26 Nov 2011

IO N IPT SC R SU B

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Formative art works go on display

No: 15280

MUHARRAM 1, 1433 AH

Yemenis stage rival rallies

Tendulkar misses date with history

150 Fils

420 detained 7 activists 48 go on hunger strike Opposition dubs arrest ‘illegal’

Max 22º Min 08º

Egypt’s new PM claims he has ‘full authority’ Over 10,000 pack into Tahrir Square CAIRO: Egypt’s military rulers picked a prime minister from ousted leader Hosni Mubarak’s era to head the next government in a move quickly rejected by tens of thousands of protesters, while the United States ratcheted up pressure on the generals to quickly transfer power to a civilian leadership.

More than 100,000 people packed into Cairo’s central Tahrir Square for their biggest demonstration since the current showdown began, with activists accusing the generals of trying to extend the old guard and demanding they step down immediately after failing to stabilize the country, salvage the economy or bring democracy following Mubarak’s ouster.

Tensions have risen ahead of parliamentary elections, set to begin on Monday. The election is to be staggered over multiple stages that end in March, and the military said yesterday it would extend the Kamal el-Ganzoury voting period to two days for each round in an apparent effort to boost turnout due to the current unrest. The first stage covers nine provinces that include Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. He also was a provincial governor under the late President Anwar Sadat. In a televised statement, he said the military has given him greater powers than his predecessor and he wouldn’t have accepted the job if he believed military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi had any intention of staying in power.

“The powers given to me exceed any similar mandates,” he said, looking uncomfortable, grasping for words and repeatedly pausing as he spoke. “I will take full authority so I’m able to serve my country.” — AP

KUWAIT: Opposition activists tie themselves to symbolically protest the detention of 31 activists by security forces on Thursday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: Some 20 Kuwaiti opposition activists detained for storming parliament went on hunger strike yesterday to protest against “illegal and oppressive detention,” and maltreatment. The announcement came in a statement posted on Twitter by the activists’ supporters immediately after the public prosecutor extended the detention of 31 activists until today for further investigation.

The public prosecutor decided to “detain the 31 activists until late today to resume interrogations,” Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie, coordinator of the opposition defense team, said.

Subaie said on Thursday that the activists were being questioned on charges of damaging public property, storming parliament, illegal procession, and assaulting police and others, for

which they “face a jail term of between six months and life.”

The Twitter statement claimed that the activists were being improperly detained as they were kept in cells normally used for criminals, prevented from contacting their relatives and were charged collectively. Hundreds of supporters spent the night outside the palace of justice in Kuwait City in temperatures of eight degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit), cold for the Gulf state.

They planned to gather again late yesterday in a show of solidarity with the detainees. The detained activists include a former MP, academics, doctors and writers. Ahmad Al-Thayedi, the first university professor to be detained in the case, told AFP minutes before handing himself in on Thursday that the “whole issue has been politicized.”

Hundreds of opposition activists stormed the seaside parliament building on November 16 after clashes with riot police that followed a large protest demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the dissolution of parliament. HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, on Sunday called the incident a “black day” for Kuwait.

The opposition bloc of 20 of the 50 members of parliament called on Thursday for Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah to resign over police beating of activists. The opposition has also accused HH Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, of transferring public funds into his overseas bank accounts.

The government has denied the charge. —AFP

LO C A L SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Belgian Princess Astrid to visit Kuwait tuesday Bid to raise global fund to fight malaria BRUSSELS: Princess Astrid of Belgium will visit Kuwait on November 29-30 as a Special Representative to the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership. Joined by RBM Executive Director Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck and Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Professor Michel Kazatchkine, the princess will advocate stronger regional investment in global malaria control efforts, according to an RBM press release.

“Malaria is important to me because of its burden on the most vulnerable pregnant women and children,” said Princess Astrid. “In my work with the RBM Partnership, I’ve seen first-hand the complete devastation malaria imposes on communities. I’ve also seen the incredible hope provided by simple, cost-effective tools that prevent and treat infection and advance other development goals that will lift communities out of poverty,” she noted.

Despite advancements, malaria continues to infect 247 million people each year and kills more young children than any other single disease, claiming the

life of a child in Africa every 45 seconds.

“Our projects and policies are working, but the successes remain partial and fragile,” said Coll-Seck. “Despite advances in diagnostics, prevention and

Astrid

treatment, malaria continues to kill approximately 780,000 people annually.

Our successes must be replicated across all regions affected by malaria, and they need to be expanded to prevent the disease,” added the RBM head.

The Global Fund provides two-thirds of international funding in the global effort to control the disease, and to date programs supported by the Global Fund have distributed 190 million insecticidetreated nets to prevent malaria.

“Investments in malaria prevention and control have been among the best investments in global health, resulting in a dramatic decrease in malaria deaths and illness. If adequate financial resources are secured, we could further scale up our efforts and malaria could be eliminated as a public health problem in most malaria-endemic countries by 2015.

It can be done,” said Kazatchkine. Prior to arriving in Kuwait, the delegation will travel throughout the region to meet with influencers and government officials to advance conversations around the internationally agreed-upon Millennium Development Goals. — KUNA

GENEVA: Kuwait’s Ambassador to United Nations organizations in Geneva Dharar Abdul-Razzak Razzooqi presents the aid to a UN official.

Kuwait donates $500,000 to WHO GENEVA: Kuwait has donated $500,000 to the World Health Organization as part of its continuing support to humanitarian activities across the globe, says Ambassador of Kuwait to the United Nations organizations in Geneva, Dharar Abdul-Razzak Razzooqi. Part of the fund will be used for financing drinking water projects in poor nations and supporting campaigns against counterfeit medicines, he said, noting the deadly hazards of such poor-quality drugs. —KUNA

World Bank names new manager to Kuwait

AMMAN: Attendees of a training program entitled ‘Functions of Safety of Regulations of agencies for Radiation Protection’ that was held in Amman. Kuwait participated in the course which was organized by Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA)and the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC). — KUNA

Kuwait participates in radiation safety course AMMAN: A regional training program entitled ‘Functions of Safety of Regulations of agencies for Radiation Protection’ concluded yesterday. Kuwait participated in the course, which was organized by Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA) and the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC). The Gulf state was represented by Khaled Salem Saif Al-Azmi of the department of radiation prevention of the Ministry of

Health. Other conferees represented 11 Arab countries.

The course was aimed at qualifying scientific personnel in the Arab countries for sake of establishing an infrastructure for nuclear energy and radiation according international standards, Al-Azmi told KUNA. It contained 30 hours of theoretical and scientific lectures. AAEA Vice-Chairman Daw Mesbah pointed out at the end of the course

that the Arab agency train personnel, in cooperation with international agencies, specialized in human safety in this sector.

For his part, JNRC Director General Jamal Sharaf said training national staff is one of the obstacles facing such authorities. Participants represented Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Mauritania, Lebanon, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Syria and Iraq. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait Country Office of the World Bank announced the appointment of Dr Bassam Ramadan, a Lebanese national, as its new Country Manager.

Ramadan will take over from Dr Radwan Shaban, who completed his term in Kuwait.

According to a news statement issued by the Kuwait Country Office, Ramadan, an Economist, has many years of experience in the development of Dr Bassam Ramadan both the public and private sectors, knowledge management, strategic development, quality and innovation.

He also consulted in business development, human resource development and external partnerships. The purpose of his mission in Kuwait is to further strengthen the technical cooperation program between Kuwait and the World Bank in support of the Country’s five year development plan.

Dr Bassam has worked in the region for many years, and has extensive knowledge of World Bank’s technical assistance programs that are specific to the Arab Gulf States. This first-hand experience has added significantly to his understanding of both the challenges that this region face as well as the potential it holds for effective development.

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local SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Two Egyptians killed in highway car crash Fire breaks out in Mangaf building

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

K UW A I T : Th e wr ec k ages of the vehicles involved in the crash on the King Faisal Expressway yesterday.

KUWAIT: Two Egyptians were killed and three others injured in a car crash on King Faisal highway, reported security sources. The sources added that the severity of the crash had trapped the bodies of the deceased inside the vehicles.

A fire broke out on the third floor of a Mangaf building yesterday, said security sources. Mangaf and Fahahaeel fire squads rushed to the scene where they split into two teams: one tackling and confining the blaze, whilst the other rescued six people trapped on the roof.

A 24-year-old citizen broke his left leg when he fell during a camping trip in Jelai’a, said security sources. He was rushed to Adan hospital for treatment.

A 68-year-old citizen was instantly killed when he was run over by a speeding vehicle as he attempted to cross the Third Ring highway road on foot, said security sources.

A 42-year-old Pakistani man broke both arms when his car

Khorafi, NA responsible for arrests: Opposition KUWAIT: Amidst increasing demands to have the PM take the podium to answer inquiries listed in grilling motions filed against him, opposition MPs warned of counter measures that may be taken to stop the grilling motion by removing immunity from two MPs in an attempt to reduce the number of supporters of a ‘no-cooperation’ vote.

Furthermore, opposition MPs strongly criticized the speaker of the house, Jassim Al-Khorafi, and the NA’s bureau, accusing them of framing the youth arrested for breaking into the Council.

This came in a statement issued by opposition MPs, which condemned what they described as a ‘brutal assault’ by special forces on both citizens and MPs which “calls both the PM and the interior minister to own up to their responsibilities and resign from office.”

The statement also warned the cabinet against adapting a suggestion made by a Minister to lift immunity off a number of opposition MPs and have them

detained prior to the ‘no-cooperation vote’ session in order to reduce the number of supporters of the vote.

In this regard, MP Khalid Al-Sultan blamed both Al-Khorafi and the NA bureau for the way the youth have been treated by the police. “What Khorafi and the NA bureau are doing is the reason behind interrogating your sons and sending them to prison,” he said in an address to the parents of the arrested young men. On his part, MP Faisal AlMislem warned of schemes aiming at stopping the grilling motion by referring it to the legislative committee, or by postponing it. “The government plot, prepared in collaboration with bribed pro-government MPs, aims at saving the PM through holding a special parliamentary session to demand lifting parliamentary immunity off the MPs involved I breaking into the parliament,” said MP Musallam Al-Barrak noting that such a trick would not get past the Kuwaiti people. — Al-Jarida

Mongolian Media delegation meets Al-Qinai KUWAIT: A Mongolian media delegation called on Faisal Al-Qinae, General Secretary of Kuwait Journalist Association, on Tuesday. The delegation came to Kuwait in response to an invitation from the Kuwait Ministry of Education.

collided into another along the Ghazali highway, said security sources, who added that the man was taken to Farwaniya hospital for treatment.

Kuwaiti poet Surayye dies of stroke in Iraq BAGHDAD: Zeyad Al-Salhi, the media manager at the AlNajaf Governorate, Iraq, said that the Kuwaiti poet, Abdul Aziz Jum’a Al-Surayye’ died yesterday while representing the Abdul Aziz Batbatin Arab Poetry Establishment to the 2nd Poetry World Forum held at Kofa University. Al-Salhi added that Al-Surayye’ suffered stroke, but the ambulance summoned to take him to hospital was half an hour late, during which time the poet had succumbed.

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Formative art works on display KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) the Kuwait Arts Association (KAA) concluded on Tuesday its competition for Formative arts cartoons and photography on its premises in Hawally. It was attended by a number of officials from PAYS and KAA as well as many arts and photography enthusiasts.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Ojairi announces advent of winter KUWAIT: Kuwait’s veteran meteorologist, Dr. Saleh AlOjairi officially announced the beginning of winter yesterday. He recommended the wearing of warm clothes especially during early morning hours. — Al-Jarida

National Guard, KU link libraries KUWAIT: Following their protocol of cooperation, the National Guard and Kuwait University recently linked their libraries in a bid to give National Guard personnel access to KU’s library. The move should aide National Guard personnel in conducting research. This link was the main topic of discussion on a recent visit by KU’s libraries department Manager, Dhiya’ Al-Jassim, to the National Guards library.

Thief tries to flee with security guard in tow Wanted man in police net KUWAIT: Hawally police have arrested a young man for the panic-driven kidnapping of a security guard. A pair were found fighting in a car in the parking lot of the Yacht Club, prompting a security guard to investigate the situation. Upon his arrival, one suspect fled the car. The remaining suspect, however, attempted to flee with the guard inside the car. The guard had entered the car to arrest the remaining suspect but, in a state of panic, the suspect sped off with the guard in tow. Police called for support and the car, which the suspect admitting to stealing from Bayan one month prior, was stopped.

The suspect further admitted that he and his friend had been arguing over the division of stolen goods.

Policeman accuses woman of unprovoked insult A man working in Hawally’s traffic department has accused a Kuwaiti women of insulting him after he stopped her to issue a citation. The policeman said that he stopped the woman for going through a red light, and when he asked for her driving license and paperwork, she made a remark regarding ‘chasing women.’

The officer reiterated that he had given no indication that he was attempting to harass or flirt with the women, but was simply following the rule of the law. A case was filed and police have contacted the woman to hear her side of the story.

Smitten man causes crash to gain girl’s attention A female university student filed a report to Jahra police station against a man who was found to be the brother of her friend. Her accusations included sexual assault and purposefully causing a car accident. She reported that, one week ago, a driver collided with her car and offered his details to arrange the repair work necessary for her car. Upon meeting with him, however, he admitted that he is her friend’s brother and, after having seen her picture, wanted to get to know, and possibly marry her.

Teenage girl disappears after leaving to visit friend A Kuwaiti man has filed a missing persons report for his 17-year-old daughter. The teen went to visit a female friend in Adan, yet failed to return. None of the missing girl’s family

know the friend, or her address.

Attempts to contact their daughter have failed as her phone line is currently blocked. The case has been referred to detectives to locate the missing teen.

Workers find corpse of newly-born baby Laborers digging in Al Alam square have found the body of a newly born infant . They reported the finding to police, who sent criminal identification expects to take a sample from the remains in order to ascertain who the infants family are. The body was taken to medical examiner to determine the cause and time of death.

Police arrest wanted man Special police have arrested a wanted Kuwaiti man and, upon his arrest, found a cocktail of drugs on his person. He was caught in Sulaibikhat and was sent to the relevant authorities. He had been driving a car without a license plate number and when police ordered him to stop, he attempted to flee. Police pursued him and found that he was wanted on several charges, including various parties.

LOCAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

News

in brief

Camel race fest today KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will sponsor a camel race festival, which will be held by the Kuwait Camel Racing Club today. His Highness the Crown Prince has delegated retired Lieutenant General Abdullah Abulrahman AlFaris to represent him at the cup hand-over ceremony, which will be held at Martyr Fahad AlAhmad Track today. — KUNA Municipality renews cleaning contracts KUWAIT: General Director of Kuwait Municipality, Ahmad Al Subaih, has said that central tender committee has agreed to renew cleaning contracts relating to Kuwait Municipality. He explained that the decision has been approved according to Kuwait municipality conditions. Al-Subaih pointed out that all contracts for all companies have been approved for one year, or less, depending on the adherence of the prices agreed upon previously between the Municipality and the companies. — Al-Rai CAN campaign celebrates success KUWAIT: The ‘CAN’ campaign, which provides education about cancer, celebrated the completion of the activities in their ‘Possible in Ramadan’ plan. The group also distributed financial prizes and gifts.

Dr Khalid Al-Saleh said that there are many cancerous diseases which are linked to nutrition, such as colon cancer, which has been on the rise.

The number of sufferers in Kuwait reached around 155 patients annually, of which 87 patients are male and 65 patients are female, thus there is around one case of colon cancer found every two days. He added that eating well is scientifically proven to be the best way to fight cancer. — Al-Anbaa Egypt embassy opens weekend for ballots KUWAIT: The Egyptian embassy to Kuwait opened yesterday and will still be open today from 9am until midnight to receive voters in the upcoming Egyptian parliamentary elections.

According to the Egyptian media attachÈ, Mohammed Fauzi Hassan, all voters were asked either to mail their votes to the Embassy’s headquarters in Da’eya or to drop them off at the embassy by midnight today.

New locations for slaughterhouses KUWAIT: Locations for new slaughter houses in Abdaly and Sulaibiya have been allocated and a plan prepared for them, but they are yet to be built, said General Director of Kuwait Municipality, Engineer Ahmad Al-Subaih, has said.— Al-Anbaa Municipality campaign against temporary tents KUWAIT: Director of Kuwait’s Municipality, Eng Ahmad Al Subaih, said that the Municipality is launching a campaign to remove tents from sand yards and front yards in residential areas. He added that erecting a tent, and considering it as temporary Diwaniya or otherwise, is a violation on state property and shall be removal. He called upon all citizens to cooperate with the Municipality in this respect. — Al-Anbaa

Opposition group fires salvos at four ministers Al-Sadoun urges people to gather at DS KUWAIT: Opposition groups have escalated the already tense political situation in the country by threatening to make the case of MP Ahmad AlSaadoun and Dr Jumaan Al-Harbash making millions worth of deposits an international case.

MP sources revealed that oppositions groups have included in their agenda the grillings of four ministers: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud, Minister of Health Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, Minister of Finance Mustafa AlShamali and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Dr Mohammed Al-Affasi.

Sources have claimed that the group claims that the fate of the four ministers is in their hands.

Meanwhile, MP Musallam Al-Barrak said that the government is trying to implement a plan to ‘save the head of

the prime minister’ in cooperation with its allies in the council from the MPs, ‘including those who received bribes.’ According to the plan, a special session will be held to lift the immunity of the MPs who participated in storming Abdullah Al Salem hall last Wednesday and arrest them during the period falling between the grilling session and the vote on no cooperation session.

He expressed astonishment that the council office has become the ‘jail keeper’ of its members, and at the arrests of youths based on false accusations.

Al-Barrak said in a press release, “We greet the detained youths from NA council, who have a clear conscience and are real defenders of the constitution, the Amir and public, while they are in the detention center.” After the government made

arrests over the raiding of Abdullah Al-Salem hall at the NA council, opposition has stepped up their campaign.

The group called for a meeting in the office of MP Mohammad Al-Mutairi, and held the council office responsible for the arrests.

MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun called upon the Kuwaiti people to be present in Monday’s Determination Square gathering to spread their message, and warned the Government against creating a showdown between law enforcement and attendees.

Al-Saadoun added that he hoped, with the grace of God, that the government would fall following the gathering and that Kuwait could be ‘rescued.’ He added that Tuesday’s NA session, which includes a grilling over various large cash deposits on its agenda, shall put an end to Nasser AlMohammed’s Government. — Al-Rai

Safar receives Chinese delgation KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, Dr Fadhel Safar, recently received the Deputy Chairman of the Arab-Chinese Friendship Society, Klim Fung Tsuko, and his accompanying delegation. They discussed cooperation between both countries in various fields, in addition to the topic of building a new airport with a capacity of 20 million passengers.

Problems of Kuwaiti firms in Egypt resolved CAIRO: Authorities are resolving problems involving Kuwaiti businesses in the country, a ranking local official has said. Usama Saleh, Chairman of the Investment Public Authority and Free Zones, said in an interview with KUNA that the authority has recently succeeded in reaching “imminent solutions” for problems concerning the Kuwaiti investment companies, namely the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Company and KGL. He indicated that the problems were relat-

ed to some land plots and that they were being resolved in coordination with the relevant local authorities.

He welcomed a proposal by Ali AlGhanem, Chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Industry and Commerce, to hold an Egyptian investment workshop in Kuwait. He further indicated that the former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah AlSalem Al-Sabah, proposed, during a visit

to Egypt last September. Saleh highlighted the increasing interest by Kuwaiti investment companies to launch businesses in Egypt, or expand on existing enterprises in the country. Kuwait ranks fourth among states with investments in Egypt worth an estimated $2.916 billion.

Saleh affirmed the keenness of the Egyptian Government, following the January 25 revolution, on supporting various economic sectors. — KUNA

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LOCAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Students urged to take up Kuwait’s future challenges 28th NUKS conference kicks off in Beverly Hills

MEXICO CITY: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Johar Hayat with former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. — KUNA

Hayat meets former Mexican president MEXICO CITY: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Johar Hayat met yesterday with former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to discuss arrangements for the latter’s upcoming visit to Kuwait. The former Mexican President will head a high-ranking delegation of businessmen and representatives of the biggest Mexican corporations.

The Kuwaiti ambassador stressed on the importance of such a visit because it will be an opportunity to express appreciation for Mexico’s stance in 1990 and its support of international legislations that contributed in liberating Kuwait from the Iraqi aggression back then. — KUNA

Kuwait congratulates Bosnia, Surriname on National Days KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah has cabled chairman of the Bosnian Presidency Zeljko Komsic congratulating him on the occasion of his country’s National Day and wishing him lasting well-being. HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah have addressed cables of identical content to the top Bosnian leader.

H H the Amir also sent a cable of congratulations to the President of Suriname, Desire Delano Bouterse, on the occasion of his country’s National day, wishing him lasting health and well-being. HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister addressed cables of identical content to the president of the republic. — KUNA

NBK sponsors NUKS annual conference KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has sponsored the 28th annual conference of the National Union of Kuwaiti StudentsUSA being held from November 24 until November 28, 2011. The conference is held under the auspices of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed Al-Ahmed AlSabah.

NBK Public Relations Manager, NBK Public Relations Abdulmohsen Alrushaid Manager, Abdulmohsen stated: “NBK’s sponsorship Alrushaid and support come in line with the bank’s customary and ongoing spirit of corporate citizenship as well as the vital role it plays in supporting all students, youths and educational issues”.

BEVERLY HILLS: Representative of HH the Prime Minister, Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, extended here on Thursday evening greetings of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the opening of the 28th annual conference of the National Union of the Kuwaiti Students (USA) branch, held under the patronage of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

In a speech the ambassador delivered on behalf of HH the Premier, he said that “it is of pride to see honorable models of Kuwaitis in Kuwait and abroad who carry on their shoulders the responsibility of elevating the name of their country and asserting its status among nations.” He added that the NUKS-USA branch and other students’ union branches “are a clear example of the persistence, strong will and challenge”, where they had major efforts in many stances which were of concern to Kuwait.

He shed light on several important matters that are important to Kuwaitis such as that Kuwait is capable of facing the changes of the modern life while preserving the tradition.

He added that Kuwaitis have always united and brought together in solidarity “and we will remain one country and one Kuwaiti family united through good and bad.” He stressed that “we have to preserve this spirit and those values no matter how far away from home we are and that our ultimate goal always remains Kuwait.”

“We will always remember and appreciate the work and sacrifices of our ancestors and what they have achieved of accomplishments for us and therefore it is our duty to continue their journey and hope to achieve more development for our country,” he remarked.

He stressed that building Kuwait’s future is the “biggest challenge” where the young generation should confront it and work hard to build a modern country that applies knowledge and developed techniques in all domains of life.

He affirmed that Kuwait spares no effort in supporting its future generation, developing their capabilities and skills and involving them in the boom of the country as “they are the source of our aspirations and hopes as they represent the real power and the path to achieve those aspirations through their hard work and bright ideas.”

In a statement to KUNA, Kuwait’s ambassador said that he is keen on attending this annual conference as it is an opportunity to interact with the students. He praised the students union for their good organization of this conference and the many other conferences he attended in the past ten years. Sheikh Salem indicated that only 200 students participated in the first conference he attended of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students ten years ago where this year about 2,000 students are participating in this event, which is considered a “huge contribution” for the students in the US. This event, he affirmed, is considered the “biggest event that gathers the largest number of Kuwaitis abroad,” which is of “pride for us as Kuwaitis to have this many number of students attend and interact with one another.

He wished our students success and all the best so that they can return to our home country with what they acquired of education as they are needed back home.

The Ambassador noted that the theme of the conference is very creative but also “I want our students to know that Kuwait is a promising country and they

have a prosperous bright future in Kuwait. “So I took it upon me to change the theme of the conference to “a generation returning to a promising homeland.”

Meanwhile, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Farouk Al-Zanki said in a speech he addressed at the opening of the conference that the oil sector, which is considered the main engine of the economy,

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah addresses the 28th annual conference of the National Union of the Kuwaiti Students (USA) branch, in Beverly Hills. —KUNA will have a dire need during the upcoming years for many of the qualified national cadres as the initial estimates indicate that oil sector in Kuwait will need 7500 job opportunities during the five year plan 2011/2012-2015/2016 in order to cover the increasing demand of the workforce to meet the future expansions and the increase in the operational capability expected in the upcoming years.

He added that KPC believes that the Kuwaiti human factor is an important part of the development plan therefore it focused its strategies in the human resource in order to rehabilitate the national human cadres and to develop the capabilities and qualifications of those cadres.

Finally, Al-Zanki called on the students to work hard and acquire as much knowledge as possible in order to serve their homeland and the future. Over 1,500 Kuwaiti students gathered in Beverly Hills, California to attend the 28th annual conference of the National Union of the Kuwaiti Students (USA) branch which is held under the theme “aspiring generation; homeland restoring glories.” —KUNA

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Putin party to lose support in Russian vote

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50 bodies found in two days of carnage in Mexico

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Arroyo’s health improving, petitions for house arrest

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SAADA: A handout picture distributed by the press office of Yemen’s Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis, shows residents of the northern Yemeni province of Saada protesting against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33 year rule and againt US intervention in Yemen yesterday.—AFP

Yemenis stage rival rallies Sanaa retains calm SANAA: Opponents and supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh held rival rallies in the Yemeni capital yesterday after pre-dawn fighting between rival security forces dashed hopes an exit deal for the president would end the violence. Youth activists, who have spearheaded 10 months of protests against Saleh’s 33 year rule in which hundreds have died, are furious that the agreement signed with the parliamentary opposition on Wednesday promises Saleh and his family immunity from prosecution.

“The blood of the martyrs which has thrown you out of power, Saleh, will throw you in prison,” preacher Fuad Al-Hanjari told tens of thousands of activists after funerals for four out of five protesters killed by plainclothes gunmen in the capital on Thursday. “The squares will remain our homes until we accomplish our goals-the exit of all the regime’s remnants and building a new Yemen,” he said. The activists said similar protests were held in 17 of the 22 Arabian Peninsula country’s provinces, including two of the most populous-Taez and Ibb. They say that Saleh’s agreement to hand all

“necessary constitutional powers” to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi with immediate effect and hold office on an honorary basis only for the coming 90 days is not enough and are demanding the departure of the whole regime.

“We did not start a revolution to keep half of the killers,” spokesman Walid Al-Ammari said on the eve of yesterday’s rally, adding that Hadi, the lowprofile vice president for the past 17 years, is “just another arm of Saleh.”

Saleh, who was still in Saudi Arabia after Wednesday’s signing of the exit plan drafted by his impoverished country’s wealthy Gulf neighbours, condemned Thursday’s violence by his loyalists and ordered an investigation. The 69-year-old, who sustained serious blast wounds in a June bombing of his residence and has already received extensive treatment in Saudi Arabia, is to stay in Riyadh for medical tests, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi told the kingdom’s Al-Watan daily.

“No specific date date has been set for his departure, as this depends on the results which

will determine if he will be treated in the kingdom or in the United States,” Kurbi told the newspaper.

“If the results are reassuring, he will return to Yemen.” UN chief Ban Ki-moon, whose Yemen envoy Jamal Benomar was instrumental in persuading Saleh to sign the Gulf transition plan after months of prevarication, had said he expected the president to travel to New York for treatment. Tens of thousands of Saleh’s supporters held a massive counter-demonstration on the capital’s Sabiin Avenue yesterday demanding change “only through the ballot box”-a constant refrain of the president during his long months of refusal to sign up to the exit plan.

But analysts said that the numbers taking part on both sides were down on previous Fridays-the traditional day of prayer and protest in Muslim Yemen as the silent majority watched to see how the transition deal plays out. Fierce clashes erupted in the capital before dawn between dissident troops of the First Armoured Brigade led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and members of the central security services commanded by Saleh’s

nephew Yehya, residents said. The mortar and machinegun exchanges broke out outside the residence of Vice President Hadi, who assumed Saleh’s executive powers under the transition deal. The fighting, which spread to the heart of the capital, lasted more than two hours. There was no word on any casualties. Saleh’s long equivocation over signing the transition deal, which the opposition first signed back in April, saw the protests slide into deadly clashes between loyalist and dissident troops and tribesmen that have riven the capital and left the armed forces deeply divided.

Besides Yehya, the president’s son Ahmed commands the Republican Guards and Tariq, another nephew, controls the presidential guard.

But two major army divisions-one in Sanaa and one in Taez-rallied to the opposition and have fought repeated battles against Saleh’s loyalists, leaving scores dead. Under the Riyadh deal, Hadi is charged with forming a comittee to oversee the reunification of the security forces within 90 days, one of the biggest challenges facing the transition.— AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Lebanon PM threatens to quit over Hariri funding BEIRUT: Lebanon faced yet another major political crisis yesterday after Prime Minister Najib Mikati threatened to resign should his Hezbollah-dominated cabinet refuse to fund a UN court probing the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. “I cannot imagine being prime minister of a government... that fails to honor its international commitments or isolates itself from the international community,” Mikati said late Thursday in an interview with LBC television.

When asked whether he was ready to resign over the issue, Mikati said: “Quite simply, by resigning I will be protecting Lebanon should it fail to pay its share of funding. “If the cabinet decides it will not pay its dues to the tribunal, Lebanon will be hit with sanctions while I am prime minister,” he said, adding that the funds were an “insurance policy” against such an outcome. The funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is due to be discussed at a crucial cabinet meeting

next Wednesday.

Mikati’s comments signaled a possible showdown between the Sunni premier and the Shiite Hezbollah, which has steadfastly pushed for Lebanon to cut all ties with the STL, set up in the aftermath of Hariri’s 2005 assassination. His threat to resign also comes amid intense international pressure on Lebanon to uphold its duties towards the Netherlands-based court, which in June charged four operatives of Hezbollah-the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon-in connection with the murder.

No arrests have been made. STL president David Baragwanath travelled to Lebanon this week and met with officials, including Mikati and President Michel Sleiman, to drive home Lebanon’s need to fulfil its international obligations. A government official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Baragwanath had made clear that it was in the interest of Lebanon to contribute its share to the

court or face “being dragged before the UN Security Council.”

Lebanon had until the end of October to transfer the now overdue funds. Opposition MP Ammar Houry told AFP yesterday that it was clear Mikati’s government was on its way out and would collapse by the end of the month should Lebanon fail to transfer the funds to the STL. “The government is currently on life support,” Houry said. “I expect the cabinet to collapse next Wednesday if the funding falls through.”

The Western-backed opposition, headed by ex-premier Saad Hariri, son of the slain leader, was meanwhile planning to make a show of force on Sunday at a mass rally in the northern city of Tripoli, Mikati’s hometown. The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah toppled Hariri’s government in January after he refused to cease cooperation with the STL. Experts said it was clear Mikati was being backed into a corner by the international community over

the STL and his threat to resign was his “last gamble.” “It’s a precarious situation,” said Karim Makdisi, political science professor at the American University of Beirut. “This is Mikati’s last gamble.

“The (funding) decision has been postponed time and again and the visit by the STL president is a signal from the West that they’re not willing to see a compromise,” he added. Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the STL’s financing, which amounts to some $35 million (25.2 million euros) this year. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the first international court with jurisdiction to try an act of terrorism.

Hezbollah has dismissed the court as a US-Israeli conspiracy and its leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that no party members wanted by the STL will ever be found. Rafiq Hariri’s death in 2005 led to a series of political crises that brought the country close to civil war in 2008.— AFP

Pressure grows on Syria but foreign powers divided Turkey demands an end to bloodshed

RABAT: A woman deposits her ballot paper after voting in Rabat, Morocco yesterday. —AP

Morocco votes in first election since reforms RABAT: Moroccans voted yesterday in the first legislative election since the king introduced constitutional reforms after the Arab Spring uprisings, with an Islamist party expected to make strong gains. The main contenders in the election, the second in north Africa since the Arab Spring began, are the moderately Islamist Justice and Development party and a handful of liberal, secular parties.

Opinion polls are not allowed in Morocco, but observers said Justice and Development could emerge with the most votes after similar success by a moderate Islamist party in Tunisia’s first democratic election last month. Its main rivals are Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi’s centre-right Independence party and the Coalition for Democracy, an eight-party pro-monarchy bloc.

The bloc includes two of the five governing parties-the Popular Movement and Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar’s National Rally of Independents. The election comes less than five months after a July referendum overwhelmingly approved a new constitution proposed by King Mohammed VI as autocratic regimes toppled in nearby Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. The amended constitution gives parliament a greater say in the legislative process and strengthens the role of the prime minister, who now must be appointed by the king from the party which wins the most seats in the assembly.

But the election risks being marred by traditionally low voter turnout as well as a boycott call by the pro-reform February 20 movement, which argues the monarch’s constitutional reforms do not go far enough. As of noon, voter turnout stood at 11.5 percent, according to the interior ministry, compared to 10.0 percent at the same time during the last election in 2007. — AFP

BEIRUT: Turkey and Arab powers kept up pressure on Syria’s President Bashar alAssad to end the crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrators yesterday but longtime ally Russia warned against any foreign intervention. A deadline set by the Arab League for Syria to sign a deal allowing monitors into the country expired yesterday without any Syrian response.

Arab foreign ministers had said in Cairo on Thursday that unless Syria agreed to let the monitors in to assess progress of an Arab League plan to end eight months of bloodshed, officials would consider imposing sanctions today. These could include halting flights, curbing trade and stopping deals with the central bank. “The deadline has already ended, but the Arab League leaves the door open for Syria to reply by the end of the day and if a positive Syrian response comes yesterday, then the Arab League has no objection to agreeing to it,” an Arab source said.

Under the Nov 2 Arab League initiative, Syria agreed to withdraw troops from urban centres, release political prisoners, start a dialogue with the opposition and allow monitors and international media into the country. But since then hundreds of people, including civilians, security forces and army deserters, have been killed as the unrest which the United Nations says has claimed at least 3,500 lives since March continued. Turkey yesterday said it could not tolerate any more violence and it was ready to take action with Arab powers if Assad failed to take steps towards ending the repression.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara he hoped the Syrian government would give a positive response to the Arab League plan. “If it doesn’t, there are steps we can take in consultation with the Arab League,” he said. “I want to say clearly we have no more tolerance for the bloodshed in Syria. The attitude of friendly and frater-

DAMASCUS: Syrian regime supporters hold a banner bearing picture of late Syrian president Hafez Al-Assad (L), his son current President Bashar Al-Assad, and other son late Basel Al-Assad (2nd R), during a pro-government protest in Damascus yesterday.—AFP nal countries on this subject is clear”. The increased pressure followed France’s proposal on Thursday for “humanitarian corridors” to be set up through which food and medicine could be shipped to alleviate civilian suffering. But some a measure of comfort for Assad came from Russia, China and other countries, who expressed opposition to sanctions and warned against a foreign military intervention. “At the current stage, what is needed is not resolutions, not sanctions, not pressure, but internal Syrian dialogue,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news conference in Moscow. Moscow has urged the Syrian government to implement reforms but has rejected pressure from opposition groups to join international calls for Assad’s resignation. It has accused Western nations of trying to set the stage for armed interven-

tion, as they did in Libya. Lukashevich repeated those positions, saying Russia supported the Arab League’s call for a halt to the violence but that “radical opposition” groups with foreign support shared the blame. Outside military intervention was “absolutely unacceptable”. But he did not shut the door on the French call for humanitarian corridors, saying Moscow needs more information about the proposal. After a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, diplomats from Russia, China and the other three emerging-market BRIC countries-Brazil, India and South Africa also warned against foreign intervention without UN backing. A Western diplomatic source said the French plan, with or without approval from Damascus, could link Syrian civilian centres to the frontiers of Turkey and Lebanon, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport. — Reuters

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Dutch terrorism suspect fights extradition to US ‘Suspect invoking his right to remain silent’ AMSTERDAM: A lawyer for a Dutch man wanted by the US on suspicion of trying to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan and for allegedly aiding Al-Qaeda said yesterday he has appealed to the Netherlands’ Supreme Court to prevent his client’s extradition. The 24-year-old suspect, identified under Dutch privacy laws only as “Sabir K,” was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on June 22. But his extradition case was held behind closed doors in the Netherlands and no information about it was released until his lawyer Andre Seebregts sought publicity.

He said Sabir K is invoking his right to remain silent about his guilt or innocence. “He’s not talking. He may if it ever gets that far,” Seebregts said. Sabir K, a citizen of both the Netherlands and Pakistan, claims he was tortured for months in Pakistan before being deported to the Netherlands in April. He was arrested upon arrival and has been held in a high-security detention center since then. Seebregts’ Supreme Court appeal

points to rulings by Canadian courts in a case he says is similar. The courts ruled that suspect Abdullah Khadr cannot be extradited to face charges in the US because the most important evidence against him was a confession obtained under torture in Pakistan. Seebregts said he is attempting to gather evidence to back Sabir K’s assertions. The court won’t rule until sometime next year.

In an unusual move, the Dutch Foreign Ministry has released a statement saying that the Dutch consul in Pakistan visited Sabir K twice while he was in detention and saw no signs of abuse, though it noted he was blindfolded coming and going to the visits.

The foreign ministry rejected claims by Sabir K that the Dutch government assisted US authorities by luring him to the Netherlands with false promises he would be freed once he left Pakistani soil. A Dutch consular worker accompanied him to the airplane.

“Warning people who are suspected of criminal acts that they may be prose-

cuted is not part of consular assistance,” the ministry said in a statement. The actual charges against Sabir K are summarized in Dutch in an Oct 3 ruling by the Rotterdam District Court that was made available to The Associated Press upon request. A spokeswoman for the court could not say why the ruling was not published on the court’s website, as is standard practice.

According to the Dutch summary, the indictment issued by US attorney Loretta E Lynch of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York said Sabir K worked for and with Al-Qaeda between 2004 and 2010.

It says he tried to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, including planning a suicide attack on a US military base in Kunar province in 2010. He was also charged with possession and use of guns and “destructive material,” presumably explosives, during attacks on US troops.

The summarized indictment does not say whether any of Sabir K’s alleged attacks actually succeeded. —AP

Poland plans first atomic power plant on Baltic WARSAW: Poland’s first nuclear power plant, due to come on line by 2020, is set to be located near the Baltic Sea, Polish energy group PGE said yesterday. Three potential sites near the coast, at Zarnowiec, Choczewo and Gaski, were picked from around a hundred proposed locations, PGE chief Tomasz Zadroga told reporters.

The final choice is due to be announced in around two years, when the winner of the bidding race to build the plant will also be revealed, he said.

State-controlled PGE, which is in charge of Poland’s atomic power program, is set to launch the tender process before the end of this year. Poland, a nation of 38 million people, currently relies on its plentiful coal reserves to generate 94 percent of its electricity.

The ex-communist country, which joined the European Union in 2004, aims to construct two 3,000-megawatt reactors.

The cost of the nuclear program is estimated at 100 billion zloty (22.1 billion euros, $29.4 billion) Three international consortia have already expressed an interest in the project: France’s EDF and Areva, US-Japanese Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, and USJapanese GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas.

The nuclear option is strategic for Poland. One goal is to meet EU quotas for cutting the country’s carbon dioxide emissions, a tough task in a coal-fired economy. The government’s energy policy also involves reducing the role of energy imports.

Poland currently relies on Russia to cover 40 percent of its gas needs, for example, while other importers supply 30 percent and its own resources account for 30 percent. — AFP

MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin walk after a meeting with Russian women in the Gorki residence outside Moscow yesterday. —AP

Polls: Putin party to lose support in Russian vote MOSCOW: The ruling United Russia party of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will win Russia’s legislative election next month but with a substantially reduced majority, opinion polls said yesterday.

United Russia will lose its two-thirds majority in the State Duma-the socalled “constitutional majority” that is required for the constitution to be changed, separate polls by the Levada Centre and VTsIOM pollsters said.

But it will still retain a simple majority in the lower house in December 4’s election well ahead of its nearest rivals, the relatively pliant Communist Party, with the liberal opposition nowhere in sight. Support for Putin and his partner in Russia’s ruling tandem, President Dmitry Medvedev, has progressively eroded after reaching highs before the Russian economy was hit hard by the 2008 economic crisis. The independent

Levada Centre said that United Russia, according to its projections, would win 253 of the 450 seats in the State Duma, well down from the 315 it obtained in the last elections in 2007. It said that 53 percent of people who had made up their minds and were going to vote in the election would back United Russia, compared with its rating of 64.3 percent in the 2007 election.

The Communist Party would win 94 seats and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party 59 with the left-leaning A Just Russia obtaining 44 seats, all improving their position at the expense of United Russia. No other party would secure the minimum to make it into parliament. According to state-controlled VTsIOM, United Russia would win 262 seats. The Communists would have 82 deputies, the ultra-nationalists 57 and A Just Russia 49. — AFP

Russian businessman wanted by Lithuania arrested in London VILNIUS: A Russian businessman who owns Portsmouth Football Club and has tried to invest in cash-strapped car maker Saab has been arrested in London in connection with a money laundering probe that has rocked Lithuania and Latvia, officials said yesterday. Vladimir Antonov, 36, and a Lithuanian partner, Raimondas Baranauskas, 53, were detained Thursday on an arrest warrant issued by investigators probing alleged fraud and money laundering at his banks in the Baltic states, Lithuanian prosecutor Tomas Krusna told reporters.

The Bank of Lithuania said late Thursday that his bank there, Snoras Bank, will be liquidated, calling it the best solution for country’s financial system and economy, which were jolted after the bank was nationalized and its operations halted. Lithuanian regulators claim that hundreds of millions of euros were siphoned from Snoras, the country’s fifth-largest financial institution, while Latvian authorities have said that similar asset-stripping took place on a massive scale at Latvija Krajbanka, a subsidiary bank controlled by Snoras.

Lithuanian bank chief Vitas Vasiliauskas said the government was liquidating the bank rather than waste taxpayers’ money trying to help “a plane that won’t fly.”

“There is no other way to solve this situation,” he said. The decision to liquidate Snoras means that Latvijas Krajbanka, which Snoras controls through a 68 percent stake, is almost certain to suffer the same fate given Latvia’s meager financial resources as it emerges from one of the world’s worst recessions. When asked about Antonov’s arrest, London police read a statement saying that two men - age 36 and 53 - were arrested in response to a Europe-wide arrest warrant in London’s financial center.

British officials do not name suspects until they have been charged. Police said the two men remained in custody overnight and are due to appear in a London court later yesterday. Lithuanian prosecutors on Wednesday issued the warrant for Antonov, who owned over 60 percent of Snoras, and Baranauskas. Antonov told the Lithuanian daily Respublika in a phone interview published Thursday that he feared for his life. “I returned to London because I live and work here - my family is here.

Where else can I go? Russia? That would be a one-way ticket. I would have to stay there for safety, but this would be considered an escape attempt,” he said.

“I am ready to testify...I understand that extradition is inevitable. I can say it openly - I am scared that I may get killed,” Antonov said. Latvian officials had hoped that Lithuania’s government might be able to salvage the banks, and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis was due to travel to Lithuania yesterday on discuss the issue.

However, once news of Snoras’ liquidation broke, Dombrovskis canceled the trip. Lithuania’s Finance Ministry said yesterday that they would pay out all guaranteed deposits - up to $132,000 - at Snoras by Christmas requiring some 4 billion litas ($1.5 billion) in funds.

Latvia’s government was due to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the fate of Latvijas Krajbanka.

Authorities in both Lithuania and Latvia say the two banks’ collapse does not pose a systemic risk since they are mid-sized and the two states have ample reserves to guarantee deposits. Latvijas Krajbanka was Latvia’s 10th largest bank by assets after it was taken over by regulators on Monday.

Janis Brazovskis, an official with Latvia’s Finance and Capital Markets Commission who was appointed to oversee Krajbanka, said Wednesday that Antonov’s failed attempt to acquire the troubled Swedish automaker Saab might have triggered the Baltic banks’ downfall. He said that approximately 100 million lats ($200 million) were siphoned from the bank to increase its charter capital and finance Antonov’s investment projects - including the unsuccessful takeover of Saab.

Deposit holders in both countries are now forced to wait in long lines to withdraw money from cash machines, while companies and municipalities have seen the working capital virtually disappear. Baranauskas, who owned just over 25 percent in Snoras, said last week that Lithuania’s decision to nationalize Snoras was “robbery” and an attack on Antonov. — AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Congo candidates make last pitches to pessimistic crowd KINSHASA: As campaigning for the DR Congo’s elections enters the home stretch, voters in the capital voiced pessimism yesterday on whether the polls can bring change to their war-torn, impoverished country. President Joseph Kabila’s decade in power has not inspired much hope in many residents of Kinshasa, capital of a country riven by back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003 and stuck near the bottom of the list of the world’s least developed nations despite a wealth of cobalt, copper, diamonds and gold.

“I’m a thief! I’m 20 years old, I don’t do anything, I don’t go to school,” Ouzounza, a local resident, told AFP. Speaking next to the open sewer that runs alongside Ziguida market, he said he is not proud of what he does but has no other options. Kabila’s face smiles down on the capital from an endless series of campaign bill-

boards promising economic development, but his gleaming white teeth contrast with the muddy pathways, littered streets, mould-blackened walls and crushing poverty of this city of 10 million people.

The incumbent is not very popular in Kinshasa. He was born on the other side of the country, in the eastern province of Sud-Kivu, and grew up in exile with his rebel father. He speaks little Lingala, the main local language, and faces a tough battle here against his 10 presidential rivals, particularly veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

At a small wooden stand set up near an intersection, Freddy, a 25year-old student who sells cell phone airtime to pay for his studies, was sharply critical of Kabila. “Eleven years in the presidency and he hasn’t done anything,” he told AFP, a plastic Tshisekedi badge around his neck

and an opposition parliamentary candidate’s t-shirt on his back. “I’ll leave to go live in another country if Kabila wins. There are a lot of countries in the world,” he said.

Angele, a 35-year-old mother of seven who supports them by roaming the streets selling sugar cane, also dreams of leaving-for Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, a short trip across the Congo River.

“This place needs to change, it needs to be more like there. There they have stability,” she told AFP. As she spoke, a nearby colleague nodded, a market woman with a small stand selling limes who had been there since 6:00 am and had sold nothing by 2:00 pm.

“People pass but they don’t buy anything. There’s no money,” the widow and mother of nine told AFP. But there is little faith in the electoral process. “Kabila cheats. It’s his way,”

said 69-year-old Baxe. “Me, my family, we’re all voting Tshisekedi.” With three days to go before Monday’s polls, many Kinshasa residents are looking for their names on the local election rolls and failing to find them.

“I’ve looked in lots of polling stations and I haven’t found his name,” said Giresse, 25, who was trying to help a friend find the right place to vote. Nearby, a peanut vendor said she’s had the same problem.

Tshisekedi’s party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), alleged this week that more than half the country’s polling stations don’t exist-a charge the president of the elections commission denied.

But many voters aren’t convinced.

“There are irregularities. Fictitious polling stations,” said Freddy. “We doubt whether (the elections) will be transparent.” —AFP

French soldiers join hunt for hostages seized in Mali Two men kidnapped geologists HOMBORI: French soldiers joined the Mali army yesterday in the hunt for two French geologists who were kidnapped by an armed gang this week, an AFP journalist reported. The two hostages were seized from their hotel in the eastern village of Hombori near the border with Niger early Thursday, in an assault bearing the hallmark of Al-Qaeda linked Islamist militants.

The AFP journalist saw about a dozen of the French soldiers near Hombori. They had been dispatched from a nearby town where they are involved in training elite Mali soldiers, to join the local army in trying to track down the captives. According to documents consulted yesterday by an AFP journalist in Hombori, the names of the two French men are Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic. They had arrived on

Tuesday night, and the hotel manager put their names on file.

The same names were on company documents of their employer, Mande Construction Immobiliere, also seen by AFP. The two men are geologists who were instructed by the firm to take soil samples in the Hombori region where it plans to build a cement factory. Northern Mali is classified as a “red zone”-and orange further south- by the French authorities, which is a recommendation that travel there be avoided. Hombori is in the orange zone.

The kidnappings were the first in this region situated to the south of the vast Malian desert and close to Dogon territory, which is popular with tourists because of the famed masks, architecture and dances of the Dogon people whose land lies close to the border with Burkina

Faso. Thursday’s kidnapping, the latest in a series of abductions of foreigners, was believed to be the of work Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but there has as yet been no claim of responsibility.

AQIM has bases in the northern Mali desert from which it organizes raids and kidnappings and deals in the trafficking of weapons and drugs. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Thursday confirmed that the men had been taken “in circumstances that were not yet clear”.

The latest kidnapping brings to six the number of French hostages in the restive Sahel area, with AQIM still holding four French nationals abducted in Niger in September 2010.

The four were among seven people kidnapped at Arlit, the main uranium mining town in Niger. — AFP

East African leaders discuss Somalia unrest ADDIS ABABA: East African leaders opened talks yesterday in the Ethiopian capital on the long-running unrest in Somalia, where regional states have sent troops to quash a ruthless Islamist militia. The Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels who have waged bloody battles against the Somali government are also accused of stoking insecurity in neighboring countries.

Kenya in mid-October sent tanks and troops into Shebab-controlled southern Somalia, while Ethiopia is reported to have deployed forces into its war-torn, neighbor, although Addis Ababa has denied its soldiers crossed the border. “The main focus is Somalia,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told reporters before the meeting attended

by Kenyan leader Mwai Kibaki, Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh and Somalia’s Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The leaders gathered for the summit of the six-member Inter-Governmental Authority on

Development-a regional peace bloc. Kibaki’s office said he “will update regional leaders on the operation Kenya has undertaken inside Somalia to deal with militants who have sought to destabilise both Kenya and the region.” Kenya last week said it was willing to send troops for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which is tasked with protecting the weak Somali government in Mogadishu.

Nairobi did not clarify whether its troops currently in southern Sonalia would be given an AU mandate or if it will send a separate contingent for AMISOM. Ethiopia said that a decision on deploying troops to Somalia will be taken during yesterday’s summit.

The Shebab are facing growing pressure as regional armies slowly encircle them, with Kenyan forces in the south, Ugandan and Burundian African Union forces in the capital Mogadishu and Ethiopian troops in the west. —AFP

MALABO: In this June 30, 2011 file photo, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh stands outside the Sipopo Conference Center in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, ahead of the opening session of the 17th African Union Summit. —AP

Gambia’s Jammeh headed for landslide poll victory BANJUL: Gambia’s long-serving President Yayha Jammeh headed for a landslide victory yesterday in an election criticized by observers as flawed due to voter intimidation and state control of the media.

Polling officials were hard at work tallying the glass marbles used to vote due to a high-rate of illiteracy in the tiny tropical African state.

With 49 percent of votes counted, results showed Jammeh far ahead of his main rival with 75.56 percent. Challenger Ousimanou Darboe, 63, had 16.22 percent, and third placed independent candidate Hamat Bah, 51 had 10.10 percent. Jammeh, 46, who has ruled the smallest state on mainland Africa since seizing power in a 1994 military coup, has said his win is a foregone conclusion. He won 2006 polls with 67.33 percent of the votes.

“Do I look like a loser? There is no way that I can lose unless you tell me that Gambians are mad,”

Jammeh told journalists after voting on Thursday. “Gambians are development-oriented people and they know I can deliver. In 17 years I have delivered more than the British were able to deliver in 400 years.” Observers from the main west African bloc boycotted the polls, saying Jammeh’s control of the media and intimidation of voters meant the election could not be free, fair and transparent.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reported “an unacceptable level of control of the electronic media by the party in power ... and an opposition and electorate cowed by repression and intimidation.” The regime of the man who says he can cure AIDS is often pilloried for human rights abuses, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and the muzzling of journalists-many of whom have fled the country fearing for their lives. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 2011

Republican field crowded and likely to remain so IOWA: They are barely blips in presidential polls and their campaign cash is scarce. Some are running on empty, fueled mainly by the exposure that comes with the blizzard of televised debates in this election cycle and interviews they eagerly grant to skeptical reporters. Yet the second-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination soldier on. They argue that the race is far from over and that anything can happen with polls showing a wide-open race in Iowa five weeks before the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum is typical when he resists the conventional wisdom that only candidates with a lot of cash and a big campaign can win. “I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and I feel like I’m making a difference in the race,” said Santorum, who barely registers in state surveys despite having campaigned in Iowa for more than a year. “I absolutely believe our time will come and we’ll have the opportunity to have the spotlight turned on us.”

Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania in Congress for 16 years, frankly acknowledges the possibility of a different outcome. “If it doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t,” he said. Even more than energy and determination, also-

ran candidates rely on particular issues, free media and prospects for the future to drive them to keep their small-scale operations going. With polls and money putting candidates like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain atop the field of Republican rivals, there’s a crop of others likely to remain in the race until voters have their say. One force in that dynamic is the fluidity of this year’s contest.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman, was among the many candidates who surged when they got into the race but then plummeted in the polls. She’s gotten feistier as her fortunes have sagged. “I guarantee you, with everything within my being, I have the backbone,” Bachmann said. “I’ll put my backbone up against any other candidate in the race.”

That includes Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is adamant that he’s not giving up, even as his campaign flails and his once-flush bank account suffers following a series of debate missteps that has some of his fundraisers questioning his viability. He, like Bachmann, Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are barely blips in many surveys.

Although they don’t seem to be catching fire, it turns out that the nomination itself is not the only prize to be had by

seeking a presidential nomination.

Rep. Ron Paul’s hard-core libertarian views energize a small but loyal base.

Santorum uses his platform to hammer his hard-core anti-abortion stance.

Bachmann just released a book whose sales could see a boost in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses. And history shows that future leadership posts - and presidential runs - can be in the offing.

Sen Tom Harkin of Iowa waged a long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination in 1992, getting forced out after the early primaries. He endorsed candidate Bill Clinton, kept his seat in the Senate and became an influential voice in the Clinton White House. Romney lost his first presidential bid in 2008 but used that experience to build a network of political and financial supporters serving him well in this election cycle.

There are other reasons too to press ahead when chances of victory seem slim, not the least of which is how quickly politics can change.

Just ask Gingrich. The former House speaker was a footnote in the race this summer after his campaign imploded.

Now, as Iowa voters give him a second look, he’s enjoying a rise in state and national polls. And he reports that money and manpower are now flowing his way.

It’s not unusual for second-tier candidates to stick around long after they have fallen out of favor with voters and donors alike. The structure of the race in Iowa and other early voting states like New Hampshire and South Carolina is designed to make it possible for them to keep going because the states are relatively cheap places to campaign and they value hand-to-hand campaigning over pricy TV ads. “In Iowa, you can sleep on people’s couches and hang on for a long time with very little money,” Republican strategist Rich Galen said.

“You can live off the land in Iowa. You can’t do that in Florida.”

The nature of the politics of the first three states to vote also encourages longshot candidates because the contests are dominated in both parties by hard-core activists more interested in political purity than poll numbers.

Steve Scheffler, who heads the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, notes that very few people in Iowa have made firm decisions on whom to support, meaning the race could be anyone’s to win. “There’s enough fluidness in the race and enough people out there who are not entrenched in stone,” Scheffler said. “The verdict is still out there.” Thus, so too are the second-tier candidates.— AP

Gingrich could draw GOP ire on immigration ‘Legal residency but not citizenship’: Former house speaker

CARACAS: In this photo provided by Miraflores Presidential Press Office, from left: Jorge Giordani, Venezuelaís Minister of Planning and Finance, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s President and Zhan Xiaoquiang, China’s Vice Minister of National Development and Reform, join hands after signing agreements during a ceremony at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela on Thursday.—AP

Chavez to visit Brazil’s cancer-stricken Lula SAO PAULO: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke by telephone with Brazil’s cancer-stricken ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Thursday and told him he planned to visit him next month, according to Lula’s foundation.

Chavez, who himself was diagnosed with cancer in June, said the visit would take place at “a date close his trip” to attend the December 10 inauguration of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, said a statement from the Citizenship Institute which Lula founded after leaving office late last year.

This week, the popular Lula, 66, started a second round of chemotherapy for his throat cancer and his doctors have said that he has very good prospects for a full recovery.

The 57-year-old Chavez, who is seeking reelection next year, has never disclosed the type or severity of the cancer that Cuban doctors discovered in June. After surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy-three of them in Havana-the Venezuelan leader announced last month that he was cancer-free.— AFP

ATLANTA: Newt Gingrich has charged into the fray over illegal immigration, risking conservative ire just as his Republican presidential campaign - once declared all but dead - has vaulted into front-runner status. The firebrand former House speaker broke with what has become a reflexive Republican hard line on immigration, calling for “humane” treatment for otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, establishing deep family and community ties.

Gingrich suggested they should be provided a pathway to legal residency but not citizenship. Republicans, he said, should see illegal immigrants through the prism of another issue near and dear to the GOP faithful: family values. “I don’t see how the party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter-century,” Gingrich said at a televised debate Tuesday night. The response was swift. Some conservatives asserted he had wounded his candidacy, perhaps fatally. “Newt did himself significant harm tonight on immigration among caucus and primary voters,” tweeted Tim Albrecht, deputy chief of staff to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, whose state holds the lead-off caucuses in January. Immigration has proven to be politically treacherous for Republicans trying to appeal to the party’s conservative base. Just ask Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who said critics of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants “did not have a heart.” Perry had to apologize for the remark.

William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said Gingrich’s campaign “will now take the ‘Perry plunge.’” But others praised Gingrich for emerging as a “voice of reason” on an emotionally charged topic. “With me, personally, I fall right in line with him,” said Columbia, SC, Gingrich supporter Allen Olson, a former tea party official. “It’s utterly impossible to round up 12 million people and ship them off.”

The stance is not a new one for Gingrich. Aides say he was saying the same thing at town halls and forums long before he was running for president. It’s laid out clearly on a campaign Web page.

What is new is the scrutiny he’s receiving. Recent polls have shown Gingrich at or near the top of the Republican field, along with Mitt Romney. With a little less than six weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, people are listening to the former Georgia congressman.

And far from a stumble, Tuesday night’s remarks seemed a calcu-

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a Republican presidential debate in Washington.—AP lated tactic to draw a contrast with Romney, whom he now sees as his chief rival to the party nomination and who has had his own trouble with conservatives, largely because of the health care overhaul law he pushed through as governor of Massachusetts. But Romney has been tough on illegal immigration while running for president. He said Tuesday night that what Gingrich was proposing would act as a magnet for foreigners to enter the country illegally. The Gingrich team countered by pointing to comments Romney made on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 2007, during which he called proposals similar to the one Gingrich was backing “reasonable.” In Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Romney didn’t address those past comments directly. “My view is that those people who have waited in line patiently to come to this country legally should be ahead in line,” he told reporters. “—AP

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

News

in brief

NYC jury awards family $1m handling of son’s brain NEW YORK: A Staten Island jury has awarded $1 million to a family that sued New York City after learning that their dead son’s brain was on display at the city morgue. Relatives of 17year-old Jesse Jerome Shipley say they learned through a macabre coincidence in 2005 that the medical examiner’s office had kept his brain and other organ parts for testing.

According to the Staten Island Advance (http://bit.ly/vHO1I0), classmates of the victim’s sister went on a field trip to the Richmond County Mortuary. They saw a specimen jar containing a brain labeled with Jesse’s name.

The next day, the classmates told Jesse’s 14-year-old sister.

She was a passenger in the car crash that had claimed his life two months earlier. The family said it had to conduct a second burial. City lawyer Sheila Rossi expressed sympathy for the family’s “tragic loss.”

CIA officers mark death of spy with rare request WASHINGTON: CIA officers are asking people to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the first American killed in the Afghan war by donating to help the children of their fellow fallen. Since the death in 2001 of CIA officer Mike Spann, a total of 23 stars have been added to the wall at the CIA’s Langley, Va, headquarters that honors CIA operatives lost.

Many were killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The clandestine world rarely breaks its silence, especially when it comes to family, but the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation notes about 56 children of those killed in the line of duty will need educational support over the next 17 years. Spann was part of a small group of CIA paramilitary officers who went into Afghanistan just 16 days after the Al-Qaeda attacks of Sept 11, 2001. Less than two months later, the CIA along with US Special Forces Green Berets and a massive aerial bombing campaign helped Afghan militias drive out the ruling Taliban. Spann was killed when hundreds of Taliban and alQaida prisoners, guarded by just a handful of Afghans, tried to escape from a fortress jail in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. Spann is survived by his wife, Shannon, a retired CIA officer, and three children.

Suspect arrested in Chicago hospital shooting CHICAGO: Police have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman at a Chicago hospital. University of Illinois at Chicago spokesman Mark Rosati says UIC police pulled the 47-year-old man over for a routine traffic stop at 6:30 am yesterday. Rosati says the man, who has worked at the hospital for 15 years, fled the car and was arrested a few blocks away.

The shooting happened late Thursday on the second floor of the hospital’s parking lot. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office says the woman who was shot later died.

Rosati says police have recovered a weapon but don’t know if it was used in the hospital shooting. The hospital was locked down for hours while police searched for the gunman but resumed normal operations around 5 am.

Former Chicago first lady Maggie Daley dies at 68 CHICAGO: Maggie Daley, the wife of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and a gracious promoter of the city’s cultural and educational programs, has died. She was 68. The former Chicago first lady, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, died Thursday night, family spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard told The Associated Press. Daley had been a reserved and dignified presence at her husband’s side during his 22 eventful years as mayor. Heard said Daley was surrounded by her husband and children when she died just after 6 p.m. CDT. “The mayor and his family would like to thank the people of Chicago for the many kindnesses they’ve shown Mrs. Daley over the years, and they appreciate your prayers during this time,” Heard said.

When she first learned she had breast cancer in June 2002, Daley said she was shocked. “But you pick up and you move on. ... I’m not alone here. There are a lot of people who have experienced this,” Daley said in the weeks after the diagnosis. Rahm Emanuel, who succeeded Richard M. Daley as mayor, said Chicago had “lost a warm and gracious first lady who contributed immeasurably to our city.”— AP

50 bodies found in two days of carnage in Mexico Reports suggest Milenio joins forces with Zetas GUADALAJARA: Fifty dead bodies have been discovered over the past two days in western Mexico, victims of a fierce war waged between the government and the nation’s powerful drug cartels.

The bodies of 26 young men were dumped in three vehicles near a busy intersection in Guadalajara. It bore the signs of a drug vendetta and a chilling message of more to come in Mexico’s second city, set to host an international book fair this weekend.

The gruesome find came the day after 24 bodies were discovered in the city of Culiacan, in northwestern Sinaloa state. A message found with the latest bodies said the peace enjoyed by the states of Jalisco and Sinaloa, allegedly as a result of agreements between local authorities and the Sinaloa cartel, was over. “There were 26 corpses altogether, all male and aged from 25 to 35 years,” Fernando Guzman, a top official in Jalisco state, of which Guadalajara is capital, told a news conference Thursday. Most of the men had been asphyxiated, some were naked and some marked with the words Milenio and Zetas-the names of drug gangs-in oil, Guzman said. The Zetas-set up by exarmy officers turned hitmen in the 1990s-are blamed for extortion, kidnappings and murders in ever-increasing areas of Mexico.

The Milenio gang is known to operate in the region and media reports recently suggested it had joined forces with the Zetas. “The Zetas are present in the north of Jalisco and they could have aligned with the Milenio gang ... to fight for the plaza (drug trafficking area) of Guadalajara,” said Dante Haro, an investigator at the University of Guadalajara.

Jalisco state, known as a stronghold of the Sinaloa cartel of fugitive billionaire druglord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has seen drug violence increase in recent months, including shootouts and roadblocks early in the year.

Governor Emilio Gonzalez said on his Twitter account he was “outraged” by

GUADALAJARA: A member of the forensic service carries one of the 26 corpses found thursday morning in three vehicles abandoned in Mexico’s second most populous city of Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday.—AFP the discovery of the bodies and called for a probe. The spectacular act of dumping bodies on a busy highway echoed another in September in which 35 bodies were tipped out of trucks under a busy overpass in the eastern port of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico.

“It looks like a copy of what happened in Veracruz,” said Jose Reveles, author of several books on drug trafficking. But he said it was necessary to wait for the results of an inquiry.

Authorities blamed the Veracruz killings on the New Generation drug gang, which has suspected ties to the Sinaloa gang and also calls itself the Zeta Killers.

The vehicles found Thursday was close to the city’s convention center, which will host the Guadalajara International Book Fair, the most important event of its kind in the Spanishspeaking world, starting this weekend.

Scores of authors, including Nobel laureates Mario Vargas Llosa and Herta Muller, were expected to attend.

Locals said that federal security forces deployed to secure the recent Pan American games in the city had only left on Wednesday. A survey released this week found few Mexicans believe the government can defeat drug cartels as its military crackdown on organized crime enters its sixth year. The poll, by the Mitofsky agency, showed 14 percent believed President Felipe Calderon’s strategy was succeeding, compared with 23 percent in a poll in March 2010.

The latest poll, of 1,000 people interviewed in October, showed 44 percent thought the situation would not improve during Calderon’s last year in office, which ends in December 2012.

Some 45,000 deaths have been blamed on rising drug violence since the start of the crackdown, which includes tens of thousands of security forces. On Monday, a Mexican police commander and two other officers were found shot to death execution-style in Ciudad Acuna, in the northern border state of Coahuila.—AFP

Ex-NY Mafia boss found dead by river in Canada MONTREAL: The body of an alleged Mafia boss, who US authorities said once led New York’s notorious Bonanno crime family, was fished out from a river north of Montreal on Thursday. Reports identified the body as Salvatore Montagna, although police wouldn’t immediately confirm or deny the identity. The FBI once called him the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family - prompting one of New York’s tabloids to call him the “Bambino Boss” because of his rise to power in his mid-30s.

Nicknamed “Sal The Iron Worker,” he owned and operated a successful steel business in the US. Montagna’s death is the latest in a series of Mafia-related killings and disappearances over the last two years. He was considered a contender to take over the decimated Rizzuto family. A provincial

police spokesman said Thursday that a private citizen called after seeing a body along the shores of the L’Assomption River. The same person also reported that he heard gunshots, but Sgt. Benoit Richard said he couldn’t confirm how the victim died. “When (police) arrived, they saw a man lying near the river, they took him out of the water and started doing CPR with the help of the emergency personnel,” Richard said. Richard said police will await the results of an autopsy, scheduled for yesterday, to determine the cause of death. Montagna was born in Montreal but raised in Sicily and, although he moved to the United States at 15, he never obtained US citizenship.

The married father of three was deported to Canada from the United States in 2009 because of a conviction for refusing

to testify before a grand jury on illegal gambling. He pled guilty to the minor charge, but it made him ineligible to stay in the US Montagna had no criminal record in Canada and re-entered without trouble. His arrival in Montreal occurred just months before members of the Rizzuto family began being killed. The FBI had called Montagna the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, an allegation his lawyer denied. The Bonanno crime family is one of the five largest Mafia families in New York - one of the notorious criminal gangs that formed the original Commission, along with Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. There had been speculation that Montagna had been part of the new Mafia leadership in Montreal and was trying to reorganize the leaderless group.— AP

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Mumbai woman held over murder of fellow journalist MUMBAI: A female journalist working for a leading Indian newspaper has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Mumbai crime reporter, police said yesterday. Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik confirmed to AFP that Jigna Vora, a journalist with the Asian Age, had been detained on suspicion of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the killers of Jyotirmoy Dey, 56.

Dey, investigations editor at the Mid-day daily tabloid, was gunned down in a daylight drive-by shooting in a northern suburb of the city on June 11. He had written extensively on gangland activities, and police believe he was killed on the orders of underworld crime boss Chhota Rajan.

Seven people were arrested soon after the murder, which sparked protests by journalists calling for greater protection from the state government. One of the men arrested is known to work for Rajan, who was once the right-hand man of Mumbai crime kingpin Dawood Ibrahim. Indian media said that Vora is alleged to have passed on details of Dey’s home address and motorcycle registration number to his killers. Dey’s newspaper said at the time of his death that he was “a victim of his fearless journalism”.—AFP

Myanmar ex-junta chief Than Shwe ‘really retired’ NAYPYIDAW: A top Myanmar official yesterday insisted feared strongman Than Shwe has no government role, in the first public confirmation that the former junta head had released the reins of power. “The senior general is really retired,” Thura Shwe Mann, lower house speaker told reporters after the final session of parliament in Naypyidaw.

After a two-decade reign marked by suppression, isolation and deep paranoia about democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, Than Shwe officially stepped down from his role as head of Myanmar’s “Tatmadaw” armed forces after the military junta was disbanded in March.

The senior general, whose face had been emblazoned across the front pages of state newspapers on an almost daily basis, has been virtually invisible since then. But few believed he had fully relinquished his grip on the impoverished nation, despite controversial November 2010 polls which brought a nominally civilian government to power. Thura Shwe Mann said the ailing 78-year-old is “absolutely” not involved with the army-backed United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won an overwhelming majority in the election.

“To be more clear, the senior general is absolutely not concerned with the party, nor the government, nor our parliament, nor legislative organizations,” he said, at the first public press briefing the top official has ever given. Analysts have said Than Shwe would retain some influence over the government after the elections.

The military strongman knew the risk of retiring only too well, having put his predecessor, the late dictator Ne Win, under house arrest in 2002 after his family members were convicted of plotting to overthrow the regime. Myanmar, which for decades has been isolated on the world stage, has shown signs of reform in recent months, despite a parliament that remains dominated by the military and former junta generals. The new administration has surprised many observers with a series of reformist moves, including holding talks with Suu Kyi, passing a law giving workers the right to strike and releasing around 200 political prisoners.

In a diplomatic coup last week, Myanmar won approval from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to chair the 10-nation bloc in 2014. Yesterday, Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition took its first step towards a return to mainstream Myanmar politics by re-registering as a political party, days before a historic visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.— AFP

Arroyo’s health improving, petitions for house arrest Commission asks for transfer to jail MANILA: Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who tried to leave the country on medical grounds while election fraud charges were being prepared against her, is well enough to leave the hospital where she was arrested, she and her doctors agree. Arroyo lawyer Jose Flaminiano told a court yesterday he was withdrawing his motion for a hospital arrest in favor of house arrest. Earlier, he had resisted efforts to have doctors testify about Arroyo’s condition. Arroyo is “fit to be released as outpatient,” her physician Dr Mario Ver testified yesterday.

The Commission on Elections, an independent body that filed the charges, has asked the court to order Arroyo’s transfer to a government jail cell. Arroyo has had three surgeries on her cervical spine, and she argued before her arrest that she needed to travel abroad for an urgent bone treatment that she claimed was unavailable in the Philippines. The government refused to let her go this month, even after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. She wore a head and neck brace as she was turned away from the Manila airport.

President Benigno Aquino III, Arroyo’s successor, refused to comment, saying he did not want to be seen as trying to influence the court’s decision on the petition for house arrest. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday that house arrest might be seen by the public as special treatment for Arroyo.

Arroyo’s son, House Rep. Dato Arroyo, in a statement to reporters called for fair

treatment for his mother. He said she has no plans to seek political asylum abroad and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

He decried what he said were the “nonstop villification of my mother” and “the never-ending cases” being filed against her. Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay Regional Trial Court gave the commission and Arroyo until Tuesday to submit their motions and comments. In

2007 congressional polls, which she denies. If convicted, she faces life imprisonment. Aquino promised to uproot corruption in the Philippines and says he wants to start with Arroyo, accusing her of proliferating a culture of graft and eroding public trust in government. The judge earlier ordered Arroyo’s doctors at Manila’s St Luke’s Medical Center to testify about her condition. Flaminiano objected, citing doctor-patient confi-

MANILA: Juliet Cervantes (C), attending physician of former Philippine president and congresswoman Gloria Arroyo, leaves the Pasay City Regional Trial Court in Manila yesterday.—AFP the meantime, clerk of court Joel Pelicano told reporters that Arroyo would remain at St. Luke’s hospital.

Arroyo, who left office last year, is charged with ordering the rigging of

dentiality and the fact she was no longer seeking a hospital stay, which the court had previously approved on humanitarian grounds and because of Arroyo’s stature.—AP

Police hunt comrades of slain India Maoist leader

BURISOLE: Indian paramilitary force (CRPF) soldiers conduct a search operation close to the spot where Maoist leader Kishenji was shot during an encounter with security personnel in a jungle area at Burisole some 200kms southwest of Kolkata yesterday.—AFP

BURISOLE: Police yesterday searched for three Maoist rebels who escaped a fierce gunbattle in eastern India during which one of the guerrillas’ top leaders was killed.

Maoist commander Koteswar Rao, better known as Kishenji, was shot dead after being chased down by security forces in Burisole forest of West Bengal state on Thursday night.

“Around 50 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have entered into the jungle on the tracks of three rebels who were with Kishenji during the fighting,” a police official, who declined to be named, told AFP. Photographs of the slain 58-year-old rebel commander showed him lying in a pool of blood next to a machine gun, while bullet marks on trees and nearly 100 spent cartridges marked the scene of the shoot-out.

Kishenji, who evaded capture for more than 30 years, often appeared on television with his back to the camera, his head covered by a scarf and a rifle slung over one shoulder. The Maoist insurgency, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption, and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.

Local reports said Kishenji was likely betrayed by disloyal rebels. He was wanted for the massacre of 24 paramilitary soldiers last year and several other attacks on government targets in the region. His killing was a “huge setback for the Maoists as he was number three in the hierarchy,” Indian Home Secretary R K Singh said.— AFP

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Vietnam PM: China used force to occupy islands HANOI: China used force nearly 40 years ago to occupy the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea, Vietnam’s prime minister publicly acknowledged for the first time yesterday. In televised testimony to the lawmaking National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said China sent troops in 1956 to occupy parts of the Paracel islands. In 1974, one year before the end of the Vietnam War, when the islands were jointly controlled

by China and South Vietnam, “China used force to occupy all of the Hoang Sa islands,” he said.

Hoang Sa is the Vietnamese name for the Paracels. The Chinese action that drove Vietnamese off the islands was

met with protests from both the USbacked South Vietnamese government and opposing revolutionary communist officials, Dung said. Today, Vietnam and China both claim complete sovereignty over the islands, and the issue created high tensions between the neighbors earlier this year.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In addition to the Paracels, Vietnam and China - along with the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei - also claim all or parts of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea. The Spratlys are believed to be rich in natural resources in an area that’s home to vital shipping lanes.

“Vietnam has all legal and historical grounds to confirm its sovereignty” over the two island chains, Dung said, repeating the communist country’s position. But it marked the first time a top Vietnamese official acknowledged that China currently occupies the Paracels as a result of the use of force.

Dung said Vietnam’s consistent policy is to resolve the issue through peaceful means based on international law.

Relations between Vietnam and China hit a low point this summer after Hanoi accused Beijing of interfering with its oil exploration activities. China’s actions sparked unprecedented weekly demonstrations in the Vietnamese capital for about two months before authorities

shut them down, briefly detaining dozens of protesters.

Vietnam does not tolerate any threat to its one-party rule, and protests are typically quashed quickly by police.

Earlier this month, Dung proposed to the National Assembly that the legislature pass a law on demonstrations. He said yesterday that while the right to protest is enshrined in the constitution, it cannot be used to go against the interests of the country.

“This law will ensure the rights to freedom and democracy of the people, and at the same time, this law will also ask for the prevention of acts that harm security and order and the interests of the society and people,” he said.— AP

French lawyer takes centre stage at Cambodian court

S Korean official travels to North to monitor aid

BANGKOK: Lawyer Jacques Verges has defended some of the world’s most notorious figures, from Carlos the Jackal to Slobodan Milosevic. Now at 86 he has added a Khmer Rouge genocide suspect to his resume. The elderly Frenchman appeared at Cambodia’s war crimes trial this week to defend his long-time friend Khieu Samphan, the former head of state of the communist regime.

Khieu Samphan, 80, has denied charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide at the UN-backed court, over the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 rule. Prosecutors spent two days detailing the horror the country suffered under the Khmer Rouge’s reign, during which up to two million people died through starvation, torture and execution. Verges’ response was short and striking, and showed he still revels in taking centre stage as history is made.

“It sounded like a novel written by Alexandre Dumas about what happened in Cambodia,” said Verges, condemning the prosecution’s “fantastical view of reality”.”Remember what monsieur de Talleyrand, Napoleon’s foreign minister, another bandit... said: ‘Everything that is excessive is vain’,” he told the prosecutors. “Everything you said was excessive and therefore vain. May the tribunal remember that. I hope I haven’t wasted your time, thank you very much.”

The short, bespectacled Verges’s 10-minute speech, delivered with a hint of irony and the occasional suppressed smirk, was typical of a man best known for taking on the clients no one else wants. Born in Thailand in 1925 to a father from Reunion island and a Vietnamese mother, he was a communist as a student and later supported the Algerian National Liberation Front in its fight for independence from France.

After securing the release of Algerian anti-colonialist militant Djamila Bouhired, he married her. Verges went on to become a high-flying lawyer, making headlines around the world thanks to a client list that includes some of the most infamous names of modern times: Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, Venezuelan revolutionary Carlos the Jackal, former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz and ex-Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic.

Verges’ life story reads like a novel, but there is one chapter that he prefers to leave unopened: from 1970 until 1978, when he left his wife and children and disappeared. He has referred to this period as “the dark side” of his life, leading to much speculation about these missing years. Among the more persistent theories are suggestions that he fostered ties with Palestinian militants, that he passed through Congo-or that he lived in Khmer Rouge Cambodia.

Sitting in the packed Phnom Penh courtroom this week, his thinning white hair carefully coiffed, Verges seemed deep in concentration before delivering the speech that set the tone for his latest legal battle. Afterwards, he mingled with court officials outside the building, smiling and joking. “At the age of 86 he still has the fire in the belly,” said lawyer Michael Karnavas, who is defending former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, calling Verges a “virtuoso”.

“What he did say showed that you don’t have to speak a lot to convey a lot.” —AFP

First South official in Pyongyang since 2008 SEOUL: A South Korean official will help monitor the distribution of humanitarian aid to North Korean children for the first time in three years, the Seoul government said yesterday. He is the first South Korean government official to travel to Pyongyang to monitor aid distribution since conservative President Lee Myungbak took office in 2008 with a tough policy toward North Korean aid. The visit is seen as a key sign that relations are improving after years of tension.

The divided Korean peninsula remains in a technical state of war because their three-year conflict ended in 1953 with an

armistice, not a peace treaty. Relations have been particularly tense during Lee’s presidency, culminating in a North Korean artillery attack on a front-line island a year ago that killed four South Koreans. The South Korean official left yesterday for Pyongyang along with four aid workers, the Unification Ministry said in a statement. He is expected to remain in the North until Tuesday to help monitor the distribution of 300 tons of flour for North Korean children. The flour is being provided by a South Korean civic group.

Some 6 million North Koreans, about a quarter of the population, will go hungry

without outside food aid, according to the World Food Program. South Korean officials have not traveled to North Korea to monitor food aid since Lee took office with a tough policy on linking assistance to North Korea’s progress in dismantling its nuclear program. However, in recent months, officials from both Koreas have met to discuss ways to resume nuclear disarmament-for-aid talks. Seoul has also allowed religious and cultural figures to visit North Korea. On Thursday, South Korean scholars visited a North Korean border town to join a project to recover and preserve an ancient Korean palace.—AP

KELANTAN: Children play in floodwaters in Tumpat, Kelantan state yesterday. The floods began in late July, fed by heavy monsoon rains and a series of tropical storms which affected Thailand and its neighborhood nations, including northern Malaysia. —AP

Italy debt fears reignite after poor auctions

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Cuba unveils credits for businesses, farms, homes

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Ex-CEO says Olympus could survive scandal

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Retail reform will create 10 million jobs: Minister

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COLMA: Target customer Nancy, last name not given, waits with televisions purchased at aTarget Store in Colma, Calif., yesterday. The American holiday shopping season began in earnest yesterday as stores opened their doors at midnight — a few hours earlier than they normally do on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. — AP

Shoppers hit stores for ‘Black Friday’ deals Americans hunt for bargains, retailers eye margins NEW YORK: Retailers may not reap hefty gains from the longer lines of shoppers snaked around malls across the US at the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping season; broader bargain hunting driven by budgetary fears may depress overall holiday spending.

Eager shoppers hunted for bargains on big-screen televisions, video games and toys while fretting about their own shaky economic well-being, suggesting they may pull out their wallets for bargains but not for much else. Some stores pushed their openings and specials up to Thanksgiving night, hoping to get a jump-start on the busiest day of their year. The chains are trying to win big on “Black Friday,” the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday.

While Black Friday has been the busiest day for years in terms of traffic at stores, it does not always mean that sales will soar for the season. Despite brisk sales right after Thanksgiving, total holiday season sales fell in both 2008 and 2009 when the recession took its hold on America’s wallets.

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, expects 152 million people to hit stores this weekend, up 10.1 percent from last

year. Yet it only expects sales for the full November-December holiday season to rise 2.8 percent, after climbing 5.2 percent in 2010. Luxury chains, such as Saks Inc, and those catering to lower-income shoppers, such as dollar stores, are seen as the big winners this season, while mid-market retailers are expected to have a tough time winning over shoppers without the cache of the highend set or the deep discounts others offer.

Opening early appeared to work, judging from the long lines at stores such as Toys R Us, Best Buy, Walmart and Target. Even after a Toys R Us in New Jersey had been open for nearly an hour, at 9:50 pm EST on Thursday night (0250 GMT Friday), there was still a line of about 300 people waiting to get inside.

“It was like ‘Club Toys R Us’-one cart out, one cart in,” said Charlie O’Shea, a senior retail analyst at Moody’s. After a woman walked out of the store with a large Little Tikes toy in her cart, the man waiting for her outside gave her a high-five, O’Shea said.

“People are looking for the big ticket item which is where they’re going to get the most bang for their buck,” said O’Shea, who also saw “a smattering of carts” with small goods.

Retail executives and analysts are predicting a

more competitive season than 2010. US unemployment still remains at 9 percent, European debt woes are weighing on the stock market and consumer confidence remains spotty.

This year there appeared to be some rough going, with reports of a shopper at a Los Angeles-area Walmart spraying pepper spray at a throng of shoppers to keep them away from the items she wanted. In 2008, a security officer working at a Walmart on Black Friday was trampled to death by a crowd.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Old Navy, which is part of Gap Inc, and Kmart, owned by Sears Holdings, were among the few retailers open on Thanksgiving. Walmart began offering Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thursday, while Target Corp, electronics chain Best Buy and department store chains Macy’s Inc and Kohl’s Corp opened at midnight - their earliest starts ever.

Other retailers, including J.C. Penney Co Inc, opened early yesterday morning as they did last year. Nelson Sepulveda, a building superintendent from Manhattan, was the first person in line at the Best Buy in Union Square, having queued up at 8 p.m. on Wednesday — 28 hours before the store opened-to get the

$200 Sharp 42-inch LCD television, Play Station 3 games and other items he wanted.

This year, the heavy push got an even earlier start, as retailers such as Walmart and Toys R Us started offering holiday layaway programs as early as October. Retailers from Amazon.com to Walmart were also offering online deals as Thanksgiving has become one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. Some shoppers said that they feel as if the economy is back in a recession, leading them to change their shopping habits.

“Because of the recession, we are not going to shop as much,” said Desiree Schoolfield, 49, a public service professional from Queens, who was shopping at the Toys R Us in Times Square.

About 1,000 people were waiting in line at the opening of the Target in Farmingdale, New York. Those midnight openings drew online petition protests from store workers, and some shoppers also did not like the early openings.

Dwayne Dickson, a 19-year-old college student who works part time at Target, decided to stand in line to try to snag some small items, such as jewelry and clothing, before his Black Friday shift began. — Reuters

BUSINESS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Copper falls on euro zone wrangles, dollar strength Markets unnerved how to tackle crisis

Notebook industry forecasted to record 21% CAGR By 2015 DUBAI: Emerging markets, which include the Middle East, Africa, China, Far East and Latin America, will play a key role in the growth of notebook PC sales in the coming five years. Emerging markets are forecast to record a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21 percent by 2015, according to recent data published by the research firm, IDC. The notebook industry in the Middle East has evolved considerably over the past few years. More consumers in the region now own a portable computing device as the need for connectivity and productivity on the go increases.

It is no surprise then that with its diverse line-up of notebooks, Samsung Gulf Electronics has recorded a solid 65 percent growth in the first half of the year across the GCC. “Consumers in the UAE are keen on purchasing unique notebooks that have a thin-and-light form-factor, long battery life and which deliver the highest performance. To sustain this demand, Samsung introduced a wide variety of mid-range and premium notebooks this year such as the Series 3 300V and Series 9,” said Raj Varma, General Manager of IT Sales Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics.

The mid-range Samsung Series 3 300V offers premium design, extensive battery life of up to 7 hours and is available with a choice of vivid colors. Featuring an attractive slim bezel, the Series 3 300V includes Samsung’s innovative Fast Start technology, allowing users to get started within a few seconds of opening the display or pressing the power button.

The premium Series 9 notebook, on the other hand, offers the latest Intel Core i7 processor packed in premium casing. It is crafted from duralumin, a lightweight material that is twice as strong as aluminum and normally used in advanced aircraft design. The 13.3” notebook weighs only 1.31kg (2.88lbs.) while measuring only 16.3mm (0.64inches) in depth.

“While notebooks such as the 300V drive volume sales, our premium notebooks are growing in popularity too as they offer both a comprehensive mobile computing experience and an attractive premium packaging design. The UAE is a unique market due to its diverse consumer needs and we expect notebook sales in the country to continue increasing year-on-year due to an upward trend in desktop replacement,” added Varma.

Sales in the emerging markets including the Middle East have already surpassed the mature markets. By 2015, this gap is poised to grow even larger as emerging markets are projected to ship 236 million notebooks according to figures by IDC. The benefiter of this robust growth will ultimately be the consumers as they will gain access to the most technologically advanced and competitive notebooks by the top vendors.

LONDON: Copper fell yesterday, on track for a fourth straight week of losses, on concerns about demand as the euro zone debt crisis deepened, the dollar firmed and investors started feeling the effects of tightening credit in the metals market.

Copper has lost nearly 10 percent so far this month, mostly taking its cue from dismal sentiment in wider financial markets.

On Friday, European shares fell, the euro hit a seven-week low, and bond market borrowing cost grew.

“What is going on pretty much in every part of the world is not good,” Natixis analyst Nic Brown said. “In Europe, the ongoing political crisis is feeding through into a significant tightening of credit, and that negative effect is a clear economic shock.

The United States is going through another bout of political shenanigans.”

In China, a big consumer of industrial metals, the economy appears to be slowing. Preliminary numbers on Wednesday showed its factor sector shrinking the most in 32 months in November. Threemonth copper on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.7 percent to $7,216 a tonne by 1150 GMT, from $7,265 at the close on Thursday. LME copper has lost around 4 percent this week, after falling to

a one-month low of $7,100.25 on Thursday. But demand for copper still remains solid, analysts said, supported by supply constraints, an expected deficit of the metal next year, and destocking of the metal out of warehouses. The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said this week world refined copper market was in deficit of 161,000 tonnes in the first eight months of the year, compared with a deficit of 339,000 tonnes in the same period last year.

Latest data shows inventories of the metal held in LME-monitored warehouses fell to 394,725 tonnes, the lowest since early February. Aluminium stocks also fell, by 2,625 tonnes to 4.56 million tonnes.

Macquarie said a research note that China’s apparent consumption of all major bulk commodities and base metals increased on a year-on-year basis in October. In copper and aluminium, apparent consumption of semi-finished products continued to increase at a faster rate than apparent consumption of refined metal.

“The data continue to suggest destocking of copper and aluminium along the supply chain as a whole,” it said. “This is consistent with feedback from our mar-

ket sources and, of course, pressure and incentives to reduce inventory and release working capital in a credit-constrained and falling price environment.” Threemonth aluminium was down 0.45 percent at $2,010 from a last bid $2,018.15, off an intraday low of $1,995, and hovering close to its lowest since July last year of $1,982.25.

“Aluminium is demonstrating the worst fundamentals at the minute,” Brown said.

“In the here and now with what’s going on in the financing side, aluminium is more vulnerable that other metals.” Financing deals are said to have tied up about 70 percent of the stocks in LME-monitored warehouse. Traders have said more than 1 million tonnes of global aluminium stocks are expected to be released from financing deals as credit tightens.

“We’re wondering if the problems in Europe mean that financing is becoming more difficult for all the outstanding positions that have been out there in the warehouse world,” Brown said. In other metals, tin was at $20,100 from $20,350 while zinc, used in galvanizing was at $1,886 from $1,888. Battery material lead was at $1,984 from $1,992 and nickel was at $16,961 from $17,075. — Reuters

Heathrow predicts massive gridlock in nationwide strike LONDON: A nationwide public-sector strike next Wednesday in Britain threatens to paralyze operations at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport. BAA, the airport’s operator, said yesterday 12-hour delays for arriving passengers are likely because the Nov. 30 strike will hit the UK Border Agency’s ability to support normal operations.

An estimated 2 million workers are expected to protest changes in public-sector pensions with a 24-hour walkout - billed as potentially the biggest union action since 1979. The lines at Heathrow’s immigration counters are expected to be so long that passengers will need to be held on planes, BAA warned.

“This in turn would quickly create gridlock at the airport, with no available aircraft parking stands, mass cancellations of departing aircraft and diversions outside the UK for arriving aircraft,” Normand Boivin, the chief operating officer for Heathrow, warned in a letter to airlines. The letter, written Thursday and shared with The Associated Press, urged airlines to reduce the number of passengers they bring in on Nov. 30 because BAA had “reluctantly concluded that the UK Border Agency wouldn’t be able to come up with a contingency plan to ensure business-as-usual.”

Boivin said the border agency expects to be functioning at less than 50 percent of normal productivity. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways both agreed to waive fees for rebooking flights on Nov. 30 and expressed concern over the strike’s impact on business.

The UK Border Agency acknowledged travelers could see longer waiting times at airports but said it has considered “all options” to make sure it’s prepared for the

strike and aims to minimize any disruptions.

It said the security of Britain’s borders is the agency’s top priority, though unions have criticized moves to draft in civil servants and contractors to cover for striking immigration officials. “Our members take two to three months to train - the idea that people can cover after a few days’ training is absurd,” said Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services union.

The Home Office said it has undertaken “significant work” to plan for the strike, which includes training managers, staff and contractors to the high standards it requires to carry out border checks and asking staff around the world to provide additional cover on Nov. 30.

Government ministers have warned the nationwide could cost the economy half a

billion pounds and lead to job losses.

Heathrow Airport handles 180,000 passengers on a typical day, according to BAA. Gatwick Airport also warned passengers to be prepared for “significant disruption” at immigration and said it asked carriers to give passengers the chance to change their flights. Gatwick’s chief operating officer, Scott Stanley said the airport is working with the border agency and airlines to put contingency measures in place and ensure disruptions are kept to a minimum.

“Unfortunately, airport staff cannot man the desks at the border zone but we will provide all necessary assistance to the Border Agency and we are determined to make sure that the needs and welfare of all our passengers will be met on the day,” Stanley said. — AP

BEIJING: A Chinese vegetable seller weighs some lettuce for her customer at a market in Beijing yesterday. China will increasingly look to Africa over the next decade as the world’s most populous nation seeks to ensure it has sufficient food supplies, according to a study published recently. — AFP

business SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

‘Fair value’ accounting rule tweak raises concerns LONDON: A global accounting rule that was rehashed under pressure from policymakers in the financial crisis has to be revised, sparking industry fears it could make standard setters vulnerable again to political influence.

In late 2009 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) revamped the first part of its “fair value” or mark-to-market rule which governs when and how banks in over 100 countries must price assets on their books at the going rate.

Policymakers in the EU and elsewhere said at the time the existing rule forced banks to price assets at depressed values causing more volatility when markets were already fragile. IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst said on Friday the revamped IFRS 9 rule, which is likely to take effect in 2015, will be reworked even though countries like Australia already use it.

In a speech in Melbourne, Australia, Hoogervorst said further changes would make IFRS 9 fit better

with a separate reform of insurance accounting and help bridge a gap with a US fair value accounting rule reform. World leaders want the IASB and its US counterpart to “converge” their rules.

“We gradually came to the conclusion that we could make a lot of progress on both these issues-insurance and convergence-by adapting IFRS 9 in a limited way,” Hoogervorst said. “It was not an easy decision to make. Most importantly because we knew that our constituents that have already adopted might not be very happy,” Hoogervorst added.

The former Dutch finance minister, who took up the reins earlier this year, hoped for only limited tweaks but “in practice pressure for wider changes will undoubtedly be there”.

He promised to “proceed with caution and limit any changes to those that are absolutely necessary.”

Ed Nusbaum, chief executive of auditor Grant Thornton, said the IASB should stick to market value assessments of bank assets. “We

want to make sure the IASB stays independent and the standards being set are not overly influenced by political influence to try to make banks and other institutions look better than they really are,” Nusbaum told Reuters.

IFRS 9 will replace the IASB’s current “fair value” rule known as IAS 39. Hoogervorst complained in August to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) that some banks in the EU were failing to apply the rule properly to avoid large writdowns on holdings of sovereign debt in Greece, which is receiving a second bail out from the EU. At the end of June markets were showing a 50 percent discount on Greek sovereign debt but French banks wrote down their holdings by much less than this while in Britain and Germany regulators insisted on full market value writedowns.

“It has been observed that there are differences regarding recognition or non-recognition of impairment losses,” ESMA said yesterday in

Italy debt fears reignite after poor auctions Govt faces big battle to convince investors MILAN: Italy had to pay sharply higher borrowing rates to entice investors to part with their cash during a couple of auctions yesterday, in an acute sign that Europe’s crippling debt crisis is laying siege to the eurozone’s thirdlargest economy.

The auction results are another sign that the country’s new technocratic government faces a big battle to convince investors that it has a strategy to get a grip on the country’s massive debts, and are likely to fuel calls for the European Central Bank to use its firepower to ease a debt crisis that’s shown alarming signs of getting much worse this week.

Premier Mario Monti, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi last week, has pledged new austerity measures quickly followed by deeper reforms, and has spent much of his first days in office meeting with European Union officials and the leaders with France and German laying out his plans to get the country’s debt burden down.

Italy’s debts, which stand at euro 1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), or a huge 120 percent of economic output, are too big for the eurozone’s current anti-crisis measures to deal with. Given the size of its debts, Italy has to continually come to the markets to tap investors for money. The problem arises when the rates it has to pay get so high that the actual debt burden increases - fueling a potentially-devastating debt spiral.

Yesterday’s auctions indicated that investors are finding it an increasing risk holding onto Italian debt. The country had to pay an average yield of

7.814 percent to raise euro 2 billion in two-year bills. That rate was sharply higher on the 4.628 percent it had to pay in the previous auction. And even

centage point to 7.30 percent - above the 7 percent threshold that is widelyconsidered unsustainable in the longrun and eventually proved the point

a study on Greek debt writedowns which named no banks or EU member states.

Two financial institutions showed no impairment at all even though ESMA concluded “there was objective evidence of impairment of Greek sovereign bonds as of 30 June 2011). “Issuers should have provided indications on the facts and circumstances and the conditions that existed at that date in their reports,” ESMA added.

ESMA noted its study will be “relevant” for banks and auditors preparing full annual statements for 2011, due early next year.

“While one can always debate the percentage of the impairment, the first question was was it impaired and the accountants clearly said in an almost united way that it was indeed impaired,” Grant Thornton’s Nusbaum said. “That is important going forward in looking at Greek debt but it’s too early to make an assessment about Italy and others,” Nusbaum said. — Reuters

UK court suspends OFT Ryanair probe DUBLIN: A British court has suspended a competition probe into Ryanair’s minority stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus to allow an appeal against the investigation, Ryanair said yesterday. Britain’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) last year launched a probe into whether Ryanair’s near 29.8 percent holding in Aer Lingus gave it the power to influence the former state carrier’s commercial policy and hampered competition.

Ryanair challenged the OFT move, saying it no longer had jurisdiction over the deal, which was closed in 2006.

The UK Court of Appeal on Thursday ordered a stay of the OFT probe until after a full hearing on the case scheduled for mid-2012, Ryanair said in a statement. Court officials were not immediately available for comment. Ryanair mounted a public takeover for all of Aer Lingus in October 2006, but the European Commission investigated the bid and decided to prohibit it in June 2007. — Reuters

Kabul nominates new CB governor

ROME: European Commissioner for the Economy Olli Rehn adjusts his earphones during a parliamentary hearing with the European and Budget Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Italian Senate, in Rome, yesterday. Italy had to pay sharply higher borrowing rates to entice investors to part with their cash during a couple of auctions yesterday, in an acute sign that Europe’s crippling debt crisis is laying siege to the eurozone’s third-largest economy. — AP raising ?8 billion for six months proved exorbitantly expensive. The yield for this auction spiked to 6.504 percent, nearly double the 3.535 percent rate in the last equivalent auction. Following the grim news on the auction front, the country’s borrowing rates in the markets skyrocketed, with the ten-year yield spiking 0.34 per-

at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal had to seek financial bailouts.

Italy is not alone in the 17-country eurozone in experiencing a disappointing auction this week. Even Germany suffered a flop on Wednesday when it failed to raise all the money it sought, its worst result in decades. — AP

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has nominated a new governor of the country’s central bank, officials confirmed yesterday, after the previous chief fled to the United States saying he feared for his life.

Noorullah Dilawari has been named to replace Abdul Qadir Fitrat, who left Afghanistan in June saying he was in danger after speaking out about the near-collapse of Kabul Bank, the warring countryís biggest private lender.

Dilawari was previously central bank governor from 2004 to 2007 and is currently head of an agency which promotes investment in Afghanistan. Parliament is expected to approve his nomination today. The nomination was confirmed by presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi. In his resignation statement, Fitrat accused politicians of undermining the central bank’s independence and told the BBC that his life was at risk after he exposed some of those who he said were responsible for Kabul Bank’s woes.

Karzai’s government dismissed Fitratís claims, saying his life was not in danger and suggesting he was fleeing a possible probe into his own activities. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a new $133.6 million loan for Afghanistan after months of delay due to concerns over the Kabul Bank scandal, which it described as a “Ponzi scheme”. The IMF said Kabul had now made progress cleaning up its financial system. — AFP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Nigerian interbank lending rates ease on cash inflow LAGOS: Nigeria’s interbank lending rates eased this week to an average of 14.83 percent from last week’s 15.50 percent after a portion of public sector wages hit the system and helped boost liquidity, traders said yesterday.

Traders said about 95 billion naira were released yesterday, helping to ease liquidity pressure. “The market opened with a cash balance of about 148.10 billion naira on Friday due to the inflow and better than what the market opened with on Monday,” one trader said.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) remained unchanged at 14 percent, 200 basis points above the central bank’s 12 percent benchmark rate and 400 basis points above the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate.

Overnight placement eased to 15 percent from 16 percent, while call money closed at 15.50 percent lower than the 16.50 percent it closed at last week. Dealers said call money rose as high as 17 percent in the week before the inflow due to cash inflows to foreign exchange, treasury bills and other transactions, but eased on Friday after increased liquidity.

Nigeria sold about $500 million at its bi-weekly foreign exchange auction this week and issued 111 billion naira in treasury bills on Thursday. “We see rates rising next week because of the aggressive liquidity tightening by the central bank with the conduct of open market operation,” another dealer said.

Dealers however said if the federation account allocation committee meet next week and agree to release budget funds, then liquidity will be up and rate ease.

Africa’s second biggest economy after South Africa distributes oil funds from centrally held accounts every month to its three tiers of government-federal, states and local- which provides a much needed cash inflow to the banking system.

The disbursal of budgetary allocations from October oil revenues to the three tiers of government was due this week, but it has been held up because of a row between the central and state governments over the handling of the account.

The delay, which is the second of such this year could worsen liquidity problem in the banking system and lead to a rapid rise in the cost of borrowing among banks. Indicative rates for the Nigeria interbank offered rate (NIBOR) closed lower, reflecting the sentiment in the market, with the seven day funds falling to 16.75 percent from 17.25 percent last week.

Thirty-day funds closed lower at 17.08 percent against 17.50 percent, the 60-day closed at 17.37 percent against 17.75 percent, while the 90-day dropped to 17.62 percent from 18.08 percent. — Reuters

European shares on track for biggest loss in 2 months Euro falls to seven-week lows vs dollar LONDON: European stocks fell and the euro hit a seven-week low yesterday, as a jump in borrowing costs for Italy stoked fears that the lack of a comprehensive response to a spiralling debt crisis would lead to the break-up of the single currency. Wall Street futures pointed to a weak opening after the Thanksgiving holiday, with futures for S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 all down 0.6 percent.

Italy paid a euro-era high 6.5 percent to borrow over six months, almost double the yield at a similar sale a month ago and much higher than market yields ahead of the auction.

It raised the full 10 billion euros planned but borrowing costs for Europe’s third-largest economy remain unsustainably high despite the appointment of an emergency government in Rome to undertake reforms and rein in its massive debt. “Rates have sky rocketed,” said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities. “It’s simply not sustainable in the long run...Here we are now riding to the point where either the market undo this for the euro zone through these brutal moves in yields or the euro zone comes up with something which recognises there are huge problems.”

Italian two-year government bond yields rose above 8 percent while the interest rate premium investors charge Italy to borrow over 10 years compared to equivalent German debt continued to rise despite reported buying by the European Central Bank.

German Bund futures also extended losses, reinforcing fears that debt contagion is starting to hurt the region’s soundest economy. Bund futures hit a session low of 134.27, continuing to fall after a sharp sell-off in the wake of a weak 10year bond auction on Wednesday.

European stocks lost ground for the ninth time in 10 sessions. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.2 percent at 898.05 points and on course to post its biggest weekly loss in two months. It has lost about 13 percent since late October as investors fret over the slow

pace of efforts to contain the debt crisis and Germany’s persistent opposition to the idea of joint euro zone bonds and an expanded role for the ECB. It was noticeable that the bulk of the turmoil yesterday was on debt rather than stock markets, with some Italian yields rising by almost half a full percentage point.

lending markets which were at the heart of the financial sector turmoil three years ago.

Funding problems for European banks have escalated, with the cost of swapping euros into dollars in the currency swap market reaching three-year highs of 157 basis points yesterday. The ECB is looking

NEW YORK: In this Nov. 21, 2011 file photo, traders Richard Cohen, center, and Lewis Vande-Pallen, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks took another pounding yesterday after Italy’s borrowing rates ratcheted higher following a pair of hugely disappointing auctions from the eurozone’s third-largest economy. — AP “The market is trading like it expects Armageddon and equities are trading like they expect some sort of muddle through, but Bunds are usually right,” said one bond trader.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, after talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday, agreed only to stop bickering in public over whether the ECB should do more to resolve the crisis. A growing concern in the past month has been signs of stress in the bank-to-bank

at extending the term of loans it offers banks to two or even three years to try to prevent the euro zone crisis precipitating a credit crunch that chokes the bloc’s economy, people familiar with the matter say.

The euro extended losses and fell to a fresh seven-week low against the dollar, dropping to $1.3225 and down 0.9 percent on the day. The dollar index soared to a seven-week high as funding strains and mounting concerns about the euro zone drove investors to seek safe-haven currencies. —Reuters

Cuba unveils credits for businesses, farms, homes

HAVANA: A mural of Cuba’s revolutionary hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara covers a wall leading to Miguel Gonzalez’s barbershop as he cuts hair in Old Havana, Cuba. Cuba is announcing a new credit system that will begin offering loans to small-business owners, private farmers and other citizens beginning next month. — AP

HAVANA: Cuba announced a new credit system Thursday that will offer loans to small business owners, independent farmers and other citizens beginning next month, advancing promised reforms to the country’s state-planned economy. Credit will also be available to people looking to purchase building materials, pay for labor associated with home construction, “acquire goods for their personal property or satisfy other needs,” according to the government’s Official Gazette.

The lack of a lending system has been one of the chief complaints of the expanding class of entrepreneurs running independent businesses as part of President Raul Castro’s economic overhaul, which aims to right Cuba’s foundering economy and has picked up steam since a landmark Communist Party summit in April.

Economists have also said credit is necessary if private businesses are to

grow beyond subsistence levels. “The new credit policy is another step toward the configuration of a mixed economy integrating state and non-state sectors in a common national market,” said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a Cuban-born economist at the University of Denver. “This is a significant departure from the partially reversed changes of the 1990s, when the archconservative 5th Communist Party Congress conceived the non-state sector as walled off from business activity.”

The island government also established rules for paying private contractors who do business with the state.

Offering loans for home construction could help address the island’s acute housing shortage and bolster Cuba’s brand-new real estate market, created earlier this month when property sales were legalized for the first time since shortly after the 1959 revolution.

“This is very important for me. It’s

good for everyone,” said Nidia Corona, who makes a living selling bootleg CDs, one of the 181 legally authorized private-sector activities. “My home is in bad shape, and now I can ask for a loan to fix it up.”

Applications will be evaluated using people’s “legal personal income” as the most common source of repayment, according to the law. It also allows people to take out mortgages on second homes or vacant lots, a novelty after five decades of prohibition against using homes as collateral.

Under the housing law that took effect Nov. 10, Cubans are limited to ownership of a primary residence and a second vacation house to avoid accumulation of wealth. The Official Gazette, a publication that disseminates new laws, said the credit system will take effect Dec. 20 and be rolled out “progressively, as the country’s economic and financial conditions permit.” —AP

BUSINESS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Thailand counts cost of monster floods AYUTTHAYA: A young couple scour a jobs board in the Thai city of Ayutthaya in a desperate hunt for work, more than a month after the factories where they worked were flooded. They say they are willing to do any work, but with major industrial areas still submerged in Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century, vacancies are scarce.

Huge swathes of central Thailand were left under water for weeks when severe monsoon rains caused massive deluges-ruining crops, closing thousands of factories and swamping millions of homes. Hundreds of thousands of people were put out of work when the floodwaters swept into key industrial estates in Ayutthaya, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Bangkok, and in the outskirts of

the capital. While many factories continue to pay wages and others handed out lump sums when they let staff go, some workers are facing acute financial worries. “I haven’t had any of my salary because I started work just two days before the floods,” said Supranee Kongsomkaew at the Ayutthaya employment office.

The 23-year-old said she will probably have to wait until factories dry out before she will be able to find work.

Ayutthaya’s Rojana Industrial Park, where thousands are employed by a host of international auto and electronic firms including Hitachi, Honda and Sanyo, is still deluged.

The water level was around half a metre (1.5 feet) on Thursday, down from

Supercar makers chase China’s superrich motorheads MACAU: China’s superrich want supercars. That’s what the makers of world’s most exotic and expensive sports cars are hoping as they gather in Macau this week for the first Asian edition of Monaco’s annual Top Marques show that began eight years ago.

The supercar companies are chasing growth in China, which is churning out scores of new millionaires each year and is home to the world’s biggest auto market. Ferraris and Lamborghinis sat alongside rare and beautiful automotive works of art from lesser known marques like Italy’s Pagani, West Richland, Wash.-based SSC and Sweden’s Koenigsegg. They drew admiring looks from wealthy auto enthusiasts from China and other Asian countries.

Sales staff were hoping to sign deals with some of the 20,000 expected visitors. One of them was Steve Chen, who built his fortune in China with a motivational speaking business. He was admiring the Pagani Huayra, an euro849,000 ($1.1 million) street rocket sheathed in carbon fiber and titanium with gull wing doors and a V-12 engine churning out 700 horsepower.

Chen was thinking of buying a Pagani or a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport to add to his collection of 15 to 16 high-end cars, which he divides between his bases in Taiwan and Shanghai. “I go to a lot of auto shows in China.

I’ve loved cars since I was a kid and I have been collecting many different car brands,” said Chen, who opened his leather satchel to reveal keys for a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce, careful not to display them too ostentatiously. Chen, who visited the Bugatti factory in France for a test drive, said he admired the Veyron’s top speed of more than 400 km/h (250 mph) though he did wonder aloud to the sales staff why the car, which has a list price of 39 million yuan ($6.1 million) in China, was so expensive. China’s billionaire ranks, boosted by the country’s fast-growing economy, swelled to 271 in 2011, 82 more than last year, according to the Hurun Report, China’s version of the Forbes rich list. The number of millionaires grew by 85,000 in 2011 to 960,000. Rising wealth levels are reflected across Asia, which had 3.3 million millionaires last year, surpassing Europe for the first time and closing in on North America’s top spot, according to a study by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

With so much wealth being created, “there’s a fair bit of competition and these companies will now have to establish their brands and see if their brands will get a following,” said Amar Gill, who authored a recent CLSA AsiaPacific Markets report on Asia’s wealthy. China’s vast expanses, linked by an extensive network of newly built of freeways, could help business for supercar makers.

“Given that you’ve got these long stretches you can drive on, having a nice car is a bigger attraction than being in a city-state where it’s just a status symbol,” said Gill, who is based in Singapore. Organizers of the four-day show, which ends Sunday, expected about 60 percent of visitors to be from mainland China, with another 20 percent from Hong Kong and the same amount from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. —AP

nearly three metres in mid-October. But the waters are not expected to clear until early December, two months after the site first flooded. Thailand’s economy is predicted to take a major hit as a result of the flooding, with the growth forecast for 2011 recently revised down to 1.5 percent, from 3.5-4.0 percent.

Exports have taken a hit and tourism has also suffered as visitors are put off by dramatic images of buildings and temples marooned in vast pools of water.

Thanawat Poliwichai, director of the Economic and Business Forecasting centre at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, estimates the cost to the economy will be up to 450 billion baht ($14 billion), mostly in the industrial sector. The bill for property damage could

run to $22 billion, he said. “The damage is not just limited to this year. It will continue to cost next year as well because factories will not be able to resume production until probably February,” he told AFP. Thailand’s floods have also had global effects, disrupting world production of everything from cars to computers. Honda said it still cannot properly assess the damage to its Rojana plant, which employs 4,000 people. Aerial footage from the site shows hundreds of rusting cars covered up to their roofs by filthy water. Hideto Maehara, of Asian Honda, said the company welcomed Thai government assurances that there will be no repeat of the disaster, but said the firm was considering the wisdom of producing key parts in one place.— AFP

Ex-CEO says Olympus could survive scandal ‘Current directors to be replaced’ TOKYO: The ousted chief executive of Olympus told fellow board members yesterday to step down because of a huge accounting cover-up but said the Japanese firm “could survive” the scandal.

Michael Woodford made the comments following a board meeting at the company’s Tokyo headquarters, six weeks after being dumped as the first ever nonJapanese president and chief executive in the camera-maker’s nine-decade history.

Woodford, who remains a director despite his ousting, called for the board to be axed over the cover-up, which local media said could reach more than 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in losses dating back to the 1990s. Other reports have pegged the loss figure at around $5 billion.

The Briton described a special board meeting held yesterday as “tense” but added there was a general agreement that the current slate of directors would have to be replaced. “They’ve taken the company to its knees, not me,” he said. “None of them can say they should be a director of the company... that was accepted,” Woodford told the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan after the meeting.

“There were some areas of consensus (at the meeting) — it was much more constructive than I had anticipated.” Despite the unfolding scandal, Woodford said Olympus was a “fantastic business” with its core camera and medical equipment operations still strong.

“If the banks are supportive, which I believe, Olympus could survive as an independent entity, very much so,” he said.

“Our factories will continue to produce (quality) products because people want to buy them.” Woodford said he was open to returning as the firm’s chief but was “not begging to come back”, and stressed it was crucial for Olympus to meet a December 14 deadline to release its earnings, and avoid a delisting from the Tokyo stock exchange.

The only reason to delist the firm was if speculation about the cover-up’s ties to organised crime could be proven, Woodford said, adding there was “no evidence” to support the claims. “I made clear

TOKYO: Former Olympus president Micahel Woodford enters a conference room to speak before press in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP (at the board meeting) it would be wrong to delist the company,” he said. “The priority is to get the accounts out by December 14.” The board meeting had been set for a showdown between Woodford and the three main figures implicated in the coverup, but on Thursday the company announced that former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and two other directors had quit the board. Kikukawa resigned in October as president-not long after replacing the ousted Woodford-and chairman, while Hisashi Mori was sacked as executive vice president earlier this month and auditor Hideo Yamada “showed his intention to resign”, the company said.

The trio had remained as board members but have now left, the company said.

Mori and Yamada allegedly manipulated books by employing a scheme called “tobashi”-which translates literally as “blow away”-moving investment losses off their accounts into areas where investors would not see them.

Mori reportedly led four deals including the $2 billion purchase of British medical-instruments company Gyrus in 2008,

in which Olympus has admitted paying $687 million to a little-known financial adviser based in the Cayman Islands.

Earlier, Woodford said the board “is all contaminated. Absolutely. They made all these decisions. All of them have to go.”

“It’s financial misreporting on grand scale.

It’s false accounting on grand scale,” he added. Alongside investigations in the US and Britain, Japanese police and government regulators are also probing the scandal, which has seen millions of dollars wiped off the value of the company as the stock price has plunged. Amid media speculation that Yakuza organised crime syndicates could have had a hand in the financial shenanigans, the Briton said he was pleased with the attitude of the Japanese authorities, who assured him the case would be investigated thoroughly. “I think justice will be done,” he said in a speech at a media event Thursday. “They gave assurance to me that they will follow the money.” Olympus shares rose 8.63 percent Friday to close at 1,107 yen, less than half their value the day before Woodford’s sacking. — AFP

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BUSINESS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

South Korea may ban Iran petrochemical import SEOUL: South Korea might ban Iranian petrochemical product imports following pressure from the United States to beef up sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme, sources said. But the world’s fifth-largest crude oil importer isn’t planning a ban on crude oil imports, the sources at Korea’s economy ministry said.

The news comes after the United States, Britain and Canada announced on Monday new sanctions against Iran in response to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency suggesting Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb. The European Union agreed in principle on Tuesday to sanction some 200 Iranian people, companies and organisations and France mooted the idea of a Europe-wide ban on Iranian crude imports. “We are cautiously considering an import ban on Iranian petrochemical products, and currently evaluating a possible impact of the ban,” one of the sources said.

Petrochemicals that could be affected include butadiene, paraxylene and other intermediates produced by processing naphtha, another source said. The sources declined to be identified as they were not

authorised to speak to the media.

South Korea imported $350 million in Iranian petrochemicals last year,

said. She discussed Iran nuclear issues during the trip. The United States has requested a ban on imports of Iranian

SEOUL: Protesters shout slogans as they hold candles during a candle rally, denouncing the passing of a bill on ratification of a South KoreaUS free trade agreement in Seoul yesterday. — AP while exporting $450 million of its petrochemicals to Iran. That would represent a small part of South Korea’s global trade in petrochemicals, which last year totalled $49 billion. US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman visited South Korea on Monday and Tuesday, the foreign affairs ministry

petrochemicals, but not on exports, the second source at the economy ministry said. On Thursday , South Korea’s foreign affairs ministry said in a media briefing that it was planning to determine additional sanctions after discussing the matter with related government offices. “We plan to decide necessity and ranges of the

ban, considering international circumstances including IAEA’s recent decision,” the ministry said. In September 2010, South Korea blacklisted 102 companies, including the Seoul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat, and 24 individuals accused of facilitating Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons, while saying that it would ban investment and construction contracts in Iran related to petroleum resources.

U.S. and EU sanctions passed in 2010 stopped most Western banks dealing with Iran and pressure from Washington made it temporarily impossible for Indian oil buyers to pay for some $5 billion of Iranian oil earlier this year.

OPEC member Iran, the world’s No.5 oil producer, exports the largest volumes of oil to China, India, South Korea and Italy, but it will be Turkey, South Africa and Sri Lanka that struggle the most if they lose Iranian supplies.

Iran could have nearly $5 billion of cash trapped in South Korea by the end of the year as sanctions stop it repatriating money from oil sales, Korean government sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters in August. — Reuters

Retail reform will create 10 million jobs: Minister New retail policy has safeguards NEW DELHI: India plans to open its vast retail sector to global supermarket chains would create up to 10 million jobs over three years after the cabinet approved the long-awaited reforms. The pledge by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma came after heated opposition protests stopped the government announcing details in parliament about its move to relax foreign ownership rules for retailers such as WalMart.

The changes would push India further towards a modern consumer society but they are contested by opposition lawmakers who fear large supermarkets will kill small family-run stores where most Indians now shop.

The reforms will “give a fillip to job creation,” generating up to 10 million jobs over a three-year period, in such areas as packaging, canning and transportation, Sharma told a news conference.

“We hope in excess of four million jobs will be created and in logistics anywhere between five to six million jobs will be created over a period of three years,” Sharma said.

The government plan will open up the sector, worth an estimated $470 billion in annual sales, to allow Wal-Mart, Tesco and other global firms to hold a 51-percent stake in multi-brand retailers. The cabinet also raised the foreign investment cap to 100 percent from 51 percent for singlebrand retail operations such as Gucci, Nokia and Reebok. “This has been a long time coming, and will be welcomed,” said

Arvind Singhal, head of consultancy Technopak Advisors.

The Congress party-led government has been seeking to fend off charges of

ment in the retail market as it will instantly kill all small traders,” said Murli Manohar Joshi, a veteran leader of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Foreign

HYDERABAD: Indians shop at a grocery store in Hyderabad, India, yesterday.

India’s commerce minister said yesterday that the decision to open the country’s $400 billion retail sector to global chains such as Wal-Mart has a built-in safety net for small shops and farmers. —AP “policy paralysis” after being engulfed in a string of corruption scandals. The government’s decision, called a “game-changer” by business leaders, was seen as a signal of intent to press ahead with its reformist agenda despite strong political opposition.

“We’re opposed to foreign direct invest-

multinationals have lobbied for years to sell directly to consumers in the world’s second most populous nation. Multibrand foreign groups such as US-based Wal-Mart now operate as wholesalers in India but cannot sell directly to the public.

The vast majority of consumers shop at small local markets. — AP

India airline shares rise as bosses to meet PM NEW DELHI: Shares of India’s three listed carriers-Kingfisher, Jet and SpiceJet-surged yesterday ahead of talks between Premier Manmohan Singh and airline chiefs to discuss the loss-making sector’s woes.

Shares of Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines, the heavy loss-making carrier which is struggling to keep aloft amid high fuel costs and cut-throat price wars, climbed 7.75 percent to close at 27.10 rupees. Jet Airways’ shares leapt 12.6 percent to 278.70 rupees while SpiceJet’s stock jumped 8.12 percent to 23.30 rupees.

Analysts attributed the rise in aviation stocks to hopes that Singh might announce “favourable” policy changes after he meets the chiefs of all of India’s airlines today. Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said the carriers sought the meeting with the prime minister, adding the fact that the sector is running at a loss poses a “problem”.

“The prime minister is concerned about it, the airlines are the major institution of connectivity, supporting the development of the country,” Ravi added. On the surface, demographics make India, a country of 1.2 billion, an attractive story. India’s passenger aviation sector is estimated to be growing at between 15 and 20 percent each year.

But all of India’s six main airlines-barring budget carrier IndiGo-announced steep losses in the financial quarter to September. The country’s airlines may lose a total of $2.5 billion in the year ending in March, according to the Centre for Pacific Aviation, an industry body.

Earlier this month, Singh said private sector airlines should be managed efficiently, “but if they do get into difficulties, we have to find ways and means to help them.” — AFP

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Kardashians scrap Christmas TV special plans www.kuwaittimes.net PAGE 22

Taiwan leader calls for artistic freedom in China PAGE 24

The Kung Fu Panda balloon floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. —AP

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Kardashians scrap Christmas TV special plans

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he reality clan - whose life is documented in ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ - had planned to film a holiday episode of their E! TV show but ditched the idea after Kim filed for divorce from her husband Kris Humphries at the end of October just 72 days after they married. In addition, family members including sisters Kourtney and Khloe, brother Rob, mother Kris Jenner and step-father Bruce Jenner reportedly had “too many commitments” to film the show together. A source told the New York Post newspaper: “It didn’t look promising due to schedule conflicts, but once Kim’s divorce happened it was definitely not possible.” After facing backlash over her hasty marriage split, Kim’s mother and manager Kris has reportedly told her to keep a lowprofile. A source said: “They did not anticipate the extreme backlash and the damage it would cause to the K-brand as a whole. “The whole empire has been affected by this dumb marriage and Kris Jenner is all about getting paid.” Meanwhile, Kim made an appearance at the Los Angeles Mission where she served food to homeless people. A representative said that Kim “was very cordial and friendly” during her shift and “worked hard in both the food preparation area and in serving the food to the guests”. Kim later tweeted that she had met “many kind-hearted people” during her stint volunteering, adding: “We fed so many today, [but] their goal is to feed 120,000 people by the end of the year. “Every one of us can do something small that will make a huge difference to someone else.”

Ellen DeGeneres, Seal thinks fun is the key Portia de Rossi eye to a successful marriage Brad Pitt’s mansion

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he duo have just put their $49 million Beverly Hills compound on the market as they want to buy something smaller. So they now have their eyes on the actor’s $14 million property, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

The property consists of two separate houses, a pool, a tennis court and expansive lush gardens.

The sprawling 4,100 square foot estate also has private beach access and is set back off the Pacific Coast Highway by a long private driveway. The main house has four bedrooms and four baths, a large chefs kitchen with stainless steel appliances, bamboo floors, three fire places and a top of the range security system. Brad who also has homes in Los Angeles, New Orleans, France and Italy with partner Angelina Jolie - put the house on the market earlier this year and at one point Reese Witherspoon was keen on purchasing it. Ellen and Portia put their Beverly Hills mansion up for sale last month although they will make a loss on the property.

The talk show host and her actress spouse spent $48 million assembling the huge estate - including buying the $30 million 9,500-square-foot single-story house and spending millions more on the surrounding properties - before beginning extensive renovation work but listed the compound for $49 million.

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he 48-year-old singer believes his relationship with Heidi Klum - with whom he raises four children, Leni, seven, Henri, six, Johan, five, and two-year-old Lou has lasted so long because they always enjoy the time they spend together. Seal - who married the supermodel in May 10, 2005 - said: ”We do have a lot of fun together, but you’ve got to. We lead such hectic lives, so we make the time we have together count. “We’re best mates, the chemistry is great and we love spending time together - family always comes first, no matter what.”

The couple and their children live in Los Angeles but they schedule regular trips away. Seal explained: “We spend every May at our home in Mexico because we do our wedding vow renewals there, and sometimes New Year too. “We might go skiing for Christmas and we spend time in Europe over the summer then he rest of the time we’re in LA.”

Lewis Hamilton is still in love with Nicole Scherzinger

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he Formula 1 driver and the ‘X Factor’ judge split last month after a fouryear relationship but Lewis, 26, says he hopes one day they can get back together.

Speaking about photographs of them embracing in a Los Angeles car park earlier this week, the sportsman said: “Well, they didn’t catch us at the best of times. What you didn’t see is that we had a really good week, a couple of really nice lunches together. We had a really nice dinner together. “It’s very early days and we still have very strong feelings for one another.

I still love her very much. “So, who knows?

Maybe we will be together in the future.” It had been claimed Lewis and 33-year-old Nicole had split because he wasn’t ready for children. A source said: “Lewis decided they had to part, she wanted more than he could offer at this stage in his life.” Following the break-up Lewis insisted the pair will remain friends and said he felt “pretty good”. He said: “We’re friends and we can move forward.

These times are sent to try you, it’s about how you pull through. I have my family who are helping, so I feel pretty good.”

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Katie Price ‘sickened’ by tracking device T

he TV star - who was targeted by a gang 10 months ago - was horrified when the state-of-the-art device was found fitted to the base of her pink Range Rover car during a routine vehicle service on but admits she has been living in fear something like this could happen. In an interview with The Sun newspaper, she said: “I felt physically when I spoke to my mum and she told me how a mechanic had found a device hidden on the undercarriage of the Range Rover. “It was found on Tuesday. The first thing I thought about was my kids and their safety. I needed to be with them. “Because I had my kidnap threat at the start of the year, it could be related. It just meant whoever planted it knew just where I was at all times and could follow me. It’s terrifying.” “We have had such an awful year. We

T

Lady Gaga likes men who have a Harvard degree

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he ‘Marry the Night’ singer says the type of man she is attracted to changes all the time, but any guy trying to date her must have impressive qualities mentally - such as a degree from the prestigious American university. When asked what it takes to win her over, she told AccessHollywood.com: “Talent and perseverance and pushing the boundaries of love and acceptance. I don’t know. I can’t really say, like a degree at Harvard. Just about anything.” Since she rose to fame, Gaga has had an on/off relationship with rock drummer and bartender Luc Carl, which is currently off, and has been open about her feelings.

The 25-year-old star has been travelling the globe on tour for most of the last two years, and talked about her reluctance to settle down. She said: “I’m not ready to buy a house. It feels like marriage or something.

It’s like such a commitment. I don’t like it.”

Meanwhile, Gaga was spotted going for a traditional English late night snack of a kebab with her entourage when she was recently in Manchester, where she performed at the Children in Needs Rocks charity concert last week. A source told the Daily Star newspaper: “Gaga was a woman on a mission, she was desperate to find a takeaway. She caused such a commotion with fans that she was given the £250 order, including kebabs, chips, chicken, burgers, Chinese meals and noodles for free.”

— Bangshowbiz

he ‘Waterfall’ singer was caught speeding at 93 miles per hour (mph) while in a 40mph roadwork zone near Stafford while on his way to his home in Cheshire, in North West England in October 2010. The 48-year-old musician - who was driving his £40,000 Lexus car - was banned for three months by a judge as he had been caught exceeding the speed limit three times in three years. Judge David Taylor who imposed the ban, which is the minimum for the offence, at Stoke Magistrates Court - told Ian: “Speed limits are not imposed on a motorway unless there are very good reasons. “Those reasons are almost always concerning public safety.” The singer - who is currently rehearsing for The Stone Roses’ huge comeback shows next year - was also ordered to pay £1,015 costs and given a £900 fine. Ian had originally managed to keep his licence last month after being brought before court on similar charges, but had angered the judge in his latest case by changing his plea to guilty at the last minute. His lawyer, Nick Freeman, had argued his client needed to keep his vehicle in order to attend rehearsals with the newly-reunited group, which he said were taking place at a “remote secret location”. The lawyer also stated a ban would have caused the ‘I Am the Resurrection’ hitmaker “insurmountable” difficulties and would interfere with him seeing his 11-year-old son, who lives in London with his mother.

Ian Brown

banned from driving

Hulk Hogan pays ex-wife $7.44m after divorce

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he wrestling legend - real name Terry Bollea - agreed to give Linda over 70 per cent the $10.41 million that was held in bank and investment accounts, including a $3 million property settlement and he signed over 40 percent ownership in his various companies as part of their financial settlement. Linda also received a Mercedes-Benz, a Cadillac Escalade, a Corvette, a Rolls-Royce and various off-road vehicles but TNA and former WWE star Hulk keeps the rest of his considerable cars collection.

However, as a result he will not have to make alimony payments to his former spouse. Details of the previously private settlement emerged this week after it was attached to a new motion filed by 58-year-old Hulk’s attorneys,

have had to react previously to threats and I thought that was behind me. “Something like this has been my worst fear for months. Earlier this year the police got in touch and warned me to beef up security because of fears about kidnappings.” However, Katie - who has three children, Harvey, nine, Junior, six, and Princess Tiaamii, four, from previous relationships - is trying to put the ordeal behind her and focus on finding a new man. The TV star - who split from second husband Alex Reid in January and ended her four-month romance with Leandro Penna in October - said: “I just want someone who accepts me, my kids and my career - and someone who can and wants to buy me lunch and dinner every now and then.

I haven’t been out with a businessman before that could be an option.”

who are disputing the amount he owes Linda from his company revenues which manage his trademarked Hogan-themed products and his likeness. A circuit judge in Pinellas, Florida, ordered him to pay Linda about $126,000 in company revenues last December but his lawyers argue the divorce settlement stipulates the couple should handle asset disputes through arbitration and asked the judge to set aside the payment order.

Hulk’s attorneys have argued Linda should be paid from net profits rather than gross. The couple - who have two children together, Brooke, 23, and 21-year-old Nick - are still in the process of selling their shared property including a mansion that’s listed at $8.87 million.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou (fourth from left) looks at work by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei on display at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taipei yesterday.

(Right) A museum employee passes an installation entitled “Forever Bicycles” during the ‘Ai Weiwei, Absent’ exhibition yesterday. — AP

Taiwan leader calls for artistic freedom in China T

aiwan’s president urged China yesterday to respect the artistic freedom of outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who was detained for nearly three months earlier this year and is currently confined to Beijing. “He’s an artist and should have the freedom to express his artistic views,” President Ma Yingjeou said after viewing Ai’s exhibition at a Taipei museum. “This is also the core value of Taiwan.” Ma said he deplored that Chinese police detained Ai at the Beijing airport on April 3 as the conceptual artist was about to

depart for Taiwan to prepare for the exhibit.

The detention came during a sweeping Chinese crackdown on activists and sparked an international outcry over China’s deteriorating human rights situation. Ai was released in June but is prohibited from leaving Beijing.

China’s government says Ai was detained on tax evasion charges. However, activists say he is being punished for his often outspoken criticism of the authoritarian government. The exhibit at Taipei’s Fine Arts Museum, titled “Ai Weiwei, Absent,” focuses on the political sig-

nificance of the artist’s inability to attend. The exhibit of 21 works, which opened last month and runs through late January, includes a white marble-made helmet and a surveillance camera, which Ai created to mock China as a police state. Another piece consists of 1,000 bicycles piled in layers, reflecting his perception of the rapid pace of Chinese social change.

The exhibit in Taiwan has a political significance of its own. Unlike the communist mainland, the island of 23 million people is a free-

wheeling democracy with few restrictions on expression. “The distance between Taiwan and China will be determined by their views on human rights protection,” Ma said. “When our views get closer, the two sides will move closer.”

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, but China still claims the self-ruled island a part of its own territory. Since Ma took office in 2008, tensions between the two sides have dropped to their lowest point in decades. Ma has pushed for economic engagement with Beijing, but refuses to have political dialogue. — AP

Book by Japanese killer to become film A book written by the Japanese man who raped and killed young British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker is to be made into a movie, the producer said yesterday. Tatsuya Ichihashi spent more than two-and-a-half years on the run after the brutal 2007 killing and even had plastic surgery to evade capture. He was finally caught in November 2009 and was sentenced to life imprisonment in July. He has appealed the sentence. After his arrest,

Ichihashi described his life as a fugitive in the book “Taiho Sarerumade-Kuuhaku no Ninen Nanakagetsu no Kiroku (Until the Arrest The Blank Two Years and Seven Months)”.

He detailed in the book how he travelled across Japan, from a tiny southern Okinawan island, where he lived off fish and snakes, to the western city of Osaka, where he worked on a construction site. Ichihashi has previously offered to give any royalties from the

book to the family of the murdered English teacher, or to use it for public good. The Hawker family has declined the offer. The film, reportedly to be titled “I am IchihashiTaiho sarerumade (until the arrest)”, will star Japanese actor Dean Fujioka, 31, production company Sedic International said. Ichihashi admitted raping Hawker, his teacher, but said he killed the 22-year-old accidentally, before burying her battered body in a sandfilled bathtub. — AFP

Romanian star Inna starts drive against domestic abuse

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omanian dance music star Inna launched yesterday a campaign against domestic violence with a website and a video clip of her newest song, encouraging women to speak out against abuse. “Unfortunately, domestic violence is an extremely serious problem, and not only in Romania. I hope that this campaign will help solve it,” Inna told AFP. “Women are ashamed to admit they have been physically or verbally abused. Our site (www.bringthesuninmylife.com) will address

A picture shows Romanian dance music star Inna posing during a photo shoot at a studio in Bucharest. — AFP

this issue in such a friendly way that women will feel encouraged to speak out and call for help.”

The 25-year-old brunette and 13 other successful young women - actresses, fashion designers or journalists - have lent their faces to this campaign posing as victims of abuse disfigured by scars and bruises. Inna has also posted on the website her newest song, “Endless”, the story of a young girl who quits her boyfriend after a violent fight. “Nothing can justify abuse against women, neither fatigue nor alcohol,” stressed the artist who has sold some two million singles in the world, including 470,000 in the United States, and boasts over 100 million views on YouTube for hits like “Amazing”, “Sun Is Up” or “Hot”. Official statistics put the number of deaths caused by domestic violence in Romania at around 800 between 2004 and 2009. — AFP

Indian Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone poses as she arrives to attend a promotional event for the Hindi film ‘Desi Boyz’ in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Tubas become a horn of plenty B

efore he came to Southern California in 2002, Fidel Bernabe played trumpet in a small town in Mexico and believed himself to be very talented. Los Angeles had many bandas - Mexican brass bands that play dance music at parties and nightclubs - that worked year-round. Surely there must be a band that could use his gifts, he thought. But once here, he found competition intense. Bernabe rarely found two nights of trumpeting work and had to take a day job in a sewing factory. “You come to get out of the hole,” he said. “You think you’re going to grab money in piles.

You get here and you realize it’s not as easy as you imagined.”

Then, by accident, Bernabe found the tuba. He saw a deal for one in LA and bought it for his brother, a tuba player in Chicago. When his brother couldn’t pay, Bernabe kept the instrument and decided to learn it on his own. For more than a year, he practiced for hours after his sewing job.

Tubas were in growing demand. By 2007, he was playing five gigs a week - sometimes

Santiago “Shagi” Mata (left) warms up for a gig in La Puenta, California, on October 8, 2011. — MCT photos

Jesse Tucker plays his tuba in Hermosa Beach, California. two a night. He found all that he’d imagined in America. He quit his job, got married, had three kids and supported them with his tuba. “The tuba has radically changed my life,” he said.

Bernabe is part of what he and other banda musicians are calling Southern California’s “tuba revolution.” The mania for the instrument arrived from Mexico several years ago and is fueled by the large number of house parties that occur here every weekend. Immigrants who once were too poor to hold such parties in their homeland now view a tuba-equipped banda as a sign of having arrived. Tuba players say partygoers now throw wadded dollar bills into their instruments - sometimes so many that they clog the pipes.

“We have millions of people in Southern California of Mexican origin,” said Jesse Tucker, a banda tuba player in Pomona, Calif. “They all throw parties. They all have quinceaneras; they all get married. And every group can use a tuba.” At one of these parties recently, on a patio outside a modest stucco house in Huntington Park, guys with gold bracelets and black dress shirts and girls with too-tight miniskirts danced to the tuba-driven polka beat of Tucker’s trio, Los Hermanos Carrillo con Chikilin y su Tuba. To the side, a woman cooked carne asada on a propane grill.

Tucker, who stands 6 feet 4, gyrated and blasted his horn into the ears of dancers, sounding as fast as a heavy-metal guitarist

Musicians hang out in front of a restaurant in La Puenta, California. and as wild as a free-jazz man. Watching it all was Jesse Chavez, hosting his own 25th birthday party that night. Chavez said the success of his party was dependent on a tuba, which has a reputation for attracting dance-minded partygoers _ especially women, he added. “I had to have a tuba,” he said. “There’s more thunk, thunk. Also, they bring girls.” These days, clients won’t hire a band “if you don’t have a tuba,” Jose Davila, singer and accordionist for the norteno band Grupo 5.7, said between sets at another backyard birthday, this one in South Los Angeles. Norteno groups almost always use bass players, but Grupo 5.7 fired its bassist and replaced him with a tubist to keep partygoers happy.

This newfound popularity and economic power has unleashed a kind of liberation movement among Southern California banda tuba players. No longer forced to the back of the banda, tuba players are out front, standing next to singers, leading lines through parties. They are showing their

chops with wild improvisation while keeping time and bass to traditional three-chord Mexican songs.

“We were in a little box before. Now they’ve set us free and we’re able to show what we’re capable of,” said Santiago “Shagi” Mata, a tubist who lives in Maywood. “Now the girls want us to play near them and take photos with us.” When it comes to inspiration, the Los Angeles area has long served as muse to the tuba player.

Disneyland, movie studios and schools with large marching bands have provided formally trained tuba players with work and teaching opportunities and created a vibrant tuba scene in Southern California.

“LA is the tuba capital of the world and has been for many years,” said Bill Roper, a jazz tubist in Altadena. Two players, in particular, made it that way. Tommy Johnson, a tuba professor at USC who died in 2006, almost single-handedly populated the tuba world with his students and played on more than 2,000 movie soundtracks, including

the shark music on “Jaws.” (Three top tubist in America - at the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles symphonies - are filled by students of Johnson.) Roger Bobo, who now teaches in Japan, was a tubist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 25 years and made solo recordings that expanded the instrument’s role, said Gene Pokorny, a tubist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

“What they managed to put together in Los Angeles busted the bar of expectations of what the tuba could do everywhere in the world,” said Pokorny, who studied with Johnson and listened fervently to Bobo’s recordings. Competition, their legacy and the variety of jobs available made classically trained tubists here adaptable. “You have to invent yourself,” said John Noreyko, a jazz tubist who plays at Disneyland. “If you really want to play, you have to be very tenacious and come up with something that someone’s not doing.”

This attitude has just begun to permeate the Mexican tuba world in Southern California. In fact, the formally trained tuba players and banda players rarely meet.

While classical tuba players learn to read music and are mentored by instructors, banda players are self-taught, and few can read music. For years, in their tradition-bound genre, banda tubists were limited to less than two octaves, huffing and puffing in anonymity. Other musicians “would get mad at you if you played a lot of complicated stuff. They’d tell you, ‘Just keep it simple,’” said Juan Damian, a tuba player in Moreno Valley. But that changed in 1997 in Mexico, when Banda Los Tierra Blanca recorded a classic song, “Mi Gusto Es,” with a young musician on tuba named Alfredo Herrejon. Herrejon, a trumpeter by training, didn’t follow the plodding bass line that traditional songs required. Instead, he fluidly crammed notes into the song and soared between octaves. —MCT

Reviews

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Holiday music

from Bieber, Buble and more Justin Bieber, “Under the Mistletoe” (Island): Parents are likely to buy Justin Bieber’s Christmas album for their kids and pray that their young ones will play it only through their headphones. But the elders would be missing out. Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” is a thoroughly entertaining offering for all ages, sometimes even more so for the adults. Although he still is a teen heartthrob, there is little that is childlike about this album (except for the song “Someday at Christmas,” which closes out the deluxe CD, where a much younger Bieber channels Michael Jackson). Bieber’s voice has deepened, and the bubble gum sound has given way to a more mature, soulful sound. Bieber sounds convincingly romantic on the album’s opener, “The Only Thing I Ever Get For Christmas.” And on the soulful upbeat groove “Fa La La,” with guests Boyz II Men, he sounds almost - dare we say it? - sexy. But before we venture into Mariah Yeater territory, let us focus on some of the other songs on the album. He joins Mariah Carey on her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You”; the Band Perry for a powerful “Home This Christmas”; enlists mentor Usher on a charming rendition of “The Christmas Song”; and gets funky with Busta Rhymes on a hip-hop version of “Little Drummer Boy” (here simply called “Drummer Boy”), as both trade rap verses. Bieber breathes new life into old standbys, and offers up new songs that have the potential to become future classics. Even if you don’t have kids, “Under the Mistletoe” should be under your Christmas tree.

She & Him, “A Very She & Him Christmas” (Merge Records): Zooey Deschanel and M Ward, the she and him of folk rock duo She & Him, have patterned a sparse yet satisfying Christmas album that, on listen after repeated listen, brings to mind a subtly hip holiday vibe that is edgy enough to impress the most jaded Brooklynite and innocent enough to play for grandma, too. Across the 12 tracks presented on the album,- available digitally, too, Deschanel and Ward glide through some of the holiday classics with low-key yet inspired gait, including a rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that’s smooth and silky but earnest in its affectations. The interplay between Ward and Deschanel on “Silver Bells” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” is quick and bouncy, lending a decidedly prominent sense of mirth and merriment - always critical components of a good Christmas album. Is it groundbreaking and new? No, not by a long shot, but it is clever, entertaining and filled with holiday cheer.

Scott Weiland “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Atlantic): Sometimes the line between balladeer and rock singer converges; sometimes it does not. That is why it comes as a surprise that Scott Weiland would attempt to croon an album of Christmas music as if he were Perry Como on “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The songs range from fun to powerful to laughable, as Weiland tackles holiday standards like “Silent Night” and “The Christmas Song.” He delivers these tunes as if it were Bing Crosby night at a local karaoke bar. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially if parody is your thing.

But fans may expect more than a hardcore alternative rocker trying to sound like a

lounge singer. The former Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilot singer slightly shifts music style over the course of the record’s 10 tracks with hints of bossa nova, reggae, and big band flair, yet nothing remarkable that sounds like him. Two of the album’s most interesting tracks include a bouncy version of “What Child Is This?” and a fun version of “Winter Wonderland,” though he sounds a little like Sammy Davis Jr. While channeling the old crooners, the one voice or style that’s missing is Weiland’s own. Easily regarded in the top echelon of 1990s rock singers, Weiland sets himself up for criticism by stepping too far out of his comfort zone on this one.

we’ve ever been / but we know we’re lyin’./ So pass the pie and one more roll / and pass me that remote control / oh, lookee here, I love this show! / It’s Christmas time.” There are only two holiday standards here - “Away in a Manger” and “Blue Christmas” - plus a cover of Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December,” featuring background vocals by the man himself. The rest are nontraditional or original, with song titles like “What The Hell

Tony Bennett “The Classic Christmas Album” (Columbia): When you have been around as long as Tony Bennett, you do not release an album of Christmas favorites; you put out a collection of the best Christmas songs you have recorded throughout your

(It’s the Holidays),” “Come Sit on Santa Claus’ Lap” and “Let It Snow (Somewhere Else).” If you’re sick of the classics and need to have something festive in the background while you entertain or cook for family and friends this holiday season, this is a fine choice for any house, even without a farm.

career. This greatest hits album compiles holiday tunes from the 85-year-old crooner’s repertoire over 40 years. He released his first holiday album, “Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album” in 1968. Over the years, he has recorded Christmas music with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Count Basie Band. While these songs have all been heard before, there’s an eclectic magic to listening to them in succession. Maybe it is the younger tone of his voice on early recordings like “My Favorite Things,” or the swagger on “Winter Wonderland.” The collection includes a lush mix of jazz, orchestral, and big band backgrounds to such holiday classics as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a peppy version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” and the beautiful choral tone of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

Joey + Rory, “A Farmhouse Christmas” (Sugar Hill Records/Vanguard Records): If you feel the need to freshen up your holiday music collection, you could do much worse than this country duo. Joey is the woman and Rory is the guy always wearing overalls, even on the album cover. Yes, they are a couple just as that cute plus sign in their name implies.

They harmonize better than most husbands and wives, though. Rory is a working songwriter when not recording with his wife and it shows in some of the lyrics. Sample from the album opener “It’s Christmas Time”: “We’ll eat too much and swear again / that come New Year we’re getting in / the best shape that

Various artists, “This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 2” (Brushfire Records): Someone liked this idea enough to put out a second volume, but this reviewer is not that someone. Featuring 13 tracks by 11 artists from the Brushfire stable (Zach Gill, G Love, Rogue Wave, Jack Johnson, Bahamas, Neil Halstead, Zee Avi, ALO, Money Mark, Paula Fuga and Matt Costa), the arrangements are ho-hum and there is not a sing-along song in the bunch. The best of the baker’s dozen is an original tune by Johnson (“In the Morning”) that’s perfect if you’re planning a yuletide luau. The worst? Zee Avi making “Frosty the Snowman” even more depressing than the lyrics. There is some good news, though: Twenty-five percent of the profits from record sales support musical education.

Michael Buble, “Christmas” (Reprise/Wea): “Christmas” comes early with Michael Buble’s

holiday record. It’s his second seasonal release, and it seems as if he’s got a knack for making cozy Christmas music. His smooth voice perfectly covers classics like “Silent Night,” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Jingle Bells.” There’s even an original song called “Cold December Night.” Buble also covers Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” but adds his own twist by slowing it down. It sounds like a completely different song that is noteworthy in its own right.

“Christmas” is an instant classic that would go nicely in anyone’s collection.

Mark O’Connor, “An Appalachian Christmas” (OMAC): The title is misleading, with Mark O’Connor playing more like a violinist than a fiddler, and his guests include opera star Renee Fleming and jazz singer Jane Monheit. The stylistic sprawl results in a set about as rustic as choir carols at Lincoln Center. O’Connor’s first holiday album includes new recordings but also previously released material dating back as far as 1987. Several tunes have little to do with Christmas, including “Ol’ Blue,” sung by James Taylor, and “Now It Belongs To You,” sung by Steve Wariner.

Even so, this grab bag offers a few goodies.

Fleming’s duet with O’Connor on “Amazing Grace” pairs two glorious instruments, and when she soars for an A-flat above high C to start the last line, it’s an unexpected present.

Alison Krauss’ angelic soprano enriches Stephen Foster’s “Slumber My Darling,” and she is backed by the string trio of O’Connor, Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer in a heavenly performance. O’Connor does some serious sawing on a Mannheim Steamroller-style rendition of “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” But much of the time he plays as if handcuffed, and a succession of mellow, undercooked tunes work best as background music. — AP

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Aardman eyes comeback with ‘Arthur Christmas’ T

he clumsy son of a washed-up Santa and his curmudgeonly grandfather embark on an audacious mission to deliver a Christmas present to a little girl in Cornwall, England. Also embarking on a daring mission are the new studio partners behind the unconventional Santa tale, “Arthur Christmas,” which marks the first collaboration between Sony Pictures Animation and British animation house Aardman Animations. Both companies have a lot riding on the success of the 3-D CG animated movie, which debuts in US theaters. Although pre-release tracking on the film suggests it could have a soft opening in the US, the movie has been well reviewed and is already doing brisk business in the United Kingdom.

For Aardman - best known as producers of the popular crime-fighting duo Wallace and Gromit - “Arthur Christmas” represents an opportunity to stage a Hollywood comeback after the failure of its previous computer animated release, “Flushed Away.” The 2006 comedy about sewer rats, which flopped at the box office, caused Aardman’s former partner, DreamWorks Animation, to take a $109million write-off on the movie.

DreamWorks subsequently severed ties with Aardman, ending a five-picture deal after three movies: “Chicken Run,” the Oscar-winning “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” and “Flushed Away.” Creative clashes also led to the dissolution of the partnership. For Sony, which signed a deal to finance and distribute Aardman’s movies in 2007, “Arthur” is the first of several projects the studio hopes will give its animation unit a more reliable flow of movies with broad international appeal. That could can help the studio compete in an increasingly congested family market. This year, there will have been 15 animated releases, and a dozen are due next year.

Sarah Smith, director of the holiday movie, “Arthur Christmas,” is photographed at Sony Picture Animation in Culver City, California. — MCT This week, “Arthur” will go head to head with several other movies targeting children and their parents: Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” Walt Disney Pictures’ “The Muppets” as well as the sequel “Happy Feet Two,” which opened last weekend. Bob Osher, who oversees Sony Pictures Animation, believes the partnership with Aardman will strengthen his studio’s hand. “Aardman is uniquely talented and when you look at the family space, a lot of these films perform extremely well internationally,” said Osher, president of digital production for Sony Pictures Entertainment. “There’s this creative brain trust there.”

Sony’s latest family movie, “The Smurfs,” was a rare breakout hit for the studio’s own animation division, pulling in nearly $560 million in worldwide ticket sales, 75 percent of which came from overseas. Since its launch nearly a decade ago, Sony Pictures Animation has had a mixed track record at the box office and its share of growing pains and manage-

ment turnover. Its first movie, “Open Season,” was only moderately profitable, and its second release, “Surf’s Up,” fared poorly despite strong reviews. The 2009 movie “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” performed much better.

Osher has high hopes for “Arthur,” which stars James McAvoy in the title role, Hugh Laurie and Bill Nighy (as the crusty Grandsanta) and was written by Peter Baynham, the co-writer on “Borat,” and his friend and BBC alumnus Sarah Smith. “Lovable idiots are our heroes,” said Smith, who also directed.

The film, which cost about $100 million to produce, combines big-effects action scenes with the idiosyncratic designs and offbeat humor that is the trademark of Aardman’s stop-motion films. Unlike computer-animated movies, the stop-motion process involves a painstaking technique in which each frame is animated by hand with plasticine puppets on a miniature set.

In his dealings with Aardman, Osher’s

strategy has been to give a wide berth to company founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton. During the making of “Arthur,” for example, the storyboarding and design of the characters was done at their studio in Bristol. When animation began, a core Aardman crew of about 20 people moved to Sony’s studio lot and set up a shingle dubbed Aardman West.

“The idea from the inception was to let Aardman be Aardman,” said Osher.

“The goal was total creative freedom.”

The approach is an effort to avoid a repeat of the friction that built up between Aardman executives and DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg over creative control and style of filmmaking. Among other points of dispute, Aardman executives balked at Katzenberg’s desire to have them abandon stop-motion animation in favor of focusing on computer-generated movies.

So far, no such differences have flared up at Sony, which approved a stopmotion film for Aardman’s next release, “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” a Monty Pythonesque comedy starring Hugh Grant. The movie, which is close to wrapping production, is based on the book by Gideon Defoe and is set for release in March. “It’s a very different organization,” said Aardman co-founder Lord, director of “The Pirates.” “They’ve continually displayed enormous faith in us and backed our decisions, which is all you can ask for. They’ve given us space.”

Lord hopes to produce one movie every two years for Sony. Several other projects are in the works, including one being developed by Aardman’s bestknown director, Nick Park, creator of the Wallace and Gromit characters. Park said he’s happy with the new relationship.

“They speak so passionately about what we do,” Park said. “It just fills you with a sense of self-confidence.” — MCT

Black-light performance troupe wows audiences G

ood things often happen by accident. Which is how Fighting Gravity started. In February 2009, there was a talent show called Anchorsplash that Delta Gamma stages annually at Virginia Tech in lacksburg, Va. Danny Kang, Travis Dalrymple and 11 other Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers looked for something new and creative to do for the event. Researching online, they stumbled upon black light videos that sparked their collective imaginations. “After we performed, the crowd went insane and the video ended up going viral on YouTube,” says Kang.

A year later, an online comment suggested the group submit its act to the TV show “America’s Got Talent.” Days later, one of the show’s producers called and invited them to audition in New York City. As the saying goes, the rest is history, all entertainingly recorded on TV as acts were eliminated week after week. “Our experience was amazing,” says Kang. “Everything changed from that day on. Our lives became about Fighting Gravity every day, always working on new material for our next routine.”

After the 13-member group placed third, they did a two-month national tour with the show, performing in 24 cities. “It was the best two months of our lives,” says Kang, who wears white in the show. “We didn’t have any bad experiences on the show, just more like road blocks. As you can imagine, having 13 guys in one room trying to communicate ideas can be extremely stressful. However, at the end of the day, we all got along and are all still great friends and brothers to this day.”

Since that time, Fighting Gravity is busier than ever. In July,

they were in Beijing, China, working for Mercedes-Benz and its release of the new C-class vehicles. They’ve done private shows for Fortune 500 companies such as Quicken Loans, Auto Trader and Alcon, and appeared on Dick Clark’s Rockin New Year’s Eve show with Far East Movement.

Recently, they debuted the group to European audiences by doing two recent guest performances - one on “Das Super Talent” in Vienna, Austria, and the other on Simon Cowell’s new game show “Red or Black” in London. This past summer, they also appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” a performance that got them back in the public’s eye and a Facebook page jump of more than 30,000 friends overnight. Their Facebook page currently has about 101,000 fans. More importantly, they are working with professional producers, choreographers and designs on a 90-minute production they hope hits the stage late 2012 or early 2013 - maybe in Las Vegas, maybe not, but hopefully in some big-name city. “We turned down a headline offer in Vegas right after we got off the show,” says Kang. “It was a hard decision, but we knew it was the right one to make. We weren’t ready at that point to put out an hour-and-half-long show nor were we in a rush to run the risk of putting on a subpar one in exchange for a quick buck.”

How the group makes its characters and props float and flip upside down is a trade secret. However, nine people wearing black costumes that you can’t see, thanks to the black light, is the show’s core concept. “They are in the background moving props and other items to make sure the show runs smoothly,” says Kang.

“Without those other nine people, the show would not be what it

Fighting Gravity, made up of 13 fraternity brothers from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, is prepping for a national show and an upcoming TV appearance after winning third place on “Americaís Got Talent” in 2010. — MCT is today. There are lots of moving parts in our routines that the audience does not see, so it’s more about the logistics of moving people around.” Although the group is working with professionals, each member is still very much hands-on, making costumes and building sets. For privacy reasons, the group refrains from giving out all its members’ names, ages and places of residency. —MCT

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Fashion comes of age for

boomers

Ivy Gonzalez holds a jeweled sandal her friend and fellow shopper Lisel Mansen purchased on a recent shopping spree.

B

aby boomer women might not want to wear their daughters’ jeans and men may refuse to don muscle shirts, but the generation that brought us tie-dye still wants to remain fashionable and hip well into middle age. How to monetize that desire is both a marketer’s conundrum and dream. “Even with mature figures, boomers want to have fashionable options,” says Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for The Doneger Group, an industry consultant.

“That doesn’t stop just because you hit a certain age.”

Problem is, designers and retailers often don’t know to reach a demographic that is varied, numerous and affluent.

Accustomed to chasing after youth, the industry has often missed opportunities to attract the 81 million boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers complain that the models companies use tend to be too young and too thin, the clothes too frumpy or too trendy and the marketing campaigns too condescending.

“When I go looking for a dress, it can be a nightmare,” says Ivy Gonzalez, 51, a legal assistant from Miramar, Fla. “They’re all in the same size - small. They’re not realistic. They’re geared to the really young or the really old.” Friend Lisel Mansen, 47, an administrator in the same Miami law office, agrees. “I’d like to see more range of sizes in the classic styles I like. I don’t want them to start at size zero and end at 12.”

Browse the racks in stores, flip through catalogs - you’ll understand what proves so frustrating for Gonzalez and Mansen. Clothing retailers tend to pitch their wares to the 18-to-35-year-

olds, the ones who chase the latest fad, who wear the hottest trend. But by the time women reach midlife, they know that they will never look like the 20-yearold, size 2 model. And men understand that the 28-i nch waist is a thing of the past. They want something that covers up a little more, that fits a little better, that hides the inevitable mark of aging but is also modern.

“What the industry needs to do is be a bit more realistic,” says Brent Bouchez, co-founder of Agency Five-O, a New York-based marketing firm that specializes in the 50-and-over set. “And it’s not just fashion. Come on, there are models who are 30 talking about anti-wrinkle cream.” But ignoring this aging but vital demographic means missing a profitable segment of the market. Bouchez says Americans over 50 hold 75 percent of the wealth in the US Their purchasing power: $2.5 trillion annually. In comparison, the coveted under-35 demographic purchasing power is $1 trillion less.

Baby boomers shop and they shop a lot - for themselves and for others. In a study of annual sales through August, NPD Group, a consumer market research group, reported that annual apparel purchases by younger boomer women, those 45 to 54 years old, topped $25 billion. Their male counterparts spent $8.5 billion. In the 55-to-64 age group, women purchased $22 billion worth of apparel, men $6.8 billion. Added up, that’s a sizable chunk of the total $200 billion apparel market - and a bigger chunk than the one claimed by the younger set.

Women in the 18-34 years of age demographic, for instance, spent $35.7 billion on apparel and men in the same age group spent $17.8 billion.

Many predict that market will only grow. Boomers are used to spending on themselves, and, unlike their parents, they have a lot more choices about where to buy the perfect blouse or the just-right trousers. “Past generations didn’t have the choices we have now,” Morrison, of The Doneger Group, says.

“We have so many more stores, so many more designers. Before, if you wanted fashion, it was extremely expensive.”

Boomers are not afraid to venture online, either. Gonzalez, the legal assistant, frequently surfs the web for good deals. It saves her time and hassle when she looks for her favorites - Anne Klein suits, Coach purses, Jessica Simpson shoes. When boomers shop online, they tend to be brand loyal, notes Alexi Smith, associate creative director with SapientNitro, a global marketing and technology consultant. “They know a particular item fits well and it lasts long and they stick with it,” she says. “They trust the brand.”

Industry watchers say some labels and retailers have already recognized boomers’ potential - Eileen Fisher, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, St John Knits, Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne, to name a few. And among the 100 or so designers showing their collections for spring/summer 2012 at New York Fashion Week, more displayed evening dresses with sleeves - a nod towards middle-age women who may prefer not to bare their arms.

In addition, general retailers, from upscale Nordstrom to the budget-conscious Target, are trying to offer more selection for boomers, says Francesca Russo, a Miami attorney who comments on fashion in her blog, The Fashionable

Litigator. She thinks Michael Kors is a good example of a company that has widened its focus.

“Boomers are more into quality than quantity,” adds Russo, 45, whose sisterin-law and brother-in-law are clothing and shoe designers. “They look for elegance and style, and retailers in all categories are catching on because this is a group that has discretionary income.”

Jamie Feldman, a buyer for A Nose for Clothes, a small chain of women’s apparel stores in South Florida and Georgia, concurs.

“Our boomer client is more sophisticated. She wants to still look good but appropriate. She’s comfortable with who she is and she feels she doesn’t have to prove anything.” So how does that translate into the flare of a skirt or the cut of a suit? Think fine fabrics, careful tailoring and a contemporary look without being too trendy. And since fashion tends to be strongly influenced by geography, think bright colors and more revealing, formfitting cuts for South Florida. “It’s all about classic design, about clothing that is ageless,” says fashion consultant and author Arizona-based Sherrie Mathieson.

Mathieson, whose books include Forever Cool: How to Achieve Ageless, Youthful and Modern Personal Style, lauds cookbook author and Food Network star Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, who “is not a size 6 but still knows how to dress fashionably” without being flashy.

She also cites Lauren Hutton modeling “timeless fashion” in J Crew catalogs. The labels that do well with boomers, Mathieson adds, “are not about marketing to older women. They’re about youthful clothes but with a classic fit.” —MCT

Ivy Gonzalez (left and Lisel Mansen look at a scarf Gonzalez recently purchased. — MCT

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Tbilisi Fashion Week

Models present creations by Georgian designer Tamuna Ingorokva.

Models present creations by Georgian designer Tamanini during Tbilisi Fashion Week, late on November 24, 2011. — AFP photos

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technology SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

China lifts Great Firewall for golf World Cup tourney Open access given to banned govt sites

SAN FRANCISCO: In this file photo, a reporter demonstrates the camera on the Apple iPad 2. — AP

This holiday season, the tablet goes mainstream SAN FRANCISCO: ‘Tis the season of the tablet. Despite the gloomy economy, shoppers are expected to shell out for tablet computers this December, making them about as popular as candy canes and twinkling lights. The glossyscreened gadgets are the most-desired electronic devices this holiday season. And, of all the gifts people are craving, tablets are second only to clothing, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. The industry group expects US consumers to spend an average of $246 on electronic gifts, including tablets.

With help from his three siblings, Bob Cardina, 26, plans to purchase an iPad for his parents for Christmas. Cardina and his sister live in Washington. His parents live in Tampa, Florida. So he’s excited to be able to video chat with his parents - them on the new iPad, him on his iPhone. He thinks his mother will be especially happy with the gift. One of her friends has an iPad and she’s “definitely taken a liking to it,” he said.

To be sure, tablets were on some wish lists last year, but they were mostly prized by gadget geeks. In the past year, they have become more mainstream. Consumers have become comfortable using touch screens, especially as smartphones continue to proliferate. Tablets are popping up in unexpected places, too. Apple Inc.’s iPad in particular is being used as a learning tool in schools, a digital cash register in shops and a menu at restaurants.

In 2010, people were “trying to figure out what the whole tablet thing was about,” says Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. “Now, people know what to do with a tablet.” For some people, the device has become indispensable for playing and working. While you can surf the Web, send emails and watch movies on a laptop or smartphone, consumers are gravitating to tablets because they can be more convenient. The iPad is still expected to far outsell other tablets this year. According to Gartner Inc, nearly 64 million tablets will be sold worldwide by the end of the year. Some 73 percent of them will be iPads. By Gartner’s estimate, Apple will sell 47 million iPads this year - a figure it could certainly achieve, given that it sold 25 million of them by the end of September. But while many think of the iPad as synonymous with the word “tablet,” plenty of shoppers will be looking for a more affordable tablet to give this year. — AP

HAINAN: International golf stars, spectators and media at the World Cup on the southern Chinese island of Hainan are enjoying uncensored Internet access denied to 1.3 billion Chinese. China’s communist leaders maintain strict control over what the country’s huge online population can see, blocking sensitive content as part of a vast censorship system known as the Great Firewall. But the Hong Kong brothers who own the five-star Mission Hills golf complex in Hainan have used their close ties with Beijing to guarantee unprecedented open service during the November 23-27 event.

Those staying at or visiting the resort are all seeing unfiltered content, meaning Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, both US Open winners and regular tweeters, can log onto sites including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

“We just make the free will of communication and the Internet accessible and easy for everyone,” one of the two brothers, Tenniel Chu, told AFP. “It is only available in the resort and it is up to the preference and options of the guests if they choose to use it or not.”The Chu brotherssons of the late “father of Chinese golf”, industry tycoon David Chu-have been granted a permit to bypass restrictions and link up to a server in Hong Kong.

They are offering unrestricted wifi access in the com-

plex’s clubhouse, shops, hotel, restaurants, cafes, spa and media centre. And they have succeeded where the International Olympic Committee failed-such web freedom was demanded by the IOC but denied during the 2008 Beijing Games. Some 300 Chinese journalists attending the golfing spectacle and those fans holding one of the 120,000 tickets sold for the event are also able to have a peep at the outside online world.

They can freely log on to banned sites which openly criticize the Chinese government’s controversial policies on human rights, Tibetan independence and religion. A small number of international hotels in a few major cities also have greater freedoms to allow overseas guests better access. But international journalists covering the World Cup questioned the access, concerned it gives a false impression of China’s heavily regulated Internet service.

“It is quite extraordinary that the World Cup organizers are providing a privilege denied to 1.3 billion Chinese,” said London’s Daily Telegraph sports journalist Oliver Brown. “The concern is that many of the players, already highly pampered and insulated from the real China inside their five-star resort, will just assume that this kind of open access is the norm across the country.” — AFP

TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors' the new Minicab MiEV electric van is displayed at the company's headuqrters on November 24, 2011. The Minicab MiEV has two models, 100km or 150km, for one charge of its Li-ion battery. — AFP

Microsoft inks deal to scrutinize Yahoo SAN FRANCISCO: It looks as if Microsoft wants a seat at the negotiating table if Yahoo decides to sell part or all of its business. To gain better access, Microsoft Corp. has signed a nondisclosure agreement with Yahoo Inc., according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the agreement hasn’t been formally announced. The DealReporter and The New York Times earlier reported the arrangement between Microsoft and Yahoo. Yahoo’s board has been mulling the company’s options since firing CEO Carol Bartz in early September. The alternatives include selling Yahoo’s Asian assets, such as the Alibaba Group in China, and auctioning off the company in

its entirety instead of hiring a new CEO. Tim Morse, Yahoo’s chief financial officer, has been interim CEO since Bartz’s ouster.

The DealReporter said that Yahoo’s board is scheduled to meet next week to discuss its next step.

Microsoft unsuccessfully tried to buy Yahoo in 2008 for as much as $47.5 billion before walking away in frustration.

Yahoo’s stock is worth less than half of Microsoft’s last offer of $33 per share.

Yahoo shares fell 3 cents Wednesday to close at $14.94. Microsoft’s stock price dropped 32 cents to close at $24.47. The New York Times reported that Microsoft is primarily interested in protecting its Internet search advertising alliance with Yahoo if its partner pursues a sale or a dramatic reorganization. Microsoft cur-

rently provides most of the search technology on Yahoo’s website in return for 12 percent of the ad revenue generated from the results.

To preserve its business relationship with Yahoo, Microsoft already had explored contributing to a joint bid for Yahoo’s US assets with some of the buyout firms that have been considering making offers. That list includes Silver Lake Partners, Providence Equity Partners and the Texas Pacific Group. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma has publicly acknowledged that his company would like to buy Yahoo, but that could be difficult because of US government concerns about a Chinese business owning a US company that handles email and other electronic communications. - AP

technology SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Arabic ‘tweeting’ explodes on Twitter PARIS: The popularity of Twitter has soared in the Arab world over the past year, a study published Thursday revealed, reflecting the key role of the social networking site in the “Arab Spring” revolutions. Online Twitter messages, or tweets, in Arabic rocketed from 99,000 a day in October 2010 to over two million last month, social media monitor Semiocast showed in its study into the most popular languages used on the popular site.

Arabic is now the eighth most popu-

lar language on the microblogging site, where users leave short messages of no more than 140 characters.

Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites were used to chronicle the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa and mobilize support. “With recent events, Twitter has grown exceptionally fast in the Middle East,” the report said.

Prominent bloggers including Lina Ben Mhenni, a Tunisian journalist who described the uprising against Zine el

Abidine Ben Ali’s regime, and Google executive Wael Ghonim, who was a central inspiration to protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo, were praised for their “real time” depiction of events. English remains the main language of Twitter, with over 70 million tweets posted daily, but now represents a considerably smaller percentage of the daily global number of tweets, dropping from over 60 percent in 2009 to just under 40 percent two years later. Tweets in Japanese-

the second most popular language on Twitter-account for 14.2 percent of the daily total, down from 19 percent a year ago. In contrast the number of Thai tweets has multiplied by 470 percent. Around half a million Chinese tweets make it onto the site every day, despite a ban on Twitter in the country. The study covered a sample of 5.6 billion tweets, or 10 percent of tweets globally, collected between 1 July 2010 and 21 October 2011 in 61 languages. —AFP

Bing hitches holiday hopes to Rudolph the Reindeer SAN FRANCISCO: Like Santa Claus on that one foggy Christmas Eve, Microsoft has summoned Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to guide some precious cargo - a holiday marketing campaign for its Bing search engine.

The advertisements, debuting online and on TV this week, star Rudolph and other characters from the animated story about the most famous reindeer of all. The campaign is part of Microsoft’s attempt to trip up Google Inc, an Internet search rival as imposing as the Abominable Snowman was before Yukon Cornelius tamed the monster.

Google has been countering with its own emotional ads throughout the year. Most of Google’s ads show snippets of its dominant search engine and other products at work before swirling into the logo of the company’s Chrome Web browser. The dueling ads underscore the lucrative nature of search engines. Although visitors pay nothing to use them, search engines generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from ads posted alongside the search results.

The holiday season is a particularly opportune time for search companies because that’s when people do more searches - to find gifts online, look for party supplies and plan nights out on the town.

That means more people to show ads to.

Advertisers also tend to be willing to pay more per ad because they know people are in a buying mode. To capture that audience,

Microsoft and Google are both thinking outside the search box to promote their brands.

Although the text ads running alongside search results do a fine job of reeling in some customers, they still lack the broader, more visceral impact of a well-done television commercial, said Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix, a firm that rates the effectiveness of ads.

“It’s instructive that these companies who are all about the Internet and doing things in real time are actually doing these emotive ads on TV,” Daboll said. Search engines are particularly difficult to sell because the sophisticated technology required to make them work isn’t something “you can touch or feel in a store, so you need to bring some emotion to it,” said Sean Carver, Bing’s advertising director.

“The storytelling is important.” Microsoft Corp licensed the rights to the characters from Rudolph’s 47-year-old holiday special after convincing their owners that the Bing commercials would add an endearing chapter to the reindeer’s story. The rights to Rudolph and the rest of the cast are owned by the children of Robert L May, who wrote the story in 1939 while working as a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store (May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, later wrote the famous song). Microsoft is far more experienced at marketing than Google. — AP

SAN FRANCISCO: This photo shows Aaron Lilly, Microsoft Senior MarCom Architect (left) and Sean Carver, Bing Director of Advertising, posing with Yukon Cornelius (from top left) Hermey, The Abominable Snowman, and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, all figures from the animated show Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, at the Microsoft office. — AP

JAKARTA: Indonesian police officers stand guard as people queue up to buy the new BlackBerry 9790 at discounted price for the first 1,000 buyers outside a shopping mall yesterday.— AP

Frenzy at Indonesia BlackBerry launch 300 police officers deployed at promotion JAKARTA: An offer of discounted BlackBerry smart phones turned into a frenzy yesterday when thousands of Indonesians stormed the outlet, causing a crush in which at least three people were injured and some fainted. Around 300 police and paramilitary officers were deployed outside the Pacific Place mall in central Jakarta after the promotion turned into mayhem, in a country that is BlackBerry’s biggest market outside North America. BlackBerry makers Research in Motion (RIM) had announced a week earlier that their new BlackBerry Bold 9790 would be launched yesterday at half price for the first 1,000 people.

But 5,000 BlackBerry fans gathered in the heat outside the mall for a chance to grab the latest model at the cut-rate price of 2.3 million rupiah ($260). Some had been queuing since a day earlier, police said. “It turned chaotic around midday as thousands of people started pushing each other to get closer to the mall,” Jakarta police spokesman Baharudin Djafar told AFP. “There was more harm being done than good, so we immediately asked the organizers to stop the event,” he said. Sherly, 32, who had been waiting since early yesterday morning, was one of several who fainted as she got caught in the crush.

“The mass just went crazy and began pushing each other. It was really scary, I was squeezed by the crowd until I lost consciousness,” the Jakarta Globe news website quoted her as saying. A hospital staff member told AFP that three people were being treated for injuries, including broken bones.

Police said some people had been paid around $50 to queue up for others.

BlackBerrys are hugely popular among Indonesians, and annual imports of the smart phones are expected to reach four million handsets by the year end, according to RIM. The company said it decided to close the event for safety reasons.

“Throughout the promotion at Pacific Place, RIM worked with the security personnel to prioritize the safety of our customers who amassed at the consumer launch,” it said in a statement.

“With the larger attendance of BlackBerry fans at Pacific Place, it was decided to close the event to avoid discomfort and ensure the safety of those in the crowd,” it added. Police said they would question the organizers. “The organizers should have given us some input about how many people they expected to come so that we could have enough officers to maintain security,” Djafar said. “We will question the organizers,” he said. — AFP

TV listings SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

00:50 01:45 02:40 03:35 04:30 05:25 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:25 09:15 09:40 10:10 11:05 11:30 12:00 12:55 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:00 17:30 18:25 19:20 21:10 22:05 The...

Monster Bug Wars Animal Cops Miami Life Of Mammals Whale Wars Monster Bug Wars Cats 101 Animal Cops Miami World Wild Vet Monkey Life Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Breed All About It The Really Wild Show Growing Up...: Polar Bear Orphan Project Puppy Monkey Life Crocodile Hunter America’s Cutest Pet Your Pet Wants This Your Pet Wants This, Too! World’s Ugliest Dog Competition Monkey Life Monkey Life Weird Creatures With Nick Baker Austin Stevens Adventures Wildest Africa Dogs 101: Specials Jaws Comes Home: Return Of

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:20 03:10 04:00 04:40 04:50 05:00 05:15 05:20 05:40 06:00 06:10 06:20 06:35 06:40 07:00 07:10 07:30 07:40 07:50 08:05 08:10 08:30 08:40 09:00 09:10 09:20 09:35 09:50 10:10 10:20 10:40 11:45 12:35 13:20 15:20 15:55 16:40 17:30 18:15

After You’ve Gone Beautiful People Lab Rats The Weakest Link: S10: Set 2 Married, Single, Other Doctor Who One Foot In The Grave 3rd & Bird: set 01 Bobinogs Boogie Beebies: Set 4 The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies: Set 15 Fimbles: Set 2 3rd & Bird: set 01 Bobinogs Boogie Beebies: Set 4 The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies: Set 15 Charlie & Lola: Set 1 Fimbles: Set 2 3rd & Bird: set 01 Bobinogs Boogie Beebies: Set 4 The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies: Set 15 Charlie & Lola: Set 1 Fimbles: Set 3 3rd & Bird: set 01 Bobinogs Boogie Beebies: Set 4 The Adventures Of Spot Tweenies: Set 15 Charlie & Lola: Set 1 Fimbles: Set 3 One Foot In The Grave Ray Mears - Wild Food Doctor Who Eastenders: set 253 After You’ve Gone The Weakest Link: S10: Set 2 Ray Mears - Wild Food Doctor Who The Weakest Link: S10: Set 2

00:15 00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:45 Junior 09:40 10:30 12:20 12:45 15:05 15:30 16:00 17:20 18:15 19:10 20:05

Swamp Brothers Dual Survival Overhaulin’ Dirty Jobs Ultimate Survival Mythbusters How It’s Made Dirty Jobs Ultimate Biker Challenge South Beach Classics Wheeler Dealers Fifth Gear American Chopper: Senior vs Deception With Keith Barry Mythbusters How It’s Made Auction Kings Border Security Border Security Border Security Mythbusters Extreme Fishing River Monsters Ultimate Survival

05:50 Alli Presents 06:40 World Combat League 07:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2008 08:00 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2009 09:00 Ticket to Ride 2010/11 10:40 Cape Epic 12:20 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 14:00 Carpocalypse 14:50 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 15:40 Sports Jobs 17:20 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 18:10 Clay Marzo: Just Add Water 19:00 Pinks: Lose The Race, Lose Your Ride 19:50 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 21:30 Carpocalypse 22:20 Clay Marzo: Just Add Water

AMERICAN HISTORY X ON OSN MOVIES HD 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Dual Survival Deadliest Catch One Man Army River Monsters

00:40 The Gadget Show 01:05 The Tech Show 01:35 Mega World 02:25 Green Wheels 02:50 Build It Bigger: Rebuilding Greensburg 03:40 Brainiac 04:35 The Gadget Show 05:25 How Stuff’s Made 05:50 Mega World 06:40 Stuntdawgs 07:10 The Future Of...

08:00 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 08:55 Head Rush 08:58 Sci-Fi Science 09:25 Weird Connections 09:55 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 10:45 Moon Machines 11:35 Catch It Keep It 15:45 Head Rush 15:48 Sci-Fi Science 16:15 Weird Connections 16:45 Bang Goes The Theory 17:10 The Gadget Show 18:00 Things That Move 18:50 How The Universe Works 19:40 Da Vinci’s Machines 20:30 Prototype This 21:20 Nasa’s Greatest Missions 22:10 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 23:00 Da Vinci’s Machines 23:50 Prototype This

00:00 Kim Possible 00:25 Fairly Odd Parents 01:15 Stitch 02:00 Replacements 02:50 Emperor’s New School 03:35 Stitch 04:25 Replacements 05:15 Fairly Odd Parents 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:25 Handy Manny 06:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 07:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 07:26 Mini Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 07:30 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 08:10 Suite Life On Deck 09:26 Fish Hooks 09:40 Good Luck Charlie 10:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 10:30 Belle’s Magical World 12:00 So Random 12:25 Shake It Up 12:50 Good Luck Charlie 13:15 Suite Life On Deck 14:25 Stitch 14:50 Shake It Up 15:15 Fish Hooks 15:35 So Random 15:55 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody 16:45 Wizards Of Waverly Place 17:30 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 19:10 Mom’s Got A Date With A Vampire 20:35 So Random 20:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 21:25 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 21:50 Good Luck Charlie 22:15 Suite Life On Deck 22:40 Sonny With A Chance 23:05 The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Style Star 01:25 25 Most Memorable Swimsuit Moments 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 25 Most Sensational Hollywood Meltdowns 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 10:15 Bridalplasty 12:05 E! News 13:05 E!es 14:05 Giuliana & Bill 15:00 Ice Loves Coco 15:55 Dirty Soap 16:55 Style Star 17:25 Fashion Police 17:55 E! News 18:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 20:55 The Soup 21:25 Kendra 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 The Soup

00:00 00:50 01:40 02:05 02:30 03:20 04:10 05:00

TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Selection 2010 Dr Danger Dr Danger World Combat League TNA: Greatest Matches M1 Selection 2010 Alli Presents

00:40 01:05 01:30 01:55 Basics 02:20 02:45 03:35 04:00 04:25 05:15 05:40 06:05 06:30 06:50 07:35 Basics 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 Basics 11:20 11:45 12:10 12:35 13:25 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:05 15:55 16:20 16:45 17:35 18:00 Basics 18:25 18:55 19:15 19:40 20:05 20:30 21:20 22:10

Grill It! With Bobby Flay World Cafe Asia Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Barefoot Contessa - Back To Barefoot Contessa Paula’s Party Good Eats - Special Throwdown With Bobby Flay Food Network Challenge Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Unwrapped Chef vs Britain Paula’s Best Dishes Paula’s Party Barefoot Contessa - Back To Chopped Guy’s Big Bite Extra Virgin Chef vs Britain Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Paula’s Best Dishes Barefoot Contessa - Back To Aarti Party Guy’s Big Bite Unwrapped Paula’s Party Extra Virgin Paula’s Best Dishes Mexican Made Easy World Cafe Asia Food Network Challenge Unwrapped Good Eats - Special Chopped Guy’s Big Bite Barefoot Contessa - Back To Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Extra Virgin Lidia’s Italy Mexican Made Easy Grill It! With Bobby Flay Food Network Challenge Bobby Chinn Cooks Asia Food Network Challenge

00:00 The Frankincense Trail 01:00 The Music Nomad 01:30 Geo Sessions 02:00 Treks In A Wild World 02:30 Travel Madness 03:00 Amazing Adventures of A Nobody 04:00 Around The World For Free 05:00 A World Apart 06:00 The Frankincense Trail 07:00 The Music Nomad 07:30 Geo Sessions 08:00 Treks In A Wild World 08:30 Travel Madness 09:00 Amazing Adventures of A Nobody 10:00 Around The World For Free 11:00 A World Apart 12:00 The Frankincense Trail 13:00 Word of Mouth 13:30 Food School 14:00 Cooking The World 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 18:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 19:00 Word of Mouth 19:30 Food School 20:00 Cooking The World 21:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 22:00 Don’t Tell My Mother

00:00 The Frankincense Trail 01:00 The Music Nomad 01:30 Geo Sessions 02:00 Treks In A Wild World 02:30 Travel Madness 03:00 Amazing Adventures of A Nobody 04:00 Around The World For Free 05:00 A World Apart 06:00 The Frankincense Trail 07:00 The Music Nomad 07:30 Geo Sessions 08:00 Treks In A Wild World 08:30 Travel Madness 09:00 Amazing Adventures of A Nobody 10:00 Around The World For Free 11:00 A World Apart 12:00 The Frankincense Trail 13:00 Word of Mouth 13:30 Food School 14:00 Cooking The World 15:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 16:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 18:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 19:00 Word of Mouth 19:30 Food School 20:00 Cooking The World 21:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled

07:00 Phineas And Ferb 07:10 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 07:35 Phineas & Ferb 08:25 Suite Life On Deck S3 08:50 Kid Vs Kat 09:05 Kick Buttowski 09:30 Pair Of Kings S2 (Cema) 10:00 Zeke & Luther 10:55 I’m In The Band 11:20 Phineas & Ferb 11:45 Suite Life On Deck S3 12:10 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 12:35 I’m In The Band 13:00 Rekkit Rabbit 13:25 Phineas & Ferb 13:45 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 14:10 Suite Life On Deck 14:35 Kick Buttowski 15:00 Pair Of Kings S2 (Cema) 15:25 Phineas & Ferb 15:50 I’m In The Band 16:15 Rekkit Rabbit 16:40 Zeke & Luther 17:05 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 17:30 Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League Victors 17:55 Suite Life On Deck S3 18:45 Phineas & Ferb 19:10 The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes 20:00 New Spiderman 20:25 Zeke & Luther 20:50 I’m In The Band 21:15 Aaron Stone 21:40 American Dragon 22:05 Kick Buttowski 22:30 I’m In The Band 22:55 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 23:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody

00:00 02:00 04:30 06:00 08:15 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Survival Of The Dead-PG15 Inglourious Basterds-18 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 Spiderman 2-PG15 Ballistica-PG15 Triassic Attack-PG15 Universal Soldier: Regeneration Ballistica-PG15 Across The Hall-PG15 Universal Soldier: Regeneration Ticking Clock-PG15 Age Of The Dragons-PG15

01:00 02:45 04:45 07:15 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00

I Melt With You-PG15 Alabama Moon-PG15 The Karate Kid-PG Hurricane Season-PG15 Easy A-PG15 Alabama Moon-PG15 Bustin’ Down The Door-PG15 Freestyle (2010)-PG15

TV listings SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Easy Virtue-PG15 Freakonomics-PG15 The Losers-PG15 Tortured-18

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:30 04:00 04:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Eastbound & Down Weeds The Office According To Jim The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Yes Dear Just Shoot Me Late Night With Jimmy Fallon According To Jim Hot In Cleveland Community Just Shoot Me The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Yes Dear According To Jim Just Shoot Me Hot In Cleveland Community The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Yes Dear Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Melissa And Joey Mr. Sunshine Community Hot In Cleveland The Tonight Show With Jay Leno The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live Eastbound & Down Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

The X Factor (US) Survivor: South Pacific Friday Night Lights Glee Alias Good Morning America Law & Order Tower Prep The Ellen DeGeneres Show Friday Night Lights The View The X Factor (US) Glee Alias Survivor: South Pacific Live Good Morning America The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Coronation Street C.S.I. The Killing C.S.I. Miami Law & Order

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

The Glades Friday Night Lights Century City The X Factor (US) Survivor: South Pacific The Glades The Simpsons The Simpsons White Collar Friday Night Lights The X Factor (US) The Simpsons The Simpsons White Collar The Glades Outsourced Coronation Street White Collar C.S.I. The Killing C.S.I. Miami Commander In Chief

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:15 13:00 15:45 18:00 19:45 21:15 23:00

Rocky v-PG15 Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball-18 Survival Of The Dead-PG15 Superman/ Batman: ApocalypseKing Arthur-PG15 Ong Bak 2-PG15 Avatar-PG King Arthur-PG15 Raising Cain-PG15 S.W.A.T.: Firefight-PG15 Age Of The Dragons-PG15 The Collector-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger The Shape Of Things-PG15 Like Mike-PG A Simple Wish-FAM The Ramen Girl-PG15 Happy Ever Afters-PG15 102 Dalmatians-PG Bandslam-PG15 Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger Jack Goes Boating-PG15 Couples Retreat-18 5 Dollars A Day-PG15

01:00 American History X-18 03:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel-FAM 05:00 Sleepover-PG15 07:00 When In Rome-PG15 09:00 I Am Number Four-PG15 11:00 The Eclipse-PG15 13:00 Just Married-PG15 15:00 16 To Life-PG15 17:00 I Am Number Four-PG15 19:00 Black Death-PG15 21:00 Hot Tub Time Machine-18 23:00 Agora-18

00:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 02:00 Babe-FAM 04:00 Babe: Pig In The City-FAM 06:00 Winner & The Gold Child: Part IIPG15 08:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 10:00 Shrek Forever After-FAM 12:00 The Spy Next Door-PG 14:00 A Venetian Rascal Goes To America-PG15 16:00 Delgo-FAM 18:00 Shrek Forever After-FAM 20:00 Ramona And Beezus-PG

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 17:30 19:30 21:30 22:30

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter Trans World Sport WWE Smackdown WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection Intercontinental Le Mans Cup European Tour Weekly Live PGA European Tour Live International Rugby Union RWC 2011 Tournament Highlights UFC The Ultimate Fighter Live Premier League Snooker

00:00 ICC Cricket World 00:30 Trans World Sport 01:30 Golfing World 02:30 World Hockey 03:00 Total Rugby 03:30 Pro 12 Celtic League 05:30 ICC Cricket World 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Pro 12 Celtic League 09:00 Futbol Mundial 09:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 10:00 Rugby League 4 Nations 12:00 European Tour Weekly 12:30 Total Rugby 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 Futbol Mundial 14:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 15:00 Live Scottish Premier League 17:00 Total Rugby 17:30 Live Rugby Union International 19:30 Trans World Sport 20:30 Scottish Premier League 22:30 Live Premier League Snooker

00:30 01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 11:30 13:30 17:30 19:30 21:30

Total Rugby Pro 12 Celtic League Darts Grand Slam Rugby League 4 Nations European PGA Tour Pro 12 Celtic League Live European PGA Tour Scottish Premier League Rugby Union International Live Pro 12 Celtic League

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 14:00 14:30 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line UFC The Ultimate Fighter Intercontinental Le Mans Cup UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Extra Speedway Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Powerboats V8 Supercars Extra V8 Supercars UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line

00:05 01:00 02:00 02:55 03:25

How Do I Look?

Jerseylicious Videofashion Daily Videofashion News How Do I Look?

ALABAMA MOON ON OSN CINEMA

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

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Homes With Style Area Clean House Big Boutique Videofashion Daily Ruby Open House Videofashion Daily Videofashion News Videofashion News Elements Of Style Elements Of Style Big Rich Texas Jerseylicious How Do I Look?

Tia And Tamera Videofashion Daily Fashion Police Elements Of Style Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane

00:00 Globe Trekker 01:00 Glutton For Punishment 01:30 Glutton For Punishment 02:00 Intrepid Journeys 03:00 The Big Guide 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 Glutton For Punishment 06:30 Glutton For Punishment 07:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 09:30 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 10:00 Journey Into Wine-South Africa 10:30 Journey Into Wine-South Africa 11:00 Top Travel 11:30 Top Travel 12:00 Essential 12:30 Essential 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Food Tripper 15:00 That Crazy French Woman 16:00 Top Travel 16:30 Top Travel 17:00 Globe Trekker 18:00 The Blue Continent 19:00 Think Green 20:00 Globe Trekker 21:00 A Week In Poland 22:00 Globe Trekker 23:00 Wild Camping

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 01:40 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:10 03:30 04:30 05:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30 11:10 11:30 12:10 13:00 13:10 13:30 14:00 14:10 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:15 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:10 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00

BBC World News America World Football Focus BBC World News Sport Today Weekend World BBC World News America Horizons BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News Horizons BBC World News My Country BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News Middle East Business Report BBC World News Click BBC World News Weekend World BBC World News World Football Focus BBC World News The Firing Line BBC World News The Health Show Newsnight BBC World News Weekend World Talking Books BBC World News Talking Movies BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News World Features Horizons BBC World News Click BBC World News Final Score BBC World News

21:10 21:30 22:00 22:15 22:30 23:00 23:10 23:30

World Features My Country BBC World News Sport Today Fast Track BBC World News The Health Show Talking Movies

00:15 Samurai Jack 00:40 Megas XLR 01:05 Robotboy 01:30 Squirrel Boy 01:55 George Of The Jungle 02:20 Cramp Twins 02:45 Chop Socky Chooks 03:10 Best Ed 03:35 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 04:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:25 Generator Rex 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 05:40 Chowder 05:55 Powerpuff Girls 06:30 Ed, Edd n Eddy 06:55 I Am Weasel 07:20 Squirrel Boy 07:45 Cow & Chicken 08:00 The Life & Times Of Juniper Lee 08:04 Cow & Chicken 08:25 Powerpuff Girls 08:50 Cartoon Network Dance Club 09:05 Eliot Kid 09:30 Chowder 09:55 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 10:20 Adventure Time 10:45 The Amazing World Of Gumball 10:55 Cow & Chicken 11:30 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 11:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 12:20 Generator Rex 12:45 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 13:10 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 13:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge 14:00 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 14:25 Robotboy 14:50 I Am Weasel 15:15 Best Ed 15:40 Chowder 16:05 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 16:30 Courage The Cowardly Dog 16:55 Cow & Chicken 17:20 Adventure Time 17:45 Codename: Kids Next Door 18:10 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 18:35 Generator Rex 19:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 19:25 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 19:50 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 20:15 Adventure Time 20:40 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 21:05 Chowder

00:40 01:30 02:15 03:05 03:50 04:40 05:25 06:15 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:40 10:25 11:10 11:35 11:55 12:40 13:25 14:15 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:35 17:20 18:10 19:00 19:45 20:10 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases Ghost Lab Psychic Witness True CSI True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases Psychic Witness Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared Murder Shift Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn Disappeared The Haunted Ghost Lab

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WHAT’S ON

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Announcements Soorya India Fest Soorya Kuwait Chapter, will stage “Soorya India Fest 2011” on Thursday, December 01, at the American International School Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli, at 7 pm. Renowned artistes in different disciplines from India - Mohiniyattam (Gopika Varma), Jugalbandhi (Pt. Lalit Mohant (Tabla) Asit Goswamy (Sitar), Dr. Varsha Agarwal (Santhoor) and an odissi (Malabika, Isha, Lopamudra) - will stage a 2-hour breathtaking performance that will enthrall the art lovers of Kuwait, according to officials. For more details logon to sooryakuwait@yahoo.com Silsila Ye Chahat Ka Youth icon for the millions Shreya Ghoshal will be performing live in Kuwait on Friday, 9th Dec. 2011. ICS is now all set to present “Silsila Ye Chahat Ka” with Shreya Ghoshal at Al Jeel Al Jadeed School, Hawally. The mega evening is organised by Indian Cultural Society.

NAFO picnic - a day to remember

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ational Forum Kuwait (NAFO) organized its annual picnic on 6th November, 2011 at the Martyr’s Park ((Green Belt Garden) Sharq from 9.30 am onwards. NAFO President B.S. Pillai flagged off the day named “Ullassam” and welcomed all attendees, their families and friends to the fun filled day arranged by the Picnic Convener Anil Kumar and his team. Despite the day being cloudy with an on and off drizzle, there was a good turnout, and hats off to all who made it possible.

Picnic core committee evolved numerous group games such as Name the Word, Three Language Numbers, NAFO Family Relay, Straw Piercing, Housey, Kids Toy picking sprint etc., The climax of the day was the Women’s and Men’s Tugof- War , a real crowd puller. A delicious lunch arranged by Food Committee Convener Vijayan Nair at the venue was well enjoyed by one and all.

The day concluded with a gala prize distribution to all winning teams in the group games conducted during the day.

Upcoming events Aware Center Arabic lessons The AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Winter 1 Arabic language courses will begin on November 20th, 2011 until January 12th, 2012. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed and courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers & those working in the private business sector. Arabic classes at the AWARE Center are unique because students are provided with the chance to practice their Arabic through various social activities that aim at bringing Arabs and Westerners together.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight: l Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics l Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic l Combine language learning with cultural insights l Taught in multi-nationality group settings l Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

For more information or registration, call 25335260/80 ext 105/104/0 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw.

Kuwait Textile Arts Association (KTAA) The Kuwait Textile Arts Association (under the auspices of Sadu House) is a non-profit multinational organization which aims to bring together individuals interested in textiles and the fibre arts including appliquÈ, embroidery, knotting carpets, quilting, silk painting and weaving. Members include a number of talented decorative artists who hold classes throughout the year. Quilt Group: q8quilter@yahoo.com Yarn & Fiber Group: q8yarnandfibregroup@yahoo.com Contact: Joan Fisher Tel: 2390-3462 (English)/2243-2395 (Arabic) Email: wovenpieces@yahoo.com

Exhibition on healthcare The India Medical Tourism Destination (IMTD) exhibition and conference, which aims at promoting India as a global healthcare destination, is to take place on the 2nd & 3rd of November at the Hall No 7, Kuwait International Fair Grounds in Mishref. The two-day mega medical tourism exhibition and conference is being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Trident Exhibitions in collaboration with the Embassy of India, Kuwait and the Indian Doctors Forum, Kuwait.

BLS Winter Bazaar The BLS Winder Bazaar will be held on Saturday the 26th of November, from 10am to 4pm. The official opening will be at 1.30pm. Bigger and better than ever before, it will include over 80 tables of delightful gifts, unusual ideas and handmade items. It will be held in the Marble Arch area in the British School Kuwait campus, Salwa, Block 1, Street 1. Entry for visitors is free of charge!

NAFO once again is proud and thankful to all its esteemed members for having made this outdoor “Family Day”, a grand success.

Tulukoota talent hunt Tulukoota Kuwait will hold a “Talent Hunt 2011” a chance to prove an inborn trait in you that confirms your individuality, uniqueness. For more information and registration form kindly log on to our Website: www.tulukootakuwait.org or visit our facebook page Tulukoota Kuwait Talent Hunt 2011. You could also email your form request to: secretary@tulukootakuwait.org or contact our area coordinators mentioned below. Mangaf, Fahaheel, Abuhalifa : Ronald Dsouza- 60035824, Shalini Alva23726164, Suma Bhatt- 97834578 Salmiya & Hawally: Swarna Shetty- 99006934, Kripa Gatty- 66044194 Kuwait City, Jahra, Sharq: Rekha Sachu65044521,97862115 Farwaniya, Abbassiya, Shuwaikh & Khaitan: Sathyanarayana- 66585077 Sanath Shetty67712409.

Brain Bang Calling all students aged 11 and above, Support Group for Accelerated learning under the umbrella of FOCC (Friends of CRY Club, Kuwait), BRAIN-BANG invites you to join us in our fortnightly Friday Class from 11.45 am to 13.45 pm in Salmiya starting October 7th for the next 6 months. Successfully running for the seventh consecutive year.

Rak dance academy new year hangama-2012 The RAK Dance Academy (RDA) Kuwait, is planning to put a charity event as celebration of its New Year Hangama 2012, on 31st December, 2011, from 6.00pm onwards, at Carmel School Khaitan. All participants are well known artists from Kuwait. The main purpose of this celebration is to collect donations and raise money for supporting handicapped children in India.

Advertisement will be published throughout Kuwait absolutely free of charge. We are expecting huge crowd for this event. The fund raised will be beneficial handicapped children. In order to make this event joyous and successful we are seeking kind contributions from you. Your attendance is your donation. Please join for an evening for a good cause. Darla Srinivasulu Achari, 99 692266; Mob: 65728740 K. Eswar Babu, Phone 99692266, Lashmeesha 65925730 Email: rakdanceacademy@gmail.com

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WHAT’S ON

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Embassy Information Embassy of Guyana

The Embassy of Guyana informs all nationals of Guyana residing in Kuwait and GCC countries that Presidential, Parliamentary and Regional elections will be held in Guyana on Monday 28 November. For upto-date information on the election resu1ts, which will begin to be available on the morning of 29 November (Kuwait time), please check the Guyana Embassy’s website located at www.guvana.org. The Guyana Embassy is located in Mubarak Abdullah Al Jaber, West Mishref (Block 3, Street 321, Villa 3). The telephone number is 25397939. nnnnnnn

Embassy of Republic of Korea The Embassy of the Republic of Korea will be closed from Nov 25 to Dec 3, 2011 while moving to the recently completed new premises in the Diplomatic Zone in Mishref from Nov 25 to Dec 3, 2011. All Consular Section services will be suspended to the public.

For emergency cases, the Embassy can be contacted via email: Kuwait@mofat.go.kr Valaikuda Vanambadi Poets Association organized its annual celebration “Mannisai Kalai Vizha 2011” on Thursday 24th Nov at the American International School. The chief guests were Tamil cinema lyricist Kalaimamani Kavingar Kabilan, folk singers Thirumathi, Thanjai Selvi, and Thiru.

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EMBASSY OF BRAZIL

Happy birthday

Sahara Kuwait Resort organizes golf club championship

The Embassy of Brazil requests all Brazilian citizens in Kuwait to proceed to the website www.brazil.org.kw (Contact Us Form / Fale Conosco) in order to register or update contact information. The Embassy encourages all citizens to do so, including the ones who have already registered in person at the Embassy. The registration process helps the Brazilian Government to contact and assist Brazilians living abroad in case of any emergency. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GERMANY

T H

appy birthday dearest Sasidhar Yadav Nuthayti. May God bless you always. Greetings from your loving parents Sasi Sankar - brothers Pranadeep & Sidharatha & grandparents N. Sidhaiah & N. Narayanamma.

Birthday wishes to A.M.H. Nazeem.

From friends and well wishers.

he Sahara Kuwait Resort organized The Yearly Golf Club Championship on 18th and 19th November 2011. A total of 127 Golfer from different nationalities participated in the event - “Kuwaiti, Koreans, South African, US, Japanese, Canadian, British and others entered and enjoyed 2 days of very competitive golf. The condition of the golf course was excellent and the course set up proved to be very challenging, a closing ceremony was held at the Sahara Lounge with sumptuous buffet dinner with life music played, distribution of the prizes which was sponsored by Burgan Bank.

The results winners were as follows: MEN CLUB CHAMPION: Paul Larner 150 gross(defended his title) LADIES CLUB CHAMPION: Sarah Kim 163 gross.

Over-All Best Nett MEN - Richard Hoyes 139 Nett Over-All Best Nett Ladies Winner J. Y. Lee - 141 Nett Runner-Up - H. J. Lee - 146 Nett A DIVISION: Luis Saurez 144nett B DIVISION: Farruk Waheed 141 nett C DIVISION: Ali Ansari 145 nett Best Nett - Saturday -Parag Patel - 71 nett Best Nett - Friday -Sanday Mladenka - 64 nett l Sultan Gallery: As the first venue of its kind in Kuwait, Sultan Gallery believes in the power of art as a medium of meaningful expression. Founders Ghazi Sultan, and the late Najat Sultan, envisioned a gallery that would serve as a platform for Arab artists to showcase their most inspired work. Empowered by the mission to forge cultural understanding and artistic appreciation in Kuwait, Sultan Gallery has spent 40 years exhibiting both the most visionary artists and thought provoking themes. Sultan Gallery showcases artists that explore the breadth of creative expression - from the traditional painting to the contemporary audio and visual installation. Sultan Gallery enriches the Kuwaiti cultural scene with its passion for art as a vehicle of cultural understanding through visual language. Email: sultangallery@sadeer.com Location: Sabhan, Sadeer Co, Block B, Street 105, Building 168

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy.

We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area Block 6 - Street 9 - Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax- 25387719.

Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk

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Chinese company rules out Scorpios and Virgos Scorpios, Virgos are ‘too moody and critical’

AL-DURUTA: Sudan’s gum arabic producer seen in Al-Duruta, a village in North Koforfan. —AFP

Gum arabic, would-be panacea for Sudan’s problems AL-DURUTA: Since he was 14, Al-Amin has tapped gum arabic, the resin of an acacia tree that thrives in Sudan’s conflict states “manna” from heaven for some, a key ingredient in Coca-Cola for others. But the low price he gets has made the 40-year-old farmer from North Kordofan consider cutting his trees down, selling the wood as charcoal and reluctantly contributing to the desertification of central Sudan, to feed his wife and seven children.

“The producer has needs ... He doesn’t have any alternative but to look to his farm and think about how much he will get if he chops down his trees,” says Al-Amin. Sudan’s vast woodland savanna, or gum arabic belt, stretches from the border with Ethiopia in the east to Chad in the west, providing the ideal habitat for the two gum arabic producing acacia trees, known as Talha and Hashab. They are most prevalent in the war-torn states of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and South Darfur.

Issam Siddig, a pioneer of Sudan’s gum arabic industry, has a messianic belief in the medicinal properties of this little-known commodity. He says it could transform the lives of Sudanese farmers, reverse the march of the desert and even halt the conflict in South Darfur, by persuading fighters to swap their guns for tapping tools, if its real value were only recognized. Abdelmagid Ghadir, the secretary general of Sudan’s Gum Arabic Board, agrees. “We believe gum arabic is the manna given by God, bread from heaven ... But our people, the farmers, consider it to be a very marginal crop,” he says.

Around 13 million people are thought to live in Sudan’s savanna belt, five million of whom are directly active in the business of the forest, whether collecting gum arabic, or chopping down the trees and growing crops in their place. Siddig blames four Western companies, which he claims have a stranglehold over the business, for marginalizing the crop. He claims they have created a “users monopoly”, keeping gum arabic classified as an emulsifier, by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), used mainly in soft drinks under the acronym E414 to prevent sugar from crystallizing.

This has frustrated Sudan’s efforts to develop and sell it as a natural “prebiotic,” which stimulates the growth of healthy bacteria in the stomach. “Being an emulsifier, the price cannot be more than $2 per kilo. But if we position it as a natural prebiotic, the price should be $100 per kilo,” Siddig insists. “You are classifying a ‘superfood’, very vital for health and for medicine ... as E414, as a useless material.” Philippe Vialatte, deputy director of French firm Nexira, formerly CNI, which buys and processes about 50 percent of Sudan’s gum arabic exports, denies the industry is controlled by a handful of players. —AFP

Wild turkey crashes into the dining room PENN HILLS: A wild turkey smashed through a plate glass window at an empty western Pennsylvania restaurant and ended up where millions of its fellow gobblers did on Thanksgiving: a dining room. Penn Hills police Officer Bernard Sestili tells the WTAE-TV the feathered fowl didn’t survive impact when it barreled into the dining room of the Eat’n Park in Penn Hills on Thursday afternoon. The restaurant was closed at the time. Sestili says he responded when the building’s alarm went off. He suspects the turkey may have been roosting in a nearby tree when it “got up this morning and went for his morning flight and flew into the window.”

Penn Hills is about 10 miles outside Pittsburgh.—AP

BEIJING: A Chinese firm has decided Scorpios and Virgos are too moody and critical, telling job seekers with those star signs they need not apply. Capricorns, Pisces and Libras, on the other hand, are welcome. The unusual requirements are part of a job ad posted at a university in the central city of Wuhuan by an English language training company, and have generated a storm of online controversy since they were uncovered this week.

“We don’t want Scorpios or Virgos, and Capricorns, Pisces and Libras will be prioritized,” the job spec reads, according to the Chutian Metropolis Daily, a local newspaper in Wuhan.

The report quoted a woman in charge at the unnamed firm as saying she had done research and found Scorpios had strong personalities and were moody, while Virgos were hugely critical and did

not stay in one job for long. “I hired people with those two star signs before, and they either liked quarrelling with colleagues or they could not do the job for long,” the woman, surnamed Xia, said.

The report did not mention why the other three star signs were better for the positions advertised-teachers and clerksbut quoted another example of similar discrimination in the same city.

A student called Qi Qin, whose star sign is Cancer, applied for a job with a wedding company two months ago, but was sacked because “Aquarius and Scorpios are more suited to the job,” the report said. “Qi Qin pointed out that her star sign was not something she could decide,” it added. The story has gone viral on the Internet, with commentators ridiculing what they say is blatant employment discrimination.

“So now they look at your star sign when you apply for a job. I’m a Scorpio, so I’m doomed to go beg on the streets with a bag,” one person said on Sina’s popular Twitter-like weibo service. “I’m a gorgeous Leo, so do I stand more of a chance in applying for leadership positions?” another wrote. This is not the first time that unusual job requirements have sparked controversy in China. State media reported in 2004 that one of the requirements for women applying to join the civil service in the central province of Hunan was for their “two breasts to be symmetrical.” It is unclear why this was required, but news reports quoted local officials as saying the rule would soon be abolished, adding that no candidate had been rejected for that reason.— AFP

FUJAIRAH: Seagulls fly over fishermen as they pull their net out of the sea in the emirate of Fujairah. — AFP

Prehistoric man ‘mastered’ the art of deep-sea fishing SYDNEY: Australian archaeologists have uncovered evidence that prehistoric humans living 42,000 years ago mastered the art of deep-sea fishing, they revealed yesterday. They also found the world’s earliest recorded fish hook, made of shell and dating from between 23,000 and 16,000 years ago, during excavations at the Jerimalai cave site in East Timor.

The findings, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, stem from work done by Professor Sue O’Connor from the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University.

She said it demonstrated prehistoric man had high-level maritime skills, and by implication the technology needed to make the ocean crossings to reach Australia. “The site that we studied featured more than 38,000 fish bones from 2,843 individual fish dating back 42,000 years,” O’Connor said, with many of the fish deep-sea species. “What the site in East Timor has shown us is that early

modern humans in island Southeast Asia had amazingly advanced maritime skills. “They were expert at catching the types of fish that would be challenging even today-fish like tuna. It’s a very exciting find.”

A fish hook was also found at the site, but O’Connor said was not likely to have been used for deep-sea fishing. “This is, we believe, the earliest known example of a fish hook and shows that our ancestors were skilled crafts people as well as fishers,” she said. “The hooks don’t seem suitable for pelagic fishing, but it is possible that other types of hooks were being made at the same time.” What is still unknown is exactly how these ancient people were able to catch fast-moving deep-ocean fish. Tuna can be caught using nets or by trolling hooks on long lines through the water, said O’Connor.

“Simple fish aggregating devices such as tethered logs can also be used to attract them. So they may have been

caught using hooks or nets,” she said.

“Either way it seems certain that these people were using quite sophisticated technology and watercraft to fish offshore.” She added that the finds may shed light on how Australia’s first inhabitants arrived on the continent, with the implication that seaworthy boats would have been used to fish in the deep ocean.

“We have known for a long time that Australia’s ancient ancestors must have been able to travel hundreds of kilometers by sea because they reached Australia by at least 50,000 years ago,” said O’Connor. “When we look at the watercraft that indigenous Australians used at the time of European contact, however, they are all very simple, like rafts and canoes. “So how people got here at such an early date has always been puzzling. These new finds from Jerimalai cave go a long way to solving the puzzle.”— AFP

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Developing economies see no escape from coal LEPHALALE: Concrete towers rise over the African bush, as the continent’s largest coal-fired power station takes shape in a multi-billiondollar testament to developing nations’ love affair with coal. South Africa, like China and India, has large domestic coal supplies that provide a cheap source of energy to meet an ever-growing demand. But they have also driven the three nations to the top ranks of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, a key driver of climate change. The three nations are among the world’s top five producers of coal, which generates 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity, 70 percent in China, and 55 percent in India.

Collectively they are pouring tens of billion of dollars into new coal plants, while also pushing ahead with plans for nuclear and renewable energies. “These days coal has become something like a swear word. No one likes it, but the country needs electricity,” said Cornelis van der Waal, a South African energy analyst from Frost and Sullivan consultancy. “Everyone would love clean energy but coal is cheap and at this stage this is what the country can afford,” he said.

South Africa plans to double its energy supply over the next 20 years, but despite ambitious proposals for renewable and nuclear power coal will still make up 65 percent of the mix.

The 125-billion-rand ($14.8 billion, 11 billion euro) Medupi station outside the northern town of Lephalale will be the fourth-largest in the world, expected to go online in two years, with the equally large Kusile station already under construction. Medupi is touted as Africa’s first “supercritical” coal plant, using higher temperatures that produce more energy from less coal, while emitting less ash and carbon dioxide. The plant will also have bag filters to trap more emissions. China is also pressing ahead with new carbon capture and storage technology that would trap carbon dioxide underground, which South Africa and India say remains a distant prospect for them.

One scheme is being built in Inner Mongolia by state-owned China Shenhua Group, which plans to pump liquefied carbon dioxide underground in a desert, where it could be stored for 1,000 years.

China has not revealed the cost or extent of its power expansion but plans to bring coal down to 63 percent of its energy mix by 2015.

India, on the other hand, expects coal to grow to 65 percent of its supply by 2030. It has built 55 coal-fired plants since 2007, and plans another 100 over the next decade, the coal ministry says.

Environmental activists complain that nations are not doing enough to develop renewable energy sources, and pile particular scorn on South Africa, as the host of UN climate talks that begin Monday in Durban. “Renewable energy beats coal in every context, and building the colossal coal-fired power stations is absurd in the face of the catastrophic effects of climate change,” said Melita Steele, Greenpeace Africa climate campaigner. “There are no environmentally acceptable ways of burning coal. —AFP

Chevron oil spill a wake-up call for Brazil RIO DE JANEIRO: An oil spill off Brazil’s coast is a wake-up call for the country’s ability to deal with major oil emergencies as it prepares to tap potentially huge deep-water reserves, analysts said. US oil giant Chevron Corporation said Thursday it had suspended its current and future drilling operations off Rio de Janeiro state after the oil slick traced to a 1,200-meter (4,000-foot) deep well it operated. Brazilian authorities say the spill is now under control, and that it has been reduced to two square kilometers.

Chevron Africa and Latin America chief Ali Moshiri also said “the incident is under control” after meeting with Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao. “This is a wake-up call for us. Today, only one well is involved. The ‘subsalts’ (deep-sea reserves) will have 1,000. We must draw the lessons,” Rio state’s environment secretary Carlos Minc told foreign reporters Wednesday. The subsalt fields, which national oil agency ANP says have reserves that could surpass 100 billion barrels of high-quality recoverable oil, are off the country’s southeast Atlantic coast beneath vast expanses of ocean, bedrock and hot salt beds.

Brazilian authorities want the Chevron accident to serve as an example and the firm now faces a slew of fines from federal and Rio state authorities that together could exceed $145 million. “The law allows foreign firms to search for and to tap the oil. But we are not a banana republic... We are the world’s seventh-biggest economy and we want technologies” that provide increased protection, Minc said. On Wednesday, Brazil suspended Chevron’s drilling rights nationwide until safety conditions have been restored and it identifies the cause and culprits of the spill.

It also turned down the company’s request to tap the subsalt deep-sea reserves. “The Chevron accident shows that it is not easy to extract oil from the sea,” said Adriano Pires, head of the Brazilian Infrastructure Center. —AFP

LEPHALALE: A photo shows the 125-billion-rand ($14.8 billion, 11 billion euro) Medupi station outside the northern South African town of Lephalale. The plant will be the fourth-largest in the world and is expected to go online in two years. Medupi is touted as Africa’s first “supercritical” coal plant, using higher temperatures that produce more energy from less coal, while emitting less ash and carbon dioxide.— AFP

Doctor brain drain costs Africa $2bn US, Canada, Britain, Australia benefit most LONDON: Sub-Saharan African countries that invest in training doctors have ended up losing $2 billion as the expert clinicians leave home to find work in more prosperous developed nations, researchers said yesterday. A study by Canadian scientists found that South Africa and Zimbabwe suffer the worst economic losses due to doctors emigrating, while Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States benefit the most from recruiting doctors trained abroad. The scientists, led by Edward Mills, chair of global health at the University of Ottawa, called on destination countries to recognize this imbalance and invest more in training and developing health systems in the countries that lose out.

“Many wealthy destination countries, which also train fewer doctors than are required, depend on immigrant doctors to make up the shortfall,” Mills’ team wrote in a study, which was published in the British Medical Journal. “Developing countries are effectively paying to train staff who then support the health services of developed countries.” Experts say the migration, or “brain drain”, of trained health workers from poorer countries to richer ones exacerbates the problem of already weak health systems in low-income countries battling epidemics of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

The World Health Organization adopted a code of practice in 2010 on international recruitment of health personnel that highlighted the problem of doctor brain drains and called on wealthy countries to offer financial help to poorer ones affected.

The code is seen as particularly important for sub-Saharan Africa, which suffers from a critical shortage of doctors and has a

high prevalence of diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria.

The latest United Nations global HIV/AIDS report released on Monday found that 68 percent of the around 34 million people worldwide who have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS live in Africa. Using various data including published reports on primary and secondary school spending from UNESCO, Mills’ team estimated the cost of educating a doctor through primary, secondary and medical school in nine subSaharan countries with some of the world’s highest rates of HIV. The countries studied included Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and

Zimbabwe. The research team then added the figures together to estimate how much the origin countries paid to train doctors and how much the destination countries saved in employing them.

The results show that these governments spend between $21,000, the figure for Uganda, and $59,000, in South Africa, to train a doctor, only to see them in many cases migrate to richer countries. “Among the nine sub-Saharan African countries most affected by HIV/AIDS, more than $2 billion of investment was lost through the emigration of trained doctors,” the researchers said. “Our results indicate that South Africa incurs the highest costs for medical education and the greatest lost returns on investment.” —Reuters

Oil sands operator uncovers dinosaur OTTAWA: A heavy equipment operator unearthed what appears to be a nearly complete plesiosaur while digging in Canada’s oil sands, Syncrude announced Thursday. The fossil was discovered on November 14 and is now being examined by Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology scientists who aim to have it removed by the end of the week, the company said in a statement. “This is a very rare find,” said the museum’s Don Brinkman. “It’s a long necked plesiosaur, which is a marine reptile with a very long neck, small head and short body. “The last one that was recovered was 10 years ago; it was recognized as a new kind and given the name Wapuskanectes.”

When she discovered the bones, operator Maggy Horvath said she immediately stopped digging and told a Syncrude geologist who works with the Royal Tyrrell on fossil discoveries. “It felt pretty good to call my son and let him know that I found a prehistoric fossil while working in the mine,” she said. Canada’s oil sands are the third-largest oil reserve in the world, located in an area that was once part of a prehistoric sea. This is the 10th fossil to be discovered on Syncrude leases. The last one found in 2000 was 110 million years old and declared to be one of the most complete Cretaceous Ichthyosaurs of its age ever discovered in North America.— AFP

CLASSIFIEDS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

ACCOMMODATION G A hippopotamus yawning is actually a warning to stay away! They kill more people in Africa than any other wild animal.

G The Nile crocodile sometimes eats stones — they help the crocodile stay on the bottom of the river or water hole when it stalks its prey.

“I like his music and I like him.

And I thought, why not have a street in my hometown named after my favorite singer?”

— Caroline Gonzalez, 11, on naming a street in Forney, Texas, after Justin Bieber when she was appointed “mayor for a day,” to E! Online.

— World Almanac for Kids

BY AIDAN KRUMHOLZ, FRANCESCA MOLLO, DANIELLE FERRANDINO SCHWARTZ AND VICTORIA ZEMAN Newsday

We met Australian singer Cody Simpson before a recent concert in Manhattan to ask him a few questions.

Q: When you write music do you like writing

about what’s going on in your life?

CODY: I do. I like to write about lots of things in real life that people can relate to.

Q: What has been your weirdest

run-in with a fan?

CODY: I have lots and lots of weird experiences. This sounds weird, but some of my concerts have been kind of dangerous sometimes. I’ve had a few girls actually sent to the hospital because they faint and all that kind of stuff, which is really, really weird to me. ... I’m not sure, but I guess they’re enjoying it.

Q: How was it to work with Flo Rida, Justin

Timberlake, Bieber and Jessica Jarell?

CODY: They’re all very nice people. ... Actually I haven’t worked with Justin Timberlake yet. But I spent the most time with Jessica Jarrell and Flo Rida.

Flo Rida was on the first song I put out “iYiYi.” It was super cool (working with) Flo Rida ... I guess you can say he’s a bit of (a) gentle giant. He’s definitely real tough and he’s very tall, but he’s a real nice guy and very talented at that.

Jessica Jarrell is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and she, the same with Flo Rida, they’re very talented people and Justin is too.

Q:

What is the hardest part of performing in front of a crowd?

CODY: I don’t really think there’s a hard part of performing in front of a crowd. ... It’s hard to explain what it feels like unless you’ve actually been up there and done it. ... It’s lots of fun.

Q: Are you in school?

CODY: I am. I do school (work) every day for about 3-4 hours when I’m not performing or recording. I have my tutor that travels with me everywhere I go.

Q: We saw that you won

two gold medals at the Queensland swimming championships and that you prequalified for the 2012 summer Olympics. Do you still want to compete?

CODY: That is still a big dream of mine. Swimming is definitely a big passion ... It was a hard decision to move to the U.S. to get into music, but I was grateful I had two choices and many things to do.

Q: Do you think

you sound different because of your accent?

CODY: No. My accent fades away I guess when I sing.

It’s real weird. I guess singing is pretty much a universal language, like you sing however everyone else sings, and that’s with an American accent. I sound very different when I talk.

Q:

What is your favorite song?

CODY: It is “On My Mind,” which is the new single.

Q: Would you like to be acting?

Q: Is it true you

CODY: Definitely. As soon as I make a name for myself in the music industry and as soon as I get my album out there, I definitely want to start branching out to other things like acting.

broke into the music business by posting songs on YouTube?

CODY: It is. I posted songs when I was 12. ...

It was definitely a cool experience having a music producer discover me on YouTube. It was just for fun. It was my friend that posted the video. It wasn’t really something I planned to do, but it just happened.

Q:

How do you feel about being compared to Justin Bieber?

CODY: I met Justin many times. He’s a really nice guy.

Very supportive of me and I’m a big fan of his. I guess it’s flattering because he’s been real successful. I come from the beach. So there’s a bit of a difference.

Q: Which celebrity

Q: Is there a favorite

word of advice someone has given you?

CODY: My dad pretty much told me to treat others like you want to be treated. And I know that’s a very popular quote, but I feel like it really helps.

P H OTO C O U R T E S Y O F C O DY S I M P S O N . C O M

do you look up to?

CODY: I’d say Justin Timberlake only because he started when he was 14. And ... I’m 14 right now and I’m beginning. He’s had such a long career and he’s never done anything bad, anything to ruin or slow down his career.

Healthy treat: Super smoothies These three frozen drinks make a healthy mid-afternoon snack or after-dinner indulgence.

For each one, place the ingredients listed in a blender and combine until smooth.

— Disney FamilyFun magazine

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Sept. 15 to Oct. 15

From mid-September through mid-October, America recognizes the contributions, culture and heritage of Hispanic Americans. The monthlong celebration began Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence for five Hispanic countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico achieved independence on Sept. 16 and Chile on Sept. 18.

35 million Number of U.S. residents, age 5 and older, who spoke Spanish at home in 2009.

HONORING ‘THE DAY OF THE RACE’

The celebration extends into October to mark “El Dia de la Raza,” or “The Day of the Race,” on Oct. 12.

El Dia de la Raza is observed throughout most of Mexico and Latin America. The day celebrates the many nationalities present in the history of Mexico, Central 20 percent America and South AmerPercentage of ica. These nationalities inHispanic elementary and clude Native Americans high school such as the Mayas, Aztecs students and Incas; and European in 2009. nationalities such as Spanish, Portuguese and French.

HISPANIC HERITAGE HISTORY

Hispanic people were among the earliest European settlers in the New World, what is today the United States. Hispanic Americans have roots in Europe, Africa, and South and Central America and close cultural ties to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America and Spain.

Today, the Hispanic or Latino population in the U.S. is estimated at 50.5 million people. According to the U.S. Census, the country’s Hispanic population grew by 43 percent from 2000 to 2010, making it the largest and the fastest growing minority group in the country.

FAMOUS HISPANIC AMERICANS

From sports to government to entertainment and science, Hispanic Americans have played important roles in America’s MCT P H OTO S history, its values and culture.

They include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (above), baseball star Alex Rodriguez (left), journalist Geraldo Rivera, astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Ellen Ochoa, authors Isabel Allende and Julia Alvarez, and actors George Lopez, America Ferrera and Selena Gomez (right). As of 2002, more than 63,000 Hispanics were on active duty in the Armed Forces according to the U.S. Census.

EVERYONE CAN CELEBRATE

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated with community festivals, government gatherings and educational activities. Many schools celebrate the month by learning about contributions of Hispanic Americans both past and present. © 2011 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

A figure of a different color WATERMELON BATIDO 3 cups frozen seedless watermelon chunks

BANANA-HONEY SMOOTHIE 1 banana

+

MANGO LASSI 1 small, ripe mango

+

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup ice

1 cup ice

( S E RV E S 3 )

( S E RV E S 2 )

( S E RV E S 2 )

+

+ +

+ +

Here’s a unique blank slate to express your creativity: 4-inch-tall, posable, funky white plastic figurines. The Color Blanks sets come with permanent markers and stickers so you can jump right into the personalization. Ages 6 and up.

RoseArt, $5 to $10.

— Disney FamilyFun

magazine

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information SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR KLM JZR ETH THY PIA UAE QTR OMA DHX MSR FDB ETD GFA THY BBC DHX JZR JZR FAH KAC BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA JZR RKM IRC IRM MSR JZR KAC GFA MSR FDB MSR UAL VOS QTR KNE SVA RJA KAC KAC JZR LMU QTR KNE JZR IRC ETD JZR UAE KAC SYR CLX GFA SVA

Arrival Flights on Saturday 26/11/2011 Flt Route 185 DUBAI 447 AMSTERDAM/BAHRAIN 539 CAIRO 620 ADDIS ABABA 772 ISTANBUL 239 SIALKOT 853 DUBAI 138 DOHA 641 MUSCAT 370 BAHRAIN 612 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 211 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 137 DHAKA 170 BAHRAIN 503 LUXOR 555 ALEXANDRIA 201 DOHA 416 JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR 157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 352 COCHIN 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 531 ASSIUT 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 344 CHENNAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 165 DUBAI 310 RAS ALKHAIMAH 6807 SHIRAZ 5066 MASHAD 610 CAIRO 201 DAMASCUS 672 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 621 ASSIUT 57 DUBAI 606 LUXOR 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 93 KANDAHAR/DUBAI 140 DOHA 745 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 640 AMMAN 562 AMMAN 786 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 611 ALEXANDRIA 134 DOHA 839 JEDDAH/MEDINAH 535 CAIRO 6791 MASHAD 303 ABU DHABI 357 MASHAD 857 DUBAI 118 NEW YORK 341 DAMASCUS 792 LUXEMBOURG 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH

Time 0:20 0:30 0:50 1:45 2:15 2:20 2:35 2:40 2:50 2:55 3:00 3:05 3:10 3:15 4:50 5:00 5:15 5:55 6:00 6:15 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:50 7:50 7:55 8:00 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:55 11:20 11:45 12:35 12:40 12:55 13:00 13:20 13:25 13:30 13:50 13:55 14:05 14:15 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:40 14:45 14:50 15:00 15:10 15:25 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:50 16:50 16:55 16:55 17:00 17:15 17:15 17:20

ABY JZR RBG KAC ALK JZR FDB KAC KAC QTR JZR KAC IRA KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI OMA AIC KAC MSR DHX KNE MEA GFA QTR UAE JZR KLM KAC FDB JZR UAL AXB BBC DLH

127 777 3561 550 227 177 63 502 542 6130 125 618 607 674 178 104 774 572 647 975 788 619 372 789 402 217 136 859 135 445 614 61 239 981 393 43 636

SHARJAH JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA SOHAG/SHARM EL SHEIKH COLOMBO/DUBAI DUBAI DUBAI BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA BAHRAIN DOHA MASHAD DUBAI GENEVA/FRANKFURT LONDON RIYADH MUMBAI MUSCAT CHENNAI/GOA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN JEDDAH BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM BAHRAIN DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE/COCHIN DHAKA FRANKFURT

Airlines PIA UAL AIC JZR DLH KLM ETH THY PIA FDB UAE OMA DHX MSR ETD QTR THY BBC JZR GFA JZR FDB BAW KAC JZR JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY KAC FDB

Departure Flights on Saturday 26/11/2011 Flt Route 216 KARACHI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 976 GOA/CHENNAI 530 ASSIUT 637 FRANKFURT 447 AMSTERDAM 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL 240 SIALKOT/ISLAMABAD 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 642 MUSCAT 371 BAHRAIN 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 138 JEDDAH 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 200 DAMASCUS 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 671 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 534 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 785 JEDDAH 101 LONDON/NEW YORK 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 549 SOHAG/SHARM EL SHEIKH 56 DUBAI

17:40 17:45 17:50 18:00 18:10 18:15 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:20 21:25 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:05 22:05 22:15 22:45 23:00 23:40 23:45 23:50

Time 0:30 0:45 0:50 1:15 1:20 1:45 2:45 3:15 3:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 3:55 4:00 4:00 4:55 5:50 6:15 6:55 7:00 7:30 8:25 8:40 9:00 9:00 9:15 9:20 9:25 9:35 9:40 9:45 10:00 10:05

QTR ETD GFA JZR KAC KAC JZR RKM KAC IRC JZR MSR IRM GFA MSR FDB MSR KAC KNE UAL RJA KAC JZR KAC LMU SVA KAC QTR KAC KNE JZR IRC ETD JZR QTR SYR UAE GFA ABY RBG SVA CLX JZR KAC JZR ALK FDB JZR KAC IRA QTR DHX KAC KAC JAI OMA KNE MSR DHX KAC MEA GFA KAC FAH QTR KAC JZR UAE KAC KAC KLM FDB JZR KAC

133 302 214 356 165 541 776 311 501 6808 176 611 5065 220 622 58 607 673 746 982 641 617 124 787 612 505 773 141 153 840 238 6792 304 538 135 342 858 216 128 3563 511 792 266 613 134 228 64 184 283 616 6131 171 331 351 571 648 790 619 373 675 403 218 381 102 137 301 554 860 543 205 445 62 528 411

DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MASHAD ROME/PARIS CAIRO JEDDAH RAS ALKHAIMAH BEIRUT SHIRAZ DUBAI CAIRO MASHAD BAHRAIN ASSIUT DUBAI LUXOR DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN AMMAN DOHA BAHRAIN JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH RIYADH DOHA ISTANBUL JEDDAH AMMAN MASHAD ABU DHABI CAIRO DOHA DAMASCUS DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH ASSIUT RIYADH HONG KONG BEIRUT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI/COLOMBO DUBAI DUBAI DHAKA AHWAZ DOHA BAHRAIN TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUMBAI MUSCAT JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DELHI BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ALEXANDRIA DUBAI CAIRO ISLAMABAD BAHRAIN/AMSTERDAM DUBAI ASSIUT BANGKOK/MANILA

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

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

To Yester

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday始s Solution

C R O S S W O R D

5 0 9

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

ACROSS

1. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

5. Tall perennial herb of tropical Asia with dark green leaves.

10. Hormone released by the hypothalamus that controls the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone from the anterior pituitary.

13. An opening into or through something.

14. An uproarious party.

15. A column of light (as from a beacon).

16. Jordan's port.

18. Hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella.

19. The basic unit of electric current adopted under the System International d'Unites.

20. Italian painter and art historian (1511-1574).

22. A Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea. 24. An associate degree in nursing.

25. Do away with.

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

30. An important seaport on the Island of Cebu in the Philippines.

33. Genus of Eurasian spiny shrubs.

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

37. Precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents.

38. United States astronomer (1835-1909).

41. A state in the eastern United States.

43. A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium.

44. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

45. A large fleet.

48. (informal) Very bad.

49. A mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern Asia.

50. Open to change.

54. Follower of Rastafarianism.

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

60. A resource.

61. The force of workers available.

62. Go away from the surface to which it is adsorbed, of a substance.

64. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

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

66. Tropical African herbs.

67. Having leadership guidance.

DOWN 1. An Indian tree of the family Combretaceae that is a source of timber and gum.

2. A family of Amerindian languages spoken in California.

3. By bad luck.

4. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

5. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali metal group.

6. (Judaism) Sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.

7. A starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant.

8. A member of a people living in southern Benin and Togo and southeastern Ghana.

9. Fragrant resin obtain from trees of the family Burseraceae and used as incense.

10. Membranous tube with cartilaginous rings that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to the bronchi.

11. Avatar of Vishnu.

12. A compound used as a fixing agent in photographic developing.

17. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

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

23. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (18801957).

26. Unwisely talking too much.

27. Immature of its kind.

28. Suggestive of or tending to moral looseness.

31. Warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings.

32. The inner and longer of the two bones of the human forearm.

34. Towards the side away from the wind.

35. Being three more than ninety.

39. Block passage through.

40. A recognizable kind.

42. A bitter yellow powder used to treat skin diseases.

46. Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand.

47. Attack someone physically or emotionally.

51. In bed.

52. An unofficial association of people or groups.

53. Neither warm or very cold.

55. The periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon.

56. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

58. A unit of pressure.

59. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons to produce proton density images.

63. The square of a body of any size of type.

Yesterday始s Solution

SPORTS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

14th CETAA Cricket - NSS, AECK, & TEC win on opening day KUWAIT: The 14th Prof Ramachandran Memorial Cricket Tournament (RMC) conducted

by College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Association (CETAA) and sponsored by GTE Olayan Co began on 18th November 2011 Ahmadi. The tournament was inaugurated by Jacob Philip, President, CETAA. The Chief Guest for the occasion Marwan Haffar, General Manager, GTE Olayan Co spoke about GTE’s commitment to sponsor the tournament for the 14th straight year.

In the 1st match, batting 1st NSS lost wickets at regular intervals to be 43 for 5 in 9 overs. But an explosive 61 runs partnership in 3 overs between Sachin (35 - man of the match) and Praveen (41) changed the complexion of the game. With brilliant support from Shafeel (29 no) NSS finished on an imposing 142 for 8 in their 15 overs. George and Jose took 2 wickets while Avinash, Sunand and Zamir took a wicket each for CET. In reply, CET lost wickets at crucial intervals with only Sunand (38) and Krishnakumar (26) putting up a noteworthy challenge. Deepak (4 wickets), Aneesh & Shafeel (2 wickets) each were the wicket takers leaving CET 131 all out with 3 balls left and NSS ran out winners by 11 runs.

The 2nd match saw KEA, batting 1st, facing an uphill task against last year’s winners AECK with runs hard to come by. Only Shiva (29) could put up a stiff resistance against the tight AECK bowling and fielding with KEA ending up with a none too impressive 93 for 8 wickets in their 15 overs.

For AECK, Vinod and Mahesh took 2 wickets and Munaz 1 wicket. In reply, AECK found the going tough and were only 61 for 4 after 11 overs. But Vinod (23 not out - man of the match) and Shabeer (18 not out) ensured there were no hiccups in the end with AECK winning by 6 wickets with 2.2 overs to spare. For KEA, Biju took 2 wickets with Anish and Jim taking a wicket each.

The 3rd match of the day saw MACE and NIT

engage in a see-saw battle. Batting 1st MACE was helped primarily by Aju (55) and George (28) to put up an impressive 144 for 6 off their 15 overs. For NIT Baiju (2 wickets) and David, Jacob and Brijith (1 wicket each) were the wicket takers. In reply, NIT got off to a blazing start with

wickets) fought valiantly for MACE but honours were shared in the end.

In the last match of the day between former champs, TEC scored 103 for 6 wickets with the innings being dominated by Gireesh (50 - man of the match) well supported by Sunil Chandran

Ravindra taking 26 runs in the opening over.

With Sandeep (60 - man of the match) getting splendid support from David Moti (27), excitement reached fever pitch in the dying stages with both teams going neck and neck.

But NIT seemed to have sealed the match with only 2 runs needed off the last over. But a brilliant over from Rohan with only a single conceded left the match tied - the 1st one in the history of the tournament. Radha and Sandeep (2

(19). For TKM Sreekumar (2 wickets) and Ziyad, Anfar, Mukesh (1 wicket each) helped restrict TEC to a moderate score.

In reply, the pressure applied by TEC saw TKM loose wickets at regular intervals with only Anfar (14) reaching double figures. For TEC, Gireesh (4wickets), Dinto (2 wickets), Sandeep, Suresh and Ramesh (1 wicket each) ensured that TKM never really threatened and TEC ran out comfortable winners by 21 runs.

Maradona thankful for mother condolences BUENOS AIRES: Argentinean football legend Diego Maradona yesterday thanked well-wishers for their messages of condolence following the death at the weekend of his mother, Dalma Franco. “I want to thank people for holding a minute’s silence at stadiums and also for the respect they showed, in Argentine football and beyond,” said the 1986 world champion, who attended his mother’s funeral at a private ceremony on Monday. The 51-year-old stressed he had been touched by “messages of condolence coming from our president (Cristina Kirchner) and also neighbors’ at Villa Fiorito (the Buenos Aires district home to his family).”

Maradona left the United Arab Emirates, where he is the coach of club side Al-Wasl, on Sunday to travel home and be at his ill mother’s bedside, but was informed that the 82-year-old had died while he was en route. Among those who paid personal visits to Maradona were actor Ricardo Darin, tennis player and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and footballer Martin Palermo. Barcelona star Lionel Messi was among those who sent written messages of condolence. Argentinean league matches were preceded by a minute’s silence at the weekend out of respect for the woman nicknamed ‘Madame Tota’. — AFP

Sporting revival faces key test in Lisbon derby New coach Domingos steering revival

BUENOS AIRES: Photo shows Argentine former soccer star and coach of United Arab Emirates club Al-Wasl, Diego Maradona with his mother Dalma in Buenos Aires, in what it is supposed to be the last picture with her son Diego, according with Maradona’s family. — AFP

LISBON: Sporting have produced such an impressive run of wins under new coach Domingos Paciencia this season that victory against undefeated rivals Benfica in the Lisbon derby today would raise the hopes of their long-suffering fans that the club could challenge for their first league title in a decade. One of Portugal’s ‘Big Three’alongside neighbors’ Benfica and the domineering Porto-Sporting have been disappointing in recent years, failing to lift the title since 2002 and missing out by a mile in the last two seasons, when they finished 28 and 36 points adrift of the champions.

A new club president arrived earlier this year and hired 42-year-old Domingos, who had guided unfancied Braga to second place in the domestic league and the Europa League final. The young coach made wholesale changes to Sporting’s ageing squad but his team made a slow start with two draws and a defeat in their first three league games. In their fourth game they were 2-0 down at Pacos de Ferreira with 20 minutes to go but recovered to win 3-2 and have not looked back since with seven straight wins leaving them just a point behind joint leaders Porto and Benfica.

AMBITIOUS TEAM “I now see a young, ambitious team in front of me and that’s something that has helped me wake up happier in the morning,” Domingos has told reporters. Beating Benfica could put Sporting top if champions Porto, who are going through an erratic spell under coach Vitor Pereira, fail to beat Braga. “If we win, we will become the main candidate for the title this season,” Eduardo Barroso, president of Sporting’s General Assembly told Portuguese Radio Renascenca. But Benfica will give Domingos’s side their sternest test yet.

Jorge Jesus’s team have also regrouped after a poor season and come into the derby after a memorable 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Tuesday that earned them a berth in the knockout phase of the Champions’ League.

THE ICEMAN Domingos has built a side whose strong midfield and clinical attack earned a smooth qualification from Europa League Group D including a win over Lazio. “I’m getting to know these players better and better and feel that the group is increasingly knit together and happy,” said Domingos. — Reuters

SPORTS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Feuding Ajax must choose between Cruyff, Van Gaal ROTTERDAM: Ajax Amsterdam must decide next month whether the great Johan Cruyff or Louis van Gaal, who coached them to their last European Cup triumph 16 years ago, will be chosen to try to lead them back to the summit of the European game. The decision will be made following an internal political war that has dragged on for months and has even involved allegations of racism against Cruyff which he has denied.

The Dutch maestro, one of the finest players to grace the game, is a man with strong views who has never got on well with Van Gaal and has alienated others with his opinions. The tensions underlying attempts to restore the Dutch champions to their former glory have simmered for months and they exploded on Sunday with racism allegations on Dutch TV. Edgar Davids, another former Dutch international who had two spells at Ajax during an illustrious playing career, said in a television

interview that he had been racially abused during his time on the club’s board. Although Davids, who is of Surinamese descent, did not name the person involved, Ajax supervisory board chairman Steven ten Have later said on Dutch TV that Cruyff had told Davids: “You are only on the board because you are black.” Cruyff has strongly denied the racism allegations, saying in his weekly De Telegraaf newspaper column on Tuesday: “Ajax is a multicultural club and we have found that many talented immigrant players quit when they reach puberty.

“So we wanted to tackle this problem with someone from the same background who had come through it. And that was Edgar Davids. During one of our fights I pointed that out to him. But it had nothing to do with his skin color.”

Davids has also played the incident down, saying on his personal website: “I never said, and I want to emphasize that, that Johan Cruyff

was a racist, despite this unfortunate remark on his part. I would also like to make clear I have deep respect for the soccer player Johan Cruyff.”

AMBITIOUS PROJECT This week’s racism row has diverted attention from the battle for control of Ajax with the board shattering under the weight of the ambitious project the club launched to reestablish itself among the elite of European football. The three-man board led by chairman Uri Coronel stepped down at the start of the week and appointing a new one will be on the agenda when the club’s 24-man members council meets on Monday.

The council must also decide what happens to the five-man supervisory board, with Cruyff lined up on one side and the other four members including Davids on the other, before a shareholders meeting scheduled for Dec. 12. Since the Ajax supporters’ association owns more

than 70 percent of the listed company it will ultimately decide what to do about the split in the supervisory board. Cruyff, 64, said on Sunday he would not continue his work on the supervisory board with the other four members, who last week reached agreement with Van Gaal for him to become the club’s general director from July 1.

Cruyff, who played in Ajax’s three European Cup-winning teams from 1971-73, said the others had gone behind his back. “Too many things have happened, keeping me in the dark,” he said. “The deal with Van Gaal is the absolute low point.” It is no secret that Cruyff has never got on with 60-year-old Van Gaal, who was sacked as Bayern Munich manager in April.

“It is now time for the club to decide which direction they want to go because I won’t co-operate with these four commissioners (on the supervisory board) any more,” Cruyff said. — Reuters

China’s Sun scores goal for woman’s football New coaching method bags two championships in a year

APIA: In a photo provided by Football Federation American Samoa, American Samoa players gather after a 2-1 win over Tonga in Oceania World Cup soccer qualifying. — AP

World’s worst soccer team earns first draw WELLINGTON: American Samoa’s muchmaligned football team looks set to shake off its unenviable status as the world’s worst side after a 1-1 draw with Oceania rivals the Cook Islands. American Samoa’s first draw at international level builds on the team’s historic 2-1 win over Tonga earlier this week, also a first. American Samoa are placed last at 204 on the FIFA world rankings, alongside Andorra, Samoa, San Marino and Montserrat, all with zero points.

But their run of form in the Oceania confederation’s preliminary World Cup qualifiers will give American Samoa enough points to climb off the bottom rung when the FIFA ranks are updated in December.

Before entering this week’s tournament in neighboring Samoa, the team had been defeated in all 31 of its previous international matches, including a world record 31-0 thrashing by Australia in 2001. Other

notable losses in American Samoa’s role of shame included 15-0 to Vanuatu in 2007, 12-1 to the Solomon Islands in the same year, 13-0 to Fiji in 2001 and 18-0 to Tahiti in 2000. Coach Thomas Rongen, a former US under-20 team coach who only took on his new role three weeks ago, said his aim was to move American Samoa’s ranking “into the hundreds”.

He admitted to the Football Federation American Samoa website after the Tonga win that he knew nothing about Pacific football when he accepted the post but was relishing the challenge of transforming the team. “It’s amateur football at its best,” he said. “The game at the highest level can be very cynical but this is just about 23 guys making sacrifices. “They’re not getting anything to be here and some are spending time away from their jobs and are losing money because of that.” — AFP

SHANGHAI: Chinese soccer great Sun Wen began coaching women’s football only a year ago but already her team has bagged gold in two national championships. Awarded FIFA’s Woman Player of the Century in 2002, Sun took over as coach of the Shanghai SMG women’s soccer team last December, at the invitation of her mentor, Ma Liangxing. “I come to share. I want to share my experience, my understanding and my passion with these young players,” she told Reuters in her dormitory in the suburbs of Shanghai. “Hopefully, I can also impart to them some of the values of life I deem important.”

The soft-spoken and philosophical Sun has shifted boldly away from traditional coaching methods, a fact that has not gone unnoticed. Chinese athletes usually begin professional life in youth sports schools around age 10.

They go through rigorous training without much exposure to the outside world and strive for selection to the national squad. Soccer players are no different. “Some players are still used to the pushy training routines they received all through their athletic years. There will be a transition for them.” Sun said.

Apart from designing more customized training routines for individual players, Sun also places more emphasis on building sportsmanship and team spirit. “Lessons learned on the pitch about competition and team-play will not only help improve their scores, but also boost their future development in other business.” After nearly twenty years spent with her beloved soccer, Sun now looks beyond championships and prizes.

At Shanghai’s Fudan University, where she studied for a Bachelor’s degree, Sun discovered the wisdom of Buddhism.

Having read sutras for years, she now adopts Buddhist philosophy and wants to focus more on the process and the journey.

PASSION IS A MUST Pointing to Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs’ autobiography at the corner of the sofa, Sun said she has found great resonance with Jobs. “He thinks the process of pursuing perfection is the biggest reward of life. If everyone thinks this way, everything would be easier.

We just work for soccer and the future of these girls.” Men’s soccer in China has been hurt by corruption scandals, and match-fixing has eroded healthy development of the sport, frustrating its enormous fan base. “We focus too much on the result,” Sun said, noting the setbacks that have dogged the development of Chinese soccer. “Starting from teenager soccer, personal interest is neglected.

Primary school principals only want the glory of champions, without giving the least thought about kids’ character cultivation. We’ve missed the prime age.”

Disappointed by the lack of sportsmanship among young players, Sun finds that few girls have true passion for soccer. Sun chose to go professional at 13, much later than other players, but did it out of personal interest and at the cost of giving up admission to a prestigious middle school in Shanghai. “Passion is a must. Passion does not guarantee success. But if you lack passion, success definitely won’t come.” — Reuters

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Spanish League Preview

Italian League Preview

Atletico aim to end 12 years of hurt in Madrid

Lazio face stern test

MADRID: Real Madrid and Barcelona resume their own private battle at the top of La Liga today, Real entertaining city rivals Atletico Madrid, while Barcelona visit the outskirts of the capital city to take on struggling Getafe.

Madrid will look to defend their three-point lead over Barcelona by stretching their current run of 12 consecutive wins against their longsuffering neighbor. Real’s recent record against Atletico is not bad either, they have not lost to their rivals since 1999 when Atletico won 3-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu.

Since then 15 victories and six draws have ensured it is Real who hold the bragging rights in the city. Brazilian full-back Marcelo should be back in contention for Madrid after being unable to train most of the week after picking up a slight knock in last Sunday’s league win at Valencia. He resumed full training on Thursday but his compatriot Kaka and Alvaro Arbeloa have not trained properly all week and are expected to be rested.

Madrid’s strong squad is certainly not lacking depth. That was proven in midweek in the Champions League when coach Jose Mourinho took the opportunity to rest several players and the team still finished convincing 6-0 victors over Dianamo Zagreb. Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Portuguese centrehalf Pepe were all unused in that game and are expected to return against Atletico. Mourinho made the point that Atletico were free from Europa League commitments this week and he took advantage of his team alrady having qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League to ring the changes against Dinamo.

For Atletico, under fire coach Gregorio Manzano will take his team on the short daunting trip to the north side of the city with an impressive record in the Bernabeu. With four

wins in fourteen games there as a coach, including a 5-1 win with Mallorca in 2003, Manzano has the pedigree and experience to get a result. However Atletico, currently in 9th position and 15 points behind Real, have yet to win away this season scoring only twice in five games.

Atletico’s Brazilian midfielder Diego Ribas, on a season-long loan from Wolfsburg, has been one of the few highlights in Atletico’s campaign so far and he is clear that the team will be up for the occasion. “The Bernabeu is the ideal place to make our point”, he said before going into detail about how Atletico can do that. “We can’t go there desperate for victory. If we are defending for 90 minutes they will score against us at some stage, we play for a big club so we have to think bigger than that,” he said. “We have to forget those 12 years without a win, it motivates us the fact that after so much time we can put that bad run to bed,” he added. Barcelona will know what Madrid have done when they run out at Getafe in the late game today.

After a superb 3-2 victory on Wednesday night in the San Siro against AC Milan to guarantee they top their Champions League group, the challenge of strugglers Getafe should not prove too much of a problem. However, Getafe coach Luis Garcia sees his team causing problems for the Catalans. “We can surprise them, the feeling in the team is we are strong and we believe we can get a point or three,” he said. Third place Valencia are also in Madrid today night at the city’s fourth club Rayo Vallecano. Fresh from a 7-0 thrashing of Genk in the Champions League, ‘Los Che’ will be looking to keep pace with Madrid and Barca, whom they trail by seven and four points respectively.— AFP

Scottish League Preview

Celtic to increase heat on Rangers GLASGOW: Gary Hooper is confident Celtic have turned the corner after a stuttering start to the season. The Celtic striker was on the score-sheet on Wednesday as the Hoops closed the gap on league leaders Rangers to seven points with a 2-1 win over Dunfermline.

After three defeats in their opening 10 games of the season, the Hoops have now won their past four matches.

Now Neil Lennon’s side have the chance to reduce the deficit further and put the pressure on their rivals with a win against St Mirren today, 24 hours before the Gers take on Kilmarnock on Sunday. And English striker Hooper wants the momentum his side has built up to continue in their upcoming games.”We have won four games in a row now,” said Hooper. “We need to get the fifth today, in what is another big game against St Mirren, who are a good side. No matter how we do it, we have to win every game. “We have turned the corner and are playing really well. Wednesday night was another big win in our game in hand and now we can make the gap four points today.

“The first-half performance was brilliant and we had the chances to see the game out then. “I can’t explain it, maybe missing the

penalty changed the game a bit, they got on top and got the goal but we held out and got the three points.” Lennon will be without Scott Brown, Emilio Izaguirre, Cha Du-Ri, Mark Wilson and Charlie Mulgrew for the game against fourth-placed St Mirren, whose manager, Danny Lennon, signed a two-year contract extension this week. Ally McCoist’s Rangers have won seven out of seven away from home and will be happy to be on the road again after last week’s disappointing draw with St Johnstone at Ibrox.

The Rangers manager boosted his squad this week after signing Sone Aluko and the former Aberdeen winger could make his debut in the match against Killie. First team coach Ian Durrant was delighted with the capture of Nigerian international Aluko, who will add to the Rangers forward line after Steven Naismith was ruled out for the season with a knee injury. “He can play on the left and he can play through the middle,” said Durrant of Aluko. “He has also been in the SPL for a few years with Aberdeen so he brings a bit of experience to the team for such a young lad. “It’s well known with Steven being out that we’re short up front and Sone can play in a variety of positions.” —AFP

NAPLES: In this file photo, Lazio’s Hernanes (left) vies for the ball with Napoli’s Hugo Campagnaro during the Italian A Series football match between SSC Napoli and FC Lazio at the San Paolo stadium in Naples. — AFP ROME: Lazio face a stern test at home to league leaders Juventus at Stadio Olimpico today, as they bid to prove they are capable of pushing Serie A’s heavyweights all the way in the race for the Scudetto. Second-placed Lazio currently trail Juve on goal difference alone, although the Old Lady of Turin do have a game in hand. The Rome club’s midfielder Cristian Ledesma says it is too early to read too much into this match but does recognise the importance of putting one over on a potential title rival.

“It’s to early to tell if it’s a title clash but we’re all there, that’s what the table says,” he pointed out. “It’s an important match for both teams but this year every match is difficult. “I think we’ve played well against the big teams and maybe if we’d managed our counter-attacks better in the second half against Napoli (in last weekend’s 0-0 draw), we could have won.

But I think we can be happy.

“We’ll see today if we manage to continue doing what we’ve been doing since the start of the season. “We’re in good form but we’re coming up against a strong team, with players of the level of (Alessandro) Del Piero and (Milos) Krasic on the bench. “Given the way they’ve been playing, they’re one of the favorites for the title.” Juve are the only unbeaten team left in the league this season and will play their game in hand away to Napoli on Tuesday. Victories in both games would allow them to put daylight between themselves and the rest.

Lazio will be boosted by the return of top scorer Miroslav Klose, although they still have doubts over French pair Abdoulay Konko and Djibril Cisse.

Brazilian centre-back Andre Dias is almost certain to miss out. Although Juve and Lazio were the top two heading

into the weekend’s games, they will not necessarily remain so when their match kicks off as fourth-placed Udinese host Roma on Friday night. Should Lazio and Juve draw then either Udinese or champions AC Milan, who host Chievo on Sunday night, could potentially take over top spot as well. Both are just a point behind the top two and come into their weekend matches eager to bounce back from defeat.

Udinese lost 2-0 at Parma last weekend, while Milan played well but succumbed 3-2 to Barcelona in the Champions League in mid-week.That followed on from a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina last weekend and led Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani to say that he would like the team to play badly but win this weekend, following two good performances that failed to yield a victory.

Another side that come into the weekend games off the back of an impressive performance are seventh-placed Napoli, who travel to Atalanta today night. They toppled Manchester City 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday but president Aurelio De Laurentiis admitted after that match that he was more worried about the game in Bergamo.

Napoli have been the epitome of inconsistent this season, beating Milan, Inter Milan and City but losing to the likes of Chievo, Parma and Catania. They play better when they are the underdogs but seem unable to break down supposedly weaker sides and another defeat would surely render their title hopes obsolete.

Giants Inter, meanwhile, will be hoping to climb away from the danger zone when they travel to Siena. They have yet to win successive league games this season and go into the weekend in 16th place.— AFP

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French League Preview

PSG gunning to pile more misery on Marseille PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain will look to pile more misery on Marseille coach Didier Deschamps when the league leaders travel south for the French Ligue 1 clash of the weekend at Stade Velodrome tomorrow.

Deschamps’ side are struggling on all fronts, sitting 10th with a modest 18 points from 14 games, a massive 12 points behind big-spending PSG after falling at Montpellier last weekend through a Souleymane Diawara own goal.

And their European hopes are now hanging by a slender thread after Olympiakos dealt a blow to the 1993 champions’ hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win at Stade Velodrome in mid-week. “It’s been a very bad week,” said Deschamps after Wednesday’s match. “I can’t stand losing.

We’ll have to digest this and then we’ll switch over to what’s ahead of us.”

Tomorrow’s ‘Clasico’ could, however, enable Deschamps’ side to knock their sworn enemies PSG off their perch after seven consecutive weeks on top. The side from the capital have 30 points and lead the table from Montpellier on goal difference, with Lille five points behind in third, just ahead of Rennes.

The Parisians, reportedly in talks to sign former England captain David Beckham, will themselves be looking to get back on track after their hopes of a first league title in 18 years suffered a setback as they fell 10 at home to strugglers Nancy. PSG star Javier Pastore said he was raring to “experience the passion” of his first ‘Clasico’ since signing from Palermo for a French

Tottenham ‘can’ stay in title hunt LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp believes his team will be part of the Premier League title race this season as they prepare for a match away to West Bromwich Albion this weekend. Spurs lost their first two league matches of the campaign, to champions Manchester United and current leaders Manchester City.

But after taking 25 points from a possible 27 since, Redknapp has guided the north Londoners to third in the table ahead of the trip to The Hawthorns. With Arsenal back in form and Liverpool boosted by their victory over Chelsea, Redknapp feels it is “not impossible” for a different championship winner after seven years of United and Chelsea monopolizing the title.

“We’re playing well,” he said. “That top six is so tight, Arsenal have come back like I said they would and they are playing well.

“Liverpool put in a great performance at Chelsea and they will be bang there and Chelsea, Man United, Man City are always there.” City defeated Spurs 5-1 when they played at White Hart Lane earlier this season but Redknapp insists his side are a different prospect now. Ledley King is managing his knee injury and playing regularly, uncertainty over Luka Modric’s future has been put aside for the time being and the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker has made a big difference. “We beat Liverpool and Arsenal at home, Man City scored five against us but that won’t happen again. We’re a different team to that now,” Redknapp said.

“The balance of the team is good and we have good players not in the team. “William Gallas was fantastic for us last seasonhe’s fit and cannot get in. Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone are injured, Sandro played for Brazil last week and suddenly he is on the bench. He’s a fantastic talent, a great young player. “(Jermain) Defoe has not been able to get a starting place, two Croatia lads (Niko Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka) who qualified for the Euros are not in the squad-we have a good group. It’s a strong outfit.” Redknapp returned for Spurs’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday following heart surgery three weeks earlier. “It wasn’t too bad because it was an international break and there weren’t too many people around,” he said. “It couldn’t have been better timing, really. “I don’t feel like I’ve missed too much.” Meanwhile, mid-table West Brom have gained from the influence of midfielder Zoltan Gera, according to manager Roy Hodgson, although the 32-year-old Hungary international was troubled by an ankle injury at the start of the season. “Gera can play on for some years because of his energy, enthusiasm and passion for the game,” said Hodgson. “What will limit him, and which limits all players in the end, is injuries and wear and tear. But I think that will be in the distant future for him. “Certainly, at the moment, if you didn’t know the ages of the players, you would not look at him in training sessions and think he is one of the older ones. “You could quite easily see him as one of the younger ones because of the enthusiasm, passion and desire he shows to still be a good player. That’s part of being a top footballer.”— AFP

record fee of 42 million euros this summer.

“Since I arrived, everyone has been telling me about this match,” said the Argentine.

“A Clasico isn’t about playing, it’s about winning. Of course this match is an event in itself but the best way to approach it is to prepare normally. “Like every week, we’re training to the maximum to be ready and present on the day. “The only way to get the machine started again and to satisfy the fans is to win in Marseille tomorrow.

It’s as simple as that.” Montpellier are waiting in the wings should Antoine Kombouare’s side slip up and have a chance to take the top spot as they travel to 11th-placed Sochaux today. Reigning champions Lille put a goalless draw at Toulouse last weekend behind them to reignite their Champions League hopes by

beating CSKA Moscow 2-0 in Russia on Tuesday.

And the northerners will be looking to close the gap on the leading pair when they host Brest, who are sitting just two places above the drop zone, with fellow Bretons Rennes hosting new boys Evian.

Lyon travel to Auxerre tomorrow, having seen their hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16 all but extinguished by a goalless draw at home to Ajax, with Lorient hosting second-frombottom Nice.

Elsewhere, Saint-Etienne, now in the top half after a 2-0 win at Nice, will be bidding to push further ahead as they host tail-enders Ajaccio, while Toulouse host Valenciennes and Caen travel to underperforming Bordeaux.—AFP

Gunners hope revival goes on against Fulham LONDON: Arsene Wenger knows success for Arsenal will be measured in silverware but the club’s impressive recovery following a dismal start to the season is an achievement in itself.

Wenger’s side face Fulham at the Emirates Stadium today seeking a sixth successive Premier League win that could, other results permitting, lift the Gunners into the top four for the first time this season. And they will go into the game having established themselves as the standard bearers for English football in the Champions League following the mid-week victory over Borussia Dortmund.

While Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City have floundered in Europe, Arsenal have shrugged off a testing start to the season to secure qualification as group winners with a game to spare. That means they can now focus their energies on domestic matters until the knockout stages in February, presenting them with the opportunity to finally make an impression on the Premier League. They remain 12 points adrift of leaders City, but much worse was feared after a run that brought just one win in their opening five games-although Wenger’s public support for his players never wavered.

The turnaround has been impressive and Gunners midfielder Alex Song says the criticism directed at the club had proved a motivating force. “We want to show everyone is wrong about us and we did very well, but we don’t want to stay in the same situation now and just say, ‘Everything is working and we will just keep on like this,’” Song said. “We want to push ourselves to try to look forward. “We started really badly, but it is not easy when you have new players-you need to give them time. “Everyone tries to help each other and we have very good cohesion, which is important. When you play for a team like Arsenal, you just want to finish all the time at the top of the league.”

Victory over Dortmund was secured with two goals from Robin van Persie, who has now scored 12 in the last eight games and is central to Arsenal’s hopes of maintaining their recent progress. Van Persie’s fitness will be closely monitored but Wenger’s hand has already been strengthened by a shortening injury list, although Jack

play their first Europa League qualifying tie in June, while the squad has also been stretched by a spate of injuries. Steve Sidwell and Stephen Kelly may miss the Arsenal match, while Orlando Sa and Zdenek Grygera are out for the foreseeable future.

Fulham’s best hope of gaining something from the trip to their London

COLNEY: Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta (left) leads a warm-up run during a training session at their training centre at London Colney, north London. — AP Wilshere and Bacary Sagna remain long-term absentees. Kieran Gibbs will also be out for another four weeks with a hernia problem but Tomas Rosicky could return after a thigh strain.

Martin Jol’s Fulham have struggled for consistency and they are just two points above the relegation zone. Last weekend’s scoreless draw at Sunderland helped erase memories of the frustrating home defeat by Tottenham in their previous outing but the Cottagers need wins if they are to move away from trouble. Jol’s side appear to already be paying the price for an extended season that saw them

rivals may be to stifle the supply-line to van Persie, particularly from Theo Walcott, who has provided the most assists for the Dutchman this season.

Cottagers defender Chris Baird is well aware of the threat posed by Walcott, having played with the winger at Southampton.

“Theo was fantastic, even at such a young age,” Baird said. “Obviously he was thrown into the team but the more games he played, the more confident he got, scoring a few goals. “His pace always caused defenders problems. I am glad he is doing well at Arsenal. He deserves it.”— AFP

SPORTS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Man Utd unlikely to buy despite injuries MANCHESTER: Sir Alex Ferguson says he is unlikely to make any signings in the January transfer window despite mounting injury problems at Manchester United. Ferguson revealed yesterday that Brazilian midfielder Anderson had suffered a setback to a knee injury and is unlikely to feature again until February while fellow midfielder Tom Cleverley is not expected back until next month because of an ankle problem. In addition, striker Michael Owen is suffering from a thigh muscle strain although Ferguson told a press conference that he expects Wayne Rooney to be available to face Newcatle at Old Trafford today after missing Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Benfica in the Champions League with a knock. Ferguson has been linked with moves for Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and Luka Modric of Tottenham. And while the United manager has identified three players he would like to bring to Old Trafford, he says there is ‘no point going there’ in January as they are not available.

“It’s dead easy to say are you going to buy players but it’s not easy to buy players for Manchester United, particularly in January,” added Ferguson. “I don’t see anyone really who that can make us a better team from the players who are possibly available. “I could choose two or three players that I’d like to have at this club, but they’re not available so there’s no point going there.” The injuries to Cleverley and Anderson have limited Ferguson’s options in midfield, but the long-serving Scot believes he can challenge for the title without the need to spend in January.

“We’re not as bad as people think at the moment,” he added. “Ryan Giggs gives you experience of course and Michael Carrick’s form in the last two games has been outstanding. “He’d had a little problem with his Achilles earlier in the season but he’s got over that now and the softer grounds of course help. “(Darren) Fletcher, given the right preparation, is always a very good player for us. Getting Cleverley back would be a bonus. “If we got him back Christmas time that would be a bonus because he’s such a clever player. But I think we’re ok, we’ve got a strong squad.” — AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

English Premier League Stoke v Blackburn Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Bolton v Everton Abu Dhabi Sports HD 6 Chelsea v Wolves Abu Dhabi Sports HD 4 Norwich v QPR Abu Dhabi Sports HD 9 United v Newcastle Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Sunderland v Wigan Abu Dhabi Sports HD 8 West Brom v Spurs Abu Dhabi Sports HD 7 Arsenal v Fulham Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Italian League Novara v Parma Aljazeera Sport +1 US Lecce v Catania Aljazeera Sport +10 SS Lazio v Juventus Aljazeera Sport +1 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Atalanta v Napoli Aljazeera Sport +6

15:45 18:00 18:00 18:00 18:00 18:00 18:00 20:30 20:00 20:00 22:45 22:45

Spanish League Rayo Vallecano v Valencia Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Aljazeera Sport +4 Real Madrid v Atletico de Madrid Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

20:00 22:00

Tomorrow Getafe v Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

0:00

Villas-Boas in search of Wolves respite LONDON: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will have had better weeks as he prepares to arrest his side’s slump in form at home. But the arrival of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge today will give him solace, as they have failed to win on their travels since the opening day of the Premier League season. Villas-Boas is under pressure just three months into his first season at Chelsea, after losing back-to-back home matches against Liverpool and Arsenal.

Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen will not have calmed his nerves, as it leaves Chelsea needing a victory from their final group game against Valencia in order to guarantee qualification for the last 16.

Chelsea’s recent run has led to speculation that the Portuguese coach, still only 34, could be on his way out of the London club almost as quickly as he arrived, such is the reputation Blues owner Roman Abramovich has for sacking under-performing managers However, goalkeeper Petr Cech says the players have to take the blame for Chelsea’s current form.

“The manager is not on the pitch, we are on the pitch and we are making mistakes,” Cech said. “The players are to blame and we know it. I think we need to be much more aggressive in terms of defending. “He (Villas-Boas) cannot do anything about individual mistakes while he is standing by the bench. “So the players are to blame and we know it and we try to make things happen and change. It is not easy but we keep going.”Villas-Boas knows he will have to prove his worth in the coming days after revealing his players’ confidence was at a low ebb.

Chelsea’s Portuguese head coach Andre Villas-Boas “They expect the manager to inspire them,” said Villas-Boas, whose side are 12 points behind leaders Manchester City. “That’s my job: to motivate and inspire these people to change our faith.

“The talent is immense; the work is good. The responsibility is mine. I have to motivate them to get a win against Wolves, and then against Liverpool in the Carling (League) Cup next Tuesday.

“We have two games at home and need to get the focus and concentration right.

I have to inspire and motivate my players, and we need our fans behind us. I’ll get my inspiration from myself.”

Villas-Boas has an ally in Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, who pointed to the Chelsea boss’s record in his native country as evidence he has the skills-if not the experience-to manage in the Premier League. “Look what Villas-Boas achieved in Portugal (winning three tro-

phies with Porto last season). You don’t achieve that unless you are good,” McCarthy said. “He is good but he has come into a different team that is changing.

If he is as good as everyone thinks he is, let him get on with it, but it takes time. “People think you can just turn up because good players are there and it’s an easy task, but it’s not. It takes time to mould a squad and get them to play your way and maybe get your own players in. “Some people wrote off Arsenal and Arsene Wenger eight games ago and how ridiculous does that look now?

They are now the only English team guaranteed to progress in the Champions League.” Chelsea defender Ashley Cole is doubtful with an ankle knock, while Wolves are set to be unchanged from the side beaten by Everton last week.— AFP

Utd in search of Newcastle boost MANCHESTER: Manchester United will attempt to put their Champions League frustrations behind them on the domestic front with the chance to revive their Premier League hopes against Newcastle. A 2-2 midweek draw at home to Benfica meant United must now avoid defeat in their final group match at FC Basel next month to be sure of qualifying for the knockout rounds of Europe’s leading club competition.

On the domestic front, United trail Premier League leaders Manchester City, who travel to Liverpool tomorrow, by five points going into the weekend.

Newcastle lost their first Premier League match of the season with a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City last weekend, while United’s 6-1 hammering by Roberto Mancini’s side is their only loss of the campaign. United know that another stumble at Old Trafford will give City the chance to extend their advantage at the top of the table to eight points.

But Ferguson will not be taking the Magpies lightly. The veteran boss has been impressed with the work of Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, who has taken the north-east side to the upper reaches of the Premier League

despite limited spending in the transfer market. Ferguson insisted both West Ham and Southampton were premature in sacking Pardew, saying: “I’ve always respected Alan Pardew, I’ve always rated him. “I think he was unfairly treated at West Ham and at Southampton, it was ridiculous actually. “He took West Ham to the FA Cup final and was one minute away from winning the Cup. He was so unlucky.

“Alan’s done a great job at Newcastle.

“He’s galvanized them and got them fighting for each other. I watched their recent 2-2 draw at home to Tottenham and it was a great game, end to end, with both teams trying to win. “There was a really good attitude among both sets of players. They were fighting for every ball. “When you’ve got a Newcastle team doing that, with their great support behind them, you know you’re going to get a difficult game.”

Ferguson could be without Wayne Rooney against Newcastle. The England striker missed the draw with Benfica due to a hip problem sustained in the 1-0 win over Swansea last weekend.

Newcastle may have lost their unbeaten record against Manchester

City but midfielder Yohan Cabaye thinks that if the Magpies can repeat their performance at Eastlands they could yet worry United. The French midfielder, 25, has made a significant impact since arriving from Lille in pre-season. He missed out on the chance to play in the Champions League with his former club but insisted the opportunity to turn out at stadiums like Old Trafford more than makes up for that. “This is real football, why I signed for Newcastle,” Cabaye said. “It will be like a Champions League match and that is fantastic because I want to play in matches like this every week.

“Manchester United are a very good side and we know that it won’t be easy.

“We have to work hard and play like we did in the second half against Manchester City and if we do that for the full match then hopefully we’ll get one or three points.” Newcastle are boosted by the return of midfielder Cheikh Tiote, who has been out with a knee injury, while Gabriel Obertan has recovered from a toe problem to face his former club. Striker Leon Best is also available after missing the City defeat with a minor groin strain. —AFP

SPORTS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Federer expects great things from Nishikori LONDON: Roger Federer has backed rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori to fulfill his potential by breaking into the top 10 next year. Nishikori has been regarded as one of the sport’s brightest young talents since he became the youngest player to finish in the top 100 in 2008. He won his first ATP event aged 18 but was sidelined by injury for much of 2009 and is only now making his way back into the higher echelons of the rankings. The Shimane-born Kishikori reached a career-high ranking of 24th earlier this month after impressive runs to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the Basel final. His path to the last four in Shanghai included a victory over world number six Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but it was his form in Basel that really caught Federer’s eye. Nishikori, now based in Florida, came from a set down to beat world number one Novak Djokovic and also knocked out former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych before losing to Federer in the final and the Swiss believes the 21year-old is ready to make a breakthrough. “I knew he

Ireland wary of rivals HAIKOU: Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell are refusing to underestimate any of their rivals after the highranked duo drew level with Australia at the top of the World Cup leaderboard yesterday. Australia’s Richard Green and Brendan Jones went into second round with a two-shot lead but two bogeys over the final four holes left them tied on 13under par with Ireland, who carded a four-under 68 in overcast conditions on the Blackstone course in Haikou.

“I’m not surprised to see Australia sharing the lead with us because every nation in this field has the chance of victory, so we will not be treating the Australians any less different to any of the other 26 nations,” McIlroy said. Despite competing at the 28-team event without the likes of Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy or Aaron Baddeley, McDowell was quick to praise the two men who are representing Australia. “Richard Green is a multiple winner on tour and we’ve played with Brendan many times, and he has a lot of majors and world golf championship experience,” McDowell added.

“He’s played in Japan and won many times over there so like Rory said, we will be showing the Aussies every respect but then there is also Scotland just one behind and looking at the board, and with two rounds to play, there’s 18 nations separated by just five shots,” he added after Friday’s foursome round. “Among those is the United States, Spain and New Zealand just three behind and there’s England and Holland, with Joost (Luiten) in the team, who is in good form after winning last week, at nine under.

“Today, I struggled somewhat on the greens but overall I am happy with the way I am swinging the club in general while Rory is still playing lovely.” Ireland is looking to win the World Cup for only a second time in 55 runnings of the $7.5 million event, whereas Australia have tasted success four times, with the last being in 1989. Australia started well and moved three strokes clear of the field when they birdied the second and then eagled the sixth, but an “ugly” finish saw them fall back into a tie for the lead.

“The 18th is a very difficult finishing hole but it wasn’t just 18 because we bogeyed 15 as well and we struggled for pars on 16 and 17, so it was a bit of an ugly finish,” Jones said. “But the important thing for us is that we are still at the top, so they are chasing us and they are chasing Ireland. “We could not win the tournament today but we sure could have fallen back in the field. So to be in the position we are in, we will take the positives out of that and try and get some rhythm back in our game, and play a more attacking game.”

The Scottish duo of Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher had the chance to join the leaders but bogeyed the last for a score of 69 to sit alone in third at 12-under par. Scotland is seeking to capture the World Cup for a second time following the country’s maiden victory in 2007. “It always leaves a sour taste in the mouth when you drop a shot at the last in any event but Martin and myself overall are in a better position,” Gallacher said.— Reuters

had great potential from the first time I hit with him when he was 17,” Federer said. “I always saw a very talented player in front of me every time I played with Kei. “For me it was nice to see the breakthrough he did in Shanghai and then also in Basel, using the wild card to his advantage and moving all the way to the final. “Beating Djokovic, the season he had; Berdych, also the great season he had, was really nice to see. “Playing him in the finals like this is special because I know Japan is a country that gets very excited about a player like Kei.” While Nishikori is yet to get past the fourth round of a Grand Slam, Federer is confident it is only a matter of time before the youngster gets the big wins that will transform his career. “I’m sure he’s going to be a wonderful player,” Federer said. “Only the future will tell if he’s going to move into the top 10 or top five. “But I definitely think he has the potential and he’s a wonderful player and a very nice guy.” While Nishikori has a bright future ahead of him, Federer has reached the point in

his magnificent career when he can start to think about his legacy. He already holds a record 16 Grand Slam titles and is only two wins away from a record sixth title at the ATP World Tour Finals after cruising into the semi-finals at the season finale. Federer, who plays his semi-final on Friday, will finish the year without a Grand Slam crown for the first time since 2002, but he believes another title at the O2 Arena will be the perfect response to the critics who have written him off. “I guess I do play for a little bit of the legacy and the history, you know, the record books, all that stuff,” said Federer, who would also equal Ivan Lendl’s record for 39 matches won at this event if he lifts the trophy yesterday. “I’m surprised how well it’s gone always at the World Tour Finals level for me, because these are maybe almost the toughest and most dangerous matches to play during the year. “It’s best-of-three against fellow top 10 players indoors, where a few shots usually decide the outcome of the match.”—AFP

Tsonga sends Nadal packing LONDON: Rafa Nadal bowed out of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday as for the second time in 48 hours, the Spaniard had no answer against an inspired opponent, this time in the imposing form of French powerhouse Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. While Roger Federer’s thrashing of Nadal was a masterful demonstration of the sport’s classical arts, Tsonga’s 6-7 4-6 6-3 victory in the final match of Group B was a sustained barrage of heavy artillery that eventually overwhelmed the former world number one. Tsonga, 26, joined group winner Federer in the semi-finals after the Swiss maintained his 100 percent record with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 defeat of American Mardy Fish in a dead rubber.

Defeat extended Nadal’s mediocre record at the season-ender. In the five years he has qualified he has only made the final once, losing to Federer at the O2 Arena last year. This year he never looked like adding the prestigious title to his 10 grand slams from the opening day when he labored past tournament debutant Fish in three sets. “I think I didn’t play well tonight,” the 25-year-old, who since winning the French Open for a sixth time in June has not won another title, told reporters.

“The first two sets I didn’t play bad, but I didn’t play well, and to win these kind of matches you have to play well. I played without anything special tonight.” While Nadal was clearly disappointed with the level of his performance it would be harsh to take anything away from Tsonga who produced one of the best performances of his career to reach the semi-finals of the event for the first time. “Tonight, I just played amazing tennis,” Tsonga told reporters, adding that he spent the day before the match looking at the video of his run to the Australian Open final in 2008 when he also beat Nadal.

“I was looking at that and I thought, ‘Wow!’ Before I had lots of energy and I was running faster, hitting harder, but I was crazy on court. This year, maybe I’ve improved this, but I’m better in my head.” Crunching huge groundstrokes off both wings and storming the net to pound down smashes and some silky volleys, Tsonga continually worried the Nadal serve without being able to engineer the break his play deserved. Nadal

LONDON: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France jumps in celebration after beating Rafael Nadal of Spain in their group B singles match in the round robin stage on day five of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament. — AFP hung on but Tsonga produced a superb tiebreak, moving 6-2 ahead before sealing the set with an ace.

The second set was a similar story, although this time Tsonga suffered a brief dip in the 10th game and Nadal pounced on his fourth set point to set up a late-night decider in front of an entralled 17,500-capacity crowd. The majority inside the cavernous arena would have expected Nadal to complete the comeback but as he later put it, the third set turned into a “disaster” for the Mallorcan. Tsonga broke Nadal’s serve at 1-1 when his drop volley proved elusive for the Spaniard and he repeated the trick to forge into a 5-2 lead. Three double faults halted his charge to the finish line but Nadal surrendered his serve,

and the match, cheaply in the next game. “The third set was disaster,” Nadal, who still has the consolation of a Davis Cup final next weekend against Argentina, said. “He’a dangerous player.

Best of luck for him. Jo deserved it more than me.” The composition of the semifinals will become clear on Friday when world number one Novak Djokovic takes on fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic and David Ferrer, who is already assured a last-four berth, faces Tomas Berdych.

Defending champion Federer warmed up for the semis with a one hour 47 minute workout against weary American Fish who gave a spirited display despite already being knocked out after defeats against Nadal and Tsonga.— Reuters

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Wallabies aim for Barbarian bounce LONDON: Australia will try to gain some valuable pointers for the future when they face a star-studded Barbarians team at Twickenham today. The Wallabies may have won this year’s Tri-Nations but a World Cup where they were well beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champions New Zealand, having already lost in the group phase to Ireland, took much of the shine off. Australia coach Robbie Deans is using the match against the Barbarians, which is not a full international, to give outstanding back-row forward David Pocock a first chance to captain the Wallabies.

Pocock takes over from regular captain James Horwill, who is on the bench ahead of next week’s Test against Wales-the

team Australia beat to finish third at the World Cup. “It’s not new territory for him,” said Deans of his decision to make Pocock captain. He has been driving the group to a an extent and we thought it was a great opportunity to give him real experience.”

The 23-year-old Pocock said the honor of leading Australia would not change his approach to the game.”You have just got to lead a lot more by your actions, rather than inspire everybody by delivering a good speech or whatever,” the 39-times capped Pocock said.

Former New Zealand international Deans has also moved James O’Connor in from the wing to fly-half in place of Quade Cooper, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the playoff win over Wales.

Cuche continues to impress at 37 LAKE LOUISE: Just like an old Swiss watch that never stops ticking, Didier Cuche continues to defy his age on the World Cup circuit. What the 37-year-old Swiss speed specialist has been able to achieve in the latter stages of his career has been astonishing. In March, he won the World Cup overall downhill championship title, marking the fourth time he has captured the crown (2011, 2010, 2008, 2007).

“I was pretty happy with last season,” Cuche said Thursday. “It is still fun and a pleasure for me to ski and that is why I decided to continue.”I feel comfortable right now even with the many hours of training I put in and the risks that come with our sport.” Cuche’s pursuit of his third consecutive downhill title begins this weekend in the Canadian Rockies with the season opening FIS World Cup speed races. The first men’s downhill race of the season is today followed by the super-G race tomorrow.

Cuche ended last season ranked first in both downhill and super-G, finishing second in the overall rankings to Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic. The 17-time World Cup race winner is now chasing Austrian legend Franz Klammer for the most downhill champion titles. Klammer has five with his last one coming in 1983. “It would be a great success,” Cuche said of equaling Klammer’s record. And in January last year, Cuche surpassed Austrian Michael Walchhoffer to become the oldest downhill winner in the history of the World Cup, taking the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuehel at the age of 36 and 159 days.

The world’s elite men’s skiers head into Lake Louise after an almost five-week break, following the cancellation of the November 13 slalom in Levi, Finland due to a lack of snow.

Repeating as the Crystal Globe downhill champ will be no easy task for Cuche as he will face strong challenges this season from Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, Austria’s Klaus Kroell and Italian’s Christof Innerhofer and Werner Heel. Among those missing is last year’s Lake Louise downhill winner Walchhoffer, who retired in March after compiling 19 career World Cup victories in 13 seasons.

Race officials cancelled Wednesday’s first training run because of heavy snowfall and Thursday’s training was also pushed back two hours so workers could try and get the course ready. “It used to be a glider’s course and thought of as an easy track. The last couple of years they’ve made it quite icy and bumpy and made it quite challenging to be fast on,” said Canadian skier Jan Hudec. Kostelic is hoping to get back into a groove similar to the run of success he enjoyed late last season which propelled him to the World Cup overall title.

Kostelic won the overall title but then spent the off-season recovering from knee surgery. He said Thursday he feels fine and one of his goals this year is to better his results in the speed disciplines. “Downhill and giant slalom are my worst disciplines so I would like to do better in both of those,” Kostelic said. He said the five-week break between races was good for him because he wasn’t able to train in the offseason like he normally does. “I missed a lot of training because I had my surgery in the spring. I made up some of my lost training time during the break,” Kostelic said.—AFP

Deans could have installed the versatile Berrick Barnes, much praised after taking over as the main playmaker against Wales in Auckland following Cooper’s injury, in the No 10 shirt. “We had the choice of Berrick or James and we opted to put James straight in the deep end so to speak by putting him at 10,” said Deans. “He has worked at it this week and last week and his head has been spinning on occasions it would be fair to say because it is very different to playing on the end of the chain.”

The Barbarians, rugby union’s most famous invitational team and whose matches are generally known for witnessing more attacking rugby from both sides than a standard Test match, have turned what was threatening to become a lop-

sided end of year fixture into a genuine contest.

Last season they beat then world champions South Africa at Twickenham, having defeated New Zealand there in 2009. This year they will be coached by New Zealand World Cup winning supremo Graham Henry, with the starting side featuring several of his victorious All Blacks including forwards Jerome Kaino and Keven Mealamu. South Africa great Victor Matfield captains the side and pairs up in the second row with England’s Simon Shaw. The Barbarians back division features England discard Danny Cipriani, now playing club rugby for the Melbourne Rebels and Springbok wing Bryan Habana.—AFP

Packers bury toothless Lions Ravens beat 49ers in duel of Harbaughs DETROIT: The Green Bay Packers overcame a slow start and kept their perfect National Football League (NFL) season intact with a 27-15 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday that spoiled yet another Motor City Thanksgiving Day. Two of the NFL’s most explosive offences produced few fireworks early but the Packers made the Lions pay for their mistakes by turning three Matthew Stafford interceptions into two touchdowns and a field goal.

“I felt it was an excellent character win for us,” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters. “It was a tough day for both teams ... we knew it was going to be a physical, aggressive game. The stadium was electric.” The biggest blunder of the day belonged to Lions defensive end Ndamukong Suh as the second pick in the 2010 NFL Draft was ejected for a personal foul that set up a John Kuhn touchdown that swung the NFC North showdown in Green Bay’s favor.

The Packers, who entered the contest averaging a NFL-best 35 points a game, managed just 44 yards of total offence in a scoreless opening quarter but Aaron Rodgers was soon back on target tossing for 307 yards, including touchdowns to Greg Jennings and James Jones. The rout marked another disappointing start to holidays for Detroit as the Lions (7-4) absorbed their eighth straight Thanksgiving Day loss. The Packers, however, are on a 17-game win streak that includes last season’s Super Bowl run. The last time an unbeaten team played on Thanksgiving was in 1962 when the Packers paid a visit to the Lions and were handed their only loss of the season. An excited crowd filled Ford Field on Thursday hoping to witness a repeat of that upset nearly a half-century ago.

But as Detroit self-destructed, the champions seized their chances, Clay Matthews intercepting Stafford’s tipped pass in the second quarter and returning it to the Lions’ 13-yard line where Rodgers promptly hit Jennings to go up 7-0. The Packers opened the scoring in the second half with a 77-yard drive, kept alive when Suh was ejected for stomping on the arm of Green Bay lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith setting up a one-yard touchdown plunge by John Kuhn. “I understand, in this world because of the type of player and type of person I am, all eyes are on me,” said Suh, who has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s dirtiest players. “So why would I do something to jeopardize myself and jeopardize my team? I don’t do bad things and I have no intention to hurt somebody.”

The Lions never recovered from Suh’s gaffe as the Packers put the game out of reach. Detroit’s first possession of the second half ended with another Stafford interception followed immediately by a 65-yard touchdown strike from Rodgers to Jones. Stafford’s third interception capped a miserable third quarter for the Lions, Mason Crosby converting the turnover into a 35-yard field goal and a commanding 24-0 lead that sent many in the crowd streaming for the exits. Keiland Williams and Calvin Johnson each scored consolation touchdowns but the Lions never threatened a serious comeback as the Packers improved to 11-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Ravens 16 49ers 6 Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens sacked Alex Smith nine times in a 16-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, giving John Harbaugh an emotional charge in the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches. The Ravens (8-3) chased, hindered and battered Smith for much of the night despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the team’s leading tackler and spiritual leader.

Lewis was inactive for a second straight game because of a foot injury.

The nine sacks tied a franchise record, accomplished twice previously.

San Francisco (9-2) had its eight-game winning streak broken under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh. John, 49, and Jim, 47, grew up dueling each other in all sorts of games. Competing this time on a national stage, John got the best of his little brother. Baltimore broke a 6-6 tie with a 76-yard, 16-play drive that last more than 71/2 minutes and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta with 14:56 left. Flacco went 4 for 4 on third- down plays during the drive.

COWBOYS 20, DOLPHINS 19 At Arlington, Texas, Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes to Laurent Robinson, and Dan Bailey made a 28-yard field goal as time expired to lift Dallas past Miami. Dallas (7-4) won its fourth straight and grabbed sole possession of first place in the NFC East, a half-game ahead of the New York Giants. Miami (3-8) had won three straight. The Dolphins hadn’t allowed a touchdown for 13 quarters before Robinson’s first TD with 55 seconds left in the first half.— Agencies

DETROIT: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (87) leaps over wide receiver Donald Driver (80) as he runs a reception during the third quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit on Thursday, Nov 24, 2011. — AP

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Sports

NFL: Packers bury toothless Lions

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MUMBAI: West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite (right) plays a shot as Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (center) looks on during the fourth day’s play of the third Test cricket match between India and West Indies at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday. (Inset) Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar takes evasive action to avoid a bouncer. — AFP

Tendulkar misses date with history Ashwin lifts India after Tendulkar agony MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar fell agonizingly short of an unprecedented 100th hundred while Ravichandran Ashwin hit a maiden century as the third Test between India and the West Indies headed for a draw yesterday. Tendulkar scored a superb 94 and Ashwin a robust 103 in only his third Test before India were bowled out for 482 in their first innings in reply to the West Indies’ 590 on the penultimate day. The tourists were 81-2 in their second innings at stumps for an overall lead of 189 with eight wickets in hand, with teenager Kraigg Brathwaite (34 not out) and Darren Bravo (27 not out) at the crease.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who opened the attack, removed Adrian Barath (three) and Kirk Edwards (17).

India, needing 391 to avoid the follow-on, were struggling at 331-6 before Virat Kohli (52) and Ashwin added 97 valuable runs for the seventh wicket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Ashwin also became the third Indian after Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar to grab five wickets in an innings and score a century in the same Test. He hit

two sixes and 15 fours in his 118-ball knock. It was the first time in the history of Test cricket that 11 half-centuries or more were scored in the first innings of a match, with the West Indies making six and India five.

Tendulkar looked set to complete a century of centuries as he had been timing the ball remarkably well before he attempted to drive paceman Ravi Rampaul on the up and was caught by Darren Sammy at second slip. While the West Indies celebrated the huge success, the “Little Master” walked back dejectedly and nearly 15,000 cheering spectators suddenly fell silent at the 32,000-capacity stadium. With the spectators applauding each run from Tendulkar and chanting “Sa-chin, Sachin”, the batting star started the day with an attacking stroke when he flicked Rampaul past square-leg for a four in the opening over.

Tendulkar, 67 overnight, continued to play attractive shots as he straightdrove Rampaul for a four and then uppercut paceman Fidel Edwards over the slips for a six to move into the

nineties before the disaster struck. He smashed two sixes and eight fours in his 153-ball knock. Skipper Sammy’s words came true a day after he said his team hoped to break a “few Indian hearts” by trying to get local hero Tendulkar out early with a disciplined bowling performance. In fact, his team broke millions of hearts. It was the 10th time in an illustrious 184-Test career that Tendulkar had fallen in the nineties.

Tendulkar, who scored his 99th international hundred against South Africa in a World Cup match in Nagpur in March, also came close to achieving the feat in the fourth Test in England in August before being dismissed for 91.

India, resuming 281-3, lost two more wickets in the morning as Venkatsai Laxman (32) was caught by Marlon Samuels at gully off Edwards off the first ball he faced and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (eight) was bowled by Sammy. India lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.—AFP

SCOREBOARD MUMBAI: Scoreboard at the close of the fourth day of the third and final test between India and West Indies at Wankhede Stadium yesterday.

West Indies first innings 590 India first innings (overnight 281-3) G. Gambhir c Baugh b Rampaul 55 V. Sehwag b Sammy 37 R. Dravid b Samuels 82 S. Tendulkar c Sammy b Rampaul 94 VVS Laxman c Samuels b F. Edwards 32 V. Kohli c F. Edwards b Bishoo 52 MS Dhoni b Sammy 8 R. Ashwin c Barath b Rampaul 103 I. Sharma c Bravo b Samuels 5 V. Aaron b Samuels 4 P. Ojha not out 0 Extras (b-1, w-4, nb-5) 10 Total (all out; 135.4 overs) 482 Fall of wickets: 1-67 2-138 3-224 4-287 5-322 6-331 7-428 8-455 9-463 Bowling: F. Edwards 28-4-116-1 (5nb), Rampaul 24.4-3-95-3 (2w), Sammy 26-3-90-2 (2w), Samuels 17-0-74-3, Bishoo 40-6-106-1 West Indies second innings A. Barath c Laxman b Ojha 3 K. Brathwaite not out 34 K. Edwards st Dhoni b Ojha 17 D. Bravo not out 27 Total (two wickets; 34 overs) 81 To bat: K. Powell, M. Samuels, C. Baugh, D. Sammy, F. Edwards, D. Bishoo, R. Rampaul Fall of wickets: 1-6 2-30 Bowling (to date): Ojha 15-2-27-2, Sharma 5-2-12-0, Aaron 3-0-14-0, Ashwin 8-0-20-0, Sehwag 2-0-3-0, Tendulkar 1-0-5-0 India lead the three-match series 2-0