13 May 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Sharif in talks to form Pakistan government

Vendor’s suicide reflects despair of Mideast youth

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Chris Brown’s scary curbside art irks LA neighbors

‘Killer’ Nadal wins Madrid title for fifth triumph of 2013

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MPs sharpen knives as grilling fever strikes Opposition launches national campaign for constitution

Max 41º Min 30º High Tide 02:44 & 12:53 Low Tide 07:44 & 20:38

By B Izzak

Israel opens Gulf mission JERUSALEM: Israel has opened a new diplomatic mission in the Gulf, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported yesterday, citing finance ministry costings for 2014 prepared for submission to the government this week. “The paper is an economic plan for the next year and does not name the location of the new mission,” Haaretz said.

Questioned by AFP, a foreign ministry spokesman would say only that Israel “officially has no diplomatic representation in the Gulf”.

In May 2010, then Israeli trade minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer attended an international economic conference in Qatar. The first Israeli minister to visit the Gulf state since Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Nov 2008. Qatar, increasingly influential in the region, broke off diplomatic ties with Israel and closed the Israeli trade mission in Doha in protest against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza in Dec 2008-Jan 2009.

Besides Qatar, only Oman had established relations with Israel but they were broken in late 2000 after the beginning of the second Palestinian intifada. In Jan 2010, then national infrastructures minister Uzi Landau, attended a meeting of the International Agency for Renewable Energy in Abu Dhabi. But the United Arab Emirates stressed that his presence did not mean normalisation between the two countries. — AFP

KAC to buy 25 jets, lease 13 KUWAIT: Kuwait’s national carrier is due to sign a multibillion-dollar deal with Airbus to purchase 25 new aircraft valued at $3.0 billion with the first delivery expected in 2019, a local newspaper reported yesterday. The deal will be signed “very soon,” Al-Watan newspaper said quoting sources close to decision-makers. Last week Kuwait Airways Co (KAC) board of directors decided to choose an offer made by Airbus because it carried a price tag $280 million lower than one made by Boeing, the report said. The deal includes 10 Airbus A350-900 and 15 A-320 neo and the delivery of the planes will start after six years, Al-Watan said.

KAC made no comment on the report but its new chairman Sami Al-Nasef told AFP in January, after parliament passed a bill to transform the airline into a commercial company, that they planned to buy around 21 new aircrafts within two years. In the meantime, KAC will lease 13 big and small Airbus planes with the first two A320 due to arrive in July, Al-Watan said. — AFP

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s Scottish manager Alex Ferguson kisses the Premier League trophy at the end of an English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Swansea City at Old Trafford yesterday. Ferguson said farewell to Old Trafford with a typically passionate speech after his side’s 2-1 victory in his final home match in charge of the team. — AFP (See Page 20)

KUWAIT: In fast-paced developments yesterday, two lawmakers said they are filing to grill the ministers of oil and interior as Speaker Ali Al-Rashed said the grilling moratorium is over and called MPs for an emergency meeting. Also, a former opposition MP warned against dissolving the National Assembly now to hold fresh election on the basis of the controversial single-vote law. MP Nasser Al-Marri said he will file to grill Oil Minister Hani Hussein and MP Safa Al-Hashem said she will submit a grilling against Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah today.

The new development came as speaker Rashed said a moratorium on grillings has ended, opening the way to start debating grillings before the summer recess after MPs had earlier decided to postpone grillings until the next term starting late October. Rashed described the $2.2 billion penalty payment to US giant Dow Chemical as “highly suspicious” and said there must an investigation at a very high level. Marri said in a statement that he will file a request today to grill the oil minister over the Dow payment as several other MPs supported the surprising move. Hashem warned the interior minister that he has to face the grilling or quit, while MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan advised the minister to step down as he will have no supporters.

Marri said in a statement that “we have sworn to safeguard public funds and we will not allow the Dow payment to pass off easily ”. “As a result, the Independents Bloc met and assigned me to file to grill the oil minister over the payment,” he said. The lawmaker said the grilling will tackle all the steps followed in signing the deal with Dow Chemical from the idea of the investment, to feasibility studies followed by reviewing it by concerned councils and government approvals before the parliamentary opposition to the deal and eventually the Cabinet cancellation.

He said the payment of the huge penalty will not pass off easily as all those responsible will be held to account and there will be no forgiveness because the issue relates to public funds which must be protected.

Marri said that MPs have pledged to HH the Amir to ensure a quiet period but “we cannot remain silent on this issue because the penalty payment was not debated with the National Assembly which did not know anything about it”. The lawmaker said he will submit the grilling request at noon.

Several other MPs have strongly lashed out at the payment of the penalty to Dow, with some of them vowing to grill the oil minister and others calling for a debate in the Assembly and a more serious investigation to hold those responsible to account. It was not immediately known why members of the pro-government Assembly have become increasingly upset over the government, but it appears that the way the Continued on Page 13

Branson swaps suit for skirt New virus can pass between humans: WHO

MANAMA: A US Navy River Command Boat cruises off the coast of Bahrain’s Salman port, near the capital yesterday, one day before the start of the biggest exercise of mine countermeasure maneuvers in the Arabian Gulf. — AFP

Gulf navy drill not directed at Iran: US MANAMA: Vice Admiral John Miller, commander of the US Fifth Fleet, said yesterday that a massive naval minesweeping exercise involving 41 countries was not directed at Iran. “It is not about Iran,” Miller said at a news conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, the fleet’s headquarters, saying the manoeuvres were “purely defensive”.

Iran on Tuesday warned against any “provocations” in the Gulf as the US-led international naval force began preparing for the exercise. “Our message does not get to one country... it is about a secure maritime environment,” Miller said. “It is purely defensive, not provocative, and takes place in international waters.”

The Islamic republic has warned that if it was attacked by the US or Israel over its

nuclear activities, it would block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a major oil conduit.

Miller said that “critical to the global economy... is a maritime environment that has free-flowing commerce, ships can safely sail.”

“If some nation puts mines into the waters then the global community has to get them from the waters as quickly as possible,” he said, adding that the “newest technologies” will be used in the manoeuvres.

Thirty-five ships, 18 Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and more than 100 explosive ordinance disposal divers will participate in the anti-mine manoeuvres running until the end of May. Commodore Simon Ancona of the British Royal Navy said that more than 40 countries and 6,500 service members were taking part. — AFP

RIYADH: World Health Organisation (WHO) officials said yesterday it seemed likely a new coronavirus that has killed at least 18 people in the Middle East and Europe could be passed between humans, but only after prolonged contact. A virus from the same family triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world after emerging in Asia and killed 775 people in 2003. Yesterday, French authorities announced that a second man had been diagnosed with the disease after sharing a hospital room with France’s only other sufferer.

WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda told reporters in Saudi Arabia, the site of the largest cluster of infections, there was no evidence so far the virus was able to sustain “generalised transmission in communities” - a scenario that would raise the spectre of a pandemic. But he added: “Of most concern ... is the fact that the different clusters seen in multiple countries ... increasingly support the hypothesis that when there is close contact, this novel coronavirus can transmit from person to person. “There is a need for countries to ... increase levels of awareness,” he said.

A public health expert who declined to be identified, said “close contact” meant being in the same small, enclosed space with an infected person for a prolonged period. The virus first emerged in the Gulf last year, but cases have also been recorded in Britain and France among people who had recently been in the Middle East. A total of 34 cases worldwide have been confirmed by blood tests so far.

Continued on Page 13

SEPANG, Malaysia: British business magnate Richard Branson has lost his latest job because of orange juice. The Virgin Group founder had his legs shaved, put on lipstick and squeezed into a red skirt to honor a bet by serving as a flight attendant yesterday on an AirAsia trip from Perth, Australia, to Malaysia. But he earned a reprimand from AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes after he deliberately dumped a tray of orange juice on Fernandes’ lap. Branson lost a bet to Fernandes in 2010 after they wagered that their Formula One racing teams would finish ahead of each other.

Fernandes’ team landed two spots above Branson’s.

But his stint as a stewardess was post-

poned in early 2011 after he injured himself while skiing. There was no escape yesterday however, when Branson was recruited to serve coffee, tea and meals on the five -and-a-half-hour flight.

Though he kept his trademark beard, he shaved his legs to show them off in black fishnets beneath his red AirAsia uniform.

He topped off the outfit with bright red lipstick, heavy eye make-up and his blonde hair pulled back in a quiff. Photos from the flight showed him chatting with passengers and serving food to Fernandes, who used to work for Branson in the music industry.

Fernandes gleefully declared after yesterday’s flight on his budget airline Continued on Page 13

AirAsia group chief Tony Fernandes is served by British billionaire Richard Branson, who is dressed as a female flight attendant, while flying from Perth to Kuala Lumpur. — AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

LOCAL

Cabinet to discuss allowance law

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah with National Assembly Speaker Ali-Al-Rashed yesterday.

KUWAIT: The Council of Ministers will discuss at today’s meeting the resubmission of the children allowance law and social allowances for Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis.

Government sources said the law was rejected because the government’s opinion had not been sought by the committees concerned and the state budget had already been approved. The sources added that an agreement will be reached with the council to resubmit the lease allowance law to the financial committee, and if the MPs insisted on voting during the Tuesday session, the government would vote against it.

Meanwhile, the cabinet will be briefed about the readiness of the government to deal with crises and disasters, and

their effects, in preparation for the NA Council session that will discuss the subject on Thursday. Twelve MPs had earlier filed an application requesting a special session. The secret session will start at 11 am and will focus on the Iranian Bushehr reactor. Some MPs at the session are expected to request a discussion on the subject of the Iranian spying cell, too, on which a final court decision had been made.

Sources said the cabinet, in the Monday session, will be briefed about the readiness of several parties concerned with security and health - such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Public Works and Civil defense - to deal with crises and disasters.

MOH warns of fake medicines on sale 420 cases detected in raids

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Pharmaceutical inspection administration at Ministry of Health announced the detention of

large quantities of forged marks of medicine and cosmetics which validity has expired, in some of the private pharmacies and some popular markets.

Assistant Undersecretary Dr Omar Al-Sayed Omar said in a press release that number of cases found since last year amounted to about 420, through 4,477 inspection round were made. He warned public not to respond to ads and buy based on those ads or through points of sales in some popular markets.

He explained that those faked pharmaceuticals usually are not active and sometimes have negative and deadly results. Pointing that deaths worldwide caused by such medicines amounts to about one million case.

He called upon all to read expiry date on any medicine when buying it as well as the cosmetics, calling all to call upon pharmaceutical inspection dept to check the medicine in case of confusion.

He further said that some unlicensed medicines to be dealt with in Kuwait were confiscated and some medicines smuggled from ministry of health stores and are being sold in pharmacies and private shops and some food supple-

ments are being sold without license.

He said he who violates the law No 28 for the year 1996 shall be sent to legal dept and then to public prosecutor for necessary action.

Omar explained that pharmaceutical inspection is concerned of all kinds of inspections, where ever medicine is store or kept in the counting and practice its work through periodic and sudden inspection on pharmacies, hospitals, shops and stores for the safety of all. All pharmaceutical must be registered and analyzed to evaluate its efficiency, thereafter it can be marketed in the right way. He added, as per WHO records, the size of forged pharmaceuticals worldwide in 2010 estimated at $75 billion with an increase of 90 percent from the year 2005, and thus earnings out of this illegal trade is far more than trading in drugs, explaining that high prices of pharmaceutical in some poor countries has given chance to traders to make use of the situation and smuggle forged medicine.

National Guard training camp KUWAIT: Under the patronage of the Undersecretary for National Guard, General Nasser Abdullah Al-Daie, and in the presence of Lt General Eng Hashem Abdul R azzaq Al-R ifaie, the National

Guards carried out an exercise “Nasr 11” CPX11 at the Kathema Camp. The camp trains commanders of all units of the National Guards in dealing with emergency cases and taking quick and appro-

priate decisions on the spot. The camp was organized with the cooperation of and in coordination with the Kuwait Army, Ministry of Interior, fire department and the US Army.

Al-Haifi opens training program on diabetes KUWAIT: Health M inister Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi inaugurated a training program at the Dasman Diabetes Institute (DDI) that is being organized in cooperation with Joslin Diabetes Center of the Har vard M edical S ciences University. The program aims at limiting the spread of diabetes.

Minister Al-Haifi said during the opening ceremony that efforts to improve performance and steps towards continued medical education, formulated in coordination with the DDI and Joslin Diabetes Center (JDC), are being considered a new start for national programs in preventing and limiting the spread of diabetes and other chronic diseases. He said the health ministry was committed to

executing the programs in cooperation with ministers besides government and non- government organizations as a developmental priority.

Al-Haifi appreciated the role of DDI as a major par tner in the health ministr y ’s program, and said its contributions and initiatives will help Kuwaiti to stay abreast of the international advances in the field of health care. It will help apply latest standards of quality health care for diabetic patients.

He said the cooperation program between DDI and JDC will allow health care professionals to learn about the most recent developments, and benefit from the facilities and expertise of Joslin

Center. Dr. Al-Haifi lauded the role of JDC, considered one of the most prestigious centers in the medical field as a result of its distinguished training programs as well as research, and preparing modern protocols for health care that is built on evidence.

Meanwhile, former health minister and chairman of the consultative scientific council at DDI, Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, said diabetes and obesity were considered among the most dangerous diseases, adding that DDI was currently attempting to deal with the diabetes issue through educating the people, and backing it up with scientific research through protocols it signed with international institutions.

KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi with other dignitaries during the event.

—Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

LOCAL

Abu Gaith sues Kuwait to regain citizenship: Report KUWAIT: A son-in-law of former AlQaeda leader Osama Bin Laden plans to sue the Kuwaiti government in an attempt to reclaim the citizenship he was stripped off in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting sources familiar with the case.

Kuwait had revoked the citizenship of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith after he was seen in video footage that appeared following the 9/11 attacks. In the footage, he defended the attacks and threatened reprisals for the subsequent American invasion of Afghanistan. He has also been known since as a

spokesperson for the terrorist organization. “The interior and foreign ministries have already received word from Abu Gaith to renew his Kuwaiti passport or face legal action,” said legal sources who spoke to Al-Jarida on the condition of anonymity.

According to the report, Abu Ghaith’s lawyer plans to file a case in the Kuwaiti courts after the legal period for renewing his passport expires, demanding that the decision stripping him of citizenship be reverted and he be issued a new Kuwaiti passport. Abu Gaith is on trial on terrorism charges in the United States where he was moved earlier this year following his arrest in Turkey. —Al-Jarida

ICM demands trial of ex-PM on Dow fine KUWAIT: An opposition political group demanded legal action against former prime minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah and some members of his cabinet who it held responsible for procedures that led Kuwait to pay up a huge amount as penal compensation for canceling a joint venture deal a few years ago.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Islamic Constitutional Movement further demanded prosecution of the Supreme Petroleum Council members.

The statement came a day after Kuwait paid $2.2 billion to Dow Chemical as per the penalty clause for the canceled K-Dow project.

Dow Chemical had won last year an international court order stipulating that the Petrochemical Industries Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of KPC, will have to pay a $2.16 billion fine for canceling a contract to establish a $7.4 billion joint venture project. The Kuwaiti government had called off the deal to establish K-Dow Petrochemicals in late 2008 under pressure from the parliament, prompting Dow Chemical to sue for damages as per a penalty clause in the contract.

The US-based company announced

last Tuesday that the PIC paid $2.2 billion after an agreement was reached which saw nearly $300 million in delayed penalties be called off in exchange of assurances that there would be no further fallout for its operations in the region.

The ICM reiterated in their statement appearing on the front pages of local newspapers yesterday their support to the ‘vital oil project’, and commended the oil minister at the time, Mohammad AlOlaim, “for his positive steps in supporting the project from economic and technical standpoints.”

Several opposition groups in the meantime resumed their strong rhetoric against the government and the parliament during a sit-in at the Iradah Square. The event which took place Saturday night was the first of many events scheduled as part of “public movements” that will continue until a highly anticipated Constitutional Court ruling on the single-vote decree.

Those who spoke at the most recent gathering demanded the dissolution of the parliament that was elected as per the amended voting system, and called for new elections to be held as per the previous system in which a voter was entitled to cast a maximum of four votes. —Al-Qabas

Doctors predict ‘revived’ Filipina to wake up soon Husband spots tears, willingness to communicate

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Three days after a Filipina was pronounced ‘clinically dead’ but was then successfully revived by doctors, remains unconscious at the Farwaniya Hospital.

Kuwait Times visited her yesterday although she was still admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital where she underwent a caesarian operation for her second child.

The Filipina woman attracted front-page attention yesterday when the doctors there announced they had successfully performed a ‘premortem caesarean’ on a clinically dead Zuraida.

At that time, Zuraida had no pulse or respiratory activity. However, as the metaphor goes, miracles do happen. The baby was successfully removed from the mother’s womb through caesarian operation and Zuraida was revived. She had reportedly suffered an acute blood pressure condition followed by a cardiac arrest while she was being checked at the casualty section. She coughed and spat blood, and was immediately brought to the emergency room where the baby was successfully removed through cesarean operation.

Initially, the doctors noted that they could only save the baby but after one last attempt to revive her, she responded to the resuscitation to the delight of everyone in the operation theater.

Zuraida, 36, is from Pikit South Cotabato, married to Marlon Verdadero from Cagayan Valley, Philippines. The husband requested her wife’s family name to be withheld until her condition improved. “I do not want to cause anxiety to her family back in the Philippines. So please it would be better not to disclose her family name. The baby is my second child with her. The little boy is now alright and was breathing very well without oxygen, but I am worried about my wife because it has been three days now and there has been no change in her condition. She is still unconscious. But when I visited her today, tears were

rolling down her eyes. I felt she could hear me, she could feel my presence and was trying her best to communicate, but she just couldn’t. According to the doctors, she will be fine and will wake up in a few hours’ time,” the anxious husband told this reporter.

The ‘miracle’ took place at the

and it was about time for her to deliver our second child. I was very happy. But my happiness changed to uncertainty when I heard from our friend (a lady who was allowed to accompany her inside the maternity casualty room), that she was vomiting blood and was in danger and

“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, another doctor who supervised the operation.

KUWAIT: The maternity ward at Farwaniya Hospital is pictured here yesterday. —By Ben Garcia Farwaniya Maternity Department where Zuraida was admitted on Friday morning. Farwaniya Hospital Manager Dr Hmoud Al-Zobi said the 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.

“I brought her to the hospital at about 2:30 am because she experienced blood and the water discharged at that time. Of course I knew that she was already in pain

only a miracle could save her.

According to the doctors, Zuraida’s heart stopped beating and she stopped breathing as well. I prayed hard for her to survive,” the husband noted.

“Declaring her clinically dead, she was immediately rushed to be operated upon to save the baby. The doctors managed to revive her heart too,” Zobi was quoted as saying, noting that a healthy 3.1-kg boy was born simultaneously as his mother was resuscitated.

“The woman and her baby are now in stable condition,” he affirmed.

Verdadero is a Kuwait-based truck driver for a company delivering food items to Iraq. “It was a miracle for my wife, too, when she delivered our baby as I was still in Kuwait. My work sometimes requires me to stay in Iraq for a week. I just came from a two-day stay in Iraq last Wednesday.

I brought her to hospital last Friday, so at least I was with her when it all happened and I really pray that she will be okay,” Verdadero concluded.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

the column

Complicated Syrian conflict

The paradox of our time

By Aziza Al-Mufarrej

T

he Syrian conflict is a very complicated problem indeed, and one is puzzled what to say about it, especially when we see the slaughtered and mutilated pictures of the Syrian people from both sides, the regime’s army and the Free Syrian Army (FSL). One also feels sorry for the culture of kill or be killed spreading in an Arab country, apart from the destruction that hit the cities and historical buildings which vouched for Syrian heritage.

I visited Syria twice, and met those who bitterly complained against the ruling Baath regime, against President Bashar Al-Assad and against his tyrannical and oppressive policies. I saw many Syrian art works in which a margin of freedom was allowed as they spoke about corruption in some official departments.

I read about some activists who disappeared in detention centers and cells, and were kept from seeing their families and friends, and tortured. There were those who died and those who are waiting to die, yet Syrians were better than they are now.

If the Muslim Brotherhood or Al-Qaeda group were able to come to power there, will people’s lives and property be safe? Will there be justice and equality among Syrians regardless of their affiliations and religions? Excuse me, but I doubt that. The Brotherhood’s rule in Egypt is one party’s dictatorship, one failure followed by another. People are now killing each other.

Al-Qaeda’s rule in Afghanistan was an example of oppression and horrible terror, slaughter and head severing all the time. There is a saying that goes ‘Hold on to your current crazy one’, and it becomes the best under the circumstances, because to have a democratic and a just regime remains just a dream that will not be fulfilled in the short term.

It is true that the situation in Syria was economically weak, and people’s standard of living was low. It is true that the Syrian individual could only open his mouth at a dentist’s clinic. It is true that fear was so widespread that you could feel it in the air. However, it was also true that there was security, and calmness prevailed all over the republic.

Yet, what is taking place now is a catastrophe. Who amongst us was not affected by the image of an elderly woman who could hardly walk while carrying the least of her belongings and tried her best to avoid the bombings and save her own life, all the while raising her hands in a prayer and crying that Bashar be destroyed? Who amongst us was not moved when he saw innocent children who were killed and became bodies covered with blood? Who amongst us did not become sad when seeing beautiful youth whose lives were interrupted, their bodies lying bloated in the streets and their dreams of a bright future ended?

Who amongst us was not sorry for Syrian civilization’s heritage while it was being destroyed due to bombardment? Who amongst us, after two years of fighting that has left 100,000 dead, does not want the revolution in Syria to end?— Al-Watan

By Fouad Al-Obaid

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter:@fouadalobaid

kuwait digest

Dow’s ice block

By Al-Saraff

R

eza Shah, the father of Iran’s last imperial monarch before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was reportedly approached by an American official who complained about ‘corruption’ eating up some of the financial aid that his country gives towards development projects in Iran.

He replied by comparing the financial aid with a block of ice which he receives and then hands over to the minister of economy who gives it to the treasurer, etc. By the time the ice block reaches the project manager, its size stands reduced to half of what it was to begin with. It would be too hard to determine who was responsible for that because it halted at several points during its journey.

This apocr yphal stor y applies to the search about who is responsible for the $2.2 billion fine paid in lieu of the canceled K-Dow deal. Seven years ago, one party entertained the idea of entering the project, and another started negotiations to buy half of Dow Chemical’s assets that reached $7.5 billion.

In any purchase deal, the buyer either pays the entire price, or makes an advance payment to prove his seriousness and goodwill. In the meantime, a third party tried to pass the deal regardless of the complications and restrictions involved, but some parliament members refused to pass it on suspicions of profiteering and instead demanded an extensive probe.

Meanwhile, a fourth party found that time was against Kuwait and therefore the deal needed to be signed without waiting for legislative procedures to

avoid losing out on the project.

Several political groups and media outlets launched a war against the project in the meantime for various reasons.

If you asked any of these parties to justify their position, the first party would explain that the mega project was important for Kuwait’s ambitions to improve non-oil revenues and enter the global market.

The party which supported the multibillion-dollar penalty clause would say that it was to prove that the government was serious about the project and it was necessary to ensure that the deal was signed. The government’s technical side would argue that the project had already been subjected to a thorough study and therefore Kuwait had to sign it before a deadline after which the country would have lost as the deal would have lapsed.

Meanwhile, popular parties which wanted more time to study the deal would explain that the government had a history of suspicious conduct.

Now, who is responsible for the K-Dow fine? No one. That is the result that every investigations committee formed to probe the deal will come out with. The problem was not with the project itself, the penalty clause, the legislators’ demands for further study, or with the hasty decision to cancel the deal. The problem was in the government’s management mechanism and the corruption that we live with. If the project had not been called off, we would have been witnessing a similar drama right now but in the opposite direction. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Demand for more incentives

By Dr Shamlan Y Al-Essa

T

he demands raised by the National Assembly members have been rising at a maddening pace and also an illogical one. These MPs still see themselves as candidates and since they have a short tenure left, they have to raise these demands from the government to satisfy the public at the expense of the public exchequer and the country’s economic future.

These MPs put forth strange demands without shouldering any responsibility towards the country and its public funds. Among such demands is a proposal by MP Khalil Al-Saleh to establish an early retirement fund. Does the respected MP see the Kuwaiti state employees working long hours like their Chinese counterparts or working seriously like the Japanese?

Are they doing their jobs well with honesty and dedication like the Germans?

MP Faisal Al-Kandari is proud of supporting the social and children allowance law, a proposal to increase the rent allowance, the housing loan and other demands. My question to the respected MP is this: what is the reason for all these increases? All these attempts have achieved is to appease the simple people by granting them funds they do not deserve. All the officials in Parliament that serve their people raise salaries and allowances according to the inflation rate. So why give people all these incentives, while you know that the government subsidizes everything starting from oil to food and others.

MP Abdallah Al-Tamimi asked the government to approve incentives for firemen. All such strange demands made by parliament members were submitted and published in Sunday’s newspapers. If we were to calculate all the demands that the MPs put forth in the last one or two months, we get the impression that meeting all such demands will require to hike the oil prices to over $200. Clearly, whoever makes such demands does not read and or check out local, Arab or international reports that warn against the policy of excessive squandering of public funds, and oil prices dropping below $100 will cause financial deficit in the budget.

I was very happy when I read that the government will return the social allowance law and the children of Kuwaiti women law, as I imagined that we have a rational government that rejects appeasement moves of MPs. However, my joy was short lived because a government source said the government was not against the increases, but rejects the idea of bringing in these by law. Rather, it wants to introduce these in the form of a government decision made by the Civil Service Council, as is the case with the increases, allowances and incentives that were paid to state employees.

Finally, how will true reforms help build a productive and effective society in a backward country that squanders funds from its lone resource to satisfy people who are nothing but members of a consumption society, one that survives only due to government’s blessings? — Al-Watan

I

have often asked myself whether it is me who is insane, or whether it is this country that has a tendency to drive people mad. Contradictions are by no means anything new, nor are they related to a specific country or a people. Rather, oddly this contradiction does not become clearer than when I turn on the radio while commuting to tune into the state funded and apparently sanctioned 99.7 Radio Kuwait FM. This channel is the epitome of this state orchestrated paradox.

For those that have yet to understand what I am referring to, please be patient. Last week, I talked about the contradiction in my editorial that touched upon the stewardess of Egypt Air and her plight in wearing the veil while working 30,000 feet above the ground. I concluded in that editorial that we, as a society, could either espouse modernity and globalization with all that it has to offer, or we should stay conservative in our culture, heritage and traditions against all odds.

It is the later that becomes incomprehensible. How can a state that has an identity as conservative as Arab Islam, still allow songs by notorious singers who proclaim that they will showcase their sexuality in all its forms? They sing about drugs, sex and promiscuity all day long on the airwaves. Ironically, if you keep tuning the radio a wee bit, you may end up with the next channel, which is the Holy Quran radio. I am not saying that all songs are lewd or slanderous, though when you listen to the lyrics you come to question the point of covering up certain words in the songs when the meaning is crystal clear.

The debate here is not limited to what one radio station in Kuwait is playing. After all, in this day and age, people can have access to any song they wish through the myriad musical platforms via the net.

The debate is one centered on the lessons we are attempting to teach the upcoming generation in the light of global revolts around what many are seeing as blatant attacks against the very notion of family. In the ‘West,’ same sex marriage is proposed as ‘development’. Sodomy is acclaimed and people rejoice in participating in ‘Gay Parades.’ At the rate at which we are going, it would not be something that I would have a hard time imagining happening here.

In a country that has a history of piety and social cohesion, the novel threats posed by foreign values are coming to damage the very fabric of our society.

Stroll around any mall and you find a new generation that is bored and would do anything for some ‘fun’.

Consequently, crime is rising at an alarming rate, as the youth don’t seem to believe there would be too many consequences should they fail to ‘behave’.

I believe that a new heritage campaign should be initiated to remind citizens of their origins and ensure that they take pride in it. We should reaffirm our positive differences in the light of a globalized world that is coming to look like a pointless amusement park village. Society is much more than buildings, roads, and offices; it’s the culture that links all three together. Let us re-think the society we want to live in, and the one we want our children to inherit.

Regardless of what we do, let us put a stop to the illogical paradoxes that ought not to be.

kuwait digest

Life is simple, we complicate it ByArwa Al-Wiqian

H

ave you ever wondered if you really love yourself? Or whether you work hard enough to be happy? Have you tried to broaden the perception of love and nurture it through science and literature? Have you ever wondered whether you prefer yourself to others when it comes to whom to love?

Once you love your own self, you will love life. The way you handle various problems reflects this love and how attached you are to life. Some people may stumble, suffer and feel pain, but they usually resume their journey when they get up because they realize that nothing is worth depriving them of the wish to carry on with life. Others immediately start feeling depressed, blame it on luck and suffer endless miseries. Such people turn their own lives and the lives of others into hell.

Life is simple, you know. It is how we think that would make it easier or more sophisticated. It all depends on how we deal with various contingencies.

Some of us are capable of changing, adapting, learning and developing our own selves. Others always blame luck, envy or, even, being bewitched for their sufferings.

It’s all up to us, in the end. We sometimes forgive people to release our souls and free ourselves from the limitations put by hatred and anger. We do it initially for our own sake.

Some of us, however, never forget others’ mistakes and find no excuses for them. They keep reminding themselves of the pain they had been through and who caused it. Well, they can’t be more wrong.

They are doing more harm to themselves than to others. Souls with such negative feelings are repugnant, self-destructive and are usually alienated and cast away by others.

Once you love yourself, you will realize that you deserve happiness, and life will become better and more beautiful. When you wish well for your enemy, this means that you have reached the highest levels of humanity, clemency and forgiveness. May all of us find happiness and peace and may love sweep the whole world to replace greed. — Al-Jarida

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

LOCAL KD250 minimum wage for private sector citizens to be mooted

KUWAIT: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received the Foreign Minister of Algeria Mourad Medelci at Seif Palace yesterday. The meeting was held in the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the Kuwait Ambassador to Algeria Saud AlDoweesh. —KUNA

Kuwait Hajj quota to remain 8,000: Report Expats urged to do pilgrimage from home countries

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: It seems that the Muslim expats living in Kuwait won’t be able to go for Hajj (pilgrimage) this and next year due to the enlarging renovations taking place in Holy Makkah. These renovation works caused that the Saudi authorities responsible for

Hajj refused to increase the quota for Kuwaiti pilgrims more than 8,000.

So the expatiates were advised to go for Hajj from their home country, as the quota of 8,000 only include 7,000 Kuwaitis and 1,000 Bedoons. This decision also causes the closing up of some Hajj campaigns, which were only dealing with expats, as

MAKKAH: Muslim pilgrims stone a pillar symbolising the devil during the haj in this file photo. —AP

this quota will stay the same for at least two years.

Mohammed Abdulmaqsoud is a former owner of Hajj campaign who sold the campaign as it was dealing with expats only, who not go for Hajj. “About five or six years ago there was no quota for pilgrims to Hajj, and according to the reports of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs their total number was between 23-25,000 pilgrims. About five year ago the Saudi government set a quota for the pilgrims from Kuwait to 8,000 for Kuwaitis and open number for expats,” he told the Kuwait Times. More changes occurred then. “Also about five years ago the Ministry of Awqaf separated the pilgrims into Kuwaiti and foreigners, and each campaign had to choose only one of the two categories, instead the mixed campaign as it was in the past. So our campaign had chosen the Kuwaitis, and this was for one year only and we had great loses as we had only about 90 pilgrims. So the year after we changed to expatriates and we were successful, as we had good reputation due to the excellent services that we were providing including food three meals, accommodation, transportation, and others,” added Abdulmaqsoud.

The prices hiked dramatically through the years. “About 13 years ago the price was about KD 300 per pilgrim through land, and KD 450 through air transportation. Every year the prices were increasing for about KD 50 to 100, thus during the last five years the prices increased up to KD 200, so it reached KD1200 for land way and KD 1750 for air way. This was caused due to the price hike of accommodation, transporting and even the food and beverage.

Furthermore the Ministry was decreasing the number of expat pilgrims every year, till it reached 130 last year, which was very hard for any camping to handle,” he explained. So the campaign found other solutions. “There are 75 official Hajj campaigns in Kuwait. 50 of them are for Kuwaitis only, while the rest are for expats, and some are for certain nationalities for instance the Pakistani and other who only speak Urdu. Some campaign mixed together, while others sold or rent their campaign to other campaigns. And more campaigns have to do this solution this year, as the Ministry will apply new decision of having a maximum number of pilgrims for each campaign of only 100 pilgrims, which can’t be profitable for single campaign,” Abdulmaqsoud pointed out.

KUWAIT: The acting secretary general of the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP), Fauzi Al-Majdali, has revealed his intention of proposing a minimum wage of KD250 for Kuwaiti citizens employed in the private sector, after the MGRP recently found out that some were being paid as little as KD150 by certain companies.

Al-Majdali stated that such companies should increase the salaries of their Kuwaiti employees. “It is illogical that the government should pay those citizens over and above the salaries they get. Is it logical that a citizen holding a university degree works from morning to evening for as little as KD 500?” he asked. AlMajdali also compared the salaries earned by citizens employed in the private sector with those earned by Kuwaitis working in the public sector, noting that bachelors with a university degree earn KD835 in the public sector but KD690 in the private sector. He pointed out that a married citizen with a university degree would get KD923 in the public sector and KD798 in the private sector.

“A bachelor diploma certificate holder gets KD739 in the public sector and KD 629 in the private sector, whereas a married person earns KD820 in the public sector and KD723 in the private sector,” Al-Majdali added.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

LOCAL

215 arrested in crackdown

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Security sources revealed that criminal detectives carried out one of the largest campaigns covering cafes and suspected areas across all governorates of Kuwait. The campaign led by Colonel Mohammad AlSharhan resulted in the arrest of 215 homosexual boys and girls belonging to different nationalities, violators of residency law, drunkards, drug users, gamblers and people wanted in different criminal and civil cases. All the arrested people were sent to the concerned authorities.

Armed robberies Gas stations have become the target of armed robberies once again after an interregnum of a few months, when these stations were equipped with monitoring cameras. Security sources said two men with covered faces and armed with guns approached a gas station at dawn day before yesterday in Sulaibiya area and robbed about KD 1300 from the Kuwaiti cashier at gun point.

Asian arrested Information administration arrested an Asian expat for possessing drugs meant for sale. After the police verified that the suspect had prepared certain drugs for sale, they raided him and recovered some of the drugs in a search of his person. He confessed to having more drugs at his residence. Police proceeded to the suspect’s residence and found the rest of the drugs which totaled 270 grams of Heroin and 1000 drugs pills. These drugs were concealed in a secret hiding place in his room. He confessed to the charges and admitted he was trading in drugs. He and the drugs were sent to the concerned authorities.

A police patrol in Ahmadi governorate arrested a Kuwaiti man for possessing large pieces of Hashish and two joints filled with drugs, apart from recovering KD 960 from him. The suspect and the confiscated materials were sent to the concerned authorities.

KUWAIT: (Left) Indonesian Ambassador Ferry Adamhar, Indonesia’s Economic Director for the Middle East Darmawan Suparno and a representative from the Avenues Mall during inauguration of the tourism promotion event at the Avenues Mall. (Right) Traditional dancers from the Sulawesi province of Indonesia perform.—Photos by Joseph Shagra

Indonesia eyes 40% rise in tourists from Kuwait 3-day tourism promotion event kicks off KUWAIT: The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia and Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy launched its three-day tourism promotion in Kuwait via a full day campaign at the Avenues Mall Saturday. Indonesian Ambassador to Kuwait Ferry Adamhar said that a 30 percent surge in number of tourists from Kuwait was remarkable and expected to rise to 40 percent this year.

The launch of the three-day tourism promotion kicked off with a ceremonial cutting of the ribbon officiated by the Indonesian envoy, Indonesia’s Economic Director for the Middle East Darmawan Suparno and a representative from the Avenues Mall and followed by a colorful cultural presentation performed by six tradi-

tional dancers from the Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Five sets of traditional dances paired with display of remarkable costumes took the attention of hundreds of shoppers.

Leaflets, flyers, video presentations complemented the performances and the chance for watchers to have their photos taken with the performers.

The ambassador said that the tourism sector does not only complement the country’s economic growth but attention must also focus on the cultural values that builds relationships in a broader sense. Indonesia offers multiplicity of regions, diverse cultures and traditions, dynamism in the society that appeals much to the younger generation.

Ambassador Adamhar added that Indonesia’s economy has earned its rank among the top three countries which has an accelerated economic growth of 6.5 percent.

Within the Asia itself Indonesia needs to promote its profile in the region especially in Kuwait. The country has a strategic location which is also one of the biggest in size and population and it hopes to play essential role in 2015 when ASEAN integrates and includes nations to a single economy, society, politics and more.

“You have to see Indonesia to believe” what it can offer to visitors. This year Tourism Indonesia promotes in addition to Bali, its diving hubs in a tropical climate. “Kuwaitis love the

water and diving is essential when they travel”, commented Ambassador Adarnhar. “Security for tourists has always been a major priority and the government is much committed to its guests. one can walk around the metropolis and city limits safely,” added the ambassador.

Tourism Indonesia hopes that more Kuwaitis visit Indonesia and not solely locus on its economic effect but build and strengthen relationships not just on government to government basis but on people to people as well. Tourism Indonesia will also join the Travel World Expo on June 14 at the Mishref Fairgrounds and a table top meets between local travel agencies and representatives from different tours and travel companies in Indonesia.

240 arrested in Wafra campaign

By Hanan Al-Saadoun Liquor heist After a long chase which lasted hours, police arrested a Chinese suspect after his car was intercepted in the Mina Abdullah desert. He was having about 200 bottles of locally made liquor at the time of arrest.

KUWAIT: A total of 240 people were arrested in Wafra Area for not carrying their identification papers or found in violation of the residency law, 25 traffic citations were handed out and 45 people were arrested since their

residency permits had expired.

The arrests and other actions came as a result of an inspection campaign led by Wafra Area commander Colonel Salem Juaithen, that started at 5 pm and lasted till 7 pm on Thursday.

Wafra police station commander Colonel Sultan Al-Otaibi,

Nuwaiseeb police station commander Colonel Mutlaw Ghazi and Al-Zur police station commander Lt. Colonel Mohammad Sultan Al-Sahli also participated in the campaign.

The arrests came when the personnel set up check points in these areas.

Child killed, another hurt in Jleeb accident Asian maid leaps to death KUWAIT: A child died and another was seriously injured after they were run over outside a park in Jleeb AlShuyoukh on Saturday. Paramedics arrived at the scene, accompanied by police, shortly after the accident was reported. They pronounced the twoyear- old Kuwaiti boy dead on the scene, and rushed a 10-year-old Saudi boy to the Farwaniya Hospital where he was admitted to its intensive care unit. Police arrested the driver, a Bangladeshi man, who remains in custody for investigations. (Rai) Maid leaps to death A domestic worker died in Abdullah Al-Mubarak on Saturday in a case classified as suicide. Police and paramedics rushed to a house in the area where a housemaid’s suicide was reported. The house owners said in the emergency call that the Asian woman jumped from the roof of their house. Her employer told the police at the scene that the woman had made several unsuccessful suicide attempts before.

The body was taken to the forensic department after crime scene investigators examined the place. A case was filed for investigations. (Rai) Suicide attempt Meanwhile, Salmiya firefighters managed to talk out a Syrian man trying to kill himself reportedly due to depression because of the ongoing unrest in his home country. Officers spoke to the man immediately after firefighters arrived at the scene after the man climbed atop a building housing a mall and threatened to jump. The 33-year-old man was taken to the Salmiya police station after firefighters brought him under control. He blamed the civil war in his home country for the financial troubles that his family was experiencing in Kuwait. (Rai) Drug overdose A man in his forties was found dead inside his Jahra house recently.

Preliminary investigations indicated that a drug overdose was the cause of death. The Bedouin (stateless) man was pronounced dead by paramedics who reached the house accompanied by police shortly after the incident was reported. A preliminary medical test revealed that an unusually high trace of drug in the victim’s blood that indicated that he could have probably died of an overdose. The body was taken for an autopsy to confirm the cause

and time of death. (Rai) Conman held at airport A man was arrested at the Kuwait International Airpor t on Saturday when he returned from a vacation paid for with money he stole from his girlfriend. The Kuwaiti woman had reportedly taken a KD40,000 loan and gave the money to the suspect who made her believe that his family was going through serious financial troubles in his home countr y. A day after her boyfriend left for what she thought was his country in the neighborhood, the woman received a phone call from a number outside Kuwait. The caller was none other than her boyfriend who was calling her while being heavily intoxicated. As she checked out the international code, she realized that the call was made from Thailand. At that point, she decided to call one of his friends who told her that he had left with a group of friends on a paid trip to Thailand; paid for with money she had borrowed. Realizing that she has been duped, the woman called

back the number but the suspect denied the allegations. She hung up after he reportedly told her that he wanted to end their relationship, and reported the case to the police. The man was arrested as soon as he returned to the country and was taken to the proper authorities for further action. (Rai) Drunk driver in custody A driver was arrested in a drunken state in Sulaibiya on Saturday after backup police were called to bring the angry man under control, according to the police report. The Syrian man tried to drive away his American-made SUV before police at a checkpoint could search the vehicle. The man was eventually arrested after he abandoned his car following a shor t pursuit and attempted to escape on foot. He was taken to the area’s police station where he was charged with driving under the influence, intoxication, and damaging public property as police patrol vehicles sustained damage during the car chase. (Rai)

Spate of road accidents

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A car accident at AlMangaf opposite Sultan Center resulted in a head injury for a 19year-old Kuwaiti man while an 18year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a possible pelvic fracture. Both were taken to the Al-Adan Hospital.

A car accident at Abdulla AlMubarak Road 602, as one moves towards the round about, left a 20year-old Kuwaiti man with a fractured right arm. He was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital.

A car accident at Fahaheel Expressway opposite Abu AlHasayneh left a 24-year-old Kuwaiti man with a serious head injury. He was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Mubarak Hospital. A 16year-old Kuwaiti girl suffered a facial injury in the same accident, as did a 40-year-old Kuwaiti man who was left with a bleeding nose.

A 32-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a fracture in his right thigh in a car accident while on his way from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait. A Saudi ambulance rushed him to the

Al-Adan Hospital.

A car accident at Jleeb AlShoyoukh left a 48-year-old Kuwaiti man with an injured left leg while a 51-year-old Egyptian suffered a fracture in his left leg in the same accident. A 45-year-old Pakistani expat also struck in the accident complained of back pain. Three ambulances with six technicians were at the site and took the injured to the Farwaniya Hospital.

A 19-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a head injury besides a stab wound in the stomach and an injury in the arm when fighting broke out at Mangaf Block 1. He was taken to the Al-Adan Hospital.

A fire that broke out in an apartment at Hawally, Qutaiba Street, opposite the Pakistani School, left a 16-year-old Egyptian expat with an injured left foot. A 25-year-old Kuwaiti man complained of dizziness as a result of the incident. Five ambulances with ten technicians were on standby at the building where the fire happened. Casualties were taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

British fugitive nabbed by pool

9 arrested over deadly Turkey border blasts Page 8

Page 9

LAHORE: Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif celebrate the victory of their party a day after landmark general elections yesterday. —AFP

Sharif in talks to form govt US, India send congratulations LAHORE: Pakistani election winner Nawaz Sharif was in talks yesterday to form a new government, with fixing the shattered economy and tackling Islamist militancy likely to be his two biggest challenges. Partial, unofficial results from Saturday’s election represented a stunning comeback for the wealthy 63-year-old tycoon who was deposed as prime minister in a 1999 military coup and spent years in jail and exile. Sharif appears to have done well enough to rule out the prospect of a weak coalition, as the party of former cricket star Imran Khan achieved its own breakthrough on an anti-corruption platform that resonated with younger voters.

Khan’s party also looked set to take over the provincial government in the restive northwest, where he has vowed to end US drone strikes. Taleban violence marred the election campaign with attacks killing more than 150 people, including 24 on polling day itself. It remains unclear whether Sharif will preside over any substantive policy change in the war on militants. While he has voiced support for peace talks with the Taleban, he has been less vocal against US drone strikes than his main rival Imran Khan, and is considered a pragmatist with whom Washington can work.

US President Barack Obama congratulated Pakistan and said Washington was ready to work “as equal partners” with the government that emerges. “My administration looks forward to continuing our cooperation with

the Pakistani government that emerges from this election as equal partners in supporting a more stable, secure, and prosperous future for the people of Pakistan,” Obama said in a statement. He congratulated “the people of Pakistan on the successful completion of yesterday’s parliamentary elections.

“The United States stands with all Pakistanis in welcoming this historic peaceful and transparent transfer of civilian power, which is a significant milestone in Pakistan’s democratic progress,” he said. “By conducting competitive campaigns, freely exercising your democratic rights, and persevering despite intimidation by violent extremists, you have affirmed a commitment to democratic rule that will be critical to achieving peace and prosperity for all Pakistanis for years to come,” he said.

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Sharif on his “emphatic victory” and wrote on his official Twitter page that he hoped to chart “a new course for the relationship” between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday called on Sharif’s incoming government to help negotiate an end to the Taleban insurgency that has ravaged his country since 2001. Pakistan suffers from its own homegrown Taleban insurgency.

Pakistan, which has had three coups and four military rulers, is marking the first time that one elected civilian administration will hand power to another after a full term in office. TV projections suggested no single party would win an absolute majority in the 342-seat national assembly. But Sharif’s centre-right Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) was well ahead with more than 115 of the chamber’s 272 directly elected seats, according to various projections by private channels and as many as 128 according to Geo TV. Sartaj Aziz, a senior PML-N official and former cabinet minister, said Sharif was in talks yesterday with some independent MPs to get them on board and in discussions to work out “a few key portfolios” in the cabinet. The election was defined by the tanking economy, an energy crisis that causes power cuts of up to 20 hours a day, the unpopular alliance in the USled “war on terror” and chronic corrup-

●

Khan hails turnout, alleges rigging

tion. Sharif has vowed a pro-business agenda to revive the feeble economy for what will be his third term as prime minister, a record in Pakistan, following two tenures in the 1990s. Asked how his time in prison and exile had changed him, Aziz said it had “matured him and “made him more thoughtful”.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was neck and neck with the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party on around 30 to 25 seats, a remarkable achievement given that it only won one seat previously, in 2002. Besides the national assembly, voters also elected four provincial assemblies and Khan’s party emerged on top in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, putting PTI on track to form a government on the frontline of the war against the Taleban. Khan welcomed the high turnout as a step forward for democracy but alleged vote-rigging in a televised statement from the hospital bed where he is laid up with a fractured spine following a fall at an election rally last week.

“They placed election staff and administration officials for rigging at various places. Rigging was done in Punjab, in Karachi it was visible to everyone and in Sindh also,” he said. Khan declared he would go into opposition and said that if his party forms a government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they would turn it into a “model province”. “I want to assure that the change has come in Pakistan, whatever others say. The foundation of a new Pakistan has been laid,” he said.

The Bhutto clan’s PPP, which led the outgoing coalition, was heavily defeated over its record of ineffectual administration over the past five years. Flanked by his brother and daughter, Sharif gave a victory speech late Saturday to hundreds of jubilant supporters at PML-N headquarters in Lahore. “We should thank Allah that he has given PML-N another chance to serve you and Pakistan,” he said, after nearly 60 percent of the 86 million electorate voted. “I appeal for all parties to come to the table and sit with me and solve the country’s problems,” Sharif said. Pakistan’s largest domestic observer mission, The Free and Fair Election Network, said yesterday that the polls were “relatively fair” despite some irregularities and violence at the polling stations. —AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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

Syria Christian village breathes easier as army advances GHASSANIYEH, Syria: The advance of regime troops on the rebel stronghold of Qusayr in central Syria has come as a relief for at least one village, mostly-Christian, nestled on the shores of Lake Quttina. For the first time in eight months, the villagers of Ghassaniyeh do not have to make the risky trip across the lake to bring in fresh food and supplies. Some 13 km northwest of the rebel-held town of Qusayr, the current target of a regime offensive, a small road bordered by green fields of wheat dotted with white poppies leads to Ghassaniyeh. The village is home to 8,000 Christians and a heterodox minority called the Murshidiyeen, who emerged in Syria at the beginning of the 20th century.

“For eight months, we were surrounded by the rebels, who were set up in the villages around us. They stopped us from using the road, so we only had the lake left,” said Ghassan Hamdan, the mukhtar (municipal official) of Ghassaniyeh. Qusayr and Ghassaniyeh are both part of Homs governorate, a religiously-mixed province where Sunni areas rub shoulders with towns and villages inhabited by Alawites, Christians and other minorities. Just two kilometres from Ghassaniyeh lies the remains of the vil-

lage of Shomariyeh where, two days earlier, the regime army had routed rebel fighters.

Ruined houses, rubble and charred walls show the ferocity of the fighting that took place there. “We had to cross the lake at night to look for mazout, petrol, margarine and other food products. It was an ordeal because armed men used to open fire if, by chance they caught sight of a boat,” said Ahmad Al-Aalay, head of the municipality. An Islamist group called Kataeb Ahl al-Athr posted a video online on Sept 15 2012 showing heavy-calibre weapons firing on a boat crossing the lake at night, calling the passengers “shabiha”, or pro-regime militiamen.

Lake Quttina, which sits next to the village, is 12 km from Homs, the provincial capital and Syria’s third city. Filled from the Orontes river, the lake stretches across 61 sq km. “Because of the siege imposed by the rebels, I braved winds, waves and tornadoes to bring in the goods my village needed,” said Hassan Bashir al-Mahmud, who owns a boat. “One day, three men who were bringing bread drowned because of the bad weather,” added the young man, who used to stock up on supplies at the village of Debbine on the other side of the lake.

In this agricultural village where people make a living by growing potatoes and cabbage, it was the fishermen who came to the rescue. “For the first month, they used to row in their old wooden boats, but then they bought motorboats to make transport easier,” Hassan said. But in spite of the regime’s advances, the war in the area is still far from over, as there are another four rebel-held villages between Ghassaniyeh and Qusayr. “The army has to take them for the siege to be completely lifted, but there are another 4,000 rebels they need to push out of the area,” Hamdan said. He insisted that the Syrian army had “liberated” the area, but grew irritated when asked about the role played by Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in the fighting. “Hezbollah is further to the west, near to the Lebanese border and not here,” he said In the past month, regime forces have ploughed significant resources into their push on Qusayr, a strategic area on the road linking the capital Damascus to the coast, passing through Homs province. Sitting on cushions on the ground at the entrance to Ghassaniyeh sipping tea, Georges, a building worker in his 30s, savoured the moment. Georges had been working in the

GHASSANIYEH, Syria: Syrian National Defence Forces (NDF) patrol this Christian-dominated village in the countryside of the rebel city of Qusayr on Saturday. —AFP city of Tripoli in the north of neighbouring Lebanon, and this was his first visit home in eight months. “When my family told me

two days ago that the road was open, I dropped everything and came straight here,” he said. —AFP

9 arrested over deadly Turkey border blasts Syrian govt denies involvement in bombings

ALEPPO: Rebel fighters fire at government forces in this northern city yesterday. —AFP

Syria rebels release 4 Filipino peacekeepers DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels yesterday released four Filipino U.N. peacekeepers they abducted last week in a dramatic incident that prompted warnings from the Philippines that the nation could pull out its contingent from the Golan Heights.

Meanwhile, a Syrian official said President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops have the right to enter the Israeli-occupied Golan whenever they wish - a veiled threat at Israel to stay out of Syria’s conflict. The four Filipinos, seized Tuesday, were apparently unharmed, but will undergo a medical checkup and stress debriefing, said Brig Gen Domingo Tutaan.

A statement issued by the rebel group holding the peacekeepers - the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade - said the four were handed over to a UN delegation in the border area yesterday, but provided no other details.

The peacekeepers are part of a U.N. contingent that patrols a buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights, a plateau Israel captured from Syria in 1967. It was the second abduction of Filipino peacekeepers since March, when 21 were held for three days by rebels fighting the regime of Assad.

The Philippine foreign secretary has said he would recommend withdrawing Filipinos from the peacekeeping contingent in Syria, but the final decision is up to the country’s president. Nearly 1,000 U.N. peacekeepers are patrolling the Golan Heights. Other major contributors are India and Austria. Croatia has recently withdrawn its contingent. The buffer zone had been largely quiet for four decades, but tensions have risen there since the outbreak of the revolt in Syria more than two years ago.

In Damascus, Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi told a news conference yesterday that Syria has the right to enter the Golan Heights. “The Golan is Syrian Arab

territory and will remain so even if the Israeli army is stationed there. We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please,” he said. His comments came in response to last week’s Israeli airstrikes on Syria which Israeli officials say targeted advanced Iranian missiles intended for Hezbollah.

The strikes marked a sharp escalation of Israel’s involvement in the Syrian civil war and raised fears that a conflict that has repeatedly spilled over Syria’s borders in the past 26 months could turn into a fullfledged regional war. Syria has threatened to retaliate but the official response was relatively mute. “Israel should understand that the Syrian skies are not a picnic for anyone,” Zoubi warned, adding that Syria would retaliate. “We are a people who do not forget to retaliate against those who commit aggression against us, and we do not forget our martyrs or those who killed them.”

Assad’s regime might be reluctant to open a new front against Israel with his army already stretched thin in the deadlocked fight with the rebels. But he has a history of operating through proxies, such as the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group or radical Syrian-based Palestinian factions who can potentially launch attacks on Israel from the Golan.

In the latest violence in the capital, Damascus, six mortar shells struck a neighborhood causing damage and casualties, a Syrian official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to brief reporters. The mortars hit the predominantly Alawite district of Mazzeh 86 during morning rush hour, he said. The Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, confirmed that mortars struck Mazzeh 86, but said it had no immediate reports of casualties. —AP

Netanyahu takes flak over bed on a plane JERUSALEM: Benjamin Netanyahu is changing his mid-air sleeping arrangements af ter a public flap over a $127,000 custom-built bedroom for the Israeli prime minister and his wife on a flight to London last month. Israel’s Channel 10 television reported the sum was tagged onto the $300,000 cost of chartering an El Al Boeing 767 that flew the couple and Netanyahu’s entourage of aides and bodyguards to former British leader M argaret Thatcher ’s funeral.

News of the extra public expenditure, for a 5-1/2-hour flight, caused an outcry on Israel’s social media and in its mainstream newspapers that coincided with protests over government plans to raise taxes as part of an austerity budget.

“Bibi is king, and in a monarchy, when the k ing and queen fly, price is no object,” said political commentator Sima Kadmon, referring to the prime minister by his nickname. “Where is the shame?” she wrote on the front page of Yedioth

Ahronoth, Israel’s biggest newspaper.

Netanyahu’s office did not dispute the reported figures. It said he had been unaware of the extra cost of installing the double bed and partition and wanted to arrive fresh for meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the funeral. The prime minister, it said, was entitled to a good night’s sleep on an overnight flight after a busy day. But it added, a sleeping cabin would no longer be installed on his flights to Europe.

The Netanyahu bedroom touched a particular nerve in Israel after news earlier this year that the prime minister’s office had an annual budget of $2,700 to buy his favourite flavours from a Jerusalem ice cream parlour. A post on Netanyahu’s Facebook page contained a link to a website inviting people to sign a petition demanding he pay for the bed out of his own pocket. Nearly 4,000 have signed since Channel 10 first broke the news on Friday. —Reuters

REYHANLI, Turkey: Turkey said yesterday it had arrested nine people over bombings that killed 46 in a town near the Syrian border and warned Damascus a red line had been crossed. The Syrian government denied involvement in the twin car bombs that sowed death in Reyhanli on Saturday but Ankara said it was holding suspects who had confessed and accused Damascus of dragging Turkey into its civil war. The attacks were the deadliest case of what observers see as an increasing regionalisation of the conflict that started in March 2011 and came as key brokers Washington and Moscow made an unprecedented joint push for peace talks.

“They want to drag us down a vile path,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul, urging Turks to be “levelheaded in the face of each provocation aimed at drawing Turkey into the Syrian quagmire.”

Speaking during a visit in Berlin, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the attacks a breach of Turkey’s “red line” and warned that Ankara reserved the right to “take any kind of measure” in response to the deadly bombings.

Cranes were seen lifting debris from buildings destroyed by Saturday’s blasts in Reyhanli, a major Turkish hub for Syrian refugees and rebels. The attacks provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees as dozens of cars were wrecked by rampaging crowds, according to witnesses. The attack sowed panic in Reyhanli, a town of about 60,000 people. “I heard the first blast, walked out, thinking it was a missile being fired from Syria. Then I found myself on the ground, my arms and right leg hurting, my ears ringing. It must have been the second bomb,” said Hikmet Haydut, a 46-year-old coffee shop owner who had minor injuries to his head and body. “I am alive, but all I have is gone.”

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told a news conference that nine people - all Turks -were detained for questioning and that some had confessed involvement in the attacks, which also left dozens wounded. The suspects were said to belong to a Turkish Marxist organisation with direct links to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. Damascus rejected the allegations that it masterminded the attacks. “Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that,” Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said. “It is Erdogan who should be asked about this act... He and his party bear direct responsibility,” he added.

NATO member Turkey distanced itself from its erstwhile ally soon after Assad started cracking down on pro-democracy protests in 2011. Ankara has since become a rear base for the Syrian rebellion, and Damascus has already been blamed for a string of attacks on Turkish soil. Can Dundar, a

columnist at Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper, argued that it was late to warn against attempts to drag Ankara into the Syrian conflict. “Turkey seems to be sinking into the Syrian swamp... It has become a stakeholder in this civil war by directly supporting the opposition,” he wrote.

The Syrian opposition National Coalition said the attacks were designed to drive a wedge

the few remaining supporters of Assad’s regime, pledged this month to relaunch efforts to solve the conflict, which the United Nations estimates has killed 80,000 people since March 2011.

Davutoglu also said Ankara was looking at “connections” between the Reyhanli attack and an assault on a Sunni district of Banias, a Mediterranean city in Syria, this month where

REHANLI, Turkey: Mourning relatives cry during the burial for one of the 46 victims killed in Saturday’s explosions near Turkey’s border with Syria yesterday. —AP between Turks and Syrians and called for more robust international action against Assad’s regime.

Neighbours have been increasingly involved in or affected by the ever escalating conflict, which has already left more than 80,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands homeless and large parts of Syria’s main cities in ruins. In recent days, Israel is reported to have bombed Syria twice, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia has admitted it was fighting alongside regime troops and Jordan has warned that Syrians could soon account for 40 percent of its population.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, on a visit to Berlin, said it was “not a coincidence” the Reyhanli bombings occurred as international diplomatic efforts to solve the Syrian crisis were intensifying. The United States and Russia, one of

rights groups say at least 62 civilians were killed.

Erdogan, who earlier this month branded Assad a “butcher”, is due to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday. The West swiftly denounced the attacks. UN leader Ban Ki-moon said the perpetrators must be “brought to justice” and US Secretary of State John Kerry also condemned the “awful news”. But Ankara blamed the international community’s silence for the failure to oust Assad. “The latest attack shows how a spark transforms into a fire when the international community remains silent and the UN Security Council fails to act,” Davutoglu said in Germany. Erdogan has in recent weeks ramped up his rhetoric against Assad, calling him a butcher and accusing him of using chemical weapons in the conflict. —AFP

Iran press divided on presidential hopefuls TEHRAN: Iran’s media was split yesterday over which candidate to back in next month’s presidential election after a key moderate and a powerful government figure entered the fray. The front pages of the reformist press were plastered with pictures of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate, while newspapers favouring the incumbent president touted government candidate Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. The Iranian conservatives, who have fielded the most candidates, did not plump for anyone in particular, but warned that “the revolutionary current” faces a dual challenge from “deviationists,” a term used by ultra-conservatives for Mashaei, and “seditionists,” referring to Rafsanjani who enjoyed the backing of the reformist movements.

Pro-reformist newspapers Etemad and Arman published photographs of Rafsanjani registering for the June 14 election on the top halves of their front pages.

The oft-banned reformist dailies Shargh and Bahar also dedicated front pages to Rafsanjani, president from 1989 until 1997.

Bahar ran the headline: “An epic with Hashemi”. The reformist Aftab daily suggested that other moderate and reformist candidates who registered for the election will forfeit in favour of Rafsanjani.

Meanwhile, newspapers that favour moderate candidates reported an advisory council of reformists met with reformist expresident Mohammad Khatami and vowed to back Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani, 78,

currently chairs the Expediency Council, the highest political arbitration body, whose members are appointed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Rafsanjani registering is a historic event.

The country is currently facing special circumstances,” Ahmad Khoram, minister of transport under Khatami’s government wrote in an editorial published by Shargh.

“There is a consensus among the reformists towards Khatami and Rafsanjani and a healthy portion of conservatives who are concerned about the future of the

nation will back Mr Rafsanjani,” he wrote.

State newspaper Iran, which is by law forbidden from campaigning for any candidate, headlined “all currents have come forward.” Several newspapers that support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, carried a picture of Mashaei, the incumbent’s controversial aide and ex-chief of staff. Mashaei has been targeted by hardliners for the emphasis he places on Persian civilisation, while they favour a focus on Islamic values.

Khorshid (Sun) newspaper ran a front page picture of Mashaei alongside

TEHRAN: A selection of daily Iranian newspapers mainly fronted by an image of Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani are seen yesterday. —AFP

Ahmadinejad at the interior ministry registration centre, headlining “Zendeh baad Bahar,” (Long Live Spring), the campaign chant for Mashaei. Ahmadinejad is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. In 2009 Khamenei had overturned Mashaei’s appointment as first vice president, sparking a rift between the president and conservatives loyal to the supreme leader. It is not clear whether Mashaei will be approved by the Guardians Council, the unelected body controlled by religious conservatives appointed by Khamenei. The council is tasked with vetting the candidates to ensure they adhere to constitutional conditions of being faithful to the principles of the Islamic republic and its official religion, before announcing the final list of hopefuls no later than May 23. The conservative newspapers resorted mostly to reporting that the registration was over and publishing around 40 names of known politicians. Vatan Emrooz, a hardline newspaper said in its editorial that, “one of the most important messages of the coming election is that Mashaei and Hashemi are one pole, the pole of anti-values (of the Islamic revolution) and the principalists are the opposing pole.”“The record left by Hashemi, Khatami and Ahmadinejad has shown that the office of the president is too critical to be left to anyone,” added the editor of the daily who is close to Saeed Jalili, the chief nuclear negotiator who also registered as a candidate without any prior announcement. —AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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

Rapes on rise in Somaliland, say medical officials MOGADISHU: An upsurge of gang rapes has hit the breakaway region of Somaliland - a normally peaceful enclave considered by many to be a sanctuary from Somalia’s decades of violence. Knife-wielding young men follow women along the dusty streets of Hargeisa, the capital of the region, dragging them inside buildings to rape and rob them. Children are among the victims. At least 84 women have been raped since the beginning of this year, according to rights activists and medical officials. “This year is more terrifying than last year when we were barely receiving two or three in each month. This year we are seeing a new victim for every day,” said a nurse at a hospital in Hargeisa. She insisted on anonymity because she is not authorized to release the details. “It’s rampant and victims are being attacked at homes, streets or anywhere now,” she said.

The northern region of Somaliland

declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1960, but it has not won international recognition as an independent state.

Having escaped decades of conflict in Somalia, Somaliland employs its own security and police forces, justice system and currency. It is seen by some neighboring countries as a bulwark against terrorism. It also has a reputation for successfully maintaining law and order for its population of 3.5 million.

The outbreak of gang rapes in Somaliland began early this year and has surprised local residents who blame gangs of young men. Confronted by the spate of attacks, police have arrested dozens of suspects, but the rapes continue on Hargeisa’s streets and in back roads. Some of the victims were beaten while others suffered stabbings by the gangs. This could dent the women’s freedom in Somaliland where they can drive and exercise many freedoms.

Many women do not wear the veil in public.

But now some religious leaders suggest that women remain closer to their homes to avoid the rapes. “This is in fact a horrible outbreak, raped and bleeding children are being brought into hospitals every day,” said Nimo Hussein Qowdhan, Somaliland’s deputy health minister. “It’s becoming out of control.

We must concentrate on fighting it.” Two young children were recent victims of the gang-rape attacks, said officials. “It’s a disturbing development, even children are being raped by criminals,” said Fathia Hussein Ahmed, chairwoman of Somaliland’s national human rights commission. “According to a report we have made, children are the most affected.” She said rapes continue to haunt victims, as many women are shunned by some communities after being raped by gangs. Some are divorced by their husbands because of the rapes. “We are creating awareness among local communities to illustrate

the negative impact of rape,” she said.

The sexual attacks have brought the long-taboo subject into street conversations and have provoked calls for a new approach toward rapists, instead of the traditional clan-related legal solutions. Clan elders often let off rapists with softer punishments. In Somaliland, it is common for the clans to make their own rulings to evade harsher sentences from the government judiciary. “We warn that the traditional clan justice system (should) avoid solving these cases, instead, courts must apply the ruling to such cases,” said a statement from a consortium of human rights groups in Somaliland.

Unlike the rest of Somalia where women avoid reporting crimes to law enforcement agencies, women in Somaliland are increasingly reporting their cases to the hospitals and police. Hospitals are creating counseling for victims of sexual attacks. Activists say

this may also be driving the increase in reported rapes, as women are aware of services and more likely to seek help or report rape. However, police and rape victims struggle to identify the culprits who are believed to be unlinked, making it hard for investigators to contain the violence through arrests.

“You never know who’s to blame,” said Sadiya Hassan, a resident in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway region by phone.

“The attacks forced us to avoid walking while dark or through back roads.” “This is not easy to pinpoint exactly what triggered (the rapes) but the cost of marriage for young people in Somaliland is too high and contacts between the opposite sex before marriage is also frowned upon and the fact that many youths in the diaspora returned to the country may also have contributed,” said Mohamed Abdillahi, a university professor in Hargeisa city. —AP

Borisov secures slim win in Bulgaria polls Snap polls unlikely to soothe anger

ALICANTE, Spain: British fugitive Andrew Moran is arrested May 10, 2013 as he relaxed next to the pool of a luxury villa. —AP

British fugitive nabbed by pool MADRID: One of Britain’s most wanted fugitives, armed robber Andrew Moran, has been arrested at a luxury villa on the Spanish coast after four years on the run, police from both countries said yester-

Andrew Moran day. Armed officers found him relaxing by the swimming pool when they raided the villa in the town of Calpe on the Costa Blanca on Friday, Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) said.

The 31-year-old absconded from his trial for armed robber y in Britain in 2009,

assaulting a security guard and vaulting over the dock. He fled the country and was later convicted in his absence.

Spanish police said Moran, who they described as a “dangerous fugitive”, had “attempted to flee and violently resisted the officers”. Last November, he had evaded arrest by shaking off Spanish officers in a car chase. Two handguns, 60 rounds of ammunition and a machete were found at the property in Calpe, a town popular with expatriates, SOCA said. Moran, from Salford, near Manchester in northwestern England, was on his country’s most wanted list of criminals.

He was arrested in 2007 over the brutal robber y two years earlier of £25,000 ($38,000) from guards working for the Royal Mail postal service in nearby Colne, in Lancashire. The guards were threatened with a handgun, machete and a baseball bat, and one of them was assaulted in the raid. Moran’s co-accused, Stephen Devalda, was arrested at a hotel in the Spanish resort of Marbella in 2011.

Matt Burton, SOCA’s head of investigations, said: “Moran thought he could evade capture fleeing to Spain, frequently changing his appearance and using false identities. Like his partner in crime Devalda and the other armed robbers on the (agency’s) hit-list discovered, though, there’s no hiding place.” The agency said Moran would be appearing in court in Madrid today as proceedings begin to extradite him to Britain. —AFP

Murder fuels fears of homophobia in Russia MOSCOW: A 23-year-old man has been tortured to death in Russia in an apparent homophobic attack, investigators said yesterday, amid growing fears by rights groups that anti-gay sentiments are on the rise in the country. The victim’s battered and naked body was found in the courtyard of an apartment building in the southern city of Volgograd on Friday morning, said a spokeswoman for regional investigators. The young man had suffered numerous injuries, including to the genitalia, and had been sodomised with several beer bottles. “He was raped with beer bottles and had his skull smashed with a stone,” Natalia Kunitskaya, a spokeswoman for the Volgograd region branch of the Investigative Committee, told AFP. She confirmed the attack was believed to have been a hate crime, in a rare admission from Russian law enforcement agencies on the sensitive issue of homophobia in the country.

Two men aged 22 and 27 have been detained in connection with the attack, the Moscowbased Investigative Committee said in a statement on Saturday. One of the suspects has a criminal history, investigators said. The victim was drinking with the two men, apparently while celebrating Victory Day which Russia marks on May 9, they said.

Regional investigator Andrei Gapchenko told Echo of Moscow radio on Saturday that two men started beating the victim after he told them he was gay. The Investigative Committee’s tersely-worded statement said investigators had opened a murder probe, without commenting on possible motives for the killing. The attack comes at a time when rights groups are already worried about growing discrimination against homosexuals as President Vladimir Putin seeks to play up traditional values in a bid to rally support during his

third term in office. Putin, who prides himself on his macho image, has repeatedly denied that Russia was violating gay rights. But homophobia remains widespread and socially acceptable, and almost no public figures have come out as gay.

Russian parliament is considering passing a controversial national law banning “homosexual propaganda” among minors. Critics say the bill’s wording is so vague that it could be used to justify any kind of repression against gays. The law is already in place in several regions including Saint Petersburg. Putin also recently warned that Russia could change adoption agreements with Western countries that are legalising gay marriage, such as France. Russia decriminalised homosexuality in 1993 and officially removed it from the list of psychiatric disorders in 1999.

Many ordinary Russians expressed horror at the Volgograd murder. “I am wondering whether those State Duma deputies who... are now adopting a law against homosexual propaganda realise that these beer bottles have essentially been planted by them?” film critic Alexander Timofeevsky said on Facebook.

Nikolai Alexeyev, head of Gay Russia, a group advocating for gay rights, expressed concern that the recent legislative initiatives could be fuelling intolerance. “Homophobic hysteria is being increasingly promoted in Russia,” he told AFP. He said attacks against homosexuals are widespread in the country but are almost never investigated as hate crimes.

“Slapping a taboo on many aspects of human sexuality is a great way to build a dysfunctional society impregnated with hatred and is used both by Putin and Muslim extremists,” outspoken anti-Kremlin observer Yulia Latynina wrote in opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta. —AFP

SOFIA: Bulgarian ousted premier Boyko Borisov’s party came first in tense elections yesterday but fell short of a majority, exit polls showed, setting the scene for political stalemate and fresh protests.

Three months after the biggest demonstrations in years prompted the former bodyguard to tender his government’s resignation, Borisov’s GERB party won between 30.3 and 33 percent of the vote, the exit polls showed. In second place was the socialist BSP party on between 25.3 and 27.1 percent, followed by the Turkish minority party MRF on 6.511.5 percent and the ultranationalist Ataka on 7.3-8.5 percent.

As a result of the lack of a clear result, it remains unclear how these parties can form a government. The first official results were not expected until late morning today, with the allocation of parliamentary seats not until several days after that. Analysts say that with no clear result, Bulgaria is likely to see a repeat of the protests that rocked the country over the winter and forced Borisov to throw in the towel. The protests saw seven people set themselves on fire, six of whom died.

Six years after joining the European Union, almost a quarter of Bulgarians live below the official poverty line, living standards are falling and poverty is on the rise. The economy grew just 0.8 percent in 2012 and foreign investment has slumped in recent years, sending unemployment up to almost 20 percent, according to unofficial estimates. Monthly salaries in Bulgaria, sandwiched between Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania and the Black Sea, are frozen at Ä400 ($520)

SOFIA: Boyko Borisov, the leader of the Bulgarian conservative GERB party and a former prime minister, casts his ballot at a polling station during the general election yesterday. —AFP and pensions at Ä138.

Many voters feel that politicians spend too much time bickering and lining their own pockets and not enough tackling the country’s economic problems, corruption and inequalities. Further poisoning the atmosphere has been allegations of vote-rigging during the election campaign, including on Saturday the discovery of 350,000 illegal ballot papers at a printing firm whose owner is reportedly close to Borisov’s party. Socialist party leader

Sergey Stanishev said the discovery was “preparation for the total falsification of the elections,” calling it a “scandal unseen in Bulgaria so far”.

Five opposition parties - excluding GERB - have commissioned an independent vote count by an Austrian agency, and it is possible that the official results will be challenged. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent its biggest monitoring mission to Bulgaria since its first post-communism elections in

1990, was due to report its findings today. “This is the last chance of the two big parties to show that they can take responsibility,” teacher Stayko Gudzhev, 57, said outside a polling station in a well-to-do neighbourhood in downtown Sofia. “If they don’t do it, this will be the end of both GERB and BSP.” Asked if he hoped that elections would bring about change, Dimitar, a student, shrugged: “Hope? I just want to finish my studies and go abroad.” —AFP

Pope canonises first saints of his reign VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday created the first saints of his reign, canonising some 800 Italian martyrs who refused to convert to Islam in the 15th century, as well as a Colombian and a Mexican who founded congregations. Tens of thousands of faithful gathered in a sun-drenched St Peter’s Square to attend the mass in which Francis formally bestowed the sainthoods, which had been approved by his predecessor Benedict

XVI. The new saints include Italian cobbler Antonio Primaldo, who was killed along with an estimated 800 other Italians, who remain anonymous, in 1480 by Ottoman forces in the southern part of the country for refusing to convert to Islam.

Shortly after his election in March, Francis called for more dialogue with Muslims, and it was unclear how the granting of sainthood to the

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis waves to pilgrims yesterday in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican at the end of a service. —AFP

martyrs would be received. Islam is a sensitive subject for the church, and Benedict stumbled significantly in his relations with the Muslim community. “While we venerate the martyrs of Otrante, ask God to support the many Christians who still suffer from violence and give them the courage and fate and respond to evil with goodness,” he said, referring to the persecution of Christians. Francis used the occasion to take a firm stance against abortion for the first time since his election in March, calling for the “protection of the embryo”. He called for legislation to “protect all human beings from the first moment of their existence,” lending his support to a prolife march of some 30,000 that also took place in Rome on Sunday.

The new pope also canonised Colombia’s Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upeguila, and Mexico’s Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, who both died in the 20th century. The two women founded religious orders and devoted their lives to helping the poor, the sick and native peoples. The pope paid homage to di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upeguila, or “Madre Laura” - Colombia’s first saint - for respecting the local culture and traditions while teaching natives during her mission. He also praised Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, whom he referred to as “Madre Lupita”, for “kneeling in front of the sick on the hospital pavement to treat them with tenderness.” Madre Lupita is Mexico’s second saint.

Hundreds of Colombians and Mexicans travelled to the Vatican for the event, with some Mexican nuns in the crowd sporting widebrimmed sombreros. Many parents had also brought their children along in the hope that the pope would bless them. Maria Rosales Gomez from Mexico said she was convinced that Madre Lupita had worked a miracle 14 years ago, when her sick baby boy recovered from an illness and survived. Speaking before Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, the pope also underscored his support for reconciliation efforts between the Colombian government and leftist guerrillas and called for an end to “violence and insecurity” in Mexico, where thousands of people each year fall victim to drug violence. —AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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

One by one, homes in California sinking ‘It’s a slow-motion disaster’

RICHMOND: First lady Michelle Obama (left) delivers a commencement speech at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky, Saturday, May 11, 2013, as Kentucky Gov Steve Beshear (right) and university president Dr Charles D Whitlock look on. — AP

Mrs Obama: Seek out those with different beliefs RICHMOND: First lady Michelle Obama urged Eastern Kentucky University graduates on Saturday night to reach out to people with different political beliefs, saying the country would benefit from the conversations. “If you’re a Democrat, spend some time talking to a Republican,” Mrs Obama told about 600 education, business and technology graduates at the third and final commencement ceremony of the day. “And if you’re a Republican, have a chat with a Democrat.

Maybe you’ll find some common ground, maybe you won’t.”

The first lady suggested that they visit senior centers to benefit from the experiences of people with plenty of “life experience under their belts.” She also pointed them to religious congregations different than their own, saying they might hear something in a sermon “that stays with you.” And she predicted they would learn something if they reached out “with an open mind and an open heart.” “And goodness knows, we need more of that,” she said. “Because we know what happens when we only talk to people who think like we do.

We just get stuck in our ways.” The first lady received thunderous applause from several thousand people attending the ceremony in a state that voted overwhelmingly against her husband, President Barack Obama, in his two successful runs for the White House.

She exhorted the graduates to apply the same resilience and work ethic they showed in school to their lives beyond campus to cope with life’s ups-and-downs. “How are you going to respond when you don’t get that job you had your heart set on?” she said. To the soon-to-be teachers in the crowd, she urged fortitude when their students don’t respond to their lessons - and urged the same fortitude for the business students when their bosses pile work on them.

Those are the times that will “force you to claw and scratch and fight” to endure, she said. The White House said the first lady was drawn to EKU as part of her initiative to support veterans and military families. EKU has gained national recognition for its efforts to help veterans advance their education, including its Veterans Success Center, which provides one-stop-assistance for advising, counseling and job placement services.

A campus group took potshots at Obama administration policies ahead of Mrs. Obama’s visit, handing out fliers bemoaning the challenging job prospects for the new graduates. “Good luck landing your first job,” said the flier from the EKU chapter of Young Americans for Liberty. “Only 47 percent of you will be able to find a job in your preferred field, so I hope you’re still on good terms with your parents.” — AP

LAKEPORT: Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. The cracks soon turned into gaping fractures, and within two weeks their 600-square-foot garage broke from the house and the entire property - manicured lawn and all - dropped 10 feet below the street. It wasn’t long before the houses on both sides collapsed as the ground gave way in the Spivey’s neighborhood in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. “We want to know what is going on here,” said Scott Spivey, a former city building inspector who lived in his fourbedroom, Tudor-style dream home for 11 years.

Eight homes are now abandoned and 10 more are under notice of imminent evacuation as a hilltop with sweeping vistas of Clear Lake and the Mount Konocti volcano swallows the subdivision built 30 years ago. The situation has become so bad that mail delivery was ended to keep carriers out of danger. “It’s a slow-motion disaster,” said Randall Fitzgerald, a writer who bought his home in the Lakeside Heights project a year ago. Unlike sinkholes of Florida that can gobble homes in an instant, this collapse in hilly volcanic country can move many feet on one day and just a fraction of an inch the next.

Officials believe water that has bubbled to the surface is playing a role in the destruction. But nobody can explain why suddenly there is plentiful water atop the hill in a county with groundwater shortages. “That’s the big question,” said Scott De Leon, county public works director. “We have a dormant volcano, and I’m certain a lot of things that happen here (in Lake County) are a result of that, but we don’t know about this.” Other development on similar soil in the county is stable, county officials said. While some of the subdivision movement is occurring on shallow fill, De Leon said a geologist has warned that the ground could be compromised down to bedrock 25 feet below and that cracks recently appeared in roads well beyond the fill. “Considering this is a low rainfall year and the fact it’s letting go now after all of these years, and the magnitude that it’s letting go, well it’s pretty monumental,” De Leon said.

County officials have inspected the original plans for the project and say it was developed by a reputable engineering firm then signed off on by the public works director at the time. “I can only presume that they were checked prior to approval,” De Leon said. The sinkage has prompted county

crews to redirect the subdivision’s sewage 300 feet through an overland pipe as manholes in the 10acre development collapsed. Consultant Tom Ruppenthal found two small leaks in the county water system that he said weren’t big enough to account for the amount of water that is flowing along infrastructure pipes and underground fissures, but they could be contributing to another source.

“It’s very common for groundwater to shift its course,” said Ruppenthal of Utility Services Associates in Seattle. “I think the groundwater has shifted.” If the county can’t get the water and sewer service stabilized, De Leon said all 30 houses in the subdivision will have to be abandoned. The owners of six damaged homes said they need help from the government. The Lake County Board of Supervisors asked Gov Jerry Brown to declare an emergency so funding might be available to stabilize utilities and determine the cause of the collapse. On May 6, state Sen Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, wrote a letter of support asking Brown for immediate action. The California Emergency Management Agency said Brown was still assessing the situation.

On Wednesday, the state sent a water resources engineer and a geologist to look at the problem.

LAKEPORT: This photo shows the wreckage of the Tudor-style dream home of Robin and Scott Spivey who were forced to abandon after the ground gave way causing it to drop 10 feet below the street in California. — AP

Prison for ex-dictator soothes Guatemala

DOSWELL: Flowers are placed on one of two newly dug graves at the Doswell, Va cemetery where Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried. — AP

Boston bombing suspect’s burial legal DOSWELL: The burial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev appears to be legal, a law enforcement official said after examining the paperwork needed to move the corpse to the Virginia site where he was quietly interred. The news that Tsarnaev had been buried Thursday in a rural Islamic cemetery in Virginia, hundreds of miles from his Massachusetts home, shocked some in the southern community, including officials who said they hadn’t been informed.

But Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa said late Saturday that officials had looked over the paperwork and the interment appears legal. He warned, however, that his small department lacks the money and personnel to provide round-theclock stakeouts at the cemetery as deputies did Friday night, which passed without incident. “ The Sheriff ’s Office will offer the same amount of protection - no more and no less - to this site as any other cemetery in Caroline County,” Lippa said in a press release. The body of Tsarnaev, a 26-year-old ethnic Chechen from Russia, had remained at a Massachusetts, funeral parlor since he was killed April 19 in a gunfight with police, days after the bombings that killed three and injured more than 260. Cemeteries in several states refused to accept the remains.

With costs to protect the funeral home mounting, police appealed for help finding a place to bury him.

The woman whose actions led to Tsarnaev being buried in Virginia said the anger from local officials, some cemetery neighbors and online critics has been unpleasant, but she has no regrets. “I can’t pretend it’s not difficult to be

reviled and maligned,” Martha Mullen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. “But any time you can reach across the divide and work with people that are not like you, that’s what God calls us to do.”

Mullen said she was at a Starbucks when she heard a radio news report about the difficulty finding a burial spot for Tsarnaev. “My first thought was Jesus said love your enemies,” she said. Then she had an epiphany. “I thought someone ought to do something about this and I am someone,” Mullen said.

So Mullen, a mental health counselor in private practice and a seminary graduate, sent emails to various faith organizations to see what could be done. She heard back from Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, which arranged for a funeral plot at the Al-Barzakh cemetery. “It was an interfaith effort,” she said.

Mullen, a member of the United Methodist Church, said she was motivated by her own faith and that she had the full support of her pastor. “Nobody is without sin,” she said. “Certainly this was a horrific act, but he’s dead and what happened is between him and God. We just need to bury his body and move forward. People were making an issue and detracting from the healing that needed to take place.” The Islamic Society of Greater Richmond didn’t respond to an email seeking confirmation that it was involved in the burial. Some local officials have expressed concern that the grave site could become a target for vandals and a shrine for those who sympathize with Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev’s younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured hours after the gunfight with police and remains in custody. — AP

GUATEMALA CITY: Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt spent his first full day as a convict Saturday in a 16-by-13 foot cell with a small bed, bathroom and window, after receiving a landmark 80-year sentence for genocide and crime against humanity. It was a steep fall for the now-86-year-old former strongman who ruled Guatemala from March 1982 to August 1983, during the height of a brutal civil war that killed 200,000 people, mainly Indians. A tribunal on Friday ruled that Rios Montt knew about the slaughter of at least 1,771 Ixil Maya in Guatemala’s western highlands and didn’t stop it, handing down the first genocide conviction ever given to a Latin American strongman in his own country.

The former general was transferred to prison later that evening. “He is not comfortable, but as a good soldier he is used to this,” said Rios Montt’s lawyer, Francisco Palomo, who is expected to seek to have the ex-general transferred to a hospital or to have his sentence be served under house arrest.

Matamoros prison, where Rios Montt is now behind bars, is located on a military base in Guatemala City where the former general spent time as a young cadet. It was built to house high-profile inmates who could be unsafe in normal prisons. Authorities there say he has the right to spend two hours outside his cell each day, but guarded by officers. He has the right to three daily meals, though family members can also bring him food.

Most in Guatemala feel the sentence prison represents a triumph after a long struggle in a country still recovering from a 36-yearcivil war that ended with peace accords in 1996. “It’s very valuable to us, totally refreshing. We deserved it,” said human rights activist Helen Mack. Genocidal massacres occurred before and after Rios Montt, “but the bulk of the killing took place under Rios Montt,” said Victoria Sanford an anthropologist at Lehman College-City University of New York who has spent about 50 months in Guatemala and participated in excavations in at least eight massacre sites.

The long sentence was a message, activists said, that the previously untouchable and brutal military structures need to be held accountable. Guatemala’s maximum sentence

Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a representative the next day. Lake County, with farms, wineries and several Indian casinos, was shaped by earthquake fault movement and volcanic explosions that helped create the Coast Ranges of California. Clear Lake, popular for boating and fishing, is the largest fresh water lake wholly located in the state.

It is not unusual for groundwater in the region to make its way to the surface then subside. Many natural hot springs and geysers receded underground in the early 1900s and have since been tapped for geothermal power. Homeowners now wonder whether fissures have opened below their hilltop, allowing water to seep to the surface. But they’re so perplexed they also talk about the land being haunted and are considering asking the local Native American tribe if the hilltop was an ancient graveyard. “Someone said it must be hexed,” said Blanka Doren, a 72-year-old German immigrant who poured her life savings into the house she bought in 1999 so she could live on the rental income. The home shares a wall with her neighbor, Jagtar Singh - who had two days of notice to move his wife, 4-year-old daughter and his parents before the hill behind the back of his home collapsed - taking the underside of his house and leaving the carpet dangling. —AP

is 50 years making the 80 years symbolic. The three-judge panel also ordered prosecutors to continue investigating to bring all those responsible for abuses to justice. Until now, only low or middle-level officials have been prosecuted for war atrocities.

On Monday, the same court will meet to discuss the compensation for the victims.

Indians and activists applauded and some wept after hearing Friday’s ruling. But some are wondering if Rios Montt can successfully appeal. Adding to their worries is the fact that Guatemala’s current president, Otto Perez Molina, still refuses to acknowledge that genocide took place. “It is painful to hear that some are in a state of denial, but admitting it is the first step for the country to heal,” Mack said. “It is not over.”

Perez Molina’s name was brought up during the trial when a former soldier accused him of ordering executions while serving in the military in the Rios Montt regime. He called the testimony “lies.” In a late Friday interview, Perez Molina told CNN’s Spanishlanguage channel that there was no genocide, despite the ruling being seen as the country’s first official acknowledgement that one took place.

“When I said that Guatemala has seen no genocide, I repeat it now after this ruling,” Perez Molina said. “Today’s ruling is not final ... the decision will not be final until the moment they run out of appeals.” Defense lawyer Francisco Palomo vowed to appeal the ruling, saying it was unjust. Rios Montt has insisted he never knew of or ordered massacres while in power. He began his career in the Guatemalan army in 1946 as a cadet. He seized power in March of 1982 through a military coup, and held it for 18 months until he was overthrown.

Ricardo Mendez Ruiz, a Guatemala businessman and son of a military officer, called the trial biased. “We have found out the Ixiles’ side of the story, not the whole truth,” he said.

“We want to rise up to show the world that this decision is not hailed by everyone in Guatemala.” In Rios Montt’s trial, dozens of Ixil Mayas stood up and testified of atrocities, such as mass rapes and killing of children by the military.— AP

GUATEMALA CITY: People celebrate the judge’s guilty verdict for Guatemala’s former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt during his genocide trial.— AP

‘Best Mother’s Day’ ever for freed captive’s mom CLEVELAND: The mother of Gina DeJesus is celebrating the “best Mother’s Day” ever yesterday after her daughter was freed with three other captives last week from a long imprisonment in a Cleveland home. DeJesus, 23, Amanda Berry, 27, and Berry’s 6year-old daughter were welcomed into their family homes last week after an escape and rescue on Monday from the dungeon-like house.

“This is the best Mother’s Day I could ever have,” said Nancy Ruiz when asked by a reporter last week how this year’s celebration of motherhood would differ from those during the nine years her daughter was missing after she vanished while walking home from junior high school. Mother’s Day has a changed meaning for Berry, who during 10 years in captivity lost her mother and conceived and bore her own child, who DNA indicates was fathered by accused kidnapper Ariel Castro, police and prosecutors said.

There was no homecoming for the fourth captive, Michelle Knight, 32, the longest-held, who slipped into seclusion after being released from a hospital on Friday. She shunned hospital visits from family members, some of whom believed she was a runaway when she disappeared 11 years ago after losing custody of her young son, her grandmother said.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor is seeking murder charges, which could carry the death penalty, against Castro, 52, a former school bus driver who police said induced several miscarriages by beating and starving Knight.

Castro is being held on $8 million bail on charges he kidnapped and raped the three women while keeping them locked up in a rundown Cleveland home stocked with ropes and chains. Knight was kidnapped in 2002 at the age of 20; Berry in 2003 the day before her 17th birthday; and DeJesus in 2004, when she was 14. Castro forced Knight to deliver Berry’s daughter, and he threatened to kill Knight if the baby died, according to a police report. Berry told police her escape had been her first chance to break free in the 10 years she was held, seizing an opportunity during Castro’s momentary absence.

With the help of neighbors, she and her daughter broke free, and police freed the other two women.

‘Big healing process’ The community has rallied around the women, with offers of help pouring in from around the world and people offering cash, furniture and even use of a vacation home to help them rebuild their lives.

Three members of the Cleveland City Council have set up a fund to provide financial assistance to the women. “It’s a big healing process that is beginning,” Councilwoman Dona Brady said on Saturday.

Since it was established last week, the fund has raised more than $50,000, said Cleveland Councilman Brian Cummins, who helped arrange the Cleveland Courage Fund, which is administered by a non-profit organization. Cummins said the fund for the three women had received donations from people across the United States, as well as Canada, France and Australia. The money will be distributed to organizations to help the women pay for therapy, doctor’s visits, housing and other expenses, Cummins said. — Reuters

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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

Violence, fraud, chaos top worries in Philippine polls 52m Filipinos registered to elect 18,000 officials MANILA: Despite scattered killings and fears of fraud, Philippine officials say they expect congressional and local elections today to be relatively peaceful after authorities took drastic steps to prevent chaos in one of Asia’s most rambunctious democracies. More than 52 million Filipinos have registered to elect 18,000 officials in the midterm

regions grappling with power outages, including the volatile south.

About 1,000 portable generators have been transported to problematic areas.

At least 233,000 public school teachers have been deputized as election inspectors to help staff more than 36,000 polling centers but 200 refused to be assigned in

whole system is protected,” Tutaan said. “We are able to curtail the big threats and we don’t see any major disruption.” The military has helped the government in urging candidates to shun violence. An army general took off with his troops aboard two helicopters and dropped leaflets calling for peaceful elections in Masbate, a central

MANILA: Posters and banners adorn a street near the voting precincts ahead of mid-term elections in Manila yesterday. —AFP polls, including half of the 24-member Senate, nearly 300 members of the House of Representatives and leaders of a Muslim autonomous region in the south, where Islamic insurgents, Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen and privately run armies have long been a concern.

The logistical nightmare has been compounded by worries that some of about 80,000 automated counting machines, which are being used for only the second time following 2010 presidential elections, may fail to work in

four towns in southern Lanao del Sur, a province notorious for deadly election rivalries, and will be replaced by police, officials said. “ We are actually, I would say, 99.99999 percent prepared,” Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes told reporters.

Military spokesman Brig Gen Domingo Tutaan said the 125,000strong armed forces, along with the national police, have been placed on full alert for any emergencies.

“Although there are pockets of violence, leading to some deaths, the

province notorious for political killings.

In the latest violence, gunmen killed five people and wounded two mayoral candidates in separate attacks Saturday in the south, including incumbent Mayor Joelito Jacosalem Talaid, who was wounded when about 10 men stopped his car and opened fire in Don Carlos town in Bukidnon province. Four police escorts were killed, police said. Last month, about 15 men fired on a truck carr ying town Mayor Abdul Manamparan and his

supporters in southern Lanao del Norte province, killing 13 people including his daughter. It was the worst violence during the campaign.

Philippine elections have long been dominated by politicians belonging to the same bloodlines.

At least 250 political families have monopolized power across the country, although such dynasties are prohibited under the 1987 constitution. Congress - long controlled by members of powerful clans targeted by the constitutional ban - has failed to pass the law needed to define and enforce the provision. In 2009, 58 people, including 32 journalists, were massacred in the country’s worst political violence that was blamed on rivalry between two powerful clans in southern Maguindanao province.

Ana Maria Tabunda from the independent pollster Pulse Asia said such dynasties restrict democracy, but added that past surveys by her organization have shown that most Filipinos are less concerned about the issue than with the benefits and patronage they can receive from particular candidates. Voters also often pick candidates with the most familiar surnames instead of those with the best records, she said.

“It’s name recall, like a brand.

They go by that,” she said. Votebuying has also been a problem.

The Commission on Elections ordered a ban on bank withdrawals of more than 100,000 pesos ($2,440) and the transportation of more than 500,000 pesos ($12,200) from Wednesday through today to curb vote-buying, but the Supreme Court stopped the move. The court decision disappointed Brillantes, who said vote-buying will certainly happen. He advised voters who are offered bribes by candidates to take the money and run. “Get the money, then work for the defeat of the one giving money,” he said. —AP

Karzai calls for new Pak govt to back peace talks KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday called on Pakistan’s incoming government to help negotiate an end to the Taleban insurgency that has ravaged his country for nearly 12 years. Taleban militants use Pakistan’s border areas as a refuge to launch attacks across Afghanistan’s south and east, and elements of the Pakistani state are accused of providing tacit support for the Islamist extremists.

Pakistan is suffering from its own domestic Taleban insurgency and has accused Afghanistan of providing shelter to some wanted commanders. “We hope that the government paves the way for peace and brotherhood with Afghanistan and cooperates in fighting terrorism and sincerely rooting out terrorist sanctuaries,” Karzai said.

The two countries need to work together to be “saved from the menace of terrorism”, he said in a statement, welcoming Saturday’s high voter turnout as a sign that people wanted democracy despite threats from militants. The West sees Pakistan’s involvement as crucial to securing a peace settlement in Afghanistan, where the Taleban have fought against US-led troops since 2001. —AFP

SEOUL: Visitors watch giant lanterns yesterday during the Lotus Lantern Festival to celebrate the upcoming birthday of Buddha on May 17. —AP

Detained American smuggled in propaganda: North Korea SEOUL: North Korea delivered its most indepth account yet of the case against a Korean-American sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor, accusing him of smuggling in inflammatory literature and trying to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a border city hotel. Still, the long list of allegations included no statement from Kenneth Bae, other than claims that he confessed and didn’t want an attorney present during his sentencing last week for what Pyongyang called hostile acts against the state.

Since the sentencing came during a period of tentative diplomatic moves following weeks of high tension and North Korean threats of nuclear and missile strikes on Washington and Seoul, outside analysts have said Pyongyang may be using Bae as bait to win diplomatic concessions in the standoff over its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea repeated its denial of such speculation in the new statement, but the pattern has occurred repeatedly. The North’s state media described the statement from an unidentified Supreme Court spokesman as a response to US government and media assertions that the legal case against Bae was unreasonable and other claims “that he was not tried in a transparent manner and (the North) was trying to use this issue as a political bargaining chip.” The spokesman said Bae, 44, could’ve faced death but the court reduced the penalty because he confessed. He was arrested in North Korea in November.

Bae, a Washington state resident described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The others eventually were deported or released without serving out their terms, some after trips to Pyongyang by prominent Americans, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. There

has been no sign yet of a high-profile American envoy set to make a clemency mission to North Korea, which has only recently eased a near-daily, weekslong torrent of threats that followed greater U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang’s February nuclear test. The North’s statement said Bae gave anti-Pyongyang lectures in China and “infiltrated” about 250 students into the city of Rason, a special economic zone in North

Korea’s far northeastern region bordering China and Russia. It didn’t elaborate on the students’ activities, however. Young leader Kim Jong Un has the power to grant special pardons under the North’s constitution.

Earlier this week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman attempted to use his friendship with Kim on Bae’s behalf, asking the leader to “do me a solid” and release the American.

Rodman visited North Korea in February

S Korea’s presidency sorry for sex scandal SEOUL: South Korea’s presidential office apologised yesterday for a “very shameful” scandal involving a former senior official who was fired midway through President Park Geun-Hye’s US visit. Yoon Chang-Jung, a former spokesman for Park, was sacked last week over allegations that he had sexually harassed a female intern-a KoreanAmerican while accompanying Park on her May 5-9 trip. The presidential chief of staff yesterday said Yoon had been involved in an “embarrassing and unsavoury incident” and apologised to the victim and her family.

“We offer our deepest apology to all South Koreans, the victim, her family and Korean expatriates overseas for the incident,” Huh Tae-Yeol told a press conference, adding he had been left “speechless”. “This is an unacceptable and very shameful incident,” he said without elaborating on its nature. Huh added that Lee Nam-Ki, the top spokesman for Park and Yoon’s superior, had offered to resign to take responsibility but did not say whether the resignation had been accepted.

Yoon returned to Seoul on Wednesday without accompanying Park on her trip to Los Angeles, the final stop of her US visit. Washington DC police told the South’s Yonhap news agency they were “investigating the report of a misdemeanor sexual abuse” by an unnamed 56year-old male suspect. A Washington police report obtained by Yonhap and The Washington Post said the suspect allegedly “grabbed her buttocks without her permission”. Yoon denied the allegation, saying he had merely “patted her waist” while drinking with the intern-a college student in her early 20s-at a Washington bar Tuesday night and he had no sexual intent. “I implore her to forgive me if I had hurt her due to differences in culture. I offer my apology to her,” the 56year-old said at a live TV press conference on Saturday. —AFP

and apparently hit it off with Kim, a die-hard basketball fan. Pyongyang hasn’t responded to Rodman’s appeal on Twitter. Rodman said after his trip to North Korea that he planned to return in August to vacation with Kim. The US has called for the North to immediately release Bae. It relies on Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang to deal with Bae’s case because the North and the US have had no formal diplomatic relations since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

North Korea said in the statement that Bae “set up plot-breeding bases in different places of China for the purpose of toppling (North Korea’s) government from 2006 to October 2012 out of distrust and enmity toward the” country. “He committed such hostile acts as egging citizens of (North Korea) overseas and foreigners on to perpetrate hostile acts to bring down its government while conducting a malignant smear campaign against it. He was caught red handed.”

North Korea refers to Bae as Pae Jun Ho, the North Korean spelling for his Korean name. North Korea has faced increasing international criticism over its weapons development. Six-nation disarmament talks involving the Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia fell apart in 2009.

Several rounds of UN sanctions have not encouraged the North to give up its small cache of nuclear devices, which Pyongyang says it must not only keep but expand to protect itself from a hostile Washington.

Tensions have escalated since it conducted its third nuclear test since 2006 in February.

The human rights group Amnesty International has criticized Bae’s lack of access to a lawyer and called for his release.

Friends and colleagues say Bae was based in the Chinese border city of Dalian and traveled frequently to North Korea to feed orphans. —AP

BEIJING: The White House’s online petition site called “We the People” is displayed on a computer screen yesterday. —AP

Chinese take their cases to Washington BEIJING: The poisoning of a college student 18 years ago recently re-emerged as a hot topic in China, but censors soon squelched the politically sensitive online discussions over whether the culprit may have eluded punishment because of Communist Party connections. Chinese looking for justice found another way to keep the issue alive.

They took it to Washington.

Appealing to a White House online petition page, they soon gathered the 100,000 signatures required for an official response, and - although there has been no response from Washington so far - news of the request revived talk about the case in China. Beijing police issued an explanation after weeks of silence, and state media chimed in with editorials.

“The Chinese public went to a foreign site to vent off their frustration, and that speaks of the loss of credibility of the Chinese government,” said Shen Dingli, professor of American studies at Fudan University.

Started in 2011 as a project in open government for the Internet age, the Obama administration’s “We the People” site is a work in progress that already has spawned unintended consequences domestically, prompting updates of the ground rules for a successful petition.

Though clearly intended for US citizens, the guidelines on gathering online signatories remain broad enough to hearten activists overseas who - frustrated with their own governments - hope to raise the international profile of their cases. The site does not ask for one’s nationality, and one only needs to be 13 or older and have a verified email address to create an account to initiate a petition or sign one.

Malaysians have complained to the White House about election fraud in their country, drawing more than 222,000 signatures within a week to become the site’s second-most popular issue. Other petitions ask President Barack Obama to secure the release of two abducted Orthodox Christian archbishops in Syria and to urge a recount of votes in Venezuela’s presidential elections. And in the past week, requests have poured in from China, where petitioning the central government in Beijing dates back to imperial eras, but where nowadays the tradition is usually fruitless and sometimes perilous.

Some of the petitions are serious, and some silly - as with many of the US-generated requests, which include a demand to build a “Star Wars”-style Death Star. The Chinese petitions have asked Washington to disclose assets held by Chinese officials’ children residing in the US, and have urged remembrance of the bloody Chinese government crackdown on the 1989 student protest in Tiananmen Square. Others have asked for adjudication on the official recipe for Lanzhou beef noodles, and on the debate over whether the flavor of bean curd stew - a Chinese breakfast staple - should be sweet or salty. The petitions often are written in bad English, and some are in Chinese.

The White House says that, for now, it will give equal treatment to petitions from overseas. “‘We the People’ is just part of the

administration’s commitment to open government and the code powering the application has been made available to anyone, including other countries, who wish to set up a similar system,” White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said. The current threshold for White House response is when a petition gathers 100,000 signatures within 30 days up from lower thresholds that allowed for too many frivolous petitions. The Malaysian petition crossed that barrier, but has drawn no response yet. Any hopes for US condemnation of the election results evaporated this week when the US State Department recognized the polling results, while acknowledging allegations of irregularities. Still, supporters feel they accomplished something.

The petition “spoke out the dissatisfactions to the international communities successfully,” virologist and the petition’s apparent organizer, Kuan Ping Ang, said on her Facebook page. Shen said the White House page is one of a kind. “No other Western democratic country has a site where the government promises to respond to a petition with 100,000 signatures,” he said. It has rapidly become popular in China, where the tightly controlled media and Internet put politically sensitive topics off limits. People who bring their grievances to the central government as petitioners are routinely harassed, beaten and sent to labor camps as troublemakers - or locked up in what are known as “black jails” in a kind of extralegal detention. Enthusiasm for the White House site shows the lack of avenues at home to vent frustration, said David Zweig, professor of social science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “There is no mechanism for the Chinese citizens to really express their views. It’s really as simple as that,” Zweig said. “The citizens are looking for any strategies to make their grievances known.”

It started with the case of Zhu Ling, a woman who was paralyzed for life from thallium poisoning during her third year at Tsinghua University in Beijing. No one was held responsible for the crime, and the cold case resurfaced in April in the wake of another poisoning at Fudan University. The Chinese public demanded an investigation into one of Zhu’s roommates - who had long been considered a suspect. They questioned whether the original investigation was squashed because of her family’s political ties. Before there was any satisfactory answer, Chinese censors began to remove posts and shush online commentators, effectively ending the discussion. But then someone started the petition on the White House page early this month, and by last Monday it had garnered more than 100,000 signatures in about three days. Since then, about a dozen more China-related petitions have appeared. Shi Shusi, a well-known media commentator, sees black humor in the flood of petitions to the White House. “For a very long time, the Chinese government has responded too slowly on social incidents. It has exhausted its credits,” Shi said. “The public probably just need a place to vent their resentment.” —AP

Taiwan strengthens patrols in waters near Philippines TAIPEI: Taiwan yesterday sent four coastguard and naval vessels to strengthen patrols in waters near the Philippines following public outrage over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coastguards. “The government is determined to protect our fishermen,” cabinet spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen said in a statement as a frigate and coastguard vessels set sail for the area where the 65-year-old fisherman was killed Thursday.

Taiwan in a strongly-worded statement late Saturday demanded Manila apologise and compensate the victim’s family or face a freeze on the hiring of its nationals. It also asked the Philippines to bring to justice the coastguards responsible and start negotiating a fisheries agreement. “If the Filipino government fails to respond in a positive manner within 72 hours, the hiring of Philippine workers will be frozen,” said presidential office spokeswoman Lee Chia-fei.

There are about 87,000 Philippine domestic helpers and other workers in Taiwan and they send home hundreds of millions of dollars a year. More than 50 bullets hit the 15-tonne “Kuang Ta Hsin No 28”, killing skipper Hung Shih-cheng. “This is nothing but a slaughter,” prosecutor Liu Chia-kai said after examining the ship. President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday visited the victim’s family on an island off the southern city of Kaohsiung and promised to pursue the strong protest against the Philippine government.

Taiwan’s government confirmed that websites of several government agencies, including the presidential office, the defence ministry and the coastguard administration, had been hacked, after Internet attacks on Philippine government websites were reported Friday night. Several fishermen’s groups said they plan to file a protest at the Philippine mission in Taipei today. Manila recognises Beijing but not Taipei.

In Manila Abigail Valte, a spokeswoman for President Benigno Aquino, said Saturday that authorities had launched a “transparent and impartial investigation” into the incident. She expressed hope that economic ties with Taipei would not be affected and added that the coastguard crew involved in the incident had been temporarily suspended from duty to ensure a fair inquiry.

Taiwan’s government has come under pressure from the opposition and the media to take action, with the Philippines refusing so far to apologise 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 crew had been carrying out their duty to stop illegal fishing. “If somebody died, they deserve our sympathy but not an apology,” Balilo told reporters. The victim’s son, who was with his father and two other sailors on the boat at the time, has insisted they did not cross into Philippine waters. —AP

NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

An Afghan boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul yesterday. Banned during the Taleban regime, kite flying is once again the main recreational escape for Afghan boys and some men. — AP

Branson swaps suit for skirt Continued from Page 1 that Branson’s skills as an attendant were “rubbish” and that he was being immediately fired. Branson disembarked in red flat ballet pumps and posed with a handbag for waiting media. A cheerful Branson, who was tasked with pouring beverages, serving meals and making flight announcements, posed with Fernandes and popped champagne after stepping out of the plane at Malaysia’s main low-cost carrier terminal south of Kuala Lumpur. Fernandes said Branson graduated as an AirAsia cabin crew member “with flying colours”. AirAsia donated part of the money from ticket sales for the flight to a children’s charity in Australia.

Branson said in brief remarks that he

was “glad to have gotten the bet over with and (was) looking forward to getting back into my clothes”. “I always wanted to be an air hostess, but it looks like I have to get back to normality,” Branson said. The flight helped raise money for an Australian foundation for hospitalized children. Asked how Branson rated as an attendant, Fernandes quipped, “Out of 10, maybe one, for a bit of humor.” “I wanted to kill him actually” for spilling the juice, the Malaysian told reporters. “He looked at me, I said, ‘don’t you dare,’ and the next thing I know, he tipped the whole tray on me,” Fernandes added. “He and the girls mopped it up, but I was walking around the flight in my underwear for a while because I didn’t bring another pair of trousers.” — Agencies

New virus can pass between...

Continued from Page 1 Saudi Deputy Health Minister for Public Health Ziad Memish told reporters that, of 15 confirmed cases in the most recent outbreak, in Al-Ahsa district of Eastern Province, nine had died, two more than previously reported. Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry said in a statement the country had had 24 confirmed cases since last summer, of whom 15 had died. Fukuda said he was not sure if the two newly reported Saudi deaths were included in the numbers confirmed by the WHO. Memish added that three suspected cases in Saudi Arabia were still under investigation, including previous negative results that were being re-examined.

The first French patient was confirmed as suffering from the disease on Wednesday after travelling in the Gulf.

The second patient was transferred to intensive care yesterday after the two men shared a room in a hospital in Lille.

Professor Benoit Guery, head of the Lille hospital’s infectious diseases unit, said the first patient had not been immediate-

ly isolated becuase he presented “quite atypical” symptoms. He added in comments broadcast by BFMTV channel the case suggested that airborne transmission of the virus was possible, though still unusual, and that the public “should not be concerned” as there had been only 34 cases globally in a year.

Fukuda, part of a WHO team visiting Saudi Arabia to investigate the spread of the disease, said although no specific vaccine or medication was yet available for novel coronavirus, patients were responding to treatment. “The care that is taken in the hospitals, in terms of using respirators well, in terms of treating pneumonia, in terms of treating complications, in terms of providing support, these steps can get patients through this very severe illness,” he said. Fukuda said that as far as he knew all cases in the latest outbreak in al-Ahsa district were directly or indirectly linked to one hospital. He added that Saudi Arabian authorities had taken novel coronavirus very seriously and had initiated necessary health measures such as increased surveillance systems. — Reuters

MPs sharpen knives as grilling...

Continued from Page 1 government totally ignored the Assembly in the Dow payment infuriated MPs. Former opposition MP Mohammad Al-Dallal meanwhile warned against dissolving the Assembly ahead of the crucial June 16 ruling of the constitutional court over the amendment of the electoral law which triggered the current standoff in the country. Dallal said that reports have been floated of a plan to dissolve the Assembly and then hold a new election on the basis of the amended electoral law in anticipation of the court’s ruling as an attempt to legalize the amended law.

In another development, the Opposition Coalition yesterday said it has decided to launch a national campaign to highlight the violations against the Kuwaiti constitution from now until June 16 when the constitutional court is

slated to issue its ruling on the singlevote decree. The announcement came a day after opposition groups staged the first of a series of rallies ahead of the crucial ruling as a number of speakers announced they will boycott the forthcoming polls if the court confirms the controversial amendment to the electoral law.

The coalition said in a statement that the so-called emergency decrees, by which the Amir issues legislation in the absence of the Assembly, are paving the way for autocratic rule in Kuwait. Under the Kuwaiti constitution, the Amir has the right to issue legislation in the absence of the Assembly to deal with any emergency situation, but the opposition has insisted that this right is not open-ended and is subject to restrictions and regulations. The dispute over the amendment of the electoral district law stems from the argument over this issue.

14

ANALYSIS

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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Suicide reflects despair of Mideast youth

By Karin Laub n the day he chose to die, Adel Khedri woke up at 6:30 am, took his black backpack and headed down to the busy boulevard where he worked as a cigarette peddler. It was the last in a series of odd jobs that had defined his hand-to-mouth existence for almost nine years. He couldn’t afford to pay bribes to get hired as a driver or a guard. The Tunisian army didn’t need him. There were few factory jobs. And the owner at a fast food restaurant in neighboring Libya had cheated him out of wages as a dishwasher.

So on March 12, three weeks after his 27th birthday, Adel left the dirty room he shared with his older brother in a Tunis slum for the tree-lined Avenue Habib Bourguiba, once the stage for the first of the Arab Spring uprisings. He stopped in front of the art deco Municipal Theater. He poured gasoline over his body. Then he set himself on fire.

Adel died 19 hours later. One of his last words to a doctor at the burn center was “faddit” - slang for “fed up”.

Adel is one of 178 people in Tunisia who have set themselves on fire since the self-immolation two years ago of another high school dropoutturned-street vendor launched the Arab Spring.

These two book-ends of a revolution that toppled four Arab dictators show how little has changed in between for millions of jobless, hopeless 20somethings across the Middle East and North Africa. The difficulty of finding a job, which helped spark the unrest, is now a prescription for continued turmoil.

Youth unemployment worldwide is up to about 12.3 percent, in part because of the global financial crisis that began five years ago. But some areas of the Middle East and North Africa suffer from more than twice that rate, because of stubborn labor market problems compounded by the turmoil of the Arab Spring. And the future looks even worse. In the Middle East, youth unemployment is expected to rise from 27.7 percent in 2011 to 30 percent in 2018, the International Labor Organization reported this week. In North Africa, a slight increase is expected, from 23.3 percent to 23.9 percent.

Economists say fixing the problem will require broad and deep changes, such as overhauling education, slashing bloated public sectors and encouraging entrepreneurship. “There is no quick solution that will address all the aspirations of young people looking for jobs now,” said Masood Ahmed, head of the International Monetary Fund for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In the meantime, the numbers add up to a generation in trouble. In Tunisia, 143 of the people who lit themselves aflame over the past two years, many of them unemployed, have died. Similar self-immolations have been reported in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain and Lebanon, though in smaller numbers.

A month after Adel’s death, five of the 20 beds at the Ben Arous burn center in Tunis held people who had set themselves on fire, including two young men newly arrived from the poor provincial towns of Kasserine and Ben Guerdane. Selfimmolations make up about 25 percent of admissions, according to Dr Amen Allah Messaadi, the center’s trauma chief. Some victims suffer from mental problems, but most are just like Adel unemployed high-school dropouts in their 20s.

The AP pieced together Adel’s story from interviews with two dozen people, including his family and friends; waiters, a lawyer and a witness at the scene; a doctor and a psychiatrist at the burn center, and local officials, including a school principal.

The AP also looked at photos from the scene.

Adel’s life of struggle was in some ways a copy of that of his father, Habib. Born in Souk al-Jumma, about 150 km west of Tunis, Habib went to the capital as a young man to find work in day labor.

In Jan 1978, he was wounded by gunfire in the left shoulder during a government crackdown on anti-poverty protests.

In 1980, Habib married his hometown cousin, Latifa. The couple started out in a tiny room in Tunis, just like the one Adel and his 29-year-old brother Issam were to share later. Several years later, the Khedris got a two-room concrete shack in Souk al-Jumma as part of a housing program

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by the government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the longtime authoritarian leader of Tunisia. Latifa stayed in the village with Issam and Adel. Habib returned to Tunis to work.

Over the years, Latifa had Bilal, now 24, Hamza, 20, and Omar, 17. The growing family squeezed into one bedroom, while the second room served as a kitchen. Habib came home occasionally and sent money when he could. It was never enough.

As a boy, Adel often railed against growing up poor. When his parents pressured him to get a job, he berated them for having children they couldn’t afford. Issam was the first of the Khedri brothers to quit school. He joined his father in 2003 in Tunis, where they had to hustle every day to find construction work.

Adel’s last school was a 10-minute walk away from the family home in Souk al-Jumma, down a dirt path and past a village coffee shop where unemployed men smoke, drink and play cards in the daytime. The school teaches 447 students, including 250 boarders from outlying areas, in a testament to Tunisia’s investment in educating all children. Yet many leave because their families expect them to help earn money, according to principal Issam Ayari. Adel was one of them.

A hand-written student ledger shows that Adel dropped out of school on April 20, 2004, toward the end of ninth grade. He was 18 and had repeated two grades. Before quitting, he had been absent for long periods and often failed to

with two more in the works for solar panels and olive oil packaging. But that’s not enough to absorb all those with a high school education or less. Even a university education may make no difference. In Tunisia, about 230,000 university graduates are unemployed, making up one-third of the jobless, according to the National Institute of Statistics. The Union of Unemployed University Graduates puts the actual number of jobless graduates closer to 350,000, saying many have stopped looking for work.

The few jobs available are awarded through nepotism and political connections, according to union member Soheil Idoudi, 32, who has an engineering degree but never worked in his field.

His four college-educated siblings survive on odd jobs. The problem is especially acute because in the Middle East, a job is often the first building block of adult life, as Adel soon found. Without a job, a young man cannot get married. And without marriage, a couple cannot live together.

After years of moving between odd jobs, Adel went to the capital in 2008 to join his father and brother. Habib was slowing down, plagued by his old shooting injury. He became a tea vendor, earning half of what he would have made in construction. Habib died of cancer in Nov 2010, at age 55. A month later, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire. The Jasmine Revolution erupted. Adel and Issam were excited.

They joined the protests and burned pictures of

Issam Khedri, 29, eldest brother of cigarette vendor Adel Khedri, tends to the cigarette stand of his late brother in the Tunisian capital Tunis on April 14, 2013. — AP hand in homework. If he had gone on to 10th grade, he would have taken a bus to a school 12 miles away at a cost of 54 dinars ($34) per year. By comparison, a job in construction pays 15 dinars a day ($9.30).

Adel and his four brothers were part of the “youth bulge” rippling across the Middle East and North Africa, a region of about 380 million people.

In Arab countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan, those under 25 make up anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the population, largely due to improved health care over the decades. But the economies of the region have not kept pace. The Arab world would have to create about 46 million jobs to bring unemployment down to the global average by 2020, according to Elena Ianchovichina, the World Bank’s lead economist in the region. Instead, economic growth has come in at well below the 6 percent a year required to achieve this, particularly in Arab Spring countries that saw a sharp economic downturn.

In Jendouba province, where Adel spent much of his childhood, unemployment is running at about 20 percent. His district of about 60,000 people houses factories for car wires and sugar,

leader Ben Ali, who was overthrown in less than a month.

Suddenly, a new generation could dare to hope for freedom and jobs. The brothers voted for Ennahda, a moderate Islamic party, in Tunisia’s first free election in Oct 2011. Ennahda won as part of the political rise of the regionwide Muslim Brotherhood, long suppressed by Western-backed dictators. The new authorities were less aggressive with street vendors than their predecessors.

But Ennahda failed to revive the economy, and the Khedri brothers quickly lost faith.

Adel switched from construction to the slightly more lucrative trade of selling cigarettes on Boulevard Bab Bnet, opposite the Finance Ministry and the courts. He set up his stand, a tray balanced on two large cardboard boxes, next to the entrance of a building of law offices. On weekdays, Adel got up at around 6:30 am in a room of 15 sq m, just big enough for two beds, a mattress, a cooking gas canister and a TV. He washed his face at a faucet in a courtyard outside. He walked 10 minutes to Boulevard Bab Bnet, and drank an espresso with milk at the Cafe de la Justice. He picked up his cardboard boxes from a night guard, who stored them overnight under a stair-

case. Then he set up his stand to catch the morning rush hour trade of lawyers, government officials and passers-by.

From there, the picture of Adel turns fuzzy.

Two waiters at the Cafe de la Justice said he drank heavily, but others reported that he sent money home and wouldn’t have wasted it on alcohol.

Two friends contend Adel had several relationships, but his brother Issam said he was serious about a girl who worked as a maid in Tunis, whom he could not afford to marry. The girlfriend agreed to speak by phone on condition of anonymity because she did not want the relationship to become public. She is in her early 20s and says she holds a three-year degree from Jendouba University in economics and management. “Since I knew him, he was irritable and unsettled,” she said. “Recently, he was particularly nervous. We were always talking about how bad the situation was.”

Issam said policemen frequently harassed his brother by taking cigarettes for free. But Ratiba Ben Othmane, a lawyer in the building next door, denied any such trouble, and called Adel “a nice young man” who was troubled by his girlfriend’s jealousy. Adel was particularly despondent in January. He got a job as a dishwasher in a fast food restaurant in Tripoli in neighboring Libya, but left after two weeks when his boss didn’t pay his full wages.

It’s not clear what pushed Adel over the edge.

On Tuesday, March 12, he went to the boulevard as usual, drank his espresso with milk at the Cafe de la Justice and told a waiter that his stomach hurt - a frequent complaint. He reached the Municipal Theater on Avenue Bourguiba sometime after 8 am. The avenue is a scene of frequent demonstrations, and police are permanently deployed there. Then waiter Khaled Hammami heard a woman scream outside Le Grand Cafe Du Theatre. He and a customer, an off-duty policeman, rushed outside and saw Adel on fire. They grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to douse the flames. But it was too late.

The sickening smell of burned flesh hung in the air. Dozens of people flocked to the scene, stunned. Some snapped pictures of the blackened man sitting on the ground, with his legs outstretched and his arms slightly raised. The photos appeared on the front pages of Tunisia’s newspapers the next day. “Tunisians become inflammable,” read the headline in the Al Anwar newspaper, one of several from that day that Issam keeps under his mattress. Adel was taken to the Ben Arous medical center. Issam saw him alive one last time through a window into the burn unit. Adel was bandaged, and just his lips showed.

His mother Latifa, en route from Souk alJumma, arrived too late for visiting hours. She only saw her son’s body after his autopsy the next day at Charles Nicolle Hospital, near Mellassine.

Adel was buried on March 14 next to his father in the village cemetery of Souk al-Jumma, a fiveminute walk through green fields from his mother’s shack. Neighbors collected the money for the burial, including the unmarked grave’s concrete cover. His mother visits every day, sitting on a low cinder block. She seems defeated. She hopes Issam will get married one day, add a room to her shack and start a family, moving back and forth between Tunis and the village just like his father.

But she says that “as long as the situation is like this, he will raise poor children”.

Bilal is in his third and final year at Jendouba University, studying business law. Hamza quit school. The chances of either finding work appear slim. Omar, the youngest, is still in high school.

During a school break in March, Omar worked at the cigarette stand in Tunis for two weeks.

He found the job exhausting and the food bad.

“I want to stay in school,” he said. His mother quickly interjected, “That depends on the financial situation.”

In Tunis, Issam briefly took over Adel’s stand, but has since returned to construction. He finds life unbearably lonely without his father and brother. He says getting married is out of the question as long as he has to support his mother and brothers. He remembers how he and Adel talked after Bouazizi’s self-immolation. They agreed it was “just inconceivable” that either of them would do such a thing. — AP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

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United’s Scholes to retire LONDON: Paul Scholes will quit playing at the end of the Premier League season, the Manchester United midfielder said on Saturday.

The former England international first announced his retirement at the end of the 2010-11 season but returned in January 2012 to extend his one-club career to 19 years and 716 appearances. “Yes, I am finally hanging up my boots for good,” he told United’s website (www.mufc.com). “Playing football is all I have ever wanted to do and so to have had such a long and successful career at Manchester United, under the greatest manager of all time (Alex Ferguson), has been an honor.” Ferguson, who this week confirmed his own retirement after 26-1/2 years in charge at Old Trafford, said: “Paul is a truly unbelievable player. He has always been fully committed to this club and it has been a real privilege to work with him for so many years.” Scholes has not featured for United since January because of injury, but Ferguson confirmed he would play in the club’s final home game of the season, against Swansea City on Sunday. Ferguson and his team will be presented with the club’s 20th English league title after the game, and Scholes, who made his United debut against Port Vale in a League Cup tie in 1994, will collect his 11th winners’ medal.—Reuters

Belkov wins Giro’s stage MILAN: Bradley Wiggins struggled again on a dramatic ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia yesterday that saw Canada’s defending champion Ryder Hesjedal lose time to overall leader Vincenzo Nibali.

Katusha rider Maxim Belkov took the honors after leaving his companions from an early breakaway behind in the latter stages of the 170km ride from Sansepolcro to Florence.

For 28-year-old Russian Belkov, who hails from Izhevsk-famous for the production of Kalashnikov rifles-it was the first major victory of a career which began in 2009.

Belkov finished 44sec ahead of Carlos Betancur (Ag2r), who by mistake raised his arms in victory as he crossed the line. The peloton containing all the overall victory favorites came over the finish 1:03 behind. The real drama, however, was going on in the Russian’s wake.

Astana team leader Nibali retained the race leader’s pink jersey but a day after losing only 11secs to Wiggins in a 54.8km time trial the Italian saw Wiggins struggle on the wet and slippery descent of the race’s first category one climb, the Vallembrosa.

The Briton was left trailing and had to be paced back to the main peloton during a frantic 20km pursuit by three of his Sky teammates.—AFP

Mancini set for City exit LONDON: Manchester City are expected to dismiss manager Roberto Mancini later this week, according to reports in the British media yesterday.

Stories emerging in the Spanish press this week claimed that City are poised to replace the Italian with Malaga’s Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini, and the English Premier League club have so far failed to provide any clarification over Mancini’s position.

Speaking after City’s shock 1-0 loss to Wigan Athletic in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, Mancini criticised his employers for not publicly addressing the rumors.

Speaking to the media in his post-game press conference, he said: “You continue to talk about this for six months and also in the last two weeks, too much.

“I don’t know why the club didn’t stop this, because I didn’t think it was correct. I don’t think that it’s true.” As well as their FA Cup final defeat, City failed to keep pace with Manchester United in the defence of their Premier League title and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group phase. Reports appearing on the websites of several British newspapers on Sunday claimed that Mancini could even be sacked prior to his side’s next league game at Reading on Tuesday.—AFP

Blue Jays down Red Sox BOSTON: Adam Lind hit a tiebreaking homer off Boston closer Junichi Tazawa leading off the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

It was just the fifth win in 16 games for the struggling Blue Jays, who blew a 2-0 lead in the eighth. Lind belted a 2-2 pitch from Tazawa (2-2) into the center field bleachers, sending Boston to its seventh loss in nine games.

Darren Oliver (2-1) got the win despite giving up the tying run. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 10 chances. He allowed a leadoff double, but got the next three hitters.

YANKEES 3, ROYALS 2 In Kansas City, Vernon Wells hit a goahead two-run homer then made a long running catch that preserved a victory for Andy Pettitte and the Yankees over the Royals. Pettitte (4-2) showed off his mastery of the Royals once more, allowing a runscoring groundout by Lorenzo Cain and a solo homer by Billy Butler in seven stellar innings. The 40-year-old left-hander gave up five hits, struck out seven and improved to 15-3 in his career against the Royals.

James Shields (2-3) was hurt by a throwing error on third baseman Mike Moustakas in the second inning that resulted in the Yankees’ first run. He also gave up Wells’ two-run shot in the fifth, moments after Butler’s home run had staked Kansas City to 2-1 lead.

David Robertson struck out the side in the eighth for the Yankees, and Mariano Rivera worked around a two-out double by Salvador Perez in the ninth for his 14th save to start the season.

TWINS 8, ORIOLES 5 In Minneapolis, Ryan Doumit homered, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each had three hits, and the Twins beat the Orioles, who lost for just the second time in seven games. Vance Worley struggled through 5 1-3 innings, but a strong performance by Minnesota’s bullpen enabled him to earn his first win in 13 starts dating to Aug. 1, 2012. Matt Wieters connected for the Orioles. Worley (1-4) gave up 11 hits and five earned runs. He struck out one but threw 111 pitches. Making his season debut for the Orioles, starter Steve Johnson (0-1) cruised through the first two innings, before he began to get behind in counts and the Twins took advantage. In four innings, he allowed seven hits and six earned runs while striking out three.

ANGELS 3, WHITE SOX 2 In Chicago, Mike Trout hit a two-run homer and Jerome Williams pitched into the seventh inning to help the Angels beat the White Sox. Williams (2-1) allowed two runs and scattered seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. He struck out three and walked one. After eight appearances out of the bullpen, Williams made his second start in place of the struggling Garrett Richards, who was filling in for injured Los Angeles ace Jered Weaver. Jose Quintana (2-1) allowed three runs in the loss. He gave up five hits and struck out five. The White Sox committed three errors in losing for the eighth time in 12 games.

INDIANS 7, TIGERS 6 In Detroit, Ubaldo Jimenez outpitched

Justin Verlander, and Cleveland’s Chris Perez got Miguel Cabrera to hit a gameending groundout with two on to preserve the Indians’ win over the Tigers.

Verlander (4-3) was erratic early, allowing three runs in the first two innings. He settled a bit after that, but the Indians took a 6-1 lead before Detroit closed the gap with a four-run seventh. It was 7-5 when Perez allowed an unearned run in the ninth, but with men on first and second, Cabrera hit a weak grounder to third to end it. It was Perez’s sixth save.

Jimenez (3-2) allowed a run and three hits in six innings, striking out eight with one walk. He’s won three straight starts for the first time since the Indians acquired him in a trade in 2011. Jhonny Peralta hit a solo homer for Detroit.

RANGERS 8, ASTROS 7 In Houston, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Lance Berkman all homered to back another solid outing by Yu Darvish, and the Rangers held on for a win over the Astros.

Darvish (6-1) yielded three hits and three runs, leaving after the seventh with an 8-3 lead. Matt Dominguez homered twice off Darvish.

Houston led 3-1 before it was done in by its bullpen during a six-run sixth inning by the Rangers. Cruz, who also homered on Friday night, got things going with his tworun homer off reliever Philip Humber (0-8) that tied it. Pinch-hitter David Murphy put the Rangers on top with an RBI double.

Humber, who was moved out of the rotation this week, was rocked for five hits and five runs while getting only two outs.

ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 3 In Seattle, Josh Donaldson, Daric Barton and Brandon Moss hit solo home runs and Jarrod Parker pitched into the seventh to lead Oakland over Seattle.

Jed Lowrie had three hits and an RBI as the Athletics held on to snap a season-long five-game losing streak. Parker (2-5) didn’t give up a hit until Kelly Shoppach’s twoout, two-run homer in the fifth inning.

Parker did give up another two hits and a run before leaving in the seventh.

Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his sixth save. The Mariners had runners on first and second with two outs, but Balfour got Kyle Seager to ground out to end the game.-AP INTERLEAGUE RAYS 8, PADRES 7 In St Petersburg, Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Padres closer Huston Street, rallying the Rays to a victory.

Street (0-2) retired the first two batters in the ninth before walking Ben Zobrist on a full count. Longoria followed with his ninth home run, handing Street his first blown save in nine tries this season.

The Rays won their fourth straight, coming back after Jesus Guzman’s pinch-hit grand slam off Jeremy Hellickson helped San Diego overcame a 6-2 deficit in the seventh. Cesar Ramos (1-0) got the win. The Rays moved up to .500 for the first time since April 7. James Loney hit a two-run homer as the Rays roughed up San Diego’s Burch Smith in the second inning of his major league debut. The Rays scored six runs on five hits and a couple of walks in the inning and drove Smith out of the game.—AP

WASHINGTON: Hector Rondon No. 56 celebrates with Welington Castillo No. 53 of the Chicago Cubs after the Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2 at Nationals Park. —AFP

Cubs pound Nationals WASHINGTON: Stephen Strasburg fell apart after one of third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s two errors and wound up dropping his fifth consecutive decision as the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 Saturday. Edwin Jackson (1-5) worked into the sixth inning and hit a tworun double for good measure. He earned his first win under a $52 million, four-year contract he signed after leaving Washington as a free agent, and ended the Nationals’ fivegame winning streak.

Strasburg (1-5) set down Chicago’s first 11 hitters, six via strikeout. But with two outs in the fifth, third baseman Zimmerman’s off-target throw put a runner on. Turned out to be Strasburg’s last inning, making for his shortest outing of 2013. The NL AllStar’s only win this season came April 1 on opening day against the lowly Miami Marlins.

CARDINALS 3, ROCKIES 0 In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and wound up with a two-hitter, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over Colorado. The Rockies had been hitless in 49 consecutive at-bats before Nolan Arenado lined a clean hit to center field with one out in the eighth. Eric Young led off Friday night’s game with a broken-bat single against rookie Shelby Miller, then failed to put a runner on until Todd Helton walked with one out in the fifth inning a day later. The 49 at-bats is the longest hitless stretch since Sept. 25-27, 1981, when the Los Angeles Dodgers went 50 at-bats without a knock, according to STATS. Wainwright (5-2) struck out seven for his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career. The Cardinals won for the ninth time in 10 games, defeating Jhoulys Chacin (3-2).

tory over Miami. Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-2) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander took a threehit shutout into the seventh before Miguel Olivo homered.

Ethier’s four-hit game was first since last Aug. 24-25, when he had back-to-back four-hit efforts against the Marlins at Dodger Stadium - each of which included a home run. The two-time All-Star is batting .403 against the Marlins in during his eight-year career. Kevin Slowey (1-3) gave up five runs, 11 hits and three walks in 4 2-3 innings.

REDS 13, BREWERS 7 In Cincinnati, Jay Bruce homered his first time up, then doubled twice during a seven-run burst as the Cincinnati Reds delighted a sellout crowd, battering the Milwaukee Brewers. Six different Reds players drove in two runs each, including starting pitcher Mat Latos (4-0). The defending NL Central champions moved five games over .500 for the first time this season.

Bruce led off a five-run second

DODGERS 7, MARLINS 1 In Los Angeles, Andre Ethier had a pair of doubles among his seasonhigh four hits, Dee Gordon hit a rare home run and Los Angeles broke an eight-game losing streak with a vic-

that was helped by a pair of fielding mistakes by left fielder Ryan Braun.

Bruce opened the seven-run third with a double off Hiram Burgos (1-1) and capped it with an RBI double that made it 12-4.

GIANTS 10, BRAVES 1 In San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner struck out a season-high 11 over seven innings, Gregor Blanco entered in the fifth as a pinch hitter and drove in four runs, and the San Francisco Giants routed the Atlanta Braves. Bumgarner (4-1) gave up just four hits and walked two, snapping a string of four starts without a victory.

Blanco had a three-run double and triple in setting a career high for RBIs. Paul Maholm (4-4) lasted just 4 1-3 innings and was charged with six runs on eight hits.

PHILLIES 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1 In Phoenix, Cliff Lee pitched seven scoreless innings and Jimmy Rollins drove in a pair of runs and Philadelphia ended Arizona’s fivegame winning streak.

Domonic Brown added an RBI single in the seventh for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Lee (4-2) gave up six hits, struck out three and walked two in winning consecutive road starts for the first time since August 2011.

Down 2-0, Arizona loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh before pinch-hitter Will Nieves grounded out. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the final 1 2-3 innings for his sixth save.

PIRATES 11, METS 2 In New York, Francisco Liriano struck out nine and pitched into the sixth inning to win his debut with Pittsburgh and help the Pirates beat the New York Mets. Jordy Mercer homered twice and Jose Tabata had four hits, including a two-run shot for the Pirates. Liriano (1-0), returning from a broken non-throwing arm, allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings. He gave up six hits and two walks.

Jonathon Niese (2-4) tied a career high by allowing eight runs in 4 1-3 innings.—AP

MLB results/standings Pittsburgh 11, NY Mets 2; Toronto 3, Boston 2; St. Louis 3, Colorado 0; Chicago Cubs 8, Washington 2; San Francisco 10, Atlanta 1; Cincinnati 13, Milwaukee 7; Tampa Bay 8, San Diego 7; Cleveland 7, Detroit 6; LA Angels 3, Chicago White Sox 2; NY Yankees 3, Kansas City 2; Minnesota 8, Baltimore 5; Texas 8, Houston 7; Philadelphia 3, Arizona 1; Oakland 4, Seattle 3; LA Dodgers 7, Miami 1.

National League American League Eastern Division Eastern Division W L PCT GB Atlanta 21 15 .583 NY Yankees 22 13 .629 Washington 20 16 .556 1 Baltimore 22 15 .595 1 Philadelphia 17 21 .447 5 Boston 22 15 .595 1 NY Mets 14 19 .424 5.5 Tampa Bay 18 18 .500 4.5 Miami 11 26 .297 10.5 Toronto 14 24 .368 9.5 Central Division Central Division St. Louis 23 12 .657 Detroit 20 14 .588 Cincinnati 21 16 .568 3 Cleveland 19 15 .559 1 Pittsburgh 20 16 .556 3.5 Kansas City 18 15 .545 1.5 Milwaukee 15 19 .441 7.5 Minnesota 17 16 .515 2.5 Chicago Cubs 14 22 .389 9.5 Chicago White Sox 14 20 .412 6 Western Division Western Division San Francisco 22 15 .595 Texas 23 13 .639 Arizona 21 16 .568 1 Oakland 19 19 .500 5 Colorado 19 17 .528 2.5 Seattle 17 20 .459 6.5 San Diego 16 20 .444 5.5 LA Angels 14 22 .389 9 LA Dodgers 14 21 .400 7 Houston 10 27 .270 13.5

Nissan reveals Le Mans 24 Hours NISMO driver line-up

BOSTON: David Ross No. 3 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after crossing home plate to score and tying the game at 2 runs each against the Toronto Blue Jays. —AFP

DUBAI: Nismo Ambassador and Super GT racer Michael Krumm will join GT Academy winners and Nismo Athletes Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough at the Le Mans 24 Hours next month.

The three drivers will unite to race a Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan in the LMP2 class. This class has an entry of 22 cars, 15 of which are powered by the Nismo-tuned Nissan VK45DE V8 engine.

LMP2 is expected to be the hardest fought class at Le Mans this year so it is vital to have a bulletproof driver line-up.

Lucas Ordonez has already proved himself at Le Mans, taking a podium fin-

ish at his first attempt in 2011 when he became the first virtual to real racer to compete in the 24 hour race.

Jann Mardenborough is hot on Lucas’ heels and after narrowly missing out on a British GT title in 2012 he moved into the FIA Formula 3 Championship this year in order to fast track his learning curve and prepare him for the challenges of racing an LMP2 car at Le Mans.

When a driver was needed to partner Lucas and Jann the first choice was Michael Krumm. A Nismo driver of long standing, Michael is the perfect mentor and team mate and he has had a lifelong ambition to win at Le Mans.

Michael Krumm all set to join GT Academy winners at Le Mans

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

S P ORTS

Nadal wins Madrid title

MADRID: US player Serena Williams (left) and Russian player Maria Sharapova pose with their trophy after the women’s singles final tennis match of the Madrid Masters. —AFP

Serena subdues Sharapova to defend Madrid Open title MADRID: World number one Serena Williams racked up the 50th title of her illustrious 18-year career when she thumped Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-4 to defend her Madrid Open crown yesterday.

Williams’ victory, her fourth tournament success of 2013 and only the seventh on clay since she turned pro in 1995, prevented Sharapova from leapfrogging her to the top of the rankings.

It also showed the 31-year-old American, a 15-times grand slam singles champion, is on red-hot form as she prepares her bid to add to her sole French Open title at Roland Garros starting later this month. With the sliding roof over the Manolo Santana show court open to a cloudless sky, Sharapova struggled to find her range as Williams battered winners to all corners to race into a one-set lead.

The Russian world number two mounted a fightback at the start of the second set but could not sustain it and Williams broke her for a fifth time in the match to secure a first title on red clay - the Madrid courts were blue last year - since the 2002 French Open.

“It’s not the ultimate title, but it’s a good start in the right direction,” Williams, who was upset by Virginie Razzano in the first round at Roland Garros last year, told a news conference.

“I don’t know how many more (titles) I can win,” she added. “Like I say every day, who knows if I’ll ever win another title? I

just want to live the moment and the dream every chance I get.”

Sharapova, 26, the French Open champion, has a woeful record against Williams.

She has only beaten her twice in 15 attempts, and never on clay, with both victories coming almost a decade ago.

She did not seem too dejected by her latest reverse to the American and said she was pleased with the way her preparations for Roland Garros were going. “At the end of the day I’m setting myself up opportunities to go out on the court and face her and play against her,” Sharapova told a news conference.

“Obviously I wouldn’t be happy if I wouldn’t set up those opportunities because I do want to go on the court and I do want to face someone that’s number one in the world and is playing tennis the way she does,” she added.

“So I am happy about the fact of getting late into tournaments, winning tournaments, getting to the finals. “If that means having to face Serena in the final that’s a pretty great challenge out there. I take it, because I’m a very big competitor.”

Williams, the oldest player to hold the number one ranking, is 10th on the all-time list for most career titles. Martina Navratilova leads on 167, followed by Chris Evert with 154 and Steffi Graf with 107. Sharapova has 29, third among active players behind Serena and her sister Venus Williams who has 44.—Reuters

MADRID: Rafael Nadal sealed his fifth title in seven tournaments since returning from a seven-month injury layoff as he claimed a third Madrid Masters title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Stanislas Wawrinka yesterday. Nadal now has 55 career titles with 40 coming on clay, an astonishing record that prompted Wawrinka to describe the Spaniard as a “killer” on clay courts.

Nadal, who holds a 9-0 career record over Switzerland’s Wawrinka, rolled through the first set thanks to two early breaks in little over half an hour. And after a little more resistance from Wawrinka in the second, Nadal broke again to go ahead 4-3 before serving out to claim his 23rd Masters Series title. “The truth is that I am very happy and perhaps this victory is even more special because of where we have come from,” said Nadal who looks set to be the overwhelming favourite for a record eighth French Open. “Last season was a difficult season and to play for me was a dream. “ This is the most aggressive I have been in a match. “I think these have been intense matches in which I have been able to play well and, thanks to this excellent crowd, it has been easier.” Wawrinka,

meanwhile, lamented not being able to be at his best physically after three gruelling three set matches against Grigor Dimitrov, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in the last three days.

“I think he started really well. For sure I was not 100% physically and mentally and even if I am feeling completely fresh it is so difficult, so if you are not then he completely kills you,” admitted the Swiss. “He was always dictating the points and against him if you are not 100% then it is impossible. “I was not injured, just tired from the last two weeks. In the second set I tried to make it more difficult and make him come the net a bit earlier in the point, but I think he was just too difficult and good for me today.” The world number five started with intent as he broke Wawrinka in his opening service game and was then gifted a second break when the world number 15 double faulted at break point down in the third game.

And Nadal went onto serve out the first set with little difficulty 6-2.

Wawrinka, who won the title in Portugal last weekend, did manage to keep the second set on serve early and even saved three break points to move 3-2 in front.

MADRID: Spanish player Rafael Nadal (left) and Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka pose after their men’s singles final tennis match of the Madrid Masters. —AFP However, he still couldn’t pressure the Nadal serve as the 11-time Grand Slam champion wasn’t even forced to face a break point in the whole match, and in Wawrinka’s next service game another double fault gave

Nadal a 4-3 lead.

And much to the home crowd’s delight, Nadal served it out to extend his remarkable record to 32-2 since returning from his tendinitis injury in February.—AFP

Shakib secures Bangladesh win SCOREBOARD Scoreboard for the second Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Bulawayo yesterday: Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat Tamim Iqbal c S. Masakadza b Utseya 43 Shamsur Rahman c Waller b Utseya 2 Shakib c Sikander 40 Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b H. Masakadza 17 Nasir Hossain run out 27 Mahmudullah c Sikander b Panyangara 1 Mominul Haque b Vitori 9 Sohag Gazi not out 8 Abdur Razzak not out 6 Extras (lb-5, w-7, nb-3) 15 Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 168 Did not bat: Shafiul Islam, Robiul Islam Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-86 3-101 4-111 5-116 6152 7-152 Bowling: P. Utseya 4-0-15-2 (w-1), B. Vitori 4-026-1 (w-2), S. Masakadza 2- 0-31-0 (nb-1), T. Panyangara 4-0-42-1 (nb-1,w-1), N. Mushangwe 3-0-29-1 (nb-1, w-1), S. Williams 2-0-16-0, H. Masakadza 1-0-4-1 (w-1)

Zimbabwe H. Masakadza b Abdur Razzak 2 V. Sibanda c Mahmudullah b Shafiul Islam 32 B. Taylor c Nasir b Shakib 15 S. Williams run out 16 Sikandar Raza b Shakib Al Hasan 32 M. Waller c Mominul Haque b Abdur Razzak 10 S. Masakadza c Nasir Hossain b Shakib 9 P. Utseya b Shafiul Islam 6 N. Mushangwe b Shakib Al Hasan 0 T. Panyangara not out 1 B. Vitori not out 1 Extras (lb-6, w-4) 10 Total (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 34 Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-45 3-53 4-78 5-99 6-120 7-131 8-132 9-132 Bowling: Sohag Gazi 4-1-28-0 (w-1), Abdur Razzak 4-1-18-2 w-1), Shakib Al Hassan 4-0-224, Shafiul Islam 4-0-20-2, Mahmudullah 1-0-90 (w-2), Robul Islam 1-0-13-0, Mominul Haque 2-0-18-0.

Bangladesh won by 34 runs Series tied at 1-1 after Zimbabwe won first T20 international by six runs on Saturday.

BULAWAYO: Shakib Al Hasan starred with bat and ball for the second time in as many days, and this time his efforts secured victory for Bangladesh as they won the second Twenty20 international against Zimbabwe to earn a share of the series.

Shakib’s all-round performance had not been enough on Saturday, when Bangladesh went down by six runs, but on Sunday he shone even brighter as the visitors ended their tour with a 34-run win. Having struck 40 from 28 deliveries as Bangladesh posted 168 for seven in their 20 overs, Shakib claimed the crucial wicket of Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor and recorded figures of 4 for 22 from four overs. Zimbabwe gave only the briefest hint that they would chase down a tricky target when Taylor added 40 in under four overs with opener Vusi Sibanda, who made 32. However after Taylor skied a Shakib delivery and departed for just 15, the rest of his team trudged off at regular intervals on their way to a final total of 134 for nine. “I don’t think we relaxed, I just don’t think we executed as well as we did yesterday,” Taylor said. “The quality players that they do have came out and scored very freely, which is not surprising when the bowlers don’t land the ball in the right areas.” Shakib’s 82-run partnership with Tamim Iqbal was at the heart of Bangladesh’s innings as the tourists scored 99 from their first 10 overs, before tapering off in the second 10. Tamim found a semblance of form in hitting 43 from just 30 deliveries, providing the momentum that Bangladesh needed to end a trying tour on a high note. “After losing three straight games it’s been hard work for us to come back so all credit goes to the boys,” captain Mushfiqur Rahim said. “Overall I thought it wasn’t an ideal tour for us, but there are plenty of areas where we can improve and plenty that we can learn from this tour.”—AFP

Curtain falls on shooting season KUWAIT: A highly loaded shooting sport season came to a close Saturday afternoon with the closing ceremony of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Shooting Tournament.

Information Minister and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah AlSalem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah represented HH the Amir in the ceremony and said he was honored to be there. He said that the tournament had a special care from the Amir as he always supports heritage sports and his keenness on supporting youth and sportsmen.

Sheikh Salman lauded the efforts of the organizing committee in preparing and carrying out the tournament activities headed by Engineer Duaij Al-Otaibi. He said this tournament was also distinguished by the participation of shooters from the handicapped club as they competed in the 10m pistol and rifle, as well as Qatar’s shooting national team.

President of the Kuwait Federation for Women Sports Sheikha Naeema Al-Ahmad, President of the Arab Shooting Federation, Vice President of Kuwait Shooting Federation Eng. Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi, Secretary General of the Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federations Obaid Al-Osaimi and KSSF board members were also present.

Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee Eng. Duaij Al-Otaibi welcomed the guests and participants to the tournament which was a fitting conclusion to a very busy season full of achievements both technical and administrative.

Al-Otaibi, on behalf of the shooting community thanked HH the Amir for his continued support and patronage of this annual tournament, in which more than 200 shooters participated, along with shooters from Qatar and the Handicapped club.

He said shooters competed in various Olympic disciplines marking the end of a season full of international, Olympic, Arab and regional achievements that placed Kuwait’s name in international prominence.

Al-Otaibi said Kuwait shooters were able to win 71 international medals from their international, Olympic, Asian, and Arab participations and the most important of which is the second Olympic medal by shooter Fuhaid Al-Daihani in London 2012.

He said the shooting sport has a full schedule of international events in preparations for Reo de Janeiro, and hoped that all efforts be successful. Elementary school students from Mubarak Al-Kabeer area performed folkloric and patriotic dances following Eng. Duaij Al-Otaibi speech, then winners trophies and prizes were distributed to the shooters.

Shahad Al-Hawal receives her winner’s cup from Sheikh Salman (left) and Sheikha Naeema.

Sheikh Salman receiving a memento from Eng. Duaij Al-Otaibi.

Results of the tournament are as follows: * In the 10M Air Rifle, handicapped (Men) category: Nizar Ramadhan Mohammad Mohammad Hawash Atab and Atif Al-Dousari * In the 10M Air Pistol (Handicapped - Men) Khalid Khulaif Tawfeeq Askanani Ali Khaleefa * Skeet - Men Saud Habeeb Zaid Al-Mutairi Mansour Al-Rashidi * Trap - Men Abdelrahman Al-Faihan Saud Al-Miqlid Talal Al-Rashidi * Double Trap - Men Fuhaid Al-Daihani Mishal Al-Dhafiri Saad Al-Mutairi * Skeet - Women Sheikha Al-Rashidi Afrah Al-Rahman Iman Al-Shamma

M e a nw h i l e, yo u n g s h o o te r Tu r k y Abdallah Barak Al-Shimmari, who won the gold medal in the 50M — Prone — Men event, said he has been training for 5 years as he started at the shooting school, and continued on regular basis until he reached this point. He said that his achievement of (613 out of 630) is

* Trap - Women Shahad Al-Hawal Sarah Al-Hawal Rasha Al-Fares * Air Pistol 10M - Men Hamad Abdallah Suhail Jassim Bader Al-Muhaini * Air Rifle 10M - Men Abdallah Al-Harby Mubarak Al-Subaie Mohammad Abdelrahman * Air Rifle 10M - Women Mariam Erzouqi Zahra Al-Saffar Shaimaa Buhamad * Air Pistol 10M - Women Huthama Al-Baghli Israa Bahman Iman Bouland * Rifle 50M, 3 positions - Men Abdallah Al-Harby Mishaal Al-Tahous Khalid Al-Subaie * Rifle 50M - Prone - Men

considered a record in his age group. He said the shooter must have self confidence and continue training, while he must put a goal in front of him and work to reach it. He said a good shooter must be a good listener to instructions that will polish his sk ills and take him to when he wants to be.

Turky Abdallah Al-Shimmari Hamad Al-Hajiri Mufarreh Al-Subaie * Central Pistol 25M - Men Bader Al-Muhaini Mohammad Adel Talal Al-Shimmari * 50M Free Pistol - Men Zaid Al-Thafiri Khalid Al-Subaie Bader Al-Muhaini * 25M Pistol - Women Huthama Al-Baghli Iman Bouland Israa Bahman * Archery Men Ahmad Al-Tameemi Abdelaziz Bushehri Mohammad Al-Musallam * Compund bow - Men Musallam Ibrahim Salem Al-Saeed * Archery - Women Hanna Al-Mayyas Rajas Al-Hadad Mariam Jaafar Yaccoub

He said competition in this tournament was very strong, especially that some of the shooters are highly experienced, and “I am very happy to win first place”.

He gave to special thanks to his father for encouraging and supporting him all the time enabling him to be at his very best.

Eng. Duaij Al-Otaibi

Turky Abdallah Al-ShimmarI is handed the Cup by Adnan Al-Ibrahim.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

S P ORTS

Alonso bags Spanish GP

PONTE VEDRA BEACH: Tiger Woods of the US plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of The Players Championship.—AFP

Woods and Garcia tied for lead PONTE VEDRA BEACH: Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia moved into a tie for the lead with Swedish PGA Tour rookie David Lingmerth early yesterday after they returned to the Players Championship to finish their suspended third rounds.

Former champions Woods and Garcia improved by a stroke in completing their last four holes, while 25-year-old Lingmerth lost one when he bogeyed the 18th to stand on 11-under-par 205.

Lingmerth posted a three-under-par 69 for the round, while Woods shot 71 and Garcia 72. One stroke back were Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who completed a 71, and Americans Ryan Palmer (70) and Casey Wittenberg (70).

Wittenberg, who competed last year on the Web.com Tour with Lingmerth, completed a birdie-birdie-birdie finish to burst up the leaderboard.

Two strokes off the pace was 49-yearold Jeff Maggert, who had completed his round before play was halted due to darkness following a day marred by bad weather and threat of lightning. Tied for eighth on eight under par were Englishman David Lynn (68) and Hunter Mahan (71).

Eight players came back to TPC Sawgrass to finish up, and Garcia took an

immediate step back with a bogey at the 15th, but rebounded with birdies at the par-five 16th and par-three 17th, where his tee shot glanced off the pin.

After Lingmerth bogeyed the last following a poor tee shot, Woods grabbed a share of the lead when he birdied 16 but missed birdie tries on the next two holes.

The finish put Lingmerth into a lastgroup pairing with Garcia, while Woods will play Sunday’s final round with Wittenberg.

Long-time rivals Woods and Garcia, who have been at odds with each other over the years, had a contentious moment on Saturday. The Spaniard felt Woods did not show him respect when the American prepared to play his shot from within the trees 40 yards away, eliciting a crowd roar when he pulled out his five-wood for a daring escape, as Garcia was making his swing from the fairway on the second hole.

“We did not talk about the situation,” Garcia said when asked whether he had cleared the air with Woods since the incident, adding he was pleased at not being paired again with the world number one.

“I think it’s good for both of us. We don’t enjoy each other’s company,” said Garcia.

“You don’t need to be a rocket engineer to figure that out.”—Reuters

Kenseth passes Busch for 1st Darlington win DARLINGTON: Matt Kenseth is quickly showing how well he fits in at Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth passed JGR teammate Kyle Busch 13 laps from the end to win the Southern 500 on Saturday night, his third victory in his debut season after a successful stint with Roush Fenway Racing.

JGR president J.D. Gibbs knew he was getting a champion in Kenseth. Still, even he’s been surprised with how fast the new driver has come up to speed alongside teammates Denny Hamlin and Busch.

“He’s a good leader,” J.D. Gibbs said.

“Denny and Kyle really like having him there and hearing what he has to say. And on the track, he’s got a gift.”

He proved that again at Darlington, where Kenseth patiently sat behind Busch much of the race before the right adjustments to the car clicked. It didn’t hurt that Busch, who led 265 of 367 laps, cut a right rear tire down the stretch that cost him.

Once Kenseth cleared his teammate, he had clear sailing toward his 27th career Sprint Cup victory. “I’ve got the good job and I’ve got the easy job,” Kenseth said.

“When they give me cars this fast, it’s a lot of fun.” Hamlin completed his first full race since suffering a compression fracture in a vertebra in his lower back on March 24 and finished right behind Kenseth. Jeff Gordon finished third in his 700th straight career start. Points leader Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth.

Kenseth’s victory came without crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who was suspended for the No. 20 Toyota having an illegal part in a win at Kansas.

Carl Edwards finished seventh, followed

by Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10. “This is a dream come true,” Kenseth shouted on his radio. “Thank you guys very much.” Hamlin might’ve thought the same thing after his second-place finish. The driver missed four races because of the injury and ran just 23 laps at Talladega last weekend handing the car off to replacement driver Brian Vickers.

Hamlin’s finish was just what the team needed as it tries to move up from 31st place when the week began into 20th, where it’d be eligible for a wild card entry into NASCAR’s championship chase.

As Hamlin neared the end of the grueling 500 miles, crew chief Darian Grubb radioed his appreciation of the effort Hamlin put forth in his first full race back.

“I am extremely proud of you there, buddy. Just an awesome job hanging with it all day,” crew chief Darian Grubb radioed as they closed in on the finish.

“Thank you so much. I appreciate it,” Hamlin replied. Hamlin wasn’t sore, just worn out after leaving the car. “This is a tough, grueling race,” he said. “Nothing to hang our heads about coming up second for second year in a row.”

Kenseth had won three times here in the Nationwide Series, but had never come closer than third in Sprint Cup. “I don’t know that I’ve had a win that feels bigger than this,” said Kenseth, who counts the 2003 series championship and two Daytona 500s among his achievements.

No one matched Busch for most of the race. He had powered to victory in the

Nationwide event here Friday night- leading 107 of 147 laps - and was running strong again after taking the lead from older brother and pole-sitter Kurt Busch 74 laps in.

Kyle Busch stayed on top through several stretches of green-flag racing and through the first four restarts. But his machine couldn’t keep up after Kenseth went by.

Crew chief Dave Rogers said Busch had a cut right rear tire and only 12 pounds of pressure left when he went into the garage. It’s the 11th time Busch has led at least 200 laps in a Sprint Cup race, yet he’s only won four of those.

Busch left the track without comment.

Hamlin, though, was pretty certain about his teammate’s mindset. “Yeah, he definitely won’t be happy, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said. “But it’s tough when you have a car that was as dominant as his, then the last run, whatever happens happens.”

Kenseth’s win came with Wally Brown calling the shots as crew chief. Ratcliff is expected back for the next race after JGR had penalties imposed by NASCAR reduced on appeal.

The best chance to defeat Busch appeared to come from Kasey Kahne, who pressured his JGR rival on the restart after the fourth caution period. Kahne looked like he had cleared Busch but the car got loose and the back end slammed the wall.

Kahne was not happy with Busch’s maneuver.

“Three times this year me and Kyle had contact and I had a chance, capable-winning cars, it’s disappointing on the points side and not winning some of these races,” Kahne said. “Whether he hit me or just blew the air off, whatever it was, he blew his entry. I’m not sure what he was thinking on that.” Kurt Busch had hoped to go from an upside-down finish when his car went airborne late and crash-landed on Ryan Newman at Talladega last week to his first Sprint Cup victory in two years at Darlington. He set a qualifying record to win the pole Friday and led 69 of the first 73 laps before getting passed by brother Kyle.

Kurt Busch struggled to stay close during the unexpected long stretches of green-flag racing. He was sent a lap down

by Kyle on lap 279 and was part of a threecar dustup about 20 laps later that also involved defending series champion Brad Keselowski and Casey Mears.

There would be no joyous moment for Kurt Busch here on the 10-year anniversary of his side-by-side final lap dual with Ricky Craven as he finished 14th. Busch ended up in second, .002 seconds behind in Sprint Cup’s closest finish since it went to electronic timing in 1993.

The late accident at Talladega opened the door for the duo from Front Row Racing, David Ragan and David Gilliland to finish 1-2 in last week’s race. The pair couldn’t capitalize on that success at Darlington. Gilliland was 29th and Ragan 39th.

Danica Patrick improved on her placing in her second Sprint Cup race at Darlington, finishing 28th three spots better than in 2012.—AP

BARCELONA: Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso rewrote the Formula One form book and turned up the heat in the championship battle by winning his home Spanish Grand Prix for the second time yesterday. The double world champion’s second victory of the season, and 32nd of his career, made him the first driver in 23 years of racing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya to win from outside the top three grid positions.

Alonso, who won in Barcelona with Renault in 2006 and also in Valencia last year at the European Grand Prix, took the chequered flag 9.3 seconds ahead of 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen in a Lotus. The Spaniard, who started in fifth place with the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locking out the front row, seized third place through the third corner and had the crowd roaring him on as he led after 13 of the 66 laps. “It was fantastically emotional and the fans really helped because you feel the support from everyone,” said Alonso after doing his slowing down lap with a Spanish flag handed to him by a marshal.

“We have only had five races and there have been some ups and downs but we know we have the car to fight with the top cars and if we do well we can compete for the championship.”

Raikkonen, in the points for a 22nd successive race and now just two short of Michael Schumacher’s all-time record, denied Ferrari a one-two finish with Brazilian Felipe Massa taking a distant third.

Red Bull’s triple world champion

Sebastian Vettel was fourth, 38.2 seconds behind Alonso, and saw his overall lead over Raikkonen cut to four points. After five of the 19 races, the German has 89 points to Raikkonen’s 85 and Alonso’s 72.

Hamilton slipped to fourth overall with 50 points after spending the afternoon falling through the field as Mercedes — as expected — again failed to live up to their electrifying qualifying pace.

The 2008 world champion ended up out of the points in 12th and was even heard exclaiming that he had been overtaken by a Williams driven by last year’s winner Pastor Maldonado - as a measure of how much he was struggling.

“It was way too tough,” he told the BBC. “We have got a lot of work to do. We both went backwards, but I went back a long, long way and I don’t know why. We will keep going back to the drawing board and see what we can do.”

Former champions Williams have failed to score a point in five races with a car lacking aerodynamic performance and Venezuelan Maldonado, who finished 14th after a drive-through penalty, had started way back in 17th place.

In a race dictated by the quickwearing tyres, Alonso pitted four times - the same as Vettel and Massa - while Raikkonen made only three trips to the pitlane.

Rosberg, who had also been on pole at the previous race in Bahrain where he finished ninth, led for the first 10 laps before facing up to the inevitable.

The German, sixth at the finish behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber, was

SPAIN: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso of Spain holds the trophy after winning the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo. —AP not to lead again as Mexican rookie Esteban Gutierrez took over at the front for two laps in a Sauber amid the pitstops before Alonso asserted himself.

Britain’s Paul Di Resta was sev-

enth for Force India with McLaren’s Jenson Button eighth after starting 14th. Mexican team mate Sergio Perez was ninth and Australian Daniel Ricciardo 10th for Toro Rosso.—Reuters

Pacers and Grizzlies win INDIANAPOLIS: The Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies both took 2-1 leads in their NBA conference semifinal series with victories on Saturday, as two of the league’s more modest teams got the better of the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder respective-

rebounding edge and a 20-10 edge in second-chance points.

“That’s how we play Pacers basketball,” George said. “ We just locked in, and it was just helping one another on the defensive end.”

Indiana won despite a 28 for 80 shooting performance that includ-

MEMPHIS: Marc Gasol No. 33 of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots over Kevin Durant No. 35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs. —AFP ly. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul George nearly came up with another postseason triple double, leading the Pacers to an 8271 win.

Indiana limited the Knicks to 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, allowed just three 3-pointers and forced 15 turnovers. And, of course, the league’s No. 1 rebounding team dominated the glass again, finishing with a 53-40

ed a season-high 33 3-point attempts. “They outrebounded us, they won the hustle today, the little things,” Carmelo Anthony said. “It all came down to us not scoring the basketball. ... We can’t beat anyone scoring 71 points.”

If Indiana wins a fifth straight home playoff game on Tuesday, it will head back to Madison Square Garden with a commanding lead over a longtime rival.

HIbbert kept loose balls alive in

his best playoff performance of this postseason. Coach Frank Vogel called it his best playoff game ever.

George finished with 14 points, but he also had eight rebounds and eight assists and caused plenty of consternation for Anthony and others on defense.

David West got off to a slow start but finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds and George Hill knocked down five 3s and he finished with 17 points. “ We didn’t change much in terms of our physicality,” West said.

“We were a little bit more precise defensively in terms of our communication and we shored some things up.” The Knicks had only one player in double figures. Carmelo Anthony scored 21, but the NBA scoring champion went j6 of 16 from the field, managed only two points and no baskets in the fourth quarter and finished well below his playoff scoring average of 29.3.

JR Smith gave it a go although his shooting woes continued. He went 4 of 12, scored nine points and walked directly to locker room when he was replaced midway through the fourth quarter. He is 11 of 42 from the field in the series.

Amare Stoudemire looked rusty in his return, making just 3 of 8 eight shots-one a dunk, another on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter-and finished with seven points and two rebounds.

The Knicks barely escaped the ignominy of setting a franchise playoff record for fewest points in a game. The all-time low is 67. New York didn’t hit 68 until there was 1:39 left.

“Offensively, we just didn’t have anything,” coach Mike Woodson said. “I thought defensively, we hung in there and did what we had had to do, but we just didn’t have any offensive pop and we have to figure that out.”

Memphis remained unbeaten at home in the postseason after a gritty but unspectacular 87-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Marc Gasol scored 20 points and hit two late free throws left to put Memphis ahead to stay. After struggling at the free throw line in Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies hit all six at the line in the final 1:03 to clinch it. “We just stayed after it like we’ve done all year long,”

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

“It’s not always pretty. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty for us because we got the win.” Game 4 is today in Memphis where the Grizzlies are 18-1 since Feb. 8.

“I’d rather take my chances with where we’re sitting now and try to win all of our home games,” Hollins said. “We got a long way to go, and we got to keep battling.”

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored 25 points, but only two in the fourth quarter. A 91 percent free throw shooter in the regular season, Durant missed two with 39.3 seconds left. Durant also had 11 rebounds and five assists.

“It’s frustrating, but we can’t hang our heads,” Durant said. “We have to keep playing and keep improving. We just have to learn from it. We have to embrace the tough times and get better from it.

I believe in my teammates.”

The Thunder had their worst scoring and shooting performance this postseason. Durant went 3 of 11 from the floor in the second half, and his teammates went a combined 23 of 69 for the game.

Reggie Jackson had 16 points and Kevin Martin and Serge Ibaka each added 13 for the Thunder, with Jackson and Ibaka also grabbing 10 rebounds apiece.

Tony Allen had his best game in this series, scoring 14 points for Memphis. Jerryd Bayless added 11.

Zach Randolph scored only eight points but had 10 rebounds.

Memphis won despite not winning in the categories the Grizzlies usually dominate. The Thunder outrebounded them 51-44, with a 14-5 edge on the offensive glass.

The Thunder also outscored the Grizzlies 44-30 in the paint, with a 23-7 edge on fast-break points.

The Thunder didn’t score after Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer with 1:58 left, a shot tying for the eighth and final time at 81. The Grizzlies’ edge came from getting to the line where they hit more free throws (23 of 28) than Oklahoma City even took (12 of 19). “They beat us in a lot of different areas tonight,” said Memphis guard Mike Conley, who hit all four free throws in the final minute.

“For us to come away with the win, we are very happy. We will take it, but it just goes to show we have a lot of work to do. We have to do better the next game.”—AP

Clement ends Classic drought PARIS: Style Vendome gave emotional trainer Nicolas Clement his first classic victory at Longchamp yesterday winning the French 2000 Guineas for his fifth successive victory.

Clement celebrated his first classic at the same venue where at 27 he became the youngest trainer to train the winner of Europe’s most prestigious race the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1990 with Saumarez. Jockey Thierry Thulliez brought the 7/1 shot with a perfectly-timed run down the middle to win by a neck over the rank outsider Dastarhon, trained by Chantilly-based Swede Pia Brandt, with the fast-finishing Andre Fabre-trained Intello third and Force Ten Gale, trained by Aidan O’Brien, fourth. Clement, who trained French Fifteen to take second in last year’s English 2000 Guineas, was visibly moved after the race.

“Yes, my first Classic as the English refuse to say the Arc de Triomphe is a classic,” the 49-year-old said with a tear trickling down his right eye.

“I’ve been trying to win one for 25 years and it’s an emotional moment because you invest so much in the horses physically and mentally. “It is especially great that I train my first one for the owner Andre de Ganay, who has been with me since the start.

“You know he came with the ideal run under Thierry and found that extra pace to prevail. For once I didn’t screw up. “What are the horse’s plans...well first I am going to think about that over a glass of champagne! But realistically it will either be the St James’s Palace Stakes or the French Derby (over a mile and a quarter).”

De Ganay was also tearful. “Well it’s hard to imagine that I would be standing here with a grey horse in yellow colours having won the French 2000 Guineas after so many years of trying,” he said. “It is a very emotional moment and a special one to have it trained by Nicolas.”

Thulliez was winning his first French 2000 Guineas and he xpressed great admiration for the

winner. “He was always travelling really well and although the leader got a slight jump on him in the straight he reacted really well and I won with something to spare even if the final winning margin was a neck,” he said. Refreshingly there were also new faces in the winners enclosure after the fillies race, the French 1000 Guineas, as Flotilla overcame a bad winter which had worried her connections by winning in a time of 1min 34.77sec, breaking the record held by the legendary Zarkava in 2008.

Christophe Lemaire had to conjure up a great burst from Flotilla as the Fabre-trained Esoterique, who had been supplemented for 27,000 euros, held a significant advantage with a furlong to go.

However, once Lemaire, who was winning his first French 1000 Guineas like trainer Mikel Delzangles, got upsides Esoterique there was no doubt about who would win and last season’s Breeders Cup juvenile filly turf champion took the honors by a neck.—AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

S P ORTS

Tito picks up at Barca where Pep left off MADRID: Far from losing their cutting edge after Pep Guardiola’s exit, Barcelona eased to one of their most straightforward La Liga titles as new coach Tito Vilanova fought off cancer to help steer them to a 22nd domestic crown.

Their fourth title in five years - sealed after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Saturday - comes close to matching their record run of four straight triumphs from 1991-94 when Dutchman Johan Cruyff moulded Guardiola and the rest of the squad into the famous “Dream Team”.

With Guardiola relaxing in New York after four spectacularly successful seasons, Barca amassed more points in the first half of the campaign than any team before them - 55 from a possible 57 - to storm 11 clear of Atletico Madrid and 18 ahead of stuttering champions Real.

Appointing Guardiola’s assistant and close friend Vilanova to replace him resulted in a smooth transition helped by World Player of the Year Lionel Messi continuing to make the extraordinary appear routine.

The Argentina forward’s goal against Celta Vigo at the end of March meant he became the first player to score in consecutive games against every one of his club’s 19 rivals in the league.

A hamstring injury sidelined him for three La Liga matches last month but he has since taken his tally to 46 from 31 appearances - 12 ahead of Real forward and great rival Cristiano Ronaldo - and Messi has his own record of 50 goals from last term well within his grasp.

Real’s title defence got off to a terrible start when they lost two and drew one of their opening four matches, although they did manage a 2-2 draw in October’s ‘Clasico’ against Barca at the Nou Camp. A steady stream of media reports detailing alleged rifts between combative coach Jose Mourinho and various members of the squad did little to ease the tension, and Ronaldo’s revelation that he was unhappy prompted speculation Real’s top scorer might seek an exit.

Mourinho, who seems likely to move on at the end of the season, acknowledged his expensively assembled squad appeared to lack motivation against the lesser teams and they were also afflicted by the ‘curse of Andalusia’.

Four of their five defeats have come in the southern Spanish region - against Sevilla, Granada, Malaga and Real Betis and they squandered a 1-0 halftime lead in a shock 2-1 reverse at city neighbors Getafe

in August.

Real have also been forced to rely more heavily than last term on Ronaldo. The Portuguese’s strike partners Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain have had a relatively barren run with only 23 goals between them - Benzema has 10 and Higuain 14 - after 36 matches compared with 42 at the same stage last season.

Barca stumbled as the second half of the campaign got underway and they were stunned by the news that Vilanova needed more treatment for cancer and would be leaving for New York.

They suffered a 3-2 defeat at Sociedad in January and have since lost 2-1 at Real and drawn at Valencia, Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao.

Real had, however, long since given up on the title and turned their attention to the Champions League, the great obsession of the club and Mourinho.

They managed to dump Barca out of the King’s Cup with a fine performance at the Nou Camp in late February only days before beating them 2-1 at the Bernabeu in the league.

Vilanova returned to Spain to oversee the final few weeks of the campaign and Barca’s latest title - they are an unassailable seven points ahead of second-placed Real will prompt mixed emotions among players, coaching staff and fans.

There will be joy at immediately wresting the league crown back from bitter rivals Real mixed with relief that Vilanova appears to be on the road to recovery and Eric Abidal’s liver transplant seems to have been a complete success.

However, there will also be huge frustration that they missed out on a third Champions League triumph in five years thanks to this month’s humiliating exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, their worst aggregate defeat in Europe.

Failure in the all-important continental competition has prompted talk of a possible squad overhaul in the close season, but with a number of promising youngsters coming through from the B team wholesale changes are unlikely.

Due to his health issues, a question mark remains over Vilanova’s future, and he was the target of some criticism towards the end of the season for a perceived failure to react when Barca were under pressure. Nonetheless, with the likes of Messi in his side, few would bet against Barca returning to the European summit before too long.—Reuters

NAPLES: Napoli’s Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani (right) heads the ball and scores during the Italian Serie A football match between against Siena at the San Paolo stadium. —AFP

Cavani on target for Napoli MILAN: Edinson Cavani scored what may have been his final goal in front of Napoli’s fans in a 2-1 win over relegated Siena as Lazio and Udinese both won to boost their Europa League hopes yesterday.

Uruguayan international Cavani has been tipped to leave Napoli after a season in which his 28 league goals so far have secured a runner-up finish behind Juventus and guaranteed Walter Mazzarri’s side Champions League football next season.

However Napoli’s fans had to wait until the 73rd minute for the equaliser after Fabrizio Grillo had given Siena a 36th minute opener, Cavani nodding home from close range after Marek Hamsik’s free kick had caused chaos in the Siena box.

Napoli looked to be heading for a draw but when Goran Pandev dummied Lorenzo Insigne’s pass from the right Hamsik collected and coolly beat Siena ‘keeper Gianluca Pegolo to secure the Neapolitans’ 23rd win of the season.

While Napoli have secured second place and the second automatic Champions League spot the fight for the league’s final qualifying place continues between AC Milan and Fiorentina.

Earlier Sunday Fiorentina’s 20th win of the campaign, they beat Palermo 1-0, closed the gap to the seven-times European champions to one point ahead of the Rossoneri’s later home match against Roma and guaranteed at least a place in next season’s Europa League. Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella has been linked with a move to a bigger club, but he played down talk of a move to richer pastures.

“We are discussing the length of the contract. The most important thing is we remain together but also that we know exactly what our plans are,” said the 38-year-old.

Lazio and Udinese made sure the fight for the two Europa League places will go right down to next week’s final round of games with 2-0 and 2-1 wins over Sampdoria and Atalanta respectively.

Sergio Floccari gave Lazio a 10th minute lead and Antonio Candreva made it two from

the spot in the fourth minute of injury time, securing an 18th win of the season which kept the Biancocelesti in sixth, two points behind Udinese. Udinese have enjoyed a roaring end to the campaign and veteran striker Antonio Di Natale continued his purple patch by scoring both the northerners’ goal to take his tally to 22 for the season.

Earlier yesterday Palermo and Siena followed in the footsteps of already-relegated Pescara. It means Palermo return to Serie B for the first time since their triumphant 20032004 season in Italy’s second tier.

Coach Giuseppe Sannino, sacked from his post by Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini in September only to be re-hired in March after Gian Piero Gasperini suffered the same fate, said he was unsure of his future.

“It’s not the right time to decide my future at the club, you can’t make decisions with your heart. We have to sit down to discuss many issues,” said Sannino.

“Everyone needs to accept their part of responsibility for this. I am not a miracle worker.” He added: “We need people who are not afraid to suffer and who love this shirt.”

Genoa began the day with a four-point cushion over Palermo but are now five points ahead having played out a scoreless draw at home to Inter Milan.

Inter were the last Italian club to win the Champions League, in 2010, but having started this league campaign positively the Nerazzurri are set for a finish just above midtable and will not play in Europe next season.

Andrea Stramaccioni’s side have been decimated by injuries in recent months and this latest setback will heap further pressure on the 37-year-old coach.

Stramaccioni, however, claims to have the backing of Inter president Massimo Moratti as he looks ahead to an improved campaign in 2014.

“We have a strong relationship which is honest and sincere,” said Stramaccioni. “I’m optimistic and convinced that we can lay the foundations for a better campaign next season.”—AFP

Photo of the day

Red Bull BC One All Star boy Pelezinho performs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. www.redbullcontentpool.com

Messi injured again but Barca win to spark party MADRID: Not even an injury to Lionel Messi in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid yesterday could dampen Barcelona’s celebrations at winning its 22nd Spanish League title.

Messi started his first match in six rounds because of a recurring right hamstring injury, but he left the field in the 68th minute with Barcelona trailing 1-0 to Radamel Falcao’s 52-minute goal and having made all three substitutions.

However, Alexis Sanchez leveled in the 72nd and Atletico midfielder Gabi Fernandez scored an own goal in the 80th to restar t Barcelona’s party for winning the title that was clinched when Real Madrid drew late Saturday.

Barcelona’s hard-fought win keeps it on pace to match Madrid’s record haul of 100 points from last season. The Catalan club needs to win its remaining three matches to reach the mark.

Messi’s early finish to the match meant he finally failed to find the net after having scored in a record 21 consecutive Spanish league appearances, smashing the old milestone that stood at 10.

Atletico’s players lined up to pay tribute to Barcelona with a guard of honor before the match. But with coach Diego Simeone declining to rest his starters for the Copa del Rey final against Madrid on Friday, it was clear they were aiming to spoil the visitors’ title celebrations.

True to style, Barcelona controlled possession in the first half, but it was unable to convert any chances. Forward Cristian Tello went the closest when he picked up a loose ball on the left side of the area and flashed a curling strike just past the far post in firsthalf injury time.

Messi also threatened with his dribbling through the middle, but the Argentina forward sent his best chance on goal sailing high over the bar. Barcelona lost right back Dani Alves to an apparent injury in the 42nd minute, with Marc Bartra replacing him.

Bartra’s poor pass led to Atletico going in front. Gabi set up Falcao after falling to the ground, leaving the Colombia striker to size up goalkeeper Jose Pinto and drive the ball under him for his 27th league goal this season.

When Messi walked off, seemingly to be checked by team doctors in the changing room, Atletico looked poised to seal the win as it

MADRID: Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta (centre) in action with Atletico de Madrid’s Tiago Mendes from Portugal (left) and Adrian Lopez (right) during a Spanish League soccer match. —AP had an extra man, the lead, and no Messi to worry about.

But Alexis linked up with Cesc Fabregas after a harmless throw-in, working a one-two combination to break down Atletico’s defense before poking the ball home.

Messi returned to the bench in street clothes to watch his teammates’ complete their comeback

with a little bit of luck, David Villa’s off-target strike taking a deflection off Gabi and squeezing into the net.

Elsewhere yesterday, Roberto Soldado scored twice to lead Valencia to a 4-0 win at Rayo Vallecano, provisionally lifting the team into fourth place and giving it control of Spain’s final

Champions League berth. Valencia moved one point ahead of Real Sociedad before the Basque club hosts Granada on Monday.

Barcelona, Madrid, and Atletico Madrid have already locked up the other three Champions League berths. Real Betis, meanwhile, kept Celta Vigo in the relegation zone with a 1-0 win.—AP

Spanish league results/standings Rayo Vallecano 0 Valencia 4 (Soldado 28-pen, 34, Guardado 62, Valdez 90+2); Real Betis 1 (Ruben Castro 68) Celta Vigo 0; Atletico Madrid 1 (Falcao 51) Barcelona 2 (Sanchez 72, Gabi 80-og.

Played Saturday Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aduriz 8, Llorente 79) Mallorca 1 (Dos Santos 81); Valladolid 1 (Javi Guerra 48) Deportivo la Coruna 0; Osasuna 1 (Arribas 74) Getafe 0; Espanyol 1 (Stuani 23) Real Madrid 1 (Higuain 58).

Played Friday Levante 0, Real Zaragoza 0.

Spanish league table after yesterday’s early evening match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Barcelona

35

29

4

Real Madrid Atletico Valencia Sociedad Malaga Real Betis Getafe Sevilla

36 36 35 34 35 35 35 34

25 22 17 16 15 15 13 13

6 6 8 10 8 7 8 7

2 107 5 8 10 8 12 13 14 14

96 62 62 62 49 52 42 52

38 37 30 50 43 45 54 52 47

91 -champions 81 72 59 58 53 52 47 46

Vallecano Espanyol Valladolid Levante Bilbao Osasuna Granada Zaragoza Deportivo Celta Vigo Mallorca

35 35 35 35 35 35 34 35 35 36 35

14 11 11 11 11 9 9 9 7 8 7

4 11 10 9 8 9 8 7 11 7 8

17 13 14 15 16 17 17 19 17 21 20

43 43 46 36 40 29 30 35 44 34 38

61 47 50 53 61 42 51 53 66 52 70

46 44 43 42 41 36 35 34 32 31 29

Porto break Benfica hearts LISBON: A stoppage-time goal from substitute Kelvin handed Porto a dramatic 2-1 home win over fierce rivals Benfica on Saturday that put them on the verge of clinching a third consecutive Portuguese league title.

The two teams were undefeated going into the penultimate game of the season and victory gave leaders Porto a one-point advantage over second-placed Benfica.

The majority of the Dragao stadium’s 50,000-capacity crowd were ecstatic at the final whistle while visiting coach Jorge Jesus sank to his knees in disbelief when 19-year-old midfielder Kelvin struck with a fierce, diagonal left-foot shot.

“This was an historic goal for me at the start of my career,” Kelvin told Portuguese

television. “But we have to keep focusing because we still have another match to go to seal the championship.”

Porto had most of the possession in a cagey affair but Benfica, who meet Chelsea in the Europa League final in Amsterdam on We d ne s d ay, s core d f rom t he i r f i r s t chance in the 20th minute.

A long throw-in caused havoc in the home defence and Lima fired in from close range after pouncing on an Ezequiel Garay shot that skewed off a defender.

Porto hit back five minutes later when Silvestre Varela’s low cross deflected off Benfica right back Maxi Pereira and into the net.

Coach Vitor Pereira, who shed tears of joy after Kelvin’s winner, said his Porto side

never stopped fighting. “We looked for the vic tor y until the last minute and got rewarded,” he added. “I t ’s been such a tough championship and it will keep being so because we still have a final game to play.”

The champions travel to third-placed Pacos de Ferreira in their last fixture while B e n f i c a h o s t s e co n d f ro m b o t to m Moreirense.

The fans were on the edge of their seats throughout a tense ‘Classico’ that summed up a close-fought season.

“We had to risk bringing someone like Kelvin in, someone with his irreverence who comes into a game like this and does something outrageous like that,” Pereira said. —Reuters

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

S P ORT S

Newcastle sink QPR QPR 1

Newcastle 2

LONDON: Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne (left) vies for the ball with Sunderland’s Jack Colback (right) during their English Premier League soccer match at the Stadium of Light. —AP

Sunderland sweating on safety Sunderland 1

Southampton 1

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland remain in danger of relegation from the Premier League after Jason Puncheon’s late strike gave Southampton a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light yesterday.

Paulo Di Canio’s team took the lead thanks to Phil Bardsley’s goal midway through the second half, but the Black Cats were pegged back by Puncheon’s equaliser with 14 minutes remaining.

The draw moved Sunderland four points clear of third bottom Wigan, but the FA Cup winners could narrow that gap to just a point if they can follow their shock win over Manchester City at Wembley with another surprise success in their game in hand at Arsenal on Tuesday.

Di Canio and company will be desperately hoping for an Arsenal victory which would condemn Wigan to relegation and avoid the need for Sunderland to get something from their last match of the season at Tottenham next weekend.

Southampton are five points above the relegation zone and are almost certain to stay up, although they are not mathematically safe ahead of their last match against

Stoke. Di Canio was down to the bare bones in terms of selection with Craig Gardner having joined Stephane Sessegnon on the suspended list and with both Lee Cattermole and Steven Fletcher injured the lack of depth in his squad was exposed by a bench boasting little or no Premier League experience. Southampton dominated the first half and Simon Mignolet had to make a fine reaction save to keep out Jay Rodriguez’s 32nd-minute snapshot and was then grateful to see Rickie Lambert scuff another effort wide of the far post four minutes later.

Mignolet was even more relieved with three minutes of the half remaining when Lambert managed to control Steve Davis’ driven cross, but failed to get any power into his close-range shot.

Sunderland might have taken the lead early in the second half when Danny Rose fired the ball towards Danny Graham, only for the striker to completely miss his kick as his wait for a first goal since his January move from Swansea went on.

The hosts went ahead in the 68th minute when Adam Johnson slid the ball to Bardsley and the defender smashed a right-foot shot across Artur Boruc which deflected in off Jos Hooiveld.

However, Southampton were level eight minutes later when James Ward-Prowse crossed from the left for Puncheon to power a header towards goal.

Mignolet saved well but the Saints midfielder reacted first to poke the rebound into the roof of the net.—AFP

LONDON: Newcastle guaranteed their Premier League survival yesterday with a vital 2-1 win at already-relegated Queens Park Rangers. With just one relegation slot still to be filled, Alan Pardew’s side are now six points above the bottom three and cannot be caught by both Wigan and Aston Villa, who play each other on the final day of the season.

Newcastle fell behind to an early penalty from Loic Remy, the France striker Pardew had tried to sign in January, but were level soon afterwards via a spot-kick of their own, converted by Hatem Ben Arfa.

Yoan Gouffran capitalised on a terrible defensive error to put the visitors in front and Newcastle held on despite playing the final nine minutes a man down after goalkeeper Robert Elliot was sent off.

There was an early opportunity for the home side when Gouffran impeded Andros Townsend, but Bobby Zamora’s free-kick cleared the crossbar without causing Elliot any alarm. QPR were awarded a penalty when Junior Hoillett took on Mathieu Debuchy and went down on the left of the box.

Debuchy was adjudged to have tugged his opponent’s shirt but it looked a harsh decision and Yohan Cabaye was booked for telling referee Lee Probert so.

Remy made no mistake from the spot, sending Elliot the wrong way to give QPR an 11th-minute lead.

Probert evened things up when he awarded Newcastle an equally debated spot-kick after Jose Bosingwa tugged Ben Arfa’s shirt seven minutes later.

LONDON: Newcastle United’s English defender James Perch (left) vies with Queens Park Rangers English midfielder Shaun Derry (right) during the English Premier League football match. —AFP French midfielder Ben Arfa took the penalty himself, blasting high into the top corner to give goalkeeper Robert Green no chance.

Papiss Demba Cisse thought he had headed Newcastle in front with a thunderous back-post finish after Debuchy had picked him out but a raised flag for offside ruled it out.

Elliot was required to make a smart save to deny Hoillet and the goalkeeper had to punch away a corner shortly afterwards as QPR enjoyed a spell of pressure.

Bosingwa gifted Newcastle the lead in the 35th minute when his back pass was too short for Green and Jonas Gutierrez was able to half block the goalkeeper ’s

attempted clearance, sending it straight to Gouffran, who lofted his shot into the net from long-range.

Bosingwa was hauled off at half time by QPR boss Harry Redknapp but Newcastle were forced into a change themselves within a few minutes of the restart, with Cheik Tiote replaced by James Perch.

Debuchy did well to nick the ball away from Bobby Zamora after Jermaine Jenas had delivered a cross from the right and Hoillett came close to an equaliser with a low shot that just eluded Elliot’s right-hand post.

QPR needed Derry’s clearance off the line to stop them falling further behind following a scramble in

Norwich boost EPL survival

EPL results/standings Everton 2 (Mirallas 6, 60) West Ham 0; Fulham 1 (Berbatov 33) Liverpool 3 (Sturridge 36, 62, 85); Manchester Utd 2 (Hernandez 39, Ferdinand 87) Swansea 1 (Michu 49); Norwich 4 (Snodgrass 25, Holt 62, McAuley 65-og, Howson 90) West Brom 0; QPR 1 (Remy 11-pen) Newcastle 2 (Ben Arfa 18pen, Gouffran 35); Stoke 1 (Nzonzi 3) Tottenham 2 (Dempsey 20, Adebayor 83); Sunderland 1 (Bardsley 68) Southampton 1 (Puncheon 76).

Played Saturday Aston Villa 1 (Benteke 14) Chelsea 2 (Lampard 61, 88) English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd 37 28 4 5 81 38 88 Newcastle 37 11 8 18 45 67 41 - champions Southampton37 9 13 15 48 59 40 Man City 36 22 9 5 62 31 75 Fulham 37 10 10 17 47 60 40 Chelsea 37 21 9 7 73 38 72 Aston Villa 37 10 10 17 45 67 40 Tottenham 37 20 9 8 65 46 69 Sunderland 37 9 12 16 41 53 39 Arsenal 36 19 10 7 67 36 67 Wigan 36 9 8 19 44 67 35 Everton 37 16 15 6 54 38 63 Reading 36 6 10 20 41 67 28 Liverpool 37 15 13 9 70 43 58 - relegated West Brom 37 14 6 17 48 52 48 QPR 37 4 13 20 30 59 25 Swansea 37 11 13 13 47 48 46 - relegated West Ham 37 11 10 16 41 51 43 Note: Top four clubs qualify for the Stoke 37 9 14 14 33 44 41 Champions League and the bottom three Norwich 37 9 14 14 38 56 41 sides are relegated

LIVERPOOL: West Ham United’s Joey O’Brien (right) and Everton’s Kevin Mirallas battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match at Goodison Park. —AP

Moyes says goodbye to Goodison with victory Everton 2

Ferguson confirms Rooney wants Man United transfer MANCHESTER: Wayne Rooney took some of the gloss off Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford farewell party yesterday after the United manager confirmed the striker has asked to leave the club for the second time in three years. Ferguson, who retires at the end of the season, dropped Rooney for the 2-1 win over Swansea City in his final home game, and said the England international had not been in the right frame of mind to play. “I don’t think Wayne was keen to play because he’s asked for a transfer and he wants to think it through in his mind. I think that’s a good idea,” Ferguson told Sky Sports. “We’re not going to let him go. I think maybe he’s a little bit frustrated that he’s been taken off once or twice in the last few weeks.”

Asked to confirm that Rooney had submitted a transfer request, Ferguson replied: “Yes, he’s asked, yeah.” He added: “We have refused it. I think he should go away and think it over again. He wasn’t happy about being taken off a few times this season, but a Wayne Rooney in top form wouldn’t be taken off.” Asked if Rooney would stay at the club, Ferguson replied: “It’s not my decision now.” Rooney, 27, first asked to leave United in 2010, when he accused the club of failing to match his ambitions, only to change his mind and sign a new five-year contract. Although he was not included in United’s match-day squad yesterday, he took part in the post-match celebrations after the squad were presented with the Premier League trophy and was also seen to share a brief on-pitch embrace with Ferguson.

Speculation about his future was sparked after he was left out of the United starting XI for the crucial Champions

League last 16 home game against Real Madrid in March, with England team-mate Danny Welbeck playing in his place.

He has also been obliged to play in an unfamiliar midfield role in recent weeks, due to top scorer Robin van Persie’s status as the club’s number-one striker.

Rumours that Rooney had asked to leave the club again first emerged shortly after Ferguson announced on Wednesday that he was leaving Old Trafford after a record-breaking 26-and-a-half-year spell in which he has won 38 trophies.

Ferguson’s successor, David Moyes, gave Rooney his professional debut at the age of 16 when he was at Everton. Rooney joined United in a £27 million ($42 million, 31.9 million euros) transfer two years later and although Moyes sued him over remarks that appeared in the player’s autobiography in 2006, the pair later reconciled.

With 197 goals in 402 appearances, Rooney is the fourth-highest goal-scorer in United’s history, and has won five Premier League titles, two League Cups and the 2008 Champions League title in his time at the club. He is also England’s fourth-highest goal-scorer, with 35 goals from 81 international appearances. His status as one of United and England’s most high-profile players means there are only a handful of clubs in the world with sufficient means to match his salary aspirations should he ever decide to leave the club. He is currently reported to earn £250,000 a week.

He has been linked with United’s local rivals Manchester City and big-spending French club Paris Saint-Germain in the past.

Rooney’s former United team-mate Gary Neville, who is now a television pundit, urged him to reconsider. —AFP

the six-yard box and Ben Arfa did well to set Gouffran up only for his resulting shot to miss the target.

Suddenly Newcastle were down to 10 men when goalkeeper Elliot, having previously been booked for kicking the ball away, handled outside his area - a decision he strongly disputed before being shown another yellow and the red that followed.

Veteran goalkeeper Stephen Harper replaced Ben Arfa for the final nine minutes, which saw the 10 men hold out to claim the points, although Townsend came close to an equaliser in stoppage time with a dipping drive that just cleared the crossbar.—AFP

West Ham 0

LIVERPOOL: David Moyes’s final home match as Everton manager ended in a 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham yesterday thanks to two goals from Kevin Mirallas.

Moyes, who will replace Alex Ferguson in charge of English champions Manchester United at the end of the season following the retirement of his fellow Scot, was applauded by all four stands before-kick off and had his name sung throughout by Everton fans in recognition of his 11 years as the Merseysiders’ manager.

And his Everton players, inspired by Belgium international Mirallas, produced an emphatic performance befitting the 50year-old’s final home game at Goodison.

Everton almost took the lead in the fourth minute when a dangerous corner from Mirallas was cushioned back across goal by Marouane Fellaini, but Sylvain Distin sliced his volley wide.

The home fans only had to wait another two minutes though as winger Mirallas finished off a superb passing move to put Everton ahead.

Leighton Baines escaped down the left and he passed the ball inside to Fellaini who-via a touch from Steven Pienaar-teed up Mirallas and he drilled a low shot into the corner of the net.

Darron Gibson went close with a dipping long-range effort which landed on the roof of the net shortly afterwards, while Leon Osman forced West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen to save a shot from distance in the 13th minute.

Jaaskelainen made a brilliant point-

blank block from a fierce Victor Anichebe shot 10 minutes later after Mirallas had evaded several challenges with a dangerous run across the penalty area.

West Ham finally came to life on the half-hour mark and Kevin Nolan forced Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard to make a smart diving saw to his left with an angled shot. Nolan, the West Ham captain, did well to get a shot away from a difficult high ball moments later but Howard never looked worried. A last-ditch block from James Collins denied Fellaini just before the halftime and West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who this week agreed a new deal with the London club, responded to his side’s first-half showing with the introduction of Carlton Cole after the break to give them more attacking threat.

However, it was Everton who should have scored in the 53rd minute when a Baines cross from the left picked out Osman at the back post who shot across goal from a tight angle. Everton got their second goal on the hour mark though, with Mirallas making it a double.

Gibson threaded an inch-perfect pass for Mirallas who cut inside on to his right foot and struck a long-range shot which deflected off James Collins and past Jaaskelainen.

Everton were rampant, and Osman was twice denied by brilliant saves from Jaaskelainen in the West Ham goal as the home side looked to increase their advantage as the second half wore on.

West Ham substitute Joe Cole forced Howard to make a diving save with a curling effort in the 80th minute before Osman saw his low shot gathered by Jaaskelainen.

Hammers striker Andy Carroll struck the woodwork with a header from a Matthew Jarvis cross late on. But Everton held on to claim a victory which ensured they finished above city rivals Liverpool for the second consecutive season, something they have not done in the top flight since 1937.—AFP

LONDON: Norwich City all but guaranNorwich 4 teed their Premier League survival with a breezy 4-0 win at home to West West Brom 0 Bromwich Albion yesterday that left them six points clear of the relegation places. Robert Snodgrass gave the home side the lead midway through the first half before Grant Holt, capitalising on a woeful mistake by West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster, and a Gareth McAuley goal made the game safe, with Jonny Howson adding a late fourth.

The victory sent Chris Hughton’s side up to 12th place in the table and means they will be assured of avoiding relegation if third-bottom Wigan Athletic, the FA Cup winners, fail to win at Arsenal tomorrow. It was a third consecutive defeat for Steve Clarke’s West Brom, who nonetheless remain in eighth place and are guaranteed to finish the season no lower than ninth.

Both sides made changes in the goalkeeping department, with John Ruddy replacing Mark Bunn for Norwich and Foster starting for West Brom in one of five changes to the team beaten 1-0 at Manchester City in mid-week.

Foster was the first goalkeeper to be tested, pushing away a well-struck shot from Anthony Pilkington in the 25th minute, but moments later, the visitors fell behind.

Ryan Bennett headed down a Holt cross from the right and although Foster raced out quickly to thwart Wes Hoolahan, the ball span wide to Snodgrass, who showed superb composure to steer the ball into the roof of the net from an awkward angle on the left.

The Scotland international’s goal sparked joyous celebrations at Carrow Road and Hoolahan almost doubled the hosts’ lead with a vicious 25-yard shot just before half-time, only for Foster to athletically push it away.

However, any hopes of a West Brom fightback quickly evaporated shortly after the hour as two calamitous defensive errors took the game beyond them.

Foster was the first culprit, miscuing an attempted clearance after rashly rushing to the edge of his area in the 62nd minute and allowing Holt to run the ball into an empty net. Three minutes later, McAuley inadvertently headed a Snodgrass free-kick into his own goal, before Howson curled in a fine goal in the last minute to leave Norwich all but certain of their place among the English elite.—AFP

LONDON: Norwich City’s Grant Holt (center) is challenged by West Bromwich Albion’s Claudio Yacob (left) and Jonas Olsson during the English Premier League soccer match at Carrow Road. —AP

Alonso bags Spanish GP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

17

Newcastle sink QPR

19

Ferguson confirms Rooney wants Man United transfer

Page 19

OLD TRAFFORD: Manchester United players celebrate with their manager Alex Ferguson (center) as he holds the Premier League trophy after the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Swansea City. — AFP

United give Ferguson fitting farewell Man United 2

Swansea 1

MANCHESTER: Rio Ferdinand’s first league goal in five-and-a-half years ensured Alex Ferguson was given a winning send-off, thanks to a 2-1 Premier League victory over Swansea at Old Trafford, in the veteran manager’s final home game in charge of the club.

Swansea’s Michu had equalised an opening goal from United forward Javier Hernandez and a day of celebration seemed destined to end in minor disappointment until Ferdinand, who signed for Ferguson in July 2002, appeared on the end of Robin van Persie’s 87th minute corner and shot home from six yards.

In an emotional post-match speech, Ferguson, who will be succeeded by Everton manager David Moyes, praised all at the club during his 26 years in charge.

“I had bad times here and the club stood by me, the players and fans did too. Your job now is to stand by our new manager,” said Ferguson.

As a typically torrential Manchester afternoon dampened proceedings-if not the mood-the fixture that marked Ferguson’s final home game was always to be largely irrelevant, with the manager having won his 13th English league title two weeks earlier.

But the significance of the occasion made for an electric atmosphere at Old Trafford as the teams came out and created a guard of honor for the retiring manager.

Ferguson made a low-key entrance in the circumstances, taking his place on the United bench for the 1,499th time as manager, as a club employee held up the electronic substitutes’ board to display the figures “26” and “38”-the number of years Ferguson has been

in charge and the number of major trophies he has won, respectively.

The 75,000-plus crowd had also been issued with flags-red for United, white for the few thousand visiting supporters-while one side of the stadium displayed a mosaic which spelt out “Champions” during the pre-match festivities.

There was such an air of celebration and reminiscence around Old Trafford that one burning issue hardly registered-the fact that England striker Wayne Rooney was not even named among the substitutes by Ferguson.

News emerged this week that, for the second time in two years, Rooney had recently requested a transfer, one initially rejected by Ferguson who clearly made his feelings known in his penultimate ever United team selection.

Instead, all eyes on the pitch were cast towards Paul Scholes, the 38-year-old United midfielder, who had similarly announced he is to retire at season’s end and was handed a start by Ferguson. Injuries have ravaged

Scholes’ final season in the game, with the former England international not having appeared since late January, and there was an obvious willing among team mates and supporters alike for the popular midfielder to mark his farewell with a goal.

The closest he came was in the 25th minute when Hernandez slipped through a neat pass but Scholes failed to make decent contact with an 18-yard shot that was easily stopped by Gerhard Tremmel.

Indeed, Hernandez was influential in most of United’s best attacking moments before finally giving his team a 39th minute lead when Ashley Williams deflected a van Persie free-kick into his path. The Mexican forward slid in with a well-timed shot that beat the dive of Tremmel.

Hernandez had struck the underside of the bar after just four minutes and volleyed just over later in the half while van Persie’s crisp 18-yard strike forced Tremmel into conceding a corner just before the break. But events on the field were of secondary importance to

Sturridge slams treble as Reds down Fulham LONDON: Daniel Sturridge hit a hat-trick as Liverpool won 3-1 Fulham 1 at Fulham yesterday but he couldn’t prevent the Reds from finishing a second successive campaign below Merseyside rivals Everton.

Liverpool 3 The blue half of town celebrated David Moyes’s final home game in charge of Everton with a 2-0 win over West Ham that ensured they will end the season in sixth, one place above Liverpool.

In a season that promised much before faltering as so many before them had done, Sturridge’s treble, after Dimitar Berbatov had given Fulham a first-half lead, was indicative of Liverpool’s season.

Sturridge, like his team, has been brilliant on occasions, but there haven’t been enough of those for either player or club this season.

For a time it looked as if this would be another frustrating day at the office for the visitors despite contributing the lion’s share of the pretty passing football on display in the first half hour that was pleasing on the eye but abjectly ineffective.

Berbatov awoke the occasion from the sense of meaningless endof-season procession in the 33rd minute by heading home a deep cross from the right by Sascha Riether.

Fulham came into the game all but mathematically safe from relegation but even the unlikely prospect that they could still go down-to do so they would have to lose their final game at Swansea by at least 10-0 — failed to fire them into top gear.

Their lead lasted only three minutes before Sturridge provided a champagne moment, taking down a long punt from Andre Wisdom, juggling the ball over Aaron Hughes’s head before turning the defender on the outside and rasping a drive into the roof of the net.

He put the Reds in front just past the hour mark as a shot from Brazilian Phillipe Coutinho deflected kindly into his path, providing the former Manchester City and Chelsea striker with a close-range tap-in.

Fulham raised their game and Pepe Reina made good saves from Berbatov and Hughes but Sturridge sealed their fate five minutes LONDON: Fulham’s Dimitar Berbatov (right) competes with Liverpool’s from time after a slide rule pass from Coutinho played him in to chip Jamie Carragher during their English Premier League soccer match at Craven Cottage. — AP nonchalantly over Mark Schwarzer. —AFP

United fans, who also found time to poke fun at local rivals Manchester City and their manager Roberto Mancini, the subject of increasingly frenzied speculation that he is to be sacked by the club.

It took just four minutes of the second half for Swansea to equalise, with their first meaningful attack, as Michu scored from six yards with a spectacular, twisting volley from Nathan Dyer ’s cross; a goal followed, moments later, by Wayne Routledge almost putting the visitors in front as he exchanged passes with Michu and rolled a shot just wide of the far post.

Pablo Hernandez’s near-post shot was well saved by David de Gea and Chico Flores appealed for handball after his shot struck Nemanja Vidic before Scholes took his leave, replaced by Anderson, after 65 minutes.

Danny Welbeck almost played in Hernandez and Anderson shot just wide from the edge of the area until, fittingly, a player who has been alongside Ferguson for a decade settled the contest.—AFP

Tottenham in top four Stoke 1

Tottenham 2

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Tottenham Hotspur improved their chances of playing Champions League football next season with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium yesterday. Stoke, who played the second half with 10 men after the dismissal of their Scotland midfielder, Charlie Adam, took an early lead through Steven Nzonzi.

But Tottenham levelled with a goal from Clint Dempsey and scrambled the crucial three points with a late decider from Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

Victory lifted Tottenham into fourth place, the last qualifying position for the Champions League; two points ahead of Arsenal, who face FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic on Tuesday. Tottenham arrived knowing that they could not afford to drop points.

Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa the previous day, inspired by record-breaking midfielder Frank Lampard, meant only Arsenal were catchable.

But the visitors found themselves trailing before they had time to settle, and with the ground still buzzing from celebrating Stoke’s 150th anniversary.

Adam took a superbly flighted free-kick from the right touchline after Ryan Shotton was fouled by Dempsey, and the ball was met by a fine near-post header from Nzonzi that went in off the woodwork.

Tottenham were quick to respond, with Footballer of the Year Gareth Bale delivering a

fierce shot from range that Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was happy to tip over his crossbar.

They had the ball in the net after 16 minutes, but Dempsey was flagged offside after back-heeling the ball into the net following Kyle Walker’s shot from an Aaron Lennon cross. Tottenham did draw level after 20 minutes when a clearance from Marc Wilson succeeded only in finding Dempsey and, with Begovic out of position, the midfielder flighted the ball beyond him with a shot from 25 yards.

Stoke put up strong resistance as Tottenham threatened to take control.

Robert Huth was booked for bringing down Bale, and tempers frayed over a disputed throw-in that led to a Bale free-kick from which Tottenham almost claimed a second Tottenham goal.

Begovic did well to parry Michael Dawson’s header from the kick but was then booked for dissent by referee Kevin Friend, who soon after showed the yellow card to Adam for a reckless challenge on Jan Vertonghen. Adam earned jeers from the visiting fans, who had not forgotten his feud with Bale over a tackle that put the Wales player out of the game for three months with a damaged ankle.

The former Liverpool midfielder began the second half with another illegal challenge on Vertonghen, leaving the referee no option but to send him off for a second bookable offence on 47 minutes.

It left Stoke to play the second half with 10 men, manager Tony Pulis replacing former Tottenham winger Matthew Etherington with a defender, Andy Wilkinson, in an attempt to hold onto a point.

Tottenham found it difficult to penetrate a determined Stoke defence, although Bale shot narrowly wide on 74 minutes, but they eventually found the stroke of luck they needed to win. — AFP

Business

Australia budget blues in land of mining boom Page 24 India IT watchdog probes breach in global ATM heist Page 25

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Plans to export US gas stir debate

Higher Gulf dependency on China’s oil demand Page 22

Page 23

ATLANTA: In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 photo, a message advertises the frequency of new merchandise arriving at an H&M store as a shopper passes by outside in Atlanta. The rising death toll from the building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013, may force Western brands to make a choice: Stay and work to improve conditions. Or leave and face higher costs, similar or worse worker conditions in other low-wage countries and criticism for abandoning a poor nation where per-capita gross domestic product is just $2,000 per year. — AP

EU to thrash out tax clampdown Austria seeks to preserve banking secrecy for nationals BRUSSELS: As tens of millions languish on the dole with EU austerity blamed for deepening recession, finance ministers will switch their focus Tuesday from bailout negotiations to the pursuit of a trillion-euro annual tax-fraud bounty.

European Union governments are looking to ready a package that will scrap national banking secrecy laws, and are called to overcome holdout opposition from Austria after Luxembourg said it would loosen its policies at a May 22 summit of leaders on the issue.

The drive to uncover revenues stashed away in offshore accounts is backed by other non-EU governments in the Group of 20 major international economies. On Friday at G7 talks in England, ministers including US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew firmed up their commit-

ment to combatting tax evasion, which is illegal, and tax avoidance, which occurs when individuals and companies take advantage of legal loopholes.

Britain has made the issue a priority of its presidencies of the G7 and G8, and Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: “It is vital that both developed and developing countries collect the tax that is due to them.” The ministers are meeting on Tuesday following talks among the 17 eurozone states on Monday evening taking stock of progress on bailouts for Cyprus and Greece. Austria is seeking a compromise that would preserve banking secrecy for its nationals but open accounts held by foreigners to scrutiny.

Chancellor Werner Faymann and domestic

rivals have said three conditions must be met however, including respecting Austria’s bilateral tax agreements with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and a requirement that authorities identify the financial owners of shell corporations and trusts.

A statement from Vienna also reiterated that “Austrian banking secrecy for resident taxpayers must not be affected.” The Alpine republic, especially its vocal Finance Minister Maria Fekter, has repeatedly called for closer investigations of “the real tax havens”, citing Britishdependent territories such as the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. She has previously also warned that the clampdown on money-laundering risks freeing governments to “snoop” into bank accounts.

Scottish economy strong enough to quit Britain LONDON: Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has told AFP in an interview that the economy can prosper outside the United Kingdom, despite dire warnings from London about the risks of independence.

Salmond insisted that Scotland’s “increasing profile internationally,” as a result of the calling of an independence referendum to take place in September 2014, had helped to attract foreign investment. As Scotland gears up for the referendum campaign, the pro and anti camps are thrashing out what leaving the UK would mean for the Scottish economy.

Some analysts fear an independent Scotland would rely too heavily on its offshore oil industry, while its banking sector took a huge hit in the financial crisis. British finance minister George Osborne warned last month that an independent Scotland would sacrifice control over much of its economy if it continued to use the pound sterling.

Osborne also cautioned that the uncertainty over Scotland’s future was hitting foreign investment. The man leading the independence drive scathingly dismissed the comments, arguing that Scotland’s growing profile in its own right was paying dividends. “Scotland is having a lot of success with investment,” Salmond told AFP in a telephone interview.

“George Osborne came to Scotland about 18 months ago and said that he’d been speaking to people who were thinking about not investing in Scotland.

“Since then we’ve topped the league on

inward investment in Europe, outpacing every other aspect of the UK, including London.”

He added: “If George Osborne tells you that the sky is blue, I’d have a look up and see if it is or not because anything he says, just do the opposite.”

Salmond, the 58-year-old leader of the centre-left Scottish National Party (SNP), said Scotland was increasingly seen as a destination for modern industries.

“What we’re actually finding is that Scotland’s increasing profile, internationally, is an advantage. People are often thinking about Scotland and certain investments for the first time.

“Once we get onto people’s radar, then we’ve got the international agencies which are controlled by the Scottish government which can offer people not just incentive packages but more importantly the skills they’re looking for to do the job.” Salmond said life sciences, energy and business outsourcing, in addition to financial asset management, “are our key growth areas and will continue to be so”.

Business outsourcing is “one of our big specialities”, he said, adding it was “entirely wrong” to think that was a glorified term for call centres.

“The skills that are deployed are quite different from that,” he said.

Salmond was speaking after French management services firm Webhelp TSC announced the creation of 400 new jobs, boosting their workforce in Scotland to 3,400.

While Scotland’s still considerable reserves of North Sea oil and gas were well known, Salmond

said fewer people were aware of the rapid progress on renewable energy.

“We’re one of Europe’s leading renewable countries in terms of both our own conversion to renewable power but also our lead in offshore wind and wave and tidal technology which is very, very important for us for the future.”

Salmond said he was also proud of the “highly successful” life sciences and pharmaceuticals sector, with companies such as LifeScan, a Johnson and Johnson company, who now do all of their global research on diabetes in Scotland.

On September 18, 2014, Scottish voters will be asked the yes/no question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” Polls show that a majority of voters are currently opposed to independence.

But Salmond argued that Scotland going alone was the logical economic choice.

“We control our economic strategy. What we don’t control just now is demand management in the economy-an economy in Scotland and the rest of the UK which is desperately suffering from a demand deficiency at the present moment and that’s a real problem,” he said.

“For all that, we now have lower unemployment than the UK as a whole.” The Scottish economy grew by 0.5 percent in the last quarter of 2012, while the British economy as a whole contracted by 0.3 percent.

The SNP used to advocate joining the euro currency post-independence but now says continuing with sterling would be the “best starting point”. —AFP

EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta has said he expected a breakthrough on the automatic sharing of customer bank data.

Agreement is expected on a legal update covering savings taxation that has been stalled since 2008, plus a mandate to negotiate with Switzerland and other third parties on the exchange of bank account information.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso wrote to EU heads last week to say that the principle of cross-border sharing of information should be applied to all types of state revenues. The EU has been tightening up on tax evasion and money laundering since the 2008 global financial crisis highlighted the problem alongside the reckless speculative fever that sparked banking and economic crises.

On normally dominant eurozone issues, the talks are expected to see go-aheads for the disbursement of three billion euros ($3.9 billion) in loans to Cyprus via a rescue fund set up in the wake of the Greek financial collapse.

The ministers are also expected to give the green light to another 7.5 billion euros of the agreed Greek package between May and June, following checks on conditions imposed in negotiations with the IMF. No final decision is expected, however, on easing Portugal’s long-term repayment terms on its bailout after a deal was struck on Ireland.

New Italian Finance Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni is expected to reassure his colleagues that Rome is fully focused on taming the country’s high debt levels. — AFP

Higher turnover continues to attract money to Kuwait DUBAI: Kuwait, the measure advanced 0.8 percent to its highest finish since October 2009. Investors have been committing more cash to local stocks since a stand-off between parliament and the government abated following parliamentary elections in December.

“The increase in value traded should serve to induce more confidence in the market and add to the stimulants fuelling the rally,” said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage services at Global Investment House.

In Abu Dhabi’s bourse rose to a fresh 54month high yesterday as banks extended gains, while strength in international markets bolstered sentiment on most regional bourses.

Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank rose 2.1 percent and National Bank of Abu Dhabi added 1.6 percent. The banks are up 27.2 percent and 33.0 percent in 2013 respectively.

“Abu Dhabi banks are still attractive - there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be trading at similar levels to other regional banks,” said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management, saying that in terms of price-tobook ratios, there was room for further gains.

Dubai’s benchmark climbed 0.3 percent to a fresh 42-month high. Mid-caps led gains; Air Arabia rose 2.8 percent and Dubai Islamic Bank added 2.1 percent.

Dubai Islamic has completed a share swap with mortgage lender Tamweel, in which it provided 10 new shares in the bank for every 18 of Tamweel’s, according to a bourse statement on Sunday. Tamweel slipped 1.6 percent.

In Saudi Arabia, the index shed 0.4 percent,

down from Saturday’s four-week high. The banking sub-index dipped 0.4 percent, while investors booked recent gains in mid-caps; the retail index fell 1.3 percent and insurance stocks shed 1.1 percent.

Oman’s benchmark added 0.2 percent.

Large-cap Bank Muscat rose 0.5 percent on hopes that the lender may recover some of the losses from a cyber bank heist, which cost it nearly $40 million in provisions; it said on Sunday that it was considering its options to recover the money.

Elsewhere, large-caps helped Egypt’s bourse hit a 10-week high, advancing 0.8 percent. Telecom Egypt and Commercial International Bank gained 1.6 and 1.1 percent respectively.

ABU DHABI The index rose 1.1 percent to 3,404 points.

DUBAI The index gained 0.3 percent to 2,185 points.

KUWAIT The index rose 0.8 percent to 7,828 points.

EGYPT The index gained 0.8 percent to 5,447 points.

QATAR The benchmark ended flat at 8,848 points.

OMAN The index advanced 0.2 percent to 6,265 points.

BAHRAIN The measure gained 0.4 percent to 1,139 points. — Reuters

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

BUSINESS

Higher Gulf dependency on China’s oil demand US becomes more self-dependant on energy

PARIS: Members of French royalist and nationalist group Action Francaise hold banners as they march on the Avenue de l’Opera in Paris to commemorate Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) yesterday. Banners read, “The Republic is in crisis, destruction of the family, loss of sovereignty, 11% unemployment, millions of underemployed, massive immigration. Join Action Francaise.” — AFP

Paper cuts leave Finnish economy hurting cardboard plant in the Chinese region of Guangxi. In Uruguay it’s investing 1.3 billion euros with Chilean partner Arauco in a giant pulp plant.

The strategy will “increase the packaging and pulp sector as a part of revenue, but not quickly,” Taittonen said. Industry observers doubt packaging will become a significant source of growth.

China, for example, needs more packaging for its consumer products, but “at the same time industrial production is moving to Asia, so it’s a question (for Finnish companies) of maintaining their production levels” rather than growing them, said Lauri Hetemaeki, director of the European Forest Institute in the eastern town of Joensuu. Meanwhile, UPM has its sights set on bioenergy, combined with a strategy of expanding into markets where paper demand is still growing.

The company has invested 400 million euros to build a paper and labelling plant in the Chinese city of Changshu. At home, it’s spending 150 million euros on the first refinery in the world that produces biofuels from crude tall oil, a byproduct of pulping coniferous trees.

Henri Parkkinen, an analyst at OPPohjola, sees energy and pulp as the two sectors “with the biggest growth potential” for UPM. The global economic crisis has contributed to the sector’s woes, wiping billions off its value on the Helsinki stock exchange. Since May 2007, shares in Stora Enso, UPM Kymmene and Metsae Board have lost more than half their worth. After posting mixed results in the first quarter, the stock has traded sideways. Stora Enso is at its highest in more than a year since releasing its results on April 23, but the rise came against a backdrop of low expectations, Parkkinen said.

How to use the Finnish forestry resources and find the products of the future are the two crucial questions facing the industry in the years ahead, Taittonen said. Hetemaeki of the European Forest Institute suggested it might follow a path similar to Nokia, which once shed blue collar jobs as it moved away from manufacturing.

“Maybe Finland’s strength will be in services linked to different forestry products,” he said. — AFP

HELSINKI: In the wake of mobile giant Nokia’s spectacular fall, another pillar of the Finnish economy is struggling to adapt to the digital age: The paper industry. As the distribution of everything from magazines to airline tickets shifts online, major Finnish paper suppliers are scrambling to find new sources of revenue.

The industry employs some 40,000 people, a figure that has dropped by more than a third over the past decade, but which still accounts for between 1.5 and two percent of employment in the country.

Paper plant closures have become commonplace across Europe as consumers use the Internet and digital devices for a growing range of services, sending demand for printing paper tumbling. Despite the fall in demand, the Finnish paper and forestry industry maintains an advantage: an abundance of resources. Finland boasts four hectares of forest per inhabitant, around 10 times more than the European average.

But companies still struggle to find ways to make this advantage work for it in the global economy of today and tomorrow. UPM-Kymmene, the world’s biggest maker of magazine paper, in January announced 850,000 tonnes in capacity cuts this year. The seven percent reduction affected plants in Finland, Germany and France.

Another industry heavyweight, Stora Enso, in February lowered its capacity for newsprint paper to 475,000 tonnes, resulting in the shutdown of two facilities in Sweden. A quick fix is unlikely to be around the corner. “There is no significant change within sight,” said Harri Taittonen, an analyst at Nordea.

The industry is hoping growth in other market segments will offset the inexorable decline in printing paper. Stora Enso and Metsae Board (formerly M-Real) is betting on the packaging sector.

“There is still potential, because digital devices can’t compete and cardboard is a good alternative to plastic,” said Taittonen, noting that demand would rise in line with economic growth. Stora Enso is focused on investing outside Europe.

The group is pouring 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) into a combined pulp and

KUWAIT: A specialized economic report has anticipated that the Gulf, China’s major trade partner, will continue to benefit from the nation’s oil demand. The report, prepared by the Kuwait China Investment Company (KCIC) also expected the Gulf’s reliance on China to grow in the medium-to-long term, especially as the US becomes more self-dependant on energy.

The report added that Chinese monthly economic data for March showed that the world’s second-largest economy eased. However, the first set of economic indicators in April looks positive, at least at first glance.

Chinese trade figures suggest that the Chinese economy is picking up, the report added, pointing out that export growth rebounded from a 10.0% year-on-year (YoY) increase in March, to 14.7% YoY in April, while analysts expected only a slight pick-up in growth of 10.3% YoY. Imports also accelerated, from 14.1% to 16.8% YoY in April, whereas consensus was a slight deceleration of 13.9% YoY. This data indicates that China is growing both on the domestic front, as demand for imports rose, and that the economy is supported by a better external environment, as demonstrated by the acceleration of exports.

Yet, it is not the case, at least for the latter part. Sure, exports have accelerated, but there are several indications pointing otherwise. First, it is widely assumed by analysts that Chinese exporters have been “overinvoicing”, i.e. declaring higher payments for a lower amount of goods shipped to customers in order to hide capital flows to China, which are otherwise subject to rigid capital controls. This is especially true for exports to Hong Kong, which made up about 18% of total Chinese exports in the last twelve months, it said.

The report went on saying that exports to Hong Kong grew by more than 57.2% YoY in

April, although coming down from the strongest growth in nearly two decades of 92.9% YoY in March. The “overinvoicing” is evident as exports are inconsistent with cargo volumes, and as Hong Kong imports from China were significantly lower.

Secondly, the trade data of China’s peers all pointed to an opposite trend. In emerging Asia, Taiwan’s exports contracted 1.9% YoY in April, and South Korea’s exports were flat for the first twenty days of April. Furthermore, external demand from the US and the EU was weak last

month. Thirdly, the report noted that the soft official PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) showed that the manufacturing sector was barely in expansion as it eased from 50.9 to 50.6. One should not read the export data as positively as they look, however, the resilient growth in imports illustrates a far more substantial story.

China is one of Asia’s largest trade-reliant economies: it depends on exports to fuel its economic growth. But the economic slowdown in the developed countries has been sapping the growth of the nation’s export sector. — KUNA

NEW DELHI: An Indian rickshaw driver waits for customers at an intersection in the Old Quarters of New Delhi yesterday. The Indian government forecasts the economy will grow by at least six percent in this financial year, which began April 1, after estimated expansion of five percent last year - its slowest rate in a decade. — AFP

Bank Muscat mulling options to recover card fraud money DUBAI: Bank Muscat, the main victim of a $45 million global cyber heist, is examining all options to recover the money it lost in an unprecedented fraud brought to light by US authorities.

In a globally coordinated campaign, hackers broke into two unidentified payment processing companies in India that handled the prepaid debit cards for two Middle Eastern banks, including Bank Muscat, US prosecutors said on Thursday.

The payment processing firms were EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, which is based in Pune, several sources told Reuters. Bank Muscat had outsourced its card processing functions to EnStage, according to the sources.

The Omani lender reported in February that its pre-paid travel cards were hit by fraud, forcing it to take a 15 million rial ($39.0 million) loss provision. “Bank Muscat is aware from press reports that a number of arrests in different jurisdictions have taken place in relation to the prepaid debit card fraud incident which we disclosed on Feb. 25 and 26,” it said in a brief statement to the stock exchange yesterday.

“We reiterate that we are exploring all avenues of recovery so as to protect shareholder interests and will advise the markets accordingly if there are any material developments in this regard.”

It gave no additional information in the statement on the measures taken to recover the funds.

The other bank involved hit by the cyber attack, National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK), said on Friday that none of its customers had lost any money as a result of a cyber fraud which resulted in a loss at the Gulf bank in 2012. — Reuters

Qatar postpones listing of $12b investment company DUBAI: A planned stock market listing for Doha Global Investment Co, a $12 billion Qatari investment company backed by assets from the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, has been postponed, a senior bourse official said yesterday.

Qatar unveiled plans to create the investment company in February and said that sovereign fund Qatar Holding will transfer $3 billion of assets into the Doha Global, with a similar amount raised in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Qatar Exchange.

The IPO has been postponed “until all requirements and approvals from the concerned authorities are obtained”, Hussein Ali al-Abdullah, acting chairman of both Qatar Holding and the bourse, said in a statement.

Qatar is planning a wave of new listings as the gas-rich state seeks to share its wealth with its citizens.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum aims to offer shares in four of its businesses in the coming years, Abdullah said this month.

Bankers and analysts have questioned the Qatar stock market’s ability to absorb such listings. The benchmark index fell 5.5 percent over the two months after the initial announcement of the Doha Global IPO as retail investors sold stocks to set aside cash for Doha Global shares.

Institutional buying has helped the index to recover from April’s three-and-a-half-month low. It is now up 5.8 percent this year, though it still lags behind other Gulf markets such as Dubai.

Doha Global’s IPO was scheduled for May and was to be open only to citizens, companies and institutions in Qatar.

Foreign investors will be able to buy the shares only after the company is listed on the market. A new date for the IPO will be announced in the local news media, Abdullah said, without providing additional details.

Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank in which Qatar’s sovereign fund is a key shareholder, is advising on the Doha Global IPO. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2770000 .4310000 .3680000 .3020000 .2780000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0771240 .7513970 .3930000 .0720000 .7366120 .0370000

.2880000 .4470000 .3760000 .3170000 .2920000 .3020000 .0069000 .0035000 .0778990 .7589480 .4110000 .0770000 .7440150 .0440000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2841000 .4338920 .3707360 .3043390 .2795430 .0497330 .0443660 .2963730 .0365940 .2291130 .0029600 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0773800 .7538810 .0000000 .0757800 .7382100 .0000000

.2862000 .4370990 .3734770 .3065880 .2816100 .0501010 .0446940 .2985640 .0368650 .2308060 .0028810 .0052870 .0022880 .0029190 .0036810 .0779520 .7594530 .4048090 .0763400 .7436660 .0069870

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso

2.818 5.238 2.905 2.267 3.270 233.330 36.889 3.664 6.956

Thai Baht Malaysian ringgit Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

9.637 94.221 0.271 0.273

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

740.69 78.59 76.02

743.000 78.500 76.400

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

76.377 78.697 743.930 760.730 77.990

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

41.200 40.598 1.336 174.680 404.460 1.921 3.110 34.083

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 286.300 Euro 376.200 Sterling Pound 444.340 Canadian dollar 286.590 Turkish lira 158.720 Swiss Franc 302.480 US Dollar Buying 285.100

Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Selling Rate 286.050 286.550 441.250 372.215 299.540 757.330 77.860 78.515 76.245 403.235 40.525 2.267 5.230 2.900 3.668 6.935 701.700 3.815 9.690 4.080 3.375 95.730

GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

298.000 150.000 77.500

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY SELL DRAFT Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar

SELL CASH 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

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

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa

SELL CASH Europe 0.4334523 0.0062090 0.0457561 0.3672796 0.0453264 0.4291120 0.0392727 0.2940576 Australasia 0.2765996 0.2297620 0.0001142 America 0.2766147 0.0001456 0.2839500 Asia 0.0036239 0.0031744 0.0455905 0.0165400

SELLDRAFT 0.4424523 0.0182090 0.0507561 0.3747796 0.0505264 0.4366120 0.0442727 0.3010576 0.2885996 0.2397620 0.0001142 0.2856147 0.0001636 0.2861000 0.0036789 0.0034044 0.0505905 0.0196400

Guinea Franc Hg Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Jamaican Dollars Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

0.0000444 0.0343160 0.0051736 0.0000244 0.0028600 0.0027394 0.0033582 0.0905184 0.0031297 0.0028798 0.0065074 0.0000731 0.2272551 0.0022249 0.0092487 Arab 0.7524592 0.0385682 0.0129242 0.1454715 0.0000796 0.0001742 0.3979604 1.0000000 0.0001755 0.0221745 0.0012181 0.7321073 0.0779292 0.0757600 0.0465197 0.0031190 0.1727539 0.0764672 0.0012909

0.0000504 0.0374160 0.0052376 0.0000296 0.0036600 0.0029194 0.0035882 0.0975184 0.0033297 0.0029198 0.0069774 0.0000761 0.2332551 0.0022669 0.0098487 0.7609592 0.0405982 0.0194242 0.1472615 0.0000801 0.0002342 0.4054604 1.0000000 0.0001955 0.0461745 0.0018531 0.7431073 0.0787122 0.0764000 0.0470697 0.0033390 0.1787539 0.0779172 0.0013909

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) 284.700 374.500 442.250 285.450 2.900 5.237 40.605 2.264 3.648 6.924 2.893 760.850 77.850 76.250

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

BUSINESS

IILM treads fine line in designing maiden sukuk SYDNEY: The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) faces a delicate task as it designs its maiden sukuk: it must make the issue attractive enough for investors to buy, but not so attractive that most of them buy to hold.

Whether it gets the balance right will affect the development of Islamic money market trading in the Gulf and southeast Asia over the coming year.

The Malaysia-based IILM, backed by nine central banks and monetary agencies as well as the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, has said it plans to issue up to $500 million of dollardenominated sukuk in the second quarter of this year, and eventually expand the programme to as much as $3 billion.

Its issues will be based on a very different premise than other sukuk. Other issuers design their sukuk merely to attract investors and raise money cheaply; the IILM’s mission is to create a highly liquid tool which Islamic banks will trade to manage their short-term funds.

To ensure trading of the sukuk around the world, the IILM has signed agreements with eight primary dealer banks,

said Ayhan Keser, executive vice president at Turkey’s Albaraka Turk , one of the market-making banks.

“These primary dealers are given the right to purchase the issued sukuk in the primary market, have the responsibility to set the secondary market and actually buy and sell the bonds to form a market price,” Keser said.

Standard Chartered is another primary dealer, accoding to Standard and Poor’s. The bank declined to comment on its role. The participation of other banks in the primary dealer network appears less certain, however. Qatar Islamic Bank , the Gulf state’s largest sharia-compliant lender by assets, is still considering whether to take part, according to its chief executive.

“We will probably be. It’s still under discussion,” group chief executive Baseel Gamal said in Doha earlier this month.

Bank Islam, Malaysia’s largest standalone Islamic lender, is awaiting internal approval from its sharia board, according to a source at the bank who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Japan yen devaluation will lead to global deflation

By Hayder Tawfik

J

apan will ultimately come out of the vicious deflationary slump only when the Yen is allowed to weaken a lot? One of the main external cause of Japanese deflation has been the continuous foreign direct investment in China.

Domestically Japan has an excess of domestic supply capacity that has been

another cause of the internal deflation. A devaluation of the Yen is way over due and should lead to a reduction of both sources of deflation and unfortunately will lead to a much bigger problem and that is a global deflation. The Japanese old grave system of savings by the public and the private has to be dismantled if Japan ever needs to get out of the deflationary circles. A devalued Yen will temporarily create inflation and a boom in exports but a deflation will come back if the domestic savings carry on piling up.

Because of the staggering foreign direct investments in China over the decades and Japanese direct investments throughout the world in particular Japanese producers of exportable goods whose direct investments, driven by the strong yen, are having the most deflationary impact on the global economy. As long as the Yen stays strong this keeps their domestic operating costs prohibitively high relative to China and other countries in Asia such as Thailand that has attracted billions of dollars of Japanese direct investments.

A more important source of a deflationary threat around the world is the over capacity and excess supply. Globally, every

economy that relies on manufacturing industry is exporting its excess supply to one another. The global economy needs consumptions rather than productions or let’s say inflation. The recent weakness of the Japanese Yen has already forced central banks around the world to cut interest rates in the hope of devaluing their currencies. It started with the ECB swallowing its pride and cutting interest rates and talking of further cuts on the way. India, Australia, South Korea and some East European followed shortly. Without any doubt the Bank of Japan’s new policy has unleashed a competitive devaluation around the world and more to come.

What are the implications of a devalued Japanese Yen? A disorderly weakness of the Yen will lead to excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates that can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability in particular for the Eurozone members. Also it will raise concerns from monetary authorities around the world that the Japanese monetary action might reduce the competitiveness of other leading currencies, consequently paving the way for a currency war. In recent months the euro has risen strongly in value against the yen, the US dollar, and the British Pound, increasing the price of Eurozone exports and threatening economic recovery as the 17-member bloc emerges from the worst of its financial crisis. A strong appreciation of the euro against major currencies would impact disproportionately on southern European countries with large deficits, whose exports were particularly price sensitive. It is the same for the main Japanese competitors in Asia and China.

The immediate implication has been the big outflow of Japanese capital into the world financial markets in anticipation of further weakness of the Yen. This has lead to big rally in high yield bonds either issued by governments or corporates and also a big rally in the equities in Japan and other developed markets.

There is a big possibility that the devaluation of the Yen, capital outflow and a global competitive devaluation will create another bubble in the financial markets. It is a bit early for this so my advice for international investors is to stay long equities and avoid bonds.

Hayder Tawfik - Executive Vice President of Asset Management, at Dimah CapitalHT@dimah.com.kw

Stock markets ride high, beware of a fall: Experts PARIS: Optimism is blowing through stock markets around the world, lifting many of them to record high levels but this contrasts with widespread economic gloom and leads some analysts to wonder if some of it is just hot air.

Records have been created with increasing speed since the beginning of May. The main DAX index in Frankfurt has reached a new record high level, and the markets in London and Tokyo have returned to the levels reached in October 2007 just before the financial crisis began.

Wall Street in New York is leading the way and sets a fresh record almost every day. But the stock market in Paris lags behind. The main CAC 40 index has just risen to the level last reached in the middle of 2011 and is far below the record high level of almost 7,000 points set in October 2000, and still trails the 4,332 points registered just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank in the United States in September 2008.

Analysts at Swiss Life private investment managers commented recently that the markets “are swimming in the midst of paradox”, questioning the strong rises at a time when the global economic situation is a long way from being stabilised and is even deepening in some places, including in Europe.

In financial circles, experts give various explanations for the rise of stock markets in mature economies.

Some hold that it is an artificial bull market driven by huge amounts of money pushed into economies by central banks.

Others say that the rises are justified because investors are anticipating a recovery of the world economy and a recovery of those stocks which have fallen heavily.

“The dichotomy between the real economy and the financial sphere is widening and this is worrying,” commented Guillaume Garabedian, a portfolio manager at French brokers Meeschaert Gestion Privee.

He held that that stock markets were rising mainly because central banks had been applying highly accommodating monetary policies, reducing their key interest rates, and pushing huge amounts of liquidity into the financial sector.

All classes of assets have been boosted by this, even the riskiest assets such as debt bonds issued by crisis-hit countries in southern Europe which are able to place their bonds despite still being in difficulty.

The rise of asset prices could even lead to a new financial bubble, some analysts are beginning to warn.

At Capital Spreads, Jonathan Sudeira said that “despite the efforts of the central banks, the volume of trading is falling and the high levels reached by some shares is beginning to look unjustified for traders who are being asked at the same time not to take account of the economic situation.” —AFP

A second Malaysian lender is also considering its participation, with the country’s central bank pushing for decisions to be made soon, the source said.

Luxembourg, where the sukuk will be domiciled, has one confirmed primary dealer while another is still working on the paperwork, according to a banking source familiar with the discussions, who declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

No specific date has been given for the first or subsequent sukuk issues, and the IILM did not respond to Reuters questions. Another key issue for the IILM sukuk, which are expected to have maturities of up to one year, will be their bidask spreads in the secondary market.

If the issues are too small relative to demand, many investors may end up buying and holding them rather than trading them, making price discovery difficult and resulting in wide bid-ask spreads that hurt their function as a store of value.

Other international sukuk often trade with bid-ask spreads ranging from 80100 basis points, so the IILM paper will

need to demonstrate it is much tighter than that. Spreads above 50 bps could affect the IILM’s effectiveness and credibility, said the head of treasury at a Bahrain-based Islamic lender. “Below 50 is good - a quarter (0.25 percentage point) would be great.”

Jason Kabel, head of fixed income at Bank of London and the Middle East, said: “I would expect a bid-ask spread of roughly 25 bps, providing the issue is large enough to ensure sufficient liquidity.

“If the secondary market operates as expected it will show that this instrument is the ideal liquidity tool for many funds and companies.”

The IILM has gone to considerable lengths to win a high credit rating for its sukuk: A-1 from S&P. Its Luxembourg structure uses two entities, one holding long-term assets and the other issuing the short-term certificates.

IILM documentation seen by Reuters shows the sukuk will be backed by sovereign assets from member countries, which some analysts believe could include aircraft and real estate.

The IILM statutes include a provision

barring any creditor, investor or shareholder from seizing company assets or petitioning for bankruptcy proceedings.

This clause is considered robust as it has been tested in the courts, said the Luxembourg-based banking source.

A high rating gives the sukuk preferential treatment under new Basel III international banking guidelines, and this could help Islamic banks boost their capital adequacy ratios.

“The IILM sukuk will also have a positive effect on balance sheet management for the banks. Since the said sukuk would be zero risk-weighted, the capital ratio of the bank would also be raised,” said Albaraka’s Keser.

Investment-grade sukuk from the IILM could also be used as collateral for interbank transactions and central bank financing, according to a study by Malaysia’s central bank.

The many potential uses of the sukuk underline the difficulty of the IILM’s task, however. If banks buy the sukuk to bolster their balance sheets or use as collateral, they may not trade the instruments - limiting their liquidity. —Reuters

Plans to export US gas stir debate Drilling boom boost US natural gas production WASHINGTON: A domestic natural gas boom already has lowered US energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now US producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.

Expanded drilling is unlocking enormous reserves of crude oil and natural gas, offering the potential of moving the country closer to its decades-long quest for energy independence. Yet as the industry looks to profit from foreign markets, there is the specter of higher prices at home and increased manufacturing costs for products from plastics to fertilizers.

Companies such as Exxon Mobil and Sempra Energy are seeking federal permits for more than 20 export projects that could handle as much as 29 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. If approved, the resulting export boom could lead to further increases in hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique also known as fracking. It has allowed companies to gain access to huge stores of natural gas underneath states from Colorado to New York, but raised widespread concerns about alleged groundwater contamination and even earthquakes. The drilling boom has helped boost US natural gas production by one-third since 2005, with production reaching an all-time high of 25.3 trillion cubic feet last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In recent months, however, production has begun to level off as the glut of natural gas keeps US prices down. In response, producers have begun pushing to export the fuel to Europe and Asia, where prices are far higher.

Approval of all the projects currently under review by the Energy Department could result in the export of more than 40 percent of current US production of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which is gas that’s been converted to liquid form to make it easier to store or transport.

The prospect of a major expansion of US gas exports has tantalized business groups and lawmakers from both parties, and they’re urging the Obama administration to move faster to approve the projects as a way to create thousands of jobs and spur economic growth. Increased exports also would help offset the nation’s enormous trade deficit. But consumer groups and some manufacturers that use natural gas oppose expanded exports, saying they could drive up domestic prices and make manufacturing more expensive.

Many environmental groups also oppose LNG exports because of fears that increased drilling could lead to environmental damage “Exporting natural gas will have serious implications for public health, the environment and climate change,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Building these terminals means lots of new fracking, and more fracking means more risks for Americans.”

Bill Cooper, president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, an industry group, called natural gas a safe, clean-burning alternative to coal and oil. “LNG exports are a huge opportunity for the United States economy, our workers and our geopolitical relationships” with countries such as Japan that are seeking to import natural gas, Cooper said. “LNG exports will create jobs, increase government revenue and benefit consumers.” The administration has not said whether it will approve the projects. The issue is among the main challenges for Ernest Moniz, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be energy secretary.

Federal law requires the Energy Department to

determine that projects are in the public interest before granting export permits to countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the US. Moniz, a physics professor and former top officials at the department in the Clinton administration, is widely seen as sympathetic to the natural gas industry. At a Senate hearing last month, he called the “stunning increase” in natural gas production a “revolution” that has led to reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that cause global warming.

A recent study commissioned by the department concluded that exporting natural gas would benefit the U.S. economy even if it leads to higher domestic prices for the fuel, as is likely. Michiganbased Dow Chemical Co. and other manufacturers have criticized that study, saying it relied on 2-

now?” Ladislaw asked. Natural gas results in fewer carbon emissions than other fossil fuels such as coal or oil, but still leaves a significant carbon footprint. Environmental groups also worry that more fracking could harm drinking water supplies or cause other problems.

Kevin Book, an analyst for ClearView Energy Partners, a research and consulting firm, predicted that the administration will approve some new exports, but nowhere near the 20 projects that are pending before the Energy Department.

“Everything we see from the administration suggests they embrace the idea of a small firstallocation” of LNG export permits, Book said.

“They are looking for some subset to test the market.” US officials also must consider competition from countries such as Canada and Australia,

COVE POINT: This undated aerial file photo provided by Dominion shows the Dominion Liquefied Natural Gas (LGN) facility in Cove Point, Md. A domestic natural gas boom already has lowered US energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. —AP year-old data that doesn’t account for increased demand for natural gas by manufacturers, trucking fleets and power plants.

Dow, which uses natural gas to power its plants and make products from plastics to pharmaceuticals, has argued against unfettered exports and said that could lead to price spikes that could harm the U.S. economy.

But John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, said restricting trade to control prices “is bad for the economy” and could result in lower domestic investment and production, hampering jobs and economic growth. “We cannot and should not build around a wall around United States,” Felmy said. Whether to approve natural gas exports is “a huge question that’s facing the federal government right now,” said Sarah Ladislaw, an energy analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Expanded exports not only could raise natural gas prices, but also could hinder development of renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar power that do more to combat climate change, Ladislaw said.

“How do you put yourself on a pathway to reduced (carbon) emissions over the longer term while not killing this golden goose which is providing low-cost energy to the United States right

where new LNG export terminals also are being proposed. The facilities cost billions of dollars and take years to complete.

Only one US license has been granted so far, to Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc. for an export terminal in Louisiana’s Cameron Parish. Proposals to build plants from Maryland to Texas and Oregon are pending from energy giants such as Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips, as well as Virginia -based Dominion Resources Inc. and Canadian-based Veresen Inc. The Energy Department has promised to decide on a case-by-case basis, but must finish wading through nearly 200,000 comments filed on a study last year that concluded more exports would translate to net economic benefits for the US. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said officials should seek a “sweet spot” for LNG exports - allowing enough to spur drilling and increase gas supplies, but not enough to create export-driven price hikes.

Under the right approach, energy companies can “make enough money to continue producing, US manufacturers have an affordable, stable supply of natural gas, and the environment is not only protected, but actually benefits from greater use of natural gas and lower CO2 emissions,” Wyden said. —AP

Sony back in the black on cheap yen, healthier sales TOKYO: Sony Corp. is back in the black for its fiscal fourth quarter, recording a 93.9 billion yen ($948 million) profit, with big help from a weaker yen that boosts overseas earnings.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment company also dragged itself back to profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, following four straight years of red ink. It reported Thursday annual earnings of 43 billion yen ($434 million), a reversal from a loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) the previous year - the worst in the company’s nearly sevendecade history. Tokyo-based Sony

expects the recovery to continue, and projected a 50 billion yen ($505 million) profit for the fiscal year through March 2014, up 16 percent.

A weak yen helps Japanese exporters, and the dollar has gained 20 percent against the yen in recent months. The favorable exchange rate is expected to continue in the coming months because of the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office last year. Sony had sunk to a 255.2 billion yen loss for the January-March period in 2012, slammed by its money-losing TV business and competition from rivals

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Sales for the January-March period rose 8 percent to 1.7 trillion yen ($17 billion), mainly from a favorable currency rate.

Sony’s annual earnings were better than its own forecast for a 40 billion yen ($404 million) profit, and that of analysts surveyed by FactSet at about 33 billion yen ($333 million). In an effort to achieve a turnaround, Sony has been shedding jobs and selling assets and parts of businesses in recent years.

The brand has lost much of its glamour as the maker of the Walkman portable music player, a pioneering

product, as well as the PlayStation videogame console, once a must-have for holiday shopping. Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato said that despite the return to profitability, the company’s electronics sector, including camcorders and digital cameras, was struggling compared to its entertainment projects.

“We must answer to the challenge of making our electronics business profitable, no matter what,” he said. The recent weaker yen, which will make Sony products cheaper abroad, was almost certain to work as a big plus, and Kato welcomed it. —AP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

BUSINESS

Australian Treasurer says deficit ‘uncomfortable’ SYDNEY: Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan admitted yesterday it was politically “very uncomfortable” to fail to return the budget to surplus as forecast, but blamed unprecedented shortfalls in government revenue.

Swan, who will deliver his sixth annual budget on Tuesday, said a year ago that the national accounts should come out of deficit this financial year. But a fall in tax revenues has forced him to delay the surplus.

“What has changed has been a fundamental writedown of revenue, which is unprecedented, which couldn’t be forecast or predicted,” Swan told the Nine Network. As the country prepares for elections in

September, which opinion polls suggest will be won by the conservative opposition led by Tony Abbott, Swan said voters could question why the surplus had not been achieved.

But he said he was faced with the choice of cutting spending to the bone to maintain the surplus, a course which would affect jobs, or explaining the fall in revenue forecasts.

“I’ll take my medicine; I’ll accept the politics of this are very uncomfortable,” he said. “But getting the big economic decisions right to support Australian jobs is what people expect of me, no mat-

ter how uncomfortable that is politically.”

Swan first announced the backdown on the budget surplus in December, and he has since confirmed revenue writedowns of at least Aus$17 billion (US$17 billion) for the 2012-13 financial year.

The Treasurer defended the government’s handling of the mining-powered economy, saying Australia was in “good shape” but the high Australian dollar had dragged on the economy.

“We have outperformed every other developed economy over the past five years and we will continue to do that over the next few years,” he said.

“But coming with that has been a very strong and high Australian dollar. “And that strong and high Australian dollar has caused an unprecedented set of circumstances in terms of the tax collections for the Commonwealth Government through last year and early this year.”

The high dollar has squeezed domestic industries at a time when fluctuating commodity prices due to cooling Chinese growth have seen export earnings fall.

Swan said the government planned to return to surplus, and the timeline for this would be revealed in the budget papers released on Tuesday evening. —AFP

Nissan FY2012 net income at 342.4 billion yen DUBAI: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. yesterday announced financial results for the twelvemonth period ending March 31, 2013.

Nissan faced a range of challenges during fiscal year 2012, yet fourth quarter profitability enabled the company to achieve its full-year net income target. Nissan also generated strong free cash flow and strengthened its balance sheet during FY2012.

Nissan filed the following results with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, based on foreign exchange rates of JPY 82.9/USD and JPY 106.8/EUR, the average rates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013: ● Net revenues of JPY 9.63 trillion (USD 116.16 billion, EUR 90.17 billion) ● Operating profit of JPY 523.5 billion (USD 6.31 billion, EUR 4.90 billion) ● Ordinary profit of JPY 529.3 billion (USD 6.38 billion, EUR 4.96 billion) ● Net income of JPY 342.4 billion (USD 4.13 billion, EUR 3.21 billion) In FY2012, global sales reached a record-high of 4.914 million units, up 1.4% over FY2011. Ten new models were launched to global markets, including the new Altima in the United States; Sylphy in China; and the Note in Japan.

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Fiscal 2012 was marked by both successes and challenges for Nissan. We ended the year with a sound balance sheet, record global sales, an improved brand, and an expanded presence in critical growth markets. Equally important, we have taken countermeasures that will enable us to navigate the headwinds that lie ahead and resume significant growth. As we enter the third year of the Nissan Power 88 mid-term plan, I am confident we have the right strategy in place to deliver on our business objectives.”

Looking at sales performance in global markets, sales in the US were up 5.4% to 1.14 million units. Sales volume in China, where sales of Japanese brands have been impacted by the bilateral territorial dispute, declined 5.3% year-on-year to 1.18 million vehicles. Across Europe including Russia, sales were 660,000 units, falling 7.5%. In Japan, sales were down 1.3% to 647,000 units. Strong results were reported in other markets, including Thailand, Brazil, and the Middle East; sales totalled 959,000 units, up 16.3% over the prior year.

Nissan solidified its position as the leading automaker for electric vehicles and zero-emission mobility during the fiscal year. More than 62,000 Nissan LEAF units have been sold worldwide since the product’s launch. During 2012, Nissan launched production in the U.S. and the U.K. to increase the ability to grow global sales.

FY2013 Outlook The global sales forecast for fiscal year 2013 is 5.3 million units, an increase of 7.8%. Nissan plans to launch several new vehicles during fiscal 2013; among them will be the first new model of the Datsun brand.

Based on this sales outlook and an exchange rate of JPY 95/USD and JPY 122/EUR, the following is Nissan’s pro forma outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014: ● Net revenue is forecast to be JPY 11.2 trillion (USD 117.89 billion, EUR 91.80 billion); ● Operating profit is expected to be JPY 700 billion (USD 7.37 billion, EUR 5.74 billion); ● Ordinary profit is expected to be JPY 665 billion (USD 7.0 billion, EUR 5.45 billion); and ● Net income is forecast to be JPY 420 billion (USD 4.42 billion, EUR 3.44 billion).

Due to changes in reporting standards, Nissan will use different methodology to account for its financial results from fiscal 2013 onward. Specifically, Nissan will shift to the Equity Method accounting procedures starting in fiscal 2013 for the joint venture between Nissan and Dongfeng in China. Though net income reporting will remain unchanged under the new accounting method, henceforward income statements will no longer include DongfengNissan’s results in revenues and operating profit.

Based on the new reporting method, Nissan today filed the following forecasts with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, based on foreign exchange rates of JPY 95/USD and JPY 122/EUR, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014: ● Net revenue is forecast to be JPY 10.37 trillion (USD 109.16 billion, EUR 85.0 billion); ● Operating profit is expected to be JPY 610 billion (USD 6.42 billion, EUR 5.0 billion); ● Ordinary profit is expected to be JPY 645 billion (USD 6.79 billion, EUR 5.29 billion); and ● Net income is forecast to be JPN 420 billion (USD 4.42 billion, EUR 3.44 billion).

Australia budget blues in land of mining boom SYDNEY: As China’s economy slows and Australia begins its painful transition away from a decade-long mining boom, Treasurer Wayne Swan will have little to offer voters seeking an election-year spending spree.

The government has spent months priming the public for a significant plunge in revenues-due to sluggish corporate tax earnings-when Swan unveils his final budget before Australia goes to the polls on September 14.

The stubbornly high Australian dollar has been fingered as the culprit, squeezing domestic industries at a time when fluctuating commodity prices due to cooling Chinese growth have seen export earnings slide.

Australia, the standout resilient economy during the financial crisis, is showing signs of fatigue. The central bank Tuesday slashed interest rates to a record low 2.75 percent to stimulate activity.

The China-driven mining industry, long its major asset and economic engine, is approaching an investment peak and a bumpy transformation lies ahead as triple-A credit-rated Australia seeks alternative sources of growth.

Swan’s economic stewardship through the global downturn earned him Euromoney’s Finance Minister of the Year in 2011, and he boasted that Australia would again beat the world-this time by returning to surplus in 2013.

What a difference 12 months can make. “What has changed has been a fundamental writedown of revenue, which is unprecedented, which couldn’t be forecast or predicted,” Swan told the Nine Network on Sunday as he defended his decision to delay returning to surplus.

Swan said he was ready to “take my medicine” politically for the decision.”Getting the big economic decisions right to support Australian jobs is what people expect of me, no matter how uncomfortable that is politically,” he said.

Rather than the splurging typical of an election year, Sydney University economist Colm Harmon said the budget was likely to be a “bland affair” aimed at “dampening the sense that somebody’s lost control of the steering wheel”.

“Anything by way of spending would be unbelievable; anything too dramatic in

terms of cutbacks will be too damaging,” said Harmon.

If opinion polls are reliable, Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Labor party is on track to lose power in a landslide to the Tony Abbott-led conservatives come September.

It is a situation that confounds outsiders according to economist Stephen Koukoulas, formerly Gillard’s senior economic adviser. “Globally people are saying ‘Gosh, what are you guys worrying about?

You’re growing, you’ve got minuscule levels of government debt, you’re in the fastest-growing region in the world,” Koukoulas told AFP. “‘You’ve got 5.5 percent unemployment, you’ve got government debt that’s 10 percent of GDP, your deficit’s one percent of GDP. What on earth is bugging you guys?’”

According to Harmon, who arrived in Australia from austerity-hit Ireland just nine months ago, the government made a rod for its own back by repeatedly “fetishising” the political imperative of a budget surplus.

To justify reneging on that promise Harmon said Labor had been forced to resort to “the language of ‘let’s share the pain’”-the last thing voters want to hear in an election year, and rhetoric that jars with reality.

“Australia is a million miles away from any of the catastrophic scenarios that other countries find themselves in,” said Harmon.

“While there are plenty of bumps in the road potentially-Chinese demand, housing market issues-the country has more than the ability to absorb that.

“The economic realities are very sound indeed. Unfortunately the political issue (of a deficit) is resonating with the public.”

Nick Economou, politics analyst from Monash University, said voters had largely stopped listening and had only “a sort of macabre interest to see how the condemned are going to behave as they go to their execution” on budget night.

“The voters have made up their minds and it’s all over,” said Economou. “In politics people are never satisfied, it doesn’t matter what you do. And the worst thing you can say to them is ‘You’ve never had it so good’.” —AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

BUSINESS

Will Fed taper their assets purchase program?

NBK WEEKLY MONEY MARKETS REPORT KUWAIT: The major action for the week happened on Thursday night as Dollar finally broke against the Yen through the psychological 100 level and signaled to the rest of the market that the USD bull trend is still intact.

As investors were giving up on further USD strength during the past couple of weeks, the US dollar bullish move came almost a week after the latest US payroll numbers. On Thursday night, Euro, Yen and Sterling tumbled along with the rest of the G10 versus the USD. The main driver remains whether the Fed might taper their Quantitative easing program sooner than expected as employment data has been coming stronger than expected along with a stronger moving average.

After a volatile week, the focus is likely to shift back to the US next week with the release of March retail sales, industrial production and CPI inflation. If the data exhibit a relatively weak tone, this may take some of the enthusiasm off from last week’s employment report and keep markets inclined to doubt the scope for a near-term tapering of Fed QE program.

On the foreign exchange side, currencies closed the week with a stronger Dollar across the board. On Thursday, the Bank of England delivered an unchanged policy decision, in line with expectations. After both the Industrial Production numbers and the BoE, Sterling attempted a higher move, but the reaction was fairly muted.

After reaching a high of 1.5599, the Pound ended the week close to the lowest level seen during the week of 1.5358.

After being investors’ favorite trade during the past couple of days, the Euro plummeted by the end of the week to a low of 1.2986 following a stronger USD across the board.

In the commodity complex, Gold prices remain shaky with prices dropping by the end of the week to a low of $1,420. Physical gold prices on the other hand remain supported in Asia around 4% higher than the Bullion trading prices.

Oil prices remain strong on the back of a strong US equity markets in addition to the ongoing Middle East tensions.

Jobless Claims, Lowest Level since November 2007 Jobless Claims in the US fell to the low-

est level since in over five years, signaling labor market resilience in the face of fiscal austerity implemented since the beginning of the year. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to an adjusted 323,000, the lowest level since January 2008. Economists had expected a drop to 335,000. A better indication of the employment state in the US is the fourweek moving average for new claims, which dropped 6,250 to 336,750-the lowest level since November 2007.

The US budget Deficit likely to continue Shrinking.

The shrinking of the US federal deficit has been an important and over-looked factor in the US recovery. The congressional budget office is now reporting strong revenue collection, up by 16% since the start of the fiscal year in October 2012. Add to it the sequestration and other reductions in expenditures; this is seeing the deficit narrow. Additionally the government agency Fannie Mae has also said it will make a USD 59.4 bn dividend payment to the government in June. Combined, both developments are expected to give president Obama until roughly October to address the debt ceiling.

Europe & UK Positive Euro Zone News Albeit A German Slowdown The positive tone continues in Europe for a second week in a row. According to German newspapers, the ECB is looking at buying bad loans from southern Europe to relieve the pressure on banks in crisisstricken countries. Part of the scheme would be to buy asset-backed securities, which allow banks to pass on credit risk to other investors in order to free up capital for lending. The plan would help to mitigate the effect of new regulations, which require banks to boost capital and liquidity buffers.

Looking to the German trade data for March, imports and exports rose slightly after falling in February, suggesting the country is picking up again after a contraction at the end of 2012. In the First quarter, exports remained under pressure from weak demand in the Euro zone. While Yenweakness is likely to remain a problem for German exporters, problems in Europe might resurface later on in the third quarter

TMC reports net revenues of 22 trillion Yen for 2013 TOKYO: Commenting on the results, TMC President Akio Toyoda said: “In the fiscal year ended March, we experienced increased sales of our vehicles mainly in North America and Asia, and, coupled with the results of company-wide profit

improvement activities, we booked operating income of 1.32 trillion yen. We have faced many challenges since 2009 but have learned valuable lessons, including the need for Toyota to maintain sustainable

growth. We believe that the driver for sustainable growth is ultimately ever-better cars, and we are launching cars developed with this mindset. We are also making progress in reforming our manufacturing technologies and vehicle development processes under the Toyota New Global Architecture and I am convinced that the positive cycle defined for our business in the Toyota Global Vision is now gradually but steadily taking shape.”

Major factors contributing to the increase in operating income include the positive effects from marketing activities generating 650 billion yen, cost reduction efforts saving 450 billion yen and currency fluctuations of 150 billion yen, which offset the negative effects from related expenses of 300.0 billion yen.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, Toyota expects consolidated vehicle sales of 9.1 million units, consolidated net revenues of 23.5 trillion yen, operating income of 1.8 trillion yen and net income of 1.37 trillion yen.

Airlines bankroll sports glory to win market dogfight ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines has added German highflier Borussia Dortmund to its sponsorship roster, taking fierce competition with Gulf carriers from the skies to the world’s premier football stadiums.

After mythic clubs Barcelona FC and Manchester United, Dortmund is the third football giant to be sponsored by THY, which is vying to dominate the airways with just-as ambitious Gulf carriers, such as Emirates and Qatar Airways. The deal, estimated in the tens of millions of euros, is well timed, coming just as Dortmund secured its place in an allGerman Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 25, in what sports analysts said was a Bundesliga resurgence.

“In our pursuit of marketing our product and shaping our brand, we have taken on sports to represent our face to the public,” said THY chairman Hamdi Topcu. Crowned best European airline in 2011 and 2012, Turkish Airlines is expanding furiously and chalking up clear victories in an industry known for cutthroat rivalries worthy of the Premier League.

The airline carried 39 million passengers in 2012 — Emirates carried 34 million-and paid $20 billion for some 200 Boeing and Airbus jets in a frantic push to carry 96 million passengers by 2020, when it hopes Istanbul will have beaten Madrid and Tokyo to host the Summer Olympics.

The idea is to advertise a “good product to provide us with visibility across the world,” said Ali Genc, deputy chairperson at the airline. The push has already paid off, at least on the web, with a television ad featuring basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and Lionel Messi, the football living legend, viewed over 100 million times.

“Sport sponsorships is like fireworks,” said Lionel Maltese, a marketing professor at Aix Marseille University in France, explaining the

“big buzz” an airline gets for bankrolling sports glory. But a famous name comes with a price, experts say, especially when economies flush with petrodollars are on the hunt for exposure.

In football, Dubai-based Emirates is now patron to Paris St.Germain, AC Milan and has long backed Arsenal, whose home field was named Emirates Stadium in a game-changing 2004 deal worth $200 million.

Emirates will also sponsor 15 of Formula One’s 19 Grand Prix over the next five seasons.

“It is very simple-sports sponsoring is very successful because people tend to remember sports more than anything else,” said Boutros Boutros, the head of Emirates’ Corporate Communications. “We also sponsor festivals, expositions and concerts but nobody seems to pay attention to that,” Boutros said, noting that passenger numbers rose more than tenfold since 2000 when the company first started sponsorships.

According to chief executive Ahmad bin Said al-Maktoum, Emirates sets aside $227 million every year for sport sponsorships.

Turkish Airlines, which entered the fray much later, chose “eye-catching sponsorships... at the expense of short term profitability,” said Emre Akcakmak, a senior analyst from East Capital. But the effort was worth it, he said, with THY’s passenger numbers and profitability rising remarkably over the years.

The competition never lets up however, with companies running the risk of “looking less famous or less attractive” if they step out of the game, Maltese warned.

In November, Qatar Airways replaced THY in a surprise jersey deal with Barcelona worth 170 million euros. And unsurprisingly, Qatar Airways will also stamp its logo on the 2022 World Cup when home city Doha hosts the huge event. —AFP

Greek Officials Expressing Hope That the Economy Is Recovering Greece Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras was quoted this week saying that he foresees Greece returning to capital markets in 2014 when rescue funds from its latest bailout programme run dry, if it achieves a primary budget surplus and positive rates of growth first.

For the first time since the eruption of the crisis in October 2010, when Greece was forced to go to the EU and IMF for financial assistance, 10-year-bonds closed below 10% earlier this month, reflecting improved budget figures and optimism that Greece is meeting the terms of its bailout agreements

due to negative real yields. The UK appears to be suffering from a decline in the relative profitability of its foreign investments.

On a different level, the continued dramatic decline in the Euro zone tail risk has been hurting the Sterling lately, as we had witnessed last year the massive inflow from the Euro zone due to the safe haven status of the UK. Asia Japanese Investors Finally Buying Foreign Bonds According to the weekly portfolio data released from the Ministry of Finance, Japanese investors net-bought •204.4 billion of foreign bonds in the week of April 22nd and net-bought •309.9 billion of for-

Italy Industrial Output Falls Industrial production fell in Italy more than economists expected in March.

Output decreased 0.8% from Februyary when it fell 0.9%. The number was higher than expected as economists had expected a drop of 0.3%.

On a yearly basis, the number dropped by 5.2% lower than in the same month last year. The Italian economy has shrunk for six consecutive quarters, since the middle of 2011. Another fall in GDP in the first quarter would make it the longest recession the country has suffered since the Second World War.

eign bonds in the week of April 29th. While Japanese investors have been net-sellers of foreign bonds in the previous six consecutive weeks since mid-March even after BoJ governor Kuroda introduced unprecedented monetary policy easing on April 4th, it seems that Japanese investors are slowly starting to react to the new monetary policies. In addition, Japanese investors netsold •2.2 trillion of foreign bonds in April.

However, •2.4 trillion was from banks, which flows do not have impact on the currency market. On the other hand, life insurance companies were actually net-buyers of foreign bonds (•437.9 billion).

On Thursday, Japan’s economy minister said the yen’s rapid descent against other major currencies reflects a recovery in the US economy as well as improvements in Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Additionally, Amari reiterated Japan’s position that the country isn’t engaged in currency-market manipulation. With the yen falling so sharply, however, concerns are also growing in Japan that it will further push up the prices of imported items and could pinch the household sector. Finally, Amari said that he is aware of such con-

The UK is still in a Negative environment On Thursday, the Bank of England delivered an unchanged policy decision this week , in line with expectations. Unlike the Fed, the Bank of England is unlikely to shift to less easing anytime this year, so investors can’t price much in terms of relative monetary policy tightening. Also the Sterling has been negatively correlated with risk appetite. Looking at the balance of payments, inflows remain exceptionally weak

cerns and that the government will take steps to mitigate fallouts of the sharply lower yen People Bank of China Worried about Inflation and Growth According to the People Bank of China, China cannot be blindly optimistic about the outlook for inflation at a time when uncertainties remain in areas such as property and farm-produce prices. In its firstquarter monetary policy implementation report, the PBOC said “China will continue to pursue a prudent monetary policy to keep prices stable”. As the central bank remains concerned about inflation, the comments suggest the central bank is reluctant to loosen monetary policy even with low inflation and a growth slowdown.

This week, data showed the consumer price index rose 2.4% in April, below the government’s 2013 goal for a fourth straight month.

Trade data on the other hand were better than market expectations in April with exports rising 14.7% year on year versus 9.2% consensus and up from 10% the month before. Import growth was also strong at 16.8% year on year versus consensus 13%.

Commodities Gold Remain Under Pressure The massive decline in Gold couple of weeks ago ignited Demand for physical gold, especially coins and jewelry. Indeed, retail investors rushed to take advantage of the suddenly discounted prices to buy physical gold, especially coins. Purchases were more than able to absorb the liquidation of gold and put a support under the $1,400 level. The concerns arise about the sustainability of such a nature of demand; for instance, buyers who might have been looking for much lower price levels could have been prompted to act by the suddenness of the price slump. The same might have been the case for buyers who might otherwise have bought later in the year.

This missing demand will be felt if the Fed decides to taper its QE program in the next June meeting.

Kuwait Kuwaiti Dinar at 0.28545. The USD-KWD opened at 0.28545 on Sunday morning.

India IT watchdog probes breach in global ATM heist Customers affected by this sophisticated crime MUMBAI/ BANGALORE: The Indian government’s cyber watchdog is investigating how the computer systems of two companies that are part of the country’s vast IT services industry were breached in a global ATM heist that saw $45 million stolen from two banks in the Middle East.

EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, based in the Indian city of Pune, processed card payments for the two banks that were hit in the theft, several people familiar with the situation said.

“We are investigating the technical aspect,” Gulshan Rai, director general of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), part of the department of electronics and information technology, told Reuters by phone yesterday.

“What kind of breach has happened in the system, how did it happen, what processes are in place, and the entire technical aspect we will look at,” he said, adding that the agency had started its investigation on Saturday.

US prosecutors said on Thursday that hackers broke into two card processing companies, raising the balances and withdrawal limits on accounts that were then exploited in coordinated ATM withdrawals around the world.

The prosecutors did not name the two companies but said one was based in India and the other in the United States. According to a US official and a bank employee, who both spoke on condition of anonymity, ElectraCard Services was the company that processed prepaid travel cards for National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK). RAKBANK suffered a $5 million coordinated heist at ATMs around the world on Dec 21 last year, according to the US indictment.

Ramesh Mengawade, the chief executive of ElectraCard Services and its parent company, Opus Software Solutions, could not be reached through his assistant or by email on Saturday.

ElectraCard is based in a plush office park near the airport on the outskirts of Pune, a fast-growing city in western India that is a hub for the IT and auto industries and is home to several universities. A security guard at the office park, where tenants include IBM, would not allow in a Reuters journalist without an appointment yesterday.

Unlisted ElectraCard had a net loss of 90.2 million rupees ($1.65 million) on net sales of 535.4 million rupees for the fiscal year that ended in March 2012, a sales decline of 1.6 percent, according to a report by ratings agency Crisil.

MasterCard bought a 12.5 percent stake in ElectraCard in 2010, ElectraCard has said.

MasterCard, the network under which the cards used in the heist were issued, has said

its security was not compromised.

EnStage, which is incorporated in Cupertino, California, but has operations based in Bangalore, is the company that processed card payments for Bank of Muscat of Oman, according to a source close to Bank of Muscat. Bank of Muscat lost $40 million in a coordinated heist on Feb. 19, according to Thursday’s indictment. “Our customers were adversely affected by this sophisticated crime,” EnStage CEO Govind Setlur said in a statement in the Times of India newspaper.

A statement obtained by Reuters from a company spokesman said: “Since the time the

contracts in the world in 2011, according to industry data.

India-based IT vendors, who rely on the trust of global clients to handle sensitive data, are dominated by companies providing support services to the global financial industry.

Eddie Schwartz, chief information security officer for RSA Inc, a firm that helps banks fight payment card fraud, said that it is not surprising that hackers would target banks that rely on Indian firms to process transactions.

Schwartz, who is based in Washington, said there is not as much government oversight in India as there is in the United States and

In this Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 file photo, a person inserts a debit card into an ATM machine in Pittsburgh. A gang of cyber-criminals stole $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking their way into a database of prepaid debit cards and then draining cash machines around the globe, federal prosecutors said Thursday, May 9, 2013. —AP incident occurred, EnStage has retained independent security experts to analyse the intrusion and to recommend enhancements to its information security infrastructure. EnStage has implemented both these enhancements as well as additional monitoring capabilities.”

Setlur was travelling and could not be reached for further comment yesterday. The company appears to occupy an entire floor in an office in central Bangalore. An employee who did not want to be identified said that about 250 people work in the office but did not give further details.

Bank of Muscat has not commented on the case. Police in Pune and Bangalore did not immediately have information on the matter when reached yesterday.

The breach in security at Indian operators is a blow to the country’s multi-billion dollar information technology industry, which received about half of all outsourcing

Western Europe. “Hackers view India as a target. It’s got a fast-moving economy, a fastmoving IT infrastructure,” Schwartz said.

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 fanned out to thousands of ATMs in a matter of hours, withdrawing money using fraudulent prepaid debit cards, according to U.S. 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.

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. —Reuters

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

BUSINESS

GCC residents believe localisation by govts are effective DUBAI: A ‘Nationalization in the GCC” poll conducted by Bayt.com, the region’s number one job site, has revealed that sentiment suggests that GCC residents feel that GCC nationals are given generous support by their governments. In fact, according to the poll, the general perception is that national citizens are given “very much support” by the government as far as job search is concerned as stated by 42% of respondents, with only a quarter (26%) claiming that nationals receive no support. 35.6% claim that they believe the government does in fact intervene in the hiring of local talent within their company, however, 42% state the opposite, where they claim that the government does not play a part in that respect.

With regards to talent availability and ease of sourcing and hiring, almost half of the respondents (52%) feel it is easy for employers to source national talent. Moreover, when compared to expatriates, respondents believe that national citizens receive better pay (46%), receive more support from the government (23%), and are promoted faster (11%).

Only, 11% believe that local talents are paid less than their expat counterparts. Most local talents are

employed in sales and marketing (33%) or IT departments (21%), with the majority holding supervisory (31%) or managerial (25%) positions.

22% occupy entry level positions, and 5% are in their company’s C-level roles.

Over a third of the poll’s respondents (36%) believe that the best way to find national talent is through dedicated regional jobsites. Social media is also a popular method for finding national employees (24%), as are university career fairs (12.3%). On the other hand, newspaper ads (7%), alumni centers (6%) and local job fairs (7%), as well as some of the dedicated local government sites are seen to be relatively less effective for discovering local talent.

“At Bayt.com we have been assisting corporations in the GCC large and small, both local and international, to meet their nationalizations targets for the better part of the last decade,” said SuhailMasri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. “Most of the region’s top employers whom we liaise with on a daily basis are already actively mobilized to source, attract and retain national talent across career levels and job roles and this initiative should serve in effect to give their nationalization targets and activ-

ities extra impetus, momentum, direction and drive.

In the GCC in particular, Bayt.com’s online recruitment platform has facilitated the entire process of meeting nationalization objectives and targets panindustrially by making it faster, easier and more efficient to source top national talent across career levels. We liaise very closely with each country’s universities and top employers alike to ensure our recruitment platform readily accommodates local recruitment targets from the internship and fresh graduate stage through to mid-management and senior managerial level roles and requirements.” More than half of the companies based in the GCC (52%) have firm policies for hiring nationals, as opposed to the 32% that don’t (16% of respondents did not know whether or not their companies have firm policies).

Yet, the results of the poll show that the number of nationals working in companies varies widely, with 37% claiming that local talent makes up 0 to 5% of their workforce, and 18% stating that their company comprises of 75 to 100% nationals. The biggest issues relating to hiring local talent are seen to be perceptions they may want less hours or more pay (39%); and perceptions they may be relatively less

competitive when it comes to training and experience (14.5%), as well as perceptions they may favor a select few limited industries for employment purposes (10%).

When asked whether they believe that the current workplace localization policies in their country are effective, half of polled professionals think they are effective indeed: 22% responded with ‘yes, very’, and 28% stated ‘yes, to an extent.’ However, 14% claim that the policies are ‘not effective at all’, and 16% believe that they are ‘not very effective’.

Respondents feel that hiring levels for national talents could be most improved if nationals had access to better educational and vocational training facilities (24%), if there were better coordination between the government and the private sector (22%), or if there were better incentives for the private sector from the government (16%) and better coordination between educational institutes and companies (15%).

Data for the Bayt.com “Nationalization in the GCC” poll was collected online from March 15 May 2, with 2,213 respondents covering six GCC countries.

Honda Alghanim launches exclusive promotion at its new service center

Etihad Airways named ME’s leading airline DUBAI: Etihad Airways has received the prestigious title of Middle East’s Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards Middle East, for a remarkable seventh consecutive year.

The accolade was one of three awards won by the national airline of the United Arab Emirates during the black tie event held at Dubai’s Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa last night.

Etihad Airways was also recognised for the Middle East’s Leading Airline First Class and Middle East’s Leading Cabin Crew.

The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to seek out and reward the very best travel organisations in the world, acknowledging the elite organisations in their respective fields through a global vote by travel professionals. The World Travel Awards has achieved top industry status and been named by the Wall Street Journal as the “Oscars of the Travel Industry”.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “On behalf of the whole Etihad Airways’ team, I am delighted to accept the title of Middle East’s Leading Airline. Everything we do is focused on giving our guests the best possible travel experience.

“Through organic growth, codeshares and equity stakes, we expanded our network to a total of 248 destinations across the globe in 2012, offering greater flexibility and choice for our guests.

“Complementing this expanding global network, we are continuously investing in innovation to ensure our guests benefit from the latest advances in technology and design,” he said.

“December, for example, saw the launch of our new ‘Etihad Wi-Fly’ inflight highspeed, broadband internet and mobile phone connectivity service. We are progressively rolling this service out and our entire fleet will be equipped with connectivity by the end of 2014.

“We are also continuing to make significant investments in our premium lounges, featuring a range of exclusive services designed to make the journey more relaxing and enjoyable.

“The hallmark of Etihad Airways is the warm and generous hospitality that is drawn from the traditional Arabian culture in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and, of which, we are extremely proud,” Mr Hogan said.

Graham E. Cooke, World Travel Awards President & Founder, said: “Etihad Airways has enjoyed the most impressive twelve months yet in its 10 year history. Its strategy of organic growth and savvy partnerships, coupled with an unrivalled commitment to quality and service, has delivered record results and soaring passenger growth.

“We congratulate Etihad Airways for winning ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline’, ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline First Class’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Cabin Staff’ at World Travel Awards Middle East Ceremony 2013.”

The success at the World Travel Awards follows another triumph for the airline this week. At the 2013 Business Traveller Middle East Awards, on May 5, Etihad Airways took home the titles for Airline with the Best First Class and Airline with the Best Frequent Flyer Programme.

Burgan Bank Q1 underlying performance remains solid KUWAIT: Burgan Bank Group reported yesterday KD 15.6 million net profits for the first quarter of 2013 after taking KD 5 million in precautionary provisions.

Operating Profit before provisions grew by 12% to reach KD 29.8 million compared to KD 26.6 million reported for the first quarter last year.

Majed Essa Al-Ajeel Underlying performance for the first quarter 2013 reflects the solid financial and operating performance of the group.

Net income excluding the KD 5 million in provisions charges equates to KD 20.4 million reflecting 16% Year-on-year growth.

Burgan Bank Group’s international operations continue to operate on a growth mode and increased contribution to Group’s revenue to reach 58% which is in line with the diversifications policy in faster economies. Burgan Bank Group’s balance sheet remains strong, Capital Adequacy ratio stands at 18.57% while liquidity ratio stands at 32.5%. Asset quality continues to improve in which non-per-

forming loans (net of collateral) ratio to gross loans stands at 2.1%.

Majed Essa Al-Ajeel, Chairman of Burgan Bank Group, said: “we are very proud with the underlying performance that reflects the soundness of our strategy execution. Burgan Bank Group is growing faster than the economy and still outperforming the market almost on all metrics.

The decision to take extra precautionary provisions reflects our adopted approach to cope with current adverse market conditions, and by implementing prudent measures encouraged by the Central Bank of Kuwait.”

“All leading indicators continue on the right trajectory to sustain a solid operating performance while maintaining our prudent approach toward striking the right “risk & reward” balance,” added Mr. Al-Ajeel.

“On behalf of the board, I take this opportunity to thank our customers and shareholders for their confidence in our capabilities. I would also like to thank our executive management team for their leadership and the excellent execution of the corporate strategy, and to our staff for their continued support and commitment,” concluded Al Ajeel.

The consolidated financials encompass the results of the Group’s operations in Kuwait, and its share from its regional subsidiaries, namely Jordan Kuwait Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Burgan Bank - Turkey, Bank of Baghdad, Tunis International Bank, in which Burgan Bank owns a majority stake in. Burgan Bank Group has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 216 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and Palestine.

KUWAIT: Alghanim Motors, the new Honda car dealer in Kuwait, has announced the launch of an exclusive promotion for all Honda vehicle owners under warranty. The promotion includes free oil change, vehicle check-up and car wash services, giving customers peace of mind and satisfaction in their Honda vehicle. Alghanim Motors’ new Service Center is located in Shuwaikh adjacent to Alghanim Industries head office; opposite to the Classical Car Museum.

All Honda owner vehicles under warranty are welcome to bring their cars to the new service center to benefit from this limited time offer.

While the car is being serviced, customers have the option of spending time in the new waiting area that is solely created for Honda Alghanim customers. The waiting area is equipped with TV screens, laptops, free Wi-Fi, PS3 gaming stations, massage chairs as well as complimentary Arabic coffee and dates. The new Honda Alghanim Service Center is committed to upholding

Honda’s international standards of providing high quality service and products. Alghanim Industries has long applied those same guidelines that exude quality, care and proficiency on all its workings, businesses and activities. The new Honda Alghanim service center offers gen-

uine Honda spare parts as well as Honda’s quality motor oil to maintain every vehicle’s high level of performance and peace of mind.

Alghanim Industries gained its reputation as a solid and trusted company in Kuwait after years of steadfast leadership in the local market.

According to international standards, Alghanim Industries offers the highest level of customer satisfaction making the company a reliable force that has accumulated a large, ever-growing customer base in the region. In addition, the com-

pany always seeks to meet customer and market needs by providing the highest quality of products and services for complete customer satisfaction.

Honda Alghanim’s exclusive offer is for a limited time only and exclusive for all Honda vehicle owners under warranty. Benefit from the promotion by visiting Honda Alghanim’s Service Center in Shuwaikh adjacent to Alghanim Industries main office; opposite to the Classical Car Museum. The offer is valid until May 31, 2013.

Al Tijari announces winners of daily draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al Najma Account Daily draw on 12th May 2013.

The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani.

The winners of the Najma Daily Draw are :The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD 100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bankís establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD 500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD 25

a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD 50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

Etihad Airways and Air France strengthen ties DUBAI: Strategic partners Etihad Airways and Air France have announced a number of new codeshare destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe for summer 2013.

The expansion of codeshare services follows last October ’s strategic agreement between the respective national carriers to foster closer commercial ties, build an expanded global network, and deliver unrivalled travel options for customers.

Now placing its EY flight code on Air France flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Oslo and Stockholm, Etihad Airways expects to build on the existing joint codeshare routes from Paris-CDG to Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse.

Subject to further regulatory approvals, Etihad Airways expects to be able to place its EY code soon on Air France flights between Paris-CDG, Lisbon and Marseilles. The UAE flag carrier flies twice daily between Abu Dhabi and Paris.

Air France is placing its AF code on Etihad Airways’ daily flights from Abu Dhabi to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and to two cities in Australia - Melbourne and Sydney. The French carrier expects to be able to place its AF code shortly on Etihad Airways services between Singapore and Brisbane.

Furthermore and subject to regulatory approvals, Air France foresees placing its AF code on routes between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu.

The airline already places its AF code on Etihad Airways’ operated flights between

Paris-CDG and Abu Dhabi, and onwards to Colombo, Mahé (Seychelles) and Male (Maldives).

Dominique Patry, Vice President International Affairs and Alliances at Air France said: “Our strategic partnership with Etihad Airways continues to flourish and, as a result of the expansion of codeshare services, our travellers now have enhanced access to Abu Dhabi and to key cities in Africa, Australia Asia and Europe.”

Kevin Knight, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Etihad Airways, said: “Enhancing

connectivity, making the journey easier and more enjoyable, increasing choice, and seamlessly integrating operations over each airline’s respective hub, continues to underpin our strategy for building a world-class global network.”

In addition to the codeshare with Air France, Etihad Airways has 42 other codeshare agreements in place with airlines across the world. Codeshare partnerships, along with equity acquisitions and organic growth, form the three pillars of Etihad Airways’ expansion plans.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

technology

For banks in cyber heist, how to get money back?

NEW YORK: Because the sums were large and such attacks are relatively new, the two Middle East banks hit in a $45 million ATM heist face an uncertain path in trying to recover their losses, financial, insurance and legal experts say. Oman-based Bank of Muscat lost $40 million and United Arab Emirates-based National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) lost $5 million in the global heist, US prosecutors said on Thursday. Computer hackers broke into third-party companies that processed transactions for prepaid debit cards issued by the banks, the prosecutors said.

Then, gangs in 27 countries withdrew the money from cash machines in two coordinated hits, one on Dec 21 last year and the other on Feb 19 this year.

While details of what happened are still sketchy, experts said the banks could bring claims against the processing companies in court, or they could file claims with their insurers and those of the processing companies. “There’s no hard and fast rule,” said Dan Karson, the Americas chairman of Kroll Advisory Solutions.

“We’re in very much a new cybersphere of finance, and allocating liability is still very much evolving.” Any claims by banks against the processing companies would depend on the contracts between the two parties, Karson and other experts

said. Those contracts include industry security standards, which are required by the major credit card payment networks, in this case MasterCard.

In most security breach cases, the processing company in question did not fully comply with the standards, said Doug Johnson, vice president for risk management policy at the American Bankers Association. However, even if the processor failed to comply with security standards, banks may still be unable to get back their money. That is because the contracts between processors and banks, under terms set by credit card companies like MasterCard or Visa, typically limit the processor’s liability. “They can’t make everybody whole, or they’ll be out of business,” said Michael Klaschka of Integro Insurance Brokers, which has many financial institutions as clients. “The bank may have very little recourse against the credit card processor.”

In the hit against Bank of Muscat, the processor is enStage Inc, based in Cupertino, California, a source close to the Bank of Muscat said. In a statement yesterday, Bank of Muscat said it was examining its options to recover the money. “We reiterate that we are exploring all avenues of recovery so as to protect shareholder interests and will advise the

markets accordingly if there are any material developments in this regard,” the statement said. Officials at enStage did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday. EnStage CEO Govind Setlur said in a statement in the Times of India his company had implemented security enhancements since the attack.

In the RAKBANK case, the processor is India’s ElectraCard Services, according to people familiar with the situation.

ElectraCard Services said in a statement yesterday that data appeared to have been compromised outside its “processing environment.” MasterCard has said it cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and said its systems were not compromised in the attacks.

The banks can still tr y to sue the processors for negligence or other claims, but their success may be limited by their contracts, which include regulations that lay out specific fines and dispute resolution procedures mandated by the credit card companies. Such lawsuits have proven difficult to win, according to Joseph Burton of law firm Duane Morris in San Francisco, an expert in financial litigation. US federal courts have generally, but not unanimously, found that banks are restricted to contractual remedies.

In one major case, card-issuing banks

filed a class action against Heartland Payment Systems after the processor announced in 2009 that hackers had compromised the data for more than 100 million credit cards.

A federal judge in Houston, Texas, dismissed almost all of the claims in 2011, finding that the banks were bound by their contracts, which included regulations set by Visa and MasterCard that govern how banks can seek relief after a breach. The banks’ appeal is pending.

Bank of Muscat and RAKBANK could also seek payment from their insurers under their general policies.

Some banks also have additional security coverage for c yber crime, although experts said the market for such policies is still relatively immature. It is not known if Bank of Muscat or RAKBANK carried cyber insurance. The insurers, in turn, could also press claims against the processors, or the processors’ own insurers. “It’s certainly possible that the bank could be left holding the bag,” said Frederick Rivera of law firm Perkins Coie, an expert in financial services litigation in the United States.

A complicating factor is that the banks are located in the Middle East, while one of the processors is based in India, making it unclear which courts would have

jurisdiction over any litigation. But experts said the requirements that credit card companies impose on banks and processors are global in nature. Federal prosecutors will also seek restitution for the banks from the defendants arrested in the case, though the amount of funds available likely won’t approach the total amount of stolen money.

The US Justice Department indicted eight people it said had withdrawn cash in New York, and prosecutors seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and bank accounts, along with luxury watches and a Mercedes sport utility vehicle.

But the New York cell was just one part of a coordinated global heist. US prosecutors have not said where the ringleaders of the gang were based. The prosecutors said the gang targeted prepaid debit cards issued by the two banks, using hackers who broke into the payment processing companies to raise account balances and withdrawal limits for the cards.

The heist did not compromise the accounts of any individual customers, unlike in cases of identity theft. In those cases, customers are typically made whole by their financial institution or credit card companies, which in turn seek to be made whole by the company that was breached. —Reuters

Google+ struggles to attract brands Some businesses neglect to update

RIGA: Photo taken on May 10, 2013 shows a person at the entrance of a DEAC converted Soviet military bunker where 12 m below ground lie rooms packed with top-of-the-line servers. — AFP

Cloud computing silver lining for Russian firms RIGA: Russian police marched into a small company ’s office in Moscow and told everyone to sit down and wait to be interviewed. They left hours later with all the computers. “You can imagine how much of a problem it was. We had no backups,” said the owner of the trading business who asked not to be named. “We didn’t get anything done for a week as all of our files were gone and we had no email,” he told AFP. With the police able to easily seize equipment, such raids are a persistent fear for Russian entrepreneurs.

But cloud computing offers them a new tool to reduce the risks by moving their data out of the country, often into Latvia, an ex-Soviet state that affords convenience for Russian businessmen. Cloud computing refers to the process of getting software, storage, computing power and other services via the Internet from remote data centres rather than the memory in one’s own computer.

Many people use cloud-based email services such as Gmail and Hotmail, or Dropbox or IDrive for storage, which are accessible from any Internet-connected device and ensure data is not lost if one’s computer is damaged or stolen. The cloud also allows companies to avoid making expensive up-front capital investments in hardware and software and to quickly scale up the services they provide to clients. But businesses often first perceive the dark side

of the cloud: they have justified concerns about giving up physical control over their data and potentially having it lost or accessed by others.

Cloud companies have gone to great lengths to reassure clients their data is safe, and the sector is now booming globally as companies look to cut costs. And IT firms in Latvia say they are seeing a gust of Russian customers seeking a bright silver lining in the cloud - the security afforded by moving their data out of the easy reach of police.

“They want to protect their data from government interference and competitors,” said a Latvian IT expert who also asked not to be named. “The easiest way to do it is move it outside of Russia, the primary data itself or at least a copy.”

Fast Market Research expects overall Russian IT spending to grow by 11 percent in 2013 to $24.4 billion. Cloud computing still accounts for a sliver of that. According to market research firm IDC, it totalled around $120 million in 2011. But it is growing by roughly 50 percent per year. The Latvia-based company DEAC has sought to tap into that growth, boasting a 46 percent increase in sales last year with more than 500 projects in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

The firm says on its website that by using its data centres “Russian clients can diversify their administrative and technical risks and reduce their IT expenses by 40 percent.” — AFP

Kaspersky protects virtual machines DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab presents Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0, the latest version of its security solution for virtual machines using the VMware platform.

Integration with new features in VMware’s vCloud Networking and Security means the new solution now offers additional functionality to detect and protect against network intrusions. The product’s anti-malware protection has also been significantly enhanced thanks to real-time threat information provided by the Kaspersky Security Network.

Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0 also continues to deliver the best balance of malware protection and network performance using agent-less protection designed specifically for virtual machines.

All network traffic scanning is off-loaded to a single virtual appliance, ensuring organizations reap the maximum resource efficiency from their virtual environment.

Virtualization tools are currently in growing demand with small, mediumsized and large businesses. Unfortunately, at the same time, companies often forget that virtual machines are vulnerable to cyberthreats and need the same level of protection as standard workstations.

Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0 is the first solution that provides integration with the VMware vCloud Ecosystem Framework component of VMware vCloud Networking and Security, which is widely

used in modern corporate IT infrastructure.

Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0 has several features that make the protection of virtual machines efficient. For example Network protection. It is a tool for scanning incoming, outgoing and internal traffic to detect network intrusion attempts is a necessity for both physical and virtual networks. Protection from malware using Kaspersky Security Network is another useful feature available in Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0.

Malware presents one of the most prevalent threats for both physical and virtual systems. The Shared Cache feature improves the performance of protection.

As soon as Kaspersky Security for Virtualization 2.0 has scanned a file on one virtual machine and identified it as clean, this verdict will be saved in the application’s cache. If, in the future, the Kaspersky Lab solution detects similar files on other virtual machines, it will not have to waste time on scanning and will use the provided verdict.

Per core’ licensing model helps to define the right number of software licenses needed to protect the company virtual infrastructure. The Kaspersky Security Center feature provides a single administration console from where IT specialists can monitor the status of all protected workstations in the company, both physical and virtual.

SAN FRANCISCO: To mark the Cinco de Mayo holiday this year, Domino’s Pizza festooned its Facebook page with a string of posts, including an image of a Mexican-themed guacamole pizza that garnered over 2,000 “likes”. But visitors to Domino’s companion Google+ page on that day found less festive fare: The most recent post was from Oct 2012. Two years after introducing its social network, Google Inc is struggling to win over the brands and businesses that have been its most loyal customers in the Internet search market.

For Google+ to thrive, it is vital to draw in household names, not just to lay the groundwork for potential future business, but also because users of the site have come to expect being able to follow, comment on or even vent about their favorite brands. Progress has been slow. Rival services from Twitter to Amazon.com Inc are increasingly competitive in vying for corporate attention and marketing budgets, while technical shortcomings of Google+ have put off some companies accustomed to the flexibility of Facebook, marketing and corporate executives say.

The biggest problem for Google+ is that many more consumers use Twitter and Facebook - and they log in to Facebook for much longer periods. A Google spokeswoman said Google+ has been used by millions of brands and businesses, and that the benefit of the service extends beyond Google+ Web pages, by providing brands with social capabilities that enhance Google’s other products. Google+, which was first introduced in June 2011, has roughly 135 million users that it says actively use its website news stream, and about 500 million that have set up Google+ accounts at some point, according to the company. Still, Facebook has 1.1 billion users who engage with the service at least once a month, while Twitter has 200 million.

The average US visitor to Google+ spent 6 minutes 47 seconds on the site in March, versus more than 6 hours on Facebook.com, according to Nielsen Media Research, though the data does not include activity on the social networks’ mobile apps. “The main reason we are more active on Facebook than Google+ is because that is where our customers and our target demographic are spending their time,” said Dave Gilboa, the cofounder of online eyewear company Warby Parker.

Many businesses do build outposts on Google+, eager to benefit from its integration with Google’s popular Internet search service. Some corporations have even used its online video feature for splashy product launches. But the flurry of commercial activity common on other social networks - from restaurant promotions to movie trailers - is harder to spot on Google+, raising questions about its ability to rival Facebook or Twitter as a thriving online community.

Google does not provide detailed information on user activity. But the level of consumer engagement on other social services, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, is “orders of magnitude higher” than on Google+, Gilboa says. Still, he noted that a key benefit of Google+ for Warby Parker is the way it adds social capabilities to other Google services, such as YouTube videos his company produces.

An informal survey by Reuters showed that of the 100 most valuable global brands in 2012 ranked by Millward Brown, a media research firm owned by ad giant WPP, 72 have a presence on Google+, compared with 87 on Facebook.

However, roughly 40 percent of the brands with pages on Google+ have either never posted any content, or do so infrequently. Seventeen brands, including Nike and Pepsi, had not posted to their Google+ page in more than a week. The McDonald’s Google+ page did not have a single posting. A spokeswoman for the fast-food chain said only that the company was “not active” on Google+.

“In my personal network, I have very few people who are actively using Google+,” said Dan Nguyen-Tan, vice president of sales and marketing for San Francisco-based bicycle company Public Bikes, which does regular promotions on Facebook but has not created a Google+ page.

“That could be a reason why I haven’t thought about it as an effective tool.”

Some also complain that Google+ is too restrictive a canvas. Its profile pages are more limited than on Facebook or Twitter because they don’t support iFrame, a Web standard that allows multiple Web pages to be embedded within a main page. “I don’t think that Google+ has enough creative options for brands to be able to marshal a lot of resources and activity around it,” said Vince

Broady, the Chief Executive of Thismoment, which develops social marketing campaigns and Web pages for brands such as Coca Cola and Intel.

Gretchen Howard, Google’s director of global social solutions, said the company was working its way down a “wish list” of features that businesses have been asking for. Over the past year, it has rolled out a tool that allows software developers to connect with a brand’s page, though that has so far been offered only to a limited group of partners. That’s not to say Google+ hasn’t had its share of success stories. Howard points to examples such as automaker Fiat’s launch of its new Panda car using “Hangout” video conferencing, and the 40,000-member baking community page created by chocolate company Cadbury. According to Google, more than 100 brands on its social network have amassed more than 1 million followers.

And Google’s search engine, the most popular in the world, is a big draw. Businesses who have registered with Google+ often get extra visibility in search results, with a portion of the results page displaying information from their Google+ profile.

Search ads that incorporate Google+ information such as the number of users who follow a brand have a 5 to 10 percent better click-through rate than regular search ads, said Howard. “Right now, the value isn’t in the network itself, it’s in what it can do for the search results,” said Greg Finn, director of marketing at search engine optimization firm Cypress North.

Google has never articulated how, or even if, it intends to make money off its social network. But analysts say the goal is to prevent migration of Internet users to Facebook and other social networks, while improving its core search advertising business and possibly providing a new source of income. While Google+ does not feature any ads now, Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said attracting major brands could be the first step to an important, high-margin revenue source.

New ad space inside Google-owned websites is particularly valuable because it doesn’t need to share revenue, as Google must do when its network places ads on other websites. “If you’re Google, you really want to have more owned and operated properties,” said Wieser. “That’s a wonderful, high-margin piece of inventory.” Google+ is a means to that end, he said.— Reuters

Rocky road for electric car market WASHINGTON: The road has gotten bumpier for electric cars. Coda Automotive, one of what had been a promising crop of electric car startups, filed for bankruptcy protection this month, and said it would reorganize around the electric storage market. High-end electric car maker Fisker Automotive, which has had financial woes for months, announced meanwhile it was laying off 75 percent of its workforce, raising the prospect of defaulting on US government loans. Electric cars are still coming to market from luxury maker Tesla, and from major automakers such as General Motors, Nissan and others, but the outlook has become murkier.

Analysts are divided on the outlook, but few believe President Barack Obama’s goal of getting one million electric cars on the market by 2015 will be met. “It’s not like people are clamoring for these vehicles,” said Rebecca Lindland, analyst with Rebel Three Media, and member of a committee studying barriers to electric cars for the National Academy of Sciences. Lindland said her view that Americans “just don’t see how an electric car can fit into their lifestyle.

We continue to be risk-averse in investing in new technology in our cars.”

Mike VanNieuwkuyk of the research firm JD Power & Associates said more people are aware of the electric cars on the market “but there is still a low number of consumers who say they would purchase an

electric car.” A report by JD Power and its partner LMC Automotive found battery-powered vehicles’ share of US auto sales was just 0.08 percent in 2012, and predicts this will reach only 0.47 percent by 2015.

Only about three percent in the survey said their next vehicle would likely have a battery-electric powertrain. VanNieuwkuyk said consumers are held back by a lack of plug-in charging stations, concerns about the range of the vehicle before it needs recharging, and especially the high cost. At the same time, the analyst said, gasoline-powered cars “are improving enough to meet the needs

of the consumer,” without the price tag of electric cars.

Jason Kavanagh, engineering editor at the research firm Edmunds.com said recent surveys suggest pure electric vehicles are unlikely to get past one percent of the US market, even by 2040. The lack of range and long recharging times are key factors.

“Sitting around for eight hours waiting for your (Nissan) Leaf to charge up is not exactly a selling point,” he said. “EVs have a sitting-on-your-ass factor that conventional cars do not.”

More important, said Kavanagh, is that the US electric power system cannot support large numbers of

DETROIT: Tesla presents an “engineering view” of their Model S sedan showing the underlying technology during the first press preview day at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in this Jan 10, 2011, file photo. — AFP

electric vehicles which need constant charging. “The US power grid is not capable of supporting that,” he told AFP. “You would need a multitude of small nuclear power stations to support that recharging.”

Chevrolet cut production of its Volt last year amid soft demand, and is reported to be working on a less expensive version. Toyota and Honda also scaled back plans for all-electric vehicles for the US market. And Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said recently the company stands to lose $10,000 on every battery-powered Fiat 500 it sells in California.

There are a few bright spots, however. Tesla Motors posted its first-ever quarterly profit, of $11 million in the first quarter as revenues rose 83 percent from the prior quarter. Tesla is banking on its Model S, which sells for upwards of $60,000, by offering special financing and leasing deals with a guaranteed resale price. The car, which has an estimated range of more than 320 km, was given a top rating by Consumer Reports. Nissan has boosted sales of its all-electric Leaf to over 5,000 in the first quarter, overtaking the Chevrolet Volt, which has seen sales sputter. Brett Smith, analyst at the University of Michigan’s Center for Automotive Research, said he is not surprised by the slow progress in the electric car market.

“There was an enormous electric vehicle hype,” he said. “In a way that was good because it helped push the technology.” — AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

A virus ravages a Saudi family

Dar Al-Shifa Clinic welcomes Dr Asifa Ehsani KUWAIT: Dar Al-Shifa Clinic announced yesterday the jining of Dr Asifa Ehsani at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. This new appointment is in line with Dar Al Shifa’s strategy in providing optimum healthcare services to its patients and enhancing patients’

Dr Asifa Ehsani experience and standards to meet their utmost needs.

Dr Ehsani holds a doctor of Medicine Degree from Bulgaria and is a master’s degree recipient in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the two surgical medical

specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, from Damascus University. In addition to that, she received intensive training on InVitro Fertilisation (IVF), a process in which to fertilize an egg outside the human body and is then implanted back into the uterus. This process is used to help those couple having trouble conceiving. Dr. Ehsani also received awards for being a former member of Harvard medical school, Kuwait Institute for Medical specialization and the Syrian Physician Organization.

Dr. Ehsani is one of the experts in treating cases that include antenatal care of normal and high risk pregnancy and delivery; fertility and recurrent abortions, along with treating irregular menstrual cycles, ovarian cases, as well as providing antenatal and gynecological ultrasound diagnosis. In addition, Dr. Ehsani is well experienced in detecting, diagnosing and treating all gynecological cases along with delivering pre-conceptional consultation.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Ehsani said: “I look forward to provide more success to the Obstetrics and gynecology department and I am a firm believer in providing patients with complete, thorough information on their cases, and using the best resources possible in order to provide the most optimum healthcare solutions.”

“I am sincerely proud of becoming part of a well-established and reputable medical institution such as Dar Al-Shifa Clinic,” added Dr. Ehsani.

Rumors, grief and new questions HOFUF, Saudi Arabia: On the third day after his father’s death from a respiratory infection, Hussein al-Sheikh began to feel feverish. Shortly afterwards, says the 27-year-old Saudi, “I was almost dead”.

Hussein, who had often visited his father’s bedside in his last days, was admitted to intensive care in a hospital in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province oil heartland of Saudi Arabia.

Then his brother, Abdullah, and later his sister, Hanan, fell ill, obtaining treatment in hospitals in the nearby oasis district of Al-Ahsa. Their father Mohammed, it has since emerged, was probably a victim of what doctors believe was novel coronavirus, the new SARS-like disease that first emerged in the Gulf last year and has gone on to claim 18 lives, nine of them in the kingdom.

There is international concern, because it was a virus from the same family of pathogens that triggered the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that swept the world after starting in Asia in 2003 and killed 775 people.

Some of the deaths from the new virus were in Britain and France, including cases in which victims had recently travelled from the Middle East. A total of 34 cases worldwide have been confirmed by blood tests so far. “My temperature was really high, my blood oxygen levels were very low. I was so tired I couldn’t walk for days and any kind of activity made me cough,” said Hussein, a PhD student who studies in Canada. To avoid spreading infection, he wore a green face mask.

SLEEPY OASIS World Health Organisation (WHO) experts this week visited Ahsa, a sleepy oasis of around a million people, to work with Saudi authorities in

investigating the latest outbreak.

Much of the attention has focused on the private Al-Moosa General Hospital in Hofuf, Ahsa’s main town, where many of those infected, including Mohammed Al-Sheikh, were treated in the intensive care unit. A senior WHO official said on Sunday it appeared likely that the virus could be passed between people in close contact.

WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda said, however, that there was no evidence so far that the virus was able to sustain “generalised transmission in communities”, a scenario that would raise the spectre of a pandemic.

A public health expert, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said “close contact” in this context meant being in the same small, enclosed space with an infected person for a prolonged period of time.

Mohammed Al-Sheikh, who suffered from diabetes and had been admitted to hospital with a high fever and low blood sugar never knew what had infected him. He lost consciousness two days before he died. “The doctors said they didn’t know what was wrong,” said Hussein.

“During his first two days in intensive care he could talk and eat by himself and go to the washroom. But then it got worse. He was on the highest level of oxygen and they had to drug him. He left without saying goodbye,” he said, referring to his death.

In the wake of rumours about the extent of the virus in Ahsa last week, some families of people who were hospitalised said they had been asked by authorities not to speak to media.

Separated from the big cities of Riyadh and Dammam by large stretches of desert, Ahsa is a pretty area famous for its date farms. Drive through its dusty villages and goats appear grazing beneath the palm fronds. Between the trees

jut pale rocky outcrops carved by the elements into outlandish shapes.

CALAMITY There was little sign in the Al-Moosa General Hospital’s reception area late on Saturday that it was at the centre of a global health concern.

Visitors, doctors and nurses hurried down the corridors. Two women in black hijab waited with their babies outside a door marked “vaccination room”.

Hussein al-Sheikh said he believed his father contracted novel coronavirus in the hospital’s intensive care unit and that he then caught it there himself during the hours he spent visiting his father in the days before he died on April 15.

But Malek al-Moosa, the hospital’s general manager, denied this suggestion and said he believed the patients were in fact exposed to a common source of the virus outside Moosa General Hospital.

Fukukda of the WHO said it was not yet clear how the virus was transmitted.

Of the four members of the Sheikh family who fell sick, only one, Abdullah al-Sheikh, 33, has so far been tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Samples from Mohammed, Hussein and Hanan are still being tested but Moosa said it was likely that they also had the virus. A postersized portrait of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, a 56year-old former employee of the national oil company Saudi Aramco, is displayed in the Sheikh family’s reception room, where three of his 10 children sat to describe what they call the “calamity” that has hit their family. “Our father’s dream was that we should all live in one house with a big garden. He had started building it and finished almost 50 percent. This is just killing us,” said Hussein. —Reuters

Second French coronavirus case confirmed, victim moved to ICU

Brown bear Pyros in Melles, near the border between France and Spain. The number of bears roaming the Pyrenees remained stable at a minimum of 22 last year, thanks largely to the continued virility of Pyros, the undisputed daddy of the colony. At 24, Pyros is close to the average life expectancy for brown bears but he still had the energy to father three cubs by two different mothers during 2012, according to a report by French state conservation body, the ONCFS. — AFP

PARIS: A second diagnosis of the new SARS-like coronavirus has been confirmed in France, the Health Ministry said yesterday, in what appeared to be a case of human-to-human transmission.

The new infection was found in a 50-year-old man who had shared a hospital room with France’s only other known sufferer, the ministry said in a statement. Health experts are concerned about clusters of the new coronavirus strain, nCoV, which was first spotted in the Gulf and has spread to France, Britain and

Germany. There has so far been little evidence of direct and sustained human-to-human transmission of nCoV - in contrast to the pattern seen in the related Severe Acute Respirator y Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed 775 people in 2003.

The first nCoV case in France, confirmed on May 8, is a 65-yearold man who fell ill after returning from Dubai late last month.

Both French patients are in hospital in the northern city of Lille, where the younger man was transferred to intensive care yes-

terday as his breathing deteriorated.

His case suggests that airborne transmission of the virus is possible, though still unusual, said Professor Benoit Guery, head of the Lille hospital’s infectious diseases unit. “Fortunately, this remains a virus that is not easily transmitted,” Guery told the BFMTV channel. “I don’t think the public should be concerned - it has been out there for a year and we have 34 cases globally.”

He said the second French case had occurred because the

Smartphone app helps fight obesity: Study PARIS: Using a simple smartphone application to photograph one’s meals is a useful slimming aid for the overweight, according to an experiment reported yesterday. The app, designed by British doctors, aims at promoting “food memory” so that people recall what they have eaten and are encouraged not to snack on high-calorie treats. The app has three parts: before eating food or drinking a beverage, the user snaps a picture of what is about to be consumed. after finishing the meal or drink, the user then looks at the picture that was taken, and answers questions about the consumption experience: “Did you finish it all?” and “How full are you now?” before further meals, users also look back at the file of pictures that have been taken in the course of the day, and get a text message urging them to remind themselves of what they have already eaten. The researchers recruited 12 overweight or

obese men and women and monitored them over four weeks in a small-scale pilot study. The volunteers accessed the app more than five times a day on average, and recorded 2.7 daily “episodes” of eating and drinking.

Over the study period, the participants lost 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) on average. Six lost a kilo (2.2 pounds) or more and four lost between zero and one kilo (2.2 pounds), although the other two gained weight, by 100 and 400 grammes (3.5 ounces and 14 ounces) respectively.

“Raising awareness of eating and weight loss achieved suggest this approach could be fruitful,” said University of Liverpool investigator Eric Robinson.

“Given that our trial was a very brief intervention with little contact time and no nutritional advice or support, this is a promising finding.” The work was unveiled at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, northwestern England.—AFP

PARIS: French Social Affairs and Health Minister Marisol Touraine (center) takes part in a press conference after visiting the French Health Protection Agency (Institut de veille sanitaire, InVS) yesterday.—AFP

first patient presented “quite atypical” symptoms and had not been isolated immediately.

Health officials screened 124 people who had come into contact with him and carried out laboratory tests on at least five, including three medical staff.

All came back negative except the fellow patient, who had been in “close and prolonged contact” when they shared a hospital room in nearby Valenciennes between April 27 and 29, the ministry said.

French authorities are now broadening the screening effort to include anyone who has been in contact with the second confirmed case.

The virus, known as nCoVEMC, is a cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people in the Far East in 2002-03. The new virus is known to have killed at least 18 people, mostly in Saudi Arabia. The latest French victim shared a hospital room with a 65year-old man for three days before the latter was diagnosed with the virus, which it is thought he contracted while on holiday in Dubai last month. Professor Benoit Guery, a specialist in infectious diseases at the hospital, said the transmission between patients should not be taken as an indication that the virus was more contagious than previously thought. “ Thankfully it is not comparable to SARS,” he said. “It has been circulating for a little less than a year, and we’re at 34 reported cases, whereas with SARS it only took a few months to get to 8,000 cases.” — AFP

Spacewalking repair halts station leak - for now CAPE CANAVERAL: Astronauts made a rare, hastily planned spacewalk to fix a serious ammonia leak at the International Space Station, and the US

space agency said it appeared the repair was a success.

But the following weeks will be the test. Authorities have said the space sta-

CLEVELAND: Marchers represent Cleveland at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s “Keep The Promise On AIDS” March and Rally, on Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. — AP

tion’s six-member crew was not in danger from the leak. “I will tell you that we’re happy. We’re ver y happy,” Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy space station program manager, said Saturday.

“We didn’t see any obvious signs of a leak, but it’s going to take some time ... for us to look at the system, evaluate the system and make sure we did, indeed, stop the leak.”

Montalbano expects it will take “a good four weeks, five weeks, maybe even a few weeks longer.” “Obviously, the longer you go, the more confidence you get,” he told reporters. The space agency never before staged such a fast, impromptu spacewalk for a station crew.

Even during the shuttle program, unplanned spacewalks were uncommon.

Christopher Cassidy and Thomas Marshburn installed a new pump after removing the old one suspec ted of spewing flakes of frozen ammonia coolant two days earlier. They uncovered “no smoking guns” responsible for the leak and kept a sharp lookout for any icy flecks that might appear from the mas-

sive frame that holds the solar panels on the left side. NASA officials remain mystified as to why the leak erupted.

Managers wanted to deal with the leak while it was fresh and before Marshburn returns to Earth today. The ammonia pump was the chief suspect going into Saturday’s spacewalk. Engineers determined there was nothing to lose by installing a new pump, despite the lack of visible damage to the old one. The entire team - weary and stressed by the frantic pace of the past two days gained more and more confidence as the 5 1/2-hour spacewalk drew to a close with no flecks of ammonia popping up.

“Gloved fingers crossed,” space station commander Chris Hadfield of Canada said in a tweet from inside. “No leaks!” he wrote a half-hour later. The astronauts had trained for just such an emergency scenario before they rocketed into orbit. This area on the space station is prone to leaks.

The ammonia coursing through the plumbing is used to cool the space station’s electronic equipment. There are

eight of these power channels, and all seven others are operating normally.

Life for the space station residents has been pretty much unaffected since Thursday’s ammonia shower. The loss of an additional power channel, however, could threaten science experiments and backup equipment.

Ammonia already had been seeping ever so slightly, but the flow increased dramatically Thursday. Montalbano did not know, as of Saturday evening, how much ammonia was lost. Another spacewalk will be needed to replenish the supply. Marshburn has been on the space station since December and is set to return to Earth late Monday, along with Hadfield and Russian Roman Romanenko. Cassidy is a new arrival, on board for just 11/2 months. By coincidence, the two Americans performed a spacewalk at this troublesome spot before, during a shuttle visit in 2009.

“This type of event is what the years of training were for,” Hadfield said in a tweet Friday. “A happy, busy crew, working hard, loving life in space.” — AP

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Utah to be first to use dual model health exchange SALT LAKE CITY: The federal government has approved Utah to become the first state to have a dual-model health insurance exchange in which the state and the federal government divide responsibilities. The plan allows Utah to continue to run its existing health insurance marketplace for small businesses, a system that lets employees pick health care plans in an online exchange. The federal government will run the state’s individual exchange. The two marketplaces will operate independently of each other.

Gov. Gary Herbert first requested this arrangement in February, and the two sides had been negotiating since. Gary Cohen, head of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, announced the agreement’s approval in a letter sent to the governor Friday.

Other states will have the option to consider this model after the US Health and Human Services approves an official rule, a process that usually takes several months, allowing Utah’s deal to go forward.

Herbert said in a conference call with media Friday that it was an important and historic day for Utah.

He emphasized that the state didn’t back down in negotiations. For example, he said, Utah made sure the government knew it would not share information about its residents or businesses with a federal database. “They’ve granted us everything that we asked for, and for that I’m grateful,” Herbert said. He applauded Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for her willingness to work with Utah in crafting a plan that works for both sides. The

governor said Sebelius told him in February she hoped to find a way to say yes to Utah’s proposal.

“That’s proven prophetic,” he said. “We’ve found a way to get to yes with this announcement today.”

Health and Human Services granted the request after carefully review, agency spokesman Fabien Levy said. Until now, states have been choosing from three options: Federally run exchanges in which states default to the US government, a plan selected by 26 states including Arizona, Texas and Montana.

State-run exchanges in which states operate their own marketplaces, a plan chosen by 17 states including Nevada, Colorado and Idaho.

Federal-state partnerships in which the two sides work together, a plan chosen by seven states including Delaware, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Utah’s model is different in that the two sides will work totally independently of each other - Utah as it continues to improve and expand its small business exchange created in 2009, and the federal government in creating a marketplace where regular residents can go to buy health insurance.

Utah was in a unique position, being one of two states, along with Massachusetts, with existing exchanges. But unlike Massachusetts, Utah’s marketplace offered no plans for individuals.

Massachusetts has opted to continue to oversee its existing marketplace. Utah previously considered expanding the marketplace to offer plans to individuals. But Herbert said in February that after meeting with staff, legislators and insurance industry repre-

sentatives, he ultimately decided a combined state and federal effort would work best. By being able to focus on the small business marketplace, Utah can move forward with expansion plans that had been on hold due to the uncertainty that came with the passage of the health care overhaul, Herbert said.

These health insurance marketplaces are required under the Affordable Care Act, which goes into effect Jan. 1. Consumers will be able to start signing up Oct. 1 for coverage that takes effect next year. Utah’s marketplace, called “Avenue H,” allows small businesses to offer their employees the opportunity to select health care plans in an online exchange that resembles websites that sell airline tickets. About 340 small businesses use the exchange, covering 8,000 employees and their families. Utah should be given credit for putting “skin in the game” and for being willing to engage the federal government in creating a plan, said Jason Stevenson, education and communication director for the Utah Health Policy Project, a non-partisan, nonprofit health research and advocacy organization. “They were looking for a willing partner and Utah has stepped forward,” Stevenson said. But the organization has concerns that the division between Utah’s state-run business exchange the federal individual marketplace could prevent Utah residents from figuring out what option is best for them. For instance, Avenue H doesn’t screen participants to see if they are eligible for Medicaid, Stevenson said.—AP

TOKYO: A western lowland gorilla named “Momoko” (left) holds her baby at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo yesterday. The baby, whose sex has not been revealed yet, was born to the 29year-old mother on April 24. — AFP

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Lu&Lu announces winners SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Announcements 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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u&Lu Hypermarket, the largest retail and lifestyle shopping destination in Kuwait has announced their winners of the car promotion “Dream it Drive It” which was conducted as a part of celebrating their anniversary. - the promotion ended on May 4th and two Chevrolet Traverse and 30 Samsung LED TV were distributed to the lucky winners in a colourful function held at both their outlets in Al Rai and Al Qurain.

Mohamed Haris, Sreejith K.S, Abdul Khadar Sheikh, Antony and other senior managers attend the prize distribution function.

Photography exhibition he Embassy of India, Kuwait in association with National Council of Arts, Culture & Letters is organizing an exhibition of photographs of Islamic monuments of India by Benoy K Behl, Art Historian & Photographer at Al-Edwani Hall, Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem. The exhibition is being inaugurated at 1900 hrs on 21 May, 2013. The exhibition shall be kept open till 27 May 2013 from 0900 hrs to 1230 hrs and 1700 hrs to 2100 hrs. All are cordially invited to the exhibition.

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IMAX

Warba Bank hosts students from the Australian College of Kuwait

IMAX film program Monday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 5:30pm, 7:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 9:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30pm Tuesday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 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

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n line with its commitment to train and develop the next generation of youth leaders, Warba Bank recently hosted a group of students from the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK). During a field visit along with college supervisors, students were given a tour of the call centre and learned about the significant role it plays in serving customers.

ACK has chosen Warba Bank as a certified destination for its students as its call centre has highly qualified and experienced officers, able to teach ACK trainees about the latest developments in the industry.

Commenting on the visit, Ahmed Al Bukhari, Call Centre Manager - Retail Banking Group, said: “We are pleased to welcome this group of students from the Australian College of Kuwait., which brings the total num-

ber of students that we have proudly hosted to more than 130 till date. During their visit they expressed great interest in the products and services offered by the bank, especially the recently launched ‘Voice Recognition’ service.

Students also learned about the other unique international standard communication facilities and skills applied by the call center.”

Al Bukhari added: “Reflecting the bank’s goal to contribute towards building a successful society and a promising future, Warba Bank continually seeks to build relationships with leading educational institutions in Kuwait.”

Concluding Al Bukhari added: “Since the establishment of the bank and call centre, the call centre receives considerable attention from the management of the bank. This attributes towards the application of latest technologies

Saturday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 1:30pm, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 3:30pm Journey to Mecca 4:30pm Notes: All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request.

“Fires of Kuwait” is in English. Arabic headsets are available upon request.

Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Mrs. Sophy John

which follows the international standards in the working system along with the bank’s strategic plans to develop the expertise of staff in the area of quality ??customer service.”

Warba Bank has added Voice Recognition capability to its telebanking service 182-5555. Warba is among the first banks in the country to offer this service in Arabic and English, which enables customers to conduct banking transactions using voice commands. Customers can call the Warba Bank call center to find out more about the Bank’s latest products and services, in addition to receiving information on their balance and deposits, customers can also apply for new accounts, credit cards or personal finance (Murabaha), or even register in the short messages Service (SMS) for free.

Mrs. Sapna Raoof

Mrs. Indulekha Suresh

India International School completes 11 glorious years Mazen Al Mhanna receiving the Award from Graham Cooke, President & Founder, World Travel Awards

Sheraton Kuwait receives Kuwait’s leading hotel award

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heraton Kuwait, a luxury collection hotel has been awarded “Kuwait’s leading hotel” for the third year in a row at the World Travel Awards 2013 Middle East ceremony that was held at Le Royal Meridien Resort & Spa on 5 May 2013. The award was proudly received by Mazen Al Mhanna , Director of Sales & Marketing at Sheraton Kuwait and Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait in a glittering gala event hailed as “The Oscars of the Travel Industry”.

Fahed Abushaar, Area director and

General Manger of the Sheraton Kuwait says of the award: “we are very proud to have won the “Kuwait’s leading hotel Award” for the third consecutive year. this prestigious award attained bears the efforts of all associates and their eagerness to deliver first-rate service , comfort and opulence to all guests”.

Through the last 47 years, numerous awards and accolades have been earned by Sheraton Kuwait which has set a benchmark in the history of hospitality in Kuwait and the region.

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ndia International School is entering its 12th year with pride and enthusiasm. The school management is constantly aiming for laurels and reputation by providing quality education.

We are conscious of the room for improvement in some areas, such as academics and discipline, and are taking positive measures towards improving them.

For the benefit of the children and the institution, we are making some important changes in the administrative set up of our institution. As part of this effort, some of the senior teachers have been promoted to Vice-Principal Posts. Their names are given below.

Principal F.M Basheer Ahmed and Senior vice Principal Narinder Kaur congratulated them on their promotion.

Another step in our initiative towards progress (and high success rate) in all fields has been taken by introducing the new version of cyber school system this year. We are also planning on introducing smart boards in the classrooms very soon.

Salim

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy

Greetings

Sebamed on Instagram

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reetings and congratulations to my friend Faisal who recently got married to Shaima. May the couple live a dream to blossom flowers of blessings in their beautiful life. With the choicest wishes from Sherif Ismail.

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.

Air India turnaround plan beginning to work: Sinha Airline hosts fest for travel agents

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

By Sajeev K Peter

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ndia’s national carrier Air India’s turnaround plan has begun to work with the airline reporting a profit for the last quarter of the financial year, said Air India Kuwait’s Country Manager yesterday. Addressing a function titled ‘Air India Fest’ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, hosted by the airline to honor the travel agents in Kuwait, Ajay Sinha said the airline has started making profits in all sectors including the Gulf sector.

According to a recent economic survey, Air India has begun to receive positive cash flows, taking the airline out of

a prolonged fiscal crunch. The airline is expected to achieve positive EBIDTA (earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the results for the financial year 2012-13, the government survey said. The airline registered ‘an all-round enhanced performance’ like on-time performance at 85 per cent, passenger load factor at 70.9 per cent and yield at Rs 4.31 per revenue passenger kilometer. ‘For the first half of the year, performance has been in line with the target set in the turnaround plan,’ it said. Talking specifically about the Kuwait sector, Sinha said, the airline managed to maintain its on-time per-

formance and flight schedules.

International traffic handled at Indian airports also went up to 37.8 million during Jan-Nov 2012 as against 36.20 million during the corresponding period of the previous year, the survey said.

A large number of guests including top officials from various travel agencies in Kuwait attended the fest, which was marked by music and dance performances, games and competitions. Raffle draws and spot competitions were held and several prizes were given away to participants and winners. Nita Bhatkar anchored the show.

Sinha said the fest was organized to

express the gratitude of the airline to the travel agents who contributed significantly to Air India’s success in Kuwait. “We thought of sharing our success story with the travel agents,” he said. “As a pioneer in the aviation industry, Air India started its operations to Kuwait in the 1960s. Ever since, many players have come and gone. The industry has also become increasingly competitive today,” Sinha said, adding that India’s flag carrier continued to maintain its position in Kuwait. Indian Embassy Second Secretary Hoti Lal and Yousef AlBader of House of Travels addressed the fest too.

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

ACK receives recognition for Foundation Skills Program

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Fugoura opens showroom in Kuwait

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ugoura Clothing is proud to announce the inauguration of its first showroom in Kuwait. On that regard, Fugoura’s creator Abbas Abu Al-Hassan explains that introducing his fashion line in one of the most important markets in the Arabian Gulf rejoin was made possible through the belief of his business partner Hana Al-Kashef, a longtime customer and owner of the Hanaya Fashion Company. she became the official sponsor for the Fugoura showroom located at the Hilton Kuwait Resort - Al-Mangaf.

n line with the Australian College of Kuwait’s (ACK) strategic plan and objectives aimed at offering quality education to its students, the college has announced a major development in the changing of the “English Language Studies Program” to the all-encompassing “Foundation Skills Program”.

Reflected in the new name, the program is aimed at providing a firmer educational base on which students can build their subsequent courses of study in multiple areas.

Formerly, the program’s objective was to assist and further develop students reading & writing skills with regards to the English language. However, the new model will now include English, mathematics, physics and computing skills, all regarded as crucial in the development of students educational and career pathways.

Dr. Sa’ad Al Omari, Dean of Academic Affairs, highlighted that “a combination of changes to the curriculum and to the structure of the department have been prioritized during the last year and have had the effect of raising the quality of our offerings, streamlining operations in the department and contributing to a significant increase in student enrollments this year, our highest yet”.

Dr. Sa’ad then added: “In addition to this, ACK is happy to announce that the Foundation Skills Program has acquired international recognition and endorsement from a number of overseas institutions, namely: TAFE Queensland, SkillsTech Australia & Central Institute of Technology (Queensland)”.

The Australian College of Kuwait will open for new applicants on Sunday, May 19th, 2013.

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.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Lions And Giants 01:35 Animal Cops Philadelphia 02:25 Roaring With Pride 03:15 Wildest Africa 04:05 Biggest And Baddest 04:55 Animal Cops Philadelphia 05:45 Wildest Arctic 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 The Really Wild Show 07:25 My Cat From Hell 08:15 Cats 101 09:10 Panda Adventures With Nigel Marven 10:05 Roaring With Pride 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Call Of The Wildman 12:20 Wildlife SOS 12:50 Clinically Wild: Alaska 13:45 Animal Precinct 14:40 Roaring With Pride 15:30 Cheetah Kingdom 16:00 The Really Wild Show 16:30 Dogs 101 17:25 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 17:50 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 18:20 Must Love Cats 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Bondi Vet 20:10 Shamwari: A Wild Life 20:35 Cheetah Kingdom 21:05 Roaring With Pride 22:00 Karina: Wild On Safari 22:25 Karina: Wild On Safari 22:55 My Cat From Hell

00:20 Cash In The Attic 01:05 Gok’s Fashion Fix 01:55 DIY SOS 02:20 Daily Cooks Challenge 03:20 Celebrity MasterChef 03:45 Vacation Vacation Vacation 04:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 05:15 DIY SOS 05:40 Antiques Roadshow 06:30 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:00 DIY SOS 07:25 Cash In The Attic 08:10 Homes Under The Hammer 09:05 Bargain Hunt 09:50 Antiques Roadshow 10:40 Gok’s Fashion Fix 11:30 Celebrity MasterChef 12:25 Come Dine With Me 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 Cash In The Attic 14:45 Antiques Roadshow 15:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 17:00 Homes Under The Hammer 17:55 Food And Drink 18:20 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 18:45 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 19:10 New Scandinavian Cooking 19:40 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Homes Under The Hammer 23:50 Cash In The Attic

00:00 BBC World News 00:10 Indian Ocean With Simon Reeve 01:00 Newsday 01:30 Our World 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 India Business Report 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report

08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 Hardtalk 18:00 Global With John Sopel 19:30 World Business Report 19:45 Sport Today 20:00 BBC World News 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 21:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today

00:30 Grim Adventures Of...

01:20 Johnny Test 02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 03:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 03:25 Regular Show 03:50 Ben 10: Omniverse 04:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 04:40 Powerpuff Girls 05:05 Evil Con Carne 05:30 Cow & Chicken 06:00 Casper’s Scare School 06:30 Angelo Rules 07:00 Dreamworks Dragons Riders Of Berk 07:25 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 12:15 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 Island 19:30 Total Drama 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

00:40 Jungle Gold 06:05 Mythbusters 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Soul Food Family 08:45 Flying Wild Alaska 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Hunters 10:30 Auction Kings 10:55 How Machines Work 11:25 How It’s Made 11:50 Wheeler Dealers 12:45 Wheeler Dealers: Trading Up 13:40 Fifth Gear 14:35 Border Security 15:05 Auction Hunters 15:30 Auction Kings 16:00 Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 16:55 Flying Wild Alaska 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Sons Of Guns 19:40 How Machines Work

20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25

How It’s Made Auction Hunters Storage Hunters Gold Divers: Under The Ice Alaska: The Last Frontier

00:05 00:30 01:00 01:50 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 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00

How Tech Works Patent Bending Ecopolis What’s That About?

The Gadget Show How Tech Works James May’s 20th Century X-Machines Things That Move The Gadget Show How Tech Works Da Vinci’s Machines Ecopolis Superships Prophets Of Science Fiction Things That Move Sci-Fi Science The Gadget Show How Tech Works X-Machines Da Vinci’s Machines What’s That About?

Superships Prophets Of Science Fiction X-Machines Things That Move Things That Move The Gadget Show How Tech Works X-Machines

00:00 Stitch 00:45 A Kind Of Magic 01:30 Emperor’s New School 02:15 Replacements 03:00 A Kind Of Magic 03:45 Emperor’s New School 04:30 Replacements 05:15 A Kind Of Magic 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 12:35 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 Toy Story 2 16:50 Toy Story Toons 17:00 Austin And Ally 17:20 Suite Life On Deck 18:10 Cory In The House 18:30 Code: 9 19:20 A.N.T Farm 20:05 Jessie

00:00 Special Agent Oso 00:15 Imagination Movers 00:40 Jungle Junction 01:10 Handy Manny 01:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 01:54 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 02:00 Little Einsteins 02:25 Special Agent Oso 02:50 Imagination Movers 03:20 Handy Manny 03:40 Special Agent Oso 04:00 Timmy Time 04:10 Imagination Movers 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction

DAMSELS IN DISTRESS ON OSN MOVIES HD

05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Higglytown Heroes 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 The Hive 08:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 08:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:05 Doc McStuffins 09:35 Zou 09:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:15 The Hive 10:30 Mouk 10:45 Art Attack 11:10 Imagination Movers 11:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 12:10 Doc McStuffins 12:40 Higglytown Heroes 12:55 Timmy Time 13:05 The Hive 13:15 Mouk 13:30 Little Einsteins 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 14:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 15:00 The Little Mermaid 15:25 Doc McStuffins 15:40 Higglytown Heroes 15:55 Zou 16:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:45 Lilo And Stitch 17:10 Doc McStuffins 17:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:10 The Hive 18:20 Zou 18:50 Mouk 19:00 Animated Stories

00:00 Chelsea Lately 00:30 Scouted 01:25 E! Investigates 04:10 THS 05:05 Extreme Close-Up 06:00 THS 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Married To Jonas 10:15 THS 12:05 Playing With Fire 13:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:30 Extreme Close-Up 17:00 Fashion Police 18:00 E! News 19:00 E!es 20:00 Ice Loves Coco 21:00 Chasing The Saturdays 22:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami 23:00 E!es

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Food Wars 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Iron Chef America 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Food Crafters 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Unwrapped 07:00 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 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 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Food Wars 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 19:30 Chopped 21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes 22:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 23:40 Food Wars

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Food Wars 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Iron Chef America 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Food Crafters 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Unwrapped 07:00 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 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 14:05 Food Wars 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Food Wars 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 19:30 Chopped 21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes 22:00 Reza’s African Kitchen 22:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts

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

The Haunted Dr G: Medical Examiner Who On Earth...

Couples Who Kill Scorned: Crimes Of Passion The Haunted Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis 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 Deadly Sins Who On Earth...

I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 BBC World News 00:10 Indian Ocean With Simon Reeve 01:00 Newsday 01:30 Our World 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 India Business Report 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 Hardtalk 18:00 Global With John Sopel 19:30 World Business Report 19:45 Sport Today 20:00 BBC World News 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi

00:15 Market Values 00:45 Living With The Amish 01:40 Wild Rides 02:05 Into The Drink 02:35 Travel Madness 03:30 Travel Oz 03:55 Deadliest Journeys 04:25 A World Apart 05:20 Departures 06:15 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 06:40 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 07:10 Market Values 08:05 Living With The Amish 09:00 Wild Rides 09:25 Into The Drink 09:55 Travel Madness 10:50 Travel Oz 11:15 Deadliest Journeys 11:45 A World Apart 12:40 Long Way Down 13:35 Graham’s World 14:00 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 14:30 Market Values 15:25 Living With The Amish 16:20 Into The Drink 17:15 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 18:10 Travel Oz 18:35 Deadliest Journeys 19:05 A World Apart 20:00 Market Values 21:00 Graham’s World 21:30 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 22:00 Departures 22:55 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 23:20 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita

00:00 Ultimate Animal Countdown 01:00 Dolphin Army 01:55 Monster Fish 02:50 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 03:45 Built For The Kill 5 04:40 World’s Deadliest Animals 05:35 Journey Into Amazonia 06:30 Monster Fish 07:25 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 08:20 Built For The Kill 5 09:15 Fish Warrior 10:10 Salmon Wars 11:05 World’s Weirdest 12:00 I, Predator 13:00 Monster Fish 14:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 15:00 Built For The Kill 5 16:00 Fish Warrior 17:00 World’s Worst Venom 18:00 World’s Weirdest 19:00 Monster Fish 20:00 Dangerous Encounters With Brady Barr 21:00 Built For The Kill 5

LONDON BOULEVARD ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Disturbing Behavior-18 The Untouchables-PG15 Go Fast-PG15 The New Daughter-PG15 Mission: Impossible II-PG15 Hide And Seek-PG15 True Justice: Angel Of Death Mission: Impossible II-PG15 Brake-PG15 True Justice: Angel Of Death London Boulevard-18 Dread-18

01:00 An Invisible Sign Of My Own 03:00 Legendary Assassin-PG15 04:45 Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius-PG 07:00 Encounter With Danger-PG15 09:00 An Invisible Sign Of My Own 11:00 Mrs. Miracle-PG15 13:00 Enter The Phoenix-PG15 15:00 A Fall From Grace-PG15 17:00 Dangerous Flowers-PG15 19:00 Like Crazy-PG15 21:00 After Life-18 23:00 We Need To Talk About Kevin

00:00 The Cleveland Show 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 03:00 Guys With Kids 03:30 1600 Penn 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Emily’s Reasons Why Not 06:00 Arrested Development 06:30 Samantha Who? 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Emily’s Reasons Why Not 09:00 Guys With Kids 09:30 Two And A Half Men 10:00 The Office 10:30 Samantha Who? 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Arrested Development 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 Emily’s Reasons Why Not 13:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 1600 Penn 14:30 The Office 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Arrested Development 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Breaking In 18:30 Malibu Country 19:00 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 20:30 Brickleberry 21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 21:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 22:00 Family Guy 22:30 Louie 23:00 Girls 23:30 Enlightened

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Thaw Disturbing Behavior The Untouchables Go Fast The New Daughter Mission: Impossible II Hide And Seek True Justice: Angel Of Death Mission: Impossible II Brake True Justice: Angel Of Death London Boulevard

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00

A Few Best Men-18 Caddyshack-18 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 Turner & Hooch-PG15 Rebound-PG The Search For Santa Paws-PG Beware The Gonzo-PG15

14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Tooth Fairy 2-PG The Search For Santa Paws-PG House Arrest-FAM Back To The Future-PG15 A Few Best Men-18

01:30 03:30 PG15 05:30 07:15 09:15 11:15 13:15 15:00 17:15 19:00 21:00 23:15

Super 8-PG15 Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai-

01:00 03:00 PG15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:45 14:30 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

The Imposter-PG15 Thorne: Scaredy Cat-PG15 The Evening Star-PG15 Wuthering Heights-PG15 The Woman In The Fifth-PG15 The Evening Star-PG15 The Presidio-PG15 Take Shelter-PG15 Raggedy Man-PG15 Final Analysis-18

Summer Coda-PG15 Glee: The Concert MovieStealing Paradise-PG15 Monte Carlo-PG15 Honey 2-PG15 A Thousand Words-PG15 33 Postcards-PG15 War Horse-PG15 Honey 2-PG15 Damsels In Distress-PG15 21 Jump Street-18 Scream 4-18

01:00 Arrietty 02:45 The Happy Cricket 04:30 Ploddy Police Car 06:00 Spy Kids: All The Time In The World 08:15 Arthur’s Missing Pal 10:00 Puss In Boots 11:30 Arrietty 13:15 The Happy Cricket 2 14:45 Spy Kids: All The Time In The World 16:15 Twigson 18:00 Puss In Boots 20:00 Vickery’s Wild Ride 22:00 The Happy Cricket 2 23:30 Arthur’s Missing Pal

00:15 03:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 11:45 14:15 15:45 17:30 20:00 22:00

02:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 2013

Kingdom Of Heaven-PG15 Fantastic Four-PG15 A Monster In Paris-PG The Birth Of Big Air-PG15 Source Code-PG15 Melinda And Melinda-PG15 The Tree Of Life-PG15 Crisis Point-PG15 Source Code-PG15 The Avengers-PG15 Carnage-PG15 Gone-PG15

ITU World Triathlon Series NRL Premiership NRL Premiership Trans World Sport Live NRL Premiership WWE Bottom Line Trans World Sport Premier League Darts ICC Cricket 360 Super Rugby Highlights PGA Tour Highlights AFL Premiership Highlights Rugby League Challenge Cup

00:00 Super Rugby 02:00 Rugby League Challenge Cup 04:00 NRL Premiership 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 PGA Tour the Players Championship 12:30 Trans World Sport 13:30 ICC Cricket 360 14:00 Rugby League Challenge Cup 15:30 Super Rugby 17:30 Futbol Mundial 18:00 PGA Tour Highlights 19:00 Trans World Sport

00:30 02:30 03:30 05:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:00 16:30 17:30 19:30 20:00 23:30

Top 14 Trans World Sport Pro 12 Rugby League Challenge Cup Golfing World Top 14 Highlights Super Rugby World Pool Masters World Cup Of Pool Golfing World Top 14 Highlights AFL Premiership World Pool Masters NRL Premiership Top 14 Highlights Premier League Darts PGA Tour Highlights

01:00 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

UAE National Race Day Series European Le Mans Series UIM Powerboat Champs UIM Aquabike Champs US Bass Fishing NHL WWE Bottom Line WWE Experience Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL Mass Participation Ironman Mobil 1 The Grid UIM Powerboat Champs WWE SmackDown Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing UFC Prelims

00:00 Big Rich Texas 01:00 Fashion Police 01:55 Empire Girls: Julissa And Adrienne 03:45 Videofashion Daily 04:40 Videofashion Specials 05:10 Videofashion News 05:35 Videofashion Collections 06:05 Open House 07:00 Videofashion News 08:00 Videofashion Daily 09:00 Open House 09:30 Dress My Nest 10:00 Built 10:55 Tia And Tamera 11:55 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 12:50 Videofashion Specials 13:20 Videofashion Collections 13:50 Chicagolicious 14:45 How Do I Look?

16:35 Giuliana & Bill 18:25 Tia And Tamera 20:20 Kimora: House Of Fab 22:10 Built

00:00 World Report 00:30 Living Golf 01:00 CNN Newsroom Live From Hong Kong 02:00 CNN Newsroom Live From Hong Kong 03:00 Backstory 03:30 Talk Asia 04:00 Fareed Zakaria GPS 05:00 CNN Newsroom 06:00 Eco Solutions 06:30 News Special 07:00 World Sport 07:30 Inside Africa 08:00 World Report 10:00 World Sport 10:30 News Special 11:00 World Business Today 12:00 World One 12:30 African Voices 13:00 Backstory 13:30 CNN Newscenter 14:00 Fareed Zakaria GPS 15:00 News Stream 16:00 World Business Today 17:00 International Desk 18:00 Global Exchange 19:00 World Sport 19:30 African Voices 20:00 International Desk 21:00 Quest Means Business 22:00 Amanpour 22:30 CNN Newscenter

Classifieds MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (09/05/2013 TO 15/05/2013) SHARQIA-1 JAVA HEAT (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-2 WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-1 JAVA HEAT (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) MUHALAB-2 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) FANAR-1 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) FANAR-2 WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) RISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) MARINA-1 JAVA HEAT (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) JAVA HEAT (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED MARINA-2 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) AVENUES-1 NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) AVENUES-2 THE CALL (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM 12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:30 PM

THE CALL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG) THE CALL (DIG)

3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360ยบ- 1 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

360ยบ- 2 WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.1 IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D)

2:15 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.2 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-1 IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 12:05 AM

PLAZA SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG)

5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

checking any time. Contact: 99852361 (C 4415) 12-5-2013

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

FOR SALE LAILA IRON MAN 3 (DIG) NO THU+FRI IRON MAN 3 (DIG) NO THU+FRI IRON MAN 3 (DIG)

5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM

AJIAL.1 EMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) EMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM)

6:30 PM 9:30 PM

AJIAL.2 SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG)

5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

METRO-1 EMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) EMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM)

6:30 PM 9:30 PM

METRO-2 GREEKU VEERUDU (DIG) (TELUGU) 6:45 PM THU+FRI+SAT NAGARAJA CHOLAN, MA, MLA (TAMIL) 6:45 PM NAGARAJA CHOLAN, MA, MLA (TAMIL) 9:45 PM

Jeep Mitsubishi (ASX) 2011, dark gray color, full options, excellent condition, 68000km, price KD 3,300/-.

Contact: 66729295.

(C 4406) KIA Sorento - SE Jeep, model 2006, full options, sky blue color, excellent condition, price KD 1,750.

Contact: 50994848.

(C 4407) 7-5-2013 SITUATION WANTED 9 years Kuwait experienced Indian house driver available from 9th of June onwards. Sponsor release money no need, preferred to work for a small family.

Contact: 90049716.

(C 4413) 13-5-2013

112 THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the

Nissan Infiniti G37 2009 model, 3.7 liter, excellent condition, automatic, original paint, 6 cylinder, 6 CD changer, mobile connectivity, rear view camera and scanner, sunroof, sand color, cruise control, GPS, as good as new. Has run 60,000 kms, Price KD 6,500/-. Contact: 99742340.

(C 4414) 13-5-2013

I, Yodati Mahesh, holder of Indian Passport No. H0552947 hereby change my name to Yedoti Mahesh. (C 4411) 9-5-2013

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

Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor/family, non-smoking, one big room, Amman Street, opposite to AlRashid Hospital. Contact: 66232356. (C 4408)

CHANGE OF NAME

ACCOMMODATION

Civil ID card is

1889988 Prayer timings Fajr:

03:29

Shorook

04:58

Duhr:

11:44

Asr:

15:20

Maghrib:

18:231

Isha:

19:57

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines QTR JZR JZR THY ETH GFA AFG UAE ETD FDB RBG MSR QTR THY KAC KAC KAC JZR DHX FDB BAW FDB UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR GFA IRC MEA MSC UAE MSR THY KNE QTR FDB MPH SVA KNE

Arrival Flights on Monday 13/5/2013 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 206 ISLAMABAD 412 MANILA 302 MUMBAI 503 LUXOR 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 53 DUBAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 546 ALEXANDRIA 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 344 CHENNAI 118 NEW YORK 561 SOHAG 165 DUBAI 213 BAHRAIN 6521 LAMERD 404 BEIRUT 403 ASSIUT 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 480 TAIF 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 93 AMSTERDAM 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH

Time 00:15 00:20 00:40 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:15 02:25 02:30 03:10 03:15 03:15 03:30 04:35 07:25 06:15 07:50 07:40 05:10 05:50 06:30 07:45 08:25 08:50 09:00 09:15 09:30 14:15 09:55 12:05 09:35 16:00 12:00 11:35 10:40 10:50 10:55 11:35 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:25 13:45 13:50 13:55 14:30 14:35

OMA QTR RJA JAI KLM THY KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR JZR ETD UAE ABY SVA GFA UAL QTR FDB GFA MSC JAI FDB OMA ABY MEA MSR AXB MSC ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA QTR FDB AIC UAL TAR DLH PIA

645 134 640 574 411 772 104 674 542 786 618 774 742 777 177 239 185 135 303 857 127 510 215 982 144 63 219 405 572 61 647 129 402 618 489 401 229 859 307 136 217 146 59 975 981 327 636 205

MUSCAT DOHA AMMAN MUMBAI AMSTERDAM ISTANBUL LONDON DUBAI CAIRO JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM JEDDAH DUBAI AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN SOHAG MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA COCHIN ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI CHENNAI BAHRAIN TUNIS FRANKFURT LAHORE

14:40 15:45 15:55 23:20 23:40 23:45 18:45 19:25 18:15 18:30 19:10 19:25 19:30 17:50 17:30 22:30 22:40 23:00 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:25 18:25 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:30 20:35 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 22:00 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:15

Airlines AIC JAI UAL DLH PIA JZR THY THY ETH AFG UAE FDB RBG MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB GFA THY KAC JZR BAW FDB ABY UAE FDB ETD QTR GFA KAC KAC IRC MEA JZR KAC MSC KAC JZR MSR THY KNE UAE FDB QTR

Departure Flights on Monday 13/5/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 206 PESHAWAR 502 LUXOR 773 ISTANBUL 765 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 416 KABUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 6522 LAMERD 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL 481 TAIF 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 141 DOHA

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

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC MPH KNE OMA SVA KAC KAC KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL QTR FDB GFA JZR MSC JAI FDB ABY KAC OMA KAC MEA MSR DHX MSC ETD ALK UAE QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC QTR KAC KAC TAR

673 93 473 646 501 617 773 741 641 238 135 304 538 128 858 511 216 184 266 982 145 64 220 134 404 571 62 120 331 648 351 403 619 171 402 308 230 860 137 301 218 60 205 147 411 283 328

DUBAI AL MAKTOUM JEDDAH MUSCAT JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN ASSIUT MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT KOCHI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA BANGKOK DHAKA DUBAI

15:05 15:25 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:30 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:15 23:40 23:45 23:45

34

stars CROSSWORD 188

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You are very expressive and outgoing when it comes to your feelings and emotions. Be careful about wearing your heart on your sleeve, however.

Creativity of all kinds is available to you—music, drama, art, poetry. Also, animals and children play a large role in your day. Perhaps you will give the animals a bath or care for them in some way. You are driven to excel in any form of physical and creative expression—sports, theatrics, arts and crafts, whatever. This urge to express yourself, to speak out and be heard, takes you into many an interesting situation. You could be successful in working with the arts and theater, in sports or with the ultimate self-expression: children. You may find yourself a guide and teacher to others at this time.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You could find that your special gift for bringing people together, regardless of age or feelings, plays an important part of this day’s activity. This is a vital day with lots of action. You take the time to organize your thoughts and you express your very own humor as well. Perhaps you will be entertaining or helping others to entertain.

You may have been volunteered to be the one in charge of some club activities. You have a natural sense of organization and come across as disciplined and careful—perhaps a little too sober. You may ignore anything that is not tied down and practical. Emotions tug at your heartstrings. You have support from your family members for whatever you become involved with just now.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse.

4. Marked by utter benignity.

11. Toward the mouth or oral region.

15. How long something has existed.

16. A republic in southeastern Europe.

17. A quantity of no importance.

18. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

19. Decisively defeated in combat.

21. Coming into existence.

23. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

24. Someone who consumes food for nourishment.

25. Improved or corrected by critical editing.

27. A person who designs and writes and tests computer programs.

29. Type genus of the Alaudidae.

33. A sculpture representing a human or animal.

38. Type genus of the Gliridae.

39. A member of a North American Indian people living around the mouth of the Colorado river.

41. A public promotion of some product or service.

43. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

44. Leave someone who needs or counts on you.

47. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

48. (British) Diesel oil used in cars and lorries with diesel engines (from d(iesel) e(ngine) r(oad) v(ehicle)).

50. Widely distributed lichens usually having a grayish or yellow pendulous freely branched thallus.

51. A recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs.

52. The wood of the sabicu which resembles mahogany.

55. Turn pale, as if in fear.

57. A dead body that has been brought back to life by a supernatural force.

59. A member of the Wakashan people living on Vancouver Island and in the Cape Flattery region of northwestern Washington.

63. A farewell remark.

66. A genetically engineered anti-TNF compound (trade name Enbrel) consisting of receptors that bind TNF. 67. A platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles.

68. A Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the siege of Troy.

71. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

72. A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter.

73. The slender spear of the Bantu-speaking people of Africa.

75. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color.

76. The compass point that is one point north of due west.

77. Small genus of cormous perennials of Mexico.

78. A small cake leavened with yeast.

DOWN 1. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a

somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient.

2. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.

3. The fourth month of the civil year.

4. A distinct and often subordinate group within a group.

5. Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its fragrant flowers and colorful fruits.

6. A theocratic republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

7. Chew the fat.

8. Neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front.

9. The feeling of being bored by something tedious.

10. A Mid-Atlantic state.

11. A member of the Iroquoian people formerly living between Lake Chaplain and the Saint Lawrence River.

12. (the feminine of raja) A Hindu princess or the wife of a raja.

13. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

14. An informal term for a father.

20. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man. 22. Right-hand page.

26. A label made of cardboard or plastic or metal.

28. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.

30. Relating to or near the ulna.

31. Make a dent or impression in.

32. State in northeastern India.

34. A genus of delicate ferns belonging to the family Osmundaceae.

35. Sour or bitter in taste.

36. An angry disturbance.

37. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

40. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

42. A fire (usually on a hill or tower) that can be seen from a distance.

45. An order of dicotyledonous plants of the subclass Asteridae.

46. Genus of Australian woody vines having showy red or purplish flowers.

49. A piece of armor plate (with eye slits) fixed or hinged to a medieval helmet to protect the face.

53. An informal conversation.

54. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

56. Rub elbows with.

58. The Jewish rite of circumcision performed on a male child on the eighth day of his life.

60. Small genus of Eurasian aquatic perennial herbs.

61. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

62. Scale-like structure between the base of the wing and the halter of a two-winged fly.

64. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

65. An account describing incidents or events.

69. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

70. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

74. A toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur and tellurium.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Your passion is high and your creative juices are flowing, ready to apply to any work you want to undertake. If you give your best effort now, considerable success may follow. It is an excellent time for a day trip or for visiting friends. Why not take an elderly person out for a drive in the country he or she will probably enjoy the sunshine and some time away from his or her regular surroundings. A difference of opinion may come to your attention but do not try to force an issue during this time. Today can be both pleasant and fun. Doing just about anything with friends or family will bring much joy. This is also an excellent time to engage in activities with the opposite sex. It is also a good time to give mom a call!

Love relationships are exalted.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You seem determined to move in one direction today. Don’t push too hard—you could become difficult. You are to be honored for your determination to complete what you have begun, but if this is a personal project, do not include others in your time schedule. This is a great time to clear away the cobwebs and complete any creative task that has been left unfinished.

You will be able to add a new touch or polish to a project and complete your task in no time. Your interest in professional success is great and you could find yourself analyzing your choices up to now with perhaps new thoughts about some future changes, taking notes and preparing ahead. A pleasant environment encourages you to have a party or family get-together—a most enjoyable evening.

Leo (July 23-August 22) All that hard work you have been doing lately needs to be put behind you today. In the future, take care to schedule your time as you would a budget. In other words, you must have some play or quiet time to think and refurbish your energies. Work now to schedule in some special time for yourself and enjoy your surroundings. This may mean a nap, exercise or visiting with a long-distance friend or family member. Others could take advantage of your good nature and you could end up resenting the time and effort loss. This is, however, a lucky day. You may receive some recognition or special attention regarding your particular skills. Do not take an important relationship for granted today. This evening is the best time to nurture the relationship.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You are particularly energetic today and involving yourself with some form of vigorous exercise this morning will properly channel your good thoughts. You may find you and your family tending to chores quickly this morning so that you can go somewhere unusual this afternoon. You may glean profound insights. This is a powerfully energetic time that instills great ambition in you. You will probably feel great support from those around you for whatever activity you may choose or join in now. You will be much more aware of your personal needs and those of others. You can see what is going on and you may commit yourself to correcting, protecting or improving a situation. This could involve security, relationships or health.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Take advantage of these days to make extra money—it seems you are on an uphill swing financially. You may see an opportunity and jump in early this morning. There could even be something new to learn. Make sure the money gains come by the sweat of your brow, not some super great scheme. There is a chance you could be mislead with some moneymaking gimmick that could backfire. Watch out for those unbelievable deals. This moneymaking opportunity may be a big block garage sale. Your intuition is high today—listen before you leap. You may be friendly and popular, but for today, you must curb your tendencies to flirt. When you set your mind to any task, much can be accomplished.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Something really has your mind whirling within. You could be trying to understand a situation today in order to know the truth of a matter. You may be investigating and psychoanalyzing much of this day. You have a keen interest in metaphysics and intuitive insights and you could be on the right track with your detective work, yet have no proof to back your feelings. The proof will come soon—you must, for now, busy your mind with other things. Secrets, taboos and mysteries appeal to a deep instinctive yearning. You feel a love of order and law—an appreciation for responsibilities and duty. Problems are valued for the lessons they represent, rather than perceived as obstacles. This evening you will find some fun conversations with new people.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Relaxing and enjoying this day is in order. You could find yourself a bit pensive around others but work around the house or in the yard can make you feel a great deal of satisfaction. You seem to have created pleasant surroundings in and around your home today. The need for emotional security may be great at this time, though you should not pressure a partner into doing things just to please and satisfy you. It is a good idea to check all the facts before jumping to a conclusion today. Companionship with others is favorable this evening and you should take every opportunity to be with friends or loved ones.

You can be in touch with your most personal emotions, usually filling you with a sense of contentment and peace.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) CAPRICORN Obtaining and exchanging information becomes most important today.

Being more involved with neighbors keeps you in-touch and up-to-date with the important changes in the community as well as the best maintenance people. You may push to eliminate the pesticides this year, at least in coordinating some group approval. You are in a festive mood and desirous of having a good time with friends and family today.

Communicating with long-distance associates and engaging in social functions with close friends is enhanced throughout this day. The group may all have a common incentive, which can mean anything from crusading to expression in some form of art. The real creativity just now may be in the planning and the presentation.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Unsolved problems or mysteries may catch your attention. You could be the sleuth in your family and discover the truth behind a mystery that has been puzzling for some time. You demonstrate great understanding and sensitivity to the needs of others. You are able to cut through the red tape and get at what is behind and beneath some very personal problems. This is fortunate in that it allows some very important healings to occur. Contact with neighbors and friends is enjoyed this afternoon. Problems with muscle soreness or arthritis may be annoying but through exercise and muscle rubs, you will notice the problem is less bothersome. Movies, books and all forms of escape could prove very enjoyable this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) You may find that someone close to you is supportive of your ideas and may even want to join you in one of your projects today. You could be out shopping for a new piece of clothing for a party or an upcoming event this afternoon. There is inspiration from a friend that encourages you to be curious and expressive. It may be a good time for a style change—this is no joke. Secrets appeal to a deep instinctive yearning, but take care not to contribute to gossip or encourage gossip. Learning what makes people tick turns you on but an untruth could be spread without your knowledge. You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends later today; you could be helping someone move. A meal together later this evening brings much laughter.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

lifestyle G O S S I P

Selena Gomez says dating

Shakira’s Justin Bieber is ‘crazy’ son is ‘very alert’

T

he 36-year-old singer gave birth to her first and partner Gerard Pique’s son Milan four months ago and loves seeing how he reacts to the world around him. She said: “He’s great. He’s so mellow, but he’s very alert, too. It’s like he knows what’s going on around him. He knows when someone comes in the room or comes out. He’s something.” However, Shakira

T

recently revealed she has fears about losing her baby weight. She said: “You wonder if you’ll ever get your body back. I’m still a few pounds over.

But I do Zumba. Even during pregnancy, I did it almost to the end. But now with ‘The Voice’, I don’t have time. When I have a day off I want to be with Milan.” The ‘Underneath Your Clothes’ singer added she is finding motherhood tough

Ali Lohan is proud of her family

he 19-year-old model sister of Lindsay Lohan says she takes pride in her family, despite the frequent drama surrounding them, but hopes her work can distract from the fame that comes from being Lindsay’s sister. She told The Daily Beast: “[I hope] that my dedication to work outshines any name that is attached to me. I’m proud to be a Lohan and I will always will be.” Ali, who recently signed a contract with the Wilhemina model agency in New York, wants to be known for her dedication to her job rather than her family name. She said: “I just want to be known for being dedicated and being true to myself. I think working really hard and being on time will pay off in the end.” Ali chose to be a model rather than following in her famous actress sister’s footsteps because it felt “natural”. She explained: “I love the diversity, I just love how everything is always changing and growing. You are constantly learning new things.. “I would love to branch out and [start a clothing label] down the line. Definitely yes.”

but loves the challenge. She said: “Nobody told me it would be this hard. It takes a lot of energy but I love it. There’s a lot of joy and fear. “Being a mother is surreal. It’s a whole new experience to me, and I’m just discovering it second by second.

“And having him here, it’s great, it’s a new thing, it’s another part of me and my loved one. He’s accompanying me so I don’t feel alone.”

Kelly Clarkson defends Pink against critics

T

he ‘So What’ hitmaker was left upset at having to cancel a concert - part of her ongoing The Truth About Love world tour - in Birmingham, middle England, recently after being struck with the illness and when some fans hit out at her, Kelly took to her WhoSay page to defend the singer. She sarcastically wrote: “@pink how dare you only work 364 days this year. I can’t believe you got sick. That never happens to anyone....ever. You’re so lazy #nameonepersonthathasherschedule, singswhileflying,andisamom ....seriously people. Tired of seeing everyone giving her crap. We’re all human. Relax (sic).” Pink recently reached out to her fans in a series of posts on Twitter, to explain what happened. She wrote: “With deepest regrets I had to cancel my first show of the tour tonight in Birmingham. I have an ear and respiratory infection. I am not a person that takes cancellations lightly and I apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced by my illness. “Thanks to all my genuine people out there sending love (sic).” The 33-year-old star also had a statement published on her official website, which read: “It is with great regret that P!nk has been forced to postpone her concert tonight at Birmingham’s LG Arena. After

T

he 20-year-old singer has an on/off relationship with the ‘Baby’ hitmaker and while they haven’t clarified the status of their love life, she admitted all the attention surrounding them hasn’t made their time together easy. She told InStyle: “[It was] crazy and very intense. It’s uncomfortable that everywhere I go, people know. I don’t like that. “I have to go through the emotions and feel it out. I’m doing my own thing, being with my friends, and he’s doing very well too.” The ballad ‘Love Will Remember’ on her new album ‘Stars Dance’ is about Justin and Selena thinks he will approve. She said: “That’s the most personal track on the record for sure. I think it’s a sweet way of releasing it. It’s not an aggressive approach to what people are probably

expecting. I’m sure he’ll love it too.” After Selena and Justin, 19, recently spent time together in Norway, her friends and family urged her to dump Justin for good. A source recently said: “We did everything we could to keep them apart but he was so persistent. “It’s really unhealthy they have such a turbulent relationship at such a young age.

He leaves her in floods of tears constantly.

“She has had a really difficult year or so dealing with the tense emotions that come with dating him. We thought she had finally broken free. But he has persuaded her to take him back again. There’s not much we can do about it - but we are going to try.” Another friend added: “She spent the last year of their relationship an emotional wreck. And we can see no end in sight to this.”

Beyonce treats crew to a £17,000 party

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seeking medical advice this afternoon she has been advised that she cannot perform tonight. “The promoters have asked ticket holders for tonight’s show to retain their tickets. Further announcements regarding a replacement date will follow. “All other UK dates on ‘The Truth About Love Tour’ will not be affected.”

he 31-year-old singer splashed out on alcohol aplenty for her backing dancers at the Champagne bar at the Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street, east London, following the conclusion of her sixth show at The O2. A source said: “Beyonce wanted to say thanks to all of the backing dancers, crew and everyone else involved with putting on the six shows. “Between the lot of them they managed to drink their way through more than £17,000-worth of booze in just a few hours. “They got stuck in as they knew they had a few days off afterwards. They were still in there at closing time at 4 am.” Despite the big night out, Beyonce still has gigs to play on her ‘Mrs. Carter Show World Tour’ including the last of three dates in Manchester, North West England, tonight (09.05.13) and another show in London on June 1, but she was keen to let her crew indulge after the “pressure” of preparing for her London concerts. The source added to The Sun newspaper: “They are only part-way through her ‘Mrs Carter’ tour, but the pressure was on in London and she was chuffed they all helped her put on a good show.”

Paris Hilton has four wisdom teeth pulled out

Randy Jackson quits ‘American Idol’

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he 56-year-old music producer - who is the only original judge on the panel of the show - has made the decision not to return next season because he wants to focus on his other interests. He told E! News: “Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on American Idol I have decided it is time to leave after this season,” he says. “I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry. It’s been a life changing opportunity but I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures.” It was recently claimed that bosses at Fox are planning to replace all four judges, Randy, Mariah Carey,

Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Pink and Diddy. A source said: “The judges don’t have real chemistry, and there’s no real stand out contestant.

“That’s why they want to go big next season, and you can’t get any bigger than Justin Bieber. The executives are calling it their dream team because who wouldn’t tune in to see Justin and Selena, Pink and Diddy? Pink has been approached in the past and turned it down as well as Diddy, who wanted too much money. It will cost a fortune to get them, but the show has gotten so stale that Fox is desperate for a revamp they’re willing to pay to put ‘Idol’ back on top.”

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he 32-year-old socialite was left in agony after undergoing the procedure to remove her unneeded gnashers and has taken to her bed to recover from her major dental work. She wrote on Twitter: “Laying in bed. Can’t sleep. Hurts so much to get four wisdom teeth pulled out at once. In so much pain. #Brutal #IHateGoingToTheDentist (sic)” The blonde beauty was predicting a painful day ahead after having all four of her wisdom teeth removed and was nervous about the

anaesthetic wearing off. She tweeted: “Just finished. They had to remove all 4 of my wisdom teeth. Still feeling dizzy from the anesthesia, hopefully the pain won’t be that bad (sic)” Paris - who is known for her flawless looks - was also worried the teeth removal would leave her with swollen cheeks. Writing on Twitter, she said: “Getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. So scared. Hope it doesn’t hurt too much & hope I don’t end up having chipmunk cheeks! (sic)”

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

lifestyle

‘Fast & Furious’ cast roars into London

US actresses Jordana Brewster (left) and Michelle Rodriguez arrive at the world premiere of “Fast and Furious 6” at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square in central London. — AFP

Vin Diesel

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he cast of “Fast & Furious” sped into London for the world premiere of their sixth film that is set in the British capital, vowing to keep racing despite the exit of director Justin Lin. Surrounded by souped-up cars and dancers in mini-shorts, the “Fast & Furious 6” stars packed a blue carpet in Leicester Square to promote the latest film in the street-racing franchise that has grossed $1.6 billion since 2001. The film is the fourth directed by Taiwan-born Lin who is credited for resurrecting a franchise that was almost written off before becoming one of Hollywood’s most lucrative movies and ranked the 22nd biggest franchise globally.

Lin said he was delighted the franchise had evolved to be so successful and that he was bowing out after filming the latest fast-paced adventure in central London with British singer Rita Ora counting down a race through the streets. “It is only the third film in history to shoot in Piccadilly Circus. That meant everything to us,” Lin Paul Walker told Reuters television.

Lin’s debut in the franchise, “ Tokyo Drift”, grossed $158 million worldwide while ticket sales for his 2011 film “Fast Five” jumped to about $628 million globally. “Fast 6”, one of the most anticipated films of the summer season critical to Hollywood studios, again features Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, a now retired professional criminal.

He reunites his crew to help Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson, track down a mercenary organisation led

by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).

Hobbs offers to clear the group’s criminal records so they can return to live in the United States if they help him catch Shaw whose assistant is Toretto’s presumed-dead lover Letty Ortiz, played by Michelle Rodriguez who rejoins the cast.

The film, which opens in Britain on May 17 and the United States on May 24, delivers back-to-back car racing stunts with one scene featuring Diesel smashing his car through the nose of a flaming Soviet-era cargo aircraft during takeoff. Another car chase scene featuring a tank crushing dozens of cars along a Spanish highway ends with a breathtaking stunt that had the audience laughing in disbelief. Diesel described the movie

Gina Carano

New Yorkers get pumped up for bike sharing I

n a parking lot near the East River in Manhattan, Adriana Alltari gathers her courage, lifts her feet off the ground and wobbles away on New York’s latest mode of public transport: a bicycle. Alltari, a 32year-old engineer, was taking part in free bike riding classes as the Big Apple makes final preparations for a program that will revolutionize a city known more for traffic jams of yellow cabs and other vehicles of the four-wheeled variety. On May 27, thousands of blue “Citi Bikes,” named after their sponsor CitiBank, will appear in high-tech stations around the city in a sharing program modeled on successful projects in Paris and other cities around the world. For Alltari, who got turned off cycling by a series of crashes when she was eight years old, the road to bicycle heaven is shaky. Taking her lesson against a backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge, she zigzagged, but found herself steadily improving.

The class of about 20 adults, mostly women, was busy ahead of the roll-out for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s twice-postponed project. Alltari said classes were booked solid in March and April. “It is scary,

A participant in a “Learn to Ride— Adult Class” organized by Bike New York for adults learning to ride a bicycle May 3, 2013 in New York. — AFP people have paid the approximately but fun,” she said. “I fell so many $100 rider’s annual fee. times when I was a kid, I decided I Initially, New York will get some will never ever get on a bike. But here I am.” City officials said Thursday 6,000 bicycles. The target is 10,000 spread across 600 stations, which the launch date will be the big will leave only China’s Hangzhou, Memorial Day holiday on May 27. with 60,000 bicycles, and Paris with However, at first, only annual pass 20,000 “velibs,” boasting more. The holders will get to ride, while everyNew York program will give cyclists one else, including those looking for free-of-charge rides lasting up to 45 the free quick rides, joins in on June minutes, but make them pay for any 2. Already, nearly 300 stations have more, with daily and weekly tickets been installed and more than 8,000

on offer, as well as the annual passes. After trying a demonstration model of one of the blue bikes, David Dartley, a 38-year-old artist, was sold on the idea.

“I expect to ride them a lot to go to meetings in the middle of the day to go to other offices. It will be better than the subway or a taxi, or walking,” he said. “I’ll be able to go to a bar and have some drinks at night and I won’t have to worry about biking myself home after: I can leave the bike.” New York has gradually come to embrace the bicycle under health-conscious Bloomberg.

But the crowded and sometimes traffic-clogged streets are often considered a hazardous environment for the cyclist.

Dartley said he wasn’t worried.

“Once these bikes are on the streets, drivers are going to calm down and I think everyone is going to be safer,” he said. Elizabeth Haddad, a 26-year old writer, said “biking in New York is scary and can be dangerous.” But with a helmet, “it is a really good option,” she said of the Citi Bike effort. “I’ve done it in France. They’re great.” So far, the New York bikes have only one thing missing, Haddad said: “the basket.” — AFP

as tantamount to a love story after reuniting his character with his childhood sweetheart and bringing the gang back together as a family. “It is an action film that refuses to sacrifice heart and family,” he told reporters.

Diesel and the rest of the cast, including Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, and Jordana Brewster, are expected to feature in the seventh “Fast & Furious” film which is due out next year.

Lin, 42, however, is backing out, wanting a break from the fast pace set by the film’s maker, Universal Pictures, which is owned by Comcast through its subsidiary NBCUniversal.

Filming is due to star t later this year.”I can’t wait (to see it) as a fan,” said Lin. — Reuters

Rasasi plans to open stores in Kuwait

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asasi Perfumes, one of the leading names in the regional retail landscape offering a wide range of Oriental and Western fragrances, today announced aggressive expansion plans in Kuwait, which will result in more opening for the company in Kuwait in the near future.

With the new stores, Rasasi would have a total of two new stores in Kuwait, complementing the stores across Mubarakiya, Fahaheel, Jleeb Al-Shuyokh, Manar Mall, Magateer Center, AlJahara, Manshar Mall, Lulu Qurain, Qurain City Center and Sahari Mall.

Salim Kalsekar, Managing Director of Rasasi Perfumes, said: “Rasasi Perfumes has been present in Kuwait since 1996, and have been an integral part of Kuwait fashion and cultural environment since then. We are committed to expand our presence here, and our plans to be present in the region is part of our wider expansion.”

He added: “Our new outlets will offer a

complete luxurious look, in harmony with our vision and philosophy. It will showcase our entire range of unique fragrances and products to meet discerning consumer requirements and preferences from across Kuwait.” The company’s business has grown

steadily since its inception three decades ago and currently operates over 115 stores across the region. Rasasi manufactures a wide range of Oriental and Western perfumes with a strong distribution network spread across the world and a retail network throughout the Middle East.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds opens second outlet in Kuwait

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alabar Gold & Diamonds 90th outlet in Souk Al-Watya, Maliya, Kuwait was jointly inaugurated

by Col Ali Hamdan Zayd Al-Dihani Traffic Dept, Satish C Mehta, Ambassador of India to Kuwait, Sheikh Duaj Salman Al-Sabah and Bishop Camillo Ballin - Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia in the presence of Shamlal Ahamed - Managing Director International Operations Malabar Gold &

Diamonds, Abdul Salam K P - Group Executive Director - Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Mayinkutty C - Director Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Basheer Abdulla - Director - Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Afsal Khan - Regional Head Kuwait - Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Ranjith Kumar - Regional Head - Dubai Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Lukman Alavi - Asst. Branch Head - Malabar Gold & Diamonds on May 11 2013. This is the

group’s second outlet in Kuwait and 29th in the Middle East.

The showroom displays an extensive collection of gold, platinum and diamonds in exquisite designs and styles to suit the tastes of today’s international customers. Their latest range of jewelry in gold and diamonds specially designed for the festive season will also be available at this showroom.

The group also announced their inau-

gural offers that last until May 17, 2013.

On every purchase of gold jewelry worth KD 250, the customers can avail a gold coin absolutely free and on buying any of their timeless and elegant diamond jewelry worth KD 250, three gold coins can be gained.

Old ornaments purchased from any of the jewelers in GCC can be exchanged with the brand new enchanting collection of Malabar Gold & Diamonds with-

out any loss. Any 22 ct old gold ornaments purchased from GCC can be exchanged with Malabar Gold & Diamonds designs by paying only making charges ensuring they don’t lose any value on the rate of gold. The customers also get a fantastic opportunity to buy 8

gms of gold coin with absolutely no making charges. All these offers are valid until 17th May 2013.

To mark this occasion, the jewelry chain has unveiled more designs in their branded jewelry segment; Era- Uncut Diamond collection, Mine- Diamonds

Unlimited, Ethnix- hand crafted designer jewelry, Divine- heritage jewelry, Preciaprecious gem jewelry and Starlet- kids jewelry to suit any budget and occasion.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one of the world’s fastest growing jewelry chains, has seen rapid growth in just 20 years of operations, currently operating 90 retail outlets, manufacturing facilities and supply chain divisions spanning 7 countries.

Targeting to have 220 outlets by 2015, the group is planning for an aggressive expansion and intends to open its 100th outlet in Kolkata in the month of August.

In Kuwait, they are all set to open another outlet in Lulu Hypermarket, Dajeej shortly.

This year, Malabar Gold & Diamonds has marked another milestone by declaring its latest CSR policies during its 20th anniversary celebrations. The group will allocate 10 percent of its profits for the benefit of the needy and several projects including environment conservation, women empowerment as well as to support the medical and educational sectors for the less fortunate in the society.

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Ho

lifestyle

on t s u

Parade-goers are seen on Allen Parkway during the 26th Annual Houston Art Car Parade on May 11, 2013 in Houston, Texas. — AFP photos

Art Car Parade

Arty cars are seen on Allen Parkway.

NBC bringing back ’70s cop drama ‘Ironside’

‘Django Unchained’ back in

Chinese movie theaters

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BC is ordering up a new comedy for fall from “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence and an updating of the ‘70s cop drama “Ironside.” The revived “Ironside” stars Blair Underwood as the paralyzed lawman who uses a wheelchair. That memorable character was originally played by Raymond Burr. Another new drama, “Chicago PD,” is from producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order”). It will serve as a companion piece to “Chicago Fire,” which premiered this season.

The Lawrence-produced comedy, “Undateable,” stars Chris D’Elia (from the just-canceled NBC sitcom

In this file photo, actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses for a photo call during a press conference to promote his new film “Django Unchained” in Tokyo. — AP

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uentin Tarantino’s violent slave-revenge movie “Django Unchained” returned to Chinese theaters yesterday, about a month after it was pulled on opening day for unspecified “technical reasons.” The rare suspension order on April 11 by the movie’s importer, China Film Group Corp, led to speculation that the Hollywood film had run afoul of Chinese censors despite weeks of promotion. “Django Unchained” reportedly already had some violent scenes cut and had been cleared by China’s rigorous censors, who generally remove violence, sex and politically edgy content.

“The new version is one minute shorter than the previous one,” said a manager at a UME Cineplex cinema in Beijing. The manager, who gave only his surname, Wang, speculated that a nude scene might have been cut. Calls to China’s regulatory agency, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, were not answered.

“Django Unchained,” which won two Oscars, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a plantation owner and Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who trains to become a bounty hunter and demands his wife’s freedom before the US Civil War. China has become the second-biggest movie market behind the US with sales of $2.7 billion last year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. While Hollywood is eager for a slice of this market, directors are having to accept the altering of their movies if they show China in a bad light, or to make them suitable for all ages in the absence of a classification system in China.

Earlier this year, some Chinese moviegoers were left confused because of awkward cuts to the James Bond feature “Skyfall” that included unflattering references to the sex trade in the Chinese territory of Macau. Then “Cloud Atlas” was shown in Chinese cinemas minus 38 minutes that included gay and straight love scenes. China is even getting American studios to sanction alternative versions of films specially tailored for Chinese audiences, such as “Iron Man 3.” The Chinese version features local heartthrob Fan Bingbing - absent from the version showing abroad - and lengthy clips of Chinese scenery. — AP

“Whitney”) as a ladies’ man who wants to help a circle of friends who are not so successful with romance.

NBC also announced Friday that it has axed its news magazine “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” as well as “Go On,” a rookie comedy starring Matthew Perry that had a promising start before its ratings collapsed. On Thursday, the network said it is canceling fellow rookie comedies “Up All Night,” “Guys with Kids” and “1600 Penn.” NBC had also announced five new series including a drama, “Believe,” from producer JJ Abrams, and a comedy adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel, “About a Boy.” Gillian Anderson, onetime star of “The

Chris Brown’s scary curbside art irks LA neighbors

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rammy-winning musician Chris Brown’s neighbors are unhappy with what some are calling frightening art he’s chosen to have painted along the curb of his Hollywood Hills home. A neighborhood group said the grimacing, sharp-toothed, red-eyed goblins painted along a retaining wall have been scaring local children, and is an eyesore to boot, the Los Angeles Times reported. “There are lots of babies, lots of children, and they’re literally frightened.

It’s like devils on the wall - big scary eyes and big scary teeth, and just the whole vibe is not what we’re used to,” Patti Negri, president of the Hollywood Dell Civic Association, told the newspaper.

LA city code officials responded to complaints about the monster art and cited the “Run It!” singer $376 for unpermitted and excessive signage. Under city ordinances, it’s illegal to create murals on most private properties. Though that didn’t stop Madonna from painting her Hollywood Hills home in red and yellow stripes in the 1990s.

Brown has been ordered to remove the goblin paintings within 30 days, but his attorney Mark Geragos said the musician is not backing down. “ They are tr ying to suspend the First Amendment,” Geragos said. Geragos alleges neighbors are harassing Brown, and have also made parking complaints about him and called animal control.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press Saturday, Negri said all she wants is for

X-Files,” will be back in “Crisis,” a drama about a bus full of high school students who are kidnapped.

Sean Hayes, the former “Will & Grace” actor, will star as a gay divorced dad in “Sean Saves the World.”

But yet another new fall comedy has already lost its leading lady. Parker Posey has left “The Family Guide,” according to a person close to the project who wasn’t authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Posey had starred as a divorced mom with an 11-year-old son who idolizes his blind father. NBC’s entire fall schedule will be unveiled Sunday. — AP

‘Southland,’ ‘Monday Mornings’ canceled by TNT

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Chris Brown Brown to “tone it down and be a better neighbor.”

Brown’s tumultuous relationship with singer Rihanna and foul-mouthed Twitter presence have given him a bad boy reputation. Brown won a Grammy in 2011 for Best R&B Album with “F.A.M.E.” and was arrested shortly after the 2009 awards ceremony for assaulting Rihanna. “I know a $300 fine is probably pocket change. But hopefully and maybe, he’ll just see the light and decide to be a good neighbor,” Negri told the Times.

“We’re happy to have him - if he just tones it down.” — AP

outhland” is no more. The gritty police show has been canceled by TNT, which picked the series up after it was canceled by NBC, the cable network told TheWrap on Friday. The network also canceled the medical drama “Monday Mornings” on Friday. “Southland,” which revolved around the Los Angeles Police Department, ran for five seasons.

“TNT has made the difficult decision not to renew ‘Southland’ for another season. We are enormously proud of ‘Southland,’ which stands as one of the best police dramas ever made,” the network said in a statement. “Executive producers John Wells, Chris Chulack and Jonathan Lisco, along with creator Ann Biderman and our partners at Warner Bros. Television, have given us five seasons of powerful, unforgettable storytelling, for which we are deeply grateful.

We also want to thank the amazing cast for their impassioned, no-holds-barred performances, and the production team for their tenacity shooting on the streets of real-world Los Angeles. We wish everyone associated with ‘Southland’ the very best.” Earlier this year, “Southland” star Ben McKenzie signed on for the CBS pilot “The Advocates,” about a female lawyer and a male ex-con who team up as “victim advocates.” Regina King has also signed on for the ABC pilot “Divorce: A Love Story.” —Reuters

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

lifestyle

‘Imaginary Worlds’

Giant plant sculptures on display in Atlanta

The Atlanta Botanical Garden exhibit “Imaginary Worlds,” features 19 monumental sculptures, each created from thousands of groomed annuals growing within an invisible metal armature. — MCT photos

“I

maginary Worlds: Plants Larger Than Life” opened Saturday at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, featuring 19 sculptures festooned with 118,000 living plants. Days before the exhibition opened, excited guests moved about the 30-acre garden trying to discover each of the fanciful creations. No one seemed deterred from the task when facing the unfinished, headless giant cobra or by the workers standing atop the dreamy noggin of the 25-foot-tall Earth Goddess, preparing for a crane to hoist her final sections into place.

A gaggle of Red Hat Society ladies whipped out tiny digital cameras and cellphones to click images of a shaggy ogre who looked like an escapee from “Shrek.”

Down the sidewalk, schoolkids jumped for joy as they came upon a pair of dancing fish that spouted water while spinning circles in Howell Fountain. “Whoa!” they shouted, as if they’d uncovered the world’s largest Chia Pets. “Awesome!” Mary Pat Matheson smiled sunnily. The garden’s president and CEO for nearly a decade has cultivated the idea of the city’s Midtown green spot as an “outdoor museum,” a prime setting for exhibitions and other cultural programming.

She seeded that notion with a 2004 show of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures that attracted 425,000 visitors in eight months, beginning a string of strong-drawing, warm-weather exhibits amid the pristine plantings.

And last winter, a season when the garden used to ease into a hibernation interrupted by few visitors, it drew 168,000 in its second year of the holiday light show “Garden Lights, Holiday Nights.”

So Matheson was on it when tipped by a Canadian colleague a couple of years ago that International Mosaiculture of Montreal, a nonprofit group that has

staged sprawling competitions around the world in this curious art and science, was interested in creating exhibitions scaled for smaller sites such as the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

“I said, ‘I want first dibs, I want to be the first to do this exhibition,’” Matheson recalled. “We’ve never done a

along for the ride, in addition to the makings of the cobras and ogre, were sections for six rabbits, two butterflies, a unicorn, a dog and a trio of rotund berries on summer exhibit that’s plant-centric, so this is particularly exciting to us, to show how you can take art and sculpture and enhance it with plantings.” Thus, the Midtown attraction beside Piedmont Park will host the first major mosaiculture show in the US. Even though few in these parts know what mosaiculture is exactly.

And even though Matheson and her development staff had to raise $2 million, easily the garden’s biggest exhibit budget to date. But then everything about “Imaginary Worlds: Plants Larger Than Life” is big. The sculptures were transported by 15 refrigerated trucks during a 20-hour drive from Montreal to Atlanta. Earth Goddess alone commanded four tractor-trailers. Also

‘Rules of Engagement,’ ‘Golden Boy,’ ‘CSI: NY’ and ‘Vegas’ canceled by CBS

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BS has canceled “CSI: NY,” Vegas,” “Golden Boy” and “Rules of Engagement.” “CSI: NY,” a spinoff of CBS’s popular “CSI,” had run for nine seasons. “Vegas,” a freshman drama starring Michael Chiklis and Dennis Quaid, premiered last year to promising numbers, but its numbers fell off. In a discouraging sign for the series’ fate, it was shifted to

Friday nights earlier this year. Its original Tuesday night timeslot was taken by “Golden Boy,” which has now also been canceled. The comedy “Rules of Engagement” was in its seventh season. Earlier Friday, CBS picked up six pilots, including the Chuck Lorre comedy “Mom” and “Crazy Ones,” a comedy starring Robin Williams. — Reuters

skinny legs that look like they might be kin to those singing California raisins.

Each is made up of carefully pruned annuals planted into soil-and-sphagnum moss-filled netting that blankets the steel forms. Different types of plants are juxtaposed to create texture and patterns that define the look of each creation. For instance, Earth Goddess consists of more than 40,000 plants, including potato vine, sedum, fan flower, lantana, Joseph’s coat and petunias.

Built-in irrigation systems are hidden inside it and other large pieces, keeping them watered daily. Smaller ones simply have to be sprayed with a hose. The roots of modern mosaiculture extend to 16th-century Europe, where wealthy landowners commissioned elaborate three-dimensional gardens or “embroidery beds.” The art later evolved into more sculptural and three-dimensional forms. The term mosaiculture was first employed in France in the 1860s.

Matheson said strong word of mouth will determine the show ’s success, pointing out that Montreal Botanical Garden drew 700,000 in 2000 for the first mosaiculture competition on the power of such buzz.

“You can look at that and say it’s one of those magnetic exhibits,” she said. Even if “Imaginary Worlds” scores an overwhelming success, it won’t be extended. By the end of the six-month run in October, the annuals will be getting played out.

But the Earth Goddess will remain at the edge of the Cascades Garden, where water streams out of her palm into the pool below, for several more years. (Matheson doesn’t like to call anything in the garden “permanent.”)

Earth Goddess, which the garden bought, will be replanted next spring, and Matheson hopes she will become an icon at the attraction. But before that she’ll be transformed into the Ice Queen for the next edition of “Garden Lights, Holiday Nights.” — MCT

Diggin’ in:

Fresh flowers for Mother’s Day

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othing says “thank you, Mom” or “thank you, BFF” like a fresh bouquet of flowers, especially in an arrangement you create yourself. When you hand pick and personally arrange flowers, you know they are fresh and have not been sitting in a floral cooler for days.

In May, fresh-cut flowers are abundant, including tulips, daffodils, hyacinths or roses - from your own garden or favorite florist or food store. Unique containers bring added drama to your floral arrangements, so look in your closets and cabinets for some of those thrift store or yard sale pieces you stashed away.

Tins, pottery, odd china and glass make perfect posy partners.

Here are some tips on choosing quality flower stems and some photos that show how to arrange them, courtesy www.iBulb.org, a non-profit flower bulb information center. Pick a palette.

Consider one of these pleasing color combinations: lavender and blue, passionate purples, sunny yellows, vintage pastels or rosy reds.

Sense the scent. Some flowers, especially hyacinths and lilacs, have a powerful fragrance that can over whelm mentally think of women who wear too much perfume and how it impacts you when you walk by them. Keep flower perfumes to a minimum when you entertain in a tight space.

Pair flowers carefully. Avoid combining daffodils - or any other members of the Narcissus family - with other flower types.Narcissi exude a slimy substance that shortens the life span of other flowers by clogging their water uptake channels.

Bet on buds. Extend the life of your tulips by purchasing them when the flower heads just start to open - the bud should be closed, but with the color of the flower evident.

Before arranging tulips, condition them by re-cutting the base of the stem with a clean, sharp knife; this opens up the flower’s water uptake channels. Cut flower food is not necessary for tulips.With proper care, tulips should open and last from three to seven days. Keep tulips away from heat sources such as direct sunlight, radiators, lamps and televisions. To keep tulips standing up nice and straight in the vase for a longer length of time, pre-stretch them by wrapping in newspaper and setting in water for the first 24

hours. Mix and match. Fruit and flowers create an eyecatching arrangement, but as fruit ripens, it emits ethylene gas, which can shorten the vase life of some flowers. Think of thou. When you make bouquets for others, make an extra one for yourself - it helps you stop and smell the roses in life, and that’s good any day of the year. —MCT

‘Django Unchained’ back in Chinese movie theaters

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MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Rajasthan Fashion Week

Models showcase creations by designers Ritu Kumar and Sharad Raghav during a fashion show at the Rajasthan Fashion Week (RFW) 2013 in Jaipur. —AFP photos