding this issue, the Chairman of the AlMazaya Board Rasheed Al-Nafisi said: “This is one of the main steps in our 2013 action plan, in which the company has been able to include new real estate assets that will play a main role in enriching the company in the short and the long term. The company has also been able to exit from the office units put up for sale in its tower at Jumeirah in Dubai, which enhances the product diversity of the real estate company and has contributed to a better distribution of its assets.”

Al-Nafisi continued: “Adding a new tower to AlMazaya’s assets is an important and strategic step, especially considering that this tower is within the complex of towers within which Al-Mazaya was director of development - the Kuwait Business Town project - so the company can take advantage of being fully aware of the details and features of the construction and the implementation of the tower” he added.

Al-Nafisi went on to say that Al-Mazaya towers in this project have created “a dynamic economic environment in the heart of the capital, which is growing in terms of the economic, investment,

financial and banking sectors, and we are pleased that Al-Mazaya has been able to reach a 85 percent rental rate in one tower so far”.

Regarding the new tower, he said that the land area is about 1,000 m2 with a 26 storey building to serve the office sector and the tower has been designed with so-called “smart systems”, which incorporate the latest technological systems and

Rasheed Al-Nafisi

standards that have been implemented by major construction companies in Kuwait along with major engineering consulting offices.

He also pointed out that Al-Mazaya has a marketing plan for giving this tower a new identity and new marketing services in the near future, capitalizing on its privileged location on the centre of the city, overlooking Omar bin Al-Khatab and Khalid bin Al-Waleed street, and near the major banking and investment institutions in the heart of the capital.

At the same time, Al-Nafisi has reported that the ownership of the two land plots at the Queue Point project at Al-Liwan in Dubai is considered a positive outcome of the deal, under which Al-Mazaya is already processing 25 housing coupons at the same project in which Al-Mazaya already received up to 80 percent advance sales. Meanwhile, the project of the housing units is rapidly progressing and will be delivered to its owners as planned during the 2013-14 period.

Reflecting on this deal as it pertains to the company’s budget and future profits, Al-Nafisi said that the deal will yield a net profit of 658,000 dinars, and will be included on the P&L statement for Q2/2013, while adding a new and distinct real estate asset to the company stable, and one which will positively impact the company’s asset sheet at the end of the fiscal year 2013. Al Mazaya will pay 6 million dinars as part of the deal. At the end of his statement, Al-Nafisi expressed his hope that AlMazaya would continue to implement its action plan for 2013 and achieve the positive outcomes that will bring strong results for the company and shareholders alike.

Boubyan Bank profits increase by 25% to KD 3.1 million in Q1

KIA’s first Road Show of 2013 brings new models, prizes to Marina Crescent KUWAIT: National Agencies Group, the authorized distributor for KIA Motors in Kuwait, has organized its first Test drive Event for the year 2013 Friday, March 22 at the Marina Crescent. Some of KIA’s hottest new models were put on display for test drives in the midst of prize giveaways, family fun and a festive atmosphere.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of our latest roadshow,” said Ms. Nadia Gobran, KIA Kuwait Business Development & Marketing Manager. “The KIA Roadshow is a special opportunity for the public to discover KIA models in their preferred environment.Each year, we experience higher demand for test drives and more enthusiasm for the KIA brand.”

Visitors of the Road Show had the opportunity to test drive one of nine fantastic KIA models for the chance a chance to win Eureka vouchers worth up to KD 250. The draw took place on Thursday, March 28, 2013 at the KIA Showroom in Al-Rai. This year’s Road Show featured a surprise debut of the Facelift Cadenza 2014 midsize near-luxury sedan, which served as an elegant addition to the already impressive KIA lineup. The new look Cadenza features fresh elements that incorporate KIA’s evolving design DNA. Echoing some of the visual innovations of the flagship KIA Quoris sedan, the upgraded Cadenza has a more distinctive appearance with a

new hood, trunk lid, light clusters and new bumpers, plus side air-vents in the front wings and a new interpretation of the brand’s ‘tiger nose’ front grille. It also features more innovative safety features such as blind spot detection andthe innovative smart cruise control which maintainsa safe distance from vehicles in front of it at all times.

Also present at the KIA Road Show was the all-new Cerato.

Designed at KIA’s American Design Center in Irvine, California, the Cerato has cab-forward styling, a coupe-like roofline, distinctive concave door contours and a rising beltline with chrome molding to project an aura of elegance. It features special LED backlights, an enhanced supervision cluster, improved quality, upgraded equipment with a host of additional convenience and safety features.

Other models that were available include the powerful Mohave large SUV, the new Sorento midsize SUV, the sportyelegant Sportage crossover-utility-vehicle, Soul: the youthful urban crossover, the beloved Optima midsize sedan, the Rio compact sedan and Carnival, the favorite family minivan. The event climaxed prior to ending at 7:00 pm following two magic shows, prize giveaways and fun for everyone. National Agencies Group is a subsidiary of the Abdulaziz Al-Ali AlMutawa Group of Companies and has been growing the KIA brand in Kuwait since 1997.

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank reported a net profit of KD 3.1 million for the first quarter of 2013 growing by 25 percent compared to the same period of last year, at earnings per share of 1.69 fils, whereas operating profits recorded KD 7 million.

Mahmoud Y Al-Fulaij, the Chairman of Boubyan Bank said: “The results of the first quarter represent a good beginning for year 2013 despite the relatively unfavorable operational environment and the difficulties that the banking sector is still encountering and the strong competition among banks.”

“The results achieved in the first quarter are continuation of the Bank’s successful march since 2010, in which it started implementing the new strategy and returning to the core banking activities, which enabled it regain profitability and distribute profits to shareholders,” added Al-Fulaij.

Al-Fulaij pointed out that within a short period, namely since the strategic changes witnessed in year 2009, as mainly represented in the entry of National Bank of Kuwait “NBK” as a major shareholder, the Bank managed to prove its competitiveness in the Islamic products and services market, which has been witnessing continuous growth in terms of customers’ interest.

Al-Fulaij referred to the Bank’s success in realizing many of the objectives of its strategy set for the period from 2010 to 2014, which is based on expanding the business base and focusing on banking activities including products, services and finance solutions catering to all retail and corporate needs, while ensuring preservation of asset quality, effectiveness of credit risk management policy and continuing to adopt the conservative policy in taking provisions.

Positive indicators On his part, the Vice-Chairman of Boubyan Bank, Adel Abdul-Wahab AlMajed presented some of the key positive indicators in the Bank’s financial results including the increase in

Somali minister to turn goodwill to hard cash NAIROBI: Somalia’s finance minister has his eye on conferences in Washington, London and beyond in the next six months to shore up international support for a slow recovery whose fragility was exposed by this weekend’s suicide bombings in Mogadishu. Mohamud Hassan Suleiman can count on a wave of goodwill on his travels but needs more than diplomatic backing to steady a nation emerging from two decades of war and anarchy with debts of $2.2 billion and state revenues of just $84 million a year. For the first time in years, Western and other nations have accredited ambassadors to the new government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, although most still live outside Somalia. His government has also won recognition from the International Monetary Fund, an important step on the road to rehabilitation. But gains on the ground are shaky, demonstrated in bloody fashion on Sunday when Al-Qaeda-affiliated bombers killed at least 30 people in Mogadishu, a city without a single working fuel station and whole neighbourhoods of wrecked buildings.

“Somalia is coming out from a dark period,” Suleiman told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding Sunday’s attacks in the capital highlighted the need to support a government that still relies on African peacekeepers to maintain security. “They are giving us their attention but we are asking them to change that to substance,” said the 62-year-old minister, a banker from the diaspora who once worked at Somalia’s central bank, an institution he is now seeking to resuscitate.

“It needs money to train the security forces, to equip them properly and to pay them properly,” he added.

Western states and others have focused on humanitarian aid till now but efforts are shifting towards bilateral support for the new government, whose ability to act could have an impact far beyond the borders of the nation of 10 million people.

A more stable Somalia could help curb piracy, which has flourished in the political vacuum and according to the World Bank costs the global economy about $18 billion a year. Western nations also worry a slide back to chaos will allow Al-Shabaab Islamists, ejected from Mogadishu two years ago, to regroup. But Suleiman said the government needs to show Somalis it can deliver change, if it is to extend its control beyond Mogadishu and other urban centres, a difficult task when its revenues almost all come from a battered port and tiny airport.

Gauging support “We are doing everything we can, not to disappoint the people,” said Suleiman, who travels to a donor meeting hosted by the World Bank in Washington on April 20 before attending a broader London conference to build support for Somalia on May 7. The Somali government also wants to draw more backing at a June 1-3 meeting on African development in the Japanese city of Yokohama, and at a gathering in September in Brussels.

The meetings will help gauge support for debt relief

before starting a formal process that could see Somalia qualify for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, known as HIPC, that could offer debt forgiveness and restructuring. To do that, Suleiman and his government must draw up a sustainable poverty reduction programme and show Somalia has the backing of 70 to 80 percent of its creditors, experts say.

“It is going to be a long process and we are just starting that. HIPC is not something we can use immediately,” he said. Suleiman put Somalia’s debt at $2.2 billion, although experts said that was based on a 2010 World Bank figure and interest accrued since then meant it was probably higher. About half the debt is owed to the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank. Arrears to international financial institutions (IFIs) must be repaid, whether by Somalia or by creditors on its behalf, before they can offer new funds.

But IMF recognition was a valuable start, Suleiman said, adding it “opens doors for us to deal again with the IFIs.” The 2013 budget figures show revenues of about $84 million, of which about $54 million is forecast to come from domestic sources and the remainder in external assistance. Spending is put at $114 million, leaving a $30 million deficit. “We are hoping to cover this gap by increasing the revenue or by external assistance,” said Suleiman, who spent more than 30 years as an international banker - most recently in Britain before he joined Mohamud’s government. His former employer, the central bank, is in no position now to help out with debt issuance.—Reuters

financing income to KD 14.2 million by the end of the first quarter of this year compared to KD 11.8 million for the same period of 2012; growing by 21 percent, in addition to the increase of customers’ deposits to KD 1.5 billion compared to KD 1.3 billion; boosting by 19 percent.

Total assets of the Bank increased, at the end of March 2013, to around KD 2 billion compared to KD 1.6 billion in March 2012, growing by 22 percent. Total shareholders’ equity increased to KD 260 million compared to KD 249 million; giving rise to a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 23.9 percent.

Al-Majed added that positive indicators also included an increase in

the local, regional and international changes, as seen during the two years of 2011 and 2012, in which we witnessed difficult operational conditions in the aftermath of the developments and changes occurring in some countries in the region. However, generally speaking, we have an optimistic outlook stemming from our competitiveness, our being part of NBK Group as well as our optimistic belief that local and regional conditions will improve,” added Al-Majed.

Al-Majed also highlighted the Bank’s local expansion saying: “The target we have set since 2010 is reaching 30 branches by the end of 2014, a number that is within reach now considering that it reached 22 branches

Mahmoud Al-Fulaij

Adel Abdul-Wahab Al-Majed

financing portfolio to KD 1.3 billion by the end of last March compared to KD 1.1 billion; boosting by 21 percent in addition to the continuous increase of the Bank’s customer base.

by the end of 2012, and that we are planning to open from 6 to 7 branches during 2013, almost all of them are in densely populated residential areas to be always close to our customers.

This means that by the end of 2014, we will have exceeded our pre-set target.”

Five-year strategy On the other hand, Al-Majed emphasized that the Bank continues to implement its Five-Year Strategy (2010-14) started three years ago, which aims at more expansion in the Kuwaiti market through retail and corporate products and services. During the next two years, the Bank will continue implementation of this strategy in addition to adoption of the new strategy to be implemented during the period from 2015 to 2020 entitled “2020 Strategy.”

“In addition, we take into consideration the operational conditions, which are undoubtedly impacted by

Regional and international recognition Concluding his statements, AlMajed noted the Bank’s achievements realized during the first quarter of this year as represented in winning 6 regional and international awards including: Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait for Customer Service for the third year in a row from “Service Hero”, Best Social Responsible Bank in Kuwait from Tatweej Academy and Best Islamic Fund from “The Banker Middle East Magazine”.

NE W YORK : Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. — AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

technology

‘Chinese hackers’ deface Philippines news website MANILA: Suspected Chinese hackers defaced the website of the Philippines News Agency (PNA) on Sunday, officials said, a possible repeat of cyber attacks last year also blamed on China during a territorial row.

The state-run agency’s website temporarily displayed the Chinese flag and the text: “China Hacker EvilShadow Team, We are evil shadow. We are the team. We

have our own dignity China Hacker Lxxker.”

Asked if Chinese hackers were behind the attack, presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said an investigation was pending but added: “The note left on the site tends to invite that conclusion.”

Another government spokesman, Herminio Coloma, said the hackers group shared news of the attack via Facebook.

“ The site is working again now,” Coloma told reporters, but did not say how long it had been down. He added authorities were attempting to track down the group and had beefed up cybersecurity in the wake of the attack.

The hacking came days after Philippine authorities arrested 12 suspected Chinese poachers whose boat ran aground in a protected coral reef in

the Sulu Sea that is well within the country’s territory.

The poaching was the latest irritant to bilateral relations damaged by overlapping territorial claims to the neighbouring the South China Sea. Last year, cyberattacks on several government websites were blamed on Chinese hackers during a stand off in Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocky out-

crops in the South China Sea that is close to main Philippine island of Luzon.

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea on historical grounds, including waters close to the shores of its neighbours. The Philippines, as well as Vietnam, have accused Beijing of becoming increasingly aggressive in staking out its claims, stoking potential confrontations. —AFP

Hi-tech Japan gets lo-tech Subbuteo Low-tech table-top sport

AUSTIN: Barista Rudi Miller poses for portrait at Houndstooth Coffee in Austin, Texas. —MCT

Safety concerns grow with mobile payments Mobile payments technology, over time, could have a profound impact on the way products are sold, bills are paid and money is transferred around the world. But some of the experts who look at the new technology say they have unanswered questions about the security and privacy issues tied to the payments format. Payments industry executives say the technology is good and getting better. But security experts say the swift growth of smartphone use inevitably is going to attract fraud. And as more consumers use their mobile phones as payment devices, the potential risks can increase.

Dallas-based NQ Mobile, which provides security software for smartphones, says it saw more than 65,000 new malware threats released worldwide in 2012, up from 24,000 the year before. Malware and phony app sites can direct unsuspecting phone users to sites where they give up sensitive personal information, such as bank account passwords.

“It is a real problem, and it is growing,” said Gavin Kim, chief commercial officer of the company. “Smartphone sales are booming, and they are becoming a much more targeted device by hackers.” The company sells software that can identify mobile phone apps sites and protect users against malware and viruses. Interest in the mobile phone security software is growing, but the company estimates that only about 8 percent of the mobile market actually uses security products on phones.

Executives in the payments industry say payments processors and their network of affiliated merchants are constantly improving technology and processes to combat fraud. “I am completely comfortable and confident in the level of security of these transactions. In our system, the information is encrypted from end to end,” said Brent Warrington, CEO of Austin, Texas-based SecureNet, which processes both online and mobile payment transactions.

While security concerns are being

addressed rapidly, privacy advocates see no quick remedy for concerns about potential misuse of growing mountains of electronic data tied to the spending patterns of individual consumers. The same technology that makes mobile payments convenient also makes it easier for data analytics companies to get a better fix on where they spend their time and where and what they buy. Data analytics companies already pore through massive amounts of consumer data in order to give retailers and lenders a better idea of how to market to them.

Some of those tech analytics companies compile secret “e-scores” that rank consumers and that are claimed to predict consumer spending. That trend alarms some privacy advocates, such as Jeff Chester with the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington. Chester says mobile payments can create another deluge of data that enable some clever analytics companies to score and secretly rank them as consumers.

Mobile payment “is about exposing your financial behavior to a daisy chain of financial and other marketers who have a very detailed understanding of where you are, how you spend your time and what you buy,” Chester said in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers. Personal health information and credit scores are closely guarded information in this country.

Chester believes other data that go into escores also should be regulated to prevent invasion of privacy and unfair discrimination by retailers and other businesses.

At present, he said, there are no such protections to the new kinds of data, which will proliferate with mobile payments. The collection of data, Chester said, “needs to be transparent and accountable. All these new, nontraditional data services are unregulated, and they need to be regulated. There should not be any kind of financial profile on a consumer that he or she can’t have access to review and to challenge.” —MCT

Google clears another step in EU antitrust case BRUSSELS: Google has taken another step toward settling a European antitrust investigation focusing on whether the Internet giant is abusing its dominant position of online search and advertising markets.

Google Inc. has submitted a list of remedies in legally binding form to address the concerns voiced by the European Commission, which acts as the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust authority, the body’s spokesman Antoine Colombani said yesterday. He added that they will shortly be put to a market test to see whether they will be sufficient, but declined to elaborate on how long it might still take to reach a settlement in the three-year-old investigation.

The Commission is probing whether Google unfairly favors its own services in its Internet search results. Google’s search engine - the world’s most influential gateway to online information and commerce - enjoys a near-monopoly in Europe.

The major concession offered by Google is widely expected to center on more clearly labeling search results stemming from its own services such as YouTube, Google Maps or its shopping search function.

In addition, Google is supposed to offer remedies on the three other main areas the Commission has criticized.

Those centered on how Google displays content from other websites, how it manages the ads appearing next to its search results, and how its actions affect

marketers’ ability to buy ads on rival networks.

Both, Google and the Commission, have declined to spell out what remedies the Mountain View, California, company is proposing pending the official announcement of the market test. Without reaching a settlement - to which both sides are committed - the Commission would likely formally file a case against Google, setting the stage for a lengthy process that could result in the company being fined up to 10 percent of its annual revenue.

The EU Commission has often taken a harder line with US tech companies than its American counterparts, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. Google settled a similar antitrust complaint on its search business with the FTC in January without making any major concessions on how it runs its search engine.

Separately, major tech companies led

by Microsoft last week filed another EU antitrust complaint against Google, alleging the company uses the dominant position of its Android smartphone operating system to illegitimately promote its own array of internet services.

Microsoft Corp., which has been a leading player in the complaints against Google, has had its own protrac ted run-ins with the EU Commission.

The Redmond, Washington, company has paid 2.2 billion euros in various fines since investigations began in 1998. —AP

YOKOHAMA: Fans of Subbuteo from around the world have brought their low-tech table-top sport to high-tech Japan, in the hope of persuading a nation of video gamers to get offline.

Frenchman Cedric Garnier, a one-time runnerup in the world championships, led the field at the annual Yokohama Tournament in the city south of Tokyo on Sunday.

A small crowd of spectators clapped with appreciation as he flicked his two-centimetre (one inch) plastic players into a ball around the same size. The biggest cheer was reserved for an astounding move by his forward, who leapt a line of defenders and slammed into the ball, knocking it past the stunned-plastic-goalkeeper and planting it safely in the back of the net.

Garnier, 30, who won the tournament for the second year running, said he and other international acolytes were helping to spread the word about a table-top entertainment that firmly predates the Internet.

“Asia is only starting to discover table football, and the level is quite low at the moment, but it is already getting better and I hope I will make it improve even more,” a bullish Garnier said before bagging a gold medal that was many times larger than his goal-scoring heroes.

The game, devised in the 1930s, is played on a large piece of felt with all the markings of a regular football pitch. Players must flick their tiny men into the ball and move it around the field, passing it between members of the team as they try to get it into their opponent’s goal.

If they miss or accidently pass the ball to the opposing team, possession is ceded. “I take a lot of pleasure playing this little sport, my whole family were Subbuteo players, but my brother and I really took it seriously... we were the most impassioned,” said Garnier.

From its apogee in the 1970s and 1980s when Subbuteo was widely played by teenage boys in Europe, Subbuteo fell out of favour in the 1990s when video games came into their own, said John Ho, a member of the Singapore Federation who flew to Japan for this one day event.

But, he says, it is growing in popularity again.

According to the International Federation of

Spor t Table Football, the 2012 World Cup attracted 500 players in Manchester, England.

“This is like regular football, we play because we love the game,” said Ho, who came third in the tournament of 14 players.

“In Singapore we have a simple motto. We say “for the love of the game” so whether it is to spread, to instruct or to show other people, that is through that simple message.” —AFP

YOKOHAMA: Players of Subbuteo, table football, flick their two-centimetre plastic players to fight for the ball on the table in Yokohama yesterday. Many players from the world played on the small fields and Frenchman Cedric Garnier (unseen in this picture) won the annual Yokohama tournament. Fans of Subbuteo from around the world have brought their low-tech table-top sport to high-tech Japan, in the hope of persuading a nation of video gamers to get offline. —AFP

Ultra-fast Google Fiber network coming to Texas AUSTIN: Internet search giant Google Inc. on Tuesday said it will start offering its ultra-fast Internet access network in Austin around the middle of next year.

By fast network, Google means very fast. Its Google Fiber network in Austin will operate at 1 gigabit-persecond speeds, which is about 150 times faster than current typical broadband Internet access speeds in this country.

The announcement followed days of intense Internet speculation about the next market for Google Fiber, which aims to satisfy some Internet users’ need for speed. Work on the project will start almost immediately, but the network will take time to complete.

Austin will be the second major market that Google Fiber serves, following Kansas City, where the first customers received service last November. Austin’s first service is still more than a year away, but local officials say the high-speed network could become a critical advantage for startups and creative companies, such as film studios, as well as schools and hospitals. In Kansas City, the construction for its first phase of service delivery will take a little more than a year and be completed by the end of this year.

“The gigabit is the future,” said Kevin Lo, general manager for Google Fiber. “Our company has an interesting history in that we have always made investments early in the process ... . We have always made big bets. We believe fundamentally that gigabit connectivity is the future. And more than anything else, we have been humbled from the feedback from people and the communities that want to be a part of it.”

Google, as is its habit, was sparing in its details about the project. It hasn’t said how much money it has spent on the Kansas City network or how much it intends to spend on Austin. Nor has it said how many people it will employ here, although most of the construction work is expected to be done by contractors. Nor has it said how many customers it has signed up in Kansas City or how many it expects to get in Austin.

Google does say that advances in communications technology enable it to create a very high-performance network with considerably less investment than was required several years ago. Analysts say Google is demonstrating that it intends to make Google Fiber a money-making business over time. They also say the giant Internet company wants to help push the country toward faster construction of next-generation networks in order to hasten the develop-

ment of new ways of using the Internet.

When Google in 2010 asked for community proposals for its network, Austin competed fiercely for the project, as did some 1,100 other communities, but Kansas City won out.

Despite falling short in the first round, Austin city officials and community groups continued to tell Google they still wanted a Google Fiber network.

Lo said that strong endorsement from city leaders and the creativity of proposals for community groups were important reasons why it chose Austin this time. He cited Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council

ership had to be brought on board.

“I think we had to shed some of our traditional stodginess and show (Google) that we were going to be nimble and agile,” Leffingwell said.

“Speed in something like this was key.

There were no incentives (to the company) other than our cooperation and our best efforts to speed the process along. When you are dealing with today’s modern (technology) companies, that are used to moving really fast, you have to be able to speak their language. That is what they expected and that is what we had to deliver.”

There are many details of the project that remain to be worked out.

age that is free for seven years once a $300 network construction cost is paid.

Few of the details for Austin’s service are available now, but they are expected to be similar to those of Kansas City.

Both city officials and Lo said that Austin’s creative community, including its high-tech startup companies, were a key selling point for the city.

“There are a lot of people in this town who are going to come up with ideas for new things,” Morrison said.

“I’m fully confident that there are going to be exciting new uses of the Internet” because of the new network.

AUSTIN: Google’s vice president of access services Milo Medin (left) speaks to a crowd at a news conference. —MCT Member Laura Morrison as key movers in helping Austin win.

Google will build its network without incentives from the city or state, but it did seek a high level of cooperation from the city and from Austin Energy, the city-operated utility company, which owns the utility poles on which much of the network will be strung.

Leffingwell said Austin won this project by letting Google know that it remained vitally interested in a second network after the Kansas City project was started.

“We just stayed active and made sure that they knew that, if they wanted to do another project, we were interested,” Leffingwell said. Google officials began an intensive round of talks with city officials about three months ago. A key factor in selling Google on the city, Leffingwell said, was Austin’s commitment to move fast in its approval process so Google could build quickly.

That meant Austin Energy’s lead-

Tuesday’s announcement, Lo said, makes it easier for Google’s engineers to engage with city officials and begin planning the network and for the basic construction required for the network before the first customers are accounted.

In Kansas City, Google divided the two target communities (Kansas City, Kansas, and the central part of Kansas City, Mo.) into 202 areas _ dubbed “fiberhoods” _ that were asked to demonstrate their interest in getting the service. The areas that showed the most interest were targeted for the first start of service. Along the way, the company worked with community groups and volunteers to engage with potential customers in low-income areas to explain to them the value of a broadband Internet connection.

In Kansas City, the basic price for 1gigabit Internet access is $70 a month. Internet plus cable TV costs $120 a month. But the company also offers a slower basic broadband pack-

Tech community leaders agreed.

“Access to more bandwidth is like rain in Texas _ it’s good for everyone,” said David Bresemann, senior vice president and chief product officer at Silicon Laboratories Inc., a locally based semiconductor company.

“Austin’s tech-savvy residents and businesses have an insatiable appetite for higher bandwidth.”

Veteran entrepreneur and tech investor Joshua Baer said the new network will boost Austin’s already high stature as a tech hot spot.

“This is really about building on the momentum of Austin as a tech and innovation center,” said Baer, who is co-founder of Capital Factory, a downtown tech accelerator. “It’s one more reason for people to move here.

It’s one more reason for new businesses that depend on this kind of technology to choose Austin. It’s huge for startups because it gives them more productivity and flexibility. It enables things you haven’t thought of yet.” —MCT

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Joy as hospital offers help to baby with swollen head Norway website collects funds NEW DELHI: The parents of an 18-month girl in India whose head has swollen to more than double its normal size reacted with joy yesterday after a top private hospital offered to fly her to New Delhi for tests. Roona Begum, who suffers from hydrocephalus, a rare but treatable disorder that causes fluid to build up on the brain, was discovered last week living with her parents who are too poor to pay for treatment. Her condition has resulted in her head swelling to a circumference of 91-centimetres (36-inches), putting pressure on her brain and making it impossible for her to sit upright or crawl on the ground.

The publication of pictures taken by an AFP photographer in remote Tripura state in northeast India last Friday led numerous well-wishers

to step forward offering donations, while a website has been set up to collect money for her.

Leading Indian neurosurgeon Sandeep Vaishya, who is the head of neurosurgery at a hospital for the private Fortis Healthcare group near the capital, pledged to examine the girl and see if surgery was possible.

“Fortis will fly her down and while we will have to do an MRI to check the condition of her brain, I am hopeful that we will be able to carry out a surgery and relieve the pressure on the poor child’s brain,” Vaishya told AFP. The group, which operates 76 hospitals in 11 countries, has a charitable foundation that carries out surgery free of charge.

Roona’s 18-year-old father, Abdul Rahman, who lives in a mud hut with his family in the vil-

AGARTALA, India: Indian labourer Abdul Rahman fans his eighteen month old daughter, Roona Begum, suffering from Hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid inside the skull that leads to brain swelling, at their hut in Jirania village on the outskirts of Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura yesterday. — AFP

lage of Jirania Khola, told AFP he was “very thankful for everyone’s generosity”. He added: “We have no money and I don’t know how we can ever repay them for what they are doing.”

Her elated 25-year-old mother Fatema Khatun said: “I am so grateful. I have no words to express my happiness.”

Local doctors had told the family to take the newborn to a private hospital in a big Indian city but the costs were too high for Rahman, an illiterate labourer who earns 150 rupees ($2.75) a day working in a brick plant. The website www.mygoodact.com based in Norway has begun collecting donations for Roona and says it has raised $8,800 in three days.

Jonas Borchgrevink, the 22-year-old website founder who is managing the campaign along with fellow student Nathalie Krantz in Norway’s capital Oslo, told AFP they launched the appeal after seeing Roona’s photographs online.

“Nathalie saw many online comments from people wanting to help the child and so she decided to start this fundraiser,” Borchgrevink said.

“We plan to run the campaign for a total of 30 days and we hope to use the money to help the family and provide aftercare treatment to the child for years to come,” he said. They have already established contact with staff at a local media website in Tripura who will help them send the funds to the family, he added.

The US government’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates about one in every 500 children suffers from hydrocephalus. The most common treatment involves the surgical insertion of a mechanism to drain cerebrospinal fluid away from the brain and towards another part of the body where it can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream.

Extreme cases like Roona’s are very rare, according to Vaishya, who said he had been deluged with calls about the child after he spoke to AFP on Saturday. “The child must be in a lot of pain because her head is so heavy. Still, in the images I could see that she was smiling sometimes, which makes me think that her cognitive functions might still be intact,” Vaishya said.

Surgery to treat hydrocephalus is not particularly risky, Vaishya said. — AFP

China holds mass water battle JINGHONG: Thousands of people armed with plastic water guns and buckets battled on the streets of a southwestern Chinese city yesterday, drenching each other as part of an annual Buddhist-inspired festival. A record of around 100,000 people were expected to take part in the event in Jinghong, a few hours drive from China’s border with Myanmar. Official celebrations began at noon, when the city’s designated water splashing square erupted into chaos as thousands scooped torrents high into the air and at each other.

“The splashing gets more crazy every year,” said 67-year old retired government official Ai Hannun, a

member of China’s Dai minority, who hold the festival to usher in a new year set by their own traditional calendar. Orange-robed Buddhist monks led a prayer to launch the festival, which has its roots in the religious practice of bathing a statue of the Buddha, and is also celebrated in other south east Asian countries including Thailand.

“Water-splashing used to be carried out at home, with family and friends, as a way of showing respect,” he said. For most participants, including thousands of tourists from across China, the festival’s religious origins were less important than the thrills of soaking, and being soaked. “There are

no limits to who you can splash, except that you need to be careful around children,” said Zhou Shan, who used a double-tanked blue water gun and wore a green bucket on his head for protection.

Others stood on the back of pick-up trucks to carry out drive-by splashings. Loudspeaker announcements reminded participants to “create a civilised splashing environment”.

The Dai, who are estimated to number 1.3 million, are one of more than 50 offical ethnic minorities in China and speak a language closer to Thai than the Mandarin Chinese spoken by the country’s leaders. After opening the festival, the region’s top

Dai official Luo Hongjiang received a thorough drenching. The local government hoped to encourage revellers to save water by limiting the water throwing to two hours, he said, although many revellers continued beyond the 2pm cut-off point.

“We’ve limited the official time for splashing out of consideration for the feelings of drought-hit areas. But we can’t force anyone to stop throwing water. It’s more like a suggestion,” he said. A four-year drought has affected 600,000 people in the surrounding province of Yunnan, where several cities have imposed usage limits.

Jinghong, which is fed by the Mekong, was not experiencing a serious drought, said Luo. — AFP

BEIJING: In this photo, journalists film a seven-year-old girl, being treated for the H7N9 virus, through a television screen during a news conference at the Ditan Hospital. — AP

China media urge eating poultry despite bird flu BEIJING: Chinese state media yesterday urged people to keep eating chicken and help revive the poultry industry, which lost 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in the week after the H7N9 bird flu virus began infecting humans. A total of 63 people have been confirmed as infected and 14 have died in the two weeks since Chinese authorities said they found the strain in humans for the first time. “The public should somewhat restrain their anxieties to avoid this becoming a disaster for the whole poultry industry,” the Global Times said in an editorial, adding that not eating poultry was “unfair to farmers”.It called the avoidance of such foods “excessive anxiety” and urged people instead to “demonstrate a collective spirit beyond individualism”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), influenza viruses are rendered inactive by temperatures above 70C (158F), making it safe to eat well-cooked meat. The number of cases jumped from 40 over the weekend and spread for the first time beyond Shanghai and three nearby provinces, with two cases reported just west in Henan and one in Beijing, hundreds of kilometres (miles) away. The case in the capital, a seven-yearold girl, was recovering and had been moved to a normal ward, Beijing health officials said yesterday. A boy who had been put under observation because he was a close contact of an H7N9 patient tested positive for the virus but was suffering no symptoms of illness, they added.

Experts fear the prospect of such viruses mutating into a form easily transmissible between humans, which would have the potential to trigger a pandemic-but the WHO has said there is no evidence yet of

such a development. Health authorities in China say they do not know exactly how the virus is spreading, but it is believed to be crossing from birds to humans, prompting mass culls in several cities. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization has said H7N9 shows “affinity” to humans while causing “very mild or no disease” in infected poultry, making it more difficult to find the source of transmission.

That the virus could jump to humans, and cause mild or no illness in some people as with the boy in Beijing, meant it might spread more easily, said Jeremy Farrar, a Vietnam-based professor of medicine who has been studying H7N9. A problematic virus “jumps across the species barrier, infects humans relatively easily, causes a spectrum of disease from mild to severe such that human-to-human transmission is made more likely-that’s what we have in H7N9”, he said.

More lethal viruses might be less dangerous for the population as a whole because by killing off their carriers they might not spread as easily, he added, acknowledging that was a “slightly horrible view ”. Farrar, who is with the Oxford Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam, said the virus had been shared with labs around the world for study. In 2003 Chinese authorities were accused of trying to cover up the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which went on to kill about 800 people worldwide. But China has been praised for transparency over H7N9, with the WHO and other international scientists saying it was pleased with the level of information sharing. — AFP

Greenhouse gases make high temps hot in China WASHINGTON: China, the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide, is directly feeling the man-made heat of global warming, scientists conclude in the first study to link the burning of fossil fuels to one country’s rise in its daily temperature spikes. China emits more of the greenhouse gas than the next two biggest carbon polluters - the US and India - combined. And its emissions keep soaring by about 10 percent per year.

While other studies have linked averaged-out temperature increases in China and other countries to greenhouse gases, this research is the first to link the warmer daily hottest and coldest readings, or spikes. Those spikes, which often occur in late afternoon and the early morning, are what scientists say most affect people’s health, plants and animals. People don’t notice changes in averages, but they feel it when the daily high is hotter or when it doesn’t cool off at night to let them recover from a sweltering day.

The study by Chinese and Canadian researchers found that just because of greenhouse gases, daytime highs rose 0.9 degree Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the 46 years up to 2007. At night it was even worse: Because of greenhouse gases, the daily lows went up about 1.7 degrees Celsius (3 degrees Fahrenheit). China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal, which is the largest source of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. While the country has made huge investments in alternative energy such as wind, solar and nuclear in recent years, its heavy reliance on coal is unlikely to change any time soon.

About 90 percent of the temperature rise seen by the researchers could be

traced directly to man-made greenhouse gases, the study said. Man-made greenhouse gases also include methane and nitrous oxide, but carbon dioxide is considered by far the biggest factor. The study appeared online in late March in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The study uses the accepted and traditional method that climate scientists employ to attribute a specific trend to man-made global warming or to rule it out as a cause. Researchers ran computer simulations trying to replicate the observed increase in daily and nighttime high temperatures in China between 1961 and 2007. They first plugged in only natural forces - including solar variation to try to get the heat increase. That didn’t produce it.

The only way the computer simulations came up with the increase in daily high and low temperatures that occurred was when the actual amounts of atmospheric heat-trapping greenhouse gases were included. “It is way above what you would expect from normal fluctuations of climate,” study author Xuebin Zhang of the climate research division of Canada’s environmental agency said in a telephone interview. “It is quite clear and can be attributed to greenhouse gases.”

China did not become the largest emitter of greenhouse gases until 2007; for much of the period studied, it had a smaller economy. Because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for about a century, China and its defenders maintain that the US and other developed nations bear more responsibility for climate change. Outside experts praised the research as using proper methods and making sense. — AP

JINGHONG: People drench each other with water yesterday.— AFP

New app finds yoga classes wherever you are TORONTO: From hatha to vinyasa and everything in between, a new app helps yoga lovers find upcoming classes nearby. Om Lovers, an iPhone app, detects a user’s location and shows yoga classes happening at studios around them, including time and directions. “ The vision was to get more people on planet ear th doing yoga,” said Nanc y Richardson, vice president of digital and brand strategy at Vancouver-based yoga apparel company Lululemon.

Classes can be found at nearly 7,000 studios in 63 countries worldwide and can be filtered by time and type, including hatha, power flow, vinyasa and hot yoga. “It offers lots of different options

to try different classes, types of yoga, and experience different teachers,” Richardson said. Yogis can also keep up with the schedules of their favorite instructors. The app has over 30,000 instructor profiles, which include a schedule of their upcoming classes.

According to Rachel Acheson, vice president of brand and community at Lululemon, the turnover for yoga is high. Although there are approximately 20 million people practicing yoga, about 20 percent drop out every year.

“The new people to yoga every year is substantial,” said Acheson. “Finding your teacher is one of the biggest things that drives commitment to the

practice.” Users can invite friends to join in on class by sending a text, tweet, email or Facebook message through the app, and keep track of the classes they’re headed to. The app launched Thursday and by Saturday had been downloaded over 18,000 times.

It secured the top spot in the Health and Fitness category on Apple’s App Store in Canada, and the third spot in the category in the US. It is the first digital experience that the company has developed in-house, and is part of Lululemon’s push towards creating hyper-local experiences for consumers. “That connection with our guests and studio partners is happen-

ing on a local level,” Richardson said.

“Our digital strategy is people-first. Our goal is to build authentic relationships with communities.”

Although users can add a class to their schedule, which syncs with the calendar app, it is not yet possible to book or pay for a class within the app.

“We’re waiting to see what guests want, and we’re not confident they’re going to want to book,” Richardson responded, adding that the company is actively monitoring feedback.

The company will continue to monitor demand for other platforms, but the company’s customers are predominantly iPhone users, according to

Richardson. A similar app called Mindbody Yoga is available for iPhone, created by Mindbody, the company that supplies the data about classes, studios and instructors used in Om Finder. It allows users to book and pay for classes if the studio supports that capability.

It does not, however, provide the social features found in Om Finder, or information about in-store classes.

Another app called GoRecess, available on the web, allows users in the United States to find and book fitness classes in their cities, including yoga, strengthtraining, dance martial arts and boot camp classes. — Reuters

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N Announcements

Infunity Entertainment Center displays new carousel

NAFO Kuwait to present ‘Samanwayam’ AFO Kuwait, on the auspicious occasion of its 10th anniversary celebration ‘Samanwayam,’ proudly presents an eclectic dance and English musical show by renowned film actress and acclaimed danseuse Padmashree Shobhana along with the pulsing talents of team Kalarpana Chennai on May 10, 2013 at American International School, Maidan Hawally.

N

Kottayam Gramolsav ottayam Association, Kuwait is conducting Malayalam Arts competitions - Gramolsav’ 2013 on 10th May 2013 at United Indian School from 4pm onwards. The competitions are for Solo Nadan Pattu (Folk Song), Poetry Recitation and Kathaprasamgam. The group is divided as Sub-Junior, Junior, senior and Super Senior where as Kathaprasamgam is only for Junior and Senior groups.

Different committees headed by Jomon Joseph as General Convener and Renjith Thomas as Joint convener are making the arrangements. Entry forms are available at Hi Tech Computers, Hi Dine Restaurant, Family Super Market and Al-Watan Restaurant, Abbassiya.

K

Basketball Academy

T

he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls. Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

T

he Infunity Entertainment Center at the 360 Mall announced the display of a new carousel in the main atrium of the 360 Mall featuring the main aspects of Kuwaiti culture.

This outstanding event will bring together entertainment, fun and

exceptional magical moments. The Italian-made carousel is characterized by its unique and high quality classic designs and artistic patterns and colors representing the most famous landmark and places in Kuwait. The beautifully decorated carousel has a capacity

of 26 passengers and has been especially designed for children of 6 years and above to take them on a magical fun journey. The organizers of the event said that the carousel is open for all the kids to have an experience inspired from the fairy tales. They not-

ed that this event is part of the many initiatives taken by Infunity Entertainment Center to offer a wide range of entertaining activities, and bring joy to the kids by organizing a variety of the most innovative games and activities.

Palms Beach Hotel and Spa honors Employees of the Month

Palestine handicrafts exhibition

T

he Palestinian Culture Center in cooperation with Bayt Lothan, invites you to its spring exhibition.

This is held under the patronage of Rami Ihsan Tahboub, Ambassador of the state of Palestine in Kuwait.

The exhibition aims to preserve Palestinian handicrafts, to reaffirm the Palestinian national identity as well as empowering refugee women in the camps.

We display classic designs intertwined with modern uses, colors, and motifs to showcase some of the creativity of the Palestinian women. Items on sale include: cushions, scarves, shawls, long traditional dresses as well as smaller items. We also have handmade ceramics from Palestine, books, music, and movies.

There will be a bake sale of traditional foods on Thursday and in the evening childrenís activities. ìDabkahî our Folkdance will be on Monday and Thursday at 6:30 Evening. Venue: Bayt Lothan, Salmiya, next to Marina Mall Dates: Monday, April 22 to Thursday, April 25, 2013 Hours: Mornings: 10:00 am 1:30 pm - Evenings: 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm.

T

he employees of The Palms Beach Hotel & Spa got together to celebrate their March 2013 birthdays & honor the employee of the month. In an invitation initiated by Mr. Rabie Al-Sukhon - General

Manager, who attended the ceremony together with the hotel executives, Appreciation Certificates presented to: Ravindra Komanpalli (Room Boy) from House Keeping Department; Mahmoud Abd

Al-Naser (Waiter) form Food & Beverage Department as two best employees of March 2013 & congratulated the birthday celebrants of March and welcomed the new staff into The Palms Beach Hotel & Spa fami-

ly. To wind up the event, the General Manager thanked all the staff for their hard work that made the Palms a huge success and joined the staff to cut the event’s cake that was specially prepared for the occasion.

Sadeem school holds math teaching workshops

IMAX

IMAX film program Effective from 31st March 2013 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 Friday: Fires of Kuwait 2:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm To The Arctic 3D 4:30pm, 7:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 9:30pm

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

T

he Math Department at Sadeem Model School, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Area, recently held its National, Cultural Festival under the title of ‘My Senses... The Secret of My Excellence’.

AUK hosts psychology presentation

T

he Psychology Department at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) would like to announce a presentation

by Dr Stephen Quintana, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, entitled: Children’s understanding of social status: Race, nationality, and gender. The presentation will be held on Wednesday April 17, 2013 from 6 to 7 pm in the Multipurpose Room at the AUK Salmiya campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr Quintana is the representative to the United Nations for the American Psychological Association, and is a full-professor holding joint positions with the Department of Educational Psychology and the Department of Counseling Psychology, where he previously served as Chair. Noted for his work in researching child development, Dr Quintana is renowned for his expertise in the field of children’s understandings of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and social class.

The Psychology Department at AUK is dedicated to providing higher education in the psychological sciences to interested students. In addition to a variety of course offerings, the department hosts panels, presentations, and lectures by distinguished faculty and international scholars, open to both the AUK community and the general public.

The Festival was attended by the educational area director, Talaq Al-Haim, math supervisors, teachers, some parents and members of the media, who were all warmly welcomed by the school director, Kahleda Al-Shaheen. The festival included spe-

cial performances from special needs’ pupils before presenting model examples about dealing with theoretical, audio, visual and sensorimotor Math learning classes. A special math teaching aids exhibition was held at the sidelines of the festival.

GUST professor obtains international copyrights

D

r Hussain Al Sharoufi, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), was awarded Certificate of Copyrights from the Intellectual Property Department at the Ministry of Economy, in the United Arab Emirates, for his new web-based application, Academic Writing Wizard, AWW. Main features of AWW Generates statistical reports by class, student, and percentage, which can be used for institutional evaluations and for assessing learning outcomes. Provides paper-free environment. Provides prompt feedback on the lexical cohesion of students’ essays. Enhances students’ writing abilities by using a user-friendly interface. Provides students with numerous sources to boost their academic writing. Provides teachers with an exceptional environment to grade their students’ papers using latest educational technology. Provides both students and teachers with an objective assessment based on textual cohesion. Helps students create natural flow in their academic writing.

No more trial and error in academic

writing! AWW is mainly devised to introduce students to the building blocks of academic writing. Once students get acquainted with the application, they can start exploring the pow-

er that enables them to identify unknown techniques in essay writing.

AWW does not teach grammatical rules, spelling, or punctuation; however, it helps students master the gram-

mar of text, which is extremely important for creating academic essays.

AWW is a new educational software that is based on several studies in textual analysis and applied linguistics for evaluating students’ essays. The application provides students with the ability to pre-plan their essays in a conscious way. Students should draw one box for each paragraph, and mention in detail and in advance the required textual elements: reference, whether backward or forward, transitional signals, lexical repetition, and lexical phrases. The first element, which is reference, shows the possible referential connections that students would like to make with other words in text.

Having made their selections, students should then opt for the appropriate transitional words to connect their first paragraph with the following paragraphs. Finally, they should choose lexical phrases taken from an academic list based on a detailed academic database. The application evaluates essays and papers based on the three textual elements. The final grade given to an essay/paper will include the system evaluation, which is out of 50 percent, and the instructor’s evaluation, which is out of 50 percent.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Mentor Arabia’s campaign receives good support

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, Prince Turki Bin Talal, Mohammed Alshaya, Saud Al-Babtain and Faisal Al-Mutawa.

Queen Silvia of Sweden presenting a trophy to Mohammad Alshaya.

nnnnnnn

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 gusts at the gala dinner.

U

nder the auspices of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, represented

by Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs, Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Mentor Arabia organized its 2013digitally themed gala dinner at The Avenues.

More than 400 guests from all over the world were invited to take a closer look at Mentor Arabia’s work in the field of drug prevention and awareness for children and youth. Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman of M H Alshaya Co, a member of the board at Mentor Arabia and the host of the event, gave the opening speech where he thanked the attendees and stressed the need for businesses, governments and parents to help organizations such as Mentor Arabia in the fight against drugs and in the protection of young people.

“It is our duty as businesses and business leaders to do all we can to provide an oasis of stability, security and hope to those who need it most. To invest in the lives of our young people.” Mohammed Alshaya. Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Board at Mentor Arabia and a Mentor international Trustee, mentioned the various reasons for the constant growth and speed of this deadly phenomenon and called for a whole new way of thinking and approach to deal with this matter.

“This issue needs to be approached with a completely new and scientific mindset. Prince Turki Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz. Her Majesty The Queen, on her second visit to Kuwait, said that the drug problem exists both internationally and in the region, and is spreading faster than ever. She pointed to the fact that for years the issue of drugs in general has been left hidden due to cultural and

LoYac performing one of the shows. political barriers. However she said that there were some positive signs, with many countries in the Arab region starting to acknowledge the problem and carrying out different levels of studies. Her Majesty also mentioned that in most countries withinthe Arab region, drug use is becoming a public health crisis, with consequences at the economic, health, legal, and social level. These consequences obstruct the healthy development of the countries of the region and interfere with the needs of their population. Drug addiction not only has economic costs, but also leads to social destruction, family dysfunction, health and psychological problems and crimes.

“The smartest way to help our young population have healthy and positive liveswould be to invest in them.”Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden. An awards ceremony for Mentor Arabia’s Trustees followed, where Her Majesty The Queen, Prince Turki Bin Talal, Mohammed Alshaya and members of the board, were each given a trophy in acknowledgement of their contributions and dedication.

For the event’s grand finale, a live auction conducted by the world renowned auctioneer Simon De Pury took place. Items generously donated by various individuals and corporations were on display, including antiques, as well as a painting that was created live as the dinner took place and finished in time for the auction.

The money raised from the auction will help Mentor Arabia implement various drug prevention and awareness programs aimed at protecting the lives of millions of young people across the Arab world.

In the build-up to the event, Mentor Arabia collaborated with H&M to create an online t-shirt slogan competition which allowed the 10,000+ fans on Mentor Arabia’s page to submit anti-drug slogans through a specially created Facebook application. The competition reached

almost 700,000 people across the Arab world with hundreds of slogans submitted.

A panel of judges from Alshaya, H&M and Mentor Arabia then shortlisted and chose three slogans as winners for the top 3 prizes. The 1st prize winning slogan, “Don’t Waste Your Time Being Wasted”, was then designed and printed on H&M t-shirts and sold at the H&M stores at The Avenues in Kuwait. Fifty per cent of the proceeds from the purchase price were donated to Mentor Arabia to help fund its various drug prevention programs.

Mentor Arabia also teamed up with Starbucks to promote a healthy drug-free lifestyle among children and youth, through in-store material and online content. The campaign aimed to educate customers and raise awareness about drug use across the region, as building awareness and sparking conversation are crucial to addressing the issue. This campaign reaffirmed the long term commitment of the global coffee house chain to the local community and its issues.

The scene of the event, Grand Avenue - The Avenues Kuwait, was branded with celling banners and flags prior to the dinner, focusing on messages of hope and call to action for a drug-free Arabia. A special twitter hashtag was created for event as well, #DrugFreeArabia, and used in all tweets in the build-up to the event as well as a live Twitter feed during the event.

The right ingredients, individuals, corporations and partners from various sectors got together and united for one common cause, to protect the children and youth of the Arab world from the deadly phenomenon of drugs.

Collaboration is a key if we are ever to fight and win this long hard battle. Mentor Arabia would like to thank each and every organization, company and individual who took part in this event. Together we made a difference.

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

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

Singing performance by LoYac.

Anthony Chalhoub and his wife, and the French ambassador in Kuwait.

McDonald’s named one of world’s top ten best global brands

M

cDonald’s was recently named the world’s seventh top global brand in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands of 2012 list. The only Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) to be named in the top 50 brands, McDonald’s earned its top ten position based on exceptional brand management, significant global presence, leadership in sustainable practices and admirable approach to consumer engagement.

According to study commissioner and the world’s largest brand consultancy, Interbrand, McDonald’s brand value has increased by nearly 60 per cent in just 11 years, and is today listed at over US $40 million.

McDonald’s ongoing commitment to brand development is cited as a key factor in the brand’s top ten ranking, as are its unique franchise model and continuous dedicationto enhancing customer experience.

Yousef Abdulghani, Managing Director, McDonald’s Middle East and Africacommented: “We are truly honoured to have been recognized, especially in the company of so many exceptional performers. The McDonald’s brand, on a global, regional and local level,is constantly evolving, but in a way that consistently puts customers first. Our success is never taken for

granted, and we believe strongly in the partnership between corporate development and consumer satisfaction. For McDonald’s, there’s just simply no other way to do business, and this system has served us well thus far.

“McDonald’s began its relationship with the Middle East in 1993. In this short time, the unwavering commitment and dedication of our local business ownershas seenus draw a devoted and enthusiastic customer base, and in turn, become the largest and fastest growing international Quick Service Restaurant in the region. Across theMiddle East and Africa, McDonald’s operates more than 920 restaurants in 17 markets. In the GCC alone, we serve more than 900,000 customers each day at more than 360 restaurants in seven markets. The success of our business in the region is based on a marriage between McDonald’s global practices and our own local insights, and we look forward to continued success throughout the Middle East.”

The study also recognizes McDonald’s for its locally relevant menu and service variations, including its home delivery service in key markets such as the GCC. McDonald’s effective communication of sustainability

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 efforts to both customers and employees are also highlighted in the study. On the digital front, McDonald’s was recognized for its new and innovative methods of generating new recipes and promotions.

Also named on the list were Apple, Microsoft, and McDonald’s long-time partner, Coca-Cola. McDonald’s is the world’s leading food service organisation serving 69 million people each day at more than 34,000 restaurants in 119 countries.

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.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Rogue Nature With Dave Salmoni 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Wildest Latin America 03:15 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 03:40 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:05 My Cat From Hell 04:55 Call Of The Wildman 05:20 Orangutan Island 05:45 Wild Africa Rescue 06:10 Wild Africa Rescue 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 The Really Wild Show 07:25 Must Love Cats 08:15 Cats 101 09:10 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 09:35 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 10:05 Wildest Latin America 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Call Of The Wildman 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 Shamwari: A Wild Life 13:15 Shamwari: A Wild Life 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 Wildest Latin America 15:30 Orangutan Island 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Dogs 101: Specials 17:25 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 17:50 Jeff Corwin Unleashed 18:20 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 18:45 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Bondi Vet 20:10 Call Of The Wildman 20:35 Orangutan Island 21:05 Wildest Latin America 22:00 Shamwari: A Wild Life 22:25 Shamwari: A Wild Life 22:55 World Wild Vet 23:50 Animal Cops Phoenix

00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 02:15 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 03:05 What To Eat Now - Summer 03:30 Cash In The Attic 04:15 Bargain Hunt 05:00 House Swap 05:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow 06:35 French Food At Home 07:00 The Good Cook 07:25 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 07:50 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 08:15 Homes Under The Hammer 09:05 Bargain Hunt 09:50 Antiques Roadshow 10:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 11:25 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:10 Come Dine With Me 13:00 The Good Cook 13:30 French Food At Home 13:55 Cash In The Attic 14:40 Bargain Hunt 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:00 Homes Under The Hammer 17:55 The Roux Legacy 18:30 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 18:55 Baking Made Easy 19:20 French Food At Home 19:45 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Homes Under The Hammer 23:55 Cash In The Attic

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00

BBC World News America BBC World News America Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today 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 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 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 16:30 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 Hardtalk 18:00 Global With John Sopel 18:30 Global With John Sopel 19:00 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 21:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:00 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

00:45 Wacky Races 01:35 Duck Dodgers 02:00 Duck Dodgers 02:25 Dastardly And Muttley 02:50 Dastardly And Muttley 03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 03:30 Wacky Races 03:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 04:20 Tom & Jerry 04:45 The Garfield Show 05:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 05:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 05:45 Jelly Jamm 06:00 Ha Ha Hairies 06:25 Bananas In Pyjamas 06:50 Lazytown 07:15 Krypto: The Super Dog 07:40 Baby Looney Tunes 08:05 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:30 Cartoonito Tales 08:55 Lazy Town 09:45 Baby Looney Tunes 10:10 Krypto: The Super Dog 10:35 Cartoonito Tales 11:00 Jelly Jamm 11:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 11:50 Lazy Town 12:40 Jelly Jamm 13:00 Tom & Jerry Kids 13:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 13:50 Moomins 14:20 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 14:45 Tiny Toon Adventures 15:10 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo 15:35 Taz-Mania 16:00 Tom & Jerry Tales 16:25 Moomins 16:50 The Garfield Show 17:15 The Looney Tunes Show 17:40 Tiny Toon Adventures 18:05 Taz-Mania 18:30 Scooby-Doo In Where’s My Mummy?

19:45 The Looney Tunes Show 20:10 Taz-Mania

20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 23:05 23:30 23:55

Puppy In My Pocket What’s New Scooby-Doo? Looney Tunes Dexter’s Laboratory Tom & Jerry Tales Pink Panther And Pals Pink Panther And Pals Moomins

00:30 Grim Adventures Of...

01:20 Johnny Test 02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 02:35 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 Ben 10 Omniverse 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 11:50 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 12:15 Hero 108 12:40 Hero 108 13:05 Mucha Lucha !

13:30 Angelo Rules 14:20 Evil Con Carne 15:10 Ben 10 15:35 Ben 10 16:00 Johnny Test 16:35 Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated 17:00 Ben 10 Omniverse 17:25 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders Of Berk 17:50 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:15 Adventure Time 18:40 Regular Show 19:05 Total Drama World Tour 19:30 Total Drama World Tour 19:55 Starwars: The Clone Wars 20:20 Ben 10: Omniverse 20:45 Hero 108 21:10 Young Justice 21:35 Green Lantern: The Animated Series 22:00 Ben 10 22:25 Ben 10 22:50 Mucha Lucha !

23:15 Mucha Lucha !

23:40 Powerpuff Girls

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

OUTCAST ON OSN ACTION HD

Amanpour World Sport Piers Morgan Tonight World Report World Sport Anderson Cooper 360 Piers Morgan Tonight Quest Means Business The Situation Room World Sport African Voices World Report World Report World Sport Talk Asia World Business Today World One News Special Amanpour CNN Newscenter Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk Global Exchange World Sport News Special International Desk Quest Means Business

22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson

00:15 01:10 02:05 03:00 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 11:50 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 21:30 22:25 23:20

Gold Rush Jungle Gold One Car Too Far Mythbusters Border Security Auction Kings Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Mythbusters Moonshiners American Chopper Border Security Auction Kings Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Gold Rush Jungle Gold One Car Too Far Border Security Auction Kings Baggage Battles Ultimate Survival American Chopper Mythbusters Sons Of Guns How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Auction Kings Baggage Battles Dual Survival Yukon Men Finding Bigfoot

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

The Tech Show Weird Connections Things That Move Things That Move Prank Science Prank Science X-Machines Things That Move Things That Move Robocar Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Moon Machines Da Vinci’s Machines Prototype This Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Smash Lab Nextworld Mighty Ships Meteorite Men Prototype This Weird Connections Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Da Vinci’s Machines Smash Lab Nextworld Robocar Moon Machines Scrapheap Challenge Prototype This Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Scrapheap Challenge Prank Science Prank Science Gadget Show - World Tour

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

Hannah Montana Forever Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Doc McStuffins Hannah Montana Hannah Montana A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Shake It Up Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Hannah Montana Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Jessie A.N.T Farm A.N.T Farm Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Jessie Shake It Up A.N.T Farm Austin And Ally Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place That’s So Raven Cory In The House Good Luck Charlie 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

00:00 00:55 01:25 02:20 03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05

Opening Act Style Star THS E!es Style Star Extreme Close-Up THS E!es

06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Ice Loves Coco 13:35 Ice Loves Coco 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 THS 16:30 Extreme Close-Up 17:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 18:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 19:00 E!es 20:00 Married To Jonas 20:30 Giuliana & Bill 21:30 Giuliana & Bill 22:30 Fashion Police 23:30 Chelsea Lately

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Outrageous Food 00:55 Unwrapped 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Reza’s African Kitchen 02:10 Reza’s African Kitchen 02:35 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 03:00 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Andy Bates Street Feasts 04:15 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 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 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Special 22:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

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

Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Deadly Sins Who On Earth...

Who On Earth...

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

On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover: Double Life Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Undercover: Double Life Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Couples Who Kill Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It

00:15 Taste Of Chile 00:45 Into The Lost Jungle 01:40 Ep 6 02:05 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita, 9 02:35 Kuala Lumpur 03:00 South America 03:30 Amazon Labyrinth 04:25 Barca! Barca! Barca!

04:50 Germany 05:20 06:15 Angus 06:40 Seattle 07:10 Hi Tech Taste 07:35 Taste Of Chile 08:05 Into The Lost Jungle 09:00 Ep 6 09:25 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita, 9 09:55 Kuala Lumpur 10:20 South America 10:50 Amazon Labyrinth 11:45 Barca! Barca! Barca!

12:10 Germany 12:40 Ep 1 13:35 Jamaica 14:00 Venice 14:30 Coming To Italy 14:55 Fancy Fast Food 15:25 Ep 1 16:20 Ep 7 16:45 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita, 10 17:15 Lisbon 17:40 Bluelist Australia, 1 18:10 Empire of The Children of The

BATTLE FOR TERRA ON OSN CINEMA Sun 19:05 Crossing The Rhone 19:30 Tennessee 20:00 Coming To Italy 20:30 Fancy Fast Food 21:00 Jamaica 21:30 Venice 22:00 City Chase Rome, 1 22:55 Tossachs 23:20 Mexico City 23:50 Red And White Wine Goes Green

00:00 Outcast-R 02:00 The Untouchables-PG15 04:15 True Justice: Dead Drop-PG15 06:00 True Justice: BrotherhoodPG15 08:00 The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption-PG15 10:00 Hide And Seek-PG15 12:00 Carjacked-PG15 14:00 The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption-PG15 16:00 Warbirds-PG15 18:00 Carjacked-PG15 20:00 The Running Man-18 22:00 Warbirds-PG15

01:15 The People vs George LucasPG15 03:00 Ike: Countdown To D-DayPG15 05:00 Ghost Machine-PG15 07:00 The Wild Thornberrys MoviePG 09:00 No Surrender-PG15 10:45 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 13:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 15:00 Battle For Terra-PG 17:00 Just Crazy Enough-PG15 19:00 Something Borrowed-PG15 21:00 Contraband-18 23:00 A Little Help-18

00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 02:00 Louie 03:00 Hot In Cleveland 03:30 Malibu Country 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 How I Met Your Mother 13:00 Hope & Faith 14:00 Malibu Country 15:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 18:00 Hot In Cleveland 19:00 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The New Normal 22:30 South Park 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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

Supernatural Game Of Thrones Once Upon A Time Greek Alphas Revenge Supernatural Emmerdale Coronation Street The Closer Once Upon A Time Revenge Alphas Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Closer Supernatural Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Closer

19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Grey’s Anatomy House Of Cards The Americans American Horror Story Greek

00:15 Burning Bright 02:00 Outcast 04:00 The Untouchables 06:15 True Justice: Dead Drop 08:00 True Justice: Brotherhood 10:00 The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption 12:00 Hide And Seek 14:00 Carjacked 16:00 The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption 18:00 Warbirds 20:00 Carjacked 22:00 The Running Man

00:00 A Few Best Men-PG15 02:00 High School-18 04:00 A Heartbeat Away-PG15 06:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 08:00 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach-PG15 10:00 The Smurfs-PG 12:00 A Heartbeat Away-PG15 14:00 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate-PG 16:00 The Smurfs-PG 18:00 The First Wives Club-PG 20:00 The Banger Sisters-PG15 22:00 A Few Best Men-PG15

01:15 03:30 05:15 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:15 13:15 16:15 PG15 18:30 21:00 23:15

25th Hour-18 Red Riding Hood-PG15 Suicide Shop-PG15 Justice For Natalee HollowayRoger And Me-PG15 Virtual Lies-PG15 Hindenburg-PG15 Planet Of The Apes (1968)Moneyball-PG15 Dog Day Afternoon-PG15 Neds-PG15

01:00 13-PG15 02:45 Why Did I Get Married Too?PG15 05:00 Glee: The Concert Movie-PG15 07:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules-PG 09:00 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 11:00 A Fall From Grace-PG15 13:00 A Better Life-PG15 15:00 Teen Spirit-PG15 17:00 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 19:00 This Means War-PG15 21:00 We Need To Talk About KevinPG15 23:00 Your Highness-18

00:00 MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 02:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 06:00 NBC Nightly News 06:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer 07:00 Live NBC Nightly News 07:39 ABC Nightline 08:06 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 09:00 MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 10:00 ABC World News Now 10:30 Live ABC World News Now 11:00 NBC Early Today 11:30 ABC America This Morning 12:00 ABC America This Morning 12:30 Live ABC America This Morning 13:00 Live ABC America This Morning 13:30 MSNBC First Look 14:00 Live NBC Today Show

17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 21:00 MSNBC Newsnation 22:00 MSNBC The Cycle 23:00 MSNBC Martin Bashir

00:00 Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 02:24 Three Inches-PG15 04:00 Another Harvest Moon-PG15 06:00 Seeking Justice-PG15 08:00 Rising Stars-PG15 10:00 Jetsons: The Movie-FAM 12:00 A Thousand Words-PG15 14:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 16:00 Rising Stars-PG15 18:00 Johnny English Reborn-PG15 20:00 Another Earth-PG15 22:00 Snow White And The Huntsman-PG15

00:30 04:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:30 22:00

Premier League Darts NRL Premiership Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 Super Rugby Highlights AFL Premiership Highlights NRL Premiership HSBC Sevens World Series Super Rugby Highlights Trans World Sport Top 14 Super League ICC Cricket 360 NRL Full Time Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Super Rugby

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:30 05:30 08:30 09:30 10:30 11:30 12:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 finale 22:00

Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial AFL Premiership Highlights Super Rugby Highlights NHL Super League Trans World Sport Super Rugby AFL Premiership Highlights ICC Cricket 360 Super Rugby NRL Premiership AFL Premiership Highlights Super Rugby UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 08:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 22:30

Boston Marathon Trans World Sport World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool Golfing World Boston Marathon World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool Top 14 Highlights Futbol Mundial Golfing World AFL Premiership Highlights Boston Marathon ICC Cricket 360 Top 14 Highlights AFL Premiership Super League

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 20:30 21:00 22:00 Finale

Adventure Challenge NHL Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL WWE Experience Prizefighter Ping Pong World WWE This Week NHL Mobil 1 The Grid UAE National Race Day Series UFC The Ultimate Fighter

WWE SmackDown

Classifieds TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) SHARQIA-2 SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) THE CROODS (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) SHARQIA-3 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) MUHALAB-1 DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) KON-TIKI (DIG) DEAD MAN DOWN (DIG) GET LUCKY (DIG) MUHALAB-2 OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) MUHALAB-3 THE CROODS (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) NO FRI BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) FANAR-1 OBLIVION (DIG) OBLIVION (DIG) 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

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM 1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM 12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:45 PM 4:30 PM 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

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (11/04/2013 TO 17/04/2013) 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) 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) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) SKY FORCE (DIG-3D) JURASSIC PARK (DIG-3D) G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM 1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM 12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM 1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM

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) THU+FRI+SAT+SUN G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) THU+FRI+SAT+SUN AJIAL.1 BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) AJIAL.2 NAUTANKI SAALA (DIG) (HINDI) NAUTANKI SAALA (DIG) (HINDI) NAUTANKI SAALA (DIG) (HINDI) AJIAL.3 CHASHME BADDOOR (DIG)(HINDI) SETTAI (DIG) (Tamil) AJIAL.4 AMEN (DIG) (MALAYALAM) AMEN (DIG) (MALAYALAM) METRO-1 BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) FRI+SAT BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) METRO-2 AMEN (DIG) (MALAYALAM) AMEN (DIG) (MALAYALAM) BAADSHAH (DIG) (Telugu) AMEN (DIG) (MALAYALAM)

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

5:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM

6:30 PM 9:45 PM

ABUL HASANSA DULI RAHMATH ALI to ABUL HASAN RAHMATH ALI with immediate effect. (C 4375)

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 SITUATION VACANT A live-in housekeeper is needed. Two adults, no children. Good English / Arabic speaking. Dahiyat Abdulla Al-Salem. Transferable residency. Call or SMS 99160902 16-4-2013 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

MATRIMONIAL Marthomite parents seek alliance for their daughter 25/165, BE chemical engineer working as process engineer in oil and gas company in Kuwait. From parents of well qualified professionals, preferably engineers, doctor, CAs, below 29 years.

Email: stephenvarughese51@gmail.com (C 4377)

15-4-2013

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

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)

112

Prayer timings Fajr:

03:59

Shorook

05:21

Duhr:

11:48

Asr:

15:22

Maghrib:

18:15

Isha:

19:35

No: 15780

5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines BBC QTR JZR THY ETH PIA GFA UAE ETD RJA FDB RBG MSR OMA QTR THY DHX FDB KAC BAW KAC KAC JZR FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD GFA MEA TMA JZR JZR KAC UAE MSR KAC QTR FDB KAC SVA KNE KAC

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 16/4/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 239 SIALKOT 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 642 AMMAN 67 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 412 MANILA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 206 ISLAMABAD 503 LUXOR 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 213 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 284 DHAKA 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 514 TEHRAN 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 546 ALEXANDRIA 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN

Time 0:05 0:15 0:20 1:40 1:45 1:50 1:55 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:10 3:15 3:15 3:20 3:30 4:35 5:10 5:50 6:15 6:30 6:35 7:25 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:55 8:05 8:25 8:50 9:00 9:15 9:20 9:30 10:40 10:55 11:15 11:35 12:00 12:05 12:45 13:00 13:40 13:45 13:50 14:15 14:30 14:35 14:40

SYR RJA QTR JZR ETD FDB UAE ABY SVA GFA UAL JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC KAC FDB GFA KAC AXB KAC KAC KAC JAI KAC RBG FDB OMA ABY MEA IRA MSR KLM ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA DHX QTR FDB AIC JZR UAL JZR DLH JAI THY

341 640 134 325 303 71 857 127 510 215 982 177 542 144 786 166 104 63 219 618 393 674 774 742 572 678 553 61 647 129 402 619 618 415 229 859 307 136 217 372 146 59 981 239 981 185 636 574 772

DAMASCUS AMMAN DOHA NAJAF ABU DHABI DUBAI DUBAI SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH PARIS LONDON DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA KOZHIKODE DUBAI RIYADH DAMMAM MUMBAI MUSCAT ALEXANDRIA DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH BEIRUT LAR ALEXANDRIA AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI FRANKFURT MUMBAI ISTANBUL

15:50 15:55 16:15 16:15 16:35 16:50 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:25 17:30 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:40 18:45 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:15 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:40 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:30 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 23:10 23:20 23:45

Airlines AIC PIA AXB JAI UAL DLH KLM BBC JZR THY THY ETH PIA UAE FDB RBG MSR OMA ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB RJA GFA THY KAC JZR BAW FDB KAC KAC ABY UAE FDB QTR ETD IRA KAC GFA KAC KAC MEA KAC KAC JZR JZR MSR TMA UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Tuesday 16/4/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 206 LAHORE 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 411 AMSTERDAM 44 DHAKA 502 LUXOR 773 ISTANBUL 765 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 240 ISLAMABAD 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 513 TEHRAN 561 AMMAN 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 101 LONDON 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 677 MUSCAT 324 AL NAJAF 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 223 BEIRUT 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:15 0:15 0:20 0:25 0:30 0:55 1:30 1:30 2:20 2:40 2:45 2:50 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:15 4:20 4:20 4:25 5:15 5:35 6:30 6:35 7:00 7:10 7:20 7:25 8:25 8:25 9:15 9:25 9:30 9:50 9:55 10:00 10:15 10:20 10:25 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:55 13:00 13:00 13:00 13:20 14:00 14:15 14:15 14:30

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

QTR KAC KNE SVA KAC KAC KAC SYR RJA JZR QTR ETD FDB JZR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL QTR FDB GFA AXB RBG JAI FDB ABY OMA KAC KAC MEA IRA MSR DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR KAC GFA DHX FDB KAC QTR JZR KAC KAC JZR

141 673 473 501 617 773 741 342 641 238 135 304 72 538 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 145 64 220 394 554 571 62 120 648 343 351 403 618 607 171 415 308 230 860 381 137 301 218 373 60 205 147 554 411 283 528

DOHA DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM DAMASCUS AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI DUBAI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH MUSCAT CHENNAI KOCHI BEIRUT LAR LUXOR BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DELHI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA ALEXANDRIA BANGKOK DHAKA ASSIUT

14:55 15:05 15:30 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:30 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:35 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:20 23:40 23:45 23:55

34

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

stars CROSSWORD 161

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) It’s a good day for agreements and generally patting each other on the back — or, maybe, for scratching each other’s backs. It will be easy to see eye-to-eye, and shared goals and feelings can be put into action to bring later results. Mutual investment, mutual trust, and relaxed progress are all in the atmosphere. If something just isn’t working for you in your relationships, don’t give the situation or this person ‘just one more’ chance. It’s time to show them the door or at least tell them how you really feel. Backing down from what your intuition tells you is not what today is about. You know what’s best for you.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) This will not be a favorable day for social activities, as you could experience hostility or opposition from others. Watch out for secret adversaries that may be plotting against you. There may also be karmic debts that you need to settle now. It is important that you not succumb to negative emotions or allow yourself to have feelings of animosity or retaliation. Being strong doesn’t mean you can’t be sensitive too. Your sense of responsibility and sheer determination may not allow you to admit any feelings of vulnerability and sensitivity that may be coming to your attention. A power struggle could result, and a careful compromise may have to be found.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. (computer science) Protocol that allows users to copy files between their local system and any system they can reach on the network.

4. Pertaining to or containing or similar to ammonia.

12. (Scotland) A small loaf or roll of soft bread.

15. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

16. The capital and largest city of Nepal.

17. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

18. Perennial subshrub of eastern North America having downy leaves yellowish and rose flowers and.

19. Moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as adults.

20. A flexible container with a single opening.

21. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

22. Deciduous trees with smooth usually silvergray bark of North America and Europe and Asia.

23. Lower in esteem.

28. (computer science) A system of world-wide electronic communication in which a computer user can compose a message at one terminal that is generated at the recipient's terminal when he logs in.

35. United States astronomer (1835-1909).

37. An annual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievements in motion picture production and performance.

38. Any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses.

40. (physics and chemistry) The smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element.

41. The rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state.

45. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

46. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

48. (informal) Being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition.

51. Half the width of an em.

52. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

54. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

55. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

56. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

60. Remove offensive capability from.

64. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

67. An associate degree in applied science.

68. A major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts.

71. Someone who is morally reprehensible.

72. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on the sea or ships.

73. Without a mar or blemish.

74. An accountant certified by the state.

75. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

76. Notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex.

77. A unit of pressure.

DOWN 1. A tax on employees and employers that is

used to fund the Social Security system.

2. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

3. Liver or meat or fowl finely minced or ground and variously seasoned.

4. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria.

5. Not reflecting light.

6. A unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kilograms.

7. Beaten eggs or an egg mixture cooked until just set.

8. Medium-sized tree having glossy lanceolate leaves.

9. Any tree or shrub of the genus Inga having pinnate leaves and showy usually white flowers.

10. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

11. A popular island resort in the Netherlands Antilles.

12. A small cake leavened with yeast.

13. By bad luck.

14. Especially one side of a leaf.

24. A city in northwestern Turkey.

25. (informal) Rural and uncouth.

26. The United Nations agency concerned with the interests of labor.

27. A heavy brittle metallic element of the platinum group.

29. United States singer who appeared in several musical comedies (1909-1984).

30. A grant made by a law court.

31. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

32. The cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one.

33. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

34. A large fleet.

36. A member of a people in India living in Orissa and neighboring areas.

39. Rounded like an egg.

42. A good source of something that is desired.

43. A state in northwestern North America.

44. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

47. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

49. (of a heraldic cross) Having a cluster of three buttons or knobs at the end of each arm.

50. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

53. Port city of Denmark in eastern Jutland.

57. State in northeastern India.

58. Showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness.

59. The capital and largest city of Bangladesh.

61. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

62. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

63. Long-bodied long-tailed tropical American wildcat.

65. Deeply moved.

66. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

69. Resonance of protons to radiation in a magnetic field.

70. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

Close relationships are apt to be quite a handful now: the old familiar patterns are not the same. People sometimes grow apart, and this could be one of those times if you don’t take steps to prevent it. Circumstances may seem to work against your best interests; take care of what’s yours, and take care of yourself! Quiet reflection and attention to your inner world, your family, and the foundation that supports all of your outside activities, is called for today. This is a time to spend more on you than on anyone else. Figure out what makes you happy and this will make your relationships happier to.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Don’t press to hard to win a point, you may find out the other party is blowing more hot air than fact. You may have to settle for second best or some sort of compromise, unless you’re willing to wait and do without and see if it all comes together later. Good feelings may be taken for granted today, so you might go out of your way to appreciate them. Positive elements today are the little things in life, try to pay closer attention to them at this time. Someone may be very appreciative of this even if you aren’t paying attention.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Unusual and spontaneous reactions to unexpected events can become your calling card and something to be remembered by. This offers the opportunity of praise and admiration for thinking on your feet and responding with original solutions to sudden situations. It also offers plenty of chances to stumble and trip, so tread lightly and watch your footsteps. At this time you are more sensitive to beauty and also the feelings and needs of others, especially in a romantic relationship. It is easy for you to give generously of yourself, for you can empathize strongly with your significant other and values are more important than material ones at this time.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Making decisions or long-range plans is favored now. Your judgement is sound. Making worthwhile professional contacts, reaching out to others who can help you in your work, and taking care of business in an orderly, clear way are also likely. Today may be a bit challenging to your personal relationships. Differences are likely to be difficult to resolve. Shared goals may appear nebulous, distant and somewhat unrealistic.

You may find yourself unable to express your true feelings about anything. Try to keep things light during this period. Soon the path before you will become clearer and you will feel far more connected to those you love.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) If you are supposed to contact someone special, please don’t place it right on the bottom of your priority list. The chemistry between yourself and a particular person could be just what the doctor ordered! A cause for celebration may be in the cards by the time evening comes around. There is great depth to your conversations and thoughts. You find yourself revealing secrets or very private matters, and also asking very penetrating questions of others. Superficial answers don’t satisfy you now. This is an excellent time to learn more about your own inner depths.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

A challenging situation is going to arise that will cause you to guard yourself, and you’ll be so caught up in defending your position, you’ll fail to see the feelings of others. When you realize it, you’ll feel embarrassed. This is a busy time with lots of communicating and getting in touch with others being the likely scenario for the day. Numerous phone calls, emails, meetings, errands, or discussions bring you into contact with others. This is a good time to brainstorm with someone you really care about and share ideas for future goals.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You’ll have very good reason to feel optimistic and excited today, and it may not have anything to do with the person or situation you have uppermost in your mind. Things look like they are taking shape with a business arrangement or financial problem. You feel quite loving and warm, with a desire to give and receive affection and appreciation to those that hold your emotional interest. Also, your desire for beauty stimulates your creativity. If you are artistic, your work will be particularly inspired now. Indulging in your desire for beauty or luxury is likely at this time.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You are becoming more energetic and resourceful in your ability to increase personal finances. Greater secrecy surrounds your monetary affairs. You have learned from the past that family and certain other people may try to borrow funds from you. You could be feeling a lot needier than usual today. You may feel the need to care for others or to have them care for you - perhaps on a very private level. You have needs and you sense the needs of others: fitting the two together well makes it work. Scratch my back honey I’ll scratch yours is a good motto for today.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

There is an activation of your subconscious energies now that can result in a number of possible consequences. You certainly will encounter many events and situations that bring old, buried memories to the surface. You feel highly competitive, hot-blooded, and impatient, which can cause friction or furiously emotional confrontations with others. Your spouse, children, or parents seem especially able to raise your temper at this time. Unresolved feelings and issues from the past are likely to trigger emotional outbursts now.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Cooperation with businesses, government agencies, organizations, and influential individuals is highlighted now. You will find that you can gain cooperation and support from authorities and bureaucracies that previously ignored your requests or advice. Organizations and influential people are also more willing to assist you in your personal plans and interests. Merge your mental and emotional processes today and have them come together. Bring out your own glow to the world by letting yourself shine out for others to see. Someone close to you may notice this, so think of it as a beacon in the dark towards what you are manifesting.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 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

LIFESTYLE

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

G o s s i p

Fisher says breastfeeding is nature’s diet

I

sla Fisher says breastfeeding is the best thing to do to lose your baby weight. The ‘Great Gatsby’ star has two daughters, Olive, five, and Elula, two, with her husband Sacha Baron Cohen, and she insists she didn’t need to worry about how she was going to shift her extra pounds because nursing uses up so many calories. In an interview with the new UK issue of HELLO! magazine, she said: “I believe in the power of breastfeeding. I know some women say it doesn’t help them lose the weight, but I think it burns an extra 250 calories a day. “I breastfed for two years with both my children and by the end of that period I was back to normal. I swear by it. I’ve also been lucky in that I’ve been able to afford assistance with childcare, so I can go out for a run or a workout.”

Although Isla has been able to get her figure back she admits she relies on some extra help so she always looks great when she hits the red carpet. The 37year-old actress swears by the stomach-minimizing power of Spanx to make her figure slender in any outfit. Asked what her best-kept fashion secret is, she enthused: “Spanx! Never leave home without them. You can’t eat very much and they’re restrictive like a girdle, but, hey, you look really slender and slim.”

‘Crocodile Dundee’ hunts missing $34 million

“C

rocodile Dundee” star Paul Hogan has taken legal action in a US court to recover US$34 million held in a Swiss bank account which he alleges has been misappropriated, reports said Monday. The Australian, who was catapulted to stardom by the success of the 1986 film about the laconic, knife-wielding crocodile hunter, says his once-trusted tax advisor has disappeared with the cash. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Californian district court documents allege Philip Egglishaw “absconded with or spent all” of Hogan’s millions, in a filing by the actor’s representative, Schuyler “Sky” Moore. The money was held at the Corner Bank in Lausanne, run by the Geneva firm Strachans which was retained to arrange a series of offshore trusts dealing with his lucrative Crocodile Dundee earnings, The Australian newspaper said. Egglishaw was a partner at the firm. Last year Hogan confidentially settled an eight-year long dispute against the Australian Tax Office allegedly worth millions of dollars. The authorities had been pursuing him and his collaborator John Cornell for more than Aus$150 million ($156 million) in allegedly unpaid taxes, penalties and interest stretching back to the 1980s. Egglishaw was reportedly the mastermind behind the tax evasion scheme and an arrest warrant is current against him relating to these charges. Hogan’s US lawyer Craig Emanuel told the Herald: “For a variety of ethical reasons, I am not available to comment on your inquiries.” The actor’s Australian lawyer, Andrew Robinson, declined to comment on the case to The Australian newspaper.

Hart arrested on suspicion of DUI

A

uthorities say comedian Kevin Hart was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after his Mercedes nearly collided with a tanker trunk on a California freeway. California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs says Hart appeared intoxicated when he was pulled over before dawn Sunday in Los Angeles. Hart failed a field sobriety test and was booked for misdemeanor DUI. He was released later Sunday after payment of a $5,000 bond. Jacobs says the Mercedes was being driven erratically at over 90 mph (145 kph) and nearly slammed into a gas tanker.

Hart starred in the 2011 stand-up special “Laugh At My Pain” and has appeared in TV’s “Undeclared” and in several movies. A call to a spokesperson for Hart was not immediately returned.

A

Frank museum defends Bieber after furore

msterdam’s Anne Frank museum yesterday defended teen idol Justin Bieber amid a furore over his comments that he hoped the Jewish teen who died in a Nazi camp would have been a fan. “We think that what’s special is that a 19-year-old comes to the Anne Frank House and spends an hour visiting on a Friday night,” museum spokeswoman Maatje Mostart told AFP amid growing criticism of the pop star’s perceived selfishness.

Canadian heartthrob Bieber visited the museum-house, where Frank and her family hid from the Nazis, and wrote in the guestbook: “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.” A belieber is a term used to describe one of the celebrity’s fanatical fans, most of whom are teen or preteen girls. “He could be doing other things in Amsterdam, he was very interested,” said Mostart. “That’s more important than the commotion that we’re now seeing. That’s the positive side and we want to leave it at that.” Bieber’s remarks have provoked furious responses on Facebook, where the museum announced the news, with users attacking Bieber’s perceived ignorance. Esther Voet, director of the Netherlands’ Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), said that Bieber’s comments were “stupid and shortsighted.” “It shows you that superstars don’t always have a stellar IQ,” she told AFP. Anne Frank’s diary is a moving account of her two years in hiding from the Nazis with her family in a secret annexe that is today a popular museum in central Amsterdam. She died in 1945 aged 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany. Bieber is on a European tour and played in the Dutch city of Arnhem on Saturday.

Michael Jackson was an ‘incredible’ father

T

he late King of Pop’s 15-year-old daughter Paris has revealed her dad - who died in June 2009 after being given a lethal dose of Propofol by his doctor, Conrad Murray - had a very supportive and loving influence on her and her brothers Prince Michael, 16, and Blanket, 11. In her first ever interview, she told the Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine: “I have lots of memories of my father. He was incredible. We all loved him to death. He would try to educate us as much as he could and was always looking out for us. He was very protective.” The ‘Thriller’ icon once wrote a heartfelt note to Paris telling her how much he loved her and she admitted she is waiting until she turns 18 to get it tattooed onto her wrist, as well as a tribute to her grandmother Katherine Jackson, her legal guardian. Paris said: “I want to get it tattooed on my left wrist and my grandma’s name tattooed on my right wrist when I am old enough.”

The short-haired starlet and her siblings led a very sheltered life until Michael’s death and were rarely seen in public, with the superstar choosing to shield their faces with masks She explained: “The masks were his idea. He didn’t want anyone to see what we looked like. That way we could have what he didn’t, which was a normal childhood.” Paris also confirmed she was rebuilding her relationship with her publicity-shy birth mother, Debbie Rowe, who signed over her custody rights of Paris and her elder brother Prince Michael in 1999 and reached a settlement in August 2009 giving her visitation rights.

Eckhart is the invisible star

A

aron Eckhart feels like “the invisible man” when he’s in public. The 45-year-old actor has enjoyed huge success in the movie business starring in hits such as ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Thank You for Smoking’ and new action film ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ - in which he plays a kidnapped US President - but he can still walk around in public and not be bothered. In an interview with the Metro newspaper, Aaron said: “I’m the invisible man. People don’t have conceptions of me. I’m not someone people think about unless I’m in a movie. I can walk down any street and not worry about it.” After appearing in so many acclaimed movies, Eckhart feels ready to try his hand at directing and believes his little known musical abilities will be a help when he eventually steps behind the camera. He also believes his goout-and-get-it attitude to life means he will achieve his career change. He said: “I’ve written songs my whole life. I’m pretty good with concepts. I’m not a nuts-andbolts details guy ... Never ask permission. Just go out and do it. If you’ve got an idea, don’t ask permission ... just go out and do it. You can do it as well as anyone else can.”

Paltrow: False rumors brought me and Chris together

R

Wright stole Stewart’s mail

obin Wright used to steal Rod Stewart’s mail when she was younger. The 47-year-old actress was so infatuated with the music legend she used to wait for him to leave his Los Angeles home and take his post, and it wasn’t until years later the ‘Maggie May’ hitmaker found out when the blonde beauty’s ex-husband, Sean Penn, confessed her secret to him at a party. She said: “I was completely in love with Rod Stewart. I had a huge poster of him on my bedroom wall and thought I was going to marry him. I met him for the first time with Sean ... we were at a party and I was so nervous I was sweating. “Sean introduced us both by saying, ‘Robin was in love with you and used to steal your mail.’ I did too, I used to take it from the mailbox outside Rod’s house in Los Angeles. “I was 15 at the time and had an older friend who drove. I would wait down the end of the drive just to see Rod walking out. It was so humiliating to see him as an adult and not be in love with him anymore. It breaks the magic. “So I know what it is like to be a fan and those who never have been have no idea. It was insane. We would save up money to buy front row tickets to his shows for $250.” While Robin was besotted with 68-year-old Rod during her teenage years, the ‘Forrest Gump’ star went on to marry Sean - who she started dating shortly after he split from Madonna - and admits the couple “loved each other crazy” and were “never bored” during their 14-year marriage. Robin - who has daughter Dylan, 22, and 19-year-old son Hopper with Sean, who she divorced in 2010 added in an interview with The Sun newspaper: “With Sean we had this glue which kept us together. We drove each other crazy and loved each other crazy, we were never bored. “It was my destiny to have children with Sean and that is beautiful.”

G

wyneth Paltrow is thankful for false speculation about her and Chris Martin because it led to them getting together. The 40-year-old star - who has been married to the Coldplay frontman since 2003 - says the couple had never met when there were rumors they had started dating in 2002, but following the speculation they met up and immediately fell for each other. Gwyneth - who has daughter Apple, eight, and seven-year-old son Moses with Chris - said: “It’s funny because people had started writing that we were going out and we had never even met. “And then he was in Los Angeles doing a concert and an actress that he had a crush on was supposed to come to the concert. When she didn’t show up, he was so annoyed that he said, ‘Oh, this is for my girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow.’ “Then people were saying, ‘What’s going on?’ I was like, ‘I’ve never met this guy, I’ve no idea!’ “And because of that, because people were writing about it, we ended up meeting at a concert and there you go. So, thank you!” The couple first met at a Coldplay gig in London, where Chris, 36, made the first move by getting his assistant to ask the ‘Iron Man 3’ star to come to his dressing room after the concert. She explained: “Because they had written so much in the press, his assistant came to my seat at the concert. “They said, ‘This is so crazy, but will you come back and say hello afterwards?’ And that was it.”

Despite the couple’s busy showbiz lifestyles, Gwyneth admits she and Chris try to keep Apple and Moses “very grounded” by making sure they don’t disrupt their schooling too much. In an interview in The Sun newspaper: “We have a very normal life and a very regular routine. They travel with us sometimes, but we tend to be home when there is school. “We try not to have them miss school and they have their routine, their friends and their life, so they are very grounded.” —Agencies

37

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

LIFESTYLE M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

At Tribeca, big personalities on the big screen B

ig city. Big personalities. The 12th annual Tribeca Film Festival, which kicks off tomorrow, is highlighted by a handful of notable documentaries about iconoclasts whose verbose vitality is barely contained within 90 minutes.

Portraits of Elaine Stritch (“Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me”), Richard Pryor (“Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic”) and Gore Vidal (“Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia”) will all premiere - and will have plenty to say - at the New York festival. Among other things, they are a few of the greatest - the most urbane, the funniest, the smartest, the brassiest and the most uncompromising - mouths of the late 20th century. And New York loves a mouth.

“The four most beautiful words in the English language: I told you so,” says an aged Vidal in “The

between, Tribeca will feature a few notable premieres with bold-face names (“Sunlight Jr.,” a love story starring Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon from “Sherrybaby” director Laurie Collyer; and “Almost Christmas,” in which Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti play Christmas tree salesmen) as well as a number of notable releases carried over from earlier festivals (the latest in Richard Linklater’s ongoing romance series, “Before Midnight”; David Gordon Green’s offbeat comedy “Prince Avalanche”; Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “Wadjda,” the first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first directed by a woman).

Tribeca, which three years ago launched a distribution arm, has always been among the more innovative festivals. Geoff Gilmore, chief creative

This film image released by the Tribeca film Festival shows Gore Vidal in “Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia”.

This film image released by the Tribeca film Festival shows Elaine Stritch in a scene from “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me”. —AP Photos

United States of Amnesia.” The Tribeca Film Festival, a sprawling downtown event covering all genres of movies and countless other flashy, red-carpet events, is always something of a cacophony.

Although certain full-throated voices can’t help but rise above the din, there’s no shortage of variety at this year’s Tribeca. The festival opens with a celebration of the Brooklyn indie rock band The National with both a concert and a documentary, “Mistaken for Strangers,” made by Tom Berninger, brother of the lead singer, Matt Berninger. Ten days later, Tribeca will draw to a close with a restored 30th anniversary screening of a classic from one of the festival founders: “The King of Comedy,” in which Robert De Niro plays an obsessive stand-up comedian.

Neither is the kind of major event that Tribeca has sometimes used to draw the spotlight (last year’s festival concluded with “The Avengers”). But festival programmers point to “Mistaken for Strangers” as a nod to indie culture and “The Kind of Comedy” as a tribute to film restoration. In

officer for Tribeca Enterprises and lead programmer along with Frederic Boyer and Genna Terranova, hopes Tribeca is working toward being “the festival of the future,” with a “spectrum of programming” that draws young audiences. This year, more than ever before, it stretches the notion that a film festival should be limited to movies. A new addition is a transmedia category called Storyscapes featuring various multimedia and interactive projects. An hour of a new Sony PlayStation video game (“Beyond: Two Souls”) will screen.

And the Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (“Basic Instinct,”“Starship Troopers”) will show his crowd-sourced film, “Tricked.”

But this year’s class of documentaries is one of Tribeca’s strongest ever, partly thanks to a stable of strong individuals. Tribeca has often vacillated between celebrity profiles (“Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”) and issue-driven films (“My Trip to AlQaeda”). Highlights in the latter category this year include “Big Men,” an examination of an oil compa-

Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers performs on day 3 of weekend 1 of the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club.

ny in West Africa from “Our Brand Is Crisis” director Rachel Boynton, and “The Kill Team,” Dan Krauss’ documentary about a platoon in Afghanistan charged with war crimes.

“Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me” has the benefit of being one of the most purely entertaining films at the festival, one where simply the documentary’s theatrical subject walking down the street is far more captivating than any blockbuster special effect. Chiemi Karasawa’s film captures the Broadway icon in her late ‘80s as she contemplates retirement and departing New York. (A show-stopping send-off was recently held for her.) “When I showed a rough cut to an audience, they were like, ‘We don’t want to hear anybody else. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching her and listening to her,’” says Karasawa, whose film has added Stritch’s “30 Rock” co-star Alec Baldwin as a producer.

“At this stage in her life, when somebody is so alive, that’s the best material that you can use in a film.” Nicholas Wrathall, director of the Vidal documentary, took a similar approach, mindful that his interviews with the writer at his home in Ravello, Italy - among the last on camera by Vidal before he died last year at 86 - were precious. He originally conceived the film being entirely of Gore. The documentary profiles the voluminous writer’s lifelong, passionate, erudite public defense of American ideals.

“It was a great privilege and honor for him to allow me to get close to him, just to have the opportunity to interview him toward the end of his life,” says Wrathall. “He was so angry at that point, when the Bush administration was in power. He could not believe that people weren’t speaking out as he was.” Questions of legacy are inevitably part of these films. Says Vidal on how he’s remembered: “I couldn’t care less.” In Marina Zenovich’s “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic,” during an old television interview, Pryor, who died in 2005, says: “I’d like for people to see my picture and laugh.” Zenovich, the director of two acclaimed documentaries on Roman Polanski (“Odd Man Out,”“Wanted and Desired”), made the film for Showtime, which will launch a new documentary series in late May. The film traces how Pryor’s life and his constant battles with convention fueled his ahead-of-itstime comedy. As revealing as much of the footage is (including the previously unseen initial, disastrous taping of his 1982 comedy special “Live on the Sunset Strip”), Pryor, as ever, remains impossible to pin down. “He was being so truthful so much to the point that he was utterly offensive,” says Zenovich. “It was just a struggle he had through his whole life, probably because of how he was raised and what he saw in his life. He just couldn’t be normal like you and me. His eyes had seen too much and he somehow wanted to speak the truth - and that is so beautiful to me.” —AP

Review

(From left) Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Smokie Robinson, Berry Gordy Jr, Diana Ross and Mary Wilson attend the Broadway opening night curtain call on stage for “Motown: The Musical” at LuntFontanne Theatre in New York City. —AP/AFP photos

‘Motown’ musical big on songs, light story

T

here are 36 songs in the new Broadway show “Motown: The Musical.” Actually, that’s just in the first act - 36 songs, not including a reprise of “You’re Nobody ‘til Somebody Loves You.” It’s like a jukebox went completely haywire. To be sure, the songs are probably the best America has ever produced: “War,” “What’s Going On?” “My Girl,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Dancing in the Streets” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” But, still, 36? In comparison, “The Book of Mormon” has what now seems like a stingy 16 songs in total.

The 21/2-hour show, about Motown Records under founder Berry Gordy, opened Sunday at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre completely unbalanced: The songs are staggering, the book utterly flimsy. Both are due to one man: Gordy, who clearly knows what makes an indelible hit song, but also has an inability to write objectively about that skill. As the book writer, Gordy comes across almost divine, a true visionary who literally changed the world and race relations but was eventually abandoned by the artists he made stars when they sought to cash in. There are parts of the show that even a North Korean dictator would find excessively flattering.

Using a total of 59 songs or snippets of songs - not counting a tiny amount of the theme from the film “Mahogany” Gordy tells the story of how his Motown empire rose and fell and then rose again.

“You built a legacy of love,” he makes Smokey Robinson say, admiringly. The story begins and ends in 1983 Motown’s 25th anniversary - and is a celebration of an independent record company as much as one of Gordy. Why 1983? It neatly avoids mention of the sale of Motown in 1988. The irony is that despite having a war chest of songs, Gordy has co-written (with Michael Lovesmith) four new ones to drive home plot points. They’re pretty good, especially “It’s What’s in the Groove That Counts” and “Can I Close the Door.”

Charles Randolph-Wright proves a director with real skill, able to seamlessly juggle an insane amount of songs, dozens of scenes and harness some quite stunning performances, led by a go-for-it Brandon Victor Dixon as Gordy and Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross, who especially shines during an ad lib

moment with the audience. Other standouts include Charl Brown as Smokey Robinson, Saycon Sengbloh as Martha Reeves and Bryan Terrell Clark as Marvin Gaye. Raymond Luke Jr. - one of two boys taking turns playing the roles of young Gordy, young Stevie Wonder and a preteen Michael Jackson - was astounding and got one preview crowd thoroughly jazzed.

With so any tunes, backed by an 18piece orchestra, it’s a challenge to find logical places to put them. Many are stuffed into long recording sessions at the Hitsville USA building in Detroit or when the artists tour or make TV appearances. Often an attempt has been made to juxtapose the song with the action onstage and it’s a technique that works unevenly: It’s clever when “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is played when there’s backdoor intrigue discussed at Hitsville. It doesn’t work as well when the iconic song “War” is used to underline some bitter legal wrangling.

Gordy even threatens to tarnish some of these songs when he puts them into service to tell his story, as when he uses “My Girl” while trying to bed Ross (“I’m going to knock it out the park, baby,” he privately boasts to Robinson.) “My Girl” is too lovely to be used so callously. (“I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” a smitten Ross says during the seduction. Of course she does) At other times, Gordy is dishonest to history. In the show, the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr prompts a riot in Detroit, triggering the song “What’s Going On?” The riot was in the summer of 1967, King was assassinated in April 1968 and the song came out in 1971.

Choreographer Patricia Wilcox has all the cast dance in the familiar styles of their respective eras and also has a few big tricks up her sleeve, as the well-executed “Dancing in the Streets” production number in Act 1 and the “Ball of Confusion” performance that opens Act 2. ESosa’s costumes beautifully change as the decades do, with the bright and sharp ‘50s turning more earthy and loose - and hairy - as the night progresses. To be fair, Gordy’s story is a remarkable one and should be told onstage, warts and all. His songs are the soundtrack of America, but letting him tell his own story has cheapened it. He didn’t “knock it out of the park, baby.”—AP

Anthony Kiedis of The Red The Lumineers perform. —AP Photos Hot Chili Peppers performs.

Red Hot Chili Peppers rock the crowd at windy Coachella

C

alifornia rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday, amid high winds that swept across the desert and prompted attendees to don extra layers. The Chili Peppers, formed by Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Flea and Josh Klinghoffer in 1983 in Los Angeles, showcased a catalogue of songs from their last four studio albums.

The band sang their classic hits, dark love letters to their home state of California, including “Dani California,” “Californication,” “Parallel Universe” and “Under The Bridge,” as fans sang along in a finale to Sunday’s events. The Chili Peppers eschewed the tradition of headliners featuring a special guest, instead keeping their set all about their own music, with the exception of a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”

Prior to the Chili Peppers, WuTang Clan drew a large crowd as all the living members of the hip hop collective came together to perform a set filled with their hit tracks, including “Bring da Ruckus” and “Clan in da Front.” The Staten Island collective, which has included rappers RZA, Method Man, Ghostface

Killah, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard who died in 2004, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a new album, “A Better Tomorrow,” released in July.

The group will also perform 10 dates across North America and Europe at music festivals this summer, kicking off with Sunday’s Coachella performance. As winds of around 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) swept across the festival in the California desert town of Indio, some 130 miles (210 km) east of Los Angeles, revelers dressed for the desert sunshine were forced to cover up as dusk fell across the grounds.

Folk music and Edm draw crowds Coachella, which began as a two-day festival touting rock music in 1999, has expanded into a three-day festival with more than 150 bands performing across six separate stages, with the same line-up featured across two consecutive weekends in April. While Coachella organizers Goldenvoice don’t release attendance or ticket figures themselves, concert-tracking website Pollstar.com said the concert grossed $47.3 million across two weekends, with more than 158,000 tickets sold.

While in recent years, the festival has boasted top artists such as Madonna, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Paul McCartney among its headlining acts, this year the festival returned to its rock and tastemaker roots with Blur, The Stone Roses, Phoenix and the Chili Peppers. Earlier on Sunday, Grammy-nominated folk band The Lumineers took the main stage in the afternoon, playing tracks from their self-titled debut album.

The band are part of a new wave of folk-rock bands taking the US pop charts by storm, along with British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons and Icelandic folk group Of Monsters and Men. Lead singer Wesley Schultz told the Coachella crowd that the festival was the largest live audience the band had ever played and led attendees in sing-a-longs, including the band’s hit singles “Ho Hey” and “Stubborn Love.” The Lumineers warmed up the outdoor main stage ahead of indie-rockers Vampire Weekend, who played to the crowd as the sun set across the festival, with hits including “A-Punk” and “Holiday” that got attendees dancing. London-based dubstep-electronica singer James Blake set a mellow, ethereal vibe for the

crowd at sunset at one of Coachella’s tented stages, singing tracks from his self-titled debut album.

The festival attracts a large number of people drawn to electronic dance music, and while not many DJs topped the bill this year, EDM fans still had veteran and rising dance music acts to check out. After playing primetime on Saturday as part of British indie-electro group The xx, British music producer Jamie Smith performed solo under the name Jamie xx on Sunday, as long lines of attendees waited to hear his dance music set.

British DJ Paul Oakenfold, who has been at the forefront of EDM since the 1980s, pumped up the crowd at sunset at Coachella’s dance tent with house music, electronica and trance tracks, including a remix of Bruno Mars’s “Locked Out of Heaven.” Rapper Azealia Banks was expected to join Oakenfold, but instead he was joined by Wallpaper, a pop-hip hop group formed by Ricky Reed and Novena Carmel, who provided vocals for the DJ’s dance-floor anthems. Banks is expected to join the DJ for next weekend’s repeat line-up at Coachella. —Reuters

Diana Ross and cast members attend the after party for the Broadway opening night for “Motown: The Musical”.

B

Bollywood star Dutt asks for more time before jail

ollywood star Sanjay Dutt has asked India’s top court for more time before going back to jail for possessing arms supplied by plotters of the deadly 1993 Mumbai blasts, his lawyer said yesterday. India’s Supreme Court last month struck down Dutt’s appeal over his conviction and said he must return to prison by April 18, but the 53-year-old has asked for another six months of freedom to complete his filming obligations.

“Please defer my surrender by 180 days as I have work commitments,” his defense counsel Harish Salve, citing a petition filed yesterday, told AFP. The lawyer said the plea was likely to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court today. The top court

last month sentenced him to five years for possessing firearms supplied by gangland bosses who staged the string of bombings that killed 257 people. The muscular and tattooed Dutt had already served 18 months of his sentence but was released on bail while his case was appealed. He now has to serve the remaining three-and-a-half-years of his term. At an emotional press conference last month, Dutt, whose late parents were two of India’s biggest film stars, said he would accept his fate and surrender to prison authorities before his deadline. Some 2.5 billion rupees ($45 million) are riding on Dutt in Bollywood, with four or five films in the pipeline, analysts estimate. —AFP

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

lifestyle A w a r d s

Samuel L Jackson, Tom Hiddleston and Joss Whedon, from left, accept the award for movie of the year for ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ at the MTV Movie Awards in Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, Calif. — AP/AFP photos

Actor Brad Pitt, center, and from left, director Joss Whedon, actors Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson and Chris Evans, from the cast of ‘The Avengers,’ winner of the award for movie of the year.

W

Tom Hiddleston poses with the award for best villain for “Marvel’s The Avengers’.

Actress Emma Watson, winner of the MTV Trailblazer Award, poses in the press room.

ith a cast of superheroes and villains, “The Avengers” beat out its competitors to become the big winner at the MTV Movie Awards. The action romp won three awards Sunday, including the top prize, movie of the year.”What’s the opposite of humbled? We’re Biebered to be standing here,” said “Avengers” writer-director Joss Whedon as he accepted the final golden popcorn trophy. “This is the award that means the most to me. I am so grateful and very excited for 2015; we’re going to bring you ‘Avengers 2.’” “The Avengers” also won best fight and best villain for actor Tom Hiddleston.

Bradley Cooper and show host Rebel Wilson were each double winners at the ceremony at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif. Cooper won the first prize of the night for his performance in “Silver Linings Playbook” and returned to the stage to accept best kiss honors for his smooch with co-star Jennifer Lawrence in that film. Lawrence, who won the Oscar for her role in “Playbook,” was also a double winner, though she wasn’t on hand Sunday. In addition to the kiss award, she won the golden popcorn for her performance, but the prize wasn’t presented on camera. Wilson, who opened and closed the show wearing Iron Man-style armor, won breakthrough performance for her work in “Pitch Perfect” and shared in the film’s award for best musical moment.

Its stars, including Brittany Snow and Skylar Astin, opened the show with a mash-up medley. Other musical acts were Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Selena Gomez, who debuted her new song, “Come and Get It,” with a Bollywood-inspired performance. The MTV Movie Awards are as much about the anticipated movies of the upcoming summer season as they are about the finest films of last year. Fans vote online for the winners in traditional and irreverent categories such as best fight, best kiss and best shirtless performance.

“Twilight” heartthrob Taylor Lautner won the shirtless award. The show also included new footage from next month’s “Iron Man 3” and the world premiere of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” trailer, introduced by one of its stars, Liam Hemsworth. Stars from other summer films- including Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto from the “Star Trek” sequel and Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez from the “Fast & Furious” franchise - appeared as presenters during the ceremony. Other presenters included Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Snoop Dogg/Lion and Kim Kardashian.

Hollywood has increasingly used the fan-driven MTV Movie Awards as a platform to promote its summer product.

This year, the show was moved up from June to April to incor-

porate the entire blockbuster season, which begins in early May. Honorees and presenters represent upcoming movies, and the ceremony is typically peppered with commercials for forthcoming films and DVD releases. Emma Watson, a star of this summer’s “The Bling Ring,” received the Trailblazer Award.

Will Ferrell wore a three-piece suit covered in dollar bills to accept the Comedic Genius Award from “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage.

“For those of you sitting here tonight who don’t think I’m funny, I’ll be happy to fight you in the parking lot after the show,” said Ferrell, who is currently at work on “Anchorman 2,” slated for release later this year. Jamie Foxx was a double winner, too. He shared the best WTF moment award with Samuel L. Jackson for their scenes together in “Django Unchained,” and later thanked his daughter, parents and siblings in the audience as he accepted the Generation Award for his career in film. Foxx stars in June’s “White House Down.” — AP

Rebel Wilson performs on stage.

Rebel Wilson accepts the award for breakthrough performance for ‘Pitch Perfect’.

Actor Bradley Cooper, center, winner of the best male performance and best kiss awards for ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ poses backstage with actors Amanda Seyfried and Steve Carell.

Taylor Lautner accepts the award for best shirtless performance for ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2’.

(From left) Kelly Jakle, Hana Mae Lee, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Rebel Wilson accept the award for best musical moment for ‘Pitch Perfect’.

Rapper Snoop Lion, left, and singer Ke$ha speak onstage.

Host Rebel Wilson speaks onstage.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

lifestyle A w a r d s

Joss Whedon, Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson and Tom Hiddleston, from left, accept the award for best fight for ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’.

Actor Will Ferrell accepts the Comedic Genius Award.

Kerry Washington, right, presents the MTV generation award to Jamie Foxx at the MTV Movie Awards.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR “The Avengers” BEST HERO Bilbo Baggins “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE Jennifer Lawrence “Silver Linings Playbook” BEST MALE PERFORMANCE Bradley Cooper “Silver Linings Playbook” BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE Rebel Wilson, “Pitch Perfect” BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE Suraj Sharma “Life of Pi” BEST ON-SCREEN DUO Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane “Ted” BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE Taylor Lautner “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2”

Actress Quvenzhane Wallis poses in the press room.

Kim Kardashian speaks on stage.

Actor Will Ferrell accepts the Comedic Genius Award.

BEST FIGHT Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner vs. Tom Hiddleston “The Avengers.”

BEST KISS Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence “Silver Linings Playbook” BEST WTF MOMENT Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson “Django Unchained” BEST VILLAIN Tom Hiddleston “The Avengers” BEST MUSICAL MOMENT Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee “Pitch Perfect” COMIC GENIUS AWARD Will Ferrell GENERATION AWARD Jamie Foxx

Danny McBride, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen pose in the press room.

Liam Hemsworth presents a ‘Hunger Games moment’.

Musicians Macklemore and Ryan Lewis pose with their award.

Actress/singer Selena Gomez poses backstage.

Actor Brad Pitt speaks onstage.

TRAILBLAZER AWARD Emma Watson-Reuters

Actress-singer Selena Gomez performs onstage.

Emma Watson, second from right, accepts the trailblazer award from Eddie Redmayne, right, and Logan Lerman, third from right.

Macklemore performs “Can’t Hold Us”.

Musicians Jeremy Davis, Hayley Williams and Taylor York of Paramore pose on arrival.

Rebel Wilson poses backstage with the awards for show host, breakthrough performance for ‘Pitch Perfect’ and best musical moment for ‘Pitch Perfect’.

Ryan Lewis performs ‘Can’t Hold Us’.

Actors Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto pose backstage.

‘The Avengers’ takes top prize at MTV Movie Awards

38

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

Disney characters and dancers celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo Disneyland during a ceremony at the Disney theme park in Urayasu, suburban Tokyo yesterday. (Inset) Disney characters and dancers parade. —AFP photos

T

housands of fans packed Tokyo Disneyland yesterday to celebrate its 30 years in business. Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and dozens of other familiar faces from the annals of Disney history paraded through the 51-hectare (126-acre) park, cheered on by 15,000 people who had turned out to see them. The resort comprises the Disneyland and DisneySea theme parks as well as three hotels, shopping malls and a monorail line that connects the facilities.

In contrast to the Disneylands in Hong Kong and France, which have sometimes struggled to attract paying punters, Tokyo Disney Resort is one of Japan’s most popular tourist destinations, with more than 25 mil-

lion visitors a year. A total 570 million people have visited since the park opened-approximately four times Japan’s population, with tourists coming from all over Asia to see Mickey and friends.

“Since its opening day in 1983, Tokyo Disney Resort has inspired the imagination of hundreds of millions of guests, becoming the most followed resort destination in Japan,” said Thomas Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, at a ceremony. — AFP

T

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Bass Dan Armstrong talks to an unidentified inmate during their music performance for inmates as part of the CSO’s Citizen Musician program which brings music to a variety of locations including prisons. — AP

S

trains of classical music echoed - not inside a concert hall, but in a bleak Chicago jail where teenage boys await trial on charges ranging from drug dealing to murder. The concert was part of a unique outreach that’s the brainchild of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s musical director, the Italian-born Riccardo Muti, who attended the event at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

The concert included half a dozen of the orchestra’s members. But the center-stage performers were some 10 inmates who participated in a weeklong musical workshop. It culminated in the Sunday concert featuring compositions the inmates wrote in collaboration with the professionals. “This is a wonderful beginning for you and for us,” Muti, 71, told the group after the 45minute performance ended. “You will join society with the sense of harmony you learned here.”

One composition began with a double bass playing a Bach cello suite. It changed direction jarringly a minute later as the teen inmates joined in rapping. One sang about his legal plight: “I hope the judge says I served my time. ...

I’m praying God gets me out of this jam.”

Some of the boys’ parents sat in the audience, several with tears in their eyes. When one of the organizers announced the inmates and their families will receive CD recordings of the concert, one mother buried her head in her hands. “Oh my God, this is so special,” she said aloud. The goal of the outreach, which has included other jail visits, is to impart a wider appreciation for music and to inspire at-risk youth. It seemed to work for at least some of the teens. “I learned more about classical music,” a teen named Ricky told reporters after the concert. He was identified only by his first name because he is a juvenile charged with a crime.

“I’d heard of Beethoven and Bach. I liked it.”

Some of the teens taking part showed less outward enthusiasm as they performed. But love or hate the music, the experience had to have been a welcome change of pace from both the tedium and anxiety of a regimented existence inside the institution. The center’s 2012 annual report noted that, almost daily, someone either talks about killing himself or tries. —AP

he future of Nigeria’s rich theatre legacy, built over decades by artists including Africa’s first Nobel literature laureate Wole Soyinka, may be found off stage. Theatre has been central to some of the defining campaigns in Nigerian history, including the push for independence in 1960, but it is now a struggling art, with actors warning that their industry is in danger. One factor in the decay is the proliferation of ‘Nollywood’ films, which are not just hugely popular due to their outrageous plotlines and scandalous characters, they’re also cheaper and easier to watch than live plays.

But at the first-ever Lagos Theatre Festival in February, performers spoke of another hurdle: finding a place to perform in Nigeria’s economic capital, one of the world’s largest cities with a population of some 15 million. Ojoma Ochai, assistant director at the British Council in Lagos which organized the festival, said several of the city’s performance spaces have been converted to churches, notably Pentecostal prayer halls as the Christian movement’s membership has surged.

Some venues have been closed, while others now set astronomical rental fees that theatre companies cannot pay. “What we discovered is that there is an incredible generation of entrepreneurial, exciting

theatre makers...but they have huge infrastructural challenges, in particular over access to spaces,” said Ben Evans, a London-based theatre consultant who helped produce the festival. “There just aren’t the opportunities to make work on a regular basis and artists need that in terms of keeping their skills alive,” he added. The concept of the inaugural festival was to showcase theatre staged anywhere apart from an actual theatre in the hope of inspiring further productions in alternative spaces.

The shows were scattered throughout the grounds of the luxury Eko Hotel, which is favored by the city’s political and business elite. In the dimly lit parking lot, the cast of the “The Waiting Room” plotted the murder of loved ones in pursuit of a hefty insurance payment. In “Shattered,” both the actors and audience moved through the hotel’s presidential suite as the rape of a teenage girl by a powerful patriarch was revealed. A revival of the pidgin English “Grip Am,” written in 1973 by the celebrated dramatist Ola Rotimi, played out on a patch of unused land near the pool and the tennis court.

Deleke Gbolade, who directed “Grip Am” said he wants to make work that is seen by the middle and lower classes, but doing so is financially untenable.

“It’s either that theatre companies are folding up or

A scene during pidgin English outdoor comedy entitled “Grip Am”, an experimental deco construction of Ola Rotimi’s play, is pictured in Lagos. — AFP photos

just struggling to make ends meet,” he told AFP, citing unaffordable venue rental fees as a major issue.

At risk is the potential loss of an art form that has been more than “just entertainment” throughout Nigeria’s history, said Duro Oni, the deputy vice chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and a theatre historian. The birth of modern theatre in Nigeria came after World War II, when plays started shifting away from churches and village markets into permanent venues, he said.

The most prominent was Glover Hall on Lagos Island, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, where the flamboyant Herbert Ogunde founded Nigeria’s first professional theatre company, drawing large audiences from both the elite and the working class.

“He saw theatre as a political weapon,” and staged profit-making shows both in Lagos and around the country that overtly supported the nationalist independence cause, Oni said. The political theatre trend continued with Soyinka’s Dance of the Forests, first performed to coincide with independence in 1960, which prophetically hinted at early signs of trouble for the new nation, including the rampant corruption that has dogged Nigeria ever since. —AFP

Actor Inua Ellams in “The 14th Tale”, a free flowing narrative that tells the funny exploits of a natural born mischief, growing from the streets of Nigeria to the roof tops of Dublin, and finally to London, performs during the Lagos Theatre Festival.