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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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8Sharif 11declares 20 victory 20 Khan’s party concedes defeat • Outgoing PM loses seat
REYHANLI, Turkey: A woman raises her arms and shouts as she stands on the site where car bombs exploded near the town hall in this city just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria yesterday. — AFP
Dozens dead in Turkey blasts ISTANBUL: At least 43 people were killed and 100 injured yesterday when two explosive-laden cars blew up in a small Turkish town near the Syrian border, as Ankara swiftly pointed the finger at Syria. In the wake of the bombing, the deadliest attack in Turkey since the beginning of the conflict in neighbouring Syria, the deputy prime minister suggested President Bashar Al-Assad’s government may have had a hand in the blast. “With their secret services and armed groups, they are certainly one of the usual suspects to instigate and carry out such an outrageous plot,” Bulent Arinc told Turkish NTV television. Stressing that an investigation had only just begun, Arinc recalled that Turkish authorities already held Syrian secret services responsible for a similar attack that killed 17 in
February. Rescuers were hunting for possible survivors buried underneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by the blasts in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. Over a dozen ambulances and several air ambulances rushed to the scene to tend to the victims, NTV television said, adding that the town hall had suffered major damage. A number of cars were also completely wrecked in the attacks which caused a power cut in the area around Reyhanli, according to local media. Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the regional governor had been sent to the town “to put the necessary security measures in place” following the attack. The attack
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‘Dead’ woman returns to life after delivery Doctors hail ‘miracle’ KUWAIT: Farwaniya Hospital yesterday announced its doctors performed a successful perimortem caesarean section on a clinically dead woman with no pulse or respiratory activity, delivering a healthy baby and reviving the mother. Farwaniya Hospital Manager Dr Hmoud Al-Zobi said a 36-year-old Filipina who was nine months pregnant was hospitalized at 3:30 am on Friday in a critical condition with extremely high blood pressure. He said the woman suffered a cardiac arrest while being examined in the casualty department after she coughed and spit blood. Her heart then stopped beating and she stopped
breathing. “Declaring her clinically dead, she was immediately rushed to be operated on to save the baby, where doctors managed to revive her heart too,” Zobi said, noting that a healthy 3.1-kg boy was born simultaneously with his mother’s resuscitation. “This is a scientific miracle at all levels”, beamed Zobi. “As soon as the woman was checked and declared clinically dead, the maternity division of the hospital was put on alert for a caesarean,” said Dr Mohammad Hassan, who supervised the operation. “The woman and her baby are now in stable condition,” he affirmed. — KUNA
BUCHAREST: A child poses next to a car at a vintage Volkswagen Beetle fans meeting yesterday. — AP
sowed panic among residents in Reyhanli, a town of about 60,000 people, leading to tensions between youths and Syrian refugees living locally and forcing police to fire into the air to disperse the crowd. Later yesterday, a third blast occurred nearby but this turned out to be an exploding fuel tank, unrelated to the attacks, Guler said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, on a visit to Berlin, said it was “not a coincidence” that these bombings occurred as international diplomatic efforts to solve the Syrian crisis were intensifying. “It is not a coincidence that this should happen in a period where there is an acceleration of efforts on Syria in the whole world,” he told reporters. It was too early however to make a clear judgement about the attack, he warned. — Agencies (See Page 7)
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LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif declared victory for his centre-right party in Pakistan’s landmark elections yesterday, as unofficial partial results put him on course to win a historic third term as premier. The result represented a remarkable comeback for a man who was deposed as premier in a 1999 military coup and came after millions of people defied polling day attacks that left 24 dead to participate in the high-turnout vote. Flanked by his close family, Sharif gave a victory speech to hundreds of jubilant supporters who shouted “prime minister Nawaz Sharif” at his centre-right Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party headquarters in Lahore. According to the unofficial, partial results it appeared that no single party would win a simple majority of 172 seats in the national assembly, raising the prospect of protracted talks to form a coalition government. Sharif struck a conciliatory tone following a high-voltage campaign that saw him clash with his main rival, cricket star Imran Khan, whose promises of reform and ending corruption struck a chord with middle-class and youth voters. “I appeal for all parties to come to the table and sit with me and solve the country’s problems,” Sharif said. Khan’s party late yesterday conceded defeat to PML-N, a senior party leader said. “They Nawaz Sharif have emerged as the largest party. I want to congratulate the party,” Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf party leader Assad Omar told private Geo TV channel. Earlier in the evening, both Sharif and Khan won seats they had contested in. The outgoing centre-left PPP ran a lacklustre campaign, with its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari too young to run and hounded by security threats. The party suffered further humiliation when its outgoing prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, lost his seat in Rawalpindi to relative unknown Raja Javed Ikhlas by a crushing margin of more than 55,000 votes. An election commission spokesman said turnout was more than 50 percent and expected to reach up to 60 percent, which would make it the highest since 1977. More than 86 million people were eligible to vote for the 342-member national assembly and four provincial assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan. Queues formed outside polling stations in Pakistan’s main cities where people spoke enthusiastically about exercising their democratic right and voting for change, although some expressed nervousness about security. Voting in Pakistan’s financial hub Karachi was marred by allegations of rigging from rival parties, and the election commission ordered a re-vote in more than 30 polling stations in one constituency over accusations of ballot stuffing. Taleban bombers targeted an ANP candidate, killing 11 other people, including a small child, and wounding around 40, police said. Another person was killed and three wounded when a lowintensity bomb exploded in a bus elsewhere in the city. Gunmen shot dead 10 people in the restive southwest province of Balochistan, where turnout was low, while two people were killed and 11 wounded when a remote-controlled bomb exploded outside a polling station in a Peshawar suburb. Police said five paramilitary soldiers in the west of Karachi were wounded by a suicide-bomber on an explosiveladen motorbike. — AFP
Iran quake kills child TEHRAN: A strong earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hit southern Iran early yesterday, killing one child and injuring at least 20 others in remote, mountainous villages, state television reported. The US Geological Survey registered the quake at 0208 GMT, measured at 85 km southeast of the town of Minab, located in the southern Hormuzgan province and off the Strait of Hormuz. The quake was registered at a depth of 36.44 km, the USGS said. A local emergency official said a two-year-old died of serious injuries. “The child passed away on route to hospital,” Mohammad Shekari was quoted by the ISNA news agency. Iran’s top quake rescue operations official, Mahmoud Mozafar, said at least 20 people had been injured. Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating. Head of Iran’s National Institute for Oceanography Vahid Chegini said yesterday’s quake was unlikely to spark a tsunami in the Gulf or the Sea of Oman. “The chances of a tsunami because of today’s quake are remote as the quake was inland,” Chegini told the Mehr news agency. Mozafar, who heads Iran’s Red Crescent rescue corps, said rescue teams were dispatched to Hormuzgan’s remote area hit by the quake. Provincial emergency chief Hossein Ranjbar told state television that some 70 villages had suffered severe damage in the quake, which according to Iran’s Seismological Centre was followed by a series of aftershocks, measuring between 4.1 and 5.2. Media reports said electricity and telephone connection had been cut, while rescue teams were attempting to open blocked roads to the quake-hit areas. Last month, the biggest earthquake to hit the country in 50 years, measuring 7.8 killed a woman and injured more than a dozen other people in the southeast. — AFP
TEHRAN: Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani waves to the media as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the election headquarters of the interior ministry yesterday. — AP
Heavyweights heat up Iran presidential race TEHRAN: The race for Iran’s highest elected office was revitalised yesterdsy when former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili officially registered for the June 14 election. Rafsanjani, who was president between 1989 and 1997, registered at the interior ministry in the closing minutes of the five-day registration process for the presidential vote which wrapped up yesterday. The final line-up of candidates will not be known until later this month when the Guardians Council releases the approved list of names after the vetting process. “I came to serve. It is the right of the people to choose me or not,” Rafsanjani was quoted by Iranian media as telling reporters. He is seeking to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
whose two-term presidency has left the Islamic republic isolated internationally, while the ailing economy struggles to cope with international sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Also yesterday, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator and close figure to allpowerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unexpectedly showed up at the ministry and registered his candidacy. A veteran of the 1980s war with Iraq in which he lost his lower right leg, Jalili, 47, did not speak to reporters. Jalili heads the team in negotiations with world powers over Tehran’s controversial atomic activities which the West fears are aimed at developing a military capacity, a claim denied by Iran. — AFP (See Page 8)
NEWS
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
LOCAL
Y Gen Expo 2 encourages youth to aim for the skies 4 young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs dare to dream big KUWAIT: The Y Gen Expo 2 recently held a special reception and exhibition to honor the sponsors who helped in holding the second cycle of the expo. Y Gen Expo was founded by four young Kuwaiti ladies; Haya Al-Sabah, Hessa Al-Subai’e, Shaikha Mubarak Al-Sayer and Lolwa Al-Ayadhi who first dreamt and aspired to start their own business while still in school in 2011. Inspired by HH the Amir’s wish to turn Kuwait into a regional commercial and financial hub, and in a bid to pave the way for the private sector to take part in developing Kuwait, the four young entrepreneurs started thinking about holding the expo to change how the world viewed Kuwaiti youth and alter the idea that they were just consumers with very limited dreams. They wanted to prove how great their aspirations and ambitions are and that all they needed was just some help, mentoring, guidance and support. Having achieved unparalleled success in their maiden cycle of the expo, Y Gen recently held the second one with the aim of providing the proper platform for young generation to communicate with private sector company owners and the concerned authorities to introduce themselves and get more support. The honorees included Kuwait Times, Al-Rai, AlQabas, Al-Seyassah, Arab Times and Al-Jarida newspapers in addition to CineScape, Media Edge Co, Al-Sayer Group, CBK, Yiaco Apollo, Nestle, Canon, Rider Zone, A.R.B. Old Man Emu, Garrett and the event organizer, Your Events. Y Gen’s philosophy We as youths of our great nation acknowledge that we are the future of a great country. Kuwait has a lot of strategic duties in the Middle East and
the world as a whole; so in essence, who better to be well-grounded in positive nation-building, cultural, socio-economic and geopolitical ideas? The future is the Y generation’s place to take a stand in effectively participating in the affairs of this great nation, thus we start now as youths to empower ourselves. Industrial development The need to make Kuwait the heart of industrial development in the GCC is uppermost on the agenda of the Y generation. We cannot depend only on the income from oil forever as we continue to confront dynamic ways continually unfolding in different spheres in a more competitive, expanding global village which the world has become and of which there is no limit to it’s expanding trends. Culturally speaking Culturally, we are a nation of people who love and encourage the natural development, growth and togetherness of family life and this is evident through our government headed by His Highness, the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah with his eminent Cabinet members putting in place provisions to enable youths achieve all they can through support in education, businesses, child rearing and various other areas. The roles of youths - evolving The roles of youths, young men and ladies alike is fast evolving and we see more young women now taking active part in small business developments, healthcare solutions and welfare of the less privileged and physically challenged which is very much a remarkable step in the right
direction and our platform stands to encourage that and more. Corporate-youth socialization Y generation socializes with business establishments of all spheres through emails, text messages and other social media like twitter, face book, Instagram to mention but a few. We deal with the emergence and realization of top rated customer care trends that will ensure that every individual gets their money’s worth from every transaction. This will be advantageous for everyone especially us, the future of this nation that are more forward thinking and visible in such establishments, Our belief Our belief is that empowering our youth with every available resource needed to be the responsible adults of tomorrow is a dream we believe will come true.
Haya Al-Sabah, Hessa Al-Subai’e, Shaikha Mubarak Al-Sayer and Lolwa Al-Ayadhi
Join hands Let’s therefore join hands together in hope and unity because then and only then can this dream be fully realized. We have come a long way and will be at the finishing line together as one tree alone cannot make a forest. We are determined to be at the forefront as this affects our destinies as a whole and will subsequently affect those after us; thus the need to take the steps in the right direction and early too. Let us shine the beacon of light on our tomorrow, let us rise as one to the challenges that confront and stare us in the face. Let us take the steps of faith, and look forward with hope to a brighter and more equipped society of high achievers, reliable, strong and true. Let us tighten our belts and rise to the occasion which calls.
‘We are the future of a great country’
Haya Al-Sabah, Hessa Al-Subai’e, Shaikha Mubarak Al-Sayer and Lolwa Al-Ayadhi are pictured with officials and special invitees and guests at the expo.
Excerpts from Shaikha Mubarak Al-Sayer’s speech Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the second “Youth Generation Expo”. It is an honor to be a part, and of service at such a ground breaking occasion as this. All glory and thanks to God for enabling all who have worked hard to make this possible once again. The maiden expo held last year in May of 2012, was the beginning of the realization of a dream. It has been the aim of the pioneer members of “Y Generation” to do a facelift on the image of their generation who are contrary to general belief; hardworking, success seeking, technologically savvy, caring and patriotic citizens. We as youths of our great nation acknowledge that we are the future of a great country. Kuwait has a lot of strategic duties in the Middle East and the world as a whole; so in essence, who better to be well grounded in positive nation building, cultural, socio-economic and geopolitical ideas. The future is the Y Generation’s place to take a stand in effectively participating in the affairs of this great nation, thus we start now as youths to empower ourselves. The need to make Kuwait the heart of industrial development in the GCC is uppermost on the agenda of the Y generation. We cannot depend only on the income from oil forever as we continue to confront dynamic ways continually unfolding in different spheres in a more competitive, expanding global village which the world has become and of which there is no limit to it’s expanding trends. Diversification and re-channeling the yields of our good fortune from this natural resource and engaging the youths are no doubt of great
importance. Our youths in various schools of higher learning all over world, in various fields and endeavors are to come together, take a stand as well as enable one another obtain knowledge and responsibility to ensure that they are ready to take up the mantle of duty. Culturally, we are a nation of people who love and encourage the natural development, growth and togetherness of family life and this is evident through our government headed by HH the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah with his eminent Cabinet members putting in place provisions to enable youths achieve all they can through support in education, businesses, child rearing and various other areas. More youths are achieving ground breaking educational heights and being strong support at the home front. We are more prepared and empowered with the psychological tools to make good homes and create a family base that will be structured to sustain the next generation. The roles of youths, young men and ladies alike is fast evolving and we see more young women now taking active part in small business developments, healthcare solutions and welfare of the less privileged and physically challenged which is very much a remarkable step in the right direction and our platform stands to encourage that and more. We cannot also ignore the fact that youths have to show they can be trusted to remain out of trouble and take part in the constructive and positively impactful building of our nation; that they can make critical decisions despite the fact that youthful exuberance could be a distraction. Y Generation corporate with business establish-
ments of all spheres through emails, text messages and other social media like twitter, face book, instagram to mention but a few. We deal with the emergence and realization of top rated customer care trends that will ensure that every individual gets their money’s worth from every transaction. This will be advantageous for everyone especially us, the future of this nation that are more forward thinking and visible in such establishments. Our belief is that empowering our youth with every available resource needed to be the responsible adults of tomorrow is a dream we believe will come true. Thus with no disrespect to the older generations; we choose to be equipped with the skills, mindset and emotional stability needed to carve our own niche in the annals of history. Let us therefore join hands together in hope and unity because then and only then can this dream be fully realized. We have come a long way and will be at the finishing line together as one tree alone cannot make a forest. We are determined to be at the forefront as this affects our destinies as a whole and will subsequently affect those after us; thus the need to take the steps in the right direction and early too. Let us shine the beacon of light on our tomorrow, let us rise as one to the challenges that confront and stare us in the face. Let us take the steps of faith, and look forward with hope to a brighter and more equipped society of high achievers, reliable, strong and true. Let us tighten our belts and rise to the occasion which calls. To every young man and women, and to everyone who share our dream and vision, we honor you; we acknowledge you and thank you indeed.
Participants are seen with officials.
Haya, Hessa, Shaikha Mubarak and Lolwa are pictured with Taleb Kanjo, Marketing Director of Kuwait Times. —Photos Yasser Al-Zayyat
Hungarian business delegation to visit By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: A high-ranking Hungarian business delegation will arrive in Kuwait on May 14 on a two-day visit. The delegation will be headed by Ferenc Miklossy, Vice President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the President of the Hungarian-Arabic Committee. The visit of the delegation comes close on the heels of the first Hungarian-Kuwaiti Joint Economic Committee that concluded in Budapest last week, a Hungarian Embassy official in Kuwait said. The visit is expected to further strengthen the economic and business relationships between Kuwait and Hungary, he added. On the first day of the visit, the Hungarian delegation will meet with their Kuwaiti counterparts at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and with officials from various Kuwaiti companies engaged in a variety of businesses. The Hungarian team will interact with Kuwaiti business leaders on a broad spectrum of areas that include power and energy, electrical maintenance and installations, construction, industrial supply, food, healthcare, tourism, textile, furniture etc. On the second day, the delegation will hold B2B sessions with Kuwaiti companies at the Embassy of Hungary, Bayan.
Kuwait offers help to deal with hazardous chemicals GENEVA: Kuwait offered all required technological and financial help to parties to the Stockholm, Rotterdam, Basel conventions to help handle hazardous chemicals and wastes. “Every country has special needs to fulfill its commitments toward the convention,” Head of the Industrial Environment Department at the Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority Mohammad Mohsen Al-Enzi said at the conference of the Stockholm, Rotterdam and Basel conventions parties. “This requires more projects to help build the capabilities of signatory parties to meet their responsibilities,” he said. AlEnzi pointed out that cooperation among parties to different conventions would have great impact on the implementation of the objectives. “There is also a need to enhance the role of relevant regional centers,” he added.
MANSOORI
LOCAL
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Boubyan Bank announces winners in ‘The Big Tree Society’ competition KUWAIT: The Organizing Committee of “The Big Tree Society” initiative organized by Boubyan Bank in cooperation with the UNESCO announced the names of schools winning in the competition during the ceremony held Monday, which was attended by the Assistant Undersecretary for Development and Educational Technology Affairs at the Ministry of Education, Bader Al-Furaih, along with a number of Boubyan Bank’s executives. The competition winner was Jumana Bint Abi Taleb High School - Girls with a waste recycling project, the first Runner-Up was Al-Jahra High School - Girl with a project for re-use of waste water in irrigation and the second Runner-Up was Mulla Sulaiman M Al-Sulaiman Primary School with a project for recycling of used tires, whereas the Winner of the Referee Panel Award was Kuwait National English School. In his speech during the ceremony, GM, Administration Group of Boubyan Bank, Waleed Al-Yaqout said: “The most distinctive aspect of “The Big Tree Society” initiative organized by Boubyan Bank is that it gives students of all stages the freedom to decide upon and carry out their projects, see the projects of all other schools in the Exhibition, then select the best themselves. “It is wonderful for our children to undergo a new experience by playing the role of the referee, as the selection of the winning school will not be based as usual on a referee panel, but rather children will have the freedom to select the best project from their point of view through the Referee Panel formed of 350 students who have decided upon and carried out the projects of the participating schools,” he added. “The Initiative witnessed competi-
tions among 67 government and private schools in Kuwait over “The Big Tree Society” Award in the Exhibition held by the UNESCO at The 360 Mall under the auspices of the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr Naif Al-Hajraf, where the posters of actually carried out environmental conservation projects were displayed,” Al-Yaqout indicated. “The most distinctive feature of schools’ projects is that most of them are applied and experimented and that in case of spreading the same in the schools of Kuwait, we will be able to save millions of dinars, whether through conservation of electricity, water consumption or the recycling of waste and environmental health,” he added. Al-Yaqout highlighted that “In addition to the behaviors it promotes regarding the importance of environmental conservation and showing the importance of schools’ role in educating, bringing up children and encouraging them to conserve the environment, the exhibition represents a significant investment opportunity for companies and the private sector interested in investing in environmental conservation projects, especially waste recycling companies.” Noteworthy is that a large number of government and private schools participated in the qualifications started last October through the end of last January, as four workshops were held to explain the competition’s objectives in addition to answering all questions and inquiries about the initiative through which the UNESCO, in cooperation with Boubyan Bank, strives to establish many valuable principles with regard to environmental conservation among children and youth.
KUWAIT: Mulla Sulaiman M Al-Sulaiman Primary School students receive honors.
KUWAIT: Jumana Bint Abi Taleb High School’s students receive honors.
Electronic and print media kickstart credibility debate KUWAIT: In the modern age where cyber media is seemingly playing a prominent role in the daily lives of people around the globe, print media seems to be taking a backseat in terms of bringing the latest news and its reach. However, such an argument is challenged by media experts, academics, as well as journalists who claim that both the media interact in a way that makes them both necessary for the future development of media. Professor of Media Studies at Kuwait University (KU) Dr Khaled Al-Gahas told KUNA that any media outlet, whether online or in a paper format, should base its success on credibility and professionalism. Making sure that credibility remains on the forefront of any media institution’s agenda will eventually deliver the correct message to the public, argued Al-Gahas. The Kuwaiti academic agreed that cyber medium has an edge over its print counterpart because of its reach as it goes beyond borders and reaches larger audiences. This ability to reach wide lured many print media outlets to either use cyberspace as an extension of their output while several others, especially in the North America and Europe, opted for a complete conversion online, abandoning the original paper format. Benefiting from the reach of the cyber media is a way to develop classical outlets, said Media Studies Professor at KU Dr
Ahmad Al-Shareef. He indicated that the tough competition posed by cyber media and the fact that it attracts a vast majority of the youth is forcing the print media to step up the rivalry. With all the benefits and temptations provided by cyber media, its print counterpart has an upper-hand when it comes to professionalism and accurac y, said AlShareef, adding that without being organized, cyber media tends to lose some focus and vision when trying to convey information to the audience. Taking things into consideration, one could not disregard the psychological impact of media as a whole and, with the advent of cyber media, this impact somehow seems to have more influence on the masses. Professor of Psychology at KU Dr Khuder Al-Baroun affirmed that cyber media has demolished the boundaries between cultures and races, providing information to whoever is willing to seek it, without any discrimination. In contrast, said Al-Baroun, living within the context of cyberspace might lead individuals to become isolated, leading to less direct conversations amongst the people. Some cyber media are contributing to the spread of rumors and chaos, said Al-Baroun, adding that when in cyberspace, it is hard to filter what is false from the truth. Putting things into a context, the argument of who
in the
news
Algerian FM on official visit ALGIERS: Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci will be visiting Kuwait today on an official invitation by Kuwaiti counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah. A statement by the Foreign Ministry said that the meeting would focus on bolstering bilateral relations. The two ministers will be chairing the first political consultative meeting between the two nations during the visit.
Bodybuilding tournament KUWAIT: Kuwait’s youth and men bodybuilding tournament will begin on May 17 with the participation of 75 athletes. Head of the tournament’s organizing committee Jassem Bodai said that the tournament’s grand prize has been set at $12,000, adding that winners of the men and youth tournament would have a chance to win the grand prize in their respective category. Bodai affirmed that the tournament would also be a chance to scout new talents within the sport, noting that Oxygen Fitness Center is holding the tournament for the fourth consecutive year. The youth’s competition will include athletes under 70, 80, as well as over 80 kilograms. The men’s competition will include athletes under 75, 85, and over 85 kilograms.
Campaign against law violators KUWAIT: Security personnel carried out an extended campaign against residency law violators and outlaws on Friday that resulted in the arrest of five people wanted in criminal cases and as many wanted in civil cases, 19 people reported absent, 158 people found in violation of residency law and 310 people found without identification documents. The personnel also detained 10 wanted vehicles. A vendor, a beggar and 50 free laborers were also apprehended. They also confiscated four cases of liquor related to 16 instances of fights, 10 cases of theft and 204 traffic citations. They dealt with 89 traffic accidents and detained five vehicles besides dealing with 66 cases that needed help. Security sector indicated that campaigns will continue to check all outlaws and violators.
is superior might lie within the hands of those involved directly in the news and information business. Journalist Fahad Al-Turki affirmed that the relationship between cyber and print media is not about who will eliminate whom but rather about integration. Both types are important to deliver the message to the masses, said Al-Turki. The professionalism provided by print media could be extended to the cyberworld, thus providing a solid mix that would be both efficient and credible. Expressing different views, journalists Nour Al-Abdullah and Musaad Al-Mutairi said that traditional newspapers had various restrictions that prevented them from competing with their cyber counterparts. They both argued that the topics discussed in cyber media were more diverse and the cost to bring news online was lesser than trying to print a story via traditional methods. They indicated that in order for print media to challenge its cyber counterpart, it should work on measures to update itself, reconsidering policies and methods in which information in today’s world is handled. The ongoing debate about cyber versus print media might not reach a decisive conclusion, but it would surely contribute to the evolution of how media is handled and someday a new type of medium will challenge both to reevaluate and consider their approach to information.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
LOCAL
Local Spotlight
In my view
Governmental changes required
Act responsibly
By Labeed Abdal
By Muna Al-Fuzai
local@kuwaittimes.net
muna@kuwaittimes.net
A
traffic ticket can cost you hundreds of dinars in fines after the latest increase in traffic penalties. It is good that new fines have been imposed in an effort to bring down the number of road accidents, many of which happen because people are talking on mobiles or texting while driving and fail to buckle themselves up with the seat belts.
All drivers should remember that being responsible on the road would not only keep them safe but also avoid unnecessary trouble and injury to their families and other people’s families. The drivers and everyone else want to be safe and to be able to see their beloved ones back home. We all know the high fatality rates because of reckless driving, driving under influence or without license, jumping the red light, speeding and carrying passengers in excess of what is legally allowed. Moreover, it is possible to draw a direct correlation between drivers being distracted and the tragedies happening on the road where human lives are lost or people suffer grievous injuries in a split second. The punitively large fines or deportation as a punishment should be linked to a court case that could be filed against the offenders who should then be free to exercise their right to defense in a court of law. We need to avoid any ex-parte punishment without the benefit of legal redress or without fully reviewing anyone’s history of traffic violations. All drivers should remember that being responsible on the road would not only keep them safe but also avoid unnecessary trouble and injury to their families and other people’s families. The drivers and everyone else want to be safe and to be able to see their beloved ones back home. Raiding garages that fix vehicles involved in accidents, which could often be out on the road without even the knowledge of vehicle owners, is just a way to avoid seeing victims of such irresponsible drivers. Also, a balance must be achieved between the drivers’ need to go to work every day while protecting their right to live and move around while staying safe and sound. Definitely, reaching the place of work is not a matter of do or die. After all, going to a restaurant or a cinema, or a hubbly bubbly cafe, should not lead to a death trap. We must not forget that it is simply not fair that we cause anyone an injury or bring upon them a fate we would not wish upon ourselves - simply because we acted selfishly or in an irresponsible fashion on the road.
D kuwait digest
Five real challenges By Osama Al-Shaheen
T
he region faces real challenges that, we can agree, most of the governments are not only ignoring but also trying to distract their people from realizing. In the meantime, the governments fail to prepare for the looming risks for the Arabian Gulf states, which are: 1 America’s exit from the region: The Arabian Gulf which United States President Franklin Roosevelt visited in 1945 on board an aircraft carrier to meet the Saudi King, Abdulaziz Al-Saud, no longer holds the same strategic importance for America today. This was made clear by President Barack Obama at the beginning of his second term, and simultaneously the number of aircraft carriers was reduced to one. Uncle Sam is no longer willing to sacrifice his children in what the American voters describe as ‘medieval feudalism’ with no true reward. 2 Iran returns as the ‘police force’ for the region: Nature does not go well with vacuum. Any void is immediately filled with something - even if it was air. Major countries make sure to ‘prepare’ the regions they control before they leave in order to make sure that the void is not filled by a hostile power. This is what happened in the Arabian Gulf region when the English left it. Before leaving, they assigned Iran’s Shah as the region’s ‘police force’, and even handed him the three islands that belonged to the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Now, Iran returns to play the same role, which is clear from the American - Iranian concord on issues like Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, etc. 3 Production of shale oil: Though it was discovered decades ago, shale oil was not produced commercially due to its high production costs - until now. Currently, China produces 800,000 barrels a day of shale gas, while its production increases daily and rapidly in countries like Australia and America. President Obama announced in December 2012 that his country is catching up to exceed Saudi Arabia in oil production by 2017, thanks to shale oil. If anything, this portends a great depression in the Gulf region similar to when the development of cultured pearl started during the first half of the past century. Kuwait, whose national income depends on oil to the extent of 94.5 percent, faces the greater risk compared to its sister nations, yet no preventive actions are seen unlike the United Arab Emirates, for example, which built the largest solar power station in the world in addition to three nuclear plants. 4 Developed nations ruled by old-fashioned regimes: As we entered the era of information and telecommunications, it brought with it a cultural, social and subsequently political shock for old-fashioned governments which failed
China produces 800,000 barrels a day of shale gas, while its production increases daily and rapidly in countries like Australia and America. President Obama announced in December 2012 that his country is catching up to exceed Saudi Arabia in oil production by 2017, thanks to shale oil. to keep up with the fast paced changes. Young people make up for 70 percent of Arabian Gulf societies, and the youth’s mindset is being picked up even by senior citizens. Topics like ‘elected Cabinet’, ‘public participation’ and ‘transparency’ became a matter of discussion in public seminars even though years earlier they were considered taboos. To face this situation, old-fashioned governments have nothing to offer but try to lure people with money and material things; attempts proven useless when dealing with conscious people. 5 The ‘Arab Spring’ movement towards democracy: Regimes in the region are nervous to see ‘fellow’ regimes fall in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria which all had sophisticated policing mechanisms, especially when the alternative was ‘democratic’ regimes in which people participate in power. What was worse than the Arab Spring for our governments was the way they dealt with it. Billions of ‘Gulf’ money were used to fund counter-revolutions in the countries mentioned above, and our countries became a safe haven for runaway remnants of ousted regimes instead of making amends towards democratic systems that came after decades of dictatorships. In the end, it is important to realize that political, economic and social risks are real and imminent, and that these risks cannot be countered by old-fashioned governments and phony parliaments. Therefore, we need to reform the ruling system and general management in our countries in order for them to be of service to the people and be able to live up to the challenges. — Al-Rai
o we need to call for a change in the Kuwaiti government? Should we call for a reshuffle of the ministry? Or should we call for removal of all those incumbent ministers, including those who cooperated partially, though not necessarily as per people’s needs but at least heeded the demands and requests of the National Assembly members? I understand that the demand for changing many of the ministers is being seen as emerging from among the people, but let me say that it is not the demand of some MPs. As for people like me who have no personal or vested interest or involvement and who are not connected with any malpractices or corruption, I would want that any key figures or government officials lacking a clear vision about what the people need or what they can bring to the table should surely leave. In fact, the longer they stay, the lesser respect they command. Let us discuss the improvements that some of the ministers made. What should we discuss first? The achievements of the Ministry of Interior, of Social Affairs and Planning? I cannot think of much, even though most of the public complaints have to do with these three as they their functioning impacts the daily life of the people, whether citizens or expats. How has been our human rights record? Aside from calling for reducing the number of expats year by year, I would have liked to see more action in the form of arresting and sending to courts the big guys who make millions by exploiting the thousands of workers every year here. I want to see one big name going on trial for all the sins such people commit against the poor workers who come to Kuwait and are then left on the street without a contract or a job and land in jail. As for planning, can anyone help me with that? Now, for weeks we have been hearing about the protest being held by the employees of the general secretary of planning because they are seeking their rights as employees and civil citizens? Then came rumors that the minister may resign. I thought I am about to witness an act of decency and I was all prepared to finally salute someone for assuming responsibility for her own actions and decisions. But alas, that was not to be as there came media reports denying she was to resign. I do believe that this government should go. We need to have new faces, new blood, especially in the Ministries of Interior, Planning and Finance. Any new ministers must realize that their actions would be watched seriously. They should see their portfolios as a higher responsibility entrusted by this country, its people and every single person. Their statements and decisions can influence the lives of many people. We the people are observing and commenting on these because unless we see achievements happening on the ground, it is equivalent to nothing happening. I really hope for a change in the government shortly. It is not only needed, but in fact has also become essential.
kuwait digest
How to reduce traffic violations By Dr Adel Al-Ibrahim
S
everal social media websites went viral about the new traffic violation fines though it was found later that it was merely a proposal under consideration of the concerned authorities at the Ministry of Interior, as per ministry’s own declaration. No doubt, traffic accidents require all sections of the society to work together along with the Ministry of Interior which is concerned about traffic safety. Only then will it be possible to reduce the rate of traffic violations and fatal accidents. This by itself requires the Ministry of Interior to seek help from various sections of the society, and to hold seminars to evolve best solutions, instead of the Ministry taking certain decisions on its own to achieve results. Yes, it is required not to only impose massive financially punitive fines on those violating traffic laws, but to also evolve a comprehensive system. It requires dovetailing the strategy with education, and involving legislative and administrative components also. Past experience shows that notwithstanding hiked punitive fines, it did not lead to a reduced rate of accidents. What needed to be done was more basic. In general, in order to bring down the large instance of traffic violations and accidents, a situation that is disturbing to the entire society in Kuwait, we need to understand that no one can monopolize decision-making. We need to do the following: 1. Activate traffic systems like banning use of mobile phones while driving and ensuring seat belts, apart from not allowing women with covered faces to drive. 2. Make necessary legislations to force those committing huge violations to undergo a traffic education course in order to improve their conduct. 3. Activate the role of any Kuwaiti company in imparting driving lessons, by putting in place educational programs for violators, and making it mandatory for them to join those courses, especially for those who commit serious traffic violations drive under influence. There should be a link between someone joining such courses with his record of traffic violations. 4. Review how vehicles are insured and work out how to connect insurance value with the drivers’ record. A driver with a bad record and one who violates the law, which would be clear from his traffic record, would have to pay a higher insurance premium, and vice versa. If a driver’s record is clean, his insurance cost should be reduced as an appreciation since he abided by the law. 5. Activate a system of traffic points, and link this to insurance. These are some of the suggestions from our side, based on my observations in the advanced countries like the USA and the UK. One hopes the officials at the Ministry of Interior and their leader, minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud, consider these and implement these on the ground. They need to be serious in taking the decisions and not simply take the easiest way out by raising the fines for violators. — Al-Anbaa
LOCAL
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Drunk officers cause commotion in Salmiya Man stabbed after ‘staring contest’ KUWAIT: Three people, including a policeman and a National Guards officer, face multiple charges after they obstructed police officers on duty while being under the influence of alcohol. A vehicle carrying three people was pulled over in Salmiya as it was being driven recklessly. The traffic policeman called for backup when he found that the three men in the vehicle were in a drunken state and not inclined to cooperate with arrest procedures. Police recovered two bottles of liquor from the car. One of the suspects was identified as a police officer, the second a National Guards officer and the third an unemployed man. They were referred to the proper authorities to face charges. Man dead, brother injured in accident A man died while his brother sustained serious injuries when their vehicle lost balance and overturned recently on Salmi Road. Paramedics and police reached the scene shortly after the accident was reported, by which time one of the victims had already died. The injured man was rushed in an ambulance to the near-
est medical facility while the body was taken to the forensic department. A case was filed for investigations to determine what led to the vehicle losing balance and overturning. Search for shooting suspects Saad Al-Abdullah police are looking for suspects who were involved in a recent scuffle in the area and fired gunshots that left a car damaged. A Kuwaiti man told the police that a number of bullets hit his car and left it damaged during a fight in his neighborhood. The man reportedly went out to see what was happening after he heard gunfire, but found his vehicle in a damaged state while the culprits escaped. Criminal investigators were sent to the scene. In the meantime, a shooting incident was reported on the Fifth Ring Road and investigations were on to arrest the suspect. According to the police report, a Kuwaiti driver was identified through the license plate number of his car which was provided by a man who made the emergency call. The caller indicated that the suspect rolled down his car’s window and then “started shooting indiscriminately” with an unspecified firearm
before driving away. No injuries or damage to property was reported. Man stabbed after ‘staring contest’ Two men ended up in a fight and one stabbed the other outside a restaurant along the Gulf Road, all because one of them felt offended with the way the other apparently stared in his direction. Police and paramedics reached the site of the incident. The wounded man, a Kuwaiti, was found bleeding and was rushed to Mubarak Hospital while the police apprehended the attacker who said he was stared at in a provocative manner. He was referred to the proper authorities for further action. Murder threat A domestic worker of Ethiopian origin, who was looking for protection from her woman employer, mistook a local polyclinic at Al-Riqqa for a police station and sought help. She claimed her employer wanted to kill her. Police officers were called to the scene and they escorted the woman to the police station to report the case. Investigations are on. — Al-Watan, Al-Rai, Al-Anba
10 accidents over the weekend By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A car accident on King Fahad Road opposite Al-Sabahiya resulted in a 50-year-old Kuwaiti man suffering multiple injuries. He was taken to the Al-Adan Hospital. A car accident on King Fahad Road opposite Jaber Al-Ali left a 26year-old Saudi citizen with multiple injuries and a compatriot of his who was of the same age with a facial wound. Both were taken to the AlAdan Hospital. An ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) accident in Al-Khairan beyond the water towers left a 21-year-old Kuwaiti man with pain in the back. He was taken to the Al-Adan Hospital. A car accident in Al-Rai opposite the plantations left a 27-year-old
Egyptian expat with multiple injuries besides pain in the back. He was taken to the Al-Sabah Hospital. A motor cycle accident at Fahaheel Expressway opposite Sabah Al-Salem area resulted in multiple injuries and pain in the back for a 26-year-old Kuwaiti man who was taken to the Al-Adan Hospital. A motorcycle accident at Hadiya opposite the walking path resulted in a 25-year-old Kuwaiti man suffering a deep wound to the chest. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital and admitted to its intensive care unit. A 27-year-old Philippine woman was hit by a passing car while she was crossing the street at Arabian Gulf Road opposite Mc Donald, leav-
ing her with multiple injuries all over her body. She was taken to the Mubarak Hospital. A 25-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a deep wound to the chest when a scuffle broke out at Hadiya opposite the walking path. The injured man was taken to the AlAdan Hospital and admitted to its intensive care unit. In another scuffle in Al-Mangaf opposite the Islamic Institute, a 34year-old Indian expat suffered a head injury and was taken to the AlAdan Hospital. A fight at Farwaniya Al-Arbid Complex left a 24-year-old Egyptian woman with multiple injuries and her 46-year-old compatriot woman with a facial injury. Both were taken to the Al-Farwaniya Hospital.
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Germany Musaad Rashid Al-Haroun held a dinner banquet last night in honor of His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the occasion of HH’s private visit to Germany. The banquet was attended by HH Crown Prince’s Diwan Chief Sheikh Mubarak Faisal Saud Al-Sabah, Assistant Undersecretary for Education and Training Affairs in the Ministry of Interior Maj Gen Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and Commander of the Amiri Guard Colonel Abdullah Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. — KUNA
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
LOCAL
Annual pearl diving trip date set after Ramadan ‘Riqqa Battle’ race returns this year
KUWAIT: The pearl divers are seen in action during an annual diving trip.
Realty check: Citizens warned against traps KUWAIT: Hawally government municipality director Eng Fahad Al-Fahad cautioned citizens against falling in the trap of real estate dealers who announced apartments in the residential areas being on sale, and asked them not to buy such apartments to avoid legal action since the real estate owners register the apartment in their names and then leave them to face the law. He emphasized on the necessity to make legislative amendments which will mandatorily apply to the builders’ union, so that the issue is not left to one’s choice and legal responsibility can be fixed. He warned about what he called leasing owners apartments in the private residence and said there was no apartments for sale in the residential areas, and anyone buying such an apartment in the residential areas will only put himself in trouble. Adding that ads were appearing for such apartments, he said the law allows sale of apartments only in investment areas and not private residential areas. Unfortunately, some dealers put out ads to sell apartments but
they do not indicate whether it is located in an investment area or a residential area. He said municipality personnel posed as prospective clients to double check the situation and thus assured themselves that these offers were in violations. “When we asked to see the building’s drawings, we were told, “We can only show you the apartment drawing which you want to buy.” When asked about the delivery time, we were told it will be after 15 months. In short, we came to know the mechanism of marketing such apartments and discovered that the owner sells the property to say ten persons and then registers the property in their names before he receives citations and this is his right. After one year, he divides the real estate into ten apartments and hands over each buyer his apartment, only for them to find out later that he was in violation.”“Therefore, we hope that citizens do not respond to such ads, and anyone who wants to own an apartment should report to the licensing administration at the Hawally municipality branch,” he added.
KUWAIT: The 25th annual pearl diving trip is set to take place bet ween August 15-22, 2013 under the patronage of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah, the Kuwait Sea Spor ts Club announced in a statement yesterday. Head of the heritage committee in the KSSC Ali Al-Qabandi explained in the statement that the period for the annual event was chosen to take place after the holy month of R amadan, mainly due to the short period between the end of the schools’ final exams and the beginning of the holy month on July 9. Preparations for the annual
trip are scheduled to take place before Ramadan however, with the training course for debuting sailors set to star t on June 18 which marks the beginning of registration. The divers’ training camp is set to begin on June 22, while July 6 is set to feature the 10th annual Public Authority for Youth and Sports race between the diving ship. Al-Qabandi further indicated that the ships which are presented by HH the Amir as well as the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah are set to be moved into the waters on August 11, followed by the ‘Habab and Shouna’
ship maintenance works two days later. The official ‘Dasha’ ceremony which signals the beginning of the pearl diving trip takes place at 8:30 am on August 15, while the ‘Qufal’ closing ceremony is set for Thursday, August 22. Media outlets will also get a chance to cover diving ac tivities during trips to the pearl diving spots on August 18 and 19. Meanwhile, AlQabandi announced that this year’s event is set to feature the return of the ‘Riqqa Battle’ race, which takes place on August 24, while adding at the same time that the 40th Kuwait Fishing Competition will be organized on October 26.
Ali Al-Qabandi
Hajraf tours Ardiya buildings KUWAIT: The Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf made an inspection tour of the educational camp in Ardiya. Al-Hajraf was accompanied by the members of the educational committee of the nation council, PAAET director general Dr Abdulrazzaq Al-Nifisi and a number of masters and officials of PAAET. Dr. Al-Hajraf confirmed that the PAAET buildings in Ardiya were complete but lacking only furniture, indicating that in collaboration with the members of the educational committee of the nation council, and the cooperation of the ministry of finance they will be able to furnish the faculty of business studies and the college of basic education. Dr Al-Hajraf pointed that these buildings will be the starting base for Jaber University and its col-
leges. Confirming to do their best in order to avoid any possible problem which may arise during this period, he explained that all the possibilities will be looked into whether in PAAET or in the Technical Office at Jaber University, to open the university according to the schedule at the beginning of the session. Dr Al-Hajraf explained that the Technical Office of Jaber University has finished the preparation of the financial and administrative regulations, the regulations of faculty members, and support regulations as stipulated by law. Moreover, it has been sent to the fatwa and legislation committee for final review and adoption when completed. The PAAET director general Dr Abdulrazzaq AlNifisi confirmed that the aim of this visit is to view
the current situation of the readiness of the buildings in order to receive the teaching stuff, students, and administrative and to avoid any shortcomings. He explained that the authority is the only chance for students if they aren’t accepted at Kuwait university, the internal or external missions or the private universities. He also stated that they are facing a national responsibility and the students of Kuwait will have the priority in admissions to continue studying. Confirming that the acceptance plan will be similar to the plan of the previous year, he said that 15,000 seats will be allocated for the new students for the academic year 2013-14 who will be accepted across two semesters, indicating that the acceptance rate is fixed and depends on the number of new students.
NBK provides basic life support training sessions KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) provides life support training sessions for all its employees. The sessions aim to increase employees’ awareness to learn more about the necessary actions that should be taken during
Ahmad Al-Mahmeed
emergencies. The program comes as part of NBK’s initiatives in increasing health awareness. The program focuses on achieving the basic understanding for each employee and learning the details of how to perform rescue breathing and chest compressions. Ahmad Al-Mahmeed, NBK Public Relations officer, said “The health program initiative comes as part of a comprehensive agenda aiming at building up awareness among NBK employees and learning the techniques that could give someone the best chance of recovery.” “The program is held under the supervision and direction of NBK clinic which constantly follow up with the employees and monitor their progress,” AlMahmeed added. NBK strongly supports health care awareness. Throughout the years, NBK also organized several social awareness programs including blood donation drives and breast cancer awareness campaigns.
KUWAIT: The Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf is seen at an inspection tour of the educational camp in Ardiya with other officials.
Sebamed has special booth at Kuwait Times art competition KUWAIT: On the sidelines of the art competition and exhibition recently organized by Kuwait Times for over 10,000 students from public and private schools in Kuwait at the Crowne Plaza hotel, Sebamed played an active role and had a special booth at the exhibition. The exhibition’s visitors and the Information Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Broadcasting Affairs, Yousuf Mustafa visited the booth and highly appreciated Sebamed’s products.
—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat and Joseph Shagra
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Egypt foils Qaeda attack against Western embassy
Guatemala ex-dictator convicted of genocide
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REYHANLI, Turkey: People carry injured people from one of the explosion sites after several explosions killed at least 40 people and injured dozens near Turkey’s border with Syria yesterday. —AP
Car bombs kill 40 in Turkey Blasts near Syrian border l Deputy PM says Assad forces suspected REYHANLI, Turkey: Twin car bombs killed around 40 people and wounded many more in a Turkish town near the Syrian border yesterday and Turkey said it suspected Syrian involvement. The bombing increased fears that Syria’s civil war was dragging in neighbouring states despite renewed diplomatic moves towards ending fighting in which more than 70,000 people have been killed. The bombs ripped into crowded streets in the early afternoon in Reyhanli, scattering cars and concrete blocks in the town in Turkey’s southern Hatay province, home to thousands of Syrian refugees. President Bashar Al-Assad’s administration was the “usual suspect” in the attacks, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said. “We know that the people taking refuge in Hatay have become targets for the Syrian regime,” Arinc said in comments broadcast on Turkish television. “We think of them as the usual suspects when it comes to planning such a horrific attack.” There
was no immediate claim of responsibility. Nor was there any comment from Damascus. NATO member Turkey supports the uprising against Assad and violence has crossed the border before, but not on the same scale. Turkey is far from alone in fearing the impact of Syria’s war, which is already helping inflame the Middle East’s tangle of sectarian, religious and nationalist struggles. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was no coincidence the bombings came as diplomatic moves to end the Syrian conflict intensify. “There may be those who want to sabotage Turkey’s peace, but we will not allow that,” Davutoglu told reporters during a trip to Berlin. “No-one should attempt to test Turkey’s power.” Prospects appeared to improve this week for diplomacy over the civil war, now in its third year, after Moscow and Washington announced a joint effort to bring government and rebels to an international conference. But a Russian official
said yesterday that there was already disagreement over who would take part and he doubted whether a meeting could happen this month. As well as disputes over who would represent the rebels and government at any talks, there have also been questions over possible participation by Assad’s Shiite ally Iran. The rebels are backed by the largely Sunni Gulf states. Diplomats in New York said the Syria meeting would likely slip into June and it was unclear who would participate. In Reyhanli, smoke poured from charred ruins after the blasts outside administrative buildings. “My children were so scared because it reminded them of the bombings when we were in Aleppo. God help us,” said one refugee, a mother of three who gave her name as Kolsum. Arinc said around 40 people had been killed, while Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned the toll could rise with many more seriously injured. Erdogan said the bombings might have been related to Turkey’s own peace process with Kurdish militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who began a withdrawal this week to end a three decade conflict. But he said the blasts could also have been aimed at provoking sensitivities in the region that is home to so many Syrian refugees. Turkey is sheltering more than 300,000 Syrians, most of them in camps along the 900-km frontier, and is struggling to keep up with the influx. Erdogan said this week Turkey would support a USenforced no-fly zone in Syria and warned that Damascus crossed President Barack Obama’s “red line” on chemical weapons use long ago. A no-fly zone to prohibit Syrian military aircraft from hitting rebel targets has been mentioned by American lawmakers as one option the United States could use to pressure Assad. Erdogan is due to meet Obama in Washington on May 16. Violence also crossed the border in February, when a minibus blew up at a border crossing near Reyhanli, killing 14 people. The Syrian opposition said one of its delegations appeared to have been the target of that attack, but there has been no confirmation of this from the Turkish authorities. In October, five Turkish civilians were killed in Akcakale when a mortar bomb fired from Syria landed on their house, prompting Turkey to fire back across the frontier. —Reuters
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Iraqi Kurds wary of PKK fighters from Turkey AL-AMADIA, Iraq: Iraqi Kurds living near the border are wary of thousands of Kurdish fighters leaving Turkey for northern Iraq, and hope the move does not lead to more Turkish air and artillery strikes. For years, Turkey’s military has targeted fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, keeping farmers from their land and sometimes killing and wounding civilians. The PKK, which has fought a 29-year nationalist campaign against Ankara, is now withdrawing its fighters into Iraq, where it already has bases, as part of a peace drive with Turkey. While it is a positive sign for peace prospects, the movement of some 2,000 additional PKK fighters into Iraq has not put residents at ease. “We hope not to hear the sounds of Turkish artillery and airplanes bombarding our mountains again,” said Mohammed Saeed, 47, a resident of the town of Al-Amadia, near the border with Turkey. “We are afraid that the fighting will start again,” Saeed said. A flare-up of violence would not be without precedent. Mass PKK withdrawals in 1999 were disrupted when Turkish forces ambushed departing rebels, killing
HAKKARI, Turkey: This handout photo obtained on May 9, 2013 shows fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) resting in an undisclosed mountainous region in Turkey near the border with Iraq. —AFP around 500 people and wrecking hopes for a permanent peace. The PKK has also claimed Turkey was
boosting troop numbers near the border and warned against provocations that could hamper the process. Saeed said
that, due to the conflict, “we left large areas of our lands, areas that are still deserted”. “I wish they could reach permanent solutions with the Turkish government,” Saeed said, but he does not believe that will happen any time soon. Karwan Ahmed, 37, said that “all we want is for things to get better”. “I think the best thing is to reach permanent solutions with Turkey for the Kurdish issue there,” Ahmed said. “We hope that the Kurds in Turkey get their rights so that things would get better permanently, and the fighters would return to their people,” he said. The PKK fighters are leaving Turkey on foot, travelling through the rugged border zone to reach their safe havens in the Qandil mountains in northern Iraq, where they will join the thousands of fighters already there. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly vowed that retreating rebels “will not be touched” and said “laying down weapons” should be the top priority for the PKK. Turkey is believed to be home to the largest single community of ethnic Kurds, who are scattered across Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Over the years, the PKK’s demands
have evolved from outright independence to autonomy as well as cultural and language rights. The group, which is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984. Since then, the conflict has killed around 45,000 people. Iraq’s federal government, which has made repeated complaints to Turkey about air and artillery strikes in its territory, is not pleased that more PKK fighters will enter the country. The foreign ministry said that while the Iraqi government welcomes any settlement that ends the PKK-Turkey conflict, it “does not accept the entry of armed groups into its territory”. But it is Kurdish, not federal, security forces who man Iraq’s border with Turkey and ultimately decide who enters the region. PKK spokesman Ahmed Denis called on the Iraqi federal and Kurdistan governments to support the movement of the fighters as part of the peace process. “We say to the Iraqi and Kurdish governments that this process is not against them, and we ask them to play a bigger role and support it, because solving the Kurdish issue (means) stability for the region,” Denis said. —AFP
Mubarak in fresh trial over protester deaths Ousted leader charged with complicity in murder CAIRO: Former president Hosni Mubarak was back in court yesterday for a retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of protesters, reopening a case that has shown the difficulty of transitional justice in post-revolutionary Egypt. Mubarak and his former interior minister, Habib El-Adli, were
autocrat raised his arm to confirm his presence as Judge Ahmed Al-Rasheedy read a list of the accused. “Present,” said Mubarak. He waved his arm in denial when asked by the judge for his response to the charges read out by the prosecution. The session was broadcast live on state
CAIRO: Egyptian pro-Mubarak supporters shout slogans and hold posters showing former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak outside a court yesterday. —AP convicted and sentenced to life in prison last June for failing to stop the killing during the 2011 uprising that swept him from power. The retrial was ordered after a court in January accepted appeals from the prosecution and the defence. Mubarak, 85, sat upright on a hospital gurney as he was wheeled into a cage where the defendants appear. Dressed in white prison uniforms, his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, stood alongside him. They face charges of corruption. Wearing dark, aviator sunglasses, the deposed
television. Held at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo under tight security, the retrial had been due to begin last month but was aborted when the previous judge recused himself. Mubarak is being held at Tora Prison on the outskirts of Cairo. He remains in jail despite release orders because he faces charges in a separate corruption case. Mubarak, Adli and four of his former top aides are accused of involvement in the killing of more than 800 protesters who died in
the 18-day uprising. Two other Interior Ministry officials face lesser charges. Mubarak’s imprisonment last June was a historic moment - he was the first ruler toppled by the Arab Spring revolts to stand trial in person. But the case exposed the difficulties of attaining justice in a country whose judiciary and security forces are still largely controlled by figures appointed during his era. The prosecution had complained that the Interior Ministry had failed to cooperate in providing evidence. Adli’s four aides were exonerated due to the weakness of the evidence, and the judge convicted Mubarak and Adli on the grounds of their failure to stop the killing, rather than actually ordering it. Outside the court, a small group of protesters gathered under a baking sun held aloft banners demanding justice. “Your mother misses you, Ahmed,” read one banner, referring to a demonstrator killed in 2011. A rival group of a dozen Mubarak loyalists held aloft pictures of the former president dressed in military uniform and business suits. Many Egyptians have been frustrated by the failure of courts to bring officials to account for the violence during the uprising and for what they see as decades of corruption and police abuses preceding it. On Wednesday, an appeals court refused the prosecution’s appeal of a verdict that exonerated two dozen defendants over an incident during the revolt in which men on camels and horses attacked protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Judge Rasheedy called for silence as lawyers representing the families of the dead began chanting against Mubarak. “We came to court to listen, not to give speeches,” he said. Mubarak’s lawyer turned down the help of a group of Kuwaiti lawyers who had arrived to offer to assist the defence of his client - a request that triggered another storm of protest in the courtroom from Mubarak’s opponents. The prosecution is expected to draw on the findings of a fact-finding committee established by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last year. Mursi has faced criticism for failing to publish the report. Leaks of the report published by Britain’s Guardian newspaper last month alleged that the military had been involved in torture, killings and forced disappearances during the uprising - allegations denied by the military. —Reuters
2 divisive figures enter Iran’s presidential race TEHRAN: A pair of powerful and divisive figures registered yesterday to run in Iran’s presidential election, providing a jolt to the political scene a month ahead of the vote. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who still wields enormous influence, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a close confident of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, submitted their official paperwork just before yesterday’s deadline. State TV showed both men at the Interior Ministry signing up. A smiling Ahmadinejad accompanied Mashaei and raised the man’s hand in a gesture of support. The two hopefuls’ entry into the race presents a tough challenge to conservative candidates loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and will likely intensify competition between rival groups in the June 14 vote. Rafsanjani now stands as the prime hopeful for reformists, who were crushed and left leaderless after a government crackdown on mass street protests following Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 election victory. Also yesterday, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator and close figure to all-power ful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unexpectedly showed up at the ministry and registered
his candidacy. A veteran of the 1980s war with Iraq in which he lost his lower right leg, Jalili, 47, did not speak to reporters, an AFP correspondent said. Jalili heads the team in negotiations with world powers over Tehran’s controversial atomic activities which the West fears are aimed at developing a military capacity, a claim denied by Iran. Unlike Rafsanjani who has
been critical of Ahmadinejad’s economic and foreign policy, Jalili has not been vocal on domestic issues. A Rafsanjani win would likely open the way for the easing of tensions with the outside world and distance Iran from Ahmadinejad’s bombastic style and the hardline policies of the Islamic Republic’s conservative camp. Iran is grappling with tough oil and banking
TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right) and Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie wave during their press conference after Mashaie registered his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election at the interior ministry yesterday. —AFP
sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, which have caused the country’s income from oil and gas exports to drop about 50 percent. The West fears Iran may ultimately be able to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The decision of Rafsanjani and Mashaei to run greatly reduces the chance of a Khamenei loyalist winning the vote. About two dozen conservatives, including former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who is now a top adviser to Khamenei, and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, have registered their candidacies as well. But Rafsanjani’s candidacy means conservative hopefuls likely will have to step aside to limit the number of hardline figures in the race to have a minimum of hope for victory. The hardline Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog, will vet the applicants before allowing them to run. Mashaei, who has drawn the wrath of Khamenei in recent years, said he will respec t the law if the council scratches his candidacy. “All must give in to the law,” he told reporters. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran’s constitution. —Agencies
CAIRO: Egyptian Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim holds a press conference at his office yesterday. —AFP
Egypt foils Qaeda attack against Western embassy CAIRO: Egypt’s interior minister said yesterday police arrested three members of an Al-Qaedalinked cell in an alleged transnational plot to bomb a Western embassy and other targets in the country. The suspects were arrested with explosives intended to be used to bomb a Western embassy after an investigation showed threads in Pakistan, Iran and Algeria, Mohamed Ibrahim said at a news conference. Police “have delivered a successful blow against a terror cell plotting suicide bomb attacks,” Ibrahim said. The minister did not identify the embassy, which he said the militants “were on the verge” of attacking with either a car driven by a suicide bomber or remotely detonated explosives of ammonium nitrate. Ibrahim said the suspects were captured with 10 kilos of the explosive chemical, and a computer containing instructions on bomb-making. The militants had been in touch with an Al-Qaeda leader outside the country, identified as Kurdi Dawud Al-Assadi who is “the head of Al-Qaeda in some west Asian countries,” Ibrahim said. One of the suspects was also associated with Al-Qaeda members in Algeria and received training from the loose-knit militant organisation in Pakistan and Iran, Ibrahim said. “They were in electronic communication with Al-Qaeda in Pakistan,” he said, adding that they were also in touch with an Al-Qaeda facilitator on the Turkish border. He did not specify which of the eight countries that Turkey shares a border with, although these include Iran, Iraq and Syria. According to Ibrahim, Assadi had instructed the suspects to coordinate with two alleged mili-
tants before their capture last October after a firefight that killed a gunman in a Cairo apartment. The suspects arrested in October, also alleged to have Al-Qaeda links, are now on trial. Egypt has in the past announced the arrest of AlQaeda-linked militants in the country which has seen a low-level Islamist insurgency and militant attacks on tourist sites over the past three decades. Some of the veteran Egyptian Islamist militants are now in Al-Qaeda’s leadership - most prominently Ayman Al-Zawahiri who heads the extremist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden. Others have been jailed and recanted violence before being released following the 2011 uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak. There has been a resurgence in militant attacks since the uprising, confined to the sparsely populated Sinai peninsula, in which both Egyptian troops and neighbouring Israel have been targeted. Ibrahim said the three suspects had been in touch with an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant in Sinai. In August, an attack on an army outpost in Sinai that killed 16 soldiers prompted the largest military operation in the peninsula since Israel handed the territory back to Egypt following a 1979 peace agreement. After the attack, the militants commandeered an Egyptian military vehicle into Israel, where they were killed in an Israeli helicopter strike. No one has declared responsibility for that attack, but other attacks on Israel including cross-border suicide attacks and rocket fire have been claimed by the Mujahedeen Shura Council, which identifies with Al-Qaeda. —AFP
Syrian rebels, government fight over key highways BEIRUT: Syrian rebels yesterday cut a newly built bypass road linking the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, an activist group said, while state media reported that government troops have secured a strategic highway between the capital and the southern city of Daraa. The reported fighting came as an activist group said US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who left the country last year, met with a rebel commander at a border crossing point with Turkey. The Aleppo Media Center said Ford met on Thursday with Col AbdulJabbar Al-Akidi, head of Aleppo province’s rebel military council at the Bab al-Salama border crossing point. It posted a picture and a video of the two men standing on a road just a few meters (yards) outside a fence that appeared to be the border between Turkey and Syria. The AMC quoted Akidi as calling on the US to lift an arms embargo imposed on rebels. The US so far has balked at sending weapons to the rebels, fearing the arms could end up in the hands of Al-Qaeda-linked groups or other extremists in the opposition ranks. Ford was in Turkey to get the opposition to commit to a proposal presented last year at an international conference in Geneva that involves talks with the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad. The visit follows a decision by Russia and the US this week to convene an international conference to bring representatives of the Assad regime and the opposition to the negotiating table. Such talks would aim at setting up a transitional government. No
date has been set. The plan, similar to the one set out last year in Geneva, calls for talks on a transitional government and an open-ended cease-fire. Such efforts have run aground in the past, but US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was a chance it might work this time. “If the political willpower is there and shared, and if people are prepared to compromise reasonably, there is a path forward to be able to have a peaceful solution in Syria,” he said late Friday. The regime and the Syrian opposition have welcomed the idea, but with conditions. The opposition says talks can only begin once Assad and his aides have left. The regime says it will keep fighting the rebels, without saying at which stage it would be willing to halt its fire. In Israel, meanwhile, an official confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, an Assad ally. Israel has expressed concern over what Israeli officials say is an imminent sale of advanced Russian anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. Israel is worried that advanced Russian weapons could reach militant groups hostile to the Jewish state, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has asked Russia to stop supplying “game-changing” weapons to Assad. The Israeli official would not say if the weapons would be discussed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the Netanyahu-Putin meeting has not yet been announced officially. —AP
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Britain and Russia seek solution on Syria crisis Cameron meets Putin to talk strategy
ROME: Democratic party (PD) Guglielmo Epifani arrives for the general assembly of his party yesterday. —AFP
Italy centre-left picks ex-unionist as leader ROME: Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD), reeling from infighting that forced the resignation of Pier Luigi Bersani last month, chose former trade union boss Guglielmo Epifani as party secretary yesterday. The party’s two most prominent leaders, Prime Minister Enrico Letta and the young mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, both sat out the internal party contest, with the real battle to lead the centre-left likely to be delayed until after the summer. The PD’s weakness has compounded problems confronting Letta as he tries to hold a fragile coalition together while facing deep recession, youth unemployment of almost 40 percent and public bitterness reflected in the success of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. Epifani, a former head of Italy’s biggest union the CGIL, was the sole candidate at a special assembly in Rome but he was widely seen as a compromise stand-in until a full party congress in October. “The Democratic Party has been going through an extremely difficult period,” Epifani told the assembly. “We cannot hide it from ourselves, we risk hitting the bottom.” The PD threw away a strong lead in polls ahead of February’s election, and the inconclusive result forced it into an unlikely coalition with arch-rival Silvio Berlusconi. Divided between a dozen competing factions, the party has been effectively leaderless since Bersani resigned following a humiliating party mutiny during the process of voting for a president of the republic in April. Opinion polls show Berlusconi’s centre-right alliance now well ahead of the centre-left. With tensions between the PD and Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) party already threatening to destabilise the government, centre-left party barons were desper-
ate to avoid a damaging battle over the leadership. The two are already at loggerheads over centre-right demands to scrap an unpopular housing tax and calls by Cecile Kyenge, Italy’s first black minister, for citizenship rights for children born in Italy of migrant parents. The PD had also criticised the PDL’s plan to hold a demonstration today against what it says is a campaign by politically biased magistrates against Berlusconi, and reacted furiously after Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, the deputy head of the government, announced on Twitter that he would attend. “Alfano ... is feeding the tensions between the political forces which support the government,” said centre-left Deputy Economy Minister Stefano Fassina. The 76-year-old media tycoon’s appeal against a four-year sentence for tax fraud was rejected by a Milan court this week. He also faces a new hearing on Monday in his trial on charges of paying for sex with nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, alias “Ruby the Heartstealer” when she was a minor. In addition, Naples prosecutors called for him to face trial on separate charges of bribing a senator to defect to his party in order to help bring down the government of former centre-left prime minister Romano Prodi, which fell in 2008. Berlusconi’s own Canale 5 television station is due to broadcast an extended special on the so-called “bunga bunga” parties at his luxurious residence near Milan which judges say was where the alleged sex offences took place. He has always strenuously denied the accusations and said the parties were elegant and entirely respectable dinner parties attended by a wide variety of people. —Reuters
MOSCOW: Britain and Russia on Friday sought to forge a joint approach to the crisis in Syria, as US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was “strong evidence” Damascus had used chemical weapons against rebels. British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Black Sea vacation home to talk strategy, days after top US and Russian diplomats agreed to work together on a solution to the bloody conflict. But in Warsaw, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Moscow was continuing to fulfil contracts by delivering military hardware to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in defiance of calls for a freeze. The West and Russia have been repeatedly at odds over the Syria conflict, with the United States and Europe accusing Moscow of seeking to prop up Assad and selling him arms. In cordial comments amid the tropical shrubbery of the garden at his Black Sea residence, Putin said he and Cameron had discussed possible options and joint measures for finding peace in Syria, after more than two years of war. However there was no sign of an immediate breakthrough, despite the warm tone that was a contrast to the tensions that have bedevilled relations between London and Moscow for years. “At the initiative of the prime minister, we spoke about the possible options for a positive development of the situation and about practical steps in this regard,” Putin said after the talks, according to a Kremlin transcript. “We have a joint interest in a swift halt to the violence and the creation of the process for a peaceful solution that keeps Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Putin. Cameron said it was “no secret” the two sides had different positions on the conflict but said they shared an ultimate aim of halting the violence, allowing the Syrian people to elect a government and preventing a growth in extremism. Cameron flew to Putin’s palm-dotted residence before the British premier’s planned meeting with US President
Barack Obama at the White House tomorrow. The meeting also allowed Russia and Britain to coordinate positions ahead of the next Group of Eight summit which Cameron is hosting in Northern Ireland on June 17-18. The war in Syria has cost an estimated 70,000 lives and displaced
contracts a long time ago, and is completing supplies of the equipment, which is anti-aircraft systems, according to the already signed contracts,” he told reporters. But German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, speaking at the same news conference, insisted that “international arms deliveries to Syria must end”.
used by Assad’s forces. “This fight is about the terrible choices that the Assad regime has made with its willingness to kill anywhere... to use gas, which we believe there is strong evidence of use of,” Kerry said during a Google+ hangout. Two weeks ago, the US government first said the Syrian regime had likely used chemi-
SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron fly by helicopter to inspect the 2014 Winter Olympic facilities after their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence on Friday. —AFP millions of people, including hundreds of thousands who have fled to neighbouring countries. The talks with Putin came amid concerns that Russia may be preparing to hand over to Syria sophisticated surfaceto-air missiles which will significantly strengthen its defences and complicate any foreign intervention. Kerry warned that any such sale would be “potentially destabilising” for the region. Lavrov, on a visit to Warsaw on Friday, defiantly refused to rule out delivering weapons to Syria by completing the implementation of existing contracts. “Russia is not planning to sell -Russia has sold and signed
Earlier last week, Lavrov and Kerry - in a rare joint initiative over the conflict - offered to hold an international conference in search of peace in Syria. The UN-Arab League envoy on the Syria crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, hailed the bid, which he said had convinced him to stay on in a job which many see as a hopeless mission. The proposed peace conference will aim to build on the unimplemented Geneva accord agreed by world powers last June. The deal set out a path toward a transitional government without spelling out what Assad’s fate should be. In Washington, Kerry again raised the spectre of chemical weapons
cal weapons against its own people, but Obama has said he needs more proof to determine whether a “red line” had been crossed. In an interview published Thursday, US Vice President Joe Biden said once the use of chemical weapons has been verified, Obama would likely make a “proportional response in terms of meaningful action,” without elaborating. Turkey’s staunchly anti-Assad Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told NBC news he believed the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, crossing Obama’s “red line,” and called on Washington to “assume more responsibilities.” —AFP
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Cyber criminals expose Achilles heel in global financial industry Prepaid debit cards: a weak link in bank security
GUATEMALA CITY: Former Guatemalan de facto President (1982-1983), retired General Jose Efrain Rios Montt, 86, is seen after listening to his sentence on charges of genocide committed during his regime. — AFP
ex-dictator convicted of genocide GUATEMALA CITY: Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country’s 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. Hundreds of people who were packed into the courtroom burst into applause, chanting, “Justice!” as Rios Montt received a 50-year term for the genocide charge and an additional 30 years for crimes against humanity. It was the first time a former head of state had been found guilty of genocide in his or her own country. Rios Montt, now 86, took power after a coup in 1982 and was accused of implementing a scorchedearth policy in which troops massacred thousands of indigenous villagers thought to be helping leftist rebels. He proclaimed his innocence in court. “I feel happy. May no one else ever have to go through what I did. My community has been sad ever since this happened,” said Elena de Paz, an ethnic Maya Ixil who was two years old in 1983 when soldiers stormed her village, killed her parents and burned her home. Prosecutors say Rios Montt turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to try to rid Guatemala of leftist rebels during his 1982-1983 rule, the most violent period of a 1960-1996 civil war in which as many as 250,000 people died. He was tried over the killings of at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil indigenous group, just a fraction of the number who died during his rule. A throng outside the court chanted “Justice! Justice!” when the guilty verdicts were handed down on Friday. “They convicted him, they convicted him. I can’t believe it,” said Marybel Bustamante, whose brother was ‘disappeared,’ a euphemism for kidnapped and murdered, the day that Rios Montt took power. The human rights group Amnesty International hailed it as the trial of the decade. ‘FULL KNOWLEDGE’ “He had full knowledge of everything that was happening and did not stop it,” Judge Yasmin Barrios, who presided over the trial, told a packed courtroom where Mayan women wearing colorful traditional clothes and head-dresses closely followed proceedings. Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu was among them. “Today we are happy, because for many years it was said that genocide was a lie, but today the court said it was true,” she said. Barrios called a hearing for Monday to discuss compensation for the victims of Rios Montt’s rule. Rios Montt’s intelligence director, Jose Rodriguez Sanchez, also stood trial, but he was acquitted on both charges. During the trial, which began on March 19, nearly 100 prosecution witnesses told of massacres, torture and rape by state forces. At one point, the trial hung in the balance when a dispute broke out between two judges over who should hear the case. Rios Montt denied the charges in court on Thursday, saying he never ordered genocide and had no control over battlefield operations. “I am innocent,” he told the courtroom, sporting thick glasses and a gray mustache. “I never had the intent to destroyany national ethnic group.” “I have never ordered genocide,” he added, saying he took over a “failing” Guatemala in 1982 that was completely bankrupt and full of “subversive guerrillas.” Former US President Ronald Reagan provided support for Rios Montt’s government and said in late 1982 that the dictator was getting a “bum rap” from rights groups for his military campaign against left-wing guerrillas during the Cold War. He also once called Rios Montt “a man of great personal integrity”. Defense attorneys said earlier they would appeal if Rios Montt was convicted. They argued that prosecution witnesses had no credibility, that specific ethnic groups were not targeted under Rios Montt’s 17-month rule and that the war pitted belligerents of the same ethnic group against one another. DIVISIVE CONFLICT Rios Montt has been under house arrest for more than a year. The right-wing party that he founded changed its name this year to distance itself from its past. Guatemala’s civil war ended with peace accords signed in 1996 but the Central American nation remains a deeply divided society with very poor indigenous areas. President Otto Perez, a former army general during the civil war, says he was part of a group of captains that stood up to Rios Montt. Declassified US documents from the civil war years suggest Perez was one of the Guatemalan army’s most progressive officers and that he played a key role in an ensuing peace process. But Perez was himself implicated in war crimes during the trial when one prosecution witness testified that soldiers under his command had burned down homes and executed civilians during Rios Montt’s rule. Perez has argued that genocide did not take place during the war, underlining the divisions that persist in Guatemala over the conflict, which pitted leftist insurgents against a string of rightwing governments. Perez, who took office in 2012, is the first military man to run the country since the war ended, and rights groups were concerned he could interfere with human rights trials. Courts in Guatemala have only recently begun prosecutions for atrocities committed during the conflict. Until August 2011, when four soldiers received 6,060-year prison sentences for mass killings in the northern village of Dos Erres in 1982, no convictions had been handed down for massacres carried out during the war. A judge who initially presided over pre-trial hearings cast a new shadow of doubt over the Rios Montt case on Friday when she confirmed a decision she had announced on April 18 to wind back proceedings to November 2011, and void all developments since then. —Reuters
WASHINGTON: A brazen gang of cyber criminals, who stole $45 million from bank ATMs in 27 countries, exposes an Achilles heel in the global financial industry: prepaid debit cards. Cyber security experts and industry analysts say the burgeoning use of prepaid debit cards for everything from gift certificates to disaster relief handouts is making it easier for hackers to withdraw large amounts of money before detection. Prepaid cards have fewer controls on them than on regular credit and debit cards issued by banks. Each prepaid card issued is like a blank slate: anonymous, new, and lacking any credit history or individual behavior pattern against which bankers and payment processors can measure activity to look for red flags. They are also easier to hack. Raising a withdrawal limit on a prepaid card involves hacking into a system at a third-party payment processor, a company that is generally smaller than a bank and, if based outside the United States, potentially subject to looser cyber security standards. “It’s usually prepaid debit cards. That’s the card of choice in this. The bad guys know the system and they have been able to exploit it,” said Joe Petro, a managing director at Promontory Financial Group, who worked for 20 years as the head of fraud prevention and investigations for Citigroup Inc. “The vulnerability stems from third-party processors, who may not have the same level of security systems that banks are able to have,” he added. Petro was speaking generally and said he did not have direct knowledge of the $45 million heist. In a globally coordinated campaign, hackers broke into two unidentified payment processing companies that handled the prepaid debit cards for two Middle Eastern banks, US prosecutors said on Thursday. Once inside the computer networks, they increased the available balance and withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued by Bank of Muscat of Oman and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC of the United Arab Emirates.
The criminal ring’s operatives then fanned out around the world and used fraudulent prepaid cards to withdraw money from thousands of ATMs. The global scope and speed of the theft was unprecedented, cyber investigators said. In the case of Bank of Muscat, $40 million was stolen in just over 10 hours. Experts said the use of prepaid debit cards, instead of credit cards, was not accidental. Credit cards are attached to individuals whose spending habits over time give banks and credit card companies clear patterns they can use when trying to identify unusual or illicit activity. EVADING DETECTION A thief moving from ATM to ATM with a personal credit card would likely quickly raise alarms, because his or her behavior would look out of place compared to the credit card user’s normal activity. “The banks are using state-of-the art defenses, but the more sophisticated actors are able to breach their networks,” said Shawn Henry, the former head of cyber crime investigations at the FBI, now president of professional ser vices at security firm CrowdStrike. While the $45 million swindle is one of the largest ever, security experts say banks deal with similar, albeit smaller, thefts regularly - they are just rarely disclosed. By 2013, the amount of money that was placed onto reloadable prepaid cards reached about $201.9 billion from $28.6 billion in 2009, according to a report published by Mercator Advisory Group. “Of all the types of cards that are there, prepaid cards is the fastest growing category,” said Scott Valentin, analyst with FBR Capital Markets & Co. “With cash payments slowing and an increase in mobile payment and online commerce, the importance of these cards is only going to increase,” Valentin said. “With credit cards you need to be credit worthy and with debit cards you need a bank account. Prepaid cards gets you past these two issues and as a result are extremely popular.” That has raised concerns about the need for better security around prepaid cards,
NEW YORK: An ATM machine on Third Avenue in New York is just one of the many that were used as cyber thieves around the world stole $45 million by hacking into debit card companies, scrapping withdrawal limits and helping themselves from cash machines. — AFP and the card processing companies that service them. For more than a decade, banks have been required by US law to ensure their electronic systems and those used by their outside contractors meet certain safety requirement. US banks using payment processors must have a contractual agreement that states the payment processor is meeting the same security standards the bank does. The problem, said Doug Johnson, vice president for risk management policy at the American Bankers Association in Washington, is that US-based banks, don’t always find it easy to ensure that what is agreed in the contract with an overseas payment processor is really being implemented. “I fully anticipate that regulatory agencies are going to spend increased time looking at third-party providers,” Johnson said. In the case of the two Middle Eastern
banks, one used a US-based credit card processor, while the other used one in India. The US-based company’s breach shows even third-party processors close to home can make banks vulnerable. William B Nelson, chief executive of a nonprofit security group advising the banking industry, said the case reminded him of the RBS WorldPay breach in 2008. In that attack, intruders into the arm of Royal Bank of Scotland took data on customers, created new cards, and then raised the daily withdrawal limits. They stole $9 million in a day. The accused Russian mastermind of the scheme was convicted but received a suspended sentence. “It’s a cash-out scheme, where they’ve been able to find a vulnerability in the card system,” said Nelson, CEO of FS-ISAC, of the current case. “ They are not really hitting bank accounts.” — Reuters
GOP ready to push Benghazi case into 2014 and beyond
MEXICO CITY: People pass a store that sells construction materials located below the Palace bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City. Malcolm Shabazz, 28 (inset) the grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico, US officials confirmed yesterday. — AP
Malcolm X Grandson found dead near Mexico City bar MEXICO CITY: Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of political activist Malcolm X, was found dead outside a Mexico City bar after a violent dispute over the bill, authorities said yesterday. He was 28. City prosecutors are investigating the attack that sent Shabazz to a nearby hospital with severe injuries. He died hours later on Thursday. US officials confirmed that Shabazz was killed in Mexico City. Shabazz family publicist Terrie Williams said the family would issue a statement later. Labor activist Miguel Suarez, who was traveling with Shabazz said that his friend was beaten up at a bar near Plaza Garibaldi, a downtown square that is home to Mexico City’s mariachis. Plaza Garibaldi is popular with tourists, but the pair were at a bar across the street from the plaza in an area of rough dive bars tourists are warned against going to. Suarez said he and Shabazz were lured to the bar on Wednesday night by a young woman who made conversation with the American in English. The Palace bar is on one of Mexico City’s busiest avenues. “We were dancing with the girls and drinking,” said Suarez. Then the owner of the bar wanted them to pay a $1,200 bar tab, alleging that they should pay for music, drinks and the girls’ companionship. “We pretty much got hassled,” he said. “A short dude came with a gun.” Suarez said he was taken by the man to a separate room. Shabazz stayed in the hall. Suarez said he heard a violent commotion in the hall and escaped from the room and the bar altogether as he saw half-naked girls running away, picking up their skirts from the dance floor. Minutes later, Suarez came back in a cab to look for Shabazz and found him on the ground outside the bar severely injured. “He was in shock. His face was messed up,” said Suarez. “He was alive.” “I grabbed him, and I called the cops,” said Suarez, who was recently deported from the United States. He said he took Shabazz to a hospital
but his friend died hours later of blunt-force injuries. Suarez said Shabazz had traveled to Mexico to support him and his movement advocating for more rights for construction workers. He crossed the border from San Diego to Tijuana with Suarez’s mother and then the pair took a bus all the way to Mexico City. “We were planning to go to Teotihuacan, to see the Aztec pyramids,” he said. US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell did not offer details on whether they are working with Mexican investigators. “We’ve been in contact with family members and have been providing appropriate... assistance,” Ventrell said. “At their request, we have no further comment at this time.” Shabazz was born in 1984 to Qubilah Shabazz, one of six daughters of Malcolm X and his wife Betty Shabazz. Qubilah was 4 years old when she saw her father shot to death as he delivered a speech in a Harlem ballroom in 1965. In June 1997, Malcolm Shabazz, then 12, set a fire at his grandmother Betty Shabazz’s home. She died from severe burns, and he served four years in juvenile detention. He later expressed regret for his actions, telling The New York Times in 2003 that he would sit on his jail cot and ask for a sign of forgiveness from his dead grandmother. “I just wanted her to know I was sorry and I wanted to know she accepted my apology, that I didn’t mean it,” he said. “But I would get no response, and I really wanted that response.” Shabazz also served time on a 2002 attempted robbery conviction, and was released in 2005. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for smashing the window of a Yonkers doughnut shop. In recent years, Shabazz said he was writing a memoir and traveling the United States to speak out against youth violence. On his Facebook profile, he said he was attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. —Reuters
WASHINGTON: Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the conservative base and undercut the Democrats’ early favorite for president in 2016. Democratic and Republican strategists sharply disagree on the issue’s power to influence elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying, Democrats are still struggling to move past last September’s terrorist attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, which killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Democrats insist that an independent inquiry, the dismissal of several State Department officials, and nine congressional hearings leave little new to say on the matter. But Friday turned up the sort of nuggets that feed conservative activists’ belief that a major scandal may still be at hand. Newly revealed communications show that senior State Department officials pressed for changes in the talking points that UN Ambassador Susan Rice used a few days after the Benghazi attacks. These senior officials expressed concerns that Congress might criticize the Obama administration for ignoring warnings of a growing threat in Libya. The White House has insisted that it made only stylistic changes to the intelligence agency talking points, in which Rice suggested that spontaneous protests over an anti-Islamic video set off the deadly attack. The new details suggest a greater degree of political sensitivity and involvement by the White House and State
Department. Rice and others eventually acknowledged that the Benghazi assault on Sept. 11, 2012, was a premeditated terrorist attack. Republicans say her Sept. 16 televised remarks were just the start of administration efforts to mislead Americans about what happened in Libya. The Benghazi violence was heavily politicized from the start, occurring less than two months before President Barack Obama’s re-election. Moreover, the secretary of state at the time was Hillary Rodham Clinton. The former senator and first lady infuriates many conservatives and ranks high in speculation about the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee. Friday brought another round of conservative broadsides against Clinton, Obama and the administration’s handling of the Benghazi matter. Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible Republican presidential contender, wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Times restating his view that Obama should have fired Clinton. Campaigning later in Iowa, Paul said he thinks the Benghazi affair “precludes Hillary Clinton from ever holding office.” The conservative group American Crossroads released a 90-second video asking if Clinton was “part of a cover-up.” The video, like emails and letters from several other groups, asked for political donations. The Benghazi tragedy hands Republicans a host of political opportunities, although none without complications. It may be difficult for average voters to sift through the chronology, assess blame, or even follow the logic of Republican arguments. —AP
Elon Musk quits Zuckerberg’s immigration advocacy group SAN FRANCISCO: Billionaire environmentalist Elon Musk has quit a Silicon Valley advocacy group formed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after the group funded ads for senators touting their support for an oil pipeline and oil drilling in Alaska. Musk leads one of the world’s best known “green” companies, electric carmaker Tesla. A Tesla spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday that the South African-born entrepreneur preferred not to elaborate on his reasons for leaving FWD.us. Zuckerberg announced the formation of FWD.us last month, saying it was focused on bipartisan policies to bring about comprehensive immigration reform and improvements in the US education system. Fwd.us bankrolled three television ads on behalf of senators who have been playing a key role in the immigration debate. The ads were focused not on immigration but rather on the senator’s general positions, including one’s support for the Keystone XL pipeline, which has created a backlash among some progressive groups. Backers say the pipeline project would boost North American energy security and provide thousands of construction jobs. Opponents argue that it would lead
to higher releases of greenhouse gases. The spots quickly drew the ire of liberal and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and MoveOn.org, who earlier this week pledged to pull ads from Facebook for two weeks. The Fwd.us website removed Musk’s name on Friday after a Reuters inquiry. It was unclear how much Musk, who also chairs solarenergy company Solar City, had donated. David Sacks, founder of business networking site Yammer and a former colleague of Musk’s at payment service PayPal, also dropped off the list of the FWD.us backers on Friday. FWD.us spokeswoman Kate Hansen earlier confirmed that a second funder had withdrawn support but declined to elaborate. Sacks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “We recognize that not everyone will always agree with or be pleased by our strategy - and we’re grateful for the continued support of our dedicated founders and major contributors,” FWD.us spokeswoman Hansen said in a statement. “FWD.us remains totally committed to supporting a bipartisan policy agenda that will boost the knowledge economy, including comprehensive immigration reform.” —Reuters
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Voters throng polls in Pakistan’s political heart LAHORE: Saima Ali had a message for Pakistan’s women as the country went to the polls: ignore the Taleban threats and vote. The 30-year-old cast her ballot along with her mother-in-law in the middleclass Railway Road area of Lahore in the country’s second largest city and political heart. More than 120 people were killed in bombings and shootings in the month leading up to yesterday’s historic election and in some areas militants ordered women to stay at home on polling day. But Ali, a housewife dressed brightly in a vivid yellow scarf, urged them to pay no heed. “Women are the power of this country, women are the main pillar of this society,” Ali said. “I ask all women to come out and vote to bring change for our countryit’s very important.” Her mother-in-law Shaheen Ilyas agreed. “We have great hopes for this election, our area is developing and we hope it will continue. That’s why we have brought the whole family to vote,” she said. Rana Mohammad Iqbal, 75, a retired shopkeeper, said he had no fear of attacks, despite Taleban threats to send
suicide bombers to polling stations. “Voting is our duty and I am confident everyone will come out to vote to change Pakistan,” he said. For housewife Ali’s four young children the trip to the polling station in the leafy grounds of a government technology college was to make sure mum and grandma voted for the lion-the election symbol of frontrunner Nawaz Sharif. Sharif ’s nephew, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, is standing from the constituency and the ex-PM’s glamorous daughter Maryam was mobbed by media as she arrived amid heavy security to cast her ballot, as supporters gathered to chant “PM Nawaz Sharif!” Polling booths were set up in the college’s auto repair workshops, where students learn to fix cars and motorbikes-an apt setting as Sharif built Pakistan’s only motorway during his last term as PM in the 1990s and has pledged to jump-start the country’s economy. Nawaz himself is expected to cast his vote later. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party has been campaigning hard in Lahore and on the streets the party’s flags far outnumber
those of Sharif’s PML-N. But for local trader Saeed Anwar, billionaire tycoon Sharif is the one candidate who understands what is needed to get Pakistan’s stalled economy motoring again. “Nawaz Sharif is the only person who can change this country-there is nobody in Pakistan like him,” the 46-year-old said. “Because Nawaz is a businessman he knows about business, that’s why he is the most suitable candidate.” The outgoing government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was widely criticized for failing the economy and doing little to address huge energy shortages that cripple industry and make ordinary people’s lives a misery. But Sajida Mir, a PPP voter, said people should give the party credit for constitutional reforms that have strengthened democracy and for the Benazir Income Support Program that has helped poor women. The 2008 election, held under the shadow of military rule, was marred by allegations of rigging and fraud, but a Pakistani poll observer in Lahore yesterday said the vote seemed to be going well. — AFP
India ElectraCard hit in $45m heist Two Mideast banks named as victims DUBAI: One of the credit card processing companies whose security was breached in a $45 million global cyber heist was India’s ElectraCard Services, according to two people familiar with the situation. ElectraCard Services processes prepaid travel cards for National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK), one of two Middle Eastern banks named by US prosecutors on Thursday as victims of the heist, the people said. The prosecutors said an international criminal gang made two coordinated hits on cash machines around the world, withdrawing $5 million on Dec. 21 last year and a further $40 million on Feb. 19 this year. The gang was able to make big withdrawals after hacking into an Indian and a US credit card processing company to raise the balances and withdrawal limits on MasterCard prepaid debit cards, the prosecutors said. They did not name the processing companies. A US official and an employee of RAKBANK in Dubai both said the Indian card processor - used in the heist on Dec 21, 2012 - was ElectraCard Services, which is based in Pune, India. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity. Ramesh Mengawade, the CEO of ElectraCard Services and its parent firm, Opus Software Solutions, could not be reached through his executive assistant or through e-mail on Saturday. Calls to the mobile phone of another company official were not answered. An official at an external public relations firm that works with ElectraCard also said he had not been able to reach Mengawade on Saturday and did not have immediate comment. RAKBANK has said two of its Prepaid MasterCard Cards have been launched with the support of ElectraCard. MasterCard bought a 12.5 percent stake in ElectraCard in 2010, ElectraCard has said. MasterCard has said it had cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and
stressed that its systems were not involved or compromised in the attacks. Cyber security experts said the global scope and speed of the $45 million bank theft was unprecedented. The global gang had operatives in 27 countries who could fan out to thousands of ATMs in a matter of hours, and withdraw money using fraudulent prepaid debit cards, according to US prosecutors. The US Justice Department gave details of the heist on Thursday in an indictment against eight men accused of being the New York cell of the organization. The department said seven of the men have been arrested. Dominican police on Friday confirmed that the eighth, Alberto Lajud-Pena, allegedly the leader of the New York cell, was shot dead in a robbery attempt in the Dominican Republic on April 27. Investigators found $100,000 in cash in the house where he was killed, as well as an M-16 assault rifle, two 9 mm pistols, a revolver, ammunition clips and a telescopic sight. It was not clear if the killing or the money were related to the cyber thefts. Also on Friday, German prosecutors said they arrested two Dutch citizens, a man and a woman, on Feb 19, who were withdrawing cash at machines in Duesseldorf from accounts at Bank of Muscat of Oman, the other bank named by US prosecutors. The ringleaders of the global operation were believed to be outside the United States, but US prosecutors have declined to give details, citing the continuing investigation. Germany is the only other country so far to announce arrests. PREPAID CARDS Experts in cyber security said the heists expose an Achilles heel in the global financial industry: prepaid debit cards. Prepaid cards have fewer controls on them than on regular credit and debit cards issued by banks. Each prepaid card issued is like a blank
slate: anonymous, new, and lacking any credit history or individual behavior pattern against which bankers and payment processors can measure activity to look for red flags. A thief moving from ATM to ATM with a personal credit card would likely quickly raise alarms, because his or her behavior would look out of place compared to the credit card user’s normal activity, experts said. RAKBANK said the fraud against it took place at the end of last year and resulted in losses of around $4.7 million for the United Arab Emirates-based lender. The bank said the loss had been fully provided for before it closed its 2012 accounts. RAKBANK Chief Executive Graham Honeybill said he believed the fraud went wider than lenders in the Gulf region. “We are given to understand that the overall fraud encompassed a number of banks not only in the Middle East but in the USA and other countries,” Honeybill said in a statement. “The bank can confirm that none of its customers suffered any financial loss as a result of this fraud,” he added. While full details of the latest heists were still unknown, cyber experts said such conspiracies typically come together in Internet forums, where hackers can exchange or sell information and recruit others. Gaining access to such private websites can take years of cultivating an online reputation for extraordinary trust or skill. “It’s sort of like Craigslist for cyber criminals,” said Jason Weinstein, a lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson who previously supervised the Justice Department’s computer crime unit. In the early stages, one or more geeks install computer viruses inside networks, then spend days or weeks gathering detailed information about a bank’s operations as they plan the job. As they get ready to carry out the job, “carders” produce fake payment cards by coding the stolen account numbers onto magnetic strips. —Reuters
Joy, disbelief in Bangladesh over a ‘miraculous’ rescue Factory collapse death toll hits 1,089 DHAKA: As hope faded of finding any more survivors of Bangladesh’s factory collapse, Reshma Begum’s family cherished one modest prayer: that hers would be the next body to be excavated from the rubble so they could at least give her a decent burial. Instead, Begum, 19, was brought back from the dead and hoisted on to a stretcher on Friday after rescuers saw her waving an aluminum curtain rail from a gap in the ruins where she had spent 17 days trapped in a lightless, tomb-like chamber.
When her brother, Zahidul Islam, 33, was led into the military hospital where his sister lay prone, but strong enough to mutter a few words, he was overwhelmed by tears. “‘Brother don’t weep,’ Reshma told me,” Islam said in a telephone interview with Reuters. As army doctors and officers looked on, Islam threw aside his inhibitions, stepped forward and hugged his younger sibling. “Straight away I fainted, then I was taken away by the army personnel,” Islam added. “The same thing happened to my mother when
SAVAR: Reshma Begum, who survived 17 days before being rescued from a collapsed garment factory building, receives treatment at a hospital in Savar, near Dhaka yesterday. — AP
she learned that Reshma was still alive.” Major Moazzem Hossain, who was involved in the rescue, said Begum had managed to say a few more words yesterday about her ordeal. “At some point I fell asleep but suddenly I woke up and it was difficult to know whether it was day or night,” Hossain quoted Begum as saying. Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Morshed, a military physician, said that Begum was recovering well. “Her kidneys and other essential organs are working normally though she is suffering from acute dehydration,” Morshed said. Live televised scenes of Begum’s salvation transfixed Bangladesh, where waves of grief have rolled from the disaster site to engulf far-flung villages where many of the young women and men who staffed the sewing lines were born. In common with other relatives of the missing, Begum’s family had travelled from their village to gather at a schoolground near the ruined factory in Savar, a gritty industrial suburb outside the capital Dhaka, where families kept a somber vigil for their missing loved ones. Hours before Begum was found, emergency crews had pulled the 1,000th corpse from the heap of rubble, twisted metal and machinery. The army said the death toll from the April 24 collapse, the world’s worst industrial disaster since Bhopal in India in 1984, had reached 1,089 by yesterday. —Reuters
LAHORE: Pakistani women display their national identity cards as they wait to cast their vote at a polling station in Lahore yesterday. — AFP
India, China working on new border agreement NEW DELHI: India said yesterday it was working with China on a new border defense cooperation agreement as the neighbors seek to repair the damage from a border flare-up that highlighted longrumbling tensions. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid made the statement following a two-day trip to China aimed at paving the way for the visit to India later this month of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. He told reporters in New Delhi that special representatives of India and China will meet in a couple of months to discuss the issues. “China proposed sometime back a proposal for Border Defense Cooperation Agreement. We have also given our suggestions,” he said. On the recent alleged incursion by Chinese troops into Indianclaimed territory in the Himalayas, he said India would “not do any post-mortem or apportion blame”, adding his Chinese hosts had been “extremely friendly”. The world’s two most populous countries have in recent years seen relations improve and trade boom, and both sides had sought to stay low-key over the latest row, which lasted several weeks. Khurshid said the two countries were “both equally determined that such incidents should not be able to obstruct a very meaningful growth in our
relationship”. The latest standoff began in mid-April when India accused Chinese soldiers of setting up camp nearly 20 kilometers inside a region claimed by India. Beijing dismissed the accusation at the time as the “speculation of some Indian people”, saying Chinese troops “have never trespassed the line”. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying has said that thanks to “joint efforts” both sides “properly handled” the incident. The informal frontier dividing the two countries, called the Line of Actual Control (LAC), has never been formally demarcated, although the two sides have signed accords to maintain peace in the area. Analysts say that Li’s heading to New Delhi so soon after taking office in March indicated that China viewed India as increasingly important. Ties between the neighbors have been dogged by mutual suspicion that lingers long after a 1962 border war high in the Himalayas. The planned visit made the latest border incident perplexing since it damaged efforts to strengthen ties, analysts said, adding that it possibly suggested a failure of civilmilitary coordination. Small incursions of a few kilometers across the disputed boundary occur regularly but it is unusual for either side to set up camps far inside disputed territory. — AFP
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Chinese rehabilitate fathers in forgotten war TAIPEI: Yang Jingtao did what many young, brave Chinese did - he left his home as a teenager to fight the invading Japanese in World War II. The problem was he fought while wearing the uniform of the Nationalist Chinese Army, condemning Yang to be shunned and reviled in China’s often brutal politics after the Communist Party defeated the Nationalists and took control of the country four years after the end of the war. But now, 10 years after Yang died, official attitudes toward him, and an estimated 20,000 others who stayed in China instead of fleeing to Taiwan after the Nationalists lost the civil war, are slowly changing. They may not be the heroes who vanquished the Japanese - the Communists still take credit for that - but they also are no longer the enemy. They owe their enhanced status to a small group of Chinese - mostly descendants of the war veterans themselves who used documents and photographs from a relatively forgotten theater in the anti-Japanese struggle to shed light on their heroism. It also reflects a warming of relations between China and Taiwan, and a slight softening of how the Communist Party views the Nationalist soldiers it fought, especially as it tries to reach out to Taiwan to show that it is more friend than foe. Hundreds of the photographs were displayed in Taipei in April in a rare exhibition that brought five of the veter-
ans’ sons to the capital of what was once enemy territory - the island of Taiwan, to which Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and hundreds of thousands of his followers fled after their defeat. The exhibit followed two similar shows in China’s Yunnan province, where one of the fiercest battles took place. There have also been books and photo collections published to reach out to tens of thousands of younger mainland Chinese. “The images walk us through a time tunnel ... back to the days when those young soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country and for their people,” said Yang’s son, Yang Yankang, who traveled from China for the exhibition. His father was 18 when he left his farming village in Shandong province for southwestern China on the eve of the war. He fought from 1942 to 1944 in Yunnan in the rugged terrain of China’s southwest. He survived that, but not the taint of being on the wrong side of the civil war. Like other Nationalist veterans, Yang especially suffered during the chaotic 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, when his home was searched and he was harassed and branded a counter-revolutionary. The younger Yang said his father never spoke about his war experiences and even destroyed his war-related documents and photos to avoid additional retribution from China’s communist rulers. Branded “old remnants” of the hated
Secretly fast and furious in HK street world HONG KONG: As night begins to give way to dawn, 40 high-performance cars pull up on an empty Hong Kong backstreet. While the city sleeps, their revving engines fill the air with a heavy smell of petrol. The drivers huddle together to set the route, always at the last possible minute. One of them spots the red and blue glare of police lights and they scramble to their cars, regrouping a few miles away to continue the race. By day, Eva is a nurse. For one night each week she is also an illegal street racer-one of hundreds in Hong Kong who are bound by their addiction to breakneck speed. With the engine of her black Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII modified to generate maximum power, the 25year old is only the second woman to join an illicit club whose members include teachers, businessmen, lawyers, and even a Taoist priest. Most of them would not even cross a pedestrian walkway on a red light in the day-jaywalking is an offence in Hong Kong-but the rules of a normally ordered city are put to one side in this twilight world of street racing. Tearing along public roads at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, Eva is fiercely proud of her secret identity as an illegal racer-one that she never plans to reveal to her parents. “They cannot imagine what racing is because I’m a girl and I’m a little girl in their eyes... So I will not tell my parents. I don’t want to bother them.” While illegal street racing is a global phenomenon, rife in cities from Los Angeles to Sydney and Kuala Lumpur, in Hong Kong it is as much about being part of a racing community as it is a battle on the road. “Every day we do the same thing, the same time. And then suddenly we can have our time to drive together,” says Alex, 27, who has been racing for four years. Blazing down a clear road normally clogged with traffic unleashes the tension of living in an overcrowded city, he explains. All other cars are obstacles “when you’re driving at 250 kilometers an hour,” the jewelry trader says. “All of them are walls. I’m the one who can win, win the road... I’m king of the road.” Alex didn’t overtake anyone on this particular morning, after noticing an unmarked police car following friends ahead, but drove at more than 200 kilometers per hour on a road where the speed limit is 70. A DANGEROUS, SELFISH ACT The potentially devastating consequences of racing are far from the minds of the drivers comparing cars after the “morning drive”-the seemingly innocuous term they use to describe breaking the rules of the road.” When I’m driving very fast, I feel I’ve combined with the car. The car is part of my body. I am in control,” says one 36-year-old,
even though like most racers she knows at least one person who has had an accident while speeding. Hong Kong police said there are no figures on injuries caused by illegal racing and there have been no related deaths in recent years, but stress that one fatal case would be one too many. “Road racing is a highly dangerous and selfish act that puts other members of the public in severe danger... What we want to try and do is to make sure that the road is safe,” Inspector Ngai Chun-yip, who heads the illegal road racing unit in the northern territories of Hong Kong, told AFP. Last year there was an eight percent rise in the number of illegal racing complaints compared to the year before. Ngai led 291 anti-racing operations, increasingly using online videos uploaded by racers to help track them down. Richard was one of the 1,700 people prosecuted in the crackdown. Back at the winding road where he was caught speeding, he points at the bushes in which police rigged speed cameras. After 120 hours of community service and losing his driving license for a year, the 41-year-old says he rarely races anymore. “If I really want to drive fast, maybe I will go to China (and use) the racing track. But not on the roads in Hong Kong.” He added that if arrested again he may face jail and would lose his job as an English tutor. Police describe racing in the city as an ad-hoc rather than a large-scale or well-organized activity. The racers gathered for breakfast paint a different picture. Morning or midnight races take place every week in several different parts of the territory, while there are also more spontaneous contests when drivers eye a willing competitor on the street or simply take a chance to rip down highways alone. Beneath the racing community ’s camaraderie lurks an undeniable sense of the status that cars and racing bring. “ There are too many rich people in Hong Kong. All my friends race, all own sports cars. Most of it is to show off,” says Nick, who owns a Porsche and a Ford Focus rs500. With the cost of cars and modifications-faster wheels and engines or louder exhausts-running into hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s an expensive as well as a risky way to make a mark. Amateur racers have long been lobbying for an official race track in Hong Kong which they claim will stop people racing illegally on the streets. Some already cross the border into mainland China to use a circuit where two races over a weekend can cost as much as $10,000. Others admit a track will never replace the thrill of racing on public roads. “You cannot match the excitement,” says Nick. “Some people will always race on the streets.” — AFP
Nationalists, he and his children were denied good jobs and educational opportunities. The photos in the exhibition were taken by US army photographers, stored at the US National Archives, and scanned and assembled by a Chinese team that included Yang’s son. They show some of the 70,000 Nationalist soldiers who battled their way into strategic towns occupied by the Japanese to reopen a crucial ground route for the transport of US- and British-provided materials from India to the Chinese interior during the 1942-1944 period. Yang began trying to discover the truth behind his father’s wartime experiences in 1999, when he joined a Chinese team in Yunnan looking for clues about the Nationalists’ exploits. Among his coworkers was Zhang Dongpan, a businessman also from China’s booming coastal city of Shenzhen. Zhang’s parents both left their homes at the age of 17 to fight the Japanese, along with other relatives, some fighting with the Nationalists and others with the Communists. “We were very curious about what’s been hidden from us,” Zhang said. He said the photos also shed light on American participation in the Yunnan battlefield, another fact long disputed, if not deliberately ignored, by China’s communist leaders. Zhang pointed to one picture showing a U.S. observation plane
TAIPEI: A visitor walks past a photograph of American and Chinese soldiers sharing a smoke outside of a massive exhibition of lost World War II photos in Taipei, Taiwan. — AP transporting a wounded Chinese soldier Yang and his team as part of a new wave to a medical station. In another, an of activists, eager to redress the wrongs American pushes a car stuck on the rain- done to the Nationalist veterans. “The soaked, muddy highway. Loaded with the Communists now appear willing to bodies of 13 Chinese soldiers, it was on its accept many of their claims,” he said. “The way to a burial ground. only stipulation is that they don’t chalTaiwanese historian Chang Li said as lenge the Communist version of events, many as 20,000 Nationalist veterans who which assigns the leading role in the antisurvived the Yunnan campaign may have Japanese struggle to their own stayed in the mainland. He described Communist troops.” — AP
Myanmar on red alert Bay of Bengal cyclone grows YANGON: Myanmar’s authorities were on alert yesterday as a cyclone threatened to hit the west of the country where around 140,000 people displaced by communal violence languish in flood-prone camps. Local radio in Rakhine State, rocked last year by violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, issued warnings while loudspeakers relayed messages to people in villages, Ye Htut spokesman for the President’s Office said on his official Facebook page. Meteorologists said it was unclear whether the cyclone, which on Saturday was barreling through the Bay of Bengal, would hit Rakhine over the next days or veer further west to neighbouring Bangladesh, which is better equipped to deal with severe weather. “Cyclone Mahasen...
is forecast to move northwest (through the Bay) and likely to intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm within (the) next 24 hours,” according to advice posted on the website of Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. Heavy rain and strong winds are expected to follow the storm, it said, urging people with fishing boats and other vessels off Myanmar’s northwestern coast to seek shelter. Rakhine, one of Myanmar’s poorest and most remote states, is particularly vulnerable to heavy storms, with makeshift camps housing tens of thousands of mainly Rohingya people displaced by an eruption of communal violence last year. The capital Sittwe, home to many of the camps, is low-lying
and located on the coast. In March the UN warned of “yet another tragedy when the monsoon rains hit (the region)” with displaced people-already short of food, shelter and medicinehaving nowhere to go if a storm strikes. Thousands of Rohingya have fled the unrest and insanitary camp conditions in recent months on rickety boats, mostly believed to be heading for Malaysia. Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship. Around 140,000 people died when c yclone Nargis devastated Myanmar ’s Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008. The cost of repairing the damage was estimated at over four billion dollars. — AFP
Crucial reforms at stake in Philippine vote MANILA: The Philippines holds elections tomorrow seen as crucial to popular President Benigno Aquino’s efforts to transform society, but with deadly violence, corruption, and nepotism posing familiar threats. More than 18,000 positions will be contested in the mid-term electionsfrom the town level up to the nation’s Congress-and Aquino is banking on landslide wins for his allies to cement his reform agenda. “The president needs to be able to have a strong coalition in both houses of Congress to be able to push through critical measures,” Budget Secretary and ruling Liberal Party powerbroker Florencio Abad said. Since taking office in 2010 following a landslide election win, Aquino has maintained record high popularity ratings while overseeing strong economic growth and efforts to tackle corruption that have won international acclaim. In the Philippines, presidents can only serve one term of six years, and Aquino has said he is determined to leave a permanent legacy that will ensure the Philippines is no longer the “sick man of Asia”. One key plank is ending a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the south of the country that has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and stifled economic growth. Aquino is close to signing a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main rebel group, but he will then need Congress to endorse the pact. All the seats in the lower house and half in the Senate are being contested in the mid-term elections. The Philippines has a plethora of parties, and politicians frequently shift allegiances, so controlling parliament is extremely difficult. But Aquino secured support for key reform initiatives in his first three years in office, and he is confident that big victories in both chambers today will ensure an even more productive second half of his term. Abad said other initiatives that Aquino was eyeing over the next
three years included expanding the tax base to pay for a better social safety net, and reform of the mining sector so that big firms pay higher taxes. However, deep-rooted problems that have plagued the Philippines for decades are expected to again impact today’s election, and continue to haunt the political landscape long after Aquino has left office. The Philippines is infamous for a brutal brand of democracy where politicians-particularly at the local and provincial levels-are willing to bribe, intimidate or kill to ensure they win. More than 50 people have already been killed in election-related violence, including candidates and their aides. Philippine military and police
will be on high alert today in a bid to stamp out any last-minute attacks. Efforts by the election commission to curb violence and vote-buying turned into farce in the final days of campaigning, when the Supreme Court blocked the commission from enforcing controversial bans on selling alcohol and carrying large amounts of money. Activists have warned that political dynasties which dominate politics in the Philippines, including the Aquino clan, are set to strengthen their chokehold on the country. The Philippines is ruled by remarkably few families-with roughly 70 percent of the members of current Congress belonging to a dynasty-and polls are showing the elite are set to become even more dominant. A host of color-
ful names are contesting the elections, including boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who is seeking a second term as a member of the lower house. Pacquiao, a former street kid but now one of the country’s richest men, is looking to create his own dynasty. His wife, Jinkee, is running to become vice governor of a southern province despite having no political experience, while one of his brothers is also running for Congress. Imelda Marcos, wife of dead dictator Ferdinand, is almost certain to win a second term in the lower house at the age of 83 representing a northern province where her family enjoys dynastic rule. Her daughter is running unopposed for provincial governor. — AFP
MANILA: A supporter of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada puts stickers of Estrada caricatures on his torso as he attends a political rally in Manila. — AFP
Taiwan threatens sanctions over Philippines shooting TAIPEI: President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday Taiwan would consider sanctions against the Philippines amid widespread public outrage at Manila over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman. “We will definitely seek justice for our fisherman. We will not rule out the possibility of taking any kind of sanctions” against the Philippines, Ma said while inspecting a coastguard drill in central Taiwan. “The Philippines shot an unarmed fishing boat. This is very brutal and cold-blooded,” he said, reiterating Taipei’s demand for Manila to apologize, apprehend the killer and compensate. Some Taiwanese lawmakers urged the government to freeze the hiring of Philippine workers to protest after the Philippines
admitted its coastguard had fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat. Taiwanese authorities said 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng was killed during Thursday’s incident, which also left the boat riddled with more than 50 bullet holes. Abigail Valte, a spokeswoman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino, told a government radio station that authorities had launched a “transparent and impartial investigation” into the incident. She expressed hopes that economic ties with Taipei will not be affected and added that the coastguard crew involved in the incident have been temporarily suspended to ensure a fair probe. “Let’s wait for the investigation,” Aquino’s spokesman
Ricky Carandang said when asked to comment on Taiwan’s sanctions threat. Ma’s government has come under pressure from the opposition and the media to take action, with the Philippines refusing to apologize and saying the coastguard was tackling illegal fishing. Philippine coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said Friday the incident took place in Philippine waters and the Filipino personnel had been properly carrying out their duties to stop illegal fishing. “If somebody died, they deserve our sympathy but not an apology,” Balilo told reporters. Hung’s son has insisted that the boat did not cross into Philippine waters. The Taipei-based China Times called the incident a “criminal case” and demanded Manila shoulder the full respon-
sibility. “The Philippines’ uncivilized action apparently violated maritime convention, the Taiwan government must take strong counter moves to defend our fishermen’s rights and prevent similar tragedy,” it said in an editorial. The Apple Daily newspaper called the shooting “an act of brigands” and said Taiwanese people “angrily demand the blood debt be paid”. Some Taiwanese Internet users allegedly attacked and temporarily paralyzed several Philippine government websites Friday night, according to Apple Daily. The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions around the region over rival claims to the nearby South China Sea. China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims to parts of the sea. — AFP
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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US Supreme Court readies historic rulings By Chantal Valery he US Supreme Court is preparing to hand down one of the most significant sequences of judgments in US history, with upcoming rulings expected to have far-reaching consequences for millions of Americans. The nine-justice panel must issue opinions on outstanding cases it has heard in fall and winter sessions by the end of June. They are set to rule on cases involving hot button issues such as gay marriage, equal opportunities in education and voter rights for minorities. The first of the keenly awaited opinions could be released as early as Monday, with analysts tipping the possibility of a resolution to a case revolving around the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Texas at Austin. An undergraduate student, Abigail Fisher has challenged the college’s decision to deny her admission because of racial quotas. Fisher argued that she had effectively been discriminated against because she was white, in violation of equal protection rules enshrined in the US Constitution. A separate case also seeks to address another crucial pillar of the civil rights struggle, looking into whether federal laws protecting minority voting rights were still warranted. In the most high-profile case, justices will rule on the legality of same-sex marriage following landmark oral hearings in March. Elizabeth Wydra, a lawyer at the Constitutional Accountability Center, said the upcoming rulings might even outweigh last year’s arguments on health care. “Everyone thought that last term was the term of the century because of the health care arguments,” Wydra told AFP. “But this term might be even more historic because the Court is considering the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, one of America’s most iconic civil rights laws, the constitutionality of providing for equal opportunity in higher education in the affirmative action case, and a fundamental question of equality in the same-sex marriage cases. It’s a very important term for millions of Americans who want to enjoy their constitutional right to equality.” Wydra said attempting to predict which way the court would lean in its opinions was fraught with difficulty, believing that the views of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has often held the swing vote on close decisions in the past, may again be key. The Supreme Court justices are supposed to be independent, but five of them were selected by Republican presidents and are mostly conservative, while four picked by Democrats and tend to be liberal. Kennedy, appointed by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1988, is often the swing vote. “This term, in particular, it’s very risky to bet on what the Supreme Court will do,” Wydra said. “This will be again a term where Justice Kennedy’s vote in many cases could be the deciding factor. It’s very likely that Justice Kennedy will write the opinion and could very well be the decisive vote in the affirmative action case.” Meanwhile Elise Boddie, the litigation director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund, said the opinions on the two civil rights cases before the justices on affirmative action programs in college and minority voting rights - would have a massive sociological impact. “ The cases are enormously important because ultimately the issues that are at stake are protecting opportunities in higher education for African-Americans and protecting the opportunity to participate in our democracy, tremendously important issues that will affect the landscape of opportunity and inclusion in the country,” Boddie said. “We’ll be watching every Justice in these cases to see how they vote. We are optimistic about these cases, because we think that at the end of the day the justices will recognize the importance of opportunities in high education and that no door should be closed to under-represented groups.” — AFP
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World grapples with rise in cyber crime By Paisley Dodds nternational law enforcement agencies say the recent $45 million dollar ATM heist is just one of many scams they’re fighting in an unprecedented wave of sophisticated cyberattacks. Old-school robberies by masked criminals are being eclipsed by stealth multimillion dollar cybercrime operations which are catching companies and investigators by surprise. “We are seeing an unprecedented number of cyberscams that include phishing for financial data, viruses, credit card fraud and others,” Marcin Skowronek, an investigator at Europol’s European Cybercrime Center in The Hague said yesterday. “In Europe, we are generally quite well protected against some types of fraud because of the chip and pin technology we use, but there are still shops and machines around the world who still take cards without chips. And the most popular destinations for this type of fraud are the United States and the Dominican Republic.” US Investigators said Thursday a gang hit cash machines in 27 countries in two attacks - the first netting $5 million in December and then $40 million in February in a 10-hour spree that involved about 36,000 transactions. Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawal limits on prepaid debit cards and created access codes. Others loaded that data onto any plastic card even a hotel keycard - with a magnetic stripe. A similar scam yielded some 50 arrests this year in Europe during a joint police operation between Romanian police and Europol, Skowronek said. The operation took more than a year, involved some 400 police officers across Europe and required work comparing bank losses to illegal transactions and then cross-referencing suspects, said Skowronek, who said many national police forces were beefing up their undercover work in the cyberworld to catch criminals. Investigators found illegal workshops for producing devices and software to manipulate point-of-sale terminals. Illegal electronic equipment, financial data,
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cloned cards and cash were seized in raids in Britain and Romania. The group stole credit and debit card numbers and PIN codes by implanting card reading devices and malicious software on point-of-sale terminals. The criminals then used counterfeit payment cards with stolen data for further illegal transactions in countries that included Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United States. Some 36,000 debit card and credit card holders in some 16 countries were affected, Skowronek said. The amount stolen was unclear. Bank fraud, ATM scams and phishing are common in Romania, one of the most corrupt countries in the European Union, according to Transparency International which monitors and measures graft. Under the late communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was ousted and executed in 1989, Romanians specialized in mathematics and computer coding and criminal gangs have tapped into those skills. The tradition has continued and Romanian school students are more advanced in mathematics than many of their European counterparts. Nadine Spanu, a spokeswoman for Romania’s anticrime prosecutors, said yesterday she had no statement to offer on the $45 million heist or a possible Romania connection. Skimming works when criminals place devices on ATMs that copy consumers’ card details and leave them vulnerable to fraud. There have been similar cases in the United States and Britain. The EU is the world’s largest market for payment card transactions and it is estimated that organized crime groups derive more than Ä1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) a year from payment card fraud in the EU. Mike Urban, director of financial crime solutions at Fiserv, a Brookfield-Wisconsin-based company that provides financial technology to banks, credit unions and corporations across the world, says banks have not caught up with the threat of electronic crime. “Compare this to a physical bank security. If someone walks in today, they’re probably not going to get very much money, the dye pack is going to explode, they
will be caught on video, they’re probably not going to get away with it, and they’re probably going to spend a long time in jail,” said Urban. “Online, in the cyberworld, we’re not there yet.” One security loophole thieves have learned to exploit is the lack of real-time transactions in ATMspeak. Known as the “Gone in 60 Seconds” scam, thieves deposit money and then make coordinated cash-advance withdrawals in various places - but all in less than 60 seconds so the machines essentially regard all of the withdrawals as one transaction. In October, some 14 people were charged following an FBI-led investigation into the theft of more than $1 million from Citibank using the 60-second scam. The simultaneous transactions at casinos in California and Nevada tricked the system into thinking that they were one transaction. Even on some joint accounts where both partners have cards for the same account, users can often bypass withdrawal limits if the transactions are done at the same time. “This type of attack might be preventable if ATM networks were able to monitor transactions in real time for unusually large numbers of transactions involving individual cards or cards from the same issuing institution. Unfortunately, that type of infrastructure doesn’t exist today, but perhaps it’s time to consider creating and implementing it now, especially after this latest attack,” said Tom Cross, director of security research at the Lancope, a company specializing in flow analysis for security and network per formance based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Police Maj Gen Pisit Paoin, chief of Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division, said in a telephone interview Saturday that Thai police have arrested more than 20 suspects involved in the $45 million cyber heist including those from Bulgaria, Bangladesh and eastern Europe. He said that in the latest arrest in early April, a group of Bangladeshi and Malaysian suspects were using about 50 cards to withdraw cash from machines in Bangkok for a month and took out about 10 million baht ($336,000). — AP
The solar paradox: Boom, bust or both? By Christoph Steitz lanned European levies on Chinese solar panels will only go some way to halt a rout among equipment makers who face the paradox of a booming market but falling revenues - and could suffer even more if a trade war erupts. Huge European subsidies for solar power helped create hundreds of startups building solar equipment. Those subsidies are being phased out faster than expected, while greater competition within Europe and the United States as well as from China have pushed down prices and forced panel manufacturers to the wall. “It’s a storm that’s even worse than feared, hitting everyone unable to lower costs fast enough,” said Bjoern Glueck, fund manager at wealth management firm Lupus Alpha, adding any firms that could not withstand the pressure were next in line. Since its all-time high in Dec 2007, the FTSE 50 cleantech index of the world’s largest renewable energy groups is down 56 percent. The rout has been broad. Data from research firm IHS shows the number of companies making solar hardware such as the silicon used in solar cells, the individual energy-producing cells themselves or the arrays of connected cells that form a solar panel - has plunged to 150 from 750 three years ago. Global revenue is expected to fall this year to $75 billion, down from $94 billion in 2011. But paradoxically, the fall in prices for panels which has hurt manufacturers has helped sustain demand despite the withdrawal of subsidies, meaning companies such as those that install household solar equipment have continued to thrive.
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Companies that assemble panels have been hit particularly badly, as their products are much easier to replicate than those of other firms involved in the industry, such as firms that produce the polysilicon material used to make cells, or manufacturers of inverters, devices that are used to hook panels to the grid. China’s top panel maker Suntech put its main manufacturing unit Wuxi Suntech into insolvency proceedings in March, following Germany’s Q-Cells, which filed for insolvency last year and was then bought by South Korea’s Hanwha. Even large and wealthy conglomerates like Germany’s Siemens and Bosch, have pulled out of solar, pointing to the severe crisis that has gripped the industry for years. SolarWorld, once Germany’s largest solar panel maker and long immune to the global industry woes, is also struggling to strike a debt restructuring deal with creditors. Sources say such a deal could hand ownership of the firm to hedge funds and Qatar. The new proposed tariffs on Chinese solar imports could backfire on Europe. China, the world’s No.2 solar market behind Germany in 2012, is expected to become the biggest market this year, according to industry association EPIA, and Asia as a whole could also overtake Europe. Western solar panel maker have long been at odds with their Chinese counterparts, accusing them of receiving credit lines to offer modules cheaply in Europe while protecting their own market, where European companies have made little headway. European panel makers can little afford to be frozen out of the growing Chinese market. China has already threatened in the past to put punitive tariffs on EU
exports of solar-grade polysilicon, a move that would hit companies such as Germany’s Wacker Chemie, the world’s No.2 maker of the material. “This situation is weighing on the market,” the group’s Chief Executive Rudolf Staudigl said earlier this week. Yet despite the bloodbath among companies in the manufacturing sector, solar capacity is being sold and installed at record rates. There are still good reasons to invest in panels themselves, if not in the companies which make them. Europe is still aiming to make 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020, from about 13 percent in 2011. This year, the volume of installed panels around the world is expected to rise at least 12.5 percent to more than 35 gigawatts, according to data from electronics consultancy IMS Research. That is still only equivalent to about 0.2 percent of global electricity production. “The conflicting trend of growing PV (photovoltaic) installation volumes accompanied on the other hand by falling revenues will challenge solar companies to continue to reduce their cost structures,” said Ash Sharma, director of solar research at IMS parent firm IHS. According to GTM Research, a green tech analysis firm, solar panel production costs are expected to fall to $0.42 per watt by 2015, from $1.29 per watt in 2009. Cost cuts are putting solar power further along the road to “grid parity” - the ultimate goal of making it cheaper to install solar power than to buy conventional electricity from the grid. Solar companies have launched cost cutting programs, ranging from job cuts and factory closures to reducing of invest-
ment into research and development. The remaining production costs include polysilicon, the main raw material for the industry, which is produced by groups including Wacker Chemie and Hemlock Semiconductor, a joint venture between Dow Corning, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Mitsubishi Materials. The solar panel glut and consolidation is reminiscent of the computer chip industry, which suffered massive price drops as Asian manufacturers took on US and European incumbents. The problems for solar equipment manufacturers have been exacerbated by feasting on subsidies, only to see them taken away as the market has taken off. With costs still higher than coal or natural gas, demand for solar power has been spurred by rules that subsidise payments to those who generate power and feed it into the grid - so called feed-in tariffs. But those subsidies have been withdrawn faster than expected. In Germany, the biggest market, subsidies have been cut by more than half in the last four years. While companies that manufacture solar panels have been losing out, the price of equipment has fallen fast enough to keep demand strong despite the lower subsidies. Those who installed solar equipment in Germany in a few years ago are still earning returns on investment of about 15 percent. More than a fifth of new European solar capacity last year was in private households, good news for hundreds of small and mid-sized companies that install it. “That part of the market has done well in the past and continues to do so,” said Thorsten Preugschas, CEO of German firm Soventix which helps home owners choose solar systems. — Reuters
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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US judge blocks sale of Bryant’s jersey, rings
Golf World Cup to be staged in Melbourne
Swann, Bresnan back in England Test squad
NEWARK: A federal judge has temporarily blocked an auction house from selling basketball great Kobe Bryant’s jerseys, championship rings and other memorabilia worth up to $1 million in a case stemming from a dispute between the Los Angeles Lakers and his mother. The All-Star guard has asked the courts to halt the sale of his belongings, which are in possession of his mother, Pamela Bryant, saying he had not been consulted and only learned of the sale in a press release issued by Goldin Auctions. “Although Pamela Bryant maintained possession of certain of plaintiff’s personal property for benefit of plaintiff, he never granted his mother ownership of that property, nor the right to co-sign such property for auction,” an attorney for Bryant said in a May 6 complaint filed in a California court. US District Judge Andrew Guilford in Santa Ana, Calif., on May 8 issued a temporary restraining order blocking the sale until a scheduled May 13 hearing. Goldin Auctions, which has filed a suit to have the June sale move forward, said Bryant’s mother contacted the company in December with an offer to sell the items, including her son’s Lower Merion High School jersey and six rings, one of which is his 2000 Lakers championship ring.—Reuters
MELBOURNE: Australia’s Royal Melbourne Golf Club will host this year’s edition of the World Cup of Golf, which has been played in China since 2007, the tournament’s promoters said yesterday. Mission Hills Group, which has hosted the tournament five times in China, said the 57th edition would be held in Melbourne in November to ensure it maintained its global status. “Mission Hills recognises the need to maintain the tournament’s prestigious global status, and as such we feel that both the tournament and the international golfing community will benefit from the 2013 edition being staged outside China,” Mission Hills Group Vice Chairman Tenniel Chu said in a statement. “We do, however, remain supportive of the tournament and are committed to hosting the event again when the tournament returns to China. “Following the recent success of Australian players in international tournaments and the country’s status as a leading international golf destination, Australia will be proud to host this tournament once again and we wish the Royal Melbourne Golf Club every success with this year’s event,” added Chu. Melbourne has staged the tournament on three occasions, the last being in 1988. The United States have won the event a record 24 times, including the last edition in 2011 where Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland triumphed at China’s Hainan Island.—Reuters
LONDON: Paceman Tim Bresnan and off-spinner Graeme Swann have returned from elbow surgeries to join the England squad for the first Test against New Zealand, starting at Lord’s on Thursday. “Both Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan have worked hard to regain fitness following elbow surgery and have demonstrated through their performances for their counties that they are ready for the challenge of international cricket,” national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement on Saturday. Both bowlers missed England’s 0-0 drawn series in New Zealand earlier this year because of their elbow injuries. “We are anticipating another very competitive series against New Zealand and know that we will need to improve significantly on our performances in the recent test series against them if we are to start the international summer on a positive note,” added Miller. “This series provides a good opportunity for the players to show that they have learnt from the experiences over the winter.” The presence of pace trio James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn in the Alastair Cook-led squad means Bresnan cannot take his place in the team for granted.—Reuters
Red Sox halt losing streak BOSTON: Jon Lester pitched a one-hitter Friday night, allowing only Maicer Izturis’ two-out double in the sixth inning, and the Boston Red Sox broke a three-game losing streak with a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Just nine days shy of the fifth anniversary of his no-hitter, the left-hander retired the first 17 batters before Izturis lined a clean double several feet over the outstretched arm of third baseman Will Middlebrooks that landed just inside the foul line. Lester then ended the inning by striking out pinch hitter Adam Lind. Lester (5-0) allowed just one of the remaining nine batters to hit the ball out of the infield and finished with five strikeouts. YANKEES 11, ROYALS 6 In Kansas City, Lyle Overbay hit a tworun homer and finished with five RBIs, Ichiro Suzuki also hit a two-run shot and the Yankees opened their only series in Kansas City with a rout of the Royals. Overbay finished with a career-high four hits, Suzuki had three hits and Chris Nelson drove in a pair of runs for the Yankees, who gave manager Joe Girardi his 500th win in pinstripes. Girardi reached the milestone in his 844th game, one fewer than Billy Martin. The only Yankees managers to reach the mark faster were Casey Stengel, Joe McCarthy, Joe Torre and Miller Huggins. Phil Hughes (2-2) allowed six runs in 5 2-3 innings but still earned the victory, thanks to a slumbering offense that awoke against Royals starter Wade Davis and reliever Bruce Chen. Davis (2-3) allowed seven runs in five-plus innings. TIGERS 10, INDIANS 4 In Detroit, Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera each hit a long home run, and the Tigers beat the Indians. The Tigers scored three runs in the second and three more in the fourth. Fielder’s third-inning solo shot landed just below the No. 42 honoring Jackie Robinson on the brick facade beyond the wall in rightcenter field, giving Detroit a 4-1 lead. Cabrera’s three-run homer the following inning landed below Hank Greenberg’s retired No. 5 in left-center at Comerica Park. Detroit’s Max Scherzer (5-0) allowed four runs and five hits in eight innings. He struck out seven without a walk. Corey Kluber (2-2) allowed eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. RANGERS 4, ASTROS 2 In Houston, Jeff Baker hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh, and Texas relievers threw 3 1-3 hitless innings to lead the Rangers to a win over the Astros. Baker greeted Wesley Wright (0-1) with a leadoff home run to right field to give the Rangers their first lead of the night at 3-2. Robbie Ross (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 perfect innings before Tanner Scheppers pitched the eighth and Joe Nathan the ninth for his 10th save of the season. Nelson Cruz and David Murphy also hit home runs for the Rangers. Murphy’s shot leading off the ninth inning against Travis Blackley extended the Rangers’ lead. Trevor Crowe homered for Houston. ANGELS 7, WHITE SOX 5 In Chicago, Mike Trout had two hits, including the go-ahead single in the seventh inning, to lead the Angels to a 7-5 win over the White Sox. Hank Conger reached on Conor
Gillaspie’s error to start the inning and scored on Trout’s sharp single to right off reliever Matt Lindstrom that gave the Angels a 6-5 lead. J.B. Shuck then scored on a passed ball. The Angels built a 5-1 lead after Brendan Harris homered in the fourth. He had three hits and scored twice. The White Sox rallied in the bottom half of the inning scoring four to tie it. Michael Kohn (1-0) pitched an inning of scoreless relief for the win. Ernesto Frieri allowed a leadoff walk to Alexei Ramirez in the ninth but struck out the side and picked up his sixth save in seven attempts. Chicago starter Dylan Axelrod (0-3) took the loss. ORIOLES 9, TWINS 6 In Minneapolis, Manny Machado had a tiebreaking RBI single in Baltimore’s threerun as the Orioles rallied for a win over the Twins. Machado - who stayed in the game after fouling a ball off his ankle in the fifth rolled a single into right field that scored Chris Dickerson and broke a 6-all tie. Nick Markakis added a sacrifice fly and Adam Jones an RBI double to cap the scoring in the 10th. Tommy Hunter (3-1) didn’t allow a run in 2 1-3 innings. Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th for his 35th consecutive save - dating back to last season - to set an Orioles franchise record. Anthony Swarzak (1-1) allowed all three runs in the 10th. Baltimore scored all its runs in the last five innings after trailing 60 to start the sixth. MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 3 In Seattle, Hisashi Iwakuma retired 16 straight over one stretch of a solid seveninning outing, Raul Ibanez homered for the first time in nearly a month and the Mariners beat the Athletics. Iwakuma (4-1) took a one-hitter into the sixth inning before running into trouble, putting together another impressive outing to help cement himself and Felix Hernandez as one of the top rotation duos in baseball. Iwakuma has allowed five earned runs over his last five starts, and the number could have been even smaller if not for a scoring change that ended up tagging him with two earned runs against the A’s. Iwakuma pitched ahead nearly from the start after Seattle scored twice in the first off Oakland starter Dan Straily (1-1). Seattle broke the game open with Ibanez’s threerun homer in the third inning that came with two outs. INTERLEAGUE RAYS 6, PADRES 3 In St, Petersburg, Alex Cobb struck out 13 in less than five innings and Ryan Roberts and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs apiece to help the Rays rally for a victory over the Padres. Cobb became the first pitcher in major league history to fan that many batters and fail to make it through the fifth. The right-hander left after throwing 117 pitches. He recorded 12 of 14 outs on strikeouts - four of them in the third, when a wild pitch on strike three allowed Will Venable to reach base. The other outs were recorded on a grounders to shortstop in the first and third base in the fourth. Roberts and Zobrist both delivered two-run singles in the seventh, when reliever Dale Thayer (02) inherited a 3-2 lead from Padres starter Edinson Volquez. Jake McGee (1-2) pitched one inning for the victory, and Fernando Rodney worked a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.—AP
ST. LOUIS: Starter Shelby Miller No. 40 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium. —AFP
Cardinals blank Rockies ST. LOUIS: Shelby Miller gave up a leadoff single then retired 27 in a row for his first career complete game, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 30 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. Eric Young Jr. had a line drive hit to right field to start the game for the Rockies but Miller (5-2) gave up nothing else in his first shutout. The righthander struck out Young to end it with his 13th K, tying a Cardinals rookie record. The one-hitter was the fewest hits allowed by a Cardinals pitcher since Bud Smith tossed a no-hitter on Sept. 3, 2001, and it was the second onehitter of the night in the major leagues. Boston’s Jon Lester was perfect until he allowed a two-out double in the sixth against Toronto. Rockies starter Jon Garland (2-3) gave up all three runs in five innings. Garland allowed seven hits and three walks while striking out five. NATIONALS 7, CUBS 3 In Washington, Ian Desmond’s three hits included a two-run homer and an RBI double, and Danny Espinosa and Kurt Suzuki also drove in runs with doubles, helping Washington get its season-high fifth consecutive victory. Despite playing without Bryce Harper (ingrown toenail) or Jayson Werth (injured right hamstring), the Nationals won for the seventh time in eight games. Ross Detwiler (2-3) gave up two runs in 6 2-3 innings, and Craig Stammen got the last seven outs. Chicago’s Jeff Samardzija (1-5) lost his fifth decision in a row by allowing seven runs - five earned and eight hits. He threw 73 pitches in his five innings, matching his shortest outing of the season. PIRATES 7, METS 3 In New York, Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer - a call that was correctly overturned by baseball’s beleaguered umpires - and Wandy Rodriguez pitched Pittsburgh past New York. Jones doubled twice and leadoff man Starling Marte also had three hits for the Pirates, who improved to 4-13 at Citi Field. Pittsburgh had lost four of five overall, including the opener of this four-
game series Thursday. Handed an early lead, Rodriguez (3-2) allowed six hits over six innings to win for the first time in four starts and held New York to 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Jason Grilli came on to get Ruben Tejada with two on for the final out, making him perfect in 14 save chances this season. Shaun Marcum (0-3) gave up six runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings for the Mets. REDS 4, BREWERS 3 In Cincinnati, Brandon Phillips homered and made a spectacular rally-busting play - using his left knee to get a forceout and start a double play - as Cincinnati beat Milwaukee. Phillips had an RBI single off Yovani Gallardo (3-2) and added a solo homer in the seventh after making a saving play in the top of the inning. With two Brewers aboard, he got to Ryan Braun’s grounder up the middle, tagged second base with his left knee while falling down and threw to first for a double play. Milwaukee got solo homers from Jean Segura and Braun, but lost for the seventh time in eight games. Alfredo Simon (3-1) threw two innings in relief of rookie left-hander Tony Cingrani.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, PHILLIES 2 In Phoenix, Miguel Montero hit a tiebreaking home to lead off the eighth inning, Ian Kennedy shook off a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Arizona won its fifth straight. The Diamondbacks struggled against Phillies starter Tyler Cloyd, but scratched out a run in the seventh and went ahead when Montero hit the first pitch thrown by Mike Adams (1-3) in the eighth off the foul pole in right. Kennedy gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollilns and two runs in the first inning before settling down to keep Arizona in it. Tony Sipp (2-1) got two outs in the eighth inning and David Hernandez worked out of a jam in the ninth for his first save. GIANTS 8, BRAVES 2 In San Francisco, Matt Cain pitched eight strong innings and San Francisco beat Tim Hudson for the first time in seven years in the Giants’ 8-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Cain (2-2) allowed three hits and added an RBI single during a six-run rally in the fourth inning. Hudson (42) was cruising until the fourth when the Giants batted around and scored
six runs. Marco Scutaro had two hits, including a two-run single during the inning. The Braves’ veteran righthander had been 6-0 with a 2.48 ERA against San Francisco since losing to them on April 8, 2006. MARLINS 5, DODGERS 4 In Los Angeles, Derek Dietrich tied the game with his first major league home run, Juan Pierre singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Miami dealt Los Angeles its eighth straight loss. The Dodgers blew an early lead for the second straight game in equaling their longest skid since dropping eight in a row from Aug. 22-29, 2008. Miami ended its own three-game losing streak in the matchup of cellar dwellers. The Marlins have the NL’s worst record at 11-25, and got outscored 11-1 during a three-game sweep in San Diego. Florida rookie Jose Fernandez (22) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked two for his second major league win. Ronald Belisario (2-4) took the loss, giving up two runs and three hits in one -plus innings.—AP
MLB results/standings Washington 7, Chicago Cubs 3; Detroit 10, Cleveland 4; Boston 5, Toronto 0; Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 3; Pittsburgh 7, NY Mets 3; Tampa Bay 6, San Diego 3; LA Angels 7, Chicago White Sox 5; NY Yankees 11, Kansas City 6; Baltimore 9, Minnesota 6 (10 innings); Texas 4, Houston 2; St. Louis 3, Colorado 0; Arizona 3, Philadelphia 2; Seattle 6, Oakland 3; Miami 5, LA Dodgers 4; San Francisco 8, Atlanta 2. American League National League Eastern Division Eastern Division W L PCT GB Atlanta 21 14 .600 NY Yankees 21 13 .618 Washington 20 15 .571 1 Baltimore 22 14 .611 NY Mets 14 18 .438 5.5 Boston 22 14 .611 Philadelphia 16 21 .432 6 Tampa Bay 17 18 .486 4.5 Miami 11 25 .306 10.5 Toronto 13 24 .351 9.5 Central Division Central Division St. Louis 22 12 .647 Detroit 20 13 .606 Cincinnati 20 16 .556 3 Kansas City 18 14 .563 1.5 Pittsburgh 19 16 .543 3.5 Cleveland 18 15 .545 2 Milwaukee 15 18 .455 6.5 Minnesota 16 16 .500 3.5 Chicago Cubs 13 22 .371 9.5 Chicago White Sox 14 19 .424 6 Western Division Western Division Arizona 21 15 .583 Texas 22 13 .629 San Francisco 21 15 .583 Oakland 18 19 .486 5 Colorado 19 16 .543 1.5 Seattle 17 19 .472 5.5 San Diego 16 19 .457 4.5 LA Angels 13 22 .371 9 LA Dodgers 13 21 .382 7 Houston 10 26 .278 12.5
Garcia, Woods on top at Players
BOSTON: Dustin Pedroia No. 15 of the Boston Red Sox singles to knock in a run in the 7th inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. —AFP
FLORIDA: Sergio Garcia roared into the Players Championship lead with Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood close behind after the second round as star power returned to the top of the leaderboard on Friday. Garcia, Woods and Westwood led a scoring parade as eagles and birdies flew all around TPC Sawgrass on a steamy day in what is widely regarded as golf’s unofficial fifth major. Garcia, the 2008 champion, fired a sizzling seven-under 65 for an 11-under total of 133 that left him one shot ahead of Woods (67), who sank an 18-foot birdie putt at his final hole, the par-five ninth. “I hit the ball very well, hit a lot of good iron shots and gave myself a lot of good birdie opportu-
nities,” said Garcia, who caught fire on his second nine. “I got on a great run there where I made a lot of putts in a row.” Another shot back was Westwood (66), 26-year-old American Kevin Chappell (66) and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (67), who eagled both par-fives on his back nine. Roberto Castro had set the pace in the opening round by tying the course record with a nine-under 63 for a three-shot lead, but the little-known American’s advantage vanished before he even teed off in the afternoon wave. Castro disappeared down the leaderboard after mixing one birdie with five bogeys and a doublebogey for a six-over 78 that left him eight shots off the pace. World number one Woods, rounding into
top form this year with a tour-leading three victories, began the day four shots back but gained a share of the lead at nine-under when he sank a 20foot eagle putt on the par-five second, his 11th hole. He surged into the lead with a birdie two holes later and was joined at 10-under by Garcia when the Spaniard capped a streak of five consecutive birdies by rolling in a 26-footer at the par-three sixth, his 15th hole of the day. Garcia climbed to 11 under par at the par-three eighth when he drained a 40-footer for birdie. Woods lost a stroke when he bogeyed the parfour seventh after driving into the right rough but the 14-times major winner made the bounced back with his closing birdie.—Reuters
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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OJ Simpson heads to court to fight for freedom LAS VEGAS: Like a recurring nightmare, the return of OJ Simpson to a Las Vegas courtroom come Monday will remind Americans of a tragedy that became a national obsession and in the process changed the country’s attitude toward the justice system, the media and celebrity. His 1995 trial is the stuff of legends, the precipitous fall of a Hall of Fame football player from the pinnacle of adoration to a murder defendant who, although acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, was never absolved in the public mind. He is arguably the most famous American ever charged with murder, and his “trial of the century” cast him in the role of the accused - no longer the superheroturned-movie actor held up to young people as an example of achievement. But less is remembered about the 2008 Las Vegas trial that sent Simpson to prison for a bizarre hotel room robbery in which the celebrity defendant said he just wanted to take back personal memorabilia that he claimed was stolen from him. When he comes to court Monday, it is that conviction for armed robbery and kidnapping that will be before a Nevada judge. Simpson is seeking freedom in what lawyers often call a “Hail Mary motion,” a writ of habeas corpus. It claims he had such
bad representation that his conviction should be reversed and a new trial ordered. Most defendants lose these motions, but in this case nobody is taking bets on the outcome. “Nothing is the same when OJ is involved,” said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, who observed Simpson’s Los Angeles trial. “An OJ case is never like any other case.” With Simpson, the past is always a prologue - and so memories of his murder trial are certain to serve as a backdrop throughout the Las Vegas hearing. This case, while less dramatic in nature, carries with it far more devastating consequences. Now 65 years old, Simpson has already spent the last four years in prison and must serve at least nine years of his maximum 33-year sentence before he is even eligible for parole. He would be 70 by then. If Simpson doesn’t win a new trial, he could conceivably spend the rest of his life locked up. “I try to explain to people how somebody could come from nothing to live the American dream and then lose it all,” said Simpson’s former manager and agent, Mike Gilbert, who is expected to testify at the hearing. “I have a hard time with it.” Close friend Jim Barnett describes Simpson as grayer, paunchier and limping
a little more these days from old knee injuries. The Silicon Valley venture capitalist has visited Simpson several times at the medium-security Lovelock Correctional Center, an hour northeast of Reno. Simpson, Barnett said, is a favorite among inmates. He has served as prison gym steward and coached a champion prison baseball team. “He gets along with everyone there,” he said. “But he’s slow. Last time I saw him, he had gotten quite heavy.” Before the “trial of the century,” there were few televised court cases, no celebrity justice shows and a minimum of talking heads holding forth on T V about the prospects of famous defendants in court. Simpson’s murder trial, televised from gavel to gavel, brought the legal arena into living rooms and turned lawyers into stars. And Simpson, the quintessential American sports hero, was brought down by a trial that could not vindicate him even with a “not guilty” verdict. Too many people wanted him to pay for the deaths of his beautiful ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, found stabbed in front of her Los Angeles condominium. Too many people believed Simpson had gotten away with murder. The man who had won the Heisman Trophy and was known for his phenomenal
running on a football field - and in commercials for Hertz cars - ran again when he was named as a suspect in the June 1994 killings. The spectacle of police chasing after one of America’s most famous men across Los Angeles freeways was an image for history books. The slow-speed white Ford Bronco pursuit became part of the legend. It took a year for his trial to unfold. There were issues of racism, domestic violence, mishandled evidence - and the many memorable moments, and lines, that quickly became part of the pop culture lexicon: Simpson struggling to squeeze on a bloody black glove and his lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, admonishing the jury: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” The case so captivated America that on the day of the verdict, even then-President Bill Clinton watched it on TV. Simpson walked out a free man. But he would be a pariah forever after. As shocking as Simpson’s fall from grace is his involvement in the hotel room heist that landed him in prison. Those who try to explain it come back to one word - hubris, the literary allusion to excessive self-confidence, pride and arrogance. Simpson refused to accept that people didn’t idolize him anymore. He boasted about his contin-
uing celebrity status. He was delighted that people still wanted his autograph and wanted to hang out with him at the pool of The Palms hotel in Las Vegas. And that was where the disastrous plan was born. He had come to Las Vegas that September of 2007 for a happy event. His old friend, Tom Scotto, was getting married and invited Simpson to be his best man. Scotto still sounds anguished when he recalls the weekend. “If it wasn’t for me,” Scotto said in an interview, “he wouldn’t have been there.” Simpson, trial testimony would show, organized a posse of five friends and acquaintances to accompany him to a hotel where he was told some men were trying to sell his mementos, including family pictures. It was to be a sting of sorts, in which the memorabilia dealers would think an anonymous buyer was coming. When Simpson walked into the hotel room, he realized he knew the sellers from previous dealings and he accused them of stealing from him. He shouted that no one was to leave the room - an action that would be judged to fit the legal definition of k idnapping. As Simpson’s guys began bagging up the memorabilia, one of them pulled a gun, according to trial testimony.—AP
Kings march past Blues
SYDNEY: South Africa’s Western Stormers centre Juan de Jongh (left) is tackled by NSW Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin (center) and flyhalf Bernard Foley (right) during their Super 15 match. —AFP
Waratahs win over Stormers SYDNEY: Israel Folau crashed over the try line three minutes from time to help New South Wales Waratahs to a 21-15 victory over South Africa’s Stormers in a bruising Super Rugby match at the Sydney Football Stadium yesterday. The Waratahs ran in 11 tries in a record win over the Southern Kings last week but against the Stormers’ miserly defence had to be satisfied with scores from winger Cam Crawford in the first half and fullback Folau’s late effort. Five kicks from five attempts by Stormers fullback Joe Pietersen meant the Waratahs trailed 15-11 until Folau managed to breach the line, further pressing his claims for a place in the Wallabies squad for the British and Irish Lions tour. Replacement flyhalf Berrick Barnes, playing only his second match of an injury-ravaged season, provided the pass that allowed Folau to score, converted the tr y and kicked a penalty from halfway as the clock ran out. “I’m more pleased than last week to be honest,” said Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis, whose side still have a chance of making the playoffs and host Australian front-runners the ACT Brumbies next week. “We just want to keep this winning feeling going next week hopefully.” Folau’s most telling contribution in the first half owed as much to his rugby
league background as his newly learned union skills, leaping up to knock back a Bernard Foley crosskick for Crawford to touch down in the 24th minute. Both defences held firm at the gainline and it was not until the stroke of halftime that Brendan McKibbin was able to extend the lead to 8-3 when the Stormers were penalised for the sixth time. Early in the second half it was the home side’s turn to attract the ire of referee Chris Pollock, who will officiate one of the Lions tests, and Pietersen converted two penalties in four minutes to put the visitors in front. McKibbin’s second penalty put the Waratahs back ahead after 50 minutes but Pietersen made no mistake with two further efforts to put the Stormers 15-11 ahead with 15 minutes to play. It looked for most of that time that the Stormers would hold on but the Waratahs held their nerve and were rewarded with Folau’s try after a long siege of the visitors’ line. Springboks number eight Duane Vermeulen left the field 10 minutes from time after sustaining what looked like a serious knee injury and Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers said that had disrupted their defensive effort. “We fought back nicely to get the lead but ... then we gave up the try and we couldn’t hang onto the ball,” he said.—Reuters
LOS ANGELES: Dustin Penner scored the tiebreaking goal in the final second of the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings advanced to the second round with a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 on Friday night. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and Drew Doughty scored his first goal of the postseason for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who won four straight to finish off fourth-seeded St. Louis. Penner put the Kings ahead with his latest big playoff goal, ripping a slap shot from just inside the blue line past Brian Elliott right before time expired. Elliott stopped 14 shots and Chris Porter scored his first career playoff goal for the Blues, who were eliminated by Los Angeles for the second straight season, this time despite taking a 2-0 series lead. Maple Leafs 2, Bruins 1 In Boston, Tyler Bozak and Clarke MacArthur scored and James Reimer stopped 43 shots Friday night to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 and stay alive in their first-round playoff series. Game 6 is today in Toronto, with the decisive seventh game back in Boston on Monday, if necessary. Boston has won both games in Toronto in the series and has not lost on the Leafs’ home ice in the playoffs since 1959. Zdeno Chara scored for Boston to cut the deficit to it 2-1 with 8:48 left. The Leafs killed off a delay-ofgame penalty in the last four minutes and then protected the lead when the Bruins pulled Tuukka Rask for an extra attacker with 1:11 left. Rask made 31 saves. Only once in their history have the Leafs come back to win a playoff series after falling behind 3-1: In the 1942 Stanley Cup finals, when Toronto won four straight to take the title after losing the first three
LOS ANGELES: Dustin Brown No. 23 of the Los Angeles Kings is pursued by Roman Polak No. 46 of the St. Louis Blues in the second period of Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. —AFP games against Detroit. The Bruins are 15-2 in playoff series after taking a 3-1 lead, but they blew a 3-0 lead against Philadelphia in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals. Capitals 2, Rangers 1 In Washington, Mike Ribeiro scored 9:24 into overtime, and the Capitals regained the momentum and the lead - in their first-round playoff series. Ribeiro put in the puck after Troy Brouwer deflected a shot from the blue line. The Capitals lead the series 3-2. Game 6 is Sunday in New York. The home team has won
ever y game in the series, with Washington taking the first two and New York pulling even in Games 3 and 4. The Capitals have been fighting history along the way: The franchise has lost eight playoff series in which it has held a two-game lead. Brian Boyle scored for New York in the first minute, but that was it for New York’s offense. Joel Ward tied it in the second period. Red Wings 4, Ducks 3 In Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg scored his second goal 1:04 into overtime, forcing a Game 7. Detroit
blew a two-goal lead in the last 31/2 minutes of the third period, sending the team to a fourth OT in a series for the first time in franchise history. Emerson Etem and Bobby Ryan scored 51 seconds apart late in regulation to pull the Ducks into a 3-3 tie. Zetterberg, who scored a go-ahead goal 6:19 into the third period, had a shot to win it with about a minute left. But his shot hit the right post and slid across the crease. Second-seeded Anaheim will host seventh-seeded Detroit on Sunday night in the deciding game. —AP
Blues roll over Rebels WELLINGTON: Frank Halai scored a hattrick as the Auckland Blues blitzed the Melbourne Rebels with five first-half tries, but a poor second half meant they were forced to hang on for a 36-32 Super Rugby victory at Eden Park yesterday. James O’Connor, one of the favorites to take the playmaker role for Australia against the British and Irish Lions next month, was forced off the field midway through the first half with what appeared to be a chest injury. The 22-year-old Rebels flyhalf was only the most obvious victim of the power and pace of the Blues backline in the first half, with Halai and centres Francis Saili and Rene Ranger in intimidating form. Saili grabbed a brace before halftime but the Blues were held scoreless in the second half until nine minutes from time as the Rebels barged their way back into the match with 15 unanswered points. “That was ugly,” said Blues skipper Ali Williams, whose team took five points from the encounter to stay very much in the playoff race. “First 20 minutes we played like we should play. Then individuals, probably led by me, played (rubbish). As a team, probably need to take a good look at
ourselves.” The Rebels were already without Kurtley Beal after the Wallabies back was stood down for disciplinary reasons in midweek and will be hoping the injury to O’Connor is not serious for provincial and national reasons. Rebels number eight Scott Higginbotham did his chances of facing the Lions no harm at all with another inspirational performance as captain, running in a brilliant solo try in the first half. It was a try from Lachie Mitchell along with a second of the match for his fellow centre Mitch Inman and a penalty from fullback Jason Woodward, however, that pulled the Rebels to within four points of the Blues with 14 minutes to go.Ranger showed he has brains as well as brawn when he went over for a converted try with a clever move from the side of ruck after 71 minutes to make the score 36-25, however. There was still time for Woodward to crash over to give the Rebels a second bonus point but the chance of a third win of the season was gone. “We’re getting closer and closer every week,” said Higginbotham. “I thought we were going to get there but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”—Reuters
JAPAN: In this photo released by the International Triathlon Union, Jonathan Brownlee of Britain celebrates his victory at the ITU World Triathlon Series race. —AP
Brownlee wins Yokohama triathlon YOKOHAMA: Jonathan Brownlee of Britain returned from an ankle injury to win his first triathlon world series race of the season in Yokohama yesterday. The London Olympics bronze medalist, who had been told the injury could end his season, edged out Olympic silver medalist Javier Gomez of Spain to record his fifth career series win in a time of 1 hour, 44 minutes, 59 seconds. Joao Silva of
Portugal was third. “At the star t of the year I was told I wo u l d n’t b e r a c i n g a t a l l t h i s s e a s o n ,” Brownlee said. “So I got a bit emotional t o w a rd t h e e n d b e c a u s e t h i s ye a r I thought I wouldn’t be here at all. I thought the season was over two months ago.” After three of eight races, Silva leads the overall standings with 2,055 points followed by Gomez with 2,044 and Spain’s
Mario Mola with 1,326. In the women’s e ve n t , G we n J o rg e n s e n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a te s wo n h e r s e co n d s t r a i g h t s e r i e s event in a time of 1:57:05 seconds, finishing ahead of Emma Moffat of Australia and Jodie Stimpson of Britain. Jorgensen won the previous race in San Diego. She leads the standings with 1,600 points, ahead of G e r m a ny ’s A n n e H a u g w i t h 1 , 4 3 3 a n d Moffatt with 1,425.—AP
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Style Vendome looks to give Clement first Guineas PARIS: Classy French colt Style Vendome can confirm his connections’ high opinion of him and land the French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp today and give trainer Nicolas Clement his first win in the classic. Style Vendome - winner of four of his five starts - won the influential Guineas trial the Prix Djebel last time out and has importantly got a low draw of three in the 18 runner field. In contrast his likely main rival, Olympic Glory, is drawn 12. The English raider is trained by veteran Richard Hannon who is looking to add the French 2000 Guineas to the English 1000 Guineas he won with Sky Lantern last Sunday. Clement, who won Europe’s most prestigious race the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Saumarez in 1990 also at
Longchamp, believes that Style Vendome has matured nicely for what will be a major test of his temperament and class. “I fear it might be a real cat and mouse race,” he told AFP earlier in the week. “However, Style Vendome is an ideal horse to train for a race with a big field as he can settle and he can also race up with the pace. “He has five runs under his belt and he showed he was a real man in his last race. He grew some hair on his chest,” added the 49-year-old. Olympic Glory’s Qatari owner Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani will be hoping he fares better here than the disappointing fourth place that his highly-fancied Toronado took in the English 2000 Guineas last Saturday.
The colt warmed up for his French trip by winning his prep race, the Greenham Stakes, at Newbury. Despite winning that in rather laboured style he is returning to the course where he recorded his greatest success last October, the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, and his jockey Richard Hughes believes he can repeat his victory. “Olympic Glory is a lovely horse, and we are lucky in that he has the same owner as Toronado, so that we can keep them apart,” said the 40-year-old Irishman, whose win on Sky Lantern was his first in a British classic. “Longchamp will suit Olympic Glory so much better than Newmarket — he has already won a Group 1 there — and he might also get softer ground which would be a plus.
“He was still a bit big at Newbury. He will be a big player in France and he looks to be crying out for that mile now.” Irish training great Aidan O’Brien runs Flying the Flag and Gale Force Ten, ridden by former British champion jockey Ryan Moore in the saddle. He will have to show a huge amount of improvement from a win in a mediocre race at Dundalk last time if he is to give his handler his first classic win of the campaign. Longchamp racegoers will be spoilt on Sunday as they also get the French 1000 Guineas on the same card and here too home hopes are high of retaining the fillies mile prize with last year ’s Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Flotilla. Trainer Mikel Delzangles, no stranger
to winning big races abroad having won the 2011 Melbourne Cup with Dunaden, has admitted she has taken time to show she was ready for the Guineas. “Flotilla has just had a harder winter than I would have liked, she’s just taken time to come to herself,” said the 42-yearold. “Little by little she is getting there, though, and she is coming back to herself now, I think. “It was always the plan to aim her at the French Guineas but we hoped she would have wintered better.” Delzangles will have been relieved she got a low draw in what is a maximum 20 runner field. Her main opposition could well come from the sole Godolphin runner in either race, the Andre Fabre-trained Tasaday, winner of three of her four starts.—AFP
Heat see off Bulls
ZIMBABWE: Bangladesh batsman Shakib Al Hasan plays a shot during the first Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. —AFP
Zimbabwe defeat Bangladesh BULAWAYO: Shakib Al Hasan put in an allround performance, but his dismissal kick started a dramatic Bangladesh collapse that saw Zimbabwe snatch a six-run victory in the first Twenty20 international at Queens Sports Club. Shakib’s 2 for 20 with the ball had restricted Zimbabwe to 168 for five, but his 65 from 40 deliveries failed to bring a morale-boosting win when Bangladesh lost five wickets for 23 runs in 19 deliveries. Although captain Mushfiqur Rahim’s 28run blitz threatened to take his side over the line, he fell to the first ball of the final over and Bangladesh finished on 162 for eight. “We panicked in the end there and unfortunately we came up short,” coach Shane Jurgensen said. “At the start of the game we thought 160 or 170 was a par score and the batters did a good job of getting a good start, but unfortunately we couldn’t finish it off.” Hamilton Masakadza’s free-flowing halfcentury had anchored Zimbabwe’s innings, which also enjoyed contributions from Brendan Taylor at the top of the innings and Malcolm Waller at the end. Masakadza
hit 59 from 48 balls and was well supported by Taylor in a 74-run stand for the second wicket, which ended when the captain holed out for 40. Although Masakadza stepped up his own scoring rate after Taylor’s departure a strong finish was required, which Waller provided when he hit the final ball of the innings for six to finish on 26 not out from 14 deliveries. Zimbabwe’s total did not look as if it would be enough when Shakib put on 118 for the second wicket with Shamsur Rahman, who made 53 in his first match of the tour. However Prosper Utseya changed the game when he got rid of both batsmen in the same over, before two run-outs in quick succession gave Bangladesh a familiar sinking feeling. “We’ve always felt against Bangladesh that it doesn’t take much to put them down,” Masakadza said after wards. Bangladesh will have an immediate opportunity to atone for their errors on Sunday, when the teams return to the same venue for the second and final Twenty20 international.—AFP
SCOREBOARD Scoreboard from the first Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Bulawayo yesterday: Zimbabwe won the toss H. Masakadza c Sohag Hazi b Shakib Al Hasan59 V. Sibanda c Sajidul Islam b Sohag Gazi 0 B. Taylor c Tamim Iqbal b Shakib Al Hasan 40 S. Williams st Mushfiqur Rahim b Mahmudullah 6 Sikander Raza c Shakib Al Hasan b Shafiul Islam 14 M. Waller not out 26 T. Mutombodzi not out 12 Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-5) 11 Total (for five wickets, 20 overs) 168 Fall of wickets: 1-1 2-75 3-92 4-120 5-142 Did not bat: T. Panyangara, P. Utseya, B. Vitori, T. Chatara Bowling: Sohag Gazi 4-0-28-1, Shafiul Islam 30-29-1 (w1), Abdur Razzak 4-0-35-0, Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-20-2, Sajidul Islam 1-0-15-0 (w1), Mahmudullah 4-0-35-1 (w3)
Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal b Vitori 2 Shamsur Rahman C Taylor b Utseya 53 Shakib Al Hasan c Waller b Utseya 65 Mushfiqur Rahim c Williams b Panyangara 28 Nasir Hossain run out 0 Mahmudullah run out 2 Ziaur Rahman c Sibanda b Panyangara 2 Sohag Gazi not out 2 Abdur Razzak lbw Panyangara 2 Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-3, nb-1) 6 Total (for eight wickets, 20 overs) 62 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-120, 3-124, 4-126 5-130 6-143 7-159 8-162 Did not bat: Shafiul Islam, Sajidul Islam Bowling: B. Vitori 4-0-24-1, T. Chatara 3-0-30-0 (w1), P. Utseya 4-0-34-2 (w1), T. Panyangara 40-32-3 (nb1), T. Mutombodzi 4-0-33-0, H. Masakadza 1-0-7-0.
CHICAGO: LeBron James came on strong down the stretch to finish with 25 points, Chris Bosh added 20 points and 19 rebounds, and the Miami Heat followed up the most lopsided playoff win in franchise history with a 104-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Norris Cole scored 18, and the Heat pulled out a tight win after blasting the Bulls 115-78 on Wednesday. This time, Chicago refused to go quietly. But the Heat simply had too much in the end against a Bulls team without the ailing Luol Deng and injured Kirk Hinrich (calf), not to mention Derrick Rose, and lost Nazr Mohammed to an ejection in the second quarter for shoving James to the floor. James hit just 6 of 17 shots and even got blocked on a layup by Nate Robinson in the third quarter. But the four-time MVP came through down the stretch, scoring 12 in the fourth. Carlos Boozer led Chicago with 21 points. Robinson and Jimmy Butler each scored 17. Joakim Noah added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli had 16 points, but the Bulls couldn’t pull this one out. SPURS 102, WARRIORS 92 In Oakland, Tony Parker scored 25 of his 32 points in a sizzling first half, Tim Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio quieted Golden State to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Kawhi Leonard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and
CHICAGO: Jimmy Butler No. 21 of the Chicago Bulls puts up a shot after being fouled by Shane Battier No. 31 of the Miami Heat in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NBA Playoffs. —AFP Parker added five assists and five boards to help the Spurs wrestle back home-court advantage from the Warriors after withstanding a brief fourth-quarter rally.
San Antonio outshot Golden State 50.6 to 39.3 percent and curbed streaky shooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for the first time in the series.
America’s Cup fatality raises safety questions SAN FRANCISCO: Sailors know the risks and rewards that come with these new space-age America’s Cup boats that speed like race cars across the waves. Still, the death of British Olympic champion Andrew “Bart” Simpson during a training session on San Francisco Bay gives fresh urgency to one question in the chase for the oldest trophy in international sports this summer. How safe are the boats? Authorities are hoping they’ll have a good answer once they complete an investigation into why the 72-foot catamaran sailed by Artemis Racing of Sweden nose-dived and capsized Thursday after completing a difficult maneuver. Simpson, 36, was submerged under the 7-ton boat for more than 10 minutes. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead a short time later. It wasn’t the first accident involving the highperformance catamarans, which were introduced as one of many changes to make the stodgy old sport of sailing more appealing to mainstream sports fans after Oracle Team USA, owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison, won the Cup in 2010 with a giant trimaran. Since the new champions always get to rewrite the rules, Ellison and his world-class sailors tossed out the plodding sloops that previously had been sailed in the America’s Cup in favor of the fast catamarans. Sailing on San Francisco Bay rather than miles out on the ocean, Oracle envisioned the 72-foot cats wowing both spectators lining the shore and TV viewers alike by skimming across the top of the waves. The boats have everything to capture the attention of landlubbers - sleek, twin hulls; a 131-foot sail that looks and acts like a jetliner’s wing, improving speed and stability; and, in a recent development, carbon-fiber hydrofoils that lift the hulls out of the water and make them go even faster.
When the boats hook into a breeze, the ride is exhilarating. Make the slightest mistake or push the boat too hard and it can all go wrong. America’s Cup organizers said Friday it was unclear what impact the fatality might have on the series of races scheduled to begin on July 6. “Nothing is off the table,” said Stephen Barclay, chief executive of the America’s Cup Event Authority. “We need to know what happened.” Another organizing official, Iain Murray, said conditions Thursday afternoon were typical on San Francisco Bay, which often sees hard-blowing winds. Artemis was operating in winds of 15 to 20 knots, with occasionally stiffer gusts. Barclay and Oracle Team USA officials each declined to comment on the safety of the boats. Artemis officials, who expect to launch a second boat next month, did not attend a news conference or return phone calls. The AC72 represents progress in sailing, Murray said. “It’s what these guys want to do,” Murray said. “They want to take sailing to the next level and these boats are part of that platform.” Murray said Artemis Racing’s catamaran was attempting to change direction and turn down wind when it capsized. Though difficult, the maneuver was normal, he said. Murray said Simpson was on a trampoline on the windward side of the yacht with crew members and got trapped under some solid sections of the catamaran, out of sight to those on board who were looking for him. Simpson was a strategist for the team that represents a Swedish yacht club. The crew was practicing with Oracle. One hull snapped. Investigators will have to determine whether a structural problem caused the yacht to flip, or if the capsize broke the boat. Last fall, Artemis said the front beam of the catamaran was damaged during structural tests, delaying the boat’s christening. Simpson is the second sailor to die in training
during the 162-year history of the America’s Cup. The other was a Spanish sailor who was killed in 1999 when he was struck in the head by a piece of broken equipment. No deaths have been recorded during the actual racing since its inception in 1851, when Queen Victoria watched the schooner America beat a fleet of British ships around the Isle of Wight. Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill has often compared steering the powerful catamarans to driving a race car. “The harder you push the accelerator, the faster you go, but there’s a chance you hit the wall,” Spithill said in March during a visit to San Diego to promote the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Spithill was at the helm of Oracle’s first 72-foot catamaran in October when the twin hulls dug into the waves and the boat tumbled stern over bow. There were no injuries but the wing sail was destroyed, sidelining the crew for four months. As part of a push to go faster, teams have worked to master hydrofoils. “What’s so amazing about this boat is it’s suspended on these tiny pieces of engineered carbon fiber,” Spithill told The Associated Press last month after Oracle launched its new boat. “That’s why these boats are so cutting-edge technologically, and we’re pushing them right to the limit.” Ellison originally envisioned a dozen challengers. But only three have made it this far. Some dropped out due to costs, others because they didn’t want to switch to multihull sailing. Simpson was told by British entrepreneur Keith Mills that the boats being proposed by the organizers seemed too risky. Concerned about putting the sailors in danger, Mills scrapped his plans for a British challenge. “Based on the specs that I saw in 2010, I was very concerned, and I expressed my concerns,” Mills said Friday. “But the Americans were determined to go ahead with this type of sailing which I fundamentally disagreed with.”—AP
Domingo to replace Kirsten as SA coach JOHANNESBURG: Russell Domingo has been handed the huge task of taking over from World Cup winner Gary Kirsten as the new coach of South Africa’s cricket team. Domingo was promoted from his position as assistant less than 24 h o u r s a f te r K i r s te n a n n o u n ce d h e would not be taking up an offer to renew his contract when it ends in August, sending shockwaves through South African sport. Domingo, 38, will be given a twoyear contract from Aug. 1 and while stressing the importance of continuity, acknowledged that the challenge of replacing Kirsten was like taking
over from Alex Ferguson as the manager of Manchester United. “ I k n ow n ow w h a t D av i d M oye s feels like,” said Domingo, referring to Fe rg u s o n’s s u cce s s o r. “ I t w i l l b e a tough task to emulate him (Kirsten) but I will continue with much of what he has brought to the team and look to add my own flavor to it. “It’s a massive day in my life after two wonderful years already with the national team. “I’ve learned a great deal from Gary Kirsten and (bowling coach) Allan Donald and hopefully I can take the team up another level,” he told a media conference yesterday. “I’m looking for continuity and to
Thompson scored 17 points on 7of-20 shooting, while Curry had 16 points on 5 of 17 from the floor. Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is today in Oakland.—AP
enhance the structures so that we can continue to be the best in the world.” Kirsten, who led India to a World Cup win in 2011, took over as South Africa coach later that same year and has steered the Proteas to the top of the test rankings. He said he wanted to spend more time with his young family as his reason for quitting the post. Domingo comes into the job without any first class playing experience but had a s u cce s s f u l f i ve -ye a r s p e l l a t t h e provincial Warriors franchise before being appointed assistant to Kirsten in 2011. “I’ve come through all the phase s t h a t I t h i n k a s u cce s s f u l co a c h
needs to go through and I feel I can offer something to the national team,” he added. Domingo said he had spoken to senior players in the team, including captain Graeme Smith, about taking the job. “The captain and coach have to be on the same wave length espec i a l l y w i t h re g a rd s to t a c t i c s,” Domingo added. H i s te n u re s t a r t s w i t h a l i m i te d overs series in Sri Lanka in July and August. Cricket South Africa President Chris Nenzani said it “had not been a difficult decision”. “We wanted to keep continuity and continue the culture in the team,” he said.—Reuters
Russell Domingo
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Blind girl pole vaulter one of the best in Texas AUSTIN: To see the world as 15-year-old Charlotte Brown does, imagine looking through a tiny straw. Strip away all color and depth perception from the pinhole view and use a right eye that can’t distinguish shape from shadow. Now run about 80 feet, counting seven steps with your left foot before planting a nearly 13-foot pole in the ground to launch your body a dozen feet into the air. That’s right. Brown is a pole vaulter. And despite being legally blind, she’s one of the best in Texas and a favorite to medal late yesterday in Class 3A at the high school state championship meet at the University of Texas. “I’ve always wanted to do stuff with adrenaline,” Brown said Friday. “Most people think it’s crazy to pole vault. I’ve always just thought it would be lot of fun. I run full speed at a stationary object that I can’t see.” Brown is one of at least two legally blind pole vaulters competing for state titles this weekend. Aria Ottmueller, 17, of Chandler, Arizona, is competing in that state. Brown, who lives in Emory, a town of 1,200 about 65 miles east of Dallas, was born with normal vision but developed cataracts when she was just 16 weeks old. That led to the first of several surgeries on her eyes, including insertion of artificial lenses. Her vision stabilized until she was about 11 when it started getting worse and doctors still have not been able to determine why. She reads Braille. Despite the disability, she attacked athletics from an early age to keep up with two older brothers. There was even a time she was determined to play football. “She wanted to play wide receiver,” her father Ian Brown said. “So we went in the front yard and tossed the ball around. That’s when we decided that not being able to see the ball was a bit of a challenge.” Nothing else has stopped her. Brown runs cross country, where her teammates wear bells on their shoes to help lead her through the course. As a sprinter, she qualified for the state regional finals in the 100 and 200 meters. She runs inside, where it’s easiest to distinguish the light and dark contrast between the track and grassy infield to help her stay in her lane. And until last season, she also played basketball, where she typically guarded the opposing point guard and had a tendency to deliver some hard fouls. But pole vault requires special timing, balance, strength - and courage - to excel and it is difficult enough for someone with perfect vision to master. Ian Brown admits he was nervous the first time his daughter practiced the vault in 7th grade. He was sizing up the landing pit when he asked her a series of questions: Can you see the bag? No. Can you see the bar? No. Can you see the pit? No. “I’ve got some concerns here,” Brown told his daughter. “Great,” she replied. “Now get out of the way.” “She’s utterly fearless,” dad said. “To be a pole vaulter, a person needs a bit of daredevil. With her, it’s kind of remarkable. The person who should be the most frightened of it isn’t frightened at all.” That fearlessness, and a routine honed to perfection, has carried her to the state meet. To jump, Brown sets a special tape marker 76 feet, 6 inches away from the launching point. Her approach to the bag is measured in 14 steps, but once she starts, she only counts the seven steps with her left foot. That’s because it’s fewer numbers to think about and she uses her left to plant and launch herself skyward. From there, it’s just a matter of going up and coming down. It’s also the one time being blind might be an advantage, Brown said. “It would be scarier to vault if I could see,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to look down.” The key for Brown is staying straight on her approach. If she drifts right or left on her approach, she risks smashing into the standards that hold the crossbar she’s trying to clear. Mistakes - and crashes - have happened, but she’s never been seriously hurt. She had one bad flop when she first started training, but shrugged it off by
telling herself “now I know what not to do.” To keep her running in a straight line, Brown unfurls an 80-foot strip of dark artificial turf next to the lane. That gives her a light/dark contrast that she can follow to know she’s running straight. “I’ve gotten some strange looks along the way,” she said. Brown qualified for the state meet with a height of 11-6, which tied her for second best in her classification. She’s more than a foot under the best qualifying mark of 12-8, but Brown said she’s recently jumped 12-5. “She could win this,” said Emory Rains High School track coach Jeff Lester, who has started tutoring Brown on running hurdles. “It’s a rhythm race. I don’t think she’ll have any problem once we get over the first one ... One thing I learned about her is as soon as you tell her she can’t do something, she does it.” American Jenn Suhr, the Olympic gold medalist in the women’s pole vault, was amazed that Brown has been able to overcome her disability and excel. “Vaulters count on all their senses. We use depth perception to adjust if your stride is too long somewhere or you misstep. She has to tune into her body and rhythm. It’s remarkable,” Suhr said. “She’s an inspiration.” Brown said many vaulters she competes against don’t know she’s legally blind. She doesn’t wear dark glasses to cover her hazel eyes and doesn’t walk with a cane. In an interview Friday, the only trace of her disability came when she poked with her feet to judge the depth of each step on a short staircase. “I don’t normally tell people. I know some of them have found out. A few of them have told me it’s really cool what I’m doing,” she said. At some meets, Brown said other vaulters have helped to hold down the strip of turf in strong winds. Brown said she’s just starting to realize that her story can be an inspiration to others with disabilities. “When I started this it was just fun and it was a challenge,” Brown said. “Now people tell me it is inspiring ... if it can inspire people to do something new or challenging, that’s cool.” Brown has already started a career as a motivational speaker. She was invited last summer to give a 15-minute speech to a group of Dallas business executives about overcoming challenges. “She spent about three months writing and working on that,” Ian Brown said. “She got a standing ovation.” After Brown competes late yesterday, she will be presented with a special spirit award from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Later this month, she will go to New Jersey to get a seeing eye dog and she has big plans for it. Brown wants the dog to run cross country with her next season and sit next to the runway when she pole vaults. “He’ll have to be in shape,” Brown said.—AP
DARLINGTON: Kyle Busch holds the trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide series auto race. —AP
Mike Whiddett performs at the RedBull Conquer The Crown in Queenstown, New Zealand. www.redbullcontentpool.com
Nadal in ‘dream’ final MADRID: Rafael Nadal described reaching the final of the Madrid Masters as a “dream” after he stormed into his seventh consecutive final since returning from a seven-month injury layoff with 6-0, 6-4 win over compatriot Pablo Andujar. “To be able to return to a final here at home, in Madrid is a dream,” he said. “I am very happy and thankful for what I have been able to complete during this season. “To be in the final of this Masters gives me a special excitement, now all that is left to do is wait for the final tomorrow.” World number 113 Andujar was blown away in the opening set, winning just nine points, as Nadal broke three times to take it 6-0 and the 11-time Grand Slam champion said he was happy with the aggression he showed early on. “I played very aggressively in the first set. In the second Pablo began to play at a better level and more aggressively. “I want to congratulate him for his tournament, because this will serve him well for the future.” Andujar had progressed to his first ever Masters series semi-final and he believes Nadal is in even better than in their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2011 when the seven-time champion at Roland Garros progressed in straight sets. “I think that Rafa played better. He committed very few unforced errors. In the first set he was very aggressive, and I was a little bit nervous,” he said. “But I remember that match where in the first set I was also nervous and Rafa committed a few more errors. I was able to step in a little bit more in the court. “In this case, Rafa was much more superior
SPAIN: Spanish player Rafael Nadal serves against Spanish player Pablo Andujar during their men’s singles semi-final tennis match at the Madrid Masters. —AFP than me in the first set.” Victory extended Nadal’s incredible run to 31-2 since returning from the tendinitis problem in his knee. He is a huge favorite to win his third title in Madrid after a week of surprises which saw exits for the world’s top three ranked players, Novak
Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. The 26-year-old will face either Murray’s conqueror Tomas Berdych or Stanislas Wawrinka, who himself is in great form on the clay after securing the Portugal Open last week, in Sunday’s final.—AFP
Serena, Sharapova set up Madrid final clash
Charlotte Brown
Busch wins Nationwide race DARLINGTON: Kyle Busch figured it’d be easy to run his own program on the Nationwide Series after all the wins he’d racked up for Joe Gibbs Racing. A year on his own and out of Victory Lane, though, taught Busch a hard lesson. Back with JGR, Busch is back to his dominant ways in Nationwide racing. He won his fifth race of the year, pushing past Joey Logano 18 laps from the end to win at Darlington Raceway on Friday night. “I thought it can’t be hard to upstart an organization and beat JGR,” the 28-year-old Busch said. “But obviously, that’s not the case.” It was Busch’s 56th Nationwide win, extending his career mark, and the 112th win across Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series. “It starts with having a really good race
Photo of the day
car,” Busch said. “We unloaded really well and were fast off the truck.” The same could be said of all JGR entries. Busch finished a second ahead of teammate Elliott Sadler, while Brian Vickers in third and Matt Kenseth in fifth gave Gibbs’ shop four of the top five spots. It’s the seventh time in eight years a Gibbs racer has taken the Nationwide race at Darlington. “Our teammates were so strong,” said Busch’s crew chief, Adam Stevens. “Just an impressive weekend for JGR.” And it may not be over. Kyle Busch qualified third for Saturday night’s Southern 500 and will be going for a third weekend sweep this season following double-doubles in at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and at Texas Motor Speedway. “All in all, this was a good night,” Busch says, “and we look forward to tomorrow.” Busch’s victory also capped a dominant showing by the Busch boys at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” Older brother Kurt set a qualifying record to win the pole for the Southern 500 on Saturday night. The younger Busch started from the pole and was the strongest car throughout the Nationwide race. He led for 107 of the 147 laps. Kenseth, a past Nationwide winner here, led the second most laps with 27. Kenseth thought his car had enough to keep up with Busch, but he said bad positioning on the final restart shuffled him back and he didn’t have enough time to recover. “I felt like we were evenly matched and it was going to be a fun race to the end,” Kenseth said. Busch said his teammate, Kenseth, was waving at him on the track and made it difficult at times to pass. “So I’ll remember that for tomorrow,” Busch said, smiling. Logano was in front when the field restarted following the last of four caution periods while Busch was in third. Busch quickly got past second-place Austin Dillon and began reeling in his former JGR teammate in Logano.—AP
MADRID: Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will battle it out for the world number one ranking when they meet in the Madrid Open final today after both came through yesterday’s semi-finals in straight sets. Current number one, and defending champion, Williams sealed her place in the final as she overcame seventh seed Sara Errani 7-5, 6-2. Sharapova will compete in her first Madrid final after beating Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 63. Williams was first to book her place in the final as she edged a close first set when she broke in the 12th game before comfortably taking the second to progress in just over 90 minutes. And the 15-time Grand Slam champion was happier with her performance against the Italian than the error-strewn display she produced against Spanish wildcard Anabel Medina
Garrigues in the quarter-finals. “I feel that I played solid. In the second set more than the first I made fewer errors, which was something that I needed to do,” she said. The 2012 Madrid champion insisted she believes she is the world’s best player and is set on retaining her status as number one to prove it. “I try not to pay too much attention. I always just try to play my game. You’re playing players who you know their strengths and weaknesses. “Obviously I love being number one. In my heart I feel I’m number one, but also I love to win tournaments. “So I think if I just win as many tournaments as I can then I’ll continue to be number one.” Sharapova has the chance to dethrone Williams should she manage a first victory in nine years over the 31-year-old. The French Open champion has yet to drop a set this week and after a
tight start she began to unleash her powerful ground strokes with some authority towards the end of the first set, culminating in a second break of serve which allowed her to take it 6-4. Ivanovic responded by breaking straight away in the second, but Sharapova roared back and broke in consecutive games to turn the set around and ease into her fourth final in her last four events. “I thought I played a really good game to get myself back in that second set,” she said. “Overall I’m pretty happy with the way I played. “Of course it’s always tough against Serena. I haven’t had a win against her in a long time, but the great thing is that I’m setting myself up in a position where I can try to change that around. “Getting to the final is a great achievement here. I haven’t been at this stage yet, so I am obviously looking forward to it.”—AFP
Rosberg on pole in Spainish GP BARCELONA: Germany’s Nico Rosberg handed Mercedes their third pole position in succession yesterday with team mate Lewis Hamilton sealing a front row lockout at the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix. The pole was Rosberg’s second in a row after Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, took pole in China last month. Red Bull’s triple world champion and series leader Sebastian Vettel qualified third with Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen, currently second overall and 10 points behind the German, alongside on the second row for Lotus. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the local favourite at his home race, will start fifth with Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa next to him. “I had a really good lap in the end...it’s always a good motivation, especially for the team. Front row. Fantastic. But of course we have to be a bit cautious because of what we saw in Bahrain,” said Rosberg, who finished ninth in that race. “So it’s nice, but to be enjoyed with caution.” Mercedes last swept the front row in China last season, a race won by Rosberg while then team mate Michael Schumacher failed to finish. Saturday was the first time since 1955, when Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio and Britain’s Stirling Moss were racing for the ‘Silver Arrows’, that a Mercedes works team had chalked up three poles in a row. The German manufacturer left Formula One as a works team in 1955, however, and only returned in 2010 after buying the title-winning Brawn GP. “Am I confident for tomorrow? Not entirely,” said team principal Ross Brawn. “I could see from fuel work, that we’re not on top of it as much as we are in qualifying but we’ve done a lot of work on that. Can we win? I don’t know.”
The statistics suggests Mercedes have a strong chance, given that only once in the last 22 years has a driver won in Barcelona without starting on the front row - and that was Schumacher in 1996 from third. Hamilton, denied pole in Spain with McLaren last year due to a fuel irregularity, was fastest in the first two phases of qualifying but Rosberg made sure of the pole with a time of one minute 20.718 seconds. Hamilton’s best was 1.20.972. “He did a great job...but as Nico said we are going to approach it with caution because tomorrow it’s going to be tough,” said the Briton, third in the championship. “I didn’t have two option sets (of tyres) at the end which would have helped a little bit but I think Nico was just quicker today.” There was despondency at Hamilton’s former
team McLaren, struggling to extract performance from their car, with 2009 world champion Jenson Button failing to make the final stage of qualifying for the first time this year. The Briton will start 14th, with the new upgrade package brought to this race failing to live up to expectations more than anyone could have feared. The only glimmer of hope for McLaren was provided by Mexican Sergio Perez, who qualified ninth. “For Jenson, it’s a disappointing outcome,” said principal Martin Whitmarsh. “We’ve not analysed the data yet but there is some evidence that he tyre pressures were too high otherwise we hope he would have snuck through.” Further back, former champions Williams - last year’s race winners with Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado - were in even deeper trouble.—Reuters
SPAIN: Mercedes’ German driver Nico Rosberg drives during the qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona. —AFP
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
S P ORT S
Celtic sweep title in style GLASGOW: Celtic celebrated lifting the Scottish Premier League trophy in style as they eased to a 4-0 win over St Johnstone at Parkhead yesterday. Joe Ledley had the Hoops in front with barely a minute on the clock and Charlie Mulgrew added a second direct from a free-kick in the 36th minute. St Johnstone hadn’t previously tasted defeat against Celtic in the league this season, having come from behind in their three previous meetings to win one and draw two. However, they never looked like maintaining their unbeaten record against the Hoops and James Forrest made it 3-0 with a fine strike in the 52nd minute before Frazer Wright scored an own-goal in stoppage time. It sealed Celtic’s 12th win in a row at home in the league, a run of form that helped propel Neil Lennon’s side to their second successive league title. There was further good news for the Hoops as captain Scott Brown returned from a three-month injury absence to collect the SPL championship trophy following what is their final home game of the season before next weekend’s finale away to Dundee United and then the Scottish Cup final against Hibernian. “It is a very significant day when you pick the championship trophy up. I put out a strong team in preparation for the Cup final and I thought we were fantastic,” Lennon said. “There was a flow and energy to us and there was a freshness about the team and that was the pleasing aspect of the day and then obviously there was the celebration afterwards. “These are days you want to cherish and it’s important for the players to appreciate what they’ve done as it goes very quickly.” After affording many of his first-team stars a rest in recent weeks, manager
Lennon had a full squad to pick from for the visit of the Perth side. The Hoops made six changes including Brown, and the returning captain played a part as Celtic took an early lead. Brown took advantage of Thomas Scobbie’s misshit clearance to pick out Hooper in the box. The striker laid the ball off to Forrest who rolled it into the path of Ledley, and he took a touch before rifling an unstoppable shot past Alan Mannus from the edge of the box. Celtic were comfortable in possession and continued to pour forward. Mannus made a fine fingertip save to keep out Mikael Lustig’s drilled volley but it was only a matter of time before the champions added another and it came direct from Mulgrew’s free-kick out on the right in the 36th minute. The defender’s inswinging effort was missed by everyone in the box before bouncing just over the outstretched arms of Mannus. St Johnstone needed something from the game if they were to keep their dreams of finishing in a European place alive and started the second half on the front foot. Steven MacLean’s cross found Liam Craig but the midfielder sliced his shot high and wide almost straight from the restart. However, Celtic soon found their rhythm again and made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute. Brown released Hooper and his pass found Forrest who hit an angled first time shot past Mannus from 10 yards. Georgios Samaras came on for Brown on the hour mark and missed a golden chance to increase the lead 10 minutes later when he somehow sliced his volley wide with an empty goal beckoning. But Celtic made it 4-0 in stoppage time when Mulgrew’s inswinging corner was mistakenly headed past his own keeper by Wright.—AFP
MUNICH: Bayern Munich’s head coach Jupp Heynckes (center) holds the German football league champion’s trophy while celebrating with his team their champion title. —AFP
Schalke slip, Bayern celebrate title BERLIN: The race for the final Champions League qualifying place from the Bundesliga will go down to the wire after Schalke 04 slipped up yesterday as Bayern Munich finally got their hands on the championship trophy. Schalke, who earlier announced that coach Jens Keller would be staying at the club after agreeing a new contract through to the summer of 2015, knew that a win at home to Cup finalists Stuttgart could seal four th place and a return to Europe’s leading club competition in the process. However, a goal in each half from Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic gave Stuttgar t a 2-1 victor y in Gelsenkirchen, with a late owngoal by Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich providing scant consolation for the hosts. “We were in the game but fell into some old habits,” said Keller. “But the team still showed character.” Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt, whose coach Armin Veh had at one
point been linked with a switch to Schalke, drew 1-1 away to Werder Bremen with Srdjan Lakic earning the visitors a draw at the Weserstadion after on-loan Chelsea starlet Kevin De Bruyne had put Bremen ahead. That result effectively ends their chances of fourth place but Freiburg are still right in the hunt after coming from behind to win 2-1 at relegated Greuther Fuerth thanks to secondhalf goals by Jonathan Schmid and Max Kruse. The club from the Black Forest, who are more used to battling against relegation, survived a late scare when Nikola Djurdjic’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. That sparked huge celebrations in the visitors’ camp as, while they are still a point behind Schalke, the two clubs meet next weekend in what will be a direct shoot-out for fourth spot. Bayern kicked-off their title party by disposing of Bavarian neigh-
bours Augsburg 3-0 at the Allianz Arena as Thomas Mueller, Xherdan Shaqiri and Luiz Gustavo scored to give the champions yet another victory in their record-breaking campaign. “It’s never easy when you are preparing for the title celebrations and you are playing a team battling for survival,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes. “The team was a little below par but our season will go down in history.” While Heynckes’ side got their hands on the ‘Salad Bowl’ trophy, their future opponents in the Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund, ensured that they will finish second after coming from 31 down to draw 3-3 away at Wolfsburg. Sven Bender put Juergen Klopp’s side ahead before a brace from ex-Dortmund man Ivan Perisic and a goal from Brazilian defender Naldo had Wolfsburg ahead at the break. However, Marco Reus netted twice in the final six minutes to earn Dor tmund a share of the
spoils. At the bottom, Hoffenhiem are two points from safety after suffering a 4-1 defeat at home to Hamburg. They must now win their final game of the season away to Dortmund and hope that Fortuna Duesseldorf and Augsburg both slip up if they are to survive on the last day. While Augsburg were losing in Munich, Duesseldorf went down 21 at home to Nuremberg, but Werder Bremen are now safe after their draw with Frankfurt. In other games, Jens Hegeler scored twice as third-placed Bayer Leverkusen beat Hannover 3-1 while Swedish under-21 international Branimir Hrgota netted a hat-trick as Borussia Moenchengladbach won 4-2 away at Mainz. However, the Foals, who will host Bayern next weekend, would need a huge swing of results in their favor on the final day of the campaign if they are to qualify for next season’s Europa League.—AFP
Preview
Matches on TV (Local Timings) FRANCE: Marseille’s Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew (center) vies for the ball with Toulouse’s French midfielder Serge Aurier (left) during the French League football match. —AFP
Marseille extend PSG title wait PARIS: Marseille ensured Paris SaintGermain will have to wait another 24 hours before securing the Ligue 1 crown after keeping their remote title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Toulouse yesterday. Andre Ayew returned from suspension to score twice at the Stade Velodrome, while Eden Ben Basat struck a late consolation as Marseille cut PSG’s lead at the summit to four points with the league leaders in action at Lyon today. “It wasn’t an easy victory against a very good opponent this evening,” said Marseille boss Elie Baup. “We’re going to try and finish second. We’re assured of finishing in the top three which is already a step completed,” he added, a result that guarantees OM’s participation in next season’s Champions League. “Now we have to fight to make sure we come second.” PSG could have clinched their first French championship since 1994 without kicking a ball had Marseille lost to Toulouse, however, Carlo Ancelotti’s side will finally end their title drought if they triumph at the Gerland. Ayew breathed life into a rather uneventful first half with the opening goal
just prior to the break as he headed a Mathieu Valbuena cross beyond the despairing dive of Toulouse goalkeeper Ali Ahamada. Wissam Ben Yedder forced Steve Mandanda into a comfortable save shortly after the interval but Toulouse then found themselves further behind as Ayew struck again on 62 minutes. Moments after Morgan Amalfitano hit the post, the midfielder kept Andre-Pierre Gignac’s low ball across the face of goal in play before unselfishly squaring for the Ghanaian to apply a simple finish and take his season’s tally to nine. Serge Aurier cleared off the line after Gignac’s scuffed effort was helped goalwards by Ayew as Marseille sought to turn the screw before the visitors grabbed a lifeline as Ben Basat drilled through the legs of Mandanda from a tight angle eight minutes from time. Ayew’s brother Jordan almost added a third for the hosts in stoppage time as he curled just over as Marseille extended their unbeaten run to ten matches and beat Toulouse at home for the first time since 2006.—AFP
English Premier League Stoke City v Tottenham
15:30
Abu Dhabi Sports HD Everton v West Ham
17:00
Abu Dhabi Sports HD Norwich v Albion
17:00
Abu Dhabi Sports HD Sunderland v Southampton
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Abu Dhabi Sports HD QPR v Newcastle
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Abu Dhabi Sports HD Fulham v Liverpool
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Abu Dhabi Sports HD Man City v Swansea
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Abu Dhabi Sports HD
Spanish League Rayo v Valencia
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Al Jazeera Sport +2 Betis v Celta
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Al Jazeera Sport +8 Atletico v Barcelona
20:00
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Preview
Malaga v Sevilla
Ferguson prepares to say emotional farewell
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MANCHESTER: Alex Ferguson will bid an emotional farewell to Old Trafford today as he takes charge of Manchester United for the final time on home turf after 26 years of unparallelled success in the English game. United manager Ferguson announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season after leading the club to 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups, four League Cups and a host of other trophies during his incredible reign. Swansea are the opponents for Ferguson’s farewell, which fittingly will include the official presentation of the Premier League trophy to United-almost three weeks after they secured what has turned out to be the Scot’s final piece of silverware in a remarkable career. With the game having little significance for either team, United’s supporters will use the occasion to pay tribute to Ferguson, who transformed their club from underachievers who had gone 26 years without winning a league title to a team that has dominated English football and returned to the top in Europe. Ferguson is expected to take to the microphone following the game to say his goodbyes and there will be barely a dry eye among the packed house at Old Trafford, a stadium which has grown in size consider-
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Pardew fears axe even if Newcastle stay up LONDON: Newcastle manager Alan Pardew admits he could be facing the sack even if he guides his struggling team to Premier League safety. Newcastle’s fate remains undecided going into the final two games of the season and Pardew concedes there is uncertainty over his future after his side failed to build on last year’s fifth-place finish. Even a victory at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, which will all but guarantee their top flight survival, might not be enough to extend his two-and-a-half year reign on Tyneside. Pardew is set for end-of-season talks with the club’s multi-millionaire owner Mike Ashley, which he admits will be ‘uncomfortable’ for both men after nine months of under-achievement. The 51-year-old will meet Ashley in the days following the final match of the season at home to Arsenal on May 19, as the dust settles on a troubled campaign. Pardew, just seven months into an eight-year contract, said: “I’ll sit down with Mike as soon as we know where we are, and what division we’re in. “It’ll be uncomfortable for us both, because we’ve both underachieved. Him as
an owner and me as a manager. “We need to find out what the reasons are and then it’s for Mike, hopefully with me, to decide how to go forward. We’ve underachieved as the club, so the point is we all take responsibility. “That ultimate decision is not mine, so we could get the points we need and Mike could decide he needs to move to another manager, though I’d like to think that he won’t. “We know we’ve got an uncomfortable conversation regarding the form this year, the underachievement that’s been mentioned. “It’s about making sure we go forward and put right some of the things that were wrong this year.” Newcastle must address their wretched away form to help take them beyond the 40-point safety mark in their bid to avoid relegation. They have won just once on the road this season, a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa in January and Pardew said: “We have to put our away form right. We have to improve on that record on Sunday, because it’s out last chance this season. “There have been games when we should have got better results. For whatever reason we didn’t see it over the line.—AFP
Italian League Fiorentina v Palermo
13:30
Al Jazeera Sport +1 Lazio v Sampdoria
16:00
Al Jazeera Sport +1 Udinese v Atalanta
16:00
Al Jazeera Sport +9 Napoli v Siena
16:00
Al Jazeera Sport +7 Parma v Bologna
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Al Jazeera Sport +1 Milan v Roma
21:45
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French League Lorient v Saint Etienne
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Al Jazeera Sport +4 Gaillard v Nice
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Al Jazeera Sport +6 Lyon v Paris Saint Al Jazeera Sport +4
22:00
MANCHESTER: The statue of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson stands in front of the stadium at Old Trafford in Manchester. —AFP
ably during the Scot’s tenure and has a stand named after him and a statue outside. United’s final game under Ferguson’s rule will be against West Bromwich Albion the following week at the Hawthorns before Everton boss David Moyes, who signed a six-year deal on Thursday to replace Ferguson, takes charge on July 1. And United captain Nemanja Vidic is relishing the chance to work with another ferociously competitive Scottish boss after thriving under Ferguson’s driven management style. “I think he (Moyes) did a great job with Everton,” said Vidic. “He is the man who gets his players to work hard and show discipline and I think he did that well with Everton. And in the last few years they’ve been successful in getting into the top six. “I think David and Sir Alex share some similarities - they are very passionate, they are both winners and you can see the way they approach the games and how they run things. “I’m looking forward to working with David and I believe I will have the same success I had with Sir Alex.” United midfielder Michael Carrick is also eagerly anticipating the Moyes era but does not want standards slipping at Old Trafford just because Ferguson is departing. “I think Moyes is honest and he’s fair to his players as far as I’m aware and I’m sure that’s the case,” he said. “He’ll set high standards just as we expect high standards of ourselves and I’m looking forward to working with him.” Paul Scholes could return for Ferguson’s farewell to Old Trafford after making an appearance on the bench last week while Danny Welbeck is back in contention after missing the Chelsea defeat. Swansea boss Michael Laudrup admits he will be honoured to be the man in the opposite dugout for Ferguson’s final game at Old Trafford. “Unfortunately legend is a word that is used far too often in the media today, but here we are really talking about a legend of football and I am proud to be Ferguson’s opponent in his last home game as manager at Old Trafford,” he said. Former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Laudrup doesn’t believe any manager will be able to emulate Ferguson’s sustained run of success and he said: “You always know that one day we all have to stop, but it seemed Sir Alex would go on and on. “There were rumours a few years ago but this came out of the blue and caught us all by surprise, but it was going to happen and leaving after winning the title once more is the best way to go. “What is unique with him is the time he has been at Manchester United. 27 years-even 10 years in other countries would be impossible.”—AFP
Schalke slip, Bayern celebrate title
Rosberg on pole in Spain
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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Serena, Sharapova set up Madrid final clash
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LONDON: Wigan Athletic’s players celebrate with their trophy after their win against Manchester City at the end of their English FA Cup final soccer match. — AP
Wigan stun City in FA Cup final First major trophy in 81-year history LONDON: Substitute Ben Watson scored an injury-time winner to give Wigan Athletic a sensational 1-0 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium yesterday in the biggest FA Cup final upset in 25 years. With extra time beckoning, Watson met a Shaun Maloney corner with a near-post header to stun 2011 cup winners City and give Wigan the first major trophy in their 81-year history. Victory represented a fairytale moment for the modest northwest club and their chairman, Dave Whelan, who punched the air with delight at the final whistle, after a shock that stands comparison with Wimbledon’s 1988 success over Liverpool. He had earlier led the team onto the pitch, having broken his leg while playing for Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 FA Cup final in an incident that ended his top-level football career. Beneath driving rain, Wigan manager
Roberto Martinez celebrated with his players on the pitch, as the Latics temporarily forgot their perilous fate in the Premier League, where they are on the brink of relegation. “You could see the goal coming-the performance was magnificent. We deserved it,” said Martinez. “You dream of playing at Wembley and winning. The underdogs played with incredible bravery and belief and fought the odds again. That’s the FA Cup.” Watson said: “Unbelievable. The boys were fantastic and they deserve it. To come on and score the winner in the FA Cup final is a dream.” City captain Vincent Kompany admitted his team had been out-played. “Wigan deserved to win it, so congratulations to them but we’ll have occasions to win it again,” he said. Watson’s goal completed a miserable season for City and their manager, Roberto Mancini, who awoke yesterday to media
reports that he is about to be replaced by Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini. League champions last year, City will finish the season without a trophy after being burnt off by Manchester United in the league and crashing out of the Champions League in the group phase. City were overwhelming pre-game favorites but Mancini showed how seriously he was taking the game by starting with Joe Hart in goal, despite having previously vowed to persevere with deputy Costel Pantilimon. Wigan welcomed back Antolin Alcaraz following a hamstring problem, but Maynor Figueroa, Ivan Ramis, Ronnie Stam and Jean Beausejour all missed out out through injury. True to expectations, City started on the front foot, with Wigan goalkeeper Joel Robles forced to parry a dipping Yaya Toure half-volley in the fourth minute after Carlos Tevez hit
the wall with a free-kick. Wigan refused to be cowed, however, and City soon found themselves on the back foot. Callum McManaman should have done better than curl wide from seven yards after cutting inside Matija Nastasic from Arouna Kone’s sweeping pass, while Gareth Barry had to produce a carefully timed challenge on McManaman right on the edge of the City area. It was not until the 29th minute that City showed signs of life as an attacking force, with Robles narrowly diverting an effort from a sliding Tevez over the bar with his foot following a cut-back by David Silva. City ended the half strongly, with Robles saving from Barry and then springing to his left to fist away a well-struck curler from Nasri. Mancini’s men remained on the front foot in the second period and Emmerson Boyce had to produce a timely block to prevent
Aguero from turning in Tevez’s low cross at the near post. Mancini introduced James Milner and Jack Rodwell from the bench and the pair nearly combined for the opener in the 72nd minute when Rodwell got his head to Milner’s freekick, only for Robles to save. Wigan had been subdued, but with 15 minutes to play, Maloney almost broke the deadlock with a cunning free-kick from wide on the right that bounced off the top of the bar. Wigan were given further reason for optimism in the 84th minute, when Pablo Zabaleta was shown a second yellow card for felling McManaman as he bore down on goal. Maloney whipped the resulting free-kick wide, but Wigan had the momentum and in the first minute of injury time, Watson glanced Maloney’s corner past Hart to write his name in cup final history.— AFP
Record-breaker Lampard sparks Chelsea victory Aston Villa 1
Chelsea 2 BIRMINGHAM: Frank Lampard scored twice to become Chelsea’s outright record goalscorer as Rafael Benitez’s team fought back to beat Aston Villa 2-1 yesterday and effectively ensure Champions League football next season. A hugely entertaining and eventful contest at Villa Park saw Paul Lambert’s team take an early lead through Christian Benteke and they looked well set when Chelsea’s Ramires was sent off on the stroke of half-time. Benteke though followed him down the tunnel after the restart, however, and it proved a major turning point as Lampard soon equalised before dramatically surpassing former Chelsea striker Bobby Tambling’s long-standing club record in the 88th minute by making it 203 goals for the Blues. “People have been talking about the record a lot and it’s great to get it finally, especially in an important game,” Lampard told the BBC. Third-placed Chelsea now have a sixpoint advantage over Tottenham, who have a game in hand in fifth, but have a superior goal difference over their London rivals of 17 goals. The only negative for the visitors at Villa Park was the sight of John Terry being
carried off on a stretcher, casting a doubt over the centre-half’s availability for the Europa League final against Benfica in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez praised Lampard’s display by saying: “I’m really pleased for him and the team. He’s a real professional. He trains well and is always pushing and ready to play.” As for injury problems ahead of the Europa League final, Benitez said both Terry and playmaker Eden Hazard were doubtful with ankle knocks. Defeat meant relegation-threatened Villa remained on 40 points and the Birmingham club will now anxiously await Wigan’s midweek game with Arsenal. Victory for Wigan could see the Latics defy the drop at Villa’s expense if they beat the Midlands club on the final day of the season. Villa manager Paul Lambert said his side had received no help from the officials. “We should have won the game. I thought we looked great and played good football, we had a good tempo. Some of the decisions today were bizarre...We were so far in control of that game. We didn’t deserve that - we were excellent.” Villa were celebrating by the 15th minute when a fine Yacouba Sylla through-ball sent Benteke through from the left and, after outfoxing Gary Cahill with ease, the Belgium international squeezed a low shot inside Petr Cech’s near post. Chelsea’s irritation boiled over just a minute later when Ramires collected his first caution for a cynical lunge on Benteke. The 19th minute was marked with the now customary 60 seconds of applause for Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov,
who announced his retirement this week as he continues his battle against leukaemia. Brad Guzan once again demonstrated why he was named Villa’s player of the year when he reacted superbly to push Lampard’s free-kick onto the right post before blocking Juan Mata’s close-range attempt from the follow-up. The red card was brandished for the first time in the 45th minute when Ramires received a second yellow for a high boot on Gabriel Agbonlahor. Benteke’s game was brought to a conclusion in the 59th minute when he was booked for a raised boot on Terry, who collapsed to the ground clutching his chest. Within two minutes Chelsea were level, with Lampard the all but inevitable scorer. Hazard rolled possession sideways to the England international who shifted his weight to fool Nathan Baker before rifling a shot beyond Guzan. Chelsea thought they’d made it 2-1 in the 72nd minute when Sylla, on the line, blocked Cahill’s shot. But the onrushing Ba’s follow-up did appear to cross the whitewash despite the best efforts of Ashley Westwood. Chelsea’s frustration was compounded seconds later when Terry collapsed to the ground clutching his ankle following a collision with Ron Vlaar. A dramatic finale ensued and after Cech saved well from Westwood, with just two minutes left on the clock Lampard had the final say when he swept home Hazard’s cross from close range. The afternoon ended in even more emotional circumstances when Petrov emerged from the tunnel to lead the end-of-season lap of honor around the pitch. — AFP
BIRMINGHAM: Chelsea’s Spanish striker Juan Mata (left) and Aston Villa’s English midfielder Fabian Delph (right) compete during the English Premier League football match. —AFP
EPL result/standings Aston Villa 1 (Benteke 14) Chelsea 2 (Lampard 61, 88) English Premier League table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd
36 27
Man City Chelsea Arsenal Tottenham Everton Liverpool West Brom Swansea West Ham Stoke
36 37 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36
22 21 19 19 15 14 14 11 11 9
4 5 79 37 85 - champions 9 5 62 31 75 9 7 73 38 72 10 7 67 36 67 9 8 63 45 66 15 6 52 38 60 13 9 67 42 55 6 16 48 48 48 13 12 46 46 46 10 15 41 49 43 14 13 32 42 41
Fulham Aston Villa Southampton Sunderland Norwich Newcastle Wigan Reading QPR
36 10 10 16 46 57 40 37 10 10 17 45 67 40 36 9 12 15 47 58 39 36 9 11 16 40 52 38 36 8 14 14 34 56 38 36 10 8 18 43 66 38 36 9 8 19 44 67 35 36 6 10 20 41 67 28 - relegated 36 4 13 19 29 57 25 - relegated
Business
Kuwait inflation slowed to 1.6% in March: NBK Page 22 All-new MINI Paceman arrives in Kuwait Page 25
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Has the gold rush Page 26 come to an end? Page 23
Thailand holds tourism roadshow in Kuwait
The leader of the Mortgage Victims’ Platform (PAH), Ada Colau, center, talks with journalists during a protest against the visit of Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, May 10, 2013. Dozens of members of the Mortgage Victims’ Platform (PAH) were demonstrating outside the building where Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was inaugurating the 37th Spanish International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Barcelona. — AP
G7 to press on with bank reforms Osborne plays down rift on austerity measures
AYLESBURY: British Finance Minister George Osborne (left) and Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King hold a press conference following the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, yesterday. — AFP
AYLESBURY, England: Group of Seven finance officials agreed yesterday to redouble efforts to deal with failing banks and gave a green light to Japan’s drive to galvanise its economy. British finance minister George Osborne said the finance ministers and central bankers meeting 40 miles outside London focused on unfinished bank reforms, with signs that plans for a euro zone banking union are fraying. “It is important to complete swiftly our work to ensure that no banks are too big to fail,” Osborne told reporters after hosting a two-day meeting in a stately home set in rolling countryside. “We must put regimes in place ... to deal with failing banks and to protect taxpayers and to do so in a globally consistent manner,” he said. The emergency rescue of Cyprus after a near meltdown in March served as a reminder of the need to finish an overhaul of the banking sector, five years after the world financial crisis began. Germany has come under pressure to give more support to a banking union in the euro-zone. The plan could help strengthen the single currency area, but Berlin worries it may pay too much for future bank bailouts if it signs up to a scheme to wind up stricken lenders. While the first step - to create a single bank supervisor under the European Central Bank - looks set to be in place by mid2014, a second pillar, a ‘resolution’ fund to close failed banks, is in doubt. And there is little prospect that a single deposit guarantee scheme will ever see the light of day. A senior US Treasury official said the talks at the 17thcentury Hartwell House zeroed in on the need not just for better bank supervision but also to clean up balance sheets so lending can pick up. “There was a sense of urgency among the euro area participants,” the official said. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble coun-
tered that the euro zone was no longer the main risk to the world economy. As at previous international meetings, Japan escaped any censure for printing money on a scale that has pushed the yen sharply lower. Osborne said the G7 - the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada - reaffirmed that fiscal and monetary policy should be aimed at domestic concerns, not currency manipulation. “We will not target exchange rates,” Osborne said. “I would say that the statement by the G7 of earlier this year was a successful statement and one that has been held to.” The yen hit a four-year low against the dollar on Friday , driven in part by Japanese investors shifting into foreign bonds, a move that had been expected since the Bank of Japan unveiled a massive stimulus plan. But having urged Tokyo for years to do something to revive its economy, other world powers are not in a strong position to complain now that it is doing so. Then there is the fact that central banks such as the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have printed money in the way the Bank of Japan is. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the G7 had levelled no criticism at Japan’s monetary policy but Schaeuble said there had been “intense discussions” and that the situation would be monitored carefully. Debate has also heated up about the need for governments to ease up on austerity, something Germany, Britain and Canada view with caution but Washington, Paris and Rome favour. Osborne said there was less disagreement about whether governments should focus on debt-cutting or growth-boosting measures than is commonly assumed. “Everyone is clear that there needs to be credible medium-term fiscal consolidation ... We also agreed that
Aussie dollar slips below US parity Slowdown fears hit currency
SYDNEY: The Australian dollar slipped below parity with the greenback for the first time in 12 months yesterday on fears that the mining-powered economy was slowing. The Aussie hit a low of 99.62 US cents in offshore trade overnight, dipping below the US$1 mark for the first time since May 14 last year, when it was rattled by political turmoil in Greece. It had rebounded to $1.0024 by yesterday morning, but analysts said the currency’s robust run may
have peaked as Australia’s historic boom in mining investment plateaus and uncertainty clouds its economic transition. “It looks to be something a bit more permanent,” said Stephen Koukoulas from Market Economics. “The last few weeks we’ve gone from about $1.05 to about $1.02... it has been just coming off the boil a little bit the last month or so.” “I reckon there’s a bit of a repositioning going on, there’s a sense that maybe some of the best is behind the Aussie dollar.
The fresh buying might be starting to dry up.” The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed interest rates to a record low of 2.75 percent this week in a bid to stimulate Australia’s non-mining economy, citing sluggish growth and employment and the protracted strength of the dollar. It expects Australia’s economy to expand at below-average pace this year, with growth of 2.5 percent and inflation of 2.25 percent. The government will release its updated economic forecasts on May 14. — AFP
there needs to be flexibility,” he said. “Growth prospects remain uneven and we can’t take the global recovery for granted.” But his suggestion before the meeting that it should consider what more monetary policy could do to support economic recovery appeared to fall on deaf ears. “There wasn’t any call to do more,” European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi told reporters after the meeting. “It is quite clear that all central banks have done a lot, each one within its own mandate. So (the meeting) was just taking note of this ... All of us have really been active.” Several officials from visiting delegations questioned why Britain had called the gathering just three weeks after they and others met at International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, but Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the informal nature of the discussions had paid dividends. “Freed from burden to agree a communique, the principals engaged more with each than I can recall before and as a result genuinely made real progress in taking forward some of the questions and issues that are facing the G7,” he said. Osborne, who hosted the two days of informal discussions, said the G7 countries all agreed to make sure that “policies are oriented towards domestic objectives.” In a rare development, the G7 didn’t actually issue a communique at the conclusion of its deliberations. However, Osborne said the previous communique “was a successful statement and one that has been held to” - a clear reference to Japan. In February, when markets were particularly roiled by developments in Japan, the G7 said their respective fiscal and monetary policies were oriented towards meeting domestic requirements and that exchange rates were not a target of policy. — Agencies
Brazil finance ministry’s No 2 to leave BRASILIA: The No 2 official at Brazil’s Finance Ministry, Nelson Barbosa, plans to resign from the job by July, daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported yesterday, citing loss of influence within the government as the reason for his departure. Barbosa, a finance ministry official since 2006, helped conceive some of the government’s flagship economic projects, including the accelerated growth program and another that increased the supply of affordable housing to low earners. Folha said three ministers, whom it did not identify, as well as other government officials confirmed that Barbosa had notified Finance Minister Guido Mantega of his intention to resign. Presidential sources told the paper that he made the request in February but would remain in the post until a key project he was involved with, reforming the way the ICMS tax akin to Value-Added Tax was charged, had passed through Congress. Calls to the finance ministry yesterday seeking comment were not answered. — Reuters
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
BUSINESS
Kuwait inflation slowed to 1.6% in March: NBK Deflation in food prices lead price fall
KUWAIT: Latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures show inflation slowing to 1.6 percent yearon-year (y/y) in March, from 2.1 percent in February. The 0.5 percent points drop from February was mostly due to deflation in food prices, and to a lesser extent, some slowdown in household goods and services inflation. Overall, inflation in most segments is well down on the average for 2012. Despite some potential pickup in the second half of this year, we expect inflation to remain modest, averaging about 3.5 percent or lower in 2013. Most of the slowdown in the March general inflation rate came from the disinflationary force of food prices, which dropped 0.9 percent y/y (chart 2). This was the first time in a little over 10 years where food prices actually fell y/y. Part of the reason for the fall was simply a base effect: March of last year had seen an atypical jump in food prices (a 2.6 percent m/m increase), causing the current March figure to appear much tamer in comparison. Nonetheless, food price inflation has in fact been decelerating in recent months, and has slowed down considerably from its peak of 12.3 percent in November 2010. The main driver has been the drop in international food prices last year filtered out to Kuwaiti food prices. In fact, some major food subcomponents - ones that were not part of the one-off increase in March 2012 - also saw y/y deflation. Meat prices were down 1.2 percent in March, while cereals and bread prices dropped by 1.5 percent y/y. A less potent disinflationary effect came from the household goods and services segment,
BEIJING: Mayor of Chongqing, Huang Qifan reacts as he finishes a speech at a forum in Beijing yesterday. The CEIBS-UNESCO-CHIC 2nd China Int’l Agri-Business Forum was held yesterday. — AFP
Bayt.com weakly report which went up 3.0 percent y/y in March, from 3.5 percent in February. Elsewhere, there weren’t any major sources of upward or downward pressure on general inflation, as the y/y rates for most segments in March were similar to the February figure. Minor exceptions include the transport and communication segment which went up by 3.2 percent y/y in March, from 3.1 percent in the previous month. (Chart 3). The housing services segment, which is mostly made up of rent, was another source of minor upward pressure. Generally, it continues to see mild rates of inflation - going up 2.5 percent y/y in March, from 2.4 percent in February. But given strong conditions in the residential property market, inflationary pressures could yet reemerge.
Starting from a relatively low base, and being the largest component of the CPI basket, an increase in measured rental rates would have a notable effect on general inflation. With the end of the first quarter of 2013, inflation has come in slightly below expectations and may now do so for the year as a whole, too; our original 2013 forecast of 3.5 percent may prove too pessimistic. Nevertheless, in terms of the monthly dynamics, it is possible that inflation has reached its low point for the year and will edge higher as we go on - especially if the weakness in the food component reverses. The core CPI measure - which excludes food and beverage prices - is already outpacing headline inflation, at 2.4 percent y/y in March.
Liquidity in KSE soars 62%: Report KUWAIT: The Kuwait stock market liquidity has remarkably increased in the first four months of 2013 backed by several incentives on the market and drastic decline in bank deposits interest rates, Al Shall Economic Consultants Company’s Economic Research Unit said in a report released Saturday. “Liquidity of Kuwait Stock Exchange measured by the average daily trading value during the past four months of the current year 2013 rose by about 62 percent compared with the average daily trading value for 2012,” reads the report. “Market attractiveness is attributed to several reasons including the banks’ liquidity indigestion which drastically reduced the deposits’ interest, the high rise in real estate prices, the investment housing activity, and the considerable decline in the Kuwaiti shares prices, especially the cheap ones, since the beginning of the financial crisis.” While the rise in market liquidity represents expansion in demand, the rise in stocks prices becomes a balance factor for the demand expansion. The report made clear that some stock price rises are a healthy phenomenon and some others are not. “The rise in prices justified by return expectations from operation is a due award; likewise, the rise to bridge the gap between a fair price and the very low price below its fair value due to the financial crisis conditions is also
index. “The general index showed a decrease, AlShall Index (value weighted) closed at 462.2 points at the closing of last Thursday, showing a decrease of 0.9 points or
deserved rise, “But when liquidity is directed towards a few stocks unsupported by distinguished performance expectations, with stocks rotating and rising without the restraint of reaching their fair price, liquidity becomes harmful.” The report cautioned that the market liquidity in the past four months of the current year indicates clearly dominance of harmful trading. While it achieved some needed liquidity like rewarding the serious comapanies and bridging the gap for the unfairly dealt with stocks, half of it at least went for gambling and adventure. Figures indicate that about 66.5 percent of trading value, or KD2.34 billion, went for 30 companies, which are the most liquid and represent about 48.9 percent of capital-market value of all listed companies. “However, 21 companies within these whose market value does not exceed 3.3 percent of the market value of the companies, or KD1 billion in market value out of KD30 billion, captured46.8 percent of all market trading value or KD1.64 billion. This means their shares achieved a turnover average by 160 percent in four months.” The report noted that the performance of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) for the last week was mixed, where the traded value index, and the transactions index showed an increase, while the traded volume
about 0.2 percent compared to the end of the previous week, and an increase of 24 points or about 5.5 percent compared to the end of 2012.” — KUNA
Egypt confident of securing IMF deal ISTANBUL: Egypt’s new planning minister said yesterday he was confident the country would reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a $4.8 billion loan program, although the timing of its next visit to Cairo was unclear. The IMF said on Thursday it was not currently planning a new visit to Egypt to discuss the program as it was awaiting new economic data and reform plans from the government. “I am not sure about the time of return but what I am sure about is that we are going to close a deal because there is a lot of agreement,” Planning Minister Amr Darrag told Reuters. “It is going to be closed,” he said on the sidelines of a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) conference in Istanbul. Hany Kadry Dimian, a senior Egyptian finance ministry official who has been the point man in the protracted and so far fruitless negotiations, said this month he hoped to conclude the remaining stages with the global lender as soon as possible. Egypt has been in crisis since a popular uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak in early 2011 and has run through more than $20 billion in reserves, borrowed billions more from abroad and delayed payments to oil companies to support its currency. Investment Minister Yehya Hamed told the EBRD conference the budget deficit would be around 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($28.75 billion), equivalent to 11.5 percent of national output, in the 2012/13 year to the end of June. The government is seeking to narrow the deficit to 9.5 percent of gross domestic product in the next financial year. — Reuters
Ten daily habits that can revitalize your life By Lama Ataya
D
o you find yourself stuck in a bit of a career and lifestyle rut? Are you in need of a little energyboost to regain your normal motivation levels? We all know that motivated people are happier, more energetic, more enthusiastic, more productive, more driven and better performing than others. Here are ten simple daily habits suggested by the HR experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 Jobsite, that can revitalize your life. 1. Wake up early This may be very challenging for many, but getting a consistently good healthy night’s sleep then waking up in the crisp clean early morning air before all the sounds and hustle and bustle of commuters and traffic set in can be very beneficial for your energy levels, stamina and productivity. 2. Exercise Before you assemble a medley of perfectly plausible excuses (no gym, no time, no energy) remember that it only takes a little bit of creativity to come up with an exercise regime that suits your lifestyle and circumstances. Even twenty minutes a day is a great place to start. If you are really constrained for choices, perhaps you can walk or cycle around the block or do other regular exercises at home from a video or book. A bit of exercise will do your brain and mood and body a world of good. After all, if over 80% of polled MENA professionals can squeeze some exercise time into their busy schedules, then so can you. 3. Keep a journal List items you wish to accomplish and reward yourself when you accomplish them. Note moments of inspiration and great thoughts and ideas too. 4. Smile We all want a calm peaceful benevolent world and what better way to effect that than by projecting that attitude ourselves at all times. It all starts with a lovely heartfelt sincere smile. 5. Practice gratitude An attitude of gratitude is your best companion in life. Try to always look at the glass as half-full rather than halfempty and think of shortfalls in terms of the opportunities they present for inno-
vation and improvement. 6. Contemplate Take time away from your daily schedule every day to really review and think about your words and actions that day and the impact they had on others; then ask yourself if they had the desired consequences. Plan what you will do the same or differently in the future and envision what your next day should look like. 7. Read Reading stimulates your brain and allows you to learn and grow at your own pace and through your own preferred channels. For 69.6% of professionals, reading relevant materials regularly is extremely important, and 77.8% of professionals reveal that they read industry related literature on a regular basis. Anyone committed to a path of continuous growth and learning should regularly be picking up reading materials that will guide, enlighten and narrate the way. 8. Eat healthy Begin every single day with a nutritious breakfast low in sugar and aim to eat at regular intervals and not overindulge as the day progresses. 31.7% of professionals would describe their eating habits as unhealthy but this can be easily changed. Aim for a healthy balance as well as creative variety to stave off the cravings and choose moderation at all times. 9. Be aware of your thoughts Do you ever find yourself engaged in a virulent downward spiral of negative thinking? Avoid that by being always in control of your thought process and assigning strong assertive mental gatekeepers to ward off any unconstructive, self-defeating thoughts and keep selfdoubts at bay. An optimistic, positivethinking, can-do attitude will serve you well in your career and in your life. 10. Practice an act of generosity This can be as complicated as you want or as simple as a hearty morning greeting to everyone at the office, offering to make someone a cup of coffee, listening intently to a colleague with a problem, offering to help someone in need, lending the neighbor a hand carrying groceries or even practicing an act of generous forgiveness.
EXCHANGE RATES Irani Riyal Irani Riyal
Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds
.2770000 .4310000 .3680000 .3020000 .2780000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0771240 .7513970 .3930000 .0720000 .7366120 .0370000
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2841000 GB Pound/KD .4338920 Euro .3707360 Swiss francs .3043390 Canadian dollars .2795430 Danish Kroner .0497330 Swedish Kroner .0443660 Australian dlr .2963730 Hong Kong dlr .0365940 Singapore dlr .2291130 Japanese yen .0029600 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0773800 Bahraini dinars .7538810 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0757800 Omani riyals .7382100 Philippine Peso .0000000
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Malaysian ringgit
ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.884 5.266 2.896 2.259 3.305 232.220 36.776 3.652 6.987 9.659 94.221
.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
0.271 0.273
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
GCC COUNTRIES 76.137 78.450 741.590 758.340 77.744
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.400 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.536 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.332 Tunisian Dinar 175.960 Jordanian Dinar 403.190 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.915 Syrian Lier 3.102 Morocco Dirham 33.976 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 285.400 Euro 375.870 Sterling Pound 443.230 Canadian dollar 284.860 Turkish lira 158.720 Swiss Franc 304.190 US Dollar Buying 284.200 GOLD 298.000 150.000 77.500
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
SELL DRAFT 299.45 285.97 306.21 376.06 284.60 444.81 2.98 3.675 5.263 2.245 3.313 2.896 77.55 757.78 40.62 405.45 740.69 78.59 76.02
Selling Rate 285.100 286.510 444.700 374.180 304.790 754.940 77.615 78.270 76.005 401.965 40.530 2.257 5.271 2.894 3.654 6.969 699.490 3.875 9.695 4.065 3.380 94.985
Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY
UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal
Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit
SELL CASH 298.000 285.000 307.000 374.500 285.500 449.000 3.300 3.720 5.450 2.430 3.400 2.953 78.000 756.800 40.500 410.000 743.000 78.500 76.400
British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc
BUY Europe 0.4360952 0.0061493 0.0464255 0.3688111 0.0456335 0.4329760 0.0398889 0.2999865
SELL 0.4450952 0.0181493 0.0514255 0.3702658 0.0508335 0.4404760 0.0448889 0.3069866
Australasia 0.2817944 0.2330290 0.0001138
0.2937944 0.2430290 0.0001138
Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars
America 0.2771159 0.0001449 0.2827500
0.2861159 0.0001629 0.2849000
Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa
Asia 0.0036085 0.0031604 0.0452439 0.0164600
0.0036635 0.0033904 0.0502439 0.0195600
Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling
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
0.0000442 0.0341613 0.0051882 0.0000243 0.0028459 0.0028044 0.0033434 0.0909191 0.0031348 0.0028676 0.0065377 0.0000728 0.2279739 0.0022189 0.0092634
0.0000502 0.0372613 0.0052522 0.0000294 0.0038459 0.0029844 0.0035734 0.0979191 0.0033348 0.0029076 0.0070077 0.0000758 0.2339739 0.0022609 0.0098834
Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal
Arab 0.7492766 0.0384494 0.0128660 0.1448562 0.0000792 0.0001733 0.3962631 1.0000000 0.0001747 0.0221786 0.0012104 0.7289892 0.0775997 0.0754400 0.0463230 0.0031790 0.1736460 0.0761404 0.0012852
0.7577766 0.0404794 0.0193660 0.1466462 0.0000797 0.0002333 0.4037631 1.0000000 0.0001947 0.0461786 0.0018454 0.7399892 0.0783827 0.0760800 0.0468730 0.0033990 0.1796460 0.0775904 0.0013852
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) 284.500 374.150 442.000 284.750 2.850 5.215 40.445 2.257 3.650 6.924 2.893 757.550 77.500 76.000
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
BUSINESS
Kuwait trade surplus hits KD25.9bn NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Recent trade data show that Kuwait’s trade surplus reached an all-time high of KD 25.9 billion in 2012, surpassing the previously set record level of KD21.2 billion in 2011. The surplus, estimated at around 53 percent of annual 2012 GDP, was boosted by a combination of strong exports and comparatively soft imports. This year, we expect the trade surplus to be limited by lower oil prices and a faster pick-up in imports - the latter driven by an improvement in non-oil sector growth. Oil exports also climbed to a record high of KD 31.6 billion in 2012 - up 18 percent on the previous year. This was driven by a 12 percent y/y increase in oil production, as well as a 3 percent y/y rise in Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) prices to $109 per barrel. Oil export receipts exceeded KD 8 billion in 1Q12 - the highest level in any single quarter - but eased back in following months in line with oil price movements; by December, the price of KEC receded by some $16 per barrel from its peak in March. Non-oil exports edged up to KD1.6 billion in 2012 (+ 5 percent y/y) on the back of higher ‘re-exports’ and ‘other’ goods. These were
both around KD 0.2 billion higher than a year ago, with the larger part of the increase occurring in the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, exports of ‘ethylene products’ were down 30 percent y/y, despite a 4Q12 surge. Their share of total non-oil exports, which constituted a significant plus-50 percent in the previous year, dropped to around one-third. Imports grew by a sluggish 3 percent y/y in 2012 to KD7.2 billion, compared to an average growth rate of 12 percent over the past decade. Imports had picked up in 4Q12 following three consecutive quarters of decline, but they were down in year-on-year terms in the quarter for the first time in two years. Softer oil exports - against the backdrop of a looser global oil market - and stronger imports are likely to trim the trade surplus in 2013. We expect to see cuts in Kuwait’s oil production from a record average of 3 million barrels per day in 2012, in addition to lower oil prices. Meanwhile, the pace of growth in imports could accelerate this year, as government development projects - coupled with a strong consumer sector - spur growth in nonoil GDP.
Has the gold rush come to an end? Speculators ‘fleeing the precious metal’: Expert NEW YORK: When the price of gold plunged $200 last month, many people thought they caught the sound of the gold bubble popping. What Peter Schiff, the CEO of brokerage Euro Pacific Precious Metals believes he heard was a stampede of fairweather speculators fleeing the precious metal. Schiff and other champions of gold weren’t shaken by the plunge. To them it was just a short breather in preparation for another long climb. All the reasons they give for buying gold haven’t changed: Gold remains a refuge from disaster, they say, arguing that a steep drop in the dollar and a spike in the price of consumer goods are a threat. For speculators, buying gold was simply a way to profit from its popularity. “That’s what happens in a bull market,” Schiff says. “The selloffs shake out the Johnny-comelatelies. It’s healthy. Now we can have a real rally.” Gold, often touted as the most trustworthy of investments, has looked wild over the past month. After starting April above $1,600 an ounce, it dropped below $1,361 on April 15 and has steadily recovered to settle at $1,436 on Friday. Gold is supposed to be a haven from turmoil. When the housing market started cracking and the stock market sank in 2007, the price began to surge. Over the next two years, it soared from around $600 an ounce to nearly $900 in the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008. For those who were wary of financial institutions or thought the Federal Reserve’s rescue efforts would backfire, it became the favored investment. The television personality Glenn Beck advised his audience to stock up on gold bars in case the dollar became worthless. The tea party called for a return to linking the value of the dollar to the price of gold. If fear of economic collapse started the gold rally, greed accelerated it. By 2009, speculators and others looked to ride gold’s popularity. Hedge funds and other big investors piled in. Anxiety and gold prices kept climbing in
tandem. Right after Standard & Poor’s stripped the US of its top credit rating in August 2011, the price peaked above $1,900. Instead of buying gold bricks and stashing them in their basement, many hedge funds and big investors turned to buying gold exchange-traded funds, which trade on markets like stocks. The most popular offering, the SPDR Gold Trust, attracted
slashed his stake in the SPDR Gold Trust fund by 55 percent at the end of last year, according to the most recent regulatory filing. Judging by the numbers, it looks like others decided to jump out of the market at the same time. Hedge funds and big investors pulled $8.7 billion out of gold funds last month, according to EPFR Global, a firm that tracks where big investors put
NEW YORK: Gold bars are on display at the “Gold” exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Gold, often touted as the most trustworthy of investments, has looked wild over the past month. After starting last month above $1,600 an ounce, it dropped below $1,361 on April 15 and has steadily recovered to settle at $1,436 on Friday. —AP big investors like John Paulsen, who made billions betting on the mortgage meltdown, and George Soros. As money poured in, the SPDR Gold Trust grew into the second-largest largest exchange-traded fund behind the SPDR S&P 500, which follows the stock market. And its supply of gold swelled from 780 metric tons at the start of 2009 to 1,353 metric tons in December. But now it looks like the fast-money has soured on the yellow metal. George Soros
their money. EPFR says it was the biggest monthly withdrawal out of gold funds since the firm started collecting data in 2000. The SPDR Gold Trust unloaded 12 percent of its gold in April, selling 146 metric tons. There’s no single destination for all the money rushing out of gold, says Cameron Brandt, EPFR’s director of research. The most popular places for investors now are real estate funds, junk bonds, emerging-market bonds and stocks in big companies that pay
dividends. One clear trend that Brandt sees is investors pulling cash out of the safety of money-market funds in search of something better. Some of that money appears to be trickling back into the US stock market. So where’s gold headed next? The answer depends partly on where you think inflation is going. At one extreme, Schiff and others in his camp believe the Fed will eventually let inflation loose and gold will hit $2,000. “They’re going to print and print until money is worthless, or they run out of trees,” Schiff says. “I think people will look back at this time period and think, ‘Wow, what a great opportunity.’” Others see no reason for gold to resume its climb. They point to a recent academic study that said current consumer prices imply a gold price below $800 an ounce. Gold forecasts from Wall Street banks sit somewhere in the middle. Samuel Lee, an ETF strategist at Morningstar in Chicago, has less than 5 percent of a portfolio he manages in gold, and plans to keep it that way. He considers gold a protection against inflation over the very long-term - from 50 to 100 years. Lee says he isn’t sure where gold prices are going this year or the next, “but I’m convinced they won’t do as well as stocks.” He adds, “I’m not really a big believer in gold. I’m fully aware that it can lose me a lot of money. I just care that it gives me some diversification.” With banks looking stable and the economy slowly improving, there’s less of a need to hide in the gold market. Fear of another financial crisis has diminished. Ralph Preston, a market analyst and broker at Heritage West Financial in San Diego, Calif., envisions a few scenarios in which gold could shoot higher this year. If the war in Syria spreads, or if North Korea launches an attack on other countries in Asia, it could head back above $1,900. “Owning a little bit of gold is probably not a bad idea,” he says. “But I don’t think we’ll be using it to buy groceries someday.” —AP
US tax agency targeted conservative groups in 2012 WASHINGTON: The US tax agency has apologized for “inappropriate” targeting of dozens of conservative political groups during the 2012 presidential election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. Revelations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted political groups because they were affiliated with a movement that is critical of President Barack Obama could become a new headache for the White House. “ The admission by the Obama administration that the Internal Revenue Service targeted political opponents echoes some of the most shameful abuses of government power in 20th century American history,” said House Speaker John Boehner, the most powerful Republican in Congress. IRS agents singled out about 75 organizations for additional reviews because they included the words “tea party” or “patriot” in their exemption applications, said Lois Lerner, who heads the agency division that oversees
tax-exempt groups. “Tea party” and “patriot’ are favorite terms of the small-government conservative movement that has emerged in recent years. Many conservative groups complained during the 2012 campaign that they were being harassed by the IRS. They accused the agency of frustrating their attempts to become tax exempt by sending them lengthy, intrusive questionnaires. The forms, which the groups have made available, sought information about group members’ political activities, including details of their postings on social networking websites and about family members. No group had its tax-exempt status revoked, Lerner said. Lerner acknowledged it was wrong for the IRS to target groups based on political affiliation. “That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. That’s not how we go about selecting cases for further review,” Lerner said at a conference sponsored by the
American Bar Association. The IRS - led at the time by an appointee of the Republican administration of George W. Bush blamed low-level employees, saying no high-level officials were aware. But that wasn’t good enough for Republicans in Congress, who are conducting several investigations and asked for more. White House spokesman Jay Carney declared it was indeed inappropriate for the IRS to target tea party groups. But he brushed aside questions about whether the White House would investigate, and he said he did not know when the White House first learned that tea party groups were being targeted. Agency officials found out about the practice last year and moved to correct it, the IRS said in a statement. The statement did not specify when officials found out. The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration has been looking into the issue since last summer, and his report is expected to come out next week, the IG’s office
said Friday. There has been a surge of politically active groups claiming tax-exempt status in recent elections - conservative and liberal. Unlike other charitable groups, these organizations are allowed to participate in political activities, but their primary activity must be social welfare. That determination is up to the IRS. Lerner said the number of groups filing for this tax-exempt status more than doubled from 2010 to 2012, to more than 3,400. To handle the influx, the IRS centralized its review of these Applications Staffers look for signs that groups are participating in political activity. If so, IRS agents take a closer look to make sure that politics isn’t the group’s primary activity. Agents came up with a list of things to look for in an application. They included the words, “tea party” and “patriot,” Lerner said. About 300 groups were singled out for additional review,
Lerner said. Of those, about a quarter were singled out because they had “tea party” or “patriot” somewhere in their applications. The IRS statement said that once applications were chosen for review, they all “received the same, even-handed treatment.” “It is suspicious that the activity of these ‘low-level workers’ was unknown to IRS leadership at the time it occurred,” said Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, which describes itself as the nation’s largest tea party organization. “President Obama must also apologize for his administration ignoring repeated complaints by these broad grass-roots organizations of harassment by the IRS in 2012, and make concrete and transparent steps today to ensure this never happens again.” Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher, Alan Fram and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Steve Peoples in Boston contributed to this report. —AP
BEIJING: A Chinese tourist taking a self-portrait outside the Forbidden City in Beijing. Chinese banks lent less in April than March, official data showed on May 10, after other recent indicators suggested a rebound in the world’s number two economy was flagging. China grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012, with gross domestic product expanding 7.8 percent in the face of weakness at home and in key overseas markets. — AFP
Private funds help open Yellowstone roads OLD FAITHFUL, Wyoming: Snow removal could hardly be considered a glamorous government function, but it was cause for celebration on Friday in Yellowstone National Park as dozens of state, local and federal dignitaries gathered to mark the on-time seasonal opening of the park’s roads. After federal budget cuts known as the “sequester” delayed annual snow plowing efforts by the National Park Service, two small Wyoming towns on the fringe of Yellowstone organized a private fund-raising drive that helped cover the cost of clearing the roads. Wyoming Governor Matt Mead joined Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk and others at Old Faithful Lodge on Friday to celebrate a cooperative effort that helped erase the park’s most visible effect of federal budget cuts and marked the opening of all major roads within Yellowstone. Mead approved a plan in March that allowed roughly $125,000 in mostly private money to pay for Wyoming Department of Transportation plows and for workers to clear portions of the east entrance road from Cody and the south entrance road from Jackson. While most July and August visitors would not be concerned whether roads were plowed on time in May, the local funding assist meant that other “ripple-effect” cuts to visitor services would not be necessary, Wenk said. Yellowstone and neighboring Grand Teton National Park are major attractions in Wyoming, helping to draw nearly 8.7 million annual visitors to a state where tourism is the second-largest industry, Mead said. Local leaders had feared that a late start to the summer tourist season would result in lingering misperceptions nationwide that the parks were either closed or staffed by skeleton crews. The two parks provide a combined total of more than 10,000 jobs for the Jackson and Cody communities. So far, advance bookings for Yellowstone are up over last year, said Rick Hoeninghausen, vice president for sales and marketing at Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the park’s primary lodging and activities concessionaire. “Besides the economic end of it, there are also the people who plan their vacations around those dates,” said Jerry Fritz, a Cody City Council member and Wyoming Department of Transportation worker who helped plow roads in Yellowstone. That includes visitors like David Hanna, a chicken farmer from Magee, Mississippi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and spent much of the next two years in treatment and recovery. When he was declared cancer-free last year, he began planning a “dream vacation” to Yellowstone with his wife, Verna. Their goal has been to get into the park as soon as possible, which was May 3, thanks to the local snow-plowing efforts. “It’s just amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Hanna said last week during his long-awaited trip as he looked out over still-frozen Yellowstone Lake and a steaming fumarole at Steamboat Point. The automatic, across-the-board federal spending cuts imposed March 1 under a drastic deficit-reduction deal between President Barack Obama and Congress has meant cuts in services in other national parks across the country, including neighboring Grand Teton National Park. An effort there to trim $700,000 from the last half of the fiscal year’s operating budget could mean closed campsites, toilets and other facilities. But as in Yellowstone, local groups are stepping in to help. There was no praise at Old Faithful on Friday for Congress, which failed to avert the sequester. Mead said the Washington, D.C. approach to such issues was one of placing blame, rather than resolving problems. “But this ain’t DC,” Mead said with a broad smile as he signed a proclamation supporting National Travel and Tourism Week. “This is Wyoming.” —Reuters
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
BUSINESS
KSE indices remain mixed amid caution BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT
Ernst & Young report
Delivering tomorrow’s companies today By Nadeem Shafi
T
KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week with variance on its indices. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 2.31 percent, while the weighted index increased by 0.32 percent compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index decreased by 0.50 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover increased by 10.94 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD110.83 million, whereas trading volume average was 1.01 billion shares, recording decrease of 7.06 percent. The Price Index continued its gains and reached some levels, that did not approach in a long while, supported by the continued purchasing operations on small-cap stocks, and the positive speculations on a large number of it, therefore the index improved to close at its highest since October 2009. On the contrary, the large-cap stocks witnessed a declining unstable performance last week, due to the selling pressures in some sessions, which limited the Weighted Index gains and dragged KSX-15 to a limited loss by the end of the week. Moreover, most of the market purchasing operations during this period are executed on small-cap stocks, especially in Real Estate and Financial Services sectors, which are considered having the most trading value among all other sectors. On the other hand, the market witnessed last week a relative profit collection oper-
ations, which is considered natural and logic especially after the big gains realized by many stocks since the beginning of the current year, with focus on small-cap stocks, and caused the Price Index to increase noticeably. As a result, a corrective action is necessary for the stocks to establish at price levels that enable the Price Index from aiming at the 8,000 point level, which is expected to be reached soon in light of the positive expectations for the listed companies first quarter financial results. For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 30.93 percent annual gain compared to its closing in 2012, while the weighted index increased by 10.67 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded 7.57 percent increase. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 7,769.46 points, up by 2.31 percent from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.32 percent weekly gain after closing at 462.20 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index closed at 1,085.44 points, decreasing with 0.50 percent. Sectors’ indices Ten of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone, while the other two recorded declines. Last week’s highest gainer was the Insurance sector, achieving 8.52 percent growth rate as its index closed at 1,146.04 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Health Care
sector’s index closed at 1,107.32 points recording 4.28 percent increase. The Basic Materials sector came in third as its index achieved 3.15 percent growth, ending the week at 1,190.20 points. The Oil & Gas sector was the least growing as its index closed at 1,243.44 points with a 0.25 percent increase. On the other hand, the Telecommunications sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.59 percent to end the week’s activity at 929.20 points. The Technology sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 0.87 percent, closing at 1,168.72 points. Sectors’ activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 1.98 billion shares changing hands, representing 38.94 percent of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 33.37 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 1.69 billion shares. On the other hand, the Banks sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD161.19 million or 29.09 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The Real Estate sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD151.43 million represented 27.33 percent of the total market trading value. — Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.
US stocks rise for third week in a row NEW YORK: Small was beautiful this week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 15,000 for the first time yesterday, then held above that milestone for the next three days. But an index of small-company stocks put the bluechip gauge to shame. On Friday, the Russell 2000 closed the week up 2.2 percent, more than double the Dow’s gain. Investors are in love with small stocks because they stand a greater chance of surging ahead than large, global companies do if the US economy continues to fare better than Europe and Asia. “GDP growth was 2.5 percent in the first quarter - not spectacular, but better than Europe,” said Joseph Tanious, global market strategist of J P Morgan Funds. “Europe is sucking wind.” On Friday, the Dow, an index of 30 large-company stocks including global giants like IBM and Caterpillar, rose 35.87 points to close at 15,118.49 after flitting between gains and losses most of the day. The Dow’s meager gain of 0.2 percent was trumped by the 0.9 percent advance in the Russell 2000. The small-company index rose 8.90 points to 975.16. Both indexes, as well as the Standard & Poor’s 500, closed at record highs. All three rose for a third straight week. The sharp increase in small-company stocks is also a sign that investors are more willing to take on risk. Small stocks can offer investors greater returns, but they are also more volatile than large stocks. Dow stocks were held back by falling commodity prices. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Alcoa - all Dow members whose fortunes are tied to the prices of crude oil and other basic materials - closed down 1 percent or more. The price of
commodities including crude oil and gold fell sharply as the dollar strengthened against other currencies, especially the Japanese yen. When the dollar rises against other currencies, it tends to weaken demand for commodities. Since commodities are priced in dollars, buyers using other currencies get less for their money when the dollar appreciates, and they respond by buying less. Stocks have benefited from record-high corporate profits. Nearly all companies in the S&P 500 have reported first quarter earnings. The average net income for companies in the index is expected to rise 5 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. “The talk at the end of April was company earnings are slowing,” said Gary Flam, who manages stock portfolios at Bel Air Investment Advisors. “But clearly that’s not been the case in the first ten days.” The S&P rose every day since the beginning of the month until Thursday, when it fell six points. On Friday it closed up 7.03 points at 1,633.70, an increase of 0.4 percent. Flam speculates that stocks are rising partly because investors have shifted from fear to greed. “The last few years, risk was defined as losing money,” he said. “The last few months, it’s been defined as not making money.” In another sign that investors were embracing risk, prices for ultra-safe US government bonds fell, sending their yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose sharply, to 1.90 percent from 1.81 percent late Thursday. The gains in the stock market were broad. Nine of the ten industry groups in the S&P 500 index were higher. Health care stocks rose the most, 1.1 per-
cent. The Nasdaq composite index was up 27.41 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 3,436.58. One dollar was worth 101.58 yen, more than the 100.54 yen it bought late Thursday. The yen has been weakening since last fall as the Bank of Japan floods the Japanese economy with cash in an effort to shake the country out of a two-decade slump. Japanese stocks surged. A weaker yen is a boon to Japanese exporters of cars, electronics and other goods because they can charge cheaper prices in overseas markets. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.9 percent to close at 14,607, its highest level since January 2008. Prices for crude oil and gold fell. Crude fell 35 cents to $96.04 a barrel in New York, a loss of 0.4 percent. Gold fell $32 to $1,436 an ounce, or 2.2 percent. Among stocks in the news: Priceline.com and chip maker Nvidia both rose about 4 percent after reporting higher earnings. Priceline jumped $27.91 to $765 and Nvidia was up 63 cents to $14.54. Clothing store chain Gap rose after reporting higher sales in April and predicting first-quarter earnings that were higher than financial analysts expected. Gap rose $2.18 to $40.99, or 5.6 percent. Dell climbed after activist investor Carl Icahn and another big investor fighting founder Michael Dell’s offer to take the company private launched another broadside against the plan. In a letter to Dell’s board, they proposed a deal that would keep the company public and pay shareholders cash or stock worth $12 a share. Dell rose 13 cents, or 1 percent, to $13.45 per share. — AP
he best companies know that the recipe for success in business contains many crucial ingredients. They include attributes that are very visible to customers, such as superior products and services. But, just as crucial is a structure that allows them to thrive. To perform at their best, companies need to create a framework that leaves customer-facing parts of the business free to concentrate on delivering quality and value to the marketplace. But what do these structures look like? And how will they evolve in order to support and enhance the businesses they serve? These are the questions today we are going to discuss and try out to answer. It is clear that businesses with vision and imagination have moved beyond tentative steps to improve operational efficiency. They continue to use outsourcers, for example, but as just one piece of the jigsaw. They recognize too that their businesses need more than rigorous attention to cost. This remains vital, of course, but added value, strategic input and analytics are also required. Building an organization of this type necessitates a new way of thinking. Many high-performing companies have abandoned structures that are defined by narrow business functions such as finance or IT. Instead, they choose to focus on delivering standardized, end-to-end processes. They are building multifunctional global business services operations that can transform the way their business works. Companies must follow this lead if they are not to be left behind. In an environment where the global recovery from financial crisis and recession continues to be slow, no business can afford to pass up the opportunity to boost performance. After all, exciting new technology makes it far easier for rivals to press ahead. Global businesses service organizations make it possible for the rest of the company to concentrate all its energy on successful and sustainable growth. As such, they are perhaps the vital new ingredient in the recipe for growth. Shared services and outsourcing: The next step Businesses began to use shared service centers and outsourcing to improve backoffice efficiency more than two decades ago. Finance led the way, followed by IT. The intention was to move routine, transactional work to specialists who were dedicated to processing it more efficiently at lower cost. This left the business free to be more volatile and focus on its customers. Shared service centers were the in-house solution, while outsourcing firms provided an external option. Over the last 20 years, both shared services and outsourcing have become more sophisticated. Other parts of the business, from HR to procurement, have followed finance’s lead. The results have been impressive. Now, however, businesses are ready for the next stage of this evolution. They have experimented with hybrid models using both shared services and outsourcing. And they have taken advantage of steadily improving technology, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The results have been impressive, with organizations routinely able to capture improved performance at lower cost from their support functions. Now, however, businesses are ready for the next stage of this evolution: implementing a multifunctional approach to shared services. Making it happen Many organizations have begun to implement a multifunctional approach to shared services. The benefits of the multifunctional approach are potentially huge, but there are a number of challenges for Csuite executives. These service organizations are large entities in their own right, and their emergence has major implications for management and governance. This move is a process of evolution rather than revolution for most organizations. Companies on this path have, broadly speaking, reached one of four distinct stages. The fourth level represents, from today’s perspective, the end point for the evolution of global multifunctional shared services. So far, at least, very few companies have reached this level of integration with a single global shared services organization operating through regional and global centers. What high performers are doing differently Throughout the recession, we surveyed C-suite executives and senior management in large organizations to examine business practices. Our research shows four factors underpin global competitive success, and the move to a multifunctional approach to shared services supports each of these drivers: 1. Customer reach High performers are more outward looking and focused on the market and growth. Multifunctional shared services supports that focus directly, through added-value applications like analytics, and indirectly by freeing time for strategic matters. 2. Operational agility High performers respond smartly to change but, more importantly, respond speedily. Multifunctional shared service units are key to optimization and delivering that agility. 3. Cost competitiveness High performers understand what drives cost and value, and how to optimize them. Multifunctional shared services staff are now focused on both.
4. Stakeholder confidence High performers protect performance by engaging more with stakeholders and unleashing their talent. The integration of functions such as HR into multifunctional shared services can accelerate engagement. In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, there are key strategic reasons to advance to the next shared services and outsourcing phase, including: Use a crisis to drive change If markets are falling, clients want to pay lower prices. This puts more pressure on margins. We must increase efficiency, focus on adding value and get transaction processing into a well-organized, globally consistent, shared services center. Make flexibility your friend Continuing economic volatility means businesses must abide growing and contracting faster than before, organically and through divestments, mergers and acquisitions. Multifunctional shared services provides much-needed flexibility to be able to scale up and down. Tap technology New technology, such as the cloud and wireless data, is a pretty strong incentive for doing shared services and to think about transforming the organization of a company. Perfect 10: the transformative impact of global business services The companies that have begun to embrace the multifunctional shared services model are already reaping the rewards. The evolution of this model is characterized by 10 factors that serve to define the best shared services and outsourcing: 1. They colonize the company The list of business services is becoming longer - and moving beyond what was once back office. 2. They achieve more than the sum of their parts Business services deliver further economies of scale, process improvements and more harmonization across the organization. 3. They aim for the high ground If global business services are to deliver more than one-off cost savings, they must do more. 4. They are flexibly located Moving to multifunctional isn’t the end of outsourcing. Moving up the value chain, more transactional work will be outsourced. 5. They offer services any time, any place, anywhere For access to services whenever needed, several locations are required to align processes and working practices. 6. Their leaders take charge As shared service centers take on more work, lines of control are becoming more important. 7. They measure performance Performance measurement tools must be provided. Other functions will be reluctant to move to shared services without evidence. 8. They empower their people The shared services model has been associated with low staff morale and high attrition. Multifunctional models are offering employees a more compelling career path. 9. They innovate Many longer-term gains come from innovations realized once processes and functions have moved into the shared services unit. 10. They can work in emerging markets An emerging market can benefit from business services, even if a one-to-one labor arbitrage value proposition is not there. Companies today are subject to much greater scrutiny, yet the environment they operate in has never been more complex. As businesses continue to transform themselves, there will be also more complex challenges than ever. Many underline the need for strong governance and good performance monitoring. Taking people with you Most companies with multifunctional shared services say they would not have been able to implement without C-level support. C-suite support may help overcome internal opposition, but even low-level resistance to change is destructive. To break down this resistance, at whatever level of the company, the global business services unit has to work hard at communication - to convince the rest of the business that it is performing well where change has already been implemented. Managing expectations The move to multifunctional shared services will not always be straightforward. It is not always possible to follow business plans to the letter. Achieving standardization, especially in the harmonization of ERP and legacy IT applications, sometimes proves harder than expected. Technology does not always deliver what it promises in the beginning. It is also important not to set expectation levels too high. Even in a multifunctional shared services environment, there will still be a need to do some work locally or within the retained business locations. Those organizations that do not accept this will be disappointed or, worse, unable to cope. I wish you a peaceful week! — Nadeem Shafi, Partner Assurance MENA Leader, Ernst & Young Training Center.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
BUSINESS
KUWAIT: Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive officials and guests pose in front of the all-new MINI Paceman at a launch ceremony at Avenues Mall.—Photos by Joseph Shagra
All-new MINI Paceman arrives in Kuwait MINI’s newest member makes unique debut at Avenues Mall
KUWAIT: Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive importer of BMW Group vehicles in Kuwait, revealed the all-new MINI Paceman at a unique activity at Avenues Mall, where visitors and media got the chance to interact with the brand. With all the driving excitement of a Sports Activity Coupe and the hallmark MINI go-kart fun driving experience, the seventh addition to the MINI family is set to turn heads in Kuwait. The activity which continued until May 4th allowed importer shoppers to have the chance to interact with the brand’s newest addition and experience the new MINI Paceman for themselves via a host of fun, creative, eye-catching stunts, including pop art and interactive drawing screens. Entitled “Design with Bite,” the activation formed part of a regionwide road show, which included visits to six countries across the Middle East. Commenting on the launch of this car in Kuwait, Yousef Al-Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, said: “MINI has achieved phenomenal success in Kuwait over the years, helping to make it the most successful small premium car
brand in the world and across the Middle East. Unique, yet typically MINI, the MINI Paceman opens up the brand to a whole new audience segment that has been looking for a MINI that combines the sportiness and space of an SUV, with the sleek design of a coupÈ. We are confident that this new addition will prove highly popular among MINI fans here in Kuwait and will mark a new and exciting chapter in MINI’s illustrious history.” Customers can choose from four powerful engine variants including the Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper S ALL4 and from June, the John Cooper Works will also then be available. Endless exterior and interior customisation options will also be available to ensure that the MINI Paceman suits customer’s individual lifestyle needs. And with plenty of room for three passengers, MINI Paceman owners can escape from the urban jungle with three friends in tow too. Sporty and irresistible design The seventh model in the MINI family has a unique character all of its own, while displaying clear ties to the inimitable style
of the British brand. On the outside, the MINI Paceman offers a unique combination of sporty and extrovert design with two elongated doors, large new horizontal taillights and sloping roofline. The fresh and individual character of the MINI Paceman comes across most prominently when the car is viewed from the side. It is also highly customisable, and available in eight body finishes and a choice of seven light alloy wheels in four colours. The roof and exterior mirror caps can be painted in the chosen body colour, white or black. Entertainment on demand The MINI Paceman takes the lead when it comes to in-car technology and entertainment. When on board the advanced interface technology allows the extensive integration of Smartphones and music players into the car. And the newest member of the MINI family can even be ordered with a range of MINI Connected features, which include features such as the Web Radio which allows you to tune into your favourite home country radio station, plus specially developed apps which open the door to a unique and constantly expanding variety of functions such as Facebook and Twitter usage. Sophisticated, sporty and highly customizable Under the bonnet, the well-known MINI 1.6 litre powertrains will be available from launch, each with four cylinders and a zesty power delivery and remarkably low fuel consumption and emissions. The high-powered engine boasts lowered sports suspension as standard, which accentuates the trademark MINI go-kart feeling. All engine variants, which include the MINI Cooper and Cooper S, come with a six-speed automatic gearbox, with an output spread from 122 hp to 184 hp respectively, ensuring that the MINI Paceman gives passengers the drive of their life. The MINI Paceman is the second
US budget gap narrows as April posts surplus WASHINGTON: The United States’ yawning annual budget deficit narrowed in April as government coffers brimmed with the largest monthly surplus in five years, official data released Friday showed. The federal budget had a surplus of $112.9 billion for the month of April, as payments surged ahead the mid-month due date for annual income tax filings for 2012, according to Treasury Department numbers. The surplus was almost double the $59.1 billion surplus registered in April 2012. Over the first seven months of the fiscal year, the US budget deficit was $487.6 billion, 32 percent smaller than the OctoberApril 2012 period. Revenues leaped 28 percent in April from a year ago, to $406.7 billion, helped in part by January 1 increases in payroll and other taxes. Expenditures fell a hefty 13 percent to $293.8 billion in the second month of severe “sequester” spending cuts, aimed at slashing $85 billion through September. “With the April 15 tax filing deadline past, the full impact of the recent change in tax policy is coming into focus, and it is greater than expected,” said Brian Kessler of Moody’s Analytics. The numbers were good news in another way: they give the Treasury more room
to work while politicians battle over the deficit after a cap on its borrowing falls into place on May 18. “The improved budget deficit will give the Treasury more wiggle room to finance government programs should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling when the current suspension of this limit on government borrowing expires,” said Sal Guatieri of BMO Capital Markets. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told CNBC television Friday that the government could continue without new borrowing needs into September. “The debt limit will be reached in just a few days when it expires on May 18, but because of the cash flows we can predict that we will be okay until Labor Day (September 2),” Lew said from London. However, Lew warned, “Congress should deal with this right away.” “The anxiety caused to the US and world economy by putting this off until the last minute is not good.” Republicans are seeking to force the Obama administration to dramatically cut government spending and reform entitlement benefits like Social Security and Medicare, the health-care program for the poor, in exchange for a debt ceiling increase. —AFP
Colombia agriculture minister resigning BOGOTA: Colombian Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo, who dealt with paralyzing strikes by coffee growers and has aided negotiators seeking a peace accord with Marxist rebels, said on Friday he had submitted his resignation. The effective date of his departure is unclear. Restrapo told reporters he informed President Juan Manuel Santos more than a month ago that he planned to step down but would remain in office until a replacement was named. There has been no announcement on a successor. Local radio Caracol quoted Restrepo as saying he would stay in his post until an agreement was reached with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, on land reform, the first and thorniest item on a five-point agenda. FARC and government negotiators have been discussing land reform for almost seven months, with both sides hinting recently that they are close to agreement. Restrepo has been heavily involved behind the scenes in government talks with FARC that aim to bring an end to five decades of war. He became the first minister to resign before the May 31 deadline for Cabinet officials who want to run in the 2014 presidential election. But he said he was not interested for now in running for office. There has been media speculation that he would seek the Conservative Party candidacy. — Reuters
model (after the MINI Countryman) to offer the option of ALL4 all-wheel-drive system on the Cooper S variant, which allows the driver to switch from automatic to manual at the touch of a button. From June a MINI John Cooper Works MINI Paceman model will also be available with a 218 hp output, lowed sports suspension and 18 (standard) and 19 inch alloy wheel options. Every MINI Paceman is equipped with
DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), ABS antilock brakes, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Brake Assist and Hill Assist. In addition, safety is of paramount importance in the new MINI The MINI Paceman is equipped with front, side and full length curtain airbags. Front seat occupants also benefit from belt tensioners and belt force limiters, while in the rear seat, ISOFIX child seat attachments are fitted.
‘Sell in May and go away?’ Not this year WALL STREET WEEKLY OULTOOK NEW YORK: With the Dow and the S&P 500 setting another string of record closing highs last week, the old Wall Street adage “Sell in May and Go Away” is starting to look weak. Closing out the second week of May, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 2.3 percent for the month. For the year, the benchmark S&P 500 is up a stunning 14.6 percent. Some analysts say that when the market starts off this strong, it tends to keep the upward momentum going until the end of the year. “Instead of ‘Sell in May and Go Away,’ we may be setting up for a surprise May rally,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio. “What’s encouraging is that small-cap stocks have been outperforming the market recently. It’s a sign that the market is going for even the riskiest sectors.” Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 topped major milestones for the first time in early May, with the Dow Jones industrial average surpassing 15,000 and the S&P 500 breaking through the 1,600 mark. Since then, the indexes have been steadily holding above the landmark levels. The Nasdaq Composite Index has climbed to the highest closing levels in 12-1/2 years. In a sign of the rally’s breadth, the Russell 2000 index of mid- and small-cap stocks also hit all-time highs recently. Technical analysts say the next level to watch would be 1,660 on the S&P 500. “The main question is whether the bulls can maintain the 1,600 level on the S&P 500 for another week,” said Ari Wald, technical analyst at PrinceRidge Group, a New York-based investment bank. “If it does, the next level is 1,660. But with markets already this high, it won’t be easy.” Despite lingering concerns about a technical pullback, the market’s strong performance so far this year has also increased the chances of equities rallying throughout the year, according to some analysts. “With the market up so much, can it continue to make gains over the next seven months through year end? At least based on history, it has a better chance of continuing higher during strong years than when it is not up significantly,” Bespoke Investment Group analysts wrote in a note to clients. Bespoke noted that this year is only the 11th-best start to a year since 1991, when the index gained another 9.7 percent for the rest of the year. If 2013 plays out like that - with another 9.7
percent gain in store for the S&P 500 - the broad index would finish the year up a whopping 24.3 percent. Among recent gainers, sectors closely tied to economic growth such as technology and financial stocks have been catching up after lagging for most of the year. “We are seeing the once beaten-down stocks making a comeback,” Wald said. “It’s been sort of a rotation of leadership that has been taking place for a month or so. It will be interesting to see if this can last” into next week. The S&P financial sector index is up about 2 percent for the month, while the S&P information technology sector is up about 3 percent. For some perspective, the tech sector has a way to go, when compared with defensive sectors like utilities. The S&P utility sector index is up more than 13 percent for the year, while the S&P info tech sector index is up less than 8 percent. The American consumer will get Wall Street’s
attention next week when a raft of economic data and retailers’ earnings could shed some light on whether they shopped for more than just the bare necessities. Retail sales for April will be released on Monday by the U.S. Commerce Department. “It (retail sales) will be a chance to look at the real picture after weak numbers last month on sequestration and other (external) factors,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, market strategist at ING US Investment Management in New York. “The market is driven by good fundamentals from corporate earnings, but it’s really the consumers that take up 70 percent of our economy. They are a real game changer.” Other economic data on tap includes April import and export prices on Tuesday, followed on Wednesday by the US Producer Price Index for April, the Empire State Index for May, industrial production and capacity utilization for April, and the National Association of Home Builders Index for May. — Reuters
NEW YORK: Kenneth Polcari (right) works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Japan’s benchmark stock index surged on Friday after the dollar hit a four-year high against the yen.— AP
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
BUSINESS
Thailand holds tourism roadshow in Kuwait DUBAI: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Dubai & Middle East office hosted pre-ATM (Arabian Travel Market) road-shows in Kuwait and Qatar to help boost visitor numbers from the region. The two-day road-show took place on May 1, 2013 at JW Marriott Hotel Kuwait and May 2, 2013 at Oryx Rotana Hotel Qatar. The delegation included officials from TAT and representatives from a selection of hotels, resorts and attractions from across Thailand including Siam Ocean World, Siam Park City and Madame Tussauds in Bangkok, Royal Cliff Hotel Group in Pattaya, Kee Resort and Spa in Phuket as well as the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and Discovery Holidays, one of the leading South East Asian Destination management Companies (DMC) which provide diversified range of travel-related services.
The Thai delegation was given the opportunity to meet with travel agents from Kuwait and Qatar to highlight Thailand’s appeal as a tourist destination as well as for meetings and exhibitions. Speaking about the road-show, Chalermsak Suranant, Tourism
Authority of Thailand, Director for the Dubai & Middle East office said: “We are looking forward to meeting with our travel partners in Kuwait and Qatar. The GCC is an important market for Thailand and over the years the visitor numbers have steadily improved. In 2012, Thailand
received 64,536 visitors from Kuwait which is 15% increase compare to 2011 and 26,000 tourist from Qatar which is 35% increase compare to 2011.” With an average flying time of just seven hours from the Middle East, Thailand remains a popular
tourist destination for visitors from the region, offering a diverse range of leisure attractions including shopping, sunbathing, gourmet dining and a lively nightlife together with a selection of family-friendly accommodation. “TAT aims to use the roadshow
as an opportunity to widely promote the destination in Kuwait and Qatar by focusing on family-friendly destinations, value-for-money and medical tourism. TAT also aims to promote new destinations such as Hua Hin and Krabi. The roadshow also aims to create more business opportunities and wider networks within the region between Thai travel businesses and partners around the Middle East,” said Suranat. To further boost tourism from the Middle East region, in February this year, TAT launched a new website www.tourismthailand-middleeast.org Available in three languages; English, Arabic and Farsi, the new Tourism Thailand-Middle East website is specifically designed to target tourists from the GCC and the Levant, providing potential visitors and tourists from the Middle East with a user-friendly guide to‘Amazing Thailand.’
Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on May 5th 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of April 28
to May 2. The Al-Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner. The winners are: (Sunday 28/4): Ahmed Sulaiman Ahmed Al-Budaiwi, Hussain Ali Fahad Al-Muhammad (Monday 29/4): Naema Tamer Mohammed Zaytoun, Areej Lotfy Afify (Tuesday 30/4): Tamem Khamees Al-Tamemy, Meshal Omar Ahmad Al-Median ( Wednesday 1/5) Mohammed Saud Nemshan Al-Nemshan, Mohammed Rafeeq Sattar Ahmed (Thursday 2/5) Malehah Abdulnabi Ali, Hamed Reza
Fathalla Gholami. Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2013 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as well as three draw prizes per quarter. Al-Danah’s 2nd Quarterly draw will be held on 27 June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), 3rd Quarter - 26 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw held on 9 January, 2014 announcing winners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the AlDanah millionaire. Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account. Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner. To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al-Danah and who the winners are.
Khalid Al-Sanousi and Anna Nicholson
Gulf Insurance sponsors Kuwait-Kids.com
KUWAIT: Gulf Insurance, a leader in providing insurance services in Kuwait and the Middle East, has announced its participation in the brand new Kuwait-Kids.com guide, set to be launched this month for the first time in Kuwait. Kuwait-Kids.com is Kuwait’s first premiere children’s guide dedicated to providing useful information on nurseries, schools, requirements for people with special needs, activities and clubs, summer programs and party services. Each section of the guide helps parents learn more about the best that Kuwait has to offer for their children, thus enhancing the quality of children’s lives. Gulf Insurance’s involvement in KuwaitKids.com reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to partake in initiatives that benefit the community and positively
enhance the quality of life and education of the society members. “At Gulf Insurance we are committed to supporting initiatives that are of benefit to our society, especially those involving children and the future generations. We strive to support the building of a strong foundation for our country’s future and are confident that this project will have a great impact on the Kuwaiti community,” said Khalid AlSanousi, GIC’s Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department Manager. Ten thousand copies of the guide will be distributed free of charge on May 15th and will be available online at http://www.kuwaitkids.com/. The listing is annual both in hard copy and online, and will be distributed to embassies & women’s leagues, clinics, pharmacies, schools and offices.
X-cite by Alghanim Electronics launches its ‘Terrific’ campaign Every day a KD 10,000 win!
KUWAIT: Staying true to its tradition of benefitting its loyal customer base, X-cite by Alghanim Electronics proves to have gained a powerful stronghold on the local market with its magnificent launch of its “ Terrific” campaign that includes daily draws for KD10,000 where ten daily winners can take home X-cite vouchers worth KD1,000. This offer will run until May 27, 2013
and will be held at select X-cite showrooms throughout the duration of the highly rewarding campaign that falls inline with X-cite’s customercentric culture. Because X-cite is dedicated to improving its customers’ shopping experience in every step of the way, it has launched this special campaign to give customers the chance to participate in all
the daily draws for every KD50 cash purchase. Furthermore, customers can double their chances of winning by getting two chances for every KD50 when buying on credit. Anyone can find out who won in X-cite’s daily draws by visiting www.xcite.com or X-cite’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account to read the daily winners’ names.
LuLu Exchange celebrates first anniversary with raffle draw KUWAIT: LuLu Exchange, one of the leading remittance companies in the country, held yet another raffle-draw in conclusion to a three month-long celebration held to mark their first anniversary of successful operation. The draw was held in the presence of ministry officials at the Lu&Lu Hypermarket in Al Rai on May 8, 2013 presenting cash prizes to twentythree lucky winners. The first prize bonanza of KD 400 was awarded to the lucky coupon holder MD Ghyasuddin while the other 22 lucky winners were awarded KD50 each. LuLu Exchange’s anniversary celebration, which was inaugurated on 6th February by Vidhu P Nair - Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy has culminated with this grand draw. Prizes worth KD 3,000 have been distributed to lucky winners during the celebration period. Additionally, gift vouchers ranging from KD 10 to KD 50 were being given to lucky customers making their remittances through LuLu
Exchange during the past three months. Speaking at the raffle draw, K N S Das, Country Manager of LuLu Exchange Kuwait said, “This promotion perfectly ties in with our aim to show our appreciation of our valued customer. It brings us great joy to know that our customers trust us to
conduct their financial transactions. We are very happy for the twenty three winners and look forward to more exhilarating promotions and events to come in the near future.” With eight branches spread across Kuwait, LuLu Exchange offers not only remittance and forex solutions, but also a host of services and products.
Business with correspondent banks has also grown quite considerably as a part of their commitment to clients. LuLu Exchange has been constantly growing by garnering the trust of customers. The exchange house is well known for its customer-centric approach and value-laden service which provides safe, reliable and quick services to its customers to send money to their loved ones across borders. LuLu Exchange has strategic partnerships with Western Union Worldwide Remittance Services, and Transfast which only further guarantees that clients’ hard earned money reaches its destination in a fast and secure way. Currently the exchange house caters to markets all over the world, with direct online remittance arrangements to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Philippines, and Indonesia. LuLu Exchange has steadfastly focused on bringing greater value to its wide base of customers worldwide.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
technology
Blueprints for 3D handgun take refuge in Pirate Bay US removes file from website over security
ALBUQUERQUE: In this photo, artwork is shown at Masks y Mas, an Albuquerque shop that sells ‘Day of the Dead’ art year round. — AP
Social media raise dust about Disney’s trademark ALBUQUERQUE: When Lalo Alcaraz learned last week that Disney was seeking to trademark “Dia de los Muertos,” the name of the traditional “Day of the Dead” celebrated by millions in Mexico and the US, the cartoonist had an idea. The trademark was for an animated movie by Disney and Pixar Animation Studios Inc. that is inspired by the holiday. The Los Angelesbased humorist created a movie poster that quickly went viral of a skeletal Godzilla-sized Mickey Mouse, with the words: “It’s coming to trademark your cultura (culture).” Anger and ridicule expressed on social media largely by Latinos began circulating. On Tuesday, Disney said it was no longer seeking a “Dia de los Muertos” trademark request because the film’s name will change before its release. “Disney’s trademark filing was intended to protect any potential title for our film and related activities,” a company statement said. “It has since been determined that the title of the film will change.” Disney has not said that social media responses were responsible for the withdrawn trademark request. The company did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press. Whatever the reason, the episode showed how quickly reactions to even the smallest corporate move can spread online and lead to calls for boycotts. “It was not social media that started this. It was Disney that started this,” said Tom Garrity, head of the Garrity Group, a public relations firm that advises companies on social media practices. “Social media only highlight the deficiencies in Disney’s planning and what people saw as cultural insensitivity.” The Disney request momentarily replaced immigration as the hottest topic among Latinos on Twitter, said Elianne Ramos, vice chair of LATISM, a nonprofit group Latino social media group. She noticed the trend by monitoring posts on Twitter and had planned a live tweet town hall until the trademark request was withdrawn. “Some people saw it as an attempt to own our culture and profit from it,” she said. Critics said they were concerned about the company attempt to trademark a cultural holiday like November’s Day of the Dead and its history of trying to profit from cultural icons. “This is a corporation that has consistently co-opted culture for profit,”
said Andrea Quijada, executive director of the Albuquerque-based Media Literacy Project, a group that focuses on media literacy and policy. “Just look at Pocahontas, Mulan, Jasmine,” Quijada said, referring to characters from Disney films. Not only was the move seen as insensitive, critics said, trademarking the popular holiday put thousands of businesses that made products linked to the day at risk. Disney had hoped to secure the naming rights for merchandise such as snack foods and Christmas ornaments. “It’s a terrible idea. I’m outraged,” said Kiko Torres, owner of Masks y Mas in Albuquerque, a shop that sells Day of the Dead art and clothing year-round. “I mean, what’s the purpose of that?” The Day of the Dead honors departed souls of loved ones who are welcomed back for a few intimate hours. At burial sites or intricately built altars, photos of loved ones are centered on skeleton figurines, bright decorations, candles, candy and other offerings such as the favorite foods of the departed. PreColumbian in origin, many of the themes and rituals are mixtures of indigenous practices and Roman Catholicism. In the last decade or so, this traditional Latin American holiday has spread throughout the US along with migration from Mexico and other countries where it is observed. Not only are US-born Latinos adopting it, but various underground and artistic non-Latino groups have begun to mark the Nov. 1-2 holidays through colorful celebrations, parades, exhibits and even mixed martial arts fights. Lois Zamora, a University of Houston English professor who has studied the Day of the Dead, said Disney’s interest shows how much this once obscure holiday has grown in the U.S. But she said the trademark attempt was odd. “Disney doesn’t quite get it,” Zamora said. “It would be like copyrighting ‘Christmas or ‘Easter’ or, for that matter, ‘Halloween.’” Graham Harvey, owner of the Thibodaux, La.-based Matthew Media group, said the Disney flap should be a reminder that all companies should have social media strategy as part of their promotions, or face the wrath in real time if any promotion is controversial. “Any company or organization that wants to protect its brand needs to understand the powerful, viral nature of social media,” he said. “A backlash can occur in the blink of an eye.” — AP
Tech upstarts bully TV broadcast model
T
wo fledgling technologies could dramatically reshape the $60 billion-ayear television broadcast industry as they challenge the business model that has helped keep broadcasters on the lucrative end of the media spectrum. On April 1, a US appeals court rejected a petition by the major broadcasters including Comcast’s NBC, News Corp’s FOX, Disney’s ABC and CBS, to stop a service called Aereo, which offers a cut-rate TV subscription for consumers by capturing broadcast signals over thousands of antennas at one time. It was the second time in recent months that TV broadcasters failed to block a new technology that undercuts revenue they generate for their television shows. In November, a California court struck down Fox’s request to ban Dish Network’s adeliminating video recording device called the Hopper. The two services strike at the heart of the TV broadcast model, whose future will be up for debate at the National Association of Broadcasters show, which 90,000 people were expected to attend in Las Vegas this week. The most touted feature of the Hopper makes TV commercials disappear completely when watching recorded primetime broadcast television, unlike prior DVRs and other devices that require the viewer to fast forward through ads. Aereo could cut the numbers of people who need or want a more expensive cable video subscription, which would eat into the $3 billion in so-called “retransmission fees” that research firm SNL Kagan says broadcasters get from cable and satellite systems, based on the number of their subscribers. The threat so far is limited. The number of people using Aereo - backed by media heavyweight Barry Diller, who launched the Fox network in 1986 - is miniscule compared to the number of pay TV customers in the United States. Dish’s Hopper is a more mainstream device that Dish’s 14 mil-
lion subscribers have access to. But broadcasters fear the services will continue to expand, cutting into their viewing audience and advertising revenue. Even though courts have made preliminary decisions in favor of Dish and Aereo, both cases are still in the early stages and those decisions could ultimately be reversed. Forcing change A favorable outcome for Aereo and the Hopper in court would push TV operators to dramatically reshape themselves. It could even force them to trade in their broadcast towers and become cable channels alongside networks such as Bravo, AMC and ESPN, says Garth Ancier, who has been the top TV programmer at Fox, NBC and the WB networks. “They won’t have a choice,” Ancier said. “When someone attacks your business, sometimes you do something radical.” Some of the top four major networks have been considering just such a move for months, and the emergence of the two technology threats could accelerate their decisions, according to Ancier. That would keep the broadcasters’ signals away from Aereo and their ads free from the Hopper, which for now only zaps broadcast ads in recorded television. The downside? Broadcasters would have to turn their backs on the 11.1 million homes that Nielsen estimates still receives their T V signals from rabbit ears and rooftop antennas and do not have cable subscriptions. Spokesmen for Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC declined to comment on their plans. Last week, following the Aereo ruling, Fox said “the court has ruled that it is OK to steal copyrighted material and retransmit it without compensation.” All the broadcasters also said they plan to keep fighting Aereo and said they were confident that the rights of content owners would be protected. —Reuters
WASHINGTON: Virtual blueprints for the world’s first 3D printable handgun found a safe harbor Friday at file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, dodging a US government attempt to pull them off the Internet. Defense Distributed, a Texas nonprofit that promotes the open-source development of firearms using 3D printers, withdrew the files needed to make the singleshot Liberator at the behest of the State Department on Thursday. “This file has been removed from public access at the request of the US Depar tment of Defense Trade Controls,” said Defense Distributed on its website, which it embellished with the State Department seal. “Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information,” it added without elaboration. The State Departmentwhich confirmed it has been in contact with Defense Distributed, but gave no specifics-is tasked with monitoring and licensing US arms exports through its Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. “The United States is cognizant of the potentially adverse consequences of indiscrimi-
nate arms transfers, and therefore we strictly regulate expor ted defense items and technologies to protect our national interests,” State Depar tment spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. But the crackdown on the Liberator clearly came too late to forestall the re-posting of its computer-aided design (CAD) files on The Pirate Bay, a popular peer-topeer file sharing service that has been linked by its critics to film and music piracy. “Nice try blocking this fed,” wrote one Pirate Bay user, utilizing a slang word for federal government, in a comments section that veered strongly in favor of Americans’ constitutional right to own and carry firearms. Guns of all kinds have been a divisive issue in the United States since the December 2012 massacre of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementar y School in Newtown, Connecticut, that prompted fresh calls for tougher gun laws. The white-andblue. 380-caliber Liberator bears a vague resemblance to its chunky namesake, the FP-45 Liberator pistol that the United States developed
during World War II to be airdropped to French Resistance fighters. For the Liberator to conform with US firearms law, the CAD files call for an inch-big chunk of steel to be sealed with epoxy glue in front of the trigger guard, so that the weapon can be spotted by metal detectors. The only other non-plastic part is a tiny nail that acts as the firing pin. It was successfully test-fired last week with a .380-caliber bullet by its inventor, University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, although it exploded into pieces when a larger rifle bullet was used. Wilson said Friday he sees a court battle looming on the horizon, in a case that raises questions about online freedoms and the possibilities of opensource 3D printing innovation in a borderless Internet world. “I’m going to need some high powered legal help, but thankfully a lot of people have pledged support, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation,” he told Motherboard, a technology blog. “This is not the last time (legal action) is going to happen, so perhaps now it’s time to
have the fight,” he added. Supporters of tougher gun laws in the United States-where there are nearly as many guns (an estimated 300 million) as there are people (about 315 million) and more than 30,000 gun-related deaths a yearhave voiced alarm. “Stomach-churning,” noted Senator Charles Schumer of New York, while Congressman Steve Israel said it shows the urgency of adopting his initiative to outlaw plastic homemade guns that might escape metal or X-ray detection. No longer prohibitively expensive, 3D printers can be bought for about the same price as a top-end laptop computer. Brooklyn-based MakerBot, for instance, markets its desktop Replicator 2 for $2,199 with deliver y in a week. After the Newtown massacre, MakerBot took down CAD files for semi-automatic rifle parts that gun enthusiasts had posted in its Thingiverse CAD library, which otherwise features pen holders, lamp shades, a tabletop wind turbine and a printable microscope among its most popular opensource designs. — AFP
EMC software suites change how IT teams manage, infrastructure LAS VEGAS: At EMC World 2013, EMC announced new and enhanced management software suites designed to provide 360-degree transparency into storage, network and compute infrastructuresincluding new and tight integration with EMC ViPR. The brand-new EMC Service Assurance Suite and updates to the EMC Storage Resource Management Suite share a common presentation layer with ViPR, providing seamless visualization of IT assets and enabling customers to assure SLAs and improve ROI through resource optimization. The new Service Assurance Suite offers the following features in a single solution suite: Insights andreports designed to provide actionable intelligence Availability, performance and configuration management designed to simplify operational management of complex cloud and virtual IT environments, which in turn enhances IT staff productivity and efficiency Cross-domain management analysis - across networks, storage, and servers, as well as physical and virtual environments - necessary to ensure that critical applications and services perform as they should for the business. The Storage Resource Management Suite has been updated with new Dashboard and Explore Views forVNX environments toenhance file reporting and end-to-end relationship and topology visualization.As storage, network and compute infrastructures grow more complex and strive to meet a an ever-increasing list of business needs and objectives, storage and IT operations managers have been tasked with efficient and effective manage-
ment in an age of explosive data growth, often without the benefit of additional resources. Additionally, as this data growth - slated to grow to 40,000 exabytes by 2020 according to IDC’s most recent Digital Universe study -drives up IT costs, controlling costs through effective management becomes both more important and more difficult. The common presentation layer between ViPR and these suites allows operations and storage teams to visualize, analyze, and optimize their infrastructure todayto assure services while controlling the cost of rapid data growthandit provides an extensible management framework to simplify the transformation to software-defined storage in the future. Technology highlights: The key benefits of both the Service Assurance Suite and the Storage Resource ManagementSuite are visualization, analysis and optimization of resources within key infrastructures. These suites are designed to provide the transparency needed to make decisions about performance, efficiency and management, and will provide visibility into the underlying infrastructure in ViPR environments, allowing customers to more easily transition to the software-defined data center. Leveraging the Service Assurance Suite, customers can: Visualize and understand the complex, fastchanging IT infrastructure relationships Analyze
availability, performance and configuration information to quickly identify root causes and risk conditions, and proactively resolve issues before business impact and SLA violations occur Optimize the environment and control costs with end-to-end performance and capacity management and reporting Leveraging the Storage Resource Management Suite, customers can: Visualize applications to storage dependencies Analyze configurations and capacity growth Optimize the environment to improve ROI Amitabh Srivastava, President, EMC Advanced Software Division said “Software is a powerful tool especially when used to wring every last benefit out of infrastructure resources in this age of explosive data growth. The Service Assurance Suite and Storage Resource Management Suite are designed to solve the significant and critical infrastructure management challenges that arise in dynamic cloud and software-defined IT environments, bridging the often-significant management gap that exists between physical and virtual data centers. Along with ViPR, these suites create a management framework that leverages automation to deliver the insights and understanding necessary to increase ongoing efficiency, optimize resources, reduce costs and further empower the business through IT. The Service Assurance Suite and Storage Resource Management Suite are integral to EMC’s software strategy, and meet the growing need for cost-effective, business-alignedIT management.”
Icahn, Southeastern challenge Dell plan
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ne of the biggest critics of Michael Dell’s plan to take the company he founded private has launched a fresh challenge to that $24.4 billion bid and says the slumping PC maker needs new leadership. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has teamed with Dell’s largest independent shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, to pitch a deal that would let Dell shareholders keep their stake in the company and give them either $12 per share in cash or additional shares. Icahn and Southeastern say this alternative, which would keep the company publicly traded, gives shareholders a stake in future company gains, according to a May 9 letter sent to Dell’s board. An investment group led by Michael Dell offered earlier this year to pay $13.65 per share in a deal that would take the Round Rock, Texas, company private. But Icahn said Friday during a CNBC interview that price amounted to a giveaway. “It’s really a travesty,” he said. “It’s almost like something out of Saturday Night Live.” Icahn and Southeastern heaped more criticism on Dell’s offer in the letter. They accused the Dell board of insulting
shareholder intelligence by claiming to be focused on shareholders’ best interests while accepting Dell’s offer to buy the company for “far below what we consider its value to be.” “You not only sanctioned Michael Dell’s offer, which amazingly allows him to purchase the company from shareholders with their own money but, to add insult to injury, you have agreed to give Mr. Dell a breakup fee of up to $450 million,” the letter states. A special committee of Dell
Michael Dell
Inc.’s board said in a separate statement that it is carefully reviewing the proposal from Icahn and Southeastern “to assess the potential risks and rewards to the public shareholders.” Icahn and Southeastern say they would pay for their offer with existing cash from the company and about $5.2 billion in debt, which would be less than Michael Dell’s plan requires. Company documents outlining Dell’s buyout proposal state that it would involve a $2 billion loan from Microsoft Corp and up to $13.75 billion in other debt from lenders. Southeastern and Icahn said they own about 13 percent of the company’s outstanding shares. They want the Dell board to put their proposal before shareholders instead of proceeding with Dell’s buyout offer. If the board declines, they want the vote on Michael Dell’s buyout combined with the company’s annual meeting to elect new directors. Then they’ll challenge Dell’s board with their own director nominees. If Dell puts Michael Dell’s buyout proposal up for a shareholder vote, Icahn and Southeastern promise to work “assiduously” to convince the other shareholders to reject the bid,
which he made with the investment firm Silver Lake. “This company has suffered long enough from very wrong-headed decisions made by the board and its management,” the letter states. “Do not make another by putting the company through an unnecessary debilitating proxy fight.” “Allow the shareholders to decide for themselves which offer they choose,” Icahn and Southeastern wrote. Dell Inc plans to hold a special meeting to vote on Michael Dell’s buyout proposal sometime in its current quarter, which ends Aug. 2. It then expects to close the deal in the next quarter. The company usually holds its annual meeting, where shareholders vote on directors, among other items, in the summer. Icahn told CNBC he is confident they can convince shareholders to vote against Michael Dell’s proposal. He noted that they already have their 13 percent as a “no” vote, and Dell cannot vote his 16 percent stake in the company. Icahn said that if his board candidates are elected, he guarantees Michael Dell will no longer run the company. “It’s amazing what can be done once you do change the leadership,” he said. —AP
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
H E A LT H & S C I E N C E
Dark but funny turns in new derelict mom books ‘The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions’
KANSAS: A flock of Geese fly past the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets near Emmett, Kan. Worldwide levels of the chief greenhouse gas that causes global warming have hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before encountered by humans, federal scientists said yesterday. —AP
CO2 levels hit milestone WASHINGTON: Worldwide levels of the chief greenhouse gas that causes global warming have hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before encountered by humans, federal scientists said Friday. Carbon dioxide was measured at 400 parts per million at the oldest monitoring station which is in Hawaii sets the global benchmark. The last time the worldwide carbon level was probably that high was about 2 million years ago, said Pieter Tans of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That was during the Pleistocene Era. “It was much warmer than it is today,” Tans said. “There were forests in Greenland. Sea level was higher, between 10 and 20 meters.” Other scientists say it may have been 10 million years ago that Earth last encountered this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The first modern humans only appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago. The measurement was recorded Thursday and it is only a daily figure, the monthly and yearly average will be smaller. The number 400 has been anticipated by climate scientists and environmental activists for years as a notable indicator, in part because it’s a round number - not because any changes in man-made global warming happen by reaching it. “Physically, we are no worse off at 400 ppm than we were at 399 ppm,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said. “But as a symbol of the painfully slow pace of measures to avoid a dangerous level of warming, it’s somewhat unnerving.” Environmental activists, such as former Vice President Al Gore, seized on the milestone. “This number is a reminder that for the last 150 years - and especially over the last several decades - we have been recklessly polluting the protective sheath of atmosphere that surrounds the Earth and protects the conditions that have fostered the flourishing of our civilization,” Gore said in a statement. “We are altering the composition of our atmosphere at an unprecedented rate.” Carbon dioxide traps heat just like in a greenhouse and most of it stays in the air for a century; some lasts for thousands of years, scientists say. It accounts for threequarters of the planet’s heat-trapping gases. There are others, such as methane, which has a shorter life span but traps heat more effectively. Both trigger temperatures to rise over time, scientists say, which is causing sea levels to rise and some weather patterns to change. When measurements of carbon dioxide
were first taken in 1958, it measured 315 parts per million. Some scientists and environmental groups promote 350 parts per million as a safe level for CO2, but scientists acknowledge they don’t really know what levels would stop the effects of global warming. The level of carbon dioxide in the air is rising faster than in the past decades, despite international efforts by developed nations to curb it. On average the amount is growing by about 2 parts per million per year. That’s 100 times faster than at the end of the Ice Age. Back then, it took 7,000 years for carbon dioxide to reach 80 parts per million, Tans said. Because of the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, carbon dioxide levels have gone up by that amount in just 55 years. Before the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide levels were around 280 ppm, and they were closer to 200 during the Ice Age, which is when sea levels shrank and polar places went from green to icy. There are natural ups and downs of this greenhouse gas, which comes from volcanoes and decomposing plants and animals. But that’s not what has driven current levels so high, Tans said. He said the amount should be even higher, but the world’s oceans are absorbing quite a bit, keeping it out of the air. “What we see today is 100 percent due to human activity,” said Tans, a NOAA senior scientist. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal for electricity and oil for gasoline, has caused the overwhelming bulk of the man-made increase in carbon in the air, scientists say. The world pumps on average 2.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the air every second for a total of 38.2 billion tons in 2011, according international calculations published in a scientific journal in December. China spews 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air per year, leading all countries, and its emissions are growing about 10 percent annually. The US at No 2 is slowly cutting emissions and is down to 5.9 billion tons per year. The speed of the change is the big worry, said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann. If carbon dioxide levels go up 100 parts per million over thousands or millions of years, plants and animals can adapt. But that can’t be done at the speed it is now happening. Last year, regional monitors briefly hit 400 ppm in the Arctic. But those monitoring stations aren’t seen as a world mark like the one at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Generally carbon levels peak in May then fall slightly, so the yearly average is usually a few parts per million lower than May levels.—AP
BEIJING: A vendor rides his tricycle near a coal-fired power plant in Beijing. 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. — AP
London Zoo seeks female mate for near-extinct fish LONDON: The London Zoo is urgently seeking a female mate for the lastknown males of a critically endangered fish species. Zoo officials say the Mangarahara cichlid is thought to be extinct in the wild and that two of the last known individuals - both male - are in the zoo’s aquarium. A third is in the Berlin zoo. Officials say the species’ habi-
tat in Madagascar has dried up due to dam construction. The zoo on Friday asked aquarium owners and fish collectors to come forward it they know of any living females “so that a vital conservation breeding program can be started.” Officials say a worldwide search of zoo and aquarium organizations has so far proved fruitless.— AP
NEW YORK: These moms curse a lot, drink to excess, reveal scary truths and draw twisted little stick figures of their kids pooping and whining relentlessly. And this Mother’s Day, they’re bringing their derelict parenting to you. The authors behind a fresh round of parenting books love their munchkins, to be sure, but there’s something about the scorched earth narrative that sells memoirish parenting books these days. Is the goal an instructional one? Inspirational? How about some advice? “No, there isn’t any. I don’t have anything. No advice. Nobody has any advice,” laughed Amber Dusick, a Los Angeles mother of two who brings us “Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures.” The book’s 50 “crappy laws of parenting” include this at No 16: “When you sneak to the pantry to eat chocolate, you will get caught.” The F-bombs fly, the flavored vodka flows and husbands pay dearly, but what’s the point of dwelling on the smeared, sleep-deprived underbelly of life with kids? Even if it is just for a laugh. “We’ve opened up the dialogue,” offered Nicole Knepper, who has two kids and wrote “Moms who Drink and Swear,” complete with a chapter titled, “Suck it, Santa Claus.” “People have really found ways to be more authentic about who they are and how it affects us as parents. My mom’s generation, they did a lot of pushing down their own interests and their own personalities because they were all about the kids, and this was their job and their focus, whereas my generation (She’s 43 and lives in Plainfield, Ill.), the expectations are different. You multitask. You do it all, only nobody can do it all well.” Jill Smokler’s Scary Mommy certainly can’t.
“Motherhood Comes Naturally (and other vicious lies)” is her second spin off her popular blog and parenting community at Scarymommy.com. The first was “Confessions of a Scary Mommy.” The 35-yearold mom of three, including boys just 20 months apart, has noticed a difference in exactly how much filth and frustration parents are willing to reveal in the five long years since she first put up her blog. “There wasn’t this acceptance about being this sort of less-than-perfect mother, but all of a sudden it feels like that is becoming the norm rather than the exception,” said Smokler, in Baltimore, Md. “There came a tipping point where everybody just couldn’t keep up that facade anymore and there was just a backlash, and here we are.” On the dad side, Ian Frazier’s popular cursing mommy character from his columns in The New Yorker now has her own novel called “The Cursing Mommy’s Book of Days,” a diary of dereliction spread over a year of boozing, bad parenting and expletiveinfused mockery of a capacitor-hoarding husband named Larry. There’s this entry for Wednesday, April 13: “Yes, lying in a steaming tub with a bottle of Kahlua and ignoring the children’s knocks on the bathroom door all afternoon is not the most mature coping strategy. So stipulated, your honor!” And there’s Adrian Kulp, the man-child who lost his job and turned his stay-at-home dad blog into a book, “Dad or Alive,” writing of his daughter after his wife went back to work: “All I had to do was move our fourmonth-old from one station to the next so she didn’t get bedsores. ... The idea of going outside seemed monumental.”
An engineering-minded dude pair, Andy Herald and Charlie Capen, have provided an illustrated primer on co-sleeping, “The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions,” complete with names for each diabolic configuration: The Stalker, the Yin and Yang and The Exorcist among them. Dusick, whose boys are 6 and 3, began blogging nearly two years ago. Her childlike drawings lend a creepy air to life with the Crappy family, including that fateful day when they all get sick. Tempers and temperatures flare, and bodily fluids fly all night, brought alive by her hollow-eyed illustrations. “It’s a healthy balance of being able to laugh at things and yet still reassure ourselves that this is normal and we still love our kids, and parenting is really hard,” she said. Knepper’s kids are 13 and nearly 9. She considers it far healthier to share the grief than do what her mother’s generation likely did: “Hide their Valium and their vodka in the linen closet, where nobody could find it.” But she acknowledges that “schtick is schtick,” especially when trying to sell books that began as blogs. Smokler’s blog has a “confessional” for anonymous commenters and she weaves some of their contributions into chapter starters. “I invited you into my home as a guest. And you brought my 2year-old permanent markers and Play-Doh,” reads the one for “Lie (hash)4, It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” “Next time I visit you, I’m bringing your teenage daughter condoms and crack.” In real life, her kids are 5, 7 and 9. The oldest, her only girl, is a couple years shy of the first time Smokler’s own mom washed her mouth out with a bar of soap. Smokler’s crime? Telling mom she hated her— AP
This combo image of book cover images shows ‘Motherhood Comes Naturally (and Other Vicious Lies), by Jill Smokler, “The Cursing Mommy’s Book of Days,” by Ian Frazier, and “Moms Who Drink and Swear: True Tales of Loving My Kids While Losing My Mind,” by Nicole Knepper. — AP
S Korea to release dolphin back into wild SEOUL: A 13-year-old dolphin was transported to an ocean pen off a South Korean island yesterday for training to prepare it for release back into the wild after four years in a Seoul zoo, officials said. The female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which had been at Seoul Grand Park Zoo since 2009, was flown by a special charter jet to
the southern island of Jeju accompanied by an 11-member team of veterinarians and zoo keepers. “It is not only a matter of one dolphin going home but a matter of the relationship between animals and humans, between Mother Nature and humans,” Seoul mayor Park Won-Woon said. Television pictures showed the famous dolphin
called “Jedol” being transferred by stretcher to a vehicle for its journey to the airport and its flight to Jeju. The costs for releasing the dolphin were raised through donations led by animal right activists. Jedol will join two other dolphins in an open ocean cage in Jeju for adjustment training before being
set free as early as next month. In March last year, Seoul Grand Park Zoo suspended a popular dolphin show starring Jedol and two other dolphins over claims by activists that they were captured illegally. The zoo decided to return Jedol to the wild but keep the two others because they were too old and weak to be released.— AFP
Astronauts on spacewalk to fix the ammonia leak WASHINGTON: NASA astronauts yesterday per formed an emergency spacewalk and installed a back-up pump to restore ammonia flow after a leak was detected at the International Space Station’s power system, NASA television showed. Less than three hours into the spacewalk, which was expected to last six and a half hours, flight engineers Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy had completed attaching a “spare pump and flow control sub assembly box into one of the bays on the P6 truss on the ISS,” mission control explained on NASA TV. The old box, which they had just removed, was suspected to be the source of an ammonia leak that affected the US segment of the orbiting laboratory on Thursday. Ammonia is used to cool the station’s power system. “The spare box contains about 10 to 20 pounds of ammonia. The opening of the quick disconnects will allow that ammonia to flow back into the cooling system on the P6 truss, to recharge the system,” mission control said. After completing that step, the astronauts began turning on the pump and were watching to see if any ammonia was leaking. The astronauts were more than an hour ahead of schedule, it continued, adding the pair still needed to install the old sub-assembly box in a storage slot. The astronauts said they did not detect any signs of ammonia contamination in the area around the space station, but they said they would still take all precautions. That included a “bakeoff ” to allow the sun to burn off ammonia traces on their space suits
before returning into the space station. Officials said the emergency spacewalk set a precedent because it was conducted at such short notice. It was the 168th excursion in support of the orbiting laboratory and the fourth for both Marshburn and Cassidy, who have worked together before. ISS commander, Canadian Chris Hadfield, and Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov helped Marshburn and Cassidy suit up for the excursion, inspecting their gear and harnesses and making a series of elaborate checks. “Good Morning, Earth! A complex & vital day on Space
Station,” Hadfield tweeted before the spacewalk began. BUSY DAY! NASA has stressed that the lives of the multinational crew were not in danger, but both Russian and US space experts called the leak “serious”. Earlier yesterday, the Russian Space Agency released a statement titled “Man Overboard,” saying spacewalks always presented a challenge for ISS crews and mission control on the ground. “After each such sorties guys come back like they ’ve been through a good battle, with bruised hands and grazed shoulders,”
SPACE: In this still image taken from NASA TV, International Space Station (ISS) astronauts Chris Cassidy (top) and Tom Marshburn finish work on repairs to the ISS yesterday. The astronauts repaired an ammonia leak which was discovered May 9. — AFP
Vladimir Solovyov, flight director for the Russian segment of the space station, was quoted as saying. Both Marshburn and Cassidy have solid spacewalk experience. Marshburn logged 18 hours 59 minutes during a 2009 mission, while Cassidy recorded 18 hours and five minutes, also in 2009. NASA said ammonia was leaking from the same general area as in a previous episode in November last year. A meteorite or a piece of orbital debris is suspected to have hit the cooling radiator and caused the problem, which International Space Station program manager Michael Suffredini described as an “annoyance because of all the work we have to do to work around the problem.” The issue took a turn for the worse on Thursday when it began leaking about five pounds of ammonia per day, compared with a previous level of five pounds per year. Hadfield earlier described the leak as a “very steady stream of flakes or bits” of ammonia drifting into space. The flakes were moving “evenly and repeatedly enough that it looks like they were coming from a point source,” he said in a recording of the conversation posted by NASA. Hadfield, Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko are set to return to Earth early on Tuesday after completing their halfyear stint aboard the station. Cassidy is also set to perform two scheduled spacewalks in July, NASA said. The six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk will not interfere with their planned departure from the space station, NASA said.— AFP
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Mothers in uniform get room on base to nurse young SHAW AIR FORCE BASE: Army civilian personnel specialist Tracey Leven recalls the time she tried to use a breast pump to express milk in a military office years ago. Instead of “breast pump in use,” she was required to put a sign on the door reading, “occupied.” That didn’t stop two male soldiers from using their keys to open the
locked office. “They were surprised. I was covered up, so there wasn’t any kind of issue,” said Leven, a 29 year-old who works at the 3rd Army headquarters here in South Carolina. Now the Luling, Texas, native said she is expecting her second child and looks forward to the privacy the new room will provide. With Mother’s Day
DALLAS: Dianna Troyer, 27, of Clearwater, Fla, Maj LaToya Dunham, 35, from Dallas, Texas, and Tracey Levens, 29, of Luling, Texas, discuss cloth diapers in the new Third Army Nursing Center at Shaw Air Force Base, SC. — AP
on Sunday, she and other women civilian employees, women in uniform and mothers visiting this command headquarters here say they’re pleased they won’t have to hide in an office or rest room if they want to nurse or express breast milk to give to an infant later. The high-tech 3rd Army headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base is one of the rare US military installations where a decidedly low-tech lactation room has been exclusively set aside for mothers. “I am excited and happy about the idea of this room, because I didn’t have the best-case scenario” last time, said Leven, who also is an Army spouse. The women are celebrating the room as a small victory in an overwhelmingly maledominated military. Over the past decade, many changes have come about: men and women have found themselves fighting side-by-side. More than 280,000 women have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan and neighboring nations. And women make up about 14 percent of the 1.4 million active US military personnel in uniform around the world today. For nursing mothers at 3rd Army headquarters, a room of their own signals progress. The room - named the “Third Army Nursing Center” - blends in with oth-
er offices along a central hallway. It’s outfitted with privacy screens, chairs, tables, a refrigerator, freezer and microwave. Storage cabinets, a sink and a place to post information are available. “I’m hoping now, more women will nurse,” said Army spouse Dianna Troyer as she cradled 1month-old David. The 27-year-old’s Army husband works in the command center and she was visiting in advance of a dinner being given by a family support group at the installation. Accompanied by 3-year-old daughter Rebekah, Troyer said having a private place to nurse helps promote healthy children and their families. “It’s not fair to ask a nursing mother to go to a bathroom to nurse a child,” the Clearwater, Fla., native said. The women said the idea for the room came from a support group dubbed “Sisters-in-Arms,” formed last year by senior female officers and enlisted women to help females in the command balance their work and private lives. And key to it being accepted - the women said - was the support of the three-star 3rd Army commander, Lt Gen Vincent Brooks. Brooks said in an email that he considered it important. “Women are part of our formations and have been
for a long time. It’s a very simple way to help them balance service with the unique role that they can play,” the general said, adding he knew of one other lactation center set up at Fort Benning, Ga. A spokeswoman for the 3rd Army and Sisters-in-Arms, Lt Col Catina Barnes-Ricks, said there are about 850 males and 200 females in the 3rd Army headquarters. She said several dozen women are expected to use the new room at first - and maybe more once other women of childbearing age become aware of it. The women said a federal law enacted in 2001 requires nursing mothers be allowed to nurse at any location in a federal building or on federal property, if they are authorized to be there. But going further by supplying a special lactation room takes an extra step. “There’s a lot of support here,” said Maj LaToya Dunham, 35, a finance officer who said she could not provide her first child breast milk following her pregnancy at a different post, but wants to give it a try this time. “I was in command, and going out into the field,” Dunham started to say, interrupted by peals of appreciative laughter from the women. They agree on how difficult it is to pump breast milk while dealing with soldiers around-the-clock in the outdoors.— AP
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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Announcement The TIES Center’s ‘trip’ he TIES Center cordially invites those who are interested in its trip to the Historical, Vintage and Classic Car Museum, which is the first museum in Kuwait specializing in old cars on May 30th at 6:00 pm. Revisit past memories or learn something new. If you love cars then this is the trip for you. Even if you don’t love cars, come anyway; you will enjoy the trip. For more information/registration, log onto: www.tiescenter.net.
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NBK offers 3,600+ training opportunities for Kuwaitis KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) offers more than 3,600 training opportunities for Kuwaitis annually, as part of its commitment to supporting Kuwaiti nationals. “Investing in human resources is investing in our future,” said Emad AlAblani, NBK Deputy General Manager, Human Resources Group. “NBK maintains its leading position as one of the country’s largest employers in the private sector and is committed to supporting
Kuwaiti nationals and empowering them to realize their potentials. Al-Ablani added: “NBK’s training programs come as part of our commitment to providing distinctive career opportunities to ambitious young Kuwaitis and to support the country’s aim to encourage young Kuwaitis to assume roles in the private sector.” NBK employees are annually enrolled in professional training and development programs especially designed and provided by world
renowned institutions to enhance the skills of the Bank’s young leadership members. NBK`s training programs include NBK Academy which aims to train and develop the professional skills of fresh graduates, the Summer Internship Program for high school and college students and the new training Al-Shabab program, that is specially designed to develop the skills of newly recruited diploma holders.
Emad Al-Ablani
MEGlobal CEO visits Kuwait to meet with GUST business majors ABK supports Hilal Fajhan Al-Mutairi School KUWAIT: As part of its corporate social responsibility, AlAhli Bank of Kuwait was proud to support Hilal Fajhan AlMutairi School by providing a financial donation. Ali AlBaghli, Assistant Public Relations Manager at ABK, stated that, “At ABK we are proud to continually support different segments of society and our contribution to Hilal Fajhan Al-Mutairi School is another example that confirms the bank’s social responsibility by supporting education in Kuwait.” Dr Abdullah Al-Mulla, Principal of Hilal Fajhan AlMutairi School, thanked ABK for their generosity that will contribute towards improving education at the school.
IMAX
IMAX film program Sunday ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 11:30am, 8:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 5:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 7:30pm Monday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm, 7:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30pm
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he CEO and management team of MEGlobal visited Kuwait and spent the day listening and interacting with Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) business majors who presented solutions to realworld MEGlobal challenges and opportunities as part of GUST’s Case Writing Competition. MEGlobal is a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of ethylene glycol (EG) products. Established in July 2004, the company is a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait. MEGlobal President and CEO, Dr Ramesh Ramachandran, said: “This is my second visit to GUST during this semester. Previously, I met with the students and answered their queries and doubts related to the various cases they were working on. Today, we are here to see them present their findings and I’m extremely impressed by the depth of analysis and the fresh approach the students have taken in tackling the cases presented to them.” Today’s session was the final stage of the Case Writing
Competition for GUST Business Administration students. In January, the students were presented with real-world challenges and opportunities that faced MEGlobal in the past and were asked to investigate and recommend courses of actions. To deliver their case study, the students had to execute their own investigative case work by interviewing MEGlobal management, staff, and third party experts. The real-world challenges posed to the students included making strategic financial decisions for a company with customers in different geographies. Business Administration Professor at GUST, Dr John Hayes, said: “One of the questions that we presented to students was if MEGlobal should sell products to a Kuwaitbased customer after receiving information that the customer will eventually back integrate after 18 months. This type of scenarios which tackles long-term versus shortterm financial goals is prevalent on a day-to-day basis in the business world and students had to tackle it effectively and creatively. Elements of human resource management in the work-
place such as addressing hardworking and dedicated employees who have severe hygiene issues that is uncomfortable for their fellow colleagues through an effective HR policy was also addressed by our students.” Today’s final stage of the exercise saw five semi-finalist teams present these cases and three more related to HR, IT, Sales/Marketing, and Finance, to the judges. The awards were presented by President and CEO of MEGlobal, Dr RameshRamachandran, and Chairman and Managing Director of Petrochemical Industries Company, Kuwait, MahaMullaHussain. Dr. John Hayes said: “It’s a great opportunity for GUST students to work on such real life corporate challenges. These are the challenges we aspire to train them to tackle while empowering them with the appropriate skills they must possess in the real world.” MEGlobal is rewarding the first place winning team with $10,000 plus a weekend trip to Dubai, the second place winning team with $5,000, the third place winning team with $2,500.
WSG joins Q8AUTISM to celebrate Autism Day
Tuesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 11:30am, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 5:30pm Wednesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups To The Arctic 3D 10:30am Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm Journey to Mecca 5:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 8:30pm Thursday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 5:30pm, 8:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 11:30am Tornado Alley 3D12:30pm, 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
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s part of its ongoing quest to positively contribute to the community, the Well Surveillance Group(WSG) recently participated in the autism awareness day, a celebration held last Thursday, 25th of April, in cooperation with the Kuwait Center for Autism “Q8AUTISM”, the celebration involved many pleasant activities for the kids. The WSG manager Saeed Al-Shaheen, Team Leader
Artificial Lift II Menwer Al-Shammari, accompanied by a number of WSG members, and, from Safwan Company for Petroleum Technologies, Business Development Manager Anish Abraham and Operations Coordinator Tarek Qaddumi, all participated in the event and spent some fun time with the kids. During the event, kids enjoyed lots of entertaining activities and competitions. They enjoyed a variety of
funny games such as the characters game and handprinting, they also took a lot of photos with all attendees and were impressed with the magic show. By the end of the day, they were presented gifts from the WSG members. Kids were enchanted by the gifts they had, and the event was so much of pleasure that they didn’t want it to end.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
W H AT ’ S O N
Embassy
Sebamed on Instagram
Souhridavedi Kuwait holds picnic
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ouhridavedi Kuwait organized a family picnic in Wafra. Picnic was inaugurated by President George Panachayil. General Secretary Parimanam Manoj welcomed the members. Sports and games and different types of competitions were held for the members. The picnic was a great opportunity for all the members who could mingle and interact with each other. The picnic also offered a
great relief to the participants from job stress and tension. All the winners were awarded with prizes. The prizes were distributed by Lionnel Fernandes, Samkutty George, Varghese T T, Elias M I, Firoz, Roy T Sam, AbdulRahman & Rajesh Parakkoth. Treasurer Manoj Menon proposed a vote of thanks. Picnic ended with a prayer song by children.
Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm. nnnnnnn
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e are glad to inform you that we launched our site on instagram. Follow us on @sebamedkuwait and (hashtag)#sebamedkuwait and send us your shots involving all family members and be the lucky winner of a valuable prize from Sebamed products.
Sri Lanka tourism roadshow in Kuwait
EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn
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he outbound tourism from Middle Eastern region has been increasing since last few years tremendously and the same were reflected by the respective tourist statistics to Sri Lanka from the said market. Consequently, the State of Kuwait has been identified as a promising region which has a high growth rate throughout the past years. The eight themes outlined in the tourism strategy from 2011-2016 would be the of promotions in the Middle East, whilst keeping the consistent theme of “Wonder of Asia”. Sri Lanka would focus more on fine-tuning the facilities to cater to the Middle Eastern traveller, such as, villa type accommodation,’ Hallal food, training and developing Arabic speaking guides, hotel staff to familiarize with Middle Eastern Customs. Under the guidance of Basil Rajapaksa, the Minister of Economic Development, SLTPB has identified Middle East as a market with high potential, and therefore, a series of promotional activities have already been
planned to be executed this lucrative market. With this ambition, a three day promotional campaign has been arranged to take place in the region and also leading personnel from Arabian Travel Agencies and Media would be invited to Sri Lanka for FAM tours in the next year. In this year, SLTPB expects to attract 90,000 visitors from the Middle Eastern nations. In 2016, however, with the target of the Sri Lankan government to achieve 2.5 million arrivals, the total expectation from the Middle Eastern nations will rise up to 200,000 arrivals. In recognition of Sri Lanka as “the most potential outbound travel destination” the Embassy of Sri Lanka along with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organized a Road Show 2013 in Kuwait on the ft of May 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kuwait. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Road Show provides a platform for business networking with one to one meetings of Sri Lanka and Kuwait Tour operators. It also
disseminated information on Sri Lanka to the Kuwaiti travel Agents and media. A total of 70 Kuwaiti Tour operators participated at the Road Show and more many media units covered the event providing wide publicity for Sri Lanka Tourism in Kuwait media. At the opening ceremony of the Tourism Promotion Road Show in Kuwait CAHM Wijeratne, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the State of Kuwait stated that Sri Lanka the miracle of natural paradise surrounding by the diamond blue and auburn velvet and ever green land which creates a wonderful placid place to relax. Everyone who are willing to land there may fortunate to get invaluable travelling experience. He invited all to make their dream a reality by planning their next vacation to Sri Lanka. The Ambassador also explained the online visa system which is introduced by the Sri Lankan authorities. The main objective of this event was to raise awareness among leading travel agents, tour operators, and media
personnel in Kuwait on places of interest in Sri Lanka. During the event, the country manger of Sri Lankan Air Line also encouraged the gathering to make use of their multiple packages on offer to tourists by the airline to destinations in Sri Lanka and beyond. A considerable number of Major Tour operators from Sri Lanka also attended and shared their ideas and views as well as developed networking among the tour operators in Kuwait with a view to encourage the agents to include Sri Lanka as their next promising travel destination. The event started off with an interesting speech and presentation by Ambassador C A H M Wijeratne on “Destination Sri Lanka - Wonder of Asia.” It was followed by tourism promotional videos by SLTPB and presentations by Sri Lankan Airlines. The event was concluded with a business interaction sessions and a dinner reception.
ASSE holds training seminar
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merican Society of Safety Engineers, Kuwait Chapter organized a training seminar on “An Insight into K-EPA Regulations with an emphasis on Waste Management” on 26th April 2013 at Kohinoor Banquets Hall, Fahaheel. CH Rama Krushna Chary, Head, Technical Events Committee, ASSE Kuwait chapter, introduced the trainer for the session Jignesh Shah who volunteered himself for the seminar. Shah is Environmental Engineer (BE Environment), Lead Auditor for ISO 14001:2004 and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of environment management in upstream and downstream oil and gas industry. He is Head of Environment & Health Committee, ASSE Kuwait Chapter. With some excellent presentations on the sources and effect of air pollution, water pollution and ways to minimize the impact on the planet, the audience got wonderful, thought-provoking feelings about the environment. The session took four hours. Preliminary awareness assessment was conducted. The session was very interactive and the seminar concluded with a group photo session followed by lunch. ASSE Kuwait chapter will award certificates to all participants for their active participation in the seminar.
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 SOUTH AFRICA The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa will be closed on Tuesday, 28 May 2013, for an official event. The Embassy will resume it’s normal working hours on Wednesday, 29 May 2013, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the Working hours will be from 8h00 to 16h00 & the Consular Section operation hours will be from 8h30 to 12h30, for any emergencies please contact: 94924895. 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, AlQibla 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 SOUTH KOREA The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Kuwait will organize 2013 K-POP Contest on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 6:00 pm. The aim of the contest is to provide an opportunity to the participants to showcase their exciting talents to the audience. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the contest. Application forms can be downloaded from the Embassy’s website: http://kwt.mofa.go.kr (Select English from the menu at the top of the page then Bilateral Relations) or visit the “Korean Culture Diwaniya” Facebook Group. Interested applicants must send their application forms to Kuwait@mofa.go.kr by 24 May 2013.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
TV PROGRAMS
00:45 Rogue Nature With Dave Salmoni 01:35 I’m Alive 02:25 Roaring With Pride 03:15 Karina: Wild On Safari 03:40 Karina: Wild On Safari 04:05 My Cat From Hell 04:55 Call Of The Wildman 05:20 Cheetah Kingdom 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 Roaring With Pride 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Call Of The Wildman 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 Dolphin Days 13:15 Dolphin Days 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 Roaring With Pride 15:30 Cheetah Kingdom 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Cats 101 17:25 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 17:50 Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife 18:20 Karina: Wild On Safari 18:45 Karina: Wild On Safari 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Rescue Vet 20:10 Call Of The Wildman 20:35 Cheetah Kingdom 21:05 Roaring With Pride 22:00 Glory Hounds 23:50 Animal Cops Houston
00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 02:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 03:05 Coastal Kitchen 03:30 Cash In The Attic 04:15 Bargain Hunt 05:00 Holmes On Homes 05:45 Gok’s Fashion Fix 06:35 New Scandinavian Cooking 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 New Scandinavian Cooking 13:55 Bargain Hunt 14:40 Cash In The Attic 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:00 Homes Under The Hammer 17:55 The Roux Legacy 18:35 Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking 19:00 Baking Made Easy 19:25 New Scandinavian Cooking 19:50 Come Dine With Me 20:40 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 04:30
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 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 Ha Ha Hairies 09:20 Lazytown 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 Lazytown 12:15 Baby Looney Tunes 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 The Looney Tunes Show 15:10 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo 15:35 Taz-Mania 16:00 Tiny Toon Adventures 16:25 Moomins 16:50 Tom And Jerry Tales 17:15 What’s New Scooby Doo 17:40 The Looney Tunes Show 18:05 The Garfield Show 18:30 Tweety’s High-Flying Adventure 19:45 What’s New Scooby Doo
20:10 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:15 23:05 23:30 23:55
Tiny Toon Adventures 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 Johnny Test 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: Alien Force 11:50 Ben 10: Alien Force 12:15 Hero 108 12:40 Hero 108 13:05 Mucha Lucha ! 13:30 Angelo Rules 14:20 Evil Con Carne 15:10 The Amazing World Of Gumball 15:35 Adventure Time 16:00 Regular Show 16:30 Johnny Test 17:00 Ben 10 Omniverse 17:25 Dreamworks Dragons Riders Of Berk 17:50 Gormiti New 18:15 Young Justice 18:40 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 19:05 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 19:30 Total Drama: Revenge Of The Island 19:55 Mucha Lucha ! 20:20 Ben 10: Omniverse 20:45 The Amazing World Of Gumball 21:10 Adventure Time 21:35 Regular Show 22:00 Ben 10 22:25 Ben 10 22:50 Mucha Lucha ! 23:15 Mucha Lucha ! 23:40 Powerpuff Girls
00:00 Amanpour 00:30 World Sport 01:00 Piers Morgan Live 02:00 CNN Newsroom Live From Hong Kong 03:00 Anderson Cooper 360 04:00 Piers Morgan Live 05:00 Quest Means Business 06:00 The Situation Room 07:00 World Sport 07:30 African Voices 08:00 World Report 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 Talk Asia 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 World One 12:30 News Special 13:00 Amanpour 13:30 CNN Newscenter 14:00 Piers Morgan Live 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 News Special 20:00 International Desk
TRANSFORMERS - DARK OF THE MOON ON OSN ACTION HD
21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter 23:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson
00:15 Gold Rush - Season 3 Specials 01:10 Jungle Gold 02:05 One Car Too Far 03:00 Mythbusters 03:55 Border Security 04:20 Auction Hunters 04:50 Storage Hunters 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It’s Made 06:05 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 08:45 Flying Wild Alaska 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Hunters 10:30 Auction Kings 10:55 How Do They Do It? 11:25 How It’s Made 11:50 Gold Rush - Season 3 Specials 12:45 Jungle Gold 13:40 One Car Too Far 14:35 Border Security 15:05 Auction Hunters 15:30 Auction Kings 16:00 Ultimate Survival 16:55 Flying Wild Alaska 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Sons Of Guns 19:40 How Do They Do It? 20:05 How It’s Made 20:35 Auction Hunters 21:00 Storage Hunters 21:30 Dual Survival 22:25 Yukon Men 23:20 Ultimate Survival
00:05 00:30 01:00 01:25 01:50 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 11:20 12:10 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 23:40
How Tech Works Patent Bending Things That Move Things That Move The Colony X-Machines Things That Move Things That Move Superships The Gadget Show How Tech Works Prophets Of Science Fiction Scrapheap Challenge Prototype This The Gadget Show How Tech Works Punkin Chunkin 2010 Ecopolis Man-Made Marvels Asia Race To Mars Prototype This Patent Bending The Gadget Show How Tech Works Scrapheap Challenge Da Vinci’s Machines What’s That About? Superships Prophets Of Science Fiction Unchained Reaction Prototype This The Gadget Show How Tech Works Unchained Reaction The Colony The Gadget Show
00:00 Hannah Montana 00:20 Hannah Montana 00:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:30 Emperor’s New School 01:50 Emperor’s New School 02:15 Replacements 02:35 Replacements 03:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:20 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:45 Emperor’s New School 04:05 Emperor’s New School 04:30 Replacements 04:50 Replacements 05:15 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 05:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 06:00 Prankstars 06:25 Suite Life On Deck 06:45 Cory In The House 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 07:35 Austin And Ally 07:55 Jessie 08:20 Good Luck Charlie 08:45 Doc McStuffins 09:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:30 A.N.T Farm 09:55 Jonas 10:15 So Random 10:40 Hannah Montana 11:05 Sonny With A Chance 11:25 Kim Possible 11:50 Shake It Up 12:15 Shake It Up 12:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 13:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place 13:25 Austin And Ally 13:45 Jessie 14:10 A.N.T. Farm 14:35 So Random 14:55 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 15:20 Good Luck Charlie 15:45 Jessie 16:10 Shake It Up 16:35 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Austin And Ally 17:20 Suite Life On Deck 17:45 Suite Life On Deck 18:10 Cory In The House 18:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 18:55 That’s So Raven 19:20 A.N.T. Farm 19:40 Good Luck Charlie 20:05 Jessie 20:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place 21:15 So Random 21:40 Hannah Montana 22:00 Jonas 22:25 Sonny With A Chance 22:50 Sonny With A Chance 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place
03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05
Style Star Extreme Close-Up THS THS
06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 Opening Act 09:15 Opening Act 10:15 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 12:05 Khloe And Lamar 12:35 Khloe And Lamar 13:05 Married To Jonas 13:35 Married To Jonas 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:30 Extreme Close-Up 17:00 Chasing The Saturdays 17:30 Chasing The Saturdays 18:00 E! News 19:00 Fashion Police 20:00 E!es 21:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 22:00 Chasing The Saturdays 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately
00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 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 Food Wars 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Unique Eats 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 Guy’s Big Bite 07:25 Guy’s Big Bite 07:50 Reza’s African Kitchen 08:15 Kid In A Candy Store 08:40 Unique Sweets 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 09:30 The Next Food Network Star 10:20 Extra Virgin 10:45 Extra Virgin 11:10 Cooking For Real 11:35 Food Crafters 12:00 Ultimate Recipe Showdown 12:50 Grill It! With Bobby Flay 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Food Wars 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 Food Wars 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes 22:00 Food Wars 22:25 Food Wars 22:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:40 Food Wars
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 Nightmare Next Door Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry? On The Case With Paula Zahn Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry? Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Couples Who Kill Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It
00:15 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 00:45 Ultimate Traveller 01:40 Bondi Rescue 02:05 Bondi Rescue 02:35 Chasing Time 03:00 Bluelist Australia 03:30 A World Apart 04:25 On Hannibal’s Trail 04:50 Travel Madness 05:20 Departures 06:15 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:40 Food School 07:10 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 07:35 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 08:05 Ultimate Traveller 09:00 Bondi Rescue 09:25 Bondi Rescue 09:55 Chasing Time 10:20 Bluelist Australia 10:50 A World Apart 11:45 On Hannibal’s Trail 12:10 Travel Madness 12:40 Departures 13:35 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:00 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 14:30 Earth Tripping 14:55 Earth Tripping 15:25 Ultimate Traveller
A SEPERATION ON OSN CINEMA 16:20 Bondi Rescue 16:45 Bondi Rescue 17:15 Chasing Time 17:40 Bluelist Australia 18:10 A World Apart 19:05 On Hannibal’s Trail 19:30 Travel Madness 20:00 Earth Tripping 20:30 Earth Tripping 21:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 21:30 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 22:00 Departures 22:55 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 23:20 Earth Tripping 23:50 Delinquent Gourmet
02:00 House Of The Rising Sun-18 04:00 True Justice: Urban WarfarePG15 06:00 Transformers: Dark Of The Moon-PG15 08:45 Go Fast-PG15 10:15 Deadly Hope-PG15 12:15 The New Daughter-PG15 14:15 Go Fast-PG15 16:00 Hide And Seek-PG15 18:00 The New Daughter-PG15 20:00 The Untouchables-PG15 22:00 The Thaw-PG15
01:00 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 03:00 Spooky Buddies-PG 05:00 A Separation-PG15 07:15 The Speed Of Thought-PG15 09:00 Spooky Buddies-PG 11:00 Legendary Assassin-PG15 12:45 Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius-PG 15:00 Encounter With Danger-PG15 17:00 An Invisible Sign Of My OwnPG15 19:00 Leaves Of Grass-PG15 21:00 Contagion-PG15 23:00 The Hot Potato-PG15
00:00 Brickleberry 00:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 01:30 Family Guy 02:00 Louie 02:30 Girls 03:00 Breaking In 03:30 Malibu Country 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Til Death 06:00 Arrested Development 06:30 Samantha Who? 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Til Death 09:00 Breaking In 09:30 How I Met Your Mother 10:30 Samantha Who? 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Arrested Development 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 Til Death 13:30 Samantha Who? 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 16:30 Arrested Development 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Last Man Standing 18:30 Friends 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 Out There 23:00 The Big C 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
00:00 Breakout Kings 01:00 Game Of Thrones 02:00 Once Upon A Time
03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
Treme Alphas Revenge Breakout Kings Emmerdale Coronation Street C.S.I. New York Once Upon A Time Revenge Alphas Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show C.S.I. New York Breakout Kings Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show C.S.I. New York Grey’s Anatomy House Of Cards The Americans American Horror Story Treme
01:30 03:15 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:15 22:00
7 Below Covert One: The Hades Factor The Stool Pigeon Legendary Assassin Carjacked Justice League: Doom True Justice: Street Wars Carjacked Constantine True Justice: Street Wars Intruders
00:00 Girl Walks Into A Bar-PG15 02:00 Dazed And Confused-PG15 04:00 The Winning Season-PG15 06:00 Men In Black-PG15 08:00 Police Academy 3: Back In Training-PG15 10:00 Men In Black II-PG 12:00 The Winning Season-PG15 14:00 Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol-PG15 16:00 Men In Black II-PG 18:00 The Marc Pease ExperiencePG15 20:00 Goon-PG15 22:00 Girl Walks Into A Bar-PG15
01:30 Ironclad-18 03:30 Money For Nothing-PG15 05:45 Yelling To The Sky-PG15 07:30 Tora! Tora! Tora!-PG15 10:00 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate-PG 11:45 Honey 2-PG15 13:45 My Enemy’s Enemy-PG15 15:15 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate-PG 17:00 Trust-PG15 19:00 Frozen-PG15 21:00 Schindler’s List-PG15 23:15 Arc-18
01:15 Dirty Teacher-PG15 03:00 I Don’t Know How She Does It-PG15 05:00 Perfect Plan-PG15 07:00 Rising Stars-PG15 09:00 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 11:15 Ghost Machine-PG15 13:00 Blackthorn-PG15 15:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 16:45 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 19:00 Chronicle-PG15 21:00 Cedar Rapids-18 23:00 The Thing-18
00:00 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 01:00 Princess Sydney: The Legend Of The Blue Rabbit 02:15 Hugo 04:30 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 06:00 Zathura: A Space Adventure 08:00 Little Einsteins: Rocket’s Firebird Rescue
09:15 Flicka 3 11:30 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 12:30 Marco Antonio 14:00 Hugo 16:15 The Adventures Of Tintin 18:00 Flicka 3 20:00 Freddy Frogface 22:00 Marco Antonio 23:30 The Adventures Of Tintin
00:00 Last Holiday-PG15 02:00 Seeking Justice-PG15 04:00 Dead Lines-PG15 06:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked-PG 08:00 Vickery’s Wild Ride-PG 10:00 The American President-PG15 12:00 Seeking Justice-PG15 14:00 George Harrison: Living In The Material World-PG15 18:00 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted-PG 20:00 HappythankyoumorepleasePG15 22:00 21 Jump Street-18
01:00 Premier League Darts 04:30 NRL Premiership 06:30 ICC Cricket 360 07:00 Snooker World Championship 11:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 12:00 NRL Premiership 14:00 PGA Tour Highlights 15:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 16:00 Super Rugby 18:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 19:00 Snooker World Championship 23:00 Super Rugby
00:00 Trans World Sport 01:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 02:00 Snooker World Championship 06:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 07:00 Super Rugby 08:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 09:00 PGA Tour Players Champions 10:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 11:00 Super Rugby 13:00 Snooker World Championship 17:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:30 Premier League Darts 21:00 NRL Full Time
00:30 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 16:30 18:30 19:30 20:30 23:00
Top 14 Highlights NRL Premiership Golfing World World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool Trans World Sport Golfing World Super Rugby World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool ICC Cricket 360 Top 14 Highlights Golfing World AFL Premiership Top 14 World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool AFL Premiership Super League
00:00 01:30 03:30 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:30 18:30 20:30 21:00 23:00
Mass Participation Ironman NHL Mobil 1 The Grid US Bass Fishing NHL WWE NXT WWE Bottom Line Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL Mass Participation Ironman Adventure Challenge Triahlon UK Mass Participation Ironman US Bass Fishing NHL Mobil 1 The Grid UFC Prelims UFC
Classifieds SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Prayer timings Fajr:
03:29
Shorook
04:58
Duhr:
11:44
Asr:
15:20
Maghrib:
18:231
Isha:
19:57
MATRIMONIAL Looking for brides working in Kuwait for Hindu Ezhava brothers 32 and 27 year old Mulam Chittra (stars) from Kottayam, Kerala. If interested please contact. Email: kuwaitmail2013@yahoo.com (C 4412) 11-5-2013 Proposals invited for a born again Christian girl, 31 years, 165cm height, working in Kuwait Multinational Company, completed B.A Literature and Masters in Management Hospital. Interested parents of professionally qualified boys working in India or abroad please contact: Email: lijotk@gmail.com (C 4410) 9-5-2013 Proposals invited for a Jacobite Christian girl, 27 years, 160cm, masters in occupational therapy, from parents of professionally qualified boys working in India or Abroad. Contact: lalu@kic.com.kw (C 4404) 5-5-2013 SITUATION WANTED Indian experienced generator operator/ mechanic seeking suitable job. Contact: 66368027. (C 4405)
FOR SALE
CHANGE OF NAME
Two Mitsubishi L300 long panel delivery vehicles white color, 2004 model, 225,000 km, price KD 1,300/- and 2007 model, 201,000 km, price KD 2,300/, fully maintained by Al-Mulla, ready for checking any time. Contact: 99852361 (C 4415) 12-5-2013 Jeep Mitsubishi (ASX) 2011, dark gray color, full options, excellent condition, 68000km, price KD 3,300/-. Contact: 66729295. (C 4406)
I, Yodati Mahesh, holder of Indian Passport No. H0552947 hereby change my name to Yedoti Mahesh. (C 4411) 9-5-2013
CHANGE OF NAME I, Yodati Mahesh, holder of Indian Passport No. H0552947 hereby change my name to Yedoti Mahesh. (C 4411) 9-5-2013
KIA Sorento - SE Jeep, model 2006, full options, sky blue color, excellent condition, price KD 1,750. Contact: 50994848. (C 4407) 7-5-2013
No: 15806
112
ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor/family, non-smoking, one big room, Amman Street, opposite to AlRashid Hospital. Contact: 66232356. (C 4408)
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is
Sharing accommodation available for ladies or bachelor Filipino only near Big
1889988 DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION
Airlines BBC QTR JZR JZR RJA THY ETH GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR KAC THY CLX DHX FDB KAC JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB IRA ETD IRC GFA MEA JZR JZR KAC UAE MSR THY KAC QTR KAC FDB IRC SVA KNE OMA
Arrival Flights on Sunday 12/5/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 642 AMMAN 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 412 MANILA 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI 6666 AHWAZ 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 284 DHAKA 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 742 DAMMAM 140 DOHA 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 6507 SHIRAZ 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 645 MUSCAT
Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:40 01:25 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:25 02:30 03:10 03:15 03:30 04:10 04:35 04:55 05:10 05:50 06:15 06:20 06:30 07:25 07:30 07:45 07:50 07:55 08:05 08:25 08:50 09:00 09:15 09:20 09:30 10:10 10:40 10:55 11:35 12:00 12:05 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:30 13:45 13:45 13:50 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40
QTR RJA JZR ETD SYR UAE ABY SVA GFA UAL JZR JZR KAC KAC QTR KAC KAC FDB GFA KAC AXB KAC MSR JAI KAC AFG OMA FDB ABY JZR MEA KAC KAC KLM ALK UAE KAC ETD QTR QTR GFA QTR FDB AIC JZR UAL JZR JZR DLH JAI PIA THY
134 640 787 303 341 857 127 510 215 982 177 777 502 542 144 786 166 63 219 618 393 674 606 572 102 415 647 61 129 481 402 562 514 417 229 859 172 307 136 6130 217 146 59 981 239 981 185 135 636 574 205 772
DOHA AMMAN RIYADH ABU DHABI DAMASCUS DUBAI SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI JEDDAH BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH PARIS DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA KOZHIKODE DUBAI LUXOR MUMBAI NEW YORK KABUL MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH SABIHA BEIRUT AMMAN TEHRAN AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI FRANKFURT ABU DHABI DOHA DOHA BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI LAHORE ISTANBUL
15:45 15:55 16:15 16:35 16:45 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:50 18:00 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:40 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:15 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:45 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:45 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 21:45 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:40 23:45
Airlines AIC AXB JAI UAL DLH BBC THY THY ETH UAE FDB MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB GFA THY JZR CLX BAW FDB KAC KAC ABY UAE FDB ETD IRA KAC QTR KAC IRC GFA KAC MEA KAC JZR JZR KAC JZR KAC JZR MSR THY UAE FDB QTR
Departure Flights on Sunday 12/5/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 44 CHITTAGONG 773 ISTANBUL 765 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 164 DUBAI 792 GIALAM 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 171 FRANKFURT 117 NEW YORK 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 773 RIYADH 133 DOHA 741 DAMMAM 6667 AHWAZ 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 480 ISTANBUL 103 LONDON 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 141 DOHA
Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:25 00:30 01:30 02:20 02:40 02:45 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:35 06:30 07:00 07:10 07:25 08:15 08:25 08:25 08:55 09:05 09:30 09:50 09:55 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:25 10:30 11:10 11:25 11:30 11:55 12:00 12:25 12:30 12:30 12:50 13:00 13:20 14:00 14:10 14:15 14:30 14:55
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
KAC IRC KNE KAC OMA SVA KAC KAC RJA RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR SYR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL QTR FDB GFA JZR AXB MSR JAI FDB ABY AFG OMA MEA DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC KAC QTR QTR KAC KAC KAC
673 6508 473 561 646 503 617 513 641 641 238 135 304 538 342 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 145 64 220 134 394 619 571 62 120 415 648 403 171 417 308 230 860 343 137 301 218 60 205 351 147 6131 411 283 415
DUBAI SHIRAZ JEDDAH AMMAN MUSCAT MADINAH DOHA IMAM KHOMEINI AMMAN AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO LATAKIA SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH JEDDAH MUSCAT BEIRUT BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI CHENNAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD KOCHI DOHA DOHA BANGKOK DHAKA KUALA LUMPUR
15:05 15:25 15:30 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 16:20 16:55 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:45 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:45 20:55 21:15 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:10 23:15 23:15 23:40 23:45 23:50
34
stars CROSSWORD 187
STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) There are deep feelings of respect and affection, especially for the women in your life. People around you will respond favorably to this attitude. This does not mean you would engage yourself in a relationship when you or someone else is already in a relationship—it does mean you respect others. People, co-workers in many cases, enjoy having you as a boss or partner. This afternoon you may busy your mind about a vacation or upcoming trip. You may also concern yourself with making improvements to your home, especially in making the rooms a lighter color. There could be some decisions to make about which thing you will want to do the most. If you go ahead with the repair work, you could still enjoy short weekend excursions.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) This is a lucky day. You should be successful in most any undertaking. Stimulating conversations begin before you even have time to begin your own project. Participation in group activities is favored—you could learn something of value from others. Spend time in review of your plans for the future. Perhaps while listening to other people’s ideas of where they want to be in a few years, you will form your own goals, personal or professional. Projects that you have already begun will come to a completion by the end of the day. You could be knitting a sweater or tutoring a child; all is good. Watch your spending habits this evening; you could become a bit more generous than the checkbook would allow. Music fills the air tonight; enjoy.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
ACROSS 1. The United Nations agency concerned with the international organization of food and agriculture. 4. remove from customary environment or associations. 12. An informal term for a father. 15. The upper side of the thighs of a seated person. 16. Relating to bees or beekeeping. 17. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank. 18. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters. 19. Perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch. 20. The most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on. 21. A river in Germany. 23. A river in central Europe that arises in northwestern Czechoslovakia and flows northward through Germany to empty into the North Sea. 25. A yellow pungent volatile oil (trade name Agene) formerly used for bleaching and aging flour. 28. A large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression. 31. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad. 35. The content of cognition. 36. A United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments. 39. Lacking in body or vigor. 41. Medium-sized tree having glossy lanceolate leaves. 42. Type genus of the Anatidae. 44. The lean flesh of a fish similar to cod. 45. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment. 47. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. 48. Genus of tropical American orchids. 53. A public promotion of some product or service. 54. Being nine more than ninety. 55. The elapsed time it takes for a signal to travel from Earth to a spacecraft (or other body) and back to the starting point. 57. A soft gray malleable metallic element that resembles tin but discolors on exposure to air. 63. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 65. Fierce wild dog of the forests of central and southeast Asia that hunts in packs. 68. A small cake leavened with yeast. 69. United States comedian and film actor (18801946). 72. Departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal. 74. The seventh and last day of the week. 75. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism. 76. A person from the same town as yourself. 78. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment. 79. The airforce of Great Britain. 80. A financial condition that results in the elimination of marginally financed participants in an industry. 81. Having leadership guidance. DOWN 1. Open pastry filled with fruit or custard. 2. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.
3. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 4. Animal food for browsing or grazing. 5. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off. 6. A silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion. 7. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient. 8. Fleshy and usually brightly colored cover of some seeds that develops from the ovule stalk and partially or entirely envelopes the seed. 9. Used of pens. 10. A strong wind moving 45-90 knots. 11. The compass point midway between northeast and east. 12. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984). 13. The sixth month of the civil year. 14. Slightly wet. 22. A family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in southeastern Asia. 24. Cause to be embarrassed. 26. Tag the base runner to get him out. 27. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 29. Extinct small mostly diurnal lower primates that fed on leaves and fruit. 30. Established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules. 32. A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church. 33. A technician who is highly proficient and enthusiastic about some technical field (especially computing). 34. Blockage of the intestine (especially the ileum) that prevents the contents of the intestine from passing to the lower bowel. 37. The capital of Morocco. 38. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix. 40. An official language of the Republic of South Africa. 43. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms. 46. Open to or abounding in fresh air. 49. The basic unit of money in Thailand. 50. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers. 51. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet. 52. An indistinct shapeless form. 56. A mountain in the central Himalayas on the border of Tibet and Nepal (27,890 feet high). 58. A package of several things tied together for carrying or storing. 59. A chain of more than 200 islands about 400 miles long in the western central Pacific Ocean. 60. (botany) Especially of leaves. 61. Make less active or intense. 62. Held back. 64. A river that rises in western New Mexico and flows westward through southern Arizona to become a tributary of the Colorado River. 66. A coil of rope or wool or yarn. 67. Large luxurious car. 70. Acute delirium caused by alcohol poisoning. 71. The syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization. 73. Explosive consisting of a yellow crystalline compound that is a flammable toxic derivative of toluene. 77. A state in northwestern United States on the Pacific.
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
You are likely to feel restless and bored with normal routine matters today but you are good to follow through with a promise you have made to yourself. Today you will make sure other projects are completed before going ahead with new ones. You will probably introduce some new personal guidelines into your fun activities. This may mean that the people in your life want to be included in your activities and vice versa. You have the power to break out of any rut from the past. You are good at respecting others and you should easily be able to achieve your objectives at this time. Creative ventures can be quite successful. An unexpected visitor brings good news this afternoon. This news saves you a lot of money.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) You are apt to spend a great deal of time communicating with neighbors today. This is a good time to take stock of the neighborhood and decide on whether you want to help contribute to a few improvements around the area. Once you begin, others will follow. Who knows, you might be able to get some money donated for a covered bus stop or request that the city create some sort of wall to block loud noises from the neighborhood. This is the type of creative idea coming into your life; there is improvement. There are volunteer programs that interest you and you want to make a positive difference. If positive changes are not needed on the home front, it could be the community would benefit from your abilities. Consider attending the next town meeting.
Leo (July 23-August 22) Your mind is stimulated and there is great wit at hand today. Your inclination and ability to solve complex problems and puzzles amaze others. If you are able to channel this mental enthusiasm productively, you will accomplish much today. You display an urge to be recognized and if you are patient, you will hear the praises. Perseverance is crucial during this, fortunately, short period. Your disposition is open and welcomes all you meet. You are in tune with your own convictions and beliefs as well as those of your friends. If you accept loved ones for the people they really are, you will greatly enjoy the company, now and in the future. Interactions with the opposite sex are stimulating and delightful this evening. Be prepared to dress to the max tonight.
Virgo (August 23-September 22) You are at your mental best today and may enjoy working with word puzzles, helping someone with his or her homework, or involving yourself in some construction project. You add creative and unusual touches to whatever you are working with today. This is an excellent time to make decisions and take care of any loose ends. You are motivated when it comes to possessions and material things; shopping for a special item or just what you want that is going to be a good investment may be on your mind this afternoon. When you purchase a gift, your attitude is the very same and you always look for that very special item that fits a person’s personality. A short journey with friends or family could be in your plans for this evening—perhaps stargazing.
Word Search
Libra (September 23-October 22) This is a good time to initiate a feeling or sense of going with the flow. There is a definite need for security. This strong desire encompasses most areas of your life at this time. Try to see that respect and true understanding of others will achieve the positive responses you are looking for now. You may find a volunteer service most beneficial as a means to express your talents and help others at the same time. Some of the ways in which you could feel quite useful in a volunteer situation would be in a medical, counseling or clergy type of organization. You will be teaching someone techniques of a sensible diet as well today. This evening you will be popular with your friends and someone will help you learn a new game— you are in for hours of fun.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) There may be an occasion today that you could experience hurt feelings. It could be difficult to let go of these feelings. However, it would be best to express to another that his or her actions are not acceptable. Perhaps it was only a tone of voice, unfounded criticisms or a personal slight. Accusations are unnecessary but acknowledgment of hurt feelings brings a better understanding of how someone can treat you. If you do this, you will not experience this problem from this person again. A new person will enter your life today and you may find some common beliefs or ideas that will promote good friendship. Now is a good time to begin making changes for some ethnic cause in your community. Remember to consider your time and do not go overboard.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions are ready for you to use. This is a good time to write and communicate with real originality. It is important to speak up and let your voice be heard. Insert your good sense of humor to get through some of the more sensitive subjects and people that may have been a problem in the past. Today is a great time to be with others and to work together in a team effort. You may be sought after as just the person for a particular job. Your management and directional abilities are in high focus. If you give your best effort now, you may unconsciously help another person. Success is within your reach. A loved one needs your support this evening. Make yourself available to listen.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19) CAPRICORN Work issues are particularly easy to manipulate today. You work with the public quite a lot and you give people more than they expect and with a cheerful attitude. This is a good time to get many things accomplished. As soon as you can take a break with some friends, a philosophical subject grabs your interest. What you learn could be the answer to a special problem you have been working on lately. Later this afternoon you will find an opportunity to invest or purchase items that could increase in worth. This is a good time to be judicious in your personal decisions about finances. However, you should expend great zest in your moneymaking abilities. Your money can go a long way if you plan carefully.
Aquarius (January 20- February 18) There is definitely a romantic atmosphere on the job today. You will not have to deal with it unless you want to, but if you act too quickly, there may be repercussions— careful. You may also need to make a conscious effort to keep play and work in balance. You will seem to be a bit sloppy with details on projects at this time. Work hard now to remain in focus. You will strive to become more dedicated to your work . . . Play time will come—count on it. Let both your own feelings and the reaction of others guide you when seeking a balance. Now is a good time to set long-range goals. Whether the evening works out as you planned or not, being flexible is the key to the good times. You enjoy the company of friends. Tell or hear a new joke this evening.
Pisces (February 19-March 20) At this time you will be inclined to dig deep into some mysterious subject. You will enjoy the success that is coming your way. You will learn much from a boss or mentor this saturday. Take your time and study what is presented. Conversations have the potential to profoundly affect your belief system. Viewpoints depend upon experience, family traditions, news source and all sorts of input. Today you will attend an enjoyable social function and become quite involved in a variety of subjects. Absorb and remember the rules of order. If you have recently been involved in a dispute with someone close, you will tend to make positive compromises now. This evening you enjoy spending time with your sweetheart. Balance and harmony are present.
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
lifestyle G o s s i p
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rmed police swarmed the Los Angeles home of the couple who married in 2009 - on Friday, after receiving a call claiming Lamar had been shot by a friend inside the house after an argument. However, according to TMZ, when the cops arrived at the scene, the basketball player was at home alone and unharmed. Khloe and Lamar aren’t the only celebrities to fall victim to swatting, police were recently called to Russell Brand’s home after a false claim there was a man with a gun on the property, although he admitted he probably would have done something similar when he was younger. Russell said: “If all swatting attacks are this unno-
ticeable I’m ready for war because I didn’t even know it had happened, I still don’t know what a swatting attack is! “I wasn’t [there] I was out. There’s always some helicopters and police at my house anyway because of my involvement in other activities so I didn’t notice any additional ones.
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he ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer welcomed her first child, son Milan, with soccer star Gerard Pique in January, and she admits she had anxieties she would lose her erotic appeal due to the after-effects of pregnancy. Appearing on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, she said: “Looking at your new image in the mirror ... I looked like a Shar Pei (dog) when I first delivered. I was like, ‘Oh my God. Am I ever going to be sexy again? Is my man ever going to feel attracted to me again the way he used to be?’ “ She then quipped: “He’s so good looking. He better be attracted to me because he is something.” As well as her own body, the Colombian beauty - who recently replaced Christina Aguilera as one of the coaches on ‘The Voice’ USA - was surprised by the initial appearance of her baby son and was shocked by just how traumatic labor is. Shakira, 36, joked: “Delivering a baby is not as idyllic as people make it seem. Don’t expect that he is going to be rosy cheeks, cherub when he is born. Actually, when I saw mine, I was like, ‘Oh my God. He is purple and wrinkled. What is this?’ “
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he ‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress was born in New York to Taiwanese parents and she often feels her cultural heritage causes her to miss out on big film roles in Hollywood which she knows she would be great in. She told digital magazine Net-A-Porter: “I wish people wouldn’t just see me as the Asian girl who beats everyone up, or the Asian girl with no emotion. People see Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock in a romantic comedy, but not me. “You add race to it, and it became, ‘Well, she’s too Asian’, or, ‘She’s too American’. I kind of got pushed out of both categories. It’s a very strange place to be. You’re not Asian enough and then you’re not American enough, so it gets really frustrating. “I can’t say that there is no racism - there’s definitely something there that’s not easy, which makes [an acting career] much more difficult.”
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usic producer Jose Moreno has filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the ‘American Idol’ host and TV producer as well as E! parent company NBC Universal for allegedly using his music in the background of ‘Khloe & Lamar’ - which he produces - without permission. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Moreno’s lawyers contend: “Ryan Seacrest Productions, NBC Universal ... intentionally edited substantial portions of Jose Moreno’s copyrighted musical works into television programmes which were publicly performed on prominent cable channels and viewed by millions of people. “Defendants did so with no license from Jose Moreno, the sole copyright owner.” Moreno claims his music was used without consent in an episode of ‘Khloe & Lamar’ and another show, ‘Bad Girls Club’, which airs on another NBC Universal-owned network, Oxygen. Ryan is also the creator of E!’s hit reality show ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’.
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he 20-year-old swimwear model has blasted commentators who pass judgment on her curvaceous figure and insists she is comfortable in her own skin. She takes great pride in the fact her voluptuous physique is inspiring women around the world to feel better about their own figures. Speaking in the June edition of Vogue magazine, she said: “The things that they’re rejecting are things that I can’t change. I can’t change my bra size. They’re natural! I can work out and I can stay healthy and motivated, but I can’t change some things. “I really
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hile Brooke, 35, who is currently on her 20th rehab stay, tried to have her twins Bob and Max, four, removed from the temporary custody of Charlie’s ex-wife Denise and placed with her brother, a judge has denied her request. A source told RadarOnline: “There was no second guessing from the judge, Brooke’s request was shot down. The twins will be staying with Denise Richards for the foreseeable future. Bob and Max won’t be going out to Palm Springs to see her at the Betty Ford Clinic on Mother’s Day (13.05.13), nor will her brother get temporary custody of them. Bob and Max are flourishing under the care of Denise, and the judge saw no reason to change that.” It was previously revealed Brooke will face an uphill battle to regain custody of her children, due to her previous addictions.
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he 35-year-old rapper was spotted filming scenes for the comedy sequel - which stars Will Ferrell as bungling news reader Ron Burgundy - on the set in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday. Kanye - who is expecting his first child with fiancee Kim Kardashian - was dressed in an afro wig and was seen fighting with several famous faces, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Sacha Baron Cohen. ‘Anchorman 2’ will feature a host of big name stars in roles, such as Liam Neeson, Will Smith, John C Reilly, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey and Jane Lynch. Meryl Streep is also hoping to make an appearance in the highly anticipated movie and has even approached returning cast member Steve Carell about getting her a part. Steve previously said: “Meryl told me she was a huge ‘Anchorman’ fan and she’d love to have a cameo in the sequel. That could be really funny. There are going to be plenty of great cameos in this movie.” ‘Anchorman: The Legend Continues’ will be released at the end of the year.
just live my life. I love my body. It’s what God gave me! I feel confident with myself, and if that inspires other women to feel confident with their bodies, great.” Kate - who was recently romantically linked to P Diddy after the pair were spotted on a night out together in Miami - also defended her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoots and says she worked hard to make it into the pages of the iconic magazine.
lifestyle
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
G o s s i p
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he wrestling legend is attempting to have all copies of the illicit footage which features him engaging in sexual activities with Heather Clem, the ex-wife of his friend and radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge - removed from various websites by threatening legal action. Hulk - whose real name is Terry Bollea - recently obtained a restraining order against website Gawker.com, the first website to post a one-minute clip of leaked footage last year, resulting in the company agreeing to remove it and now Hulk’s lawyers hope to use the restraining order to eradicate other existing clips and screenshots that have accumulated around the web.
According to TMZ, the wrestling legend’s lawyers have sent “pretty aggressive” letters to various websites including TheDirty.com which has posted numerous raunchy pictures from the sex tape - instructing them to remove all content or face “drastic legal action”. Hulk’s X-rated liaison with Heather is thought to have taken place six to seven years ago, but only surfaced last year.
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he couple - who rekindled their relationship at the end of last year after splitting following the actress’ affair with director Rupert Sanders - splashed out on the singing machine so they enjoy their favorite pastime in the comfort of their own luxury home, complete with a stage and atmospheric lighting. A source told The Sun newspaper: “They both absolutely love karaoke. They used to go to bars whenever they could, but more often than not they’d get hassled by people. “So Rob surprised Kristen with their own machine. It’s top-of-the-range stuff with built in disco lights, a huge screen and even its own mini stage.” Rob, 26,
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he ‘On the Floor’ hitmaker is following in the footsteps of stars such as Justin Bieber and Katy Perry by releasing a documentarystyle film focusing on her ‘Dance Again World Tour’ concerts, and she revealed that the documentary will give a warts-and-all view into her life, including her painful split from the Latin singer. Speaking on New York City’s Z100 radio station, she said: “I’d been through a big change in my life with the divorce and everything, and as crazy as we are, we thought, ‘Let’s put that on camera!’ “ The couple who have five-year-old twins Max and Emme together - ended their seven-year marriage in 2011 and Jennifer, 43, previously revealed she felt like her “whole life had fallen apart” in the wake of the split. She said: “It was very hard to get up in the morning. Very hard. When you’re depressed and sad all the time it’s very difficult. “I felt like my whole life had fallen apart. What I had known for seven or eight years with my children and everything, it was just ... boom! An explosion!”
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he singer has always been fascinated by the US and although she has visited the “land of opportunity” on many occasions while on tour with the Spice Girls she is ready to take a long vacation there. She said: “One day I would like to take an extended road trip around the States but I don’t think I would ever actually want to live there. I am a British girl through and through and as much as I love to travel I am always pleased to come home.” Mel - better known as Sporty Spice - always loves to go to New York because the city gives her a buzz like no other place. But the 39-year-old musician -
team of security guys had to jump to the 19year-old pop star’s aide to flatten a fan who grabbed him on stage in the United Arab Emirates city last Sunday night. During the scuffle, one of his minders aimed a rude comment at a member of Dubai’s Police’s VIP protection squad and after taking offence, the officer reported the incident to his bosses and the bodyguard was summoned to the station to answer questions. The unnamed man was facing three years in jail for his behavior but United after realizing the consequences of his actions, he apologized, Justin said sorry for what had happened and the officer withdrew his complaint. A police spokesman said: “Our officer didn’t reply at the time of the offence but made a complaint at the police station. We asked the bodyguard to come in and he seriously apologized for his behavior and expressed his regret for what happened, claiming he was under pressure due to the concert.
who has a four-year-old daughter Scarlet thinks San Francisco is the coolest place Stateside. Speaking to the Daily Express newspaper, she explained: “Being in New York is still a thrill as I always feel like I am on a film set. Chicago and Washington DC are incredible too. I love California: Los Angeles is so sunny and stylish and San Francisco has to be the coolest place on earth.”
and 23-year-old Kristen are so proud of their new purchase they have already invited friends and neighbors around to join in the fun, holding latenight karaoke parties. The source added: “Now they have karaoke parties at their home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles with all their friends. They go on until the early hours - even after a night out they head back to Rob and Kristen’s got a good old late-night sing-along.”
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
lifestyle
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File photo shows Best Director nominee Steven Spielberg arriving on the red carpet for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. — AFP
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ackson out. Randy Jackson, the lone original “American Idol” judge, says he won’t be returning to the Fox talent competition. “To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on ‘American Idol,’ I have decided to leave after this season,” Jackson said in a statement Thursday. “I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry.” The 56-year-old record producer and bassist called the experience a “life-changing opportunity.” He said he’s leaving “Idol” to focus on his
teven Spielberg will bring a Hollywood veteran’s eye to the more art-house Cannes Film Festival next week-but he insists he has no preconceptions and will be a strictly “democratic” jury head. The legendary filmmaker, who first came to Cannes for the premiere of “ET” in 1982, says he is looking forward to being on the Croisette, even if he is a little “rusty,” not having served on a festival jury for over 25 years. The 66-year-old-the third American to head the Cannes jury in four years chairs a panel that also includes Nicole Kidman and Oscar-winning director Ang Lee to pick who wins the coveted Palme d’Or at the May 15-26 festival. The prospect of watching and critically assessing 19 films in 12 days might be daunting to some, but Spielberg is unfazed. “Not me! Every weekend I watch between four and six movies. I catch up on what I’ve missed during the working week. So two films per day in Cannes, I’m rather looking forward to it,” Spielberg said in a pre-Cannes interview. “It’s a great honor, but it’s above all the promise of great pleasure,” he told the French arts magazine Telerama, in comments published in French. The director, who has won only once at Cannes-best screenplay for 1974’s “Sugarland Express”-has had a disappointing run of late on the awards front, with his two latest Oscar entries “War Horse” and “Lincoln” coming up short. But over the years Spielberg has made some of the biggest block-
record label and other business opportunities. Jackson has served as a judge on all 12 seasons of “Idol.” He first appeared on the panel alongside Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul when the competition debuted in 2002, becoming famous for his easygoing “yo, dawg” rapport with contestants. Jackson currently judges the show with pop royalty Mariah Carey, R&B diva Nicki Minaj and country star Keith Urban. His exit comes amid reports the entire panel will be replaced next season. A spokeswoman for Fox and spokesman
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fare, on the other hand, is often cooler, less accessible.” “Spielberg and the Cannes Film Festival should be a fascinating confrontation of cinematic and cinephilic tastes and tendencies,” he wrote. Spielberg has been tight-lipped about what kind of jury chairman he will be when he takes his seat in the Palais des Festivals, where stars will hit the red carpet on Wednesday. “Democratic!” he said, when asked by Telerama. “But give me a bit of time. I haven’t been on a jury since the Avoriaz festival in 1986, when we gave the prize to ‘Carrie,’ by Brian de Palma. I’m a little rusty,” he said. US jury heads at Cannes are not rare: there have been three or four per decade since the 1960s, before which they were French. Figures on Spielberg’s level have included Martin Scorsese in 1998, and Francis Ford Coppola in 1996. Two of the last three were Americans: Tim Burton in 2010 and Robert de Niro in 2011. In that year the Palme d’Or went to “Tree of Life,” one of two American films in competition, but hardly a crowdpleasing blockbuster. — AFP
for “Idol” producer FremantleMedia declined to comment. Ratings for “Idol” have plummeted this season. The show has been the most popular entertainment program in prime time for nine years running, but it’s likely “Idol” will lose that distinction this season. It’s now regularly behind the NBC singing competition “The Voice” in the weekly ratings. The current 12th season is set to conclude next week.
From left, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj from ‘American Idol’ attend the Fox Winter TCA Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel, in Pasadena, Calif. — AP
onday morning I woke up way too early, checked my Twitter and read a fellow music critic confidently declare that Mariah Carey had just released the “song of the summer.” I groaned, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, filled with a combination of skepticism and dread. After all, the evidence had already piled up against it: The song contains a hashtag, is called “#Beautiful,” and features one of the most overused words in the English language. Silly, trendy and typical, I snobbishly judged - before hearing even a lick of it. While I made coffee a few hours later, the computer stared, headphones lying in wait. Would she actually use the word “hashtag” in the lyrics? Would it be about, God forbid, tweet love? Why would Miguel, one of the best young R&B singers on the scene right now, participate in such nonsense? Mariah and Miguel have now answered, and I’m struggling to adjust to the reality that “#Beautiful” just might be the jam of the summer. Despite the hashtag - and the wariness “#Beautiful” is as close to a perfect pop song as has been released in 2013. Produced by Miguel and Carey, the track is gritty and vital, filled with a crawling, dirty bass line, a seductive, immediately embeddable guitar melody and just enough tambourine to get the engine running. From the first line, delivered by Miguel, the track takes to the road: “Hop on the back of my bike, let the cool wind run through your hair,” he sings. Miguel, the San Pedro-born breakout whose “Kaleidoscope Dream” was one of the best albums of 2012, rides away, his girl on his bike, with the charisma of a superstar. They cruise through the night, Miguel crooning about her beauty while he advises her to “let the moonlight kiss your skin.” You can almost see a lunar glimmer on the Pacific as they roll down PCH.—MCT
busters and award-winning films of modern cinema, including “Jaws” (1975), “Jurassic Park” (1993), “Schindler’s List” (1993) and the “Indiana Jones” movies. Asked if as jury head he would reward films with popular potential, or “more difficult” works, he demurred. “I believe that, before they are shown, all films are equal. Whether they are small or big, they are a sum of the personal visions and collaborative efforts. “Each time the filmmaker’s intentions are the same, whether it is Christopher Nolan or Michael Haneke: to express what he has inside,” he said, referring to the blockbuster “Dark Knight” director and Haneke, whose understated “Amour” won last year at Cannes. The possibility of a cultural clash between Spielberg’s Hollywood sensibility and those of his fellow jurors-an international bunch, to say the least-has not gone unnoticed. The jury also includes Indian actress Vidya Balan, Japanese director Naomi Kawase, Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, French actor Daniel Auteuil, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu and Oscar-winning Austrian actor Christoph Waltz. “No roster of Cannes jurors in recent memory has been as stacked with influential, distinctive, high-profile global film industry figures,” wrote film critic Jon Frosch, in a piece published by The Atlantic online. “The common strand running throughout Spielberg’s body of work is the filmmaker’s palpable desire to reach directly for the viewer’s emotions. Cannes
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ichael Jackson’s make-up artist warned in the 1990s that the star could die due to his drug addiction, she testified Friday, adding that people were initially lying after his 2009 death. Karen Faye, who worked for the self-styled King of Pop for 27 years, said she voiced concern to a drugs therapist after Jackson’s “Dangerous” tour in the early 1990s, which was cut short when the singer went into rehab. She was speaking at a Los Angeles trial pitting Jackson’s 82-year-old mother Katherine against AEG Live, the promoter of his final tour whom she accuses of negligently hiring doctor Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. The Jackson fami-
A picture taken on June 3, 2005 shows Michael Jackson waving as he arrives at the Santa Barbara County courthouse in Santa Maria, California. — AFP
Randy Jackson arrives at the Winter TCA Fox All-Star Party at the Langham Huntington Hotel, in Pasadena, Calif.
ly matriarch says AEG Live were responsible for hiring the medic, and should have known he was inappropriate for the job. Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, given to him by Murray to help with his insomnia. Lawyers for AEG say he had used the drug, usually only meant for a hospital setting, for years. “Everybody was lying after he died .. and everyone knew,” said Faye, who was asked to do the make-up on Jackson’s corpse. “I felt retouching Michael was part of that lie and I didnt want to be part of it,” she said. Faye, who also did Jackson’s hair, said she began to be seriously worried during the “Dangerous” tour. “I said I was afraid Michael could die,” she said, adding: “There were times when he was OK and times when I was worried.” On one tour stop in Singapore she stumbled into his dressing room to find him taking medication, which he said was to reduce a bald spot on his scalp from burns received during an accident while making a Pepsi advert in 1984. At times on the tour she saw Debbie Rowe, who at the time was a nurse for Jackson’s dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein but would later marry the singer, carrying medications for the star. Faye added that she voiced concerns about Jackson’s drug abuse with his siblings Rebbie, LaToya and Randy. The family tried unsuccessfully to get him into rehab in later years, she said. “I never knew them to be successful ...I’m sure they were trying to help him in any way the could,” she said. The trial continues into its third week Monday. — AFP
icolas Cage is set to star in the surreal thriller “Hotel 33, which will be produced by Emmett/Furla Films, Envision Entertainment and Foresight Unlimited, the latter of which will handle international sales at Cannes. Open Road Films is distributing the film theatrically in the US. Newcomer Kellie Madison wrote the script and will direct “Hotel 33,” which starts production this September. Story is based on the presumed event surrounding the disappearance of 32 people on the opening night of the Grand Hotel in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1953. Cage will play a detective investigating the event, and while he does so, four teenagers break into the now-abandoned hotel for a night of festivities. Things soon go awry, and the detective is forced to turn his attention to discovering the mysterious happenings surrounding the strange disappearance of two of the four teens.
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Randall Emmett and George Furla will produce the film, which will be executive produced by Malek Akkad and Envision’s Remington Chase, Stepan Martirosyan and Vitaly Grigoriants, as well as Foresight CEO Mark Damon. Madison previously wrote the script for Anchor Bay Entertainment’s “Dear Mr. Gacy,” which is based on Jason Moss and Jeffrey Kottler’s bestselling book “The Last Victim,” about Moss’ chilling encounter with infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy. “Hotel 33” will be her feature film debut. Emmett/Furla, Envision and Foresight previously teamed on the action movies “2 Guns” and “Lone Survivor.”— Reuters
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recent weeks to around 4 million after NBC switched the hourlong show to several different time slots. The fate of NBC’s expensive behind-the-scenes musical drama “Smash,” starring Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Katharine McPhee, is still undecided after audiences for its second season slumped to under 2 million people. —Reuters
ctor Matthew Perry’s latest TV show was canceled on Friday after one season, marking his third disappointing venture since he won fame on the hit comedy “Friends.” Broadcaster NBC also said it would not be bringing back its weekly news magazine show “Rock Center” for the 2013-14 fall schedule, along with five other low-rated comedies. The comedy “Go On,” in which Perry played a sports radio host who joins a grief counseling group after the death of his wife, was one of a slew of low-rated NBC television shows that will not be renewed, the network said. Perry, 43, has struggled to follow up his success as the hapless Chandler Bing in NBC’s “Friends,” which ended in 2004. “Go On” received favorable reviews and attracted an audience of more than 16 million when it made its debut in August 2012. But audiences dropped off and the season finale in April was watched by less than 3 million people. “Go On” followed the dark and short-lived 2011 series “Mr Sunshine,” in which Perry starred as well as co-created, and the 2006-07 “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” that was canceled after one season. Perry’s “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston has launched a second career as a romantic comedy movie actress, while Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox have made several movies and TV shows, David Schwimmer has appeared on stage and tried his hand at directing, and Matt LeBlanc won a Golden Globe in 2012 for playing a version of his skirt-chasing “Friends” bachelor character Joey in the Showtime and BBC comedy “Episodes.” NBC, which has struggled to replace 1990s’ hits like “Friends,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” and “Will & Grace,” has also axed White House-based comedy “1600 Penn,” the Jimmy Fallon-created comedy “Guys With Kids,” “Whitney” and “Up All Night.” “Rock Center,” hosted by veteran NBC News journalist Brian Williams, made its debut in October 2011 in what the network hoped would be a fast-paced but serious approach to news. But it struggled to find an audience and viewership has fallen in
Matthew Perry
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
lifestyle
Miss India 2013, Navneet Kaur Dhillon (center) showcases a creation by designer Shivangee Sharma during a fashion show at the Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013.
Indian Bollywood film actress Elven Sharma showcases a creation by designer Sonaakshi Raaj during a fashion show at the Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013 yesterday.
Russian Indian model Alesia Raut showcases a creation by designer Sharad Raghav during a fashion show at the Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013 in Jaipur yesterday. — AFP photos
Slumdog Millionaire. Bewildered, I asked is it slim dog? Rahman corrected. It’s slumdog.
By Sunil Cherian
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t is India’s high pitched, high voltage and highly electrifying performing voice. But Sukhwinder Singh does not stay with the popular song menu - of the Oscar-famed Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire or the celebrated train song Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se. Sukhi, as he is affectionately known, has something new as his trump card yet. The popular Bollywood singer is planning to rock with his new band and its music performance music circus -a fusion of gymnastics by Russian artists, opera and Indian folk songs. Sukhwinder Singh was in Kuwait this past weekend with his 19-member crew to perform for Apnalaya, a charitable society headed in Kuwait by Akash Panwar. Sukhi talked at length about his passion, vision and mission all centered on music. Excerpts:
JAI HO The Oscar winning song was originally composed by AR Rahman for the 2008 film ‘Yuvvraaj’. After listening to the song, the director-producer Subhash Ghai said the song is good, but not fit for this film. Rahman was not worried since this is usual in the industry. I took a personal interest in this song and I recorded the song just to keep it for myself. I made copies for Rahman Jai Ho fame Sukhwinder Singh was in and lyricist Gulzar. After a few days I got a call from Rahman saying Jai Ho was to be included in a Hollywood project titled Kuwait to perform Friday, May 10, 2013.
Bollywood singing sensation Sukhwinder Singh signs an autograph for a young fan.
A model showcases a creation by designer Sonaakshi Raaj during a fashion show at the Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013 in Jaipur.
AR RAHMAN There is no track system with Rahman. He would give the basic idea of the song and say ‘sing with passion. Fly with the song’. Later, when we listen to our song we would be shocked, pleasantly by its technical quality. Rahman is not only an awesome composer, but a terrific sound technician. Can you believe the songs for Taal were recorded in a laptop while the director and his team were having lunch at a restaurant? Rahman mixes sound with great care. Before I sang Chaiyya Chaiyya, Rahman gave me a break in the Tamil movie Rakshakan, Miss Universe Susmitha Sen’s first film. I sang lucky, lucky in Tamil, the lyrics written in Hindi. The song in the film was for the role played by SP Balasubramahnyam, a legendary singer-actor in South India. SP lip-synched with my song. After a few weeks I got an award for that song. Guess who gave me the award? SP Balasubramahnyam.
remembered for songs like Chaiyya Chaiyya and Jai Ho but I have also sung not-so high pitched songs. But people like to associate high spirited songs with me. Chake De India song is treated like the national anthem in many parts of India. On or off stage, I like to sing dance-songs or item numbers. I dance on stage. In Kuwait Friday night I danced - a disciplined dance - and I saw people going ecstatic. But believe me, now I like to go back to the soulful melodies of RD Burman era. PERSONAL LIFE I’m a jolly go lucky, fun loving chap. I do yoga for relaxation. That’s why you saw me sitting with closed eyes between songs on Friday night. There is a Deewali saying, Clean your house, so that Lakshmi (prosperity) can come to your house. Yoga cleanses the mind. I belong to Sikhism and the religion of humanitarianism. Sikhism has the freedom to not to have beard and turban. I believe success, money and fame have no home - they do not belong to anyone. If you want satisfaction in life, be passionate in what you are doing. I’m 41-years old and next time may be you will see me holding my child.
NEW SONGS Policegiri, starring Sunjay Dutt, the remake of Tamil movie Saami and Gippi, a film produced by Karan Johar are the latest films I recorded songs for. I have sung for many languages including Tulu, a spoken language in Karnataka state. I am still
Sukhwinder Singh shares a light moment with the kitchen crew at Crowne Plaza, Kuwait.
Sukhwinder Singh rocks with band ‘music circus’
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SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
Photo released by Sesame Workshop shows Puerto Rican actor Ismael Cruz Cordova, 26, of ‘Sesame Street,’ posing with muppets Rosita (left) and Elmo in New York. Cruz plays Mando, a young Latino writer who interacts with the puppets and also loves technology. — AP
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s a child in Puerto Rico, Ismael Cruz was delighted by the colorful characters in “Sesame Street,” who not only entertained and educated him but helped him learn “ingles.” He could not have imagined that two decades later he would be playing with them in front of the cameras. Cruz is the newest Hispanic addition to the popular series’ cast, playing Armando, or “Mando.” The children’s show wants to reflect the population changes in the US, where Hispanics are the fastest growing minority. It also features African-American, Asian and American Indian characters. “‘Sesame Street’ is a magical place. It doesn’t matter if you are working there or just visiting, or if you’re watching on TV, that magic is always there,” Cruz, 26, told The
Associated Press. “I grew up watching the show, and for me it was a place that really existed and to which as a child I aspired to go, a place so diverse that I could see myself in the faces of the people that were there. Being on the set now is that, but with cameras.” Cruz’s character is a Hispanic writer from Brooklyn who writes everything from short stories to essays and movie scripts. He also loves technology and social media. The addition expands a cast of Hispanic characters that includes Maria (Sonia Manzano) and Luis (Emilio Delgado), who debuted on “Sesame Street” in 1971 as human characters, as well as Rosita, the charming turquoise monster who joined in 1993 with Mexican puppeteer Carmen Osbahr, who also voices Ovejita.
eld a virtual prisoner by the Bolsheviks months before his execution, Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II pasted informal snapshots of his family into an album which has now come to light in a Russian provincial museum. The photographs, most of which have never been seen before, show the last of the Romanov rulers of Russia without pomp and in unguarded moments. Many were taken by Nicholas II himself. Since the 1920s, the album has been held in the Urals in the local history museum of Zlatoust, a small city in western Russia dominated by foundries. It is
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now on show at a museum in Yekaterinburg, formerly Sverdlovsk, where the family was brutishly murdered along with their servants in 1918 in a crime that still raises raw emotions in Russia. The exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Romanov dynasty. Without any gold crests or monograms, the album has simple pages with the photographs posted thematically rather than in chronological order. On the back of the pictures are penciled names. The exhibition has caused excitement in Russia with national daily Komsomlskaya Pravda serializing the photographs.
Handout file photo reproduction shows Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II (left) and Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia, then commander of the Russian armed forces in World War I, posing for a photo somewhere in an undisclosed location in Russia.
Handout file photo reproduction of a picture taken in the autumn of 1914 shows Russia’s last empress, Alexandra Feodorovna, posing with wounded soldiers in the palace hospital where she worked as a nurse at Tsarskoye Selo, now part of the town of Pushkin, south of St Petersburg. — AFP photos
“It’s a show that’s always cutting edge, that is always aware of what’s going on with the population, so by including a character that is young, with new perspectives, Latino, and that brings that new generation, it is carrying on with that message,” Cruz said. Cruz grew up poor in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, and his mother tuned in to “Sesame Street” so his son would learn English. Cruz studied music and dreamed of being an actor, eventually attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Before “Sesame Street,” he appeared on “The Good Wife” and in films “In The Blood,” “White Alligator” and “Chaser.” The casting call for a new Hispanic character on “Sesame Street” attracted hundreds of bilingual actors last August. “I hadn’t seen it, (but) many people who knew me
The album has never previously been shown outside the museum where it is held. “We don’t know for sure how the album turned up in our museum, but it has been in our holdings since the end of the 1920s. Where it came from though is not recorded,” the deputy head of the history department of the Zlatoust museum, Yury Okuntsov, told AFP by telephone. “Most likely before that it was in the possession of someone who had something to do with guarding or executing the tsar’s family.” Zlatoust is around 300 kilometers from Yekaterinburg, where the tsar and his family were shot in a cellar. The album contains just one photograph taken after the tsar’s abdication in 1917. The others date from 1914, 1915 and 1916 and it seems likely that the tsar compiled the album to pass the time while in exile with his family in Tobolsk in western Siberia between 1917 and 1918. Nicholas II and his family initially lived in a degree of comfort in a mansion in Tobolsk. But following the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917, conditions worsened and they were held as virtual prisoners. They were then transferred to Yekaterinburg in late April 1918 ahead of their execution. “It’s possible that the tsar compiled this album after he arrived in exile” in Tobolsk, Okuntsov said. “It seems likely that in 1916 he would not have time for this: he was almost constantly at the general headquarters of the armed forces. But then he found himself with nothing to do and got to work on the album in Tobolsk, this is possible.” Okuntsov said he first came across the album in the museum’s archives in the 1980s when it would have been unthinkable to exhibit the photographs. Since the 1990s, with the wave of interest in the tsar’s family, he said he had followed publications but only seen a handful of the photographs replicated elsewhere. When Tsar Nicholas’s diaries were published, he used them to pinpoint the chronology and locations.—AFP
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and read the description of what they were looking for sent me messages through Facebook, email and phone telling me, ‘You have to do this audition, this is perfect for you.’ And that’s how I began this process,” Cruz said. “Mando” will make his debut on the 44th season of “Sesame Street,” which starts airing Sept 16. Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of “Sesame Street,” said she and her team knew immediately that Ismael was the perfect addition. “He has a passion for creative expression and a warmth that comes right through the camera,” Parente said in a statement.— AP
tar Trek” has always been about more than a spaceship crew hurtling through the cosmos - over the decades, the sci-fi series in all its forms has tackled earthly issues such as race, gender and the Vietnam War. When it comes to shining a spotlight on contemporary conflicts, the film and television franchise’s newest entry, the movie “Star Trek Into Darkness,” is no exception. Directed by JJ Abrams and written by Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci, “Into Darkness,” which opens Thursday, sees the return of Capt Kirk (Chris Pine), Mr Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew, as they face a new villain, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). As with so much in the fictional worlds Abrams creates (“Lost,” “Super 8”), many details around the movie have been cloaked in mystery, including the true identity of Cumberbatch’s character. But on a breezy afternoon in March, on the roof of a Hollywood photo studio, Pine and Quinto shared insight into John Harrison and the movie’s present-day parallels. “This film is about earthbound terror,” said Pine, speaking weeks before the real-life bombing at the Boston Marathon. “It’s about terrorism, about issues we as human beings in 2013 deal with every day, about the exploitation of fear to take advantage of a population, about physical violence and destruction but also psychological manipulation. John Harrison is a terrorist in the mold of those we’ve become accustomed to in this day and age.” Much of the humanity in Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” origins movie, which was the 11th film in the franchise, came from the rivalry and ultimately the friendship that developed between reckless young Kirk and analytical young Spock. The new film from Paramount Pictures is rich with action - Kirk and Dr McCoy (Karl Urban) race through fields of scarlet foliage, a Starfleet ship rises from the ocean, Spock descends into an erupting volcano.
“You can’t even imagine how elaborate this set was,” Quinto said of the volcano scene, for which he wore a cumbersome suit. “Lava rocks, smoke, fire machines, sparks. I had to communicate with a speaker inside my helmet. ... It was meditative in a way. I got real quiet and real still.” But apart from the action, the movie is again rooted in its well-defined characters, Quinto noted.—MCT
Gymnast Nastia Liukin attends the ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ screening at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on May 9, 2013 in New York City. — AFP