31 Jan

Ideas showcased at P2BK

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Thunder erase 18-point hole, top Heat

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‘House of horrors’ loaded with live, dead pythons

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NO: 16063- Friday, January 31, 2014

Hala February!

Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Ideas showcased at P2BK

By Nawara Fattahova FUN AND CREATIVITY: Young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs buzzing with ideas are taking part at P2BK. The photo illustrates the entrance to the P2BK village at the International Fairgrounds in Mishref. —Photos by Joseph Shagra

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t’s that time of the year again. The popular event Proud To Be Kuwaiti (P2BK) forum, which is growing every year is back and will play host to the biggest sand village in the world which was registered in the Guinness World Records. The event is held from January 30 till February 25 at the Kuwait International Fair Grounds in Mishref.

Mohammed Burahma, along with two of his partners, felt that this exhibition was the best opportunity to reach out to the public and promote his product. He came up with a novel idea which is being introduced in the Kuwaiti market for the first time. “It took me seven months of study and research to create N2 Cream. The special thing about N2 Cream is that I prepare the ice cream in front of the customer according to his choice.

The flavors are mixed well and aren’t just layers like how the rest of them make it,” he says claiming that his project is the first of its kind in Kuwait and the entire region. “It’s a Kuwaiti project selling Kuwait products and not a franchise as the majority of ice-cream shops in our market. In just two hours after we introduced our product at the exhibition last night, we experienced very good sales and had 65 people following us on our Instagram account: @N2cream,”added Burahma.

Meet Reem Al-Ajeri who is introducing her idea of a special photo album with a Kuwaiti touch. Mothers will be able to save photos of their babies from the day they are born. “My baby album called ‘Thikrayaati’ (my memories) helps the mother click photos of her child during special occasions and save them. We celebrate many occasions in our community like the child’s first birthday, first family visit, first girgian, first day at school and so on”. Al-Ajeri thinks it’s a good gift to give a woman who has just had a baby.

For Dalal Al-Khamees, this is her first time at the P2BK fair and she’s very excited to be a part of it. “I started fashion designing about two years ago but my only customers were my own family. I used to organize exhibitions but now I have decided to focus on fashion designing”. Al-Khamees said that she intends to pursue higher studies in the same field.

The organizers of P2BK have also invited NGOs and other charities. Abeer from ‘Help Your Muslim Brother’ charity said that they were invited to participate in this fair. “We are selling different products like outfits, accessories, perfumes and so on.

The revenues from this will go to charity organizations within Kuwait. We usually pay for expats’ school fees, and financially help orphans and other families in need,” she said.

Ahmad from One, another non-profit volunteer group is participating for the first time in P2BK. One- a group founded in 2011 which now has 30 volunteers is participating in the forum with the aim to introduce it to the public and to create awareness about volunteering so that more people can join them.

“Our aim is to help others, make our community a better place, and to make a difference in our country,” he said.

Ahmad Buruki, Head of the Voluntary Committee of P2BK, said that there are more than 1,000 volunteers working with P2BK and they were selected from more than 3,000 applicants.

“They are divided into 12 committees and have different duties,” said Buruki.

One of Kuwait’s entrepreneurs is standing behind one of the booths at P2BK.

Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Local Spotlight

Addicted to WhatsApp

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

C

an this be true? Can someone really become addicted to a mobile application, at the cost of it leading to divorce?

Recently, a Yemeni wife filed a case against her husband and claimed that he was addicted to WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging application. She accused her husband of sticking to his mobile phone the whole day and neglecting her and their marriage.

The woman demanded a court order to force her husband to be fair and divide his time between WhatsApp and her needs. I know some may think that this is a silly issue and she was exaggerating but I think everything is possible. The woman wouldn’t have run to court if she didn’t feel neglected and ignored by her husband. She also felt threatened because she didn’t know what her husband was up to or who he was communicating with.

I think when one of the spouses becomes addicted to an application, the other naturally feels threatened and the problems can escalate leading to divorce. Last year, a man divorced his wife through SMS and she used it to file a court case for the same.

Taking a spouse to court over social media is an emerging trend in the Arab world. Few years ago, when the Turkish television series took over the Arab world with their beautiful actors and actresses, some spouses complained that they were being compared to them at home.

I believe that people who are addicted to applications or computer games are unhappy with their lives and want to retreat into a make-believe world where nobody can disturb them. The apps are not the problems. It is misusing them which creates trouble. Maybe these people aren’t educated enough or are depressed and unhappy with what they have and crave a fantasy world. Fast-growing technology can overwhelm our society where holding on to old customs isn’t easy. This is why people easily get addicted to anything that is new and accessible.

KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah is seen during the flag-raising ceremony which is part of Kuwait’s celebration of National Day and Liberation Day on the Green Island yesterday. During the ceremony, he hailed His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah’s great role on Gulf, Arab, Islamic and international arenas, and appreciated his great achievements throughout his career. Boasting about participation in national activities and permanent interaction with the Kuwaiti people, he said Kuwait had recently hosted several international gatherings, including AfroArab, Gulf and donor summit conferences. He added that Kuwait is now making preparations and arrangements for hosting the coming Arab summit soon. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

A sunset caught in the Free Trade Zone in Shuwaikh.

— Photo by Sherif Ismail

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Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Exploring

Kuwait’s countryside A trip to Wafra

By Jamie Etheridge Green to go Back on the road, we found a small roadside e took the kids to Wafra one Saturday stand selling potted plants, flowers and adolesfor a day in the Kuwait countryside. It cent trees. The kiosk stood at the entrance to can be easy to forget that there is Washingtonia Farms and we were granted a more than desert to Kuwait. We wanted to pick quick peek inside this hidden oasis. Row after up some fresh fruits and veggies and to roam row of lovely green trees, plants, flowers and around a bit to see what we could see. Wafra is more. We bought several including two succua farml and though sadly most of the farms are lents, an aloe vera and a jade plant. The drive surrounded by high walls. home passed quickly as we were all tired. If you We found a farm with a large ‘Farmer’s decide to go, pick out two or three farms or Market’ sign at the entrance that turned out to places you want to visit, plan to spend the day be Yasmin Farms. It’s a beautiful place, the and be sure to pack a picnic lunch. entrance laid with cobblestones, fields of flowers and corn banked on one side with a small shop and a farmer’s market on the other stocked with fresh veggies and herbs including my personal favorite, bunches of fresh coriander.

Jamil Al-Sultan was kind enough to allow us to tour the farm and so we sauntered down the path to the cowshed, past fields of corn and squash. The hidden gem in the farm is a small manmade pond about the size of four swimming pools. Surrounded on all sides by palms and tucked in-between a few small hills, the pond sits in front of the farm house. It was lovely to see the cool morning breeze rippling across the water - a rare site in arid Kuwait.

Established in 2005, Yasmin Farms employs ethical farming techniques, doesn’t use pesticides and uses hydroponic techniques for its greenhouses. The farm produces a wide array of vegetables including tomatoes, cabbages, squash, and corn as well as fresh herbs. You can visit the farm or buy its fresh local products at the Sultan Center stores.

We had a quick picnic on the grass and the girls devoured a whole bottle of cold, fresh KUWAIT: The photos illustrate a day wellmilk. The farm is open on the weekends Thursday through Saturday - from 8 am to 5 pm spent on a farm in Wafra. — Photos by Jamie Etheridge and charges a KD 1-2 tour fee.

W

Available at The Sultan Centre & Carrefour

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Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Blaze of glory We are not the ones who give you a ticket.

We are the people who save you.

KUWAIT: Ft Lieutenant Ali Qali against the backdrop of a fire truck parked in front of the Fire Station in Salmiya. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

By Velina Nacheva

able lessons he learnt on the job.

K

Following your dreams The Arizona State University graduate had not stopped dreaming of becoming a firefighter. After his return to Kuwait, he went through a six-month training course in Kabd which prepared him to deal with different challenges on the job. A part of the training involved climbing the ladder in preparation of an emergency exit during fire. He recalls one such training exercise when four firefighters were climbing up the ladder. He was second in line and could feel his colleague’s fear as he was shaking on the ladder. “You need to have trust in your team and believe in the people you work with,” he said.

Armed with a degree in mass communication and journalism, Qali says that raising awareness about safety and fire precaution is pivotal in his job. So is the constant communication with the public on social networks. “The more people are aware, the better,” he says.

Sitting in his office overlooking two big red

uwaiti Ali Qali says that becoming a firefighter has made him a better person. For First Lieutenant Ali Qali, the choice to join the fire brigade has taught him strength, responsibility and punctuality. “It taught me the spirit of team work and helped me gain wisdom”.

Saving lives is what attracted him to the job of a firefighter. “I wake up every day knowing that I have a huge responsibility,” says Qali. “I love the job. When you love your job, you know that what you do matters... you save lives.”

Getting into the firefighters’ ranks, however, made him wait for quite some time. The 34-year-old media officer from the media and PR department of Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) wanted to join the fire brigade right after he graduated from high school but due to unavoidable circumstances, he couldn’t do it then. Now years later, he tells the story of his career choice and all the valu-

fire tracks, Qali explains that everybody loves firemen and enjoys their company: “We are not the ones who give you a ticket. We are the people who save you.”

On call “We are on call 24/7,” says Qali who has been part of Kuwait’s Fire Service Directorate for two years now. According to him, although the job sometimes eats into his family time, the father of two says he feels rewarded because he gets to help people in need.

He admits that being a firefighter means leading an adventurous lifestyle. You need to post pictures and updates on what is happening sometimes in real time, he says. You could be writing the news on the spot. “I often feel the heat.”

Rumors Spreading rumors about fires can scare the public, and this is something Qali tries to prevent as much as he can. Holding an iPhone in hand, he browses through the

KFSD’s Instagram account. “We post news about fires and other events immediately,” he says, and browses through some of the latest photos of firefighters fighting blazes and helping people. According to him, having an official account and informing the public in real time helps dispel the spread of rumors about a possible cause of fire, human casualties or damages. Recalling the big fire in a hospital in Jabriya a few months ago, he said that as the fire was engulfing more buildings, more rumors were spreading on social networks about possible casualties.

“There were no casualties,” he said, adding that contradictory information spreads online quickly.

He opines that there is always need for fresh blood amongst the team of 3,000 firefighters in Kuwait. The governorates are growing bigger and there is a need to build more fire stations, he says. On a final note, Qali points out that he is passionate about firefighting and fulfilling his responsibility. “I hope that one day I will retire as a fireman.”

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Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

A review of Kuwait’s economy

KUWAIT: A file photo of downtown Kuwait City. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: Strong consumer spending helped ensure economic growth in Kuwait this past year, although a slowdown in the energy sector meant the rise in GDP was modest. The outlook for the oil industry in 2014 is unclear, but there is an expectation that private consumption and the rollout of government infrastructure projects have the capacity to boost growth in the coming year.

According to an early-December statement by the IMF, Kuwait’s economy was projected to grow by 0.8 percent in 2013, down from 6.2 percent in 2012. The oil sector shrank by 2 percent, the Fund said, while the remainder of the economy expanded by 3 percent.

Looking ahead, there have been some mixed messages as to the country’s shortterm economic prospects, mainly centred on varied predictions of the well-being of the energy industry. According to the Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the oil sector will grow by 4 percent in 2014, while the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) expects a contraction of 4 percent. Their projections for the broader economy therefore also diverge, with KFH forecasting GDP growth of 5 percent and NBK predicting a slight decline, at -0.6 percent. The IMF, meanwhile, expects a rise of 2.6 percent this year.

Uncertainty over energy sector At the centre of the discrepancy between the forecasts from NBK and KFH is a difference of opinion with regard to oil production. NBK projects a decline in output, while KFH has said it expects “resilient

oil production”.

Kuwait averaged output of around 2.8m bpd in 2013, according to KFH, slightly off its maximum capacity of 3m bpd. The government has said it intends to lift production to 3.15m bpd by 2015, a step on the path towards 4m bpd by 2020.

However, OPEC has forecast demand for crude from its member states will fall in 2014, dipping from just under 30m bpd to 29.6m bpd, a drop that could affect sales.

According to NBK, the OPEC member states, including Kuwait, will cut production to keep prices close to $100 per barrel. In mid-January, Ali Al-Omair, the minister of oil, said the government was aiming for prices in the range of $100 this year, but oil analyst Khaled Boudai told KUNA that prices could fall to as low as $80 in 2014. As of the end of 2013, Kuwaiti oil was trading at $107.42 a barrel.

Consumers bolster growth While opinions differ regarding this year’s oil production and prices, there appears to be greater consensus on continued growth in the non-oil segment of the economy, driven primarily by private consumption and better implementation of the government’s development projects.

Consumers provided an important boost to the economy in 2013. An NBK report issued last year said point of sale transactions climbed nearly 18 percent year-onyear for the first six months of 2013 to reach $11.4bn. The bank attributed the increase to wage rises that came into effect at the end of last year; an increase in employment levels, with most jobs coming

through the public sector; and strong consumer sentiment.

A decision by the government last April to write-off up to $2.6bn in personal debt also likely fuelled purchases, although in October the local media reported fewer than expected Kuwaitis had signed up for the program, with around 16,500 of the 42,000 eligible individuals having registered to receive benefits.

Government investment program Should consumer spending soften in 2014, a roll-out of public investment projects could pick up the slack. The government has been slow to realize its $107bn, five-year National Development Plan, approved in 2010, but there were signs in late 2013 that a few important projects were moving forward.

In December, the state signed an agreement with a consortium led by France’s GDF Suez for the financing of the Al-Zour North Independent Water and Power Project, a 1500-MW gas-fuelled power plant and associated water desalination facility.

During the same month, the Partnerships Technical Bureau also put out a call for bids on the $12bn Clean Fuels Project, which will see the upgrade of the Mina Abdulla and Mina Al- Ahmadi refineries to increase their output to around 800,000 bpd, and the closure of the refinery of Shuaiba.

Expansion of Kuwait International Airport is also moving forward. The airport investment plan, which was first unveiled in May 2012, will include the construction of a $3bn, 130,000-sq-metre new terminal, while a further $3bn is earmarked for a run-

way expansion, enhanced control tower operations and the construction of a new cargo facility. In September 2013, the government said it would re-tender the terminal construction project, after previous efforts stalled in February.

Prioritizing state spending The private sector is expected to contribute to the cost of some development projects, but the state will have to bear at least part of the expense. While Kuwait’s fiscal balance remains healthy for now, the IMF has said it could deteriorate within the next few years.

In early 2013 and again in October, the Fund said the rising rate of state spending, especially on subsidies and social support, would push the budget into deficit by 2018, with the gap between expenditure and revenue widening over subsequent years. In the first six months of fiscal year 2013/14, spending rose 52 percent, while income fell from $56.3bn to $55.6bn as oil prices eased, although the surplus for the six-month period was still nearly $40bn.

The coming year could see a degree of uncertainty hanging over the Kuwaiti economy, with issues beyond its control, such as global oil prices, set to have a very direct impact on rates of growth and revenue. As it will take some time for the full effect of the government’s investment program to be felt, expansion could be somewhat constrained for 2014, just as expenditure is set to rise, which may put pressure on the government to tighten its welfare belt as the IMF and others have called for.

—Oxford Business Group

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Local FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

KUWAIT: The Hala February festivities across Kuwait could be seen in this file photo. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Carnival to colour Salmiya streets Hala February starts today KUWAIT: The famous festival Hala February starts today. The nationwide Hala February festival has a twopronged purpose: to promote tourism within the country and to inject exuberance into the local economy, according to a festival organizer.

Waleed Al-Saqobi, who heads the committee promoting this year’s festival, said that the festival will start various activities today with a bang manifested in a huge street carnival in Salmiya that should resonate well with both children and adults.

Al-Saqobi emphasized that the organizers have ensured that there would be up to 30-50 percent off on

airline tickets to Kuwait from neighboring countries and hotel accommodations as well. He said that there would be a flux of festival-goers from Gulf states this year, just like in the past.

Other events in the pipeline during February will include raffles and valuable prizes given away at major malls and shopping centers, he said, adding that there will be a generous draw for 21 cars that will generate a lot of excitement.

Furthermore, Al-Saqobi added that there will be a marathon organized on Feb 15 to promote awareness about a number of health-related issues in

addition to a large display of vintage cars. Head of the Kuwait Hotels Union Fahad Al-Nafisi said that this year hotels would be going out of their way to welcome guests from neighboring countries and local ones as well. The festival will boast musical events showcasing famous entertainers from the Arab world. For poetry-lovers there will be poetry recitals and folkloreinspired stage presentations.

Kuwaitis consider the Hala February Festival a good omen to start the year.

This is the month when Kuwait celebrates its National Day of Independence (on Feb 25) and Liberation Day (on Feb 26). —KUNA

4 open fire at a car

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Five young men told Qurain police that they were attacked by four men in a Sabhan area camp. They accused the attack-

ers of destroying their Mercedes car and firing rounds in the air. The five complainants handed police medical reports and descriptions of the attackers’ vehicle. When police enquired about the suspects’ car, they dis-

Legal issues could delay KAC-Airbus contract KUWAIT: Legal issues could delay the signing of a contract between Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) and Airbus to purchase and lease 37 aircraft, according to a local daily. Official sources said that KAC is studying the contract’s text presented by Airbus in cooperation with a legal office and the aircraft purchasing committee. All the departments in the company have submitted their comments regarding the deal.

Meanwhile, sources said that KAC Chairperson Rasha Al-Roumi will head to London within a few days to negotiate with Airbus. The deal is expected to be finalized and inked within 10 days. They also said the signing will include the leasing and purchasing contracts. Sources claimed that serious talks are on between the two parties to reduce the cost of the deal but the numbers aren’t clear, although the total cost is estimated at KD 1 billion. —Al-Anba

covered that the car was involved in an accident on King Fahad Road. Sources said police did not find the weapon in the car and the injured will be questioned, especially after claims that the attackers chased the victims which may have resulted in the accident.

Husband threatens ex-wife A citizen accused her divorced husband of threatening to kill her using a firearm. She said she was surprised to see him in front of the school where she works. She claimed that he chased her all the way to a local police station.

Bedoon molested A young bedoon man told police he was sexually assaulted by two men in Mishref after one of them lured him to a diwaniya.

Camel attacked In Sibiyya, a citizen accused his Sudanese shepherd of gouging out his female camel’s eye.

News

in brief

Kuwait’s refineries back at full output after power cut KUWAIT: All three of Kuwait’s oil refineries are operating at full output with the return of the final plant, Mina Abdullah, after a power outage shut them down last week, a spokesman for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said yesterday. The three installations have a combined capacity of around 930,000 barrels per day and were all stopped on Jan. 22 following the power cut. The OPEC member state drew on its reserves during the shutdown to maintain its export levels. It took workers two days to get the largest, Mina Ahmadi, back to full output. The other two — Shuaiba and Mina Abdullah — took longer to restore to full output. —Reuters Kuwait Fund lends KD10 million to Sri Lanka KUWAIT: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development said it had signed a loan agreement of KD 10 million with Sri Lanka to fund the reconstruction of 25 bridges. The fund said in a statement yesterday that Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning signed the agreement on behalf of his country with Deputy Chairman of the fund Hisham Al-Woqayan. The project aims to meet the demands of the current and future traffic needs in the country, to safely transfer people and goods, while also supporting Sri Lanka’s economic and social development, and reducing traffic accidents, said the statement. The fund had provided Sri Lanka with thirteen loans up till now, with the latest agreement included. The loans which totaled KD 52.66 million aimed to fund projects in different fields. The fund had also given two technical aid batches to Sri Lanka with a total of KD 537,000 to fund feasibility studies for agriculture and energy projects. —KUNA Kuwait, Singapore sign open skies agreement KUWAIT: Kuwait and Singapore signed an open skies agreement yesterday, enabling their national airlines to operate freely in each direction and without any restrictions. The open skies agreement aims at boosting air links between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Singapore, the Civil Aviation Directorate said. The content of the agreement is consistent with the open skies policy to link Kuwait International Airport to the largest airport network in the world. The agreement also requires offering facilities of air transport between the two countries without any restrictions as to achieve operational flexibility for national carriers in Kuwait and Singapore, to serve passengers and air cargo, the statement added. The agreement was signed yesterday in Singapore by Kuwait’s General Administration of Civil Aviation Fawaz Al-Farah and Director General of Singapore Civil Aviation Yap Ong Heng. —KUNA

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Suicide bombers storm Iraq govt building, 18 killed

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Many South Sudanese remain in camps despite ceasefire

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‘House of horrors’ loaded with live, dead pythons

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GENEVA: The spokesperson for the Syrian National Coalition Louay Safi (center) gives a press briefing at the United Nations yesterday in Geneva. — AFP

Ice breaks in Syria peace talks Report: Government has razed neighborhoods GENEVA: Opposing sides in Syria’s civil war stood together to observe a minute of silence yesterday in honor of the tens of thousands killed in the three-year conflict, a rare symbol of harmony a week into peace talks that have so far yielded no compromise.

The first talks between President Bashar Al-Assad’s government and his foes have been mired in rhetoric since they began last Friday. The two sides took a first tentative step forward on Wednesday by agreeing to use the same 2012 roadmap as the basis of discussions to end the civil war, although they disagreed about how talks should proceed.

UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday he does not expect to achieve anything substantive in the first round which ends today, but hopes for more progress in a second round starting about a week later. Opposition delegate Ahmad Jakal said his delegation’s head, Hadi AlBahra, proposed the minute of silence and

all sides stood up, including Assad’s delegation and Brahimi’s team. “All stood up for the souls of the martyrs. Symbolically it was good,” Jakal told Reuters.

Diplomats said there had been no progress on humanitarian issues and that a UN aid convoy has been waiting fruitlessly to enter the rebel-held Old City of Homs, where the United States says civilians are starving. If there is no breakthrough on Homs this week, it would give the opposition delegation, mostly comprised of exiles, little to show for their decision to participate.

Other factions with more power on the ground in Syria are opposed to the talks.

The 2012 plan sets out stages to end the conflict, including a halt to fighting, delivery of aid and agreement on setting up a transitional government body by mutual consent.

US and Russian officials, co-sponsors of the conference, are in Geneva advising the opposition and Syrian government delegations, their respective allies. Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad, one of the

most influential players, was meeting with Russian officials later in the day in Geneva, diplomatic sources said. While the opposition wants to start by addressing the question of the transitional governing body, the government says the first step is to discuss terrorism.

Damscus uses the word “terrorist” to describe all rebel fighters; Western countries have declared some Islamist groups among the rebels to be terrorists but they provide support for others they consider to be legitimate fighters in the civil war.

There was still no sign of a breakthrough in attempts to relieve the suffering of thousands of besieged residents of the rebelheld Old City of Homs, an issue that had been put forward to break the ice and build confidence at the start.

Demolition The Syrian government used controlled explosives and bulldozers to raze thousands of residential buildings, in some cases entire

neighborhoods, in a campaign that appeared designed to punish civilians sympathetic to the opposition or to cause disproportionate harm to them, an international human rights group said yesterday.

The demolitions took place between July 2012 and July 2013 in seven pro-opposition districts in and around the capital, Damascus, and the central city of Hama, according to a 38-page report by Human Rights Watch. The New York-based group said the deliberate destruction violated international law, and called for an immediate end to the practice.

“Wiping entire neighborhoods off the map is not a legitimate tactic of war,” Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher for HRW, said. “These unlawful demolitions are the latest additions to a long list of crimes committed by the Syrian government.”

Human Rights Watch said many of the demolished buildings were apartment blocks, and that thousands of families have lost their homes because of the destruction. — Agencies

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International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Egypt rejects US criticism on detained journalists 11 Islamists arrested for Facebook activity CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Ministry yesterday rejected US criticism of its top prosecutor’s decision to refer 20 Al-Jazeera journalists to trial on terrorism-related charges, insisting the country’s judiciary is independent. The group is to be put on trial on charges of aiding or joining a terrorist group and endangering national security. The charges expand a heavy-

as support for terrorism after the government declared the Brotherhood a terror organization in December. The network denies any bias.

The 20 defendants are known to include three men working for Al-Jazeera English: Acting bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian, award-winning correspondent Peter Greste of

CAIRO: An employee of Al-Jazeera talking on the phone at the panArab television channel’s bureau in Cairo. —AFP handed crackdown that authorities have waged against the Muslim Brotherhood since the military’s ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3.

Authorities have long depicted the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network as biased toward Morsi and his Brotherhood and have sought to bar it from operating. But the charges now effectively depict the station’s reporting

Australia and producer Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian. The three were arrested on Dec. 29 in a raid on the hotel suites in which they were working.

No date has been set for the trial and the full list of charges and names of defendants have not been released.

After Wednesday’s indictment of the 20, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was “deeply con-

cerned” about the lack of freedoms in Egypt and the country’s “egregious disregard for the protection of basic rights and freedoms.”

Abdelattie, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Egypt’s judicial system ensures fair trials and that the government does not interfere in its work. Greste’s parents, Lois and Juris, called the arrests of their son, his colleagues Fahmy and Mohamed an abuse of human rights, free speech and journalists’ freedom to report. “Someone didn’t like their report. For that, they are now put into a maximum security prison for what is clearly punishment - not mere detention,” Juris Greste told reporters in the Australian east coast city of Brisbane.

“This is most undeserved, outrageous and shameful. It’s unbecoming of a great nation like Egypt. It is unbecoming of any civil society to behave like this.”

Egypt’s Interior Ministry says it has arrested 11 Muslim Brotherhood members whom it accused of running Facebook pages inciting violence against the police. It alleged the group used the social network site for “inciting violence, targeting citizens, making bombs and carrying threatening messages.” It said one member called for the formation of an Islamic army and two others circulated names and pictures of police officers. Egyptian authorities have cracked down heavily on the Brotherhood since the July 3 overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the group. But yesterday’s arrests were some of the first to target alleged Brotherhood members for Internet activity. The Brotherhood has held non-stop protests since Morsi’s ouster. Meanwhile, a more radical Islamic militant group based in the Sinai has claimed attacks targeting police. —AP

Iran rebuffs Obama boast that sanctions forced N-deal TEHRAN: Iran yesterday dismissed as “unrealistic and unconstructive” comments by US President Barack Obama that international sanctions linked to its nuclear program had forced Tehran to the negotiating table. “The delusion of sanctions having an effect on Iran’s motivation for nuclear negotiations is based on a false narration of history,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB. Obama, in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, said US and international pressure had led to the interim deal struck in November between Iran and six global powers, under which Tehran agreed to scale back uranium enrichment in return for sanctions relief.

“American diplomacy, backed by pressure, has halted the progress of Iran’s nuclear program and rolled

parts of that program back,” Obama said. “The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible,” he added. Afkham, in comments posted on the IRIB website, dismissed Obama’s comments. “It is a totally wrong interpretation of Tehran’s interest to create an opportunity for Western countries to have another kind of relation with the Iranian nation,” she said.

Afkham also rejected Obama’s assertion that diplomacy had opened a window which could forestall any possible nuclear weapons drive by Iran. “America considers preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon to be its biggest achievement, but it is wrong since Iran has never sought to obtain a nuclear weapon and will never do so in future,” she said.

Iran has repeatedly rejected suggestions that economic sanctions had forced it to the negotiating table,

although last year then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admitted the punitive measures had caused “problems”. The Islamic republic has also consistently denied its nuclear program has a military dimension, as suspected by Western nations which imposed the sanctions. Under the deal struck in Geneva in November, Washington committed to “refrain from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions” for six months while world powers seek to hammer out a comprehensive settlement with Iran.

Obama has also pledged to veto any bill by US lawmakers to impose new sanctions against Iran, warning the move could derail the talks.

The negotiations between Iran and the so-called P5+1 powersBritain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany-are scheduled to resume in New York next month. —AFP

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi federal policeman walks past a shattered window at a state-run transportation company in Baghdad yesterday. —AP

Suicide bombers storm Iraq ministry building BAGHDAD: Six suicide bombers burst into an Iraqi ministry building, took hostages and killed at least 18 people including themselves yesterday before security forces regained control, a senior official said.

The brazen attack on the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad coincides with a month-long standoff between the Iraqi army and antigovernment fighters in the western province of Anbar. A senior security source said the six militants took a number of hostages and killed four of them inside the building, which was used to receive visiting delegations. It was not immediately known where the other eight victims died.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but state buildings are a target for Sunni Islamist insurgents who have been regaining momentum in a campaign to destabilize the Shiite Muslim-led government. More than 1,000 people have been killed in violence across Iraq since the start of the year, when militants seized control of two cities in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar, bordering Syria.

It is the first time Sunni militants have exercised such open control in Iraqi cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein. Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has asked for international support and arms to help combat AlQaeda, which has been invigorated by the civil war in neighboring Syria, where it is also active. Anti-government fighters, including the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are currently in control of the city of Fallujah, which is being surrounded by the Iraqi army.

The UN refugee agency said the standoffin Fallujah has driven more than 140,000 people from their homes, describing it as the largest displacement in Iraq since the sectarian slaughter that climaxed in 2006-07. —Reuters

Abu Qatada threatens Jordan terror trial boycott AMMAN: Islamist cleric Abu Qatada threatened yesterday to boycott his retrial in Jordan on terror charges, demanding that the court respect a deal that led to his deportation from Britain.

“I asked you at the last hearing (January 16) to publicly declare your commitment to the agreement signed by Jordan. If you do not do that, I will boycott the trial and I will not deal with the court,” Abu Qatada told judge Ahmad Qatarneh, who led a panel of three civilian judges at the military state security court.

Qatarneh said, without elaborating, that “the court is committed to the agreement” with Britain.

Palestinian-born preacher Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman. However, the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labor. In 2000, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years for plotting to attack tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations, and videotapes of his sermons were allegedly found in the Hamburg flat of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta. —AFP

International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Many South Sudanese remain in camps despite ceasefire MALAKAL, South Sudan: Behind barbed wire fencing Peter Tap cuts a forlorn figure, one of 27,000 South Sudanese seeking safety at a United Nations base in an area that has suffered some of the country’s worst violence since mid-December.

These South Sudanese feel it is too dangerous to return to their homes, despite a truce between the warring factions. Their fear highlights the danger of renewed violence as both sides trade blame for sporadic violations of a ceasefire agreement signed last week in neighboring Ethiopia. South Sudan’s government says it wants some of the alleged coup plotters -including the former deputy president who now commands rebels -to face a treason trial, raising the stakes in an ethnically-charged conflict that recently threatened to plunge the world’s newest country into full-blown civil war.

That war appears to have been avoided but South Sudan remains a country on edge -with more than 600,000 people internally displaced by fighting and another 123,000 who fled the country, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. At least 79,000 people have sought shelter at UN compounds across South Sudan. Some of them say they see no hope and want to be relocated to another country, according to Valerie Amos, the UN’s top humanitarian official.

Amos, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, on Tuesday visited Malakal, the capital of the oil-producing Unity state, and described

the situation there as “unbelievably dire circumstances.”

“When we spoke to people they said they’d completely lost faith, they actually wanted to leave altogether, or go to other parts of South Sudan or leave the country,” she said. Malakal, which is now controlled by government forces, has been intensely fought over, and there are fears the rebels could attempt to retake it if the truce doesn’t hold. Brig. Lul Kong Ruai, a military spokesman for the rebels, said they had only retreated outside the town and were “surrounding it in all directions.” The rebels captured the town on Dec 26 but then lost it earlier this month. Tap, the internally displaced man who is sheltering at a UN base in Malakal, said he was “stuck” in a camp where food is running short.

“I am totally afraid to go back to Malakal because of the people in uniform,” he said.

“There are a lot of bodies down there, so there is no guarantee for security.”

War crimes evidence Amos, the UN humanitarian chief, met Kiir on Wednesday to urge a peace deal as well as promises to protect UN workers after the president accused UN camps of sheltering rebels.

Both South Sudan’s government and rebels have been accused of human rights violations and atrocities that have seen oncebustling towns reduced to ghost towns. The

MALAKAL: Displaced South Sudanese women queue for water at the United Nations base where they have sought shelter in Malakal, South Sudan. — AP Satellite Sentinel Project, a US-based monitoring group, has released satellite images of the destruction in Malakal that it says is independent evidence of war crimes. The images show neighborhoods reduced to ashes.

The situation in Malakal has been worsened by the looting of warehouses for the International Organization for Migration and the UN World Food Program, which estimates

a loss of more than 3,700 tons of food, an amount that would have fed 220,000 people for more than a month, according to the UN, which says at least 3.7 million people are now severely food-insecure.

“It is a disaster right now and we are starting from scratch,” said Donovan Naidoo of the International Organization for Migration. — AP

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International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

ADDIS ABABA: Presidents and heads of governments pose for a group photo during the opening session of the African Union (AU) yesterday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. —AFP

The African Union’s 50-year dream A continent transformed ADDIS ABABA: High-speed railways, a common language, diplomatic clout, cutting-edge fashion and leadership in space exploration: this was the vision of a transformed Africa laid out before a continental summit yesterday.

In a speech to the African Union, the 54-member bloc’s chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma provided a foresight of what Africa could be like in just 50 years’ time, providing some welcome distraction to an agenda dominated by conflict.

Written as a message to a hypothetical friend in 2063, Dlamini-Zuma spoke of a “grand reality” where a new Confederation of African States has replaced the AU. “At the beginning of the

21st century, we used to get irritated with foreigners when they treated Africa as one country: as if we were not a continent of over a billion people and 55 sovereign states! But, the advancing global trend towards regional blocks, reminded us that integration and unity is the only way for Africa to leverage its competitive advantage,” she said.

“We did not realise our power, but instead relied on donors, that we euphemistically called partners,” she said.

She spoke of a future Africa with “regional manufacturing hubs” in Congo, Angola and Zambia, as well as “Silicon Valleys” in Rwanda, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya, and of equal access for women to education and

business ownership. The future Africa, Dlamini-Zuma said, was also a leader in renewable energy, with war a thing of the past. “We lit up Africa, the formerly dark continent, using hydro, solar, wind, geothermal energy, in addition to fossil fuels,” she told delegates at the summit in Addis Ababa. “Some magazine once called us ‘The hopeless continent’, citing conflicts, hunger and malnutrition, disease and poverty, as if it was a permanent African condition. Because of our experience of the devastation of conflict, we tackled the root causes,” she said.

She spoke of a future African Space Agency, a modern, continent-wide telecommunications infrastructure and

an Africa where young people can tour the continent on high-speed rail links much in the same vein as Europe’s InterRail system. “Our grand-children still find it very funny how we used to struggle at AU meetings with English, French and Portuguese interpretations,” she said, describing an Africa half a century into the future where the languages of the former colonial powers have been replaced by the new lingua franca Swahili.

She described Kinshasa as having eclipsed Paris and Milan as fashion capital of the world, and Accra as upstaging Brussels as the home of gourmet chocolate. —AFP

Christian militias hunt down Muslims in CAR capital French troops warn looters BANGUI: Rudimentary weapons taken from Christian extremist militias by French troops in the capital of the Central African Republic were piled up on the ground, near the body of a young man whose ears were ripped off.

“He was a Muslim from here, named Abaka.

They killed him in the courtyard of his house,” a Christian neighbor, Benjamin, told AFP. “They” referred to “anti-balaka” (antimachete) vigilantes who fiercely target Muslims in Bangui on the pretext of hunting down ex-rebels from the Seleka coalition.

Sporadic shots could be heard Thursday around the PK-5 business hub of the capital, where numerous Muslim-owned shops attract looters and anti-balaka forces, who are kept at bay by armed Muslims and remaining Seleka forces. But night and day, residents from the Muslim minority, like Abaka, are cut down by anti-balaka forces armed with machetes, hammers, slings and spades.

“We need to cover the body,” said a soldier of France’s Operation Sangaris, consisting of 1,600 troops who work alongside an African Union peacekeeping force currently 5,500 strong. About 20 French soldiers sought to prevent scores

of people from looting the property of the murdered Muslim.

But several looters were already busy.

“Don’t come close, stay where you are and back off,” a soldier yelled at a youth, but when the soldier stepped just three metres (yards) away, the looter came past, carrying a wooden door, while another followed with a hosepipe.

Though few in number, the soldiers were holding dozens of youths at bay, half-hidden by tall grass behind the dead Muslim’s property. It was impossible to tell whether they were anti-balaka forces, would-be looters or hooligans.”This isn’t normal,” Benjamin protested. “Sangaris wants to stop us from looting!”

By the roadside, the owner of a shop named “L’Arche de Noe” (“Noah’s Ark”) took advantage of a few moments’ peace to shut up his premises with a padlock, but the curious kept gathering in their hundreds.

“We won’t tell you ten times,” a soldier warned the new arrivals. “Get over to the other side of the road.” Coming from the airport zone, where the French troops and the AU’s MISCA force are based, an African mili-

tary ambulance sped by with a wailing siren.

Warning shots rang out as French soldiers fired over the heads of the crowd.

A score of French troops backed up by two armored vehicles yesterday threatened looters in the Yangato district near the airport with the use of force unless they departed. “Disperse or we will use force against you,” the platoon commander announced by megaphone to a crowd seeking to pillage Muslim property. “Any man who commits extortion is an enemy of the peace.”

The threat was affective, though determined looters lingered, waiting for the French troops to leave. Inter-religious violence has claimed thousands of lives and displaced a million people in the population of 4.6 million, yet such clashes are unprecedented in the poor, landlocked country.

They erupted when former strongman Michel Djotodia, brought to power by Seleka forces in March last year, proved incapable of reining in his fighters, whose atrocities against Christians prompted the emergence of the anti-balaka and a spiral of violence and hatred. —AFP

BANGUI: A French soldier of the Sangaris operation gestures during a patrol in Bangui yesterday. Unrest continues in the Central African Republic despite the efforts of African and French peacekeepers, who are awaiting reinforcements from a European force. —AFP

Nigerian senators defect in blow to ruling party ABUJA: Eleven Nigerian senators have defected to the main opposition coalition, in a largely expected move but one which further weakens President Goodluck Jonathan’s ruling party ahead of elections next year. Last year, five powerful state governors and 37 members of the House of Representatives moved across to the All Progressive Congress (APC), building the greatest threat to Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party since it swept to power in 1999 at the end of military rule.

A document confirming the switch to the APC seen by Reuters yesterday shows signatures next to the names of 11 senators who are known opponents of Jonathan. The defections are expected to contribute to the most closely fought elections since the end of military rule but the power of incumbency is strong in Nigeria and Jonathan is still clear favorite to win, if he chooses to run, analysts say. —Reuters

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International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Hagel warns against stalling on Afghan accord WARSAW: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel yesterday said the Afghan president’s foot-dragging on a crucial bilateral security agreement risked leaving Washington no time to plan its postcombat mission.

“You can’t just keep deferring and deferring because at some point the realities of planning and budgeting collide,” the Pentagon chief told reporters aboard his plane en route to Warsaw.

NATO combat troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by December but the bilateral agreement (BSA) negotiated with Washington allows for a smaller contingent of American troops to remain on the ground. Without a legal accord however, the United States and NATO would have to drop the idea of a post-2014 force. Washington originally wanted

the BSA signed last October to allow adequate time to plan the NATO training mission which could include up to 10,000 American troops.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose relations with Washington have steadily deteriorated over the years, refuses to sign. He has suggested his successor should make the final decision after presidential elections on April 5. Hagel, who is in the Polish capital to discuss global security issues and the EU member’s defense upgrade, said the stalling also poses a problem for fellow NATO members like Poland who may help train the Afghan army after the 2014-pullout.

He added however that Karzai “is the elected president of a sovereign nation, and our ability to influence whatever decisions he makes is limited.” —AFP

WARSAW: Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak (right) and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel inspect a military honor guard during a welcoming ceremony in Warsaw yesterday. Hagel pays a two days visit to Poland. —AFP

Ukraine president takes sick leave amid crisis Country’s political deadlock deepens

FLORENCE: Media wait outside Florence’s courthouse yesterday. —AFP

As trial ends, lawyers seek innocent verdict for Amanda Knox FLORENCE: Lawyers for US student Amanda Knox urged a Florence court to find her and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito innocent of the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher as judges retired to decide a verdict yesterday.

Kercher, 21, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom in the apartment she shared with Knox in the Umbrian city of Perugia in 2007, where the two were students.

Investigators quickly pointed to Knox and Sollecito as suspects, building a narrative that the two killed Kercher in a sex game gone awry. Both were convicted in an initial trial and spent four years in prison. They were cleared on appeal, but Italy’s highest court last year quashed that verdict due to “inconsistencies” and ordered a repeat of the appeal trial.

Prosecutors have asked for 26 years in prison for both Knox and Sollecito for the murder. A verdict was expected yesterday night. The case has played out through the media as much as through the courts, propelling Knox and Sollecito to something approaching celebrity status in their home countries. Armies of bloggers battle over disputed evidence about the case online.

Supporters of Knox in the United States have done much to transform an initial public image of her as a sex-obsessed party girl, which critics say prevented a fair trial, to one portraying her as a victim of a faulty justice system. Knox has lived in her US home city of Seattle since her 2011 release and has not returned to Italy to hear the verdict, saying she will remain a “fugitive” if found guilty. —Reuters

KIEV: Ukraine’s embattled president is taking sick leave, his office announced yesterday, a surprise development that left unclear how efforts to resolve the country’s political crisis would move forward. Protesters have been calling for his resignation for two months.

A statement on the presidential website said the 63-year-old Viktor Yanukovych has an acute respiratory illness and a high fever. There was no indication of how long he might be on leave or whether he would be able to do any work. He was not known to have any previous health issues. The announcement prompted skeptical reactions and even the suggestion that it was a ruse to take him out of power - as in the attempted coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991.

“I don’t remember official statements on Viktor Yanukovych’s colds. But I remember well, when on Aug 19, 1991, the vice president of the USSR, Gennady Yanayev, announced the serious illness of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev,” political commentator Vitaly Portnikov wrote on his Facebook page. Gorbachev’s purported illness was reported on Aug 19, 1991, as hardline Communists opposed to his reforms attempted an unsuccessful coup against him and held him under house arrest. Although the coup failed, it accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union, which officially was dissolved four months later. Yanukovych has faced two months of large protests that have often paralyzed Kiev, the capital. The protests started after he backed out of a long-awaited agreement to deepen ties with the European Union, but quickly came to encompass a wide array of discontent over corruption, heavy-handed police and dubious courts.

Despite offering several concessions, authorities have so far failed to mollify the protesters. In a series of moves aiming at resolving the crisis, parliament voted Tuesday to repeal harsh anti-protest laws. Yanukovych must formally sign that repeal and it was unclear whether he could do so while on sick leave. He also has accepted the resignation of his prime minister. But protesters say the moves are insufficient - they want him out and new elections held. Yanukovych made a late-night visit to the parliament Wednesday before it passed

a measure offering amnesty to some of those arrested in the two months of protests. That new law, however, was only valid if demonstrators vacate most of the government buildings they occupy in Kiev and in some western cities.

The offer was quickly greeted with contempt by the opposition, which regards the arrests during the protests as fundamentally illegitimate.

There are conflicting figures on how many protesters are now in custody. One opposition

year-old policeman at the protest front lines in Kiev had died of a heart attack overnight.

Although there have been no clashes there for several days, tensions at the site are heavy.

Zakharchenko said the policeman’s death was “a consequence of the daily stress.”

Protesters are demanding Yanukovych’s resignation, early elections and the firing of authorities responsible for the violent police dispersals of demonstrators. The new bill would not apply to several city buildings in the

KIEV: Pro-European Union demonstrators stand guard at a barricade in Kiev city center yesterday. A bill passed by Ukraine’s parliament to amnesty arrested activists gives protesters a 15-day deadline to leave occupied streets and administrative buildings otherwise it will not be implemented, according to the text published the day before. —AFP lawmaker said Wednesday there were 328, whom he characterized as “hostages.” But the prosecutor general’s office said yesterday there were 140. The protests had been mostly peaceful until mid-January, when demonstrators angered by the new anti-protest laws launched violent clashes with police near the Ukrainian parliament. Three protesters died in the clashes, two of them from gunshot wounds. Police insist it was not from their guns. Yesterday, Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko said a 30-

center of Kiev that the protesters use as dormitories and operation centers to support the extensive protest tent camp on the city’s main square. With temperatures dropping as low as 20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) during the night, continuing the protests without some shelter would be virtually impossible. But the Kiev city hall building, as well as regional administration ones seized by protesters in western Ukraine, would have to be vacated, according to the Unian news agency. —AP

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International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Snow, ice send Atlanta city reeling

ATLANTA: A truck blocks all east-bound lanes of Interstate 285 in Sandy Spring, Ga. after htting an ice patch of road Wednesday in Atlanta. Some interstates remained clogged by jackknifed 18-wheelers Wednesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after snow began falling on the city. —AP

ATLANTA: The snow and sleet have stopped falling and traffic was moving again around Atlanta following a crippling storm - but transportation and rescue officials said that didn’t mean it was safe yet to drive in the hub of the American South, especially after the sun goes down.

Officials from the Georgia Department of Transportation said Wednesday night that they were concerned with sub-freezing overnight lows potentially leading to layers of black ice coating roads that might appear to be safe.

A storm that dropped just inches (centimeters) of snow Tuesday wreaked havoc across much of the South, closing highways, grounding flights and contributing to at least a dozen deaths from traffic accidents and a mobile home fire.

Yet it was Atlanta, home to major corporations and the world’s busiest airport, that was Exhibit A for how a Southern city could be sent reeling by winter weather that, in the North, might be no more than an inconvenience. The Georgia State Patrol responded to more than 1,460 crashes between Tuesday

morning and Wednesday evening, including two fatal crashes, and reported more than 175 injuries.

Temperatures were expected to drop to about 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9.4 Celsius) overnight in the Atlanta area, according to National Weather Service forecasters. Although it was supposed to be in the high 30s yesterday, it is forecast to dip below freezing again before rising into the 50s today. Heeding the warnings, school districts and state and local governments stretching from northwest to coastal Georgia announced that offices and classrooms would remain closed yesterday.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, more than 400 flights in and out were canceled by 6 am local time yesterday, according to data from the flight tracking service FlightAware. Many of those flights were canceled before the day began.

Thousands of schoolchildren either slept on the buses that tried and failed to get them home, or on cots in school gymnasiums. All were back home by Wednesday evening, officials said. —AP

‘House of horrors’ loaded with live, dead pythons ‘400 snakes in all — 180 live ones and 220 dead’ SANTA ANA, California: The smell wafting from the house was bad, to put it mildly. It was the result of more than 200 dead pythons, 200 still-living snakes, and a rodent infestation. It was bad enough to send veteran investigators gasping for air.

Bad enough to make normally poised TV reporters hold their noses. Bad enough to make much of a neighborhood gag.

“House of Horrors: That’s the best way to describe it,” said Sondra Berg, supervisor for the Santa Ana Police Department’s Animal Services Division after coming out of the five-bedroom Orange County home of elementary school teacher William Buchman. “I mean there’s so many dead snakes ... ranging from dead for months to

just dead. There’s an infestation of rats and mice all over the house. There are rats and mice in plastic storage tubs that are actually cannibalizing each other,” Berg said.

Buchman, 53, was arrested for investigation of neglect in the care of animals, police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said, and remained in police custody late Wednesday. Five months earlier, that smell had driven neighbors to complain about the home, with some of them speculating there was a dead person inside. “It got so bad as to where my wife would throw up,” next-door neighbor Forest Long Sr. said.

“She’d get out of the car and run into the house.” Long said he had once been friendly with Buchman, and they would

SANTA ANA: While interviewing Sondra Berg, Santa Ana Police Animal Services supervisor, television reporters Bobby DeCastro, from FOX11, and Wendy Burch, of KTLA 5 plug their noses to avoid the stench emanating from the house with dead and decaying snakes in Santa Ana, California. —AP

get together to watch televised sports.

But Buchman, who lost the mother who lived with him a few years earlier and had since lived alone, stopped coming around about a year ago, Long said.

“Something changed in Bill, yes it did,” he said. “Something triggered it because I couldn’t even think that that was going on.” Buchman has not yet had a court appearance or been formally charged and it wasn’t clear if he had an attorney. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District, where he works, declined comment, saying it was a police matter.

Police served a warrant on the home Tuesday morning, and found four of the five bedrooms stacked from floor to ceiling and wall to wall with plastic bins on wooden and metal racks, Berg said. The bins were packed so tightly they didn’t require lids because there was no room for the snakes to slither out.

There were more than 400 snakes in all - 180 live ones and at least 220 dead ones.

Some of the snakes were little more than skeletons. Others, only recently dead, were covered with flies and maggots.

Bertagna said animal control authorities had tried to work with Buchman for several months after neighbors reported the smell. He said they sought the warrant after they were not allowed inside the home.

Berg said Buchman told authorities he was involved in a type of snake breeding called “morphing,” in which owners try to breed different color patterns in the reptiles. It was a very popular and lucrative enterprise 10 years ago but has declined, she said. “There was a lot of fast money in it, but now the bottom pretty much fell out of the market because there are so many of these snakes out there,” she said. —AP

Sondra Berg holds a python on Wednesday in Santa Ana. —AP

Ship where nearly 700 fell ill being sanitized BAYONNE, New Jersey: Kim Waite was especially disappointed to fall ill while treating herself to a Caribbean cruise after completing cancer treatment. The London woman thought she was the only sick one as her husband wheeled her to the infirmary - until the elevator doors opened to reveal hundreds of people vomiting into bags, buckets or on the floor, whatever was closest.

“I started crying, I couldn’t believe it,” Waite said. “I was in shock.”

Waite was among nearly 700 passengers and crew members who became ill during a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas. The voyage was cut short and the ship returned to port Wednesday in New Jersey, where it was being sanitized in preparation for its next voyage.

Long lines of weary travelers arrived to freezing temperatures in Bayonne, as Waite and other passengers recalled days of misery holed up in their rooms with extreme stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.

“I’ve never wanted to go home so much in my life,” Waite said. “I’ve never slept so much in my life, and I’ve got no suntan.” Health investigators suspect norovirus, but lab results are not expected until later this week. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its latest count puts the number of those sickened at 630 passengers and 54 crew members. The ship, scheduled for a 10-day cruise, was carrying 3,050 passengers.

If norovirus is to blame, it would be one of the largest norovirus outbreaks on a cruise ship in the last 20 years, the CDC said. A 2006 norovirus outbreak on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship also sickened close to 700. Norovirus - once known as Norwalk virus - is highly contagious. It can be picked up from an infected person, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces. Sometimes mistaken for the stomach flu, the virus causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhea for a few days. —AP

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International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Bangladesh Islamist sentenced to death CHITTAGONG: A Bangladesh court sentenced yesterday the leader of the country’s largest Islamist party and 13 others to death over a huge 2004 arms smuggling racket, sparking fears of new political unrest.

Motiur Rahman Nizami, 70, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was convicted and sentenced over the racket involving 10 truckloads of arms seized by police a decade ago at a Bangladesh port.

“We’re satisfied with the verdict. This is an unprecedented case and all those accused have got due justice,” prosecutor Kamal Uddin Ahmed told AFP from the southern port city of Chittagong.

Prosecutors said Nizami, who was industries minister at the time, helped unload the weapons at the port that included 4,930 firearms and 27,020 grenades destined for a rebel group across the border in northeast India. Nizami, who has led Jamaat for more than a decade, was among 50 people charged with smuggling, arms possession and other offences over the cache thought to be the largest haul in Bangladesh history.

Among the 14 sentenced to death on Thursday over their roles was ex-home minister Lotfuzzaman Babar, former chiefs of the country’s two main intelligence agencies and other officials in the then government. One of India’s most wanted men, Paresh Baruah, leader of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), was also handed the death penalty in absentia over the weapons which were meant to help his group’s decades-long separatist struggle.

Baruah has long been on the run. The crowded court witnessed emotional scenes after the verdict was handed down, with a government bureaucrat fainting, and Babar crying out “No justice!”. “The verdict is given to make someone happy. I’ll get justice in the after world,” Babar yelled to the court.

Tight security Security was tight in Chittagong where the judge delivered his long-awaited decision following a trial that lasted for years. Extra police and elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers were deployed in key areas as a precaution, amid concerns Jamaat party activists could take to the streets to protest the decision. Deadly unrest that erupted in the weeks leading up to this month’s controversial general elections, including strikes, transport blockades and other protests, were mostly blamed on Jamaat activists.

Police said Jamaat supporters staged a violent protest in the northwestern city of Rajshahi after the verdict, while about 200 pro-opposition lawyers also protested outside the Chittagong court.

“They exploded a small bomb and we fired rubber bullets to disperse them. No one was injured,” deputy commissioner of Rajshahi police Tanvir Chowdhury told AFP of the protest there.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to bring stability after the crippling opposition protests that have left around 180 dead since October. Jamaat activists also led deadly protests last year against war crimes trials underway against some of its leaders over alleged atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

Nizami, who is also one of a dozen Jamaat leaders facing trial for war crimes, has been in custody over that case and the arms smuggling one since 2010. Defence lawyer Kamrul Islam Sazzad told AFP they would appeal, rejecting the verdict as “politically motivated” and aimed at “pleasing India”. The verdict was expected to boost ties between Bangladesh and India, which earlier this month backed Hasina’s controversial election victory, and has long wanted the case resolved. Nizami was an influential minister in the former government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which was allied with Jamaat. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister and Leader of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal pays homage at Rajghat, the memorial of India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi, on Martyrs’ Day in New Delhi yesterday, the 66th anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination. —AFP

India govt gives residents more cheap cooking gas Populist move ahead of May election NEW DELHI: The Indian government yesterday raised the subsidy on cooking gas, a populist move just months before national elections but one that will further strain the public purse.

The cabinet agreed to raise the number of subsidized gas cylinders per home from nine to 12 a year after Rahul Gandhi, number two in the ruling Congress party, demanded the increase earlier this month to meet consumer needs. “Today the cabinet has taken a decision to increase it to 12 ... and it will be effective from 1 February,” said Oil Minister Veerappa Moily at a press conference.

Asked whether cabinet’s decision was influenced by Gandhi’s request, Information Minister Manish Tewari said:

“Rahul Gandhi is an elected representative and if he says anything, it is considered very seriously.” Tewari denied the move was aimed at winning over voters before the general election due by May, which the Congress party is almost certain to lose after a decade in power.

The move, set to cover 99 percent of Indian consumers, will cost the government 50 billion rupees ($797 million) in additional subsidies at a time of slowing economic growth, weak tax returns and high public spending. The government said last month it would stick to the “path of fiscal prudence” and vowed no pre-election handouts, dismissing market fears of expensive schemes to sway voters that would swell the deficit.

The economy grew at a decade low

of five percent last year-a far cry from near-double digit expansion during India’s boom times-and the government is trying to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the year ending March. The Congressled coalition is trailing in opinion polls against the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, with voters disillusioned over a string of corruption scandals and the faltering economy.

Congress is also battling the rise of newcomer Aam Aadmi Party, which slashed electricity tariffs and offered households free water after coming to power in Delhi state elections late last year. Currently, the market price of cooking gas is $20 per cylinder in Delhi while subsidized ones cost $6. —AFP

Pro-Taleban cleric shot dead in Pakistan

CHITTAGONG: Matiur Rahman Nizami, head of the country’s main Islamist opposition party Jamaat-eIslami, enters a prison van at a court in Chittagong yesterday. Nizami was among 14 people sentenced to death yesterday on charges of smuggling weapons to a rebel group in neighboring India. —AP

QUETTA, Pakistan: An influential cleric who supported the Afghan Taleban in their war against US-led forces has been shot dead in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said yesterday. “Two unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead Maulana Abdullah Zakiri” as he was on his way to a mosque on Wednesday night, senior police official Abdul Razzaq told AFP. Razzaq said Zakiri had been living in Quetta for a long time and had no known disputes with anyone, though his family have accused Afghan intelligence of his murder. Provincial home secretary Asad Gilani confirmed the killing. Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is rife with separatist and Islamist militants and plagued by sectarian bloodshed.

According to an Afghan Taleban source, Zakiri, 80, was a teacher and a close aide to Taleban spiritual leader Mullah Omar. The source also blamed Afghan intelligence for the murder. Abdul Sattar Chishti, a leader of the pro-Taleban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Nazariati political party, said Zakiri was a strong proponent of fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan.

“We believe that Afghan intelligence is behind the murder of Maulana Zakiri as they have been killing Afghan religious scholars in the past also,” Chishti said. Zakiri was also the chief of Ittehad-e-Ulema Afghanistan, an alliance of Afghan clerics. —AFP

10 killed in India mob attack GAUHATI, India: A mob armed with shotguns attacked a remote village in northeast India, killing at least 10 people in a long-simmering land dispute, police said yesterday. The attackers fired indiscriminately Wednesday evening in Chauldhua village in northern Assam state, said resident Indrashwar Das. “A large mob attacked us with guns, everyone was surprised,” said Das, who was shot in the leg. “I saw people falling and I ran.” The gunmen came from neighboring Arunachal Pradesh state, police said. It took officers several hours to access the densely forested area, said police official Sanjukta Parashar. The dispute dates back to 1987, when Arunachal Pradesh state was created and the village was declared to be in Assam. There have been similar attacks before, but Wednesday’s was the most deadly. The Supreme Court has taken up the case.

Chauldhua is nearly 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Gauhati, the state capital of Assam. —AP

18

International FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

US: Kabul can’t dilly-dally on security pact ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT: The United States and its allies cannot continue to put off decisions about a post-2014 mission in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said, urging Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign a pact allowing US troops to stay beyond this year.

“You can’t just keep deferring and deferring, because at some point the realities of planning and budgeting and all that is required collides,” Hagel told reporters late on Wednesday, aboard a military aircraft en route to Poland. The Obama administration has been pressing Karzai to

sign the agreement, which was concluded last year, for months, warning that US and NATO nations could be forced to pull all soldiers out by the end of the year, leaving Afghanistan vulnerable to Taliban resurgence or even civil war.

Karzai, meanwhile, has demanded an end to US military operations on Afghan homes and a step forward in hoped-for peace talks with the Taleban before he will sign the deal. Hagel said President Barack Obama was personally examining what a possible post-2014 US force in Afghanistan might look like, should the security pact be

finalized this year. The US military has advocated keeping a modest-sized force of around 10,000 soldiers in Afghanistan to anchor a post-2014 mission that would focus on training and supporting Afghan forces and conducting counter-terrorism activities.

Administration officials say no decisions have yet been made. It is unclear whether the Obama administration would be willing to wait until after Afghanistan elects a new leader in April to finalize the deal, or whether it will call off plans for a post-2014 presence before then. Hagel said his coun-

terparts from NATO nations were likewise concerned about the delay in finalizing their plans for Afghanistan beyond this year. “They have parliaments, they have budgets, they have their citizens,” he said.

Hagel said that while officials continued to urge Karzai to finalize the deal, there were limits to what the United States could do. “(Karzai) is the elected president of a sovereign nation, and our ability to influence whatever decisions an elected president and leader of a sovereign nation makes on behalf of their country is limited,” he said. —Reuters

Philippine negotiator asks rebels to give up Death toll from clashes rises to 41 MANILA: The Philippines’ chief peace negotiator with rebels called yesterday on breakaway guerrillas still fighting the government to turn themselves in, as the death toll from this week’s clashes rose to 41. Negotiator Miriam Coronel said the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was working with government forces to contain the breakaway group and stop the fighting spreading from remote villages in the southern island of Mindanao. Clashes broke out this week between troops and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a small breakaway faction of the MILF which opposes the peace talks. Regional military

spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso said 40 BIFF members and one soldier had been killed while 13 soldiers had been wounded.

About 10,000 civilians had fled their homes due to the violence, he said. The new clashes broke out just two days after the government and the MILF successfully concluded years of negotiations aimed at ending a decades-long insurgency that has killed tens of thousands.

The BIFF has carried out several deadly attacks in recent years to try to derail the peace process. “The ongoing military operations are geared at degrading the BIFF’s capability to continue to cause harm to the government forces, civilians

and the peace process,” Coronel said in a statement. “We call on the members and the leaders of the BIFF to put down their arms and be part of the process. We ask them to listen to the plea of their own brothers and sisters to give peace a chance.” Visiting British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the success of the negotiations with the MILF “is a testament to the vision and determination of (Philippine) President (Benigno) Aquino and all those involved”. “We know from our own experience in Northern Ireland that implementation brings its own challenges, but it will also bring rewards, both for Mindanao and for the whole of the Philippines,” he said. —AFP

Philippines regrets Hong Kong sanction MANILA: The Philippine government said yesterday it regrets new Hong Kong sanctions but cannot accept a demand that it apologize for the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage tragedy.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippines has already expressed its deepest regret and condolences over the incident and made a “generous offer” of payments to the victims and their families to resolve the issue. Hong Kong said Wednesday it will end visa-free visits by holders of official Philippine government passports starting Feb. 5. Ordinary Filipino travelers aren’t affected. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said it was the first phase of sanctions, but did not explain what further steps he would take. Leung said the two sides had agreed on three other issues: compensation, holding responsible officials accountable, and putting in place safety measures for tourists. Relations have soured over the Philippines’ bungled rescue of the tourists, who were taken hostage on a Manila tour bus by a dismissed police officer.

The Philippine government has expressed regret but has not officially apologized. “The sanction is unfortunate because a substantive closure ... had already been arrived at three years ago with the previous Hong Kong SAR government and the victims as well as their families,” Hernandez said.

He said the Philippines responded to a renewed appeal for compassion made last October “without equivocation and in a most generous manner.” Hernandez said Hong Kong then began a complete renegotiation

demanding an apology “which the Philippines, as a sovereign nation, is not prepared to consider.” Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, a former Philippine president, said he is worried that Filipino workers in Hong Kong might be affected by the row, and expressed a willingness to go to

Hong Kong to apologize.

“I think they want President (Benigno) Aquino to apologize but it’s not the fault of the president,” Estrada said. He said it was the former Manila mayor who supervised the bungled police rescue, not Aquino. —AP

MANILA: British Foreign Secretary William Hague (right) shakes hands with his Philippine counterpart Albert del Rosario following their joint news conference yesterday in Manila. Hague said the United Kingdom will take in some refugees from the Syrian conflict to “give them some respite and some care after some of the things that they have been through.” —AP

BANGKOK: A supporter wearing the Thai national colors cheers on a passing anti-government march in Bangkok yesterday. Thailand’s government announced Tuesday it will go ahead with an election this weekend despite an opposition boycott, months of street protests and the likelihood of more violence in the country’s political crisis. —AP

Thai army to deploy more troops amid warning BANGKOK: Thailand’s army will increase the number of troops in the capital ahead of yesterday’s election, it said on Thursday, as the government warned it might not be able to contain violence if anti-government protesters try to stop people voting.

The protesters, members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), had said they would disrupt the ballot as part of their campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, but their leader appeared to backtrack. The government’s decision to press ahead with the election has inflamed tension in the capital, Bangkok, where the protesters have blockaded main intersections and forced many ministries to close their doors this month.

“In addition to the 5,000 soldiers we have already deployed in and around Bangkok to help monitor security, we will be increasing troops around protest sites as there are people trying to instigate violence,” army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told Reuters.

About 10,000 police would be responsible for Bangkok security on Sunday and the troops would be on standby. Labor Minister Chalerm Yoombamrung, in charge of a state of emergency imposed last week, urged the protesters not to disrupt the vote.

“If the PDRC do that, people will beat each other to a pulp and nobody can control a situation like that,” he told reporters. “The police and soldiers don’t have enough manpower to take care of (security) at every polling station.” Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said people should not waste time voting but appeared to drop earlier plans to try to obstruct polling. “Those who want to vote should go and vote,” he told supporters as the sun set. “We won’t block you from voting otherwise you’ll turn around and say we violated your rights.”

Demonstrators took to the streets in November in the latest round of an eight-year conflict that pits Bangkok’s middle class, southern Thais and the royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

The protesters accuse Yingluck of being a puppet of former telecoms tycoon Thaksin, a man they say is a corrupt crony capitalist who disrespected the monarchy and bought elections over the past decade with costly populist giveaways. —Reuters

Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Germany’s labor market starts year in good shape PAGE 20

China manufacturing index at six-month low: HSBC PAGE 22

CBs fail to stop emerging markets rout LONDON: Investors yesterday shrugged off central bank efforts to shore up battered emerging markets, selling stocks and bonds and further weakening tumbling currencies.

It added pressure on more countries to raise interest rates to seek a halt to a major capital flight. Fears about emerging economies intensified after the US Federal Reserve withdrew more of its monetary stimulus on Wednesday and a measure of Chinese manufacturing hit a six-month low earlier yesterday. The benchmark MSCI emerging equity index fell 0.8 percent to a fresh 4-1/2 month low. Large interest rate hikes from Turkey and a less-aggressive rise in South Africa on Wednesday, along with a surprise monetary tightening from India earlier this week, have failed so far to halt the sell-off in emerging assets. If the mood spreads, further portfolio outflows would pressure growth in many emerging economies which are especially reliant on external capital, potentially setting off a vicious circle of investment outflows.

Emerging markets faced intense pressure yesterday after the US Federal Reserve cut its stimulus further, with currencies sliding in India, South Africa and Turkey despite interest rate rises. Asian shares fell heavily and European stocks also retreated, extending a global rout driven by worries about emerging markets.

Concerns were stoked when the US central bank further reduced its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus overnight. Wall Street sank on Wednesday after the Fed said it would reduce its bond-buying program by $10 billion to $65 billion per month, citing a pickup in the US economy. That followed a similar announcement in December. Investors took flight as the news fed fears of capital flows from emerging markets that have benefited from the Fed’s cheap money policy, hitting nations with large current account deficits, as dealers look for safer investments back home.

Lira plunges The Turkish lira fell against the dollar and the euro, as the Fed news overshadowed a big interest rate rise. Turkey, where political upheaval is fuelling market fears, doubled its interest rate to 10.0 percent late on Tuesday giving short-lived support to the currency.

“The concern here comes with the fact that we’ve had major emerging central banks resort to tighter policy rates to defend their currencies, but have failed fairly miserably,” said Abbas Ameli-Renani, emerging market strategist at RBS. “In general, central banks are being forced by the turn of events, and now have their backs against the wall... We’ve only scratched the surface here with EM flows, and there’s a lot more potential for outflows.”

The Turkish lira fell more than 1 percent to 2.2810 per dollar, approaching record lows set earlier this week and fully erasing gains made after the central bank surprised the market with a whopping 425 basis point rate hike. Local stocks lost 1.3 percent.

The lira’s one-month implied volatility shot above 20 percent on Wednesday, its highest in nearly 5 years.

The South African rand also ignored a surprise 50 basis point hike from the central bank on Wednesday, hitting a fresh fiveyear low of 11.38 per dollar. The yield on benchmark government bonds jumped 36 bps to 7.36 percent. — Agencies

NEW YORK: A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the decision of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. — AP

Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

in the

news

Oman telecom Nawras Q4 profit declines 3% DUBAI: Oman’s second biggest telecommunications operator, Nawras, reported a 3 percent fall in fourthquarter profit yesterday, citing higher depreciation costs linked to investment in network modernization and expansion. The firm, majority-owned by Ooredoo, made a net profit of 10 million rials ($25.97 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, down from 10.3 million rials in the year-earlier period, it said in a bourse statement. It reported declining profits in seven of the previous eight quarters. Gulf Baader Capital Markets had forecast Nawras, which ended Oman Telecommunication Co’s (Omantel) monopoly in 2005, would make a quarterly profit of 8.54 million rials.

Revenue for the quarter increased to 52.8 million rials, up 2.7 percent from the corresponding period in 2012.

Nawras made a full-year profit for 2013 of 33.1 million rials, down from 37.0 million rials in 2012. Annual revenue rose 4 percent to 202 million rials.

Egyptian pound stable at FX sale CAIRO: The Egyptian pound was unchanged from a day earlier at a central bank currency sale but slightly weaker on the black market yesterday. The central bank has burned through at least $20 billion - roughly half its reserves - supporting the currency since Egypt’s 2011 uprising scared off tourists and foreign investors. It sold $38.6 million to banks with a cut-off price of 6.9517 pounds to the dollar yesterday, the same as at Wednesday’s auction. The bank had offered to sell up to $40 million. On the black market, a trader said the dollar was offered at 7.36 pounds on Wednesday compared with 7.35 on Wednesday. The central bank introduced dollar currency sales a year ago. On Monday it held a $1.5 billion exceptional auction, its largest ever, to restock the market with much needed dollars and fight the unofficial currency market.

UK regulator blocks Santander plan LONDON: Britain’s financial regulator has blocked Santander UK’s plan to give its incoming deputy chief executive responsibility for risk management as it believes the two roles could come into conflict, people familiar with the matter said. The British arm of Spain’s Santander last month said Nathan Bostock, currently finance director of Royal Bank of Scotland, would join it this year in the joint role of deputy chief executive and chief risk officer. But the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), part of the Bank of England, told Santander it was unhappy the executive overseeing the risk function would also be in a role responsible for lending decisions, the sources said. Bostock will take the deputy CEO role, and someone else will fill the risk role, one of the sources said.

MADRID: Santander chairman Emilio Botin speaks during a press conference announcing the 2013 fullyear results in Madrid yesterday. — AFP

Germany’s labor market starts year in good shape Outlook for Europe’s top economy brightens FRANKFURT: Unemployment in Germany remains in surprisingly good shape at the start of 2014 as the outlook for Europe’s top economy continues to improve, official data showed yesterday.

On the face of it, the German jobless total increased by 263,000 to 3.136 million and the jobless rate-which measures the proportion of people out of work against the working population as a whole-jumped to 7.3 percent in January from 6.7 percent in December, the Federal Labor Office calculated.

But unemployment tends to rise in the winter months as sectors such as the construction industry lay off workers due to the bad weather. Adjusted for such factors, the number of people registered as unemployed in Germany fell by 28,000 to 2.927 million in seasonally adjusted terms this month, the Federal Labor Office said in a statement.

Analysts had been projecting a much smaller decline of just 5,000. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.8 percent, the Federal Labor Office said.

“The labor market is continuing to develop positively,” the office said. Labor Minister Andrea Nahles agreed.”Today’s data show that the labor market is in good shape and the employment situa-

tion in Germany is stable,” she said. “The German economy is humming along, with more good news today for consumers in the shape of the largest fall in unemployment for two-and-a-half years,” said Berenberg Bank economist Rob Wood.

Recovery on track “The strong labor market reflects the economic recovery following the European Central Bank’s actions in summer 2012, and raises the chances of stronger wage growth and higher consumption this year. “We expect the economy to grow 2.2 percent this year,” the expert added. Natixis economist Johannes Gareis also said the drop in the seasonally adjusted total this month was a positive surprise, even if the mild winter weather in January contributed to this.

“All in all, the German labor market is in a solid position. The jobless rate is close to its lowest level since reunification. Thus, Germany’s labor market remains the backbone of the domestic economy, especially of private consumption,” Gareis said.

BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar noted that the December figures had also been revised downwards.

“But the decline was not solely attrib-

utable to the mild weather,” Kipar said.

“In fact, the labor market appears to be picking up at the turn of the year,” Kipar said. “The situation on the labor market is currently more favorable than it has been since unification. In view of the positive trend in key sentiment indicators and rising capacity utilisation in industry, the rise in employment should accelerate in the coming months and unemployment come down a bit further,” Kipar concluded.

IHS Global Insight economist Timo Klein said that “overall, labor market conditions remain healthier in Germany than in most other countries in Europe, and the boosting effect that the euro-zone debt crisis has had on German unemployment during 2012-13 has been a very mild one and is now waning.”

Key leading indicators such as the Ifo business climate have been rebounding fairly markedly already since November 2012.

Helped by a state-run job creation schemes and mild winter weather, unemployment “has now reverted to a modest downward trend, which will give consumer demand further impetus during 2014,” Klein said. “Overall, German economic growth is gaining momentum at present,” he said. — AFP

India takes nearly 40% less Iranian oil in 2013 NEW DELHI: India imported nearly 40 percent less Iranian crude last year, with no sign in the last month of 2013 that the easing of Western sanctions in a landmark deal resulted in Indian refiners bumping up their purchases. The breakthrough agreement between Tehran and six world powers that was reached on Nov 24 and took effect earlier this month allowed it to keep oil exports at reduced levels of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd), less than half pre2012 levels.

But while analysts have expected Iran’s exports to start creeping up as some sanctions are eased, data from its top buyers indicate imports have held steady to lower so far.

Oil industry sources in India have said they expect no rapid increases in the imports in coming months, while noting shipments could fall further in the upcoming fiscal year.

India’s cuts last year due to the toughened sanctions that were put in place in 2012 were deeper even than the targeted cut of 15 percent to 220,000 bpd in average imports from Iran for the year ending March 31, 2014. And New Delhi could take just 180,00-190,000 bpd in 2014/15 as it may have to cut imports further if sanctions against Iran are not fully lifted later this year, an oil ministry official said earlier in January. For 2013, India - Iran’s top oil customer after China - imported 195,600 bpd of oil and condensate, down 38 percent compared with 315,200 bpd in 2012, according to data obtained from trade sources.

India’s purchases from Iran declined nearly 14 percent last month compared with November and about 31.5 percent from a year ago, the data also showed.

India’s cut in Iranian oil shipment in 2013 was in sharp contrast to a meagre 2.2 percent decline in China’s imports excluding condensate. South Korea’s crude purchases from Iran were down about 14 percent in 2013 from the previous year. China and South Korea also decreased their Iranian oil shipments in December from the same month a year ago by 14.5 percent and 29.5 percent, respectively. — Reuters

TOKYO: Pedestrians pass before a share prices board in Tokyo yesterday. Japan’s share prices dropped 511.53 points to close at 14,872.38 points at the morning session of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, leading an Asian rout, sparked by worries over emerging markets as the Federal Reserve further scaled back its stimulus program. — AFP

Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Shell to cut spending, sell assets after profit warning Capital spending to fall to $37bn from $46bn

WELLINGTON: Workers queue to get take-out lunches at the Chef’s Palette eatery in Wellington, New Zealand. Five years after the global financial crisis, New Zealand is poised to become one of the first developed nations to begin raising interest rates in response to a thriving economy. — AP

Oil lifted by cold weather LONDON: Brent oil rose to $108 per barrel yesterday as bitter cold in the United States boosted heating oil demand, though prices were capped by weak Chinese economic data and the US Federal Reserve’s move to trim its monetary stimulus.

Brent crude was up 18 cents to $108.03 a barrel as of 0922 GMT, after settling 44 cents higher the previous day. US crude gained 47 cents to $97.83, having reached $97.92, its highest since Dec 31.

Weak Chinese manufacturing data and the Fed’s decision to stick with the plan to wind down economic stimulus despite recent turmoil in emerging markets weighed on riskier assets.

But oil bucked the trend as a fall in US distillates stocks by more than double what was expected revived demand hopes in a seasonally weak period. “There’s more demand for products in the cold weather and that’s feeding through to the oil price,” said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets. “I think WTI (US crude) has the potential to reach $99 per barrel.”

The Fed’s move to trim its monthly stimulus program was widely expected, although some investors had speculated the US central bank might put its plans on hold given jitters overseas. A pullback in stimulus will strengthen the dollar, weighing on commodities priced in the currency such as oil. — Reuters

NDON: Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell assets, cut spending and freeze a controversial Arctic drilling program to improve returns after a major profit warning.

Just a month into his new job as chief executive of the world’s No 3 investorowned oil company, Ben van Beurden set out plans to make the group much leaner. The planned changes follow a profit warning for the quarter to the end of December, detailing across-the-board problems that partly reflect how the industry is grappling with flat oil prices, the need to control costs and replace oil reserves that are being used up in production.

“Our overall strategy remains robust, but 2014 will be a year where we are changing emphasis, to improve our returns and cash flow performance,” van Beurden said in a statement. Other big oil companies are also struggling for profit growth. Shell’s warning, two weeks after van Beurden replaced former boss Peter Voser, followed one earlier in January by Chevron Corp, the second-largest US oil company. Shell’s capital spending will fall to $37 billion this year from $46 billion in 2013, it said, while it will also increase its rate of asset disposals, with a target to sell $15 billion worth of assets in 2014-15.

The company said it would also take tough decisions on projects, cancelling this year’s planned controversial and costly hunt for oil in Alaska’s Arctic seas, in a U-turn of plans made as recently as December. To sweeten investors, it plans to raise its first quarter dividend by

Britain cuts big companies’ ax bill LONDON: Britain cut the tax bills of many of its biggest companies by about a quarter last year, a survey showed yesterday, as government efforts to cut the nation’s debt stir controversy over spending cuts and tax breaks. Corporate taxation has risen to the top of the political agenda in Britain in the past 18 months, amid revelations that companies i Apple and Google reap billions in profit thanks to UK customers but pay little tax in the country.

A group including most of the biggest UK companies said their corporation tax bills fell 26 percent last year, adding to big drops in earlier years, after the government cut tax rates.

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to ensure all companies pay their fair share but has also slashed tax rates to levels well below large European peers, to try and encourage businesses to invest and create jobs. In the year to March 2013, the 100 Group of major companies, which includes most of those in the FTSE 100 Index of major businesses, had a tax bill of 6.0 billion pounds, a survey conducted by business consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the group said.

In addition to lower tax rates, PwC said

weak profitability and a drop in North Sea oil and gas production reduced tax payments. The 100 troup’s tax bill has fallen steadily since 2006, when the survey estimated members paid 12.6 billion pounds in corporation tax, the British form of corporate income tax. The latest survey showed the burden of some taxes rose, including the levy on banks - imposed to help pay for the financial crisis - propertyrelated taxes and higher labor taxes as employment and wages rose. However, overall, the total taxes borne by the group fell 6 percent in the year. The Conservative-led government has gradually cut the corporation tax rate from 28 percent, when it was elected in 2010, to a planned 20 percent next year, to encourage investment.

“Corporation tax will continue to contract, the rate being an influence on that, but that is not to say that there isn’t a considerable amount of economic activity that’s helping the overall tax take increase,” he said. Before the election, finance minister George Osborne predicted his planned corporate tax cuts would not hit revenues because they would be offset by cuts in capital allowances and other corporate tax breaks. — Reuters

4 percent compared with the same period last year to $0.47 per share, in a move which it said reflected confidence in its ability to boost free cash flow.

Shares in Shell gained 2.2 percent to 2,173 pence, making it one of the top risers on Britain’s blue-chip index. “This is a good start, they’re saying the right things, more loudly and more quantified than we had expected,” Royal Bank of Canada analyst Peter Hutton said, adding that the increase in the dividend was “confident” and ahead of his expectations.

Shell had spent around $4.5 billion searching for oil off the coast of Alaska since 2005 but was forced to cancel last year’s Arctic offshore drill season after the grounding of a drillship in a storm in 2012 and against a backdrop of significant environmental opposition.

“We are making hard choices in our world-wide portfolio to improve Shell’s capital efficiency”, van Beurden said. The $15 billion of disposals targeted for this year and next would be equivalent to around 6.5 percent of Shell’s current $228 billion market capitalization and compared to proceeds from divestments of $1.7 billion in 2013.

Weak prices RBC’s Hutton said that on a return on average capital employed basis, Shell was in line with its peers at about 11 to 12 percent. But the company had more opportunity than others to improve that metric, he added, given that a high proportion of its capital was employed in projects yet to come onstream or in US

shale gas.

Weak gas prices in the US prompted Shell to say that it was considering asset sales in its US shale business and it warned that impairment charges were possible. The company is currently valued below its peers, with a forward looking price to earnings ratio of 9.8 times, compared with its European peers which are on 11.6 times.

Van Beurden also said Shell would abandon its previously-set cash flow and spending targets. The company had set a cash flow target of achieving between $175 billion to $200 billion between 2012 and 2015, at an oil price of between $80 to $100.

Shell had also pledged a four-year net investment spend of $130 billion for 2012 to 2015, based on a $100 oil price scenario. Fourth-quarter earnings, excluding identified items and on a current cost of supply basis, came in at $2.9 billion, in line with a downgraded profit expectation it gave on Jan. 17, and making the quarter its least profitable for five years.

Shell blamed the fourth quarter profit warning on weak refining profit margins, higher production costs, output stoppages in Nigeria and maintenance in its LNG business. The company had also undershot analysts’ forecasts in the third quarter of 2013.

The step-up in disposals had been flagged by Shell last October, although no target was given, and the company has already begun the process, raising $2.14 billion from selling stakes in projects in Australia and Brazil. — Reuters

Oil industry starts to squeeze costs, wages Megaproject madness fuels cost overruns LONDON: Cutting the cost of everything from salaries and steel pipes to seismic surveys and drilling equipment is the central challenge for the oil and gas industry over the next five years. The tremendous increase in exploration and production activity around the world over the last ten years has strained the global supply chain and been accompanied by a predictable increase in operating and capital costs. When oil and gas prices were rising strongly, petroleum producers and their contractors could afford to absorb cost increases.

But as oil and gas production have moved back into line with demand, and prices have stabilised, the focus is switching once again to cost control.

“Operational excellence,” a euphemism for doing more with less, is back in fashion and set to dominate industry thinking for the rest of the decade. Paal Kibsgaard, chief executive of Schlumberger, one of the largest service companies, has been emphasizing “smart fracking” and other ways to raise output and cut costs for two years. Speaking as long ago as March 2012, Kibsgaard warned: “In the past ten years, exploration and production spend has grown fourfold in nominal terms, while oil production is up only 11 percent.”

“In this environment, we believe our customers

will favor working with companies that can help them increase production and recovery, reduce costs, and manage risks,” he added.

Schlumberger’s website and those of its main competitors Halliburton and Baker Hughes all prominently feature technologies and processes intended to cut costs, such as dual-fuel diesel-natural gas drilling and pumping engines.

It is just a small example of profound industry shift from an emphasis on increasing production to controlling spending. Issuing a shocking profit warning on January 17, Royal Dutch Shell ‘s new chief executive pledged to focus on “achieving better capital efficiency and on continuing to strengthen our operational performance and project delivery.”

Yesterday, the company cut its capital budget for 2014, and announced it was suspending its controversial and expensive Arctic drilling program. Shell is catching up with peers like BP and Chevron , as well as perennially tight-fisted Exxon, in promising to stick to a tighter spending regime and return more value to shareholders .

The problem is not unique to oil and gas producers. Miners like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American have all axed projects and pledged to tighten capital discipline after costs spiralled out of control. — Reuters

Business FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

S Africa mineworkers reject wage offer MARIKANA, South Africa: South Africa’s platinum mineworkers rejected a fresh wage offer at a public meeting yesterday, and vowed to continue a week-long strike that has brought the sector to a stand-still.

Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union crowded into a platinum belt stadium to hear details of a deal firms were hoping would end a stoppage costing each of them as much as $9 million a day.

Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin-the world’s top three producers-have proposed wage increases of at least seven percent for each of the next three years. But members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union gave the offer short shrift. Informed of the terms by leaders, the stadium erupted with jeers and with a cry of “asiyi” meaning we are not going back. “We’ve been mandated to go back to the drawing board,” said AMCU’s Lonmin branch secretary Reuben Lesejane. “The strike will end after our demands are met, for now the strike continues.”

An estimated 80,000 workers downed tools last Thursday, prompting the government to call talks between the union and the top three mining firms. The union has called for a basic monthly minimum wage of 12,500 rand ($1,150), around double the current amount.

It is the same demand that spurred 2012 strikes, which resulted in the police shooting dead 34 miners on one day. The mood inside the stadium was one of defiance.

“The employers still do not want to give what we want,” said Lonmin employee Zenzo Mathale. — AFP

India to stay ‘vigilant’ to ensure financial stability NEW DELHI: India said yesterday it would take whatever steps necessary to ensure stability in its financial markets after the US Federal Reserve again cut its monetary stimulus. The finance ministry said the government and the Reserve Bank of India were remaining vigilant to the possible impact on the markets of the US Federal Reserve’s decision to further taper its stimulus program.

The ministry said India’s economy was prepared for the taper, pointing to India’s boosted foreign exchange reserves which stand at $295 billion and robust foreign investment inflows, among other factors. “However, both the Government and the Reserve Bank of India will continue to remain vigilant and will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that there is stability in the financial markets,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This decision was expected and should not in any way surprise or affect the Indian markets,” it said.

The US Federal Reserve stayed the course on tapering its stimulus for the US economy on Wednesday, reducing asset purchases by $10 billion for the second month in a row.

The Fed said the US economy was growing firmly enough to further trim the stimulus, which will fall to $65 billion a month from February, spelling a steady tightening of global financial conditions.

Asian markets slumped Thursday, extending a global rout on renewed fears of a capital flight from emerging economies-including from India-as dealers look for safer investments back home.

Shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange were down 1.08 percent to 20,424.65 points yesterday on the news. Indian shares have already seen a bit of a roil in the past few sessions on worries that US Fed tightening its money tap could hit growth in emerging market economies amid a slowdown in China.

“This (fall) is a knee jerk reaction. We need to wait for a week or two to see how much we (Indian financial markets) have digested the Fed tapering,” said Arun Singh, senior economist at the research firm Dun and Bradstreet.

The currency fell to as low as 62.90 rupees to the dollar in early trade yesterday before recovering to 62.75 rupees, from Monday’s more than two-month low of 63.32 “What India needs now are concrete steps from the government and the central bank to ensure currency stability and growth revival.

Foreign investors need to be assured about returns or the capital could flow out,” Singh said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this week unexpectedly raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points to tame inflation even as the economy faces low growth. — AFP

BEIJIING: A shopkeeper uses her smartphone as she waits for customers at the gate of a bag shop in Beijing yesterday.

The reluctance of customers to open their wallets wider is one of a thicket of obstacles facing communist leaders as they try to rebalance China’s economy away from reliance on investment that is losing its ability to boost growth. —AP

China manufacturing index at six-month low: HSBC Data raises questions over growth BEIJING: Chinese manufacturing contracted for the first time in six months in January, HSBC confirmed yesterday, raising questions over growth prospects for the world’s second-largest economy this year.

The British banking giant’s final reading of China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing activity in factories and workshops, fell to 49.5 this month.

It was its lowest figure since July and fractionally below the preliminary 49.6 reading HSBC announced last week. The index is a closely watched gauge of the health of the Asian economic powerhouse.

A reading above 50 indicates growth, while anything below signals contraction.

“The deterioration of the headline PMI largely reflected weaker expansions of both output and new business over the month,” HSBC said. “Firms also cut their staffing levels at the quickest pace since March 2009.”

July’s figure of 47.7 was the last time it dropped below the critical point. Qu Hongbin, the bank’s economist in Hong Kong, described it as “a soft start to China’s manufacturing sectors in 2014, partly due to weaker new export orders and slower domestic business activities during January”.

“Policymakers should pay attention to downside risks and preemptively fine-tune policy to steady the pace of

growth if needed,” he added in a statement accompanying the data.

China’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which begins today and during which the country’s shops, offices and factories largely shut down, could have an impact on the figures, analysts noted.

“We are cautious about reading too much into the figures at this time of year, as year-to-year shifts in the timing of Chinese New Year make seasonal adjustment less accurate,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, of Capital Economics.

China’s economic growth came in at 7.7 percent for 2013, maintaining its slowest expansion in more than a decade. — AFP

China faces obstacles on road to consumer society BEIJING: Business should be picking up for Zhao Guoping, a Beijing shopkeeper, as Chinese leaders try to build a consumer society to replace a worn-out economic model based on trade and investment. But his financial struggle highlights the hurdles that ambitious effort faces.

Squeezed by higher costs and weak sales to budget-minded shoppers, Zhao said the income from his neighborhood shop has fallen by half to 50,000 yuan ($6,000) a year. “Prices are rocketing up.

People’s incomes can hardly catch up,” said Zhao, 38. “Daily necessities, yes, I still have to buy them. But anything I don’t necessarily need, then no.” The reluctance of Zhao and his customers to open their wallets wider is one of a thicket of obstacles facing communist leaders as they try to rebalance China’s economy

away from reliance on investment that is losing its ability to boost growth.

Combined with an export boom, a flood of spending on new factories, highways and other assets powered the past decade of explosive growth. That helped China rebound quickly from the 2008 global crisis. But it was paid for with a surge in borrowing that economists warn looks like debt booms in other developing countries that spiraled into financial crises.

As urgency for change mounts, so do potential hurdles. Consumer spending accounts for only about 35 percent of gross domestic product, well below neighboring India’s 60 percent, and that percentage declined last year. Curbs on investment will mean less money flows to wages in construction and building

materials industries such as steel and cement. “It is a pretty narrow path that policymakers have to push the economy along,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics. “The risk is that if investment spending slows too much, then that starts to undermine consumer spending and you get a downward spiral.”

Forecasts of this year’s growth range from 7 to 8 percent, far ahead of the United States and Europe but down from China’s double-digit rates of the past decade. Last year’s 7.7 percent growth tied with 2012 for the weakest performance in two decades. And it hit that only after Beijing launched a mini stimulus in mid-2013 with more spending on building new railways and other public works. — AP

Tr a v e l FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

10 iconic dishes and where to eat them

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ood is a hot topic of debate but travel website Virtual Tourist (www.virtualtourist.com) has compiled its selection of 10 of the world’s most iconic dishes and the best places to find them.

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Pastrami Sandwich - New York City

eighborhoods grow and change but some things stay the same. A fixture in New York’s Lower East Side since 1888, Katz’s Delicatessen is a holdover from a time that has long disappeared from the old neighborhood. Less than a block from the Tenement Museum, which celebrates the immigrants who lived in the area in the early 20th century, Katz’s is most famous for its pastrami. The

deli’s superiority is so renowned that it has online ordering, shipping all over the United States and to any military address, a tradition established during World War Two. As luxury hotels and trendy nightclubs pop up around it, the quality and tradition of Katz’s ensures it will be a fixture for the next 125 years.

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Pizza - Naples

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Pad Thai - Bangkok

ne of Thailand’s more accessible and less spicy dishes, Pad Thai is many people’s first foray into Thai cuisine.

Comprised of stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts and peanuts, the dish is traditionally served with lime wedges and can be found all over Bangkok’s street food scene. The most famous spot for Pad Thai in Bangkok is Thip Samai, an unassuming storefront across from Wat Thepthidaram in the Banglamphu district. The restaurant serves original Pad Thai, as well as a “superb” version with Thai noodles served in an omelet.

hile pizza has been reinterpreted all over the world, the original slice can be traced back to the working class neighborhoods of Naples, Italy. Traditionally, it was served Marinara or Margherita, with the primary difference being that Margherita features mozzarella cheese and basil on top.

It was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, who was served this style by a young chef when visiting Naples in the late 19th century. There is no shortage of pizzerias in Naples but two of the most famous are L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and Pizzeria Di Matteo, the latter near the Duomo and known for being the place where US President Bill Clinton dined during the Group of Seven conference in 1994.

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Frites - Brussels

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elgium is known for many food specialties, including waffles, mussels and chocolate, but one of its greatest areas of expertise is in frites, or fried potatoes called French fries by some. Belgian frites are distinct for two reasons - they are usually made with Bintje potatoes and they are fried not once, but twice.

Vying for top spot in Brussels are Frit Flagey in Place Flagey, Friterie Tabora near the Grand Place and Maison Friterie Antoine in Place Jourdan. Once you pick your place, the next decision is how to dress your frites. While the traditional accompaniment is mayonnaise, Maison Antoine provides more than 20 sauces, including curry, mustard, ketchup and poivre.

Tr a v e l FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

5

Coffee and Beignets - New Orleans

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people-watching institution in its own right, CafÈ du Monde is a mandatory stop for any coffee connoisseur visiting the Big Easy. On Jackson Square, the patio at CafÈ du Monde is a great spot to enjoy the European ambiance and pace of New Orleans or listen to its street musicians and performers. While CafÈ du Monde is known around the world, many people do not know that coffee first came to North America by way of New Orleans. After being successfully cultivated by the French in Martinique, they brought it to their new

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colonies along the Mississippi River. The beignets - square pieces of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar - are a perfect complement to the chicory coffee. If you can’t make it to the flagship on Decatur Street, there are eight CafÈ du Monde coffee stands within the New Orleans metropolitan area.

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Steak - Argentina

Gelato - Florence

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erhaps the most hotly debated item on our list, gelato is a treat that no traveler visiting Italy can avoid or resist. The difference between gelato and ice cream is the amount of air whipped into the batch - only 20 percent for gelato but up to 60 percent for ice cream. This difference makes gelato denser and gives it a richer flavor.

While gelaterias have some traditional ice cream flavors, they carry ones more popular in gelato, like nocciola (hazelnut), stracciatella, and zabaione.

VirtualTourist members strongly suggest Bar Vivoli, Perche No and Grom in Florence. For those not travelling soon, Grom also has locations in Paris, New York, Malibu, Tokyo and Osaka.

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eef has played a large role in the culture of Argentina, from the asado cuisine to the image of gauchos on the estancia. Argentina’s steaks are a cut above because the cattle are raised on grass in the pampas, not on grains in feedlots. A few recommended parillas, or grill restaurants, are El Boliche de Alberto in Bariloche, Don Julio in Buenos Aires and La Cabrera in the Palermo Viejo district of Buenos Aires.

VirtualTourist members recommend the bife de lomo at La Cabrera, which comes with a variety of side dishes and promises to be the most affordable 12-ounce (340-gram) steak of your life.

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Sushi - Tokyo

Similar to the steak situation in Argentina, delicious and fresh sushi is available all over Japan. But it is perhaps most associated with the sleek culture of Tokyo. While sushi can be found at any hour, one experience unique to the city is Tsukiji Fish Market.

Visitors are not allowed to watch the tuna auctions at the moment but can still tour the outer market, where a sushi breakfast can be had for much less than the standard price. Travelers should keep in mind that most outer market restaurants and shops close by early afternoon. Also, there are plans for the fish market to move to a new location as part of Tokyo’s preparations to host the Olympics in 2020, but these plans have been delayed for another year, so visit this historic spot while you still can. For those who prefer coffee in the morning and sushi for dinner, check out Sushi Saito, which has three Michelin stars and only seven seats, located in the Akasaka district.

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lthough crepes can now be found all over, they originated in Brittany in northwestern France. One unique aspect of this iconic food is that it can be eaten savory or sweet. While some people eat the savory galettes for lunch or dinner with cheese, eggs or vegetables, the more widespread interpretation is as a sweet treat filled or topped with Nutella spread, whipped cream or custard. Three widely recommended spots are Creperie Tout le Monde in Douarnenez, Corps de Garde in Saint Malo and Breizh CafÈ in Cancale.

Crepes - Brittany

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hile chili crab can also be found in Malaysia, it is considered to be Singapore’s signature seafood dish. Crabs are served in a brightred sweet and savoury tomato and chili sauce, often with pullman toast, crusty bread or steamed buns to sop up the liquid. Members strongly suggest the Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in the East Coast Seafood Centre, although the restaurant has five locations throughout Singapore and a new outpost in Shanghai. Reuters

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Chili Crab - Singapore

Opinion FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

US President Barack Obama waves to first lady Michelle Obama before delivering the State of Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber Tuesday in Washington as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner watch. —AP

Obama avoids actions that could prompt lawsuits D

espite anticipation that President Barack Obama would seize on his authority to act without US congressional approval, his State of the Union speech appeared to mention only a handful of executive actions that could face legal challenges. In his Tuesday night speech, Obama stayed away from the kind of bold, detailed proposals that some lawmakers and media pundits said beforehand would shake up his relationship with Congress, legal experts said afterward. He vowed to act on his own but offered modest or vague ideas that hardly stretched what Americans think of as a president’s power, and that were unlikely to send business organizations rushing to file many lawsuits in courthouses.

His proposals to go it alone included a minimum wage increase for federal contract workers, creation of a “starter savings account” to help millions of people save for retirement and plans to establish new fuel efficiency standards for trucks. Despite the administration’s buildup before the speech, the high-flying rhetoric of the address itself and a promise of more such proposals, Curt Levey, president of the Committee for Justice, a conservative legal group, said the president was not very explicit about what

executive actions he might take. “The theme was clearly there,” Levey said. “It might have been a little more conciliatory, a little less explicit than I anticipated.”

One Mention Exactly once in the 6,800-word speech to lawmakers - when Obama said he would require a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour in future federal contracts - did he use the phrase “executive order”. It is possible that contractors could sue over the requirement, although any such lawsuit would need to overcome the Procurement Act of 1949, which gives presidents the power to set contracting rules that they think “promote efficiency and economy”. A federal judge in Maryland cited the law in 2009 when he upheld an executive order from President George W Bush that required contractors to check the immigration status of their employees.

“Under longstanding statutory authority, presidents can issue directives that facilitate the efficiency of federal contracting, and courts have historically accorded some deference to presidential policy determinations on this issue,” Boris Bershteyn, a former Obama regulatory official, wrote in an email.

Even the top Republican in the US House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, told reporters on Tuesday that Obama “probably has the authority” to issue the minimum-wage order for federal contractors. One thing he could do only with congressional approval is raise the minimum wage for most workers. On this he did not propose going it alone. “Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do,” Obama said in the annual speech.

A History of Presidential Action US history is filled with examples of presidents taking action without congressional approval, only to provoke a rebuke from lawmakers, voters or the courts. President Harry Truman in 1952 seized control of steel mills to prevent their closure, which he said would hurt US troops fighting in the Korean Peninsula, but the US Supreme Court ruled that Truman had acted unlawfully. Obama has been provocative himself in using the inherent power of the executive branch. In 2011, he and Attorney General Eric Holder said they would abandon the courtroom defense of a law that prohibited federal

recognition of same-sex marriages. And in an ongoing case, the Supreme Court is considering whether Obama overstepped his authority when he made administration appointments in a way that bypassed senators’ usual power to vote on nominees.

Tuesday’s State of the Union speech fell short of that drama. He said he would be willing to act without Congress to prevent mass shootings, but he gave no specifics. He also referenced efforts to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, but litigation in that area would be nothing new. Past Obama administration proposals about fuel efficiency standards were largely supported by automakers and labor leaders, who said higher standards brought greater regulatory certainty. Obama said he would direct the Treasury Department to create a new form of retirement account, but while he gave no legal basis for it, it was not immediately clear who might oppose the idea enough to sue over it. Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Obama’s future executive actions were left either unclear or unannounced. “More details (and presumably more devils therein) presumably forthcoming,” Shapiro wrote in an email. — Reuters

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

www.kuwaittimes.net

Ethnic Chinese walk past Chinese lanterns at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen temple on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Jenjarom, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — AFP

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Beauty FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

A handy way to look years younger How to keep your paws looking youthful and healthy

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eing good to your hands and nails is about having good daily habits and choosing the right products to use on them. A few small changes could make a difference in how your hands and nails look and feel.

WebMD asked dermatologists Jeffrey Dover, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, for guidance in knowing what’s good for your hands.

Moisturizing your hands Hand creams have as much to offer as face creams. Most also come in “quick absorbing” formulations so your hands won’t feel greasy.

Some key ingredients include: Retinol to keep skin moist Peptides along with other ingredients such as B vitamins to relax muscles and boost collagen production to keep the skin on your hands smooth Vitamin C and glycolic acid to help treat age spots, wrinkling, and loss of elasticity Alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids to gently exfoliate your skin You can get collagen treatments In a dermatologist’s office that can reduce wrinkling.

Such treatments are expensive, and there are over-the-counter hand creams that plump up the skin, helping make hands look more youthful. But the creams won’t make as much difference as a dermatologist’s treatment can.

Some hand creams and balms are labeled “intensive.” These products are made for extra dry or mature skin and are meant to be applied at night. Some of them have lightening agents that gradually fade age spots when used regularly.

Men’s hands have skin that tends to be thicker, hairier, and oilier than women’s. The skin may also be more callused and rougher.

So there are special hand creams that are made for men. Those products-made to prevent cracking-are typically richer, and often come fragrance-free.

Moisturizing your fingernails Just like with skin, it’s important for both men and women to protect the moisture in their nails. Dermatologists recommend rubbing petroleum jelly, vitamin E, or cuticle creams into your cuticles at night.

Applying a moisturizing cream or a hand balm to the nails on a daily basis will help keep them moist. And moisturizing products that contain urea, phospholipids, or lactic acid will help prevent cracking.

Buffing your nails boosts circulation to your nail bed. Just be gentle-overdoing buffing is harmful.

Massaging your fingertips every day will increase circulation to the skin around your nails to keep it healthy and prevent it from cracking and peeling away. Eating foods rich in calcium will help keep your nails healthy.

Some beauty experts recommend taking supplements of the B vitamin biotin to treat brittle fingernails. There is, though, little scientific evidence to support that recommendation. www.webmd.com

Keeping macho hands soft

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oap is the best choice if your hands get very dirty. For really dirty or greasy hands, choose soap with pumice, which makes the bar more abrasive for deeper cleaning. If you have a problem with dry skin, look for a liquid cleanser or moisturizing soap. Don’t waste your money on antibacterial formulas. Soap of any kind is effective at removing most bacteria and viruses. Be sure to dry your hands thoroughly with a towel after washing. “Water, when it evaporates, removes moisture from the skin,” Jacob says.

Hand cream or lotions for men After drying your hands, apply a moisturizing cream, lotion, or gel. Creams, which are the thickest form of moisturizer, are best for very dry skin. Lotions are fine for normal skin. Skin toners or gels are best for oily skin. Jacobs says to massage a little moisturizer around the nails and into cuticles to keep them from drying out. l If your hands tend to get chapped and irritated, look for a moisturizer with aloe. Studies show that aloe can speed healing of cuts and even burns. Look for a product that contains sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30, or spread on a little sunscreen on the back of your hands after you use hand lotion. The backs of your hands are one of the first places age spots appear. Using sunscreen every day can help prevent age spots.

Nail brushes for men If you work at a job that leaves your hands dirty — or even if you simply work in the garden on weekends — you may have a tough time getting the dirt out from under your nails. A small soft-bristled nail brush, available in most drugstores, makes it easy to scrub out dirt and grease.

Nail nippers for men If you use scissors or those little travel clippers that you take on business trips to trim your nails, consider investing in a nail nipper. Sold at most drugstores and beauty supply shops, nail nippers are recommended by dermatologists because the blade is shaped to match the natural curve of your nails, thus reducing the danger of ingrown nails and hangnails. The curved handle makes nippers easy to use. Keep nails trimmed short and square-shaped with a slightly rounded edge.

Remember to work a hand moisturizer into your nails after trimming them to keep them from becoming brittle.

A pedicure for manly toenails More and more men treat themselves to pedicures.

But what sounds like a luxury can turn into trouble.

“Pedicures typically involve pushing back the cuticle.

That’s a bad idea since the skin around the nail and the cuticle is meant to form a protective seal,” Tracey Vlahovic, DPM, an associate professor of podiatric medicine at Temple University School of Podiatry, says.

“If you decide on having your nails done professionally, tell the pedicurist not to mess with your cuticles.

Instead, concentrate on having your nails trimmed.”

Pumice stones for calluses If you do heavy lifting at work or at the gym, you may be prone to calluses. If calluses get bad enough, they can tear and bleed and make a mess of your hands. Wearing work or exercise gloves will help minimize friction and prevent trouble. If you’ve already got tough or callused patches on your hands, soak your hands for 10 minutes to soften the callused skin. Then use a pumice stone to gently rub off the hard dead skin on the surface of calluses. Use a moisturizing cream or lotion for extra softening.

Nail it Follow these tips to help your hands and nails stay in top shape.

1. Wear sunscreen. The delicate skin of your hands needs protection from the sun. Some creams combine advanced sun protection with moisturizing agents and are non-greasy and quick absorbing.

2. Care for cracks. If you are prone to developing eczema or if you have dry skin, you may develop cracks or fissures in the crevices between your fingers.

Moisturize each day and each night and ask your dermatologist about creams and hand oils that could help.

3. Wear gloves when doing the dishes. If your hands are in water often, wear gloves to help keep the nails from becoming brittle. Your nails can absorb up to a quarter of their weight in water, and that causes them to expand. But when they dry, they contract. Constant expansion and contraction can weaken the nail.

4. Consider a ridge-filler. Deeply ridged nails make it difficult to apply nail polish, and some women attempt to remedy the situation by buffing the ridges out. But excessive buffing only weakens the nail. Elle, a celebrity manicurist for Barielle Cosmetics, recommends using a ridge filler that temporarily fills in the ridges.

Finally, take it easy. Avoid products such as polish removers that contain acetone or formaldehyde, which can dry out nails.

Food FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Have your

cake and eat it too!

New York Cheesecake Ingredients 15 graham crackers, crushed 2 tablespoons butter, melted 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 1 1/2 cups white sugar 3/4 cup milk 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking.

Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

Lemon Cake

Ingredients 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix 1 3/4 cups water 3 egg whites 3/4 cup nonfat milk 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 1 (1 ounce) package instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix 1 (8 ounce) container frozen light whipped topping, thawed

Blueberry Cake

Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 10x15 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Pour in water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared 10x15 inch pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine milk, lemon extract and vanilla pudding mix.

Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cake. Store cake in refrigerator.

Ingredients /2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 egg yolks 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/3 cup milk 2 egg whites 1/4 cup white sugar 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon white sugar Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

Cream butter or margarine and 1/2 cup sug-

ar until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Add egg yolks to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder; add alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture. Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add to batter.

In a separate bowl, beat whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Health FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Any time is flu time headaches, sore throat, dry cough, and just plain feeling sick. Flu symptoms in children may also cause vomiting and belly pain.

These flu symptoms usually last for three to four days, but cough and tiredness may linger for up to two weeks after the fever has gone away. Other family members or close contacts often have a similar illness.

What about flu symptoms in infants and toddlers?

In young children, seasonal flu symptoms may be similar to those of other respiratory tract infections such as croup, bronchitis, or pneumonia. Abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are frequently observed in young children. Vomiting tends to be more significant than diarrhea.

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re you wondering if you have flu?

Although seasonal flu symptoms often mimic a cold, a common cold rarely causes a very high fever.

Why do I need to know about flu symptoms?

Seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory infection caused by different flu viruses. It’s important to understand flu symptoms so you can seek immediate treatment, especially if you have a chronic medical condition.

The earlier you recognize that you have the flu can also make a difference in how long it lasts. Prescription medications called antiviral drugs-Relenza and Tamifluare most effective when given within 48 hours of the onset of flu symptoms. These flu drugs are effective against the typical strains of seasonal flu. They can decrease the duration of the flu by one day if used within this early window. These antivirals may also provide benefit if given even after two days, especially in people who are very sick.

How will I know if flu season has started?

Seasonal flu follows a fairly predictable pattern, starting in the fall and ending in the spring. A good sign that seasonal flu season has started is the sudden increase in the number of school-aged children sick at

home with flu-like illness. This initial flu outbreak is soon followed by similar infection in other age groups, especially adults.

How are flu symptoms different from cold symptoms?

Unlike symptoms of a common cold, flu symptoms usually come on suddenly. It often starts with the abrupt onset of fever, headache, fatigue, and body aches. Here’s a list of flu symptoms you might feel: Fever (usually high) Severe aches and pains in the joints and muscles and around the eyes Generalized weakness Ill appearance with warm, flushed skin and red, watery eyes Headache Dry cough Sore throat and watery discharge from your nose Seasonal influenza is not usually associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, like diarrhea and vomiting, at least not in adults. However, these symptoms appear with stomach flu, which is a popular but inaccurate term for gastroenteritis.

What are common flu symptoms in children?

Typical signs of seasonal flu in children include high-grade fever up to 104 degrees F (40 degrees C), chills, muscle aches,

Fever is usually high and irritability may be prominent.

Because young children are at increased risk of getting severe flu complications, the CDC recommends that all children aged older than 6 months get a seasonal flu vaccine every year.

Are there complications associated with the flu?

According to the CDC, complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

— www.webmd.com

Health FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Top flu myths

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nfortunately, flu myths are common even among the people who should know better, like health care workers. Given that influenza can be serious and even fatal, it’s crucial that we all know what’s fact and what’s

fable.

Flu Myth #1: The seasonal flu is annoying but harmless There has been a lot of focus on swine flu, but it’s important to remember that the run-of-the-mill seasonal flu can be a serious condition itself. “A lot of people just think of the flu as a very bad cold,” says Curtis Allen, a spokesman for the CDC in Atlanta. But it’s much worse than that. For one, you usually feel terrible. In addition to the congestion and cough, you’re apt to have nasty body aches and fever, which are less likely with a garden-variety cold. “When you get the flu, you know it,” says Christine Hay, MD, assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “You feel like you’ve been hit by a Mack truck.”

Flu Myth #2: The flu vaccine can give you the flu This is the flu myth most likely to drive experts bonkers. “There is simply no way that the flu vaccine can give you the flu,” says Hay. “It’s impossible.” Why? For one, injected flu vaccines only contain dead virus, and a dead virus is, well, dead: it can’t infect you. There is one type of live virus flu vaccine, the nasal vaccine, FluMist. But in this case, the virus is specially engineered to remove the parts of the virus that make people sick. Despite the scientific impossibility of getting the flu from the flu vaccines, this widespread flu myth won’t die. Experts suspect two reasons for its persistence. One, people mistake the side effects of the vaccine for flu. While side effects to the vaccine these days tend to be a sore arm, in the past, side effects often felt like mild symptoms of the flu. Two, flu season coincides with a time of year when bugs causing colds and other respiratory illnesses are in the air. Many people get the vaccine and then, within a few days, get sick with an unrelated cold virus. However, they blame the innocent flu vaccine, rather than their co-worker with a runny nose and cough.

Flu Myth #4: There is no treatment for the flu Two antiviral drugs are highly effective against the flu: Tamiflu, in pill form, and Relenza, which is inhaled. These drugs are most effective if taken within 48 hours of your first flu symptoms. But the drugs are beneficial even if taken 48 hours after symptom onset. Neither Tamiflu nor Relenza cures the flu. But they can reduce the amount of time you’re sick by one or two days and make you less contagious to others. These drugs work with both the typical strains of seasonal flu as well as swine flu.

Flu Myth #5: Antibiotics can fight the flu Antibiotics only fight bacterial infections. Flu — whether it’s typical seasonal flu or swine flu — is not caused by bacteria, but by a virus. So antibiotics have absolutely no effect on any kind of flu. But this message just won’t sink in for some people. “We still have oodles of patients coming into the doctors, or bringing their children to the doctors, who want antibiotics for influenza,” says Schaffner. However, there are instances of flu complications that involve bacterial infection. The flu virus can weaken your body and allow bacterial invaders to

infect you. Secondary bacterial infections to the flu include bronchitis, ear infections, sinusitis, and most often, pneumonia. Some patients with flu want antibiotics just in case they might develop a complication. But Hay says this attempt at prevention doesn’t work. It could make things worse. “If you take antibiotics unnecessarily and then really do wind up with a secondary bacterial infection, then it might be resistant to those antibiotics,” Hay tells WebMD. If your flu symptoms are getting better and then suddenly get worse, call your doctor. This may be a sign of a bacterial co-infection.

Flu Myth #6: The flu is only dangerous for the elderly It’s true that the people most likely to become seriously ill or die from the seasonal flu are over age 65. But flu can become risky for anyone, even healthy young adults. Some of the most susceptible people to seasonal influenza are young children. Ninety percent of H1N1 swine flu deaths have been in people under age 65, while 90 percent of seasonal flu deaths are in the elderly. And both seasonal and pandemic flu are particularly dangerous for very young children. “Children under 2 years have some of the highest rates of hospitalization from [seasonal] flu,” says Hay. Children under 6 months are at the most risk from the seasonal flu because they’re too young to get the vaccine. To protect infants from the flu, keep babies away from people who have the flu. Parents and caretakers of infants should get vaccinated.

Book FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Review

The News Making headlines How could the news be different? Are we headline junkies?

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pplicants to become trainee journalists on the Scotsman group of newspapers in 1965 took a test in which they were invited to imagine themselves as editors of the Edinburgh Evening News on a day when three big stories broke. One, man lands on moon! Two, Princess Margaret gets divorce!

Three, Edinburgh council rates to double! As a possibility, the third seemed far more likely than either of the first two - reader, how little we knew - but likeliness wasn’t the issue at stake. The question was: to which story should the editor give top priority on the front page? Obviously the first reflected a momentous human achievement, no question, but the second would be truly shocking, this not yet being an age of royal divorce, while who could doubt that hard-pressed Edinburgh ratepayers would be most materially affected by the third? The examiners may not have put it in such terms, but applicants were being asked to decide which front page would attract most attention and sell most copies.

De Botton plays a similar game in his book, reprinting headlines - real ones - and inviting the reader to consider why, for example, “Sydney man charged with cannibalism and incest” is a more attractive story than “Tenants’ rent arrears soar in pilot benefit scheme”. The author wonders if our dash to read the first and not the second, to prefer distant sensation to local information, shows that at heart we are “truly shallow and irresponsible” citizens, or if the blame lies with journalistic convention and its “habit of randomly dipping readers into a brief moment in a lengthy narrative ... while failing to provide any explanation of the wider context”, rather as if Anna Karenina (the example is De Botton’s) could be expected to hold an audience if it were serialised in 100-word chunks.

It is De Botton’s contention that, “properly signposted” (whatever that may mean), the rent arrears report would stand revealed as “part of a hundred-year debate about whether welfare lends its recipients dignity ... a single episode in a multi-chaptered narrative that might be called ‘How Subsidy Affects Character’ [or] ‘The Psychology of Aid’”. And, therefore, nearly as rewarding a read as Tolstoy.

Perfect word play De Botton thinks news should be more like novels, but what does he think news is? “The determined pursuit of the anomalous,” he writes at one point, before deciding that he wants to leave the definition “deliberately vague”. Whatever news is, he thinks, along with Hegel, that it has replaced religion as a modern society’s source of guidance and authority to become its “prime creator of political and social reality”. He also thinks there is too much of it and that we have become addicted - news junkies - and need to recognize its ill-effects, including the “envy and the terror” it promotes; hence what he calls his “little manual”, which he hopes will “complicate a habit that, at present, has come to seem a little too normal and harmless for our own good”. Other writers might have chosen “illuminate” rather than “complicate” as the verb for the book’s aspiration, but as it turns out De Botton’s word choice is perfect.

Complications abound. Investigative jour-

nalism, for example: the writer thinks that what he calls a “proper” conception of investigative journalism should “start with an allencompassing interest in the full range of factors that sabotage group and individual existence”, including mental health, architecture, leisure time, family structures, relationships ... the list goes on, and sounds remarkably like the everyday components of modern life.

Should journalism investigate modern life?

Most of us believe that, for better or worse, it already does. What De Botton is attacking is journalism’s propensity for easy targets, reinforcing our impression that we are ruled by crooks and idiots, while it fails to scrutinize the institutional flaws that have caused them. Of course, his attack has justice, but his verbal imprecision makes his argument hard to figure out.

The author gives a good impression of living in an older and more privileged world - he seems oblivious, for example, to the popularity of media studies in schools when he regrets that “we are more likely to hear about the significance of Matisse’s use of color than to be taken through the effects of the celebrity photo section of the Daily Mail,” which is his way of describing the online Mail’s “sidebar of shame”. He doesn’t seem comfortable with the new information age.

The comment threads attached to online journalism may indeed reveal “a hitherto unimaginable level of anger in the population”, as any journalist can attest (and with more vivid examples than this book provides), but journalism that has been liberated from the constraints of paper and broadcasting slots has great advantages, too. The “multi-chapter narrative” that De Botton believes

news needs already exists via search engines and hyperlinks embedded in news reports.

The reader can construct a narrative that will end only when his curiosity runs out; nobody else need do it for him. If “How subsidy affects character” is what he’s after, the world is at his fingertips. But De Botton isn’t too interested in modern developments. He sees news as a monolith rather than something that changes from place to place, from reader to reader and time to time. The rent arrears story, for example, might play differently in the Guardian and the Sun (if it played in the Sun at all) and wouldn’t be a prime example of dullness to everyone: a worried buy-to-let landlord in Southwark could well find it more gripping even than nepheweating in Sydney.

Bad news sells Apart from never quite deciding what news is, De Botton is also remarkably uninterested in who pays for its gathering and transmission, and who defines it. A kind of fluent ignorance is at work that might be innocence in disguise.

He reckons that our news-checking habit arises out of dread: “the possibility of catastrophe explains the small pulse of fear we may register when we angle our phones in the direction of the nearest mast ... a version of the apprehension that our ancestors must have felt in the chill moments before dawn, as they wondered whether the sun would ever find its way back into the firmament”.

But is dread really what we feel when we turn on the news? It may have been during the last world war, which was when broadcast news turned into a British addiction, but surely we look forward to it now mainly as a form of entertainment or distraction, to satis-

fy an unfocused curiosity about “what’s going on”.

The most dramatic and memorable news events are rarely cheerful, and De Botton is far from the first person to wonder if the news gives a distorted, disproportionately gloomy view of human affairs. “Man abandons rash plan to kill his wife after brief pause” is, as he says, the kind of headline you will never read, though not (as he implies) because newspapers have no taste for “good news” but because public events such as court trials (“Man murders wife”) make news, while changes of heart, being private, do not.

Still, the critic shouldn’t scoff at what De Botton describes as his book’s utopian project, which is to challenge our pessimistic assumptions about what news is and imagine how could it be. The British nation, he writes, “isn’t just a severed head, a mutilated grandmother, three dead girls in a basement ... trillions of debt”. It is also “the cloud floating right now over the church spire, the gentle thought in the doctor’s mind ... the small child tapping the surface of a newly hardboiled egg while her mother looks on lovingly, the nuclear submarine patrolling the maritime borders with efficiency and courage ...”

Humphrey Jennings could have made a documentary about this lyrical passage, which has a wartime ring to it. The quiet poetry of everyday Britain and so forth: blackbirds sing while Lancasters drone overhead.

And when De Botton writes that one of news’s main tasks is “constructing an imaginary community that seems sufficiently good, forgiving and sane that one might want to contribute to it”, he might as well be writing for the Ministry of Information in 1944. The aim, then as now, is admirable, but at the first tap of the spoon on the egg, the first shot of HMS Imponderable butting into the waves, a little voice will tell us that we are watching the state’s propaganda.

Unbalanced view On the question of journalistic practice, De Botton is at his most interesting on the job of the foreign correspondent - “interesting” in that the same paragraph can combine a nicely expressed insight into a problem with a monstrous stupidity as its solution. As he rightly says, reporting gives us an unbalanced view of abroad, especially of countries beyond Europe and North America, because it concentrates on political crises and natural disasters, and unless we have some sense of “what passes for normality in a given location, we may find it very hard to calibrate or care about the abnormal”. So how does the reporter in, say, Zambia interest his Manchester reader in the Zambian every day?

De Botton thinks it permissible for “creative writers” to adapt a fact or change a date because they will understand that “falsifications may occasionally need to be committed in the service of a goal higher still than accuracy: the hope of getting important ideas and images across to their impatient and distracted audiences”.

A goal higher than accuracy? In a book about the news, even one written by an author who cannot decide what news is, there can be no more dangerous form of words. www.theguardian.com

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

People browse around at a shop selling various Chinese New Year decorations at the China Town in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Chinese give Year of the Horse a toned-down welcome C

hinese welcomed the arrival of the Year of the Horse with toned down celebrations yesterday, as people heeded government pleas to set off fewer of the fireworks believed to bring good fortune, because of concern about air pollution. Chinese New Year, which begins today, is normally marked by riotous displays of fireworks and countless firecrackers, which are thought to bring good luck and scare off evil spirits. The fireworks blacken the skies with smoke for hours. With smog blanketing parts of northern, central and eastern China, including Beijing and the commercial hub of Shanghai, some people decided that a more subdued display was in order.

An elderly woman waits for customers at her shop that sells Chinese New Year decorations in Makassar, Indonesia yesterday.

While Beijing reverberated with fireworks and firecrackers, state media said sales had fallen and some residents said they would not be buying as many. “This is not good for the environment, it’s not good for the air,” said resident Lao Song. “Last year, I spent about 300 yuan ($50) on fireworks, but I only bought about 100 yuan’s worth this year.” Zhang Debi and his wife, Fang Lina, said their fireworks stall in Shanghai’s leafy former French Concession area had only sold half as many fireworks as last year.

“People are still going to light some fireworks because the holiday atmosphere just wouldn’t be right without them,” said Fang. “But if too many are lit off, then that wouldn’t be good either.” In keeping with President Xi Jinping’s call for frugality amid a campaign against pervasive corruption, sales of luxury items normally given as new year gifts have fallen too.

“No one dares to receive such precious gifts anymore,” Xinhua news agency quoted Dou Qinlian, a seller of caterpillar fungus, a rare and expensive herbal medicine, as saying at his store in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

Ordinary folk The often gaudy New Year galas shown on state television channels have also been reduced in scale, or cancelled. Maintaining a tradition of leaders visiting ordinary folk at this time of year, Xi flew to snowy and restive Inner Mongolia ahead of the week-long vacation, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar.

State television showed Xi, who has tried to cultivate an easy-going, man-of-the-people image since becoming president last year, chatting with herders about sheep and taking tea in a traditional Mongol yurt, or felted tent. Coal-rich Inner Mongolia was rocked by protests in 2011, as ethnic Mongols angered at the destruction of traditional grazing land and perceived marginalization of their culture took to the streets. “Build up Inner Mongolia as a bastion of security and stability,” state media quoted Xi as saying. Practitioners of feng shui, a Chinese form of geomancy, believe the year ahead may bring conflict and disasters related to fire but strong gains in stocks linked to wood. The lunar new year is marked by the largest annual mass migration on earth, as hundreds of millions of workers pack trains, buses, aircraft and boats to spend the festival with their families. For many Chinese people, it is their only holiday of the year. — Reuters

People take part in a dragon dance parade one day before the Lunar new year of the horse in Kuta on Bali yesterday. — AFP/AP photos

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Gaza’s second feature film revisits resistance theme

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aza’s tiny movie industry may struggle with amateur actors and power outages, but at least it has a winning formula of which the producers never seem to tire: the heroics, from a Palestinian perspective, of those fighting Israeli occupation.

“Losing Schalit” will be the second feature-length film made in the blockaded territory since 2009. It’s the first of a planned three-part series about the 2006 capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit by gunmen allied with the Islamic militant Hamas movement. It’s currently in production and parts two and three will depict Schalit’s time in captivity and his 2011 swap for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Like the first Gaza film, about a senior militant commander, it received financing from the Hamas govern-

Volker Schloendorff, a prominent member of the New German Cinema.

After his return to Gaza in 1996, Jundiyeh made documentaries and acted in a soap opera on Palestine TV. Since the Emad Akel movie, filmmakers in Gaza have produced several documentaries and short films, but making full-length movies remains a challenge. Gaza has suffered from border blockades by neighboring Egypt and Israel since Hamas seized the territory in a violent takeover in 2007.

Egypt tightened its border closure several months ago, exacerbating daily power cuts.

Jundiyeh said he contends with funding shortages, lack of equipment and crews without technical expertise.

The Culture Ministry in Gaza is financing the Schalit movie, along with contributions from a local production

In this photo, director Majed Jundiyeh holds a mobile phone to compare the image of Gilad Schalit to the likeness of actor Mahmoud Karira, who will play the character of Shalit in a movie being made in Gaza called, ‘’Losing Shalit,” in Gaza City. — AP ment. The Schalit capture and eventual prisoner swap are seen by Hamas as a triumph in its long-running confrontation with Israel, and helped boost the movement’s support in Gaza. Writer-director Majed Jundiyeh, who also made the territory’s first fulllength feature “Emad Akel”- a 2009 film about the Hamas military wing commander of the same name - said his work is intentionally political. “I’m working to establish a movie industry of resistance in Gaza, to reflect the Palestinian story with Palestinian actors,” he said.

Jundiyeh, 47, studied film in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s and said his teachers included director

company, al-Wataniya, and Jundiyeh himself, according to Al-Wataniya. In an added difficulty, most of the dialogue in the 105-minute “Losing Schalit” is in Hebrew, a language most of the dozens of amateur actors don’t speak.

That includes Mahmoud Karira, a 27-year-old Gaza firefighter who was chosen for the Schalit role because of his resemblance to the lanky, bespectacled Israeli soldier. “It’s very hard for me to speak Hebrew,” said Karira, who has eight lines. Karira said he repeats each line dozens of times before each shoot, but that some of the scenes require several takes.

On Wednesday, the crew shot in

the underground parking garage of a Gaza building that also houses the AlWataniya company. In the movie, it’s meant to be the garage of a building housing Israel’s Shin Bet security service, which is in charge of interrogating Palestinians suspected of anti-Israeli activities and in the past used methods critics say amounted to abuse. In Wednesday’s scene, Jundiyeh played a Shin Bet officer nicknamed “Abu Daoud,” while Fayka Al-Najar, a 20year-old management student, portrayed an Israeli prison guard called Aliza. In the scene, the two chatted in Hebrew, discussing the torture of Palestinian prisoners as they walked to their car.

The scene was shot 40 times because of frequent power outages and because Al-Najar fumbled her Hebrew lines. Al-Najar was cast after answering a newspaper ad. She previously appeared in several short films by female directors about women’s issues. She said she agreed to play an Israeli soldier because she wanted to highlight the suffering of Palestinian prisoners, noting that her father spent years in Israeli jails.

Israel has imprisoned tens of thousands of Palestinians for alleged political violence since capturing the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967.

Palestinian politics is dominated by two camps - backers of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who seeks a state in the lands captured by Israel in 1967 and supporters of Hamas, which wants to set up an Islamic state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, including in what is now Israel.

Jundiyeh said he needs at least $120,000 for the first Schalit movie, but that the budget could swell to $350,000. He was evasive about sources of funding. An official in the Culture Ministry said the Gaza government contributed $95,000. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the ministry has not issued a press release about the film. Despite the Gaza government’s support, Jundiyeh said he is independent. “I’m not Hamas,” he said. “I’m a Palestinian who is proud of his people and national struggle.”

Jundiyeh said he would also like to make movies about the life of Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, but that he is hampered by lack of funding and Israeli travel bans that prevent him and many other Gaza residents from crossing through Israel into the West Bank. “I decided to work on what is available (in Gaza), which is also a very important chapter in our life,” he said. — AP

Pink (bottom) is suspended by dancers as she performs during her “Truth About Love” tour stop at the Honda Center on Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 in Anaheim, Calif. — AP

Director of award-winning Syria film pays tribute to Homs

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he director of a Syrian documentary that scooped a top prize at the Sundance film festival says his film pays tribute to the “steadfastness” of the besieged city of Homs. The movie “Return to Homs” was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for a documentary at the prestigious US film festival last week, much to director Talal Derki’s delight. His film tracks the evolution of the Syrian uprising from peaceful protests into an entrenched, brutal war that has killed more than 130,000 people.

“Homs was nicknamed the capital of the revolution because of the strength of the protests and the peaceful movement there,” Derki told AFP. Derki was born in Damascus in 1977, but decided to focus on Homs, Syria’s third city, because it was a magnet for activists and protesters in the early days of the uprising that broke out in March 2011. He followed two young Syrians, Abdel-Basset AlSarout, a youth goalkeeper who became the city’s most popular singer of protest songs, and Osama Al-Homsi, a university studentturned-media activist.

But as President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime responds to the protests with violence, the pair respond differently. “One of them took up weapons, and the other remained peaceful up until his arrest, after which there was no news of him,” Derki said. Sarout is seen commanding rebel forces, while Homsi remains unarmed, documenting the plight of his hometown. Homs has suffered some of the worst destruction throughout the nearly three-year Syrian conflict, and its Old City has been under a suffocating army siege that has led to fatal food shortages.

“Recently, a group of my friends who are under the siege tried to get out to get food and were ambushed by regime forces,” said Derki. “People are dying of starvation. Neighborhoods under siege are being shelled non-stop. “As an artist, I find the steadfastness on display to be almost like a fairy tale,” he added.

“The fact is that these people are facing the fiercest of military campaigns, something human beings cannot bear, and they are still holding on after 600 days of being under siege.” In recent days, Syria’s regime and opposition have been negotiating without success on bringing aid into Homs. The regime has reportedly agreed to allow women and children to leave besieged areas, but the opposition wants aid to be delivered to the central city.

Derki, who is now based on the Turkish side of the border with Syria, is working on another documentary about the war in Syria. He said he believes film can “bring us together” and that reaction to “ Return to Homs” had been overwhelmingly positive, especially in the United States. —AFP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Justin Bieber charged with assault in Canada

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Canadian musician Justin Bieber is swarmed by media and police officers as he turns himself in to city police for an expected assault charge, in Toronto, on Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014. — AP

roubled heartthrob pop star Justin Bieber was charged Wednesday with assaulting a limousine driver, Canadian police said, after the 19-year-old turned himself in with a crowd of female fans screaming their support. The news broke just after the Canadian pop star’s attorney entered a separate not guilty plea in Florida to drunken-driving and other charges. He was charged with one count of assault and is scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on March 10.

Police allege Bieber was one of six people who were picked up by a limousine from a nightclub in the early morning hours of Dec 30, and there was an altercation while en route to a hotel. Police said during the altercation one of the passengers hit the limo driver in the back of the head several times. “The driver stopped the limousine, exited the vehicle and called police,” a statement said.

“The man who struck him left the scene before police arrived.” Howard Weitzman, Bieber’s attorney in California, said his client is innocent and declined to comment on the allegations against Bieber or any potential defense, saying it was now a matter for the court to handle. Weitzman said he expects the case to be treated as a summary offense, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the United States. “The Toronto Police Service requested that Justin Bieber appear in Toronto today to face an allegation of assault relating to an incident on December 29, 2013,” he said in a statement.

Brian Greenspan, Bieber’s Canadian attorney, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Toronto police said in late December that they were looking into allegations that a member of Bieber’s entourage assaulted a limo driver who was ferrying the singer and several others. Police said at the time it was unclear whether Bieber was involved. Bieber emerged from a black SUV wearing a winter coat and a backwards ball cap before being led through a throng of police and reporters. Many waited for his arrival for more than an hour in freezing temperatures. He spent about an hour and a half in the police station before leaving through a back exit.

It was yet another sign of the lifestyle that has sullied Bieber’s image. Earlier on Wednesday, Bieber pleaded not guilty in Florida to charges of driving under the influence after driving nearly twice the speed limit on a Miami Beach street. He also pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and driving with an expired license. Court records show that Bieber’s attorney filed a written plea in MiamiDade County. Bieber already has an arraignment set for Feb. 14, but Florida law doesn’t require the 19-year-old pop star to be present.—AP

Super Bowl ads show signs of maturity

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orget slapstick humor, corny gimmicks and skimpy bikinis.

This year’s Super Bowl ads promise something surprising: Maturity. There won’t be any close-up tongue kisses in Godaddy’s ad. Nor will there be half-naked women running around in the Axe body spray spot. And Gangnam Style dancing will be missing from the Wonderful Pistachios commercial. In their place? Fully-clothed women, well-known celebs and more product information. “We’re seeing sophistication come to the Super Bowl,” says Kelly O’Keefe, a professor of brand strategy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Companies that typically go for ads with shock value are toning them down as they try to get the most out of the estimated $4 million that 30-second Super Bowl spots cost this year. Experts say companies are using the ads to build their image, rather than just grab attention for one night.

Additionally, although the old adage asserts that “sex sells,” experts say companies realize that watchers have grown bored with sophomoric humor and other obvious shock tactics. “You can’t really shock people visually anymore,” says ad critic and Mediapost columnist Barbara Lippert. “So, this year people are being more creative.”

No more kisses Godaddy.com, a web-hosting company, has made a name for itself for years with racy Super Bowl ads. But it’s changing its tune after last year’s Super Bowl spot showed an uncomfortably long, close-up kiss between super model Bar Rafaeli and a bespectacled computer geek. The ad drew widespread criticism on social media.

It also was deemed one of the “least effective” ads by Ace Metrix, which measures ads’ effectiveness. And it ranked last on USA

Today’s annual ad meter. This year, Godaddy is focusing on its products. And women are being portrayed as “smart, successful small business owners,” says Barb Rechterman, Godaddy’s chief marketing officer. In one ad, released last week, spokeswoman Danica Patrick, a racecar driver, wears a muscle suit as she runs down the street with a growing crowd of other muscular people.

The crowd heads for a spray tanning business owned by a woman, who says: “It’s go time.”

Changing times Unilever also is changing its approach. The company’s Axe body spray typically plays up sex, including last year’s Super Bowl ad that showed a bikini-clad woman being rescued from drowning by a

hunky man. The ad, which has 5.8 million views on YouTube.com after a year, ranked in the bottom 10 ads on USA Today’s Ad Meter.

This year, to introduce its “Peace” fragrance, Axe’s ad depicts several seemingly militaristic scenes in different countries that end up with couples embracing. The ad, which already has 3.5 million views on YouTube, says: “Make Love Not War.” Matthew McCarthy, Axe senior director of brand development, says that even though the ad is more sophisticated than previous efforts. “We’re doing something that surprises people,” he says.

Playing the celebrity game The ad for Wonderful Pistachios also might surprise watchers.

Experts say when the nut brand, which is owned by Roll International, debuted at last year’s Super Bowl, it made a typical rookie mistake: Jumping on a fad. The ad featured Psy, a one-hit wonder from Korea whose single “Gangnam Style” and an accompanying dance were smash hits at the time. But the ad - like Psy was quickly forgotten. The ad ranked 28 out of 54 on the USA Today Ad Meter. This year, the company enlisted comedian Stephen Colbert, who’s more well-known and established. “We wanted to raise it to a new level with a celebrity who really had a connection with folks out there,” says Marc Seguin vice president of marketing for Paramount Farms, the unit of Roll that makes the nuts. The ad will start a year-long campaign with Colbert. “Colbert’s image is smarter and more inventive than the Gangham-style dance,” says Mediapost.com columnist Lippert. — AP

This undated frame grab provided by Anheuser-Busch shows the company’s 2014 Super Bowl commercial entitled ‘Puppy Love’.

This undated still provided by Axe, shows a frame grab from the company’s 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII ad.

— AP photos

This frame grab provided by Kia shows the company’s 2014 Super Bowl commercial.

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Models present creations from the Autumn/Winter 2014 collection by David Andersen fashion house during the Copenhagen Fashion Week in Copenhagen yesterday. — AFP photos

Watch-makers face dearth of craftsmen as luxury market booms nita Porchet has a skill that Swiss watchmakers can’t afford to do without. As an enamel painter, she decorates watches for the likes of Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin which can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the industry is facing a severe shortage of craftsmen and women who have mastered the techniques of enamel painting, marquetry and engine-turning - at a time when there is growing demand for highend handmade watches. One of Porchet’s masterpieces is a miniature painting on a watch dial of Marc Chagall’s ceiling of the Opera Garnier in Paris which took her three months to create.

Having been taught by her godfather as a teenager and worked tirelessly to refine her art over the years, the 53-year-old is determined to stay independent and has resisted recent overtures from big brands that wanted to recruit her. “I said no. I want to keep my freedom to be able to explore my creative possibilities,” she said.

“Many old women have taught me their enamel secrets in their kitchen.”

The clamoring for her skills reflects the industry’s wider problem. “I have seen some crafts disappear during the last 30 years,” said Juan-Carlos Torres, head of Vacheron Constantin, which is owned by Richemont. “Engine-turning almost disappeared, enameling as well, (at one point) there were only two or three decent enamellers left in the world.” Faced with this dearth of talent, the likes of Richemont and Breguet owner Swatch Group - hungry for the high margins offered by the handmade watch segment - are trying to recruit artisans and investing in training programs so they can secure these skills by bringing them in-house. Richemont, which also owns Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Piaget and is the biggest player in high-end watches, is currently building a fine watch-making campus in Geneva where it will train enamel painters and engravers for its own needs from 2016 - part of a 60 million Swiss franc ($67 million) investment in training and research over 10 years.

A

Enamel painting is one of the oldest techniques, Patek Philippe, whose most sophisticated timepieces can cost $1 million, says on its website. The painters apply a vitreous substance based on silica sand and colored with metal oxides that is later fired at over 800 degrees Celsius. “At the last firing, a piece can be damaged, it can crack. A lot of patience is needed for this difficult work,” said Sandrine Stern, head of creation at Patek Philippe. “Miniature painting on enamel is even more rare, it’s a true gift.”

In engine-turning or “guillochage”, an expert creates kaleidoscopic patterns on metal with a hand-operated machine, while marquetry involves assembling up to hundreds of tiny pieces of wood, straw or even dried flowers to create an image. After their heyday in the 19th century, artistic watches and the know-how needed to make them entered a period of slow decline, coming close to extinction in the 1970s when the market for mechanical, hand-decorated watches collapsed due to the arrival of cheaper, battery-powered quartz watches.

Because of the consequent lack of demand for watch decoration, training programs were scrapped, such as the renowned enamel painting course offered by Geneva’s art school. But growing appetite for luxury goods from the 1990s led to renewed interest in Swiss mechanical watches, with sales growth in the high-end segment outperforming growth in entry and mid-priced watches over the last decade.

The number of Swiss mechanical watches exported more than doubled from 2.7 million in 2000 to 6.8 million in the first 11 months of 2013, while the number of quartz watches dropped from 28.7 million to 19.1 million, according to the Swiss Watch Federation. Over the same period, the average price of a Swiss watch rose to 728 francs from 323 francs. High margins Richemont’s operating margin exceeds 31 percent versus around 23 percent for midprice-focused Swatch - are also attracting new players to the high-end segment, such as Hermes’ watch unit.

“True gift” Decorative crafts have a long tradition in Geneva, tracing their roots back to the 17th century and the arrival of the Huguenots from France who turned to decorating watches because other luxury objects were banned at the time.

“Anybody can have lacquer” If complex technical achievements are the bread of high-end watchmakers, sophisticated handmade decorations are the butter, allowing them to justify sky-high price tags to consumers in search of exclusivity and lasting value. “If I used lacquer instead of enamel,

I could sell a watch for 80,000 euros ($109,000) instead of 110,000 euros. I could sell more but what is the value in the eyes of customers? None. Anybody can have lacquer,” said Vacheron’s Torres, adding an enameled dial now cost 15-20 times more than 15 years ago. Despite the rising demand for those rare watch decoration skills in the last decade, in Switzerland only jewelrs, engravers and polishers can sign up for official training programs, the Fine Watchmaking Foundation said. Enamel painting and engine-turning are only passed on from artisan to artisan in the country. The watch industry employers’ association, Convention Patronale, offered training sessions with an engine-turner in recent years, but had to stop because the artisan passed away.

Enamel painting and marquetry courses exist abroad, notably in France, but they are not specifically for watches. Yann von Kaenel, an independent engine-turner who employs about 10 people in his workshop, says he does not have the time and means to train apprentices and would not want to see them absorb his knowledge and then join a big group.

However now, as well as companies investing in training, the Convention Patronale said it had been asked by a group of watch brands to reopen a course for enamel painters. “We’re looking into it,” said training head Severine Favre. Despite the push by brands such as Richemont to pull such skills in-house, family-owned Patek Philippe insists it is just as important to support independent artisans, who it says are often more creative and innovative.

“It has never been our goal to make everything internally. There are many independent artisans, they are artists and don’t necessarily like working office hours,” said Patek’s Stern. Porchet said she was happy the boom of enamel painting kept her busy, but she also sounded a note of caution about big companies investing in training to increase production. “It’s not good if the market is flooded with pieces - there’s a risk enamel becomes banal and people lose interest.” — Reuters

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Models present creations by Custo Barcelona during the 080 Barcelona Autumn-Winter 2014-2015 fashion week in Barcelona. — AFP/AP photos

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT (DIG) LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) LONE SURVIVOR (DIG) LONE SURVIVOR (DIG)

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39

Te c h n o l o g y FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

REVIEW

The Castle Doctrine Revenge is name of the game

T

he Castle Doctrine is a game based on the eponymous legal doctrine in America that designates a person’s home as a place where they can use deadly force to protect themselves. The premise of the game is simple, and yet psychologically complex. At its core, the game is about protecting your home (and safe), complete with wife and kids, before going out to raid other houses. Yet as you play, you find yourself becoming more paranoid about your home, and more intent on revenge.

You begin the game as a generic, threenamed man. You have $2,000 in a safe, a wife and two kids. You must use your funds to build home defenses while still allowing your family a free route out of the house. Upon completing your death maze, you must prove that it is doable by raiding your own safe without being killed by your own traps. As there is no tutorial, this is the first place you use to learn how all the defenses work. I was killed by my electrical flooring, pit bull and wife (I gave her a shotgun) before I learned how it all fit together.

Death in The Castle Doctrine is permanent. If you die (in your house or someone else’s) you must restart as a new threenamed man with a new family and $2000.

Just like Procedural Death Labyrinths, you as a player level up and gain greater understanding rather than having an ingame character improve. However, this isn’t a PDL - your death is not due to some evil program, but rather engineered by a superior human mind.

It is a unique form of MMO - all players are robbing each other without any sense of who the other person is in real life.

Everyone is a generic, three-named individual regardless of their actual sex, race, or geographical location. You could be robbing your best friend playing the game, or your worst enemy without ever knowing it. This adds a faceless danger to the experience - you have no idea who is robbing you or whom you are robbing.

Aesthetically, The Castle Doctrine is very minimalistic. Design is pixilated and can often be confusing - without description of the defenses it’s hard to differentiate the types of walls, wiring or switches. There is music, but only when robbing your house or testing your own home. It is meant to be moody and set you on edge, but in the end didn’t really add anything to the experience for me.

If the gameplay and aesthetics are less than engaging, the psychological experience at least makes up for it. At first, I would build my house quickly and then go off to rob others, spending most of my

money on tools for burglary. However, I became frustrated when I kept dying and had to start over again. Instead, I decided to build a more deadly and complex home (inspired by the horrible ways I died in other homes), checking in from time to time to see if anyone had tried to rob me. One of the most interesting aspects of the game is that you can view the security tapes of every robbery attempt - you can find the man who killed your wife, or see the security weaknesses in your defenses. I found myself in a strange cycle of going out, watching tapes and tinkering with my design.

Unfortunately, there is no way to save your death maze for ease of restarting. This means that upon your death, you will need to restart, building a new home defense system. This actually discouraged me from going out to rob other houses - why would I want to risk death in another house when it would mean losing my perfectly constructed electrical death maze? In fact, this was the most frustrating part of the game for me. I just wanted a “restart with my default defenses” option so that I didn’t have to agonize about going out to steal from others, or at least could rage quit after dying without having my new house utterly exposed.

I believe that is intentional - from a psychological standpoint it makes you ponder

the futility of your own defenses. It also makes players engage in risk analysis - is it worth it to go rob the miscellaneous threename man’s home when it could mean dying myself? Furthermore, it plays on the modern man’s doubts of his ability as a protector - words can’t describe how I felt the first time I returned home to find my wife dead. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t protect her.

While The Castle Doctrine makes for

some interesting psychological analysis, the gameplay ends up feeling futile and frustrating. Perhaps it’s all worthwhile when you build the perfect death maze, your family is always safe and your funds keep rising. However, it is incredibly difficult to get to that point, and the game isn’t pretty or intriguing enough in the short term to make me want to invest the necessary time to get to that point. www.lazygamer.net

Stars

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Aries (March 21-April 19) Diplomacy is the word for today. Whether you are dealing with real estate or personal business matters, you seem to know just what to say to get what you need--especially when it comes to a fair price or a good deal. It is not a sign of weakness to obtain some advice if you feel you need it. You have plenty of responsibilities and you will throw yourself into these activities most of the day. While you are out, take some time to drop by the library and gather information on the stock market. Your ability to calculate and your uncanny timing may bring you some big rewards. Invest in no more than a month's salary at first. You have control over money and you are very much in charge of your own financial destiny. Your creativity improves with discipline.Your

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Assert yourself today--this day has all the energies of another successful day in the workplace! Most of this month is a time of preparation but it looks as though you have made all the right moves and spoken all the right words that will help in your progress up the corporate ladder. This afternoon, you may enjoy taking a sentimental journey down memory lane with a close friend or loved one. Until april, most of your concerns will be with the family. Your finances may slow, but another door of opportunity will open just when you need an additional income and now is the time to make new plans for financial growth. Let someone help you with lifting and pulling chores. You are able to work with your loved one in a combined goal today.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You may need a quiet place to work today. You can help create the necessary privacy it takes to get important work completed and out of the way. Nobody minds hard work when there is something to be gained from it--today there are rewards unseen in the background. The financial problems that you have had will have an opportunity to be worked out this afternoon. Also, you could come up with new ideas through conversations with your friends. Save your ambition for the planning stages just now and be sure to take notes. You spend a lot of time thinking about other people today and enjoy several phone conversations. A close love relationship takes on more depth this evening.

This is the perfect evening for bonding and romance.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You are not particularly interested in a costume party just now but you do like unusual combinations of colors and clothes. This day you may be most interested in good smells, as well as beautiful clothes. It could be time for a party and food or costume would make up the perfect theme. You may have recently received some aromatherapy kit, or at least the technique of aromatherapy comes to your attention. Perhaps you have discovered some wonderful aromatherapy combination that sends high energy into the ether. A good investment comes to your attention as well as receiving a wonderful surprise later today. This may be something you ordered and forgot about but more than likely, it is a belated gift.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Accept the social invitations that come your way today.

Your business, or the position that you hold in a business could be influenced in a positive way through these gatherings. Someone new will be coming into your life today--it is good to be aware and make a point to remember names. Leading an interaction of ideas within a group of people can spur your creative side; which you may feel is your calling.

Debates and lectures bring about a question and answer type of day which is your specialty. If you are not in a customer service type of job, it would be surprising. This whole day is about putting your thoughtful contribution of information on top of confusion. Truth or information of truth will seep through to the marrow of the mind eventually.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You may have always wanted to be able to express who you are and what you stand for by the way you make your living. You will also concentrate this year on making your style of living fit you. This may mean investing in property that would allow you to build a retreat or involving yourself in lots of volunteer options. Yes, every job has its pull and you will find that even when you are not working for a paycheck, you will be working to express your talents. You may be an excellent child advocate or perhaps a spiritual counselor. Many people appreciate your contributions. Your witty side lifts a spirit this evening--it is good that you not become too involved in any one thing, just in the living of life. Aim for a good emotional balance every day.

Libra (September 23-October 22) You are most persuasive with others. Your career goals will be realized soon and you have more confidence in your abilities than ever before. New goals can be formed and at this time, you will find a business associate that will help you if you need help. You, in turn, will be helpful to others wanting professional success. A new technical gadget has your attention later today. New ways to make your job easier are always welcomed. Healing with a friend, neighbor or loved one is possible this afternoon. A positive outlook is inevitable and others learn from your attitude. Reality is an important issue now, because if you can be realistic with a touch of hopefulness and dreaminess you will not lose what is real, but gain what is possible.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) All sorts of business activity come into play today. Work is concentrated and steady. You reach out to every opportunity that comes your way. Your desire to understand and embrace all of life may have you enthralled in group issues and social affairs. You do best in a job that offers you interaction with a variety of people, from a variety of backgrounds. One thought is that if you cannot visit different countries you can at least visit the people from different countries. You appear very easygoing today. Everything seems to be working together and you may find yourself expressive and able to communicate well. This is a good time to think and study, for you have a real appreciation for ideas and thoughts. A love relationship blossoms this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may be making headway in the work world today. Breaks to exercise can be real energizers. You can continue with your focus on business affairs all day long. You may have the opportunity to improve your home surroundings or plan a move. These energies are strong through the end of the month and if you were looking to sell your home, this would be a good time. Your best buys or any improvement toward repairs could be made now as well. The importance of a good foundation in home and finances is what makes you happy and this is the time to make sure all is as you want it to be. This evening you make sure you spend time in an interactive mode with the family and loved ones. You like the way your family makes you feel.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Communications with your partner or business co-worker improve. A more enjoyable career phase is beginning. Doing a good job and having overtime work as well, is the quickest way out of a financial dilemma. It is also a way to gain extra money for some special event or purchase. Generally, this is a fruitful period for real estate investments, if you do not bite off more than you can chew. Emotional security, a sense of belonging and nurturing are the issues coming to your attention now.

You want roots and you want your family to see the home as a place of safety and refurbishment. You may be considering safety-conscious means to keep your home safe. There may also be an interest in research and fun times of accumulating facts for a family tree.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You may have found a great way to make a little extra money today--there is success in your efforts. This little sideline works out nicely and does not interfere with your regular place of business. It is good that you know the importance of keeping them separate. Any frustrations on the home front are healed now and it is as though nothing ever happened. Take some time to think about what lessons might have come from the frustration. This will help to keep the situation from reoccurring. Finding ways to make yourself understood is a good thing.

Placing a calendar in a visible place for all would be a good move-appointments will not go forgotten. You like to know what to expect each day and so do the other members of your household.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Although you may be impatient to move forward in your place of business, you will need to clear up unfinished business first. Whether this is family business or work business, the concentration on this unfinished business is well worth your efforts. You may find it easy to work at cross-purposes to yourself just now, especially if you push for too long. Make a to-do list and follow it until you feel that all is completed. Then business, no matter where it originates from, is business as usual. Emphasize the positive aspects of your work and seek companionship with close associates. Companionship with others is most rewarding at this time and you should take every opportunity to strengthen and be strengthened by your friendships.

COUNTRY CODES 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 Republic 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 Somalia 00252 South Africa 0027 South Korea 0082 Spain 0034 Sri Lanka 0094 Sudan 00249 Suriname 00597 Swaziland 00268 Sweden 0046 Switzerland 0041 Syria 00963 Taiwan 00886 Tanzania 00255 Thailand 0066 Toga 00228 Tonga 00676 Tokelau 00690 Trinidad 001868 Tunisia 00216 Turkey 0090 Tuvalu 00688 Uganda 00256 Ukraine 00380 United Arab Emirates00976

Stars

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Word Search

Yesterday’s Solution

C R O S S W O R D 4 4 5

ACROSS 1. (Roman mythology) Goddess of abundance and fertility.

4. Of or relating to syllables.

12. A humorous anecdote or remark.

15. Committee formed by a special-interest group to raise money for their favorite political candidates.

16. For venison.

17. One of the most common of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

18. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

19. The innermost membrane of an organ (especially the inner lining of an artery or vein or lymphatic vessel).

20. A clique that seeks power usually through intrigue.

22. Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation (1879-1958).

24. A palace and fortress built in Granada by the Moslems in the Middle Ages.

28. By bad luck.

29. Large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses.

32. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

36. Someone who copies the words or behavior of another.

37. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric.

39. Projectiles to be fired from a gun.

41. Half the width of an em.

42. The longest division of geological time.

44. Squash bugs.

46. A word that is written with three letters in an alphabetic writing system.

50. The force of workers available.

51. A specialist assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission.

52. A large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and Africa.

54. The 3 goddesses of fate or destiny.

56. The basic unit of money in Western Samoa.

57. A port city of south central Ukraine on an arm of the Black Sea. 58. A genus of Ploceidae.

63. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

67. Unsupported by other people.

71. A woolen cap of Scottish origin.

72. A violet photopigment in the retinal cones of the eyes of most vertebrates.

75. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors.

76. Syndrome resulting from a serious acute (sometimes fatal) infection associated with the presence of staphylococcus.

77. An interpreter and guide in the Near East.

78. A beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water.

3. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

4. A swift whirling motion (usually of a missile).

5. Distant but within sight.

6. Gracefully slender.

7. Being six more than fifty.

8. A large fleet.

9. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

10. A state in the Rocky Mountains.

11. Of or like a cecum.

12. United States chemist (1839-1903).

13. Any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent.

14. Offering fun and gaiety.

21. A large strong and aggressive woman.

23. The sixth month of the civil year.

25. A complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds.

26. A woman sahib.

27. (used of count nouns) Every one considered individually.

30. Port city in northwest Portugal.

31. 100 seniti equal 1 pa'anga.

33. Having low density.

34. Seal again.

35. (Sumerian) Consort of Dumuzi (Tammuz).

38. The highest level or degree attainable.

40. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

43. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

45. Type genus of the Amiidae.

47. Supernatural half-man and half-bird vehicle or bearer of Vishnu.

48. (Norse mythology) God of light and peace and noted for his beauty and sweet nature.

49. (Greek mythology) God of love.

53. French romantic writer (1766-1817).

55. Offspring of a coyote and a dog.

59. Type genus of the Anatidae.

60. A software system that facilitates the creation and maintenance and use of an electronic database.

61. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

62. English monk and scholar (672-735).

64. Having relatively few calories.

65. Small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body.

66. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

68. An ancient Hebrew unit of capacity equal to 10 baths or 10 ephahs.

69. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

70. A hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers.

73. A radioactive metallic element that is similar to tellurium and bismuth.

74. A gray lustrous metallic element of the rare earth group.

Yesterday’s Solution

DOWN 1. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color.

2. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

McIlroy sizzles in Dubai

LONDON: In this file picture taken on January 22, 2014 France’s captain Pascal Pape (L) and England captain Chris Robshaw pose with the trophy during the official launch of the 2014 Six Nations International rugby tournament at the Hurlingham Club in London. England captain Chris Robshaw has told his team-mates there will be “no room for error” when they begin the 2014 Six Nations Championship away to France tomorrow. — AFP

France faces England with untried pairing PARIS : Looking to bounce back from the humiliation of last year’s wooden spoon, France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made the risky move of choosing an untried halves pairing for Saturday’s opening Six Nations match against England.

Announcing his team yestersday, Saint-Andre went for scrumhalf Jules Plisson alongside flyhalf Jean-Marc Doussain. Both are 22 years old, and Plisson makes his international debut while Doussain has played only five times for France. He also picked lock Alexandre Flanquart - who has won only two international caps - to play alongside Pascal Pape in the second row.

“Jules has a lot of variety in his game, he had to start one day,” Saint-Andre said. “Jules is fully focused. Everything will be easier for him if his teammates make an impact going forward, if the forwards win their battles. So it’s up to our pack to make things easier for our halves pairing, which is young and talented.”

Saint-Andre will give the kicking duties to Doussain, adding that Flanquart’s selection is a strategic one because of his understanding with Pape, his Stade Francais teammate, and his ability to counter England in the lineouts.

More surprisingly still, is that Saint-Andre has left out flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc from his squad, even though Trinh-Duc was arguably France’s best player in the corresponding fixture last year. France looked good for a win at Twickenham last year, leading 109 at the interval before being overpowered and losing 23-13 with Trinh-Duc taken off early into the second half.

Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastareaud give France a powerful midfield in what is expected to be a physical battle at Stade de France. But the deciding factor is once again likely to be who comes out on top in the forwards.

“We know from experience that the English have a powerful scrum. We know what to expect.

Every time I’ve played against them the scrum has always been a big combat zone,” said veteran prop Nicolas Mas, who is set to win his 66th cap. “Last year we took them on well in the forwards, and we even thought we could win at Twickenham because we unsettled them so much.”

Injury problems England’s young squad is growing in self-belief and experience under Stuart Lancaster and will want to make amends for a 30-3 defeat to Wales last

year that cost the title and a Grand Slam.

“We had one day in Cardiff when it didn’t go as we would have wanted, but since then the focus has been on us improving,” lock Joe Launchbury said. “Hopefully we showed where we are in the autumn and we’ll continue to do that.”

While France has injury problems - inspirational captain Thierry Dusautoir and flyhalf Remi Tales are both out injured, while prolific winger Vincent Clerc is still lacking full fitness after a long-term knee injury - England has selection problems.

Lancaster pleaded with flyhalf Toby Flood to stay home for club and country, but had to axe him from his squad because Flood, with 60 caps has decided to leave English champion Leicester, which he captains, for Toulouse after the season.

The uncapped George Ford replaces him in the squad, while Lancaster handed debuts to outside center Luther Burrell and wing Jack Nowell for Saturday’s game. Burrell has impressed throughout the season for Northampton, and starts ahead of Brad Barritt. Nowell has benefited from injuries to Marland Yarde and Christian Wade to seize the right wing spot from the axed Chris Ashton.

France is favorite to win the battle of the forwards, however, with a front five that can mix it with the world’s best on their day, and England are braced to withstand an early onslaught in the scrum. “I’d say we’ve removed any lingering doubt over our physicality, but the question will continue to be asked,” Launchbury said. “We went to Argentina and played well there. We had three tough autumn matches and I don’t think anyone could say we lacked bite in those matches.”

France: Brice Dulin, Yoann Huget, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Maxime Medard, Jules Plisson, Jean-Marc Doussain; Louis Picamoles, Bernard Le Roux, Yannick Nyanga, Pascal Pape, Alexandre Flanquart, Nicolas Mas, Benjamin Kayser, Thomas Domingo.

Reserves: Dimitri Szarzewksi, Yannick Forestier, Rabah Slimani, Yoann Maestri, Antoine Burban, Damien Chouly, Maxime Machenaud, Gael Fickou.

England: Mike Brown, Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Jonny May, Owen Farrell, Danny Care; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (captain), Billy Vunipola.

Reserves: Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola, Henry Thomas, Dave Attwood, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson, Brad Barritt, Alex Goode. — AP

DUBAI: Rory McIlroy hit a sizzling nineunder 63 in the opening round of the $2.5 million Dubai Desert Classic yesterday, bolstering his hopes of claiming a first European tour win since 2012.

Playing the back nine holes first, the Northern Irishman was unperturbed by a 0405 GMT tee-off time, reaching the turn at five-under after sinking a quintet of birdies from the 12th to the 18th.

He rattled in an eagle at the par-five third hole with a 25-foot putt and picked up two further shots in a blemish-free round on the Majlis course.

Playing partner Tiger Woods kept pace initially to be four-under after nine holes, but then sunk nine successive pars to finish on 68, five behind his rival. “Sometimes you have an early start, it maybe takes you a few holes to get going,” McIlroy told reporters, when asked about his scintillating start. “But whenever you have people on the tee box and cameras clicking, it sort of makes you more alert at that time of the morning when sometimes you’re half asleep.”

It could have been even better for the 24-year-old, who missed a six-foot putt on the opening hole and lipped out another birdie attempt on the fifth hole. Had those gone he could have equalled the course record of 61. “I drove it well and I can really take advantage of hitting it long and straight here,” McIlroy added. “I got a lot of wedges into greens. If I can keep doing that, hopefully scores like this will become more regular.”

Fond memories McIlroy has fond memories of Dubai, claiming his first European tour victory at this event in 2009 and also winning 2012’s DP World Tour Championship to become only the second golfer to top the money

list in both Europe and United States in the same season. These achievements helped McIlroy become world number one, but he endured a tough 2013, rarely troubling the leaderboard as he sunk to sixth in the rankings.

The twice major winner has begun to find his form again, winning the Australian Open in December and finishing joint-second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship earlier this month, with four top-10 finishes in his past five events on the European Tour.

“Getting back to world No. 1, it’s a byproduct of playing well, giving yourself chances to win tournaments. If I finish second in every tournament from now to the end of the year, I would be world No. 1, I won’t be happy: I wouldn’t have won,” added McIlroy.

“These scores may look somewhat routine out there, but there’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes to actually be able to go out and shoot scores like this.” World number one Woods said he was relieved to sink a birdie on his opening hole in Dubai, his first competitive golf since last week’s dire 79 at California’s Torrey Pines, the second-worst round of his professional career.

The 38-year-old found the sand with alarming regularity but was still able to pick up further shots at 13, 15 and 18. He found it harder going as overcast skies gave way to piercing desert sunshine, missing a 10foot birdie chance at the second in a barren last nine holes.

“The greens are perfect, absolutely perfect,” Woods told reporters. “They have softened them up so they are a little more receptive but they are still just as fast. I’m sure the guys in the afternoon probably won’t go as low. They were drying out as we were playing.” — Reuters

DUBAI: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland follows his shot during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, yesterday. — AP

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Scrivens makes record saves in Oilers victory EDMONTON: Edmonton goaltender Ben Scrivens set an NHL record for saves in a shutout with 59 stops Wednesday as he guided the Oilers past the San Jose Sharks.

Despite being blitzed with endless shots from one of the Western Conference’s top teams, Scrivens stood up to produce a memorable night. “It’s one of those nights, very fortunate. I owe the shot-keeper a beer, I think,” Scrivens told reporters after the team’s 3-0 victory.

“I had an awful, awful warm-up, so it was an inauspicious start, but it was one of those things where you try not to look at the forest while you’re in the trees and focus on the process and give yourself a chance to make that save.”

Scrivens’ performance topped the previous record for saves in a shutout in the expansion era, which was set by Mike Smith, who had 54 for the Phoenix Coyotes in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 3, 2012. Scrivens also set a franchise record for saves in a game for the Oilers, who won their third straight game.

RANGERS 2, ISLANDERS 1 Daniel Carcillo scored the tiebreaking goal 4:36 into the third period as the Rangers completed a two-game sweep of the outdoor series with a victory over the Islanders at frigid Yankee Stadium.

Building off their 7-3 win over New Jersey at the ballpark in the Bronx on Sunday, the Rangers took out another division rival under the lights in front of 50,027 fans.

The temperature was 22 degrees when the first puck dropped at 7:45 p.m. with a single-digit wind-chill factor. Benoit Pouliot also scored for the Rangers, who are 3-0 in their history while playing outside. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots while again adorning pinstriped pads in honor of the Yankees. The only goal he

allowed was a late second-period tally to Brock Nelson.

BLACKHAWKS 5, CANUCKS 2 Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad each had a goal and an assist in the second period as the Chicago Blackhawks scored in quick succession to beat the Vancouver Canucks.

Marian Hossa also scored in the second period for Chicago and Saad added an empty netter late. Corey Crawford made

29 saves. The Blackhawks scored four times on five shots in a span of 7:31 in the second to rally from two goals down and snap a four-game winless streak.

The victory was Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville’s 693rd, moving him past Dick Irvin into sole possession of third place on the all-time NHL coaching wins list. Chris Higgins and Tom Sestito scored for Vancouver, and Roberto Luongo stopped 36 shots.

— Agencies

EDMONTON: Ben Scrivens #30 of the Edmonton Oilers defends net against Jason Demers #5 and Tommy Wingels #57 of the San Jose Sharks during an NHL game at Rexall Place on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Oilers defeated the Sharks 3-0. — AFP

NHL Results / Standings WASHINGTON: National Hockey League results and standings after Wednesday’s games: Vancouver 2, Chicago 5, Edmonton 3, San Jose 0; NY Islanders 1, NY Rangers 2.

Boston Tampa Bay Toronto MontrÈal Detroit Ottawa Florida Buffalo

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division P W L OT 52 34 15 3 53 31 17 5 55 28 21 6 53 28 20 5 53 23 19 11 53 23 20 10 53 21 25 7 52 14 30 8

GF 159 157 158 131 135 150 129 101

GA 115 131 170 134 149 167 164 152

PTS 71 67 62 61 57 56 49 36

Pittsburgh NY Rangers Philadelphia Carolina Columbus Washington New Jersey NY Islanders

Metropolitan Division 53 37 14 2 55 29 23 3 54 26 22 6 53 24 20 9 53 26 23 4 53 24 21 8 54 22 21 11 56 21 27 8

171 141 147 134 154 153 127 158

128 139 158 150 151 158 135 187

76 61 58 57 56 56 55 50

Anaheim San Jose Los Angeles Vancouver Phoenix Calgary Edmonton

Western Conference Pacific Division 55 39 11 5 54 34 14 6 55 30 19 6 55 27 19 9 53 25 18 10 53 19 27 7 56 18 32 6

184 165 133 139 154 124 147

134 129 116 143 160 169 190

83 74 66 63 60 45 42

Chicago St. Louis Colorado Minnesota Dallas Nashville Winnipeg

56 52 52 55 53 55 55

199 180 153 133 154 136 155

156 79 119 77 137 71 135 64 157 56 166 56 162 55

Central Division 33 10 13 36 11 5 33 14 5 29 20 6 24 21 8 24 23 8 25 25 5

Wawrinka spearheads Swiss, Czechs seek third title PARIS: Stanislas Wawrinka, hotfoot from his Australian Open triumph, turns his mind to affairs of national importance this weekend as he leads Switzerland into battle against last season’s beaten finalists Serbia in the Davis Cup World Group first round. In last Sunday’s final in Melbourne, the new world number three captured his first Grand Slam title with a four-set upset of Rafael Nadal. Wawrinka told the Melbourne crowd he was looking forward to the tie against the weakened Serbs - as long as he survived his victory party.

“Davis Cup, it’s really important for me. I’m really proud. It’s a big honour to play for my country....”I don’t know how I’m going to get there exactly, if I’m still going to be alive after tonight, but I’m going to go there... There’s a big chance I get drunk tonight....”

Nadal, the world number one, is one of a clutch of stars missing from this weekend’s opening salvoes of the venerable 114year-old competition. While Nadal and world number five David Ferrer skip Spain’s tie with Germany in Frankfurt, Serbia must face Wawrinka’s Switzerland without Novak Djokovic. The Swiss in contrast are looking strong as along with the in-form Wawrinka they boast Roger Federer, who confirmed his presence on Wednesday. Argentina meanwhile face Italy without their top player, Juan Martin Del Potro, knocked out in the second round at Melbourne.

Djokovic had already signalled his intention not to play at Novi Sad before his quarter-final loss to Wawrinka last week. With Janko Tipsarevic (injured) and Viktor Troicki (suspended) also out Serb captain Bogdan Obradovic is fielding untested youngsters Dusan Lajovic, Filip Krajinovic and Ilija Bozoljac with veteran Nenad Zimonjic set to play in the doubles. In Ostrava, world num-

ber seven Tomas Berdych, a semi-final victim of Wawrinka’s last week, leads the Czechs into battle against the Dutch, returning to the Davis Cup fast lane for the first time since 2009.

Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil is upbeat over his team’s prospects. “We hope to continue our recent run of results,” said

Stanislas Wawrinka

Navratil, whose team beat Spain in the 2012 final and then defeated Serbia to retain their crown in Belgrade late last year. “Berdych is in great form. He is serving brilliantly and is very strong from the baseline.” Australia make their return to the World Group after a seven-year absence, against France on the indoor clay courts of La Roche sur Yon. The Aussies last won the title in 2003 - in 2001 they fell at the final hurdle to France in Nice.

Veteran Lleyton Hewitt is thrilled Pat Rafter’s team, winners of the trophy 28 times, are back in the Davis Cup mix. “It’s fantastic,” said the 32-year-old who made his competition debut in 1999, just three years after teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis was born.

“For me it’s about leading by example on court more than anything, using my experience I’ve been able to have playing so many years and so many big ties for Australia.”

France will start favourites with two of their team top 10 players in Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. On the red outdoor clay at San Diego’s Petco Park, Great Britain’s world number six Andy Murray leads his team into battle against the United States in a rerun of the first ever Davis Cup tie at Boston’s Longwood Cricket club in 1900. Great Britain captain Leon Smith said last week: “We’re relishing the opportunity to compete in the world group once again, and I’m delighted that Andy is able to play in the tie.” American number two Sam Querrey is taking heart from his victory over Murray at the ATP final in Los Angeles in 2010. “At least I’ve beaten him one time, so that gives me a little belief that I can do it again,” he commented. In other ties, Belgium face Kazakhstan in Astana, and Canada take on Japan seeking a first ever World Group win - in Tokyo, with Kei Nishikori forecasting “a tough match even if we play at home”. — AFP

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Thunder erase 18-point hole, top Heat 112-95 MIAMI: Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Serge Ibaka added 22 as the Oklahoma City Thunder came back from 18 points down to beat the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday for their ninth straight win.

Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher came off the bench to score a combined 33 more for the Thunder. Durant scored at least 30 points for the 12th straight game, matching the league’s longest such streak since Tracy McGrady did it in 14 consecutive outings in the 2002-03 season.

Miami led 22-4, and then got outscored 8753 in the next 21/2 quarters. LeBron James scored 34 for the Heat, with Chris Bosh adding 18 and Dwyane Wade 15. Philadelphia’s Evan Turner sank a layup at the final buzzer to lift the 76ers past the Boston Celtics 95-94.

The 76ers rebounded the ball after Kris Humphries missed a jumper with 12 seconds left. They hurried upcourt and Turner released his shot just in time to give the 76ers only their third win in 13 games. The Celtics lost for the 19th time in 22 games and dropped behind the 76ers in the standings by one game.

At Milwaukee, Goran Dragic scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter despite sustaining an apparent injury to his left elbow, as the Phoenix Suns beat the Bucks 126117. Gerald Green scored 23 and Marcus Morris had 16 points off the bench for the Suns, who have won the first three games of a four-game road trip.

Dragic hit the floor hard after a late foul by Larry Sanders, but was able to stay in the game and keep scoring. But he was on the bench with a wrap on his left elbow in the closing minutes, and was escorted to the locker room with 52 seconds remaining.

The Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 88-77 after Kevin Love had 30 points and 14 rebounds to finally carry Minnesota over the .500 mark for the season. Kevin Martin added 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting and six boards for the Timberwolves in their first game without center Nikola Pekovic, who is expected to miss at least a week with bursitis in his right ankle. They still managed to get over .500 after failing in their previous 10 chances to do so.

Kyle Lowry had a season-high 33 points and 11 assists for the Toronto Raptors in a 98-83 win over the Orlando Magic, while Chandler Parsons scored 26 points as the Houston Rockets beat a Texas rival for the second straight day without James Harden, 117-115 over the Mavericks.

76ERS 95, CELTICS 94 Evan Turner sank a layup at the buzzer to lift Philadelphia past Boston. The 76ers rebounded the ball after Kris Humphries missed a jumper with 12 seconds left. They hurried upcourt and Turner released his shot just in time to give the 76ers only their third win in 13 games. The Celtics lost for the 19th time in 22 games and dropped behind the 76ers in the standings by one game. Spencer Hawes led Philadelphia with 20 points and tied his career high with four 3pointers. Turner had 16 points and eight assists and Thaddeus Young added 16 points. Jared Sullinger led Boston with 24 points and 17 rebounds and Jeff Green had 18 points, but just five after the first quarter.

SUNS 126, BUCKS 117 Goran Dragic scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter despite sustaining an apparent injury to his left elbow, as Phoenix beat Milwaukee. Gerald Green scored 23 and Marcus Morris had 16 points off the bench for the Suns, who have won the first three games of a four-game road trip.

Dragic hit the floor hard after a late foul by Larry Sanders, but was able to stay in the game and keep scoring. But he was on the bench with

a wrap on his left elbow in the closing minutes, and was escorted to the locker room with 52 seconds remaining. Ersan Ilyasova scored 27 points and Brandon Knight added 24 for the Bucks, who have only one win in January.

TIMBERWOLVES 88, PELICANS 77 Kevin Love had 30 points and 14 rebounds to finally carry Minnesota over the .500 mark for the season. Kevin Martin added 18 points on 7of-18 shooting and six boards for the Timberwolves in their first game without center Nikola Pekovic, who is expected to miss at least a week with bursitis in his right ankle. They still managed to get over .500 after failing in their previous 10 chances to do so.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were missing star forward Anthony Davis with a dislocated left index finger. They shot just 35 percent and managed a season-low 35 points in the first half to snap a three-game winning streak.

RAPTORS 98, MAGIC 83 Kyle Lowry had a season-high 33 points and 11 assists, and Amir Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Toronto past Orlando for the fifth straight time. Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Terrence Ross scored 12 as the Raptors, who never trailed, won for the fourth time in five games. Lowry, who had seven rebounds, matched his season best with six 3-pointers. He came within three points of matching his career-high of 36, set Feb. 16, 2011, against Philadelphia, when he played for Houston. Lowry also topped 30 points in backto-back games for the first time.

ROCKETS 117, MAVERICKS 115 Chandler Parsons scored 26 points as Houston beat a Texas rival for the second straight day without James Harden. Seven Rockets players scored in double figures on a night when they had just 10 players in uniform.

Dwight Howard had 21 points, and Jeremy Lin had 18 and seven assists. The Mavericks cut a 12-point deficit with 4:08 remaining to just two and had a chance to win, but Jose Calderon missed a pair of 3-point tries in the final seconds. Dirk Nowitzki had 38 points and a seasonhigh 17 rebounds, but was the only Dallas starter in double figures.

BOBCATS 101, NUGGETS 98 Al Jefferson matched a season high with 35 points, including a key basket in the final seconds, to lead Charlotte. Jefferson, who has scored 20 points or more in 10 straight games, also had 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double in his last 22 games. Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions each added 16 points for the Bobcats who beat the Nuggets in Denver for only the second time in eight games here.

Randy Foye scored 33 points to lead Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left shoulder). His replacement, Nate Robinson, was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a left knee sprain.

BULLS 96, SPURS 86 Jimmy Butler had 19 points and Carlos Boozer added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago handed injury-riddled San Antonio its third straight loss. D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson added 15 points each and Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. Tony Parker had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which hadn’t lost back-to-back games until this current skid. The Spurs were without Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter. It led to a disjointed and inconsistent offense for San Antonio. — Agencies

LOS ANGELES: Washington Wizards guard John Wall, left, puts up a shot as Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, in Los Angeles. — AP

NBA results/standings Results from the NBA games on Wednesday (home team in CAPS) Oklahoma City 112, MIAMI 95; TORONTO 98, Orlando 83; Philadelphia, 95 BOSTON 94; Phoenix 126, MILWAUKEE 117; MINNESOTA 88, New Orleans 77; Houston 117, DALLAS 115; Charlotte, 101 DENVER 98; Chicago 96, SAN ANTONIO 86; Memphis 99, SACRAMENTO 89; LA CLIPPERS 110, Washington 103.

EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION W L PCT Toronto 4 21 0.533 Brooklyn 20 23 0.465 NY Knicks 18 27 0.4 Philadelphia 15 31 0.326 Boston 15 33 0.313 CENTRAL DIVISION Indiana 35 9 0.795 Chicago 23 22 0.511 Detroit 18 27 0.4 Cleveland 16 29 0.356 Milwaukee 8 37 0.178 SOUTHEAST DIVISION Miami 32 13 0.711 Atlanta 23 21 0.523 Washington 22 23 0.489 Charlotte 20 27 0.426 Orlando 12 35 0.255

GB 3 6 9 1/2 10 1/2 12 1/2 17 1/2 19 1/2 27 1/2 8 1/2 10 13 21

WESTERN CONFERENCE NORTHWEST DIVISION Oklahoma City 37 10 0.787 Portland 33 13 0.717 3 1/2 Minnesota 23 22 0.511 13 Denver 22 22 0.5 13 1/2 Utah 16 29 0.356 20 PACIFIC DIVISION LA Clippers 33 15 0.688 Phoenix 27 18 0.6 4 1/2 Golden State 27 19 0.587 5 LA Lakers 16 30 0.348 16 Sacramento 5 30 0.333 16 1/2 SOUTHWEST DIVISION San Antonio 33 13 0.717 Houston 31 17 0.646 3 Dallas 26 21 0.553 7 1/2 Memphis 24 20 0.545 8 New Orleans 19 26 0.422 13 1/2.

45

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Scotland, UAE grab final 2015 World Cup berths RANGIORA: Scotland pipped Kenya to secure their third World Cup appearance yesterday while United Arab Emirates (UAE) also booked their ticket for next year’s marquee 50-over tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

On the final day of the Super Sixes in Christchurch, Rob Taylor shrugged off his poor form and, batting at number eight, blasted 46 unbeaten runs off 37 balls to help Scotland reach the 261-run victory target with three balls to spare.

Opting to bat first, Kenya rode Alex Obanda’s 89 off 101 balls to post a com-

petitive 260 before being all out on the last ball of the 50th over. Matty Cross (55) and captain Preston Mommsen (78) shone with the bat for Scotland but it was Taylor’s late assault that earned them a thrilling three-wicket victory and their first World Cup appearance since 2007.

“It is absolutely awesome, we have worked really hard to get to this position and to actually get over the line is unbelievable. The feeling is immense,” Mommsen said. At Rangiora, UAE beat Namibia by 36 runs to secure their

second World Cup appearance, first since 1996.

“You can’t describe in words the feeling,” UAE captain Khurram Khan said.

“I’ve been playing for UAE since 2001 and it is an amazing feeling to help my team to qualify. “It’s been very, very hard to make it this far. Most of us are part-time cricketers - we are not professionals. This is for everyone who trusted us and believed in us,” he said.

Having decided to bat first, none of the UAE batsmen could reach fifty but they still put up 263 before folding in the

Five-star Perera hands Sri Lanka massive win DHAKA: Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera picked up five wickets as Sri Lanka thumped fragile Bangladesh by an innings and 248 runs in the first Test in Dhaka yesterday. Bangladesh, trailing by a huge 498-run margin on first innings, were bowled out for 250 in their second knock after lunch on the fourth day at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

Perera, a 31-year-old playing in his second Test, finished with five for 109 while seamer Suranga Lakmal took three as the hosts were dismissed in 51.5 overs with a day to spare. Bangladesh, who resumed the day at 35-1, failed to cope with Sri Lanka’s pace and spin assault and lost their last nine wickets for 215 runs despite the even-paced pitch.

The hosts were reduced to 197-9 before the last-wicket pair of Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain boosted the total with lusty hitting during an entertaining partnership of 53 runs off 38 balls. Rubel made 17, while Al Amin returned unbeaten on a quickfire 32 off 18 balls that contained four sixes and one boundary.

Bangladesh, who made 232 in their first innings, conceded their highest Test total of 730-6 declared. Three Sri Lankans hit centuries including Mahela Jayawardene, who scored an unbeaten double-ton.

Jayawardene, who was named man of the match, said he was happy to contribute to what was a “great game” by the team. “It has been some time since I got a big one,” the 36-year-old former captain said. “I thought it was a great game by the team as everyone put their hands up and performed.

“I think the wicket played really well, and even today there was a little bit of pace for our quicks, and for the spinners it was turning, but the important thing was the bounce which really helped us.

“Test cricket is all about handling situations, that is where our guys did well.

We applied ourselves and made sure we did not lose wickets up front.” Sri Lanka have now won 14 of their 15 Tests against Bangladesh, eight of them by an innings margin, and drawn the other.

On their previous tour in 2008-09, Sri Lanka had won the first Test by 107 runs and the second by 465 runs. Bangladesh, who languish at the bottom of the Test rankings at number 10 — lower than unfancied Zimbabwe-have lost 68 of their 82 Tests since gaining full status in 2000.

They have won four Tests, two each against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim rued the lack of runs in the first innings that set his team back. “It was a good wicket to bat on, but we did not play well from day one and that put us on the back foot,” he said. “It is very difficult to come back from there.

Big innings “The boys just did not show the fight in the middle. Hopefully we will come back strongly in the next Test. We need to work on our batting. It is important

that someone from the top plays a big innings.”

Opener Shamsur Rahim was dismissed off the second ball of the day, fending at a vicious short ball from Shaminda Eranga and edging a catch to wicket-keeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Mominul Haque smashed eight boundaries in a fluent 50 off 57 balls, but the assault did not last long as he fell legbefore to Perera.

The second Test starts in the port city of Chittagong on February 4. It will be followed by two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals. —AFP

DHAKA: Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim (R) plays a shot as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal looks on during the fourth day of the first Test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka The Sher-eBangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday. —AFP

SCOREBOARD Bangladesh first innings 232 Sri Lanka first innings 730-6 declared Bangladesh second innings (overnight 35-1) Tamim Iqbal c Perera b Herath 11 Shamsur Rahman c Chandimal b Eranga 9 Marshall Ayub c Silva b Lakmal 18 Mominul Haque lbw b Perera 50 Shakib Al Hasan lbw b Perera 25 Mushfiqur Rahim b Perera 14 Nasir Hossain c Herath b Perera 29 Sohag Gazi lbw b Lakmal 23

Robiul Islam lbw b Lakmal 1 Rubel Hossain c Silva b Perera 17 Al-Amin Hossain not out 32 Extras (b-9, lb-10, nb-2) 21 Total (all out, 51.5 overs) 250 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-35, 3-50, 4-102, 5-133, 6150, 7-183, 8-197, 9-197.

Bowling: Lakmal 14-4-39-3 (2nb), Eranga 6-1-261, Herath 9-3-47-1, Perera 19.5-0-109-5, Mathews 3-0-10-0.

Sri Lanka lead two-test series 1-0. —Reuters

final over. Amjad Javed (3-35) was the pick of the UAE bowlers who first denied Namibia a flying start and claimed wickets at crucial times to restrict their opponents to 227 for nine.

Scotland and UAE will now play the tournament final at Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Saturday. The winner of the contest will join England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Afghanistan in Group A while the loser will be clubbed in Group B alongwith South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland. —Reuters

ICC set to go back to the future LONDON: For much of its history the International Cricket Council (ICC) was unable to do anything without the approval of England and Australia, the two original Test nations.

So the announcement from the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai on Wednesday that it had agreed in principle to be effectively run by India, England and Australia had a familiar ring to it.

Plans to bolster the position of the ‘Big Three’ within the ICC include the formation of a new five-man executive committee, with three seats reserved for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA).

The BCCI now generates 80 percent of world cricket’s wealth and the only way most other boards remain financially afloat is from the colossal television rights they receive from a tour by India.

Given that, greater BCCI influence in the running of the ICC was all but inevitable. Almost as understandable was the BCCI’s decision to form links with CA and the ECB, the only other major boards to consistently turn a profit. Prior to this week’s two-day ICC board meeting in Dubai, a leaked ‘position paper’ from the ‘Big Three’ suggested they be spared relegation in any new two-division Test set-up because of their commercial importance.

But come a statement released after the first day of talks on Tuesday, there was no mention of promotion and relegation, with the ICC declaring there would be “participation based on meritocracy; no immunity to any country, and no change to membership status”.

That promotion and relegation was conceded by the ‘Big Three’ suggests it was always something to be given away in return for acceptance of more fundamental points.

‘Big Three’ That appears to be what has happened with strugglers Bangladesh, whose Test status has been repeatedly called into question on the back of a string of defeats. With major constitutional changes to the running of the ICC requiring a three-fourths majority-ie eight of the 10 leading nations-it now seems the ‘Big Three’ are one vote away from getting support for their revamp plan.

West Indies, who forecast they would receive a hundred percent increase in revenue as a result of the changes, and New Zealand, both appear to be onside. That leaves the ‘Big Three’ needing to win over just one of South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the three most vocal opponents of the leaked plan, when the ICC reconvenes for another meeting next month.

On Tuesday, the ICC trumpeted “unanimous support” for the principles behind the revamp, only for a Sri Lankan source to tell AFP: “As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, there was no unanimity on this.”

The end of the Future Tours programme announced on Tuesday and a return to ‘bilateral tours’ has raised concerns that weaker nations could suffer from a lack of competitive cricket.

But New Zealand Cricket’s Martin Snedden told the country’s Radio LiveSport: “There was a lot of speculation that we would get some crumbs from the big guys and just end up playing mainly the small guys.

“That’s not going to happen. We’ve locked in good commitments from Australia, England and India through that 10-year period (to 2023).”

On Tuesday saw current ICC chief executive David Richardson proclaimed: “I am looking forward to bringing to fruition some of the principles that have been proposed and accepted”.

That brought a mocking response from former England captain Michael Atherton who, writing in The Times, declared the former South Africa wicketkeeper a “chief executive without a shred of executive power, and chief executive of a body with no function”.

There is no guarantee the ‘Big Three’ will remain a settled unit, given the political and even racial tensions that have often seen India involved in bitter arguments with England and Australia. —AFP

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Transfer Deadline Day Madness

By Ahmad Al Othman

W

ill Arsenal sign Draxler? Is Guarin leaving Inter Milan and United’s Nani going the other way?

Pato and Osvaldo to Juventus? Does Chelsea need more defenders in Shaw and Zouma? Newcastle set to sign Grenier? Could Taarabt be leaving Fulham for AC Milan? Liverpool to conclude Konoplyanka deal on time?

Or perhaps Bayern’s Kroos could be on his way to the red side of Manchester?

The time has come for each club to consider one or more deadline day acquisitions; purchases which are considered by many as panic buys. The transfer window closes tonight at 23:00 GMT and is the final chance for teams to strengthen their respective sides to fill any voids left by departing players or injuries.

Deals could be struck minutes before the window closure and very recently other transfers have collapsed due to the paperwork not faxed in on time. Last summer, Fabio Coentrao failed with last minute move to Manchester United, while Mesut Ozil’s shocking Arsenal transfer was concluded and confirmed on time. Funnily

enough, Peter Odemwingie famously failed with a move in the eleventh hour to QPR by literally driving his own car from Birmingham’s WBA to London without the latter’s permission; he even appeared in a live interview confirming his move. He was later fined £75,000 over for his conduct and lack of respect towards his club and made an official apology for his distressing actions.

The majority of clubs prefer to do business in the summer, but conditions may hit you hard and force your hand. That’s why Manchester United paid 37 million pounds for Juan Mata to solve all their attacking problems and guide the team up the table. Rocked by another injury setback to Welsh Aaron Ramsey and ongoing ankle problems to Jack Wilshere, Arsenal’s midfield suddenly looks venerable and short in numbers. They have no choice but to dip in the market for a new midfielder and young German wonderkid Julian Draxler is the top of Arsene Wenger’s wish list. With long term absentee Theo Walcott out of action until June, the Gunners boss has no option but to dip in the market for one more player before it shuts, otherwise it could come to haunt him back.

Certainly, every manager would want to get done with the deadline transfer day, mainly due to the unsettling factor caused to their belonging players. Liverpool boss Brendan Rogers will tell you how relieved he was to witness the end of last summer’s transfer window and holding onto star man Luis Suarez. He was attracting the interest of Arsenal and Real Madrid and was strongly linked to a move away from Anfield, but the Scotsman managed to rebuff Arsenal’s strong interest and convinced him to sign a new long term deal with the Scousers. David Moyes could tell you the same thing with Wayne Rooney and his long-standing saga with a move to Chelsea. Newcastle United’s Alan Pardew went through a likewise scenario with his ex midfielder Yohann Cabaye following Arsenal’s pursuit, who finally put an end to his two and a half year stay at the Magpies after signing for Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Did You Know?

Chelsea’s Fernando Torres is the most expensive signing in the January transfer window, following his £50 Million move from Liverpool.

Higuain strike ousts Lazio, sets up Roma Cup semi-finals

BILBAO: Atletico de Madrid’s goalkeper Thibaut Courtois of Belgium, left, fights for the ball in front of Athletic Bilbao’s Aritz Aduriz, during their Spanish Copa del Rey round-8 second leg soccer match, at San Mames stadium, in Bilbao, northern Spain, Wednesday. — AP

Atletico, Barcelona into Cup semi-finals MADRID: Holders Atletico Madrid set up a mouthwatering Copa del Rey semi-final with city rivals Real Madrid after beating Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on Wednesday to win 3-1 on aggregate.

Barcelona also assured their place in the last four with a 5-1 victory over Levante at the Camp Nou to seal a 9-2 rout on aggregate. In Bilbao, Aritz Aduriz had powered the hosts into a deserved lead four minutes before half-time and Athletic were only denied a bigger advantage at the break by two outstanding saves from Thibaut Courtois.

However, Atletico regrouped at the break and levelled 10 minutes after the restart when Raul Garcia smashed home Emiliano Insua’s cross.

Diego Costa sealed their passage into the last four in the final stages as he slotted home his first goal of 2014 on the counter-attack to inflict Athletic Bilbao’s first ever defeat at their San Mames ground, which they have used since the start of the season. Atletico will travel to the Santiago Bernabeu, where they beat Real 2-1 in last year’s final, for the first leg of the semi-final next week with the return to come at the Vicente Calderon the following week.

“In the first 30 minutes we were in control of the tie, if not the match,” said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. “From then until half-time they had a great end to the half, but we came out strong in the second-half and got the goal which gave us confidence and strength.” Simeone’s men will now face Real three times in little over three weeks in league and Cup. However, they are unbeaten in four meetings against Madrid and Barcelona this season and the Argentine feels his side now believe they can compete with Spain’s big two. “This season we will play four more games against Barcelona and Real Madrid and that is good because it tests you more, but you also lose the fear of playing in those games.”

Barcelona’s passage into the semi-finals was far smoother as they thrashed Levante at a sodden and sparsely populated Camp Nou. Sergi Roberto’s early own goal had given the visitors some hope of an improbable comeback from last week’s 4-1 defeat. However, that was quickly extinguished as Adriano’s long-range strike and Carles Puyol’s thumping header gave Barca the lead on the night before half-time.—AFP

MILAN: Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain scored eight minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win over holders Lazio and a place in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup against Serie A rivals Roma on Wednesday. Napoli dominated throughout a rainy fixture at the San Paolo but struggled to pierce a stubborn Lazio defence until Higuain scored with a deft touch in the 82nd minute to send Rafael Benitez’s side through.

The Italian Cup semi-finals are held over two legs. Udinese, who stunned AC Milan in the quarter-finals last week, host Fiorentina on February 4 before travelling to Florence for the second leg a week later. Napoli will travel to Roma’s Olympic Stadium on February 5 before hosting the Giallorossi a week later. Benitez said: “Lazio showed they’re a fast, quality side but we played with intensity from start to finish and we deserved to win.” Napoli won their fourth Italian Cup in 2012 and Higuain told Rai Uno: “It was a really important tie for us, given what is at stake in the Cup semis. “The lads showed their strength from kick-off and we achieved what we set out to do at the end.

“Now, we’re looking to our next league game

against Atalanta, and then we’ll start thinking about Roma. It will be difficult, but all the games are.” Although Higuain and Jose Callejon were a constant menace it was new signing Jorginho who threatened to steal the show in the first half.

The Brazilian-born Italian midfielder only made his Napoli debut last week after signing from Verona and already looks to have carved a place for himself in Benitez’s quality-packed midfield.

Jorginho, making his first start, had most of the 55,000 crowd in the stadium on their feet when he hit the upright with a superb curling shot from the left of the area, with Etrit Berisha well beaten.

Lazio were without several key players including Miroslav Klose, Stefan Radu, Ederson, Sergio Floccari and Stefano Mauri and were looking to remain unbeaten since Edy Reja, formerly of Napoli, replaced Vladimir Petkovic at the turn of the year. Klose’s absence, in particular, was felt as Lazio struggled to provide any kind of threat in the opening half while Napoli launched wave after wave of attacks. An early Higuain effort was palmed away by Berisha at the near post, then Callejon’s pass for Higuain, lurking in the area, was blocked by Michael Ciani.—AFP

LIMA: Sueliton (R) from Brazi’s Atletico Paranaense vies for the ball with Jorge Cazulo (L) from Peru’s Sporting Cristal during their Libertadores Cup football match at the National stadium in Lima on Wedenesday. — AFP

Sports FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

Real hoping Bilbao do not burst their bubble MADRID: Real Madrid’s 11-match unbeaten run has lifted confidence and closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid but their form faces a stern test at Athletic Bilbao’s new San Mames stadium on Sunday.

The Basque club, fiercely proud of their heritage and always keen to thwart their detested rivals from the capital, are fourth, largely thanks to their record at home where they have won 11 and drawn two in front of their passionate supporters.

They are the only team who have beaten champions Barca, a 1-0 success at the San Mames at the beginning of December, and Real’s task may be made even harder as Bilbao will still be smarting after being dumped out of the King’s Cup by Atletico on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real side have not been tested since they needed a late winner to secure a 3-2 victory at Valencia at the end of December but another victory on Sunday (2000 GMT) would be a big fillip as they head towards a key stage of the season in La Liga, the King’s Cup and the Champions League.

Defeat could see them fall four points behind in the title race and burst the bubble of optimism that has grown around the club in recent weeks.

“It’s very important,” Ancelotti told a news con-

ference on Tuesday after Real’s 1-0 win at home to Espanyol secured their place in the Cup semi-finals.

“It’s a tricky match because Athletic are playing very well at the moment and everyone knows playing at the San Mames is not easy,” added the Italian, in his first season in charge since taking over from Jose Mourinho.

“But it’s a good time for us to be playing there.

We have confidence and desire and we are excited about giving everything to win.” Ancelotti may be without record signing Gareth Bale for the trip north.

The Wales winger, whose first season in Spain has been disrupted by minor injuries, had to come off at halftime in last weekend’s 2-0 win at home to Granada due to a problem with his left leg and missed the Cup game against Espanyol.

Ancelotti said if Bale was unavailable, forward Jese would likely be deployed up front alongside regulars Cristiano Ronaldo, the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner and La Liga top scorer with 22 goals, and Karim Benzema.

Tricky games Barca and Atletico, who top the table on 54 points from 21 matches, with Real a point back at

third, also have potentially tricky games this weekend, with Barca hosting mid-table Valencia on Saturday (1500) and Atletico at home to sixthplaced Real Sociedad on Sunday (1800).

The joint leaders returned to winning ways last weekend after consecutive draws, including a 0-0 stalemate between the pair at Atletico’s Calderon stadium. Valencia were the last team apart from Barca and Real to win La Liga, back in 2004, but their financial struggles have seen them morph into one of Spain’s also-rans who can barely manage to qualify for European competition.

Barca playmaker Andres Iniesta is not taking the game lightly, however, even though Barca have won their last 25 league games at the Nou Camp, stretching back almost to the beginning of last season. “We know that playing Valencia here is always tough,” the Spain international told reporters after Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final success against Levante.

“Although it might be different from other years, we have to take the match seriously and really go for the win,” he added. “The team is in good shape, in a very good moment in every sense. The hardest part of the season is still to come but it’s also the most enjoyable.” — Reuters

Man City go top, West Ham frustrate Chelsea BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa’s English forward Grant Holt (down) vies with West Bromwich Albion’s Uruguayan defender Diego Lugano during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park in Birmingham on Wednesday. Aston Villa won 4-3. — AFP

Villa win seven-goal thriller against Baggies BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa came from two goals down to beat West Bromwich Albion 4-3 in an extraordinary West Midlands derby on Wednesday. Things looked bleak for the home side at Villa Park after they fell 2-0 behind inside nine minutes thanks to a brilliant strike from Chris Brunt and a Fabian Delph own-goal. But before 25 minutes had elapsed, Villa were level courtesy of Andreas Weimann and Leandro Bacuna. And before the interval there was still time for Delph to score at the right end and Youssouf Mulumbu to equalise for West Brom.

After half-time, Christian Benteke finally settle the outcome with a 64th minute penalty awarded after the striker himself was fouled.

Victory saw Villa climb to tenth in the Premier League table and left Pepe Mel still waiting for his first win as West Brom boss.

Brunt opened the scoring in style, volleying the ball past Brad Guzan from some 30 yards out. Minutes later Delph, trying to clear, turned James Morrison’s cross into his own net.

For a second time this season, West Brom were 2-0 up against Villa. But again they surrendered that advantage as happened in a 22 draw in November, only this time they didn’t even have the consolation of a point.

Villa’s fight back started when, after Guzan punted the ball down field, Weimann lobbed Baggies keeper Ben Foster. Nicolas Anelka, once more selected by West Brom despite the FA disciplinary charge hanging over him as a result of his ‘quenelle’ goal celebration last month, limped off in the 26th minute, by which time Villa had equalised.

Benteke’s pass to Matt Lowton split open the Baggies’ defence and his cross was turned in at the far post by Bacuna. Then another long ball exposed West Brom’s defensive frailties before Delph, after rounding Steven Reid, smashed the ball in off the underside of the bar. But Villa’s defence was breached again when Mulumbu shot through Guzan’s legs to make it 3-3. — AFP

LONDON: Free-scoring Manchester City swept to the Premier League summit with a 5-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, but Chelsea lost momentum after being held by West Ham United.

Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Southampton on Tuesday had given their two closest rivals a glimpse of top spot, but while City seized the opportunity, Chelsea were left in third place after a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.

City had crushed Tottenham 6-0 in the reverse fixture in November and they wasted little time asserting themselves again amid pouring rain at White Hart Lane.

Having already struck the post, Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock in the 15th minute when he scuttled onto David Silva’s pass and slipped a delicate shot past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Michael Dawson thought he had equalised when he volleyed home from Christian Eriksen’s fierce free-kick, only to be adjudged offside.

City lost Aguero to an apparent hamstring injury on the stroke of half-time, but they extended their lead in the 51st minute when Yaya Toure tucked away a penalty after Danny Rose was sent off for sliding in on Edin Dzeko.

Dzeko made it 3-0 six minutes later, slamming a shot into the roof of the net after Silva’s effort came back off the post, before Etienne Capoue reduced the arrears from a corner. It gave the hosts a flicker of hope, but Stevan Jovetic, Aguero’s replacement, made the game safe in the 78th minute with his first Premier League goal before captain Vincent Kompany added a fifth at the death.

It was an eighth successive league win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, who welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium on Monday. “I think it’s too soon to be the favourites to win the title,” said City manager Pellegrini. “There are much more matches to play, but if we continue the way we are playing, we are going to have more chances.”

On Aguero’s injury, he added: “We will see tomorrow with the doctor what hap-

LONDON: Chelsea’s Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o (2-L) falls under West Ham United’s Ivorian defender Guy Demel after shooting at goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge in London on Wednesday. The match ended in a goal-less draw. — AFP pened with Sergio. We hope we can recover Ham’s one.

“With their substitutions, they were takhim as soon as possible.” City now lead former leaders Arsenal by a point and have a ing a long time. It was football from another three-point advantage over Chelsea after century. The result is not a good result.

“They defended with their hearts-I Jose Mourinho’s team were unable to break respect that and praise that, but I don’t think down Sam Allardyce’s obdurate West Ham. Brazilian playmaker Oscar came closest with matches like this we can sell the to scoring in the first half for Chelsea, with a Premier League across the world. My team shot that was touched onto the crossbar by did everything possible.”

Aston Villa edged an extraordinary West Ham goalkeeper Adrian.

Midlands derby against West Bromwich Albion, coming from two goals down to win Substitutions Adrian also saved well from John Terry, 4-3 in a madcap encounter at Villa Park. A Samuel Eto’o and Eden Hazard, while 25-yard Chris Brunt half-volley and a Fabian Demba Ba hit the post deep into stoppage Delph own goal put West Brom 2-0 up inside time as Chelsea laid siege to the visitors’ goal only nine minutes, but, just as they did in the reverse fixture, Villa fought back to level. in vain.

Chelsea manager Mourinho took excep- Goals from Andreas Weimann and Leandro tion to what he saw as West Ham’s time- Bacuna gave Paul Lambert’s side parity and wasting. “They were trying to win time with Delph then atoned for his earlier error by everything,” said the Portuguese, whose putting the hosts ahead with a vicious rising players had 39 attempts at goal to West shot in the 37th minute. — AFP

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014

www.kuwaittimes.net

PARIS: France’s Kristina Mladenovic returns the ball to Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at the WTA Paris Open tennis tournament in Paris yesterday. — AFP