25th May 2012

What colour is your aura?

FR EE

6 www.kuwaittimes.net

Phillip Phillips is the new ‘American Idol’

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76ers fight off Boston to force Game Seven

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NO: 15459- Friday, May 25, 2012

Al-Shamali quits

SEE PAGE 10

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Conspiracy Theories

By hook or crook, or else...

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

uys, today I am going to take you away from all the horrible things, I am sorry to say, that surrounds us. First, is the weather. I am sure that when you looked out of your window yesterday morning, you saw everything was an orange colour. You must have thought that it was a space storm, with sand carried from another planet. No, it is sandstorm gushing all the way from Baghdad. Some neighbours!

I will take you away from the second annoying thing that happened yesterday. Oops, excuse me, the first annoying thing, let me correct. The weather to me rates second compared to the circus in Parliament. By the way,

G

it is dark in the evening and the MPs are still debating.

They have been working really hard today over Minister Shamali’s grilling. Leave them alone. This is Thursday night anyway as I’m writing this!

I want to talk about Citta at the start of the weekend.

Citta is not a beautiful woman. It is a 33-year-old elephant in Krakow, Poland that was selected to predict the results of the Euro championship games that begin in June. I don’t know what gave the Polish people the idea that Citta was so smart that she enjoys the power of prediction. Maybe she is distantly related to the Nostradamus family. Who knows? Or the idea might have come to them over her first task when she predicted the victory of Chelsea in the Champions League that took place last week. She made her choice by lifting an apple above a blue and white logo for Chelsea rather one with the colours of the opponent Bayern Munich. That made her, according to the Polish zoo people, the sports fortuneteller. So, all the people are interested in what she chooses for the European championship. They believe her so

much that they will use her to choose the winning team for during the football games. Citta does not speak and does not write. She will choose the winning team by picking an apple.

It is a pity that our brothers in Egypt did not know about Citta before. Otherwise, they would have brought her to predict the winner of Egypt’s election battle. Would it be Amr Moussa or the extremist Mohamed Morsy? In this case, they would not place an apple, though. Believe me, I am so enthusiastic about going to Poland and visiting Citta, asking her where the Arab Spring is heading to and what the end will be like. I will ask her if she would do me a favour and place two apples - one for Palestine and one for Israel, and then I will be able to see what the future holds for the Middle East peace process.

I hope the Americans and APAC do not arrive before me and try to bribe her or influence her by hook or crook with a nice cleaner zoo cage or better food or else.

Local Spotlight

The ice cream vendor

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

fter spending a long, hot day in the sun earning a few dinars from children of the neighbourhood, the ice cream vendor was about to leave his regular spot. Suddenly, a young man in a fancy car appeared, asking for a cup of ice cream. When this man brought his order, he asked him if he had any change for a KD 10 note. The ice cream vendor believed him and waved his KD 10 note (his earnings for the day) at the man who was at the helm of the vehicle. In an instant, he grabbed the money from the vendor’s hand and fled the scene. The vendor went into a state of shock; he could not believe that someone had stolen his hard-earned money, earned after toiling under the sun! This story broke my heart because a poor man worked so hard to earn the money by toiling under the sun for many hours.

In Kuwait, it is common to see an ice cream vendor working for hours roaming from one area to another during peak hours between 12 to 3 pm. It is really amazing that this man can bear the heat. He earns his living using basic equipment - freezer placed on a bike that school children use. I still wonder why anyone would steal from an ice

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cream vendor. It is such an inhuman thing to do.

These men are struggling to earn a living - moving about from one area to another in this merciless weather. So, I sympathize with him. He can barely make enough money to cover his expenses and pay the ice cream company for selling the wares. According to vendors, they only make a 20 to 30 fils profit! A sum of KD 10 a day is a fortune for him. But, when a thief robs him of his money, he cannot be blamed for feeling heartbroken.

In Western countries, the ice cream vendors travel in a colourful van that attracts children and adults, also ensuring the safety and hygiene of the ice cream sold! In comparison, the items sold are the same but not the image!

Anyhow, I felt angry to see nasty people targeting poor workers. Of course, this man could not approach police. He said, “For them (police) KD 10 is only a miniscule amount”. I will pray to Allah the Almighty so that the heartless thief can be caught. I am sure that the man has said his own prayers, which will be answered.

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Kuwait’s my business

Satire Wire

One return ticket to Mars, please

Kuwait, get over your inferiority complex

By John P Hayes

By Sawsan Kazak

local@kuwaittimes.net

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

T

his week the US company, SpaceX, made history when it launched the first commercially owned spacecraft at an international space station. Whereas before, space travel was only attempted by governmental entities, SpaceX opened a new era of private space travel. Some are already predicting this to be the gateway to space travel being made available to individuals.

Imagine that, taking a summer family vacation to space.

Forget destinations in Europe, South America or the Caribbean.

For those that want to be exotic, space is the next destination. So would this mean that they are going to start construction of a fivestar resort on the moon? Or a Disney-like amusement park on Mars?

But there are so many aspects of space travel that need to be ironed out. What kind of clothes do you bring to space? Who knows the temperature in space? Do you bring your passport on board the space craft? Do you need a special space visa or do we all have to make a new ‘earth’ passport? What happens if you miss your return flight, how long will you be stuck in space? What happens if you experience technical difficulties during a flight, will the security measures still be ‘place your head between your knees and brace for impact?’

Can you bring your pet with you on your space vacation? I think it would be okay, if they did not send a chimp into orbit a few years back?

What about the price of tickets, will there be discounts during low-season, will there even be a low sea-

son? Will you have to take astronaut classes before attempting to fly or will the spaceships resemble airplanes? Will they serve food on the flight and have duty free shopping areas? I am assuming that no tax is levied in space, right?

Space travel does sound interesting, but there seems to be more questions than answers at this point. I guess that is what it was like when airplanes started appearing a few decades back. I hope I get to see and experience space travel in my lifetime; I could write the ultimate travel feature.

In my view

KIA’s efficiency yet to take off

By Lisa Conrad lisa@kuwaittimes.net

T

he service and organization (or lack thereof) at Kuwait International Airport (KIA) is, quite shockingly, slowly continuing to worsen. No improvements appear to have been made whatsoever, as disorganization, confusion and allround chaos continue to command control. For example, while passing through the airport recently, the employees at the passport control counters decided that they felt it would be more efficient for one to handle one task to partial completion, before allowing her colleague to do the second half. This meant that, suddenly, two lines were trying to negotiate between the pair, who had decided that they no longer felt like doing the entire job alone. This ingenious new method resulted in a 45-minute wait, despite the fact that I was pretty close to the front of the line.

The problem with the current situation is not just the stress inflicted on passengers, but also the message

and image the airport is portraying.

Kuwait wants to become a hub of commerce in the Middle East, and, as it stands, it makes a pretty terrible first impression. When I initially came to Kuwait and had to go and get a visit visa, I recall the official eating a chocolate bar and having a coffee whilst going through my passport.

His chocolate-smudged thumb print was proof in itself of the total lack of regard for rules, regulations and courtesy towards passengers.

The service is certainly an issue, but there also appear to be logistical and organizational problems. The gates have no lines, therefore resulting in a herd of confused passengers huddling toward what they hope is the correct gate, with ‘lines’ stretching up to 8 people wide and, even worse, 25 people deep. The airport parking becomes totally packed on the weekends as travellers battle with people using the airport coffee shops and restaurants for socializing.

On my most recent trip, I actually

ended up stuck in KIA’s parking lot traffic as the mass of cars became deadlocked. There’s a lack of proper signage and arrival and departure information.

Kuwait is building a new airport, slated to be a state-of-the-art masterpiece. This does not, however, excuse the current situation at KIA. Complaints cannot be met with reminders that a new airport is being built: it’s not KIA’s building that’s crumbling - it’s the service, logistics and organization that’s holding it back and slowly transforming it into the gauntlet of Kuwait, with only the fittest, savviest of passengers successfully getting through with their mental health intact.

“B

ut, sir,” said my student, “it’s Kuwait.” He wrinkled his nose as if to ask, “What do you expect in Kuwait?” He was responding to an anecdote that I had shared in my marketing class about poor customer service in Kuwait.

That student’s reaction is a common response in my classrooms, and in the community at large. For whatever reason, someone or something has convinced Kuwait’s consumers that they just do not deserve any better, regardless of how much money they pay for products and services. Consequently, Kuwait has an inferiority complex when it comes to customer service.

What do I expect?

I expect my money’s worth. Don’t you? I want a quality product or service with world-class customer service.

And why shouldn’t we get it?

People often tout ‘no taxes’ as one of Kuwait’s attractions, and at the same time use it as an excuse for not raising the country’s standards. With more money, we would get more education and training and better service. Think again! We pay more for the same products and services than people pay in other parts of the world with tax, and that includes my native United States. Every time I buy a cup of coffee in Kuwait, I am paying at least 50 percent more than I would pay for the same cup back home. They do not call it “tax” here, but they collect it!

Before anyone gets angry with me and says (as I’ve heard before), “Go back to the USA,” that’s not the point, is it? Because that will not change the prices in Kuwait, and it will not repair Kuwait’s inferiority complex when it comes to expecting better customer service.

Who’s in charge here? Business owners or customers?

Forced to pay higher prices, why shouldn’t customers (regardless of nationality) ask for and get world-class customer service? It does not matter that it is Kuwait, and it is time to stop using that excuse.

Every business in Kuwait is capable of providing better customer service. Some businesses do an outstanding job already, and we need more to follow their good examples. Nowadays, many local businesses monitor social media sites, especially the ever-popular Twitter, to meet the needs of consumers. Others spend large sums of money to train their employees, therefore raising the standards that are much appreciated by consumers.

But wholesale change will not occur until customers speak up and possibly even refuse to buy when service is not satisfying. Many customers refrain from saying anything for fear of being considered impolite.

Meanwhile, a silent but unhappy customer merely allows a business owner to believe that nothing needs to change because no one complains!

It is time to start complaining, politely. “Your customer service needs to improve before I will return to buy from you.” Say it with a smile. And when that happens often enough, not only are the customers in charge, but the business owners will listen!

And that’s when Kuwait will (finally) get over its inferiority complex about customer service.

Dr John P Hayes is a Marketing Professor at Gulf University for Science and Technology.

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

What colour

is your

aura?

Realign your chakras, realign your life

By Sawsan Kazak

C

ould your high blood pressure be caused by a misshaped heart chakra?

Could that belly fat you have been holding on to be due to a problem with your naval chakra? Could your constant headache be solved by unclogging your third eye? Shivani Adalja, a wellness specialist thinks that some of our physical, emotional and psychological aliments could be due to weak or distorted chakras and confused auras. Adalja runs an alignment institute in Abu Dhabi and helps people and companies around the world realign their chakras and cleanse their auras.

Adalja visits Kuwait every few months and works with the Six Senses Spa in the Missoni Hotel in Salmiya.

Technical terms For those of you novices, here are a few terms you need to know about supernatural energy concepts: Chakras are described as round force or energy centres which exist in the surface of the body of any living being. It is believed that every person has seven chakras (root, sacral, naval, heart, throat, third eye, crown), and that any blockage or distortion in the chakras will cause physical, mental and

psychological problems.

The obstruction in someone’s chakras could be caused by past or present situations and it is believed that meditation or cleansing needs to happen if the person is to move forward, unclog the chakra and eventually become more enlightened. Each chakra is represented by a colour. When a person has one chakra more dominant than the other, this will show up in their aura.

The human aura is the energy field that surrounds the physical body. It is thought that the aura is an indication of our ‘true nature’ at any given time in our lives. For instance, if we have a lot of green in our aura, it means the heart chakra is dominant.

Tailored treatment “When clients come to see me, we usually decide on one aspect we want to work on and meditate,” says Adalja who believes that there is still a misconception when it comes to meditation. “People think it is about sitting still on the floor with your legs crossed and your hands on your knees,” says the alignment specialist who insists it is more than that. “During a session, I get people to relax, help them meditate and use a mild form of hypnosis which helps shut down the conscious mind,”

explains Adalja.

Adalja performs meditation sessions, aura readings with the bio-feedback machine, and aura-cleansing sessions. “I use the bio-feedback machine to help clients understand what energy is affected, what is lacking in their lives and what kind of meditation will help them.

There are no quick fixes; if it has taken you so many years to get here, it is going to take you at least half of that to get out of it”.

“A lot of people come for emotional cleansing,” explains Adalja, adding “when people have emotional issues from the past, their bodies will store it and it will eventually pop up. When this happens, people could end up with weight issues, depression, and migraines.” With her degrees in NLP (NeuroLinguistic Programming) and hypnosis, as well as her years of experience, the alignment specialist assesses what a client needs and tailors a program to suite each client. Adalja has noticed more and more men using holistic methods and alignment procedures, saying “in my last visit to Doha I saw a record of men, 15 locals.”

Growing up gifted “When I was growing up, I could see people and see patches of colours around them,” says Adalja, a wellness specialist. Her earliest memory goes back to when she was three of four, when she remembers asking her sister what she said and realized early on that. The world of the supernatural was not new to Adalja as her father was a lawyer by day, but a psychic by night. “He never charged anyone, but I remember almost every night people, would line up at our door. My father was a brilliant astrologer; one of the best I have ever seen,” Adalja explained.

“I had a very miserable childhood. I was painfully shy and suffered from migraines because I could not handle the colours I was seeing all the time. I remember telling my father that I might need glasses, but he knew what I was talking about,” recalls Adalja. Her father told her that she had a gift and that she would only learn to use it later in life.” At such a young age, she did not take his words seriously.

At the age of 18, Adalja decided she wanted to fly and moved to Hong Kong to become a flight attendant. She quickly moved up the ranks and eventually headed the training department of the airlines. “This was a dream job for most, but I was not happy. My personal life just went downhill,” says Adalja. At 28, she began to doubt her life and wondered if this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. “I could not see myself writing nasty emails and backstabbing people; that is just not me,” says Adalja about working in the corporate world.

Adalja remembers that there was a lot of uncertainty in the country at the time. “The airline was being handed over to the Chinese government; the British were leaving Hong Kong.” This culminated in Adalja deciding to quit her job and leave the country.

Adalja finally found herself in Rishikesh, a

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Colour coded: Aura meanings Purple: Indicates spiritual thoughts. Purple is never a strong point in the aura. It appears only as temporary ‘clouds’ and ‘flames,’ indicating truly spiritual thoughts.

Blue: Balanced existence, sustaining life, eased nervous system, transmitting forces and energy. People with a blue strong point in their aura are relaxed, balanced and feel ready to live in a cave and survive. They are born survivors.

Turquoise: Indicates dynamic quality of being, highly energized personality, capable of projection and influencing other people. People with a turquoise strong point in their aura can do many things simultaneously and are good organizers.

Green: Restful, modifying energy, natural healing ability. All natural healers should have it. People with a green strong point in their auras are natural healers. The stronger the green aura, the better the healer.

Yellow: Joy, freedom, non-attachment, freeing or releasing vital forces. People who glow yellow are full of inner joy, very generous and not attached to anything. Yellow halo around the head: high spiritual development. A signature of a spiritual teacher. Do not accept spiritual teachings from anyone who does not have such a yellow halo.

village located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. This was the location she credits for allowing her to grow spiritually. Through a series of serendipitous events, Adalja ended up at an ashram and met her spiritual leader.

“Ashram is a concept were people live in a community. You do not pay anything, you help around the house and you meditate and are provided spiritual guidance,” explains Adalja. The transition from plush Hong Kong lifestyle to an ashram was a drastic one, and she recalls it was hard on her. “The first few months, I would cry every night but I don’t think I was crying about where I was, physically. I was crying about where my life was and the lack of clarity. I came out of an abusive marriage, and my father passed away during this period. I felt as though my entire world was falling apart,” says Adalja.

Letting go of resistance It only took one sentence from Adalja’s spiritual leader to put her thoughts in perspective. “He said to me ‘You need to stop questioning everything in your mind and just embrace it,’” explains Adalja, adding “this made sense to me and allowed me to make the shift in my mind.” Adalja started to realize that ‘maybe everything fell apart because it was not meant to be together.’

During her stay at the ashram, Adalja learnt how to meditate, to control her aura readings and most importantly, make peace with herself. After three years, Adalja’s spiritual leader informed her that it was time to leave and start her real life.

Hesitant at first, Adalja eventually packed up and went back to Hong Kong to start over. “I did not want to go back to the corporate world, I wanted to take what I learned during my time at the ashram, and help people,” says Adalja.

Adalja’s time in the corporate world was not a waste as she was able to combine her knowledge of spirituality and wellness with corporate framework and labels. She began a realignment institute in Thailand and Hong Kong, and offered workshops on stress management, relaxation and well-being.

“I offered holistic workshops that were framed in a way that business people could understand them”.

The Middle East phase While working on a project in Abu Dhabi, Adalja met the man who eventually became her husband. “I went back to Thailand and Hong Kong, closed down my institutes and headed to Abu Dhabi to start from scratch, for the third time,” says Adalja about her transition to the Middle East. The Middle East and Arab world presented its own set of challenges to Adalja, who found herself rebranding herself once again.

“I am presently writing a book about what I do. Everything is just flowing,” says Adalja about her present life, adding “there is no more resistance. I guess that is because I am not on the wrong path anymore.” sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

Orange: Uplifting and absorbing. Inspiring. A sign of power. Ability and/or desire to control people. When orange becomes a strong point, it usually contributes to a yellow halo, which then becomes gold, indicating not only a spiritual teacher, but a powerful spiritual teacher, someone capable of demonstrating his/her unique abilities. An orange thought is a thought about exercising power or a desire to control people.

Red: Materialistic thoughts, thoughts about the physical body. A predominant red aura indicates a materialistically oriented person.

Pink: Love (in a spiritual sense). To obtain a clean pink, you need to mix the purple (the highest frequency we perceive) with red (the lowest frequency). Pink aura indicates that the person achieved a perfect balance between spiritual awareness and the material existence.

- (www.thiaoouba.com)

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Dream extreme

Does having someone to coach you on life change everything?

By Ben Garcia

C

onvincing people that nothing is impossible and re-programming and changing people’s thoughts - these are just some of the duties and responsibilities Laurie A. Santos is religiously sharing with dozens of her clients throughout the world.

Laurie is known in various parts of the world as a dream and life coach, a speaker and a radio host. Laurie said life is a choice, but one needs to take a decision that requires an extra push or sometimes an extreme action to achieve their goals and dreams in life. Her mission is to push and dare clients. A professional and certified life coach, Laurie enthused that daring yourself each day could transform one’s life. Born and raised in the United States in the San Francisco Bay area, Laurie said every human being is a master of his or her own future and fate. “I don’t want to just re-program people’s thought; I also require them to practice what they’ve thought and acted upon. Often I tell my clients to dare themselves every day. I believe one extreme action is a step towards achieving your dreams. Before you know it, you have what you dreamed for. I used to challenge my clients, I told them to do an action that is extreme at least once a day. Action is needed for a dream to pass. Life is not just going to work to finish it; you’ve got to challenge yourself,” she told Friday Times.

Laurie founded her own company, called ‘Extreme Dream Training International’. She airs her regular radio show over blogtalkradio.com, where she challenges people to dream and achieve their dreams and goals in life. “When you challenge yourself each day, it becomes a habit and your dream becomes bigger and bigger and achievements will follow after achievements,” she beamed. “It happened to me and, in fact, I am counting my blessings every day,” she quipped.

Currently based in Kuwait, Laurie was trained as a life coach by attending and completing several coaching schools accredited by the International Life Coaching Federation.

Further, she worked as a probation and parole officer, teacher, sales trainer, promotional coach, and event manager, noting that she has worked with complex personalities in the area of development, leadership, change, and motivation for over 15 years.

Before moving to Kuwait, Laurie worked as an international media consultant, writing country reports for a press agency based in Spain. “I stayed in Angola for about sixmonths. It was my first project immediately after the civil war. The country itself was a very challenging place to live. Corruption is rampant and people are poor, despite their rich natural resources such as oil and diamonds,” she explained. Her purpose in going to Angola was to make a report about Angola.

“I tried to see their potentials, what areas foreigners can invest in. My mission was privately funded and it was an awesome experience,” she recalled. After her mission to Angola, another mission with a similar approach came, this time to Kuwait. “I completed a project for the Daily Telegraph in Kuwait. My report about this country was published in

June 2010. The focus was the 50th year of independence and the related billion-dollar development projects implemented by the government. At that time, I found the private sector’s attitude to be extremely negative, yet hopeful, especially when reading about their five-year development plan. They believed significant changes could happen in the private sector. So, from September to December 2009, the attitude in the private sector was extremely negative, but when I came back in January 2010, the attitude changed. More

locals to expatriates. It is also very exciting to note that I see tremendous potentials in my career, such as leadership development and life coach training. People here are very excited about learning new things, methodologies and modes, and that excites me a lot,” she noted.

Laurie is also in love with the safety and security here. “Compared to the places I visited, I feel very safe in Kuwait. I never had a single experience that discourages me from staying,” she said. Another reason why she chose

Laurie Santos

positive readings of private development plans came out. The negativity was overshadowed by their sense of nationalistic pride. It was an extremely significant and interesting period and I was greatly in love with this country,” she asserted. The six-month missions turned into one year, then another year, until the present. But during the six-month period, Laurie interviewed various government and cabinet ministers, including MPs. “I didn’t even know anything about Kuwait until I came. I only heard about Kuwait when I was a teenager, when the invasion happened. I heard about Kuwait on TV. I remember I witnessed some protests back in the US against the invasion of Iraq through Kuwait. Now, I am here for three years and still counting,” she said. Seeing Kuwait with its extremely abundant blessings, Laurie has decided to stay. “I see Kuwait’s potential, especially its abundant talents, across the board, from

to stay was the position of Kuwait on the planet. Kuwait is closer to almost everywhere.

Life coach?

Laurie’s clients are groups of people from various segments, mostly professionals and high profile clientele. She also attends to clients in different parts of the world. When needed, she usually visits them in their own country or sometimes invites them to visit Kuwait, instead.

Laurie completed a three-year program in life coaching back in the United States. She follows methodologies which she calls a coactive model. This model involves closely working with the client. “But I am not telling you what to do nor directing you what to do.

My mission is to help my clients decide, and make a way for you to believe that it’s possible; anything is possible. That is my mission to work with a client in a very professional way.

After studying your needs, I design my own plan for my clients. I create my own concepts and deliver them. I stick to that plan, but I hold you accountable for that plan. The training and delivery are dynamic and very organized,” she noted.

To bring her clients to a proper sense and self-realization, Laurie usually starts her session with a hypnosis style of conditioning. “In that session I usually take my clients to his or her past, then dwell on their recent self, before taking them to their future 10 years from now. I will take you to that exercise 10 years into the future... who are you? What kind of accomplishments you’ve achieved.

How did you get there? What steps have you taken to get there? What brought you there? I will accept that and we are going to discuss it.

That exercise will be used so that I can help you and coach you in life properly. I am going to continue using that information stored in your system and when fears come and when you are scared, I will draw you to your 10 years in the future. Still, the idea is to merge that future self to the present day self because both are the same and important. I am telling you, it works wonders and miracles in one’s life,” she explained.

Power of words Another exercise she initiates with her clients is preparing a journal of themselves. “I tell them to behave in their future self, so behaving in their future self is talking to yourself, sending email as if they are there in that future. That exercise was patterned on the fact that we, as humans, we believe in the power of words. Remember when we were kids, we were trained by our parents not to put our fingers inside the electric socket; your mother would shout at you to stop sticking your fingers into it, she would say and repeat it over and over again until you finally got the message that it was, indeed, dangerous. You haven’t tried it, but because you believed in your parents with their words, those words became an action to you as a baby and you stopped doing it. The same thing with us adults, we need the words. I am giving you the words, you start changing your thoughts and attitudes and you turn those words into action, to actually turn the words into reality,” she further explained. The sessions usually are scheduled three times a month, in 45-minute sessions. Issues coming up are about life, family, business and relationships. “Many want to be helped when it comes to family issues, relationships, jobs and business. A lot of my clients do not want to start business, they are scared to venture out into business for fear of bankruptcy; they need someone to celebrate their ideas with them, their creativity, and turn them into action to actually become a reality.” Laurie admitted that being a life coach in Kuwait is a very challenging task, considering the different culture and language. “Compared to countries in the west, the Middle East is considered an untapped market. There are many fantastic life coaches/trainers in Kuwait and they are wonderful coaches, equally trained; but then again, not as popular as in other countries in the world,” she noted.

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Instagram

taking Kuwait app scene by storm

By Lisa Conrad nstagram, the photo sharing and editing application for iPhone and Android, has taken the interest of smartphone users across the world, Kuwait included.

It allows users to share photos with their followers, gathering ‘likes’ and comments as they go. Sounds familiar?

The concept shares some similarities with Facebook, but without the additional extras. It has the convenience of Twitter minus the need to think of something witty to write.

Local social media and communications expert, Hind Al-Nahedh, said of the trend, “It’s taking over Facebook and Twitter; I’d say it is the best app of the year in Kuwait. Plus, the fact that it is linked with Twitter means that it got part of their market in Kuwait also.” Prominent Kuwaiti blogger, Danderma, agreed, “Instagram is gaining popularity with each passing day! It’s the new Twitter. Everybody seems to be using it; teenagers, grandparents, 30-somethings, everyone!” The growing popularity of apps like Instagram in Kuwait only goes to show how much of a role mobile apps play in the region, said Hind. “The popularity of Instagram confirms the attachment of users here to their mobile apps. The use of mobile phones is four times the use of laptops and desktops in the region, and it is continuing to increase.”

The majority of the pictures in Kuwait based on Instagram accounts, Danderma said, are of food, “The accounts here go like this: Food, food, nail polish on manicured nails, clouds, food, food, football, kids, food, nails, food. Food is what makes people happy the most; it’s what we have available for us to use and consume with the blessing of society and without criticism” She added, “Food and fashion dominate, but food is the clear leader. Throw a Nutella picture in the mix and you might even make it to the ‘popular page.’” Hind agreed, adding “Pictures of different dishes of food, landscapes of Gulf Road, funny kids, fashion items and pets are all popular in accounts here. Food is popular because people love to share good looking food here.”

Whether it is pictures of pasta or pets, the community is continuing to grow as users across the country continue to share. The trend, Danderma added, is having a positive impact so far: “People are getting braver and starting to share their lives with others. It is bringing friends and family closer. I personally know more about the lives of people who I had not been in touch for years because of Instagram.”

Kuwait is a relatively conservative society, yet people of all ages and both genders are happy to openly share shots of their everyday lives. According to Danderma, it is the conservatism of Kuwait that is further fuelling the popularity of Instagram use in the country: “People are going gaga over Instagram because of the conservative nature of Kuwaiti society: it gives them a direct insight into other people’s lives, whereas before it was all left to imagination.” The changes taking place in society also play a key part, said Hind, “I believe that the youth culture is more expressive than previous generations, which may be why there is a degree of acceptance and the freedom to express your diaries in pictures. This youth culture is kind of ‘conservative-liberal,’ my new term.”

Despite these changes, however, users are often hesitant to post pictures of themselves, “It is not common for a user to post a picture of their face. Usually, they post pictures of a partial body part: an eye, an eyelash, a manicured nail etc. Very few post full portraits if their accounts are not private.” Hind reported seeing more people post photos of themselves. She added, however, “Some people prefer to stay anonymous and blur their features or crop the picture. Another example of cool conservatism.” While ‘cool-conservatives’ have been embracing the app, others are more cautious, “Many

I

people still think personal exposure on the internet is risky business. Plus there are plenty of lurkers, who are people with private accounts and no pictures who keep following others just to keep up with their lives,” said Danderma. She added, “Apart from that, there are a just a few annoying Instagram habits, such as people asking ‘Min wain?’ (From where?).

A worse problem is when users have strong, often vicious, opinions regarding a certain picture and leave a nasty comment, which causes a lot of fights and a lot of drama.”

The app can certainly be very personal, but also has

considerable potential use for businesses, “It can certainly help businesses as you can engage customers with your latest products, plan competitions, and so on. It all depends on your target segment, but it has great potential,” said Hind. Danderma added, “You cannot deny that Instagram is taking Kuwait, and the world, by storm.

Some pictures have as much as 20,000 likes. What business would not benefit from such a tool? Many businesses here have simply posted a photo and have gotten a flood of people asking for details. Some even become overwhelmed as they are suddenly swamped with orders.”

Local FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

KUWAIT: MPs Khaled Al-Tahous (left) and Mussallam Al-Barrak are seen grilling Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali yesterday.

KUWAIT: Audience watch the debate in progress at the National Assembly yesterday.

Minister quits after 11-hour session Grilling debated by MPs Al-Anjari, Al-Tahous, Al-Barrak

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali announced his resignation in the National Assembly yesterday after a marathon grilling and after 10 opposition lawmakers filed a noconfidence motion against him.

The move came following a marathon 11-hour grilling in which the minister was accused of financial and administrative violations besides facilitating the squandering of billions of dinars of public funds.

The motion was filed after the minister and the opposition exchanged harsh words like liars and thieves. There will be no voting on the motion because the minister has resigned.

Al-Shamali is the first minister to quit just over three months after the formation of the cabinet which came after the February 2 elections in which the opposition scored a resounding victory.

Observers expect that AlShamali’s resignation will open the way for a limited cabinet reshuffle that may also include Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Ahmad Al-Rujaib.

The grilling debate finally started following two days of serious conflict between the government and the opposition which controls a majority in the National Assembly after opposition MP Obaid Al-Wasmi withdrew one of the two grillings originally submitted.

The grilling was debated by MPs Abdulrahman Al-Anjari, Khaled Al-Tahous and Mussallam Al-Barrak who hurled many accusations against the minister and officials of companies and institutions under his authority.

Al-Anjari charged that the Public Institution for Social Security had lost around $1.2 billion in option trading in the United States through one broker-

age company which eventually collapsed and its manager was jailed for 16 years for being massively involved in highly risky speculative trading.

He said that the minister, who chairs the institution, took no action against the director general of the institution who squandered the pensioners’ money.

Only three days ago, Al-Shamali suspended Director General Fahad Al-Rajaan until an investigation was completed.

Al-Anjari also claimed that the institution cooperated with a local firm to set up a joint company called Petrolink which is suspected of breaking the international sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

He said the institution paid KD 12.5 million in the company’s capital which supplied Iran banned materials for its nuclear and missile programmes and also helped the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah purchase arms.

He provided no details, but added that the issue was raised by two US senators who sent letters to the US Defence Secretary a few months ago. Al-Anjari warned that such activity could lead to imposing international sanctions on Kuwait. He said that the Kuwaiti public prosecution has asked the state security to investigate the allegations.

Al-Anjari also blamed AlShamali for the losses of the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Social Security Institution by investing in Global Investment Company which has lost most of its capital following the global financial crisis.

He said that the institution has not only taken part in the capital of the company but KIA and the institution each invested KD 500 million in Global. The Social Security Institution also bought almost half of KD 50 million bonds issued by the company after the

global financial crisis. Now most of the money has been lost.

Tahous also raised a number of issues in which he accused AlShamali of being responsible. He first highlighted the difference in the price of imported sheep between a private company and a state-owned company, showing that the private company was selling at half the price of the other one which is receiving heavy subsidies from the government.

Authorities are still investigating the case.

Tahous charged that the minister has been favouring the interests of banks and financing companies at the cost of Kuwaiti citizens who had taken more than a half a million dinars worth loans from them. He said that the minister always sided with the banks and not the debtors.

Barrak also detailed a large number of violations in state

KUWAIT: Member of Parliament Nabeel Al-Fadhel is seen holding a cigar during yesterday’s parliament session.

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

He said that Al-Shamali, who is responsible for the government company, took no measure.

Tahous also accused the minister of failure to check liquor smuggling into the country which passed through the customs department which comes under Al-Shamali’s authority.

The lawmaker said that in early September, police seized a container full of alcohol destined for Benin’s Embassy after it got through customs. He said that the embassy tried to dissociate itself from the scandal by saying that they had only ordered furniture from Italy and not liquor.

properties, projects, the Touristic Enterprises Co. and other investment companies. He claimed that Al-Shamali violated the law in awarding the Al-Zour North power and water desalination project by not conducting an open auction between the companies and also by excluding the local companies. He demanded that the awarding process for the project, with costs more than KD 700 million, should be scrapped and a new auction held.

He said that the ministry of finance has been leasing two huge plots to two private companies at just 145 fils per square

meter annually for years, whereas the real rent should be at around KD 45 a meter based on the ministry estimates. By doing so, the minister has squandered close to KD 32 million a year which is a huge amount considering the long duration of the contracts. In addition, the ministry is leasing 12 restaurants on the waterfront at a nominal value and in 20 years, the losses for public funds will be KD 1 billion.

The lawmaker charged that Kuwait has squandered around KD 5 billion in the offset programme under which foreign companies signing contracts with Kuwait must reinvest 35 percent of the value of the deals in Kuwait.

He said that the officials of the programme, falling under the finance minister, have deliberately squandered the money.

The minister however categorically denied the allegations, claiming that the whole grilling is part of the political score settling and is politically motivated by the MPs. He said he applied the law in the Al-Zour power plant and carried out the open auction which was also published in the Official Gazette.

He defended the positions of Kuwait Investment Company and Kuwait Investment Authority saying they have been working in service of Kuwait. Al-Shamali warned that Kuwait is at a high risk if the lawmakers continue to press the government to increase salaries and benefits without any limit.

He said that at present, the price of Kuwaiti oil is $104 a barrel and based on studies, the oil price needed to break even with budget spending at $111 a barrel.

Some studies have warned it could go up to $200. Al-Shamali, who was appointed as finance minister in October 2007, appealed to lawmakers to cooperate to serve Kuwait.

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Salvadoran ex-gang members seek redemption in work

Last-ditch salvage effort at tough Iran talks

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Person implicated in Etan Patz death: NYPD

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DAMASCUS: A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad reading an invitation to a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement during a meeting with Reza Taqipour, Iranian minister of communications and information technology in Damascus yesterday. Assad said his government is capable of finding a way out of the crisis gripping his country, as a UN panel said that government forces are to blame for most rights abuses in the latest violence sweeping Syria.— AFP

UN report says both sides in Syria abuse rights Assad says Syria will recover from the unrest GENEVA/BEIRUT: A United Nations investigation said Syrian government forces and rebels trying to topple President Bashar alAssad had both committed serious human rights abuses despite an attempted ceasefire in the conflict and opposition activists reported fighting in several regions yesterday. The investigators’ report said government forces had killed entire families, and their insurgent foes had kidnapped for ransom and tortured prisoners. Separately, a Syrian Islamist said he was trying to broker the release of Lebanese Shiites kidnapped by Sunni insurgents fighting Assad’s forces, the latest strand of Syria’s conflict to entangle its smaller neighbor.

In Damascus, Assad told a visiting Iranian minister that Syria would recover from the unrest. “Syria was able to overcome pressure and threats which it was exposed to for years, and with the steadfastness of its people and their adherence to unity and independence it will be able to come through the present crisis,” he told Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour Violence has raged

despite a UN-brokered agreement on April 12 aimed at halting the bloodshed in Syria, where Assad is confronting a 14-month uprising which began with peaceful protests but has become increasingly militarized.

The report by UN investigators - who were not allowed into Syria and relied on interviews of victims and witnesses - said government forces routinely drew up lists of wanted people and their families before blockading then attacking a village or neighborhood.

“Entire families were executed in their homes - usually the family members of those opposing the government such as the family members of Colonel Riad al-Asaad,” it said, referring to relatives of the head of the rebel Free Syrian Army. The rebels, who are increasingly armed and well-organized, have executed or tortured captured soldiers and government supporters, it said. They have also abducted civilians in an apparent bid to secure prison exchanges or ransoms.

The report, which documented 207 deaths since March, said children were frequent

casualties of attacks on protests and the bombardment of towns and villages by state forces. Investigators also had multiple reports of insurgents executing suspected collaborators and captured government troops. The report was released as an opposition group, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian forces executed four people taken from their homes and killed four others during clashes in northern Idlib province. There was no independent confirmation of the account from Syria, which has limited journalist access in the uprising.

The United Nations, Syria’s close ally Russia and Saudi Arabia, which has called for Assad’s departure, have all expressed concern the Syrian conflict will draw in Lebanon and tip its delicate sect-based politics into civil war. The latest hint of spillover came with the abduction this week of 13 Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims in northern Syria. A Syrian Islamist cleric told Reuters he was negotiating their release. “They are well and safe, we

are trying to secure their release, but the Syrian army shelling of the area has been blocking it so far,” Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zoaby, head of the Free People of Syria group, told Reuters. Zoaby said the kidnappers want to hand the men to the Lebanese authorities.

The head of Hezbollah, the Shi’ite Muslim guerrilla and political movement that is Syria’s most powerful Lebanese ally, has appealed for calm over the kidnappings, which provoked protests in largely Shi’ite districts of Beirut, which has seen its worst unrest since 2008 this week. Sunni Muslim factions opposed and loyal to Assad fought street battles with machineguns and rocketpropelled grenades that left at least two people dead, after the killing of an anti-Assad cleric in northern Lebanon by Lebanese troops ignited violent protests that spread to Beirut. North Lebanon, a stronghold of conservative Sunnis who back the revolt against Assad, saw his Lebanese Islamist foes clash with Lebanese troops earlier this month after the arrest of an anti-Assad Islamist.—Reuters

International FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

In Egypt’s Nile Delta, voters seek jobs, security

BAGHDAD: Michael Aron, British Ambassador to Iraq, speaks to the media outside the negotiation room where the US and five other world powers met with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday. — AP

Last-ditch salvage effort at tough Iran talks BAGHDAD: Iran and six world powers sought desperately yesterday to salvage something tangible from two days of talks that have revealed huge differences over how to resolve the crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program. With signs that Iran has found little common ground with the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany-diplomats said they were striving at least to agree a venue and date to meet again. The talks have already been extended by a day and yesterday a planned news conference by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was abruptly called off, in order, officials said, to have more talks from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).

The meeting in Baghdad saw the P5+1 offer a new package of proposals that included Iran suspending enrichment of uranium to 20-percent purities, for the P5+1 the most worrying part of Tehran’s activity and the crunch issue. The capability to enrich to 20 percent takes Iran significantly closer to being able to produce weapons-grade 90 percent, if it took the decision to build a nuclear bomb, by shortening the so-called “breakout” time. But the P5+1 offer, made on the group’s behalf by Ashton, alarmed Tehran since in return it does not offer the relief from crippling sanctions it is seeking. An Iranian official had said Wednesday that the offer even put into doubt whether there was enough common ground to hold more in-depth talks getting to the nitty-gritty of the issues, which was the main objective for the P5+1. Iranian media said the chances of talks going into another round were “very low,” with several outlets saying Iran had essentially been handed Israeli demands. However, one diplomat said that new talks had been agreed but that it was “not yet” possible to say where and when it would be.

An Iranian official, however, denied that an agreement on new talks had been struck. The P5+1 reportedly proposed a pledge not to impose any new sanctions, as well as easing Iranian access to aircraft parts and a possible suspension of an EU insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian oil. The proposals also reportedly included a revival of previous attempts to get Iran to ship abroad its stockpiles of enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor producing medical isotopes.

But Iran announced on Tuesday that it was loading domestically produced, 20-percent enriched uranium fuel into the reactor, and the Iranian official in Baghdad was dismissive of reviving the idea of a swap. “There have been some areas of common ground and there has been a fair amount of disagreement,” said a senior US official late Wednesday, portraying this as a sign that the negotiations at least were as serious as hoped. “We have engaged in a lot of back and forth. Some of that has been difficult, but any negotiation that is worth its salt is difficult because you are getting down to the issues that matter. —AFP

NAMUL: In a white turban and grey gallabiya, Hommus Ibrahim, 71, is voting in a free presidential poll for the first time in his Egyptian village, where people say they want jobs, security and education.

“I hope that there will be major changes, that the new president will take concrete measures so that people can have access to clean water, education, a good health care system,” the old man said before climbing the stairs leading to the voting station in a school here. The Nile Delta school, where walls are faded and floors and toilets dirty to the point of being unhygienic, is a testament to a grave lack of investment in education in Egypt, where nearly 40 percent of the population is illiterate.

To ensure that every citizen can vote without someone’s help, the long list of presidential candidates, printed in colour, features not only the names of the hopefuls, but also photos of each as well as their “symbol.” Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi is represented by the scales, while former Egyptian foreign minister Amr Mussa’s symbol is the sun. Voters are required only to place a tick or cross in the box by their chosen candidate, before depositing their ballot and plunging a finger into indelible ink, to ensure no one can vote more than once.

Samira Said Mohammed, her face wrapped in a black scarf, said she had voted for Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

She expressed hope that Shafiq could “solve the numerous problems” of Egypt. “Many people are unemployed and the youth who graduate from university or school can’t find work,” she said angrily, standing next to a 20-yearold woman who said she had been unemployed since graduating two years earlier. Unemployment, which stood at nine percent under Mubarak, according to official figures, has been around 12 percent since the January-February 2011 uprising, with nearly a quarter of young people out of work. Samira’s husband earns around 20 pounds a day (2.60 euros) when he can find farmwork, while she can earn 150 pounds a week doing housework.

Daily life is hard, with five mouths to feed, but she says her situation is far from the worst she knows of. A few steps way, Sherdah Farag is eager to show off his tiny shop set up on the street, where he repairs tyres. “I hope a new era will come. Mubarak took all the country’s money,” he said. “Some days I earn nothing, sometimes I earn 10 pounds, sometimes 20. I’m waiting for a new president who can give everyone

work,” he said, stressing that he struggles to feed his five children. Suddenly, shouts erupt, cutting through the previous calm of the voting process, where discussions had been taking place in lowered voices.

Liberal MP Amr Hamzawi, who was there as an observer, has torn down a campaign poster outside the polling station, citing the “campaign silence” that began 48 hours before the polls opened and continues while votes are being cast. In response, another man insists that posters for other candidates also be torn down, and tempers quickly flare before bystanders manage to bring the situation under control. In the streets of the village, where at least half the residents are farmers or labourers, motorcycles cross paths with residents on donkeys. Children can be seen walking in the rubbish-strewn streets without shoes on.

Sitting in front of his fabric shop, Reda Rashad, his forehead marked with a “zebiba”-a dark mark from repeated prayer prostrations-called for the return of security. He says he can no longer leave his house after dark for fear of theft or the violence that has multiplied since the uprising, and said he hopes that “the new president will change everything.” “I haven’t seen anything change so far.” —AFP

CAIRO: Egyptian women line up outside a polling station yesterday. —AP

Death penalty requested in Tunisian dictator trial TUNIS: The prosecution of a military tribunal demanded the death penalty for Tunisia’s former dictator over his role in the deaths of protesters during the popular uprising that overthrew him a year ago. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is being tried in absentia by both military and civilian courts in Tunisia for alleged crimes committed during his 23-year iron-fisted rule of the North African country. The state news agency reported late Wednesday that Ben Ali is now

on trial for the deaths of protesters in the four southern towns of Thala, Kasserine, Kairouan and Tajerouine, during the early weeks of the month-long uprising that began in December 2010.

Tunisia’s uprising sparked a wave of pro-democracy movements across the Middle East and North Africa that overthrew several governments and became known as the Arab Spring. It is the first time the death penalty has been requested against Ben Ali, who fled to

Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011. Ben Ali has already been convicted of drug trafficking, illegal arms trading and abuse of the public funds and sentenced to 66 years in prison by a civilian court. A second military trial is also underway over the deaths of protesters in the north of the country. At least 338 people died in the uprising and another 2,147 were wounded. Tunisia has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia for Ben Ali to be extradited to face the charges in person. — AP

International FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

S Sudan troops kill, torture minority tribe: Group JUBA: South Sudan military forces tasked with carrying out a disarmament campaign among feuding ethnic groups are raping, torturing and killing members of a minority community, community leaders and aid workers say. The disarmament campaign follows two outbreaks of violence linked to cattle raids between the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes over the last year in the remote state of Jonglei. Hundreds - and likely more than 1,000 - people were killed in the two clashes.

In an effort to stem future violence, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, South Sudan’s military, embarked on a disarmament campaign in March in which more than 10,000 weapons have been taken so far, said military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer. But aid groups and community members say the SPLA is killing and torturing members of the Murle, a tribe reviled by many other South Sudanese, while carrying out the disarmament campaign.

Alleged abuses include simulated drownings, tying up young men to trees and

beating them, and widespread rape against women.

The Murle appear to be ostracized by most other tribes in South Sudan in part because they received military support from leaders in Khartoum, Sudan, when the south and north battled in a twodecade civil war. The Murle also have a reputation for carrying out child abductions from other tribes and of conducting cattle raids that can results in hundreds of human deaths and tens of thousands of stolen cattle. Allegations of abuse during the disarmament campaign are being investigated by military lawyers, Aguer said.

A state government report dated March 30 and obtained by The Associated Press listed some of the deaths: James Kengen Logidang was killed at home while sitting in a chair. Korok Manyngar Kengen, 15, was killed as his cattle were being stolen

by SPLA soldiers. “The boy didn’t have a gun,” the report said. The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors

Prominent Kurdish lawmaker sentenced to 10 years in jail DIYARBAKIR: A Turkish court sentenced a prominent Kurdish woman lawmaker to 10 years in prison in absentia yesterday for membership of an outlawed separatist group and spreading its propaganda. Leyla Zana was convicted by a judge in southeastern Diyarbakir of having violated the penal code and the anti-terror law in nine different speeches. The 51-year-old was accused of having supported and spread propaganda in favour of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and praised its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Although Zana now enjoys immunity from prosecution as a member of the Turkish parliament, the case stems from before she was elected. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison for membership of the PKK when the case was originally heard in 2008. But the country’s supreme court of appeals overturned the ruling, and ordered a retrial. It is expected that Zana’s lawyer Fethi Gumus, who attended yesterday’s hearing, will appeal the verdict. Zana, who won a seat after standing as an independent in the 2011 election, was the first Kurdish woman to win a seat in the Turkish parliament in 1991.

One of the most outspoken Kurdish rights advocates, she was imprisoned between 1994 and 2004 for alleged links with the PKK. Zana has received several human rights awards, including the European Parliament’s Sakharov human rights award in 1995. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and by much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives. — AFP

Without Borders, said it has treated 30 patients since mid-March who suffered injuries from the disarmament campaign.

Two have since died. Three patients had gunshot wounds and 26 had trauma injuries from beatings, the group said.

Aid groups contend that such numbers are underreported because most of the attacks take place in remote areas. The disarmament campaign began as a voluntary handing over of guns, and then was to move into a compulsory phase, though military leaders have since said the voluntary phase would continue. Aid groups question whether the process is truly voluntary. Peter Guzulu, a member of the Murle community, said at least 10 people have been killed “for no apparent reason.”

An 11th death took place against a male running from soldiers with a rifle in hand, he said. Guzulu was the chairman of the government-run Jonglei Human Rights Commission from September 2010 until mid-March, when he said he was dismissed by the governor but wasn’t told why.

Guzulu believes he was removed “so I didn’t talk to journalists or write reports.”

“People are being beat in the towns and villages. They are told to confess to having guns. Women are beaten. Some are raped. When is this torture going to end? That is the question people ask all the time,” he said. Aguer said all communities in Jonglei are being disarmed. He said the Murle have the most weapons and that some members are heading into Ethiopia to keep their AK-47 assault rifles. A report published last month by five aid groups, including Washington D.C.-based Pact and the South Sudan Law Society, said the current disarmament campaign - the fifth in Jonglei in the last six years - risks perpetuating a cycle of violence that has seen thousands killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years. If the Murle believe they are being forcibly targeted in the campaign, the report said, they will re-arm and seek revenge. The report urges the UN to prioritize the protection of civilians.—AP

Breivik says won’t appeal guilty verdict if found sane OSLO: Anders Behring Breivik, on trial for killing 77 people in Norway last July, told an Oslo court yesterday that he would not appeal a certain guilty verdict if the judges deem him to be sane.

“There is absolutely no reason to appeal if I am declared criminally accountable,” said the 33-year-old rightwing extremist who wants to be found sane-even if it means facing a long prison sentence-so that his Islamophobic ideology will not be considered the ravings of a lunatic.

Breivik has confessed to the twin attacks but has refused to plead guilty, insisting they were “cruel but necessary” to stop the ruling Labour Party’s “multicultural experiment” and the “Muslim invasion” of Norway and Europe. The question of Breivik’s sanity is a focal point of the trial. A first psychiatric evaluation conducted last year by two court-appointed psychiatrists found Breivik to be psychotic, suffering from “paranoid schizophrenia” and therefore not responsible for his actions. That diagnosis would likely lead to Breivik being sentenced to a closed mental ward.

But a second opinion, which the court ordered after the first one sparked a controversy, concluded that Breivik was sane enough to be held responsible for the attacks. If found of sound

OSLO: Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik (left) stands yesterday in the courtroom in Oslo. — AFP mind, he would likely face Norway’s maximum 21-year prison sentence, which can be extended for as long as he is considered a threat to society. On July 22, 2011, Breivik gunned down 69 people on the island of Utoeya, most of them teenagers who were attending a Labour Party youth camp, while another eight died when he bombed a government building in Oslo earlier the same day. Ultimately it will be up to the

five judges to decide whether he is sane when they hand down their verdict in July. The judges will base their decision on the psychiatric evaluations and testimony expected in mid-June from the authors of those reports, as well as other psychiatric experts. “The question of an appeal lies therefore in the hands of the judges,” Breivik said yesterday, appearing to put pressure on the court to find him sane. — AFP

Syria rebels say working to locate nabbed Lebanese BEIRUT: The rebel Free Syrian Army said yesterday it is making “every effort” to locate and release a group of Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo. “The leadership is making every effort to find out where the abductees are, and to make sure they are freed,” FSA official spokesman Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said in a statement.

Saadeddine reiterated that the FSA had no involvement in this week’s kidnappings, condemning “all kidnapping operations, regardless of their nationality or religious belief or sect.” At the same time, he complained over the treatment of Syrian refugees and

anti-regime figures in Lebanon.

“Revolutionary Syrians in Lebanon have faced persecution, kidnap and murder,” he charged. “We will no longer be silent on any action carried out by any Lebanese parties affecting Syrians in Lebanon.” The FSA spokesman urged “the Lebanese state to take full responsibility in hosting and protecting Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” where the government is dominated by a coalition that supports Syria’s regime.

Lebanon’s state news agency on Tuesday reported that the FSA had abducted a group of Shiites in Aleppo on a bus returning via Iraq and Syria from a

pilgrimage to holy sites in Iran.

Syria’s main opposition coalition has called for the prompt release of the group, blaming Assad’s regime for a “security vacuum” in the unrest-swept country.

The Syrian National Council “does not think it is impossible that the regime is involved in this operation,” in order to sow “disorder” in neighboring Lebanon, the group said. News of the kidnappings prompted their families and thousands of supporters to pour out onto the streets of Beirut’s mainly Shiite southern suburbs on Tuesday night to demand their release. —AFP

International FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Japan court to consider retrial over 1961 killings TOKYO: A court will today rule on the case of a farmer who has spent 40 years on death row for the murder of his wife, his mistress and three other women who died after drinking poisoned wine in rural Japan. The Nagoya high court is set to declare whether 86-year-old Masaru Okunishi should face a retrial over the killings half a century ago, a court spokesman said yesterday. Okunishi, who has spent much of the last four decades in solitary confinement, has consistently protested his innocence after retract-

ing what he says was a coerced confession ahead of his original trial.

Five women died and 12 others fell ill after drinking wine laced with agrichemicals at a community gettogether in the small town of Nabari, central Japan in 1961. Okunishi initially told police that he put the lethal chemicals into white wine in an attempt to kill both his wife and his mistress and erase their complicated love triangle. But he later withdrew his confession and was acquitted. A higher court overturned that acquittal

and sentenced him to death, a sentence confirmed in 1972 by the Supreme Court. Since then, he has become one of Japan’s longest serving death row inmates, despite repeated attempts by his lawyers to get a retrial on the basis that the women all died from consuming different chemicals. “I have a big hope and expectation of a (positive) decision,” Okunishi said in a message sent to local media through his supporters.

Under Japanese law death row inmates can be retried if judges rule

new evidence can legitimately reverse the verdicts. Apart from the United States, Japan is the only major industrialised democracy to carry out capital punishment, a practice that has led to repeated protests from European governments and human rights groups. International advocacy groups say the system is cruel because death row inmates can wait for their executions for many years in solitary confinement and are only told of their impending death a few hours ahead of time. — AFP

Serbian president-elect Nikolic to make first trip to Moscow BELGRADE: Serbian president-elect Tomislav Nikolic will make his first trip abroad to Moscow but dispelled suggestions of favoring Russia by vowing yesterday to visit Brussels as soon as he is sworn in. Nikolic is flying to the Russian capital to meet President Vladimir Putin Saturday and speak at the congress of the ruling United Russia party’s congress, media reported yesterday. The trip could fuel the fears of observers who worry that Nikolic’s election will slow Serbia’s approach to the European Union as it reaches out to its traditional ally, regardless of his election promises.

While the nationalist vowed on winning the May 20 vote that Serbia will stay “on the EU path”, many remember him saying in 2007 that he would prefer to see “Serbia as a Russian province rather than an EU member.” Nikolic was quick to balance his attentions to Moscow and the EU, telling Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak that his first official visit after taking office would be to Brussels, sometime in the coming weeks. Lajcak was the first senior official from an EU country to meet Nikolic and came as an informal envoy of the bloc’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

“I told Mr Nikolic that he is now in a position to create first impressions and send signals about how he is going to lead policy,” the Slovak minister told journalists yesterday. “He confirmed to me that his first official visit after the inauguration would be Brussels and that European integration remained a priority for him,” he added. Serbia’s new president, who surprisingly defeated incumbent Boris Tadic in the May 20 run-off, has always been staunchly pro-Russian. But he has transformed himself from an anti-Western, anti-European ultra-nationalist into a pro-EU populist in the last four years. During the campaign he stressed the importance of EU membership for Serbia while at the same time keeping close ties with Moscow.

Serbian media said Nikolic’s visit to Moscow was planned before, but the meeting with Putin was added after, his election victory. “The first trip abroad of a newly-elected president has a symbolic meaning and in that sense this trip to Moscow certainly has a symbolic meaning,” political analyst and former Serbian ambassador to Germany Ognjen Pribicevic said. “It could be seen as an attempt to balance Serbia’s two foreign policy goals-relations with Russia and the EU,” Pribicevic told AFP. Serbia in March obtained EU candidate status but has yet to meet conditions to secure a date for opening talks. Brussels has made it clear it wants to see more progress in relations with breakaway Kosovo. Nikolic, like his proEuropean predecessor Tadic, maintained that Kosovoconsidered the cradle of Serb civilization and still the seat of the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church-could be a make-or-break issue. — AFP

EL SALVADOR: Criminologist Israel Ticas checks the teeth of an unidentified woman found in a clandestine cemetery in the town of Colon, 20 km west of San Salvador, El Salvador, on May 23, 2012. Police investigators found the remains of at least five people buried in the area, killed in alleged gang activity related crimes. — AFP

Salvadoran ex-gang members seek redemption in work SAN SALVADOR: Years ago, Carlos Argueta broke away from Mara Salvatrucha, one of El Salvador’s most violent gangs, and now leads a normal life working in a clothing factory where he was given a second chance. Since 2010, the 33-year-old has been employed at the League plant, located in an industrial park some 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of San Salvador, that makes shirts for US universities and has a 190-strong workforce. With muscular arms covered with multi-colored tattoos that attest to his past gang membership, he deftly maneuvered a forklift between shelves stacked high with rolls of cloth.

Argueta takes pride in having left behind his past of violence and hatred.

“I am not ashamed to admit that I made serious mistakes, that I pushed my life to the limit. Everything was violence and hatred, but it’s over now,” he told AFP. “Today, I work, I have a son, a wife and I am reborn. God pulled me out of the grave.” Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, was initially formed in the 1980s in Los Angeles by young immigrants from poverty-stricken El Salvador, still reeling from years of civil war, where gang violence and drug-trafficking flourished. The gang later spread across the United States, making headlines by carrying out murders, assaults, rapes, robberies, and running prostitution rings.

Many of its members were deported

back to their homeland.

Salvadoran authorities believe domestic street gangs count more than 30,000 members, and they blame the gangs for 90 percent of the country’s homicides, with most of the dead being gang members. Indeed, El Salvador, home to six million people, has a level of violence only second in the region to Honduras-the world’s deadliest countrywith a homicide rate of 65 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Central America is a key transportation hub for illegal drugs, especially cocaine from South America, heading through Mexico to be smuggled into the United States. Mexican cartels like the violent Zetas have entered in the region and formed alliances with the local gangs. Argueta is among two dozen former MS-13 members now working at the League factory for a monthly pay of around $240. Plant manager Rodrigo Bolanos firmly believes gang members can be rehabilitated and he said he prefers to employ the excriminals “that nobody wants.”

“They are people who once rehabilitated turn into dedicated and efficient employees,” he told AFP. “Many in the country find it difficult to believe in us and it hurts. But we have to put up with it,” said Sergio Rivera, another ex-gang member who expertly sows pieces of cloth in the factory. Some 50 kilometers

(30 miles) away, a dozen rehabilitated ex-members of the Mara 18 street gang package food at the Exportadora Rio Grande company for export to the United States and Canada. Working among boxes loaded with tamales (a corn-based, starchy dough), corn tortillas, frozen fruits and vegetables, 31year-old Mauricio Castro says life does offer a second chance. “Nothing is easy, but one can change. I got tired of walking the streets, hurting people, stealing.

I stopped and I won’t go back,” he told AFP. And he vows that he is now following “God’s way” since he joined an evangelical church where he met the woman he plans to marry soon. Ricardo Martinez, manager of Exportadora Rio Grande, told AFP that his company decided to set up a non-profit organization called “We work for peace” to promote rehabilitation of gang members in various parts of San Salvador. “We in the business community have to play our part. We can’t just see that there is a problem and not try to do something to resolve it.

The gangs spread precisely because of this attitude, because of the lack of social attention,” he noted. In the town of Apopa, “We work for Peace” has set up projects such as a car wash and a silk screen printing shop to help provide employment to ex-members of the Mara Maquina gang. — AFP

International FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

US officials ‘flew to North Korea’ before rocket launch SEOUL: Two senior US officials made a secret visit to North Korea in an apparent attempt to persuade it to cancel last month’s long-range rocket launch, a South Korean report said yesterday. A US Air Force Boeing 737 flew from Guam to Pyongyang with the officials on April 7, six days before the failed launch went ahead, Chosun Ilbo newspaper cited a diplomatic source in Seoul as saying.

Experts speculated that the aircraft carried Sydney Seiler, a National Security Council adviser to President Barack Obama, and Joseph DeTrani, director of the National Counter-Proliferation Centre, it said.

The report was one of several carried

by South Korean media, although government officials and the US State Department refused to comment.

Yonhap news agency also said the plane carried DeTrani. The United Nations Security Council condemned the April 13 launch as breaching a ban on testing ballistic missile technology, and tight-

ened sanctions on the North. Pyongyang insists its aim was only to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.

It says the launch did not breach a February agreement with the United States that promised a suspension of uranium enrichment and a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests in return for 240,000 tons of food aid. After the launch plan was announced, the United States said it would suspend the start of food deliveries. A North Korean foreign ministry statement released Tuesday carried an apparent reference to the reported US visit. It said Pyongyang had informed Washington “several weeks ago” that it was exercising restraint and was “taking the concerns voiced by the US into consideration”.

The North in Tuesday’s statement vowed to bolster its nuclear deterrent and take “self-defense” measures unless the US halts criticism and pressure. But it said a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue was still possible if Washington

drops its “hostile” policy. In 2006 and 2009 the North reacted to UN sanctions imposed following its rocket launches by carrying out nuclear tests. Yesterday, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho Byung-Jae warned North Korea of “grave consequences” and new international sanctions if it goes ahead with a fresh nuclear test.

Defense ministry spokesman Kim MinSeok said Pyongyang was waiting to make a “political choice” on whether to conduct a nuclear test.

“Our judgment is that North Korea can conduct a nuclear test at any time and a political choice is left,” he said.

Cross-border tensions have been high following the North’s virulent criticism of Seoul’s leaders in recent months. The verbal barrage is a sign of the regime’s instability as new leader Kim Jong-Un bolsters his authority, the South’s Unification Minister Yu Woo-Ik told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview published yesterday. “The reason why North

Koreans criticize South Korea ever more strongly, we believe, is an expression of anxiety,” Yu said.

The untested Jong-Un, aged in his late 20s, took over after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in December last year and began reshaping the government line-up. Individuals and organizations who fear their jobs are at risk are competing to show loyalty, partly by criticizing the South, said the minister, who oversees cross-border relations. The North in recent months has mounted an unusually extreme campaign of personal abuse against the South’s President Lee Myung-Bak. It has termed him a rat and “human scum”, among a variety of other insults, and threatened “sacred war” to wipe out Seoul’s rulers. Yu said the North’s tone would remain strong for the time being. “I expect this kind of fidelity race will fade away as authority gets stabilized and anxiety is removed,” he said, adding Seoul was still open to dialogue. — AFP

Pakistani jailed over bin Laden ‘weak and depressed’ Surgeon convicted and jailed for 33 years

SRINAGAR: In this file photograph, Jammu Kashmir policemen frisk civilians during a search operation in Srinagar, India. —AP

India advised to rethink military laws in Kashmir SRINAGAR: India should rethink the harsh military laws imposed on Kashmir if it wants to defuse tensions with separatists in the Himalayan territory, Indian-appointed mediators advised yesterday. But the mediators rejected the idea that Kashmir should be autonomous, despite decades of separatist unrest and rival claims to the territory by neighboring Pakistan. Instead, their report reaffirmed Kashmir’s “dual character” within India and right to its own constitution and flag. The mediators said granting more autonomy, as the territory had before 1953, “would create a dangerous constitutional vacuum in the center-state relationship. The clock cannot be set back.”

Separatists are likely to reject the report. They have long said the special constitutional status was an Indian effort to placate international critics while denying Kashmiris a referendum on self -determination. They have also accused India of holding Kashmir under what they call a military occupation by 700,000 Indian troops. The report was commissioned in 2010 amid widespread street protests against Indian rule that authorities feared would escalate into an armed uprising.

An earlier separatist insurgency launched in 1989 and the ensuing security crackdowns left 68,000 people dead before the rebellion was largely suppressed by 2006.

However, the draconian military laws imposed then have remained, with frequent checkpoints along major roads and security forces allowed to shoot suspects on sight. The mediators’ report agreed the military presence was “intrusive” and said troops need special training to “respect the dignity of citizens.” “The ostentatious presence of the security forces must be reduced to a minimum even while ensuring that they can be rushed to any spot to quell trouble at short notice,” the report said. — AP

PESHAWAR: The Pakistani doctor sentenced to 33 years for treason after being recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden is in poor health and under medical watch, officials told AFP yesterday. Shakeel Afridi is being held at the central prison in the northwestern city of Peshawar and was twice examined yesterday by doctors who found him “weak, depressed and complaining of a bad stomach”, a senior health official said. “Afridi was first examined by a team of local doctors, then another team of senior doctors visited him in jail,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media. “Doctors prescribed some medicine, which was immediately provided. He will remain under medical observation inside the jail.”

On Wednesday, officials said the surgeon had been convicted and jailed for 33 years under the archaic tribal justice system that has governed Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal belt since British colonial rule. A jail official said Afridi was being held in a private cell with extra security, with paramilitary and commandos deployed outside. Earlier yesterday, jail official Samad Khan said Afridi was in poor health and being kept away from other prisoners to avert any danger to his life. A court operating under the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), which date back to the 19th century, found him guilty of waging war against the state. Afridi comes from Khyber, one of the seven districts that make up the tribal belt.

But critics said he should not have been tried under tribal law for an alleged crime that took place outside tribal jurisdiction, in the town of Abbottabad where he ran a fake vaccination program designed to collect bin Laden family DNA. A senior official in Khyber, Nasir Khan, defended Afridi’s trial. “We have powers to try a resident of FATA (the federally administered tribal areas) under the FCR enforced in tribal areas,” he told AFP. “The trial was kept secret so that no one can attack him. We did not reveal even the name of the jirga members to avoid any risk.” There have been conflicting accounts about whether Afridi was present during the proceedings.

Nasir Khan said he had appeared on Wednesday when the verdict was announced in Peshawar. Under the FCR, cases are heard by a five to seven-member jirga, or council of tribal elders, along with two officials from the local

KHYBER: This file photograph, shows Pakistani surgeon Shakeel Afridi, who was working for CIA to help find Osama bin Laden, attending a Malaria control campaign in Khyber tribal district. He was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison and fined 320,000 rupees (3,500 USD) under an archaic tribal justice system that has governed Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt since British rule. — AFP

political administration, he explained. Khan said Afridi’s trial lasted two months and that he was given full opportunity to defend himself, but was not entitled to a lawyer.

Afridi’s punishment was meted out under the Pakistani penal code, Khan said. He has the right to appeal either to a tribunal or directly to the Peshawar high court, which has in several cases either remitted or annulled tribal sentences, he added. The tribunal is made up of three former senior civil servants. — AFP

International FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Person implicated in Etan Patz death: NYPD 33 years on, police continue search

MEXICO CITY: A man wears a mask representing PRIís candidate Enrique Pena Nieto during a protest against a possible return of the old ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico City on Wednesday. — AP

1000s of students protest media in Mexico MEXICO CITY: Thousands of university students marched through central Mexico City on Wednesday to protest media coverage that they say favors the candidate of the former ruling party in upcoming presidential elections. The students say newspapers and television stations are tilting their coverage toward Enrique Pena Nieto, who is leading polls by double digits ahead of the July 1 vote. Many of the students were from the elite Iberoamerican University, where a May 11 appearance by Pena Nieto set off a rare wave of protests by young people against a return to the presidency of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for 70 years before it was voted out in 2000.

The students say Mexico’s largest television channel, Televisa, was particularly biased in its coverage of the rally and the campaign in general. Many finished the march at Televisa’s studios, where Pena Nieto was appearing on a live interview show. Local media reported smaller, simultaneous marches in at least a half-dozen other cities around Mexico. A Televisa spokesman declined immediate comment, as did Pena Nieto’s campaign. “We want to be told the truth in this country,” said Esteban Pacheco, an industrial design student at Iberoamerican. “I look at this as a wake-up call.” Pena Nieto’s backers have labeled the students as supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, but many at the rally said they supported none of three main presidential candidates. A march through central Mexico City on Saturday drew tens of thousands of protesters against Pena Nieto, a much larger crowd than the one on Tuesday night. — AP

NEW YORK: A man in custody who has implicated himself in the death of 6-year-old Etan Patz has been tied to the case in the past, a law enforcement official said yesterday. The boy’s disappearance 33 years ago on his way to school helped launch a missing children’s movement that put kids’ faces on milk cartons. The man was picked up late Wednesday in Camden, NJ, and was being questioned yesterday by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is heading the probe by the FBI and police. The man’s emergence as a person of interest was not related to the search of a Manhattan basement in April, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Both the person familiar with the probe and the official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing probe into the boy’s disappearance in 1979. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the man made statements implicating himself in the boy’s disappearance, and expected to provide further details yesterday. At the time of the boy’s disappearance, the man in custody lived in the same Manhattan neighborhood as Patz. He had been known to detectives for years, but it was unclear what brought them back to him this week.

Investigators were still going over details of his story.

The development came one day before the anniversary of the boy’s disappearance, when detectives traditionally receive a landslide of hoaxes and false leads related to the case.

Wearing a backpack, the boy with sandy hair and a toothy grin vanished May 25, 1979, while walking alone to his school bus stop for the first time, two blocks from his home in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. There was an exhaustive search by the police and a crush of media attention. The boy’s photo was one of the first of a missing child on a milk carton. Thousands of fliers were plastered around the city, buildings canvassed, hundreds of people interviewed.

SoHo was not a neighborhood of swank boutiques and galleries as now, but of working-class New Yorkers rattled by the news. Etan’s parents, Stan and Julie Patz, were reluctant to move or even change their phone number in case their son tried to reach out. They still live in the same apartment, down the street from the building that was examined in April. They have endured decades of false leads, and a lack of hard evidence. The Patzes are among the residential holdouts in what has become a chic and artsy shopping district. At one point yesterday morning, the actress Meg Ryan - wearing dark glasses despite a drizzle - walked briskly past the scene, ignoring photographers who trailed her.

The April excavation of a Manhattan basement yielded no obvious human remains and little forensic evidence that would help solve the decades-long mystery of what happened

NEW YORK: This undated file image provided in 2010 by Stanley K Patz shows a flyer distributed by the New York Police Department of Patz’s son Etan who vanished in New York on May 25, 1979. — AP to the boy. The Patz family did not immediately return a message requesting comment. “I hope this is the end of it,” said Roz Radd, who lives a couple of blocks from the Patz family’s home and knows Etan’s mother casually from walking dogs in the neighborhood. “There’s going to be hopefully closure to her, to know what happened to her son.” Etan’s disappearance touched off a massive search that has ebbed and flowed over the years. It also ushered in an era of anxiety about leaving children unsupervised. In 2010, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced he was reinvestigating the case.— AP

Zimmerman complained about Sanford police in 2011 ORLANDO: George Zimmerman accused the Sanford police department of corruption more than a year before he shot Trayvon Martin, saying at a public forum the agency covered up the beating of a black homeless man by the son of a white officer. “I would just like to state that the law is written in black and white,” Zimmerman said during a 90second statement to city commissioners at a community forum. “It should not and cannot be enforced in the gray for those who are in the thin blue line.” The forum took place on Jan. 8, 2011, days after a video of the beating went viral on the Internet and then-Sanford Police Chief Brian Tooley was forced to retire.

Tooley’s department faced criticism for dragging its feet in arresting Justin Collison, the son of a police lieutenant.

“I’d like to know what action the commission is taking in order to repeal Mr. Tooley’s pension,” Zimmerman said to the commission. “I’m not asking you to repeal his pension; I believe he’s already forfeited his pension by his illegal cover-up in corruption in what happened in his department.” Zimmerman’s public comments could be important because the Martin family and supporters contend the neighborhood watch volunteer singled Martin out because he was black. Zimmerman has a Peruvian mother and a white father. His supporters have said he is not racist. The Miami Herald first reported details from the January 2011 community forum Wednesday. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the tape from the meeting. In the speech, Zimmerman said

he witnessed “disgusting” behavior by officers when he was part of a ride-along program, though the agency said it did not know when, if ever, Zimmerman was in that program. “The officer showed me his favorite hiding spots for taking naps.

He explained to me he doesn’t carry a long gun in his vehicle because in his words, ‘Anything that requires a long gun requires a lot of paperwork and you’re gonna find me as far away from it.’” Zimmerman also said the officer in question “took two lunch breaks and attended a going away party for one of his fellow officers.” Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett and interim police chief Richard Myers were both unavailable for comment. Zimmerman is free on bond awaiting his second-degree murder trial for shooting Martin. — AP

Business FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Indian refiners defend sharp petrol price hike

Hollande makes bold debut on EU stage

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MADRID: Members of the CCOO Workers Union and the General Union of Workers (UGT) wave banners during a protest against austerity measures imposed by the Spanish Government at the Plaza de las Cortes Square in the centre of Madrid yesterday. — AFP

Euro-zone tunnel darkens after EU summit Grim signals from businesses, capital flight to Germany BRUSSELS: Euro-zone tensions rose again yesterday with grim signals from business, and a flight of capital into Germany after an EU summit disagreed on solutions to the crisis.

Hanging over European Union governments, and business and finance, is the possibility of Greece leaving the euro-zone. An infor-

Kuwait gives funds until June to comply with rules KUWAIT: Kuwait’s financial watchdog is giving investment funds until the end of June to comply with new rules on the ownership of individual financial securities.

The Gulf state is home to a large number of investment firms which have been hard hit by the global financial crisis, many of them had trading in their shares frozen.

The Capital Markets Authority, the first of its kind in Kuwait, was set up last year to try to address such issues. The CMA made amendments to bylaws in February regarding the amount of shares investment funds operating in Kuwait can own in a single security. It originally had an end-March deadline for compliance with its rules, but a new deadline had not been specified after the amendments.

“The Capital Markets Authority draws the attention of all persons authorized of the need to resolve the issue of funds investing in securities before June 30, 2012,” the CMA said in an emailed statement yesterday. The amended rules state that a fund cannot own more than 10 percent in a single security. It the fund wants to own more, then it can only acquire a stake which is less than the company’s comparative share of the stock market or of the sector. — Reuters

mal summit of European Union leaders overnight resulted in little apart from attempts to talk around deep differences between France and Germany on diluting economic reforms in debt-ridden members with growth stimulus.

The May survey of euro-zone business confidence showed the worst monthly fall for nearly three years. The data for Germany was the worst for six months and an industrial index for France the worst for 37 months. At Capital Economics in London, senior European economist Jennifer McKeown commented: “Spreading economic downturn will further reduce the currency union’s chances of survival.” The euro slumped to a 22-month dollar low point of $1.2516, last reached in July 2010. It later stood at $1.2544.

Stocks fluctuated and then rallied slightly. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 stock index climbed 0.59 percent. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 added 0.13 percent and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.38 percent.

“Nothing in the data released this morning suggests that economic conditions in the UK and Europe are easing against a backdrop of policy paralysis across Europe,” CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson told AFP. “Unless policymakers come up with radical new solutions with respect to the crisis they will soon be faced with the prospect of delivering closer fiscal integration or overseeing the breakup of the euro.”

If Greeks vote in new elections on June 17 against the budget cuts and reforms tied to a second debt rescue, the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank are expected to curtail drastically financial lifelines for Greece.

This would push Greece from the euro-zone and could cause incalculable risks for other weaker members, notably Spain. Under all these clouds, funds flowed into safe-haven German 10-year debt bonds, pushing the fixed rate of return down to a record low

level of 1.358 percent. The French 10-year bond yield also fell to close to record levels, to 2.575 percent.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy told journalists after the summit: “We want Greece to remain in the euro area while respecting its commitments.” —AFP

Dow wins $2.16bn in Kuwait arbitration

PIC had canceled K-Dow plastics JV KUWAIT: Kuwait’s state-run chemical company must pay Dow Chemical Co $2.16 billion under an arbitrator’s ruling for wrongly cancelling a planned plastics joint venture in 2008, Dow said yesterday. The ruling against Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) of Kuwait by the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court was final and binding, the company said.

Kuwait pulled out of the planned $17.4 billion “K-Dow” petrochemical joint venture as the global economy sunk into the deep recession nearly four years ago, triggering charges from Dow that the move violated its agreements. PIC is a unit of the Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

“This outcome brings resolution and closure to the issue,” Andrew Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We remain focused on continuing to move forward with our transformation and profitable business partnerships-both in Kuwait and around the world.” Shares in Dow climbed 3.7 percent in premarket trading to $31.75 per share. — Reuters

Business FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

US jobless aid applications dip to 370,000 Durable goods orders up 0.2% in April WASHINGTON: The number of people seeking US unemployment aid changed little last week, signaling modest job growth. The Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications dipped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 370,000.

Applications have leveled off this month after spiking in April to a fivemonth high of 392,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, has also declined. It was 370,000 last week. The lower level suggests hiring could pick up a bit in May from April’s sluggish pace. When applications drop below 375,000 a week, it typically suggests hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.

Economists forecast employers have added 160,000 jobs this month.

That’s above April’s gains but below the pace set this winter. The government will report next Friday on May job growth. The unemployment rate has fallen from 9.1 percent in August to 8.1 percent last month. Part of the reason for the drop is that employers have added a million jobs over the past five months. But it has also declined because some people gave up looking for work. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively looking for a job.

US orders for long-lasting factory goods edged up slightly in April, but a key category that tracks business investment spending fell for a second

straight month. The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods increased a slight 0.2 percent last month after a 3.7 percent decline in March.

But core capital goods orders, which are considered a proxy for business investment plans, fell 1.9 percent in April after a 2.2 percent decline in March. Demand for computers and electronics products and heavy machinery fell.

Overall orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, rose to $215.5 billion, up 52.5 percent from their recession low in early 2009. Orders are still 11.6 percent below their peak in December 2007.

Hiring soared over the winter,

when applications were dropping steadily. Job gains averaged 252,000 in the December-February period. The pace of hiring slowed in March and April to an average of 135,000 jobs per month. That raised fears that the job market could be weakening.

Economists have cautioned that a warm winter led companies to move up some hiring and accelerate other activity that normally wouldn’t occur until spring. That gave the appearance that the economy had strengthened in January and February and weakened in early spring. And temporary layoffs stemming from spring holidays likely pushed unemployment benefit applications higher in April, economists noted. —AP

Hollande makes bold debut on EU stage President marks change with stand on bonds

SINGAPORE: A man is silhouetted against the skyline of a luxury brand outlet and the financial district of Singapore yesterday. Singapore’s inflation rate rose to a fourthmonth high in April as housing and transport costs soared. — AP

Oman suspends HSBC unit merger pending suit DUBAI: HSBC’s proposed merger of its Omani business with Oman International Bank has been halted by the Gulf Arab state after a creditor of the British bank filed an objection to the tie-up citing a pending lawsuit. HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, said in April it will merge its Omani business with OIB and retain a 51-percent stake in the expanded operation.

Oman’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an order temporarily suspending the merger until the lawsuit filed by a businessman is settled or withdrawn, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The businessman has a compensation claim of 2 million rials ($5.20 million) against the bank, according to a local newspaper in Oman, and filed an objection with the ministry, citing the ongoing legal case.

“Any objection in Oman has to be heard by the court for validity. That’s the reason the ministry issued a temporary halt,” a source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. In an emailed statement Thursday, HSBC said the merger was proceeding according to relevant laws and regulations.

“Such objections are unexpected when mergers significantly increase the combined assets,” a spokesman for the bank said. OIB shares were suspended from trading on Thursday as the bourse sought a clarification from the lender on merger being halted.

OIB is Oman’s fifth-largest bank, with the second-largest branch network in the country and gross assets of $3.2 billion. The merger was slated to close in the second quarter and HSBC was planning to inject additional capital of up to $97.4 million from internal resources into HSBC Oman, as part of the deal.

HSBC is pulling back from countries where it is unprofitable or lacks scale, and restructuring operations elsewhere, and has been reviewing its Middle Eastern operations. — Reuters

BRUSSELS: At his first meeting of EU leaders, with the hotly contested issue of shared euro-zone debt top of his discussion list, France’s new president made it clear on Wednesday that he intends to stand up to Berlin on European policy.

As Francois Hollande arrived for the summit in Brussels, the Socialist leader told reporters that euro bonds would be up for discussion. Moments later, Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped out of her limousine and said curtly that she did not think such bonds were a good idea or would help to boost growth. After the summit, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said most member states had supported Hollande’s position. It was an audacious debut for the newly elected French leader who, despite his placid manner next to his often pushy predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, believes firmly that Germany should not have the sole say in pulling Europe out of crisis.

Emboldened by growing support for his pushback against German-led austerity, and mindful that voters are watching ahead of a legislative election on June 17, Hollande even broke with the usual Franco-German pre-summit meeting, instead holding talks with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Paris. “The relationship with Germany is very important but I am not keeping other countries at a distance,” Hollande told reporters on his train ride to Brussels, another change in style from Sarkozy, who usually travelled in his presidential jet.

“I want France to be heard and supported by other countries. I don’t my relationship with Germany to be like an executive board that imposes itself on others.”

Just days into his presidency, Hollande met privately with Rajoy before the informal dinner and greeted Merkel along with other EU counterparts with a handshake and a brief chat as he entered the meeting room. Footage before and after the talks showed the pair distant from each other and Hollande focused on talking to other

BRUSSELS: French President Francois Hollande leaves after a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels early yesterday. France and Germany crossed swords over how to spur growth in the debt-stricken euro-zone at an EU summit tinged by plunging markets and the euro hitting a near two-year low. — AFP leaders, who he is keen to give a bigger role in decision-making after two years of a Paris-Berlin two-step dubbed “Merkozy”.

“He does not believe in a duopoly. He won’t try to replace ‘Merkozy’ by ‘Frangela’ or ‘Merkollande’. He wants their partnership to be there to serve the rest of Europe,” said an aide accompanying Hollande in Brussels. “He is not in a confrontational mindset. He didn’t arrive brandishing a Kalashnikov and saying ‘you must accept euro bonds’,” the aide said.

“It’s a different approach.”

Sounding at ease and confident, Hollande gave a polished press conference after the talks, which he said had been frank but non-confrontational. He quipped that at least one country had dismissed his euro-bond idea more firmly than Merkel. Hollande’s May 6 election victory has shifted the debate in Europe, with his call for a new emphasis on growth alongside debt-cutting now a rallying cry for other leaders frustrated by Germany’s

unwavering focus on budget austerity.

He is also mindful of deep resentment in France at the start of the year when many people felt Sarkozy had surrendered too much to Germany and undermined French sovereignty by agreeing on a joint push to give Brussels more sway over national budgets. The change in the air was tangible on Wednesday.”I am struck, coming here, to see how much Francois Hollande’s election has changed the game. I am not saying it changes everything, but it is changing the climate,” said Jean-Marc Ayrault, France’s new Germanophile prime minister, who was in Brussels meeting European Social Democratic politicians.

Hollande and Merkel have similar characters - reserved and unflashy in public and warm and jovial in private. People who know them expect them to get on better than the chancellor did with Sarkozy, whose impulsive character grated on her at times. — Reuters

Business FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Facebook shares stabilizing, probes mount NEW YORK: Facebook’s initial public offering is the subject of two congressional inquiries and mounting lawsuits as the social network enters its fifth day of public trading. The shares regained some ground Wednesday, rising $1, or 3.2 percent, to close at $32. They were up another 50 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $32.50 in early premarket trading yesterday.

But they are still more than 14 percent below their $38 per share IPO price today.

Investors are accusing the banks that arranged the IPO of sharing important information about Facebook’s business prospects with some clients and not others.

Several shareholders who bought stock in the IPO have filed lawsuits against Facebook, its executives and Morgan Stanley, the IPO’s lead underwriter. At question is whether analysts at the big underwriter investment banks cut their second-quarter and full-year forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO and told only a handful of clients.

One lawsuit, filed in US District Court in New York, claims Facebook’s IPO documents contained untrue statements and omitted important facts, such as a “severe reduction in revenue growth” that Facebook was experiencing at the time of the offering. The suit’s three plaintiffs, who bought Facebook stock on its first day of trading, claim they were damaged.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Facebook said the lawsuit is without merit. Another lawsuit, filed in San Mateo

County Superior Court in California, claims Facebook and underwriters misled investors in Facebook’s IPO documents.

Both lawsuits seek class action status on behalf of investors who bought Facebook stock and lost money on Friday.

“No one gets it perfect, as far as saying

Facebook’s finances that was not disclosed publicly. “At this moment, it’s still too early to say,” Sabino said. “We don’t know enough, but this could turn out to be an issue.”

In March, Facebook began meeting with analysts at the underwriting firms.

NEW YORK: The pre-market price for Facebook stock is shown on Wednesday at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. Facebook stock rose in early trading Wednesday although still far below the $38 it was priced at before its initial public offering on Friday. — AP what the financial results are,” said Anthony Michael Sabino, professor at St. John’s University’s Peter J Tobin College of Business. The bottom line, he added, is whether Facebook or the underwriter had material information about

Oil up to near $92 on snag in Iran nuclear talks LONDON: Oil prices rose to near $92 a barrel yesterday as negotiations between six world powers and Iran about its nuclear program appeared to be stalling. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for July delivery was up 89 cents to $90.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell $1.95 to settle at $89.90, the lowest since Oct. 21. In London, Brent crude for July delivery was up 52 cents at $106.08 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Iran has rejected proposals by six world powers to curb its nuclear program, while demanding answers to its own counteroffer meant to alleviate concerns about its ability to build atomic weapons. Still, the negotiations did not appear in danger of collapse as envoys convened again in Baghdad. The talks were expected to wrap up yesterday.

Earlier this year, tensions with Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer, drove up oil prices.

The US and Europe have imposed sanctions against Iran’s oil exports, but some analysts say Iran may be allowed to keep exporting oil this year while it negotiates about its nuclear program. “If the sanctions were to be fully enforced, up to 1 million barrels per day could be affected,” said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Crude has plunged about 15 percent from $106 three weeks ago because economic growth and oil demand in Europe, the US and China are likely to be less than expected this year.HSBC Corp said its Purchasing Managers Index based on a survey of Chinese manufacturers showed activity weakened further in May. A preliminary PMI, based on responses by 85 to 90 percent of companies surveyed for the full index which is released later, fell to 48.7 from April’s 49.3 on a 100point scale. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction. China’s Cabinet promised Wednesday to step up efforts to boost growth after the economy expanded 8.1 percent in the first quarter, the lowest in almost three years. Political turmoil this month in Greece has also spooked investors, who fear the country may leave the euro common currency, which could spark financial and economic chaos in Europe. —AP

The gatherings are a customary part of the IPO process and are designed to help analysts understand the company’s business so they can make accurate financial projections.

On May 9, the third day of Facebook’s

pre-IPO roadshow to meet with prospective investors, the company filed an amended IPO document that said its number of mobile users was growing faster than its revenue. According to a person familiar with the matter, Facebook then had another meeting with analysts and told them that based on the new information in the filings, the analysts’ forecasts should be at the low end of the range that the company gave them in April. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not publicly authorized to discuss the matter. Adding to Wednesday’s events, Facebook was in talks with the New York Stock Exchange to move its stock from the Nasdaq Stock Market after Friday’s botched offering that delayed the start of the stock’s trading, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The news of the talks was first reported by Reuters.

NYSE spokesman Rich Adamonis said: “There have been no discussions with Facebook regarding switching their listing in light of the events of the last week, nor do we think a discussion along those lines would be appropriate at this time.”

A Nasdaq spokesman declined to comment. Sen Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said late Wednesday that his panel wants to learn more about the social network’s initial offering. The committee seeks briefings with Facebook representatives, regulatory agencies and others. —AP

Indian refiners defend sharp petrol price hike NEW DELHI: India’s largest oil refiner defended yesterday a sharp hike in petrol prices that triggered protests and a political backlash, and vowed to roll back the measure if international oil prices fall.

The country’s state-run oil firms announced a steep 11.5 percent increase in the price of petrol on Wednesday to offset growing losses caused by subsidized rates, rises in the international oil price and a plunging rupee. Indian Oil Corp chairman R S Butola said the refiners had been forced to impose the price hike after sustaining losses of up to 500 million rupees ($9 million) a day since the start of the current financial year on April 1.

“Unfortunately all our options were exhausted,” Butola told reporters. “But if international prices come down, we would pass on the benefit to consumers,” he added. “We are committed to do that.”

Butola’s remarks came hours after opposition parties called a national one-day strike for next week to protest against the price hike of 6.28 rupees per litre.

“Common people are suffering due to wrong policies,” said Sharad Yadav, convener of the opposition National Democratic Alliance. “Prices of commodities are rising uncontrollably making it difficult for an average Indian to make both ends meet,” he said, calling for all shops and offices to close and vehicles to stay off the roads next Thursday. The Congress Party-led government deregulated petrol prices in 2010 in a reform aimed at reducing the massive subsidies it pays to state-

run fuel refiners, which rely on imported energy. Butola denied reports that yesterday’s increase had been governmentimposed, insisting that the decision had been made by the refiners’ themselves for purely economic reasons.

A series of much smaller petrol price increases last year caused an internal revolt, with the second-largest party in the coalition threatening to pull out unless the price hikes were rolled back.

India imports more than three-quar-

ters of the crude oil it requires, and the import bill has risen dramatically because of high global prices and a plunging rupee. The Indian currency fell to a new all-time low against the dollar for the seventh straight day yesterday, hitting 56.36 rupees against the greenback. The high cost of imported fuel is partly blamed for the ballooning of India’s current-account deficit-the gap between exports and goods and services imports-to its widest level in eight years. — AFP

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) activists throw a motorcycle into the Hussain Sagar lake as they stage a symbolic protest against the government’s decision to hike prices of petrol by 11.5 percent in Hyderabad yesterday. The sign in Telugu reads ‘’common man cannot afford me. — AP

Business FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

British recession worse than feared UK faring worse than euro-zone’s economy: Report LONDON: Britain’s recession is deeper than first thought according to revised official figures published yesterday that showed the non-euro-zone nation’s economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the first quarter.

A second estimate of gross domestic product for the JanuaryMarch period compared with an initial reading of minus 0.2 percent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Analysts had forecast no change. The British economy is in recession, defined as two successive quarters of contraction, after it also shrank by 0.3 percent in the final three months of 2011.

“Today’s release is bad news for UK policymakers as it shows the economy faring even more badly than initially thought,” said economist Scott Corfe at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, an independent consultancy.

“Indeed, the latest data show the UK economy performing worse than the euro-zone economy, which saw zero growth at the start of the year-meaning the UK’s woes cannot even be fully attributable to the debt crisis embroiling the continent.” Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman insisted that it was difficult for the British economy to grow when much of Europe was struggling. “What the (GDP) figure confirms is that it is a very difficult economic situation and we will take time to recover from the biggest financial and debt crisis in our lifetimes. “We have always made clear ... that if the rest of Europe doesn’t grow it

would prove hard to avoid a recession here in the UK. We cannot be immune from what is happening on our doorstep,” the spokesman added.

The main opposition Labour party argues that the economy has been harmed by the coalition government’s austerity drive.

And the International Monetary Fund warned this week that the government should be ready to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending if needed, while also praising the policy of heavy spending cuts.

The IMF, which predicts that Britain’s economy will return to modest growth in the second half of this year provided Europe’s crisis eases, added that the Bank of England should consider cutting further its already record-low interest rates.

On Thursday, the ONS also revealed a slowdown in household spending, which increased by just 0.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with 0.4-percent growth in the final three months of last year.

Household expenditure in Britain has been hit by high inflation, sluggish wage growth and soaring unemployment.

However, government spending surged by 1.6 percent in the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2008, lifted by spending on health and defense.

On an annual basis, the ONS added that GDP was revised down to show a fall of 0.1 percent in the first quarter. Britain

British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne

escaped a fierce downturn in late 2009 but fell back into recession in the final quarter of 2011 on the back of state austerity and the debt crisis in major trading partner the euro-zone.

Britain’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition administration has axed public spending and hiked taxes since it won power in 2010, after inheriting a record deficit from the previous Labor government. — AFP

Crisis clouds hang heavy over German economy

ATHENS: A ‘to rent’ the building sign hangs by a mannequin outside a closed shop in Athens yesterday. European Union leaders pledge to keep debt-wracked Greece in the euro-zone as officials behind the scenes nonetheless consider contingency plans in case of an exit. — AFP

BoE’s Bailey blames JPMorgan loss on bad risk control LONDON: Trading losses of $2 billion at JPMorgan were due to poor risk management and indicate no local rule breaches for the moment, Britain’s top banking supervisor said yesterday.

“It’s bad risk management,” Andrew Bailey, Bank of England’s executive director for banking supervision, told reporters. “I don’t for the moment see a conduct issue,” he said, adding that the United States was the lead regulator for the American banking giant. “The bottom line is this is predominantly a US issue,” Bailey said. The loss suffered by JPMorgan is a “salutary lesson” in the use of risk models and the danger of overreliance on single models and swapping from one model to another without realising the implications of what was being done.

“The important message is that none of us can have blind faith in single models,” Bailey said in the UK regulator’s first comments on the JPMorgan losses. JPMorgan conducted its trades

in London where it is a branch, meaning that US regulators are mainly responsible for day-to-day supervision of operations.

Mary Schapiro, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission said this week that financial firms must disclose changes to models they use to gauge their risk-taking.

When JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon announced on May 10 that the company had lost at least $2 billion through “egregious mistakes” in trading, he also said for the first time that the bank had changed its model for measuring Value at Risk (VaR) in the office where the derivatives portfolio was managed. Bailey also said the contingency plans at Britain’s main banks in case of a Greek exit from the euro zone are “becoming more detailed” to address a range of possible outcomes.

“It’s detail without certainty. What none of us can say is what the consequences of Greece leaving the euro would be,” Bailey said.—Reuters

FRANKFURT: Exports and consumer demand are cushioning Germany against recession, data showed yesterday, but crisis clouds are gathering over Europe’s biggest economy as business confidence fell sharply.

The German economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2012, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated, with a 1.7-percent rise in exports and a 0.4-percent rise in consumer spending helping to avert a recession.

But at the same time, the Ifo economic institute said its closely watched business climate index dropped to 106.9 points in May from 109.9 points in April. The intensification of the Greek crisis and the resulting resurgence in uncertainty in the eurozone as a whole “is impacting the German economy,” warned Ifo chief Hans-Werner Sinn. It was the first time in seven months that the index has fallen and shows that companies are becoming increasingly spooked by the long-running euro-zone debt crisis. It was in fact the steepest drop since August last year and brings the barometer down to its lowest level since November 2011. Companies’ assessment of their current business situation “deteriorated clearly and they also expressed greater pessimism about their business outlook,” said Sinn.

Economy minister Philipp Roesler was adamant, however, that despite the unexpected drop in the Ifo index, businesses “remain confident.” The German economy “grew unexpectedly rapidly in the first quarter and is now clearly back on a growth path,” he said. “Even in these difficult times, the economy remains robust and competitive. It continues to be the growth locomotive in Europe,” the minister insisted. Observers elsewhere were not so sure.

Already on Wednesday, the Bundesbank warned in its May monthly report that the “surprisingly good GDP data” for the first quarter “overstate the current underlying cyclical trend and cannot be extrapolated onto the following quarters.”

And analysts, too, forecast that German growth will taper off in the coming quarters. “Risks to growth in the second half of this year have increased and uncertainty concerning Greece and possible spillovers are currently dampening expectations,” said Natixis economist Constantin Wirschke.

Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy agreed.

While the first-quarter data “confirm that the

German economy held up well at the start of the year... the breakdown of the data shows a mixed picture” and future risks were “skewed to the downside,” Piazza said.

Voices at Germany’s economic base, too, appear to becoming more cautious. For its survey, Ifo quizzes around 7,000 companies about their current business situation and the outlook for the next six months and, according to the survey data, the sub-index measuring current business is now at ts lowest level since July 2010. ING Belgium economist Carsten Brzeski saw the Ifo survey as a sign of a “new realism” on the part of German businesses. —AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Laborers work at a construction site of a commercial high-rise building in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Malaysia’s economic growth slowed to 4.7 percent in the first quarter, the government said, due to weakening exports sparked by a stuttering global economy and debt woes in Europe. — AFP

Business FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

China manufacturing slows: HSBC Exports drop, more policy easing eyed BEIJING: Chinese manufacturing contracted in May for the seventh consecutive month as exports deteriorated, British banking giant HSBC said yesterday, arguing the data showed the need for more policy easing. HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers index (PMI), which measures factory output, fell to 48.7 in May from 49.3 in April, the banking group said in a statement.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction. HSBC, which will release full-month data on June 1, said the worsening picture for the world’s second economy meant Beijing would have to do more to boost growth, on top of existing infrastructure investment and liquidity easing measures.

“This calls for more aggressive policy easing, as inflation continues to slow. Beijing policy makers have been and will step up easing efforts to stabilize growth,” said HSBC’s chief economist for China, Qu Hongbin. “As long as the easing measures filter through, China will secure a soft landing in the coming quarters.”

China’s economy is widely expected to slow this year as woes in key export markets such as Europe and the United States hit its overseas sales. The

government has set a target of 7.5 percent economic growth this year.

China’s economy grew 9.2 percent last year and 10.4 percent in 2010.

SHANGHAI: A young visitor looks at the skyscrapers on the opposite bank from the Bund, a waterfront and one of the most popular tourist spots in town in Shanghai. —AP

New Zealand curbs spending in quest for surplus WELLINGTON: New Zealand said yesterday it would contain spending to try to put the government’s books back in the black within three years, while also fostering growth in the struggling economy.

Unveiling his annual budget, Finance Minister Bill English said he had rejected a “slash and burn” approach to achieving a surplus, mindful of the social and economic costs that radical measures would have. “We are avoiding the substantial cuts to public services and living standards that we are seeing in many other developed countries,” he said.

Thomas Cook appoints industry outsider as CEO LONDON: Debt-laden tour operator Thomas Cook has named a travel industry outsider - Harriet Green from British electrical components distributor Premier Farnell - as chief executive to help turn it around.

Green, CEO of the FTSE 250 group since 2006 during which period she built its e-commerce operation, will succeed interim Thomas Cook chief executive Sam Weihagen at the end of July.

Her task is simple - rebuild a 171-year-old travel company which has been searching for a CEO since last August after dire trading that has led it to three profit warnings in the past 18 months and a 2010/11 loss of 398 million pounds ($625 million).

Chairman Frank Meysman told Reuters that Harriet “knows how to run and turn around a business, while putting technological developments at the forefront”.

He shrugged off her lack of travel industry experience, saying she would bring a new perspective. Thomas Cook, hit by the civil unrest in North Africa last year, has seen the economic downturn in Britain hurt bookings. Earlier this month, it sold its Indian business and agreed to sell and lease back 17 aircraft, providing around 275 million pounds to ease pressure on the company after its first-half loss widened.Also this month, it said former Kwik-Fit finance boss Michael Healy would take over as chief financial officer from Paul Hollingworth, who will step down after helping secure a three-year funding deal worth $2.2 billion - its third refinancing in a year. —Reuters

English said $4.4 billion ($3.3 billion) in new spending would be paid for by savings or tax hikes, helping to clear debt and provide a modest surplus by 2014-15. New Zealand had its long-term foreign currency rating downgraded a notch to “AA” from “AA+” last September amid concerns about its soaring external debt, and English said responsible fiscal management was at the core of the budget. He said the deficit, which jumped in the wake of last year’s devastating Christchurch earthquake, would be reduced to NZ$7.90 billion ($5.90 billion) in 2012-13 and turn into a NZ$197 million surplus in 201415.

The Christchurch disaster flattened much of the country’s second largest city and resulted in 185 deaths, but was set to boost the economy as a NZ$20 billion-plus reconstruction program gained momentum. English said 17,000 skilled workers were pouring into the city and the rebuilding would add one percentage point a year to national growth, which was forecast to peak at 3.4 percent in 2013-14, up from 1.4 percent in 2011.

“It’s not an opportunity we sought but now that it’s here it’s a significant stimulus to the economy,” he said.

English said that while the full impact of the euro-zone crisis remained unclear, the growth forecasts assumed there would be a sharp recession in Europe.

The projected 2014-15 surplus could be deferred slightly if events in Europe continued to deteriorate, he said, but added the government did not believe it would be necessary.Pointing out that New Zealand’s main trading partners Australia and China appeared set to weather the worst of any economic crisis centered on Europe, English said long-term prospects for the farm-reliant economy were good. “Our outlook is more positive than most-we are a food-producing economy on the doorstep of a rapidly growing middle class in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. “Providing we stick to the government’s balanced and ongoing economic program over the coming years, I am confident we will grasp these opportunities.” International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said the budget would have no immediate impact on New Zealand’s credit rating and the country’s outlook remained stable. “The budget is the latest incremental step toward consolidating the government’s fiscal settings after four years of deficits,” analyst Kyran Curry said in a statement. — AFP

The government this month cut banks’ required reserve ratio, freeing up funds they can lend to clients, after unexpectedly low figures for April, with exports up just 4.9 percent year on year and imports virtually flat from a year earlier. “The BMI has been in the 48-49 range for several months now, so it’s clear the economy remains on the sluggish side,” said Zhu Haibin, an economist with JPMorgan Chase Bank in Hong Kong. “But it seems that the policy is now shifting towards progrowth, and we expect that in the second half, the economy will perform strongly,” he said.

HSBC’s manufacturing figures are typically more pessimistic than China’s official numbers. The HSBC survey puts more emphasis on smaller companies, which are suffering more in the economic downturn than state-owned giants. Small companies have a harder time than their big counterparts securing funding from the banking system, and they are also typically geared towards foreign markets, so a slowdown in exports hits them harder. — AFP

Indian rupee continues freefall MUMBAI: India’s rupee slid to a new all-time low against the dollar for the seventh straight day yesterday, due to global uncertainty and concern over the domestic economy.

The Indian unit fell to a record low of 56.36, against the previous level of 56.21, before clawing back to 56.1 levels in early afternoon trade. The local currency-down 10 percent in the new financial yearhas been falling despite several suspected interventions by the central bank in the forex markets this year.

A declining rupee and high crude oil prices have exacerbated the current account deficit for India, which imports up to four-fifths of its oil needs.

India’s state-run oil firms on Wednesday announced a steep hike in petrol prices to offset growing losses caused by subsidized rates, rises in the international oil price and the rupee’s losses. Shares of India’s state-run oil firms rose by between 4-5 percent yesterday at the Bombay Stock Exchange, reacting to the price rise. — AFP

AHMEDABAD: An Indian woman worker test drives an Electric Bike at the OREVA E Bike manufacturing facility near Samakhiali of Kutch district, some 240 km from Ahmedabad yesterday. With the recent hike in the price of petrol, the demand for E-Bikes could possibly increase. — AFP

THEY ARE THE 99!

99 Mystical Noor Stones carry all that is left of the wisdom and knowledge of the lost civilization of Baghdad. But the Noor Stones lie scattered across the globe - now little more than a legend. One man has made it his life’s mission to seek out what was lost. His name is Dr. Ramzi Razem and he has searched fruitlessly for the Noor Stones all his life. Now, his luck is about to change - the first of the stones have been rediscovered and with them a special type of human who can unlock the gem’s mystical power. Ramzi brings these gem - bearers together to form a new force for good in the world. A force known as ... the 99!

THE STORY SO FAR : Trapped beneath a collapsed Alaskan research station, BAQI THE EVERLASTING, SAMDA THE INVULNERABLE, and BARI THE HEALER must hold out until rescue teams can find them...

The 99 ® and all related characters ® and © 2012, Teshkeel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.the99.org

Analysis FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

South Sudan’s history emerges - from a tent

By Pascal Fletcher

S

outh Sudan’s independence last July was forged through years of hard-fought rebellion in the bush, so it seems fitting that the world’s newest nation still keeps much of its history in a tent. The weather-beaten brown tent in a roadside government compound in the capital Juba goes unnoticed by most passing drivers and pedestrians.

Musty papers, files, books and photos, some honeycombed with termites, litter its stifling interior.

But this unassuming collection of paper, which would probably not qualify for a jumble sale in the West, holds part of the historical memory of Africa’s most recent state, straddling the White Nile and its vast Sudd swamp. Piled higgledy-piggledy on the grimy concrete floor and on old tables, or bursting out of sacks, the documents in the tent are a treasure trove of records dating back to the early 1900s, when Sudan and its remote South was under Anglo-Egyptian rule.

The collection of civil service files and official reports tracks the southern territory’s history through unified Sudan’s independence in 1956 and the years that followed which saw back-to- back civil wars fought by African rebels - now South Sudan’s rulers - against governments in the largely Muslim North. The papers, languishing under canvass for several years since a 2005 North-South peace deal, have survived fire, war and the elements. They are the core of what will be South Sudan’s National Archives - that is, once they are rescued and housed in a new building promised as an independence gift

by Norway.

“There is no nation without history,” said Youssef Fulgensio Onyalla, 48, senior inspector for Museums and Monuments at South Sudan’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage which is racing against time - and the termites - to recover and preserve the archives. “Thank God, we are working to bring the archives alive,” said Onyalla, who studied archeology at the Lebanese-American University in Beirut before returning to his home nation. The National Archives form part of an ambitious project, still in its infancy, to endow the emerging nation with a panoply of cultural heritage institutions, including a National Museum, National Library, National Theatre and Cultural Centre.

These cultural aspirations may seem lofty, even

unreal, in a newborn African nation of more than 8 million people that despite its oil resources is one of the least developed on earth, and where more than 70 percent of the population are illiterate. But South Sudanese officials say forging a national identity out of a complex patchwork of more than 70 ethnic groups, some of them traditional historical foes, is as important a part of nation-building as constructing roads, schools and clinics. “You can’t strengthen a state without strengthening the minds and hearts of the people,” Undersecretary for Culture Jok

decades by the brutal civil war, still trigger outbursts of bloodshed. “It’s something that will take a generation ... countries are not born, they are made,” said Jok, who has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The need for a sense of nationhood has become all the more urgent as South Sudan’s guerrilla commander-turned-statesman President Salva Kiir urges its citizens to brace for continuing hardships in the face of persisting military and economic confronta-

JUBA: People singing the Gospel during a service at the All Saints Cathedral in Juba, South Sudan. Vast majority of the Southern Sudanese people are Christians, even if, despite the recent separation from the Muslim Sudan, a considerable number of Muslims are still present in the country. — AFP Madut Jok, one of the country’s most respected intellectuals, told Reuters.

CRUCIBLE OF LIBERATION WAR Forging this national consciousness is no small challenge in a nation where ethnic enmities over cattle, water and grazing rights, exacerbated through the centuries by slave-raiding and in recent

tion with northern neighbor Sudan. Patriotism runs high among ordinary people in Juba and South Sudan’s independence from Sudan last year, the result of the liberation struggle fought since 1963 that killed more than 2 million people, is a powerful agglutinant of national identity. “The challenge is to transition to being a member of a nation state, rather than a citizen of an ethnic group. Most peo-

ple are loyal to their ethnic ties,” Jok said.

Juba abounds with Kenyans, Ugandans and citizens from other neighboring states but most locals, when asked where they come from, proudly respond “I am South Sudanese”. Many would struggle to sing the new national anthem, whose words are in English, however. References to the spilled blood of the nation’s “war martyrs” are a staple of major speeches and the bearded image of independence hero Dr John Garang, a Dinka warrior and US-trained founder of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), peers down from the walls of most government offices.

His face also adorns the new South Sudanese banknotes. “What binds South Sudan together is that they gained independence, but there was something here before, and there will be something after,” said Elke Selter, a culture program specialist working for UNESCO South Sudan. Salah Khaled, the head of South Sudan’s UNESCO office, believes that tapping into common cultural traditions, for example funerals and marriages, and oral histories is one way of seeking common traits and customs among the country’s diverse peoples.

“We need to find the common denominator between them,” Khaled said. As a way of creating a collective identity, Jok has devised the idea of a travelling cultural exhibit of artifacts like cooking and farm utensils, weapons and musical instruments. This will traverse the nation, picking up new items and at the same time showcasing South Sudan’s great variety of ethnic groups - the Dinka, Merle, Nuer, Bari and others. “It’s the embryo of the national museum ... You put them all together and say ‘this is what they are used for’... People will see the commonality, but also the diversity,” Jok said.

MINUTIAE OF COLONIAL BUREAUCRACY In the strength-sapping heat of the archives tent, even a cursory inspection shows the wealth of historical record it contains - a gold mine of potential knowledge for historians, researchers, students and, one day, tourists. In English and Arabic, set down in neat but florid handwriting or typewritten, the files reveal the minutiae of Sudan’s colonial and post-1956 independence bureaucracy in the South, including budgets, personnel and official reports on topics from maps and minerals to land and tribal disputes. —Reuters

Pakistanis resist creeping media vigilantism

By Hasan Mansoor

M

ost Pakistanis dislike the police, blaming them for being corrupt and aggressive-but now the media is earning a similar reputation for its frequent attacks on people’s privacy. Pakistan’s ever-growing freewheeling private television stations have given birth to “vigilante journalism” aimed at exposing peopleoften ordinary members of the public-they say are breaching social morals. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf liberalized the media in 1999, opening the way for the first time to private news and entertainment channels. There are now more than 80, 40 of them broadcasting round-the-clock news in five languages.

In January, TV anchor Maya Khan caused a storm of protest with her show “Raid in the Morning”, in which she and a group of veiled women chased couples in a park accusing them of behaving immorally. Many fled, but Khan pounced on one couple and badgered them with questions, tricking them into answering by telling them the camera was not running. The show provoked furious criticism on social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, and eventually a 5,000-name petition forced bosses at Samaa TV station to sack her.

Khan refused repeated requests to talk to AFP, but in an interview with Express TV she was unrepentant, saying what she did was in the public interest. “My heart is satisfied because whatever I did was done for the betterment of society. But, still if it hurt people, I apologize,” she said, insisting that what she presented on her show

was “not real but a re-enactment” of the perceived events. Pakistani liberals praised Samaa for getting rid of Khan, but their celebrations were short-lived as she was quickly hired by another station, ARY, to host their morning show.

The Khan incident is typical of stunts carried out by television stations who say they are safeguarding social morals in what is a deeply conservative country. Morning shows, such as Khan’s, are the most popular. Hosts are well paid and eager to hold onto their audience in a competitive market. “Which is why, highly-paid anchors go for ventures like Maya Khan to keep business going,” one senior official at a private channel said on condition of anonymity. But Mehnaz Rehman, a director of the Aurat Foundation, an organization which fights for women’s rights, said it was a dangerous trend that threatened social order.

“This is not journalism, this is purely vigilantism, something that does not suit good people, especially those who claim to be fighting for the rights of masses,” she said. “Media should be responsible and think beyond commercialisation, especially where it hits the society’s very social fabric.” In a country where young people already feel intimidated by intolerance, 25-year-old Mohsin Haleem, an executive, said media has harassed rather than empowered them. Pakistan has suffered since the 1970s from encroaching Islamisation that has made society, particularly in the cities and particularly for women, more conservative.

While the Internet, and sites such as Twitter and

Facebook provide some interaction, gender segregation is common and public entertainment is limited. “The events of vigilantism by our TV channels have discouraged many of our youth to go in public parks, even they preferred to stay elsewhere on Valentine’s Day,” he said.

It is not only courting couples that have been on the receiving end of intrusive television exposes. Ghulam Haider works in a health diagnostics laboratory which has been gatecrashed twice by reporters from two different TV channels insisting on filming the premises to check the facilities-an act only the government is authorized to take. “They are more assertive and ruthless in attacking us in the name of freedom of expression. They don’t respect our freedom and individual liberty,” said Haider, 69. “The reporters take booms in their hands and gatecrash anywhere without permission. They especially do this in the places which are inhabited or owned by those having little influence in the society,” Haider said.

Talat Hussain, who hosts a political show on Dawn TV, is an exception to the trend and has exposed media vigilantism. He was the only anchor to dedicate an entire show to the Khan story. But while he says that shows like Khan’s break boundaries and intrude, he believes the media has the potential to correct itself. “We are a young and evolving media. The action by a TV management to fire the host for chasing people shows that potential of self-correction and self-accountability,” he said. “Any reporter who intrudes into the privacy of people should realize, if they continue to do this the market will turn against us.” — AFP

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FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Years

www.kuwaittimes.net

A man uses a public phone booth decorated as a brain in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 21, 2012. A hundred phone booths, nicknamed Orelhao (meaning "big ear" in Portuguese), are being replaced with art works by a local phone company. — AFP

Olives

Food

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

By Sawsan Kazak

Everyday cooking

O

lives seem to be as old as time. They are mentioned in holy books, featured in many ethnic cuisines and now available anywhere in the world. Olives are salty, briny and have a deep earthy flavor, they are delicious with a slice of bread , on a salad or even cooked into a dish. The following recipes utilize the strong and unique flavors of olives.

Send your suggestions to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

Fun facts

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lives appear in one of the earliest cookbooks ever discovered, a 2000year-old text by a Roman named Apicius.

Olives were so revered in Biblical times that it is said that Moses granted olive growers an exemption from military service.

Traditionally, olive oil was the oil burned in Hanukkah lamps.

The earliest Olympic flame was a burning olive branch.

Carvings of olives appear on pharaoh’s tombs in the pyramids of Egypt.

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses olive soup as a sore throat recipe-the only occurrence of the olive in Chinese cuisine.

The conventional canned “Black Mission” olives are actually green olives that have been cured with lye, which changes the color to black. (This is not true of canned Black Mission olives at Whole Foods Market.)

Governments have begun to grant Controlled Designation of Origin to olives, just as with fine wines and cheeses. Thus, only the olives produced in Kalamata, Greece are permitted to carry that name.

For thousands of years the olive branch has been used as a sign of peace and goodwill.

This may be partly due to the fact that in early cultivation of the olive, it took decades to bear fruit for harvest, and, therefore, it was believed that anyone who planted olive groves was expecting a long and peaceful life. The symbolism is also likely related to the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark and the dove. (www.olives101.com)

Food FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Marinated Olives

Olive bread

1 jar pitted green olives 1 jar pitted kalamata olives, drained 2 bay leaves 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon molasses 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon salt 7 1/2 cups bread flour 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

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lace water, yeast, and molasses in a mixing bowl; stir to mix. Let stand for a few minutes until mixture is creamy and foamy. Add olive oil and salt; mix. Add flour, about a cup at a time, until dough is too stiff to stir. Add olives and fresh herbs.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board.

Knead, adding flour as needed to keep from being sticky, until smooth and elastic. Place in well oiled bowl, and turn to coat the dough surface with oil. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour or so. Punch the dough down, split into two pieces, and form into two round loaves. Place on greased baking sheet . Spray with cold water and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Let loaves rise for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for about 45 minutes, or until they are brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Olive Chicken 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts salt to taste 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 tomatoes, peeled and quartered 20 pimento-stuffed green olives 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

S

P

lace olives in a colander, and rinse in cool, running water. Rinse the olive jars out with water. In a large mixing bowl, combine bay leaves, rosemary, fennel, thyme, and white vinegar. Add olives, and toss until olives are coated. Place the mixture into the two jars; make sure each jar gets one bay leaf. Fill any empty space in the jars up with water. Cap jar, and shake well. Refrigerate for at least 2 days.

eason chicken with salt. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; brown chicken in oil, about 5 minutes each side.

Add garlic, bay leaf, thyme and pepper and mix well, then stir in tomatoes, olives, and broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Remove garlic and bay leaf and serve.

Fig and Olive tapenade 1 1/2 cup finely chopped, dried black mission figs, stem tips removed 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives 1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts, toasted 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and blotted dry 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves OR 2 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

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it kalamatas by whacking them with the flat side of a cleaver or other instrument. The pit will pull out easily. Toast nuts in a 350 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes, shaking occasionally. Place figs in a saucepan with water and cook at medium-low heat until figs have softened and water has evaporated, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to medium bowl. Add to the bowl the remaining ingredients, stir, cover and let set 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate if storing for longer periods before serving. If dip has been refrigerated, take out 45 minutes before serving.

Pe t s FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Pet estate planning

It’s easier than ever to include your pets in your estate plan

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enry loves fetching his tennis ball and playing tug with his stuffed animals. About 6 years old, the Shih Tzu mix likely has many good years left. In a way, that worries his owner. Fern Edson adopted Henry from the PAWS Chicago animal shelter almost four years ago. Her age: 84. “I really didn’t think about the age difference,” Edson said.

About 18 months later, “I started thinking about it.”

Edson, whose investment banker husband died 12 years ago, has found peace of mind about Henry’s future, however.

She’s enrolled in PAWS’ Guardian Angel pet care program, in which donors who leave bequests to the no-kill shelter are assured it will care for animals that outlive their owners. It’s one of several ways that

in wills. But that isn’t always the best option because the purpose of a will is to distribute property, and instructions are unenforceable, according to the 2010 book “Petriarch: The Complete Guide to Financial and Legal Planning for a Pet’s Continued Care.” In other words, Jane might get the house and the cat, but there’s nothing in the will that compels her to keep the house maintained or the cat fed.

Wills are also subject to the probate process. A recent case in point is the Berwyn, Ill., woman who died in December and stipulated in her will, written in 1988, that any animal in her care at the time of her death would be euthanized. The woman left most of her $1.4 million estate to animal causes, which

Jennifer Ranville (right) poses with her children, Eden, 7-month-old, Sloane, 2, and Brady, 4, and their dogs, Brandon (right) and George (left) at their home in Gilberts, Illinois. — MCT pet lovers are making provisions for their animals in the event they precede them in death. In recent years, it has become easier than ever to make estate-planning arrangements for pets.

All but a handful of states, for example, have passed laws that permit pet owners to pass on assets for their care. Illinois began allowing residents to create trusts for their pets in 2005. Since then, awareness of pet trusts has risen, and animal law is one of the fastest-growing legal specialties, according to the American Bar Association. “The tempo of inquiries and the number of actual executed pet trusts has increased in the last couple of years,” said Michael Fitzgerald, a lawyer with St. Charles-based law firm Fitzgerald & Perry, which has worked on pet trusts. If pet owners don’t make arrangements, the outcome for their animals can be uncertain.

Take Angel, a 1-year-old female cat that meowed to passersby recently from her cage at the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago. Society spokeswoman Trisha Trinco said Angel was dropped off with two other cats April 28 after their owner died. Angel was spayed May 4 and remains at the shelter. The other cats, Peggy and Marsha, have been adopted.

Some people leave bequests for their pets

suggests she cared deeply about pets.

Still, her will sought a death sentence for Boots, a healthy 11-year-old cat. The will’s executors at Fifth Third Bank, persuaded a Cook County, Ill., probate judge last month to set aside that provision and spare the cat’s life. The bank then gave more than $2,000 to Chicago no-kill shelter Cats Are Purrsons Too to care for Boots while attempts are made to find her a new home.

Estate planners and lawyers say what happened in the Boots case is one reason why setting up a pet trust is better than dealing with pet issues in a will. Trusts take effect quickly in the event of the owner’s death or incapacitation compared with the execution of a will, a process that can drag on for weeks, if not months or years, in probate court. Jeffrey Schmidt, Fifth Third trust officer, said if pet trusts are part of a person’s overall estate planning, they should cost no more than $250 to $500.

Todd Cordell, vice president of Chicago Trust Co. in Hinsdale, Ill., said establishing an estate plan can cost $500 to $3,000 or more depending on its complexity. It should be little to no extra cost to establish a pet trust as part of that estate plan, he said. If provisions of the pet trust need to be changed, amendments to the trust

could cost $300 to $1,000 depending on the complexity. It is recommended that the estate plan provide instructions on how to fund the pet trust. The amount will depend on such factors as the pet’s age, cost of routine care, food and toys, Cordell said.

In Illinois, a judge has the authority to reduce the amount of money used to fund a pet trust if the amount is deemed to be excessive. Because pets are considered property, they must be bequeathed to the trust. For most pet lovers, animals are part of the family. In fact, the Friedman family of Deerfield, Ill., calls their “highmaintenance” 12-year-old Portuguese water dog, Payton, their “oldest child.”

The Friedmans’ estate plan, handled by Lindsey Paige Markus of Chicago law firm Chuhak & Tecson, calls for Payton to be adopted in the event of the premature deaths of dad, Brad, 38, an executive vice president for Chicago-based real estate development firm Urban R2, and mom, Jolie, 35, who works at Northbrook, Ill., children’s clothing store Peek A Boutique.

While the couple’s two human children, boys ages 8 and 6, would be cared for by Brad’s brother and his wife, the Friedmans decided “they are not suitable parents for a dog.”

The couple’s estate planning names Jolie’s parents as caretakers for Payton, who “suffers greatly from hip dysplasia.”

“They’re seasoned dog owners who always give Payton lots of love and attention, and I am totally comfortable leaving him in their care,” Brad said. “He’s getting old, but he still thinks he is a puppy.” In their estate plan, Brad and Jolie haven’t allocated any funding specifically for Payton’s care. But Jolie said her parents are aware of his expenses, the tracking of which she has down to a science. The list includes $90 for food every five or six weeks, $65 for grooming every 5 weeks and a $30 allergy medicine that lasts for two months.

Scott Laue, financial adviser with Savant Capital in Rockford, said firms such as his can be named a “successor trustee” in pet trusts, ensuring that the wishes of the pet owner are carried out and managing money in the trust to benefit the animal. Fees for that job, he said, typically amount to about 1.35 percent of the trust assets. If Gilberts, Ill., residents Jennifer and Michael Ranville die unexpectedly, their trust calls for their dogs to be included in a package deal with their children.

They feel the dogs would comfort the children.

The couple worked with a law firm to set up their trust while expecting their first child. Their family has since grown to three children, ages 7 months to 4 years, and two dogs, Brandon and George, 12 and 11 years old. “We’re even more glad that we’ve written that into the trust, because if they lost both parents, at least they would still have their dogs,” said Jennifer, 34, a stay-at-home mom who previously worked at Fifth Third Bank in Michigan. Her husband is a marketing director for Harvest Bible Chapel.

Others, such as Edson, are turning to animal shelters such as PAWS Chicago.

Naperville residents Loretta and Thomas Jacobs, for example, also signed on to PAWS’ Guardian Angels Pet Care program for their Labrador retriever mix, Domer.

She’ll turn 15 in July; they’ve had her since

she was 7 weeks old. “While I have friends who might take her in, we have always wanted to feel secure that she would be taken care of, and you never know what circumstances people might be in at that time,” said Loretta, 47.

Her husband, Thomas, 49, a DePaul University finance professor, said even family members tend to minimize Domer as “only a dog.” “It makes it difficult to even have the conversation with others, let alone trust them with your animal,” he said. “Let’s face the fact that if most people find it difficult to take the steps to complete an estate plan for their family, the likelihood that they’ll do so for a pet is remote.”

Loretta, an actuary for a major firm’s long-term care insurance consulting practice, said, “Domer would live at the PAWS facility and be surrounded by loving people” until the right permanent home is found. Domer’s advanced age makes it unlikely that such arrangements will be necessary, but the couple believes that it’s “important to plan ahead.” Loretta declined to disclose the amount of the gift that they’ve bequeathed to PAWS. Chicago animal shelter PAWS works on a case-by-case basis with pet owners interested in enrolling in the Guardian Angels Pet Care program, but, generally, a gift of $15,000 a pet is a minimum to ensure proper care for their pets. “In the past, when we have agreed to less, it has cost Paws more in the medical care for the pet than the gift that we received,” said PAWS Chairman Paula Fasseas. Such gifts also help homeless animals that don’t have owners planning for their future, she said. About 70 people have enrolled in the program.

Fern Edson declines to divulge the size of her gift to PAWS. Henry is Edson’s first dog in 30 years. He sleeps with her. She makes sure that his stuffed animals don’t have any glasslike eyes that could be chewed off and swallowed. Her daughterin-law in the Washington area has assured Edson that her family would take Henry in case of an emergency, but their family has three dogs, two cats, two rabbits and two teenagers.

“Enough said,” Edson said in explaining why she has declined the offer. “There’s enough going on there.” A friend in her downtown high-rise insists he’d take Henry if she died suddenly, but “that’s not enough of a promise,” she said. Edson said PAWS staffers have personally committed to taking Henry if he outlives her, promising to keep him at their homes until they find the “right family” for him.

“I just want to make sure he isn’t put back” into the no-kill shelter, said Edson, worried that “some couple would walk in on a Sunday morning with nothing to do” and adopt her “best friend” but be too casual about pet ownership.

The person who would ultimately adopt Henry would eventually get a surprise: “My lawyer knows that whoever gets Henry has to send all the bills to him,” Edson said. She has arranged to pay for Henry’s food, medication, doctor’s visits, shots - “whatever it takes” - after her death. “There could be a lot of great people who would be good with Henry who can’t afford him,” she said. “I wanted to make sure whoever gets Henry pays nothing for Henry.” — MCT

BOOKS FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

I

nculcating the love of reading in our children is probably the best gift that we can ever give them. Board books are the best way to get them started because they’re just right for little hands to handle (or drop over and over again!) With so many board books out there for every occasion, and situation, it’s hard to narrow down the choices.

Goodnight Moon

Brown bear, Brown bear, What do you See?

T

his book has been called the ultimate go-to-bed book for young children. It tells the story of a young rabbit who’s getting ready for bed and does so by saying goodnight to the things in his room one by one. As he does so, the room gets dimmer and dimmer, until the little rabbit finally goes to sleep.

T

his classic picture book uses simple and repetitive rhymes that are easily followed and appreciated by children.

On each page, we meet a new animal that helps us discover which animal will show up next. Once your child is old enough to remember the sequence, he will be able to tell you what animal is coming up next. This is also a great book for colour and animal association.

Hug

Eloise Wilkin’s Poems to Read to the Very Young

B

obo is a little monkey who wants a hug from his mummy.

Throughout the book, he sees other animal mummies and babies hugging. The book is made up of pretty much just one word - “hug”, but the illustrations tell the larger story of love, so saying the word “hug” in different intonations helps to get the meaning across.

T

he back of the board book says “Babies who are read to, grow up loving books”.

This book is a good introduction to classic poems while the cheerful poems and their classic illustrations make it a great every day read. Pop baby on your lap and select a few poems a day. By the time she is old enough to speak, she may be able to recite a few poems back to you.

Leo the Late Bloomer

Pat the Bunny

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his book is a very reassuring read for young ones who are late bloomers (and perhaps their parents too). It tells the story of Leo the tiger cub who has yet to ‘bloom’. He doesn’t eat nicely or draw, and doesn’t do anything particularly well.

He doesn’t even speak, which causes his father to be very concerned. But Leo’s mum isn’t worried at all because she knows Leo will do all these things, and more, when he’s ready. Eventually, Leo blossoms as he discovers his own talents.

T

his ‘touch and feel’ book is a perfect first book for babies. It was first published in 1940, and is one of the best selling children’s books of all time. Children love the touch of bunny’s soft fur. There are also other textures in there to explore, such as a rough beard (sandpaper) and a soft cloth, all in a variety of colours to capture baby’s attention.

Secret Seahorse

Moo, Baa, La La La!

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oo, Baa, La La La! stands out for its happy vibe which just leaps off the pages. Each page introduces the reader to the sounds an animal makes - A cow says ‘Moo’. It’s quite simple to an adult but coupled with Boynton’s trademark quirky illustrations, it’s guaranteed to be a hit with young children. There’s even an iPhone app for this book!

T

ired of books about lions, giraffes, cats and dogs? Well, this board book is about the creatures you can find in a coral reef. The illustrations in the book, made of fabric mosaic, are bright and colourful.

The text offers a lovely story in rhymes about a seahorse darting around the reef.

The seahorse is finally reunited with his family. Young children will love spotting the ‘hiding’ seahorse on every page and learn a thing or two about the underwater world.

Health FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012

Hair today, gone tomorrow

What you need to know about laser hair removal L

aser hair removal is a medical procedure that uses a laser - an intense, pulsating beam of light - to remove unwanted hair. During laser hair removal, a laser beam passes through the skin to an individual hair follicle. The intense heat of the laser damages the hair follicle, which inhibits future hair growth.

Laser hair removal is most effective for people who have light skin and dark hair.

Although laser hair removal effectively slows hair growth, it doesn’t guarantee permanent hair removal. It typically takes several laser hair removal treatments to provide an extended hair-free period. Periodic maintenance treatments might be needed as well.

Laser hair removal is used to remove unwanted hair. Common treatment locations include legs, armpits, upper lip, chin and bikini line. However, it’s possible to treat unwanted hair in nearly any area except the eyelid or surrounding area. Hair colour and skin type influence the success of laser hair removal.

For example, laser hair removal is most effective for people who have light skin and dark hair because the laser beam targets the pigment (melanin) in the hair. However, advances in technology have made laser hair removal an option for people who have darker skin. Laser hair removal isn’t

generally effective for white, gray, red or blond hair - although treatment options for lighter hair continue to be investigated.

Laser hair removal doesn’t guarantee permanent hair removal. Some hair could be resistant to the laser treatment or grow again after treatment - although the new hair growth might be finer and lighter in color. The most common side effects of laser hair removal include: Skin irritation: Temporary discomfort, redness and swelling are possible after laser hair removal. Any signs and symptoms typically disappear within several hours.

Pigment changes: Laser hair removal might darken or lighten the affected skin, usually temporarily. Skin lightening primarily affects those who have darker skin, especially if an incorrect laser is used at an incorrect setting.

Rarely, laser hair removal can cause blistering, crusting, scarring or other changes in skin texture. Laser hair removal isn’t recommended for the eyelid or surrounding area, due to the possibility of severe eye injury. If you’re interested in laser hair removal, choose a doctor whose board certified in a specialty such as dermatology or cosmetic surgery and has experience with laser hair removal. If a physician’s assistant or licensed nurse will do the procedure, make sure a doctor supervises and is avail-

able on-site during the treatments. Be cautious about spas, salons or other facilities that allow nonmedical personnel to do laser hair removal. Before laser hair removal, schedule a consultation with the doctor. The doctor will use this visit to review your medical history, including medication use; discuss risks, benefits and expectations, including what laser hair removal can and can’t do for you; take photos to be used for before-and-after assessments and long-term reviews. At the consultation, be sure to discuss a treatment plan and related costs. Laser hair removal is typically an out-of-pocket expense.

The doctor will also offer specific tips to prepare for laser hair removal. For example: Stay out of the sun: A tan increases the risk of side effects, such as skin lightening. If you have a tan - either from sun exposure or sunless tanning products - wait until the tan fades completely before undergoing laser hair removal. Some doctors recommend staying out of the sun for up to six weeks before laser hair removal.

Avoid plucking, waxing and electrolysis: These hair removal methods can disturb the hair follicle and interfere with laser hair removal. Shaving is okay, however, since it preserves the hair shaft and follicle. In fact, shaving might even be recommended.

Some studies suggest that shaving before laser hair removal improves it.

Before laser hair removal, the hair in the treatment area might be trimmed with a pair of scissors. You might also be fitted with special goggles to protect your eyes from the laser beam. The doctor might apply a topical anesthetic to your skin to reduce any discomfort during treatment.

During the procedure The doctor will press a hand-held laser

instrument to your skin. Depending on the type of laser, a cooling device on the tip of the instrument or a cool gel might be used to protect your skin. When the doctor activates the laser, the laser beam will pass through your skin to the tiny sacs (follicles) where hair growth originates. The intense heat from the laser beam damages the hair follicles, which inhibits hair growth. Some discomfort in the skin is possible, and you’ll likely feel a sensation of cold from the cooling device or gel. Treating a small area, such as the upper lip, might take only a few minutes. Treating a larger area, such as the back, might take several hours.

After the procedure You might notice redness and swelling for the first few hours after laser hair removal. To reduce any discomfort, apply ice to the treated area. Your doctor might also suggest an aloe gel or other type of cream or lotion, as well as over-the-counter pain relievers. If you have a skin reaction immediately after laser hair removal, the doctor might apply a steroid cream to the affected area.

After laser hair removal, avoid sun exposure - both natural sunlight and tanning beds. When your skin has healed, use sunscreen whenever you’re in the sun. You might also prepare yourself for possible hair shedding in the first few weeks after treatment. Don’t mistake this for hair regrowth. Multiple treatments can prolong the duration of hair loss - up to years in some cases - but hair regrowth is still possible. For best results, you might need four to six treatments spaced a number of weeks apart. Additional periodic maintenance treatments - perhaps once every six to 12 months - might be needed as well. ww.mayoclinic.com

Beauty FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Looking beautiful, not made All it takes is a little more time and patience to look au naturel

I

t started with the no-tan tan and next month, having been a sell-out in the US, British shops are gearing up for the NoFoundation Foundation. In this cash-conscious climate, no one wants to look like they’ve spent a fortune on beauty, so here’s the experts’ guide to keeping it subtle.

What it is: Dr. Nicholas V. Perricone, the New York-based dermatologist to the stars, is the man behind this multi-tasking base which provides natural translucent coverage. It corrects the skin’s undertones, boosts natural moisture levels and contains powerful anti-oxidants. It also delivers anti-ageing benefits to the skin to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and discolouration.

How it’s done: For best results, apply a thin layer to clean skin, over moisturiser. It can be worn during the day, as the light formula contains a natural sunscreen, and is available in one shade that suits all ages and skin types.

The no-botox botox What it is: Cosmetic expert Dr. Elisabeth Dancey reports an increase in people asking for a more natural look. When she uses Botox, her aim is to soften muscle hyper-activity (which can gives a hard, ageing look) rather than administer a lot of Botox and end up with a frozen expression.

How it’s done: ‘I’d recommend using less product for a softer look and to have little, but regular treatments,’ she says. ‘I’d take the whole face into consideration; treat the upper part of the face as well as the lower part, without forgetting the neck area and the deollete.’

The no-blow dry blow dry What it is: Top stylist Lee Stafford says: ‘Often when women leave the hairdresser’s after a blow dry, they rush home to re-style their hair themselves and mess it all up, so it doesn’t look so done.’ So Lee has recently introduced a 15-minute masterclass,

which clients can add to their appointment, to teach them how to achieve the effortless look they want at home.

How it’s done: On mid-length hair, for example, after shampooing, rough dry hair until 90 per cent dry, then create a loose bun and pin, using hair grips at the crown of your head. Make sure you don’t twist the hair too tight, as it has to be undone to achieve the look. Spray all over with a fine mist of hairspray, then blast with a hair dryer for a few minutes.

The no-make-up make-up What it is: According to international make-up queen Bobbi Brown, this summer’s no-make-up make-up look is not, as you might think, about having a completely bare face. ‘It’s about finding the most flattering, natural shades and formulas that work with your skin tone,’ she says.

How it’s done: Start with concealer under the eyes, and in the corners where the eye area meets the inside of the upper nose.

Next, apply tinted moisturiser or, if you need more coverage, use a foundation stick to even out skin tone. While smiling, apply a pink blush to the apples of the cheeks. Make sure you sweep downwards and outwards for a natural flush. Apply two coats of brown or black mascara, then sweep a sheer or tinted lip gloss or balm over your lips and you’re done.

The no-colour colour What it is: A technique to take hair back to its roots, with a colour that is extremely natural in tone. It is a pre-colour treatment that evens out the texture of the hair so it will take colour evenly.

How it’s done: Colour is applied in a natural tone, often leaving it lighter through the ends, but still in a similar tone to the main hair colour. A gloss is applied to act as a top coat, which is then super sealed with a further colour treatment. The No-Colour Colour is proven to last longer than other colour treatments and

you don’t need to book appointments as frequently.

The no-perm perm What it is: A new organic, ammonia-free perm which is perfect for flat, lifeless hair that needs an injection of body. Former London Hairdresser of the Year, Karine Jackson, says: ‘We’re doing more perms than ever, as the trend for curls and waves has really taken hold. The organic curl systems perm is really gentle on hair. You can use bigger rollers for more of a wave or medium-sized ones - we used these on actress Neve Campbell. ‘For flat, lifeless hair, you can have a root-lift perm, which is basically done selectively at the roots for volume - it means hair gets an injection of volume but no actual visible curl or wave.’

How it’s done: A strand test is done on your hair 48 hours before the appointment to make sure it’s suitable and the perm will work for you. The hair is shampooed and wound onto rollers, then, depending on hair type, you’ll either go under the heat or be left to set naturally. The treatment itself takes about two hours. For a root perm, the ends will be covered with plastic or conditioner so the solution doesn’t touch the rest of the hair.

The no-tan tan What it is: Nichola Joss, self-tanning expert for St. Tropez, says: ‘The no-tan tan trend is very easy to achieve and gives a subtle, radiant and healthy glow. The beauty of this tan is that it suits even the very palest of skins. Top models, including Lily Cole and Erin O’Connor, love it.’

How it’s done: Exfoliate to remove any dead skin cells and create the perfect base. Next, apply St Tropez Everyday Gradual Tan evenly all over your body. This lightweight, easy-to-apply mousse delivers an ultra-even, subtle tan in just a few hours. www.ukmail.org

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Nicole Kidman vamps it up in steamy Cannes contender

N In this film image released by Paramount Pictures, Channing Tatum, left, and Dwayne Johnson are shown in a scene from ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation.’ — AP

‘G.I. Joe’ gets new marching orders, moves to 2013

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ust a month before its June release in the US, Paramount Pictures delayed the debut of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” by nine months after another movie based on a Hasbro plaything was trounced at the box office by “The Avengers.” Paramount on Wednesday pushed back the release of the “G.I. Joe” sequel from June 29 until March 29, 2013, in order to adapt the movie for 3-D screens, according to Paramount’s executive vice president of publicity, Katie Martin Kelley.

The move comes after “Battleship,” based on the Hasbro board game, debuted at No. 2 at the North American box office with $25.5 million in ticket sales, behind the still-strong “Avengers,” which brought in a whopping $55.6 million in its

third weekend of release. Action films often get most of their revenue from 3-D showings, which cost a few dollars more per ticket and can boost a movie’s prospects to make its money back.

March has proven to be a big month for movies because there’s a lack of big-budget competition, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com. This March, “The Hunger Games” premiered on March 12 and went on to make $629 million worldwide. “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” also suffered from a lack of strong buzz online, according to Ben Carlson, president of market tracking firm Fizziology.—AP

Filipina ex-nanny sues Stone for abuse

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Filipina former nanny of Sharon Stone is suing the US film star for wrongful dismissal and harassment, including by allegedly making derogatory remarks about her ethnicity and religion. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Erlinda Elemen claims the actress equated being Filipino with being stupid, and ordered her not to speak in front of her children so they would “not talk like you.” The “Basic Instinct” star also banned Elemen, who was dismissed last year, from reading the Bible in Stone’s home, even though she lived

File photo shows US actress Sharon Stone arriving at the amfAR Inspiration Gala Los Angeles. — AFP

with her to look after the actress’s three children, and frequently traveled with them.

From August 2010 Elemen “was repeatedly subjected to repeated derogatory comments and slurs by (Stone) related to her Filipino ethnicity and heritage,” said the 17-page lawsuit. “These statements included ... comments about Plaintiff’s Filipino accent (ie Plaintiff was instructed to refrain from speaking to the children because Defendant did not want them to ‘talk like you’), comments about Filipino food, and comments which equated being Filipino with being stupid,” it added. In addition Stone “was repeatedly verbally dismissive of Plaintiff’s deeply held religious beliefs, criticized Plaintiff for frequently attending church, and, on one occasion, forbade Plaintiff from reading the bible...”—AFP

icole Kidman sizzles as a smalltown vamp drawn to a convicted murderer in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy”, marking the US director’s return to Cannes yesterday after his harrowing hit “Precious”. The steamy new picture, set partly in the humid Florida swamps, features a bleached-blonde Kidman as Charlotte, an “oversexed Barbie doll” who carries on correspondence with dozens of prison inmates in the late 1960s. One day a letter arrives that stands out from the pile, mainly in its graphic account of the sex that convict Hillary (John Cusack) proposes to have with her when he gets out. Charlotte promptly declares him “The One”.

Meanwhile crusading newspaperman Ward (Matthew McConaughey) learns of Hillary’s case and believes he has been falsely sent to death row for the killing of a policeman. Ward, his brother Jack (Zac Efron) and a black writer Yardley (David Oyelowo) begin to investigate with the help of a dossier compiled by Charlotte, whose tacky sensuality proves irresistibly mesmerising to the fresh-faced Jack. The group’s first visit to Moat County prison turns into a farcical seduction, as the sexstarved Hillary commands Charlotte to simulate a sex act at a distance as the redfaced reporters look on.

The Australian Kidman, who dials down her natural glamour and turns up the sex appeal in the role of a trashy seductress, said she had been looking for “something raw and something dangerous” when she was given Daniels’ screenplay. “I wanted to be in his hands and see what he would do,” said Kidman, who was in selection at Cannes in 2003 with Lars Von Trier’s “Dogville”. “I may be uncomfortable watching the movie, but that’s my job.” As his characters journey into the moist heat of the Florida swamps, Daniels probes a dank and violent underbelly of American society.

“There’s something very erotic about the ‘swamp’, something very magnetizing about that world and these people,” McConaughey told reporters. “Murky, mysterious. Everyone in this film, everything is not as it seems. That’s where

Leonardo loves to spend his time, in the gaps in between.” Daniels took a novel

by Pete Dexter as his starting point, but worked in the theme of race relations through the added characters of the black writer and the housekeeper who narrates the tale.

“What I could give in this world was my truth,” the African-American director told the press conference. “Every character in this movie is someone that I know personally,” he said. The young Jack has an affectionate relationship with the maid Anita (the singer Macy Gray) in spite of the fraught race relations of the era. “I watched a movie called ‘The Help’ and though I liked it 90 percent of my family was ‘help’,” Daniels said. “And these are the stories that they told, they loved the people they worked for.”

For the prison plotline, Daniels also drew on personal experience, having raised his brother’s two children after the latter was jailed for murder. The film also touches on homophobia, in particular the issue of interracial gay sex. “I can’t tell you how many men I’ve been with the 80s and 90s, that were white, that I could be intimate with and that would shun me in public,” the director told reporters.

The film, one of 22 in the running for the festival’s Palme d’Or top prize to be handed out on Sunday, divided the audience at an early press screening, drawing a mix of applause and boos.

Daniels’ first feature film, “Precious”, the story of an African-American incest survivor, screened in the festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar section before going on to two Academy Award nominations.—AFP

( From left) Actors Macy Gray, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack and Zac Efron pose during a photo call for The Paperboy at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, yesterday. — AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

A Muslim elementary school student holds a defaced poster of US pop singer Lady Gaga during a protest against her concert that is scheduled to be held on June 3, in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, yesterday. (Right) Muslim women hold posters during a protest against Lady Gaga’s concert. — AP photos

Lady Gaga refuses

to tone down her shows

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op superstar Lady Gaga would rather cancel dates in her world tour than make changes to appease censors and religious groups, the US singer’s manager said yesterday as controversy dogs her in Asia. Troy Carter said that in any case, nothing would appease the religious hardliners who have denounced Lady Gaga in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines since her tour kicked off in Asia. “We’ll skip them,” Carter told a music conference in Singapore, insisting that Lady Gaga would not tone down any upcoming concerts. “We play the show as it is. It’s a very specific show; it’s a very specific audience.”

Conservative Christians in South Korea and the Philippines, and militant Islamic groups in Indonesia, have accused the provocative US singer of espousing blasphemy and devil-wor-

ship. Indonesian police are refusing to issue a permit for her June 3 show in Jakarta after threats of violence from the militant groups, but the promoters say they are still lobbying to stage the event. Carter said the fervid opposition was more a rejection of everything that the “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” singer represents than anything to do with her wardrobe or on-stage behavior.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with Gaga as much as it has to do with-you know, it’s just a big cultural and generational gap that is happening over there,” the manager said.

“You are dealing with a few different things, you are dealing with politics... you are dealing with religion. It’s a little bit more complicated than her changing her outfits.” This week in Manila, Philippine censors were on hand to ensure Lady Gaga’s act did not breach permit

Donna

Disco queen Summer laid to rest in Nashville

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amily and some of her closest friends helped celebrate the life of Donna Summer at the singer’s funeral. A private memorial service was held Wednesday for Summer at Christ Presbyterian in Nashville, Tenn., where she had been a resident since 1995.

Summer, deemed the “Queen of Disco” for hits like “I Feel Love,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “Last Dance,” died May 17 of lung cancer at 63 in Naples, Fla. Producer and close friend David Foster performed “The Prayer” with Natalie Grant. Summer’s sisters, Linda Gaines Lotman, Mary Ellen Bernard, Dara Bernard and Jenette Yancey, sang “We’ve Come This Far By Faith.” Other guests included producer Giorgio Moroder and Tony Orlando. Summer is survived by husband Bruce Sudano; three daughters, Brooklyn, Mimi and Amanda; and four grandchildren. — AP

terms banning nudity, blasphemy and lewd conduct. She is next due to perform in Bangkok on Friday, before three gigs in Singapore.

After that is supposed to come the June 3 concert in Jakarta. On Twitter this week, Lady Gaga said she would perform solo if necessary, rather than bow to demands from Indonesian censors or the threats of violence. The singer ruffled some feathers in Thailand with a tweet after she arrived late Wednesday saying she wanted to buy a fake Rolex and visit a “lady market” which critics took to be a reference to a red-light area. “If Gaga supports fake Rolex in Thailand, I bet she also supports the unauthorized copies of her album. Such an ignorant comment!” one user responded on Twitter.

A poster on the popular Thai forum Pantip.com wrote: “What does it mean? Does it

show that Thailand is a sex trade country and a country which violates copyrights? It pains the heart but it’s true.” Lady Gaga is expected to do 110 shows this year following the huge success of her album “Born This Way”, which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011. The star, named one of the 100 most influential fashion icons by the US magazine Time, has wowed fans with outfits ranging from a dress made of raw meat to a frock fashioned out of plastic bubbles.

Her manager said it was important that the 26-year-old singer retain the support of millions of devoted fans who are likely to sustain her career over the long term, rather than pander to her critics. “So it’s very important that she maintains her loyalty and integrity with this audience and hopefully they will follow her,” Carter said. —AFP

Rights concerns shadow Azerbaijan’s Eurovision party

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ights activists in Azerbaijan are using the weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest to draw attention to repression in the ex-Soviet state but fear a backlash once the music extravaganza ends. The opposition accuses the Aliyev dynasty that has ruled Azerbaijan almost since the fall of the Soviet Union of clamping down on dissent and public protests, and of jailing political opponents on trumped-up charges. Taking advantage of the unprecedented influx of foreign media to the capital Baku, activists are using tactics ranging from rallies to hunger strikes to draw attention to their cause.

“For the first time in Europe, people have used Eurovision as a tool to try to resolve problems linked to human rights,” leading Azerbaijani rights campaigner and youth protest organiser Rasul Jafarov told AFP. Wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Sing for Democracy”, Jafarov, 27, said he had asked one of the favourites, Sweden’s Loreen, to talk about rights during her appearance. The authorities brush off the opposition’s actions, simply saying it lacks support.

“We have an opposition but it is small, it is weak, what can we do about this?”

said parliament’s committee for social policy chairman Hadi Rajabli. The Sing for Democracy movement, an alliance of groups and individual bloggers and journalists, plans several peaceful “walking” protests in Baku during the contest while the media spotlight is on Azerbaijan. Some are resorting to more drastic tactics.

In a ramshackle suburb of Baku, a group of six men sat on beds reading newspapers and chatting, a national flag pinned on the wall along with photos of political prisoners. —AFP

Opposition activists rally in the Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, on May 23, 2012. —AFP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Phillip Phillips is new ‘American Idol’

the

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Host Ryan Seacrest, left, and former winner Scotty McCreery, right, present an award to winner Phillip Phillips, center, onstage.

Finalists Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez walk onstage during Fox’s ‘American Idol 2012’ results show at Nokia.

Singers Jennifer Holliday and Jessica Sanchez perform onstage.

hillip Phillips, a bluesy Georgia guitar man, was crowned the new “American Idol” on Wednesday after defeating teenager Jessica Sanchez in record viewer voting. He was the fifth male “Idol” winner in a row. Phillips, 21, a pawn shop worker from Leesburg, Ga., looked stunned when host Ryan Seacrest announced his name, then wordlessly accepted a hug from Sanchez and congratulations from his fellow finalists. He dissolved into tears as he sang “Home,” the song that may be his first single.

Phillips retained his humble, self-effacing demeanor to the end, and beyond. “I have no idea why I won, man,” he said in his backstage dressing room. “I guess some people liked the music that I was doing. I’m just lucky. ... I was just doing my thing each week.”

He received the winning share of the recordhigh 132 million votes cast after Tuesday’s final showdown with high school student Sanchez, 16, of Chula Vista, Calif. The vote count was not announced, typical for the contest. His victory extended the “American Idol” winning streak for men to five consecutive seasons. The last female to win, and the last non-white, was Jordin Sparks in 2007. Phillips has more in common with the last four winners than gender.

Like them, he is a young Caucasian guitar player, also known to “Idol” watchers as WGWGs white guys with guitars. Last year’s winner was Scotty McCreery, preceded by Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and David Cook.

Sanchez, who is of Filipino and Latino heritage, took a measured view of the outcome, one that she said had solely to do with music. “I don’t blame it on anything,” she said backstage.

“Phillip has his fans, and I have mine. We’re totally two different people. Our genres are completely different. “He’s more like the indie, alternative rock kinda guy, and I’m more urban R&B pop. ... It’s just the number of our fans,” she said, adding that she expected to be the runnerup. “In the moment, I told him, ‘You’re gonna win this.’ I was smiling at him the whole time. I was ready to just give him a big hug, and that’s what I did when they announced it.”

Sparks, 22, was among the guest stars who helped fill out the two-hour finale show, among them Rihanna, Neil Diamond, Reba McEntire, Chaka Khan and John Fogarty. “American Idol” judges Steven Tyler, with his band Aerosmith, and Jennifer Lopez also performed, but it was

Winner Phillip Phillips performs onstage at the “American Idol” finale on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 in Los Angeles. — AP/AFP photos

Sanchez and Jennifer Holliday who stood out with a powerhouse duet on “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” Besides music, there was a marriage proposal for the season 11 finale: Former contestants Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo got engaged on stage.

Young, 31, a season five finalist, told Seacrest that he and DeGarmo, 24, had just moved in together. Then Young got down on one knee and popped the question to her. “I love you to death. You’re my best friend,” Young said in his proposal, which included a jarring credit for the jeweler who made the engagement ring he was offering (which, given Fox’s heavy soft drink and car sponsor product placement, wasn’t so offkey). DeGarmo, a runner-up in season three, tearfully accepted, her head bobbing up and down.

But the point of the finale, saved for the final minutes and the highest possible ratings, was anointing the newest Idol and winner of a record contract. During the three-song showdown Tuesday between Phillips and Sanchez, the show’s judges praised his performance across the board. Sanchez was faulted for a lackluster rendition of her third song, “Change Nothing.”

Finalists Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips perform onstage.

Winner Phillip Phillips reacts onstage .

Finalist Phillip Phillips, left, and John Fogerty perform onstage.

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MAY 25The Reunion, 2012

The top 10 finalists perform onstage at the “American Idol” finale.

Jennifer Lopez performs.

Although some critics dismissed Phillips as a Dave Matthews clone, viewers embraced him for his humility, his on-camera mugging and his memorable acoustic covers of songs like Usher’s “U Got It Bad.” In weekly tallies, Phillips never fell among the low vote-getters. On Tuesday, he earned consistently high marks from the show’s judges, while Sanchez faltered on “Change Nothing,” the song that could serve as her first release. The teenager agreed with panelists Randy Jackson, Lopez and Tyler, saying she should have gone more “urban” with her song choice.

Phillips had better luck with the slow-tempo, acoustic tune “Home,” which the judges said recalled artists like Fleet Foxes, Paul Simon and

Steven Tyler, left, and Joe Perry, of musical group Aerosmith, perform onstage at the ‘American Idol’ final.

Mumford and Sons. At one point during Phillips’ final performance, the pawn shop worker was accompanied by a marching band. It was a hit with the panel. Jackson, beaming, exclaimed: “I love the song. I love you. I love the production. I love the marching band. Everything about that was perfect.” Last year’s contest between McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina drew more than 122 million votes, the record that was broken Wednesday.—AP

Jennifer Lopez, center, performs onstage at the ‘American Idol’ finale.

( From left) Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson appear onstage at the “American Idol”.

Carrie Underwood, right, and Mike Fisher arrive at the American Idol Finale.

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Women look at a decorated public phone booth in Sao Paulo.

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enerations of Chinese grew up under the spell cast by Wu Cheng’en’s “Journey to the West”, the 16th Century adventure epic which is the subject of two major upcoming film adaptations.

Hopes are that the tale will continue to leave audiences spellbound, with shooting now wrapped on actor and director Stephen Chow’s version of the tale and another starring “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” star Chow Yun-fat.

Lauded as one of China’s “Four Great Classical Novels”, it has inspired operas, including one penned by acclaimed British rocker Damon Albarn, a string of cinema hits dating back to the 1940s and a popular online game. “‘Journey to the West’ is a story full of imagination,” Chow told AFP. “The plot is beyond any other fantasy,” added the Hong Kong-based star, who is one of China’s biggest box office draws with films including “Shaolin Soccer” (2001) and “Kung Fu Hustle” (2004).

As China’s rapidly expanding film industry continues to break new commercial ground, Chinese filmmakers are increasingly looking to literary adaptations for their inspiration-with “Journey to the West” a timehonored favorite. Chow is putting final touches to his 110 million yuan ($17.3 million) adaptation, whose working title is “Journey to the West” and stars Chinese actors Wen Zhang and Shu Qi. It will be the third time he has used it as source material for a film.

It will come up against another version featuring heavyweights Chow Yun-fat and Donnie Yen in the Soi Cheang-directed 3D epic “The Monkey King”, costing an estimated 400 million yuan and which is also in post-production.

Chow’s fascination with the ancient text was first fuelled 30 years ago when he watched a grainy, blackand-white Cantonese film version of the tale in his local cinema house. “I think the reason it is still relevant nowadays-and people still find it attractive-is all down to its imagination. Until now I still don’t see it being surpassed.”

It is the sheer scale of the source material available in the original text that has Chow returning to those pages once again. “The story is so creative. Yet it is so orderly arranged and structured. On the one hand the creative process is just as free as a bird but on the other

hand the framework of the story is very well organized.

This is very unique.” The story is based on the legend of the monk Xuanzang’s journey to India during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to retrieve sacred texts.

The monk is ordered on this quest towards spiritual enlightenment by Buddha and is placed under the protection of three disciples-Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (the pig), and Sha Wujing (the water buffalo) — who are making up for past sins as well as a dragon prince who comes in the form of a horse. The story first started to appear on the big screen in the 1940s and has since been used as the basis for such hits as “Monkey Goes West” (1966) and the Jet Li-starring “The Forbidden Kingdom” (2008) as well as Chow’s own “A Chinese Odyssey” parts one and two (1994).

It has also been retold in a number of television productions-most notably the Japanese series “Saiyuki” from the 1970s, which was then dubbed and screened around the world. More recently the tale was the basis of the acclaimed opera “Monkey: Journey to the West”, put together by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn and Chinese stage director Chen Shi-zheng.

It has also surfaced in the Nickelodeon multi-player game “Monkey Quest”, which the company last month claimed was the “fastest-growing virtual world for kids” with 10 million registered users in its first year. Kat Yeung, distribution executive at Filmko Films which is co-producing rival movie “The Monkey King” along with Mandarin Films, believes the lessons learned along the way by those characters still resonate centuries on.

She says her company is putting a very modern spin on how the tale is told. “3D technology can show the ‘Journey to the West’ like it has never been seen before,” she said. “We want to take this story international, not only to Chinese territories, and we think “The Monkey King” will be just the first episode. There are lots of chapters in the books with independent stories that can be told.” Both productions are underway at a time when China is cementing its status as a cinema powerhouse. Box office takings surged 30 percent onyear in 2011, eclipsing those in North America. Beijingbased group Wanda is set to become the world’s biggest cinema operator by sales with its $2.6 billion purchase of US firm AMC Entertainment.

With the government-enforced quota of just 20

A woman uses a decorated public phone booth in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A hundred phone booths, nicknamed Orelhao (meaning ‘big ear’ in Portuguese), are being replaced with art works by a local phone company. — AFP photos

international films allowed in for screening each year still in place, it’s an industry in need of productions and ideas, with “Journey to the West” seen as rich source for inspiration. Hong Kong-based film critic and historian Paul Fonoroff also believes its enduring success comes down to its universal themes. “It’s a tale that has some-

thing for everybody: fantasy, adventure, cartoonish characters for the kids, an allegorical subtext for the adults, underlying themes of Buddhist enlightenment for the more spiritually inclined, and plenty of sex or at least sexual innuendo, depending on how the filmmakers want to play it,” he explains.—AFP

These undated images released to AFP from Celestial Pictures in Hong Kong shows a scene from director Ho Meng-hua’s classic ‘The Monkey Goes West’(1966) - one of the most-loved film versions of ‘Journey to the West’.

— AFP photos

Te c h n o l o g y FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

New games this summer Plumbers with tennis racquets and six-eyed aliens

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liens everywhere! At least that’s the sense one might get from this season’s crop of mobile console games, as gamemakers return to one of their favourite themes. May sees two new mobile platform releases requiring players to fight off aliens with evil intentions. If you like your games a little lighter and with more colour, there’s a new release of Mario Tennis, a homage to pinball games, or the puzzle game Jewel Master - Cradle of Rome 2. When he’s not tossing turtles about or saving the princess, Nintendo mascot Mario has a few other hobbies, like kart racing or football. In Mario Tennis Open, for the 3DS, he reaches for a tennis racquet.

A host of characters from the Mario universe is on standby to play him. Each has his or her special skills: Dinosaur Yoshi is particularly quick, while Mario’s arch-enemy Bowser compensates for his slow place with extra strength. The choice of tennis court also plays a role. Gravity has been known to turn off in the galaxy court. Basically, players should never expect a straightforward game.

Along with classic singles and doubles matches, the game comes with a whole series of mini-games. One lets the players hurl tennis balls at old Mario villains from previous titles, gathering coins in the process. Those can then be traded in during the main game. There’s also a multiple player mode for tennis duels, either directly against other 3DS owners or online. Mario Tennis Open goes on sale on May 25 for about 40 euros (51 dollars).

Resistance: Burning Skies from Sony, set for a June 1 release for the Playstation Vita, is significantly less family-friendly. After three versions for the Playstation 3 and one for the PSP, the first-person shooter is now coming to the Vita. The game is set in 1951, with the US overrun by six-eyed, technolog-

ically advanced aliens. Humanity has been forced to go underground and offer resistance. Players take on the role or New York City fireman Tom Riley, who is still searching for his family amid the chaos.

Aside from the single-player mode, there is a multi-player mode that accommodates up to eight players online. Resistance: Burning Skies costs about 50 euros.

Unfriendly land-grabbing aliens also play a role in the game accompanying the new movie Battleship. Unlike the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 versions, which rely on a firstperson shooter approach, the DS and 3DS versions are a complex version of the Battleship boardgames.

As usual, players start with a surface

upon which they set their ships. But water depth and other factors play a role. The fleet can also be moved, provided it has enough fuel. Little moments of action liven up the round-based strategy game. Players can use the stylus to open fire on the guns of the enemy ships themselves. There is no multi-player version, meaning admiral wannabes can only play against the computer. Battleship for the DS costs about 30 euros, while the 3DS version runs about 40 euros. There is also a Wii version.

Jewel Master - Cradle of Rome 2 from Rondomedia makes do without that level of carnage. A mix between a puzzle and a simulation game, it requires players to create their own Roman empire. To get the tools,

raw materials and construction materials needed for construction, players have to solve a series of puzzles that resemble those from Bejeweled or Puzzle Quest. New buildings free up bonus points, which come in handy with the increasingly tough puzzles. Players are called upon to master a total of 100 puzzles across five epochs.

Jewel Master for the 3DS costs about 23 euros.

It’s hardly a new idea to turn a pinball game into a video attraction. But doing so in 3D is something special. And that’s what Bigben Interactive has done with Pinball Hall of Fame for the 3DS. Seven classic tables from manufacturer Williams are recreated as authentically as possible. To make the pinball experience as realistic as possible, the 3DS needs to be turned upside down. That puts the 3D display on the bottom, just like a pinball game, while the 2D screen shows the points up top, again, just like a real pinball game. Pinball - Hall of Fame sells for 33 euros. — dpa

Stars

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FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

ACROSS 1. (computer science) A computer that is running software that allows users to leave messages and access information of general interest.

4. Genus of weedy Old World yellow-flowered herbs usually containing a bitter-tasting substance.

10. Experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness.

13. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

14. Bright with a steady but subdued shining.

15. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

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

17. The state prevailing during the absence of war.

18. King of Saudi Arabia since 1982 (born in 1922).

19. A sock with a separation for the big toe.

21. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.

23. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

24. Lower in esteem.

27. Before noon.

29. Characteristic of or relating to winter.

32. Call forth.

36. A motley assortment of things.

38. Type genus of Ochnaceae.

39. A label made of cardboard or plastic or metal.

40. The sixth month of the civil year.

42. (informal) Rural and uncouth.

45. Any member of Athapaskan tribes that migrated to the southwestern desert (from Arizona to Texas and south into Mexico).

47. (informal British usage) Aggravation or aggression.

50. (in Indian English) The number that is represented as a one followed by 7 zeros.

52. The visual property of something that shines with reflected light.

53. Totally lacking in saturation and therefore having no hue.

57. Valuable fiber plant of East Indies now widespread in cultivation.

59. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

60. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

61. Inability to name objects or to recognize written or spoken names of objects.

63. Small cubes with 1 to 6 spots on the faces.

64. Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse.

65. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

66. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders.

DOWN 1. Cry plaintively.

2. A small cake leavened with yeast.

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

4. Worthless or oversimplified ideas.

5. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

6. People having the same social or economic status.

7. Reconnaissance (by shortening).

8. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

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

10. The process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid).

11. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

12. An informal term for a father.

20. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables.

22. Herb of the Pacific islands grown throughout the tropics for its edible root and in temperate areas as an ornamental for its large glossy leaves.

25. The cry made by sheep.

26. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.

28. (Old Testament) The guardian archangel of the Jews.

30. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

31. Animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum or embryo together with nutritive and protective envelopes.

33. Elegant and stylish.

34. A unit of length (in United States and Britain) equal to one twelfth of a foot.

35. The income arising from land or other property.

37. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

41. Genus of low-growing mat-forming New Zealand plants.

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

43. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

44. An informal conversation.

45. A brittle gray crystalline element that is a semiconducting metalloid (resembling silicon) used in transistors.

46. Manufactured in standard sizes to be shipped and assembled elsewhere.

48. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.

49. French diplomat who in 1793 tried to draw the United States into the war between France and England (1763-1834).

51. A parallelogram with four equal sides.

52. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

54. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

55. Being the one previously mentioned or spoken of.

56. (biology) Shed at an early stage of development.

58. Any thick messy substance.

62. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group.

Yesterday始s Solution

W h a t ’s O n FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

‘The Infidelity Chronicles’

J

amaican-American author Ayana Ashanti, self published and printed the book that so many are happy to read behind closed doors! ‘The Infidelity Chronicles’, why Infidelity? Why not Infidelity? Ashanti touches some of the deep reasons why infidelity exists in marriages and long term relationships. Her first book, ‘The Infidelity Chronicles’, delivers a message which many people find hard to admit and discuss in the open.

For those who want their voices to be heard but are afraid, ‘The Infidelity Chronicles’ is the book to purchase and read. This down to earth interpersonal relationship book is easy to understand.

Ayana Ashanti is not just an author, she’s a mother, military retired from US Army, poet, entrepreneur, artist and daughter of Bishop Arthur and Rev Inez Richards.

‘The Infidelity Chronicles’ is more than a book, it’s a guide to understanding why humans behave the way they do. It matters not if one reads from beginning to end or skip chapters based on needs; each chapter will be interesting and holds some significance to each individual’s life.

As people, one of the number one feeling

Basil Arts Kuwait

Legal seminar

P

alakkad Pravasi Association of Kuwait, the association of Palakkad natives living in Kuwait and ‘Indian Lawyers’ Forum’, (ILF) the association of Indian Lawyers and Law graduates in Kuwait is conducting legal seminar, on June 1, at 11 am at Mangaf - Friends of Kannur (FOKE) auditorium. All Indian community members in Kuwait, especially Palpak members, families and friends are cordially invited to participate. Your legal doubts/questions can be send by email to: palpaklegal@gmail.com and it will be answered in the seminar. For further information contact, P.N.Kumar, 99771830, Aravindhashan 68535989.

we seek is love and when what love is not there, we tend to look elsewhere. This book makes the perfect gift for that special someone you cherish dearly.

“The Infidelity Chronicles” will keep you on your toes, wonderful eye opener and guidance into one’s inner soul, must read from front to back. A book which help to answer many unasked questions which some are afraid to discuss because of religion, sex and upbringing. This interpersonal relationship book was published and printed in Kuwait and distributed in America, Jamaica, Canada and England.

Ayana has been writing poems and articles for over 31 years, she coordinated and hosted the first ‘Poetry Slam Contest’ in 2010 at the Jamaican Embassy in Kuwait. Her passion is writing, cooking and reading spiritual books to help enhance the lives of others around her.

She continues to give words of encouragement to those she meet in order to help them experience life through the help of god. For more information about the Infidelity Chronicles, please contact us at tasteofjamaica@yahoo.com or call us at (965) 6708-6852.

T

he Basil Arts Kuwait requests all its registered members to attend the General Body / Family get-together, scheduled at 11:00am on Friday, the 1st June, 2012 at the HiDine Restaurant, Abbasiya. For further information contact General Secretary on 65003040

Tamil book release

‘P

ookal Neitha Veedu’, a book written by Samsudeen was released by poet Mandalala recently. The book release took place during a function organized by Kuwait

Tamilosai the Tamil Poets Association in Kuwait at the new Khaitan Carmel School. The first copy of the book was received by Sadik.

Announcements ‘Leniency of Islam’ An unprecedented initiative of KTV2 (English channel) is the new program by the name ‘Leniency of Islam’ presented by Shaikh Musaad Alsane and directed by Hamid Al Turkait. The program is mainly meant to address the expatriates living in Kuwait. Religious questions are received through the program email qislam@tv.gov.kw and sms can be sent to- 97822021 and answered by the lecturer and Imam in Awqaf Ministry Shaikh Musaad Alsane - a Master Degree holder in Sharia and fiqih from Kuwait University. So don’t forget to watch the program every Friday at 1:00 pm.

Free Arabic course IPC is opening an Intensive Basic Arabic Course for ladies commencing from June 3 to July 8, 2012. The class will be from 5-7 pm for three days a week.

Registration is on! For information, call 22512257.

Yoga with the Golden Era Club The Golden Era Club presents ‘The Eight Fold Path to Yoga’ on 25th May; 5 to 7 pm. Yoga here! Yoga there!

Yoga everywhere! Yet, few comprehend Yoga’s true nature! Join Yoga Guru - Aacharya Shashikala Pushkarna - on this unique journey to the true ‘union’ between the mind, body and spirit. All seniors (60+) are cordially invited. Venue- House #34, next to AbuTammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya.

Open House for Indian Citizens The Ambassador of India will be holding an Open House for Indian citizens to address their problems/grievances on Wednesdays of the second and the fourth week of every month between 1500 hrs and 1600 hrs at the embassy. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day. To ensure timely action/followup by the Embassy, it is requested that, wherever possible, Indian citizens should exhaust the existing channels of interaction/grievance redressal and bring their problems/issues in writing with supporting documents. It may be mentioned that Embassy of India’s Consular Wing is providing daily service of Open House to Indian citizen on all workings days from 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs and from 1430 hrs to 1530 hrs by the consular officer in the Meeting Room of the Consular Hall. For any unaddressed issues, Second Secretary (Consular) could be contacted.

Furthermore, the head of the Consular Wing is also available to redress grievances. Similarly, a labor wing Help Desk functions from 0830 hrs to 1300 hrs and 1400 hrs to 1630 hrs in the Labor Hall to address the labor related issue. There is also a 24X7 Help Line (Tel No. 25674163) to assist labors in distress. For any unaddressed issues, the concerned Attaches in the labor section and the head of the labor wing could be contacted.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

TV Listings FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

00:45 Untamed & Uncut 01:40 Maneaters 02:35 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 03:30 Snake Crusader With Bruce George 04:25 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 05:20 Wildlife SOS 05:45 Escape To Chimp Eden 06:10 Wild Africa Rescue 06:35 Wild Africa Rescue 07:00 Echo And The Elephants Of Amboseli 07:25 Jessica The Hippo 08:15 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 08:40 Extraordinary Dogs 09:10 Safari Sisters 10:05 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 11:00 Animal Precinct 11:55 Animal Cops South Africa 12:50 Vet On The Loose 13:45 Bondi Vet 14:10 Wildlife SOS International 14:40 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 15:30 Shamwari: A Wild Life 16:00 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 16:30 Growing Up...

17:25 Dogs 101: Specials 18:20 America’s Cutest Pet 19:15 Wildlife SOS International 19:40 Escape To Chimp Eden 20:10 Great Ocean Adventures 21:05 Wildest Africa 22:00 Last Feast Of The Crocodiles 22:55 I Was Bitten 23:50 Last Chance Highway

00:00 Newsday 00:30 Asia Business Report 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 Newsday 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Sport Today 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Hardtalk 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 World Business Report 04:45 BBC World News 05:30 World Business Report 05:45 BBC World News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 Sport Today 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 Sport Today 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 Hardtalk 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 11:00 GMT With George Alagiah 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 Impact 13:30 Our World 14:00 Impact 14:30 World Business Report 14:45 Sport Today 15:00 World Have Your Say 16:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 16:40 Weekend World 17:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 18:30 World Have Your Say Extra 18:40 Weekend World 19:00 BBC World News 19:30 Middle East Business Report 20:00 BBC World News America 20:30 World Football Focus 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 Sport Today 21:40 Weekend World 22:00 BBC World News America 22:30 Our World 23:00 BBC World News 23:30 Newsnight

00:30 00:55 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15

Bakugan: New Vestroia Bakugan: New Vestroia Powerpuff Girls Courage The Cowardly Dog The Amazing World Of Gumball Ben 10 Adventure Time Powerpuff Girls

04:40 05:05 05:30 05:55 06:00 06:25 06:50 07:15 07:40 08:05 08:55 09:45 10:10 10:35 11:25 11:50 12:15 13:05 13:30 13:55 14:20 14:45 15:35 16:25 17:15 17:40 18:05 18:30 18:55 19:20 19:45 20:10 21:00 21:25 21:50 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40

Generator Rex Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Angelo Rules Casper’s Scare School Eliot Kid The Amazing World Of Gumball Adventure Time Regular Show Grim Adventures Of...

Courage The Cowardly Dog Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Ben 10: Ultimate Alien Powerpuff Girls Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Ed, Edd n Eddy Ben 10: Alien Force Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders Redakai: Conquer The Kairu Camp Lazlo Powerpuff Girls Angelo Rules Grim Adventures Of...

The Amazing World Of Gumball Adventure Time Regular Show Ben 10 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge Hero 108 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Courage The Cowardly Dog Ben 10: Alien Force The Powerpuff Girls Cow And Chicken Codename: Kids Next Door Ben 10 Ben 10 Chowder

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00

The Heavy-18 Don’t Look Up-18 Icarus-18 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within-PG Fatal Secrets-PG15 The Devil’s Teardrop-PG15

12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Reunion-PG15 Fatal Secrets-PG15 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 The Reunion-PG15 Circle Of Eight-18 The Kingdom-18

01:00 Triage-18 03:00 16 To Life-PG15 05:00 Adventures Of A Teenage Dragonslayer-PG 07:00 A Trace Of Danger-PG15 09:00 The Nanny Express-PG15 10:30 True Story Of Puss’n Boots-PG 12:00 Despicable Me-FAM 14:00 My Name Is Khan-PG15 17:00 Red-PG15 19:00 Gentlemen Broncos-PG15 21:00 Bloodworth-18 23:00 Let Me In-R

00:30 01:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Wilfred Weird Science The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Seinfeld Melissa And Joey Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Weird Science Seinfeld Cougar Town How I Met Your Mother Melissa And Joey The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Weird Science Seinfeld Melissa And Joey Wilfred How I Met Your Mother Cougar Town The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 23:30

New Girl Happy Endings 30 Rock Modern Family The Tonight Show With Jay Leno The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

American Idol Downton Abbey Scandal Damages Good Morning America The Invisible Man Emmerdale The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View American Idol Good Morning America The Invisible Man The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Glee Jane By Design Smash Survivor: One World Damages

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 13:00 14:00

Pan Am Downton Abbey Combat Hospital American Idol Scandal Pan Am Emmerdale Hot In Cleveland Surface Scandal American Idol The Chicago Code The Ellen DeGeneres Show Surface

15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Pan Am The Chicago Code The Ellen DeGeneres Show Castle Glee Jane By Design Smash Survivor: One World Combat Hospital

01:00 The Alphabet Killer-18 03:00 The Nun-18 05:00 Reykjavik: Whale Watching Massacre-18 07:00 Last Breath-PG15 08:45 Warriors Of Heaven And EarthPG15 10:45 X2-PG 13:00 The A-Team-PG15 15:15 Warriors Of Heaven And EarthPG15 17:15 Taxi-PG15 19:00 The Godfather-18 23:00 Open Graves-PG15

00:00 How To Be A Player-18 02:00 Whatever Works-PG15 04:00 Little Secrets-PG 06:00 Not The Messiah: He’s A Very Naughty Boy-PG15 08:00 The Lightkeepers-PG15 10:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 12:00 Love Hurts-PG15 14:00 Bubble Boy-PG15 16:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 18:00 A Lot Like Love-PG15 20:00 Defendor-PG15 22:00 Palo Alto-18

01:15 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:00

Dick Tracy-PG15 Garden State-18 The Client List-PG15 Teen Knight-PG15 On Strike For Christmas-PG15 Espions-PG15 Inside Job-PG15 On Strike For Christmas-PG15 Greener Mountains-PG The River-PG15 All Good Things-18 Thelma And Louise-18

01:00 03:00 PG15 06:00 07:30 09:00 10:30 12:15 14:45 PG 16:30 18:00 20:00 22:00

The Other Guys-PG15 Les Miserables 25th AnniversaryThe Wronged Man-PG15 Flipped-PG Gulliver’s Travels-PG Megamind-FAM The Karate Kid-PG African Cats: Kingdom Of CourageGulliver’s Travels-PG The Social Network-PG15 Rio-FAM Tron: Legacy-PG15

00:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 02:00 Marco Antonio-PG 04:00 I’ll Be Home For Christmas-PG 06:00 The Littlest Fox-PG15 08:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville-PG 10:00 Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader-PG 12:00 Pocahontas & The Spider WomanPG 14:00 I’ll Be Home For Christmas-PG 16:00 Hua Mulan-PG 18:00 Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader-PG 20:00 Tangled-FAM 22:00 Pocahontas & The Spider WomanPG

THE REUNION ON OSN ACTION HD

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:45 15:45 17:45 20:00 22:00

Sleeping Beauty-18 Henry’s Crime-PG15 13 Going On 30-PG15 Goodbye Solo-PG15 The Bounty Hunter-PG15 The Girl In The Park-PG15 Henry’s Crime-PG15 Jane Eyre-PG15 The Bounty Hunter-PG15 Robin Hood (2010)-PG15 Rio-FAM Hereafter-18

00:00 MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 03:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 05:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 08:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 09:00 MSNBC The Last Word W/ Lawrence O’Donnell 10:00 ABC World News Now 10:30 Live ABC World News Now 11:00 NBC Early Today 11:30 ABC America This Morning 12:30 Live ABC America This Morning 13:30 MSNBC First Look 14:00 Live NBC Today Show 17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball W/ Chris Matthews 18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 20:00 MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 21:00 MSNBC Newsnation 22:00 MSNBC Martin Bashir 23:00 MSNBC The Dylan Ratigan Show

02:30 03:30 05:30 10:00 10:30 12:30 13:00 21:00 22:00

WWE NXT Rugby League European PGA Tour Futbol Mundial Live Super Rugby Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Live Test Cricket WWE Bottom Line WWE SmackDown

00:30 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:30 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:30 12:30 14:30 16:30 19:00 22:00

Trans World Sport NRL Full Time Total Rugby Golfing World Scottish FA Cup SPL Highlights Futbol Mundial Top 14 Highlights Trans World Sport Mobil 1 The Grid Futbol Mundial Super Rugby Highlights Total Rugby Volvo Ocean Race Golfing World Live NRL Premiership Super Rugby AFL Premiership Live Senior PGA Championship Futbol Mundial

02:00 02:30 06:00 07:00 12:15 12:45 15:00 19:00 19:30 21:30

Futbol Mundial Premier League Darts Golfing World European PGA Tour NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership Live European PGA Tour Total Rugby Super Rugby European PGA Tour

01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:30 15:00 17:00 18:00 22:00 23:00

WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline UFC 146 Countdown Live UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline WWE Vintage Collection NRL Full Time Live NRL Premiership Mobil 1 The Grid Live Super League WWE Bottom Line Live Super League UFC 146 Countdown UFC The Ultimate Fighter

02:25 04:00 05:40 07:00 08:55 10:30 12:05 13:45 15:15 17:00 18:50 20:30 22:00 23:35

Dead Calm Hearts Of The West-PG The Oklahoma Kid-FAM Boom Town-PG Tribute To A Bad Man-PG Julie-PG The Trouble With Girls-FAM The Outriders-FAM Honky Tonk-FAM Boys’ Night Out-FAM Hearts Of The West-PG Where Were You When The...-PG Reckless-18 Dirty Harry-18

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’a

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Fayhaa

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Hospitals 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

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for one person in Sharq, near Hamra Tower.

Contact: 97263809.

(C 4019) 21-5-2012 Sharing accommodation available in Mahbooula for non-smoking Keralites.

Contact: 66725394.

(C 4015) Sharing accommodation immediately available in single room with TFC for Filipino single/couple in Hawally.

Contact: 94948506.

(C 4016) Sharing accommodation (big room) available only for Indian working lady or couple in Salmiiya near Salmiya Garden. Contact: 99307471/ 99838117/ 25635450.

(C 4018) 20-5-2012

SITUATION VACANT

Clinics Rabiya

24732263

Rawdha

22517733

Adailiya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Khaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Qadisiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Indian driver for Kuwaiti family. 1) Working as driver in Kuwait at least 5 years. 2) Knows to speak English. 3) Residence 20. Contact: 66343220.

(C 4017) 20-5-2012 SITUATION WANTED United States citizen 15 plus year experience working on U.S. Military 3 non military tire including MRAP looking for employment with US Army contract company in Middle East. Contact: 60461658. (C 4023) 23-5-2012

FOR SALE Households for sale cheap prices with or without, 2 BR C-A/C flat at Fahaheel, family leaving June. BR set, sofa, fridge, thread mill, electronics, medicated bed etc.

Contact: 99232986. (C 4021) Toyota Camry model 2010, white color, GL, CD, excellent original condition, cash price KD 4200/-, installation possible. Contact: 66396517.

(C 4025) 24-5-2012

Syed Arshad Ahmed. (C 4022) 23-5-2012

MATRIMONIAL Fully furnished C-A/C, big hall: 8x4m. 2 spacious bed rooms, two bath rooms, one maid’s room/store room, and balcony, plus reserved shaded car parking, with complete good quality furniture (mostly from IKEA & Denmark) and Elect.

Appliances for sale at Salmiya area 11 (Maidan Hawalli), behind petrol station.

Contact: 66654074, Email: nisar_shaikh@hotmail.com (C 4020) 21-5-2012

Christian Orthodox boy, 29/178cm working as IT Professional invites proposal from parents of well qualified girls.

Contact: lijoshere@gmail.com

Fajr: Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

(C 4013) Female, 29 years, Malayalee, CSI, Accountant in Australia, B.Com, Master in professional Accounting, Australian citizen willing to relocate, seeks suitable alliance from professionally well qualified boys with good family background. Contact - Email: tcjohn@gmail.com (C 4014) 19-5-2012

03:19 11:45 15:20 18:40 20:57

CHANGE OF NAME Sivakumar Krishnamoorthy, son of Krishnamoorthy and Theivanayagi bearing Indian passport No. F9732440 and having address New No. 151, Achuthampettai, Thirukandeeswaram, Sannanallur (P.O), Nannilam TK, Thiruvarur DT, Tamil Nadu, India have embraced Islam and changed the name as ABDURRAHMAN. (C 4024) 24-5-2012 I, Syed Arhad Ahmed holder of Indian Passport No. J5395460 do hereby change my name to

Al-Madena Police Station Al-Murqab Police Station Al-Daiya Police Station Al-Fayha’a Police Station Al-Qadissiya Police Station Al-Nugra Police Station Al-Salmiya Police Station Al-Dasma Police Station

22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988

112 Ministry of Interior website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Sports FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

AL Roundup

Rays edge Jays in 11 innings ST PETERSBURG: Tampa Bay’s Rich Thompson was hit by a pitch starting the 11th inning and then scored on BJ’s Upton’s double to give the Rays a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday Darren Oliver (0-2) threw the pitch that struck Thompson. Rays reliever Jake McGee (1-1) struck out two during a perfect 11th to take the win as the Rays completed a 15th successive home series victory over Toronto. Tampa Bay nearly won it in the ninth on Drew Sutton’s two-out infield single, but Blue Jays veteran second baseman Omar Vizquel threw out Carlos Pena, who tried to score from second.

RED SOX 6, ORIOLES 5 In Baltimore, Daniel Nava broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with a solo homer and Boston held on to edge Baltimore.

Nava’s shot came off Jake Arrieta (2-5), and Kelly Shoppach greeted reliever Luis Ayala with a two-run drive.

Scott Podsednik, in his first start for Boston, added a solo shot in the eighth. Red Sox starter Daniel Bard (4-5) allowed two runs in 5 1-3 innings. Alfredo Aceves got four straight outs for the save.

MARINERS 5, RANGERS 3 In Seattle, Alex Liddi hit the first major league grand slam by an Italian-born player in 54 years, powering Seattle past Texas. Liddi made Texas pay for the decision to pitch around Dustin Ackley in the fifth inning. Ackley was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Liddi lined the first pitch from Scott Feldman (0-2) just over the leftfield wall for his third homer this season. He also doubled and scored Seattle’s first run. He is the first Italian-born player to hit a grand slam since Detroit’s Reno Bertoia did it in 1958. Mariners starter Kevin Millwood (3-4) pitched six scoreless innings.

INDIANS 4, TIGERS 2 In Cleveland, Jason Kipnis had three hits and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for Cleveland in the win over Detroit. Kipnis singled off the glove of pitcher Phil Coke (1-1) with one out in the eighth and reached third base on a double by Asdrubal Cabrera. Travis Hafner then grounded to first baseman Prince Fielder, whose low throw made it difficult for catcher Alex Avila and Kipnis dived to home plate to score. Carlos Santana’s sacrifice fly scored Cabrera. Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano (2-0) got out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the top half of the inning and took the win.

ANGELS 3, ATHLETICS 1, 11 innings In Oakland, Alberto Callaspo hit a go-ahead two-run double in the 11th inning to lift Los Angeles over Oakland.

Callaspo’s hit off Justin Norberto (0-1) capitalized on the pitching work of Jordan Walden (1-1), who tossed a 1-2-3 10th inning for the win, and Ernesto Frieri, who notched his first major league save.

YANKEES 8, ROYALS 3 In New York, Alex Rodriguez gave Will Smith a rude welcome to the major leagues, hitting two homers off the rookie to power New York past Kansas City. Rodriguez snapped a 52 at-bat homereless drought and drove in three runs for New York. Curtis Granderson also connected off Smith (0-1) as the Yankees scored three times in the fifth with help from some inept relief pitching. New York starter Andy Pettitte (2-1) pitched seven-plus crafty innings in his third start since coming out of retirement.

WHITE SOX 6, TWINS 0 In Chicago, Chris Sale pitched seven scoreless innings to steer Chicago past Minnesota. Sale (5-2) struck out six.

He has allowed three runs or less in all eight of his starts in his first year as a member of the Chicago rotation. Still showing a black eye after getting hit in the face by a pitch last Friday, Paul Konerko had a homer among three hits and scored three times. In the past nine games, he’s batting .548. Alex Rios also homered for the White Sox. Twins starter Scott Diamond (3-1) allowed five runs in six innings.— AP

PHOENIX: Infielder Aaron Hill #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks throws over sliding James Loney #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning of the MLB game at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. — AFP NL Roundup

Reds edge Braves CINCINNATI: Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier hit a homer in the ninth inning to extend the Reds’ form surge and beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Wednesday. The Reds won their fifth in a row, leaving them five games over .500 (24-19) for the first time this season. Frazier connected for his first game-ending homer on the second pitch from Cristhian Martinez (21), who came on to start the ninth. It was a fitting ending for a series that has been decided by solo homers - 11 in all during the three games. Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman (4-0) struck out two of the three he faced in the ninth. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 24 1-3 innings, ascending to the closer’s role.

eight scoreless innings as Philadelphia snapped a season-worst four-game losing skid with a win over Washington.

Hamels (7-1) didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. He is tied with St Louis’ Lance Lynn for the major league lead in the victories after winning his seventh straight decision, striking out eight. Hamels faced Washington for the first time since intentionally hit Bryce Harper on May 6. The incident sparked a firestorm, with Hamels earning a five-game suspension and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo getting fined for his comments about Hamels. Nationals starter Edwin Jackson (1-2) allowed three runs in seven innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 11, DODGERS 4 In Phoenix, Justin Upton and Ryan Roberts homered and every Arizona starter had at least one hit as the Diamondbacks emphatically ended Los Angeles’ six-game winning streak. Willie Bloomquist had three hits, including an RBI triple, and Aaron Hill had two hits and two RBIs for Arizona. Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders (3-3) struck out a season-high seven. He also recorded his first hit of the year, a single in the fifth that stopped his 0-for-13 skid at the plate. Dodgers starter Ted Lilly (5-1) went 3 1-3 innings, his shortest outing for two years. He gave up eight runs and five walks.

METS 3, PIRATES 1 In Pittsburgh, Jonathon Niese ended a six-start winless streak, and pitched New York past Pittsburgh. Niese (3-2) allowed just one run over 7 2-3 innings.

Reliever Bobby Parnell got the final strikeout with runners on second and third bases to end the eighth. Frank Francisco pitched a perfect ninth for the save. Pirates starter Charlie Morton (2-5) allowed eight hits in seven innings.

PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 1 In Philadelphia, Cole Hamels pitched

BREWERS 8, GIANTS 5 In Milwaukee, Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run double in a six-run first inning that set up Milwaukee’s win over San Francisco. Jonathan Lucroy added a tworun homer in the second as the Brewers pounded Giants starter Barry Zito (3-2), who gave up eight runs in three innings.

He is 0-4 with a 7.67 ERA in eight starts at Miller Park. Milwaukee’s Jose Veras (3-1) pitched two hitless innings in relief of Marco Estrada, who left after injuring his right hip while running out a first-inning double.

CARDINALS 6, PADRES 3 In St Louis, Carlos Beltran hit his National League-leading 14th home run as St.Louis completed a three-game sweep of San Diego. David Freese snapped a 3-for-34 slump with a homer and RBI single as the Cardinals mustered enough offense despite the absence of injured trio Lance Berkman, Jon Jay and Allen Craig. St Louis rookie starter Lance Lynn (7-1) tied the Phillies’ Cole Hamels for the major league victory lead. Padres starter Jeff Suppan (2-3), who was the 2006 NL championship series MVP for the Cardinals, took the loss.

ROCKIES 8, MARLINS 4 In Miami, Troy Tulowitzki homered and drove in four runs as Colorado downed Miami and ended a run of six straight losses. The Rockies, who blew early leads of 4-0 and 3-0 in the first two games of the series, won after trailing 30. Tulowitzki hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning off Carlos Zambrano (2-3) and doubled home a run in the fourth. Carlos Gonzalez added two hits and two RBIs. Colorado starter Alex White (1-3) earned his first victory this year, after losing six consecutive starts dating back to last year. — AP

Sports FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

MLS Roundup

New York held but extends East lead

Late drama sends Boca, Corinthians into last 4

HARRISON: The New York Red Bulls eked out their lead atop the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference standings to two points by drawing 1-1 at home against Chivas on Wednesday. Former Red Bulls star Juan Pablo Angel scored in the 47th minute for Chivas. Angel, who holds New York’s all-time goal-scoring record (58), was playing against his former team for the first time. Kenny Cooper equalized for the hosts in the 56th minute. It was his 11th of the season, tying San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski for the MLS lead. New York extended its unbeaten streak to six games and remained unbeaten at home this season.

SOUNDERS 0, COLUMBUS CREW 2 In Seattle, Justin Meram and Emilio Renteria scored to lead Columbus past Seattle.The Sounders had only conceded six goals in 11 games this season, but the Crew found a way to the net. Meram headed in a cross from Dilly Duka in the 15th minute.

Renteria sealed the win for Columbus with a 30-yard chip in the 76th minute for his first goal of the season.

LA GALAXY 2, EARTHQUAKES 3 In Carson, California, Alan Gordon scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner as San Jose rallied from a late two-goal deficit and beat Los Angeles. Hector Jimenez opened the scoring for the Galaxy in the third minute and Mike Magee made it 2-0 to the hosts in the 73rd. However Steven Lenhart scored from a corner and Khari Stephenson converted a penalty to level the score. Just seconds before time expired. Gordon knocked in a bouncing cross for the winning goal.

CHICAGO FIRE 2, DALLAS 1 In Bridgeview, Illinois, Sebastian Grazzini and Marco Pappa scored and goalkeeper Sean Johnson saved a penalty as Chicago downed Dallas. Defender Matt Hedges scored in the 41st minute to put Dallas on the board first but the Texan club slipped to a defeat which extended its winless streak to eight games while remaining winless on the road. — AP

Spain Copa del Rey Final Athletic de Bilbao v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD

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RIO DE JANEIRO: Boca Juniors’s Uruguayan Santiago Silva heads the ball during the football match Libertadores quarter final 2nd leg against Brazil’s Fluminense on May 23, 2012. — AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO: The Libertadores Cup served up a double dose of late drama as Boca Juniors and Corinthians scored lastgasp goals in Wednesday night’s games to reach the semi-finals. Santiago Silva scrambled home a 90th minute goal to give sixtimes champions Boca a 1-1 draw at Fluminense which sent them through 2-1 on aggregate. In the other match, Paulinho headed an 87th minute winner for Corinthians, the only goal of a dour, fearridden two-leg tie against their fellow Brazilians Vasco da Gama.

Fluminense, missing playmaker Deco and striker Fred through injury, still managed to take a 17th minute lead when defender Carleto scored with a free kick which took a deflection and left goalkeeper Agustin Orion stranded. The Brazilians managed to nullify Boca playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme as the visitors were reduced to launching long balls forward for Silva to chase. Beaten finalists four years ago when they overcame Boca in the semifinals, Flu were close to settling the tie when Thiago Neves was denied by Orion and Rafael Moura shot wide from an excellent position in the next attack.

Instead, Boca went through with the last move of the game as Diego Rivero’s shot hit the post, goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri clawed it away only for Uruguayan striker Silva to force the ball across the line. The Corinthians-Vasco tie produced more crunching tackles than clearcut chances and the hosts had coach Tite sent off just after the hour for protesting the referee’s decisions. Vasco had two good chances in quick succession in the second half when Diego Souza galloped clear of the Corinthians defense but had his effort saved by Cassio, then Nilton headed against the post. Instead, Corinthians, who have never won the competition, snatched victory when Paulinho headed in from a corner in the 87th minute. — Reuters

Unhappy Anelka in the dark about possible replacement SHANGHAI: Shanghai Shenhua playercoach Nicolas Anelka has said there would be a problem if the Chinese club replaced him with former Argentina boss Sergio Batista. Local media in China have reported that struggling Shanghai will name the 49year-old former Argentine midfielder as manager, with Anelka reverting back to a sole playing role. The Frenchman, who was famously kicked out of the 2010 World Cup for comments directed at then coach Raymond Domenech, was unhappy at the prospect.

“I don’t know this coach. I haven’t heard anything about this from the club. I have only learnt this from the media,” Anelka told reporters at a news conference in Shanghai yesterday. “If that is going to happen, there is a huge problem of communication between me and the club, because of the language barrier. I am not aware of anything that is happening,” the 33-year-old, speaking in French, added. “I am a coach but also I am a player before anything. If something hap-

pens and I am not aware of it, you should know that I am a player and that would be a problem in the future because I will still be here.” Much was expected of Anelka when he signed a two-year deal worth a reported $300,000 a week with Shanghai in December, but the club has struggled this year and sit in 14th place in the 16-team league, one point and place above the relegation zone after 11 games. The much-travelled former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Fenerbahce striker has scored just two goals this season and took on coaching responsibilities last month when his compatriot, former France international Jean Tigana, was sacked after four months in charge.

Results have not improved under Anelka’s guidance with Shanghai slumping to a 1-0 loss away to Henan Jianye on the weekend but the Frenchman said a new coach was not the solution. “I would be very disappointed if it happens like that. Because from the start, I tried to improve the club. I did that to help the coach and I don’t get

any extra money for this second role that I am doing. “I am the coach today and I try to do my best. We have very, very young players and we are working hard and we will try to improve the level of the team and help push up the club.”

Anelka’s call for patience and time to build is likely to fall on deaf ears. With Chinese clubs enjoying a boom with heavy financial investment, instant results are expected. League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande sacked coach Lee Jang-soo last week and replaced him with former World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi despite the South Korean winning the Chinese league title last year and getting them through to the last 16 of the Asian Champions League. Shanghai have been strongly linked with a move for Anelka’s former Chelsea team mate Didier Drogba, who said he was leaving the Champions League winners this week, but the Frenchman said he had heard nothing from the Ivorian striker. — Reuters

Sports FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Nadal clouds Djokovic’s bid to match Laver MADRID: Novak Djokovic will arrive at Roland Garros seven wins away from becoming the first man for 43 years to hold all four grand slam titles concurrently - the only trouble is one of his victims will probably have to be claycourt king Rafa Nadal. The 25-year-old Serb will be seeded one at the French Open, courtesy of the top ranking that goes with being the current Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion.

However, few will mark him down as favorite with Nadal, who Djokovic calls the “ultimate challenge” on clay, peaking at just the right time to chase a seventh Paris title and move him ahead of Bjorn Borg in the pantheon of Roland Garros champions. Last year, Djokovic began in Paris on a claycourt roll after beating Nadal in the Madrid and Rome finals - only to fall to an inspired Roger Federer in the semi-finals. His form this year has been impressive, if not quite as spectacular as last year when he won his first 41 matches of 2011 before the

four-set loss to Federer. He has also relinquished his ironlike hold over Nadal - losing in the Monte Carlo and Rome finals having won his previous seven matches against the Mallorcan powerhouse. Having beaten a rejuvenated Federer in the Rome semis, however, and with world number four Andy Murray not in the best form or fitness, there appear few natural barriers to prevent Djokovic facing his day of destiny on June 10. “It’s there and a possibility to win four grand slams in a row and I am going to prepare as I prepare for any other big event with more focus,” Djokovic said after his 7-5 6-3 defeat by Nadal in the Italian capital, a match that was too close to call for much of a brutal first set.

FEW ADJUSTMENTS “The French Open is the only grand slam that I haven’t played in the finals so it’s a hard task but I feel good and I’m always motivated in France.” Should he win his first

French Open title Djokovic would join Australia’s Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) and American Don Budge (1938) as holders of all four slams at the same time.

To achieve it now, however, would be a considerably greater feat as back then three of the four slams were played on grass whereas now players must master three surfaces. Another title for Nadal would leave little room for argument about the left-hander’s credentials as the greatest claycourt player of all time. After beating Federer in last year’s final to draw level with Borg, Nadal failed to win another tournament until last month in Monte Carlo - a worrying gap that revived questions about the effect his playing style was having on his body. He then won in Barcelona and, apart from a blip on Madrid’s experimental blue clay when he lost to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, Nadal has looked supreme. Getting the better of Djokovic in Monte Carlo and Rome would have given him an enormous boost. —Reuters

Sharapova, Serena head to Paris as the favorites PARIS: Based on form alone, Maria Sharapova enters the French Open as favorite to complete her career grand slam, a surprising turn of events for the Miami-based Russian whose relationship with the red dust has not always been a happy one. Her recent title in Rome, where she defeated 2011 French Open champion Li Na in the final, coupled with her resounding victory over world number one Victoria Azarenka to win Stuttgart a few weeks earlier means she is 12-1 for the claycourt swing and sliding into Paris full of joie de vivre. Significantly, however, that one blot on her record was inflicted by American Serena Williams on Madrid’s blue clay.

Thirteen-times grand slam champion Williams, who like Sharapova has endured more than her fair share of injuries over the years, has enjoyed an encouraging year so far and recently went on a 17-match winning streak, including the Madrid title.

Alarm bells rang when she withdrew from her semi-final against Li Na in Rome because of a knee niggle, but it was thought to be more of a precautionary measure ahead of Paris rather than anything too serious. Williams, who a year ago was still absent from the Tour after a career-threatening foot injury and health problems, is back up to number five in the world and targeting a second French Open crown, 10 years after her first.

Sharapova, whose efforts on clay have often resembled a Formula One car sliding about in the rain on the wrong tyres, is yet to win at Roland Garros, although sheer bloody-mindedness has seen her reach two semi-finals - the last of which came 12 months ago when she was also tipped to win. Still only 25, she says patience rather than her trademark power is the key to her form on the dirt, on which she once described her movement as like “a cow on ice”. “I have improved and most of it comes down to the physical aspect and patience,” she said after wearing down Li on a heavy, clinging court in rainy Rome. “It’s not about changing my game but relying on the things I have improved like sliding and definitely on the serve.”

CHANTEL Williams, who counts Paris as her favourite city and wrote on Twitter that she should be re-named “Chantel” while at Roland Garros, will prefer the conditions hot and fast. The 30-year-old has no rival, not even Sharapova, when it comes to aggressive, frontfoot tennis - a fact born out by an 8-2 winning record over the Russian. Never short on confidence at the slams, she said: “i just feel better this time around. “I feel I can play on any surface and that’s the right attitude for me. I’m enjoying my tennis. This is where I belong and what I do best.”

While it would be no surprise for them to contest a third grand slam final next month, provided they are placed in opposite sides of the draw, there are many hurdles to overcome the women’s tournament at Roland Garros, since the demise of Justine Henin, has been wildly unpredictable. Of the new generation, Australian Open champion Azarenka has already proved herself worthy of the top ranking, both with her play and the mental fortitude that the likes of Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova have yet to demonstrate. Belarusian Azarenka begun the year in stunning fashion, winning her first four tournaments, and her form on clay has been impressive with finals in Stuttgart and Madrid, losing to Sharapova and Williams respectively.

She withdrew from the last 16 in Rome with a shoulder ache -

Russia’s Maria Sharapova claiming that she only played in the tournament to avoid zero ranking points, a statement that irked Sharapova who would clearly take great pleasure in regaining the world number one ranking from Azarenka. Of the other contenders, world number four Kvitova is the best bet, although she would have to strike the balance between her dazzling shot-making skills and a willingness to grind. China’s Li Na, who became the first player from an Asian country to win a grand slam last year, has not won another tournament since and were she to defend her title it would be an even bigger shock than winning it in 2011.— Reuters

Montpellier looking to make it a title hat trick PARIS: Montpellier have been crowned both French football and handball champions this year and today their rugby counterparts take on Castres hoping to move a step nearer to making it a unique title treble. However, their inspirational joint head coach Fabien Galthie - who has formed a terrific coaching partnership with Eric Bechu - says that they have much to do in their play-off if they are to join their fellow Montpellier sporting cousins at the top of the tree. “They have set the bar very high,” mused the 43-yearold former France captain, who in his first season at the club took them to a surprise appearance in last year’s Top 14 final where they lost to Toulouse.

“It makes you very humble when such things happen in the same ‘village’, the football team achieved something exceptional and the handball side is an institution. “It is like a family story. The step-father is an international, the step brother is also an international, you are just playing for a club. And when you all eat together you don’t dare speak.”

Castres will be looking to exact revenge over their opponents after they lost 18-17 at home at the same stage last year and with Montpellier having to field 19-year-old scrum-half Eric Escande, Galthie knows it will be a tough challenge for the youngster who has barely played since last November.

“I prefer not to talk too much about that, because they are going to target him,” said Galthie, who was overlooked as France coach both in 2007 and then after last year’s World Cup. “He has played around a dozen matches. We don’t have a choice, that’s how it is.” Galthie, who won the French title as coach with Stade Francais in 2007, said he saw the battle up front as being pivotal where Castres - who are seeking to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2001 - have been impressive this season inspired by former All Black Chris Masoe.

“Castres possesses a very good scrum, the best line-out.

It is the team that makes most ground in the mauls, who provokes their opponents into making the most mistakes and have the best kicker (Romian Teulet) in the championship. “In the backs they are solid and in tune with each other. “I am expecting a very, very difficult game. Castres are consistent, confident of their strengths, and have a maturity based around players like Masoe.” Aside from Masoe - who is joining Toulon next season - Castres will look to Teulet to keep the scoreboard ticking along and banish memories of the 34-year-old’s penalty miss two minutes from time in last year’s clash.

Teulet, who holds the world record of points scored for the one club with 3,017 in his 11 years at the three-time French champions, is adamant that has not left its mark. “It is not because of my penalty we lost, we just didn’t run the game,” said Teulet, who surprisingly has never been capped. The other play-off takes place tomorrow and sees the two most heavily bank-rolled teams Toulon and RacingMetro clash with the former hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of losing to Biarritz in the European Challenge final. —AFP

Sports FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Els sets early pace at Wentworth WENTWORTH: South Africa’s Ernie Els gave his fellow professionals a lesson in how to play his course as he took an early lead at the PGA Championship here at Wentworth yesterday. Els, responsible for redesigning Wentworth’s course over the last three years, covered the front nine in 31 shots four-under par, four in front of his playing partner and world number one Rory McIlroy.

Scotland’s Marc Warren, out in the first group, was in the clubhouse on four-under, after a round of 68, which included four birdies and an eagle.

The pair were joined on fourunder by Australia’s Andrew Dodt who put together a run of four birdies from the second to rush up the leader board. Another South African George Coetzee was also going well early on lying a shot behind Els and Warren on threeunder par 12 holes. Els made his first move by birdieing the par-three second and followed up with birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh before a run of four pars. India’s Jeev Mikha Singh joined the group on threeunder after an eagle at the 12th, now a par five.

McIlroy was having a mixed morning. An eagle three at the par-five fourth moved him to one-under-par and a birdie at the seventh got him two-under the card before a disastrous run of three straight birdies saw him go to one-over. In the same group, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who McIlroy succeeded as US Open champion, was one-under after 11 but world number three Lee Westwood, runner-up here last year, slipped to one-over after a bogey at the 380-metre 11th. Triple-majorwinner Els, 42, has won just twice on the European Tour in the last five years and despite winning seven World Match Play titles on this course has never won this tournament, the flagship event of the tour.

Two years ago he was heavily criticized by his fellow players for the way he had tinkered with the course, particularly the way he changed the parfive 18th. Els made more modifications this year which have appeased the players, including making the 12th a par-five, and before the tournament began he was predicting a winning score of around 16-under par this week. He was on course for that after his efforts in the opening ten holes but Irishman Padraig Harrington, like Els a triple-major winner, had a horrific start as he was out in 39, four-over par after a triple bogey six on the par-three second.

Defending champion Luke Donald, who could displace McIlroy at the top of the world rankings this week, was an afternoon starter.— AFP

Devils on brink of Stanley Cup Finals NEW YORK: The New Jersey Devils let a threegoal lead slip away against the New York Rangers on Wednesday but scored twice late in the third period to claim a 5-3 win and move within touching distance of a place in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Devils center Ryan Carter lit the lamp from a feed by Stephen Gionta with 4:24 remaining to push New Jersey ahead, and Zach Parise removed any suspense by scoring an empty net goal with just over 30 seconds left.

The victory lifted New Jersey to a 3-2 lead over their cross-river rivals in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals and they will have the chance to seal a place in the Stanley Cup when the series returns to New Jersey today. “I think giving up a three-goal lead and coming back and winning the game late shows a lot,” said veteran Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. “I thought we stayed composed.” The Devils are aiming to return to the finals for the first time in nine years. The Los Angeles Kings have already booked their place in the Stanley Cup finals after wrapping up the Western Conference title in five games over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Gionta, who joined New Jersey late in the season from their American Hockey League affil-

iate, got the Devils going, flipping a rebound past Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist less than three minutes into the game. Ninety seconds later, Patrik Elias deflected in another goal before New York had registered a shot on Brodeur. The Garden crowd were stunned into silence when Travis Zajac’s blistering slap shot on a three-on-two break got past Lundqvist low on the stick side for a 3-0 Devils lead with 10:11 remaining in the opening period.

SLUGGISH START That rocket seemed to wake up the Rangers players, who upped the tempo and intensity.

The East’s top seeds got a goal back from Brandon Prust, returning after a one-game suspension for elbowing, at 15:41 of the first period, and 32 seconds into the second Ryan Callahan cut the Devils’ lead to 3-2. In complete control, the Rangers scored the equalizer through Marian Gaborik 17 seconds into the third, sparking derisive chants of “Marty, Marty” at netminder Brodeur, who left the puck out wide of the crease for his defenseman only to see Gaborik scoop it up.

The Devils would have the last laugh howev-

er as they regained their resolve and turned the tables on the Rangers. Gionta, whose older brother Brian won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003, raced to the corner to win the puck along the boards and centered to Carter, who rushed in just ahead of Carl Hagelin and put the game-winner past goalie Lundqvist. Parise then wrapped up the scoring in the final minute. “It was an adventure,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. “Kind of a tale of two or three games out there.”

The 40-year-old Brodeur, who owns three Stanley Cup rings, was eyeing a tantalizing return to the NHL title series 17 years after his first trip to the Stanley Cup championship. “It’s a good feeling,” he said. “I think we worked really hard to get in that position. I think we’re really proud for the guys.” Rangers coach John Tortorella bemoaned his team’s sluggish start but credited his players for their fierce fightback in outshooting New Jersey 28-17 for the game.

“We’re always looking to try to start the game strong,” he said. “We had a tough start. Tough luck for them a little bit on a couple of them. But I thought we probably played our best game of the series.”— Reuters

NEW YORK: Patrik Elias #26 of the New Jersey Devils scores a first period goal past Artem Anisimov #42 and Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Final in New York City. — AFP

Sixers claw back into series 76ers fight off Boston to force Game Seven PHILADELPHIA: The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive with a 82-75 victory over the Boston Celtics Wednesday to force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Jrue Holiday finished with a team-high 20 points and six assists and Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers who evened the series at three games each and are now 5-0 in the playoffs in games following a loss. Philadelphia once again rebounded from a 101-85 loss in game five by rallying in the second half to beat the favored Celtics. It wasn’t a work of art but the eighthseeded Sixers got the job done. Philadelphia missed 11 free throws, hit just one-of-nine from three-point range and were outrebounded 48-37.

But the Sixers had five players reach double figures in scoring.

Boston was equally inept at times, shooting just 33 percent from the floor and committing 17 turnovers. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett provided 24 and 20 points for Boston, who kept within

striking distance by making 20-of-23 from the free throw line. Game five hero Brandon Bass finished with just eight points on two-of-12 shooting. His 27 points sparked Boston to a 101-85 rout in game five and a series lead. Mickael Pietrus, of France, drained a 22 foot jumper from beyond the arc to give the Celtics a 36-33 lead at halftime.

This rivalry began back in 1949-50 when the 76ers were based in Syracuse. The 76ers and Celtics have met in the postseason 11 times with Boston winning seven of those.

PIERCE LIFTS CELTICS The Philadelphia 76ers ground out an 82-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday to force a deciding Game Seven in their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series.

Philadelphia’s season-saving victory was far from pretty, but they avoided elimination with a gritty effort to tie the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and set up the decider in Boston. “I think it’s

going to be crazy, especially being there in Boston,” said 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday, who led Philadelphia with 20 points. “We need to go in there and get this win. I’m looking forward to it.”

Elton Brand added 13 and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, who are on the brink of springing another postseason upset after eliminating top seeds Chicago in the opening round. Boston’s Paul Pierce recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 20 and 11 but no other Celtics player scored more than nine and they finished with just 33 percent shooting from the field. “I thought they had a lot of energy form the building. They just outplayed us,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “We played random a lot. We have to do a better job offensively.” Boston took a 36-33 lead during a sluggish first half but fell behind in the second half. The 76ers led by four going into the fourth quarter but pulled away with an 8-1 run to seal the win. — Agencies

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FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Years

Boca, Corinthians cruise into last 4 Page 45

www.kuwaittimes.net

Sixers claw their way back into the series Page 47

PHILADELPHIA: Boston Celtics’ Mickael Pietrus (left) goes up for a shot as Philadelphia 76ers’ Lavoy Allen defends during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. — AP