16 Mar

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

12,000 participate in NBK Walkathon

40 PAGES

NO: 16106

150 FILS

2

www.kuwaittimes.net

JAMADA ALAWWAL 15, 1435 AH

US re-indicts Indian diplomat on visa fraud

‘China’s Twitter’ Sina Weibo files for IPO in US

11

Advantage ten-man City as nine-man Chelsea crash

20

21

Oppn launches rebranded Popular Action Movement Barrak strongly criticizes ruling family, Assembly

Max 26º Min 16º High Tide 12:29 Low Tide 06:22 & 18:20

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti opposition, which boycotted the previous two parliamentary elections in protest against a controversial electoral law, yesterday launched a new political group - the Popular Action Movement. Veteran opposition figures including former speaker Ahmad AlSaadoun, former opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak and a number of leading politicians are among the main members of the new group that had been operating as the Popular Action Bloc for the past several years.

In a hard-hitting speech, Barrak strongly criticized the ruling family, saying it has failed to run the affairs of the government and called for introducing an elected government that should come through the ballot boxes. Barrak said that it is an illusion for the ruling family to think that it can rule the country through the singlevote law, a dummy Assembly, politicizing of the judiciary and using political money and riot police.

“We are demanding an elected government that is subject to the supervision of the people and which should come through the ballots,” Barrak told the gathering that was held at Saadoun’s diwaniya after a booking at a local hotel was cancelled a few days ago. Barrak claimed that Kuwait is passing through its worst political era which means criticism is not sufficient and “we have to work jointly with other political groups”. He announced that the new movement (Hashd in Arabic) will extend its hands for cooperation with all groups.

The outspoken former lawmaker alleged that there is a suspicious alliance between the “merchants of corruption and merchants of power”, adding that Kuwait is being destroyed and its wealth stolen. Barrak ridiculed the government’s statement that the welfare state is over, saying that the government has been sending “our money abroad to support dictators”. He said the current struggle in Kuwait is a struggle between the supporters of the state and those of sheikhdom, and the former will emerge victorious.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Former speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun speaks during the launch of the new Popular Action Movement at his diwaniya yesterday. (Inset) Opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak addresses the crowd. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Top Kuwaiti fighter killed in Syria Forces enter rebel bastion • Conflict enters 4th year

US giving up Internet oversight CAIRO: Egyptian military police soldiers run towards a checkpoint attacked by gunmen in Shubra Al-Kheima, a suburb north of Cairo, yesterday. -—AP

Six troops killed in Cairo attack CAIRO: Gunmen killed six soldiers at a Cairo checkpoint yesterday in a brazen attack which the military blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood movement of Egypt’s deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The attack came two days after gunmen killed a soldier in Cairo, as militants once based in the Sinai Peninsula increasingly widen attacks that have killed more than 200 security men since the army overthrew Morsi last July.

The assailants opened fire on military policemen yesterday as they were finish-

ing their dawn prayers and then planted two bombs to target first responders, the military said in a statement. The health ministry said six soldiers were killed. Live television footage showed military sappers safely detonate a bomb near the checkpoint in the northern neighbourhood of Shubra al-Kheima.

One of the devices was placed next to a dead soldier’s body, a private television station quoted an interior ministry official as saying.

Continued on Page 13

WASHINGTON: The US government announced Friday it was giving up its key role overseeing the Internet’s technical operations, handing over those functions to “the global multi-stakeholder community”. The move “marks the final phase of the privatization” of the management of the Internet domain name system, said a statement from the US Commerce Department.

The US agency called for “global stakeholders to develop a proposal” for a transition to a new plan with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit group that took over some of the functions in 1997 under an agreement with the US government. The decision comes with Washington under pressure following revelations about vast surveillance programs operated by the secretive National Security Agency to collect intelligence and other data through a variety of methods.

ICANN leaders said during a conference call that the move by the US was a sign that the organization has matured and that it was in the works long Continued on Page 13

BEIRUT: Activists yesterday said that the Kuwaiti commander of an Al-Qaedalinked group was killed while fighting government troops and Hezbollah fighters inside Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Abu Azzam Al-Kuwaiti, a leader of the Nusra Front, was killed late Friday in fighting around the western town of Yabroud.

Amer Al-Qalamouni, an activist in the area, and the Observatory said yesterday Al-Kuwaiti was a key mediator for the release of a dozen nuns held by rebels earlier this week. His death came as Syrian forces and Hezbollah fighters advanced in rebel-held Yabroud near the Lebanese border amid heavy bombardment from warplanes, artillery and tanks as the country’s bloody conflict marked its third anniversary yesterday, state media and activists said.

The conflict, which began amid Arab Spring protests across the region, started off as protests that turned into an armed insurgency and eventually became a fullblown civil war that activists say has killed more than 140,000 people and has seen 2 million people flee the country.

Peace talks between the government of President Bashar Al-Assad and Syria’s divided opposition haven’t found a diplomatic solution to the crisis, which has seen sectarian violence rise as Islamic

Abu Azzam Al-Kuwaiti extremists entered the fight.

The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, vowed in a statement yesterday marking the conflict’s third anniversary “to bring down the Assad regime that is the main source of the Syrian people’s suffering”.

The coalition’s chief Ahmad Al-Jarba attacked Assad’s main backer Iran, as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Shiite fighters who came from Iraq to fight with Continued on Page 13

Jet’s disappearance ‘deliberate’

KUWAIT: A rainbow arcs over Kuwait City yesterday after heavy rain. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUALA LUMPUR: A missing Malaysian airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday, stopping short of confirming a hijack but taking the excruciating search for the jet into uncharted new territory. Najib said investigators believed “with a high degree of certainty” that systems relaying Malaysia Airlines flight 370’s location to air traffic control were manually switched off before the jet veered westward in a fashion “consistent with deliberate action”.

But a grave-looking Najib told a press conference watched around the globe that he could not confirm whether the plane had been forcibly taken over.

“Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear: We are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its Continued on Page 13

MEDAN: An Indonesian student writes a message expressing prayers and wishes for passengers onboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday. — AFP

LOCAL

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

KUWAIT: The annual walkathon of the National Bank of Kuwait in progress. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

12,000 participate in NBK Walkathon

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: More than 12,000 people participated in the annual National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Walkathon yesterday. This year’s slogan was ‘If We Can Make a Change, So Can You’. Sudden heavy rain along with hail fell in the middle of the race, but by the arrival of most categories to the finish line, the rain had stopped.

This was the 20th year of the walkathon.

The number of participants increases every year, and this year saw an increase of 2,000 people in all categories. “ When the NBK Walkathon first started, one car was given to a lucky participant by a raffle draw. In 2012, we increased the number to two vehicles, and this year we are giving away three brand new Citroen C-Elysee 2014 model vehicles,” Talal AlTurki, PR Officer at NBK, told Kuwait Times yesterday.

A new feature was also added this year. “We simplified the registration process for participants, who were able to register online for the first time. This saved time for both the participants and NBK staff as well. Furthermore, during the celebration we announced 10 winners of tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2014 that will take place in Brazil. Each winner will get two tickets,” added Turki.

The draw took place at the finish point at Green Island. The celebration also included announcing the names of 80 winners of the

walkathon - 10 winners in each category - who received medals. They also received cash prizes worth KD 300, KD 200, KD 100 and KD 50 for the last seven finishers in each category.

Other prizes were given to attendees as well.

The walkathon started in the morning with the children at Green Island. The participating kids were divided into four categories according to their ages from 5 to 14 years old, wearing jerseys with new colors this year - neon pink, orange, purple and neon green.

The walking distance was different for each of the three categories. The kids (Zeina Friends Club) walked 1 km only and started at 10:00 am. The women walked 6 km and started at 14:15 pm from Marina Crescent, while the men walked 8 km and started at 15:00 pm from the Scientific Center (Ras Salmiya). All categories ended at Green Island.

Participating women were also in four categories. At 2:15 pm, the women in light blue (ages 15-20) flagged off from Marina Crescent.

They were followed by the women in the yellow group (ages 21-35) at 2:30 pm. They were then followed by the third and fourth categories in red (ages 36-49) and pink (ages 50 and above) at 2:45 pm.

The men kicked off at 3:00 pm from the Scientific Center starting with the eldest category, and the youngest category kicked off at 3:30 pm. They were also divided into four categories - dark blue (ages 15-20), white (ages 21-

35), green (ages 36-49) and burgundy (ages 50 and above).

The participants praised the organization of the walkathon, but many were confused about the position they ranked. “I arrived 10th but I was not given any ticket with a number as I expected. The woman after me was given a ticket with number 11, and when I asked, they said I’m the 10th but I will get the number later. So I’m confused, especially that this is my first time participating in this event,” said a participant form Ukraine who didn’t want to mention her name.

Salem Al-Kandari, who was participating for the second time in the NBK walkathon, expressed satisfaction with the general organization and wondered if the judges really registered the winners correctly. “When I arrived, I wasn’t given any number, but the judge at the end point said I’m one of the first 10 in my category. So I hope that the judges have registered me right,” he pointed out.

The race didn’t witness any serious injuries. According to paramedics present, they only dealt with few light foot injuries. “ We only treated about 13 injuries, and maybe some older participants may suffer health problems later. We are six paramedics working here in this tent, and there are four ambulances on the road along the race track,” said Ghalib Masoud, a paramedic in a tent near the finish line.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

LOCAL

CBK sponsors football competition for deaf KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait sponsored a football competition for the deaf, organized by the Amal Boys School starting from today and through March 20.

“It is our pleasure to sponsor the Amal Football Tournament for the Deaf which highlights the rights of people with special needs to practice all activities equally,” said Amani Al-Waraa, the Assistant General Manager - Public Relations and Advertisement Department.

“Sponsoring the event comes as part of the CBK’s commitment to support social activities, especially those concerned with people eager to give and integrate with their society,” Al-Waraa added.

Moves to avoid potential losses

By A Saleh

Amani Al-Waraa

MPs’ visit helps cement Kuwait-Japan relations TOKYO: The visit of Kuwait-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League to Japan represented an opportunity to enhance relations between the two nations in all domains, head of the Kuwaiti delegation MP Dr Khalil Abdullah said at the conclusion of their visit.

Their meetings with Japanese officials and parliamentarians, including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and House of Representatives Speaker Bunmei Ibuki, highlighted the shared desire to boost deep-seated Kuwait-Japan friendly and cooperative ties, Dr. Abdullah told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). The discussions also touched on a possible review of Kuwait’s offset program, which has been a major obstacle hindering Japan’s investment in the Gulf country. “We will work toward the improvement of the offset program to help increase Japanese investments in our country,” he said.

“Moreover, to produce concrete outcomes with an eye to implement joint projects that benefit both countries, our team visited various facilities, where we learned about Japan’s expertise and experience, and explored ways of mutual cooperation.” The team inspected the Cancer Institute Hospital of Japan, an integrated control center for Tokyo subway network system and the country’s first full-fledged ocean wind farm.

Furthermore, the Kuwaiti legislators

Govt plans to go ahead with clean fuel project

were invited by the Japanese government for a memorial service to commemorate the third anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, in which Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended.

Following the twin disasters, Kuwait donated 5 million barrels of crude oil to Japan, equivalent to some $500 million, to support its reconstruction work.

Hailing strong Kuwaiti-Japanese relations, Dr. Abdullah said Kuwaiti and Japanese peoples hold positive feelings toward each other. “I also learned how the Japanese people and officials respect His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and appreciate Kuwait’s support to the country in the wake of 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster.” He also underlined Japan’s role in liberating Kuwait from the 1990-1991 Iraqi invasion.

Meanwhile, Dr Abdullah expressed his special thanks to Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi for his efforts in facilitating the visit, and roles in promoting and strengthening KuwaitJapan in all fields.

The Kuwaiti delegation, which also included MPs Faisal Al-Duwaisan and Majed Al-Mutairi, arrived in Tokyo on Sunday. Their visit came after the Japanese members of the friendship league visited Kuwait last month. —KUNA

KUWAIT: The government does not have any problems with a parliamentary probe into the clean fuel project’s tender, but plans to go ahead with the project anyway in order to avoid potential losses in case of delays. Kuwait National Petroleum Company had announced last month that it awarded a $12 billion project to British, US and Japanese-led consortia to boost capacity at oil refineries and make production more environmentally friendly.

Several MPs has since proposed forming a committee to investigate the awarding process and rule out allegations of irregularities. “The government will not stand against the proposal if the parliament approves it as it is assured about the awarding process and has nothing to hide,” said sources familiar with the government’s thinking. The government also does not plan to object a potential request to assign the Audit Bureau to look into the project, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Mina Abdullah I project was awarded to a consortium led by Britain’s Petrofac for $3.8 billion, Mina Abdullah II to US Fluor-led consortium for $3.4 billion while Mina Al-Ahmadi went to Japan’s JGC Corp-led consortium for $4.8 billion, according to KNPC. KPC structure In related news, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation launched efforts to implement a court order that reinstated three senior officials that were sacked in the aftermath of the Dow Chemical fine payment. Sources suggested that a new organizational structure could be established to allow Nasser Al-Mudhaf, Shatha AlSabah and Ali Al-Hajri to return, since their previous posts have already been filled.

Other scenarios discussed include a plan to rehire the three officials as advisors, but the proposal faced rejection based on the notion that it would be ‘circumventing the ruling’, according to the sources. Former oil minister Hani Hussein had referred Mudhaf, Sabah and Hajri for retirement

KUWAIT: The government opened an investigation into the reasons why local authorities selected two clinics each in Jordan and Egypt, where workers can have medical tests necessary to issue a Kuwaiti visa. Kuwaiti authorities have agreements with medical clinics around the world where labor forces can undergo medical tests and obtain a medical clearance repor t necessar y to issue a visa to enter Kuwait.

API chief underscores small-sized enterprises vate sector’s role.

Now that Kuwaiti young people make up 70 percent of the Kuwaiti people and can play a key part in economic growth, an unequivocal and clear-cut strategy should be developed in order to promote small-sized enterprises and to provide a congenial investment atmosphere, he remarked.

In this context, the Arab Planning Institute (API) has suggested an initiative to promote the cultural aspect and support national capabilities, Malallah pointed out.

On his part, the director of the smallsized enterprise section of the Manpower and Government Restructure Program, Fares al-Enezi called for creating strategic openings for investing the capabilities and energies of young people.

To push forward small-sized enterprises, it is imperative to begin redressing

KIA company Head of the parliament’s budgets committee Adnan Abdulsamad revealed “serious information” speculating the sale of a Kuwait Investment Authority-affiliated company, and demanded answers from Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh.

Abdulsamad did not specify the name of the company in question, but Al-Rai daily reported yesterday that it is the Kuwait Motoring Company. “The KIA, which owns 98 percent of the company, has offered it for sale in a public auction,” said sources quoted in the report. The Kuwait Motoring Company owns nearly KD 4 million in assets in local banks, in addition to lands in different locations around Kuwait, the sources said.

Constitutional amendments The Constitutional Unity Bloc announced a seminar next Tuesday to discuss a proposal to amend article 80 of the Kuwaiti constitution, fea-

turing MPs Sane, Saud Al-Huraiji, Yousuf AlZalzalah and Abdullah Al-Tamimi. The proposal calls for increasing the number of elected MPs from 50 to 75. Speaking of amendments, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi released a statement yesterday indicating that the only constitutional amendment he would support is one that “improves freedoms” and “provide further guarantees for justice and equality” in Kuwait.

Committee meetings The legislative committee meets today to discuss a proposal to lift MP Mohammad Al-Enezi’s immunity, and puts the final touches on the law to establish companies to build power plants before submitting it to the parliament. The committee also discusses a proposal that calls for the government to pay unemployment allowance to a Kuwaiti citizen after five months of waiting for employment, and another that bans expatriates’ recruitment in state department unless in jobs that suffer shortage in national manpower.

Meanwhile, the public facilities committee discusses proposals to establish the public transportation authority and the environment protection law, while the housing committee discusses recommendations mentioned during last week’s Kuwait Housing Conference.

Separately, head of the negative phenomena committee MP Azmi said that the panel will discuss several topics related to public morality tomorrow, mainly demands to stop women’s employment at pool clubs and “put an end to dance parties organized by local companies”.

Fake companies In response to inquiries Azmi made over procedures against fake companies, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Subaih explained that a company is closed if evidence is found that it practices an activity that is different than what it is licensed for. The procedures also include coordination with the Immigration General Department to deport workers brought by companies that do not have a physical presence, after these fake companies are closed.

Probe into increased expats medical test fees

KUWAIT: Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on behalf of Sheikha Futooh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah hosted yesterday an open house of Zakat House officials, who are caretakers of the 6th orphans forum 2014. The open house was attended by orphans sponsored by Zakat House from Sri Lanka, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Kenya, Kosovo, Yemen, and Bangladesh.

KUWAIT: Secretary-General of the Arab Planning Institute (API) Bader Malallah stressed here yesterday the significance of small and medium-sized enterprises to the economic growth process.

Addressing the 3rd Kuwait Investment Forum held here, he said small-sized enterprises have existed since the 1980s as a core element for boosting the competitive edge at the market, adding that small and medium-sized enterprises have become a key catalyst for economic growth in most world countries.

Small-sized enterprises should be viewed as a basic component of national economy, rather than as some sort of luxury and grandeur, he added.

He listed some challenges facing small-sized enterprises as general financial conditions, labor market, economic reforms, governmental activity hegemony over economy and absence of the pri-

last year as punishment in the aftermath of the parliament’s rejection of KPC’s decision to pay a $2.16 billion fine to Dow Chemical. The amount was enforced by International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) over a unilateral decision by the Kuwaiti government to withdraw from a joint venture in 2008.

The case continues to generate reactions from the parliament, the most recent of which came from MP Yaqoub Al-Sane who urged Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair yesterday to “bear his responsibilities” to reinstate the three officials.

Speaking of the Dow Chemical fine, sources revealed that several MPs plan to submit a request to Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem to call for a special debate to discuss the Audit Bureau’s investigation report regarding the K-Dow case which was referred to both the legislative and executive authorities last week. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not provide the names or number of MPs who pushed for the session to be held either in April or May.

imbalance in the manpower structure as Kuwaiti constitute 96 percent of manpower in the public sector and only four percent in the private sector, he pointed out.

He also called for creating more jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises and for paying more heed to education output.

Speakers at the two-day forum entitled: “Investment Atmosphere in Kuwait...

Available Opportunities”, include academicians, experts, analysts and specialists who are expected to expound on the current financial situation in Kuwait and the overall region.

The participants will mainly discuss small and medium-sized enterprises thanks to their significance to the development process in general and their ability to make use of Kuwaiti youth energies. —KUNA

In Jordan’s case, Kuwait used to have an agreement with 10 clinics around the kingdom where a medical test costs a fee equal to KD 30. But that was recently changed, as the number of certified clinics was narrowed to only two, each of which collecting 600 Jordanian Dinars (KD 230) per transaction.

The reasons why the major changes were made are not clear, and the government plans to find out in the near future. “The Cabinet

arranged to be briefed by Ministry of Health officials about the issue, with the possibility of punitive measures to be taken in case mismanagement was confirmed,” said government sources quoted by Al-Qabas yesterday.

The sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity added that the investigation is set to include Egypt “where the same thing happened three years ago and no action has been taken since then.”

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

LOCAL

NBK wins prestigious USD and Euro Excellence Award

Etieune Thevoz, Christian Nakhle, Ely Sy Beye, Yousif Khalil, Antoine Eid

KUWAIT: Francois Brossard during the conference.

— Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has been awarded by Deutsche Bank the prestigious USD STP Excellence Award 2013 and Euro STP Excellence Award 2013.

The awards recognize NBK’s exceptional quality in processing USD and Eurodenominated payments, as well as a high rate of STP transactions overall.

NBK maintained consistency throughout the high volume of remittances during the year whilst observing international standards of payments quality. This achievement puts NBK in the top tier of institutions Deutsche Bank works with globally.

Deutsche Bank is NBK’s correspondent for USD and Euro payments emanating from commercial and customer remittance payments. The Straight Through Processing (STP) award is given to a select few international banks each year to high-

light their achievements in processing outgoing payments.

NBK enjoys the highest credit ratings by the major international rating agencies: Moody ’s, Standard & Poor ’s and Fitch Ratings. In their latest reports, the three rating agencies affirmed NBK’s credit ratings with a stable outlook. NBK also maintains its position among the 50 safest banks in the world for the eighth time in a row.

NBK enjoys the widest banking presence with an international network reaching 170 branches worldwide. NBK’s international presence spans many of the world’s leading financial centers including London, Paris, Geneva, New York and Singapore, as well as China (Shanghai).

Meanwhile, regional coverage extends to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey

Wide participation in Francophonie festival Promoting diversity of French language

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: The French Institute of Kuwait ‘Institut Francais’ is holding the Francophonie festival from March 16 to 29. This cultural festival includes various activities such as art exhibitions, movies, plays and workshops. Francophonie is a global event as the world celebrates the French language in March. “We are organizing these activities to promote the French language. The French-speaking world is very rich and diverse, and we aim to tell the whole world how diverse it is. The International Francophone Organization (OIF) gathers 77 countries around the world with 90 million people. Oman and the United Arab Emirates are members of OIF too. We also celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity, especially since French language has many forms,” stressed Francois Brossard, Director and Cultural Consultant at the French Institute.

Many countries are participating in the Francophphonie festival in Kuwait including Canada, Switzerland, Egypt, Lebanon and others.

“We are taking every effort to make this celebration in Kuwait worth watching and enjoying. We hope to have more Arab countries participating in this festival and that this celebration will highlight the importance of this language,” added Brossard.

French Ambassador Christian Nakhle highlighted the importance of the Francophonie festival to promote the diversity of French language in the world. “Since I was a child, I realized how important it is to be in contact with other cultures and

languages. I’m sure people will enjoy and benefit from the rich program of events of this year’s Francophonie festival that includes many activities,” he noted.

“French is the second most widely spoken mother-tongue in Europe with over 77 million speakers after German (around 100 million).

French is an official language of 29 countries and is one of the very few languages spoken all over the world. It is ranked the sixth most widely spoken languages after Mandarin Chinese (over a billion speakers), English, Hindi, Spanish and Arabic.

There are currently over 220 million French speakers worldwide, including 72 million so-called partial French speakers,” Nakhle added.

Swiss Ambassador Etienne Thevoz said this festival is a promotion of peace, law, social security and democracy. “We know that these concepts mean something in Kuwait, and we care to promote these values. We have an exhibition of pictures on how to gather people,” he pointed out.

Ely Sy Beye, Counselor of the Senegal Embassy, spoke about a summit that will be held in Senegal soon and will promote women and youth. “I hope this celebration will highlight the importance of French language”. Yousif Khalil, first counselor of the Egyptian Embassy stressed that French culture is very popular in Egypt.

“French language spread in Egypt and the region as well. Many students in Egypt study French as their second language. Also in 2003, a French university was launched in Egypt. Egypt has always participated in the Francophonie fes-

tival since it started,” he explained.

Antoine Eid, Counselor of the Lebanese Embassy, expressed the strong ties between Lebanon and France. “Lebanese people are known to mix French words in Arabic sentences. The Lebanese nation can easily merge with other cultures. We like the French language and we think it’s our duty to spread French language and culture. The French school in Kuwait has a great number of Lebanese students which expresses our passion for this culture,” he stated.

The Francophonie festival includes: Francophonie Film Festival: March 23 ‘Rock The Casbah (France-Maroc), March 24 Eloge Du Chiac (Canada), March 25 Le Destin (France-Egypt), March 26 Sur Le Chemin De L’ecole De Pascal Plisson (France). All movies are screening at 8:00 pm, at the Layla Gallery Theatre in Salmiya.

Photo exhibition: From March 16 - 19 ‘Legacies’ photo exhibition (Canada) portraying Canadian women, held at Ahmad Al-Adwani Exhibition Hall in Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem, Block 3, San’a Street.

March 20 -27 Exhibition of photography by Jean Mohr (Swiss), celebrating the 150th anniversary of Geneva Convention at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dasman Hall. Workshops: March 18 and 19 Juggling Workshop, at Loyac, Kuwait City, Ali Al-Salem Street inside Qibliya School, from 5 - 8:00 pm. March 20 Liaison Carbone, juggling art (France) at the Kuwait National Museum at 7:00 p m. March 12 -27 Drama Workshop Al Bassam Theatre, Salmiya Theatre block 4, Hamad Al-Homaidi Street, 7:00 pm.

KUWAIT: Deutsche bank representatives presenting the award to NBK.

MoE considers cooking in schools to reduce expenses

KUWAIT: In view of the high cost of KD 59 million annually paid to provide meals in primary schools, the Ministry of Education is currently considering hiring chefs to cook the meals in the schools where each school administration would be able to determine the quantities needed in view of the actual number of pupils attending school each day, which would, eventually reduce the cost of wasted meals on days with high absentee numbers, namely those pre and post vacations.

In this regard, informed educational sources said that ministry officials are divided over the proposal as some of them suggest going on with the current system, others suggest having central ‘kitchens’ in each

educational area while a third party suggests hiring chefs to cook the meals at schools under the supervision of both each respective school administration and the health ministry.

In addition, the sources said that the ministry was also considering a proposal made by minister Al-Mulaifi to have cooperative societies run school canteens to provide breakfast for school kids during school hours as well as provide the same services for the public in the afternoon. The sources also noted that, along with the afternoon canteens, a proposal was made to rent school playgrounds for fees up to KD 15 which would collectively provide a source of income for all schools.

Two Kuwaiti students take part in UN simulation conference ROME: Two Kuwaiti students are joining hundreds of their peers, from the four corners of the globe, in acting out as diplomats grappling with real-life global issues in this year’s edition of the Rome Model UN (RomeMUN) simulation conference.

During the opening session of the event, the two Kuwaiti female students Haya Al-Ahmad and Alya Jehail acted as ambassadors to the UN Security Council’s permanent member state of France in a simulating session of the UN General Assembly.

The training session addressed a series of key issues including the global food security and climate change.

The aspiring Kuwaiti diplomats effectively contributed to the debates.

They presented draft resolutions, defended their points of view and negotiated and reached compromises for resolving the tackled causes.

The session was also attended by a large number of senior UN and Italian officials, foreign ambassadors and diplomat as well as academics and political experts.

Kuwait’s Ambassador to Rome Sheikh Ali Khaled Al-Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his wife, Kuwait Permanent Delegate to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Yousef Al-Jehail and Acting Kuwait Permanent Delegate to FAO Sheikha Manar Sabah Al-Sabah attended the opening session of the training program which will last till March 17.

“I am proud of the enthusiasm and effective contribution of the two ‘ambassadors’ to the session,” Sheikh Ali said.

He pointed out that the embassy encourages and is ready to help Kuwaiti youth to participate in similar UN and international training events.

Sheikh Ali noted that students look-

ROME: Kuwaiti students Haya Al-Ahmad and Alya Jehail take part in the Model UN simulation conference. ing forwards to partaking in the coming RomeMUN can apply through the embassy website.

One of the biggest For her part, the Executive Director of RomeMUN Daniela Conte said that the annual RomeMUN conference is emerging as one of the biggest and best-known UN simulation event around the world.

She stated that the goal of the conference is to provide the best UN experience for all participants.

Conte cheered Kuwaiti students’ participation in this year’s edition, describing it as a value added to the event. She disclosed that more than 1,500 college students and high school students are participating in RomeMUN 2014.

She added that delegates will work in different committees and agencies of the United Nations, including: the General Assembly, the Security

Council, FAO and other UN agencies.

Participants can also take part as journalists of the most relevant worldwide networks or as translators.

The annual Rome Model UN training conference and programs are designed to teach students how the United Nations work. Participants represent the UN member countries in a simulation game by playing the diplomatic debates in UN committees.

The purpose of this experiencebased program is to find common and effective solutions on the issues in the agenda by signing and approving a number of resolutions.

The conference was born on the idea of bringing hundreds of students from around the world into the cradle of Western democracy, but also with the awareness that they must foster a closer relationship between civil society and international institutions, in particular a greater involvement of young people in global issues. —KUNA

Kuwait reaffirms keenness in fighting drugs VIENNA: Kuwait Friday welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision to hold a special session in 2016 regarding the problem of drugs in the world.

Kuwait is committed to the UN Charter, the international law and the universal declaration of human rights as well as all international narcotics’ treaties, Kuwait’s Ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the UN organizations in Vienna, Sadeq Marafi, said.

He was addressing the 57th High-Level Segment of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

Marafi said Kuwait was very keen on fostering cooperation at the regional and international level to fighting drugs, citing the Ministry of Health’s decision to add Tramadol to the list of banned drugs in 2011.

Kuwait, he added, was also keen on complying with the international agreements and cooperate with the UN bod-

ies to fighting drugs.

Mafari said Kuwait’s public and private sectors were exerting efforts to addressing addiction and treating addicts to be “active and productive people in the society.”

Kuwait is proud to be clear of plantation of drugs, he said, however the problem was in the smuggling of narcotics.

Marafi said the parliament in Kuwait approved a number of legislations and laws that would contribute to the fight against drugs through a full-fledged strategy. He added Kuwait did not register any drug-related case against any person below 18 years old in 2013.

“The world is fighting a battle against an enemy who does not recognize big countries no matter how powerful they are ... This enemy leaves behind huge losses in people and money,” he said. —KUNA

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

LOCAL

Sheikh Tamim to head Qatar delegation at Arab Summit

By A Saleh

Participation at highest level

KUWAIT: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is set to head his country’s delegation during the Arab Summit that takes place in Kuwait later this month. Earlier reports had suggested that Qatar’s participation will be reduced to the ‘foreign minister’s level’ following decisions of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to withdraw their ambassadors from Doha. “Information suggesting that Sheik h Tamim Al-Thani plans to delegate another official to head Qatar’s delegation is untrue,” said sources familiar with the news.

“Sheikh Tamim is committed to have his country participate at the highest level, and reaffirm its position among Arab states,” added the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There is growing hope in the Arabian Gulf region that efforts to contain the rift between

the Gulf Cooperation Council members - which are said to be led by Kuwait - could achieve success before the summit which takes place on March 25 and 26.

Saddam ‘tribute’ In other news, the University of Bahrain denied reports that suggested a tribute to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was shown during a display carried out by Iraqi students in campus. “As part of the annual ceremony in which students of different communities display cultural acts about their home countries, the Iraqi students showed a video chronicling the histor y of Iraq since the Mesopotamian Civilianization,” said Dr Osama Al-Jowdar, the Dean of Students Affairs at the UOB. The video featured images of rulers of Iraq throughout its histor y, including Saddam Hussein, but not give specific information or

details about his tenure. “The segment did not take up more viewing time compared to others, nor was it accompanied by eulogies or any specific statements regarding the former Iraqi president,” Jowdar explained.

News about the display was quick to reach Kuwait - a country destroyed by the Saddam Hussein-led invasion of 1990 - drawing criticism in the parliament. The Bahraini government quickly responded to reports that appeared in Kuwaiti media on Friday, saying that Saddam Hussein was never a revered character in the tiny island-kingdom.

“Saddam is not of us, and so are those who eulogize him,” wrote Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, on his Twitter account.

In Kuwait, MP Kamel Al-Awadhi applauded Sheikh Khalid’s quick response, which he said “reflects the real opinion of the government and people of Bahrain”.

KUWAIT: Bird inspection campaign in progress in Wafra.

Bird inspection campaign in Wafra KUWAIT: Head of the Department of Maintaining Biodiversity Conservation at the Kuwait Environment Public Authority Mona Al-Hussain said yesterday that its inspection team confiscated dozens of illegally obtained birds which it set free in Wafra market in a campaign to clamp down on illegal sales of wildlife animals.

Al-Hussain added in a press statement that all the birds were seized due

to violations of applicable laws and were set free after ensuring their safety.

She pointed out that the inspection team is still carrying out inspection campaigns in the bird market or anywhere suspected of selling banned animals. In addition, she called on all pet buyers to avoid trading in or trafficking in banned animals and pets and to report to authorities those illegally selling them. —KUNA

Kuwait renews support for efforts to aid Syrians

NEW YORK: The State of Kuwait has renewed its support for the 2139 (2014) United Nations Resolution on Syria, which essentially calls on parties of the conflict to allow safe access for humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to stranded civilians.

Kuwait’s Permanent Delegate at the UN Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, speaking during a session of the UN General Assembly, late on Friday, cautioned that future of the region and Syria is at stake unless the international community reaches a political settlement to the ongoing crisis.

The session was held to examine results of the international efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis-namely by the special UN-Arab League Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

Al-Otaibi affirmed the State of Kuwait support for Brahimi’s mission and his bids to resume negotiations for sake of ensuring “comprehensive implementation of the Geneva communique, issued on June 30, 2012.”

The State of Kuwait shares the UN Secretary General his deep regret for failure of the international community, regional powers and the

Syrians of putting an end to this crisis and halting the violence, the Kuwaiti permanent delegate at the UN affirmed.

Moreover, Kuwait supports UN resolutions that call for withdrawal of foreign fighters from Syria, bringing all officials responsible for genocides and breaches of international laws to account. “We also support the resolution stipulation that the council will take further steps in case of non-compliance and we look forward in this regard to the report that will be presented by the Secretary General to the Security Council in the end of the month,” he said.

As to Kuwait’s contribution to relief aid for the Syrians, Ambassador Al-Otaibi noted its hosting of two international conferences for donations to the Syrians that resulted in raising unprecedented donations exceeding $4 billion to fund relief operations in Syria. Kuwait, over the past three years, offered $one billion worth of aid, too.

He expressed hope that all states that had pledged to contribute to the humanitarian support for the Syrian people would honor their obligations. —KUNA

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

LOCAL

Police impersonators arrested in Salmiya Pedestrian run over by drunk driver

KUWAIT: Salmiya police arrested two men on charges of impersonating police detectives and drug possession. Patrol vehicles were dispatched to a location in the area in response to emergency call reporting the presence of two persons there who stopped people and claimed to be police detectives. The two men were identified, wearing civilian clothes, and approached by police. They identified themselves as a major and captain in the Criminal Investigations Department, but attempted to escape when police asked for their IDs. The men, who were identified as Syrian nationals, were then searched and police found 13 drug pills, a police ID and KD 175 in their possession. They were referred to the proper authorities for further action.

KUWAIT: Zain officials with members of the Kuwait Sports Club for the Handicapped.

Zain provides wheelchairs to Handicapped Sports Club

KUWAIT: Underlying its sincere support to an important segment in the society, Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, presented the Kuwait Sports Club for the Handicapped with specially customized wheelchairs with an aim of facilitating their comfort while training and competing in tournaments and championships, raising the Kuwaiti flag high with their persistence.

Sheikha Shaikha Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah, the honorary president of the disabled club, along with Zain Deputy Chairman Bader Al-Kharafi, Chief Strategy Officer Shafeeq Al- Sayed Omar, and Kuwait Handicapped Sports Club president Shafi Al-Hajri witnessed the demonstrative match that was organized by the club’s basketball team immediately after receiving the customized wheelchairs. The players showed their excitement and good sport during the match among a joyous atmosphere.

Zain Deputy Chairman Bader AlKharafi expressed his pleasure after taking part in a tour of the club by saying: “we are extremely proud of the great achievements the handicapped basketball team and the Kuwait Handicapped

Sports Club have achieved overall, especially with such lackluster conditions and support”.

Al-Kharafi added: “such sport clubs are in need of constant support and attention. They continue to achieve great titles while facing many challenges, and with Zain’s support today, we hope that we add a valuable contribution to this distinguished community”.

Zain’s support of people with special needs has long been a core focus for the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, and by presenting this initiative, the company reassures its continuous support to this much cherished segment of the society. Going forward, the company pledges to spare no efforts in providing comprehensive support and sponsorships that help to reflect a positive image to the Kuwait sports and youth segments. Zain is actively participating and supporting all initiatives that involving people with special needs. Such support includes Zain’s participation in the International Day of People with Disability at the social care homes in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor as well as the company’s annual visits to care centers and hospitals.

Body found A woman was found dead inside her residence in Fahaheel Friday while preliminary investigations indicate that she has likely died of natural causes. Police and emergency medical technicians responded to an emergency call reporting foul odor emitting from a 45-year-old Sri Lankan woman’s apartment in Fahaheel, and they found the woman dead inside her

bedroom. The body, which was found to be in rigor mortis, was taken to the forensic department for an autopsy to determine the cause and time of death. A case was filed for investigations.

Hawally accident A man was critically wounded after he was run over by a drunk driver in Hawally recently. Paramedics arrived to the scene in response to an emergency call, and helped the 25-year-old Kuwaiti man to Mubarak Hospital. Meanwhile, police arrested the drunk driver and found a liquor bottle inside his car. The suspect was taken to the area’s police station for further action.

Youth attacks mom A woman approached officers at the Naeem police station and asked to press domestic abuse charges against her son who she said had ran away from their house in the area. The Kuwaiti woman explained that her son beat her up when she failed to provide him with his daily allowance. She gave police a medical diagnoses report showing bruises she sustained as a result of the attack. Investigations are ongoing in search for the suspect.

Kidnap foiled Investigations are ongoing in search for suspects who attempted to kidnap a domestic worker in Firdous but failed when the woman showed strong resistance. According to the police report, the housemaid was walking to a grocery store near her employer’s house when two men in a car approached and offered to take her to her destination. When she refused, the suspects reportedly tried to force her into their car, but then escaped when the woman screamed for help. The maid was taken by her employer to the area’s police station where she gave officers description of the suspects and their car.

Cardiac arrest A 32-year-old man died from a cardiac arrest inside his house in Mangaf Friday night. Emergency medical technicians headed to the scene in response to an emergency call made at 8:00 am, and performed CPR in an attempt to revive the man. The Egyptian national was rushed to the Adan Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A case was filed.

Hajar starts preparations for ‘Clusters of Light’

SHARJAH: Ali Al-Hajar, the well-known Egyptian artist, commenced rehearsals in preparations for his performance in the epic operetta “The Clusters of Light”, opening on March 26 at the Emirate of Sharjah’s 4,500 seat Open Majaz Island Theatre.

Al-Hajar will join a stellar cast of Arab performers, encompassing Mohamed Assaf, Lotfi Bouchnak and Hussein Al-Jasmi, alongside a large global team. The performance is the inaugural event of Sharjah’s tenure as the Capital of Islamic Culture 2014 .

Composed by Khalid Shaikh, a distinguished Bahraini artist, “The Clusters of Light” is about the life of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, and reviews the history of Islam from the Prophet’s birth to his death.

The artist conveyed his pride and joy in joining the show, stating that Sharjah has always been at the forefront of supporting art and culture which explores the history and influence of Islamic and Arab civilization”.

He added : “My colleagues and I will present a show that the entire world will write about, and we will take the audience on a journey from the holy land, where the seeds of Islam started, to the era of victories and glory of Islam”.

SHARJAH: The Egyptian artist Ali Al-Hajar with “Clusters of light” cast in Emirates Arts Studio.

New dimension Al-Hajar added : “ The oratorio will change how people will value the show business in general - it will compel many to re-read history. Sharjah is establishing a new dimension in the serious show business”.

This epic is the product of an effort that involves hundreds of composers, technical experts, directors, designers and innovators. Among its characteristic features are the use of unparalleled sophisticated tech-

nologies in the region, including 4D technology encompassing 400 moving lights, 120 loudspeakers, and 21 projectors. It is expected to attract a huge audience, from both Arab countries and the rest of the world. Its mission is to create a high-ranking artistic work providing a true picture about Islam - the human values and high-ranking message that promote peace, justice, tolerance and love - to be recorded by history and engraved in the memory of future generations.

Kuwait shortening tourism gap with neighbors

KUWAIT: The first quarter of 2014 was good for Kuwait’s tourism industry.

Recent data reveal that hotels in Kuwait outperformed their counterparts in the Middle East and North Africa during the period. This is largely attributed to the various festive holidays and school vacations, which helped increase demand from domestic tourists as well as Saudi Arabian visitors. The potential of leisure tourism is gradually rising in a country where the tourism sector still has ample room for development and where a variety of tourist attractions can still be built in 2014.

Kuwait is currently shortening the tourism gap with its neighbors in the GCC region, where the leisure market on an average accounts for around 70 per cent of tourism spending. To boost tourism in the country, the government launched a five-year tourism development plan in 2011.

The idea is to develop tourist facilities such as hotels and attractions at par with international standards with an aims to attract at least a million visitors by 2015.

To support the government’s vision and to boost leisure tourism in the country, the state-owned Touristic Enterprises Co. has also decided to launch a range of entertainment, sports and tourism projects valued at up to $460 million. Another $13 billion worth of investment has been made to build the transport infrastructure needed to drive the tourism sector.

The positive outlook is in light of government’s strategic plans and huge investment in the tourism sector as it aims to match international tourist destinations.

Such concerted efforts to develop tourism industry to attract domestic as well as regional and international tourists have furthered the demand for related expertise. Kuwait will need to build more hotel rooms and entertainment facilities and develop infra-

Mahmoud Sabari structural services such as roads, rails, ports and airports to achieve targeted growth, and it will need the right people to do so.

Mahmoud Sabari, Area General Manager, Drake & Scull Kuwait, said: “Kuwait is one of the wealthiest economies in the world, with the highest-value currency unit. The country has not yet optimized the tremendous potential of tourism. It will need to develop world-class hotels and other tourist facilities such as malls, amusement parks, beaches, golf courses and spas to better compete with its neighbors who already have a well-established tourism industry. For all this, government has devised a five-year plan with an aim to build facilities to cater to a million tourists by 2015.”

“DSI sees immense potential in the up and coming tourism sector and are well aware of the market, having worked for almost a decade there. We want to leverage our experience and established reputation to be wellpositioned for this growth by bidding

for some of the major projects in Kuwait,” concluded Sabri.

Drake & Scull Kuwait is keen on leveraging the upsurge in tourism activities in Kuwait. The aims to take advantage of the huge investments being directed towards the local tourism sector, driven by key developments DSI Kuwait has been operating in the country since 2004 and is associated with many leading domestic construction and engineering projects. Its portfolio includes the Special Training Centre for Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Chuwaikh, the College of Basic Education - Boys Campus in Ardiya, and the Kuwait State Audit Bureau office.

The company plans to draw on its expertise and experience to win major tourism-related projects in Kuwait. Its well-established railway division, Drake & Scull Rail, can be instrumental in development of infrastructural facilities in the country. Drake & Scull Rail can support a wide range of contractual arrangements, from turnkey to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), joint ventures, packaged works and subcontract works, Drake & Scull Development, a division under Drake & Scull Rail is dedicated to developing projects that are Public-Private Partnership (PPP) structured so that funding can be sourced from both the company and external entities.

The tourism industry is set to grow in Kuwait given the scale of investment and support of the government.

Government has allocated $6 billion to build a second terminal at the capital’s airport to increase its capacity to more than 20 million passengers per years by 2016 and a new metro system worth $7 billion to be operational by 2020. With trusted partners such as DSI Kuwait, the country is sure to emerge as the next tourist destination of the GCC.

Democracy, global security to feature high on IPU assembly

GENEVA: Key commitments on democratic values and global security will dominate the debates on 130th InterParliamentary Union (IPU)’s General Assembly, scheduled March 16-20.

More than 715 parliamentarians from 141 countries will commit to efforts to make the world free from nuclear weapons. This will be one of the several key decisions that IPU Members expected to take in the important meeting with significant implications on the world or the Organization.

“As an Organization that since 1889 has been dedicated to peace and strengthening democracy, our eye is firmly on the future and how to most effectively deal with the challenges to human security and democratic values by harnessing the power of those that represent the global citizenry,” IPU President Abdelwahad Radi said yesterday.

With more than 17,000 nuclear weapons believed to exist in the world and many on launch standby, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation remain an urgent priority in making the world a safer place, he explained. —KUNA

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Lebanese govt to allow citizens to resist Israel

Legacy of torture looms over CIA-Congress feud Page 9

Page 12

What could have happened to flight MH370?

Plane may have ‘landed safely and hidden’ KUALA LUMPUR: The week-long search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 took a major new turn yesterday as evidence indicated that its communication systems were manually switched off and the airliner was deliberately diverted. The first concrete, verified lead as to the possible reason behind the disappearance has fuelled speculation over how and why MH370 might have been commandeered-and its likely fate. Here are some of the possible scenarios being weighed up by experts.

Terror attack As the theory that the plane was deliberately taken over gains traction, questions over the involvement of terrorist organizations have come back to the fore. The presence of two passengers travelling on stolen passports fuelled early fears of a terror link. Authorities now believe the two Iranian men were simply illegal migrants, but CIA director John Brennan has said a terror attack has not been ruled out. The search area covers a massive region-a northern corridor from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through northern Thailand and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean-with no potential target or destination pinpointed so far.

The extensive inside information and expertise needed to commandeer a plane for hours without detection would need an unprecedented level of pre-planning, says Gerry Soejatman, a Jakarta-based independent aviation analyst. “If that was deliberate, we may be dealing with something beyond the mission planning for 9/11,” he said. While the southern corridor is less monitored, the northern zone would be bristling with radar.

Dropping altitude to fly as low as possible would be one way to avoid detection, he said. But the Malaysia Airlines scenario had too many loose ends for a terror attack, said Adam Dolnik, professor of terrorism studies at the University of Wollongong in Australia. “Nothing from what I have seen points to that conclusion,” he said. “For something this big, you would have somebody claiming it.”

Pilot involvement With Malaysia confirming that communications were likely switched off manually, pilot involvement-whether intentional or under duress-is a possibility, some experts say. “For me there’s only a few scenarios,” says Paul Yap, aviation lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. “First, the people involved in the delib-

erate actions...are the pilots, one of them or both of them in cahoots. “Then we have a scenario where terrorists make the pilots change course and switch off the transponders under duress, maybe threatening to kill of the passengers. “Or, we could have a scenario where the security protocol surrounding the cockpit is compromised.” Passengers have been prohibited from entering the cockpit during a flight after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. “It’s certainly someone who knew what they were doing,” said Chris De Lavigne, a vice president at business consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “It could be the pilot, the crew, it could be passengers.” Malaysia Airlines has said it was “shocked” over a TV report that MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid had, along with another pilot, allowed two women into the cockpit on a flight in 2011.

Pilot suicide While rare, there have been cases of pilots crashing planes to take their own lives. In December 1997, a SilkAir Boeing 737 from Jakarta to Singapore plunged into a river in Indonesia with the loss of 104 passengers and crew. US investigators blamed pilot suicide. A suicide bid “is possible and if that’s the case there might not be a lot of debris because the plane would have come down in relative structural integrity”, said Terence Fan, aviation expert at Singapore Management University. “The airplane is not meant to float and if the airplane sinks in the water, water will go inside because the door seals are not meant to seal water.”

Nothing has emerged to suggest any serious psychological problems with either of the pilots who were flying MH370.

Plane landed and is hidden The lack of debris and apparent absence of any data indicating impact have led to speculation that the plane may have landed safely and be hidden in a remote location. The size of the Boeing 777 and the amount of space needed for it to land make it unlikely that this was the flight’s fate, says Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal. “The triple seven is a very large aircraft that requires a long airport-size runway to land... it’s possible, but I think not probable.” But Yap believes that if those controlling the flight were skilled enough to evade military radar, “that person should most likely be able to land it safely as well”. “Evidence of deliberate action does open several new leads - including the possibility that the aircraft is

ANDAMANS: This photograph shows the sea off the rocky base at Port Blair in the Andamans. A missing Malaysian airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday. — AFP not lost at sea,” said London-based David Kaminski-Morrow, air ed, says Soejatman. “If it went through the northern corridor, it transport editor for Flight International. Soejatman added that would have passed through so many countries. But why hasn’t most flights have enough fuel to cover an additional two hours anybody detected it and said anything? “It’s extremely different in the air so, given the latest data, MH370 would have been close to comprehend that so many countries might have seen it and kept it under wraps.” A path through the remoter southern corrito running out. dor would explain a lack of radar coverage, but would bring the motive into doubt, he said. “It is amazing that an airplane-and Cover up The apparent slowness to reveal key radar data has led to not a little airplane-could fly so far, over multiple overlapping speculation that countries may know more about the plane’s jurisdictions, without being detected,” Ajai Sahni, executive likely whereabouts, but are unwilling to share due to a perceived director of India’s Institute for Conflict Management, a Delhisecurity risk. The latest information on the plane’s route poses based think-tank said. “It makes one wonder, ‘How much are we more questions than it answers over how it remained undetect- in control?’”— AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Erdogan links dead Turkish teen to ‘terrorist’ groups PM criticizes teenager, his family ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said a teenager who died last week after sustaining a head injury in anti-government protests last summer was linked to “terrorist organizations”, in comments likely to fan political tensions. The death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan on Tuesday after nine months in a coma sparked Turkey’s worst unrest since nationwide anti-government demonstrations last June, compounding Erdogan’s woes as he battles a graft scandal that has become one of the biggest challenges of his decade in power.

Erdogan made his remarks, his first about Elvan, late on Friday at a campaign rally in southeast Turkey ahead of nationwide municipal elections on March 30. “This kid with steel marbles in his pockets, with a slingshot in his hand, his face covered with a scarf, who had been taken up into terror organizations, was unfor tunately subjected to pepper gas,” Erdogan told a crowd of suppor ters in a speech broadcast on state-run TRTHaber news channel.

“How could the police determine how old that person was who had a scar f on his face and was hurling steel marbles with a slingshot in his hand?” Elvan, then 14, got caught up in street battles in Istanbul on June 16 while going to buy bread for his family. He was hit in the head by what is believed to be a police gas canister, slipped into a coma and became a rallying point for government opponents, who held regular vigils at the hospital where he lay in intensive care.

Anarchists, terrorists After his death, riot police used water cannon, tear gas and rubber pellets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Turkey ’s largest cities chanting “Tayyip! Killer!” and “Everywhere is Berkin, everywhere is resistance.” At campaign rallies in the past few days, Erdogan has accused a coalition of “anarchists, terrorists and vandals” as well as opposition par ties and an influential US-based Islamic cleric of orchestrating the unrest to undermine him.

Using harsh words unlikely to soothe public anger, Erdogan - who unlike President Abdullah Gul and other public figures did not send condolences to Elvan’s family - criticized the boy’s parents and suggested he had not really gone to buy bread. “His mother says ‘my son’s killer is the prime minister’. I know love, fondness for one’s child, but I could not understand why you threw steel marbles and carnations into your son’s grave,” Erdogan said at his election campaign rally. Elvan’s family are Alevis, a religious minority in mainly Sunni Muslim Turkey which espouses a liberal version of Islam and has often been at odds with the Islamist-rooted government.

Erdogan contrasted Elvan’s death with that of 22-year-old Burakcan Karamanoglu, who was shot dead in Istanbul on Wednesday af ter an apparent standoff with a group of anti-government protesters. Erdogan has blamed his death on a far-leftist group. “Our son Burakcan was martyred just three months after coming back from his militar y ser vice.

Burakcan was not carrying a slingshot or a gun,” Erdogan said. The fathers of Elvan and Karamanoglu spoke together on Friday and made a joint appeal on television to Turks to remain calm and not to use their sons’ deaths for political ends.

Erdogan, who has presided over a decade of rising living standards, remains Turkey’s most popular politician and his AK Party is expected to outstrip its rivals in the local polls.

But critics say Erdogan is becoming increasingly authoritarian and intolerant, pointing to moves to tighten government control of the judiciary and of the Internet. Erdogan says the moves are necessary to counter what he sees as attempts by a former allyturned-foe, US-based Islamic cleric Fe t h u l l a h G u l e n , to u n s e a t h i m .

Gulen’s many followers in Turkey’s p o l i ce a n d j u d i c i a r y a re w i d e l y believed to be behind a series of leaked audio recordings purportedly exposing graft and other malpractices in Erdogan’s inner circle. Gulen denies any involvement in the scandal.— Reuters

GAZA: Palestinian school girls cross a bridge over the garbage filled Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, as the silhouette of the Gaza Strip power plant is seen in the background. The Gaza Strip’s only power plant shut down yesterday due to a lack of fuel from Israel, which closed a goods crossing after militant rocket attacks. —AFP

As hope withers, Palestinian leader heads to Washington Israelis, Palestinians as far apart as ever on core issues JERUSALEM: With pessimism growing by the day over the future of Middle East peace talks, US President Barack Obama will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington tomorrow to try to break the stalemate. The deadline for the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, aimed at ending their entrenched conflict, expires next month and Washington is eager to persuade the two sides to prolong their discussions within a new framework.

But expectations of imminent progress are minimal. After eight months of initial talks, and at least 10 trips to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry sounded unusually gloomy during a Congressional hearing on March 12, indicating that little progress had been made so far.

“The level of mistrust is as large as any level of mistrust I’ve ever seen,” said Kerry, a veteran of Middle East diplomacy. “Neither (side) believes the other is really serious. Neither believes that ... the other is prepared to make some of the big choices that have to be made here.”

However, he said it was still possible to extend the talks. Obama’s direct involvement is aimed at providing much needed additional impetus: he saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, and is now meeting Abbas. Israelis and Palestinians have been holding on-off negotiations for more than 20 years with the stated aim of sharing the Holy Land and creating an independent Palestine.

Through all that time, the main, unresolved

issues have remained exactly the same-defining the borders and agreeing on security, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 creation of Israel.

Obama told Netanyahu he would seek “difficult decisions” from Abbas and would push him behind closed doors as hard as he did the Israeli premier to help narrow the gap for a framework accord, a senior US official said. Although the terms of the mooted accord have not been published, Palestinians say early indications suggest they will be offered less than what former US President Bill Clinton laid out in 2000 in the socalled Clinton Parameters. The president’s aides have made clear that Obama wants the framework document to be seen as even-handed, despite the sense among many Palestinians that Washington is favouring Israel.

Frustration Besides the so-called core issues, other hurdles to a deal have also emerged, particularly Netanyahu’s demand that Abbas recognizes Israel as a Jewish State. Israel says this would show he was serious about ending the conflict, but the Palestinians say it would merely destroy their own narrative. Abbas says accepting it would effectively deny his own people’s centuries-old links to the land and would also mean renouncing the right to return for some 5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Washington has endorsed the Israeli position but, perhaps revealing a frustration with

Netanyahu, Kerry told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday that it was a “mistake” to raise the issue repeatedly “as the critical decider”.

Adamant not to give in on this point, Abbas also faces pressure at home not to agree to any loosely worded accord that would simply prolong negotiations, with no clear end in sight. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is chaired by Abbas, issued a statement this week expressing its “absolute rejection” of any prolongation. PLO board member Hanan Ashrawi said that without obtaining a freeze on Jewish settlement-building on occupied territories the Palestinians want for their future state, any further discussions would be futile.

“By extending talks even one more year, they will finish the Greater Israel project given the alarming escalation of settlement activity,” she said. “If the document is what we have seen (up until now) then it is not even a starting point.” However, one senior Palestinian official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, said he thought there was a good chance that Abbas would agree to continue talks given the pressure building on him from Western governments. Speaking to political allies in Ramallah earlier this week, Abbas said he had come under huge duress over the past three years, but vowed not to backtrack over the core points. “I am 79 years old and am not ready to end my life with treason,” he said. — Reuters

Blast rocks Mogadishu MOGADISHU: A car bomb went off yesterday in central Mogadishu near a hotel popular with government officials and businessmen, injuring at least one person, police and witnesses said. “There was a car bomb explosion near the rear gate of the Maka Al Mukarama hotel. It seems that the car was parked there loaded with explosives but we are still investigating casualties”, police officer Mohamed Mire said. Witnesses said that casualties were carried from the scene of the blast, but it was not clear if they were injured or dead.

Police confirmed at least one person was injured in the blast, which appeared to target the hotel, popular with government officials and businessmen who have returned home after years abroad. “It was a really big explosion and the street was busy when it happened,” said Hussein Issa, who witnessed the blast. The hotel was hit by a car bomb in November that left several people dead and the area around the hotel has also been targeted several times recently. In February alone, major attacks in Mogadishu have included a car bomb at the gates of the airport, a major suicide attack on the presidential palace and a car bombing on a cafe close to the intelligence headquarters.

No par ty has so far claimed responsibility but similar attacks in the past have been claimed by the Shebab, the Al-Qaeda-linked group which African Union troops are battling in Somalia. In the latest advance against the Shebab, Somali government forces backed by African Union troops on Thursday captured the small town of Buula Burde, in the southern Hiran region bordering

Ethiopia.

Security ‘deteriorated’ News of yesterday ’s car bomb sparked angry comments on Twitter that the army should concentrate on completely securing Mogadishu rather than on fighting the Islamists elsewhere in the country. Hardline Shebab insurgents once controlled most of southern and central Somalia but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago. However, guerrilla units stage regular deadly attacks in the capital, and also claimed responsibility for last year’s deadly attack in neighboring Kenya, when commandos stormed the upmarket Westgate mall, shooting shoppers and hurling grenades.

Government and AU troops have also come under repeated hit-and-run attacks in rural areas surrounding the settlements they capture. After a

series of sweeping victories in 2012, the AU force AMSIOM had remained largely static, hampered by limited troops and air power.

But the UN-mandated force launched a new offensive earlier this month against the Islamist fighters, after Ethiopian soldiers joined to push troop numbers to some 22,000.

The UN’s envoy to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, this week told the Security Council the offensive would be “the most significant and geographically extensive military advance” since AMISOM started operations in 2007.

But Kay also warned the security situation in the capital Mogadishu had “deteriorated” in the last three months. Recent Shebab attacks in the capital have targeted key areas of government or the security forces, in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities that they are winning the war against them.— AFP

MOGADISHU: A Somali soldier walks near the wreckage of a car bomb that went off near the gate of one of Mogadishu’s most popular hotels yesterday. — AP

Iran detects sabotage at nuke facility TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have prevented attempted sabotage at the country’s heavy water nuclear reactor, a senior official said yesterday without giving specifics as to the nature of the attempted disruption or its suspected initiator. Asghar Zarean, who heads security at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said domestic intelligence agencies were instrumental in uncovering the plot, which has not been the first attempt to disrupt the contentious nuclear program.

“Several cases of industrial sabotage have been neutralized in the past few months before achieving the intended damage, including sabotage at a part of the IR-40 facility at Arak,” he said in a statement issued by his organization yesterday. In the past,

computer viruses have attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. While Zarean did not say whether that was the case this time, his comments coincided with the opening of a specialized lab Tehran says will fight industrial sabotage and neutralize cyberattacks. “This specialized lab has been launched to identify, prevent and fight threats including modern software viruses,” Zarean said.

In 2010, the so-called Stuxnet virus temporarily disrupted operation of thousands of centrifuges, key components in nuclear fuel production, at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Iran says it and other computer virus attacks are part of a concerted effort by Israel, the US and their allies to undermine its nuclear program

through cover t operations. Some Iranian officials have also suggested in the past that specific European companies may have sold faulty equipment to Iran with the knowledge of American intelligence agencies and their own governments, since the sales would have harmed, rather than helped, the country’s nuclear program.

Since then, Iran has also said that it discovered tiny timed explosives planted on centrifuges but disabled them before they could go off. Authorities now claim the Islamic Republic is immune to cyberattacks. The country has also repor ted computer virus attacks on its oil facilities, including one in 2012 that disabled Internet connections between the Oil Ministry, oil rigs and a major export facility. —AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Legacy of torture looms over CIA-Congress feud CIA accused of illegally snooping on Congress

Lawmakers press US to fund Taiwan fighter jets WASHINGTON: US lawmakers pressed Friday for a robust defense of Taiwan, voicing alarm over Pentagon plans to defund upgrades of the island’s fighter jets as part of budget cuts. Crossing party lines, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called for the United States to stand firm on protecting Taiwan and to ignore concerns by a rising China, which considers the self-governing democracy to be a province awaiting reunification. The Air Force, as part of its 2015 budget request, ends funding for a program announced in 2011 in which the United States planned $5.85 billion in upgrades of Taiwan’s fleet of F-16 jets. “It just makes no sense to me whatsoever,” said Representative Eliot Engel, the top member of the panel from President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party.

“When it comes to Taiwan, there’s this sort of undercurrent that we feel all the time where we bend over backwards to try not to upset the sensitivities of the Beijing regime. And frankly, it irks me,” Engel said. State Department official Kin Moy insisted that the Obama administration was fully committed to Taiwan’s defense, pointing to its $12 billion in announcements of arms sales.

The Air Force has determined that the cutoff “will not have a significant impact on the Taiwan program, and that all funding can be covered in Taiwan’s current letter of offer and acceptance,” Moy said in response to lawmakers’ questions.

Major General Jim Martin, the Air Force director of budget, told reporters earlier this month that the defunding of the upgrade program was among “very tough trade-offs” as the military put a priority instead on buying new equipment. Moy called on Taiwan to find its own “innovative” ways to ensure defense funding. Taiwan, however, has also been trimming its defense budget as President Ma Ying-jeou pursues a policy of reconciliation with Beijing. Taiwan’s government was founded by Chinese nationalists who fled in 1949 after losing the mainland’s civil war.

Budget cuts in Taiwan, US, but not China -Beijing has ramped up military spending over the past decade as its economy grows, last week unveiling a 12.2 percent increase for 2014. While Beijing’s declared defense budget remains a fraction of Washington’s, many experts say that the mainland has increasingly ensured a decisive military advantage if it ever attacked Taiwan.

The Obama administration, announcing the plane upgrade in 2011, insisted that the move was a more modern way to provide for Taiwan’s defense needs. Critics charged that the administration was avoiding stronger Chinese criticism by not agreeing to Taiwan’s request to buy 66 state-of-the-art F-16 C/D fighters rather than retrofitting the existing F-16 A/B fleet. — AFP

WASHINGTON: A now-defunct US program that used harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects still casts a shadow over Washington, with the CIA and Congress locked in a bitter dispute over its legacy.

Launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks by ex-president George W Bush, the “detention and interrogation program” was designed to force captured suspects to talk about Al-Qaeda’s plots against America.

Intent on preventing another catastrophic attack on US soil, the Bush administration ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to “take the gloves off,” approving a list of aggressive techniques for interrogators.

Detainees were whisked away to secret prisons and subjected to “enhanced interrogation” techniques, including waterboarding or simulated drowning, socalled “stress positions” and other harsh methods. Bush administration and top CIA officials who oversaw the project have argued it was a crucial tool that saved lives, but rights groups and foreign governments condemned the methods as torture. After entering office in 2009, President Barack Obama scrapped the program, agreeing with rights advocates that it amounted to torture.

But he opted not to pursue prosecutions or to push investigations of any wrongdoing, and Americans remain divided over the program. Fearing a divisive, polarizing battle over the issue, the White House chose to move on-despite demands from some fellow Democrats and rights advocates for a full reckoning with the CIA. After learning about more damning details, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been engaged in a years-long effort to publish a definitive account of the now-closed CIA program. As committee staff members waded through millions of CIA documents, tensions between the agency and the committee steadily mounted. Senators accused the CIA of dragging its feet or trying to hide incriminating details, while intelligence officials alleged the staffers were reviewing documents they had no authority to retrieve.

CIA under spotlight The distrust finally erupted in public this week, with the influential chairwoman of the intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, dropping her customary reserve to lash out at the CIA. She accused the agency of illegally snooping on senate staffers’ computers in a bid to “intimidate” lawmakers overseeing the inquiry. Feinstein warned a fundamental democratic principle-the legislature’s responsibility to hold the executive branch accountable-had been jeopardized by the spy service’s behavior. CIA director John Brennan denied any wrongdoing but he did not directly address all of Feinstein’s allegations, fueling speculation the agency had something to hide. “I’m becoming convinced that the CIA is simply fearful of the interrogation report being made public, and I think it’s time for the American people to get that information,” said Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the intelligence committee.

Obama has said he supports the public release of the committee’s report, a move that civil liberties groups

WASHINGTON: Code Pink protester Tighe Barry prepares to enter Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein’s office as protesters from Code Pink hold a demonstration to “expose her two-faced stance on spying” in the Hart Senate Office Building on US Capitol. — AFP

praised as long overdue. But a former CIA officer, Paul Pillar, said he was skeptical that the 6,300-page document or more hearings would change any minds when it comes to the long-running argument over torture and security. “It’s more just a matter of wallowing in still more details,” Pillar told AFP. “I think we have more than enough to have a healthy debate that we want to have.”

He also said the truth behind the CIA feud with Congress may be less dramatic, and more the result of bureaucratic bungling, as well as a changing political climate when it comes to fighting terror threats.

‘Let light dispel darkness’ The head of the CIA has insisted he wants the report to be released so the agency can move on. “We want to learn from the past, which we have, and we have done a number of internal reviews, but I look forward to having this chapter of CIA history behind us,” Brennan said. For critics of the spy service, however, the only way to settle the issue and avoid future abuses is to end the secrecy around the interrogation program and give the subject a thorough public airing. “The CIA says it wants to turn the page on this unpublished chapter. You can’t turn the page if you haven’t read it,” wrote Tim Weiner, author of a comprehensive and critical history of the agency, “Legacy of Ashes.” The indelible stain left by torture “cannot remain an issue for another day,” he wrote in a commentary in Politico. “Print the report, take the testimony and let some light dispel this darkness.”— AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Media squeeze tightens as Russia harks back to WW2 Editors dismissed, independent outlets under pressure

SEVASTOPOL: People swimming in the cold waters of the harbor of Sevastopol hold Russian national and navy flags to mark their support for Russian forces, as a Russian Navy ship remains stationed in the background yesterday. —AFP

What is Crimea and why does it matter?

CRIMEA: Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula is at the centre of the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. History Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea off southern Ukraine, was absorbed into the Russian empire along with most of ethnic Ukrainian territory by Catherine the Great in the 18th century. Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol was founded soon afterwards. More than half a million people were killed in the Crimean War of 1853-56 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which was backed by Britain and France.

The conflict reshaped Europe and paved the way for World War One. In 1921, the peninsula, then populated mainly by Muslim Tatars, became part of the Soviet Union. The Tatars were deported en masse

by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the end of World War Two for alleged collaboration with the Nazis. Crimea became part of Russia within the Soviet Union until 1954, when it was handed to Ukraine, also a Soviet Republic, by Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there have been periodic political tussles between over its status between Moscow and Kiev.

Military significance Russia’s Black Sea base in Sevastopol gives Moscow access to the Mediterranean.

Ukraine’s fleet, carved out of the same Soviet fleet as Russia’s, is also based there.

Russia leases its base in Sevastopol from Ukraine and a new agreement designed to last until 2042 was agreed in 2010, in exchange for discounts on Russian gas supplies. The Ukrainian government placed restrictions within the agreement and Russia has since upgraded its own Black

Sea port of Novorossisysk to take naval vessels.

Geography The mountainous peninsula is attached to the rest of Ukraine by a narrow strip of land in the north. To the east, it is separated from Russia by the narrow Kerch Strait.

Russia plans to build a bridge across the strait. With an area of 27,000 sq km (10,000 sq miles), it is slightly smaller than Belgium.

It is Ukraine’s only formally autonomous region, with Simferopol as its capital.

Sevastopol has a separate status within Ukraine.

Population Around 2 million. Ukraine’s 2001 census showed around 58 percent were ethnic Russian, 24 percent ethnic Ukrainian and 12 percent Tatars, who support the new pro-Western government in Kiev.

Economy Crimea’s temperate climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Ukrainians and Russians, especially Yalta, where the Soviet, US and British victors of World War Two met in 1945 to discuss the future shape of Europe. It accounts for three percent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product, with 60 percent of its own output made up by services. The land is intensely farmed, with wheat, corn and sunflowers the main crops. Extra water supplies are brought by canal from Ukraine’s Dnieper River. There are chemical processing plants and iron ore is mined in Kerch. Ukraine has two grain terminals in Crimea - in Kerch and in Sevastopol. According to UkrAgroConsult, these have exported 1.6 million tons of grain so far this season or 6.6 pct of Ukraine’s total exports.—Reuters

In Crimea, Russia’s return evokes Soviet ghosts for Tatar minority BAKCHISARAY: For Sofiya, an elderly museum curator and an ethnic Tatar watching over a collection of Scythian gold inside an Ottoman palace once inhabited by Crimea’s Muslim Tatar rulers, distrust of the Russians runs deep. She frowns as she recalls her grandmother telling her about the day Soviet soldiers came to their home outside Simferopol, the Crimean capital, almost 70 years ago, rounded everyone up, and deported them to Central Asia. The fact that Russians living in Crimea at the time later crept into the Tatars’ empty homes and appropriated them for themselves still rankles.

“The Russians said they were afraid to enter our homes and barns for days afterwards,” Sofiya told Reuters, referring to May 18, 1944, the day when Soviet soldiers rounded up Crimea’s Tatars and deported them en masse to Central Asia to punish them for collaborating with Nazi Germany. “But they did enter our homes and then they kept them. For us, the Russians are the same as the Soviets. They promise us a lot, but later, when we’re under their control, they will silence us”, she said, demonstratively placing her palm across her mouth. Seven decades on, Sofiya, who declined to provide her surname, and many other Tatars, Sunni Muslims of Turkic origin, say they are apprehensive about the prospect of Crimea leaving Ukraine and becoming part of Russia in a referendum today. Making up an estimated 12 percent of Crimea’s population of 2 million, the Tatars are more forthright when it comes to asserting their rights than the peninsula’s ethnic Ukrainians and have clashed with police and Russians in the past.

Worried they might disrupt Crimea’s transition to Russian from Ukrainian control, the Kremlin and the peninsula’s Russian-backed authorities have been working hard to win them over, even inviting one of their spiritual leaders to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities have held out the promise of guaranteed Tatar representation in the local government, proper land ownership rights - something many Tatars lack - and financial aid. They have also pledged to extend gas supplies to remote Tatar areas.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of Crimea’s separatist authorities, played down the idea that the Tatars were unhappy. “We have always had constructive dialogue with the Tatars,” he said.

“Financing for Crimean Tatars will be doubled this year ... It is all calm on the streets. There are no ethnic or religious conflicts and we will never allow that.”

But some Tatars say they have received veiled threats. In a disturbing echo of their 1944 deportation, unidentified individuals scrawled crosses on a small number of gates at Tatar-owned properties in Bakchisaray and Simferopol, the Crimean capital. The marks were swiftly scrubbed off. Some Tatars say they

have been verbally abused on public transport.

Others speak of seeing unfriendly men walking around with baseball bats. Some worried locals have even set up security patrols to protect their loved ones and their homes.

Persecution The Tatars, around 250,000 of whom live in modern-day Crimea, have lived through turbulent times. In 1897, census data showed they made up more than a third of Crimea’s population. In their heyday, from the 15th to the 18th century, they ran a Crimean Khanate. It became notorious for enslaving Christian Slavs and selling them on within the Ottoman Empire, something Russian nationalists recall to this day. With the soaring minaret of its mosque and elaborate Ottoman-style interiors, the 16th century palace at Bakchisaray, where Sofiya works, is one of the few remnants of the period.

Russian Empress Catherine the Great ended Tatar domination in Crimea when she conquered it at the end of the 18th century. Many Tatars were massacred or exiled. Others fled.

Later, the Soviet Union brought more hardship.

Many prominent Tatars were arrested and executed in Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s purges and harsh agricultural collectivisation policies led to famine. Between 1917 and 1933, historians estimate that half the Crimean Tatar population died, was killed or deported. Things became no easier with the advent of World War Two. Though many Tatar men served in the Red Army and fought the Nazis - sometimes with distinction - others joined special units of the Waffen SS. When Soviet troops retook the peninsula, Stalin took his wrath out on the entire Tatar population.

In a single day, Soviet troops rounded everyone up, loaded them into railway cattle cars and sent nearly 200,000 into exile in Central Asia. Many died en route. Others died of malaria or starvation when they arrived.

When Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, finally allowed the Tatars to start returning to Crimea in the 1980s, those who came back found they could not get their homes back and that no one wanted to hire them.

‘The enemy’ Sofiya, 64, who says she, her mother, her husband and her three sons only returned from exile in Uzbekistan in 1985, recalls the period with dread. “We were treated like the enemy,” she said. She recalled how a policeman tried to get them to go back to Central Asia, that they were forced to live six to a room, and that her husband was offered a job only to have it withdrawn once his employer discovered he was a Tatar. “Nobody was waiting for us. Nobody wanted us.” But in time, she says her family and others slowly rebuilt their lives, buying up old shacks that Russians and Ukrainians didn’t want to live in, and doing any job, no matter how menial, to make their way.—Reuters

MOSCOW: Ilya Azar does not know whether he has been fired yet from one of Russia’s most popular independent online news organizations, but he is pretty sure he soon will be. His editor, Galina Timchenko, has already been sacked, and Azar says her departure was his fault, for interviewing a leader of Ukraine’s right-wing paramilitary group Right Sector for their Lenta.ru website. Lenta.ru’s journalists say Timchenko’s sacking, after 10 years running one of a handful of media organisations offering an alternative to state -controlled outlets, shows President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip over news.

As the crisis in Ukraine escalates, that news has taken on shades of Soviet-era propaganda, with anchors and reporters peppering their reports with references to what they say was the cooperation of some Ukrainians with the Nazis in World War Two. “I think I have tried objectively to show both sides in Ukraine but when the Russian troops went into Crimea - unofficially of course but we know they are there - the trend was for official propaganda,” Azar said. “Any other opinion and you are treated as if you are the enemy,” he said by telephone from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv where he is reporting. In the freewheeling 1990s, Russian media took on everyone and everything including the Kremlin. Increasingly in the 14 years Putin has been in power, almost all toe the official line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied there was any campaign to silence critical media. “Those are standard accusations which we are fed up of hearing,” he said.

Azar’s interview with Right Sector leader Andriy Tarasenko was published on Monday. By Wednesday morning, Russia’s telecommunications watchdog had warned Lenta that Russia had banned publication of “extremist” material.

By Wednesday evening, Timchenko had been told by billionaire Alexander Mamut, the owner of Lenta’s parent company, Afisha-Rambler-SUP, that she had been replaced. More than 80 of Lenta’s staff signed a letter saying her dismissal was a result of Kremlin pressure, something Peskov said was impossible. “Lenta.ru is a private publication. Decisions are made by its owner, and therefore it is absolutely unacceptable to blame anything on the Kremlin here,” he said.

Tarasenko and other Right Sector leaders deny they are “neo-fascists” as Moscow calls them, but just interviewing them was enough to get Lenta into trouble. “There was nothing scary in the interview. In fact, it probably showed in fact that they were fascists,” Azar said, referring to Moscow’s position that “extremists and fascists” are leading events in Ukraine, where a new pro-Western government has formed after ousting its pro-Russian predecessor. Azar, like many other Russian journalists, is considering seeking work elsewhere. Perhaps Ukraine would be a better bet, he says, calling what happened to Lenta a second wave of attacks on the media since last year.

World War Two Most journalists in Russia have become used to a merry-go-round of editors since Putin returned to power for his third stint as president less than two years ago. Some do not mind.

Ukraine has become a rallying cry for many Russians who agree with Putin that attempts to separate what the president calls the “brotherly nations” should be stopped. They say “extremists” are dictating events in Kiev and are bent on harming Russian speakers in the southern Crimea region and eastern Ukraine. The seizure of Crimea by Russian forces - who Putin says are local forces of self defense - has been welcomed by many Russians, propelling the president’s

CRIMEA: Pro-Kremlin activists march in Moscow yesterday during a rally in support of Russia’s recent move on Crimea. — AFP approval ratings to over 70 percent for the first time in three years. The West, which has ridiculed Putin’s denial, is portrayed as a hypocritical backer of the extremists, unable to appreciate the close bonds between Russia and Ukraine formed by the extreme suffering of the Soviets under the Nazis.

As Russian officials start to use Soviet-era speech to define a relationship at lows not seen since the Cold War, Russian commentators have accentuated the gulf in understanding. “The West will never understand us and do you know why?” asked morning radio host Vladimir Solovyov. “Because of the Second World War.” While some embrace the new war-like tone, others working in state-owned media companies find it hard to stomach. “It’s pure, simple and utter lies they’re telling about the so-called provocations against Russians in eastern Ukraine,” said a disillusioned employee at a state television company who said the boss had hammered home editorial policy in a letter.

Pliant media Much of the time, bosses do not need to step in, and the Kremlin does not need to issue orders at its weekly meetings with Russian media editors. Media owners are keenly aware of changes in the mood of the authorities and their viewers. “Maybe (Lenta owner) Mamut was not responding at all to Kremlin opinion, or to phone calls from the presidential administration.

Maybe he is focused on ratings, on the opinions of readers, because the public mood is clear,” said Andrei Fefelov, chief editor of Internet television channel Dyen (Day).

Mamut, who has a fortune of $2.3 billion according to Forbes magazine, could not be reached for comment. With only Lenta and online newspaper Gazeta.ru, Mamut’s media interests are tiny compared with the market’s biggest tycoon, Yuri Kovalchuk, a close friend of

Putin. He indirectly controls a stake in Russia’s biggest media holding, Gazprom Media, and a stake in National Media Group. But even media under the official thumb, like the main state news agency, is not immune to the drive for absolute control.

Putin dissolved RIA late last year, and is replacing it with a new organization, headed by Dmitry Kiselyov, who once caused outrage by saying the organs of homosexuals should not be used in transplants and who says the new group will restore “a fair attitude towards Russia as an important country in the world”. Remaining independent media are seen as fair game.

Dozhd, a television and Internet channel, was taken off the air by providers nationwide earlier this year in what its head said was censorship.

Pavel Durov, founder of Russia’s biggest social network Vkontakte, said in January he had sold his stake to an ally of tycoon Alisher Usmanov, sealing the Kremlin ally’s domination of the site, where anti-Putin protests were advertised in 2011.

Timchenko’s sacking was similar to the removal of Maxim Kovalsky as editor of Kommersant-Vlast news magazine in December 2011 after the weekly printed a photograph featuring an obscene message addressed to Putin as part of extensive reports on alleged fraud in an election won by the ruling party. It is part of a pattern since Putin came to power in 2000, when he ousted the old oligarch-owners in favor of his allies. “Today many people are talking about maybe having to change profession, that quality journalism is not needed in this country, where there is only propaganda,” Marat Gelman, a gallery owner who helped found Lenta, told Ekho Moskvy radio. “There really is this feeling that we are in a military situation. Yes, really, when a country is at war, then criticism is not allowed.”—Reuters

Strongman Putin playing ‘short game on Ukraine’ MOSCOW: Since his return to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin has grown more powerful than ever before. The strongman, who has ruled Russia for the past 14 years, has muzzled his opponents, check-mated the West on Syria and is now on the verge of annexing Crimea. On Friday, the Kremlin upped the ante further, hinting it could move forces beyond Ukraine’s peninsula to protect his compatriots. But analysts say Putin is becoming king of an evermore isolated castle, provoking the outside world to consolidate control at home in a strategy ultimately doomed to fail. Fresh from his success in hosting the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Putin saw his moment amid the chaos engulfing Ukraine, where pro-Western demon-

Russian President Vladimir Putin

strations last month toppled a leader seeking closer ties to Moscow.

Gambling that it was safe to ignore the howls of protest from the West, he sent his soldiers into Crimea-a largely Russian-speaking peninsula in the south of Ukraine. “No one is ready to fight over Crimea,” said Gleb Pavlovsk y, a political analyst and former Kremlin adviser. “The West will have to do its best to find a way out. Putin is at the centre of this crisis. This strengthens his hand. It will be Putin, not the West, who will decide the fate of the Uk rainian revolution.” The two -time Russian president believes “the West is weak,” said Nikolai Petrov, professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. “He believes that the rules of the game will be changing and he who plays first, wins.”

While the intervention in Crimea was sudden, Kremlin-watchers suggest it had long been planned for and was merely awaiting an opportunity. The referendum called by the proMoscow regime and scheduled for today is almost a foregone conclusion. It marks another black-eye for the West in its dealings with Russia after Putin battled Washington and its friends to a standstill over Syria’s chemical weapons program, wielding his UN Security Council veto in defense of ally Bashar Al-Assad.

That forced a humiliating climbdown for US President Barack Obama, who drew a “red line” over the use of chemical weapons, only to see it stepped over with impunity when opponents saw he would not resort to military force.

‘Regime shifting gears’ The seeds for Putin’s power grab were sown in the winter of 2012, as he prepared to return to the Kremlin, relieving his protege Dmitry Medvedev, who had kept his seat warm since his previous stint in the top job. He ground away his opponents in politics and the media, alternating tough crackdowns with unexpected gestures of mercy, like the release from prison of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man who fell out of favor with the

Kremlin during Putin’s first term. “The regime is shifting towards authoritarianism,” said Petrov.

With his play in Crimea “Putin is able to kill two birds with one stone: the Western reaction is prompting the system to close up and the political elite is losing its independence and is becoming more reliant.” At the age of 61, former KGB officer Putin is the undisputed master of his country, and one of the most powerful people in the world. But, analysts say, the price he will pay for the control he has, and for the seizure of Crimea-the sovereign territory of an independent country-is high, and each throw of his dice seems to be closing down options, instead of opening them up.

“He is winning but at a very great cost, both strategically and economically. It’s a price that no reasonable person would pay,” said Pavlovsky, a Kremlin adviser in the early 2000s.

Russian economic growth is struggling, the ruble is on the slide and capital is racing out of the country as investors take fright. Threatened economic sanctions from the United States and the European Union look set to make that much worse. Putin’s popularity at home was driven during his first term by rising standards of living and the boom in fossil fuel exports that Europe and China lapped up, said Lilia Shevtsova, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Without the economic dividend, Putin is using a Cold War-style confrontation with the West to bolster his support, building a “militarist state where everything works for the sake of defense and not people’s needs”. “Putin is taking the country down the path of the USSR which will lead to the same fate as that of the Soviet Union-the collapse of the state.”

Petrov said the crisis over Ukraine offers immediate gains for Russia, in terms of the control it will get over an area that has long played an important part in the national psyche. “(Putin’s) choice-the besieged fortress model-will work in the short term,” he said. But longer term, it is unlikely to be so clear cut. “He is a brilliant tactical player but he is not a strategic one.”—AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Supreme Court stays execution of 2 Delhi gang-rapists NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court yesterday stayed the death sentence of two of the four men convicted of the fatal gang-rape of a student in New Delhi, an attack that horrified the country and sparked weeks of protests. The court suspended the execution of the two men, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta, while an appeal of their conviction is heard and asked officials to “communicate the order to prison authorities”. The court held an emergency sitting yesterday to hear the motion for the stay of execution. It was not immediately known when the executions had been due to be carried out.

The t wo, Gupta and Singh, appealed to the Supreme Court after the High Court upheld earlier in the week the death penalty handed to the four men convicted of the gang rape last September. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court maintained the four men’s sentences in the death of

the 23-year-old physiotherapy student, saying the case fell into the “rarest of rare category” under which India carries out executions. Defense lawyers argued the High Court had not properly considered evidence in the case. The Supreme Court was told the other two men convicted of the crime, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, had not approached the top court to appeal the High Court ruling.

A fifth suspect had been discovered dead in his jail last year, in what authorities said was a suspected suicide. The sixth member of the group, a juvenile at the time of the crime, is serving a three-year sentence. The four were sentenced last September to hang following a trial over the attack on the 23-year-old student on a moving bus in the capital in December 2012. The physiotherapy student was attacked by six men, including with an iron rod, after she

boarded a private bus to go home from the cinema with a male friend.

They were both later dumped naked and bleeding on the roadside. The victim died 13 days later from the internal injuries inflicted.

The brutalit y of the attack appalled the nation and triggered massive angry street protests as well as soul-searching about India’s treatment of women. The victim survived long enough to give enough information to police to allow them to arrest her attackers whose trial was fast-tracked. The case led to tougher rape and sexual assault laws and shone an international spotlight on what women’s groups called a “rape epidemic” in the country. The execution of th e t wo me n ha d b e e n stayed until March 31 when court authorities said their hanging would be fur ther postponed at another hearing until their appeal was heard.— AFP

India ‘disappointed’ at US re-indictment of diplomat Khobragade faces new visa fraud charges NEW DELHI: India yesterday said it was “disappointed” by new US visa fraud charges against an Indian diplomat over her employment of a domestic servant and warned the move could reignite a bitter row between the countries.

Government spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India was “disappointed” the US justice department “chose to obtain a second indictment” against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade even though a US judge threw out similar charges earlier last week.

“Any measures consequent to this decision in the US will unfortunately impact upon efforts on both sides to build the India-US strategic partnership, to which both sides are committed,” the Indian spokesman warned. “This was an unnecessary step,” Akbaruddin said in a emailed statement to AFP, calling the case “without merit” and adding the Indian government will “no longer engage on this case in the United States’ legal system”. A New York grand jury re-indicted the senior diplomat accusing her of

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade

two counts of visa fraud and making false statements.

Khobragade, who has since returned to India, was arrested December 12 outside her children’s school and later strip-searched, enraging the Indian government and some of the Indian public. The row fanned resentment between the two countries, which had embraced each other as strategic partners. Indian lawmakers denounced the diplomat’s treatment as a violation of national sovereignty and said Washington should not ride roughshod over Indian interests. The deeply unpopular Congress government, struggling to win back favor in general elections starting next month, has been under heavy domestic political pressure to act tough with Washington.

The fresh charges came two days after a US judge threw out a previous case on grounds the former New York deputy consul-general was granted full diplomatic immunity after her arrest. The new indictment paints a devastating picture of the lengths to which Khobragade allegedly went to infringe US laws in hiring an Indian nanny-cumhousekeeper when moving to New York in 2012. US prosecutors, disputing her immunity, accuse Khobragade of forcing her maid to work 100 hours or more a week, even when sick and without a full day off, for $1.42 or less an hour. The indictment accuses Khobragade of presenting false information to obtain a visa for her housekeeper and coaching her to lie to US embassy officials.

It says the diplomat drew up a fake contract that conformed with US labor law but made her sign another contract stipulating a salary of $573 a month or $6,876 a year without overtime and US legal protections. The indictment also accuses the diplomat of trying to silence and intimidate the housekeeper, who fled in June 2013 after protesting her conditions. Khobragade won in January the full immunity granted to Indian mission diplomats to the UN. It was on those grounds she petitioned a US court on January 9 to drop the case, before flying back to India, where she now works for the foreign ministry. In laying the fresh charges the court said Khobragade’s immunity did not cover the time she employed her servant.

A spokesman for the US attorney Preet Bharara, said, “there is currently no bar to a new indictment against her”.

The diplomat, who returned to India in January to a hero’s welcome, has told media about her anguish in leaving behind in New York her two young daughters and her husband, a US citizen and academic. US officials have travelled to India and said they want to repair a partnership Washington sees as a potential bulwark against China’s growing might. While Americans took the maid’s side, many affluent Indians who pay their servants far less than Khobragade was accused of paying hers, supported the diplomat and viewed her treatment as high-handed superpower behavior.—AFP

China’s Xi seeks power and friendship abroad BEIJING: Xi Jinping has spent much of his first year as China’s president greeting a stream of foreign leaders, but his government’s dual message of power and peace has garnered a mixed response. Since taking office a year ago on Friday, Xi has made trips to shore up ties with the United States and Russia, travelled around Asia, Africa and Latin America, and personally welcomed foreign dignitaries to Beijing more than 80 times, all while governing the world’s most populous country.

Yet his administration’s hard line on numerous territorial disputes with neighbours have frayed ties with Asia’s other key economy Japan, and reinforced fears in the region and beyond that China’s rise poses a

Chinese President Xi Jinping

threat-something it constantly denies.

The two-pronged approach is intentional. As Xi explained in a key speech on diplomacy last October, China’s goals overseas are “to strive for favorable external conditions for China’s reform, development and stability” and to “uphold national sovereignty”.

But he faces a “fundamental contradiction” in the “attempt to both charm and go on the offensive”, said Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie Tsinghua Center for Global Policy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The “divergent behavior risks undermining China’s regional diplomatic strategy if continued”, he said in emailed comments. China’s global interests are expanding-although it struggles to develop an overarching foreign policy-while others are keen to forge ties with the rising power. “It’s natural that countries near and far, small and large, seek to build strong ties with China,” Haenle said. At the same time, he added, “China is increasingly dependent on external trade to secure energy, resources, and food security, and thus is highly pragmatic when it comes to forging foreign relations for mutual benefit”.

Comprehensive diplomacy In his first year as president Xi visited more than a dozen nations, from a BRICS gathering in South Africa to an APEC summit in Indonesia, with multicountry stops in Latin America and Central Asia, while Premier Li Keqiang travelled to South Asia, Europe and elsewhere. Xi paid extra attention to key countries, taking his first trip as president to Russia and returning

twice more within the year. Moscow is a fellow UN Security Council member with which Beijing often sides on international affairs-although it has adopted an ambiguous position on the Crimea crisis.

Three months into Xi’s term he travelled to California for a two-day summit with President Barack Obama, where he touted a “new type of greatpower relationship”, signaling China’s desire to both strengthen ties with the US but also command greater respect. Xi also managed to meet foreign leaders visiting Beijing nearly once every four days on average. It seemed no country, from Suriname to Macedonia to Fiji, was too small to warrant a handshake from one of the world’s most powerful people. “That basically covers great powers, regional and developing countries. So it’s a very comprehensive, all-fronts sort of diplomacy,” said Jingdong Yuan, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at the University of Sydney.

‘We are less friendly’ In his speech on diplomacy in October, attended by Li and all the country’s top leaders, Xi said China needed to “be more active in blueprinting diplomatic strategy and undertaking diplomatic work”. “We should clearly present our policies to the outside world... and let the sense of common destiny take root with our neighbors,” he said. Yet by flexing its muscle in territorial disputes with neighbors, Xi’s administration escalated tensions with Japan and the Philippines and worried other countries. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian Defense lawyer AP Singh addresses the media outside the Saket Court complex in New Delhi. — AFP

Teacher shot dead, burned in Thailand BANGKOK: Gunmen shot dead a female teacher in insurgency-riven southern Thailand on Friday and set her body on fire, police said, in the latest attack on an education worker. The 42-year-old was riding a motorbike to work at an elementary school in the Mayo district of Pattani province when she was attacked. “Gunmen shot her and set fire to her body,” a local police officer said by telephone. She was the 171st education worker to be killed during the decade-long conflict in Thailand’s Muslim-dominated deep south near the border with Malaysia.

The insurgency has claimed more than 5,900 lives-the majority of them civilians-in near-daily attacks including shootings, bombings and even beheadings. Teachers are among those targeted by the shadowy network of militants for their perceived collaboration with the Thai state.

Experts say a recent spike in deaths is partly due to the stalling of peace talks while the Thai government struggles to deal with opposition protests in Bangkok. The insurgents want a level of autonomy from Thailand, which annexed the region over a century ago. They accuse Thai authorities of widespread human rights abuses and a lack of respect for their religion, culture and language.

Asylum seekers sentenced In another development, Thailand yesterday sentenced dozens of asylum seekers thought to be from China’s Uighur minority for illegal entry, an official said, despite a US appeal for their protection. About 120 adults among the group were fined 4,000 baht ($124) each by a court in southern Thailand, according to police, who said they were waiting to identify the families before deciding their fate. The men will be detained by immigration and the women and children will be taken to a shelter, Police Major General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot said by telephone. The group of roughly 200 people was discovered in a raid on a suspected people smuggling camp on Wednesday in the kingdom’s deep south. They presented themselves to police as Turkish, but USbased activists have identified them as Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim group from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region.

Thailand, which says their nationality is still unconfirmed, has not said whether they might be forced to return to China, but the kingdom has a history of repatriating illegal immigrants. The Turkish embassy and the UN refugee agency have been providing assistance. On Friday the US State

Department urged Thailand “to provide full protection” to the asylum seekers. The latest annual US human rights report said that China carries out “severe official repression” of Uighurs in Xinjiang, including over their freedom of speech and religion.

Xinjiang is periodically hit by violent clashes and Chinese officials blamed Uighur separatists for a March 1 mass stabbing at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming that killed 29 people and injured 143 others.

Under pressure from Beijing, countries including Cambodia, Malaysia and Pakistan have all in recent years forcibly returned Uighurs to China.

The Uighur American Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, voiced concern over the group, which it described as Uighurs, and urged Thailand to cooperate with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “This group of Uighurs should not be a test of Thailand’s relationship with China, but a test of Thailand’s ability to follow international refugee standards,” said association president Alim Seytoff.

Thailand has long been a hub for people trafficking, with thousands of Rohingya boat people from neighboring Myanmar believed to have passed through the kingdom in recent years.—Agencies

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Endless torment for Philippine typhoon widow

SAN AGUSTIN: Jennifer Pulga endured the depths of helplessness as she pumped the last air her husband would breathe into his typhoon-battered body, and her life since has felt barely any more in control. A coconut tree crashed through the thatched roof of the Pulga’s tiny home in an isolated farming village of the central Philippines during Super Typhoon Haiyan in November, crushing Richard and igniting a torturous passage to death. With no vehicle to evacuate the farmer and roads in the area initially unpassable due to typhoon debris, it took his wife a week to get him to the nearest major hospital 60 kilometers away.

But that hospital, in the ruined city of Tacloban, was overwhelmed and medics could do little for Richard other than amputate one leg and give Jennifer a pump to manually inflate his lungs.

Jennifer kept her husband alive for seven hours, the sound of the handheld ventilator like a mournful fog horn amid a sea of agony as other patients died from injuries that doctors said could have been treated if there was electricity and medicines. “I was praying and hoping that he would live. I was praying that even if he is disabled, that’s okay, as long as he lives, that’s all I want,” Jennifer, 28, told AFP on a recent visit to see how she was coping.

Poverty deepens grief Compounding the grief of losing her

husband of seven years, Jennifer was left destitute with a four-month-old daughter, Irish, and a six-year-old son, RJ. Haiyan, which was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, is believed to have killed about 8,000 people, mostly in farming and fishing communities that were already among the poorest in the Philippines. The Pulga family comes from one of the most impoverished of those farming villages, in a scenic but unruly part of Leyte province known as a haven for communist guerrillas and other armed bandits.

The Pulgas lived in a dirt-floor hut made of bamboo, coconut wood and palm thatch, tending 10 hectares (24 acres) of coconut tree plantations and a one-hectare rice field left to them by Richard’s deceased father. Richard, who died aged 27, would earn some extra money giving rides on his motorcycle along a rocky track to people in his and neighboring villages. The farm and Richard’s motorcycle riding earned them about 3,000 pesos ($70) a month, just enough to survive when supplemented by vegetables they grew for themselves and pigs raised for food.

Like thousands of other farmers in the region, the family’s main source of income was lost when Haiyan destroyed most of their coconut trees, which take more than five years from planting to bear fruit. “I don’t have anything now, Richard was our breadwinner,” said

Jennifer, whose only previous paid work was as a domestic helper in the nation’s capital, Manila, when she was a teenager. The young widow and her two children went to live with Richard’s 68-yearold mother, Guadalupe, in a neighboring village. The in-law’s two-storey concrete house had its roof partially ripped off during the typhoon and has still not been repaired, although it provides adequate shelter and RJ can attend the local school for free.

Surviving on donations But the two women have no source of income, and are almost totally reliant on food aid that has been delivered by the government and relief agencies.

Guadalupe has another farmer son, but one of his children was killed and his house destroyed in the typhoon, so he is unable to provide financial help. “We are just living day-to-day. We are trying to do the best we can but we don’t have any money. So we are just concentrating on what we have now. If there’s none, well, that’s it,” Guadalupe said.

Jennifer has nine siblings but their financial health is little better, and the only contribution from her immediate family since Richard’s death has been a 1,000-peso ($22) donation from a sister.

“I just wish I can find a job, for my children, for the future of my children.

That’s all I wish for in life, that I can support my children until they grow up,”

LEYTE: Typhoon victim Jennmifer Pulga points to the site in the house where her husband was hit by a falling coconut tree at a village in Jaro Town, Leyte province. — AFP she said. But Jennifer said a higher priority for the moment was breastfeeding Irish, ruling out travelling for work.

Impossible dream Jennifer’s ideal job would be to run a small stall outside her mother-in-law’s home, selling daily household items and food, so that she could stay close to her children. She estimates setting up the business would cost about 10,000 pesos, an impossible amount. And while billions of dollars are being spent in an effort to help the typhoon-hit

areas recover, little of it appears to be trickling up to the base of the picturesque mountains where the Pulgas live.

Aside from the food aid, Jennifer and her in-laws said they had been offered no other support, such as money, materials or expertise to help rebuild or repair their homes and farms. Still, Jennifer appears not to be focused too much on the future, with her concentration dominated by the struggles of surviving each day and the ceaseless grief. “Now I am alone and I can’t bear it,” she said.— AFP

North Korea threatens to flex nuclear muscle SEOUL: North Korea has threatened to demonstrate its nuclear deterrence in a move analysts say could indicate the regime is preparing to carry out a fourth atomic test amid long-stalled disarmament talks. The powerful National Defence Commission (NDC), chaired by leader Kim Jong-Un, said on Friday that the North would continue efforts “to bolster up its nuclear deterrence for self-defense”. “And additional measures will be taken to demonstrate its might one after another as long as the US nuclear threat and blackmail persist as now”, it added in a statement carried by Pyongyang state media.

North Korea and its main ally China want a resumption of six-party talks on the North’s nuclear weapons program, but Washington and Seoul both insist that Pyongyang must first demonstrate some tangible commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons. “The US had better roll back its worn-out hostile policy towards the DPRK (North Korea) as soon as possible and shape a new realistic policy before it is too late,” the NDC statement added. “This would be beneficial not only to meeting the US interests but also to ensuring the security of its mainland.”

In March last year, North Korea’s military put its “strategic” rocket units on a war footing and threatened to strike targets on the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam, as well as South Korea as tensions soared. Despite a successful long-range rocket launch in December 2012, most experts believe North Korea is years away from developing a genuine inter-continental ballistic missile that could strike the mainland United States.

Analysts in Seoul said the NDC statement on Friday indicated North Korea was mulling three options-a fourth nuclear test, the firing of a long-range rocket and the unveiling of

progress in its program of enriching uranium.

North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and in February last year.

‘Expression of frustration’ “This warning is not about an imminent action but an expression of frustration with Washington, which refuses to budge an inch despite Beijing’s efforts to draw it back to dialogue”, Professor Yang Moo-Jin told AFP. Professor Kim Yeon-Chul of Inje University said the North might consider carrying out a test using enriched uranium it has been developing for the past two years in addition to its plutonium-based weapons. The NDC stressed the North would never make a first, unilateral move towards giving up its nuclear weapons program despite US pressure to do so. The statement also lambasted what it called a “groundless human rights racket” against the North by the United States.

Robert King, the US special envoy on North Korean human rights, said the United States supported UN action on North Korea’s human rights record after a hard-hitting UN report last month compared the regime’s treatment of its people to the Holocaust. He voiced confidence that the UN Human Rights Council would pass a resolution on the totalitarian state’s record at its session this month in Geneva. In a 400-page report last month, a UN Commission of Inquiry documented extermination, enslavement and sexual violence by North Korea. The commission’s Australian chairman Michael Kirby drew a parallel with the Holocaust and demanded international action. But China holds veto power on the Security Council and has publicly rejected referring the leaders of North Korea, its ally and neighbor, to the International Criminal Court for trial.—AFP

Lawyers call for reform in Northern Nigeria’s sharia KANO: Two Nigerian men sentenced to have a hand amputated each for theft have had their convictions overturned, in the latest acquittals to raise questions about standards in the Islamic justice system. Taxi drivers Nasiru Abubakar and Anas Mohammed were freed by the sharia appeal court in the northern city of Sokoto on March 2, which ruled there were procedural errors in their 2010 trial. The pair, both 25, had spent three years behind bars and were unaware that they could challenge the conviction and sentence until a prison official took up their case with the state government.

“The (appeal) judge picked holes with the judgment of the lower court, which he said was not in conformity with the provisions of Islamic sharia law, as a result of which the two young men were discharged and acquitted,” court clerk Bube Lawwali said. According to the judge, the lower court did not establish the case of theft and the 10,000 naira ($63) in cash which was allegedly stolen was never found in the men’s possession. In addition, the complainant, who alleged the suspects had stolen the money when he used their taxi, did not even attend court to give evidence during the initial trial.

Low benchmark Sharia courts run parallel to the state and federal judicial systems in northern Nigeria and are largely used by Muslims to resolve property, inheritance and matrimonial disputes. They made headlines internationally earlier this year when a number of men appeared before a sharia court in the city of Bauchi accused of homosexuality, which is theoretically punishable by death. Lawyer Umar Ado said the taxi drivers’ case was significant because it highlighted glaring problems in the system. “The appeal judgment has far-reaching implications and exposes the inadequacies in the capacity of the sharia judges and procedural abuse in the sharia courts,” he said.

Another lawyer, Abdulhamid Zubairu, added that no witnesses were even summoned to give evidence at the trial and the defendants were unaware of their statutory right to appeal. “The judge ought to have told

them they could appeal the sentence within 30 days, as a matter of procedure,” he said.

Ado attributed the situation to what he called the “flagrant disregard to judicial procedures” by many judges and a “lack of full grasp of sharia legal provisions”. Currently anyone with knowledge of Islamic law and school examination certificates can be appointed as a sharia court judge, explained Ado. But he argued that was not good enough: some judges delivered judgments too quickly, “playing to the gallery” and a public who wrongly believe that sharia is all about passing harsh sentences. “Before a sharia judge is appointed, he should undergo rigorous competence tests and background checks to ensure he is the right person for the job,” he added.

Need for reform Another lawyer, Suleiman Hassan, said a lack of appropriate sanctions against incompetent judges was not helping matters and made some judges “flaunt procedures with impunity”. Since the reintroduction of the sharia justice system in 12 northern states 15 years ago, dozens of amputation sentences have been handed down. But only two have been carried out, with the remainder overturned on appeal largely for “procedural error and outright contravention of the sharia law”, said Ado. The acquittals on appeal include the cases of at least four women who were sentenced to death for adultery after they gave birth out of wedlock. “In fact, some people currently languishing in jail were unjustly imprisoned without any help coming from anywhere,” said Kabiru Dodo, a government official who initiated the taxi drivers’ appeal. A senior judicial official in Zamfara state, which pioneered the re-introduction of sharia, acknowledged that the issues needed to be tackled. “We are aware of such shortcomings on the part of sharia court judges and I believe the ongoing nationwide criminal justice system reform intends to rectify this anomaly,” he said on condition of anonymity. “It is, however, not something that can be rectified overnight. It is a gradual process that requires a tactful but firm approach.”— AFP

TRIPOLI: Smoke rises from a fire after gunmen from Jabal Mohsen fire a rocket-propelled grenade during clashes with gunmen from Bab AlTebbaneh in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. — AFP

Lebanese govt to allow citizens to resist Israel 10 dead in Syria-linked clashes in Tripoli BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new government agreed to a compromise policy statement yesterday that fell short of explicitly enshrining the militant group Hezbollah’s role in confronting Israel but which would give all citizens the right to resist Israeli occupation or attacks. The agreement on the compromise language came after weeks of dispute brought the government to the verge of collapse, and now paves the way for Prime Minister Tammam Salam to put his government to a vote of confidence.

Information Minister Ramzi Jreij told reporters that most ministers had agreed on a compromise statement that declares Lebanese citizens have the right to “resist Israeli occupation” and repel any Israeli attack. The deal was reached a few hours after Israel’s army said it fired tank rounds and artillery into southern Lebanon in retaliation for a bomb that targeted its soldiers patrolling the border. No injuries were reported on either side. The Israel-Lebanon border has been mostly quiet since Israel and Hezbollah fought an inconclusive war in 2006, but Israeli forces still hold at least three pockets of occupied territory which are claimed by Lebanon.

“Based on the state’s responsibility to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and the security of its citizens, the government affirms the duty of the

state and its efforts to liberate the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills and the Lebanese part of Ghajar through all legitimate means,” the government statement said. It also “affirms the right of Lebanese citizens to resist Israeli occupation and repel aggressions and recover occupied territory”. Agreement on the declaration paves the way for Salam to put his government to a vote of confidence, almost exactly a year after he was first asked to try to put together a cabinet following the resignation of his predecessor, Najib Mikati.

The declaration reflected a compromise between the Hezbollah-led political coalition, which sought to guarantee Shiite Hezbollah’s right to fight Israel and to justify maintaining its huge weapons arsenal, with Sunni-led political opponents who sought to emphasize the role of the state in carrying arms. Tensions between Hezbollah and its Sunni opponents inside Lebanon have been sharply heightened by the civil war in neighboring Syria, where Hezbollah fighters have been battling alongside President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces against Sunni rebels who are backed by many Lebanese Sunnis.

Jreij said some ministers expressed reservations because the statement failed to spell out Lebanese state control over the military conflict with Israel and because it refers to “resistance”, Hezbollah’s label for its military operations. A

HOMS: Photo shows the cemetery in the once rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amro in the central Syrian city of Homs. — AFP

functioning Lebanese government would finally be in a position to pursue an offshore oil and gas exploration license round that was delayed for months by the political deadlock. Salam has also said he hoped the emergence of the new government will allow Lebanon to hold presidential elections before President Michel Suleiman’s mandate expires in May and also hold parliamentary polls that were postponed last year due to the political impasse.

Lebanon, still struggling to recover from its own 1975-1990 civil war, has found its internal divisions worsened by the conflict in Syria, whose sectarian divisions mirror its own.

Sectarian violence has erupted sporadically in the past year, particularly in the north, and car bombings targeting both security and political targets have increased dramatically, with Hezbollah-dominated areas being the most frequent target.

Syria-linked clashes Meanwhile, the death toll from three days of fighting between members of two Muslim sects in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli rose to 10 yesterday, security and medical sources said, in violence stoked by the civil war in neighboring Syria. One person was killed by a sniper and four more died on Saturday from injuries sustained earlier in the week during clashes between Sunni Muslims and members of the Shiite-derived Alawite sect in Lebanon’s second city.

The fighting broke out on Thursday after gunmen fatally shot a Sunni man who had Alawite family members and lived in a mostly Alawite area of the city. A 10-year-old girl died in the resulting clashes and three others died from their wounds the next day. More than 50 people, including at least eight Lebanese soldiers, were wounded in clashes in which snipers and rocketpropelled grenades were used. The fighting had slowed yesterday following intervention by the army, but snipers from both sides were still operating around Syria Street, which separates the Alawite enclave of Jabal Mohsen from the Sunni district of Bab Al-Tabbaneh.

The sources said most of those killed were civilians and that they were all Sunni Muslims, though one of them had lived in the Alawite neighborhood. The long-standing rivalr y between Tripoli’s Alawites and Sunnis has worsened because of sectarian tensions in Syria, where the three-year-old conflict has killed more than 146,000 people. Lebanese Sunnis largely support the Sunni-led uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, who tends to enjoy the backing of his fellow Alawites. The periodic clashes in the coastal city have been fought with increasingly sophisticated weaponry, as rocket-propelled grenade launchers have been used alongside lighter weapons like assault rifles.— Agencies

NEWS

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Jet’s disappearance ‘deliberate’ Continued from Page 1 original flight path,” he said. He called it an “excruciating time for the families of those on board.” The new information appeared to cast aside a host of theories on the plane’s disappearance, which has transfixed the world and left frustrated families of the 239 passengers and crew baying for scarce information.

Previous scenarios included a sudden mid-air explosion, catastrophic equipment or structural failure, or a crash into the South China Sea. But Najib’s announcement opened a whole new avenue of speculation including an attempted 9/11-style attack. The 9/11 hijackers had turned off the transponders of three of the four planes that were commandeered.

Transponders transmit data on a plane’s location to air traffic controllers.

MH370’s transponder was manually shut off, Najib said. The plane’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was also switched off, he added. Final satellite communication with the Boeing 777, scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, came more than six-and-a-half hours after it vanished from civilian radar at 1:30 am on March 8, said Najib. That would equate with the time Malaysia Airlines has said the plane would have run out of fuel.

Investigators had concluded the plane was diverted west from its original flight path, and thus a search in the South China Sea would end, Najib said, but would continue in the Indian Ocean. But the new search zone is now dauntingly large - Najib said the plane could be anywhere from Kazakhstan to the southern Indian Ocean. Officials at Kazakhstan’s state air navigation service were not available for comment while in Turkmenistan, state aviation officials referred queries to the Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, a senior Malaysian military official had told AFP investigators believed the plane was commandeered by a “skilled, competent and current pilot” who knew how to avoid radar, stopping short of speculating whether a hijacker or crewmember was suspected. An aviation expert told AFP that while it is easy to turn transponders off, a great deal of expertise is needed to disconnect ACARS. Dozens of ships and aircraft from 14 countries have been deployed across a huge search zone since MH370 went missing. As the search continues, investigators will focus on who would have diverted it and why.

Malaysian security officials were earlier embarrassed by revelations that two Iranian men had managed to board the plane using stolen European passports. It

could also bring new attention on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

Malaysian reporters told AFP they witnessed police enter Zaharie’s house yesterday, staying for two hours.

Police declined comment to AFP. An Australian television station had days earlier broadcast an interview with a South African woman who alleged she and a friend were invited into the cockpit of a flight Fariq copiloted in 2011 - a breach of post-9/11 security rules.

The New York Times quoted American officials with knowledge of the investigation saying the plane saw wild fluctuations in altitude after it changed course.

“Investigations should focus on criminal and terrorist motives,” said Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. “It is likely that the aircraft was hijacked by a team knowledgeable about airport and aircraft security. It is likely they are supported by a competent team from the ground.” But Gerry Soejatman, a Jakarta-based independent aviation analyst, told AFP yesterday’s revelations make a possible terror motive “extremely difficult to understand”. “If that was deliberate, we may be dealing with something beyond the mission planning for 9/11,” he said.

Most of the plane’s passengers were Chinese and the Malaysian leader’s remarks did little to ease the nerves of anguished relatives gathered at a hotel in Beijing. “I feel (Malaysia Airlines) has been playing a role in the incident,” said Wen Wancheng, whose son was aboard, suspecting “a conspiracy”. He remained hopeful his son was alive. The airline defended its handling of the crisis, which it called “an unprecedented situation for Malaysia Airlines and for the entire aviation industry.”

The plane has one of the best safety records of any jet, and the airline also has a solid record. Malaysia has not been the target of any notable terror attacks, but analysts say it is home to several individuals alleged to be operatives of militant Islamic groups such as the AlQaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

Yesterday, China said it had demanded that Malaysia keep providing more thorough and accurate information, and added that it was sending a technical team to Malaysia to help with the investigation. China’s Xinhua state news agency said in a commentary that Najib’s disclosure of the new details was “painfully belated”.

“And due to the absence - or at least lack - of timely authoritative information, massive efforts have been squandered, and numerous rumours have been spawned, repeatedly racking the nerves of the awaiting families,” it said. — Agencies

US giving up Internet oversight Continued from Page 1 before leaked documents showed massive online snooping by intelligence agents. “Every president, every board of ICANN since its inception has been working toward this day,” ICANN president and chief executive Fadi Chehade said during a conference call.

The end of the US oversight role has no immediate impact for Internet users, and ICANN will continue to administer the network’s key technical functions. The change affects US government oversight of “root zone” of databases underlying the Internet which makes Washington a steward of that system, even though the functions are contracted out to ICANN and the infrastructure company Verisign. “The timing is right to start the transition process,” said Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling, who added that he looked forward to “an appropriate transition plan.”

The statement said the US hopes to “support and enhance the multi-stakeholder model,” and “maintain the openness of the Internet” under any new system.

ICANN said its role as administrator of the Internet’s unique identifier system remains unchanged. “The Internet’s Unique Identifier functions are not apparent to most Internet users, but they play a critical role in maintaining a single, global, unified and interoperable Internet.” ICANN said.

But the change leaves some questions unanswered on the future stewardship of the Internet. Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said the United States “was bullied into making the change” due to pressure over the revelations of leaked NSA documents from former contrac-

tor Edward Snowden. “The Snowden disclosures are merely a pretext,” Castro said in a blog post. “While the NSA revelations have rightly angered many people around the world, they have nothing to do with I nternet governance. The US Depar tment of Commerce has not once abused its oversight of ICANN to aid the intelligence community.”

Castro said the change opens the door to other governments such as Russia or China modifying the Internet architecture for political reasons. Without US oversight, “ICANN would not be accountable to anyone, and would be motivated only by the interests of those individuals who control the organization,” the analyst added.

Greg Shatan, a US lawyer who is a member of an ICANN working group, said the change is “a big deal,” but that Washington is not walking away entirely from its role in the Internet. The change affects “the plumbing of the Internet” but ICANN still has obligations to the US under its “Affirmation of Commitments,” Shatan added in an email. “By making this announcement, the US is trying to make sure the transition happens on its own terms, and that the US is setting the rules for the transition.” The European Union recently called for these modifications, but some other countries have been seeking deeper changes, such as placing the Internet under UN control - which came up at a heated 2012 gathering of the UN’s International Telecommunications Union. “The US is making sure that the ITU and the UN do not take this oversight function,” Shatan said. “The press release is very clear that the US will not accept any proposal that replaces US government oversight with a government or intergovernmental solution.” — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: A woman writes a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane at a shopping mall yesterday. — AP

Oppn launches rebranded Popular Action...

Continued from Page 1 In his speech, Saadoun warned that the number of corrupt people was increasing in Kuwait but vowed that reforms will continue. Saadoun said that Kuwait is on the verge of economic collapse if the current economic situation continues in the same way, adding that accu-

mulated deficit could exceed KD 400 billion.

The large numbers of activists and journalists who attended the gathering filled up Saadoun’s diwaniya.

The movement began distributing membership cards a few days ago and will remain open. Political parties are illegal in Kuwait but a large number of political groups operate freely as de facto political parties.

Six troops killed in Cairo attack Continued from Page 1 The national defence council headed by interim president Adly Mansour pledged to “avenge the soldiers’ precious blood”. Interim prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab called an emergency meeting for later in the evening to discuss a response to the attack, an official said. Most of the attacks since Morsi’s ouster have been carried out in the Sinai, but militants have expanded their reach to the Nile Delta and the capital in recent months.

The government has mostly blamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which renounced violence decades ago and has denied any involvement. “An armed group belonging to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood attacked a military police checkpoint,” the military said of yesterday’s attack. But the outlawed movement’s leader Amr Darrag denied the accusation. “I condemn the killing of Egyptian soldiers. How can the Muslim Brotherhood be accused a few minutes after the attack with no evidence

or investigation,” he said on Twitter.

Most prominent attacks, including a car bombing at a police headquarters in Cairo and the downing of a military helicopter in Sinai, have been claimed by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem), a Sinai-based jihadist movement. The group said in a statement Friday that one of its founders, Tawfiq Mohamed Fareej, died last week when a car accident set off a bomb he was carrying.

Fareej led a 2011 cross-border attack in Israel that killed eight people and was also involved in a failed attempt on the life of Egypt’s interior minister, it said.

The group has said the attacks in Egypt are in retaliation for a brutal government crackdown on Morsi’s Islamist supporters, which Amnesty International says has claimed some 1,400 lives. State-run news website Al-Ahram also reported Fareej had died, but said he was killed by an army raid in the Sinai peninsula. The army was not immediately available to comment on this. — Agencies

Top Kuwaiti fighter killed in Syria Continued from Page 1 government forces. He urged countries backing the opposition “to commit to their promises of giving sophisticated weapons” to rebels.

“We are fighting a brutal war and facing enemies who have no values or morals such as the gangs of (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah ... mercenaries of hypocrisy coming from Iraq all the way to the head of the snake in Tehran,” Jarba said in a speech in Istanbul.

“Oh Syrians: Our revolution will be victorious and the chemical terrorist regime will go. The battle is not long because we have passed the most difficult part.” State media in Syria did not mention the anniversary.

In Beirut, international aid agencies said that every statistic tracking the lives of Syrian children has worsened as the conflict grinds on, warning an entire generation of is at risk. Suggesting how badly Syria has unraveled, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said an estimated 2.3 million children last year were in need of shelter, food, health care, education or psychological help for the trauma they suffered. That number has nearly doubled to 5.5 million children this year, he said.

Yesterday, Syrian state television said troops advanced in Yabroud near Syria’s border with Lebanon, and now control of much of the area between the two countries. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian air force conducted at least 15 air raids on the town as heavy clashes raged on the town’s outskirts. It said at least five opposition fighters were killed fighting

government forces backed by Hezbollah members.

Yabroud is the last major rebel-held town in the mountainous Qalamoun region, where Assad’s forces have been waging an offensive for months to try to sever rebel supply lines across the porous border. Hezbollah officials say many of the car bombs that exploded in the group’s strongholds in Lebanon over the past months were made in Yabroud. Hezbollah openly joined Syria’s civil war last year, fighting along Assad’s forces and tipping the battle in its favor in areas close to Lebanon.

Lebanese broadcasters Al-Mayadeen and Hezbollah’s Al-Manar aired live footage from outside Yabroud showing bombs landing over the city. Al-Manar showed footage of dead men, some of them bearded. It also showed Syrian troops shooting and firing rocket-propelled-grenades at rebels in the area. One of the Syrian commanders in the area told Al-Mayadeen that troops advanced “hundreds of meters (yards) inside Yabroud.”

He added that troops captured the nearby Saint Maroun Hill that overlooks Yabroud. “We will cut supply lines with neighboring countries and the fighters will be besieged in specific areas then wiped out,” the officer, who did not give his name, said.

Also yesterday, Lebanon’s state-run National News agency said two rockets, apparently fired by Syrian rebels, struck the Lebanese border villages of Nabi Othman and Labweh, killing one person and wounding two. Syrian rebels have been shelling Lebanese border villages where Hezbollah enjoys wide support. — Agencies

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

ANALYSIS

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

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

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

Issues

US military treads lightly in Africa

By David Lewis

O

n a dusty training ground in Niger, US Special Forces teach local troops to deal with suspects who resist arrest. “Speed, aggression, surprise!” an instructor barks as two Nigeriens wrestle a US adviser out of a car. The drill in the border town of Diffa is part of Exercise Flintlock, a counter-terrorism exercise for nations on the Sahara’s southern flanks that the United States organises each year. Washington’s aim is to tackle Islamist militants in the Sahel region while keeping its military presence in Africa light.

A growing number of European nations taking part shows their increasing concern about security in West Africa. Central to the international effort is a blossoming relationship between the United States and France, the former colonial power and traditional “policeman” of the turbulent region. When Paris deployed 4,000 troops to fight Islamist militants in neighbouring Mali last year, the US military lent a hand by airlifting French soldiers and equipment, providing intelligence and training African forces to join the operation.

French troops are stretched by hunting the militants in Mali and tackling religious violence in Central African Republic, so only a handful participated in Flintlock. Nevertheless, they welcomed their new partnership with Washington. “The Americans want to get involved in Africa. That’s good for us. We know that with the Americans it will be more efficient,” said a French Special Forces officer, who asked not to be named. “We use American logistics - that’s what we are missing. On the other hand, we provide the local knowledge.” The United States fast-tracked the sale of 12 Reaper drones to France last year, the first two of which started operating in Niger in January alongside US drones already there. In a reminder of the partnership, a drone quietly taxied past troops and dignitaries at Flintlock’s closing ceremony in the capital of Niamey before taking off to scour the Sahara.

US Facing Budget Cuts Military experts say direct US military action in Africa is limited to short raids on“high-value”targets in places such as Somalia and Libya, while French troops take on longer, bigger operations. J Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the US-based Atlantic Council, said this arrangement suited US military planners who face budget cuts and a diminished American appetite for combat after conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, he warned that the French military was at the limit of its ability to strike militants hard. “If the French are not able to provide that blunt instrument, is the US willing to do so?”

Nine years after the Flintlock exercises began, the enemy has evolved from a group of Algerian-dominated fighters focused on northern Mali and now threatens nations across the Sahara and the arid Sahel belt to the south. For most of 2012, militants occupied northern Mali, a desert zone the size of France. Scattered by a French offensive last year, many are believed to be regrouping in southern Libya.

Hundreds of people are being killed every month in clashes with Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria. Many in Niger fear this conflict could spill over the border and the government in Niamey has appealed for more military support. “Instability in neighbouring states has given everybody a new incentive,” General James Linder, commander of US Special Operations Command Africa, told Reuters while visiting Niger. This year’s three-week Flintlock exercise - involving over 1,000 troops from 18 nations - was the biggest yet and runs alongside more permanent training by US Special Forces in Niger, Mauritania, Senegal and Chad.

Training in Diffa, only a few kilometres from where Boko Haram militants are fighting the Nigerian army across the border, ranged from basic patrolling skills and setting up checkpoints to sharing intelligence and providing medical care. In a region where armies often lack basics such as ammunition for target practice and fuel for vehicles, the quality and tempo of the US-sponsored exercise eclipses the training most soldiers in the region receive in a year.

Colonel Mounkaila Sofiani, the local Niger commander, said Flintlock and other US initiatives helped his country to tackle threats from the west, north and south better. “Little by little people are being trained,” he said. “Once there are enough, they’ll form the spine of a reliable force.”

Training is meant to build up coordination between armies but Sofiani said just finding radio equipment compatible between nations is difficult. In the field, officers exchange mobile phone numbers to bypass blockages in official channels. A lack of trust between governments also hinders responses. At a recent meeting of intelligence chiefs, the Nigerien and Libyan representatives argued over the risk of instability spreading from Libya’s lawless south, a diplomat told Reuters. Coups in Mauritania, Niger and Mali since the Flintlock exercises began also halted cooperation until civilian rule was restored. Mali’s 2012 coup, led by a captain with US training, opened the door to the Islamist takeover of the north, prompting questions about what the years of exercises had achieved. Pham said better military capabilities had not been matched by improvements in governance, citing a failure by Mali to tackle corruption. Chad’s military, however, has won praise for leading the charge alongside French troops in flushing out the militants from Mali’s desolate northern mountains. —Reuters

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

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

Nervous region eyes robust Chinese response

By Greg Torode

F

rom high-resolution satellites to advanced warships, China’s military build-up is on full display in the hunt for a missing Malaysian jetliner - putting Asia on notice as to what Beijing might do in the future to further assert its regional presence. The search for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and crew has exposed tensions between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, with Chinese officials from Premier Li Keqiang on down criticising Malaysia’s handling of the crisis. China has sent a team of envoys and investigators to Malaysia to deepen its involvement.

While Beijing’s concerns reflect, in part, public anxiety over the fate of more than 150 Chinese on board Flight MH370, the search comes at a time when China has been flexing its muscles in the disputed South and East China Seas. One aerospace and defence industry source with years of experience in the region said the Chinese response would stick in the minds of its neighbours. “This is a demonstration of force in a peaceful context,” said the source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

China has deployed four warships, four coastguard vessels, eight aircraft and trained 10 satellites on a wide search area far from mainland China. Chinese media have described the ship deployment as the largest Chinese rescue fleet ever assembled. The missing plane’s last reported contact with civilian radar was near the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand, which opens into the South China Sea. The aircraft was bound for Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang

on Monday acknowledged Malaysia had the “main responsibility” for both the search and the follow-up investigation. He added, however, that Beijing had a responsibility not only to participate but to “demand and urge” Malaysia to step up its efforts.

Once Warm Ties?

Ironically, China’s ties with Malaysia had been among its warmest in the region despite a dispute over territory in the South China Sea. However, Chinese warships staged a show of sovereignty just two months ago at the James Shoal, a submerged reef about 80 km off Malaysia’s Borneo island state of Sarawak - and some 1,800 km from mainland China. Beijing regards those waters as its southernmost territory, the bottom of a looping so-called nine-dash line on maps that comprise 90 percent of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan are also in dispute with Beijing over parts of the ocean.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) deployment at the shoal was led by one of its three state-of-the-art amphibious assault ships.

Two of those 20,000-tonne vessels - the Kunlunshan and the Jingangshan - have joined the search for the missing plane. “The Chinese are drawing the conclusion that these guys are not ready for prime time,” said Ernie Bower, a Southeast Asia specialist at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to Malaysia.

The fruitless search has shone the spotlight on a series of fumbling news conferences by Malaysian officials and a long delay in divulging details of the military’s tracking of what could have been the plane hundreds of miles off

course. Malaysian government officials say they are coping as best they can with a highly complex crisis. Regional naval officials and analysts said one of the big questions now was what the protracted search - and China’s growing concerns over Malaysia’s response - would mean for Beijing’s approach to the region in future.

While many foreign experts see Beijing’s deployment as robust, Chinese state television and other media reports have referred to a lack of Chinese capabilities to conduct extended search and rescue operations far from the mainland coast. More facilities would be needed for dealing with humanitarian disasters, one Chinese expert said, even though China had expanded listening posts, ports and runways at its facilities in the disputed Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes of the South China Sea. “This will not be the last time. China has a responsibility and calling to join in,” said Ruan Zongze, a former Chinese diplomat with the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank affiliated with the Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese effort is already sparking concern among the public in Vietnam, where battles over sovereignty against China go back decades.

Social media has been active with postings, comments and deep suspicion about the presence of Chinese planes and warships near the Vietnamese coast. Deputy Transport Minister Pham Quy Tieu, head of Vietnam’s search and rescue effort, told Reuters that China had asked permission for its ships and planes to enter Vietnamese territory and that Hanoi remained in “total control”. “China only flies and searches at high altitude, its boats never go deep inside our waters. So we are not concerned about breaches of our sovereignty,” Tieu said.

‘New Historic Missions’ Ian Storey, an expert on ties between China and Southeast Asia, said Beijing’s deployment reflected its regional military build-up and the PLA’s so-called “new historic missions”, which included protecting Chinese nationals abroad.

The crisis would bolster the case of those in China who believe that as the country’s global interests expand, its defence budget should grow to protect those interests, added Storey, from the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore. China this month announced a 12.2 percent rise in military spending to 808.23 billion yuan ($131.57 billion) for 2014, but gave no breakdown of how the money would be spent.

Its military spending, second only to the United States, has allowed China to create a modern force that is projecting power not only across the East and South China Seas, but further into the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Bower said the confused search highlighted weak military cooperation in Asia and the need for better coordination between Washington and its Asian allies and partners. A long-running effort by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to tie China to a binding agreement on measures to lower tensions in the South China Sea includes search and rescue cooperation.

Such cooperation is part of the discussions, and ASEAN envoys said this could be accelerated outside the broader and more sensitive talks.

“Since we don’t have that collaborative effort well established yet, I think the Chinese are, whether intentionally or unintentionally, sending a message to their citizens that Malaysia is a small country that’s not able to manage well,” said Bower. —Reuters

Focus back on pilots, stolen passports

By Giles Hewitt

C

onfirmation that a missing Malaysian airliner was deliberately diverted suggests several scenarios that will sharpen scrutiny of the cockpit crew and passengers known to have boarded with stolen passports. Prime Minister Najib Razak announced yesterday that satellite and radar data clearly indicated the plane’s automated communications had been disabled and the plane then turned away from its intended path and flown on for hours. “These movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane,” he said, adding that investigators had consequently “refocused their investigation into crew and passengers on board.”

Since the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, the International Civil Airline Organisation has mandated high security standards for plane cockpits. Cockpit doors - reinforced to withstand bullets must be locked from the inside before push off from the gate.

“So for me there’s only a few scenarios,” said Paul Yap, an aviation lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. “First the people involved in the deliberate actions are the pilots, one of them or both of them in cahoots. Then we have a scenario where terrorists make the pilots change course and switch off the transponders under duress, maybe threatening to kill passengers,” Yap said.

The transponder of MH370 was switched off around the time analysts said it would have reached its cruising altitude, when pilots often emerge to take a bathroom or coffee break.

The hijackers of the four planes used in the 9/11 attacks turned off the transponders of three of the jets.

Flight Crew Under Scrutiny Flight MH370 was under the command of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27 whose records and personal lives have already come under scrutiny. An Australian television report broadcast an interview with a young South African woman who said Fariq and another pilot colleague invited them into the cockpit of a flight he copiloted from Phuket, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur in 2011. Since 9/11, passengers have been prohibited from entering cockpits during a flight. Malaysia Airlines has said it was “shocked” by the report, but that it could not verify the claims.

The son of a high-ranking official in the public works department of a Malaysian state, Fariq joined Malaysia Airlines when he was 20. He is a mild-mannered “good boy” who regularly visited his neighbourhood mosque outside Kuala Lumpur, said the mosque’s imam, or spiritual leader. The far more seasoned Zaharie joined MAS in 1981 and had logged 18,365 hours of flying time. Malaysian media reports quoted colleagues calling Zaharie a “superb pilot”, who also served as an examiner, autho-

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (center), Malaysia’s Minister for Transport Hishamuddin Hussein (left) and Director General of the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman deliver a statement to the media regarding the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner yesterday in Sepang. —AP rised by the Malaysian Civil Aviation Department, to conduct simulator tests for pilots. Malaysian reporters told AFP they witnessed police enter Zaharie’s home yesterday, spending two hours there. Police declined comment to AFP. If hijackers are suspected, then the glare of suspicion will fall again on two passengers who boarded with stolen EU passports. Interpol had identified the two men as Iranians: Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar, who used a stolen Italian passport, and Pouria Nourmohammadi, who used an Austrian one. Both passports had been stolen in Thailand. Interpol chief Ronald Noble said last Tuesday that the men were thought to be illegal immigrants who had travelled from Doha to Kuala Lumpur in a round-about bid to reach Europe.

Interpol’s information suggested the pair were “probably not terrorists”, Noble said at the time.

Terrorists ‘Don’t do’ Hijackings Adam Dolnik, a professor of terrorism studies at the University of Wollongong in Australia, said he still doubted that organised terrorism was behind the Malaysian plane mystery. While a group like Al-Qaeda “would love to bring down an airliner”, a Malaysia Airlines plane made little sense as a target and the stolen passports had an “amateurish” element, Dolnik said. “Terrorists don’t do (hijackings), because the

chances of success have gone down,” he said, citing the challenge of bringing weapons onto a plane and subduing other passengers. There has been no indication yet of any possible terrorist involvement.

Malaysia has not been the target of any notable terror attacks. But terror analysts say it is home to several individuals alleged to be operatives of militant Islamic groups such as the Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah. Most of the passengers on the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight were Chinese nationals. China is grappling with simmering anger among its Muslim ethnic Uighur minority in the country’s remote far west, many of whom openly complain of Chinese repression.

It has blamed Uighur separatists for a string of violent incidents including a coordinated knife attack in the southwestern city of Kunming on March 1 that left 29 people dead. Malaysia has deported at least 17 Uighur Muslims who were travelling on fake passports back to China since 2011.

London-based David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor for Flight International, warned of the danger of rushing to conclusions following Najib’s announcement yesterday. “The new evidence is consistent with deliberate action, but it’s still only a small amount of data - certainly not a complete picture - and therefore it’s still premature to label the event formally as a hijack,” Kaminski-Morrow said. —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

S P ORTS

West Brom sack Anelka

Maltais wins final race

Mikaela grabs slalom win

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion have given French striker Nicolas Anelka notice they are terminating his contract for gross misconduct, the Premier League club said in a statement on Friday. Anelka, who was given a five-match ban by the FA following his controversial ‘quenelle’ salute during a match on Dec. 28, had earlier said on Twitter he was quitting the Midlands team.

“The club considers the conduct of Nicolas Anelka on December 28, coupled with his purported termination on social media this evening, to be gross misconduct,” West Brom said. “As a result the club has tonight written to Nicolas Anelka giving him 14 days’ notice of termination as required under his contract,” they added on their website (www.wba.co.uk).

Anelka, who turned 35 on Friday, made the ‘quenelle’ salute, which is associated with anti-Semitic sentiments, when he scored the first of his two goals in a 3-3 draw in a league game at West Ham United’s Upton Park ground. Earlier on Friday, the former France striker tweeted that he was quitting the club but West Brom said they had not received any official notification of his intention to end his contract. “Following my talks with the club I’ve been told I could be back in the squad under certain conditions that I can’t agree,” Anelka said on his Twitter account (@anelkaofficiel).—Reuters

LA MOLINA: Canada’s Dominique Maltais capped her snowboard cross World Cup title by winning the final of race of the season on Saturday, while Paul Berg of Germany beat Olympic silver medalist Nikolay Olyunin.

Maltais overtook and held off Lindsey Jacobellis to edge out the American and win the women’s final under sunny skies in the Pyrenees mountains. Raffaella Brutto of Italy finished third after Yuka Fujimori of Japan crashed.

Maltais, who won the silver medal at the Sochi Olympics last month, ended the season with 5,400 points. Jacobellis was next with 3,760, followed by Alexandra Jekova of Bulgaria with 2,850.

Berg then rode flawlessly through the course to finish ahead of Russia’s Olyunin, with Spaniard Regino Hernandez coming third after he and Canadian Christopher Robanske slowed each other down early in the descent. On Friday, Omar Visintin of Italy claimed the World Cup title when Australian Jarryd Hughes, the only rider with a chance to overtake Visintin in the standings, failed to qualify. Visintin didn’t advance beyond Saturday’s quarterfinals. Olympic champion Pierre Vaultier of France fell early in the round of 16.—AP

LENZERHEIDE: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States completed her exceptional slalom season with a fifth World Cup race win yesterday. The Olympic champion was 1.44 seconds faster than any rival in one of the longest women’s slaloms in World Cup history. “I did a pretty good job the first run I guess so I felt more comfortable the second run, and just trying to hold on to it,” Shiffrin said.

She had a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 4.54 seconds. Frida Hansdotter of Sweden was second and Austria’s Marlies Schild was third, trailing 1.66 behind Shiffrin.

Shiffrin already clinched her second straight World Cup discipline title one week ago when winning a race at Are, Sweden. “I am very proud. One of my goals this year was to hold on to the slalom globe,” she said. Shiffrin led the standings from start to finish after winning the season-opening race in November at Levi, Finland.

Her ninth career World Cup victory came two days after her 19th birthday. Shiffrin will also race the seasonending giant slalom today. Only four racers were within two seconds of Shiffrin on a tiring end-ofseason course yesterday. “You have to try to just be as efficient as you can and not waste any energy,” Shiffrin said after the first run. “Try to just stay close to the gates as you can, make sure you are moving quick in between and let your skis do the rest of the work.”—AP

NHL results/standings San Jose 4, NY Islanders 3; Washington 4, Vancouver 3; Detroit 2, Edmonton 1 (So); Florida 5, New Jersey 3; Nashville 3, Chicago 2; NY Rangers 4, Winnipeg 2; Calgary 4, Dallas 3 (SO); Anaheim 6, Colorado 4.

Anaheim San Jose Los Angeles Phoenix Vancouver Calgary Edmonton

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 44 16 7 216 44 17 7 213 38 23 6 164 31 25 11 185 30 29 10 163 27 33 7 163 23 36 9 169

GA 171 165 142 191 187 199 223

PTS 95 95 82 73 70 61 55

St. Louis Colorado Chicago Minnesota Dallas Winnipeg Nashville

45 43 38 35 32 30 29

Central Division 14 7 219 19 5 206 15 14 227 22 9 163 23 11 191 29 9 186 28 10 163

150 180 178 162 185 199 197

97 91 90 79 75 69 68

Boston Toronto Tampa Bay Montreal Detroit Ottawa Florida Buffalo

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 44 17 5 210 36 24 8 201 35 24 7 191 35 25 7 167 30 23 13 174 28 25 12 185 25 35 7 166 19 39 8 131

145 207 175 170 184 213 217 196

93 80 77 77 73 68 57 46

Pittsburgh NY Rangers Columbus Philadelphia Washington New Jersey Carolina NY Islanders

Metropolitan Division 44 17 4 206 36 28 4 177 34 26 6 193 33 25 7 184 31 27 10 197 29 25 13 166 29 28 9 167 25 34 9 191

159 169 183 190 205 173 187 232

92 76 74 73 72 71 67 59

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Rangers ground Jets WINNIPEG: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots to match the Rangers’ record for career wins, and Swedish countryman Carl Hagelin scored three goals to lift New York to a 42 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL on Friday.

Lundqvist tied the mark of 301 wins with the Rangers, set by Stanley Cup-winner Mike Richter. Lundqvist will have a chance to break the record today at home against San Jose. Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who went 1-2 on a three-game trip, bouncing back from a 2-1 loss at Minnesota on Thursday. New York took a 1-0 lead on its third shot of the game. Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd scored for the Jets, who have lost six straight and are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Jets failed to earn a point as they had in three of the previous five losses.

SHARKS 4, ISLANDERS 3 Matt Nieto and Jason Demers scored first-period goals as San Jose defeated New York for its fifth straight win. Joe Thornton and Marty Havlat added goals in the second as the Sharks improved to 20-6-3 against the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Antti Niemi made 35 saves for San Jose.

Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Frans Nielsen scored for the Islanders, who lost for the fifth time in six home games.

New York, which began a four-game homestand following a 2-1-1 trip, has an NHL-worst 9-17-8 home record. Former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov stopped 22 shots for the Islanders in his first start against them.

DUCKS 6, AVALANCHE 4 Kyle Palmieri scored two goals in 47 seconds, and Anaheim netted six in the second period to beat Colorado.

Corey Perry, Daniel Winnik and Ben Lovejoy also scored for the Ducks, who stopped a four-game skid with their biggest offensive output since they scored nine goals against Vancouver on Jan. 1.

Jonas Hiller made 34 saves two nights after giving up three goals on five shots before being pulled.

The Ducks stayed tied with San Jose for first place in the Pacific Division. Both teams have 95 points, but the Ducks have played one fewer game.

CAPITALS 4, CANUCKS 3 Mike Green netted the go-ahead goal in the third period, Alex Ovechkin also scored, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists for his first NHL points, as Washington edged Vancouver. Washington led 3-1 early in the third before Shawn Matthias and Nicklas Jensen scored for Vancouver to tie it. Green put the Capitals ahead for good with 9:41 left, scoring with a slap shot off a feed from Nicklas Backstrom from behind the net.

Joel Ward and Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals.

Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves. Jordan Schroeder scored Vancouver’s other goal, and Chris Higgins and Christopher Tanev both had two assists. Eddie Lack stopped 17 shots.

PANTHERS 5, DEVILS 3 Scottie Upshall scored the go-ahead goal as Florida

WINNIPEG: New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) saves a shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Jim Slater (19) as Rangers’ Martin St. Louis helps to defend during the second period of an NHL game. — AP held on to beat New Jersey. Vincent Trocheck, Brad Boyes, Quinton Howden and Brian Campbell also scored for Florida. Roberto Luongo stopped 28 shots. Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists, and Boyes also had an assist.

Patrik Elias had a goal and assist, and Bryce Salvador and Jaromir Jagr also scored for the Devils. Cory Schneider made 17 saves. The Panthers ended a three-game losing streak and handed the Devils their first loss in three games.

RED WINGS 2, OILERS 1 Tomas Tatar scored on Detroit’s third shootout attempt, and Jimmy Howard stopped all three Edmonton attempts in the Red Wings’ win.

Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth tied the game midway through the third period, scoring on a shot set up by Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith’s backhanded giveaway. Riley Sheahan put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 late in the first period. Edmonton has the worst record in the Western Conference and isn’t far from being eliminated from the playoff race for the eighth straight season.

PREDATORS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2 Roman Josi had three assists and Ryan Ellis scored in the

third period as Nashville beat Chicago for its third consecutive win.

Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville, which has won two of three against Chicago this season. Shea Weber had an assist, and Pekka Rinne made 31 saves.

It was the second straight loss for the Blackhawks, who dropped to 10-8-7 in 2014. Jonathan Toews and Peter Regin scored for Chicago, and Corey Crawford made 26 saves in his 200th NHL game.

FLAMES 4, STARS 3 Mike Cammalleri scored two goals and Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout as Calgary erased a twogoal deficit in the third period to beat Dallas.

It was the Stars’ first home game since forward Rich Peverley collapsed on their bench on Monday. Peverley got a standing ovation in the first period, four nights after he was revived by medical personnel during a game against Columbus that was postponed.

Trailing 3-1 late in the third, Calgary’s Paul Byron and Cammalleri scored a pair of goals three minutes apart to even the score, leading to the shootout. — AP

SIRBB Circuit now open to public KUWAIT: Following the success of its soft launch in October - where hundreds of people attended to witness some of the largest car, motorbike, and drifting parades seen in Kuwait - SIRBB Circuit finally opens its gates for public bookings and walk-ins.

In the few months since its launch, SIRBB Circuit has become Kuwait’s premier motorsports destination and gathering point, and the center to most major motor-related events and activities. In under 4 months, SIRBB was host to Road Rush 2013 — a women’s only kart racing event — in addition to Gulf Run’s 2013 24-Hour Karting Endurance Race, the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro launch, the Lamborghini Huracan private viewing, the Porsche Open Day, the Classic Car Festival, the Classic Pickup Festival, as well as a multitude of corporate events and weekly local car club meetings and gatherings.

“We’re really excited about finally being able to pass on the fun to everyone” says Julian Hayward, the Facility Director. “We’ve been working hard on setting the stage for the public and solidifying our safety standards - and making sure it’s a pleasant

and thrilling experience for all our visitors”.

Mustafa Makhseed, General Manager of Kuwait’s Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum said, “I think everyone here has waited a long time for a place like SIRBB, seeing as we have one of the region’s highest concentration of motor lovers and investors.

People in Kuwait go out of their way to attend and be part of motor-related activities all over the world, and now it’s finally just next door at home.

From what we’ve seen over the last few months, SIRBB Circuit attracts men and women from all ages and backgrounds, and we’re gearing up to become Kuwait’s prime destination, thanks to the continuing support of His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al Mohamad Al Sabah to automotive enthusiast in Kuwait, and also to Abdulaziz Isaac, member of the Board of Trustees of the museum, for his guidance and input to the Museum’s plans.”

Eng. Zakaria Dashti, Executive Manager of the Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum, added, “We’ve been getting walk-ins and bookings nonstop since we’ve announced our public opening

last weekend, which is very exciting for us and for Kuwait. We have great plans for SIRBB, that we will be announcing later, but we guarantee that SIRBB will always provide motorsport enjoyment in Kuwait.”

SIRBB Circuit is the GCC’s newest karting facility, built on modern, state-of-the-art grounds. A truly unique spot in Kuwait, SIRBB Circuit lies at the heart of motor city in Shuwaikh Industrial, right next to the Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum and opposite Alghanim Motors - at the intersection of the Jahra and Airport Roads. Under the auspices and generous support of His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al Mohamad Al Sabah, SIRBB Circuit is hoping to become the new hub for automobile enthusiasts and thrill-seekers, and to celebrate all things motor, with a host of experiences already in motion like karting, drift rides and the exclusive Ariel Atom. With more surprises to be rolled out over the course of the year, SIRBB Circuit is a place where Kuwaitis and expats alike can finally live their love for motorsports, right here in their hometown.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

S P ORTS

Pennetta to face Radwanska in Indian Wells women’s final

INDIAN WELLS: Flavia Pennetta of Italy hits a return to Li Na of China during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. — AFP

Garrigus grabs PGA lead PALM HARBOR: Robert Garrigus, an American seeking his second US PGA Tour title, fired a five-under par 66 to seize a three-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the $5.7 million Valspar Championship. Garrigus stood on seven-under 135 after 36 holes on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook with compatriot Kevin Na second on 138 after a second-round 68.

Americans Pat Perez and Matt Every, who were among four players to share the 18-hole lead, fired par 71s to share third on 139 with reigning US Open champion Justin Rose and Italy’s Matteo Manassero.

Australian Greg Chalmers, who also opened on 68, shot a 72 to share seventh on 140 alongside 2010 winner Jim Furyk, John Merrick, Scott Langley and Luke Guthrie.

South Korean-born New Zealander Danny Lee, who shared the 18-hole lead, fired a 79 and missed the cut. Garrigus, who lost a playoff two years ago at Innisbrook, opened with a 10-foot par putt, sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the par-5 fifth and a 17-foot birdie putt to close the front nine. Garrigus, who won at Disney World in 2010, opened the back nine with a bogey but followed with a birdie at 11 and another at the par-5 14th, then added a 27-foot birdie putt at the 15th before closing with three consecutive pars.“Very solid putting the first two days,” Garrigus said. “I hit it a little better yesterday in the wind.

I hate to say it’s a better round, it was 2under to 5-under, but it was definitely a better ball-striking round.—AFP

INDIAN WELLS: Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta upset China’s Australian Open champion Li Na on Friday to join Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the women’s final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The 32-year-old Pennetta qualified for the biggest singles final of her career after a 7-6(5) 6-3 drubbing of an out-ofsorts Li. Pennetta will face Radwanska in Sunday’s final after the Pole avenged her loss to Romania’s Simona Halep in Qatar last month with a 6-3 6-4 win on the Californian desert hardcourts.

Li beat Pennetta in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January but the Italian was too good this time. “I think we played really good tennis tonight,” Pennetta said.

“In Australia I didn’t have any chance against her, but tonight I played much better. I just fought and tried my best. Of course I’m happy.”

Radwanska, ranked third in the world, sealed the first set with an ace after she broke Halep’s opening service game but found herself trailing the second when the Romanian broke.

But the 25-year-old Pole regained control, getting back on level terms then getting a second break and serving out her victory to reach her first final at Indian Wells.

“What I was trying to do was play aggressively from the beginning of the match and just try to go for my shots,” said Radwanska. “I was lucky. I think I was serving better than other days, so that helped today as well. I think it was a pretty good match.”

Halep took some consolation from h e r d e fe a t a s s h e w i l l r i s e to f i f t h place in the world when the new rankings are released tomorrow. “It was a tough match,” said Halep. “She played really well.

“She deserved to win today. Every ball was in for her, and I had to run a lot. I think I started the match a bit too soft. I was not ready to play.

“But she is a great player. It’s always difficult to play against her. I wanted to find my way to play. I did, but (it) was too late in first set. She was better than me today.”

Li was promoted to the women’s seed in the absence of world number one Serena Williams but had struggled with her serve all week.

She had similar problems against Pennetta, coughing up eight double faults in the first set alone, as the players traded eight service breaks before Pennetta won the tiebreaker.

Li’s serve improved in the second set but her forehand let her down as she started to spray shots all over the court and Pennetta seized her chance, sealing her victory with a backhand winner.

“It’s not bad. It’s not like I lost my first match,” Li said. “At least I had a few matches here, and making semis isn’t bad.

“It’s not like I lost to a bad player. She was playing really well today. It’s nothing to worry about. I have a couple of things I want to improve for the next tournament.”

For Pennetta, reaching the final capped an incredible year for a woman who was primarily regarded as a doubles player.

Less than a year ago, her singles ranking had plummeted to 166 and she was considering retiring, before she made a fairytale run at the US Open, reaching the semi-finals. “I’m surprised,” Pennetta said. “In the beginning of the week if you told me, ‘You’re going to make the final here,’ I would have said, ‘Mmmm, I don’t think so!’ “So I’m really happy. I’m happy with my game.” — Reuters

Hirscher wins overall WCup title LENZERHEIDE: Marcel Hirscher clinched his third straight overall World Cup title yesterday but couldn’t prevent Ted Ligety from winning his fifth season-long giant slalom trophy.

A race that came down to a few hundredths of a second saw Hirscher finish fourth, giving him enough points to clinch the sport’s biggest prize.

Ligety won the race and thereby tied the Austrian on points in the season-long discipline standings, giving the American the GS title on a tiebreaker as he had more race victories.

“It’s an unbelievable happy day,” said Hirscher, content to concede the discipline to the American dubbed “Mr. GS” by race announcers.

“My big goal was the overall World Cup title and I got it and I’m so happy,” said the 25-year-old Hirscher, the first man to win three in a row since American Phil Mahre completed the feat in 1983.

Hirscher needed 19 points to overtake Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who led the standings going into the race but skied out in the first run.

Fourth place gave the Austrian 50 points.

Hirscher completed Austria’s first overall title d o u b l e s i n ce 2 0 0 2 , a f te r A n n a Fe n n i n g e r clinched her first women’s title this week. They both come from villages near Salzburg and raced each other as juniors. Ligety earned his victory in a crowd-pleasing race by just 0.03 seconds ahead of runner-up Alexis Pinturault of France, in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 15.63 seconds.

“I’m super-thrilled. That was by the skin of my teeth today,” Ligety said. He still relied on a big assist from first-run leader Felix Neureuther of Germany to make clinch the discipline title as the narrow margins all fell Ligety’s way.

Ligety, the Olympic champion in GS, was second-fastest in the morning and had time in the start house to absorb the second-leg target set by Hirscher. Hirscher finished outside provisional leader Pinturault’s time, leaving Ligety an opening.

The 29-year-old American came down barely faster than Pinturault, drawing applause from Hirscher who was in the finish area already know-

ing he was overall champion.

Ligety then needed his good friend Neureuther to finish second or third in the narrow time gap between himself and Hirscher.

Neureuther did it in the tightest way possible, finishing 0.01 ahead of Hirscher, who was relegated to fourth. With 10 fewer points awarded for fourth than third, he fell into a tie with Ligety on 560 over the eight-race season.

Ligety got the tiebreaker with five World Cup race wins against Hirscher’s two. “Felix, I owe a lot of beers,” Ligety said. Hirscher was smiling later, after watching Ligety and Neureuther roll around the finish-area snow in celebration.

“He is not allowed to travel to Austria. It is over.

Just kidding,” Hirscher said of Neureuther’s intervention. They will renew their rivalry Sunday for the season-long slalom title.

“He is very mad about me so it’s going to be very close,” said Neureuther, who leads Hirscher by five points in the slalom standings. Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway is also in contention.

Svindal faded again, extending his disappointing series of results since leaving the Sochi Olympics early, affected by allergies and without a medal. He is not competing in Sunday’s slalom.

“It was a good season but it could have been fantastic,” said Svindal, who won the World Cup titles in downhill and super-G though all but conceded the overall title to Hirscher earlier in the week.

“That was too bad, because I had a really good opportunity to win the biggest thing a ski racer can win,” said Svindal, a two-time former overall champion.

Ligety completed a race double for the U.S. team Saturday, with Mikaela Shiffrin earlier winning her fifth World Cup slalom this season.

The American anthem played four times in quick succession for a crowd of 10,500 at the Swiss venue - twice each for Ligety and Shiffrin’s race and season title victories. The Austrian anthem will dominate today, when Hirscher and Fenninger get their giant crystal globes. — AP

SWITZERLAND: Austria’s Marcel Hirscher competes during the FIS Men’s alpine skiing World Cup Giant Slalom yesterday in Lenzerheide. — AFP

INDIAN WELLS: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot to Julien Benneteau of France during the BNP Parabas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. — AFP

Djokovic, Isner ease into semis INDIAN WELLS: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and American John Isner cruised into the last four of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Friday with straight-sets wins in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic hardly raised a sweat in the Californian desert as he eased to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau, before the towering Isner rode his booming serve to a 7-6(4) 7-6(3) win over Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis.

Djokovic was not at his absolute best but was never in any real danger against the 32-year-old Benneteau, who beat him at Indian Wells eight years ago when the Serb was still a teenager.

Djokovic, 26, raced through the opening set in less than half an hour with two service breaks and four aces despite the windy conditions and an approaching sand storm.

The first six games of the second set all went with serve before Djokovic reeled off the last three in a row to seal a comfortable victory in less than 70 minutes.

He broke Benneteau for a 4-3 lead when the Frenchman double faulted, then again to wrap up the win when his opponent hit a forehand long and wide.

“I felt like I was very focused on the court from the start, and it’s what I was looking for. It’s never too easy,” said

Djokovic, who won the Indian Wells title in 2008 and 2011.

“First few matches I played good tennis but I had some ups and downs. Today was very stable from the first to the last point.

“He made a lot of unforced errors, and obviously I just needed to make him play an extra shot and serve well. I have done everything I wanted.”

Isner had a tougher time against Gulbis, winning the opening set in a tiebreaker after the first 12 games went with serve.

Isner fell behind in the second set when Gulbis found a way to break his serve but the Latvian was unable to capitalise as the American broke back and won the second tiebreaker.

Djokovic was beaten by Isner in the semi-finals at Indian Wells two years ago, losing tiebreakers in the first and third sets.

“He’s definitely not somebody you like to play in the big heat with such serve,” Djokovic said. “It’s ver y challenging because he doesn’t miss his serve too much, so you have to kind of be able to hold your composure from the first to the last point and be ready to play three tiebreaks.”

Late yesterday’s other semi-final will be between Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, who won their quarter-finals on Thursday. —Reuters

Revamped World T-20 searches for identity NEW DELHI: International T20 cricket, struggling to gain a firm footing despite the growing popularity of domestic leagues, will break new ground when the fifth World Twenty20 opens in Bangladesh today. Tests and one-dayers take precedence over T20 internationals even as successful competitions like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia’s Big Bash mushroom around the world.

India, cricket’s financial superpower, whose victory in the inaugural World T20 in 2007 sparked the IPL revolution, has played just one international in the shortest version over the last 15 months.

World cricket chiefs, hoping to spread the game to newer pastures through Twenty20, have expanded the upcoming tournament to 16 teams from 12 two years ago and introduced a new format.

Six qualifiers-Ireland, Afghanistan, Nepal, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands-will join Zimbabwe and hosts Bangladesh in a preliminary league of two groups from March 16 to 21.

The two group winners will then contest the Super-10 round with the top eight Test nations-Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.

True to the unpredictable nature of the slam-bang format, the four previous editions threw up different winners each time with India’s success in 2007 emulated by Pakistan (2009), England (2010) and the West Indies (2012) — all away from home.

Chris Gayle, one of the most destructive batsmen in the modern game, warned it will not be easy for his West Indies side to defend the title despite a series win over England this week.

“It would be nice if history could repeat itself but it’s going to be tough,” the left-handed opener said. “We will take it one match at a time. The first target is to make the semi-finals.”

Sri Lanka, the top-ranked T20 side, have enhanced their status as one of the favorites by spending more than six weeks in Bangladesh since late January, capped by their Asia Cup victory last weekend.

But sandwiched between a hectic international schedule, the absence of a number of leading players and a lackadaisical build-up by teams, the tournament will lose some sheen.

Australia, South Africa, England and the West Indies will arrive in Dhaka barely a week before the Super-10 round starts, leaving them little time to acclimatise.

ABSENT STARS The tournament will be notable for its absences such as Australian Test skipper Michael Clarke and his English counterpart Alastair Cook.

England’s star batsman Kevin Pietersen will also be missing after his controversial sacking last month, along with New Zealand’s big-hitting Jesse Ryder who was dropped for late-night drinking.

South Africa meanwhile will be entering a new era after the recent retirements of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. India can at least welcome back skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after he missed the Asia Cup through injury.

Australia, seeking to win their maiden World T20 title, have debunked the theory that T20 is a young man’s game by including middle-order batsman Brad Hodge, 39, and 43-year-old spinner Brad Hogg in their squad.

The tournament, which runs until April 6, will be played under heavy security after election violence at the turn of the year raised fears that Bangladesh’s biggest sporting event could be moved elsewhere.

Bangladesh, which co-hosted the 2011 50-over World Cup with India and Sri Lanka, will stage matches in the capital Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.

But plans to host games in the holiday resort of Cox’s Bazaar were ruled out after building work on a new stadium fell behind schedule.

Organisers will be praying that Bangladesh defeat the dangerous Afghanistan in today’s tournament opener in Dhaka because an early exit for the hosts could seriously affect interest in the tournament.

Afghanistan, who will play their third World T20 and have also qualified for a maiden appearance in the 50-over World Cup next year, stunned the hosts in the recent Asia Cup. No wonder Bangladesh’s premier allrounder Shakib Al Hasan urged fans to tone down expectations from the home team. “Everyone must take results sportingly,” he said. “Too much expectation puts undue pressure on us.” — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

S P ORT S Photo of the day

Clippers silence Jazz SALT LAKE CITY: Blake Griffin had 20 points and Chris Paul shook off a sprained ankle to score 18 points to rally the Los Angeles Clippers past the Utah Jazz 96-87 on Friday, extending their winning streak to 10 straight games.

Los Angeles had its lowest points total during the streak, but the Clippers won this time with defense, forcing 20 turnovers by the Jazz that led to 31 points.

The Jazz led 70-60 in the third-quarter, but the Clippers capitalized on a rash of Utah miscues and poor shot selection to go on a 20-2 run. Paul landed awkwardly after a layup, spraining his left ankle. The point guard limped up and down the court, but still led the Clippers’ come-from-behind-third quarter burst. He had seven points and three assists in the six-minute run that ended with Will Green’s 3-pointer with 10:37 to play that made it 80-72.

A competitor performs during Red Bull Be-One at Phoenix Park in Pyeong Chang, South Korea on March 1, 2014. — www.redbullcontentpool.com

England rout Italy 52-11, chase 6 Nations title ROME: Owen Farrell accounted for 22 points and Mike Brown added two tries as England stated its case for the Six Nations title with a convincing 52-11 win over Italy yesterday at the Stadio Olimpico.

“We scored some great tries and we’ve come here and scored 50, and not many teams have done that,” England coach Stuart Lancaster said. “There were some errors in the first half, but I’m just proud of the boys. It’s a great squad we’ve got developing and the bigger picture is important.” The title will be decided after Ireland’s match at France later, with England cheering for the French, who have little chance needing a massive win.

Ireland can claim the title if it wins by any margin. “It’s uncontrollable for us,” Lancaster said. “Obviously it would be nice to win it. But if Ireland go to France and win, well, then they deserve it.”

Farrell’s points came courtesy of one try, one penalty and seven conversions.

Leonardo Sarto scored Italy’s only try late in the second half after Luciano Orquera converted two penalties early on. Having lost all five of its matches in this year’s tournament, Italy took the wooden spoon. “We started this tournament well and we finished negatively,” Italy coach Jacques Brunel said, referring to a narrow opening loss at Wales. “We’re behind in terms of what our goals were.”On a perfect springlike day in the Italian capital, there were large sections of white-clad England supporters inside the soldout stadium. But it was Italy who scored first, with a penalty from Orquera six minutes in after England was penalized for standing up in the scrum.

Four minutes later, Farrell was on target with the sun in his eyes for a penalty and then Brown darted down the left flank for his first try. Italy went close to the English try line following a poor pass from No. 13 Luther Burrell and then Orquera kicked in another penalty from the right flank cutting England’s lead to 10-6. After that, it was nearly all England. Farrell took advantage of a sparsely spread Italian line to go in for a try and then Brown scored another try on a long, un-opposed run to make it 24-6 at halftime. After a brief respite at the start of the second half, Jack Nowell scored his first try for England in the 53rd and Mako Vunipola touched down less than 10 minutes later, as Italy struggled to put together any resistance whatsoever. —AP

PACERS 101, 76ERS 94 Paul George scored 25 points and David West had 18 to help Indiana beat Philadelphia, sending the 76ers to their 19th straight loss. With a loss to Memphis on Saturday, the Sixers can tie the franchise record for consecutive defeats in a single season. The Sixers lost 20 straight games in 1973 in a 9-73 season.

The NBA record for consecutive losses in a season is 26 set by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Sixers last won on Jan. 29 on Evan Turner’s buzzer-beater at Boston. Turner was traded to the Pacers at the Feb. 20 deadline and is now a key reserve on a team expected to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs. Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 25 points and 10 assists.

NUGGETS 111, HEAT 107 Kenneth Faried scored 24 points and Darrell Arthur led a big effort from Denver’s bench with 18 as Denver handed suddenly reeling Miami its fifth loss in six games. Evan Fournier scored 14, Ty Lawson had 13 and JJ Hickson added 11 for the Nuggets.

Denver’s reserves scored 57 points.

Ray Allen scored 22 points for Miami, which fell three games behind Indiana in the race for the No. 1 Eastern Conference seed in the playoffs. LeBron James scored 21 points and Dwyane Wade added 19 for the Heat, who turned the ball over 20 times and shot 7 for 24 from 3-point range. It was only the fifth win for Denver in its last 18 games.

SPURS 119, LAKERS 85 Danny Green had 15 points as San Antonio won its ninth straight and handed the Lakers their largest defeat in their longtime rivalry. San Antonio never trailed after the opening four minutes, allowing coach Gregg Popovich to limit his starters and Manu Ginobili to an average of 17 minutes.

The Spurs had five reserves score in double-figures, led by Matt Bonner’s 13 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio (49-16) maintained the league’s best record ahead of Indiana and Oklahoma City, who are both 48-17. Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost five of six.

ROME: Italy’s Matias Aguero (right) clears the ball next to England’s Sergio Parisse (center) during the Six Nations International rugby union match. — AFP

Boshoff boot gives Auckland the blues JOHANNESBURG: Marnitz Boshoff continued a fairy tale first Super 15 season with 24 points for Golden Lions in a 3936 victory over Auckland Blues yesterday. The fly-half kicked four penalties, three conversions and two drop goals at sunny Ellis Park in Johannesburg to raise his five-match tally to 94 points.

And his major contribution to a third win in five outings for perennial strugglers the Lions came after he fluffed an early, angled 25-metre penalty attempt.

It was his sole miss of the match , and only the second in 29 attempts since the season kicked off.

A roller-coaster game in which the South Africans dominated the first-half scrums saw the home side build big leads only to be constantly pegged back by the strong-running New Zealanders.

A 23-3 home lead on 52 minutes was trimmed to eight points soon after, and the Blues got within four points nine minutes from time.

But two Boshoff penalties widened the gap before full-back Benji Marshall

dotted down and a simple conversion by replacement fly-half Chris Hickey left just three points between the sides.

The Blues did have a chance to snatch victory when they gained possession from the kick-off after Marshall scored in the final minute.

However, after making some ground, the Aucklanders were forced to retreat and the final whistle sounded when a New Zealander was forced into touch.

Tries from scrum-half Faf de Klerk, left-wing Courtnall Skosan and full-back Coenie van Wyk completed the Lions’ total in the southern hemisphere interprovincial championship match.

Blues, who trailed 17-0 at half-time and had prop Charlie Faumuina (collapsing a maul) and lock Tom Donnelly (dangerous clean-out) sin binned, did have the consolation of two bonus points.

They were always dangerous with ball in hand and replacement scrum-half Bryn Hall proved a hard-to-contain livewire when he came on for veteran Piri Weepu.—AFP

WIZARDS 105, MAGIC 101 John Wall had 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and Trevor Ariza added 21 points and 11 rebounds as Washington beat Orlando in overtime. The victory ends the Wizards’ seven-game road losing streak to the Magic. Bradley Beal added 20 points before being helped off the court with an injury in overtime. Marcin Gortat finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tobias Harris had 21 points and Arron Afflalo finished with 18 to lead the Magic. Orlando has now lost five in a row and 11 of their last 14.

RAPTORS 99, GRIZZLIES 86 Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 23 points and Kyle Lowry had 22 points and 12 assists as Toronto won for the 11th time in 14 games. Greivis Vasquez scored 17 points, DeMar DeRozan had 16 and Amir Johnson 12 as the Atlantic Divisionleading Raptors ended a four-game home losing streak against the Grizzlies and improved to 16-0 at home this season when leading after three quarters.

Ten of DeRozan’s points came in the fourth quarter, helping Toronto win back-to-back games against the Grizzlies after losing eight of the previous nine meetings. Zach Randolph scored 16 points as Memphis saw its four-game winning streak broken.

BOBCATS 105, TIMBERWOLVES 93 Al Jefferson had 25 points and 16 rebounds as Charlotte defeated Minnesota for its eighth straight victory at home.

Jefferson set a single-season team record with his 20th 20-point, 10-rebound game of the season. The Bobcats, currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, came in averaging 103.9 points and shooting 47 percent in their last seven homes games. They shot 48 percent against the Timberwolves. Kevin Martin had 19 points to lead Minnesota.

SUNS 87, CELTICS 80 Goran Dragic scored 20 points as Phoenix scored the last seven points of the game to beat cold-shooting Boston.

After Jeff Green’s two free throws for Boston made it 80-80 with 2:02 left, Alex Len started the decisive spurt with a threepoint play on a tip-in and a free throw. The Suns finished the scoring with a dunk by Markieff Morris and a layup by Dragic.

Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Morris added 15 points for Phoenix, which ended a three-game losing streak and moved one game behind Memphis for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. Kris Humphries had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

TRAIL BLAZERS 111, PELICANS 103 Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Nicolas Batum added 22 as Portland ended a four-game skid while playing without AllStar LaMarcus Aldridge. Wesley Matthews had 20 points for the Trail Blazers, who kept Aldridge out of the game due to a back contusion. Anthony Davis scored a career-high 36 points and Brian Roberts added 19 for New Orleans.

Trailing by five with less than six minutes to go, Lillard went on a personal 7-0 run to give Portland the lead for good at 96-94.

CAVALIERS 103, WARRIORS 94 Spencer Hawes had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help Cleveland erase an 18-point first-half deficit on the way to a victory over Golden State. Dion Waiters added 18 points and Luol Deng and Kyrie Irving had 16 apiece for the Cavaliers, who ended a six-game losing streak against the Warriors. Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Draymond Green added 18 for the Warriors, who were without starting guard Klay Thompson, who was in the Bahamas for his grandfather’s funeral. — AP

NBA results/standings Charlotte 105, Minnesota 93; Washington 105, Orlando 101 (OT); Indiana 101, Philadelphia 94; Toronto 99, Memphis 86; Phoenix 87, Boston 80; Denver 111, Miami 107; Portland 111, New Orleans 103; San Antonio 119, LA Lakers 85; LA Clippers 96, Utah 87; Cleveland 103, Golden State 94.

Toronto Brooklyn NY Knicks Boston Philadelphia Indiana Chicago Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee Miami Washington Charlotte Atlanta Orlando

Oklahoma City Portland Minnesota Denver Utah LA Clippers Golden State Phoenix Sacramento LA Lakers San Antonio Houston Dallas Memphis New Orleans

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 37 27 33 30 26 40 22 44 15 50 Central Division 48 17 36 29 26 40 25 40 13 52 Southeast Division 44 19 34 31 32 34 28 35 19 48 Western Conference Northwest Division 48 17 43 23 32 32 29 36 22 44 Pacific Division 47 20 41 26 37 28 23 42 22 44 Southwest Division 49 16 44 21 39 27 38 27 26 39

PCT .578 .524 .394 .333 .231

GB 3.5 12 16 22.5

.738 .554 .394 .385 .200

12 22.5 23 35

.698 .523 .485 .444 .284

11 13.5 16 27

.738 .652 .500 .446 .333

5.5 15.5 19 26.5

.701 .612 .569 .354 .333

6 9 23 24.5

.754 .677 .591 .585 .400

5 10.5 11 23

Hurricanes snap losing streak

WELLINGTON: Central Cheetahs Elgar Watts is tackled by the Wellington Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith during their Super 15 rugby union match at Westpac Stadium. — AFP

WELLINGTON: Flyhalf Beauden Barrett scored two tries and kicked 13 points as the Wellington Hurricanes got their first win of the Super Rugby season with a 60-27 hammering of South Africa’s Cheetahs yesterday.

Barrett was irresistible as the Hurricanes ran rampant, securing the bonus point before halftime and crossing for a total of nine tries to snap an eight-match losing streak going back to last season.

All Blacks centre Conrad Smith scored the penultimate try of the match to celebrate his 100th Super Rugby appearance in front of a disappointing crowd of just over 8,000 at the Wellington Stadium.

Cheetahs fullback Willie Le Roux scored the first of his team’s three tries with a typical turn of searing pace but was harshly sin-binned just after the break when he knocked on an attempted an interception. — Reuters

SALT LAKE CITY: Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (3) drives around Utah Jazz’s Trey Burke (left) in the first quarter during an NBA basketball game. — AP

Hamlin learns to co-exist with Logano a year later BRISTOL: Their feud started with some Twitter posts about the closing laps of the Daytona 500 and it heightened three weeks later at Bristol Motor Speedway, where an on-track spin nearly led to post-race fisticuffs. Things took a turn for the worse between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano a week later at Fontana when the two drivers refused to give an inch while attempting to win. It led to a crash, a broken vertebra for Hamlin and a destroyed relationship between the former teammates.

As they return this weekend to Bristol a year later, Hamlin has finally put his malevolent feelings toward Logano aside.

“We’re OK,” Hamlin said. “We don’t talk or anything like that more than we should and really no less than we should, I would say. You can hold grudges all you want, but it’s not going to make you any faster and it’s not going to get you any closer to a championship.

“I’m bitter in ways, and in other ways it’s been so long ago and there’s so many trials and tribulations between then and now, that I think I’m a better person now and I think I’m a better driver now.”

Said Logano: “I feel like we’re fine. A year is a long time. It’s over now. I feel like we’ve moved on.” Hamlin missed almost five full races with his back injury and struggled through constant pain upon his return in May. He refused to end his season early, even when it became apparent he’d miss the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship for the first time in his career.

But in finishing out the year, Hamlin earned his only victory of the season in the finale at Homestead. He carried that momentum through the offseason and was strong during Speedweeks, where he won two races and finished second in the Daytona 500.

The performance tailed off at Phoenix and Las Vegas,

where Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole seemed to be off, but Hamlin bounced back this weekend at Bristol. He set a track record in qualifying and will start from the pole in today’s race.

Logano, who qualified fourth, will start in the row behind Hamlin and understands people want to rehash the relationship. “Obviously, people were talking about it this week because it’s the one-year anniversary of the whole fiasco,” Logano said. “But you move on and forget about things. You’re supposed to forgive and forget and that goes both ways, so we both knew what we had to do and I feel like we’ve moved on and we’re going from there.”

Hamlin doesn’t expect any problems like last year, when he spun Logano while Logano was racing for the lead. It led to a post-race confrontation that involved the crews for both teams.

“As far as my relationship with him, I treat him with respect

on the race track, as I should,” said Hamlin, who chooses to limit his conversations with Logano because “what do you say? How can you express how upset you are with someone without punching them?”

The two have had no choice but to coexist because as Coca-Cola sponsored drivers, they’ve had to work with each other at various events and long commercial shoots. Logano said they spent three hours inside a van together at a recent shoot. “I felt like by the end of it, we all got along well,” he said.

“That’s the good thing about it - Coca-Cola brings us all back together and puts a smile on everybody’s face.” Hamlin said he’s been cordial. “I don’t really force it too much. I mean, there’s awkward moments,” he said. “You’re face-to-face with someone and you’re having to talk during a commercial. You have those moments where you just as soon look away - and you do.”—AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

S P ORT S

Dortmund shocked at home

MELBOURNE: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain controls his car on turn two during the qualifying session at Albert Park ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. — AP

Hamilton takes pole, Vettel out of top 10 MELBOURNE: Lewis Hamilton captured pole position for Mercedes for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a thrilling finish to a rain-hit qualifying session yesterday, while Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel failed to make the top 10.

Hamilton saved the best for last with his final lap of a gloomy session after Australian Daniel Ricciardo had stormed to the top of the timesheets only seconds earlier on his first race weekend for champions Red Bull.

The 29-year-old Briton’s time of one minute 44.231 seconds on a greasy Albert Park track was just over three-tenths of a second faster than Ricciardo, who upstaged team mate Vettel to the delight of the home fans.

Quadruple champion Vettel, winner of the last nine races of 2013, was only 13th fastest and was frustrated by a crash late in the final session by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen which brought out the yellow flags and forced drivers to ease their pace.

“Today made it so much harder with the conditions, but I’m really happy with the job the team did,” said Hamilton, whose 32nd second pole equalled Nigel Mansell’s British record. “These cars are much harder driving in the wet.”

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg will start third on the grid alongside McLaren’s 21-year-old Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen, who underlined his talent with a poised drive in trying conditions.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso qualified fifth with Jean-Eric Vergne sixth fastest for Toro Rosso. It was the first time Vettel had failed to make the final round of qualifying since he started 11th on the grid in Belgium in 2012, before battling through the field to finish the race second.

Vettel will move up to 12th, however, with Williams’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas due to drop from 10th place after taking a five-place penalty for a gearbox change.

“Obviously tricky conditions, for some reason we had more problems today than we had yesterday,” said the 26-year-old German, who appeared to struggle with handling and survived a brush with a wall in the first qualifying session. “The speed is there so we will see what we can do tomorrow. It’s a long race, anything can happen.”

LOTUS NIGHTMARE With Red Bull still playing catch-up to Mercedes after an abysmal winter testing plagued by reliability problems with their Renault power unit, Vettel looks set to be beat-

en for the first time since Hamilton won in Hungary last July.

Ricciardo, who has shouldered Australia’s hopes since the retirement of his Red Bull predecessor Mark Webber at the end of last season, had few illusions about the gap between the teams.

“I think if it was a dry qualifying we were expecting Lewis and Nico to be on the front row,” the 24-year-old said. “Hopefully the upward trend continues and we can start to hassle these guys in dry conditions soon.”

With teams already struggling to master the new turbocharged hybrid engines, fuel consumption will add an additional layer of complexity for drivers in Sunday’s race, with a new rule limiting cars to 100 kilograms of petrol.

Vettel will be in esteemed company in the middle of the grid, with two other champions McLaren’s Jenson Button and Raikkonen - also failing to get into the final group of 10.

Briton Button qualified 11th but will start 10th, while Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, was 12th fastest on his first Saturday since returning to Maranello.

The Finn, winner in Melbourne with Lotus last year, crashed into the wall at turn 14.

Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat also enjoyed a positive qualifying debut, despite hitting the wall at the end of the final session, to line up eighth for Toro Rosso with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg seventh.

Brazilian Felipe Massa will start ninth on the grid in his first race since crossing to Williams from Ferrari. Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi, making his comeback after being dropped by Sauber at the end of 2012, gave lowly Caterham a boost by qualifying 15th - which will become 14th after Bottas drops down.

Lotus’s horror week continued as both Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado were among the six knocked out of the first session.

Grosjean locked up and spun off after posting the slowest lap time in the opening session, while Maldonado was unable even to trouble the timesheets due to a problem with the power unit and will rely on the stewards’ discretion for a Sunday start.

“We had a lot of problems today and every time we fixed one another one comes along,” said Grosjean. “It’s frustrating, but I’m the one who has the easiest life as I’m not working all night on the car.” Sauber’s Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez, who qualified 19th, also collected a five-place grid penalty for the race for having a new gearbox. — Reuters

FRANCE: Tom Jelte Slagter of Netherlands wins the seventh leg of the Paris-Nice cycling race, between Mougins and Biot Sophia Antipolis, southeastern France. — AP

Slagter wins Paris-Nice stage BIOT: Dutch rider Tom-Jelte Slagter of the Garmin team won the seventh stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race yesterday as Colombian Carlos Betancur closed in on the title. Slagter won an uphill sprint finish ahead of world champion Rui Costa of Portugal followed by yellow jersey holder Betancur, with the ‘Race to the Sun’ due to conclude in Nice today.

Britain’s Geraint Thomas, second overall at the start from Mougins, lost ground after a fall 5km from the finish line after the 195.5km stage at Biot. Slagter also won Wednesday’s stage at Belleville, but his title hopes took a knock on Friday when his gears broke after

colliding with another rider 3km from the line.

“It was very frustrating because the title was finished for me,” said the 24-year-old. “It was tough to get back on the saddle today but when we arrived I saw that it was a finish which was perfect for. I’m delighted to have won again. “It’s the best possible start to the season for me.”

AG2R La Mondiale rider Betancur leads Costa by 14sec before the tough final stage over 128km which includes five climbs in Provence before arriving in Nice. “It was another difficult day for us,” said Betancur. “I know that I’m close to victory but it’s still a dream.” — AFP

Brazil great Rivaldo announces retirement SAO PAULO: Former Brazil star Rivaldo, the winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1999, announced his retirement from football yesterday at the age of 41.

“With tears in my eyes, I would like first to thank God, my family and all the support, the affection that I received during those 24 years as a player. Today I communicate to all my fans in the world, my history as a player came to the end,” said the for-

mer Barcelona playmaker in a message posted on Instagram.The veteran had returned to action with Sao Paulo outfit Mogi Mirim in January having previously stopped playing for Sao Caetano in November due to problems with his knee.

A World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, he also played in Italy with AC Milan, in Greece, in Uzbekistan and in Angola during a long and distinguished career. — AFP

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund stay second in the Bundesliga despite slumping to a 2-1 defeat at home to ten-man Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday.

The result means runaway leaders Bayern Munich hosting fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena later, the European champions can extend their lead to 23 points with a 16th-straight league win. Leverkusen are the last German team to win against Bayern-who are unbeaten in all of their 49 matches since-dating back to October 28, 2012.

Behind the scenes, Bayern have endured arguably the most turbulent week in the club’s history after Uli Hoeness was convicted of major tax fraud on Thursday and resigned as club president 24 hours later.

If Bayern go 23 points clear, they could be confirmed Bundesliga champions next Saturday, if they pick up another three points and their rivals lose, to go 26 points clear with eight games left to play.

Gladbach earned their first win in ten games to dent Dortmund’s confidence ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 clash at home to Zenit St Petersburg when they hold a 42 lead from the first leg.

“That is a bitter result for us, so the disappointment is huge,” said Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl. Dortmund are now just one point clear of third-placed rivals Schalke ahead of the Ruhr Valley derby on March 25. “We could have a cushion behind us, now things are tight,” admitted Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin.

Swiss coach Lucien Favre extended his Gladbach contract last week until 2017 and his side produced a devastating nine-minute firsthalf spell at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.

“Don’t worry, you’ll still finish second in the league,” Favre told Klopp after the final whistle.

Gladbach took the lead when a scuffed shot from Brazilian striker Raffael wrong-footed Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller on 31 minutes after Patrick Herrmann got the better of Borussia defender Mats Hummels to fire in a cross.

The hosts doubled their lead five minutes before the break when Herrmann found Juan Arango and the Venezuelan put in a great final pass for Germany squad striker Max Kruse to fire home five minutes before the break.

Gladbach midfielder Havard Nordtveit was sent off for a second yellow card for the final 20 minutes and new-signing Milos Jojic pulled one

GERMANY: Moenchengladbach’s Thorben Marx (left) and Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski of Poland challenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. — AP back for Dortmund on 77 minutes.

STUNNING FIGHT-BACK Mainz moved up to fifth with a sensational 42 victory at Hoffenheim with Japan’s Shinji Okazaki netting their last two goals as the guests scored three times in seven stunning second-half minutes to come from 2-0 down.

The win keeps Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz in the hunt for a European spot next season and are only three points short of a Champions League berth.

Relegation-threatened VfB Stuttgart, with new coach Huub Stevens in charge, are winless in their last 10 matches as they were held to a 11 draw at Werder Bremen.

Stuttgart’s Martin Harnik hammered a firsthalf penalty attempt off the post just before the break against his old club, but defender Georg Niedermeier gave the guests a 55th-minute lead.

Bremen’s Germany midfielder Aaron Hunt fired home a direct free-kick on 79 minutes to share a point. Wolfsburg drop to sixth after their 1-1 draw at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig as only three points separate the bottom four clubs including Freiburg, Hamburg and Stuttgart.

Hertha’s European aspirations suffered a dent as they lost 2-0 at home to Hanover 96 to stay ninth and four points off the top six.

On Friday, Schalke 04 moved up to third-an automatic Champions League spot-with a 2-1 win at Augsburg as Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice.

Having scored a hat-trick in last Saturday’s 40 rout of Hoffenheim, Huntelaar took his tally to six goals in his last four games.

The victory is a welcome boost for the Royal Blues ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Real Madrid where they face the near-impossible task of over-turning their 6-1 home leg defeat. — AFP

Preview

Preview

Liverpool, United in crunch clash LONDON: Liverpool hold the whip hand over Manchester United for the first time in decades and could land a devastating blow on their rivals’ top-four challenge at Old Trafford today. Having endured year upon year of United supremacy, Liverpool have turned the tables this season and approach this weekend’s match 11 points above their floundering foes in the Premier League table.

While Liverpool still have eyes on the title, United’s bid for Champions League qualification is in dire straits as they trail fourth-place Manchester City by nine points, having played two games more. David Moyes’s side have already lost at home four times in the league this season and they can expect no sympathy from a Liverpool team whose fans have endured season after season of torment at United’s hands.

Not since September 2004 have Liverpool gone into a league game at Old Trafford above United in the table and it was 23 years ago-in February 1991 that that was last the case for a fixture played after Christmas. Only once, in 2002, have Liverpool finished above United in the post-1992 Premier League era, but current manager Brendan Rodgers has warned against paying too much attention to the relative fortunes of the two teams. While Rodgers has been eager to play down Liverpool’s title chances, he says that silverware, rather than success against United, will be the only reliable barometer of his team’s progress.

“The benchmark for us is the best,” he said. “First of all, we are always challenging the team at the top; not Manchester United, who are further down.

“Liverpool has its own great history both domestically and in European football, so for us the benchmark has always been the best and we will always look to do that.

“I never said when I came in here we wanted to be fourth.

Top four is where we want to be, but Liverpool will always be judged on being the best, both here and in Europe, not against Manchester United.”

VAN PERSIE’S FUTURE Devoid of distractions in the cup competitions, Liverpool have found fine form in recent weeks, winning seven and drawing two of their last nine league games.

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, the division’s two leading scorers, have now amassed 42 goals between them, which is only four fewer than United’s entire squad.

United enjoyed breezy wins over Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in their last two league outings, but disaster has never been far away for Moyes this season and on Wednesday his side must attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Olympiakos in the last 16 of the Champions League. While the United manager concedes that Liverpool’s league position “possibly” makes them favorites, he is hoping that the defending champions will be inspired by the magnitude of the occasion. “It has been a great rivalry between the two clubs,” he said in his pre-game press conference. “Liverpool are having a very good season and we have to do everything we possibly can to beat them.” Moyes was buoyed on Friday by the news that last season’s top scorer, Robin van Persie, had rubbished speculation about his future at the club by declaring that he is happy at Old Trafford.

Moyes can also now call upon winger Nani, who has recovered from a long-term hamstring problem, while centre-back Jonny Evans (calf ) and striker Javier Hernandez (knee) could also be in contention to play.

Liverpool, who last tasted victory at United in March 2009, have been given a boost by the returns to fitness of midfielder Lucas Leiva (knee) and centre-back Mamadou Sakho (hamstring). United won 1-0 when the teams last met, in the League Cup third round in September, and Moyes may take heart from the knowledge that Liverpool have lost by a one-goal margin-on their last six visits to Old Trafford. — AFP

Arsene Wenger

Wenger aims to pile on misery for troubled Spurs LONDON: Arsene Wenger has challenged Arsenal to revive their Premier League title challenge by adding to the troubles of their bitter rivals Tottenham in a vital north London derby today.

Wenger is convinced his team can still overhaul their title rivals and the Gunners manager believes the short trip down the Seven Sisters Road to face beleaguered Tottenham is the ideal place to start.

After leading the top-flight table for a long period, Arsenal have surrendered the initiative with just one win in their last four league matches.

Yet Arsenal’s wobble pales in comparison to the problems across north London, where Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood is engaged in a battle to save his job three months after taking over from Andre Villas-Boas.

Sherwood’s surprise appointment looked like a masterstroke by chairman Daniel Levy when Spurs won five of their first six matches under the former Blackburn midfielder.

But Sherwood has seemed increasingly uncomfortable in recent weeks as Tottenham’s form has dipped, culminating in his stinging criticism of his players’ lack of character following last weekend’s 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea.

With repor ts claiming Levy is already sounding out potential replacements, Sherwood desperately needed to restore morale in Thursday’s Europa League tie against Benfica.

Instead, his players hardly looked like they had taken their manager’s words to heart as they slumped to a lacklustre 3-1 defeat which was most memorable for Sherwood adding to the impression of a man feeling the heat as he became embroiled in a touchline spat with Benfica coach Jorge Jesus.

In the circumstances, Wenger knows Sherwood can ill-afford to lose Sunday’s derby showdown and he hopes the pressure on Spurs will aid his team’s bid to get back on track after their midweek exit from the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

“It has always been difficult at White Hart Lane, but we are in a position where of course we want to win the game, because after losing at Stoke, it is very important,” Wenger said. “ We had a good result against Everton in the FA Cup, we had a good result even at Bayern, but we must continue and have no more weak moments before the end of the season.”

The Gunners have already beaten Spurs twice this season, but Wenger’s team are unlikely to be overconfident after losing their previous two visits to White Hart Lane.

Their cause isn’t helped by the absence of Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, who will be sidelined for several weeks with a grade two hamstring tear suffered against Bayern.

Even so, Wenger is confident the loss of Ozil won’t prevent Arsenal getting their title challenge back on course. “It is a blow of course, but I am confident we have the quality to deal without him during that period,” he said.

“We have many creative players in our squad who can take over and produce quality performances. “I am convinced that the team is ready, even without Ozil, to go for the challenge.”

Fifth placed Tottenham still have more than just north London pride to play for as they try to close the gap on fourth placed Manchester City in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen is adamant his team-mates shouldn’t let Sherwood take the blame for the club’s current woes and he made it clear they need to raise their game this weekend.

“I have only been here for a few months but I still know how a derby is,” Eriksen said. “Now it is at home and I am looking forward to it. I think a positive result will give everything and everybody a big boost. “Hopefully we will be way better today than what we were against Benfica.” — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

S P ORT S Soccer results/standings English Premier League Everton 2 (Deulofeu 59, Coleman 90) Cardiff 1 (Cala 68); Fulham 1 (Dejagah 68) Newcastle 0; Hull 0 Manchester City 2 (Silva 14, Dzeko 90); Southampton 4 (Schneiderlin 5, Lambert 57, Rodriguez 72, Gallagher 90) Norwich 2 (Elmander 85, Snodgrass 86); Stoke 3 (Odemwingie 33, 79, Arnautovic 69) West Ham 1 (Carroll 5); Sunderland 0 Crystal Palace 0; Swansea 1 (Lamah 2) West Brom 2 (Sessegnon 52, Mulumbu 85); Aston Villa 1 (Delph 82) Chelsea 0.

Playing today Manchester United v Liverpool, Tottenham v Arsenal.

English Football League Championship Bolton 0 Brighton 2; Bournemouth 0 Middlesbrough 0; Burnley 2 Leeds 1; Huddersfield 2 Blackburn 4; Ipswich 1 Wigan 3; Leicester 3 Blackpool 1; Millwall 0 Charlton 0; Nottingham Forest 0 Doncaster 0; QPR 3 Yeovil 0; Reading 0 Derby 0; Sheffield Wednesday 4 Birmingham 1; Watford 3 Barnsley 0.

Division One Bradford 1 Gillingham 1; Bristol City 0 Swindon 0; Carlisle 0 Stevenage 0; Crawley 1 Colchester 0; Crewe 1 Oldham 1; Leyton Orient 0 Brentford 1; Milton Keynes Dons 0 Peterborough 2; Rotherham 1 Walsall 1; Tranmere 3 Notts County 2; Wolves 0 Shrewsbury 0.

Playing today Coventry v Port Vale Playing tomorrow Preston v Sheffield Utd Division Two Burton 1 AFC Wimbledon 1; Cheltenham 1 Torquay 0; Chesterfield 3 Oxford 0; Dagenham and Redbridge 1 Morecambe 1; Fleetwood 3 Portsmouth 1; Hartlepool 4 Bristol Rovers 0; Northampton 1 Mansfield 1; Plymouth 0 Scunthorpe 2; Rochdale 2

Accrington 1; Southend 0 Bury 0; York 2 Wycombe 0.

Playing today Newport v Exeter

Swansea 1

Scottish Premiership Dundee Utd 3 (Graham 79, Armstrong 84, Ciftci 90) St Mirren 2 (McGowan 20, Thompson 40); Partick 3 (Erskine 44, Mair 60, Higginbotham 90) Hibernian 1 (Watmore 62).

Playing later St Johnstone v Ross County Scottish Football League Championship Alloa 0 Queen Of The South 1; Dumbarton 5 Cowdenbeath 1; Hamilton 3 Falkirk 1; Livingston 0 Dundee 2; Raith 2 Morton 1.

Division One Arbroath 0 Airdrie 1; East Fife 0 Ayr 5; Forfar 1 Stranraer 0; Rangers 2 Dunfermline 0; Stenhousemuir 4 Brechin 2.

30 27 28 28 29 28 28 30 29 29 30 29 29 29 30 29 29 27 30 30

20 6 4 56 23 19 3 5 71 27 18 5 5 73 35 18 5 5 52 28 16 5 8 37 37 14 9 5 40 28 14 6 8 46 31 12 9 9 43 37 13 4 12 37 40 9 7 13 32 38 8 10 12 32 44 8 7 14 32 38 8 6 15 30 37 7 8 14 38 43 7 8 15 24 48 5 13 11 33 43 8 4 17 19 38 6 7 14 26 42 6 7 17 23 52 7 3 20 30 65

English Football League Championship Leicester 35 25 5 5 68 33 Burnley 36 20 13 3 59 31 Derby 36 18 9 9 60 43 QPR 35 18 9 8 43 28 Wigan 34 17 7 10 45 31 Nottingham 36 14 15 7 55 41 Reading 36 15 11 10 56 41 Brighton 35 15 11 9 39 28 Ipswich 36 13 12 11 46 42 Blackburn 35 13 10 12 43 44 Watford 35 12 12 11 52 41 Bournemouth 35 12 10 13 44 51 Middlesbrough 36 10 15 11 44 38 Leeds 35 12 8 15 48 51 Huddersfield 36 12 8 16 47 50 Sheffield 35 10 12 13 43 42 Bolton 36 9 13 14 46 52 Blackpool 36 9 11 16 31 52 Birmingham 36 9 10 17 43 51 Doncaster 36 9 10 17 32 54 Millwall 36 7 11 18 32 62 Charlton 32 6 11 15 24 41 Yeovil 35 7 8 20 30 52 Barnsley 35 6 11 18 31 62 Division One Wolves Brentford Leyton Preston Rotherham Peterborough Milton Walsall Swindon Sheffield Port Vale Bradford Gillingham Crawley Town Bristol City Coventry Colchester Oldham Tranmere Carlisle Stevenage Crewe Shrewsbury Notts County Note: Coventry administration

66 60 59 59 53 51 48 45 43 34 34 31 30 29 29 28 28 25 25 24

80 73 63 63 58 57 56 56 51 49 48 46 45 44 44 42 40 38 37 37 32 29 29 29

35 23 8 4 64 21 77 35 23 7 5 59 31 76 37 22 8 7 70 34 74 36 18 14 4 52 36 68 36 18 12 6 67 44 66 36 18 4 14 58 48 58 37 15 7 15 53 50 52 37 12 13 12 41 40 49 37 13 9 15 53 51 48 34 13 8 13 37 38 47 35 14 4 17 46 55 46 36 10 15 11 48 44 45 37 13 6 18 49 60 45 32 10 13 9 36 39 43 37 9 15 13 54 59 42 35 14 9 12 64 63 41 35 9 12 14 39 45 39 37 10 9 18 41 54 39 36 10 9 17 44 64 39 36 10 8 18 38 57 38 36 10 7 19 37 55 37 37 9 10 18 42 69 37 36 7 13 16 34 47 34 37 9 4 24 45 67 31 deducted 10 points for entering

Division Two Chesterfield 37 Scunthorpe 37 Rochdale 36 Fleetwood 37 Burton Albion 37 Oxford Utd 37 Southend 37 York 37 Plymouth 36 Hartlepool 37 Cheltenham 36 Morecambe 36 Dagenham 36 Newport 34 AFC Wimbledon37 Mansfield 37 Bury 35 Bristol Rovers 36 Portsmouth 37 Wycombe 36 Accrington 36 Exeter 36 Northampton 36 Torquay 36

18 16 19 18 16 14 13 13 14 13 11 12 11 11 11 10 9 10 9 10 10 10 9 8

12 17 7 7 13 14 13 13 9 10 14 11 13 11 11 13 15 12 15 11 11 10 11 9

7 4 10 12 8 9 11 11 13 14 11 13 12 12 15 14 11 14 13 15 15 16 16 19

60 58 56 54 41 48 44 44 40 44 41 43 44 43 36 37 40 34 38 38 40 41 30 33

34 37 39 42 36 37 36 38 40 40 46 50 45 46 42 50 40 40 51 44 47 48 45 54

66 65 64 61 61 56 52 52 51 49 47 47 46 44 44 43 42 42 42 41 41 40 38 33

West Brom 2

SWANSEA: Youssouf Mulumbu scored an 85thminute winner as West Bromwich Albion won 2-1 at Swansea City yesterday to clamber three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. Playing hours after sacking Nicolas Anelka following his five-match ban for performing a ‘quenelle’ salute, West Brom fell behind to a second-minute strike by Roland Lamah at the Liberty Stadium.

However, Stephane Sessegnon marked his first start since New Year’s Day by equalising early in the second period before Mulumbu completed the visitors’ comeback with an elegant finish.

The Congolese midfielder’s goal gave West Brom manager Pepe Mel a first victory at the ninth attempt, lifting the club three points clear of third-bottom Sunderland and to within one point of 14th-place Swansea.

West Brom sacked Anelka late on Friday after he claimed to have unilaterally terminated his contract and the French striker’s departure should allow the club to focus purely on their bid to avoid the drop. Mel brought Sessegnon, James Morrison, Graham Dorrans and Craig Dawson into his starting XI, switching to a 3-5-2 formation, but he saw his side fall behind with less than 120 seconds on the clock.Wilfried Bony’s pass from deep split the visiting defence and Lamah cut in from the left before beating Ben Foster from a prohibitive angle.

In response, Victor Anichebe shot straight at Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, but the hosts, characteristically dominating possession, continued to threaten. Foster thwarted Bony at pointblank range after the Ivorian attacked a cross from Lamah, who put a header off-target from a

corner and narrowly failed to apply the finishing touch to a centre from Wayne Routledge.

Routledge then teed up Bony to lash a shot over the top, before the livewire Lamah sent in a cross that eluded Bony and could not be turned in by Jonathan De Guzman.

Swansea captain Ashley Williams, meanwhile, could only direct a free header into the ground and over the bar from eight yards out. West Brom attacked the second period with vigour, equalising in the 52nd minute when Sessegnon sent a low shot skidding past Vorm from 25 yards.

Swansea had a penalty appeal turned down after a shot from Bony appeared to strike Gareth McAuley on the arm and the hosts then introduced Michu from the bench, following a three-month absence with an ankle problem.

De Guzman forced Foster to save with his feet after a driving run and with five minutes remaining, Mulumbu guided a shot between Jordi Amat’s legs and past a motionless Vorm to give West Brom a much-needed victory. — AFP

Odemwingie brace lifts Stoke past West Ham

Division Two Clyde 1 Stirling 0; Elgin City 2 Annan Athletic 3; Montrose 2 East Stirling 0; Peterhead 3 Berwick 0; Queen’s Park 4 Albion 0.

Stoke 3 German Bundesliga results Borussia Dortmund 1 (Jojic 77) Bor. Moenchengladbach 2 (Raffael 31, Kruse 40); Werder Bremen 1 (Hunt 79) VfB Stuttgart 1 (Niedermeier 55); Hoffenheim 2 Polanski 49, Roberto Firmino 53) Mainz 05 4 (ChoupoMoting 67, Saller 73, Okazaki 75, 90+2); Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Bellarabi 48) VfL Wolfsburg 1 (Luiz Gustavo 36); Hertha Berlin 0 Hanover 96 3 (Stindl 49, Schlaudraff 57, Huszti 90+1).

West Ham 1

Playing today Hamburg v Nuremberg, Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg.

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Man City Liverpool Arsenal Tottenham Everton Man Utd Southampton Newcastle Aston Villa Stoke West Ham Hull Swansea Norwich West Brom Crystal Palace Sunderland Cardiff Fulham

West Brom see off Swansea

German League Bayern Munich 24 22 2 0 72 Dortmund 25 15 3 7 56 Schalke 04 25 14 5 6 48 Leverkusen 24 14 2 8 40 Mainz 25 12 5 8 37 Wolfsburg 25 12 4 9 42 Borussia 25 11 6 8 43 Augsburg 25 11 5 9 38 Hertha Berlin 25 10 6 9 35 Hoffenheim 25 7 8 10 54 Hanover 96 25 8 5 12 34 Werder Bremen 25 7 8 10 29 Frankfurt 24 6 8 10 27 Nuremberg 24 4 11 9 27 Stuttgart 25 5 6 14 39 Hamburg 24 5 5 14 39 Freiburg 24 4 7 13 22 Braunschweig 25 4 6 15 20

11 29 36 27 38 39 32 36 31 56 43 47 40 42 52 53 45 45

68 48 47 44 41 40 39 38 36 29 29 29 26 23 21 20 19 18

Scottish Premiership Celtic 29 25 3 1 71 14 Aberdeen 28 17 3 8 40 26 Motherwell 28 16 3 9 46 43 Dundee Utd 29 13 8 8 52 35 Inverness 27 13 6 8 33 26 St Johnstone 29 11 5 13 35 32 Hibernian 30 8 10 12 29 38 Kilmarnock 30 8 6 16 37 52 Partick 29 6 11 12 32 46 Ross County 29 8 5 16 34 50 St Mirren 29 7 6 16 29 47 Hearts 29 5 6 18 25 54

78 54 51 47 45 38 34 30 29 29 27 6

Note: Hearts deducted 15 points for entering administration

Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League Man United v Liverpool 16:30 beIN SPORTS 1 beIN SPORTS 1 HD Tottenham v Arsenal 19:00 beIN SPORTS 1 beIN SPORTS 1 HD Italian Calcio League Atalanta v Sampdoria 14:30 beIN SPORTS 4 HD beIN SPORTS 12 HD beIN SPORTS 14 HD Livorno v Bologna 17:00 beIN SPORTS 9 HD Sassuolo v Catania 17:00 beIN SPORTS 8 HD AC Milan v Parma 17:00 beIN SPORTS 3 beIN SPORTS 3 HD Fiorentina v Verona 22:45 beIN SPORTS 8 HD Genoa v Juventus 22:45 beIN SPORTS 3 beIN SPORTS 3 HD Spanish League Elche v Real Betis beIN SPORTS 2 HD Barcelona v Osasuna beIN SPORTS 2 beIN SPORTS 2 HD Sevilla v Valladolid beIN SPORTS 14 HD beIN SPORTS 7 HD Sociedad v Valencia beIN SPORTS 2 HD

14:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

French League Montpellier v Bordeaux 16:00 beIN SPORTS 5 HD beIN SPORTS 13 HD Lyonnais v Monaco 19:00 beIN SPORTS 5 HD beIN SPORTS 13 HD PSG v Saint Etienne 23:00 beIN SPORTS 5 HD

SUNDERLAND: Crystal Palace’s English striker Cameron Jerome (left) is challenged by Sunderland’s Spanish defender Marcos Alonso during the English Premier League football match. — AFP

Sunderland frustrated

by Palace stalemate Sunderland 0

C Palace 0

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland missed a chance to improve their Premier League survival prospects after being held to a 0-0 draw by fellow strugglers Crystal Palace yesterday.

Gus Poyet’s team were unable to turn their possession into goals in a tense clash at the Stadium of Light and they remain in the relegation zone, sitting three points adrift of safety following their third consecutive league match without a win.

Palace dropped to one place above the bottom three after their fourth successive game without a win. With Sunderland desperate for a victory against one of their main rivals in the fight to beat the drop, Poyet made seven changes to the team beaten by Hull in the FA Cup quarterfinals. Oscar Ustari, Santiago Vergini, Andrea Dossena, Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Emanuele Giaccherini and Ignacio Scocco were axed as Vito Mannone, Wes Brown, Marcos Alonso, Liam Bridcutt, Ki Sung-Yueng, Adam Johnson and Fabio Borini returned.

Sunderland were quickly into their stride, with former Manchester City

star Johnson at the heart of their best moments.

Johnson was a real menace to Palace left-back Joel Ward, who earned an early booking after chopping down the elusive winger.

The fierce wind whipping around the Stadium of Light made two already anxious teams even more hesitant in possession and there were few real chances in a scrappy first half.

Poyet’s men were having the better of it but poor execution let them down on the rare occasions they had a sight of goal.

Steven Fletcher was unable to convert a miscued shot from Borini, while South Korea midfielder Ki blazed well wide from long-range.

Poyet sent on Jozy Altidore for Fletcher at half-time and the American striker came close to breaking the deadlock with a dipping shot that forced Julian Speroni to make a fine save.

Yannick Bolasie fired straight at Sunderland goalkeeper Mannone when Palace finally got through the Black Cats’ defence after good work from Tom Ince.

Borini was denied by the woodwork when his powerful strike beat Speroni but cannoned back off the angle of bar and post.

And Palace fared no better when South African midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi dragged his shot wide from a good position inside the Sunderland penalty area. —AFP

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Peter Odemwingie netted a brace and Marko Arnautovic also scored to lift Stoke City to a 3-1 win at home against Premier League rivals West Ham yesterday. Both were equal on points before the clash with only goal difference separating the midtable sides scrambling to move away from the drop zone.

But the hosts were trailing after just five minutes when striker Andy Carroll scored from a set piece pairing with Mark Noble at the Britannia Stadium.

Carroll rose above Peter Crouch and smashed a header past Asmir Begovic, who had rushed off his line to try to

punch the ball away. It was 25-year-old Carroll’s first start since his sending-off at the start of February, and his first goal since last April.

Stoke pulled level after 33 minutes when Crouch’s acrobatic shot deflected in off Odemwingie on the line. Both Steven N’Zonzi and Stephen Ireland missed chances to give the hosts the advantage before the break. Kevin Nolan thought he had made it 2-1 to the visitors in the 61st minute only for his effort to be controversially ruled offside.

But Austrian winger Marko Arnautovic put Stoke ahead after 69 minutes before Odemwingie slammed home his second from an angled shot off an Ireland pass ten minutes later.

It gave manager Mark Hughes something more to celebrate on his 300th Premier League game as a manager.Hughes becomes the 10th manager to reach that milestone. Stoke are provisionally tenth with 34 points, three points above West Ham. — AFP

Southampton survive late Norwich assault Southampton 4

Norwich 2

SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton climbed to eighth place in the Premier League and kept Norwich City at risk of relegation with an entertaining 4-2 win at St Mary’s yesterday.

Goals from Morgan Schneiderlin, substitute Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez left Southampton 3-0 up with 18 minutes to play, before Norwich threatened to mount an improbable late comeback.

Johan Elmander and Robert Snodgrass struck twice in barely a minute to leave Chris Hughton’s side on the verge of a memorable turnaround, only for Sam Gallagher to make victory safe for the hosts in stoppage time.

Victory took Southampton above Newcastle United to eighth place, six points below the European places, while Norwich remain 15th, four points above the bottom three.

It took the home side less than five minutes to break the deadlock, with Schneiderlin gathering a pass from Gaston Ramirez and clipping a com-

posed finish past Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy after a slick move.

Anthony Pilkington demonstrated Norwich’s frustration when he attempted to punch in a cross from Gary Hooper before half-time, earning him a booking, and in the 57th minute Southampton made it 2-0.

Ryan Bennett accidentally steered the ball into the path of Lambert, who cut inside Jos Hooiveld to score just 64 seconds after rising from the bench to replace England colleague Adam Lallana.

Norwich manager Hughton responded by introducing Elmander, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Nathan Redmond from the bench, but he saw Rodriguez extend the hosts’ lead in the 72nd minute from Lambert’s touch.

Still Southampton advanced, Rodriguez smashing a shot against the bar and Ruddy saving from Lambert, before the visitors belatedly came to life. Elmander seized on a sloppy pass from Jose Fonte to reduce the arrears in the 85th minute and moments later, Snodgrass followed up a shot from Van Wolfswinkel to crash home Norwich’s second. A perilous period of injury time appeared to beckon for Southampton, but instead it was they who scored next, with Gallagher scampering in behind the Norwich defence to finally put the game to bed. — AFP

Dejagah gives Fulham hope Fulham 1

Newcastle 0

LONDON: Ashkan Dejagah’s 68thminute goal lifted Fulham’s hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League as they recorded a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United at Craven Cottage yesterday.

Felix Magath’s side remain at the foot of the table, four points off safety, but with other struggling teams also claiming positive results, anything other than a win would have represented a setback.

Dejagah’s decisive strike came 14 minutes after Fulham were convinced they had gone ahead, only for goal-line technology to show that Johnny Heitinga’s shot had failed to cross the line by the tiniest of margins. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was forced to watch the game on television from a hotel room as he served the first of a seven-match ban imposed for headbutting Hull City midfielder David Meyler.

But he and his players can have had few complaints about the result after a lacklustre performance that dealt a blow to

their chances of claiming a place in the Europa League. Fulham manager Magath had claimed before this game that too many of his squad had yet to wake up to the fact that their top-flight status is in peril.

It seemed a game that Fulham could not afford to lose and Magath attempted to revive his side’s fortunes by making five changes to the team that started last weekend’s morale-sapping defeat at fellow strugglers Cardiff City. Once again, though, the manager placed his faith in 19-year-old Cauley Woodrow to lead the attack. And the teenager came close to handing Fulham the perfect start in the seventh minute when he narrowly failed to get on the end of Lewis Holtby’s clipped free-kick, which had caught the Newcastle defence flat-footed.

That would not be the only time the visitors looked unconvincing in the first half and against a better team, they might have been punished.

HEISTING SO CLOSE Against this Fulham side, however, they survived unscathed as the hosts demonstrated the uncertainty and lack of conviction that has dogged their campaign so far.

An inswinging corner from home winger Alex Kacaniklic was allowed to bounce in front of Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul inside the six-yard box, but there was nobody in a Fulham shirt on

hand to stab the ball home. And when Krul was called into action by Holtby’s curling left-foot shot, the Dutchman reacted well to tip the shot away at full stretch. Fulham’s lack of firepower was frustrating for Magath, although the German could at least draw comfort from the fact that Newcastle were similarly unthreatening.

Looking like a team with little to play for, the visitors’ play lacked urgency and Fulham’s David Stockdale, recalled in goal in place of error-prone Holland international Maarten Stekelenburg, was largely untroubled.

Like Krul, when he was called upon, he responded with a fine save to repel Papiss Cisse’s snapshot nine minutes before the break.

Aware they were in danger of letting an opportunity slip away, Fulham upped their efforts after half-time and they had the ball in the net within two minutes of the restart, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Then, in the 54th minute, Heitinga’s deflected shot struck the bar and bounced down onto the goal-line, only for the Hawkeye replay to show that a thin sliver of the ball had not crossed the line.—AFP

LONDON: Fulham’s English striker Cauley Woodrow (second left) vies with Newcastle United’s Ivorian midfielder Cheick Tiote (second right) during their English Premier League football match. — AFP

Clippers silence Jazz

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

17

Dortmund shocked at home

18

Pennetta to face Radwanska in Indian Wells final

Page 16

BIRMINGHAM: Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian (right) vies with Aston Villa’s Dutch-born Moroccan midfielder Karim El Ahmadi (left) during the English Premier League football match. — AFP

Chelsea falter in EPL title race Aston Villa 1

Chelsea 0

BIRMINGHAM: Leaders Chelsea surrendered the initiative in the Premier League title race as they had two players and boss Jose Mourinho sent off in a shock 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa yesterday. Fabian Delph’s flicked strike in the 82nd minute, either side of dismissals for Willian and Ramires, stopped the Blues maintaining their advantage over second-placed Manchester City, who are now just six points behind Chelsea with three

games in hand.

Tempers flared in stoppage-time when Mourinho took his protestations over Ramires’ red card onto the pitch before receiving his marching orders from referee Chris Foy. It was a bitter end to a frustrating match for Mourinho, who watched his lacklustre side labour in vain to break down Villa before succumbing to Delph’s winner.

As well as their games in hand, Manuel Pellegrini’s City have a superior goal difference to Chelsea and Mourinho could be forgiven for feeling he is cursed at Villa Park-the only topflight ground in England at which he has not won.

The Portuguese could have few complaints with the result though after an insipid performance from his team in which they created only a spate of openings, a disallowed goal for a handball by Nemanja Matic the best of them.

Meanwhile, it meant back-to-back home victories for Villa for the first time in four years as Paul Lambert’s side climbed into the top half of the table.

Mourinho had recalled the fit-again Fernando Torres for Samuel Eto’o up front, while Brazil duo Willian and Oscar were also restored.

This was a contest where Villa had to play with a no-holds-barred intensity to match the leaders and Chelsea were given an early insight into what lay in store when a Nathan Baker lunge on Eden Hazard earned the defender a booking.

It was Villa who created the game’s first opening when a well-worked move in the 10th minute ended in Delph crossing for Christian Benteke yet the striker could only head over the crossbar.

Willian posed the Blues’ biggest threat early

on and, after cutting in menacingly from the left, his low 20-yard strike flashes inches past Brad Guzan’s near post.

Four minutes later he teed up compatriot Oscar just inside the area for a whipped effort which curled narrowly wide of the right woodwork.

Villa were close to taking the lead when Benteke’s audacious scissor kick from outside the area flashed wide. The Blues had the ball in the net just before the break when Matic bundled home at the far post from John Terry’s flick-on yet, after consulting with assistant Peter Banks, Foy ruled the midfielder had controlled the ball with his forearm.

Villa were always a danger on the counter though and Benteke was unlucky to see an effort from the edge of the box curl wide after a one-two with Andreas Weimann.

Mourinho reacted by introducing Andre

Silva, Dzeko kickstart Man City title charge Hull 0

Man City 2

LONDON: David Silva inspired 10-man Manchester City to a 2-0 victory at Hull City yesterday that kept the visitors’ Premier League title fate in their own hands. Spanish midfielder Silva scored a stunning opener in the 14th minute at the KC Stadium and set up a late Edin Dzeko strike as City survived the early dismissal of captain Vincent Kompany.

Victory for Manuel Pellegrini’s men represents the first step in their task of reeling in league leaders Chelsea. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been at pains to stress that the advantage lies with City, but, with points on the board, few genuinely believe he would readily swap places.

Mourinho’s mind games aside, the pressure on City is palpable as they look to play catch-up after seeing two other chances of silverware vanish in less than a week.

Pellegrini’s side lifted the League Cup at the start of the month, but were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic last weekend before going

out of the Champions League at Barcelona’s hands in mid-week. Pellegrini made four changes to the team beaten 2-1 in Wednesday’s game at the Camp Nou, including bringing in Dzeko in place of injured striker Sergio Aguero.

Beyond taking the lead, Steve Bruce’s Hull could hardly have wished for a more encouraging start as City were a man down after 10 minutes.

Nikica Jelavic had already caused problems for the City defence with his physical presence and he capitalised on a moment’s hesitation by Kompany.

The City captain’s response was to haul the Croatian to the floor and, as the last defender, a red card was inevitable, ruling the Belgian out of next weekend’s home match against Fulham.

Pellegrini adjusted his team by dropping Javi Garcia into defence alongside Martin Demichelis, and the visitors’ response was almost instant.

HART ENRAGED After Hull failed to close City down quickly, Yaya Toure’s neat pass found Silva in a central position, 25 yards out, and the Spaniard’s left-foot strike left goalkeeper Allan McGregor helpless.

City were close to doubling their advantage when a half-clearance found its way to Pablo Zabaleta and the Argentine’s volley crashed off the underside of the bar and onto the goal-line before being cleared.

The numerical advantage meant that Hull saw

more of the ball than they might have expected, while Bruce reacted by bringing on forward Sone Aluko for defender Maynor Figueroa at half-time.

It sent out a positive message and Hull took the game to their visitors. Shane Long’s smart turn and shot from 18 yards after good work from James Chester was beaten away by Hart, before the England goalkeeper denied Jelavic, who mishit his shot from Aluko’s inswinging free-kick.

Hull were increasing the pressure and the hosts were convinced that they deserved to be awarded a penalty after George Boyd went down in the area following a challenge from Hart.

Hart clearly believed that Boyd had dived, and was booked for angrily confronting the Hull substitute. With 18 minutes remaining, City mounted their first attack of the second half and they should have killed off the game.

Silva’s deflected shot found its way to Fernandinho 10 yards out, but the Brazilian somehow managed to shoot wide.

Dzeko was then guilty of squandering a similarly inviting opportunity when, after being put through by Gael Clichy, he could only fire straight at McGregor as the Hull goalkeeper rushed off his line.

But the Bosnia and Hercegovina striker atoned in the 90th minute, latching onto a fine through ball by Silva and firing low past McGregor to seal the victory — AFP

Schurrle and Demba Ba for Torres and Oscar on 67 minutes in a bid to spark his team into action, yet a minute later Chelsea’s cause was dealt a hefty blow following Willian’s dismissal.

Already on a caution for a first-half twofooted lunge on Leandro Bacuna, the midfielder could have few complaints following a needless tug on Delph in the centre of the pitch.

It fully shifted the momentum into Villa’s favour and Chelsea were made to pay with eighth minutes left when midfielder Delph fed Marc Albrighton before meets his return cross with a stunning improvised backheel which crept inside the far post.

Petr Cech then pushed another Delph strike onto his crossbar before Ramires saw a straight red for an ugly two-footed stamp on Karim El Ahmadi, which then resulted in Mourinho also being dismissed for his protests. — AFP

Coleman leaves it late to sink Cardiff Everton 2

Cardiff 1

LIVERPOOL: Seamus Coleman’s stoppagetime strike earned Everton a dramatic 2-1 victory over Cardiff at Goodison Park yesterday to keep his side in the hunt for European football.

Roberto Martinez’s team looked set to be frustrated after Juan Cala cancelled out Gerard Deulofeu’s opener for the hosts.

Cala’s goal seemed likely to earn Cardiff a priceless point in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s efforts to keep the Welsh club in the Premier League. But deep into stoppage-time substitute Aiden McGeady crossed from the left, Gareth Barry kept the ball in play with a committed run and header and Coleman saw his miscued attempt wrong-foot goalkeeper David Marshall and fly into the goal.

That moved Everton back up to sixth place, while Cardiff dropped to second bottom, three points from safety. Deulofeu, the young winger on loan from Barcelona, had scored an opening goal that looked likely to

continue Everton’s recent dominant home form early in the second half.

After 58 minutes, the 20-year-old ran onto Leon Osman’s through ball down the left flank and past Gary Medel before cutting in towards the near post and scoring via a shot deflected off Steven Caulker.

But within 10 minutes, Peter Whittingham’s superbly-placed free-kick into the Everton six-yard area found the chest of Cala who guided the ball past the stranded Tim Howard into the corner of the Everton goal. Seeking a seventh consecutive home victory that would have improved their chances of a fifth-placed finish and European football next season, Kevin Mirallas almost shot Everton into an early lead, shrugging aside Caulker and seeing his shot saved tidily

by David Marshall.

Leighton Baines’ resulting corner caused confusion in the Cardiff area and a ricochet struck Sylvain Distin before narrowly clearing the bar.

But it was a resilient display by Cardiff, often featuring five men in defence, and one that threatened Everton with a number of half chances on the break.

The better opportunities fell to the home side, nevertheless, with Seamus Coleman’s perceptive cross after 26 minutes being moved on by Romelu Lukaku for Mirallas whose strike was deflected behind. — AFP

Western banks cold-shoulder Iran trade finance scheme

Business

Page 22

In Crimea, pro-Russians tout IMF economic data

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Page 23

Housing conference spotlights policy flaws

Chevrolet Traverse, Impala among best family cars

Page 25

Page 26

HYDERABAD: Indian people buy vegetables at a market in the evening in Hyderabad yesterday. India’s key inflation rate has dropped to its lowest level in nine months. — AP

‘China’s Twitter’ Weibo files for IPO $500 million US offering seen a ‘cultural phenomenon’ NEW YORK: Weibo Corp, the Chinese microblogging service often compared with Twitter, filed yesterday for a US stock offering seeking to raise $500 million. The move will allow the popular Chinese-language social network to spin off from the Internet giant Sina, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing said Weibo had 129.1 million monthly active users in December and 61.4 million average daily active users. The company did not indicate whether Weibo would file its IPO on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The lead underwriters will be Goldman Sachs Asia and Credit Suisse.

“A microcosm of Chinese society, Weibo has attracted a wide range of users, including ordinary people, celebrities and other public figures, as well as organizations such as media outlets, businesses, government agencies and charities,”

the SEC filing said.

“Weibo has become a cultural phenomenon in China. “Weibo allows people to be heard publicly and exposed to the rich ideas, cultures and experiences of the broader world,” it added.

“Media outlets use Weibo as a source of news and a distribution channel for their headline news. Government agencies and officials use Weibo as an official communication channel for disseminating timely information and gauging public opinion to improve public services.” The filing said Weibo’s initial public offering (IPO) will be part of a “carve-out from Sina,” but that Sina would “continue to provide us with certain support services” after it becomes independent.

“We will use approximately $250 million of the net proceeds we receive from this offering to repay loans we owe to SINA,” the document read. “We intend to use the remainder to invest in technology, infrastructure and product devel-

Emaar plans $2.5bn listing of shopping mall unit DUBAI: Dubai’s Emaar Properties said it would sell up to 25 percent of its shopping mall and retailing unit in a public offer expected to raise 8 to 9 billion dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion), making it one of the region’s largest equity offers since 2008. Emaar, Dubai’s biggest listed real estate developer, did not specify the stock exchange on which the shares in its unit would be listed, and gave no timetable. In a statement yesterday, it said the proceeds “will be primarily distributed as dividend” to Emaar shareholders. The shares to be sold will come from the unit’s current equity.

Dubai-listed Emaar’s flagship mall is the Dubai Mall, one of the largest in the world, which it says attracted more than 75 million visitors in 2013. The company also built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. The listing plan underlines Dubai’s rebound from its financial crisis which erupted in 2009. Before the crisis, Emaar talked about listing its shopping mall unit but

was forced to put the plan on hold as the emirate’s real estate and stock markets collapsed.

Both markets are now rebounding strongly on the back of inflows of foreign money, with residential property prices up over 20 percent last year and Dubai’s main equity index rallying about 140 percent since the end of 2012. Emaar is 31 percent-owned by the Dubai government, which is set to earn a dividend of about $750 million from the listing - an important windfall, since Dubai and government-related firms face tens of billions of dollars of debt maturities in the next few years, a legacy of the crisis.

The malls and retailing unit posted revenue of 2.84 billion dirhams last year, up more than 20 percent from 2012, while its gross operating profit increased 20 percent to 2.23 billion dirhams, Emaar said. Separately, Emaar said its board was proposing a 15 percent cash dividend and a 10 percent bonus share issue for 2013. — Reuters

opment, to expand sales and marketing efforts, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.”

‘China’s Twitter’ Weibo was launched in August 2009 with a business model reminiscent of that of Twitter.

Weibo reported revenues for 2013 of $188 million, triple the level of 2012, but has continually lost money, like its US counterpart, with accumulated losses of $274.9 million as of December 31.

Despite Weibo’s vast popularity in China, its ascent has hit a few speed bumps recently due to a social media crackdown by Beijing and the rise of rival Tencent’s mobile app, WeChat. A January report by the China Internet Network Information Center showed that the total number of Weibo users dropped nine percent yearon-year, to 281 million at the end of 2013 from 308.6 million a year earlier.

Weibo said it would work to increase the number of users and monetization as it strives for profitability. For a comparison, Twitter’s highflying Wall Street debut in November drew attention to the growing power of social media, but it also raised concerns about a potential bubble in the sector.

The US microblogging service’s shares soared after debuting at $26 in the initial public offering, but dropped the following day to slightly more than $40. At the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Twitter shares stood at $51.92.

Enter Alibaba Separately, US media reported that a huge stock offering planned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is being prepared for New York.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, said Alibaba chose

New York after ruling out Hong Kong and London for the initial public offering. The reports did not indicate whether the IPO would be on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange.

Alibaba was not immediately available for comment. The company’s stock market listing was expected to raise about $10 billion, which would make it the technology industry’s largest IPO since Facebook’s in 2012. The Journal said that an IPO filing could come as soon as April, which could allow trading to begin by the third quarter.

The report said up to five banks may be given lead underwriting roles. Alibaba operates China’s most popular e-shopping platform, Taobao, which has more than 90 percent of the online market for consumer-to-consumer transactions. Taobao has more than 800 million product listings and over 500 million users. — AFP

China widens yuan trading band to 2% SHANGHAI: China will widen the yuan’s daily trading band to two percent from the current one percent, the central bank announced yesterday, underscoring efforts to loosen Beijing’s grip on its tightly-controlled currency. The move will take effect on March 17, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website.

It follows a statement by the central bank last month that it was seeking an “orderly expansion” of the trading band as a policy goal.

“In order to meet the demands of market development, increase the strength of the market-determined exchange rate and establish a market-based, managed floating exchange rate regime, the People’s Bank of China has decided to widen the floating range of the renminbi against the US dollar,” the bank said in its statement.

It added that the bank “will further develop the role of the market in the RMB exchange rate formulation mechanism”. China’s ruling Communist Party has maintained a firm grip on the yuan-also known as the renminbi, or RMB-as one of its key tools to control the economy, and due to worries about unpredictable financial inflows or outflows.

In widening the currency’s trading band, Chinese authorities “must feel that the economy is in a strong enough position to handle an adjustment and other possible reforms ahead,” Paul Mackel, head of Asian currency research at

Chinese 100 yuan (RMB) banknotes being counted at a bank in Huaibei, in eastern China’s Anhui province. — AFP A campaign against Chinese government HSBC Holdings, told Dow Jones Newswires.

The yuan has risen steadily against the dollar excess took major bites out of spending on official over the past year, but it reversed course last meetings, travel and vehicles in 2013, the month to weaken around one percent-a depreci- Communist Party’s chief disciplinary body said.

The Central Commission for Discipline ation that analysts say may have been engineered by the central bank to target speculative funds Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement money spent on meetings, official overseas trips and vehicle betting on continued appreciation.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

BUSINESS Bayt.com weekly report

Three steps to get the promotion you deserve

By Lama Ataya

Y

our skills and experience, reputation, and work ethic are all factors that help you advance in your career. In fact, 28.6 percent of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Career Advancement in the MENA’, June 2011, said that not updating existing skills is the biggest mistake one could make when climbing the career ladder, 17.1 percent stated the biggest mistake as not being nice to others, while 10.2 percent mentioned not networking regularly as a mistake when it came to career advancement.

The rules for getting promoted today have evolved and are not as predictable as they were in the past. Even when you really think you deserve a promotion, you might not always get it. At times it becomes necessary for you to talk to your manager and put forward a strong case for yourself. If this prospect seems a little intimidating to you then here are a few useful steps put together by the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, to help you climb the career ladder: Step 1: Be prepared Being prepared means arming yourself with evidence of your stellar performance. Of course, your manager may be aware of some of it, like the big deals you pitched for and successfully closed, but it’s important that you keep a record of all your achievements. A good idea is to maintain a monthly spreadsheet that you can update continually - this will give you a handy record of your achievements. It’s also important that you communicate your achievements well, such as using percentages and statistics while indicating the growth in sales figures, for example, or target achievements.

Being prepared also means that when you walk into your manager’s room for this discussion you know the position you are aiming for. Identify the position and get to know what skills it entails, this way you can demonstrate that you have the required skills to successfully take on that new position.

Step 2: Find the right time Try to arrange a time with your manager where you can talk about getting a promotion so you can have their full attention. If your manager is busy then they might not take everything you’re saying very seriously. By having a specific time set aside you’ll also have a chance to prepare yourself.

The most optimal time would be during your annual review meeting, when you and your manager should ideally be having a discussion on how your performance has been for the past year.

Step 3: Display the right attitude When talking to your manager, be positive. If there was ever a time to boast about all the things you know you’re good at, it’s now. And remember, whatever your manager’s reaction to your request, remain calm and be polite. If your request for a promotion gets through, that’s great! If not for whatever reasons, then don’t be disappointed. Ask your manager when you can revisit this discussion. It’ll make you look professional and means you can always ask again another time.

Asking for a promotion is natural for any go-getting professional, and it shows that you are aware of your worth as a valuable asset to the organization.

Being diplomatic and professional throughout this process will indeed paint you in favorable light to your manager. Good luck!

Western banks cold-shoulder Iran trade finance scheme LONDON/ANKARA: Despite a diplomatic thaw, Western banks are steering clear of attempts by Iran to get them involved in financing humanitarian transactions, fearing they could be penalized under US sanctions, bankers and government officials said.

Iran was never barred from buying food or other humanitarian goods under sanctions imposed because of its disputed nuclear program, but measures by the European Union and the United States have made trade generally more difficult over the past two years by hindering payments and shipping.

As part of talks in Geneva over the nuclear question, Tehran is pressing world powers to speed up trade finance arrangements on humanitarian deals involving both Western and Iranian banks, according to an Iranian government document seen by Reuters and sources familiar with the initiative.

Iranian government officials and international trade sources say Tehran wants to simplify complex trade finance arrangements potentially worth billions of dollars, which would alleviate pressure on the country’s sanctioned banking system. According to a joint plan of action agreed in November in Geneva, world powers would “establish a financial channel to facilitate humanitarian trade for Iran’s domestic needs using Iranian oil revenues held abroad”.

“This channel would involve specified foreign banks and nondesignated Iranian banks to be defined when establishing the channel,” the action plan said. Iran, with its economy under severe pressure, is keen to push this process forward. “We have been informed that according to the negotiations and agreements done in Geneva, the possibility to exchange direct LCs (letters of credit) between seven European banks and eight Iranian banks for food, medication and humanitarian goods has been provided,” the Iranian government document seen by Reuters says, although it made clear this was not final. “Please note, that we can accept no legal liability regarding this information as it remains to be officially confirmed by the responsible authorities.”

Big thanks The US Treasury and EU officials declined to comment. But a US official told Reuters that Washington had been talking with some banks. “Some banks are willing to play a part here. But not all of them. There are a lot of big banks that have been subject to fines for engaging in transactions that were in violation of US sanctions that aren’t willing to do anything - even humanitarian,” the official said. “They just are not willing to do business with Iran.

And we are not in a position to say, you have to.” Banks may well

feel the need for caution in this area.

Regulators in New York and Washington are looking at potential violations by France’s Credit Agricole and Societe Generale of US sanctions imposed against countries like Iran, a person familiar with the investigation said. In 2012 New York regulators threatened to revoke Standard Chartered’s banking license after it broke sanctions on Iran. HSBC was fined $1.92 billion by US regulators for various violations including doing business with Iran. In February, BNP Paribas set aside $1.1 billion for a possible fine for breaching US sanctions on countries including Iran.

Several banking sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said Western banks were wary of getting involved in the latest initiative. One said banks would need cast iron assurances that they would not face exposure before even considering it.

“It is only natural that banks will be cautious to what the political world offers. It changes so quickly, as events in Ukraine can attest,” the banker said. “What we could be looking at is very shortterm financings or involvements and structures, so you will have options to exit should anything go wrong,” he added. “Banks will need more clarity.”

Interim agreement Iran and Western governments reached an interim agreement in November last year over Tehran’s atomic work in exchange for limited sanctions relief for six months. By late July, Western governments hope to hammer out an accord that would lay to rest their suspicions that Iran is seeking the capability to make a nuclear bomb, an aim it denies, while Tehran wants sanctions lifted. Iranian government officials said the document, which has been sent to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, tasked with safeguarding Tehran’s interests, listed the following banks as “available for further actions”: Standard Chartered Bank (London), Societe Generale (Paris), Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP) (Geneva), UniCredit Bank (Munich), Commerzbank (Frankfurt), United Bank (Zurich) and BHF Bank (Frankfurt).

It was not clear whether these banks had been approached to provide finance. Two business executives familiar with the initiative said they were aware that Standard Chartered, Societe Generale, Commerzbank were among those on the wish list.

Commerzbank, Societe Generale, United Bank and BCP all declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Standard Chartered said the bank was not involved and would not get involved in any transaction with any party from Iran.

Cyprus scrambling back from brink of bankruptcy NICOSIA: A year after a financial earthquake shattered years of prosperity in Cyprus, an austerity plan has put the eastern Mediterranean island back on track despite the bitter pill of rising unemployment. On the verge of bankruptcy because of the high exposure of its banks to Greek debt, Cyprus in March 2013 was granted a 10-billion-euro ($13.8billion) international bailout, almost half of which has now been paid out. The inevitable bank restructuring has thrown many people out of work. “I need a job soon, very soon. I was looking for a job from the first day I left the bank,” said former employee Akis Kourouzides, 45, who has been unemployed for months. “I’m looking for a new jobstarting from the beginning.” One downside to the financial lifeline was the liquidation of Laiki, one of the island’s main commercial banks, and the restructuring of the main lender, the Bank of Cyprus. This also resulted in depositors suffering a savings “haircut” of between 47.5 percent and 100 percent of balances above 100,000 euros.

The bailout also meant drastic budget cuts and an extensive program of privatization of unwieldy state sector corporations. At the beginning of March, the so-called troika of international lenders-the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank issued a satisfactory report card. It said the island was on track, with a recession of 6.0 percent in 2013 two points lower than forecast, allowing for a new tranche of aid of 236 million euros to be paid.

But the future is far from rosy. The meltdown has resulted in rising unemployment, which reached 16.2 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (11.8 percent in 2012). Most — 38.5 percent-are under the age of 25, and 19 percent unemployment is forecast for 2014. Such figures may pale in comparison with 27 percent jobless in Greece, but they are still hard to take in a society where as recently as 2008 unemployment was still an abstract concept.

Graduates ‘our biggest problem’ That year only around four percent were out of work,

and the Gross Domestic Product had been in almost constant increase for 40 years. “We have never had such a situation before,” said Andreas Christou of the labor ministry, adding that he foresees no improvement in the short term.

Young graduates “are currently our biggest problem”, he said. Banking has been among the hardest-hit sectors: according to bank employees’ union ETYK, 2,000 member jobs have disappeared from a pre-crisis total of 11,500.

Business has also been suffocated, as the dozens of empty shops lining Nicosia’s former shopping center Makarios Avenue bear witness. “Cyprus society is still in shock,” said Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides of the University of Nicosia’s department of political and social sciences. “It was thought we had an economic and democratic model that was constantly developing for the better. We never thought there would be a total reversal of the situation that could lead the country into such a dire situation.”

It is the younger generation, the “best educated people who benefited from the previously strong economy, who will pay the greatest price”, she added. The labor ministry’s Christou said many young people are now opting to stay abroad after graduation, delaying their return for as long as they can. Others have taken the path of emigrating in a brain drain whose consequences have yet to be evaluated but which Christou predicts as “important”.

As a stopgap measure, the government has implemented a plan that will allow 2,500 young graduates to gain job experience for six months, earning 500 euros monthly. A second project for another 2,500 graduates is expected soon. In addition, people are being trained for future posts in the gas industry after the discovery of potentially vast offshore gas deposits that it is hoped will make Cyprus hit the jackpot. One way Cypriots have coped with the fallout of the financial meltdown has been to embrace the strong tradition of close-knit families. Children help parents whose pensions have been decimated and “yayas” (grandmothers) more than ever look after young children and cook for the whole family. “One of the advantages Cyprus has is this family safety net that lets nobody fall through,” Agapiou-Josephides said. — AFP

Unicredit said the group was “not aware of, and hence is not participating in any international initiative involving financial institutions related to Iran subsequent to the P5+1 (major powers) accord”. BHF Bank said it was “not offering or providing any financial services with links to Iran”.

Swiss and German banking regulators declined to comment, although officials in Germany said if German banks were still rigidly adhering to prohibitions on doing business with Iran, the government was ready to explain that some of those restrictions were eased in November.

“If banks in Germany apply the restrictions too rigidly and cautiously in financial transactions with Iran, the government would encourage them to clarify the possibilities that can be done under the agreement, not in order to relax or change these thresholds, but to help the banks keep in compliance with the action plan,” a German finance ministry official said.

Iran eager for deal The document also named the following Iranian banks: Eghtesad Novin Bank, Parsian Bank, Bank Pasargad, Karafarin Bank, Sarmaye Bank, Saman Bank, Bank Maskan and Bank Keshavarzi.

“Iranians are very eager to have this as soon as possible and teams are working on it and all reports go to the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei,” one senior Iranian government official familiar with the nuclear talks said. “It was an Iranian initiative but the other party (Western powers) also agreed on that, though they had some internal dispute on the list of Western banks,” the official said.

“There have been some direct contacts between Iranians and various bank officials in Europe since November (the Geneva deal) but the final agreement needs more work and meetings.”

The Iranian banks named in the document referred the issue to Iran’s central bank, which declined to comment. A Western diplomatic source confirmed the initiative was under discussion and Western powers saw such an arrangement as increasing the transparency of trade deals.

“If you have Western banks, many of whom with US operations, potentially involved in such an initiative it is a better situation than having hundreds of middle men in such trades where you cannot track where the money is going. It also allows much stricter governance on the part of those banks. This is the idea at least,” the diplomatic source said. — Reuters

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on March 9, 2014, announcing the names of its winners for the week of March 2 to March 6. The Al-Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The winners were (Sunday 02/03): Basmah Abdulrahman Najem AlMansour, Ali Hassan Abbas Al-Mutawa (Monday 03/03): Waleed Khaled Saleh, Ahmad Mohammed Jheesh Al-Resheedi (Tuesday 04/03): Wdad Halal Sajer Ali, Amal Hassan Nasser Roudan (Wednesday 05/03): Rayan Tareq Al-Wanda, Batoul Hussein Habib Mohammed (Thursday 06/03): Shaikhah Abdullatif Fadhil Al-Faresi, Mutaz Ramadan Khalil Al-Quqa Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2014 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as well as two additional prizes per quarter. Al-Danah’s first quarterly draw for 2014 will be held on 27 March (KD200,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), second quarter - 26 June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), third quarter 25 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw held on 8 January, 2015 announcing winners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the Al-Danah millionaire.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 57 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.egulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about AlDanah and who the winners are.

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.732 4.632 2.729 2.158 2.896 223.180 36.351 3.623 6.355 8.754 0.271 0.273

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal transfer Irani Riyal cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

GCC COUNTRIES 75.257 77.543 733.110 749.570 76.856

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lira Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 39.250 40.089 1.318 180.370 398.530 1.893 2.011 35.709

US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound Canadian dollar Turkish lira Swiss Franc Australian Dollar US Dollar Buying

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES 282.100 394.940 475.200 256.450 127.970 714.180 258.250 280.900 GOLD

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

240.000 121.000 62.500

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 259.05 257.62 326.02 394.72 281.40 473.05 2.78 3.622 4.607 2.157 2.894 2.788 76.68 748.97 40.42 400.50 731.82 77.71 75.17

SELL CASH 256.05 258.62 324.02 395.72 284.40 476.05 2.80 3.892 4.907 2.592 3.429 2.790 77.15 751.04 41.02 406.15 739.12 78.26 75.57

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen

Selling Rate 281.900 256.355 470.375 392.508 321.250 744.350 76.730 78.280 76.040 397.280 40.444 2.157 4.648 2.819 3.621 6.330 692.400 3.725

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi Thai Bhat Turkish Lira

Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

2.955 3.900 86.850 46.335 9.690 127.050

Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee

BUY Europe 0.007332 0.462277 0.006264 0.048291 0.385259 0.043228 0.086667 0.008066 0.040128 0.314266 0.125432

SELL 0.008332 0.471277 0.018264 0.053291 0.393259 0.048428 0.86667 0.018066 0.045128 0.324466 0.132432

Australasia 0.246149 0.232670

0.257649 0.241170

America 0.248103 0.278050 0.278550

0.256603 0.282400 0.282400

Asia 0.003293 0.044791 0.034266 0.004372 0.000019 0.002646 0.003256 0.000254 0.082334 0.002842 0.002570

0.003893 0.048291 0.037016 0.004773 0.000025 0.002828 0.003256 0.000269 0.088334 0.003012 0.002850

0.006638 0.000068 0.22562 0.028884 0.002445 0.009369 0.008931

0.741953 0.036772 0.000078 0.000181 0.393730 1.0000000 0.000137 0.024316 0.001114 0.726824 0.076790 0.074603 0.002162 0.175706 0.125432 0.075837 0.001281

0.749953 0.039872 0.000079 0.000241 0.401230 1.0000000 0.000237 0.048316 0.001749 0.732504 0.078003 0.075303 0.002382 0.183706 0.132432 0.076986 0.001361

Arab

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY

0.006358 0.000062 0.219262 0.020184 0.001865 0.009189 0.008381

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 281.600 391.900 469.750 254.850 4.633 40.090 2.157 3.625 6.330 2.810 749.850 76.700 75.200

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

BUSINESS

Kuwait’s credit growth steady at 8% NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

In Crimea, pro-Russians tout IMF economic data Russia’s higher wages in focus SEVASTOPOL: Outside the squat Soviet-era building that houses Sevastopol’s authorities, pro-Russian activists have covered the wall with a blizzard of flyers aimed at persuading residents of Crimea to vote to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia today.

Patriotic extracts from the Russian national anthem jostle for space with emotional condemnations of the new Ukrainian government in Kiev, the capital, highlighting what many ethnic Russians here say are its fascist tendencies. But look carefully and you’ll find more practical appeals for people’s votes. One, entitled “ Ten demands from the International Monetary Fund that will put Ukraine on its knees”, says the IMF will cause Ukrainian living standards, already lower than Russia’s, to plummet.

Next to it, another sheet of A4, entitled “Our home is Russia”, reprints what it says is glowing praise from the IMF of Russia’s key economic indicators, telling voters how much higher average wages and pensions in Russia are than in Ukraine.

As Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities seek to ensure what they say will be a landslide victory for those who want this strategic peninsula to become part of Russia, they are making a simple pitch for voters: Your standard of living will rocket if you become part of Russia.

Not all of the information being given to voters is accurate. The “Our Home is Russia” flyer tells voters Russia is the fifth largest economy in the world. It is in fact the eighth.

But the gap between the two countries’ economies is nonetheless yawning. Ukraine’s economy, according to the IMF, is only the world’s 54th biggest, and with a size of $176 billion is dwarfed by Russia’s, which is over $2 trillion.

Frenzy of patriotism Caught up in a frenzy of patriotism fuelled and sustained by Russian state

media, many ethnic Russians here in Sevastopol, the home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and Crimea’s most Russian city, don’t need much persuading how to vote.

Fifty eight percent of Crimean residents are ethnic Russians. But the promise of higher living standards, a pledge aimed more at winning over ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars, who together make up 36 percent of the population, is cementing ethnic Russian convictions and, for many, is the clincher.

“Even though Crimea has been part of Ukraine all these years, Russia is the one that has invested so much money here. So much that it’s even hard to list it all. Ukraine has done nothing,” said Nikolai, a 35-year-old merchant seaman, who declined to give his surname.

“In Russia, wages and pensions are much higher even though the prices for goods are about the same as here.

With Russia our standard of living will be higher, much higher”.

In one of the most militarized areas in the world where the landscape is scarred by dozens of Soviet-era bases operated by the Ukrainian and Russian militaries, the question of servicemen’s wages is also an important one. As Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities try to persuade encircled Ukrainian forces to surrender their arms, renounce their oath, and switch sides, the promise of salaries more than double the Ukrainian military wage is on offer.

A campaign flyer pasted on a crumbling wall in the town of Bakchisaray, a place with a large Tatar population, says joining Russia means “pensions, wages and social help at Russia’s level” as well as infrastructure investment.

The alternative, to stay with Ukraine, means “lower pensions and salaries and the removal of welfare benefits,” it says, combined with “higher gas and electricity bills” and “our land being sold off to oligarchs and

foreigners”.

“Make your choice. Don’t be slaves,” it concludes.

Thank you Nationalist pro-Kremlin Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky reinforced that message on a visit last month. “You will always have Russian gas. You will always have millions of Russian tourists!,” he told a crowd. The crowd roared back: “ Thank You!” Zhirinovsky promised Russia would give “any amount of money” to help Crimea and south and eastern Ukraine if needed, and would ensure no-one went cold.

Trundling towards Crimea on a train from Kiev, Svetlana Dzubenko, an employee on Ukraine’s rail network in her 20s, says the attraction of earning Russian-level wages is a powerful one.

“In Russia I can earn over three times what I do in Ukraine,” she said.

“My pay now is 3,000 hryvnias a month, but in Russia I would earn 45,000 rubles, or about 12,000 hryvnias doing the same thing. Right now I have nothing left once I’ve paid for housing, heating and food. What if I want to save up? What if I get sick?”

As the United States and the European Union weigh economic sanctions against Russia to punish it for what they view as its illegal military intervention in Crimea and its support for a referendum they regard as illegitimate, people here recognize their living standards might get worse before they get better.

Despite the lure of what they think will be a better life as part of Russia, they say they are ready to soak up some economic pain too. “For a Russian person the economy is not priority number one,” said Julia, an ethnic Russian housewife.

“We’ve been through a lot before and we won’t betray our motherland so we can buy 100 different sorts of sausage like people in the European Union”. —Reuters

Maduro threatens airlines over Venezuela payment row CARACAS: President Nicolas Maduro warned airlines on Friday not to cut services for Venezuela over billions of dollars they are owed and threatened them with permanent expulsion.

Airlines that serve Venezuela are bat-

tling to recover $3.7 billion blocked by the government, the head of industry body IATA said this week, accusing Caracas of breaking international rules.

Latin American airline Avianca-Taca said Wednesday it was suspending

LISBON: A woman argues with a Portuguese police officer during a protest outside the Portuguese parliament by Portuguese civil servant unions, in Lisbon on Friday. The protest is against the increase in weekly working hours from 35 to 40 and other austerity measures like salary and pensions cuts. —AP

flights between San Jose and Caracas beginning April 7 due to a lack of profitability. Other foreign airlines including Ecuador’s Tame, Air Canada, Portugal’s TAP and Panama’s Copa Airlines have already reduced operations in Venezuela. For an “airline that reduces (operations) I will take severe measures. The company that leaves the country will not return while we hold power,” Maduro told a press conference in Caracas.

Maduro, the handpicked leftist successor of the late firebrand Hugo Chavez, said that a reduction in operations “was part of the war they want to wage in Venezuela.” Venezuelan law requires air tickets to be sold in nonconvertible bolivars, the national currency, which the government then exchanges with the airlines using US dollars. But Venezuelan authorities ceased the dollar payments to the airlines in October, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

Tony Tyler, who heads IATA, said Wednesday: “Airlines certainly cannot sustain operations indefinitely if they can’t get paid.” —AFP

KUWAIT: Credit growth was steady at 8.0 percent despite a third consecutive month of declining business credit in January. Growth in January came from household borrowing which remained the fastest growing of all sectors, though it continued to confirm a moderating trend. Meanwhile, money supply continued to slow down as private deposits contracted on the month.

The monthly gain was a relatively modest KD 51 million, less than a third of the KD 180 million average monthly gain seen in 2013. Weakness came largely from the non-financial business sector which saw its third consecutive monthly drop in credit.

Household debt remained the most dynamic part of bank credit gaining KD 89 million, though growth did slow slightly to 16.0 percent year-on-year (y/y). The sector is expected to continue to see growth moderate in 2014, a trend seen since the middle of 2013.

Consistent healthy growth in this sector, however, has pushed its share of total bank credit up by two percentage points in the last 12 months to account for almost 30 percent.

Non-bank financials deleveraged further during the month following an unusual gain in December. Credit to the sector was down by another KD 20 million in January, bringing the year-on-year decline to 12.8 percent.

This trend is likely to continue in 2014, though at a slowing pace as the health of investment sector improves.

All remaining credit was down KD 18 million, with growth mostly steady at 6.7 percent y/y. Credit was down on declines in the real estate and “other” sectors, which were down by KD 60 million and KD 23 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the trade sector gained KD 49 million.

Money supply (M2) growth slowed further to 7.8 percent y/y with private deposits down by KD 213 million. The decline in deposits was largely in KD time, down KD 178 million. KD sight and saving deposits were also lower.

By contrast, foreign currency deposits saw a small increase. M1 growth eased to 10.3 percent.

Deposit rates on dinar time deposits remained mostly unchanged from the previous month. Rates on the 1-month, 3-months, 6-months, and 12-months timed deposits stood

at 0.56 percent, 0.74 percent, 0.94 percent, and 1.12 percent respectively.

Activity in the local interbank market has been picking up, with interbank deposits up 54 percent over the last twelve months. Meanwhile, KD interbank rates (KIBOR) have risen

since the middle of 2013. The average one-week and one-month rates rose by around one and six basis points during January to 0.47 percent and 0.63 percent, respectively. The overnight rate gained one basis point.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani children attempt to catch a kite severed from its string in Islamabad yesterday.

Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar on March 12 said he was optimistic about an economic recovery after the rupee breached the psychologically important 100 to the dollar mark. — AFP

Obama overtime plan stirring controversy WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s move to make more workers eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay is being hailed by Democrats who see it as a potent midterm election issue and condemned by Republicans and business leaders as presidential overreach. Supporters say it will help the still fragile economy, critics say it will damage it further.

It is likely to affect millions of American workers. “From my perspective, they have to be pulling numbers out of the air right now,” said Washington labor lawyer Tammy McCutchen, referring to the conflicting claims by partisans that it would either help or hurt the economy. “We don’t even know what the policy is going to be.” She’s closer to the process than most. As administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division during the George W Bush administration, McCutchen oversaw the last rewrite of the program in 2004.

Currently, salaried workers making more than $455 a week, or $23,660 a year, aren’t eligible for time-and-ahalf overtime if some of their work is considered supervisory, even though many spend most of their day doing manual, clerical or technical work with few management duties.

Obama signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday directing the Labor Department to devise new overtime rules “to ensure that workers are paid fairly for a hard day’s work.” He’s tossing out most of the rules McCutchen wrote in the process.

“Well, it’s going to be bad for busi-

ness,” she said in an interview. “It’s going to be good for my bottom line.

Lawyers all over the countr y are going to be making a lot of money.”

She called the rules “my babies. I spent two years of my life working on them. It’s personal for me. It’s going to be very sad to see them taking out a lot of the stuff I put in,” she said. But she also warned that the Obama administration should expect a rocky road ahead in implementing whatever new policy emerges - just as the Bush administration faced last time around. Those close to the process suggest it will take 12 months to 18 months for the agency to complete its new assignment.

The move clearly has angered business groups and congressional Republicans, but it fits in with the overall Democratic midterm election game plan of focusing on income inequality and the middle class at the same time the stock market has soared. “This will help to build an economy that honors work, not one that steals from workers,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. “While workers are denied overtime pay that they have earned, compounding flat and falling wages, the bonus pool for Wall Street grew from $1.9 billion in 1985 to $26.7 billion in 2013 - an average annual increase of 14 percent in nominal terms.”

Business and conservative groups argue that Obama’s order will have the opposite effect of what is intended and could lead businesses to reduce the number of employees or cut pay, resulting in a drag on national economic growth. “ The federal

government, in particular, shouldn’t be involved in labor markets in any way, shape or form,” said Jeffrey Miron, director of economic studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and a Harvard University economics professor. “It shouldn’t be setting hours legislation and it shouldn’t be providing union protection.”

The order was the latest in a series of executive actions Obama has taken in an end run around congressional Republicans, who have blocked many of his proposals. With Congress blocking his attempt to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, he used his executive powers to raise it to that level for government contractors. Thursday’s presidential memorandum is aimed at workers who make more than the federal minimum but are ineligible for overtime pay under present law because they are designated as management, even when they have little or no supervisory responsibilities.

“If you’re making $23,000, typically you’re not high in management,” Obama said in unveiling the initiative. The White House contends the 2004 revisions to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act are outdated and allow employers to exempt too many workers from overtime pay. Despite the contrary claims of Democrats and Republicans as to the economic impact of Obama’s move, economists suggest any such impact will be minimal. “Be a boom to employment among lawyers, but otherwise not a big deal,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. —AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

BUSINESS

KSE stocks face selling pressure BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week with mixed performance. The Price Index closed at 7,454.50 points, down by 0.71 percent from the week before closing, the Weighted Index increased by 0.71 percent after closing at 459.97 points, whereas the KSX-15 Index closed at 1,097.54 points up by 1.39 percent.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 32.05 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 17.42 million, whereas trading volume average was 159.84 million shares, recording decrease of 32.34 percent.

The stock market indicators closed mixed last week, whereas the Price Index stood alone in the red zone, affected by the strong selling operations that continued from the week before, and concentrated on many small-cap stocks, in addition to the speculative operations presence that became the main engine of the trading activity; as the speculators became the market traffic leaders, in absence of the real market makers that can balance the bid & offer operations.

On the contrary, the Weighted Index and KSX-15 Index were able to realize gains by the end of the week, supported by the random purchasing operations that concentrated on the leading stocks, especially after its announcements of the 2013 financial results and dividend distributions; however, the quick profit collection operations that were strongly present during most of the week’s sessions, lightened the indices gains.

Moreover, last week’s stock market performance came in parallel with the decline of the trading values, whereas the trading value in one session reached its lowest level since November 2012, as a result to the absence of the positive motivators, among a lack of liquidity pumping due to the rare investment oppor tunities, and the investors’ fear of a continuous decline of the listed stocks prices while missing supporting factors, in addition to the watch state for the listed companies announcements of its 2013 financial results.

For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 1.26 percent annual loss compared to its closing in 2013, while the weighted index increased by 1.57 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded 2.73 percent growth.

Sectors’ indices Six of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone, Five recorded increases,

whereas the Health Care sector’s index closed with no change from the week before. The Insurance sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 2.25 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,120.21 points. The Real Estate sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 1.73 percent, closing at 1,342.82 points, followed by the Consumer Services sector, as its index closed at 1,077.19 points at a loss of 1.38 percent. The Technology sector was

the least declining as its index closed at 1,036.74 points with a 0.37 percent decrease.

On the other hand, last week’s highest gainer was the Oil & Gas sector, achieving 1.18 percent growth rate as its index closed at 1,184.08 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Telecommunications sector’s index closed at 860.42 points recording 1.03 percent increase. The Banks sector came in third as its index achieved 0.83 per-

Crimea vote to keep markets on edge WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK NEW YORK: Investors will start the week early as the Sunday referendum to decide if Crimea becomes part of Russia or remains Ukrainian will likely reverberate in markets worldwide.

U.S. stocks closed Friday with their largest weekly drop in the last seven weeks as the strongest confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War unfolds. Markets were also haunted by concerns over a slowdown in China’s economy. Dozens of Russians involved in Moscow’s gradual takeover of Crimea face US and EU travel bans and asset freezes on Monday as pro-Moscow authorities who have taken power in Crimea hold a Sunday vote to join Russia.

“There’s an open question as to who suffers most,” said Sam Wardwell, investment strategist at Pioneer Investments in Boston, about the planned economic sanctions. “The EU is dependent on Russian natural gas; it’s an economic mutually assured destruction.”

This week’s record decline in foreign holdings of US Treasuries has led some to speculate that Russia has been cutting its dollar reserves ahead of possible sanctions from the West. Moscow shipped more troops and armor into Crimea on Friday and repeated its threat to invade other parts of Ukraine despite Western demands to pull back. “It will be harder to make a new high with these global and geopolitical effects overhanging,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

“I don’t know if these warnings signs result in dire results, but they are certainly to be considered when making a macro bet.” On Wall Street, despite the weekly decline the S&P 500 held near its record high.

Investors, however, have been protecting their bets with other instruments.

The CBOE Volatility index VIX jumped near 10 percent to 17.82, its highest level since early February, as

investors were willing to pay more for protection against a drop in the S&P 500.

“Maybe the average investor isn’t acting worried, but I sure think option traders are bracing for some fireworks next week,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati.

The trading volume on spot VIX options was more than twice the norm on Friday, with the most active trades in the March and July 20 calls. The VIX has closed above 20 just one day this year, on Feb. 3.

Fed to stay course The Federal Reserve is also on investor’s radars for next week as a two-day meeting of its policy-setting committee kicks off Tuesday.

The Fed could use the meeting, the first with Janet Yellen as chair, to map out its plan for rate rises, whether in the formal statement it issues afterward or in Yellen’s news conference.

The Fed has telegraphed that the first rate rise is likely to come around the middle of next year, as long as the US economy keeps healing. “Our anticipation is the Fed will taper again maintaining the schedule they have. There seems to be a high hurdle for them to alter that schedule,” said Pioneer Investments’ Wardwell.

Recent weak ness in economic data has been attributed in part to weather issues, and markets do not expect the Fed to veer its course of winding down its asset-purchase program by another $10 billion, bringing the monthly purchase total to $55 billion.

Market-sensitive data on tap for next week include housing star ts and consumer inflation data on Tuesday and the Philly Fed survey, weekly jobless claims and home resales on Thursday. — Reuters

cent growth, ending the week at 1,048.86 points.

The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 396.16 million shares changing hands, representing 49.57 percent of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 26.88 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 214.80 million shares.

On the other hand, the Financial Services sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 30.04 million or 34.48 percent of last week ’s total market trading value. The Banks sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover was KD 19.46 million represented 22.34 percent of the total market trading value. —Prepared by the Studies & Research Department, Bayan Investment Co.

Investors’ worry on China now extends to Russia

NEW YORK: Stock investors started the week worrying about China. They ended it waiting on Russia. Investors spent much of Friday monitoring developments in the Ukraine’s region of Crimea, where residents will vote today on whether to join Russia. The US and European Union have vowed to impose sanctions on Russia as early as Monday if Moscow moves to annex Crimea. The uncertainty mostly stalled major stock indexes, which moved between small gains and losses through much of the day. Many investors took a cautious approach, turning to lower-risk stocks like utilities.

All told, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 43.22 points, or 0.3 percent, to end at 16,065.67. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.21 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,841.13. The Nasdaq composite dropped 15.02 points, or 0.4 percent, to finish at 4,245.40. Even so, the S&P 500 index ended the week down less than 2 percent from a record high reached the previous Friday. And it remains just slightly in the red for the year.

“The market is still pretty close to all-time highs. I think that speaks volumes,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, a senior market strategist with ING US Investment Management. “The market hasn’t been rattled severely by what’s been going on this week, therefore I think next week I’d probably expect a similar reaction.” In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed from late Thursday at 2.65 percent.

Despite the Dow posting its fifth loss in five days, the market regained some of its footing from a day earlier, when the three major indexes lost more than 1 percent - the worst day for the market in six weeks. Thursday’s decline was a sharp contrast to the relatively quiet trading Monday through Wednesday.

Discussions between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday set the mood heading into the weekend. Despite six hours of talks, the two sides had “no common vision,” for the crisis in Ukraine, Lavrov said.

He told reporters that Russia has no plans to invade southeastern Ukraine. But if Crimea secedes, the US and European Union plan to slap sanctions on Russian officials and businesses accused of escalating the crisis and undermining Ukraine’s new government.

The impact of sanctions on Russia would likely affect the energy sector and oil in particular, said Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Median Equity Partners. “Any sanctions, if they get to that level, are going to have a major effect in all areas,” he said. Russia is the world’s eighth largest economy. Its oil and gas exports make up roughly a quarter of its GDP. Escalating tension in Ukraine is the latest development in a volatile year for the stock market. Severe winter weather has hurt corporate earnings and stoked doubts about the strength of the US economy. Concerns over emerging markets battered stocks at the end of January. And in recent weeks, discouraging data on the Chinese economy have added to investors’ concerns.

That’s a stark shift from last year, when the market enjoyed a surge of 30 percent and slightly more, if dividends are included. “The ride this year will be bumpier than last year,” said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments at The PNC Financial Services Group. “Coming off a market of plus 32 percent last year, it’s not surprising the difficulty to gain any traction here.”

Still, Cavanaugh of ING US Investment Management, said investors know that fundamentals are “solid.” She noted that corporate earnings are good at 8.5 percent growth in the fourth quarter versus a year earlier.

Beyond the action in Ukraine, investors also will have a dose of US housing data and an update from Fed Chair Janet Yellen in the mix next week. Fed policymakers are expected to continue scaling back the central bank’s stimulus.

On Friday several stocks posted gains. Keurig jumped $7.09, or nearly 7 percent, to $113.25 after Starbucks said Friday that it has agreed to give up its right to be the only provider of premium coffee for Keurig’s coffee brewing machines. That opens the door for Keurig to offer other high-quality coffee brands in single-serving packages. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances vaulted $5.75, or 6.4 percent, to $95.26. The beauty products retailer reported a nearly 10 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit thanks to improved sales. Among the decliners was retailer Aeropostale, which fell $1.47, or 20 percent, to $5.83 after reporting a wider loss late Thursday. The operator of clothing stores for teenagers also warned of tough times ahead. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

BUSINESS

Housing conference spotlights policy flaws AL-SHALL WEEKLY ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: The old unsustainable rules and foundations of the housing issue are the same wrong rules and foundations for the current employment issue and the public finance issue. In fact, they are all interrelated and the continuation of any will expedite the failure of the other. Early last week, a conference sponsored and shared by both the government and the parliament was held during which presentations were submitted, some of which were rational and their core was claiming that the continued planting of the country from border to border with horizontal housing units is impossible and represents the selling of an illusion which will not be realized. Not only that, it will diminish oil exports, accumulate public finance deficit and will inevitably lead to inability to provide employment, education and health services and even maintenance of the infrastructure.

Al-Shall previously published its figures about the major issues, and concluded the inevitability of the country running against the wall if the government continues its current policies. But it is fine to borrow some figures from the conference papers which conclude the same results and assert the impossibility of sustaining the current policies. The Minister of Electricity stated in his comment that the Public Authority for Housing Welfare has submitted a request to provide power for about 174,000 new housing units, which need about 14,000 megawatts, or more than the power which Kuwait generated since independence, noting that the number of existing houses in Kuwait is currently approximately 140,021. He added that Kuwait currently subsidizes energy by about KD 3 billion annually, or about 75 percent of all public budget expenditures in the FY 1999/2000 which will increase deductions from oil production to generate domestic energy from about 10 percent to 20 percent at the expense of exports.

Chairman of the Real Estate Association and President of the Organizing Committee says in his paper what is impossible to accomplish. The percentage of Kuwaiti families that own their housing in the last 10 years since 2003 and until 2013 dropped from about 61 percent to 55.9 percent. The waiting list is currently about 109 thousand applications and there is a promise to complete 174,000. President of the Organizing Committee estimates the number of forthcoming housing applications in the next 20 years to be about 342,960 requests, while each housing unit with an area of 400 sq m is estimated to cost approximately KD 252,000 with a total cost of KD 86.7 billion. It is insignificant if cost figures are slightly imprecise, for what remains of public funds either way will neither be sufficient to create 600 thousand jobs for new comers to the labor market nor to provide decent medical and educational services. In fact, what remains will not guarantee the minimum limit for necessary political stability.

The Housing Minister in the same government states that there are financial and technical constraints to building 174,000 houses; but the most important restraint, according to him, is the time constraint. In other words, he promises to distribute 12,000 housing units per year, which means he believes in the sustainability of the current housing policy. We do not know which of the two governments will prevail, the one that speaks the language of numbers and which does not believe in marketing the impossible because it is ordinary people who will pay for the repercussions, or the government which believes that time constraints alone may delay continuing its impossible policies.

Certainly the housing conference was a step in the right direction. The principle is to be frank with people, telling them with solid figures that continuing an error with wellknown disastrous consequences is an unforgivable sin. That does not mean cancellation of housing welfare, especially with the insane rise of land prices, but the creation of a philosophy of sustainable housing. But Kuwait’s eternal problem remains that the solution does not come by correct or even the accurate diagnosis, but through management based on meeting its requirements. The government either does not read reality well or does not bother to offer the sacrifice for its remedy.

Financial and monetary Statistics The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) stated in its monthly monetary statistics bulletin for December 2013, published on its website, that the balance of the total public debt instruments has declined by KD 227.7 million to KD 1527.3 million in the end of December 2013 (KD 1755 million in December 2012).

Public debt tools consist of Treasury bonds, longer-term, with a balance by KD 1527.3 million (KD 1,755 million at the end of December 2012), and the Treasury bills with “zero balance” (since July 2012). Average interest rate

on Treasury bonds, one year term, was about 1 percent (since August 2012). Domestic banks capture about 98.4 percent of the total public debt tools (around 96 percent at the end of December 2012). Thus, the total domestic public debt scores about KD 1527.3 million, or about 3 percent of the nominal GDP for 2012, of about KD 51.3 billion.

Kuwait Central Bank bulletin indicates that total credit facilities for foreign residents offered from local banks amounted to approximately KD 28.961 billion, approximately 56.2 percent of total assets of local banks, a noticeable increase by about KD 2.164 billion from its amount at the end of December 2012. This value represents a growth rate of about 8.1 percent in 2013. The growth rates of credit facilities in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 scored approximately 19.9 percent, 26.3 percent, 34.8 percent, 17.5 percent, 6.1 percent, 0.4 percent, 1.6 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.

Total personal facilities scored about KD 11.282 billion, or about 39 percent of the total credit facilities (approximately KD 10.055 billion in the end of December 2012), a growth rate by approximately 12.2 percent which we should be aware of to avoid repeating that problem of consumer and installed loans. Value of installed loans scored about KD 7.031 billion dinars, or 62.3 percent of the total personal facilities, for buying stocks about KD 2.731 billion, or 24.2 percent of total personal facilities, and KD 1.159 billion for consumer loans.

Credit facilities for real estate sector scored approximately KD 7.601 billion, or 26.2 percent of the total (about KD 7.114 billion in the end of December 2012), for trade sector they scored about KD 2.744 billion, or 9.5 percent, (about KD 2.475 billion in the end of December 2012) and for financial institutions -excluding banks- KD 1.612 billion, or 5.6 percent, (KD 1.857 billion in the end of December 2012).

The bulletin also notes that the total deposits in local banks scored some KD 36.308 billion, representing approximately 70.5 percent of total local banks liabilities, with a marked increase by about KD 2.804 billion, from what its amount at the end of December 2012, a growth rate of approximately 8.4 percent. Of these deposits, KD 31.251 billion, 86.1 percent, in the comprehensive definition, including major institutions like the public Institution of social securities - excluding the government- belong to the private sector clients, with KD 28.129 billion, or 90 percent, deposits for private sector clients and the equivalent of KD 3.122 billion in foreign currencies for private sector clients, too.

The average interest rates on customers’ deposits for a term, in both the Kuwaiti dinar and the US dollar compared to the end of December 2012, the bulletin states they continued their decline on the two currencies.

The difference however in the difference in the average interest rates on customers’ deposits for a term is in favor of the Kuwaiti dinar, in the end of two periods. It scored approximately 0.409 points, for one-month deposits, about 0.461 for three months’ deposits, 0.532, for six month deposits, and 0.512 for 12 months. But that difference in the end of December 2012 was 0.411 point for one-month deposits, approximately 0.498 points for 3-month deposits, 0.545 points for 6 months deposits, and 0.520 point for 12-month deposit. The monthly average of the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate for December 2013 against the dollar was at 282.393 fils, a slight rise of about 0.3 percent vis-a-vis 281.289 fils per one dollar average for December 2012.

The Gulf Cooperation Council By 2014, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has completed one-third of a century, which is quite long time, during which China, for instance, which was starving and full of epidemics, with most of its population below the abject poverty line, managed to become the world’s second-largest global economy with the potential to become the largest economy by 2030. During this long era, the GCC does not have any worthy achievement.

The Customs Union Agreement has not been implemented so far. To cover up the failure, there was a jump to the Common Market Agreement which was not applied either. The jump continued to the unified currency which failed, too. The ultimate jump was the sudden announcement of the pursuit of a GCC Union which was thwarted by Oman’s threat to withdraw from the Council in November 2013 if that was discussed in last December’s Summit in Kuwait.

The failure to implement agreements no longer represents a shock to the citizens or to those interested in the affairs of the GCC, as failure has become the rule. But the new development is the transition from euphoria

of promoting political unity to withdrawing ambassadors, ie rupture between countries advocating unity. To measure the seriousness and the danger of the event, it should be compared with the concurrent Ukrainian crisis. For the first time, a comparison on a global level is made between the 1914 events which led to World War I and this crisis, though with some exaggeration. Nevertheless, neither Ukraine, the European Union countries nor the United States withdrew their ambassadors from Russia, neither did Russia. While in the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis, three ambassadors were withdrawn from a fourth country in an organization of six countries.

The excuse was Qatar’s non-implementation of an agreement, which the citizens do not know its content, after Qatar’s confirmation of its commitment to the implementation of the confidential agreement in February 17 meeting at Kuwait airport. That anger did not prevent the four countries -Qatar and the three boycotters- from signing the GCC security agreement. The accusation remained about Qatar’s destabilization of security in the other three countries.

In Europe, a small country in the 19th century, namely Denmark, with its five million

population was about to stop the European Union’s march to the so-called Maastricht Treaty. A few weeks ago, the small Switzerland halted the workers’ free movement agreement with the European Union.

During this year Scotland may break away from Great Britain and in 2017 Britain may quit the European Union. The common denominator among all these events is the “popular referendum”, ie the participation and the will of the people in decision-making, while the GCC countries moved from a unity wedding to breaking up in four months.

In both cases, the people are ignored, as those who dance to weddings or beat the war drums are the conferences or summits alone. In brief, if the security of the GCC countries is so fragile that it may collapse from the works of one Change Academy or a Friday prayer sermon in Qatar, the fragile security is what requires reform. Such phenomena -the Academy and Friday sermonshave helped test its failure. But if what is happening is deeper and bigger, people who are the basis of the country and the target of its security have the right to know and express their opinions. Certainly, monopolizing the announcement of achievements or wars at

the top of the pyramid will not create countries or successful cooperation organizations.

These notions have become obsolete with the fall of Stalinism. The GCC countries should be aware of that fact. Achievements can be accomplished to countries through their entire population, but an individual decision is enough to cause calamities. The global financial crisis has demonstrated that the most serious enemy of stability and construction is the dominance of uncertainty.

Jumping from joy to severance within the GCC organization creates an environment full of a sense of uncertainty and loss of confidence.

The Weekly Performance of KSE The per formance of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) for the last week was mixed, as the traded value index, the traded volume index and the transactions index showed a decrease, while the general index showed an increase. Al-Shall Index (value index) closed at 458.2 points at the closing of last Thursday, showing an increase of about 0.3 points or about 0.1 percent comparing to last week and an increase of 3.5 points or about 0.8 percent compared with the end of 2013.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

BUSINESS

Chevrolet Traverse and Impala among KBB.com 12 best family cars of 2014 KUWAIT: In a quest to find the vehicles best suited for families, Kelley Blue Book editors collaborated with real families to test an array of vehicles including anything from sedans to minivans in the US. Two Chevrolets made their way into KBB.com’s 12 Best Family Cars of 2014 recommended list, the Chevrolet Traverse midsize SUV and the Impala brand’s new flagship sedan.

“We designed the Chevrolet Traverse and Impala precisely to offer a wide suite of useful family-friendly features,” said Russ Clark, Chevrolet director of marketing. “It is good to see that KBB.com and the customers they surveyed agree.”

Nominees were chosen specifically for excellence in safety, comfort, driving performance, room for child seats, cargo space and other family-friendly features. The KBB.com expert editors started with 21 vehicles top-ranked in their Expert Ratings in various family-friendly categories and enlisted the help of several families to thoroughly test these family haulers. KBB.com

Zain Saudi wins Middle East Telecoms Deal of Year 2013 KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunications across eight markets in the Middle East and North Africa is proud to announce that its operation in Saudi Arabia has been singled out as the recipient of the Middle East Telecoms Deal of the Year 2013 for having closed two facilities, namely a SAR 8.63 billion ($2.3 billion) Murabaha facility in July 2013 and a SAR 2.25 billion ($600 million) facility in June 2013.

At a ceremony held in Dubai last week, reputable UKbased ProjectFinance magazine awarded the prestigious accolade to Zain KSA in acknowledgement of its renegotiation of two facilities to finance a network expansion that was originally set to mature in 2012.

The amended SAR 8.63 billion limited-recourse facility, which went on to become the largest pure commercial bank deal in Saudi Arabia in 2013, has a tenor of five years to July 31, 2018, and was restructured as an amortizing facility, 25 percent of which will be due during years 4 and 5 of the life of the facility, with 75 percent due at maturity.

Moreover, the new Murabaha facility arrangement carries a decreased profit margin by around 18 percent (equivalent to 75 basis points) compared to the previous agreement, with the possibility for further reduction in line with the improving credit metrics.

Commenting on the recognition of the deal by ProjectFinance magazine, Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group CEO said, “Zain Group remains totally committed to supporting its operation in Saudi Arabia, and we are proud to see the company recognized for its financial arrangements. We are confident that the transformation of Zain KSA will make this mobile operation a highly successful player in the Saudi telecom market and a healthy contributor to the Group’s overall operations.”

Zain KSA CEO, Hassan Kabbani said: “The resounding support of a broad base of local and international financial institutions in these facilities is a confirmation of the banking community’s confidence in the company.”

Furthermore, Kabbani noted, “2013 was a significant year for Zain KSA as we were able to conclude a number of significant financial transactions that helped free up cashflow, improve our financial situation, and position us strongly to contend with the future development of our 4G LTE network and the rollout of customer enhancing services in the years to come.”

Apart from the two financial transactions acknowledged in this award, Zain KSA’s cash-flow position was also enhanced in 2013 by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) sanction of a seven-year deferment of annual dues and other obligations, allowing for the postponement of payments totalling $1.5 billion to the MOF until 2021.

Prior to closing on the Murabaha facility, Zain KSA had partially repaid the prior facility by an amount of US$ 100 million, utilizing a portion of its internal cash resources.

The company’s financial progress is in line with the overall positive momentum being enjoyed at Zain KSA, which has resulted in the heightening of its performance as it follows a strategy of operational excellence, better customer experience, and greater brand alignment.

On the $2.3 billion Murabaha facility, the bookrunners were Al-Rajhi Bank (ARB), Arab National Bank (ANB), Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) and Credit Agricole CIB (CACIB).

The Mandated Lead Arrangers were ARB, ANB, BSF, Boubyan Bank, CACIB, Gulf Bank (Kuwait), National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Saudi British Bank. On the $600 million facility, four banks provided the loan - Arab National Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, Gulf International Bank and Samba Financial Group. The legal firms that supported Zain and the financial institutions in these transactions included Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Allen & Overy.

editors then recorded the results and feedback to select the winners.

The 2014 Chevrolet Traverse is packed with the family-friendly features. A roomy vehicle that maintains a car-like ride, Traverse offers families a standard three rows of seating on all models, flexible seating configurations, class-leading people and cargo-carrying capacity, plus entertainment features geared toward families.

It also features the industry’s first front center side air bag, which is designed to provide added protection for both front occupants.

The 2014 Impala, Chevrolet’s full-size flagship sedan boasts a spacious refined interior and the new levels of comfort and technology including new generation of MyLink infotainment system and10 standard air bags.

Both vehicles offer a host of available safety technologies such as forward collision alert, lane departure warning, side blind zone alert, rear cross traffic alert, rear camera and rear-park assist.

‘Product of The Year Gulf 2014’ awards honor innovation among GCC brands DUBAI: The Product of the Year 2014 awards, which has carved a niche for itself in 42 countries across the globe, were handed over to a bevy of leading brands from across the GCC countries at a glittering awards ceremony held last night.

Recognizing excellence in innovation through an independent process, the awards - which were handed over in a glittering ceremony at the Meydan Beach, Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai - is the only one-ofits-kind that is voted 100% by consumers themselves.

Conducted by market research partner TNS, the Product of the Year Middle East award involves a GCC and region-wide consumer survey involving face-toface interviews with 3,600 households on the perception of various new products that have been launched in the GCC market - not only in FMCG but also other industries such as electronics and vision care.

The Product of the Year award is selected by an independent jury which vets the consumers’ choices and manages the entire process in a transparent and secure environment. The jury, which includes representatives from The Dubai Chamber, The French Business Council, The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting and the American University of Sharjah among others , closely studies the various entries, fills out a multiple choice questionnaire and finalizes the participants’ list.

Dory Kfoury, CEO - Middle East and Africa for Product of the Year, said: “Congratulations to all the winners of the Product of the Year 2014 awards, and this recognition is a major endorsement for all the winning brands by the consumers. The Product of the Year is the world’s largest consumer-voted program that recognizes innovation in consumer packaged goods. With its success in the GCC region since last year, the award has received a major thumbs-up from companies as it is voted by consumers. We sincerely thank all our partners, and in particular TNS for their survey and support in this journey.”

Partners for this year include GN Broadcasting, Rotana, Gulf Marketing Review, TNS ,Traffik 360 for below the line advertising, INTO All Marketing Solutions and Integral Shopper for their marketing support.

The Product of the Year awards has been recently introduced in Russia, Malaysia and South Korea. Japan and Tunisia will launch their first edition in 2014.

“Each year 24,000 new products are launched on the market in the consumer goods arena worldwide, only 10% of them succeed to stay on shelf for 3 years and less than 40% of them manage to stay in the market beyond 5 years,” says Carla El-Saghir , Gulf Area Manager. “The Product of the Year Middle East award serves as a shortcut for the shoppers in the supermarket making their product choice easier in a sea of endless options. For manufacturers of the winning products, the POY recognition is a powerful marketing message proven to increase product trial, awareness, distribution and sales.” Globally, POY has been working with over 100 multinationals and a number of local and regional companies and invites companies from all sectors to submit their entries: Health and Beauty, Food and Beverage, Electronics and Technology and Travel.

Below is the full list of 2014 ‘s winners: Biofinity Family (Vision Care) . Nude Audio Move Portable Wireless Speakers (Portable Speakers).

Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide (Oralcare) .

Philips ActiveCare Jojoba Straightener (Hair Appliances) . Braun Silk-epil SkinSpa (Hair Removal solutions) .

Philips Beardtrimmer Series 9000 (Male Grooming) .

Sensodyne Complete Protection (Toothpaste) . Nivea Men Originals Range (Men’s Skincare). Garnier Light Oil Control (Whitening Facecare) . Maybelline New York The Colossal Kajal (Make Up). Nivea Stress Protect Deodorants (Deodorants for women) . Carefree Plus Large + Aloe 48s (Feminine Care) . Nivea In-Shower Body Lotions (Body Moisturiser) . Pantene Milky Damage Shampoo, Conditioner and Oil Replacement Range (Haircare Range) . Excellence Creme (Hair Colourants) . Tresemme Hair Care Range (Professional Haircare & Styling). Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp Care Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner (Anti-Dandruff Haircare) . Nivea Men Shower Gels (Men’s Shower Care) .

LUX Soft Touch Shower Gel (Skin Cleansing) . Johnson’s Baby No More Tangles Little People’s Hair Care range (Babycare) . Milupa Aptamil Junior (Baby Nutrition) .

Pampers Premium Care (Baby Diapers) . Kleenex Arabesque Facial Tissue Bundle (Premium Facial Tissues) . Sanita Sufra Matwiya Poly Ethylene Table Covers (Disposable Tableware) . Kleenex Classiq Facial Tissue Bundle (Classic Facial Tissues) . Air Wick Aoud Passions (Home Fragrances) . Fairy Platinum (Dishcare) . Ariel Capsule (Laundrycare) . Afia Corn Oil (Cooking Oil) . Rio Mare Salatuna Beans Recipe (Canned Tuna) . Nature Valley Oats & Chocolate (Snack Bar) . London Dairy Crispy Chocolate Espresso (Ice Cream) . KRAFT Cheddar Cheese - New Easy to Use Cans (Cheese) . Lipton Chai Latte Foamy (Hot Beverages).

Tasweek 2013 profits on strong growth threshold ABU DHABI: Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing PJSC, an advisor and solutions provider serving the regional real estate markets, considering their performance a surge in the net profit for 2013 - its fifth straight year of profit and continuous growth makes it worth to serious consideration for IPO as the real-estate industry growth flourishes.

With the mixed-use development of Tasweek $250 million portfolio from residential, commercial hospitality and healthcare as also the other investments planned by Tasweek in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other parts of the Gulf, have further accentuated the depth of the company’s portfolio and its international reach of assets amidst the increasing confidence in the real estate sector and heightened optimism among the investors and buyers in the region.

Masood Al-Awar, CEO of Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing, said: “As we see an amazing growth period for the real estate sector, we are proud of our achievements so far as one of the leading

players. We expect our performance in 2013 to be of a consistent growth over the last five year, our enviable portfolio of the investment and the encouraging market potential in the real estate sector is very encouraging of an IPO model as the market growth is very promising” He added: “Last year, we witnessed

Masood Al-Awar

amazing growth across various investments. We are quite bullish to continue this amazing trend in 2014 and achieve even greater heights with our partners, stakeholders and our customers in this growth march.”

Al-Awar added: “Amidst this positive growth trajectory, we shall draw from our commitment to accountability, integrity and professionalism to achieve another year of growth and vision. We expect a lot of investment across other business sectors as well more so with the Expo 2020 win, which will bring in more capital inflow into the UAE and overall augurs well for our growth.”

The impressive results comes amidst a study by Tasweek which revealed that the real estate industry offers amazing returns on investments between 9 percent and 12 percent per annum in the short and long-term.

Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing has been showcasing its two core competencies of networking and extensive market knowledge as it continues its expansion into the international markets.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

technology

Move over ‘123456’: passwords go high-tech too HANOVER: Internet users may before long have a secure solution to the modern plague of passwords, in which they can use visual patterns or even their own body parts to identify themselves. Developers at the world’s biggest high-tech fair, CeBIT, say that one of the biggest frustrations of having a smartphone and a computer is memorizing dozens of sufficiently airtight passwords for all their devices and accounts. “The problem of passwords is that they are very weak, they are always getting hacked, and also from a user point of view, they are too complicated, everybody has 20, 30, 60 passwords,” said Steven Hope, managing director of Winfrasoft from Britain, the fair’s guest country this year.

“They all have to be different, no one can remember them, so everybody writes them down or resets them every time they log in. They don’t work in the real world today.” Passwords have proliferated so

much that it’s a daily struggle for users to cope with so many of them. And as millions of Internet users have learned the hard way, no password is safe when hackers can net them en masse from banks, email services, retailers or social media websites that fail to fully protect their servers. Many simply throw in the towel and use no-brainer codes like “123456” and “password”-which are still the most common despite how easily they can be cracked, CeBIT spokesman Hartwig von Sass said at the event in the northern German city of Hanover.

In response to the vulnerabilities and hassles of the antiquated username-and-password formula, Winfrasoft has developed an alternative based on a four-color grid with numbers inside that resembles a Sudoku puzzle. Users select a pattern on the grid as their “password” and because the numbers inside the boxes change once per minute, the code changes

too, making it far harder to hack. “There is no way anybody could see which numbers you are looking at. You see typing numbers but you don’t know what the pattern is because each number is here six times,” Hope said during a demonstration.

Backup from body parts Biometric data offers another alternative to seas of numbers, letters and symbols. US giant Apple has already equipped its latest generation iPhone with a fingerprint reader to boost its security profile. But a group of European hackers, the Hamburg-based Chaos Computer Club, demonstrated that the system could be pirated using a sophisticated “fake” fingerprint made of latex. Japan’s Fujitsu turned to the other end of the hand and has developed an identification system based on each person’s unique vein pattern. At its CeBIT stand, the company was show-

ing off its PalmSecure technology on its new ultralight laptop computer which has a small sensor built in. Meanwhile Swiss firm KeyLemon has developed a face recognition system using a webcam.

The computer registers parts of the face, “the eyes, the eyebrows, the shape of your nose, your cheekbones, the chin...” a company spokesman said. The person must then only sit in front of the screen to be recognized and gain access to the computer. The system, already used by some three million people according to the company, still has a few kinks however so users must remember to take off their eyeglasses, for example, or have consistent lighting in order to pass the identity test. “Face recognition and fingerprint recognition are additional safety security features, they will never have only face recognition or fingerprint recognition” but rather use them as a crucial backup to passwords, he said. — AFP

US goes high-tech to help oversee Afghan aid work Aid agency steps up use of smartphones, GPS cameras

Associated Press Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay poses wearing Google Glass in New York. — AP

Uneasy first steps with Google Glass NEW YORK: Shaped like a lopsided headband, Google Glass is an unassuming piece of technology when you’re holding it in your hands. You feel as if you can almost break it, testing its flexibility. Putting it on, though, is another story. Once you do, this Internet-connected eyewear takes on a life of its own. You become “ The Person Wearing Google Glass” and all the assumptions that brings with it -about your wealth, boorishness or curiosity. Such is the fate of early adopters of new technologies, whether it’s the Sony Walkman, the first iPod with its conspicuous white earbuds, or the Segway scooter.

Google calls the people who wear Glass “explorers,” because the device is not yet available to the general public. With its $1,500 price tag, the device is far from having mass appeal. At the South By Southwest Interactive tech jamboree in Austin this week, I counted fewer than a dozen people wearing it, including technology blogger Robert Scoble, who isn’t shy about posting pictures of himself in the shower, red-faced, water running, wearing the device.

Google, like most successful technology companies, dreamers and inventors, likes to take a long view on things. It calls some of its most outlandish projects “moonshots.”

Besides Glass, these include its driverless car, balloons that deliver Internet service to remote parts of the world and contact lenses that monitor glucose levels in diabetics.

There’s an inherent risk in moonshots, however: What if you never reach the moon?

Ten years from now, we may look back at Google Glass as one of those short-lived bridges that takes us from one technological breakthrough to the next, just as pagers, MP3 players and personal digital assistants paved the way for the era of the smartphone.

Fitness bands, too, may fit into this category. In its current, early version, Google Glass feels bulky on my face and when I look in the mirror I see a futuristic telemarketer looking back at me. Wearing it on the subway while a homeless man shuffled through the car begging for change made me feel as if I was sporting a diamond tiara.

I sank lower in my seat as he passed. If Google is aiming for mass appeal, the next

versions of Glass have to be much smaller and less conspicuous.

Though no one knows for sure where wearable devices will lead us, Rodrigo Martinez, life sciences chief strategist at the Silicon Valley design firm IDEO, has some ideas. “The reason we are talking about wearables is because we are not at implantables yet,” he says. “(But) I’m ready.

Others are ready.” Nevermind implants, I’m not sure I’m even ready for Google Glass.

Specs in place for the first time, I walked out of Google’s Manhattan showroom on a recent Friday afternoon with a sense of unease. A wave of questions washed over me. Why is everyone looking at me? Should I be looking at them? Should I have chosen the orange Glass instead of charcoal?

Ideally, Google Glass lets you do many of the things we now do with our smartphones, such as taking photos, reading news headlines or talking to our mothers on Sunday evenings - hands-free. But it comes with a bit of baggage. Glass feels heavier when I’m out in public or in a group where I’m the only person wearing it. If I think about it long enough my face starts burning from embarrassment. The device has been described to me as “the scarlet letter of technology” by a friend. The most frequent response I get from my husband when I try to slip Glass on in his presence is “please take that off.” This is the same husband who encouraged me to buy a sweater covered in googly-eyed cats.

Instead of looking at the world through a new lens on a crowded rush-hour sidewalk. I felt as if the whole world was looking at me. That’s no small feat in New York, where even celebrities are afforded a sense of privacy and where making eye contact with strangers can amount to an entire conversation. But that’s just one side of wearing Google Glass. The other side is exhilarating. Glass is getting some bad press lately. Some bars and coffee shops in Silicon Valley and Seattle have banned Google Glass, for example, and federal authorities in Ohio interrogated a man earlier this year after he was suspected of recording a movie with the device. Last month, Google put out a Glass etiquette guide that includes the appeal “don’t be creepy or rude.” — AP

WASHINGTON: Faced with the ongoing exit of American troops from Afghanistan, the top US aid agency wants to step up its use of smartphones, satellite imagery and GPS cameras to oversee tax-funded development projects that aid workers no longer will be able to observe with their own eyes. The US Agency for International Development on Saturday began seeking bids on a new monitoring project contract, which could cost up to $170 million. The agency hopes the five-year project will allow aid work to continue in Afghanistan despite the troop drawdown and satisfy lawmakers and others who have criticized it for weak monitoring.

Unless security improves significantly, Afghans hired by USAID contractors will increasingly be on the front line of overseeing USAID’s largest single-country program. “As the US prepares to have a smaller military footprint, it could become increasingly challenging for us to do our direct monitoring and have U.S. employees on the ground looking at things,” Mark Feierstein, associate administrator for USAID, said in an interview this week at USAID’s headquarters in Washington. “We are going to try to do whatever oversight we can with USAID employees,” Feierstein said. “If we conclude that even with the best technology we just can’t have eyes and ears there, we just won’t do the project.”

Since 2001, USAID has spent $12 billion on development projects in Afghanistan, and millions more will pour into the country in coming years. USAID-funded projects are monitored by aid workers, contractors, other US government employees, USAID’s own inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, the Afghan government and civil organizations, and the office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR. The new monitoring project contract going out for bid aims to enhance oversight by combining these existing monitoring techniques with stepped up use of high-tech tools, which USAID has already used in Afghanistan and other hard-to-access countries, such as Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and certain areas of Colombia.

The tools include satellite imagery, cameras that take photos with the time, date and GPS coordinates, and cellphones that can be used to collect data and conduct informal public opinion surveys. Typically, Afghans are hired to go to project sites and collect information useful in monitoring the work - a job that can put them in danger if they are seen by insurgents fighting

WASHINGTON: Mark Feierstein, associate administrator for the US Agency for International Development, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. — AP America’s presence in Afghanistan. The draw- SIGAR was unable to visit $72 million in infradown of forces and further restricted movement structure projects in northern Afghanistan of US civilian workers in Afghanistan has alarmed because they were in areas that could not be Sen Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, who has long criti- reached by US civilian employees. Sopko said five cized waste and fraud in US reconstruction proj- zones, encircling many of the highest-populated ects in the war-torn country. At a Senate hearing cities in the country, have been identified as havearlier this week, McCaskill noted that SIGAR pre- ing “possible oversight access.” He said US milidicts that soon no more than 21 percent of tary officials have told SIGAR that “requests to Afghanistan will be accessible to US civilian over- visit a reconstruction site outside of these oversight bubbles will probably be denied.” US milisight personnel.

“Now that’s a 47 percent reduction since tary officials also have told SIGAR that they will 2009,” McCaskill said. “We had eyes and ears on provide civilian access only to areas within a 30the majority of Afghanistan during a time period minute trip of an advanced medical facility, he that ... billions of dollars of American taxpayer wrote.

In his letter, Sopko acknowledged USAID’s money was being spent to build things. We’re only going to have eyes and ears in 21 percent of work to use third-party monitors to oversee conthe country.” In its most recent quarterly report, struction sites and said the State Department SIGAR also expressed deep concern that over- was looking at ways to expand access by periodisight could suffer. “As the US drawdown contin- cally moving emergency medical and security ues, implementing agencies and oversight bod- forces to the edges of the oversight bubbles. ies will have far less visibility over the reconstruc- “Even if these alternative means are used to overtion programs than in the past,” it said in the see reconstruction sites, direct oversight of reconstruction programs in much of Afghanistan report issued in January.

In a letter to US officials late last year, John will become prohibitively hazardous or impossiSopko, the special inspector general for ble as US military units are withdrawn, coalition Afghanistan reconstruction, said access had bases are closed and civilian reconstruction already become an issue. He noted that in 2013 offices in the field are closed,” he wrote. — AP

Japan vows to tackle industrial espionage TOKYO: Japan has vowed to fight industrial espionage after domestic media reported technology and information from local companies, including chipmaker Toshiba Corp, had been leaked to rivals from other countries. “Safeguarding Japan’s cutting-edge technology and preventing leaks are extremely important,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “The government as a whole will respond to ensure that such a thing doesn’t occur again.”

Suga declined to discuss specific cases but several media outlets said police had arrested a former engineer at a Toshiba affiliate on suspicion of improperly providing technical data to South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. The Nikkei newspaper also reported on Thursday that police had arrested in 2012 an unspecified number of people in Yokohama and Aichi for alleged leaks of industrial secrets to Chinese companies. Cybersecurity is a

key issue for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which acknowledges it cannot adequately protect its own computers and networks.

The media reports said Tokyo police are probing the alleged leak of technology related to Toshiba’s flagship NAND memory chips. A Toshiba spokesman said the company could not comment on the matter while it is the subject of a police investigation. Tokyo police also declined to comment. A Hynix spokesman said the company was checking the report and had no further comment. NAND memory chips, used to store data in smartphones and tablets, are a key source of profit for Toshiba, whose key competitors in the business include South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and US chipmaker SanDisk Corp. Toshiba’s shares fell 0.9 percent on Thursday, compared to the 0.1 percent drop in Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei average. — Reuters

Canon Middle East awarded for Best Environmental Practices DUBAI: Canon Middle East, a leader in imaging solutions, has been recognized for ‘Best Environmental Practices in the Arab World’ and was the only private sector organization granted the award by the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility, honoring Canon’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) across all aspects of business operations. At the annual award ceremony Canon was also presented a ‘Certificate of Excellence,’ acknowledging achievements in developing and implemented strategies that contribute to social development and environment protection.

Promoting the importance of corporate accountability, businesses are encouraged by the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility to align their regional CSR policies with international standards of social responsibility. Anurag

Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East said: “We are truly honoured to be recognized in the private sector for best environmental practices by the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility. At Canon Middle East we are committed to integrating our global philosophy of Kyosei, the purpose of living and working together for the common good, into our everyday activities and giving back to the communities that we operate in.

“We believe in conducting business responsibly and strive to ensure sustainable economic growth, delivering value for customers and stakeholders, while supporting Canon’s global CSR efforts and spearheading local initiatives that are core to our EMEA wide business.” Canon Middle East continues to invest heavily in sustainable best practices. In addition to being

awarded the Dubai Chamber CSR Label in 2012 and 2013, the company was also recertified in 2013 to ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard.

Canon Middle East supports the Emirates Environmental Group in their initiatives as corporate members and has two key strategic partnerships with WWF: with WWF International since 1998 as their conservation imaging partner, and the EWS-WWF locally. Globally, Canon Inc. earned the highest ranking among Japanese companies in the 2013 Climate Counts corporate emissions performance study at fourth place.

Canon is also ranked 8th in the World’s Most Reputable Companies (2013), 30th on Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands and its score on the Climate Counts scorecard is 66/100.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Scientists expect traces of ocean radiation soon WASHINGTON: Scientists have crowdsourced a network of volunteers taking water samples at beaches along the US West Coast in hopes of capturing a detailed look at low levels of radiation drifting across the ocean since the 2011 tsunami that devastated a nuclear power plant in Japan.

With the risk to public health extremely low, the effort is more about perfecting computer models that will better predict chemical and radiation spills in the future than bracing for a threat, researchers say.

Federal agencies are not sampling at the beach. The state of Oregon is sampling, but looking for higher radiation levels closer to federal health standards, said state health physicist Daryl Leon.

Washington stopped looking after early testing turned up nothing, said Washington Department of Health spokesman Donn Moyer.

The March 2011 tsunami off Japan

flooded the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, causing radiation-contaminated water to spill into the Pacific. Airborne radiation was detected in milk and rainwater in the US soon afterward. But things move much more slowly in the ocean. “We know there’s contaminated water coming out of there, even today,” Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, said in a video appealing for volunteers and contributions.

Two models In fact, it is the biggest pulse of radioactive liquid dropped in the ocean ever, he said.

“What we don’t really know is how fast and how much is being transported across the Pacific,” he added. “Yes, the models tell us it will be safe. Yes, the levels we expect off the coast of the US and Canada are expected to be low. But we need measurements, especially now as

the plume begins to arrive along the West Coast.” In an email from Japan, Buesseler said he hopes the sampling will go on every two or three months for the next two to three years.

Two different models have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals predicting the spread of radioactive isotopes of cesium and iodine from Fukushima. One, known as Rossi et al, shows the leading edge of the plume hitting the West Coast from southeast Alaska to Southern California by April.

The other, known as Behrens et all, shows the plume hitting Southeast Alaska, British Columbia and Washington

by March 2016.

The isotopes have been detected at very low levels at a Canadian sampling point far out to sea earlier than the models predicted, but not yet reported at the beach, said Kathryn A. Higley, head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics at Oregon

State University. The Rossi model predicts levels a little higher than the fallout from nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s. The Behrens model predicts lower levels like those seen in the ocean in the 1990s, after the radiation had decayed and dissipated.

The models predict levels of Cesium 137 between 30 and 2 Becquerels per cubic meter of seawater by the time the plume reaches the West Coast, Higley said. The federal drinking water health standard is 7,400 Becquerels per cubic meter, Leon said. Becquerels are a measure of radioactivity.

The crowdsourcing raised $29,945 from 225 people, enough to establish about 30 sampling sites in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and California, according to Woods Hole. The website so far has not reported any radiation.

Sara Gamble of Washington state, the mother of a young child, raised $500 because she thinks it is important to

know what is really going on. Woods Hole sent her a bucket, a funnel, a clipboard, a UPS shipping label, instructions and a big red plastic container for her sample. She went to Ocean Shores, Washington, a couple of weeks ago, collected her sample and shipped it off. No results have come back yet. To do another sample, she will have to raise another $500.

“I got lots of strange looks at the beach and the UPS Store, because it’s labeled ‘Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity,’ and it’s a big red bin,” she said. “But it’s funny; nobody would ask me anything out on the beach. I was like, ‘Aren’t you curious?

Don’t you want to ask?’”

Taking the sample has allayed her initial fears, but she still thinks it is important to know “because it affects our ecosystems, kids love to play in the water at the beach, and I want to know what’s there.”—AP

Disaster in Pakistan drought region almost inevitable Relief work fails to address root causes

GODEWAERSVELDE: A file picture taken on Sept 28, 2012 shows corn in a field in Godewaersvelde, northern France. The French Ministry of Agriculture banned by an order published in the Official Journal of marketing the use and cultivation of “MON 810”, a variety of genetically modified maize (corn) developed by the US agro-chemicals Monsanto Company. — AFP

Free rides to combat pollution in France, Belgium PARIS: Air pollution that has turned the skies over Paris a murky yellow and shrouded much of Belgium for days forced drivers to slow down Friday and gave millions a free ride on public transportation.

The belt of smog stretched for hundreds of miles, from France’s Atlantic coast to Belgium and well into Germany. It was the worst air pollution France has seen since 2007, the European Environment Agency said.

Nearly all of France was under some sort of pollution alert Friday, with levels in the Parisian region surpassing some of those in the world’s most notoriously polluted cities, including Beijing and Delhi.

To combat the smog, public transit around Paris and in two other cities was free Friday through Sunday. Elsewhere in France and in Belgium’s southern Wallonia area, the free ride was only for Friday.

The smog is particularly severe here because France has an unusually high number of diesel vehicles, whose nitrogen oxide fumes mix with ammonia from springtime fertilizers and form particulate ammonium nitrate. Pollutants from the burning of dead leaves and wood con-

tribute as well.

One environmental group complained earlier this week, denouncing the “inertia of the government,” saying it was putting lives in danger.

There’s no question that pollution can be an immediate health hazard, especially for the very young and old and for anyone with respiratory or cardiac disorders, said European Environment Agency air quality manager Valentin Foltescu.

“Some people will, unfortunately, die,” Foltescu said. “There is a high correlation of pollution of this kind and mortality.”

Speed limits dropped in France and Belgium and electronic billboards in Paris dispensed advice and emergency information. But the website that keeps up-to-theminute figures on the Paris region’s air quality slowed to a crawl and asked visitors to follow it on Twitter or Facebook rather than crash the site.

Foltescu said if everyone follows the government’s advice “you will see an instant difference.”

If not, he added, the pollution would last about as long as the region’s unseasonably warm and sunny weather. —AP

Coal miner’s dilemma; Your money or your life ANSHUN: Forty years of digging for coal have left the miner with tuberculosis and drained his village water supply. But he, like China, clings to the resource as his economic mother lode. “If I did farming, it would take me a year to get what I make in a month,” said the 55-year-old, surnamed Di and sporting the blackened fingernails of someone who has spent most of his days beneath the hills of China’s poverty-stricken Guizhou province. His lungs “don’t hurt much”, he said, although in any case he cannot afford treatment. China too has embraced the economic benefits of coal despite the threats it poses to health and the environment.

But anger has mounted over the stubborn smog that regularly cloaks Chinese cities, and authorities have repeatedly promised action since President Xi Jinping took office a year ago. Premier Li Keqiang vowed to “declare war against pollution”, speaking Wednesday at the opening of the Communist-controlled National People’s Congress legislature’s annual session.

The government will cap total energy consumption, shut 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces, clean up major coal-burning power plants and take six million high-emission vehicles off the roads, he promised.

Yet in practice, changing course will be tough in the face of swelling energy demand and pressure to sustain economic growth, already at its lowest levels since 1999. “Since environmental issues have become so publiceverybody is talking about them, the international community is talking about them-the government feels the need to deal with environmental issues more seriously,” said Xiaomin Liu, a Beijing-based coal expert with the consultancy IHS CERA. “They will do a lot of things, but I don’t think that will change things fundamentally,” he said. “The first priority is still to keep up economic growth.”

Smog scandal China uses more energy than any other country and is responsible for about half the

world’s coal consumption, relying on the fossil fuel for two-thirds of its energy supply. Public pressure over pollution erupted in January 2013 when an “airpocalypse” of smog choked Beijing, with particulate matter shooting 40 times past UN standards and horrifying images spreading worldwide. The scandal prompted authorities to stop burying the problem-cities and state-controlled media began reporting on air quality, and this year 15,000 factories were required to regularly publicize emissions data.

Over the past year Beijing has already allocated 1.7 trillion yuan ($280 billion) to improve air quality, and pledged to evaluate officials not only by their economic but also environmental record. Last September it announced tough air pollution limits, called for coal-use cuts in three densely populated areas, including the capital, and promised to shave nationwide coal consumption to 65 percent of total energy by 2017. Some of the targets were “ambitious”, sending an important message, said Alvin Lin, the Beijing-based China climate and energy policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Once you send that signal, then everybody has to try to meet it.” But implementation is another matter and even stricter quotas were still needed, he warned.

Terrible cost Another concern is that wealthier coastal cities, which have complained about pollution the loudest, will simply shift their coal-fired power-stations and factories to the country’s poorer interior. “Maybe the push is going to be just to push the dirty coal further west,” said Jennifer Turner, director of the China Environment Forum at the Wilson Center in Washington. “It’s the whole NIMBY (not in my backyard) movement.” Guizhou, in southwestern China, has pledged to close half its minesabout 800 - by mid-2014, but this follows a broader trend of shutting small struggling operators without necessarily cutting overall production. —AFP

MITHI, Pakistan: As the death toll from the latest outbreak of poverty-driven diseases in Pakistan’s Thar desert nears 100 children, experts are warning that corruption and a dysfunctional political system make a repeat of the disaster almost inevitable.The desert region in Tharparkar, one of Pakistan’s poorest districts, spreads over nearly 20,000 square kilometres in the country’s southeast and is home to some 1.3 million people, including a large population of minority Hindus.

Between March 2013 and February this year, rainfall was 30 percent below usual, according to government data, with the worst-hit towns of Diplo, Chacro and Islamkot barely touched by a drop of water for months.

Asif Ikram, the second most senior administration official in the district, said on Thursday that the death toll from diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis since Dec 1 had risen to 161 people, including 97 children.

Life in the desert is closely tied to rain-dependent crops and animals, with farmers relying on beans, wheat, and sesame seeds for survival, bartering surplus in exchange for livestock.

The drought is not the only reason for the recent deaths-observers say they have come about as a result of endemic poverty, exacerbated by the drought and an outbreak of disease killing livestock.

Authorities have been busy dispensing food aid and sending medics to attend to the sick following visits by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who leads the Pakistan People’s Party which rules the province.

But observers say the relief work fails to address the root causes of such disasters and warn they are likely to be repeated.

A drought in the desert in 2000 killed 90 percent of the livestock.

Politically invisible Zafar Junejo, chief executive of Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), says the region has long been ignored by Karachi, the provincial capital, because it is not considered an important constituency politically.

According to the last census, Hindus make up 40 percent of the district’s population, unlike most of Pakistan which is overwhelmingly Muslim, and Junejo said the authorities have little concern for the suffering of minority communities. “We are fortunately or unfortunately a mixed Hindu and Muslim population,” he said.

“Fortunate because we are living in peace and harmony unlike the rest of the country where radicalisation is in vogue.

KARACHI: Pakistani villagers wait to receive relief supplies outside a military camp in Mithi, the capital of Tharparkar district, some 300 km from Karachi. As the death toll from the latest outbreak of poverty-driven diseases in Pakistan’s Thar desert nears 100 children, experts are warning that corruption and a dysfunctional political system make a repeat of the disaster almost inevitable. —AFP “But also unfortunate because being Hindu and being secular we do not fit in the official ideological definition of the country,” he added.

Javed Jabbar, founder of Banh Beli non-government organisation which works in the area, added: “When you have Karachi with 18 million people, Tharparkar is relatively less important from a political radar point of view.”

Jabbar, a former federal information minister, added that the district has fallen victim to “a failure to enforce accountability due to considerations of partisanship” that has afflicted the province for years.

He cited the case of five doctors in the province who were able to keep their jobs despite being absent from their posts for years, because of connections to political patrons.

Drought ‘manageable’ Residents and activists say the effects of drought can be mitigated by global lessons in dry regions, such as the conservation of rainwater. “Rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory all over the country and especially in this part,” said Abid Channa, a local social activist, complaining of the district’s lack of reservoirs despite decades of disasters.

Jairam Das, a 49-year livestock farmer who lost 10 sheep and two goats to the recent outbreak of animal disease, said he and other villagers were envious of Indian villages just a few kilometres (miles) away across the border.

“In the bordering town of India there is greenery all around as their government has spread a network of irrigation and piped drinking water,” Das said.

“We have a similar climate but the lack of water is a major hurdle,” Das said.

On the Indian side of the border, the 400-kilometre Indira Gandhi canal through the Thar desert in the state of Rajasthan is a lifeline for isolated communities and farmers who use the water for irrigation for crops and drinking water when needed.

Jabbar, the ex-minister, added more planning was needed ahead of droughts.

“When you see signs in a particular year, you move supplies of fodder and nutritional supplements in advance of the drought not after it,” he said. One positive he noted was the extensive television coverage the disaster had received, thanks to the growth of Pakistan’s media, and the pressure it had applied on government to no longer ignore the area. —AFP

‘Cooking at home has its advantages’ WASHINGTON: Next up for “Let’s Move?” How about “Let’s Cook.”

Michelle Obama said Friday that a new focus of her anti-childhood obesity effort will be to help people cook more of their meals at home because they’re healthier.

Addressing a health summit in Washington, the first lady said home-cooked meals have less fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories than meals prepared in restaurants - and save money, too.

She said too many people think they don’t have the time or the skills to cook for themselves, but that plenty of meals can be pulled together in less than 30 minutes for cheaper than takeout.

Michelle began focusing on the nation’s childhood obesity problem as soon as she got to the White House in 2009. She pledged Friday to stick with the issue long after she’s gone.

“We cannot walk away from this issue until obesity rates drop for children of every age and every background,” she said. “We cannot walk away until every child in this country has a shot at a healthy life. And that’s why I’m in this thing for the long haul, and I mean long after I leave the White House, because I believe in finishing what I start.”

Michelle praised recent federal statistics showing a sharp decline in obesity rates among children ages 2 to 5 as a small, though important, achievement, but still not enough evidence to declare the problem solved. She urged everyone to keep working on solutions, especially among older kids.

“Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas and congratulate ourselves on a job well done,” Michelle said. “Just the opposite. Now is the time to fight even harder, because we now know it is possible to make a difference on this issue. We know that our strategies are begin-

ning to work.”

Her strategy largely has been to cajole food and beverage makers, retailers, restaurants and others to make healthier products. Federal legislation and regulations are leading to changes in school breakfast and lunch programs, and are expected to bring an updated “Nutrition Facts” label to thousands of packaged products before the end of the decade.

Home economics class The promised focus on helping families adopt healthier habits by doing more cooking at home fits that approach.

In her remarks, the first lady talked about working with supermarkets to distribute recipes and offer cooking demonstrations, with schools to develop the “home economics class of the future” to give students basic cooking skills and with chefs to get them to offer affordable cooking classes in their restaurants.

She promised announcements of new initiatives in the coming months.

Michelle said research shows that eating meals cooked at home is one of the best ways families can improve their health.

Growing up, she said her mother kept a strict food budget, planned her meals weekly and shopped for groceries every Saturday.

“The question is ‘How do we help families start cooking again, even if it’s just one or two meals a week?’” she told the audience of public health professionals, nutritionists, corporate leaders and others in the closing address at the conference organized by the Partnership for a Healthier America.

Michelle is honorary chairwoman of the nonprofit organization, which was created in conjunction with “Let’s Move,” her initiative against childhood obesity. The partnership works to support the goals of “Let’s Move” and with businesses to bring then on board and

hold them accountable for the commitments they make to improve the health of Americans.

It so far has more than 70 commitments from companies of all sizes, said Larry Soler, its CEO. Among them was yogurt maker Dannon, which announced Friday that it will begin reducing the amount of sugar and fat in all its brands. —AP

WASHINGTON: First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Building a Healthier Future Summit in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2014. The event brings together leaders from the private, nonprofit, government and academic sectors to address the childhood obesity epidemic.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Malnutrition grows among Syrian refugee children Conflict enters its fourth year KAB ELIAS, Lebanon: Trapped in her northern Syrian village by fighting, Mervat watched her newborn baby progressively shrink. Her daughter’s dark eyes seemed to grow bigger as her face grew more skeletal. Finally, Mervat escaped to neighboring Lebanon, and a nurse told her the girl was starving.

The news devastated her. “They had to hold me when they told me. I wept,” the 31-year-old mother said, speaking in the rickety, informal tent camp where she now lives with her husband in the eastern Lebanese town of Kab Elias.

Her daughter Shurouk has been undergoing treatment the past three months and remains a wispy thing. The 9-month-old weighs 3.2 kg though she’s become more smiley and gregarious.

Mervat spoke on condition she be identified only by her first name, fearing problems for her family in Syria.

Her case underscored how dramatically Syrian society has unraveled from a conflict that this weekend enters its fourth year. Such stark starvation was once rare in Syria, where President Bashar Assad’s autocratic state ran a health system that provided nearly free care.

That system, along with most other state institutions, has been shattered in many parts of the country where the fighting between Assad’s forces and the rebels trying to overthrow him is raging hardest. The war has killed more than 140,000 people and has driven nearly a third of the population of 23 million from their homes - including 4.2 million who remain inside Syria and 2.5 million who have fled into neighboring countries.

Nearly half those displaced by the war are children. Now aid workers believe starvation cases are increasing in besieged areas of Syria and malnutrition is spreading among the poorest Syrian refugees.

Before the conflict, doctors inside Syria would see fewer than one case a month of a child with life-threatening malnutrition, now they tell UNICEF they encounter 10 or more a week, said Juliette Touma, a Middle East regional spokesperson for the UN children’s agency.

Food supplies In Lebanon, malnutrition grew from 4.4 percent in 2012 to 5.9 percent of Syrian refugee children, according to a

recent UNICEF-led survey. In all, an estimated 10,000 Syrian children in Lebanon are likely suffering malnutrition, said Dima Ousta of the International Orthodox Christian Charities, an NGO leading efforts to deal with the issue in Lebanon. UNICEF said nearly 2,000 were at risk of dying because of acute malnutrition if they weren’t immediately treated. A survey in Jordan found that 4 percent of Syrian refugee children under five needed treatment for moderate or acute malnutrition, the World Food Programme said on Monday. Touma said UNICEF had not yet finished surveys for refugees in Turkey or inside Syria itself.

Malnutrition is the product of a series of ever-widening and interconnected problems.

Within Syria, fighting in the worst hit areas can limit access to food supplies and health care for children. There and among refugees, children are vulnerable to diarrhea and other illnesses from drinking dirty water or being exposed to sewage. Those conditions can exacerbate malnutrition and, in turn, malnourished children are less resistant to disease.

Social factors also play in. Rural Syrian women tend to marry as teenagers and

rely on their mothers or other relatives to help in child-rearing. But as refugees, many lose that support network and without guidance don’t know how to properly breastfeed their children bringing a risk of malnutrition. As refugees run out of money and struggle to find work, many mothers don’t have enough to buy supplementary food.

Running water The poverty and poor hygienic living conditions at the root of the problem are likely only to worsen as Syria’s war drags on. “Malnutrition is not an issue related to food. It’s a health issue,” said Zeroual Azzeddine of UNICEF. In Lebanon, nearly one million Syrians are registered as refugees by the UN refugee agency. The poorest 140,000 live in 460 informal camps, where they live in poorly insulated tents with no clean running water and with sewage running down ditches between tents.

Aid workers are trying to track down the thousands of malnourished children they believe are in Lebanon. “We need to find these children,” said Ousta, whose organization treated 170 cases since August.

BEIRUT: Syrian refugee Mohammed Sammor, 3, receives vaccination against polio from Dr Mohammed Anboushi at a medical clinic in the town of Kab Elias in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. —AP UNICEF is training doctors to identify ference and check their feet for water malnutrition among Syrian children retention that can be a sign of acute malundergoing immunizations and other nutrition. They are on alert for mothers medical checks. The doctors weigh chil- who say their babies are always tired, dren, measure their upper-arm circum- another signal.— AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16 , 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

NBK families enjoy fun-filled open day at Boubyan Club

N

ational Bank of Kuwait (NBK) organized a special open day for its staff and their family members and friends at Boubyan Club. NBK employees and their families enjoyed the open day that was filled with all types of activities and entertainment. The weather was nice and excitement filled the air as children, and even parents, took part in the many fun activities available there. The open day event provided a unique opportunity for NBK employees to openly mingle and enjoy various entertaining activities.

Caesars Holidays wins best performer awards

C

aesars Holidays won the prestigious awards in recognition of its best performance for 2013 from the leading cruise companies, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises and the world’s leading wholesale Tour Operator, Cox & Kings. Caesars Holidays, one of the leading subsidiaries of Caesars Travel Group currently representing world’s leading wholesale Tour OperatorsCox & Kings, World Travel Services (WTS), Ottila International, Ezeego, World’s leading cruise companies-NCL, Star, Costa, MSC, Silversea, Crystal and recently appointed for Rail Europe. Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is already represented by Caesars Holidays which is one of the prestigious products under the Government of India. “These awards are the primary benchmarking tool for passenger satisfaction levels towards our represented brands, based on the analysis of our business generated. Caesars Holidays has positioned itself as a top holiday office in Kuwait, having diversified tourism products along with excellent facilities for customers through our state of art offices which gives them a wide range of options for the tourism” said PNJ Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Caesars Travel Group.

The company’s aim is to expand its services to other GCC countries very soon, especially to Doha and Muscat, to expand its global awareness, increase relations with local, regional, and international trade partners, explores new sales channels, and embarks on marketing initiatives and partnerships for customers for global leisure and entertainment destinations. We are encouraging our passengers/guests to explore, discover, pass on their good experi-

ences, bring good will and help to develop positive reputations in the tourism industry.

Caesars Holidays is one of the largest holiday companies in Kuwait, offering diversified activities under one umbrella through many of their outlets across the country. A new addition has recently launched as “hotelsglobe.com” - an exclusive and dedicated B2B set-up, offering the travel/tourism trade a unique tool for their tourism requirements.

Commenting on these awards, Vivekkumar Shetty, Head of Sales & Operations-Caesars Holidays said “It is our privilege and honor to receive these coveted awards and look forward to winning many more such accolades in future. We are proud of our staff members, who have worked very hard to achieve this feat.

Winning this prestigious award has motivated them to strive harder to achieve the highest possible standards of quality, performance and business excellence. We look forward our valued clients support as we believe, this is the only appreciation that we would be able to go further” Cruise Center is the only dedicated office in Kuwait for promoting various international leading cruise brands. While taking the award, the head of Cruise Center and Cruise Specialist, Thomas said, “we will continue to offer an exciting selection of worldwide itineraries as Cruise Center is representing most of the world’s leading brands. Our Mediterranean cruises are a melting pot of different nationalities as the unique and Mediterranean way of life that our travelers enjoy on board attracts to all cruise lovers in Kuwait. Since Cruise centre’s inception in Kuwait, we have seen a surge in luxury

Vivek Kumar Shetty-Head of Sales & Operations-Caesars Holidays cruise industry interest in Kuwait with major European and other international luxury cruise-liners and Cruise center gives them the best options as we have in our product list, the leading luxury cruises like Crystal and Silver Sea. In brief, in cooperation with our leading cruise strategic partners, Cruise Center offers a myriad of cruising choices under one roof”.

Cox & Kings is the longest established travel company in the world. The Cox & Kings tour network covers Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Australia

(Left to right) Shallu Sunny, Bibin Suresh, PNJ Kumar, CEO - Caesars Travel Group along with Tushar Shinde, Business Head - NRI, Cox & Kings during the award ceremony. and New Zealand. Tours range from luxury to adventure, and generally last for between 8 and 22 days. Cox & Kings’ experience and relationships within the travel industry have given the company great buying power, translating into highly competitive rates for all tours. While receiving the award from Cox & Kings, Bibin Suresh, Marketing Manager of Cox & Kings said, “We focus on destinations through C&K that will help us to showcase our high standards in product and service to a mixed audience of regional and international travelers. With each

region, C&K offers the full spectrum of their branded itineraries in line with the market dynamics and customer choice will determine the most appropriate brand.

Customer service is of critical importance for the tourism and hospitality sector now more than ever before as customers are looking to increase value for money destination packages and always C&K offers them the right tour destinations with an excellent service on board”.

UCK organizes ‘Mehfil-e-Mushaira’ SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

W

hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

“M

ehfil-e-Mushaira” organized by UCK - Urdu Community of Kuwait, was held at Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS) Kuwait in which renowned poets from India participated and enthralled the audience with their thought provoking poetic works.

The mushaira was presided over by senior poet and pride of Urdu Mohammed Umair Baig - Senior Scientist - KISR, Dr Waseem Siddiqi - KOC, Hasan Kidwai, Tazeen Kidwai, a social worker, Shailendra Srivastava - Director Growmore, Sharif Rangrez - Managing Director -Eternity Travel, Salman Siddiqui - Universal group, Anjum Fatima - Announcer Radio Kuwait, Tariq Aziz-KOC -Arif Kazi-ankaar, Sreenath Arts and Devender Singh - Sales Manager Qatar Airways who is actively serving the cause of Urdu language in Kuwait and in India. The UCK Community members Mohammad Aamir, Sanjay Kumar Saxena, Usama Faruki and Suhail Shaikh Ahamed effort and hard work made this event a grand success. The proceedings of the Mushaira were conducted by famous poet Nadeem Farrukh. Nine well known poets Dr Naseem Nikhat, Iqbal Ashhar, Dr Nadeem Shaad, Dr Majid Deobandi, Nadeem Nayyar, Usman Minai, Shaista Sana, Nadeem Farrukh and Afroz Alam who presented their wonderful poetry.

It was after a long time that such a grand nushaira was held in Kuwait City for which the audience appreciated the efforts of the UCK. The mushaira was inaugurated by

Ambassador of India Sunil Jain (Embassy of Kuwait), Usman Siddiqui President UCK and Mohammad Aamir event manager who welcomed the guests and invited participating poets.

The chief guest of the evening was Ambassador of India Sunil Jain. There was plenty of activity for audience to enjoy. Everybody had a good time, the stage was set by Afroz Alam, poet and writer who gave the warm introduction and invited all of them to start the program. Earlier, President Usman Siddiqui welcomed the participating

poets and briefly dwelt on the activities of the UCK. This memorable and historical poetry recitation was attended by local poets of the Indian and Pakistani Community. A special vote of thanks to all our sponsors. AlSayer Group, Eternity Int’l Travels & Tourism, Salmiya Indian Model School, Hyundai Electronics, Al-Yasra foods, Growmore, Easa Hussain Al-Yousifi & Sons Co, Aashiana Real Estate Services, Al-Mailem Tires, American Tourister, City Center, Mughal Mahal, Al-Araab Global Telecom, Swiss-belhotel Plaza and Wataniya.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16 , 2014

W H AT ’ S O N

Marina Hotel Kuwait launches poolside BBQ every Wednesday night

M

arina Hotel Kuwait launched its much awaited poolside barbeque nights in the presence of media and senior management promising them a personalised and entertaining experience.

Guests were welcomed upon their arrival by General Manager, Nabil Hammoud and the management of the hotel. Attendees were treated to a relaxing evening with an array of delights from the BBQ grill, shisha and sweeping views of the city’s iconic estab-

lishments by the Arabian Gulf.

The hotel’s spectacular settings, beautiful landscape combined with the warm spring weather reflects the ambience of the BBQ dinner buffet. Guests were offered grilled selections from the sumptuous barbecue station filled with especially marinated and seasoned varieties of succulent meats and chicken, fresh seafood a with rich variety of seaside dishes and a delicious salad bar with the assorted breads. For the finale,

delectable desserts were served.

Hammoud said: “We are delighted to launch our BBQ nights. The beautiful weather proves to be the perfect setting for guests to enjoy our unique dining experience with our specialties cooked with the freshest possible ingredients. Every season we receive a very positive feedback on our BBQ Nights. There will also be an even bigger variety of choices this year. With the launch of our Barbeque Nights, we would

like to offer our guests a scrumptious dining experience at the pool side every Wednesday evening.”

The evening was further enhanced by the sounds of soft oriental music which complement the barbeque delights. The BBQ lasted till after midnight and Marina Hotel ensured that each and every guest had a truly memorable evening filled with fun and exceptional delight.

Guests can enjoy a delightful and very

pleasant dining experience with their family and friends, surrounded by a warm and welcoming ambience every Wednesday. With live oriental music and tantalizing shisha, the unique poolside location has a capacity to accommodate up to 150 guests at a time and has a special area for groups and gatherings.

— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

TV PROGRAMS

00:10 00:40 01:10 01:40 02:30 03:00 03:45 04:15 05:00 05:20 05:40 05:50 06:10 06:30 06:50 07:05 07:25 08:10 08:40 09:10 09:40 10:10 10:55 11:45 12:15 12:45 13:15 13:45 14:30 15:25 15:55 16:25 17:10 17:40 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:50 21:40 22:10 23:00 23:45

Doctors Last Of The Summer Wine The Vicar Of Dibley Mistresses The Omid Djalili Show Stella Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Mr Bloom’s Nursery Balamory Nina And The Neurons Me Too! Mr Bloom’s Nursery Balamory Nina And The Neurons Me Too! The Weakest Link Last Of The Summer Wine The Vicar Of Dibley Eastenders Doctors Being Erica Call The Midwife Last Of The Summer Wine The Vicar Of Dibley Eastenders Doctors Being Erica Call The Midwife Last Of The Summer Wine The Vicar Of Dibley The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Being Erica One Foot In The Grave The Omid Djalili Show Stella Alan Carr: Chatty Man Extras Silk The Weakest Link Eastenders

00:00 Homes Under The Hammer 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 02:15 Come Dine With Me 03:05 MasterChef 04:05 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 06:15 Bargain Hunt 07:05 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 07:35 Food & Drink 08:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 09:25 Homes Under The Hammer 10:20 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 10:45 Food & Drink 11:15 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: London 11:40 Come Dine With Me 12:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 13:20 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 14:05 Antiques Roadshow 15:00 Homes Under The Hammer 15:55 Homes Under The Hammer 16:50 Bargain Hunt 17:35 Cash In The Attic 18:25 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 Homes Under The Hammer 20:10 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 20:35 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 21:00 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 21:30 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05 05:30 06:00 07:00

Manhunt Survive That!

Yukon Men You Have Been Warned Border Security Auction Kings Container Wars How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns You Have Been Warned

07:50 North America 08:40 Fast N’ Loud 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Auction Kings 10:20 Container Wars 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Manhunt 12:25 Survive That!

13:15 Yukon Men 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Kings 14:55 Container Wars 15:20 Finding Bigfoot 16:10 Fast N’ Loud 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Wheeler Dealers 18:40 You Have Been Warned 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 How Do They Do It? 20:45 How It’s Made 21:10 Auction Kings 21:35 Container Wars 22:00 Dynamo: Magician Impossible 22:50 The Big Brain Theory 23:40 Mythbusters

00:40 Ten Ways 01:30 Bang Goes The Theory 02:00 Food Factory 02:25 How Tech Works 02:50 Stuck With Hackett 03:15 Stuck With Hackett 03:45 Killer Robots: Robogames 2011 04:35 Thunder Races 05:25 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 06:15 Food Factory 06:40 How Tech Works 07:05 Engineered 08:00 Nyc: Inside Out 08:50 Man-Made Marvels China 09:40 Food Factory 10:05 How Tech Works 10:30 Test Case 10:55 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 11:25 Engineered 12:20 Thunder Races 13:10 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 14:00 Killer Robots: Robogames 2011 14:50 Bang Goes The Theory 15:20 Food Factory 15:45 How Tech Works 16:10 Junkyard Wars 17:00 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 17:55 Thunder Races 18:45 Engineered 19:35 Test Case 20:00 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 20:30 Space Voyages 21:20 Deadliest Space Weather 21:45 Deadliest Space Weather 22:10 Food Factory 22:35 How Tech Works 23:00 Space Voyages 23:50 Deadliest Space Weather

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin & Ally Dog With A Blog Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm

07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:40 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10 23:35

Wolfblood Gravity Falls That’s So Raven Jessie Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm Dog With A Blog Suite Life On Deck Jessie That’s So Raven Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Good Luck Charlie Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm Jessie Dog With A Blog Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Austin & Ally Violetta Liv And Maddie Liv And Maddie Mako Mermaids Good Luck Charlie Jessie Dog With A Blog Violetta Jessie Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Gravity Falls Shake It Up Austin & Ally A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:00 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Spin Crowd 00:55 The Spin Crowd 01:25 Style Star 01:50 Style Star 02:20 E!ES 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 E!ES 05:05 E!ES 06:00 THS 07:50 Fashion Police 09:15 Opening Act 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 The Drama Queen 12:05 Fashion Police 13:35 E!ES 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:00 The Wanted Life 17:30 Hello Ross 18:00 E! News 19:00 Fashion Police 20:30 E!ES 21:00 The Drama Queen 22:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately

00:35 01:30 02:25 02:55 03:25 05:15 06:10 07:05 07:30 09:20 10:15 11:10 12:00 12:30 13:25 14:20 15:10 15:35

House Gift Emmerdale Coronation Street Holiday: Heaven On Earth Agatha Christie’s Marple Ade In Britain House Gift Holiday: Heaven On Earth Agatha Christie’s Marple Ade In Britain May The Best House Win Emmerdale Coronation Street House Gift Ade In Britain May The Best House Win Holiday: Heaven On Earth Trevor Mcdonalds Queen &

VACANCY ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION

00:30 Big Bash League Highlights 01:30 Big Bash League Highlights 02:30 Big Bash League Highlights 03:30 ICC Cricket 360 04:00 India v West Indies ODI Highlights 05:00 India v West Indies ODI Highlights 06:00 New Zealand v West Indies ODI Highlights 07:00 Big Bash League Highlights 08:00 Big Bash League Highlights 09:00 Big Bash League Highlights 10:00 ICC Cricket 360 10:30 New Zealand v India ODI Highlights 11:30 New Zealand v India ODI Highlights 12:30 New Zealand v India ODI Highlights 13:30 New Zealand v India ODI Highlights 14:30 New Zealand v India ODI Highlights 15:30 ICC Cricket 360 16:00 Australia v England ODI Highlights 17:00 Australia v England ODI Highlights 18:00 Big Bash League Highlights 19:00 Big Bash League Highlights 20:00 Big Bash League Highlights 21:00 ICC Cricket 360 21:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 2014 Highlights 22:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 2014 Highlights 23:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 2014 Highlights

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

Duck Dynasty Duck Dynasty Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Duck Dynasty Duck Dynasty Storage Wars Pawn Stars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Counting Cars Storage Wars Texas Ancient Aliens Storage Wars Texas Counting Cars Pawn Stars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Storage Wars Texas Ancient Aliens Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Storage Wars Texas Storage Wars Texas Storage Wars Texas Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Texas Storage Wars Texas Duck Dynasty Duck Dynasty Pawn Stars Storage Wars Swamp People

Festival brings 13 plays including ‘Rupert’ to DC

THE LONGEST YARD ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD Country 16:30 Endeavour 18:20 May The Best House Win 19:10 Coronation Street 19:35 Trevor Mcdonalds Queen & Country 20:30 Endeavour 22:20 Coronation Street 22:50 Emmerdale 23:45 May The Best House Win

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The Big C 02:00 South Park 02:30 Out There 03:30 Raising Hope 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:30 Arrested Development 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Seinfeld 09:30 The Crazy Ones 10:00 Trophy Wife 10:30 Arrested Development 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 12:00 Two And A Half Men 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 Arrested Development 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 The Crazy Ones 15:00 Trophy Wife 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Two And A Half Men 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 18:00 The Simpsons 19:00 The Mindy Project 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Veep 22:30 South Park 23:00 Out There 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 Coven 23:00

Warehouse 13 Mistresses The Killing World Without End Grey’s Anatomy The Fosters Warehouse 13 Drop Dead Diva Switched At Birth The Killing The Fosters Grey’s Anatomy Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Switched At Birth Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Switched At Birth Twisted Scandal House Of Cards American Horror Story:

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00

Made In Jersey Good Morning America Nip/Tuck Rescue Me

World Without End

05:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Good Morning America Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Made In Jersey Live Good Morning America 24 Castle Made In Jersey 24 Castle Made In Jersey Rescue Me Nip/Tuck

00:15 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Vacancy-18 My Soul To Take-PG15 Crimson Tide-PG15 Men In Black 3-PG Ultraviolet-PG15 F/X-PG15 Special Ops-PG15 Ultraviolet-PG15 Grosse Pointe Blank-PG15 Special Ops-PG15 Jarhead-18 Grosse Pointe Blank-PG15

00:15 Reno 911!: Miami-18 01:45 The Dukes Of Hazzard-18 03:45 The Longest Yard-PG15 05:45 The Holiday-PG15 08:00 Toys-PG 10:15 Damsels In Distress-PG15 12:00 The Longest Yard-PG15 14:00 Mrs. Doubtfire-PG 16:15 Damsels In Distress-PG15 18:00 The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad-PG 20:00 The Impostors-PG15 22:00 Reno 911!: Miami-18

01:00 Atlas Shrugged-PG15 03:00 The Wild Girl-PG15 05:00 Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight-PG15 07:00 Wrecked-PG15 09:00 Atlas Shrugged-PG15 11:00 Another Harvest Moon-PG15 13:00 Taken Back: Finding HaleyPG15 15:00 The Key Man-PG15 17:00 The Good Doctor-PG15 19:00 Hyde Park On Hudson-PG15 21:00 Texas Killing Fields-PG15 23:00 This Must Be The Place-18

01:15 Surveillance-18 03:00 The Last King Of Scotland-18 05:30 Intolerable Cruelty-PG15 07:15 Hold Fast-PG15 09:00 Alfie Boe: Bring Him Home Tour-PG15 10:30 Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You-PG15 12:45 Earth-PG15 15:00 Offline-PG15 17:00 Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You-PG15 19:00 L’amour C’est Mieux A DeuxPG15 21:00 Arbitrage-PG15 23:00 Savages-18

01:15 Drift-PG15 03:30 Olympus Has Fallen-PG15

05:30 Now Is Good-PG15 07:15 Girl In Progress-PG15 09:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 11:00 Olympus Has Fallen-PG15 13:00 Magic Journey To AfricaPG15 15:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 17:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 19:00 Red Dawn-PG15 21:00 The Bling Ring-18 23:00 The Campaign-18

01:00 The Missing Lynx 02:45 The Legend Of Sarila 04:30 Free Birds 06:00 Olentzero Christmas Tale 08:00 Emperor’s Secret 09:45 Sky Force 11:15 Mrs. Doubtfire 13:30 The Legend Of Sarila 15:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling 16:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 18:00 Sky Force 20:00 The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep 22:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of The Ugly Duckling 23:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas

00:00 Knuckle-PG15 02:00 Gambit-PG15 04:00 Snowflake , The White Gorilla-PG 06:00 Dating Coach-PG15 08:00 The Greatest Movie Ever Sold-PG15 10:00 Charlotte’s Web-PG 12:00 Gambit-PG15 14:00 Barnyard-PG 16:00 The Greatest Movie Ever Sold-PG15 17:45 Iron Man 3-PG15 20:00 Killing Them Softly-18 22:00 The Possession-PG15

01:00 NRL Premiership 03:00 NRL Premiership 05:00 NRL Full Time 05:30 Futbol Mundial 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 LV Cup 10:00 Golfing World 11:00 World Golf Championship Highlights 12:00 Super Rugby 14:00 Super Rugby 16:00 NRL Premiership 18:00 World Golf Championship Highlights 19:00 Golfing World 20:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 20:30 Inside The PGA Tour 21:00 Trans World Sport 22:00 LV Cup

00:00 Golfing World 01:00 Premier League Darts 04:00 LV Cup 06:30 NRL Full Time 07:00 NRL Premiership 09:00 NRL Full Time 09:30 Dubai World Cup Carnival 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 Golfing World 15:00 World Golf Championships Highlights 16:00 Snooker 19:00 NHL 21:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 23:00 HSBC Sevens World Series Highlights 23:30 PGA European Tour Weekly

R

upert Murdoch is getting the cabaret treatment in a new play about his 60 years building a newspaper and television empire. As a media mogul with strong ties to Australia, Great Britain and the US, Murdoch’s story is helping to open a major international theater festival in Washington. The new play “Rupert” from the Melbourne Theatre Co made its US premiere Wednesday after a successful run in his native Australia. The production is part of the “World Stages” festival organized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that lasts throughout March with short runs of 13 different plays and two readings of new works, representing every continent but Antarctica. It’s an ambitious undertaking with more plays in one month than many theaters stage in an entire year.

“Rupert” is a funny, cabaret revue-style show where the media mogul jokes, tap dances and narrates his own story from his first small newspaper editing job in Australia to the creation of Fox News and the phone-hacking scandal at his tabloids in the United Kingdom. Australia’s ambassador to the US attended the opening in Washington, along with guests of the embassy in the Washington theater crowd. Australian playwright David Williamson said he wanted to explore how Murdoch became one of the most powerful voices in the world. He also wanted to look at his personality and tactics mixing news, commentary and political opinion in media. Williamson said he lets “Rupert” argue for why he’s been a force for good, and Murdoch the narrator throws in a few jokes about The Washington Post and jabs at CNN. “It’s up to the audience to work out whether they agree with his arguments or not,” Williamson said. “We thought it was better to do it that way than to finger point and say this is an evil man.” Still, Williamson said he finds Murdoch’s influence and vast media ownership in Australia to be dangerous.

He said he read nearly everything ever written about Murdoch in writing the play. The story follows Murdoch’s journey from being an Australian, then English, then an American - and his influence on politics in each country.

Changed political climate Williamson said he was eager to bring the play to the US, in part because “Fox News has changed the political climate of the whole nation, in a way.”

Plans call for the production to travel next to London and perhaps other US theaters after that.

Some members of Murdoch’s family saw the play in Australia and gave the playwright mostly positive feedback. Murdoch has not seen the play yet, Williamson said. The US production is nearly identical to the original. “There was a feeling that perhaps the American audience won’t be interested in the Australian political history, but to us, it was important to show how he first came to exercise power over governments back in Australia,” Williamson said.

The festival also includes theater companies from Brazil, Chile, China, Iraq, Mexico and 14 other countries. Many works are being shown in the US for the first time. “I think it’s an opportunity for us to share with our audiences work that they might never see otherwise,” said Alicia Adams, the festival’s curator at the Kennedy Center. The productions from each country represent “the best directors, the best artists and the best writers” Some highlights include a new production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with puppets and reuniting the team behind the Tony Award-winning play “War Horse.” The production comes from the Bristol Old Vic theater and South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company.

An Israeli theater production features 11 actors who are all deaf and blind telling a story of their inner world through the process of making bread on stage in “Not by Bread Alone.” By the end, the actors invite the audience on stage, Adams said.

Four art installations at the center also look at the creative process behind theater. There’s an extensive display of more than 50 puppets from the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa, showing the progression from drawings and early puppets to the large horse puppet, Joey, from “War Horse.” Another installation features sketches for costume designs from “Wicked,” “The Lion King” and other American theater productions. The festival runs through March 30. — AP

Classifieds SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Kuwait

FOR SALE 2011 Toyota Camry, white exterior, mileage 76,000, price KD 3,450. Tel: 99883645. (C 4666)

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (13/03/2014 TO 19/03/2014) SHARQIA-1 RED SKY (DIG) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) RED SKY (DIG) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 9:45 PM RED SKY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 11:45 PM

SHARQIA-2 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3 NON-STOP (DIG) FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) RED SKY (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-2 RED SKY (DIG)

1:30 PM

RED SKY (DIG) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) RED SKY (DIG)

3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) NON-STOP (DIG) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM

FANAR-1 NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-2 MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-3 RED SKY (DIG) RED SKY (DIG) RED SKY (DIG) BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) RED SKY (DIG) RED SKY (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2013 Volvo SUV, brown exterior, mileage: 14,000, under warranty + 2 years, full insurance, price KD 10,300. Tel: 97227376. (C 4665) 15-3-2014 Cooker Indesit gas 4 ring with oven, Linen box, ironing board, cloths hang rail with shelf, dining table and 4 chairs, sofa 3 seats, office desk, office chair, bookcase.

Personal trainer CPS with heart monitor, dock station for iPod, printer HP photosmart, safe. Tel: 94400865.

(C 4656) Galant 2013, fully automatic, like new, done km 13,600, doctor-owned, KD 3,450 (price for new 5,450).

Contact: 66572082.

(C 4662) SITUATION WANTED I am looking for a job in accounts & finance, my expectation is between KD 650 to KD 1000 depending upon the position offered. I

have transferable residency article no. 18 & also valid driving license. Kindly contact me by SMS with your email ID on this no.

66825635 to forward you my CV. (C 4667) 16-3-2014 MATRIMONIAL Pakistani Punjabi speaking coming from landlord family and working as Director Services in a company looking for Pakistani girl residing in Kuwait for immediate marriage. Fintas P.O. Box 1476, Code 51015 / zaidiformerdiplomat@hotmail.com (C 4661) 12-3-2014

No: 16106

CHANGE OF NAME I, Taza, holder of Indian Passport No. K9682992 have changed my name to Murtaza Shabbir Husain Raswala, residing at Partapur, Rajasthan.

(C 4663) I, Thopugunta Sudheer holder of Indian Passport No. K7916639 change my name to Ali Haider Shaik, my address in India is N.T.R. Nagar, Chitvel, K. Kandulayaripalli, Kadapa Dist, AP, 516104. (C 4664) 13-3-2014

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines JAI JZR THY QTR RJA DLH PGT ETH GFA THY JZR UAE ETD JAI MSR CLX QTR FDB KAC THY DHX QTR FDB JZR BAW KAC KAC QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC SVA KAC UAE KAC KAC ABY ETD FDB QTR IRA GFA JZR MEA IRC SYR UAE JZR MSR KAC KAC FDB

Flt 574 539 772 1084 642 637 858 620 211 764 267 853 305 576 612 792 1076 067 544 770 170 8524 069 553 157 412 206 1086 053 382 302 352 512 332 855 362 284 125 301 055 1070 603 213 165 404 6507 341 871 561 610 742 774 057

Arrival Flights on Sunday 14/3/2014 Route Mumbai Cairo Istanbul Doha Amman Dammam Istanbul Addis Ababa Bahrain Istanbul Beirut Dubai Abu Dhabi Kochi/Abu Dhabi Cairo Luxembourg Doha Dubai Cairo Istanbul Bahrain Doha Dubai Alexandria London Manila/Bangkok Islamabad Doha Dubai Delhi Mumbai Kochi Riyadh Trivandrum Dubai Colombo Dhaka Sharjah Abu Dhabi Dubai Doha Shiraz Bahrain Dubai Beirut Shiraz Latakia Dubai Sohag Cairo Dammam Riyadh Dubai

Time 00:10 00:40 00:45 00:55 01:05 01:10 01:30 01:45 02:10 02:15 02:30 02:35 02:45 02:50 03:10 03:40 03:45 04:00 04:20 05:35 05:40 05:45 05:50 06:05 06:40 06:45 07:40 07:50 07:50 07:55 07:55 08:10 08:15 08:15 08:40 08:45 08:50 09:00 09:20 09:40 09:55 10:35 10:40 11:30 11:55 12:05 12:10 12:50 12:55 13:00 13:30 13:30 13:50

QTR KAC SVA KNE GFA KAC IRC QTR UAE ETD RJA UAL SVA ABY GFA AFG JZR KAC RBG JZR QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC AXB KAC GFA KAC OMA KAC FDB JAI ABY MSR KAC DLH ALK FDB MEA ETD UAE GFA KAC FDB QTR KLM JZR UAL JZR AIC FDB JZR PIA

1078 672 500 472 221 788 6666 1072 857 303 640 982 510 127 215 415 777 542 553 177 1080 063 786 502 618 166 393 674 217 102 647 562 061 572 129 606 514 634 229 071 402 307 859 219 172 059 1074 417 135 981 239 981 061 185 205

Doha Dubai Jeddah Jeddah Bahrain Jeddah Ahwaz Doha Dubai Abu Dhabi Amman IAD Riyadh Sharjah Bahrain Kabul Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Dubai Doha Dubai Jeddah Beirut Doha Paris/Rome Kozhikode Dubai Bahrain New York/London Muscat Amman Dubai Mumbai Sharjah Luxor Tehran Frankfurt Colombo Dubai Beirut Abu Dhabi Dubai Bahrain Frankfurt Dubai Doha Amsterdam Bahrain Bahrain Amman Chennai/Hyderabad/Ahmedabad Dubai Dubai Lahore

13:55 14:00 14:30 14:35 15:00 15:10 15:15 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:25 17:30 17:45 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:10 19:15 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:55 19:55 20:05 20:10 20:20 20:45 20:45 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:30 23:00 23:20 23:55

Airlines UAL AIC AXB JAI DLH ETH THY PGT UAE ETD MSR QTR FDB QTR CLX JZR FDB JAI JZR RJA THY GFA QTR THY FDB BAW QTR KAC SVA KAC KAC ABY UAE KAC ETD KAC FDB KAC QTR KAC GFA KAC IRA KAC JZR MEA KAC IRC SYR JZR MSR UAE KAC

Departure Flights on Sunday 14/3/2014 Flt Route 981 IAD 976 Goa/Chennai 490 Mangalore/Kochi 573 Mumbai 637 Frankfurt 621 Addis Ababa 773 Istanbul 859 Istanbul 854 Dubai 306 Abu Dhabi 613 Cairo 1085 Doha 068 Dubai 1077 Doha 792 Hong Kong 560 Sohag 070 Dubai 575 Abu Dhabi/Kochi 164 Dubai 643 Amman 765 Istanbul 212 Bahrain 8525 Doha 771 Istanbul 054 Dubai 156 London 1087 Doha 171 Frankfurt 513 Riyadh 787 Jeddah 671 Dubai 126 Sharjah 856 Dubai 117 New York 302 Abu Dhabi 773 Riyadh 056 Dubai 741 Dammam 1071 Doha 501 Beirut 214 Bahrain 541 Cairo 602 Shiraz 103 London 776 Jeddah 405 Beirut 785 Jeddah 6508 Shiraz 342 Latakia 176 Dubai 611 Cairo 872 Dubai 561 Amman

DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:05 00:15 01:10 02:10 02:45 02:55 03:20 03:50 04:00 04:10 04:15 04:40 05:15 05:45 06:20 06:30 06:45 06:55 07:05 07:05 07:15 07:15 07:30 08:30 08:45 08:50 09:10 09:15 09:25 09:30 09:40 09:55 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:20 10:30 10:55 11:10 11:25 11:30 11:35 12:20 12:25 12:55 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:45 14:00 14:15 14:30

FDB QTR KAC KAC KNE SVA GFA IRC KAC JZR ETD QTR JZR UAE RJA ABY SVA UAL GFA JZR AFG JZR RBG JZR FDB QTR AXB GFA KAC FDB OMA ABY KAC JAI MSR DHX FDB ALK MEA ETD GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC KAC KAC KLM QTR KAC JZR FDB KAC KAC

058 1079 673 617 473 503 222 6667 513 238 304 1073 538 858 641 128 511 982 216 184 415 266 554 134 064 1081 3944 218 283 062 648 120 361 571 619 171 072 230 403 308 220 301 060 860 381 205 351 417 1075 343 502 062 411 415

Dubai Doha Dubai Doha Jeddah Madinah/Jeddah Bahrain Ahwaz Tehran Amman Abu Dhabi Doha Cairo Dubai Amman Sharjah Riyadh Bahrain Bahrain Dubai Jeddah Beirut Alexandria Bahrain Dubai Doha Kozhikode Bahrain Dhaka Dubai Muscat Sharjah Colombo Mumbai Alexandria Bahrain Dubai Colombo Beirut Abu Dhabi Bahrain Mumbai Dubai Dubai Delhi Islamabad Kochi Dammam/Amsterdam Doha Chennai Luxor Dubai Bangkok/Manila Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta

14:30 14:55 15:05 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:45 16:15 16:20 16:55 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:10 19:25 19:40 20:15 20:15 20:30 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:10 21:45 21:50 21:55 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:30 23:40 23:55 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 488

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) The test of faith, the inquisition, the purging of the superficial: these issues take hold at the very roots of your existence. Making peace with the past and coming to terms with karmic debts are some of the issues that confront you as a new phase begins in your life. Failure to face these things can cause setbacks and put obstacles in your path. Learn to look beyond the personal or you will get in over your head. You will probably want to relax with friends this afternoon and you may find yourself involved in a group game or sports activity. Make a strong effort to complete your food intake by at least seven o’clock in the evening. This will help to improve your rest as well as your physical appearance. A boost to the ego is within viewing distance.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You might decide that now is the right time for taking a trip and if you had planned on it earlier in the year, it probably is. However, if you are just now deciding on a trip, it might be better to enter the planning phase. There is a yearning to broaden horizons and reach for the ultimate; perhaps some survival training before setting out across an unknown country or place would be a good thing. Survival shows have had a good run in the entertainment field and soon there will be some other immediate way to grab the audience attention; for now, you may want to create a script around the vacation plan and the interaction of the family or tour group. You enjoy a quiet evening at home but not without some special cooking from one of your special recipes.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood.

4. Tarpons and ladyfishes.

12. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

15. Being one more than two.

16. The act of severing.

17. An informal term for a father.

18. A guided missile fired from shipboard against an airborne target.

19. Wild sheep of northern Africa.

20. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.

21. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

23. Swedish soprano who toured the United States under the management of P. T. Barnum (1820-1887).

24. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

25. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

26. Soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog v 1.

29. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

32. Torn down and broken up.

33. A city in northern India.

37. High quality grape brandy distilled in the Cognac district of France.

40. Weedy annual grass often occurs in grainfields and other cultivated land.

42. Leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion.

46. Choose and follow.

47. (Hawaiian) A small guitar having four strings.

48. Soreness and warmth caused by friction.

50. A constitutional monarchy on the western part of the islands of Samoa in the South Pacific.

51. Open to or abounding in fresh air.

54. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

56. Not final or absolute.

57. Able to read and write well.

60. 30 to 300 gigahertz.

62. An emotional response that has been acquired by conditioning.

63. Perennial having hollow cylindrical leaves used for seasoning.

64. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

66. Inflammation of the vertebral column.

69. In a vessel with two hulls, an enclosed area between the frames at each side.

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

74. Sexually exciting or gratifying.

77. South African plant widely cultivated for its showy pure white spathe and yellow spadix.

78. (Irish) The sea personified.

79. A degree or grade of excellence or worth.

81. The compass point that is one point north of northeast.

82. A doctor's degree in education.

83. Relating to the Elysian Fields.

84. A notable achievement.

DOWN 1. A Loloish language.

2. Portuguese explorer who in 1488 was the first European to get round the Cape of Good Hope (thus establishing a sea route from the Atlantic to Asia) (1450-1500).

3. One of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping.

4. Physicist honored for advances in solid state electronics (born in Japan in 1925).

5. A zodiacal constellation in northern hemisphere between Cancer and Virgo.

6. Being or of the nature of an ovule.

7. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

8. A theocratic republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

9. Deprive of by deceit.

10. An associate degree in nursing.

11. Moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as adults.

12. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

13. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann.

14. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

22. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

27. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

28. A native of ancient Troy.

30. An awkward and inexperienced youth.

31. King of Wessex whose military victories made Wessex the most powerful kingdom in England (died in 839).

34. Relating to or containing gnomes.

35. Freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility).

36. Double star 15.7 light years from Earth.

38. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

39. Being one hundred more than two hundred.

41. An associate degree in applied science.

43. A midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region.

44. A master's degree in fine arts.

45. Used by northerners of Confederate soldiers.

49. A genus with one species that is a rapidly growing climbing vine with tuberous roots.

52. Make an etching of.

53. Burst or split open, as of flowers and seeds when releasing pollen or seeds.

55. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

58. Of or relating to or characteristic of religious rituals.

59. In a wicked evil manner.

61. A federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions.

65. Either of two large African antelopes of the genus Taurotragus having short spirally twisted horns in both sexes.

67. In bed.

68. One of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes.

70. Great merriment.

71. A river in central Europe that arises in northwestern Czechoslovakia and flows northward through Germany to empty into the North Sea. 72. A loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral.

75. A run that is the result of the batter's performance.

76. An affirmative.

80. A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Company or the opportunity to move into a new home or apartment will bring on a great reason to clear away and get rid of those things you have never really liked much-an old couch, perhaps. This is a good time for a garage sale-whatever the reason. Getting rid of the things that no longer serve a purpose for you could be an important step to creating a space for new things. Who knows one man’s trash could be another man’s treasure. Some of your items may bring monetary surprises. This is a time when the new and unexpected may figure in your living situations. You may become bewildered by the action of another this afternoon-patience. When a young person has problems this evening, you will know just how to be helpful.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Everyone is ready for the day’s activities. This could include a painting party or perhaps, a baby shower. You will find yourself looking forward to some group project or some fun activity at this time. There is an opportunity to encourage others or to teach young people. This may open all sorts of opportunities to be the teacher to some future successful writer or artist. There will be a healing between friends, if that is needed. This is the time to relax and enjoy the friends or loved ones that are near you now.

The responsibilities that you have had in the past will begin to ease. The loved one that you felt was discontented will become relaxed and receptive.

Leo (July 23-August 22) It may be a good time to catch up on the personal paper work you want to complete-letters, budget, etc. This last week may have been just too hectic to keep up with the little things you like to do. There is a major change of attitude from everyone around you. Emotional issues are easy to understand. You will now, however, be able to merge the emotional information you receive and process it from a step away-not so close. What a stress relief! You may find yourself looking for a little romance today or at least enjoying some emotional release. New clothes for the spring may need a few adjustments and you proceed to fix them, or prepare them for the tailor.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) The friendships you have will become more important to you now-a closeness renewed. There is a feeling of knowing things without knowing how you know them.

The mystical, the universal and the eternal are the things that stir your curiosity. Call it psychic; call it deja vu; it can be there when you call. This may involve reading a book or talking to a friend that seems particularly insightful. Consider ordering a personal horoscope reading. Tend to personal business this afternoon and the evening can be yours. This evening presents great opportunities for enjoyment of your friends and young people and for having a good time. You appreciate your particular situation and enjoy support from those around you.

Challenging Mazes

Libra (September 23-October 22) This is an excellent day to engage in discussions about philosophy, religion or the arts. You might enjoy attending a psychic fair or gathering friends to read for each other. There is much conversation about a new or a newly revived healing method, relaxation method, meditation, etc. Visiting with friends and family members can be enjoyed today-they seem to enjoy your company as well. Your timing should be perfect and those around you should find you most natural. Sympathy and understanding are emotional qualities that take on greater importance. It’s wisdom, not knowledge, that counts most. Coming to grips with the past or getting in touch with the mystical and the spiritual are the things that give you a sense of satisfaction and completeness.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You could be seen by others as just the person to be put in charge of some project requiring a conservative mind. There is a healing now in all avenues of your life. Delayed issues will begin to get back on the road to a more positive movement. You may enjoy good relations with relatives today and there are opportunities to have a special time with someone you love. This could mean a celebration of some sort is in order because there is much dancing and music. Your taste in art and appreciation in general are heightened. Perhaps this is a good time to select furnishings, colors and the finer things of life. Your sense of value is present. Romance and other things that tug at the heartstrings come your way as a new cycle begins.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may be expecting out-of-town company today and remember the days when you were really young, waiting for favorite relatives or friends to come and visit you and your family. Even if you are not expecting visitors, this is the type of feeling that comes with the many goals you have set for yourself. It may be a difficult time to relax. Write everything down that you want to accomplish and find one chore that is the most urgent. Attack only one thing at a time. Before you know it, you will accomplish quite a lot. You will find others will pitch in and help if you really need them. This may cover anything from washing dishes to planting trees. Your inner resources are accented.

Expect a sense of support and good will from those around you.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This can be a lucrative time for you financially, but there are risks as well as rewards-particularly with regard to taxes and debts. Some kind of healing process is at work in your life: you isolate what doesn’t work, eliminate it and go on from there.

Real insight into your own inner workings or psychology could surface today and in a manageable form. You may be in the mood for deep and penetrating conversations or thoughts.

Engaging in social activities is not the best of ideas at this time. Rather, look to close family and friends for entertainment and communication. You may find that a love relationship deepens.

Additionally, this is a time when your powers of creativity are strong. Arranging the living area a little differently will help encourage relaxation.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) It is easy for you to delegate responsibility and today you lend a helping hand to a friend that needs some sort of organizing. This could mean you help with plans for a spur-of-the-moment wedding or a similar type of last-minute celebration. You will attract more people to you than you believe possible at this time, so put them to work performing useful chores. Nurturing the people you love helps you feel secure. It is in people needing you that you feel useful and secure yourself. This evening you may find yourself serving the people that are the closest to you. You are entering into a cycle of mental development that emphasizes the nurturing of loved ones, and they of you. You will find yourself feeling more secure and at ease with your life.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Reports of new births at the zoo give you ideas for some poetry or music that could be shared with the world or just your friends. Because of this inspirational mood you can carry through on some of you decorating ideas or rearranging some area of your living space. The positive currents are strong at this time and all sorts of good things happen. It is not the time to begin new things but it can be the perfect time for enhancing what you have, complimenting the people in your life or putting a few old pictures in a new album. It would be safe to carry the new plants that you planted indoors to the outside for a permanent planting . . . Sunshine is delightful. Happy birthday!

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

General Surgeons

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

lifestyle

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

G O S S I P

Jamie Dornan thinks paparazzi culture is ‘hideous’

T

Jamie Lynn Spears ties the knot

he hunky Irish actor - who has been cast as S&M obsessed billionaire Christian Grey in the X-rated ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie - got his first taste of fame in 2003 when he dated Keira Knightley for two years and was horrified by the way the A-list beauty was hounded like an animal by “perverted” snappers.

He told the London Evening Standard newspaper: “It was a strange environment to find yourself in, being hounded and followed. It’s really hideous. They are cretins. I couldn’t have less respect for those guys.

“There are so many ways to make a living that don’t involve hiding in bushes opposite houses of 18-yearold girls with a camera in your hand. “That’s not making a living, that’s making a choice to be perverted. That scrutiny when you’re older will be easier to take. And I don’t think I’m ever going to be as famous as her.” Jamie is now happily married to actress-turned-musician Amelia Warner, with whom he has a three-month-old daughter, while Keira is hitched to The Klaxons musician James Righton. The star admits he found it incredibly hard being taken seriously as an actor after working as a model, famously posing in nothing but his underwear for Calvin Klein. He said: “I mean hundreds of [failed auditions]. Some of them totally humiliating experience. People attach too much to the idea of being a model, that you can only be a certain way to have done it. “You will always be dealing with it. You’re an actor who used to be a model who never trained; there are not many directors queuing up.”

T

he 22-year-old actress and her fiancé James Watson, who have been engaged for a year, tied the knot last night at a park in New Orleans, according to E! News. Jamie’s sister Britney and her boyfriend David Lucado flew from Los Angeles to Louisiana yesterday so they could witness the happy pair become husband and wife. Meanwhile, the duo sparked speculation they were getting hitched yesterday after it emerged they had obtained a marriage license from Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Courts earlier this month. The couple filed for the document on March 5 and had just 30 days from the date of issuance to wed before they would have had to apply for a new license. The blonde beauty announced her engagement on Twitter last May by posting a snap of a stunning diamond sparkler on her ring finger. Jamie has been engaged before when her ex-boyfriend Casey Aldridge popped the question in 2008. However, the former couple never made it to the aisle and their on/off relationship ended for good in 2010. Jamie also has four-year-old daughter Maddie with Casey.

Julia Roberts’ kids have realized now she’s famous

T

he ‘August: Osage County’ actress has revealed her children, nine-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and six-year old Henry, are currently coming to terms with the fact their mother is part of the Hollywood A-list and have dozens of questions about her star status.

She said: “They’re only just discovering it. My daughter, especially, asks a lot of questions that I find it hard to answer modestly! She asked, talking about one of my best friends, ‘Does Bonnie know you’re famous?’ “I said, ‘I think she knows’. ‘How did she find out, did you tell her?’

She’s trying to solve an enigma, so she wants to know

how others figured it out.” Julia - who is married to cameraman Daniel Moder - didn’t feel the need to explain to her children she was famous or even show them her films until they started expressing a desire to understand her jet-setting lifestyle. She told France’s ELLE magazine: “They’ve just seen ‘Hook’, it was the first time they’ve seen me on screen. They’re still young, they weren’t curious until now. My husband and I believe children will tell you what they want to know when they want to know it, regardless of the subject. They’re wise enough to take you where they need to go.”

Michael Jackson accused of beating up his chimp

T

he late singer’s pet Bubbles was reportedly “being beaten” while in his car, and a leading chimpanzee expert insisted she tried to intervene when she’d heard about the way he was being treated. Jane Goodall told TMZ: “I went to see him and we talked about Bubbles. I ticked him off. “Bubbles is still alive and he’s beautiful, but when he was with Michael he was being beaten ... Chimpanzees belong in the forest. By the time they are seven or eight they are dangerous.” While Jane didn’t directly name the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker - who passed away in 2009 - as the abuser, the ex-husband of the star’s sister LaToya has claimed he saw the beatings first-hand. Jack Gordon said: “I saw Michael punch Bubbles in the face, kick him in the stomach.” The gossip website notes that sources from the singer’s camp have denied the claims, conceding there have been reports over the years of the chimp being treated like a king. Bubbles, 33, now lives in an animal sanctuary in Florida.

T

Mel C is attracted to younger men

he 40-year-old singer has been single since splitting from Thomas Starr, the father of her five-year-old daughter Scarlet, in 2012, and admits she often forgets her own age when she is checking guys out. She said: “It’s funny - I see all these beautiful young girls with amazing jobs and I’m like, ‘Where are their guys at?’ My problem is I’m going ‘He’s quite cute’, to guys who are obviously much too young for me. “Then I look in the mirror and go ‘Crap! I’m not 25 anymore!’ “If someone came along that would be great. But I’m a mummy and my career is important to me.” While she forgets she isn’t in her 20s anymore, she insists she is enjoying her life more now than she did then. She added in an interview with Now magazine: “The beauty of age is I’m more relaxed about things now. My priorities changed when I became a mum. The negatives are the physical things, like wrinkles. Yuck! But I’m honestly happier now than I was in my twenties.”

Allison Williams is a ‘perfectionist’ T

he 25-year-old actress can see some similarities between herself and her ‘Girls’ alter ego Marnie, though she insists she is trying to be more relaxed. She said: “Marnie is a perfectionist and so am I. Playing her, I can see how it’s perfectionism and pride that prevents her from getting any peace. “I would call myself a perfectionist too - although I’ve let go of trying to be perfect. Will Marnie get where she wants to get to? I hope so.” Allison also admits she often feels uncultured next to her co-star, the show’s creator Lena Dunham, because her influences are so vast. She said: “Lena Dunham is an ‘old soul’. Her cultural references are from way before she was born. “They make me feel like I’ve never watched a film in my life. She has a wisdom and a gentleness to her.” Allison promised the new series of ‘Girls’ will allow fans to understand her character more, thanks to the introduction of her mother, who is played by Rita Wilson.

She told Britain’s Grazia magazine: “We understand Marnie’s character more clearly after meeting her mother. There’s a sense of, ‘Oh that’s Marnie’s mum. That’s why she’s so crazy!’ “This is supposed to be her support and her mum is a nightmare. I think until Marnie realizes there’s a problem and she needs help, she’s in trouble.”

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

lifestyle G O S S I P

T

Sarah Jessica Parker believes ‘we’re not alone’

he 48-year-old actress - who voices Kira Supernova, the wife of an alien who invades Earth in ‘Escape From Planet Earth’ - doesn’t think the descriptions of other-worldly beings in TV and films are very accurate, but she is convinced there is life on other planets. Asked if she believes in aliens, she said: “No. Well, I don’t think we’re alone in the universe. But I don’t think aliens are how we have experienced them thus far on screen. “We discovered that there may have been water elsewhere, and that was a massive and important discovery in the world of science, right? This suggests that something benefited from the water. “But whether they wear funny outfits and they’re clever and they say snarky things to each other and have wonderfully big sweet eyes? That, I’m dubious about. But I do enjoy the storytelling here on Earth.” The actress’ character in ‘Escape From Planet Earth’ gave up her career to raise a family and Sarah - who has three children, son James and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha, with her husband Matthew Broderick thinks Kira’s story will appeal to many women experiencing the same “conflict” over their life choices. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Sarah said: “I think she has made some decisions, and she speaks to a way that maybe other women feel, you know? She’s left behind, and she’s maybe conflicted about those choices. And she becomes defensive. Do you choose work over family? I think that’s a position that a lot of women find themselves in. “I think, a little bit, this film tries to talk about what it’s like to remove yourself from your professional workplace and work from home as a parent. It’s sweet, it’s nicely done.”

L

Lindsay Lohan labeled a ‘trainwreck’

indsay Lohan has been branded a “trainwreck” over her ‘2 Broke Girls’ appearance. The troubled actress shot a guest appearance on the show on Wednesday, but an unimpressed audience member said filming was a disaster because the star repeatedly messed her lines. Writing on the Crazy Days and Crazy Nights blog, the audience member said: “Lindsay was a trainwreck... you only want to watch so many collisions before you realize you have better things to do with your life. “[We, the audience members] are very familiar with every single one of Lindsay Lohan’s lines and can repeat them all verbatim to you because we heard them so many times last night. There is not a member of the audience who couldn’t do a better job than Lindsay Lohan did that night.”

According to the audience member, producers even began changing Lindsay’s lines to make it easier for her. The blog post continued: “Lindsay had a lot of trouble stringing together the various permutations required... the lines were reduced and reduced. “There was no point in trying to get it all right because it was not going to happen.” And the insider hit out at the actress - who was cast as an indecisive bride who hires main characters Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) to make her wedding cake - for damaging her voice with smoking and claimed she has undergone so many wrinkle-freezing Botox treatments she was unable to speak properly. The post added: “Lips so plumped out she couldn’t really get them open because of her Botox which also caused her to have trouble pronouncing certain words. “Of course she won’t be able to pronounce anything if she keeps smoking because her voice is rapidly disappearing into some type of screaming smoking raspy hell hole.”“There was a scene later on in the show that required Lindsay to say the words Hawaii and Bahamas in succession. She couldn’t move her Botoxed muscles enough to get that combination down without pausing between each.”

Jamie Chung wants an ‘intimate’ wedding

T

he 30-year-old actress admits she and fiancé Bryan Greenberg need to “work out” their nuptials as while she wants a small affair, the ‘One Tree Hill’ actor favors the idea of a big celebration. She said: “He wants a big blow out and I want to keep it intimate, so there’s certainly things we need to work out.” But the 35-year-old actor may get his wish as Jamie admitted Bryan is a better organizer than she is. She told People. “We’re equally excited...

Actually, he’s better at planning parties than I am.” Though the couple haven’t set a date yet, the ‘Believe’ star knows who she wants to create her wedding gown. She said: “Monique Lhuillier is a designer I lust for. I saw her Fall 2014 runway show and it was literally like an opera. I would love to wear one of her dresses!” Though Jamie and Bryan - who got engaged in December after almost two years of dating - spent a lot of time with one another, they refuse to go to the gym together. Jamie admitted: “He hates working out with me.

Bryan says, ‘It’s so cheesy,’ so we’re not that couple.”

Jason Bateman swears around his 2-yr-old daughter

T

Britney Spears had a ‘panic attack’ at an Oscars party

T

he ‘Perfume’ singer, who had a public breakdown in 2007, reportedly felt overwhelmed at Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar-viewing party at West Hollywood Park, and made a quick dash to the exit after just minutes of being in the room. A source said: “Britney was excited when she first went to the party but moments later she was fazed about being at such an over-crowded event. “She started to break out in a sweat and become short of breath, it was like she was having a panic attack.” The 32-year-old star shaved her head during a meltdown seven years ago and was photographed attacking a paparrazo’s car with an umbrella. Her breakdown led to her losing custody of her sons Sean Preston, eight, and Jayden James, seven, to ex-husband Kevin Federline, and the singer, who suffers from bipolar disorder, still has issues being at parties. The source added to Closer magazine: “Britney still finds large crowds nerve-wracking and doesn’t feel comfortable at showbiz events. “The chaos of the red carpet and all the unfamiliar faces is very daunting. She manages to block out the crowd and put on an act when she’s on stage, but it’s harder when she’s socializing.”

T

he 45-year-old actor allows himself to curse when he’s looking after Maple because she doesn’t understand, but he refrains from using bad language when he’s with his other daughter Francesca, seven. He explained to GQ magazine: “I tend to use as many [swear words] as I can think of. I don’t do it around my seven year old, but I do around my two year old, because she doesn’t know what the hell I’m saying yet.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Arrested Development’ star isn’t keen for Francesca and Maple, who he shares with his wife Amanda Anka, to follow in his footsteps and take on a career in acting.

He said previously: “I want to help my kids navigate their careers but I don’t want it to be in the entertainment industry. Acting is kind of an odd way to make a living and I hope they’ll be drawn to something other than that.”

Jason - who became a high-profile teen actor in the 1980s - believes acting can be a tough industry to crack and he doesn’t want his daughters having to deal with the disappointment that comes with it. He said: “I want my daughters to be very passionate about what they want to do and to be very unapologetic about wanting success in that field and sometimes in acting they sense you want it too much.”

Tom hardy thinks he would have been in jail

om Hardy thinks he would have ended up in jail if he hadn’t become an actor. The ‘Inception’ actor is currently one of Hollywood’s hottest properties, but he admits his rise to the top was fraught with “desperation”, reckless behavior and addiction. He told Total Film magazine: “I was supported by an artistic family, a creative family, but my personal journey to becoming an actor was one of desperation. Like, ‘This boy has to do something or he’ll end up in jail!’ “And I’m very, very fortunate to be here today. My own personal story is exactly that - personal. But becoming an actor was not very far from what I was doing, but now I’ve found a medium where I can channel that into more constructive means, which is art and acting. “As opposed to fantasizing and acting out in the world, and causing all kinds of mayhem - which I don’t do.”The handsome British star confessed he got ahead of himself when he started landing roles fresh out of drama school and soon got caught up with the shady side of the film industry. The 36-year-old star candidly explained: “I was white-knuckling when I was younger. There are some people who are more susceptible and less susceptible to stimulus. And I was very reactionary. I don’t have a lot of skin. I’ve learnt as I grow older to be less ‘jumping’ at everything. “I had a brief stint with the Americans, with Hollywood, the movie industry, with ‘Star Trek’. And the first year after drama school, I had ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘Band of Brothers’, and then ‘Star Trek’. And I was like, ‘This is it! Straight out of drama school, here we go!’

“But I had no idea of how to handle the industry, to interact with producers, executive producers, studios, even my fellow men! I was 24 - punching way above my weight. And it’s taken being someone’s dad, being divorced, going to rehab, having mortgages, playing different characters, doing theatre, waiting and then it not happening.”The new issue of Total Film magazine is on sale now. —Bangshowbiz

Snooki has evil plans

S

nooki is planning to make her bridesmaids try on horrible dresses. The former ‘Jersey Shore’ star is determined to have perfect wedding when she marries Jionni LaValle later this year, but she admits shopping for her big day doesn’t always have to be serious. She wrote on her blog: “I’m also going bridesmaid dress shopping next week with my maid of honor to pick out dresses for my girls! My wedding colors are gold and black, so she will be trying on a million gold and black dresses. Dresses that I love, and dresses that are hideous just to give me a laugh. (sic)”. The 26-year-old beauty has decided on a ‘Great Gatsby’-themed ceremony and, although she’s still got so much to plan in time for her wedding day, she insists she hasn’t had any “diva moments” yet. She explained: “I am SO excited for my fall wedding, and thank god the planning has not given me a headache yet.

I’m happy to say I have not had any bride/diva moments yet! I don’t want to be that kind of bride. I want a fun and loving bride, with no stress. I’ll let you know how that goes after the bridesmaids dresses. (sic)”. Snooki and Jionni have been engaged since 2012, but decided to hold off on their wedding plans because they wanted to focus on their 18-month-old son Lorenzo.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

lifestyle

Comic Convention

Chris Brown arrested, held without bail

C

A visitor dressed as the Incredible Hulk collects his accreditation at the Comic Convention in east London yesterday. — AFP photos

Visitors dressed in “Predator” costumes attend the Comic Convention.

A visitor adjusts his character make-up.

A visitor poses for a photograph during the Comic Convention.

hris Brown was arrested Friday and will be held without bail on a warrant issued by probation officials in the latest legal entanglement for the R&B singer who has struggled to put his 2009 attack on Rihanna behind him. The warrant was issued by the judge overseeing Brown’s case after he was informed Friday morning that the singer had been discharged from rehab “for failure to comply with rules and regulations of the program.” No further details were released, but more information will be presented to Superior Court Judge James R Brandlin when Brown appears in his courtroom tomorrow afternoon.

Sheriff’s officials said Brown was cooperative when he was arrested at a Malibu treatment facility where he had been staying and transported to a jail facility in downtown Los Angeles. Brown had been ordered to remain in rehab for anger management treatment.

A January letter from the facility stated that the singer was also being treated for bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and past substance abuse.

An email sent to Brown’s attorney Mark Geragos was not immediately returned. A probation spokeswoman declined to comment on what prompted Brown’s arrest. Brown’s probation for the Rihanna assault had been scheduled to end this year, but a judge revoked it last year after Brown was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in Washington, DC. That case is pending.

Brandlin rejected a Los Angeles prosecutor’s request to send Brown to jail because of the Washington case, citing his progress in rehab. He has ordered Brown to stop smoking marijuana and take only prescribed medications; the singer has not failed any drug screenings since the order was made. In addition to getting treatment, the singer remained under strict orders to complete 1,000 hours of community labor this year. A probation report dated Feb 26 stated that Brown had completed 250 hours and that he was being cooperative with probation officials.

Gorillaz alums De La Soul, Del join Albarn at SXSW

F

or a guy who got his start in the ‘90s British rock ‘n’ roll scene, Damon Albarn sure knows how to throw a hip-hop party. Albarn invited De La Soul and Del The Funky Homosapien to join

Damon Albarn (right) is joined by De La Soul’s Vincent Mason while performing during the SXSW Music Festival Friday March 14, 2014, in Austin, Texas. — AP

him during his performance Friday night at South

By Southwest, pulling off one of the bigger surprises so far at the annual music conference and festival. De La Soul joined Albarn for their Gorillaz collaboration “Feed Good Inc.,” before Del came on stage to perform initial Gorillaz single “Clint Eastwood” for the first time since its release 13 years ago.

“What can I say about them? They’re very dear friends of mine,” Albarn said of De La Soul before the per formance. “But it’s Del The Funky Homosapien I’m most excited about. It is literally the first time that not only have I met him, but he’s going to sing ‘Clint Eastwood.’ It’s actually quite a momentous moment.” And not just for Albarn, who also debuted songs from his new solo album “Everyday Robots,” out April 29. Those who bothered to stick around after De La Soul’s high-spirited appearance got a double surprise. Snoop Dogg took the stage at the Fader Fort, where the magazine is celebrating its 15th anniversary by inviting artists to perform who have appeared on its cover, contributing a surprise verse as well. Albarn said Snoop’s appearance was meant to add “a little cayenne” to the set.

Albarn’s music has increasingly featured hip-

hop and bass-inflected electronic music, and he says he finds inspiration working with diverse artists from different musical worlds. “I’m more of a fan of making it than listening to it,” Albarn said of hip-hop. “I’ve got my favorites, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, and I suppose that first wave really.

Mind you, I love Kendrick Lamar. That sort of excited me again. Of course I love hip-hop but I’m not hip hop. It’s another aspect of the spectrum that I kind of can hear the spirit of music in.”

Dave Jolicoeur of De La Soul said Albarn’s openmindedness has led to a great friendship. “He’s a cool dude who just likes to have fun and create music,” Jolicoeur said of the Blur frontman. “For us, that’s been our MO ever since Day 1, goofing around, having a good time. There’s no real rules at all, but hopefully we get something out of this.

That’s been the person that I’ve known, a guy who just likes to create. There are no embarrassing moments where you say, ‘You can’t do that, you can’t say that.’ Just do what you’re doing, and be free.” — AP

In this file photo, R&B singer Chris Brown arrives at a Los Angeles Superior Court for a probation review hearing in Los Angeles. — AP Brown’s attempts at treatment have not been without difficulties. A rehab center where Brown was voluntarily staying reported to Brandlin that the singer threw a rock through his mother’s window during a joint counseling session in November. The judge then ordered Brown to remain in treatment for another three months and renewed that order at a hearing on Feb 28. A probation officer interviewed Brown for the February report, saying the singer was grateful to be in rehab and “looks forward to staying out of trouble.” “He remains thankful to the court for the opportunity to find out and learn more about himself, his anger issues and the type of person he wants to become, which is a man who is able to better himself and be a positive role model,” the report states. — AP

Lady Gaga addresses difficulties in SXSW keynote

L

ady Gaga vowed to quit pop music rather than compromise, detailing a difficult year that included an underperforming new album during her much-anticipated keynote session at South By Southwest on Friday. Dressed in a gown made of plastic sheeting and wearing blond dreadlocks, Gaga spent an hour in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session that shed some light on obstacles that included hip surgery, a split from manager Troy Carter and widespread questions about her popularity.

“I refuse to compromise and allow my talents to be monetized to the point that I don’t want to be here anymore,” she said. “I will stop, I will quit, I will retire from the commercial market if I have to do something other than be myself because if I can’t be myself in this moment than everything I have said to my friends since the beginning will be a total

lie. Then what? I’ll be myself until I have to make money to sustain a luxurious lifestyle, and then I change, right? No, I’ll be myself till they (expletive) close the coffin so that you can all be yourselves.”

The 27-year-old singer briefly discussed her 2013 tour-canceling hip surgery - she was in a wheelchair for four months and has three screws in her hip - and her messages to fans regarding difficulties she’s had with the release of “ARTPOP,” which has only sold 673,773 units since its November release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (In 2011, Gaga’s “Born This Way” sold 1.1 million copies in its first week; 660,000 copies were sold regularly, and the rest through a 99 cents deal with Amazon).—AP

This combination of 2012 and circa 1860-1875 photos show hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in New York and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. — AP

Hip-hop pioneers hoping to create NYC museum

T

he pioneers of hip-hop are hoping to create a museum in the Bronx dedicated to the genre. Organizers say it would be called the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Afrika Bambaataa says the museum would look at the historical and cultural roots of hip-hop and the

Lady Gaga makes an appearance during ZEDD’s (not pictured) performance at the iTunes Festival Showcase during the SXSW Music Festival Friday March 14, 2014, in Austin, Texas. — AP

contributions made by break dancers and disc jockeys. Bambaataa is frequently called the father of hip-hop. He would serve as the museum’s chairman. The museum hopes to open in 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory, which is being redeveloped into a national ice sports

center. The plan was announced at a news conference on Wednesday. Bambaataa says many people think of rappers when they hear the word hip-hop. But he says there’s a whole culture and movement behind it. — AP

In this combination of 2013 and 1963 file photos, hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj performs in New York, and Malcolm X, civil rights activist and black Muslim leader, holds a newspaper as he speaks at a rally in New York. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

lifestyle

Man who said he kissed nurse in Times Square photo dies at 86

A

man who became known for claiming he was the sailor kissing a woman in Times Square in a famous World War II-era photo taken by a Life magazine photographer has died. Glenn McDuffie was 86. McDuffie died March 9 in a nursing home in Dallas, his daughter, Glenda Bell, told The Associated Press. After World War II, McDuffie, who was born in Kannapolis, NC, and moved to Houston in 1960, became a mail carrier and semi-professional baseball player.

But his life became more exciting about six years ago when Houston Police Department forensic artist Lois Gibson was able to identify him as the young man leaning over the woman in his arms to kiss her.

By taking about 100 pictures of McDuffie using a pillow to pose as he did in the picture taken Aug 14, 1945, by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gibson said, she was able to match the muscles, ears and other features of the then-80-year-old McDuffie to the young sailor in the original image.

“I was absolutely positive,” Gibson said of the match. “It was perfect.” The identification remained controversial, partly because other men also claimed to have been the sailor in the image, but also because Life magazine, whose photographer had died years

earlier, was unable to confirm that McDuffie was in fact the sailor, noting Eisenstaedt had never gotten names for those in the picture.

Yet for McDuffie, Gibson’s word was enough. A well-respected forensic artist who was in the 2005 Guinness Book of World Records for helping police identify more suspects than any other forensic artist, Gibson said McDuffie was ecstatic when she told him the results he had waited 62 years to hear. And so began a whirlwind lifestyle of going to air shows, gun shows, fundraisers and parties to tell his story. Women would pay $10 to take a picture kissing him on the cheek, Gibson said.

“He would make money and kiss women,” Gibson said. “He had the most glamorous life of any 80 year old.” McDuffie had told the AP he was changing trains in New York when he was told that Japan had surrendered. “I was so happy. I ran out in the street,” said McDuffie, then 18 and on his way to visit his girlfriend in Brooklyn. “And then I saw that nurse,” he said. “She saw me hollering and with a big smile on my face... I just went right to her and kissed her.”

“We never spoke a word,” he added. “Afterward, I just went on the subway across the street and went to Brooklyn.” Gibson’s daughter, Bell, said on anniver-

saries of the war’s end her father would recall that moment and the air of excitement in Times Square.

For years it bothered him that he wasn’t identified as the man in the photo, she said, and he turned to Gibson for help to clear it up. “He wanted to do it before he died,” she said. McDuffie is survived by his daughter and two grandchildren. His funeral will be held March 21 at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. — AP

In this file photo, Glenn McDuffie holds a portrait of himself as a young man (left) and a copy of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic Life magazine shot of a sailor, who McDuffie claims is him, embracing a nurse in a white uniform in New York’s Times Square, at his Houston home. — AP

Original ‘Dreamgirls’ star makes comeback to music

W

ith her first solo album in two decades, Jennifer Holliday is on the comeback trail.

But the singer, best known for her Tonywinning performance as Effie in the original Broadway production of “Dreamgirls” and the iconic rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” wasn’t always sure she wanted her career resurrected. The spotlight had been difficult for her: She has

weighed almost 400 pounds. The label told me that I had a great voice, but wasn’t marketable having a weight image. It’s not like today where Adele could come out, sing and be popular.”

Yet over the years, Holliday survived without producing another hit record. She had theater and symphony performances along with a recurring guest star role on “Ally McBeal” and appearances on “Touched by an Angel.” She teamed up with the Rev Raphael G Warnock for a joint gospel album, “Goodness & Mercy,” in 2011. “I’ve been able to work without a record,” she said. “So in some way, I got a little comfortable. ... But music itself had changed.

So, I didn’t see much purpose. But when it comes to getting your music out there or your story out, it’s a lot easier.”

So at 53, Holliday has just released her sixth album, “The Song Is You,” released in late January.

These days, she’s more at peace through her faith and prayer. She’s lost more than 200 pounds and trimmed down 20 inches following gastric bypass surgery in 1990 and years of living a healthier lifestyle. Holliday said appearing on “American Idol” with finalist Jessica Sanchez in 2012 breathed new life into her music career.

“It fueled me a lot,” she said. “Even though people

Google me all the time, I didn’t want them to look back so far to see some recordings of me. That fact that maybe I should be singing again.” When Holliday first returned to the studio, she felt like a “dinosaur.” It took some time to learn some of the contemporary audio workstations such as Pro Tools, but eventually she became more comfortable.

Holliday has gotten more involved with social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. She had trouble at first because it was hard for her to take the harsh criticism dealt her way.

But in time, Holliday saw the benefits of promoting her music without a major record label. It gives her hope. “Back in the day, if someone at the record label didn’t care or like your music, it never got to the public. It just got shelved,” she said. “You can take your case to the public such as YouTube and other forms of social media where they can vote on you. If nobody likes you, then that’s just fine. If 20 more people like you more than the other 10, then you have a chance.” — AP

Lakme India Fashion Week

This photo shows actress and singer Jennifer Holliday during an interview in Atlanta. — AP

dealt with clinical depression, multiple sclerosis, went blind for three months, filed for bankruptcy and attempted to commit suicide on her 30th birthday. She was dropped by her label when her weight went up to 400 pounds.

“It was devastating for me as an artist and human being,” said Holliday, also a Grammy winner. “People say you have a gift from God, but still saying, ‘No.’ Things went terribly downhill. Not having a label, being overweight, music and life in limbo. Those were very hard times for me.” Big expectations were set for Holliday’s career following her success with “Dreamgirls” in 1981. The singer’s 1983 debut album, “Feel My Soul,” which was produced by Earth, Wind and Fire bandleader Maurice White, received positive reviews. Two years later, her follow-up album, “Say You Love Me,” featured Michael Jackson as a cowriter and producer on the opening track, “You’re the One.” But she was unable to generate any major hits to boost her career as a solo artist.

Holliday believes she came up in the wrong era of music when being overweight was unacceptable, especially during a time when music videos were beginning to become popular. “The music industry turned (against) those of us who were real artists,” she said. “When I was with Geffen Records, I

Indian Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri (center) showcases a creation by designer Shehla Khan on the fifth day of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) summer/resort 2014 in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP photos

Indian Bollywood film actress Dia Mirza

Indian Bollywood film actress Prachi Desai Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin

Models display creations by various Indian designers during the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, India, yesterday.

Chris Brown arrested, held without bail

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

I

These file photos from various designers showcase this year’s spring pick. — AP photos

t’s still chilly in much of the country, but stores are clearing out coats and sweaters to make way for spring’s bright colors and lighter clothing. And if you’re looking to update your wardrobe this season, you’ll need to know about a few key trends: crop tops, high waists and wider legs in pants. But don’t panic just yet about the idea of wearing a top that may not reach your navel. There are several ways to pull off the potentially midriff-baring trend - whether or not you have great abs, and even if you prefer to dress on the conservative side.

“Crop tops are not the easiest thing to wear,” said Hayley Phelan, fashion features editor at Lucky magazine, acknowledging that skin-baring styles are not always “appropriate” for work or other situations. “But there are so many ways to wear crop tops that we saw on the runway and that we love at Lucky.” For example, you can layer a crop top over a blouse, Phelan said. Or wear a boxy crop top over high-waisted pants or a high-waisted skirt, and don’t worry about revealing much skin.

“I would say a crop top is a must-have for spring,” Phelan said. “But make it one that you feel comfortable in. With a boxier shape, you can wear it on multiple occasions.” Another strong trend Lucky editors noticed for spring is the “painterly print,” meaning “bold, graphic brush strokes” and “artinspired” designs, including portrait art and actual faces or flowers appearing on garments. “ We saw faces at Prada and flowers at Dior,” she said.

Finally, get ready for sandals and slides that are more hiker than fashionista - what Lucky editors call “the ugly shoe.” “It’s that kind of Birkenstock shape, or even like Tevas,” Phelan said. “But that’s what’s cool about it fashionable people wearing a fashionable outfit that’s put together, putting on these sandals.”

Overall, she said, the silhouette for spring is evolving from past seasons: “It’s a tighter more form-fitting top but looser on the bottom, with high-waisted baggier pants and wide-legged culottes. It’s an interesting shape but what pairs perfectly with culottes is the crop top.”

John Bourgeois, who directs personal shopping in the Midwest for Macy’s By Appointment, said the region is definitely seeing the looser leg look. “Pants are a little softer this year,” Bourgeois said.

“The fabrication is very soft and flowy and whimsical.” But because Midwest weather stays cold longer, spring fashion isn’t quite as bare as in warmer places. “Really trendy women find ways to incorporate jackets in their spring wardrobe because we have to layer here into May,” said Farissa Knox, founder of the Chicago-based website What R U Wearing?

Moto jackets - short, slim-cut and zipper-front - are among Chicago’s trendy spring items. White button-down shirts were identified by both Dallas and Chicago retailers as a spring trend. In Dallas, it’s a crisp look; in Chicago it’s an element in layering.

Fashion-watchers in both cities also say they’re seeing black and white combinations in outfits.

Pink was cited as big for spring by retailers and shoppers in Dallas, Chicago and - maybe less surprisingly - in tropical Miami. “Women should look for pink in every shade,” said Ken Downing, fashion director of luxury chain Neiman Marcus, which has its flagship store in downtown Dallas. He added those varying shades of pink can be worn all in one outfit, and mentioned “denim on denim” - shirt, jeans and jacket in various washes - as another trend.

Exotic patterns - florals, animal prints and designs inspired by snakeskin and crocodile skin - are also turning up around the country, while colors range from pastels to brighter, more saturated hues. In Miami, exotic prints are even turning up on sneakers, and it’s not unusual there to see men wearing the same bright colors and playful patterns as women. “Men in South Florida are not afraid to wear prints or color,” said Anabel Llopis, senior director of sales and marketing at Aventura Mall. — AP

38